CiCM 5th April 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

China surpasses a significant milestone in its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program: AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co.Ltd, a sub branch of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has achieved a significant milestone in its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program with the successful completion of the final high-speed test for the HH-100 unmanned cargo aircraft on April 3. The HH-100 is an independently developed aircraft and has two components, i.e. the unmanned aerial vehicle and the ground command-control station. During the test, the HH-100 demonstrated stable performance and precise autonomous taxiing control, including successfully performing a "rotation" by lifting its nose wheel at takeoff speed. This successful test has cleared the formalities for its maiden flight. The HH-100 is a unique drone system that combines a UAV with a dedicated ground station. With a maximum takeoff weight of 2,000 kilograms, the HH-100 can carry a payload of 700 kg over a distance of 520 kilometers at a speed of up to 300 km per hour. It can operate at a maximum altitude of 5,000 meters, making it suitable for a variety of applications including logistics supply, disaster-relief supply, fire suppression, and transportation of emergency supplies, communication relay, and artificial precipitation.
China's Wuxuan County Embraces Automated Tractors, revolutionizing Sugarcane Farming: In Wuxuan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, modern agricultural technology is revolutionizing sugarcane farming. Farmers are using unmanned tractors guided by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to plant sugarcane efficiently. The automated tractors can plant, fertilize, and mulch sugarcane in a single pass, significantly increasing efficiency upto ten times than earlier traditional methods. The BDS tractors can follow precise routes, maintaining straight lines with a deviation of only two centimeters. This precision benefits the sugarcane growth by improving photosynthesis and nutrient absorption. In the words of a local farmer Lu Ruwen, who joined the cooperative in 2020, the efficiency of the mechanized process is systematically reducing production costs by at least 100 yuan (about 14 U.S. dollars) per mu (about 0.067 hectares). It is also significantly reducing the duration of sowing from a week to a day. The Chinese government is also supporting these innovations with better policy supports. Therefore, with Subsidies supporting mechanized farming and the use of quality seeds, more villagers are engaging in modern agriculture. Mo Tingjin, director of the Agricultural Mechanization Service Center of Laibin, further notes that these subsidies are allowing many farmers to plant sugarcane at zero cost, thereby enhancing the empowerment of the farmers.
China-US Trade working group conducts its first talks, aims passive resolutions: Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, led the Chinese team to the US for the first meeting of a working group on trade between the two nations, which aimed to improve communication and manage disagreements between them in the face of growing tensions. The meeting between Undersecretary for International Trade, Marisa Lago and Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen on Thursday, issues of tariffs and market access between the two nations were widely discussed. Wang brought up China's concerns on the imposed trade restrictions and voiced his opposition about "overstretching" the notion of national security. Wang also highlighted his concerns over the imposition of Section 301 tariffs by the US and the associated inquiries against China and demanded that the US and China must manage their disputes and increase their collaboration. The US also raised their concerns and complains about the missing level-playing field for its businesses in china and the frequent raids on US companies by the PRC. It also criticised the cross-border data flows and lack of transparency. According to the Chinese statement, both sides have agreed to improve interactions over export control regulations and conduct regular talks on trade facilitation and to help each other out through events like the China International Import Expo and the China-California Business Forum respectively.
Chinese ministries formulate plan for strengthening ecological balance and civil transportation systems: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Civil Aviation Administration of China has jointly issued a notice aimed at strengthening the management of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to drive the green development of civil transport airports. The notice emphasizes the need to complete Environment Impact Assessments during the planning and site selection stages, highlighting the importance of conducting assessment’s planning, environmental comparison and impact analysis, thereby strengthening overall airport planning environmental impact research.The notice stresses the need to balance civil aviation safety and operational efficiency along environment protection regarding site selection for new or relocated airports. The notice also addresses the management of EIA for airport construction projects, proposing measures to simplify EIA implementation coordination, strengthening EIA approval guarantees, and enhancing dynamic management of EIAs to improve efficiency. In terms of ecological protection measures, requirements for noise pollution prevention and control, ecological protection and restoration, biodiversity protection, water environment protection, control of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental protection measures are to be systematically initiated. Furthermore, the notice also proposes the necessities for public information disclosure to ensure the public's right to know, participate, express, and supervise in this entire project.
CPC looks at implementing its party discipline education campaign across China: The Central Leading Group for Party Building in Beijing reported on Wednesday about the organisation of a nationwide campaign on Party discipline education from April to July this year under the approval by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Central Committee of the CPC aims to tighten Party discipline and achieve significant progress in implementing rigorous Party self-governance. Cai Qi and Li Xi, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chief and deputy chief of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, attended, presided and directed the meeting. The campaign seeks to ensure that the importance of tightening Party discipline and the consequences of violating Party rules among its members. It aims to push Party organizations and leading officials at all levels to enforce Party discipline, while encouraging Party members and officials to adhere to rules more consciously. The main focus of the campaign will be on studying and implementing the Regulations on CPC Disciplinary Action and henceforth achieving significant advances in exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Chinese influencer strikes waves on social media platforms by impersonating Kobe Bryant: Ma Jinghui, a 21-year-old influencer from Yunnan, China, has gained popularity on Douyin by impersonating basketball legend Kobe Bryant. Ma, who was previously a game streamer, saw his fan base grow from a few thousand to 600,000 in just 10 days due to his resemblance to Bryant and his imitation videos. In his videos, Ma wears Bryant's iconic No. 24 jersey, holds a basketball, and sits against a white wall while playing the song "See You Again" in the background. He has earned over $12,000 by impersonating Bryant in his live-streams, consistently drawing over 100,000 viewers per session. Despite his success, Ma has faced criticism online; with some saying he does not resemble a basketball player. In response, Ma has started a fitness regime to build muscle and improve his appearance. He remains determined to reach his goal of 1 million followers and plans to continue live-streaming basketball games in the future.

INDIA WATCH

(Kindly note that ORCA has re-oriented its India Watch section. The updated section will now assess how Chinese media and experts view Indian affairs, in an attempt to better understand China's perspectives on India)

President Droupadi Murmu launched India's first domestically developed anti-cancer CAR-T cell therapy, NexCAR19, at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on 4^th April . This feat serves as a significant breakthrough in the country's fight against cancer and reflects the collaborative efforts of academia and industry that led to its development. NexCAR19 was created by Professor Rahul Purwar and his team at IIT Bombay, in collaboration with the startup ImmunoACT, which he co-founded with his students, and doctors at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai. The therapy represents a milestone in India's efforts to combat cancer and highlights the potential of partnerships between academia and industry in driving medical innovation.

In this regard, the Chinese media outlet, Xinhua has rightly reported the major achievement by India in their daily news outlet on 4^th of April. While contentious issues outline the Indo-Chinese relationship, Beijing has actively highlighted India’s progress in the medical sciences. This is however, not the first time that the Chinese counterparts have acknowledged India’s progress. In the beginning of this year, the Chinese state owned media outlet Global Times, acknowledged India’s foreign policy under the current union government and praised India’s success in establishing the “Bharat” narrative alongside its economic strides ahead.

Prepared By

Agniva Ray

Agniva Ray is an M.A, 2nd year, 4th semester student pursuing Political Science with International Relations in the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University. He holds a deep interest in Socio-economic (Non-Traditional Security) as well as Traditional security issues concerning South Asia and aims to pursue research work in this very field.