Listen to Oghuz, an innovative band from Xinjiang that mixes rock with Uyghur traditional music.
Geopolitics
Belt and Road Initiative will prioritize “green development”, digital cooperation, supply chains, and international health cooperation
The plan for the next decade proposes greater cooperation and exchange in AI governance and rules, in addition to R&D in this area; projects related to digital connectivity will include the construction of terrestrial and submarine communications cables, while border facilities and seaports will remain a priority; Xi announced US$107 in new financing at the third BRI forum.
National Politics
Respiratory diseases increase to pre-pandemic levels with dropping temperatures, filling hospitals in northern China
Amid rumors of an emerging new virus circulated outside China, the National Health Commission reports that there are no new pathogens in the latest spike; the government points to an “immunization gap“ due to people having less exposure to these respiratory viruses and bacteria during the Covid-19 pandemic years
Disease Outbreak News – World Health Organization,23.11.2024
Taiwan’s two main opposition parties rule out coalition option and register separate candidacies
Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), both considered more mainland-friendly, could not agree on a candidate for the joint ticket but despite the failure of the coalition, voting intentions for the KMT increased (31%), while the candidate of the ruling separatist Democratic Progressive Party, William Lai, remains ahead with 34% of voting intentions
Premier Li Qiang is appointed head of the Central Finance Commission, the newly established top planner of China’s financial system
Since 2018, all party leading groups have been turned to commissions, which is headed by Xi Jinping; however, Li is the first official appointed to head a top CPC organization and was also sent to represent Xi at the September G20 summit in New Delhi
Economy
For the first time since the beginning of the series, in 1998, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was negative (-US$11.8 billion) in Q3
In the first nine months, FDI totaled just US$15 billion, a drop of almost 92% compared to the total for 2022, according to the State Foreign Exchange Administration, which measures net FDI; the Ministry of Commerce reported that gross FDI in the same period was US$ 128 billion, a drop of 33% in the same comparison
Industrial profits increased for the third consecutive month in October, albeit at a slower pace, 2.7% year-on-year
Profits grew 11.9% in September and 17.2% in August, but accumulated an annual drop of 7.8% in the first 10 months of the year, totaling US$ 852.8 billion; the central bank published 25 measures to support the private sector, prioritizing loans and the real estate sector, which struggles to secure financing
Agriculture and Environment
With projects for 226 renewable energy bases in desert areas of the country, China could reach peak emissions well before 2030
Bases would achieve a capacity of 455 GW of wind turbines and solar panels, equivalent to the current combined renewable energy capacity of Canada, Japan, Germany, and France; China’s total renewable energy capacity will reach about 3.9 TW by 2030, which would more than triple the 2022 figure
Programs to promote public transport, tree planting, and energy reduction are part of a campaign to lower CO2 emissions
Schemes reward people with shopping vouchers or travel cards to encourage the public to practice low carbon activities; the consumption of domestic emissions is responsible for more than half of the country’s total emissions, which currently reach 10 billion tons per year, according to a 2021 study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences
People’s Life and Culture
“Artificial Intelligence Labelers” become a new workforce in rural China
AI labeling is a labor-intensive process of tagging and categorizing large amounts of data to train AI models; it is relatively easy to learn with practice and offers financial stability, which is why it has become popular, especially in rural areas, with almost two million AI taggers across China now
Young people are increasingly seeking to obtain certificates and training in order to be competitive in the job market
More than 11 million people across the country obtained professional certificates in 2022, with the training market reaching 38.6 billion yuan in 2021 and expected to double by 2026; in some cities, the local government provides subsidies to citizens with certain qualifications or who have resident certificates applying for household registration (hukou)
Many young people seek to improve their position with professional courses after completing their degree [VCG]
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