Innehållsförteckning för Vol.67/No.19 från Beijing Review

China’s total population dropped for a second consecutive year in 2023, adding fuel to an ongoing demographic debate. In this context, it is important to take a closer look by observing shifting demographics across the country’s provinces. Of the 31 provincial-level administrative regions on the Chinese mainland—22 provinces, four municipalities directly under the Central Government’s administration and five autonomous regions, only 10 recorded an increase in their number of permanent residents last year, according to figures released by provincial-level authorities available to date. Permanent residents are defined as those who have lived in a place for six months or longer. Zhejiang Province in the east saw the largest increase of 500,000. It was followed by Guangdong and Hainan provinces in the south. In terms of total population, Guangdong and Shandong…

Earlier this year, several Chinese provinces and regions published their population data for 2023. Among them, both Liaoning and Jilin provinces, located in the country’s northeast, announced they had achieved rarely seen net population inflows. To be specific, Jilin had a net population inflow of 43,400 people, which was its first in nearly 13 years. Liaoning reported a net inflow of 86,000 people, also reversing an outflow trend that began in 2012. The three northeastern provinces, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, account for more than 8 percent of the country’s total landmass. According to data from the seventh national census, conducted in 2020, the region was home to a permanent population of more than 98 million, or 6.98 percent of the country’s total, down 1.2 percentage points from the sixth census,…

Since the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology first put forward the concept of using special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products (SSNU) in 2011, embracing the new has been recommended as an important growth strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises. At the end of 2018, the ministry began to assemble a list of SSNU enterprises that particularly excel, which it dubbed “little giants.” With support from top-level planning and an array of supportive policies, a large number of little giants have since emerged. The first group consisted of only 248 companies. To date, five groups have been selected, with the total number of SSNU enterprises standing at 124,000 and number of little giants now standing at 12,950. The selection of the sixth group is currently underway.…

Scenes from college campuses across the U.S. have shocked the world. From Columbia University to the University of Texas at Austin, riot police and other heavily-armed security forces have been deployed to suppress encampments of peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrators. Hundreds of students and professors have been arrested. Politicians and college administrators have threatened to call the National Guard to break up the encampments. These developments are reminiscent of the anti-Viet Nam war movement that led to four students being killed by the National Guard on May 4, 1970, during an anti-war protest at Kent State University. Instead of asking why young people in the U.S. are protesting in support of Palestine, prominent members of the U.S. political and media establishment have attempted to delegitimize the protests. Speaker of the House Mike…

Senior U.S. and European Union officials recently visiting China repeated concerns about the country’s “overcapacity” during discussions with their Chinese counterparts. Prior to her latest trip to China in early April, the second in nine months, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China’s “overcapacity” in new industries like solar energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium-ion batteries “distorts global prices” and “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.” Some Western economists believe overcapacity can lead to oversupply. And an oversupply in this scenario could mean that Chinese companies must accelerate their sales, including by boosting exports. The fear is that doing so might increase tensions with key trading partners as well as limit space for overseas brands to expand their markets. Ma Wei, a…

On the evening of April 19, 150 spectators filled the seats at the sunken basketball court of Lang Park Vintage, a bustling cultural and creative park in Beijing, renovated from old warehouse clusters. They gathered for the open-air screening of the movie Post Truth. One day earlier, the 14th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) had kicked off, and this openair event quickly became a highlight for movie buffs attending the festival. The movie tells the story of a cemetery plot salesman who dedicates himself to clearing the names of deceased clients tainted by online rumors. Released last year, the film was a commercial success, raking in approximately 700 million yuan ($97 million) at the box office. Da Peng, the movie’s director, has witnessed the evolution of the annual festival firsthand.…

BELGIAN COACH JOINS TEAM CHINA Vital Heynen of Belgium has been named head coach of China’s men’s volleyball team, the China Volleyball Association announced on April 25. Heynen, born in 1969, was formerly the captain and setter of the Belgian men’s volleyball team. In his coaching career, he led Germany’s men’s team to fifth place at the London Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2014 World Championship. When in charge of the Polish men’s team from 2018 to 2021, he led the team to a World Championship, second place in a World Cup, and fifth place at the Tokyo Olympics. The coaching staff of the Chinese men’s volleyball team for this season is a combination of both Chinese and international coaches. Alongside Heynen, there is also a four-member Chinese…

Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi recently participated in a written interview with Al Jazeera Media Network, a prominent media organization based in the Middle East. The following is an edited excerpt from the interview published on the official website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Al Jazeera Media Network: Foreign Minister Wang Yi, you talked about the conflict in Gaza at your recent press conference held on the margins of the annual session of the National People’s Congress (China’s top legislature that usually convenes once a year in early March). What measures will China possibly take to promote an immediate ceasefire in Gaza? Wang Yi: The protracted conflict in Gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe…

At a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City on April 18, the United States voted against a widely backed draft resolution that would pave the way for Palestine to obtain full UN membership. The draft resolution recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.” The U.S. used its veto power after the draft had secured 12 votes in favor in the 15-member Security Council. In a statement released following the vote, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the U.S. veto was “unfair, immoral, and unjustified, and defies the will of the international community, which strongly supports the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.” A severe humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in…

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the afternoon of April 26. Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Xi said that over the past 45 years, the relationship had seen wind and rain, and that both sides can draw important lessons from the past. China and the U.S. should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences rather than engage in vicious competition; and honor words with actions rather than saying one thing but doing another. In the same boat Xi said he proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as…

Inside the lecture hall of the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM), film producer Li Ningyuan detailed a groundbreaking application of artificial intelligence (AI) in her latest documentary, Chen Ning Yang: The Chinese Century of a Nobelist. She explained how the voice of the 101-year-old recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics had been not just preserved but also brought to life—throughout different periods of his storied career. “After getting Yang’s authorization, we captured his original voice and used AI technology to recreate it across different stages of his life, allowing him to personally narrate his own experiences,” Li revealed. She shared the innovative approach during her presentation at the Science Popularization and Special Effects Theater Industry High-Quality Development Forum on April 25. The event gathered a host of…

Since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative 11 years ago, aiming to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, many questions have been raised: What does the initiative mean to the countries along the ancient Silk Road? What is its historical background? What cultural carriers can support it? These issues are undoubtedly major topics that require specialized research. However, cultural exchanges certainly need to find some suitable carriers. As an Iranian researcher at a Chinese university, I feel deeply that, in studying cultural exchanges between China and Iran, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important carrier. China and Iran, known as Parthia and Persia in ancient times, are ancient civilizations with a time-honored history. At the end of the second century B.C., during the reign of…

Six hundred years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, commanded seven great voyages across Asia and Africa. At the time, almost 100 years before Christopher Columbus set sail for the Americas, Zheng’s fleet was the largest in scale, with the largest number of ships and sailors, and made the longest voyages in the world. China’s shipbuilding industry began to lag behind that of the West in the 18th and 19th centuries, but has made remarkable progress in the past few decades. China is now once again becoming the world’s largest shipbuilding country and is having a strongly positive impact on the global shipping industry. According to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China’s shipbuilding industry has ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years in terms…

On April 26, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister, held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with the two sides reaching a five-point consensus based on a comprehensive exchange of views. First, both sides agreed to continue to work hard to stabilize and develop China-U.S. relations in accordance with the guidance of the two heads of state. The two sides affirmed the positive progress made in dialogue and cooperation between China and the U.S. in various fields since the meeting in San Francisco, and agreed to speed up the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco. Second, both sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and contacts…

Liu Zhongyuan, a technician at the Ruichen Wanniu Livestock Farm in Jungar Zhao Town, Jungar Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has been busy at work. Unlike conventional cattle farms, Ruichen Wanniu Livestock Farm has adopted a new agro-husbandry development model that integrates livestock production with photovoltaic power generation, with solar power panels installed on the roofs of cowsheds and other places. The new model is part of the startling transformation this traditional mining area has gone through. Jungar Banner has coal reserves of 54.4 billion tons, with 80 percent of its landmass containing coal. The local mining sector has taken large steps in terms of green transformation—moving away from traditional coal extraction toward the green development of coal mines, with eight of the 60 coal mines in the area being…

Like an April breeze sweeping through, melodious tunes filled the halls of China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. On the evening of April 25, the Sino-Russian Youth Concert, themed Friends of Youth, Enjoying the Future, was held there, attracting an audience of approximately 500 people from China and Russia. This year is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and 2024 and 2025 have been designated as the China-Russia Years of Culture by the leaders of both countries. The Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, together with the Russian Culture Center in Beijing and the China Conservatory of Music, used music as a bridge to deepen artistic exchange between the youth of China and Russia, promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples.…