POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Xi stresses Long March spirit for national rejuvenation
President Xi Jinping on September 23 called for carrying forth the spirit of the Chinese Red Army on the Long March eight decades ago, and striving fearlessly to realise the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Xi made the remarks during a visit to an exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March. The Long March spirit is characterised by working hard, fearing no sacrifice, and firm belief in communism and the ultimate victory of China's revolution. From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army soldiers left their bases and marched through raging rivers, snowy mountains and arid grassland to break the siege of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) forces and continue to fight Japanese aggressors. Some of them marched as far as 12,500 kilometers. The maneuver was a turning point in China's revolution.
Source: China Daily, September 24, 2016
Chinese government agencies to share info of food, drug defaulters
Chinese government agencies will establish an information sharing system to punish defaulters in their latest efforts to boost food and drug safety, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced on September 22. Altogether 28 organs including the CFDA and the National Development and Reform Commission have jointly issued a memorandum on sharing information on food, drugs, cosmetics and medical apparatus manufacturers or sellers who have been listed as defaulters by the CFDA. Possible penalties to defaulters could include increased frequency of inspections, restrictions on production and marketing of related products, or inviting a third party to assess their performance, according to the CFDA.
Source: China Daily, September 23, 2016
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China stands ready to deepen all-round practical cooperation with Pakistan
China stands ready to deepen all-round practical cooperation with Pakistan and is willing to make joint efforts with Islamabad in injecting new impetus into the development of bilateral relations, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said ON September 21. Li made the remarks when meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the ongoing 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly. While noting that practical cooperation focusing on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has made positive progress, Li urged the two sides to carry out the planned construction of the corridor, accelerate the building of the Gwadar Port as well as its supporting facility, and bring more companies into industrial parks. For his part, Sarif told Li that Pakistan and China are time-tested friends and partners who have firmly supported each other. As their relations develop very smoothly, bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields has also entered a new phase. Sharif added Pakistan will make more efforts to accelerate the construction of the economic corridor, vowing to take measures to guarantee the safety of the Chinese project staff.
Source: Global Times, September 21, 2016
China, US to step up cooperation to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme
Premier Li Keqiang has told US President Barack Obama that Beijing supports closer cooperation in the UN Security Council and in enforcement efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear programme. This could be a signal Beijing will support tougher sanctions on North Korea after its fifth nuclear test, with China increasingly irked by Pyongyang’s behaviour and its consequences – a decision by Seoul to deploy a US anti-missile system. North Korea announced its biggest nuclear test earlier this month, and claimed that it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile. On September 20, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a ground test of a new rocket engine for launching satellites, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported. Li also reiterated during his talk with Obama his government’s opposition to the deployment of a US-developed missile shield in South Korea, and called on all parties to refrain from any activities that might escalate tensions in the region.
Source: South China Morning Post, September 20, 2016
ECONOMY
China's foreign trade remains under pressure: MOC
China's foreign trade remains under considerable pressure as uncertainties mount, the
Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said September 20, describing the current situation as "complicated and severe." Although trade data in August suggests an improving trend, China should not be "blindly optimistic" on its outlook, and further measures need to be taken to stabilise growth, MOC spokesman Shen Danyang told a press conference. Official data showed China's foreign trade improved markedly in August due to stronger domestic and external demand. Yuan-denominated exports rose 5.9 percent year on year, while imports increased 10.8 percent. But in the first eight months of the year, foreign trade was down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, with exports dropping 1 percent and imports falling 2.9 percent. The weak performance comes against a backdrop of flagging trade growth worldwide. Last year was the fourth-consecutive year that global trade growth was below GDP growth, according to the World Trade Organisation. Alongside the prolonged downturn, protectionism is on the rise.
Source: Xinhua, September 20, 2016
China, New Zealand to enhance cooperation in trade, judicial affairs
China stands ready to deepen cooperation with New Zealand in such areas as trade and judicial affairs, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said September 19 while meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key. China is willing to work with New Zealand to enhance political mutual trust and maintain high-level exchanges, and deepen cooperation in areas including economy and trade, and judicial affairs and law enforcement, Li said. Li met with Key on the sidelines of the ongoing 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly that opened earlier last week. China is also ready to increase communication and coordination with New Zealand in multilateral affairs and promote a healthy and stable development of relations between the two countries, the premier said.
Source: Xinhua, September 20, 2016
Chinese premier says RMB exchange rate to stay basically stable
The exchange rate of Chinese currency RMB will stay basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here on Monday. There is no basis for a sustained devaluation of RMB, Li said as he met with US President Barack Obama, adding that the Chinese economy has shown a steady upward trend and has huge room for manoeuvre.
Source: Xinhua, September 19, 2016
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
High-tech tools to fight fraudsters
The deaths of two young people who were scammed by telecom fraudsters are providing greater urgency for computer experts meeting in Wuhan for Cyber security Week. A senior official called on Chinese internet enterprises to fight harder against telecom scams through greater technological innovation. While warning users is important, it also is crucial that there are more technical safeguards, "as they can better combat online crimes, including telecom fraud and theft of privacy," said Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Liu spoke at the opening ceremony for the event, held by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's top internet watchdog, in the capital of Hubei province. Liu, who is also deputy head of the Central Internet Security and Informatisation Leading Group, encouraged technology companies to be innovative and brainstorm, adding that the government will support them and "govern the web by rule of law."
Source: China Daily, September 22, 2016
China opens first national gene bank
China’s first national gene bank, claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world, officially opened on September 22 to store and carry out research on hundreds of millions of genetic samples. The centre, dubbed China’s Noah’s Ark by mainland media, aims to collect 300 million genetic samples at its base in Shenzhen when all two phases are complete. The much anticipated platform is to preserve, manage and utilise the genome data and biological samples of Chinese characteristics. With an investment of 780 million yuan (HK$900 million) for phase one, the China National Gene Bank was the fourth of its kind after similar centers in the United States, Britain and Japan,
People’s Daily reported. China’s bank will share data with the other three. "We hope to make the gene bank China’s, and even the world’s, biggest biological information data centre, like Google but in the field of life and health data," Mei Yonghong, the director of the centre, was quoted as saying.
Source: South China Morning Post, September 22, 2016
Space lab begins tests in orbit, prepares for visit by astronauts
China's second space laboratory, the Tiangong II, began conducting in-orbit tests on Sept 22, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. All of the spacecraft's scientific instruments have finished their self-examination since the lab was launched aboard a carrier rocket on Sept 15 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi desert, the CAS said in a statement on September 22. The in-orbit tests will generate Tiangong II's first data for scientific research said, without elaborating. Tiangong II, the country's largest space asset, will make preparations in space for about one month before the Shenzhou XI manned spacecraft's planned flight in mid-October to transport two astronauts to enter the lab. They will stay inside the lab for 30 days. Its predecessor, the Tiangong I, was launched in September 2011 and was mainly used to test technologies involved in space rendezvous and docking.
Source: China Daily, September 23, 2016
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Robert Lawrence Kuhn, The five major development concepts, China Daily, September 21, 2016
Zhang Zhouxiang, Give education its due in job market, China Daily, September 24, 2016
Kevin Rafferty, Can China use its soft power wisely to heal the world?, South China Morning Post, 21 September 2016
Zhao Changwen, China's New Role in Climate Action Raises Hope for Change, The Huffington Post, 21 September 2016
Neal Kimberley, European disunion will have implications for China, South China Morning Post, September 20, 2016
He Jun, Chinese private consortiums key to ‘going out’, Global Times, September 18, 2016
Xinhua Insight: China's Internet celebrity economy bigger than cinema, Xinhua, September 17, 2016
Albert Cheng Hongkongers need an independent public broadcaster to vent their frustrations, South China Morning Post, September 22, 2016
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