Indholdsfortegnelse for Vol.66/No.51 i Beijing Review

Many objects, occupations and habits are disappearing from Chinese society. For instance, ration coupons, issued by the government when food and other goods were scarce, have long become a thing of the past. Their disappearance is part of the tremendous transformation China has undergone since it adopted the landmark reform and opening-up policy 45 years ago and they are now only collector’s items. The coal furnaces that were once used for heating buildings during winter have now been replaced by gas or electric heating. Even the use of cash is becoming less common as mobile payment technologies have become widely applied. Needless to say, gas and electricity are more environmentally friendly and convenient than coal, and mobile payment is more efficient and user-friendly. In a sense, the new replacing the…

Paying with a mobile phone has become so natural to the vast majority of the Chinese population in recent years that they can actually live without any paper money or a wallet, thanks to the country’s two most famous third-party digital payment apps—Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holding’s Weixin Pay. The prevalence of mobile payment for Chinese consumers was confirmed by a 2021 report based on a survey of over 50,000 respondents by the Payment & Clearing Association of China. In 2020, 74 percent of respondents used mobile payment daily. Among mobile payments, scanning QR codes was the most commonly used method, accounting for 95.2 percent, according to the report. China has become a largely cashless society thanks to e-payment apps and a large number of smartphone owners. China is…

Information technology is reshaping human society in both breadth and depth. As technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain continue to evolve and become widely applied, people are becoming increasingly dependent on digitized virtual spaces. The metaverse, an amalgamation of these technologies, provides users with an immersive and always-on experience and is emerging as a transformative force in social connectivity. The term metaverse is often attributed to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. Although there is no universally accepted definition for the term, it generally refers to digital spaces that are made more lifelike with virtual reality or augmented reality. Users visit different metaverses in the form of an avatar, which could be a replica of themselves. For example, you can meet your friends at a virtual…

Shortly after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) came to a successful conclusion in late October 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong became the first foreign leader to visit China since this milestone event was held. This time, the state visit to Viet Nam, as the successful culmination of China’s diplomatic efforts this year, is of great importance, said General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on December 13, as he concluded his two-day state visit to Viet Nam. Xi made the remarks as he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, bid farewell to Trong and his wife, Ngo Thi Man, before returning to China. Throughout the years, leaders of both parties…

iFarmaissance, a sustainable fashion brand based both in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Australia, debuted on the Chinese mainland in 2022. Its innovative handbags and backpacks soon attracted many consumers. Instead of using animal or synthetic leather, the bags are made from grape leftovers generated during winemaking, but are still largely similar in appearance and durability to traditional bags. Concerned about the growing negative impacts of leather production on the natural environment, Chui Lan Jennifer Chan, a designer from Hong Kong, cofounded the brand with her husband in 2021 to promote vegan leather. “Increasingly, environmental and social concerns are changing consumers’ behavior, making the vegan leather market grow fast,” Chan told Beijing Review. In addition to grape leather produced by VEGEA, an Italian vegan leather company, iFarmaissance…

Many foreigners come to China to work or study, but Eduardo Somoza’s story is unlike any other. Hope and a relentless search for the link to his family on the other side of the world are intertwined. Looking for Eden There are millions of Chinese who have migrated to other countries for different reasons and at different times. It is estimated that the Chinese diaspora is around 60 million worldwide. Although a large number of them arrived in nearby countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia, others made a much longer journey, reaching as far away as Latin America. Somoza’s maternal great-grandfather was one of them. Somoza, who has lived in China since 2019, said his great-grandfather was Chinese. He was born in 1890 in Guangzhou, capital…

FOREX REGULATOR’S NEW CHIEF Veteran banker Zhu Hexin has been appointed head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on December 8. The SAFE is responsible for the operation and management of China’s foreign exchange (forex) and gold reserves. The country’s forex reserves totaled $3.17 trillion at the end of November, the largest in the world since 2006. Born in March 1968, Zhu spent most of his earlier career at the Bank of Communications and the Bank of China, two of the six major state-owned banks in China. From June 2016 to July 2018, he was vice governor of the Sichuan Provincial Government.…

At the 24th China-European Union Summit convened in person in Beijing on December 7. Despite disagreements, Chinese and European leaders are negotiating to move the partnership forward, as evidenced by their high-level dialogues on strategic relations, digital affairs, economic and trade issues, and climate change. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted at the post-summit press conference that the EU welcomes China’s determination to establish a mechanism to clarify its rules. In the field of environmental protection, the EU commends China for joining the Global Methane Pledge. During the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), from November 30 to December 12, the United Arab Emirates, along with China and the United States, convened a meeting to discuss the…

Three years ago, Wang Yizhuo, a researcher at a Beijing university, was diagnosed with cancer. But “luckily” for him, it was thyroid cancer, which develops in the cells of the gland located at the base of the neck just below the Adam’s apple and is sometimes referred to as the “happy cancer.” It got its nickname because it appears to be less malignant than other types of cancer. If treated in time, the five-year survival rate for most thyroid cancer patients is over 90 percent. Wang hit rock bottom after receiving the diagnosis, but before long, he picked himself up and received treatment, including surgery, which was successful. But he will be on prescription medication for the rest of his life and still has some other lingering side effects of…

Zhang Chenyue, a 21-year-old college student majoring in fashion design in Beijing, is wearing the same kind of coat—an army coat—as her grandfather this winter. “My grandfather has been trying to convince me to wear this for years,” Zhang told Beijing Review. “He thinks it’s both cheap and cold-proof, I didn’t agree before because no one around me wore it, but now I see schoolmates wearing it all over campus.” Recently, the topic “Price of down jackets gives away the winter market to army coats and padded jackets with floral patterns” hit the hot search topic list on Weibo, China’s most popular microblogging platform. Many netizens complained about the high prices of down jackets and shared photos of themselves wearing Chinese military coats or colorful traditional cotton-padded jackets. This phenomenon…

On December 31, 2022, while extending New Year’s greetings to all people to ring in 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China will be a country that performs miracles through hard work as it goes forward. Quoting renowned Chinese intellectual Su Shi, he said China will “charge at the toughest and aim at the farthest,” a quotation taken from Proposals on Governance written in the year 1063 that means to take on the biggest challenges and go after the most ambitious goals. “Long as the journey is, we will reach our destination if we stay the course; difficult as the task is, we will get the job done if we keep working at it. As long as we have the resolve to move mountains and the perseverance to trudge…

At the annual Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing on December 11-12, Chinese leaders outlined steps the government will take to steer the country’s economy toward greater efficiency and higher quality in 2024. In addition to emphasizing the overarching principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability as in previous years, the meeting stipulated consolidating stability through progress and ensuring new drivers of growth are well established before old ones are phased out. These policy statements stem largely from China’s current economic environment. Still recovering from the effects of three years of COVID-19, the Chinese economy now has a fine line to walk as it confronts challenges such as troubles in the property market and local government debts. Externally, regional conflicts and trade protectionism are also impacting supply chains and exports.…

On November 28, Nasdaq-listed PDD, the parent company of China’s budget shopping app Pinduoduo and its international version Temu, released its third-quarter report for this year, revealing a year-on-year earnings growth of 93.9 percent, far exceeding that of trailblazing market leader Alibaba at 4 percent. A post made by an Alibaba staff member in response to the report inspired widespread discussion online and, sensing an impending challenge to the company’s long-held dominance in e-commerce, founder Jack Ma broke his customary silence after his retirement from Alibaba with a rare internal message on November 28. The staff member’s post read: “At this moment, sleep eludes me… that once inconspicuous upstart is swiftly becoming the frontrunner. Though reluctant to share this downbeat post, my musings compelled me to leave it as a…

Bidding farewell to her trusted treadle sewing machine was a difficult decision for an 85-year-old woman surnamed Hou in Korla City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Almost like a family member, the machine had been a companion in her life for nearly six decades. Earlier this year, when she needed to move to a new home to be closer to her children, she decided the time had come to let it go. For Hou, this goodbye also marked the end of a lifestyle. Waking up early in the morning and working late into the night to make shoe insoles, her days went by to the accompaniment of the machine’s rhythmic humming. With the ticking of the needles no longer echoing through the room, she had to adjust to…

My friend and I embarked on an adventurous journey from Shanghai to Mount Wugong, a destination renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, deep-rooted cultural heritage and profound spiritual significance. Our mission was twofold: to conquer the Golden Peak and immerse ourselves in the mystique of the Taoist temple atop this revered mountain. Little did we know that our trek to the peak would be a challenging yet profoundly rewarding experience, one that provided us with unique insights into Chinese culture and history. At 2,000 meters above sea level, Mount Wugong in Jiangxi Province, east China, is a place of awe-inspiring natural beauty. Its picturesque landscapes feature lush forests, serene rivers and cascading waterfalls. Mount Wugong is a national-level natural heritage site, a testament to its unique biodiversity and geological wonders. As…