CiCM 10th October 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

New Draft Law Aims to Bolster China's Private Sector: China has released a draft law concerning the promotion of the private sector in continuation of recent measures adopted to revive investors’ confidence. This 77-article draft has provided for measures to promote fair market competition, improve the funding and financing scope, support private sector’s involvement in scientific projects and technological innovation, while also protecting their financial rights and interests. In the first eight months, private investments fell by 0.2 percent coupled with a decline in share of private investments in total fixed asset investments. Thus, this draft attempts to resolve the concerns of private players including their protections of property and personal rights. The draft urges financial institutions to enhance their tolerance limit with respect to non-performing assets of private firms and establish a robust due diligence mechanism. It also provides for law enforcement agencies to distinguish between company assets and personal assets when conducting raids at private firms. The final approval for this law would be granted during the Two Sessions in March 2025.

China and ASEAN Concludes Negotiations for FTA Version 3.0: China and ASEAN announced substantial conclusion of FTA negotiations at the 27^th China-ASEAN summit. This upgradation aims to increase cooperation in emerging domains, align standards and regulations as well as advance trade facilitation for an inclusive development on both sides. The negotiations continued for nearly two years since November 2022. The version 3.0 has been expected to increase cooperation in digital and green economy, supply chain connectivity, competition and consumer protection in SMEs. The completion of the legal reviews and domestic procedures for signing of the upgraded provisions will take place in 2025. The initial FTA was signed in 2015 and came into effect in 2019 with relevant changes regarding issues like rules of origin, customs procedures and economic and technical cooperation. In the initial eight months of 2024, the trade between China and ASEAN has reached 4.5 trillion yuan, a 10 percent increase from last year with ASEAN strengthening its position as China’s largest trading partner.

Former PBoC Vice Governor Sentenced to Death: Fan Yifei, former vice governor of People’s Bank of China, was sentenced to death along with a 2-year reprieve for accepting bribes of 386 million Yuan. Huganggang Intermediate People’s Court in Hubei ordered to cease all his personal assets and transfer to state treasury. Fan was put under disciplinary investigation since November 2022. The investigation further affirmed that Fan was found making gains illicitly between 1993 to 2022 while being on positions of ‘deputy head of China Construction Bank’s fund planning division’, ‘Chairman of the Bank of Shanghai’, ‘Vice president of China Investment Corporation’ and lastly ‘Vice-governor of the PBOC’. Previously, he had joined the Communist Party of China in 1991. He accepted bribes in return of maximizing profits to individuals and departments on loan financing, business contracting and job transfers. In Fan’s case, the court ordered that his punishment can be reduced to life imprisonment based on his behaviour during reprieve period, while at the same time, dismissed any possibility of further commutation or parole.

China Witnesses Growth in Shipping Industry: China's shipbuilding industry saw significant growth in the first three quarters of 2024, with major indices rising steadily, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). From January to September, China completed 36.34 million deadweight tons (DWT) of shipbuilding, marking an 18.2 percent year-on-year increase. The country also secured 87.11 million DWT in new orders, a 51.9 percent rise. By the end of September, total orders on hand reached 193.3 million DWT, a 44.3 percent growth. China dominated global shipbuilding, accounting for 55.1 percent of global ship completions, 74.7 percent of new orders and 61.4 percent of total orders globally. Notably, China captured over 70 percent of global green ship orders across major vessel types, reflecting the industry's shift towards eco-friendly technologies and high-value ships. China led globally in 14 out of 18 major shipbuilding categories, with shipyards surpassing annual targets amid growing market demand. Lin Qingshan, deputy general manager of Jiangnan Shipyard Co., highlighted a record 40 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) in civilian orders between January to September. Bian Yongzu, executive deputy editor-in-chief of ‘Modernization of Management’ magazine, emphasized that China's robust industrial ecosystem and manufacturing capabilities have boosted its international competitiveness, particularly as global trade protectionism weakens other shipbuilding industries.

China-Hong Kong Sign Services Cooperation Agreement: The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have signed a revised agreement under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) to deepen economic and trade ties, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced. The revision, signed by MOFCOM's deputy international trade representative Li Yongjie and HKSAR financial secretary Paul Chan, will take effect on March 1, 2025. This marks the second revision of the services trade agreement, following the first in 2019. The new agreement aims to further integrate Hong Kong into China's national development framework and enhance its economic growth. It focuses on reducing or eliminating entry barriers for Hong Kong service providers in key sectors like finance, telecommunications, construction, and tourism, making it easier for professionals to operate on the mainland. Some of these measures will be introduced first in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to promote faster integration of rules. The CEPA, initially signed in 2003, has been instrumental in liberalizing trade between the two regions. Of the 160 service sectors classified by the World Trade Organization, the mainland has already opened 153 to Hong Kong traders, according to MOFCOM.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Social-Media Flooded with Congratulations for Zheng and Wang: In a tennis match between a Chinese player Zheng Qinwen and her opponent Layla Fernandez, former U.S open runner-up, Zhen Qinwen came out victorious at the 2024 Wuhan Open. Another Chinese Tennis player Wang Xinyu previously defeated the number two seed player. Netizens on social media have shared an outpour of congratulatory messages for both, with most messages calling Zheng ‘queen Wen’. This comes after the ace, Zheng, hits 350 aces this season, considered to be the most by a female player in 2024, thus making her eligible to claim ‘ace queen’ title of the year. Netizens’ heartwarming and supportive comments like, “ Xinyu and Qinwen are all good” and “congratulations to Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu for advancing to the quarterfinals together, and I hope they will make persistent efforts to play steadily to achieve greater results” show the outpour of love and respect by the netizens for the players.

INDIA WATCH

Chinese Scholar Assesses India’s Conciliatory Approach Towards its Neighbours: An article in Global Times by Lin Minwang of Fudan University, notes a change in India’s approach towards its neighbours based on recent meetings with Sri Lanka and Maldives. It argues that India has faced setbacks in its neighbourhood in 2024 as long-standing anti-India sentiment among South Asian countries came to forefront in Maldives, Bangladesh, and further complicated by a new Marxist-led government Sri Lanka. He further argues that growing Chinese influence has become a common excuse for Indian policymakers to justify setbacks in South Asia. He assesses that India has been overly focusing on countering countries like China in South Asia instead of focusing on promoting its own national interests and regional growth. The author also tries to put blame on India for misusing its geopolitical position and dependence of other countries on India to exert pressure on neighburing countries without giving any substantive examples. This, according to the author, has caused these countries to reduce their reliance on India and turn towards China. As a result, India had to adopt more accommodative approach recently. Finally, the author aims to suggest that India should not consider South Asia as its ‘sphere of influence’ and develop an active regional cooperation strategy without analysing strategies already in place.

Prepared By

Aditi Khamkar

Aditi Khamkar is a third-year undergraduate student at FLAME University majoring in International Studies and minoring in Public Policy. Having completed an internship at International SOS, her interest in security has deepened, driving her to pursue a career as a security analyst. Passionate about making meaningful contributions, she aspires to write impactful analyses that address global security challenges.