CiCM 17 January 2024

NEWS IN CHINA

China's population dips by 2.08 million in 2023: By the end of 2023, the total population of China (comprising 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the population of active-duty military personnel) was 1,409.67 million. This number indicates a decrease of 2.08 million as compared to year 2022, briefed an official at a press conference in Beijing. As informed by Kang Yi, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, the annual birth population in China, for the year 2023 was 9.02 million, with a birth rate of 0.64 percent; the death population increased to 11.10 million, with a death rate of 0.79 percent. The female population was 689.35 million and the male population stood at 720.32 million producing the male-female gender ratio 104.49 to 100. The highest percentage of population fell in the age group between 16 and 59, amounting to 864.81 million and accounting for 61.3 percent of the total population. The population aged 60 and above is 296.97 million, amounting to 21.1 percent. With respect to urban-rural make-up, the urban permanent population was 932.67 million and the rural permanent population was 477 million. The urban population (also called urbanization rate) formed 66.16 percent of the total population. It is an increase of 0.94 percentage points as compared to the year 2022.

China witnesses 5.2 percent expansion in its GDP: China's official data reveals that the gross domestic product of China expanded by 5.2 percent in 2023, consequently meeting the country's current annual growth target of around 5 percent. This expansion in the country's GDP was the result of various policy measures gradually producing positive results last year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country's annual GDP was 126.06 trillion yuan ($17.52 trillion) in 2023. Experts have praised China's 2023 GDP growth and called it "relatively fast" as compared to other major economies. They have also highlighted China's role as a key player in the world economy. China's fixed-asset investment surged by 3 percent in 2023 and in the first 11 months of 2023, it grew by 2.9 percent. According to the NBS, the percentage of urban jobless population stood at 5.1 percent in December 2023 as compared to 5 percent in November 2023. China's 2023 GDP is significantly higher than that of the world's major economies like the United States, the eurozone and Japan, said Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. A report by the Center for Forecasting Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences states that China's economy will continue its steady growth in 2024 with an expected GDP growth rate of around 5.3 percent.

China-Ireland regard each other as key cooperative partners: Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that China and Ireland should adhere to mutual benefit and always regard each other as key cooperative partners. Li made the remarks in the meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at Dublin. During their talks, Li emphasised that China and Ireland have maintained stable development of their ties since the establishment of their diplomatic relations 45 years ago. He said that the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has increasingly deepened in recent years under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Michael D. Higgins. Both the countries have expanded their exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Li noted that China is willing to work with Ireland to carry forward traditional friendship, strengthen political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and share mutual development opportunities in order to bring more benefits to the two countries and their people.

Record volume of green electricity trade in China's Jiangsu Province: In east China's Jiangsu Province, the volume of green electricity traded in 2023 reached 5.2 billion kWh. According to the Jiangsu electricity trading centre, this is a record high in the trade of green electricity. The centre stated that the green electricity has contributed to reducing the standard coal burning by about 1.66 million tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by about 4.14 million tonnes. Jiangsu region is the part of the first batch of pilot projects for green electricity trading in the country and the demand in the region has been continuously shooting up. The province's market players participating in green electricity trading have increased from more than 20 in 2021 to about 1,700 at present and they involve the energy and chemical industry, electronic information, food and beverage, energy conservation and environmental protection, and other industries. The centre expects the volume of green electricity transactions in 2024, in Jiangsu, to be twice that of 2023, crossing the mark of 10 billion kWh.

Shanghai launches Medical Insurance Big Data Innovation Laboratory: Shanghai Medical Insurance Big Data Innovation Laboratory has been jointly launched by Shanghai Big Data Center, Shanghai Medical Insurance Center, and China Insurance Science and Technology Alliance. The purpose of the laboratory is to smoothen the application of medical insurance data in the process of claims for the commercial health insurance products. Policyholders can submit their claims through the "Sui-Application-Insurance Code". It is a one-code universal compensation platform to process the claims and improve the efficiency of the claims procedure. For this purpose, users need to have a personal authorization which will be generated through this platform. Big Data Innovation Laboratory will enable the introduction of innovative and inclusive insurance products for lakhs of people. As a facilitator of data integration, the laboratory will aid the ground-breaking progress in the biomedical industry, encourage the construction of systematic, transparent, and coherent health ecosystems, lead to the revolution in biomedical research results, and expedite the evolution of good and new drugs from the laboratory stage to diagnosis and treatment stage. The Shanghai Medical Insurance Big Data Innovation Laboratory will execute the prerequisites of the data element factor multiplier effect, probe more application frameworks, and lead to development on both economic and social front.

Obesity among Chinese children has become a point of concern: There has been a significant rise in the number of overweight children in China. The researchers, during a conference held in Beijing, have suggested certain measures to overcome the menace of obesity in the young population. These measures include rules and regulations like imposing a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks, curbing the promotion of unhealthy foods, and organising school-based initiatives to address childhood obesity. Since 2000, the rate of obesity has jumped 400 percent among Chinese children under the age of 18. Growing severity of this situation will result in about 60 percent of children in China, which amounts to 170 million, being overweight by 2030, according to Zhang Man, researcher at the School of Public Health at Peking University. In Beijing and Chengdu and five other cities, pilot projects for school-based initiatives to control obesity have already been launched in December. These initiatives were established by the National Institute for Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Chief of the Child Health and Development Section of UNICEF China, Ali Shirazi said that "the government can also subsidise fruits and vegetables, so that more poor families can have access to them". An environment that leads to high-energy intake and sedentary behaviour increases the risk of children being overweight or obese, UNICEF China nutrition specialist, Chang Suying explained.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Speculations about the UFO sightings takes over Chinese social media: Several Chinese citizens, especially in Beijing and Northern China reported spotting “small balls of light” and moving “cloud-like” objects. These flying objects in the sky were observed on Sunday night, prompting multiple conjectures on social media. Experts have ascribed the phenomenon to SpaceX’s new rocket launch for its Starlink satellites. On Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform, observers shared multiple narratives and videos of what according to them were unidentified flying objects. The accounts of this occurrence spread like wildfire on Weibo, and became the second-highest trending topic on Monday, gathering 180 million views. Netizens produced range of speculations including the possibility of extraterrestrial visitors and theories about foreign aircraft. One observer described them as “light clusters of mist” and the other mentioned its high speed and how it appeared in a brief time period.

INDIA WATCH

According to the Chinese researcher, the prolongation of the current health situation in China can result in 60 percent of children being obese in China by 2030. It amounts to 170 million children. However, the situation in India is no better. According to UNICEF's World Obesity Atlas for 2022, India is estimated to have more than 27 million obese children by 2030. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019-21 found that 3.4% of children under five are overweight compared with 2.1% in 2015-16. The rising obesity in the young population can be attributed to the lack of physical activity, excess caloric intake, lifestyle related factors, socio-cultural factors and urbanisation. In such a situation, it is of prime importance for India to start taking lessons from other countries in the world on tackling obesity. In India, FSSAI has introduced guidelines and campaigns like “Eat right”. It is also implementing activities at several levels to curb the junk food menace in the school premises and canteens. Like China, India should also begin with the establishment of school-based programs focusing prominently on the diet of children and their physical activity. Both India and China must further strengthen their efforts to implement the suggestions provided by the researchers across the globe and to promote healthy lifestyles among children and teenagers.

Prepared By

Aachal Ashok Mishra

Aachal completed her graduation in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University. Currently she is pursuing her master's in Political Science from IGNOU. Her areas of interest revolve around international relations, foreign policy dynamics, defence and security. She has previously interned with the Council for Social Development and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.