Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.65/No.9 i Beijing Review

In February 1972, then U.S. President Richard Nixon paid a visit to China. Considered an icebreaking trip in Sino-American relations, both sides issued the Shanghai Communiqué, marking the end to 22 years of alienation between the two countries and the beginning of a normalization of bilateral relations. Today, China-U.S. relations usher in the visit’s 50th anniversary amid tensions. Looking back on 50 years of exchanges and looking ahead to the future development of the China-U.S. relationship, we must highlight several points so that both countries can gain a clear, mutual understanding and ensure the sound development of their bilateral ties. The normalization of relations between the U.S. and China catered to the needs of the times for both sides. The Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was…

On February 21, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon embarked on an icebreaking journey to China that proved to be “the week that changed the world.” The handshake between Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai when the former stepped off the airplane, captured on lens on site, symbolized the restoration of formal contact between Beijing and Washington, cut off by the Cold War for more than two decades. Nixon’s historic visit led to the normalization of the Sino-American relationship that fundamentally reconfigured the global balance of power. However, 50 years on, the China-U.S. relationship has spiraled down to one of its rarest low points in history. Viewing China as a major threat to American hegemony, Washington is determined to launch a fierce “strategic competition” with Beijing. Guided by the so-called Indo-Pacific…

During his icebreaking visit to China in 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon was invited by Chinese leaders to recommend the best American enterprises from 10 sectors to drive economic exchanges between the two countries. Honeywell UOP, a supplier and licenser of petroleum refining solutions operated by technology and manufacturing giant Honeywell International Inc., was the only company in its field named by Nixon. “Thanks to the economic cooperation and exchanges between China and the United States, Honeywell has been participating in China’s economic development and promoting technological innovation and industrial upgrading together with our Chinese partners,” Steven Lien, President of Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific, told Beijing Review. According to Lien, Honeywell moved its Asia-Pacific headquarters to Shanghai in 2003, subsequently established the company’s largest research and development (R&D) center in…

As inflation hits a four-decade high in the United States, China faces deflationary pressure. The markedly different pictures of the world’s two largest economies tell the complexity of economic recovery amid COVID-19 waves. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in January, China’s consumer price index (CPI) inched up by 0.9 percent year on year, a decline of 0.6 percentage point over the month before. The country’s CPI has been on a continuous downward drift since last November. Despite the Spring Festival shopping spree, in January, the CPI growth rate was still lower than the previous month. Usually, the two months following the Spring Festival holiday, from January 31 to February 6 this year, see tepid consumption, so a strong CPI rebound is not on the cards…

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the number of cases being reported in the past month higher than the total number of cases detected in the previous two years. As of February 1, a total of 13,829 confirmed cases and 213 deaths had been reported in the region since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, yet the numbers rose to 32,538 and 385 respectively as of February 23, according to data from the National Health Commission of China. Most of the newly added cases are local. The spokesperson for the Center for Health Protection (CHP) of the HKSAR’s Department of Health stressed that “the local situation of COVID-19 infection became severe recently and there is a continuous increase in the…

With the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, China’s fervor for ice and snow activities has soared to new heights. Teenagers make up the majority of China’s current 346 million winter sports participants, guaranteeing demand will continue for decades to come. Their growing popularity with China’s youth also creates a strong pool from which to extract potential future Winter Olympians. Skiing and skating became the most popular sports for Beijing children and their parents during the recent winter vacation, and training camps have popped up across major ski resorts citywide. Last month at the Shichahai Ice Rink, Beijingers were spotted playing ice hockey, demonstrating the public’s passion for the 2022 Games. Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon Comments to dingying@cicgamericas.com…

HORN OF AFRICA AFFAIRS SPECIAL ENVOY China has appointed Xue Bing, former ambassador to Papua New Guinea, as the special envoy for the Horn of Africa affairs, the Foreign Ministry announced on February 22. Xue is a veteran diplomat with work experience spanning Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. The special envoy will establish working relationships with colleagues from relevant parties as soon as possible and maintain close communication and coordination on advancing the implementation of the Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa. During his visit to Africa earlier this year, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed the Outlook, which intends to support regional countries in achieving lasting peace and security as well as embracing development and prosperity. Free Pass Pushes Profits Workers’ Daily…

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s flying visit to Beijing on February 4, China and Russia signed an oil and gas deal worth hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars. What makes the contract stand out, however, is that it will be settled in euros. This has led some to speculate about the move’s underlying intentions and its impact on the status of the dollar. Together with China’s introduction of the digital yuan, one might wonder: Will this mark the end of the worldwide dollar dominance? According to the going monetary and banking theories, major international currencies should bear three important features: stable value anchoring; convenience in use; and open current and capital accounts of issuing countries or country groups. Value anchoring Major international currencies must reflect strong economic values. The biggest…

After 19 days of intense competition, the Beijing 2022 Games came to a grand finale in the closing ceremony on February 20 at the National Stadium in the capital of China, also the first-ever city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The Olympic baton now has been passed on to the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, hosts of the 2026 Winter Games. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the organizing committee was devoted to staging a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Winter Games with a green, inclusive, open, and clean approach, in close cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other stakeholders, Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee President Cai Qi said. As the first global multi-sport event to unfold as scheduled since the…

This year marks the 50th anniversary of former U.S. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China and the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué, laying the political foundations for the formal establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1979. As China-U.S. ties have faced stiff headwinds in recent years, it is vital to review that special period in time during which we put aside our differences and pursued common ground. What message does President Nixon’s visit hold for today’s ties? Beijing Review Associate Editor in Chief Liu Yunyun interviewed Chas W. Freeman Jr., principal American interpreter during President Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing and Assistant Secretary of Defense in the early 1990s. Freeman shared personal experiences and insights he has gathered over five decades of studying China’s evolution. Edited excerpts of the…

As the Washington National Cathedral tolled its funeral bell 900 times at 5 p.m. on February 7 to recognize the 900,000 deaths from COVID-19 registered in the U.S., American elites appeared more concerned about China’s zero-spread policy. They claimed if China does not choose to coexist with the virus, it will create an “immunity gap” with other countries in the future, and the Chinese will eventually be subject to a similar fate: Hundreds of millions of people will be infected and millions will die. However, compared with the possibility of a so-called “immunity gap,” the better question is why the U.S. doesn’t believe mankind can defeat the virus at the lowest cost through unity and discipline? The problem may be rooted in the tradition of so-called social Darwinism. Social Darwinism…

China unveiled its No.1 Central Document for 2022 on February 22, highlighting key tasks to comprehensively push forward rural vitalization this year. As the first policy statement released by the central authorities every year, the document is seen as an indicator of the nation’s strategic priorities. Agriculture, rural areas and rural people have long been considered the cornerstones of China’s socioeconomic development. Starting from 2004, efforts to their benefit have featured high on the government’s agenda. The top priorities The document called for efforts to stabilize and increase agricultural production, steadily raise rural incomes, and ensure stability in rural areas to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and other changes unseen in a century, as well as promote sound economic and social development. Having removed all impoverished counties from its poverty…

Its long history and traditional culture have endowed China’s capital of Beijing with an abundance of intangible cultural heritage and an ensuing vast number of traditional techniques. According to Li Linlin, Vice Director of Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, the capital’s inheritance boasts three gleaming assets: a long history, huge diversity and wide popularity among the society’s highflyers and grassroots alike. In recent years, the center has adopted various methods to preserve many different forms of cultural heritage, one such example being that for time-honored brands, it helps organize inheritor training. Academic and teaching resources in Beijing-based universities make it possible for these inheritors to take classes there, expanding their minds on brand marketing and upgrading their design philosophy. It also strengthens the recording of intangible cultural heritage through various…

The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st century makeover—with a subversive twist. This rapidly changing landscape is a unique phenomenon that goes beyond the mere Summer/Winter collections; it waves the flag for the changes vibrating within China’s societyat-large today. The Olympic flag, even. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene here is exploding. And for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, local designers came into the spotlight with their creations for the opening ceremony in Beijing. This edition offered an opportunity, not just to young athletes, but also to young independent Chinese designers with a taste for the global stage. And on this occasion specifically, we had two widely celebrated…