Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 62/No.33 i Beijing Review

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) hosts a meeting of the National Security Council in Islamabad on August 7. Pakistan announced it would downgrade diplomatic ties and suspend trade with India due to tensions over Kashmir EGYPT The site of an attack that killed 20 people and wounded 47 others in Cairo on August 5 BANGLADESH Patients infected with dengue fever receive treatment in the hall of a hospital in the capital of Dhaka on August 6. Twenty-three people have died across the country from its spread since January UNITED NATIONS Venezuela’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samuel Moncada criticizes the U.S. for trying to fabricate a war on Venezuela on August 6 in New York. The U.S. announced a blockade on Venezuela the day before GERMANY Visitors sample…

One in every three bananas grown by Filipino farmers was shipped to China in 2018, the year China surpassed Japan to become the biggest importer of bananas from the Philippines, with an amount totaling 1.2 million tons, accounting for 37 percent of the country’s overall export volume. This is just one example of the growing trade and economic ties between China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. In recent years, China has increased imports of goods from ASEAN, such as civet coffee, mangosteen and palm oil. China has been the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 10 consecutive years, while ASEAN replaced the U.S. as China’s second largest trading partner in the first half of 2019. Moving forward, more cooperation and progress are expected between China and ASEAN…

Muddassar Sharif, a Pakistani living in Shanghai, is an ardent entrepreneur. He started nine businesses during his four-year undergraduate studies at New York University Shanghai. After some failures and many lessons learnt, he finally established an artificial intelligence (AI) company that seems to be on the right track. After graduating in May, Sharif decided to stay in Shanghai for further business development. Along with the extremely promising AI market in China, another important incentive that prompted his decision was the entrepreneur visa that Shanghai introduced last year for foreigners who launch startups in the city. This visa measure is not new in China and has been adopted in quite a few cities including Shenyang, capital city of the northeastern province of Liaoning, and Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province in…

The U.S.-China trade war is like a game of monopoly with your in-laws; it might seem like a good idea at first, but there are no real winners in the end. We have consistently stated over the last 17 months that “there are no winners in a trade war.” Until recently, the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD) has ensured that pragmatism, problem solving and gradual change were the keys to solving trade disputes. But we stand now at the edge of an unprecedented challenge. Can two superpowers, with the largest two economies in the world, revert back to the norm and avoid economic MAD? The White House’s recent proposal to place additional 10-percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese-made goods (beginning September 1) on top of the 25-percent tariffs…

Reform, opening up and consumption will be China’s major tools to help keep the economy growing steadily during the second half of the year and beyond, with the country’s policymakers unveiling a general roadmap to help navigate through economic headwinds. The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on July 30, reviewing the economic situation and setting the tone for future work. The meeting came as the world’s largest developing economy faces downward pressure. Official data showed on July 31 that the country’s manufacturing activities continued to stay in the contraction zone in July. “As the Chinese economy faces new risks and increasing downward pressure, the country should focus on long-term trends and key issues so as to turn crises into opportunities,” a statement…

Recently, transport authorities in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong Province released information that it had conducted talks with bike-sharing companies with business in the city, demanding that they suspend the deployment of new bicycles until they have rectified and improved their current practices. In April, in order to keep the bike-sharing service in order, the city’s transport bureau issued a tender where companies like Mobike and Hellobike won certain quotas. However, it has now been found that these firms are not making efforts to improve their operation modes, which has led to pileups of bicycles that damage the image of the city and disrupt public transport. Many people have voiced their opinions on how to rein in the reckless sprawling of shared bikes in urban areas so that the service…

Sparking Wisdom A participant tests a robot during the finals of the 18th RoboMaster Robotics Competition in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, on August 6. The competition, with 32 teams from home and abroad this year, provides a platform for young engineers to independently develop and produce robots through teamwork, which fosters innovation and hands-on experience in the field. Preparing for Games Beijing’s Yanqing District is speeding up the construction of two hydrogenation stations and a supporting hydrogen plant in time for the Alpine Skiing World Cup in 2020 and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The public transport line powered by hydrogen energy will be opened in Yanqing, located around 75 km northwest of downtown Beijing. Green, zero-carbon, environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will transport athletes, workers and…

In a recent video, two men are sitting in a public area at the Palace Museum in Beijing smoking. One of them says to the camera, “Who dares smoke at the Palace Museum? Who dares?” Posted online on July 19, the clip went viral. There has been a carpet smoking ban at the historic landmark since May 18, 2013, to protect it from fire risks. The two visitors’ behavior received both angry replies from netizens and criticism from relevant government departments. They, and the person who shot the video, were soon caught and fined by the police. “We strongly condemn such behavior,” said Mao Qun’an, Director of the Planning Department of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference on China’s tobacco control action plan held on July 20,…

Li Zhi got two job offers before he even finished his master’s degree at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of China’s top universities in Beijing, in July, undoubtedly inspiration to those who are still interviewing. But the 26-year-old was soon plagued with insomnia as he tried to make his final decision. “I had never s uffered from insomnia before; this was a really hard decision to make,” Li told Beijing Review. The two offers were both ideal for a student like Li with a major in electronics and communication engineering, which are equally sought after in the industry and offer similar salaries and positions. What made it difficult for Li was deciding where he wanted to live and work, since one job was in Beijing and the…

As the Chinese Government moves to alleviate corporates’ financial pressure by reducing their contributions to social insurance schemes, new measures have been issued to support this move. On July 10, a State Council executive meeting decided to further intensify the transfer of state capital into the social security funds. The third batch of 35 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will transfer assets to the funds, bringing the total of the 59 SOEs overseen by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) in three batches to an estimated transfer of 660 billion yuan ($95.8 billion), said Lu Qingping, head of the Asset Management Department of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), at a policy briefing in Beijing on July 19. Nationwide implementation In 2018, two batches totaling 18 of…

($1=7 yuan) 2.61 tln yuan Total value of China’s foreign trade in services during the first half of 2019, up 2.6 percent year on year 107.93 bln yuan Total imports and exports of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the first half of the year 6.6% Year-on-year growth of overseas market revenue of Daqing Oilfield Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China’s largest oil producer PetroChina, in the first half of the year 429.7 bln yuan Retail sales of China’s home appliance industry in the first half of the year (Source: National Bureau of Statistics) 4.6% Year-on-year growth of the value added for the Chinese chemical industry in the first half of the year 2.22 tln yuan Sales volume of China’s rural…

Robust Investment Growth Fixed assets investment in China’s major economic sectors increased both in quantity and quality, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). From 1982 to 2018, the country’s investment in the primary and secondary industries grew by an average annual rate of 18.1 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, thanks to its reform and opening-up policies. The tertiary industry benefited the most from the investment boom, with the average annual investment growth rate reaching 20.4 percent during the period. As China’s economy grows stronger, its industrial structure has been advanced and optimized with capital flowing into new sectors including hi-tech, research and development, and environmental protection, according to the report. From 2013 to 2018, hi-tech investment grew by an average annual rate of 16.9 percent.…

Eat at least 12 varieties of food per day, and 25 per week. Consume at least 500 grams of vegetables and fruits daily, but no more than 25 grams of added sugar, 30 grams of edible oils and 5 grams of salt. Take 6,000-10,000 steps every day, and keep your waistline under 85 cm for men and under 80 cm for women. These are some of the health tips provided in the Healthy China Action Plan for 2019-30, a document released by the State Council on July 15. The plan states that everyone should take primary responsibility for their own health. The action plan was one of the three documents released by the Chinese Government to implement the Healthy China Initiative, which was elaborated in a central government blueprint titled…

China’s annual National Fitness Day celebrated its 11th anniversary on August 8 and was observed in many different parts of the country. Ten years ago, the day was established to commemorate the success of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games and encourage people to actively participate in sports and fitness activities. According to a national fitness regulation, every year relevant administrations organize events to provide guidance for fitness and open public sports facilities to the public for free on that day. Last year, nearly 3,500 activities were held across the country, covering 100 million participants. In recent years, various activities including jogging, marathon running and square dancing have been launched, meeting people’s need for health and exercise. Comments to liqing@bjreview.com…

Hong Kong’s transport network was partially paralyzed on August 5, as protesters created fresh chaos. Metro commuters were seriously affected by these actions, as many lines suspended operations. The metro system in Hong Kong transports about 5.8 million passengers a day. At the Fortress Hill metro station, protesters repeatedly blocked train car doors, causing the suspension of operations. Footage aired by local broadcasters also showed motorists angrily accusing protesters of blocking traffic on the city’s main avenues. Flights were canceled at Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. A passenger surnamed Woo said he was unable to fly to Japan as scheduled. “It is very selfish for some people to hurt the interests of the vast majority of residents in the name of so-called democracy,” he…

The central parity rate of the yuan weakened 43 basis points to 7.0039 against the U.S. dollar on August 8, closing lower for the sixth consecutive day and reaching a record low not seen since April 21, 2008. Three days earlier, both the onshore and offshore yuan weakened past the key psychological level of 7 per U.S. dollar. According to the People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, the weakening of the yuan can be attributed to U.S. unilateralism and protectionism as well as expectations of additional tariffs on Chinese goods. In the latest move, the United States has threatened to impose additional 10-percent tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports starting next month. Mounting downward pressure on China’s economy and concerns over rising financial risks have…