Wang Yi meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, 22.02.2023 [Xinhua/Cao Yang]
Dear readers,
Yesterday, we launched our new publication Dongsheng Explains. Each month, we will publish an original article that introduces core concepts, processes, and phenomena in China that we think are of interest to international readers. Each topic, chosen by the editorial team, aims to deepen our collective understanding of Chinese society, history, and contemporary reality. In addition, each publication will be accompanied by an explanatory video, uploaded on our YouTube channel.
We hope you like the first issue of Dongsheng Explains on the Two Sessions (Lianghui). Please read, watch, and share!
– Dongsheng Editorial Collective
Geopolitics
Top chinese diplomat Wang Yi says Sino-Russian relations are rock solid and won’t accept threats from third parties
In a meeting with Putin, Wang defended a political solution to Ukraine’s crisis. In response to US allegations that China is considering sending weapons to Russia, the Chinese foreign ministry said that it is the United States, not China, that is endlessly sending weapons to the battlefield
Chinese government publishes report denouncing US “unilateral, selfish, and regressive hegemonic” practices that threaten world peace and stability
The text US Hegemony and Its Perils analyzes the use of the dollar as a political weapon, the arbitrary use of force, looting, exploitation and false narratives, among other abusive practices; it also expresses that the US “extended the concept of national security too far, abused export controls and forced unilateral sanctions on others”
National Politics
To stimulate economic growth, provincial governments plan to increase annual hiring of civil servants by 16%, totaling 192,000 positions
The central government also announced that it plans to hire a record number of almost 40,000 civil servants this year, of which 25,000 (67.4%), will be university graduates; the measure seeks to stimulate economic growth and the labor market, especially among young people, as urban youth unemployment has reached an all-time high in 2022 (19.9% in July)
The city of Guangzhou will create two US$29 billion investment funds to support the high-tech industry
They will focus on activities related to semiconductors, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing and will also finance early-stage high-tech companies that can potentially revitalize the private sector; Anhui province and Xian municipality in Shaanxi announced similar plans last month
Economy
Local governments receive authorization to issue special bonds totaling 2.19 trillion yuan (US$321 billion), the highest in history
The share of special bonds issued before the Two Sessions — where the year’s economic targets are established — is already 50% higher than last year’s, but the expectation of an increase in issuances for the entire year is from 4 to 9.5% (up to 4 trillion yuan/US$586 billion); government seeks to advance investments in infrastructure to increase economic growth
Profits of industrial private enterprises with core revenues of at least 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) fell 7.2% in 2022
State companies, on the other hand, had an increase in profits for the second consecutive year, of 3%; at the end of the year, a record 18.5% of private companies were losing money — almost double compared to 8.8% in 2017 — while state-owned companies accounted for 44.8% of the capitalization of the top 100 listed companies in China
Agriculture and Environment
Rising CO2 in the atmosphere may affect phosphorus levels in rice paddies, threatening food security
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that available phosphorus in the soil decreased by 27% between 2004 and 2018, on par with the increase in CO2 emissions; scientists from the same institution, together with peers from the US and Germany, proposed a method to achieve carbon neutrality in grain production
China’s solar industry output increased by 95% in 2022, reaching 1.4 trillion yuan (US$200 billion)
China’s PV power plants increased their production capacity from 87.41 to 392.61 GW in 2022; export of PV products increased by 80% to US$51.3 billion, and of that total, about 46% went to Europe, a year-on-year increase of 115%
People’s Life and Culture
The tradition of giving money as a gift on special occasions is a central element of China’s rural culture and acts as a basis for social relations
This deeply rooted custom among the population can sometimes account for 50% of household expenses; in recent years, its increase has even outpaced that of per capita income, which in 2022 reached 20,133 yuan (US$2,955) for Chinese farmers, rising 67% in six years
China’s permanent medical team in Uganda celebrated its 40th anniversary and held a medical camp offering free medical care
Founded in 1983 – with more than 229 doctors and experts throughout its history – the team works alongside Ugandan doctors at the China-Uganda Friendship Hospital (funded by the Asian country in 2012), conducting joint research and training, and also providing health services in camps and hospitals in rural areas of the country
A Chinese doctor speaks with locals at a medical camp at Katosi in the Central Region district of Mukono, Uganda, 16.02.2023 [Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua]
Dongsheng’s interventions and productions this week:
- Marco Fernandes in Forum: What to expect from Lula’s trip to China (in Portuguese) and in Rede TVT: Brazil can boost its economy with a deal with China (in Portuguese)
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