Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 61/No. 20 i Beijing Review

Milder Inflation China’s consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 1.8 percent year on year in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on May 10. The growth of consumer inflation in April was slower than expected, down by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. The slower growth of inflation was mainly led by the steady decline of food prices, according to the NBS. Food prices slipped 1.9 percent month on month and climbed only 0.7 percent year on year. China aims to keep its annual CPI growth at around 3 percent this year, the same as the target for 2017. Lian Ping, Chief Economist at Bank of Communications, said the economy is unlikely to experience high inflation this year given that there…

‘Two centuries on, despite huge and profound changes in human society, the name of Karl Marx is still respected all over the world and his theory still shines with the brilliant light of truth,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping at a grand gathering in Beijing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth on May 4. Multiple events, including art exhibitions, seminars and reading groups, have been held across China to honor the life and work of the renowned philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist and journalist. “Today, we hold this grand gathering with great veneration to mark the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, to remember his great character and historic deeds and to review his noble spirit and brilliant thoughts,” said Xi, also General Secretary of the Communist Party…

Following a hiatus of more than two years, the Seventh China-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Leaders’ Meeting finally convened in Tokyo on May 9, during which the leaders of the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to economic globalization as well as the liberalization of trade and investment, while also vowing to promote denuclearization and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The meeting also coincided with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Japan, the first by a Chinese premier in eight years. The resumption of the tripartite meeting and Li’s visit to Japan are believed to forecast a further easing of diplomatic tensions in East Asia and a real thaw in China-Japan relations after years in the cold. The Tokyo trilateral meeting came amid a series of significant changes…

After five months of discussions and the soliciting of public opinion, China’s central authorities issued a new guideline on asset management products and services on April 27, aiming to ensure the stability of the financial market and prevent financial risks with tightened regulation targeting the elimination of regulatory arbitrage in the sector. Uniform regulation Asset management business among Chinese financial institutions has grown rapidly in recent years. According to figures from the People’s Bank of China (PBC), by the end of 2017, the outstanding off-balance-sheet asset management products held by all financial institutions had totaled 100 trillion yuan ($15.75 trillion). Among them, 22.2 trillion yuan ($3.5 trillion) of funds were off-balance-sheet wealth management products in banks; 21.9 trillion yuan ($3.45 trillion) were entrusted funds managed by trust companies; publicly offered…

It was a sunny warm afternoon in late February, when we boarded the Majestic Princess cruise ship for our two-week grand Asia tour of seven cities. Once we were all onboard, the ship thrust off the berth joining the slow waters of the Huangpu River. It took us almost six hours of maneuvering before we set a northeasterly course toward Hakata, Japan. On our particular voyage, the ship, which ordinarily serves Chinese passengers, was filled with people from all over the world. Built in Italy, with a bright-white body and blue glass balconies, the Majestic Princess is beautiful and eco-friendly. Marble floors, perfectly polished handrails and a tastefully decorated interior provoke the feeling of a home, not a vessel. The engines were equipped with innovative scrubbers that cleaned the waste.…

Chinese players and their coach Liu Guozheng (third left) hold up the Swaythling Cup after winning the men’s finals at the biennial World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden, on May 6. It was the ninth consecutive time the Chinese men’s team claimed the title and the 27th time in history. The Chinese women’s team claimed their fourth consecutive title at the women’s championship finals on May 5, making it the 21st time they captured the Corbillon Cup.…

RUSSIA Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu inspects troops from a motorcade during the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9. The day marked the 73rd anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II MALAYSIA Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (center) attends a press conference in Selangor on May 10 after his Pakatan Harapan coalition secured a simple majority in the general election NIGERIA A man stands next to a burnt bicycle in Gwaska Village in the northwest state of Kaduna on May 8. More than 70 people died during a four-hour attack by unidentified gunmen on May 5 HUNGARY Hungarian President Janos Ader (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on May 10. Orban was reelected as the head of Hungary’s government for a fourth…

May this year marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx (May 5, 1818-March 14, 1883). The Prussian born political economist, philosopher and revolutionary is the founder of communism, and his ideas are still regarded as the basis for many political systems across the world. Marx’s work consisted essentially in laying bare the laws in the development of society, especially capitalist society, which he praised for its monumental achievements in technology development, but whose existential contradictions underline its transitional nature in society’s trajectory. However, after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the early 1990s, the first proletarian state founded on the authority of Marxist scientific socialist theory, Marxism in Europe, America and even the continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America has been…

Zhou Xin’s wedding was delayed for two years because of an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people in Wenchuan, southwest China’s Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. Zhou was then a 25-year-old military officer serving in his hometown of Shigu in Shifang City—60 km from the epicenter—and had just registered his marriage on May 7, setting the wedding banquet for the end of the year. Five days later the earthquake struck and Shigu Town was devastated. A total of 70,845 houses collapsed and 45,000 people were affected, with a total of 40 deaths and 164 people injured. The new couple devoted themselves to disaster relief soon after the quake, postponing their wedding again and again. “The wedding wasn’t back on our agenda until 2010 when the preliminary reconstruction of…

Following a raft of measures taken by China to promote the international use of its currency, a further improvement to its global yuan payment platform, Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), was recently unveiled, which makes trading via the platform safer, easier and smoother. In October 2015, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) formally launched CIPS Phase I, which increased the efficiency of cross-border clearing and settlement. It marked major progress in the establishment of a modern payment system that combines domestic and international yuan payment. As steady progress in the internationalization of the renminbi continues, the use of the Chinese currency has become more extensive worldwide, and there is a growing demand for cross-border renminbi clearing and settlement as well as more complete financial infrastructure to consolidate the currency’s global…

When a dozen scientists gathered in Beijing in early April for a discussion on the Meridian Project, they knew that new opportunities were beckoning. The Meridian Project is a space-monitoring initiative proposed by Chinese scientists. Under it, an interdisciplinary survey of the space environment is to be conducted over regions along the 120th meridian east and the 60th meridian west, which together form a circle around the globe. In China, a number of monitoring stations along the longitude of 120 degrees east and the latitude of 30 degrees north have been in operation since 2012, providing support for space programs including manned missions. Wei Fengsi, a space physicist with the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), suggested in 2002 that China should take the lead…

Just Married! Couples dance at a group wedding ceremony held at the gymnasium of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, on May 6. A total of 121 couples, all of whom are alumni of the university, attended the mass group wedding. Circuit Court Cases The six circuit courts of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) accepted 2,922 civil, administrative and criminal cases in the first three months of this year, according to the SPC on May 7. The cases accounted for 67.2 percent of the total cases of these types accepted by the SPC. Of those accepted, 1,909 cases were concluded in the same period, accounting for 67.9 percent of the total of such SPC cases. The circuit courts handled 8,355 petitions, 78.9 percent of SPC petitions,…

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met with Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, on May 78, the second meeting between the two leaders since March. The following is an edited excerpt of a Xinhua News Agency report: In a cordial and friendly atmosphere, Xi and Kim had an all-round and in-depth exchange on China-DPRK relations and major issues of common concern. “Comrade Chairman made a special trip to China to meet with me again after just some 40 days at a crucial time when the Korean Peninsula situation is undergoing profound…

‘We are proud that our hometown has the opportunity to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2018. My neighbors and I planted flowers to beautify our community to welcome this important event,” 75-year-old Yang Guizhi said on May 7 at a community activity center in Qingdao, a city in east China’s Shandong Province. Qingdao, a coastal city and perennially popular tourist destination, will hold the summit this June as the event returns to its country of origin for the first time since the leaders of the constituent countries met in Beijing five years ago. This is also the second major international event to be held in Qingdao after the Olympic sailing events took place there in 2008. Both the Qingdao local government and people, as Yang noted, have attached…

Jason Ji, a New Zealander working in Shanghai, is picky about fresh milk. He insists on drinking milk from New Zealand, even though he spends most of his time in China. “I can tell nuances between Kiwi milk and those from other sources, because there is a unique lovely aroma from natural cream,” he said. Luckily, faster clearance and more efficient logistics have helped keep consumers like Ji happy. Milk produced by New Zealand brand Theland can land on Shanghai supermarket shelves roughly 72 hours after production and bottling near Auckland. The process used to take five days. For products like fresh milk, with a usual shelf life of no more than 15 days, each hour matters. To meet the rising demand for better products, companies are streamlining supply chains.…

Big data’s wide reach now includes matchmaking, with a series of apps based on big data currently available. An analysis of individual profiles are said to be able to predict attitudes toward marriage, personality and habits, among other things. These include one’s age and zodiac sign, websites visited, favorite movies, along with other online traces. Many believe that match-making can thus be made more accurate and objective through the sifting of information by dating platforms. The aim is to provide a suitable potential partner that meets expectations as quickly as possible, saving the time spent in talking and making choices. Big data makes it possible for two people to be presented to each other in such a way that the two can easily decide if they are a possible match.…