Innehållsförteckning för Vol.67/No.35 från Beijing Review

In 2019, Xizang Autonomous Region bid farewell to absolute poverty, 60 years after its people emerged from the shackles of serfdom. Now, the region, which used to have the highest poverty rate in China, is progressing toward a more affluent, modernized society. The transformation of Xizang is partly due to assistance from more developed parts of the country. Thirty years ago, the Central Government made a historic decision to galvanize national support for Xizang. The region’s underdevelopment can largely be attributed to its harsh natural conditions. Perched on the world’s Third Pole, it has an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters and its air has 40 percent less oxygen than at sea level. Covering an area of 1.2 million square km, about one eighth of China’s total land area,…

The first herder Chen Renjie encountered during his visit to Xizang Autonomous Region in 2012 was a Tibetan mother grazing a flock of sheep in the heart of a grassland in Xainza County. The woman walked slowly, with one baby fixed on her back and two preschoolers walking by her side, hand in hand. “Why doesn’t she send her kids to kindergarten?” Chen, then the newly appointed executive deputy mayor of Xainza County, asked one of his colleagues. The answer was that there was no kindergarten in the village. The nearest one was located at the township seat, which is 30 km away. Many parents were unable to juggle the long-distance commute alongside their farm work, housework and taking care of their children. “As a father of two, I wanted…

The United States presidential election, held every four years, captures global attention. Earlier this year, nations were evaluating the potential outcomes of former President Donald Trump returning to the White House versus the reelection of President Joe Biden. The first presidential debate in June gave Trump a boost in morale, especially after Biden struggled during the debate. Then came July, upending everything. Halfway through the month, Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt, while Biden suddenly withdrew from the race, passing the torch to current Vice President Kamala Harris, who quickly gained a marginal lead over Trump in the polls. With both parties finalizing their tickets—J.D. Vance as the Republican running mate and Tim Walz for the Democrats—the race is now in full swing. The relationship between China and the U.S.…

TOP PHYSICIST DIES AT 95 Zhou Guangzhao, former President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), passed away due to illness in Beijing on August 17. He was 95. Zhou made significant contributions to theoretical physics, including his discovery in 1960 of the partial conservation of axial current—one of the most important breakthroughs in particle physics and the key to understanding the interactions of fundamental particles known as pions. In 1999, Zhou received a medal awarded by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission to 23 outstanding scientists who contributed to the development of China’s atomic bombs, missiles and satellites. Zhou served as president of the CAS from 1987 to 1997. The CAS is the highest academic institution and a comprehensive research…

Located in the southeast corner of Norbulingka Palace Park in Lhasa, the Xizang Museum stands out as a facility integrating contemporary technology, design and practices with the regional characteristics of Xizang Autonomous Region, southwest China. The museum houses over 520,000 cultural relics, including silk pieces, religious instruments, ancient books and documents, porcelain and jade articles, enamel vessels, and silverware, as well as Thangka paintings—traditional Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings. Among the collections, some have recently been given a new lease on life. These include the timepieces restored by a team from the Palace Museum in Beijing. The timekeepers’ keepers The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was China’s imperial palace between 1420 and 1911. The museum houses over 1,500 antique timepieces. As the fourth generation to repair and restore…

Disregarding World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, several Western countries have introduced or are planning to introduce trade barriers to Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). In May, U.S. President Joe Biden increased several tariffs, including a fourfold increase in import duties on Chinese EVs. In July, the European Commission imposed provisional additional tariffs of up to 37.6 percent on Chinese EV makers. The commission on August 20 released a draft plan to make those tariffs definitive, at slightly revised rates, subject to approval by EU member states. However, unexpected disagreements have arisen among Western partners. UK trade secretary said his country will not follow the EU’s example and will not impose harsh tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs. This decision could significantly impact the ongoing negotiations between China and the EU, underscoring…

Police officers injured, stores looted, hotels housing asylum-seekers stormed. These scenes, strikingly reminiscent of darker times, played out in the United Kingdom recently during weeklong riots. On July 29, three young girls were killed, and eight children and two adults were injured in a knife attack during a dance class in the coastal town of Southport, Merseyside in northwest England. The attack was allegedly committed, for unfathomable reasons, by a British-born 17-year-old youth with parents from Rwanda who are practicing Christians, according to UK news outlet The Mirror. However, social media posts falsely claiming that the attacker was a Muslim who had arrived illegally by boat triggered violent anti-Muslim and anti-immigration protests in major cities, including London, Manchester and Liverpool—“driven by far-right and supremacist groups,” according to U.S. news portal…

The Qixi Festival, often referred to as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on China’s lunisolar calendar. The festival was celebrated on August 10 this year, with swarms of love birds taking to the streets, shopping for gifts and preparing for perfectly honed dates. One of the go-to places for couples in Beijing this year, according to thousands of posts on Xiaohongshu, a leading lifestyle social media platform, was the factory store of time-honored Suzhou pastry brand Daoxiangcun. Promoted as “passing down the traditional sweetness” on social media, the brand’s store in a mall in Beijing’s Chaoyang District welcomed groups of enthusiastic customers, mostly couples, with or without children. “Sweetness” was interpreted as a pun here by many, referring to both the sweet…

Further Opening up China will further relax restrictions on foreign investment by completely abolishing entry barriers in the manufacturing sector, while accelerating the opening up of other sectors, including telecommunications, education and healthcare services, according to the 2024 edition of the country’s negative list for foreign investment access. The new list was approved at an executive meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Qiang, on August 19. Also called Special Administrative Measures, the document identifies sectors and businesses that are off-limits or restricted for foreign investment. Another document approved at the meeting was a set of guidelines on promoting the high-quality development of trade in services through high-standard opening up. During the meeting it was agreed that accelerating the development of services trade is essential to expanding…

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), set to take place in Beijing on September 4-6, is expected to outline a roadmap for cooperation over the next three years and beyond. FOCAC consists of China, 53 African countries it has diplomatic relations with and the Commission of the African Union (AU). It holds a ministerial conference every three years and some of these may be upgraded into summits. In the run-up to the 2024 Summit, a seminar was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) Center for Europe and Africa in Pretoria, South Africa, to explore the building of a closer China-Africa community with a shared future. Edited excerpts of some of the speakers’ views follow: Gert Grobler, a senior diplomat and former South African Ambassador to…

The current scientific and technological revolution occurring in the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence is promoting rapid growth of the digital economy and profoundly influencing the world’s industrial development patterns and competition ecology. China attaches great importance to the development of the digital economy. “Building digital industry clusters with international competitiveness” is one of the specific measures to promote the development of the digital economy outlined by last month’s Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. According to a plan on the development of the digital economy during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) issued by the State Council in 2022, China’s digital economy is scheduled to be in full expansion mode, with the added value of core industries in the digital…

It’s another summer belonging to the Olympics. Beijing resident Zhang Yuhao is a badminton enthusiast and fan of China’s national badminton team. He said the badminton men’s doubles final on the evening of August 4 took him back to the London Olympics 12 years ago. “It’s just a bit disappointing that they ultimately missed the mark, but it doesn’t matter. These two athletes are still young, and there’s plenty of time for them,” Zhang told Beijing Review. The young athletes he talked about, China’s two 23-year-old players Wang Chang and Liang Weikeng, fought fiercely but ultimately lost to their opponents 1-3 to claim the silver medal. “I see the ‘Fengyun band’ in Liang and Wang,” Zhang said. Twelve years ago, Zhang travelled to the UK to watch the badminton men’s…

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) is soliciting public opinion on the draft of newly revised marriage registration regulations. Currently, individuals are required to present their household registration book, called hukouben, usually held by their family, in order to get married. Under the new draft, couples will need only their national identification cards and a signed declaration stating that they are not currently married or closely related. The MCA has clarified that the proposed changes are meant to eliminate the requirement for people to register marriages in places where their hukouben is issued, making the process more convenient for the country’s large migrant population. The new draft, however, has ignited heated debate online about marriage freedom. Some believe the changes are a big step forward, as no longer needing to…