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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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Political consultation held between Foreign Ministries of Mongolia and Switzerland (Montsame)
2019-11-12
The fifth political consultative meeting between Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the Swiss Confederation took place in Bern, Switzerland on November 11. The meeting was co-chaired by State Secretary of the Mongolian Foreign Ministry D.Davaasuren and Head of the Asia-Pacific Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Raphael Nägeli. The sides thoroughly exchanged views on expanding Mongolia-Switzerland relations and cooperation in political, economic, investment, agricultural, environmental, educational and cultural spheres and on the issues regarding both development cooperation and multilateral cooperation. They also emphasized the importance of cooperating within the frameworks of Ulaanbaatar Dialogue and Zermatt Roundtable, the two countries' initiatives for regional, especially Northeast Asian, security. Following the consultative meeting, State Secretary D.Davaasuren held a meeting with his Swiss counterpart Pascale Baeriswyl, discussing bilateral relations and cooperation. Incidentally, this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. ^ top ^
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Xi urges BRICS countries to champion multilateralism (Xinhua)
2019-11-15
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the BRICS countries to undertake their due obligations in championing and practicing multilateralism. Xi made the appeal in a speech entitled "Together for a New Chapter in BRICS Cooperation" at the 11th summit of BRICS, an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Noting that the summit was held at a time when crucial developments are taking place in the world economy and international landscape, Xi pointed out that a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is in the ascendant, and the unstoppable rise of emerging markets and developing countries has injected strong impetus to the reform of the global economic governance system. Nevertheless, there are also causes for concern, Xi said, referring to rising protectionism and unilateralism; greater deficit of governance, development and trust; and growing uncertainties and destabilizing factors in the world economy. Faced with profound changes rarely seen in a century, Xi said, the BRICS countries should grasp the trend of the times, respond to the call of the people, and shoulder their responsibilities. "We must remain true to our unwavering commitment to development and strengthen solidarity and cooperation for the well-being of our people and for the development of our world," he said, before laying out a three-pronged proposal. First, the BRICS countries should work to foster a security environment of peace and stability, he said, urging the five members to safeguard peace and development for all, uphold fairness and justice, and promote win-win results. "It is important that we uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the UN-centered international system, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and take a constructive part in settling geopolitical flash points," he said. The BRICS countries should also maintain close strategic communication and coordination and speak in one voice for a more just and equitable international order, he added. Second, the BRICS countries should pursue greater development prospects through openness and innovation, said the Chinese president. The five-member bloc should deepen the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution, and strive for more productive cooperation in such fields as trade and investment, digital economy and connectivity, so as to achieve high-quality development, Xi said. He called for the five countries to advocate extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in global governance, and push for reform of the global economic governance system. The BRICS countries should stand firm against protectionism, uphold the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and increase the voice and influence of emerging markets and developing countries in international affairs, Xi said. The Chinese president also urged the BRICS member states to prioritize development in the global macro policy framework, follow through the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and promote coordinated progress in the economic, social and environmental spheres. Third, the BRICS countries should promote mutual learning through people-to-people exchanges and take their people-to-people exchanges to greater breadth and depth, said Xi. Xi proposed to leverage "BRICS Plus" cooperation as a platform to increase dialogue with other countries and civilizations to win BRICS more friends and partners. In his speech, the president also stressed that China will open up still wider. "We will import more goods and services, ease market access for foreign investments, and step up intellectual property protection. With these efforts, we will break new ground in pursuing all-dimensional, multi-tiered and all-sectoral opening-up in China," he said. China will continue to act in the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and pursue open, green and clean cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said. "We will continue to follow a high-standard, people-centered, and sustainable approach to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with partner countries," he said. China, added the president, will stay committed to an independent foreign policy of peace and to the path of peaceful development, and continue to enhance friendship and cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China is committed to working with Africa for an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, Xi said, adding that China will pursue closer cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in various areas and build a China-LAC community with a shared future and common progress. Meanwhile, China strives for an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future that features openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation, Xi said. "All in all, China will work with the rest of the international community toward the goal of building a new type of international relationship and of building a community with a shared future for mankind," he said. ^ top ^
China ready to promote strategic partnership with South Africa: Xi (Xinhua)
2019-11-15
Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Thursday that China is ready to work with South Africa to maintain and develop the China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi made the remarks during his meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, where the leaders attended the 11th summit of BRICS, an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Both China and South Africa, two major developing countries and emerging economies, need to boost their own domestic economic development and improve people's livelihood while sharing the determination to uphold multilateralism as well as oppose unilateralism and bullying tactics on the world stage, Xi said. Xi urged the two sides to maintain strategic communication, strengthen inter-party exchanges, share experience in governance, enhance mutual understanding and support on issues of each other's core interests and major concerns, and consolidate the special friendship and high-level mutual trust of "comradeship plus brotherhood." Xi called on the two sides to further synergize their development strategies, actively expand two-way trade and investment, explore cooperation in such fields as industrial capacity and infrastructure, and advance the Belt and Road cooperation. China is willing to join efforts with South Africa to enhance solidarity and cooperation of the BRICS countries, push forward the development of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), maintain close communication and coordination on major international and regional issues and safeguard international fairness and justice. Ramaphosa extended his congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The South African leader highly commended the great achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), saying that his country firmly supports China's development and growth, opposes the bullying tactics against China and unfair treatment targeting Chinese enterprises on the international stage, and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests. South Africa is willing to enhance inter-party exchanges with the CPC, expand cooperation in economy and trade, as well as infrastructure and artificial intelligence, among other fields, said Ramaphosa, adding that he welcomes more investment in South Africa by Chinese businesses. Ramaphosa briefed Xi on the work plans of South Africa as the rotating chair of the African Union next year, and expressed the hope to work more closely with China on FOCAC, help Africa maintain peace and safety, and embrace the new industrial revolution. South Africa is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China regarding the World Trade Organization reforms and other international affairs to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, he added. ^ top ^
Xi urges BRICS Business Council, New Development Bank to make greater contributions (Xinhua)
2019-11-15
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the BRICS Business Council and the New Development Bank to make greater contributions to the economic and social development of the BRICS countries as well as the emerging-market economies and developing world in general. Xi made the remarks during the BRICS leaders' dialogue with the two institutions at the 11th BRICS summit held in Brasilia, capital of Brazil. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also attended the dialogue. The leaders heard the work reports of the two institutions, received the annual work report of the BRICS Business Council and made remarks respectively. Xi spoke highly of the work of the two institutions and expressed the hope for them to promote the enterprising spirit and strive for more achievements. Xi urged them to deepen cooperation in fields such as innovation and the digital economy and create more quality projects, and to help the countries improve their business environment by continuing to advise their various government departments. He underscored the importance to balance economic profits with social responsibilities and pay attention to the people's well-being. Cooperation should be strengthened in building high-quality, sustainable, inclusive and accessible infrastructure, Xi said, adding that green technologies should also be explored and promoted. He also urged the New Development Bank to prepare for membership expansion. In their respective remarks, leaders of other BRICS countries all affirmed the work of the two institutions and urged them to strengthen the capabilities of the BRICS countries as well as the emerging markets and developing countries at large to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects. ^ top ^
China lifts restrictions on U.S. poultry imports (Xinhua)
2019-11-14
China has lifted restrictions on the import of poultry products from the United States, according to a joint statement of the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Thursday. In a bid to ward off the flu epidemic and protect China's poultry production, China banned the import of poultry and related products from the United States after avian influenza outbreaks occurred in some parts of the United States in 2013 and 2014. The United States actively took preventive and control measures afterward, and no new cases have been reported in the United States since March 2017. The United States submitted a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to close the event in August 2017. At the invitation of the U.S. side, a Chinese team of experts visited the United States in July 2017 to conduct a field assessment of avian influenza prevention and control systems and poultry meat surveillance measures. In May 2018, China and the United States held consultations on this issue. After a comprehensive assessment, China believes that the avian flu epidemic in the United States has been effectively controlled, and the country's poultry meat regulatory system meets the requirements of relevant laws and regulations in China. The poultry industry in the United States is relatively developed, with its poultry output ranking first in the world, said officials with the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. After lifting the restrictions on U.S. poultry products, China's poultry import source will be further expanded so as to meet market demands effectively, the officials said. ^ top ^
China urges Aussie colleges not to politicize communication (Global Times)
2019-11-14
It is absurd to say that China is penetrating into Australian universities, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said Thursday in response to reports that the Australian government requires colleges to investigate cooperation with China for fear of China's influence. Australian universities are required to name overseas research partners, list financial dealings with other countries and share cyber intelligence with national security agencies to curb foreign interference, Reuters reported Thursday, citing Australian Education Minister Dan Tehan. The move came amid a series of cyberattacks at Australian universities and "fears that China could influence research and students," Reuters said. "It is Australia's internal affairs, of which China has no comment," Geng said at a routine press conference on Thursday. He noted that China hopes Australia could uphold principles of fairness, transparency and nondiscrimination in overseas education cooperation and treat all parties concerned equally. Geng noted that China and Australia have been working together in education for a long time, which has not only created a huge convenience for students from both sides but also played a vital role in enhancing mutual understanding. "Just as I have said many times in previous press conferences, it is absurd to say China is interfering in Australian universities," Geng said. Geng called on all parties concerned to treat China-Australia exchanges reasonably and objectively and not to politicize normal communication projects. According to the website of the Parliament of Australia, 693,750 international students enrolled in Australian schools in 2018, with 30 percent of them from China. The number of visas issued to students from China has fallen by 5.2 percent as of June 2019 compared to last year, University World News reported. ^ top ^
Chinese tourists fill gap left by South Koreans as flights to Japan hit record (SCMP)
2019-11-14
A record number of commercial flights are linking cities in China and Japan, helping Chinese tourists to plug the gap left by South Korean travellers who are boycotting the land of the rising sun. Round-trip flights between the two nations broke the 1,000-a-week barrier in late October, largely due to a deal granting Chinese airlines an extra 230 flights to Japanese destinations every week. Round-trip flights by Chinese airlines to Narita International Airport, one of the two airports that serve Tokyo, have increased from 99 per week in the summer to 210 per week since October 27. That is projected to increase to 310 flights in March of next year and 410 flights the year after. There will also be an increase in flights to Tokyo's other main airport, Haneda International, while the two nations' aviation authorities have agreed to lift restrictions on the number of flights between Beijing and Shanghai and Japan's under-utilised regional airports. "Chinese airlines now do not need any special permission to fly to regional airports up and down Japan, which will be a huge boost to all those airports that opened up in the last decade with the anticipation of a huge increase in the number of foreign tourists to their cities, but which never really materialised," said Geoff Tudor, a Tokyo-based analyst for Japan Aviation Management Research. "There are a sizeable number of new Chinese low-cost carriers that have started up in the last few years, offering low fares on flights with few frills and which were banned from flying to Japan's mega-airports, like Haneda or Kansai International in Osaka," he said. "The Japanese authorities have also lifted the restrictions on Chinese travellers coming here, such as demanding proof of a certain level of income," he said. "And that is perfect for Japan's regional cities, which have these airports ready to be used and are clamouring for tourists to go there and spend some money," Tudor added. Spring Airlines is one of China's largest budget airlines and Japan already accounts for around one-third of the group's total international seat capacity in 19 routes between the two nations. Speaking at the annual meeting of Asian airline CEOs in Seoul in June, Spring Airlines Chairman Stephen Wang said the company had big plans for the Japanese market. "Previously, China-Japan had some problems politically, but it looks like this problem is getting solved," Wang told The Blue Swan Daily, the newspaper of the Centre for Aviation. "We look forward [to there being] more traffic in the future," he said. "Japan is a very important destination for Chinese tourists. The Japan product is very welcome for Chinese tourists. I think we will try to send more passengers to Japan and let Chinese passengers know Japan better." Japan took off as a popular destination for Chinese travellers in the middle part of the decade, with visitor numbers soaring from 1.3 million arrivals in 2013 to 6.4 million in 2016. And the latest figures provided by the Japan National Tourism Organisation show the trend has continued in the first nine months of this year. According to the JNTO, just over 819,100 Chinese arrived in Japan in September, up from 652,740 arrivals in the same month last year. For the year to date, more than 7.4 million Chinese have visited Japan, up from 6.4 million in the same period last year, a rise of 14.8 per cent. The boost is well-timed for Japan's domestic travel industry, as arrivals from South Korea plummeted more than 58 per cent in September alone and are down 13.5 per cent on the first nine months of the year. South Koreans are holidaying elsewhere due to a dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over historical differences including Japan's actions in the Second World War, with the row bubbling over into the economic realm. In contrast, Beijing and Tokyo have made efforts to put similar issues behind them. "There is a lot of optimism throughout the travel sector for the Chinese market because the two governments are getting on so well at the moment," said Maya Matsuoka, a spokeswoman for the Japan Association of Travel Agents. "Political troubles were an issue in the past, but that all seems to be fine now and there is a lot of optimism among inbound agencies for next year, in part because Tokyo will be hosting the Olympic Games," she said. "And after that, if things continue in the same way, then 10 million visitors from China will become something that we see every year." Chinese travellers were interested in cultural and historical sights, Matsuoka said, as well as sampling local food and shopping. Japanese airlines are also keen to take advantage of the increase in numbers of two-way travel, with Japan Airlines adding a third Chinese low-cost carrier to its stable of code-share partners. Xiamen Air joins China Southern and China Eastern operating alongside JAL on routes between the two countries. "September was a difficult month because of the typhoons that hit Japan, but in general passenger numbers are doing very well at the moment," said Mark Morimoto, a spokesman for JAL. In the first half of the financial year, the airline has been operating at 99.9 per cent capacity on its China routes, with 13 flights a day on 10 routes. "Overall the picture is very strong and our business and economy seats are full," he said. "JAL also received two additional slots at Haneda airport from March 2020 – just in time for the Olympics – and discussions are under way within the company on where they will be allocated." He said JAL might look to increase its flights to and from the increasingly important Chinese market. ^ top ^
Xinhua Headlines: Xi's "two-wheel" diplomacy gives fresh impetus to China-Greece ties (Xinhua)
2019-11-13
Chinese President Xi Jinping toured the Acropolis Museum on Tuesday before he wrapped up his three-day state visit to Greece. A day before, he visited the Piraeus Port following separate talks with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two arrangements epitomize what the Chinese leader has described as the "two wheels" to drive bilateral relations, namely practical cooperation and inter-civilizational dialogue. Thanks to their concerted two-pronged efforts, the two ancient civilizations are forging an increasingly fruitful partnership and solid friendship in the new era. Accompanied by Pavlopoulos and his wife, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, visited the Acropolis Museum in Athens on Tuesday morning. The couples listened attentively to the interpreter. Xi stopped and asked questions from time to time. The Chinese president said the tour left him a beautiful and memorable impression, and deepened his understanding of ancient Greek civilization. He said he felt the impact of history and further realized that China and Greece, as two ancient civilizations, have much in common. Stella Atlamazoglou, public relations director of Athens-based Sino-Hellenic Culture Promotion Company, told Xinhua that she was impressed by Xi's emphasis on what Greek and Chinese civilizations have in common. "Undoubtedly, these are two countries with enormous cultural richness. The two countries meet in the middle of the Silk Road and join forces," said Atlamazoglou. In the eyes of Pavlopoulos, the ancient splendid and great civilizations of Greece and China have linked the two peoples closely. He thanked Xi on behalf of the Greek people for understanding and respecting the Greek civilization and for seeing Greece as a bridge between Eastern and Western civilizations. Vasilis Trigkas, a Greek research fellow with the Belt and Road Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University, told Xinhua that the two countries' joint efforts to promote their civilizations internationally could contribute significantly to their soft power. Yet the significance goes beyond their borders. China, noted the researcher, has been championing dialogue of civilizations to promote peace and cooperation between the West and the East. The Piraeus Port, some 10 km southwest of Athens, was in the throes of a financial crisis until a subsidiary of China Ocean Shipping Company, also known as COSCO, started managing the port's container terminals in 2009. In 2016, COSCO acquired a majority stake in the port and formally took over its management and operation. So far, the project has created jobs for over 10,000 local people directly and indirectly, and turned the struggling Piraeus Port into the largest port in the Mediterranean region and one of the fastest-growing container terminals in the world. When Xi and Mitsotakis visited the port on Monday, representatives of local staff talked with Xi about their work and life, and expressed heartfelt gratitude to COSCO for providing them with job opportunities in the most difficult times during the Greek debt crisis. Thanks to the Chinese company, they now enjoy stable jobs and a happy life, the Greek employees told Xi, adding that they feel very proud and have full confidence in the port's future. Delighted to visit the port, Xi said that seeing is believing, and that he has seen here that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a slogan or tale, but a successful practice and brilliant reality. For his part, Mitsotakis said that facts have proved that the Piraeus Port project is mutually beneficial, and has strongly boosted the recovery of the Greek economy and social development. From the project, said the prime minister, the Greek side has come to a deep understanding of the true meaning of "friends". Giorgos Patoulis, regional governor of Attica, where the Piraeus Port is located, told Xinhua that in addition to the project, the regional government is now eyeing more cooperation. "We believe that we can cooperate in several fields related to energy, electromobility... but also in culture, in health tourism, to connect the two civilizations of the East and West," he said. With Xi's state visit, China-Greece relations have embarked on a new journey toward a more promising future on the "two wheels" of practical cooperation and inter-civilizational dialogue, said Greek observers. George Vernicos, president of the Economic and Social Council of Greece, said Xi's visit meant that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Greece and China has been further strengthened. "The relations are linked traditionally to the deep friendship of the two peoples, their ancient civilizations, the shipping industry, and the commercial and tourist relations that we have today," he said. Noting that the two sides signed a series of agreements covering fields like banking, energy, agriculture and tourism, Vernicos said "all these mark a promising future for robust and glorious cooperation." "We have every reason to be optimistic," he said. "The closer this cooperation becomes, the better it benefits the two peoples." Loukas Tsoukalis, president of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, acknowledged that China and Greece "are countries that are separated by distance, very different in size and have had very different political and economic trajectories in recent history." "Yet our relations are excellent and take the form of a close exchange of goods, services, people, capital and culture," he said. Speaking of specific cooperation areas, Trigkas, the Tsinghua researcher, said China's success in the field of technological innovation is remarkably interesting for Greece. "Our country has an excellent scientific base while China wishes to internationalize its technological companies," he said. "This complementarity could attract more research centers of Chinese companies in Greece, contributing substantially to the development of the Greek economy," he added. ^ top ^
Donald Trump takes swipes at China but says 'phase one' trade deal could come soon (SCMP)
2019-11-13
US President Donald Trump lambasted Beijing's trade practices in a speech in New York on Tuesday while also saying "a significant phase one trade deal with China could happen soon, but we will only accept the deal if it's good for the United States and our workers at our great companies". His remarks, at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York, came as the world looks to see if the two largest economies are able to agree on a "phase one" deal that would begin to wind down the 17-month-long trade war. China "is having the worst year in more than half a century, their supply chains are cracking very badly and they are dying to make a deal," Trump said. "But we are the ones that are deciding whether or not we want to make a deal." An interim agreement is expected to include a US pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for December 15 on about US$156 billion worth of Chinese imports, including mobile phones, laptop computers and toys. In his speech, Trump reiterated that the tariffs were "going to 15 per cent very soon" if a deal wasn't reached. "Trump's statements about a prospective trade deal in the near term were more measured" compared with when he announced a "substantial phase-one deal" last month, said Anna Ashton, senior director of government relations at the US-China Business Council. Speaking at the White House on October 11 after a round of high-level talks, Trump said that US negotiators had reached a deal that would delay the implementation of more tariffs, and that he expected he and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, might sign the agreement when they met in mid-November at the Apec summit in Chile. But, Ashton said on Tuesday, "the same incentives for the Trump administration to reach a deal remain." "Securing agricultural purchases, in particular, almost certainly remains a high priority, since farmers have continued to bear an awful lot of pain as the trade war has dragged on," she said. The speech took place as US stock indices were trading at record highs, although global markets whipsawed last week after conflicting messages over whether part of the planned tariffs would be rolled back. And despite stock market gains, US economic growth has slowed to about 2 per cent annually. On Tuesday, Trump criticised China's trade practices but blamed previous US leaders for the situation. "Before my election, Washington politicians stood by and did nothing while China ransacked our companies, stole our intellectual property, subsidised their industries at the expense of ours and dumped their products in a deliberate strategy to close our factories," he said. "Since China's entrance into the World Trade Organisation in 2001, no one has manipulated numbers better or taken advantage of the US more. I will not use the word cheated. I will not say the word cheated. But nobody's cheated better than China, but I will not say that. We'll say that off the record, OK? … And I don't blame China, by the way. I blame our leaders." Ali Wyne, a policy analyst with the RAND Corporation in Washington, said Trump's remarks were consistent with his tactics throughout the trade conflict. "The mixed messages are in keeping with the president's penchant for unpredictability, which, he often contends, enhances his negotiating leverage," Wyne said. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday that China and the US have agreed to remove additional tariffs in stages once an interim deal is signed. Both sides are working to finalise details of the agreement, the foreign ministry said. Officials in the US and China would then decide how many of the duties would be scrapped in the first phase. In Washington, however, no official word about tariffs has come from the Office of the US Trade Representative or the White House. News outlets including Bloomberg cited anonymous US officials in reporting the rollbacks, but Trump denied such an agreement on Friday. Asked by reporters at the White House if he would remove the punitive tariffs, Trump said: "They'd like to have a rollback. I haven't agreed to anything." Trump had suggested that he and Xi could sign a phase-one deal at the Apec summit. But it was cancelled because of domestic unrest in the host country, and where the pact will be signed has become a central question. At the White House on Sunday, Trump said that if a deal was reached, it would be signed somewhere in the US. "First of all, I want to get the deal," he said. "The meeting place, to me, is going to be very easy." US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is not a key member in the US negotiating team, told Bloomberg that Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii and even locations in China were all possibilities. In talks with Ross and US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien in Bangkok on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China and the US must stabilise their relations and resolve their differences on the basis of mutual respect. The breakthrough in the talks came after China pledging to buy as much as US$50 billion worth of US agricultural products and open up its financial markets further to foreign investors. ^ top ^
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From Hong Kong to the military: the Communist Party's top new talking points (SCMP)
2019-11-15
Two weeks after China's ruling Communist Party held its top policy-setting meeting, a group of hand-picked officials were sent out on a mission to promote the "spirits" of the secretive session to bureaucrats across the country. While the lectures are expected to be delivered behind closed doors, their content will be based on a key document produced by the four-day plenum: "The Communist Party Central Committee's resolution on several key issues of maintaining and perfecting the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and promoting the modernisation of the state's governance system and capacity". The title might be quite a mouthful, but it lays out some important policy directions the party has set out for the country. Here are five takeaways: Communist Party leadership. The document lays out important policy directions the party has set out for the country, the first of which centres on the party's leadership. It stresses that country's strength stems from the "centralised and unified leadership" of the party but there is a need to "modernise" governance, a message that reflects President Xi Jinping's push to consolidate party and state institutions to centralise authority. It also underlines that the consolidation must start showing results by 2021 in time for the party's centenary. Meanwhile, the state governance system and capacity would be "basically modernised by 2035" and reach full modernisation by 2049. Boosting economic growth. The country's economic growth has plummeted to its slowest in nearly 30 years, worsened by a bruising trade war with the United States. But the document offered no new narrative on tackling the challenges. Instead, it repeated the party's well established line that Beijing would adhere to the principle of state ownership as the "primary entity" and resolutely "consolidate and develop the state-owned economy", while also promising to open up its markets with more foreign investment-friendly policies. "[We will] implement a more extensive and in-depth opening up … protect the rights of foreign investors, to create a fair competitive environment for domestic and foreign companies, and diversify trade," it said. Reforming the military. The document reaffirmed the full control of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) under Xi, the first Chinese leader since Mao Zedong to be chief of both the party and the military. "[We must] strengthen and affirm the direction of Xi Jinping's … thoughts on national security and military development," it said. "[We must] support the unification of the nation's armed forces under the leadership of the chairman of the Central Military Commission." It stressed the need to pass on "red genes", or loyalty to the party, and to fight "wrong political ideas" that would "nationalise" the military, making it "less aligned with the party and less political". Turmoil in Hong Kong. Another key element of the document is the section on upholding "one country, two systems" – the principle that grants Hong Kong and Macau a high degree of autonomy. It is the highest level document on Hong Kong's future to be issued since anti-government protests erupted in June over a now-withdrawn extradition bill. "[We will] establish a sound legal system and enforcement mechanism for the safeguarding of national security in the special administrative regions, and support the special administrative regions in strengthening law enforcement," it said. It emphasised Beijing's absolute authority over Hong Kong and Macau, especially over the appointment of principal officials and the interpretation of each region's Basic Law. It also stressed the importance of stepping up so-called patriotic education in Hong Kong and Macau, especially among civil servants and young people. Handling Taiwan. Beijing also pledged to advance unification with Taiwan using the one country, two systems model. The document called for "closer integration" across the Taiwan Strait and the rejection of all calls for "Taiwan independence". "Under the principle of protection of national sovereignty, security and development, [we will] fully respect Taiwan's way of life after a peaceful reunification," it said, adding that the unification remained the "common wish of all Chinese people" and "serves the fundamental interests of Chinese people". ^ top ^
China willing to use rare earths to meet development needs of all countries: Foreign Ministry (Global Times)
2019-11-14
China is willing to use its rare-earth resources and products to meet the development needs of all countries, so that the country could play an active role in facilitating it own economic development as well as that of the rest of the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press briefing on Thursday. The comment came ahead of an annual trilateral discussion on critical resources including rare earths, which is scheduled to take place in Brussels on November 19. Diplomats and industry representatives from the EU, Japan and the US will participate. Some insiders said this year's meeting will focus on how to curb China's role in shipping on the minerals, as China's mines account for about 70 percent of global output. "China has the world's largest reserves of rare earths and is also the world's largest producer. Being at an important position on the global industrial chain, China has always upheld the principles of 'open, coordination and sharing' to promote the growth of the rare-earth industry at home," Geng said. Geng's response came against the backdrop of mixed signals from recent China-US trade talks, during which both sides seem to hold different view on whether the removal of tariffs should be included in a much-anticipated phase-one deal. Some industry observers interpreted the response as a goodwill gesture from China that the country would not use rare-earth minerals as a bargaining chip during the negotiation stage unless trade talks broke down. Rare earths are an indispensable component in electronic products, chips and military equipment. Curbing exports of the minerals could inflict massive damage on the US military and technology industry. From 2014 to 2017, the US sourced 80 percent of its rare-earth imports from China, according to US government statistics. In October, China's exports of rare earths surged by 17.4 percent, industry data showed. ^ top ^
'Depressed and unemployed': China's rights lawyers battle disbarment (SCMP)
2019-11-14
Once a staunch defender of rights activists in court, Liu Zhengqing has sunk into a depression since being barred by Chinese authorities in January. "I have been unemployed at home," the 55-year-old said, adding that it was especially hard to find work given his age. "I am totally dependent on savings." Liu is one of at least a dozen Chinese rights lawyers to have their licences cancelled or revoked since last year in what activists say is an effective way for authorities to silence them without attracting as much attention as an arrest. "The ongoing disbarment continues to serve as an effective tactic by the Chinese government to further diminish the space for human rights advocacy," said Yaqiu Wang, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Disbarment is to deprive the livelihood of human rights lawyers and their families," she said. In China, authorities can revoke a lawyer's licence to punish behaviour such as bribing judges, but also ambiguous offences such as "seriously disrupting court order". A licence can also be cancelled if a lawyer does not practise in a six-month period – which is not uncommon for rights lawyers who have been detained or arrested. The growing number of disbarred rights lawyers follows one of the largest clampdowns on China's legal profession in the country's recent history. A police sweep launched on July 9, 2015 saw more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists detained or questioned in a huge operation – later dubbed the "709 crackdown" – that rights groups said was unprecedented. But Chinese authorities have since changed their approach, said Xie Yang, a human rights lawyer who said he was tortured in police custody during his detention in that crackdown. Instead of detaining lawyers, "they will just revoke your licence", he said. It was an effective method, he said. "A lot of people do not dare speak up." Sui Muqing, another Chinese lawyer who was detained during the 709 crackdown, said the widespread disbarment over the past two years had been "an even better deterrent than arresting lawyers". While most lawyers did not see themselves at risk of arrest, disbarment was something they all faced, he said. Though the role of rights lawyers is sometimes limited in China, they serve important functions beyond legal defence. Friends and family are not generally allowed to visit detained individuals before sentencing, but lawyers mostly are – making them a crucial link between those arrested and the outside world. Lawyers can also raise awareness of the case or share information with reporters. Wang said human rights lawyers sometimes had large followings on Chinese social media, which they used to connect with ordinary people to raise awareness of rights abuses in China. By removing human rights lawyers the government could appoint their own lawyers, who may be under pressure to "defend the interests of the government – not their clients", she said. The silencing effect of disbarment can be seen in the case of Huang Qi, China's first "cyber-dissident", who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July. Huang, who ran a website that reported on sensitive topics including local corruption, lost two of his lawyers – Liu and Sui – before he went to trial. By the time he was sentenced, there was so little access to Huang that even his mother – who said she was prevented from leaving her house on the day of his trial – was not informed of the court's decision. Overall, the aftermath of the 2015 police sweep has ushered in a period of more repressive policies towards legal representatives, several rights lawyers in China said. While some have had their licences revoked or cancelled, others remain in detention. Wang Quanzhang, who was charged with "subversion of state power" in 2016, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in January. And like other activists and dissidents in China, some lawyers remain under surveillance or face ongoing restrictions even after they are released from detention. Jiang Tianyong, who took on high-profile cases including those of Tibetan protesters, was "still under house arrest" after he served his jail sentence in March his wife wrote on Twitter. "You can tell that they are becoming increasingly strict in their control," said one Chinese rights lawyer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. In the aftermath of the 709 crackdown, Chinese authorities could repress lawyers for making critical comments online – even on topics such as industrial accidents, not just human rights, he said. "In reality, you make such comments because you hope the country will become better," he said. But now, "you cannot speak at all". ^ top ^
Chinese tycoon Stanley Ho donates recovered Qing Dynasty zodiac bronze head to National Museum of China (Global Times)
2019-11-14
Nearly 160 years ago, British and French troops razed Beijing's Yuanmingyuan (the Old Summer Palace) to the ground, in the process looting numerous valuable cultural relics, including the bronze heads of 12 large Chinese zodiac statues that were part of a water clock fountain. On Wednesday, the Horse zodiac bronze head rejoined six of its compatriots - Ox, Monkey, Tiger, Pig, Rat and Rabbit - at the National Museum of China in Beijing for an exhibition of recovered looted treasures being held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Horse zodiac statue was part of a complicated water clock that stood outside the Haitang Hall of the West Building of the Yuanmingyuan Garden during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The clock was an outstanding example of hydraulic engineering. In ancient China, a day was divided up into 12 two-hour periods known as a shichen. As a day progressed, each of the statues would take turns spraying water according to which shichen it represented. The Horse zodiac represented the period from 11 am to 1 pm, and at noon each day the other 11 bronze statues would join in and all spray water together for a short time. Designed by Italian artist and missionary Giuseppe Castiglione and built during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the bronze statues blended Eastern and Western art styles and were an extraordinary testament to ancient Chinese art. The Horse was made using various techniques, such as the advanced lost wax method and riveting. The Horse head is extremely vivid, with an open mouth and fine detailed hair, showing a very high level of craftsmanship. The statue was made from refined red copper, and despite being more than a century old, the Horse head has not tarnished. The bronze heads have a turbulent history. So far, seven of the heads have made their way back to the motherland. However, the whereabouts of the five animal heads representing the zodiac signs of Dog, Rooster, Dragon, Sheep and Snake remain unknown, Guan Qiang, deputy head of China's relics authority, told the Global Times on Wednesday. In September 2007, Macao casino tycoon Stanley Ho bought the Horse zodiac head for HK$69.1 million ($8.84 million) at an auction held by Sotheby's Hong Kong, ending the statue's more than 100-year loss overseas. After the auction, the statue was publicly displayed in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, where it played a positive role in enhancing the understanding between the two regions regarding the culture of the motherland and promoting the spirit of patriotism. Ho decided to donate the statue to the National Museum of China collection to celebrate this year's 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. After the exhibition at the museum ends, the head will be put on permanent display at Yuanmingyuan. "Seven of the 12 beasts from Yuanmingyuan are now back home [in China], but the horse is the first to return to its place of origin," said Guan. This is actually the second bronze zodiac head that Ho has recovered. The Pig zodiac head he purchased in 2003 was donated to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing. The bronze heads of Ox, Monkey and Tiger also reside at the Poly Art Museum after the state-owned China Poly Group Corporation spent millions to buy them at three different auctions. The Rat and Rabbit once appeared in a French museum for a short exhibition, and were later bought by the French Pinault family, owners of the French conglomerate Kering, at an auction held by Christie's in France in 2009. The two were finally returned to China and are now part of the National Museum of China collection thanks to a donation by the Pinault family in 2013. The gradual return of the seven bronze heads represents the long journey home of China's looted cultural relics, and spurs memories for many Chinese people. "Cultural relics lost overseas are an inseparable part of Chinese cultural heritage, and patriotic compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao have played an important role in saving lost cultural relics over the past 70 years. Many of them have made tremendous contributions to retrieving lost looted cultural relics," said Liu Yuzhu, head of the Chinese National Cultural Heritage Administration, at the ceremony. The hashtag for the Horse head's return got 260 million views on Sina Weibo on Thursday, with many Chinese netizens saying that Hong Kong should learn from Macao. "Mr Ho's high sense of patriotism to rescue the lost cultural relics and return them to the motherland is a signal that says: 'Hong Kong, stop the violence and be prosperous with your motherland,'" one Chinese netizen commented on Sina Weibo. "Today's donation from Macao is a slap in the face for Hong Kong. Shouldn't [Hong Kong tycoon] Li Ka-shing do something similar?" another Chinese netizen wrote on Sina Weibo. "I was overwhelmed with joy while listening to the speech at the donation ceremony and saw the bronze Horse statue. I believe the remaining five statues will soon return to the motherland. I am looking forward to the exhibit of the reunion of the 12 zodiac statues," said Zhang Zexin, a 68-year-old man from Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. ^ top ^
China completes Mars lander test ahead of first mission in 2020 (Global Times)
2019-11-14
China successfully conducted a Mars landing test of the country's red planet lander on Thursday in North China's Hebei Province, marking a key progress in the country's first mission to Mars which is expected to lift off in 2020. The Thursday event, which tested the lander's ability to hover over the Martian surface and automatically avoid obstacles and uneven terrain, was carried out in Huailai, Hebei, at a site which is believed to be Asia's largest testing field for landing extraterrestrial spacecraft. Zhang Kejian, director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) oversaw the test, and around foreign representatives from various embassies, the European Union, the African Union to China and international organizations including the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, were invited by CNSA to observe the test. A Global Times reporter saw the lander successfully avoid obstacles including rocks and pits on the landing site and make adjustments before safely touching down. The techniques the Mars lander applied are similar to the country's lunar landers, scientists at the test site told the Global Times. Suspension wires were hooked to the lander during the test to simulate Martian gravity, which is one third of the Earth's, and to control the speed of landing, Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based expert in space exploration, told the Global Times. China has signed more than 140 space cooperation agreements with 45 countries and international organizations in the past 60 years, according to a CNSA press release sent to the Global Times on Thursday. International cooperation projects include the China-France Oceanography Satellite, and the latest lunar probe mission Chang'e-4 which included the participation of Germany, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. China's Mars probe mission is expected to be launched by 2020, and to land on the red planet before 2021. The probe is temporarily named Mars-1, said Ye Peijian, who is known as the father of Chang'e lunar probes, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a chief scientist for the country's space science and deep space missions, the Xinhua News Agency reported in October. China's mission to Mars includes an orbiting space craft, landing craft and a detachable rover to roam the Martian surface, all in one mission, said Ye. "If we succeed, this will mark a first in the world's Mars expedition history." ^ top ^
China updates patriotic education push to forge stronger national identity – including in Hong Kong (SCMP)
2019-11-14
Beijing has issued a new set of "patriotic education" guidelines, calling on the public to nurture an "open and tolerant, rational and peaceful" attitude to a fast-changing world and China's place in it. Although the guidelines offer mainly general principles, they cover a broad range of areas for patriotic education, including schools, Communist Party activities, the media, new technologies and mass entertainment. The guidelines – jointly issued by the Communist Party's Central Committee and the State Council – define patriotism as not just love of the motherland but also of socialism and the Communist Party. "[We must]... stand firm in insisting that the leadership of the Communist Party, and continuing on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics are the fundamental guarantees [for China] to achieve national prosperity," the introduction to the guidelines said. They made clear that while supporting party's agenda was important, patriotism should go hand in hand with opening up to the outside world. "[We need to] properly channel people's understanding of the mega development trends that China and the rest of the world face, and correctly understand China's relationship with the world," the document said. "We should not be overly proud of ourselves but at the same time don't be timid. We should build our self-esteem and self-confidence, and [understand that we are] rational and peaceful people. "[We should] promote our patriotic spirit on the one hand and cultivate an all-encompassing, open and tolerant attitude on the other. "[We need] to step up our promotion and advocacy of important ideas that emphasise peaceful development and win-win [cooperation], the joint building of a better world for humanity [among nations] and the Belt and Road initiative." The guidelines are an update to a similar set Beijing issued 25 years ago. While the 1994 guidelines also discussed developing an open mindset, the new set provides a more comprehensive description of the "active and enterprising, open and inclusive, rational and peaceful" mentality its citizens should adopt. The document also included references to extending patriotic education to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. "[We should] strengthen the practical education of 'one country, two systems', channel people including compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and overseas Chinese so they can have a stronger sense of national identity, and will conscientiously safeguard national unity and cohesion of the Chinese race," it said. Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong law at Nankai University in Tianjin, said the anti-extradition bill movement in Hong Kong – which triggered months of protests in the city – "exposed serious problems in Hongkongers' national identity education. The revised patriotic education guidelines are a response to that. "Hong Kong youth born after 1997... see many conflicts in the special administrative region's relationship with the central government. That has damaged the building of their national identity. "But it is never too late. We should not only make up for the inadequate national education for the last 25 years, but also find new ways to shape their future," Li said. The new guidelines also stress the need to adopt new technologies, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, with teenagers the priority targets for patriotic education. ^ top ^
China think tank becomes first government-linked body to predict 2020 growth will drop below 6.0 per cent (SCMP)
2019-11-14
A Beijing-based think tank has become the first Chinese economic research institute linked to the government to predict that China's economic growth rate will slow below 6.0 per cent next year. The National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD) on Wednesday said that China's economic growth rate will slow to 5.8 per cent in 2020 from an estimated 6.1 per cent this year. This is at the bottom end of China's target range of 6 to 6.5 per cent growth for 2019, and further indicates the continued downward pressure on the economy from the trade war with the United States as well as domestic headwinds. "The economic slowdown is already a trend," said former central bank adviser Li Yang, who heads the institute that is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). "We must resort to deepened supply-side structural reform to change it or smooth the slowdown, rather than solely rely on monetary or fiscal stimulus." The institute's forecast is in line with the International Monetary Fund, and indicates the challenge that policymakers face to achieve the above 6 per cent growth rate needed in 2019 and 2020 to reach the government's goal of doubling gross domestic product in 2020 compared to its 2010 level. According to the NIFD, China's exports will be negatively affected for a long period amid the slowing global economy, private investment may be dampened by trade war uncertainties, while the effects of countercyclical policies will only begin to be evident in the first quarter of next year. Li said the government's fiscal deficit problem will stand out in the future, adding that the central government may have to issue more bonds to fulfil its expenditure responsibilities. This could demand more bond holdings by the central bank and better coordination and institutional arrangement between fiscal and monetary authorities. "The macro control regime needs to be revamped," he added. China's economy started to slow from 2011, with its growth rate already dropping to 6.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2019, the slowest rate since quarterly growth data was first published in 1992. The continued slowdown has stirred market discussion over whether – and if so, how far – Beijing should loosen its policy stance to support growth, as has occurred in many developed countries, including the United States. However, a continued rise in the nation's debt level is reducing policymakers' leeway. New NIFD data showed that the government's macro leverage ratio – the total debt to gross domestic product – has recorded an "unsatisfactory" rise so far this year. Government leverage rose 0.7 percentage point to 39.2 per cent in the third quarter and climbed by a total of 2.0 percentage points in the first nine months of the year. The country's overall debt rose to 251.1 per cent of the national economic output at the end of the third quarter, up 1.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. The increase was led by the household sector, with debt rising 1.0 percentage point to 56.3 per cent in the third quarter. Despite the rise in debt, the NIFD called for a bigger central government budget deficit to allow for more expenditure to support the economy. At the same time, additional efforts should be made to reduce the leverage of state-owned enterprises, in particular zombie enterprises and local government financing vehicles. Zhang Xiaojing, deputy director of the CASS' Institute of Economics, said the extent of the increase in leverage would depend on the growth rate that the government is trying to achieve. "The pressure for economic stabilisation next year won't be as big [as people think]," he predicted. The NIFD warned of huge uncertainties over the trade tension between China and the US, while also predicting that the yuan exchange rate would fluctuate between 7.0 and 7.2 against the US dollar next year. "The tariff war may be basically over in 2020, but the bilateral conflicts won't end easily," said Zhang Ping, its deputy director. ^ top ^
Facts & figures: China's Singles' Day shopping spree shatters records (Xinhua)
2019-11-11
China's Singles' Day, a shopping event akin to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States, was first designed by Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall on Nov. 11 in 2009. Over the past decade, the online shopping event has developed from a domestic online sales promotion to a global shopping carnival. The following facts and figures offer a glimpse into this year's shopping frenzy: Sales of Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall hit 10 billion yuan (about 1.43 billion U.S. dollars) at just one minute and 36 seconds into Monday. One hour, three minutes and 59 seconds after midnight, it surpassed 100 billion yuan. At one hour, 26 minutes and seven seconds after midnight, sales on Tmall hit 120.7 billion yuan, exceeding the total sales on Singles' Day in 2016. It only took 14 hours 21 minutes and 27 seconds to hit 200 billion yuan, eight hours less than last year. At 16:31, sales of Tmall exceeded 213.5 billion yuan, surpassing last year's total sales. Alibaba's "Double 11" orders peaked at 544,000 orders per second, setting a new record. During the first Singles' Day shopping festival in 2009, only 27 brands participated. This year, more than 220,000 brands from over 200 countries and regions participated in this year's shopping spree. More than 10 million items were available for purchase during the shopping festival on Tmall this year. More than 100,000 online shops provided a live broadcast for consumer interaction. TMall's livestreaming sector surpassed 10 billion yuan in just nine hours. Nearly 1,000 foreign cyber celebrities broadcasted live on Tmall in different languages to boost global consumption. JD.com, another Chinese online retail platform, reported cumulative sales of 165.8 billion yuan since Nov. 1 as of 9 a.m. Monday. China's State Post Bureau said a total of 2.8 billion packages are expected to be handled from Nov. 11 to 18. ^ top ^
Second CIIE concludes with larger deal inked (People's Daily)
2019-11-11
The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) concluded on Sunday with the accumulated intended purchase value reaching $71.13 billion, up by 23 percent from the first CIIE, according a statement made by vice director of the CIIE bureau Sun Chenghai at the closing ceremony of the six-day event in Shanghai. The increased intended purchase value shows that the world is actively responding to the CIIE, a vivid example of China's efforts to open up its market at a time of rising protectionism, and the benefits they get from such a positive response, experts and CIIE attendants said. According to Sun, the second CIIE attracted over 3,800 enterprises and more than 500,000 buyers from all over the world. A total of 910,000 visits were recorded at the second CIIE as of 12:00 pm on Sunday, Sun noted. He also said that 230 international enterprises have already registered for the third CIIE, and more than 80 of them are among the world's top 500. Wang Hao, president of the Greater China area for Siemens Healthineers, said that CIIE has provided a huge trade platform for overseas companies and a chance for them to deeply understand Chinese clients. "We are happy to see that the Chinese government has provided a friendly and vibrant business environment for overseas companies in China," he told the Global Times. Siemens has signed a supply contract with the state-owned Sinomach on two combustion engines and one steam engine for one of the latter's projects in Nigeria during the second CIIE, without disclosing the actual amount. Ignatius Wang, chief operating officer at the Singapore-based exporter Enohub Pte which is also a second-time CIIE attendant, said his company signed about seven letters of intent with Chinese companies during this CIIE, a large boost compared with the one or two letter his company signed during the first CIIE. "It is without arguing that Chinese consumers' buying powers and the Chinese market are too strong. The whole world is marveling at this fact," he told the Global Times. "The Chinese market is so gigantic, and compared with some other markets like India, it is more unified. If one gets even a tiny share of the Chinese market, it could benefit tremendously." Some overseas exhibitors also expressed support for China's stance on market opening-up as bringing benefits to the protectionism-stricken world economy. "Opening-up is good for everyone. It's a win-win strategy. The opening-up policy is changing the image of China and showing people that it is not only the place for low-cost manufacturing anymore, but is instead becoming a global market. Any it's not only for exports, but for imports as well," Lebanon-based organic products seller Ibrahim Imad Al-Kaakour told the Global Times on Sunday at his CIIE booth. "I think China and the US are switching their roles in the world. I think this attracts a lot of markets toward China rather than the US," he said. Experts also refuted overseas media reports saying that the CIIE didn't yield expected effects for overseas exhibitors, noting that unrealized contracts are within a normal business operating scope. Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that it's biased to belittle the significance of CIIE merely based on the unrealized contracts, which is a normal phenomenon at any commercial activity. Speaking of whether China's opening-up measures could be implemented as soon as possible, Gao said, "CIIE is an achievement of China's opening-up policies… But China can't achieve opening-up in just one step. One-step opening-up is irresponsible not only to China, but also to the whole world." Gao applauded the 23 percent increased of intended purchase value at CIIE, considering it as a vindication of China's strong domestic demand. Growth in final consumer spending contributed to 60.5 percent of China's economic growth in the first three quarters of the year, domestic news site chinanews.com reported, citing official data. ^ top ^
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Plague risk in Beijing low, experts say (China Daily)
2019-11-14
The Chaoyang district government in Beijing recently reported two confirmed cases of plague, but the risk of the disease spreading further in the capital is extremely low and there is no need for panic, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. Health authorities and hospitals in Beijing have taken timely quarantine measures, traced the people at risk of being exposed to the disease and applied preventive medicine to people who came into contact with the two affected people, the center said. They have also conducted thorough sterilization where the two patients stayed and intensified monitoring of patients who displayed fever in hospitals and clinics, it said. "Residents can live and go to work and medical institutions as normal, and there is no need to worry about the risk of infection," it said. The two cases, from Xiliin Gol League in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, were confirmed to be pneumonic plague. Both patients have received proper treatment in Chaoyang, according to a statement released by the district health commission on Tuesday night. A doctor from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, who declined to be named, said the two received treatment in the hospital, and thorough disease prevention and control measures have been applied. The National Health Commission has dispatched senior medical experts to Inner Mongolia to guide local authorities to trace the origin of the disease and its transmission route and conduct medical observation. Plague is a Grade 1 infectious disease in China, which means it is under the strictest management. The only other infectious disease that falls into the category is cholera. The fatality rate of pneumonic plague, a serious form of plague, is almost 100 percent if not treated in a timely manner. Plague used to cause many deaths in China, but the disease has been rare in the country over the past few decades. No plague cases were reported in China last year, and only one case, which resulted in death, was reported in 2017, according to the National Health Commission. Plague is caused by bacteria transmitted to humans by rodents such as mice and marmots. The China CDC advises the public to practice good hygiene, such as frequently washing hands, wearing masks in crowded places such as hospitals and avoiding contact with wild animals or eating them. The disease can be effectively treated with many kinds of antibiotics in the early stages, it said. Li Dongzeng, a doctor specializing in infectious disease at Beijing Youan Hospital, said plague causes symptoms such as fever and swollen lymph nodes and transmits quickly. People who have had close contact with plague should take preventive medicine as soon as possible. Although the disease results in high fatality, plague is not likely to cause mass outbreaks in an organized modern society, he said. ^ top ^
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World Bank review 'doesn't substantiate' Xinjiang loan use allegations (Global Times)
2019-11-12
The World Bank's review of its loan to the vocational education and training projects in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region clarified the truth and effectively refuted previous foreign media reports suggesting World Bank funds were used by vocational schools in the region to buy police batons and other security gear, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Geng Shuang, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks at a routine press conference on Tuesday. Facts show the projects have boosted local vocational education development and cultivated many vocational talents, Geng said. With the cooperation of Chinese side, the World Bank recently conducted site inspections of Xinjiang's vocational education and training projects, Geng said. The World Bank team conducted a thorough review of project documents, engaged in discussions with project staff, and visited schools directly financed by the project, as well as their partner schools that were the subject of allegations. The review "did not substantiate the allegations," reads the World Bank's statement. The US-based Foreign Policy reported in August that the World Bank loan program to the educational project was used by Xinjiang schools to purchase high-end security gear, including barbed wire, tear gas and body armor. The World Bank statement mentioned that the scope and footprint of the project is being reduced in light of risks associated with the partner schools, and said the project will be placed under enhanced supervision to ensure that all applicable standards of the bank are adhered to. However, some Western media reported that the World Bank will scale back the development project in Xinjiang, and linked it to the previous accusations. Geng said that such a citation of the World Bank's statement is "one sided." Adjustments to the project are being made for practical reasons. The adjustments will make management more efficient and reduce supervision costs, Geng said. The World Bank has discussed the adjustments with the Chinese side, and both have agreed to implement the adjustment plan as soon as possible, Geng said. The World Bank approved a $50 million loan in 2015 to support five longstanding public vocational colleges in Xinjiang. The schools offer three- and five-year vocational degrees on a fee-based and voluntary basis. ^ top ^
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Hong Kong protests: government under fire from across political spectrum for inaction as protesters take over campuses, close Cross-Harbour Tunnel, block roads and firebomb rail tracks (SCMP)
2019-11-15
The beleaguered Hong Kong government came under mounting criticism from across the political spectrum on Thursday for its failure to bring normalcy back to a city that protesters held hostage for the fourth straight day with their spree of besieging and blocking roads. The Cross-Harbour Tunnel was effectively defunct for an entire day as protesters put up barricades of chairs, tables and boards they had commandeered from neighbouring Polytechnic University. Later at night, they again set the tollbooths on fire and then, hiding behind their canopy of umbrellas, they unfurled a giant Chinese flag that they set alight. At the University of Hong Kong, in the cover of night, protesters had cemented a low wall of bricks on one road. Up north, on Tolo Highway, next to Chinese University, protesters now control a bridge overlooking it threatening to throw petrol bombs at any passing traffic. Black-clad protesters are also guarding side roads they have barricaded with bamboo poles and improvised structures, making travel into the city for residents in New Territories towns especially difficult. Several drivers had petrol bombs flung at their cars when they tried to pass through the barriers on Thursday morning. At Chinese and Polytechnic universities, parts of the campuses have been taken over by black-clad protesters who spend their nights gathering objects for barricades, making petrol bombs and practising shooting arrows and throwing the fire bombs. On Thursday, supporters and well-wishers flooded their collection points with cup noodles, clothes, gadgets and power banks, among other donations piling up. At several locations, at these two universities and at Baptist University in Kowloon Tong, protesters stood guard to inspect the identification and bags of those entering the campus facilities. Amid the government's seeming inaction over this week's protests, President Xi Jinping spoke on the political crisis on Thursday night, saying that putting an end to violence and restoring order remained Hong Kong's most urgent priority. Without naming Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, he said he firmly supported the administration "led by the chief executive to execute its functions in accordance with the law". "We sternly support the Hong Kong police to take forceful actions in law enforcement, and the Hong Kong judiciary to punish those who have committed violent crimes in accordance with the law," he was also quoted as saying on a post on the Weibo account of the People's Daily, while attending the BRICS annual summit in Brazil. In his first public remarks on the troubled city at an international forum, Xi described the continuing violence as a threat not just to law and order and the city's prosperity and stability but also "a blatant challenge to the bottom line of the 'one country, two systems'" governing principle. Lam did not make a public appearance over the past two days but held a late-night meeting with her minister on Wednesday at her residence at 10pm, fuelling speculation that the government was coming up with a proper plan to defuse the weekday mayhem of the past four days. But hopes of a decisive action to restore the city to normalcy quickly dissipated on Thursday morning after Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said at the Legislative Council that while senior officials were trying to identify a solution, no cure had been found yet to calm things down and move towards reconciliation. Cheung made matters worse when he described the huddle at Lam's residence as "an ordinary meeting last night". "There was no special meaning attached to it. It was just a matter of time and we were all busy with other meetings. It was not the first time we met at night," he said. Pro-Beijing legislators implored the city's leader to stiffen her resolve and adopt more measures to restore peace. "People need to see that it's not just the police fighting violence. People need to see that the chief executive and top officials are helping," said Starry Lee Wai-king, leader of the city's largest pro-government party. In another sign of the camp's growing impatience, pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po had rare strong words for Lam when its editorial declared Hong Kong people were losing confidence in the government's ability to stop violence. Opposition lawmakers such as the Civic Party's Dennis Kwok said Lam and her colleagues had lost the legitimacy to govern. Overnight rumours circulated that Lam was planning to impose a curfew on Hong Kong, sparking fears the government was once again making a blunder with a decision it could not follow through, much like the widely ignored anti-mask law it passed early last month. Global Times, a tabloid affiliated to Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, also cited sources and tweeted that the city's government was expected to announce the curfew. The tweet was later deleted, and a government source said there was no such plan, but by then the speculation had been picked up by foreign media. A government source said top officials had mulled the possibility of imposing a curfew under the existing Public Order Ordinance before it enacted the mask law. "The top echelon of the government later considered the idea not feasible as it is difficult to enforce it. There is no change of the government's position despite the mayhem since Monday," he said. Pro-Beijing heavyweight Tam Yiu-chung, the city's sole delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the country's top legislative body, told a radio show that while he would support any move to curb violence he doubted a curfew would work. The source added that the government still hoped to ensure the district council elections would be held as scheduled on November 24. Another source said of the late-night meeting in which the curfew and elections were discussed: "After two hours, they decided on nothing." While the city's administrative and legislative centre in Admiralty was in its cocoon of blue and white water barriers, the atmosphere was tense in multiple locations across the city on Thursday. Apart from blocking key roads near university campuses, demonstrators also caused disruptions to MTR train services by hurling petrol bombs onto the tracks near Hung Hom and Kwun Tong, marched in business districts such as Central and Tai Koo for lunchtime protests, and vandalised shops in Sheung Shui. Earlier in the day, as commuters struggled with getting around Tolo Highway, which connects Sha Tin and Tai Po, the West Rail line also partially closed, leaving many workers stuck at home. At least 15 MTR stations were closed, while 65 bus routes were affected by roadblocks. As of 10pm on Thursday, 49 people, aged from 48 days to 60 years old, were admitted to hospital. Of them, 16 were stable, 32 were discharged and one was waiting to be seen. After the class suspensions on Thursday, the Education Bureau announced that classes at kindergartens and primary, secondary and special schools will stay shut until Sunday. Again, thousands of protesters, many in office attire, poured onto Connaught Road in Central, while others placed bricks on Des Voeux Road Central upright and in triangle formations, a now-familiar pattern to delay police from advancing to clear them. Among those shouting slogans was Joyce Lee, 31, a hospitality industry worker. She felt weekday demonstrations had been more effective than weekend protests. "We can, and have, brought schools and some work to a halt. I am not afraid of public opinion turning as those who are blind to police violence already turned against us long ago," she said. About 100 people marched in Kwun Tong, while hundreds also marched on King's Road in Tai Koo and set up roadblocks. Three masked protesters later damaged a surveillance camera at Tai Koo MTR station and flooded it by turning on a hose from a hydrant. In the afternoon, a black-clad man was attacked by a mob with rods in Sheung Shui, while a man was punched by masked protesters in Central. At the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, police fired tear gas at Polytechnic University early in the morning after black-clad mobs had flung projectiles towards a cordon of officers outside. Police later said "rioters" fired arrows at several of their men near the campus at 6.45am. After police reinforcements arrived, protesters threw flower pots, so riot police fired tear gas in response. Protesters again shot arrows at them. No officers were injured, and six arrows were then recovered at the scene. San, a Form Four student, dressed in black and masked, joined protesters there early in the morning. Armed with a tennis racket, she said she had joined the movement since the summer. "I'm not afraid, I've seen my friend being arrested on the frontline and I was so mad at the police after that. This is my duty as a student to fight," she said. At the University of Hong Kong, a group of people came to clear a small section of the brick-strewn road during their lunch break. A man who said he graduated from there in 1984 shouted to reporters: "Not everyone supports them, I just want to tell you. My company and my friends' companies will never hire these graduates." At a press briefing, Chief Superintendent John Tse Chun-chung slammed the radicals for blocking more than 20 traffic arteries. "Anyone could be the next victim. It has become a social threat," Tse said. Tse piled pressure on the universities' management, saying: "School heads should make a clear stance against violence and do all they can to prevent students from continuing with these destructive acts." On their secret communication channels, protesters said they were planning more surprises on Friday. ^ top ^
Int'l students flee Hong Kong as more universities prematurely end terms amid campus turmoil (HKFP)
2019-11-14
International students have begun to evacuate from Hong Kong as more universities announced a premature end to the fall term amid protester turmoil on campuses. The South Korean consulate in Hong Kong escorted over 40 students out of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on Wednesday – 30 of whom went directly to the airport to fly home, according to RTHK. On Tuesday, around 50 South Korean students at CUHK also returned to their home country, the broadcaster reported. The news came after fierce clashes between police, students and protesters broke out on several university campuses on Monday and Tuesday, including at CUHK, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that its government had expressed concern about the situation in Hong Kong and is considering issuing a more severe travel warning for the city. State-owned Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said on Wednesday that it expects 284 Taiwanese students in Hong Kong to return to the island on Wednesday and Thursday. It said it assisted 126 Taiwanese students studying at CUHK to board a China Airlines flight on Wednesday evening. There are 1,021 Taiwanese students studying at Hong Kong universities, according to the Council. The National Taiwan University (NTU) also said on Thursday that it had asked its students on exchange in Hong Kong to return to Taiwan, while Taiwanese and other international students in Hong Kong were welcome to alternatively attend NTU as exchange students. It added that NTU students who were scheduled to study in Hong Kong for the spring semester will be sent to NTU's sister schools in the United States, United Kingdom and France. Some mainland Chinese students have sought shelter in hostels run by the Communist Youth League Shenzhen Committee in Shenzhen, Ming Pao reported. It wrote on the Twitter-like platform Weibo that mainland students in Hong Kong were welcome to take refuge in 12 of its hostels in the southern Chinese city for free for seven days. On Wednesday, Hong Kong police sent a vessel to help Chinese students leave CUHK upon their request. Magnus, an exchange student from Denmark at the City University of Hong Kong, told Apple Daily that many exchange students from his school had begun returning home, though he had no plan to leave yet. He said the Hong Kong government's lack of communication with protesters had led to escalating tactics and, in contrast, Danish government officials would have communicated with citizens in person or responded to questions from the public through the media. Meanwhile, Macau's Higher Education Bureau said on Wednesday that it was "highly concerned" about the situation in Hong Kong and has advised all Macau students in the territory to be vigilant. It added that it has set up an emergency group with Macau student representatives in Hong Kong to obtain firsthand information. Following CUHK's announcement on Wednesday of a premature end to the fall term, HKU said on Thursday that classes will be suspended for the rest of the semester and that teaching, as well as assessments, will be conducted online. The school advised students to stay away from campus or leave the city if they wish. The City University of Hong Kong announced on Thursday that Friday will be the last day of the teaching period and that no classes – including those online – will take place. It said final examinations were cancelled and, instead, students will be asked to complete assignments. The Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have also suspended classes for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, Lingnan University announced on Thursday that it will postpone a graduation ceremony originally scheduled for next Thursday. Hong Kong has been shaken by 24 weeks of protests triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill which would have enabled fugitive transfers to mainland China. The movement has evolved into calls for democratic reform and accountability for the police handling of the crisis, as well as other demands. ^ top ^
Xi says HK's most pressing task is to end violence, chaos and restore order (Xinhua)
2019-11-14
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the most pressing task for Hong Kong at present is to bring violence and chaos to an end and restore order. Xi made this clear stance of the Chinese government on Hong Kong's situation while he was attending the 11th BRICS summit in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, on Thursday. Xi said the continuous radical violent activities in Hong Kong seriously trample rule of law and the social order, seriously disturb Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and seriously challenge the "one country, two systems" bottom line. He reiterated that it remains the most pressing task for Hong Kong to bring violence and chaos to an end and restore order. "We will continue to firmly support the chief executive in leading the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to govern in accordance with the law, firmly support the Hong Kong police in strictly enforcing the law, and firmly support the Hong Kong judicial bodies in severely punishing the violent criminals in accordance with the law," Xi said. Xi said the Chinese government has unswerving determination to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests, implement "one country, two systems" policy and oppose any external force in interfering in Hong Kong's affairs. ^ top ^
If Beijing puts troops in Hong Kong, Washington should suspend the city's trade status, US commission says (SCMP)
2019-11-14
Washington should suspend the special economic status granted to Hong Kong if Beijing deploys its military forces in the city, a congressional body warned on Thursday, along with a range of other recommendations addressing perceived threats the US faces as a result of its engagement with China. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which has a mandate to advise US lawmakers on the implications of Washington's economic relationship with Beijing, also called for US export control measures on mainland Chinese companies to be extended to their Hong Kong subsidiaries. Hong Kong issues aside, the body warned about continued investment by US companies in China because of increasing vulnerabilities they face in terms of data and intellectual property protection and said that Chinese companies listed on American stock exchanges should abide by the same disclosure rules as other firms. According to the commission's charter, its recommendations are meant "for action by Congress or the President, or both", but those authorities are not obliged to act on them. Reflecting the broad ideological and military threats that its members say China poses for the US, the commission took Beijing to task for what it characterised as an attack on democracy in Hong Kong and on the mainland as well as a "campaign of cultural extermination" against the country's Uygur and other Muslim minorities. "If there were flickers of opening up in China, they have been firmly extinguished," commission chairwoman Carolyn Bartholomew said in a news conference in Washington. "It is for this reason that we are making what we view as an important change in our report this year. We are now referring to Xi Jinping using the title by which he derives his true authority, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party." "Giving the unearned title of president to a leader who insists on the superiority of socialism, and who is overseeing a wide-ranging campaign to root out China's democratic impulses lends a veneer of democratic legitimacy to the CCP and Xi's authoritarian rule," she explained. The commission's recommendations for tougher economic measures against Hong Kong follow China's call for a tougher crackdown on the semi-autonomous city's continuing, and increasingly violent, anti-government protests that are now in their sixth month. "Hong Kong's status as a separate customs territory, distinct from mainland China, is under pressure," the commission, which was established in 2000 as part of Washington's acceptance of Beijing into the World Trade Organisation, said in its annual report. "Beijing's more assertive imposition of sovereign control over Hong Kong undermines the 'high degree of autonomy' that underwrites trust in the Hong Kong government's ability to restrict sensitive US technologies from being diverted to mainland China," it added. Among the five recommendations put forth by the commission, Congress should "enact legislation stating that all provisions and the special status of Hong Kong included in the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 will be suspended in the event that China's government deploys People's Liberation Army or People's Armed Police forces to engage in armed intervention in Hong Kong". The report highlights a gathering consensus in Washington that years of engagement with Beijing has not yielded, and will not lead to, the kind of political reform that policymakers had envisioned when officials ties between the two countries were re-established in 1979. "The Commission has been analyzing the many dimensions in which China poses challenges to the US for many years," said Bonnie Glaser, senior advisor for Asia at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "It is probably fair to say that their assessment of the nature of the Chinese threat preceded what has become a significant shift in attitudes toward China in the United States, and the adoption of a tougher policy by the Trump administration." "I think many of the Commission's recommendations will resonate with Members of Congress and Trump administration officials," Glaser said. One of the most important elements of Hong Kong's special status has been the fact that it is considered a separate customs and trading zone from China. That has meant, for instance, that trade war tariffs do not apply to exports from Hong Kong. Under the 1992 law, the US president can issue an executive order suspending elements of Hong Kong's special status if the president determines that the territory is "not sufficiently autonomous" from Beijing. The report also called for congressional action directing the Department of Commerce to extend export control measures now in place for mainland China to subsidiaries of Chinese companies established or operating in Hong Kong. Also on export control, the commission suggested that Congress hold hearings examining technologies subject to export controls for mainland China, but not controlled for Hong Kong. "These hearings should request that the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security and the US consulate general in Hong Kong assess the effectiveness of current export controls in preventing unauthorised transshipment to the mainland or other destinations," it stated. The US State Department should also develop a series of specific benchmarks for measuring Hong Kong's maintenance of a "high degree of autonomy" from Beijing, the report noted. "Such benchmarks should employ both qualitative and quantitative measurements to evaluate the state of Hong Kong's autonomy in the State Department's annual Hong Kong Policy Act Report," it noted. Despite the hawkish rhetoric, however, the report advised US lawmakers to continue their outreach with Hong Kong officials, adding: "Members of Congress … should also continue to express support for freedom of expression and the rule of law in Hong Kong. Last month, the US House of Representatives unanimously passed three pieces of legislation supporting the pro-democracy protests. The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the most consequential of the bills, would put the former British colony's special treatment by the United States under tighter scrutiny. It has not been passed by the Senate yet. The commission is not only concerned about China's military in Hong Kong. James Talent, another commission member and a former US senator from Missouri, said that Beijing is using the People's Liberation Army, in conjunction with the foothold China has gained in European countries through its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative projects, to weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and overall EU unity. In particular, China is trying to exploit tensions between southeastern European countries and the rest of the bloc to pull those countries more closely into Beijing's orbit, he contended. "It's now clear that Beijing intends to make the PLA a global expeditionary force," Talent said. "One of the reasons is because they have global interests and they intend to use the PLA among other tools to protect those interests in places like Europe. … This year we dealt more with the hard-power end of that." Commission members also spend much of the briefing warning that some Chinese companies listed on US exchanges enjoy less stringent reporting requirements, presenting a significant financial threat. "American investors are possibly at risk of making investment decisions that are not based on accurate information," said Robin Cleveland, the commission's vice-chair, said. Michael Wessel, a commission member since its formation, said that China's current economic slowdown magnifies this risk. "As China's economic slowdown continues, its need for capital is going to expand and that's something that we're going to have to take into account because that may very well enhance the risk profile," he said. "This is about being compliant with the original Securities and Exchange Act." ^ top ^
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Taiwan presidential hopeful Han Kuo-yu says 'no peace deal with Beijing until threats end' (SCMP)
2019-11-15
Taiwanese presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu said on Thursday that if elected he will not sign a peace agreement with Beijing until it renounces the use of force against the democratic island. The representative of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang said also that he would seek the opinions of the public before agreeing to talks with Beijing on issues concerning relations across the Taiwan Strait. In his first briefing to the foreign media in Taiwan, Han – who will challenge incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party in the January 11 poll – gave a comprehensive summary of his position on key issues, including cross-strait relations, Hong Kong and the United States. On relations with Beijing, he said Tsai's policies had resulted in an increase in tensions between the two sides, which had been economically, politically and diplomatically disadvantageous for the island. "Were I elected, I am quite confident that I would be able to reopen talks and exchanges with the mainland," he said. Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary. It suspended official exchanges with Taipei after Tsai was elected in 2016 and refused to accept the "1992 consensus", which allows for talks between the two sides on the understanding that Taiwan acknowledges there is only "one China", though it can choose how that is defined. Han said that unlike Tsai, whom Beijing does not trust because of her party's pro-independence stance, he believed Beijing would tacitly agree to his use of the "1992 consensus with different interpretations" as the political foundation for talks. However, he denied being Beijing's "preferred candidate", saying that the term had been coined by his opponents in a bid to convince voters that if elected he would sell out to the mainland. On the subject of a peace deal with the mainland, Han said: "As long as the Chinese Communist side refuses to renounce the use of force against us, it is impossible for me to sign such an agreement." He also dismissed local news reports that he was unconcerned about the months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. "I feel sad seeing things going on like this … police firing at protesters and breaking into university campuses, which violates the universal practice of campus autonomy," he said. "I suggest that the Hong Kong government allows Hongkongers to have general elections so that they can elect the people they want directly," he said, though added that the polls must not be a move towards independence for the city. Asked if he supported "one country, two systems" as advocated by Chinese President Xi Jinping as a model for future unification talks, Han said: "No, I don't … and no one in Taiwan supports that." And on whether he would opt for an improvement in cross-strait ties at the expense of the island's healthy relations with the United States, Han said that both Beijing and Washington were "important to Taiwan". ^ top ^
Taiwan police arrest man over Hong Kong watch robbery (SCMP)
2019-11-14
Taiwan police have arrested a man in connection with a robbery in Hong Kong in which the suspect made off with two expensive watches. The robbery happened in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong's premier shopping districts on October 6, when a man is alleged to have threatened a worker at a watch shop with an air pistol. The suspect is said to have run off with two watches worth a total of HK$990,000 (US$126,000) before catching a flight later that day. A 30-year-old man, identified by his surname Lin, was arrested on Monday night in central Taiwan, officers from the criminal investigation task force based in the central city of Taichung, said on Wednesday. An officer said the suspect had been arrested at a student dormitory in the city, and officers had also found the equivalent of US$380,000 in Taiwanese dollars and items linked to a series of unrelated raids. The man is suspected of being a "habitual robber" who is linked to a series of robberies across Southeast Asia and police have asked the local prosecutors' office to detain him in custody. Taiwanese police have informed their Hong Kong counterparts through the Criminal Investigation Bureau and asked them to exchange information and intelligence about the case. Police said they had matched the models and serial numbers of the stolen watches with two that had been sold to a pawnshop in Taichung and "found them matching". A law enforcement source in Hong Kong said that the name and age of the suspect arrested in Taiwan matched that of the suspect Hong Kong police were seeking in connection with the Tsim Sha Tsui robbery. A Hong Kong police spokesman said the force did not comment on individual cases. He said the case was now being handled by the Security Bureau and Department of Justice. "It will be their decisions whether evidence will be passed to Taiwanese authorities," the Hong Kong source said. Taiwanese law allows suspects in robberies committed in Hong Kong and Macau to be tried in the island's courts and, if found guilty, can face up to three years in jail. However, there is no extradition law or judicial cooperation agreement between Hong Kong and Macau – a potential loophole that has proved highly contentious. A Hong Kong man was suspected of killing his pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing during a holiday in Taiwan in February last year. The suspect, Chan Tong-kai, returned to Hong Kong soon after the murder, and was subsequently jailed for a related money-laundering offence. Although Chan indicated he would be willing to surrender to the Taiwanese authorities following his release from jail, the two sides have been unable to agree on how to do this. His case led to the introduction of the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would also have allowed for the transfer of suspects to mainland China and triggered the ongoing anti-government protests. ^ top ^
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China insists on tariff rollback (Global Times)
2019-11-14
Beijing on Thursday reiterated an earlier demand for both sides in the China-US trade talks to simultaneously roll back some existing tariffs on each other's products as part of a highly anticipated interim trade agreement, while indicating negotiations are continuing, despite the return of tough rhetoric out of Washington. However, given the unreasonable demands and fresh threats from US officials, the risks of the trade negotiations leading to no phase-one trade deal cannot be ruled out, if China sees no meaningful compromise from the US, analysts noted. "China has repeatedly stressed that the trade war started with imposing additional tariffs and therefore should end with the cancellation of additional tariffs," Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, told a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday. Gao further noted that the scale of the tariffs removed should "fully reflect the significance of the China-US phase one trade agreement, which should be appraised by both sides." He added that the two sides are conducting in-depth discussion over the thorny issues. Chinese officials have publicly demanded the removal of some tariffs as a precondition for the phase one trade deal, but Gao's comments on Thursday suggest that the issue remains unsolved in the ongoing trade talks, analysts said. "For China, tariffs must be removed. Otherwise, there is no meaning in reaching a trade agreement," Song Guoyou, director of Fudan University's Center for Economic Diplomacy, told the Global Times on Thursday. Song, who closely follows the negotiations, said that tariffs already imposed should be rolled back. Gao's comment on Thursday came as US officials appeared to be raising their demands and renewing threats, despite clear progress seen in the negotiations for the phase one deal. US President Donald Trump has threatened to substantially raise tariffs on Chinese goods, if a deal was not reached. US officials have also demanded that China purchase $40-$50 billion of US agricultural goods each year and refloated demands over so-called technology transfers and enforcement mechanisms, according to some US media reports. Such threats and increased demands show no sincerity from the US for reaching a trade agreement and pose a serious risk that the negotiations could collapse, according to Chinese analysts. "Making additional demands could create obstacles for and disrupt the negotiations," said Song, adding that the US seems to show the signs of backpedaling, as it has many times throughout the 17-month trade war. However, the overall direction for a phase one deal remains positive, given the eagerness on both sides to end the costly trade war, according to Li Yong, deputy chair of the expert committee of the China Association of International Trade. "Both sides are still moving forward with a serious attitude," he told the Global Times on Thursday. Though Chinese and US officials have not announced more face-to-face negotiations, they have been keeping in close contact, possibly over the phone. Gao, the spokesperson, said on Thursday that China is willing to work with the US to create an "atmosphere" for the two sides to reach a phase one deal and address each other's core concerns based an equal footing and mutual respect. China on Thursday lifted a ban on US poultry imports imposed in 2015, paving the way for hundreds of millions dollars worth of US meat exports to China. The US exported $390 million worth of poultry to China in 2014, before the ban was imposed. However, if the US does not respond to goodwill gestures from China with concrete actions and overplays its hand, the trade negotiations could become very difficult, analysts said. "We cannot rule out any change to the direction of the trade talks," Li noted. ^ top ^
Consumption, services boost economy (Global Times)
2019-11-14
Led by a rise in consumption and services, China reported a stable and steady economic performance in October, with its annual employment target reached ahead of schedule despite mounting downward pressure caused by the trade war to domestic structural reforms and a sluggish global economy. While recognizing a challenging situation, officials stressed that China has the confidence and conditions to achieve its annual economic target, powered by an ongoing industrial upgrade, a growing consumer market and other policy measures. In the first 10 months of 2019, retail sales rose 8.1 percent to 33.48 trillion yuan ($4.77 trillion), while the index for services output value rose by 7 percent, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. Urban employment rose by 11.93 million people, achieving the annual target of 11 million well in advance of the deadline. The urban unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points from September to 5.1 percent. Fixed-asset investment rose 5.2 percent year-on-year to 51.09 trillion yuan. In particular, investment in basic infrastructure rose 4.2 percent, while investment in the manufacturing sector was up 2.6 percent and up 10.3 percent in the property sector. At a press briefing of the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Thursday, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said that key indexes of the economy were within a reasonable range in October. "The momentum that China's economy maintains, with overall stability and steady progress, has not changed." While mentioning downward pressure at least eight times at the press briefing, Liu said that "China has the foundation, the conditions and the confidence to achieve its full-year growth target and maintain stable economic growth," as verified by the nation's booming consumer market, driven by industrial upgrades, and dividends from its commitment to opening up. She also noted its policy tools to cut taxes and administrative fees, which will "provide a robust underpinning for its economy." China has set its 2019 economic growth target at a range of 6-6.5 percent. Liu Xuezhi, a senior economist at the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Thursday that a slide in fixed-asset investment in October has dragged down the data for that month and will continue to weigh on the economy in the rest of the year. "Local governments used up all of their special-purpose bond quotas by the end of the third quarter. Concerns over high local debt would lead to their issuing less bonds in the fourth quarter, a downside for the economy," Liu said. But on the positive side, the rise in services and retail shows reviving and robust domestic demand that will continue to propel the Chinese economy, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday. It will take time for the government's policies that aim to reduce reliance on infrastructure and property investment to take effect. China's GDP will expand 6.1 percent for the full year, according to a report released by the National Institute for Finance and Development, a top think tank under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on Wednesday. Liu stressed that China's economy will not fall off a cliff, but he also urged Chinese policymakers to roll out more counter-cyclical policies next year to cushion against downward pressure. "There is further room for macroeconomic adjustment. We could expand the financial debt quota and the scale of special-purpose bond issues in order to make fiscal policy more efficient." ^ top ^
Alibaba gets nod to sell shares in Hong Kong, in a secondary listing that catapults city back to the top of world's IPO ranking (SCMP)
2019-11-13
The listing committee of the Hong Kong stock exchange has approved the application by Alibaba Group Holding, the record holder of the largest global initial public offering, to sell up to HK$117 billion (US$15 billion) of new shares in a secondary listing that would return the city as the world's fundraising capital for the seventh time in 11 years, according to several sources. The green light clears the way for Hangzhou-based Alibaba to start a weeklong roadshow starting on November 13 to drum up interest from institutional and retail investors, in a bookbuilding exercise that could help the operator of the world's largest online shopping platform raise between US$10 billion and US$15 billion. The price of each Alibaba share will be determined on November 20, sources familiar with the matter said. Shares of the company, also the owner of South China Morning Post, are expected to trade in Hong Kong in the week of November 25. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, which operates the local bourse, declined to comment when contacted on the matter. "The IPO of Alibaba will be popular among Hong Kong's investors as it is a well-known e-commerce company, whose shares and turnover had both performed well on the New York exchange since their listing in 2014," said Gordon Tsui Luen-on, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Association. "The secondary listing will give Hong Kong investors, and even traders in mainland China, a chance to invest in the company, via the Stock Connect scheme in future." China International Capital Corporation and Credit Suisse, the lead arrangers of Alibaba's offering, are roping in other banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley to form a syndicate to help underwrite the share sale, according to brokers familiar with the matter. The secondary listing would bolster the capitalisation of Asia's most valuable company, and finally give mainland China's investors the chance to participate in the growth of one of the country's most profitable technology giants. It also brings the group back to its "natural first choice" listing venue, in co-founder Joe Tsai's words in 2013, and vindicates the listing reforms pushed through last year by Hong Kong's financial authorities, after Alibaba's decision in 2014 to raise US$25 billion in New York. For Hong Kong, the additional capital would be the equivalent of a last-minute dash that puts the city back ahead of New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in the race for global IPO crown this year. Fundraising returned to Hong Kong since September, after three months of a dismal summer that derailed US$11.05 billion of deals. Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, ESR Cayman and a dozen other companies have raised a combined US$11.53 billion in the city since September, putting Hong Kong in striking distance of the coveted crown. Alibaba's proposed plan, even at the lower end of the range of US$10 billion, will catapult the city to the summit. "Alibaba's secondary listing is a vote of confidence for Hong Kong's stock market, as the city's economy has sunken into a technical recession after five months of street protests," said Tsui, referring to the anti-government protests that were sparked in June by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. "Alibaba's decision to choose Hong Kong [over all other regional bourses including Shanghai] shows the city can still attract mega companies to raise funds" despite recent turmoil, he added. A successful listing at the top end of US$15 billion would rank the deal as the third largest fundraising on record in Hong Kong, after insurance group AIA's HK$159 billion IPO in 2010 and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's HK$124.95 billion deal in 2006. Alibaba, which listed in New York in 2014 at US$68 per share, jumped to a peak of US$208 in June last year, and closed at US$186.97 on Tuesday, giving it a market value of US$486.8 billion. That makes it the largest company in Asia, and the seventh biggest globally after Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Facebook and Berkshire Hathaway, according to Bloomberg's data. The company had earlier received the nod from shareholders to split its ordinary shares on one-to-eight basis, increasing its capital base to 32 billion shares from 4 billion. The stock split would "increase the flexibility for the company in future capital market activities, including the issuance of new shares," Alibaba said in July. Many Hong Kong stockbrokers told the Post that they have prepared funding and workforce to handle what would be expected to be the largest deal in a decade. In anticipation, demand for Hong Kong dollars has pushed up the cost of short-term borrowings. The cost of money jumped in Hong Kong, with one-week interbank offered rates, or Hibor, advancing by 63 basis points to 1.92 per cent while two-week Hibor rose by 58 basis points to 2.09 per cent on Monday, according to the Treasury Markets Association. "It is going to be a hot deal," said Jojo Choy Sze-chung, vice-chairman of the Institute of Securities Dealers. "Alibaba already has several good e-commerce platforms and other profitable businesses. It should not be a problem for the company to raise up to US$15 billion." Alibaba's impending listing in Hong Kong will follow the conclusion of its 2019 Singles' Day online shopping gala, when a record US$38.38 billion of merchandise were sold in the 24-hour shopping spree. American pop diva Taylor Swift headlined this year's shopping festival with a curtain-raiser showpiece in Shanghai.. ^ top ^
China's surging pork prices leave limited leeway for interest rate cut to support growth (SCMP)
2019-11-12
Fears of exasperating already rapidly rising consumer prices are limiting the options for Chinese policymakers to make aggressive rate cuts and implement other monetary policy easing even as the economy continues to worsen, analysts said. Surging pork prices pushed China's consumer price index (CPI) to a nearly eight year high in October, while the headwinds for China's economic growth are continuing to build as seen in weakening in the export, industrial and property sectors. Policy easing space is also limited by other factors, analysts said, as lowering interest rates sharply could have the unwanted effects of fuelling capital outflows and deterring foreign investment, while also undermining the government's campaign to cut back on risky lending within the financial sector. On Monday, government data showed that Chinese banks extended 661.3 billion yuan (US$94.5 billion) in net new loans in October, the lowest monthly total this year and well below expectations of 800 billion yuan (US$114 billion). Total aggregate financing stood at 618.9 billion yuan (US$88 billion), below forecasts of 950 billion yuan (US$135.6 billion). Overall, China's absolute total debt level continues to rise, reaching 303 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of the first quarter, according to data from the Institute of International Finance. Trivium China, a Beijing-based China policy analysis firm, said comments by Zhou Liang, vice-chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Sunday, clearly indicated that de-risking efforts would continue, whether financial institutions "like it or not." More pain may be also on the cards for China's economy as the central bank takes small, incremental policy easing steps. Last week, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the one-year rate on its medium-term lending facility (MLF) – which is uses to add low-cost liquidity to the banking system – by only 5 basis points to 3.25 per cent, which is unlikely to have a significant effect on the economy. Both new loan growth and aggregate financing in October fell short of expectations, mainly as a result of a slowdown in lending to households, which is being curtailed by tighter restrictions on mortgages and consumer credit, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China Economist at Capital Economics. Other financing activities also slowed further, with the shadow banking sector shrinking by 234.4 billion yuan (US$33.4 billion). The stock of government bonds, which is a gauge of the pipeline of infrastructure investment, dropped by 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion) in October due to fiscal constraints as local governments exhausted their annual issuance quotas last month, Evans-Pritchard added. Ken Cheung Kin-tai, chief Asian currency strategist at Mizuho Bank, said that the fact that new short-term household loans fell to only 62.3 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion) in October from 265.7 billion yuan (US$38 billion) in September, while long-term household loans dropped to 358.7 billion yuan (US$51.2 billion) from 490.9 billion yuan (US$70 billion), suggested softening consumer and mortgage demand. If key economic data worsens further, Trivium said a window of opportunity for policymakers to signal a shift to more aggressive economic stimulus would be at Central Economic Work Conference in early December, when top Chinese government officials meet to set the economic policy course for 2020. But other economists continue to expect the PBOC to maintain its current monetary policy stance, with only a slight easing bias, probably until at least the headline CPI passes its peak early next year. Raymond Yeung, Greater China chief economist at ANZ Bank, predicts that the PBOC will continue its measured pace of easing banks' funding costs, cutting the interest rates in its 7-day reverse repo rate and its loan prime rate by 5 basis points this year. Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura International, expects the PBOC to wait until early next year before deciding to cut its MLF rate and reserve requirement ratio (RRR) – the amount of money that banks are required to hold at the central bank – any further. "Although the RRR and MLF rate cuts may help stabilise market sentiment and bolster growth, we expect the next RRR and MLF rate cuts to come in or after spring 2020, when CPI inflation likely passes its peak," Lu said. ^ top ^
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| DPRK |
North Korea rebuffs US offer of nuclear talks in December (SCMP)
2019-11-14
North Korea said on Thursday that it has been offered a fresh meeting with the United States but is uninterested in more talks aimed at "appeasing us" ahead of a year-end deadline Pyongyang has set for Washington to show more flexibility in their negotiations. Kim Myong-gil, the North's nuclear negotiator, said in a report carried by state media that Stephen Biegun, his US counterpart who jointly led last month's failed denuclearisation talks in Stockholm, had offered through a third country to meet again. Kim and Biegun met last month in the Swedish capital for the first time since US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed in June to reopen negotiations that have been stalled since a failed summit in Vietnam in February. But the meeting fell apart, with Kim saying the US side failed to present a new approach. "If the negotiated solution of issues is possible, we are ready to meet with the US at any place and any time," Kim Myong-gil said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency. But he called Biegun's proposal a "sinister aim of appeasing us in a bid to pass with ease" Pyongyang's year-end deadline. "We have no willingness to have such negotiations." North Korea has been seeking a lifting of punishing sanctions, but the US has insisted that Kim Jong-un must dismantle his nuclear weapons programme first. The North Korean statement came after General Mark Milley, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, reaffirmed that the US was ready to use the "full range" of its capabilities to defend South Korea from any attack. Senior US defence officials are gathering in Seoul for annual meetings as the two countries face intensifying threats from North Korea to stop joint military drills. The US is also seeking a greater financial contribution from South Korea for hosting American troops, while urging Seoul to revoke its decision to scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan known as GSOMIA, which Washington fears would undermine trilateral cooperation. Milley met his South Korean counterpart, General Park Han-ki, for the annual Military Committee Meeting on Thursday. Both sides discussed ways to maintain solid defence posture and a planned transfer of wartime operational control to South Korea, a joint statement said, even as they have scaled back joint exercises to expedite negotiations with North Korea. Milley reiterated the "continued commitment to providing extended deterrence", the statement said. "He affirmed that the United States remains prepared to respond to any attack on the Korean peninsula, using the full range of US military capabilities." US Defence Secretary Mark Esper was arriving in Seoul later on Thursday, ahead of a meeting with South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo for the annual security consultative meeting on Friday. Esper said on Wednesday that he was open to changes in US military activity in South Korea if it helped diplomats trying to jump-start stalled talks with North Korea. Pyongyang has derided the US-South Korea exercises as hostile, even in the current reduced form. On Wednesday, it threatened to retaliate if the allies go ahead with scheduled drills in a rare statement from the State Affairs Commission, a top governing body chaired by Kim Jong-un. Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at South Korea's Sejong Institute think tank, said the North's statement appeared to be aimed at justifying future North Korean military actions. Milley has hinted at raising the troop cost-sharing and Japan issues, though the joint statement did not address them directly. Trump's insistence that Seoul take on a greater share of the cost of the 28,500-strong US military presence as deterrence against North Korea has rattled South Korea. It could also set a precedent for upcoming US negotiations on defence cost-sharing with other allies. A South Korean lawmaker said last week that US officials demanded up to US$5 billion a year, more than five times what Seoul agreed to pay this year under a one-year deal. Washington has also been pressing Seoul to reconsider its decision to scrap the GSOMIA intelligence-sharing pact with Japan. The pact, which South Korea decided not to renew, expires on November 23. Esper said on Wednesday that GSOMIA "must be maintained" for cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan against any "North Korean bad behaviour". Seoul's Defence Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said on Thursday that it would re-examine GSOMIA "if Japan withdraws its unjust retaliatory measures and friendly relations between the two countries recover". Relations have plunged after South Korea's top court last year ordered Japanese firms to compensate some wartime forced labourers, and Japan curbed exports of key industrial materials to South Korea in July. ^ top ^
China calls on all parties to cherish hard-won momentum for dialogue on Korean Peninsula (Xinhua)
2019-11-14
China on Thursday called on all parties to cherish the hard-won momentum for dialogue and amelioration on the Korean Peninsula. The United States and the Republic of Korea plan to hold military drills in mid-November. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Wednesday warned that the U.S. will face grave consequences if it goes ahead with the scheduled drills. When asked to comment on the situation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said dialogue is the only viable way to a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. "We call on all parties to cherish the hard-won momentum for dialogue and amelioration, stay committed to dialogue and consultation, show flexibility, enhance mutual trust and work constructively towards denuclearization and enduring peace on the Peninsula," Geng added. ^ top ^
North Korea warns of retaliation against US-South Korea military drills (SCMP)
2019-11-14
North Korea threatened on Wednesday to retaliate if the United States goes ahead with scheduled military drills with South Korea, ramping up pressure on Washington to change course as a year-end North Korean deadline for US flexibility approaches. The statement came even though Washington said last week that the joint aerial exercise planned for next month would be reduced in scope from previous drills. "It is self-defence rights" for North Korea to retaliate against any move that threatens its sovereignty and security, according to a statement from the State Affairs Commission, without elaborating. It is rare for the commission, the supreme governing body chaired by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to release a statement. Last week, a senior North Korean diplomat also blamed the US joint aerial drill for "throwing cold water" over talks with Washington. Pyongyang opposes US-South Korean joint military exercises, viewing them as a rehearsal for invasion. In its latest statement, Pyongyang said it had taken measures to calm Washington's concerns but that the United States had failed to reciprocate, leaving it with a "feeling of betrayal". Asked to comment on the North Korea statement, the US State Department made no reference to the military exercises, but a spokeswoman referred to an agreement reached between Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump at their first summit in Singapore in June 2018. "President Trump remains committed to making progress toward the Singapore commitments of transformed relations, building lasting peace, and complete denuclearisation," she said. Immediately following his first meeting with Kim, Trump made a surprise announcement that the United States would suspend military drills with South Korea. Since then, major exercises have been halted or scaled back. Kim in April gave the United States a year-end deadline to show more flexibility in stalled denuclearisation talks. This statement followed the collapse of his second summit with Trump in Hanoi in February, and has raised concerns that North Korea could return to the nuclear bomb and long-range missile testing that it has suspended since 2017. North Korea has tested the limits of engagement with a string of short-range missile launches, and analysts say it appears to have been emboldened to toughen its approach by the impeachment inquiry into Trump in Washington. Senior US Democratic and Republican lawmakers presented duelling narratives on Wednesday as the congressional impeachment inquiry threatening Trump's presidency entered a crucial new phase with the first televised public hearing. ^ top ^
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| Mongolia |
State budget for 2020 approved with revenue of MNT 11.8 trillion (Montsame)
2019-11-14
Yesterday, during its plenary session, the Parliament adopted Bills on State Budget for 2020, Budgets of Social Insurance Fund 2020 and Health Insurance Fund 2020. In the 2020 Budget, equilibrated revenue is projected to be MNT 11.8 trillion and total expenditure MNT 13.9 trillion which means the deficit amounts to MNT 2.1 trillion or 5.1 percent of GDP. Next year, the Government will implement a policy to promote sustainable economic growth, maintain budget discipline and reduce deficit at stages. The budget also targets to completing projects that started and got investment in previous years, launching some necessary social projects and programs and implementing tax reforms that support business, investment and employment. 75.4 percent of MPs, who attended the plenary meeting supported to approve the Bill on State Budget for 2020. ^ top ^
Revised bill on Government Special Funds approved (Montsame)
2019-11-14
During its plenary meeting on November 13, the Parliament passed the revised bill on Government Special Funds and related bills and draft resolution with 66.7 percent votes. Government submitted this bill to the parliament together with the bill on State Budget for 2020. The bill on Government special funds was worked out for a purpose to streamline government special funds that make up about 30 percent of the general government budget, make its financing and expenses transparent and controlled and improve its impact on socio-economy by means of ensuring public involvement. In connection with the revised bill on Government Special Funds, 15 bills including the bill on annulling the law of Support for Industrialization, amendments to the Law on Credit Guarantee Fund were formulated. According to the amendments to the Law on Credit Guarantee Fund, a statement in the Law, saying "Up to 60 percent of the total guaranteed credit disbursed from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund shall be double guaranteed by the government" was considered indispensable to be annulled in order to reduce possible debt risk to the state budget. ^ top ^
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Jennia Jin
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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