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14/12/2019

Xi holds talks with Micronesian president

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA-PRESIDENT-TALKS (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for President of the Federated States of Micronesia David W. Panuelo before their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held talks with visiting President of the Federated States of Micronesia David W. Panuelo, calling for joint efforts to advance bilateral ties and better benefit the two peoples.

The two sides should maintain exchanges at all levels, expand communication and exchanges between governmental departments and legislatures, and enhance mutual political trust, Xi said.

Xi welcomed Panuelo’s visit to China as the two countries celebrate their 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, and spoke highly of Panuelo’s commitment to developing bilateral ties and firmly upholding the one-China principle.

China sticks to the path of peaceful development, maintains that all countries, no matter big or small, are always equal, firmly opposes unilateralism and hegemony, and advocates that all countries should work jointly to build a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.

For the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have respected, trusted and supported each other, and carried out pragmatic cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, advancing bilateral ties and bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, Xi noted.

China respects the Micronesian side’s right to take the development path that best suits its national conditions and supports Micronesia’s efforts in maintaining national independence and boosting development, Xi said.

He called on the two sides to complement each others’ advantages and further expand cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure construction and tourism under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

He also welcomed Micronesia to export more products with competitive advantages like tuna to China, make full use of the policies and measures China has announced on cooperation with and support for island countries, and carry out more pragmatic cooperation projects benefiting people’s livelihoods.

“China is willing to offer economic and technical assistance to Micronesia within its own capacity,” he said.

The two sides should take the signing of the visa exemption deal for those holding diplomatic and service passports as well as passports for public affairs as an opportunity to enhance people-to-people exchanges, deepen traditional friendship, and achieve more practical results on local cooperation, Xi said.

He also called on the two sides to strengthen communication and continue to step up coordination on major issues including climate change and marine affairs.

Panuelo said the Micronesian side spoke highly of Xi’s proposal of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which would play an important role in promoting world peace and stability.

Micronesia, as a small country, is appreciative of the equal treatment and respect offered by China, he said, noting that China was the first country to provide support to Micronesia’s national independence and liberation movement as well as assistance to its national development.

He reiterated Micronesia’s stance on abiding by the one-China principle and maintained that Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet affairs are China’s internal affairs and brook no outside interference.

“I have had a personal experience of China’s time-honored history and remarkable development achievement during my visit,” he said, expressing his delight over China’s achievements and confidence in China’s bright future.

Hailing the two countries’ cooperation for the past 30 years, Panuelo pledged to further expand cooperation in economy and trade, infrastructure construction, agriculture, education, and jointly build the Belt and Road.

The Micronesian side spoke highly of China’s important role in global issues like tackling climate change, Panuelo said, hoping to continue strengthening coordination and cooperation with China and playing an active role in promoting ties between China and Pacific island countries.

The two heads of state witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation deals after their talks.

Panuelo is on a state visit to China from Dec. 11 to 18.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in agriculture, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese President Xi Jinping, David W. Panuelo, economy, education, fisheries, Hong Kong, infrastructure construction, Investment, one-China principle, President of the Federated States of Micronesia, Tibet, Tourism, Trade, Uncategorized, Xinjiang | Leave a Comment »

19/11/2019

China needs to divert more water to north to fight risk of drought, says premier

Li Keqiang tells senior officials to step up efforts to channel water from Yangtze River to arid regions
Impact of pollution and rising population has prompted increased efforts to improve efficiency and supply

A cement plant on the banks of the Yangtze in Chongqing. The authorities are now trying to stop further development along the river. Photo: Reuters

China needs to divert more water to its arid northern regions and invest more in water infrastructure as shortages get worse because of pollution, overexploitation and rising population levels, Premier Li Keqiang has said.

China’s per capita water supplies are around a quarter of the global average. With demand still rising, the government has sought to make more of scarce supplies by rehabilitating contaminated sources and improving efficiency.

Water remained one of China’s major growth bottlenecks, and persistent droughts this year underlined the need to build new infrastructure, Li told a meeting of senior Communist Party officials on Monday. An account of the meeting was published by China’s official government website.

Local government bonds should be “tilted” in the direction of water infrastructure, he said, and innovative financing tools were also needed.

He also called for research into new pricing policies to encourage conservation.

Li said China’s water supply problems had been improved considerably as a result of the South-North Water Diversion Project, a plan to divert billions of cubic metres of water to the north by building channels connecting the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

World ‘woefully unprepared’ for climate change’s effects on drinking water supplies drawn from mountains

He said opening up more channels to deliver water to regions north of the Yangtze River Delta would support economic and social development and optimise China’s national development strategy, according to a summary of the meeting on the government website.

China is in the middle of a wide-reaching programme to clean up the Yangtze River, its biggest waterway, and put an end to major development along its banks.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspects an empty reservoir during a visit to Jiangxi province last week. Photo: Xinhua

Local governments have been under pressure to dismantle dams, relocate factories and even ban fishing and farming in ecologically fragile regions.

But experts say the ongoing campaign to divert the course of the Yangtze to other regions is still causing long-term damage to the river’s environmental health.

Many cities that had polluted their own water sources had drawn replacement supplies from the Yangtze, exceeding the river’s environmental capacity, said Ma Jun, founder of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, which monitors water pollution.

Beijing already relied on diversion channels from the Yangtze to supply 70 per cent of its water, but had done little to improve conservation or reduce per capita consumption, which was higher than many Western countries, he said.

“[Diversion] has caused so much suffering and needs so many dams to keep up supply, and that has impacted biodiversity,” he said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in ban, Beijing, cement plant, China alert, Chongqing, dams, dismantle, divert, drawn, Drinking water, drought, ecologically fragile, economic and social development, empty reservoir, experts, factories, farming, fight, fishing, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, Jiangxi Province, Li Keqiang, local governments, more, mountains, national development strategy, needs, North, optimise, Pollution, Premier, pressure, regions, relocate, rising population, Risk, South-North Water Diversion Project, supplies, Uncategorized, under, visit, water, waterway, Yangtze River, Yangtze River Delta, Yellow River | Leave a Comment »

12/11/2019

Feature: Xi spearheads closer China-LatAm cooperation for common prosperity

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) — China and Latin America sit on the opposite sides of the globe, but the formidably vast Pacific Ocean that separates them did not stop them from sharing a long history of exchanges.

Today, the major developing country in the East is forging an increasingly close partnership with the dynamic region in the Western Hemisphere, especially since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, and set into motion what is now known as Xiplomacy.

In the past six years, Xi has visited 11 Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries. On Tuesday, he is setting foot on the region for the fifth time as president, as he arrives in Brazil for the upcoming 11th BRICS summit.

Thanks in no small part to Xi’s push, the time-honored, distance-defying China-Latin America relationship is flourishing with new vitality. China has become the second largest trading partner of Latin America, while the latter is one of the fastest growing sources of exports to China. Two-way trade rose 18.9 percent year on year to 307.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

GRAND VISION

Every time Xi visited Latin America, he reaffirmed China’s commitment to cementing bilateral friendship and expanding win-win cooperation.

His first trip to the region as head of state, in 2013, took him to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico. The following year saw him travel to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.

It was in Brazil that Xi met with leaders from 11 LAC countries, and for the first time laid out his grand vision for building a China-Latin American community with a shared future.

“Let us seize the opportunities presented to us and work together to blaze new trails in building a community of shared destiny for common progress and usher in a bright future for the relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean,” Xi said in a keynote speech at the first ever China-Latin American and Carribean Countries Leaders’ Meeting in 2014.

He then proposed a “1+3+6” cooperation framework to “promote faster, broader and deeper cooperation between the two sides for real results.”

The “1” refers to “one plan,” the Chinese-Latin American and Caribbean Cooperation Plan (2015-2019), formulated to promote inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The “3” alludes to “three engines” for driving practical cooperation for comprehensive development, namely trade, investment and financial cooperation.

The “6” means the six priority cooperation fields of energy and resources, infrastructure building, agriculture, manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation, and information technologies.

In 2016, Xi visited Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Two years later, he traveled to Argentina for the Group of 20 summit as well as Panama, a Central American country which established diplomatic ties with China in June 2017.

In a landmark speech at the Peruvian Congress in Lima in 2016, Xi expounded the significance of strengthening China-Latin America cooperation.

“With one fifth of the world’s total area and nearly one third of the world’s population, China and Latin America and the Caribbean are crucial forces for world peace and stability,” he said.

China, he added, “will increase sharing of governance experience and improve planning and coordination of macro policies with Latin American and Caribbean states to better synergize our development plans and strategies.”

Besides top-level engagement, Xi also reaches out to local people from all walks of life, in order to keep cementing the China-Latin America friendship and the public support for bilateral cooperation.

While in Costa Rica, Xi visited a family-run coffee plantation and tried some local brew. “I think some more coffee can well be exported to China,” Xi told his hosts with a smile.

Today, Costa Rica exports coffee to the Asian market, along with pork, dairy, pineapples and other high-quality agricultural goods, especially after the inauguration of the China International Import Expo in 2018.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

With international cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) gaining steam worldwide, the Xi-proposed vision is creating new opportunities for China-Latin America cooperation.

The BRI, designed to promote common development along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and the latter is closely connected to Latin America.

For two and a half centuries, from the mid-1500s to the early 1800s, galleons laden with Chinese silk, spices, porcelain and other goods sailed across the ocean to today’s port city of Acapulco on the Mexican Pacific coast.

Latin America is the natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Xi said in a meeting with visiting Argentine President Mauricio Macri in May 2017.

In a congratulatory message to the second Ministerial Meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum held in Chile on Jan. 22, 2018, Xi stressed that China and LAC countries “need to draw a new blueprint for our joint effort under the Belt and Road Initiative and open a path of cooperation across the Pacific Ocean that will better connect the richly endowed lands of China and Latin America and usher in a new era of China-LAC relations.”

During Xi’s visits, the Chinese president is always dedicated to better aligning the BRI — an open platform for cooperation — with the development plans of LAC countries.

In his meeting with Macri, Xi called for dovetailing the BRI with Argentina’s development strategy, expanding cooperation in such sectors as infrastructure, energy, agriculture, mining and manufacturing, and implementing existing major cooperation projects in hydro-power, railway and other fields.

Similarly, during the state visit to Panama in December 2018, Xi said the National Logistics Strategy of Panama 2030 and the BRI are highly compatible, calling on the two sides to synergize their respective development strategies, boost cooperation and promote connectivity.

So far, 19 LAC countries have signed BRI cooperation agreements with China. China-Latin America cooperation in various areas has effectively promoted local economic and social development, bringing visible and tangible benefits to the Latin American people.

Just as Xi said in his speech at the Peruvian Congress in 2016, “China will share its development experience and opportunities with the rest of the world and welcome other countries to board the express train of its development, so that we can all develop together.”

SOurce: Xinhua

Posted in 11th BRICS summit, 21st Century Maritime Silk Road,, Acapulco, agriculture, ancient silk road, Argentina, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Brazil, BRI, Caribbean, Caribbean Cooperation Plan (2015-2019), Caribbean countries, Central American country, Chile, China alert, China International Import Expo, China International Import Expo (CIIE), China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum, China-Latin American community, compatible, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, energy, financial cooperation, galleons, globe, Group of 20 summit, hydro-power, information technologies, Infrastructure, infrastructure building, Investment, Latin America, Manufacturing, Mexico, mining, National Logistics Strategy of Panama 2030, opposite sides, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Peru, Peruvian Congress, porcelain, railway, resources, scientific and technological innovation, silk, Silk Road Economic Belt, spices, Tobago, Trade, Trinidad, Uncategorized, Venezuela, Xiplomacy | Leave a Comment »

11/11/2019

Spotlight: China-Brazil trade set to reach new heights

SAO PAULO, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — Though separated by oceans and continents, China and Brazil have fostered deepening bilateral cooperation over the years, especially in investment, trade and finance.

With the upcoming 11th BRICS summit in Brazil’s capital Brasilia, expectations are high for the development of closer ties between the two countries.

STRENGTHENING INVESTMENT

China and Brazil have bolstered investment ties in recent years, and the Asian country has become Brazil’s largest source of foreign investment.

The two countries are not only deepening cooperation in the traditional areas of agriculture, electricity, mining and infrastructure, but also fostering growth in new areas such as technology innovation and the digital economy.

Last month, Brazilian telecommunications giant Oi put Chinese company Huawei’s 5G technology to the test during a local music festival — the largest trial of the 5G technology in Brazil.

Chinese Internet giant Alibaba’s website AliExpress has become one of Brazil’s most popular cross-border e-commerce platforms. Chinese Internet company Tencent and mobile ride-hailing platform DiDi have also invested in Brazilian companies.

Finally, the participation of Latin American countries — including Brazil — in jointly building the Belt and Road will provide a great opportunity for these countries to enhance investment cooperation with China, said Oliver Stuenkel, an expert of international relations at Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation.

INCREASING TRADE

Although the global economy is facing downward pressure, bilateral trade between China and Brazil has continuously climbed, as both countries are committed to opening up their markets.

China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner and largest export market for a decade. In 2018, bilateral trade hit a record 100 billion U.S. dollars, official data showed.

Cheese bread, Brazil’s favorite breakfast and snack food, is now available at cafeterias in China, thanks to the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai last year.

In May, Brazil’s leading cheese bread maker Forno de Minas shipped its first container of 10 tons of cheese bread to China, supplying cafeterias in Shanghai. Two months later, the bakery shipped a second batch of 18 tons to China.

Brazil is also dedicated to opening up by optimizing its business environment. Li Tie, general manager of the Brazilian branch of BYD, a leading Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries, said that the Brazilian government has actively promoted pension and labor law reforms and is planning to carry out tax reforms.

China and Brazil should further enhance their economic and trade relations, which have been fruitful and mutually beneficial, said Sergio Segovia, president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

FINANCIAL COOPERATION

The two countries have enhanced cooperation in the financial sector.

In September, the Brazil government relaxed restrictions on the establishment of financial institutions. Bank XCMG, affiliated to China’s Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, has become the first foreign bank that was approved by Brazil’s central bank after the release of the new regulation, and the bank’s foreign shareholding ratio is as high as 100 percent.

Wang Yansong, XCMG’s vice president, said that Bank XCMG will carry out financial leasing and other services in Brazil and help companies reduce exchange rate risks and financing costs.

As cross-border trade grows, fin-tech companies from both countries have carried out in-depth cooperation, such as that between Brazilian financial payment company Ebanx and AliExpress, in providing consumers with cross-border payment solutions.

In 2018, Ebanx handled 35 million cross-border transactions related to Chinese merchants, said its co-founder and CFO Wagner Ruiz. He expressed the hope that the company can help Chinese merchants sell more in Latin America in the future.

The BRICS leaders’ meeting is an excellent opportunity for Brazil to deepen business, investment and financial cooperation with China and other BRICS countries, said Marcos Trojan, special secretary for foreign trade and international affairs of Brazil’s Ministry of Economy.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in 11th BRICS summit, 5G technology, agriculture, Alibaba, AliExpress, Belt and Road (B&R), bilateral cooperation, Brasilia, Brazil, Brazilian, China alert, China-Brazil trade, chinese company, continents, Cross-border, DiDi, digital economy, e-commerce platforms, Electricity, Finance, fostered, Huawei's, Infrastructure, Internet giant, Investment, mining, new heights, oceans, Oi, reach, São Paulo, separated, technology innovation, telecommunications giant, TENCENT, Trade, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

04/11/2019

China, Kazakhstan to expand cooperation in multiple areas, boost ties

CHINA-BEIJING-HAN ZHENG-KAZAKHSTAN-FIRST DEPUTY PM-MEETING (CN)

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, who also co-chaired the 9th meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng met with Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov Monday in Beijing, who also co-chaired the 9th meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee.

Han, also a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the development of bilateral ties had been healthy and steady to become a model of relations between neighboring countries.

Earlier this year, China and Kazakhstan upgraded their relations to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, which Han said marked a new phase of bilateral relations.

The China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee, as an intergovernmental mechanism, makes overall planning for, coordinates and guides bilateral cooperation.

Han said since the last meeting of the committee, the two countries had deepened the synergy of their development strategies, accelerated trade, investment and industrial cooperation, strengthened financial cooperation, and continuously enhanced cooperation in security, environmental protection, energy, technology and mining.

Noting the solid foundation, huge potential and broad prospects of bilateral cooperation, Han said the two countries should promote cooperation in industrial capacity, transportation, agriculture and energy.

He called on the two sides to jointly implement the synergy between the Silk Road Economic Belt and Kazakhstan’s “Bright Road” new economic policy, strengthen innovation-driven cooperation and carry out digital industry, blockchain and biotechnology cooperation to create new growth points.

He said the two sides should carry out more facilitation measures to constantly optimize the business environment and guarantee the rights and interests of enterprises from both countries.

Smailov said Kazakhstan is ready to work with China to promote cooperation in trade, finance, energy, agriculture, transportation, logistics and infrastructure to benefit the two peoples.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in "Bright Road", agriculture, Alikhan Smailov, Beijing, biotechnology, blockchain, China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, digital industry, energy, Environmental protection, Finance, First Deputy Prime Minister, industrial capacity, Infrastructure, Kazakhstan, logistics, mining, security, Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Technology, Trade, transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

19/10/2019

China expected to ramp up South Pacific push at economic forum in Samoa

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua will lead delegation at two-day summit that is expected to be attended by 400 officials and 200 businesspeople
Observers say it is Beijing’s latest effort to regain momentum in the region and will be closely watched in the US

Samoan capital Apia will host the third China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development Cooperation Forum, which begins on Sunday. Photo: Alamy

China will seek to expand its economic and diplomatic influence in the South Pacific at a forum this weekend, amid growing concern from the US and its allies over Beijing’s push in the strategically important region.

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua will lead the Chinese delegation at the third China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development Cooperation Forum in the Samoan capital Apia, which begins on Sunday. It is expected to be attended by 400 officials and more than 200 businesspeople.

Hu, the former Communist Party chief of China’s manufacturing powerhouse Guangdong who now overseas commercial and agricultural affairs, is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

Beijing sees the two-day forum as “timely” and “a good opportunity to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the Pacific”, a commerce ministry spokesperson told the official Economic Daily newspaper.

Trade, agriculture and fisheries, as well as tourism, infrastructure and climate change were at the top of the agenda for the forum, the spokesperson said.

Leaders of all the Pacific nations – except the four that do not have formal diplomatic ties with Beijing – are expected to attend the forum. Australia, which has “observer status” at the summit, will send Ewen McDonald, deputy secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of its Pacific office.

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua will lead the Chinese delegation at the forum. Photo: EPA-EFE

The forum comes after China hailed a “new breakthrough” in the region following the decision last month by the Solomon Islands and then Kiribati – despite warnings from the US – to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei and switch to Beijing.

They are the latest of Taipei’s allies to be poached by Beijing as it ramps up pressure on the self-ruled island that it sees as a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Observers said this weekend’s forum was Beijing’s latest effort to regain momentum in the Pacific.

“Having one of China’s top 25 officials visit the region so soon after [Chinese President] Xi Jinping spent close to three days in Papua New Guinea last November is certainly significant,” said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islands programme at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, referring to Hu’s position in the 25-member Politburo.

“It shows clearly China’s attempt to recapture momentum after the West, and in particular Australia, have redoubled their efforts in maintaining and building relationships in the Pacific,” he said.

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill (second from left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (second from right) pose for a photo during Xi’s visit in November. Photo: AFP

First held in Fiji in 2006, the forum is part of China’s efforts to expand its reach in the resource-rich region.

Back then, premier Wen Jiabao announced 3 billion yuan of concessional loans to Pacific nations and promised to facilitate more trade, medical aid and tourism with the countries. Chinese capital has been pouring into the region – particularly from the mining and fisheries sectors – ever since.

Of note was a 440 million yuan investment, supported by loans from the Export-Import Bank of China, to build a central business centre at Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.

US and allies sideline China in PNG’s Bougainville by helping fund independence vote

As China’s influence grows, the South Pacific – a region traditionally under US hegemony, and on Australia’s doorstep – has “increasingly become a major power that cannot be neglected” and “an important part of China’s greater strategic landscape”, according to Shi Chunlin, an associate professor at Dalian Maritime University.

Trade has increased between China and the eight Pacific nations that have diplomatic ties with Beijing, rising to a combined US$4.32 billion last year – up 25 per cent from 2017.

China has also become the largest trading partner of new ally the Solomons, the second-largest to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and the third-largest to Samoa.

China’s direct investment in the region has also jumped, reaching US$4.53 billion last year, a more than fourfold increase from the US$900 million of 2013.

Pryke said Beijing was expected to offer new support and loans to the Pacific nations.

“But the Pacific are much more picky about how they want to engage with all partners than they were a decade ago,” he added.

Returning from a trip to China earlier this month, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare confirmed Beijing would provide a US$74 million grant to build a new stadium for the 2023 Pacific Games in the capital Honiara – something its former ally Taipei had committed to fund.

China Sam Group also reportedly signed an agreement on September 22 to lease the island of Tulagi in the Solomons, the site of a former Japanese naval base. The agreement mentioned the development of a refinery on the island, but critics said it could also potentially be used as a military base.

China is now the second-largest donor in the region, only after Australia, which has viewed Beijing’s financial largesse with suspicion.

Last year, in an apparent effort to counter China’s rising influence in the region, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Pacific countries would be offered up to US$2.18 billion in grants and cheap loans to build infrastructure.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year announced up to US$2.18 billion in grants and cheap loans for infrastructure in Pacific nations. Photo: EPA-EFE

The US, meanwhile, has also been wary of China’s push in the Pacific, amid an escalating geopolitical competition between the world’s two largest economies across many fronts – from trade to tech supremacy and security. The US has long maintained exclusive defence access in the region through its Guam military base and security pacts with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau.

Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst with the US-based Rand Corporation, said this year’s forum in Samoa was likely to be higher profile than previous years after Beijing lured away two more diplomatic allies from Taipei.

He said it would be “closely watched in the US for how Beijing continues to leverage sweet economic deals via its Belt and Road Initiative to potentially entice others to switch”.

“The US, along with close friends Australia, Japan and New Zealand, are becoming increasingly concerned over the prospects for China to one day curry enough influence in these small island states to gain port access that could be used for new naval bases,” he said.

The most important issue at the forum, he said, would be “whether the West assesses that China is making further inroads with these states”.

“The likely answer will be that it is, suggesting that the US and its partners will have to compete with China in this region to ensure that it remains ‘free and open’, per the US Indo-Pacific strategy,” he said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in agriculture, Apia, Australia, Beijing, Beijing’s, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China alert, China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development Cooperation Forum, Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua, climate change, commercial and agricultural affairs, Dalian Maritime University, delegation, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Economic Daily, economic forum, expected, Export-Import Bank of China, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, fisheries, Guam, guangdong province, Infrastructure, Japan, Japanese naval base, Kiribati, mainland, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Nuku’alofa, Pacific Games, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, ramp up, RAND Corporation, refinery, renegade province, reunited, Samoa, self-ruled island, Solomon Islands, South Pacific push, Sydney, Taipei, Tonga, Tourism, Trade, Tulagi, Uncategorized, US, US Indo-Pacific strategy | Leave a Comment »

18/10/2019

China, Mauritius sign free trade agreement

BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — China and Mauritius signed a free trade agreement (FTA) here Thursday, the first FTA between China and an African country, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The China-Mauritius FTA is the 17th FTA signed by China.

The agreement covers trade in goods and services and investment and economic cooperation.

The FTA will not only provide a more powerful institutional guarantee to deepen bilateral economic and trade relations, but also boost China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, according to the MOC.

Negotiations on the China-Mauritius FTA were officially launched in December 2017. The two sides formally concluded the negotiations on Sept. 2, 2018, after four rounds of intensive negotiations.

In the area of trade in goods, China and Mauritius will eventually achieve zero tariffs on 96.3 percent and 94.2 percent of product tariff items, respectively, involving 92.8 percent of import volume for both countries from each other.

For the remaining tariff items of Mauritius, the tariffs will also be greatly cut, and the maximum tariffs for most of the involved products will not exceed 15 percent.

China’s main exports to Mauritius, such as iron and steel products, textiles and other light industrial products, will benefit from it.

Special sugar produced in Mauritius will also enter the Chinese market gradually.

The two sides also agreed on rules of origin, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary issues.

In the area of trade in services, China and Mauritius both promised to open up more than 100 sub-sectors.

Mauritius will open up more than 130 sub-sectors in important service fields such as communications, education, finance, tourism, culture, transportation and traditional Chinese medicine to China.

This is the highest level of opening up in the field of services in Mauritius so far.

In the field of investment, the agreement has been greatly upgraded from the 1996 China-Mauritius bilateral investment protection agreement in terms of protection scope, protection level and dispute settlement mechanism.

This is the first time that China has upgraded the previous investment protection agreement with an African country, which will not only provide stronger protection for Chinese enterprises to go to Mauritius, but also help them further boost investment cooperation in Africa through the platform of Mauritius, according to the MOC.

Meanwhile, the two sides also agreed to further deepen economic and technical cooperation in agriculture, finance, medical care, tourism and other fields.

The two sides will undergo respective domestic procedures for the agreement to take effect.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in African country, agreement, agriculture, Beijing, China alert, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, communications, Culture, Economic, education, Finance, free trade, free trade agreement (FTA), Mauritius, medical care, Ministry of Commerce (MOC)., sign, Tourism, Traditional Chinese medicine, transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

28/09/2019

China makes great strides in agriculture, poverty reduction over 70 years: officials

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — China has reaped great accomplishments in agriculture and rural development in the past 70 years, successfully feeding a population of 1.4 billion and lifting over 800 million people in rural areas out of poverty.

China’s annual grain output has remained above 650 billion kg for four years in a row, up from 113.2 billion kg in 1949, Han Changfu, minister of agriculture and rural affairs, told a press conference on Friday.

Feeding 20 percent of the world population with 9 percent of the world’s arable land is a miracle in the history of agriculture, said Han.

The country has entered a new phase of development driven by technology and equipment innovation, with the area of high-standard farmland totaling 640 million mu (about 42.7 million hectares), Han added.

Poverty reduction in rural areas has also yielded dazzling results since the country’s opening-up, as more than 800 million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty, according to Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

By the end of 2018, per capita disposable income of rural residents living in poverty-stricken areas reached 10,371 yuan, equivalent to 71 percent of that for rural residents nationwide.

Liu said 95 percent of the population in poverty under current standards will be lifted out of poverty by the end of this year, while eradication of absolute poverty is expected by the end of 2020.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in 70 years, agriculture, China alert, equipment innovation, great strides, minister of agriculture and rural affairs, Poverty reduction, Technology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

26/09/2019

Spotlight: China, Kazakhstan reaffirm commitment to strengthening ties

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, meets with First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan, Sept. 23, 2019. Li paid an official goodwill visit to Kazakhstan from Sept. 21 to 25 at the invitation of Dariga Nazarbayeva, speaker of the Kazakh Parliament’s Upper House, Nurlan Nigmatulin, speaker of the Kazakh Parliament’s Lower House. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

NUR-SULTAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, and Kazakh leaders have agreed here to boost mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas.

During an official goodwill visit from Saturday to Wednesday, Li met with First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to him.

Li told Nazarbayev that China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors and the most reliable friends and partners.

Li said China and Kazakhstan have decided to develop a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership and build a community with a shared future, and their ties have become a model of interstate relations following 27 years of development since the establishment of their diplomatic relationship.

Both sides need to strengthen political mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, Li said, adding that China has full confidence in the future of Kazakhstan and will continue to support the Central Asian country in pursuing its development path that suits its national conditions.

Nazarbayev told Li that China is a good friend of his country and China’s development is vital to Kazakhstan.

He said strengthening Kazakhstan-China cooperation is in line with the two countries’ interests, and Kazakhstan always prioritizes in its foreign policy cementing and developing ties with China.

At a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Li conveyed Xi’s good wishes to him.

Li said the construction of a Silk Road Economic Belt was first proposed in Kazakhstan, and both countries as permanent comprehensive strategic partners should respect, trust and support each other no matter how the global and regional situations develop.

China and Kazakhstan should improve the alignment of their development strategies and boost cooperation in production capacities, energy, agriculture, inter-connectivity, finance, cross-border e-commerce, high-technology, education, sports, culture and tourism, Li said.

Tokayev said that Kazakhstan, located in the center of the Eurasian continent, will always be a friendly neighbor of China. He praised China’s key role in maintaining global security and stability.

The Belt and Road Initiative is significant to Kazakhstan, which is ready to strengthen cooperation with China, implement bilateral agreements and achieve more outcomes.

At talks with Dariga Nazarbayeva, speaker of the Kazakh parliament’s upper house, and Nurlan Nigmatulin, speaker of the lower house, Li said the two legislatures should implement the important consensuses reached by the heads of state and facilitate bilateral cooperation with legislation and favorable policy.

Li said the two legislatures should push for the signing of an updated version of the China-Kazakhstan investment protection pact, streamline procedures for customs clearance and work permits, and create a sound investment environment.

Nazarbayeva said that strengthening Kazakhstan-China cooperation has particular significance as the world is fraught with risks and challenges, and that she expects better quality in such cooperation.

Nigmatulin said the Kazakh parliament is willing to compare notes on legislation and supervision with the NPC of China.

During his visit, Li and Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin attended the opening ceremony of the China Construction Bank’s Astana office.

Li listened to a report about the Astana International Financial Center and encouraged financial institutions in the center to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Chinese top legislator also visited the site of the 2017 Astana Expo and the national museum.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in 2017 Astana Expo, agriculture, Askar Mamin, Astana International Financial Center, Astana office, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Central Asian country, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China Construction Bank, China-Kazakhstan investment protection pact, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Culture, Dariga Nazarbayeva, education, energy, Eurasian continent, Finance, financial institutions, First President of Kazakhstan, high technology, Kazakh leader, Kazakh Prime Minister, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan-China cooperation, Li Zhanshu, national museum, NPC of China, Nurlan Nigmatulin, opening ceremony, speaker of the Kazakh parliament, speaker of the lower house, sports, Tourism, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

23/09/2019

Xi extends greetings on farmers’ harvest festival

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping extended greetings to farmers and people working in agriculture and rural areas as Monday marked the second Chinese farmers’ harvest festival.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent his greetings via the China Central Television’s newly-launched channel dedicated to agriculture and rural affairs.

“With a solid foundation laid by agriculture, we have full confidence in development,” Xi said.

The achievements that China has made in the fields related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers are not only the outcomes of concerted efforts of the whole CPC and the country but also the results of hard work of all farmers and people working in agriculture and rural areas, he said.

Xi also congratulated on the launch of the new channel, expecting the channel to publicize agricultural policies, plans as well as new looks of farmers and rural areas in-depth.

Xi also expected the channel to lead the audience to pay attention to agriculture, care for the countryside and farmers, and contribute to poverty alleviation, reform and development in agriculture and the countryside, and the realization of rural revitalization.

The Chinese farmers’ harvest festival is the first national festival created specifically for the country’s farmers. Starting in 2018, the festival coincides with the Autumnal Equinox each year, which is one of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunisolar calendar and usually falls between Sept. 22 and 24 during the country’s agricultural harvest season.

The new channel is the first national all-media channel dedicated to agriculture and rural affairs. With daily 18-hour programs, the channel officially began broadcasting on Monday.

Source: Xnhua

Posted in agriculture, Autumnal Equinox, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, China Central Television, China Central Television (CCTV), Chinese lunisolar calendar, Chinese President Xi Jinping, country's farmers, farmers, first national festival, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, harvest festival, rural areas, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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