Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 61/No. 45 i Beijing Review

INDONESIA Search and rescue workers check belongings from Lion Air Flight JT 610 in Jakarta on October 30. The plane with 189 people aboard crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta on October 29 BRAZIL Jair Bolsonaro waves to his supporters as he leaves a polling station in Rio de Janeiro on October 28. A member of the conservative Social Liberal Party, Bolsonaro won the country’s presidential run-off election later that day MEXICO The Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Parade in Mexico City on October 27. The parade was dedicated to migrants who lost their lives seeking refuge in other countries SOUTH SUDAN President Salva Kiir Mayardit declares an end to the five-year civil war at a gathering to celebrate the signing of a…

The author is deputy chief economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges The world economy has enjoyed a cyclical recovery in recent years, and consequently, insufficient growth drivers and imbalanced development followed. At the same time, there is mounting populism, protectionism and unilateralism. Regional hotspots continue to be in turmoil, terrorism is rampant, while globalization has been hampered and the multilateral trade system threatened, especially in peace, development and global governance. The world is at a crossroads, witnessing profound changes. Common challenges The U.S. economy is performing well, but it is unsustainable. Its momentum of growth is bound to slow down by next year. Facing different economic situations, European countries and Japan have adopted differentiated policies. As the U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to hike interest rates, the…

In 2006, Jia Peixiao quit his stable job, determined to set up his own business even though many doubted his success. Longing to return to his hometown, he went back to Wantou Village, Boxing County of Binzhou City in east China’s Shandong Province, to try his luck. After failing several times, Jia turned his attention to a local handicraft made from willow straw. With computer skills learned in college, he opened a shop on Alibaba’s Taobao, a major online shopping website in China. Eleven years later, Jia delivered a speech at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, about his successful business and experiences, explaining the new trends in Chinese villages and the development of China’s e-commerce industry. A learning point For centuries, women in Wantou have woven willow straw into…

At a wine party, as Wang Guangying walked up to the dais, he faced an audience of business magnates, foreign dignitaries and government officials. It was a momentous occasion in Hong Kong. Wang was going to announce the launch of a Chinese mainland-funded trade and industrial investment company, a rare move at that time, making him a pioneer in China’s bold attempt to open up to the outside world. The year was 1983, just five years after China adopted the policy of reform and opening up. At that time, it had a fledgling economy, was weak in overall national strength and lagged in technological development. Therefore, there was an urgent need to step up interaction and cooperation with the rest of the world. Thirty-five years later, the trade and industry…

Autumnal Adventures Children from a kindergarten in Cangzhou, north China’s Hebei Province, sketch in an ecological park, enjoying the beauty of autumn on October 25. Gang Crackdown Chinese procuratorates have approved the arrest of over 57,000 people suspected of gang crimes in some 17,000 cases in the first nine months of the year, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) reported on October 30. Meanwhile, more than 200 people were arrested for protecting criminal organizations by concealing their crimes or shielding them from punishment, the SPP said. Of those arrested for gang crimes, over 32,000 have been prosecuted. The SPP is working with the Ministry of Public Security to supervise the crackdown on 24 major gang crimes in Hebei, Henan and Yunnan provinces this year. It has built a special team, which…

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to China in October, the first by a Japanese government head to China since 2011, indicates that Japan-China ties have returned to the right track. In addition to a host of major outcomes, the Japanese and Chinese governments reached consensus on third-party market cooperation. During his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Abe said the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is promising and expressed Japan’s willingness to beef up cooperation with China in wide areas, including the exploration of third-party markets. The Belt and Road Initiative focuses on strengthening economic ties, promoting connectivity of policies, and boosting academic, cultural and personnel exchanges. It envisions a diversified and inclusive economic network and has attracted wide attention from the international community. Since the second half of…

Pandas that are currently scattered among a few isolated and relatively small nature reserves in China are expected to have a new and much larger home by 2020 in the country’s first Giant Panda National Park. In a further step in the planning process, the administration bureau of the park was officially established in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on October 29. The park—spanning the three provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi—will cover an area of 27,134 square km, triple the size of the United States’ Yellowstone National Park. The panda habitat area will encompass 18,150 square km, with 1,614 giant pandas in residence. “Giant pandas will be the major species under protection in the national park. In addition, more than 8,000 kinds of wildlife, including snub-nosed monkeys, will also be…

During autumn nights, it’s common to see strollers walking appreciatively on the town wall in Zhengding, an ancient county in north China’s Hebei Province. The wall is one of the few remaining segments of the ancient fortification built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and preserved to the present day. Standing on it, visitors can see four old pagodas lined up from south to north, forming a spectacular sight. The wall and other ancient monuments have brought new opportunities for the local tourism industry amid the Central Government’s initiative to develop all-region tourism, in which an entire region is developed as a tourist destination. Zhengding has a rich history as it survived nine dynasties without any interruption, enabling it to possess a great variety of cultural artifacts. History and culture are…

Economic Evaluation The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting on October 31 to analyze the economy and plan the country’s economic work. The meeting, presided over by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that China has achieved sustained and healthy economic and social development this year. In the first three quarters, the country achieved overall economic stability with steady progress, and economic performance was kept within a proper range, according to a statement issued after the meeting. The economic structure continued to improve. Work has been done to support the private sector while a series of measures aimed to promote the healthy development of the financial market boosted market sentiment. The economy has seen changes amid overall stability…

‘Hello, I am from China and I am very glad to meet you here,” the Chinese businessman said in halting Japanese as he exchanged business cards with a Japanese trader, both of them keen to establish contacts for possible cooperation in the future. There were many more people like the pair at the first forum on China-Japan third-party cooperation held in Beijing on October 26, an important event organized for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official visit to China from October 25 to 27. Attended by Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, as well as nearly 1,500 business people, the forum produced tangible results. Over 50 business agreements worth $18 billion were signed between Chinese and Japanese local governments, companies and financial institutions. Such fruitful cooperation has been rare in…

A pair of crested ibises from China arrived at Japan’s Narita Airport in Tokyo on October 17 before being transferred to the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center in Niigata. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that China would gift a pair of crested ibises to Japan when he visited the country in May. “The move has increased genetic biodiversity of crested ibises in Japan while signifying the best wishes of the Chinese people to the Japanese people,” said Li Chunliang, deputy chief of China’s State Forestry and Grassland Administration, at the handover ceremony. The two crested ibises, male Lou Lou and female Guan Guan, were both donated by the Louguantai Center for the Rescue and Breeding of Wild Animals in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. They will be moved to the…

Known as the father of China’s modern legal structure, Shen Jiaben (1840-1913) is a figure who looms large in Chinese history and culture. During his tenure as the secretary of enactment in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Shen presided over the drafting and revision of many laws of that period. As chief architect of the 1905 revision of the Qing Code, the legal code of the Qing Dynasty, Shen abolished several inhumane methods of punishment and execution. He was also instrumental in uniting the heritage of traditional Chinese legal culture with foreign codes and practices, a pioneer in overhauling and reforming the judicial system in China. Over 100 years since his death, today’s China would be unrecognizable to Shen. But far from being designated to the closet of history, he…

After their personal income tax threshold was raised from 3,500 yuan ($500) to 5,000 yuan ($720) as of October 1, Chinese taxpayers’ burdens will be further reduced with details of new deductible items clarified. According to the Individual Income Tax Law amended on August 31, taxable incomes will have special deductions for children’s education, continuing education, treatment for serious diseases, caring for the elderly, as well as housing loan interests and rents. On October 20, authorities unveiled draft temporary measures on these deductions for public feedback for two weeks. The final rules for special deductions will go into effect as of January 1, 2019. Education expenses The deduction for children’s education will cover both pre-school education, starting with 3-year-olds, and academic education starting from primary school to doctoral programs. The…

Recently, schools have been allowing all kinds of apps for students to do their homework. Homework is regarded as a window for teachers to gauge students’ overall academic performance, and these apps can help students do their homework more efficiently and interact better with their teachers. Besides, as these apps are often designed to attract students, it’s thought that they can kindle students’ interest in their studies. However, the use of apps is also creating problems. Some of these apps have video games, and even inappropriate content. As a result, instead of improving their efficiency and performance, students become addicted to online games and their eyesight is damaged. Sometimes, some apps may not be good for students’ academic work, but they are still recommended as the schools get incentives from…