CiCM 7th June 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

June 7 marked a big day for students across China with the commencement of the annual college entrance examination also known as ‘gaokao’（高考）. This year saw an increase of 980,000 examinees than last year, making a total of 12.91 million students appearing for the examination. Many cities such as Shenyang and Enshi made adjustments in their office hours to ensure a smooth and timely commute for students. China’s Tianjin Municipality organised voluntary activities and arranged 60 taxis for examinees to reach their respective exam centres. Cities across China halted construction activities and the popular BadaJu Market in Zibo city decided to close for the day to maintain silence and order for the students. There has been an overwhelming flow of best wishes from family members and teachers across the country. Red envelopes, pastries and rice dumplings were distributed by a school in Changsha, Hunan Province to wish luck and a good future to the students. Authorities have also deployed anti-cheating equipment across China and medical personnel are also notified to provide all necessary assistance to candidates.
China became the world’s largest automobile exporter, surpassing Japan with a total export of 1.07 million automobiles in the first quarter of the year. The car exports through the Guangzhou Port have increased by more than 90 per cent since last year. Along with the high rate of automobile exports, China is facing the problem of insufficient transportation capacity. Several shipping companies and automobile manufacturers have ordered new ships but the internal structure of a ship used for car transportation pose a challenge in designing and installation. China State Shipbuilding Corporation is managing 35 orders of car carriers which accounts for 27 per cent of the global market share.
Heilongjiang, the breadbasket province of China, is leading the way for the future of agriculture in the country with new technological advanced machinery such as smart transplanters, fertiliser spraying drones and intelligent management systems. Heilongjiang has been the top grain producer in China for the past 13 years, with annual output reaching 77.63 billion kilograms in 2022. Thus, several agricultural technology companies have invested heavily in this province. Hongwei Farm Co. Ltd has saved more than 2 million yuan (281,200 USD) in labour costs by acquiring 699 unmanned rice transplanters equipped with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. With a single touch on the screen, fertiliser spraying drones can cover 7 hectares of paddy fields in minutes. Presently, more than 20% of agricultural activities are carried out by intelligent machinery in China. The technological advancements in the field of agriculture is helping fulfil the dreams of farmers like Zhou Dehua who almost gave up in 2012 but with this high-tech agricultural machinery, he is able to earn nearly 200,000 yuan annually at the age of 50.
The multinational naval exercise “Komodo-2023” hosted by the Indonesian Navy every two years had its opening ceremony on Monday at Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. The exercise will last till 8th June where various officials will attend diverse events including civil engineering, civil medical treatment, expert lectures, maritime exhibition among others. The Indonesian Navy reported the involvement of 40 warships from 18 countries such as China, Russia and the United States. Chinese’s destroyer Zhanjiang and frigate Xuchang participated in the exercises this year. The Komodo Exercise involved participation of naval vessels in numerous exercises of maritime interception, maritime search and rescue and damage control.
President Xi Jinping, during his inspection tour in the city of Bayannur, Inner Mongolia on 5th and 6th June, called for persistent efforts to tackle the issue of desertification. The Wuliangsu Lake acts as a natural shield to Beijing and Tianjin against sandstorms. President Xi remarked on intensive steps to treat and protect the wetland area and also complimented the local practices demonstrated at a modern agriculture park on the south bank of the lake. Tuesday morning marked the visit to a state forestry area in Linhe District to determine the progress in the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP). President Xi stressed on three key areas to focus on in the battle against desertification. For Mu Us Desert, Kubuqi Desert and Helan Mountain, necessary steps need to be taken to strengthen the region’s capability in sand prevention and headwater protection. President Xi has leaned on building the TSFP into a fully functional and unbreakable green Great Wall and ecological security barrier in a decade. He also focused on promoting international cooperation through BRI and called for policy communication and information sharing among different countries.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

QR Code in textbooks raises concerns online: A primary school art textbook raised alarms among the parents when the QR code displayed inside the textbook that was meant to provide additional study material led to a ‘yellow’ site upon scanning, a website containing pornographic content. The parents were left shocked and worried which triggered discussion on Chinese social media (#浙江多所小学美术本印有涉黄二维码#). The authorities were contacted immediately and the books were immediately withdrawn. The education officials explained how due to the expiration of the publisher’s domain after publication of the book, the domain had been taken over by a pornographic site. The incident happened in one of the Zhejiang Primary School textbooks. Many parents have raised concerns regarding the role of the authorities in ensuring the quality of the textbooks after this discovery.

INDIA WATCH

The issue of desertification has been plaguing countries such as China which prompted China to initiate the Great Green Wall project in 1978 to tackle this problem. With the rise in storms and dust clouds affecting the country, President Xi has called for focused and efficient steps to accelerate China’s desertification efforts with his recent visit to Bayannur located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Three North Shelterbelt Project launched by China aims to increase the forest cover to 15 per cent by 2050 and so far, China has increased its forest cover to 13.6 per cent by 2019. Other complementing policies such as the Green for Grain Programme also played a vital role in controlling desertification in the country. India has also taken steps towards fighting the problem of desertification by implementing national schemes such as Soil Health Card Scheme, Soil Health Management Scheme, Per Drop More Crop and many more. India joined the Bonn Challenge in 2015, a global effort to bring 350 million hectares of world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2030. Under this, it had pledged to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of deforested land by the year 2020, and additional 8 million hectares by 2030. India and China are one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and with their combined biodiversity hotspots, the countries can be seen to benefit through regional cooperation, beginning with collaborative research on their environmental footprint. The issue of desertification and climate change has stretched from regional to global stage and thus requires mutual efforts from countries by both India and China.

Prepared By

Aanchal Budhwar

Aanchal Budhwar is currently pursuing her Masters degree in International Studies from Symbiosis School of International Studies in Pune with a specialisation in Asia Area Studies. She completed her Bachelors degree in English Honours from MCM DAV College, Chandigarh. She is an avid reader and is passionate about learning new languages. She is keen on learning about Asian culture and geopolitics and deciphering the strategic meaning behind the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic and social developments taking place in China and its impact beyond the borders.