CiCM 28th June 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

An official from China’s largest telecom operator, China Mobile has revealed that 5G roll-out rates will increase to 90 percent with the installation of more than 360,000 based stations this year. At a forum held in Beijing, Deputy general manager of China Mobile’s planning and construction departments said that it presently has more than 1.7 million base stations and several new 5G products will be put into operation in 2023. The number of China Mobile 5G users have increased to 480 million people and revenue from the network exceeded 5 billion Yuan last year. There has also been an effort to ramp up the construction of virtual private network capabilities and refine the country’s 5G infrastructure. This will be achieved by specially designed 5G enabled factory set-ups. There is also a push to invest in research and development for 6G network technologies by taking advantage of existing industrial supply chains. According to Jin Zhuanglong, the Minister of Industry and Information, China aims to benefit from expedient network roll-out mechanisms from operators including China Unicom and China Telecom.

Recent findings from the National Audit Office have revealed that over 1 billion yuan (US$ 138 million) has been uncovered in direct violation of financial regulations from several central government bodies. The deviations came from excessive pay hikes, unauthorised investment plans and profiting from subcontracting projects among other irregularities carried out by the Chinese foreign ministry, customs agency, People’s Bank of China and affiliate organisations of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The National Audit Office scrutinised over 228.6 billion yuan in budgetary allocations from November to February of 41 central government agencies. This report also comes amidst Beijing issuing directives to government departments at all levels to “tighten belts” and “keep spending low to benefit people”, some departments were found to be spending too much on staff salary and welfare benefits among other misdemeanours. The move also comes amidst Xi Jinping emphasising the importance of self-reform at the recently held meeting of the Central Auditing Commission. This audit is viewed as a major effort by Xi Jinping to successfully implement his anti-corruption campaign as it is expected to be affecting removals and promotions of officials.

The Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone launched an international innovation centre which aims to attract foreign enterprises by providing a slew of incentives. Provisions include lower cost access to market and human resources facilities, affordable office spaces, market access and advertising opportunities. 30 enterprises have registered until now at the innovation centre, which also include 11 overseas companies. The airport is located at the intersection of Beijing’s Daxing District and Langfang in Hebei Province. It covers an area of 150 kilometres that houses the economic innovation zone as well. The area is also dedicated to aviation logistics, a science and technology innovation centre and a service and support centre. Xia Zhicheng, the deputy director of the investment bureau at Daxing Airport zone mentioned that the newly established international innovation centre joins these forums to provide quality services and promote growth-enabled policies for foreign companies to expand and develop in Chinese markets.

Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has stated that a housing pension system is undertaken to improve living conditions and promoting resilient cities with affordable housing. He also called on financial institutions to cooperate with government agencies for high-quality urban and rural reconstruction. Ni made these remarks after a meeting with the chairman of the Bank of China, to indicate a partnership that is expected to provide long-term funding for housing maintenance as well. The housing pension system is also believed to help in the addressing several management related issues as well. Leaks, gas pipelines, repairs, load-bearing appliances, and elevator installations may all be covered under this pension system. Revamping the housing system will also bring in new growth opportunities for insurance companies, real estate agencies, construction companies, financial experts, and architects as well. Recent reports have suggested that the real estate sector in China is suffering from low sales and uneven revenue, specifically in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. As per May statistics, growth of both new commercial houses and rented/resale housing has slowed down.

Two prototypes of the MisrSat-2 satellite project were delivered by China to Egypt recently, making Egypt the first African country to be capable of assembly, integration, and testing satellites (AIT). During the delivery ceremony, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat noted that this collaborative effort will greatly boost Egypt’s satellite capabilities. The MisrSat-2 satellite has an image resolution of up to 2 metres and will greatly contribute to Egypt Vision 2030 which aims to maximise use of natural resources, determine crop distribution, exploring mineral reserves and monitoring coastal changes in Egypt. Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, Liao Liqiang also mentioned this project is a landmark outcome of the BRI cooperation effort. According to the Chinese ambassador, it is also the first time an overseas project of this scale has been commissioned and executed successfully. The Egyptian Space Agency has constantly been working in tandem with Chinese engineers to begin testing on the prototype and flight models. After delivery of the MisrSat-2 prototype model in Cairo, an in-orbit delivery of the flight model is also scheduled to take place. This event also marked the opening of largest satellite AIT centre in Africa which is fully built on grants provided by China.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

15^th August is declared as National Ecology Day as Chinese netizens react to the announcement: During the third meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14^th People’s Congress, a decision was made to declare August 15^th as National Ecology Day. This move has come as part of a conscious effort to promote eco-friendly, sustainable practices that paves way for the efficient practices to spillover in people’s daily lives. Several Weibo users have reacted to the recent announcement, welcoming the move with the hashtag: #8月15日成国民术日日. Some eagle-eyed commenters have also drawn particular attention to the fact that 15^th August 1945 was also the day Japan officially surrendered in the second World War. In lieu of the declaration, several plans are also underway to celebrate the upcoming day in government offices, schools, and public spaces. Several users expressed the need to use this initiative as a major platform to raise awareness about environmental education while many users mentioned the concept of ‘ecological civilisation’ to signify the importance of this announcement. Interestingly, construction of an ‘ecological civilisation’ has been one of the crucial and long-cherished objectives of Xi Jinping.

INDIA WATCH

Two of the largest bases of mobile network users are in India and China. With a consumer base in constant need of high-speed internet, data packs and high-quality communication services, it provides a unique opportunity for both countries to expand and evolve their 5G network programmes. China has already made waves in this regard as in 2022 alone, it was able to accelerate distribution to provide 5G network services to 263 million standalone users. One of the key factors that has allowed such efficient rollout of 5G services is “spectrum sharing” by Chinese telecommunication companies. For example, industry giants China Unicom and China Telecom developed plans to co-opt and co-develop network coverage in southern and northern cities of China respectively. This has allowed broad-based, structural reforms to ensure that 5G rollout is smooth, while simultaneously encouraging revenue-sharing. This has allowed China to become a leading provider of 5G network coverage in the world. Meanwhile, India also presents a rapid development of network services as well. By the end of March 2023, India had a base of 50 million 5G users, making up 5% of the global share. Ericsson predicts that by 2028, India would be the second largest consumer base, right behind China. India’s approach to proliferating cellular connection is based on cooperative efforts of private network providers and government subsidies. One example would be Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) setting up a 5G rollout plan in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). This method represents an attempt that seeks to involve public sector initiatives to ramp up network provision services. Bilateral tensions between India and China have prevented Chinese service providers to break ground in India. Since the Galwan incident triggered a ban on Chinese technological goods for fear of cyber-espionage, it has allowed India to develop indigenously in terms of its own 5G rollout plans. Domestic telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have purchased their stakes in spectrum circles, prompting a possibility of spectrum sharing across various private operators as well.

Prepared By

Toshika Shukla

Toshika Shukla is a 4th year undergraduate student at Shiv Nadar University, majoring in International Relations and Governance Studies. Through the course of her study, she has gained a keen interest in areas such as soft power diplomacy, gender studies, and cultural relations. Her interests also revolve around questions of power, China’s domestic policies combined with theoretical perspectives of analysis.