Innehållsförteckning för Vol.66/No.16 från Beijing Review

Improved Performance Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered a further increase in their activities in the first quarter (Q1) of this year as the country’s economy continues its robust recovery, industrial data showed. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index, based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs from eight major industries, came in at 89.3, up from 88 in the fourth quarter of 2022, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said in a report. The figure, although still below the boom-and-bust line of 100, reversed the downward trend seen since the April-June period of 2021. The sub-indexes for all eight major sectors rallied in Q1 of this year, with that of the hospitality plus food and beverage industry, the information transmission, computer services and software industry, and the…

After the conclusion of the First Session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, and the First Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, in mid-March, China is now receiving a batch of foreign leaders this post-COVID spring. Leaders from both developed and developing countries, as well as emerging economies, all showed their enthusiasm to visit China and their expectation of strengthening bilateral ties and working with China to boost economy and trade. Exchanging ideas From late March to mid-April, leaders from Spain, Malaysia, Singapore, France, the EU and Brazil traveled to China to firm up their partnerships with the country. The visits saw bilateral and multilateral interactions, direct contacts between heads of state and government…

First brought under the limelight by some local influencers via short videos in 2021, Caoxian, a once little-known inland county in the eastern province of Shandong has since risen to fame, with some Chinese netizens even jocularly referring to it as “the center of the universe.” In some ways, it deserves the fame. One of the poorest counties in Shandong a decade ago, Caoxian has ranked among the province’s most prosperous regions in recent years. Booming e-commerce and industries relating to hanfu, the traditional dress of the Han Chinese, drove the county to become a nation-wide hanfu production base. Small shops line both sides of the streets in Caoxian, offering services including costume making, cloth production and pattern printing. During peak production seasons, the roads are almost empty as so…

Following three long years of COVID-19, opportunities for in-person communication are luckily rife once again, with the Beijing International Youth Forum (BIYF) presenting a millennial, Gen-Z style option. Themed Youth for a Better Future, the forum’s second edition took place in China’s capital on April 12, with more than 200 young, defined as people within the age range of 20-35, Chinese and foreign experts plus scholars discussing topics around and beyond youth. Sharing is caring China is an active participant in economic globalization and an engine of global economic growth, providing broad development opportunities for young people around the world. “Many of this event’s participants have already realized their dreams of innovation and entrepreneurship in China,” Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor in Chief of China International Communications Group, said…

A ceremony on April 10 celebrates the listing of the first batch of shares under China’s registration-based initial public offering (IPO) system on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province in south China. In a registration-based (as opposed to regulator approval-based) IPO system, companies can go public if they fulfill the necessary disclosure requirements. This is the system in place in many developed countries and regions. China has rolled out the registration-based IPO reform, which it initiated in 2018, across the board this year.…

PHILIPPINES A woman holds up a sign during a protest in Quezon City on April 11 against the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises. More than 17,000 Philippine and U.S. troops kicked off the most extensive joint military activities in decades amid criticism that this undertaking will escalate regional tensions rather than promote peace and stability BRAZIL A visitor looks through a digital zoom binocular at the Latin American Defense and Security Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro on April 11. About 400 domestic and overseas brands participated in the four-day exhibition SWITZERLAND Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press briefing at the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva on April 6. On the eve of its 75th anniversary, the organization marked the occasion by calling for “a renewed drive…

In late March, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez paid a two-day visit to China. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen soon followed suit, jointly sitting down with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on April 6. Political analysts suggest that the frequent high-level exchanges signify buoyant relations between China and Europe. Economic drivers Since the onset of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, the EU has enforced 10 rounds of sanctions against Russia. Despite their intended goal of weakening the Russian economy, these measures have achieved the opposite and resulted in energy shortages, inflation, fiscal deterioration and economic stagnation within the bloc. The most recent data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, show the EU faces a natural gas shortage of 27 billion cubic meters…

China and Afghanistan are close neighbors with longstanding friendship between the two peoples. Under the current situation, China’s position on the Afghan issue is as follows: 1. Adhering to the Three Respects and Three Nevers. China respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, respects the independent choices made by the Afghan people, and respects the religious beliefs and national customs of Afghanistan. China never interferes in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, never seeks selfish interests in Afghanistan, and never pursues a so-called sphere of influence. 2. Supporting moderate and prudent governance in Afghanistan. China sincerely hopes that Afghanistan could build an open and inclusive political structure, adopt moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, and engage in friendly exchanges with all countries, especially neighboring countries. We hope the Afghan Interim…

Qingyan, an ancient town in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, has seen more tourists in recent years with the improvement of its tourism infrastructure and services. As a frontier garrison built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the town retains much of its original layout and many of its ancient buildings, from the Qing (1644–1911) and even the Ming dynasties. Visitors can see well-preserved stone-slab lanes, archways, watchtowers and battlements. “In the past, there was only one road leading to the ancient town and there were few entertainment activities on offer at the destination,” Yang Yufan, a local ride-hailing driver, told Guizhou Daily. To solve the transportation problem, which had hindered its efforts to attract tourists for years, the town has built or rebuilt five roads, stretching along 23 km. Supporting facilities such…

COVID-19 Origins China has been transparent in sharing its research results on the origins-tracing of SARS-CoV-2 with the international community, Shen Hongbing, deputy chief of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control and Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said at a press conference on April 8. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have been actively communicating and cooperating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and invited the WHO to send international experts twice to conduct joint studies on SARS-CoV-2 originstracing in China,” Shen said. He said the first phase of the joint studies was successfully conducted in Wuhan, Hubei Province, where the first COVID-19 cases were reported in China, with a research report on China’s part fully recognized by domestic and foreign…

If it weren’t for the flu and pneumonia, 77-year-old Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s state visit to China would have taken place from March 26 to 31, and he would have been the first foreign head of state to be received by Chinese President Xi Jinping after Xi’s reelection earlier that month. After two weeks of delays, Lula arrived in China on April 12 with a larger-than-planned delegation of ministers, governors, parliamentary members and about 240 businesspeople. Many Chinese media describe Lula, who previously served two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010, as “an old friend of China.” “During Lula’s first two terms in office, he laid a solid foundation for cooperation between China and Brazil in all aspects. Over the past four years under former President Jair…

The hashtag “Hainan prepares to establish independent customs” has been among the hottest ones recently. As of March 29, it had generated 330 million views on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, in one week. Establishing independent customs is part of the island province’s drive to build itself into a free trade port (FTP). On April 13, 2018, China announced it would create a free trade zone (FTZ) covering the whole of Hainan, the country’s southernmost province, and that it would provide support for Hainan to explore and phase in FTP policies. In 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Hainan Free Trade Port Law, codifying the development of the entire Hainan Island into an FTP into national law. Establishing independent customs is one aspect of this…