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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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Switzerland rehabilitates 19 schools damaged in Beirut port's blasts (Xinhua)
2021-03-17
The Swiss Embassy in Lebanon announced on Wednesday that Switzerland has completed the rehabilitation of 19 schools damaged in Beirut port's blasts, allowing 7,000 children to return safely to their schools, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. It noted that Switzerland also reconstructed the children's department at the Karantina Governmental Hospital, which was totally destroyed during the explosions. "Switzerland allocated a total of 6 million U.S. dollars to help Lebanon overcome the repercussions of Beirut port's blasts," the embassy said. Beirut's port was rocked on Aug. 4, 2020 by two explosions that killed around 200 people, injured at least 6,000 others, and left 300,000 people homeless. ^ top ^
Chinese FM says China-Switzerland friendship to be further deepened, developed (Xinhua)
2021-03-12
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday said that the China-Switzerland friendship can not only withstand the test of the epidemic, but will also be further deepened and developed. In a telephone conversation with Ignazio Cassis, vice president and foreign minister of the Swiss Confederation, Wang said that in the face of the challenge of the COVID-19 epidemic, China and Switzerland have helped and supported each other, deepened traditional friendship and enhanced mutual trust. Wang emphasized that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 70 years ago, China-Switzerland relations have always been at the forefront of China's relations with Europe and even with western countries, and the most important experience is to stick to the principle that all countries, big or small, are equal, and to uphold mutual respect and trust. In recent years, in particular, Wang said, under the guidance of the two countries' heads of state, the development of China-Switzerland relations have entered a fast track, which has not only established the strategic positioning of innovative strategic partnership, but also made significant progress in such areas as free trade, finance and the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation. These achievements are hard-won and the two sides should especially cherish them and constantly forge them ahead, Wang said, expressing hope that the Swiss side would continue to view China in an objective and rational manner and play an active role in promoting the sound and stable development of bilateral relations. China appreciates Switzerland's openness in cooperation with Chinese-funded enterprises, and as China is moving faster in advancing high-level opening-up, the two countries are seeing broad prospects in innovative and pragmatic cooperation, Wang said, expressing hope that both sides will continue promoting free trade cooperation actively. Noting that Beijing will host the Winter Olympics early next year and Switzerland is a major winter sports country and once hosted the Winter Olympics, Wang said that China is willing to learn from each other's experience in hosting the Games and strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Switzerland in areas such as event organizing and personnel training. This will not only bring new business opportunities to Switzerland's winter sports industry, but also help activate people-to-people exchanges of the two countries after the epidemic, Wang added. For his part, Cassis thanked China for its support and assistance in Switzerland's fight against the epidemic, saying that Switzerland attaches great importance to developing relations with China. The two countries keep a good tradition of mutual trust and respect, and have seen remarkable progress in friendly relations and cooperation in recent years, Cassis said. Switzerland stands ready to actively cooperate with China on the Winter Olympics, said Cassis, adding that his country regards China as an important cooperative partner and is willing to conduct strategic dialogues and exchanges with China to promote mutual understanding and support. ^ top ^
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Russian foreign minister to visit China hard on heels of Alaska talks (SCMP)
2021-03-19
The United States is expected to be high on the agenda when top diplomats from China and Russia meet next week, just days after much-anticipated talks between Beijing and Washington. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would be in China on a two-day visit from Monday at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Wang and Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi are in Alaska for talks on Thursday and Friday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Diplomatic observers said China and Russia were expected to respond to changes in US policy towards the two counties. "The international situation has undergone great changes," said Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "With shifts in the policies of US and Western countries towards China and Russia, the strategic partnership between China and Russia needs to be reflected and upgraded." Yang said the two countries would discuss how to strengthen coordination on regional and major international issues. They would also look at unifying positions at the United Nations, where the two countries have long presented a united front on matters such as Iran, North Korea and Myanmar. Yang said there was also expected to be common ground at the meeting next week on climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, economic ties and military cooperation. Russian news agency Interfax reported last week that Zhang Hanhui, Chinese ambassador to Moscow, said China was willing to maintain regular communication with Russia about its policies towards the United States. Zhang also said military cooperation between the two countries was an "important pillar" of their relationship and an "important safeguard" in maintaining strategic balance of the world. "As two major countries, China and Russia share broad common interests and shoulder special responsibilities in maintaining world peace and stability and promoting global development and prosperity," he said. Zhang said Moscow and Beijing had also made good progress on trade, vaccine development, space exploration, and military technology. The administration of US President Joe Biden has singled out a "growing rivalry with China, Russia, and other authoritarian states" as a key challenge facing the United States, according to a White House document outlining Biden's national security policies published earlier this month. Biden has pledged to stand up to China and Russia, and has already announced fresh sanctions over the poisoning and later jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. And on Tuesday during his first overseas trip, Blinken warned China against using "coercion and aggression". Unlike the low expectations for the diplomatic sit-down in Anchorage, Yang said an agreement could come out of the meeting between Lavrov and Wang. "Apart from cooperation on the economy and the fight against the pandemic, two countries will also discuss major project arrangements and international meetings this year, and new concrete results will come on frameworks including the Eurasian Economic Union and Belt and Road Initiative, and Shanghai Cooperation Organization," Yang said. ^ top ^
Xi sends message to mark centenary of Bangladeshi founding father's birth, 50th independence anniversary (People's Daily)
2021-03-18
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. Stressing that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the People's Republic of Bangladesh 50 years ago, Xi said Rahman, an old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people, visited China twice and developed friendship with Chinese leaders of the older generations. Xi said the two sides should keep in mind contributions made to the bilateral relations by leaders of the older generations and carry forward bilateral friendship. Since its independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable achievements in national construction, Xi said, adding China is glad about that as a friendly neighbour. China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbouring countries since ancient times, and the friendship spanning over a thousand years was witnessed by the Silk Road, Xi said. Over the last 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and on an equal footing, offered mutual support and worked hand in hand, Xi added. As China and Bangladesh are both at a crucial stage of national development, Xi said the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of Sonar (golden) Bangla are interconnected, and the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have been making joint efforts to overcome the difficulties and rendering mutual help, Xi said. Major projects in Bangladesh Chinese enterprises participated in have made groundbreaking progress, and the treatment of zero tariff for 97 percent of the taxable items imported from Bangladesh into China has officially taken effect, Xi added. Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Bangladesh ties, Xi expressed the hope to work with Bangladesh to better align the two countries' development strategies and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, so as to take the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation to new heights. ^ top ^
China urges U.S., Japan to stop interfering in China's internal affairs (Xinhua)
2021-03-18
China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the recent U.S.-Japan joint statement, which maliciously attacked China's foreign policy, seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and attempted to damage China's interests, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop forming "small cliques" targeting China. Zhao made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on a U.S.-Japan joint statement, which was issued after "2+2" talks on Tuesday between the foreign and defense ministers the United States and Japan. The joint statement expressed the two countries' concerns over multiple issues related to China. "We have lodged solemn representations separately with the United States and Japan," Zhao said. First, he emphasized that the international system with the United Nations (UN) as its core is the only system in the world, and that the only set of rules in the world is the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes of the UN Charter. "The United States and Japan have no right to unilaterally define international relations, let alone impose their own standards on others," Zhao said. Second, China has always been an important force in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, he said. China has established partnerships with 112 countries and international organizations, joined more than 100 inter-governmental international organizations, signed over 500 multilateral treaties, and is the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The United States has always followed double standards, applying international laws and rules when they suit its own interests and abandoning them when they don't, according to Zhao. The United States has not been at war for only 16 years of its nearly 250-year history, and it has hundreds of military bases worldwide. "The international community will have a fair judgement on who is the biggest threat to world peace," Zhao said. Third, China's position on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear, and China is firm in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests. China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, and over the Diaoyu Islands and adjacent waters, Zhao said. Issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are China's internal affairs, and brook no foreign interference, Zhao said, adding that the joint statement made by the United States and Japan ignored facts and truth, acting as further proof of collusion between the two countries, interfering in China's internal affairs, and an unpleasant example of slandering and discrediting China. Fourth, the United States and Japan are sticking to the Cold War mentality, deliberately engaging in group confrontation and trying to create an anti-China encirclement. "It is completely going against the trend of the times," Zhao said, pointing out that the move by the two countries is against the common expectations of the vast majority of countries, both in the region and globally, for peace, development and cooperation. "Their move will only bring chaos or even conflict to the region, revealing the truth to the world that it is the U.S.-Japan alliance that undermines peace and stability in the region," he said. Fifth, in order to satisfy its own interests in deterring China's rise and rejuvenation, Japan is willing to rely on others and act as a strategic vassal of the United States. "It is shameful and repugnant for Japan to betray its promises and undermine China-Japan relations; and betray the overall interests of the region by inviting wolves into its house," said Zhao. Sixth, China strongly urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop forming "small cliques" targeting China and stop undermining peace and stability in the region. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," Zhao said. ^ top ^
China to provide COVID-19 vaccines to UN peacekeepers at early date: FM spokesperson (People's Daily)
2021-03-17
China supports early COVID-19 vaccination for UN peacekeepers and will work with the UN Secretariat to make vaccines donated by China available to the UN peacekeepers at an early date, a foreign ministry spokesperson said here Tuesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's remarks came after China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Monday notified UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of China's intention to donate 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to UN peacekeepers, with priority given to the African mission area. This is a concrete measure to fulfill China's pledge to make vaccines global public goods, Zhao said, adding that it has fully demonstrated China's support to the UN and multilateralism as well as its concern for the health and safety of peacekeepers. As one of the champions of the safety and security issue under the "Action for Peacekeeping" initiative of the UN secretary-general, China attaches great importance to the safety and security of peacekeepers, and supports early COVID-19 vaccination for UN peacekeepers to protect their health and help them better perform their duties, he said. "China will work closely with the UN Secretariat to make vaccines donated by China available to the UN peacekeepers at an early date," said Zhao. ^ top ^
Chinese FM blasts SK media for blaming China over sandstorm; China never blamed Mongolia for being possible source (Global Times)
2021-03-17
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday refuted South Korean media reports claiming the sandstorm that blew into South Korea originated in China, saying that China is just a country that the dust passed through and China never blamed Mongolia, which may have been the country the sandstorm came from. At a regular press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the sandstorm that hit China on Monday came from outside China and called for objective and scientific reports from media and cooperation on environmental governance from the international community. China is just a country that the dust "passed through." Mongolian officials recently released relevant information on the damage caused by the sandstorm, but Chinese public opinion did not criticize Mongolia for possibly being the sandstorm upstream country, Zhao said. The issue should be viewed in a scientific and constructive manner. Public opinion should be guided in a right way to avoid unnecessary speculation and random labeling, Zhao said. Zhao made the remarks after South Korean media said the sandstorm that hit the western region of Korea on Tuesday morning originated from China, while the dust storm that blanketed more than 10 provinces in China reportedly entered Chinese territory from Mongolia with cold air and strong winds late Sunday. Yonhap News Agency noted that the dust storm "originated from the inland deserts in northern China" in the reports and even highlighted the claim in the title of the Chinese version of the article. Other media reports also stressed the "baneful influence" that China has on South Korea's environment. The Korean media reports did not go down well on Chinese social media, which has been the major battlefield of a cultural feud between Chinese and South Korean netizens recently. Some people accused Korean media of falsely reporting and hyping an image of China being a "pollution-creating country". Others said such biased reports will aggravate the prejudice of Korean people against China and intensify tension between the two countries. The topic on Sina Weibo has received more than 320 million views and more than 16,000 comments as of press time. Besides South Korea, some other foreign media also claimed that the sandstorm originated from China and elaborately pointed to China's "responsibility" for the disaster. "The sandstorm that reached South Korea Tuesday ran a path from the southeast of Inner Mongolia to the Korean Peninsula," Wang Gengchen, a research fellow at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. The reports should be based on scientific statistics, rather than bias, Wang said. Environmental and air pollution issues know no borders. The sandstorm showed that there is still much to be done in the region in terms of cooperation on environmental governance. China stands ready to work with its neighbors and the international community to strengthen efforts on the regional and global environmental governance and protection, said Zhao Lijian. "China attaches great importance to the prevention and control of desertification, which has achieved remarkable results. Such results will not only benefit China itself, but also make a huge contribution to improving air quality in the region," he said. The western region of South Korea was hit by sandstorms on Tuesday morning, while other parts of the country are also forecast to be affected, according to reports from Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday quoting the Korean Meteorological Administration. ^ top ^
Chinese envoy's letter to French senator over Taiwan island trip plan a 'measured heads-up' (Global Times)
2021-03-16
A letter from Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye to French Senator Alain Richard, who is planning to visit the island of Taiwan in the summer, was a "measured heads-up," Chinese observers said, noting the French politician is taking an opportunistic path to challenge the bottom line of China's sovereign integrity concerning the island for the sake of individual interests and at the cost to overall friendly China-France ties. Citing the French news website La Lettre A, some Taiwan media outlets reported that Lu had sent a "hardline" letter to Richard on February 18 in an effort to lobby the French senator, who is also the head of the "French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group," to cancel the organization's plan to visit this summer. In the letter, Lu condemned the trip and said it would pose a threat to the current cross-Straits situation, while pointing out that it would send the wrong message to the island's secessionist forces. Lu also urged France to avoid any official engagement with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan in any form. It is a typical move by the narrow-minded secessionist media in Taiwan to portray the island as a victim, Wang Jianmin, a Taiwan affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Reiterating China's consistent and clear political stance over the Taiwan question in the form of a personal letter is a measured approach, which is appropriate in this case, otherwise there would have been an official statement from the Embassy, Wang said. It is also a very courteous heads-up to the French senator reminding him not to take an opportunistic path over China's bottom line on sovereignty, or ruin the overall warm ties between China and France. Observers noted that the DPP authority in Taiwan has been investing heavily in the so-called parliamentary-level "diplomacy" as a way to fool itself and forget the fact there is only one China in the world. Wu Chih-chung, "the diplomatic representative from Taiwan in France," called Richard a respected senator and friend of the island. Richard, who served as French defense minister from 1997 to 2002, visited the island of Taiwan in 2015 and 2018 when serving as a senator and head of the "French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group." However, during an interview with china.com.cn in 2019, Richard lauded the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative as a demonstration of China's willingness to open up. Such self-contradictory swaying in political stances shows a lack of credibility in such a politician, Wang said. ^ top ^
WHO-China team suggests continuing to search early COVID-19 cases around the globe (Xinhua)
2021-03-15
The World Health Organization (WHO) and China joint team has suggested continuing to look for possible early cases in a wider range around the globe. Liang Wannian, a member of the WHO-China joint team, made the remarks at a briefing to European diplomats on the origin of the novel coronavirus on Friday. Liang said that China overcame the pressure of domestic epidemic prevention to work with the WHO to do the research of tracing the origins of the novel coronavirus. Chinese experts and the WHO experts worked together in Wuhan from Jan. 14. to Feb. 10 this year. They visited nine places, including Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Huanan seafood market, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The team also visited and talked with local medical workers, lab researchers, scientists, market managers, community workers, recovered patients, and families of medical workers losing their lives in the epidemic, he added. The joint study has achieved positive outcomes and reached some findings and conclusions, thanks to efforts from the two sides, Liang said. Firstly, a coronavirus with high similarity to the novel coronavirus in gene sequences occurs in bats and pangolins. But the similarity is still not enough to make it a direct ancestor of the novel coronavirus. Other species all could be potential natural hosts. Secondly, the first case in Wuhan got sick on Dec. 8, 2019. The Huanan seafood market could be an outbreak site and amplifier of the COVID-19 epidemic. Thirdly, the virus was found in environmental tests at the Huanan seafood market after its closure, especially in its aquatic product stalls. The coronavirus at the market might have been introduced through channels such as infected people, contaminated cold chain products, and animal products, but it is still uncertain. The COVID-19 virus is "the most likely" to be introduced through an intermediary host species, "likely" to be introduced through direct transmission or cold-chain food, and "extremely unlikely" to be introduced through a laboratory incident, according to the joint study. In terms of future study, Liang said that the joint study proposed four suggestions, and the first one is to expand globally unified database, including molecule, gene sequence, clinic, epidemiology, animal monitoring and environmental monitoring data. The second suggestion is to continue to look for more possible early cases in a wider range around the globe. The third one is that scientists around the world should search animal species that may become virus hosts in many countries and places, not limited to bats, and the last one is to further understand the role of cold chain and frozen food in virus transmission. ^ top ^
Singapore PM says global anxiety over Beijing's decisions is 'not in China's interest' (SCMP)
2021-03-14
China's decisions and foreign policy positions have given rise to "significant" uncertainty and anxiety as countries globally assess their implications, and this is not an ideal situation for Beijing, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said. Lee was speaking in an interview with British broadcaster BBC recorded two weeks ago and aired on Sunday, before Beijing on Thursday confirmed it would move ahead with the biggest overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Under new legislation passed by the National People's Congress, an election committee that currently oversees the election of Hong Kong's chief executive will be given additional authority to nominate legislative candidates, as part of the central government's move to ensure only "patriots" can rule the city. The move was denounced by Western nations including Britain, which said China was now in "a state of ongoing non-compliance" with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration to determine Hong Kong's future after 1997. The United States has said Hong Kong's situation would feature in " difficult discussions " that Washington would have with Beijing in a bilateral meeting this week. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet China's top ranking diplomat Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska on Thursday. Lee said it was not possible to judge the domestic pressures that had led China to make the decisions it made. "But I think internationally the position it has taken has won it some friends but at the same time, has led to tensions with major powers and with many other countries." Referring to public opinion polls such as those done by American think tank the Pew Research Center that tracked sentiments towards China in various countries, he said there was "significant uncertainty and anxiety over which way China is going and whether this will be good for them". "I do not think that is in China's interest." Lee was asked about US-China tensions in the interview, and he said while a military clash between the superpowers was likelier now than five years ago, the odds were "not yet high". But there was still a considerable risk of "severe tensions which will raise the odds later on", Lee said. Ties between the US and China sank to their lowest in decades under former President Donald Trump, as both sides traded sanctions and tariffs, and clashed on issues ranging from technology to human rights to the South China Sea. Lee said domestic calculations were paramount for both Washington and Beijing. "It is not so easy to say the external logic compels you to work together, because the internal logic may impel you to take a very hard line, and then you may find yourself at an impasse and clash. That can easily happen." Asked if the US had to accept that it was no longer number one, Lee said it was still number one economically but number two was not far behind. "That is what is difficult for the US to accept," he said. Last year amid the pandemic, China's GDP grew by 2.3 per cent while the US' fell by 2.3 per cent. Economists now expect China to overtake the US as the world's largest economy by 2028, a few years earlier than previous projections. Lee said he hoped other countries would see that China's growth was an opportunity for all countries "to prosper together and to live in a stable world together". That, the prime minister said, was how many countries viewed China over the last 40 years as they benefited from its opening up. Even American businesses like Walmart had advocated good relations with China because they saw the opportunities it offered, Lee said. But attitudes had shifted in the last five to seven years as these businesses saw that China had moved forward and wanted to see a more open environment where they got a bigger bite of the cherry, he added. "It is understandable. China is in a new position now, and you have to set a different balance in your relationship with the world," he said. "What the world was prepared to grant you in an earlier phase now has to be reworked, and that is quite difficult for a country to accept." While the US-China meeting in Alaska represents an effort by both sides to engage each other, it will come amid a series of high-profile meetings by Washington and Asia-Pacific countries that experts say is an effort to coordinate a united approach to counter China's rising influence in the region. On Friday, US President Joe Biden and the prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia held the first meeting between the state leaders of the Quad, a grouping of democracies widely seen as aimed at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific. The leaders pledged to uphold democratic values and deliver a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses throughout the Indo-Pacific by the end of 2022. Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to make their first visits to US allies Japan and South Korea before the Alaska meeting, while Austin will also visit India from March 19 to 21. Lee said he hoped Singapore would never have to choose between China and the US because it was "not possible" to pick one when Singapore had "very intense and extensive ties" with both countries. Asked how he saw the two superpowers co-existing in the region, Lee said they would have to do so as neither would be able to put the other one away and neither would "curl up and die". China, he said, was not like the Soviet Union, which imploded in 1991. The Chinese economy was resilient, with people who had tremendous energy and creativity, and it was going to move forward and not give up, he said. But neither was the US, despite its serious political schisms and problems, going to die. "It has got tremendous vitality and attraction for people around the world. It has come back from many difficult spots before. In that situation, I think unless the two powers decide to coexist, they are both in for a hard time, and so are we." In the interview, Lee also talked about how Singapore would use any Covid-19 vaccine no matter where they were made as long as the shots were safe and effective. Early in the pandemic, Singapore had placed orders for vaccines from multiple suppliers to hedge its bets and has since received and approved for use those by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Since December, more than 610,000 doses of vaccines have been administered. On February 23, however, Singapore received its first shipment of China's Sinovac vaccine before the Health Sciences Authority authorised it for use in the city state. This led to speculation there was pressure on the government to approve the jab. Asked by the BBC about the perceived pressure, Lee said: "We are in the process of evaluating the vaccine. If it passes muster in terms of safety and effectiveness, we will use it." He said there was no basis to assume that a vaccine from China was good or not just because of where it comes from. "We will use vaccines from any source. Vaccines do not carry a nationality. Is it good or is it no good? Does it work? If it does, then we will use it." ^ top ^
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Li asks officials to base their work on law (China Daily)
2021-03-19
Premier Li Keqiang urged on Wednesday the newly appointed officials by the State Council to focus on market entities and public livelihoods in making and implementing policies and faithfully carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the law. Li's remarks came as he oversaw 36 high-ranking officials taking oath to the Constitution in Beijing in the Cabinet's sixth such ceremony in which senior officials pledge their allegiance to China's fundamental law. He called upon the newly appointed officials to take the initiative in respecting, studying and observing the law, and keep improving their capacity in moving forward their work with concepts of the rule of law. It is important to uphold a people-centered development philosophy, alleviate the difficulties and scale up aid package for market players and solve the problems in public livelihood, he said. The premier encouraged the newly appointed officials to assume their responsibilities, excel at employing methods in reform and opening up, and stay pragmatic and diligent in tackling difficult issues. He also highlighted the importance for them to adhere to clean governance, observe disciplines, improve their morale ethnics and work with a fair style. ^ top ^
Anti-Graft Storm Rocks Yantai After Deadly Mining Incidents (Caixin)
2021-03-19
Three emergency response officials in Yantai, Shandong province, were placed under investigation over the past week in an unfolding ant-graft campaign triggered by two deadly mining incidents in the northeastern city. The three being probed for "principle and law violations" include Yu Jianping, deputy director of Yantai Emergency Management Bureau; Zhang Guangmin, a senior inspector at the bureau; and Liu Tengyun, an official overseeing gold mine safety. The investigations followed two deadly gold mine incidents killed at least 16 people in the city. Yantai's production safety supervisory system was rattled by the two fatal disasters since the beginning of the year. In January, a gold mine explosion in Qixia trapped 22 miners underground and sparked a two-week rescue effort. Ten people were found dead. Following the incident, two top officials in Qixia, under the jurisdiction of Yantai, were put under criminal detention for an attempted cover-up. One month later, another gold mine fire killed six people in Zhaoyuao, sparking concerns over mining risks in the region. ^ top ^
China takes aim at corrupt cadres and officials in expanded Inner Mongolia campaign (SCMP)
2021-03-18
A campaign targeting corruption in the coal industry of Inner Mongolia has been expanded to cover all cadres and officials in the northern Chinese region, with investigations to go as far back as two decades. The blitz on coal industry-related graft began about a year ago but gained new momentum this month when President Xi Jinping told Inner Mongolian deputies at the National People's Congress that anyone found to be corrupt would be held to account. "[We] will go after these people – who use our national resources for bribery, trade power for money by taking advantage of their positions as Communist Party officials and public servants – at all costs and hold them responsible," Xi said at the annual session of the legislature, according to People's Daily. "The party central has waged an anti-corruption campaign for eight to nine years. [We] have shown zero tolerance for any new cases," he said, referring to cases after 2012, the year he took the helm of the party. "Now, we also won't tolerate the old cases [pre-2012] once they have been uncovered. Our anti-corruption campaign will never end." Analysts said Xi was using the campaign in Inner Mongolia to strengthen the party's control in the region. Inner Mongolia is the second largest coal producer in China and accounts for about a quarter of the country's coal reserves, with output reaching 1 billion tonnes in 2019. According to state media reports, some 676 corruption cases related to the region's coal industry have been investigated since 2018, involving 960 cadres and officials. They include Bai Xiangqun, former vice-chairman of Inner Mongolia's government, and Xing Yun, its former head of public security. Xing, 69, was given a suspended death sentence in December 2019 for accepting 449 million yuan (US$69 million) in bribes after an investigation that began six years after he retired. His case led to more arrests – Yun Guangzhong, former party chief of Ordos and the region's capital Hohhot, and Yun Gongmin, former general manager of state-owned power company China Huadian Corporation. Bai and Yun Guangzhong have since been jailed for 16 and 14 years, respectively, while Yun Gongmin is expected to face trial soon. Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, said the expanded campaign suggested Xi would not allow lax discipline and abuse of power in regions like Inner Mongolia stand in the way of his "grand national rejuvenation" plan. "The national rejuvenation objective cannot be achieved without a regional party apparatus doing exactly what the party central led by Xi requires," Tsang said. "What better way than to apply the anti-corruption drive to clean up the party in Inner Mongolia and ensure they follow his instructions?" Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said he expected a similar purge in other regions and provinces. "Large-scale clean-ups at the department, bureau and county levels are deemed necessary because Beijing knows these are the backbone of the Communist Party's rule," he said. "The campaign in Inner Mongolia might be seen as a model that can be applied in other provinces." Xi's warning also showed he planned to hold officials "accountable for life", according to a researcher from Peking University's public policy research centre. "Retirement and resignation means nothing now – the hunt for corruption is for life," said the researcher, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media. ^ top ^
Vice premier stresses vitalization of Liaoning Province (Xinhua)
2021-03-18
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He has called for efforts to push reform and opening up as well as high-quality development to vitalize the economy of northeast China's Liaoning Province. Precise policies should be adopted to push Liaoning's vitalization, Liu said during a research trip to the province on Tuesday and Wednesday. Noting that the province has encountered some challenges in development in the past few years, Liu said that a number of favorable policies have been rolled out to boost its growth. Liaoning enjoys geographical advantages and has a number of strategic industries that are the lifeblood of the national economy and national security, Liu said. It has great potential in resources, science and education, human resources and infrastructure, and has many favorable conditions for its vitalization and development, he added. Liu urged efforts to promote the province's green and low-carbon transition of the economy with the help of scientific and technological innovation and optimize its economic structure. ^ top ^
Walk the talk: Xi leads China in fight for carbon-neutral future (Xinhua)
2021-03-17
Almost half a year after Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge to make the country carbon-neutral before 2060, the roadmap to achieve the goal is getting clearer under Xi's push as authorities and industries scale up their green efforts. China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Xi announced at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video in September last year. Since then, vigorous policies have been rolled out on top of the already hefty input in green development. At a meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs on Monday, Xi called for incorporating the peaking of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of building an ecological civilization. "Peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality is a tough battle, it is also a major test of the party's capabilities in governing the country," the meeting stressed. While China's economic rise over the past decades was largely powered by coal, the country, now among the world's biggest investors in green energy, is increasing pace to shift to other renewables including wind and solar. Starting in February, China implemented a set of interim rules for the management of carbon-emissions trading designed to drive down the emissions of big power users. Under the scheme, firms that exceed the emission caps can buy emission quotas from others with a lower carbon footprint. A total of 2,225 power firms are included in the project. More fields, such as the steel and aluminum production sectors, will be included in future carbon trading. The campaign for green energy also enabled the public to embrace a more eco-friendly lifestyle, as was shown by the country's booming sales of new energy vehicles. On the back of the united efforts, the share of clean energy consumption in the country has risen from 19.1 percent in 2016 to 24.3 percent in 2020, data by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. While addressing the Climate Ambition Summit via video link in December last year, Xi announced that by 2030, China aims to lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level and increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent. To move toward the goal, energy consumption per unit of GDP and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2021 will be reduced by 13.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, according to this year's government work report, which also promised to draw up an action plan for peaking carbon emissions before 2030. While expanding the use of green energy, bringing down carbon emissions to net zero, which means achieving a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon, will require the development of new technologies to capture and store emissions. Monday's meeting also called for efforts to push forward major breakthroughs in green and low-carbon technologies and accelerate the promotion and application of such technologies for reducing pollution and carbon emissions. It has underscored improvements in policies on fiscal taxation, prices, finance, land and government procurement that are conducive to green and low-carbon development. "To peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality is an extensive and profound systemic reform for the economy and society," Xi noted at Monday's meeting. ^ top ^
Intellectual property protection continuously strengthened in China (People's Daily)
2021-03-16
In 2020, Chinese courts handled and closed about 466,000 first-instance intellectual property rights (IPR) cases, up 11.7 percent year on year, and the amount of compensation for IPR-related offenses rose by 79.3 percent from the previous year, according to a work report of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China delivered on March 8. The growing consensus on protecting the results of innovation in China and the country's increasing efforts to enhance judicial protection of IPR have not only effectively driven the high-quality development of China's economy and society, but shown the world the country's resolve to protect IPR while pursuing higher-level opening-up. A country can only stimulate people's imagination and creativity to the greatest extent when it guarantees IPR protection to safeguard the due interests of inventors and creators. As a prevailing international rule, IPR protection is an important part in China's endeavor to develop new systems for a higher-level open economy and an inevitable requirement for effective protection of China's self-developed core technologies in key fields. As China aims to realize self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology and shift to high-quality development during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the country needs to stimulate innovation through IPR protection and create a sound business environment and improve competitiveness more than ever. In recent years, China has made a good number of decisions and plans to further improve its IPR protection system, such as enhancing top-level design, improving relevant laws and regulations, reforming IPR protection systems and mechanisms, and strengthening administrative law enforcement and judicial protection for IPR. The country has issued important documents on IPR protection including the action plan for further implementation of the national intellectual property strategy (2014-2020), set up the State Administration for Market Regulation and reorganized the China National Intellectual Property Administration to step up law enforcement, established specialized intellectual property courts in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and created an intellectual property court under the SPC. While witnessing constant progress in IPR protection, China has found a path to IPR protection with Chinese characteristics. China's continuous efforts to improve its IPR laws and regulations as well as IPR protection system have led to historic achievements in IPR protection. At the same time, such concepts of copyright, brand, and patent have taken root among the Chinese people and represented important consensuses and values pursued by the entire society, while more and more enterprises in the country attach great importance to IPR protection and become more devoted to making innovations than before. China has been the largest source of international patent applications filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) via its Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system for four consecutive years. The constant emergence of high-value patents and continuous improvement in the IPR protection system in China are arousing people's enthusiasm for innovation across the country. After years of development, China has accumulated rich experience in IPR protection and become a genuine big country in terms of the number of patent applications it holds. As the country promotes economic transformation and upgrading, and moves toward the upstream of global value chains, it will certainly require more enterprises to attain high added value through innovation. It's believed that in the future, China will further enhance IPR protection and change from a big IPR importer to creator, and realize high-quality development. ^ top ^
China to ease domestic travel restrictions, allowing people to move freely by train without nucleic acid test report (Global Times)
2021-03-15
Chinese residents will be able to travel more freely by train across the country starting from March 16, as China further lifts domestic travel restrictions amid a clear and stable COVID-19 epidemic situation. People can travel nationwide by train with a "green" health code, which indicates a good health record, and will not be required to present negative nucleic acid test certificates, effective on March 16, the Global Times learned from the customer service operator of the railway authorities on Sunday. The customer service operator said the travel restriction will be lifted in all COVID-19 low-risk regions, which now covers the entire country since China cleared all epidemic medium and high-risk regions on February 22. Airports in some cities also implemented the same policy, reported Health Times on Sunday. Wang Peiyu, a deputy head of Peking University's School of Public Health, told the Global Times on Sunday that the new regulation comes at the right time as he believed the epidemic situation in China will continue to see a clear and stable trend due to the long period of zero local infections and the increasing number of people getting vaccinated. The Chinese mainland has not seen a single locally transmitted COVID-19 case for 27 days after the local cluster outbreaks in North China's Hebei and Northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces were successfully brought under control before the Chinese Lunar New Year. Though China reported on Friday two patients who turned positive in nucleic acid testing after recovery, they were not categorized as confirmed cases according to the standard of the National Health Commission. COVID-19 vaccinations have also been rolled out across China, with more than 52 million doses of vaccines administered as of February 28. Chinese authorities vowed to ramp up efforts to vaccinate 560 million people, or 40 percent of China's population, by the end of June. But Wang also stressed the need for authorities to require people to take strict precautions during travel, such as wearing masks and keeping social distance, as the risk of imported infections remains high. ^ top ^
Chinese military issues revised regulations on disciplinary inspection (Xinhua)
2021-03-14
The Central Military Commission has released a set of revised regulations regarding the work of the Communist Party of China disciplinary inspection commissions in the armed forces, which will take effect on April 1. The implementation of the regulations will be of great significance to the reform of the military discipline inspection and supervision system, and the efforts to improve Party conduct, build Party integrity, and combat corruption within the armed forces, a statement on the issue of the regulations said Sunday. The document gives priority to the Party's political building, while focusing on strengthening self-supervision of discipline inspection commissions to ensure their power is exercised in accordance with Party. ^ top ^
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| Beijing |
Beijing can take a lead in vaccination drive (China Daily)
2021-03-18
Around 6.8 million Beijing residents had received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine by noon on Monday, including the 3.56 million people who had received the second shot. These numbers are significant given that vaccines are an effective way of controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus. Being a bustling metropolis, Beijing cannot afford to let its guard down. Therefore, the number of people the health authorities have vaccinated within weeks shows Beijing's efficiency in arresting the epidemic and restoring people's confidence. Such a high number of people could not have been inoculated without the efforts of the municipal government and the cooperation of residents. However, there is room for improvement, as the objective is to achieve herd immunity, which can be reached only after 70-80 percent of the people are vaccinated－and so far only 30 percent of Beijing residents have been inoculated. In order to realize that goal, the local authorities must create greater awareness about the benefits of vaccination and encourage more people to come forward for inoculation. With more and more people being inoculated, unfounded fears about the vaccine will gradually vanish, prompting skeptics to change their views. Another piece of good news is that the age group of people who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine is expanding. Earlier, only those aged between 18 and 59 could receive the vaccine, but in the second phase of the vaccination drive, some residents above 60 will also be inoculated. This will further enhance the vaccination rate. Even though China has largely managed to control the pandemic, there is increasing pressure to check import of cases, as the virus situation remains grim in most other countries. It is therefore urgent and necessary to accelerate the vaccination drive. Being China's capital, Beijing must and can take a lead in the efforts. It is hoped that Beijing sets a glorious example for other regions to emulate. ^ top ^
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| Shanghai |
Shanghai speeds up free COVID-19 vaccination focusing on population aged between 18 and 59 (Global Times)
2021-03-17
Shanghai announced on Tuesday it will speed up the COVID-19 inoculation program, after China's National Health Commission said nearly 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across the country as of Sunday. Shanghai's move follows other Chinese cities, including Beijing, Hangzhou and Wuhan, which have all started speeding up the inoculation. The COVID-19 vaccine is free and currently focuses on the population aged between 18 and 59, the Shanghai Health Commission announced on Tuesday, noting that the mass inoculation for people over 60 will be carried out in accordance with the national plan. In the first half of this year, the program will mainly cover high-risk groups such as people on risk of infection abroad and staff working on the frontline combating the virus. At present, the vaccination of this group is being carried out in an orderly manner, the local health commission said. Next, the population to be inoculated includes the elderly and people with underlying health conditions. As data related to the effectiveness of these groups in current clinical trials are not enough, the vaccination of these groups will be arranged based on the progress of vaccine research and development, according to the local health commission. Mass vaccination on these groups will be carried out in a timely manner when sufficient safety and efficacy data are obtained from clinical trials. In addition to the above two groups, other residents who are willing to be vaccinated will be able to receive the shot within the year. Shanghai uses homemade inactivated coronavirus vaccine which works by using killed viral particles to expose the body's immune system to the virus without risking a serious response. The city authorities also called for eligible residents to register for vaccination soon in order to build an immune barrier earlier and resume normal social and business life as quickly as possible. ^ top ^
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| Tibet |
Tibet's Nyingchi dives deep in eco-tourism, embraces prosperous development (People's Daily)
2021-03-17
Dekyi Wangmo is a 35-year-old woman born in Tonpa village of Mainling County, Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Having been yearning for urban life since being a child, she worked in cities for years after she entered adulthood. However, her hometown became a place that she never wants to leave again when she returned there a couple of years ago. What attracts her is the prosperous development there. Tonpa village, sitting by the clear and green water rolling in the Yarlung Tsangpo River, is a perfect observation point for the snow-covered Mount Namjagbarwa, the highest mountain in Nyingchi. Thanks to the village's altitude, which is relatively low in Nyingchi, as well as its rich and splendid natural resources, flocks of tourists are swarming in it for sightseeing. Under the support of the village committee and the Party committee of the village, Dekyi Wangmo established a tourism cooperative in 2016, and her fellow villagers joined it as shareholders. In July, 2019, a B&B hotel of the cooperative was completed and put into operation, bringing in a revenue of 1.86 million yuan ($286,158) in the same year. Though impacted by COVID-19, the net income of the B&B still hit 1.3 million yuan last year. The story of Tonpa village isn't one-and-only in Nyingchi. Over the past 5 years, the city has worked vigorously to build itself into a demonstration city for the promotion of ecological progress, as well as a demonstration holistic tourism destination, receiving over 32 million visits and generating tourism revenue of more than 24 billion yuan. The lucid waters and lush mountains in Nyingchi have been turned into invaluable assets for its residents. Lulang was once a forest farm in Nyingchi 's Bayi District. As lumbering was completely banned in Tibet since the end of the 20th century, Lulang accelerated the process of industrial transition, focusing more on ecological tourism. Under the pair assistance offered by south China's Guangdong Province, the Lulang International Tourism Town was opened in 2017. The B&B of Tashi Phuntsog, a villager from Tashigang village, Lulang Township is a hot destination among tourists. "Lulang has become a well-known tourist site, attracting huge numbers of tourists," said Tashi Phuntsog. There are also many hotels of higher levels in the township which can satisfy tourists at higher consumption levels, he added. Myidoi village of Pome County spent 1.5 million yuan last year on restoring a batch of traditional architectures. Last June, a tourism company was established in the village, funded by 163 residents from 53 households. The village also collected 250 horses from villagers and designated an area where tourists can enjoy the sceneries on the back of the horses. Horse riding can protect local environment and offer unique experience for tourists, said villager Tashi Tsewang, adding that the industry has increased income for all the villagers. "Sound ecology leads to prosperity," remarked Liu Guangming, executive vice mayor of Nyingchi, and also head of the ninth team of a pairing-up aid program dispatched by Guangdong to Tibet. Nyingchi will rely on its eco-tourism advantages and advance the construction of tourism facilities such as smart hotels and B&Bs, so as to promote industrial upgrade of the tourism sector and constantly improve its development, he said. ^ top ^
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| Xinjiang |
US pressure, value bias behind EU sanctions over Xinjiang (Global Times)
2021-03-17
Sanctions imposed on China on Wednesday by the EU in the name of "human rights concerns" are a new example of how the bloc was pressured by the US and some internal anti-China groups to use misinformation on Xinjiang as a weapon to target China, with Chinese diplomats and observers urging the EU to stop hedging its bets as China will not back off on its core interests. The EU on Wednesday greenlighted sanctions for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang on four Chinese officials and one entity, and the methods include travel bans and asset freezes, according to Reuters. The names will be made public after formal approval by EU foreign ministers next Monday. Chinese Ambassador to the EU Zhang Ming warned on Tuesday that sanctions based on lies could be interpreted as deliberately undermining China's security and development interests. "We ask the EU side to think twice. If some insist on confrontation, we will not back down, as we have no option but to fulfill our responsibilities to the people of our country," Zhang said. There has been growing hostility against China within the EU on human rights issues, as it is facing great pressure from the US to join its anti-China alliance. The bloc is quite divided, with some active internal anti-China groups and lobbyists, analysts said. Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that public opinion has been misled by some anti-China forces with fake news and reports. Conservative forces all pressured the governments to take a tougher stance, although China and the EU have many shared interests in economic issues and trade. He Zhipeng, dean of the Law School and executive director of the Human Rights Center at Jilin University, pointed out that such human rights excuses form the glue between the EU and the Biden administration, which use "values" to form an anti-China front. The EU should be aware that reckless collisions with China will lead to huge and unpredictable risks to China-EU ties, experts said, calling on the bloc to weigh the pros and cons before getting onto the US' chariot. Value-centered coercion against China reflects Western ideological bias deeply rooted in their societies against a country with a different system, as well as their hegemonic mindsets using the explanation of human rights, He said. China has repeatedly rejected lies and misinformation about Xinjiang while its anti-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts, as well as policies supporting employment and economic growth, were frequently smeared by the West as violations of human rights. Observers emphasized that there are conscientious voices in Europe and the EU, and these should not be hijacked by some internal anti-China hardliners - in many cases conservative politicians - who use topics like Xinjiang and Hong Kong to make publicity stunts. On March 7, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned French author Maxime Vivas, who used what he saw in Xinjiang to debunk lies about the region spread by people who had never been there. Chinese individuals and entities could sue foreign entities that jeopardized their interests and damaged their interests, as some cotton and textile firms in Xinjiang did in response to rumormonger Adrian Zenz, He Zhipeng said. China's top legislature, during this year's two sessions, vowed to make a legislative push to deter unjustified external sanctions and interference, expanding the legal toolkit as more vigorous protection measures. Similar to the unreliable entity list mechanism issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce last year, China is open to enacting similar lists as countermeasures against unjustified foreign sanctions, He noted. ^ top ^
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| Hongkong |
HK leaders vow electoral change cooperation (China Daily)
2021-03-17
Leaders of the Hong Kong government and the special administrative region's Legislative Council said on Tuesday that they will join forces to fully cooperate with the implementation of an improved electoral system in the SAR. Their remarks came as the three-day public consultation in the city held by high-level departments of the central authorities entered its second day. Various seminars were held to collect views from representatives including heads of government bureaus, business leaders and educators. Meeting the media before an Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that after the National People's Congress Standing Committee revises Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law, the Hong Kong government will put forward the amendments of local laws to the legislature and cooperate with it to speed up the process. To improve efficiency, the government will propose the changes, involving over 20 local laws, in a comprehensive bill, Lam said. She added that the government has already arranged designated officials to take charge of the work to draft the bill. Regarding any possible questions raised by lawmakers, officials are required to reply in one or two days, she said. But Lam also conceded that the schedule is quite tight for the central authorities and the Hong Kong government to complete the amendments, arrange voter registration and conduct elections. As a result, it would be "quite difficult" to hold this year's legislative election on Sept 5 as scheduled, she said. Meanwhile, the chief executive expressed gratitude to the central authorities for sending a group of high-level officials to Hong Kong and conducting large-scale consultations to solicit opinions. After attending one of the consultation meetings, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen told reporters that when the government submits the bill to amend local legislation, he would be happy to hold additional meetings of the Legislative Council to accelerate the process. Prominent officials from the central authorities are holding 66 seminars and meetings and consulting with over 1,000 representatives of a wide cross-section of Hong Kong society over a three-day period ending on Wednesday. During a seminar on Tuesday, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said the events were in fact "pre-legislative consultation", a widely adopted process before legislation. Education sector representative Lawrence Tang Fei, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said after a seminar that the election should not aim to protect the vested interests of certain sectors. He said that a key issue for the education sector in determining the effectiveness of the election would be whether suitable persons capable of improving Hong Kong's overall education quality and global competency can be elected. Hong Kong lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, representing the business sector, suggested including more representatives of young people, women's organizations and mainland-funded institutions in the legislature. He also advised the authorities to look at whether candidates holding foreign passports should be banned from standing for election, a practice that has been adopted by some overseas regions. ^ top ^
China fully prepared for 'a long fight' with West on HK: experts (Global Times)
2021-03-14
The struggle between China and the West, especially with the US and the UK, on Hong Kong will continue and likely become "a long fight" due to the latest electoral reform plan for the city passed by China's top legislature, Chinese experts say, as China on Sunday, through diplomatic and political channels, firmly refuted the latest joint and separate statements issued by the G7, the EU, and the UK to stigmatize China's reform of Hong Kong's electoral system. Experts said it comes as no surprise that these Western countries issue joint or separate statements to accuse China on Hong Kong with the same old pretext that they had repeatedly used before on the matter of Hong Kong, and now the point is to what extent their accusations will turn into real action to further damage China's interests in the city. It's very likely that some Western countries are ready to give up certain interests to make China feel the pain, so in order to handle such provocations, China is also fully prepared for a long-term struggle with the West. And Chinese experts warned that any further step meddling in China's Hong Kong affairs will cause the same amount of losses for the West, in the city or elsewhere. The Chinese Embassy in the UK said in a statement released on Sunday that "the relevant politicians from the above-mentioned countries and groups, including the UK, have confused right and wrong, slung groundless slanders at China, and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side expresses its strong condemnation and firm opposition." Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the NPC Standing Committee from Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Sunday that according to the remarks made by the top leaders of China that he heard from the meeting with Hong Kong delegates in Beijing during the annual session of the NPC earlier this month, the central government has already evaluated how much China would pay diplomatically, and will make no compromises to pressure from the West. The Chinese central government firmly believes the electoral reform and the previous national security law for Hong Kong, as well as other potential reforms that could take place in the future, are "the right things to do and must be done," no matter whether the West likes them or not, analysts said. "The central government will receive criticism and pressure from the West, but it hopes that, after the electoral reform for the city this time, Hong Kong would no longer have to experience political turmoil every two to three years anymore. Society would finally embrace long-term stability," Tam said. Later on Sunday, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council released a statement to slam Western accusations and criticism against China on Hong Kong. "Illegal activities of Hong Kong separatism and 'Black-clad violence' once created huge damage to Hong Kong, and they were all directly related to open or clandestine support from some Western countries. As Hong Kong restores public order from chaos, some Western countries still use the pretext of 'freedom' or 'democracy' to interfere in China's Hong Kong affairs. Their political attempts are clear," the office said. In recent years, China has already become immune to existing sanctions launched by the West on Hong Kong and Xinjiang, such as targeting specific officials or other trade and economic approaches, Chinese experts said. They noted that to what extent the West, including the US, the UK and the EU, would increase or implement new sanctions is still a question depending on the price they want to pay, but China is fully prepared no matter how long the fight will be. Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday that the West has multiple approaches that could be used to hit China on Hong Kong, including sanctioning specific officials, withdrawing special treatment, reducing trade and economic exchanges, suspending financial activities or cooperation, or some other measures like what the UK did on the BN(O) (British National Overseas) visa issue. If the US and other Western countries decide to inflict greater and more substantial damage to Hong Kong or even China, such as totally destroying Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, they should be prepared to abandon a huge number of interests related to the city as such sanctions on trade or finance would just be like "a nuclear attack triggering mutual assured destruction economically and financially," said Lü Xiang, an expert in US studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Lü told the Global Times on Sunday that the US and UK are different from other Western countries and major EU members like France and Germany on this matter, "Because China's latest move did create huge losses for the US and UK in Hong Kong." Behind the pretext of "democracy," the real reason why Washington and London are extremely anxious at this moment is that "their long-lasting plan and huge amount of input in Hong Kong - to breed pro-West proxies or opposition parties to gain political power through the problematic election system - is totally doomed," Lü said. Other G7 members or major EU powers don't share their pain, so not every Western country desires to escalate their confrontation with China on Hong Kong, Lü noted, so the "long fight" with the West on Hong Kong is, in fact, mainly with the US and the UK. Cui said the situation won't be very optimistic though the EU would be more pragmatic and cautious. He noted that in the past, the US or its allies would care about their economic interests when having disagreements with China, but now their decision-makers believe that when compared to their leadership or hegemony, "economic interests are expendable," since they believe if they don't do anything to cause pain for China now, 10 years later maybe, when China becomes the world's biggest economy, it would be all too late. China is fully prepared for the long fight, and the West would realize one day that their attempts to meddle Hong Kong or even interrupt the development of China is doomed to fail, said experts. ^ top ^
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| Taiwan |
Taiwan compatriots should seize opportunities created by 14th Five-Year Plan: spokesperson (Xinhua)
2021-03-17
A Chinese mainland spokesperson Wednesday urged Taiwan compatriots to seize the opportunities created by the 14th Five-Year Plan. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference, calling on Taiwan compatriots to gain a thorough understanding of the development plan, thus advancing the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, integrated development across the Taiwan Strait and the process of national reunification. In 2020, cross-Strait trade volume reached 260.81 billion U.S. dollars, with Taiwan's exports to the mainland totaling 200.66 billion dollars. According to data from the island, Taiwan's exports to the mainland and Hong Kong accounted for 43.9 percent of its total exports last year. The mainland has played an indispensable role in the island's economic development, Zhu said. The mainland will further improve the institutional arrangements, policies and measures that guarantee the well-being of Taiwan compatriots, provide equal treatment to compatriots and enterprises from Taiwan, and boost integrated development across the Strait, Zhu said. ^ top ^
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| Economy |
Xi prescribes solutions for healthy development of China's platform economy (Xinhua)
2021-03-18
The ninth meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, chaired by President Xi Jinping on Monday, analyzed the pros and cons of the country's platform economy, stressing the need to promote its healthy development from the strategic height of fostering new advantages in national competitiveness. The high-profile meeting emphasized the strategic role of the platform economy in fostering national competitiveness and made a clear-cut judgment on how to promote its healthy development, heralding new development opportunities for the sector. Addressing the meeting, Xi, also head of the committee, said the development of China's platform economy is now at a critical stage and it is necessary to focus on the long-term goals and tackle the needs of current development at the same time. Industrial regulators such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Market Regulation tabled reports at the meeting, which marked the latest policymaking development involving the platform economy. With its business closely related to people's lives, China's platform economy has grown to over 2.39 trillion U.S. dollars as of early April in 2020, according to statistics from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Digital marketplace firms each with over 1 billion U.S. dollars market value in China had increased to 193 by the end of 2019. By then, the total market value of online marketplaces had grown nearly 200 percent to 2.35 trillion U.S. dollars from 2014. "Reviewing the sector's development from a strategic height means the policy orientation of encouraging and supporting the development of the sector will not change, nor will relevant policies be weakened," said Fang Aiqing, deputy director of the economic committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee. "This helps to unify the understanding of the sector's development from all walks of life and enables platform economy to secure faster, more stable and better development," he added. According to Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, healthy development of online marketplaces will in turn help advance the country's economic transformation toward better quality, higher efficiency and stronger impetus. The platform economy's roles mainly lie in its ability to make resource allocation across the country more efficient, promote faster and more rigorous transformation in the spheres of informatization, digitalization and smart technologies, smooth the circulation of the national economy and enhance and refine national governance, the meeting noted. However, problems and risks involving the sector have also caught the attention of policymakers and regulatory authorities. Some large online marketplaces have done too much in tracking and collecting their users' digital footprints to push ads touting excessive consumption to those with fragile credit standing and thus lured them into the traps of unsecured consumer loans, said Dong Ximiao, a part-time researcher with the Institute for Financial Studies, Fudan University. "Internet platforms improve the availability of financial products but often ignore their affordability, which could cause financial risks to pile up," he added. Other latent risks ranging from data monopoly to deliberately circumventing regulation also trigger concerns. As current regulation is sector-specific, there exist certain regulatory gaps and loopholes. Supervision against cross-market, cross-sector and cross-domain financial risks needs to be strengthened, Dong said. The meeting made it clear that all financial activities involving platform enterprises must be put under financial supervision to rectify the situation, while regulators need to consolidate their oversight capability under an optimized supervision framework. It also reiterated the need to promote fair competition, oppose monopoly and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital as well as the need to strengthen the protection of the rights of all market entities involved in the platform economy and safeguard users' rights and interests in data and privacy. The meeting had pointed out the direction for the healthy development of the platform economy, which was pursuing development with regulation optimized side by side, Zhang Yansheng said. Another takeaway of the meeting, as analysts noted, is that the platform economy has been tasked with a mission to make contributions to high-quality economic development and improve the quality of life as the country ushers in its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). In this regard, industrial internet platforms are encouraged to facilitate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and foster the development of advanced manufacturing, while platform enterprises in the consumer sector will be supported to tap the country's consumption power and provide more quality products and services, the meeting noted. The meeting also emphasized the need to boost opening-up and cooperation, foster a dynamic and innovative institutional environment, and strengthen international technical exchanges and research collaboration. "More should be done to improve the weak links, create an environment for innovation, resolve prominent problems, and promote the regulated, healthy and sustainable development of the platform economy," Xi said. ^ top ^
China Bans Micro Lenders From Targeting College Students (Caixin)
2021-03-18
China banned micro lenders from granting new online consumer loans to college students out of concerns over excessive consumption by students and bad social influence. The ban strikes another blow against online microlending platforms, including Ant Group Co. Ltd.'s Huabei and Jiebei. A series of rules since November imposed more restrictions on the previously lightly regulated sector and led to the abrupt suspension of Ant's $35 billion initial public offering. In a notice jointly issued Wednesday by five government agencies including the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Public Security, the regulators said some micro lenders have targeted college campuses and conducted marketing with the cooperation of technology companies. The campaigns induced some college students into excessive consumption on internet platforms and drew some of them into debt traps. Although regulators have tried to crack down on microlending on college campuses since 2017, headlines about college students mired in enormous debt from buying luxury handbags and the like still appear. The ban mainly reemphasizes previous supervisory rules on campus loans and focuses on strong implementation, said Xue Hongyan, director of the Internet Finance Center of Suning Financial Research Institute. The notice does not prohibit licensed financial institutions from offering internet consumer loans to students, but it provides more detailed regulations, requiring traditional banks and consumer finance companies to strengthen pre-loan investigation and evaluation of student clients, identify the real purpose of loans, and make sure they have a second source of debt repayment. The notice also requires universities to take responsibility for strengthening financial education and assistance for students, guiding students to establish a grounded conception of consumption, and effectively safeguarding students' rights and interests and campus stability. ^ top ^
China Trials Greater Flexibility for Multinationals' Currency Conversion (Caixin)
2021-03-14
Under a trial launched by Chinese financial regulators, certain multinational corporations including oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC will be allowed to convert their yuan funds into other currencies more freely. The pilot program marks part of China's efforts to push for the internationalization of the yuan. The first part of the trial, which will take place in Beijing and the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, will involve major multinational firms with relatively high credit ratings and aims to facilitate their cross-border use of funds, according to a joint statement published by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Friday. Under the trial, the multinationals will be able to buy foreign currencies at will within certain limits and deposit the money into the major domestic bank accounts of their cross-border cash pools for overseas payments, the statement said. Industry insiders say the new rule may mark a breakthrough in the opening up of China's capital account — which, translated from economics jargon, involves the purchase and sale of assets and liabilities such as stocks and bonds. Currently, multinational firms in principle need to seek SAFE approval every time they want to buy foreign currency in China under the capital account, several regulators and bankers told Caixin. Such controls deny businesses the freedom to buy and sell foreign exchange at will to hedge against currency fluctuations. In contrast, firms can basically convert their yuan funds for real business needs at will under the current account, which involves international goods and services trade, the regulators and bankers said. The Chinese mainland's opening up of the capital account has been a slow process, as authorities have been concerned about the risks to its financial stability of allowing capital to flow freely into and out of the mainland. Five multinationals in Beijing including Shell will take part in this trial, according to a report by the state-run Economic Daily. The other four are all state-owned enterprises controlled by China's central government, including oil and chemical giant Sinochem Group Co. Ltd. and aviation conglomerate Aviation Industry Corp. of China Ltd. The companies said the new rule can help them prevent foreign exchange risks, the report said. The list of participants in Shenzhen remains unknown. Multinationals in the city have set up 193 cross-border cash pools, with the amount of money flowing into and out of the mainland via these pools since the first pool's establishment amounting to more than $200 billion, according to a Friday press release from the local branch of the PBOC. Under the pilot program, regulators might set a specific numerical limit on conversions or issue a formula to calculate the limit, a banker involved in international finance told Caixin. The trial also seeks to unify the management of the multinationals' foreign and local currency cash pools — which are currently managed separately by SAFE and the PBOC and subject to two sets of rules, causing inconvenience in the cross-border use of funds. The regulators need to design more specific measures to achieve this goal, industrial insiders said. SAFE and the PBOC will strengthen monitoring and enhance risk assessment to prevent risks resulting from cross-border capital flows when conducting the trial, the statement said. ^ top ^
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| DPRK |
Solution to peninsula nuclear issue lies with Washington (China Daily)
2021-03-17
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit the Republic of Korea on Wednesday, once again putting the global spotlight on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, especially since Blinken has said that the new US administration plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the policies toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and find ways to increase pressure on Pyongyang in order to bring it back to the negotiating table. But in response to the White House claiming it had not received any reply to its outreach to Pyongyang, Kim Yo-jong, a senior DPRK official, warned the Joe Biden administration against "causing a stink at its first step" on Monday. During the 8th national congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in January, top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un emphasized that the country will further strengthen the defense forces to counter foreign military threats and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Kim attributed the decision to strengthen the military to the US' hostile policies toward the DPRK, saying DPRK-US relations can improve only if the Washington abandons its hostile policies toward Pyongyang. From the historic meeting between Kim and former US president Donald Trump in Singapore in 2018 that produced four commitments from both sides to the Panmunjom meeting that further raised hopes of the resolution of the nuclear issue, the DPRK-US talks have gone through many twists and turns over the past years, with the failed working-level talks between the two sides in Stockholm, Sweden, casting a shadow over the prospects of such a solution. Despite the DPRK demolishing tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and dismantling the Tongchang-ri missile test site, the US didn't honor its promise of lifting sanctions against the country and instead increased them. The US' strategy, it seems, is still intent on putting maximum pressure on the DPRK through economic and military means, and then using non-military tactics to resolve the nuclear issue. Under this strategy, the US will neither abandon the political means or dialogue channels to resolve the issue nor will it change its demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the DPRK before removing sanctions. The US had said it would reward the DPRK if the latter gave up its nuclear weapons program and slap tougher sanctions if it reneges on its commitments. The US' "extreme pressure" policy has made it difficult to peacefully resolve the peninsula nuclear issue. In fact, it has put the entire peace process in jeopardy. At the core of the nuclear issue is the national security of the DPRK and the key to addressing it lies with the US. The US abandoning hostility toward the DPRK is a precondition for resolving the nuclear issue. By abandoning its hostile policies and signing a peace agreement, the US will guarantee national security to the DPRK and thus prevent it from citing excuses to develop nuclear weapons. At present, the DPRK-US talks are deadlocked due to fundamental differences between the two sides on the concept, scope and standards of, and the means, steps and timeframe needed for denuclearization. The DPRK wants to sign a declaration with the US and the Republic of Korea to end the Korean War on the condition that the US lifts the sanctions before Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear facilities in a "phased and synchronized manner" on way to fully denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. The US, however, insists that it will withdraw the sanctions only after the DPRK dismantles its nuclear facilities and agrees to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. The DPRK has revived its nuclear weapons program mainly out of the fear that the US may not honor its commitment after it abandons the nuclear program, and instead continue with its hostile policies, even use military means to fulfill its goals. The US, on its part, insists the DPRK abandon its nuclear program, mainly because it fears the country may refuse to give up its nuclear weapons once the sanctions are lifted. The lack of trust between the leaders of the two countries is not conducive to maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, in particular, because the US' desperate efforts to use sanctions and military power as deterrence against the DPRK have failed to force the country to shelve its nuclear program. The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the building of a peace mechanism should be simultaneously pursued. Specifically, China, the US, Russia, Japan, the DPRK and the ROK should resume the Six-Party Talks to resolve the nuclear issue, while China, Russia, the US and Japan should together provide security guarantees for the two Koreas. However, these cannot be achieved if the US tries to strengthen its alliance with Japan and the ROK, citing the threat from China and the DPRK. To show its sincerity, the US should withdraw its hostile policies and sanctions against the DPRK, rather than paying lip service to regional peace. It should bear in mind that the simultaneous approach to peace will remove the DPRK's concerns over national security and allay the US' fears about a possible nuclear attack by Pyongyang. ^ top ^
China welcomes new DPRK ambassador to China: FM spokesperson (Xinhua)
2021-03-12
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) appointed Lee Longnan as DPRK ambassador to China, and China welcomes this, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to confirm the reports that the new DPRK ambassador to China has arrived in China. "With regard to Ambassador Lee Longnan's arrival in China and other follow-up developments, I have no information to release at present," Zhao said. There are also reports that China and the DPRK will return the exchange of personnel to the previous state. In response, Zhao said as a friendly neighbor to the DPRK, China is willing to work with the DPRK to safeguard, consolidate and develop well the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two sides. ^ top ^
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| Mongolia |
Spring session of Parliament opens (Montsame)
2021-03-18
In his opening speech, Speaker of the State Great Hural G.Zandanshatar stressed that the package law on Courts was the major legal document approved by the State Great Hural in the autumn session of 2020 which aimed at reviving the amendments to the Constitution and ensuring demand for social justice. He noted that when the law came into force on January 1, the scandal surrounding the names of some court officials was causing public outrage. This is a sign of the loss of independence of the judiciary and a sign that the judiciary is beginning to be cleaned up. The package law on Courts states that the Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee are responsible for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, as well as defines the responsibilities and prohibitions of judges. In this context, he stressed that the new law must be strictly adhered and the guilty must be held accountable for "tarnishing" the reputation of the judiciary. He also noted that in addition to passing laws, the State Great Hural must constantly work to monitor the implementation of laws passed by it, demand their implementation and improve them within the framework of its constitutional responsibilities. He underscored that one of the goals of this spring session is to select and appoint members of the new Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee, ensuring participation of citizens, in connection with the implementation of the package law on Courts. According to the law, half of the members of the Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee will be elected by secret ballot among all judges. He highlighted that a working group chaired by Deputy Speaker T.Ayursaikhan has been established to monitor the implementation of the Resolution No.92 of 2019 which is designated to ensure Mongolia's interests in the development of Oyu Tolgoi deposit and is bringing some positive results. Emphasizing that the benefits of wealth should be spent to the well-being of citizens, he said that the State Great Hural and the government will continue to work together in this direction. "Also, in order to bolster the constitutional amendments, the Law on State and Local Property, the Law on the National Wealth Fund, the Law on the Legal Status of the Capital City, Towns and Villages, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Political Parties, the Law on President, etc. should be discussed and ratified. Members of the State Great Hural were reminded to use 'lawmaker' and 'lawforum' systems which allow citizens to express their views, ideas and proposals on bills", he said. He noted the need to change the legal framework for education reform, introduce e-learning at all levels of education, and move to a new system. He stressed the importance of aligning the science sector with Mongolia's development priorities and strengthening its competitiveness in the world, while underlining that a set of laws to reform the education and science sector would be discussed during the spring session. Moreover, he stressed the need for a step-by-step policy to mitigate the risk of a COVID-19 pandemic to minimum. The Speaker said that in order to overcome the negative impact caused by the pandemic and to stimulate economic growth and businesses, all relevant organizations and citizens need to pay special attention to the implementation of the government's MNT 10 trillion comprehensive plan. "More than 90 percent of Mongolia's exports are highly dependent on mining. Therefore, a new development model needs to be defined. Therefore, the Japanese model, which is considered to be a miracle of the world economy, is considered to be the best system for supporting export and industrial development and is very suitable for Mongolia. If we can adapt good practices to Mongolia's specifics and create a Mongolian development model, we will be able to make rapid progress in the near future. Therefore, scholars and members of the State Great Hural are urged to actively cooperate in establishing the Ministry of Development Policy and Planning in accordance with the "Vision-2050" policy document". ^ top ^
Intensifying COVID-19 vaccine supply discussed with representatives of donor countries, int'l organizations (Montsame)
2021-03-17
In the beginning of the meeting, the State Secretary expressed his gratitude again to the Ambassadors of the donor countries for delivery of the first batch of 14,400 doses of vaccines under the COVAX facility on 12 March 2021. State Secretary Ankhbayar further exchanged views on accelerating supply of the remaining doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer vaccines under the COVAX – Mongolia agreement. COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, is currently financed by Australia, Austria, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Bhutan, Germany, Greece, Denmark, European Union, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Spain, Canada, Qatar, Colombia, Quwait, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, ROK, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Finland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Estonia, and Japan and 14 NGOs, foundations and corporations. ^ top ^
Mongolia, Hong Kong to cooperate in investment field (Montsame)
2021-03-12
G. Jargalsaikhan, Consul General of Mongolia in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, met with Stephen Phillips, Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK, and KC Lam, Head of Aftercare, on March 11. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on promoting bilateral investment, allowing Mongolian and Hong Kong companies to operate in their respective markets, and supporting Mongolia to establish a company in Hong Kong. The sides also agreed in principle to cooperate in attracting investment for major projects and programs planned to be implemented in Mongolia, and to exchange experiences. In addition, Mr. Stephen Philips and Mr. KC Lam expressed their support to promote Mongolian art and culture in Hong Kong. ^ top ^
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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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