CiCM 9th-10th December

NEWS IN CHINA

China and Singapore upgrade Free-Trade Agreement: China and Singapore have announced the upgradation of their free-trade agreement (FTA) aiming to boost bilateral collaboration in forward-looking areas and contribute to global economic recovery. The Ministry of Commerce announced that the agreement will improve market access for businesses in both countries, laying a more solid foundation for China’s potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The two countries will commit to further opening up in trade and investment with a special focus on services and emerging sectors like telecommunications and the digital economy. The agreement aims to enhance transparency, market access certainty, and build a favourable business climate. China has been Singapore’s top trading partner for a decade, with bilateral trade reaching $115.13 billion in the previous year. The renewed FTA is expected to offer more opportunities for Singapore-based companies in China’s vibrant consumer market and growing economy. Furthermore, both countries plan to speed up the domestic legal procedures for implementing the upgraded protocol and collaborate on coping with global economic uncertainties and exploring new opportunities in sustainable development and digital innovation.

LandSpace launches first Methane-fueled satellite: LandSpace, a Beijing-based private aerospace company, made history by launching the Zhuque 2 Y-3 rocket fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, beating Elon Musk's SpaceX to this milestone. The Zhuque 2 Y-3 carried three satellites - Honghu, Honghu 2, and TY-33 – in sun-synchronous and marked a significant advancement in the commercialization of liquid-powered rockets in China. LandSpace emphasized how it plans to create cost-effective, large-scale manufacturing and delivery of rockets to achieve industrialization and commercialization. The satellites were developed by Chinese startups Spacety and Chongqing Technology. Although the details about weight and size of the satellites were not released, it was revealed that the rocket could carry up to 1.5 tonnes into a 500km sun-synchronous orbit. The company aims to improve the payload capacity to 4 tonnes to meet the needs of the spacecraft and near-Earth orbit satellites. Furthermore, the company aims to increase number of annual launches to 12 by 2026. This successful milestone helped LandSpace become the first in the world to launch the methane-liquid oxygen rocket. Methane’s cleaner burn and stable properties will help make it promising for reusable rockets. This achievement builds on LandSpace’s previous unsuccessful launch attempt in December 2022 and positions China as a key player in innovative space technology. Further, it also aligns with China’s goal of becoming a leading space power by 2045.

China's CPI Declines in November: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that China’s Consumer Price Index for November decreased 0.5 percent year-on-year which was attributed mainly to the fall in prices of food and energy in November. The year-on-year decline was seen due to the 0.3 percent decrease compared to October due to a decline in energy prices. Although core CPI, excluding food and energy, increased by 0.6 percent year on year. Non-food prices rose by 0.4 percent driven by the increase in service prices and a 1.4 percent rise in clothing prices. The CPI decreased by 0.5 percent month on month basis, attributed to the warm weather, ample agriculture supply, falling international oil prices, and a seasonal decline in demand for travel and service. Furthermore, China’s Producer Price Index (PPI) decreased by 3 percent year-on-year in November with a 0.3 percent monthly decline, influenced by the falling oil prices and weak market demand for certain industrial products.

China sets $18 Trillion investment target to achieve carbon neutrality targets: Zhao Yingmin, vice Minister of Ecology and Environment announced that China estimates an investment of over $18 trillion to achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets at the ongoing 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai. He highlighted the significant market opportunities in clean energy and the circular economy sector that this investment would help create. There would be an increase in business opportunities, market development, and green development, providing a new pathway for high-quality development, job creation and improving people’s livelihood. Reports estimate that around $ 100 trillion would be required globally to achieve climate goals set in Paris summit. The investment is further expected to foster the reconstruction of the entire industrial system and contribute to China’s climate goals. Zhang Wenzhong, founder of the Wumart Group, stated that implementation of digitalization and intelligent solutions can help China achieve its dual targets of carbon peak and neutrality.

CNOOC commences construction of China’s largest commercial underground oil reserve: China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has initiated the construction of the largest commercial underground oil reserve project, the Daxie commercial oil reserve, in Ningbo of east China’s Zhejiang Province. The reserve, with a capacity of 3 million cubic meters will receive an investment of nearly 3 billion yuan ($420 million) and is expected to be completed by 2026. The project aims to ensure a stable supply of crude oil to cities and provinces in East China and along the Yangtze River and is significant for local economic development, energy supply security and advancing digital transformation in the energy industry. CNOOC has independently designed and constructed the project, featuring underground crude oil caverns that can operate maintenance-free for up to 50 years. The use of underground water-sealed caverns reduces the construction cost by 20 percent and operating cost by 50 percent and saves approximately 63 hectares of land compared to surface tanks. Furthermore, a "virtual twin factory" will also be constructed simultaneously that would incorporate advanced technologies like AI video recognition and VR for automatic detection of oil and gas leaks.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Beijing concludes: The Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Beijing recently concluded and on the last day of the competition the Chinese team achieved its first gold of the tournament. The victory caused a round of celebrations on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, where netizens congratulated the winners. Chinese team won a total of one gold, four silver and five bronze medals making it a round total of ten medals. Netizens on Weibo congratulated the Chinese team and appreciated their hard work. Liu Shaoang who won the gold was applauded graciously by the users and they acknowledged how hard he always worked. Users congratulated Canada and South Korea as well for their amazing performance and for holding the top spots. One user congratulated the other Chinese players as well and acknowledged their hard work and hoped to see the Chinese team securing more gold medals in the next tournament. Another Weibo user thanked the players for their hard work and hoped that they get adequate rest before their next tournament began. Although not all comments were this positive, a few users expressed how embarrassing it was to lose at their home ground and hoped that the Chinese team improve their performance before the next World Cup.

INDIA WATCH

Both China and India are today leading some of the most daunting space missions in the world. China’s recent launch of its Zhuque-2 rocket fueled by methane and liquid oxygen has made it one of the first in this field and beating other aerospace companies like SpaceX. India has however not been left behind, India’s recent space mission has been one of the most renowned as well, with the most recent ones being the launches of Chandrayan 3 and the Aditya L1 by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was followed by the touchdown of the Vikram Lander, housing the Pragyan Rover, at the moon's South Pole. Shortly after this achievement, India accomplished another historic milestone by launching the Aditya-L1 Solar Observatory. Such extraordinary milestones show India’s position as an important player in the space sector. India has also seen a sharp rise of about 140 space tech start-ups with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing for increased involvement of the private sector in space technology at the headquarters of the Indian National Center for Space Promotion and Authorization (IN-SPACe) in Ahmedabad. On comparing the budget for space, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) is armed with a budget of $11.94 billion and ranks 2^nd worldwide whereas the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) with a budget of $1.93 billion ranks 8th, according to a space expenditure report of 2022. Furthermore, China saw a total of 50 space mission launches in 2022 whereas India in the same year saw 5 launch missions which was an increase from the two missions in 2020 and 2021 each. Furthermore, the CNSA has signed several cooperative agreements with over 46 countries like members of the European Union, countries and regions involved and participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, members of the ASEAN, BRICS, African Union, League of Arab States and countries of South Africa as well. India as compared to China has signed space cooperation documents with over 60 countries like Russia, USA, France, Japan, Israel, Italy, Australia, members of ASEAN, SAARC and many more. Both countries have benefitted greatly and have grown significantly through such international space cooperation and have launched several projects in collaboration with them.

Prepared By

Adhishri Seth

Adhishri Seth is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Global Studies at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi, with a strong ambition to advance her academic career through a master's program in international relations. Her interests encompass a wide array of global topics, including world politics, political economic institutions, foreign policy, and global diplomacy, reflected in her dedication to extensive reading and research. Additionally, Adhishri is currently learning Mandarin, a crucial step towards understanding East Asian affairs, bridging both linguistic and cultural divides, and helping her to follow her dream of engaging more deeply with this intricate world.