MonitorsPublished on Apr 16, 2016
China Weekly Report | Volume VI; Issue 14

< style="color: #0180b3">FOREIGN AFFAIRS                                       

China summons G7 envoys over South, East China Seas statement

China's foreign ministry said on April 13 it has summoned in envoys from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies to complain about a statement their foreign ministers issued this week opposing provocation in the East and South China Seas. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that it had thought the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima wouldn't really have anything to do with China. Once the statement came out, China decided there were certain "incorrect and mistaken" parts in it, Lu said, so China had to make its position clear. "So yes we called in envoys from the relevant countries, solemnly expressing China's position on this matter," he added. China informed the envoys of exactly what it had said in public on the issue, Lu said. The Foreign Ministry on April 13 expressed anger at the G7 statement, saying the grouping should not taking sides on issues involving territorial disputes. The G7 is composed of the United States, France, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan.

Source(s): Reuters, April 13, 2016

China issues report on US human rights

China published a report on the United States' human rights situation on April 14. The report, titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2015," was released by the Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, in response to "the 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" issued by the US State Department on April 13 local time. China's report says that the United States made comments on the human rights situation in many countries while being tight–lipped about its own terrible human rights record and showing not a bit of intention to reflect on it. The report states money politics and family politics went from bad to worse in the United States where voters found it hard to express their real volition. Figures cited in the report shows that civil rights were wantonly infringed upon in the United States in 2015 with rampant gun-related crimes and excessive use of force by police. It also quotes figures to show that the United States continued to trample on human rights in other countries, causing tremendous civilian casualties. It also reports on United States' overseas monitoring projects infringed on the privacy of citizens of other countries.

Source(s): Global Times, April 14, 2016

Pakistan army chief accuses India of undermining China investment corridor

Pakistan's army chief on April 12 accused longtime regional rival India of seeking to undermine his country's $46 billion project to build an economic corridor to transport goods from China's western regions through the Pakistani deepwater port of Gwadar.Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, speaking at a development conference on the impact of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said the significance of a Pakistan–China economic alliance had "raised eyebrows" in the region. "In this context, I must highlight that India, our immediate neighbor, has openly challenged this development initiative," Sharif told the conference in Gwadar.” He further said, "I would like to make a special reference to Indian intelligence agency RAW that is blatantly involved in destabilizing Pakistan. Let me make it clear that we will not allow anyone to create impediments and turbulence in any part of Pakistan. Therefore, it is important for all to leave behind confrontation and focus on cooperation."

Source(s): Reuters, April 12, 2016

< style="color: #0180b3">POLITICS AND SOCIETY

China punishes hundreds of officials over vaccine scandal

Mainland authorities have sacked or demoted 357 officials and arrested 202 suspects in connection with a scandal in Shandong that has prompted fears over the private distribution of vaccines. The central government has also announced the tightening of regulations regarding private market vaccines, and said it intends to bring all vaccines under centralised procurement procedures like vaccines administered under public programmes. The administration has come under fire after it was revealed a 47–year–old woman, charged in connection with illegally traded vaccines, had bought and sold vaccines worth a total of 570 million yuan (HK$684 million) since 2010. The case involved 300 dealers in 24 provinces.

Source(s): South China Morning Post, April 14, 2016

Police break up counterfeiting ring

Police in Jiangsu province have caught 14 suspects who allegedly used a printer and soy sauce to counterfeit money that they said could easily fool most people.  According to Wang Tao, director of Dawu police station in Xuzhou, police detained a suspect that used counterfeit money in January. So far, police have busted six production centers and one sales center and seized various kinds of equipment used to counterfeit money.  More than 4 million yuan in counterfeit money and 600 kilograms of paper used to print the bills have been confiscated.  According to police, the paper could have been used to print more than 100 million yuan in counterfeit money.

Source(s): China Daily, April 15, 2016

< style="color: #0180b3">ECONOMY

IMF warns of corporate loan risks for Chinese commercial banks

The International Monetary Fund estimated some $1.3 trillion corporate loans potentially at risk on Chinese commercial banks' balance sheet at the end of 2015 in a new report released on April 13. If 60 percent of these loans eventually go sour, commercial banks will incur a potential loss of up to $756 billion, accounting for 7 percent of China's GDP, the IMF said in the Global Financial Stability Report. This prediction is based on the sample of 2,871 companies, including 2,607 listed firms and 264 unlisted firms. They borrowed $2,775 billion in total, of which $392 billion or 14.1 percent are considered debts at risk. Despite the large number, the loss is manageable given China's bank and policy buffers and continued strong growth in the economy, said the IMF

Source(s): People’s Daily, April 14, 2016

World Bank joins AIIB on financing for joint projects

World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on April 13 signed the first co–financing framework agreement, paving the way for their cooperation on joint projects in 2016. In 2016, the AIIB expects to approve about 1.2 billion US dollars in financing, with the World Bank joint projects anticipated to account for a sizable share, said the World Bank. But it did not give details of its share in the co-financed projects. According to the statement, the World Bank and the AIIB are currently discussing nearly one dozen co–financed projects in sectors that include transport, water and energy in Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

Source(s): Global Times, April 13, 2016

< style="color: #0180b3">SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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Chinese scientists succeed in micro-g 3D printing test

Chinese scientists have successfully tested 3D printing at microgravity, the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) announced Wednesday. The CSU team has conducted 93 parabolic test flights in France, and printed out the designed specimen with Chinese-developed equipment and processes.  The parabolic test flights, which created a microgravity environment that lasts about 22 seconds, were facilitated by the Space Administration of Germany.  Wang Gong, technical chief of the team, said 3D printing in an environment such as this would be advantageous to space probe technology as it would enable supplies to be printed during space missions.  At present, supplies must be sent to space stations via carrier rockets or cargo spacecraft, which is both costly and time-consuming, Wang added.

Source(s): China Daily, April 13, 2016

China to crack down on illegal GM crops

The Ministry of Agriculture has pledged to crack down on unauthorised cultivation of genetically modified crops, even as it repeated that GM food sold on the market was safe and the technology was crucial for food security. The moves appear to be aimed at allaying mounting public scepticism over the safety of the emerging technology. Liao Xiyuan, a senior official at the ministry, said in Beijing yesterday that the mainland had put checks and balances in place to ensure the safety of GM produce. As a major agricultural nation, the country had no choice but to develop GM technology, he added.

Source(s): South China Morning Post, April 14, 2016

< style="color: #0180b3">BIBLIOGRAPHY


< style="color: #0180b3">Contributors:

  • Pratnashree Basu
  • Swagata Saha

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