Innehållsförteckning för Vol.67/No.21 från Beijing Review

Let’s start off with some economics 101: Trade can make everyone better off. In 2023, China was the global leader in the output and sales of new-energy vehicles, mainly electric vehicles (EVs), for the ninth consecutive year, exceeding 9 million units in both categories. Exports rose by 77 percent, reaching 1.203 million units. Together, exports of China’s “new trio,” namely, EVs, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, surpassed 1.06 trillion yuan ($146.8 billion). China’s green exports have boosted the global response to climate change. Chinese producers have, for example, made EVs more popular by offering affordable prices, which in turn has also helped to alleviate inflationary pressures in importing countries. Given the country’s commitment to green development, China has gained a comparative advantage in this field in recent years through open,…

Modern China and its wealth were initially forged in the country’s factories, making virtually every category of consumer and industrial product that the rest of the world wanted and for which global companies sought a more cost-efficient manufacturing solution. Then came the second wave of Chinese development. After deciding to open up and reform its economy in 1978 and establishing itself as a manufacturing power between 1980 and 2005, China added technology, green initiatives, real estate, consumption, digital innovations, and countless other categories to the country’s GDP growth playbook over the following two decades. China is now years into the process of developing world-class companies, products and services across a wide array of emerging industries, including artificial intelligence, computer chips, and electric vehicles (EVs). Yet one constant throughout the last…

‘Patient capital,” a term used to describe long-term investment prioritizing sustainable growth alongside financial returns, is gaining prominence in China. During a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on April 30, the Party’s highestranking officials underscored the importance of promoting patient capital, sparking interest in both domestic and international capital markets. Regulatory agencies such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission are actively working to formulate and improve policies that facilitate the creation and growth of patient capital. These efforts include advancing investment-side reforms, diversifying sources of medium-and long-term funding, increasing the proportion of equity investments, and implementing long-term evaluation mechanisms. The aim is to bolster the stability and efficiency of the capital market while supporting the country’s long-term economic development as well as…

When listing scholar tree flowers in his online shop, Lin Jian was confident they would sell out quickly, as they had in previous years. This year, he had gathered only 5 kg of the flowers, reserving 500 grams for his own family and offering the remaining 4.5 kg for sale. Prior to the listing, he had already received numerous inquiries from customers eager to know when the flowers would be available. Priced at 18 yuan ($2.5) for 250 grams, the scholar tree flowers were sold out within 10 minutes. “They sold even faster than last year,” he told Beijing Review. Having run a farm on the outskirts of Beijing for nearly a decade, Lin has become well-versed in riding the seasonal fluctuations of demand. Among the items that see a…

NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UN Veteran diplomat Fu Cong was appointed China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, according to an official statement released on May 14. Born in June 1965, Fu has worked in foreign affairs for 37 years, beginning his career in 1987 as a staff member and attaché with the Department of International Organizations and Conferences at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was stationed as second secretary at the Permanent Mission of China to the UN and Other International Organizations in Vienna, Austria, from 1996 to 1997. He served as deputy permanent representative of China to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland from 2015 to 2019. He was appointed China’s ambassador to the EU in December 2022 and served…

Ihave lived in Beijing for 25 years. It is indisputable that the air quality here has significantly improved over these years. I still remember when I first moved to China in 1998, the main source of air pollution in Beijing was coal burning. Soon, in 1999, the Beijing Municipal Government introduced supervisory regulations on the quality of coal use. The changes that have occurred since are evident to all. Later on, construction and motor vehicles became a major source of PM2.5 (fine inhalable particles) emissions in Beijing. Due to effective governance, the blue sky during the 2014 APEC meeting in Beijing was very impressive. China has achieved great success in reducing particulate matter pollution. Such examples can be seen everywhere. For example, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China is…

On April 20, 1994, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing achieved China’s first fully functional connection to the Internet. This pilot network was designed to support education and scientific research, making China the 77th member country of the global Internet community. At that time, it was difficult to imagine that by December 2023, approximately 77.5 percent of Chinese citizens would be Internet users, with their number exceeding 1.09 billion. In the past three decades, China’s Internet has seen remarkable and rapid growth, leading to the rise of many well-known related companies. This has fueled the emergence of new applications of the Internet and innovative business models, such as e-commerce, food delivery services, short video platforms and artificial intelligence technologies. Internet technologies have fostered collaboration…

From April 26 to May 6, Xu Jingyi took a trip she’d been planning for a whole year—alone, she traversed several regions across south China, including Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where she took in the splendid scenery and rich ethnic folklore. “I dressed up in the traditional costumes of the Tibetan, Miao, Yi, Dai and Va ethnic groups, and had my pictures taken,” Xu told Beijing Review. Many Chinese travelers in recent years have developed a taste for what are referred to as “ethnic travel shoots,” which see tourists dressed to impress in traditional local clothing hamming it up for the camera all over the country. “I’m Han, but I am a big fan of different ethnic groups in China, and excited to learn about…

Qu Jing, as vice president in charge of communications at Baidu, often dubbed China’s equivalent to Google, recently incited public fury by posting a series of videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where she spoke about her strict management style and basically promoted what many people consider a toxic workplace. In one video, she berated an employee for refusing to go on a 50-day business trip. “Why should I consider my employee’s family? I’m not her mother-in-law,” she commented. Qu also required employees to keep their phones on 24/7 and “always be ready to respond,” adding, “I only care about results.” The scandal quickly rose to the top trending spot on social media, sparking widespread netizen debate. Following the public outcry, Qu’s videos were removed and the tech…

Two months after resigning from his position as a real estate agent, Li Feng received a surprising deposit of 9,119.08 yuan ($1,261) into his bank account. The payment came from his former employer, Pacific Rehouse, a property sales and rental brand based in Shanghai. The transfer description indicated that it was “non-compete compensation,” a term unfamiliar to Li at the time. Even more surprising was that over a month later, Pacific Rehouse filed a case against Li, accusing him of violating the non-compete agreement and claiming 500,000 yuan ($69,144) from him. After a lengthy process of negotiation, arbitration and litigation, the Shanghai Chongming District People’s Court ruled that the non-compete agreement was binding on Li. However, the court decided to reduce the penalty for his breaching of the non-compete contract…

During an academic conference at Renmin University of China (RUC) in Beijing in April, participants were surprised by a constant stream of Korean pop music, or K-pop, entering the venue from one of the yards outside. The source of the music? The university’s annual K-pop random dance game themed “blooming fiesta.” In the game, which has become popular around the world, highlights from K-pop are played randomly and those who know the song’s accompanying choreography can take to the dance floor to join in. The exciting twist is that participants don’t know in advance which songs will be played at the event or in what order, challenging their dance skills and knowledge of K-pop choreography. “This is the third time we’ve held this kind of annual dance event on campus,”…