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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu will pay an official friendly visit to Norway, Austria and Hungary from May 15 to 24.
Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, will make the visit at the invitation of President of the Norwegian parliament Storting Tone Wilhelmsen Troen, Austrian National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka and Federal Council President Ingo Appe, and Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover.
Source: Xinhua
At this dialogue, which is an annual consultation plan agreed on by the two sides, the two sides will exchange views on China-Japan relations and issues of common concern, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.
For years, the two neighbours have been mired in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The group of uninhabited islets, which are called Diaoyu in Chinese, are controlled by Japan but claimed by China.
But Sino-Japanese ties have been markedly improving recently, with 2018 – the 40th anniversary of the signing and entering into force of the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship – serving as an incentive to forge better relations.
In an interview with Japanese media, Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou said the relationship between China and Japan has just returned to normal after going through ups and downs over the years, and both sides need to treasure the development.
“China is willing to work with Japan to further promote China-Japan relations,” he was quoted as saying in a Chinese foreign ministry transcript.
Kong also rejected suggestions that ties between China and Japan have become closer because of the China-US trade war – which pushed Beijing to seek support from its neighbours.
“Putting the relations between China, Japan and the US at opposite from each other is a zero-sum game and cold war mentality. China does not agree with it,” he said. “The friendly relationship among these two nations can be developed in parallel. This is welcomed by the region and the world”.
Source: SCMP
BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) — With the official 1000-day countdown timer of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games having been launched at Beijing’s iconic Olympic Park on Friday evening, various commemorative activities related to winter sports and Olympic culture were held across China on Saturday.
At Beijing’s Shijingshan District, where the 2022 Beijing Organizing Committee of Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCWOG) located, Gaojinglu community was named as the first Winter Olympic Community for its efforts in developing winter sports among the residents.
Supported by the community since 2018, people living in the area were provided with the chances to experience winter sports like skating and curling. Many have shown great interests and established their own teams.
In the Yanqing District, which serves as one of the three competition zones of Beijing 2022, lectures about the Games were taken into schools and students are learning more about Olympic culture through the course.
At Zhangjiakou competition zone in Hebei province, a video which tells the story of Zhangjiakou engaging in the bidding and preparing work of Beijing 2022 came to the public.
Except for Beijing and Hebei, other parts of China also engaged in the milestone moment of Beijing 2022. In Altay of northwestern Chinese Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a skiing competition was held to promote Olympic culture in the area.
Altay has a long history of skiing as discoveries have shown that ancient people there already skied 12,000 years ago. In recent years, the local government has spent a lot of efforts in promoting winter sports, especially in schools. Over 9,000 students have benefited from a plan which aims to bring PE lessons to the skiing resorts.
Source: Xinhua
NEW YORK, May 11 (Xinhua) — An opera featuring the famous monk Jianzhen of China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) will be presented at New York City’s Lincoln Center next month, according to local theatrical sources.
Based on true history, “Voyage To The East – A Fearless Buddhist Master’s Mission To Japan” told the story of monk Jianzhen, who started sailing to Japan in 742 A.D., but only succeeded in 754 A.D. after five failed attempts. Apart from spreading Buddhism, he also introduced Chinese art, medicine and craftsmanship to Japan, thus becoming a highly respected figure in both nations.
Famous Chinese-American opera singer Tian Haojiang plays Jianzhen in the opera. Tian reportedly has had over 1,400 performances of some 50 roles in all major opera houses worldwide. In order to better depict the role, Tian lived with real monks for some time in Daming Temple of east China’s Yangzhou city, where Jianzhen had stayed before embarking on his journey to Japan.
Produced by China’s Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, the opera’s score is a fusion of modern opera with the original sound of the Japanese koto, the zither, the Chinese guzheng, temple blocks and Buddhist chants.
The opera will be staged on June 22 to 23 at the David H. Koch Theatre of the Lincoln Center.
Source: Xinhua
KIEV, May 11 (Xinhua) — Ukraine’s president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday met with Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Du Wei in Kiev to discuss bilateral cooperation.
During the talks, Zelensky said that he attaches particular importance to Ukraine’s relations with China and wants to learn from China’s success of development.
Zelensky said cooperation between the two countries has great prospects, since Ukraine has a number of advantages — a favorable geographical position, rich resources and a large number of highly qualified personnel.
After assuming the office, the president-elect pledged to take all necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of all foreign investors including the Chinese investors.
Zelensky called on Chinese businessmen to invest more actively in the construction of factories in Ukraine and develop cooperation in such areas as deep processing of agricultural products, information technology, green energy, digitalization and others.
For his part, Du said that China and Ukraine have been developing friendly relations and cooperating with each other under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Du hopes that cooperation between the two countries would achieve new breakthroughs and tremendous success during the presidential tenure of Zelensky.
Zelensky was elected as the sixth president of Ukraine on April 21, and he is expected to take office no later than June 3.
Source: Xinhua
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said Friday that cooperation is the only right choice for China and the United States, but China will not compromise on major issues of principle.
China-U.S. relations are of great importance, Liu said in a group interview with Chinese media after the conclusion of the 11th round of high-level economic and trade consultations between the world’s top two economies, which took place on Thursday and Friday in Washington.
Economic and trade relations serve as the ballast and propeller of the overall China-U.S. relationship, and matter not only to bilateral ties, but also to world peace and prosperity, added Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
Cooperation is the only right choice for the two sides, but it has to be based on principles, said the vice premier, who heads the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue.
China, he stressed, will never make concessions on major issues of principle.
The Chinese delegation came to Washington for the latest round of talks with sincerity, and held candid and constructive exchanges with the U.S. side, Liu said, adding that the two sides agreed to continue to push forward the consultations.
China strongly opposes U.S. tariff hikes, which are harmful not only to China and the United States, but to the world at large, and China will have to take necessary countermeasures, he added.
Stressing that any agreement must be equal and mutually beneficial, Liu said that the two sides have reached important consensus on many aspects, but there remain three core concerns of China that must be addressed.
The first is to remove all the additional tariffs, he said, adding that the levy of those tariffs is the starting point of the ongoing bilateral trade dispute, and must be totally revoked if the two sides were to reach a deal.
The second is that the amount of purchases should be realistic, he said, adding that the two sides reached consensus on the volume in Argentina, and should not change it randomly.
The third is to improve the balance of the wording of the text, he said, adding that every country has its dignity, the text must be balanced, and more discussions are needed on some critical issues.
Noting that it is just normal that there have been some ups and downs in bilateral consultations since last year, Liu pointed out that it is irresponsible to casually accuse one party of “backtracking” while the two sides are still in the process of negotiation.
As for China, the vice premier said the most important thing is to focus on its own business.
China enjoys huge domestic market demand, the implementation of the supply-side reform will comprehensively boost the competitiveness of Chinese products and enterprises, and there is still ample room for fiscal and monetary policy manoeuvres, he said, adding the Chinese economic prospect is very optimistic.
Liu pointed out that it is a good thing for a major country to encounter some twists and turns in its development, as they can serve as an ability test.
Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, as long as the Chinese people have firm confidence and make joint efforts, China is not afraid of any difficulties, and will certainly be able to maintain the good momentum of sustained and sound economic development, he added.
Source: Xinhua
People make satellite models in ecological and meteorological house during the “World Meteorological Organization Honorary Day” theme event held as part of the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition in Yanqing District in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) — World Meteorological Organization (WMO) “honor day” kicked off at the ongoing International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing Saturday.
Zhang Wenjian, assistant secretary-general of the WMO, said a majority of the natural disasters in 2018 related to extreme weather and environmental degradation, which affected nearly 62 million people.
As global warming and climate change have increasing influence on the society and economy, WMO is devoted to providing operational, accessible and authoritative information and service on the changing earth system, Zhang told a press conference on the “honor day” event.
The ecological and meteorological exhibition area at the expo was supported jointly by the WMO, China Meteorological Administration and Beijing Meteorological Service, focusing on the relationship between meteorology, horticulture and life.
The exhibition area not only interpreted how climate change closely related to human civilization but also established the eco-meteorological observing station which was capable of providing real-time observation data on meteorology.
Source: Xinhua
“When I met her [Kim] for the first time, I felt like I was reuniting with an old friend who’s been on the same wavelength with me,” Won said before Sunday’s concert. “This performance shouldn’t be the end … and what’s important now is what other dreams we can have together.”
In a written interview, Kim said she “heartily wishes” that her songs would help bring back reconciliation mood.
“I’m nervous and anxious about what inspiration the audience would have and what reaction North and South Korean compatriots would show to our joint performance,” she said.
North and South Korean musicians performing together is extremely rare as their governments do not even allow their citizens to exchange phone calls, letter and emails without special approvals. Last year saw an unusual wave of cross-border exchanges after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un abruptly entered talks on the fate of his advancing nuclear arsenal. A group of North Korean dancers and singers performed in South Korea during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, before South Korean K-pop stars flew to Pyongyang and sang in the presence of Kim and his young wife Ri Sol Ju. Both events were the first of their kind in more than 10 years.
Sunday’s concert will not likely work as a breakthrough in the stalled nuclear diplomacy but it could still “establish an environment” that could make it easier to improve ties between the Koreas, said analyst Cho Han Bum at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.
Inspired by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra founded in 1999 to bring together Arab and Israeli musicians together to promote mutual understanding, Won, 42, has been pushing for the establishment of an inter-Korean orchestra for nearly a decade. He’s contacted both governments on numerous occasions, and sometimes partnered with renowned foreign maestros such as Charles Dutoit and Christoph Poppen.
But his push for a Korean orchestra performance has never been realised and was often scrapped at the last minute due to the delicate nature of ties between the Koreas, which are still technically at war because an armistice that ended the 1950-53 has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty. Incidents that helped spike his past plans included the 2015 mine blasts that maimed two South Korean soldiers, and the 2011 tensions touched off by annual South Korean-US military drills that North Korean sees as an invasion rehearsal.
Won said he would work together with Kim Song Mi to realise similar joint performances on bigger world stages. But he also understood how difficult it had been for him to have a concert like Sunday’s.
“If we can do music together, that means we can understand each other,” Won said. “People are talking about unification, an inter-Korean railway, a peace treaty and the end of war declaration. But can we really do those while failing to do an easy thing like doing music together?”
Source: SCMP
voting machines to the island of Ajad Tapu, off the coast of Gujarat.
The journey involved a boat ride, a trek and a long car trip.
On polling day, 29 of the 44 registered voters turned up to cast their ballots. Hundreds of millions of votes have now been cast as the election enters its sixth round.
Source: The BBC
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Voters in north India lined up early on Sunday to cast their ballots in the second-to-last round of a seven-phase general election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi facing a diverse group of opposition parties seeking to deny him a second term.
More than 100 million people across seven states are eligible to vote in the sixth phase of the 39-day-long poll, which Modi began on April 11 as front-runner after an escalation of tension with neighbouring Pakistan.
But opposition parties have recently taken heart at what they see as signs Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be losing ground and have begun negotiations over a post-election alliance even before polling ends on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.
The president of the main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, said the main issues in the election were unemployment, distress in the countryside, the demonetisation of bank notes and a new sales tax.
“It was a good fight,” Gandhi said after he cast his vote.
“Narendra Modi used hatred, we used love. And I think love is going to win.”
A lack of new jobs – despite annual economic growth of about 7% – and the plight of farmers struggling with falling crop prices have been major worries for voters.
A new good and services tax (GST), as well as Modi’s shock ban on all high-value currency notes in 2016, hurt small and medium businesses.
Some voters in the capital, New Delhi, said they were backing Modi because they were won over by his tough stand on security.
Indian warplanes attacked what the government said was a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in February, soon after a suicide car bomb attack in the disputed Kashmir region killed 40 police officers.
The aggressive response stirred nationalist passions that pollsters said could favour Modi in the election.
“I have voted for Modi’s sound foreign policy and national security,” said a 36-year-old first-time voter who declined to be identified.
“The demonetisation has affected jobs growth but over time, the positive effects of GST and demonetisation would take care of jobs,” he said.
But concern about unemployment and crop prices have put the BJP on the back foot, and the opposition has in recent days felt more upbeat about its chances.
Political analysts say state-based and caste-driven parties could be decisive in determining the make-up of the next government.
“Regional parties will play a bigger role compared to the previous 5 years or even 15 years,” said K.C. Suri, a political science professor at the University of Hyderabad. “They will regain their importance in national politics.”
Recent weeks have also been marked by personal attacks between leaders, including comments from Modi about the family of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.
At a recent rally Modi called Gandhi’s late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, “corrupt no. 1”. The BJP says Modi was reacting to Rahul Gandhi calling him a thief.
“The political vitriolic has become intense, and negatively intense,” said Ashok Acharya, a political science professor at the University of Delhi.
“It seems as if this particular election is all about a few political personalities. It is not about issues, any kind of an agenda.”
Source: Reuters
continuously updated blog about China & India
continuously updated blog about China & India
continuously updated blog about China & India
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 