Innehållsförteckning för Vol.66/No.46 från Beijing Review

Foreign Trade Up China’s total imports and exports of goods expanded 0.03 percent year on year to 34.32 trillion yuan ($4.78 trillion) in the first 10 months of the year, official data showed. Exports grew 0.4 percent year on year to 19.55 trillion yuan ($2.72 trillion) for the January-October period, while imports declined 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 14.77 trillion yuan ($2.05 trillion), according to the General Administration of Customs of China. In October alone, China’s foreign trade rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier to 3.54 trillion yuan (493.04 billion), the data showed. The country’s exports shrank 3.1 percent year on year that month, while imports increased by 6.4 percent. In the first 10 months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China’s largest trading partner,…

On its opening day on November 6, the American Food and Agriculture Pavilion at the Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai was bustling with activity as visitors flocked to explore and sample a wide range of products, including coarse sea salt, California wines, soybeans, cheeses, nuts, berries and more—even chocolates for pets. Keith Schneller worked tirelessly, navigating between booths and personally guiding visitors through the exhibit. A senior trade policy specialist for the Almond Board of California, this was his team’s first time exhibiting at the CIIE. One of the first American agricultural associations to enter the Chinese market, the board has more than 7,000 almond growers in the state of California. All of its almonds are grown exclusively in the state of California, which produces 80 percent…

If you talk to the animals,they will talk with you,and you will know each other.If you do not talk to them,you will not know them,and what you do not know,you will fear.What one fears, one destroys. —Chief Dan George (1899-1981) of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band in Canada John Thornton, Chair Emeritus of the Brookings Institution, one of the most influential think tanks in the United States, and Co-chair of the Asia Society, established in 1956 to increase American understanding of Asia and improve Asian-American cultural relations, cited the chief’s quote to illustrate the need for countries to understand each other and see each other’s point of view. “There is no more important topic than the one we will be discussing this morning. I think of it as…

Located in the eastern part of Gansu Province, northwest China, Pingliang City is bordered by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the north and Shaanxi Province to the south and east. Covering an area of 11,000 square km, the place was once a key city on the ancient Silk Road and today still serves as an important pass connecting inland Gansu with the country’s eastern region. With an altitude of 890-2,857 meters, Pingliang is located in the hill and canyon area of the Loess Plateau, with its natural scenery comprising rivers, valleys, mountains, plains and tablelands. Pingliang’s geographical location may give it a vast and beautiful landscape, but its economy is not nearly as developed as that of the eastern coastal cities. However, the measure of a society’s development level is…

Torchbearers Huang Yaqing (left) and Lan Xingyu jointly light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the first China Student (Youth) Games in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, on November 5. The Games, which ran from November 5 to 15, featured 805 events in 39 sports and brought together some 18,000 young athletes. Organized by the Ministry of Education, the General Administration of Sport of China and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Games aimed to deepen the integration of sports and education to promote the healthy development of China’s youth.…

UNITED KINGDOM A visitor tries Chinese tea at the China Pavilion at the World Travel Market London 2023 on November 6 PALESTINE Volunteers play games with children during a psychological stimulation and relief activity at a school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on November 8 NEPAL Soldiers conduct a rescue operation in Jajarkot District on November 4. As of November 9, the death toll from a strong earthquake that hit the country’s western region had risen to 153 RUSSIA An open-air exhibition held in Moscow’s Red Square on November 5 commemorates a 1941 parade that sent then Soviet soldiers into battle against Germany MEXICO People take part in the Day of the Dead Parade…

The Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) took place in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. Launched in 2018, the annual event was born out of an idea developed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to connect global manufacturers, brands and producers with Chinese companies looking to buy their products, promote dialogue on trade, and address concerns about China’s global trade surpluses and questions about market access for foreign companies. The CIIE is unique in that it is the world’s first import-focused expo, while most trade expos in China, and around the world, focus on the host country’s manufacturing and export sectors. One goal of the CIIE is to ensure that Chinese businesses can connect with the leaders of global companies in a wide range of industries, see the best-manufactured goods…

The cheerful invitation “Come and say G’day!” echoed across downtown Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, on November 1. The voice originated from an unexpected source, a giant computer-generated kangaroo named Ruby, Tourism Australia’s new mascot. Gazing out from a 3D billboard, Ruby made her debut in China as part of a new promotional campaign launched by the Australian government agency. Ruby’s arrival coincided with a visit to China by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. While addressing a Tourism Australia luncheon in Shanghai on November 5, Albanese welcomed the expected return of Chinese travelers. “You have been greatly missed,” he remarked, evoking the spirit of Ruby’s warm greeting. A visit of great significance Shanghai was the first stop on Albanese’s four-day trip to China starting on November 4. He announced the…

Methane Action Plan China released an action plan on November 8 to control methane emissions, promising a series of specific targets in different sectors. The use of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, captured in the process of oil and gas exploration and coal mining will be strengthened, according to the document issued by 11 national government agencies, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. By 2025, the coal mining sector is expected to collect 6 billion cubic meters of methane-rich coalbed methane for use, it read. The action plan also pledges to increase the use of manure from the livestock sector, another major emitter of methane. The country aims to utilize at least 80 percent of manure from the livestock sector by 2025, it said. By…

At the 16th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Business Summit, held in Beijing from November 2 to 3, Anyln Choo, Ambassador of Guyana to China, also acted as an energetic promoter of Guyanese coffee brand Amy’s Pomeroon. The brand is working with Chinese partners in order to begin supplying the Chinese market. “It is a perfect example of win-win cooperation,” Choo said during a speech at the summit. Many other Guyanese products including rum, hair and body coconut oil and hot pepper sauce were also on show at an exhibition on the sidelines of the summit. With many still unknown in the Chinese market, the goods from Guyana attracted a flow of visitors throughout the event. Peter Ramsaroop, CEO of the Guyana Office for Investment, told Beijing Review, many…

Peng Da, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, is always associated with the water caltrop because his company has created an entire industrial chain for the nut, one of the earliest domesticated crops in China. Water caltrops are grown in East Asia for their unusual, edible seed pods. Each dark brown, hard pod contains a white, starchy nut. Rich in dietary fiber, amino acids and minerals such as iodine, the nuts not only have nutritional value but also can yield health benefits such as the prevention of thyroid problems. Peng, then an undergraduate student at Huazhong Agricultural University, realized the business potential of growing water caltrops during a summer field trip to Tianjinghu Village of Huanggang City, Hubei Province, in 2016. That same year, he founded his company together with some schoolmates, which…

The highest-level spiritual leaders in Tibetan Buddhism are known as Living Buddhas, and these leaders are believed to be reincarnated after death. Therefore, after a Living Buddha dies, a survey is conducted in search of his reincarnated soul based on established criteria such as the date of birth and resemblance with the late Living Buddha. Several candidates are usually found, and the final decision is made by drawing a lot randomly from a golden urn. Since the 13th century, the reincarnation of prominent Living Buddhas such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Rinpoche has been subject to the approval of the central government of each era. The current Dalai Lama, for instance, was enthroned in the Potala Palace in Lhasa on February 22, 1940, during a ceremony presided over…