CiCM 3rd March 2025

NEWS IN CHINA

NPC and CPPCC’s Two Sessions to Focus on Economy and Development Policies: As China’s two sessions get underway this week, there will be significant domestic and international attention. The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will address key topics like economic growth, high-quality development, real estate, foreign trade, and technology. The CPPCC plays a significant advisory role by providing recommendations to government agencies, while the NPC involves political leaders, scientists, farmers, and workers who veto important legislative matters. Experts will closely analyze the two sessions as policymakers will set the annual gross domestic product growth target and decide on measures to boost consumption, real estate market stabilization, and support the crucial private economy. China has been facing domestic economic challenges, which have been further exacerbated by the tariffs applied by the United States. Therefore, pro-growth policies are deemed to be the major point of discussion and the sessions will examine goals of the current Five-Year Plan and set new targets. Technology, particularly in AI and agriculture, remains a priority.
Agreement II Opens Mainland Market for Hong Kong Businesses and Professionals: The integration of Hong Kong in the overall national development was accelerated with the implementation of the Second Agreement Concerning the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services, also known as Agreement II. This agreement provides the services market of the Chinese mainland with further access to Hong Kong and it will enable Hong Kong businessmen and professionals to enter the mainland market. Agreement II includes new liberalization measures such as the removal or relaxation of restrictions on equity shareholdings for the establishment of enterprises, relaxation of qualification requirements for Hong Kong professionals, and relaxation of export of services to the Chinese mainland market. Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government stated that according to the provisions of Agreement II, restrictions related to bank card business on mainland branches of Hong Kong banks will be lifted. Tommy Tam, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, noted that the new measures will boost tourism in Hong Kong by attracting more foreign tourists, who will also have the opportunity to travel further to the mainland. Since the implementation of CEPA, the mainland has fully or partially opened up more than 153 service sectors, thereby covering over 96% of 160 service trade sectors in Hong Kong. Additionally, all Hong Kong manufactured products that satisfy the CEPA’s rules of origin enjoy zero tariffs when exported. The agreement also promotes industrial innovation and collaboration opportunities.
China’s tech Hub, Shenzhen, Announces Plan to Accelerate the Development of Embodied Intelligent Robotics: According to Shenzhen Municipal Bureau, Shenzhen has introduced a new action plan to advance the embodied intelligent robotics sector, with the goal of achieving an industrial output of over 100 billion yuan (approximately 14 billion U.S. dollars) by 2026. According to the plan, China’s southern tech hub aims to exceed 150 million units in AI terminal product output by 2026, and over 50 AI terminal products are expected to be launched in sectors such as mobile phones, computers, large-model all-in-one machines, etc. Often referred to as China's "Silicon Valley," the city aims to foster over 10 companies valued at more than 10 billion yuan and more than 20 companies with revenues exceeding 1 billion yuan by 2027. Additionally, the number of enterprises in the embodied intelligent robot industry cluster is expected to exceed 1,200. Moreover, the 2025-2027 action plan for technological innovation and industrial development of embodied intelligent robots outlines expected breakthroughs in key areas, including robot core components, AI chips, AI-robotics integration, multimodal perception technologies, high-precision motion control, and advanced manipulation technologies. According to data from iResearch, an industry research and consulting firm, China’s AI industry is expected to reach 811 billion yuan by 2028, with emerging sectors like AI and robotics set to unlock significant market potential and growth opportunities.
China begins developing a deep-sea research station in Guangzhou: China has begun the construction of a deep-sea research platform in Guangzhou, thereby marking a significant achievement in the country's efforts to explore extreme marine environments and develop sustainable ocean resources. The research facility of Cold-seep Ecosystem which is being led by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology will complete construction after five years. The project, which includes a deep-sea laboratory on the ocean floor with advanced land-based simulation systems, will focus on long-term studies of the cold-seep ecosystem. The Cold-Seep ecosystems are unique biological communities that grow under darkness and extreme pressures as Methane and other chemicals seep under the ocean floor. Li Chaolun, director of the South China Institute of Oceanology stated that the Cold-Seep ecosystem is pivotal to understanding the planet’s carbon cycle and life in extreme environments. He adds that the research center will focus on three major objectives: how Cold Seep ecosystems evolve, how organisms survive under extreme conditions, and how Methane interacts with the marine environment.
Chinese Company Makes Significant Progress in Humanoid Robot Development: Chinese Humanoid Robot Company, UBTech, has successfully conducted collaborative training sessions for multiple humanoid robots across various scenarios. In a statement, UBTech highlighted that this achievement lays the foundation for the development of general humanoid robot workforce solutions for multitasking in industrial settings and accelerating them from individual autonomy to collective intelligence. The company also stated that following this breakthrough, humanoid robots will be equipped with human-like common sense, reasoning, and inference which will help them in smooth task decomposition, optimized scheduling, and efficient collaboration in several operational areas. Chinese robotic companies have been making rapid progress in robotic innovation, research, and development. Recently, the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in collaboration with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University achieved a significant breakthrough in algorithmic technology by making humanoid robots swiftly return to upright positions from various positions. Zhongqing Robotics Technology Co also made its humanoid robots do a first forward somersault, thereby marking a significant achievement in transitioning from walking to complex motions.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Chinese Boy Develops Mobile Phone Using 3D Printer and Goes Viral on Social Media: A secondary school student in China has gained admiration on social media after he used a 3D printer and old smartphone components to make a vertical foldable mobile phone. Lan Bowen, from Yichang in central Hubei province, released a short video clip of him making the smartphone on social media platforms. The six-minute-long video became instantly famous and was viewed more than 4.7 million times with 400,000 likes. Lan stated that he thought of creating the vertical foldable smartphone after realizing that various horizontal models and inward-folded vertical models were available in the market, but there weren’t any outside-folded vertical ones that left the screens outside while bent. He used the 3D printer to make the frame of the phone and the core part of the phone was assembled with components derived from old mobile phones which were used by his family members. Lan’s work was praised on mainland social media. One netizen even commented that he sees a smaller version of Lei Jun, the founder of electronic giant, Xiaomi. The event attracted the attention of Chinese mobile maker Vivo who stated that they expect more such marvelous achievements from him.

INDIA WATCH:

Article in Chinese Media Focuses on the Possibility of the United States Providing F-35 Fighter Jets to India: An article in Chinese Media analyses the prospects of the United States (US) selling F-35 aircraft to India. The article highlights that India is keen to procure the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Fifth generation fighter aircraft from the US, while aiming to increase the number of fighter jets to counter regional rivals. During a meeting with Prime Minister Modi, President Trump had stated that the US will be increasing arms sales to India by billions of dollars and also actively trying to facilitate the delivery of F-35 fighters to India. The article points out that such a deal can be hard to finalize due to numerous reasons. The finalizing of such a deal would require congressional approval. Moreover, Elon Musk who has been Trump’s close adviser has himself been critical of the F-35 fighter jets. The Congress party,the main opposition party in India, has also opposed the deal. There are concerns in India that such an "end-use" agreement might impose limits on transferring F-35 technology, thereby preventing New Delhi from making upgrades to the aircraft. Moreover, such a deal can impose restrictions on how India uses the fighter jets, such as preemptive strikes against Pakistan. In contrast, a similar agreement with Russia will not include any restrictions on technology transfer or how the aircraft will be used.

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.