Innehållsförteckning för Vol.66/No.31 från Beijing Review

This summer, tourism has regained momentum, with study tours and summer camps targeting students as well as new travel options like city walks all becoming more popular. This phenomenon has been dubbed the “summer economy.” Before the pandemic, summer was a season for potential consumption sprees. The rebound of the summer economy after three years demonstrates how the Chinese economy is not only returning to normal following a short deviation but also breaking new ground. Consumption is a major driver of growth, especially given that China has a huge market with a population of 1.4 billion people. Boosting consumer confidence is one of the main tasks of the Chinese Government this year. On July 24, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, consisting of…

July 10: Passengers and crew on an Air China flight from Shanghai to Beijing, experienced severe turbulence about 40 minutes before landing, causing the aircraft to plummet and passengers and objects to be thrown around. The incident injured a flight attendant and a passenger, and the plane’s interior suffered damage. July 12: Flight G4-227 from Asheville to St. Petersburg, the U.S., with 179 passengers and six crew aboard, was descending toward St. Petersburg when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence, causing injuries to two passengers and two cabin crew. July 15: Flight QK-8357 from Toronto to Windsor, Canada, with 50 passengers and four crew aboard, was en route at 3,650 meters when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence dislodging both pilots from their seats and accelerating a cart toward a flight attendant.…

NEW CENTRAL BANK HEAD Senior banker Pan Gongsheng has been appointed governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBC). Pan’s appointment was decided upon at a session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, on July 25. Pan, 60, is a former deputy governor of the PBC, the central bank. He previously worked at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, two of the country’s leading financial institutions. Pan holds a Ph.D. degree in economics from the prestigious Renmin University of China in Beijing. He pursued postdoctoral studies at Cambridge University and undertook research at Harvard University. He is a member of both the Communist Party of China and the China Democratic League, one of the eight non-communist…

Is the 21st century the Asian century? If it is, will the West accept it? What challenges are Asian countries facing? These questions were raised and answered by Singaporean diplomat and academic Kishore Mahbubani at an event hosted by the Center for China and Globalization on July 18 to launch the Chinese edition of Mahbubani’s popular book The Asian 21st Century. In his 30-minute speech, the former Singaporean ambassador to the United Nations shared with the audience in Beijing why the remaining 77 years in this century belong to Asia. Edited excerpts of Mahbubani’s speech follow: The rise of Asia Why is the Asian century happening? There are many reasons for it. And the first and the most obvious one is that it is a perfectly natural development. If you…

When Henry Kissinger, the 100-year-old former U.S. Secretary of State, made a surprise visit to Beijing in July, he probably attracted more attention from the Chinese public than any senior U.S. official traveling to China in the past two months. During his time in the Chinese capital, Kissinger had talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and several high-ranking officials. Following the visit, former China analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Dennis Wilder told AFP News that China “deliberately receives individuals who are suspected of changing Washington’s views on China.” But the Chinese public cannot and does not identify with this view. Kissinger is considered somewhat of a living legend in China. In July 1971, as President Richard Nixon’s national security advisor, Kissinger secretly flew to Beijing from Pakistan.…

As the plane landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on July 15, Wen Yunhao, a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in history at Peking University, looked out the window at a view that was at once familiar and strange. It was the same airport that he had landed at seven years ago, when he and his family took a trip to the island. But this time, apart from the familiar rush of excitement, he was laden with anxieties—anxieties about the countless unknowns that awaited him. However, his worries quickly melted as he and his travel buddies walked out of the gate into a welter of flowers, waving hands, and friendly greetings. And this was the beginning of the first visit made by a delegation of mainland universities to the island in more…

Private Investment The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, has unveiled detailed measures to further encourage private investment as the country moves to revive the private sector. The document, issued on July 24, pledged efforts to maintain the share of private investment in fixed assets investment at a reasonable level. Fixed assets refer to long-term tangible assets that are used in the operations of a business. Classified as property, plant and equipment, these assets provide long-term financial benefits and have a useful life of more than one year. The NDRC specifically recommended private investment in industrial segments with great market potential and in line with national strategies and industrial policies. These sectors include transport, water conservancy, clean energy, new infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and modern facility agriculture.…

As one ancient Chinese saying goes, “There’s no beautiful scenery near where you always hang around.” Thirty-two-year-old Shanghai resident Wang Yuezhou used to agree until he discovered the city walk concept and learned to appreciate the beauty of every corner of the city where he was born and raised. In 2014, Wang stumbled across the concept when he was invited to join a program initiated by Chinese news portal ThePaper.cn, which gathered people with an interest to explore and study the city. After following walking routes leading across different areas of the city, for example, to old residential areas or places that used to be part of an industrial zone, these people sat down to exchange their observations and discoveries. Some went on to write about their trips, while others…

China’s GDP rose 5.5 percent year on year during the first half of 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The national economy expanded 6.3 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, while the first quarter of 2023 had a 4.5-percent growth rate. China began gaining momentum for a remarkable rebound in late January, when most of its pandemic measures were scrapped, and by February, it was already business as usual in the country. For the three previous years, the Chinese Government had implemented rigorous public health and safety protocols to lower mortality rates while COVID-19 was infecting and killing multitudes of people worldwide. China’s actions had saved countless lives in the country, but the pandemic’s impact on the national economy was serious. Accordingly,…

Photovoltaic (PV) products are playing an increasingly important role in supplying green energy and promoting the green economy, but at the same time, PV waste is posing big risks to the environment. China is both a big producer and a big consumer of PV panels. Its PV module production has been first in the world for the last 15 years and its cumulative PV installation has ranked first for the last seven years, accounting for a third of the world’s total. The life span of solar panels is 25 to 30 years, with even undamaged panels needing replacement after this time. China’s PV industry began to develop around 2000, and the first solar panels installed will begin reaching their end of life in the next few years. According to the…

The private sector is a pivotal part of China’s economy. More than 30 million private businesses contribute over 60 percent of the country’s GDP. They also account for more than half of government tax revenue and more than 80 percent of urban employment. But their development is still facing chronic obstacles in market access, financing, property rights protection and other areas. On July 19, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council issued a new guideline on boosting the private economy. The new 31-point action plan recognizes the private sector as an important foundation for the country’s high-quality development and its role in promoting modernization of industries. The document pledges to build the nation’s private economy “bigger, better and stronger,” akin to the support given to state-owned…

Animated movie Ne Zha rocked the Chinese box office in 2019. Based on the Chinese mythical figure of the same name, the main character, shaped as an antihero, soon attracted many Chinese and even overseas fans. At the climax of the story, Ne Zha uses his superpowers to hold and melt a huge block of ice to save people from being crushed by it. The dramatic visual effects of this heroic deed were created by Shen Miao Animation Studio, based in Xiamen, Fujian Province. While widely known for its tropical landscape and bustling trade ports, Xiamen has also developed strong cultural industries, including movies, animation and games. The city is now known as a center for animation. Evolving effects Walking in Xiamen Software Park II, one can easily find animation…

Chinese social media is abuzz with Barbie fever, so let’s explore the phenomenon that has taken the Western world and now China by storm. Arguably the world’s most popular doll, Barbie surpasses the realm of your typical (primarily) girl’s toy. Her luscious blond locks and pink wardrobe have influenced every corner of Western pop culture for decades. Unsurprisingly, an entirely new aesthetic created in the figurine’s image has been circulating on fashion catwalks and social media for the past year now: Barbiecore. In the months leading up to the July 21 international release of Barbie, a pink-filled comedy fantasy and the doll’s first live-action motion picture, directed by American actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig, the trend has only intensified. As the world has sizzled this summer season, Barbiecore has blossomed…

Recently, the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Wubu County Committee in Shaanxi Province, northwest China, launched a menu of so-called anti-corruption dishes during a training session in its canteen. Party schools are run by CPC committees with a mission to train officials. A dish of wood ear mushrooms, which are black, fried with Chinese yams, which are white, was named heibaifenming, which literally means a clear distinction between black and white, with the other dishes on the menu being given similar anti-corruption-themed names. The school’s officials presented the new menu as an innovative method to educate Party members about integrity and frugality. However, the menu has been widely ridiculed by society. The public sees the names of the dishes as being more about putting on a…