CiCM 30th October 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

10^th Xiangshan Forum Began in Beijing: The 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum commenced on Sunday, with delegates from more than 90 different countries, regions and international organisations coming together in the Chinese capital. The theme for this year’s forum is ‘common security and lasting peace’. Amidst the tensions of the ongoing security crises globally, the forum provided the delegations a platform to put forward their concerns and solutions for the same. Four plenary sessions are to be held during the forum which will focus on Responsibility and Global Security Cooperation, the Role of Developing Countries in Global Security as well as Regional Security and Development. The forum is expected to further lay out various initiatives under China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) and lure other countries to join this initiative. The discussions will revolve around security issues in different regions of the world including Northeast Asia, Middle East, Europe as well as security of modern technologies such as AI and nuclear power.

Robust growth witnessed in China’s Renewable Energy sector: The country’s efforts to advance its green transition through building renewable energy capacity has seen robust growth in 2023, according to the National Energy Administration. The total installed capacity of renewable energy has reached 172 million kilowatts. China has also sped up its efforts for construction of solar and wind projects in the Gobi Desert area and other arid regions which comprises a total of 100 gigawatts of the wind and solar power capacity as a part of first large-scale bases. These regions include Xinjiang, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia along with Qinghai, Gansu and Shaanxi. The second group of bases have also been identified in desert areas and construction has already started to add more than 30 million kW of wind and solar power capacity. Due to these efforts, total installed capacity of renewable sources has already surpassed thermal power capacity with a total contribution of 49.6 percent in China’s energy generation. It has been possible because over 40 percent of energy investments in 2023 have gone into renewable energy projects.

AIIB to accelerate investments in clean energy: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the the UAE under the COP 28 presidency are joining hands to mobilise essential climate investment capital and expedite investments in clean energy. Their aim is to tackle the crucial resource deficits in Asia and other regions. The advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement takes an important stride with this crucial step forward by AIIB. The partnership aims to collaborate in developing innovative financial structures that will facilitate the expansion of private and institutional capital mobilisation. This includes the utilisation of new blended finance structures, with the specific objective of directing capital towards green initiatives. This emphasises AIIB's strong dedication to collaborating with all development partners in devising groundbreaking methods, generating additional funds, and providing assistance wherever necessary. By promoting greater collaboration, both parties can unite to support enhancements in the architecture of multilateral development finance and foster stronger institutional collaboration in order to construct a future that is resilient to climate change.

Focus on private sector to boost economy: At the 89th International Forum on China Reform held in Haikou, scholars and business leaders from China deliberated on the recent state of the Chinese economy and government's efforts to boost growth. In July this year, the central government issued a 31-point guideline and 28 measures to invigorate the private economy. Private companies have taken over an active role in driving China's financial development, producing jobs and fuelling growth. Scholars present at this forum expressed their hope that China’s recent measures to reinvigorate the private economy and reform State-Owned Enterprises are expected to create opportunities for the growth of private firms. Due to active marketing strategies and industrial innovations along with signing of treaties between China and other countries, the total contribution of China’s private firms in foreign trade increased to 16.34 trillion Yuan this year, a 6.1 percent year-on-year growth. In contrast, SOEs contributed only 4.95 trillion Yuan during the first nine months of 2023. SOEs should not be allowed to expand beyond capacity which can enable enough space for private firms to grow, said Liu Jianzhong, deputy director of the research center of China National Petroleum Corporation.

Chinese-built underwater tunnel in Bangladesh opens to traffic: The Chinese-built Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel in Bangladesh, the first under-river tunnel in the South Asian region, was opened to traffic on Saturday, marking the country's transition to the age of underwater tunnels. The tunnel, also known as the Karnaphuli River Tunnel, is located at the mouth of the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong, Bangladesh, connecting the east and west banks of the river. Began in 2017, this is the first overseas large-diameter underwater shield tunnel project completed by a Chinese company. Its total length is 9.3 kilometres, and the defensive tunnel part consists of two four-lane tunnels with a length of 2450 metres and diameter of 11.8 metres. The project manager said that the Chinese company produced a tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 12 metres, which further solved the problems related to the complex geology of the Bay of Bengal. The project has so far created 5,000 jobs, trained local people to build infrastructure and promoted local economic development. As per the project manager Yu Jingtao, the project was entirely designed and constructed using Chinese technology, standards and equipment.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Chinese youth increasingly practise square dance: The youth of China take the floor with the elderly dance partners for fun and relaxation. The young people are embracing the hobby favoured by grandparents, the square dancing which is also known as ‘guang chang wu’ and have taken it to a new level of ‘fashionable way of self-expression’. This way of dancing is a common pursuit among the middle aged and the retired as a fun way of exercising and de-stressing while expanding their social circles. To embrace the diverse joys of the practice, people often wear costumes from popularly known Chinese movies. A 22-year-old man, nicknamed Xiaobai, has become obsessed with this dance form and has a lot of videos of square dancing on his social media account. This account has attracted a lot of followers and created a social media attraction in the country. He also expressed that dancing with the older people in his classes has offered him so much love as the elderly treat him like their own son. The idea of young people taking up a pastime traditionally associated with the older generation has become a popular trend on social media. As per Xu Wensheng, the younger generation perceives older people as ‘winners of life’ and try to mimic them as much as possible. Some people see it as a ‘fashionable way to express themselves’ while some see it as a good exercise that helps in good and sound sleep.

INDIA WATCH

Private sector plays a key role in fostering innovation, raising capital, fostering employment and boosting competitiveness — all vital components for a country's economic growth. The recent policy changes in China, intended to support the expansion of the private sector and reform State-owned enterprises, are also expected to increase the opportunities available to private businesses and enhance the country's overall economic environment. India's remarkable progress since the 1991 reforms is largely attributable to the private sector. The Indian government has also taken a number of initiatives to promote the private manufacturing sector and increase both foreign and local private investments in India. A few of these are the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP), the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, the reduction of corporate tax, the reforms in the FDI policy and so on. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, the introduction of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and investment opportunities through the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) etc. have all targeted to strengthen the private sector in India. Size and scale in manufacturing, new sectors, the use of cutting-edge technology through the establishment of venues for private sector innovation, and sustainability must all be encouraged by policy going forward.