27/04/2020
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill or is being isolated because of coronavirus concerns, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea.
At a closed door forum on Sunday, South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with the North, said the government has the intelligence capabilities to say with confidence that there was no indications of anything unusual.
Rumours and speculation over the North Korean leader’s health began after he made no public appearance at a key state holiday on April 15, and has since remained out of sight.
South Korea media last week reported that Kim may have undergone cardiovascular surgery or was in isolation to avoid exposure to the new coronavirus.
Unification minister Kim cast doubt on the report of surgery, arguing that the hospital mentioned did not have the capabilities for such an operation.
Still, Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman of the foreign and unification committee in South Korea’s National Assembly, told a gathering of experts on Monday that Kim Jong Un’s absence from the public eye suggests “he has not been working as normally”.
“There has not been any report showing he’s making policy decisions as usual since April 11, which leads us to assume that he is either sick or being isolated because of coronavirus concerns,” Yoon said.
North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but some international experts have cast doubts on that claim.
On Monday, North Korean state media once again showed no new photos of Kim nor reported on his whereabouts.
However, they did carry reports that he had sent a message of gratitude to workers building a tourist resort in Wonsan, an area where some South Korean media reports have said Kim may be staying.
“Our government position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said in comments to news outlets in the United States.
“Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
Satellite images from last week showed a special train possibly belonging to Kim at Wonsan, lending weight to those reports, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project.
Though the group said it was probably the North Korean leader’s personal train, Reuters has not been able to confirm that independently, or whether he was in Wonsan.
A spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry said on Monday she had nothing to confirm when asked about reports that Kim was in Wonsan.
Last week China dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.
Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signalled in terms of Kim’s health.
On Friday a South Korean source told Reuters their intelligence was that Kim Jong Un was alive and would likely make an appearance soon.
Experts have cautioned that Kim has disappeared from state media coverage before, and that gathering accurate information in North Korea is notoriously difficult.
North Korea’s state media last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11.
Kim, believed to be 36, vanished from state media for more than a month in 2014 and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp.
Source: Reuters
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12/02/2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the center for disease control and prevention of Chaoyang District in Beijing, capital of China, on Feb. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
WHO Spokesperson Fadela Chaib said that the visit has sent a very important signal to both China and the international community.
BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — The international community have spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s inspection tour of the epidemic prevention and control work in Beijing, saying it has injected enormous confidence into the battle against the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP).
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited a residential community, a hospital and a district center for disease control and prevention in Beijing on Monday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed firm support for China’s fight against the NCP and spoken highly of Xi’s field visit. WHO Spokesperson Fadela Chaib said that the visit has sent a very important signal to both China and the international community.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work in Beijing, capital of China, on Feb. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain’s 48 Group Club, told Xinhua that through his inspection visit, Xi has shown his concern for the people and strong determination to fight against the epidemic.
The government has carried out anti-epidemic steps with great accuracy, and the whole population of China has united behind the government to carry out the steps necessary in different areas, Perry said.
Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, a consultant at India’s Research and Information System for Developing Countries based in India, said that Xi’s inspection visit has greatly encouraged the medical staff there and sent a positive signal to citizens and investors about the health of the society and economy.
Thai former Deputy Prime Minister Pinij Charusombat said that Xi’s field visit at this crucial moment has shown that the government truly put the people’s lives on top priority, sending out a message to the international community that the Chinese people united as one will get through the difficulties with joint efforts.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the treatment of hospitalized patients at the monitoring center and talks to medical staff on duty via a video link at Beijing Ditan Hospital in Beijing, capital of China, on Feb. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
Oh Ei Sun, principal advisor for Malaysia’s Pacific Research Center, said Xi’s visit to the residential community has shown the Chinese government’s concern for the people, focus on the people’s voice and understanding of the people’s needs in the fight against epidemic.
Xi’s remarks during the inspection sent out a positive signal that scientific prevention and control measures and targeted policies are needed in the fight against the epidemic, Oh Ei Sun said.
Abdalmuhdi Abumotawi, director of Egypt’s Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies & National Security, said that as China has now entered a critical stage in the fight against the NCP epidemic, President Xi gave everyone more confidence by inspecting the relevant sites in Beijing.
The measures taken by the Chinese government and the response and interaction of the Chinese people confirm once again that China has the ability to eliminate the virus, the Egyptian expert added.
Source: Xinhua
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16/01/2019
GUANGZHOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — China’s import and export volume in 2018 rose 9.7 percent year on year to more than 30 trillion yuan (4.4 trillion U.S. dollars), a record high amid the complex circumstances mainly thanks to the country’s robust ang resilient private sector.
“Private enterprises contributed more than half to China’s foreign trade growth in 2018, a bright spot of China’s foreign trade development,” said Li Kuiwen, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs.
This indicates the private sector’s stronger presence in driving China’s foreign trade.
Song Ziqiang, head of the import and export department of Kingfa Technology Co., Ltd., said his company had achieved over 10 percent growth in both imports and exports in 2018.
“In particular, our exports of biodegradable plastics, a high value-added new material, rose 117 percent year on year, accounting for about a third of such products in the European market,” Song said.
As a private new material enterprise in the southern Guangdong Province, Kingfa uses more than 4 percent of the company’s annual sales revenue for research and development in high-performance new materials such as special plastics and carbon fiber.
“With high-tech innovation and government support for private companies and the real economy, we are confident to realize high-quality development this year,” said Song.
New trade forms and business models, including cross-border e-commerce, are showing greater vitality, according to Gu Xueming, head of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.
“The effect of China’s foreign trade transformation and structural adjustment will be further demonstrated,” Gu said.
The official data shows that China’s total retail imports and exports via cross-border e-commerce management platforms of customs increased by 50 percent in 2018.
“Tariff cuts have attracted more overseas quality commodities to China, and consumer goods for daily use have become one of the import priorities,” said Huang Hongying, vice president of Vipshop Holdings Ltd., a Chinese online discount retailer.
“The expanded imported consumer goods market brings new opportunities for e-commerce platforms. Our foreign purchases are estimated to exceed 10 billion yuan in the future,” Huang said.
China’s home appliance marker Galanz exported its products to more than 70 countries and regions along the Belt and Road in 2018. About 3 million microwave ovens were exported. Demands in Southeast Asia have increased significantly, according to Liang Zhaoxian, president of the company.
Domestic appliances are one of China’s major export products. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the company plans to build more branches along the routes and bring more quality products and services to customers, he said.
China’s robust economy and improved services have also provided a strong impetus for foreign companies to invest in the country. More than 60,000 foreign-funded enterprises were set up in China last year, up 69.8 percent compared with 2017, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
In 2018, Guangdong, a major hub for foreign trade, attracted tens of billions of dollars of investment in petrochemical projects from Germany chemical company BASF SE and U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil. Foreign companies including Toyota, Shell and Hitachi also expanded their investment and production in the province.
“Our efforts in boosting foreign capital use and creating a better business environment have made a significant contribution to Guangdong’s stable development of foreign trade,” Yang Yong, deputy director of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in China alert, confidence, foreign trade, Private enterprise, Uncategorized |
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CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
South Korean officials call for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim is ill
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill or is being isolated because of coronavirus concerns, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea.
At a closed door forum on Sunday, South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with the North, said the government has the intelligence capabilities to say with confidence that there was no indications of anything unusual.
Rumours and speculation over the North Korean leader’s health began after he made no public appearance at a key state holiday on April 15, and has since remained out of sight.
South Korea media last week reported that Kim may have undergone cardiovascular surgery or was in isolation to avoid exposure to the new coronavirus.
Unification minister Kim cast doubt on the report of surgery, arguing that the hospital mentioned did not have the capabilities for such an operation.
Still, Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman of the foreign and unification committee in South Korea’s National Assembly, told a gathering of experts on Monday that Kim Jong Un’s absence from the public eye suggests “he has not been working as normally”.
“There has not been any report showing he’s making policy decisions as usual since April 11, which leads us to assume that he is either sick or being isolated because of coronavirus concerns,” Yoon said.
North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but some international experts have cast doubts on that claim.
On Monday, North Korean state media once again showed no new photos of Kim nor reported on his whereabouts.
However, they did carry reports that he had sent a message of gratitude to workers building a tourist resort in Wonsan, an area where some South Korean media reports have said Kim may be staying.
“Our government position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said in comments to news outlets in the United States.
“Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
Satellite images from last week showed a special train possibly belonging to Kim at Wonsan, lending weight to those reports, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project.
Though the group said it was probably the North Korean leader’s personal train, Reuters has not been able to confirm that independently, or whether he was in Wonsan.
A spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry said on Monday she had nothing to confirm when asked about reports that Kim was in Wonsan.
Last week China dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.
Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signalled in terms of Kim’s health.
On Friday a South Korean source told Reuters their intelligence was that Kim Jong Un was alive and would likely make an appearance soon.
Experts have cautioned that Kim has disappeared from state media coverage before, and that gathering accurate information in North Korea is notoriously difficult.
North Korea’s state media last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11.
Kim, believed to be 36, vanished from state media for more than a month in 2014 and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp.
Source: Reuters
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