CiCM 22nd April 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

The 19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) convened in Qingdao: This year’s symposium focuses on the theme "Oceans with a Shared Future" with over 180 navy representatives from 29 countries participating including from Australia, India, France, Cambodia and Chile. Discussions centered on the WPNS Business Charter, Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), and unmanned systems. Foreign navy representatives addressed Global Security Initiative and maritime peace, maritime security cooperation and global maritime governance. China's Naval Research Academy emphasized the symposium's significance, reflecting China's naval influence. China, a founding member, previously hosted the 14th meeting, endorsing CUES. WPNS, with 23 member states and seven observers, fosters officer exchanges and communication. This year's meeting included military and cultural tours and a naval-themed light show. As the PLA Navy celebrates its 75th anniversary, China showcases its naval development, aspiring to a world-class navy. The WPNS serves as a platform for global engagement, facilitating understanding of China and its navy, as stated by senior officers from the Naval Research Academy.

Wang Yi hopes to increase China-Cambodia cooperation: China’s Foreign minister Wang Yi emphasized the importance of deepening strategic communication with Cambodia to enhance bilateral cooperation across various areas. Wang Yi is visiting Cambodia for a three-day tour after visiting Indonesia and Papua New Guinea last week. Wang emphasized the importance of strengthening strategic mutual trust, unity, and cooperation to advance the China-Cambodia community with a shared future. Wang urged deepening practical cooperation across various fields, enhancing people-to-people exchanges, and bolstering multilateral coordination. He outlined China's willingness to enhance strategic synergy and promote cooperation in politics, production capacity, agriculture, energy, security, and people-to-people exchanges. Wang also highlighted opportunities in the upcoming 2024 China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year to strengthen bilateral relations. Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sok Chenda Sophea affirmed Cambodia's adherence to the one-China policy and its commitment to enhancing friendly cooperation with China. He welcomed more Chinese investment in Cambodia and opposed external disturbances in the region, pledging to cooperate with China to ensure regional peace and stability.

Yellow alert issued for Eastern China: Due to warnings of a heavy downpour in Eastern parts of the country including Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi, China’s National Meteorological Center has issued a yellow alert for rainstorms. Guangdong is expected to receive torrential rain of 100-160 mm between Monday morning to Tuesday noon. Local governments are advised to take precautions including cutting dangerous outdoor power supplies, suspending outdoor operations, and implementing drainage measures to prevent disasters like mountain torrents, landslides, and mudslides. Currently, in the Guangdong province, 110,000 residents have been relocated due to continuous heavy rainfall that started on April 16. Due to heavy rainfall in the main stream of Beijiang river, 45 rivers and 66 local hydrologic stations registered water levels being surpassed alarming level. China's weather warning system involves four tiers: red, orange, yellow, and blue, with red being the most severe.

Former Director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration expelled from the Party: Following severe disciplinary and legal violations, Ling Chengxing, the former Director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC). Ling Chengxing is charged by CCDI and NCS for abusing his power for personal gain, including receiving several bribes, providing special treatment for his family members, seeking benefits for others in personnel selection and promotion, and embezzlement of public funds. He has also worked as General Manager of China Tobacco Corporation and member of Party Leadership Group of Ministry of Information Technology. He was found to have lost his ideals and beliefs, deviated from the principles of the Party nature, resisted organization review, and disregarded the spirit of the Central Eight Regulations. Ling’s actions have caused severe losses to national interests and violated the CPC’s political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, and life discipline. While the CPC has expelled him from the party, the CPC central committee has also decided to cancel his benefits, confiscate his illegal gains, and transfer his criminal case to the procurator for further investigation and prosecution. Previously, several other senior and mid-level tobacco executives were probed as well.

Action plan for Beijing’s IT industry expansion: Beijing municipal government has announced an action plan to boost its information software industry. It aims for a revenue scale of 4.8 trillion yuan, by 2027. The city plans to focus on cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and large language model (LLM) tool software. It also intends to establish native software application stores and secure testing grounds for LLM. Beijing also aims to create AI scene application laboratories in various fields to develop demonstrative projects showcasing AI scenarios. Beijing's information software industry was close to a revenue scale of 3 trillion yuan in 2023, following double-digit growth for several consecutive years. The industry's robust performance in the first quarter of 2024 highlights its resilience and growth trajectory, with an added value of 237.92 billion yuan, leading to a year-on-year growth of 13.7 percent. Finally, Beijing will also further support domestically produced software to expand globally and foster open-source software enterprises, aligning with broader industry trends.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

A Chinese woman spends savings on a 25 sq.m. second home: A Chinese mother named Gong Yan has purchased a 25 square meter flat for 500,000 yuan with her life savings. She wishes to have a personal sanctuary away from her hectic home and work life. This idea blossomed during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was sharing a larger flat with her family. Gong, in her early 30s from Changzhou, Jiangsu province, desired a place for herself, leading her to finally invest in it in 2021. Despite being only 25 square meters in size, the flat has all essential spaces like a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and storage area. Surprisingly many other women in China also resonate with Gong’s idea in the face of their financial instabilities, socioeconomic challenges, health issues, and other problems that have contributed to declining marriage and childbirth rates in China.

INDIA WATCH

Chinese media argues India cannot replace China for US EV makers: Global Times discusses Tesla’s plans to enter the Indian Market and the challenges it faces. Despite Elon Musk’s visit to India being postponed, the process for Tesla’s entry into Indian market is expected to go forward. The article argues that the Indian manufacturing sector faces challenges such as a lack of skilled workers, high illiteracy rates, and a weak industrial infrastructure which may prevent Tesla from maintaining its competitive edge through cost-saving solutions, amid fierce competition. There is no concrete evidence provided by the article about the same, or a comparison with another country to better gauge India's manufacturing sector. The article also mentions that India’s EV sales reached a record 1.53 million units in 2023 and that China's sold six times more EVs. Further, the article suggests that China's supply chain advantages can improve production efficiency and reduce production costs by partnering with Indian companies. On the other hand, it suggests that lack of robust EV supply chains in India obstructs its EV sector expansion and manufacturing growth. Finally, the article discusses the complementarity of the Chinese and Indian economies, without discussing the potential competition or conflicts through geopolitical tensions, trade tensions, etc., that could impact the growth of the EV sector.

Prepared By

Prisha Thakore

Prisha Thakore, a first-year student at Flame University, Pune, delves into the realms of economics and finance with a focus on China and Southeast Asia. As an ORCA research intern, she explores the intricate connections between these regions and the global markets.