Innehållsförteckning för Vol.65/No.46 från Beijing Review

In his speech to the opening ceremony of the Fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on November 4 via video link, Chinese President Xi Jinping explained how China will further pursue a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, strive to use its own development to create new opportunities for the world, and contribute its fair share to the creation of an open global economy. The Fifth CIIE, from November 5 to 10, was the first important international fair to take place after the 20th Communist Party of China National Congress, a milestone political event that reviewed what China had accomplished in the past 10 years and outlined its objectives for the next five years and beyond. This year’s CIIE attracted 145 countries, regions and international organizations, and 284…

November 22 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Although China and other states bordering on the South China Sea hope to make the waters a place of peace and cooperation, extraterritorial interference tends to produce rogue waves. To realize enduring peace, more effective regional rules are in order. All parties involved have reaffirmed that the adoption of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), a proposed code to manage tensions in the disputed waterway, would further promote peace and stability in the region and agreed to work, on the basis of consensus, toward the eventual attainment of this objective. The DOC, meanwhile, should be fully implemented. The DOC was the first political…

Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province attracted the world’s attention on October 31. At 3:37 p.m., at the order of young commander Liao Guorui, Mengtian, the second lab module of China’s Tiangong space station, lifted off into space. The launch put in place the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle for China’s interstellar home. Mengtian, which literally translates as “dreaming of the Heavens,” docked with the space station’s core module on November 1. On November 3, it completed its in-orbit transposition, which marked the formation of Tiangong’s basic T-shape arrangement, a key step toward the space station’s completion. Since last year, China has been assembling its very own space home. Now, Tiangong’s transformation into a national space station with three modules—the Tianhe core module plus the Wentian and Mengtian…

Financial Assistance People who face temporary financial hardships due to COVID-19 flare-ups are entitled to interim assistance grants from the local authorities of the regions where they work or live, said an official circular quoted by Xinhua News Agency on November 8. According to the circular, jointly released by four departments, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, migrant workers who are out of work due to the pandemic and are not covered by subsistence allowances or unemployment insurance can apply for one-time financial assistance. Unemployed college students and other individuals and families whose everyday lives are affected by financial difficulties due to the pandemic should also be covered by temporary assistance policies, the circular noted. The requirements mentioned in the circular aim to streamline the procedures of assisting people who…

TANKER OFFICER RECEIVES BRAVERY AWARD Xu Bo, chief officer of the Jianqiao 502 oil tanker, became the only recipient of the 2022 International Maritime Organization Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea in London on November 2. He was awarded for saving two individuals from a sinking cargo ship. On December 12, 2021, some 48 km northeast of Zhifu Bay in Yantai, Shandong Province, the Tianfeng 369 encountered bad weather and rough seas, flooded and began to sink. The Jianqiao 502 tanker, en route to Dongguan Port, Guangdong Province, immediately changed course to assist the vessel. Xu spotted two survivors and without hesitation jumped into the freezing water, battling the high waves and strong currents. After several failed attempts, he managed to secure the rescue ropes to both survivors. One of…

When Elon Musk, the richest man in the world with a net worth of $203 billion, completed his acquisition of Twitter at a cool $44 billion on October 27, his business empire expanded to the field of social media. In his first week as chief executive, Musk moved quickly to put his mark on the firm. The reforms he is contemplating include plans to charge Twitter users a monthly fee of $8 for verified accounts as well as job cuts. On October 20, The Washington Post reported Musk intended to “gut Twitter’s workforce,” with a first round of cuts possibly affecting 25 percent of the company’s staff. Controversy ensued. But on the other side of the Pacific, an additional Twitter-related news snippet inspired widespread concern and discussion among Chinese netizens:…

The mention of “supply and marketing cooperatives,” or gongxiaoshe in Chinese, brings a sense of reminiscence for many in China. With the full name of rural supply and marketing cooperatives, they played a key role in the country’s planned economy era. Through the unified management of the government, such cooperatives used to play a dominant role in distributing commodities to and purchasing products from about 800 million rural people in China. Since the launch of reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the private business boom and the entry of foreign investment have gradually stolen the thunder of the cooperatives, which have made many efforts to transform themselves and keep up with the times—to varying degrees of success. The comeback A 55-year-old Beijing resident surnamed Zhao found a new…

Autumn in Beijing comes and goes; carpe diem. Hiking along the Great Wall to feel the gentle autumn breeze atop the mountains, wandering around the National Botanical Garden sitting at the foot of the city’s Fragrant Hill, and strolling under the Palace Museum’s golden gingko trees striking a marked contrast with its red walls and green/blue decorations… From mid-October to mid-November, autumn is arguably Beijing’s finest season. On their days off, many residents of China’s capital flock to the suburbs to feast their eyes on some fall foliage and take in local lifestyle. And for those not keen to leave the city, parks and street landscapes also offer up some sumptuous golden scenery. Comments to dingying@cicgamericas.com…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited China on November 4, was the first Group of Seven and EU leader to do so since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October. Though the visit was too short to do full justice to the importance of the relationship between the two countries, the constructive talks held at the highest level will bring benefits to both sides and help continue the five decades of successful China-Germany relations. Scholz emphasized the opportunities in bilateral cooperation, although, as expected, he also addressed controversial issues due to strong political pressure to do so. In his meeting with the chancellor, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that the 50-year history of China-Germany diplomatic relations shows…

On November 1, Cainiao Network, e-commerce giant Alibaba’s logistics arm, posted a special ad online, recruiting 1,000 volunteers to show customers how to recycle their express packages at more than 300 Cainiao outlets nationwide. In turn, people could receive eggs or other gifts, a typical incentive in China adopted by companies to promote their products or services. The call intends to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon emissions and protect the environment. The recycled cardboard boxes will be used for future deliveries or turned into notebooks that will be donated to charities helping students in need. The campaign runs from November 1 to 20, the peak delivery period for Alibaba’s annual online shopping bonanza known as Double 11, which started on November 11, 2009. At this point in time, all…

The Yellow River, the nation’s second longest river, is known not only as the Cradle of Chinese Civilization, but also as a vast ecological corridor that has supported the flourishing of plants, animals and humans since the depths of prehistory. From its source on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China’s Mother River winds through the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau and the North China Plain before reaching the coast at the Bohai Sea after a journey of 5,464 km. After thousands of years of utilization and exploitation, the Yellow River Basin now faces environmental challenges including soil erosion, pollution and periods of insufficient flow alternating with periods of flooding. The impacts of these challenges are felt not only by those who depend on the river for their livelihoods, but also by…

In March, the State Council approved the establishment of a high-quality development demonstration zone of the old revolutionary base in west Fujian Province, an area that includes Longyan City. The area was a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China in the 1930s. This has generated many opportunities for Longyan’s development. How will the city use these strategic opportunities to integrate itself into overall regional development and accelerate the revitalization of old revolutionary bases? Continuing to open up internationally is an important part of Longyan’s development strategy. The city vows to integrate into the new development paradigm and serve as a bridge between domestic and international markets. It promotes collaboration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in building an industrial cooperation pilot zone, and carries out cooperation with…

The Sanxingdui Museum is located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, and features one of the world’s greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century. One afternoon in the early spring of 1929, a father and son living in a village nearby Guanghan accidentally discovered a true wonder of civilization, i.e., the Sanxingdui Ruins, when digging a ditch. The farmers had unearthed sacrificial pits containing treasures of the ancient Kingdom of Shu about 5,000 years ago, providing evidence of an ancient Chinese civilization as well as the source of the Yangtze River civilization. The next huge surprise came in 1986 when two major sacrificial pits containing more than 1,700 cultural relics were found. Their discovery quickly gained worldwide academic attention. In 2021, six new sacrificial pits were revealed at the Sanxingdui Ruins…