LLD – Page 129 – Chinascope

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Czech Adheres to the one China policy and Refuses “Tibet Independence”

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a regular press conference on April 29, spokesman Qin Gang announced that China and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a joint communique. The communique stated that the Czech side reiterated its adherence to the one China policy, respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, insists that Tibet is an inalienable part of China, and refused to support any form of "Tibetan independence." "This is another important political document between the two countries following the 1999 joint government communique and the 2005 joint statement. It will play an important role in the healthy and stable development of relations between China and the Czech Republic."

Source: People’s Daily Online, April 30, 2014

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0430/c1002-24963293.html

Briefings | | May 1, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi and Zuma Exchange Letters on Reciprocal China-South Africa National Theme Years

On April 27, 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma sent letters to each other celebrating the launch of reciprocal China-South Africa national theme years.

In his congratulatory letter, Xi said that, in 2014 and 2015, China and South Africa will each launch the national theme year of the other nation. "This is a major event for the humanities for both countries and an important event in their friendly bilateral relationship. It will promote understanding and friendship between the two peoples and enrich the substance of the comprehensive bilateral strategic partnership. The Chinese side is willing to use the national theme year as an opportunity to work together with South Africa, elevating the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level."

Zuma’s letter stated that, in recent years, the relationship between South Africa and China has advanced by leaps and bounds and that exchanges between the two peoples should be raised to a higher level.

Source: Xinhua, April 27, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-04/27/c_1110428929.htm

Briefings | | April 28, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China Completed and Handed Over $30 Million Road Project as a Gift to Sierra Leone

On April 26, in Regent, a suburb of Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown, Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo officially handed over the newly constructed Regent-Grafton Road to the Sierra Leone government.

China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG), a subsidiary of the construction conglomerate the China Railway Group, undertook the construction of the 11.26km road, including several bridges and 34 pipe culverts. The project started in April of 2012 and was completed on April 25, 2014. It connects Regent and Kossor Town and helped ease the burden of traffic in Freetown.

The Chinese government provided the funds for the construction, costing US$30 million, through their bilateral development funds. Other major projects of CRSG in this West African country include the 35 km Makeni-Matotoka highway, the 65 km Bo-Kenema Highway, the 62 km Port Loko-Lungi axis, and major urban thoroughfares, including the Wilkinson Road and the Spur Road.

At the ceremony, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma praised the Chinese government and the Chinese companies for their active participation in these infrastructure projects.

Source: Xinhua, April 27, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-04/27/c_1110430819.htm

Briefings | | April 28, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping Mentioned “Anti-terrorism” Six Times within Two Months

On the afternoon of the April 25, the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo held its fourteenth study session, with a focus on national security and social stability. Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of safeguarding national security and social stability in the face of the new situation and new challenges. China News Service estimated that this was the sixth time within two months that Xi Jinping mentioned anti-terrorism.

Xi pointed out, "We must soberly pay attention to the increasing threats and challenges to national security and social stability under the new situation, especially the resonance between a number of different threats and challenges." "The fight against terrorism matters for national security, for the vital interests of the masses, and for the overall situation of reform, development and stability. It is a battle to defend our national unity, social stability, and people’s happiness. We must take decisive measures, keep up the high pressure and firmly crack down on the terrorists’ blatancy."

These are the other five situations in which Xi mentioned "anti-terrorism."

On March 2, after the incident at Kunming’s railway station, Xi Jinping gave an instruction to understand deeply the seriousness and complexity of the anti-terrorism situation and to take effective measures to crack down resolutely on violent and terrorist criminal activities.

On March 4, at a meeting with minority ethnic groups, Xi Jinping said, "We must resolutely oppose all behavior that harms the great unity of all ethnic groups. We must resolutely punish and battle violent terrorist activities according to the law, and we must build an impregnable fortress of ethnic solidarity, social stability, and national unity."

On March 4, in his phone conversation with Russian president Putin, Xi Jinping expressed a willingness to maintain and strengthen anti-terrorist cooperation with Russia.

On March 10, in his phone communications with Obama, Xi Jinping emphasized his willingness to strengthen cooperation with the international community, including the U.S., in battling terrorism.

On April 9, Xi Jinping presented the flag to the "Falcon Commando" special forces of the People’s Armed Police. He asked the PAP, as an important national counter-terrorism force, to be conscientious in implementing the decisions and deployment of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, to be resolute in cracking down on violent terrorist crimes, and to safeguard national security and social stability.

Source: China News Service, April 27, 2014
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2014/04-27/6110089.shtml

Briefings | | April 28, 2014 | Social Stability

“Ukraine Crisis May Bring China a Decade of Strategic Opportunities”

At a recent forum discussion, Major-general Wang Haiyun, a senior advisor at the China International Institute for Strategic Society, spoke on the Ukraine crisis. The following are excerpts from his comments.

"After the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, Europe transitioned from a region related to the U.S.-Soviet confrontation to one of peaceful coexistence. In recent years, with the implementation of the United States’ ‘re-balance to the Asia-Pacific’ strategy, the confrontation seems to have shifted to Asia. However, the Ukraine crisis once again made Europe the frontier of the confrontation between Russia and the West."

"Since the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis has become a turning point for East-West relations. Russia and the U.S. are switching from strategic tolerance to strategic confrontation. The U.S. will have to strengthen its military and political presence in Europe."

"Given this circumstance, NATO’s ambitious global intervention may have to shrink to Europe. Its capacity to be involved in Central Asia and East Asian affairs will have to decline. In other words, the U.S.’s ability of strategic encirclement of China may be weakened; the hegemonic pressure that China is facing may be reduced."

"Because of the defamation, isolation, coercion, and suppression emanating from the Western powers, with its deterioration of the international environment, and especially its West border security environment, Russia has to rely on China, a booming power with similar strategic interests and strategic ideals to counterbalance the Western pressure."

"Not being a party of the dispute, China is relatively detached. As a result, many parties are looking at the reactions from China and hope that China is on their side. This places a high requirement on China’s diplomacy. If China handles it well, China can improve its international status and enhance its voice in the international community."

Source: People’s Daily Online, April 23, 2014

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0423/c1011-24932194.html

Briefings | | April 24, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Wal-Mart China Complained about the Food Safety Issue

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the top management at Wal-Mart China met recently with officials from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). The management called for the scope of government monitoring of food labeling to be extended. Currently the CFDA only regulates retailers on food labeling but not manufacturers. In the past few years, a number of retailers have run into trouble because they were held responsible for the unsafe food that suppliers had provided. The best effort retailers can make for now is to ensure that the government correctly licenses these suppliers. The food quality is largely dependent on the supplier’s honesty. Retailers have been inspecting a certain number of samples of the food that the manufacturers supply, but this by no means covers the full range of the products they offer in stores. It is widely believed that end-to-end food safety control is required, especially on the source side, which includes suppliers. The cost for retailers to do a full-scale food inspection would be too high and unreasonable.

Source: Sohu.com, April 17, 2014
http://business.sohu.com/20140417/n398411268.shtml

Briefings | | April 22, 2014 | Economy/Resources

BBC Chinese: One Fifth of China’s Arable Land Is Polluted

BBC Chinese reported that the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection recently released a research report which indicated that 16.1 percent of China’s land and 19.4 percent of China’s arable land are polluted. The scope of the research on which the report was based was sizeable, covering two thirds of all land in Mainland China. The research showed that the three heavy metals of cadmium, nickel, and arsenic are the primary pollutants in China’s soil. The Ministry said in an announcement that it is very hard to remain optimistic about the quality of China’s soil. Both the government and the Chinese people are worried about the irreparable damage brought about by China’s rapid industrialization process. The government is in the process of coming up with more comprehensive environmental protection laws. The research report also concluded that there are three primary heavy industry regions that have suffered the most severe damage from pollution. They are the Yangtze River Delta Area on the east coast, the Zhujiang Delta Area in the south, and the traditional heavy industry base in Northeastern China.

Source: BBC Chinese, April 18, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/science/2014/04/140418_china_soil_contaminated.shtml