CiCM 27th November 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

Xi Jinping Writes to the UN on Palestine Issue: Chinese President Xi Jinping extended his congratulations to the United Nations meeting held to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He said that the Palestine issue is at the heart of the Middle East, and emphasised the urgency to implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions to end the war and bring regional peace. He claimed that the fundamental way to do this is to implement the two-state solution, and establish an independent Palestinian state,which enjoys full sovereignty. Xi stated that the Palestinian people must have a right to statehood, existence and return. He further supported the idea of Palestine becoming a full member of the UN.
China and Russia Hold Arctic Shipping Routes Subcommittee Meeting: Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei attended the first meeting of the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes cooperation and held talks with the subcommittee’s Russian chairman, Alexey Likhachev. This subcommittee is a new working mechanism under the committee for regular meetings between Russian and Chinese heads of government. The meeting was held in Saint Petersburg on Monday. Liu noted that the subcommittee is an important platform for promoting cooperation and development of Arctic shipping routes. The Chinese and Russian sides reached important consensus during the meeting on the structure and mechanism of the subcommittee, as well as cooperation objectives. The meeting heard reports from various working groups under the subcommittee, including, navigation safety, shipping development and polar ship technology and construction.
China Unveils Action Plan to Boost Digitization of Financial Sector: The People’s Bank of China, in collaboration with six other departments, released a development action plan in order to speed up the high-quality digitization of the financial sector, and aims to establish a financial system that adapts to the growth of the digital economy by 2027. The action plan includes efforts to improve the competitiveness and convenience of financial services, implement the digital yuan, and contribute to the development of relevant fields. Further the action plan proposes that financial institutions integrate their services into digital scenarios such as industrial internet, artificial intelligence, and upgrading the core industries of the digital sector. Advanced and efficient computing systems will be used, according to the plan, to construct new infrastructure related to digital finance.
China Condemns U.S. Sanctions on 29 Firms: China strongly condemned and opposed the US’ decision to impose sanctions on 29 Chinese firms under the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA). A spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said this move by the US is completely unfounded, and uses the cause of human rights to cover its outright bullying and economic coercion. The spokesperson emphasised that China is opposed to any form of forced labour, and that there is no forced labour in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Further, he said US claims of human rights abuses in the region were without any credible evidence, and imposing sanctions infringes upon the basic rights of the citizens of Xinjiang. 107 companies have now been listed under the UFLPA sanctions.
China Issues Action Plan to Cut National Logistics Costs: The Chinese government has unveiled a new action plan in order to reduce logistics costs and increase economic efficiency. The plan targets a reduction to 13.7 per cent in the ratio of social logistics costs to the country’s GDP by the year 2027. Key breakthroughs included in the plan are integrated transport reforms, boosting the share of railway freight volume and turnover, and fostering growth in port container rail-water intermodal transport. Additionally the plan aims to promote globally competitive logistics firms, establish a unified and efficient logistics market, and enhance the national logistics hub system. Experts have said that the plan will play an important role in optimizing China’s international supply chain by improving the operations of China-Europe freight trains, setting up warehouses and ports abroad and ensuring cross-border transport efficiency.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Deputy Director of Police Station Praised For Punishing Bully: After being caught on camera for assaulting a sixth grade student, the deputy director of a police station in Guyuan City, Ningxia, was dismissed from duty. Public opinion on the incident shifted when the video went viral on social media, with the knowledge that the student repeatedly bullied his peers. Netizens widely praised the deputy director for having punished the student, and believed he was justified in doing so, reflecting people’s anger and helplessness on the issue of underage bullying. Other users commented that people should not provide moral judgements on the student who bullied younger children, without knowing all the details. Netizens also spoke out about how the online condemnation of the young boy, without facts, may cause further cyber violence towards minors. The incident has sparked wider discussions on the school system’s responsibility in the protection of vulnerable students on various Chinese social media.

INDIA WATCH

Guancha Article on ‘Make in India’ Initiative: Guancha, a Chinese news agency, published an opinion piece on the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, especially with regards to the mobile phone industry. It argues that the Indian government has repeatedly tried to drive away Chinese mobile phone companies like Vivo, and accelerate the acquisition of Chinese companies by Indian domestic companies. The author writes that at present, local Indian enterprises only contribute 15 per cent of the output of the total mobile phone industry, and most core components still come from imports from China and East Asia. It is, according to the author, a rootless industry due to lack of any proper supply chain within India. India’s objective of developing its domestic manufacturing industry will only be realised when operating costs of the industry are reduced. The author goes on to write about the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) plan, India’s large scale industrial subsidy scheme, and claims that its efficiency is reduced significantly due to internal political struggles. The author suggests that Indian senior officials adopt various illicit means to suppress Chinese companies by accusing them of tax evasion, ransacking homes, etc. The article concludes that ‘make in India’ is simply a cover for India to forcibly acquire the manufacturing industry.

Prepared By

Veda Jain

Veda Jain is currently a third-year student at Flame University, majoring in International Studies and minoring in Literary and Cultural Studies. She has a strong interest in modern Chinese politics and is keen on analyzing the dynamics of Indo-China relations.