< style="color: #0180b3;">FOREIGN AFFAIRS
< style="color: #163449;">China won't let India join NSG unless other NPT countries are also allowed in
China said on June 21 that the "door is still open" for countries that have not signed the Nucelar Non-Proliferation Treaty to join the coveted Nuclear Suppliers' Group. But there was a subtle change in China's stance which suggested it would like to take into countries all non-NPT countries into Pakistan instead of making a special case of India. The Chinese foreign ministry made it clear that it was not going to relax its stance about the entry of India and other non-NPT countries in the immediate future. "One thing is very clear. Within the group of the NSG, members have different opinions regarding whether or not non-NPT countries can join," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said. "Therefore we are now talking about non-NPT members joining the NSG as a whole instead of specific non-NPT countries' accession."
Source: The Times of India, June 21, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">China's broadcast regulator tightens curbs on foreign TV shows
China will tighten restrictions on foreign and "foreign-inspired" television programs, its broadcast regulator said, in a bid to boost production of domestic shows that promote Chinese patriotism and traditions. President Xi Jinping has embarked on an unprecedented drive to clamp down on the Internet and censor opinions that do not reflect those of Communist Party leaders, including tougher penalties for what the government calls the spread of rumours via social media. Satellite television channels must not air more than two imported programs through the year during primetime hours from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. Despite government controls, foreign television shows are widely available as illegal downloads or on pirated DVDs. Many are also available legally online through distribution deals with domestic websites.
Source: Reuters, June 20, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">China to help developing northern Sri Lanka
Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang pledged to push forward ties with Sri Lanka by assisting development of the former war zone in the Tamil-dominated north, a Chinese Embassy official said on June 17. During a four-day visit to Northern Province, the ambassador met with Chief Minister Wigneswaran and Northern Governor Reginald Cooray, saying that China stood ready to offer assistance to Sri Lanka and the province. China was glad to see the political and economic achievement made by the Northern Province after the war ended in 2009. The ambassador said China would encourage Chinese companies or investors to come and assist the reconstruction of Northern Province in infrastructure, technology, medicine among others. During his visit to Jaffna University, Yi also announced the "Chinese Ambassador Scholarship" for 10 students of the university this year. The ambassador donated 1 million rupees and a batch of books to Jaffna Library to help it regain glory as the largest library in South Asia before damaged by the civil war.
Source: Global Times, June 17, 2016
< style="color: #0180b3;">POLITICS AND SOCIETY
< style="color: #163449;">2020 health plan to ease burden on people in poverty
All Chinese living below the poverty line in rural areas will have access to basic medical care and other health services "close to" the national average by 2020, according to a guideline released by 15 central government departments on Tuesday. The government will mobilise various social resources and take more precise measures to support the development of health and medical care services in poor areas, the guideline said. The health poverty alleviation project is part of a national strategy to ensure that all people living below the poverty line in China climb out by 2020, the guideline said. Of the 55.7 million people living in poverty in rural China as of 2015, about 44 percent were impoverished because of expenses related to health, Hong Tianyun, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said at a news conference on June 21.
Source: China Daily, June 22, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">Parents call for action over 'toxic tracks'
Authorities continue investigations after children across the country reported feeling unwell after playing on synthetic surfaces. Sun Xiaochen reports. While excavators dismantled the synthetic surface at the Baiyunlu campus of Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School on Sunday, a group of parents watched carefully, despite the noise of machinery, the swirling dust and the stench of plastic debris. Like the surface of the playground, the parents' trust in the school and local educational authority has been shredded as a result of a recent health scare related to the facility, according to one parent, the mother of a fourth-grader, who preferred not to be named. The claims followed a number of incidents in which students have been left feeling unwell after exposure to potentially toxic artificial sports fields at schools in at least 15 cities.
Source: China Daily, June 22, 2016
< style="color: #0180b3;">ECONOMY
< style="color: #163449;">Deals for major projects on tap as Xi makes visit
Poland has proposed six major projects to China, some of which are related to infrastructure, Polish Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Katarzyna Kacperczyk said in an interview with the Global Times. Although Poland has become China's second-largest trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and a strategically important hub along China's "One Belt, One Road" (B&R) initiative, the infrastructure in Poland is still lagging that of other EU countries. Formally called the
Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the B&R initiative was proposed in 2013. The initiative aims to improve infrastructure of countries and regions along the route. Poland has expressed great interest in attracting China's investment into its basic infrastructure sector, as there is a great need for building highways and railways in Poland.
Source: Global Times, June 19, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">Chinese bank allocates 1.4 billion USD loan for potash project in Belarus
Belarusbank and China Development Bank (CDB) have signed a credit agreement of 1.4 billion US dollars for a potash project in Belarus, the state-owned Belarusian bank said in a statement. The agreement, signed on Friday, stipulates the procedure for financing the project of building the mining and processing factory Slavkaliy, using raw materials of the Nezhinskoye sectionof the Starobinskoye potash salt deposit in Minsk region of Belarus. The factory will be able to produce 2 million tonnes of chloride a year.
Source: People’s Daily, June 19, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">China's ICBC lists $400 million bond on Nasdaq Dubai
Nasdaq Dubai said on Sunday that it welcomed the listing of a 400 million US dollars conventional bond by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender in relation to assets. This listing marked the second bond to be listed by ICBC on the Middle East’s international exchange, following a 500 million dollars listing in May 2015. The new listing underlines the continuing expansion of capital markets links between the UAE and China, as well as the success of Dubai in positioning itself as the leading financial centre in the Middle East. In 2008, ICBC was the first of the biggest four Chinese lenders establishing its Middle East headquarters in the banking free zone DIFC in Dubai. The Nasdaq Dubai is a licensed market of the DIFC.
Source: People’s Daily, June 20, 2016
< style="color: #0180b3;">SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
< style="color: #163449;">The world’s largest military plane in production in China
On June 15, 2016, the first operational Y-20 heavy transport aircraft entered service into the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). China has now joined the United States and Russia as the only countries which can design and built its own strategic transport aircraft. It's built by the Xian Aircraft Corporation, and apparently has been assigned the call sign "Roc", after the giant mythical bird. In fact, of planes still in production, the 200 ton Y-20 is the world's largest, as it is larger than the Russian Il-76 and the American C-17A Globemaster ended production in 2015.
Source: Popular Science, June 20, 2016
< style="color: #163449;">China wants to share its new space station with the world
China is launching a rival to the International Space Station (ISS) – and it wants to share its new toy. The China Manned Space Agency and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have announced a partnership that will let UN member states conduct experiments on and even send astronauts to the Chinese space station, due to start operating in the 2020s. The UN and China say they are keen to get more nations involved in space activities. “This is an exciting opportunity to further build the space capacity of developing countries and increase understanding of the benefits space can bring to humankind,” said UNOOSA director Simonetta Di Pippo. China is excluded from the ISS because of a US government ban on its participation. It’s not clear if the other ISS partners – Russia, Japan, Canada and the member countries of the European Space Agency – will have access to China’s station.
Source: New Scientist, June 21, 2016
< style="color: #0180b3;">BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Wang Xiangwei, Amid rash of suicides, it’s time to boost morale of Chinese bureaucrats, South China Morning Post, June 20, 2016
- Mimi Lau, Five years since landmark protests, Chinese village stirs again, South China Morning Post, June 20, 2016
- Pete Ross, Why the West Is to Blame for What Happens Next in China, Observer, June 21, 2016
- Andrew Korybko, China, Russia and The Multipolar World, Global Research, June 17, 2016
- Tom Mullaney, How to Spy on 600 Million People, Foreign Affairs, June 5, 2016
- Quentin Hardy, China Has the World’s Most Powerful Computer, The New York Times, June 21, 2016
- Commentary: China's Belt and Road Initiative -- from vision to reality, People’s Daily, June 17, 2016
- Liu Zhun, As rivalry rises, Sino-US trade must stay on track, Global Times, June 20, 2016
< style="color: #0180b3;">Contributors:
- Pratnashree Basu
- Ambalika Guha
- Swagata Saha
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