Today, we share with you the song “One Belt, One Road” (一带一路) in reference to the new Silk Road. You can also watch the video with images of the train linking China to Laos by clicking here.
Geopolitics
China warned NATO that it rejects its expansion in the Asia Pacific and will respond firmly to any act that harms its legitimate interests
NATO issued a statement saying that “China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values,” to which China responded by stating that such positioning exposes the military bloc’s hypocrisy and its ambition for expansion and hegemonym; just a few days earlier, China also repudiated the US statement that advised its citizens not to travel to China
CATL, the Chinese electric battery company with 40% of the world market, conducts joint research with German research center
The Center for Battery Innovation and Technology, Germany’s leading applied research organization, is collecting data to better understand battery life together with CATL; at the end of last year, the company started up a plant in Arnstadt, with a total investment of up to US$ 1.96 billion and with the aim of achieving a production capacity of 14 Gwh and creating up to 2,000 new jobs
Solomon Islands opened its embassy in Beijing and officially established comprehensive strategic partnership with China
In 2019, the Oceania nation established diplomatic relations with China and joined the Belt and Road Initiative and in 2022 the two countries signed a security agreement; President Manasseh Sogavare participated in the inauguration of the embassy, met with Xi Jinping and signed an agreement regarding civil air transport with the aim of launching direct flights between the two countries
National Politics
Government extends support measures to real estate sector still struggling to recover
Financial institutions must extend for another 12 months the loans granted to real estate companies that mature at the end of 2024, and commercial banks may classify those loans in a lower risk category; this will help alleviate short-term liquidity problems and allow banks to lend more to real estate companies, but the main problem remains the drop in sales, which in June was 28.1% year-on-year for the country’s 100 largest real estate companies
The Council of State issued the first administrative regulation on private equity funds
The regulation seeks to optimize and lower mutual fund fees to boost investment – mainly in scientific and technological innovation – and 17 of the top 20 companies have already complied with the measure; total assets under management by China’s mutual fund industry doubled over the past four years to 26.68 trillion yuan (US$3.70 trillion) at the end of March
Economy
China had zero inflation in June, with weak overall demand and increasing deflationary pressure on its economy
The consumer price index remained unchanged and the producer price index fell by 5.4% year-on-year; analysts and businesses suggest a coordinated and measured easing of fiscal and monetary policy as a solution, and believe that “ultra-low inflation” would allow the central bank to carry out two more rounds of interest rate cuts of 10 basis points each
Agriculture and Environment
China to exceed Xi Jinping’s 2020 clean energy targets by five years ahead of schedule
The country has already announced or begun construction of enough projects to bring its wind and solar capacity to 1,371 GW by 2025, which will double current capacity and far exceed the 1,200 GW target set by Xi for 2030; beyond these advances, the main source of energy remains coal, which China is producing in record quantities to avoid shortages in its electricity system
China bans Fukushima food imports as Japan prepares to release radioactive water
The customs authority banned the import of products from ten Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, and will review shipments from all regions of Japan; last year, Japan’s agricultural, forestry, fishery and food exports to China rose 14.3% year-on-year to US$9.8 billion, but that growth could be affected by concerns over radioactive debris
Science and Technology
China Railway completes testing of high-speed trains at 453 km/h, the fastest in the world
With the new CR450 train, the trip between Beijing and Shanghai will take two hours less than the current 350 km/h high-speed trains; in addition, on July 1, a new section of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad, at 3,500 meters above sea level and with a length of 829 km, came into operation, adding to the more than 40,000 km of the national high-speed rail network
People’s Life and Culture
According to a survey, more than 60% of young Chinese want to become influencers
The trend is due to the fierce competition in the current job market, but also because the younger generation is considering more options when looking for jobs; 96.2% of people whose main source of income is streaming earned less than 5,000 yuan per month last year, while only 0.4% can earn more than 100,000 yuan per month
While young people dominate the sector, many adults also stream on Chinese networks [TechNode/Emma Lee]
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