CiCM 28th March 2025

NEWS IN CHINA

Xi Held Talks With the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s Interim Government: Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammed Yunus on the deepening of bilateral relations between both countries. Xi highlighted that both countries have supported each other since the beginning of the friendship and consider each other as equal partners in development and cooperation besides being very good neighbours. As the year marks the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between both countries, both leaders focused on enhancing people-to-people cooperation and bringing stability in the relations. Xi expressed support for Bangladesh in achieving their core interests, territorial integrity and the development path that Bangladesh chooses to take forward. The discussions also highlighted the advancement of cooperation in sectors such as digital economy, marine economy, infrastructure building and water conservancy. Xi further added that it would like Bangladesh and other Global South countries to strengthen multilateral coordination. Yunus expressed Bangladesh’s strong commitment to the One-China principle and its readiness to deepen bilateral cooperation. He welcomed more Chinese investments to support Bangladesh's economic transformation and proposed enhancing Belt and Road collaboration.

43 Public Officials Penalised for Bridge Collapse in Shaanxi province: An investigation led by the Ministry of Emergency Management revealed that the bridge collapse in Zhashui county was due to mismanagement in the construction of the bridge. The bridge collapse in July 2024 led to the death of 62 people and a major economic loss of 157.51 million yuan during heavy rains. The investigation found 43 officials guilty of negligence during the bridge construction. The reason for the bridge collapse was found to be the pressure induced by the floating debris carried by mountain and basin floods that exceeded the pier’s bearing capacity. Five departments that are held accountable for this incident include Shaanxi’s transport and water resources departments along with Shangluo and Zhashui governments and Shaanxi Transportation Holding Group. Investigation found serious errors in the design and management of the structure as well as other illegal activities such as subcontracting, fabricated supervision records and illegal construction practices. Amongst the 43 sentenced, 38 were disciplined within the Communist Party of China’s administrative punishments, while two officials were arrested for criminal activity and three others only received strict warnings. The administration has also laid out preventive measures to be undertaken in the circumstances of natural disasters, mitigation control and the enforcement of accountability system for expressway construction.

China Revises Food Safety Standards: China’s National Health Commission and State Administration for Market Regulation unveiled 50 new food safety standards and nine amendments on issues such as labeling, additives and hygiene. The updated regulations include new rules for prepackaged food labels, infant cereals and processed meat products. One key change is the prohibition of misleading marketing terms like "no additives" or "zero additives." The new standards aim to strengthen food labeling, making it more transparent and guiding consumer behavior. Additionally, the regulations require clear labeling of allergenic substances to reduce allergy risks. Furthermore, new safety standards also intend to promote the use of digital labelling through QR codes with elaborate details on the content of the food with features such as audio and video narration. Government has provided a period of two years for the transition process. The regulation follows after the recent controversy of ‘Qianhe 0’ soy sauce that was advertised as zero additive but was found to have cadmium presence in the product. Notedly, over 400 pre-packaged food products have already started using these digital labelling methods to enhance accessibility. The new regulation also advises to disclose the information regarding saturated fat and sugar content.

China to Promote the Development of Aluminium Sector: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and nine other government departments have released a plan for the high-quality development of the aluminium industry by 2027. The plan seeks to boost domestic bauxite resources by 3-5 percent and increase recycled aluminum output by over 15 million tons. It also aims to enhance foreign trade by addressing trade frictions and promoting high-value exports of advanced aluminum-based materials. The plan supports policies for importing high-quality recycled aluminum and emphasizes the role of aluminum and alumina futures markets for risk management. The plan on development of aluminium has gained prominence as the global demand for aluminium is rising due to the rise in the US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 25 percent across the globe. While China possesses bauxite resources, the quality is noted to be suboptimal making it difficult for China to meet the market demands. Hence, the plan highlights utilisation of recycling of aluminium products. It also aims to promote clustered development of aluminium processing industries. Thus, the plan prioritizes intensified mineral exploration and surveys to identify new reserves. Other measures include enhancing aluminum recycling, developing industrial waste utilization bases, fostering industry consolidation, and advancing key technologies like low-carbon smelting and precision processing.

Zhongguancun Forum Launches The Beijing Initiative on Digital S&T: At the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, participants unveiled the Beijing Initiative on Digital Science and Technology for Sustainable Development, with an aim to foster global collaboration to harness digital technologies for sustainability. The initiative emphasizes innovative applications of big data, artificial intelligence, space technology and the Internet of Things to address global challenges such as biodiversity conservation, climate change, disaster risk reduction and poverty alleviation. Its key objectives include developing digital tools to promote maximum energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions and improve resource management. It also advocates for global platforms to share digital resources, enhance policy formulation through digital means and increase public engagement in sustainability efforts. A major highlight is the proposal to launch international science programs on digital sustainability, fostering cross-border collaboration in R&D, data-sharing and technology standardization. These efforts are intended to prioritize technology transfer and capacity-building for developing nations, ensuring inclusive global cooperation.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Actor Zhang Rui’s Revelation Receives Popular Response From Netizens: Actor Zhang Rui’s statement about the closeness of the cast of ‘New Huan Zhu Ge Ge’, a popular Chinese drama released 14 years ago, has created a social media frenzy by the fans of the drama. Actor Zhang Rui recent revealed in a live-stream that he has been in contact with the whole of the cast remains in close touch except for Li Sheng. This has led to discussions on the dynamics between the cast and Li Sheng. Netizens' reaction to this statement has created mixed responses. Some argued that Li Sheng’s family commitments and the overall distancing of himself from the entertainment industry has led to the disconnect with other members of the cast. Others find the statement of Zhang Rui indicative of a possible spat between both actors or Li Sheng and the rest of the cast leaving both parties distanced. Several netizens also emphasised that people are over-analysing the statement of the actor and fans need to focus only on the nostalgia revived after the statement of the actor regarding their friendship and bond.

INDIA WATCH

Chinese Media Analyses India’s Actions Over Samsung’s Tax Evasion Case: An article published in the Chinese media highlighted the actions taken by the Indian government against the tax evasion by Samsung. The article notes that Samsung is required to pay back $601 million to the Indian government as the investigation found out that during 2011 to 2015, Samsung evaded tax through the method of ‘transfer pricing’. It explains that the Indian subsidiary of Samsung imported materials at a higher rate and sold the final product at lower rates, thereby showing more profits in South Korea which has lower tax rates. The article claims that this policy, which is largely used by global companies, is viewed as tax evasion in India. It also finds this case as unusual considering Samsung’s engagement with the Indian market for nearly two decades. The article argues that that India is using tax cases to target leading foreign companies in respective fields as also evident in the case of Xiaomi, Nokia and more. It further notes that these actions by India come at a juncture when it is focusing on ‘Make in India’, providing more markets for domestic companies at the expense of foreign companies. This article criticizes such policy instability, resulting in weaponisation of taxation laws by some countries which also hampers foreign investors’ confidence. In case of India, the article concludes that even if Samsung pays the fine now, it can affect its long-term strategy and may consider reducing their investments from India.

Prepared By

Lakshmi Priya Vijayan

Lakshmi Priya Vijayan holds a master’s degree in Geopolitics and International Relations from the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka, India. Her areas of interest include geopolitics of Southeast Asia, biosecurity, political economy, transnational organised crimes and public diplomacy. She has previously interned at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Her writings have been published in reputed institutions such as MP-IDSA, CENJOWS, EJSS and more.