CICM 25th October 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

Gansu Vice Governor Zhao Jinyun Under Investigation: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission reported that the Vice governor of the Gansu Provincial Government, Zhao Jinyun, who is also the member of the standing committee of the central committee of Jiusan society has been suspected of extreme violations when on duty and is currently being investigated by the State Supervision Commission. She has held multiple key positions in the government. Between 1990 to 2022 she has held various positions like the secretary of the office of the Gansu provincial Land Management Bureau, assistant engineer of the planning and research office, cadre of the cadastral office, chief member of the Market Management Office, chief staff member of the cadastral management office and the deputy director of land cultivation and protection department. She went on to climb the ranks to become the director of the land use management office of the Gansu Provincial Department of Land and Resources. From 2011 to 2015 she served in the Gansu Highway and Aviation Tourism Investment group co. ltd and then in the Gansu Civil Aviation Group. She was also a general manager in the Reading Publishing Group and in December 2022, Zhao Jinyun was promoted to vice governor of Gansu Province. With her investigation, so far, 50 central level officials have been placed under review and investigation by the CCDI this year.
China’s National Computing Power Corridor to Compete with the United States in AI Race: China’s national AI computing corridor is set to be established across the country covering 99% of the nation’s population. Unlike the US, where 70% of the world’s data centres are already concentrated in Northern Virginia, China’s facilities are distributed from coastal areas to western Gobi deserts, northern borders with Siberia and even in Tibet. The Chinese approach is said to be more expensive and less convenient but by 2030 the centres are forecasted to be linked by high-speed optical fibres which will form a unified network. This means that even smaller cities will be able to leverage the nearest massive computing cluster to process AI tasks under 3 milliseconds which is faster than the refresh rate that a smartphone screen possesses. According to Yu Shiyang, director of the Big Data Development Department at the State Information Centre of China, the spread of China’s computing resources can unlock innovation and growth opportunities in China’s west and northeast. Moreover, the computing power corridor aligns closely with China’s ultra-high-voltage transmission network, allowing greater energy efficiency. China has also chosen to build data centers in strategically deep regions like Guizhou and Xinjiang to reduce geopolitical and security risks. The national computing power network is a major part of the race between the US and China to lead innovation in AI.
Major Corporations Relocating to Xiong'an New Area in Hebei: In a plan to relieve the national capital Beijing from non-capital functions, businesses have started settling in the Xiong’an New Area. One enterprise engaged in design, construction and operation of satellite internet services called the ‘China Satellite Network Group Co’ has opened headquarters in the new area’s internet industrial park. The company is the first among other centrally administered state-owned enterprises to set up a HQ in the area. The SOE plans to leverage the technology and talent in the area in order to support the development of satellite internet applications and aerospace information industry. Other companies like Sinochem holdings, a chemical conglomerate, China Huaneng Group Co, major power company, Sinomine Resource Group Co, Beijing Jiaotong University and some 300 other types of institutions have been reported to set up their offices in the area. According to Hebei Daily, Xiong’an also has a national laboratory of aerospace flight technology alongside a spatiotemporal information group established in the region. Xiong’an’s increasingly ambitious and fast-paced satellite internet sector is attracting innovative enterprises to the area, which was set up in 2017 as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
China’s 2023 Innovation Index Rises 6% Year-on-Year: The National Bureau of Statistics released data on China’s innovation index which has reached 165.3 in 2023, which is an increase of 6%. The innovation environment index reached 177.1, an increase of 10.4% compared to 2022, the innovation input index reached 155.0, an increase of 5.5%, the innovation output index reached 199.7 which is an increase of 6.5% and the innovation effectiveness index reached 129.4, which is an increase of 0.4% from the previous year. A statistician from the Department of Social Sciences and Culture of the National Bureau of statistics, Lin Mei, stated that there is a trend of China’s innovation index that portrays China’s innovation and development level improving steadily over time. For the innovation environment index, the number of people with college degrees or above, per capita GDP and proportion of science and technology appropriation in fiscal resources was considered. In the innovation output index, the average value of contracts traded in the technology market, the proportion of enterprises with registered trademarks and number of scientific and technological papers per 10,000 papers showed increases. For the innovation effectiveness index, the added value of patent-intensive industries as a proportion of GDP was the same as the previous year. But the proportion of sales revenue of new products in operating income and proportion of added value of ‘three new’ economies in GDP increased.
Ministry of Agriculture Outlines Plan for Advancing Smart Agriculture: The ministry of Agriculture and Rural affairs issued the ‘Guiding opinions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Vigorously developing Smart agriculture’ and the ‘National Smart agriculture Action plan (2024-2028)’. The Plan provides instructions and proposals necessary for the improvement of the application level of smart agriculture, detailing seven key tasks. These tasks are to precisely plant major crops, digitalize facility planting, enhance intelligence of the animal husbandry sector, improve fishery production and seed breeding, promote digitalization of the entire agricultural industry chain and improve agricultural and rural management services. The ‘Guiding Developments’ focus on strengthening the construction of the standard system in order to promote the healthy development of the smart agriculture industry. The Plan is also supposed to deploy and implement three major actions: improve the capacity of smart agriculture for the public sector, expand the application in key areas, and demonstrate the implementation of smart agriculture. Both the ‘guiding opinions’ and ‘action plan’ emphasize the necessity of strengthening policy support, increasing the optimisation of existing projects and policies towards smart agriculture and resourcefully using the variety of funding channels for the planning and implementation of major projects.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Dedicated Chinese Fan of Cristiano Ronaldo Cycles 13,000 km to Meet His Idol: A 24-year old man named Gong from China’s Anhui province has been reported to have cycled seven months from China to Saudi Arabia to meet his football hero, Christiano Ronaldo. His route began from going to the North of Beijing, then to the west, then he entered Kazakhstan from Xinjiang, passed another six countries like Georgia, Iran and Qatar before he arrived at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city. He began his journey from China on March 18 and was able to meet Ronaldo on October 20 in front of the Al Nassr Football Club, and witness his childhood dream come true. Christiano Ronaldo has a long time record for having the most followers on instagram and he is widely known as ‘C Luo’ in China. Gong posted videos of his meeting online, and said: “I have met my hero.” One netizen reacted to the videos stating, “How could you look so calm when he was right in front of you?”.

INDIA WATCH

Global Times Article Discusses German Chancellor’s Visit to India: An article in the Global Times, written by Yu Xi discusses the visit of German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz to India, who will be visiting India for the 7th intergovernmental consultations between Germany and India. The article claims that many in the western media are viewing Scholz’s visit to India in line with the German strategy aimed at ‘de-risking’ by reducing reliance on China and revitalizing Germany’s economy. The article states that Germany recognizes India as a rapidly growing economy in Asia and wishes to pursue a balanced strategy in its policy as it also values its economic ties with China. The article quotes Jiang Feng, professor of European Studies at the Shanghai International Studies University, who states that Germany has tried shifting its supply chains from China to Southeast Asia but the transition proved to be very difficult. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany released data in 2023 that showed China was Germany’s most important trading partner for the eighth consecutive year and German direct investment in China was 11.9 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year. The relationship between India and Germany has been continuously evolving with both sides possessing a mutual need for cooperation. But Jiang states that India’s limitations in terms of industrial and supply chains pose constraints for Germany as it searches for larger markets and raw material supplies.

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.