Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 61/No. 36 i Beijing Review

SINGAPORE Delegates pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting on August 29. The meeting called on member states to continue strengthening regional economic cooperation and integration MYANMAR Rescuers help people evacuate from a village in Yangon on August 29. More than 10,000 people were evacuated in the area after a river dam broke, leaving at least three missing ZIMBABWE Emmerson Mnangagwa takes the presidential oath of office at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on August 26. Mnangagwa was sworn in for his first five-year term UNITED STATES President Donald Trump departs from the White House on August 24. Trump told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citing a lack of…

Villagers living in the town of Zhili in Huzhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, have seen major changes taking place in their hometown in recent years. The sky and rivers, they say, are clearer, and the land greener than be-fore. Lu Yunqi, Secretary of the village branch of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of Wupu, a village under the jurisdiction of Zhili, has witnessed changes in its economic fortunes as well. “Now there is not a single low-income family in our village,” he said. According to Lu, few villagers are involved in agriculture in the villages of Zhili, with most of the young and middle-aged population working in big cities elsewhere in the province or at local children’s wear manufacturing workshops, while senior villagers are engaged in aquaculture and…

On August 22, the Chinese Government rolled out a policy to enable the country’s migrant workforce to directly clear their healthcare expenses in the places where they work, rather than in their hometowns. In addition, designated medical institutions are to be linked via a national platform, which will make online reimbursement possible in China’s latest movet o make its healthcare system more efficient. A day later, Margaret Chan, former Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chairwoman of the Global Health Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia, shared her views with Beijing Review reporter Li Nan, as well as colleagues from other media outlets, about China’s healthcare reform. Beijing Review: What is your opinion of China’s healthcare reform? Margaret Chan: From a global perspective, healthcare reform is…

The African Union (AU), established in 2001 to replace the defunct Organization of African Unity founded in 1963, was formed to hasten the regional integration process in Africa to enable it to play its rightful role in the global economy. The AU has created an effective platform for its member states to coordinate positions on matters of common concern to the continent in international fora, and to defend the interests of Africa effectively. It is this unity of purpose that gave birth to the celebrated Agenda 2063—a 50-year, continent-wide, people-driven plan outlining the "Africa We Want." The Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socioeconomic transformation of Africa. Continental blueprint But what does Agenda 2063 aspire to achieve? Its main objective is to create a prosperous Africa based on…

For those California residents who lost their homes in recent wildfires, there could be more trouble on the way as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to wage a trade war on several fronts. Trump’s tariffs are driving up the price of imported timber, drywall, nails and other key construction materials needed to rebuild homes, resulting in the costs of building a standard new house in the state rising by up to $20,000. But they are not the only victims of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The rising price of industrial materials and components is squeezing the profits of manufacturers too. Companies trying to absorb the new fees are seeing their profit margins depleted and being forced to lay off workers. Businesses suffer Small businesses are suffering the most.…

Book Bars on the Beaches Tourists read at a book bar in a scenic spot in Beidaihe, north China’s Hebei Province, on August 25. Many such spots have been set up in the beach areas of Beidaihe District for tourists this year. Steel Capacity Cap North China’s Hebei Province will cap its steel capacity at 200 million tons by 2020 in its fight against air pollution. The total steel capacity in Hebei, Beijing’s neighbor and home to several of the country’s most polluted cities, was cut to 239 million tons in 2017 from its peak of 320 million tons in 2011. Local authorities plan to cut a further 10 million tons this year. The provincial government said on August 27 it will also limit the capacity of cement, flat glass,…

Zhili, a town in east China’s Zhejiang Province, is located on the shores of the Taihu Lake, the nation’s third largest freshwater lake. It is renowned as the capital of China’s children’s wear industry, which flourished after the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy. With the thriving economy, the local government put great efforts into improving the integration of rural and urban development and the construction of its infrastructure, including education, medical services, and others. Due to its impressive performance, Zhili was selected as one of the pilots for China’s new urbanization in 2016 and is set to provide more replicable and effective experiences for other places in the country. (Courtesy photos) Comments to wenqing@bjreview.com…

An enthusiastic young man from Cameroon launches into a Chinese song in a local park, drawing admiring glances from fellow karaoke fans. “Welcome to Beijing, where everyone has an extraordinary dream, where we dare to try to make miracles,” he sings. The performance was filmed for the big screen as part of the documentary Africans in Yiwu. The singer is Serge Hervea, a Cameroonian student at the College of Culture and International Education of Zhejiang Normal University, located in east China’s Zhejiang Province. “I really like singing and listening to music. But singing Chinese songs is not just a hobby for me, it’s also a way to show that I live well in China,” he says. Shot over a two-year period, Africans in Yiwu is the work of Chinese and…

After imposing a 25percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods earlier this summer, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is now considering taxing another group of Chinese products worth four times as much at the same rate. These proposals have invoked an intense reaction from the public, with the USTR forced to double the number of days devoted to public hearings from three to six. Hundreds of representatives from a w ide range of American industries said at the hearings in Washington, D.C. in August that the proposed new tariffs on Chinese imports would raise the price of countless products and damage U.S. companies and consumers, with around 90 percent of all attending representatives opposed to the U.S. Government’s tariffs. Edited excerpts of some of the…

At the 25th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), a copyright export signing ceremony took place on August 22, where it was agreed that the book Classics in Rhythm and Rhyme for Children would be translated into seven languages. The New World Press (NWP), a subsidiary of China International Publishing Group (CIPG), and People’s Literature Publishing House (PLPH) cohosted the event, where NWP signed contracts with publishing houses in Russia, South Korea, India, Poland and Albania. The book will have a new title, Classics in Rhythm and Rhyme: The Beauty of Chinese Poetry, after being translated into Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Korean, Hindi, Polish and Albanian. Published by PLPH in May, the book incorporates 30 poems from a China Central Television show that aired from February to April, which invited primarily famous…

Top Private Firms On August 29, China unveiled the latest ranking of its 500 largest private enterprises, with telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei and e-commerce firm Suning atop the list. The list, by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, came at the 2018 Summit of China Top 500 Private Enterprises held in Shenyang, north-east China’s Liaoning Province. The revenues of the nine largest private firms all exceeded 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) in 2017. They include Huawei, Suning, Amer International, JD.com, Weiqiao Pioneering Group, Legend Holdings, Evergrande, Gome Holdings and Hengli Group. Of the top 500 private companies, 61 firms saw their revenues surpass 100 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) last year, 11 more than in 2016. Eighteen of China’s private firms also made the list of the world’s top 500…

‘This pullover is made from 100-percent pure cotton. It is stretchy and comfortable for kids, and is also the latest style this autumn,” said Pu Xinquan, Managing Director of the King Boy & King Girl Clothes Co., while introducing a yellow children’s hoodie to a customer on August 22 at one of his stores in Zhili, a small town in east China’s Zhejiang Province. Like many other successful business people in the town, Pu did not receive much of an education and started working at an early age. He held many different posts, at one time a carpenter, at another a purchasing and sales clerk at a cement plant. During the 1990s, many people around him began to make a fortune in the children’s wear industry. Pu, seeing the huge…

Five years ago, in the autumn of 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt during a visit to Kazakhstan and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road while in Indonesia, which have collectively become known as the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative serves as a solution for China to participate in global opening up and cooperation, improve global economic governance, promote common development and prosperity, and build a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said at a symposium marking the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing on August 27. He called for efforts to uphold dialogue and consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits, win-win cooperation, exchange and mutual learning and to promote mutual political trust, economic integration, and people-to-people…

Deep in the interior of Central Africa lies the Republic of Chad, a country dependent on agriculture for most of its revenue. Below the surface, it has abundant reserves of petroleum, but it was not until the Chinese oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) began production there in 2011 that the country finally realized energy self-sufficiency. When CNPC first set foot in Chad 15 years ago, domestic oil consumption in the country was heavily dependent on imports. In September 2007, a bilateral agreement was reached to build a joint-stock refinery plant, marking the starting point of China-Chad petroleum cooperation. As the Ndjamena refinery plant went into production in June 2011, President Idriss Déby Itno described how his country had won the victory of energy independence, which he…

At an international pet fair held recently in Shanghai, local cat owner Xiao Wanqing packed a 28-inch suitcase full of imported cat food and toys and ordered a courier to deliver it to her home. The 21st Pet Fair Asia, which received more than 140,000 visitors over the weekend, closed on August 26. Many petlovers like Xiao attended, bringing large suitcases to fill with global pet products. Xiao trusts the quality of imported cat food, as “big foreign pet food suppliers are more established and have a good reputation,” she said. More than 1,300 exhibitors set up booths in the 140,000-square-meter exhibition hall. “My dog has a weak stomach, which food do you recommend?” asked Zhang Ran, a middle-aged Shanghai resident, at Royal Canin’s booth. Based on the professional advice…

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, NBA legend Michael Jordan draped himself in the U.S. flag to obscure the team’s official sponsor, Reebok, because he was endorsed by its rival, Nike. Recently, a similar scene took place at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sun Yang, China’s flamboyant champion swimmer, had to choose between Anta, the Chinese delegation’s official sponsor, and his own sponsor 361°. After winning the Men’s 800M Freestyle race, Sun chose his personal sponsor and came out for the medal ceremony in the bright yellow colors of the brand. Later in the evening, during the ceremony for the Men’s 4x200M Freestyle Relay, in which China finished second, Sun wore the official uniform but covered up his white jersey with the Chinese flag. Chinese sportswear giant Anta issued…