Church bombings
At least 11 dead and dozens
wounded in Indonesia
WORLD, PAGE 10
MONDAY-SUNDAY, May 14-20, 2018
China’s first domestically designed aircraft carrier, which displaces 50,000 metric tons, leaves the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry’s ship-
yard in Liaoning province on Sunday. LI GANG / FOR CHINA DAILY
First carrier designed
in China begins sea trial
Tests will focus on reliability, capability
of new vessel’s propulsion systems
By ZHAO LEI
zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn
China’s first domestically
designed aircraft carrier set
out its maiden sea trial on
Sunday morning, indicating it
might not be long before it is
delivered to the Chinese Navy.
The colossal vessel, which
displaces 50,000 metric tons,
left the Dalian Shipbuilding
Industry’s shipyard in Liaon-
ing province about 7 am amid
thick fog with the assistance of
several tugboats before navi-
gating into the sea under its
own power.
The People’s Liberation
Army Navy said in a statement
the trial aims to demonstrate
the reliability and capability of
the ship’s propulsion systems,
adding its construction has
been proceeding well.
Hu Wenming, chairman of
China Shipbuilding Industry
Corp, parent of Dalian Ship-
Beijing to uphold Iran nuclear deal; Teheran still on board
By WANG QINGYUN
and ZHOU JIN
China said it will maintain
communication and coordi-
nation with parties including
Iran and continue its efforts
to uphold the Iran nuclear
deal in an objective, just and
responsible manner.
State Councilor and For-
eign Minister Wang Yi made
the remark during his talks
with Iranian Foreign Minis-
ter Mohammad Javad Zarif
on Sunday.
China firmly upholds
multilateralism and is com-
mitted to maintaining inter-
national treaties, Wang said.
The Iran nuclear deal is a
hard-won fruit of multilat-
eralism which helps safe-
guard the international
nonproliferation regime as
well as peace and stability
in the Middle East, Wang
said, adding that China, an
important party to the deal,
building and chief of the new
carrier program, told China
Central Television that the
new vessel is one of the
advanced carriers in the world
and its construction has
strengthened the country’s
research and development
capability regarding aircraft
carriers.
The new carrier’s name and
hull code remain unknown, as
the PLA usually only makes
public such information
when a ship is commissioned.
According to the Navy, the
commander of the new carrier
is Senior Captain Lai Yijun.
Lai is reported to have been
captain of CNS Lianyungang
guided-missile frigate, com-
mander of a frigate flotilla and
then executive officer of CNS
Liaoning aircraft carrier.
The ship, the largest and
most sophisticated naval ves-
sel in China, was designed and
built by the nation on its own.
has invested much effort in
reaching and implement-
ing the deal.
Zarif praised China’s stance
over the deal, and empha-
sized that Iran will continue
its communication and coor-
dination with parties sup-
porting the deal.
Iran believes that it’s a
responsibility and duty
shared by all parties to ensure
the deal’s lasting, comprehen-
sive and effective implemen-
tation, the Iranian foreign
minister said, adding that
Iran will make its own efforts
in this regard.
The two foreign ministers
also voiced the importance
they attach to bilateral ties and
their hope to cooperate under
the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is the first stop for
Zarif’s trip to have talks with
parties remaining in the Iran
nuclear deal, days after the
United States withdrew. The
trip also includes Russia and
Shanghai
orchestra
season begins
LIFE, PAGE 8
Its construction began in
November 2013, and work in
the dry dock began in March
2015. The carrier was
launched — moved into
water — in April 2017. By now
its outfitting — during which
engineers installed and fine-
tuned all interior equipment
and weapons — has been
completed.
Gao Zhuo, a military ana-
lyst in Shanghai who follows
China’s aircraft carrier pro-
grams, said that after the first
sea trial, more trials will fol-
low to verify the carrier’s
maximum speed, resistance
to different sea conditions,
electronics and weapons sys-
tems as well as the compati-
bility of aircraft and aviation-
support devices.
He said the vessel will be
better than China’s other
aircraft carrier, the CNS
Liaoning, when it comes to
deploying and supporting
fighter jets in combat
thanks to designs by Chi-
nese engineers.
Cui Yiliang, editor-in-
chief of Modern Ships maga-
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday. Wang said
China will uphold the Iran nuclear deal in an objective, just and
responsible manner. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY
some European countries,
Foreign Ministry spokesman
Geng Shuang said in a state-
ment on Saturday.
Zarif said he hopes the trip
will map out a clear future for
the deal.
US President Donald
zine, said the new carrier’s
sea trials will be like those of
the Liaoning, and the total
time needed for the trials
may be slightly shorter than
the Liaoning’s because Navy
personnel have had experi-
ence obtained through the
Liaoning’s operations.
The Liaoning was original-
ly a Soviet-era vessel and was
extensively refitted at the
Dalian shipbuilder. The ves-
sel conducted 10 sea trials
starting in August 2011
before going into service in
September 2012.
The new carrier has a con-
ventional propulsion system.
Like the Liaoning, it will use a
ramp to launch J-15 fighter
jets, the spearhead of China’s
carrier battle group. The ship
also will carry several types of
helicopters.
The new carrier has more
than 12,000 pieces of equip-
ment that were made by 532
Chinese enterprises, includ-
ing many private firms,
according to officials from
See Carrier, page 3
Trump announced on Tues-
day that his country will
withdraw from the deal and
resume sanctions on Iran,
sparking concerns and
opposition by the other par-
ties to the deal.
The deal, or the Joint
Not a problem
m
Hearing and speech impaired d
people deliver warm food CHINA,
A, PAGE 7
10 years on, president hails
post-quake reconstruction
By HOU LIQIANG in Beijing
and HUANG ZHILING
in Chengdu
China’s earthquake rescue
capability has increased by
more than 200 percent in the
past 10 years and an early
earthquake warning system
now covers most of the popu-
lation in areas prone to tem-
blors, and President Xi
Jinping called on the nation
this weekend to enhance dis-
aster-prevention capabilities
to guarantee people’s safety
and property.
Xi said that under the
strong leadership of the
Communist Party of China,
the areas hit by the powerful
quake had reached “remark-
able achievements in resto-
ration and reconstruction
work, providing useful expe-
rience and inspiration for
the international communi-
ty in post-disaster recon-
struction work”.
His praise came in a letter
to the International Confer-
ence for the Decade Memory
of the Wenchuan Earthquake
and the fourth International
Conference on Continental
Earthquakes, which opened
in Chengdu, Sichuan prov-
ince, on Saturday.
Further reform, opening-up
to better serve global growth
Four decades after its
reform and opening-up, Chi-
na retains its allure as a vast,
growing market and an
investment destination while
becoming a big source of
investment.
This is expected to enable
the world’s second-largest
economy to remain an engine
of global growth as well as
contribute more to globaliza-
tion and free trade by creat-
ing new growth points and
business opportunities.
Such an outlook has found
support in China’s first-quar-
ter economic and trade data
on top of steps taken this year
to broaden market access as a
way to further open up in a
shift toward a high-quality
growth.
Increased investor confi-
dence can be seen as an indi-
The Iran nuclear deal
is a hard-won fruit of
multilateralism which
helps safeguard the
international
nonproliferation
regime as well as
peace and stability
in the Middle East,
Wang said.
Comprehensive Plan of
Action, was made between
Iran and six major countries
— the US, Britain, France,
Russia, China and Germany
— plus the European Union
in 2015. It limits Iran’s
nuclear program in
ઙெӲ
LATIN
AMERICA
WEEKLY
On May 12, 2008, the mag-
nitude 8 quake hit Wen-
chuan, Sichuan province,
killing nearly 70,000 people
and leaving nearly 18,000
people missing and millions
more homeless.
“There is no end to the
human understanding of
natural laws. Disaster pre-
vention and reduction, and
disaster relief are the eternal
topics for people’s survival
and development,” Xi said in
the letter.
“Scientifically understand-
ing the laws of disasters,
effectively reducing disaster
risks and achieving a harmo-
nious coexistence between
humans and nature requires
the joint efforts of the inter-
national community.
“China will adhere to the
people-centered development
philosophy and pay attention
to disaster prevention and
relief work while treating pre-
vention as a major task.”
He called on the delegates
to actively participate in the
seminar, which is focused on
the theme “Living with Seis-
mic Risk”, and to contribute
to promoting international
cooperation to reduce the
risk of natural disasters and
build a community with a
cator of how China’s further
reform and opening-up has
affected the economy.
The investor confidence in
China’s economic perform-
ance was recently showcased
by the J.P. Morgan Chase’s
Global China Summit held in
Beijing on May 8 and 9 and
attended by 2,200 investors
and corporate executives from
50 countries and regions.
“Investors from around the
world are moving to add
investment here in prepara-
tion for opportunities to
emerge in the future,” said
Jing Ulrich, managing direct-
or and vice-chair of the New
York-based bank’s Asia Pacif-
ic region.
For example, an invest-
ment facilitation policy
adopted in late April in Chi-
na’s financial sector, which
exchange for the lifting of
sanctions imposed by the
international community.
Trump, however, has been
expressing dissatisfaction
and threatening to withdraw
from the agreement since the
2016 presidential campaign.
Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani said on Tuesday, “If
the remaining five countries
continue to abide by the
agreement, Iran will remain
in the deal despite the will of
America,” Reuters reported.
He said that he had asked
the Iranian foreign minister
to initiate negotiations with
the European partners as well
as China and Russia over
measures regarding the fate
of the deal.
Xinhua contributed to this
story.
Contact the writers at
wangqingyun@
chinadaily.com.cn
chinadailyusa.com
shared future for mankind.
When the Wenchuan
earthquake struck, China
only had 4,200 earthquake
rescuers with 27 official
teams across the country,
including a national team
and 26 provincial teams.
By March, China estab-
lished a four-level official
rescue team system down to
the county level, which has
more than 250,000 mem-
bers. There also are 11,000
civilian rescue teams with
694,000 volunteers, accord-
ing to the Ministry of Emer-
gency Management.
Chinese International
Search and Rescue Team,
the national earthquake res-
cue team with 480 mem-
bers, has won international
recognition and passed the
International Search and
Rescue Advisory Group’s
external classification.
“The team is capable of
conducting rescues in nine
different locations with com-
plicated conditions simulta-
neously,” the ministry said.
It also said China had
established a world-leading
digital seismological obser-
vation network that consists
See Quake, page 5
licenses foreign investors to
set up securities trading firms
with holding status, has trig-
gered swift market reactions.
J.P. Morgan Broking (Hong
Kong) Ltd has made such an
application, planning to hold
51 percent of the stakes.
Japan’s largest securities
trader Nomura has released a
plan to set up a holding firm
in China.
Considered a milestone in
the internationalization of
China’s capital market, global
index provider MSCI will list
a number of China A-shares
in its market indexes begin-
ning June.
The measures provide new
channels for global investors
to share in the big cake of Chi-
na’s strong growth.
See Growth, page 5
INSIDE
Forests,
INSIDE
seaside
Znshine and
wetlands
Solar adds
IndiaJinzhou
make to its
growing
a hot getaway
pan- planet
Life, p22
footprint
Business, p14
国内统一编号:
CN11-0091
国际标准编号:
A member of the
ISSN0253-9543
Asia News
邮发代号:1-3
Network
©2018 China Daily
All Rights Reserved
Vol.38 — No. 11865
 Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY

2 PAGE TWO
Looking ahead
Candid camera: Dog days before summer
Events and stories coming up in the next few days

Foreign minister to begin gather on Monday and Tuesday in Houston,

nine days of diplomacy
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang
Yi will attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’
meeting in Argentina, and officially visit
France, Spain, Portugal and Argentina over
nine days beginning on Wednesday, accord-
ing to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During
the G20 meeting, Wang will detail China’s
proposals on three topics: the role of the G20
mechanism, multilateralism and global gov-
ernance, as well as realizing fair and sustain-
able development. Wang will also meet and
exchange views on bilateral ties and major
international issues with the foreign minis-
ters of the countries concerned.
Innovation summit unfolds
this week in Houston, Texas
About 500 investors, inventors, corporate
executives and government officials from
China and the United States are expected to
Texas, for the US China Innovation and
Investment Summit. The conference’s core
program, the InnoSTARS competition, is con-
ducted year-round, with screenings of prom-
ising innovations. Winners are taken on road
trips in China to directly pitch their ideas to
potential investors. InnoSTARS has seen
cooperative projects emerge in healthcare,
artificial intelligence and nanotech.
China Import Expo shows
strength of host city
The China Import Expo will be held in Kun-
shan, Jiangsu province, from Wednesday to
Friday. The expo, which will be held at Kun-
shan’s Huaqiao International Expo Center,
will showcase the city’s strength in the elec-
tronics industry and provide platforms for
global companies to seek out more business
opportunities. The event — one of China’s
most important professional trade shows
for imports — was launched in 2012.

On chinadaily.com.cn
A child wearing sunglasses mirrors dog-shaped audio speakers on May 3 in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district. The display was part
Visit for breaking news and exclusive content of an art project. NG HAN GUAN / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photos: Take a look inside
the world’s biggest aircraft
The Russian Antonov An-225 cargo plane is
the world’s biggest aircraft. The plane,
which is 84 meters long, 89 meters wide
and 18 meters tall, can transport cargo
weighing up to 250 tons. The freight space
is equivalent to the entire fuselage of a Boe-
ing 737. The aircraft was designed by the
former Soviet Union’s Antonov Design
Bureau. Visit our website to find out more
about this amazing airplane.
Education: China continues
to dominate university ranking
China’s domination of the elite Times High-
er Education Emerging Economies Rank-
ings continues, with the nation claiming
one in every five positions of the 2018 table
released last week. The annual ranking
includes more than 350 universities —
expanded from 300 last year — from 42
countries and regions, across four conti-
nents. With 94 Chinese institutions repre-
sented, the country has the highest
concentration of leading universities among
emerging economies globally. The perform-
ance indicators of the rankings are divided
into five areas: teaching (or learning envi-
ronment); research (volume, income and
reputation); citations (research influence);
international outlook (staff, students and
research); and industry income (knowledge
transfer).
Fashion: L’Oreal lipstick
inspired by Chinese beauties
In partnership with
the National Muse-
um of China, French
makeup brand
L’Oreal has
launched five limit-
ed-edition lipsticks
based on the classic
elegance of five his-
toric Chinese beau-
ties: Zhao Feiyan,
Wang Zhaojun, Yang Yuhuan, Xi Shi and Li
Qingzhao. These figures were studied by
L’Oreal, with the help of experts from the
museum, to develop the lipsticks. The cur-
rent crossover edition has sold out, but
L’Oreal claims that the brand is always open
to opportunities to extend collaboration
Seems like every day is Mother’s Day here
with the museum or other partners.
Perhaps it’s just another of trayed dads as bumbling idi- watching them. the room: Chinese fathers
Tech: Chinese scientists China’s inexplicable (to a for- ots, incapable of much more Whether trying their hand need to suck it up and take a
eigner) cultural quirks — like than paying bills or serving at fishing, riding camels much more active role in rais-
make fire-detecting wallpaper dressing up tiny dogs to look as chauffeurs. through the western deserts ing their kids.
Chinese scientists have developed a fire-re- like Elton John or snapping Sadly, that doesn’t seem far or selling vegetables to earn Granted, it’s easy to judge
sistant wallpaper that can not only with- selfies with plates of food. from the truth — which might bus fare home from the from the outside looking in,
stand flames but also detect fires and Still, from a Western per- also explain the ongoing popu- wilds of Yunnan province, but from a Western vantage
trigger an alarm. The wallpaper was spective, the apparent lack of larity of Hunan Television’s the dads come across as … point it seems obvious that
designed by researchers at the Chinese meaningful interaction reality series Where Are We well … incredibly dopey. most of the grunt work
Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of between Chi- Going, Dad?, in which five In one episode, a father involved in raising Chinese
Ceramics. It can withstand temperatures as nese fathers celebrity fathers from urban was close to tears because he children is done by the
high as 1,000 C. It is made of an inorganic and their China accompany their young- didn’t know how to braid his mothers, while the main role
fire-resistant hydroxyapatite nanowire kids only sters on 72-hour treks to the daughter’s hair. In another, of the typical urban father is
paper and a graphene oxide temperature lends cre- countryside, competing as the dad had to survive three to skulk around the periph-
sensor. The sensor material is applied to the dence to the father-child duos in a series of days in the desert with his ery and earn enough money
back of the wallpaper through a simple notion that contrived competitions against son, subsisting on instant to support the family.
drop-casting process using an ink contain- Murray this is a socie- other coupled contestants. noodles because he didn’t That ain’t good enough
ing graphene oxide. It is then connected to Greig ty in which The dads come from a know how to cook anything. anymore, dad.
the metal wire as an electrode. Zhu Yingjie, Second mothers have wide variety of backgrounds “I’ve only been taking care Put down your damn cell-
the team leader, said that although the wall- Thoughts to work twice and professions — entertain- of my son for three full days, phone once in a while and
paper is still in the early research phase, the as hard to be ers, actors, former Olympic and I feel like breaking pick up a ball or a picture book
team is exploring low-cost mass production appreciated half as much. athletes — but they all share down,” actor Guo Tao said in … anything that can help you
technology. The point was hammered the belief that they haven’t a first-season episode. “I just connect with your kid(s).
home in several TV commer- spent enough quality time can’t imagine how my wife Do it now.
Culture: Beijing Dance Festival cials leading up to Mother’s with their offspring. As part managed to do this for the Before you know it, the
a sizzling treat in midsummer Day. Most of the spots high- of China’s burgeoning mid- past six years.” opportunity will be gone for-
lighted the indispensable dle class, they’ve supposedly Beyond the easy laughs, the ever.
role that moms play in keep- faced more exposure to mod- true value of Where Are We
ing the family running ern child-rearing techniques Going, Dad? is that it doesn’t Contact the writer at
smoothly, but there were than their own fathers, but shy away from shedding real- murraygreig@
also some that comically por- you’d never know it by world light on the elephant in chinadaily.com.cn
This Day, That Year
badminton’s top team com- the 2012
For 10 years running, the Beijing Dance Fes-
petitions, were held in Kun- London
tival has been one of the biggest summer years
shan, Jiangsu province. Olympics, it
celebrations of contemporary dance in the
Chinese capital. Every July, it brings more on China defended its 14th won five
than 300 dance artists, more than 200 Uber Cup title with a 3-1 vic- gold medals.
dance students and more than 5,000 spec- Editor’s Note: This year tory against South Korea in The phe-
tators to Beijing. They come from cities marks the 40th anniversary the final match in Kunshan. nomenal
throughout Asia, as well of China’s reform and open- The men’s badminton achieve-
as the US, Europe and ing-up policy. team is a perennial force to ments of
Africa. The much-antici- be reckoned with. The nine- Chinese
pated 2018 edition of the On May 14, 1984, China time champions were sur- players,
festival will raise its cur- won the Uber Cup badmin- prised by Japan, the eventual including two-time Olympic Cups will be held from May
tain on July 19 and run ton title on its first attempt, winner, in the Thomas Cup champion Lin Dan, have 20 to 27 in Bangkok, Thai-
through July 31. The defeating England 5-0 in semifinals in New Dehli, helped fuel badminton’s pop- land.
event will begin with a Scan it! Kuala Lumpur. The victory India, in 2014. Later, South ularity nationwide. Lin and the current Olym-
dance education week Read was captured in a photo pub- Korea defeated China 3-1 in Nearly 20 provinces and pic champion, Chen Long,
from July 20 to 26, fol- more on lished in China Daily. the quarterfinals of the 2016 regions field professional are included on the men’s
lowed by a performance chinadaily. China’s badminton team Thomas Cup. badminton teams, and the singles list, and Li Xuerui,
week from July 26 to 31. com.cn has continued to shine with At the 2016 Rio Olympics, number of amateur clubs the 2012 gold medalist from
stellar results. In May 2016, Team China won four gold continues to grow. the London Olympics, is list-
the Thomas and Uber Cups, medals and two silvers. At The Thomas and Uber ed on the women’s team.

SOEs urged to reduce heavy debt

By XIN ZHIMING
and ZHONG NAN
State-owned enterprises that
are heavily indebted should
bring their debt levels down to
“reasonable levels as soon as
possible”, urged a high-profile
central meeting on Friday that
was presided over by President
Xi Jinping, also general secre-
tary of the Communist Party of
China Central Committee.
The Central Committee for
Deepening Overall Reform,
holding its second meeting this
year, reviewed and adopted
rules and regulations cover-
ing areas such as reform of
local public institutions, debt
control of State-owned enter-
prises, regulation of State assets
of Party and State agencies and
public institutions, reform of
enterprises affiliated with high-
er-learning institutions and the
pension system, and implemen-
tation of major reform measures
set at the Communist Party of
China’s 19th National Congress
in October.
Participants agreed that
strengthening control of the
debt levels of State-owned
enterprises is an important
move to implement the spirit of
the 19th National Congress and
promote the deleveraging and
prevention of debt risks of such
enterprises. Internal corporate
governance and external con-
trol of risks should be combined,
and a mechanism for control-
ling the asset-liability ratio of
State-owned enterprises should
be established and improved,
they said.
Supervision should be
strengthened to push debt levels
of heavily indebted SOEs back
to reasonable levels as soon as
possible, the meeting decided.
Central SOEs’ debt levels have
steadily dropped in recent years.
Their total assets reached 54.5
trillion yuan ($8.6 trillion) in
2017. Their average asset-liability
ratio was 66.3 percent in 2017,
down by 0.4 percentage point
from the 2016 level.
Regulators said they will
impose targeted regulation on
different types of SOEs this year,
depending on their debt levels.
Analysts said China will grad-
ually put its corporate debt risks
under control.
“China is heavily engaged
in handling financial delever-
aging reform, which includes
the reducing of corporate debt,
especially for the State-owned
ones with overcapacity,” said
Iris Pang, an economist with
banking group ING.
“But the policymak-
ers would need to skillfully
manage liquidity so that the
case does not fuel a series of
defaults, which would make
the market nervous. We expect
the Chinese government will
be able to manage the rising
credit risks in China,” Pang
added.
Xi said at the meeting that
China has made major head-
way in its reform of central
institutions.
Chen Jia contributed to this
story.
Contact the writers at
xinzhiming@chinadaily.
com.cn
 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
TOP NEWS
Ethiopia ties enter ‘new stage’
Li tells leaders in
Addis Ababa of
hopes to expand
cooperation
ADDIS ABABA — China’s
top legislator, Li Zhanshu,
made an official visit to Ethio-
pia from Wednesday to Satur-
day to promote bilateral ties
between the two countries.
In Addis Ababa, the capital,
Li, chairman of the Standing
Committee of the National
People’s Congress, met with
Ethiopian President Mulatu
Teshome and Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed on Friday.
During his meeting with
Mulatu, Li conveyed President
Xi Jinping’s appreciation of
the Ethiopian president’s con-
tribution to China-Ethiopia
friendship.
Ethiopia was the first stop of
Li’s first overseas visit since he
assumed office in March,
which, as Li said, showed the
great importance that China
attaches to the development of
the ties between the two coun-
tries as well as China-Africa
relations. He will later visit
Mozambique and Namibia.
“The relationship between
China and Ethiopia has
entered a new stage of com-
prehensive strategic partner-
ship of cooperation, and the
forthcoming Beijing summit
of the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation in September will
open up new space for cooper-
ation between the two coun-
tries,” Li said.
The top Chinese legislator
said China is willing to work
with Ethiopia to deepen mutu-
al political trust, strengthen
practical cooperation and con-
stantly elevate friendship and
cooperation between the two
nations.
Expressing Ethiopia’s grati-
tude for China’s support, Mula-
tu said the bilateral ties are
now in their best period yet.
Abiy and Li exchanged views
TEST DRIVE
Timetable for the new carrier
November 2013
Construction begins Work begins in the dry dock
Bulbous bow
Besides China, there are seven countries operating a total of 18 aircraft carriers:
United States
Sources: CHINA DAILY, Modern Ships
Carrier: Ship differs from predecessor in several ways, from size to mission
From page 1
China Shipbuilding Industry
Corp. They said the vessel has
more than 3,600 cabins, not-
ing that during construction,
there would be at least 3,000
workers from across the
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, meets with Thomas Kwesi Quartey, deputy chair-
person of the African Union Commission, during his visit to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday. LIU WEIBING / XINHUA
Inside
Inside
See morepage
Editorial, 11
> p10
on China’s political system and
path of development, and Li
briefed Abiy on China’s govern-
ance experience and practices
as well as the 18th Communist
Party of China National Con-
gress and the CPC Central
Committee with Comrade Xi
Jinping at its core.
Li said that five years ago,
President Xi put forward the
principle of sincerity, real
results, affinity and good faith,
along with the notion of
upholding justice while pursu-
ing shared interests when
advancing cooperation with
Africa.
The president also said that
China should combine its own
development with supporting
Africa’s development while
being a sincere friend and relia-
China's first domestically built aircraft carrier set out from a dock at Dalian Shipyard,
Liaoning province, for sea trials on Sunday morning. The trials will mainly test the
reliability and stability of the carrier's power system and other equipment.
March 2015 April 2017
The ship is launched
Ski-jump ramp
places the aircraft at a slight
upward angle for takeoff
Italy
country working on the ship
each day.
According to sources from
the Navy, several aspects on
the new carrier are different
from those on the Liaoning —
the new ship’s island (the tow-
ering section of the ship) is
ble partner for Africa.
The top Chinese legislator
voiced his expectation that Chi-
na and Ethiopia should contin-
ue strengthening cooperation
within the Belt and Road Initi-
ative and the framework of the
Forum on China-Africa Coop-
eration. They should give full
play to the role of the Addis
Ababa-Djibouti railway as an
economic “main artery,” active-
ly construct economic corri-
dors along the railway’s route,
boost cooperation in the crea-
tion of industrial zones and the
development of oil and gas
resources, and develop new
areas of cooperation.
Li invited Ethiopia to partici-
pate in the first China Interna-
tional Import Expo in
Shanghai in November.
Abiy said that the friendly
relations between Ethiopia
and China are as solid as a
rock. He said President Xi’s
thoughts on governance are
May 13, 2018
Sea trial begins
Takeoff section
of the flight deck from
which the carrier's
fixed-wing planes take off
HHQ-10 air-defense
missile launcher
United Kingdom
shorter than that of the Liaon-
ing; it has three aircraft
arresting wires (brakes)
instead of four on the Liaon-
ing; and the landing section is
longer than the Liaoning’s,
among other differences.
Experts have said that the
an important guide and ref-
erence for the development
of Ethiopia and African
countries in general.
During the talks with Mufer-
iat Kamil, speaker of the Ethio-
pian House of People’s
Representatives, and Keria
Ibrahim, speaker of the Ethio-
pian House of Federation, Li
briefed the two speakers on
China’s political system, the
National People’s Congress and
its standing committee.
Muferiat and Keria said Ethi-
opia values cooperation with
the NPC and that the African
country is ready to learn from
China’s development experi-
ence and work with China to
step up trade cooperation as
well as people-to-people
exchanges.
In another development, the
top legislator called for closer
China-Africa cooperation
while meeting with Thomas
Kwesi Quartey, deputy chair-
The island
is usually on the starboard side of
the flight deck and houses the
air-traffic control and the bridge
Z-9 search-and-rescue
Jet blast deflector helicopter
Russia France
new carrier will have mis-
sions that differ from those of
the Liaoning, which is mainly
tasked with testing equip-
ment and weapons and train-
ing personnel. The new
vessel, by comparison, will
focus on what a genuine air-
person of the African Union
Commission at the AU head-
quarters in Addis Ababa.
During the meeting on Fri-
day, Li said China and Africa
are a community of common
destiny as they share deep-
rooted friendship and the same
pursuit of development and
prosperity.
Li envisaged the huge poten-
tial for cooperation as China
works to achieve its “two cen-
tenary goals” while Africa is
also pushing for the realization
of its Agenda 2063.
Quartey welcomed Li’s visit
to the AU headquarters, whose
office building, he said, is the
embodiment of high-level
cooperation between Africa
and China.
Africa’s Agenda 2063 is high-
ly compatible with the Belt and
Road Initiative, Quartey said,
calling for joint advancement.
XINHUA
The J-15
twin-engine fighter er jet was developed
by Shenyang Aircraft
Aviation Industry Corp of China. It can be armed with anti-ship,
air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs.
Military experts say it has comprehensive capabilities, comparable
to those of Russia’s Su-33 and the US’ F/A-18 Hornet.
India Thailand
craft carrier is supposed to
do: run combat-ready patrols
and safeguard the nation’s
maritime sovereignty and
interests.
Zhang Junshe, a research-
er with the PLA Naval Mili-
tary Studies Research
China condemns
Myanmar violence,
calls for restraint
China is working to
ensure the safety of lives and
property of people living
along the country’s border
with Myanmar after fighting
broke out between the
armed forces and militia in
northern Myanmar on Sat-
urday.
A statement from the Chi-
nese embassy said some
Myanmar people in the bor-
der area had fled into Chi-
nese territory and some
stray bullets had been fired
into Chinese territory.
The Ruili city government
in Yunnan province said it
would activate emergency
plans on Saturday to help
accommodate Myanmar
people.
China has no report of
causalities, according to the
city government. It calls for
the suspension of any social
activities near the border
region. People who need to
cross the border should
strictly comply with related
laws and border security
inspections.
The Chinese embassy in
Myanmar called on Saturday
for the parties to exercise
restraint and immediately
cease fire and take concrete
and effective measures to pre-
vent the situation from wor-
sening.
Condemning the violence
and saddened by the injuries
and deaths of innocent peo-
ple, the embassy statement
urged the parties to ensure
lives and property safety of
residents of the border area.
It said the parties con-
cerned in Myanmar are pre-
paring for the third meeting
of the 21st Century Panglong
Peace Conference and China
has been providing assist-
ance.
The statement voiced
firm opposition to any
attempt to undermine
craft Corp, a subsidiary of
Landing section
of flight deck is where the
carrier’s fixed-wing planes land
Steel arresting
wires
Z-18 early-warning Optical landing
helicopter system
LI XINLEI AND LI XIAOTIAN / CHINA DAILY
Institute, said the Chinese
Navy needs at least three air-
craft carriers. When it has
that many, one can be on
duty, one can train personnel
and the third can take on
maintenance, he said.
Besides China, seven coun-
3
peace and stability along
the China-Myanmar border
and any act deliberately
obstructing the Myanmar
peace process.
It called on all parties to
enhance dialogue, promote
mutual trust and move for-
ward together to play a con-
structive role in promoting
national reconciliation and
the Myanmar peace process.
China is working
to ensure the
safety of lives and
property of peo-
ple living along
the country’s bor-
der with Myan-
mar after fighting
broke out
between the
armed forces and
militia in north-
ern Myanmar.
At least 19 people includ-
ing a police officer, four mili-
tia personnel and 14
civilians were killed and 27
others injured in attacks on
Saturday morning by armed
groups in Muse township,
part of Myanmar's Shan
state, according to a release
from the office of the Com-
mander-in-Chief of the
Defense Service of Myan-
mar.
The attacks targeting
three areas were launched
by a combined force of the
Kachin Independence Army
and Ta’ang National Libera-
tion Army.
CHINA DAILY - XINHUA
Close-in weapon
system
tries — the United States, Rus-
sia, Britain, France, Italy,
Thailand and India — operate a
total of 18 aircraft carriers. The
US is the largest operator, with
11 nuclear-powered carriers,
each having a full-load displace-
ment of about 100,000 tons.
4
CHINA
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
CHINA DAILY LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY » CHINADAILYUSA.COM
Suspects grilled by police after
frozen meat is stolen from pit
By LI YINGQING
in Jinping, Yunnan
and HOU LIQIANG in Beijing
Police are grilling seven sus-
pects in connection with the
theft of hundreds of tons of
smuggled frozen meat that
authorities had buried under
concrete. They say residents in
Yunnan province dug up the
meat and took it away, proba-
bly to sell it.
A total of 249 metric tons of
frozen meat, including beef,
tripe and chicken feet, was
buried 5 meters deep and
sealed with concrete at a gar-
bage disposal plant in Jinping
county after it was seized
between April 8 and 12.
About 100 police officers
guarded the site for more than
three days, until the concrete
was fully set. After they left,
however, the plant was over-
whelmed by hundreds of resi-
dents, who broke through the
concrete and took the meat,
probably with the intent to sell
it, Xu Yang, deputy head of
Honghe prefecture, which has
jurisdiction over Jinping, said
on Saturday.
Yunnan TV, which exposed
Bay Area cultural links promoted
By ZHOU MO in Shenzhen
sally@chinadailyhk.com
Cross-border cultural
cooperation will open a big-
ger market for Hong Kong
and Macao culture-related
businesses and help ease dis-
harmony in Hong Kong, offi-
cials said on Friday.
The report given in Octo-
ber to the 19th National Con-
gress of the Communist Party
of China by General Secretary
Xi Jinping and this year’s
Government Work Report
delivered in March by Pre-
mier Li Keqiang both said the
Chinese mainland, Hong
Kong and Macao should
deepen exchanges and coop-
eration in various fields,
Xiang Zhaolun, vice-minister
of culture and tourism, noted.
Cultural industries in the
three areas should take advan-
tage of development opportu-
nities created by the new era
and use their strengths in
tourism, the arts and cultiva-
tion of young artistic talent to
contribute to the development
of the Guangdong-Hong
Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
and promote Chinese culture
to the world, he said.
Xiang made the remarks at
a forum held on the sidelines
Shanghai aims to increase its financial power
By SHI JING in Shanghai
shijing@chinadaily.com.cn
Shanghai officials released a
detailed guideline recently for
further opening-up in the finan-
cial sector, responding to Presi-
dent Xi Jinping’s speech at last
month’s Boao Forum for Asia.
Xi said during his speech on
April 10 that China will carry
out a number of important pol-
icies to open up further. The
the incident on Thursday, said
the problem is not a new one.
Every time the anti-smuggling
office has buried smuggled
food in landfills in the past
couple of years, residents have
dug it up.
Xu, who also heads the
Honghe public security
bureau, said seven suspects
were detained after authori-
ties sought information on the
whereabouts of the vehicles
that transported the meat. The
suspects allegedly sold sub-
standard food.
“An emergency meeting was
held on Thursday night to dis-
cuss what to do. A leading
group headed by the county’s
Party secretary was estab-
lished,” said Wu Huahao, head
of the Jinping government.
After a preliminary investi-
gation, police have some leads
on the whereabouts of some of
the stolen meat, he said.
He added that authorities
have been combing markets
for illegal sales of frozen meat
and have confiscated 3 tons of
meat found without proper
paperwork.
A total of 22,000 square
meters at the garbage plant’s
of the 14th China (Shenzhen)
International Cultural Indus-
tries Fair on Friday.
Lau Kong-wah, secretary
for home affairs of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative
Region, said this year marks a
development milestone —
the opening of big cross-bor-
der infrastructure projects,
including the Hong Kong-
Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and
the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-
Hong Kong express rail link.
“The door has already
opened. It will surely bring
more exchanges to cultural
industries and people on the
two sides. This is a trend,” he
said.
Lau said the Hong Kong
government supports cross-
border cultural cooperation,
saying that the administra-
tion has reserved funds over
five years for supporting
activities by local arts groups
in the Bay Area.
Hong Kong lawmaker Ma
Fung-kwok said the dishar-
mony in Hong Kong in recent
years is rooted in culture.
“The disputes have no
direct connection with eco-
nomic development but are
the result of a deeper issue
that has something to do
with cultural coexistence and
next day, Yi Gang, governor of
the central bank, announced
12 opening-up policies, five of
which will be implemented
over the next few months.
According to Shanghai’s
financial services office, efforts
will be made in fields includ-
ing banking, securities, insur-
ance, financial markets and
free trade accounts, as well as
touching on entry policies for
bank-card clearing institu-
disposal site have been disin-
fected, he said.
The police have been asked
to root out and strongly crack
down on those responsible for
smuggling frozen meat and
taking meat that has been
seized.
Honghe shares 848 kilome-
ters of border with Vietnam,
including 502 kilometers in
Jinping county.
Xu said smugglers have
been making full use of the
natural conditions, with no
barriers in the border areas, to
smuggle rice and frozen meat
into China in recent years.
County head Wu vowed the
authorities would maintain a
tough stance with regard to
meat smugglers. More meas-
ures will be taken to prevent
such meat from crossing the
border into China, including
additional patrols to seize ille-
gal meat, he said.
Wu added that the county
has plans to bring in factories
that can safely dispose of ani-
mal products.
Contact the writers at
houliqiang@
chinadaily.com.cn
people’s concepts,” he said.
“In this sense, in the long
term, we need to deal with
the culture issue well to tack-
le Hong Kong’s problem.”
He said the Bay Area will
open more opportunities to
Hong Kong’s cultural indus-
tries. Hong Kong now has
more than 20 art centers, and
there are more than 60 in the
Bay Area.
Mok Ian Ian, director of the
cultural affairs bureau of the
Macao Special Administra-
tive Region, said cultural
cooperation between Macao
and the mainland has entered
a new phase thanks to a range
of cooperative agreements.
Macao, a place where Chi-
nese and Western cultures
converge, occupied a strate-
gic position on the ancient
maritime Silk Road and is
also an important bridge
between China and Portu-
guese-speaking countries,
she said.
Macao is building a Chi-
nese-Portuguese cultural
exchange center and organiz-
ing high-level cultural meet-
ings, forums and exhibitions.
It also will establish a regular
mechanism to promote cul-
tural exchanges with the
mainland, Mok said.
Mother
love
A daughter hugs her mother at
an event honoring mothers in
Xingan, Jiangxi province, on
Sunday, which was Mother’s
Day in China.
LI FUSUN / XINHUA
tions and nonbank payment
institutions.
Under the new guideline,
foreign banks will be allowed
to set up branches and subsid-
iaries in Shanghai. Commer-
cial banks will be able to set up
financial asset investment
companies and wealth man-
agement companies with no
foreign capital limit.
Meanwhile, foreign-con-
trolled securities companies,
Masterful display
Yang Zhigang, a master of the Shajiamen Martial Arts House in Cangzhou, Hebei province, demonstrates a kung fu stance to foreign stu-
dents on Saturday. The students are members of a group that visits various clubs to learn about Chinese kung fu. FU XINCHUN / XINHUA
Didi driver’s body recovered
after flight attendant killed
Police say man leaped from bridge in
likely suicide; ride service under fire
By LUO WANGSHU
luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn
The body of a Didi Chuxing
driver who was suspected of
killing an airline flight attend-
ant was recovered from a river
in Zhengzhou, Henan prov-
ince, on Saturday, as critics
accused the ride-hailing app’s
“social function” of putting
female passengers at risk.
Police authorities in
Zhengzhou said the suspected
killer — identified only as Liu
— is believed to have commit-
ted suicide by jumping off a
bridge.
Liu picked up a woman sur-
named Li through Didi’s
“hitch” service on May 5. The
service, one of 13 offered
through Didi’s mobile app,
allows private drivers to pick
up passengers going in the
same direction. Drivers partic-
ipating in other Didi services
are subject to a more rigorous
vetting process.
The 21-year-old flight
attendant ordered the “hitch”
service at 11:53 pm, aiming to
travel from a hotel near
Zhengzhou Xinzheng Interna-
tional Airport to the city’s train
station. Liu instead took her to
a deserted area about 15 kilo-
meters from the airport where
police say he killed her.
Li’s body was found on May
8, a day after her father report-
ed her missing.
No details about how the
victim died have been
released. On Sunday, authori-
ties said five people, including
investment funds and futures
companies will be allowed to
establish operations in Shang-
hai to provide brokerage and
consulting services.
Foreign insurance services
will be expanded to include
both insurance agencies and
assessment services. In addi-
tion, foreign-controlled life
insurance companies will be
allowed to operate in the city.
Financial markets will be
In this case, some
inappropriate
comments may
induce people to
commit crimes.”
Zhu Wei, researcher at China
University of Political Science
and Law
a police support officer, had
been detained for sharing
photos online of the victim’s
body taken at the crime scene.
According to the police, 10
minutes after picking up the
woman Liu deleted the
account and drove immediate-
ly to the site where her body
was found. He stayed there for
26 minutes and then headed
south for about 10 km before
stopping the car on a bridge.
Surveillance footage shows
someone jumping into the
water near the city’s West
Third Ring Road. Police recov-
ered a body from the water on
Saturday and said DNA test-
ing had confirmed it was Liu.
According to Didi, Liu was
using his father’s account on
the night of the killing. His
father had passed the full veri-
fication process and criminal
background check, the compa-
ny said. Also, the father’s facial
recognition information was
on file, as required for all driv-
7.6
7.6
trillion
trillion yuan
yuan
Direct
Directfinancial
financialsettlements in
settlements
Shanghai last year
in Shanghai last year
further opened to overseas
investors. Innovative compa-
nies from overseas will be
encouraged to issue Chinese
depositary receipts to trade in
the Chinese A-share market.
The scale of Panda bonds —
referring to yuan-denominat-
er’s before their first pickup.
But some media reports
quoted the father as saying he
didn’t know he was registered
as a driver.
Using another person’s
account is a violation of its
contract terms, the company
said. However, it conceded
that its “night safety system”,
which requires users to log in
using facial recognition, was
“defective”.
Didi said it had received a
complaint of verbal sexual
harassment against the driver
registered with the account
before the killing, but its cus-
tomer services department
had been unable to reach him
by phone after trying five
times, so no action was taken.
It did not say how Liu came to
be using an account in his
father’s name.
The killing sparked public
outrage, prompting Didi to
suspend its hitch service
nationwide for a week on Fri-
day to complete a background
review of its drivers.
The platform’s social inter-
action function has been criti-
cized as a safety hazard for
passengers. The hitch service
is designed for budget travel-
ers and allows registered car
owners to accept rides on
routes they regularly travel.
The company has encour-
aged the social function. In
earlier interviews, Didi Presi-
dent Liu Qing has said the idea
came from her time studying
in the United States, when she
could thumb for a lift and talk
to and laugh with strangers en
route to a destination. That is
not common in China, and the
hitch service was aimed at
making it happen, she said.
ed bonds issued in the Chinese
mainland market by an over-
seas entity — will be expanded.
The free trade account,
which was launched within
the China (Shanghai) Pilot
Free Trade Zone in 2014, will
see its function and range of
applications expanded to the
Yangtze River Delta region to
facilitate the internationaliza-
tion of the renminbi. The
financing and investment
functions of free trade
accounts will be further
explored, the guideline said.
In addition, restrictions on
Before the service was sus-
pended, drivers and passen-
gers could post comments
about each other, such as
whether a driver or passenger
was good. However, com-
ments have often featured vul-
gar descriptions of females.
Drivers can see passengers’
information before taking an
order, and vice versa.
A registered hitch service
driver in Beijing who declined
to be named said on Sunday
that he preferred to pick up
“good-looking” women when
he takes orders. He sometimes
takes orders on his way to or
from work.
“I don’t take orders for mon-
ey, but just to have some com-
pany on the way,” he said. “As a
man, I find it pleasing to chat
with pretty girls.”
The social function of online
businesses is a double-edged
sword, according to Zhu Wei,
deputy director of the Com-
munication Law Research
Center at China University of
Political Science and Law.
“The advantage is obvious,
including attracting custom-
ers and providing customers
with information about prod-
ucts,” he said. “However, in
this case, some inappropriate
comments may induce people
to commit crimes.”
He suggested limiting the
comment choices in some
apps to a grade and details
such as timeliness and cleanli-
ness, but not a passenger’s
gender.
Given the safety issues, the
sacrifice of some information
is worth it, he said.
Ma Si contributed to this
story.
credit rating services provided
by foreign financial compa-
nies will be relaxed.
Li Jun, deputy director of
the Shanghai financial servi-
ces office, said the changes will
make Shanghai an important
crossroads for domestic and
foreign capital.
Direct financial settlements
in Shanghai last year amount-
ed to 7.6 trillion yuan ($120 bil-
lion), more than 85 percent of
the national total. About 30
percent of the financial insti-
tutions registered in Shanghai
were foreign-backed.
 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
Quake:
Early
warnings
now used
From page 1
of more than 3,000 stations.
And 13,000 shelters have
been established across the
country.
China began developing
early earthquake warnings
after the Wenchuan quake
and became the third country
with an early earthquake
warning system after Japan
and Mexico.
Relying on cellphones,
TV, radio, government
micro blogs and special
receiving terminals, the
early warning network,
installed by the Institute
of Care-Life in Chengdu,
covers 660 million people
in areas prone to earth-
quakes, accounting for 90
percent of the population
in these areas, according
to Wang Tun, head of the
institute.
Since 2011, the system has
successfully sent early warn-
ings immediately after more
than 40 destructive earth-
quakes, including two magni-
tude 7 earthquakes in
Sichuan, one in Lushan coun-
ty in 2013 and one in Jiuz-
haigou county in 2017.
A real-time system pro-
viding warnings seconds
after an earthquake occurs
can save lives because the
warnings are transmitted
via radio, which move faster
than seismic waves. Radio
waves travel at 300,000
kilometers per second,
while seismic waves travel
at 3 to 6 km/s.
People who get warning
messages may be able to
escape before the seismic
waves arrive, according to
Chen Huizhong, a research
CHINA DAILY USA
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At the site of Xuankou Middle School, people gather on Satur-
day for a memorial service marking the 10th anniversary of the
Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan province that killed nearly
70,000 people. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY
fellow at the Institute of
Geophysics, China Earth-
quake Administration.
Before the first anniversa-
ry of the magnitude 7.8
earthquake in Nepal that
killed 8,699 people in 2015,
Wang’s institute also helped
Nepal install the system,
making the country the
fourth in the world with an
earthquake early warning
system. The system covers
one-third of Nepal’s territo-
ry and half of its population.
On May 3, the Institute of
Care-Life announced that it
would provide early earth-
quake warnings through tele-
vision to an additional 5
million people in 11 cities and
counties in Sichuan. The
move brought the number of
people in the province cov-
ered by early earthquake
warnings via TV to 5.3 mil-
lion.
Wang Zhiguo, head of Bei-
facebook.com/chinadailyusa
Website: www.chinadailyusa.com
These materials are distributed
by China Daily Distribution Corp.
on behalf of China Daily Beijing,
China. Additional information is on
file with the Department of Justice,
Washington, DC.
jing earthquake prediction
research center, said, “China
is the only country in the
world with official research
on earthquake prediction
and also the only one that
once successfully predicted
an earthquake.”
The country successfully
predicted the magnitude 7.3
earthquake in Haicheng,
Liaoning province, in 1975
and dozens of other earth-
quakes, he said.
He said that while China
has made some achieve-
ments in conducting medi-
um- and long-term
prediction for earthquake, it
has yet to be capable of pre-
dicting the exact time, loca-
tion and magnitude of
earthquakes, which is a
global difficulty.
Contact the writers at
houliqiang@
chinadaily.com.cn
WASHINGTON
National Press Bldg, Suite 1108
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
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575 Market Street, Suite 1875
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: 415-348-8288
Growth: Imports will add Hainan
to world’s economy, Xi says invites
From page 1
Steps to open up further
Manufacturing is another
key sector to reduce restric-
tions on foreign investment.
Regarding trade, China
called off import tariffs on
anticancer drugs beginning
this month and will signifi-
cantly lower tariffs on vehi-
cles and other goods.
They are among the con-
crete measures outlined by
President Xi Jinping at the
annual conference of the
Boao Forum for Asia in April
in Hainan province.
“We have a genuine desire
to increase imports and
achieve greater balance of
international payments
under the current account,”
Xi said in the keynote speech.
The first China Interna-
tional Import Expo sched-
uled for November in
Shanghai is expected to help
increase imports.
In addition, Hainan island
will become a pilot free-trade
zone and, eventually, a free-
trade port, Xi said during an
inspection tour there after
attending Boao gathering.
The moves reaffirmed a
strong political will and a
road map to deepen China’s
reform and opening-up that
began at the 19th National
Congress of the Communist
Party of China in October.
Support from data
China reported year-on-
year GDP growth of 6.8 per-
cent in the first quarter, the
11th quarter in a row with a
growth rate between 6.7 per-
cent and 6.9 percent.
Consumption contributed
77.8 percent, more than last
year’s average of 58.8 percent,
continuing an uptrend that
began five years ago.
In 2018, China’s total retail
sales of consumer goods are
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30 percent
of global economic growth
in the past five years was
contributed by China, the
World Bank says.
estimated to reach 40.5 tril-
lion yuan ($6.4 trillion),
replacing the United States as
the world’s largest retail mar-
ket, said Wang Changlin, an
economic expert with the
State Development and
Reform Commission.
Services accounted for 61.6
percent of the first-quarter
growth, consolidating a lead-
ing role that marks an eco-
nomic structural
transformation, the National
Bureau of Statistics said,
attributing this partly to
changes in China’s consump-
tion structure.
“Rapidly growing per capi-
ta disposable income and a
high employment rate will
sustain robust consump-
tion,” J.P. Morgan Chase’s
Ulrich said.
Today, China is the major
trading partner of over 120
countries and regions. In the
first quarter, customs data
recorded a 21.8 percent drop
in China’s trade surplus, with
imports rising 11.7 percent
and exports 7.4 percent.
A country of net capital
outflows since 2015, China in
the first quarter has main-
tained for five months an
increase in its outward for-
eign direct investment,
reaching a total volume of
$25.5 billion in 140 countries
and regions.
Engine for global growth
According to the World
Bank, China has maintained
an annual growth rate of 7.1
percent during the past five
years, contributing over 30
CANADA TORONTO
4711 Yonge Street, 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M2N 6K8
Tel: 416-481-5706
percent of global economic
growth, more than the contri-
bution made by the US, the
Eurozone countries and
Japan combined.
Xi voiced China’s staunch
support for free and inclusive
trade at the Boao conference,
saying globalization is in line
with the common interests of
all countries.
“We will continue to safe-
guard international order
and rules and support free
trade and the liberalization
and facilitation of trade and
investment,” Xi said at the
four-day meeting.
“The international com-
munity should abandon the
Cold War mentality and
advocate working together to
build a community with a
shared future for mankind,”
he said.
To make globalization
more inclusive so that its ben-
efits can be shared more
extensively, Beijing has
launched the Belt and Road
Initiative and is asking others
to join it.
Proposed by Xi in 2013, the
initiative aims to achieve pol-
icy, infrastructure, trade,
financial and people-to-peo-
ple connectivity along and
beyond the ancient Silk Road
trade routes, building a plat-
form for international coop-
eration to create new growth
drivers.
“China’s pledge to continue
to deepen reform and open-
ing-up by liberalizing market
access and reducing trade
barriers sends a clear signal
that it wishes to not only
improve itself, but to inclu-
sively share the benefits
derived from China’s devel-
opment model,” Jon R. Taylor,
a US political science profes-
sor at University of St. Thom-
as in Houston, told Xinhua in
April.
XINHUA
CHINA DAILY (ISSN 0748-
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1500 Broadway, Suite 2800,
New York, NY 10036. Periodical
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C H I NA 5
global
talent
By MA ZHIPING in Haikou
mazhiping@chinadaily.com.cn
Hainan province announced
a plan on Sunday to woo top-
tier talent to help the island
develop into a pilot interna-
tional free trade zone.
From this year until 2025,
Hainan will implement a
recruitment action plan that
will invite a million talented
individuals from home and
abroad, Li Jun, deputy Party
secretary of Hainan, told a
news conference in Haikou,
the provincial capital.
The plan will offer preferen-
tial policies, including loans
and free housing, to support
talented individuals coming to
the tropical island province.
Master-level talent and out-
standing professionals will be
welcome in such fields as
space science and technology,
deep-sea research, seed breed-
ing and tropical agriculture.
All recruits can choose to live
anywhere in Hainan and will
enjoy the same policy treat-
ment as local residents when
buying a house.
The plan is one of the meas-
ures announced by the provin-
cial government to implement
central government directives
to provide a welcoming envi-
ronment for talented individ-
uals who can contribute to
making Hainan an interna-
tional pilot free trade zone.
Last month, while celebrat-
ing the 30th anniversary of
Hainan being made a prov-
ince and a special economic
zone, the central government
unveiled plans to build it into
a pilot international free trade
zone and gradually explore
the building of a free trade
port with Chinese characteris-
tics.
© 2018 China Daily
All Rights Reserved
Vol. 38 — No. 11372
A member of
the Asia News Network
6 CH INA
Disaster
The quake that shook China to its core
The deadly event
forced the country
to improve the
emergency rescue
system, as
Hou Liqiang
reports from
Beijing with
Liu Kun in Wuhan.
T O
he 2008 Wenchuan
earthquake, one of
the deadliest natural
disasters in China’s
history, marked a watershed
in the country’s approach to
emergency relief. In the 10
years since the temblor, which
claimed more than 69,000
lives and left nearly 18,000
people missing, there has
been a 200-fold rise in the
number of State-backed and
volunteer rescue groups.
Meanwhile, the equipment
used to find survivors and
save lives has become increas-
ingly sophisticated.
Many of those who took part
in the Wenchuan relief effort
spoke later of the heartbreak
of seeing trapped people dying
but being unable to help
because of a lack of equipment
allied to poor rescue skills. The
experience was the start of
China’s efforts to upgrade the
country’s disaster response
capabilities, especially in the
establishment of volunteer
rescue teams.
While even 10 years ago res-
cue work was mainly con-
ducted with shovels and
ropes, today it is common to
see volunteer teams using
unmanned aerial vehicles, or
drones, and thermal-imaging
equipment to pinpoint the
location of survivors trapped
in rubble.
When the Blue Sky Rescue
Team, the country’s first regis-
tered nonprofit volunteer out-
fit, took part in the Wenchuan
relief operation, its members
were untrained outdoors
enthusiasts. Team leader
Zhang Yong described the
outfit as a scratch team with
huge enthusiasm but limited
experience and almost no
equipment.
Recalling the rescue a dec-
ade later, he said the words
that sprung to mind were “sad”
and “powerless” because, lack-
ing equipment and skills, the
team could only help to trans-
port relief materials.
“Often we knew someone
was buried in the rubble near-
by, but we were powerless to
help,” he said, recalling a man
who was pinned down in a
gap between fallen rocks.
Zhang and his team were able
to pass a rope to the man, who
tied it around his waist. How-
ever, he was wedged so hard
that it was impossible to pull
him free. Despite 10 hours of
efforts to rescue him, the man
died. To make matters worse,
his mother and brother were
at the scene, constantly
appealing to Zhang and his
team for help.
While the members of the
team were badly affected by
their “failure”, the incident
made them determined to
develop their skills. In the
Experts call for improved management of volunteer groups
By HOU LIQIANG
houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn
China must strengthen the
management of volunteer res-
cue teams to ensure their
orderly development and reg-
ulate their participation in
disaster relief operations,
insiders have said.
While volunteer outfits
have provided essential assist-
ance in emergency situations
in recent years, a lack of coor-
dination and poor communi-
cations have occasionally
hampered emergency efforts.
For example, in August
2014, when a magnitude 6.5
earthquake hit Ludian coun-
Volunteers from the Blue Sky Rescue Team undertake a practice drill in Xingtai, Hebei province, on Friday.
Members of the Clouded Leopard Rescue Team at work during the relief efforts after the Nepal
earthquake in April 2015. TANG HUAMING / FOR CHINA DAILY
years that followed, Zhang
and his fellow leaders orga-
nized regular training ses-
sions that focused on a variety
of rescue techniques and the
use of professional equip-
ment. The voluntary organi-
zation now has about 30,000
members who form 419 teams
across the country.
“If a disaster strikes within
China, one of our teams can
be at the scene in about four
hours,” Zhang said.
In addition to domestic
operations, the team has tak-
en part in at least eight relief
missions overseas, including
the Nepal earthquake in April
2015. The first batch of Blue
Sky members arrived at the
affected area just one day aft-
er the quake, fully trained to
deal with a variety of tasks.
Using thermal-imaging
apparatus and state-of-the-art
lifting and securing equip-
ment, the team, including Blue
Sky experts, spent 15 days in
ty, Yunnan province, Li Feng,
head of the Green Boat Emer-
gency Rescue, assessed the
level of damage with senior
colleagues and then dis-
patched a 15-strong team to
the affected area.
However, when the team
members arrived in Ludian,
they found the county square
was packed with volunteers,
many of whom were unsure of
the role they were expected to
play.
“There were more rescuers
than victims,” Li recalled.
Having liaised with the local
government, Li’s team knew
exactly where it was needed,
but many volunteers
Nepal searching for survivors,
restoring water supplies and
providing medical services to
more than 2,000 people.
“More than 70 internation-
al rescue teams participated
in the Nepal earthquake oper-
ation and found 178 bodies.
Our 84-member team found
24 of them,” Zhang said.
Newcomers
Since 2008, the handful of
rescue teams in existence
before Wenchuan, such as
Blue Sky, have been joined by
a raft of newcomers, all dedi-
cated to providing assistance
in the face of adversity.
According to the recently
established Ministry of Emer-
gency Management, before
Wenchuan there were 27
State-backed earthquake res-
cue teams in China — one
national team and 26 provin-
cial outfits — that employed
4,200 people.
However, as of March, the
remained in the square.
Eventually, Li’s team com-
mandeered a group of volun-
teers who joined the members
in an isolated village in Qiaojia
county, providing emergency
relief for several days.
According to Li, similar sce-
narios are not unusual, given
the rapid rise in the number
of volunteer relief organiza-
tions since the 2008 Wen-
chuan earthquake in Sichuan
province — the recently estab-
lished Ministry of Emergency
Management puts the num-
ber at nearly 11,000 civilian
rescue teams with about
694,000 members.
She recalled how volun-
number of employees had
rocketed to more than
250,000, and the earthquake
rescue system had evolved into
a four-tier organization reach-
ing down to the county level. At
the same time, there were
11,000 volunteer rescue teams
with 694,000 members.
Xiang Dong from Wuhan,
capital of Hubei province,
founded a volunteer rescue
team in 2009 after friends
told him how frustrated they
had been during the Wen-
chuan relief operation.
Xiang named the team
“Clouded Leopard”, after the
big cat renowned for its
climbing abilities.
Xiang’s team, which has
more than 300 members, is
equipped with 16 drones —
including ones that can detect
poisonous gases, and others
designed specifically for res-
cue operations on water or in
high-rise buildings — a com-
mand vehicle and thermal-
teers’ vehicles jammed roads
vital to the transportation of
survivors and medical sup-
plies in Ludian, even though a
temporary headquarters had
been established for civilian
teams.
More recently, the govern-
ment had to call on volun-
teers to stop pouring into the
area around Jiuzhaigou fol-
lowing a magnitude 7 quake
in the mountainous area of
Sichuan in August.
However, there is no doubt
that volunteer teams can
complement the work of offi-
cial rescue teams. In Ludian,
for example, Li’s team
worked with a group of sol-
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
ZHU XUDONG / XINHUA
If disaster
strikes within
China, one of
our teams can
be at the scene
in about four
hours.”
Zhang Yong,
leader of the Blue Sky
Rescue Team, China’s
first registered nonprofit
volunteer group
11,000
Number of volunteer
rescue teams in China,
with 694,000 members
imaging equipment.
“Our high-tech devices can
guarantee to search an area of
more than 100 square kilome-
ters, and can provide an effec-
tive means of finding
survivors, missing people and
escape routes in dark, densely
smoky and foggy environ-
ments in forests and ravines,”
he said.
When he traveled to Nepal to
assist with relief efforts after
the 2015 earthquake, Xiang led
a team of three that pulled two
seriously injured people from
the rubble during their four
days in the country.
He said members of India’s
official rescue team were
astonished to discover that a
voluntary team from China
had access to thermal-imag-
ing equipment when they
diers, using rope skills to
access damaged buildings so
they could be demolished,
thus helping to alleviate the
danger posed by the unsafe
structures.
While Li is concerned that
resources will be wasted if the
government fails to oversee
the activities of volunteer res-
cue teams, the China Social
Welfare Foundation has
called for industry-style regu-
lations to ensure that teams
become more professional,
with certain outfits specializ-
ing in specific aspects of relief
work.
The foundation has partici-
pated in disaster alleviation
C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY
worked together to search a
collapsed building. “Only one
or two in every 20 teams were
equipped with that sort of
equipment,” he added.
The demands on those who
want to join the team are
high. In addition to being in
excellent physical condition,
members must be fluent in
English. “We conduct rescues
with high-tech devices, many
of which we have imported
from overseas. The members
need to know English to read
the instruction manuals,”
Xiang said.
Growing recognition
In keeping with its long his-
tory, the Blue Sky Rescue Team
has been making efforts to win
international recognition and
support. In May, Zhang invited
two senior Swiss experts from
the International Search and
Rescue Advisory Group, or
Insarag, a network of more
than 80 countries and organi-
zations that operates under
the United Nations umbrella,
to spend three days evaluating
the team and giving lectures.
The team is working to
ensure it will pass the Insarag
External Classification
appraisal procedure. If suc-
cessful, Blue Sky will become
the 52nd team in the world to
pass the appraisal and only the
second in China, after the Chi-
nese International Search and
Rescue Team, the national
earthquake rescue team.
“China is a strong country.
Our volunteers have gained
deep rescue experience and
have the ability to go beyond
China to shoulder the coun-
try’s international responsi-
bilities, so we are making the
effort to learn and improve,”
Zhang said.
Contact the writers at
houliqiang@
chinadaily.com.cn
since the Wenchuan quake.
Its official team, registered in
2103, can mobilize 300 to 500
volunteers, and has partici-
pated in 12 major rescues at
home and overseas, including
the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
In a statement to China
Daily, the foundation said all
volunteer teams should be
officially registered and
should only participate in
emergency relief efforts
under government guidance.
“They will only provide the
government with effective
assistance when they are able
to carry out orderly opera-
tions that do not add to the
existing problem,” it stated.
FIRST PERSON
We have
definitely
made a lot
of progress
since 2008
Liang Jian, 50, director of the
neurosurgery department at
Wuhan Central Hospital, Hubei
province.
n May 12, 2008, I
was lying on my
bed resting after a
long morning of
surgery when the building
began to shake. It was an
earthquake.
Soon after, I was called
and told to leave immediate-
ly for Wenchuan, Sichuan
province, with the Hubei
provincial rescue team. The
damage from the earth-
quake was widespread, and
on the first day of our
deployment the local airport
had been damaged so our
plane was unable to land. It
was quickly repaired,
though, so we arrived on the
second day and started oper-
ations.
Though it’s been 10 years,
the memories are fresh. We
were dispatched to Shifang
city, and the devastation could
be seen everywhere. For doz-
ens of square kilometers, not
one building remained intact.
In fact, most of them had col-
lapsed.
Though we brought as
many medical supplies as we
could carry, we only had a
limited number of disposable
items, so we had to disinfect
the equipment frequently.
The lack of water and no pow-
er supply made our work
extremely difficult.
We worked in a simple tent.
In the evening, when patients
were sent to us, most of the
doctors had to stop work and
hold flashlights so that one
doctor would have enough
light to assess and treat the
injured.
The patients poured in con-
tinuously, but we also provid-
ed treatment in the field. The
situation was chaotic because
of a lack of equipment, and
there were few nurses to
assist us. There were so many
patients that we had no
option but to concentrate on
treating the most seriously
injured.
In the past 10 years, the
medical sector nationwide
has made strenuous efforts to
improve its capabilities as
China works to establish a
complete emergency response
system. For example, my hos-
pital regularly holds training
sessions on the provision of
emergency care.
Meanwhile, we have gained
experience and learned les-
sons from taking part in a
number of disaster relief
efforts, which means the
country’s medical rescue
capabilities have improved
greatly.
Now, we are well-equipped
when we take part in rescue
operations. In addition to hav-
ing enough equipment and
materials, including charging
facilities and apparatus such
as defibrillators, the doctors
are assisted by an adequate
number of nurses. When
injured people are sent to us,
we can concentrate on check-
ing and treating them while
the nurses deal with fluid
infusions and other proce-
dures.
As a member of the Cloud-
ed Leopard Rescue Team in
Wuhan, capital of Hubei pro-
vince, I have regularly provid-
ed training for other team
members before they headed
to disaster zones, including
the 2015 Nepal earthquake. I
have also shared the lessons I
learned during the Wenchuan
earthquake.
Since 2008, China has
made great progress in terms
of emergency medical rescue.
Liang Jian spoke
with Liu Kun.
 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
Disabled workers warm diners’ hearts
Bakery employees use notebooks,
sign language to communicate
with each other — and customers
Despite being full of cus-
tomers at breakfast, the bak-
ery Luo Yanan works at is
quiet but for the clicking and
clacking of high heels and cash
registers.
Greeting every customer
with a big smile and a friendly
gesture, Luo is among the 18
employees who can neither
hear nor speak at the Silent
Cake bakery in Guangzhou,
Guangdong province.
At the entrance are signs
that explain: “Most employees
in this bakery are hearing- and
speech-impaired, so it may
take a little longer for you to
order and pay. Please be
patient.”
Instead of verbal communi-
cation, employees use sign
language or write things down
on notebooks.
Before placing an order,
Luo, who is in her early 20s,
takes out the menu and a note-
book to let the customer write
down the order and payment
method. She packs the takeout
orders.
“We haven’t had any com-
plaints since we opened in
March,” said the bakery’s
co-founder, Zeng Nan. “The
customers are friendly and
always wait patiently, and
some even help clear tables.”
Many of the employees are
graduates of Zeng’s culinary
school.
Silent Cake has become
well-known by word-of-
mouth and through social
media. Its 40 seats are often
Around China
JIANGXI
Wooden house to
become museum
A wooden house more than
200 years old in Yichun is to
be made into a museum
showcasing the beauty of the
rare phoebe wood used in its
construction. Local authori-
ties will also list the property
as a historic relic. Located in a
back alley in Yifeng county,
the building from the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911) covers
1,000 square meters and fea-
tures more than 70 phoebe
crossbeams and columns esti-
mated to weigh more than 40
metric tons. All are in good
condition.
JIANGXI NEWS
SICHUAN
Grandma, 78, starts
online job search
A 78-year-old woman has
become an internet sensation
after applying for many jobs
advertised online in Santai
county. Ding Yuqiong, dubbed
“the granny of employment”,
said she wanted to find a job
to ease the burden on her
family. In her applications she
said the family had been hav-
ing financial problems since
her four children lost their
jobs. Ding said some employ-
ers had invited her to inter-
views.
THEPAPER.CN
full at noon, with long lines of
customers. On busy days, it
serves more than 500 diners.
“I started the bakery
because many of our physical-
ly challenged graduates had
difficulty finding jobs. But the
success is totally beyond my
imagination,” Zeng said.
“It may take an apprentice
with a disability three months
to finish what’s usually a
monthlong course because the
baker must teach them one by
one. But they are all excellent
and professional.”
Zhang Xubiao is one such
student. He is adept at making
soft rolls but also enjoys think-
ing of fresh ideas for new
products. His “constellation”
series of 12 different creative
breads is popular with young-
er customers.
To give the workers a sense
of accomplishment, Zeng
offers each employee a stake in
the business.
“Opening the shop would
have been impossible without
them,” Zeng said.
A second Silent Cake fran-
chise will open soon in
Guangzhou, serving pastries,
drinks and set meals. It will be
five times bigger than the first.
“All the employees here are
strong and brave. They smile
through their difficulties and
stand on their own two feet.
They are my role models,” said
Fan Xiaoyan, a customer with
disabilities.
XINHUA
FUJIAN
Fraudster fails to
repay 140m yuan
A 27-year-old businessman
has been convicted of fraud
and is awaiting sentencing in
Fuzhou after he failed to
repay 140 million yuan ($22.2
million) in debts. Shi Hualin,
who was branded in court as
a dishonest person, once
owned five companies that
sold automobiles and parts
across Fujian province. He
and his companies were taken
to court twice this year, in
January and March, and
ordered to repay their debts.
CQCB.COM
BEIJING
Workers fill in man’s
secret basement
A property owner who illegal-
ly dug a two-level basement
under his apartment was
detained in Xicheng district
on May 4 on suspicion of
endangering public safety. An
investigation found that the
man, surnamed Deng, had
secretly dug out more than
400 cubic meters of earth for
a basement over the course of
five years. The unauthorized
basement had damaged the
structure of the building and
could cause it to subside, local
experts said, adding that
there could also be other hid-
den safety concerns. It took
workers 14 hours to fill in the
basement, which was sealed
with concrete.
BEIJING DAILY
HUBEI
Bureau apologizes
for retiree’s distress
Hongan county’s social secu-
rity bureau has apologized
after local media revealed
that a 90-year-old retiree,
Clockwise from top left: A worker hands coffee to a customer at Silent Cake bakery in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where most of the 22 employees are hearing- and
speech-impaired. A customer communicates in writing with cashier Yan Ning. A chart at the bakery shows how to convey meaning in sign language. Two customers learn sign
language with bakery worker Gu Xiaofeng (right) when she is off work. PHOTOS BY CHEN HUI / NANFANG METROPOLIS DAILY
who no longer lives in the
county, had to be carried to a
third-floor office for his annu-
al social security review.
Wuhan resident Bai Ni com-
plained to the media that she
had to drive her father, now
living with her in the city,
back to Hongan after the
bureau ordered him to return
for the annual review. Bai had
to hire three people to carry
her wheelchair-bound father
to the third-floor office
because there was no lift in
the old building. After the
review, the man had to be car-
ried back to the car.
CHUTIAN METROPOLIS DAILY
Itchy holiday
tattoo regrettable
A tourist is regretting having
his right arm tattooed while
visiting Indonesia during the
May Day holiday. Wang Wei’s
right arm became itchy, red
and swollen after he returned
home to Wuhan, and his skin
started peeling. Doctors diag-
nosed contact dermatitis
caused by the tattoo dye. They
said there might be no scar-
ring on his arm after treat-
ment, but the pigmentation
could not be removed. Wang
said he had been told the hen-
na tattoo would fade auto-
matically in two weeks and
that the dye was natural and
would not cause skin prob-
lems.
WUHAN EVENING NEWS
GUANGDONG
Driver flashes knife
after bad review
A driver surnamed Mai, who
worked for Didi Chuxing, the
ride-hailing service, has been
detained for investigation
after allegedly brandishing a
knife and forcing a passenger
in Zhaoqing to delete a nega-
tive review posted on May 5.
Footage by a passer-by
showed a highly agitated Mai
pull a kitchen knife and
threaten to stab the customer
if he refused to replace the
negative review with a posi-
tive one. Negative reviews
posted by passengers can
hurt a driver’s ability to get
business. A Didi Chuxing
spokesperson said Mai has
been suspended.
GUANGDONG TV STATION
JIANGSU
Teacher accused of
hot water torture
Police are investigating alle-
gations that a kindergarten
student was forced to drink
scalding-hot water as punish-
ment for talking during class
in Yangzhou. The teacher has
been suspended, the school
said. The boy’s mother, sur-
named Li, said her son
returned home from school
reluctant to eat dinner one
day last month, complaining
that his throat hurt. A doctor
found the boy’s throat was
swollen and blistered, making
it difficult to swallow. Li
approached the school to
demand an explanation after
her son said he had been
forced to drink scalding-hot
water after talking with class-
mates during class.
THEPAPER.CN
ZHEJIANG
Surgery secret ends
engagement plans
A woman, surnamed Yun, has
been ordered by a court to
return engagement gifts val-
ued at 150,000 yuan ($23,550)
to her fiance, surnamed Hai,
after he found a scar on her
abdomen and learned she had
removed an ovary without
telling him. Hai retracted his
marriage proposal and filed a
lawsuit, saying Yun’s father
had said his daughter’s scar
was the result of an appen-
dectomy. A court in Huzhou
ruled in favor of Hai after a
public hearing.
ZJ.ZJOL.COM.CN
C H I NA 7
Grandpa packs a punch
as custodian of culture
He shops in vegetable mar-
kets and takes care of his
grandson in his spare time, but
when Huang Zhenjiang puts
on his kung fu attire, he is
strictly a martial arts master.
Huang, 68, is officially recog-
nized as an inheritor of Cai Li Fo
boxing, a style of martial arts.
He is also head of Hongsheng
Hall, a kung fu club established
in 1851 in Foshan, a city in
Guangdong province known for
its martial arts culture.
Cai Li Fo was created by
Chen Xiang. Legend has it that
Chen, a native of Guangdong,
created the style by combining
Cai and Li styles with a form of
boxing named for the Buddha,
or Fo in Chinese.
The kung fu system is being
heavily promoted by the city
government, with textbooks
on the art distributed to 11 kin-
dergartens in Foshan recently, Master Huang Zhenjiang at the entrance of his kung fu club,
according to the city’s sports Hongsheng Hall, in Foshan, Guangdong province. CAI YANG / XINHUA
bureau.
Huang started learning Cai
Li Fo when he was a teenager. cise routine featuring fans. The “I have taught students from
“My grandpa used to tell me all “fan dance” combines Cai Li Fo Spain, the Czech Republic,
about the heroic stories of the boxing and gymnastics, and Argentina and Chile,” he said.
masters,” he said. “I decided I makes the learning process “Many of them came to Foshan,
wanted to be like them.” “more interesting”, he said, rented houses and found jobs
With the help of his grandfa- adding that “the exercise is teaching English while taking
ther, Huang managed to meet good for their health”. time to learn boxing here.”
some Cai Li Fo masters. He Huang noted that his stu- Huang vividly remembers a
would practice for three hours dents sometimes perform their Spaniard who came to him in
every night. In the 1970s, life dance routines during the 2008 after having practiced Cai
was hard and Huang did not opening ceremonies of Asian Li Fo boxing in Spain for nine
want to waste money on kung kung fu competitions. years. “He said he wanted to
fu shoes. So he practiced bare- In addition to schools, learn the original kung fu here,
foot. Huang also goes to communi- and I was happy to teach him,”
Years of effort transformed ties in Foshan to teach Cai Li Fo he said.
him into a kung fu master. boxing, particularly in Chan- There may be many admir-
Hongsheng Hall reopened in cheng district, where Hong- ers of Cai Li Fo boxing, but
1998 after being closed for dec- Huang teaches only those who
sheng Hall is located.
ades, and Huang was asked to The classes usually begin learn the art to strengthen their
teach Cai Li Fo boxing. In 1999, during the summer and winter bodies, rather than those who
he was elected head of the hall, holidays, when eager students want to fight.
and that’s when he saw an from the community flood the “There has been a rule at
opportunity to revive the glory hall to learn from “Master Hongsheng Hall since the
of the traditional martial art. Huang”, who teaches them free. beginning: We never teach Cai
He began to bring Cai Li Fo As the hall is too small to Li Fo boxing to bad people,” he
boxing to students in Foshan, host hundreds of students, said. “Morals are important.”
to pass the style on to young community authorities have When it comes to passing on
locals. turned a local field into a prac- the martial art, Huang said the
“I teach boxing to them on Fri- tice venue for the students. government has taken a variety
day and Saturday nights,” said “They practice one to two of measures in recent years to
Huang, whose sessions last two hours a day,” Huang said. support its development.
hours. “Sometimes we practice Besides his Chinese stu- “Cai Li Fo boxing is our tradi-
at schools, and sometimes they dents, Huang also has some tional culture,” he added. “We
come to classes at the hall.” foreign apprentices who have must try to pass on our culture.”
To make boxing more popu- come to Foshan out of admira-
lar, he has even created an exer- tion for the kung fu master. XINHUA
8
LIFE
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
CHINA DAILY LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY » CHINADAILYUSA.COM
A huqin player and a vocalist perform together with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on May 5 to celebrate a new performance season.
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS
The Shanghai Chinese Orchestra kicks off its new performance season with a showcase of
traditional musical works from Northwest China. Zhang Kun reports.
T
he Shanghai Chinese
Orchestra celebrated
the opening of its
new performance
season with a concert of music
from Northwest China at the
Shanghai Grand Theatre on
May 5.
A series of new composi-
tions premiered at the concert,
which showcased local and
traditional musical elements
from Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi
provinces, Ningxia Hui auton-
omous region and Xinjiang
Uygur autonomous region.
Vocalists and instrumentalists
from these northwestern prov-
inces and regions took the lead
alongside musicians from the
SHCO.
The concert gave a glimpse
of the mission and style of the
SHCO, said Luo Xiaoci, direct-
or of the company. The SHCO
was founded in 1952, and was
the first large-scale modern
orchestra to feature Chinese
instruments in the country.
Luo summarized the compa-
ny’s mission as “presenting
Chinese music with an inter-
national vision and a contem-
porary style”.
The SHCO has been com-
missioning new compositions
with artists from both home
and abroad. By constantly
bringing out new composi-
tions and music productions,
the SHCO has brought Chinese
folk music to a variety of differ-
ent audiences.
“In the past few years we
have presented heavyweight
productions that reflect the
main theme of our times, as
well as lighthearted chamber
Dance drama pays tribute to
landmark railway project
By CHEN NAN
chennan@chinadaily.com.cn
In 2001, when composer Yin
Qing read the news about the
start of the construction of the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway, he was
very excited and wanted to do
a song on the subject.
The railway, which is 1,956
kilometers long, is the world’s
highest line, and the longest
built on a single plateau. At its
highest point, it is 5,072
meters above sea level.
The railway connecting
Tibet with the rest of world,
links Xining — the capital of
Qinghai province — with Lha-
sa, the capital of the Tibet
autonomous region.
Explaining how the song
concerts that are popular with
young audiences,” Luo says.
Among the highlights for
the 2018-19 season will be a
concert production commis-
sioned from Shanghai-based
composer Huang Lei.
Under the title, The Com-
mon Home, Huang will bring
together signature music
styles and instruments from
around the globe to create a
concert about “the destiny of
all humanity”.
“Social development has
caused serious environmental
issues, and this is a problem we
all face,” Huang says. “We are
all in it together, and I want to
address the topic by combin-
ing traditional Chinese instru-
ments with folk music from all
over the world.”
Together with musicians
from the SHCO, Huang is mak-
ing extensive studies of folk
came about, he says: “I have
traveled several times to Tibet
and I was impressed by the
beautiful scenery and the
local people. It is a magical
and inspiring place.”
The Beijing-based compos-
er, who along with his friend,
lyricist Qu Yuan, Yin wrote a
song, titled Road to Heaven.
And it was later performed by
pop star Han Hong and
became one of Han’s best-
known hits.
In July 2016, when the
National Center for the Per-
forming Arts decided to pro-
duce a dance drama to mark
the 12th anniversary of the
opening of the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway, Yin was invited to be
the music director of the
Top: Bamboo flute and dramyin performers work with the
Shanghai Chinese Orchestra as part of the performance at the
Shanghai Grand Theatre. Above: A suona artist and a ballad singer
perform with the same orchestra.
music from around the world
in an attempt to find musical
elements that would suit being
performed on Chinese instru-
ments, while looking for for-
dance drama. And he then
decided to use song in the
dance drama.
The dance drama, titled
Road to Tibet, will make its
debut at the NCPA over June
30-July 3.
Speaking about the unique
subject of the dance drama,
NCPA’s vice-president Zhao
Tiechun says: “The construc-
tion of Qinghai-Tibet Railway
was a key project of the coun-
try’s 40-year reform and open-
ing-up. And people from
around world have enjoyed
unique culture of Tibet by
traveling on the railway.”
Meanwhile, according to
the show’s director Wang Ge,
the drama is based on real sto-
ries from the construction
PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
guzheng shares a similar quali-
ty of sound with the sitar, an
instrument used widely in tra-
ditional Indian and Middle
Eastern music.
“A conversation can be
achieved between these
instruments and the music
styles,” he says. “I am working
closely with musicians at the
SHCO to explore all kinds of
possibilities.”
The new production is
scheduled to premiere on Nov
3, during the China Shanghai
International Arts Festival.
Also due to premiere in the
new season is a concert about
Chinese mythology named
Hero, by composer Li Bochan.
“I will create a symphonic epic,
eign instruments that would with each chapter named after
fit well with a Chinese orches- an ancient Chinese hero,” he
tra, Huang tells China Daily. says. “I will work hard to
For example, the traditional present the depth and dignity,
Chinese stringed instrument as well as the exquisite and
Director Wang Ge (third right) and the main cast of Road to Tibet
at a news conference for the dance drama in NCPA in Beijing.
PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
phase of the railway, especial- Speaking about the change,
ly the friendships between the Wang says: “We visited
construction workers and the people who were involved in
Tibetan people. the construction of the
One thing that is unique railway and listened to their
about this dance drama by stories. And then we realized
Wang is that it has 11 lead roles that it was not enough to just
unlike his earlier shows which have just two or three lead
have fewer lead characters. roles because there were so
gentle side of Chinese national
music, and will find an exclu-
sive sound or expression for
each hero,” he said.
Hero will be performed on
Dec 15, under the baton of
Tang Muhai, chief guest con-
ductor and honorary artistic
director of the SHCO.
“Musicians at the SCHO
view their instruments as if
they are priceless antiques
from the Palace Museum,”
Tang says in a video clip cele-
brating the SHCO’s new sea-
son. “Each sound we make
speaks of the beauty of Chinese
culture — just like our lan-
guage. It’s time for the world to
know about China’s culture,
and China’s music.”
Earlier this year, the SHCO
made a successful European
tour, New Oriental, which fea-
tured the sound of an ancient
flute made from a bone that
dates back 8,000 years, as well
as compositions by contempo-
rary Chinese artists such as
Zhao Jiping and Tan Dun.
Last year, the orchestra pre-
miered a new symphonic pro-
duction Shanghai Odyssey —
The Bund during the China
Shanghai International Arts
Festival, a piece created by Ger-
man composer Christian Jost.
Since then Shanghai Odys-
sey has toured extensively,
performing in Beijing and
Guangzhou.
“It was a great way to intro-
duce Shanghai to other parts
of China,” Luo says.
Contact the writer at
zhangkun@
chinadaily.com.cn
If you go
7:30 pm, June 30 to July 3.
NCPA, No 2 West Chang’an
Avenue, Xicheng district,
Beijing. 010-6655-0000
many stories. People even
sacrificed their lives for the
railway.”
The drama’s creative team
and dancers from the Jilin
Municipal Ensemble of Songs
and Dances, traveled to Qing-
hai and Tibet in August, and
were inspired to use elements
of local Tibetan music and
dances for the dance drama.
Speaking about what he
hopes to project through the
dance drama, Wang says: “We
want not only to showcase
how hard people worked for
the railway, but also to show
the hopes, the beliefs, and the
dreams of the local people.”
Chinese
musicians
enthrall
on tour
BUCHAREST—
Applause and loud cheer-
ing greeted the finale of a
third encore as the audi-
ence in Bucharest’s Athe-
naeum Hall showed their
appreciation for the April
23 performance by the
Hangzhou Philharmonic
Orchestra.
As part of its tour across
southeastern Europe that
includes Greece, Bulgaria,
Serbia and Romania, the
Hangzhou Philharmonic
mesmerized the Romanian
audience with The Flying
Dutchman Overture, The
Butterfly Lovers violin con-
certo and Rachmaninoff’s
Symphonic Dances Op 45.
So enraptured by the
music and the perform-
ance, the audience urged
the recital of three more
pieces from the east China
orchestra: one by Paganini
and two Chinese classical
compositions.
A combination of touch-
ing solos by violinist Ning
Feng and a powerful
orchestral performance,
conducted by Yang Yang,
held the audience in thrall.
The Butterfly Lovers vio-
lin concerto was particu-
larly well received.
Although the love story it
depicts is sad, the music
was acclaimed by some in
the audience as “marvelous
and breathtaking”.
Artists of Hangzhou Phil-
harmonic Orchestra perform
on April 23 in Bucharest,
Romania. LIN HUIFEN / XINHUA
“This concert has been
medicine to my soul, they
are exceptionally good and
it’s amazing that such a
young orchestra, only nine
years since its creation, is so
skillful,” says Romanian
musician, conductor and
professor of music, Nicolae
Racu, who has been playing
Chinese classical music for
the past 40 years.
Racu adds that the
young Chinese orchestra
has already garnered a ven-
erable reputation due to its
depth of talent.
During the concert,
exclamations of “bravo”
and “incredible” could be
heard emanating from vari-
ous areas of the hall, with
one concertgoer, 50-year-
old biologist, Mariana,
describing the perform-
ance as “powerful and awe-
some,” adding that she was
impressed with “the Chi-
nese sensitivity” for the
music.
Yang says: “We came to
southeastern Europe
because we know the region
has a very rich tradition of
classical music and the reac-
tion of the audience con-
firmed my expectations.”
Violinist Ning notes that
one of his inspirations is his
Romanian counterpart, the
late Ion Voicu.
“It’s an honor for me to
come here, because when
we studied music, we were
deeply influenced by the
music from southeastern
Europe.”
XINHUA
C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
From left: Jiang Yuhang is rescued out of the ruins during the Wenchuan Earthquake in May 2008; he arrives at Shanghai Railway Station in December 2008 as a new firefighter of the Shanghai fire brigade; Jiang (left) on
rescue mission near a sluice in Shanghai’s Miaohang town in May 2009. PHOTOS BY JIANG HONGJING AND ZHAO YUN / XINHUA
Firefighter traces his journey
from earthquake victim to lifesaver
Jiang Yuhang now works
PAYING IT
FORWARD
as an assistant to the war
fighting brigade of the
southeastern fire brigade
in Kaili, Guizhou province.
JIANG HONGJING / XINHUA
Photos by XINHUA
O
n May 12, 2008, Jiang Yuhang,
who had just been assigned to
the highway administration
office of Yingxiu town in
Wenchuan county, was buried in the
ruins during the Wenchuan Earthquake.
At 17:12 on May 17, after being trapped
for 125 hours, Jiang was rescued by the
Shanghai fire brigade.
“It was the firefighters who gave me a
second life. So, I was eager to become one
of them,” he says.
At the end of 2008, the 20-year-old
man’s wish came true and he became a
firefighter with the same team that
saved his life.
In May 2009, Jiang received an orange
emergency rescue suit and joined the
Pengpu squadron of the special service
detachment of the Shanghai fire brigade.
Jiang directs rescue missions at a car accident scene in Shanghai in February. XINHUA Then, a house on the fifth floor of a
A group photo of the southeastern fire brigade in Kaili, Guizhou province. Jiang stands in the middle in the first row. JIANG HONGJING / XINHUA
Image | LI F E 9
building in Shanghai was on fire. Jiang
was the first one who dashed into the fire,
managing to pick up the child and get
him out.
At the end of August 2011, Jiang entered
the Kunming command school of the pub-
lic security firefighting force, and also
joined the Communist Party of China.
After that, he was promoted to deputy
commander of the Pengpu squadron of
the special service detachment of the
Shanghai fire brigade.
At the end of March 2018, Jiang was
transferred from Shanghai to his home-
town, Kaili city in Guizhou province, as
assistant to the war fighting brigade of
the city’s southeastern fire brigade.
Speaking about his professional jour-
ney, Jiang says: “In the past decade, I have
learned a lot. And I will use what I learned
to give back to my hometown.”
— ZHANG LEI
10
WORLD
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
CHINA DAILY LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY » CHINADAILYUSA.COM
13 dead in
Indonesian
bombings
Attackers from family of six that
included two young children
SURABAYA, Indonesia —
Suicide bombers who car-
ried out deadly attacks on
three churches in Indone-
sia’s second-largest city on
Sunday were a family of six
that included two young
children, police said, as the
world’s most populous Mus-
lim nation recoiled in horror
at one of the worst attacks on
its Christian minority.
At least 13 people, includ-
ing all six family members,
died in the attacks in Suraba-
ya and at least 41 were
injured, according to police,
in acts that Indonesia’s
president condemned as
“barbaric”.
The bombings were the
worst to target churches in
Indonesia since a series of
attacks on Christmas Eve in
2000 killed 15 people and
wounded nearly 100. Reli-
gious minorities in Indone-
sia, especially Christians,
have been repeatedly target-
ed by militants.
National police chief Tito
Karnavian said that the
father exploded a car bomb,
two sons aged 18 and 16 used
a motorcycle for their attack,
and the mother was with
daughters aged 12 and 9 for
her attack.
Karnavian said the family
had returned to Indonesia
from Syria, where until
recently the Islamic State
group controlled significant
territory.
The extremist group
claimed responsibility for
Sunday’s attacks.
The first attack struck the
Santa Maria Roman Catholic
Church in Surabaya, police
Police are seen outside the Immaculate Santa Maria Catholic
Church following a blast, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, on
Sunday. REUTERS
Briefly
SIERRA LEONE
Envoy attends
inauguration
Chinese President Xi Jin-
ping’s special envoy Wang
Zhigang attended the inau-
guration ceremony of Sierra
Leonean President Julius
Maada Bio on Saturday.
Wang, also minister of sci-
ence and technology, went
to Sierra Leone’s capital city
of Freetown at the invitation
of Bio, said Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson
Geng Shuang.
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Olympic Games’
minister dies at 70
Tessa Jowell, a former British
government minister who
was instrumental in bringing
the Olympic Games to Lon-
don in 2012, died on Saturday
after a brain haemorrhage,
her family said. Jowell, who
spokesman Frans Barung
Mangera told reporters at
the scene. That blast was fol-
lowed by a second explosion
minutes later at the Chris-
tian Church of Diponegoro
and a third at the city’s Pan-
tekosta Church, Mangera
said.
A witness described the
woman’s attack at the Dipon-
egoro church, saying she was
carrying two bags when she
arrived.
“At first officers blocked
them in front of the church-
yard, but the woman ignored
them and forced her way
inside. Suddenly she hugged
a civilian then (the bomb)
exploded,” said the witness, a
security guard who identi-
fied himself as Antonius.
Mangera said three unex-
ploded homemade bombs,
two at the Pantekosta church
and one at the Diponegoro
church, were detonated by a
bomb squad.
Meanwhile, police killed
four terror suspects in West
Java province’s Cianjur
regency early on Sunday,
saying they had planned to
undertake attacks in capital
Jakarta and Bandung.
The suspects were killed
in a gunfight with officers in
a Cianjur bus terminal. It
was unclear if the shootout
was related to the church
attacks.
“Police confiscated fire
arms, bullets, bows and
arrows,” Indonesian police
headquarters Spokesperson
Setyo Wasisto told a news
conference.
AP—XINHUA
was 70, was diagnosed with
brain cancer in May last year.
Prime Minister Theresa May
said: “The dignity and cour-
age with which Dame Tessa
Jowell confronted her illness
was humbling and inspira-
tional.”
POLAND
Two more missing
miners found dead
Rescuers searching for three
Polish miners trapped
almost a kilometer under-
ground since a tunnel col-
lapsed eight days ago have
found two bodies, taking the
death toll from the incident
to four, coal company JSW
said on Sunday. One man is
still missing at the Zofiowka
mine in southern Poland,
which was struck by an
earthquake on May 5, ini-
tially trapping seven miners.
XINHUA—REUTERS—AP
Color photo
A man takes a photograph of himself and his child at the ’Color Run’, a 5-kilometer race attracting more than 3,000 participants in Toronto, Canada,
on Saturday. XINHUA
Paris stabbings claimed by IS
PARIS — A knife-wielding
assailant killed a 29-year-old
man and injured four others
in a lively neighborhood near
Paris’ famed Opera Garnier
before he was killed by police
on Saturday night. The Islamic
State group claimed the
attacker as one of its “soldiers”.
Counterterrorism authori-
ties took charge of the investi-
gation, and President
Emmanuel Macron vowed
that France would not bow to
extremists despite being the
target of multiple deadly
attacks in recent years.
Paris police officers evacuat-
ed people from some build-
ings in the Right Bank
neighborhood after the attack,
which happened on rue Mon-
signy at about 9 pm. Bar pat-
rons and opera-goers
described surprise and confu-
Mahathir bars predecessor from emigrating
KUALA LUMPUR — Malay-
sia’s new leader Mahathir
Mohamad said he barred his
predecessor and his wife from
leaving the country to prevent
them from fleeing from possi-
ble prosecution over a mas-
sive corruption scandal.
A leaked flight manifesto
showed that Najib Razak and
his wife Rosmah Mansor were
planning to leave on a private
jet on Saturday to Indonesia’s
capital, Jakarta, fueling
rumors that he was bolting
the country days after a
shocking electoral defeat that
ended his coalition’s 60-year
grip on power.
“There are a lot of com-
plaints against him, all of
which have to be investigat-
ed,” Mahathir told a news con-
ference.
“We have to act quickly
because we don’t want to be
saddled with extradition from
other countries.”
Mahathir said the investi-
gations would take some time
because investigators need to
contact authorities in other
countries and gather evi-
dence. He has said Najib will
“face the consequences” if any
wrongdoing is found.
Najib said on social media
that he was planning to take a
short vacation to spend time
with his family. The Immigra-
tion Department, which ini-
tially said there was no travel
ban, later issued a statement
that the former prime minis-
ter and his wife were black-
sion in the immediate area.
Beyond the police cordon,
however, crowds still filled
nearby cafes and the city’s
night life resumed its normal
pace soon after the attack.
The unidentified attacker
targeted five people and then
fled, according to Paris police
and a witness. A 29-year-old
man was killed, and four oth-
ers were injured. When police
officers arrived minutes later,
he threatened them and was
shot to death, according to
police union official Yvan Assi-
oma.
Authorities are working to
identify the assailant and any-
one who might have helped
him, Interior Minister Gerard
Collomb told reporters.
Prosecutor Francois Molins
said counterterrorism author-
ities are leading the investiga-
Najib Razak, former prime minister of Malaysia, speaks at a news
conference in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. SHEN JIZHONG / XINHUA
listed from leaving Malaysia.
Mahathir confirmed that
he prevented Najib from
departing. He said there was
sufficient evidence to investi-
gate Najib over the corruption
scandal involving the 1MDB
state fund that’s being investi-
gated in the United States and
other countries. US investiga-
tors say Najib’s associates
stole and laundered $4.5 bil-
lion from the fund, with some
$700 million landing in
Najib’s bank account and
around $30 million used to
buy jewelry for his wife. Najib
has denied any wrongdoing.
Najib responded swiftly,
saying he respects the Immi-
gration Department’s ruling
and will remain in the coun-
try with his family. He also
said he was committed to
“facilitating a smooth transfer
of power”.
Later on Saturday, Najib
tion on potential charges of
murder and attempted mur-
der in connection with terror-
ist motives.
“At this stage, based on the
one hand on the account of
witnesses who said the attack-
er cried ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is
great in Arabic) while attack-
ing passersby with a knife, and
given the modus operandi, we
have turned this over to the
counterterrorist section of the
Paris prosecutor’s office,”
Molins told reporters from the
scene.
The Islamic State group
claimed that the assailant car-
ried out the attack in response
to the group’s calls for sup-
porters to target members of
the US-led military coalition
squeezing the extremists out
of Iraq and Syria.
France’s military has been
told a news conference that
he was stepping down as pres-
ident of the United Malays
National Organization and as
chairman of the National
Front coalition to take
responsibility for Wednes-
day’s election debacle.
The announcement came
after strong calls emerged
from the UMNO, the linchpin
of the coalition, for Najib to
resign.
active in the coalition since
2014, and Islamic State adher-
ents have killed more than 200
people in France in recent
years, including the 130 who
died in the coordinated
November 2015 attacks in Par-
is.
“All my thoughts are with
the victims and the wounded
of the knife attack perpetrated
this evening in Paris, as well as
their relatives. On behalf of all
the French, I salute the cour-
age of the police officers who
neutralized the terrorist,”
French President Emmanuel
Macron tweeted on Saturday
night.
“France pays once again the
price of blood but does not
give an inch to the enemies of
freedom.”
AP—XINHUA
Malaysian police rejected
reports claiming that an
apartment unit owned by a
relative of Najib was raided in
an operation to protect evi-
dence.
Kuala Lumpur police chief
Mazlan Lazim told local
media that the police have not
conducted any raids as
claimed by several media
organizations.
“We are in the midst of
checking the veracity of some
of these reports and are gath-
ering information according-
ly. The so-called raid at
Pavilion Residences tonight
(Saturday) is not true,” he was
quoted as saying.
It was earlier reported that
police and plainclothes law-
enforcement officers raided
an apartment in Kuala Lump-
ur on Saturday to search for
sensitive documents that the
newly elected government
fears may be taken out of the
country.
AP—XINHUA
DPRK
details
nuclear
site plan
SEOUL/WASHINGTON
— The Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea has
scheduled the dismantle-
ment of its nuclear bomb
test site for between May 23
and 25 in order to uphold its
pledge to discontinue nucle-
ar tests, DPRK media
reported on Saturday a
month ahead of a historic
summit.
The DPRK’s Korean Cen-
tral News Agency said dis-
mantlement of the
Punggye-ri nuclear test
ground would involve col-
lapsing all of its tunnels
with explosions, blocking its
entrances, and removing all
observation facilities,
research buildings and
security posts.
“The Nuclear Weapon
Institute and other con-
cerned institutions are tak-
ing technical measures for
dismantling the northern
nuclear test ground ... in
order to ensure transparen-
cy of discontinuance of the
nuclear test,” KCNA said.
“A ceremony for dismant-
ling the nuclear test ground
is now scheduled between
May 23 and 25,” depending
on weather, the DPRK For-
eign Ministry said, adding
that journalists from the
United States, the Republic
of Korea, China, Russia and
the United Kingdom will be
invited to witness the dis-
mantling.
KCNA said journalists
would be invited to cover
the event, to “show in a
transparent manner the dis-
mantlement of the northern
nuclear test ground to be
carried out”. The exact date
of the closure will depend
on weather conditions, the
agency said.
The ministry said the
DPRK will continue to “pro-
mote close contacts and dia-
logue with the neighboring
countries and the interna-
tional society so as to safe-
guard peace and stability on
the Korean Peninsula and
over the globe”.
US President Donald
Trump and DPRK leader
Kim Jong-un will hold talks
in Singapore on June 12, the
first-ever meeting between
a sitting US president and a
DPRK leader.
Trump’s Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said on Friday
that the DPRK can look for-
ward to “a future brimming
with peace and prosperity”
if it agrees to quickly give up
its nuclear weapons.
Trump welcomed the
DPRK’s announcement.
“Thank you, a very smart
and gracious gesture!” he
said in a post on Twitter.
The ROK’s presidential
office echoed the sentiment
on Sunday, saying it shows
Pyongyang’s willingness to
denuclearize through
actions beyond words.
Kim Eui-kyeom, spokes-
man for ROK President
Moon Jae-in, said it was an
expression of the DPRK’s
willingness to keep to the
promise that Pyongyang
made during the inter-Kore-
an summit on April 27.
REUTERS—XINHUA—AP
 Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018 11

COMMENT
EDITORIAL • OPINION
China Daily Latin America Weekly
chinadailyusa.com

EDITORIALS

Mutual understanding Cai Meng

key to trade talk success

C
hina and the United States have agreed to start
fresh talks in Washington “at an appropriate time”,
which is a positive development to avert an all-out
trade war. Now the two need to think thoroughly
how to achieve more consensus in the talks to push
forward the healthy development of bilateral trade
relations.
The key principle the two sides have to abide by should be
mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual benefits,
which is in the interests of both countries and without which the
talks risk being deadlocked.
The China-US trade differences have been brought to the brink
of a dangerous trade war by Washington’s unilateral actions,
despite China repeatedly expressing its commitment to solving
their disputes through dialogues. But since coercion has not
worked, it has now softened its stance.
The US should draw lessons from its previous dealings with
China. It should bear in mind that the outcomes of dialogue
should be mutually beneficial and China will not accept its inter-
ests being damaged.
China, meanwhile, will continue to take a pragmatic approach
to the talks and is willing to take measures to ensure progress is
made to promote the healthy development of China-US trade
relations, so long as its core interests are not jeopardized and the
US respects the principle of equal-footed consultation in the talks.
China has always taken a constructive approach in opening up
its economy to share with the international community its devel-
opment opportunities. It has recently vowed to open up its multi-
trillion-dollar financial sector, for example, and increase imports
from other countries to contribute to global growth.
At a time when global growth is showing an initial trend of sta- OPINION LINE
ble growth, but with its future sustainability remaining question-
able, China’s new opening-up moves will play a vital role in
maintaining global growth and are in stark contrast with the
Better China-Japan ties
tiesshot
shotin
in Meat scavenging
“America first” approach adopted by Washington.
The Trump administration, ever since its inauguration, has exposes loopholes
shown an entrenched trend of protectionism, which has led to a
series of offensive steps that risk ruining the existing global trade
and economic order, triggering widespread concern over the
the arm for regional cooperation in disposal system
destructive role of unilateralism.
Having suffered setbacks in dealing with China over trade ALTHOUGH IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Tokyo last week has brought VILLAGERS living near a landfill in
issues after it threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese products the estranged relations between China and Japan back onto the right track, Li’s visit, the first by a Chinese Jinping county, Southwest China’s Yunnan
worth $150 billion, the US should be aware that it must become premier in eight years, was of practical importance in helping the two countries begin to rebuild their long province, have been collecting and selling
more cooperative and constructive in the trade talks with Chi- lost mutual trust. Beijing Youth Daily comments: the expired or shoddy meat products that
na. the authorities have disposed of there. The-
It should cast away its unilateral mentality so that the two In his speech marking the 40th anniversary of will guarantee the sustainability and vitality of paper.cn commented on Sunday:
sides can make efforts to find a solution to bilateral trade fric- the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty, Li their cooperation.
tions. expressed his anticipation that the two countries That the trade with each other only accounts for It is estimated the villagers recovered
will advance their cooperation by taking advan- 20 percent of their foreign trade, and their capacity and sold nearly 250 tons of meat products,
tage of the the opportunity presented by the in cooperation on industries, environmental pro- ranging from beef to chicken’s feet, until a
Carrier’s sea trials show progress that has been made toward resolving the
Korean Peninsula situation.
tection and energy saving, among other things, is
yet to be tapped speaks volumes about the prospec-
post revealing the practice went viral on
social media and the county government
The consensus reached at the summit of the tive benefits that could be realized through a trilat- put a stop to it last week.
navy ‘stands up in the East’ three countries on advancing their economic coop-
eration paves the way to push forward their long-
eral free tade agreeement.
Also, the memorandums of understanding
Once a new load of meat had been
dumped in the landfill, hundreds of local
anticipated trilateral free trade agreement, which between China and Japan on strengthening their villagers would rush to the site and start

A
lthough, as the navy said, the trial is only to test the reli-
ability and capacity of its propulsion system, the maid-
en sea trials of China’s first domestically designed
aircraft carrier on Sunday morning stirred the emotions
of many Chinese.
Since its doors were forced open from the outside by Western
navies in the late 19th century, it has been a dream for China to
have a strong navy, so that there will be no repeat of the gunboat
diplomacy and seaborne humiliations of the past.
Although it is not the latest-generation carrier technology,
"Type 001A", as the vessel is currently known, is endogenously
designed and built. Expected to be commissioned by 2020, it
embodies both China’s self-reliance, the industrial and technolog-
ical progress it has made, and the degree to which its naval capa-
bilities have progressed.
As President Xi Jinping said last month when conducting a
review in the South China Sea, notable progress has been made in
modernizing the country’s navy. The new carrier reinforces his
message that the Chinese navy has “stood up in the East” with a
brand new image. However, it still has a long way to go.
But that does not mean, as the sniping of some would have peo-
ple believe, that the carrier is intended as a means with which to
grab overseas interests. Rather, it is a means to prevent China’s
national interests from being encroached upon.
Although the Chinese navy has developed rapidly in both size
and quality over the past five years, the abuse and menace that
are regularly directed the country’s way means it would be remiss
for it not to have the means to urge caution.
Nor should the expanded role the navy is being asked to play be
dismissed. As well as the inshore defense that has been its mis-
sion for decades and the safeguarding of the country’s territorial
integrity, it also has to be able to protect the country’s develop-
ment interests including its trade routes and Chinese citizens
working overseas.
As the world’s second-largest economy, China is taking increas-
ing responsibility for maintaining world peace and protecting the
world economy. This also requires the country to have a strong
navy, which will enable it to do whatever it can to respond to any
humanitarian and rescue emergency.
will also give a shot in the arm to efforts to promote
the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partner-
ship.
This is a different tune to that being sung by
Washington, which is following a unilateralist
score that has been building to a protectionist cre-
scendo.
The potential of the three Asian neighbor’s coop-
eration and collaboration is huge, and it is this that
Car-hailing firm may be liable in killing
DIDI CHUXING, a car-hailing service company headquartered in Beijing, has suspended its car-hail-
ing operations for a week to conduct thorough rectification after a 21-year-old flight stewardess, was alleg-
edly murdered by the driver of a car she ordered in Zhengzhou, Henan province, last week. Beijing News
comments:
According to reports quoting his neighbors, the
driver of the vehicle hailed by the woman was driv-
ing a car registered under his father’s name on the
Didi Chuxing platform that night, breaching the
company’ rules. The company said the father had
passed the verification process and criminal back-
ground checks required by the company.
Yet despite having a facial recognition system
for its drivers, the company had no idea who was
driving the car until the police found it and made
inquiries, and even though the victim complained
of the driver’s verbal sexual harassment to the cus-
tomer service department of the company before
her death, the company failed to contact the driv-
er, and did nothing to address the woman’s con-
cerns.
The police found that the suspect was not quali-
service trade and cooperation in third countries,
which is closely related to the Belt and Road Initia-
tive, and their agreements on the building of sea
and air liaison mechanisms and restarting negotia-
tions on a currency swap agreement all indicate the
two neighbors have made the first strides toward
greater economic cooperation.
Now is the time to carry on the momentum and
materialize these consensuses.
fied to drive a hail car, but he had in fact earned his
living in the business for more than two months.
Something the company was unaware of.
Also female passengers have frequently com-
plained about the obscene remarks of male car-
hailing drivers. So the company must know about
the problem. Yet, it has done nothing about it.
The company needs to stem the loopholes in its
mode of operations to prevent any such tragedies
happening again.
But although the driver drowned himself in a riv-
er after the case — his body was found in the river
on Sunday — that still should not put an end to the
case. The woman’s family or the public security
organs have every reason to sue the company and
the culprit’s family for civil compensation, if the
court confirms the driver was the killer.
working around the clock to gather as
much of it as possible.
This reportedly had been going on for
years with most of the meat finding its way
to roadside eateries and countryside food
workshops. And the operation has been
going on openly for several years.
To prevent it from happening again, the
country government is now mixing caustic
soda and cement among the meat products
before dumping them.
But it would not have been difficult for
the government to discover the dirty trade.
Yet it did nothing to stop it.
Even without the scavenging, to bury
hundreds of tons of meat products in one
place without any processing measures
beforehand, not only violates the rules for
the disposing of meat products, it also pos-
es a serious risk to the local ecology and
environment, contaminating the soil and
water.
These expired meat products can be
turned into organic fertilizers and bio-fuel
for power plants.
Now is the time to track down the indus-
trial chain and hold relevant officials,
including those in the food safety and com-
merce administration departments, and
the sellers responsible, as their dereliction
of duties and dirty business have constitut-
ed a huge threat to food safety and public
health.
The case should ring the alarm bells
nationwide for the authorities to strength-
en their supervision of the processing of
refuse, especially in the countryside.

HOT WORDS
C O N TA C T U S
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12 VIEWS
Chen Haiming
Tariff barriers will lead nowhere
T
he threat of a full-
fledged trade war
between China and the
United States might
have receded thanks to the recent
Sino-US trade talks. But many
still fear China will suffer a bigger
blow if a trade war breaks out,
because it relies heavily on the
US to keep its enormous export
operation going.
The facts are different. Despite
China exporting more products
to the US than the US exports to
China, there is no reason why
Washington would emerge the
winner in a trade war. Since
many US companies could lose
access to the Chinese market and
products in the event of a trade
war, US citizens in general would
have to not only pay more for
consumer products, but also face
pay cuts or lose their jobs.
Worse, since farmers in the US
would be caught in the middle of
a trade war, as their agricultural
produce exported to China could
be one of the main retaliation
targets for Beijing. And regard-
less of US President Donald
Trump’s claim that trade wars are
“good, and easy to win” — which
was immediately criticized by
many Americans — the US would
suffer huge losses in a trade war.
The tit-for-tat retaliation would
be beneficial to neither the US
nor China.
Besides, a trade war would have
a damaging effect not only on the
US and China, but also on global
trade and thus the world econo-
my. Tariff barriers would retard
GDP growth for both countries,
which in turn would slow the
global economy even before it has
fully recovered from the impact of
the global financial crisis.
China’s would not be the only
economy to be affected by US tar-
iff barriers, because a wide net-
work of value chains feed
different materials, components
and sub-components into the
global manufacturing and
assembly base that is China.
Many other economies could suf-
fer, as many of the manufactur-
ing companies operating in
China are registered in other
countries, including in the US.
And with the retaliatory tariffs
Alfred Schipke and Longmei Zhang
Good but uncertain times could be on way
O
ur Regional Economic
Outlook suggests a
strong global and
regional growth
momentum. But there are also
clouds on the horizon for which
all need to prepare and now is
the time to do it. China’s reforms
have stabilized the economy and
progress has been made in finan-
cial deleveraging. The key will be
to stay the course.
As we note in our recently
released “Regional Economic
Outlook”, the Asia-Pacific region
remains the main engine of the
global economy, and near-term
prospects have improved since
our report of October last year.
But there are many risks on the
horizon, including a tightening
of global financial conditions, a
shift toward protectionist poli-
cies, and an increase in geopoliti-
cal tensions. In addition, over the
longer run, Asian economies will
face major challenges from aging
populations and slowing produc-
tivity growth, as well as the rise
of the digital economy, which
could yield huge benefits but also
bring major disruptions.
Given these uncertainties,
macroeconomic policies in the
region should be conservative
and aimed at building buffers
and raising resilience, while tak-
ing advantage of strong econom-
ic conditions to implement
structural reforms to promote
sustainable and inclusive growth.
Regional growth is expected to
remain strong at 5.6 percent this
year and next — up by about 0.1
percentage point from our previ-
ous forecast — supported by
strong global demand and favor-
able financial conditions.
As in other regions, inflation in
Asia has largely remained sub-
dued despite the pickup in
growth. We project that inflation
will remain at 1.4 percent on
average in advanced economies
and 3.3 percent on average in
having a ripple effect, going
all the way back to the sup-
pliers across the world,
many third countries
could also suffer collateral
damage.
Trump’s trade policy is
a reflection of mercantil-
ism. Viewing global
trade as a “zero-sum
game”, it favors protec-
tionism in order to
derive maximum profits,
when the fact is, interna-
tional trade is a win-win
game that benefits all par-
ticipants.
Trump should realize
that the US’ trade deficit
with China is not a result of
China adopting unfair policies.
Instead, it is a result of many fac-
tors, such as different compara-
tive advantages, the US’
restrictions on the export of high-
tech, low savings rate of Ameri-
cans, and the US dollar being a
global currency. So it is unfair to
discriminate against Chinese
products by accusing China of
practicing unfair policies.
Building tariff barriers as part
of a trade policy is, to some
extent, unilaterally declaring a
war against multilateralism,
and pitting protectionism
against free trade, which is a fla-
grant violation of the cardinal
principles of the World Trade
Organization.
The US for long saw itself as
the beacon of non-discrimina-
tion, fair competition, free trade,
openness and rule-based multi-
lateralism. But under Trump’s
leadership, the US seems hell-
bent on violating the very princi-
emerging markets. Among the
larger economies, growth in
Japan has been above potential
for eight consecutive quarters
and is expected to remain strong
this year at 1.2 percent. And in
India, after temporary disrup-
tions caused by the currency
exchange initiative (called
“demonetization” in India) and
the rollout of the new Goods and
Services Tax, growth is expected
to recover to 7.4 percent, making
it once again the region’s fastest
growing economy.
For China, this year is projec-
ted to see growth ease to 6.6 per-
cent from 6.9 percent last year, as
financial, housing and fiscal
tightening measures take effect
and net exports contribute less.
Such a slowdown is necessary
and will benefit China in the long
run, as it reflects the economy’s
transition from a focus on quan-
tity to quality of growth. Inflation
is expected to rise from 1.6 per-
cent in 2017 to 2.5 percent in
2018, but remain moderate and
in line with the regional trend.
Complex factors
influence outlook
Risks to near-term growth are
balanced, but downside risks
prevail over the medium term.
On the upside, the global recov-
ery could again prove stronger
than expected. The new Compre-
hensive and Progressive Agree-
ment for Trans-Pacific
Partnership and the successful
implementation of the China-
proposed Belt and Road Initia-
tive, assuming debt sustainability
and project quality are main-
tained, could support trade,
investment and growth.
Asia, however, remains vulner-
able to a sudden and sharp tight-
ening in global financial
conditions, while extended peri-
ods of easy financial conditions
could risk a buildup of leverage
ples on which it was established
as a nation. Besides, Trump’s
“America First” policy is against
the rules of the WTO.
Protectionism will cause tangi-
ble losses to the US economy. It
will also cause intangible losses
to its soft power and world lead-
ership. And mercantilism, which
promotes the building of tariff
barriers to global trade, not only
causes damage to the rule of law
in international trade, but harms
global and regional peace.
The author is director of the Cen-
ter for Global Governance, Xia-
men University of Technology.
In the longer run,
Asia’s growth
prospects could be
heavily affected by
demographics,
slowing productiv-
ity growth, and
the rise of the dig-
ital economy.
Aging populations
are an important
challenge, as
many economies
face the risk of
“growing old
before they grow
rich” ...
and financial vulnerabilities.
More inward-looking policies in
major global economies, as high-
lighted by recent tariff actions
and announcements, could dis-
rupt international trade and
financial markets and have a
substantial impact on Asia,
which has benefited so much
from economic integration.
Finally, geopolitical tensions
could have serious financial and
economic repercussions.
In the longer run, Asia’s
growth prospects could be heavi-
ly affected by demographics,
slowing productivity growth, and
the rise of the digital economy.
Aging populations are an impor-
tant challenge, as many econo-
mies face the risk of “growing old
before they grow rich”, and the
adverse effect of aging on growth
and fiscal positions could be sub-
stantial. A second challenge is
slowing productivity growth.
Besides, the global economy is
becoming increasingly digital-
ized, and while some recent
advances could be truly trans-
formative, they also come with
challenges, including those relat-
ed to the future of work. Asia in
aggregate is embracing the digi-
tal revolution, but the degree
varies significantly across the
region.
Strong forecasts
help build buffers
The strong economic outlook
provides a valuable opportunity
to focus macroeconomic policies
on building buffers, increasing
resilience, and ensuring sustain-
ability. In many countries in the
region, continued fiscal support
is less urgent given the strong
economic performance, and poli-
cymakers should focus on ensur-
ing that debt remains under
control. Some countries should
also focus on revenue mobiliza-
tion to create space for infra-
structure and social spending
and to support structural
reforms.
As for monetary policy, the pol-
icy stance can remain accommo-
dative in much of the region
given that inflation is generally
still muted. Nonetheless, central
banks should be vigilant, since
our analysis suggests that much
of the undershooting of inflation
targets in Asia has been
explained by temporary, global
factors, such as commodity pri-
ces and imported inflation,
which could reverse.
Therefore, tailored measures
are needed to boost productivity
and investment, narrow the gen-
der gap in labor force participa-
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY
O
MA XUEJING /
CHINA DAILY
tion, deal with the demographic
transition, address climate
change, and support those affect-
ed by shifts in technology and
trade. And to reap the full bene-
fits of the digital revolution, Asia
will need a comprehensive and
integrated policy strategy cover-
ing information and communica-
tions technology, infrastructure,
trade, labor markets and educa-
tion.
In China, reforms in the past
two years have contributed to a
reduction of near-term risks and
stabilized the economy. In partic-
ular, progress has been made in
financial deleveraging, which
should continue. Recently issued
regulation on asset management
products and new liquidity rules
are welcome and should help fur-
ther unwind risks accumulated
in the financial sector; the key
however, will be steadfast imple-
mentation.
It will be important to further
slow credit growth and improve
credit allocation efficiency, which
should go hand-in-hand with
State-owned enterprise reforms
and more forceful exit of zombie
companies. Fiscal policy that fos-
ters consumption, while curtail-
ing excessive investment,
especially at the local level,
would facilitate rebalancing and
contribute to higher quality of
growth.
And these reforms should be
accompanied by further
strengthening policy frame-
works, for example, giving the
People’s Bank of China more
operational independence to
implement monetary and
exchange rate policy, and allow-
ing the market to play a more
decisive role.
Alfred Schipke is IMF senior resi-
dent representative for China,
and Longmei Zhang is IMF dep-
uty resident representative for
China.
Cai Hong
The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau
chief.
caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
Abe may not be
able to revise
Constitution
next summer
n May 3, Japan observed the 71st
anniversary of its Constitution
that went into effect in 1947.
Despite strong opposition from
people at home and abroad, Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to amend the
Constitution that, in his words, was
imposed by the United States on Japan after
World War II.
An opinion poll conducted by Kyodo
News in Japan last month showed 61 per-
cent of the respondents were opposed to
any constitutional revisions while Abe is in
office, compared with 38 percent in favor.
On May 3 last year, Abe gave called for
specifying the Self-Defense Forces in the
Constitution, arguing that the lack of refer-
ence to Japanese armed forces leaves room
for them to be seen as “unconstitutional”.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has
come up with a proposal on how to amend
the Constitution in line with Abe’s wishes.
Under the LDP’s plan, the first paragraph
of Article 9, which renounces war, and the
second paragraph, which prohibits Japan
from possessing any “war potential”, would
be retained, but a new clause stating the
provisions of the preceding paragraphs do
not preclude the country from taking “nec-
essary” self-defense measures would be
added.
To make the new clause in Article 9 rele-
vant, the Japanese government has defined
the SDF as an organization with strength
“below war potential”. And Abe has claimed
that the proposed revision of Article 9 will
bring “no change” to the role and nature of
the SDF.
Opinion polls show no
clear rise in popular
support for constitu-
tional revision.
The Abe administration has already sub-
stantially eased the constitutional limits on
the “armed forces”. Japan’s Constitution
allows the SDF to act only in self-defense,
but the national security legislation that
took effect in 2015 allows Japan to respond
to attacks on its allies as well. Japan will
now expand its role in United Nations
peacekeeping operations, increase contin-
gency planning with the US, and explore
new areas of defense cooperation with
“like-minded states”.
Still, the Japanese government is consid-
ering arming the SDF with highly aggres-
sive weapons, moving further away from
the country’s defense-only policy. It is con-
sidering modifying its largest helicopter
destroyer, the Izumo, so that US F-35B
stealth fighters can land on and take off
from its flight deck.
And US defense contractor Lockheed
Martin Corp., according to Reuters, plans
to offer Japan a stealth fighter design
based on its export-banned F-22 Raptor
and advanced F-35 Lightning II aircraft.
The proposed aircraft is said to combine
the F-22 and F-35 and “could be superior to
both of them”.
Japanese lawmakers in favor of a consti-
tutional revision have a two-thirds majori-
ty in both houses of parliament, a
threshold for initiating an amendment to
the Constitution. However, they may lose
this advantage.
The election to the upper house is sched-
uled for the summer of next year, when
half of its 242 seats will be contested. The
LDP, Komeito and two small parties that
favor constitutional revision hold the nec-
essary two-thirds majority in the upper
house.
Since 69 seats held by LDP members will
be up for grabs, it has to win something
close to this number to hold on to the two-
thirds advantage. And wining a number of
seats in the mid-sixties range will be no easy
task for the LDP, which won only 55 in the
most recent upper house election in 2016.
With this in mind, Abe may well push to get
a set of amendments approved by the Diet
before the summer 2019 election.
Abe wants the amendment to be adopted
in 2020. But he may find it difficult to set a
date for a national referendum because of a
series of big events next year, from Emperor
Akihito’s abdication to the G20 Summit and
the Rugby World Cup.
Opinion polls show no clear rise in popu-
lar support for constitutional revision. So
even if a set of amendments is approved by
the Diet, it is not certain they will be ratified
in the referendum.
 13

BUSINESS
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018

CHINA DAILY LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY » CHINADAILYUSA.COM

RETURN OF STABILITY
Talking Business

Decades pass, yet

Residential property gathers speed in lower-tier cities even as metros withstand curbs, higher prices
By WANG YING in Shanghai
wangying@chinadaily.com.cn
China’s lower-tier cities are
stealing the residential proper-
ty market thunder from bigger
places as home prices continue
to rise, thanks to fewer restric-
tions on purchases there.
But realty industry experts
said first-tier cities, which
have seen curbs to prevent
overheating amid speculative
investments, will stay resilient
and stable in the longer term.
Contracts were struck
online for some 360 apart-
ments in first-tier cities during
the first two days of the May
Day holiday. The figure more
than halved year-on-year,
according to data from prop-
erty consultancy Centaline.
Yet, the housing market in
major cities saw steady per-
formance in March and April.
But the transaction volume
has not returned to peak days
seen before policy-tightening
late last year, said Zhang
Dawei, chief analyst at Cental-
ine Property Agency Ltd.
According to data from the
National Bureau of Statistics,
prices of new homes in top-tier
cities edged down 0.6 percent
year-on-year in March; while
in the secondary market, resi-
dential property prices slid 0.1
percent from a year ago, the
first such drop in recent years.
Liu Jianwei, a senior statisti-
cian at the NBS, attributed the
return of stability in the residen-
tial property market to meas-
ures by local governments as
well as the continuity in the pro-
vincial-level housing policies.
The macro-level policies
that took effect in the past year
have been effective, and home
prices in first-tier cities will be
stable throughout this year,
said Zhou Jing, head of project
sales, JLL Shanghai, an inter-
national real estate consultan-
cy.
“First-tier cities were some
of the earliest to implement
(market-)cooling measures
and continue to have some of
the toughest restrictions,
while also having some of the
highest prices,” said James
Macdonald, senior director of
Savills China research, anoth-
er international real estate
consultancy.
A report from the Shanghai
University of Finance and Eco-
nomics or SUFE had a similar
conclusion, suggesting both
new homes and pre-owned res-
idential properties are showing
a downward trend, the China
Youth Daily reported.
By analyzing NBS data on
China’s major 70 cities
real(i)ty bites hard
By WANG YING in Shanghai
7.4 percent
wangying@chinadaily.com.cn
About a decade ago, a TV
series called Woju (meaning compound annual
a narrow dwelling, like that growth rate of Shang-
of a snail) became a huge hit hai’s immigrants from
among Chinese audiences. 2000 to 2017
The series depicted how
hard it is for young people
working and living in big cit-
ies to buy an apartment in house to lease it to more ten-
such places. ants.
The series’ popularity can “The development of
be attributed to many rea- long-term rental housing is
sons. One of the most impor- supported by such factors.
tant reasons was that most The population inflow into
of the houses were indeed big cities in East China is
unaffordable for young peo- boosted by the expansion of
ple. So, the series struck a service industries and
chord. robust leasing demand.
Aspects like having to save Such demand is caused by
every yuan possible toward the unaffordability of home
making the down payment purchases in first- and sec-
for a house first, followed by ond-tier cities.
allocation of a major part of “Another reason is prefer-
income for monthly mort- ential policies by the central
gage payments, reflected the government. There are now
reality of the day. principles like same rights
In order to repay housing for home leasing and pur-
loans, people became risk- chases, and that homes are
averse and couldn’t muster for living in, not speculative
courage to change jobs. They investments,” said Chen
sacrificed their life quality to Tiedong, director of Colliers’
save more. They were nick- East China research divi-
named house slaves who sion.
abandoned their dreams. As at the end of 2017,
I wonder sometimes if the Shanghai’s permanent pop-
situation now is any differ- ulation of immigrants from
ent. elsewhere in China reached
The key reason for decid- 9.73 million, having grown
ing to buy an apartment is to at a compound annual
overcome factors like unpre- growth rate of 7.4 percent
dictability and uncertainty from 2.87 million in 2000,
that shroud home rentals. according to Colliers
An acquaintance was once research.
Home sweet (and pricy) home forced out of a rented flat in
the middle of the night. She
During the period 2000-
17, the annual net popula-
M-o-m change in prices of new homes in first-tier cities over an eight-month period was sharing the flat with two tion inflow was about
other girls. As it turned out, 400,000. The large size of
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen she was ejected by the land- the immigrant population
100 100 99.3 99.6 100.3 99.8 100 100 99.9 99.8 100.2 100.3 99.7 99.8 100.2 99.6 99.6 100 100.1 100.2 100.2 99.9 lord who illegally changed
99.8 99.9 99.5 100 99.8 99.9 99.7 99.8 99.6 99.4
the internal structure of the See RENTAL page 14
Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18
Y-o-y change in prices of new homes in first-tier cities over an eight-month period
113.3
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen
109.4
107.7 106.6
105.5
105.6 103.7 103.1
103.2 100.5 100 100.8
99.8 99.7 99.7 98.8 98.8 99.7
99.7
98 99.9 99.7 99.8 96.6 99.4 99.4
96.2 96.8
96.7 97 97.5 97.7
Prospective homebuyers look at a model of a residential
Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 project of Country Garden in Yichang, Hubei province, on Nov
19, 2017, YUAN TIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY
M-o-m change in prices of pre-owned homes in first-tier cities over an eight-month period
99.8 100 99.8 100.2 99.9 100.3 99.7 100.4 100.1 100.1
Beijing

100.4
Shanghai

100.1 99.9
100.9
Guangzhou

100.2 101.3
Shenzhen

99.8 99.4 100.2

100.7
Market turns fluid
between the second half of 99.4 99.9 99.5 99.5 99.7 99.6 99.9 99.6 99.4 99.5 99.6
2017 and February this year,
the SUFE report found that
these cities’ new home prices’
99.1

amid big churn

growth rate declined signifi-
cantly from the first half of
2017, and most of the growth
was contributed by second-
and third-tier cities.
Sales revenue growth of
new homes in first-tier cities
also slumped from nearly 20
percent in the first quarter of
2017 to a decline of 1 percent in
the first quarter of this year.
According to Macdonald,
factors like tough restrictions
on home purchases and high
home prices will continue to
weigh upon these markets.
“Weak volumes and softer
pricing does not necessarily
represent a lack of demand
but an inability to convert that
demand into a sales transac-
tion. Markets remain general-
ly stable and the future
direction will be largely deter-
mined by changes to existing
policy frameworks as well as
monetary policy,” he said.
Prices and transaction vol-
umes of pre-owned homes in
both Beijing and Shanghai
declined. In the capital, an
Aug-17
Y-o-y change in prices of pre-owned homes in first-tier cities over an eight-month period
118.3
107.8
103.4
100.9
Aug-17
Source: Shanghai Lianjia
average home transaction
took 30-odd days in April 2017
but extended to nearly 80 days
in February, with homes trad-
ed at a lower price level than
that of January 2017.
In Shanghai, 492,900
square meters of newly built
homes were traded in March
this year, up 143 percent from
February, the month of week-
long Spring Festival, but
dropped 31 percent from a
Sep-17 Oct-17
114.7
112.5
101.4 100.1
99.9 99.9
99 99.8
Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17
year ago, according to Chinese
residential property agency
Shanghai Lianjia.
Although the transaction
volume in Shanghai’s new
home market was approach-
ing a six-month high, this is
still the lowest transaction vol-
ume for March since 2012,
Shanghai Lianjia said.
“We project new home trad-
ing in Shanghai in 2018 will
outperform the previous year,
By WANG YING in Shanghai growth in contracted sales
wangying@chinadaily.com.cn by reaching 550.8 billion
yuan, followed by China
Nov-17 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 The financial perform- Vanke’s 529.88 billion yuan
ance of Chinese property and Evergrande’s 500.96 bil-
developers has been under- lion yuan.
going massive changes since In addition to their glitter-
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen
last year. ing performance, these mar-
111.7
109.8 Small firms either closed ket leaders also have
107.6
105.5 105 or merged with bigger play- substantial amount of land
101 101.5 102.6 ers as the industry consoli- reserves for securing their
104.7 102.4
99.9 100.3 100.8 98.9
dated or rationalized due to future development.
100.2
99.1 98.4
constant policy changes. Country Garden holds
96.9 95.4 93.2
Also, land supply 280 million square meters of
Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 decreased. Solid growth land as well as about 140
became difficult for develop- million sq m of land in the
CHINA DAILY
ers because the market contract pipeline.
shifted its focus from build- Vanke’s carry-over pro-
and the increase in new supply cies on home-buying, loan ing and selling houses to jects’ sales revenue totaled
is the main driver,” said Zhou requirements, and the developing and leasing 414.32 billion yuan as at the
Jing, head of project sales, JLL increase in land supply since existing projects, experts end of 2017, a year-on-year
Shanghai. the second quarter of last year, said. growth of almost 49 percent.
Zhou said demand contained said the SUFE report. Chinese real estate giants Evergrande’s total floor
in 2017 will be released some- Despite a 142-percent such as Country Garden, area in reserve has reached
what as there are quite a few month-on-month increase in Evergrande Group and Chi- 312 million square meters by
new residential projects that sales volume of pre-owned na Vanke all saw their sales the end of last year, and its
will likely boost supply this year. apartments in March to 17,370 revenue exceed 500 billion land reserve value has
The cooling of first-tier cit- units, the figure remains the yuan ($78.87 billion) for the already nearly doubled to
ies’ home market was attribut- lowest in six years for March, first time in 2017. 1.04 trillion yuan from the
ed to a string of factors, Country Garden reported
including the tightening poli- See BARGAIN page 14 a 78-percent year-on-year See EXPANSION page 14
14 BUS IN E S S Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY

GOING
GOING GLOBAL
GLOBAL
Rental:
Powering up the world with solar Tenants’
age down;
Znshine adds India to its growing
pan-planet photovoltaic footprint
market is
By
By ZHENG
ZHENG XIN
XIN
zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn
zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn
growing
Chinese
Chinese solar
solar photovoltaic
photovoltaic From pageYING
By WANG 13 in Shanghai
or
or PVPV panel
panel manufacturer
manufacturer (There is) new wangying@chinadaily.com.cn
Znshine
Znshine Solar
Solar has
has nailed
nailed aa has become a major source of
300-megawatt
300-megawatt module
module supply
supply momentum for us demand
About in a the
decaderental housing
ago, a TV
agreement
agreement withwith India
India renew-
renew- market.
series called Woju (meaning a
able
able energy developer ACME
energy developer ACME to further explore First-time homebuyers’
narrow dwelling, like that of a
Cleantech
Cleantech Solutions
Solutions Private average age has increased
Limited,
Limited, responding
responding to
Private
to grow-
grow-
the Indian snail) became
from
among 30Chinese
a huge
in 2013audiences.
to 34 in 2016,
hit

ing
ing market
market demand
demand in in India.
India. according
The series to a depicted
survey on how Bei-
This
This isis another
another bilateral
bilateral
market.” jing
hard and it is Shanghai’s
for young leasing people
agreement
agreement reached
reached since
since the
the Li market
workingby and Chinese
living in residential
big cities
last year’s cooperation Li Qian,
Qian, president
president of
of sales
sales and
and property agency Homelink. It
last year’s cooperation marketing of
marketing of Znshine
Znshine Solar
Solar to buy an apartment in such
between Znshine Solar
between Znshine Solar and and projected
places. the Chinese leasing
several
several well-known
well-known Indian
Indian market scale popularity
The series’ will expandcan from be
companies,
companies, said
said Li
Li Qian,
Qian, pres-
pres- ket. They have all invested in 1.1 trillion yuan
attributed to many($173.5reasons.
billion)
ident of sales and marketing the Indian market in recent now
One of to the
2.9 mosttrillionimportant
yuan in
of the company. years. 2025,
reasonsand wasfurther
that most grow of theto
Znshine Solar will provide India is already China’s big- more than 4.6 trillion
houses were indeed unafford- yuan by
ACME with a variety of PV gest export market for solar 2030.
able for young people. So, the
power output solutions products by sales value. Dur- But struck
series the housing
a chord.industry’s
including graphene-coated ing 2017, China’s exports current
Aspects business
like having modeltoissave yet
PV modules, also known as accounted for 24 percent of to prove its profitability,
every yuan possible toward said
self-cleaning PV modules, India’s solar products, with Zhou Jing, head
making the down payment for of project
1500-volt modules and decen- sales growth seen in both cells sales,
a house JLL Shanghai.
first, followed by allo-
tralized junction box, all of and modules. According
cation of a major to Zhou, part the of
which will be shipped this According to Li, India is a annual
income forrent monthly a mortgage
landlord
month and are expected to be major overseas market that receives
payments, forreflected
an average apart-
the reality
delivered by the end of Znshine is looking to expand ment
of the is merely between 1 per-
day.
August, she said. into. In the second half of 2017 cent and 2topercent
In order repay housingof the
India’s PV market has pros- alone, the company has apartment’s
loans, peopleselling became pricerisk- in
pered and attracted the atten- signed orders for more than Shanghai.
averse and couldn’t muster
tion of the global market, 800 mW with companies “The biggest
courage to change challenge
jobs. They will
thanks to the vigorous promo- including OPG, Aditya, Hin- be competition
sacrificed their from new sup-
life quality to
tion of the government. dustan, Harsha Abakus and ply
savegiven
more. theTheyrelatively
werelimited
nick-
According to the Interna- ACME. pool
named of demand
house slaves in the short who
tional Renewable Energy The cooperation with term
abandoned whichtheir may affect the
dreams.
Agency or IRENA, India’s new ACME, the biggest independ- operators’
I wonderprofit sometimesmargin. An
if the
solar power generation in 2017 ent power generator in India, additional factor would
situation now is any different. be the
reached 9,628 mW, compared is a win-win as “we can pro- scaling up of asset
The key reason for deciding manage-
with 4,251 mW in 2016 and vide them with the most-ad- ment
to buystaff capable of
an apartment operat-
is to over-
exceeded the markets of North vanced photovoltaic ing
come factors like residential unpredicta-
America, Europe and Japan. manufacturing technology accommodation,”
bility and uncertainty said James that
The Indian government and professional service from Macdonald,
shroud home senior rentals. research
aims to build 100 gigawatts of China, ensuring a profession- director of Savills
An acquaintance was once China, a real
new solar power by 2022. al technological support for estate
forcedservice
out of provider.
a rented flat in
Already, India is set to emerge the country’s photovoltaic To get first-hand experience of Znshine Solar’s world-class energy-related products, prospective clients from India visit the company’s the“The opportunities
middle of the night. are thatShe
as the world’s second-largest power stations”, said Li. factory in East China’s Jiangsu province. PROVIDED
PROVIDED TO
TO CHINA
CHINA DAILY
DAILY this
was is a relatively
sharing the flat new territo-
with two
solar PV market by this year- “At the same time, this will ry withgirls.
other no large
As it incumbents.
turned out,
end. So, the market potential is also provide new momentum So,
she newwas entrants
ejected by arethe looking
land-
huge, said IHS Markit, an ana- for us to further explore the gw, the company boasts mod- the cost of all solar installa- The situation has driven promising technologies and to
lordwrest marketchanged
who illegally share and the
lytics company. Indian market.” ule output of 2 gW each year tions, despite the protection many Chinese manufacturers scaling them up are of build
internal reputation.
structureThe of thepossibil-
house
Josefin Berg, an analyst at As one of the world’s largest and completes more than 5gw for only a few Indian manu- to the Indian market, with essence, he said. ity is also
to lease it tothere
moretotenants.
grow into
IHS Markit, said he expects to power plant developers and of power plant construction facturers. exports increasing more than Founded in 1988, the Jiang- other
“Therelated
development niche segments
of long-
see 11 gW of solar power gen- module manufacturers, worldwide. In addition to India, which 1,100 percent between 2012 su province-based Znshine such as student
term rental housing is sup- housing and
erated in India this year, while Znshine Solar has been The Indian government sees trade disputes surround- and 2016. Solar was jointly developed senior
portedhousing
by such from a residen-
factors. The
the US would install 10 gW. actively expanding into over- said earlier it was considering ing the manufacture of solar According to Wang Dong, with the University of Science tial management
population inflowperspective.”
into big cit-
In the face of this huge mar- seas markets. a 70 percent import tax on panels, the European Union technical and quality general and Technology of China. It iesIfinI East
wereChinaone ofisthe millen-
boosted by
ket opportunity and relatively The company currently has Chinese PV manufacturers has imposed anti-dumping tar- manager of Znshine Solar, the has come up with a series of nials, I’d probably
the expansion of rentservicean
favorable government taxa- its PV projects in Japan, that enjoy cheaper costs. iffs on Chinese solar panels in key to continuous success in independently developed gra- apartment
industries and on robusta long-term
leasing
tion, Chinese PV companies, Europe, the Middle East, However, developers warn 2013. Before that, the US the solar power sector lies in phene-coated PV modules, basis,
demand. so that Such I candemand
pursue my is
including Znshine Solar, Southeast Asia, and some oth- that imposing import duty on imposed duties of up to 165 per- manufacturing innovation which allow light to pass dreams
caused by without the burdens
the unaffordability
Longi Solar and Trina Solar, er countries. Chinese manufacturers could cent on imports from China, and technology. through more easily and thus of home
home purchases
maintenance and
in first-
are competing with each oth- With its power station see- halt the fast-expanding indus- saying panels were being sold Seeding a next generation convert more light into elec- housing
and second-tierloan repayments
cities. on
er to invest in India’s PV mar- ing an annual capacity of 1.1 try in its tracks and increase too cheaply to the US market. of technology, identifying tricity. my“Another
back. reason is preferen-

Bargain: Pre-owned Expansion: Real estate firms

home prices soften see rapid growth of revenue
From pageYING
By WANG 13 in Shanghai beingby
ures putlocal
on home loan appli-
governments as From pageYING
By WANG 13 in Shanghai pure
alreadyproperty
nearly doubleddevelopers to
wangying@chinadaily.com.cn cations
well and
as the applicants.
continuity in the pro- wangying@chinadaily.com.cn into
1.04 more
trilliondiversified
yuan from players
the
and 7.06 percent lower than Accordinghousing
vincial-level to Zhou from
policies. original cost of 533.6 billion due to factors
original cost oflike 533.6 thebillion
exis-
that of lastlower-tier
China’s year, accordingcities toarea JLL,
The some banks have policies
macro-level extend- yuan.
The financial performance tence
yuan. of more pre-owned
research
stealing thereportresidential from the
proper- ed approval
that took effectperiod
in the pastfor loan
year of Not
Chineseonlyproperty
the top develop- homes,
Not only tightening policies
the top develop-
Shanghai
ty market thunder
Index
Existingfrom Property
bigger applications
have from a minimum
been effective, and home ers,
ers almost
has been all theundergoing
listed real “No developer for
ers,the homeall
almost
cities, and
market
less
in major
the listed
available
real
land
placesOffice.
as home prices continue of one week before to
prices in first-tier cities will be at least estate
massive changes are
companies sinceexperi-
last estate companies are experi-
to “We observed
rise, thanks pre-owned
to fewer restric- one to throughout
stable two months this last year,
year. encing
year. a rapid expansion, is going to in first- and
encing second-tier
a rapid cities.
expansion,
home
tions onprices have there.
purchases started to She expected
said Zhou Jing, the loanofapplica-
head project Hong
Small Shengqi,
firms either research
closed Vanke Shengqi,
Hong has expanded researchinto
soften,
But realtyand industry
the wait-and-
experts tion process
sales, to become
JLL Shanghai, more
an inter- director
or merged of with
E-Housebigger (China)
play- completely long-term
director of rental E-House apartment
(China)
watch attitude ofcities,
said first-tier homebuyers
which smooth with
national real more
estatepolicy clari-
consultan- Holdings
ers as theLtd, was quoted
industry as
consoli- brand
Holdings Port Ltd, wasApartment,
quoted as
gave them more room
have seen curbs to prevent for bar- ty
cy. expected to emerge this year saying by China
dated or rationalized due toConstruc- turn away acquired
saying by SCPGChina Holdings
Construc-Co, a
gaining,”
overheating saidamid
Zhou.speculative compared
“First-tier to cities
a yearwere ago. some tion News.
constant policy changes. leading
tion News. shopping mall owner,
In South China,
investments, will stay Shenzhen
resilient of Athenet 400 tobillion
earliest implement yuan Construction workers leave the site of an apartment compound. Sales
Also, revenue land of China’s
supply
from developer and operator
Sales revenue in Chi-
of China’s
saw its newinhome pricesterm.
drop ($63.32 billion) was released in top 10 property Soliddevelopers na,
top from Blackstone as well
and stable
forContracts
seven months
the longer
werein astruckrow,
(market-)cooling
late continue
and April from to have
measures
the some central
of
Called Fun City, it is being developed by China Vanke in the Fang-
shan district on the outskirts of Beijing. BLOOMBERG
decreased.
accounted
became difficultfor 24for
growth
percent
develop-of
development as
10 property
led a consortium
accounted
developers
to acquire
for 24 percent of
ranking
Chinese
first
ments in cities
in the
online for some 360 apart-
with
first-tier
70 major
a 2.3-per-
cities during
bank’s reserve
banks’also
while deposits,
of
the toughest restrictions,
havingwith
commercial
someanother
of the
the
5.8
nation’sthe
ers because
ed percentage
its focus from
total in 2017,
market
pointsbuilding
up
shift-
from a
for sales.” GLP
ties
(Global total
the nation’s Logistic
Ltd), a warehouse
5.8 percentage
Proper-
in 2017,
points from opera-
up
a
cent decline
the first two daysin March,
of the NBSMay freeing of prices,”
highest 900 billion yuanJames
said set to jection,
percent in adding thatquarter
the first the loanof by
ed atpotentially
a lower pricelookinglevel than at year
and ago,
sellingaccording
houses to todata of
devel- James Macdonald, tor.
yearTheago,company
according alsotostepped
data of
data showed. The figure more
Day holiday. erase lenders’senior
Macdonald, liabilitydirector
to the cen-of environment
2017 to a decline willofbe tightened
1 percent in decentralized
that of Januarylocations
2017. if they China
oping Real Estate Informa-
and leasing existing senior research director into
China other
Realsectors
Estatelike indus-
Informa-
Therehalved
than is a piece of good
year-on-year, tral bank
Savills through
China the Medium-
research, anoth- further nationwide
the first quarter of thisthis year
year. need
In toShanghai,
relocate, as 492,900
well as tion Corpexperts
projects, or CRIC. said. of Savills China trial
tion Corptowns,or CRIC.snow resorts,
news
accordingfor senior
to datahomebuyers
from prop- terminternational
er Lending Facility or MLF.
real estate compared
According to ato yearMacdonald,
ago, and it seeking more flexible
square meters of newly accom-
built China’s
Chinesetop real100 real giants
estate estate nursing
China’s homes
top 100andreal
education.
estate
as Industrial and
erty consultancy Centaline.Commercial This monetary policy opera-
consultancy. will further affect total
factors like tough restrictions trans- modation options
homes were traded in March such as companies’ accumulated
such as Country Garden, rev- Major accumulated
companies’ Chinese cities rev-
BankYet,ofthe China confirmed
housing market thatin tion, or a from
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the Shanghaiof the action
on home volume
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Evergrande Group forand
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enue accounted Beijing, forShanghai,
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it
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SUFE had point
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Vanke
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borrowers to 70 from 65.
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volume in an innovative
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suggesting both trade
“Weak friction
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dropped changes were positive
31 percent from a year
($78.87agobillion)
and exceeding half
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year ago and projects for urban
exceeding half
policy took effect
has not returned to peak daysin the last ed to
new supplement
homes and pre-owned liquidity
res- and the United States,
pricing does not necessarily Macdo- (that is, there was growth)
year ago, according to Chinese in for the first
time in 2017. time, CRIC said. of China’s top 10 property infrastructure, presenting
for the first time, CRIC said.
week of April,policy-tightening
seen before China National especially
idential for smallare
properties and medi-
showing nald said the
represent property
a lack market
of demand both first- and
residential second-hand
property agency But the cash-flush
Country develop-
Garden reported a developers in the nation’s newButopportunities
the cash-flushfor prop-
develop-
Radio
late lastreported.
year, said Zhang aum-sized
downward banks without
trend, mak-
the China is
butunlikely
an inabilityto see any signifi-
to convert that markets,
Shanghaiand individual cities
Lianjia. ers should prepare
78-percent for the
year-on-year total in 2017 erty developers
ers should to build
prepare forvari-
the
According
Dawei, to the new
chief analyst policy,
at Cental- ing overall
Youth monetary policy
Daily reported. cant
demanddirect impact.
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he also might have recorded
Although the transactionminor future
growthby involuntarily
contractedlowering
sales by ous
futureproperties,
by voluntarily said Chen
lowering
aine
home loan applicant
Property Agency Ltd. aged 60 tooBy analyzing
loose, accordingNBS data on to said,
tion. “It could impact
Markets remain business
general- declines.”
volume in Shanghai’s new their
reaching debt 550.8andbillion
seekingyuan,a Fangyong,
their debt head and ofseekingthe City a
can apply for a
According to data from15-year mort-the experts.
China’s major 70 cities revenues
ly stable and and profitability.
the future All in all, the
home market was approach- residential healthy capital flow,
followed by China Vanke’s said Yan Renewal Real Estate
healthy capital flow, Institute
said Yan
gage;
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di i it bmay
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l d property
i i sectorhinhi Chinese
h hi big i Yuejin, research
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Y Shenzhen,
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h h
for a 20-year mortgage, which to offset the impact of the companies that might be cities will remain resilient as E-House China R&D Institute. continuing to diversify reve- to National Business Daily.
is “really good news for senior tightening of interbank lend- affected to take action”. China’s economy as a whole James Macdonald, senior nue streams from sales into “No developer is going to
homebuyers,” said a staff ing making sure small banks According to Macdonald, will continue to be positive, research director of Savills rental and management completely turn away from
member dealing with home have enough liquidity. This is possible results include hold- said experts. China, a real estate consult- income streams; exploring development for sales. How-
loans at ICBC’s Chongqing in keeping with the general ing off on large investments, Since third- and fourth-tier ancy, said the way to stay opportunities; and develop- ever, some have made signifi-
branch, CNR reported. financial de-risking that is tak- such as relocation offices and cities are taking the heat of competitive is by deleverag- ing competencies in nontra- cant strides toward
Meanwhile, starting from ing place and will unlikely the associated fit-out costs, tak- home price growth, the SUFE ing — that is, by paying down ditional asset classes like development of asset man-
the third quarter of last year, have a significant impact on ing on additional operational report projected that home expensive debt commit- housing for the elderly, data agement capabilities and
many commercial banks have the property market,” said costs such as new headcount prices in first-tier cities will ments; ensuring steady cash centers and student housing. either built up or acquired
tightened their home loan pol- Macdonald. (meaning less office expansion likely stabilize throughout flow to ensure debt servicing Developers are reinventing income-producing portfoli-
icies with more restrictions Zhou agreed with the pro- requirements), reducing costs 2018. and continued operations; their role, changing from os,” said Macdonald.
 C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
Trade tensions with
China make US
farmers fear losses
WAUSAU, the United States
— Luck has not been on the
side of American farmers in
the midwest this year.
Having endured a record
blizzard that swept through
the region in mid-April, they
now face another potentially
more damaging threat — the
China-US trade disputes trig-
gered by the Trump adminis-
tration that, among other
things, put soybean farmers’
income in jeopardy.
In early April, President
Donald Trump proposed to
slap tariffs on $50 billion
worth of Chinese imports. Chi-
na countered it by planning to
levy duties on US exports to
China, including soybeans, the
main moneymaker for farms
in Wisconsin.
“I’m already looking at a loss
this year,” Brad Kremer, a
farmer in Pittville, told Xinhua
in a recent interview.
Farmers in the region grow
a mix of crops, including corn,
soybean and wheat. Dairy
products are also a source of
income, but with milk prices
tanking in recent years and
corn barely breaking even,
farmers rely solely on soy-
beans for profit, thanks to
strong demand from China.
According to Don Lutz, a
former statistician from the
US Department of Agriculture
or USDA, who has been run-
ning a farm in Scandinavia,
Wisconsin, since retirement,
the US exports some 60 per-
cent of its soybean products.
Kremer said he did not grow
soybean when he started
farming two decades ago. Lat-
er on, when he saw the Ameri-
can soybean, known for its
high oil yield, gradually gain
popularity in China, he includ-
ed the legume on his farm-
land.
According to USDA data,
soybean plantation in the US
has witnessed a significant
uptick since the mid 1990s,
when it entered the Chinese
A fruit-picker at work in an orchard in the state of Washington.
WANG YING / XINHUA
HR consultants foresee smaller raises due to GDP factor
By CHEN MEILING
chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn
Salaries of employees in
China are expected to grow
at about 6 percent this year,
compared with about 9.4
percent back in 2012, when
the economy’s focus shifted
from rapid growth to high-
quality development, experts
said.
“We have studied the fluc-
tuation trend of salaries
worldwide for decades, and
found it is highly linked to a
country’s GDP, whose influ-
ence may take one or two
years to show,” said Huang
Xian, senior director of Korn
Ferry Hay Group, a human
resources consulting firm.
Data from the National
Bureau of Statistics showed
China’s GDP grew 6.9 per-
cent last year. The corre-
sponding figure was 9.5
percent in 2011.
The growth rate of wages
nationwide was 8.5 percent in
2013, 7.2 percent in 2014, 7.3
percent in 2015, 6 percent in
2016 and 5.8 percent in 2017,
KFHG data showed.
“The salary fluctuation will
keep stable along with the eco-
$ 10.12
level of soybean futures for
September
market. Over the next two dec-
ades, the total acreage bal-
looned from about 25 million
hectares to over 36 million
hectares.
Kremer said farmers are
hoping that soybean will trade
above $10 per bushel so that
they can earn $50-100 from
each acre (2.47 acres equal 1
hectare or 10,000 sq m).
Soybean futures for Septem-
ber, the usual harvest season,
is $10.12, meaning farmers
would have expanded their
soybean acreage, had it not
been for the potential tariff
from China following the US
government’s threat of puni-
tive measures.
“Farming is a volatile busi-
ness,” Kremer said. “To make
things worse, most farms are
heavily in debt.”
With about $3 million
worth of idle equipment,
Kremer said he has already
lost track of how much he
owed the bank.
The prospect of agriculture
subsidy promised by Trump is
unappealing to farmers, who
worry that any relief from the
federal government will be
unsustainable.
Lutz said any agriculture
subsidy will have to pass tough
legislative hurdles as conserv-
ative lawmakers would dig in
their heels to oppose any legis-
lation that will increase feder-
al deficits.
The farmers interviewed by
Xinhua said when they voiced
their concerns to lawmakers,
the latter told them it is up to
the executive branch to handle
the trade deals.
XINHUA
nomic performance in the fol-
lowing years, but the data will
keep higher than that of devel-
oped countries,” Huang said.
The growth rate of wages in
western Europe was estimat-
ed to reach 2.3 percent in 2018
and that of North America was
seen reaching 2.8 percent,
while Africa would reach 8.5
percent, the company said.
The group studied wages in
more than 25,000 companies
in over 110 countries and pub-
lished an annual report based
on its findings.
Internet-based, financial
and real estate industries
boast greatest potential for
high salaries, while manufac-
turing, chemical, oil, gas and
other traditional industries
will offer generally lower sala-
ries, led by either booms in
certain industries and
declines of others, according
to KFHG.
Information provider East-
money studied annual reports
of over 3,000 A-share compa-
nies, showing that high annu-
al salaries were mainly seen in
financial, securities, banking
and real estate industries last
year, which may surpass
500,000 yuan ($78,578).
Automobile plant staff assemble an engine at a factory in Weifang, Shandong province. Charles-Edouard Bouee said he believes the
automotive industry will be among those whose business model will change due to AI. WANG JILIN / FOR CHINA DAILY
Expert says automation
will spin long-term gains
Rolang Berger CEO sees rapid growth
of several industries, emerging fields
By ZHONG NAN
zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn
Industrial automation on
the back of the Made in China
2025 strategy will generate
huge growth momentum for
businesses such as industrial
electronics, semiconductors,
data analysis and telecom-
munications in the long run,
said the head of a global con-
sulting firm.
Charles-Edouard Bouee,
CEO of Roland Berger Strat-
egy Consultants, a Germa-
ny-headquartered company,
said many opportunities
come from the country’s
ongoing policy reform, the
fast-growing artificial intel-
ligence or AI field and 5G
technology.
“It’s worth differentiating
between two major trends
in the Chinese economy.
China sets out improving
and upgrading industries to
a high degree, and the econ-
omy is developing an
increasingly changing com-
plex business environment
on the onset of disruptive
innovation,” said Bouee,
whose firm employs 2,400
staff in 34 countries and
regions.
Given the tremendous
investment in research and
development by the Chinese
government, the emerging
industries like biotech, life
Staff of a brokerage address investor queries at a financial expo in
Beijing. The financial services industry is among those with high
annual salaries, said HR consultants. WU CHANGQING / XINHUA
The lowest salaries were
seen in textiles and garments,
light manufacturing, farming,
forestry, animal husbandry
and fishing companies, whose
average level was about
90,000 to 100,000 yuan per
year.
Though the wage gap in dif-
ferent industries was large, the
future of some industries at
the top of pyramid was not as
glamorous as the public imag-
ined, Eastmoney said.
sciences, imaging, new
material, semiconductors
and 5G telecommunication
technology are likely to
experience high growth, he
said.
China will completely
open up its general manu-
facturing sector, and access
to sectors such as high-tech
industrial products, tele-
communications, medical
services, education, elderly
care; and new energy vehi-
cles will be expanded,
according to the annual gov-
ernment plan announced in
March.
Policies that support the
Made in China 2025 strategy
are applicable to all kinds of
businesses, and domestic and
foreign-funded companies
are treated equally, under the
government plan.
Bouee said production
safety and environment pro-
tection have been identified
as two key industries that are
in need of improvement.
Therefore, there are opportu-
nities in each industry for
professional suppliers of safe
production solutions and
environment protection, he
said.
“Of course, the oil and gas,
mining, refinery, chemical,
pipeline, energy and utility
industries are of particular
interest. Overall, technology
and service providers will
For example, average annu-
al salaries of stock market
experts decreased from
639,500 yuan in 2015 to
411,100 yuan in 2017. Banking
remained at around 340,000
to 370,000 yuan in the last two
years, Eastmoney said.
“Traditionally, companies
would decide the salary level
by judging the value of posi-
tion (job-title), the person’s
competence and working per-
formance, as well as supply of
Made in
China 2025
brings equal
opportunities to
... companies.”
Tu Xinquan, director of the
China Institute for WTO Studies
at the University of International
Business and Economics, Beijing
find huge market opportuni-
ties.”
Agreed Tu Xinquan, direct-
or of the China Institute for
WTO Studies at the Universi-
ty of International Business
and Economics in Beijing.
“The Made in China 2025
strategy brings equal oppor-
tunities to foreign and
domestic companies and will
strengthen the role of the
market.”
As high-tech products like
industrial chips or automo-
bile engines are critical to a
country’s industrial develop-
ment, Tu said China will
deploy more resources to
boost core manufacturing
innovation activities such as
intelligent manufacturing,
green manufacturing and
high-end equipment innova-
tion projects.
Bouee said he believes AI
will emerge as a leading
industry, and will greatly
similar talent in the market,”
said Huang.
That’s why, although the
growth rate of wages is slow-
ing in China, it may not neces-
sarily decrease the cost of
human resources for compa-
nies, because the competition
for a limited pool of employees
with global prospects, innova-
tive thinking, high adaptabili-
ty and multiple skills is even
fiercer.
Driven by government-led
campaigns such as the Belt
and Road Initiative, Made in
China 2025 and Internet Plus,
many companies are scram-
bling for top-end talent on the
way to digitalization, transfor-
mation, technology upgrade
or going global, Huang said.
“For instance, human
resources personnel should
not only know how to recruit
people or calculate KPI (key
performance indicators), but
have a deep understanding of
the company’s business and its
future development strategy.”
Agreed Felix Lee, head of
executive search and recruit-
ment services of KPMG China,
a global consultancy service
provider.
“Those with strong digital
BUSI NE S S 15
improve consumer electron-
ics and data analytics. Ulti-
mately, AI will change
business models in telecom-
munication, media, financial,
retail, transportation, insur-
ance, consumer goods, auto-
motive and education
sectors, he said.
“The telecommunication
industry is transforming
from 4G to 5G technology,
largely supported by the Chi-
nese government, and brings
opportunities to the semicon-
ductor industry too. But it
should be combined with oth-
er technologies, which will be
decisive in the AI era,” said
Bouee.
To further compete with its
global rivals, the Ministry of
Industry and Information
Technology announced earli-
er this year that China will set
up a Made in China 2025
National Demonstration
Zone, nurture several world-
class advanced manufactur-
ing industry clusters and
promote integrated develop-
ment of the manufacturing
sector and internet.
A group of key landmark
programs and projects have
already been launched or
notably developed across the
country.
In priority areas such as
large passenger aircraft, inte-
grated circuits, new material,
aircraft engines, gas turbines,
5G and new energy vehicles,
encouraging results have
already been achieved,
according to government
documents.
knowledge and who are able
to leverage their expertise to
streamline work processes or
procedures will be highly
sought after. Consequently,
such professionals will have
the most room for a larger pay
rise,” Lee said.
Professionals who are
adaptable, good at problem-
solving and have strong inter-
personal skills will also thrive,
he said.
The pressure for human
resources is even higher when
the domestic labor market is
shrinking amid an aging pop-
ulation and a growing number
of young middle-class profes-
sionals with more flexible
choices for working or not to
work, Huang said.
Charlie Li, head of human
resources at KPMG China,
said though remuneration is
not a key motivator for great-
er performance, uncompeti-
tive remuneration will drive
people less motivated to per-
form.
“From this perspective,
compensation should reach
the level that can make talents
feel comfortable and happy to
join, stay, and get engaged,” he
said.
Perfect to
expand
digital fun
portfolio
By OUYANG SHIJIA
ouyangshijia@
chinadaily.com.cn
Perfect World Co Ltd, a
Chinese movie and gaming
company, is targeting digi-
tal-savvy younger genera-
tion with products
protected by intellectual
property or IP rights.
Its products span the
genres of anime, comics,
games or ACG, movies and
TV dramas.
Lu Xiaoyin, chief opera-
tion officer of Perfect
World, said the younger
generation, particularly
those born in the 1995-2000
period, are unlike their par-
ents, and demand a differ-
ent kind of entertainment
content.
“Today, most of the game
players are young people
under 30,” Lu said. “They
usually prefer fair games,
the specific culture embod-
ied in the game and shared
gaming experiences. And
they also will pay close
attention to the application
of the latest technology to
the game.”
According to Lu, Perfect
World will further expand
game categories, including
female-oriented gaming,
ACG, e-sports, sandbox
games, simulation games
and card games.
A recent joint report from
the Game Publishers Associ-
ation Publications Commit-
tee, Gamma Data Corp and
International Data Corpora-
tion showed that mobile
gaming is growing stronger
in China as the millennials’
purchasing power increases.
The report noted that
mobile gaming accounted
for 57 percent of the total
game sales and reached
116.1 billion yuan ($18.5 bil-
lion) in 2017.
Currently, China has 583
million gaming players,
mostly those born in the
1990s and 2000s, and those
born in the 2000s are more
active in the gaming mar-
ket.
As of 2016, nearly 10 per-
cent of mobile gaming play-
ers were teenagers born in
the 2000s.
Last year, Perfect World
launched a new mobile
game called Mengjianji to
target female and ACG
users and has reportedly
made it to the top four
among the most download-
ed apps on Apple’s iPhones.
Now, the company wants
to move forward, claiming
it will continue to innovate
its key IP rights-protected
products to cater to the
younger generation’s diver-
sified and personalized cul-
tural needs.
Tong Qing, senior vice-
president of Perfect World,
said the digital entertain-
ment industry has become
a key driver of economic
growth in China, and the
gaming segment has played
a significant role in the
overall market.
“There is a growing trend
of spinoff from hot IP rights
related to games and other
forms of entertainment
products.
“Based on our key copy-
righted games, such as
Mengjianji, Perfect World
will develop more deriva-
tive works in the form of TV
dramas, movies, comics
and novels in the future.”
Wang Xu, chief analyst at
Gamma Data Corp, said as
the demographic dividend
is disappearing, game devel-
opers need to seek new ways
to keep the momentum
strong, and the IP rights-
protected products will help
cut the cost to attract users.
In March, the Beijing-
based company reported its
2017 revenue surged 29 per-
cent to 7.93 billion yuan.
And 5.65 billion yuan came
from the gaming sector,
accounting for more than
70 percent of the total.
16 BUS IN E S S
Unicorn boom on horizon
Revised regulations
favor funding for
startups through
equity investments
By CHEN JIA
chenjia@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese investors are betting big
on a golden decade for unicorns as
a boom is foreseen on the back of
revised regulations that encourage
financing through equity, accord-
ing to market players.
A unicorn is a startup that proves
successful and enjoys a valuation of
$1 billion or more.
In recent years, unicorns have
been highly regarded by the Chi-
nese capital market as policymak-
ers appear to approve such
startups’ listing on domestic stock
exchanges.
Such listings would herald a
break from recent investment pat-
terns.
China has witnessed two waves
of investment in the past 20 years.
One targeted foreign trade and the
other property. This also resulted in
debt expansion and fast growth of
money supply.
“Chinese investors are consider-
ing to shift their investment philos-
ophy and focus more on high-tech
and innovative companies, corre-
sponding to the country’s high-
quality development blueprint,”
said Hu Tianxiang, founder of
Shanghai SuXiang Investment
Consulting Co Ltd, an investment
consulting and asset management
company.
Unicorns, which are mainly con-
centrated in high-tech or emerging
strategic areas like internet-based
businesses, big data, cloud comput-
ing, artificial intelligence, software
and integrated circuits, “are expect-
ed to attract more funding through
direct equity investment”, Hu said.
Li Yang, director of the National
Institute for Finance and Develop-
ment, which is part of the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, called
the coming decade as a “golden peri-
od” for equity investment in China.
Policymakers are keen on restruc-
turing the multi-level capital market
and encouraging direct financing
instead of bank lending, he said.
Equity investment, including pri-
vate equity and venture capital, is a
A mom helps her daughter watch a short film on a multi-sensory viewer that can emit aromas, scents and smells
related to the content, at the 2018 High-tech Unicorn Enterprise Exhibition held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on
April 29. Products like high-tech video viewers distinguish China’s unicorns. LIN YUNLONG / FOR CHINA DAILY
Chinese investors are
considering to shift
their investment phi-
losophy and focus
more on high-tech
and innovative com-
panies, corresponding
to the country’s high-
quality development
blueprint.”
Hu Tianxiang, founder of Shanghai
SuXiang Investment Consulting Co Ltd
major way to raise funds for uni-
corns and support their public lis-
tings.
The country also announced a
pilot program on March 30 to sup-
port innovative companies’ domes-
tic listings and issuance of Chinese
Depositary Receipts or CDRs, a
form of equity that will allow Chi-
nese investors to gain exposure to
foreign-listed shares.
Unicorns, especially tech start-
ups, have fewer opportunities to
raise funds domestically so tend to
list overseas, due to existing legal
and technical barriers to listing on
the A-share market, including
restrictions on weighted voting
rights, or dual-class shares, and
mandatory requirements like IPO
applicants’ profitability.
That is also one of the reasons
why China’s capital market has
been dominated by traditional
industries such as property devel-
opment, finance and industrial
materials.
According to the country’s top
securities watchdog, the China
Securities Regulatory Commission,
Monday-Sunday, May 14-20, 2018
the CDR pilot program will apply to
overseas-listed firms that operate
the Chinese mainland with a mar-
kete capitalization of no less than
200 billion yuan ($31.7 billion).
“China is creating mega unicorns
at a fast pace, and some of the lead-
ing companies are now as big as
comparable US firms. For example,
Tencent is as big as Facebook,” said
Harry Man, a partner and founding
member of Matrix Partners China,
a venture capital company founded
in 2008.
According to Matrix data, the
total market capitalization of Chi-
na-based large-cap technology
companies, which form a large part
of the Chinese unicorn universe,
has reached $1.94 trillion by the
end of 2017, compared with $23 bil-
lion a decade ago.
The venture capital company has
invested in 35 unicorns in China,
and 27 of them have made IPOs.
Matrix is now running four US dol-
lar-denominated funds and six
yuan-denominated funds, with
total assets under management
worth more than 20 billion yuan.
C H I N A DA I LY L AT I N A M E R I CA W E E K LY
Budget hotels upgrade
services for the future
By CHEN MEILING
chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn
Business transformation and
product upgrades are key to the sur-
vival and future growth of budget
hotels that are in decline — and BTG
Homeinns Hotels Group, whose
first-quarter profit surged over 116
percent year-on-year to 75.39 mil-
lion yuan ($11.8 million), is a good
example, experts said.
Sun Jian, general manager of BTG
Homeinns, said the budget hotel
operator renovated or refurbished
100 hotels since 2017 with new
chairs, lamps, sofas and walls. It also
set up areas for tea breaks and buf-
fets, and introduced more fashiona-
ble design, to make customers feel
at home, the company said. “Budget
hotels cannot sell (their products
and services) for 10 years without
any change,” Sun said.
Budget hotels in China saw a rap-
id growth from 2005 to 2010. By Jan
1, there were 32,444 such hotels
operating in China. Back in 2005,
there were only 522, according to
the China Hospitality Association.
However, such hotels faltered
when the emerging middle-income
consumer group began to demand
tailor-made services and better
experiences, a CHA report said.
Rise of rentals, aging of facilities
and competition from mid- to high-
end hotels and bed-and-breakfast
facilities also posed a challenge to
budget hotels.
Industry experts said the proper-
ty management and human resour-
ces costs of budget hotels have
grown sharply since 2007 with
three-star hotels even posting loss-
es. Huazhu Hotels Group said it
closed 10 budget hotels in the first
quarter of this year and opened 81
new mid-range hotels.
“Budget hotels will be eliminated
from the market sooner or later,
because their mission to solve the
accommodation problem has been
almost accomplished,” said Zhang
Tao, former general manager of a
five-star hotel in Chongqing in
Southwest China. “Costs are rising
rapidly while room rentals remain
as low as 100 yuan to 200 yuan per
night. So, how could you count on
this to make a profit?” he said.
After working in the hotel indus-
try for more than 20 years, Zhang
quit his job and founded his own
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24-hour bed-and-breakfast brand
Dimi in Chongqing in 2016, whose
net profit margin last year was said
to be 40 percent.
A few five-star hotels can post 25
to 30 percent of total revenue as net
profits, while budget hotels can
barely make 8 to 10 percent of total
revenue as net profit, he said.
A Dimi room sells for 800 yuan to
1,000 yuan per night, more expen-
sive than local five-star hotels, yet,
its occupancy rate was 95 percent
last year, Zhang said.
Dimi has a name for each of its
guest rooms. The names are
inspired by classic Chinese poems
of the yore. It also offers guests a
yard full of flowers, a library for free
and training classes for tea brew-
ing, ikebana and incense-making.
Zhang invested 2 million yuan to
open the bed-and-breakfast facility
with 14 guest rooms, which broke
even in less than two years.
Yao Weichan, a government offi-
cial in a county of Hunan prov-
ince, said she used to choose
budget hotels, ranging from 120
yuan to 220 yuan per night, when
she first began work, in order to
save money.
“Once I arrived in another city
late and had to spend one night in a
room without window. The corri-
dors were dark and the air quality
wasn’t good. I’d rather pay more to
live in some place better now.”
Yao said she favors hotels that
have comfortable beds and are well
lighted, and would welcome addi-
tional features like flower decora-
tions, green plants and other
innovative surprises like welcome
drinks, birthday gifts, customized
stationery and travel assistance.
“Once, I stayed at a high-end hotel
during a business trip to Yunnan. I
found a towel folded in the shape of
a small elephant and roses on my
bed, which really touched me.”
A Homeinns branch in Nanjing,
Jiangsu province.
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