GOVERNANCE: PRESIDENT XI’S NEW BOOK P.18 | BUSINESS: SHANGHAI EXPO ON COURSE P.

36

VOL.63 NO.32 AUGUST 6, 2020 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM

READY TO RESCUE
Military and people fight floods together
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VOL.63 NO.32 AUGUST 6, 2020 CONTENTS
EDITOR’S DESK NATION
02 Come Rain or High Water 32 A Lingering Epidemic
Nation on guard as new COVID-19
THIS WEEK cases emerge

COVER STORY BUSINESS

38 Signs of Recovery
16 United as One
Foreign investment grows for third
0ilitary and civilians Ķght
straight month

12
deluge together
40 Twin-Track Trend
Double listing in Chinese mainland
GOVERNANCE COVER STORY and Hong Kong a win-win
18 Sharing China’s Plans 42 Market Watch
President Xi Jinping’s book centerpiece Rising to the Challenge
of online library
Comprehensive measures FORUM
46 Can All Rural Residents Get
WORLD reduce losses Express Courier Services?
20 Reality Check of U.S. Unilateral
Demand for China to Close
Houston Consulate General
WORLD EXPAT’S EYE
48 Changing Old Habits
25 Win-Win Is Possible P.24 | Our Man in Washington How Beijing can improve its
China and U.S. can ßourish together
26 No to a New Cold War How Pompeo is undoing garbage recycling

China refuses to be provoked U.S. foreign policy

by U.S. bullying
28 Positive Outcome
EU summit outcome shot in arm
NATION
for bloc P.34 | Seeds of Change
New plan to upgrade agriculture

¼
Cover Photo: Commando members of a
detachment of the armed police force evacuate BUSINESS
residents trapped by floodwater in Wuqiao
Town, Chongqing in southwest China, on July 16 P.36 | A Fair Shot
(XINHUA)
More companies attracted
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 EDITOR’S DESK

Come Rain or High Water

A News Weekly Magazine
Published Since 1958

President: Li Yafang
Associate Editors in Chief: Li Jianguo, Ding Zhitao
Associate President: Yan Ying The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) residents and reinforce dykes. Ministries
Assistant President: Li Zhenzhou had not yet been eradicated when the like Finance, Civil Affairs and Emergency
Executive Editor: Yan Wei
country had to grapple with floods, the Management mobilized prompt relief to
Associate Executive Editors: Zan Jifang, Liu Yunyun, Ding Ying most severe after the inundation in 1998. ßood-hit areas to mitigate the disruptions.
Production Director: Yao Bin But despite the double pressure, the loss Advanced technologies such as 5G, un-
Editorial Administrators: Zeng Wenhui, Hou Beibei
Assistant Executive Editor: Li Fangfang of lives and property has been substan- manned aerial vehicles and satellites were
Commentator: Lan Xinzhen tially lower, thanks to improved control used to monitor the flood situation and
Opinion/Culture Editor: Ding Ying measures. send the information to ßood-Ķghting and
Nation Editor: Wang Hairong
Business Editor: Deng Yaqing Overcoming natural disasters runs emergency personnel. Key water control
Web Editor: Li Nan through the history of the Chinese nation. projects in the ßooded areas, such as the
Editorial Consultants: Sudeshna Sarkar, Madhusudan Chaubey
Staff Reporters: Tang Yuankai, Wang Jun, Pan Xiaoqiao, Yuan Yuan,
In ancient China, according to legend, Three Gorges Dam and the Gezhouba
Wang Hairong, Ji Jing, Lu Yan, Wen Qing, Li Qing, Li Xiaoyang, King Yu introduced flood control, which Dam on the Yangtze River, readjusted
Ma Miaomiao, Zhang Shasha made him acclaimed as Yu the Great. their water discharge according to the
Visual Director: Pamela Tobey
Photo Editor: Wang Xiang
Tenaciously Ķghting against natural disas- rainfall analysis. Such hi-tech-based mea-
Photographer: Wei Yao ters has been part of the Chinese spirit for sures helped minimize the losses.
Art: Li Shigong thousands of years. Today, the resilience All of this stems from China’s gover-
Design Director: Wang Yajuan
Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong has been enhanced by modern orga- nance system and capacity. In October
Designer: Zhao Boyu nizational capability, social governance 2019, a key meeting of the Communist
Proofreading: Ma Xin and extensive application of science and Party of China discussed how to uphold
Distribution Director: Hu Keqiang technology. and improve the system of socialism
Human Resources: Zhang Yajie
Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng
The organizational skill is evident with Chinese characteristics and advance
in the creation of special departments governance capacity. The decisions taken
North America Bureau
Chief: Yu Shujun and taskforces for flood control at the at the meeting have guided improving
Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334 central as well as local levels. As the rainy the social governance system and capac-
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season approached, these departments ity building based on China’s national
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Chief Correspondent: Ni Yanshuo
Tel: 27-71-6132053 immediately. The timely and rapid response shown
E-mail: casa201208@hotmail.com The authorities made accurate predic- nationwide, both in COVID-19 prevention
General Editorial Ofßce tions about the Yangtze’s first flood of and control and subsequent ßood control,
Tel: 86-10-68996252 the year two days in advance, providing with meticulously planned coordination
Fax: 86-10-68326628
English Edition
important alerts for ßood control. among different departments and re-
Tel: 86-10-68996250 On July 12, President Xi Jinping urged gions, demonstrates the modernization of
Advertising Department related departments to step up ßood con- China’s national governance system and
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2 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com

 THIS WEEK

XINHUA
A MOMENT OF GLORY
President Xi Jinping, also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), presents a certiĶcate of
order at a ceremony to promote Xu Zhongbo, Political Commissar of the Rocket Force of the Chinese
People’s Liberation Army, to the rank of general, on July 29.
The ceremony was held by the CMC in Beijing. General is the highest rank for officers in active
service in China.

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 3

THIS WEEK SOCIETY
Harvest Season
Women in Fengyang, a town in Jiangxi Province, east China, pick water chestnuts on July 29. July to October is the
harvest season for water chestnuts.
Hepatitis Record
More than 1,400 hepatitis B patients
have been cured thanks to a project
on chronic hepatitis B treatment
launched two years ago.
This makes the clinical project
the most effective one in the world
in terms of the number of patients
cured, according to the Chinese
Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention
and Control (CFHPC).
Nearly 10,000 patients and 312
hospitals have participated in the
project since it was launched in April
2018.
Primary liver cancer is the fourth
most common malignant tumor and
the second leading cause of tumor
deaths in China. About 85 percent
of liver cancer patients have
hepatitis B, said Yang Xizhong,
4 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
Executive Vice Chairman of CFHPC,
on World Hepatitis Day, July 28.
Viral hepatitis remains the class
B infectious disease with the most
reported cases in China, according
to the National Health Commission.
About 70 million people are
estimated to be living with hepatitis
B, and another 7.9 million with
hepatitis C. About 330,000 die
each year from cirrhosis of the liver
and primary liver cancer caused by
hepatitis B or C infections in China.
“China still lags far behind the
hepatitis B prevention and treat-
ment goals set by the World Health
Organization (WHO),” Yang said.
The WHO target is diagnosis of 90
percent of cases and treatment of
80 percent. But the numbers are 18
percent and 11 percent respectively
in China.
XINHUA
CFHPC initiated a new project
on July 25 to further study reducing
the incidence of liver cancer.
Telecom Fraud
Police have cracked about 101,000
cases related to telecom and Internet
fraud in the ³rst half of this year,
and arrested 92,000 suspects, up
73.7 percent and 78.4 percent year
on year, respectively, the Ministry of
Public Security said on July 28.
According to data released by
the ministry, 16,000 fraud cases
related to the novel coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) epidemic were
busted, and 7,506 were arrested.
Public security organs have
strengthened technical counter-
measures and intensi³ed funds
interception against dubious prac-
tices. They intercepted 120 million
fraudulent phone calls and blocked
210,000 fraudulent websites, thus
averting economic losses of 66.6 bil-
lion yuan ($9.53 billion), according
to .iu <hongyi, an of³cial of the
ministry.
The hotline prevented approxi-
mately 5.61 million people from
being defrauded, Liu added.
Ruins Found
An important ancient site was
discovered next to the Sanxingdui
Ruins in the city of Guanghan,
Sichuan Province in southwest
China, Chinese archeologists an-
nounced on July 28.
The new discovery is believed to
be a 5,000-year-old settlement. The
Sanxingdui Ruins are thought to be
remnants of the Shu Kingdom which
can be dated back 2,600 years to
4,800 years. In 1988, the ruins were
given state-level protection.
A large number of potteries,
porcelain and stoneware have been
unearthed from the site, about 8 km
south of the Sanxingdui Ruins.
“This is the ³rst time that a
complete sequence of the ancient
Shu civilization has been found
around Sanxingdui,” said Xin
Zhonghua, an associate researcher
with the Sichuan Provincial Cultural
Relics and Archeology Research
Institute.
The majority of relics unearthed
from the settlement ruins have the
features of Sanxingdui culture, ac-
cording to Xin.
“The site re´ects an uninter-
rupted regional development history
of nearly 5,000 years, which is of
great signi³cance to the study of the
origin, development and evolution
of the ancient Shu civilization,” he
said.
Listed among China’s top 10
archaeological ³ndings in the 20th
century, the Sanxingdui Ruins were
accidentally discovered by a farmer
when he unearthed a bright piece of
jade while digging a ditch in 1929.
Some gold masks with exagger-
ated designs are among the most
impressive relics unearthed.
Two sacri³cial pits ³lled with
http://www.bjreview.com

more than 1,000 treasures, including
gold masks, bronzeware, jade tab-
lets, and ivory and sacred trees, were
discovered in 1986 when workers
were excavating clay for bricks.
Poverty Alleviation
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has
issued a circular on providing
³nancial support to social organiza-
tions to carry out poverty alleviation
projects.
Social organizations are encour-
aged to bid for government-funded
social service projects in impover-
ished regions in west China, or in
Hubei, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.
In Hubei, previously hard-hit by
the coronavirus epidemic, projects
mainly target epidemic prevention
and control.
The projects to be funded
include those for improving social
service facilities in impoverished ar-
eas, care programs for children, the
elderly and people with disabilities,
and training for social workers.
Applicants should submit
relevant materials before August 10.
Whale Research
Chinese researchers have spotted
11 whale species in the South China
Sea during a deep-sea scienti³c
expedition, the Chinese Academy of
Sciences said on July 28.
The 21-day expedition wrapped
up on that day in Sanya, Hainan
Province in south China, having cov-
ered over 3,000 km. It was launched
http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK
XINHUA
to conduct research on the diversity,
population levels and distribution
patterns of whales in the Xisha
Islands and the Zhongsha Islands in
the South China Sea.
A similar expedition was orga-
nized in 2019.
Researchers this year spotted
four whale species that were not seen
last year: the pygmy killer whale, the
false killer whale, long-snouted spin-
ner dolphin and the melon-headed
whale.
Historical records show that over
30 whale species were recorded in
the South China Sea, indicating the
area boasts the country’s greatest
diversity in whale species.
Improving Farmland
Over half of this year’s annual target
for high-standard farmland con-
struction has been met in the ³rst six
months, according to the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA)
on July 28.
By the end of June, about 2.89
WasteSorting %ingo
Villagers play a garbage-sorting game in Shengjiawu, a village in Huzhou,
million hectares of high-standard
farmland had been developed, Zhejiang Province in east China, on July 28. The local government is exploring
rural-speci³c garbage-sorting mechanisms.
54.2 percent of the target for 2020,
MARA said.
From the central budget, 86.7
billion yuan ($12.4 billion) has been
allocated for the construction, 780
million yuan ($109 million) more supervision on construction proce- schedule.
than the previous year. dure while improving a nationwide The aim is to develop 67 million
Local authorities are being en- monitoring system. hectares of such farmland by 2022
couraged to increase investment and More work will be done to with a grain output of 500 million
introduce social capital for farmland advance the construction and en- tons, according to a circular by the
construction with incentives. hance project quality management General Of³ce of the State Council,
The ministry also strengthened to complete this year’s target on China’s cabinet.
XINHUA
Vibrant Notes
Artists perform at Shanghai’s iconic music festival on July 29. It was held
on July 20-29 in two venues, the indoor Shanghai Symphony Hall and the
outdoor City Lawn Music Plaza.
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 5
THIS WEEK ECONOMY
HiTech Resilience
China’s national hi-tech zones have
maintained growth despite the im-
pact of the epidemic, a senior of³cial
said on July 23.
In May, the revenue of hi-tech
zones reached 3.27 trillion yuan
($467 billion), up 10.3 percent year
on year, and the export volume
reached 319 billion yuan ($45.5 bil-
lion), an increase of 13.7 percent year
on year, Xu Nanping, Vice Minister
of Science and Technology, said at a
press conference.
With strong scienti³c and
technological innovation capacity,
the hi-tech zones have shown resil-
ience to risks and registered higher
HighAltitude Vegetables
Farmers harvest broccoli in the Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County in Weining, Guizhou Province in southwest China,
on June 17. Weining, with an average altitude of 2,200 meters, is growing vegetables to increase job opportunities for
local people.
6 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
growth than the national average,
Xu said.
In the ³rst quarter of this year,
the zones employed more than
26.56 million people, a rise of 2.1
percent year on year. A total of
508,000 new jobs were created in
the zones during that period, up 6.7
percent year on year.
National hi-tech zones
play a vital role in promoting
innovation-driven development and
establishing valuable experience
for China’s high-quality economic
development, Xu added.
China unveiled a guideline
on high-quality development of
national hi-tech zones in July, stress-
ing efforts in spurring innovation,
deepening reform, and expanding
opening up in this sector.
Xu said after more than 30
years’ development, national hi-tech
zones have become an important
support base for the economy.
In 2019, the 169 national hi-tech
zones created 12.2 trillion yuan ($1.74
trillion) in output and paid 1.9 trillion
yuan ($270.9 billion) in taxes and
fees, accounting for 12.3 percent of
the GDP and 11.8 percent of the tax
revenue.
The zones have nurtured inno-
vative companies with international
in´uence, and developed a number
of world-class industrial clusters in
photovoltaic electricity, wind power
and new-energy vehicles.
XINHUA
Cloud Migration
China’s public cloud service market
will see rapid growth in the next
three to four years, driven by ris-
ing demand for cost-effective IT
solutions and greater ´exibility,
scalability, reliability and security of
cloud services compared with tradi-
tional IT infrastructure, Fitch Ratings
said in its latest report released on
July 16.
Cloud migration will also be
helped by employees working
remotely in the wake of the novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and
by China’s new infrastructure con-
struction plan this year, the report
said.
Competition in the public
cloud service market will remain
intense, but Chinese Internet giants,
including Baidu, Alibaba Group
and Tencent, will continue to
dominate the market due to their
³rst-mover advantage, substantial
³nancial resources, deep under-
standing and rich cloud experience
in a wide range of industries.
The ratings agency expects the
cloud business to be an increas-
ingly important driver of long-
term credit strength of the Chinese
Internet majors, as the rapid market
growth will boost their business
pro³les and increase revenue
diversity.
However, cloud services are
unlikely to improve the companies’
³nancial pro³les in the short term
as stiffer competition and higher
capital expenditure for expansion
will restrain cash generation from
their cloud businesses until pricing
discipline returns.
“Nevertheless, long-term pro³t-
ability and cash generation should
be rewarding,” the report added.
Car Sales Recover
Sales of top 10 Chinese-branded
carmakers reached 4.36 million units
during the ³rst half of the year, data
showed on July 21.
The ³gure accounted for 84.53
percent of the total sales of Chinese-
http://www.bjreview.com
 THIS WEEK

XINHUA
to become a strong support for
epidemic-battered production and
consumption. On Kuaishou alone,
over 100 million users are engaged
in e-commerce each day, and more
than half of them are from the third-
and fourth-tier cities.
Among all the new e-businesses
set up on Kuaishou in the ³rst half
of the year, those in automobiles,
smartphones, home supplies,
beauty and cosmetics and education
were more likely to take up live-
streaming, the platform said.
%attery SZap Mode
China will step up efforts to advance
Rail Under Construction
the construction of battery swap
infrastructure in the latest move to
Workers check the track at the site of the Golmud-Korla Railway in Xinjiang promote quality growth of the new-
Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China on July 18. The railway links energy vehicle (NEV) sector, the
Golmud in Qinghai Province, northwest China, and Korla in Xinjiang. The Ministry of Industry and Information
construction in Xinjiang is progressing in an orderly manner. Technology (MIIT) said on July 23.
The battery swap mode will
be piloted in regions including
Beijing and Hainan, Xin Guobin,
Vice Minister of MIIT, told a press
conference.
Leading the world in NEV out-
put and sales in the past ³ve years,
China has built 38,000 battery
charging stations, 449 battery swap
stations, and 1.3 million charging
poles, MIIT data shows.
Despite its rapid expansion, the
sector lacks strong core technolo-
gies and charging convenience, he
said.
The battery swap mode,
conducive to extending the life of
batteries, will enhance safety and
lower costs for buyers, according
to Xin.
Enterprises are also encour-
aged to develop new battery
charging and swapping technolo-
gies, according to MIIT.

branded cars, according to data from users in the ³rst half of this year

the China Association of Automobile
Manufacturers.
Shanghai-based SAIC Motor,
Chongqing Changan Automobile,
and Geely Auto ranked the top three
in terms of sales during the period.
China’s auto industry has seen
a wide recovery in recent months
although the COVID-19 epidemic
took its toll on the sector, said Fu
Bingfeng, Deputy Secretary General
of the association.
In the passenger car sub-sector,
medium and high-end brands will
likely fare well during the second
half, while the demand for low-
end cars will shrink, leaving some
manufacturers ³nancially troubled,
Fu said.
XINHUA
on July 22, mainly driven by the
COVID-19 epidemic that prompted
wider use of the service.
The Beijing-based company, a
major domestic rival of Douyin, said
the number of daily active users of
its live-streaming function reached
170 million as of June, a surge of 70
million since the end of 2019.
The explosive expansion came
as the COVID-19 epidemic kept
people across the nation indoor
for months, while live-streaming
services were increasingly adopted
in sectors as diverse as entertain-
ment, e-commerce, tourism and
education.
By March, China had 560 mil-
lion users of live-streaming services,
Fixing Credit Records
a rise of 163 million from that in

/iveStream %oom December 2018, the China Internet

Network Information Center said in a A staff member receives a credit modi³cation application from an
Kuaishou, a leading short-video plat- report in April. enterprise representative at a tax bureau service center in Fuzhou, Fujian
form in China, reported a huge jump Online shopping has particu- Province in southeast China, on July 21. The provincial taxation authority
in the number of live-streaming larly bene³ted from live-streaming has introduced more dynamic credit management for taxpayers in 2020.

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 7

THIS WEEKWORLD
XINHUA
UNITED KINGDOM
Museum staff polish a blue Zhale
skeleton at the Hintze Hall of the Natural
History Museum in London on July 27.
The museum reopened on August 5
folloZing COVID closure
XINHUA
8 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
KUWAIT
A taxi driver refuels his car at a gas station
in KuZait City on July 28, the day Zhen KuZait
started the third phase of restoring normal life
Zith taxis alloZed to operate Zith only
one passenger
XINHUA
MALAYSIA
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks to
the media in court in Kuala Lumpur on July 28,
after he Zas found guilty of abuse of poZer,
criminal breach of trust and money laundering
http://www.bjreview.com
 THIS WEEK

¼
UNITED STATES
People memorize congressman and civil
rights figure John LeZis in the Capitol
Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on July 27.
LeZis died of pancreatic cancer at the age
of 8 on July 7
XINHUA

XINHUA
XINHUA

¼
RUSSIA
Warships take part in a military
parade marking Navy Day
in St. Petersburg on July 26.
The annual event is observed
on the last Sunday of July

%ANGLADESH
People make their Zay through a flooded
road on the outskirts of capital city Dhaka
on July 27. Almost half of the country
remained in the grip of floods Zith
at least  deaths

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 9

THIS WEEK PEOPLE & POINTS

¾ JIN LI4UN REELECTED PRESIDENT OF AII%

XINHUA
Jin Liqun has been elected to a second term as president of the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) by the bank’s board of governors during its Ķfth annual meeting on July
29. Jin was elected as the inaugural president for a term of Ķve years
when the bank started operation in 2016.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to lead the AIIB during its
foundational years,” Jin said. Under his leadership, the AIIB has grown
from 57 founding members to over 100 approved members from
around the world.
Headquartered in Beijing, the AIIB is a multilateral development
bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes
in Asia. It aims to expand investments from core infrastructure to
tomorrow-infrastructure that will tackle climate change, enhance
connectivity within Asia and the rest of the world, mobilize private
capital, and bridge digital divides.

The National Speed Skating Oval, one of the venues for the
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, under
construction in the capital on July 22

Further Ban on Plastic products, the latest policy calls for more force-
ful measures and aims to establish a long-term
Green Games on
Products mechanism for reducing plastic pollution. It

Nanfang Daily
July 21
Starting January 1, 2021, provincial and mu-
nicipal governments are required to phase out
non-degradable plastic bags in places such as
shopping malls, supermarkets and restaurants,
according to a document jointly issued by
nine administrations, including the National
Development and Reform Commission and
Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
Compared to the guideline issued in 2008,
which focuses on charging for plastic bags
and encouraging people to use eco-friendly
bans the production and sale of disposable
plastic straws, tableware and other items. And
it covers all aspects of plastic products, from
production and use to recycling and disposal.
However, the circular makes certain ex-
ceptions to meet special needs. For instance,
plastic products are allowed for packing fresh
and cooked food in the market.
Besides the retail and catering industry, the
ban also covers delivery services and exhibi-
tions. Today, e-commerce, delivery and other
emerging businesses have grown into primary
sources of plastic pollution. Regulating plastic
product usage in the delivery industry is a good
starting point to promote sustainability.
Track in Beijing
China Daily
July 31
Five years since winning its bid for the 2022
Winter Olympics, Beijing has stepped up its ef-
forts to host a green Games with sustainability
at the core of preparations.
With China resuming normalcy in all
walks of life after the peak of the COVID-19
outbreak, Beijing has picked up its preparation
for the 2022 Olympics with construction and

“ChinaandtheU.S.atleastneedto “Giventhehugeeconomicproblemscausedby
managesome‘coldpeace’.Giventhe thepandemicandtheU.S.ChinatradeZar,
advancedtechnologiestheyarein itisimperativethattheEUandChinamake
possessionof,maintainingproper progresstoZardaninvestmentagreement.”
communicationandavoidingmilitary Fraser Cameron,DirectoroftheEUChinaCenter,
a%russelsbasedthinktank,sharinghisvieZson
conflictsduetolackoftrustZillbe theEighthChinaEUHighLevelTradeandEconomicDialogue
crucialforpeaceinthefuture.” viavideolinkonJuly28
Shen Dingli,aprofessorZithFudanUniversity,talking
aboutSinoU.S.tiesinanarticleinChina DailyonJuly2

10 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com


renovation of facilities, with
planning for Games-time man-
agement and designs for post-
event operation well on track,
according to organizers and
construction regulators.
“We’ve resumed all pre-
paratory work and are on
schedule. We are conĶdent that
all competition venues needed
for the Games will be done
within this year,” Ding Jianming,
Deputy Director of the Beijing
Major Projects Construction
Headquarters OfĶce, said on July
30.
Selected on July 31, 2015
as the world’s only city to host
the Winter Olympics after having staged the
Summer Games, the Chinese capital is sparing
no efforts to deliver on its promise to host sus-
tainable Games with lasting legacies in all three
zones—the city’s downtown area, its northwest
Yanqing District and co-host Zhangjiakou, Hebei
Province.
As a highlight of the sustainable approach,
Beijing has taken advantage of the 2008 Games’
legacy to re-purpose five venues used for the
Summer Olympics downtown, such as the
iconic National Aquatics Center, to host compe-
titions and ceremonies in 2022.
The aquatics center, built for swimming in
2008 and known as the “Water Cube,” has been
transformed into an “Ice Cube” for curling after
a yearlong renovation project, which involves
Ķlling the main pool with removable steel struc-
tures and making ice sheets above.
“WehavenotfoundthatbatsinWuhan
ortheZiderHubeiProvincecarryany
coronavirusescloselyrelatedto
SARSCoV2.U.S.PresidentTrump’sclaim
thatthevirusZasleakedfromour
institutetotallycontradictsthefacts.”
Shi Zhengli,ascientistfromtheWuhanInstituteofVirology,
refutingU.S.PresidentDonaldTrump’sclaimaboutthesource
oftheepidemicinanintervieZZithScienceonJuly24
http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK
Rural Salespersons Township Government in Haikou, capital city of
the province, hires rural salespersons to collect
People’s Daily information about local farm produce and pro-
mote them online and to local supermarkets.
July 27 Although some celebrities and local ofĶcials
Accurate information about supply and demand in China have participated in live-streaming pro-
is helpful for farmers to find a good market. motions for farm produce, problems persist. For
However, most farmers in Hainan Province, instance, the hosts do not know all the features
south China, work and sell farm produce indi- of products, and the quality of products and af-
vidually. It’s difficult for them to get accurate ter-sales services cannot be ensured. Therefore,
information about the market and sell high- they need to spend more time studying agri-
quality products at reasonable prices without cultural products and select quality ones. In this
efĶcient promotion. regard, rural salespersons know much more
To bridge farmers and buyers, the Jiazi about farmers and their produce.
¾ PRINCIPAL’S FREE EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR RURAL GIRLS
Zhang Guimei, Principal of Huaping Senior High School for Girls in Lijiang, Yunnan
Province, southwest China, has been Ķghting the inequality and prejudice girls face in
the mountains for a long time.
Born in northwest China, Zhang came to Yunnan at the age of 17 to study in
Lijiang Teachers College and became a teacher in the province. In 1994, she volun-
teered to teach in a remote school in Huaping County, where she got a lot of help and
care from local people.
In the county, she found many rural girls were not en-
rolling for high school education as it is not part of the
nine-year compulsory education. Therefore, she decided
to establish a senior high school for rural girls, providing
free education.
With the support of local governments, the school
was built and put into operation in 2008. Zhang prefers
to call the students “mountain girls” instead of girls from
poor families, to protect their self-esteem.
“Atsomepoint,theUKZillcomeback
toChinaandbemoreopentoZard
arelationshipZiththelatterasfiveyears
agoforChinaisontherise.”
Martin Jacques,aformerseniorfelloZatCambridgeUniversity,
commentingonChinaUKrelationsinanintervieZ
ZithGlobal TimesonJuly22
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 11
COVER STORY

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Comprehensive measures minimize flood havoc By Ma Miaomiao

12 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com


T
he rainy season arrived in China with
a roar. Continuous downpours have
lashed large parts of south China
since June and many rivers have ex-
ceeded alert levels.
In late July, the main rain belt began to
move north from the Yangtze River basin to
the Huaihe River basin. The Huaihe, one of
China’s major waterways, runs through the
east between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.
According to the Huaihe River Commission
under the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR),
the water level at the Wangjiaba hydrological
station on the main course of the river rose
http://www.bjreview.com
impact of ßoods on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
XINHUA
to 29.66 meters on July 20, exceeding the
upper safety limit.
The highest level of emergency flood
control response along the Huaihe was acti-
vated and to relieve pressure on downstream
areas, floodwater was diverted through the
Wangjiaba sluice gates into the Mengwa
Flood Detention Area in Funan County, Anhui
Province in east China, on the same day.
The upper reaches of the Huaihe have a
large drop, while the middle and lower reach-
es are ßat. The Wangjiaba sluice gates at the
junction of the upper and middle reaches are
significant for flood control since they help
The Three Gorges Reservoir on July 27. It has mitigated the
reduce the water level in the lower reaches.
The Mengwa basin, with an area of 180
square km, can hold nearly 750 million cubic
meters of water and is home to more than
190,000 people. They live on natural low
hills and artificially created mounds, which
provide safety during ßooding, so mass evac-
uations are no longer necessary. For most
people living in Mengwa, life continued nor-
mally in their small villages on top of these
mounds.
“About 2,000 people in dangerous areas
have been evacuated to safe places,” Lu
Haitao, an official at the Anhui Department
of Water Resources, told Guangming Daily. In
Funan, residents in four towns were evacu-
ated before the ßoodwater release, while the
government took steps to ensure the supply
of daily necessities, he added.
Improved capability
More than 54.81 million people in China
had been affected since the rainy season
started on June 1, according to the Ministry
of Emergency Management (MEM) on July
28. The ministry’s statistics show that the
number of people who died or are missing
due to the floods since June was 158, 53.9
percent lower than the average for the same
period over the past Ķve years. The number
of collapsed houses dropped 68.4 percent
although direct economic losses rose 13.8
percent. Zheng Guoguang, the Vice Minister
of Emergency Management, said despite
the severity of the ßooding, the decrease in
the loss of life and houses can be attributed
to the improvement of China’s capability in
ßood control and disaster relief.
Meanwhile, the heaviest average rainfall
in decades brought floods to the Yangtze
River basin, with Jiangxi Province in east
China among the most affected. The Three
Gorges Dam in Hubei Province, central
China, the largest water control system along
the Yangtze, has been activated to ease the
pressure at the middle and lower reaches of
the river’s main course. The outbound flow
of water has been reduced by almost half to
19,000 cubic meters per second since July 7,
holding back much of the ßoodwater in the
reservoir, according to the Changjiang Water
Resources Commission under MWR.
On July 28, 36.7 percent of the peak ßood-
water of the Yangtze’s third flood of the year
was retained by the Three Gorges Reservoir,
mitigating the impact on the river’s lower
reaches. Li Na, head of the ßood control and as-
sessment department with the China Institute
of Water Resources and Hydropower Research
under MWR, told Global Times that the
Yangtze’s capacity to resist ßooding has greatly
improved in the past two decades thanks in
part to the Three Gorges Dam, which has ßood
V
V
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 13
control storage of 22 billion cubic meters.
China has invested heavily in water resource
projects to enhance its capability to withstand
both droughts and ßooding. In 2019, a record
726 billion yuan ($103.7 billion) was spent on
ßood control projects, according to MWR. So far,
121,000 hydrological stations have been set up,
about 312,000 km of river embankments have
been built, and 98,800 reservoirs and 98 ßood
detention areas have been put into use to bet-
ter resist ßoods.
Hydrological stations keep timely records of
rainfall, its ßow, velocity and other data for ßood
control and disaster relief work. They cover
more than 5,000 small and medium-sized rivers
in China.
According to the National Development
and Reform Commission, another 150 major
infrastructure projects will be launched in the
next two years, with a total investment of 1.29
trillion yuan ($184 billion) to enhance ßood and
drought relief capabilities. These projects will
increase reservoir storage capacity by 9 billion
cubic meters, Su Wei, Deputy Secretary General
of the commission, said at a press conference
on July 13. In addition, reinforcement work will
be carried out on 2,950 km of river embank-
ments, he said.
A volunteer interacts with a child at a temporary shelter for ßood-affected villagers in Hefei, Anhui Province in east China, on July 29
14 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
Harnessing technologies
Many provinces have given priority to embank-
ment patrolling, beeĶng up inspection in ßood-
prone areas. Unmanned aerial vehicles have
been introduced for embankment inspection,
especially for culverts along embankments that
are too small for humans. Micro-robots can
help examine whether there is any leakage or
blocking.
More use of hi-tech equipment like au-
tomatic alarm devices, real-time virtual reality
observation and mobile ßood Ķghting walls has
helped monitoring, forecasting and coordina-
tion of flood control and raised the efficiency
and accuracy of relief work in flood-prone
regions.
For example, dams, rivers and reservoirs ap-
pear on an electronic screen at the command
center of the Anhui provincial water resources
department in different colors, representing
different water levels. The electronic map in-
tegrates real-time data such as precipitation
and water levels from over 8,000 automatic
information-collecting stations in the province,
Hu Weiquan, a local official, told Xinhua News
Agency.
During massive ßoods in 1998, it took two
hours to collect information from the 3,300
hydrological stations. Now, it takes only 10-15
minutes to collect real-time information from
over 120,000 stations, Liu Zhiyu, an ofĶcial with
MWR, told Economic Daily.
“Our forecasting system has played an
important role in preventing floods along the
Yangtze and Taihu Lake,” he said. Authorities
had made accurate predictions about the
Yangtze’s first flood of the year on July 2 two
days in advance, providing important alerts for
ßood control.
“In 1998, ßood control relied heavily on hu-
man efforts, but now, it is supported by modern
machines and advanced technologies,” Cheng
Jianyi, a member of the expert group at the
ßood control and drought relief headquarters in
Poyang County in Jiangxi, told Xinhua.
China Anneng Group Second Engineering
Bureau Co. Ltd., a construction company that
participated in embankment repair in Poyang,
said on July 8 that it used modern technology to
stem the dike breach, using a radar to test wa-
ter velocity and a GPS device to measure water
levels.
Advanced satellites are also being used
in flood monitoring and assisting, according
to a Sina.com report on July 16. Responding
to a request from MEM, the China Center for
Resources Satellite Data and Applications af-
filiated with China Aerospace Science and
XINHUA
http://www.bjreview.com
Technology Corporation has been carrying out

XINHUA
observations in ßood-stricken areas, especially
the hardest hit regions in south China.
As of July 13, the center had used Ķve satel-
lites, taking 73 sets of photos and sharing 248
valid data images. After being processed, the
data is sent to related departments and local
governments in affected areas. The center
takes emergency photos of these areas at least
twice a day.
Moreover, seven Fengyun meteorological
satellites are running 24 hours a day to monitor
weather conditions, Yang Jun, Director General
of the National Satellite Meteorological Center,
told The Beijing News. The satellites monitor all
major river basins and lakes in China four times
a day. If a ßood occurs, the monitoring results
will be forwarded to the government and the
public.

Stronger responses
While infrastructure, technology and flood di-
version areas all play a crucial role in preventing
and controlling ßood, more intensive attention
has been paid to ßood prevention and control
this year.
On July 12, President Xi Jinping urged
related departments to take more effective OfĶcers of a detachment of the armed police force transport soil to an open space in Poyang County, Jiangxi Province
flood control measures and called for officials in east China, on July 17
at all levels to go to the frontline to guide ßood
control work. He said local authorities should

XINHUA
carefully plan reconstruction to restore produc-
tion and help people return to normal life as
soon as possible.
On that day, the government raised the
emergency response for flood control along
the Yangtze to Level II, the second highest level.
The level was maintained as of July 30.
The Central Government has supported
local efforts to harness the ßood. MEM, follow-
ing the principle of putting people’s life first,
dispatched firefighting and rescue teams to
carry out emergency rescue and relief along
with local cadres and military personnel in ßood-
stricken areas. A large number of people in
danger have been evacuated, effectively reduc-
ing the number of deaths and people missing,
MEM official Yang Xiaodong said. He pointed
out that the significant decline in the num-
ber of collapsed buildings shows that greater
importance has been given to infrastructure
construction, especially higher standard hous-
ing, and the enhancement of national disaster
prevention and resistance capacity.
Emergency supplies have been allocated Professor Deng Juzhi (rear) and researcher Zhou Feng of East China University of Technology in Jiangxi Province
to provinces such as Hunan in central China, in east China analyze data after scanning a dam with the equipment they developed, on July 21
Anhui and Jiangxi to support local ßood control
and disaster relief work, MEM said. Disaster relief duction facilities in ßood-hit areas, according to been earmarked for use in flood-prone areas
items, including blankets and folding beds, were the Ministry of Finance on July 20. The money across China. Q
sent to Anhui and Jiangxi on July 24. was allocated to 12 provincial regions, including
A sum of 830 million yuan ($119 million) Jiangxi and Hubei, for post-disaster recovery and
has been channeled from the central budget to Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
restoration of normal production and daily life. Comments to mamm@bjreview.com
restore water conservancy and agricultural pro- Since May, 1.29 billion yuan ($184.3 million) has
http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 15
COVER STORY
UNITED AS ONE
Military and civilians join hands to combat deluge along the Yangtze River
By Wang Hairong
Soldiers of the 71st Group Army Ķght the ßood in Pengze County, Jiangxi Province in east China, on July 13
I
n a muddy field close to Poyang Lake,
China’s largest freshwater lake in the east-
ern province of Jiangxi, a squad of armed
police ofĶcers were digging a drainage ditch
under the scorching sun on July 18. Among
them was Luo Jie, member of an armed po-
lice detachment in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, wearing
an orange life jacket over a black T-shirt and
mud-covered trousers.
Since torrential rain battered the area on
the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in
early July, Luo has carried out various tasks to
Ķght the ßoods.
The Yangtze River basin has been
16 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
drenched by record rainfall in half a century.
On July 9, after receiving orders from the
detachment command, Luo’s unit dashed
to Daifang Town, Lean County, to carry out
search and rescue mission. Pounded by
heavy rain for days, the town was flooded.
Using a speedboat, Luo and his fellow sol-
diers searched door to door. After spotting
three trapped persons, they immediately
transported them to a safe place.
Then they went to nearby Yugan County
to reinforce a levee. On July 10, a ßood patrol
spotted a crack on the slope of the embank-
ment, and the stand-by rescue teams began
XINHUA
Ķxing the problem.
More than 4,000 people, including the
armed police officers, worked around the
clock for four days to remove the danger,
using 2,200 cubic meters of pebbles to
reinforce the dike and control seepage, ac-
cording to the local government. As a result,
the life and property of about 55,000 people
have been protected.
“Floods are deep in my memory,” Luo
said, “In 1998, I saw my home in the central
province of Hunan basically washed away by
ßoodwater.” At that time, Luo, 6, his brother,
8, and his mother were trapped by flood.
http://www.bjreview.com
Several soldiers in camouflage uniform

XINHUA
rushed to their rescue and sent them to
a resettlement site, Luo told Xinhua News
Agency.
In 1998, severe flooding ravaged prov-
inces along the middle and lower reaches
of the Yangtze and some areas in northeast
China, killing more than 3,000 people and
inundating over 20 million hectares of Ķelds,
according to official statistics. The military
raced to save lives and protect embank-
ments. Filled with gratitude and admiration,
Luo joined the army in 2014.

Sweat and toil

While Luo’s unit participated in disaster relief
in Jiangxi, some soldiers of the 72nd Group
Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
were taming the ßoods in neighboring Anhui
Province.
On July 22, when a section of a dike in
Lujiang County breached, 28 members of
a commando team of the army tied ropes
around their waists to form a human wall to
help people evacuate. As the breach sud-
denly expanded, ferocious and turbid water
swept five soldiers away. Fortunately, all
of them were rescued. One of them, Mao
Xiaochi, went into coma and required treat-
ment in the intensive care unit.
Military personnel also helped local resi-
dents to rebuild their life after the floods.
Shexian County in Anhui was ßooded on July
7. Hundreds of businesses in the county’s
economic development zone were affected.
In a tea company’s workshop, hundreds of
bags of semi-Ķnished products were soaked
in water and covered with sludge. It was es-
timated the flooding affected about 3,000
tons of tea worth 90 million yuan ($12.86
million). A video clip posted online showed
the owner crying at the factory gate due to
the loss.
When the local armed police detach-
ment learned of this, it sent ofĶcers to help
clean up the mess and sanitize the factory.
They disposed of the ruined tea and dried
the slightly moist tea, putting the factory
back in order.
Equipment and expertise
The military not only sent personnel but
also equipment and technology to Ķght the
ßoods. More than 40,000 military personnel,
including PLA officers and soldiers, armed
police force and militias, participated in ßood
control in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi
provinces along the middle and lower reach-
es of the Yangtze, reported China Central
Television on July 20. They brought 321
boats, 78 construction machines and nearly
2,800 vehicles.
A reconnaissance unit of the PLA 73rd
http://www.bjreview.com
Luo Jie, an armed police ofĶcer in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, participates in digging a ditch in Yugan County,
Jiangxi, on July 18
Group Army scanned a levee with infrared
surveillance equipment installed on an un-
manned aerial vehicle and found a bubble
spring hidden under reeds. The officers
calculated the earthwork required for a
cofferdam and plugging, and worked out a
treatment plan before the emergency team
arrived. The military rescuers used heavy
equipment and highly cohesive sandy soil
and other materials for efĶcient plugging.
In addition to life jackets, the officers
and soldiers on the rescue missions wore an
inßatable life belt 5 centimeters wide. When
a person falling into water opens the infla-
tion valve, high-pressure gas is released to Ķll
the air bag and turn the belt into a lifebuoy
around the waist. This equipment makes it
safer for rescuers to carry out missions in
water.
Sweet appreciation
On July 14, a PLA unit dispatched to control
the floods in Wuwei, Anhui, received a spe-
cial letter attached to a bag of candies. It
was from 10-year-old Xu Junyi, who lives in
the city close to the Yangtze. More than 500
PLA officers and soldiers were stationed in
the city to prevent and control ßood. When
the boy saw images of their hands and feet
wrinkled after being in water for a long time,
he was touched and wanted to cheer them
up. He bought the candies with his pocket
money, and sent the letter to the unit’s
temporary camp. “Thank you for your hard
work,” he wrote.
PLA troops in Anhui also received 50
laundry driers donated by a research institute
in the provincial capital of Hefei. On July 26,
when the Red Cross Society of Hefei learned
that the soldiers’ clothes could not be dried
in time, it solicited donors and the institute
immediately responded. The next afternoon,
all of the donated driers were delivered and
put into service.
On July 15, on a dike in Poyang County,
64-year-old local resident Zhu Aixiang and
other women brought tremella soup and
other heatstroke-preventing food, mineral
water and watermelons to the military rescu-
ers who were reinforcing the embankment. “I
hope they eat more and gain more strength,
because the work is hard,” she told China
News Service.
“Most of them are as young as my grand-
son. My heart aches to watch them sleep by
the dike every day,” Zhu said. So she and her
friends decided to do something for the sol-
diers.
“The villagers are very warm-hearted.
They give us more strength,” a soldier
named Pan Zhaoxi said. Q
Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey
Comments to wanghairong@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 17
GOVERNANCE
Sharing China’s Plans
Third volume ofXi Jinping: The Governance of China out and accessible By Li Qing
A symposium on the third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is held in Beijing on July 29
A
mong the 160,000 titles on display at a
recently launched e-library, Xi Jinping: The
Governance of China Volume III is one of
the most searched for.
The virtual library aims to provide a new
platform for international publishing busi-
nesses to display their books and continue
cooperation, said Du Zhanyuan, President of
China International Publishing Group (CIPG),
which initiated the program. “It also provides
a new channel for international readers to
know about diverse cultures and enhance
mutual understanding,” he said.
The novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) has posed a severe challenge for
the global publishing industry, shown by the
cancellation or postponement of major inter-
18 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
national book fairs and problems in logistics.
Responding to that, CIPG inaugurated the
virtual library on July 24, with a call for solidar-
ity in the industry to tide over difĶculties.
The new online library has attracted
publishers from 25 countries and regions
exhibiting books in 33 languages.
After two earlier volumes that became
bestsellers, the third volume of Xi Jinping:
The Governance of China, which came out
in June in Chinese and English, has pride of
place at the e-library.
Window on China
Published by the Beijing-based Foreign
Languages Press, a subsidiary of CIPG, the
third volume is a collection of 92 articles,
XINHUA
speeches, conversations, instructions and
letters by President Xi Jinping between
October 18, 2017 and January 13, 2020. In
19 sections it discusses topics ranging from
national governance and China’s all-round
opening up to a global community of shared
future.
Since taking ofĶce as general secretary of
the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central
Committee in 2012, Xi has put forward many
new ideas based on his experience in state
governance, which form Xi Jinping Thought
on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for
a New Era.
His thoughts play a significant role in
promoting the rejuvenation of the Chinese
nation, as well as world peace and progress.
http://www.bjreview.com

“I read the book with keen interest as it
expounds China’s development philosophy
and reveals the political aspirations, the
concept of governance and great plans of
Xi,” former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre
Raffarin said, pointing out that the most
common word in the volume is innovation.
A loyal reader of the series, Raffarin said
the book offers an opportunity for the inter-
national community to learn about China.
The Ķrst two volumes, published in 2014
and 2017 respectively, have been distributed
in more than 160 countries and regions, Du
said at a recent symposium in Beijing.
Over the past six years, CIPG has worked
with publishers in 39 countries to launch
foreign-language editions for local readers.
It has not only showcased the volumes at
major international book fairs but also held
events such as seminars to introduce them
to more readers overseas.
When the third volume was about to be
sent to press, Beijing was hit by an upsurge
of new COVID-19 cases. CIPG adjusted its
printing and distribution plans to meet the
demand of readers, Du said. The third vol-
ume is selling in more than 3,000 brick-and-
mortar bookstores across China as well as on
online platforms. It is also available in book-
stores abroad including in the United States,
the UK, France and Japan.
Growth philosophy
This year is the deadline for China to achieve
its target of eliminating absolute poverty and
building a moderately prosperous society in
all respects. One section of the third volume
focuses on this topic.
“It is a basic requirement and core indi-
cator in our poverty eradication effort that by
2020 we will succeed in delivering the Two
Assurances and Three Guarantees for impov-
erished rural residents,” Xi said at a seminar
on April 16, 2019.
Two Assurances and Three Guarantees
means ensuring that the rural poor have
their food and clothing assured as well as ac-
cess to compulsory education, basic medical
services and safe housing guaranteed.
According to this year’s government
work report, decisive achievements have
been made as 11.09 million poor people in
rural areas got rid of poverty in 2019 with
the poverty headcount ratio down to 0.6
percent, paving the way for China to reach
its poverty eradication goal in 2020.
“To complete building a moderately
prosperous society in all respects means
http://www.bjreview.com
The third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China in Chinese and English at the virtual library launched by
China International Publishing Group
that all people will beneĶt from the fruits of
development,” Wen Hong, a professor at the
School of Public Administration, South China
University of Technology, told Guangzhou
Daily. “A decline in the poor population is
only part of the story. The success in poverty
alleviation also hinges on social development
and improvements in people’s livelihood.”
High-quality development, frequently
mentioned in the book, is another relevant
topic.
“As socialism with Chinese characteris-
tics has entered a new era, China’s economic
development has also embarked on a new
phase, the basic feature of which is that our
economy is now transitioning from rapid
growth to high-quality development,” Xi
said at the Central Conference on Economic
Work on December 18, 2017. Therefore,
China should transform its growth model
to cope with problems such as rising labor
costs, increasing constraints imposed by
lack of resources and the environment,
and unsustainable models of extensive
development.
Economic development requires an
upgraded model as well as adapting to new
technologies, Liu Fengyi, head of the School
of Marxism at Nankai University, said in an
article in Tianjin Daily. “Also, this new model
can meet people’s growing needs for prod-
ucts and services supported by a diverse and
efĶcient supply system.”
As China gets further integrated into
the world economy, it is contributing to
GOVERNANCE
COURTESY PHOTO
global sustainable and inclusive develop-
ment. Today, more than a decade after the
2008 Ķnancial crisis, the global economy has
reached a crossroads again.
At the Group of 20 Summit on June 28,
2019, Xi advocated his solution.
“We need to vigorously advance structural
reform. We need to develop a future-oriented
economic structure, policy framework and
management system through promoting
the digital economy, strengthening connec-
tivity and improving social security,” he said.
He also called for opening up further
to embrace opportunities for development
and seek win-win outcomes through closer
cooperation.
“China is committed to fostering an
international environment conducive to
openness and collaboration,” Chen Jianqi,
a professor at the Party School of the CPC
Central Committee, said.
For instance, China has rolled out a
plan for developing its southernmost island
province Hainan into a free trade port with
a focus on tourism, modern services and
hi-tech industries. Foreign investors will be
treated on par with domestic companies and
a negative list will spell out the sectors off-
limits for foreign companies in a transparent
manner. Q
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to liqing@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 19
WORLD
Reality Check of U.S.
Unilateral Demand for
China to Close Houston
Consulate General
O
n July 21, the U.S. made a unilateral
provocation by making the outra-
geous demand that China close its
consulate general in Houston. By doing
so, the U.S. has grossly violated interna-
tional law, the basic norms of international
relations, and relevant provisions of the
China-U.S. Consular Convention, and grave-
ly damaged China-U.S. relations. China has
made a legitimate and necessary response.
The U.S. has been making pretexts
and spreading lies about its decision. In a
matter of just a few days, it has churned
out different versions of the story. Lies,
however, will always be lies even if they are
repeated a thousand times. The different
versions concocted by the U.S. have no
factual base. It has failed to present even
one single piece of solid evidence. It is im-
portant that we check U.S. false allegations
vis-à-vis the facts. The purpose is to de-
bunk the falsehoods and let people know
the truth.
1. False: China has stolen intellectual
property (IP) from the U.S., including novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine re-
search achievements. Closing the Chinese
consulate general is “to protect American
IP and Americans’ private information.”
Fact: The U.S. has failed to back its alle-
gation with any solid evidence. The reality is
that China is a big country in terms of inno-
vation and IP. It has become a main source
driving IP growth in the world. On COVID-19
vaccine research and development (R&D),
China has been at the forefront and has no
need to steal from the U.S.
XChina is a big country in terms of in-
novation and IP. It has kept strengthening
the protection of scientiĶc innovation and
20 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
IP rights (IPRs). China is now among the
world’s leading players in terms of the scale
and growth rate of innovation input. Its
R&D expenditure grew from 300.31 billion
yuan ($37.68 billion) in 2006 to 1.96779
trillion yuan ($281 billion) in 2018, an av-
erage annual increase of 17 percent and
rising from sixth to second in the world.
China has the world’s biggest number of
researchers. Its IP ofĶces have received the
highest number of patent applications for
nine years in a row.
It also registered rapid increase in inter-
national patent applications and has risen
to the world’s second biggest filer via the
World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO)’s Patent Cooperation Treaty System.
As pointed out in the WIPO annual report,
China has become a main driving force for
the overall growth in the global demand for
IPRs.
XChina is one of the global leaders in
the R&D of COVID-19 vaccines. Chinese
scientists are working on multiple vac-
cine projects along five technical routes.
Vaccines with China’s independent IP have
entered clinical trial. The Beijing Institute
of Biological Products under the China
National Biotec Group, a subsidiary of the
China National Pharmaceutical Group, has
set up the world’s largest production plant
for COVID-19 vaccines. China’s National
Medical Products Administration and other
competent authorities are working to facili-
tate the deployment of vaccines. China is
also working with other countries on vac-
cine R&D, production and distribution.
The U.S. accuses China of stealing its
research outcomes. Such accusations
are a total disrespect to the hard work of
Chinese scientists and malicious slanders
against China’s COVID-19 response. They
have seriously undermined international
cooperation on vaccine research and dis-
rupted the global response against the
disease.
X The Houston Chronicle, CNN, CBS,
and BBC all called the reason “to protect
American IP,” as cited by the U.S. State
Department in its order to close the
Chinese Consulate General in Houston,
suspicious.
The real aim of the U.S. decision was to
deßect people’s attention from the U.S. ad-
ministration’s poor handling of COVID-19.
Closing the Chinese consulate general
prior to the election was a measure by U.S.
President Donald Trump to get tough on
China, hold up his declining approval rating,
and turn China into a convenient target
to vilify and shore up votes. New moves
acting on the absurd logic that “China is
ripping off America” pop up almost every
single day in the U.S.
In the midst of a presidential reelection
campaign and with the U.S. economy bat-
tered by the disease, Trump is convinced
that playing the “China card” gives him
political advantages. The actions taken by
the U.S., which are largely driven by internal
politics, would only make China-U.S. rela-
tions even more strained.
2. False: China is using its talent re-
cruitment programs to steal scientific
research and IP from research institutions
such as the MD Anderson Cancer Center
and from energy and hi-tech companies in
the Houston area.
Fact: These are trumped-up charges
made by the U.S. under the presumption
http://www.bjreview.com

A man rests at the Times Square in New York City on July 23
of guilt against the normal scientific and
people-to-people exchanges and coopera-
tion between the two countries. China’s
efforts to attract talent from abroad are no
different in essence from the practices of
other countries. These efforts are above-
board and beyond reproach.
X The cross-border movement of
talents in the era of globalization has
facilitated technological and economic ad-
vances worldwide. All countries are actively
carrying out international exchanges and
cooperation on talents. What China is doing
in this respect is not different from other
countries’ practices.
X Closer exchanges and cooperation
between China and the U.S. on science
and technology serve the interests of
both sides. According to the Global AI
Talent Tracker released in mid-June by
MacroPolo, the in-house think tank of
Paulson Institute, 29 percent of top-tier AI
researchers working in the U.S. received
undergraduate degrees in China. Thus, the
U.S. global lead on AI has much to do with
the talent supply from China.
http://www.bjreview.com
X What the U.S. Government is do-
ing conßicts with its self-claimed ideals of
openness and freedom as well as the com-
mitments publicly made by its leaders. It
runs counter to the global trend of talent
exchanges worldwide, and has brought a
grave negative impact on the people-to-
people exchanges and personnel inter-ßow
between the two countries.
3. False: The Chinese Consulate
General in Houston has a history of en-
gaging in “subversive behavior.” It is the
central node of the Communist Party of
China (CPC)’s vast network of spies and
inßuence operations, and the epicenter of
efforts by the Chinese military to send stu-
dents to the U.S. to obtain information that
could advance its warfare capabilities. It has
engaged for years in massive illegal spying
and inßuence operations.
Fact: Since its opening, the Chinese
Consulate General in Houston has always
observed international law and U.S. laws,
and stayed committed to promoting friend-
ship between the two countries. There are
no spying activities or inßuence operations
WORLD
XINHUA
as claimed by the U.S. By fabricating such
claims, the U.S. is simply “measuring oth-
ers’ corn with its own bushel.”
XChina always pursues the principle of
non-interference in other countries’ inter-
nal affairs. InĶltration and interference are
alien to China’s foreign policy. Dedicated
to advancing mutual understanding and
friendship between the two peoples,
Chinese diplomatic and consular missions
in the U.S. abide by the Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations, bilateral
treaties and U.S. laws.
X The Chinese Consulate General in
Houston was the first consular mission
opened in the U.S. following the establish-
ment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties. In the
past four decades and more, it worked hard
to promote friendship and cooperation and
enhance mutual understanding and all-
round cooperation in various sectors. When
COVID-19 raged on in the southern states
of the U.S., the consulate general donated
masks to Houston and Harris County, facili-
tated anti-virus cooperation between China
V
V
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 21
WORLD
and the states, and assisted donation of
medical supplies to Houston from China.
X The composition and number of
staff at the Chinese Consulate General in
Houston are open information to the U.S. It
runs counter to common sense to accuse
the consulate general of being the central
node of the CPC’s vast network of spies and
inßuence operations, and the epicenter of
efforts by the Chinese military to send stu-
dents to the U.S. to obtain information that
could advance its warfare capabilities. Such
a claim is also very preposterous.
XSome staff of the U.S. Embassy and
consulates general in China have been en-
gaged in activities incompatible with their
capacities, interfering in the internal affairs
and undermining the security interests of
China. The U.S. Embassy often publishes
on its website articles attacking China
and its political system. It is reported that
the staff of the U.S. Consulate General in
Hong Kong met covertly with “Hong Kong
independence” supporters during the tur-
bulence surrounding proposed legislative
amendments in Hong Kong to discuss U.S.
sanctions on Hong Kong, interfering in
Hong Kong’s affairs. China has lodged rep-
resentations on multiple occasions.
X In July 2018 and January 2020, the
U.S. opened Chinese diplomatic bags
twice without permission. This was a fla-
grant breach of the Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations. It also
grossly violated China’s diplomatic dignity
and security interests.
China’s diplomatic and consular mis-
sions lodged strong representations. The
U.S. did not deny it, but kept exonerating
its wrong behavior with technical excuses
in an attempt to shirk responsibility. The
U.S. behavior and response ran counter to
international law and the norms of interna-
tional relations, and should be condemned.
In addition to opening diplomatic pouches,
the U.S. has since 2018 forcibly unpacked
the ofĶce supplies of Chinese missions on
at least 13 occasions.
XThe New York Times questions the
assertion that “the Houston Consulate
General had a history of engaging in ‘sub-
versive behavior’ and was the ‘epicenter’ of
research theft in the U.S.” It says there is
no evidence to support this allegation.
XAn editorial in The Houston Chronicle
says that China is the Houston region’s sec-
ond largest trading partner and Houston
has benefited from having the consulate
general in the city. For more than 40 years,
the consulate general has served as a sym-
22 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
bolic bridge, facilitating travel, trade and
cultural ties between Houston and China.
For decades, China has been an important
trading partner of Texas in key sectors such
as energy, oil, chemicals, science and tech-
nology, which will bear the brunt of the U.S.
move. The closure will also have a direct
impact on passport and visa applications in
the regions covered by the consulate gen-
eral, and will put a damper on the desire of
Chinese citizens to study, travel and work
in the U.S.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was
shocked by the U.S. decision. He expressed
his hope that the friction between the U.S.
and China can be resolved peacefully and
that at some point in time the consulate
general will reopen.
X According to U.S. Congressman Al
Green, Asian-American communities in
Houston have already been discriminated
against because of President Trump’s com-
ments against China and their work and
the safety of their families are under threat.
The closure of the Chinese consulate gen-
eral will make the situation worse. Green
called for not treating all Asian Americans
as spies and evaluating the potential dam-
age these words and actions may do to the
American people.
4. False: The Chinese consul general
in Houston and two other diplomats were
recently caught giving false birth informa-
tion at an airport security check in Houston
to escort Chinese travelers to the gate of a
charter ßight.
Fact: The U.S. allegation could not be
further from facts. The staff of the Chinese
Consulate General in Houston have always
followed international law and American
local laws when performing their duties in
the U.S.
XAll diplomats and consular staff must
obtain identiĶcation (ID) cards from the for-
eign affairs authorities of the host country,
thus their personal information including
date of birth is no secret. This is common
sense.
XThe Chinese consular officers used
consular IDs issued by the U.S. State
Department and entered the restricted
area of the airport upon approval from the
U.S. to look after Chinese nationals who
were taking the temporary flight back to
China due to COVID-19.
5. False: There is a complete lack of
reciprocity between the U.S. and China in
the treatment of diplomatic and consular
staff. U.S. concerns over the treatment of
its diplomats and consular ofĶcers in China
have gone unresolved.
Fact: China supports and provides
necessary facilitation for the performance
of all lawful, normal official acts in China
by foreign diplomatic and consular ofĶcers
including those from the U.S. It is the U.S.
that has imposed unjustiĶed restrictions on
and created barriers for Chinese diplomats
and consular ofĶcers in the U.S.
XThe U.S. outnumbers China when it
comes to diplomatic and consular missions
and staff. China has five diplomatic and
consular missions in the U.S., while the U.S.
has six in China. It is reported that there are
more than 1,000 staff in the U.S. Consulate
General in Hong Kong alone.
XChina supports and provides neces-
sary facilitation for the performance of all
normal ofĶcial activities in China by foreign
diplomatic personnel including those from
the U.S. A former U.S. ambassador to China
visited each of China’s provinces within his
three-year term.
X In October 2019 and June 2020,
the U.S. made unilateral provocations by
imposing restrictions on the activities of
Chinese diplomats and consular officers
in the U.S. Such restrictions are a serious
violation of international law and the basic
norms governing international relations.
For example, all Chinese members of
China’s foreign missions in the U.S. are
required to submit a written notification
to the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM)
of the State Department of all official en-
gagements with any local government
representatives, as well as all official visits
to any educational or research institutions.
Such notiĶcations must be submitted Ķve
business days prior to the planned engage-
ment date. All Chinese military personnel
assigned to the Chinese Embassy or a
consular post, as well as those temporarily
visiting, are required to provide OFM notiĶ-
cation Ķve business days prior to any travel
plan, for ofĶcial or private purposes, when
the destinations are in excess of a 25-mile
radius of their places of work or the U.S.
ports of their entry.
In the face of the unreasonable
provocations, China has no choice but to
respond with legitimate and reciprocal
countermeasures.
6. False: The U.S. demanded the clo-
sure of the Chinese Consulate General
in Houston because China did not ac-
cord facilities for the reopening of the
U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan, Hubei
Province in central China, and exemption
of nucleic acid tests for returning U.S.
diplomats.
Fact: China has never hindered the
http://www.bjreview.com

return of diplomats and consular officers
of other countries, including the U.S. To
the contrary, China has provided necessary
facilities for them to perform their duties in
accordance with law.
X On January 25, the U.S. unilaterally
announced the temporary closure of its
consulate general in Wuhan and the evacu-
ation of personnel there. China accorded
facilities for the departure of the personnel,
for which the U.S. expressed appreciation
at different levels. Records are available for
verifying the fact.
X In June, some U.S. diplomats re-
turned to Wuhan. Since then, China has
accorded facilities for the U.S. consulate
general to perform its functions in accor-
dance with law.
XOn the basis of respecting their privi-
leges and immunities, China has mandated
nucleic acid testing for all foreign diplomats
and consular officers entering China. This
arrangement has been accepted by the U.S.
7. False: The U.S. claims its demand
to take over the premises of the Chinese
Consulate General in Houston is consistent
with U.S. laws and regulations.
Fact: The outrageous and unrea-
sonable demand violates a number of
international laws.
X Both the land and the prem-
ises of the Chinese Consulate General in
Houston are the properties of the Chinese
Government.
XAccording to Article 27 of the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations, the
sending state may entrust another consul-
ar post or diplomatic mission it has in the
territory of the receiving state with the cus-
tody of the premises of the consular post
which has been closed, together with the
property contained therein and the consul-
ar archives. China is entitled to entrust its
embassy or other consulates general in the
U.S. with the custody of the premises of its
consulate general in Houston. The unrea-
sonable demand of the U.S. to take over
the premises of the Chinese Consulate
General in Houston seriously violates the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,
and infringes on China’s legitimate rights
and interests.
X Both the land and premises of the
Chinese Consulate General in Houston are
China’s state property. Even if the premises
were not covered by consular privileges
and immunities, the property is still pro-
tected by international law.
8. False: The Chinese Consulate
General in Houston threatened dissidents
and refugees with the Fox Hunt operation.
http://www.bjreview.com
Fact: Chinese law-enforcement au-
thorities engage in international law-
enforcement cooperation in accordance
with international law and on the basis of
respecting the sovereignty and laws of
other countries. The targets are fugitive
suspects, not “dissidents and refugees” as
claimed by the U.S.
X Combating transnational crimes is
a broad consensus of the international
community. China’s judicial and law-
enforcement cooperation with other
countries is aimed at repatriating fugitives,
and upholding the sanctity of law and
social justice. China will step up its efforts
in fugitive repatriation and return of the
criminal proceeds, and bring the suspects
to justice.
XBy portraying fugitives as dissidents
and refugees, the U.S. is distorting basic
facts and offering itself as a safe haven for
criminals. Its deep-rooted Cold War men-
tality and ideological prejudice have been
fully exposed.
9. False: Diplomats working in the
Chinese Consulate General in Houston are
Chinese spies. Chinese spies are stirring up
trouble all over the world.
Fact: Meddling in other countries’ in-
ternal affairs has never been in the DNA of
China’s diplomacy. Chinese diplomats, who
are working vigorously to advance China’s
friendly exchanges and practical coop-
eration with other countries, have never
engaged in activities incompatible with
their status.
X China is committed to growing its
relations with other countries on the basis
of principles such as mutual respect and
non-interference in internal affairs. Chinese
diplomats have always followed the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
and the laws of their host countries when
they promote China’s bilateral ties, and
friendship and cooperation with their host
countries.
XThe U.S. allegation that Chinese dip-
lomats at the consulate general in Houston
have carried out espionage in Australia
and on other U.S. allies is made up. It is
common for diplomats to be rotated in
different postings. The U.S. has the world’s
largest diplomatic service. The Five Eyes
intelligence alliance headed by the U.S.
has long been engaged in large-scale,
organized and indiscriminate cybertheft,
wire-tapping and surveillance of foreign
governments, companies and individuals in
violation of international law and the basic
norms governing international relations.
WORLD
This is an open secret.
XFrom Wikileaks to Edward Snowden,
from the arrest of former ALSTOM execu-
tive Frederic Pierucci to the Crypto AG
scandal, there are enough facts to show
who is the world’s largest spy factory and
troublemaker.
X A Foreign Policy article noted that
“Houston is an odd pick to target for intel-
ligence allegations” and that “the activities
cited by the administration are vague.”
10. False: The Chinese Consulate
General in Houston openly criticized the
Hong Kong “pro-democracy” camp and
supported nationalist counter protests on
campus. The consulate general has planted
informants on campus, tried to influence
Chinese students through propaganda and
undermined freedom of speech.
Fact: The “China-supported counter
protests,” as claimed by the U.S., were
spontaneous, rational patriotic actions by
Chinese students exercising their freedom
of speech. It is the U.S. that has intentional-
ly condoned anti-China actions on campus
by certain rioters seeking to destabilize
Hong Kong.
X Certain anti-China elements seek-
ing to destabilize Hong Kong openly made
radical remarks and inflamed violence
on campus in total disregard of law. The
Chinese students came together only to
express their outrage in spontaneous, ra-
tional patriotic action. In doing so, they also
exercised their freedom of speech.
XChina Ķrmly opposes any separatist
rhetoric or action. We support Chinese stu-
dents’ desire and aspiration to safeguard
the unity of the country and the prosperity
and stability of Hong Kong, and encourage
them to abide by local laws and regula-
tions and express their patriotic sentiments
rationally.
XThe U.S. is using the pretext of “hu-
man rights” and “democracy” to whitewash
the radical, violent criminal acts by anti-
China forces seeking to destabilize Hong
Kong, and condone their behavior on U.S.
campus. The U.S. has no interest whatso-
ever in the safety and wellbeing of Hong
Kong residents. It cares only about its
own selfish interests and hegemony, and
has been using “human rights” and “de-
mocracy” as a Ķg leaf to interfere in other
countries’ domestic affairs. Q
This is an edited version of a report published by
Xinhua News Agency on July 28
Comments to yanwei@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 23
WORLD
Our Man
In Washington
Mike Pompeo is the best secretary of state ever—for China By Liu Yunyun
M
ike Pompeo is the embodiment of a
Ķne U.S. diplomat. Eloquent speaker
and West Point graduate. Army veter-
an and former top intelligence ofĶcer. Family
man and devout church-goer.
The way he skillfully and cheerfully en-
gages his audiences at press briefings and
during speeches offers a case study for
stern-faced politicians with their austere
public personas. In a speech in April 2019,
Mr. Pompeo jokingly lauded the American
intelligence practices of lying, cheating and
stealing, knowing that it would meet with
resounding approval from the audience.
Politics aside, it takes a person of strong
resolve to resist his charm.
Yet the Western media has been overtly
unfair to Mr. Pompeo of late. The New York
Times claimed him to be “the worst secre-
tary of state in American history, without a
single diplomatic achievement,” while CNN
commented that “Mike Pompeo is botching
his job.” Across the Atlantic, The Guardian
implored its readers to “Forget Putin, it’s
meddling by America’s evangelical enforcer
that should scare us.”
But whether or not Mr. Pompeo can
be seen as having any achievements to his
name depends entirely on the angle of view,
and how we judge the actual effects of his
actions.
Mr. Pompeo’s staunch defense of Donald
Trump has earned him the dubious acco-
lade of being among this administration’s
longest-serving ofĶcials. And yet despite his
unwavering loyalty to the president, the way
he manages the Trump administration’s for-
eign affairs tells an altogether different story
of who beneĶts from this political zeal.
Part of the mission of any U.S. secretary
“Pompeo [has] sought to commit the United
States to a path that is bound to fail.”
—Richard Hass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations
24 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
of state is ensuring American leadership
around the world. The concept of American
leadership is infallible to some, taken for
granted and unchallenged by U.S. politicians
and American allies since World War II, with
tacit consent from China.
But to this end, Mr. Pompeo’s actions
are counterproductive: coercing allies to
side with the U.S. against China on Huawei’s
5G technology, fabricating coronavirus
conspiracy theories (which have since
been denounced by the U.S.-led Five Eyes
intelligence alliance) and quitting ma-
jor UN institutions like the World Health
Organization.
These moves have left many Washington
observers confused. How can the U.S. be a
world leader while simultaneously bullying
its allies, trashing multilateral institutions and
pushing for an economic decoupling from
China that no one else supports?
Richard Hass, President of the Council on
Foreign Relations, wrote in The Washington
Post, “Pompeo [has] sought to commit the
United States to a path that is bound to fail.”
This assertion was substantiated by the
latest Gallup Rating World Leaders report
published on July 27. It shows that assess-
ments of U.S. leadership around the world
are historically low for the third year in a row.
Perhaps even more troubling for Washington
is that the report was compiled before the
travails of the coronavirus pandemic further
exposed this government’s ßaws.
Many of the people who grew up in a
world governed by rules and institutions cre-
ated in America’s image lament the fading
of U.S. leadership. So why is Mr. Pompeo do-
ing everything he can to estrange American
allies and damage his country’s reputation
worldwide? Is he on a secret mission to
undermine Trump’s reelection campaign?
Because the more loyalty he demonstrates
to President Trump, the less popular his
president becomes.
Instead of making America great again,
Mr. Pompeo is making the United States un-
popular again.
Withering U.S. leadership on the inter-
national stage is not in the interests of the
United States of course, but for countries
that have suffered at the hands of American
military intervention and bombing cam-
paigns, it might not be seen as an entirely
negative outcome.
Mr. Pompeo is not so much a missionary
as a mercenary. He loves to quote from the
Bible, positing himself as a devout follower of
God. But it is never God’s intent for his follow-
ers to lie. His claims about seeing evidence
that the coronavirus came from a lab, or that
China is hiding virus samples, or that China
is stealing U.S. vaccines, are just that—un-
truths fabricated and disseminated by the
U.S. State Department.
Of course, attacking China is convenient.
It is a tactic employed by many U.S. politicians
looking to score political points. But when the
Chinese people, especially those long-time
admirers of the American way of doing things,
read of his attacks on China—the groundless
accusations and outright lies—they begin to
question the integrity and ethics of U.S. politi-
cians and the American system as a whole.
As Ezra F. Vogel, the Henry Ford II professor
of the Social Sciences emeritus at Harvard
University, pointed out in a recent article for The
Washington Post, “This strengthens their pa-
triotism and willingness to support the Chinese
Government against Washington.”
With the appeal of U.S. leadership waning
and the unity of the Chinese people galva-
nized by his attacks, it would appear that Mr.
Pompeo’s critics in America are wrong: For
China, at least, he does have one achievement
to his name. Q
Comments to liuyunyun@bjreview.com
http://www.bjreview.com

WinWin Is Possible
Thucydides trap no explanation for current ChinaU.S. tensions
By Lan Xinzhen
T
he U.S. demanded on July 21 that
China close its consulate general in
Houston, with its law enforcement
ofĶcers forcing entry into the premises of
the Chinese mission later. China expressed
firm opposition to the U.S. actions and
in response, ordered the closure of the
U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu in the
southwestern province of Sichuan.
The abrupt U.S. decision has thrown
China-U.S. relations into their direst straits
since the two countries established diplo-
matic ties in 1979. It violates the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations and has
shocked the international community. U.S.
President Donald Trump also threatened to
close more Chinese diplomatic missions.
The development has triggered suspi-
cion that China-U.S. relations are falling into
the so-called Thucydides trap, which would
negatively impact world peace and devel-
opment. Coined by U.S. political scientist
Graham T. Allison, the term refers to the
fear that when a rising power challenges an
established one, conßict may ensue.
Since Trump took office in 2017,
China-U.S. relations have taken a sharp
downward spiral. First came a trade war
provoked by the U.S., followed by U.S.
crackdown on Chinese tech companies, re-
strictions on people-to-people exchanges,
attempts to smear China over the novel
Despite an array of containment measures by the
Trump administration, the Chinese Government
continues to strive for stable bilateral relations,
with the aim of promoting multilateralism and
global development. The current ChinaU.S.
strain stems from the U.S. attempt to
contain China’s development
http://www.bjreview.com
coronavirus pandemic and interference
in issues related to the South China Sea,
Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Now, the
Trump administration has begun to target
diplomacy. The string of events constitutes
a broad plan to contain China.
Although the Thucydides trap is often
discussed among international scholars
studying China-U.S. relations, it does not
exist between the countries despite grow-
ing bilateral tensions.
China’s national strength is growing
rapidly and it is playing an increasingly im-
portant role in international affairs, a fact
the rest of the world is gradually accepting.
China’s development is meant to provide
its people with a better life and safeguard
its sovereignty, independence and territo-
rial integrity. It is not to pose challenges to
other countries.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties,
China and the U.S. have become increasingly
intertwined in economic and trade relations,
together with closer people-to-people and cul-
tural exchanges. Bilateral trade is now 250 times
what it was four decades ago. China is one of
the United States’ most important export desti-
nations, supporting 2.6 million jobs. More than
72,500 U.S. businesses are investing and oper-
ating in China.
Despite an array of containment mea-
sures by the Trump administration, the
WORLD
Chinese Government continues to strive
for stable bilateral relations, with the aim
of promoting multilateralism and global
development. The current China-U.S. strain
stems from the U.S. attempt to contain
China’s development. Thus, it has nothing
to do with the Thucydides trap.
The global financial crisis in 2008
exposed deep-rooted problems in U.S.
society. But the failure to tackle these prob-
lems is derailing U.S. social and economic
development.
In an attempt to shift blame and at the
same time limit China’s development, the
Trump administration has spared no ef-
forts to suppress China. U.S. Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo made a senseless and
irrational speech on July 23, saying the U.S.
should abandon its policy of engaging with
China.
There is no lack of Americans holding a
friendly attitude toward China. Voices call-
ing for a détente with China are still loud
and strong in the U.S. However, populist
propaganda by the Trump administration
is trying to mute these voices. Its reckless
blows on China will only tear U.S. society
apart and exacerbate its own domestic
conßicts.
China is not poised to challenge the U.S.
and does not seek to replace it. As Chinese
President Xi Jinping has said, the Pacific
Ocean is vast enough to accommodate
both China and the U.S. China is com-
mitted to advancing its relationship with
the U.S. featuring non-conflict and non-
confrontation, mutual respect and win-win
cooperation based on coordination, coop-
eration and stability.
Both Chinese and American people are
wise and rational enough to find ways to
coexist in harmony and mutual beneĶt de-
spite their differences in social systems and
cultures. Q
Copyedited by Garth Wilson
Comments to lanxinzhen@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 25
WORLD
No to a New Cold War
At a Zebinar on July 25, No to the NeZ Cold War, speakers from China,
the U.S., the UK, India, Russia, Canada, Venezuela and %razil discussed hoZ
to counter the neZ U.S. hostility toZard China. The folloZing is an edited
excerpt of Zhat Wang Wen, Executive Dean of Chongyang Institute for
Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, said on the issue:
T
he next few months before the U.S.
presidential election on November 3
will be a high-risk period for Sino-U.S.
relations as Donald Trump will do anything
to win his reelection. The possibility of the
Trump administration resorting to military
conßict against China can’t be ruled out.
Trump’s China policy has no bottom
line. He is likely to announce a diplomatic
break-off with China because one of his
election strategies is to constantly provoke
China.
If he can make China strike back, it will
deflect everyone’s attention in the U.S.
from his failure to curb the novel coronavi-
rus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. He can
then pretend to be a strong political leader
who dares to take on China, which is a ploy
to get more votes.
China has refused to be provoked. So
Webinar Statement
We note the increasingly aggressive state-
ments and actions being taken by the U.S.
Government in regard to China. These
constitute a threat to world peace and
are an obstacle to humanity successfully
dealing with extremely serious common
issues which confront it such as climate
change, control of pandemics, racist dis-
crimination and economic development.
We therefore believe that any new
cold war would run entirely counter to
the interests of humanity. Instead we
stand in favor of maximum global coop-
eration in order to tackle the enormous
challenges we face as a species.
26 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
Trump will keep on provoking China until
the bilateral ties deteriorate and diplomatic
relations can be broken off, and even a
war is started. If it does happen, it will be a
disaster for not only the two countries but
also for the entire world.
To me, this smacks of an open political
conspiracy. The Trump administration is
the source of any potential disaster.
China has no intention to respond to
the U.S. with a new cold war. On July 9,
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign
Minister Wang Yi spoke about China-U.S.
relations at the China-U.S. Think Tanks and
Media Online Forum, stressing that the re-
lationship faces “the most severe challenge
since the establishment of diplomatic ties
in 1979.”
Wang called for the relationship’s
return “back on track toward long-term,
We therefore call upon the U.S. to
step back from this threat of a cold war
and also from other dangerous threats
to world peace it is engaged in including
withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty; withdrawal from
the Paris climate change accord; and
its increasing disengagement from UN
bodies. The U.S. should also stop pres-
suring other countries to adopt such
dangerous positions.
We support China and the U.S. basing
their relations on mutual dialogue and
centering on the common issues which
unite humanity.
sound and steady development.” He also
made some detailed and pragmatic pro-
posals. First, the two sides should activate
and open all channels of dialogue. Second,
they should review and agree on the lists of
interactions. Third, they should focus and
cooperate on the COVID-19 response.
Contrary to the speeches by U.S. Vice
President Mike Pence and Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo, the Chinese foreign
minister did not attack the U.S. Instead of
mouthing hardline phrases to coerce the
U.S., his speech was sagacious and urged
healthy development of China-U.S. rela-
tions and resolution of problems.
While the U.S. is pressing on the ac-
celerator to crash the bilateral relationship,
China has been putting the brakes on with
the hope of preventing it from plummeting
further.
The Trump administration’s strategy to
portray China as an enemy won’t succeed.
For example, in early July, the Chongyang
Institute for Financial Studies asked 100
Chinese scholars about Sino-U.S. relations
and 82 percent said a new cold war like the
U.S.-Soviet Union Cold War is unlikely.
Also, 90 percent said China is well pre-
pared to handle the new cold war offensive
launched by the U.S.
The coronavirus is still raging on and
the pandemic hasn’t peaked yet. The pes-
simistic view is that as many as 70 million
people might die. If humanity doesn’t unite
now, all of us, including the U.S., will likely
enter a dark age.
Americans should know that China
is not the enemy, the virus is. And all our
international friends should know that we
don’t need another cold war. Q
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to yanwei@bjreview.com
http://www.bjreview.com
WORLD

Positive Outcome
Recovery fund cements EU’s unity and offers hope beyond the bloc By Dong Yifan
The divergence continued to increase, Therefore, economic recovery is essen-
The author is an testing the unity and cooperation among tial for the EU.
assistant research EU members and leading to European
fellow with China Commission President Ursula von der Momentum gained
Institutes of Leyen apologizing for the EU’s slow action. The summit agreed that a fund of 750 bil-
Contemporary The pandemic has created the darkest lion euros ($882 billion) will be created for
International Relations moment for the European economy since post-pandemic recovery and resilience,
World War II. The European Commission pandemic response, research and innova-

I
n the EU’s long and complicated history,
a common Ķnancial policy is one of the
most sensitive issues as its member
states have different agendas and interests
to defend.
When the EU Special Summit started
in Brussels on July 17 to establish a recov-
ery fund to address the socio-economic
fallout from the novel coronavirus dis-
ease (COVID-19) pandemic as well as the
bloc’s long-term budget for 2021-27,
the divide between the “frugal four”—
the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and
Denmark—and the Southern European
countries, was huge as usual. To narrow it
has projected that the eurozone economy
would fall by 8.7 percent in 2020. France,
Italy and Spain could see their economies
drop by 10.6 percent, 11.2 percent and
10.9 percent, respectively. Unemployment,
government debts and Ķnancial deĶcits are
predicted to go up dramatically in many EU
members.
The economic problems will also spill
over into society and politics. For instance,
people affected by the pandemic may be-
come dissatisfied with their government
and EU institutions, thus promoting politi-
cal fragmentation and more divergences.
tion, as well as public investment and rural
development. From this fund, 390 billion
euros ($457 billion) will be given to mem-
ber states as grants and the rest in loans.
The agreement signals progress in the
EU’s common financial policy. The grant
fund means there will be direct financial
transfers between member states, meet-
ing the demand of Southern and Central
Eastern European countries and bridg-
ing the economic divergence caused by
COVID-19. A similar economic divergence
triggered the eurozone sovereign debt cri-
sis a decade ago.

XINHUA
down, the meeting, instead of ending the
next day, had to be prolonged to July 21,
making it one of the longest summits in
the EU’s history.
However, efforts and concessions fi-
nally led to an agreement on the fund and
a 1.07-trillion-euro ($1.23-trillion) budget,
hailed as a landmark moment in European
integration, especially during the COVID-19
response.

A critical moment
Since the pandemic emerged in Europe,
the EU faced differences among member
states on issues like border management,
fighting the pandemic and economic as-
sistance. The response measures proposed
didn’t meet some member states’ urgent
needs.
Southern European countries like Italy
and Spain felt frustrated and helpless as
they were the hardest hit by the epidemic.
They appealed for the issuance of a com-
mon COVID-19 bond for their economic
recovery but the proposal was rejected by A waiter sets tables at an outdoor restaurant in Brussels, Belgium, on July 7. The EU Summer 2020 Economic
the Netherlands and Germany. Forecast predicted a deeper recession with wider divergences due to the novel coronavirus pandemic

28 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com

 WORLD

XINHUA
During the debt crisis, some European
organizations and politicians proposed
issuing eurobonds jointly by the 19 euro-
zone states to stabilize the economy. This
time, there were similar proposals such as
a COVID-19 bond but the proposals were
strongly opposed by the Netherlands,
Austria and Germany on the ground that
they would hurt their own sovereign credit
in financial markets and encourage the
southern countries to stimulate their econ-
omies through unlimited borrowing rather
than undertaking structural reforms.
The launch of the recovery fund means
the EU is undertaking a common debt to
prop up the economy for its collective in-
terest for the Ķrst time in history. Besides,
it will lead to more euro-denominated high
credit assets, expanding the euro’s interna-
tional role.
So some analysts have called the recov-
ery fund Europe’s “Hamiltonian moment,”
a reference to the 1970 move by then U.S. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a special EU summit in Brussels,
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to Belgium, on July 20
persuade 13 American states to agree on
public borrowing, which enhanced their didn’t respond positively to France’s pro- a recovery fund, demonstrating Germany
posal on reform of the eurozone due to the had changed its position on a common
unity.
domestic reluctance toward a common EU EU Ķnancial policy due to the seriousness
Key players Ķnancial policy. of the pandemic. The France-Germany
However, the COVID-19 crisis taught proposal is the prototype of the European
The fund also reflects that the France-
Germany that it should contribute more to Commission’s recovery fund.
Germany axis has strengthened during
the EU for its own interests since its econ- Germany did more for the recovery
the pandemic. As the powerhouses of
omy is highly dependent on the EU single fund as the rotating presidency of the EU
European integration since the establish-
market, and the EU’s stability and prosper- for the second half of 2020. Merkel coordi-
ment of the European Coal and Steel nated between the northern and southern
Community in 1952, France and Germany ity are at the root of its development and
international role. Hence Germany has members of the EU before and during the
have strived to strengthen the EU’s power July summit and the meeting’s achieve-
and unity in order to address the bloc’s dy- begun to channel more political resources
ments mean France and Germany now
namics and the international environment. for the EU’s integration and economic
have closer cooperation and are the lead-
In January 2019, French President recovery.
ing powers in the EU.
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor On May 18, France and Germany jointly However, the recovery fund is the result
Angela Merkel issued a joint statement on released an EU economic recovery initia- of concessions between member states.
cooperation and integration. But Merkel tive, the core of which was the creation of The EU had to accept special conditions on
structural reforms of member states and
decrease the money for the grant.
The launch of the recovery fund means the EU In the future, the EU is going to have
less concessional space between its mem-
is undertaking a common debt to prop up the ber states and it will be more difficult to
reach a big agreement. However, stability
economy for its collective interest for the first and unity of the bloc, which were improved
at the summit, have important positive im-
time in history. Besides, it will lead to more plications, both for the EU and the rest of
the world in the time of pandemic. Q
eurodenominated high credit assets, expanding
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
the euro’s international role Comments to yanwei@bjreview.com

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 29

NATION
A Lingering Epidemic
New locally transmitted CO9ID cases show need for continued alert
By Yuan Yuan
W
ith sporadic confirmed cases of the
novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
popping up again, the possibility of
another wave of the epidemic has risen in the
country.
On July 29, the Chinese mainland reported
102 locally transmitted cases, 96 in Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest,
five in Liaoning Province in the northeast and
one in Beijing.
After Beijing swiftly contained a cluster of
335 locally transmitted cases reported from
June 10 to July 6, there were no new locally
transmitted cases. But the respite lasted only a
little over a week.
On July 15, Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang,
conĶrmed the Ķrst case of its cluster, followed
by Dalian, a coastal city in Liaoning, which began
to report its cluster from July 22.
Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist for
the Chinese Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (China CDC), said China has entered
a “new normal” virus prevention mode dur-
ing an interview on July 29. There needs to be
vigilance against an outbreak, but at the same
time, attempts should be made to minimize the
People wear masks in the Central area of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 27
32 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
impact on people’s normal work and life.
“The epidemic is sneakier than we ex-
pected,” Zeng said. “It didn’t show any signs
of stopping or receding this summer as many
experts predicted earlier this year. But I believe
more precise and effective anti-virus measures
can bring these re-emergences under control.”
Scattered cases
On July 10, a 24-year-old woman working
at an electronics retail center in downtown
Urumqi, who had symptoms including a sore
throat, was taken to a designated hospital.
She was confirmed with COVID-19 on July
15.
Three people who had contact with her
were found to be asymptomatic cases, while
a man who flew from Urumqi to Zhejiang
Province in east China was also discovered to
be asymptomatic.
The number of confirmed cases in
Xinjiang has continued to rise, reaching 414
by July 29. Most of the new infections have
been traced to a wedding party held in early
July, but the actual origin is still unknown.
Since July 18, the local government
XINHUA
has launched a free mass nucleic acid test
campaign across the city. Zhang Wei, head
of Urumqi’s health commission, said at a
virus control and prevention conference
on July 27 that the spike in the number of
confirmed cases is due to the improved
efĶciency of this testing and medical consul-
tation. “Current infections and asymptomatic
cases were largely found through testing
among people under medical observation,”
Zhang explained.
A week after Xinjiang’s new case, Dalian
reported its new case of a 58-year-old man
working at a seafood processing factory.
On July 16, he had a fever and fatigue
and took some medicine, which didn’t help.
On July 21, he went to the fever clinic in
Dalian Municipal Central Hospital and was
conĶrmed with COVID-19 the next day.
The man lives alone, had not left the
city in 14 days and had had no contact
with any confirmed COVID-19 cases. The
next day, two more cases with symptoms
emerged along with 12 asymptomatic cases,
prompting the city to launch an epidemio-
logical investigation into the patients’ close
contacts. By July 29, there were 57 new con-
firmed cases in the city, 30 from the same
seafood factory.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the
China CDC, told China Central Television on
July 29 that the damp and cold environment
at the factory may be favorable to the sur-
vival of the virus.
Li Lizhuo, a doctor from the Beijing-
based Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical
University, echoed Wu’s conclusion, adding
that since many seafood products are im-
ported from countries where the epidemic
situation is more severe, these products are
at high risk of being infected during process-
ing and transporting.
The virus in Dalian didn’t stay local. Within
a week, it spilled over into nine cities includ-
ing Beijing, which had just quelled its recent
cluster and had reported no conĶrmed cases
for 20 consecutive days.
On July 27, the capital confirmed a new
case, a person who had contact with an asymp-
tomatic person from Dalian. In the following two
days, the patient’s two close contacts became
confirmed cases. They all live in Changping
http://www.bjreview.com

Medical staff take throat swab samples from residents in Dalian, Liaoning Province in northeast China, on July 26
District in Beijing. As a result, the public health
emergency response in the residential commu-
nity where they lived was raised from Level 3 to
Level 2.
The other eight cities infected by the new
infections in Dalian stretch from Heilongjiang
Province in the northeast to Fujian Province in
the southeast. Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian, an-
nounced it would enter a “wartime mode” after
the discovery of an asymptomatic COVID-19
case from Dalian.
In Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR), the situation has grown
acute since July 19, when 108 new cases
were reported, including 83 domestic cases
and 25 imported ones, which set a record
for daily new cases in the city. In the follow-
ing eight days, there were over 100 daily
new cases each day. As of July 29, the total
number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong
surpassed 3,000, far exceeding the 1,755
severe acute respiratory syndrome cases in
2003.
Microbiologists attributed the resurgence
of the virus to negligent border testing
and quarantine measures in HKSAR. Yuen
Kwok-yung, a Hong Kong microbiologist,
told Global Times that from March to June,
the virus didn’t spread widely due to strict
anti-epidemic measures. But in July, these
http://www.bjreview.com
measures were relaxed and many people
stopped wearing masks on trains, buses,
vans and taxis.
In response, Hong Kong Executive Chief
Carrie Lam announced stricter measures to
deal with the worsening situation. Residents
are required to wear masks in public and
some civil servants are to work from home.
A seven-day ban on dining in restaurants
between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. issued on July 15
was extended to 14 days. In addition, starting
from July 20, the regional government is pro-
viding only urgent and necessary services.
The HKSAR Government is offering free
nucleic acid tests to people classified as
being of high risk, including taxi drivers, res-
taurant workers and property-management
employees.
New normal
In addition to dealing with locally transmitted
cases, China has also been dealing with im-
ported cases. Since the Ķrst imported case in
the mainland was reported on February 26,
these cases have never stopped. As of July
29, a total of 2,059 imported cases had been
reported on the Chinese mainland. Of these,
1,981 people were discharged from hospital,
and no deaths have been reported.
Zhang Wenhong, Director of the
NATION
CNSPHOTO
Infectious Disease Department at Huashan
Hospital in Shanghai, said there is a high
probability of a new global wave of the epi-
demic in the fall and winter, warning that
people should remain vigilant.
At a news conference on July 28,
Ou Xiaoli, chief of social development at
the National Development and Reform
Commission, announced that China will
strengthen its public health system to better
cope with major public health emergencies.
“All secondary hospitals and above will
optimize their layouts for fever clinics, in-
cluding increasing social distance between
patients waiting to see doctors, and be fully
equipped for disease screening,” Ou said,
adding that the Central Government has
doubled the budget for investment in public
health emergency projects this year.
Intensive care units in all hospitals must
be equipped with or be prepared to provide
negative-pressure wards and operating
rooms. Hospitals and clinics nationwide will
be guided to build reserves of materials such
as surgical masks, protective suits and gog-
gles to meet the initial needs of any possible
outbreak. Q
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
Comments to yuanyuan@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 33
NATION
Seeds of Change
New plan lays down targets for modernizing agriculture and upgrading rural industries
By Lu Yan
A
s a child, Qin Jing used to watch his
father and other family elders grow
mushrooms to make a living in the
1990s. Now 37 years old, he is the general
manager of a mushroom processing and
sales company in Suixian, a county under
the city of Suizhou in Hubei Province, cen-
tral China.
Suizhou is one of the leading mush-
room-growing regions. Qin has witnessed
the development of the city’s mushroom
industry from traditional and small-scale
to large-scale and technology-driven. Now
he’s part of it himself.
“As the industry progresses, companies
are adopting environment-friendly, high-
yield and high-efĶciency methods,” he said.
Established in 2008, his company
grows mushrooms on around 2 hectares
of land, hiring over 120 workers from local
villages during the planting season. The an-
nual yield can reach 2 million kg. Besides
domestic sales, a considerable amount
is exported to over 20 countries, such as
Thailand, Malaysia and the Republic of
Korea.
Last year, Qin began to have the facto-
ries upgraded. He purchased several robots
with an image recognition system. They
can distinguish different mushroom variet-
ies and sort them with fewer mistakes than
humans.
The robots cost Qin over 3 million yuan
($428,400). However, about 20 percent of that
was subsidized by the government and in the
long run, the robots will be cheaper with labor
getting more and more expensive. Besides,
in the first half of the year, when there was a
shortage of workers due to the coronavirus epi-
demic, the robots met the pressing need, doing
the work of people.
“My company will continue to upgrade,
becoming more intelligent in the coming
years,” Qin said.
Tasks and targets
Qin’s company reflects the national plan
to upgrade the agricultural industry. In
34 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
July, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Affairs (MARA) released the 2020-25 plan
on rural industry development. One of its
main tasks is transforming the agricultural
processing industry, which is an important
part to accelerate the development of rural
industries and lay a solid foundation for
the modernization of agriculture and rural
areas as well as all-round rural vitalization.
China’s agricultural product process-
ing industry is relatively large. In 2019, the
number of processing enterprises above
the designated size was 81,000. Together
they created more than 30 million jobs.
However, the innovation ability of
the industry is not strong, its quality and
efficiency is not high, and there’s much
potential for further development, Zeng
Yande, head of MARA’s Department of
Rural Industries, said at a press conference
in July.
“Technological innovation is the key to
the transformation and upgrading of the
industry,” Zeng said. The plan envisions us-
ing new technologies and equipment for
the development of the industry.
It encourages research institutions,
colleges and universities, and enterprises
to jointly work on technological break-
throughs. The government will support
institutions and companies that focus on
research and development of smart pro-
cessing equipment.
By 2025, the agricultural products pro-
cessing industry is planned to achieve a
revenue of 32 trillion yuan ($4.57 trillion).
In 2019, the figure exceeded 22 trillion
($3.14 trillion).
In addition to upgrading the process-
ing industry, the plan sets other goals for
rural industrial development. Clusters of
competitive rural specialty industries will
be built. SpeciĶc targets have been set for
agricultural tourism, crop production, for-
estry, livestock and Ķsheries. Online sales of
agricultural products are another important
goal.
“Rural industries should seek integrat-
ed development that is farmer-centered,
market-oriented, environment-friendly and
innovation-driven,” the plan says.
However, there are barriers to achieving
this. For example, with the epidemic affect-
ing the global economic structure, China’s
rural industrial chain has not been immune.
The mobility of resources like capital, tech-
nology, talents and infrastructure is not yet
smooth enough.
However, Zeng said the plan marks
MARA’s first attempt to formulate a com-
prehensive plan for the development of
rural industries. It also focuses on address-
ing the problems facing rural industries
and will guide more resources to the coun-
tryside, thereby facilitating rural industry
revitalization.
Attracting talents
For Wu Jiayan, peaches are more than the
specialty of her hometown, Yangshan in
Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, east China. The fruit
led to the romance between her grandpar-
ents, who were peach farmers for over 50
years.
After graduation six years ago, the
finance major decided to go back to
Yangshan to take up her grandparents’
legacy.
In 2018, Wu, in her 20s, established a
brand with support from the local govern-
ment. She called it Honey Peach Couple, a
reference to her grandparents. Currently,
she has over 4 hectares of peach orchard,
with an annual output value of nearly 300
million yuan ($43 million).
Hundreds of college graduates like
Wu have started their own businesses in
Yangshan, galvanizing the underdeveloped
local agricultural industries and helping
the older generation of farmers to adopt
advanced farming technology and be more
competitive by selling on the Internet.
“To develop rural industries we require
a large number of innovative entrepre-
neurs who will be persistent and dauntless
pioneers and create an entrepreneurial
http://www.bjreview.com
 NATION

XINHUA
Farmers feed silkworms at an industrial park in Shimen Village in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China, on May 18

boom,” Zeng said.

COURTESY PHOTO
The plan also envisions that the popu-
lation returning or moving to rural areas to
start businesses or pursue innovation will
cross 15 million by 2025.
The government will help construct
industrial, processing, hi-tech, e-commerce
and logistics parks in major farming regions
to provide infrastructure and services to
entrepreneurs.
Mentoring teams will be formed com-
prising research talents, policy experts and
other hi-caliber personnel from universities
and research institutions. They will provide
project guidance and other information to
farmers and rural entrepreneurs, helping
them in areas like marketing and brand
building.
Local service counters will be set up
for rural entrepreneurs to go through the
formalities and get business consultation.
Besides, there will be training courses with
field visits and successful entrepreneurs
will be invited to the courses to share their
stories and inspire. Q

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

Comments to luyan@bjreview.com
Qin Jing (second left), General Manager of Yaoxingdahai (Suizhou) Food Co. Ltd., introduces mushroom products to
visitors at a food exhibition in Milan, Italy, on May 6, 2019

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 35

BUSINESS
A Fair Shot
Third CIIE, on course for November, sees surge in exhibitor enthusiasm
as Chinese economy grows By Zhang Shasha
A
t the Second China International
Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai last year,
a new sparkle was added by the launch
of the Extraordinary Italian Jewelry Pavilion
that brought 15 iconic jewelry brands from
Italy. It was an initiative of the Italian national
gold jewelry manufacturers’ association
and Shanghai-based Chinese jewelry brand
Vetiver, who also signed an agreement to in-
troduce more Italian jewelry manufacturers
to the Chinese market.
This year too, Vetiver is gearing up for
the Third CIIE, to be held from November 5
to 10. It will be its third attendance at the
fair. However, this time, the urgency is far
greater.
“Italian jewelers’ traditional and main-
stream markets used to be Europe and the
U.S. But now, as they grapple with the novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China is
their new hope for 2020,” Chen Haiyan, co-
founder of Vetiver, told Guangming Daily.
Despite COVID-19 becoming a pandemic,
A visitor checks out an exhibit at a matchmaking event for the Third China International Import Expo
in Shanghai on July 26
36 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
the Third CIIE will be held ofßine as scheduled
as the situation in China is under control and
preparations are in full swing.
When the 100-day countdown to the
event started, Sun Chenghai, Deputy Director
of the CIIE Bureau, said the pandemic has
not dampened exhibitors’ enthusiasm. In the
three exhibition areas for consumer goods,
medical equipment and healthcare products,
and trade in services, the stalls booked by
them have surpassed the originally sched-
uled space. The automobile area is also close
to being fully booked.
Special year, special steps
“It seems the epidemic has had limited im-
pact on exhibitors,” Zhou Lingyan, Deputy
General Manager of the CIIE Department
of the National Exhibition and Convention
Center (Shanghai), the venue of CIIE,
told Xinhua News Agency in February. In
February, CIIE also held its first webinar
where companies could sign up online.
XINHUA
French tire manufacturer Michelin was
one of the Ķrst to do so. Having missed the
first two editions, the company is keen to
seize the opportunity this time. Praising
the wisdom of online contract signing, Wei
Shujie, Michelin’s China district CEO, said he
was confident of the Chinese market and
economy.
“CIIE will become the most powerful
growth driver for the global economy,” he
said.
Cloud promotions are being held in
response to the pandemic with several we-
binars organized for trade and commerce
representatives from different countries. One
of the latest online events was promoting
the fair to Argentine companies on July 22.
Xia Diya, Counselor of the Economic and
Commercial OfĶce of the Chinese Embassy
in Argentina, said China became the largest
trading partner of Argentina in May.
To make things easy for exhibitors, the
General Administration of Customs of China
(GACC) has announced several facilitation
measures. Instead of overseas exhibitors, the
fair organizer will provide the required tax
guarantee to lighten the former’s burden.
Also, exhibited products can subsequently
be transferred to specially supervised areas,
where they can be sold through e-commerce
platforms, which will also reduce costs.
Dang Xiaohong, deputy head of GACC’s
Port Control Department, said the measure
will help exhibits become commodities, ex-
panding the ways to import foreign goods.
With the pandemic still out of control
in many countries, CIIE has formed special
committees to deal with different aspects,
like public health and epidemic prevention.
Choosing long term
With foreign exhibitors discovering the po-
tential of the huge Chinese market, many
are establishing long-term cooperation
relations with CIIE. Recently, 35 member en-
terprises of the CIIE Exhibitors’ Association,
a 142-member body whose members
are from nearly two dozen countries and
regions, signed a memorandum for partici-
pating in CIIE for three years. They include
http://www.bjreview.com
 BUSINESS

some of the world’s top 500 companies and

industry leaders. The move shows compa-
nies’ conĶdence in growing with CIIE and the The Third China International Import Expo
Chinese market.
Sun, who is also secretary general of the Total Planned Exhibition Area Six Exhibition Zones
association, said he hopes the cooperation
Over Food and agricultural products
will lead to these companies bringing in their
technological innovation capacities and
offering invaluable suggestions to build a
360,000 Automobile
square meters Intelligent industry and
bridge between China and the outside world.
French beauty company L’Oreal is the information technology
first rotating chairman of the association. Consumer goods
Its China district president and CEO Fabrice
Megarbane said the company will draw on Medical equipment and
its past experience to enlarge the ecosystem healthcare products
of exhibitors and make the Third CIIE more Trade in services
inßuential.
He said after the losses suffered by the
global economy and trade due to the pan- Four New Zones
demic, the news that CIIE would be held
as scheduled sends the signal that China is Public health and epidemic
committed to opening up, inclusiveness and This is 60,000 square meters larger than prevention:
win-win cooperation as well as sharing its the previous one, 20 percent more than A special zone
prosperity. the scheduled area. for public health
In May, Tapestry, the parent company of and epidemic control
U.S. luxury accessory maker Coach, signed a The average exhibition area for the with nearly
long-term cooperation memorandum with world’s top 500 companies
CIIE, becoming the Ķrst exhibitor to sign up and industry leaders 50
for its third to Ķfth editions. Jide Zeitlin, chair global
will increase by
and CEO of the group, said the pandemic will enterprises
attending,
not change China’s long-term positive trend
of economic development. 14%
y.o.y. their exhibition area reached more than
“We will attend CIIE every year and are
ready to sign a five-year contract,” Zhou 10,000
Wenbing, General Manager of Miji, China square meters.
district, said. Miji is a German kitchenware Energy conservation and
supplier. environmental protection
Zhou said with CIIE attracting a large
number of “new friends” every year, it is be- Smart transportation
coming difĶcult to “grab a seat” at the expo, Sports goods
one reason the company wants to sign the
memorandum. Logo Mascot
Miji also plans to purchase 1.33 hectares
of industrial land in the town of Pujiang in
Shanghai where it will set up its China head-
(Source: China International Import Expo Bureau; designed by Pamela Tobey)
quarters, brand research and development
(R&D) center and product exhibition center.
According to the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, this In July, new investment continued to investors. It plans to put in an additional 451
year global foreign direct investment is likely come in with 54 foreign-funded projects million euro ($529 million) in Shanghai in the
to shrink by 40 percent. However, foreign signed up collectively in Shanghai, featuring next Ķve years to expand its production and
investment in Shanghai reached $10.28 $8 billion. R&D bases. Q
billion in the Ķrst half of the year, up 5.4 per- Boehringer Ingelheim, a German phar-
cent year on year, according to the Shanghai maceutical that will be attending CIIE for Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to zhangshsh@bjreview.com
Municipal Commission of Commerce. the third consecutive year, is one of the
http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 37
BUSINESS
Signs of Recovery
Foreign investment rises in China for third consecutive month By Wang Jun
S
aravoot Yoovidhya has several attach-
ments to China. The CEO of Thailand’s
TCP Group, a major player in the energy
drink market, says Hainan in southernmost
China is his family’s ancestral home. Also, China
is the largest market for his company’s products
and to nurture the potential, TCP is building a
manufacturing plant in Beijing that will become
operational next year. In the next three years,
the group will invest over $150 million in China
to grow its market share and launch new prod-
ucts for its global portfolio, creating local jobs in
the process.
The TCP Group is among several foreign
investors whose faith in the Chinese market has
been buoyed by the resumption of production
and normal life while other investment desti-
nations in Europe and the United States still
remain uncertain due to unchecked spread of
the novel coronavirus.
The new Foreign Investment Law came
into effect in China on January 1. In addition,
new reforms like scrapping the cap on the
shares foreign investors can hold in certain joint
ventures and a new negative list in July that has
further reduced the sectors off-limits for foreign
investors from 40 to 33 have combined to
make China retain its luster for overseas capital.
The container wharf in the Qinzhou Port Area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone in south China
38 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
Against this backdrop, despite transnational
investment having been hit hard globally, ac-
cording to figures released by the Ministry of
Commerce (MOFCOM), China’s foreign trade
and foreign direct investment (FDI) have stabi-
lized. Paid-in foreign capital in June reached 117
billion yuan ($16.72 billion), up 7.1 percent year
on year. It signified positive growth for three
months in a row and much better performance
in the second quarter of the year than in the
Ķrst.
From January to June, the utilized capital
totaled 472.18 billion yuan ($67.55 billion).
Though a year-on-year decrease of 1.3 percent,
it was 9.5 percentage points lower than the de-
crease in the Ķrst quarter. In the second quarter,
FDI inßows surged 8.4 percent year on year.
“China has continued to advance invest-
ment facilitation, issued a series of policies
and measures to ensure stable foreign invest-
ment, and enlarged market access for foreign
investors, all of which have produced positive
effects,” Sang Baichuan, Director of the Institute
of International Economy at the Beijing-
based University of International Business and
Economics, told China Business Journal. “China
leads the world in resumption of work and pro-
duction, underscoring the safety and stability of
XINHUA
investment and unleashing a great amount of
liquidity. Foreign investors will Ķnd that China is
one of the best destinations for investment.”
Recovery factors
He Manqing, Director of the Foreign Investment
Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of
International Trade and Economic Cooperation,
said the rapid recovery of foreign investment
can be attributed to three reasons: the Chinese
economy remains promising with its steady
recovery; effective control of the novel coro-
navirus attracted various resources into the
Chinese market, enhancing the conĶdence of
foreign investors; and Ķnally, the policies issued
by the government to ensure stable foreign
investment and trade, such as significantly
reducing the negative list and giving pilot free
trade zones (FTZs) more power to reform and
opening up.
According to figures from the National
Bureau of Statistics, in the second quarter, the
economy reversed the negative growth of 6.8
percent in the Ķrst quarter to register a positive
growth of 3.2 percent.
Gao Feng, MOFCOM spokesperson, said
at an online press conference on July 16 that
in the first half this year, foreign investment
performed better than expected, and foreign
investors’ expectations and confidence have
been improving.
The 10-member ASEAN has become
China’s biggest trading partner, overtaking the
U.S. and the EU, as well as becoming the key
driver for FDI. In the Ķrst half, investment from
ASEAN expanded by 2.9 percent over the same
period a year ago. Singapore alone invested 7.8
percent more. Other countries participating in
the Belt and Road Initiative were another stimu-
lus, with their collective FDI in the same period
expanding by 5.9 percent.
Despite the tensions with the U.S.
Government, investment from the U.S. grew
by 6 percent in the Ķrst half. “The U.S. is push-
ing its overseas investment back home, but
the spread of the coronavirus in the country
has made its investors panic and look for new
investment opportunities,” Sang said.
He also said that while the U.S. decreased
32.9 percent year on year during the second
quarter, China has achieved the world’s high-
est growth in that period, which will make
“foreign investors be more optimistic about the
http://www.bjreview.com

The workshop of Draexlmaier (Anshan) Wire Harness System in Anshan, Liaoning Province in northeast China, on April 23
prospects of the Chinese economy.”
An attractive destination
“While global investment opportunities are
shrinking, China has furthered its opening up
and cut the negative lists, which will create
more opportunities for global investors,” Liu
Xuezhi, a senior researcher with the Financial
Research Center of Bank of Communications,
told Financial News. “This will not only help
China attract more high-quality foreign invest-
ment, but also contribute to global economic
recovery.”
Besides the national negative list, a second
one for FTZs has cut the restricted sectors from
37 to 30.
Looking ahead to the second half, Liu fore-
cast that since China has been the Ķrst country
to realize economic recovery, it will attract more
foreign investors and foreign investment will
maintain its growth momentum. In addition,
the measures taken to further opening up this
year will promote sustained growth of foreign
investment.
Wang Jingwen, a senior researcher with the
Pangoal Institute, a Beijing-based think tank,
told Financial News that as China is both a core
and hub on the global industrial chain, foreign-
invested businesses will still rely on China’s
http://www.bjreview.com
enormous market, efĶcient industrial chain and
sound infrastructure.
Wang listed three advantages China enjoys.
As it continues to intensify opening up and op-
timize its investment environment, the policies
to ensure stable foreign investment will prove
to be further effective. China, with the world’s
most efficient and flexible supply chain, can
realize mass production of new items rapidly. In
addition, considering the increase in per-capita
income, the Chinese market is one of the mar-
kets with the most potential in the world.
However, the improved conditions do not
mean that the situation in the second half will
be a bed of roses.
According to the World Investment
Report 2020 released by the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, global
FDI ßows are forecast to decrease by up to 40
percent in 2020 from their 2019 value of $1.54
trillion. This would bring FDI below $1 trillion for
the Ķrst time since 2005.
Pressure remains
“Global cross-border investment will be seri-
ously hit,” He said. “Uncertainties and exchange
rate ßuctuations brought by the epidemic and
trade frictions will spread globally. Improvement
of China’s hard and soft environments and in-
BUSINESS
XINHUA
dustry-supporting environment is key to attract
and retain both Chinese and foreign businesses
and prevent or postpone transfer of industrial
chains.”
An article posted on the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs’ website outlines some of the future
measures and targets. The article by Chinese
Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu says the
base of foreign trade and foreign investment
has to be stabilized. China, while further open-
ing up the manufacturing sector, will also open
the service sector wider, especially high-end
services.
The export tax rebate mechanism will
be improved and financial institutions will be
steered to increase Ķnancing support through
credit, credit insurance and guaranty to ease the
liquidity difĶculties of foreign trade enterprises.
Also, reforms to facilitate customs clearance
will continue to optimize services for those en-
terprises. The development of cross-border e-
commerce, online transactions and other new
forms of foreign trade will gain speed and lead
to new growth points. Q
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comment to wangjun@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 39
BUSINESS
TwinTrack Trend
Major fintech’s dual IPO listing plan underscores pull of Chinese boards By Li Xiaoyang
O
n July 20, Ant Group, the Ķntech arm
of Alibaba established in 2014, an-
nounced it would launch initial public
offerings (IPOs) both on Hong Kong Stock
Exchange and the Science and Technology
Innovation Board of Shanghai Stock
Exchange (SSE), popularly known as STAR
Market, consolidating the trend of dual list-
ing among Chinese companies.
Four days earlier, chipmaker Semi-
conductor Manufacturing International
Corp. (SMIC) got listed on STAR Market,
following an earlier debut in Hong Kong.
Electric vehicle maker Hozon Auto has also
announced its plan to list on STAR Market
in 2021.
Ant Group runs Alibaba’s digital pay-
ment and lending service platforms such
as Alipay, Alipay Wallet, Yu’ebao and Ant
Credit. The company, with an anticipated
valuation of $200 billion, said it hopes to
further its technological innovation and
promote digital upgrading of China’s ser-
vice industry through the listings.
A traveler pays digitally for her purchases at the Hong Kong International Airport on April 1, 2019, using
facial recognition technology-based Alipay payment
40 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
According to media reports, it is likely
to raise $10-$20 billion on STAR Market,
which will make it the biggest IPO on the
A-share market. Wang Pengbo, an analyst
at consultancy Analysys, told The Beijing
News that Alipay holds over 53 percent of
the mobile payment market share in China.
Given its business expansion based on mo-
bile payment and online Ķnancial services,
the high valuation is within expectations.
The trend shows the attraction and
global competitiveness of STAR Market
for tech companies in China, SSE said in a
statement.
Triggering a trend
STAR Market started trading in July 2019
with relaxed rules to allow listing by tech
Ķrms in different phases of growth and with
different equity structures. In March, SSE
announced the board would be opened
further to Ķntech enterprises and techno-
logical service providers. By July 22, 140
companies worth 2.8 trillion yuan ($400
XINHUA
billion) were trading on the board.
An increasing number of Chinese
enterprises are seeking to list in both the
mainland and Hong Kong as the stock
markets lower their threshold and widen
access. Alibaba was the Ķrst to have a sec-
ond listing in Hong Kong last year, followed
by other Internet giants including NetEase
and JD.com this year.
Yin Zhentao, an associate researcher
with the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, told The Beijing News the rapid
development of China’s capital market due
to the introduction of a registration-based
IPO system and the status of Hong Kong
as an international financial center have
made both the markets equally appealing.
For registration-based IPOs, the companies
have to simply register with the board, un-
like the prevailing approval-based system
in which they need approval from China
Securities Regulatory Commission, a pro-
cess that may take several months.
Dual listing began to trend with the rise
of China Concept Stocks, Chinese compa-
nies which Ķrst listed outside the Chinese
mainland to facilitate foreign investment
and then returned home for a second listing
amid growing uncertainties in China-U.S.
relations, which have also created uncer-
tainties for Chinese investors in the United
States. More domestic Internet giants may
follow suit, Dong Yizhi, finance and com-
pliance lawyer of Shanghai Joint-Win Law
Firm, told China High-Tech Industry Herald.
STAR Market and Hong Kong Stock
Exchange have a complementary role.
Listing in Hong Kong can facilitate ac-
cess for international investors while the
Shanghai board gives them an easier entry
to the mainland market.
Dual listing “will allow more market
players, including individual stockhold-
ers, to share the beneĶts of the growth of
China’s digital economy,” Yin said.
Benefits for Ant
Derived from Alipay, the mobile payment
platform based on the QR code system
http://www.bjreview.com

The Journey of Ant Group
Alipay, the mobile
payment platform
based on QR
code system, was
launched in 2004.
In 2014, Ant Group was
established to run Alipay
and active users of the 190
Alipay wallet reached mln
Ant Group has developed
businesses covering
online payment, wealth
management, loans
and insurance.
During the fiscal year ending on March 31 this year:
Its digital Ķnancial services
contributed more than
50%
of its overall revenue.
launched in 2004, Ant Group has devel-
oped businesses covering online payment,
wealth management, loans and insurance.
Alipay obtained its Internet Ķnance license
for offering third-party payment services
in 2011 and by March 31 this year, there
were around 900 million Alipay users in
China. It also has collaborations in Hong
http://www.bjreview.com
It obtained Internet It introduced online
finance license for money market fund
third-party payment Yu’ebao in 2013,
services in 2011. attracting more users.
It saw pre-tax profits of around
It has around
900 mln
Alipay users
in China.
10.2 bln yuan
($1.4 bln).
It launched a new brand AntChain for its
blockchain-based solutions on July 23.
It upgraded the app for
mobile payment into a more
all-compassing service platform
in March. Users can make online
consumption, enjoy delivery
services and check information on
hotels and entertainment venues.
(Compiled by Beijing Review;
designed by Pamela Tobey)
Kong as well as eight countries including
the Republic of Korea and Thailand. Alipay’s
online payment services cover over 200
countries.
During its growth, Ant Group has com-
pleted several rounds of financing. In its
last major fundraising in 2018, investors
put $14 billion into the company, which
BUSINESS
was then valued at $150 billion. The dual
listing will see it transform from a Ķnancial
service provider into a Ķntech Ķrm.
Jing Xiandong, executive chairman of the
company, said in a press release on July 20
that becoming a public listed company will
enhance Ant Group’s transparency, includ-
ing to its customers, business partners,
employees, shareholders and regulators.
The participation of Ant Group in
STAR Market, in turn, will also enhance
the market capitalization and inßuence of
the latter and attract more large invest-
ment institutions, Dong Dengxin, Director
of the Finance and Securities Institute
at the Wuhan University of Science and
Technology, told Beijing Review.
Capitalization concerns
While STAR Market has also seen rapid
growth, its capacity to embrace large
companies has still not been fully tested.
Shanghai-based information provider
Wind Information’s analysis is that the
market capitalization of Ant Group, with its
$200-billion valuation, will constitute more
than 51 percent of the total value of the
board when it lists.
Yan Kaiwen, an analyst with China
Fortune Securities, said the listing may
cause temporary fund shortage. However,
it will not lead to great shocks.
As SMIC’s listing shows, STAR Market is
gearing up to include giant enterprises. Its
efforts will pay off in the long term when
Ant Group, as a blue-chip enterprise, be-
gins to attract more investors with steady
growth.
According to Yan, more people are
converting household savings into funds
in the capital market and investment in
wealth management and insurance funds
is being encouraged.
Besides Ant Group, more fintech en-
terprises such as JD Digits, the fintech
subsidiary of China’s online marketplace
JD.com, have also recently unveiled plans
to list on STAR Market.
“The growth of such companies shows
the high-quality development of China’s
economy. The listing will be a trend that
will benefit the sci-tech board, investors
and the capital market,” Wang said. Q
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to lixiaoyang@bjreview.com
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 41
BUSINESS MARKET WATCH
Flourishing Market Entities Vital to
China’s Economic Recovery
The workshop of an export-oriented steel enterprise in Qian’an, Hebei Province in north China, on July 13
S
ince Wuhan in Hubei Province, central
China, enforced a lockdown earlier
this year to fight the novel corona-
virus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, the
shape of China’s economic recovery has
stoked much debate. Will the world’s sec-
ond largest economy fall into an L-shaped
stagnation, or present a trajectory in the
shape of U, V or W?
China is now at the forefront of both
epidemic prevention and control and
economic recovery. As it has brought the
disease under control, the economy is
healing better than expected, as indicated
by more and more macro-economic data,
especially the positive gross domestic
product growth in the second quarter (Q2)
of the year.
The economy expanded by 3.2 percent
year on year in Q2, following a 6.8 percent
contraction in the Ķrst quarter. Contraction
of the retail sector declined markedly, while
foreign trade in the first half of this year
exceeded expectations.
A more robust growth is expected in
the second half of this year and beyond,
42 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
and the V camp is getting more endorse-
ment. According to an IMF projection,
China is expected to achieve what could
be the sole positive annual GDP reading
among major economies.
Millions of market entities deserve
kudos for the bottoming out. Their resil-
ience served as the ballast in the economy
weathering the challenges, and their vitality
will be decisive in enabling a quick V-shaped
rebound.
Contributions made by all market enti-
ties to epidemic prevention and control,
as well as to economic and social develop-
ment were hailed by President Xi Jinping,
who pledged more efforts to stimulate the
vitality of market entities.
By the end of 2019, China had 123 mil-
lion market entities including nearly 38.6
million enterprises and 82.6 million indi-
vidual business owners. Xi stressed taking
every necessary measure to ensure their
survival and better development.
China seeks to forge a new develop-
ment pattern whereby domestic and
foreign markets can boost each other, with
XINHUA
the domestic market as the mainstay. To
leverage the huge domestic market, the
wellbeing of market entities that generate
wealth, spur innovation and sustain em-
ployment, must be secured.
The wellbeing of market players is a
gauge of the competitiveness of a coun-
try’s business environment and helps boost
the government’s troubleshooting capa-
bilities. China has been striving to forge a
market-oriented, law-based and interna-
tionalized business environment, while
market entities are beneĶting from tax and
fee cuts, reduction of rent and interest
rates, and other targeted relief policies.
China is set to complete building
a moderately prosperous society in all
respects this year despite COVID-19 chal-
lenges. On the new journey toward building
a modern socialist country, its market enti-
ties will grow stronger. Q
This is an edited version of an article published by Xinhua
News Agency
Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey
Comments to dengyaqing@bjreview.com
http://www.bjreview.com
 MARKET WATCH BUSINESS
NUMBERS
($1=7 yuan)

Industrial Enterprises’ Profit and Growth Industrial Enterprises’ Profit by Sector

By Business Type January-June (bln yuan)
January-June
Proßt (bln yuan)
2,000 1,824.71
A State-holding enterprises 164.7 2,122.3 224.5
B Shareholding corporations
Foreign-, Hong Kong-, Macao-
Mining Manufacturing Electricity, thermal, fuel gas
1,500 C and Taiwan-funded and water production and supply
D Privately owned
1,000
Profit Changes for Major Industrial Sectors
711.98 January-June (y.o.y.)
661.41 648.64
Agricultural byproducts and
500 byproducts processing 14.8%
General equipment
-1.1% manufacturing
0
A B C D -5.6% Textile
Non-metal mineral product
Growth (y.o.y.) -8.7% manufacturing
10 Electricity, heat production
-9.5% and supply

-20.7% Automobile
A B C D
0 Nonferrous metal smelting
-29.4% and processing

-31.2% Coal mining and washing

-10 -8.4%
-8.8% Chemical raw material and
-32.2% product manufacturing
-13.7% Ferrous metal smelting
-20
-40.3% and processing
Petroleum and natural gas
-72.6% exploration

-30 -75 -50 -25 0 25

-28.5%
(Source: National Bureau of Statistics)

Recovery of China’s software industry China’s telecommunications industry Outstanding loans extended by
picked up momentum in the Ķrst reported steady growth in H1. The China’s micro-credit companies
half (H1) of this year. The proĶt of the combined revenue of the sector stood at
industry rose reached

1.3 percent 692.7 billion 884.1 billion

year on year to 424.1 billion yuan
in H1, ending a Ķve-month declining yuan during the period, up
yuan by the end of June,
down 24.9 billion yuan from the
streak. 3.2 percent year on year. beginning of this year. In recent
years, China has tightened
regulations for the sector targeting
small companies and low-income
groups to rein in Ķnancial risks.

(Source: Xinhua News Agency)

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 43

FORUM
Can All Rural Residents Get
Express Courier Services?
W
ith online shopping and live-streaming,
the expansion of China’s Internet cov-
erage is transforming the country’s
vast rural heartlands into a promised land for e-
commerce. Yet despite long shopping lists and
an abundance of farm products to sell online,
weak delivery services are making these aspira-
tions impossible for many in the countryside.
In most cases, the furthest that delivery
services are able, or willing, to reach are
towns, leaving people in remote villages
without the convenience of sending and
receiving express packages. As this problem
becomes ever more striking, in some cases
dragging down rural economic growth, the
government has been committed to solv-
ing the issue of the last kilometer, namely
the lack of delivery services in rural areas.
The State Post Bureau (SPB), China’s
postal service regulator, recently issued a
guideline for a pilot project for village de-
livery services in six provinces across the
country. By the end of 2022, all villages in
China are expected to have access to these
delivery services if everything goes to
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46 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020
plan. Not only will villagers be able to order
goods online at their leisure, but they will
be better positioned to open online stores,
making money from home.
Yet whether this project can achieve
success and longevity remains to be seen.
Any plan must overcome the issues that
have hindered the expansion of delivery
services into rural areas in the last few
years.
Stumbling blocks
Zhang Xiaona (China Logistics Times):
The express delivery sector still has a lot
to do to tap into the vast rural market.
Nowadays, consumers in rural areas have
higher expectations for the speed, quality
and frequency of delivery services, but the
logistics in these areas lags far behind their
demands. If the obstacles and restrictions
are not removed, we cannot expect to see
express delivery services make rural life
richer and more convenient.
There are some tangible reasons why
this sector is so underdeveloped in rural
areas. Express delivery companies operate
according to the rules of the market. Their
primary goal is to make money, an under-
standable motivation. But when it comes to
rural areas, villages often live far from each
other. This differs greatly from the high
concentration of homes and businesses
in the city, and inevitably increases service
costs.
Smaller populations mean smaller busi-
ness opportunities, and the demand for
delivery services in rural areas is currently
not stable enough to persuade companies
to set up branches to cater for these areas.
During the harvest, the demand for such
services may increase, but for the rest
of the year there might be a significant
reduction in business. A lack of adequate
transport infrastructure also poses a major
challenge to delivery companies in some
regions.
Although China’s transportation net-
work has made great headway in recent
decades, some rural areas remain difĶcult
to reach, particularly in the central and
western parts of the country. These access
issues are compounded by the fact that
agricultural products often require speedier
transportation than other commodities.
The last-kilometer issue remains a
significant problem. Fees and charges do
not always follow the same standards, with
one collection point sometimes handling
business for several delivery companies.
Overcoming these hurdles remains a big
challenge for the companies, the govern-
ment and residents.
Act locally
Zhao Guojun (People’s Daily): Were ex-
press delivery services to be available in
villages, they would surely help farmers sell
their agricultural products and expand rural
consumption. In this sense, courier ser-
vices can play a big role in developing the
rural economy. In fact, as early as 2014 SPB
launched a campaign offering delivery ser-
vices in rural areas. However, more needs
to be done.
Every location must employ an operat-
ing model tailored to local conditions. The
places we are talking about differ in their
level of economic development, resources
and infrastructure. It is not possible to
impose a one-size-fits-all model for every
village.
All available resources should be made
use of. Not all infrastructure needs to be
built from scratch. Existing supermarkets
can be used as delivery outposts, while
some villages already have collection
points. Existing services should be stan-
dardized as part of a larger network.
Li Hong (New.qq.com): While for many
of us express delivery has become an es-
sential part of daily life, the inconvenience,
high costs and low profit margin of send-
ing and receiving packages in rural areas
have impeded the entry of modern courier
services into villages. The problem of the
last kilometer remains unsolved, and has
prevented many rural consumers from
shopping online, as well as farmers from
selling their products on the Internet.
The vast rural areas are home to a
large proportion of the population, and if
courier services are unable to reach them,
the sector has a long way to go. Local gov-
ernments should offer subsidies to help
companies overcome the obstacles while
the businesses must sacrifice short-term
proĶt for long-term interests.
Companies, in particular, should look
http://www.bjreview.com

further into the future. Delivering parcels in
rural areas takes longer than in the cities,
which undoubtedly increases the costs for
these businesses. We cannot expect them
to give up profit for nothing in exchange.
However, in the long run, those willing to tap
into the vast rural market may make a lot of
money once the network is fully developed.
If villagers want to expedite the conve-
nience of 21st-century delivery services,
they can also contribute to the develop-
ment of the industry. They can choose a
local site to serve as a collection point, both
for sending and receiving parcels. They can
also Ķnd employment as local deliverymen.
For courier services to successfully
operate in villages, everyone needs to con-
tribute their ideas and effort.
Zou Xuxin (People’s Daily): Thanks to
the rapid development of the Internet, e-
commerce is now an effective way to lift
people out of poverty. But e-commerce and
express delivery are interdependent. The
scattered distribution of houses, bad roads
and poor infrastructure in the countryside
are preventing a successful synthesis of
the two. Where these services are willing to
http://www.bjreview.com
deliver to rural addresses, they do so only
every week or two at best. Rural residents
thus find it hard to order things and sell
their agricultural products to cities online.
While many are good at marketing their
wares via live-streaming platforms, the lack
of logistics for e-commerce is dampening
their ambition of becoming rich.
The way out is for local governments
to offer good policies and Ķnancial support.
Hi-tech means should also be employed,
including the use of drones. Since SPB is
encouraging courier services to enter rural
areas, all parties should make an effort to
seize this opportunity for development.
Zhang Lianzhou (Economic Daily):
Rural dwellers are important online shop-
pers, contributing significantly to the
thriving e-commerce industry in China.
However, the difĶculty couriers face reach-
ing these villages not only hinders the
delivery business’ development, but makes
online shopping for villagers more inconve-
nient than their urban counterparts.
If express delivery services covered the
vast rural areas, this improvement in logis-
tics would also boost rural consumption
FORUM
LI SHIGONG
and encourage farmers to start their own
businesses. This, in turn, may convince
migrant workers, college graduates and
military veterans to return to their home-
towns.
For now, efforts to promote courier
services and e-commerce in rural areas are
hampered by a lack of professionals, under-
developed infrastructure, a weak industrial
base and high costs.
Given this reality, it is important for lo-
cal governments to offer more support to
online shops and delivery companies, so
that they can more easily do business in vil-
lages. Companies need to establish logistic
models Ķt for rural areas, which might differ
dramatically from the ones they currently
use in cities.
Once an express delivery network is
established, the rural population will be
able to purchase and sell online more con-
veniently. Express delivery services in rural
areas can not only make people’s life more
convenient, but also become a force to
boost regional economic growth. Q
Copyedited by Laurence Coulton
AUGUST 6, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 47
EXPAT’S EYE

Changing Old Habits

By Dickson David Agbaji

XINHUA
n May 1, Beijing started implementing
its mandatory domestic waste sorting
regulation passed at the end of 2019.
Affecting over 21 million residents, this rule is
part of the Central Government’s garbage classi-
Ķcation plan aiming to recycle 35 percent of the
waste generated in 46 cities, including Beijing
and Shanghai, by this year.
Every Beijing resident must separate
their household trash into four groups:
kitchen, recyclable, hazardous and other
waste. The city administration can penalize
those who fail to follow the scheme. The
penalties include fines for individuals and
heavier ones for businesses, which could
go up to 50,000 yuan ($7,147) depending
on the frequency.
The municipal government has taken
several steps to implement and publicize
the garbage-sorting practices. Different
stakeholders like real estate and property
management firms are responsible for
their residential communities and public
building owners for their assets. Different
community activities are being organized A student shares garbage-sorting information with her peers at a primary school in Beijing on June 1
like enlisting volunteers to explain garbage-
municipal government’s work and ability to construct sanitation facilities and holding
sorting to residents and to monitor the
learn from the good examples of other cit- regular meetings to resolve any problem
differently colored waste bins placed stra-
ies like Shanghai. Shanghai, a city with over arising from promoting the facilities.
tegically around the city.
26 million and generating over 9 million It should also increase its collaboration
The green bins are intended for
tons of household waste every year, was with non-governmental organizations and
kitchen waste, blue for recyclables, red
the first to implement the regulation on other social groups to select and train vol-
for hazardous waste, and grey for other unteers who would educate residents and
waste. Children and youths have also been July 1, 2019.
Making the rules and setting a time- ensure proper waste disposal at the public
included in the awareness process. They waste bins. These volunteers can also relay
volunteer to make handicrafts and play fun line are only the first step. To reach the
established goals Beijing must improve its feedback to the government.
games to encourage garbage sorting in Beijing could also adopt an incentive
their communities. community engagement since the initia-
tive is more about changing residents’ structure like Shanghai’s Green Account to
These steps are required because the promote waste sorting. This is an automat-
city’s waste disposal facilities are operat- waste management habits. This should
ed credit-goods exchange system where
ing at maximum capacity as the waste be pursued on all fronts both online and
residents receive credits for correctly sort-
grows. The city produced 9.3 million tons ofßine.
ing their waste, which they can exchange
of household waste in 2018. Waste segre- A step in the right direction is the
for some goods.
gation, according to the China Association Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Waste classiĶcation is an essential part
of Urban Environmental Sanitation, will Management’s cooperation with a pri- of the Chinese Government’s Ķght against
reduce two thirds of waste, cut the disposal vate company to launch Beijing Garbage environmental degradation, and Beijing is
cost and reduce the amount of waste Sorting, a mini-program on WeChat. Users now on course to contribute to this. Q
buried in landĶlls. This, in turn, will reduce can determine how to categorize their
the production of leachate, which pollutes waste by inputting the items or uploading a
the air and contaminates underground photograph. The author is a Yenching Academy scholar at Peking
aquifers. The municipal government should en- University from Nigeria
Beijing’s success in implementing the gage in more neighborhood effect plans Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
garbage classiĶcation rules depends on the by collaborating with communities to Comments to dingying@bjreview.com

48 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 6, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com