Indholdsfortegnelse for Vol.66/No.27 i Beijing Review

Gen Z, born during the late 1990s and early 2000s, is a generation of the information age. They have lived their lives fully connected digitally and are accustomed to ubiquitous access to smart phones and social media. Mostly in the early stages of their careers, Gen Zers are deemed as the most promising and dynamic group. It is of great importance to help Gen Zers around the world acquire a more nuanced understanding of China. On June 15-20, China International Communications Group, publisher of Beijing Review, and Internet giant Tencent co-hosted a journey to give Gen Z a closer look at the head-way China has made in the digital economy. During the six-day journey, 16 representatives from 14 countries including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, South…

In the vast and diverse landscapes of the rural areas of Chongqing in southwest China, a remarkable transformation is unfolding. The combination of effective poverty alleviation strategies and comprehensive rural revitalization efforts has turned these once impoverished regions into thriving drivers of growth and development. As an African visitor to Chongqing, I was captivated by its unique approaches to combat poverty and revitalize rural communities. During my recent trip to the mountainous municipality, I had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the remarkable progress taking place there. What I saw makes me believe Chongqing’s approaches are worth emulating by other developing countries, particularly African states seeking to address poverty and revitalize their rural areas. To fully appreciate the impact of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization efforts in Chongqing, it is important…

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, concluded his high-profile state visit to the U.S. on June 23. The current most influential Hindu nationalist was feted by U.S. President Joe Biden with an elaborate vegan state dinner at the White House and an invitation to address a Joint Session of U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill. The former makes him the third foreign dignitary to enjoy the state dinner treatment under the Biden administration, after French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk-yeol; while the latter marks him as one of only a few foreign leaders, including Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela, who has given congressional addresses more than once. Modi first addressed the U.S. Congress in 2016, two years after he became Indian prime minister and…

Samy Snoussi, a Frenchman, opened a bakery in Ningbo, a coastal city in Zhejiang Province, to overcome his homesickness. The bakery, Mon Époque, soon became popular and earned him the nickname “French uncle” among local bakers. “Ningbo is a bustling city thanks to its very enterprising residents and the pleasant living environment,” Snoussi said. Born in 1961, Snoussi first came to China in 1983. At that time, he was a law student at Aix-en-Provence University and accompanied his father on a business trip to China. This visit was a culture shock for him, with new fragrances, new dishes, exotic flavors, and different cultural habits. In March 2006, Snoussi moved to Ningbo to help his father who had set up his export business in 1999 near the city’s Beilun Port, close…

ALIBABA MANAGEMENT RESHUFFLE Zhang Yong, also known as Daniel Zhang, will step down as Alibaba chairperson and CEO as of September 10 in order to focus on the company’s cloud business, according to an internal letter recently made public by the e-commerce giant. With two other executives taking over the reins, Zhang will serve exclusively as chairperson and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group. Alibaba Cloud, which Zhang said is currently in its most critical period of development, specializes in cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. According to American technological research and consulting firm Gartner, it ranks third in the world among cloud service providers in terms of market share. Zhang became CEO of Alibaba in 2015 and took on the additional role of chairman in 2019 after Ma Yun…

Taking note of China-U.S. bilateral relations in recent years, we could conclude that relations between the two most powerful nations in the world have reached disturbing new lows and that might lead to much worse yet to come. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had described ties between Beijing and Washington, D.C. as “unstable” before embarking on his two-day trip to China’s capital on June 18-19. Low expectations were set for the trip. However, signs of hope began to emerge during a more than five-hour meeting between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the afternoon of June 18, which was followed by a working dinner. Qin and Blinken’s talks were described as “candid, in-depth and constructive,” according to Xinhua News Agency. Although Blinken and Qin did not reach…

‘La única forma de ser provechosamente nacional consiste en ser generosamente universal.” That is Spanish for “the only way to be profitable on a national level is to be generous on a universal one.” On June 5, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to the Mexican Senate entitled Seeking Common Development to Create a Better Future. He quoted the line which was taken from a book by Mexican poet Alfonso Reyes (1889-1959). The quote expresses that in pursuing one’s own interests, one should bear in mind the common good and that the world is one big family. It struck a chord with the audience on site. China will do well only when the world does well and vice versa. China, as the world’s largest developing country, is proactive in…

It took less than five years for Yang Qiu to transform himself from a young migrant worker in a poor village to an e-commerce entrepreneur running a business with annual sales exceeding 50 million yuan ($6.92 million). Yang is from Xiushan, a mountainous Tujia and Miao autonomous county in the southeast of Chongqing Municipality. Thanks to an e-commerce business incubator, he was able to put his entrepreneurial talent to good use by starting his own company. In Chongqing, which has an area of 82,400 square km, more than twice that of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai combined, similar stories are emerging every day, with e-commerce businesses facilitating the local growth and ensuring that residents can enjoy a well-off life. Start-up incubator With the support of the local government, Xiushan E-commerce Industry…

As a child, I was captivated by machines and their inner workings. I yearned to design contraptions that could solve real-world problems and improve people’s lives. So when it came time to choose a university, I knew that mechanical engineering was the path for me. After a thorough search, I found Assosa University in Ethiopia. The university’s reputation for excellence in mechanical engineering and the vibrant culture of the town of Assosa drew me in. For a year, I immersed myself in mechanical engineering, studying diligently and tinkering with machines in the lab. But fate had other plans for me. The Ethiopian Government recognized my academic achievements and offered me a scholarship to study abroad, with the hope that I could use my education to help transform the country’s economy.…

Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is nicknamed “the land of fire” for its high temperatures in summer. Once a crucial hub along the ancient Silk Road, it welcomes hordes of tourists with attractions such as the Jiaohe Ruins, the Grape Valley and the Flaming Mountain. According to the local tourism authority, Turpan received 2.53 million visits from June 1 to 28, up 40 percent over the same period of last year.…

In recent years, the automotive industry has witnessed a significant surge in the production and adoption of new-energy vehicles (NEVs). As the world transitions toward a greener future, NEVs have gained prominence due to their reduced carbon footprint and increased energy efficiency. NEV sales were strong internationally in 2022, despite the gloomy overall trend in the auto market. This year, they are expected to account for 18 percent of the world’s total vehicle sales. Market share growth has slowed slightly compared with 2021, but NEVs will comprise almost one third of the global market in 2027 as more models are developed and produced and emission controls get tougher. In China, the term NEV is used to designate automobiles that are fully or predominantly powered by electric energy, which include plug-in…

The U.S. Department of Justice charged four China-based companies and eight Chinese nationals working for these companies on June 23 for allegedly supplying precursor chemicals for the purpose of creating fentanyl for distribution in the United States. U.S. law enforcement personnel had ensnared these people through a “sting operation.” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned these actions on the grounds that the arrests were illegal and the U.S. is using them as a pretext to scapegoat China. When used in healthcare, fentanyl gives fast-acting pain relief and is up to 100 times more potent than morphine. However, 50 times more potent than heroin, its illegal use has grown in popularity and it’s now widely defined as a controlled narcotic. The United States is the biggest producer and consumer of…

A young Chinese fan of soccer superstar Lionel Messi caused quite the boisterous stir during the friendly match between Argentina and Australia at the newly rebuilt Workers’ Stadium in downtown Beijing on June 15. An hour into the much-anticipated match, the man surnamed Di, 18, wearing an Argentina jersey with Messi’s number 10 on the back, climbed down a 3-meter wall near the players’ tunnel, gave security the slip and ran onto the pitch to hug his hero. And managing to do so, he darted across the pitch, enthusiastically shaking hands with midfielder Marcos Javier Acuña and high-fiving goalkeeper Lisandro Martínez, before eventually being carried off by security, his face beaming with a huge grin. “His life is now complete,” one comment read as a minute-long clip was widely circulated…