Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.63/No.12 i Beijing Review

It is time for the international community to introspect on the direr situation the world would have been in without China’s resolute and effective measures to contain the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Disaster always brings out what lies in the human heart. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, central China, triggered two different reactions in the international community. One was of goodwill, hoping that China would defeat the virus and offering assistance. The other was of viciousness, manifesting in scurrilous attacks on China and labeling COVID-19 “the Wuhan virus,” and even “the China virus.” Where did the virus originate? It remains an unsolved mystery, especially with detection of the infection in individuals and communities in other countries that have no links with China or the Chinese. Attacking China or…

The author is dean of the China Institute of Fudan University The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disaster facing all humanity, and standing together to find solutions is the right path forward. However, since the outbreak began, Western media reports on China have been filled with xenophobic, racist and derogatory messages trying to smear China and its efforts to combat the disease. The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed titled China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia written by an American scholar who has a Cold War mindset. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross suggested the coronavirus would “help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America.” These opinions caused an international outcry. Righting the record Nobel laureate Paul Krugman refuted the commerce secretary’s remarks in…

The author is a former senior lecturer in political economy and history at the University of Wales and currently general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain A part from deaths and the distress caused to those most directly affected, another product of the novel coronavirus epidemic has been the increase in abusive behavior outside China toward people who are—or perceived to be—of Chinese ethnicity. Anti-Chinese incidents have been reported in many countries across the world, including Britain. Many people perceived as Chinese-looking are not Chinese but were born in Britain; or, they have not been to any infected regions recently, if ever. Of course, unpleasant and threatening behavior can be distressing for the recipient. In cyberspace, where traditional British politeness has taken a hammering, the abuse tends to be…

The Wuchang Hospital, which was converted from a stadium in Wuhan in Hubei Province, was closed down on March 10 after seeing off its last 49 patients. It is the last of the 16 temporary hospitals in the city to close. The retirement of such hospitals, as sudden as their emergence in the past 35 days, marks a milestone in the war against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The spread of the novel coronavirus has been basically curbed in Hubei including Wuhan. “Initial success has been achieved in stabilizing the situation and turning the tide,” President Xi Jinping said on March 10 during a visit to the city. Meeting a pressing need When the novel coronavirus outbreak was first detected in Wuhan in January, Chen Xiaoguo, a nurse at…

In 2015, a symposium held in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province in the northwest, focused on poverty alleviation in old revolutionary bases of the CPC. Another symposium held in Guiyang, Guizhou Province in the southwest, had the theme of poverty alleviation and economic and social development during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period. In 2016, the symposium held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the northwest, focused on poverty alleviation through cooperation between eastern and western regions. In 2017, the symposium held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province in the north, zoomed in on fighting extreme poverty. In 2018, the symposium held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in the southwest, made arrangements on targeted poverty alleviation. In 2019, the symposium held in Chongqing Municipality in the southwest focused on addressing prominent problems to ensure…

When most companies are struggling to deal with the difficulties in business operation caused by the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic, NIO, an emerging Chinese carmaker specializing in intelligent electric automobiles, has just welcomed a monumental moment—the establishment of its headquarters in Hefei, Anhui Province in east China. There, the local government as well as market investors are expected to inject over $10 billion into the ambitious smart car producer, which plans to soon put its coupe SUV EC6 into large-scale production. The move coincided with the issuing of a document on intelligent automobile innovation and development strategy by Chinese policymakers on February 24. In the document, the government has set 2025 as the target year for achieving market application of self-driving cars with high automation in specific conditions and launching…

The London Book Fair 2020, one of the publishing industry’s biggest international events of the year, was scheduled to take place at the Olympia London conference center on March 10, but due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe, the organizer had to announce its cancellation on March 4. Against this backdrop, China International Publishing Group (CIPG) held an online launch ceremony for new books on China’s battle against the virus in Beijing to introduce the country’s actions and practices to the world. The group had already updated its theme for the book fair on February 28, focusing on books about China’s all-out battle against COVID-19. A day later, as the UK’s first person-to-person transmission of the virus was confirmed, the fast-changing situation had potential…

The inclusion of the third tranche of China’s A-shares on British stock index provider FTSE Russell’s Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) will kick off on March 23 according to schedule, raising the shares’ index inclusion factor from 15 to 25 percent. The GEIS series includes more than 16,000 large, mid, small and micro cap securities across 49 developed and emerging markets. There was some worry that the epidemic could affect the process but the fact that it will go on as scheduled indicates the world’s confidence in China’s capital market and the Chinese economy on the whole. The inclusion of the A-shares on the index started in June 2019 with a 5-percent inclusion factor. For the second tranche in September 2019, the inclusion factor rose to 15 percent. The final…

Consumption Desire Chinese people are ready to spend generously after the measures to control the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are lifted, according to a survey conducted by the consumers council of Jiangsu Province in east China. The survey collected answers from 21,192 respondents in the province from February 25 to March 1. It found that 89.6 percent of the respondents had suppressed the desire for dining out and shopping as well as going to movie theaters, gymnasiums and tourist spots. In China’s nationwide efforts to curb the epidemic, citizens have been encouraged to stay at home since the end of January to avoid infection, while stores and shopping malls have suspended operation or greatly reduced their hours. Cities also imposed various travel restrictions. Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, gymnasiums…

UFC CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENDED Zhang Weili, China’s first and only Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world champion, successfully defended her strawweight title at the UFC 248 in Nevada, the U.S., on March 8. She is also the first East Asian champion in UFC history. The UFC is a U.S. mixed martial arts organization based in Nevada. The strawweight category is for contestants weighing between 48 kg and 52 kg. Zhang defeated Polish Muay Thai specialist Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Before the game, Jedrzejczyk posted a mocking poster on social media that depicted her wearing a gas mask while standing behind Zhang, accompanied by laughing emojis. “I don’t like trash words in the cage. We should be a model for the later generations,” 30-year-old Zhang said following her victory. “It’s been a very hard way…

It’s been a tough time for China since the novel coronavirus outbreak. How do you view the ongoing fight against the virus in China? Shamshad Akhtar: China is a great nation and its outstanding economic and social achievements are well recognized globally—lifting people out of poverty, transforming policies as well as legal and regulatory frameworks, embracing inclusive and sustainable development, and promoting global governance reform and multilateralism. China invests heavily in research and development. Public health is of paramount significance to the authorities given the population size and density. China has a good track record of fighting epidemics though one needs to recognize that dealing with unknowns of the virus is a challenge and requires global cooperation and collective action to unearth the causes and treatment. Given its decisiveness and…

The author is a researcher in emotion and media psychology and a guest professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law After the novel coronavirus outbreak, we have new viruses—panic as an emotional virus and the media. You need to look at the other two viruses at the same time too. The world seems to have drunk a cocktail of viruses that has thrown it considerably out of step. The ensuing shock has triggered a deep, overwhelming uncertainty with many in the Western world feeling threatened or attacked by an external, invisible enemy that could be lurking anywhere. An enemy that like a wave threatens to inundate old, familiar securities. Check your smartphone to get information or exchange information with friends and relatives, and a wave of hostility, misleading…

The Chinese mainland has topped a trust index among major economies surveyed worldwide with its residents found to be putting increasing trust in their government. Compared with 86 points out of 100 in 2019, the barometer shows 90 points this year, which is substantially higher than the global average of 49 and more than double the U.S. score, which stands at 39 points. These are the findings of the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual trust and credibility survey report covering 28 economies released by Edelman Intelligence, a U.S.-based communications firm, on March 3. One to 49 on the index denotes distrust, 50-59 neutral and 60-100 trust. The stronger faith shown in the Chinese Government might be the last thing some U.S. politicians would like to see. During his visit…

Xu Ting, a nurse living in Beijing, had planned a trip to Iceland with her friend in February to watch the northern lights. They booked their tickets during the Double 11 sales promotion in November 2019 and also paid a local travel agency in Iceland for a six-day tour. But on January 31, the carrier, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), announced it was canceling all flights to and from the Chinese mainland till February 10 due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, and later extended the cancelation to April 30. So did most foreign airlines. Xu and her friend had to cancel their travel plan. Though they got a full refund on the air tickets, they lost 50 percent of the money paid for the local tour. “My family also urged me to…

China is accelerating the construction of new infrastructure, which is expected to create new drivers for economic growth, especially in sectors like new consumption, new manufacturing and new services. It will accelerate the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G networks, industrial Internet and data centers, a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee said on March 4. In the industrial era, infrastructure was represented by railways, highways and airports, but in the digital era, digital facilities such as optical cables and mobile communications have become increasingly important. Liu Duo, President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), said 5G will play a crucial role in digital transformation of many sectors, enhancing innovation and contributing to economic…

In 1977, when NASA sent its Voyager 2 spacecraft on an exploration of outer space, it carried an unusual item. There were two phonograph records on board as mementos of Earth. One of the longest tracks the records included was Liu Shui (Flowing Streams), a classic composition on the guqin, the traditional Chinese seven-stringed musical instrument shaped like the zither, but with a much longer history. The composition represented the transformation of a trickling stream into a powerful waterfall. The idea was communication through music. It was recommended by Chou Wenchung, a composer and professor at Columbia University’s Department of Music. Chou thought it was an apt representation of China, reflecting Chinese philosophy about humans and nature. The guqin has a special place in cultural history, dating back over 3,000…

The author is an op-ed contributor to Beijing Review and senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company The novel coronavirus is dominating the 2020 global news cycle. The virus has reached more than 110 countries and regions, killed over 4,000 people. Beyond its health implications, the virus is impacting the global economy, with economic growth in 2020 expected to drop from a projected 2.9 percent to 1.5 percent. The travel, hospitality and manufacturing industries are already heavily affected as a result of travel advisories and disrupted supply chains. China critics are not missing this opportunity to chime in on a micro level, saying there was a cover-up, there should have been individual testing rather than a mass quarantine, medical staff should have been protected, and there’s no excuse for a…

The author is editor in chief of GreekReporter.com Tens of thousands of refugees and immigrants have been gathering at the Turkey-Greece border since the end of February, after Turkey announced it would not stop them from leaving the country. Turkey made the move after an airstrike in Idlib Province in northern Syria, blamed on the Syrian Government, killed 33 Turkish soldiers and Turkey anticipated an influx of new refugees from Syria. As the refugees attempt to cross the border to enter Europe, Greece, Europe’s southern gateway, is under tremendous pressure. If Greece fails to keep its border closed, all other European Union (EU) members would face another refugee crisis. While the EU is trying to assist Greece to cope with the pressure, most Greeks are pessimistic about the crisis ending…

A destitute county without a musical tradition, Zheng’an in Guizhou Province in southwest China is an unlikely home for many of the world’s top-notch guitars. However, the mountainous area with little arable land has bloomed into the largest guitar production base in the world, growing from a seed brought in by native resident Zheng Chuanjiu. In the 1990s when many people from this impoverished county flocked to economically advanced places to seek a better life, Zheng went to Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, where he joined a guitar factory after trying an assortment of jobs. In seven years or so, he worked his way from an ordinary worker on the production line to a management staff. In 2007, he founded his own company in Guangzhou. Later, at the…

The author is chief researcher of Bank of China On March 9, all three major U.S. stock indexes tumbled more than 7 percent. A key market circuit breaker was triggered for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, with $3-trillion market value evaporating. The stock markets of other major economies also experienced a new Black Monday as a result of the spillover effect. Aside from the impacts of a sharp drop in the oil market and the spread of the novel coronavirus, another factor is also regarded a reason for the turmoil. On March 3, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) announced its first emergency cut since the 2008 global financial crisis. It lowered its target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1-1.25 percent…