CiCM 8th-9th February 2025

NEWS IN CHINA

Various Sectors Record Strong Growth During Holiday Season: China’s consumption market experienced solid growth during the Spring Festival holidays. The administration noted that consumer-related industries witnessed a surge of 10.8% in overall sales revenue compared to the previous year. The growth in sales revenues was propelled by a 9.9% year-on-year increase in commodity consumption demand and a 12.3% increase in services consumption. Consumers were keen to upgrade their homes with the sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment surging by 166.4% year on year. According to Liu Dan, an associate researcher at Fudan University, the Spring Festival is an important period to observe the trends in the Chinese consumer market. With the consumption upgrading and the government prioritizing domestic consumption as an important economic driver, Liu added that the Spring Festival is no longer limited to traditional needs, but it is becoming modernized with the consumers opting for experiential and personalized choices. Additionally, the tourism sector also witnessed a 37.5% growth compared to the previous year.
President Xi calls for Revitalization of Northeast Provinces: President Xi Jinping urged the Jilin Province officials to efficiently implement the strategic arrangements proposed by the Communist Party of China (CPC) for the complete revitalization of Northeast China in the new era. After going through the work report of the Jilin Provincial Committee and the provincial government in Changchun, Xi added that the province should focus on high-quality and coordinated development by transforming industries, strengthening competitive industries, and producing new quality productive forces. Fostering a first-rate business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized is also important along with the implementation of policies and regulations that would help in deepening the reform of state-owned assets and enterprises. Xi also added that Jilin being a multi-ethnic province, should fully implement the Party policies and guidelines related to ethnic groups and religious affairs. The CPC Central Committee has adopted the revitalization of Northeast China including the provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, as a major strategy for the country’s overall development.
Rescue Efforts Deployed After Earthquake in Sichuan Province: Approximately 200 people were evacuated to safety after a landslide in the Sichuan Province left over 30 people missing. According to local authorities, the landslide occurred in the afternoon around 11 am with the epicenter being the Jinping Village, located in Yibin City. According to Yibin city officials, preliminary findings showed that the landslide was caused due to continuous rainfall in the region which caused the high-altitude landslide to transform into a debris flow. President Xi Jinping emphasized that every possible means should be utilized for search and rescue and for preventing other secondary disasters. He added that all relevant departments should strengthen the investigation of various disasters, implementation of responsibilities, and actively strive towards preventing major disasters and accidents. Vice Premier, Liu Guozhong led the heads of the relevant departments to the scene of rescue and disposal work, and the Ministry of Natural Resources along with the Ministry of Emergency Management launched an emergency response.
China Implements Reforms to Promote Sustainable Growth and Integration of New Energies: China recently issued a new directive to accelerate the integration of new energies into the nation’s open electricity market to promote sustainable economic growth and low-carbon transition. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) jointly issued a notice to facilitate the full integration of wind and solar power which has already been connected to the State Grid into the electricity market. The notice also addresses the need to deepen market-oriented price reforms of new energies, creation of a price settlement mechanism that will ensure sustainable development of new energies, and form different policies for existing and new projects. For existing projects, the electricity volume and pricing framework under the current mechanism will align with the current policies while for the new projects, local authorities will determine the electricity volume by the national guidelines. According to NEA data, China’s total electricity consumption in 2024 reached 9.8521 trillion kilowatt hours thereby marking a 6.8% increase from 2023.
Government Focuses on Low-Altitude Economy and Intelligent Transport for 2025: The Ministry of Transport has identified the development of standards of low-altitude transport and Artificial Intelligence as major priorities for 2025 with a focus on advancing road-air collaboration and intelligent transport systems. The ministry also issued a directive highlighting the need to promote intelligent transport standards as part of the national pilot programme which aims to make the transport industry smarter and more digitised. Low altitude economy refers to economic activities that take place in the airspace below 1000 meters above ground level and involves the movement of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that provide services like delivery, inspection, and transportation. In recent years, China has actively advanced low-altitude transport and logistic services with drones playing a vital role in short-haul deliveries and deliveries in urban centers. According to a report by the Linksum Institute of Digital Industry, the low-altitude logistics market expanded from 27.18 billion yuan in 2020 to 58.18 billion yuan in 2023. The market is further expected to reach 150 billion yuan by 2025. During the Third Plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the development of general aviation and low altitude economy was emphasized as part of the national strategy. In March 2024, low altitude economy was included in the state council’s government work report for the first time.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Douyin Cracks Down on Misinformation Following Barbie Hsu’s Passing: Douyin permanently banned the accounts of Zhang Lan, the former mother-in-law of late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu and Wang Xiaofei who was Barbie’s former husband, for spreading false information about Hsu. According to a statement by Douyin, the actions of Zhang and Wang violated social norms and moral standards by disrespecting the deceased and provoking widespread backlash. Moreover, Douyin stated that it will strengthen its efforts in combating all forms of infringements and sensationalist misinformation, and create a responsible online environment. Barbie Hsu’s recent death due to Pneumonia in Japan has garnered widespread attention on the Internet with many netizens offering their condolences. However, her death has also been exploited by several influencers on the internet with Zhang and Wang publicly disrespecting the deceased by disseminating false rumors. Chinese influencer, Wo Shi Xia Xiao Jian who has ties with Wang claimed in a live stream that he paid for the chartered flight that brought back Barbie Hsu’s ashes back to Taiwan. The allegations spread rapidly with the topic trending on Weibo and it took Barbie’s younger sister, Dee Hsu to debunk the rumours. Despite the online backlash, Zhang continued with her live streaming and during a live broadcast, she also received a call from Wang confronting her over the rumor of the chartered flight. Many netizens praised Douyin’s actions and hoped that her family would not further profit from her legacy.

INDIA WATCH

Article in Chinese Newspaper Questions India’s Emission Goals With an Increased Dependence on Domestic Coal Production: An article in “The Paper” by Wang Jingjing highlights how India’s decision to restrict coal imports has resulted in greater dependence on local coal production. However, this decision can have an environmental impact and it can lead to increased pressure on India to reduce carbon emissions. The article points out that India’s coal production hit a record high last year as electricity demand surged with restrictions on coal imports. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India’s coal production will continue to grow and it is expected to increase by more than 5% to 1.3 billion tons by 2027. This has led to an increased dependence on domestically mined coal which is often of lower quality and produces twice the ash content than imported goal. Moreover, the calorific value of coal produced in India is relatively low, and using coal with a low calorific value to produce electricity requires burning a larger amount of coal to generate the same amount of power. Higher dependence on domestic coal production can pose a risk to the country’s carbon emission reduction plans and India’s plans to promote coal mining would also double methane emissions from coal mines by 2029. The article also emphasizes that this would be contrary to India’s carbon emission goals as stated by Prime Minister Modi during the United Nations Climate Change Conference. He stated that India will significantly reduce its carbon emission intensity per unit of GDP, reduce its total carbon emission by 1 billion tons by 2030, and achieve net zero emission by 2070.

Prepared By

Ruchir Ketkar

Ruchir Ketkar is a First year student pursuing Masters in Diplomacy, Law and Business at OP Jindal Global University. After completing graduation in Political science, he found his interest in International Relations and Global Affairs. With a keen inclination towards security and conflict studies, he has also authored several articles and research papers. He also tries to keep himself updated with the happenings around the world and tries to analyse them using his perspective and understanding.