CiCM 24th November 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Shanghai hosts forum for World Congress of China Studies: On 24^th November, the World Congress of China Studies - Shanghai Forum was held at the Shanghai International Convention Center. Over 400 experts, scholars and representatives from nearly 60 countries and regions participated in the forum. Comprehensive discussions were held on four parallel sub-forum topics around the theme of “Chinese Civilization and China's Path from a Global Perspective.” Former Ethiopian Prime Minister said in the opening ceremony that under the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Egypt have conducted thorough cooperation establishing a model of “South-South cooperation”. The President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Gao Xiang, officially announced the establishment of the World Federation for Chinese Studies which is a non-profit, non-governmental international social group comprising China studies research institutions and scholars and experts from various countries and regions around the world. It is headquartered in Beijing and its business supervisory unit is the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The conference explored rich undertones of Chinese culture, civilization and Chinese-style modernization. Experts attending the meeting expressed that enhancing China studies can contribute wisdom to the building of a more prosperous world. The 2023 China Studies Contribution Awards were given to academicians Bu Zhengmin, Baek Yongrui and Mahbubani Mahbubani. The forum consequently received a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping.

Zhu Hexin appointed as PBOC member and Party Secretary: The official website of the State Administration od Foreign Exchange revealed that Zhu Hexin has been appointed as member of the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China and the Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. On the other hand, Pan Gongsheng was removed from the position of Party chief of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange but still heads the country’s central bank. Zhu Hexin was previously the party secretary and chairman of CITIC Group. He is known for his political aascent starting with a factory job to rising up to the upper ranks of Chinese finance. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of China is the foreign exchange management administrative body of the People’s Bank of China.

China to plot unilateral visa-free policy for 6 countries: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that China has decided to come up with a unilateral visa-free policy on a trial basis for ordinary passport holders from six countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. This will be done to promote the exchange of personnel between China and countries across the world to serve high-quality development and large-scale opening up to the outside world. Starting from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, ordinary passport holders from these six countries can enter China without a visa if they come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit for a maximum of 15 days. People from these countries who do not meet the required conditions for visa exemption, however, still need to apply for a visa before entering China.

National Medical Insurance Code users in China exceed 1 billion: The National Medical Insurance Administration held a press conference on the fourth anniversary of the launch of the Medical Insurance Code. The Deputy Director of the Office of the National Medical Insurance Administration, Fu Chaoqi, said that the Medical Insurance Code is issued to insured persons and that this unified information label has been well-received by the majority of insured persons, designated medical institutions and retail pharmacies since its inception. He added that the number of nationwide users of the medical insurance code has exceeded 1 billion at present. Fu Chaoqi said that 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have supported people with the medical insurance code to purchase medicines. Furthermore, more than 800,000 people have access to designated medical institutions.

China publishes document on vision of Belt and Road cooperation for next decade: On November 24^th, China released a document with the title “Vision and Actions for High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Brighter Prospects for the Next Decade”, mapped out by the Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. The document summarizes BRI achievements and experiences over the past decade and introduces the vision and actions for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in the next decade. Xu Jianping, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission, told in a press conference that BRI has become a popular international public good and a platform that has accommodated more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations in the last 10 years. The total imports and exports between China and participating countries between 2013 and October 2023 exceeded 21 trillion U.S. dollars and China’s direct investment in these countries has topped 270 billion dollars. The document outlined 5 objectives which includes developing a smoother and more efficient connectivity network, ensuring extensive and practical cooperation to reach new standards, boosting the sense of gain and fulfillment for the citizens of participating countries, institute a new system for advanced support to China’s open economy and finally popularize the vision of a global community with a shared future.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Ministry of Emergency Management responds to netizens: Netizens earlier this year, wrote on the leadership message board of People’s Daily Online under the topic “Can modern technology be used for disaster early warning SMS notifications?" suggesting that self-networking sensors can monitor natural disaster through the Internet of Things (IoT) or other methods and mountainous villages prone to natural disasters can be notified through SMS. To this, the Ministry of Emergency Management responded stating that their "Implementation Plan for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Early Warning Informatization Project" clearly proposed developing the IoT monitoring equipment for natural disasters and improving the early identification and warning capabilities of risks. At present, pilot verification is being conducted in Fujian, Chongqing and other places and once the pilot is mature, it will be promoted nationwide. The Ministry promised that in the next step that the scope of natural disaster monitoring will be expanded. To this news, a reader has commented “Technology can be used to warn and prevent disasters before they happen! Looking forward to technological progress” reflecting an affirmative response from netizens.

INDIA WATCH

Following the rift between China and India over the issuance of visas for journalists earlier this year, China recently eased its visa regulations for Indian citizens reflecting the improving dynamics between the two countries and the increasing possibilities for diplomatic progress on various foregrounds. According to the new guidelines, eligible applicants will no longer need to submit biometric information when requesting visas for reasons such as transit, short-term family visits, business, or tourism. This facilitates and expedites the procedure for Indian travellers applying for visas without the added step of fingerprinting. The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi has also set up direct lines of communication for Indian nationals in need of information or help regarding visas. These channels will handle any questions or issues that may come up during the application process. Chinese travellers, on the other hand, can apply for Indian visa through the online application website which is supported by the Indian government under the e-visa India regime. There is no requirement to visit the Indian Embassy at any step of the e-visa acquisition process. China’s recent attempts to ease the process of acquiring visas for foreign nationals can be seen as a move to facilitate the exchange of personnel and resources globally and enrich ties with countries for collaborative development. The trend of providing free visas, relaxing visa acquirement processes and suspending visas by countries is clearly determined by the diplomatic relations between countries, geopolitical tensions and global events and have a huge impact on travellers and foreign residents.

Prepared By

Adhithi Senthilkumar

Adhithi Senthilkumar is an undergraduate student pursuing a major in International Studies and a minor in Public Policy at FLAME University, Pune. She is fascinated by the complex dynamics of international relations and the substantial impact that policies can have on communities around the globe. Her passion for studying history, societies and contemporary global and domestic politics has been a driving force in her academic journey. She has participated in internships, attended conferences and engaged in volunteer work related to public policy gaining valuable insights into real-world application of policies. She aspires to apply her knowledge and skills to contribute to addressing pressing global issues and collaborate with like-minded individuals to make a positive difference through policymaking.