Switzerland

• Meeting sets stage for more contact between China, US (China Daily)

Foreign Policy

• Joint statement of China and Russia on strengthening the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons (GT)
• US, Chinese diplomats' meeting in Zurich paves way for continued talks (SCMP)
• Chinese ambassador invites Americans to get immersive experience of China after pandemic (Xinhua)
• Lao capital station of China-Laos Railway makes debut (Xinhua)
• Analysts hail Xi's climate commitments (China Daily)

Domestic Policy

• China Provinces to Supply More Coal to Ease Power Shortage (Caixin)
• Heavy rain hits N China's Shanxi destroying railways and displacing more than 20,000 people (GT)
• Carbon cut, pollution in policy focus (China Daily)
• After-school centers eye potential, face challenges (China Daily)
• 'Hostage diplomacy' in the Two Michaels case shows China's legal system is a sham (HKFP)
• Chinese regulator to ensure financing for coal power firms (GT)

Shanghai

• Top Shanghai court outlines BRI work (China Daily)

Tibet

• Customs in Tibet gets tough against smuggling (Xinhua)
• China's Tibet spends more on ecological protection (Xinhua)

Xinjiang

• China's Xinjiang faces hidden risk from debt-heavy XPCC, with spending tipped to rise after US withdrawal from Afghanistan (SCMP)
• Xinjiang exports rattled by coronavirus outbreaks in Central Asia as risks from US sanctions loom (SCMP)

Hongkong

• Why Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam's 2021 policy address was unconventional – and does it hint at bid for second term? (SCMP)
• HKSAR gov't plans to restructure policy bureaus (Xinhua)

Taiwan

• China's new J-16D fighter jet has been deployed to an eastern airbase near Taiwan (SCMP)
• Antony Blinken urges China to halt 'provocative' actions toward Taiwan (SCMP)
• Joe Biden says he and China's Xi Jinping agreed to abide by Taiwan agreement (SCMP)

Economy

• Xiaomi Takes Lead in Central and Eastern Europe's 5G Smartphone Market (Caixin)
• Investors Offload Chinese Developers' Dollar Bonds Amid Rising Anxiety About Defaults (Caixin)
• Holiday spending further vitalizes China's consumer market (Xinhua)

DPRK

• DPRK decides to restore all inter-Korean communication lines (Xinhua)

Mongolia

• N.Tavinbekh: There are 71 thousand tons reserves of refined coal (GoGo Mongolia)
• Mongolia's renewed commitment to accelerating the implementation of the SDGs (Montsame)

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Meeting sets stage for more contact between China, US (China Daily)
2021-10-08
Beijing and Washington, during a meeting in Zurich, have agreed to further realize their top leaders' recent consensus, boost strategic contacts, manage differences, avoid conflict and confrontation, advance cooperation and bring their ties back on track. Although senior US officials have tried to tone down hostility in recent talks, experts said more practical, coolheaded US actions are needed to remove attempts to suppress China, repair the chilly ties and set the stage for further high-level interactions. The meeting involving senior diplomats from China and the United States took place in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The delegations were respectively led by Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. They exchanged views on China-US ties as well as global and regional issues of common concern, such as climate change. The two sides agreed to maintain frequent talks and communication on important issues. ^ top ^

Joint statement of China and Russia on strengthening the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons (GT)
2021-10-08
The Russian Federation and China reaffirm their conviction that the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC) is essential as a pillar of the international peace and security, and their determination to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the Convention. Today, as in 1975, the objective of the BWC remains relevant: to rule completely out the possibility of biological agents being used as weapons. The Russian Federation and China reiterate the need that the BWC should be fully complied with and further strengthened, including through its institutionalization and the adoption of a legally binding protocol to the Convention with effective verification mechanism, as well as through regular consultations and cooperation in resolving any issues related to the implementation of the Convention. The Russian Federation and China emphasize that the BWC functions, including in what concerns the United Nations Security Council, should not be duplicated by other mechanisms. With a view to shaping a BWC mechanism of investigation of the alleged biological weapons incidents, they call on the BWC States Parties to develop operating standards for the mechanism, together with technical guidelines and procedures. The Russian Federation and China note with concern that over the past two decades the BWC States Parties, despite the wishes of the overwhelming majority, have failed to reach an agreement on resuming the multilateral negotiations on the Protocol to the Convention, suspended in 2001 when the United States unilaterally withdrew from this process despite the fact that the consensus was almost reached. Consequently, and also in the light of rapid advances in the field of science and technology with dual-use capabilities, the risk of biological agents being used as weapons has increased. In this context they emphasize that the United States' and its allies' overseas military biological activities (over 200 US biological laboratories are deployed outside its national territory, which function in opaque and non-transparent manner) cause serious concerns and questions among the international community over its compliance with the BWC. The two sides share the view that such activities pose serious risks for the national security of the Russian Federation and China, and are detrimental to the security of relevant regions. The Russian Federation and China further note that the United States' and its allies' military biological activities on their national territory also cause serious compliance concerns. Given the fact that the United States and its allies do not provide any meaningful information on those military biological activities that could allay concerns of the international community, the Russian Federation and China urge the United States and its allies to act in an open, transparent and responsible manner, by informing properly on its military biological activities carried out overseas and on their national territory, and supporting the resumption of negotiations on a legally binding protocol to the BWC with effective verification mechanism, so as to ensure their compliance with the BWC. In this context the Russian Federation and China note the importance of improved confidence-building measures under the Convention, inter alia, by including information on the overseas military biological activities by the BWC States Parties in the reporting form. The two sides believe that such declaration will be conducive to filling in the blank spots and fostering confidence among States Parties. The Russian Federation and China also call upon the BWC States Parties to continue joint efforts towards strengthening the Convention on a secure, legally binding basis. They welcome relevant initiatives. At the same time, they support ancillary measures to improve the current implementation of the Convention. The BWC institutional framework would be strengthened with the proposed mobile biomedical teams to render assistance in cases of biological weapons use, investigate such cases and help combat epidemics of various origins. This proposal represents a new approach to the improved BWC implementation at the international level, combining the principles of collective security and cooperation for peaceful purposes. The Russian Federation and China stress that the rapid development of science and technology in BWC-related areas call for greater attention of the BWC States Parties. There is a need to raise awareness of the risks associated with dual-use research and, simultaneously, promote the full use of the latest advances in biotechnology for peaceful purposes. In this context, the Russian Federation and China support the idea to establish a BWC scientific advisory committee to analyse scientific and technological advances relevant to the Convention and advise its States Parties accordingly. At the BWC Ninth Review Conference, the Russian Federation and China are prepared to consider any proposals capable of strengthening the Convention and improving its implementation in a non-discriminatory manner. They call upon all BWC States Parties to adopt a constructive approach to ensure that the decisions taken serve strengthening the BWC regime. ^ top ^

US, Chinese diplomats' meeting in Zurich paves way for continued talks (SCMP)
2021-10-07
The latest round of talks between top national security officials from Washington and Beijing finished in Zurich with a commitment to continue speaking at a senior level. Six months after tempers flared at their dramatic first meeting in Alaska, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi met again on Wednesday to discuss the nations' long-standing grievances, as well as potential areas of cooperation, just as they did when they met in March. "Mr. Sullivan also raised areas where the United States and the PRC have an interest in working together to address vital transnational challenges, and ways to manage risks in our relationship," the White House said after the meeting. The Chinese foreign ministry said the two had discussed climate change and "regional issues of mutual concern". After the meeting, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were planning to meet virtually before the end of the year, in what would be their third conversation this year. According to the White House, Sullivan also "raised a number of areas where we have concern with the PRC's actions, including actions related to human rights, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and Taiwan". According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Yang told Sullivan to stop using those issues to "interfere in China's internal affairs". Yang also said the word "competition" should not be used to define the countries' relationship, and demanded that the US respect China's "sovereignty, security and development interests", the foreign ministry said. The US-China relationship has plummeted in recent years over disagreements on human rights, trade policy and Beijing's sabre-rattling towards its neighbours, with few signs of improvement, and the nations' leaders have yet to meet in person as heads of state. Biden and Xi spoke on the phone last month, and Washington and Beijing had both said that Wednesday's meeting was meant to follow up on that call. The White House said that Sullivan told Yang that the US would "continue to engage with the PRC at a senior level to ensure responsible competition". Biden and Xi were thought to be considering an in-person meeting at the G20 summit in Italy later this month, but Chinese officials said this week that Xi would not travel there because of coronavirus precautions. Other reports have swirled in Washington that Biden asked Xi to meet with him during their phone call last month but that Xi rejected the offer unless the US changed its tone towards Beijing. Biden said those reports were not true. Even with an apparent change in tone between Washington and Beijing's diplomats, and a potential meeting between the two national leaders still in the works, none of that should be confused for a suddenly warm US-China relationship, said Yun Sun, senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia programme and director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington. "It doesn't mean things are all good from now on," she said. But she added that it was at least a sign that the US and China, despite soaring tensions, could hear each other out. "Back in Anchorage, the initial engagement between the two sides were aimed at probing each other's positions, hence the pulling and hauling was more dramatic," she said. "Now the two sides have a better understanding of each other's bottom lines, it is more feasible for them to sit down and talk substantively and realistically." ^ top ^

Chinese ambassador invites Americans to get immersive experience of China after pandemic (Xinhua)
2021-10-07
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang on Wednesday encouraged Americans to go to China and get "an immersive experience" of the fast-evolving country once the situation allows. "Today's forum is about tourism, hospitality and cultural exchange between China and the U.S., which are the foundation for the mutual understanding and correct perception of the two peoples," Qin said in his keynote speech at an online Forum on Tourism, Hospitality and Cultural Exchange held by the U.S.-Asia Institute and Las Vegas Sands Corp. "To get a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic view of China, I encourage you to go to China and get an immersive experience of my country. I hope that the pandemic will be over soon, so that you can go there for study, work and fun," Qin said. He offered some tips for potential American visitors to China, including carrying a smart phone as scanning QR codes is more convenient when taking buses, high-speed trains, planes, or ships, or just riding a shared bike, and taking one's driving license in a bid to rent a shared new-energy car on the street. As many Americans cannot visit China in person now during the COVID-19 pandemic, Qin suggested they make good use of internet resources, take a virtual tour of China's places of interest like the Forbidden City, try some live streaming shopping and improve their Chinese language skills with interactive learning apps. ^ top ^

Lao capital station of China-Laos Railway makes debut (Xinhua)
2021-10-07
The China-Laos railway station in the Lao capital Vientiane made its debut on Wednesday. The Vientiane Station, the largest and most important station of the China-Laos railway, is built by China Railway Construction Group Co., Ltd.. The station will consist of three platforms with five track lines and two additional platforms with two lines reserved. With a construction area of 14,543 square meters, the station can accommodate a maximum 2,500 passengers, according to the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., a Vientiane-based joint venture in charge of the railway's construction and operation. The Vientiane Station, reflecting the design concept of "the city of sandalwood (Vientiane), the friendship between China and Laos," has deeply integrated the cultural traditions of the two countries. The station's main building takes the Chinese traditional ancient architecture stretch ratio as the benchmark, and combines the environmental characteristics of Vientiane with the Chinese classic architecture's door style. The facade extracts the image elements of tropical rainforest trees, and installs eight branches shaped eaves and columns with undecorated steel structure to support the station hall roof. When the sun shines on the station, it looks like many trees casting shadows on the facade, which fully highlights the elegance of "the city of sandalwood". The station hall is largely painted with the colors of Dok Champa, the national flower of Laos. The China-Laos Railway is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards. The construction of the project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be put into operation in December 2021. ^ top ^

Analysts hail Xi's climate commitments (China Daily)
2021-10-06
China's pledge to help other countries with green energy while ceasing to build new coal-fired power projects abroad will help other developing nations in Asia reduce their dependence on coal and meet their commitment to cut carbon emissions, analysts said. They said that China's commitment to low-carbon growth is crucial as Southeast Asian governments prepare their climate commitments ahead of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), which will be held from Oct 31 to Nov 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. Analysts hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in which he said that China will support other developing countries' green and low-carbon energy projects. "If the global fight against coal was a novel, President Xi's statement is the paragraph that opens the epilogue," said Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, a Manila-based climate policy think tank. Constantino said Xi's statement is a "monumental signal" to Southeast Asia's governments to accelerate the region's transition to renewable energy. "After decades of addiction to fossil fuels, it will certainly be challenging for governments in the region to phase out coal in a time frame that allows Southeast Asia's power sector to establish irreversible pathways to modernization. But having China as a partner will be nothing less than a massive boost that can transform visions into reality," he said. Cesar Carlito Baclagon, regional finance campaigner for Asia of 350.org, an international environmental group, congratulated China on its "wise decision" to stop support for external coal investment. "A push against coal power plants sends a clear message that China and the rest of Asia, especially member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, can play a leadership role in building a fossil-free future," Baclagon said. He expressed his hope that Xi's statement will encourage the regional bloc "to push other wealthy countries to step up and get their financial institutions to do better" at the COP 26. Tata Mustasya, climate and energy campaign strategist at Greenpeace Southeast Asia, welcomed China's move, noting that financing from China and other wealthier countries is needed to build green energy infrastructure in Southeast Asia. "The key is energy transition, because 60 percent of global emissions come from the energy sector," Mustasya said. Prior to the pandemic, Southeast Asia was one of the world's fastest growing regional economies, boosting energy demand. The International Energy Agency said that growing ownership of household appliances and air conditioners, as well as increasing consumption of goods and services, have increased electricity demand by more than 6 percent annually over the past 20 years. Greater demand for electricity has also expanded the construction of coal power plants. The IEA said Southeast Asia is one of the few regions of the world where coal-fired generation has been expanding, with close to 20 gigawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity under construction, mostly in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Some Southeast Asian governments have made a commitment to decarbonize, but analysts noted that such statements have to be matched with concrete policies and programs. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, is also among the world's biggest coal producers and exporters. Indonesia is also the biggest electricity consumer in the region and coal accounts for around 60 percent of the country's electricity generation. The capital city of Jakarta alone is surrounded by more than 20 coal-fired power plants within a 100-kilometer radius and is one of the most polluted cities in Southeast Asia, according to Greenpeace. State-owned utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara said in May that it will stop building coal-fired power plants after 2023 to meet Indonesia's goal to slash emissions. But environmental experts believe that the country must stop building power plants now and start investing in renewable energy sources to meet its climate goals. In the Philippines, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said last year that the country is imposing a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and will allow 100-percent foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal exploration, development and utilization projects. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob highlighted low-carbon development in a plan he presented to the nation's legislature on Sept 27. He said carbon pricing and a carbon tax will be introduced so that Malaysia can become carbon neutral by 2050. Matthew Ashfold, associate professor and head of the School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said the prime minister's commitment to transform Malaysia into a carbon-neutral country indicates that there's a "wider consensus" in ASEAN to move away from coal-powered plants over the longer term. Ashfold said if ASEAN wishes to meet its commitment to the Paris Agreement, it has to reduce its dependence on coal as soon as possible given the "multidecade lifetimes" of power plant infrastructure. "So ideally new green energy infrastructure is not only seen as an alternative to new coal power stations, but it will be sufficient to also allow the early retirement or retrofitting of existing coal power stations," he said. Ashfold said that apart from meeting climate goals, a shift to renewable energy sources can reduce health impacts from fossil fuel-related air pollution in ASEAN member nations, citing a February 2020 report from Greenpeace which revealed that air pollution has caused more than 100,000 premature deaths in Southeast Asia. "Such huge, diffuse costs are typically not accounted for when evaluating the economic case for investments in fossil fuel technologies," Ashfold said. ^ top ^

China Provinces to Supply More Coal to Ease Power Shortage (Caixin)
2021-10-08
Three of China's major coal-producing provinces have pledged to increase long-term coal supply to power plants by a total of 145 million tons at a discount price in the fourth quarter amid a severe power shortage which has left millions of homes and businesses hit by power cuts. The pledges came after China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), last week urged miners and power firms to sign up additional long-term contracts on top of existing agreements in order to guarantee thermal coal supply to generate electricity. Since mid-September, several provinces across the country suffered power outages and were forced to ration electricity supplies. Record coal prices and a relatively low electricity price set by the government have meant that producers have been selling power below cost, which has greatly lowered the incentive to generate electricity. This, together with government-mandated cuts to coal-mining capacity since 2016 and carbon-reduction measures, have slowed coal production, while an economic recovery is making factories consume a lot more electricity. Nearly 30 coal producers in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, will guarantee 53 million tons of coal supply to 18 provinces, including 13 million tons to three northeastern provinces, where a recent power outage caused 23 deaths. The city produced 604 million tons of coal last year, accounting for about one sixth of the country's total output. Shanxi province, which produces 28% of the country's coal, has signed long-term contracts with 14 other provinces and cities to supply an extra 53 million tons of coal beyond its existing contracts. Shaanxi province will commit an additional 39 million tons of coal supply to 14 provinces. The price under long-term contracts is about 60% less than market coal prices. At the end of September, the main trading price of 5,500 kcal/kg thermal coal at major northern China ports stood at about 1,600 to 1,700 yuan ($248-$264) per ton, while Shenhua Group Corp, a state-owned mining and energy company, sold its thermal coals under long-term contracts at 677 yuan per ton. Due to the large price gap, the implementation of additional long-term contracts with coal mines is not progressing as expected. Coal producers including Shenhua have only executed a small portion of their committed long-term contracts as it's not easy to organize supplies because the market price is much higher than the contract price, a spokesperson for a state-owned thermal power plant in Jiangsu province told Caixin. In response to the implementation problem, the NDRC issued a supplemental notice over the weekend, allowing coal mines that supply more than 80% of their output under long-term contracts to raise their price in the additional contracts to no more than twice of its original contract price. Currently, coal producers mainly adjust their sales structure to achieve the long-term contract goal, such as cutting the proportion of coals sold in the market and reducing sales of coal used in metallurgy, chemical and construction industries, according a person at a major coal producer in Shanxi. "Now we are concentrating on guarantee supply for electricity," said the representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, power plants are also trying to import more coal. State-owned power producer Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Co. Ltd. recently imported 136,000 tons of coal from Kazakhstan, local media reported. ^ top ^

Heavy rain hits N China's Shanxi destroying railways and displacing more than 20,000 people (GT)
2021-10-08
More than 20,000 residents in North China's Shanxi Province have been relocated after heavy rain hit the province during the National Day holidays, the local authorities told media. The heavy downpour started in Shanxi on Saturday and between Sunday and Thursday, precipitation in many places in the province exceeded 100 millimeters, reaching a historic high. In Jinzhong and Linfen, the precipitation even exceeded 200 millimeters. The rain stopped on Thursday but a new round of rainfall is expected on Friday and Saturday, according to the local meteorological department. The rain has flooded villages causing the displacement and relocation of 8,000 residents in Yuncheng city and another 15,000 in Qingxu county in Taiyuan. It also destroyed the supports under a railway crossing over the Changyuan River in Qixian county. A video published on Wednesday went viral on social media platforms showing the railway hanging in the air without abutments. Maintenance personnel started to make urgent repairs on the railway since Thursday morning. Days of heavy downpours have also caused floods and landslides that have resulted in four dead and several injured in Linfen city. Not only Shanxi, many places across the country also experienced heavy rainfall during the holidays. Seven working groups were sent by the Ministry of Water Resources to the provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong to provide aid on flood prevention and control efforts, Xinhua News Agency reported. The ministry announced on Wednesday that the Yellow River, China's second longest river, has registered its third flood of this season caused by continuous rainfall, Xinhua reported. After recent heavy rains, the amount of water flowing per second at the Tongguan hydrologic station, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, increased to 5,090 cubic meters as of Tuesday evening, authorities said. The ministry has maintained a level-three emergency response, the second-lowest level, and has asked local flood prevention authorities along the middle and lower reaches of the river to enhance their patrols on flood control projects. ^ top ^

Carbon cut, pollution in policy focus (China Daily)
2021-10-07
China has been making accelerated efforts to establish a system to appraise its concerted efforts in controlling pollution as it forges ahead with its climate targets, experts said. They made the remark following the 21st meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform, which was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Aug 30. Xi, who is also the Chinese president, highlighted the importance of consolidating antipollution achievements, as the nation has entered a crucial period in advancing ecological civilization in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) with a focus on reducing carbon emissions. Ecological civilization is a concept promoted by Xi for balanced and sustainable development that features the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. According to a statement issued after the meeting, the country aims to promote the synergy of pollution control and carbon reduction. The formation of institutional mechanisms that could integrate the plan for reducing pollution and carbon emissions, and the appraisal of concerted efforts, will be accelerated. The meeting also vowed to speed up adjustments in the structure of industry, energy, transport and land use, while strictly controlling projects with high energy consumption and high emissions. At a recent news conference, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said that promoting the synergy of pollution control and carbon reduction means a transition in environmental governance in China. Instead of mainly resorting to "end-of-pipe solutions", pollution-control approaches that clean up pollutants at the point where they enter the environment, the country tends to prioritize management at pollution sources, he continued. Emissions of carbon dioxide and traditional air pollutants share the same source of fossil energy consumption. "The root causes of the environmental problems in China are its high-carbon energy mix and industrial structures with high energy consumption and carbon emissions," he said. Wang Weiquan, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, said the Chinese government has taken concrete measures to establish a mechanism to appraise work on promoting the synergy of pollution control and carbon reduction. He said the National Development and Reform Commission, where the office of a central leading group for the dual carbon targets is based, announced only one day after the Aug 30 meeting that the leading group had established a working team for carbon accounting. The leading group is headed by Vice-Premier Han Zheng. According to the commission, the team will be responsible for organizing and coordinating carbon accounting and verification at both national and regional levels, as well as in different industries. China announced last year that it aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realize carbon neutrality before 2060. Work to realize the targets is still in the initial phase and the country is still working to get a clear picture of its emissions situation, Wang noted. The team will play an important role in addressing the problem. Aside from providing a benchmark that could determine how far it is still away from the goals, it will also lay the foundation for the establishment of the appraisal system, he said. He said that China has a well-established appraisal system in the governance of air pollutant emissions. If the accounting, verification and appraisal system for carbon emissions can be integrated with that for air pollution control, "it will avoid a lot of repetitive work". ^ top ^

After-school centers eye potential, face challenges (China Daily)
2021-10-06
As the nationwide "double reduction" education policy －which aims to relieve students of the burden of excessive homework and reduce the need for after-school tutoring －takes effect, related industries are facing distinct marketing prospects. While curriculum subject training institutions are struggling to transform their businesses after the government limited their operating hours and subjects they can teach, providers of sports and arts courses are welcoming an increasing number of young clients, and other industries, such as toy retailer Kidsland International Holdings Ltd, are seeing new growth opportunities. "There will be a big market potential for the toy industry in the future," said Zhong Mei, managing director of Kidsland China. "The country encourages students to develop in all aspects instead of just school subjects. Kids will have more spare time for hobbies and other quality education when they have less homework and don't need to go to after-school classes." "There will be a growing demand for various kinds of toys for education during activities." Since summer, several cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have been carrying out the double reduction regulations, which have required public schools that teach compulsory education to offer after-school courses for students. The measure aims to bring students back to campus instead of going to those training institutions after class. The Beijing municipal government announced that primary schools should not assign written homework for students in grades one and two, and the quantity of homework for other grades should be reduced. In addition, punitive and repetitive homework assignment have been banned. "When kids have more time after school, there will be other ways for them to receive education," Zhong said. She added that the company has plans to cooperate with some training institutions to develop fun learning tools. "This will provide more growth potential for the toy industry," she said. "For example, some art training schools have contacted us to create tailor-made learning materials for them." Other courses in activities such as horseback riding, golf, badminton, skating and Chinese chess are gaining popularity as parents look to enrich their children's education beyond the classroom. In an interview with Xinhua, Ma Liang, a professor of public management at Renmin University, said the sports training industry will see a great development opportunity thanks to the double reduction policy. "Students will have more time for physical exercise. The money previously used for subject courses can now be spent on sports," he said. Ye Xiaoyan, mother of a 7-year-old boy, said her son now has no homework to do after school, and the math courses he took during the weekends have stopped. "I plan to let him learn horseback riding, which I believe will help him become more brave," she said. "It's a good thing to have less homework and fewer training courses outside of school. It's more important to have good art taste and a strong body than high scores, in my opinion." Many districts in Beijing have released white lists of subject training institutions in past weeks, so parents who still want their children to take curriculum subject courses can send them to those places, which are now strictly supervised by the government. Such institutions are not allowed to teach courses ahead of the schedule in public schools. A large number of institutions that are not on the white lists are grappling with challenges, as they have to either shift from curriculum subject training to arts or sports courses, or face closing their businesses. "Transformation is not an easy thing," said a former teacher at an English training school, who declined to be named. "I had no courses to teach for one month. I had to leave the industry, even though the school didn't force me to." ^ top ^

'Hostage diplomacy' in the Two Michaels case shows China's legal system is a sham (HKFP)
2021-10-05
From time to time we are told, sometimes in a tone of rather self-righteous condescension, that we must respect China's legal system. We haven't, however, heard any of this since the release of the "two Michaels." The pair, surnames Kovrig and Spavor, were arrested in China and charged with various crimes, soon after extradition proceedings against Ms Meng Wanzhou started in Vancouver. Outsiders who complained that the Michaels had been grabbed as hostages to be exchanged for Ms Meng were firmly told that no such thing was possible in the mainland's new and shiny legal system. The two Canadians were genuinely suspected of espionage offences and the law must take its course. Then Ms Meng's legal team reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice, which had been seeking her extradition to face a charge of violating US sanctions against Iran. Ms Meng admitted misleading a financial institution, the department agreed to defer prosecution, and she was free to leave. This is perhaps as good a place as any to note that Ms Meng's three-year incarceration in Vancouver took the form of what is apparently known in Canada as "open house arrest." This means she could live in her own house, which I dare say is fairly palatial, and even go out during the day. No rationing of M&Ms or hairclips, no correctional food. Ms Meng then flew to China and, mirabile dictu, the two Michaels were on the same day suddenly free to leave and fly home. Even China's ever-zealous internet defenders did not take seriously the official suggestion that the two Michaels had miraculously, on the same day, qualified for "medical parole." They said that the Michaels had been hostages and so was Ms Meng, so that was fair. In other words, the "legal proceedings" to which they were subjected were a total sham. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said much the same thing about the proceedings against Ms Meng, but this is difficult to substantiate from the facts. In the first place, Ms Meng has now admitted that she did, in person, at length and with Microsoft Powerpoint, mislead a bank about the status of Huawei's subsidiary in Iran. This is an offence against American law, even if you do it in Hong Kong. Readers may be surprised that the American courts claim any jurisdiction over acts done in Hong Kong, but as our courts claim jurisdiction over national security offences committed in America we can hardly complain about that. A more substantial complaint about the Meng case is that previous prosecutions for violating sanctions – and indeed for many other commercial crimes – have generally been directed at the companies concerned, not at individual executives. Indeed, some people have been complaining about this for a long time. The fines levied are effectively a punishment of shareholders while the people who actually committed the offending act go free. It is difficult to see why the Department of Justice should have departed from its usual policy in the case of Ms Meng. But such departures are not unprecedented. Michael Milken did time. Two Enron executives were prosecuted. The theory that Ms Meng was picked on in response to the Trump administration's hostility to China and to China tech companies in particular remains a theory. What seems beyond dispute, though, is that the proceedings in Canada were not political in any way. The government refused to intervene, as governments must in countries which take the rule of law seriously. The judge, correctly, was bound by the extradition agreement between Canada and the US. Two countries sharing a long and fairly transparent land border must have effective extradition arrangements and they must be taken seriously. China's beef with Canada seems to be that the proceedings should have been stopped on political grounds, either because the original prosecution was politically motivated (a point Ms Meng's legal team were free to make in court) or because China is a big important country and Canada is not. China's Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, "Canada should draw lessons and act in ways that serve its own interests." No doubt Canada will. The lesson appears to be that China does not have a legal system and does not recognise the constraints imposed on other governments which do. The judges are party puppets and nobody is safe from arbitrary incarceration. That now includes us. Thanks. ^ top ^

Chinese regulator to ensure financing for coal power firms (GT)
2021-10-05
China will take measures to ensure reasonable financing requests from enterprises in industries including coal power, steel and non-ferrous metals being met and prohibit bank and insurance funds from being used for speculation of commodities, in an effort to stabilize market. Banking and insurance institutions are being urged to provide financial support for energy power supply firms in the coming winter and next spring, and to actively support major coal-producing areas and key coal companies to increase the supply of thermal coal to ensure that households have access to sufficient heating, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a statement published on Monday. The regulator has emphasized that it will forbid illegal suspension of loans to coal power, coal-related firms and projects that meet government requirements. Bank and insurance funds are forbidden to illegally participate in the specuation of bulk commodities including coal, steel and non-ferrous metals, the regulator said. China has been experiencing a power crunch since last months with some regions in the country suffering from sporadic power outages that have halted factory productions and even households power consumption, due to a combination of factors including the country's heavy reliance on coal, whose prices have been on the rise, the instability of clean power, and surging production activities bolstered by pent-up demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ^ top ^

Top Shanghai court outlines BRI work (China Daily)
2021-10-08
A foreign business operator's popularity in its home country is a factor in determining whether another operator in the China market constitutes unfair competition, officials from the Shanghai High People's Court said recently. The Shanghai Huangpu District People's Court ruled in July last year that a local company that had operated two Thai-style massage stores in downtown Shanghai since November 2016 had infringed upon a trademark held by an enterprise from Thailand that had run spa massage stores in that country for more than a decade. The high court said it was the first case concluded in the city that used such a rule. It was one of eight typical cases concerned with better serving the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past three years that the Shanghai High People's Court released recently. Shanghai Jingshan Health Management, which operated the two stores in Shanghai, used the same characters for "Let's Relax" in the same font on its store signboards, indoor decorations, and its articles as those on the signboards of the stores run by the Thai company, Siam Wellness Group. The Shanghai company also falsely claimed at its stores that it was an international brand from Thailand with years of spa service. "Through the verdict we aimed to protect the business reputations accumulated for years by operators from countries involved in the BRI, and stopped local entrepreneurs from gaining profits through unlawful means," said Wang Shan, head of the maritime tribunal of the Shanghai High People's Court. "Such legal efforts will also contribute to BRI construction and provide a powerful judicial guarantee for a better domestic business environment." Increasing economic and cultural exchanges between China and Thailand, among other countries involved in the BRI, since the initiative was put forward in 2013 saw Thailand become one of the favorite overseas travel destinations for Chinese residents, with Thai-style spa massage a popular leisure option. Siam Wellness used "Let's Relax "as the spa store name, and it was one of the top 10 Thai spa massage brands among Chinese tourists multiple times between 2010 and 2018, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The Thai company has, since 2016, also established a presence in several Chinese cities, including Kunming in Yunnan province, Qingdao in Shandong province and Tianjin, and promoted its stores and services through the WeChat account "LetsRelaxSPA". The local company's behavior showed obvious subjective malice in misleading consumers to believe the stores were run by the Thai enterprise, Wang said. The other typical cases covered the fields of arbitration in foreign-related commercial disputes, the ascertainment of foreign laws, the use of video links to help identify items abroad subject to quality disputes, and recognizing and executing the decisions of foreign courts. "The court's efforts to uphold openness and tolerance, respect international rules and market disciplines, protect market entities from home and abroad equally, and its prudent handling of new types of disputes in frontier areas showed the support from the judicial sector for higher-level opening-up," said Mao Ronghua, vice-president of the Shanghai High People's Court. Together with the Foreign Law Ascertainment Center at East China University of Political Science and Law, the court established China's first operating rules for ascertaining foreign laws in 2014. Foreign law ascertainment has played a role in more than 20 commercial disputes, with judges looking into laws and judicial precedents in the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Mexico and Australia, among others. In one of the typical cases, in which two companies sued each other in a dispute over a sales contract for equipment that broke down and caught fire during a road construction project in Mozambique, the court used a transnational video link to identify the problem with the equipment and determine which company was to be held responsible, a breakthrough method of fact finding, according to the high court. Shanghai Zhaorui Machinery Equipment bought crushing accessories from Shanghai Ri Teng Industrial Control Equipment for the project, but the machine broke down and caught fire in 2018. Ri Teng sued Zhaorui for the remaining payment, while Zhaorui sued Ri Teng for its problematic products and the related construction delay. During a hearing at Shanghai Jing'an District People's Court, judges asked technicians to operate the machine involved in the dispute and another in good condition at the construction site in Mozambique for the purpose of comparison. The court held each company partially responsible. ^ top ^

Customs in Tibet gets tough against smuggling (Xinhua)
2021-10-07
The customs authority in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has acted against smuggling activities with an iron hand in the first eight months of the year. From January to August, Lhasa customs cracked 13 smuggling cases involving a total value of 6.9 million yuan (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars), it said in a statement. The anti-smuggling departments in the region have implemented various campaigns against smuggling and targeted the smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition, imported waste, and endangered plants and animals, as well as related products. Lhasa customs said it has attached special importance to criminal cases related to wild animals and their products, including Tibetan antelopes and snow leopards. Efforts have also been made to improve the supervision process, strengthen risk prevention and control, strengthen publicity and foster synergy against smuggling activities, the customs said. ^ top ^

China's Tibet spends more on ecological protection (Xinhua)
2021-10-06
Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region spent 20.23 billion yuan (about 3.1 billion U.S. dollars) on ecological protection from 2016 to 2020, according to the local environmental authority. The amount more than doubled the spending for the previous five-year period, the region's ecology and environment department said Wednesday in a statement. The funds were mainly used in projects targeting afforestation, wetland protection and restoration, nature reserve construction, natural forest protection, sand control, as well as wildlife protection. So far, the plateau region has invested a total of 12.72 billion yuan to implement a plan for protecting and improving the ecological safety barriers in Tibet since 2009. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is known as "the roof of the world." As Tibet is an important guarantor of China's environmental security, the Chinese government attaches great importance to the region's environmental protection. In 2020, the region's forest coverage reached 12.31 percent, and the comprehensive vegetation coverage of natural grasslands grew to 47 percent, said a white paper released earlier this year. ^ top ^

China's Xinjiang faces hidden risk from debt-heavy XPCC, with spending tipped to rise after US withdrawal from Afghanistan (SCMP)
2021-10-08
Spending on public security and poverty reduction in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is expected to increase after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, but indebted state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the sprawling Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), are already putting pressure on local government finances. The region's economic well-being and social stability have become more important than ever after US troops were rapidly pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban quickly assumed control of the country, according to analysts. Xinjiang in China's northwest shares a narrow 70km (43-mile) border with Afghanistan, a country which Beijing fears could become a flashpoint for instability in Central Asia, as well as threatening other regional players such as Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India and Turkey. Beijing has expressed concern that turmoil in the region could stoke unrest among Xinjiang 's Muslim and Turkic population, which has strong ties to Central Asia. "If the Taliban embarks on a more hardline approach to governing Afghanistan – including by reimposing the more brutal aspects of sharia law, or engaging in widespread violence – then this could intensify China's security crackdown in Xinjiang, by fanning official anxieties over extremism and terrorism," said Nick Marro, lead for global trade at The Economist Intelligence Unit. Beijing's security policy in Xinjiang is already a hot-button issue and a major point of contention between the United States and China. Washington has targeted Chinese officials and Xinjiang-based companies, including XPCC, for what it alleges are serious human rights abuses in the region – something Beijing has repeatedly denied. XPCC is at the heart of international tensions over Xinjiang because of its influential position in the local economy and its central role in ensuring social stability and security. Established in 1954, XPCC – which is also known as "Bingtuan" – operates as a business and paramilitary entity. Today, it controls at least 20 per cent of Xinjiang's gross domestic product (GDP), with cotton one of its most important goods, and has about 2.7 million members, accounting for 12 per cent of the region's total population. But the organisation's massive spending on projects ranging from poverty alleviation and surveillance to reeducation camps to counter "religious extremism" make it a potential contingent risk for the Xinjiang government, some observers say. Bonds are one method used by Bingtuan to raise funds, but as many of its political projects do not generate economic returns, there is a risk it may be unable to fulfil its debt obligations. That is what happened in 2018, when an SOE controlled by the sixth division of XPCC missed a bond payment deadline. The rare default, which was eventually settled, shook investors in China's credit market and today serves as a reminder about the risk of high debt among the region's SOEs, including those owned by XPCC, said Alex Lam, an analyst for sovereign and international public finance at S&P Ratings. […] Chang Wei-liang, currency and credit macro strategist at DBS Bank, said while international investors were no longer pricing in further escalation of US sanctions against XPCC-owned companies, financing pressure was coming from China's deleveraging campaign. Since Xinjiang's tax base is small, it is reliant on transfers from the central government, which have grown by around 52 per cent in the last five years. Fiscal transfers amounted to 362 billion yuan in 2020, worth about 89 per cent of Xinjiang's local government fiscal deficit and 26 per cent of its GDP, Chang said. "Most US-targeted Xinjiang companies are reliant on domestic yuan-denominated funding," Chang said. Betty Wang, senior China economist at ANZ Bank, highlighted the Politburo's pledge at its meeting in July to contain implicit local government debt and continue tightening control of the property market, especially after a jump in the local government leverage ratio over the past year when private investment was curbed by the pandemic. In the second quarter, China's outstanding local government debt increased 8.2 percentage points to 37.2 per cent of GDP from the same period in 2019, including borrowing by local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), Wang said. LGFV debt is also known as "hidden debt" because while it is owned by local governments, it is not reflected in fiscal budget figures nor official debt ratio calculations. Xinjiang engages in off-budget borrowing through SOEs, which amounted to 74 billion yuan in 2018, according to official data. "Amid rising concern about the local government leverage ratio, local governments will bear the bulk of the responsibility in managing local financial risks," Wang said. "Senior local government officials and the local People's Congress [should be] held accountable for financial and fiscal risks." Investor confidence in LGFVs is not based on their business fundamentals, but on the "implicit guarantee" that local government's will ultimately take responsibility for their debt, said Larry Hu, chief China economist for Macquarie Capital. However, that may be changing. Beijing is increasingly focused on defusing financial risk and there are signs the government may allow LGFVs to default or undergo restructuring if they are unable to repay debt. From the start of the year until June 24, Hu estimated Chinese firms have missed onshore bond payments worth 96.8 billion yuan – the highest total on record for the first six months of the year. So far this year, 12 provinces have recorded negative net financing in LGFVS bonds, up from six last year, Hu said. Out of the 12 provinces, most of them are in the country's north, an area which has much worse fiscal conditions compared with prosperous coastal areas. Marro said the XPCC's high social and security spending, along with its central place in international tensions, meant that risks emanating from sanctions would remain a key consideration for financial authorities. ^ top ^

Xinjiang exports rattled by coronavirus outbreaks in Central Asia as risks from US sanctions loom (SCMP)
2021-10-06
As the manager of a cross-border logistics company at Horgos Port on the border of China's far west Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Kazakhstan, Zhang Junke has been struggling with dwindling business for the past year and a half. One of his biggest clients in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest metropolis and trading hub, recently stopped taking orders of engineering products, most of them made in Xinjiang, because of a coronavirus outbreak that halted work at a construction site. "Previously, orders from them required more than a dozen trucks each month," Zhang said. "Now they are all gone." Many parts of China have benefited from roaring exports over the past year due to demand for work from home products and medical equipment in countries struggling to contain virus outbreaks. But Xinjiang, which borders eight nations – more than any other provincial jurisdiction in China – has struggled to keep up with the pace. Its exports have been hit by dampened demand in neighbouring Central Asia, skyrocketing freight costs, and US sanctions over alleged human rights abuses of Uygurs and other Muslim minorities, charges which Beijing has repeatedly denied. In 2020, Xinjiang's total exports were valued at US$15.836 billion, down 12.2 per cent from 2019, a huge divergence from overall national growth of 1.9 per cent. Though customs data shows trade has improved this year, with exports surging 50 per cent year on year in the first six months and 16 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, the share of exports in the region's gross domestic product (GDP) is declining: from 9.2 per cent in 2019, to 7.96 per cent in 2020, and 6.84 per cent in the first half of 2021. The lacklustre export data has set off alarm bells about the potential impact of international political controversy over alleged Uygur rights violations. In September last year, the US customs agency issued "withhold release orders" banning cotton, apparel, hair products and computer parts from four Xinjiang companies, citing forced labour concerns. Four months later, the US announced sweeping bans on all imports of cotton and tomatoes – the region's two major export cash crops. The Biden administration further extended the bans to solar panel materials in June. Nevertheless, despite their high-profile nature, US sanctions have so far been all bark and little bite when it comes to Xinjiang's economy – although they remain a major uncertainty, according to local traders and experts. "First off, we need to recognise that Xinjiang's economy isn't really export driven; it's much more dependent on investment," said Nick Marro, lead analyst for global trade at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In the first half of 2021, China's total exports contributed 18.51 per cent to national GDP, almost three times the proportion of Xinjiang. "Trade flows [in Xinjiang] are relatively shallow compared to elsewhere in China, which might be reflected by the relative volatility in annual growth rates," Marro said. Exports to the United States have only accounted for about 2.6 per cent of Xinjiang's total exports since 2017, according to calculations from the South China Morning Post based on customs data. The region's top export destinations remain Central Asian nations and Russia, so these countries' economic conditions are the biggest factor affecting shipments abroad. Exports to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan accounted for 75 per cent of the region's exports in the first half this year, according to figures from Urumqi Customs in Xinjiang. Products from Xinjiang accounted for about 45 per cent of total exports from China to Central Asia in the same period, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed. Xinjiang's manufacturing sector and exports were disrupted in the first half of 2020 due to the initial wave of the pandemic. But instead of recovering in the second half thanks to demand in the US and Europe – like many other parts of China did – severe coronavirus outbreaks among its Central Asian neighbours have suppressed the region's overall exports, according to analysts. Rigorous border control at land ports and surging freight costs triggered by the pandemic have exacerbated the problem. While the number of trucks crossing China's borders has been more than halved due to virus control measures, freight costs have jumped tenfold since the pandemic began, said Zhang, from the logistics company. "The road freight cost between Horgos to Almaty used to range from US$1,000 to US$2,000, but has increased to US$18,000," he said. Pandemic controls have also eliminated the small amount of cross-border retail trade that existed between China and its neighbours. Though small in scale, before Covid-19 residents could trade at designated markets straddling the border and sell to tourists. "The pandemic has not only brought increasing freight, but also cargo delays, and traders may also need to pay additional fees for transport congestion," said Jing Ran, an international trade professor at the University of International Business and Economics. "So exporters face more opportunity costs such as loss of sales, perishable goods and the risk buyers will drop orders." Xinjiang is also disadvantaged because most of its products are low-value added and labour-intensive, she said. "As for low-value products, consumers have limited tolerance for price rises, so it's difficult to offset the increasing costs by raising costs," she said. Since 2018, electrical and mechanical machinery products have accounted for most of Xinjiang's exports, despite also being embroiled in allegations of forced labour. In the first half of this year, these products accounted for 30 per cent of total exports, while apparel took up about 20 per cent. According to Urumqi Customs, major types of electrical and mechanical machinery exported to Central Asia include data processing machines and audio equipment. The changing composition of exports reflects new investment in areas like electronics and hi-tech goods, which along with auto parts and chemicals, have seen greater production over the past few years, according to Marro. "The quality of these goods may not rival production in other parts of China – the electronics industry clusters in Guangdong are much more sophisticated, for example – but lower land and labour costs have steadily attracted corporate investment away from China's pricey coastal locations for much of the past decade," Marro said. While e-commerce and improved connectivity – including port infrastructure and the China-Europe Railway Express – have helped reduce trade costs and boosted reliability, Xinjiang's export outlook is fundamentally shaped by economic development in Central Asia, analysts said. "Central Asia is growing relatively fast, and the market will be able to absorb more Chinese goods in the future," said Hans Holzhacker, chief economist at the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute, an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Xinjiang. "But it must diversify and find new sources of growth besides mineral fuels, otherwise Chinese exports to the region will suffer, no matter how good the transport infrastructure is." Xinjiang is an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) due to its location and cultural proximity to Central Asia, but China's trade with the region has still not undergone much structural change since the globe-spanning infrastructure programme was launched in 2013. "The BRI has not yet been able to fully realise its potential in exports to Central Asia, as the growth of China's exports to the region has been significantly less since 2013 than to the rest of the world," Holzhacker said. Concerns about emerging market debt and fragile post-pandemic growth in Central and South Asia will further complicate Xinjiang's short-term export outlook, Marro said. Facing uncertainty in Central Asia, Xinjiang has been building new trade ties, especially with Southeast Asian countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) since the beginning of the year. In May, Xinjiang's department of commerce arranged a forum with trade representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, and two months later, another forum was held with representatives from Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar. Trade figures for the first half of the year showed the effort was bearing fruit, with Xinjiang's exports to RCEP countries growing 23.9 per cent year-on-year to 4.64 billion yuan (US$719 million). Exports to Vietnam increased 395.5 per cent, while exports to South Korea and Thailand jumped 176.7 per cent and 117.1 per cent, respectively. Vietnam bought 91 wind turbines – valued at US$172 million – from Xinjiang in the first seven months this year, which accounted for more than 60 per cent of the country's total imports from the region. China's largest wind turbine maker, Xinjiang-based Goldwind Science & Technology, announced in June it had installed its first overseas offshore wind turbine in the waters of Vietnam. Still, Marro said diversification of exports to RCEP countries is more rhetoric than reality in the long run. "There isn't much Xinjiang can do," he said. "Geographically, for instance, it's less competitive than coastal provinces like Guangdong and Fujian, which can benefit more from tighter supply chain integration under RCEP with Southeast Asia." US sanctions have so far not caused substantial damage to Xinjiang's foreign trade, including tomato exports, or the local textile industry. But they remain the biggest risk for the future, especially if machinery and electronics manufacturing is targeted, analysts said. "In terms of supply chains and sanctions, the story is more complicated for third parties," Marro said. "Xinjiang is a major global supplier of cotton and solar panel materials, and it might be painful for midstream and downstream buyers to comply with the US bans – particularly those working with contractors in countries, such as in Southeast Asia, where product procurement might be more opaque." ^ top ^

Why Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam's 2021 policy address was unconventional – and does it hint at bid for second term? (SCMP)
2021-10-07
As the last policy address of a chief executive's tenure, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's speech on Wednesday was unconventional. Her 168-paragraph policy blueprint, her longest since taking up the office in 2017, was a cornucopia of new measures that would take years, even decades to be implemented and a repackaging of existing policies that did not quite move the public. The highlight of her latest policy speech on integration with mainland China and fitting into Beijing's 14th five-year plan also marks a shift in the Hong Kong government's development strategy, according to analysts. A thread that ran through her speech was a clear determination to align Hong Kong's development with that of the country. Passed in March, the 14th five-year plan has dedicated a chapter to outlining strategies reinforcing the city's status as an international financial, shipping, trading and legal services centre. "I am most convinced that Hong Kong can integrate into the overall development of the country and play an irreplaceable role as our country strides towards the second centenary goal of the nation," Lam said. Without a doubt, the most eye-catching initiative in her blueprint is the Northern Metropolis development strategy, a plan to transform the city's land mass bordering Shenzhen into an IT and housing hub, exploiting the potential of the area and the benefits of being next to another economic powerhouse of the country. Shenzhen was ground zero of the country's reform and opening up more than 40 years ago and the birthplace of Chinese tech giants. Among the plans to ensure greater connectivity, Lam said Hong Kong's railway would be extended over the border from Hung Shui Kiu in Yuen Long to Qianhai in Shenzhen. Hong Kong's planned HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) Northern Link, an MTR rail project serving the western and northern New Territories, will also be expanded to serve the Lok Ma Chau Loop IT hub and the Huanggang checkpoint. Upon the full development of the entire Northern Metropolis, up to 926,000 flats, including the existing 390,000 homes in Yuen Long and North districts, will provide homes for about 2.5 million people. The number of jobs in the area will also grow more than fourfold from 116,000 currently to 650,000. Long considered the world's freest economy, Hong Kong has been on a learning curve over its role in national development following its return from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Fang Zhou, research director of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute, a Hong Kong think tank, said Lam's latest blueprint represented a crucial shift in the Hong Kong government's thinking. "The government is no longer confined by Hong Kong's land mass of about 1,100 sq km when it maps out its development strategies," he said. "What is significant is that the plan to develop New Territories North will change the century-old pattern that Hong Kong's economic activities are centred on both sides of Victoria Harbour," Fang said. His views were echoed by Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beihang University's law school in Beijing. "The plan to turn New Territories North into a metropolis marks a significant change in the Hong Kong government's development strategy," Tian said. "It's an ambitious blueprint to tackle Hong Kong's housing problem and facilitate the city's economic restructuring by aligning with national development." The mainland academic, who advises the central government on Hong Kong affairs, said he believed Lam's latest policy speech, which unveiled a raft of long-term initiatives, was a signal of her eagerness to serve a second term. Lam has remained tight-lipped on seeking a second term, although it has been widely tipped that she will do so. "I think she believes that she is capable of and duty-bound to serve for another five years to implement her blueprint," Tian said. Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political scientist at Chinese University, said Lam's latest policy address was very forward-looking compared with that of her predecessors. "By mapping out long-term development strategies, Lam's intention of seeking a second term is crystal clear. She wants to tell the central government that she has the determination to take up difficult tasks," Choy said. Speaking for more than two hours, Lam's speech this year was her longest since she took the reins in 2017. In contrast, the city's second chief executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, in his second – and last – policy speech of his first term only had 76 paragraphs. It was devoid of groundbreaking policy initiatives. In that policy address delivered in October 2006, Tsang ducked contentious issues such as the minimum wage, kicking them down the road for his second term starting in 2007. Days after the delivery of Tsang's policy address, Lau Siu-kai, then head of the Central Policy Unit, the government's think tank, explained that Tsang could not and would not commit himself to policies on major issues that might hog-tie the chief executive of the next administration. While Tsang might have been a stickler for observing an unwritten protocol of not pre-empting the next administration – which he ended up leading after his re-election – Lam in her final policy address of her first term took the opposite stance. It is so unconventional that it maps out plans for the city not just for next five years but also the next generation. Will she be around to execute even a sliver of this vision? ^ top ^

HKSAR gov't plans to restructure policy bureaus (Xinhua)
2021-10-06
Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam proposed to restructure policy bureaus of the HKSAR government in the annual policy address delivered Wednesday. The government is expected to formulate a detailed re-organization report in the coming months, Lam said. The proposal included the setting up of a Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to develop Hong Kong into an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange, the splitting of the Transport and Housing Bureau to enhance Hong Kong's status as an international transportation center and aviation hub, according to the policy address. The Innovation and Technology Bureau will be expanded into the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau to promote Hong Kong's re-industrialization, and the Home Affairs Bureau will also be restructured into the Youth and District Affairs Bureau to promote and support youth development. In order to expedite Hong Kong's land supply for housing, the room to rationalize the work of the Housing Bureau upon the split and the Development Bureau, which is responsible for land development and public works, will also be explored, Lam said. Lam looks forward to more patriots with high administrative capabilities joining in the governance of the HKSAR, as Hong Kong is in need of a patriotic, professional and highly efficient governing team after the improvement of the electoral system. The chief executive also hopes that the new-term Legislative Council, upon its formation, will start discussion on the re-organization immediately. ^ top ^

China's new J-16D fighter jet has been deployed to an eastern airbase near Taiwan (SCMP)
2021-10-07
China's military has deployed its new J-16D fighter jet designed for electronic warfare to an eastern airbase near Taiwan, according to satellite imagery and a People's Liberation Army source. It comes amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with a record number of PLA warplanes sent into the island's air defence identification zone in recent days as Beijing ramps up its campaign of military intimidation. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and the PLA has sent planes into the island's air defence zone nearly every day in the past year. Monday saw the biggest show of force so far, involving 56 fighter jets led by dozens of J-16 multirole strike fighters – designed to be used in a possible conflict with Taiwan. It is not clear if the newest electronic warfare version that can jam enemy radars was among them. But a satellite image released on Saturday by Canada-based Kanwa Defence Review shows a J-16D being housed at an airbase in Jiangxi province. Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the defence magazine, said satellite imagery showed the J-16D had been deployed to the Xiangtang airbase in Nanchang, Jiangxi in May. One satellite image shows hangars at the airbase that can accommodate advanced fighter jets like the J-16D. A separate image from January shows another airbase – in Changxing county, Zhejiang province – is being expanded, with new hangars and other infrastructure being built. Both airbases are run by the PLA's Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees the Taiwan Strait. "All the airbases along the southeast coast are being expanded and upgraded to house more fighter jets as more and more large-scale air incursions are in the pipeline," Chang said. "The deployment of 52 aircraft [in the first sortie] on Monday shows the PLA's aviation combat strength. I expect more types of PLA aircraft will be sent in future, with the biggest sorties involving more than 100 [planes]." A military source in Beijing who requested anonymity confirmed that the J-16D had been deployed to the airbase, noting that it was in active service after making its debut at the recent air show in Zhuhai. He called the surge of military activity near Taiwan "part of combat-readiness training". Chang said the PLA had stepped up joint military drills to prepare for a potential conflict over Taiwan, with warplanes sent from elsewhere in the country for support. He said the exercises increased the risk of an incident in the narrow waterway that separates mainland China from the island. "The escalation of air incursions from the PLA means more fighters from Taiwan need to carry out scramble missions, which increases the chance of collision because there aren't any rules of engagement," Chang said. The PLA has also expanded missile bases in its eastern and southern theatre commands, the South China Morning Post reported earlier. Rocket Force bases have been upgraded to accommodate more advanced systems including the DF-17 hypersonic missile and CJ-10 precision-strike cruise missile. ^ top ^

Antony Blinken urges China to halt 'provocative' actions toward Taiwan (SCMP)
2021-10-07
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called China's recent actions around Taiwan "provocative", warned of the risks of "miscalculation" and vowed to deepen ties with the self-governed island that Beijing considers a wayward province. The remarks by Washington's top diplomat on Wednesday came just hours after US President Joe Biden appeared to try to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait – where Chinese fighter jets have increased sorties that skirt the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) – with assurances that he has been in agreement with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the issue. They also followed a high-level meeting in Zurich on Wednesday at which National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised Taiwan and other issues with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi. "We are very concerned by the [People's Republic of China's] provocative military activity near Taiwan," Blinken said at the conclusion of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development meeting in Paris. "The activity is destabilising, it risks miscalculation, and it has the potential to undermine regional peace and stability," he said in a news briefing. "So we strongly urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion directed at Taiwan." Apparently referring to Washington's long-standing one-China policy under which it officially recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, Biden said on Tuesday that he had discussed Taiwan with Xi, and that they agreed to abide by "the Taiwan agreement". Taiwan's defence ministry reported on Monday that 52 mainland Chinese fighter jets had flown to the island's southwest ADIZ, a record number that has raised concerns of unintended military incidents. Taiwan said it had scrambled jets and deployed missiles to warn off the mainland aircraft, including 34 J-16 fighter jets, 12 H-6 bombers and two Su-30 jets. Blinken reiterated Washington's intention to work with allies to bolster ties with Taiwan. "The United States has a commitment to Taiwan that is rock solid and over many years has contributed to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and within the region," he said in Paris. "And we will continue to stand with friends with allies to advance shared prosperity shared security shared values, as well as continue to deepen our ties with a democratic Taiwan." US Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke to her Taiwanese counterpart John Deng online in June as the two governments moved to restart the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks that were discontinued during the Trump administration. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke to her Taiwanese counterpart John Deng online in June as the two governments moved to restart the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks that were discontinued during the Trump administration. Blinken warned China on another front on Wednesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television, saying that Washington wants Beijing to act "responsibly" when addressing the potential impacts of China Evergrande Group's financial crisis. "China has to make sovereign economic decisions for itself, but we also know that what China does economically is going to have profound ramifications, profound effects, on literally the entire world because all of our economies are so intertwined," he said. "So certainly when it comes to something that could have a major impact on the Chinese economy we look to China to act responsibly and to deal effectively with any challenges," he added. Blinken's remarks are the first by a top Biden administration official concerning the real estate developer's financial crisis, which has threatened broader impacts on the Chinese economy and foreign investors. Xi's government has signalled it is more interested in limiting those effects than bailing out the developer, one of China's largest. ^ top ^

Joe Biden says he and China's Xi Jinping agreed to abide by Taiwan agreement (SCMP)
2021-10-06
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement, as tensions have ratcheted up between Taipei and Beijing. "I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree … we'll abide by the Taiwan agreement," he said. "We made it clear that I don't think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement." Biden appeared to be referring to Washington's long-standing one-China policy under which it officially recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means. The comments to reporters at the White House – made after Biden's return from a trip to Michigan touting a spending package – come amid escalations in the Taiwan-China relationship. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, which should be taken by force if necessary. Taiwan says it is an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions. Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern part of its air defence zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday, the same day China marked its National Day. The United States urged China on Sunday to stop its military activities near Taiwan. "The United States is very concerned by the People's Republic of China's provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability," state department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday. Biden also appeared to be referencing a 90-minute call he held with Xi on September 9, their first talks in seven months, in which they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the world's two largest economies did not veer into conflict. ^ top ^

Xiaomi Takes Lead in Central and Eastern Europe's 5G Smartphone Market (Caixin)
2021-10-07
Xiaomi Corp. leapfrogged over Apple and Samsung in this year's third quarter to take the 5G smartphone sales crown for Central and Eastern Europe thanks to the popularity of its budget phone models. For the three months through September, Xiaomi's share of the region's 5G phone market jumped to 41.8% from 4.3% in the same period last year, according to a report published Tuesday by Strategy Analytics. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. came in third, with its share withering to 11.5% from 34.3% for the comparable period last year. "Xiaomi is expected to maintain its lead in Central and Eastern Europe region for the full-year 2021 and remain the 5G smartphone shipment leader in 2022," said Yiwen Wu, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. Wu put Xiaomi's lead down to the absence of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and the popularity of its cheaper, but still high-quality 5G phones such as the Redmi Note 9T 5G and Mi 11 5G. The background: Apple, Realme and OnePlus came in second, fourth and fifth, with respective market shares of 26%, 7.2% and 2.5%, Strategy Analytics said, without providing specific shipment figures. In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi overtook Apple Inc. for the first time to become the world's second-largest smartphone vendor with a global market share of 17%, closely following market leader Samsung. The achievement prompted Xiaomi founder Lei Jun to announce a new target of becoming the world's No. 1 smartphone brand within three years. In the same quarter, Xiaomi took the top position in European smartphone shipments for the first time, according to Strategy Analytics. Lei is spearheading Xiaomi's drive to become a technology powerhouse capable of making everything from smart electric cars to semiconductors. ^ top ^

Investors Offload Chinese Developers' Dollar Bonds Amid Rising Anxiety About Defaults (Caixin)
2021-10-07
Investors have continued to dump the U.S. dollar bonds of some Chinese real estate companies as their concerns about defaults grow after a developer missed a bond payment in the wake of China Evergrande Group's debt crisis. Speculative-grade bonds — sometimes referred to as junk bonds for their higher risk of default — issued by some Chinese property firms saw their yields further rise after Hong Kong-listed Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd. unexpectedly failed to repay a $206 million dollar bond due Monday. The yields on the property developers' offshore bonds have been increasing since June as the indebted Evergrande's troubles sent shockwaves though the markets. In the bond market, yields rise as prices fall. By Wednesday, the yield of a dollar bond issued by Shenzhen-based developer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., which is due November 2023, rose 7.48 percentage points in two days to 31.44%, well above its coupon rate of 11.95%. Kaisa has been assigned a "B" rating with a stable outlook by S&P Global Ratings. Sunac China Holdings Ltd., another property giant, saw the yield of a 6.5% dollar bond due July 2023 rise by 4.85 percentage points in two days to 23.62%. "This is probably the worst market condition I've ever encountered since I started working in the industry," an employee managing bond financing at a foreign investment bank told Caixin. The market is worried the worst is yet to come as there could be more defaults by property developers, the person said. Investors have been expecting potential defaults by some real estate companies due to tightening credit conditions in the second half of this year, but Fantasia's default was beyond expectations, a Chinese market analyst at a foreign asset management firm said on condition of anonymity. In a statement sent to Caixin, Fantasia said it is facing a temporary liquidity crunch, affected by factors such as recurrent Covid-19 outbreaks, industrial policies and the macroeconomy. However, the company had announced just last month that it's in good operating condition and had sufficient working capital with "no liquidity issue." While Fantasia has heightened investor anxiety, the Evergrande crisis continues to linger, doing little to calm market jitters. On Monday, a privately offered note issued with an initial amount of $260 million by Jumbo Fortune Enterprises Ltd., one of Evergrande's related companies, and guaranteed by the embattled developer was due in principal but had not been repaid by Wednesday, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Evergrande never expressed the intention to repay, so the note's creditors' committee has decided to launch legal proceedings against the developer, two persons with knowledge of the issue told Caixin. Creditors plan to demand Evergrande and its main property development subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate Group Co. Ltd., make the repayment, which means that Evergrande would owe that debt, triggering cross-defaults on all of the conglomerate's offshore publicly offered bonds, a source close to the creditors' committee said. Creditors are expected to send a letter demanding repayment to Evergrande as soon as Friday, the source said. Evergrande has 10 outstanding publicly offered dollar bonds on the offshore market, with a total value of approximately $14.2 billion, according to public records. Its total liabilities were about 1.97 trillion yuan at the end of June, the majority of which are onshore. Investors are watching which property firm would be the next to get into financial trouble while economists are studying troubled property developers' impact on economic growth. Evergrande itself is unlikely to pose a systemic risk to China's economy and financial system, but Beijing's determination to suppress the entire property sector, not the fallout from Evergrande, is what represents the major near-term risk, economists at Nomura International (Hong Kong) Ltd. wrote in a note late last month. ^ top ^

Holiday spending further vitalizes China's consumer market (Xinhua)
2021-10-05
Chinese residents have opted for new ways to celebrate this year's National Day holiday amid COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, injecting further impetus into the world's second largest economy. The country's fight against the virus is ongoing and related measures remain in place, but new consumption patterns in the shopping, tourism and culture sectors that have emerged during the holiday show that consumer demand has not been dampened, but diversified. Both online and offline shopping have gained steam during the National Day holiday, with sales in the "consumption-upgrade" sector soaring. Hubei resident Chen Jianglian has traveled to south China's island province of Hainan for the holiday, in order to shop at the duty-free mall in Haikou, Hainan's capital city. Chen was attracted to the province by the variety of products available at friendly prices. Tax-free shopping sales on the first day of the weeklong holiday reached 171 million yuan (about 26.37 million U.S. dollars), surging 122 percent from a year earlier, according to the local customs bureau in Haikou. Boosted by strong online shopping demand, the transaction value of floor-mopping robots increased fourfold and the transaction value of action cameras almost doubled in places such as Beijing and Shanghai, data from online shopping giant JD.com shows. People who have opted to stay put for the holiday are contributing to the increased online shopping demand, ordering door-to-door gift deliveries for their parents living in different cities. Such orders on online delivery services provider Meituan have experienced growth, with orders in some cities skyrocketing by over 200 percent from a month earlier. Widespread patriotic zeal has emerged during the National Day holiday, especially among younger generations, with patriotic films and red tourism destinations drawing crowds. The historical epic "The Battle at Lake Changjin" has smashed Chinese box office records, ending its fifth screening day on Monday with over 478 million yuan and recording total earnings of over 2 billion yuan. "As a college student, I will inherit the Chinese spirit, make arduous efforts for and devote myself to my country," said Qi Yihan, a university student studying in Beijing. Red tourism, which refers to tourism at historical sites with modern revolutionary legacies, has stood out as a popular choice among Chinese people over the holiday. Scenic spots, bed-and-breakfasts and shops selling cultural products in red tourism destinations including Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Gansu Province have attracted many holidaymakers. As the COVID-19 control efforts remain in place across the country, local tours are also becoming more and more attractive. Bookings for local tours expanded 3.8 times from a month earlier for the week prior to the holiday, according to the online travel services provider Fliggy. When the Chinese consumer market seemed to have slackened recently amid the COVID-19 resurgence and floods, Ministry of Commerce official Wang Bin told a press conference that he expected robust consumption during the weeklong holiday. The year-on-year consumption growth trend for 2021 will be "low-after-high," Wang added, predicting China's retail sales of consumer goods would expand 12.5 percent from a year earlier and 8 percent from 2019, hitting 44 trillion yuan in 2021. ^ top ^

DPRK decides to restore all inter-Korean communication lines (Xinhua)
2021-10-04
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) decided to restore all the north-south communication lines starting from 9:00 a.m. on Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The report said the decision was announced to follow the promise made by the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un in a speech on Thursday in which he expressed the intention of restoring the cut-off north-south communication lines as part of the effort to realize the expectation and desire of the entire nation who want the north-south relations to be restored. "The South Korean authorities should make positive efforts to put the north-south ties on a right track and settle the important tasks which must be prioritized to open up the bright prospect in the future, bearing deep in mind the meaning of the restoration of communication lines," the report added. Inter-Korean relations have remained cold since the summit between the DPRK and the United States reached no deal in early 2019. The inter-Korean hotlines were briefly back in operation in late July, but the DPRK began refusing Seoul's regular calls again two weeks later in protest against the joint military drills by South Korea and the United States. ^ top ^

N.Tavinbekh: There are 71 thousand tons reserves of refined coal (GoGo Mongolia)
2021-10-06
N.Tavinbekh, the Minister of Energy, reported today that there are 71 thousand tons reserves of refined coal. The amount is one month reserves of refined coal. Thus, it is wrong to say there is a shortage of refined coal. The number of sales points were few and citizens started to reserve on their own. The number of sales points increased to 420 which was 280 before. It is estimated that there will be one sales point for every 300 users. So a total of 600 sales points are required. 240 thousand user cards were distributed, but we will re-manage this card. Refined coal is not be disturbed if the card is not registered, which made some citizens aggressive. We are working to resolve this issue. It was our mistake that we didn't increase the number of sales points as required. I went to warehouses in the ger district area by myself, and there was enough reserve in 57 warehouses of 6 districts. Journalists can go and check this. Two factories are operating normally. "Tavan tolgoi tulsh" LLC is in charge of refined coal sales. The Ministry and the company are responsible for this. Unexpected things happen every day because of Covid-19. The employees of "Tavan tolgoi tulsh" LLC did not go on a strike, but they made requirements relevant to bonus salary. The salary of the company has three structures, and base salary is MNT 1 million, and bonus is up to 60% of the base salary. The Ministry of Energy has created a working group under cooperation of the trade union of the company. During this time, accumulated debt was revealed. Electricity consumption increases during peak hours in Mongolia. Capacity increased by 70 megawatts compared to last year. We are working to increase the amount of capacity imported from Russia by 100 megawatts and the Russian party agreed. This work will be completed in December. ^ top ^

Mongolia's renewed commitment to accelerating the implementation of the SDGs (Montsame)
2021-10-05
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been put on spotlight at the first-ever High-level National Forum on the SDGs on 4th October 2021 as Mongolia's key stakeholders in development, including the Parliamentarians, the Cabinet ministers, Diplomatic Missions, representatives from the civil society, development partners and the academia, and most importantly from the private sector, discussed the importance of integration of the SDGs in the national policies and programs and their implementation in Mongolia. In his opening remarks, H.E Speaker of the Parliament G. Zandanshatar highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation for the intensification of the SDGs in Mongolia while announcing that a Multistakeholder Council for Sustainable Development (MCSD) will be set up at the Parliament of Mongolia to ensure coordination and whole of society approach for SDGs implementation in Mongolia. H.E. L.Oyun-Erdene, Prime Minister of Mongolia emphasized some of the key measures by the Government for the socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic within a short period of time. He underscored the Government's recent commitment to the Government budget for 2022 that included some reforms towards sustainable financing. For instance, the Government aims to support stronger middle-income group of population as a way to eradicate poverty and end hunger nationwide. Therefore, the development policies will be shifted from social welfare to the creation of employment opportunities for the people. The UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra thanked Mongolia's Government for their decisive actions and commitment to the SDGs in the midst of the fight against the devastating pandemic. "I am particularly pleased that the National Committee for Sustainable Development has recently adopted the national SDG targets and indicators and look forward towards the Parliament's support in reviewing and adopting them during the upcoming sessions. Anchoring the nationalized SDG targets and indicators in the national development policies and programmes, supported by adequate financial resources and monitoring mechanism, is crucial for achieving the 2030 Agenda," said Tapan Mishra. The keynote speech of the forum was delivered by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Chief Economist, UN-DESA Mr. Elliott Harris, who accentuated the effective recovery from the extreme impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that has exacerbated the various forms of vulnerabilities and interdependence the world faces today. "Governments can now formulate more ambitious policies aimed at reducing vulnerabilities an integral objective of the recovery plans," said Mr. Harris. He further noted that the pandemic has underscored the importance of social protection, the need to buttress public health systems; and the accelerating digitalization of the economy. "It has shown that we need to put greater emphasis on improving the quality of investments in education, health, basic infrastructure and information and communications technologies, within the existing resources," he added. Among the esteemed panelists were the Deputy Speaker of Parliament S.Odontuya, MP J.Ganbaatar and M. Oyunchimeg, who gave a broader overview on the legal frameworks on localizing SDGs in Mongolia and adoption of nationalized targets and indicators by the Parliament. At the second panel discussion of the forum, the role of the private sector was highly emphasized, as noted the Member of Parliament J. Ganbaatar noted that the private sector that has good governance will be the driving forces for the acceleration of the agenda for sustainable development. Acknowledging the fact that achieving the SDGs is everyone's business, the UN Mongolia welcomed the Parliament's leadership the acceleration of the SDGs through this important multi-stakeholder mechanism. It implies a new set of partnerships involving parliamentarians, national and local governments working with the private sector, academia, civil society and development partners, as emphasized by the Resident Coordinator. At her closing remarks of the forum, Ms Kh.Bulgantuya, Member of Parliament and the Chair of the Sub-Committee on the SDGs announced the launch of the Multistakeholder Council for Sustainable Development (MCSD) to be an effective regulatory mechanism, which will serve as a platform for cohesive and coherent policy-making and implementation for achieving the 2030 Agenda and Vision 2050. ^ top ^

Embassy of Switzerland