|
 |
|
SCHWEIZER
BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE |
Der wöchentliche
Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic
of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP
de Chine |
 |
|
|
| Table of
contents |
|
DPRK
Mongolia
^ top ^
|
| Foreign Policy |
China's academics join calls for reform and opening up as US trade war pressure looks set to continue (SCMP)
2019-07-05
When Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, it was no surprise that he refreshed his country's vows to deepen its reforms and widen the opening up process. While Xi has talked a good game on reforms to domestic and international audiences for years, foreign investors have remained unimpressed. The US launched the trade war with China last year partly in response to years of anger and frustration at the slow pace of reform. In his keynote speech on Friday, Xi declared China would take "major steps" to further liberalise its economy and reduce market restrictions for foreign investors, who have long complained of unequal treatment compared to China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs), as well as limited market access and "forced" technology transfers. Xi outlined a number of measures apparently designed to soothe these complaints: the agricultural, mining and service sectors will be further opened to foreign investors; six new free trade zones will be set up; import tariffs will be slashed; a new foreign investment law – taking effect from next January – will improve intellectual property protection; and a complaints mechanism will be introduced to better protect the interests and rights of foreign investors. Although Xi and his US counterpart Donald Trump announced a truce to resume trade negotiations after their closely watched meeting on Saturday, the rivalry between the two superpowers is far from over, according to analysts. Observers say that friction and collisions are set to intensify, with Washington now defining Beijing as a strategic competitor that is reshaping global governance with a different set of standards, beliefs and values. These expected trade conflicts, and the potential hardship caused to China through denial of access to technology by the US and its allies, have been eliciting all sorts of reform-related impulses among Chinese elites, with some academics recently going public with their prescriptions for China's survival in an era of open foreign hostility. "The ultimate solution to address the US' unilateralism is by reforms and opening up," said Cai Fang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the country's top think tank, in an article published last week on the WeChat account of the China Finance 40 Forum. According to Cai, pushing ahead with reform is crucial when the US-initiated tariff war is prodding investors to relocate their supply chain away from China. In practical terms, Cai recommends further loosening of land and household registration regulations to encourage mobility in China's labour force. He argues that China's decades-long manufacturing edge – stemming from an abundant, low-cost workforce – could otherwise quickly disappear as the country's population ages. Meanwhile, letting the market play a decisive role in resource allocation should be put on the agenda and systemic arrangements should be made to ensure all entities were treated equally, he stressed. Respecting the role of the market has been a key plank of China's reform direction since at least 2013. However, the Communist Party has also highlighted the role of government in a number of policy documents and vowed to make SOEs bigger and stronger, sowing doubts about China's commitment to providing a level playing field. Peking University international relations professor Wang Yizhou went even further, saying China should improve its political system and apply openness and transparency in a number of areas before it could ease hostility and wield greater international influence. These included internet censorship, the "vocational training centres" in Xinjiang, where more than one million Uygur Muslims are allegedly held for "re-education", and the suppression of NGOs. These practices, Wang said, had put China on the defensive in its dialogue with trading partners around the world. "China has made remarkable achievements economically. But it has room to improve in political development, social harmony and many other areas," he told a forum at Renmin University in Beijing last month. "China's destiny will ultimately be decided more by such internal policies: whether it will create a society of benevolence." Yu Yongding, a former adviser to the Chinese central bank's monetary policy committee, said China should seriously consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – now spearheaded by Japan – and allowing the binding force of the free trade agreement to force Beijing to reform. The CPTPP, encompassing 40 per cent of the world's economy and more than 800 million consumers, offers an ambitious and wide-ranging rule book for modern economic relationships. By adopting this rule book, China would in effect commit to aligning its policies with global norms, such as promoting a level playing field between SOEs and their private competitors. "The CPTPP entry is expected to benefit China economically and push China to reform," Yu said at a forum last week in Beijing, just ahead of the G20 summit. Not joining the CPTPP risks reducing the competitiveness of a country's exports due to the trade diversion effect, which occurs when tariff agreements cause imports to shift from low-cost countries to higher cost countries. However, China has hesitated to embrace the CPTPP's competitive neutrality as it contradicts the government's economic policies. Senior Chinese officials have not yet reached a consensus on the relative roles of private and public ownership in China's economy. Since the party first articulated market-oriented reforms – at the Third Plenum of the party's congress in 2013 – progress has been made in some areas and diluted in others, but there have been no substantial reforms introduced to the SOE sector. The favourable position of SOEs compared to other entities is also one of the obstacles that has stalled the China-US trade talks. Jude Blanchette, China practice lead at Crumpton Group, a Virginia-based geopolitical risk and strategic advisory firm, said that advancing SOE reform would be a major challenge. "Reforms entail the transfer of economic and political power from one group to another, and the group that's on the losing end of this process will always fight back," Blanchette said. "The big SOEs don't want to see a level playing field with private companies, and domestic firms don't want to see a level playing field with foreign firms." Sourabh Gupta, a policy specialist at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said the reforms that were necessary – and gradually doable at this time – were "the ones that are linked to Xi's key 'new era'-related transitions that are under way in the political and economic system". One of them is the transition of the economic structure from a debt-fuelled and excess investment-led one to a higher productivity and consumption-led one. "The new foreign investment law and implementation rules that are being written should make useful strides on this front. When China seriously considers acceding to the CPTPP, these foreign investment law-related reforms will hold it in good stead," Gupta said. A second important reform was the gradual transition of the role of the state from the production side of the economy to the consumption side, while maintaining a firm grip over certain narrow commanding heights of the economy, he said. "This will not be an easy transition," Gupta said. "But there is a realisation that the subsidy-based model is running up at its limits and is inefficient and expensive. And, as Chinese companies become global economic players, foreign governments' tolerance for this subsidisation model is wearing thin. "Pressure from the US and Europe will in fact be a crucial driver of these reforms which, again, will hold China in good stead when it seriously considers acceding to CPTPP-standard SOE disciplines. "However, competitive neutrality disciplines won't get instituted overnight. It's a decade-long struggle at minimum," he said. George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University's China Centre, said the reforms raised by Chinese scholars should "ideally be a core part of China's future path, regardless of Sino-US relations". "But the more China 'decouples' from this relationship [with the US], the greater the [resistance] force for these reforms becomes," Magnus said. "There is a contradiction, however, between those who have rallied behind a more nationalist and self-reliant flag, and those who think China needs to reboot its attitudes towards opening up and reform." While Trump launched his re-election campaign amid bipartisan consensus over his confrontational approach to China, Beijing has resorted to nationalism in the midst of its deteriorating ties with the US and Europe and a deepening economic slowdown. Chinese officials and state-controlled media have made a concerted effort to point the finger at Washington, criticising the Trump administration for its repeated provocations and the fruitless trade talks in the past few months. People advocating substantial concessions to the US in previous trade talks were even called surrenderers or traitors by state media. "In many ways, nationalism is the antithesis of opening up and reform. This could be a defining moment then for Chinese politics and for factions within the party that line up behind these alternative positions," Magnus said. Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, said many of the suggestions made by the Chinese academics were "eminently sensible". "They should be able to strengthen China's capacity to cope with the decoupling with the US, which is what it is as the trade and other disputes are institutionalised. But they are suggestions by those not in the Xi inner circle, if not disguised critics," Tsang said. "Xi may pick up an idea or two here and there but there is not much of a chance for most of them to be adopted." ^ top ^
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discussed detained Canadian duo at G20, Justin Trudeau says (SCMP)
2019-07-05
US President Donald Trump raised the issue of two Canadians detained in China with President Xi Jinping in a recent meeting at the Group of 20 summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Thursday. Trudeau had earlier said he was "confident" that Trump discussed with Xi the detention of ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and consultant Michael Spavor, who are being held in China on suspicion of espionage. "I can confirm that Mr Trump did speak to his Chinese counterpart about the detained Canadians. This is a concern for us in Canada, but it is also a concern for our allies around the world," Trudeau told a press conference in Montreal. "I think that what we're seeing is that so many allies are concerned about the fate of these Canadians and that they're concerned about the behaviour of China in relation to Canada – the type of behaviour that could affect other countries as well," he added. Relations with China soured in December after Canadian authorities arrested Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese telecoms company Huawei, who is wanted by the United States on charges of circumventing sanctions on Iran. Since then, China has blocked imports of Canadian agricultural products in addition to detaining the two Canadians, moves Beijing says are unrelated to the Huawei issue. During a meeting at the White House before the G20, Trudeau asked Trump to raise the issue of the detained men with the Chinese leader when they met at the summit. Trump reportedly said that he would do what he could. Meanwhile, China earlier this week warned Canada not to be "naive" and think that US pressure could help it resolve the spat. ^ top ^
U.S. must lift all additional tariffs for agreement with China: commerce ministry (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Because the Sino-U.S. economic and trade frictions were triggered by the U.S. imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods, all those tariffs must be lifted if the two countries could reach an agreement, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday. On the sidelines of the recently concluded G20 summit in Osaka, the heads of state of China and the United States agreed to resume economic and trade consultations on the basis of equality and mutual respect and the United States said not to impose new tariffs on Chinese products. Currently, negotiating teams of China and the United States have kept communicating, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a news conference. "It is China's consistent position that Sino-U.S. economic and trade frictions should ultimately be resolved through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing," Gao said. "China welcomes the fact that the United States will not impose new tariffs on Chinese products to avoid further escalation of economic and trade frictions." Commenting on the U.S. side's argument that the future trade agreement should tilt in the direction favourable to the U.S. side, Gao said the essence of Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. China has always stressed that consultations should be conducted under the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, he said. "If an agreement could be reached, it should be balanced, equal and mutually beneficial, and China's core concerns must be properly addressed," Gao said. Commenting on the U.S. side's recent claim that China agrees to purchase large quantities of U.S. agricultural products, Gao said China and the United States are strongly complementary in agricultural trade and have huge room for cooperation. "Affected by Sino-U.S. economic and trade frictions, agricultural trade between the two countries has taken a blow, which is something we do not want to see," Gao said. "Trade in agricultural products is an important issue that needs to be discussed between the two sides," Gao said. "We hope that the two sides will proceed from the fundamental interests of the two peoples and find a solution to the problem on the basis of equality and mutual respect." Gao expressed the hope that the two sides will follow the important instructions given at the meeting of the heads of state of the two countries, accommodate each other's reasonable concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and seek mutually beneficial and win-win solutions to create a stable and predictable trade and investment environment for enterprises of the two countries and the rest of the world. "This is not only in the interests of China and the United States and their peoples, but is also the common expectation of the international community," he said. ^ top ^
China, Bangladesh agree to Belt and Road cooperation (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
China and Bangladesh on Thursday agreed to advance their cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative. The consensus was reached by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is on an official visit to China. Calling Bangladesh an important cooperation partner of China in South Asia, Li hailed the two countries' traditional friendship. "Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always understood and supported each other on issues involving core interests and major concerns," Li said. In 2016, the two countries established strategic partnership of cooperation. Li voiced China's willingness to keep close high-level exchanges with Bangladesh, strengthen strategic mutual trust, boost mutually beneficial cooperation, enhance people-to-people friendship, so as to push for new development of bilateral relations. Both China and Bangladesh are developing countries with large populations and important tasks to develop economy and improve people's livelihoods, Li said, adding that pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has been fruitful and enjoys great potential and broad prospects. Li stressed that China stood ready to better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with Bangladesh's development strategy, and speed up mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields. He also expressed expectation to discuss feasibility of joint study on the free trade agreement, increase import of Bangladeshi high-quality products meeting the needs of the Chinese market, promote balanced development of trade, and facilitate bilateral investment and personnel exchanges. China will continue to provide assistance within its capacity for Bangladesh's development, Li added. He called on the two sides to work together to build the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar-Economic Corridor (BCIM EC), in a bid to connect the market covering nearly 3 billion people, promote common development, better complement each other's advantages, and realize mutual benefits. The two countries should intensify communication and coordination in international and regional affairs and play a positive role in regional peace, stability and development, the Chinese premier said. Hasina expressed her congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and said Bangladesh-China ties are at a high level. Both sides are committed to peace, stability, mutual benefits, and settlement of disputes by peaceful means, Hasina said, adding that Bangladesh would celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with China next year. She said Bangladesh was advancing the goal of "Sonar Bangla" at present, reiterating that her country was willing to actively participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, accelerate the building of the BCIM EC, press ahead regional connectivity, beef up cooperation on trade, investment, service and infrastructure, so as to jointly embrace an even better future. Prior to the talks, Li held a welcoming ceremony for Hasina. After the talks, they witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements on investment, culture, tourism and water conservancy. The two countries will also issue a joint communique. ^ top ^
Chinese premier meets UNGA president-elect (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday met with Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the president-elect of the 74th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, pledging to continue firmly safeguarding the international system with the UN as the core. The UN has played an irreplaceable role in maintaining world peace and stability, advancing global development and promoting international cooperation since it was founded over 70 years ago, Li said. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. "China supports the UN General Assembly in preparing relevant commemorative activities, as this is of special significance to safeguard the principles of multilateralism, equality of sovereignty, and solving problems through peaceful means that are represented by the UN," Li said. As a founding member of the UN, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and the biggest developing country in the world, China will continue to firmly safeguard the international system with the UN as the core, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and work with other countries to deepen international cooperation, safeguard international fairness and justice, and jointly cope with challenges so as to build a community with a shared future for humanity, Li said. He also congratulated Muhammad-Bande for being elected as the president of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. Muhammad-Bande expressed gratitude to China's strong support to the UN and pledged to firmly support multilateralism, safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and support UN member states to solve problems through consultation. He also vowed to maintain an objective and unbiased attitude in carrying out his work and strengthen communication and coordination with China. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi also met with Muhammad-Bande on Thursday. ^ top ^
China, EU should further strengthen cooperation (Global Times)
2019-07-04
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been named a candidate for European Commission president. The nomination became the focus of media as her attitude toward China at previous interviews would allegedly lead to uncertainties in China-EU ties. Von der Leyen would bring her stance toward China to the EU after she succeeds incumbent Jean-Claude Juncker. This includes differences between China and Germany. Her attitude reflects only the views of some German political parties. After assuming office, von der Leyen will need to consider China-EU relations and policies toward China from the EU's standpoint. The bloc still uses the 2016 EU Strategy on China to define its policies on China. But the EU remains committed to the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation that the two sides jointly formulated in 2013. Amid the complicated world situation, Europe is confronted with huge international order challenges which have shaken Europe's model of economic development, diplomatic policy coordination and values. EU should not ignore China when it is seeking cooperation and strategic autonomy. As an important power in this multipolar world, the EU doesn't necessarily benefit from following the US footprints, particularly on China policy. Although the US and the EU are allies, their differences in policies are becoming increasingly apparent due to US unilateralism. The EU is China's largest trading partner, while China is the EU's second-largest after the US. The EU is seeking to form a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship with China. This is consistent with the mutually beneficial state cooperation relationship that China always advocates. The key to multilateralism upheld by the EU lies in the bloc's cooperation with China rather than in following the US. In addition, in 2015, von der Leyen told the German weekly Die Zeit her goal of a more integrated Europe. Although her wish that her grandchildren could live in a "United States of Europe" has proven difficult to achieve, her support for European integration is consistent with China's idea. China firmly supports the European integration process and takes delight in seeing a united and prosperous Europe that plays an important role in international affairs. It is important for the EU to create an ideal external environment, strengthen cooperation with strategic partners, and obtain external support to promote the European integration process. Cooperation between China and the EU is conducive to a balanced development inside EU and strongly promotes European integration. Europe is an important pole in the multipolar world and has a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. As President Xi Jinping said in 2016 in a signed article on Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, "As the world's two major forces... China and Europe have every reason to enhance synergy in their development strategies, deepen shared interests, promote common growth and contribute to world peace and development." ^ top ^
China, Bulgaria lift ties to strategic partnership (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held talks with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and they decided to lift state-to-state ties to a strategic partnership. Bulgaria was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with New China, Xi noted, hoping that the two countries take the strategic partnership as a new starting point, work together to cope with the test of international changes and inject new impetus into bilateral cooperation. Xi stressed that the two sides should respect and trust each other and strengthen exchanges between the two governments, legislative bodies and political parties while maintaining mutual support on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. "The two countries share many of the same or similar views on the international situation and should jointly safeguard the international system based on multilateralism and the international law," said Xi. Bulgaria is also one of the first Central and Eastern European countries to sign intergovernmental cooperation documents with China on the Belt and Road Initiative. Xi said China is willing to strengthen the synergy between the two countries' development strategies, promote infrastructure connectivity, expand trade and investment and cement people-to-people exchanges. Xi reiterated China's firm support for the European integration process, EU's unity and growth and Europe's more important role in international affairs, saying that China's upholding such stances is not an expedient measure. "It is hoped that the new EU institutions will maintain the stability and continuity of their China policy," said Xi, who also expected the new EU institutions to work with China to promote the building of partnership on the basis of mutual respect, fairness and justice, cooperation and win-win result. "Bulgaria is a good friend and partner of China in the EU and an important participant and advocate of the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries. It is hoped that the Bulgarian side will continue to play a constructive role in this regard," said Xi. Radev said he was very happy to visit China on the occasion of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties. Lifting the bilateral ties to a strategic partnership will further strengthen the foundation of bilateral relations, said Radev. Radev said the Bulgarian side is ready to deeply participate in the Belt and Road Initiative by giving full play to its advantages of location in the region and trying to become a gateway and hub connecting Europe and Asia. The Bulgarian side is willing to expand cooperation with the Chinese side in such areas as trade, transportation, aviation, logistics, finance, innovation, local areas and people-people exchanges, and welcomes Chinese enterprises to increase investment in Bulgaria, said Radev. While expressing Bulgaria's support for multilateralism and the World Trade Organization, the Bulgarian president said his country stands ready to step up communication and work for advancing Europe-China relations and cooperation between the Central and Eastern European countries and China. ^ top ^
Pakistani militants who targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan designated as terrorists by US (SCMP)
2019-07-03
The US on Tuesday designated militants fighting Pakistani rule in Balochistan as terrorists after it carried out deadly attacks targeting Chinese interests. The State Department said it was classifying the Balochistan Liberation Army as a global terrorist group, making it a crime for anyone in the United States to assist the militants and freezing any US assets they may have. The Balochistan Liberation Army "is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan," the State Department said in its designation. Pakistan has been fighting insurgents in the southwestern region since 2004, with the militants recently finding a new focus in rallying against China's investment that is part of its major Belt and Road initiative. The Balochistan Liberation Army has targeted China in Pakistan multiple times, including a brazen daylight attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi that killed four people in November. In May, five people including a soldier were killed after gunmen stormed the only five-star hotel in Gwadar, the port city which Pakistan is hoping to develop into a major commercial hub. Claiming responsibility for the hotel attack, the Balochistan Liberation Army warned China to stop its "exploitative projects in Balochistan" and not to support the "genocide of Baloch people," threatening further attacks. Pakistan has been accused of widespread human rights violations in its crackdown in Balochistan. Pakistan denies wrongdoing and accuses its historic rival India of fomenting the insurgency, an assertion scoffed at by New Delhi. The US designation of the group comes despite vocal concerns by Washington over the Belt and Road initiative, with Washington accusing China of imposing debt traps on developing nations. ^ top ^
|
| Domestic
Policy |
|
Efforts against African swine fever take priority (China Daily)
2019-07-05
China will strengthen supervision over the cross-border trade of animals amid efforts to contain the spread of African swine fever, according to a guideline issued by the State Council on Wednesday. International cooperation in combating the illegal smuggling of live hogs is expected to intensify in the future as the country continues its fight against the unauthorized transport of animals and animal products across its borders, the guideline said. Meanwhile, close attention will be paid to global outbreaks of the disease－which is highly contagious among pigs and often fatal but is not transmittable to humans－by way of stepping up the country's surveillance and precautionary efforts. China will also implement stricter examinations of international deliveries, transport equipment and even the luggage of travelers to further avert transmission risks of the disease. The heightened oversight on international trade comes as 18 countries and regions around the world have reported over 5,800 outbreaks this year, according to Yu Kangzhen, vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs, who spoke at a news conference held by the Information Office of State Council on Thursday. Vietnam has seen over 3,000 African swine fever outbreaks as of the end of June since the disease was first detected in February, he said. The fight against the disease remains "complicated and grim", Yu said. The guideline also called for concerted efforts to boost regional capabilities in containing the disease by creating a coordinated monitoring system across different areas. It encourages major hog producers in the country to have their live pigs slaughtered in nearby facilities to reduce movement and contact with other herds. Compensation and subsidies can be used as stimulus for businesses to develop cold-chain logistics. In the future, more zones free of African swine fever virus will be established, especially in regions with favorable natural environments that help halt swine flu's spread. Enterprises in the hog industry with advanced biosecurity protections are also encouraged to set up small-scale zones, it added. The country will also draft new standards to create epidemic-free zones and formulate regulations on transporting pigs and pig products across zones. Yu added that any attempts to conceal disease outbreaks or sidestep regulatory inspections will be thoroughly investigated. The guideline also calls for stronger supervision over key procedures in controlling the epidemic. Violators who fail to report and handle issues properly will be held accountable and investigated. Individuals and institutions who have made great contributions to safeguarding the industry will be awarded. ^ top ^
China to further improve business environment, open up wider (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
China will further improve its business environment and expand opening-up, Premier Li Keqiang has said. Li made the remarks during a dialogue session held Tuesday at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2019, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, in the city of Dalian. The dialogue session was chaired by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, with attendance of more than 200 global representatives of industry and commerce, finance, think tanks, media. At the dialogue session, Premier Li answered a raft of questions put forward by the attendees, ranging from China's business environment, adjustment of industry chain, enterprises and innovation, opening-up of finance, to development of private businesses. As for business environment, China will build market-oriented, internationalized business environment based on rule of law and with openness, transparency and predictability, Li said, noting that restrictions on market access will be further relaxed. Apart from treating foreign investors impartially and fairly, the country will strengthen the protection of intellectual property, Li said. Against the backdrop of worldwide investment downturn, China saw a steady inflow of foreign investment in the first five months of this year, with the investment in the manufacturing industry up more than 8 percent year on year, Li said. He attributed the stable growth in foreign investment to the country's globalized industrial system and vast market with huge potential, saying China boasts great competitiveness in the global industrial chain. The country will step up efforts to expand opening-up, uphold fair competition and safeguard foreign investors' rights and interests, Li said. Speaking of China's financial opening-up, Li said the country continued to make new steps in opening its financial sector, and greater financial opening-up helped improve the sector's competitiveness. The Chinese government also enhanced financial regulation to protect the interests of domestic and overseas investors and consumers, Li said. Although facing downward economic pressures, China has strived to maintain financial stability, without saddling the economy with excessive money supply. The country has maintained stability of its monetary policy, with timely and pre-emptive fine-tuning, and kept the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. "China's financial sector will further open up, and financial supervision and management will become more and more well-regulated," he said. When talking about difficulties facing private businesses, which contribute more than 80 percent of the country's urban jobs and 60 percent of the country's GDP, Premier Li said the country will work to ensure implementation of tax reduction policies to lower financing costs and make sure enterprises benefit from these policies. ^ top ^
12 years behind bars for corrupt former boss of Chinese warship builder CSIC (SCMP)
2019-07-04
A Shanghai court handed down a lenient sentence to the corrupt former head of one of China's biggest shipbuilders after he shed new light on other crimes, state media reported on Thursday. Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Sun Bo, former general manager of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), to 12 years in prison for taking bribes and abuse of power, state news agency Xinhua reported. The court also fined Sun 800,000 yuan (US$116,000) and ordered the confiscation of 8.4 million yuan in bribes and gifts accepted by Sun and his wife. Sun inflicted "extremely heavy losses" on the state but he was given a lenient sentence because he "confessed his crimes and volunteered information about crimes that the prosecutors have not yet discovered, truly repented, and returned the bribes and gifts that he had accepted", the report said. It did not say if the information led to other arrests or if his wife was under investigation. Sun said he would not appeal against the sentence. A military source said Sun's sentence was "light", given his senior position at CSIC, the builder of China's newest aircraft carriers and other warships. "As the general manager of CSIC, Sun had access to many state secrets [related to the building of warships] and he could have been given a life sentence if not the death penalty," the source said. "But the authorities have let him off lightly probably because he was cooperative in the investigation or his crimes were not as serious as the investigators had previously thought." Sun was detained in June last year and later expelled from the Communist Party, according to an earlier statement released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party's anti-graft watchdog. After graduating from Dalian University of Technology in 1982, Sun rose through the ranks at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company, a CSIC subsidiary, where he became a general engineer responsible for refitting the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, in the late 1990s. Xinhua said Sun, who joined CSIC's leadership ranks in 2009 and became its general manager four years ago, took advantage of his positions to help individuals set up businesses to benefit from CSIC's commercial activities. Sun is not the first CSIC senior manager to fall from grace. The CCDI announced in December that it had detained Jin Tao, 54, the former research head of the CSIC's 712 Research Institute, after a four-month investigation. The CCDI said that among other offences, Jin had "seriously violated party discipline"– a euphemism for corruption – and was "suspected of a crime of duty causing a huge loss to the national interest". In September 2017, Liu Changhong, then head of discipline inspection at CSIC, was expelled from the party for allegedly taking bribes. ^ top ^
Top legislator stresses theoretical study of people's congress system (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Top legislator Li Zhanshu on Thursday called for stronger theoretical studies of the people's congress system of China to "keep pace with the times and respond to the call of the times." Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), made the remarks at the annual session of the Academy of Chinese People's Congress System. Li said the theoretical study of the people's congress system should be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and adhere to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics to serve socialist democracy. He also asked the Standing Committee of the NPC to strengthen leadership over theoretical study of the people's congress system to create more theoretical study achievements to contribute to socialist democracy and the rule of law. ^ top ^
Chinese president appoints new ambassadors (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Chinese President Xi Jinping has appointed six new ambassadors in accordance with a decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, according to a statement from the national legislature Thursday. Chen Hai was appointed ambassador to Myanmar, replacing Hong Liang. Chang Hua was appointed ambassador to Iran, replacing Pang Sen. Liao Liqiang was appointed ambassador to Egypt, replacing Song Aiguo. Xu Erwen was appointed ambassador to Croatia, replacing Hu Zhaoming. Yi Xianliang was appointed ambassador to Norway, replacing Wang Min. Chen Xu was appointed China's permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, replacing Yu Jianhua. ^ top ^
China confident about higher quality employment (People's Daily)
2019-07-04
Although mounting risks and uncertainties have affected global economic development, they haven't had a significant impact on China's employment, as figures show that the country enjoys a stable employment rate and expects to realize its goal of higher quality employment. Last year, China created a record high of 13.6 million new urban jobs and maintained a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5 percent. From January to May this year, the country generated 6 million new urban jobs, accounting for 54 percent of its 2019 goal. Moreover, the survey showed that the unemployment rate of people between the ages of 25 and 59 has dropped for three months in a row in China. "These figures indicate that China's labor market is approaching a state of full employment. Uncertainties in the international market haven't had a major impact on employment in China," said Du Yang, vice director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "As the Chinese economy has passed the 90 trillion yuan (about $13.09 trillion) mark, even with a 6 percent growth rate, the country can still see the added value of 5.4 trillion yuan," said Mo Rong, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security. Upgrading and optimizing of the industrial structure has also added to the effect of economic growth on China's employment situation, with booming new technologies, new industries, and new forms of business significantly expanding employment space in recent years. From 2015 to 2017, the annual growth of the index of new driving forces behind the Chinese economy reached 28 percent. Last year, new driving forces contributed to more than two-thirds of the new jobs in the country. Emerging jobs, such as engineering technician of cloud computing, installation and debugging personnel of the Internet of Things, and drone pilot are greatly enriching China's employment market, which has welcomed 191 million jobs in the digital economy. Continuous dividends of reform have also driven the sound momentum of employment growth. With China putting into practice various reforms to simplify registration and approval procedures for start-up companies, the country has seen 2.9 million newly registered companies from January to May this year, an average of 18,900 companies each day. Private-run enterprises and small to medium-sized firms are playing increasingly important roles in promoting employment. Last December, employment figures of urban private companies and individual businesses had grown by 5.7 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively. In recent years, as China endeavors to unlock the vast potential of domestic demand, consumption has become a major "engine" of the country's economic growth, which has led to a reduction in influence of exports in driving employment growth. Besides, since the service industry, the primary driving force of China's employment market, has a lower tradable attribute than the manufacturing industry, it faces a smaller risk of being attacked by external uncertainties. Consequently, Chinese employment hasn't been affected much by export concerns. "As influenced by changes in the external environment, some clients reduced the quantity on their orders, but this will not disturb our determination to expand production and recruitment," said Wang Jiangbing, CEO of Kuka China, a giant in industrial robots industry. The Chinese manufacturing industry is undergoing an accelerated transformation, which signifies more diversified needs for production lines, according to Wang, adding that "in the long-term, industrial robots have bright prospects in China. The industry needs a huge amount of fresh labor to support such areas as basic research, technology development, and after-sale services." "Though the number of orders from certain countries dropped a little, we have seen increases in markets of Europe and the Middle East, which have contributed to nearly half of our revenue, and the proportion will be higher in the future," said Wang Chun, general manager of a textile company in east China's Zhejiang Province. "China's Belt and Road Initiative has won wide recognition and yielded rich fruits in recent years, which helps diversify the landscape of foreign trade while offsetting the potential loss of jobs caused by uncertainties in the international market," said Li Chang'an, a professor at University of International Business and Economics. China's efforts to boost entrepreneurship and investment have significantly improved employment growth. With more than 5,500 bases for mass entrepreneurship, over 4,000 incubators of sci-tech companies, and more than 3,500 venture capital investment institutes, China is now the world's second-largest market for venture capital investment. By granting 5G licenses for commercial use to four enterprises this June, China became the first to enter the new era of 5G technologies. Some predicted that by the year 2025, 5G technology would help generate an economic output of 35.4 trillion yuan and create 3 million new jobs. "We have sufficient policy tools to deal with the uncertainties in the global market, including fiscal or monetary policies that help to stabilize growth and increase investment, providing aid for companies and increasing the number of jobs for public welfare, and enhancing support for job seekers facing difficulties in securing employment," said Mo. The employment situation in the first five months of this year indicated that China can realize its goal of creating 11 million more new urban jobs and maintaining the surveyed and registered urban unemployment rates at around 5.5 percent and 4.5 percent respectively in 2019, added Mo. ^ top ^
Chinese cities pilot gait recognition system (Global Times)
2019-07-04
Some Chinese cities are piloting a tracking system that can mobilize tens of thousands of real-time cameras to recognize a person's gait and help police nab suspects, the firm that develops the technology revealed to the Global Times on Thursday. Developed by the Beijing-based WATRIX, a company incubated by Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the system can locate and track targeted suspects by monitoring their postures from ten thousands of either real-time or offline videos. By analyzing a person's posture, the system can precisely and automatically track a person from videos and issue an alarm at any time if it spots someone doing something suspicious or illegal. The system is designed to relieve public security authorities from manually sifting through vast amounts of video to identify a suspect. Traditional monitoring systems store and playback video but it is often unable to quickly and accurately identify, locate and find suspects due to poor video quality or if a suspect wears a disguise. WATRIX told the Global Times that a pilot system is being used in Central China's Hubei and South China's Guangdong provinces, and Shanghai. The system can be used in public places including airports, bus stations, and schools or used to detect intrusions into key infrastructure facilities such as nuclear power stations and oil refineries, the team said. Every person's posture is unique, like a fingerprint, and gait recognition technology is capable of secretly identifying targets from any angle, even if their face is covered and at night, Huang Yongzhen, CEO of WATRIX, told the Global Times earlier. The technology will supplement China's campaign to make Chinese cities and rural areas safer, which includes the projects Xueliang, or Sharp Eyes and Safe City, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army in Beijing who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday. The Sharp Eyes project is a surveillance network in rural areas using artificial intelligence, facial recognition and big data. The Safe City project is an urban security network that uses a city's surveillance camera network to detect crimes and traffic flow. Using AI, facial recognition, big data and gait recognition technology, public security departments will be able to better solve crimes and reduce the crime rate, the professor noted. Addressing privacy concerns, the team said the data captured by the system is only accessible to authorized users, and the company cannot access to the system. Gait recognition technology can also be used to design smart home furniture, according to the team. ^ top ^
No joy for corrupt officials as China announces amnesty to mark nation's 70th anniversary (SCMP)
2019-06-30
There will be no pardons for people jailed under President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption campaign, Chinese state media said late Saturday after Beijing announced a prisoner amnesty as part of its celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which falls on October 1. While the report did not give any indication of how many people would be set free – the cases must first be reviewed by the courts – it said the amnesties would be granted to those who fell into one of nine categories. These include convicts aged 75 and above who are suffering from a physical disability, people who fought in the Sino-Japanese war – which ended in 1945 – or in the Chinese civil war, which ended in 1949 and led to the creation of modern-day China. Other categories include prisoners sentenced as minors to terms of not more than three years, and those who were convicted of a crime while acting in self-defence and, again, sentenced to a maximum of three years. Anyone convicted of a serious or violent crime, including murder, rape, kidnapping, corruption, arson and drug trafficking is ineligible for the amnesty, the report said. This group also encompasses those who refused to confess to their crimes or show remorse, and anyone deemed still a threat to society. The amnesty is the second of Xi's presidency and ninth in the country's history. The previous seven were all during Mao Zedong's leadership. In 2015, about 31,000 convicts were pardoned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Sino-Japanese war, which also marked the end of World War II. Though, as will be the case this time around, none of them were serving prison terms for corruption. A spokesperson for the National People's Congress, which approved the amnesty, was quoted by Xinhua as saying that Beijing hoped the pardons would have a positive political, legal and social impact. "Considering the fight against corruption remains a challenge, and in order to maintain the pressure of the crackdown, it would be inappropriate to grant amnesties to corruption convicts," the spokesperson said. In December, the Communist Party declared a "crushing victory" in Xi's war on corruption, which since 2012 has seen more than 1.3 million party officials – from powerful "tigers" to low-ranking "flies" – rounded up and convicted. Among the most high profile officials to have been snared are former Politburo Standing Committee member and domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang, former Politburo member Sun Zhengcai, and former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission Guo Boxiong. Former Politburo member and Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, who was detained just months before Xi rose to power in 2012, is also serving a life sentence for taking millions of US dollars in bribes. Meng Hongwei, the former president of Interpol, looks set to become the latest senior official to join the convicts' club after pleading guilty in court earlier this month to taking bribes totalling more than 14 million yuan (US$2 million). ^ top ^
|
| Shanghai |
Shanghai begins new waste sorting era, as China eyes cleaner image (SCMP)
2019-07-01
At 9pm, Li Zhigang was sitting in front of his fruit shop on a bustling street in central Shanghai's Xujiahui area, peeling the thin layers of plastic from rotten pears and mangoes. "This is so much trouble!" he mumbled to himself while throwing the plastic into one trash can and the fruit into another. In the past, Li simply threw away what could not be sold with the packaging on, but from July 1 he could be fined up to 200 yuan (about US$30) for doing so. Like Li, many of the tens of millions of residents in the eastern Chinese city have been complaining in recent weeks that the introduction of compulsory household garbage sorting is making life difficult, but at the same time have been having to learn to do it. Calls for garbage sorting have brought little progress in China in the past decade, but Shanghai is leading a fresh start for the world's second-largest waste producer with its new municipal solid waste (MSW) regime, observers have said. China generated 210 million tonnes of MSW in 2017, 48 million tonnes less than the United States, according to the World Bank's What a Waste database. "If we say China is now classifying its waste, then it's Shanghai that is really doing it," said Chen Liwen, a veteran environmentalist who has worked for non-governmental organisations devoted to waste classification for the past decade. "It's starting late, comparing with the US, Japan or Taiwan, but if it's successful in such a megacity with such a huge population, it will mean a lot for the world," she said. Household waste in the city is now required to be sorted into four categories: wet garbage (household food), dry garbage (residual waste), recyclable waste and hazardous waste. General rubbish bins that had previously taken all types of household waste were removed from buildings. Instead, residents were told to visit designated trash collection stations to dispose of different types of waste during designated periods of the day. Companies and organisations flouting the new rules could be fined 50,000-500,000 yuan (US$7,000-70,000), while individual offenders risked a fine of 50-200 yuan. The city's urban management officers will be mainly responsible for identifying those who breach the rules. Huang Rong, the municipal government's deputy secretary general, said on Friday that nearly 14,000 inspections had been carried out around the city and more than 13,000 people had been warned on the issue since the regulations were announced at the start of the year. As July 1's enforcement of the rules approached, it became a much-discussed topic among Shanghainese people. A hashtag meaning "Shanghai residents almost driven crazy by garbage classification" was one of the most popular on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. "My daughter took a box of expired medicine from her workplace to the trash collection station near our home yesterday because she couldn't find the local bin for hazardous waste," Li said. While the measures force a change of habits for most people, they bring opportunities for some. Du Huanzheng, director of the Recycling Economy Institute at Tongji University, said waste sorting was crucial for China's recycling industry. "Without proper classification, a lot of garbage that can be recycled is burned, and that's a pity," he said. "After being classified, items suitable to be stored and transported can now be recycled." Shanghai's refuse treatment plants deal with 19,300 tonnes of residual waste and 5,050 tonnes of kitchen waste every day, according to the municipal government. By contrast, only 3,300 tonnes of recyclables per day are collected at present. Nationwide, the parcel delivery industry used more than 13 billion polypropylene woven bags, plastic bags and paper boxes as well as 330 million rolls of tape in 2016, but less than 20 per cent of this was recycled, according to a report by the State Post Bureau. Prices of small sortable rubbish bins for home use have surged on e-commerce platforms, while bin makers are also developing smart models in response to new needs. Some communities are deploying bins that people are required to sign in with their house number to use, and are equipped with a "big data analysis system". The system records households have "actively participated" and which have not, so that neighbourhood management can publicise their addresses and make house visits, according to a report by Thepaper.cn. In a residential community in Songjiang district, grocery store owner Nie Chuanguo has found something new to sell: a rubbish throwing service. He has offered to visit homes, collect waste and throw it into the right bin at a designated time. He charges 30 yuan a month for those living on the ground and first floors, 40 yuan for those on the second and third, and 50 yuan for the fourth and fifth. "This service will start from July 1. Many people have come to inquire about it," he said. According to Du, waste classification is not only about environmental impact or business opportunities. "Garbage sorting is an important part of a country's soft power," he said. For China, it was an opportunity to improve its international reputation, he said. "In the past, Chinese people were rich and travelled abroad, but they threw rubbish wilfully, making foreigners not admit we are a respected powerhouse." He added: "It's also related to 1.3 billion people's health, since the current waste treatment methods – burying and burning – are not friendly to the environment." Shanghai's part in tackling waste comes amid President Xi Jinping's repeated calls for the country to sort waste better. "For local officials, it is a political task," said Chen, who heads a waste management programme in rural China called Zero Waste Villages. Huang said the president had asked Shanghai in particular to set a good example in waste classification. In March 2017, the central government set out plans for a standardised system and regulations for rubbish sorting by 2020, with a target for 46 major cities, including Shanghai, to recycle 35 per cent of their waste by then. In early June, Xi issued a long statement calling for more action from local governments. However, it was a long process that required input from individuals, government and enterprises, Du said. "Japan took one generation to move to doing its waste sorting effectively, so we shouldn't have the expectation that our initiative will succeed in several years," Du said. "The lessons we can learn from Japan include carrying out campaigns again and again, and paying close attention to educating young pupils about rubbish classification." Chen echoed that Shanghai's waste sorting frenzy now was only a beginning. "What we can see now is that people are being pushed to sort waste by regulators, but what's next? How shall we keep up the enthusiasm?" she asked. She suggested that how well officials worked on garbage sorting should be included in their job appraisal, and that ultimately people should pay for waste disposal. "The key to waste classification, going by international experience, is making polluters pay," Chen said. There is plenty of experience for Shanghai to learn from in California, where unrecyclable waste is charged for at twice the price of recyclables, and Taiwan, where people are charged only for disposal of residual waste, according to Chen. Taiwan has one of the world's most impressive recycling rates, with nearly 60 per cent of its waste between January and October last year having been recycled, according to the Taipei government. The daily amount of garbage produced per person during that period was about 0.41kg – down substantially from 1.14kg in 1997 – the government said. Hong Kong has tried to copy the Taipei model over the years but failed, with a recycling rate of MSW slightly above 30 per cent in recent years, according to official data. The city has recently postponed a mandatory waste charging scheme until late 2020 at the earliest. Under its plan, 80 per cent of household waste will have to go into designated bags and will be priced at an average of 11 HK cents (1 US cent) per litre. On Friday, Shanghai officials admitted that there were plenty of challenges involved in sorting and transport. Zhang Lixin, deputy chief of the municipal housing administration, said: "Many property management companies fear the difficulties brought by garbage sorting or are reluctant to implement the new rules." The administration trained the heads of more than 200 companies across the city in April, he said. "We do find that some cleaners and rubbish trucks mix the waste, despite residents being asked to throw different types in different bins," said Deng Jianping, head of the city's landscaping and city appearance administration – the government department spearheading the initiative. In the interests of curbing such practices, they could face fines of up to 50,000 yuan or even have their licences revoked, he said. ^ top ^
|
| Tibet |
^ top ^
|
| Xinjiang |
Turkish President Erdogan says solution possible for Muslims interned in Chinese camps (SCMP)
2019-07-04
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a solution could be found to help Muslims interned in Chinese camps "taking into account the sensitivities" of both sides, in comments published Thursday. Turkey is one of the only Muslim-majority countries to have criticised China over the detention of an estimated one million ethnic Uygurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the restive Xinjiang province. But Erdogan struck a softer tone after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Beijing. "I believe we can find a solution to the issue taking into account the sensitivities of both sides," Erdogan told Turkish journalists in Beijing before flying back to Turkey, according to Hurriyet daily. Chinese state media claimed Erdogan said ethnic minorities live happily in Xinjiang, but he made no such comments to Turkish reporters. He warned against those who sought to "abuse" the Xinjiang issue to create tensions with China, a key investor and trading partner. "This abuse is having a negative impact on Turkish-Chinese relations. It is necessary that we do not give opportunity to such abuse," Erdogan said. He added that Turkey could "send a delegation to East Turkestan", the name given by activists to Xinjiang, and that Beijing was open to the idea. China denies holding people against their will in what it describes as "vocational education centres" aimed at steering citizens away from religious extremism. Turkey's foreign ministry in February lambasted China's treatment of Uygurs as "a great embarrassment for humanity" and said those in the centres and prisons were "subjected to torture and political brainwashing". ^ top ^
China calls Xinjiang camps training centres, but government's own documents say otherwise, researcher finds (SCMP)
2019-07-02
While China has gone to great lengths to paint its internment camps in Xinjiang as humane "boarding schools", a researcher has found abundant evidence to refute the propaganda claims from the government's own documents. Adrian Zenz, an independent German researcher focusing on Xinjiang, has examined a vast body of government documents to determine what he calls the "true nature and extent" of the camps, finding evidence of coercive internment, heavy presence of police guards and political brainwashing. Zenz's research was published on The Journal of Political Risk website on Monday. According to the site, it is a peer-reviewed journal covering political risk and opportunity, produced and maintained by Corr Analytics, an international political risk analysis and consulting firm. In response to mounting international outcry over its internment of an estimated one million or more Uygurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in far western Xinjiang, the Chinese government has launched an all-out public relations offensive to defend the camps, which it says are "vocational education and training centres" that offer a benign alternative to formal prosecution for people "influenced by religious extremism". Zenz's research seeks to refute these claims with the government's own statements, as entailed in official documents and related reports that are not intended for international audiences. Numerous government documents, for example, make clear that these "trainees" are in fact in detention, despite propaganda efforts to paint them as attending "voluntarily". Phrases like "detained trainees" and "persons detained in re-education" frequently appear in the documents, including reports of government employees' visits to villages. In contrast to the "schools" shown in state media footage and selected for foreign diplomats and journalists to visit on their highly controlled tours to Xinjiang, the government-issued construction bids researched by Zenz feature heavily guarded, prison-like facilities that require high walls, barbed wire, watchtowers, elaborate internal camera systems, police stations and even bases for special police units. In Kashgar prefecture, for instance, all "vocational education and training centres" must be equipped with the so-called "five preventative measures" as demanded by the region's hardline Communist Party boss, Chen Quanguo. One of them is "escape prevention" – security requirements that also apply to Xinjiang's prisons. Zenz found abundant local county budgets and procurement bids indicating that large police or security guard units are hired for the camps. In one telling example, a county's 2019 budget state that its "training centres" employ 212 teaching staff, but more than twice as many security guards. In an effort to formalise the internment system, the Xinjiang government introduced a new administrative agency, the Education and Training Bureau, to oversee the camps and their detainees. The bureau and its local branches, the research paper says, are generally "listed along with other internal security and law enforcement agencies such as the courts, the inspection bureau, the public security organs and the justice system. Their budgets are part of domestic security budgets." The state's narrative emphasises the vocational, language and legal training "trainees" receive at the camps, but Zenz found at least five Xinjiang government or educational institution websites "clearly and unambiguously state that [they] are dedicated brainwashing institutions". A 2017 work report of Xinyuan county's justice bureau, for instance, states that re-education work must "wash brains, cleanse hearts, support the right, remove the wrong". Former detainees have told international media that they were forced to undergo political indoctrination, where they had to denounce their faith and pledge loyalty to the party. Facing growing global criticism, the Chinese government first denied the existence of "re-education camps" before defending them as "vocational education and training centres". Zenz's research has identified multiple forms of extrajudicial internment and re-education in Xinjiang, pointing to up to eight distinct types of facilities based on government documents like public bids. In some instances, the facilities differ only in name, while in others they come with different conditions and different levels of security. In the paper, Zenz also suggests a "speculative upper limit estimate" of 1.5 million detainees in the camps, based on the amount of food allowance subsidies for the "trainees" the Xinjiang government gave to the region's ethnic minority prefectures in 2018. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While Beijing's public relations drive has failed to quell critics of its policy in Xinjiang, no strong action has been taken by foreign governments beyond verbal condemnation. The South China Morning Post reported last month that US economic sanctions targeting Chinese officials responsible for the internment camps in Xinjiang has been held up by the Treasury Department for fears of jeopardising trade talks. "China's propaganda campaign to counter the substantial body of evidence-based research and many corroborating and consistent eyewitness statements has had some very unfortunate successes," Zenz wrote. "The lack of action by the international community has clearly served to embolden Beijing to proudly showcase its 'successful' counter-extremism operation, and to promote it and the related surveillance and security technology as a model for other nations to imitate." In the most recent example Zenz cited, Erken Tuniyaz, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang government, last week touted the "remarkable achievements" the camps have achieved to "educate and save those who were influenced by religious extremism and committed minor offences". "The trainees have gradually broken away from the spiritual control of terrorism and extremism and got to know what is legal and what is not. They have gained access to modern knowledge and information, learned basic practical skills and secured stable employment," Tuniyaz told the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland, last week. "Now, many trainees have graduated from the centers and live a happy life," state media quoted him as saying. ^ top ^
|
| Hongkong |
Hong Kong chief Carrie Lam seeks meeting with students after mass protests (HKFP)
2019-07-05
Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam has asked to meet with the city's university students, her office said on Thursday evening, as the embattled leader tries to fend off pressure from a month-long political crisis. Protesters stormed the local parliament on Monday, the 22nd anniversary of the city's return to Chinese rule. This followed mass demonstration last month against Lam's extradition bill, which critics fear could see Hong Kong citizens being sent for trial in the mainland. Lam said she has paused efforts to push for the bill, but protesters say that stops short of a full withdrawal. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Lam said: "the Chief Executive has recently started inviting young people of different backgrounds for a meeting, including university students and young people who have participated in recent protests." The student union at the Hong Kong University of Science andTechnology (HKUST), one of the eight major higher education institutions, has turned down the offer to meet, saying that the city's leader had requested a closed-door meeting. "The dialogue must be open to all Hong Kong citizens to participate, and allow everybody the right to speak," the union said in a statement published on Facebook. Lam's spokesperson said the chief executive hopes the HKUST student union will reconsider taking part in the meeting, which would be held in a "small-scale and closed-door manner" to facilitate an "in-depth and frank exchange of views." Students there repeated the opposition's request in recent weeks to investigate alleged police brutality against protesters, whom they said Lam should stop labelling "rioters". Introducing genuine universal suffrage was also on the list of demands. Students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, another of the eight higher education institutions, were also invited but have not yet decided, a source at the student union there said. ^ top ^
LegCo to halt operations until October (China Daily)
2019-07-04
Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said on Thursday that all LegCo meetings will be halted until October due to damage to the complex's fire safety, security and communication systems inflicted by protestors on Monday night. This will affect the deliberation of over 40 items of agenda for the LegCo finance committee, involving over HK$70 billion of appropriation, with most of these items concerning the city's livelihood, according to legislator and chairman of the finance committee, Chan Kin-por. Leung made the announcement after meeting with members from the LegCo Commission, which is in charge of providing office accommodation for lawmakers and staff of the Secretariat, in the Queensway Government Offices. Leung said the LegCo staff members are working hard to repair the damaged facilities, in a bid to resume meetings in October. But he admitted that there are lots of obstacles to achieving the goal. Meanwhile, Leung also said it's hard to find an appropriate venue capable of accommodating about 1,000 people for lawmakers to hold meetings. Leung disclosed that some documents, which contain information used for registration of LegCo's admission pass, were lost after the protests. But he noted that the lost documents contained no identification info and the situation was reported to the privacy commissioner for personal data. He expressed the hope that the red alert – which advised all people inside the LegCo to leave immediately – will be lifted in next week. Yet he expected that some of the public activities in the complex, like guided educational tours, will remain suspended for some time. ^ top ^
Lawyers in HK denounce takeover of legislature, see 'hidden agenda' (China Daily)
2019-07-04
Lawyers in Hong Kong joined the wide condemnation on Wednesday against the violent takeover of the city legislative chambers, saying in a statement that the takeover "had crossed the line of freedom of expression and could be deemed a political act with a hidden agenda". They called on the legal community to unite and send a clear message that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as a community that upholds the rule of law, will never tolerate violence. The statement represented more than 135 members of the legal community, including Maria Tam Waichu, deputy director of the Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The statement was read by barrister and lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun in front of the council's building, which police said was besieged, occupied and defaced by protesters on Monday night. Leung said radical protesters had attacked the "one country, two systems" principle by their actions after breaking into the legislative complex. Protesters were seen tearing up Basic Law documents, waving the colonial-era Hong Kong flag and defacing the city's regional emblem after they occupied the chamber, officials said. "That shows they were there with a cause," Leung said, adding that disturbing the public order for political reasons crossed the bottom line of the Hong Kong community. The statement also said the city will never acquiesce to violence, and extremist protesters must receive legal punishment. Joining Leung was barrister Kacee Ting Wong, who criticized lawyers of the city's opposition camp as turning a blind eye to violence. Ting said they had failed in their responsibility to safeguard and maintain the rule of law of Hong Kong's legal system. The Legislative Council building was still being repaired on Wednesday. Legislative officials estimated that repairing the damage could cost HK$50 million to HK$60 million ($6.4 million to $7.7 million). On Tuesday, the building was turned into a crime scene where police were busy collecting evidence. A worker employed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department told China Daily that more than 200 cleaning workers were sent to the area. Also on Tuesday, the Law Society of Hong Kong - a professional body representing more than 95 percent of lawyers in the region - issued a statement saying that the protesters had defiantly affronted the rule of law by breaking into the Legislative Council building by force, inflicting bodily harm on others and causing serious damage to the building. Their statement said there is a line separating the lawful exercise of constitutional rights and unlawful activity, which is and should be subject to sanctions and constraints. ^ top ^
Chinese ambassador urges Britain to reflect on words and deeds on Hong Kong affairs (Xinhua)
2019-07-04
Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming urged the British side to seriously reflect on its wrongful remarks and actions on Hong Kong and stop at once any types of interference in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs. During a press conference on Wednesday at the Chinese Embassy in Britain, Liu expounded China's firm position over the recent violent act of storming the Legislative Council Complex in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, stressing that China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes Britain's gross interference in Hong Kong affairs and domestic affairs of China. He told over 40 correspondents from 25 media outlets that the British government chose to stand on the wrong side. It has made inappropriate remarks not only to interfere in affairs of Hong Kong, but also to back up the violent law-breakers, the ambassador said. "What's more, the British side has attempted to interfere in Hong Kong's rule of law and obstruct Hong Kong authorities from bringing the criminals to justice," Liu added. Liu stressed that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, not under the British colonial rule, and Hong Kong affairs are absolutely China's internal affairs, which by no means tolerate the interference by any countries, groups and individuals. China has unwavering determination in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and interests in development and maintaining prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, Liu said, reiterating China's firm opposition to interference by external forces. The incident in Hong Kong was covered by massive reports worldwide, especially by British media. However, some of the reports are extremely biased and some are even malicious, he added. ^ top ^
|
| Taiwan |
High-powered talks between US, Taiwanese defence officials 'could become the new normal' (SCMP)
2019-07-04
High-level meetings between defence officials from the United States and Taiwan could become the "new normal" as the Pentagon seeks to increase its involvement with the self-ruled island, but US President Donald Trump is still seen as a "restraining force" on the issue, an American think tank has said. The National Committee on American Foreign Policy, a non-profit organisation based in New York, made the claims in a report published on Tuesday, following its annual conference in the city last month. The event was attended by academics and officials from mainland China and the United States. "The [US] defence department wants a more substantive role in arms sales," the report said. "Public high-level talks, such as the ones between [Taiwan's national security chief] David Lee and [White House national security adviser] John Bolton, could become the new normal." Lee met Bolton during a visit to the US in May. The meeting between senior US and Taiwanese security officials was the first of its kind in more than four decades, and it infuriated Beijing. While the United States does not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent country, under the Taiwan Relations Act Washington is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. The report said that as the negative sentiment towards mainland China had grown in the US, so too had support for Taiwan. However, despite Trump's often aggressive stance towards Beijing, "he has actually been a restraining force on Taiwan, having stepped in a few times to rein in other members of his government who are inclined to go even further" in their support, it said. A US delegate, who was not named, was quoted as saying that Trump's reluctance might be more to do with economics than politics. "President Trump is said not to have been impressed by the size of Taiwan's market," the person said. Whatever the opinions of the delegates, Trump approved more arms deals with Taipei in his first two years in office than either of his predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Among the Chinese attendees at the conference, which was held on June 11-12, were officials from the Chinese central government's Taiwan Affairs Office, including its vice-minister Chen Yuanfeng, and various academics. They were joined by various US scholars and officials, including Raymond Burghardt and Douglas Paal, both of whom served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the United States' de facto embassy on the island. Li Peng, director of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies at Xiamen University in southeast China's Fujian province, said it was important for Beijing and Washington to keep communication channels open on Taiwan to ensure tensions did not overheat. "Washington has deep-rooted perceptions about the Taiwan issue and is more influenced by Taiwan, so [mainland] China and the US need to keep communication channels open and advance understanding," he said. The conference itself could "help Beijing and Washington understand each other better, especially at a time when bilateral relations are very complicated", he said. The report quoted another unnamed Chinese speaker as saying he was worried that the United States' involvement in Taiwan could make it difficult for Beijing to convince its own people of the need to stick to peaceful means to resolve cross-strait tensions. Another delegate was quoted as saying that "outsiders" had no right to question Beijing's actions or policies regarding Taiwan, as it was an internal affair. On the subject of how Trump should handle Taiwan, Jia Qingguo, dean of the International Studies School at Peking University in Beijing, said that while the US had a legal obligation to help defend the island, the president also had to consider his relationship with Beijing. He said he hoped the president would maintain "a responsible attitude towards Taiwan issues, and not be overwhelmed by the hawkish voices". ^ top ^
Taipei's 'nonconformist' mayor Ko Wen-je tries to paint himself as person Beijing can trust despite past stance on independence (SCMP)
2019-07-04
Taipei's mayor Ko Wen-je, a possible presidential candidate, has presented himself as someone Beijing can trust by offering himself as an alternative to traditional mainland-friendly politicians. The independent, once seen as a hardline pro-independence supporter, received a warm welcome during a three-day visit to Shanghai this week after adopting what one observer described as a "nonconformist" stance towards cross-strait relations. Ko, who led a high-powered delegation of businessmen, councillors and officials from the city, told a forum on Thursday that it was important to maintain friendly ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait because they belonged to "one big family." "Cross-strait engagement must be consistent and guided by a stable policy with respect for past interaction and agreements signed by the two sides," Ko told the 10th twin city forum between Taipei and Shanghai. "The two sides should continue to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations in line with the existing basis," he said, adding that better relations could only be achieved through "mutual recognition, understanding, respect, cooperation and consideration". In an apparent clarification of his stance, Ko said he wanted to promote cross-strait relations because he believed maintaining peace was of paramount importance. "With more than two million Taiwanese living on the mainland and some 400,000 mainland Chinese in Taiwan, plus several million mainlanders visiting Taiwan, the two sides must further boost their interactions and relations," he said. Ko said he wanted to use the twin city forum as a channel to create better understanding between the two sides and resolve the cross-strait stalemate that has been in place since 2016. Relations have turned sour since Tsai Ing-wen, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle as the basis for the relationship between the two sides. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a wayward province that must return to the mainland fold – by force if necessary – suspended official exchanges with the island. It has also conducted a series of war games in the Taiwan Strait and poached three of Taiwan's last remaining allies in an attempt to force Tsai to adopt the principle. In return, Tsai has taken a tougher stance towards the mainland, banning former senior officials from visiting it for at least three years after leaving their posts and fining Taiwanese citizens for accepting jobs working for mainland government, military and political organisations. "The fact that Ko has been given a warm reception on the mainland reflects that his engagement approach is effective," said Wang Kung-yi, a professor of political science at Chinese Culture University in Taipei. "He has successfully presented himself as someone that Beijing might be able to trust due to his relatively nonconformist stand towards certain key cross-strait issues," Wang said. In January, Chinese president Xi Jinping called for the two sides to hold unification talks under the "one country, two systems" model applied to Hong Kong and Macau – only to be rebuffed by Tsai, whose poll ratings have been boosted by a strain of anti-mainland sentiment. That mood appears to have intensified following the recent extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, and even politicians from the traditionally mainland-friendly Kuomintang opposition have criticised the way the Hong Kong and Beijing governments have responded to the protests. But Ko has remained relatively lukewarm when commenting on the issue. "It is all because Ko is aware that there is a large sector of people who are neither pro-KMT nor pro-DPP and they are either sick of the political struggle between the two parties or view the economy as more important than politics," said Doong Sy-chi, director of foreign policy studies at Taiwan Thinktank. "They would give their support to Ko if he chooses to run for president." Doong also argued that while Ko has shown his ability to handle cross-strait affairs, he had been rather cautious during his visit in Shanghai and had not actually said anything that most Taiwanese would resent. Wang expected Ko to reveal whether he will run for president after the KMT completes its primaries on July 14. "Various opinion polls have shown that Ko has more than 20 per cent of support from voters if he runs, and he could play a key role in the January's presidential poll regardless of whether he runs or not," Wang noted. ^ top ^
Taiwan bars retired top officials from 'political events' backed by Beijing (SCMP)
2019-07-03
Taiwan's legislature has approved a bill that restricts retired senior officials from attending political events organised by Beijing in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, a move critics say is an abuse of human rights. The passage of the bill on Wednesday is the latest in a series of legislative efforts that advocates said was meant to stem Beijing's influence and safeguard the security of the self-ruled island. But critics said the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party government was using the bill to improve its prospects in January's presidential election. Under the legislation, officials retired from positions at or above the level of a deputy minister or major general will be barred for life from attending political events and gatherings organised by Beijing either on or outside the mainland. Barred activities include celebratory events and political rallies held by the mainland authorities, its military and political parties. Saluting, chanting slogans or voicing anthems in front of flags and emblems representing Beijing's sovereignty are also strictly prohibited. "Violators will be stripped of their pensions or slapped with up to NT$10 million (US$322,300) in fines," according to revisions to a law governing relations between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Those who breach the law could also lose medals, citations, prizes, licences, and certificates conferred on them. The revised bill also bans other officials from visiting the mainland within three years of stepping down from their jobs. Serving officials permitted to go to the mainland must report to various authorities before and after their trip – as is the case with officials who have retired or resigned from the defence, foreign, science and technology, intelligence, security and mainland affairs departments. They must state the purpose of their visit, their itineraries and the people they will be in contact with before and after their mainland visits. Legislators from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang said the legislation did not clearly define political activities and was meant to stop former officials from the KMT from visiting the mainland and showcasing their ability to handle ties with Beijing. In May, Tsai rejected former president Ma Ying-jeou's application to visit the mainland just as the three-year ban on his visits ended. The DPP also extended the moratorium for former presidents, vice-presidents, premiers and vice-premiers from three years to five years. "The Tsai government is trying to use the bill to hamper the KMT in January's presidential poll in the name of protecting Taiwan's security," KMT legislator Lai Shyh-bao said. Lin Wei-chou, also a KMT lawmaker, said: "Tsai Ing-wen and her DPP have all claimed they promote human rights and freedom of advocacy, but what they did in the legislation was a serious violation of human rights and freedom of advocacy." But DPP legislator Wang Ting-yu said the authorities had to tighten the island's security in the face of Beijing's hostility to Taipei. "Besides, the restriction is to uphold national dignity so that retired generals will not bow to China's flag and anthem," Wang said. DPP legislative caucus chief Ker Chien-ming said the revision was the "last of five items of legislation aimed at safeguarding Taiwan's security and preventing Beijing from using locals for spying and united front missions". Since March, the legislature has revised five security and cross-strait related laws, expanding restrictions and increasing penalties for violations. People can be imprisoned for at least seven years and fined of up to NT$100 million for spying for the mainland. They can also lose their Taiwanese citizenship if they work for or sign agreements with the mainland's government, military or political-related organisations. Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that must return to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. It has suspended official exchanges with Taiwan since Tsai took office in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle. In return, Tsai has tightened up Taiwanese private contacts and exchanges with the mainland, insisting a loosening policy would only result in massive infiltration and security attacks on the island. ^ top ^
|
| Economy |
Are China's capital flight controls raising investment risks and cutting returns for Chinese investors? (SCMP)
2019-07-04
China should gradually remove its currency controls to let citizens diversify their investments internationally to hedge against a slowing domestic economy that threatens to erode investments and the country's massive savings, Naoyuki Yoshino, dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute has urged. The nation's foreign exchange regulator, the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges (SAFE), has imposed draconian capital controls in recent years to keep money onshore to prevent a sharp decline in the yuan's exchange rate. Every Chinese citizen is only allowed to exchange up to US$50,000 in foreign currency a year at their bank, and also faces major hurdles to buying foreign exchange within that quota. Such restrictions on the movement of money meant that Chinese individuals and companies are limited to investing domestically, making their portfolio allocations risky, Yoshino said. Their risks cannot be mitigated by diversifying into rising foreign equity markets, or into economies that are growing faster and deliver better investment returns. "The Chinese people are losing money already because capital outflows have been shut down," Yoshino said. "If the Chinese economy suffers from low economic growth, then all the Chinese people will suffer." China's national savings rate stood at 45.7 per cent in December 2018, compared with the global average of 20 per cent and emerging country average of 15 per cent, according to International Monetary Fund data. Although the temporary trade war truce reached between the US and China at the G20 summit over the weekend pointed towards a de-escalation of trade tensions, the downward pressure on aggregate demand in China would continue, said Helen Qiao, chief Greater China economist and head of Asia-Pacific economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Qiao has forecast overall Chinese economic growth to slow from 6.6 per cent in 2018 to 6.1 per cent this year and 6.0 per cent in 2020. At the same time, a survey of 465 wealthy individuals by Shanghai-based research firm Hurun early this year reported that only one-third of China's rich people said they were confident in the country's economic prospects, down from nearly two-thirds two years ago. Those who had no confidence at all rose to 14 per cent, more than double the level of 2018. As China's economic growth slows, the pressure on capital to flow out, disguised in various forms to circumvent currency restrictions, is also increasing. One popular way among many wealthy Chinese is to bring money abroad to purchase foreign investment products and real estate in Australia, the United States and New Zealand, Europe and Britain. About 10 per cent of the wealth of China's high-net-worth individuals was currently kept offshore, according to a report by international consultancy McKinsey in May. The private wealth of Chinese citizens was expected to reach 158 trillion yuan (US$23 trillion) by 2021, it added. Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Qiao said the opening up of the domestic capital market had so far been one-sided, which encouraged inflows but kept a lid on capital flight to maximise the effectiveness of China's monetary policy easing and ensure its cash stays within its borders. Amid the slowing economic growth and growing pressure among businesses for capital, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang this week said that China would continue targeted cuts in banks' reserve requirements and seek to lower real interest rates to help reduce funding costs for small firms. Analysts said that while Beijing may keep tight currency controls in place for now, it was likely, in the longer run, to allow two-way capital movement and ease restrictions to invest overseas as the capital flight pressure builds up. The controls, which limited Chinese people's investment options, said ADBI's Yoshino, had already helped fuel a property bubble. With the risk of the US economy decoupling from China lurking, Beijing may be more determined to internationalise the yuan and cut off its reliance on the use of the US dollar, said Michael Every, Asia-Pacific senior strategist at Rabobank. Dismantling currency restrictions may help push payments to foreign countries in the Chinese currency for its purchases of oil and food. "If China cannot get hold of US dollars any more because of a divorce from the US, then how are they going to pay for things?" Every said. "People will have to say the capital controls will have to come down as we want the [yuan] to be used internationally. If the [yuan] is to be used internationally you have to be able to move it [out of the country]." The yuan's share of global international payments was 1.2 per cent in April, compared to the US dollar's 47 per cent, according to data from global financial messaging provider Swift. ^ top ^
US should start manipulating the dollar, Donald Trump says, accusing China and Europe of playing 'big currency manipulation game' (SCMP)
2019-07-04
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China and Europe of playing a "big currency manipulation game" and said the United States should match that effort – a move that directly contradicts official US policy not to manipulate the dollar's value to gain trade advantages. In a tweet, the president said that if America did not "match" China and Europe, the country would continue "being the dummies who sit back and politely watch as other countries continue to play their games – as they have for so many years". Trump's own Treasury Department in May found that no country met the criteria of being labelled a currency manipulator, although the report did put China and eight other countries on a watch list. A country manipulates its currency when it drives down the value to make its exports cheaper and imports more expensive. As a candidate in 2016, Trump repeatedly charged that China was manipulating its currency and as president he would immediately label China as a currency manipulator. However, after taking office, Trump's Treasury Department has issued five reports on the subject, required by law every six months. In each report it said no country met the criteria to be labelled a currency manipulator. Trump's tweet seemed to have no impact on currency markets, a situation that would likely change if US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin began threatening to use currency manipulation to drive down the dollar's value. The treasury secretary has the job of commenting on the dollar's value and also implementing intervention to buy or sell dollars in currency markets to influence the dollar's value. US administrations for decades have pledged in international communiques not to intervene in currency markets for the purpose of influencing trade flows. A weaker dollar would boost US exports but could run the risk of causing foreign investors who are helping to finance the federal government's US$22 trillion national debt to move their investments elsewhere to avoid the risk of currency depreciation lowering their returns. ^ top ^
China opens more sectors to foreign investment with new negative lists (Xinhua)
2019-06-30
China on Sunday rolled out revised negative lists for foreign investment market access, introducing greater opening-up and allowing foreign investors to run majority-share-controlling or wholly-owned businesses in more sectors. With the approval of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) released two negative lists of 2019. The two lists, one for the piloted free trade zones (FTZ) and one for the rest of the country, contain fewer access-limiting measures. Pilot FTZs now have 37 listed items for foreign investors, down from 45, while non-FTZ areas are required to implement 40 items instead of 48. They will go into effect on July 30, and market access restrictions not on the negative lists will be fully lifted before the end of this year, said an official with the NDRC. The negative lists for market access outline sectors, fields and businesses off-limits for investors. Industries, fields and businesses not on the lists are open for investment to all market players. Chinese authorities revise the negative lists for market access on an annual basis. The 2018 versions were released last December. The newly revised negative lists fully demonstrate China's unswerving determination to expand its opening-up, the official said. The service sector will see greater opening-up in transport, infrastructure, culture, and value-added telecommunications. The restriction that domestic shipping agencies must be controlled by the Chinese side will be scrapped. The restriction that gas and heat pipelines in cities with a population of more than 500,000 shall be controlled by the Chinese side will be lifted. The restriction that cinemas and performance brokerage institutions must be controlled by the Chinese side will be rescinded. The restriction on foreign investment in domestic multi-party communications, store-and-forward and call center services will be canceled. Market access will be eased in agriculture, mining and manufacturing industries. Prohibition on foreign investment in the exploitation of wildlife resources will be abolished. Restrictions on the exploration and development of petroleum and natural gas are limited to Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures or non-equity joint ventures will be canceled, as well as the prohibition on foreign investment in the exploration and exploitation of molybdenum, tin, antimony and fluorite. In the manufacturing sector, the ban on foreign investment in the production of Xuan paper and ink ingots will be lifted. On the basis of nationwide opening-up measures, the 2019 version of the pilot FTZ negative list for foreign investment has lifted restrictions on foreign investment in areas such as aquatic products fishing and publication printing. The continuous expansion of market access and the introduction of various policies to promote foreign investment have injected new impetus into the development of an open economy, promoted the steady growth of foreign capital inflows and enhanced the long-term confidence of transnational corporations, said an official with the NDRC. The NDRC and the MOC also released a revised catalog of industries that encourage foreign investment on Sunday. It is expected to give better play to the positive role of foreign investment in China's industrial development, technological progress and structural optimization. China attracted a record high foreign direct investment (FDI) of 138.3 billion U.S. dollars last year, bucking a global trend of FDI slide. In the first five months of this year, the country saw an FDI inflow of 54.6 billion dollars, up 3.7 percent year on year. ^ top ^
|
| DPRK |
Australia warns student Alek Sigley not to return to North Korea after mysterious detention (SCMP)
2019-07-05
Australia's government warned a student not to return to North Korea on Friday, a day after he was released from detention by Pyongyang under mysterious circumstances. Alek Sigley, who flew to Tokyo on Thursday to join his Japanese wife, had been studying in the North Korean capital and had been missing since June 25. "My advice would be pretty clear, I would stay in Japan. I would go back to South Korea… I would come back to Australia," Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network. "All of those would have to be better options before he returns to North Korea," Dutton said. "I don't think he will put himself back in that situation … it could have ended up very differently." Sigley left North Korea on Thursday and flew to Beijing, where he was met by Australian officials for the flight to Tokyo. He declined to comment to a throng of reporters at Haneda Airport, only making a peace sign before being taken away. It is still not clear why he was detained by the secretive North. The details of his release were also not known. Swedish authorities helped secure Sigley's release because Australia has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on other countries to act on its behalf. The Swedish diplomat who helped secure Sigley's release, Kent Harstedt, told Reuters by phone he could not divulge details of the detention. "The only thing I can say is that we welcome that North Korea was prepared to listen to our arguments and that this could be resolved so quickly – I think this is good for all parties concerned," said Harstedt, who was pictured with Sigley at Beijing airport on Thursday. Sweden increased its engagement with North Korea in 2017 at the height of tensions between Pyongyang and Washington. Donald Trump became the first incumbent US president to set foot in North Korea when he met its leader, Kim Jong-un, in the region's demilitarised zone on Sunday in an attempt to resume stalled nuclear talks. ^ top ^
North Korea says US 'hell-bent on hostile acts' despite wanting to talk (SCMP)
2019-07-04
North Korea's mission to the United Nations accused the United States on Wednesday of being "more and more hell-bent on hostile acts" against Pyongyang, despite US President Donald Trump wanting talks between the two countries. In a statement, the mission said it was responding to a US accusation that Pyongyang breached a cap on refined petroleum imports and a letter that it said was sent on June 29 by the US, France, Germany and Britain to all UN member states urging them to implement sanctions against North Korea. "What can't be overlooked is the fact that this joint letter game was carried out by the permanent mission of the United States to the UN under instruction of the State Department, on the very same day when President Trump proposed for the summit meeting," the statement said. Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea on Sunday when he met leader Kim Jong-un in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. The pair agreed to resume stalled talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programme. The North Korean UN mission said the June 29 letter to UN member states "speaks to the reality that the United States is practically more and more hell-bent on the hostile acts against the DPRK, though talking about the DPRK-US dialogue". North Korea is formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. The US backed by dozens of allies, told a council sanction committee last month that North Korea had breached an annual UN cap of 500,000 barrels imposed in December 2017, mainly through transfers between ships at sea. Washington wanted the 15-member North Korea sanctions committee to demand an immediate halt to deliveries of refined petroleum to North Korea. However, Pyongyang allies Russia and China delayed the move. The letter from the United States, Germany, Britain and France cited by North Korea's UN mission was actually dated June 27. It urges all UN member states to comply with Security Council sanctions requiring the repatriation of all North Korean workers by December 22, 2019. "It is quite ridiculous for the United States to continue to behave obsessed with sanctions and pressure campaign against the DPRK, considering sanctions as a panacea for all problems," the North Korean UN mission said on Wednesday. Following Sunday's meeting between Kim and Trump, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a new round of denuclearisation talks would likely happen "sometime in July … probably in the next two or three weeks" and North Korea's negotiators would be foreign ministry diplomats. The US and other UN Security Council members have said there must be strict enforcement of sanctions until Pyongyang acts, while Russia and China have suggested the council discuss easing the measures. "All UN member states will have to keep vigilance against deliberate attempts by the United States to undermine the peaceful atmosphere that has been created on the Korean peninsula in no easy way," the North Korean statement said. ^ top ^
China reaffirms support for gradual easing of North Korea sanctions (SCMP)
2019-07-02
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US leader Donald Trump to show "flexibility" and act in a "timely" fashion to ease sanctions on North Korea at the G20 summit last week – echoing Pyongyang's high-stakes nuclear demands to Washington – according to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "[Xi] pushed for the US to show flexibility and meet the DPRK halfway, including the timely easing of sanctions against the DPRK and finding a solution to each other's concerns through dialogue," Wang said in Beijing on Tuesday, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. His comments came just a few days after Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday at Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone dividing North and South Korea. Trump reaffirmed the international sanctions regime on North Korea, while the two leaders agreed that working-level talks on denuclearisation would resume. Wang said China welcomed the meeting between Trump and Kim, describing the situation on the peninsula as a "rare opportunity for peace". He dismissed speculation that the surprise meeting had undermined Beijing's influence over the region. "We hope that the political will of the leaders of the two countries can be translated into substantive progress in dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible," he said. Xi earlier gave strong backing to Pyongyang during his first state visit to North Korea, in a move that could alter the power dynamic on the Korean peninsula, and thus China's leverage during the trade showdown with the United States. Cheong Seong-chang, director of the unification strategy studies programme at private think tank the Sejong Institute in South Korea, said Kim might have built up a certain level of confidence in his regime's security after Xi's visit to Pyongyang. "Xi pledged economic cooperation and a security guarantee to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang's continued effort on denuclearisation negotiations," Cheong said, adding that Xi's vow would have increased Kim's confidence in his regime's survival, which would ultimately facilitate the next rounds of the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits. Although China was absent from the historic scenes at Panmunjom on Sunday, Beijing's influence was evident, with the meeting taking place hard on the heels of Xi's visit to Pyongyang and his discussion with Trump the previous day, where the issue was discussed, according to analysts. Wang's call for a "timely" easing of sanctions is in line with Pyongyang's own definition of denuclearisation – a phased and synchronised "action-for-action" approach occurring during the process of the North's nuclear disarmament, rather than waiting for complete denuclearisation. The approach would serve to speed up Kim's economic development agenda. During Kim's visit to Dalian in northeast China last year, he expressed his hope to Xi that the relevant sides would take "phased and synchronous measures" to "achieve denuclearisation and lasting peace on the peninsula". The sanctions against North Korea are also hurting China's northeast, with the local economy feeling the impact of the clampdown on North Korean labour and seafood. In a meeting with Kim before his return to Beijing, Xi said China was determined to support North Korea's new "strategic path", and pledged to work with Pyongyang to achieve a "political resolution" to the nuclear issue. Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies and director of the Institute of North Korea at Dongguk University in Seoul, said "China's engagement in the peace process is a constructive one". "Xi confirmed Kim's determination on denuclearisation, and passed that message to Trump in Osaka … It is true that Xi has contributed to facilitate the recent [Trump-Kim] meeting," Koh said, adding that Beijing was more likely as a result to secure a seat at the table for any future peace treaty. Koh also said Beijing's support for Pyongyang's preferred approach to denuclearisation might be its own way of calling on other parties to take a more "realistic approach". ^ top ^
|
| Mongolia |
President Kh.Battulga meets President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Montsame)
2019-07-05
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga today received delegates of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) led by its President Francesco Rocca. At the beginning of the meeting, President Battulga extended congratulations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the IFRC and the 80th anniversary of the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRSC). President Battulga expressed gratitude to the IFRC for its continued humanitarian assistance provided to Mongolia through the MRSC in times of disaster and had a discussion on close bilateral cooperation in disaster risk reduction. In particular, the sides exchanged views on issues regarding the increasing frequency of earthquakes in Mongolia, as well as the risks of dzud, flood, drought, and wildfire that are driven by climate change, and ways to reduce the impact of these hazards. Mr. Rocca expressed his readiness to continue the discussion at his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia and prioritize the President's suggestions and proposals in future cooperation. Mr. Rocca also appreciated the adoption of the Law on the Legal Status of the Mongolian Red Cross Society, saying that it was a model legislation for the IFRC member countries. ^ top ^
President of the Swiss National Council works in Uvs aimag (Montsame)
2019-07-02
Delegates led by President of the Swiss National Council Ms. Marina Carobbio Guscetti worked in Uvs aimag on June 26-29. The aimag authorities received the delegates to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation as well as other matters. Various projects are implemented in Mongolia to ensure food safety, develop the agricultural sector, diversify the economy, enhance vocational education and training, boost the participation of aimag authorities and citizens and improve governance by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Thus, in the framework of the official visit to Mongolia, the delegates became acquainted with the implementation and the progress of the projects. On June 27, they held a meeting with representatives of artisanal miners and the farmers involved in the Mongolian Vegetable project to hear their opinions. The delegates consisted of Director of Cooperation and Consul General at SDC Gabriella Spirli, staff in charge of politics of the Embassy of Switzerland in China and other corresponding officials. ^ top ^
President of the Swiss National Council Marina Carobbio Guscetti works in Khovd aimag (Montsame)
2019-07-02
President of the Swiss National Council Marina Carobbio Guscetti worked in Khovd aimag between June 30 and July 2. She held a meeting with the authorities of Khovd aimag as well as the representatives of the project team to discuss the progress and results of projects implemented in the aimag, and further partnership. In the past 15 years since the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation began to implement projects in Khovd aimag, over 30 projects such as 'Coping with Desertification', 'Youth Employment Promotion', and 'Sustainable Artisanal Mining' have been implemented in Khovd aimag. 17 projects are being implemented currently. During the meeting, the representatives led by Ms. Marina Carobbio Guscetti expressed that the project duration will be extended, and they will work in partnership with the authorities in paying more attention to the implementation of the Green Gold project on the sustainable management of pasture and healthy animals. ^ top ^
|
|
Jennia Jin
Embassy of Switzerland
|
The Press review is a random selection
of political and social related news gathered from various media
and news services located in the PRC, edited or translated by
the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and distributed among Swiss
Government Offices. The Embassy does not accept responsibility
for accuracy of quotes or truthfulness of content. Additionally
the contents of the selected news mustn't correspond to the opinion
of the Embassy.
|
|
|
|
