Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 61/No. 13 i Beijing Review

The First Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, came to a close in Beijing on March 20. Over the two weeks of its duration, more than 2,900 NPC deputies elected and appointed state leaders, adopted an amendment to the Constitution and the Supervision Law, and endorsed a cabinet institutional restructuring plan, among other agenda items. Also, more than 2,100 national political advisors convened their annual session from March 3 to 15 and elected a new leadership of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. On March 17, Xi Jinping was reelected Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission at the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the First Session of the 13th NPC in a unanimous vote. The Chinese people will…

The institutional restructuring plan of the State Council, China’s cabinet, was adopted on March 17 at the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the First Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), the national legislature of China. It is the country’s “biggest government reshuffle in years” as Xinhua News Agency commented and is seen as a dramatic continuation of the previous seven rounds of cabinet restructuring that began in 1982. “The reform is unprecedentedly large, deep and expansive,” said Guo An, an NPC deputy and Mayor of Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi Province. “It will optimize the government’s functions by promoting coordinated actions and improving levels of management and public service to better satisfy people’s expectations and national developmental needs in a new era.” A massive move In total, the…

LongAwaited Snowfall People visit a snowy Jingshan Park in Beijing on March 17. Light snow and sleet fell in Beijing in the morning, breaking the city’s longest dry spell in 47 years, according to the municipal meteorological observatory. Elderly Online A new report by tech giant Tencent and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows that 75.8 percent of people aged 50 and over read the news online, while more than 80 percent can send emojis, thumbs up and digital red envelopes. Almost 70 percent can use a smartphone to take and repost photos or videos with around 20 percent able to create personalized emojis. The report is based on a yearlong study. Respondents were elderly and middle-aged users of WeChat, Tencent’s popular instant messaging app. Researchers used methods including…

On March 18, a profile of Xi Jinping, who was unanimously reelected Chinese president at the recently concluded annual session of the 13th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, was published on the website of Xinhua News Agency. An edited version of the article follows: As ceremonial music echoed throughout the Great Hall of the People, Xi Jinping took his place on the podium. The music stopped as he reached a large red-bound copy of the country’s Constitution. The 64-year-old, in a dark suit, placed his left hand on the Constitution, raised his right hand to his temple and made a fist of solidarity. “I pledge my allegiance to the Constitution,” Xi began. “[To] safeguard the Constitution’s authority, fulfill my legal obligations, be loyal to the country and the people,…

Spring Closure Fishing boats anchor in a harbor on Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province on March 20. The fishing season on Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, came to a close that day. New Tax Exemption China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on March 20 that the country will waive income taxes for overseas investors trading yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts. The tax exemption, which is to take immediate effect, will cover both institutional and individual investors, MOF said on its website. Overseas brokerage firms will also be exempted from paying income tax on the commissions they earn from dealing in the new futures contracts. Analysts said that the move aims to attract players to the much-anticipated launch of the new yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts on March 26. The…

Located in northwest Beijing, Zhongguancun is often referred to as China’s very own Silicon Valley. However, the current reputation of this neighborhood as a hub of advanced Chinese technology contrasts sharply with its traditional image. Only a few years ago, this area was one of the city’s largest wholesale markets for electronic products. The way Zhongguancun has been able to transition toward innovation by attracting startups continues to surprise visitors, Chinese and foreign alike. Indeed, Zhongguancun used to be a congested place, with thousands of distributors and small electronics merchants. Buyers had to elbow their way through the crowds to find the item they needed, and then negotiate the price over the hustle and bustle of the market. Around the year 2000, the neighborhood saw some 30,000 to 40,000 visitors…

The First Session of the 13th National People’s Congress concluded on March 20. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the closing meeting. Edited excerpts of a Xinhua News Agency report on the speech follow: Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to continue to serve the people at the closing meeting of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) annual session on March 20. “It is a glorious mission and weighty responsibility to take on this great position of the president of the People’s Republic of China. I will, as always, faithfully fulfill my responsibilities empowered by the Constitution, be loyal to the motherland and the people, perform my duty scrupulously, do all my best, be diligent at work, and stay devoted and dedicated,” Xi said in a speech he delivered…

Opening market wider The Chinese economy is so integrated into the global economy that closing the door would only block China’s own path. The country still has a lot of room for opening up its market further and will lower overall tariffs on imports. Tariffs on popular consumer goods, including prescription drugs, will be slashed, while much-needed anti-cancer drugs may have no tariffs at all. Despite a deficit in service trade, China will increase efforts to relax control of market access to the service sector, including elderly care, medical care, education and financial services. China will gradually relax and even scrap foreign-owned equity limits in some sectors and shorten the negative list for foreign investment. No compulsory technology transfers will be imposed on foreign investment in the general manufacturing sector…

FRANCE A policeman stands guard outside the building where former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was being questioned as part of an investigation into his election campaign financing in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on March 20 SYRIA Turkish soldiers stand guard at a security checkpoint in Afrin city, Syria, on March 20. President Recep Erdogan said Turkey could expand military operations into other Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria and Iraq LEBANON Michael Beary, Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), speaks during a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of UNIFIL in the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura on March 19 IRAQ A deserted building covered in bullet holes remains standing in downtown Baghdad on March 20, a date that marks the 15th anniversary…

This winter I had the pleasure of being invited to be a judge at a youth winter camp activities talent show as part of a four-member panel and the only foreigner. We were allowed to score up to 50 points for each performer; there were some 150 children of middle-school age. The judging spanned two sessions in the course of a morning and afternoon. The youngsters—hailing from cities such as Ningbo, Wuxi, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin—had a great stage presence and performances consisted of various acts with traditional Chinese as well as international elements. For example, the poem, I’m Proud to be Chinese, which includes references to historian Si ma Qian and Confucius, was especially popular, perhaps indicative of China’s renewed national pride. There were also Mongolian and Latin American…