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SCHWEIZER
BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE |
Der wöchentliche
Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic
of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP
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DPRK
Mongolia
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| Foreign Policy |
US-China trade negotiators vow to save phase one deal on first call during pandemic (SCMP)
2020-05-08
China's purchases of American goods have not been rising in accordance with the phase one deal, leading US President Donald Trump to threaten to scrap the accord. Photo: Martin Chan Top trade negotiators from the United States and China spoke by phone on Friday and vowed to continue to support the phase one trade deal, Chinese state media reported, in their first contact since the agreement was signed in January. On the call, China's Vice-Premier Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer "vowed to implement their trade deal and boost cooperation on public health", the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The officials said they would "create favourable conditions to implement the phase one trade deal", at a time when superpower tensions have been running high over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement posted to its website, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) added that "both sides agreed that good progress is being made on creating the governmental infrastructures necessary to make the agreement a success." "They also agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner. Meetings required by the agreement have been conducted via conference call and will continue on a regular basis," the statement added. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to tear up the phase one deal should China not stick to the terms, including purchasing US$200 billion in US goods, on top of 2017's import levels. Speaking in a town hall hosted by Fox News, Trump said: "If they do not buy, we'll terminate the deal. Very simple." A Chinese government adviser, who preferred not to be named given the sensitivity of the topic, suggested that the fact that "the dialogue has now gone straight to ministerial level may indicate the problem is quite severe". "We hope the talks can solve some problems, or at least both sides can make their problems clear and show more understanding to each other," they said. "But if the US just wants to confront China, it will be hard to address [the issues]." The White House will evaluate every major policy decision through the lens of whether it is an asset or liability for the president's re-election Steve Olson Trade data released this week showed that China is far from meeting its import targets, with the pandemic having severely disrupted supply chains on both sides. Trump had earlier threatened to place more tariffs on China should it fail to live up to its side of the bargain, with analysts suggesting that this sort of pointed rhetoric will escalate in the run up to November's presidential election, particularly as the pain of the coronavirus continues to bite the US economy. "The White House will evaluate every major policy decision through the lens of whether it is an asset or liability for the president's re-election," said Steve Olson, senior fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, a pro-trade think tank, and former USTR trade negotiator. "Recent polling in the US indicates that mistrust of China is at record levels as a result of its handling of the virus. Combined with China's anticipated inability to meet its purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal, 'cozying up' to China is likely to now be seen as a political liability, and could result in the US administration veering towards a more confrontational approach." Viewed through this lens, the call could be seen as an effort by China to stem the deterioration in the relationship, which has crumbled over the course of the coronavirus outbreak. Both sides have engaged in a high stakes blame game on the origins of and handling of Covid-19, and while during talks in 2018 and 2019, negotiators were determined to keep political and commercial matters strictly separate, things are now threatening to boil over. "China for sure is trying to avoid an escalation in the trade war, tech war or financial war," said Jian Chang, chief China economist at Barclays in Hong Kong. "If China can get word from the US that the worst will not happen, China can reassure the US that it remains committed to the promised purchases. On the other hand, the US needs to jump start its economy, and it needs to push China to do more despite the difficulties." China has made multiple steps since January to open its markets to US products, including lifting bans on some pet food products, chipping potatoes, infant formula, poultry and beef products. It has rolled back some tariffs and opened up a tariff exclusion process, while it also resumed buying US pork, sorghum, corn and soybeans in February. But it has yet to come near to the mass purchases it committed to in January. China is supposed to buy an additional US$76.7 billion in designated US products this year, but since the start of the year, its imports from the US have actually fallen by 5.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. China's imports of US goods fell by 11.1 per cent in April, customs data released on Thursday showed, and by a colossal 85.5 per cent in March. Given that China imported much fewer goods from China in 2019 than it did in 2017 – the baseline scenario used to map out the terms of the trade deal – it is nowhere near meeting the targets. Bloomberg economists estimated that of the phase one target purchases, China has imported just US$14.4 billion over the first quarter, below US$16 billion found in the first quarter of 2019 and well below the US$34 billion levels that would be required to meet the terms of the deal. The situation is not helped by the collapse in oil prices. The terms of the phase one deal state that the US will increase its purchases of US energy products by US$33.9 billion this year and US$44.8 billion in 2021, including natural gas, crude oil, refined products and coal. Yet, in the first quarter China imported just US$114 million worth of oil and other fuels from America, less than half the amount from the same period of 2019. Over the same period, it bought US$11.3 billion worth of Russian energy and US$10.7 billion from Saudi Arabia, customs data showed. "There are various reasons behind the poor implementation, whether these are because of the Chinese side or the US side, it is not yet clear, we need to analyse case by case," said the source close to the Chinese government."Neither country should point the finger in these current hard times, nor threaten to impose new tariffs, this won't solve the problem." ^ top ^
China's Consulate-General in Vancouver condemns racist incidents targeting overseas Chinese (Global Times)
2020-05-08
Chinese Canadians have played an active role in supporting Canada's fight against the coronavirus, including donating medical supplies to local hospitals and nursing homes and their contributions have been recognized, China's Consulate-General in Vancouver said in a press release, in response to Canadian outlet Global News' accusation that China has been "stockpiling" safety supplies. The Chinese communities in Canada have served the social development in Canada for a long time and made great contributions to enhance the trade and people-to-people exchanges between China and Canada. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Chinese Canadians actively offered advice and help with the local battle against the epidemic, offering voluntary services to residential communities, mediating in purchases of medical supplies from China and donating medical supplies to hospitals and nursing homes, China's Consulate-General in Vancouver said on Tuesday. It is a pity that the Global News report chose to neglect the Chinese communities' contributions, said the press release, adding that the report was misleading and full of fabrications and groundless accusations. "We firmly oppose it," said the release. The release was issued after Canadian news outlet Global News published a report by Sam Cooper, in which the writer accused China of urging millions of overseas Chinese to bulk-buy medical supplies, which led to a shortage of personal protective equipment in Canada during the global pandemic. China has always opposed attempts to politicize the COVID-19 epidemic, to stigmatize China and to label the virus. Since the outbreak of the virus, the Chinese government has shared information with the World Health Organization and released the gene sequence of the virus. It also held a video conference with more than 150 countries, including Canada and international organizations to share information, according to the release. "We deeply thank the Canadian government and its people as they offered help to China after the outbreak. When Canada was in difficulties, China also offered support and help to Canada," read the release. It noted that through sister cities, companies, and individuals, China has donated a large amount of medical supplies to Canada, which greatly helped its fight against COVID-19. "We should stick to the idea of building the community of a shared future and carry on our efforts in supporting Canada, and working with the international community to defeat the virus." China's Consulate-General in Vancouver also noted that in recent months, there have been some racist incidents targeting Chinese people under the excuse of the COVID-19 epidemic. "We expressed sincere condolences to victims and strongly condemned such incidents. We hope local authorities could hold related people accountable." Different people in Canada have lived in harmony and made joint contributions to Canada and there should be no place for racism in the country, the release said. The virus is a common enemy for all people, races and countries and stigmatization of any race does no good for the fight against the virus, it said. ^ top ^
Putting the blame on others is bald-faced political blackmail (People's Daily)
2020-05-08
While the COVID-19 pandemic has gone rampant around the world, certain American politicians played the trick of "political blackmail". After the World Health Organization (WHO) informed the world of the COVID-19 pandemic, they gloated over the calamity and made complacent assertions that the pandemic "is not a problem" and everything was "under control". "Any country that looks at the experience of other countries with large epidemics and thinks "that won't happen to us" is making a deadly mistake," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at the end of February. However, some U.S. politicians claimed that "the COVID-19 symptoms are very mild," "people will self-cure," and "the disease is going to disappear miraculously one day." People cannot help but ask: Why does the U.S., having the strongest healthcare system in the world and enough time to respond, fail to contain the disease and even suffer a heavy loss as the number of coronavirus cases surpasses one million and the death toll reaches 70,000? Perhaps the reason lies in the following aspects: the U.S. coronavirus testing failure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s failure to give information to the American public, the uncoordinated policy response, and the lack of funding, execution, and treatment for patients. The inability of the U.S. government to cope with the disease has ignited anger among the public. To shift the blame, the U.S. politicians fabricated such claims as "the Chinese government intentionally concealed the severity of the coronavirus from the international community," and "the coronavirus originated at a lab in Wuhan," setting a stage for holding China responsible and seeking compensation from the country. However, such accusations are supported by no evidence. In addition to passing the buck to China, the U.S. politicians also increased pressure on the WHO by labeling the organization as "China centric", halting funding to the organization and threatening to investigate it. They think their political trick could cover the truth. However, in the eyes of reasonable people, this is nothing but buck passing. Those thinking they could deceive the public are actually an insult to the intelligence of the international community. The bald-faced blackmail of the U.S. politicians is intolerable for too many people in the world, who have stood up to expose the farce. In a March 17 paper published by the journal Nature Medicine, scientists from the U.S., the UK and Australia said that the coronavirus has a natural origin and scientific evidence shows it is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus. The WHO reiterated on May 1 that the coronavirus is believed to be "natural in origin". The start of the COVID-19 pandemic is "highly unlikely a lab accident," according to Jonna Mazet, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Davis, who has worked with and trained researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the past. This is because "the lab's samples don't match the new coronavirus; the lab implements rigorous safety protocols; the coronavirus is the latest in a long line of zoonotic disease outbreaks; everyday people are more likely to get infected than researchers who wear protection," she explained. Such facts- and science-based conclusions could not be denied by certain U.S. politicians who go around touting about their absurd opinions. The "responsibility" argument is even more absurd, and it is purely a "political blackmail". China is the first to report the epidemic to the world. It has fought the virus nationwide, achieved remarkable results in epidemic prevention and control, and helped the global fight against the pandemic. China is never the one to be blamed. China is working closely with the WHO. Its prevention and control practices and diagnosis and treatment programs are used by other countries in the world. The country has sent 15 batches of medical experts to 16 countries, and it is working overtime to produce anti-pandemic materials for the world. China is never the one to be blamed. On the contrary, it is the arrogance of some American politicians that has hindered global anti-pandemic response through cooperation and solidarity. Under the logic of some American politicians, the U.S. is the one to be held accountable and it should compensate the international society, for the Spanish Flu, AIDS and other epidemics, the 2008 international financial crisis which led to the collapse of countless enterprises and individuals, and the wars launched against other countries the over the years which have caused millions of innocent civilian casualties and numerous property losses. People's hearts are the biggest political power. The U.S. politicians are advised to do useful things. What's needed most now is to go all out to prevent and control the pandemic, race against time to save lives, and stop blaming each other with lies and blackmail. It is impossible to shift the blame and shirk one's own responsibilities, and this naked "political blackmail" will become a scandal in the human response to pandemics. ^ top ^
Anti-China rhetoric similar to that in McCarthy era, says former U.S. ambassador (Xinhua)
2020-05-08
Former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus said that the U.S. government's anti-China rhetoric reminded him of the McCarthy era. "The administration's rhetoric is so strong against China. It's over the top. We're entering a kind of an era which is similar to Joe McCarthy back when he was red-baiting the State Department, attacking communism," Baucus said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. "A little bit like Hitler in the 30s. A lot of people knew what was going on was wrong. They knew it was wrong, but they didn't stand up and say anything about it. They felt intimidated," he said. "And now in the United States, if anybody says anything reasonable about China, he or she feels intimidated, afraid his head is going to be chopped off. And back in the 30s in Germany is very similar. People who were responsible in the U.S. and especially responsible in Germany couldn't speak up," the former U.S. ambassador continued. "I worry that some of that's happening now, and it's very dangerous. And I think it's in part because the Republican administration, Donald Trump, realizes that the economy is not doing well, probably because of the coronavirus and therefore they have to pivot, they have to blame somebody and they're blaming China. And it is very difficult to get back on track after the election, whoever's elected," he added. When asked about if his comparison between the current atmosphere in Washington and that in Germany in 1930s was "provocative", Baucus clarified that "I think we're moving in that direction, and I'm not saying we're there yet, but there are a lot very responsible people in America who know that this China-bashing is irresponsible, and we're going to pay a price the more it continues." Baucus served as U.S. Ambassador to China under the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017. Before that he was a Senator from Montana for nearly 36 years. As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, some individuals in the Trump administration have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming China. In an opinion piece published Tuesday by The Washington Post, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai called on some U.S. politicians to end the blame-China game and focus on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic that killed over 74,000 Americans as of Thursday afternoon. "It is time to end the blame game. It is time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries. As President Abraham Lincoln called for 'the better angels' in his inauguration speech, I hope that the wisdom of preceding generations will guide us to choose the right side of history and work for our shared future together," Cui said. ^ top ^
Are Beijing's bold moves in the South China Sea mere opportunism amid Covid-19 or the new normal? (SCMP)
2020-05-07
Late last month, China's creation of two new administrative districts and naming of 80 geographic features in the South China Sea created new wrinkles in its ties with other claimants. Both the Philippines and Vietnam protested against the latest administrative ploy. A month before, China established two new research stations in the contested seas. In early April, a Chinese coastguard vessel collided with a Vietnamese fishing boat off the Paracel Islands, generating a furious protest from Hanoi and a statement of concern and solidarity from Manila. At the same time, Beijing launched an eight-month maritime law enforcement campaign, code-named "Blue Sea 2020" that is likely to stir fresh tensions with other littoral states. All these recent actions beg the question: is China capitalising on the pandemic or is it just business as usual? In the Asean-United States Foreign Ministers' virtual meeting on April 23, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Beijing of taking advantage of the situation to push the envelope further while the world is busy fighting Covid-19. China's renewed assertiveness may be driven by both domestic and external factors. Beijing may be looking for domestic praise for its tough security stance – showing no let-up in maritime or sovereignty issues even amid a pandemic. This may, perhaps, help deflect or allay discontent over its initial mishandling of the outbreak in Wuhan. A backlash over Beijing's attempts to wrest control of the coronavirus narrative has also contributed to a heightened sensitivity of criticism of its foreign policy. China may be responding to external factors, too. It is applying pressure on other claimants, notably Vietnam and Malaysia, to halt unilateral drilling. The Blue Sea 2020 campaign, for instance, will target violations in areas such as marine and coastal project construction, and offshore oil exploration and exploitation – a move that may signal a firmer resolve to thwart hydrocarbon activities and construction work by other claimants. China's bold moves are also a reaction to those of its rival, the US. Washington has held two freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and two across the adjacent Taiwan Strait so far this year. And, it engaged in maritime exercises, including one with Australia late last month, and live-fire missile drills in the neighbouring Philippine Sea in March. Beijing, meanwhile, dispatched naval planes to conduct anti-submarine drills in March. In mid-April, in a bid to frustrate other claimants' offshore energy aspirations, the Chinese survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 was spotted in waters off Vietnam and Malaysia. As Chinese security cooperation with Cambodia expands, so do US security ties with coastal states such as Vietnam, as illustrated by the second US aircraft carrier port visit to Da Nang in March. Vietnam also joined Quad Plus virtual meetings with South Korea and New Zealand. The 2004 tsunami response bonded the US, Japan, Australia and India into a grouping that later evolved into a less-formal coalition to push back against China's incursions in the disputed seas. This may have given Beijing reason to worry that an expanded Quad, initially focused on combating Covid-19, could become a larger unit to confront its ambitions. Even in the Philippines, whose relations with China have vastly improved in the past three years, undercurrents remain. Manila protested against Beijing's new administrative entities in the South China Sea as it included features and waters long held by the country. Manila also condemned the pointing of a radar gun by a Chinese navy ship at a Philippine navy corvette on routine patrol. Furthermore, last month's phone call between US President Donald Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte raised the possibility that both sides would go beyond fostering cooperation in Covid-19 fight. Midway into the six-month window to salvage the Visiting Forces Agreement, defence officials and diplomats from both sides continue to seek ways to save the deal, or come up with a more mutually satisfactory accord. The pandemic has done little to change the dynamics in the South China Sea. Neither claimants nor major maritime powers have frozen activities. Like China, Vietnam continues to build up its maritime militias. Philippine construction works on Pag-Asa (Thitu Island), its largest occupied feature in the Spratlys, continue, despite swarms of Chinese vessels around it. Malaysia's oil exploration, meanwhile, remains on course, and the three-way squabble with Vietnam and China simmers on. That said, a distinction has to be made between construction works on occupied features and economic activities within internationally recognised maritime entitlements on the one hand, and status-quo-altering action on the other. On paper, China's establishment of new administrative units in the South China Sea seems innocuous. However, it is the resulting action from these seemingly standard announcements that may generate consternation. A failure to protest again the moves may also indicate to some acquiescence to Beijing's position, bolstering its occupation claims, an unsurprising long-term goal. The large asymmetry between China and other claimants means that Beijing can more easily impose its will should it decide to do so. Therefore, beyond alarm at its fait accompli since turning sand into islands in 2014, it is the fear that China's growing presence in the region will become the new normal that is stirring waves in an already rough sea. ^ top ^
US presidential election threatens public health (Global Times)
2020-05-07
The White House is considering phasing out its coronavirus task force as the Trump administration encouraged states to reopen their economies. During a Tuesday interview with ABC News, US President Donald Trump acknowledged that "there'll be more death" in the push to reopen the country's economy, but "we have to get our country back." The upcoming presidential election is prompting the Trump government to take radical internal and external policies. The White House is unable, and has actually given up efforts, to bring the coronavirus epidemic under control. It believes the positive results that a recovering economy and economic figures will have on winning votes far outweigh the negative impact more deaths will bring. Tens of thousands of Americans are infected and about 1,000 die every day. Trump's campaign team is taking advantage of the US society's established endurance to this situation and plans to let it continue. They are betting that the more serious death peak will appear only after election day on November 3. In that case, there will be no fatal political impact on them no matter how many people die. In addition, they are gambling. They think history will forgive their wrongdoings, and as resuming economy can keep the US strong, they won't be blamed for the deaths of the vulnerable groups in the long run. Therefore, they have nothing to fear. US-style democracy hasn't stopped their cruelty, but indulged in it. Washington is playing the card of "holding China accountable" on the international stage. It is doing its utmost to incite the resentment of Americans toward China. In addition to spreading rumors that the coronavirus was created in a laboratory in Wuhan, which scientists around the world reject, the Trump administration has also called on and threatened US allies to lambast China. In order to win reelection, the Trump team has undermined global solidarity and cooperation to fight the pandemic, attacked WHO which fairly evaluates China's anti-epidemic efforts, and aggravated tensions between major powers. They are bringing uncertainties to international relations not seen since the end of the Cold War. The presidential election is an important step of Western democracy, but it is having a devastating effect. It is threatening the lives of a large number of Americans as well as world stability and peace. It is no longer a process that respects the people's will, but has become a malicious manipulation of public opinion. The US has been kidnapped by the interests of the elites of the Republican Party, and the well-being of people all over the world has also been sacrificed. This is really a great tragedy. How could it be the original purpose of democracy? This is the shameless betrayal of democracy. Historically, there have been many examples of evil in the name of democracy. Surprisingly, American democracy is degenerating to such a degree that it allows a government that seeks re-election to openly stand against the basic morality of human society. The US election has torn society apart. Is there any consensus in the US now? Can the Democratic Party's call to hold the president accountable be viewed as a move out of justice? Even the Chinese people know that if a health official from a US state reveals the loopholes of his government in the epidemic fight, it is better to check if that is a Democratic state. To prevent more deaths is the first call of humanitarianism and the greatest morality. But not in the US. There have been more than 70,000 deaths in the US, a result of the US government's failure to fight the virus. However, such common sense has been shaken in the US. It is a pity that US elections messed up political forces at this unusual historic moment and tragically damaged social values. ^ top ^
Australian media lost independence in hyping up so-called intelligence report: expert (Global Times)
2020-05-05
Western media outlets, particularly those in Australia, have lost their self-proclaimed journalistic professionalism and independence, as they rushed to hype up an unverified "Five Eyes" intelligence report that clearly seeks to smear China's handing of the coronavirus outbreak, a Chinese expert said on Sunday. The latest development out of Australia could also further exacerbate rising tensions between China and Australia over the latter's call for an investigation into China's handling of COVID-19, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday. "Australian media, in hyping up such an unverifiable research dossier to smear China, has lost journalistic professionalism and objectivity. Some Australian media reports are always full of ideological bias against China and show their lack of confidence," Li said. The Daily Telegraph, an Australian media outlet, reported on Saturday that it learned from an investigation dossier by the Five Eyes intelligence agencies that China deliberately suppressed or destroyed evidence of the coronavirus outbreak in an "assault on international transparency." The report said that the 15-page research document they obtained showed that the Chinese government covered up news of the virus, destroyed evidence of it in its laboratories and denied of human-to-human transmission. After the Daily Telegraph report, other Western media outlets also joined in hyping up the so-called dossier. But US intelligence is not confirming the existence of the 15-page document, US media outlet Fox News reported on Sunday. The Five Eyes alliance consists of intelligence agencies from the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. "Even if there was such a dossier, the Five Eyes alliance was established for the political aim of the five countries. Its investigation reports will only meet their political demands, instead of scientific truth," Li said. Chinese officials have repeatedly criticized some western media and politicians for playing up the so-called "China concealing the epidemic" theory, calling such efforts are attempt to cover up their own failures in containing the virus in their countries. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has already provided specific timelines detailing the main facts about China's timely release of information on the epidemic, sharing of experiences on prevention and control, and promoting international cooperation on the prevention and control of COVID-19 since the end of December. It has also reiterated on many occasions that China always upholds an open, transparent and responsible attitude on the prevention and control of COVID-19. China also immediately reported COVID-19 to the World Health Organization (WHO), shared the gene sequence of the novel coronavirus with other countries, and carried out cooperation with the international community on prevention and control of the pandemic, officials have noted. Some Western accusations against China over the COVID-19 even run counter to the findings of the WHO and even public statements from their own officials. The WHO sated on Friday that COVID-19 was natural in origin, after having listened again and again to numerous scientists, who have looked at the sequences, analyzing the virus. The US Intelligence Community also concurs with the scientific consensus that COVID-19 was not manmade or genetically modified, according to a statement issued by the office of the Director of National Intelligence of the US on its website on Friday. Also, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, when asked about US President Donald Trump's statement that "the novel coronavirus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan," said he did not see strong evidence to prove this on May 1. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Western countries, some media and politicians have continued to accuse China of concealing the pandemic and has even associated the novel coronavirus with a lab in Wuhan. Li noted that Australia and some other Western countries made a fatal mistake in their handling of the pandemic and now seek to blame the WHO and China for their failure to fight the outbreak. According to data released by Johns Hopkins University in the US, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US has reached over 1,133,000 as of 1 pm on Sunday. The UK has about 183,500 reported cases, Canada has nearly 58,000 cases, Australia has 6,799 cases and New Zealand has 1,478 cases. The latest report in Australia media also came as China and Australia are engaged in a war of words over the latter's call for a so-called independent investigation into the global response to the coronavirus, including China's early response to the outbreak in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. Chinese officials have harshly criticized the move. In an interview with NBC news on Tuesday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said that China is open to an honest international investigation and scientific exchanges among scientists. What the Chinese side opposes is putting China in the dock without any evidence, presuming guilt in advance and then seeking evidence through so-called international investigations, Le said, adding that it is well known that so called "information" from the US intelligence community has caused many disasters to the world. Australian media said that the Five Eyes dossier also showed that the Chinese ambassador to Australia carried out economic coercion on Australia and that China has blocked the international community in launching an independent investigation into the source of the virus. "Some Australian media and political elites have lost their independent judgment of the country's overall interests and have adopted a US-led approach to smearing China over COVID-19. They are hurting the profound friendship between the two peoples and the common interests that have long coalesced," said Li, the expert. ^ top ^
Africa has a question for Beijing: will you forgive us our debt? (SCMP)
2020-05-05
African states expect a devastating impact on their economies this year from the Covid-19 pandemic and are appealing for relief from repayments on billions of dollars in outstanding debt to cope. Most of those appeals involve China, the biggest lender to the continent, but it is unclear how Beijing will respond. Angola, Zambia, Sudan and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) are among those seeking relief, arguing they need to reallocate funds to health care and equipping hospitals to fight the coronavirus, which has infected over 3.5 million people worldwide. Africa was largely spared in the early days of the outbreak, but cases as of Sunday had jumped to more than 44,000 and 1,771 dead. Yun Sun, a fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Beijing was unlikely to take a unilateral approach to debt forgiveness. "Rather than outright relief, postponement of loan payments, debt restructuring, and debt/equity swap are more likely in China's playbook," said Sun, who is also co-director of the East Asia programme and director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre. She said the most likely loans to be forgiven would be zero-interest ones. As the virus itself starts to spread further on the continent, the economic havoc it has caused elsewhere in the world has already hammered African economies. The plunge in oil prices hit producers such as Angola, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan, while tourism-dependent nations such as the Seychelles and Mauritius face recessions. Zambia, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Zimbabwe are all counting the cost of a drop in demand for commodities they produce. Rescue call On March 26, African nations called for a US$100 billion rescue package, including a US$44 billion debt write-off, from the Group of 20 largest economies, which includes China. The World Bank estimates that Africa in 2018 had a total debt of US$584.3 billion to outside lenders. So far, the International Monetary Fund has approved US$500 million to suspend debt repayments for six months in 25 countries, 19 of them in Africa. In mid-April, the G20 agreed to a moratorium on bilateral loan payments by low-income economies. When asked how it would treat loans to African countries, China's embassy in Nairobi referred to a statement on April 16 by foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. "China will, in accordance with the consensus of the G20 on debt relief, help the poorest countries concentrate their efforts on fighting the epidemic and supporting economic and social development," he said in the statement. Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Centre for Global Development think tank in Washington, said Beijing needed to take a leading role in the debt talks, noting the G20 agreement depended critically on China's participation, given its leading creditor role. "It is good news that the basic commitment articulated in the G20 statement has China's support," Morris said, but added that Beijing's approach to the moratorium itself "is a bit uncertain" along with key details such as which categories of loans would be included. The debt standstill arrangement was a precursor to more difficult discussions around deeper debt relief, where some write-downs of debt in Africa and elsewhere would almost certainly be necessary, he said. In April, the IMF projected that Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth would contract by 1.6 per cent this year, the worst reading in 50 years, as countries imposed lockdowns, curfews and border closures to contain the spread of Covid-19. Jibran Qureishi, regional economist for East Africa with South Africa's Standard Bank, said China would likely provide debt relief to African nations because of broader considerations. "Beijing for political reasons would want to be flexible and I don't think they would want to lose influence in Africa," Qureishi said. French President Emmanuel Macron on April 15 added his voice to the call for debt relief from China for African countries, telling Radio France Internationale, "I do not doubt that Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a major gesture", whether to substantially reduce or cancel African debts. China does not publish its overseas lending data, but figures from the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington indicate the country advanced more than US$143 billion to 49 African governments and their state-owned companies between 2000 and 2017. London-based Jubilee Debt Campaign, which is pushing for loans to the poorest countries to be cancelled, estimates China holds about a fifth of the total debt in Africa. 'Debt-trap diplomacy' Beijing has poured billions into the continent over the past decade as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, building motorways, ports, dams and railways as part of efforts to expand its trading links, and influence, around the globe. A number of governments, mostly in the West, have criticised the belt and road scheme as creating debt traps for developing economies. On April 22, a group of US Senators, including China critic Ted Cruz, wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, saying additional IMF and World Bank support for economies hit by Covid-19 and holding belt and road debt must not result in a situation where "the US and other Western taxpayers would be in essence bailing out Chinese financial institutions and enabling China's debt-trap diplomacy". Beijing has in the past dismissed such debt-trap allegations as baseless, saying it is helping Africa grow while other countries are abandoning the continent. Angola holds about 30 per cent (US$43.15 billion) of the total debt owed to China in Africa. The oil-rich nation sells about two-thirds of its crude oil to China, but with lower oil prices, the country will be forced to pump more to repay loans. The country's official external debt stood at US$58 billion last year and is expected to jump to US$85.4 billion this year, according to the IMF. The other top destinations for Chinese loans in Africa include Ethiopia (US$13.8 billion), Kenya (US$8.9 billion), Zambia (US$8.6 billion) and Sudan (US$6.5 billion) – all extended between 2000 and 2017. Morris at the Centre for Global Development said China's historical approach to restructuring debt had been ad hoc, working through foreign policy channels to pursue debt rescheduling or debt reductions depending on the country and type of loan. He said this approach would doom any multilateral effort, where collective action calls for common rules of the road. In the past, China has mostly cancelled interest-free loans that had reached maturity, but these make up less than 5 per cent of Africa's outstanding debt to China, according to Deborah Brautigam, a professor of international political economy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Interest-free loans from China's government were smaller in size and they were not managed by policy banks or state-owned commercial banks, said Bradley Parks, executive director of AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary in the US state of Virginia. They were directly overseen by the central government – through the Ministry of Commerce – and Beijing had previously forgiven these types of debts "en masse", Parks said. China in 2018 cancelled US$78 million owed by Cameroon, Botswana's US$7.2 million, and US$10.6 million owed by Lesotho. The previous year it cancelled US$160 million owed by Sudan. Last year, it restructured debt owed by Congo-Brazzaville, helping the country unlock US$449 million in additional loans from the IMF. But Parks said most of the debt African countries owed to China was related to concessional and commercial loans from Beijing's so-called policy banks – China Eximbank and China Development Bank – and state-owned commercial banks. "These banks are laser-focused on getting repaid – with interest. They almost never forgive loans, although they will consider easing repayment terms on a case-by-case basis," Parks said. "It's very unlikely that these banks will issue a blanket waiver on loan repayments for all African borrowers". Africa's debt had taken on a geopolitical significance and there was much political capital at stake, said Martyn Davies, managing director for emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte & Touchein Johannesburg, South Africa. "The vacuum left by Western countries – a disengaging United States and an increasingly inwardly focused EU – will allow China to increase its standing in the region," he said. "I do think, however, that there will be greater sensitivity and awareness to risk from China's policy banks through its [Belt and Road] lending practices." ^ top ^
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| Domestic
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Xi calls for global synergy against COVID-19 (Global Times)
2020-05-08
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged countries around the world to replace their differences with solidarity, eliminate prejudice with reason, and foster great synergy against the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. ^ top ^
3D printing set to help ease space trips (Global Times)
2020-05-08
China has conducted its first 3D printing experiment in space in a newly launched spacecraft, according to the China Academy of Space Technology. The academy said on its WeChat account on Thursday that the experiment was done by a 3D printer, developed and built by its Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory, inside the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft. The printer, named the Space-Based Composite Material 3D Printing System, uses carbon fiber-reinforced composites to autonomously print objects. It is installed in the reentry module of the experimental spaceship and will be brought back to Earth once the module returns. The academy said the printer features advanced technologies in material modeling, precision control and automation. It explained that once the space-based 3D printing technology becomes operationally ready, it can extensively benefit space programs as astronauts can use it to manufacture a lot of things they currently need to obtain from resupply flights by cargo spacecraft. Video clips broadcast on China Central Television showed that the printer has printed a flat section of a honeycomb-shaped structure as well as an emblem of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the parent company of the China Academy of Space Technology. Also known as additive manufacturing technology, 3D printing is the processes in which three-dimensional objects are made through the layering of material. It is advancing rapidly and is increasingly used in the manufacturing sector. Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the 3D printer will be very useful in extended space missions, such as those in a space station, because it will allow astronauts to make components quickly and conveniently in space. The technology will save future space journeys considerable resources and costs, he said. In fact, the device is not the sole representative of 3D printing onboard the prototype. A CubeSat deployer, designed and made through 3D printing by CoSats Space Technology, a Beijing-based privately owned commercial space startup, is also carried by the spacecraft to verify the adaptability of 3D-printed equipment in space. A CubeSat deployer is an apparatus used to put miniaturized satellites into orbit. CoSats Chief Operating Officer Bai Ruixue said the 3D-printed deployer is much lighter and stronger than its counterparts and it will have huge potential in the space industry. The prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft was put into low-Earth orbit by China's Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket during its maiden flight in Hainan province on Tuesday. ^ top ^
China's Hubei reports no increase in COVID-19 cases for 34 consecutive days (Xinhua)
2020-05-08
No new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in central China's Hubei Province on Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday. This marked that Hubei had reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 34 consecutive days. As of Thursday, there were no existing confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province. ^ top ^
Human rights come after saving lives in fierce pandemic (Global Times)
2020-05-07
A Shanghai doctor assisting Wuhan to fight the COVID-19 epidemic cried his heart out after failing to rescue a severe patient who had a sudden cytokine storm when receiving intubation. The scene was filmed by one of the doctor's colleagues and soon went viral online, touching the hearts of all the Chinese. Efforts must be made 100 percent to save lives even though there's only 1 percent of a chance. That is what the doctor above has practiced, and moral principle infused in the blood of the Chinese nation, as well as the priority of medical treatment in China. Life is invaluable and saving the people comes before everything. However, some U.S. politicians just can't see this. Instead, they ignored it and stubbornly made provocations. Lately, a joint letter framing up China was sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by seven Republican senators, saying the country has committed the most severe crime on human rights in pandemic response. However, such practice only became a butt of a joke after being reported by global media. Just like former director John Ross of Economic and Business Policy for the Mayor of London said, China has defended "the key human right" in the lethal epidemic – helping people stay alive. The right to life is the most fundamental human rights, which is confirmed and guaranteed by the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Bill of Human Rights. The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is like a mirror that reflects the importance laid by countries on human right protection, as well as their capability to protect the people. Those who hype the so-called human rights to make troubles for China are desecrating Chinese people's efforts to fight the pandemic. The Chinese government has always taken people's lives and health as its first priority, and is treating the patients and saving the people at all cost. The country is going all-out to save every COVID-19 patient, and has launched "blanket search" to ensure that no one is left behind. Besides, it also launched differentiated treatment plans and cares for individual patients in critical and severe conditions. China's anti-pandemic efforts fully demonstrated the country's moral principle of placing people and lives in the first place, as well as the power of the Chinese ethic. Besides, China also participated in global anti-pandemic cooperation with concrete actions and offered assistance as much as possible for countries and regions in need, making important contribution to the global cause of human right protection. Eduardo Klinger, academician of the Dominican Republic Academy of Sciences noted that the Chinese government has adopted measures that are decisive and responsible for the people around the world to curb the spread of the virus, and the theory of the so-called human right violation is total nonsense. Those who hype the so-called human rights to make troubles for China are trying to cover their own incapability in pandemic response, as the so-called human rights are always a club they hold. Even at the critical moment when the COVID-19 is taking the lives of many, they are still rubbing salt into the wound. China has informed the WHO, the U.S. and other relevant countries about the epidemic on a regular basis since Jan. 3, and the heads of the two countries' disease control centers exchanged information on the following day. However, it was half a month later that the chief of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the situation to senior American officials, and the latter turned a deaf ear and wasted two months regarding epidemic response. Why did that happen? When millions of Chinese people were demonstrating their strength to the virus and quarantining themselves at home in a way to contribute to the world, some U.S. politicians just sat back and watch, badmouthing that China violated human rights. When cases are surging drastically in the U.S. and leading to spiking deaths, U.S. politicians, health organs and budget department are making a mess asking for more anti-pandemic allocation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared to suspend the tally of COVID-19 testing on March 3 for system upgrading, and the Food and Drug Administration stopped its approval for COVID-19 testing reagents, which allowed more than 90 such products to enter the market without any regulation. What the results would be? No wonder American media described the response of the U.S. government as disastrous. Those who hype the so-called human rights to make troubles for China are disturbing international cooperation. Touting itself as a guardian of global human rights, the U.S. has an ugly record of human right protection. It has long withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council, but is arbitrarily interfering in the making of the organization's election rules, and pointing fingers at the organization's affairs and the human right conditions in other countries. When the international society was facing severe challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, White House decided to stop funding the WHO, and even threatened to withdraw from the UN health body. Is that some sort of human right protection? Besides, the U.S. sanction for Iran, Cuba and Venezuela seriously damaged these countries' efforts to fight the pandemic. Is the U.S. still calling itself the guardian of global human rights? A "crime against humanity – that's what authoritative medical journal The Lancet commented about the defunding of the White House. Life is the most precious thing in this world, and human rights are just an empty term without life and health. In the fierce pandemic, human rights never come before saving lives. The U.S. politicians had better care for the lives and health of the American citizens, or they will only be condemned by international justice and human civilization for their indifference to people's lives. ^ top ^
China's Marine Corps to operate in all terrains around globe to serve nation (Global Times)
2020-05-07
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Marine Corps is striving to become a multidimensional force that operates beyond oceans and fights in all terrains around the world to serve as a fast-reacting force to protect China's growing overseas interests, in addition to the conventional task of conducting amphibious landing missions, like securing islands and reefs close to the mainland, potentially including those in the South China Sea and the island of Taiwan, experts said on Wednesday. Since an organizational adjustment three years ago, Marine Corps troops have undergone unprecedented tests in all types of terrain in fast-paced, highly intensive combat exercises, and these operations show the Marines have turned from an amphibious to a multidimensional force, the PLA Daily reported on Tuesday. The exercises simulated helicopter landings on a pirate ship in the South China Sea, fast boat landings on a hijacked ship in the Gulf of Aden, tropical island seizing missions with amphibious assault vehicles, infiltration missions in extremely cold grasslands, shooting training in Djibouti and competing in the International Army Games 2019 in Russia. The drills featured sea, land and air operations with a variety of weapons and equipment as well as tactics and techniques, the report said. As the PLA Navy moves toward the deep blue, the Marine Corps is also breaking its conventional field of amphibious and land combat, and is enhancing its capabilities in conducting a variety of missions in different strategic directions, battlefield environments, and mission regions, the PLA Daily said. The Corps is a force to protect China's overseas interests, the PLA Navy said in a video released on its Sina Weibo account on Tuesday. Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Marine Corps used to focus on coastal defense, including potential landing missions on islands and reefs in the South China Sea and Taiwan island. But as China's strategic and economic interests expand, the Marine Corps will need to follow and protect them as well. With China's development and China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the country now has many companies, projects and people overseas, and securing their safety wherever they go, especially when emergency crisis occurs, will be the mission of the Marine Corps, Li said. China has been regularly sending naval escort task groups to the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia and operates a support base in Djibouti, and chances for Marine Corps activities overseas will continue to increase, Li predicted. Previous reports said the Chinese Marine Corps has been expanding its aerial assault capabilities, and the two Type 075 amphibious assault ships, also known as landing helicopter docks, which were recently launched, will be great platforms for them to practice these capabilities. ^ top ^
Xi: Nation cannot afford complacency (China Daily)
2020-05-07
A key Party meeting on Wednesday stressed the need to reform China's disease prevention and control system and bolster its monitoring and early warning capacities for outbreaks in a bid to close the gaps and strengthen weak areas exposed in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the country's top political authority, approved decisions in the meeting to streamline the medicine and healthcare system and refine laws and regulations on public health and emergency management. The Standing Committee heard a work report by the steering group sent by the CPC Central Committee to oversee the epidemic response in Hubei province, according to a statement released after the meeting. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized at the meeting that the steering group has fought alongside the people of Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, and prioritized efforts to contain the spread of the outbreak, treat infected patients and ensure the supply of resources. It has made the utmost effort to stem the spread of the pandemic and striven to secure the first line of defense in the country's epidemic containment, which has showcased China's strength, spirit and efficiency, he said, adding that the group has made important contributions to winning the people's war against the pandemic. However, Xi said huge uncertainties still linger over the pandemic, given that the momentum of its global spread has yet to be curbed and the country is still seeing infections among clusters of people in certain areas. He called for unrelenting epidemic containment measures in Hubei province even as it has switched to epidemic control and prevention efforts on a regular basis. The CPC Central Committee has decided to send a liaison group to Hubei to step up guidance and support to follow-up containment efforts in the area, Xi said. The liaison group must continue to offer guidance regarding the rehabilitation of recovered patients and their psychological counseling and press for the implementation of normalized containment efforts to prevent the importation of infections and a possible rebound of the outbreak, he said. Xi stressed that authorities can afford zero complacency in their work on all fronts to consolidate the outcomes of epidemic containment, and must not undo all the efforts that have been made. The liaison group must also push forward the enforcement of the many policies rolled out to support economic and social development in Hubei to help restore the normal order of life and production at an early date, he said. The meeting also underlined the importance of summarizing and employing practices proved to be effective during the epidemic containment in Hubei and Wuhan and closing the gaps and strengthening the weak areas that have already been exposed. The country must optimize its emergency management and patient treatment systems in coping with major outbreaks and in the area of public health, and, with an emphasis on prevention, innovate in the methods and ways to conduct health campaigns, said the statement. It is also important to improve the environment in rural and urban areas, improve public health facilities, popularize health knowledge and promote a more civilized, healthy and greener lifestyle among the public, it added. ^ top ^
The Long March-5B completes a successful maiden flight, officially kicking off China's space station construction (Xinhua)
2020-05-06
China's latest state-of-the-art carrier rocket, the Long March-5B, made a successful maiden flight on Tuesday, during which the new rocket managed to send the assembly of a trial version of the country's new-generation manned spaceship with no crew and a testing cargo-returning spacecraft into planned orbit. The successful launch signaled that a new era of the construction of China's manned space projects including space stations has been officially ushered in, according to rocket developer and space industry insiders. The 53.66-meter-long Long March-5B, with a diameter of 5 meters for its core, took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of South China's Hainan Province on Tuesday. After a flight of 488 seconds, the payloads separated from the rocket's body, and went into designated orbit. "The successful maiden flight of the Long March-5B, a new type of launch vehicle that has been specially developed for China's manned space projects, marked the era of construction of a Chinese space station officially dawning," Wang Jue, chief commander of the Long March-5B rocket, told the Global Times on Tuesday. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council [China's cabinet,] and the Central Military Commission extended congratulations on the successful maiden flight of the Long March-5B on Tuesday. The Long March-5B carrier rocket also made key breakthroughs including achieving a 'zero window launch' - a term to describe extremely high, second-level accuracy of the launch procedure, separation technology between a payload cabin of a large diameter and the rocket body, and high thrust orbiting technology, Li Dong, chief designer of the Long March-5 rocket, told the Global Times. Such key technological breakthroughs are exclusively relevant to the imminent construction of the space station, Li explained. Ji Qiming, an official with China's Manned Space Agency, revealed at a Tuesday press conference that China eyes to complete the construction of its space station by roughly 2022 which includes 12 flight missions. After the Tuesday debut flight of the Long March-5B, there will be launch missions of the Tianhe core cabin, Wentian and Mengtian lab cabins—which are modules of the space station, Ji said. There will also be four launch missions each for the Shenzhou manned spaceship and the Tianzhou cargo spaceship, to allow astronauts to rotate time in space and cargo supply. The Long March-5B carrier rocket with one core stage and four boosters - which is known as a half stage - makes it the first heavy-lift rocket with liquid rocket propellant that has adopted such a one-and-half stage into orbit technology in China, according to a statement from the rocket developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), sent to the Global Times on Tuesday. Such a one-and-a-half stage mode would remarkably increase the rocket system's reliability as the fewer the stages, the simpler the complexity of the system would be. And the reduced time of stage separation also lowers the chance of malfunctions, per the CALT statement. The one-and-a-half mode also means better cost efficiency, and such technology has been widely applied in countries like Russia in their space projects with a high rate of success, Song Zhongping, a military and space technology expert, told the Global Times on Sunday. Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based space expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the maiden flight of the Long March-5B would fill in a blank space in China's carrier rocket category, and declared that China has entered the world's first-class league in terms of large-scale Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) carrier rocket technology capabilities. The new rocket, using clean fuels such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and kerosene, weighed 849 tons at launch and has a take-off thrust of around 1,078 tons, enabling it to carry payloads no less than 22 tons into LEO, CALT told the Global Times. The 22-ton LEO carrying capability of the Long March-5B means that it could send three Tiangong-1 labs into space on one go, Wang Xiaojun, the CALT head, was quoted as saying in the statement. From the Long March-1's launch capability of 173 kilograms to the Long March-5B's 22 tons, China's space program has set up a much bigger platform for development, Wang said. The Long March-5B is a smaller variant of the Long March-5, which is currently the strongest member of China's carrier rocket family, and nicknamed by space fans as the "Fat Five" due to its chubby shape. Both rockets belong to the Long March-5 launch vehicle series as they have a similar appearance. Observers are able to tell the difference between the two brother models of the Long March-5 series by simply looking at the size of their payload fairing and the nose cone on the top of a rocket to protect it against impact pressure and heating during launch through the atmosphere. Long March-5B possesses the largest payload fairing among all Chinese carrier rockets to date, with a height of 20.5 meters - as tall as a six-story building - and a diameter of 5.2 meters, which, according to the CALT, is customized for the spaceship's launch mission. Also, the two Long March-5 models vary significantly in the type of services they are supposed to provide. The Long March-5 is mainly used to send large-scale satellites, as well as deep space explorers such as the Chang'e-5 lunar probe and Mars probes, into high Earth orbit, whereas the Long March-5B is the go-to type for launch missions for spacecraft such as the core and lab cabins of the future space station into LEO. Two more launch missions of the Long March-5 carrier rocket series will be conducted this year. The Long March-5 Y4 will launch the country's first Mars probe by the second half of the year, and the Long March-5 Y5 will send the Chang'e-5 lunar probe to the moon, returning with moon surface samples as the highlight of the mission, according to the CALT. By the completion of the Long March-5B's maiden flight, all three types of carrier rockets, dubbed the "three warriors" that are commissioned specially for China's manned space projects, are now ready in place. Jing Muchun, chief commander of the Long March-2F, told the Global Times that in the past two decades, the Long March-2F has sent five unmanned, six manned spaceships and two space labs into space with a 100 percent success rate. The 13 successful Long March-2F missions include one sending Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, into space in 2003. The Long March-2F has developed two working modes for manned and cargo-only missions, in order to meet the requirements of China's manned space missions. The Long March-7 is known as the "charted train" for space cargo with a launch capability of 13.5 tons into LEO, and 5.5 tons into 700-kilometer-solar synchronous orbit (SSO.) "The Long March-7 will be in charge of cargo shipments for the space station, delivering basic material supplies such as water, food and spacesuits for the astronauts. It will also be used to provide necessary material supplies for the space station maintenance as well as conducting in-orbit refueling missions for the space stations," Meng Gang, chief commander of the Long March-7, told the Global Times on Tuesday. The Long March-2F, the Long March-7 and the Long March-5B carrier rockets will work jointly to build the country's upcoming space station, carrying out launch missions for the space station cabins, spaceship and cargo shuffles respectively, per the CALT statement. China aims to complete the construction of its space station around 2022. The space station will be a T shape with the Tianhe core module at the center and a lab capsule on each side. The core module - at 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter, with a takeoff weight of 22.5 ton - will be the management and control center, the Xinhua News Agency reported. ^ top ^
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| Shanghai |
Shanghai Free Trade Zone uses institutional innovations to boost productivity (People's Daily)
2020-05-06
After more than six years since the establishment of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, over 100 institutional innovations have been launched, including "negative list" and "pre-establishment national treatment ", which have greatly helped boost productivity. This aerial photo taken on Sept. 21, 2016 shows the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Shanghai, east China. Sept. 29 will mark the 3rd founding anniversary of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. (Xinhua/Pei Xin) Taking one of the institutional innovations for reference, in the past in order to open a convenience store enterprises, one must obtain at least five permits, including those on food safety, tobacco monopoly, medical equipment sales and so on, after obtaining a business license. "After the introduction of the policy, i.e. 'integrating multiple approval items involved in an industry access into a comprehensive industry license', it is only necessary to apply for a comprehensive industry license to open a convenience store in Pudong district of Shanghai. The time required to apply for the license has been reduced from 95 working days to five working days," said a representative applying for the license from a convenience store named Suning. Through a series of reforms and innovations of government mechanism, the vitality of market entities in Shanghai Free Trade Zone has been stimulated. Data shows as of March this year, a total of 64,000 new enterprises had been established in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, with the number of newly established enterprises in the past six years 1.8 times that of the same region in the previous 20 years. Meanwhile, 12,000 new foreign-funded enterprises have been established, accounting for about 20 percent of the total, up from 5 percent from the number at the beginning of the listing of the free trade zone. ^ top ^
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| Guangdong |
Guangdong: Foreigners, locals treated equally amid COVID-19 (China Daily)
2020-05-05
South China's Guangdong province, window of the country's reform and opening-up, reiterated it treats both domestic and foreign individuals equally in the fight against COVID-19. In an open letter to both local and foreign residents in the province titled Joint Efforts to Fight Against COVID-19, the provincial government said the province takes the same prevention and control measures for all in Guangdong, regardless of nationality, race and gender, in the fight against COVID-19. Meanwhile the provincial government has also introduced a series of special measures covering nine major industries and sectors for livelihoods to help fight against the pandemic and restore production and business in Guangdong, known as a major production base and commercial area in the country, said the letter. "The measures that are equal to all people in Guangdong involve health and medical treatment, education, catering, transportation, tourism and scenic spots, hotels and restaurants, supermarkets and shopping centers, residential houses and housing estates, and leasing homes," said the letter. And Zhang Xin, deputy governor of Guangdong province, said the provincial government has asked all departments, organizations, groups and individuals in Guangdong to strictly abide by relevant laws, regulations and rules in the fight against COVID-19 and treat both locals and foreigners equally. "Foreign people's religious beliefs and customs must be respected, and foreigners will not be discriminated against when they enter local housing estates, communities, shopping centers, hospitals, restaurants or scenic spots, and enjoy local public transport facilities," said Zhang. Zhang made his remarks while having a conference with foreign representatives in the province on April 30. "Those who violate relevant laws, regulations and rules in the fight against COVID-19 will be punished according to the law," he said. The provincial government has asked relevant departments, organizations and groups to open special hotlines, allowing locals and foreigners to complain and report 24 hours a day. "Relevant departments have expanded contacts and exchanges with foreign consulate generals in Guangdong, foreign chambers of commerce and relevant organizations and groups to explain and introduce Guangdong's policies, regulations and rules in the fight against COVID-19 after the outbreak of the pandemic, and have won foreign residents' support, respect and understanding," Zhang added. Alima Danfakha Gakou, consul of Mali in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, thanked the Guangdong provincial government for helping foreigners in Guangdong in fighting against COVID-19. Many other foreign consuls general attending the conference also appreciated Guangdong's great efforts made to fight against COVID-19 in the previous months. The special measures Guangdong province has introduced to help fight against COVID-19 and restore production and commercial activities in the province are equal to both locals and foreigners, they said. ^ top ^
China's Guangdong province unveils new anti-discrimination measures after widespread reports of racism against Africans (SCMP)
2020-05-05
Guangdong province has announced new measures to stop discrimination against foreigners after consistent reports of racism against African people sparked an international incident. The measures, introduced on Saturday, are the latest attempt to make amends with the African community following reports that Africans were being forcibly quarantined, kicked out of their homes and denied service in shops and hotels under the guise of controlling the spread of Covid-19. McDonald's in China was forced to apologise last month after a store in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, posted signs prohibiting black people from entering. On Saturday provincial officials in Guangdong called on representatives of industry to "resolutely oppose racism", at a meeting between African diplomats and local business representatives. The local government said service providers in the province were not allowed to treat Chinese and foreigners differently, or discriminate based on nationality, race, gender or skin colour, according to a report on the meeting by state media published on Sunday. The measures told landlords that they could not adjust the terms of a rental agreement, or withhold renters' deposits. Taxi and bus drivers were warned that those refusing rides to customers would be investigated and punished. Media reports on the meeting did not detail specific punishments for wrongdoers. The reports also said the government had set up a 24-hour hotline for foreigners to report discrimination, though the number was not published in the report. The measures also laid out new options for foreigners having trouble with the health app system that allows people to enter public areas. Local regulations require residents to register their health status with an app and scan a code before entering parks, restaurants and public transport. The measures said foreigners who had trouble using the app could now enter public areas if they had no fever and could provide one of three forms of documentation: a negative result of a nucleic acid test for Covid-19 performed in the last seven days, a notice of release from medical isolation within the last seven days, or the presentation of a valid form of identification and registration of personal information. The meeting was attended by representatives of the restaurant, hotel and transport industries and African diplomats, including representatives from Mali, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal. The representatives thanked the provincial authorities, according to the reports. China's relations with several African countries took a turn for the worst after reports of widespread discrimination against black people in the province first emerged. Maximus Ogbonna, president of the Association of Nigerian Community in China, welcomed the new measures but said they did not go far enough. He said he was sure that specific fines for landlords who refused to rent to Africans or cab drivers who refused to take black passengers would help. He also said he had received many calls from Africans who were frustrated with the constant testing, and questioned whether the new option to providing weekly proof of testing was a feasible one, saying: "Does it mean people will need to take the test every seven days?" Ogbonna was also saddened by the change in attitudes towards Africans. "The locals are still avoiding black people," he said "When they see black people, they will turn their back or run away, as if the black person is carrying the Covid-19! "It's funny – sometimes the Chinese person who used to be a friend has changed. This is just not normal." Ogbonna added that many Africans who want to return home are suffering from the economic impact of the lockdown. "Recently, many Africans visas have expired, but the Chinese authorities are only planning to give them one-month extensions," he added. "[But] they will need at least two to three months to get their affairs in order before they can leave China." A group of African ambassadors in Beijing demanded "the cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans," in a letter drafted in mid-April. The letter was followed by a statement from China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, promising that Guangdong authorities were "working promptly to improve their working method". On Saturday the South China Morning Post reported that some Africans in Guangzhou were still experiencing discrimination and said they were having trouble renting flats or were being stopped from entering restaurants and supermarkets. ^ top ^
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| Tibet |
Tibet's Youth Palace inaugurated (People's Daily)
2020-05-06
The Youth Palace of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region was inaugurated Monday in Lhasa, capital of the region. Construction of the Youth Palace began in July 2017 with the support of southern China's Guangdong Province. With an investment of 175 million yuan (about 24.8 million U.S. dollars), it covers an area of over 27,000 square meters. The Youth Palace consists of three functional zones for education and training, practical activities and theme exhibition. It will enrich the after-school life of young people in Tibet and will become an important window for them to communicate with young people all across the country, said a teacher with the palace. The Youth Palace will provide more than 1.3 million young people of all ethnic groups in the region with a venue for multi-level and all-round learning and practical activities to meet their diverse demands. ^ top ^
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| Hongkong |
Beijing is moving steadily to bring Hong Kong closer into the fold (SCMP)
2020-05-08
Three years ago, when visiting Washington as she neared completion of her term as Hong Kong's second-ranking official, career civil servant Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she planned to leave government and do something different at year end – "perhaps social work". Would that she had. Instead, she became Hong Kong's fourth consecutive chief executive to become wildly unpopular since China regained sovereignty in 1997, yet another Beijing-backed leader required (or quite willing) to enforce unwanted policies. Rather than provide strengthened self-rule, her term has seen growing mainland interference in Hong Kong affairs and a steady erosion of its promised "high degree of autonomy" – with predictable opposition. A recent poll found that 68 per cent of the public disapproves of her government. That makes the answer to Hong Kong's basic question – who is in charge here? – more obvious. Whenever the Communist Party considers the topic important, Beijing makes the decision and Hong Kong's administrators must fall in line. Any inconvenient law that suggests otherwise – such as Article 22 of the Basic Law – can be ignored; true local autonomy is a sometime thing. With increasing frequency, Beijing now says its representatives are entitled to guide local affairs no matter what the legalities may say. Recently, Hong Kong police arrested 15 veteran advocates of a more democratic political system for allegedly illegal roles in mass protests last August and September. Chief Executive Lam claims this was merely a reasonable exercise of law enforcement. But they have long irritated Beijing by agitating for the freer electoral system widely expected after China regained sovereignty. Their arrest is a warning to others like them. Lam soon after demoted four cabinet members and named five new ones, tightening control over a civil service whose members sometimes sympathise with protesters and to make her administration more pliable whenever Beijing calls. Officially, this was to increase efficiency and speed up economic recovery once the Covid-19 virus is contained, not to appease the Communist Party. But many doubt this. The context extends well beyond Hong Kong's borders. Ever since he became Communist Party general secretary in 2012 and the country's president in 2013, Xi Jinping has consolidated power and stifled dissent to a degree not seen since the days of Mao Zedong. Hong Kong has not suffered the harsh repression of Tibet and Xinjiang, but its protesters have gone much too far for his taste. Though the city's economy is no longer crucial to China, it still provides useful financial and other services that Xi seems ready to risk despite the cost. No communist party anywhere has ever tolerated much policy debate, and Xi's version is no exception. Thus he replaced both senior officials who oversee Hong Kong policy – one in Beijing and one in Hong Kong – with former provincial party bosses who earned reputations for crushing dissent. Neither has much Hong Kong experience and thus few old friends to favour. Youthful protest organisers continue to blame China for their many grievances and say they will be back in force this summer after a lull due partly to the Covid-19 virus. Among other things, many college graduates consider the local economy tilted against them, with the best career jobs – such as in finance – going to young mainlanders who have superior command of the official Mandarin (and often English) and may offer mainland connections that local businesses find helpful. Often relegated to second-tier positions, they worry about ever meeting sky-high housing costs in an economy with one of the world's greatest disparities between rich and poor. And because no Hong Kong autonomy is guaranteed past 2047, they worry even more about the longer-term future. That anxiety feeds localism, the feeling they are Hongkongers first and less so citizens of China proper. And that is poison in Beijing where separatism of any kind is not tolerated. As a senior official noted recently, protesters have "colluded in a bid to turn Hong Kong into an independent or semi-independent political entity, and a base for infiltration, sabotage, secession and subversion against China". Beijing repeatedly blames foreign "black hands" – mainly American and British – for promoting dissent but offers no evidence. But it does fear that letting Hong Kong truly manage its own affairs could prompt similar demands across the border. If major protests resume, a tough response is likely. New arrests could surpass the more than 7,600 total of past demonstrations. At present, it appears that the September Legislative Council elections will go ahead, despite worries that the Lam administration might cancel them or further purge the ranks of pro-democracy candidates. Two former chief executives who faithfully echo the party line have formed an establishment coalition to give the Lam administration an electoral boost. Why Beijing should rethink how to govern Hong Kong, for long-term stability 3 Dec 2019 But if Beijing interferes more directly, there will be little pushback from Lam, who admittedly has a near-impossible job. Serving two masters – authorities in Beijing and the Hong Kong public – can never be easy. But her policies and governing style leave the impression that local priorities come distinctly second. Even taking a 10 per cent pay cut to show solidarity with a public battered by a virus-caused economic relapse did not help much; at US$600,000 per year, she is one of the world's highest-paid politicians. Beijing wants action soon on two unpopular issues. One is to introduce "patriotic" education in schools, so students will "love" the Communist Party and the teachings of Xi. The other is passage of a long-delayed law against "sedition" that could well curtail present civil liberties. Past efforts have sent protesters into the streets; in the current political atmosphere, opposition could be even stronger. China could respond with an even heavier hand. Beijing's local office promises that it will not interfere "in general" but claims the right to "rectify" situations whenever it considers the national interest at stake. Whatever happens, Hong Kong's prospects for true autonomy is bleak. ^ top ^
Pulitzer Prize loses reputation in China by awarding one-sided report on HK turmoil (Global Times)
2020-05-07
The most influential annual prize for US journalists has once again showed the double standards and bias of mainstream Western media, and it has lost its reputation among the Chinese public, as the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Breaking News Photography was awarded to Reuters, which delivered extremely one-sided information about the Hong Kong turmoil in 2019. The awarded works from Reuters include photos on the violent conflict between the rioters and Hong Kong Police. But they only put up the ones that make rioters look like victims and show the moments of police law enforcement looking violent. Even if there were a few photos which showed the illegal activities of the protesters, such as attacking ordinary people, the captions still tried to imply the victims were not innocent since they were "pro-China" or "pro-Beijing." Chinese people expressed their anger and disgust on social media, criticizing and satirizing the Pulitzer Prize by posting pictures showing violent rioters and innocent Hong Kong residents with comments like "this one is more qualified for the award." Some web users also posted pictures showing Western journalists only pointing their cameras at the police rather than the rioters, as well as pictures that showed US and other Western countries' police using violence against civilians at protests. The hashtag "Pulitzer Prize 2020" received 11.7 million views as of Wednesday on Sina Weibo, and almost every comment showed Chinese netizens offended by the Breaking News Photography award. "If those Hong Kong rioters met US police, they would probably have gotten shot. They [Pulitzer Prize and Reuters] are probably showing how merciful the Hong Kong police officers were," read a comment on Sina Weibo with more than 500 likes. During the Hong Kong protests in 2019, hundreds and even thousands of people including police officers, journalists, tourists or students from the mainland and innocent Hong Kong residents were attacked by anti-government rioters, and public facilities like subway stations, traffic lights and street lamps, as well as stores, banks and restaurants were vandalized by the protesters. Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, solicitor at the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "In the past, we used to believe the prize was very creditable and showed the professionalism of US journalists. But now, as a Hong Kong resident, I found they have completely abandoned principles of balance, honesty and neutrality to serve political correctness and even the US strategy for major power competition with China." "The jury committee of the prize only needs the photos that can stigmatize and smear China and Hong Kong police. They don't care about balance and neutrality," read another comment on Sina Weibo. One of the awarded photos showed a bleeding man attacked by "a masked anti-government protester" with a hammer at the Mong Kok area of the city on November 11, 2019, but the official website of the prize stressed the injured man was "suspected of being a pro-Beijing activist" from the mainland. Eric Lee, 42, a Mong Kok resident angered by the photo, said, "I was witnessing the incident that day. That man was just a tourist who just wanted to return to his hotel. But he was stopped by those radical rioters, and he couldn't speak Cantonese. He said nothing about politics, and was scared. How could this kind of photos and narrative get awarded?" During most protests in the city last year, whether mainland people or the locals, as long as they hold different political opinions with the protesters, they would be in serious danger and could be treated with extreme violence. An old man surnamed Li was burned and almost got killed by rioters on November 11, 2019 at a subway station, only because he argued with the protesters who illegally stopped him from using the subway. This was widely reported by the media at that time. But some Hong Kong media and foreign media outlets showed less interest in reporting the tragedy. A web user said on Sina Weibo, "Is the Pulitzer Prize Board too blind to see this kind of shocking moment?" Alfred Wong, who closely followed the Hong Kong protests in 2019, told the Global Times that "the Pulitzer Prize always represents the political correctness of the West. The awards are dominated by liberal political values or ideology, instead of facts and the principle of neutrality." Alfred Wong, who also has US journalist background, said "In order to chase that previous Pulitzer Prize - a guaranteed shortcut to a successful journalism career in the US, many foreign journalists in China can't help but abandon any journalistic ethics and pander to the obsolete misconceptions and inherent ideological bias in the US society toward China, rather than challenging those dangerous inclinations with objective reporting." An awarded Reuters photo also showed rioters using bricks against the police during the illegal assemblies. A 70-year-old man surnamed Luo was hit by a brick thrown by rioters on November 13 and died. He was the first victim during the months-long turmoil, but none of Reuters' awarded photos showed this. Another awarded Reuters photo showed an angry woman with a Chinese national flag surrounded by protesters, which implied that the people who disagree with the protesters are cynical but the protesters are calm. A mainland student at the Hong Kong University surnamed Wu who witnessed the attack by rioters against Global Times reporter Fu Guohao at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 13, 2019 on TV asked why "the Fu photo was not awarded. Again, they are pretending to be blind even if the world saw how brutal the rioters were that night." The 2020 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting awarded the New York Times for "a set of enthralling stories, reported at great risk, exposing the predations of Vladimir Putin's regime," according to the prize's website. However, the Russian Embassy in the US said on Facebook on Tuesday that "We consider this series of articles by the New York Times about Russia an excellent collection of undiluted Russophobic fabrications that can be studied as a guide for creating false facts." The Pulitzer Prize in recent years covered multiple issues, including US immigrant problems, the Syrian civil war, the Europe immigrant crisis and the Philippines' campaign against drug cartels. But most of them only provided a one-sided perspective. For instance, they glamorized the rebel forces in Syria as freedom fighters in 2013 but ignored their extremist backgrounds and the Western intervention that seriously harmed the sovereignty of the countries. The 2017 prize for Breaking News Photography awarded a group of works about the Philippines' campaign against drug cartels launched by President Rodrigo Duterte, and these works said the Filipino people were suffering from this horrifying campaign, but failed to tell the need to fight the drug problem in the country. The Pulitzer Prize is not the only one that could spark divergence between the Chinese public and Western political correctness. The Nobel Peace Prize also showed a double standard on anything about China, Russia or other non-Western countries, said Kennedy Wong. "Although we disagree with Donald Trump on many issues, when he criticized some Western media with terms like 'fake news,' we found he might have gotten it right to some extent," Kennedy Wong noted. ^ top ^
Hong Kong Coalition launched to uphold 'one country, two systems' (Global Times)
2020-05-06
The launch ceremony of the Hong Kong Coalition took place on Tuesday in Hong Kong. In a joint declaration, the coalition called for adherence to the "one country, two systems" principle and noted that only by upholding it can the city have value of existence and space for development. The coalition was started by vice chairmen of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Tung Chee-Hwa and Leung Chun-Ying, along with 1,545 people from all walks of life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Luo Huining also wrote inscriptions marking the establishment of the coalition. The aim of the alliance is to get Hong Kong moving again by reinvigorating the economy and restoring the rule of law to boost investors' and law enforcers' confidence in the city, which will only be achieved under the "one country, two systems" principle, the declaration stated. The coalition will work with HKSAR government to find solutions to the difficulties faced by Hong Kong after the anti-extradition bill protest and the COVID-19 outbreak, supporting the SAR government in carrying out its governance in accordance with the law and uniting all Hong Kong people to find a way through for the city. Its first major campaign will focus on helping communities fight the pandemic. The 1,545 co-sponsors will distribute 10 million face masks in 18 districts on Sunday and Monday. ^ top ^
First HK protester admits guilty for riots since anti-extradition bill protests began (Global Times)
2020-05-06
A Hong Kong protester admitted he is guilty of rioting on Monday in court, marking the first of such admission since the anti-extradition bill protests began in June 2019. Sin Ka-ho, 21-year-old, a lifeguard of a swimming pool, participated in a protest on June 12, 2019 to stop the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) from considering the anti-extradition bill, local media outlet on.cc reported Monday. The LegCo was due to hold a meeting to consider the bill but the meeting was postponed after rioters blocked roads, caused disturbances and breached the security cordons set by the police. He was charged with one count of rioting and two counts of offense against police. He admitted he threw helmets, ice cream cones and umbrellas to the police security cordons. He was finally arrested by the police and charged with unlawful assembly. Hong Kong media reported previously the spokesperson for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on June 12, 2019 the protest caused great inconvenience to traffic and many of the rioters used dangerous weapons to escalate violence. The police were restrained and tolerant, but protesters kept using iron railings, bricks and other materials to breach the police security lines, said Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam delivered a speech on that day evening, strongly condemning the riots that have disrupted social peace and violated the law. She called on Hong Kong residents to stay away from violence. ^ top ^
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| Taiwan |
US push for Taiwan WHO observer status seen falling flat in Southeast Asia (SCMP)
2020-05-08
Southeast Asian nations already straining from the United States-China tug of war for regional influence are likely to avoid supporting Washington's drive for Taiwan to be granted observer status for a top-level meeting of the World Health Organisation, analysts have said. Even though the leaders of these countries understand the "moral and logical" arguments for allowing Taiwanese delegates to attend the annual meeting on May 18 – which will be live-streamed because of the coronavirus pandemic – they are unlikely to offer their support because of the significant sway China holds over their economies, the diplomatic observers said. In lobbying internationally for Taiwan, representatives of US President Donald Trump's administration are seen as not only reaching out to traditional allies – the likes of Australia and New Zealand already back Taiwan's inclusion – but also to partners in places like Southeast Asia. Observer status can be granted to Taiwan if a simple majority of the WHO's 194 members agree to it. "This is about basically choosing sides and [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] would probably not want to stick their necks out … for the issue of Taiwan that Chinese consider to be one of their core interests," said Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies who studies cross-straits relations and Chinese foreign policy. "Asean already has other issues with China such as the South China Sea [dispute]. I don't see the countries wanting Taiwan to be another issue." On the off-chance that there are countries in the region willing to risk Beijing's wrath to back Taiwan, their governments are likely to be put off by the way Trump's administration has sought to use the issue as its latest proxy battle against China, the experts said. Taiwan has won rave reviews for the manner in which it has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, recording just 440 cases in total – with no new local infection for the last 24 days. Rooms of the Taipei Grand Hotel are lit up to display to mark Taiwan's reporting of no new novel coronavirus cases in Taipei on Sunday, Photo: EPA Its playbook of fastidious testing, isolation, intensive social distancing and making mask-wearing compulsory early on in the outbreak is now being viewed as the most effective way to deal with the Covid-19 disease that has sickened more than 3.7 million people and killed over 264,000. Taiwanese officials were also among the first to warn about human-to-human transmission of the virus. But they have complained that their lack of observer status with the WHO meant the world health body was not sharing the same information with them as it was disseminating among member states amid the pandemic. Officials from the self-ruling democracy also claim that the WHO has turned down 70 per cent of its requests to attend technical meetings over the last decade. "I think most Southeast Asian countries wouldn't object to Taiwan's observer status in the WHO, but are hesitant to play a part under the US' current way of conduct," said Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. A buyer wearing a protective face mask attends a fruit and vegetable auction at a wholesale market in Taipei on Thursday. Reuters Offering a similar view was A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi, head of the Asean Studies programme at Jakarta's Habibie Centre, who said the issue had become "more of a political dispute between Washington and Beijing than a genuine debate on the value of Taiwan's status in the WHO". The question of whether Taiwan should be allowed to attend the conference despite not being a WHO member state came into sharp focus on Wednesday after US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urged "all nations" to support Taiwan's participation as an observer. Pompeo said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had the power to invite officials from Taipei to the conference. In turn, the world health body's legal counsel Derek Walton also on Wednesday said the involvement of "Taiwan, China" in the meeting was a question for members. Observers said they expect America's key strategic partners in Europe, as well as others such as Japan, to come out in support of Taiwan following Pompeo's latest remarks. Still, with China wielding considerable influence over a vast number of countries in Asia and Latin America, the US push is seen as having little chance of success. Taiwan – viewed by China as a renegade province – had sent observers to meetings of the WHO from 2009 to 2016. But following the election of President Tsai Ing Wen – who Beijing views as supporting independence, a charge that she denies – Taiwan has been blocked from attending the annual meetings. Graeme Smith, a researcher of Chinese influence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said none of the region's countries would be "thanking the US for putting them in this position". Singaporean Daren Tang was designated head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation after heavy US lobbying. Photo: EPA "However strong the moral case may be for supporting Taiwan, the fact of the matter is that the economies of most of these countries are tied at the hip with China," said Smith, a fellow at Australian National University's College of Asia and the Pacific. Hoo, the Singaporean professor, said he believed the WHO is unlikely to prod Asean countries too hard on this particular issue. But the region may not be able to stand on the sidelines if the issue was something of far more significance to US interests, such as electing a new WHO chief. Heavy US lobbying in March saw the American-backed Singaporean candidate Daren Tang beat out a Chinese nominee in a race to lead the World Intellectual Property Organisation, a UN body like the WHO. "If this were the election [for WHO secretary general], we can likely expect the US lobbying effort to be far more intensive and serious," he said. ^ top ^
US bid to bring Taiwan to WHO table 'will backfire' (Global Times)
2020-05-07
Trying desperately to distract public attention from its botched coronavirus response, Washington is excessively provoking China on the Taiwan question by helping the island's separatist authority to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA). But analysts said the attempt could backfire and Washington's tricks to pick a diplomatic fight could irresponsibly paralyze WHO in the pandemic. The WHA is an annual meeting held by the WHO, during which its director-general reports on the WHO's annual work and various topics are discussed. This year's WHA is scheduled to kick off on May 17. The Trump administration has circulated a draft proposal that would bring Taiwan to the table at the WHO "in an effort to push back against China and punish the global body for being too China-centric," Fox News reported on Tuesday. Tweets from State Department and US Mission to the UN on Saturday already demanded Taiwan be included in the WHA. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the US is now trying to increase the presence of Taiwan separatists among the international community to make more trouble for China, as the terrible handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US makes Washington look bad. "Technically, the US and Taiwan separatists are unlikely to achieve any meaningful goal as the US and its allies cannot represent the majority of the international community, and among the members of the WHO, most countries are backing the one-China principle," he said. Steven Solomon, the WHO's principal legal officer, said on Monday that the WHO recognized the People's Republic of China as the only "legitimate representative of China", in keeping with UN policy since 1971, and that the question of Taiwan's attendance was one for the WHO's 194 member states, Reuters reported. Two WHO members have proposed discussing Taiwan's participation during this year's WHA, a WHO officer said on Monday, although he did not specify which two members, Taiwan-based media CNA reported on Monday. Li Xiaobing, a Taiwan studies expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, said that although China has enough influence and international support to safeguard its sovereignty in the WHO, the US and its allies could possibly use some tricks to break the rules of the organization and unilaterally put Taiwan's representatives into the assembly. "That could paralyze the WHA and even force other members to deal with debates that have nothing to do with the pandemic. The diplomatic and political struggles would seriously interrupt public health affairs, which should be the theme of the assembly, and this is a dangerous and highly irresponsible move by the US," Li Xiaobing said. The Trump administration's performance in handling the pandemic is extremely poor and more than 1.18 million people in the US have been infected, so it is trying its best to find other issues to distract public attention, and helping Taiwan separatists join the WHO or WHA is one of those tricks, Li Xiaobing noted. The Trump administration's national security team is even considering the creation of a new global health organization - one that would have more US influence - among a range of options, Fox News reported. However, the US can't even win the support of its closest allies to punish the WHO. According to the Guardian on April 16, US President Donald Trump found himself isolated among Western leaders at a virtual G7 summit, as they expressed strong support for the WHO after the US's suspension of its funding. From 2009 to 2016, when the pro-reunification party KMT's authority ruled the island, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name "Chinese Taipei," which was permitted by the Chinese mainland because the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have the 1992 Consensus that recognized the one-China principle. Since 2017, after the separatist Democratic Progressive Party took power and abandoned the 1992 Consensus, the cross-Straits relationship has been seriously damaged and the island's authority has lost the right to attend the WHA as an observer. However, the normal rights of Taiwan's public health sectors to cooperate with the WHO and the Chinese mainland for information and technology sharing have not been affected at all, according to Chinese mainland foreign affairs and Taiwan affairs departments. Li Xiaobing warned that if the US excessively provokes China on the Taiwan question, which directly challenges China's core interests and sovereignty, it could leave China with no choice but to respond with decisive actions, including military operations, to send deterrent signals to separatism, and the regional peace and stability of the West Pacific would be jeopardized. Li Haidong agreed that the US might believe it can make trouble for China by playing the "Taiwan card," but China has the overwhelming advantage to decide when and how to solve the Taiwan question once and for all, so it is very unwise and dangerous for the US to use the island to provoke China. ^ top ^
Taiwan made huge 'donations' to the US to promote passage of 'Taipei Act': source (Global Times)
2020-05-05
Taiwan authorities made huge "donations" to the US in order to promote the passage of the "Taipei Act," which aims to prop up the presence of Taiwan island through measures including a large number of arms purchase rebates and budgets involving millions of tax-free allowances. US President Donald Trump signed into law the "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act of 2019" on March 26 under which the US government is legitimately seeking to establish a diplomatic presence for the island and help Taiwan island gain participation in international organizations as well as level up its economic ties with the island. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council opposed and condemned the bill, saying it interferes in China's internal affairs and seriously violates the one-China principle and provisions of the three joint communiques between China and the US. A source told the Global Times that to achieve its goal of passing the act in the US, Taiwan authorities had paid huge amounts of money in the form of "donations" to experts and scholars recommended by US Congress members through several educational research institutes such as the "Taiwan Institute of Economic Development" and "Taiwan Research Institute." The US and Taiwan island also designated former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Hsiao Bi-khim as their contacts to operate and promote the passage of the bill, the Global Times learned from the source. The US-based "Project 2049 Institute" is one of the popular organizations that frequently receives "donations" from Taiwan authorities, the Global Times found. Ian Easton, a research fellow from the Project 2049 Institute, had published an article in March advocating "America should put military forces in Taiwan" in return for Taiwan island's long-term funding and to cater to the rise of the US to contain China. When the Project 2049 Institute was first established, Hsiao was an advisor and her relationship with the institute goes beyond the norm, Taiwan-based EAT News revealed. Since Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016 and the DPP came to power, Taiwan's economic and cultural representative office in the US and its defense department have "donated" $350,000 to $500,000 to the institute, far more than funding from the US government. Specifically, the Taiwan representative office in the US gave the institute in 2016 $150,000 in funding, while the Taiwan "defense department" also donated about $130,000. Additionally, the Prospect Foundation, a think tank in Taiwan focused on security, donated the considerable amount of $60,000-70,000 to the Project 2049 Institute. Previously, US magazine The Nation had also revealed that Taiwan authorities had made a $550,000 contribution to the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most powerful conservative think tanks in Washington, through Taiwan's economic and cultural representative office in the US in 2019. Scholars from the think tank later published several articles in diplomatic journals, urging the US government to sell weapons to Taiwan island. ^ top ^
'Politically correct' rumor relating to HK, Taiwan artists is a lie (China Daily)
2020-05-05
The claim that the Chinese mainland requires Hong Kong and Taiwan artists to "declare patriotism" and promise "political correctness" is totally fabricated, a mainland spokeswoman said on Thursday. The island authority claimed that political factors should not influence art and film creation, after it was said that the mainland is demanding stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan promise to be "politically correct" for 10 years, or they will not be allowed to work in mainland companies. "It's a complete fabrication," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, adding that the mainland has been actively supporting cross-Straits film and television exchanges and always welcomes Taiwan artists to the mainland. "Meanwhile, we will not allow a few people who make money on the mainland while supporting 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities," she said. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party on the island and some "Taiwan independence" forces have been spreading fake news and lies in the field of cross-Straits film and television exchanges, Zhu said. "Their aim is to undermine cross-Straits exchanges and deliberately create contradictions and estrangement between compatriots of the two sides," she added. ^ top ^
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| Economy |
China to scrap foreign investment quotas to further open up financial sector (People's Daily)
2020-05-08
China decided to scrap quota restrictions on two major inbound investment schemes in a bid to further facilitate foreign institutional investors' participation in the country's financial market, authorities said Thursday. China will remove quotas on the dollar-denominated qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) scheme and its yuan-denominated sibling, RQFII, according to the provisions issued by the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges, which will take effect on June 6. QFII will be allowed to freely choose in which currency and when they remit money to the country. China will also simplify outward remittance procedures for QFII's securities investment gains and lift other restrictions. In recent years, China has been trying to gradually open up its financial sector to attract more foreign capital. ^ top ^
China's foreign trade still under downward pressure: ministry (Xinhua)
2020-05-08
China's foreign trade is still under considerable downward pressure despite improvement in April trade data, the country's commerce ministry said here Thursday. With the continued global spread of COVID-19 weighing on the world economy and trade, China's foreign trade is facing unprecedented risks and challenges, said Gao Feng, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, at a press conference. China's foreign trade of goods inched down 0.7 percent year on year in April to 2.5 trillion yuan (about 352.6 billion U.S. dollars), narrowing from a drop of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, with exports rising 8.2 percent from the same period last year, according to customs data that came out Thursday. Foreign trade companies are facing many difficulties, including order cancellations or delays, difficulty of signing new orders and poor logistics, said Gao, citing surveys into domestic chambers of commerce and enterprises. The commerce ministry will work to help foreign trade companies pull through the hard times with more targeted measures, for instance supporting exporters to sell their goods on the domestic market and keeping the global logistics chain stable and smooth, he said. Authorities will also strengthen online channels to promote trade. The 127th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, for instance, will be held online from June 15 to 24 due to the epidemic. ^ top ^
Chinese stock market opens lower, as investors are spooked by US-China divergence (Global Times)
2020-05-07
The Chinese stock market saw a moderate drop on Wednesday following the five-day May Day holidays, with investors weighing optimism over improving global COVID-19 prevention and control. However, growing divergence and diplomatic tensions between the US and China over trade and coronavirus source will continue to cloud the market performance, analysts say. On Wednesday's opening, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.99 percent, the Nasdaq-style ChiNext dropped 0.82 percent, and the Shenzhen Component Index declined 0.97 percent. Shares later pared earlier loss, led by the auto and semiconductor sectors, with the ChiNext gaining 0.3 percent as of 10:30 am. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.15 percent and losses in the Shanghai market narrowed to 0.3 percent. On Tuesday, the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the country's leading chip maker was reportedly considering to be a viable alternative to Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer TSMC. SMIC said it will apply to list on the Shanghai Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market). The initial issuance will not exceed 1.686 billion shares, and funds raised will be used to invest in projects including a 12-inch chip SN1 project. During the five-day holidays - the first long holiday since the COVID-19 is brought under firm control in the second-largest economy - China's gigantic consumption market saw a strong rebound, which is a bullish sign for the economy. China saw a total of 115 million domestic tourists and realized domestic tourism revenues of 47.56 billion yuan during the May Day holidays, official data showed. However, Citic Securities said that anti-virus control had constrained a full consumption rebound during the holidays and a real recovery is expected before the National Holiday which starts on October 1. With a list of macroeconomic policies likely to be implemented during the two sessions in late May, the Chinese economy is expected to continue its recovery and the A-share market will also continue its rebound in the second quarter this year, according to an analysis from Zhongtai Securities on Wednesday. ^ top ^
China's 2020 economic growth target in focus as Beijing set to convene National People's Congress (SCMP)
2020-05-07
Speculation is mounting over whether China will announce a growth target for 2020 at its annual parliamentary gathering later this month, after the coronavirus outbreak delayed the event and lashed the economy. With the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) less than three weeks away, debate is raging over whether Beijing should stick to a 6 per cent growth target or lower its expectations due to the unprecedented damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said that China would adhere to its economic and social development goals for 2020. But growth of 6 per cent is becoming increasingly unlikely, after China's economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter amid wide-ranging virus containment measures. The contraction has fanned talk among analysts that Beijing will have to be more flexible with its 2020 targets. Nicholas Lardy, from the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, said Beijing could postpone its goal of doubling gross domestic product (GDP) in the decade to 2020 to allow for the impact of the coronavirus. That goal requires a minimum growth rate of 5.6 per cent this year. "They could shift the target date by six months to the end of the second quarter of 2021 … There is too much pessimism on 2020 growth," said Lardy, an expert on the Chinese economy. Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, said China could cite the coronavirus as "force majeure" – or an act of God – to explain why it had fallen slightly short of its goal this year. "Ninety-five per cent is close enough to 100 per cent," he said. Jia Kang, former director of the Institute of Research at China's finance ministry, said China could delay the deadline for doubling GDP in 2020 by a year. Both Chinese and international institutions have sharply cut forecasts for China's GDP growth in 2020, some to below 2 per cent. But higher growth targets have already been adopted by local governments across the country. The northeastern province of Heilongjiang has set a goal of 5 per cent growth for this year, the lowest among China's 31 provincial-level governments, while Tibet has set the highest target at 9 per cent. China's central government, meanwhile, has given few firm signals about its growth expectations for this year. It has at times played down the significance of a headline growth figure as a key policy goal, saying it is instead more focused on "employment and people's standard of living". But it has also said the "building up a comprehensively well-off society", which includes the doubling of GDP, must be achieved in 2020, despite the impact of the pandemic. One consideration likely to affect the central government's decision making was that the higher the growth target, the more economic stimulus needed to achieve it. Beijing has so far shied away from a massive post-virus fiscal and monetary stimulus to boost growth, although it could announce new economic support measures at the NPC. This is self-generated political pressure, and the Communist Party could eliminate that pressure by announcing that the targets either can't be reached or don't matter Scott Kennedy If Beijing forgoes a target for this year, it would be a break with tradition going back to the early 1990s. The annual NPC, which was scheduled for early March, is largely seen as a ceremonial event to rubber-stamp policies that have already been decided. But it is closely watched as it lays out goals for economic growth, unemployment, inflation and fiscal deficits. Lu Zhengwei, chief economist of the Shanghai-based Industrial Bank, said the doubling of GDP and aim to eradicate poverty were "the only quantitative indicators" in China's "well-off society" goal, so neither would be given up easily. Scott Kennedy, a China analyst at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the growth target was "entirely political". "This is self-generated political pressure, and the Communist Party could eliminate that pressure by announcing that the targets either can't be reached or don't matter," he said. ^ top ^
China-US phase-1 deal may not be carried out 100%, but won't return to square one: expert (Global Times)
2020-05-07
Full implementation of the phase one trade agreement between China and the US is highly unlikely, despite China's efforts to carry out its end of the bargain, due to obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, which could undercut the US' ability to supply relevant products, but it won't return to square one, Chinese trade experts close to the government said on Wednesday. Recent groundless attacks by US officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on China over the origin of the deadly virus will inevitably add uncertainty to the phase one deal, as China may reconsider its position on bilateral trade relations amid an escalating war of words, the experts noted. "At the moment, it appears that there are certain difficulties for implementing the [phase one agreement] 100 percent," Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday. That is not because China lacks the initiative to carry out the deal; rather, it is because of the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, which has posed serious challenges for both countries as well as global trade, according to Huo, who also advises the Chinese government on trade issues. "We should create conditions to continue implementation but if it can't be executed, then we should maintain communication with the US in line with the specific situation," he said, adding that the two parties must be clear on their responsibilities, such as which side is at fault or whether it's a logistics issue, to avoid disagreements. The phase one trade pact contains a force majeure clause, whereby the two parties should start consultations in the event of a natural disaster or "other unforeseeable events outside the control of" of the two parties. But Chinese officials stressed as recently as last month that China has been carrying out the phase one deal, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. China has announced several rounds of tariff exemptions for US products, including agricultural goods - an important part of China's commitment under the phase one deal to increase purchases of US products by $200 billion over the next two years. China's efforts translated into a 110-percent year-on-year increase in imports of US agricultural products in the first quarter, which reached 33.56 billion yuan ($4.73 billion), including 21.88 billion yuan in soybeans, up 210 percent. In another sign of China's efforts to carry out the deal, Zhang Xiaoping, country director for China at the US Soybean Export Council, said that although China usually buys soybeans from Brazil and other South American suppliers starting each March, Chinese companies bought more than 1.1 million tons of US soybeans between mid-March and late April. "That is thought-provoking. First, only one or two state-owned companies are buying US soybeans; two, the price is not cheaper than [soybeans from] South America," Zhang told the Global Times on Wednesday. But he noted that the number was only half of the year-earlier level, when soybean purchases were boosted by a trade truce reached during a leaders' summit in Argentina. Overall, Chinese imports of US products may not have risen in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, according to Song Guoyou, deputy director of the Center for American Studies under Fudan University. "There might not be a big improvement although China has emerged from the epidemic, the latest situation in the US remains severe," Song, who advises the Chinese government on trade, told the Global Times on Wednesday, adding that US economic activity has essentially stopped. China is scheduled to release trade data for April on Thursday. Apart from the pandemic, US officials' escalating attacks on China and even threats of more tariffs on China could add new uncertainty to the implementation of the phase one deal, let alone starting phase two talks, experts said. The attacks and threats of punishment pose a serious question for China, where "if we chose to fight firmly, then we should not try seriously to complete soybean imports [from the US]… because even if you fulfill that commitment, [the US] will take its undeserved gain for granted, and even exert pressure on us," Huo said. Following Trump's threat of new tariffs on China, the White House has since clarified that the US would not punish China economically if Beijing fulfills its commitments under the phase one deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The US Trade Representative's office was reportedly considering a one-year extension of tariff exemptions for some Chinese products. Song said that both sides still want to implement the phase one deal despite the COVID-19 challenge, but "if the Trump administration uses additional tariffs as a way to 'punish' China, China will also consider proportionate countermeasures. ^ top ^
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DPRK top leader receives commemorative medal from Putin (Global Times)
2020-05-06
Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), received a commemorative medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory in World War II, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday. A ceremony of conveying the commemorative medal "The 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" to Kim took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Tuesday, the KCNA said. The commemorative medal was conveyed by Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Alexandr Matsegora to DPRK's Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon, it added. ^ top ^
Gunshots fired from DPRK hit S.Korean guard post: South Korea military (Global Times)
2020-05-05
Multiple gunshots fired from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) hit a South Korean guard post in the inter-Korean border, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday. No casualty or damage was reported from the South Korean side, according to the JCS. ^ top ^
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China will strengthen joint epidemic prevention, control with Mongolia: FM (People's Daily)
2020-05-08
China and Mongolia should strengthen joint prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday in a phone conversation with Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar. Noting that China and Mongolia are good neighbors and good friends, Wang said that in the battle against the epidemic, the two sides have written another chapter on cooperation between neighboring countries which help each other and share weal and woe. Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga, as the first head of state of a foreign country who visited China after the outbreak of the epidemic, demonstrated his support for China with practical actions, Wang said, adding that Battulga's offer of 30,000 sheep on behalf of the Mongolian people has generated a warm response among the Chinese people, and enhanced the traditional friendship between the two sides. Wang said that with arduous efforts, China has successfully brought the epidemic under control, and is steadily restoring economic and social order while conducting regular prevention and control measures. The Chinese side is glad that Mongolia took effective prevention and control measures at an early date and has halted the spread of the disease in Mongolia, said the Chinese foreign minister. Wang urged the two countries to continue to strengthen joint prevention and control measures, explore the resumption of bilateral economic and trade cooperation in an orderly and scientific way, and push for resuming work and production of key projects. He expects the two sides to explore the establishment of a green channel to facilitate personnel exchanges and cargo delivery. Wang stressed that the epidemic is a common challenge facing the humankind, and that the international community should join hands to tide over the crisis. Noting that solidarity, cooperation and determination are in need at this time, Wang said any words and deeds that run counter to them are inappropriate, and attempts to politicize the epidemic and label the virus are unacceptable. China is ready to work with Mongolia to actively advance international anti-epidemic cooperation and strive for an early and complete victory over the virus. For his part, Tsogtbaatar said that after the COVID-19 outbreak, China has taken timely and effective prevention and control measures to contain the epidemic in a short period of time, which demonstrates its strong mobilization capabilities and medical science and technology. China's success will inspire other countries in their fight against the virus, while China's experience is also of great significance to the rest of the world, he added. Recalling the Mongolian president's visit to China in February and an important consensus reached with President Xi Jinping on anti-epidemic cooperation, Tsogtbaatar said with joint efforts, Mongolia and China have registered no infections from the other side. Mongolia is ready to strengthen coordination with China, and realize its promise of sending 30,000 sheep to the Chinese people, said the Mongolian minister. On the premise of safeguarding the health and safety of the two peoples, Mongolia is ready to take advantage of the two countries' joint prevention and control mechanism and other platforms, explore with China the establishment of the green channel and an express line, improve logistics efficiency at border ports, and gradually resume bilateral economic and trade exchanges, he said. Mongolia is willing to deepen coordination and cooperation with China, so as to overcome the impact and challenges brought by the epidemic at an early date, he said. ^ top ^
Foreign Minister holds phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart (Montsame)
2020-05-07
Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar spoke to Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China over the phone on May 6. The Ministers exchanged information on the Covid-19 situations in the two countries and expressed their pleasure that the two countries have been effectively working together in Covid-19 prevention. They also stressed that the talks held during the Mongolian President Kh.Battulga's February visit to China as well as the mutual support between the Mongolian and Chinese people and organizations have further deepened the friendly relations and understanding between the people of the two countries. Minister D.Tsogtbaatar proposed to actively cooperate to bring bilateral trade turnover to USD 10 billion by placing more emphasis on the revival of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and overcoming the delays while also attaching considerable significance to the protection of public health and prevention of infections. Minister Wang Yi supported the proposal and suggested talking thoroughly about joint measures in the forthcoming second video-conference of the recently established online Mongolia-China cooperation mechanism. ^ top ^
Government announces more measures to stimulate economy (Montsame)
2020-05-07
At its regular meeting on May 6, the Cabinet approved more measures to stimulate the economy and provide support to public livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 1. The 'Child Money' monthly allowance, given for a total of 1.14 million children in Mongolia, will be raised to MNT 100,000 until October 1, 2020. As the previously-increased MNT 30,000 from initial MNT 10,000 within the framework of the government's first package of measures, was already granted to children in April 2020, the leftover amount MNT 70,000 will be compensated in the coming days. 2. The monthly food stamps, granted to people in high necessity for food provision, will be doubled for five months from May 1 to October 1, 2020. This measure will involve 240.2 thousand citizens of low-income households. The food stamps worth MNT 16,000 was given to adults and MNT 8,000 to children. 3. Around 32.6 thousand people, including 3.6 thousand senior citizens who are not entitled to pension benefits, 42.5 thousand citizens with disabilities, 16.5 thousand orphaned or half-orphaned children and single parents will receive additional MNT 100,000 in the next five months until October 1, totaling their monthly allowance to MNT 280,000. 4. In compliance with directive given by the parliament to support the herders' revenue and domestic production of cashmere industry, a subsidy of MNT 20,000 will be given for each kilogram of cashmere supply. As announced by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, the total cost of the four measures is around MNT 793 billion, and MNT 593 billion of which will finance the cost for the additional social welfare allowances and MNT 200 billion is for cashmere subsidy payment. ^ top ^
President meets officials from organizations in charge of ensuring national security (Montsame)
2020-05-07
On May 6, President of Mongolia, Head of the National Security Council Kh.Battulga held a meeting with the executive officials of professional organizations in charge of ensuring national security of Mongolia, such as the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces, and the General Intelligence Agency of Mongolia. They discussed the implementation of the 2019 general action plan for professional organizations in charge of ensuring national security, and measures included in the plan for 2020. President Kh.Battulga highlighted that the current state of the global pandemic in Mongolia is being kept thanks to the sufficient correlation between the organizations, and obliged the officials present at the meeting to give more significance in reducing the negative impacts of the pandemic and ensure food safety. ^ top ^
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Sun Mengqi Eleanore
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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