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SCHWEIZER BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE

Der wöchentliche Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP de Chine
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  10-14.5.2021, No. 865  
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Switzerland

Swiss engineering giant ABB ramps up robotics business in China: chairman (China Daily)
2021-05-10
The chairman of Swiss technology and engineering firm ABB told Xinhua he was bullish about his company's performance outlook for 2021 driven by its China business and strong push into robotics and e-mobility. "The first quarter (Q1) of this year was better than expected, both in revenue terms but also in profit terms," Peter Voser told Xinhua on the sidelines of the 50th St. Gallen Symposium, a conference and student initiative taking place at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland in May every year. ABB, headquartered in Zurich, is a global technology and robotics leader with some 110,000 employees worldwide. In Q1, the company reported a 34 percent year-on-year jump in its net profit to $502 million and expects orders and revenues to grow by more than 10 percent during the second quarter. "So all in all, I think a positive outlook for the second quarter, and then for the rest of the year. But there we haven't given any numeric targets at this stage, but we are more positive than we used to be at the beginning of the year," he said in the interview. According to Voser, ABB will focus its long-term strategy on e-mobility. "That's not just for passenger cars, because we are also involved in train electrification, ship electrification, buses and trucks. The whole e-mobility business is very important to us." "ABB in general is engaged in two major revolutions. One is the transition to electric mobility and the other one is automation and robotics," he said. "So, we are well positioned to capture growth in the future." China is ABB's second largest market worldwide. Headquartered in Beijing, the company has around 15,000 employees in the country. Voser said the group's China strategy is focused on an "in China, for China and the world" approach, which entails improving its local research and development (R&D) and innovation capabilities. "We are continuously investing in China," Voser said. "Our biggest project at the moment is the new robot factory, which is also an R&D center and an automation artificial intelligence (AI) center for robotics, so it's the value chain in which we are investing now." In September 2019, ABB broke ground on its new robotics factory by investing one billion Chinese yuan ($154.5 million) in Shanghai. It is planned to become the world's most advanced, automated and flexible robotics factory and is slated to open in 2022. "China is the biggest market at the moment, we are number one in robotics in China, and our projected growth there is enormous," Voser said. "For us, in general, a great business in China, growing very fast, and robotics is the biggest investment now," he told Xinhua. Voser also said he was bullish on the long-term macroeconomic outlook for the world's second largest economy. "From a macro point of view, we are very positive about China and the government has outlined its target for the year... We are well positioned to capture growth in China, and that's why we are investing in robotics." China aims to expand its gross domestic product (GDP) by over six percent year-on-year in 2021, and it plans to bolster its reform, innovation and high-quality development efforts. "Given the size of ABB in China with its 15,000 people, we have great expectations, and I think the country will deliver on this," said Voser, noting that China's economic push is "very positive" for the world, and also for ABB. ^ top ^

Switzerland-China relations based on "mutual trust" -- Swiss Federal Councillor (Xinhua)
2021-05-09
Switzerland-China relations are centered on mutual trust, Swiss Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter has said, calling for updating their free trade agreement. ^ top ^

Swiss ambassador to China: Hainan is not just for duty free goods (CGTN)
2021-05-08
China's first international consumer products expo opens. Switzerland is the event's only guest country of honor. CGTN sat down with Bernardino Regazzoni, Ambassador of Switzerland to China. "We are very happy with the turnout because we have over 40 Swiss companies participating, 26 are here in the Swiss National Pavilion. Companies are aware of the importance of this fair", Regazzoni said. ^ top ^

 

Foreign Policy

US needs new legal tools to combat China threats, says trade chief Katherine Tai (SCMP)
2021-05-14
The United States needs new trade law tools to head off anticompetitive threats from China against key American high-technology industries, rather than reacting once harm is done, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday. Tai told a US House Ways and Means Committee hearing that existing trade law tools are more aimed at protecting US industries and companies after they have already been injured by illegal price dumping and subsidies or other unfair competition. "I would really like to strengthen the trade tools that we have to address the problems we have today," Tai said, adding that many of the US trade laws are nearly 50 or 60 years old. US trade laws, with their backward-looking nature, have struggled to prevent damage to the US steel industry as China has built up massive amounts of production capacity over the past 20 years, Tai said, adding that China's industrial plans show it is poised to do the same in other industries. "I think we need tools that are not just about responding to harms that we have experienced in the past, but tools that are going to anticipate where we're going to have the same pattern of harm to allow us to get ahead of the harm, and allow us to respond as quickly as possible." On Wednesday, Tai called for an update to the 1962 "Section 232" national security trade statute that was used to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Her remarks on Thursday add detail on her desire for tools to address China's massive subsidies and state-driven economic system. If enacted, these could lay the groundwork for future new tariffs to shield more US industries or be used as leverage in negotiations. Beijing's "Made in China 2025" plan targets investments in 10 strategic industries now largely dominated by the United States, including aerospace, semiconductors and information technology, robotics, green energy and electric vehicles, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals and advanced materials. The Biden administration is conducting a "top-to-bottom review" of China trade policy, including how to approach former president Donald Trump's "phase one" trade deal with Beijing that expires at the end of 2021. Tai said the review also will include what to do with many expired exclusions from "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese imports, noting that "time is of the essence" in completing the review. Returning to the committee where she guided policy as the chief Democratic trade lawyer, Tai reiterated the Biden administration's tough stance on China's trade and human rights abuses. "We welcome fair competition. But if China cannot or will not adapt to international rules and norms, we must level the playing field," she added. ^ top ^

UK poses real global cyber threat with offensive capabilities, smears on China 'irresponsible': FM (Global Times)
2021-05-12
China firmly opposed the UK's irresponsible and groundless smear that the Chinese government is "sponsoring" hackers to carry out cyberattacks, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, after the UK's foreign minister hyped up China's threat in global cyberspace in a speech on Wednesday. The UK has been actively engaged in developing offensive cyber capabilities in recent years, which will undoubtedly increase the risk of conflict in global cyberspace, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying at Thursday's routine press conference. In fact, it is this kind of proactive action by the UK that poses the real threat to peace and security in global cyberspace, she stressed. Hua's remarks came after Dominic Raab, the UK foreign minister, said at a cybersecurity conference on Wednesday that the country would lead internationally and invest 22 million pounds in protecting the most vulnerable countries against cyber threats from China, Russia and others. He also mentioned the alleged hack on the Microsoft Exchange Server in March, which he claimed was carried out by "a state-sponsored group operating out of China." Hua said such accusations and smears from the UK politician against China are extremely irresponsible and arbitrary, and made without any factual basis. "Politicizing and ideologizing cybersecurity will not help enhance cybersecurity. Instead, it will undermine mutual trust among countries and poison the atmosphere for international cooperation in the cyber field," she said. In April, a top cyber spy from the UK also claimed that the West needed to act urgently to ensure China does not dominate important emerging technologies and gain control of the "global operating system", reported Reuters. Cybersecurity is a common challenge facing the world and should be jointly safeguarded by all countries through dialogue and cooperation, she said. She urged the UK to make positive contributions to maintaining peace, security and cooperation in cyberspace, rather than the opposite. ^ top ^

Chinese FM slams Copenhagen 'democracy summit' as political farce (Global Times)
2021-05-12
The so-called "democracy conference" held in Copenhagen, hosted by an organization known for spreading rumors and lies about China, is "a downright political farce" filled with ideological prejudices, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday. The "Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2021," which took place from Monday to Tuesday in hybrid format, also invited Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong separatist Nathan Law, a fugitive suspect. Chinese experts said that the self-dramatizing event is like a platform for "the alliance of losers" to beg for more funding from their Western sponsors. At the conference, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod denounced as "deplorable" recent sanctions imposed by China against the EU, reported Reuters on Monday. Responding to such accusations, Hua said at Tuesday's routine press briefing that China had only done the right thing, calling it a necessary and justifiable response to the European Union's unilateral sanctions, which were based on lies that severely undermined China's sovereignty and interests. Hua stressed that Taiwan and Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs that no other country or individual has a right to interfere in, and urged such persons or government bodies to respect China instead of sending the wrong signals to secessionists. "Since the summit is held in the name of democracy, I want to add a few things," noted Hua. "Democracy is a common value pursued by all mankind, but there are various ways to realize it. And the democratic system of a country can only be determined by its own people." China practices a socialist democratic system, which has conformed to China's national conditions and has won wide support from its people. "Take the handling of COVID-19 for example," Hua said. The Chinese government rolled out the most "hardcore" epidemic prevention and control measures, which turned out to have successfully curbed the virus spread and made China the first country to resume normal life. According to media reports, Chinese people's trust in the government reached 98 percent after the epidemic. "By that, you can see what democracy looks like in China - it brings people joy and satisfaction," Hua said. "After 70 years of continuous efforts, the 1.4 billion Chinese people have all been lifted out of absolute poverty," she added, "and I believe that ensuring its people have food to eat, houses to live in, and schools to attend, count as real democracy." Democracy should not become a political tool to suppress other countries, and European politicians should understand its real definition and benefit for the masses, Hua said.  ^ top ^

China to enhance cooperation with Central Asia (China Daily)
2021-05-11
Foreign ministers from China and five Central Asia countries will meet on Wednesday in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, in their first face-to-face contact since their initial meeting by videoconference in July. During the meeting, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and foreign ministers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will hold in-depth exchanges on anti-pandemic cooperation, joint construction of the Belt and Road, interconnectivity and international coordination, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday. They will also discuss related documents and conduct a series of bilateral talks as well as multilateral friendly exchanges, Hua said at a daily news conference. The first China + Central Asia foreign ministers meeting was held in July via video link, which Hua said introduced a new platform to deepen mutual trust and cooperation. Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi said last week that the meeting between the ministers offers a new way to deepen relations with China, and he expects the platform to play a positive role in safeguarding regional peace, stability and prosperity. Hua stressed that Central Asia has been an important link on the Silk Road since ancient times, and nations in the region are key partners of China in jointly building the Belt and Road. The city of Xi'an, cradle of the ancient Silk Road, also has a special significance for the upcoming meeting, she said. This event will strengthen China's relationship with Central Asia and promote BRI cooperation to make new achievements, she added. The BRI suits the need for the long-term development of Central Asian countries, and their response to the initiative is positive, said Su Chang, a senior researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The five nations urgently need to promote the construction of the Belt and Road as the pandemic has harmed their economic growth, she said, adding that China's support will help them resume work and production. ^ top ^

China's top political advisor meets with Egyptian Senate speaker via video link (Xinhua)
2021-05-11
China's top political advisor Wang Yang met with Egyptian Senate Speaker Abdel Razeq via video link Monday, pledging to enhance friendly exchanges between the two sides. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and China stands ready to work with Egypt to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, consolidate mutual political trust, support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and promote cooperation on economy and trade, people-to-people exchanges and anti-epidemic efforts. The CPPCC National Committee is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges with the Egyptian Senate and further enrich the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership, he said. Abdel Razeq expressed the willingness to actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and continue to firmly support China's principled position on the issues of Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. ^ top ^

Xi points way out of global climate crisis (China Daily)
2021-05-10
Through a slew of powerful policy manifestations led by President Xi Jinping over the past month, China has shown its enhanced commitment to and ambition for better tackling climate change and preserving the environment. In particular, the fresh Chinese policy wisdom for handling thorny environmental problems is epitomized by Xi's recent calling on the world for building a community of life for man and nature. All these newly unveiled policy ideas mark China's evolving theory, vision and great sense of duty as a major developing country in the post-pandemic era when it seeks justice and equality in the environmental agenda and speaks out for other developing countries, experts and officials said. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dampened hopes for economic growth across the globe while climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification are worsening. The United Nations Environment Programme warned late last month that the "three planetary crises" of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are reinforcing each other and driving further damage to the environment and to the health of mankind. Meanwhile, the past 30 days have witnessed a packed schedule of China's engagement in the global agenda regarding environment and climate change. On April 15 and 16, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua and United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry talked in Shanghai. Then Xi engaged in a video summit on April 16 with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on topics including cooperation in coping with climate change, and he said eliminating greenhouse gases should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers. On April 18, Washington and Beijing issued a joint statement on handling climate change. When delivering a speech via video link at the Leader's Summit on Climate on April 22, Xi proposed the concept of a community of life for man and nature. Xi called for countries' commitment to six areas: harmony between man and nature, green development, systemic governance, a people-centered approach, multilateralism and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Xu Huaqing, director-general of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, said the six areas Xi named are based on China's successful practices in ecological matters as well as the country's vision in global climate governance, and they constitute a "China solution" for building a global ecological response. Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said Xi's speech plays a leading role in the global fight against climate change. The international community should stick to multilateralism and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility when coping with issues regarding climate change, he told Xinhua News Agency. On April 30, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presided over a study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on advancing the building of an ecological response, and he said that economic policy planning must align with the need to peak carbon emissions and pursue sustainable growth. […] At a recent event in Beijing celebrating China's aid to other countries over 70 years, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is committed to helping countries that are receiving assistance to build a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society as well as building a community of life for man and nature. China will further carry out in-depth cooperation projects on new energy, environmental protection and handling climate change, share experiences in green development and jointly build a green Silk Road, he said. "When it comes to climate change, the actions of some countries disregard the future of all mankind as they seek their own short-term interests and act mainly out of political considerations," said Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies. "It will be very difficult to form a joint force if there are no globally recognized ideas for guidance and the direction of joint efforts is not made clear," Su added. In a broader view of its environmental policy timeline, China, led by Xi, is on course to create a series of fresh, inspiring initiatives for making the planet greener. In September, Xi first announced that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 when addressing the General Debate of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly. At the Climate Ambition Summit in December, Xi announced some further commitments for 2030, such as the goal that China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the level in 2005. In October, China will host the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in an effort to improve global governance on biodiversity. ^ top ^

China-Russia relationship under two presidents' guidance a global model (People's Daily)
2021-05-09
On May 9, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a grand military parade held in Moscow's Red Square to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War, Russia's term for WWII, during which Chinese and Russian soldiers have fought on the same side. Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Xi and let him take up the most distinguished position on the right hand side. The world has entered a period full of turbulent changes since six years ago, while China-Russia relations have become even more mature, stable and resilient under the joint guidance of the two heads of state. In June 2019, China and Russia agreed to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, reaching a milestone for the development of bilateral ties. Russia was the destination of Xi's first foreign trip after he took office as China's president in March 2013. It was during the visit, Xi put forward a major global concept in his speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, calling for joint efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Over the past eight years, the two heads of state have maintained frequent exchanges of visits and have met on various international and multilateral occasions. All those interactions have built up confidence and momentum for the two countries to cope with the changes rarely seen in a century, setting a global model for harmonious coexistence between major countries. Together the two presidents rode China's high-speed train and cruised on Russia's Neva River. They have, side by side, watched an ice hockey race between Chinese and Russian kids, and cooked traditional Chinese and Russian pancakes. Those pictures have brought back great memories to both Chinese and Russia people. Under their guidance, China-Russia practical cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, cultural and people-to-people exchanges have been rich and colorful, and public support for their friendship has been increasingly solid. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years, while Russia is China's 10th largest trading partner. Major programs, including a second line for the China-Russia oil pipeline and the China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline, were successfully put into production. The two countries have also signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly building an international scientific research station on the moon. On Feb. 9, 2020, a huge IL-76 transport plane carrying 23 tons of urgently-needed medical aid arrived in the Chinese city of Wuhan from Moscow. In the face of the once-in-a-century pandemic, China and Russia have united as one and worked together closely. Russia was the first country to send a delegation of anti-epidemic experts to China, and China has continued to provide Russia with anti-epidemic materials. Even at the height of the epidemic, air routes between the two countries were unimpeded and cross-border freight transport was never interrupted. Moreover, governments, medical institutions, research institutes and businesses of the two countries have been regularly exchanging and sharing experience in fighting the virus. "Today, as we did in World War II, China and Russia are fighting a common enemy hand-in-hand," Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said in April last year. As Zhong Nanshan, a leading Chinese respiratory disease expert, has pointed out, by upholding the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, China and Russia have cooperated in fields including epidemic prevention and control, patient treatment and drug research and development, which has become a model of global anti-epidemic cooperation. In the face of the surging "political virus" amid the ravaging pandemic, China and Russia are firmly on the right side of history against the practices of politicizing and stigmatizing the epidemic. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two heads of state have maintained close communication. In 2020, the two heads of state held five phone calls and maintained communication and coordination on bilateral and international issues. They also jointly attended almost all important multilateral meetings, and put forward a China-Russia plan to jointly fight the epidemic and revitalize the global economy. In order to win the global fight against the epidemic at an early date, China and Russia have also taken active steps to eliminate the "vaccine divide," which have demonstrated their responsibility as major countries. "Guilin's scenery is peerless in the world, and the high level of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is also the best in the world," commented Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on China-Russia relations after he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in China's southern city of Guilin on March 23. After the talks in Guilin, the two sides issued a joint statement on several issues concerning current global governance, expounding the essence of major concepts such as human rights, democracy, international order, and multilateralism, which reflected the collective demands of the international community, especially those of developing countries. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, both China and Russia have contributed their wisdom to pushing for political solutions to global and regional hot-spot issues, such as the nuclear issues related to the Korean Peninsula and Iran. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. The concept of friendship from generation to generation and the principle of a new type of international relations established by the treaty are great innovations in the history of international relations, and their strong vitality will persist. ^ top ^

China's Sinopharm Vaccine Put on WHO Emergency Use List (Caixin)
2021-05-09
China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine has won World Health Organization (WHO) approval for emergency use, making it the sixth shot to receive the body's green light and paving the way for its broader rollout worldwide. The WHO's Friday nod represents its approval of the vaccine's safety, efficacy and quality, according to its statement. "The addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate COVID-19 vaccine access," Mariângela Simão, WHO assistant-director general for access to health products, said in the statement. The WHO authorization makes the Chinese vaccine eligible for use in Covax, a global program co-led by the organization and other health groups to guarantee that every country has fair access to Covid-19 vaccines. The initiative is believed to particularly benefit poor countries suffering vaccine shortages. The previous five vaccines that have won WHO approval for emergency use are the Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen and Moderna shots, as well as two versions of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. In recent weeks, multiple countries have turned to China for vaccines. On the one hand, the escalating Covid-19 crisis in India, a major vaccine exporter, has ramped up domestic demand and squeezed its supply to the rest of the world; on the other, the U.S., a major vaccine producer, has been criticized for its restrictions on exports of vaccine raw materials. The WHO's decision also means that people inoculated with the Sinopharm vaccine are likely to be able to travel more freely. On Monday, the EU proposed that its member states ease restrictions on inbound travel for people vaccinated with shots given WHO approval for emergency use. So far, China has given its nod for five Covid-19 vaccines for general or emergency use, with the Sinopharm shot being the first approved for use on the general public. The approval came in December, five months after the vaccine was granted the green light for domestic emergency use. The vaccine is produced by a Beijing subsidiary of state-owned pharma giant China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., better known as Sinopharm. The two-dose vaccine's efficacy for preventing symptomatic and hospitalized disease was estimated to be 79% for all age groups combined, the WHO said. It recommends the vaccine for adults 18 years and older, while efficacy for those over 60 could not be estimated due to lack of clinical trial data, according to the statement. The Sinopharm vaccine is the first shot granted the WHO approval that will carry a vaccine vial monitor, "a small sticker on the vaccine vials that change color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, letting health workers know whether the vaccine can be safely used," the statement said. So far, the Sinopharm vaccine and another Covid-19 shot developed by the company's Wuhan subsidiary have been sold or donated to more than 60 countries and regions (link in Chinese), including Argentina, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement it released on Friday. The WHO will soon decide whether to also approve another Chinese vaccine for emergency use, which was developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. A working group on Covid-19 vaccines at the WHO has conducted its review, saying that it is "very confident" that the vaccine is efficacious in preventing Covid-19 in adults aged 18 to 59. It has been about a year and a half since the first known case of Covid-19 was detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. So far, the novel coronavirus has infected about 157 million people and claimed more than 3.2 million lives worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has recorded the most cases, totaling more than 32 million, followed by India, the world's second-most populous nation, which has reported about 22 million cases. ^ top ^

 

Domestic Policy

China Rips 90 Apps From App Stores for Data Violations (Caixin)
2021-05-14
China's top telecom regulator Thursday ordered the removal of 90 mobile applications from various app stores, citing violations of users' rights in the latest crackdown on online privacy breaches. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) ordered the apps, including popular online community Tianya Club, U.S.-listed travel agency Tuniu Corp. and LinkedIn-like career platform Maimai, to be removed immediately. Companies operating the apps must rectify related issues before they can return to app stores for download, the ministry said. Chinese regulators have stepped up scrutiny of tech companies' handling of users' data after a raft of high-profile breaches sparked public outcry over privacy protection. In the first seven months of last year, more than 8,000 apps and 478 companies were penalized by regulators for violating data collection rules, government records showed. The apps were accused of collecting personal information not necessary for their services or using the data without consent. Some of the apps were blacklisted by the MIIT after an April inspection for privacy breaches but failed to correct their practices as required, the ministry said. On April 23, the MIIT warned 93 apps to rectify their data collection practices to avoid removal from app stores. Multiple regulators in March jointly issued new rules that clarified what categories of data can be considered necessary for apps and stipulated that apps should not deny users access to basic services if they refuse to share data beyond the designated categories. The rules cover 39 types of mobile apps including those that provide navigation, ride hailing, instant messaging, payment and lending services. Shortly after the new rules took effect May 1, the Cyberspace Administration of China released a list of 33 apps — including popular Gaode Map, Baidu Map and Tencent Map — that it said were violating data rules. The administration granted the apps 10 working days to rectify the issues and report back to the administration. Xiao Yaqing, chief of the MIIT, in March said the ministry ordered more than 100 offending apps to be pulled from app stores in previous months. "The Chinese government's commitment to protecting personal information is iron-clad," Xiao said. MIIT data shows that its app inspection platform automatically monitors some 80,000 apps monthly, looking for signs that they're breaching user privacy. According to the ministry, more than 500,000 apps have been inspected by the platform, 1,571 of which were ordered to make adjustments. App operators are likely to face tougher punishments for data abuse after the new Personal Information Protection Law is passed, analysts said. A draft of the law is being reviewed by the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature. A draft of the law unveiled in October proposed a maximum fine of 50 million yuan ($7.7 million) or the equivalent of as much as 5% of revenue from the previous year on operators that illegally handle personal information, among the toughest penalties in the world. ^ top ^

Xi inspects China's mega water diversion project (Xinhua)
2021-05-13
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday inspected the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in the city of Nanyang in central China's Henan Province. In the afternoon, he went to the county of Xichuan, where he inspected the Taocha Canal Head, the Danjiangkou Reservoir and the village of Zouzhuang. Xi listened to introductions to the construction, management and operation of the middle route of the water diversion project, and the ecological conservation of the water source region. He also learned about the resettlement of people relocated because of the project, and measures to develop specialty industries and boost the incomes of resettled residents. During the inspection, Xi stopped by wheat fields to check crop growth and learn about progress in summer grain production. ^ top ^

China accelerates building of modern energy system (People's Daily)
2021-05-13
Attaching great importance to low-carbon energy development, China is actively promoting energy consumption, energy supply, technology and innovation, and institution upgrading. The country is making multi-faceted efforts to push forward energy revolution for the purpose of building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system and improving the capacity to guarantee energy supply, just as projected in China's new national development blueprint, the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035. In March, Taihu electric No. 001, an electric workboat, was launched in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu province. It was the first of its kind in the basin of Taihu Lake, China's third largest freshwater lake. The lithium batteries of the workboat can store as much electricity as the combined amount of electricity of five electric vehicles. According to preliminary estimates, when all the 1,100 workboats in the Taihu Lake basin become electrified, the transformation from fuel oil-powered boats to electric ones will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 75,000 tonnes a year, which is equivalent to the amount of CO2 discharged by more than 27,000 private cars. "In the past, the fuel oil-powered workboat would leave an oily track on the surface of the water and the smell of greasy dirt on the shoreside. Now the electric workboat is more powerful and faster, yet it doesn't leave any pollutants," said Li Fenglei, a driver of the workboats in the Taihu Lake basin. Since the beginning of this year, non-fossil energy has been developing more rapidly in China, while the country's power generation has also seen a relatively fast year-on-year growth. Based on corresponding data of the same period in 2019, China's output of electricity generated by wind, solar, and nuclear power plants rose by 17.6 percent, 12.5 percent, and 9.6 percent respectively on average in the first quarter this year from two years ago. Meanwhile, power supply projects in the country received a total of 79.5 billion yuan (about $12.37 billion) of investment, which represented a 31.3-percent year-on-year growth rate and an average growth rate of 39.9 percent from two years ago. In particular, about 91 percent of the investment was channeled to power generation projects using non-fossil energy. "Our dining hall and kitchen have stopped using coal or natural gas, and switched to induction cookers, which are safer, produce less lampblack and smoke, and cut our energy consumption cost by half," said Lai Yong, an executive of a hot pot restaurant in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province. Lai is very satisfied with the decision to replace the cooking stoves of the restaurant with induction cookers. More than 10,000 hot pot restaurants in Chengdu are using electric cooking appliances, accounting for about 70 percent of the total number of hot pot restaurants in the city. These hot pot restaurants with electric cookers have effectively advanced the development of clean and low-carbon energy of the city, as they consume approximately 837 million kWh of electricity a year, which means they reduce over 710,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions for the city every year. In fact, many cities in China have taken active measures to promote the replacement of traditional energy with electricity in key sectors and industries, comprehensively improve resource use efficiency and facilitate the country's energy revolution. South China's Guangdong province has come up with the idea of establishing a budget-management system for energy consumption to strictly regulate the launch of energy-intensive projects. The southern island province of Hainan plans to add 25,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) to the city, start building a world NEV experience center, and make sure the combined floor area of prefabricated buildings in the province reach 17 million square meters this year. In addition, Shaanxi province in northwest China is intensifying efforts to promote eco-friendly products, such as NEVs, green building materials, energy-efficient home appliances and efficient lighting products. ^ top ^

Calls mount to lift family planning policy after census reports low population growth, deepening aging problem (Global Times)
2021-05-11
Calls to adjust population policies such as removing the decades-long family planning policy mounted among some demographers on Tuesday, after the country released its once-a-decade population census results, which showed that the Chinese mainland's population is growing more slowly and the aging population is expanding. Chinese demographers said that the seventh population census results were released as China's population development entered a critical turning point with a rapidly aging population and a five-decade trend of population growth was about to end, and will provide an important reference for China's population and economic policy adjustment as well as plans to raise the retirement age, which may come in a year or two. The Chinese mainland population grew to 1.412 billion in 2020, up from 1.4 billion at the end of 2019. From 2010 to 2020, the Chinese mainland's population grew 72.06 million, or 5.38 percent, compared with the 1.34 billion recorded in the previous census (from 2000 to 2010) conducted a decade ago. Chinese demographers said that although China reported population growth in 2020, the general declining trend was inevitable. Some demographers said China's population is likely to start to decline by 2027, but some put it as early as 2022. He Yafu, an independent demographer, told the Global Times that there is no doubt that China will fully lift family planning policy in the near future to cope with the declining birth rate, and China is likely to remove its family planning policy as early as this autumn during the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Lu Jiehua, a professor of sociology at Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that China's population structure has been changing since the fifth population census in 2000, and we need comprehensive social policies to cope with the new population development paths. "Among those policies, further improving or lifting the family planning policy was at the top of the policy list," Lu said. He said that other policies such as raising the retirement age and speeding up establishment of a service system for elderly people as well as lowering child-raising costs need to be introduced. Fully lifting the family planning policy will not be enough to avert a fall in China's total population, or prevent China from becoming another Japan, demographers said, noting that China should come up with more measures to encourage childbirth, such as subsidizing couples who choose to have more than one child. Peking University professor Liang Jianzhang's advice to reward a million yuan ($155,499) to each newborn sparked wide discussions online, and the hashtag made the most searched topic list on Weibo on Tuesday night. Liang said that to raise China's fertility rate to the replacement level of 2.1 from current 1.3, China needs to spend 10 percent of its GDP to encourage births. China's GDP was around 100 trillion yuan, and the government needs to reward 1 million yuan for each newborn if China wants to have 10 million extra newborns every year, Liang said, adding that this reward could be in the form of cash, subsidy in purchasing a home or a deduction in social insurance. ^ top ^

Chinese more trusting of government months into pandemic, survey finds (SCMP)
2021-05-11
Chinese became more trusting of the government several months into the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by researchers from China, Canada and Sweden. Nearly 20,000 people were polled across 31 provinces or administrative regions in mainland China from April 22 to 28 last year. The survey was conducted weeks after the city of Wuhan in Hubei – where the first cases of the coronavirus were reported – emerged from a strict and unprecedented lockdown that lasted more than two months. Some 49.2 per cent of respondents said they trusted the national government more since the outbreak, while just 3.3 per cent trusted the government less. For 47.6 per cent, the trust level remained the same. But the survey also found that there was less trust in the lower levels of government. "The authors find that Chinese citizens have an overall high level of satisfaction, but that this satisfaction drops with each lower level of government," the researchers said in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Contemporary China. They found 30 per cent of respondents said they had more trust in the local government, while 63 per cent said their trust level was the same, and 6.3 per cent had less trust. Beijing has faced heavy international criticism for its early handling of the outbreak, including over the death of whistle-blower doctor Li Wenliang from Covid-19 in February last year, after he tried to sound the alarm about the new virus but was silenced by the authorities. However, the survey results suggest that months later, the authorities were being seen more favourably within mainland China, where Covid-19 has now been largely brought under control. Led by Cary Wu, assistant professor of sociology at York University in Canada, and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the researchers recruited more than 600 students from 53 universities in China to conduct anonymous online interviews. In Wuhan, 52.8 per cent of respondents said they trusted the national government more than they did before the pandemic, and only 3.5 per cent trusted it less. But 8.9 per cent of respondents in the city were less trusting of the local government. Overall, the average score for satisfaction with the government at various levels was 3.8 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5, the paper said. Respondents were asked about satisfaction with information dissemination during the pandemic and the delivery of essentials to people's homes when they were unable to leave during lockdowns. For information dissemination, 89 per cent said they were satisfied with the national government, but that dropped to 77 per cent for the provincial authorities, 74 per cent for city governments, 70 per cent at the county level, and 67 per cent for community or village authorities. That pattern was also seen for delivery of essentials, with 81 per cent satisfied with the national government but only 58 per cent satisfied with their community or village authorities. The researchers also looked at how factors such as state propaganda, Communist Party membership and the Confucius culture that puts national and collective interests above those of individuals affected the survey results. They found that party members or people who got most of their information from state media were more satisfied with the government, as were those who believed in collectivism. ^ top ^

Hainan new engine of nation's high-quality development (Xinhua)
2021-05-09
The Chinese economy has entered a stage of high-quality development, and the southern province of Hainan is spearheading the country's efforts to establish its new development paradigm. With the first China International Consumer Products Expo underway in Hainan, the country is giving full play to the advantages brought by the Hainan free trade port. The Hainan free trade port has demonstrated China's determination to push ahead with its high-level opening-up, and will set an example for high-quality development nationwide, said China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan during the expo. The country first proposed the establishment of a free trade zone in Hainan in 2018 and began construction of the Hainan free trade port last year. The consumer products expo, which runs from May 7 to May 10, is an essential move toward the construction of the Hainan free trade port and a step toward further opening-up as the province strengthens duty-free consumption to drive economic development. Official data shows that offshore duty-free sales in the province exceeded 32 billion yuan (about 4.98 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020 and average daily duty-free sales hit 120 million yuan by the end of 2020, after the annual tax-free shopping quota was lifted from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person on July 1, 2020. Offshore duty-free shopping in Hainan has expanded domestic demand and helped push the new development paradigm of "dual circulation," said Chilli Zhou, country sales director of Zimmerli Textil AG, an exhibitor at the four-day event. "Dual circulation" allows the domestic and overseas markets to reinforce each other and takes the domestic market as the mainstay. To prop up high-quality development, Hainan is working to build itself into an international tourism and consumption center, and will introduce modern services such as the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone and over 100 new educational institutions established jointly with domestic and overseas partners, as well as high-tech industries. Hainan has said it will bolster three emerging industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) -- the digital economy, new petrochemical engineering materials and biological medicine, with production values respectively surpassing 400 billion yuan, 200 billion yuan and 50 billion yuan. While fostering new economic driving forces, progress has also been made in promoting green development and innovation. The province plans to optimize and upgrade the entire industrial chain for vehicles powered by clean energy in the free trade port, according to the provincial government. To expand its high-tech sectors, the province aims to bring its number of high-tech companies to 1,100 in 2021, and to surpass 3,000 by 2025, according to provincial government plans. The province will also explore green finance products such as a carbon emission exchange and green credit and bonds, said Hainan's Vice Governor Shen Danyang. The construction of the Hainan free trade port has unleashed a slate of favorable policies for market entities. On April 8, China released a guideline to support the easing of market access in sectors including culture, medical services and education in the Hainan free trade port, among other efforts to build the province into a globally influential, high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. Direct foreign investment grew from 340 million U.S. dollars in 2017 to 3.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and the number of new foreign-invested companies expanded to nearly three times the number in 2019, according to the provincial government. "We are confident in Hainan as the local government has provided us with much support, and we are convinced that the country has great potential for high-quality development as it consistently furthers opening-up," said Woody Lam, managing director of Savills Southern China. Since April 2018, 40 centrally administered state-owned enterprises have also established strategic cooperative partnerships with Hainan, and the number of new private companies totaled 307,400 in 2020, up 28.3 percent over the previous year. Shanghai-headquartered Fosun International Limited has for 25 years been ramping up its layout on the island in sectors including tourism. "We will introduce more quality global industries into the development of the Hainan free trade port using our global supply chain to sustain high-quality development," said Guo Guangchang, chairman and executive director of the company, at the expo. ^ top ^

Xi Jinping on family values (Xinhua)
2021-05-09
Filial piety is a traditional virtue very much valued by Chinese society. President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has on many occasions stressed the importance of family virtues and traditions. The following are some highlights of his quotes: -- A family is the smallest unit of a nation while a nation is thousands of families put together. -- We should promote filial piety and family harmony, encourage people to take on family responsibilities, cultivate fine family traditions, and take care of the elderly. -- Mothers should pass on to their children the passion for study, the spirit of hard work, and the love of the motherland to help the young generation nurture good character and grow healthily to become adults who contribute to the country and the people. -- We need to help women strike a balance between family and work to become women of the new era who can take up social responsibilities while contributing to their families. ^ top ^

 

Beijing

Competition for int'l short-video creators opens in Beijing (Xinhua)
2021-05-11
An international competition for short-video creators was launched in Beijing on Tuesday and is calling for short-video submissions telling stories about China. It is the third year of the My China Story International Short-Video Competition, which is categorized into three sections this year. A new section awards short-video creators using smartphones. The 2021 event was organized by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and sponsored by the Guangdong provincial government. The competition offers a platform for foreigners to tell what they saw and discovered in China from their personal experience, said Huang Huilin, an expert on international communication from the Beijing Normal University. "Personal stories can be appealing and serve as an effective tool of communication," Huang said. Aiming to inspire international short-video creators to record China in a panoramic view, the competition was inaugurated in September 2018. It received over 400,000 submissions in 2020. ^ top ^

 

Shanghai

Vocational skills competition gets underway (China Daily)
2021-05-10
Eleven new skills competition events, including additive manufacturing, robot system integration, and network system management, have been added to the two-day Nineth Shanghai Vocational Students Skills Competition which starts on May 8 at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Other newly added events are mobile application development, e-commerce, new energy vehicles, Python programming, sugar art, freight forwarder, building information modeling, chemical laboratory technology. A part of the Star Plan project, which was launched in 2004 by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the Shanghai Education Development Foundation, and the Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau to promote vocational education, the competition is made up of secondary and high school groups. The secondary vocational group has 66 competition events, with more than 66,000 students from 67 schools participating in the preliminary competition and 2,776 students entering the final. The high school group has 34 events, with more than 14,000 students participating in the preliminary competition and 1,169 entering the final. Among these events, 29 from the secondary school group and 24 from the high school group are geared toward the World Skills Competition. In addition, over 150 students from 41 vocational schools competed in six events, including health and social care, floristry and abacus at the main venue at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum during the weekend. ^ top ^

 

Guangdong

Guangdong police shut down gambling operations (China Daily)
2021-05-13
The Guangdong police detained more than 22,000 suspected gamblers in 1,709 cases in the province since the beginning of the year, according to Zhang Shaoxin, political commissar of the Social Security Bureau of the province's Department of Public Security. Police across the province have also broken up 569 gambling gangs and destroyed a large number of online gambling platforms, payment platforms, secret banks and online service support companies, Zhang said at a news conference on Thursday. Bank accounts worth more than 703 million yuan ($108 million) have been frozen for further investigation, while 42 million yuan in cash was seized on the spot in gaming venues.The police also seized a large number of gambling machines and various other tools, Zhang said. Of the cases, 261 have been investigated and found to involve cross-border operations, Zhang said, adding that police officers have destroyed 17 online platforms, 26 support companies and 12 payment platforms related to cross-border gambling. ^ top ^

 

Tibet

Fighting virus on top of the world: China to cordon off north slope atop Mount Qomolangma (Global Times)
2021-05-11
China will use an "isolation strip" atop Mount Qomolangma to cordon off the north slope of the world's highest mountain, a move to prevent the spread of the coronavirus via climbers ascending from Nepal's side of the mountain, as the latter is being hit by a worsening COVID-19 outbreak. The so-called isolation strip will be set on the Chinese side, to make sure climbers reaching the top from the north slope make no contact with those ascending from the south slope, Tsering Samdrup, head of the local mountaineering association in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, told the Global Times on Monday. The climbing routes from both slopes will be adjusted based on various factors, including weather and road conditions, said Tsering Samdrup, explaining that the chances of climbers from both sides to meet are slim, as they use different routes. A small team of Tibetan climbing guides will ascend to the Mount Qomolangma and set up the "line of separation" at the summit to stop any contact between mountaineers from both sides of the peak, Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibetan Sports Bureau told the Xinhua News Agency, noting that climbers will be forbidden to touch items such as Hada hung by climbers from the south. The guides and climbers from the north slope will be equipped with jumpsuits, goggles and oxygen masks to protect them from contracting the virus, said the bureau chief, noting that those people will be disinfected after they descend from the mountain top, and will be isolated if necessary. Tsering Samdrup said 21 Chinese climbers were approved to attempt to reach the summit from the northern slope. All of them are from low-risk areas, with negative nucleic acid tests, and no foreign climber has been reported since last year, said another member of the association. Both countries suspended the climbing season on the world's highest mountain last year due to the pandemic. Nepal has issued permits allowing 408 foreigners to attempt climbs this year as it tries to boost tourism revenue. The Himalayan Rescue Association, which runs a government-led medical clinic at the Qomolangma base camp in Nepal, said last week that it had received confirmation of 17 positive COVID-19 cases in some climbers. Also last week, Nepal halted all flights as part of a strict lockdown of its capital and major cities amid its recent surge. Maizi Maliyamu, a member of the Chinese expedition team, which is currently at the base camp in Nepal, told the Global Times that there was no "isolation strip" in previous years, and climbers often gave each other high fives or even hugs when they met atop of the mountain from both sides. "It has became a consensus among us." Yet for Maizi Maliyamu, the "isolation strip" could also mean staggered times of reaching the peak, so that climbers from both slopes won't run into each other. The only point where climbers from both sides would come close is the summit, which is a small space where climbers spend only a few minutes to take photographs and experience the 360-degree views. Maliyamu added that despite the ravaging epidemic in the country, Nepal has not banned climbers from summiting the top, and the local Sherpa team in charge of mounting route preparations has already arrived at the peak. Several other teams from various countries, including China, have departed from the base camp and headed to camps at higher altitudes, waiting for the window of the annual summit to open. Chinese epidemiologists dismissed the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak at the top of the world's highest mountain. Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based vaccine expert, told the Global Times that although it is true that the coronavirus can survive longer in low temperatures, it cannot fend off the fatal threat of sun exposure. Zhuang also said the virus cannot breed in a glacier environment because the lack of hosts, nor can it mutate. Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also said there's no scientific evidence to show that the virus can be sealed up at the mountain top for long periods. Yet epidemiologists warned that as climbers who choose to ascend from the south slope outnumber those that choose the north, and that Nepal is now ravaged by the coronavirus; strict prevention measures are very necessary to stop the virus from spreading to China from the world's highest peak.  ^ top ^

 

Xinjiang

US-led talks on Xinjiang desecrate UN: FM (Global Times)
2021-05-11
The US, together with a few other countries, is using the venues of the UN to hype topics of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a move that has nothing to do with the UN but only "desecrates it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson and a member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee said about an online event planned by Germany, the US and the UK on the so-called "repression" of Uygurs in Xinjiang. By colluding with a small group of countries and using the platform of the UN to hype topics on China's Xinjiang region, the US and its gang members are desecrating the UN and abusing the UN's platform to smear China and serve their political purposes, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on Monday. In recent days, some Western media hyped that China has tried to "scupper a UN talk on the plight" of the Uygurs. On Saturday, Reuters reported that China has urged UN member states not to attend a virtual event held by some Permanent Missions of Member States to the UN, including the US, the UK and Germany, on the human rights situation in Xinjiang The ambassadors of the US, Germany and Britain are "due to address the UN event," along with Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth and Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard, according to the Reuters report. Hua noted that the US' attempt to gang up with Britain and Germany to use the UN's venues to hype Xinjiang-related topics reminds people of a similar farce staged by the former US representative to the UN Kelly Craft. In January, Craft abused her power to sneak into the UN Hall and have her talks with some students from the Taiwan island recorded. The Wednesday "event" has nothing to do with the UN and it is more like another self-staged political performance of the US by using the name of the UN to resonate with recent Western hyping of topics on China's Xinjiang, Liu Xinsheng, a member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and former Chinese ambassador to Cyprus, told the Global Times. As a former diplomat, Liu noted that it is a necessary and natural diplomatic move for the Chinese Mission to send notes to state members and to show China's stance. Some Western media's hyping of the note is also malicious. Few countries would be fooled by the US and its "gang members," and they would not be engaged in these activities, Liu said, noting that as for the NGOs that participated in the event, their US background and tricks of cooperating with it to suppress developing countries have been fully exposed again. The US ignored the fact that it has killed millions of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and made numerous people homeless. It is hypocritical for it to rack its brains to tell lies on human rights issues related to China's Xinjiang, Hua said. Fewer than 20 fake witnesses or fake scholars have appeared repeatedly in almost all the lies told by the US about Xinjiang. Representatives from the Xinjiang region that came to press conferences, and scholars and individuals from the international community who stood out to expose lies, have far outnumbered the liars, Hua said. Hua also pointed out at the Monday press conference that recently, more objective and fair voices on the truth of Xinjiang from the international community came out, which shows that justice is borne in people's hearts. The spokesperson mentioned two articles that were recently released by a Nordic organization and a US-based website. They both pointed out that the US accusing China of committing "genocide" in its Xinjiang region lacks evidence and is not made out of protection for human rights but geopolitical motives. An analysis report, which was compiled by the Sweden-based Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research (TFF), said that a US think tank's report accusing China of "genocide" of the Uygurs is "haphazardly edited" propaganda produced from a "biased selection of sources and expertise," which represents "near-governmental rather than non-governmental" interests. US-based website counterpunch.cn also released an article on April 23, which noted that the sudden flurry of US interest in the fate of the Uyhur people seems less motivated by compassion or the protection of human rights than lifted from the most cynical pages of the Machiavellian playbook of geopolitics. ^ top ^

 

Hongkong

No foreign interference able to undermine rule of law in Hong Kong (People's Daily)
2021-05-11
The rule of law is never to be played with, and those who go against the laws shall never escape punishment. The District Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) recently sentenced Joshua Wong Chi-fung, an instigator of the Hong Kong riots, as well as other three persons, four to ten months in jail for participating in an unauthorized assembly. The judgment was made strictly according to the Basic Law and judicial proceedings of the HKSAR, based on solid facts and legal procedure. However, a U.S. politician ridiculously requested the HKSAR government to immediately release these anti-China rioters on twitter. Does he want to be a judge in Hong Kong? If he does, he must learn first the laws of Hong Kong and then see if he's qualified to be one. The human rights and freedom in Hong Kong, including the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly, are fully protected by the Chinese constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR. However, there are legal boundaries for every right and interest. No one enjoys the freedom to hurt the personal and property security of others, the freedom to undermine social prosperity and stability, or the freedom to challenge national sovereignty, security and development interests. The four anti-China rioters are suspected of an illegal assembly. Their mean practice to challenge the police authority and cripple the government through organized massive illegal assembly is tolerated in no law-based society. The judge of the case said when announcing judgment that the defendants were intentionally, premeditatedly and blatantly violating the law, as they had been told that the assembly was not authorized. There must be deterring punishment to underline the severity of the case, so as to avoid imitation. Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and its affairs are China's internal affairs that brook no interference by any external forces. How dare the U.S. politician request the HKSAR government to release the defendants that have pled guilty and try to meddle in the normal and justifiable adjudication of the HKSAR! His practice not only goes against the rule of law, but also violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations. The U.S. politician can't be unclear about the causal relationship between illegality and punishment. In the U.S., illegal assembly is banned, and anyone that participates in it will face severe punishment. For instance, unlawful assembly is a Class B misdemeanor in Alabama, and is punishable by six months of imprisonment and a $3,000 fine. In Arizona, it is considered a first-degree felony that is punishable by six months of imprisonment and a $2,500 fine. There's no doubt that the judgment made by the District Court of the HKSAR was an act to safeguard justice with the rule of law. The improper and irresponsible remarks made by the U.S. politician is totally shameful as it puts political manipulation above the law. The hypocritical double standard of some U.S. politicians have again and again hindered the law enforcement of Hong Kong judiciary authorities, and offered shelter and even whitewashed criminals. They are standing on the opposite side of Hong Kong's rule of law and order, as well as the Hong Kong citizens. Of course, the U.S. attempts to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China's domestic affairs are doomed to end up in vain. To ensure that laws are put in place, observed, and strictly enforced and that anyone who violates the law is held to account is necessary for safeguarding social orders and people's interests with the rule of law. It must be noted that China has the resolution, confidence and capability to contain foreign interference, safeguard national security, and ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of the HKSAR. ^ top ^

 

Taiwan

US supporting Taiwan to join WHA is pure political manipulation, contradicts own recognition of island's epidemic control: FM (Global Times)
2021-05-10
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday again expressed strong opposition to the US' support for allowing the island of Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA), as it violates the one-China principle and provisions of the Three China-US Joint Communiqués, and constitutes blatant interference in China's internal affairs. US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Friday issued a statement calling for Taiwan to be invited to attend the WHA as an observer. Before that, Wednesday's G7 meeting joint statement expressed similar support, citing Taiwan's "successful contribution to the tackling of the COVID-19 pandemic." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying pointed out that the US hailed Taiwan's epidemic control achievements on some occasions while hyping that the exclusion of Taiwan from the WHA jeopardized the global epidemic fight. "The self-contradiction demonstrated the US was just making excuses for Taiwan to join the WHA, and what it said was political manipulation," Hua said at the routine press conference on Monday, the last day for signing up for the forum, which will be held from May 24 to June 1 virtually. US and Taiwan secessionist forces pushed forward a similar narrative last year in their bid for the island to join the WHA 2020. Hua pointed out that Taiwan's secessionist DPP authority ruined the political basis for the island to join the WHA via an existing mechanism, and that the DPP knows that they should take responsibility. The US, out of political motives, made up lies that Taiwan not attending the WHA would harm world efforts to tackle future health crises, Hua said. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese mainland invited Taiwan health experts to Wuhan first, shared 52 epidemic control documents on 13 occasions, and updated Taiwan on the latest situation. The mainland had briefed Taiwan on the epidemic situation 258 times as of May 5, and the two sides also held a video symposium to communicate their epidemic control experiences in March. Hua also noted that under the premise of the one-China principle, Taiwan medical delegations have attended 16 WHO activities. It also has means to receive and report epidemic situations, has joined the COVAX program and has timely updates of vaccine information. The Taiwan question bears on China's core interests and there is no room for compromise, Hua said, adding that the WHA's top agenda should be anti-epidemic cooperation amid the spreading pandemic. "We urge those countries to stop hyping the Taiwan question, which runs counter to such cooperation and is opposed by most members of the international community," Hua said.  ^ top ^

 

Economy

China's commerce minister pledges better service for foreign enterprises (Xinhua)
2021-05-14
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao has pledged to enhance communication with foreign enterprises and chambers of commerce and provide better service. Wang made the remarks Thursday at a symposium with foreign pharmaceutical companies as well as the American Chamber of Commerce in China and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Foreign investment has contributed actively to China's economic development since its reform and opening-up more than 40 years ago, while foreign enterprises have also fully benefited from China's development, he said. In the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China will accelerate the building of the new development paradigm featuring "dual circulation," in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, according to Wang. The new development paradigm, which is by no means a closed domestic loop but more open domestic and overseas circulations, is expected to provide more opportunities for foreign companies, said the minister. For the next stage, the commerce ministry will work with relevant departments and local authorities to enhance communication with foreign companies and chambers of commerce to deal with their problems in a timely manner and provide better service for foreign enterprises. Foreign companies participating in the symposium hailed China's efforts in continuously improving the business environment in recent years, saying that they are willing to take part in China's building of the new development paradigm and increase investment in China. China recorded a 4-percent growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows last year, making it the largest recipient of FDI in the world, according to a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In the first four months of 2021, FDI into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, surged 38.6 percent year on year, data from the commerce ministry showed. ^ top ^

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warns of challenges over jobs, private sector, red tape (SCMP)
2021-05-11
China's economy is facing a slew of challenges from job creation to government red tape and low efficiency in spite of a strong recovery in the first quarter, Premier Li Keqiang told officials in a recent meeting. Li made the assessment at the annual national conference on clean governance on April 26, four days before the 25-member Politburo, headed by President Xi Jinping, convened a meeting to discuss first-quarter economic performance and decided to double down on tackling economic weakness. The country reported a record 18.3 per cent growth in gross domestic product for January to March compared with a year earlier, when the coronavirus outbreak shut down much of the economy and helped cause a contraction of 6.8 per cent. Despite its outward confidence in being among the first countries to recover economically from the pandemic, Beijing recognises that growth is on a weak footing and there are many challenges ahead. According to a transcript published on Sunday night by the official Xinhua news agency, Li warned against complacency as he noted difficulties and challenges over employment, the private sector, and government inefficiency and red tape. "The foundation of our economic recovery is still shaky," Li told the officials. "Small and medium enterprises, as well as self-employed businesses, are suffering from rising costs, which means there is heavy pressure on employment." Potentially adding to the country's employment challenges is that a record 9.1 million students are expected to graduate from mainland Chinese universities this year, joining graduates returning from overseas and the country's vast army of migrant workers. China has this year targeted the creation of more than 11 million urban jobs and an urban unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent. Last year, it targeted 9 million new urban jobs but created 11.86 million, and targeted a 6 per cent urban unemployment rate but achieved 5.6 per cent, according to official statistics. "It will not be easy to achieve this year's employment target," Li said at the April meeting. The premier warned of numerous difficulties still facing the private sector, which he said contributed more than 60 per cent of China's GDP and provided over 80 per cent of its jobs. According to Li, of China's 140 million registered market entities, only about 70 per cent were operating. "These approximately 100 million companies are the foundation of our economy," he said. "We must do our job properly, satisfying their demands and pressing ahead with our anti-corruption campaigns." Although the economy had been stabilising, the vitality of market entities had not fully recovered, Li said, with growing uncertainties over rising inflation and property prices, and tensions with the US, Australia and other nations that could affect grain and energy imports. "Those problems can impact economic stability, so we should pay close attention," he said. He said that problems such as too much bureaucracy and poor implementation of central government policies at local levels remained prevalent, with corruption and red tape being too prominent in certain sectors. In January, Xi told party officials at a meeting that corruption remained "the biggest threat to the [Communist Party's] rule". In the latest case, Xiao Yi, vice-chairman of the Jiangxi provincial committee of top political advisory body the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has been put under formal investigation for suspected serious violation of party discipline and laws. Xiao is being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, according to a statement on Monday. It follows the announcements of investigations by the party into seven other officials so far this year. They include Song Liang, Gansu's deputy governor, Peng Bo, vice-director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues, Yin Jiaxu, former party chief and chairman of China North Industries Group Corporation, China's largest weapons manufacturers, and Liu Xinyun, former head of the Network Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. ^ top ^

China Finalizes Merger of Two Largest State Chemical Firms, Creating Sinochem Holdings (Caixin)
2021-05-10
China has finalized the merger of the country's two largest chemical producers to create a new state-owned company, Sinochem Holdings Corp. Ltd., part of a long-anticipated bid to create scale, cut costs and ease debt pressures on the firms involved in the tie-up. The new company was formed through the merger of China National Chemical Corp. Ltd. (ChemChina) — the firm behind the record-breaking purchase of Syngenta AG in 2017 — and Sinochem Group Co. Ltd. Sinochem Holdings is a wholly owned subsidiary of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council — China's cabinet — and has full control over the two partners in the merger. Sinochem Group said in a statement last month that the merger aims to create synergies, build a world-class chemical company and promote the high-quality development of China's chemicals industry. Both partners in the merger have sprawling interests in agrochemicals, materials, rubber and tires, machinery and industrial finance. Sinochem Holdings has not said what its creation means for Syngenta, which ChemChina bought for $43 billion four years ago in the biggest ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm. However, ChemChina and Sinochem Group said earlier this year that they had consolidated their agrochemical assets into a holding unit that includes Syngenta. In February, Syngenta said it will seek to go public in mid-2022 to broaden its access to financing and alleviate some of the debt pressure that ChemChina accumulated during the acquisition. Sinochem Holdings was incorporated on Thursday, according to its business license. It claims on its website to be the "world's largest chemical conglomerate," with a presence in more than 150 countries and more than 220,000 employees. The company's chairman is Ning Gaoning, a veteran executive of several Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) who previously headed both partner firms. Its CEO is Li Fanrong, who formerly held the same role at China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC). China approved the merger in March following years of speculation that the two chemical titans were being encouraged to join forces. Beijing is thought to have supported ChemChina's purchase of Syngenta on the condition that the Chinese firm later fused with Sinochem Group. Ning has served as CEO of Sinochem Group since 2015 and of Chemchina since 2018. At 62 years old, he is approaching the traditional retirement age for SOE executives. He has a track record of presiding over mergers and acquisitions. During a decade-long stint at China Resources Holdings Co. Ltd. from 1987, Ning oversaw the start of a buying spree that saw the state conglomerate's total assets balloon from 10 billion yuan in 1990 to around 900 billion yuan today. He later spent 11 years as CEO of state-run agricultural titan COFCO Corp., during which he launched more than 50 mergers and acquisitions, including the purchase of Netherlands-based Nidera Capital BV and Hong Kong's Noble Group Holdings Ltd., two agricultural commodities traders. Prior to joining CNPC, 57-year-old Li served as a deputy director of the National Energy Administration, where his remit included oil and gas, energy conservation, technology modernization and international cooperation. He spent a quarter of a century at CNOOC Ltd., rising to become the state offshore oil giant's CEO and spearheading its $15 billion deal to acquire Canadian energy firm Nexen in 2013. ^ top ^

 

DPRK

S. Korean president says to find way for restored inter-Korean, DPRK-U.S. talks (Xinhua)
2021-05-10
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that his government will seek to find a way during the remainder of his presidency for restored talks between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and between the DPRK and the United States. "I will consider the remaining one year of my term to be the last opportunity to move from an incomplete peace toward one that is irreversible," Moon said in a televised address to mark the fourth inauguration anniversary of his five-year tenure. He took office in May 2017. "It is time to take action," Moon said hailing the Biden administration's DPRK policy, which he said aimed to "achieve the primary goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization via diplomacy with a flexible, gradual and practical approach by building upon the foundation of the Singapore Declaration." Top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump held their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, agreeing to the complete denuclearization of and the lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula. Denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since the second Kim-Trump summit ended without agreement in February 2019 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Moon is scheduled to visit Washington for summit talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on May 21 in a bid to restore the deadlocked dialogue between the two Koreas and between the DPRK and the United States. "We (he and Biden) will restore dialogue between the two Koreas and between the United States and North Korea (the DPRK) and find a way to step once again toward peaceful cooperation by more closely coordinating policies toward North Korea," Moon said. "If there is an opportunity to restart the clock of peace and advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, I will do everything I can. I look forward to North Korea responding positively," he noted. "We have seen clear potential for issues to be solved diplomatically," the president said, citing the three inter-Korean summits and the two DPRK-U.S. summits during his tenure that failed to achieve a complete success but maintained peace. "If we make a little more effort, the issue will be able to be solved through diplomacy. I found a possibility for and had confidence in the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization and the lasting peace settlement," he added. Following Biden's first Congressional speech in which the U.S. president called the DPRK's nuclear program a "serious threat," Pyongyang warned earlier this month that Washington will "face a worsening crisis" if the United States holds on to the outdated hostile policy towards the DPRK. Moon said he did not interpret the DPRK response as a refusal to dialogue. He said the prolonged dialogue deadlock will never be desirable, adding that his worry was shared by the Biden administration, which rapidly established its DPRK policy through close coordination and consultations with Seoul. ^ top ^

 

Mongolia

Foreign Minister meets heads of diplomatic missions and offices of int'l organizations in Ulaanbaatar (Montsame)
2021-05-11
On May 11, Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg had a meeting with the heads of 25 diplomatic missions and offices of international organizations in Ulaanbaatar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the works implemented by the government in the first 100 days since its formation. Minister B.Battsetseg gave a detailed report on the works carried out as part of the government's four key goals of overcoming the pandemic, recovering the economy, transitioning into a new system that supports the middle class, and promoting justice and online governance and the progress of the national vaccination program and the MNT 10 trillion comprehensive plan for economic recovery. During the meeting, the Minister expressed sincere gratitude to the countries that supplied vaccines, Russia, China, and India, as well as the COVAX donors. Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg informed the meeting attendees of the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place in Mongolia and the government's plans for lifting restrictions on international travel in phases, restarting international flights and tourism, reopening border checkpoints, and issuing vaccination certificates, asking them to cooperate in facilitating travel through mutual acceptance of vaccination certificates.  ^ top ^

Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene: Mongolia is transitioning from mining to processing (Montsame)
2021-05-10
During his working trip in Umnugobi aimag last weekend, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene informed that the government issued a decision to establish 'Tavantolgoi coal concentrator'. To be commissioned in 2023, the plant will have a capacity of concentrating 30 million tons of coal annually and export the value-added product. It is estimated that a ton of high-quality enriched coal will cost USD136, semi-coked coal -- USD107 and washed thermal coal –USD11. PM Oyun-Erdene noted that the government aims to export value-added products through ways such as establishing a copper smelter under the Erdenet Mining Corporation, and transition from the mining sector from extraction to processing. The government also set out to construct a thermal power plant at Tavantolgoi deposit. This 450MW thermal plant is aimed to supply electricity to mega construction projects and programs and contribute the central energy grid to a certain extent. Energy and Finance Ministers said that 30 percent of the total required funding will be provided through owning shares in the Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC, while the rest will be funded with loans and assistance. A water supply is of problems in constructing a thermal power plant. Therefore, the PM obliged to resolve this matter together with construction of the coal concentrator. Moreover, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene got acquainted with the mid-term business plan of the Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC. According to the plan, the company has set a goal to perform up to 60 percent of its mining capacity /209 million m3 of soil, 50 million tons of coal/ with its machinery and equipment in 2021-2025. In addition, it plans to mine 186 million tons of coal and sell 172 million tons; thus it will earn USD 10,742.4 million, including USD 3,664.4 million net profit, and pay USD 2,482.1 million to the state budget. ^ top ^

How Mongolia made the most of vaccine diplomacy (Montsame)
2021-05-08
Mongolia is ranking high in the global effort to vaccinate populations against COVID-19. As of May 5, 181 countries had started vaccinating their people against the virus, and Mongolia is one of them. According to the Foreign Ministry of Mongolia, 42.2 percent of the population has been vaccinated and 1,398,592 doses have been administered. Mongolia's multi-pillar foreign policy translated into extremely valuable vaccination diplomacy during a challenging time. After COVID-19 emerged to become a global pandemic, Mongolia went an astounding 10 months with no local transmission of the virus. But there was a worrying spike this spring, and the country now stands at over 41,000 total cases. According to E-Mongolia, the COVID-19 related death toll has now risen to 134. The increase in infections and the arrival of Mongolians from abroad fostered skepticism of the government's handling of the overall pandemic. The Mongolian government's response has been focused on vaccinating the population while slowly receiving Mongolian citizens from abroad with the assistance of its global partners such as Japan, South Korea, and the United States. But with an array of vaccination options and persistent anti-vaccination sentiments, Mongolians were divided on the issue. Mongolia's far-sighted 2011 Foreign Policy Concept calls for a multi-pillar foreign policy approach, and it paid off handsomely in the country's vaccination diplomacy efforts. Despite its landlocked position, Mongolia managed to utilize its strategic partnerships to receive vaccinations from multiple sources. According to the Foreign Ministry, Mongolia has received 2,600,540 vaccines through COVAX, the AstraZeneca and Pfizer brands. In addition, the government has purchased Sputnik V from Russia and Sinopharm from China. The COVAX global supply of vaccines to lower-income economies is expected to reach 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. Mongolia's strategic partnerships with its neighbors, Russia and China, allowed Mongolia to receive vaccines more quickly compared to other developing countries, many of which are dealing with significant delays. As early as February 23, 2021, Mongolia received 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine as a donation from China. More recently, on May 2, Mongolia received the first batch of 20,000 Sputnik V vaccines from Russia and expected to receive an additional 131,200 doses on May 6. Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, speaking on national television, stated that the government agencies are diligently "continuing talks to accelerate the vaccination supply." Moreover, as of April 30, foreign nationals with permanent residency in Mongolia can get their "voluntary vaccination" against COVID-19. Mongolia's two large neighbors, Russia and China, have been active in the global supply of vaccines. As the Economic Intelligence Unit reported, "China and Russia have been sending millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines to developing states in recent months. Through this 'vaccine diplomacy' operation, Russia and China aim to strengthen their global presence and boost their bilateral relations with the many emerging countries where Western influence is declining." But while Mongolia has received neighborly support from both Russia and China, Mongolia's "third neighbors" weren't sitting idle either. The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia reported that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had launched "a $450,000 (Tugrik 1.3 billion) USAID program to support the Government of Mongolia's COVID-19 response." The embassy noted that the new commitment brings the United States' total COVID-19 aid to Mongolia almost $4 million. "Through this assistance, USAID is focused on helping to strengthen Mongolia's own ability to fight the disease and to support the following priority areas: infection prevention and control; preparing laboratory systems for large-scale testing; and communicating with the public on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus," the statement said. In addition, U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia Michael Klecheski tweeted about his most recent meeting with Battsetseg, writing, "Diplomacy during the pandemic." The two sides have been in continuous communication on how the United States can support Mongolia's fight against COVID-19 as a strategic partner, either through COVAX or financial support. Moreover, on April 26, new Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai received India's Ambassador to Mongolia M. P. Singh. The Indian government donated 15,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Mongolia in late February 2021, becoming one of the early vaccination donors. Singh stated at the time, "India is glad to be the first nation to provide Covid vaccine to the 'Spiritual Neighbour' and 'Strategic Partner' Mongolia." The strategic partnership the two countries established in 2015 is paying dividends during the pandemic. Mongolia was one of 13 countries gifted vaccines in the "very first phase" of India's vaccine diplomacy, Singh added, saying, "This gesture demonstrates our cooperative and collaborative spirit, our bond of hearts, and the importance of Mongolia in our 'Act East' policy." Now, as India's COVID-19 numbers break world records, the Mongolian government is donating $1 million to assist India. Oyun-Erdene, who is approaching the 100 day mark in the prime minister's office, aims to vaccinate all people above the age of 18, which is 62 percent of the total population, by July of this year. According to the press secretary to the Prime Minister, Bolortuya Chuluunbaatar, "the country needs 4,200,000 doses to fully vaccinate the entire population and [has] currently acquired 2 million vaccinations." The global pandemic highlighted the significance of a country's foreign policy and what can be achieved through strategic foreign policy endeavors and diplomacy. Mongolia, often categorized as a small state due to its 3.2 million population, cannot afford to deal with more deaths. Mongolia is successfully leveraging its long-standing foreign policy pillars to make the most of vaccine diplomacy. ^ top ^

 

Embassy of Switzerland
 

The Press review is a random selection of political and social related news gathered from various media and news services located in the PRC, edited or translated by the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and distributed among Swiss Government Offices. The Embassy does not accept responsibility for accuracy of quotes or truthfulness of content. Additionally the contents of the selected news mustn't correspond to the opinion of the Embassy.
 
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