Innehållsförteckning för Vol.67/No.24 från Beijing Review

Credit System The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, on June 4 unveiled a plan to expand the country’s social credit system. According to the plan, the country will accelerate legislation related to the system while regulating the procedures for utilizing credit information. Local financing credit service platforms will be further integrated, with greater efforts to guarantee safer flows of public data and stronger protection of privacy and confidential business data. A standardized and reliable credit record mechanism for business registration, legal services, taxation, customs, finance and intellectual property rights will be introduced. The country’s social credit system will expand to cover healthcare, child and senior care, housekeeping, tourism and shopping, as per the plan. The plan also includes measures to ensure government trustworthiness and enhance credit…

The ascender of China’s Chang’e-6 probe lifted off from the lunar surface on June 4, carrying samples collected from the moon’s far side. The ascender—one of the four major components of the unmanned spacecraft—began its ascent at 7:38 a.m. Beijing Time and flew for about six minutes before reaching lunar orbit, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The return of the ascender into lunar orbit marked the successful completion of the first sampling and liftoff operation on the moon’s far side by any country, the space administration said. The ascender carried out unmanned rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit, and the samples were transferred to the returner. The orbiter-returner combination will orbit the moon, awaiting the optimal time to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, carrying the…

China-Arab cooperation is a dynamic and multifaceted rapport that has evolved over the past decades and today transcends economic interests. The 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), held in Beijing on May 30, marked a renewed commitment to cooperation in different sectors, including trade, investment, infrastructure, energy and technology. The two decades since the forum’s launch have seen a significant rise in bilateral trade, significant infrastructure projects and increased cultural exchange. The partnership is driven by a shared vision of peace, development and prosperity, with mutual respect, mutual non-interference in internal affairs, and a commitment to a multipolar world order. The CASCF serves as a model for South-South cooperation, demonstrating the potential for mutual benefit and progress in a globalized world. (The Global South refers to…

A mid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and mounting challenges to Asia-Pacific security, the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue, which took place in Singapore from May 31 to June 2, garnered widespread attention. The three-day event brought together government officials, military representatives, business leaders and security experts from 45 countries and regions around the world. The Shangri-La Dialogue, officially known as the Asia Security Summit, was initiated by the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2002 with the support of the Singaporean Government. It has since evolved into one of the most influential security exchange platforms in the Asia-Pacific region. Its conversational format facilitates wide-ranging exchange of diverse issues, including traditional concerns like military cooperation, as well as non-traditional issues such as counterterrorism, cybersecurity and climate change. These…

The 26th Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing, hosted by the China Flower Association in collaboration with German trade fair company Messe Essen GmbH, the organizer of the International Plant Fair, commonly known as the IPM, unfolded at the China International Exhibition Center from May 23 to 25. The event drew horticultural exhibitors, enthusiasts and numerous curious local residents. The hortiflorexpo is the premier professional expo of its kind in China, traditionally held alternately in Beijing and Shanghai every other year. The expo was suspended for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, both the scale of the event and the number of visitors rebounded to prepandemic levels. This edition of the exhibition attracted more than 700 exhibitors from more than 20 countries and regions, showcasing a wide selection of flowers,…

Students high-five their teachers before entering a national college entrance examination site in Changchun, Jilin Province, on June 7. China’s national college entrance examination, known as the gaokao, kicked off that day. It’s not just any test; it’s arguably the most high-stakes exam Chinese students ever take in their life. A total of 13.42 million students have registered for the exam this year, an increase of 510,000 students from last year, according to the Ministry of Education. The exam lasts two to four days, varying by province.…

FRANCE A special stamp commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings is on display at a store in Paris on June 6 SRI LANKA Residents wade through a flooded street on the outskirts of Colombo on June 3, following several days of heavy rains. Subsequent floods and landslides claimed the lives of 12 people and affected over 87,000 SLOVENIA Prime Minister Robert Golob (front) attends a parliamentary session at which the proposal of recognizing Palestine as an independent state was approved in Ljubljana on June 4 INDIA Officials for the general elections carry electronic voting machines at a ballot counting station in Jaipur on June 4 GERMANY A man visits the Airbus booth at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Schoenefeld on June 5 UNITED KINGDOM Real Madrid players…

Several of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, Gansu Province in northwest China, have an interesting pattern that depict three racing rabbits, with each two sharing one ear. This unique pattern is also seen on chinaware found in Egypt, on the clocks of some churches in Germany, and on tile paintings in the United Kingdom—all thanks to the ancient Silk Road that connected China with places afar. “The pattern was first found in Dunhuang in the sixth century, flowed to Central and West Asia along the Silk Road between the ninth and 11th centuries, and entered Egypt and Europe from the 13th to 16th century,” Zhao Yanlin, a researcher at the Dunhuang Academy, told Xinhua News Agency. Commerce and trade constituted the earliest link between the…

China’s Food Security Law came into effect on June 1, reinforcing efforts to ensure the supply of grain and to fend off food security risks, while safeguarding economic and social stability as well as national security. The new law comprises 11 chapters with provisions that cover the protection of farmland and the entire grain supply chain, from production and reserves to distribution and processing. For China, a nation with over 1.4 billion people, the maxim “having food brings peace of mind” has long been the cornerstone of its approach to food security. In an interview with Beijing Review, Scott Reynolds Nelson, a historian at the University of Georgia in the U.S., highlighted how food has served as a cornerstone of national and global stability in ancient times and now. Global…

When Tong Lin, on the verge of graduating from a college in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, received several notifications for artificial intelligence (AI) job interviews, she realized just how integral AI-driven interviews have become to the recruiting strategy of many companies this year. Despite having experienced more than 10 AI interviews, she still finds it somewhat surreal to talk to AI recruiters, even though she’s become accustomed to the general process. “Interacting with a human recruiter offers a more engaging experience because their reactions are instinctive, which helps you adjust your behavior,” she told technology news platform 36Kr. “Conversely, during AI interviews, although the interviewers look human, you’re still communicating with an impassive robot, without getting immediate feedback from facial expressions and body language essential for…

The relations between China and Bahrain can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), with solid evidence supporting the existence of commercial ties between the two countries. Fast forward to modern times and formal diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Bahrain were established on April 18, 1989, building on the foundation of centuries-old cultural and commercial exchanges. Over the past 35 years, the two countries have worked tirelessly to deepen their ties, with high-level visits and agreements laying the groundwork for their growing partnership. King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s visit to China in 2013 was a milestone in the history of the two countries’ relationship, as it was the highest-level visit to ever take place, with several memoranda of cooperation…

On May 29, a court in Shanghai dismissed a case filed by a local consumer, who attempted to force U.S. tech company Apple Inc. to cease charging its 30-percent commission on purchases in its App Store. Jin Xin, the consumer, brought the suit against Apple China in 2021. In addition to calling on the company to cease charging commissions, Jin insisted that consumers be allowed to use other payment systems besides Apple Pay when purchasing apps or services on Apple products, and asked for 100,000 yuan ($13,800) in compensation for commissions he’d previously paid. The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court said it had compared the commission Apple charges in the App Store with that charged on other app marketplaces, and did not find the former to be “much higher” than those…

Wang Zhixin, an influencer with over 16 million followers on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), found herself embroiled in controversy in late May. Wang is best known for her role as a maid who stands up against workplace injustice in a popular short video series, but the entertainment company she works for was accused of paying employees low wages while demanding long overtime hours. Many netizens confessed feeling betrayed upon learning about the alleged poor labor practices of Wuhan Huangye Culture and Media Co. Ltd. (Huangye Culture). Scandals involving Wang and her company quickly became one of the hottest topics online, garnering millions of views as the public grappled with the discrepancy between Wang’s on-screen persona and the reported off-screen realities. On cloud nine? Born in 2001, Wang began…

Braving the rising mercury and glaring sunlight in Beijing on May 10, lion dance performers from the capital city’s Xicheng District were rehearsing for the upcoming Xicheng District Workers’ Games. The opening of the games would feature the Baizhifang Lion Dance, which is recognized as national intangible cultural heritage. After the first round of rehearsals, the team members removed their heavy lion costumes and sought some shade to cool down. Their master, Yang Jingwei, a seventh-generation inheritor of this specific lion dance, carefully arranged the seven lion heads in a neat row, meticulously combing their manes. “When I joined the team, my master told me that the lion should hold a place of the utmost importance. Arranging the lion heads neatly before stepping onto the stage shows the stature of…