Switzerland

• Art Basel Hong Kong 'definitely going ahead', says fair director, but will be smaller, with fewer visitors (SCMP)
• UBS Seeks to Raise Stake in China Joint Venture to 67% (Caixin)
• Chinese vice premier meets Swiss finance minister via video link (Xinhua)
• Switzerland to observe minute of silence for COVID-19 victims (Xinhua)
• Danger of mRNA vaccines to elderly under spotlight after 16 deaths in Switzerland (Global Times)

Foreign Policy

• Pakistan's belt and road offer to Sri Lanka stokes India's China concerns (SCMP)
• Foreign media timid to break Western stereotype, explain complexity of China (Global Times)
• CDC expert proposes China, US mutual vaccine recognition, lifting of travel restrictions (Global Times)
• 17 countries' publishing houses to translate, publish Xi's book on governance (People's Daily)
• Military ties support China-Russia strategic cooperation: ministry (Xinhua)
• China-EU agreement on geographical indications takes effect (People's Daily)
• Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to go to court again after China hits back Canada's so-called declaration against 'arbitrary detention' (Global Times)
• Hungarian PM receives injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine (Xinhua)

Domestic Policy

• China's key political season kicks off, pooling strength for modernization drive (Xinhua)
• What to expect at "two sessions" as China begins new journey (People's Daily)
• Chinese democracy deserves being well understood (Xinhua)
• Premier stresses preparation for spring farming, control of animal diseases, pests (China Daily)
• Chinese Leaders Gear Up to Release Next Five-Year Plan (Caixin)
• China's national legislature to hold press conference ahead of annual session (Xinhua)
• China's local laws under scrutiny as Xi Jinping condemns 'legislative slack' (SCMP)
• Chinese Leaders Mulling Retirement Age Rise, Vice Minister Says (Caixin)

Beijing

• IPC President: Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics will be held as scheduled (Xinhua)

Shanghai

• Shanghai's regulations on promoting new-energy vehicles take effect (Xinhua)

Guangdong

• Draft law protects personal information in internet era (China Daily)

Xinjiang

• Xinjiang girls seeking a better living and life of dignity is now BBC's 'evidence of coercion' (Global Times)

Hongkong

• HK electoral system overhaul a highlight of two sessions (Global Times)

Taiwan

• 5.3-magnitude quake hits waters off Taiwan: CENC (Xinhua)
• DPP hypes mainland pineapple ban to serve its own interests (Global Times)

Economy

• China to keep economy running within appropriate range over next 5 years (Xinhua)
• State Comes to the Rescue of Former Retail Superstar Suning (Caixin)
• China's fiscal risks 'extremely severe', former finance minister warns ahead of key meetings (SCMP)

DPRK

• DPRK reviews ways to achieve economic goals (Xinhua)

Mongolia

• Preparations underway to reopen borders (Montsame)
• Health Minister receives World Bank Country Manager (Montsame)

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Art Basel Hong Kong 'definitely going ahead', says fair director, but will be smaller, with fewer visitors (SCMP)
2021-03-04
MCH Group, the Swiss company that runs international art fair Art Basel, announced in January that the flagship fair in Basel would be postponed from June to September. It didn't mention any delay to the Hong Kong edition opening on May 19, which drew incredulity in some circles. Galleries were supposed to have signed up to participate by March 4. On March 3, Nick Simunovic, director of Gagosian Gallery Hong Kong, said it was still undecided about signing up. Few overseas collectors are willing to put up with Hong Kong's three-week hotel quarantine for people from outside China, and there is no word on when the border with mainland China will reopen. The annual art fair, Asia's biggest, is "definitely going ahead" even if it can only be visited by Hong Kong residents, its director, Adeline Ooi, told the Post. The event, which normally attracts 80,000 visitors over five days, was cancelled last year. Ooi says pent-up demand from overseas galleries has seen quite a few (an exact number has not been finalised) sign up for new "satellite booths" staffed by Art Basel's representatives. These booths allow exhibitors to take part without having to physically be in Hong Kong. The fair will be smaller than usual, she concedes. Among those who have signed up for a satellite booth is Jasdeep Sandhu, the Singaporean owner of Gajah Gallery. Silverlens Galleries in Manila, in the Philippines, is going to share a booth with Hong Kong-based gallery Rossi & Rossi. "Physical art fairs create a lot of energy around art. This is what we miss with the online fairs," says Silverlens' co-founder Isa Lorenzo. Another incentive for galleries to take part is an average 25 per cent discount on booth fees. Art Basel also doesn't have to pay rent to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, thanks to the Hong Kong government's Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme. The same sweetener has been extended to two other art events likely to be held in the same building at the same time: Art Central, the satellite fair normally held in a giant tent on the waterfront, and Christie's spring auctions. The auctioneer says the exact sales calendar has yet to be confirmed. However, they are unlikely to convince the world that Hong Kong's art industry is returning to the old normal; the passing of a national security law has forced a reassessment of what may be banned in Hong Kong. An art consultant in Singapore, who does not wish to be named, says there used to be two reasons Art Basel would choose Hong Kong over Singapore: the city state has taxes and censorship. "Now Hong Kong only has one of those two advantages left," this person says. Earlier, a gossip column on Artnet, an industry website with its headquarters in New York, speculated that Art Basel could move from Hong Kong to South Korea "or another East/ Southeast Asian cultural hub with liberal democratic infrastructure [sic]". The news on February 26 of Baptist University's last-minute cancellation of the World Press Photo Exhibition – despite it being a different type of exhibition – added to the uncertainty over the city's future as the region's art hub. Ooi is confident that Art Basel Hong Kong is here to stay. Even with the national security law, galleries around Hong Kong are able to show art without censorship, she says. "We assume it will be the same in May and, since the culture sector has been able to function quite naturally so far, we should continue in that spirit without second-guessing the impact of the new law. Hong Kong is home, and we want to show that we are still here and our ambition is to continue to be that art hub for the rest of Asia," she says. ^ top ^

UBS Seeks to Raise Stake in China Joint Venture to 67% (Caixin)
2021-03-04
UBS Group AG plans to deepen its control over its Chinese securities unit as two of its partners in the venture are seeking to sell their stakes. UBS, which in 2018 became the first foreign bank to win approval for majority control of a securities venture in the nation, is planning to snap up another 16% of the firm, boosting its control to 67%, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing an internal matter. UBS has been discussing the purchase with Guangdong Provincial Transportation Group Co. Ltd. and China Guodian Capital Holdings Ltd., who will put their 14% and 1.99% respective holdings in the venture on sale as early as Wednesday, the people said. Unlike rivals such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG, the Zurich-based bank currently has no intention of going for full ownership, which China allowed foreign banks to do last year. UBS has said it has a good relationship with its Chinese partner and prefers to keep the asset management arm of the Beijing government as a shareholder because of the connections it can provide in China, the people said. A media representative at UBS declined to comment. Guangdong Transportation and Guodian Capital couldn't be reached for comments on phone numbers provided on their websites. Foreign banks have aggressive plans to expand in China — in some case seeking to double their staffing — as the country further opens its $54 trillion financial market. By gaining control of their firms, they are better able to set the strategic direction to boost investments. Foreign firms have had limited success with joint ventures over the past decade in China, which in many cases have been unprofitable. JPMorgan Chase & Co. in November raised its stake in its venture to 71%, buying out an additional 20% for about $27 million. In December, Goldman agreed with its partner to snap up the 49% that it doesn't own in its venture. UBS is in the process of moving several managing directors from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland to better compete for deals in the country. ^ top ^

Chinese vice premier meets Swiss finance minister via video link (Xinhua)
2021-03-03
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met with Swiss Federal Councillor and Finance Minister Ueli Maurer via video link on Wednesday. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on practical cooperation in finance and other fields during the meeting. China-Switzerland relations feature mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, said Liu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Under China's push for the establishment of a new development pattern and high-quality development, China-Switzerland financial cooperation has a broad prospect and will enhance the well-being of the two countries and the two peoples, Liu added. Maurer said Switzerland will use its advantage to deepen cooperation with China in multiple fields, including sustainable finance, stock exchange interconnection and wealth management, and advance the bilateral ties to a higher level. ^ top ^

Switzerland to observe minute of silence for COVID-19 victims (Xinhua)
2021-03-01
Swiss President Guy Parmelin has called for a minute of silence at noon on March 5 to pay respect for more than 9,000 people dead from COVID-19 in the country so far. In a statement issued early Monday morning, the president also suggested that churches ring their bells on March 5, the day that marks the first COVID-19 victim in Switzerland -- a 74-year-old woman who died in Lausanne […]. ^ top ^

Danger of mRNA vaccines to elderly under spotlight after 16 deaths in Switzerland (Global Times)
2021-02-28
The deaths of 16 elderly people in Switzerland after being inoculated with Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines underscore the potential danger of mRNA vaccines to the age group, Chinese vaccine experts said, further calling for caution. At least 16 people died after receiving vaccines in Switzerland, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) was quoted as saying by Sputnik in a report on Saturday. The agency said it had obtained about 364 suspected adverse drug reactions, with 199 incidents linked to the vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and 154 to Moderna's drug, said the report. Swissmedic said the average age of the deaths was 86 and most of them had pre-existing diseases, adding there was no evidence to suggest that the vaccines were the cause of death. Chinese experts said the incidents should be assessed cautiously to understand whether the deaths were caused by the vaccines or other preexisting conditions in these individuals. Previously, Norway reported 23 deaths in connection with vaccinations, all of whom were over 80 years old. The COVID-19 vaccines from BioNTec/Pfizer and Moderna were used in Norway. A Chinese immunologist who requested anonymity told the Global Times that the large-scale use of mRNA vaccines carries the risk of causing abnormal immune dysfunction, allergy or even death, especially among the elderly and people with underlying diseases. The immunologist suggested individuals with preexisting conditions, the elderly and those with vulnerable immunity not be given vaccines. The Global Times found that major Western media outlets have been downplaying the deaths relating to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and also the 16 deaths in Switzerland. Some observers questioned the veracity of declarations that the sporadic deaths were unrelated to the vaccines, calling on Western media to report the deaths fairly. ^ top ^

Pakistan's belt and road offer to Sri Lanka stokes India's China concerns (SCMP)
2021-03-03
Pakistan's offer to Sri Lanka to join its multibillion-dollar trade and infrastructure scheme with China under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative has raised concerns in Indian policy circles, as New Delhi seeks to secure its influence in a region where China's presence is growing. On a two-day visit to Colombo last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan urged Colombo to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which comprises railways, power plants and the deepwater Indian Ocean port of Gwadar. The CPEC is aimed at offering China a major overland route from its western frontiers to the world but critics have accused it of being a debt trap for Islamabad. India has kept a close watch on the visit but has not commented on it. […] China and Sri Lankan trade is worth over US$3.6 billion and between 2005 and 2017 Beijing invested US$15 billion in infrastructure development in Colombo. The pair have a long history of defence cooperation. But India is Sri Lanka's largest trading partner with bilateral trade accounting for over US$4.6 billion and the two countries also cooperate in areas such as security and defence as well as in challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the Rajapaksa-led government came to power last year, Sri Lanka has stressed an "India-first" policy. Rival neighbours India and Pakistan last week in a rare joint statement said they would observe a ceasefire along their de facto border known as the Line of Control, after years of violations. Still, China's growing presence in Sri Lanka is a cause for concern for India. China currently runs Sri Lanka's Hambantota port under an agreement made in 2017 to cover Colombo's debts to Beijing. Several years ago, Colombo chose to co-develop and operate with China the Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) in a section of the country's largest port, Colombo port. To appease India's concerns, the government agreed to develop the east terminal of Colombo port with New Delhi and Tokyo but last month it seemed to have changed its mind according to minutes released from a cabinet meeting. A Reuters report said the government had decided to proceed with the east terminal on its own. It would be 100 per cent owned and operated by the state-owned Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA), but India and Japan would instead be invited to develop the nearby West terminal on a public-private partnership basis, the minutes said. New Delhi responded by saying it expected Colombo to honour the earlier agreement. George Cooke, a former Sri Lankan diplomat currently researching the country's diplomatic history, said Sri Lanka could benefit from cooperation with the Gwadar port by offering special packages to international shipping lines for the use of facilities in both Colombo and Gwadar ports, especially to vessels coming from East Asia. "Though it is an attractive proposal it needs to be looked at more seriously by experts involved in the port sector," he added. But Ganeshan Wignaraja, a non-resident senior fellow specialising in trade, investment and regional integration at the National University of Singapore, said the volume of trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had remained static at around US$400 million for many yearsas neither side had much to sell to the other. "The CPEC can only be a viable option for Sri Lanka as a long-term prospect if the volume of trade and investment between the two sides rises substantially in future. But given the state of the economy in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, I don't see that happening in a hurry," said Wignaraja. Majority-Buddhist Sri Lanka and majority-Muslim Pakistan have a history of helping each other. Colombo allowed Islamabad's ships and aircraft to refuel at its facilities during the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan war. Islamabad then helped Colombo during its 2009 bid to quash a 25-year insurgency by Tamil separatists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north. It supplied arms and aircraft while training Sri Lankan airmen and military personnel. But in recent years, Sri Lanka's Muslims – who make up about 10 per cent of the 21.8 million population – have reported being subject to increasing violence by Buddhist nationalists. In the past year, Sri Lanka has carried out forced cremations of all those who have died of Covid-19, including Muslims, even though Islam requires them to be buried. Colombo agreed to stop the practice after Khan's visit. This was seen by analysts as a way to shore up support for Sri Lanka at the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Commission session in Geneva, which is to discuss a resolution for "war crimes" against Sri Lanka in its fight against the LTTE. Both Pakistan and India are in the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council that will decide on the resolution on March 23. If the resolution is approved, the resulting sanctions will damage Sri Lanka's international reputation but also put additional pressure on its economy, which is under severe strain due to a drastic fall in tourist traffic and global trade. Colombo has asked Islamabad to help convince the 14 Muslim countries in the council to reject the resolution. It also hopes for support from both China and Russia, both council members that have backed Sri Lanka in the past. While laying out the red carpet for the Pakistani prime minister last week, Sri Lanka also signalled that it was mindful of India's views. It cancelled a planned address by Khan to the Sri Lankan parliament and did not sign a defence agreement with Islamabad as many thought it would. Said Pradeep Kaushiva, a retired vice-admiral of the Indian Navy: "Though we must keep a close watch on it, I am reasonably confident that Sri Lanka will not do anything to jeopardise its ties with India." ^ top ^

Foreign media timid to break Western stereotype, explain complexity of China (Global Times)
2021-03-03
Caroline Wilson, UK ambassador to China, on Tuesday post an article in Putonghua (Chinese) on why international media criticism on Chinese authorities is not China hating. The article quoted my narratives on advocating China of accepting more diverse views. Yes, that's exactly what I said. Working for a media outlet, I can understand foreign correspondents' desire to have as much space as possible to engage in their coverage in China. But Wilson's rhetoric on freedom of the press is too simple, which conceals or even distorts the real relationship between media and reality. In the article, Wilson spoke highly of the role that UK media outlets play in supervising public opinion, in a bid to compare the limited role that Chinese media outlets play. China has implemented a different political system in comparison to those in the UK and the US. The role of media is a compatible part of their systems. Media of China and the West should not be simply compared in terms of technology, but on whether their media are conductive to the advancement of their societies. China has rapidly developed over the past decades. Chinese public opinion has made its contribution to the achievement. During the same period, the development of the UK and US has exposed their problems. Their media should shoulder their related responsibility to the results. It is a very complicated problem whether Chinese or the Western media serves better. Wilson admitted that Chinese media played a big role in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, but she believed such a role is limited. My opinion differs from hers. The coverage from Chinese media on the epidemic was not as extensive as their counterparts in the UK and the US, but Chinese media's reporting have had vital effects. Chinese media's reporting, involving the internet, made the country adjust promptly and contributed to drawing up a determined road map to fight COVID-19. By contrast, there have been many reports in the UK and the US, and some words they used are also quite harsh, but have they actually worked in practice? Trump has been giving contempt to criticism from media outlets. Where is the practical and effective supervision of public opinion? The result is that the US and the UK were bad at fighting the epidemic, and China quickly made decisive achievements in this fight. Which side - China or the West - values and respects the voice of public opinion more? Which side's practical policy is more in line with public opinion? Personally speaking, I don't think all Western correspondents in China are "extremely anti-China." I understand that it is not easy for them to be caught between what they see in reality and the overall attitude of the West toward China. However, I would like to point out the fact that they have not played an active role in the communication between China and the West as a whole. Subjectively or objectively, they have only added fuel to the deepening of the cognitive gap between China and the West. These foreign correspondents are in China, where many things are different from their values. However, they can and should feel the complexity of China's reality and understand that China and the Communist Party of China are not as simple as the West has labeled. China has its own internal logic, and whether the West likes it or not, this logic has supported China's development and progress. Thus, a crude and fundamental smear against it would be unfair, even absurd, in any case. China has been pinned increasingly more labels by Western world, which shaped the West's perception of China. Intentionally or unintentionally, some Western journalists in China have been supporting such trend. I think they have at least shown collective cowardice, being afraid to explain to the West the complicated truth about the country. Some of them are indeed hostile toward China, and are standing at the forefront of the West's envious, jealous and hateful mentality toward China's development over the years. The overall coverage of China in the Western media reports is biased and even false. Such reports shaped the huge lie that China is the "second Soviet Union" that the West has to confront. Of course, this is not entirely those journalists' fault. They are the only ones who stand at the frontline of Western public opinion on China. They are supposed to break the relevant stereotypes, but they didn't. Apart from their personal reasons, it mirrors the so-called freedom of the press in the West with political limitations which Western journalists in China cannot escape. The system of Western public opinion is formed in the process of the evolution of Western politics. All modern media tools are invented by the West. China adopted them and has been adjusting their functions. But the adjustment is undergoing all kinds of accusations from the West. This is a difficult process, which reflects how hard it is for China to explore its own development path. China has its own pride. We have created the miracle of rapid development, which started from falling far behind other countries. We have been observing the outside world with humility, and we will do the same in the future. The West, on the other hand, should stop taking itself as an example which China should follow. This is the basic self-respect they have to own. ^ top ^

CDC expert proposes China, US mutual vaccine recognition, lifting of travel restrictions (Global Times)
2021-03-02
The chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wu Zunyou proposed that China and the US should work jointly to lift mutual travel restrictions in August or September when the US is expected to reach herd immunity, suggesting the two countries seek mutual recognition of vaccinations and give priority to official, business travel and overseas study. Wu explained his proposal to the Global Times on Tuesday, saying that the free travel plan between China and the US should proceed in three steps. First, China and the US should mutually recognize vaccinations in the other country and limit free travel to only those who have been vaccinated. Second, free travel should then be given to official and business travel and overseas study and third, all travel types should be covered, Wu said. China is the safest country in the world in terms of COVID-19 prevention, with no community transmission reported and the US is likely to vaccinate around 80 percent of its population by June and 90 percent by August, reaching herd immunity, Wu said on Monday at an online forum about US-China collaboration on COVID-19 prevention and treatment organized by the Washington-based Brookings Institution and Tsinghua University in Beijing. "If that is the case and if we could remove all political barriers, just based on science, the two countries could possibly be the first two countries to lift travel restrictions with each other," Wu said. During the forum, Chinese and American top scientists proposed detailed bilateral collaboration plans in the health sector. Gao Fu, director of the Chinese CDC, urged China and the US to collaborate on promoting COVAX, a global initiative led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals and inequities. Bilateral collaboration should also be conducted on scientific research of the origins of the coronavirus as well as working on public health and COVID-19 vaccines, Gao said. Zhong Nanshan, China's top respiratory disease expert, said at the forum that China-US collaboration on COVID-19 should be based on science and evidence rather than being politicized. He stressed the need to have close collaboration between the two countries on COVID-19 research, as producing improved vaccines and cocktail antibodies would play an essential role in addressing the next wave of the pandemic in the near future. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that there's a great value to bilateral work between China and the US in other parts of the world such as Africa to strengthen early warning and rapid response systems. Frieden proposed that both countries share intellectual property and techniques in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing to jointly expand global vaccination, so that manufacturers and other parts of the world can benefit from what really should be a public good. On the supply chain of the COVID-19 vaccine, Chinese syringe and needle suppliers have seen their orders pile up for months as the Biden administration ramps up its efforts for COVID-19 vaccinations. Several business representatives told the Global Times that orders from the US remained strong since last year when the country unveiled plans for public vaccinations. "The only enemy here is the virus and the more we are united, the more effectively we will be able to fight that virus," Frieden said. Several projects related to COVID-19 research between China and the US are underway, including collaboration between Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health and Harvard Medical School (HMS), funded by China Evergrande. David Walt, HMS professor of pathology, said that the HMS had a very significant interaction with colleagues at the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health. "We learned a lot from them in the early days because we had no diagnostic tests at that point, and they were sharing their experiences and lessons learned," Walt said, according to the website of the HMS. ^ top ^

17 countries' publishing houses to translate, publish Xi's book on governance (People's Daily)
2021-03-02
Publishing houses from 17 countries have partnered with Beijing-based Foreign Languages Press, the publisher of the third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," for translating the book into different languages for publication. The countries are Albania, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Nepal, Laos, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. The book, first published in Chinese and English on June 30, 2020, records the practices of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core in leading the whole Party and Chinese people to make new and major advances in various undertakings of the Party and the country since the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017. "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" has three volumes, which have been translated into 33 languages and distributed in over 170 countries and regions. The Chinese publisher said it is also working on the translation and publishing process of the French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, German, Japanese, and Portuguese versions of the third volume. ^ top ^

Military ties support China-Russia strategic cooperation: ministry (Xinhua)
2021-03-02
Military relations stand as a bright spot and an important supporting force of the strategic cooperation between China and Russia, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said Monday. The ministry made the comments when responding to a question concerning the claim by certain scholars that faced with military threat from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia may seek to establish military alliance with China. The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is a model of new international relations featuring mutual respect, equity and justice as well as win-win cooperation, said the ministry. Completely different from the military alliances between some other countries, China and Russia uphold a principle of non-alliance and non-confrontation that targets no third party, it noted. This year the two countries will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, and China is willing to conduct in-depth cooperation with Russia in fields such as high-level exchanges, strategic coordination, joint drills and training, equipment and technology to build a comprehensive military relationship in the new era, it added. ^ top ^

China-EU agreement on geographical indications takes effect (People's Daily)
2021-03-01
The bilateral agreement between China and the European Union (EU) on geographical indications (GI) took effect on Monday, a statement by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said. GI is a label used for identifying the geographical origin of a product, and is an important type of intellectual property right. According to the agreement, 100 GIs from each side, involving liquor, tea, food and farm produce, came under protection on the same day. The second GI list, consisting of 175 GIs from each side, is set to go through protection procedures within the next four years. The China-EU GI agreement was signed on Sep. 14, 2020 after 22 rounds of official negotiations since 2011. It is China's first comprehensive, high-level bilateral agreement on GIs, the statement said, adding that the agreement will facilitate exports and imports of related products. China became the EU's largest trading partner in 2020, with the bilateral trade volume reaching 649.5 billion U.S. dollars, MOC data showed. ^ top ^

Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to go to court again after China hits back Canada's so-called declaration against 'arbitrary detention' (Global Times)
2021-03-01
Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou was scheduled to return to the British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada on Monday, as the court will hear the arguments related to the four branches of abuse of process raised by her lawyers. Both her lawyers and Huawei firmly believe in her innocence, calling for the release of Meng. The Canadian court will determine whether these four branches constitute an abuse of the Canadian judicial process and if they are sufficient to order a stay of the extradition proceedings. Huawei Canada said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday that "as the case enters its next phase," the company remains confident in Meng 's innocence and will continue to support her pursuit of justice and freedom. The four branches of abuse of process include political motivation, unlawful detention, material omissions and misstatements, and violations of customary international law. Under former US president Donald Trump, the US sought to use the extradition proceedings against Meng for political and economic gain. There were continuous and systematic violations of Meng's Charter rights by different government agencies, according to the statement. Also, the Department of Justice, under Trump's administration, misled Canada by omitting crucial evidence from the summary of its case against Meng. Specifically, the Department of Justice misrepresented the contents of a PowerPoint document that forms the foundation of US accusations. US authorities have provided a record of the case (ROC) concerning a PowerPoint presentation Meng gave an HSBC executive in Hong Kong in August 2013, which is widely considered a key document in proving Meng lied about Huawei's relationship with Skycom. However, Meng's lawyers claim that the US deliberately omitted two slides from the PowerPoint, which showed that Meng didn't mislead the bank. A London court recently rejected the latest application from Meng's legal team for more access to the HSBC's internal documents to prove that the bank already knew the relationship between Huawei and Skycom and that the Chinese firm acted transparently. However, Huawei took HSBC to a Hong Kong court on Friday. A spokesperson from the company told the Global Times that this "is a request to obtain evidence under Hong Kong law to demonstrate her innocence with respect to the allegations made against her by the US." Andy Purdy, Chief Security Officer of Huawei US, told CNN on Friday that it is important for Huawei to get Meng released, and it hopes that the Biden administration will take a different approach on the issue, compared to former president Trump.. Canada's detention of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou is the typical case of arbitrary detention, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said recently, hitting back Canada's so-called declaration against "arbitrary detention," calling it a forged statement and an act of fraud. The British Columbia Supreme Court will hear the four branches from March 1 to May 14. The proceedings are expected to last for about two months, according to resources.  ^ top ^

Hungarian PM receives injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine (Xinhua)
2021-02-28
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Sunday. "Vaccinated!" Orban wrote on Facebook, posting a photo of himself getting the shot, a close-up of the Chinese vaccine and a picture of a door to the vaccination point where he received the inoculation. Orban received the shot two days after Hungarian President Janos Ader, who also opted for the Chinese vaccine. Hungarian Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller told a press conference Saturday that it is very important for high-ranking Hungarian officials to get immunized publicly, in order to set an example for the population. With access to vaccines from five producers, namely China's Sinopharm, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik V, Hungary, the first European Union member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Wednesday. The Hungarian government is boosting its vaccination program with Russian and Chinese vaccines, as the third wave of the pandemic has brought daily infections and deaths in the country to the level of mid-December last year. Hungary on Sunday registered 4,469 new cases and 72 more deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national total to 428,599 and the death toll to 14,974, according to official data. So far, 321,128 people have recovered. Currently, 5,482 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 524 on ventilators, figures from the government's coronavirus information website showed. As of Sunday, 677,682 people have received at least one vaccine jab, while 249,499 have received two jabs, according to the website. Hungary intends to inoculate all the 2.6 million people registered for the vaccine by Easter, and Orban aims to vaccinate a further million by May. After the arrival of the first batch of Chinese vaccines on Feb. 16, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said Friday that another batch would arrive in Hungary in March. ^ top ^

China's key political season kicks off, pooling strength for modernization drive (Xinhua)
2021-03-05
China's top political advisory body started its annual session Thursday in Beijing, kicking off the country's major political season of the year that will pool the strength for fully building a modern socialist country. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the opening meeting of the session at the Great Hall of the People. "This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as well as the starting point on a new journey to fully building a modern socialist China," Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told a gathering of more than 2,000 political advisors. Wang called on political advisors to devote their wisdom and strength to the construction of a modern socialist country. The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will begin its annual session on Friday. The dual meetings, also known as the "two sessions," will set the general national agenda for the whole year and beyond. Premier Li Keqiang is expected to deliver a government work report, which will be closely watched as China has emerged among the first countries to effectively contain the COVID-19 pandemic, reopen the economy safely, and restore economic growth. The country's development goals and plan for 2021 are expected to be unveiled in the report. China's GDP grew 2.3 percent year on year to hit 101.6 trillion yuan (about 15.7 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2020. Zhang Liqun, a research fellow with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said China's economy is resilient, has potential and will maintain sustained growth in 2021. Zhang, however, noted that the primary goal of economic development is not to seek a nice-looking GDP figure but to raise the quality of the growth and ensure people's well-being. This year's two sessions are expected to garner more attention from home and abroad as lawmakers will deliberate a blueprint for China's development in the next five to 15 years -- the draft outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the long-range objectives through the year 2035. "This year's two sessions do not just serve for the work in 2021, but also the goals and tasks set by the 14th Five-Year Plan. We must fulfill the great mission of our times," said Bai Chongen, a CPPCC National Committee member and dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University. The draft outline will be under the spotlight for its comprehensive and targeted measures echoing China's new development philosophy, said Xin Ming, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). Topics including high-quality economic development, sci-tech innovation, rural vitalization and eco-protection will also draw much attention, Xin said, adding that "dual circulation" development paradigm will be another highlight, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay. The 14th Five-Year Plan will further clarify how China will implement the dual circulation strategy and achieve high-quality development, observers say, noting that unleashing domestic demand is crucial to driving China's growth, but this new development paradigm does not mean China will backpedal on its opening-up drive. China's pursuit of self-reliance "is never to close its doors but to build a new development paradigm based on wider and higher-level opening-up," explained Wang Yiming, a member of the CPPCC National Committee. During the past year, China had actively cooperated with other countries and regions. It signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in November and completed investment agreement negotiations with the European Union in December. "China's economy has been deeply integrated into the global economy. As China enters the new stage of development, its ties with the world economy will get even closer," said Ji Zhiye, former head of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations who is also a member of the CPPCC National Committee. Ji said the international capitals are optimistic about the Chinese market thanks to the country's business environment and economic resilience. The two sessions returning to its traditional March schedule is an embodiment of China's success in effectively containing the COVID-19 epidemic. The arrangement reconfirms that China's political, economic and social life is returning to normal, injecting confidence into the world amid the fight against the virus. Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, said he is hopeful that China will not have any major COVID-19 resurgence this year thanks to its anti-epidemic experience and strong control measures. Promoting vaccination across the country is the focus of the next stage of epidemic control, according to Zhang, who also heads Shanghai's COVID-19 clinical expert team. As of the end of February, more than 52 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China. The world today is caught between a pandemic of the century and momentous changes never seen over the past one hundred years, bringing about many risks and challenges for China on its way ahead. China's nationwide unity is the most solid support for overcoming all kinds of difficulties, and the two sessions are an important platform to pool the country's strength, said Luo Jie, an NPC deputy and head of the Taihe Hospital in Shiyan, central China's Hubei Province. Embarking on the new journey, this year's two sessions will unite the people to concertedly strive toward a brighter future with great opportunities, said another NPC deputy Cui Genliang. ^ top ^

What to expect at "two sessions" as China begins new journey (People's Daily)
2021-03-04
China's top legislature and political advisory body will start annual sessions this week, returning to their traditional March schedule after last year's events were postponed to May due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As the year 2021 marks the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the world will watch how China, with the elimination of absolute poverty just declared, charts its course toward fully building a modern socialist country. The fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is scheduled to open on Friday, a day after the opening of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). In addition to hearing the annual work reports of the government, top legislature, top court and top procuratorate, lawmakers will also review a blueprint for China's development in the next five to 15 years -- the draft outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the long-range objectives through the year 2035. The following are some of the issues expected to be high on the agenda of the two sessions. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the only major economy in the world to register positive growth in 2020, with its GDP expanding 2.3 percent to hit 101.6 trillion yuan (about 15.7 trillion U.S. dollars) in the year. On Friday when the government work report is delivered to the NPC for deliberation, this year's development goals will be closely watched. Last year, no specific GDP growth figure was set in the government work report due to the uncertainty brought by COVID-19 and the world economic and trade environment. Zhang Liqun, a research fellow with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said China's economy is resilient, has potential and will maintain sustained growth in 2021. But he said the primary goal of economic development is not to seek a nice-looking GDP figure but to raise the quality of the growth and ensure people's well-being. Major development targets listed in the 14th Five-Year Plan, including economic growth, newly created jobs in urban areas, major projects, as well as pollution control will also draw attention. China's "dual circulation" development paradigm, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, is expected to be another hot topic during the two sessions. The 14th Five-Year Plan will further clarify how China will implement the dual circulation strategy and achieve high-quality development. Unleashing domestic demand is crucial to driving China's growth, but this new development paradigm does not mean China will backpedal on its opening-up, officials and experts have said. Dual circulation is seen as a strategic and win-win choice for China to reshape its international cooperation and new competitive edge, said Justin Yifu Lin, former World Bank chief economist and honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University. Chinese authorities have said the country will uphold the central role of innovation in its modernization drive and implement an innovation-driven strategy for the next five to 15 years. It will strategically underpin its national development with self-reliance in science and technology. "We still face challenges including a complex international environment, and there is still a supply gap in the overall innovation capacity," said Xue Lan, a professor from Tsinghua University. Xue said the country's high-quality development must rely on sci-tech innovation. National legislators and political advisors, many of whom are scientists and Big Tech executives, are expected to discuss the ways to build China's sci-tech strength and create an enabling environment for innovation. A complete economic and societal shift to cleaner energy and fewer polluting emissions conforms to the people's expectations for high-quality development. Last year, China announced that it would strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. To that end, carbon emission control has been included in China's top policy priorities for 2021. In January, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said the country has begun formulating an action plan to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and will accelerate the transformation toward green and low-carbon development across China's society over the next 10 years. Wu Gang, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and chairman of Xinjiang Goldwind Sci &Tech Co., Ltd., said he had submitted proposals on achieving carbon neutrality and would discuss with fellow political advisors about building a clean and diversified energy supply system. As the highest organ of state power, the NPC exercises various functions and powers including enacting and amending basic laws. In 2019, the NPC session adopted the Foreign Investment Law. Last year, the milestone Civil Code was adopted. The upcoming session will see lawmakers deliberate draft amendments to the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC, which deal with the operations of the country's top legislature. According to sources from the top legislature, the draft amendments assimilate effective practices in legislative processes, such as making NPC sessions more open and efficient. ^ top ^

Chinese democracy deserves being well understood (Xinhua)
2021-03-03
The annual national "two sessions" is a key window into Chinese democracy, and it may be enlightening to gaze at the Chinese model at a time when the world needs to work more closely than ever to tackle common challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth sessions of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are scheduled to open on Friday and Thursday, respectively. Unlike legislators in the West who make their careers in politics, deputies to the NPC, China's top legislature, are from all walks of life and work part-time. Of the nearly 3,000 national lawmakers, more than 15 percent are grassroots workers and farmers. The CPPCC, part of the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), is an important contributor to democratic decision-making and problem-solving. Under the system, the CPC works together with non-Communist parties rather than playing party politics that tosses aside the needs of the people. At the annual two sessions, Chinese democracy representing the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people ensures that grassroots voices are heard and concerns over the well-being of the people fully addressed. By late January, all 9,180 suggestions submitted by NPC deputies to last year's annual NPC session had been handled, with feedback provided. Various departments of the State Council, or the cabinet, adopted approximately 3,700 pieces of advice from NPC deputies and political advisors and subsequently introduced some 1,500 related policy measures. Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics is something new that is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, created in revolutionary and constructive periods, and gradually improved in times of reform. It is time to re-understand the essence of Chinese democracy and its significance to the progress of human society. Democracy is to be used to address problems that the people want to solve, rather than an ornament to be used for decoration. Following government efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, China resumed production and brought people's life back on track in a short period of time, became the only major economy to post growth, and announced the elimination of absolute poverty across the nation -- a great achievement China has made that will go down in history. In sharp contrast, some political parties in certain countries have been busy engaging in bickering or politicizing the pandemic for their own interests, causing many to succumb to the virus simply due to poor responses. There is no perfect democracy, only democracy that fits best. More than 100 years ago, China, under the decadence and impotence of a feudal government and facing the invasions and occupations of imperialist powers, pioneered new state and governance systems and experimented with various solutions such as a constitutional monarchy, parliamentary systems, multiparty politics, and a presidential government. But all the efforts to search for ways to create a better future for the nation ended in failure, with its people struggling to survive. Only after the founding of the CPC in 1921 did China find its path to national independence and prosperity, and its people's liberation and happiness. Only the person wearing the shoes knows if they fit. Only the people can tell if the development path they have chosen for their country is suitable. If people's opinions are heard and their concerns are addressed, if their interests are put first and their lives are constantly improving, theirs is surely a workable, efficient democracy that suits their country and is full of vigor and vitality. ^ top ^

Premier stresses preparation for spring farming, control of animal diseases, pests (China Daily)
2021-03-03
Premier Li Keqiang, in an instruction to a video conference on spring farming and production on March 2, called for solid preparation for spring farming and effective prevention of animal diseases and pests to ensure food security and the supply of major agricultural and sideline products. Premier Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said the work in agriculture and villages is significant in the starting year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). He asked departments and governments in all regions to firmly implement the decisions and measures of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to consolidate poverty eradication and push forward rural revitalization. Production is pressing against a short time, Premier Li said, adding that farmland management and farming preparation should be enhanced with proper technical guides and stable material supplies. While pooling in more support policies, farmers and local governments should be mobilized in grain production to ensure the output above 1.3 trillion jin (650 billion kilograms), Premier Li said. In addition, he added, more work should be done to make a good start in turning around the seed industry, intensifying high-standard farmland construction, and holding the red line of arable land. He also called for efforts to stabilize hog production, and prevent and control major animal diseases and pests. Food security and a sufficient supply of major agricultural and sideline products will lay a solid foundation for the economic and social development of the year, Premier Li stressed. Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, addressed the meeting. He called for firm implementation of the decisions and measures of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to ensure a good harvest this year and effective supply of grains and key agricultural products to provide strong support for a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan. Hu underscored the great importance of guaranteeing this year's grain and agricultural production, saying that both the Party and the government should be responsible for grain security and more capital input should be used to stimulate farmers' enthusiasm. China must maintain grain output above 650 billion kilograms, guarantee grain acreage, fight against disasters for harvests, and improve grain varieties in quality as well as quantity, Hu said. A red line of the 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land must be held, the acreage of permanent basic farmland must be guaranteed with the main purpose for grain planting, and construction of high-standard farmland should be completed, he added. He also urged efforts to carry out surveys, identification and protection of agricultural germ plasm resources, work out and implement action plan on promoting the development of the seed industry, and grow seed businesses. Modernization of facilities and equipment in agricultural production, distribution and processes should be accelerated to improve supply and market competitiveness, he said. He also stressed stable production of hogs, further development of the cattle, sheep and dairy industries, and sound production of poultry and aquatic products. ^ top ^

Chinese Leaders Gear Up to Release Next Five-Year Plan (Caixin)
2021-03-03
Chinese lawmakers will congregate in Beijing later this week to review a key national plan that will guide policy through the next five years and beyond. Officials from across the country will descend on the Great Hall of the People, a vast state palace on the western side of Tiananmen Square, to attend the annual political meetings known as the "Two Sessions." The term refers to the gatherings of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, which begins Friday; and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which starts Thursday. The Two Sessions will conclude next week with the expected ratification of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, which will run through 2025, as well as the approval of more distant national goals for 2035. But the meetings are also an opportunity for senior officials to reflect on the government's recent work and address initiatives for the year ahead. Much of the initial pageantry is likely to focus on President Xi Jinping's poverty alleviation campaign, which he concluded last week by declaring "total victory" over extreme want. The proclamation means that Xi's administration has achieved the first of China's so-called centennial goals, which aimed to build a "moderately prosperous," or "xiaokang," society in time for the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party's founding in 2021. It also implies that the new five-year plan may to pivot toward the second such goal, building a "modern socialist country" in time for the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic in 2049. This year's Two Sessions come at a delicate moment in China's development. Policymakers are expected to focus on consolidating the country's recovery from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, building technological self-reliance amid testy relations with the United States, and addressing Xi's ambitious pledge to decarbonize the economy. Recent statements by senior government figures indicate that the next five-year plan is likely to formalize a strategy called "dual circulation," which aims to boost the share of domestic consumption in China's historically export-led economy. At a meeting Friday to discuss the draft plan, members of China's Politburo, a group of 25 top Communist Party members headed by Xi, urged "unremitting efforts" to establish a "new development paradigm" around dual circulation, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. As China's economy continues to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic, officials have also hinted they intend to maintain a steady hand on the tiller in the short term instead of embracing large-scale stimulus measures. Economic bigwigs have repeated a mantra of "no sharp turns" in policy and underscored the need to maintain "continuity, stability (and) sustainability" through 2021 through "proactive" and "prudent" fiscal and monetary policy. The more modest aims for this year were evident at Friday's Politburo meeting, when members said China should aim to "keep the economy running within a reasonable range," according to Xinhua. But in the years to come, China is likely to adopt new reforms to boost domestic consumption, said Yang Weimin, the deputy chief of the CPPCC's Economics Commission, in an exclusive interview with Caixin on Tuesday. The reforms could include granting more rural-born migrant workers the right to settle in cities, improving the domestic supply of consumer goods, and boosting the share of tourism and cultural goods in the economy, Yang said. Overall, the new five-year plan targets the "balanced development" of financial services, real estate and the real economy, while also aiming to keep the share of manufacturing in China's economy "basically stable," he said. In an analysis last month, Pang Ming, head of macro and strategic research at China Renaissance Securities in Hong Kong, wrote that the plan would continue to focus heavily on employment, rural income growth and social security improvements during the next five-year plan. Chinese leaders also appear likely to target greater technological self-reliance over the next five years, after U.S. sanctions hammered major Chinese tech companies and exerted acute pressure on strategically important sectors like semiconductors. The Politburo stressed the need to strengthen the "strategic support of science and technology" over the coming year and beyond, according to Xinhua, a statement in tune with a recent flurry of official pronouncements describing China's "external environment" (link in Chinese) as increasingly complex and uncertain. The plan is also likely to outline China's early steps toward its stated goal of bringing carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and reducing them to net zero by 2060, a bold pledge made by Xi in September. ^ top ^

China's national legislature to hold press conference ahead of annual session (Xinhua)
2021-03-03
The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will hold a press conference on Thursday, one day ahead of the opening of its annual session. A spokesperson for the fourth session of the 13th NPC will take questions from Chinese and foreign reporters on the agenda of the session and work of the NPC, according to the press center of the session. The press conference, scheduled for 9:40 p.m., will be held via video link due to the COVID-19 prevention and control requirements. The event will be broadcast live by China Media Group and on xinhuanet.com. ^ top ^

China's local laws under scrutiny as Xi Jinping condemns 'legislative slack' (SCMP)
2021-03-02
President Xi Jinping has pledged to closely scrutinise local legislation to uphold "the integrity of national laws", just five years after Beijing delegated lawmaking powers to more than 200 additional local legislatures. "Upholding the integrity of national laws is a serious political problem. Our country is a unitary state," Xi said in an internal speech last November. The speech was published on Monday by the Communist Party's flagship magazine Qiushi. While Xi hailed the 2015 amendment which delegated the power to make local laws to 273 additional cities, as "generally good", he slammed unspecified local laws for superseding national legislation as well as "legislative slack" – referring to their lax control. "This has created very bad influence," he said. "[We] must strengthen the implementation of the constitution and constitutional review, and resolutely correct and nullify any regulations and documents that contravene the constitution." Xi's remarks underscored his dissatisfaction with local governments using their legislative powers to sidestep orders from Beijing, according to Qin Qianhong, a law professor with Wuhan University. "From his perspective, he's most concerned with the lukewarm implementation [by local authorities] of orders issued by central party leaders," he said. "On paper, it's about [defending] the integrity of national laws, but it's really about the unification of minds within the party." While Xi vowed Beijing would exercise stringent control on local laws, there may be little the current legal framework could contribute to a solution, Qin added. Xi's speech was released as China ramps up preparations of its 14th five-year plan and the party's centenary. The November speech provided a comprehensive look at Xi's views on China's legal system, which he said would serve as a legal support to the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". In the speech, Xi reiterated that China would never copy the Western model of constitutional democracy, separation of the three powers and judicial independence. He also called for legislation to catch up in areas where laws and regulations had lagged behind, including internet financing, cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence. Xi had previously only publicly referred to "legislative slack" in a 2018 speech which described a set of conservation regulations from the northwestern province of Gansu as a typical example of the problem. "It was a 'legislative slack' and a total absence of law enforcement, causing the severe damage of the Qilian Mountains," he said. "[We] must learn deep lessons [from this]." While the national conservation law prohibited 10 types of behaviours in all national natural reserves, a provincial law promulgated by Gansu only banned three – giving loopholes to illegal mining in the Qilian range, according to investigators sent by central party leaders in 2017. A readout of the investigation said that, despite Xi's repeated instructions, the provincial leadership had failed to plug the local legislation. Wang Sanyun, former party secretary of Gansu, was the most senior official found responsible for the scandal, the Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said. Wang was jailed for 12 years on corruption charges in 2019. China does not have a constitutional court, with reviews – including of local laws – carried out by the different levels of legislatures themselves. "There has been a great leap forward in lawmaking since 2015," said Qin Qianhong with Wuhan University, referring to the legislative amendment. "And there's only limited capacity to review all those new laws and regulations." Before the 2015 amendment, only 49 cities had the power to make local laws. Within five years, the additional 273 cities had introduced 1,300 new local laws and regulations, according to official data. In his speech published on Monday, Xi also called for limiting the total number of lawsuits in the country and resolving more disputes outside the court system. "With a population of 1.4 billion in our country, if litigation is required for all matters, China will definitely be overloaded," he said. In his speech, Xi cited the "fengqiao experience", a mechanism from the Mao Zedong era in which social disputes were resolved at the grass-roots level before being taken to higher legal bodies. There were 6.1 million litigation cases nationwide in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 22.7 per cent, according to the official numbers. "This means that other social mediation channels are needed to resolve the growing number of disputes, to solve them at the grass-roots level," said Zhang Jianwei, a law professor with Tsinghua University in Beijing. ^ top ^

Chinese Leaders Mulling Retirement Age Rise, Vice Minister Says (Caixin)
2021-02-28
Chinese leaders are studying a detailed plan to raise the retirement age in response to an aging population, You Jun, a vice minister of human resources and social security, said at a Friday press conference in Beijing. At the end of 2019, 18.1% of China's population, or about 250 million people, were aged 60 or above, official data show. The number of "people of advanced age" is expected to exceed 300 million during the next five-year plan that will run through 2025, You said. The number of people of working age in China — that is, those between 16 and 59 years old — has shrunk by an average of 3 million every year since 2012 and is expected to further decrease by 35 million during the next five years, You said. China has not changed its retirement age for decades. Current laws permit men to retire at 60 and women to retire at 55 or 50, depending on the nature of their employment. Decades of economic development have increased life expectancy and sown concerns that the country is ill-prepared to look after its rapidly aging population. At a key political meeting in October, top Chinese leaders proposed gradually raising the retirement age, but did not publicly disclose specific details. Xu Zhong, a former head of the People's Bank of China's research bureau, wrote in a recent op-ed that the growing proportion of senior citizens in China is widening the country's pensions gap and making it increasingly hard for the state to ensure it can finance people through their old age. ^ top ^

IPC President: Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics will be held as scheduled (Xinhua)
2021-03-04
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons believes Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics will be held as scheduled. ^ top ^

Shanghai's regulations on promoting new-energy vehicles take effect (Xinhua)
2021-03-02
Shanghai's new regulations on encouraging citizens to purchase and use new-energy vehicles (NEVs) took effect on Monday. Local consumers can apply for special license plates for new-energy vehicles free of charge if they own only one such vehicle and it is for non-operational use, according to the regulations. However, consumers who plan to buy plug-in hybrid vehicles should already have charging facilities in Shanghai and not own any cars registered as non-operational status, although motorcycles are excluded. In a bid to promote the use of NEVs, Shanghai will upgrade existing public charging points into fast-charging ones and aim to build a network with 10,000 charging points. Meanwhile, the city will produce over 10,000 fuel-cell vehicles with 70 charging stations by 2025. Shanghai aims to become a global hub for new-energy vehicles. According to SAIC Motor, a major Chinese carmaker based in Shanghai, sales of the company's NEVs reached 320,000 units in 2020, up 77.8 percent year on year. On Jan. 18, U.S. electric car-maker Tesla started delivering its Model Y vehicles, which are made at its Shanghai factory. ^ top ^

Draft law protects personal information in internet era (China Daily)
2021-03-04
China's first draft law on personal information protection will be revised to deal with technological challenges in the internet era and help the country solve data collection amid the COVID-19 outbreak, a senior legislator said. Considering that health QR codes on smartphones have contributed to pandemic control and the reopening of businesses nationwide, the draft law, which was deliberated in October by the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, stipulates that some personal information can be used in public health emergencies or urgent incidents to protect people's safety. "But the collection of information and how it is used in these situations must be clarified and disclosed to the information providers to protect and ensure information safety," said Wang Ruihe, director of the Economic Law Department from the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission. He stressed the requirement in February, adding that his department has planned to solicit opinions about the draft from people of more walks of life to amend and improve it. Personal information protection has also aroused attention among deputies to the NPC, "as it's close to everyone's daily lives and interests," said Fu Yuhang, an NPC deputy from Sichuan province. Before this year's annual session of the NPC, which will open on Friday, Fu said she will continue following the draft law and suggest the top legislature give stronger legal support to personal information protection amid the outbreak. Guo Weimin, spokesman for the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, said at a news conference on Wednesday that many members of the CPPCC National Committee have paid great attention to the issue. They believe that figuring out how to regulate internet enterprises to collect, store or use personal information in line with laws and to effectively ensure information safety are important and urgent issues, Guo said. He added that some members from enterprises pledged to safeguard personal information safety by improving self-regulation, taking responsibility and balancing the relation between providing information service and managing information. Cai Weiping, an NPC deputy from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, recently told Guangzhou Daily that protecting privacy and preventing online bullying in the collection and use of pandemic-related personal information is an urgent issue. […] ^ top ^

Xinjiang girls seeking a better living and life of dignity is now BBC's 'evidence of coercion' (Global Times)
2021-03-05
After China pulled BBC World News off the air for serious content violation, the BBC seemed to go astray further on making false China reports especially regarding the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The BBC recently released a report twisting southern Xinjiang officials' efforts to help impoverished villagers go outside the region and earn a better living, calling the well-intentioned move "evidence of coercion." The BBC report, which was released on Tuesday, rummaged a 14-minute video broadcast by China Central Television in 2017 on how local officials in Pishan county of Hotan Prefecture in southern Xinjiang persuaded villagers to work in East China's Anhui Province. And by citing a professor, the BBC report interpreted the video as evidence of China's "system of coercion" to transfer ethnic minorities into factories far from their homes. The story was written by John Sudworth, who is infamous in China for his biased China reporting. The video footage, which was seen as exclusive "evidence" by BBC, was part of a series reports broadcast by the CCTV in 2017, titled "Girls in Pishan going outside: Is the destiny pre-determined or self-made." The video began by telling the background story that Anhui and Pishan worked together to help villagers in Pishan work in Anhui and local officials were introducing the program to villagers, who had never been outside of Xinjiang for work. The reports also recorded the changes of Buzaynap, a 19-year-old girl in Pishan before making up her mind to work in Anhui. Sudworth cherry-picked facts and expressions of Buzaynap and interpreted them as "evidence" for China using poverty alleviation as a disguise to "force" ethnic groups to work. However, the second episode, which was released on July 20 2017, debunked Sudwork's lies. It reported the lives of these girls in Anhui and the growth of Buzaynap - from a shy girl who had never left home to an able-minded worker. The third episode which was released in 2019 focused on Buzaynap's return to her hometown during the Spring Festival holiday. With the money she earned, Buzaynap helped her family buy donkeys and sheep. A big smile can be seen on her face during the interview when she talked about the money she had earned. At the end of the episode, it said that girls from Pishan who worked in Anhui had enjoyed a more colorful life - some of them chose to go back to school and some chose to work outside. However, the BBC report failed to mention these. Instead of trying to reach these girls in the video, the BBC interviewed the infamous anti-China evangelical "scholar" Adrian Zenz in its report. Chinese netizens mocked that it seems "normal" for BBC to make such biased Xinjiang reports, "the more efforts it made to slander China, the more anger it would harvest when people finally find out about the truth," a netizen commented. Some overseas netizens also pointed out the lies made by the BBC. Tom Fowdy, a British political and international relations analyst, listed all the three episodes of the reports on his Twitter account and asked Sudworth why he cherry-picked Buzaynap's story to "portray it as an atrocity and falsely claim she was separated from her family by force." No answer has come from Sudworth.  ^ top ^

HK electoral system overhaul a highlight of two sessions (Global Times)
2021-03-03
Ahead of China's most important annual political event that kicks off on Thursday, an overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system is expected to top the agenda, raising considerable public discussion about how to define patriotism and interpret love for the Communist Party of China (CPC)-led country, the essence of which has been proposed as fundamental for the principle of only patriots governing Hong Kong. While some Western media and some radical anti-government forces in Hong Kong are trying to stir up anti-CPC sentiment in Hong Kong society by demonizing the ruling Party, local scholars and political representatives said it is time to correct some long-term misunderstandings in Hong Kong society about the relationship between the ruling Party and the country, clarify fundamental standards for being a patriot who holds public governance power in the city, and refute wrong claims made by some Western critics and media coverage of the upcoming reforms. CNN recently ran an article headlined "Hong Kong's new loyalty oath requires all lawmakers to love China - and the Communist Party," and The Washington Post said in article that "China uses patriotism test to sweep aside last outlet for Hong Kong democracy." Reuters, in an explainer story, asked "What is love? Beijing desires unconditional loyalty from Hong Kong." Those reports came as top central government official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, made a speech twice within one week concerning the principle for local governance, unleashing important messages about the imminent reform of the city's electoral system that is expected to be discussed during the two sessions. However, those Western media, once again, failed to understand the true meaning of Beijing's messages. Xia's speech about only patriots governing Hong Kong outlined detailed conditions for being a patriot who governs the city, including not only the city's chief executive but also major officials of the Executive Council, LegCo lawmakers, returning officers and all-levels of judges. He urged Hong Kong officials to understand "one country, two systems" correctly and comprehensively by not challenging the bottom-line of the country, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a member of the Executive Council, told the Global Times on Tuesday. "It's about correctly understanding the relationship between the central government and Hong Kong, and there's no single word mentioning that a patriot has to love the CPC," she said. While critics cited by some Western media said that the reforms demand nearly "total obedience," crush the city's so-called "democracy" and further marginalize the pan-democratic group, some local scholars in Hong Kong said that such interpretations deliberately misread the real meaning of Xia's messages. There was no requirement to love the Party in Xia's speech. He emphasized respect for the constitutional order of Hong Kong since its return to the motherland, given that the socialist system is the fundamental political system of China and the leadership of the CPC is the most essential characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and this cannot be damaged by any individual or organization, Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times in a recent interview. "We can interpret his remarks from a perspective of 'a Negative List', which means you don't have to genuinely love the Party or believe in communism or socialism, but you can't take actions that try to change a China led by the CPC," Lau said. Xia, the top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs, said in his speech on February 22 that "there can be different political views, but there's a red line, that is we will never tolerate any acts that hurt the fundamental system of the country, namely, the socialism led by the CPC." Influenced by Western culture and values, especially in the post-WWII world that was divided between the communist and the capitalist world, many people in Hong Kong have certain fears about the CPC, Ip said, noting that many of the first generation of immigrants from the Chinese mainland were capitalists from Shanghai. "But more importantly, the relationship between the Party and the country has not been fully explained and discussed in Hong Kong society, which has become a topic being avoided," Ip added. By manipulating such complex public sentiment on the CPC in the wake of Western-led rhetoric offensive against the CPC, radical anti-government forces in Hong Kong have been attacking the Party intensely, instigating hatred toward the ruling Party. Some radical political figures such as former lawmaker Wong Yuk-man and Tam Tak-chi, vice chairman of the pro-democracy group People Power, have openly advocated to crack down on the leadership of the CPC, referring to it as "tyranny." Xia's speeches send different messages to three major types of people in Hong Kong, and one group is the radical opposition. If they continue crossing the redline, they will face a miserable outcome, Lau noted. "While for the general public, given that "one country, two systems" principle remains unchanged, as long as they don't get involved in any practices that endanger national security, their rights of freedom of speech won't change," he said. Ip agreed with this interpretation, as she sees Hong Kong remaining a society ruled by the common law system, which guarantees the basic rights of Hong Kong residents. "You can criticize the CPC, but you can't turn those critics into actions that subvert state power," she said. While the upcoming political reforms will not turn into a restriction of public opinion or complete elimination of opposition groups, they have higher requirements for those who take office or intend to hold public power, who need to be the patriots with a firm stance. The reforms indicate a new direction for pan-democratic groups to continue their political paths, which are expected to become a loyal opposition, observers said. Contrary to The Washington Post, which said that "China moves to quash the territory's last avenue of democracy," Ip said that opposition groups in Hong Kong have room for existence as long as they do not challenge the country's bottom-line. Some officials from Western countries called for the release of 47 arrested anti-government figures, ignoring the fact that some former lawmakers and political figures among them have violated the national security law and some severely challenged the redline of local governance, and have already been barred from continuing their political paths and cannot be considered as "representatives of so-called democratic pursuits," according to observers. Those who take office in Hong Kong need to be patriots with a firm stance, which means they will not dodge on their political position and will have the courage to fight back against the unilateral sanctions and groundless critics from the West amid growing rivalry between China and the US, Ip said. After thoroughly listening to public opinion from Hong Kong society on imminent political reforms, Chinese policymakers are expected to come up with a consensus on how to plug the loopholes in existing systems and why it is necessary to carry on the reform process as soon as possible after the two sessions starts on Thursday.  ^ top ^

5.3-magnitude quake hits waters off Taiwan: CENC (Xinhua)
2021-03-02
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake jolted coastal waters of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan at 5:23 p.m. Tuesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter, with a depth of 20 km, was monitored at 21.92 degrees north latitude and 121.17 degrees east longitude, said the CENC. ^ top ^

DPP hypes mainland pineapple ban to serve its own interests (Global Times)
2021-02-28
After the Chinese mainland announced its temporary ban, starting from Monday, on pineapples from the island of Taiwan to ensure biosecurity due to the detection of pests, the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority that rules the island is trying to shift the blame to the mainland by claiming the ban is a "political practice." Mainland experts said the DPP authority is hyping the mainland's standard quarantine inspection measure in an attempt to politicize the matter to serve its own interests. Starting March 1, mainland customs will suspend pineapple imports from Taiwan after quarantine authorities frequently detected pests on the tropical fruit coming from Taiwan since 2020, according to a notice published on the website of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Friday. The import suspension, as a normal biosafety precaution measure, is scientific and reasonable, in line with the relevant laws and standards of the mainland, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Friday. However, the DPP authority claimed that the mainland's decision comes amid the pineapple harvest season, which could cause great losses to the industry, so it said the ban is "unacceptable." The authority even asked foreign countries to buy Taiwan's "Freedom Pineapple" since it wants to make it seem like the "mainland is bullying the island." Chinese mainland experts noted that importing fruits from other regions or countries should always be based on safety of the mainland customers, and that fruit imports from Taiwan are not just a business activity as the mainland has given up great amounts of profits to take care of Taiwan compatriots. When the DPP authority is being extremely hostile toward the mainland, it would be unfair to ask the mainland to stay friendly unconditionally. Li Xiaobing, a Taiwan studies expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times that when the cross-Straits exchanges remained normal in the past, this kind of problem would not cause significant losses as the two sides could find solutions through coordination and cooperation, but today, communication and exchanges have been seriously damaged by the secessionist DPP authority. "The DPP is the one who should be blamed." The mainland has long been Taiwan's most vital pineapple export destination. Taiwan exported 41,661 tons of fresh pineapples to the mainland in 2020, accounting for 91 percent of the island's total pineapple exports that year, according to statistics from Taiwan's "Council of Agriculture". It nonetheless does little harm to the mainland's pineapple market, where Taiwan-exported pineapples only account for a negligible part, industry insiders told the Global Times. Data showed that the mainland produced 1.72 million tons of pineapples in 2019, 33 times more than the 51,112 tons that it imported from Taiwan that year. The mainland's overall import suspension creates nearly TWD 1.5 billion ($53.9 million) of losses to Taiwan, estimated Taiwan media on Friday. Li said the DPP and those in the island who naively believe that they do not need to pay any price after offending the mainland should realize that "it's absolutely stupid and arrogant to use the mainland's kindness toward Taiwan compatriots to earn economic profits, but at the same time, pursue secessionism and be hostile toward the mainland." Lin Cheng-chieh, one of the founders of the DPP and a former "lawmaker" of the island, also found blaming the mainland on the pineapple ban is unfair. He said at an interview with Taiwan media that "Taiwan's economy is drinking the 'breast milk' from the mainland's body. The mainland has given up huge amounts of profits to us, but we have never been grateful. We always treat them as enemies." "When Taiwan treats the mainland unfairly with hostility, how could you demand the mainland to be friendly?" Lin said. The DPP authority has damaged cross-Straits ties on several occasions in the past few years, including supporting Hong Kong separatist forces in the 2019 turmoil and banning mask exports to the mainland in 2020 when COVID-19 hit Wuhan and the mainland was facing shortage of medical materials. The DPP authority also followed the Trump administration's confrontational acts against China to ban mainland companies' legal activities and cultural exchanges in the island, and firms like Huawei, Taobao and iQIYI are all victims. Some senior DPP politicians and pro-secessionist media in the island even insist on naming COVID-19 with the racist and humiliating name of "Wuhan virus" A Beijing-based expert on Taiwan affairs who asked for anonymity told the Global Times that these hostile acts by the DPP are the real "political practice," and they are not innocent at all. "They should be grateful as the mainland didn't sanction them economically in past two years." Taiwan's pineapples and relevant products are mostly grown and produced in the southern part of the island, which mostly supports the separatist DPP, so this time, the ban based on biosafety reasons might let them realize that the mainland can make those secessionists suffer if they continue to support hostile approaches toward the mainland, the expert said. "The pineapple business is just a small share of the cross-Straits trade, and the ban has already caused that much headache to the DPP. So let's think: What if the mainland gets further infuriated one day and chooses to use real sanctions to comprehensively strike the Taiwan economy? The mainland can let them know what the real pain is," the expert noted. Experts said that other big shares of cross-Straits trade like semiconductor products, electroplates and numerically-controlled machine tools could all be targets if the mainland really wants to sanction the island. ^ top ^

China to keep economy running within appropriate range over next 5 years (Xinhua)
2021-03-05
China will strive to keep its economy running within an appropriate range during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, according to a government work report submitted Friday to the national legislature for deliberation. China will set annual economic targets in light of actual circumstances during the period, said the report. The country's surveyed urban unemployment rate will be kept below 5.5 percent, and consumer prices will remain generally stable. China aims to achieve higher-quality development that is more efficient, equitable, sustainable, and secure over the next five years. ^ top ^

State Comes to the Rescue of Former Retail Superstar Suning (Caixin)
2021-03-01
Electronics retailer Suning.com announced a $2.3 billion share sale that will hand over nearly a quarter of the company to state-controlled entities, amounting to a state-led bailout for a former retail pioneer that has fallen on hard times. Investors enthusiastically greeted the ownership transfer, which was first announced last week with no names given, by bidding up shares of the Nanjing-based company by the daily 10% limit in Monday trade. The reshuffle will see four of the five largest shareholders in publicly listed Suning.com Co. Ltd. sell a combined 23% of the company's shares to two state-owned investment bodies in Shenzhen for 14.8 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), according to a filing to Shenzhen Stock Exchange Sunday. Suning.com's billionaire founder Zhang Jindong, the company's largest shareholder with 20.96% of the company, will sell down his stake to 15.72%. At the same time, Suning Holdings Group, in which Zhang holds a 59% stake, will sell down its stake to 0.66% from a current 3.98%. Suning Appliance Group will see its stake drop to 5.45% from a current 16.8%, while Tibet Trust will sell its entire 3.07% stake. The net effect of the sales will see Zhang's position in Suning.com drop to 16.38% from a previous 24.94%, making him the company's second largest shareholder. Shenzhen International Holding Ltd. and Shenzhen Kunpeng Equity Investment Management Co. Ltd., both under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the Shenzhen government, will acquire 8% and 15% of the listed company's shares, respectively, for 5.2 billion yuan and 9.7 billion yuan. The transactions are based on a share price of 6.92 yuan per share, representing the average level over the past 60 trading days. The series of sell-downs will leave Taobao (China) Software Co. Ltd, a unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., as the company's largest shareholder with a 19.99% stake. Alibaba made the purchase in 2015 for 28.3 billion yuan, though the investment has lost more than half of its value since then. Concurrent with the share sales, Suning.com also said it plans to build a South China headquarters in Shenzhen, where its two new major shareholders are based. Those new shareholders will use their local resources to enhance Suning.com's market presence in the affluent South China region. Shenzhen International Holding is 43.39% controlled by Shenzhen SASAC and mainly manages logistics infrastructure projects and services, and constructs toll highways in South China's Greater Bay Area of which Shenzhen is a central part. Its Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 4.9% Monday before giving back all of those gains and closing down about 2%. Shenzhen Kunpeng Equity, an investment management company that helps to fund the city's industrial development and construction projects, is fully owned by Shenzhen SASAC. The sales come as the Nanjing-headquartered enterprise faces mounting pressure amid a lackluster financial performance. In the first three quarters of last year, Suning.com's net profit fell by 95% to 547 million yuan. The retail giant, operating one of the country's biggest chains of stores, has a strong presence in both the online and offline realms nationwide. But despite years of effort, Suning.com has yet to make a major dent in the Chinese e-commerce market and now is a distant fourth with 5% share or less. By the end of September last year, it had closed more than a quarter of its brick-and-mortar stores, even as China's pandemic came under control, as more Chinese consumers shopped online. The company has had negative cash flow from operations since 2017, mostly using borrowed funds to fill the gap, according to financial data provider Tonghuashun. Suning said it expects the inclusion of the two new Shenzhen investors to improve its business in logistics services, supply chain capabilities and tax-free retailing businesses. ^ top ^

China's fiscal risks 'extremely severe', former finance minister warns ahead of key meetings (SCMP)
2021-02-28
China's fiscal situation is "extremely severe with risks and challenges", former finance minister Lou Jiwei has warned, citing fallout from aggressive US stimulus policies, the global economic slowdown during the pandemic, an ageing Chinese population and mounting domestic local government debt. Lou offered his sharp critique in December but the assessment has only been made public more recently, with just days to go now before China's political elites meet for their annual legislative session to decide the details of economic policy. Among the big issues will be whether to scale back the fiscal stimulus implemented last year to combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and instead focus on curbing rising debt risks. Beijing is expected to cut back fiscal stimulus even as Washington closes in on approval for an additional US$1.9 trillion in economic stimulus proposed by President Joe Biden. Lou, who served as China's finance minister from 2013 to 2016, warned that the country's fiscal revenue was expected to be stuck at "a low level" in the coming five years, with no sign of the government cutting back its spending. "The fiscal difficulties are not only a near-term or short-term issue, but also will be serious in the medium term," said Lou, who is known for his outspoken views. Lou's remarks were contained in a speech delivered in December but only published in February by a magazine affiliated with the Ministry of Finance. Lou charged that the United States was monetising its budget deficit to transfer its debt burden to the rest of the world, especially to developing countries like China. To finance its large and growing budget deficit, the US government has had to issue increasingly large amounts of Treasury bonds. In addition, the Federal Reserve had bought large amounts of those bonds to inject liquidity into the market – so-called quantitative easing – with the additional cash rapidly pushing up the prices of stocks and other financial assets to levels far beyond those justified by economic fundamentals, Lou said. Lou cited the International Monetary Fund projection that the aggregate government debt of advanced economies accounted for 123.9 per cent of their collective gross domestic product in 2020, breaking the previous historical high recorded at the end of World War II. Lou's comments were published as the US House of Representatives voted early on Saturday morning to approve the Biden administration's US$1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which includes direct aid to small business and US$1,400 cheques to middle-class Americans. On Thursday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell reaffirmed that the central bank had no plans to tighten monetary policy until it had seen a sustained improvement in employment. He expressed no concern at the prospect of rising inflation and rising asset prices. But Lou warned that the US view was short-sighted. "Once the pandemic has been brought under control and the [global] economy begins to recover, fiscal and monetary policies will make a turn that will impact on global financial stability and the economic growth of various countries," Lou said. "Emerging market countries are facing a double blow to both their economies and finances, with the economic risk transforming into fiscal and financial risks, raising the risk of a debt crisis." Lou's warning comes as China's National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, prepare for the start of their annual gatherings this week. The meetings, known as the "two sessions", are the most important annual political gatherings in the world's second-largest economy, during which Chinese leaders are expected to announce lower targets for the central government's budget deficit and for the issuance of local government special purpose bonds this year. Lou, who is director of the CPPCC's foreign affairs committee, said there were further uncertainties and challenges to China's fiscal health on the domestic side. China conducted an expansionary fiscal policy for 11 consecutive years from 2009, resulting in a continuous rise in the fiscal deficit and an explosion in the size of the nation's debt, he said. China's fiscal spending increased 2.8 per cent in 2020 from a year earlier, while its revenue fell 3.9 per cent, the first annual decline since 1976, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance in January. Lou estimated that 15 per cent of state spending last year was used to pay interest on debt, up from the 13 per cent in 2019. And the debt sustainability of most provinces and cities would become even more worrisome in the 2021-2025 period as the size of local debt continues to rise, Lou warned. "According to a rough calculation, about a quarter of the provinces will use more than half of their fiscal revenue to repay capital with interest," he said. He also argued that China's ageing population was likely to produce serious challenges to the fiscal sustainability of the world's most populous nation in the coming years. "The arrival of the ageing society is speeding up, which will change the size and structure of fiscal spending in China, add to the financial burden of elderly care and put pressure on government finances," Lou said. At the end of 2019, more than 176 million Chinese were aged 65 or older, accounting for 12.6 per cent of the population, while the number of people aged 60 and above was about 177.6 million, making up 13.3 per cent of the total population, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. "We are facing major changes unseen in a century," Lou said. "No matter the changes in the domestic economic and social situation, or the global economic downturn, soaring government debt and global trade frictions will all create huge uncertainties and severe challenges for China's fiscal sustainability." ^ top ^

DPRK reviews ways to achieve economic goals (Xinhua)
2021-02-26
An enlarged cabinet meeting of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was held on Thursday here to discuss ways to give businesses greater independence to achieve the economic goals set forth at last month's party congress, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday. The meeting, chaired by Kim Tok Hun, the cabinet premier, was convened via a "teleconference system" to discuss a series of important tasks set forth at the party congress and the following parliamentary session, the KCNA said. Discussed at the enlarged plenary meeting was the agenda on "thoroughly implementing the decisions made at the 8th Congress of the WPK (Workers' Party of Korea) and the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party," the KCNA said. Pak Jong Gun, vice premier of the cabinet and chairman of the State Planning Commission, delivered a report at the meeting, highlighting the need to guarantee independence to the country's businesses. The meeting stressed the need to establish "the system of the state's unified guidance over economic work," and the related working "system and order," the KCNA said. The meeting set forth tasks "for taking stronger measures" to complete the planning in accordance with the conditions of the changing reality, productivity, science and technology, ensure economic and legal environments for enterprises' independent and proactive operations, and give full play to their creativity and responses to the changing environment, it said. ^ top ^

Preparations underway to reopen borders (Montsame)
2021-03-02
On March 1, Deputy Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan held a meeting with the working group in charge of conducting risk assessments on infection control, safety, and possible risks at border checkpoints. The Government of Mongolia is currently working towards the objective of opening the border from May 1. In its framework, Deputy PM S.Amarsaikhan had obliged specialists to conduct risk assessments on COVID-19 infection control at border checkpoints as well as for possible risks at the locations. Thus, a working group led by Deputy Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, Brigadier General S.Baatarjav has carried out works, developing emergency plans in three areas. They are also currently preparing to organize drills and exercises at the border checkpoints for COVID-19 countermeasures, alongside defining methods to mitigate risks. Having used the risk assessment tool developed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to identify risks at Buyant-Ukhaa checkpoint and Chinggis Khaan airport as well as the border checkpoints of Zamiin-Uud and Altanbulag, the working group introduced that works are planned to be carried out in the framework of short-, mid-, and long-term objectives. During the meeting, the Deputy PM also noted the importance of reflecting safety measures in the plan for reopening border checkpoints and resuming regular operations, with a special focus on disinfection and sterilization. ^ top ^

Health Minister receives World Bank Country Manager (Montsame)
2021-03-01
Today, March 1, Minister of Health S. Enkhbold received World Bank's Country Manager for Mongolia Andrei Mikhnev. At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Andrei Mikhnev congratulated on the appointment as Minister of Health and wished him every success. He emphasized that response measures of the Mongolian government against COVID-19 are effective. He also said that the World Bank has been continually supporting Mongolia in the fight against COVID-19 and is now ready to hand over USD1 million-worth personal protective equipment to the health sector. In turn, Mr.Enkhbold expressed sincere gratitude to the World Bank for providing the health sector with the necessary personal protective equipment in the form of a grant to combat the global pandemic. At the meeting, the sides discussed ongoing joint projects and exchanged views on intensifying some projects' implementation. ^ top ^

Embassy of Switzerland