Archive for ‘China alert’

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
26/01/2019

Chinese FM calls for further cooperation with Italy

ITALY-ROME-CONTE-WANG YI-MEETING

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime minister’s office, in Rome, Italy, Jan. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

ROME, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte agreed on Friday to push bilateral ties to a new high.

During their meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime minister’s office, Conte asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

Italy attaches great importance to Italy-China relations and hopes to maintain high-level exchanges with China and deepen mutual cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, investment and energy, said Conte.

Italy also attaches great importance to the cooperation under the frame of the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to make joint efforts with China to continuously cultivate new growth points for bilateral cooperation,Conte said added.

Wang conveyed Chinese leaders’ cordial greetings to Conte.

As the respective birthplace of Eastern and Western civilizations, China and Italy have enjoyed friendly exchanges since ancient times, Wang said.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, and the next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations, Wang noted, expressing the hope that both sides seize the opportunity to lift bilateral relations to a new high.

China and Italy should understand and support each other and establish a long-lasting comprehensive strategic partnership regardless of how the international situation changes, Wang said.

Wang also said Italy is a natural partner to cooperate with under the Belt and Road Initiative and that China welcomes Italy to actively participate in the construction of the Belt and Road to benefit the two peoples and promote Eurasian interconnection and development.

China has been expanding its opening-up and its market potential has been steadily released, which will bring significant opportunities to various countries including Italy, Wang said.

As the Chinese and Italian economies are highly complementary, Wang said, enhancing cooperation in such fields as manufacturing, agriculture and innovation will surely bring tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Wang also noted that China is willing to encourage qualified Chinese companies to invest in Italy and believes Italy will provide them with a fair commercial environment.

Wang arrived in Italy on Friday to attend the ninth joint meeting of the China-Italy Government Committee at the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, with whom he also held talks.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in China alert, Chinese FM, cooperation, Giuseppe Conte, Italy, Prime minister, Uncategorized, Wang Yi | Leave a Comment »

26/01/2019

China’s top legislator holds talks with president of Chilean Chamber of Deputies

CHINA-BEIJING-LI ZHANSHU-CHILE-CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES-PRESIDENT-TALKS (CN)

Li Zhanshu (R), chairman of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds talks with Maya Fernandez Allende, president of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu held talks with Maya Fernandez Allende, president of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, in Beijing Friday.

Hailing the traditional friendship between the two countries, Li, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said the precious experience of bilateral friendship should be passed down and carried forward.

“We are glad to see that China-Chile relations have been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership and have yield cooperative results in various fields,” said Li, adding that those achievements were derived from “sincere treatment, mutual respect and trust, complementary advantages, mutually beneficial and win-win results” between the two countries.

China-Chile relations will embrace new opportunities in the next two years, said the top legislator, calling on the two sides to enhance friendly cooperation in various fields and promote comprehensive strategic partnership for continued development featuring exchanges of two heads of state and jointly building the Belt and Road.

“China stands ready to work with Chile and countries around the world to build a community of a shared future featuring equality, mutual benefit and common development, but not targeting or excluding any third party,” he said.

On enhancing cooperation between the two legislative bodies, Li called on the NPC and the National Congress of Chile to continue to give full play to the political communication committee, expand experience exchanges on legislation, supervision and governance, guarantee the joint construction of the Belt and Road and expansion of economic and trade cooperation in compliance with rule of law, optimize the business environment, and promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Fernandez said the National Congress of Chile stands ready to work with the NPC of China to continue to give full play to communication mechanism and platform, explore cooperation potential, facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and constantly enrich the connotation of bilateral relations. She said Chile will, as always, adhere to the one-China policy.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Chamber of Deputies, Chile, China alert, Li Zhanshu, President, top legislator, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

25/01/2019

Alibaba slams U.S. treatment of Huawei, efforts to curb China’s rise

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A senior Alibaba executive slammed the United States’ treatment of China’s Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] as “extremely unfair”, saying measures by the country to curb the firm’s access to their markets was “very politically motivated”.

Joe Tsai, the e-commerce giant’s executive vice-chairman, also sharply criticised what he called an attempt by the U.S. government to curb China’s rise via a trade war.

He struck an optimistic note about China’s economy, saying it remained fundamentally strong despite a slowdown, and added that stimulus such as tax cuts needed to be imposed to prop it up even as it battles U.S. efforts to dent its businesses.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has not only slapped crippling tariffs on Chinese imports, it has also stepped up scrutiny of Chinese investments in the country and torpedoed many deals citing national security concerns.

Huawei, the world’s biggest network equipment maker, has been caught up in the crosshairs, with the United States alleging its products could be used by Beijing for espionage.

SPONSORED

Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegation.

“I think what the American government and together with the Five Eyes Alliance – what they’re trying to do with Huawei – is a bit unfair, there’s definitely a political agenda behind it,” Tsai said at a Reuters BreakingViews event in Hong Kong.

The United States and its allies, Australia and New Zealand, have restricted Huawei’s access to their markers, while Canada and the United Kingdom are reviewing whether to curb access.

Last month, Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s finance chief, was arrested in Canada, sparking a diplomatic row between Canada and China. She faces extradition to the United States.

Tsai, a Canadian passport holder, said he hoped the relationship between Canada and China would improve.

“I love Canadians, they’re great,” Tsai joked when asked about Meng’s arrest, calling it a politically charged question.

“ANTI-CHINA PROBLEM”

Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated rapidly amid a tit-for-tat escalation in tariffs that has roiled financial markets and raised fears over the impact on global supply chains and investment plans.

“President Trump may have started it focussing on the trade deficit itself … but over the course of the last nine months it was blown into a bigger anti-China problem,” Tsai said, adding the trade war has spurred anti-China sentiment.

“It worries everybody.”

Alibaba has been previously critical of the trade war as well, with founder Jack Ma calling the spat the “most stupid thing in the world.”

U.S., China ‘miles and miles’ from trade deal – Ross

The company, which promised in 2017 to create a million U.S. jobs, backed out last year, blaming the trade war.

Tsai said U.S. regulators had made it very difficult for Alibaba to make investments in the country, adding that the company would look at other parts of the world for investment.

Just last year, a U.S. government panel rejected a bid by Ant Financial, which Ma owns together with Alibaba executives, to buy U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc on national security concerns.

Among the most high-profile Chinese deals to be scuttled under the Trump administration, the $1.2 billion deal’s failure was a major blow for Ma, who was looking to expand Ant’s footprint amid fierce competition back home from rival Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat.

CHINA OPTIMISM

Brushing aside the pains of the trade war, Tsai said people were over worried about China’s economy. Chinese consumers are still fundamentally very strong and consumption in China is going to grow over the next 5-10 years, he said.

Comments from Tsai come at a time when China’s economic growth has slowed to its weakest pace in nearly three decades amid faltering domestic demand and bruising U.S. tariffs.

Growth is expected to ease further this year.

Tsai said Alibaba will continue to invest aggressively despite the uncertain business environment.

Asia’s second most valuable public company has been investing heavily in offline retail and rural e-commerce to win new customers as China’s urban market shows signs of saturation.

Posted in China alert, curb, Huawei, treatment, Uncategorized, US | Leave a Comment »

25/01/2019

China’s Xi Jinping ‘most dangerous’ to free societies, says George Soros

George Soros at DavosImage copyrightAFP

The billionaire philanthropist George Soros has used his annual speech at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, to launch a scathing attack on China and its president Xi Jinping.

Mr Soros warned that artificial intelligence and machine learning could be used to entrench totalitarian control in the country.

He said this scenario presented an “unprecedented danger”.

But he said the Chinese people were his “main source of hope”.

“China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it is the wealthiest, strongest and technologically most advanced,” he said, noting concerns too about Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

‘Security risk’

“This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of open societies,” he said.

Mr Soros, a prominent donor to the Democratic Party in the US, also criticised the Trump administration’s stance towards China.

“Instead of waging a trade war with practically the whole world, the US should focus on China,” he said.

He urged Washington to crack down on Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and ZTE, which he said present an “unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world”.

More broadly, Mr Soros cautioned that repressive regimes could utilise technology to control their citizens, in what he called “a mortal threat to open societies”.

US President Donald Trump (R) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) to the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
\\
Both Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have been criticised by Mr Soros

The 88-year-old Hungarian-born Jewish businessman, who survived Nazi occupation by forging identity documents, became infamous for his involvement in the devaluation of the British pound, known as Black Wednesday.

But it is his philanthropic and political activities that have made him a divisive figure in the US, Europe and beyond.

Bribes

He has spent billions of his own money funding human rights projects and liberal democratic ventures around the world, and has become a frequent target for criticism by right-wing groups due to his support for liberal causes.

Much of the criticism aimed at him has been criticised as having anti-Semitic undertones.

Last year, a suspect package was found in a post box at his home in New York.

Mr Soros used his Davos speech last year to lambast tech giants such as Facebook, and what he considered to be their corrosive effect on democratic systems.

But this year, he directed his wrath towards Beijing, and particularly its controversial “Belt and Road” investment plan, which pays for road, rail and sea links to boost trade with countries around the world.

“It was designed to promote the interests of China, not the interests of the recipient countries,” he said.

“Its ambitious infrastructure projects were mainly financed by loans, not by grants, and foreign officials were often bribed to accept them.”

Source: The BBC

Posted in China alert, free societies, George Soros, most dangerou, President Xi, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

25/01/2019

Explosions rock China’s Changchun city. ‘Criminal case’, say police

  • At least one person dead in blasts in basement and upper floors, authorities say
PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 January, 2019, 6:00pm
UPDATED : Friday, 25 January, 2019, 6:53pm

COMMENTS: 4 

Downtown Changchun in China’s northeastern Jilin province was rocked by a series of explosions on Friday afternoon.

The Changchun fire department confirmed it received a call at about 3.13pm saying a car had exploded in the basement of a Wanda Shopping Plaza building.

Three minutes later, another blast erupted in a room on the 30th floor of the same building.

One person was found dead and another injured at the scene.

The police are treating the explosions as a “criminal case”.

https://widgets.scmp.com/video/video_iframe.php?id=0b6d3l

Earlier, the municipal government confirmed a blast on the 30th floor and said one person had been found dead so far.

A witness dining at a restaurant in the plaza on Hongqi Street said people were asked to evacuate the buildings immediately, Beijing Youth Daily reported. Firefighters are clearing the area for investigation.

“There must have been more than 20 explosions. The shopping mall asked people over the public address system to leave right away, and we ran for our lives,” the woman, identified only by her family name Zhang, was quoted as saying.

She said she saw sparks around her as she ran out.

A video clip circulating online, which the South China Morning Post cannot independently verify, showed a bright beam of light accompanied by a bang from a room in a higher floor of the Wanda building, and another explosion and heavy smoke on the ground, with people running for safety.

Source: SCMP

Posted in Changchun, China alert, Criminal case, Police, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

25/01/2019

China holds reception for ethnic groups in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — A reception was held Thursday for ethnic groups in Beijing ahead of the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year.

Bater, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and an ethnic Mongolian, delivered a speech at the event, which was presided over by Cao Jianmin, vice chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

While guaranteeing China’s national unification and ethnic unity, Bater said it is imperative to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, increase exchange and communication among people of ethnic groups and further efforts to lift areas inhabited by ethnic minorities out of poverty and help build them into moderately prosperous regions, in order to make new contribution to realizing Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

The event was jointly held by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China, the ethnic affairs committee of the NPC, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the CPPCC National Committee and the Beijing municipal government.

The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 5 this year. And the public holiday in association with it lasts from Feb. 4 to 10.

Posted in Beijing, China alert, ethnic groups, reception, Spring Festival, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

25/01/2019

Xu Qiliang meets with Australian defense minister

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said on Thursday that China and Australia should further strengthen their strategic communication and exchanges between the two militaries at all levels.

Xu made the remarks when meeting with visiting Australian Minister for Defense Christopher Pyne.

The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Australia has promoted their respective development and benefited the two peoples, said Xu.

Xu noted that the two sides should respect each other, rationally view each other’s strategic intentions and strive to draw on each other’s strengths for mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to broaden the path of mutual cooperation.

Pyne said Australia attaches great importance to developing its relations with China and would like to strengthen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields to bring more benefits to the two peoples.

China’s State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe also met Pyne on the day and told him that China and Australia are important countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To develop a healthy, stable and sustainable Sino-Australian relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Pyne said Australia appreciates China’s important role in international and regional affairs and is ready to work with China to develop stronger, friendly and dynamic relations between the two countries and militaries.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Australia, China alert, defense minister, Uncategorized, Xu Qiliang | Leave a Comment »

24/01/2019

Microsoft’s Bing search engine inaccessible in China

A Microsoft display at a technology show in ChinaImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES

US tech giant Microsoft has confirmed that its search engine Bing is currently inaccessible in China.

Social media users have expressed concern that the search engine might be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors.

Chinese authorities operate a firewall that blocks many US tech platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

Microsoft hasn’t said if the outage may be due to censorship, or is merely a technical problem.

“We’ve confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China and are engaged to determine next steps,” Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

A BBC correspondent in China attempted to visit the site, and was able to access it through a Chinese internet provider on a desktop, but not on a smartphone.

Many US tech companies are keen to tap into the Chinese market, but have a difficult relationship with the authorities in Beijing.

The government’s internet censorship regime, often known as the “Great Firewall”, uses a series of technical measures to block foreign platforms and controversial content.

Chinese authorities have also cracked down on Virtual Private Networks, which allow users to skirt around the firewall.

China-based messaging services and social media are restricted, with key words and expressions blocked if they express dissent or ridicule senior political leaders.

China ambitions

Bing’s rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010, after rows with the authorities over censorship and hacking.

Google has said that it has no immediate plans to re-launch a search engine in China, but has admitted it has looked closely at the idea.

Although Twitter is blocked, it maintains a Greater China office because Chinese customers can use the platform to advertise abroad.

Facebook attempted to set up an office in China last year, but appears to have been blocked.

Microsoft has maintained an office in Beijing since 1992. It has continued to operate Bing and its communication service Skype in China.

Source: The BBC

Posted in Bing, China alert, Microsoft, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

24/01/2019

Panda teeth are self-regenerating, Chinese and US scientists find – and it could benefit human dentures

  • The animals’ tooth enamel is able to recover its structure after damage, research reveals
  • Potential uses for human dentures and ceramics are being explored
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 24 January, 2019, 6:01pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 24 January, 2019, 6:01pm

COMMENTS:  

Chinese and American scientists have discovered that pandas have self-regenerating teeth and are studying its potential uses for human dentures and ceramics.Giant panda tooth enamel can recover its structure at a microscopic and nanoscopic level to counter wear and tear, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Metal Research has said.

This regeneration helps the animals to munch up to 38kg of tough bamboo stems every day. The fibrous plant makes up 99 per cent of a panda’s typical diet.

However, the study found that the enamel was not resistant to large-scale cracks.

Is the giant panda worth saving? China’s big profits have the answer

The discovery was made by a research team led by Liu Zengqian, a scientist at the institute’s fracture mechanics laboratory.

The team also included members from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Science and Technology of China and the Lanzhou University of Technology.

The scientists have been studying the properties of giant panda tooth enamel since 2016.

Panda tooth enamel is made of the mineral hydroxyapatite, whose fibres are arranged in a special structure that reduces the growth of small cracks, Liu was quoted as saying in the Chinese Academy of Sciences press release. Water molecules help the process along, it said.

Eats shoots and rarely breeds: giant pandas ‘still at risk’

The research team is using these findings to develop high-performance material for use in bionic human dentures and durable ceramics.

In 2015, researchers at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China found that pandas’ digestive systems had not evolved to adapt to their all-bamboo diet.

Despite spending up to 14 hours a day eating bamboo, giant pandas were able to digest only about 17 per cent of the bamboo they consumed, the researchers found.

Wild giant panda survival rates are threatened by the loss of their bamboo rainforest habitat, but the population has recovered after a high-profile captivity breeding programme backed by the Chinese government.

The animals are no longer classified as endangered. According to the latest census taken in 2014, more than 1,800 pandas are alive in the wild.

Source: SCMP

Posted in China alert, human dentures, scientist, Uncategorized, US | Leave a Comment »

24/01/2019

China blasts U.S. “technology bullying” with Huawei CFO extradition

BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — China on Wednesday said the U.S. plan to extradite Meng Wanzhou, Huawei chief financial officer, from Canada did not comply with international law or have legitimacy.

The remarks came as Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reiterated China’s position on the Meng Wanzhou case at a press briefing.

Hua said the U.S. request for Meng’s extradition was essentially related to U.S. sanctions against Iran.

“Huawei has stated for many times that it has complied with all laws and regulations of the country in which it operates,” Hua said.

She stressed that China had consistently opposed the U.S. unilateral sanctions against Iran and unilateral sanctions against Iran outside the framework of the UN Security Council, which are not in line with international law and are opposed by the world, including U.S. allies.

“Canada is also opposed to this issue,” Hua said. “The U.S. act is highly political which is essentially technology bullying, and its purpose is to do everything in its power to suppress Chinese high-tech enterprises and contain China’s legitimate development rights.”

She said people of insight and a sense of justice in the international community should resolutely oppose it.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in CFO, China alert, extradition, Huawei, technology bullying, Uncategorized, US | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India