Innehållsförteckning för Vol.66/No.40/41 från Beijing Review

The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, a major diplomatic event in Beijing in October, will gather representatives from around the world for discussions on topics ranging from the digital economy to green development. During his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, President Xi Jinping put forward the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt, which, together with the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road he proposed the following month in Indonesia, constitutes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). One decade on, this initiative has distinguished itself for its broad participation, contributing to increased connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. As the BRI vision becomes a reality, it serves as a solid foundation and a strong impetus for maintaining the multilateral trading system and promoting…

At the end of 2013, President Xi Jinping presented the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, later called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a proposal to boost economic development through investment in infrastructure that favors international trade and exchange between participating countries. Those investments boost the economy of these countries, and the infrastructure improvement that results from them has lasting effects. Ten years ago, the world economy was still suffering the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis that had started in the United States. Instead of welcoming the BRI and seeking ways to cooperate, the Group of Seven (G7) countries decided to contest it. The BRI is a uniquely Chinese initiative dedicated to bringing balance to what is currently a Western-dominated international…

China is known for its skill, inspiration and innovation. The Chinese people, the followers of thinkers and philosophers like Confucius (551-476 B.C.), are recognized in the global community as a collective of brilliant minds and progressive ideas. China’s leaders, then, have long been known to embark on major maneuvers with the sole aim of serving the people of China and humanity as a whole. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping, after being inspired by the overland and maritime Silk Road trade routes established 2,000 years ago to link East and West, came up with the idea of reestablishing these major trails: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with the intention to lift connectivity along and beyond these ancient paths. The BRI consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the…

The 19th Asian Games, or Asiad, a jamboree in the form of sporting events, are unfolding in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in east China, from September 23 to October 8, providing a platform for the intermingling of Asian civilizations, and in turn promoting solidarity and cooperation across Asia. Civilization is the achievement of social development, combining material, cultural and intellectual wealth. Asia is a cradle of human civilization with several prominent ancient cultures such as China, India and Babylonia calling it home. Today, over 4 billion people scattered across more than 40 countries and territories in about 1,000 ethnic groups speaking some 100 languages make up Asia’s big family. Their ancestors first began exchanging goods and interacting with each other in ancient times. The silks, teas, pottery, spices, paintings…

Chinese Olympic swimming champion Wang Shun and a digital torchbearer jointly light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in east China, on September 23. The two-hour ceremony used digital technology to showcase the ancient history of Hangzhou. Around 12,500 athletes from 45 countries and regions are participating in the Hangzhou Games, which run from September 23 to October 8 and include 40 sports and 481 events.…

• On September 7 and October 3, 2013, in Kazakhstan and Indonesia, respectively, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Today, this mega undertaking is known to the world as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). • On November 8, 2014, President Xi announced that China would contribute $40 billion to set up a Silk Road infrastructure fund to provide financing support for Belt and Road projects. • On December 25, 2015, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, proposed by China and jointly founded by 57 countries, was officially established. It is the first multilateral financial institution initiated by China, which focuses on developing Asia but has members from all over the world. • On September 19, 2016, the…

What has the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) contributed to global development? How does the BRI fit into the bigger picture of globalization today? Beijing Review reporter Tao Xing spoke to Maria Adele Carrai, an assistant professor of Global China Studies at New York University Shanghai, about the BRI’s development. Edited excerpts from their conversation follow: Beijing Review: What are your views on the BRI?  Maria Adele Carrai: What the BRI reflects is a manifestation of global China. It’s an attempt of China to globalize as well as a combination of China going global and the push for Chinese companies to go abroad, internationalize and integrate with the global market. The BRI is a big label, a sort of umbrella, under which many different initiatives and projects take place.…

In the annals of American political history, few figures loom as large or leave as tragic a legacy as Lee Atwater, the mastermind behind a narrative strategy that used Willie Horton, a black convicted murderer, as the centerpiece of a controversial and racially charged political ad campaign during the 1988 United States presidential election. Fast forward to today, and we find The New York Times (NYT) engaging in a similar endeavor, albeit in a different context, crafting a narrative that portrays China as orchestrating a global disinformation campaign, leveraging artificial intelligence to foster narratives surrounding the Maui wildfires, a series of wildfires that burned parts of the island of Maui in the American state of Hawaii in August. Much like Atwater’s narrative crafting, the NYT’s depiction invites scrutiny to determine…

Journalist Pamela Tobey and her companions entered the first of the Mogao Caves illuminated solely by the guide’s flashlight and the slivers of sunlight that slanted in from the opening and pierced the cavernous darkness. Despite the limited visibility, the group was able to take in the exquisite Buddhist murals that adorn the cave walls. Thanks to the two films they had just seen, the visitors gained a sound understanding of the artworks on the fragile walls of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tobey was one of thousands of visitors exploring the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, on September 5. Before their cave exploration, she and her fellow travelers were treated to two films: Millennium Mogao and Dreams of the Buddha’s Palace at the heritage site’s Digital Exhibition Center.…

ASIAD OPENING CEREMONY DIRECTOR Sha Xiaolan, chief director and chief producer of the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games, said the ceremony, held on September 23 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, “took one step further” than expected. “Through the various chapters of the performance, we showed the continuity of Chinese innovation and culture,” Sha said. The ceremony paid homage to Chinese cultural heritage, prominently featuring landmarks such as the famed West Lake, as well as traditional calligraphy and paintings. In a historic first for the Asian Games, the torch-lighting ceremony was conducted together with over 100 million people participating on digital platforms to collectively illuminate the cauldron. Sha, deputy head of the China Institute of Stage Design, was also chief director of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games…

Sabino Vaca Narvaja Argentine Ambassador to China China has presented several initiatives and proposals to tackle global challenges. At first, President Xi Jinping raised the Belt and Road Initiative to build a trade and infrastructure network along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. The initiatives and the Chinese development model have a lot to offer other countries, as a system where technological progress and financial resources are oriented to productive development. Essam Sharaf Former Prime Minister of Egypt We emphasize promoting human values of peace and development. China’s modernization offers a model of open communication and exchange. This ongoing process makes interconnectivity, mutual understanding, trust, peace and development the cornerstone of a shared future for humanity. A shared future means prosperity for all. Development enables prosperity, requiring peace as a…

The growing traction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-proposed initiative to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, across the world after a decade-long implementation is in itself a good testament to its relevance in current global governance. Though the unprecedented mega endeavor might be remembered for its pillar of infrastructure development, it remains a multidimensional initiative of connectivity boosted by five pillars in such areas as policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds. Over the years, the common quest for infrastructure development across the Global South did not make the BRI partnership a monopolistic privilege to the developing world. Neither would it signify the initiative is taking a back seat with the successive rollout of the China-proposed global initiatives—the…

Ten years ago, what began as a dream of the Chinese Government has evolved across various parts of the world into a key catalyst for job creation and poverty eradication, resulting in economic growth and development. As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-proposed initiative to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, it has made a global impression as a vast and ambitious infrastructure development project whose main objective is to connect Africa, Asia, Europe and other regions via a network of roads, railways, ports and other key infrastructural developments. At the inception stage, critics threw a wet blanket on the BRI, particularly on the realization that the growing Sino-African relationship was becoming a great force to be reckoned…

Is there a universal definition of human rights? Yes and no. Even the widely agreed upon document on human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly during its 183rd plenary meeting in Paris, France, in December 1948, contains diverse understandings of the concept as it was drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. On September 20 this year, more than 130 human rights experts, as well as officials and representatives from governments, political parties and social organizations, attended the China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights in Rome, Italy, themed Modernization and the Diversity of Human Rights Among Civilizations. At the event, participants called for joint efforts to promote global human rights governance through cooperation and dialogue. “At…

Following in the footsteps of ancient Chinese navigator Zheng He, Chinese Nobel Literature Prize winner Mo Yan arrived in Kenya in late July. “When Zheng and his fleet landed in the area of Kenya some 600 years ago, he saw giraffes and mistook them for kylins, mythical Chinese creatures that bring good luck,” Mo said. The fleet brought a giraffe back to China as a gift to the then emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). “To deliver the large animal over such a long voyage involved loads of work, including securing it in a wooden ship, feeding it, enduring storms at sea and keeping it alive for over half a year. It was a tough task for the team, who had never seen giraffes before, but they eventually made it,”…

As of September 1, Xi’an Jiaotong University, a renowned higher learning institution based in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province in northwest China, no longer considers scores or participation in China’s College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) and Band 6 (CET-6) a requirement for the graduation of undergraduate students and the awarding of bachelor’s degrees. The test evaluates students’ English proficiency according to the teaching objectives prescribed by the Ministry of Education in the College English Syllabus. The CET-4 is for students who have completed their English language studies at the basic level, and the CET-6 is for students who have completed higher-level English studies. The university’s decision to “decouple” the evaluation from graduation has sparked heated online debate. Proponents of decoupling argue that English courses should be tailored to different majors instead…