Archive for November, 2019

24/11/2019

Farmers move in new residential area, conduct various ways to boost income in Yunnan

CHINA-YUNNAN-QUJING-RURAL DEVELOPMENT (CN)

People walk in Huahongyuan residential area in Zhanyi District in Qujing, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Nov. 22, 2019. In 2013, under the guidance of local government, farmers in Songlin community started to build a new residential area following the principle to integrate environmental improvement, infrastructure construction and industrial development into building beautiful countryside. In 2016, the farmers moved in the newly-built Huahongyuan residential area and conducted various ways to boost income. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou)

Source: Xinhua

23/11/2019

Xi Focus: Xi says Chinese dream by no means hegemonistic

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-NEW ECONOMY FORUM-MEETING (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping poses for a group photo with foreign delegates attending the 2019 New Economy Forum before meeting with them at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday realizing the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation is by no means to seek hegemony.

Saying he has full confidence in China’s prospects for development, Xi noted China does not intend to replace any power, rather, its aim is to “regain the dignity and status it deserves.”

The president made the remarks when meeting with foreign delegates attending the 2019 New Economy Forum held in Beijing.

China, with a 5,000-year-old history of civilization, is home to the four great inventions that had contributed tremendously to the progress of human civilization. The country had become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society since the Opium Wars, but the Chinese people had never yielded and spared no effort in seeking a path to national rejuvenation, Xi stressed.

Earth-shattering changes have taken place since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, and the humiliating history of China as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country will never be repeated, he said.

“The fundamental reason is that we have found a correct path that suits China’s national conditions, conforms to the trends of the times and enjoys the support of the people. The path is socialism with Chinese characteristics,” Xi said.

With full confidence, the Chinese people will unswervingly follow this path, he added.

Xi noted that innovation is a major theme of the current times, as the world is undergoing changes rarely seen in a century, featuring a new round of technological revolution and rapid industrial transformation.

The common challenges facing humanity call for concerted efforts of all countries. No country can become an independent innovation center or enjoy fruits of innovation alone, Xi said. “Innovation should benefit the world rather than being encaved.”

He said China is willing to carry out cooperation in innovation with other countries including the United States, so as to better benefit the people of the two countries and the world.

Despite great achievements, China will continue to adhere to the traditional concept of “harmony in diversity,” stick to the path of peaceful development, and strive for mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries, Xi told the foreign delegates.

China will stick to the reform and opening-up through bold innovations and with a manner of “feeling the rocks on the riverbed when crossing the river,” he said.

“The more resistance we are confronted with, the more determined we will be to open up,” Xi said. “I have full confidence in China’s prospects of development.”

During the meeting, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Egyptian Tourism Minister Dalia al-Mashat, former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, and Credit Suisse Group AG CEO Tidjane Thiam exchanged views, and expressed their support for innovation cooperation.

The 2019 New Economy Forum, which focused on development trends and social impacts of innovation, gathered more than 500 delegates from more than 60 countries around the world.

Source: Xinhua

23/11/2019

President Xi meets IMF chief to advance cooperation

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-IMF CHIEF-MEETING (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Beijing on Friday.

Xi extended his welcome for Georgieva’s first visit to China as IMF chief.

Xi said global economic growth is slowing down with increasing downside risks, protectionism in the world is on the rise, and multilateralism and free trade are facing severe challenges. Therefore, the international community has higher expectations for the role of the IMF.

“I hope that under your administration, the IMF will further improve the international currency and its governance system, and enhance the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries,” said Xi.

The Chinese president expressed the hope that the IMF will continue to promote global trade, safeguard a fair and open global financial market, and advance the development of the international order in a more just and rational manner.

Xi said in recent years, China and the IMF have carried out sound cooperation in strengthening the capacity building of countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China is willing to continuously deepen cooperation with the IMF,” said Xi.

Stressing that China’s economic development has great resilience, potential and room for maneuvering, Xi said the long-term positive trend of China’s economic growth will not change.

“I am full of confidence in China’s development,” said Xi, noting that China will stick to the new vision for development, forge ahead high-quality economic development, continuously promote a higher level of opening up, and bring more opportunities to the world economic growth.

Georgieva said China aims to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020, and the goal is of landmark significance for China and the world. China has achieved sustained and strong economic growth through reform and opening up. It is believed that China will continue to remain open to the outside world in various fields including finance and capital.

The IMF attaches great importance to its relationship with China and will continue to deepen cooperation with China, she said.

Noting that the world economy is currently in a difficult period, Georgieva said the IMF firmly supports free and open trade and strives to achieve peaceful trade relations.

She said the IMF is ready to carry out reforms in line with the needs of the times and enhance the weight of emerging economies.

Georgieva also expressed the willingness to work with China to advance the building of a community of a shared future for humanity and strengthen Belt and Road cooperation.

During her stay in China, Georgieva, who took office as the managing director of the IMF last month, also attended a roundtable meeting hosted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang with leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions.

Source: Xinhua

23/11/2019

Peking Man wasn’t that smart – even for the Stone Age, Chinese scientist says

  • Researcher says some might find it hard to accept that early humans they assumed to be their ancestors ‘were stupid’
  • Report suggests that isolation may have made Peking Man less adaptable
Peking Man is the earliest human sub species discovered in China. Photo: Reuters
Peking Man is the earliest human sub species discovered in China. Photo: Reuters

“Peking Man”, the Stone Age humans who are believed to be ancestors of the Chinese, left little evidence that they had ever evolved, according to a Chinese scientist.

“It may be hard for some people to accept, but evidence shows they [

Peking Man

] were stupid,” said Professor Wei Qi, a researcher with the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

In 1929, a nearly complete skull of Homo erectus pekinensis was discovered in a cave at Zhoukoudian in southwest Peking, as the Chinese capital was then known.

Peking Man became a household name as the earliest human sub species discovered in China, and some scientists maintained that they passed their DNA on to present-day Chinese.

Peking Man is thought to be an ancient ancestor of modern Chinese. Photo: AP
Peking Man is thought to be an ancient ancestor of modern Chinese. Photo: AP

In a paper for the journal Fossils to be published at the end of the month, Wei compared stone tools found at the Peking Man site to those made by the Nihewanians, palaeolithic humans who lived in what is now Yangyuan, northern Hebei province, more than a million years ago.

According to the theory of evolution, the human brain’s complexity should increase over time, expanding creativity and improving the quality of tools.

Wei said his study found very little evidence of evolution in Peking Man. He said they tended to work a piece of stone by repeatedly striking it on one side but rarely turning it.

How Asian fossils could rewrite history of human evolution

Most of the stones worked by the Nihewanians for cutting or other purposes had marks all over them. “It means they would try another side to get a better result,” Wei said. “That is a sign of intelligence.”

He said there was more evidence in Peking Man finds, including many coarse artefacts and few finely processed tools.

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Other researchers have said the same thing over the years. Pei Wenzhong, a palaeontologist who discovered some of the first Peking Man remains, said the tools appeared primitive compared to other early human artefacts, but there was no investigation at the time.

A Chinese report suggests there is little evidence of evolution to be found in Peking Man remains. Photo: UPI
A Chinese report suggests there is little evidence of evolution to be found in Peking Man remains. Photo: UPI

Wei, who analysed more than 140 finds dated to roughly 700,000 years ago, said the structural changes in Peking Man skulls found in different layers of sediment from various times suggested an unusually slow evolution over half a million years.

Professor Chen Quanjia, a palaeoanthropologist with the college of humanities at Jilin University in northeastern China, said there was an appearance of roughness to Peking Man tools, but that did not mean a lack of intelligence.

“The blame lies in the material,” he said.

Peking Man made tools with quartz, the only material available in the area. Quartz is not easy to handle, often creating a rough surface that makes further processing difficult.

The caves of Zhoukoudian on the outskirts of Beijing are still a treasure trove for archaeologists. Photo: AFP
The caves of Zhoukoudian on the outskirts of Beijing are still a treasure trove for archaeologists. Photo: AFP

Wei said material could not explain the difference. A few fine tools made with quartz were found at Zhoukoudian but they were dated to about 300,000 years ago.

“Making high-quality tools with quartz is not a problem, but [that becomes possible] only when the maker becomes smart enough,” he said.

100,000 year old human remains ‘show evidence of cannibalism’

Why Peking Man crafts were so poor remains a big question. Wei said that some patterning on their tools suggested they might be an offshoot of the Nihewanians that was driven out and settled in Zhoukoudian – now a World Heritage Site – about 200km (124 miles) away.

In that isolated environment, Peking Man might have interbred over many generations, Wei said.

This increases the chances of offspring being born with so-called deleterious traits such as inherited conditions and illnesses that affect quality of life and the ability to adapt and survive.

Source: SCMP

23/11/2019

Germany’s BASF starts building $10-billion petrochemical project in China

BEIJING (Reuters) – German chemical giant BASF (BASFn.DE) has begun construction of its $10-billion (£7.8 billion) integrated petrochemicals project in China’s southern province of Guangdong, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The project based in the city of Zhanjiang will be China’s first wholly foreign-owned chemicals complex, for which a framework agreement was signed in January.
It will primarily produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and some petrochemical products widely used in automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles industries.
The project’s first phase is expected to be launched in 2022, with production capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year (tpy), taking BASF’s total capacity of engineering plastics and TPU to 290,000 tpy in the Asia-Pacific region.
The entire project is planned to be completed by 2030, the company said, making it the third-largest BASF site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium.
BASF plans to employ a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept at the project, deploying automated packaging, high-tech control systems and automated guided vehicles, it added.
“(The project) will form a solid foundation for a world-class industrial cluster in Zhanjiang and establish stronger business connections between South China and other Asian countries,” Stephan Kothrade, a BASF regional official in China, said in the statement.
The project is “a signal showing China’s efforts of further opening-up are taking effect,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, according to a central government website.
China would treat enterprises with all types of ownership structures, as well as domestic and foreign firms, equally and without discrimination, he added.
Source: Reuters
22/11/2019

Chinese VP addresses opening ceremony of New Economy Forum

CHINA-BEIJING-WANG QISHAN-NEW ECONOMY FORUM-OPENING (CN)

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan addresses the opening ceremony of the 2019 New Economy Forum in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Thursday addressed the opening ceremony of the 2019 New Economy Forum, stressing the importance of innovation to development.

“Innovation is the primary driving force for development,” Wang said.

While recognizing the unprecedented global economic and trade prosperity, Wang noted multiple common threats facing mankind, including imbalanced and insufficient development, rising protectionism, unilateralism and populism.

Historical experience has proven time and again that only reformers and innovators could survive the difficulties and challenges, he stressed.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have made great achievements and embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that suits the country and its people, Wang said.

“We are unswervingly committed to the path we have chosen and have confidence, patience and determination in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Wang said.

China will always stay committed to the path of peaceful development, Wang said, noting that the Chinese people are willing to join the people of the rest of the world in building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Wang urged upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core and building a more fair and reasonable global governance system.

Efforts should be made to create an open and win-win cooperation model and a balanced and inclusive development model, so that people all over the world can benefit from the fruits of economic globalization, Wang said.

Source: Xinhua

22/11/2019

Chinese premier meets int’l institutions leaders on world economy

CHINA-BEIJING-LI KEQIANG-INT'L INSTITUTIONS LEADERS-ROUNDTABLE MEETING (CN)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions meet the media after their fourth roundtable meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 21, 2019. The six leaders are World Bank Group President David Malpass, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff, International Labor Organization Director-General Guy Ryder, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary-General Angel Gurria and Financial Stability Board Chairman Randal Quarles. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a roundtable meeting with leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions in Beijing on Thursday.

The six leaders are World Bank Group President David Malpass, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff, International Labor Organization Director-General Guy Ryder, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary-General Angel Gurria and Financial Stability Board Chairman Randal Quarles.

Li expressed hope to build consensus, boost confidence and deepen cooperation through the meeting, so as to promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of world economy.

It is the fourth roundtable meeting for Li and leaders of the six institutions. This year’s meeting features the theme of “promoting openness, stability and high-quality development of the world economy.”

Source: Xinhua

21/11/2019

Chinese premier meets World Bank chief

CHINA-BEIJING-LI KEQIANG-MALPASS-MEETING (CN)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with World Bank President David Malpass at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with World Bank President David Malpass on Wednesday, expressing the willingness to deepen cooperation with the World Bank in key areas.

Li said the World Bank is a globally important multilateral development institution and China attaches importance to developing its relations with the World Bank and stands ready to deepen cooperation with the World Bank in key areas such as environmental protection, biodiversity and poverty alleviation through financial and intellectual cooperation.

At the same time, China will fulfill its international responsibilities and obligations as a large developing country to jointly promote global development, Li said.

The current international situation is complicated and grim, with the downward pressure on the world economy increasing and the economic growth of major economies slowing down, Li noted.

He said the Chinese economy has been deeply integrated into the world economy, and the country is deepening reform and expanding opening up, accelerating the building of a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment and further invigorating the market.

“China is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with all parties, uphold the rules-based free trade system, tide over difficulties and inject impetus into global economic growth and respective development,” Li added.

Malpass said the current world economy is facing severe challenges that need to be addressed by all parties.

China’s economic development has great potential and remarkable achievements have been made in opening up to the outside world, Malpass said, noting that the Chinese government is making unremitting efforts in the areas of economic growth, aging, scientific and technological innovation and environmental protection, and the World Bank is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in these areas, he added.

Source: Xinhua

19/11/2019

Senior political advisor urges efforts for national reunification

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) — A senior political advisor Monday urged more efforts to be made for the peaceful reunification of the motherland and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Su Hui, vice-chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a symposium held by study and research committee of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR).

Su, also chairperson of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League Central Committee and deputy head of the CCPPNR, called for efforts to promote the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait.

Su also urged the research committee to guide more people, especially those in Taiwan, to further understand the historical trend of cross-Strait relations and the central authorities’ policies toward Taiwan.

The committee was also urged to strengthen communication with Taiwan experts and scholars to seek and expand consensus and explore ways and mechanism for advancing the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and realizing the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

Source: Xinhua

19/11/2019

Chinese top political advisor inspects construction of China-Laos railway

VIENTIANE, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) — Chinese top political advisor Wang Yang on Monday inspected the construction of the China-Laos Railway at ancient Lao capital Luang Prabang, some 220 km north of Vientiane.

Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, inspected the construction of a major bridge crossing the Mekong River, which is an important node of the 414.3-km railway.

He was also briefed on the construction of the China-Laos Railway, met with representatives from the company that constructs the railway and delivered a speech.

On behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people, Wang expressed warm greetings to the staff participating in the construction of the China-Laos Railway and sent his heartfelt thanks to those who cared and supported the construction of the railway.

Wang said the railway is a major project of the China-Laos Economic Corridor and an important platform and carrier of the implementation on building a community with a shared future for China and Laos.

Hailing the railway’s important significance in improving Laos’ infrastructure and boosting local economic and social development, Wang said top leaders of the two countries have attached great importance to the railway and have made explicit requirements of the construction on different occasions.

Wang called on builders of the railway to note the importance of the railway from the overall and strategic height, uphold the principle of quality and safety first, enhance project management, fulfill social responsibilities and work on to build a model, competitive and clean project, so as to contribute to the China-Laos friendship.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021.

Source: Xinhua

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