Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 61/No. 23 i Beijing Review

Consensus Broken A White House statement on May 29 about tariffs on Chinese exports clearly contradicts the consensus reached recently by the two countries in Washington, D.C., a Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) spokesperson said. The White House statement renewed the U.S. threat to place 25-percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, revealing plans to target cutting-edge technologies, the Associated Press reported. MOFCOM said that while the White House’s tactical statement was unexpected it does not come as a surprise. “Whatever measures the United States takes, China has the confidence, capability and experience to defend the interests of the Chinese people and the core interests of the country,” MOFCOM said on its website. China has urged the United States to meet it halfway, in line with the recent bilateral…

At the upcoming 18th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State, the first summit since the expansion of its membership, leaders of the eight member states will map the future of a larger organization. The meeting, to be held in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, in June, will also see the release of milestone documents that codify their consensus. All this will further enhance the solidarity and influence of the SCO. Evolution The SCO came into being against a distinct international backdrop in the aftermath of the Cold War. It was created as a new regional mechanism to meet the needs of countries in the region to maintain stability and promote shared development. Under the Shanghai Five grouping, predecessor to the SCO, China, Russia and…

‘When walking in a group of three, my teachers are always present. I draw out what is good in them so as to emulate it myself, and what is not good in them so as to alter it in myself.” These were the winning words written by Sofya Simatova, a PhD candidate and Chinese teacher at Moscow City University, who recently claimed first prize at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Chinese Calligraphy Contest. Simatova chose the lines from The Analects of Confucius as the subject of her calligraphy which was submitted to the organizing committee of the contest. “Every Chinese language teacher should adopt these words as their motto, because as Chinese language teachers, we should not only teach but also learn from other people to improve ourselves,” said Simatova…

China’s best and brightest in science and technology gathered in Beijing from May 28 to June 1 for their biennial meetings. President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at their joint opening ceremony calling for more efforts to develop China into a world leader in science and technology. At the 19th Meeting of the Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the 14th Meeting of the Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Xi said that the academies should continue to play a role as national strategic scientific and technological forces, push forward development and scale new scientific heights. He encouraged academicians to conduct forward-looking and strategic research and said he hopes they make continuous breakthroughs in key scientific fields. The country’s new academicians were also announced. Last…

FAW-Volkswagen announced the opening of a new production base in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, on May 28, marking an expansion of the leading European automaker in the world’s biggest auto market. FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd., a joint venture between China’s FAW Group and the German Volkswagen Group, said the 1.1-million-square-meter base has a total capacity of producing 300,000 vehicles every year. Construction of the base began in July 2015, with investments totaling approximately 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion). The joint venture now has a total of five production bases. Liu Yigong, FAW-Volkswagen General Manager, said the new base in Qingdao will bring 5 billion yuan ($777 million) in investment from the company’s suppliers. It will also create 3,000 jobs locally, while its suppliers will create up to 10,000 more…

Chinese and Italian police officers mark the start of a third year of law enforcement cooperation between the two countries at a ceremony in Rome on May 28. Ten Chinese police officers, all fluent in either Italian or English, will be on the streets of Rome, Milan, Venice and Prato until June 17 to offer services for Chinese tourists and Chinese nationals living in Italy. A hotline was set up to receive emergency calls during the joint program. China and Italy agreed to launch the joint patrol program during peak travel seasons in 2014.…

FRANCE French Foreign Minister JeanYves Le Drian (right) shakes hands with Aguila Saleh Issa, President of the Libyan House of Representatives, ahead of a meeting on the Libyan situation in Paris on May 29. Libya’s rival leaders agreed on a political roadmap to end internal chaos including elections in December later that same day GREECE Refugees and migrants are given water and food by local aid authorities after they were rescued at the western port of Kastelli on the island of Crete on May 29. A total of 69 people were rescued YEMEN A soldier standing on a hill looks at the headquarters of a staterun oil company after it was hit by airstrikes in Sanaa on May 27. At least four civilians were killed during the Saudiled coalition airstrikes…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the most frequent official Western guest to China, has visited China 11 times in her 12 years in office, which has earned her a reputation as one of the world leaders who know China best. Merkel’s most recent trip to China on May 24-25 was her first since the start of her fourth term earlier this year as she aims to deepen bilateral trade and economic cooperation with the world’s second largest economy, and to safeguard a multilateral, rules-based system of free trade in a world of growing uncertainty. A symbolic choice During her previous 10 trips, Merkel visited an array of Chinese cities, including Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Hefei. This time, she chose the southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province as the first leg…

The spring of this year brought a series of landmark moments for China’s esports. On May 20, Chinese esports team RNG beat South Korea’s KZ 3-1 in the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational, an annual League of Legends tournament, winning China’s third world championship. Previously, on April 24, it was revealed that esports were, for the first time, to be included as a demonstration sport at the upcoming 18th Asian Games which will be held in the cities of Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia. According to the Asian Electronics Sports Federation (AeSF), six video games have been confirmed as part of the Games—League of Legends, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, Arena of Valor, Starcraft II, Hearthstone and Clash Royale. “We are very excited to see esports making a debut at the Asian Games,”…

Online voting through WeChat or QQ is nothing new in China, but these social media platforms are being increasingly used by parents to solicit votes for their children in various contests. The educational authorities in southeast China’s Zhejiang Province recently issued a notice to discourage the use of chat groups by schools to solicit votes. All online voting related to students and kindergarten toddlers now must get approval from local educational authorities first. In addition, social training institutions will also have to get permission from authorities before holding any kind of online voting. Whenever people are asked by friends, relatives or colleagues to vote, they are often torn by feelings of resistance and guilt. They don’t want to say no to the children’s par ents, but they usually know little…

Sharing the Joy Children perform a dragon dance at a ceremony marking International Children’s Day, which falls on June 1, in a kindergarten in Yuanqu County, north China’s Shanxi Province, on May 29. Space Cooperation China announced that all UN member states are welcome to jointly utilize its future China Space Station (CSS) on May 28. “The CSS belongs not only to China, but also to the world,” said Shi Zhongjun, China’s Ambassador to the UN and Other International Organizations in Vienna. “All countries, regardless of their size and level of development, can participate in the collaboration on an equal footing,” he said. Interested public and private organizations, including institutes, academies, universities and private enterprises with scientific orientations, can identify their appropriate models of cooperation on board the CSS, whether…

The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit is set for June 9-10 in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province. Before the summit, Beijing Review conducted an exclusive interview with Uzbek Ambassador to China Bakhtiyor Saidov, who shared his views on the development of the SCO and the future prospects for the regional cooperation organization. An edited excerpt of the interview follows: Beijing Review: As a founding member of the SCO, how does Uzbekistan see the SCO’s development and contribution to regional peace and prosperity over the past 20 years? Bakhtiyor Saidov: Since its founding almost 20 years ago, the SCO has developed into an authoritative regional organization and an effective and open multilateral cooperation platform. One of the key factors for the success of the organization is that it has adapted…

With the aim of further promoting regional peace and development, the First Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Political Parties Forum was held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on May 26, marking the establishment of a brand new mechanism. Under the theme of Pooling Wisdom of Political Parties, Promoting the Shanghai Spirit and Building a Global Community with a Shared Future, the forum was hosted by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and attended by around 200 representatives from more than 30 political parties in 18 SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners. “As the forerunners and guides of national development, political parties play a leading role in building a global community with a shared future and making the world a better place. Promoting exchanges…

Due to low costs and emissions, new-energy vehicles (NEVs) are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. On the streets of Beijing, NEVs are distinguishable by their six-digit, bright green license plates. And a quick look around the streets of the capital will reveal more and more of these unique plates on display as this form of transport gains in popularity. Taking cognizance of this popularity from an increasingly environmentally conscious public, on March 1, the National NEV Technology Innovation Center was unveiled in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The center will coordinate the development of the industry supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government. NEVs are vehicles powered by non-traditional fuel such as electric cars. Thanks to favorable government policies, China’s NEV market has seen rapid…

Kong Lingmin, a 72-year-old Beijinger, is the second generation maker of the Cao kite, which was developed by his father in the 1940s by drawing from a book on kite-making written by Cao Xueqin, author of A Dream of the Red Mansions, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Kong, along with his father and son, have been identified as national non-material cultural heritage inheritors, with their works collected and featured by museums in both China and abroad. Cao wrote the book on kite-making in order to teach the poor to make a living, Kong said, adding that it’s not only an honor but also a responsibility to be a cultural heritage inheritor. “We should not only spread the techniques but also the spirit of social service,” Kong told Beijing Review. (Photos…

The circumstances which brought me to Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, in 2013 on my first visit to China began thousands of years before. As a student of history at a British university, I had begun to grow weary of the usual furnishings of traditional historical education in the West. The Battle of Salamis, the Fall of Rome, the French Revolution, all hold great import in the narrative underpinning Western civilization, but they all seemed blandly familiar, the voices of their witnesses and narrators banally like my own. It was then that my mind began to wander east, discovered China and never looked back. With no prior understanding of the country beyond a fleeting knowledge of the menu at a Chinese restaurant in the village where I grew…