CiCM 15th October 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

China Launches its First National Space Science Plan till 2050: The Chinese academy of Sciences, China National Space administration and the China manned space agency have collaboratively released a ‘National Medium-and Long-Term Development Plan for Space Science (2024-2025). The plan prioritized 5 specific scientific themes and 17 areas of work. The first stage of the three-stage development roadmap has been reported to be underway from now till 2027. This stage includes carrying out China’s manned lunar exploration and approving five to eight space science satellite missions. The second stage from 2028-2035 will aim at building the lunar scientific research station and implementation of 15 space satellite missions, again with an aim to be the world’s topmost in the field. The 2036-2050 aims to double the implementation of space satellite missions.
Leading Chinese Private Companies Reduced Workforce Amid Domestic Economic Slowdown, Reveals Report: The China Federation of Industry and Commerce stated that 500 private companies with strong risk-resistance capabilities employed only 10.66 million people last year, showcasing a stark reduction of 314,600 jobs in comparison to 2022. The report published by China’s largest business association states that this cut in workforce came even though the private firms had a growth in their financial performances. The article has associated the cuts due to the ongoing domestic economic slowdown. They further emphasized for government support after a new draft law was rolled out to aid revive the private sector. Analysts associated this rise in unemployment with the uncertainty faced by the firms, adding that another factor causing this problem was the increased use of machinery and a competitive urge of every private entity to be more efficient than the other.
Wang Yi urges Israeli and Iranian Foreign Ministers for Full Ceasefire in Gaza during Phone Calls: Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat stated that the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran were a grave concern for China. He expressed deep concerns from the international community’s side about the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, calling for an immediate ceasefire and for a ‘2-state solution’. He emphasized this is needed for an harmonious coexistence between the Jewish and the Arabs. In an exchange of communication with Iran, Iran stated it will strengthen its coordination with China to solve the matter diplomatically. Beijing is also hoping for a positive outcome from the second meeting of the China-Iran-Saudi Arabia Trilateral Joint Committee in order to reconcile relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
China Extends Anti-Dumping Tariffs on U.S. and Japanese Hydriodic Acid for Another Five Years: China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) stated that they will be extending the duration of anti-dumping tariffs of hydriodic acid from the U.S and Japan from 16^th October, 2024 for the next 5 years that is till 16^th October, 2029. Since hydriodic acid is a chemical base inculcated in circuits and largely used in the manufacturing sector, a review by MOFCOM has stated that removing the tariffs can damage the domestic industry. MOFCOM initially announced tariffs on hydriodic acid imported from U.S and Japan on October 15, 2018, with again like present a duration of 5 years. Back then the tariffs were imposed with a duty rate of 123.4% for U.S companies and 41.1% for Japanese companies. In 2023, the Chinese hydriodic acid industry requested for a review of anti-dumping measures and it was initiated by the MOFCOM from October 16, 2023. The MOFCOM has stated that the rate for anti-dumping tariffs will continue as stated in 2018, since the investigation results found that termination of anti-dumping measures will result in the continuation of the dumping of hydriodic acid from the U.S and Japan and then this will pose a harm for the Chinese domestic industry.
Xi Jinping Addresses Military Gathering, urges to Strength Military Theory for Modernization: The All-Army Military Theory Work Conference held in Beijing on 14^th and 15^th October, saw Xi Jinping emphasising on the modernization of military theory being an important part of the modernization of the national defence and armed forces. He further also stated that to witness the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the army, China would provide scientific support such as optimization of top-level design of military theory innovation and improve military theory research. The conference also witnessed Zhang Youxia, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission attend and deliver a speech in support of Xi’s ideals for strengthening and optimizing the Army.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

China's Social Media Detests a Former Official for Embezzling 3 billion Yuan: Li Chuangling, a regional politician has been charged in a corruption case and has been accused of having illegal assets of 3.1 billion Yuan. But he fled China in Nov-15, 2020 and his arrest warrant was issued in Dec-2020. Netizens on Weibo can be seen pondering about his whereabouts, with one user commenting, “it’s hard to say when people are gone” and another replying to him saying “it seems to be there, some people say he has an account on the internet, but I don’t know if it’s true”. The details regarding his corruption case were revealed by the Heilongjiang province court. He was the head of the Jixi finance bureau and deputy mayor of both Jixi and Hegang. The prosecutors of the Mudanjiang Intermediate People’s court will be confiscating his illegal gains. Netizens are commenting “rotten to the roots” because of Li’s abuse of power by secretly registering companies with state-owned funds and his embezzlement of property worth over 2.9 billion Yuan. Investigators have revealed that all of Li’s illegal income came from his investments in real estate, engineering and equipment purchases.

INDIA WATCH

Hyundai's IPO to Gauge Investor Trust Amid India's Manufacturing Ambitions: An article published by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), proclaimed that India was seeking to postion itself as manufacturing powerhouse as an alternative to China. The piece stated that this was largely solidified after Hyundai Motors India’s US 3.3 billion dollars IPO, the largest so far, opened for public share offering. The IPO had surpassed several other sizeable public listings in India, crossing Paytm and state-run Life Insurance. The Singaporean government and BlackRock have picked up stakes of US 77.3 million dollars, whereas Fidelity and others were anchor investors, buying shares worth US 76.5 million dollars. Reuters stated that domestic mutual funds were given shares of US 340 million dollars. The market leadership in India, in the automobiles industry, has mostly been retained by Maruti Suzuki, and Hyundai now with its IPO had a chance to inch closer to Suzuki. After last week’s outflow of global investments from Asian stock markets and inflow in Chinese stock markets, the development comes as a positive development for Indian investments.

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.