CiCM 26th October 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passes away at the age of 68: China’s former premier Li Keqiang passed away at the age of 68 due to a heart attack after seven months of retiring from his position as Premier of the State Council. Li Keqiang was seen as the top contender for leadership of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and was seen as someone who could rival the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Li believed in a more open market economy as compared to President Xi who believed in a society that was more state controlled.Li was in office as Premier for a decade and stepped down in March 2023 and the position was passed to Li Qiang, the current Chinese Premier. Li Keqiang was famous for being the only top official who was not a Xi Jinping loyalist and had a reputation for working for the less privileged and shining a light on the income inequality in China. He famously highlighted how around 600 million people living in China barely had a monthly income of about 1,000 yuan which is roughly round 140 US dollars and not enough to cover even the rent of living in a Chinese city. He was also known for guiding the Chinese economy during the global financial crisis. Li Keqiang’s death has caused an outburst of grief and shock all over news and social media platforms in China.
China’s job market remains stable in the first nine months of 2023: China’s employment figures were stable with an addition of 10.22 million new jobs in the first nine months of 2023. China set a target of generating 12 million new urban jobs for 2023. A survey by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in September put the urban unemployment rate at around 5 percent. Chen Feng, the ministry’s spokesperson further stated that the employment rate was stable till now and the government has implemented measures to help expand employment opportunities through vocational training, better services and subsides to help with more job creation. The government released around 80.9 billion yuan in the form of subsidies to help boost employment opportunities. Furthermore, in September the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached around 3.98 trillion yuan showing a year-on-year increase of 5.5 percent and 0.9 percent increase compared to August. The first three quarters showed the retail sales of consumer goods to be 34.2 trillion yuan amounting to 6.8 percent year-on-year growth and thus showing a recovery trend in China’s consumer market. This was possible because of active promotion of consumption activities like the Golden Autumn Festival that boosted sales as well as implementation of policies to encourage more consumption in areas of automobile and household consumer goods. Both urban and rural areas experienced growth in sale of consumer goods by 6.7 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. The strategy of expanding domestic demand and policies that encourage consumption will keep the market supply growing and help in consolidating as well as increasing consumer spending.
Premier Li Qiang attends 20^th meeting of Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation: Premier Li Qiang attended the 20^th meeting of the Council of the Heads of Governments (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Ministers from various SCO member states were present, including the Prime Minister of Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan along with Foreign Ministers of India, Pakistan, and few more. Premier Li Qiang emphasized the importance of the SCO meeting held in July and pledged to carry forward the Shanghai Sprit. He reiterated the original goal of the SCO, which is to ensure regional countries take care of their issues on their own and without the interference of any external country. He proposed four suggestions to enhance cooperation between the SCO member countries; develop and build a stronger regional security barrier, promote economic recovery, together help strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative and, foster more mutual understanding and cooperation among people in areas like education, culture, sports and more. Furthermore, the meeting emphasized on the need to cooperate and rise against forces like terrorism and other crimes as well as strengthen understanding for economic and trade, transportation, energy, green development and even the construction of the BRI. A joint agreement was signed among the member countries for several documents related to the development of economy, trade, railways within the SCO. The Joint Communique from the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the member states of the SCO addressed several key points including international and regional cooperation, supporting the transition in leadership among SCO member states, economic challenges and strategies to combat them, unilateral sanctions, working towards a digitalized economy as well as cooperating in various fields like infrastructure, trade, transport and technology. Furthermore, Premier Li Qiang also met with Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber at the meeting, where he discussed the diplomatic relations between China and Iran over the past 50 years and their comprehensive strategic partnership that has developed overtime. The premier also stressed that Iran would have China’s unwavering support to help safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China vetoes United Nations draft resolution about the Israel-Palestine conflict: The United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) draft resolution on the Israel-Palestine conflict was vetod by China. Beijing argued that the resolution strayed from the main purpose of previous UNSC resolutions. Zhang Jun, the permanent representative of China to the UN stated how the draft seemed to justify the war and the use of force instead of calling for immediate ceasefire. He argued that the previous draft resolution that was also done away using veto, which focused more on the protection of civilians and was supported by a majority of UNSC members. China claimed that the new resolution introduced by the United Sates did not focus on providing humanitarian aid. He clarified China is not against the UNSC but against the draft resolution which is not calling out the concerned parties for their acts of violence and force. Jun expressed the necessity for the council to consider the rights of both the Israelis and Palestinians and work its way towards providing a two-state solution. Furthermore, Zhang conveyed China’s readiness to work with the UNSC members towards a peaceful solution and help put an end to the growing hostility in the region.
Chinese doctors make a breakthrough in liver cancer transplant through targeted therapy: Chinese doctors at the Seventh Affiliated Hospital at Sun Yat-sen University in Shenzhen successfully completed a liver cancer treatment through an innovative targeted therapy. The patient who had the surgery was a 55 year old who was diagnosed with an advanced-stage liver cancer and the large tumour was located at the right lobe of the liver. The surgery was possible with help of Professor He Xiaoshen and his team from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University with the help of a new approach called as “organ-targeted therapy” which was used for the very first time. The doctors had separated the left and right lobes of the liver and inserted a catheter into the left side of the cancerous part of the liver and connected it to a perfusion device to preserve the organ. Further they used a multi-organ maintenance system to ensure the healthy functioning of the right side of the liver. They executed targeted chemotherapy of the cancerous part of the liver via the catheter and gradually eliminated the tumour. The patient underwent a few more treatments like hepatectomy and upon pathological testing the doctors found that an absence of liver tumour cells in the right lobe of the liver. The patient did not suffer from any post chemotherapy side effects, indicating a new and promising technique in cancer treatment.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Israeli military attacks on the Gaza strip sparks concern on Weibo: The late-night attack by the Israel army on the Gaza strip on the 25^th of October sparked huge concern among many Weibo users. The large-scale ground attack by the Israeli army began on the evening of 25^th October. Netizens called this attack on Gaza unnecessary and pointless suffering of the civilians. Users vented their anger and expressed sadness by posting and referring to videos of innocent civilians who have suffered from the ground attack. One user even shared an anti-war song called AMANI by a band called BEYOND to help other users resonate with its message. Netizens also called those who supported the Israeli governments decision to bomb the Gaza strip inhuman and disturbed. This was followed by China’s veto to a US-signed UN resolution that did not provide justice to the Palestinians or address the inhuman acts in the Gaza strip. The Israeli envoy accused China for its lack of empathy to which the Chinese envoy to the United Nations, Wu Qian, replied that the resolution did not cover the main cause of the conflict which is the injustice against the Palestinians. Several netizens replied with many antisemitic remarks like asking people to wake up and realize that Hitlers policy of eradication of jew was the only way to get peace. Others called Israel spoiled and expressed their anger about how it had stolen land and refused to give it back. Several netizens called Israel a thug country and called Hitlers way with Jews the only right way.

INDIA WATCH

The two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of the Council of the Heads of Governments which was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and was attended by several leaders including the Chinese Premier Li Qiang and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar . The Chinese Premier highlighted the importance of the SCO and presented four proposals to help develop relations among the SCO members. On the other hand, the External Affair Minister of India, S Jaishankar highlighted the importance of overcoming global challenges like economic recessions, food and energy insecurity and urged for better and closer cooperation among the SCO member countries. He raised concerns about the growing debt of countries in the Global south and expressed great confidence in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that would help bring more economic stability to the region and prevent the Global South from further indebtedness. Jaishankar highlighted how India is eager to work with the SCO member states for sustainable and mutually beneficial financial solutions to help improve trade in this region. Furthermore, he emphasized that such development and connectivity initiatives should always bear in mind the primacy of sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country. This statement by him could also be seen as a strong criticism of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and debt trap diplomacy which India has always raised concerns about.

Prepared By

Adhishri Seth

Adhishri Seth is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Global Studies at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi, with a strong ambition to advance her academic career through a master's program in international relations. Her interests encompass a wide array of global topics, including world politics, political economic institutions, foreign policy, and global diplomacy, reflected in her dedication to extensive reading and research. Additionally, Adhishri is currently learning Mandarin, a crucial step towards understanding East Asian affairs, bridging both linguistic and cultural divides, and helping her to follow her dream of engaging more deeply with this intricate world.