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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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Foreign financial expert: Improved elections to bring HK out of 'stalemate' (China Daily)
2021-09-21
The first polls under the improved electoral system were held successfully in Hong Kong on Sunday. A foreign financial consultant who has lived in the city for three years said the polls will pave the way for the city to get out of the social stalemate. Here's what he had to say: Angelo Giuliano, Swiss financial consultant living in Hong Kong for three years. 1. What do you think of the significance of the elections on Sunday? These will be the first elections after the improvements to Hong Kong's electoral system. The major changes will be about having patriots govern Hong Kong. Most of the US backed and sponsored politicians are out and also the reformed election committee will give less weight to the Hong Kong tycoons, so this should ultimately pave the way for long-awaited housing and economic reforms. 2. What are your expectations for the Election Committee members when they discharge their duties? The new Election Committee will give less weight to the Hong Kong tycoons and take Hong Kong out of the status quo. Hong Kong has been suffering from monopolies controlled by a small minority of elites that are benefiting from a "free lunch" and large profits because of their monopolistic positions. 3. Do you think having broader representation in the Election Committee will serve Hong Kong's future well? Yes, absolutely. A broader representation of the Election Committee will be more representative of Hong Kong civil society. Any political system should be flexible and adaptable. Reforms here were really urgent so Hong Kong could get out of the stalemate and status quo. 4. Do you think this is a positive step for Hong Kong to steer away from pan-politicization and try to move forward, after all the protest violence and chaos we saw in 2019? There are many preconditions to having a real democracy, among them the protection of the country's sovereignty (there can be no democracy if there is no sovereignty); maturity, meaning that people should respect each other's differences; no money influencing politics; no violence and terrorism; balanced media; politicians willing to compromise and find solutions for the common good; and most importantly making sure that only vetted patriots should be able to run for office and that they have the best interests of Hong Kong at heart. It is time to move on for Hong Kong after the US backed and sponsored 2019 color revolution attempt. It was a setback that is now creating opportunities for a better future for the people of Hong Kong and Hong Kong's integration into the Greater Bay area. Finally, Hong Kong should be able to fully implement "one country two systems". ^ top ^
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Quad leaders, meeting in person for first time, are seen to plan several initiatives for confronting China (SCMP)
2021-09-24
The leaders of a new military alliance that the Chinese government has lashed out against in recent months are gathering in Washington and, analysts say, Beijing's reactions may be undermining its own interests by pushing the Quad into closer military coordination with other US allies. US President Joe Biden is to host the prime ministers of Australia, India and Japan – Scott Morrison, Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga – on Friday, after assembling the group via video link just months ago. The leaders of the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, are likely to announce commitments in several nonmilitary areas, among them bolstering the global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines as well as cooperating on supply chain security, 5G telecommunications technology and the infrastructure needed to fight climate change. As several analysts at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) noted in a discussion on Wednesday, those initiatives face daunting challenges, including Beijing's control of many raw materials needed for vaccines and the deep business ties that private companies in each of the four countries have in China. But in the near term at least, the Quad leaders may find more strength on the military front because China is showing no sign of moderating its more assertive military posture, and the more the People's Liberation Army (PLA) flexes its muscle in the Indo-Pacific region, the more other countries aligned with Quad members will be inclined to cooperate with the group. "China's becoming more and more assertive and challenging many of our allies and partners in the region," said Bonnie Lin, director of the China Power Project at CSIS. For instance, she said, the sanctions the Chinese government has placed on Australian beef, coal and barley demonstrate how Beijing's use of hard-line policies to counter opposition from other countries tends to have the opposite effect – and rally countries to align with Washington. Another example: the Australia-Britain-US military partnership known as Aukus, which was announced last week to the surprise of most military powers. "I think Britain was keen to be working with the Quad and through Aukus," said Michael Green, senior vice-president for the Asia and Japan Chair at CSIS, said in a discussion the think tank held on Wednesday. "I think you will see Canada, maybe the Netherlands, maybe New Zealand" also cooperate with the Quad as a group, Green added. China's border skirmishes with India and moves to build ports in the Indian Ocean have made New Delhi – previously a wild card in terms of how much it would engage with the Quad – a more active player in efforts to counter China, as part of the alliance or otherwise. Richard Rossow, a senior adviser on US-India relations at CSIS, noted that Prime Minister Modi's willingness to travel to Washington, along with Suga and Morrison, "in the middle of a pandemic … for the first time, in person, is pretty significant". "If you talk to Indian officials, they're concerned about the PLA navy's expanded presence in the Indian Ocean, including investments in strategic infrastructure, ports throughout the region; cyberattacks; and, most notably I think, encroaching on Bhutanese territory – a real territory grab that we see happening [to] a country that is to some extent almost a protectorate of India," he said. "What you might see in future years would be the Malabar exercises that India hosts might start including not only the Quad countries but the [British] Royal Navy, Canada, the Netherlands and so forth." When the Malabar naval exercises began in 1992, they were run jointly by the Indian and US navies only in the Indian Ocean. Japan joined in 2015 and has participated every year since. Australia joined the 2020 edition and returned for this year's edition in August – which was immediately preceded by a series of naval exercises by China in the South China Sea. Yue Gang, a former PLA colonel, said at the time that the PLA was sending a message to the US that "the Chinese military is responding to US moves to team up with its allies". China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond when asked to comment on the contention that its military posture was driving US allies together. Regardless of which exercise provoked what nation, the Quad members and allied countries will continue to band together against China, Yun Sun, the director of the China Programme at the Stimson Centre, another Washington think tank, said in a separate interview. "I don't think Quad was presented as a closed mechanism since its inception, and for countries concerned with China's military build-up and assertiveness, it is only a natural reaction for them to want to align positions for collective power," she said. "China always sees its military modernisation as a response to US military predominance in the region, but the inevitable result is that countries in the region are also threatened because of the Chinese military build-up and want to counter it," Sun added. "If a regional arms race begins there, it is difficult to say who started it." ^ top ^
China expresses grave concern over U.S.-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation (Xinhua)
2021-09-22
China on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the cooperation between the United States, the UK and Australia on nuclear submarines, stating that it deliberately escalates regional tensions, provokes an arms race, threatens regional peace and stability, and undermines international nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Answering a press question at a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said it is widely believed by the international community that the cooperation between the three countries poses a serious risk of nuclear proliferation, in violation of the spirit of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). He said that the U.S. and the UK are likely to export to Australia highly enriched uranium with a purity of 90 percent or more, which is weapon-grade nuclear material. "As a non-nuclear-weapon state, Australia's acquisition of highly enriched uranium itself poses severe nuclear proliferation and nuclear security risks. However, the current safeguards mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency cannot verify whether Australia will use the highly enriched uranium in the power reactors of nuclear submarines for nuclear weapons," said the spokesperson, adding that China believes that these concerns of the international community are completely justified and reasonable. "As a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Treaty on the NPT and a party to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, known as the Treaty of Rarotonga, Australia is now introducing nuclear submarine technology of strategic and military value. The international community, including Australia's neighboring countries, has reason to question Australia's sincerity in honoring its nuclear non-proliferation commitments," said Zhao. He said that, faced with the dual challenge of combating COVID-19 and revitalizing the economy, people in the Asia-Pacific region need growth and employment, not submarines and ammunition. Zhao stressed that the nuclear submarine cooperation between the U.S., the UK and Australia proves once again that the U.S. and the UK pursue double standards and use nuclear cooperation as a tool of geopolitical game. China urges the three countries to heed the call of the international community, discard the outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality and narrow geopolitical perspective, revoke the wrong decision, faithfully fulfill international nuclear non-proliferation obligations and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability, said the spokesperson. ^ top ^
Xi calls for bolstering confidence, jointly addressing global challenges at UNGA (Xinhua)
2021-09-22
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday proposed a Global Development Initiative, calling for bolstering confidence and jointly addressing global threats and challenges to build a better world for all. Xi made the remarks at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) via video, as the world faces the combined impacts of changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now, COVID-19 is still raging in the world, with the number of new cases rising every day globally. "We must beat COVID-19 and win this decisive fight crucial to the future of humanity," Xi said, voicing confidence that "we humanity will surely overcome it and prevail" despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may appear overwhelming. He called for putting people and their lives first, taking a science-based approach in origins tracing, enhancing coordinated global COVID-19 response and minimizing the risk of cross-border virus transmission. Noting that vaccination is a powerful weapon against COVID-19, Xi said the pressing priority is to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines globally. He reiterated the pledge that China will strive to provide a total of two billion doses of vaccines to the world by the end of this year. "In addition to donating 100 million US dollars to COVAX, China will donate 100 million doses of vaccines to other developing countries in the course of this year." The role of China is even more critical at a time when some countries have adopted a selfish strategy of vaccine nationalism and even put restrictions on export of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies, said Nadeem Irfan Bukhari, a professor from University of the Punjab, Pakistan. "Development holds the key to people's well-being," Xi said, adding that countries need to work together to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth. He made a six-pronged Global Development Initiative, including staying committed to development as a priority, staying committed to a people-centered approach, staying committed to benefits for all, staying committed to innovation-driven development, staying committed to harmony between man and nature and staying committed to results-oriented actions. "We need to increase input in development, advance on a priority basis cooperation on poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 response and vaccines, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity, among other areas, and accelerate implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so as to build a global community of development with a shared future," he said. To support developing countries in responding to COVID-19 and promoting economic and social recovery, China has pledged an additional three billion US dollars of international assistance in the next three years. China will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad, he said, pledging that the country will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy. "This is another remarkable step taken by China on its own initiative to cope with the global climate change, as Xi earlier announced China's pledge to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060," said Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies. "We need to advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, and reject the practice of forming small circles or zero-sum games," Xi said. Democracy is not a special right reserved to an individual country, but a right for the people of all countries to enjoy, the Chinese president stressed. Ruan said that some countries are keen to gang up in the name of democracy, wantonly interfering in other countries' internal affairs and even arbitrarily suppressing normal development of other countries and people's legitimate right to live better lives. "Recent developments in the global situation show once again that military intervention from the outside and so-called democratic transformation entail nothing but harm," Xi said. He called for building a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, equity, justice and win-win cooperation, and doing the best to "expand the convergence of interests" and "achieve the biggest synergy possible." "One country's success does not have to mean another country's failure, and the world is big enough to accommodate common development and progress of all countries," he said, adding that differences and problems among countries need to be handled through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations. Xi said China will solemnly commemorate this historic event and advance cooperation with the UN to a new level and make new and greater contributions to promoting the noble cause of the UN. "The UN should hold high the banner of true multilateralism and serve as the central platform for countries to jointly safeguard universal security, share development achievements and chart the course for the future of the world," Xi stressed. Ruan said that some countries claimed to safeguard "the rules-based international order" under the banner of multilateralism, yet what they actually did was framing their own rules as international rules and imposing them on other countries. The Chinese president called on the UN to increase the representation and say of developing countries in international affairs, and take the lead in advancing democracy and rule of law in international relations. "It should set common agenda (in the areas of security, development and human rights), highlight pressing issues and focus on real actions, and see to it that commitments made by all parties to multilateralism are truly delivered," he added. ^ top ^
China's pledge to stop coal-fired projects overseas 'a great economic sacrifice;' nation determines to curb global warming (GT)
2021-09-22
Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge that China will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad constitutes a "huge economic sacrifice" for the country's thermal power sector, which is now the world's largest and mostly relies on overseas markets during China's strong push to curb global warming in the past years. The huge sacrifice China made also demonstrates its "firmest determination and greatest efforts" to make solid and detailed plans in achieving its green commitment and its devotion to solving humanity's most crucial issues, experts and industry players said. "China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad," Xi said in his speech by video at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Xi also stressed accelerating the transition to a green and low-carbon economy and achieving green recovery and development. "China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This requires tremendous work, and we will make every effort to meet these goals," he said. "China has the most competitive and efficient thermal power ability in the world. The central government's commitment means the whole industry, dominated by state-owned firms, will have to transform," Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. In response to the call, a source close to a major state-owned power firm told the Global Times on Wednesday that the firm will gradually phase out coal-fired power plants and will turn to clean-energy power businesses. The source added that thermal power plant projects are mainly in developing countries, that as of 2020, clean energy accounted for about 80 percent of all its businesses, while thermal power and nuclear power accounted for a relatively small proportion. "Chinese investment will have to abandon some of the thermal power projects they track in countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh, which are relatively rich in coal resources," another industry insider who worked at a state-owned energy firm told the Global Times on Wednesday. But Chinese investment in countries such as Nepal and Myanmar will not be impacted, as they are rich in hydroelectric power resources, the person said. "Chinese firms that take on project contracting are set to suffer more, since with the adjustment of the domestic power generation structure, this type of project contracting companies are focusing on developing overseas markets, and they may face more uncertainties," the source said. Experts said the goal is in line with China's detailed timeline of meeting its overall targets. "China will gradually detail its existing goals, such as the coal industry reaching the carbon emissions peak earlier," Li Junfeng, former director general of China's National Center of Climate Change Strategy Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Li said that the promise to stop building coal projects overseas will encourage other developing countries which are cooperating with China to turn to clean energy and to contribute to the fight against climate change. The carbon peak and carbon neutrality target means that China will complete the world's highest reduction in carbon emission intensity, and achieve the goal of achieving carbon neutrality from carbon peak in the shortest time in global history, China's top climate advisor Xie Zhenhua addressed a meeting on Wednesday. Per capita GDP and per capita carbon emissions at peak time in China will be lower than the peak levels of developed countries such as the US, Europe, and Japan then. "This will bring about a wide-ranging and profound economic and social systemic transformation, which requires all of us to make great efforts," Xie said. At a US-led global climate summit in April this year, Xi promised that China would include the strategy to reach carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality into the country's whole layout of building an eco-civilization. He said China is supporting places and key industries that have the ability to reach the carbon peak first, and the country will impose strict regulations on the coal power industry. The move is also in stark contrast to US President Joe Biden's hollow promises on climate change, COVID-19, and global unity, on which the US hasn't contributed much or, in some cases, even sabotaged progress, experts said. "The most difficult part for China, a developing economy, to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 is that it has to take economic development in mind while curbing global warming," Lin said. "That's a different case for developed countries like the US," Lin noted, implying the US can contribute more to human concerns rather than just pressuring others. ^ top ^
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to censorship concerns (SCMP)
2021-09-22
Lithuania's defence ministry recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones they have now after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship capabilities. Flagship phones sold in Europe by China's smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", Lithuania's state-run cybersecurity body said on Tuesday. The capability in Xiaomi's Mi 10T 5G phone software had been turned off for the "European Union region", but can be turned on remotely at any time, the defence ministry's National Cyber Security Centre said in the report. "Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible," Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius told reporters in introducing the report. Xiaomi did not respond to a Reuters query for comment. Relations between Lithuania and China have soured recently. China demanded last month that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing and said it would recall its envoy to Vilnius after Taiwan announced that its mission in Lithuania would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office. Taiwanese missions in Europe and the United States use the name of the city Taipei, avoiding a reference to the island itself, which China claims as its own territory. US President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to Lithuania's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte last week and stressed support for her country in the face of pressure from China. The National Cyber Centre's report also said the Xiaomi phone was sending encrypted phone usage data to a server in Singapore. A security flaw was also found in the P40 5G phone by China's Huawei Technologies Co. but none was found in the phone of another Chinese maker, OnePlus, it said. Huawei's representative in the Baltics told the BNS news wire its phones do not send user's data externally. The report said the list of terms which could be censored by the Xiaomi phone's system apps, including the default internet browser, currently includes 449 terms in Chinese and is continuously updated. "This is important not only to Lithuania but to all countries which use Xiaomi equipment," the centre said in the report. ^ top ^
Chinese lenders 'reluctant' to offer African countries further debt relief (SCMP)
2021-09-20
Chinese lenders may not be willing to throw good money after bad and have reportedly declined to approve a further freeze on debt repayment for some countries. China, the largest bilateral lender in Africa, has said its commercial lenders should not be forced to provide debt relief and criticised the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for not doing enough to ease the debt burden. Some Chinese lenders have also said they are disadvantaged compared with those from other countries – especially in the Group of 20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which was introduced last year to help poor nations fight Covid-19. Deborah Brautigam, a professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University and founding director of the China Africa Research Initiative, cited the case of Kenya, where she said the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank) is "reluctant to keep disbursing new money into a country that says it can't make payments on existing loans". The country had benefited from a six-month debt freeze worth US$378 million under the scheme and wanted to extend it further when the agreement expired in June. But the request encountered resistance from Eximbank, which had lent money to fund a railway and was due to start receiving payments in January. "China Eximbank loan contracts specify that if a borrower stops or suspends repayment to any of its creditors, then China Eximbank may stop the disbursement of its loans and even call them in," Brautigam said. "I would guess that once Kenya assured China Eximbank that it could make payments on the loans, and withdrew the DSSI request, the disbursement tap was turned back on," she added. Beijing provided at least US$12.1 billion in global debt relief in 2020 and 2021 to dozens of countries ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, but only four have officially released information on their G20 debt relief from Chinese lenders – the Maldives (US$25 million), Tajikistan (US$40 million), Zambia (US$110 million), and Kenya (US$378 million) – according to the China Africa Research Initiative. Beijing is also said to have cancelled interest-free loan debts due to mature at the end of 2020 for 15 African countries. The cancellations announced for seven of these total at least US$113.8 million, the initiative found. Brautigam said, "We saw in our research that in the past, Chinese banks did not do debt negotiations on the entire portfolio but rather loan by loan, or project by project, looking at the situation facing each investment. There are some hints (again in Kenya) that this principle is at work again, although it is too early to be sure". The Chinese have so far been reluctant to publicly state a clear line on debt relief to developing countries, according to Mark Bohlund, senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence. He said while China has signed up for the DSSI, it has taken the line that commercial lending by China Development Bank and China Eximbank should not be covered by this commitment. Bohlund said: "This touches on a sore point of the Chinese feeling that they have been asked to accept a suspension of payments on bilateral lending at generally concessional rates, while developing countries have been expected to continue to service more expensive loans to commercial creditors, generally from G7 countries, with lesser or no developmental impact". He added this perceived injustice has probably increased the Chinese perception that traditional international institutions are not working in the country's favour "although the IMF's recent Special Drawing Rights (SDR) issuance can be seen as a small victory for China, which has been supportive of such a move". Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's department of African affairs, told China Africa Project this month that China has signed agreements on debt suspension with 19 African countries. "Chinese official creditors have made great contributions to the implementation of the DSSI," Wu said. However, he said the international community needs to provide debt relief and financing support to these countries. China has been pushing for the allocation of more special drawing rights (SDR) quotas to Africa by the IMF to help countries address their liquidity problems. "It is not enough to get SDR quotas only, it's just quotas, if the IMF does not change its strict terms and very complicated procedures, it will still be difficult for African countries to get money," Wu said. "The IMF needs some reforms so that it can provide financial assistance to Africa in a more timely manner." Benjamin Barton, an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham's Malaysia campus, said the Chinese government "has been quite coy in its public statements regarding the many requests [from Africa] … to revisit bilateral debt structures". It will always prefer to keep such controversial matters out of the public sphere, for fear of undermining its strategic negotiating position, he said. "This does not mean that African countries cannot individually attempt to secure a renegotiation towards new terms which may be advantageous to them. China and Xi [Jinping] have proven to be flexible on occasion, especially where strong interpersonal connections exist with specific African leaders," he said. However, the continent's bargaining power would be so much stronger if it was able to negotiate as a whole, rather than separately and secretively, he said. Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre in Washington, said there are at least two reasons why Beijing sees itself as disadvantaged. It wants to protect its political relationship with African countries, so cannot push for the harshest terms, and cannot unilaterally enforce a decision on resource or commodity-backed loans. "The nature of many of the projects are equity-intensive, meaning they are infrastructure projects or natural resource projects that cannot be moved away from the recipient country. Therefore, China is not in the best position coming to renegotiations," Sun said. Nevertheless, there is a fair amount of leeway, Yunnan Chen, a senior research officer at the London-based Overseas Development Institute think tank, said. "Chinese banks often have a strong incentive to work with borrowers when they come into risks around debt default or repayment issues. There is a long-term patient stance that Chinese creditors take in comparison to, for example, private creditors or Western commercial banks," Chen said. But she said there were limits to what they could offer. "If there is a top-down political signal given for authorisation from the State Council or above, then we usually do see some significant concessions around debt relief or restructuring. "But in general debt cancellation is not a thing in the context of Chinese official commercial lenders. It is very difficult to erase the debt, only in general defer it or to extend the terms or extend the maturity period," Chen said. ^ top ^
Xiplomacy: Xi's vision on building community of shared future between China, LatAm (Xinhua)
2021-09-20
Chinese President Xi Jinping has laid out a vision of jointly building a community of shared future between China and Latin America. The following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard. September, 2021 -- Having stood the test of changing international landscape, China-Latin America relations have entered a new era featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and tangible benefits for the people. -- China is willing to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to overcome difficulties together and jointly create opportunities to build a community of shared future between China and Latin America. -- China will continue to provide support to Latin American and Caribbean countries to the best of its capability, and help the regional countries overcome the pandemic at an early date and resume economic and social development. -- China attaches great importance to developing relations with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and supports CELAC in coordinating regional countries to carry out cooperation and cope with challenges. November, 2019 -- China will pursue closer cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in various areas and build a China-LAC community with a shared future and common progress. January, 2018 -- China and LAC countries need to draw a new blueprint for our joint effort under the Belt and Road Initiative and open a path of cooperation across the Pacific Ocean that will better connect the richly endowed lands of China and Latin America and usher in a new era of China-LAC relations. November, 2016 -- With one fifth of the world's total area and nearly one third of the world's population, China and Latin America and the Caribbean are crucial forces for world peace and stability. -- China will increase sharing of governance experience and improve planning and coordination of macro policies with Latin American and Caribbean states to better synergize our development plans and strategies. ^ top ^
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Chinese vice premier urges efforts to curb COVID-19 clusters (Xinhua)
2021-09-24
Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed efforts to carry out various epidemic-prevention measures to curb recent cluster cases in east China's Fujian Province. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when inspecting cities including Xiamen, Putian, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou in Fujian from Saturday to Thursday. Locally transmitted COVID-19 cases recently occurred in the four cities. Sun stressed nucleic acid testing for prime groups, epidemiological investigations, quarantine, community lockdowns, and disinfection of key sites. The transmission of the virus in communities has been virtually cut off, Sun said, noting that it is currently a crucial time for Fujian to control the outbreaks. She asked relevant authorities to strictly implement quarantine measures for personnel entering the border, adding that the length of quarantine should be determined scientifically. Local governments should learn a lesson from recent cluster cases and improve their prevention and control measures, especially for key sites, including plants and schools, Sun said. ^ top ^
New plan adopted to lift domestic demand (China Daily)
2021-09-23
The State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan for New Infrastructure Development, to spur domestic demand, economic transformation and growth sustainability. In the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), a well-calibrated layout will be in place for the development of new infrastructure, underpinned by information networks and technological innovation. This is conducive to sustaining growth, facilitating structural adjustments and benefiting the people. "We should better harness the key role of effective investment," Li said. "Advancing new infrastructure development will help mobilize effective investment, sustain growth, readjust the structure and enhance people's well-being." Information infrastructure development will be accelerated. National backbone networks and metropolitan area networks will be fortified in a coordinated way with higher bandwidth. Gigabit fiber optic networks will be remodeled to deliver faster connections. The commercial use of new-generation mobile communication networks of scale will be advanced. Space-based information infrastructure will be improved for satellite communications, navigation, remote sensing and other purposes. A ubiquitous and collaborative internet of things will be developed. Integrated infrastructure will be steadily developed. A multitiered industrial internet platform will be fostered to promote collaborative innovation. In line with advancing the new urbanization, smart infrastructure will be built in transportation, logistics, energy and urban utilities. Agriculture will be made more digitized. Infrastructure related to people's lives such as telemedicine and online education will be advanced. "The planning and construction of new infrastructure should move forward along with technological advances and innovation. We may plan ahead wherever possible, yet also take a fact-based approach and take things forward step by step," Li said. In-depth integration among universities, research institutes and high-tech enterprises will be facilitated to strengthen high-level, interdisciplinary and frontier research. The research and development of industrial generic technology will be supported. Open and specialized maker spaces and virtual innovation communities will be developed, to spur entrepreneurial activity and innovation. "Government investment, such as central budgetary investment and local government special-purpose bonds, should be better utilized, to mobilize investment from the private sector, and advance the development of new infrastructure in a well-calibrated and well-paced way," Li said. Investment from diverse channels will be encouraged, and openness and cooperation advanced. The private sector and overseas investors will be supported in participating in the investment and operation of new infrastructure. ^ top ^
Policy to support private sector hasn't changed (China Daily)
2021-09-23
Some people have wrongly assumed that the measures to strengthen regulations on the platform companies and private tutoring providers suggest harsher policies targeting private businesses are likely to follow and the private sector may be dealt a big blow. The call for common prosperity has added to such concerns fostering the belief that to more equitably distribute national wealth, the government may seize from the rich to pay the poor. These concerns are baseless. They have resulted from the misreading of the government's policies. The regulations on internet platform companies and the private tutoring sector are unrelated, and they serve different concerns and purposes. More important, realizing common prosperity is the long-term goal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The regulations on platform companies were implemented essentially for three reasons. First, they are aimed at curbing monopoly. The companies targeted by the new regulations are dominant in their respective sectors. Being a large company does not necessarily mean enjoying monopoly, but some large Internet companies have shown monopolistic tendencies. For example, some of the large platform companies have introduced aggressive promotion plans and shifted their operational costs to the businesses that trade on their platforms. And many large platform companies use progressive algorithms to reduce the time for delivery, forcing deliverymen to engage in risky driving. Second, the regulations are aimed at better protecting data privacy. The platform companies often use the huge amounts of personal and geographical data they have collected for aggressive and discriminatory pricing. And since such companies, when being listed on foreign stock exchanges, have to observe foreign laws to disclose data, they may compromise national security. Third, the regulations are aimed at checking a business-political nexus. During the anti-corruption campaign, many high-profile cases revealed that corrupt government officials had been bought by large businesses. So the central authorities decided to take measures to end the alliance between businesses and officials. Many other countries have also decided to crack down on the business-politician nexus. Platform companies have become powerful players in many countries' social and political life. Take for example Twitter's ban of former US president Donald Trump's account. True, many of Trump's tweets were divisive and full of hate for certain sectors of society, but the fact that Twitter has not blocked the Taliban's accounts have forced people to think whether Twitter's decision against Trump was politically motivated. The strengthened regulations on platform companies are not meant to curb their growth, but to create a cleaner and fairer playing field and better protect consumers' privacy and national security. In fact, platform companies lead China's high-tech sectors, and their healthy development is necessary to strengthen China's competitive edge in international markets. The regulation on the private tutoring sector is a completely different story. Over the years, competition in high and middle schools has increased. Parents have been forced to spend huge amounts of money to ensure their children excel in high school and the national college entrance exams. The pressure has percolated to primary schools and even kindergartens. Using this to their advantage, the private tutorial sector had become one of the largest service sectors in China. The recent government move to restrict the sector is part of its efforts to reduce the burden on students and end wasteful competition. Unfortunately, that has been interpreted by some on social media as a sign of the government becoming more conservative on education. Of course, private tutoring can supplement school education if it is managed well, and imposing a total ban on private tutoring will only limit the learning opportunities for students from ordinary families. That's why the government has not completely banned it. Lastly, common prosperity is not a new concept. It is the long-term goal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The authorities are reiterating it only because China, after realizing the goals of eradicating absolute poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, is in a better position to achieve common prosperity. In addition, the central leadership is committed to developing China into a fully modernized socialist country by 2035, and common prosperity is part of this grand design. To realize common prosperity, redistribution of wealth is necessary. But the aim of redistributing wealth is not to "rob the rich to pay the poor", but to improve the livelihoods and living standards of the poor. More precisely, it is to raise the income capability of the poor, which can be achieved through more equitable investment in education, and on-the-job training. ^ top ^
Chinese cities ask developers to stop discount gimmicks as local governments seek to prevent a collapse in home prices (SCMP)
2021-09-22
At least eight cities in mainland China, from Zhuzhou in southern Hunan province to Huizhou in the Greater Bay Area, have come up with measures to prevent developers from offering excessively cheap homes to stabilise the market and prevent a collapse in prices. The housing authorities in Zhuzhou earlier this month summoned executives of four local developers and a few property agencies, asking them to stop selling homes at prices that were "obviously lower than the market level", and urged them to end gimmicks such as deep discounts to tempt buyers. The summons came after local residents posted on social media that units in three projects in the city's downtown district were priced at some 5,000 yuan (US$773) per square metre, much lower than the average home price of nearly 7,600 yuan. Zhuzhou is among several mainland cities that started chiding developers from selling homes cheaply since last month. "Some developers, as a gimmick, put some extremely cheap homes in a project to lure buyers and boost sales," said Yan Yuejin, director of Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institute. "This could severely disturb the housing market, which is the last thing the central government would like to see." The pace of growth of China's home prices has slowed this year after several local governments introduced measures to cool the market. Prices grew in August at the slowest pace this year as buying confidence took a hit from the cooling measures. The average price of new homes across 70 major cities rose 0.2 per cent month on month in August, versus 0.3 per cent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. In February, prices increased by 0.4 per cent, the most this year. Huizhou in southern Guangdong province also rolled out a measure last month that restricts the ability of developers to offer discounts. If a developer sells units in a residential project that are 5 per cent lower than the price approved by the local housing authority, all homes in the project will have to be sold at the same reduced price. Analysts expect more local governments in the third and fourth tier cities to also intervene and stop the discount gimmicks. "If such discounted home prices change people's expectations and everyone starts to believe that home prices will go down, it would be too late to intervene and stabilise the housing market," said Li Yujia, senior economist with the Real Estate Assessment and Development Research Centre, a research arm of the Shenzhen government. "We will see more local governments act quickly and nip them in the bud." Li also pointed out that developers, who are already suffering from tight liquidity, will hesitate to buy land if everyone expects home prices to fall, which could result in a sudden cooling down of the land market and cause a dent in revenues of local governments. Since China stepped up its scrutiny of developers with its "three red lines" leverage targets in August last year, the taps have dried up for some industry delinquents that failed the test, including China Evergrande Group and Guangzhou R&F Properties. However, many developers, including those with good liquidity such as China Vanke and China Overseas Land & Investment (COLI) said they would be cautious in buying land. "We are always positive on the sector in spite of the short-term fluctuation," Yan Jianguo, executive chairman of COLI, said during the company's interim results in August. "However, we will not buy any parcel of land just for the sake of buying more land." ^ top ^
Regulators Face Balancing Act in Curbing Property Risks, Analysts Say (Caixin)
2021-09-22
China's economy has reached the point that it needs to shift away from heavy reliance on the property industry, and authorities should fine-tune policies to counter risks, experts said. China's once white-hot real estate industry has shown signs of a deepening slowdown amid tightening regulatory controls. The country's home sales by value slumped 20% in August from a year earlier, the biggest drop since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. New-home prices in 70 major cities rose 0.16% in August from July, the slowest pace this year, the data showed. Property investment increased 0.3% year-on-year in August, the smallest rise in 18 months and down from a 1.4% gain in July. The escalating debt crisis of China Evergrande Group further dampened market sentiment. Major developers have suffered selloffs in stocks and bonds as investor angst grows over potential ripple effects. The era of booming property development has come to an end in China after decades of development created huge housing inventories, said Mao Zhenhua, chairman of China Chengxin Credit Rating Group. A slowdown will follow, and "it is time to pivot for a change," Mao said. Authorities must pay attention to the pace and coordination of policies to prevent risks, especially financial risks that may brew during an industry downturn, Mao said. Chinese developers have been squeezed by tightening financing conditions as regulators stepped up efforts to rein in the highly leveraged industry. In the first half this year, property developers sold a combined 377.8 billion yuan ($58.3 billion) of bonds, down 40% from a year ago. As many developers face maturation of bonds they sold three to five years ago, the industry may see more risk exposure in the cooling market, Mao said. Regulators can ease curbs on development loans and housing mortgage to ensure stable liquidity in the market while maintaining overall control, Mao said. The government can also set up special funds to buy bonds issued by developers with good asset quality to help them counter temporary cash crunches as bond financing becomes increasingly difficult for them. Regulators should move to protect suppliers, homebuyers and employees rattled by the Evergrande crisis to prevent risks from spilling over, Mao said. Evergrande — China's most indebted property developer with $300 billion of liabilities — has rattled the market with its deepening financial woes, fueling fears that the gigantic company could collapse and trigger a Lehman Brothers moment in China. "What the regulators are fighting against is not a certain company's debt problems but its impacts on the entire system," Mao said. Regulators need to carefully assess the implications of individual cases for the financial market and find a balance between regulating the property industry and controlling financial risks. Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong, said in an earlier interview that China is facing a "Volcker Moment" in regulating its property industry, referring to dramatic policy measures like the decision by the Federal Reserve under former Chairman Paul Volcker to quickly raise interest rates to contain the inflation of the late 1970s. As the economic growth model shifts, regulations on the property sector may cause short-term pain but will benefit the economy in the long run, Lu said. "There is no doubt that the property industry will decline and trigger worsening fiscal conditions in local governments in the next few months, especially in smaller cities," Lu said. Regulators need to find a balance between long-term strategy and short-term risks, preventing crises from spreading while maintaining the consistency of policies, Lu said. ^ top ^
Chinese vice premier stresses building market-oriented, law-based, internationalized business environment (Xinhua)
2021-09-20
Chinese vice premier Han Zheng has called efforts to build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment and accelerate the development of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province from Saturday to Sunday. The vice premier stressed promoting cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and urged efforts to carefully plan industrial layout making use of Hong Kong's advantages in modern services in order to build a new highland for China's high-level opening-up. An ecosystem for the creation, protection and utilization of intellectual property rights (IPR) should be set up, Han said, stressing work to enhance IPR protection, especially for private technological innovation enterprises, and facilitate IPR services. Han also emphasized that efforts should be made to accelerate forging alignment of laws and rules and mechanisms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, cultivate professional talents, especially young talents, and further improve legal services to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. While visiting telecommunication firm Huawei and medical solution provider Mindray, Han said since the reform and opening-up, China's private enterprises have been flourishing and full of vitality, becoming important entities of scientific and technological innovation. As the country has entered a new stage of development, the strategy of innovation-driven development should be fully implemented, he added. Private firms are encouraged to enhance their international competitiveness through scientific and technological innovation and leverage the role of market mechanisms to promote independent innovation, so as to further contribute to China's development in science and technology. ^ top ^
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| Beijing |
Beijing sets path for global exchanges (China Daily)
2021-09-20
Beijing will expand its international "circle of friends" by accelerating the implementation of more global services and projects and establishing core areas for exchanges. A five-year plan issued by the municipal Party committee and the Beijing municipal government on Thursday, called for more "active and vibrant" exchanges in a number of areas to improve the country's diplomatic efforts, international exchanges and communication, and international services. The move aims to equip Beijing as an international exchange center by 2025, which will also be achieved through changes to its physical layout, said Feng Jian, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing, who released the plan at a news conference. "We will create a core area that serves the country's top-level international exchanges and can host major diplomatic events near Yanqi Lake in the capital city's Huairou district," said Feng, adding that the second phase of the National Convention Center in Beijing's Chaoyang district will be built to establish an exhibition complex with multiple formats. A new international business center will also be established at Dongba in the northeast of Chaoyang district, covering an area of 35.5 square kilometers, said Yang Jun, vice-chairwoman of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources. Around 12 sq km has been earmarked for the international cooperation services area. Beijing's fourth embassy quarter is also currently under construction in Dongba, Yang added. "In the future, a tax-refund and tax-free consumption area will be built in Dongba and high-level international schools will also be introduced to promote the construction of international talent communities," she said. A "second Sanlitun" area, known for its trendy shops and international luxury brands, will soon complete construction in Dongba. Feng pointed to the upcoming 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as events where action plans have already been formulated and implemented to improve international communication. In the medical health field, Beijing will deepen international cooperation on anti-epidemic measures, enhance communication with foreign countries in sharing epidemic prevention and control experiences, and support the promotion and use of domestic vaccines overseas, according to the plan. Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, said the capital city will optimize medical services for foreigners and provide specialized medical treatment for foreign patients. "We will further strengthen the construction of the international medical services system to meet the demand for diversified and international medical services, and improve overall international medical service capabilities," Li said. ^ top ^
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| Shanghai |
Shanghai sees strong export growth in containers, container ships (Xinhua)
2021-09-22
Shanghai reported surging growth in the export of containers and container ships in the first eight months of this year, local customs said on Wednesday. From January to August, Shanghai exported 246,000 containers, up twofold from the same period last year, Shanghai Customs said. The value of exports surged 455 percent to 8.06 billion yuan (about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars). During the period, the city also exported 16 container ships worth 7.99 billion yuan, although there was no record of exports for the same period last year. The growth in exports of containers and container ships shows that the global demand for China-made goods is still strong in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the customs authorities said. Market demand for containers has been strong, as global shipping prices spiked from the third quarter of 2020, according to Shanghai CIMC Baowell Industries Co., Ltd., which alone exported 163,000 containers in the January-August period. ^ top ^
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| Tibet |
Central SOEs to invest big in Tibet in 2021-2025 period (Xinhua)
2021-09-21
China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will invest more than 260 billion yuan (about 40 billion U.S. dollars) in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region during the 2021-2025 period. They also plan to provide a combined aid of 2.2 billion yuan to Tibet, according to a conference on central SOEs supporting Tibet's development on Friday, during which many companies unveiled their investment plans in the region. The State Grid Corporation of China invested 52.6 billion yuan in Tibet between 2016 and 2020, and is planning to invest 46.6 billion yuan from this year to 2025 and introduce new ultra-high-voltage projects into the region, the company said. From 2016 to 2020, central SOEs stepped up support for Tibet with a total investment of 134.2 billion yuan and 9,900 industrial projects, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. ^ top ^
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| Xinjiang |
Xinjiang adds over 2.3 mln new urban jobs in 2016-2020 (Xinhua)
2021-09-23
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region added more than 2.34 million new urban jobs during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), keeping the registered urban unemployment rate below 4 percent, local authorities said. Xinjiang has rolled out a variety of measures such as improving employment and entrepreneurship policies and boosting vocational training to guarantee stable employment to college graduates, surplus rural labor force and people with difficulties in seeking jobs, according to the regional department of human resources and social security. Xinjiang has made employment of college graduates a priority. By encouraging them to work in enterprises, get involved in grassroots and less developed areas and start their own business, Xinjiang has maintained the employment rate of college graduates over 88 percent. The autonomous region has made every effort to develop vocational education, and organized a variety of employment training programs. From 2016 to 2020, around 5.95 million people in Xinjiang participated in vocational skill training programs, allowing over 387,000 to start business and more than 800,000 to find jobs. ^ top ^
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| Hongkong |
Iron curtain falls on Hong Kong cinema as censors demand cuts (HKFP/AFP)
2021-09-22
Once renowned for world-class cinema, Hong Kong's film industry was already struggling before the latest hurdle — Chinese mainland-style censorship as authorities take their purge of dissent into the cultural sphere. Filmmaker Mok Kwan-ling's heart sank when the email from the government censors dropped. In June, authorities announced all films would now be scrutinised for "national security" breaches. Mok's was the first known to have fallen foul of these rules. For months, she had been putting together her debut, a 27-minute drama inspired by the many young couples she encountered during huge democracy protests two years ago. It tells the story of a young woman meeting her boyfriend's parents after he is arrested for taking part in the protests. The boyfriend's mother is opposed to the movement, his father sympathetic. The Cantonese title "Zap Uk" (literally "clean up the house") is a reference to how friends and family would often remove any incriminating items once a loved one was arrested. But Mok said Hong Kong's film censors were not happy with what was submitted and ordered her to make 14 cuts. Among the changes they demanded was removing a line from the father saying their son was a first aid volunteer who was "only out there to save the people" as well as deleting a scene where the same character, a truck driver, charges protesters a discounted fare. The censors also demanded the film be renamed and carry a warning that it showed criminal offences. "I thought the story was rather balanced by presenting voices of two sides," Mok told AFP. "It turned out that one particular side is not allowed to be heard." Mok felt the cuts would leave her film "devoid of essence and sense" so she put it aside for now. "My film happened to be the first but it won't be the last," she warned. AFP has contacted Hong Kong's Film Censorship Authority for comment. In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong was known as "The Hollywood of the Far East", with a cast of globally recognised stars like Chow Yun-fat and auteurs such as Wong Kar-wai. The golden age of Cantonese cinema has long been eclipsed by the rise of mainland Chinese and South Korean films. But the city maintained a vibrant indie scene, shielded by free speech protections that allowed directors to tackle subjects that would be untouchable on the authoritarian mainland. Those days are now over. China is rapidly remoulding Hong Kong in its own image after the democracy protests, and films are just the latest in a long list of targets. ^ top ^
Patriots in, democrats out as Hong Kong enters new political era (HKFP)
2021-09-21
The first of the three "patriots only" elections under Hong Kong's new political system was held on the same day the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the city's largest independent labour grouping, announced plans to disband. Sunday's Election Committee election was the result of a sweeping China-mandated revamp of the system which had been laid down in the Basic Law promulgated in 1990. The polls, in which police officers outnumbered voters, marked the beginning of the era of "patriots administering Hong Kong." It follows a troubled, but not failed, 24-year-long experiment known as "Hong Kong people running Hong Kong." Under the new "patriots" game, only those deemed by Beijing as "true patriots" will have a role in administering the city. Those branded as "anti-China" and troublemakers will not just be barred from joining the Legislative Council, the District Councils and the 1,500-member Election Committee, but may face harsh political reprisals. Civil society groups, in particular trade unions, have emerged as the next targets after pro-democracy political parties and groups were eliminated one after another. The Professional Teachers Union, the city's largest teachers' body, is in the process of winding up. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, currently under investigation for alleged violations of the national security law, may be struck off the Companies Register by order of the Secretary for Security. The list of smaller groups, which have moved to disband since a sweeping national security law came into force on June 30, 2020, is much longer. Founded in 1990 by a group of veteran independent labour unionists, the HKCTU became the latest big pro-democracy body to fall as Beijing intensified moves to silence organised voices of dissent in society. Even groups with far fewer members and limited influence in governance are beginning to feel the heat. The Hong Kong Journalists Association is an example. Taking his cue from and mimicking the script of security minister Chris Tang, Police Commissioner Raymond Siu on Saturday accused it of being "unprofessional" and politically biased. Among other accusations, the pair claimed the HKJA had been swift to condemn acts of violence against the now-defunct Apple Daily, but had failed to speak up when pro-establishment media were the subject of violence. A HKJA statement on Saturday documented some of its previous statements condemning acts of violence and obstruction of journalists from media outlets including Ta Kung Pao and TVB. Although the attacks by Tang and Siu do not hold water, they give pro-Beijing media outlets and political figures ammunition to lambast the journalist group. Not surprisingly, the intensity of attacks is increasing – and being elevated to the level of national security. Evidence, though, is lacking. The fate of the HKJA is unclear. But the new socio-political landscape in Hong Kong after Beijing enacted the national security law and overhauled the election system is increasingly clear. In an interview with an online media outlet, Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the room for mass politics would be drastically reduced. The stage of "elite politics" would be further expanded for patriots to run the city, he said. Professor Lau envisaged the building of a ruling coalition composed of patriots from different sectors. His association, which is directly under the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, plays the role of adviser and think-tank to the central government. After policies are rolled out, he and association members will support and explain them to the public, he said. Some 24 years after the end of colonial rule, when like-minded elites handpicked by the British Hong Kong administration backed the regime, the city is moving backwards to elitist rule of a different kind – with patriots in and democrats and civil society groups out. ^ top ^
HK Election Committee elections show new atmosphere, indicating transition from chaos to governance: authorities (People's Daily)
2021-09-21
According to polling results early Monday morning, 364 people were elected in the 2021 Election Committee's subsector ordinary election in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the first election since the Hong Kong's electoral reform was implemented in March. The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong SAR and Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council extended congratulations on the completion of the smooth and successful elections on Monday. The authorities stressed the profound meaning of the implementation of the principle of "Patriots Governing Hong Kong" in the elections, and looked into new hopes for the future of Hong Kong. The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong SAR also noted in a statement issued on Monday that the elections demonstrated the progressiveness and superiority of the revamped electoral system, and marked a major step forward in advancing democracy with Hong Kong characteristics. The successful conduction of the Election Committee polls has laid down the political rules that "Hong Kong must be run by patriots, while anti-China saboteurs must be shut out." The elections helped to set Hong Kong on a path away from the "vortex of pan-politicization," and to promote the rational development of electoral culture, said the statement. The Election Committee, under the new election system, shoulders functions that include nominating candidates and electing the Chief Executive for Hong Kong SAR, and nominating candidates and electing the 40 out of the 90 members for the Legislative Council. The new Election Committee will serve a five-year term from Oct 22, 2021 to Oct 21, 2026. Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the elections are of great significance in upholding China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and ensuring the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems." All staff members worked in accordance with the law to ensure that the election was conducted in an open, fair and honest manner. The SAR government will prepare comprehensive plans for the upcoming Legislative Council election on December 19, and the Chief Executive election on March 27, 2022, Lam said in a statement after the elections concluded. The overall turnout of the Election Committee's subsector ordinary elections was nearly 90 percent, with 4,380 voters participating. The turnout reached 100 percent in the fields of law, technology innovation, architecture, surveying, urban planning and parks, according to Barnabas Fung Wah, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission of the SAR government. The spokesperson of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said the election results showed that the Election Committee members come from all classes of the Hong Kong society and from all walks of life, including many grassroots and young people. They are able to appeal to the public and represent the overall interests of the city and the country, which will lay a good foundation for the successful holding of the following two major elections. The election is of great importance and has far-reaching impact as it was the first election in Hong Kong since the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the revision of the electoral system, said the spokesperson. The election shows the new atmosphere and hope of Hong Kong's transition from chaos to governance and prosperity, which is conducive to Hong Kong's sustained peace and stability and the improvement of people's well-being, said the spokesperson. ^ top ^
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| Macau |
Macao's court of final appeal confirms legislative election results (Xinhua)
2021-09-21
The court of final appeal of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Tuesday confirmed the results of the Legislative Assembly direct and indirect election that was held on Sept. 12. The court also announced the newly-elected legislators. The confirmation will be published on Thursday, according to the court. ^ top ^
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| Taiwan |
Speculations rise that DPP's 'online army' may have targeted Taiwan entertainers to create cross-Straits antagonism (GT)
2021-09-22
The latest farce in which entertainers from the island of Taiwan, represented by Janine Chang Chun-ning (Chang), have been labeled as secessionists has exposed potential political maneuvers of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority who deliberately seeks to provoke, smear certain Taiwan entertainers as separatists, and create cross-Straits antagonism using online mercenary tactics. Observers from both sides of the Taiwan Straits have stressed that blaming stars for their verbal gaffes, or netizens for their sensitivities, could create a distraction from the issue. They alerted real potential culprits who have engaged in website trolling tricks to leverage their latest attack against the mainland, as separatist forces led by Taiwan's DPP have been skillful in fanning sentiment online and have launched public opinion warfare. Based on long-term observations, mainland netizens have been increasingly capable of discerning separatist-minded celebrities from ordinary entertainers from Taiwan, Wang Shushen, a Taiwan affairs expert at the Institute of Taiwan Studies Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times. Wang stressed a clear gap between entertainers' occasional verbal gaffes and long-term, consistent political positions, and advised that more attention is needed to identify real separatist entertainers and those who were targeted by the forces trying to drive cross-Straits antagonism. Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said last week that recent "secessionist" accusations against some Taiwan celebrities were probably deliberately hyped up by separatist political forces on the island, after another popular TV hostess, Dee Hsu, from the island, was also tagged as a "secessionist" with rumormongers fomenting online anger toward her. Chang, soon after the Hsu incident, was tagged as a "separatist" after her master degree paper was revealed to allude to "Taiwan" as a "country." The paper, with the title of "Legal issues of entertainer management in the country," was criticized as supporting "Taiwan independence" for using the word "country." Chang and her group made an immediate clarification that Chang does not support "Taiwan independence" and has always identified herself as a Chinese. "What the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization let us learn is to behave in a dignified Chinese way indomitably," Chang said in the announcement on China's Twitter-like social platform Sina Weibo. In fact, Chang has been viewed as one of the most patriotic actresses from the island as reflected in many of her posts across her social media including donations to the mainland and support in the severe flood disaster in Central China's Henan Province in July. She was also one of the earliest entertainers from Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan to terminate contracts with brands involved in Xinjiang cotton smear campaign. Chang's incident is far from the first time that pro-reunification celebrities from the island have been caught up in tensions between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan. Popular Taiwan TV hostess, Dee Hsu, has repeatedly clarified since August that she is not a "secessionist" after several brands terminated their cooperation with the star and her daughter for describing a badminton athlete from Taiwan as "national player." In the face of the whirlwind of public opinion, both Hsu and Chang soon firmly identified themselves as Chinese, which is undoubtedly a clarification of their position on cross-Straits relations, Wang remarked. "However, what is intriguing is that the two incidents have triggered a huge public outcry and even created political effects. The DPP and separatist forces have benefitted from the antagonism and cannot be ruled out from deliberately creating trouble in cyberspace, inciting confrontation between people on both sides, and worsening cross-Straits relations," Wang noted. The Global Times found that attacks on these celebrities follow a familiar pattern: First, cataloguing historically improper acts or words of Taiwan celebrities active in the mainland, and magnifying or even demonizing those behaviors; then, the so-called angered "public opinion" is created through a large number of internet trolls, which then sets off a storm across mainland's social media; finally, relevant news and comments are fed back to Taiwan cyberspace, playing up hostility toward the mainland and widening the gap between people across the Straits. Such pattern has been used successfully in previous cases. In May when Taiwan struggled with a severe COVID-19 resurgence, Lin Wei-feng, a pro-DPP advocator on the island, decried Taiwan's Bulletin Board System PTT for being "invaded" by supporters of the Communist Party of China (CPC), saying that many pro-CPC people had slanted Taiwan's epidemic prevention on the platform. The region's separatist leader, Tsai Ing-wen, also urged the public not to believe these criticisms. However, awkwardly, netizens soon discovered that one of the so-called pro-CPC accounts that criticized Taiwan authority was actually Lin himself who purportedly instigated hatred against the mainland. The backlash is also evident in recent examples. "Hsu and Chang crises also caused a huge storm in the island of Taiwan, but what we saw in Taiwan's major newspapers and TV programs was not the incident itself, but the 'violence' of mainland netizens against Taiwan stars. These brash and sensational words portrayed mainland netizens and the government as bullies, and Taiwan stars as exposed victims crushed under the weight of 'oppression,'" a senior Taiwan media professional and a professor at the School of Communication of Ming Chuan University in Taipei surnamed Huang told the Global Times. There has been speculation on the island that both accidents were caused by the DPP-trained online trolls posing as mainland netizens across the mainland's social media platforms, criticizing the potential "separatist" deed with fierce words, which led to the fomentation of the incident and was constantly politicized and hyped further. Some commentators see this as another avenue of the DPP's "public opinion warfare" against the mainland. On Chang's Instagram, the Global Times found that her latest post had been flooded with abusive comments from Taiwan netizens. However, these accounts appear to be robot accounts with many of them having posted or ran nothing on their respective pages. The insults would be posted at regular intervals, with a cluster of them coming every few hours on a regular basis. Swarming regularly, giving thumbs up to each other, using templatized words - observers have pointed out that these are typical tricks used by the DPP-run "online army." This so-called "online army" serves specific political interest groups by calculatingly organizing political attacks or defenses, gathering intelligence, or manipulating online public opinion, Hou Han-ting, a Taiwan political commentator, and Taipei city councilor with the New Party, told the Global Times in a previous interview that the DPP and its affiliates are all good at using the "online army." In Taiwan, the "online army," also known as "1450" comes from the DPP government's plan to allocate NT$14.5 million in 2019 to employ a small number of editors to "correct" information on the internet. The practice was accused of taking taxpayers' money to support the "online army" to clarify information deemed unfavorable to the DPP. The Global Times probed the "online army" group's tools and tricks in controlling public opinion online, and found out that DPP-affiliated departments and relevant foundations are the financial supporters and "base camp" for these "online army" forces. These forces attempted to disrupt and obstruct the normal development of Taiwan entertainers on the mainland, wreck cross-Straits cultural exchanges, sow discord between compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and undermine cross-Straits relations, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Zhu Fenglian said on a comment about online attacks against Dee Hsu. "We hope and call on compatriots on both sides of the Straits to be highly vigilant on it," she added. Huang noted that currently under the brainwashing of the DPP, some young people in Taiwan are compelled by separatist thought, but many more are disgusted by the political hype of the DPP, and most of the celebrities who have developed their careers on the mainland mostly love the country. "But it's a bummer that these stars are being targeted by the DPP and maliciously labeled as 'pro-mainland' by the DPP-backed media, and are described as profit-seekers. However, when celebrities are in crisis, the forces play up their encounters to gin up confrontations and even hostility to serve their separatist strategies. Their motive is clear and execrable," Huang said. ^ top ^
Will dark horse pushing cross-strait union upend two-way race for KMT chair? (SCMP)
2021-09-20
Days before Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang party elects a new leader, a hardline pro-unification candidate has dramatically emerged as the front runner, to seriously threaten what was to have been a two-way race between the incumbent and former chairman on Saturday. Four candidates are vying for the KMT's top post and, even until late last month, all eyes were still on the fierce campaign between ex-chairman and New Taipei mayor Eric Chu Li-luan, 60, and incumbent chairman Johnny Chiang, 49, who is also a legislator. But now, thanks to a September 4 televised debate and a controversial KMT decision to discipline him, NGO chief Chang Ya-chung, who is little known outside Taiwan, has successfully established himself as a tragic hero fighting to steer the century-old party back to its mainland China-centric road. If the KMT were to hold the election now, 66-year-old Chang would emerge victorious, the latest opinion polls indicate. Survey results released by the TVBS cable news network on Thursday showed Chang, head of the NGO Sun Yat-sen School, had a support rate of 30.6 per cent, leading Chu by 3.1 percentage points and trumping incumbent Chiang by nearly 18 percentage points. Trailing far behind was former Changhua County magistrate Cho Po-yuan, 56, with a support rate of just 0.9 per cent. Polls by TVBS in early August had shown Chang still trailing with just 4.8 per cent, but later that month his support rate soared to 15.4 per cent. Another recent opinion poll by Taiwan's Apple Daily showed that, as of Tuesday, Chang commanded 37.5 per cent support, compared with Chu's 37.3 per cent and Chiang's 24 per cent, with Cho again a distant fourth with an identical support rate of 0.9 per cent. "The KMT has long been lacking a charismatic chairperson, and members are looking for a leader who is able to uphold the party's principles and is promising enough to lead the KMT out of incessant infighting," said Wang Kung-yi, head of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei-based think tank. Wang said Chang was the only candidate who dared to openly embrace cross-strait unification, unlike his three competitors who had been criticised for siding with the Taiwan-centric stand in general but raising their mainland-friendly profiles come election time. A recent decision to discipline Chang for repeated verbal attacks on Chu shortly after his rise in popularity also allowed the NGO head to fashion himself as a righteous figure unfairly wronged by the party central command, according to Wang. Although the KMT finally rescinded its decision on Thursday, many members were sympathetic towards Chang, Wang said. "KMT members need a hero like former presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu who was able to rekindle their passion towards the century-old party, and hardline pro-unification members also pin their hopes on Chang over his political platform of securing cross-strait peace and stability before achieving eventual cross-strait union," Wang said. With his political charm garnering support from grass-roots supporters and hardline KMT members alike, Han created a whirlwind in 2018 by winning the Kaohsiung mayoral election. He was drafted by the KMT to run in the 2020 presidential poll and lost to incumbent Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party who was seeking re-election. Han was later removed as mayor as a result of a recall poll. In a televised policy presentation on September 4, Chang succeeded in soliciting strong support from "deep blue" KMT members – hardliners who seek cross-strait peace and unification, and oppose independence for Taiwan. His denunciation of late president Lee Teng-hui appeared to soothe the souls of hardline members who regarded the former chairman as a promoter of Taiwan independence and a KMT traitor despite years of grooming. Lee was expelled by the party in 2001. Chang's harsh criticism also of President Tsai over what he sees as her high-handed rule and tolerance of alleged corruption also greatly pleased the deep blue members. But what appealed most was his pledge to end hostility across the Taiwan Strait, enter into a peace pact with the mainland and seek cooperation with Beijing in various areas before eventual reunification. The political views presented by the three other candidates appeared relatively mild in comparison, especially with regard to cross-strait issues, Wang said. While Chu said the KMT should promote cross-strait exchanges in line with the party charter and platform, and resume peaceful development of cross-strait relations, he also stressed the importance of maintaining amicable ties with the United States. Chiang, on the other hand, called for the establishment of a cross-strait peaceful development committee to resume and promote peace talks with Beijing, but he too supported maintaining a close relationship with the US. Observers said deep blue members, the decisive factor for the KMT chair election, are more concerned about a stronger relationship with the mainland instead of the US, and many of them care about the prospect of a future cross-strait union, which is absent in the campaign platforms of Chiang and Chu. As for Cho, his manifesto just states he would invite mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit and hold a cross-strait summit in Taiwan, if elected. "A study of the KMT membership structure can explain why deep blue members are key to the KMT chair election," said Stephen Tan, president of the Cross-Strait Policy Association, a Taipei-based think tank. Around 380,000 KMT members are eligible to vote in the election for chairman, and more than 70 per cent of them are aged 65 years or over, Tan said. Of those 70 per cent, a large number are deep blue members and more willing to vote. Tan said not only is Chang an eloquent speaker, he has also long been known for his integrity in adhering to what he says when it comes to cross-strait issues, thus winning support from deep blue members. "But [electing Chang] could mean that the KMT would have little chance of winning the 2024 presidential election, because his pro-unification platform veers too far from the mainstream Taiwan-centric opinion," Tan pointed out. Having Chang as chairman would see the heads of the 14 city and county governments controlled by the KMT face a hard time soliciting support from voters in next year's local government elections as well, he said. But there could still be last-minute changes in the final stretch of the race, as both Chu and Chiang are expected to do all they can to try to secure their chances, Tan noted. Indeed, in a Facebook post on Sunday, Taipei City councillor Lo Chih-chiang said a Chang victory could mean a "destructive defeat for the KMT in 2022 and 2024". Echoing his comment, at least three KMT city and county magistrates offered their support for Chu over the weekend. According to the latest opinion poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation in August, 76.8 per cent of the island's public identified themselves as Taiwanese, while only 7.5 per cent identified as Chinese. Only 11.3 per cent said they were both Taiwanese and Chinese. ^ top ^
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| Economy |
China Drafts New Rules for Banks' Overseas Yuan Lending to Boost Yuan Use (Caixin)
2021-09-23
China plans to relax restrictions on domestic banks' ability to provide yuan-denominated loans overseas, a further step in its strategy to boost global use of the Chinese currency. The proposals were made by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in a draft of new regulations released on Saturday. The rules, which apply to 27 onshore banks, impose limits on the total amount of overseas loans banks can make in yuan and foreign currencies, improve risk prevention and unify the regulations covering both types of lending. "The regulations…aim to better meet the capital demand of overseas enterprises, effectively serve the real economy, and promote trade and investment facilitation," a statement accompanying the draft said. If the regulations are implemented, they will scrap restrictions that currently only allow enterprises to borrow yuan for overseas use in limited circumstances — investing overseas as part of the country's Going Out policy, engaging in contracts for foreign projects, and export credit. They will also encourage banks to provide yuan-denominated loans rather than foreign-currency loans. The changes underscore renewed efforts by policymakers to boost the internationalization of the yuan and help the country move toward cutting its dependence on the U.S. dollar. China recently kicked off a long-awaited cross-border wealth management connect trial program in the Greater Bay Area and gave permission for the opening of the southbound leg of the bond connect program that will allow Chinese mainland investors to trade offshore bonds in Hong Kong. Both are expected to boost cross-border use of the Chinese currency. The yuan only makes up a fraction of the global currency market. At the end of March, 2.45% of global forex reserves were held in the yuan, making the Chinese currency's share of global forex reserves fifth — after the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and the British pound — according to International Monetary Fund data. The yuan was the fifth most-active currency for global payments by value in July, with a share of 2.19%, according to the most recent data from SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. That's higher than the 1.81% share two years previously but still well behind the U.S. dollar, which had a share of around 40% in July, and the British pound, which had around 6%. In its latest annual report on yuan internationalization released Saturday, the PBOC pledged to further support investment by foreign central banks, monetary authorities and reserve management departments in yuan-denominated reserve assets. "We will further improve the policy support system and infrastructure arrangements for the cross-border use of the renminbi, promote the two-way opening of the financial market, develop the offshore renminbi market, and create a more convenient environment for market participants to use the renminbi." The report showed that at the end of June, onshore yuan-denominated financial assets held by overseas institutions and individuals, including stocks, bonds, loans and deposits, stood at 10.26 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion), 42.8 % higher than a year earlier. While the proposed regulations give banks more leeway to make yuan loans offshore, they also step up controls on how much banks can lend. The draft sets an upper limit on each bank's outstanding overseas loans based on a formula in the PBOC's macro-prudential assessment framework that takes as its parameters a bank's net tier 1 capital, and the leverage ratio of its overseas loans. The parameters can be adjusted to reflect the need to control cross-border capital flows at various times. The draft also stipulates that overseas loans must only be used for purposes within a company's existing business scope and can't be transferred back to China. Neither can they be used to invest in securities or to repay offshore loans that carry onshore guarantees. ^ top ^
Chinese premier stresses cross-cyclical adjustment, steady economic performance (Xinhua)
2021-09-23
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for efforts to implement cross-cyclical adjustment, maintain stable and reasonable expectations, and keep the economy running steadily. Li made the remarks while presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council, which also approved a plan to build new forms of infrastructure in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and detailed measures to enhance reservoir safety management. The meeting urged the enhancement of regular pandemic prevention and control, the fine-tuning of policies and the implementation of cross-cyclical adjustment to ensure continuity, stability and effectiveness of macro policies, in the face of challenges including a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and high prices of bulk commodities. China will strengthen coordination among fiscal, financial and employment policies and ensure stable and reasonable market expectations, according to the meeting. More market-oriented measures should be used to stabilize commodity prices and guarantee supplies of electricity and natural gas during the winter, the meeting said. It also underlined more measures to further promote consumption and maintain the stable growth of foreign investment and foreign trade, to keep the economy running within a reasonable range. New infrastructure, driven by technological innovation and based on information networks, is conducive to sustaining growth, readjusting the economic structure and enhancing people's wellbeing, the meeting noted. It urged efforts to step up the construction of information infrastructure, build multi-level industrial internet platforms and promote the intelligent transformation of transport, logistics, energy and municipal infrastructure. China will support private and overseas capital to participate in the investment and operation of new infrastructure, the meeting added. On reservoir safety, the meeting said all reservoirs prone to risks will be reinforced by the end of 2025 to strengthen their capabilities in water supply and flood prevention. ^ top ^
How Evergrande Could Turn Into 'China's Lehman Brothers' (Caixin)
2021-09-20
For the past two months, hundreds of people have been gathering at the 43-floor Zhuoyue Houhai Center in Shenzhen, where China Evergrande Group's headquarters occupy 20 floors. They held banners demanding repayment of overdue loans and financial products. Police with riot shields had to be on site to keep things under control. The demonstrators are construction workers at the property developer's housing projects, suppliers providing construction materials and investors in the company's wealth management products (WMPs). From paint suppliers to decoration and construction companies, Evergrande owes more than 800 billion yuan ($124 billion) due within one year, while it has only a 10th of that amount of cash on hand. As of the end of June, Evergrande had nearly 2 trillion yuan ($309 billion) of debts on its books, plus an unknown amount of off-books debt. The property giant is on the verge of a dramatic debt restructuring or even bankruptcy, many institutions believe. A bankruptcy would amount to a financial tsunami, or as some analysts put it, "China's Lehman Brothers." The venerable American investment bank's 2008 collapse helped trigger a global financial crisis. Certainly Evergrande, one of China's three biggest developers, has a giant footprint in China. Its liabilities are equivalent to about 2% of China's GDP. It has more than 200,000 employees, who themselves and many of their families have invested billions of yuan in the company's WMPs. The company has more than 800 projects under construction, more than half of them halted due to its cash crunch. There are thousands of upstream and downstream companies that rely on Evergrande for business, creating more than 3.8 million jobs every year. Like many of China's "too big to fail" conglomerates, Evergrande's crisis has fueled speculation over whether the government will step in for a rescue. […] This time, the crisis of cash flow and trust is unprecedented. Evergrande shares in Hong Kong plummeted to a 10-year low. Its onshore bonds fell to what investors call defaulted bond level. All three global credit rating companies and one domestic rating company have downgraded Evergrande's debt. For many years, Chinese developers were driven by the "three carriages" — high turnover, high gross profit and high leverage. Developers use borrowed money to acquire land, collect presale cash before projects even start, and then borrow more money to invest in new projects. In 2018, Evergrande reported record profit of 72 billion yuan, more than double the previous year's net. But behind that, it spent more than 100 billion yuan a year on interest. Even in good years, the company usually had negative operating cash flow, with not enough cash on hand to cover short-term loans due within a year with and presale revenue not enough to pay suppliers. In addition to borrowing from banks, Evergrande also borrows from executives and employees. When developers seek funds from banks, lenders often require personal investments from the developers' executives as a risk-control measure, a former employee at Evergrande's asset management department told Caixin. […] Evergrande initially proposed to impose lengthy repayment delays, with investments of 100,000 yuan and above to be repaid in five years. After heated protests by investors, the company tweaked its plan last week, offering three options. Investors can accept cash installments, purchase Evergrande's properties in any city at a discount, or waive investors' payables on residential units they have purchased. Some investors opposed the "property for debt" option, as many projects of Evergrande have been halted and there is a risk of unfinished projects in the future. "The proposals are insincere," a petition signed by some Guangdong investors said. "It's like buying nonperforming assets with a premium." The petition urged the government to freeze Evergrande's accounts and assets and demanded cash repayment of all principal and interest. Some investors chose to accept the payment scheme proposed by Evergrande. They selected Evergrande projects located in hot cities in the hope of making up for losses by resale in the future. As Evergrande owed large amounts to construction companies, more than 500 of Evergrande's 800-plus projects across the country are now halted. The company has at least several hundred thousand units that have been presold and not delivered. It needs at least 100 billion yuan to complete construction and deliver the units, Caixin learned. Whether and how to repay WMP investors or deliver housing is Evergrande's dilemma. In August, the construction company that was contracted to build Evergrande's Taicang cultural tourism city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, announced the halt of the project due to bills unpaid by Evergrande. The company, Jiangsu Nantong Sanjian Construction Group Co. Ltd., said it put 500 million yuan of its own funds into the project and Evergrande paid it less than 290 million yuan. Sanjian has other construction contracts with Evergrande and its subsidiaries. As of September, Evergrande owes the Nantong company about 20 billion yuan. As of August 2020, Evergrande had 8,441 upstream and downstream companies it was working with. If the flow of Evergrande cash stops, the normal operation of these companies will be disrupted, and some would even face the risk of bankruptcy. In Ezhou, Hubei province, five of Evergrande's projects have been halted for more than a month, and it owes contractors about 500 million yuan. "Housing delivery involves not only hundreds of thousands of families, but also local social stability," a banker said. The housing authorities in Guangdong province are coordinating with Evergrande and its construction partners, trying to resume construction, the banker said. Evergrande relies heavily on commercial paper to pay construction partners and suppliers. Among payments it made to Sanjian, only 8% was in cash and the rest in commercial paper. Initially, the commercial paper borrowings were mostly six-month notes with annualized interest rates of 15%–16%. Now most carry interest rates of more than 20%. Holders of such commercial paper can sell the notes at a discount to raise cash. In 2017–18, the discount rate on Evergrande paper could reach 15%–20%. Since May 2021, the few Evergrande notes that could still be sold have been discounted as much as 55%, according to a person familiar with such transactions. For small and medium-sized suppliers, holding a large amount of overdue Evergrande notes is a burden too heavy to bear. In recent months, a number of suppliers sued Evergrande for breach of contract but often settled the cases. A lawyer who represented Evergrande in related cases told Caixin that many plaintiffs chose to negotiate with Evergrande while fighting in court. Evergrande also offered a "property for debt" option to its commercial paper holders. The company said it's in talks with suppliers and construction contractors to delay payment or offset debt with properties. From July 1 to Aug. 27, Evergrande sold properties to suppliers and contractors to offset a total of 25 billion yuan of debt. Meanwhile, Evergrande has been offloading its assets to raise cash. Its biggest assets are its land reserves. As of June 30, it had 778 land reserve projects with a total planned floor area of 214 million square meters and an original value of 456.8 billion yuan. Additionally, it has 146 urban redevelopment projects. In the past three months, Evergrande has been in talks with China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd., China Vanke Co. Ltd. and China Jinmao Holdings Group Ltd. for possible asset sales. Shenzhen and Guangzhou SASACs have arranged for several state-owned enterprises to conduct due diligence on Evergrande's urban redevelopment projects, a person close to the matter said. Evergrande has approached every possible buyer in the market, the person said. However, no deals have been reached. Several real estate developers that have been in contact with Evergrande told Caixin that while some of Evergrande's projects look good on the surface, there are complex creditors' rights that make them difficult to dispose of. Some potential buyers have said they could consider a debt-assumption acquisition, but Evergrande was reluctant to sell at a loss, Caixin learned. […] Evergrande's hidden debts also include unpaid payments to acquire equities. Dozens of small property companies have sued Evergrande demanding cancellation of their equity sales agreements with the company because Evergrande failed to pay them. They are Evergrande's partners in local development projects. Evergrande usually paid them 30% down for equities but declined to pay the rest even after the project was completed, according to the lawsuits. A plaintiff's lawyer told Caixin that Evergrande's project subsidiaries don't want to go sour with local partners, but they have no money to pay as sales from the projects have been transferred to the parent company. A total of 49 of Evergrande's wholly owned local subsidiaries have been sued since April, according to Tianyancha, a database of publicly available corporate information. Evergrande also owes land transfer fees to some local governments. Some 20 Evergrande affiliates have not yet made payments to the city government of Lanzhou, the capital of Northwest China's Gansu province, according to a list of 41 such firms issued in July by the city's natural resources department. A potential default by Evergrande could spread to markets outside China as it has huge, high-interest offshore bonds. Some of its offshore bonds carry interest rates as high as 15%, a person close to the Hong Kong capital market said. UBS estimates that $19 billion of Evergrande's liabilities are made up of outstanding offshore bonds. Evergrande has been frantically selling properties at discounts this year. In late May, it offered certain homebuyers 30% to 40% off if they paid entirely in cash, company staffers told Caixin. In the first half, the company reported 356 billion yuan of contracted sales, slightly higher than 349 billion yuan for the same period last year. Average selling prices in the first six months declined 11.2%. Meanwhile, payables increased 14.7% to 951 billion yuan, and sales and marketing expenses increased 30% to 17.8 billion yuan. In response to the market environment, the company increased sales commissions and marketing expenses, the company said. Compared with its competitors, Evergrande has higher capital and human costs but lower selling prices, an industry participant said. "How can it make money?" the person said. The developer reported a 29% slide in profit for the first half. Its 10.5 billion yuan of profit mainly reflected an 18.5 billion yuan gain from the sale of some shares and marked-to-market holding in internet unit Henten Networks. It reported a loss in its core property business of 4 billion yuan. Evergrande's extremely high debt ratio, high financing cost and repeated delays in payments to suppliers, partners and local government show that its liquidity has always been tight, but on the other hand, the fact that it has survived years under this model indicates that it has always been able to generate money, a veteran investor said. ^ top ^
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| DPRK |
S. Korean president calls for resumption of talks with DPRK, end-of-war declaration (Xinhua)
2021-09-22
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the resumption of talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as an end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula. "Peace on the Korean Peninsula begins always with dialogue and cooperation," Moon told the General Debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "I call for speedy resumption of dialogue between the two Koreas and between the United States and North Korea (the DPRK)." "Today, I once again urge the community of nations to mobilize its strengths for the end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula," he said. Last year Moon proposed a declaration of ending the war on the Korean Peninsula in a video speech to the 75th session of UNGA. Both DPRK and South Korea have conducted missile tests in recent days and both called their missile launches acts of "self-defence." An international affairs analyst in DPRK recently criticized the United States for double-dealing on the Korean Peninsula, which he called "a stumbling block in the way of solving the Korean Peninsula issue" and a catalyst straining tensions. ^ top ^
DPRK slams U.S. decision to transfer nuke-powered submarine tech to Australia (People's Daily)
2021-09-20
The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday criticized the United States for transferring the technology of building nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA quoted the chief of the Foreign News Section of the Department of Press and Information of the Foreign Ministry as saying that the U.S. decision was "extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of nuclear arms race." The unnamed official noted that the White House decision "amounts to a stand that any country can spread nuclear technology if it is in its interests, and this shows that the U.S. is the chief culprit toppling the international nuclear non-proliferation system." The official further pointed out that "the U.S. double-dealing attitude getting all the more pronounced after the emergence of the new administration erodes the universally-accepted international norm and order and seriously threatens the world peace and stability." "We are closely looking into the background of the U.S. recent decision and its prospect and will certainly take a corresponding counteraction in case it has even a little adverse impact on the security of our country," the official added. Under the new security partnership unveiled on Wednesday among Australia, Britain and the United States, known as AUKUS, Australia will build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology. ^ top ^
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| Mongolia |
President of Mongolia addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly (Montsame)
2021-09-23
The President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh delivered a statement at the General Debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 22, 2021. In his statement, President U. Khurelsukh shared Mongolia's views on global peace, security, sustainable development, good governance, economy, society and health, particularly fighting and mitigating the challenges and impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. President U. Khurelsukh stressed that Mongolia's accession to the United Nations in 1961 and ensuring the country's independence and sovereignty, and becoming a full member in the world community was an important milestone in its history. He further reaffirmed that Mongolia as an active member of the United Nations is committed to continue its contribution towards promoting international peace and security, fostering green development, combating climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The President also announced his initiative to make September 2, the day, when devastating World War II, that took the lives of millions, had ended, as an international day to commemorate "Humanity's Victory Over War" and called on member states to support it. Speaking about climate change, the President called to combine the fight against climate change with achievements of the modern science and technology as well as best practices and the traditional experiences, drawing lessons from the Mongolian traditional "nomadic civilization" to respect and treat the nature deferentially. In this context, he noted that Mongolia has launched a campaign to plant billions of trees by 2030. ^ top ^
President of Mongolia meets UN Secretary General (Montsame)
2021-09-21
The President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh met with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on September 20 at the UN headquarters. President U. Khurelsukh noted that he personally participates in the 76th session of the UN General Assembly on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Mongolia's accession to the UN, and expressed his gratitude to the UN for its consistent support and active cooperation in achieving Mongolia's development goals. The President also reaffirmed his commitment to work closely with the United Nations to achieve sustainable development goals, promote youth participation, mitigate climate change and pursue his peacekeeping initiatives. Secretary-General António Guterres noted that he highly appreciates the fact that Mongolia is not only stable politically and economically, but also as a peace-loving country takes an active part in solving regional and international problems as well as Mongolia's contribution to UN peacekeeping. The Secretary-General further welcomed Mongolia's significant contribution to enhancing security in the Northeast Asia and commended the commitment to increase the national pledge to contribute to the global fight against climate change. ^ top ^
Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene: The government will continue to keep its policy on health protection and economic recovery (Montsame)
2021-09-20
The 'Green Days of Autumn - Domestic Production 2021' fair is taking place at the Central Stadium from September 16 to 23. Alongside food producers, small and medium enterprises, business owners in the light industry, and scholars and researchers that introduced new technology in production are participating in the fair this year. On September 19, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene visited the fair to meet with vegetable farmers and producers. Noting that their sales have increased as the fair began to take place, they highlighted the issue of insufficient storage that meets the appropriate standard to store their harvests. In turn, the Prime Minister expressed that the government's current policy is to fully meet the demand for potatoes and vegetables with domestic supply. He said, "Our country is expected to meet 100 percent of the domestic demand for wheat and potatoes, and 60 percent of the demand for vegetables. As our annual demand for wheat is about 310 thousand tons, we are expected to have around 200 thousand tons more of wheat this year. Thus, the government will keep a policy on supporting exports and pay attention to the construction of storages and winter greenhouses. Alongside the sales of fresh harvest and top products as well as food production services, all kinds of information is being provided to support the sector's development. Furthermore, business negotiations and agreements are being made between entities and government organizations during the fair. Disinfection and sterilization is being carried out at the fair two times throughout the day. ^ 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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