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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
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DPRK
Mongolia
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| Foreign Policy |
China, Japan to restart strategic talks after seven years suspension (Global Times)
2019-08-09
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that China will hold a new round of strategic dialogue with Japan after a seven-year hiatus of the bilateral talks, covering a wide range of topics. The good momentum of bilateral high-level exchanges is set to bring closer economic cooperation between the world's second- and third- largest economies amid a bruising China-US trade war, according to experts. China and Japan will hold a new round of strategic dialogue on Saturday in Japan, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday. The dialogue will be co-hosted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba, Hua said. China hopes to enhance mutual political trust and promote the improvement and development of bilateral relations through the dialogue, Hua added. "This is the resumption of the dialogue after seven years." The resumption of strategic dialogue shows good momentum of bilateral high-level exchanges that have been launched since the top leaders of the two countries met in Osaka, Japan ahead of the G20 Summit, and warming bilateral ties are set to boost the recovering economic cooperation between the two nations, experts said. "Economic cooperation between China and Japan has great potential, and now the two countries share a common stance of maintaining and improving the current multilateralism in global trade against US' rising unilateralism," Chen Zilei, director of the Research Center for Japanese Economics at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Promising opportunities lie in many sectors and there are lots of things to do for the two sides. The two countries could enhance financial and trade cooperation," Chen said, listing sectors like currency swaps, stock market interconnections and third-party market development. Bilateral trade has picked up in the past two years after a long decline, but the current level of trade is still below the peak, Zhang Jifeng, vice director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.Japan was the fourth-largest trade partner of China in the first seven months of 2019. The total trade volume of the two countries increased 1 percent to 1.21 trillion yuan ($171.7 billion), accounting for 6.9 percent of China's total foreign trade, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Yearly trade between China and Japan has the potential to reach $500 billion, if the two countries can implement the consensus reached by their leaders and economic cooperation can be enhanced, Zhang said. An improving China-Japan relationship will greatly benefit both sides, and closer economic cooperation with China can provide Japan with a strong driver for economic growth, Zhang said.Japan should cherish the hard-won good relationship with China and make concrete efforts to improve bilateral ties, Zhang added. ^ top ^
Will India's new line on Kashmir derail ties with China? (SCMP)
2019-08-08
A fresh row between Beijing and New Delhi over India's decision to split the hotly contested region of Kashmir into two territories could cast fresh uncertainty over bilateral ties amid signs of both improvement and growing strategic competition. But analysts from both countries remained optimistic that the latest irritant would not throw bilateral ties off track. Parts of Kashmir are claimed by the two regional giants as well as India's arch-rival Pakistan, and the dispute is one of a number of border issues that have for decades dogged relations between Beijing and New Delhi. On Tuesday, China's foreign ministry voiced "serious concern" about a highly contentious move a day earlier by India's parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party, to split the state of Jammu and Kashmir – which includes the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh area – into two federal territories. Jammu and Kashmir will have a state legislature, and Ladakh – which includes Aksai Chin, a Chinese-claimed and held disputed territory – will be ruled directly by New Delhi. Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the decision to create a separate territory for Ladakh was unacceptable and undermined China's territorial sovereignty. New Delhi hit back at Beijing, saying that "India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise". The tensions come as the two countries continue to emerge from the shadow of the 2017 border dispute at the Himalayan town of Doklam. Is Narendra Modi's Kashmir gamble a wise decision, or historic blunder? A series of high-level China-India exchanges are planned for the coming weeks, including a visit to China on Sunday by Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Observers say his trip is expected to pave the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping's informal summit with Modi in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on October 12. Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, said China's protest busted a widely disseminated fiction on the Kashmir dispute. "The original princely state of Jammu and Kashmir is divided not just between India and Pakistan. China occupies one-fifth of the original Jammu and Kashmir state," he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in India later this year. Chellaney said the Aksai Chin Plateau, a sparsely populated area about the size of Switzerland in China's western Xinjiang region, was part of the new Ladakh federal territory. "China not only holds Aksai Chin but also lays claim to several other areas in Ladakh. Chinese military incursions into Ladakh have increased in recent years," he said. Madhav Das Nalapat, director of the Department of Geopolitics at India's Manipal University, said Beijing should not treat his country as an inferior power to be "lectured to on matters that are wholly within its own purview and competence". The parliamentary move on Monday was widely seen as an attempt by Modi, emboldened by the recent election victory, to have greater control over Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state and the main source of conflict between India and Pakistan. Protests erupt over India's Kashmir move, China voices opposition It was widely hailed by many Indians in the Hindu-dominated country, including former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, who called it a "bold and historic" accomplishment that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, failed to achieve."Beijing's comments on India's domestic decision to fulfil the long-pending demand of the people of Ladakh for administrative separation from Kashmir have harmed the trajectory of Sino-Indian relations," he said. But Chinese analysts challenged the Modi government's stance that Kashmir was a domestic issue. Zhao Gancheng, a researcher with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said that while India's move appeared to be a change to its domestic law, any attempt to alter the status of Kashmir had international implications, including for Pakistan, which condemned the move as an infringement of a United Nations resolution on the question of Kashmir's sovereignty. «Without consulting China or Pakistan in advance, Modi's move, largely based on his domestic political needs, has further complicated the relations with China," Zhao said. «But their different stances on long-lasting border disputes are nothing new and it does not necessarily mean their relations would deteriorate inevitably if both sides manage their conflicting interests well. «Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, a visiting fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Beijing's remarks were directed at a domestic audience. «I guess, we should not read too much from each and every statement. India and China have moved from the Doklam episode and leaders of both the countries are committed to strengthen relations and to iron out differences. There are several mechanisms between the two countries," he said. China calls India's move to scrap Kashmir's special status 'not acceptable' and not binding. Both Zhao and Wang Dehua, an expert on India at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said that with no solutions to their bitter, decades-old border issues in sight, the priority for both countries remained how to prevent their widening competition from spiralling out of control. «I'm confident that bilateral ties will not be affected by lingering border disputes and other strategic differences, especially amid the escalating rivalry between China and the United States," Wang said. Experts said other outstanding issues, such as how to deal with China's telecoms giant Huawei, were also unlikely to stand in the way of better bilateral ties. This file photo taken on July 10, 2008 shows a Chinese soldier gesturing next to an Indian soldier at the Nathu La border crossing between India and China in India's northeastern Sikkim state. On Tuesday, Hua from the foreign ministry expressed hope that India would make an "independent and objective" judgment on permitting Huawei to take part in 5G trials and services in the country. Chaturvedy said: "My understanding is that Chinese phone companies, including Huawei, are doing well in India. There is a group in India that is suspicious of China, but policies are decided on larger interests of the country. While there may be some concerns, those could be resolved through discussions." Chellaney also said the real issue for India on Huawei was to balance the lopsided trade relationship with China, which was more than US$60 billion a year in China's favour. Additional reporting by Keegan Elmer. ^ top ^
Chinese envoy deeply regrets, firmly opposes U.S. withdrawal from INF Treaty (Xinhua)
2019-08-07
Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, Li Song, on Tuesday said China deeply regrets and firmly opposes the United States' withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in disregard of international opposition.Li Song presented China's position and proposition on the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty at the Conference on Disarmament. Since the U.S. officially announced its withdrawal on Aug. 2, Li said that senior officials of the U.S. Defense Department have publicly stated that the U.S. will seek to resume the development and deployment of the intermediate-range missiles. This fully demonstrates that the withdrawal from the INF Treaty is another negative move by the U.S. to pursue unilateralism in disregard of its international commitments, the Chinese envoy said. "Its real intention is to make the Treaty no longer binding on itself so that it can unilaterally seek military and strategic edge," Li said."If the U.S. adopts the above irresponsible unilateral measures, it will severely undermine global strategic balance and stability, intensify tensions in international relations, undermine strategic mutual trust of major countries, disrupt international nuclear disarmament and arms control processes, and threaten peace and security in relevant regions," the Chinese envoy added. Li said that like the vast majority of members of the international community, China is deeply concerned about the negative developments.While withdrawing from the INF Treaty, the U.S. declared that the U.S.-Russian bilateral nuclear disarmament era has ended, and once again raised the issue of China's participation in multilateral nuclear arms control negotiations with the U.S. and Russia. "The U.S. claim is a complete diversion from international attention. China has no intention to participate in such negotiations and will not be made part of it," Li said. The Chinese envoy stressed that China's nuclear strategy for self-defense is completely transparent; its nuclear policy is highly responsible, its nuclear arsenal is extremely limited in scale, and never poses threats to international peace and security."China did not, does not and will not engage in any nuclear arms race with any country," Li noted. The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 between the former Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles. The scrap of the treaty threatens to drag the two major military powers back into a Cold-War-style arms race. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement expressing his "deep regret" at the ending of the INF treaty, and warned that "the world will lose an invaluable brake on nuclear war". Li Song called on the international community to stay clear of the grave consequences of the U.S. withdrawal, and to prevent the U.S. from shifting its own special and primary responsibilities in nuclear disarmament under any pretext. The Chinese envoy urged the U.S. to exercise restraint, not to take actions that undermine the security interests of other countries, fulfill its due international responsibilities as a major power and earnestly safeguard the global and regional peace and security. He stressed that this is the common voice of the international community. Li pointed out that China supports and encourages the U.S. and Russia to maintain dialogue on strategic security and bilateral nuclear disarmament issues and make their necessary efforts to extend the new start. The differences between the U. S. and Russia on the implementation of the nuclear disarmament treaties should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, Li said, adding that it is neither right nor possible to address them by withdrawing from or breaching the treaties. "As the powers possessing the largest nuclear arsenals, the U.S. and Russia are obliged to continue substantially reducing their nuclear arsenals in a verifiable, irreversible and legally binding manner," the Chinese diplomat noted. He stressed that it is the important guarantee for maintaining global strategic stability, international peace and security, and the international arms control and non-proliferation regime, which will also create the necessary conditions for advancing the multilateral nuclear disarmament process. ^ top ^
China takes aim at the US for the first time in its defence white paper (SCMP)
2019-08-07
China's official documents are renowned for being lengthy, lacking content, with repetitive rhetoric, orthodox ideology and ambiguous policy. This has largely been the case for China's defence white papers, released once every two years since 1998. However, the 10th defence white paper, published on July 24, deserves attention, given that it contains significant updates and fresh ideas. The 51-page document, titled "China's National Defence in the New Era", is the first detailed response to a host of US defence policy statements. Washington has thrown down the gauntlet to Beijing, with several key policy statements – its 2017 national security strategy, the 2018 national defence strategy and the 2019 report on Chinese military power – having effectively made China its primary strategic competitor. The new Chinese defence paper describes the United States military in Asia as destabilising, as the US recasts its security architecture in the Asia-Pacific and hews its strategic horizons to the Indo-Pacific concept. For the first time, Beijing acknowledges the US strategic shift from the "war on terror" to its rivalry with China and Russia. It acknowledges the competition between the world's sole superpower and the fast-rising one. The paper points out that the US is building and relocating its military assets in the Western Pacific, with multilateral naval exercises with Japan, Australia, India and European navies. "The US has adjusted its national security and defence strategies. It has provoked and intensified competition among major countries," the white paper states. In a significant update on the 2010 white paper's explanation of China's defence spending, the latest document suggests that each of the three categories – personnel, training and maintenance, and equipment – accounts for roughly a third of total expenditure. It documents an unprecedented emphasis on maritime defence, with a call to "build a combined, multifunctional and efficient marine combat force structure". It also emphasised China's growing power projection capabilities and suggested a significant military strategy shift from "near seas defence" to "the combination of near seas defence and far seas protection". The "far seas" strategy is to help China become a maritime power. At the Communist Party's 18th congress in 2012, the leadership took on board the ideas of American historian Alfred Thayer Mahan to declare China's ambition to "build itself into a maritime power". Since he came to power, President Xi Jinping, who is also commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army, has spared no effort in speeding up the building of a world-class military with a focus on expanding its blue-water fleet. From 2014-2018, Beijing launched naval vessels with a total weight of 678,000 tonnes, more than the French, German, Indian, Italian, South Korean, Spanish and Taiwanese navies combined, according to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Training, not hardware, key to military preparedness, Chinese veteran warnsLast year, the Chinese navy overtook the US Navy to become the world's largest, with more than 300 ships, compared with the 287 vessels comprising the deployable battle force of the US Navy. China will have at least six aircraft carrier battle groups by 2035, which might provide the first real challenge to the dominance of US carrier strike groups in the world.The white paper repeats the rhetoric that China will never seek to become a hegemonic power, but also reflects an unabashed party-led effort to build a world-class military with formidable and advanced capabilities. It delivers the message that Beijing would brook no domestic or foreign challenge to its self-assigned historic mission. Obviously, Beijing's short-term strategic objective is to become a pre-eminent power in the Asia-Pacific, and in the longer term, a global one, to challenge the decades-long US dominance. As the PLA works to transform itself into a world-class force by the mid-century, the US military may find itself facing a challenge unprecedented since the sinking of the imperial Japanese supercarrier Shinano in 1944. ^ top ^
Time for dialogue to manage new risks to nuclear stability (Global Times)
2019-08-07
In its recent National Defense White Paper, China declared, "Nuclear capability is the strategic cornerstone to safeguarding national sovereignty and security." As is the case with other nuclear weapons states, for China, an assured, survivable second strike capability is indeed at the core of nuclear deterrence. China has achieved this with a well-developed and successful nuclear modernization effort since the 1980s. With silo ballistic missiles, mobile missiles, bombers, and increasingly capable nuclear submarines, China has an effective triad. Moreover, China's modernization has been more focused on quality than quantity. So far, China has roughly 300 nuclear warheads. So, it is no surprise that China has refused arms control talks with the US, which has some 5,000 warheads, most recently proposed by President Donald Trump. The US leader proposed US-Russia-China talks as a condition for extending the US-Russia New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) accord which expires in 2021. Beijing's reluctance reflects the huge numbers gap. And in any case, the US and Russia should extend New START on its merits.Yet Trump may be half-right, though not for the reasons he thinks. New realities of the tech revolution require not traditional arms control, but new ways to manage risks to strategic stability. Why? Emerging non-nuclear technologies - AI/autonomous weapons, offensive cyber, anti-space weapons and hypersonic missiles all threaten to undermine stability among nuclear states - a secure second strike capability. These new vulnerabilities threaten China, the US and Russia alike, and could result in nuclear weapons states facing a disastrous "use it or lose it," dilemma in the event of a crisis. The US, China, Russia and other nuclear states such as India and France are developing versions of all these fourth industrial revolution technologies. All are developing hypersonic missiles and glide vehicles that travel at Mach 5 and up to Mach 10 - five-to-10 times the speed of sound - and could preemptively strike command or control or nuclear weapons themselves. In March 2018, General John Hyten, commander of US Strategic Command, stated before the Senate Armed Services Committee, "We [US] don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon [hypersonic missiles] against us. "Increasingly capable anti-space technology like lasers could blind or destroy satellites impeding command and control of nuclear weapons. AI-powered cyberattacks could disrupt nuclear command and control mechanisms. And as AI develops, the risk of autonomous weapons that could be used without a human decision may loom ahead. These emerging technologies have already begun to undermine longstanding assumptions about crisis stability. Yet there are no codes of conduct, agreed standards, norms or rules for these technologies that risk changing the military calculus of nuclear powers. Most worrisome, these new risks to strategic stability come at a time of resurgent major power competition and an unraveling of the framework of arms control restraints erected during the Cold War and its aftermath. Each side seeks to develop superior, dominant technologies. Yet, the reality is that the US and China are only increasing their mutual vulnerability. For example, in space, until recently, the US was most vulnerable having by far the most satellites and dependence on space for military operations. Now China has more than 200 satellites in orbit and launches annually more than the US and Russia combined - 39 in 2018. Can the US, China or Russia really assume that they have - in operational terms - an "advantage?" The notion of "absolute security" is an illusion. The danger is that in the quest to master new technologies, the US, China, Russia and others may be starting to repeat the mindless arms racing of the Cold War. Only after the US and the former Soviet Union went to the nuclear brink did they realize the need to manage competition. This led former US president Ronald Reagan to the conclusion that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. "The logic of mutual vulnerability should lead Washington and Beijing to initiate dialogue on how to manage these new risks. Should autonomous weapons be banned? Should the US and China lead efforts to end the race for hypersonic missiles, define rules and norms for both? Or perhaps codes of conduct for space, which is governed only by an outdated 1967 UN Treaty on Outer Space. As the US and Russia have 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, extending the New START accord would put a ceiling on numbers of US and Russian nuclear weapons. But the Trump administration has been more eager to withdraw from international treaties - from the INF to the Paris Climate Accord - than to agree to them, New START may be its next victim. China would be wise to turn Trump's trilateral proposal on its head, and quietly signal that it is willing to start a US-China-Russia dialogue not on nuclear arms control, but on how to manage on new threats to stability if the US and Russia extend New START and preserve this remaining architecture of restraint. This would be a difficult, problematic exercise, but a necessary one. Unfortunately, if history is a guide, it may take a near-death crisis before the major powers reverse the logic of all-out competition, accept the reality of mutual vulnerability and find ways to manage it. One Cuban Missile Crisis was more than enough. The world may not be so lucky next time. ^ top ^
China and ASEAN coming closer on South China Sea controversy (Global Times)
2019-08-07
At the 52nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, which concluded Saturday, ministers reaffirmed promoting implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and strengthening cooperation with their dialogue partners. ASEAN members threw their weight behind multilateralism and free trade, promoted consultations and managed disputes, agreeing to further carry forward ASEAN economic integration. Great strides forward have been made when it comes to the cooperation between China and ASEAN. The two sides have been jointly promoting the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and shaping rules for the region. China has been the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 10 consecutive years, while the bloc surpassed the US to become China's second-largest trading partner in the first half of 2019. China and ASEAN have generally reached consensus on their goals. Although the two sides may have divergences on specific issues, they both agree to build a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship. This is the foundation of China-ASEAN cooperation. Without such consensus, the two sides cannot make progress. China-ASEAN cooperation has been promoted in a variety of fields. Their collaboration is not achieved at one stroke, but is gradually and steadily advancing. For example, China and ASEAN members have recently finished the first reading of the Single Draft Negotiating Text of the South China Sea Code of Conduct. Optimism can be anticipated when it comes to negotiations between China and ASEAN over the South China Sea issue. The two sides have reached a strategic consensus to standardize the international order and bilateral relations in the waters. But on the other hand, China and ASEAN also face challenges in developing their ties. The US has been interfering in the region. China and ASEAN also have some disputes on some key issues including the exploitation of petroleum resources. Besides, some countries want to strive for more interests before negotiations take place, hence their moves may impact the entire negotiation process. Generally, there are still uncertainties in the negotiations and both China and ASEAN need to treat them carefully. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized China's dam building on the Mekong River, warning that the structure may harm the downstream countries in Southeast Asia. "The river is at its lowest levels in a decade, a problem linked to China's decision to shut off water upstream," Pompeo said. The US has always been interfering in the South China Sea region, directly or indirectly. Direct interference includes carrying out the so-called freedom of navigation operations in the waters belonging to China. Indirect interference includes sending US coast guard vessels to the region, holding joint military exercises with other countries in the region and inciting them against China. Such US interference has somewhat worsened these countries' relations with China, which will influence the overall situation in the South China Sea. China and ASEAN need to further overcome external disturbances. Relations between China and ASEAN face two challenges in the future. The first challenge is whether they can further reach a strategic consensus on international order and regional condition. The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, so are current international relations. ASEAN members have their own views and concerns on China-US relations, China-Russia ties and regional order. Whether ASEAN will choose sides between China and the US will be of great significance. The second challenge is whether China and ASEAN can reach a consensus on specific issues over the South China Sea dispute and the BRI. The two sides should further develop more mechanisms to control and reduce divergences on these issues. ^ top ^
Xiplomacy fosters more solid ties, promising common prosperity (People's Daily)
2019-08-04
In a world that is undergoing changes unseen in a century, China will remain confident and resolute in safeguarding its sovereignty and security, and maintain its sincerity and goodwill for safeguarding world peace and promoting common prosperity, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said in his 2019 New Year speech. The declaration Xi made on the last day of 2018 is a footnote to his commitment to building a better world for all with his insightful and pragmatic diplomatic endeavors, widely known as Xiplomacy. Since the start of the year, Xi has made five overseas visits and attended four multilateral gatherings in eight countries to forge broader consensuses and closer partnerships for jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind. On June 29, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the Japanese city of Osaka, Xi's meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, spurred optimism and lifted global markets. In their face-to-face meeting, the two leaders agreed to jointly advance a China-U.S. relationship featuring coordination, cooperation and stability, and to restart economic and trade consultations, with the U.S. side agreeing at the meeting not to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports. China and the United States have highly integrated interests and extensive cooperation areas, and they should not fall into the so-called traps of conflict and confrontation, Xi said. "They signaled the will to cooperate. This is very important and constructive.... The situation is indeed improved," said Jeffrey Sachs, a senior UN advisor and renowned economics professor at Columbia University, on the significance of the meeting. Xi's state visit to Russia in early June came as the two countries are embracing the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin visit a photo exhibition before attending a gathering marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia diplomatic relations in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. The Chinese leader, together with Russian President Vladimir Putin, upgraded bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. Xi noted that the China-Russia ties have become a major-country relationship featuring the highest degree of mutual trust, the highest level of coordination and the highest strategic value, thus making a key contributions to world peace, stability and development. Two weeks later, the Chinese president arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for a state visit, the first of its kind in 14 years. In his talks with the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, Xi noted that the China-DPRK relationship has entered a new historical era. He also reaffirmed China's support for efforts to advance the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and build up conditions for it. Xi's visit contributed to lasting peace and stability on the peninsula as well as in the region, said Lee Hee-ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. While protectionism and fierce global competition for resources have diverted some economies' attention from making a bigger cake to wrestling for a larger slice, Xiplomacy staunchly advocates common efforts to create more shared interests. "We should forge a global connectivity partnership to achieve common development and prosperity," Xi said at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. "As long as we work together to help each other, even if thousands of miles apart, we will certainly be able to find a mutually beneficial and win-win road. "His remarks resonated with many attendees at the event, which was held in Beijing in April and gathered participants from more than 150 countries and 90 international organizations. Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 and frequently promoted it on multiple international occasions. The endeavors have borne fruitful results -- some 126 countries and 29 international organizations have signed BRI cooperation documents with China. From 2013 to 2018, trade between China and other BRI countries surpassed 6 trillion U.S. dollars, and China's investment in BRI countries exceeded 90 billion dollars. "The BRI has transcended the challenges of geography and unequal development," and China "has proven itself as a reliable, responsible partner in the international arena," said Nursultan Nazarbayev, first president of Kazakhstan. The blueprint also ignited Italy's enthusiasm, as it clinched a deal with China to jointly advance the construction of the Belt and Road during Xi's state visit to the nation in March. Italian President Sergio Mattarella said that with the continuous deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the implementation of the deal, the Italy-China relationship is becoming increasingly active, close and inclusive. Italy is the first Group of Seven country that has signed such an agreement with China, while France and Germany also showed interest in boosting BRI-related cooperation through third-party markets to improve infrastructure in Africa. The fact that more and more potential partners have shown interest in the joint construction of the Belt and Road corroborates Xi's words that "the BRI will not become an exclusive club. "Making multilateral efforts to address pressing global issues is another core message of Xiplomacy, as effective global governance is threatened by rising unilateralism and trade protectionism. At the G20 Osaka summit, Xi noted the world economy is at a crossroads, and the G20 bears the responsibility to chart the course for the world economy and global governance at the crucial time. To tackle global challenges, he put forward a four-point proposal: sticking to reform and innovation and exploring driving force for growth; keeping pace with the times and improving global governance; actively tackling challenges and removing development bottlenecks; upholding the spirit of partnership and properly addressing differences. Xi's "much anticipated speech... provides a direction for improving global trading system" to avoid "being myopic and guided by short-term interests," said Swaran Singh, a professor at the School of International Studies at the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University. Xi also appealed for multilateralism on occasions such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. In March, at the global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris, Xi noted "four deficits" in global affairs, namely governance deficit, trust deficit, peace deficit and development deficit, and proposed a four-pronged approach to addressing these deficits. Dialogue facilitates understanding among countries, as was demonstrated in the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) held in Beijing in May. The CDAC aimed to create a new platform for advancing equal dialogue, mutual learning, and mutual inspiring among civilizations in Asia and the rest of the world, Xi said. The intensifying global challenges humanity is facing now require concerted efforts by countries across the world, he said. ^ top ^
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China stipulates national standards for disability nursing home care (China Daily)
2019-08-09
China on Wednesday issued its first national standards for nursing home care services for people with disabilities. The standards, to go into effect on Jan 1, 2020, apply to nursing home facilities for working-age persons with intellectual, mental and severe physical disabilities. The standards include service contents, requirements and procedures, as well as management and service evaluation. Previously, China's socialized nursing home care services were mainly aimed at orphans and disabled children under the age of 16, as well as elderly people over 60, said Feng Shanwei, a researcher at the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF). Nursing home care services for people with disabilities will help disabled adults with difficulties get access to basic care services and self-care training, she said. Some disabled adults can also achieve self-reliance and employment, thus reducing their family burdens, Feng added. Nursing home care services for people with disabilities is an effective measure to help those with intellectual, mental and severe physical disabilities to participate in social life on an equal footing, according to a statement jointly issued by the CDPF and seven other departments in 2012. The services could also help reduce their family burdens, as well as promote social harmony and stability, the statement reads. ^ top ^
China solidifies relations between military, government, people (Xinhua)
2019-08-08
China has made efforts to further consolidate and develop solidarity between the military, the government and the people by revising two guidelines concerning relevant work in this field. The revised guidelines about "double support," meaning the government and the people support the military, and the military supports the government and the people, have been issued by the leading group of national double support work. The revision was made to respond to the times and situations in the new era and aims to promote the double support work to play a better role in developing social productive forces and improving military combat capabilities, the office of the leading group said in a statement. The revised documents pay more attention to supporting the military in war preparedness and solving practical problems for officers and soldiers. The documents call for respect for soldiers by society as a whole and care for veterans and servicemen's families. Details about the military to participate in the country's poverty eradication and support the development of education and medical services were newly introduced. ^ top ^
Chinese courts see rapid rise in cases, transparency (China Daily)
2019-08-06
Chinese courts have seen a rapid growth in cases in the first six months of this year and the legal process and rulings in most disputes could be followed online, China's top court said. Statistics of the Supreme People's Court stipulate that courts across the country saw 14.89 million cases filed from January to June, up 14.5 percent year-on-year. The number of cases filed in courts in Guangdong, Henan and Jiangsu provinces during the period all exceeded 1 million, it said. Of civil disputes, those caused by contracts, marriage, employment and intellectual property were more frequent in courts nationwide, while major crimes dealt with by courts were dangerous driving, theft, and trafficking, purchasing, producing or transporting drugs as well as intentional injury and fraud, it said. Meanwhile, disputes related to house demolition and social insurance made up the most cases against governmental departments, it added. As for improving the efficiency of case hearings, Li Liang, an official from the top court, said Chinese courts have also paid more attention to transparency in handling disputes. So far, more than 73.54 million verdicts have been put online, while the top court's website for openness in rulings, which was built in 2013, has been visited more than 30.1 billion times, according to him. Besides seeing ruling disclosures, people can also watch trials on the internet, he said, adding that, to date, hearings in 4.13 million cases have been put online to help residents better understand legal procedures and ensure judicial transparency. In addition, the top court upgraded a website in September last year to more effectively aid litigants and lawyers to follow the process of their cases, such as what time a trial would open and what legal materials need to be prepared, he added. ^ top ^
Huawei's recruitment in line with company's, country's development, says expert (Global Times)
2019-08-06
The competition for talent never subsides. The saying has been manifested in a recent news item that Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has recruited eight fresh PhD students who were offered an annual salary of as high as 2 million yuan ($292,000). The news quickly circulated online, with netizens admiring the eight young talents and discussing if high academic qualifications lead to high-paid jobs. It also prompted discussions on why Huawei invests that much in recruitment while at the center of contested international opinion. In June, an internal Huawei email said that the company will recruit 20 to 30 talented youth worldwide with top salaries. Then in late July, a leaked email signed by Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei listed eight recruited PhD students graduating in 2019 together with their salaries. Among them, Zhong Zhao and Qin Tong will be paid the most, with an annual salary of between 1.82 million and 2 million yuan. The other six will be paid between 896,000 and 1.56million yuan, according to the email. Zhong, a graduate from the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, does research in pattern recognition and smart systems. Media reports say he is part of the first group of people in China who are conducting neural architecture research. Qin graduated from the Robotics Institute of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He published several papers in top international journals including the IEEE Transactions on Robotics. The other six all graduated from China's top institutions, such as Tsinghua University and Peking University, with excellent academic performance since high school. Huawei confirmed the email to the Global Times. Some of the eight newly employed PhDs reached by the Global Times refused to comment. Liu Chenglin, Zhong's supervisor, told the Global Times that Zhong's achievements in scientific research may not be the most outstanding compared to the other seven. But Zhong topped the list because his research focus - neural architecture research in deep learning - has been trending these past two years. Huawei's thirst for young talent is indispensible from China's development, analysts noted. China is in an era of scientific innovation and mobile internet. Thanks to China's population dividends, the internet sector, during its flourishing stage, targeted the consumer market, and the talent needed were application-oriented. Research-focused PhDs were not yet the driving force of the industry, said Luo Hao, chief technology officer of a start-up tech company based in Beijing. Luo said since the country is promoting the internet+ formula to help boost traditional industries, research-focused talent, especially those working on artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data and cloud computing are now favored by the market. With netizens amazed by Huawei's frenzy for talent, the issue of the high demission rate of PhDs in the company has also been brought up. Statistics revealed by Huawei earlier this year show that the demission rate of PhD employees in its research and development sector in the past five years reached as high as 21.8 percent, and less than 60 percent of PhDs stayed more than four years. The Huawei chairman's office has issued three emails on the problem of the talent outlows. The emails said their competence is far beyond the jobs' requirements. Huawei is determined to recruit more talent and retain them. It is now trying to manage PhD employees according to their specialization and competence and assigning them to more innovation-based and research-focused jobs. Coercive US policies against China since last year are redirecting trade flows and changing global supply chains. These policies, analysts believe, are embedded in the competition between China and the US in technological leadership. "Competition between China and the US eventually leads to competition in scientific strength, and the key is holding on to independent intellectual property rights of core technology," Liu told the Global Times, adding that China's innovation in basic software and core hardware, such as operation systems and chips, still lags behind the US. In an interview with the Xinhua News Agency in July, Huawei Senior Vice President Zhang Jiangang said the company will continue to make innovation the "core" of its strategy. A PhD student from the same institute with Zhong told the Global Times that Zhong sets a good example for his fellow students and the controversy surrounding Huawei provide them opportunities and challenges. "We don't mind the debate, but are concerned about our career development, interest in the job and salary," he said. ^ top ^
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| Beijing |
Beijing powers up Olympic stadiums with 5G (Global Times)
2019-08-09
The city of Beijing signed a deal with Chinese mobile carrier China Unicom to equip three of its key Olympic venues with 5G wireless technology as China is slated to be the third country in the world to stage a 5G-powered Olympic games. Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co, which operates the National Stadium, the Beijing National Aquatics Center, and the national speed skating hall, signed a 5G deployment deal with China Unicom on Thursday. These iconic Chinese Olympic venues have well-known nicknames such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. Thursday was the 11th anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The two companies will jointly handle work on the building of 5G-powered smart stadiums. South Korea became the world's first country to host Olympic Games with 5G technology, which was super-fast with ultralow latency, at PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Japan is slated to be the second country in the world to host 5G-enabled Olympic Games in 2020. Wu Xiaonan, vice president of Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co, told the Global Times that 5G is an information highway but at the end of the day it will be the application scenarios that differentiate the Beijing 2022 games. With 5G infrastructure, the company is now working on developing application scenarios for the eight user groups of the huge sports event. "For instance, now we are in 4G and you probably have lost your way when you enter a huge, spacious and multilayered building such as the Bird's Nest," Wu told a group of reporters. Many reporters did have difficulty in finding the press room, with their navigation apps failing to give detailed information "In the world of 5G, three-dimensional maps and navigation apps will ensure seamless transfer from the outdoor environment to indoor complexes, leading you to your seat within a precision of 1 meter." China is now in a leading position in the global 5G rollout. ^ top ^
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| Shanghai |
China expands Shanghai FTZ for further opening-up, globalization (People's Daily)
2019-08-07
China on Tuesday announced the expanding of its Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) in its latest major strategic move for further opening-up. The addition of the Lingang area is a major strategic decision made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee to further opening up, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen told a press conference Tuesday. It also demonstrates China's clear stand to adhere to all-round opening up in the new era and an important measure taken to actively lead the healthy development of economic globalization, Wang said. The new Lingang section will match the standard of the most competitive free trade zones worldwide and implement opening-up policies and systems with strong global market competitiveness, according to an overall plan for the new Lingang area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone issued by the State Council, or the cabinet. Lingang, with a start-up area of 119.5 square kilometers, will facilitate overseas investment and capital flows and realize the free flow of goods, according to the plan. "The new area is not just a simple expansion of the existing free trade zone and a copy of existing policies. It is comprehensive, profound and fundamental institutional innovation and reform," Chen Yin, executive vice mayor of Shanghai, told the press briefing. The Shanghai FTZ had an area of 28.78 square kilometers when it was established in September 2013 and expanded to 120.72 square kilometers in December 2014. Over the past years, the Shanghai FTZ has made remarkable progress in its bold exploration in sectors like investment, trade and finance and contributed precious experience to the all-around deepening of reforms and high-level opening-up, said Wang. The area will be built into a special economic function zone with global influence and competitiveness, to better serve the country's overall opening-up strategy, the plan says."The status as a special economic function zone means that it is not adding more facilitation but moving toward real investment and trade liberalization," said Shen Yuliang, a researcher with the Institute of World Economics under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. By 2025, the Lingang area will have a relatively mature institutional system of investment and trade liberalization and facilitation. By 2035, it will be built into a special economic function zone with strong global market influence and competitiveness, becoming an important platform for the country to integrate into economic globalization. The area, administered like a special economic zone, will establish an institutional system with its focus on investment and trade liberalization and set up an open industrial system with global competitiveness, according to the plan. Aerial photo taken on June 27, 2019 shows new cars wating for shipment at a port in the Lingang area in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) It will strive to become a business cluster for international business, cross-border financial services, frontier technology research and development and cross-border services trade, and speed up the industrial upgrading of existing companies. The Yangshan comprehensive bonded area will be set up there, and the area will also pilot free capital inflows and outflows and free capital conversion. Income tax shall be levied at a reduced rate of 15 percent within five years from its establishment for qualified enterprises engaged in manufacturing and R&D in key fields including integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and civil aviation, says the plan. Shanghai will also set up a fund of 100 billion yuan (14.2 billion U.S. dollars) in five years to support the development of the new area, said Chen. The plan says the new area will be granted greater administration power for self-development, self-reform and self-innovation, and regularly promote its experience to spearhead a new round of reform and opening-up of the Yangtze River Delta. Apart from serving the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the new area is also designed to promote the coordinated development, reform and opening-up of the Yangtze River Delta, said Wang. The Lingang area, home to Tesla's gigafactory, has become a cluster of high-end industries after more than a decade of development, and it now emphasizes the development of key industries like integrated circuits, AI, biomedicine and civil aviation. Aerial photo taken on July 25, 2018 shows Phase IV of the Yangshan Deep Water Port of east China's Shanghai. China's economy faces complicated external situations and to improve industrial competitiveness and move up the value chain, the boost of scientific and technological innovation capacity is the only way, said Yin Chen, secretary general of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Comprehensive Research Institute with Fudan University. With more openness, the new area can boost Shanghai's high-end resources allocation ability and better represent the country to take part in global cooperation and competition, said Yin. The addition of the new area to the FTZ is a boon for both domestic and foreign businesses. "The new tax policy support will help speed up the commercialization of autonomous driving,"said Xue Jiancong, vice president of TuSimple, an AI company registered in Lingang that received the country's first open road testing license for trucks. "We hope that the new policies will help promote the free flow of auto parts,"said Song Feng, president of Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., citing current restrictions on imports of old machinery parts. Yu Bo, a tax partner at accounting firm PwC, said China has been rolling out institutional reforms over the past years to allow domestic institutions in alignment with international standards. China, among the top three investment destinations with the biggest development potential for business executives worldwide in an PwC survey, should continue to improve the business environment for foreign investment and conduct more institutional reforms to promote the higher-level opening-up, said Yu. ^ top ^
Shanghai may inspect potential falling objects soon (China Daily)
2019-08-09
Home to more than 47,000 buildings taller than eight stories and a population of 24 million, Shanghai could soon become the first city in China to include inspections for potential falling objects in its urban management network. Neighborhood property managers should be informed promptly about any objects that might fall from buildings, and they would be responsible for setting up any warning tape or protective covers that were needed, theShanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said. Property owners and residents would be the first people held responsible for such safety issues and would be responsible for routine safety checks of the building and attached facilities as well as repair and maintenance, according to a policy the commission will unveil soon. They would also be held responsible for any accidents that occurred. Shanghai's subdistricts have been further divided into grids since 2013 to make urban management more effective. Maintenance of roads, greenery and public facilities - including fire hydrants, public telephone booths and bus stops - has been included in the management system, and the new policy will add management of falling object risks to the list. The commission said the developer or construction unit would be held responsible for repairing safety hazards if the building's design or construction quality resulted in a risk of falling objects. But property owners would be held responsible for any hazards caused by natural aging or inadequate routine maintenance. Objects falling and striking people are a hidden danger in cities with many high-rise buildings, the commission said. Shanghai has more than 1,700 buildings over 30 stories tall and more than 330,000 elevated outdoor billboards. Air conditioners, clotheslines and poles attached to buildings' exteriors also pose a serious risk as they might become loose and fall. "One long-standing difficulty in preventing accidents from falling objects is that property owners believed it was always the developer's responsibility to maintain and repair the exterior walls because that was part of construction quality," Zhang Lixin, deputy head of the Shanghai Housing Management Bureau, told Shanghai Radio. "But this policy makes it clear that property owners will be held responsible for the maintenance or replacement of hidden dangers, such as thermal insulation materials on exterior walls, if the building has passed its warranty period and the materials have expired." The danger of falling objects is heightened during typhoon season. The National Meteorological Center renewed an alert on Thursday for a typhoon that might make landfall on the coast of Zhejiang province, neighboring Shanghai, on Friday night or Saturday morning. The Shanghai commission said it had completed inspections of more than 220,000 buildings in 9,150 neighborhoods. ^ top ^
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| Guangdong |
BRICS set up new institutional branch to strengthen cooperation on ICT (Xinhua)
2019-08-07
The BRICS Institute of Future Networks has set up its China branch in the country's tech hub Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong Province, to further promote global cooperation on information and communication technology (ICT). The new branch, launched Tuesday, will put a priority on international cooperation in new network architecture, next-generation mobile communications, industrial internet, artificial intelligence, internet of vehicles and cybersecurity. Chen Zhaoxiong, vice minister of industry and information technology, said that the new institute is of great significance to deepen the cooperation between BRICS members and other developing countries, promote the innovative application of future network technologies and boom the digital economy. According to the development plan, the new institutional branch will establish an open innovation mechanism and build an industrial technology innovation platform, as well as a high-end think tank in the field of ICT. It will make full use of domestic and international market resources to promote all-round cooperation on policy research, facilities construction and talent training, said Liu Duo, president of the China. Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The establishment of the BRICS Institute of Future Networks was approved last September at the fourth meeting of the BRICS communications ministers. ^ top ^
Chinese police mass 12,000 anti-riot officers in Shenzhen for drill (SCMP)
2019-08-06
More than 12,000 police officers assembled in Shenzhen in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Tuesday for a drill that included anti-riot measures similar to those seen on the streets of Hong Kong. The drill was part of security preparations for the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on October 1, Shenzhen police said on the force's Weibo newsfeed. "A drill will be held to increase troop morale, practise and prepare for the security of celebrations, [and] maintain national political security and social stability," police said. China mobilises 190,000 police officers to prepare for 70th anniversary celebrations. In live videos of the police drills shown on the Yizhibo network, officers in body armour, helmets and shields confronted groups of people in black shirts and red or yellow construction safety helmets – similar to those worn by Hong Kong protesters – who were holding flags, banners, batons and wooden boards. A blazing bogie is driven towards police lines during Shenzhen police's anti-riot exercise. One of the banners read "return my hard-earned money" – a slogan often used by migrant workers in protest against unpaid salaries. "The practice is complete with mature anti-mob tactics. The police forces can present an anti-mob formation, which is flexible, suitable for different situations, with accurate aim and effective control," a narrator said during the live broadcast. As the drill escalated and more "rioters" were deployed, police fired tear gas and smoke covered the training ground. Hong Kong being dragged down 'path of no return' says Carrie Lam. A few minutes later, the rioters fired home-made gas bombs then set bogies alight and drove them at the police lines. The officers changed formations and pressed the rioters, making arrests. Police handlers and their dogs were also on the scene. Other drills included anti-smuggling and search-and-rescue exercises involving personnel from the People's Liberation Army. The drill was presented as preparation for the 70th anniversary celebrations but it came amid continued violence in the streets of Hong Kong and two incidents of the Chinese national flag being thrown into Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong has been engulfed in two months of turmoil stemming from opposition to the now-suspended extradition bill. Police handlers and their dogs were deployed against people dressed like Hong Kong demonstrators. "Is this hinting at Hong Kong?" a commenter on the Shenzhen police Weibo thread asked. "We are doing drills today, and they can enter into real practice in Hong Kong in the future. We can send thousands of anti-mob squads over and strike hard at the radical traitors, those Hong Kong independence supporters," another user said. Since protests escalated in Hong Kong, Beijing has reiterated its "unflagging support" for embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration to take lawful action to restore order, and warned that the city was entering "a most dangerous phase" with violence on the streets. ^ top ^
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| Tibet |
Key tunnel on Lhasa-Nyingchi railway completed (China Daily)
2019-08-03
Construction on a pivotal tunnel on a railway linking Lhasa and Nyingchi in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region was completed Friday, marking huge progress of the mammoth project. The Bukamu Tunnel, located in Milin County of Nyingchi, is 9,240 meters long with an average elevation of 3,100 meters above the sea level. It is also the 37th tunnel being finished, leaving just 10 tunnels to be completed by the end of the year. Over 3,000 rock bursts were counted during the construction of the tunnel, while the oxygen level inside was merely 19 percent that of the plain areas, said Wang Shucheng, director of the project. The Lhasa-Nyingchi railway is 435 km long, 75 percent of which are bridges and tunnels. It is expected to be completed in 2021. ^ top ^
Tibet hosts academic conference on Tibetan medicinal bathing (China Daily)
2019-08-02
More than 100 experts and scholars of Tibetan medicinal science gathered in Lhasa, capital of China's Southwest Tibet autonomous region, on Friday for an academic conference on Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa. The two-day forum, hosted by the region's health commission and the Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Astrology, known as the Menteskhang locally, is the first of its kind in the region. An inherent component of ancient China, Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa was named a regional and national intangible cultural heritage in 2018 and 2014, respectively. It was named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Nov 28, 2018 at a convention in Port Louis, capital of Mauritius. Kalzang Yudron, director of the commission, said together with Indian Ayurveda medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, Tibetan healing science, with a history of thousands of years, is one of the world's four key traditional medicinal sciences. It has contributed greatly to human health, the harmonious development of society and the sustainable development of civilization, he said. "It is a practice of better performing the commitments to UNESCO, and we will work hard to ensure the conservation and inheritance of the cultural heritage," said Kalzang Yudron." Conducting such as a conference is part of an effort to work on UNESCO's five-year preservation plan, and it will contribute to the standardization, talent training, and diagnosis behavior of Tibetan healing science." Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa comprises knowledge and practices on life, health, and illness prevention and treatment, and it is the 40th Chinese heritage inscribed in the UNESCO list. It is widely practiced in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet autonomous region. "Medicinal bathing is an ancient civilized way of life, which is not only used for hygienic reasons, but also its unique cultural connotations," wrote Liu Yinghua, associate research fellow at the Beijing Tibetan Hospital of China Tibetology Research Center, in one of her essays on Tibetan medicinal bathing. "Tibetan medicinal bathing has a profound relationship with religious rituals, social customs, sports, entertainment, and health treatment," she said in the essay. ^ top ^
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| Xinjiang |
Xinjiang's fixed-asset investment rises in H1 (China Daily)
2019-08-05
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region achieved fixed-asset investment (FAI) of about 184.35 billion yuan ($26.23 billion) in the first half of the year, up 7.3 percent year on year, local authorities said Monday. The growth rate was 56.2 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year, which shows that the region's FAI rebounded rapidly. According to an economic performance report of Xinjiang in H1 of 2019 issued by the regional government, the region has sped up the construction of a batch of key projects, including the operation of Urumqi Metro Line 1 and the expansion of the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport. From January to June, 87.74 billion yuan was invested in key projects in Xinjiang. Construction on 48 new projects started during the same period with a total investment of nearly 8.96 billion yuan, said the report. In H1, the region strengthened infrastructure construction in the poverty-stricken area in south Xinjiang. So far, construction on key projects, including a water conservancy project on the Yurungkax River in Hotan Prefecture and a power grid project, has started. In addition, a power network transmission and transformation project in the prefecture which went into operation in late June has efficiently improved the power supply shortage in the area. The region has also accelerated the construction of more railway and road projects, according to the report. ^ top ^
New railway lines in Xinjiang lead to surge in summer trips (Global Times)
2019-08-09
Railway networks in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region recorded 4.77 million passenger trips across China in July, the first month of summer vacation, up 19 percent compared to the same period last year. The growth in passenger trips in July ranked first among railway networks across China, according to ts.cn, Xinjiang's major news website. About 60,000 passenger trips were made by the Urumqi railway station, the largest in Xinjiang, since July. As summer vacation drives travel demand, it's estimated that more than 10.18 million passenger trips will be made in Xinjiang from July 1 to August 31, according to the report. The number of rail passengers in Xinjiang increased significantly in July, mainly due to the increase of the transport capacity of Xinjiang's railway, the report noted. The Xinjiang railway has opened several new lines, including one from Karamay to Tacheng and has also opened new railway stations, such as the Usu and Hejing county stations. The report said passengers to Xinjiang include tourists and students. Some travel agencies confirmed to the Global Times on Thursday that large numbers of tourists around the country go to Xinjiang during the summer vacation. "Since the beginning of July, many customers ask about our tours to Xinjiang," one employee of a travel agency based in Urumqi told the Global Times. The agency's most popular travel package has been sold to more than 4,800 people, which offers an eight-day tour of Xinjiang. ^ top ^
Uygur embroiderer keeps Hami heritage alive by embracing modern trends (China Daily)
2019-08-05
When Kader Rahman, a member of the Uygur ethnic group, sits down to transform silken strands of colored thread into beautiful flowers, he enters a true state of flow. "These are my favorite moments of the day. Embroidery makes all my troubles melt away, and I am oblivious to everything going on around me," Kader, 46, said in his studio in Qiaomaizhuangzi village, Hami, in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. When he is sewing, it is hard to imagine his agile hands once tended crops in his former life as a farmer. Today, he is a different type of guardian as he helps to preserve Xinjiang's only State-protected intangible cultural heritage - the art of Hami embroidery. Hami was an important post on the ancient Silk Road and the city absorbed cultures from the East and West, creating a cultural patchwork that has influenced the patterns and colors used by Hami embroiderers. "Hami embroidery features classic Han designs, such as peony, fingered citron, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum blossom, coupled with distinctive motifs unique to the area," said Cui Jianbing, head of the Hami Cultural Center. Kader was taught simple embroidery pattern design and paper cutting by the women of his family when he was 7. His talent was noticed by his mother and sister, both locally renowned embroiderers, and they would use his paper cuttings as inspiration for their own work. Little Kader, concerned about being caught doing a "woman's job", used to hide when he studied embroidery. Every year, as a gift to mark Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Kader's sister, Ayihan Rahman, would embroider a floral skull cap for her father. In 2007, Ayihan died suddenly, leaving the family heartbroken. The first year without his sister, near the end of Eid al-Fitr, Kader came home from tending his fields to find his mother, Xirenhan Hoja, sewing a cap as tears ran down her lined face. He took the needle from his mother's hands and began to sew. "I knew how much she missed my sister - her daughter. So I told her, I can continue this tradition," he said. "The first skull cap I made might not have been all that pretty, but my mom seemed happy. From then on, needle in hand, I've carried on my sister's legacy. " His skills continued to improve and they caught the attention of his female peers, with many approaching him to ask if they could use his patterns. In 2016, a Hami-style embroidery workshop was set up by Artron, a Chinese art company, and Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design. Subsequent government aid, in the form of interest-free loans and other support, has led to the establishment of 230 more companies and cooperatives. There are now more than 5,000 professional embroiderers in Hami. Kader has become secretarygeneral of Hami's embroidery association and has traveled extensively across the country to learn about different styles of embroidery. The wealth of knowledge and experience that he returned with has helped him plan many of the association's embroidery workshops. He has also established a cooperative with over 100 village artisans who can make 300 varieties of embroidery, including cellphone cases, cushions, caps and qipao - a traditional women's costume - all featuring his own designs. "By blending ancestral embroidery practices with modern trends, the younger generations are being exposed to authentic craftsmanship," said Cheng Xiuming, director of Artron's e-commerce product department. Kader said: "Many people love my designs. They like the flowers we stitch. This love for the craft of the Hami people gives me a feeling - like a beautiful flower blooming in my heart." ^ top ^
Xinjiang sees growing foreign trade with SCO member states (Xinhua)
2019-08-04
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has seen 107.93 billion yuan (about 15.56 billion US dollars) of imports and exports to member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the first half of 2019. In the period, Xinjiang's exports to the SCO member states reached 65.41 billion yuan, up 4.3 percent year on year, while its imports totaled 42.52 billion yuan, up 13 percent, according to Urumqi Customs. The main exports to SCO member states via Xinjiang are mechanical and electrical products, textiles, clothing and footwear, while crude oil and natural gas are the main import commodities. The major trading partners of Xinjiang ports to SCO member states are Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. The inland port of Alashankou and the Horgos Port in Xinjiang are the major trading ports, according to the customs. The SCO was established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017. ^ top ^
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| Hongkong |
Op-ed: Time to stop violence and restore order in Hong Kong (People's Daily)
2019-08-09
Over the past two months, the protests in Hong Kong have gone beyond assembly or demonstration and have evolved into extreme violence. Hong Kong has been left in a state of shock by the acts of protesters, increasing intensity and escalating destructions, posing significant economic and social threats to the city. Hong Kong cannot afford any more chaos. The situation in Hong Kong is now so dire that the urgent task before the entire community is evident: to stop violence and restore order. It is high time for Hong Kong citizens to step out to safeguard their home. To stop violence and end the chaos, everyone needs to stand out, be it employees or employers, social elites or ordinary citizens, the elderly or the young. They must make their voice of justice heard, say "no" to violence, and staunchly support the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR and the government. They need to unswervingly stand by the police who strictly enforce the laws and should engage in activities which help to restore order and promote positive energy throughout the society. The fundamental problem is who will suffer and who will benefit from the chaos when it gets out of control? We believe that the highest aspiration of Hong Kong citizens is to seek stability and tranquility, and to restore social order and normal life as soon as possible. We hope that Hong Kong citizens who love Hong Kong and their country will stand up for a stable life and a better future. ^ top ^
Two months on and nearly 2,000 rounds of tear gas later, what do Hong Kong's extradition bill protesters really want? (SCMP)
2019-08-09
When Hong Kong was brought to its knees on Monday, Jay Sin, bespectacled, masked and helmeted, was in high spirits and in a hurry. He had to be in many places. "We're trying to make it more difficult for police to plan their operations," Sin said when the Post met him at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom. By then, he and his fellow protesters had walked more than 4km from Mong Kok in the summer heat, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. On the tunnel billboard above him, his comrades had already spray-painted the catchphrase "Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times". If this was a revolution, Sin was the archetypal freedom fighter. Reed-thin, dressed in Bermudas and a black T-shirt, and geared up to hide his identity, he was polite when explaining their actions. "Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times" has become a common slogan among protesters. Before rushing off to his next target, the 22-year-old said: "We understand we're creating lots of trouble for the public. There is a cost incurred by a social movement. "We hope what we are doing will draw people's attention to what is happening in Hong Kong. "What is happening in Hong Kong is indeed a question exercising the minds of many. Friday is exactly two months to the day since the June 9 mass protest when an estimated 1 million people took to the streets to oppose the now-shelved extradition bill. But that first protest – a peaceful one where people wore white to symbolise how they were at a funeral marking the death of Hong Kong – seemed like a more innocent time. Since then, there have been eight consecutive weeks of demonstrations, nearly all resulting in clashes with police. The city has breached uncharted territory again and again. The storming and vandalising of the Legislative Council on July 1 shocked everyone. The appearance of white-shirted men in Yuen Long – some of them suspected triad members – who beat passers-by indiscriminately on July 21 was another shocking turning point, prompting more people to side with protesters. The defacing of the national emblem at Beijing's liaison office with black paint stunned many, while last weekend's spree of violence leading up to Monday's citywide strike that paralysed the city was another major shock. But for Sin, it was a day protesters showed the depth of their anger. Sin, who had been taking part in the extradition bill protests from the start, joined a rally in Mong Kok at 1pm. He and hundreds of others then moved en masse to besiege Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, defacing the walls and throwing eggs and bricks, before they were dispersed by tear gas'No compromise': Claim inquiry only possible when protests stop rejected. By now trained to defuse the canisters as they land – by snuffing them with a traffic cone or a metal dish – they gathered their supplies and ran off. They then made their way to the Hung Hom tunnel. Quickly, they assembled a barrier of metal fences and emptied water barricades to block the tunnel entrance. Twenty minutes later, they fled, location unknown. These violent provocations continued late into the night in multiple locations, as they started fires at other police stations, engaged officers in a laser beam battle, and hoisted giant slings to lob bricks at police. That Monday, police used more than 800 rounds of tear gas, compared with 1,000 rounds in the previous two months. Two months in, almost everyone can agree on at least one thing: Hong Kong is facing its worst political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997. Political observers and top government insiders see no endgame in sight even as some believe the city is on the precipice of permanent decline if peace does not come soon. What exactly is this movement that has taken hold of Hong Kong society such that police are seen as the biggest enemy, more and more people have become inured to violence and the fabled can-do spirit of Hongkongers seems to be morphing into a collective let's-see-what-happens-next attitude?The protesters have a radical core but the broader movement has widespread support across generational and income lines. It started out as a rejection of the controversial extradition bill. But two months on, how has the cause changed? What do they want? In February, the government proposed amendments to the Fugitives Offenders Ordinance to allow for ad hoc transfers of criminal suspects to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which the city lacks an agreement. It was to ensure a Hong Kong suspect could be brought to justice over the killing of his girlfriend in Taiwan, and it would also plug a legal loophole with other countries if their citizens who had committed crimes used the city for refuge. As business chambers one after another voiced their objections to the bill, which they said removed the legal firewall between Hong Kong and mainland China, where fair trials were not guaranteed, other influential institutions like the Catholic Church, the Law Society and the Bar Association all chimed in and the momentum of opposition grew. Despite the June 9 protest, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor tabled a second reading of the bill for June 12. But Legco could not sit that day as protesters besieged its premises and, for the first time since the handover, clashes broke out between demonstrators and police, with tear gas and rubber bullets used. On June 15, Lam suspended the bill but did not apologise for her government's bungling. The next day, an estimated 2 million people, according to organisers, marched, blanketing the city with wave upon wave of black, the new colour of protest. The seemingly leaderless protest movement voted at first on several demands on their secret social media channels. Even though at first they wanted Lam to resign, they put this aside, deeming it irrelevant – as it would make no difference if the system persisted – and settled on five items: fully withdraw the extradition bill, order an independent inquiry into the clashes between protesters and police, retract the "riot" classification of the clashes of June 12, drop the charges against all arrested demonstrators and relaunch the stalled electoral reform process. Lam has refused all five demands. Instead of saying the bill was withdrawn, she declared it to be "dead", insisting it held greater finality than "withdrawn" as the latter meant a piece of legislation could be reintroduced. This demand is now mired in the morass of semantics as critics accuse her of stubborn pride. On the call to have the riot charges dropped, Lam said the terminology had no effect on the actual legal case brought to bear on those arrested on June 12. At the time, none of the 64 people arrested had been charged, even though others detained more recently have been served court papers. On the demand for amnesty, opposition supporters like former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang have called for a one-off exercise to all involved in the June 12 clashes. Again, the government has refused, arguing it would weaken the rule of law if investigations and prosecutions were not followed through. Of the protesters' five demands, the one that has won the widest support has been the call for a commission of inquiry to investigate police actions. Several observers – including eight former political appointees – have said an inquiry to cover the actions of both protesters and police might even be palatable. Lam has insisted that the Independent Police Complaints Council would do just as good a job. After last weekend's mayhem and the start of Monday's citywide strike, Lam took a tougher stance, reframing the protests as an attack on national sovereignty and the "one country, two systems" principle under which Hong Kong is promised freedoms not allowed in the rest of China[….] The government was being ineffectual in merely condemning the violence committed or asking the public to calm down, without getting to the root causes of the grievances, he said. "Some say the kids are disillusioned by the way 'one country, two systems' has been working. Some say no, these are 'rubbish youth' who cannot afford to buy a flat, they have no jobs, and they are jealous of China, therefore they stage riots," Shieh said. The government has been reluctant to have an independent inquiry, according to multiple inside sources, because it does not want to affect police morale. But Shieh said this was precisely the reason to hold one, to avoid further harm to police. A government source said that, no matter how wide the scope, police would unavoidably be targeted in the inquiry. Another senior counsel, who has represented the government before, also said the commission's inquiry could prompt a review into offences such as rioting. The veteran lawyer, who requested anonymity as he feared potential conflict, said the judicial setting of the inquiry would give the greatest benefit of openness to examine any claim, including that of foreign intervention. "Every party will know it will be broadcast to the public, and... we will also try to conduct it in a way easily understood by the layman," he said. "The inquiry could help contain the political conflict and redirect focus back towards improving the system." But Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese University, said an independent probe would not solve the crisis if Lam stayed in office. "People no longer trust that Lam will appoint someone who would independently and impartially investigate the matter and subsequently hold the relevant police officers accountable," he said. ^ top ^
US calls Beijing a 'thuggish regime' for 'harassing' American diplomat over Hong Kong meeting with Joshua Wong (SCMP)
2010-03-17
The United States on Thursday accused the Chinese government of being behind the leak of a Hong Kong-based US diplomat's personal information, after a pro-Beijing newspaper disclosed details of the official's personal life. "I don't think that leaking an American diplomat's private information, pictures, names of their children, I don't think that is a formal protest, that is what a thuggish regime would do," US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said at a news briefing in Washington. Her remarks came after the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong lodged a formal complaint with the US consulate general over a meeting between US diplomat Julie Eadeh and pro-democracy activists in the city. After the meeting, Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao newspaper published an article disclosing personal details about her, including the names of her children. Leaking such information was "not how a responsible nation would behave," said Ortagus, who later confirmed that it was the US government's position that the Chinese government was directly behind the leak. Attending the meeting with Eadeh, who is the political unit chief for the US consulate, were Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and other members of the local political party Demosisto. Expressing its disapproval of the meeting, the commissioner's office urged the US "to immediately make a clean break from anti-China forces who stir up trouble in Hong Kong, stop sending out wrong signals to violent offenders, refrain from meddling with Hong Kong affairs and avoid going further down the wrong path." On Thursday, Ortagus objected "to the Chinese saying they issued a formal protest when in fact they harassed an American diplomat". Catholics march to call for cooling-off period amid Hong Kong unrest Ortagus said meetings between diplomats and local political figures were the established protocol of the US foreign service. "American diplomats meet with formal government officials, we meet with opposition protesters, not just in Hong Kong or China," she said. "This literally happens in every single country in which an American embassy is present." The diplomat in question was "doing her job and we commend her for her work", Ortagus added. As protests over a now-suspended proposal to amend Hong Kong's extradition laws have progressed, the Chinese government has increasingly turned to accusations of interference by foreign powers, even at one point calling violent unrest in the city "the work of the US". Responding to Eadeh's meeting with pro-democracy activists, China's No 2 diplomat in Pakistan tweeted: "Embarrassing! The black hand was caught red-handed!" Attached to Zhao Lijian's Thursday tweet was a screengrab of Ta Kung Pao's story. Joshua Wong Chi-fung talks about the extradition bill during an appearance on a radio programme. The State Department has rejected all accusations of interference, while US President Donald Trump has sought to distance his administration from the situation, saying last week that it was a matter for Hong Kong and China to resolve "because Hong Kong is a part of China." Trump has also called the protests "riots", a term that resonated more closely with the rhetoric of Beijing than the language of other members of his administration. Earlier this week, the State Department said the US government remained "staunch in our support for freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in Hong Kong." ^ top ^
Carrie Lam thanks police, vows to improve HK residents' livelihoods (Global Times)
2019-08-09
Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), expressed on Wednesday appreciation to Hong Kong police for their great efforts in defending the rule of law, vowing to improve the livelihoods of residents amid weeks of violent protests that have severely disrupted the city's prosperity and stability. Lam made the remarks during a visit to public facilities in Tin Shui Wai in the city's northwest. She visited the Tin Shui Wai Police Station, which was attacked by radical protests recently and thanked the police for safeguarding Hong Kong's stability and the rule of law under the extremely difficult circumstances. She also visited the site of the new Tin Shui Wai Market, which will be able to host at least 120 stalls when completed, and inspected the new air-conditioning system there. During the visit, Lam vowed to lay out ways to improve the livelihoods of Hong Kong residents in her upcoming 2019 policy address. ^ top ^
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| Macau |
Macao's newly registered company capital surges by 647 pct in H1 (China Daily)
2019-08-05
A total of 3,278 new companies were incorporated in Macao in the first half year of 2019, and their total value of registered capital surged by 647 percent to three billion patacas (about $372.67 million), the special administrative region's statistic service said here on Monday. The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed that the number of companies in dissolution totaled 421 in the first half year of 2019, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to 157 million patacas (about $19.50 million). At the end of June, the number of registered companies totaled 69,042, an increase of 5,255 from a year earlier. The DSEC report added that in the second quarter of 2019, a total of 1,665 new companies were incorporated, decreasing 55 year-on-year. The total value of registered capital in the second quarter soared by 879.6 percent to two billion patacas (about $248.45 million), due to the incorporation of companies with large capital in transport, wholesale and retail sectors. Companies in dissolution totaled 211 in the second quarter, and the value of registered capital of companies in dissolution amounted to 76 million (about $9.44 million). ^ top ^
Jinwan goes to Macao and returns with agreements (China Daily)
2019-08-05
The recent Macao promotion of the industrial advantages of Jinwan district, Zhuhai led to the signing of four cooperative agreements on Aug 1. Among the contracting parties are the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines of Macau University of Science & Technology, and Macao Commercial Post. They all cited Jinwan's development potential. District participants at the promotional event elaborated on Jinwan's "3+1" industrial structure, which is based on the strategic emerging industries of aviation, biomedicine, and new energy, as well as traditional electronic and electrical industries. Agglomeration of industry clusters was said to be accelerating transformation and upgrade with positive commercial effects. Jinwan also has integrated industrial services combining production, education, research, sales, and service, such as at Zhuhai International Health Harbor. Favorable working environments and preferential treatment have attracted and retained numerous talents. Jinwan intends to carry out in-depth exchanges and cooperation with Macao regarding physical industry, economy and trade, science and technology, education, culture and tourism, and youth entrepreneurship, among other fields. The partnerships will also facilitate emergence of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. ^ top ^
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| Taiwan |
Taiwan faces tougher mainland measures (Global Times)
2019-08-09
After the suspension of individual tourists and retreat from film festival, experts warned of possible following measures in economic cooperation by the Chinese mainland if the cross-Straits relations continue to worsen, which will inflict a heavy loss on the Taiwan economy. To terminate the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement would be the deadliest measure to hit Taiwan as the number of exits to the mainland accounts for about 40 percent of the island's total, Xu Guangyu, a senior consultant at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times on Thursday. But the mainland would be cautious to make this move as it is too devastating to the island, Xu noted. Once suspended, Taiwan will suffer lost revenue worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the mainland, warned Tang Shaocheng, a senior researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. The mainland imported Taiwan goods worth $178 billion in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 13. 9 percent, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. But the investment environment in Taiwan has worsened after current leader Tsai Ing-wen took office, according to a white paper from the Taiwan Federation of Industries released in May. The Taiwan government approved 56 mainland-invested projects to the island in the first five months, valued at $28.2 million, a year-on-year drop of 74.2 percent, according to the chinanews.com. "Apart from that, the mainland could also stop group tours to the island, sanction Taiwan companies which have business in the mainland but support Taiwan secession, or launch more and bigger military drills to deter Taiwan secessionists," Xu noted. The mainland-based Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Straits suspended the trial run of a scheme under which residents from 47 mainland cities can visit Taiwan as individual tourists starting August. The ban will cause an estimated loss of 76 billion new Taiwan dollar ($2.4 billion) to the Taiwan tourism business in the second half of the year, people.cn reported. One week after the suspension, the China Film Administration announced a ban on Chinese mainland movies and artists from participating in November's 56th Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan. These measures are responses to Taiwan's recent moves, including the military purchase with the US and joining protests in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Jin Yi, an expert at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The mainland has showed goodwill to the island but the Taiwan government kept going its own way, which damaged cross-Straits relations and Taiwan development, analysts said, noting that Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen is responsible for the current situation due to her hostile policies to the mainland. The island is also encountering a step back in interaction with their civil partners in the mainland in various fields. "It's definitely going to make a difference. Our new shows are very likely not to include entertainers from the island of Taiwan," a staff of Chinese entertainment company MeWe told the Global Times on Thursday on the condition of anonymity. Some colleges in Beijing are also holding back interactions with Taiwan partners, according to students reached by the Global Times. ^ top ^
Mainland movie industry skips Taiwan film festival as cross-Straits ties worsen (People's Daily)
2019-08-08
China's film regulator has suspended participation of mainland movies and personnel in the 56th Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei in November amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Straits. China Film News, a magazine published by the China Film Administration, reported the news on Wednesday without giving any reason for the suspension. Chen Xing, a Taiwan studies professor at Beijing Union University, said the move was due not only to "Taiwan independence" remarks during last year's award ceremony at the festival, but also to the recent worsening of cross-Straits relations. The organizing committee of the festival in Taipei responded by letter on Wednesday that it was disappointed by the news but the event would go on as scheduled. A total of 148 feature films have been registered with the festival this year, compared with last year's 228, according to the organizing committee. The Golden Horse Awards are one of three major film honors in the Chinese-speaking region — the two others are the Golden Rooster Awards on the mainland and the Hong Kong Film Awards. Mainland participants have been big winners since they began attending the event in 1996. Last year, they won about 60 percent of the awards. However, last year's Golden Horse Awards ceremony was overshadowed by "Taiwan independence" remarks, triggering discontent from mainland participants and anger from the mainland public. Documentary director Fu Yue, the best documentary award winner last year, said in her acceptance speech that her biggest dream is that "our country"— referring to Taiwan — can be regarded as an "independent entity». Mainland actress and jury chair Gong Li later refused to join Taiwan-born director Ang Lee, head of last year's executive committee, onstage to present the award for best feature film, a move many interpreted as a protest. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in November after the event that film industry professionals on both sides of the Straits should oppose such pro-independence acts and remarks. He said the festival is a platform for film professionals across the Straits to communicate with each other, but some political forces made use of the occasion to create political trouble. The suspension follows a recent travel policy change. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced last week that the issuance of permits for mainland individuals to travel to Taiwan will be suspended starting in August due to the current cross-Straits relations. Ma said last week the Democratic Progressive Party's "Taiwan independence" secessionist activities led to the suspension of individual travel permits to Taiwan. «They have been constantly fomenting hostility toward the mainland and creating confrontation across the Straits, which destroyed the foundation and conditions for such travel," he said. ^ top ^
Taiwan exports keeps falling (China Daily)
2019-08-07
Taiwan's July exports dropped 0.5 percent year on year to $28.2 billion, according to trade data released Wednesday by the island's financial authorities. Imports in July dropped 5.4 percent from a year ago to $24.64 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.56 billion, according to Taiwan's trade data. For the first seven months, exports dropped by 3 percent from a year earlier to $186.43 billion, while imports stood at $162.92 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $23.51 billion. The Chinese mainland remained the biggest trade partner of Taiwan in the first seven months, receiving $49.87 billion of the island's exports, or 26.8 percent of the total, according to the data. During Jan-June period, Taiwan exported $30.88 billion worth of goods to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, $26.12 billion to the United States, $17.51 billion to Europe and $13.33 billion to Japan. ^ top ^
Beijing is using Chinese tourists to inflict economic pain – but does it work? (SCMP)
2019-08-04
With more middle-class Chinese travelling to destinations all over the world, their valuable tourist dollars have become a means for Beijing to exert pressure on other governments, like Taipei. But while travel restrictions on mainland citizens can have a big economic impact, observers say they may not be an effective way to help Beijing achieve its aims. Taiwan was caught off guard on Wednesday when Beijing announced it would bar citizens from 47 mainland cities from travelling to the self-ruled island as individual tourists. The mainland ban on individual tourist visas began on August 1, with no stated end date, and was due to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's "consistent efforts to push Taiwanese independence activities and incite hostility to the mainland", Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office said. Cross-strait ties between mainland China and Taiwan, over which Beijing claims sovereignty, have deteriorated under the independence-leaning administration of President Tsai Ing-wen. Cross-strait ties have deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen took office. Lin Ying-yu, assistant professor of international relations at National Chung Cheng University, said the restriction on mainland tourists was one of several steps Beijing had taken against Taiwan in recent months, following a fighter jet incursion in the Taiwan Strait in March and recent military drills by the People's Liberation Army near the island. "These are all part of efforts to pressure Taiwan, using measures that are less friendly to Taiwan like removing individual tourist visas," he said. "You can see from all of these things that China is taking harder-line policies against Taiwan recently." Taiwan responds to Beijing's military exercises with drill of its own Taiwan is the latest example of Beijing using mainland tourists as a lever against other governments. The China Tourism Academy estimated that Chinese travellers spent more than US$120 billion in 2018 on a total of 149.7 million outbound trips taken that year, according to government data. Beijing wielded the tourism stick similarly when tensions rose with South Korea in 2017 over the deployment of a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence System (THAAD) there, fearing the missile shield would threaten its security. China's ban on group tours to South Korea halved the number of Chinese tourists to the country, costing an estimated 7.5 trillion won (US$6.24 billion) in losses, according to government data. The total number of mainland visitors plummeted in 2017 to 4.2 million from 8.1 million the year before, official numbers show. South Korea's US-China dilemma deepens with support for America's Indo-Pacific strategyEven after tensions eased between the countries, Chinese visitor numbers have not returned to former levels, with the total for the first half of this year still down by 1 million from the same period in 2016. But the move did not stop South Korea from deploying the THAAD system – instead, it made China unpopular with its neighbours. In 2017, China's rating in an opinion poll of South Koreans by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies slumped from 4.31 in January to 3.21 in March on a 0-10 scale, with 10 representing the most favourable. Beijing said the ban on individual tourist visas was due to the ruling DPP's "consistent efforts to push Taiwanese independence activities and incite hostility to the mainlandZhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, noted the economic cost of a Chinese tourism boycott. "Chinese travellers have a big impact on the tourist industries of places such as South Korea and Taiwan, and tourism can be an effective way to apply economic pressure," Zhang said. "But the deployment of THAAD is a national security issue for South Korea, and Seoul won't abandon this just because of economic losses. "China has used similar tactics against Palau, an archipelago nation in the Pacific and one of Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies. In November 2017, Beijing stopped group tours to the country, ostensibly to pressure Palau to switch diplomatic recognition to the mainland Chinese government. Tourism boycotts – why people gave Myanmar a miss and skipped South Korea. As a result, the number of Chinese visitors fell 22.7 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2017, according to the South Pacific Tourism Organisation. Mainland Chinese tourist numbers had grown rapidly in the years before the ban – from less than 1,000 in 2010 to peak at more than 90,000 in 2016. But they slid post-ban from 70,741 in 2016 to just 55,491 the next year, government data showed. Palau has maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan. More recently, as Beijing and Washington have clashed in a year-long trade war, China issued a travel advisory for the United States in early June, citing immigration checks and home interviews as methods US law enforcement agencies used to "harass" Chinese travellers. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism also released a separate advisory about safety in the US, mentioning frequent shootings, robberies and theft. China also officially warned Chinese students and scholars seeking to head to the US to "raise their risk assessment", given increased visa delays and denials of student applications. In Taiwan, the number of mainland visitors had been declining in recent years compared to years when Ma Ying-jeou, from the mainland-friendly Kuomintang party, was president. Tourist arrivals from the mainland fell from 4.2 million in 2015, when Ma was in office, to 2.7 million last year under Tsai, according to Taiwanese government data. Taiwanese authorities said Beijing's ban on solo travellers could result in 700,000 fewer arrivals over the next six months, which may cost the island NT$28 billion (US$890.75 million) in lost revenue. While the impact has yet to be seen, critics have accused Beijing of attempting to influence Taiwan's upcoming presidential election and say there should not be heavy reliance on mainland China for economic development. Zhang also noted that Tsai's support for the wave of protests in Hong Kong stemming from a now-shelved extradition bill could also have drawn Beijing's ire. "The Tsai Ing-wen administration has been talking a lot about the Hong Kong protests recently," Zhang said. "It's possible that through restricting tourists from going to the island, Beijing is telling Tsai that there is a price to pay if she uses Hong Kong to make political gains." This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Pressure via tourism has not helped Beijing ^ top ^
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| Economy |
China has no plan to lift equity-index futures foreign investment quota: securities regulator (People's Daily)
2019-08-09
There is no plan to significantly ease overseas investors' access to the Chinese equity-index futures market, the country's top securities regulator said Thursday. "The report is groundless," the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement in response to a Bloomberg report. China will further expand the commodity futures market in an orderly manner and support the introduction of more specific varieties, the statement said, adding that related work is steadily underway. Such efforts aim to improve the market operation quality and service to the real economy instead of attracting more overseas capital inflow, the statement pointed out. China has opened commodity futures including crude oil, iron ore, PTA and TSR 20 rubber to international investors in its bid to promote financial opening-up. ^ top ^
China says 'no such thing' as currency manipulation despite US claim it depreciated yuan exchange rate (SCMP)
2019-08-06
China's central bank flatly rejected the charge from the United States that it is a currency manipulator, instead accusing Washington of adopting protectionist, unilateral actions which run counter to international rules and negatively affect the global economy. The US quickly labelled China after the yuan fell below the key threshold of 7 to the US dollar on Monday, a level the PBOC had previously defended. It was the first time it had fallen below the psychologically important level since 2008. This added a currency war element to the existing bilateral trade and technology conflicts. "China employs a managed floating exchange rate system that is based on market supply and demand and in reference to a basket of currencies. There is no such thing as currency manipulation [on the part of China]," the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in an statement on Tuesday. China employs a managed floating exchange rate system that is based on market supply and demand in reference to a basket of currencies. There is no such thing as currency manipulation [on the part of China] "China has refused to engage in a competitive devaluation despite the US escalating trade tensions from 2018, nor has it used [the exchange rate] as a tool to address [the trade conflict]. "The move to allow the yuan to depreciate was justified by economic fundamentals and market sentiment, but analysts said that the decision by the PBOC not to defend the key threshold gave the Trump administration the perfect excuse to extend the bilateral dispute. "China had no intention to escalate trade tensions and particularly didn't want it to spill over into the finance and investment areas," said Yu Miaojie, a professor at Peking University's national school of development. Yu argued that the depreciation was not deliberate, but rather a result of "market panic" triggered by last week's threat by US President Donald Trump to levy a new 10 per cent tariff on the US$300 billion Chinese merchandise. China has refused to engage in a competitive devaluation despite the US escalating trade tension from 2018, nor has it used [the exchange rate] as a tool to address [the trade conflict] "In some sense, the PBOC didn't want this depreciation. There's a possibility that it will take measures to stabilise the exchange rate in the short term," he added. China announced on Tuesday that it would sell 30 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) of worth of short-term securities in the Hong Kong market next week, a move that will absorb yuan liquidity and support the value of the Chinese currency. The US Treasury's statement on Monday announcing the designation of China as a currency manipulator cited some paragraphs from the PBOC's own statement on Monday in an attempt to prove that "China has taken concrete steps to devalue its currency". "In a statement today, the People's Bank of China noted that it 'has accumulated rich experience and policy tools, and will continue to innovate and enrich the control toolbox, and take necessary and targeted measures against the positive feedback behaviour that may occur in the foreign exchange market.' This is an open acknowledgement by the PBOC that it has extensive experience manipulating its currency and remains prepared to do so on an ongoing basis," said the US Treasury. Wang Jun, chief economist of Zhongyuan Bank, said the currency manipulator label was only an excuse for Washington to maximise the pressure on China to make concessions in the trade talks, which resumed last week in Shanghai. "It's totally a political decision," he said, as China does meet the three criteria set by the US Treasury to be designated as a currency manipulator. Wang said it is ironic that the US never complained when China defended the 7 level in recent years, but pointed the finger immediately after China withdrew intervention and allowed market force to push the yuan down. "Such a judgment is quite absurd. It reflects US fury at the deadlocked trade talks and [the fact that] it is running out of cards [in the negotiations]," he said. Such a judgment is quite absurd. It reflects US fury at the deadlocked trade talks and [the fact that] it is running out of cards [in the negotiations] The Chinese central bank set the midpoint of the daily reference rate for the yuan against the US dollar on Tuesday at 6.9683, down 458 points from Monday, reflecting the drop in the yuan's value. The US Treasury said in its statement that it will engage with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to eliminate the "unfair competitive advantage" created by China letting its exchange rate depreciate. However, the IMF said in the annual external sector report in July that Beijing's handling of the yuan was "broadly in line" with the state of its economy in 2018. Also, the IMF did not find any indication that China had intervened in the foreign exchange market last year. China's foreign exchange reserves declined by a modest US$67 billion in 2018, within the normal range after adjusting for changes in the valuation of reserve assets, returns on those assets and measurement margin of error, the report said ^ top ^
Yuan breaks 7, shows ready to retaliate US tariff threat (Global Times)
2019-08-05
The yuan weakened past 7 to the US dollar for the first time in more than a decade, in a move that signifies the Chinese government's rising intention to pursue retaliation against the US. On Monday morning, both onshore and offshore yuan weakened past 7 versus the US dollar, a key psychological level the Chinese currency hasn't breached since 2008. The yuan will be kept basically stable at a reasonable and equilibrium level, the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, said Monday, defusing concerns over the yuan's slide past a key mark. The yuan's sudden weakness, according to PBC, was due to to multiple factors including unilateralism, trade protectionist measures and expectations for the US imposition of tariffs on Chinese products. In a fresh sign of trade-war escalation, US President Donald Trump on Thursday tweeted a threat to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on all remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. The PBC's remarks were echoed by market watchers, who describe the weakening of the yuan as normal market reactions to Trump's threat of new China tariffs as well as the dollar's strength. The market anticipated the negative impact of the tariff increase on China's trade in the future, and the yuan depreciated as a result to offset such influence, Zhou Yu, director of international finance under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Monday. As the tariffs threat came a bit suddenly, the market reaction was also a little strong, Zhou said. Ding Jianping, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times, said that the rising US Dollar Index recently, resulting partly from the Fed's interest rate cut, has exerted pressure on the yuan to depreciate. "The yuan's depreciation does not represent any abnormal fluctuations of the domestic economy," Ding remarked. As Zhou put it, the yuan's depreciation would give a boost to China's exports. The nation's yuan-denominated foreign trade rose by 3.9 percent year-on-year in the first half, with exports up 6.1 percent and imports up 1.4 percent, per Chinese customs data. "With the yuan breaching the 7 mark, the market's psychological tolerance of the currency will be gradually ratcheted," Wu Jinduo, head of fixed income at the research institute of Great Wall Securities, told the Global Times Monday. That suggests the weakening of the yuan will help reduce risks associated with the exchange rate's low fluctuations in the long term, the downward pressure on the economy and asset bubbles, although it would deal a blow to market sentiment in the short run, according to Wu, also a part-time fellow of the Development Research Institute at Fudan University. The continuation of trade frictions has led to a marked increase in market uncertainty, and depreciation pressure on the yuan also puts yuan-denominated assets under pressure, Hong Hao, managing director and head of research at BOCOM International, told the Global Times on Monday. The yuan's depreciation pressure also indicates the market's expectations for policy easing, he said. The PBC also assured the markets of yuan stability. In its remarks on Monday, the central bank said that the yuan will maintain stability and strength against a basket of currencies. The 7 mark that the yuan has breached against the dollar is not a number describing its age, nor is it acting like a dam blocking floods. The number seems more like water level marks in a reservoir, which elevate during high flow periods but lower during droughts, meaning both the rise and fall are the norm, the central bank explained in a vivid description. Analysts also agreed upon yuan stability in the long term. Ding predicts that the yuan will continue to operate stably in the long term and is likely to rebound in the next few months. Expressing concerns that the yuan may depreciate further if trade frictions worsen, Zhou believes the government would intervene if a worse-case scenario were to occur. "But if the yuan slips to around 10 against the greenback, the government might take some measures to prop the yuan. "Also worth noting is that yuan weakness actually serves to offset the impact of the trade war on China. The flexibility and moderate weakening of the yuan helps in stabilizing growth and ensuring job additions, partly offsetting the shockwaves trade tariffs have sent through the business sector, according to Wu. In Zhou's words, the yuan's depreciation level can cancel out influence from the same level of tariff increases. The yuan has weakened by about 1 percent so far this year in terms of daily fixing rate. The yuan's daily fixing was weakened by 229 points to 6.9225 on Monday. Both Chinese mainland shares and H shares fell during the morning session on Monday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.81 percent to 2,844.47 points by market close in the morning session, while the Hang Seng Index sank 2.89 percent to 26,140.72 points. US stock futures also plunged, implying US stocks are set to tumble at market opening Monday. ^ top ^
China's central bank speeds up digital currency drive (China Daily)
2019-08-05
With internet technologies advancing and cryptocurrencies flourishing amid a broad digital transformation, individual countries are starting to issue legal tender in digital form, and the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, is also accelerating its pace in this area. As of Sunday, the PBC had applied for 74 patents involved with digital currencies to the National Intellectual Property Administration, according to a report by the Economic Information Daily on Monday. The PBC said it will speed up the development of legal digital currency on Friday. Wang Xin, director of the PBC Research Bureau, said in July that the authority is organizing market-oriented institutions to jointly research and develop a central bank digital currency and the program has been approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet. "China is beefing up efforts in digital currency innovation, a trend driven by emerging technologies that is spreading worldwide," said Huang Zhen, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics. Rather than letting cryptocurrencies challenge the position of sovereign currencies, it is wiser for countries to roll out their own digital currencies, Huang told the Global Times on Monday. Chinese authorities ordered a ban on initial coin offerings in 2017 and stopped direct bitcoin-yuan trading as the rapidly expanding market spawned concerns over financial risks. The PBC, one of the earliest central banks in the world to start the process of digital currency innovation, launched its program in 2014 during the tenure of former governor Zhou Xiaochuan. In 2017, the PBC established a research institution for the digital currency. "China is among the leading countries in terms of its research into a government-backed currency," said Huang. The basic conditions favorable for China's implementation of a digital currency include comprehensive and fast networks, broad digitalization in the financial sector, and advanced financial technologies - particularly blockchain, a digital, public ledger that records online transactions, according to Huang. In recent years, Chinese internet companies have made huge achievements in the mobile payment and e-commerce sectors, helping create a digital economy of more than 30 trillion yuan ($4.36 trillion), according to media reports. In June, US social media giant Facebook released an official white paper for its cryptocurrency project Libra, a blockchain-powered stablecoin expected to arrive in 2020. The move stepped up the global race for digital currencies, with China's central bank paying close attention. The central bank is closely working with market participants on creating a central bank digital currency, PBC official Wang said. "China's private market players have accumulated some experience in the digital currency sector. Their participation in the government's work will effectively help promote the project," Cao Yin, an expert in the blockchain sector, told the Global Times on Monday. It is likely that the sovereign digital currency will be issued within two or three years at the soonest, although the authority tends to take a prudent attitude, Cao said. Once it is broadly implemented, the new currency will have a big impact on Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay, the two dominant mobile digital payment tools in China, as the PBC's digital currency is featured by decentralization, unlike the former two. There are still some bumps on the road to promoting the digital currency. "For this new kind of currency, its nature actually poses challenges to existing policies in such aspects as foreign exchange control, so it takes time to balance benefits with potential risks," said Cao. A flexible and open mechanism is needed by the PBC to attract more talent, he added. Digital currencies can help strengthen regulation as transaction data can be tracked and analyzed, including illegal money laundering, according to Huang. But laws and rules should be formulated in a timely fashion to protect individual information. "Safety is the biggest issue," he added. "Use of the digital currency to better serve the real economy also requires policy guidance," said Huang ^ top ^
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Northeast Asia sees more consensus (Global Times)
2019-08-09
An article published in Financial Times Chinese on July 29 said that US, Japan and South Korea are acting increasingly independently, while a trend of joint action is being frequently observed among China, Russia and North Korea. Thus, a conclusion is made in the article - balance of power in Northeast Asia is being reorganized. Indeed, the US-Japan-South Korea security alliance is facing many challenges. Both Japan and South Korea want to strengthen their significance and independence within the system. However, the three countries' alliance will not collapse, nor will the US lose its dominance over the other two countries in the alliance. The current divergences between Japan and South Korea are in trade, bilateral relations and the two peoples' sentiments. Tokyo and Seoul have misjudgments and misunderstandings about each other, which has led to their current disputes. But they are not deliberately trying to shake off Washington's control. Japan-South Korea disputes have not impacted the essence of the US-Japan-South Korea alliance. Japan-South Korea trade conflicts might somewhat influence the three countries' cooperation, but their military alliance is still stable. Yet the US-Japan-South Korea alliance needs to be reshaped and transformed under new geopolitical and international conditions. As long as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is not realized, South Korea will remain dependent on the US in security and geopolitics. The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a military intelligence-sharing pact between Japan and South Korea, is supposed to be renewed on August 24. This will be an important juncture. If any change occurs to the agreement, there might be a crack in the US-Japan-South Korea military alliance, even though it will not completely collapse. The US has not interfered much in the ongoing trade row between Japan and South Korea. Washington has its own considerations. Japan imposed sanctions on South Korea targeting the latter's core industry. As the US uses sanctions and tariffs as tools against other countries, it is not qualified to find faults with Japan. Seoul is under the pressure of sanctions from Tokyo, but Washington still insists South Korea pay a yearly amount of $5 billion for the stationing of US forces in South Korea, adding that "the amount is non-negotiable." It shows that the US is still confident in the US-Japan-South Korea alliance. The US is still dominating the alliance and it is trying to sow uncertainties in Northeast Asia. The Financial Times article said that a trend of joint actions are being observed among China, Russia and North Korea. We could interpret the phenomenon as an improvement in China-North Korea and China-Russia bilateral relations. Indeed, it seems that China, Russia and North Korea are coordinating more frequently with each other. When Japan and South Korea are caught in disputes, China and Russia conducted a strategic bomber patrol in Asia-Pacific region, and North Korea fired more short-range ballistic missiles during the last several weeks. All these indicators show that these countries have their own geopolitical strategies. However, it is not likely that China, Russia and North Korea will have more essential coordination or even form an alliance. The relations among China, Russia and North Korea also reflect that China is in favor of building a community with a shared future for mankind and is against unilateralism and trade protectionism. Such a philosophy is agreed upon by many countries. Instead of saying that the US-Japan-South Korea alliance is failing and that China, Russia and North Korea are acting jointly, it is better to say Northeast Asian countries have more consensus and common interests. During the Eastern Economic Forum held in Russia's Far East in 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to seize the historical opportunity to strengthen cooperation in Northeast Asia for regional peace and prosperity. Although Japan and South Korea have historical and trade disputes, both countries, as well as China, Russia and North Korea hope to establish a sound relationship that benefits international development. ^ top ^
ROK, US begin joint annual military exercises (Global Times)
2019-08-05
The combined forces of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States "actually" began their joint annual military exercises on Monday amid the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s harsh criticism against it, according to local media reports. The two allies "actually" launched the computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX), scheduled to last for about half a month, local broadcaster YTN reported. During the next 10 days following the CPX, the combined forces would intensively verify the ROK's military's initial operational capability (IOC) for the transfer of wartime operational control of the ROK's troops from Washington to Seoul. ROK's wartime operational command was handed over to the US-led UN Command after the three-year Korean War broke out in 1950. Seoul regained its peacetime command in 1994. The ROK-US military drills came amid the DPRK's denunciation. After test-firing two short-range projectiles on July 25, Pyongyang sent warnings against the planned ROK-US drills and Seoul's adoption of the US-made stealth fighter jets. Since then, the DPRK fired off four more short-range projectiles in just over a week. An unnamed ROK's military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the drills, which began on Monday, would not be officially called the ROK-US joint military exercises, noting that the announcement on the joint military drills would be made later this week. ROK and the United States scrapped or scaled down their joint annual war games, codenamed Key Resolve, Foal Eagle and Ulchi Freedom Guardian, since the first summit between ROK's President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un last year and the first-ever DPRK-US summit in June of the year. In March this year, the combined forces staged the new Dong Maeng exercise to replace the Key Resolve command post exercises and the Foal Eagle field training drills. ^ top ^
ROK president calls for cooperating with DPRK to create peace economy amid trade row with Japan (China Daily)
2019-08-05
The Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for creating a peace-driven economy through cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during a meeting with his senior secretaries. The appeal was made after Japan's removal of the ROK last week from its whitelist of trusted trading partners that are given preferential treatment for export, according to the presidential Blue House. "The recent incident reaffirmed our sense of the urgent need to create a peace-driven economy. Japan's economy holds advantages over the (South) Korean economy in terms of the size of its economy and the domestic market," Moon said. "The realization of a peace economy through inter-Korean economic cooperation will allow us to immediately catch up with Japan's advantages," the president noted. Moon said his government will not languish in pessimism or give up on the peace economy because of fluctuations in the inter-Korean and the DPRK-US relations. "When the two Koreas make concerted efforts with the confidence that peace economy will open up a unique future of opportunities for us, we will be able to achieve denuclearization and ensuing peace on the Korean Peninsula and bring about common prosperity upon this foundation," Moon noted. Criticizing Japan for its export restriction, Moon said Japan undermined the free trade order. Japan's export curbs came in protest against the ROK top court's rulings that ordered some of Japanese companies to compensate ROK's victims who were forced into hard labor without pay during the 1910-45 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Moon vowed to turn the current situation into an opportunity to build a springboard for the ROK economy to reach a new level through innovative growth and the homegrown development of industrial parts and materials. ^ top ^
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Russian Deputy Minister of Defense visiting Mongolia (Montsame)
2019-08-09
Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin is paying a visit to Mongolia. Mongolian Deputy Minister of Defense T.Dulamdorj welcomed him and held a meeting. During the meeting, the two sides discussed about the "Aravt" equestrian marathon being organized in Mongolia these days within the framework of the Fifth International Army Games 2019. Deputy Minister T.Dulamdorj noted that the visit of the Russian Deputy Defense Minister's visit to Mongolia to partake in the closing ceremony of the "Aravt" marathon is a sign of a high significance attached by the Russian side to the bilateral defense and military cooperation between Mongolia and Russia. At the end of the meeting, Russian Deputy Minister Alexander Fomin handed over an honorary award of the Russian Armed Forces to Ya.Erdenebileg, officer of the Defense Ministry's department of foreign cooperation for his contribution to the bilateral defense relations. Afterwards, he laid a wreath at the monument to Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Ulaanbaatar. He then departed to the training base of the Mongolian Armed Forces in Tavantolgoi, where the Aravt competition is being organized. ^ top ^
Mongolian civil service officials to be trained in India (Montsame)
2019-08-08
Chairman of Civil Service Council of Mongolia B.Baatarzorig met with Indian Ambassador to Mongolia Mohinder Pratap Singh within the framework of a memorandum of cooperation signed during the Chairman B.Baatarzorig's recent working trip to India. The document creates opportunities to exchange experience between the civil service organizations of Mongolia and India, training Mongolian civil service employees in India, organizing activities to improve effective operations of civil service organizations of Mongolia and India by conducting interviews of civil service employees and enhancing the regulation for civil service and carrying out other measures. Also, the two sides are now able to collaborate in works to build the capacity of civil service and create a better system for a selection of civil service officials. Thanks to the memorandum, civil service officials of governor's offices of 21 aimags of Mongolia dealing with foreign affairs will be trained in India. ^ top ^
Mongolia-China Intergovernmental Commission working group meets (Montsame)
2019-08-07
The working group of the Intergovernmental Commission between Mongolia and the People's Republic of China on trade, economic science and technical cooperation held its meeting on August 6. The meeting was co-chaired by the head of Chinese side working group, Deputy Director of Asian Affairs Department at the Ministry of Commerce Yang Weichun and head of Mongolian side working group, Director of Neighboring Countries Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs T.Janabazar. At the meeting, the parties exchanged views on acceleration of projects funded with soft loans and grants provided by China, export increase of non-mining and agricultural products under the bilateral economic cooperation, cooperation intensification in energy, infrastructure and transport, making prompt decision to terminate the ban on meat exports to China and renewal of the mid-term program to develop trade and economic cooperation between the countries, and came to a common understanding of advancing some works. The Chinese delegation got acquainted with the progress of the projects funded by soft loans and grants of Chinese Government. ^ top ^
Environment and Tourism Minister pays visit to China (Montsame)
2019-08-06
Minister of Environment and Tourism N.Tserenbat paid a visit to Gansu province of the People's Republic of China between July 28 and August 2. During his visit, Minister N.Tserenbat held bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Luo Shugang and expressed his wishes to strengthen bilateral tourism cooperation. Minister also attended the opening of the 4th Silk Road International Cultural Expo and 9th Dunhuang Tour-Silk Road International Tourism Festival. The cultural expo and tour being held under the theme 'Prosperity over Poverty: Culture and Tourism for New Vitality of Silk Road' unveiled on July 30 in Hezuo city, capital of Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Gansu province. Over 30 cultural activities will be held across 14 cities in Gansu province within the frames of the expo. The month-long event is aimed at promoting people-to-people exchanges and integrate culture with tourism along the Silk Road. China's Gansu province doesn't only boast a wide range of natural wonders, but is also renowned for its rich diversity of historical and cultural heritage. As a major stopover on the ancient Silk Road, Gansu witnessed the convergence of various cultures and has inherited a spirit of inclusiveness from the ancient trade route. According to Minister Luo Shugang, since last year, the annual growth rate of both the number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenue in Gansu province has exceeded 25 percent. In his speech at the opening ceremony, N.Tserenbat underlined that the core of building a close and mutually-beneficial cooperation relationship should be fully respecting the originality of local culture and protecting the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as well as preserving traditional values of local community. He further emphasized that in order to attract more international visitors, Mongolia is strivingto upgrade its tourism industry, taking specific measures including improving infrastructure and enhancing the quality of service in the tourism industry. "Tourism can offer opportunities for people to share and communicate," he noted. A total of 800 guests from over 30 countries, including China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia N.Tserenbat and Executive Director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Zhu Shanzhong attended the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was followed by a concert titled 'Nine-colored Shambhala Night' featuring the performances by ethnic groups at Gannan Grand Theatre. On the second day of the event, a number of events including the international travel operators conference, exhibition of tourism products and ethnic food festival were held. One of the remarkable events was the arts festival held at the open field in Dangzhou Grassland near Hezuo city. More than 6,500 local artists and 700 horses participated in the performances with unique local cultural characteristics. The event continued with the tours through the remarkable places of Gansu province in three three different routes. This year, the Silk Road International Cultural Expo has opened in Hezuo city of Gannan prefecture and will conclude in Dunhuang, while the previous three sessions of the event entirely took place in Dunhuang. ^ top ^
Leading enterprises from Mongolia and China to convene in Ulaanbaatar (Montsame)
2019-08-02
China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors linked by rivers and mountains, enjoying profound traditional friendship. The two countries maintained good cooperation in various fields. Both countries announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mongolia. Over the last 70 years, the two countries have been living in amity and cooperation and making progress together, becoming a good model of state-to-state relations. At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) plans to hold its first ever event in Mongolia from August 19 to 20 - Boao Forum for Asia Ulaanbaatar Conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Ulaanbaatar under theme "Concerted Action for Common Development in the New Era". The Conference aims at helping Chinese entrepreneurs better understand the business environment and related policies of Mongolia and implementing the important consensus reached by top leaders of the two countries which will provide greater opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between China and Mongolia and Asian countries at large. Damdin TSOGTBAATAR, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, LI Baodong, Secretary-General of BFA, XING Haiming, Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia, Armida Salsiah ALISJAHBANA, Executive Secretary of the UN ESCAP, Byambasaikhan BAYANJARGAL, Chairman, The Business Council of Mongolia, and MENG Xiaosu, Vice-President, China International Council for the Promotion of Multinational Corporations, will attend and address the conference. Sessions such as "Business Opportunities: Investment Climate in Mongolia", "Business Leaders Dialogue Face-to-Face", and "Mongolian Enterprises Visiting" will bring together leading enterprises from China and Mongolia and tap cooperation potentials. The interactive parallel sessions will discuss topics such as "New direction: Aligning with 'Belt and Road' & 'Development Road'", "Connectivity: Expanding horizons into regional cooperation", and "Common goal: Green development". The vision of this conference is to build consensus and provide intellectual support for Mongolia to better align its development strategy with regional initiatives, and ensure the stable and sustainable cooperation along the "Belt and Road" routes to benefit local and regional people. BFA was inaugurated in Boao, Hainan Province, China by 29 Asian-Pacific countries including China and Mongolia at 2001. The BFA is dedicated to promoting Asian countries to achieve common development through further integration of regional economy. Each spring, the BFA holds its Annual Conference in Boao, bringing together senior government officials, corporate leaders and insightful scholars and experts from Asia and other parts of the world for an intensive brainstorming on the most pressing issues of the world and emerging economies in Asia. Other than the flagship event – BFA Annual Conferences, BFA also holds overseas conferences, forums and symposiums in collaboration with its partners throughout the year. This is the second overseas conference held by BFA in Asia this year following the Manila Conference. ^ top ^
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Eleanore Sun
Embassy of Switzerland
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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.
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