CiCM 4th-5th November 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Anti-corruption officer warns of greater foreign interference: Zhang Jiwen, the head of Office of the Central Affairs Commission at China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), has warned of growing infiltration by foreign agencies as diplomatic tensions rise with the Western world. Members of the Communist Party have been advised to be on guard. Of special focus are the cadres in the diplomatic and foreign affairs fields who work on the "front lines" with "hostile" Western forces and thus, are most vulnerable to defections, corruptions and espionage. Jiwen's article, published in CCDI's magazine, details several risks posed by such interactions to Chinese national security. The piece draws attention to the leaking of confidential information, acceptance of gifts by public officials as well as the deployment of public funds for travel and payment of illegal subsidies. Officials have been encouraged to be more vigilant and develop a "firewall" to disallow the transfer of sensitive information in addition to preparing a "microscope" to gain insights into risks and build a "toolbox" to mitigate them.
6^th China International Import Expo Summit Commences: The opening ceremony of the sixth edition of the China International Import Expo kicked off on 5^th November, 2023 in Shanghai. Xi Jinping, in a letter expressing his support for the strength of the summit and emphasises China's commitment to high standing opening of advanced firms. The Chinese leader drew on the Summit's history in optimising Chinese markets, served as a platform for foreign consumers, aided human connections and served as an important step to greater global economic development. Xi also clarified his vision for the summit as a forum to re-develop world economies hit by the pandemic. China, in his vision, will become the centre of such global growth with its markets catering to varied consumers. The Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, who addressed the gathering in his keynote speech during the opening ceremony, expressed hope for greater international cooperation to promote economic development by promoting innovation, integration of science and technology as well as sharing of new discoveries. He also laid emphasis on the need to do away with barriers that impede the flow of knowledge and technology.
Canton Fair concludes on a bittersweet note: Known as the China Import and Export Fair, the 21-day trade fair is conducted twice annually in the city of Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton. As the 134th edition of the event comes to an end, it reveals interesting economic insights. The fair was attended by over two lakh global investors from over 229 nations and regions. Companies from Europe and the Middle East are keen to trade in the Chinese yuan, signalling the currency's growing popularity. The fair saw the signing of deals worth over 22.3 billion US dollars. While this percentage is 2.8 percent greater than the previous fair, it still fails to reach the pre-pandemic total by almost 7 billion US dollars. The fair also saw the signing of deals worth 12.27 US billion dollars with investors from the Belt and Road Initiative.
Second edition of international phenome project launched: Initiated by the Chinese government, the second-phase of the International Human Phenome Project was launched by Fudan University on 1^st November, 2023. Phenomes are character traits expressed by organisms or cells as a result of the influence of their environment. The character of people's phenotype greatly determines their health and longevity of life. The list of members who would constitute the Chinese human phenome collaboration group were announced by Jin Li, the President of the Fudan University at the opening of the fourth International Human Phenome Symposium and the fifth China Human Phenome Conference. The second phase of the research will build on previous attempts to develop a unified standard system and a global forum for scientists to study phonemes. This phase additionally, will see attempts by scientists to work together to find answers to mysteries about the human phenome. The creation of a complex phenome map will allow for more work in the field of drug research as well as the resolution of the greatest mysteries of life and death.
China sees unprecedented repair of rural roads China's roads lead a path towards a revolutionary future say officials: China has been able to repair and build over 118,000 kilometres of rural roads, achieving 90 percent of its annual target. Additionally, over 5400 hazardous bridges were repaired and 7600 crossings were installed across the country. These attempts have been accompanied by a 5.1 percent rise in fixed-asset investment in rural roads. Such repair, as the Minister of Transport Wang Gang said, fits with Chinese attempts to revitalise the county's rural areas as well as hasten the modernisation of agriculture. The minister confirmed that it would continue to work on rebuilding broken roads, widening narrow streets and building passing bays. Gang also laid focus on the need to develop green roads and improve prosperity of the rural economy.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Netizens raise doubts about the existence of Aristotle after video goes viral: As part of an ongoing narrative war between the West and China, Jin Canrong, an expert on China-US relations at Renmin University in Beijing as well as an advisor to the Chinese government recently set Chinese social media on fire. In a video on Douyin, the Chinese variant of TikTok, he claimed that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle did not in fact, exist. Jin who is not a historian claimed that no written record of Aristotle can be found before the 13th century and it would be impossible for a philosopher living three millennia ago to write a large number of books before the arrival of paper into Europe in the 11th century. While mainstream academics have launched a severe criticism of these claims, social media in the country reflects a greater trend to express doubts over the veracity of the claims of Western history. The question, "is ancient Greek civilization fabricated?" appears as the most popular search linking to ancient Greece on Douyin. Many users have lauded Canrong's "incredibly brave" expression of dissent against Western hegemonic histories to which even Chinese historians have unquestioningly "prostrated" in the past.

INDIA WATCH

Even as China grapples with greater infiltration from foreign sources, the country also faces accusations from its neighbours, especially India, for attempts to engage in espionage. In the past, the United States of America also accused the People's Republic of China for its role in swaying voters during the general elections. Since the Galwan border skirmishes in 2020, China has also been posing greater cyber security threats to Indian public sector companies and technical establishments. The Chinese group RedEcho from northern China, for example, attempted to target the Indian power sector. They sought to breach the power load centres in Central India. Similar attacks have been launched by Chinese groups on Times Group, Bennett Coleman and Co. as well as the Madhya Pradesh Police Department. Similarly, load dispatch centres in Ladakh were targeted by groups with alleged Chinese links. Such attempts draw focus to the growing centrality of cyber security as a sphere of contention. This is also indicated by the signing of the Bletchley Park Declaration on 1^st November, 2023 by both India and China along with 26 other countries and the European Union to recognise the risks of Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, it instructs AI developers to constitute their processes with transparency and in order to monitor and mitigate their working. In response to a parliamentary question, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also drew attention to India’s use of AI to monitor and thwart infiltration on its borders. Concerns raised by India, China as well as the United States of America are testament to the greater threat posed to national security by foreign infiltrations.

Prepared By

Tarini Agarwal

Tarini Agarwal is a twenty-year-old student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women with a passion for history and penchant for writing about issues of contemporary relevance.