Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 62/No.37 i Beijing Review

Auto Sales Auto sales in China are expected to rebound for the rest of 2019 as producers seek to improve consumption demand. In July, the retail sales of auto businesses above the designated size fell 2.6 percent to 305.62 billion yuan ($43.12 billion) from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading slid from a 17.2-percent surge in June, when carmakers and dealers enhanced the promotion of cars that could not meet the new emissions standards before they went into effect in July. “The slowdown was much better than expected, indicating strong market demand despite the temporary disruption in June,” securities firm Shenwan Hongyuan Securities said in a research note. The State Council recently announced 20 measures to boost consumption. Restrictions on car purchases will…

On September 1, 20-year-old Tenzin Chonyi decided to celebrate her graduation by dancing with her friends in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. Her nimble steps showed no signs that she had gone through three major operations for a severe congenital heart disease. The young Tibetan had been wheelchair-bound for the first 15 years of her life, unable to stand. It meant she could not go to school and at home, no one would play with her because of the shortness of breath that overcame her after the slightest exertion. So her biggest childhood dream was to put on a backpack, go to school and play with her classmates. The dream eventually came true in 2015 after a succession of operations, the last two by the same…

In his workshop, redolent with the pungent smell of soy sauce stored in more than 3,000 jars, Wu Huaqing checked the production of the condiment, a family business he learned at his grandfather’s knees. Since his graduation five years ago, the 28-year-old began to learn the ropes of the family business in Jinjiang, a county-level city in Quanzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province. His grandfather Wu Zongzhou founded the workshop after working in a soy sauce factory for 30 years and gathering extensive knowledge of the traditional production process. When he retired and handed over the reins of the business, Wu Zongzhou summarized the long and complicated process for the benefit of his grandson. The trick is to ensure that the soybeans in the jars get ample sunshine in the morning…

For people living in Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong Province in east China, catching an international flight to the Republic of Korea (ROK) takes just about an hour due to the short distance. That is one of the reasons Yantai was chosen to build the China-ROK Industrial Park in 1984, attracting major ROK enterprises such as electronic giant LG and construction machinery maker Doosan Group. Now due to the ROK link and its strong industrial foundation, Shandong has been chosen along with five other provincial-level regions to launch six new pilot free trade zones (FTZs), a first for border areas. The other new pilots are located in Jiangsu, Hebei, Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, taking the total number of FTZs in the country…

Students in many parts of the world are heading back to school for a new semester. In the same vain, it is also time for trade hawks in Washington to start learning at least four lessons from their futile trade war with China. The first lesson is that China is an unbent nail in the face of the U.S. tactic of maximum pressure. On September 1, part of the new additional tariffs imposed by the U.S. Government on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports took effect, while the rest will come into force on December 15. However, Washington’s ever escalating trade offensive, which seeks to extract unreasonable concessions from Beijing, has collapsed. Moreover, China’s determination to fight against the U.S. economic warmongering has only grown stronger, and its counter-measures more…

Zhao Lin, a native of east China’s Anhui Province, has allergic rhinitis and had to leave Beijing six years ago because he couldn’t adapt to the relatively dry climate. But this year, he moved back to the capital and dons a mask on his way to the cafe for his interview with Beijing Review. He said the attraction is stand-up comedy, which he wants to develop as his full-time profession. “Compared to my stand-up comedy career, my physical discomfort is not even worth mentioning,” Zhao told Beijing Review. The career When Zhao, in his 30s, left Beijing in 2013, he didn’t even know what stand-up comedy was, even though there were already some comedy clubs and open-mic shows in the city back then. Zhao, known as Xiaopao, did his first…

An aerial photo taken on September 4 shows villagers waiting in lines to sell tomatoes to local vegetable processing factories in Sandaoqiao Town in the Hetao Irrigation Area in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage added the area to its World Heritage Irrigation Structures list that day. The Hetao Irrigation Area has been diverting water from the Yellow River to irrigate more than 680,000 hectares of land since the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-206 B.C.). The Qianjinbei Irrigation System, located in the city of Fuzhou, east China’s Jiangxi Province, was also listed, bringing the total number of such structures in China to 19.…

BELGIUM Military vehicles during a parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Brussels in Mons on September 1. The allied forces liberated Brussels from German occupation in 1944 during World War II THE NETHERLANDS Classic cars arrive on the Boulevard of Scheveningen at The Hague on September 1. Some 150 classic cars finished the journey as part of the 56th SLS Classic YEMEN Local Red Crescent medics carry the body of a victim following Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes on a prison in Dhamar on September 1. At least 50 prisoners were killed CHILE Representatives attend the third 2019 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting in Puerto Varas on August 29 UNITED STATES The 75-foot Conception dive boat catches fire off Santa Cruz Island in California on September 2.…

When the Huayang International Holding Co. Ltd. entered the market of making sports shoes, especially for outsourcers, it had a credo. It was “just give us the tracing of a foot or your idea and we will provide you customized shoes,” according to Du Pihuang, manager of a subsidiary of the company. Using inexpensive skilled labor and its advantages in designing and manufacturing, Huayang signed long-term cooperation contacts with dozens of international companies, winning a firm foothold in both domestic and foreign markets. However, while this operational model highlighted the capability of the company, it also sowed the seeds of a problem. Located in Jinjiang, a small city under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou in southeast China’s Fujian Province, Huayang is one of the over 5,000 companies, big and small, that…

On September 1, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wrapped up an official visit to China which saw him fly over half of China from Beijing in the north to Foshan in the south. From August 28 to September 1, he met with Chinese top leaders, signed multiple cooperation agreements, had a photo opportunity with action star Jackie Chan and watched several basketball games. Duterte is very familiar to Chinese people since he has been a constant guest, visiting almost every six months on average over the past three years since he took office. This was his fifth trip to China and his second visit to China in the past four months. Since Duterte became president, Sino-Philippine ties have taken an upturn from the once frozen relations, consolidating, uplifting and continuously achieving…

Chuck Marr, 63, once the owner of a bar and grill in Dayton, Ohio, catering to General Motors (GM) employees, stopped making good money after GM closed its plant in 2009. But when Chinese company Fuyao Glass Industry Group, led by its Chairman Cao Dewang, bought the abandoned facility in 2014 and opened it for production, Marr applied for a job and began work in 2016 at an entry-level position. “It (the starting wage) was much less than what we were used to making. But still, we’re thankful for the jobs,” Marr said. What he likes about Fuyao Glass America is that wages are all performance-based, unlike at GM where it was based on seniority. “So the harder you work, the quicker you can advance and the more you can…

Asalient feature of China’s education system is competition, something that has long been the subject of debate. While Li Qi, a professor of economics at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, the United States, asserts that strict quantitative assessment at school helps prepare students for the real world but there is room for reform, Jiang Li, Vice President of the Test Group of Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, argues that instead of a frantic scramble for the most professionally rewarding disciplines, students should be encouraged to develop their true passions instead of being bulldozed into the subjects chosen for them by their parents. Motivation with drawbacks Li Qi: When I was a child, a popular saying among my classmates was “Test, test, test, a teacher’s magical weapon; grade, grade, grade,…

Grand Celebration A grand gathering to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China will be held in Beijing on October 1, National Day, followed by a military parade and mass pageant, according to Wang Xiaohui, Executive Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver an important speech at the event, Wang said at a press conference on August 29. At an evening gala on the same day in Tiananmen Square, Party and state leaders will join the public to watch performances and a fireworks show. Xi will also present the Medal of the Republic, Medal of Friendship…

For the past 70 years, a Beijing-based institution has endeavored to bring the real China to the world. On September 4, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the China International Publishing Group (CIPG), President Xi Jinping recognized its role in delivering China’s voices and promoting exchanges between China and foreign countries in a congratulatory letter. Xi said since China is increasingly connected to the world, CIPG should carry forward its fine traditions, constantly improve its capability and develop itself into a world-class, comprehensive international communication institution. CIPG, also known as the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, was founded on the same day as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949. Glorious achievement The international news division of the national press administration of the Central Government, the predecessor…

At the Quanzhou Maritime Museum, the wreckage of a seafaring wooden sailboat is on display, quietly attesting to the prosperity of Quanzhou and the technical prowess of its shipbuilders from a past era. The vessel, built more than 700 years ago during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), measures more than 30 meters long and about 10 meters wide and consists of 13 compartments. A plethora of goods including spices, medicines, ceramics, leather products and other cultural relics were found on board. Quanzhou, a port city in southeast China’s Fujian Province and the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, was reputed to be one of the largest ports in the East for over four centuries. In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed building the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and in 2015,…

On August 29 in Shanghai, a debate between Jack Ma, founder of China’s tech giant Alibaba, and Elon Musk, CEO of U.S. tech firms Tesla and SpaceX, took place at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2019 (WAIC), which was described as “Mars hits Earth.” While Musk has his heart set on sending 1 million people to Mars, Ma has his set on providing sustainable solutions for 7 billion people on Earth. Along with this contrast, the two also have differing views on artificial intelligence (AI). Musk said he believes “people underestimate the capability of AI” and warned that human beings “will be surpassed by AI in every single way.” Meanwhile, Ma said “a computer is clever but human beings are much smarter,” adding in response to the threats of AI,…

When Paul White first came to Beijing, his plan was to stay for a year. That was in 1984. But now in 2019, “I’m still here,” the 76-year-old said with a smile. He arrived from Yorkshire, the UK, to work as a copyeditor for Xinhua News Agency, getting the job partly due to having studied Chinese as his major at the University of London. Decades later, he doesn’t remember why he chose a language that was not so popular at that time. However, his relationship with China and Chinese culture has grown stronger and for many years, his work has been sharing Chinese thoughts with the outside world through translation. His most recent translation is The Analects of Confucius, selected sayings of the Chinese philosopher, thought to have been compiled…