Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s President Xi Jinping is enlisting the state-dominated financial sector in a war against a virus outbreak that has killed more than 500, mobilising lenders, brokerages and fund managers to pump resources into stricken parts of the economy.
Answering Beijing’s call, banks are rushing to offer virus-fighting loans at ultra-low rates, investment banks are helping companies issue anti-virus bonds faster, and managers of mutual funds are refraining from selling stocks, to damp market panic.
Concerted efforts to rein in the virus that emerged late last year in the central city of Wuhan highlight the centralized power the ruling Communist Party wields in a sector dominated by state-owned companies.
But the campaign, which has stirred memories of government rescue efforts during a market crash in 2015, deepens concern over corporate governance in China and risks sowing seeds of future trouble.
Wuhan DDMC Culture & Sports Co (600136.SS), a leisure company in the city, won Shanghai Stock Exchange approval to issue bonds of up to 600 million yuan (66.32 million pounds) via a “green channel” created for virus-hit companies, it said on Thursday.
“It’s like receiving charcoal on a snowy day,” the company, whose operations were wrecked by the epidemic, said on its website.
Three other companies – Zhuhai Huafa Group, Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical and China Nanshan Development Group – have raised a combined 2.1 billion yuan ($301 million) this week by issuing bonds via the interbank market, to fund virus-battling efforts.
Proceeds from the debt issuance, which won quicker-than-usual approval from regulators, will fund drug discovery programmes and hospital construction, the companies said.
Regulators have also asked banks to inject cheap funds into virus-stricken areas, and not to withdraw loans from companies suffering the impact. Sectors such as tourism, transport and leisure are the worst-hit.
Bank of Suzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, vowed to cut financing costs for hundreds of small corporate clients and bolster lending.
For companies such as food producers, logistics firms and makers of anti-virus drugs, it will cut the rate on loans by 10 basis points below the lending benchmark, to stand as low as 3.98%.
A loan officer at Bank of China promised special treatment for those defaulting because of virus fallout, saying the central bank would cap interest on loans to firms with operations critical to beating the virus, such as makers of masks and drugs.
He added, “Such companies will enjoy the lowest possible rates.”
But the orchestrated support also triggered concerns of moral hazard among some.
“I’m afraid many companies about to go bankrupt will come and say their businesses are affected by the virus outbreak,” said a bond fund manager, who declined to be named.
A flurry of government support has helped stabilise stocks in China’s equity market after a plunge on Monday.
Regulators have told major mutual fund companies and insurers not to cut net equity positions this week, and urged brokerages to limit short-selling activities by clients, said sources who sought anonymity.
Fund managers were also nudged to do their bit. China’s fund association, which is supervised by the securities regulator, said employees at 26 mutual fund houses had put their own money – or more than 2 billion yuan ($287 million) – into fund products since Monday.
Tokyo (Reuters) – Japan on Saturday moved to contain the economic impact of a coronavirus outbreak originating in China as strict new measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, including targeting foreign visitors, came into effect.
Japan had 17 confirmed cases as of Friday, including some without symptoms. One of the most recent was a bus guide who worked on a bus tour for tourists from China – the same tour as a bus driver who also came down with the virus.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a Saturday meeting of a government task force coordinating Japan’s response to the virus to come up with steps aimed at easing the impact of the outbreak on Japan’s economy.
Abe has made tourism a key part of his economic policy, with a large proportion of foreign visitors from China, and major Japanese companies have a number of factories in China.
“I ask ministers to compile measures to use reserves (in the state budget) and implement them as soon as possible,” Abe was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying.
“The new coronavirus is having a major impact on tourism, the economy and our society as a whole. The government will do its utmost to address the impact.”
No further details were given, though Abe stressed ensuring that Japanese residents have access to medical checkups and masks, which have been selling out around the nation.
New measures to fight the disease took effect on Saturday, including banning the entry of Chinese holding passports issued by Hubei, where the disease is thought to have originated, as well as all foreigners who had visited the province within two weeks, whether they show symptoms or not.
The government also brought forward implementing measures including compulsory hospitalisation and the use of public funds for treatment by six days to Saturday.
Of the 2.6 million tourists who came to Japan in December 2019, nearly 600,000 were Chinese, outnumbered only by South Koreans, government data shows. Japan aims to have 40 million tourists visit the country in 2020, up from 31.8 million in 2019.
On Friday, the president of Japanese airline ANA Holdings (9202.T) said it was considering suspending flights to China after February reservations plunged, Jiji news agency reported.
JTB Corporation, Japan’s largest travel agency, said it was suspending tours to China throughout February, Kyodo news agency reported.
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.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will unveil a series of infrastructure projects this month as part of a plan to invest 100 trillion rupees ($1.39 trillion/£1.08 trillion) in the sector over the next five years, the finance minister said on Saturday, in a push to improve the country’s economy.
Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments, as cited in local newspapers, followed data released on Friday that showed India’s economic growth slowed to 4.5% in the July-September quarter – its weakest pace since 2013 – upping the pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to speed reforms.
“A set of officers are looking into the pipeline of projects that can be readied so that once the fund is ready, it could be front-loaded on these projects,” Sitharaman said at a business summit in Mumbai, the newspapers reported.
“That task is nearly completed. Before December 15, we will be able to announce frontloading of at least ten projects,” she said.
Modi came to power in 2014 on the promise to improve India’s economy and boost foreign investments, but he has struggled to meet those aims due to a lack of structural reforms. Modi won a second term in May and has taken various measures since 2014 to spur growth, including cutting the corporate tax and speeding up privatisation of state-run firms.
But several economic indicators show domestic consumption is weak, and many economists expect the current slowdown could persist for another two years.
BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — Premier Li Keqiang’s upcoming trip to Uzbekistan and Thailand is of great importance to cementing cooperation among both SCO members and East Asian states, as well as solidifying Chinese relations with Uzbekistan and Thailand, senior officials said at a press briefing Monday.
Premier Li is scheduled to attend the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, pay an official visit to Uzbekistan, and attend the 22nd China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders’ meeting, the 22nd ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders’ meeting and the 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) in the Thai capital Bangkok before paying an official visit to Thailand, from Nov. 1 to 5.
During the SCO heads of government meeting, Li will explain Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and share the successful construction experience of the People’s Republic of China in the past 70 years, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.
“Li will exchange in-depth views with the leaders of the participating countries on enhancing solidarity and mutual trust among member states, building the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, industrial capacity, connectivity, finance, investment and people-to-people exchanges,” Chen said.
Noting it will be Li’s first official visit to Uzbekistan, Chen said the premier will exchange views with the Uzbek side on implementing the important consensus of the two heads of state, promoting the development of bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern. The two sides will sign a series of cooperation agreements covering economy and trade, investment, science and technology, customs and other fields.
Regarding the East Asian leaders’ meeting on cooperation, Chen said the premier will expound on China’s policy proposals for East Asian cooperation and propose more than 20 new initiatives for deepening cooperation under various mechanisms.
The East Asian leaders’ meeting this year will strengthen consensus, deepen cooperation, improve regional economic integration, promote regional common prosperity and development, and send out a positive signal of adhering to multilateralism and free trade, building an open world economy, according to Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang.
Calling Thailand a traditional friendly neighbor and important partner for the Belt and Road cooperation, Chen said Premier Li’s official visit to Thailand is the second visit by the premier in six years.
During the visit, the premier will exchange in-depth views with the leaders of the Thai side on bilateral relations and cooperation. The two sides will issue a joint press statement between the two governments and sign cooperation documents in such fields as technology and e-commerce.
The lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir has cost the region’s economy more than $1bn in two months, according to industry experts. BBC Hindi’s Vineet Khare reports.
Mushtaq Chai recalls the afternoon of 2 August when he received a “security advisory” from the administration. A prominent local businessman, he owns several hotels across the Muslim-majority valley in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The note warned of “terror threats” and advised that tourists and Hindu pilgrims should “curtail their visit… and return as soon as possible”.
Mr Chai, like many others, took the advisory seriously. Two years before, seven Hindu pilgrims were killed in a militant attack while returning from the Amarnath cave, a major Hindu shrine in Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
“This was the first time in Kashmir’s history that tourists and pilgrims were asked to leave,” Mr Chai says.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Tourists left Kashmir amid a curfew in August
Soon officials arrived to enforce the order, and Mr Chai and his staff made arrangements for all of the guests to leave immediately.
Days later, on 5 August, the federal government stripped the region of its special status and placed it under a communications lockdown.
Two months on, the situation is far from normal. Internet and mobile phone connections remain suspended, public transport is not easily available, and most businesses are shut – some in protest against the government, and others for fear of reprisals from militants opposed to Indian rule.
There is also a shortage of skilled labour, as some 400,000 migrants have left since the lockdown began.
What’s more, the streets are deserted and devoid of the tourist business which had supported up to 700,000 people.
A government official, who did not wish to be named, says they are “awaiting a financial package” from the federal government. But the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates the shutdown has already cost the region more than $1.4bn (£1.13bn), and thousands of jobs have been lost.
“There are around 3,000 hotels in the valley and they are all empty. They have loans to pay off and daily expenses to bear,” says Mr Chai, sitting in his mostly empty hotel in the capital, Srinagar.
Only a handful of his 125 staff are at work. Many haven’t returned because of lack of transport – or fear. Tensions have been high in the region, and there have been a number of protests in the city.
But the situation may improve in the coming days as the government has announced that tourists will allowed in the state from Thursday.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Hundreds of houseboats have been lying vacant
But it isn’t just the hotels which have suffered.
“No internet has meant more than 5,000 travel agents have lost work,” says Javed Ahmed, a travel agent himself. “The government says give jobs to the youth. We are young but jobless. We have nothing to do with politics. We want jobs.”
Srinagar’s almost 1,000 iconic houseboats have also been running empty.
“Every houseboat needs up to $7,000 a year for maintenance,” says Hamid Wangnoo from the Kashmir Houseboats Owners Association. “For many, this is the only source of livelihood.”
And it isn’t just tourism.
“More than 50,000 jobs have been lost in the carpet industry alone,” according to Shiekh Ashiq, president of the chamber of industry.
He says July to September is when carpet makers usually receive orders for export – especially overseas, so they can deliver by Christmas.
But they are unable to contact importers, or even their own employees, because of the communications lockdown.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Kashmir’s famous apple orchards have also been hit hard
In southern Kashmir, the region’s famous apples are still waiting to be plucked from the trees. But shops and cold storage units are shut, and the main apple market is empty. Last year, it did business worth $197m, local farmers say.
“I feel so much pain seeing my apples hanging from the trees that I don’t go to the orchard anymore,” says a worried apple grower, who did not wish to be named.
“Apples account for 12–15% of Kashmir’s economy, but more than half of this year’s produce has not been plucked,” says economic journalist Masood Hussain. “If this continues through October, it will have devastating consequences.”
In Srinagar, some shop owners wait outside their stores and open them for a customer before closing them hurriedly – until the next customer arrives.
One such owner says he is unhappy with the government’s decision, but he is also scared of angry locals who want him to keep his business closed.
“But how do I survive without my daily earnings?” he asked.
Media caption Two wars, a 60-year dispute – a history of the Kashmir conflict
LANZHOU, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — A total of 26 participants from 21 countries including Brazil, New Zealand and the United States attended the closing ceremony of the Gansu International Fellowship Program held Tuesday in the capital city of Lanzhou, northwest China’s Gansu Province.
Held by the provincial government, the 30-day program, starting from Aug. 20, focused on China’s overall development in areas such as the economy, society and culture, as well as its anti-poverty campaign.
Economic experts, scientists and sociologists from local universities and research institutes as well as government departments were invited to share their experience and give lectures.
During the program, all participants visited the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Based on the culture courses, they exchanged ideas with local officials and experts.
“I was very impressed with the comprehensive structure planning being undertaken to turn Lanzhou and Gansu as a whole into a major hub of China,” said Robert Love, a strategy and policy planner with Selwyn District Council, New Zealand, after his visit to the Lanzhou Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.
Philippe Dall’Agnol, a state attorney from Brazil, told Xinhua that China’s poverty alleviation efforts and means of increasing production were particularly worth studying, adding that when he returns to Brazil, he will continue to be a messenger of peace and a bridge of friendship, to actively promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
Since it was initiated in 2006, a total of 309 participants from 62 countries have graduated from the program, making it an important platform for international exchanges and cooperation.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with Peruvian Vice President Mercedes Araoz in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan met here Monday with Peruvian Vice President Mercedes Araoz, who is in Beijing to attend relevant activities of the Beijing Horticultural Expo.
Wang spoke highly of the current bilateral relationship, saying that China is willing to further advance mutual understanding and trust and deepen cooperation to push the relationship to a higher level.
Araoz congratulated China on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and said her country is ready to deepen cooperation with China in such areas as trade and economy, investment, agriculture, poverty relief, science, technology and culture.
Photo taken on April 20, 2017 shows Chengdu railway container center station in the Qingbaijiang railway port of China (Sichuan) pilot free trade zone in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. China has released an overall plan about the country’s new western sea-land transportation channel to deepen the sea-land two-way opening-up and the development of western China, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. The plan covers the period from 2019 to 2025 with an outlook extended to 2035. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)
BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — China has released an overall plan about the country’s new western sea-land transportation channel to deepen the sea-land two-way opening-up and the development of western China, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
The plan covers the period from 2019 to 2025 with an outlook extended to 2035.
The new western sea-land transportation channel is located in the hinterlands of the western regions, connecting the Silk Road Economic Belt from the north, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road from the south and the Yangtze River economic belt.
According to the plan, the new western sea-land transportation channel is strategically positioned to support the country’s western regions in participating in international economic cooperation and promote the deep integration of transportation, logistics and the economy.
A Google search for basic information on India’s caste system lists many sites that, with varying degrees of emphasis, outline three popular tropes on the phenomenon.
First, the caste system is a four-fold categorical hierarchy of the Hindu religion – with Brahmins (priests/teachers) on top, followed, in order, by Kshatriyas (rulers/warriors), Vaishyas (farmers/traders/merchants), and Shudras (labourers). In addition, there is a fifth group of “Outcastes” (people who do unclean work and are outside the four-fold system).
Second, this system is ordained by Hinduism’s sacred texts (notably the supposed source of Hindu law, the Manusmriti), it is thousands of years old, and it governed all key aspects of life, including marriage, occupation and location.
Third, caste-based discrimination is illegal now and there are policies instead for caste-based affirmative action (or positive discrimination).
These ideas, even seen in a BBC explainer, represent the conventional wisdom. The problem is that the conventional wisdom has not been updated with critical scholarly findings.
The first two statements may as well have been written 200 years ago, at the beginning of the 19th Century, which is when these “facts” about Indian society were being made up by the British colonial authorities.
In a new book, The Truth About Us: The Politics of Information from Manu to Modi, I show how the social categories of religion and caste as they are perceived in modern-day India were developed during the British colonial rule, at a time when information was scarce and the coloniser’s power over information was absolute.
Image caption Conventional wisdom says the caste system is a four-fold categorical hierarchy of the Hindu religion
This was done initially in the early 19th Century by elevating selected and convenient Brahman-Sanskrit texts like the Manusmriti to canonical status; the supposed origin of caste in the Rig Veda (most ancient religious text) was most likely added retroactively, after it was translated to English decades later.
These categories were institutionalised in the mid to late 19th Century through the census. These were acts of convenience and simplification.
The colonisers established the acceptable list of indigenous religions in India – Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism – and their boundaries and laws through “reading” what they claimed were India’s definitive texts.
What is now widely accepted as Hinduism was, in fact, an ideology (or, more accurately, a theory or fantasy) that is better called “Brahmanism”, that existed largely in textual (but not real) form and enunciated the interests of a small, Sanskrit-educated social group.
There is little doubt that the religion categories in India could have been defined very differently by reinterpreting those same or other texts.
The so-called four-fold hierarchy was also derived from the same Brahman texts. This system of categorisation was also textual or theoretical; it existed only in scrolls and had no relationship with the reality on the ground.
This became embarrassingly obvious from the first censuses in the late 1860s. The plan then was to fit all of the “Hindu” population into these four categories. But the bewildering variety of responses on caste identity from the population became impossible to fit neatly into colonial or Brahman theory.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption A leader of those formerly considered untouchable with a government official in British India
WR Cornish, who supervised census operations in the Madras Presidency in 1871, wrote that “… regarding the origin of caste we can place no reliance upon the statements made in the Hindu sacred writings. Whether there was ever a period in which the Hindus were composed of four classes is exceedingly doubtful”.
Similarly, CF Magrath, leader and author of a monograph on the 1871 Bihar census, wrote, “that the now meaningless division into the four castes alleged to have been made by Manu should be put aside”.
Anthropologist Susan Bayly writes that “until well into the colonial period, much of the subcontinent was still populated by people for whom the formal distinctions of caste were of only limited importance, even in parts of the so-called Hindu heartland… The institutions and beliefs which are now often described as the elements of traditional caste were only just taking shape as recently as the early 18th Century”.
In fact, it is doubtful that caste had much significance or virulence in society before the British made it India’s defining social feature.
Astonishing diversity
The pre-colonial written record in royal court documents and traveller accounts studied by professional historians and philologists like Nicholas Dirks, GS Ghurye, Richard Eaton, David Shulman and Cynthia Talbot show little or no mention of caste.
Social identities were constantly malleable. “Slaves” and “menials” and “merchants” became kings; farmers became soldiers, and soldiers became farmers; one’s social identity could be changed as easily as moving from one village to another; there is little evidence of systematic and widespread caste oppression or mass conversion to Islam as a result of it.
All the available evidence calls for a fundamental re-imagination of social identity in pre-colonial India.
The picture that one should see is of astonishing diversity. What the colonisers did through their reading of the “sacred” texts and the institution of the census was to try to frame all of that diversity through alien categorical systems of religion, race, caste and tribe. The census was used to simplify – categorise and define – what was barely understood by the colonisers using a convenient ideology and absurd (and shifting) methodology.
Image copyright AFPImage caption India’s constitution was written by BR Ambedkar, a member of the Dalit community which is at the bottom of the caste system
The colonisers invented or constructed Indian social identities using categories of convenience during a period that covered roughly the 19th Century.
This was done to serve the British Indian government’s own interests – primarily to create a single society with a common law that could be easily governed.
A very large, complex and regionally diverse system of faiths and social identities was simplified to a degree that probably has no parallel in world history, entirely new categories and hierarchies were created, incompatible or mismatched parts were stuffed together, new boundaries were created, and flexible boundaries hardened.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Dalits, or untouchables, were at the bottom of the caste system
The resulting categorical system became rigid during the next century and quarter, as the made-up categories came to be associated with real rights. Religion-based electorates in British India and caste-based reservations in independent India made amorphous categories concrete. There came to be real and material consequences of belonging to one category (like Jain or Scheduled Caste) instead of another. Categorisation, as it turned out in India, was destiny.
The vast scholarship of the last few decades allows us to make a strong case that the British colonisers wrote the first and defining draft of Indian history.
So deeply inscribed is this draft in the public imagination that it is now accepted as the truth. It is imperative that we begin to question these imagined truths.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 