Chinese Professor Li Xiaoyun leading agricultural projects in Tanzania, 2015 [Kong Deji via Global Times]
Geopolitics
President Xi pledges one billion vaccines for African countries at the 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)
Meeting in Dakar (Senegal), China announces that it will donate 600 million doses, produce 400 million doses in partnership with African countries, and send 500 specialists for ten agriculture and poverty alleviation projects on the continent, among other commitments
US coal exports to China (4.9 million tonnes) skyrocket +920% year-on-year in the first half of 2021
Due to diplomatic tensions, Beijing’s restrictions on coal imports from Australia have benefitted US producers – New Orleans handled 5.35 million tonnes of export-bound coal (+197%), while railcar traffic increased by 11.6% nationwide
Agriculture and Environment
China invested US $17 billion in agricultural cooperation with 86 BRI countries since 2013, with trade volume totaling US $95.79 billion last year
Chinese government initiated ten overseas agricultural demonstration cooperation zones, starting in Sudan where US $46 of 50 million pledged has been invested to develop trade platforms, cultivation bases, agricultural processing, and logistics
Science and Technology
Shanghai opens exchange for trading data, considered the fuel of the 4th Industrial Revolution
Data trading in the West (US $200 billion/year) is based on possible illegal data mining by tech giants (Google, Facebook, etc.) that is hidden from users; Shanghai Data Exchange is the world’s first attempt to trade data in a regulated and transparent way
Economy
China’s digital music industry is the world’s second largest, expecting 50% growth to $3 billion (2024)
Unlike platforms in the Global North relying on subscriptions, Chinese platforms are free and raise revenue from live shows, ads, ticket sales, and “VIP” memberships, with online listeners (650 million) increasing 80% in the last decade
National Politics
Macao tightens regulations on casino operators, whose revenue has recovered to only ⅓ of pre-pandemic levels (US $100 million/day)
Ex-Portuguese colony overtook Las Vegas in 2006 as world’s largest gambling hub while Xi’s 2014 anti-corruption campaign targeted money laundering and capital outflows; tycoon Alvin Chau is among 11 people recently arrested for illegal gambling practices
Government plans to nationalize private schools, reducing proportion of primary and middle school students from over 10% to under 5% by year-end
In May, government issued directives to prevent opening of new private schools, mandate they become non-profit, and promote education fairness in country with 190,000 private schools (12,000 primary and middle schools), educating over 56 million (⅕ of all students)
China’s national civil service exam, Guokao, has a record 1.42 million participants, up 40% from last year
About 21,000 (⅔) of the positions that this year’s exam qualifies for are aimed at recent graduates; Unemployment among 16-24 year-olds (14.2%) was nearly three times the national average (4.9%) in October
People’s Life and Culture
Regional governments extend the 98-day national maternity leave to incentive childbirth
After China announced third-child policy in July, maternity leave increased in Beijing and Shanghai (six months) and Chongqing (one year for one parent) and annual parental leave extended in Zhejiang (ten days) and Beijing (five days), but some worry about increased hiring discrimination against women
A series and two films about the Korean War are set to be released after the success of The Battle at Lake Changjin film
Acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou and daughter Zhang Mou directed Sharpshooter (“Sniper”), while the series Winter and Lion began production; Rising political tensions sparks a popular cultural revival of this period of resistance against US aggression
A poster of the film The Battle at Lake Changjin [CFP]
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