Young people posing at the site of the first National Congress of the CPC, Shanghai, 4 May 2021 [Xinhua/Liu Yang]
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As China enters a weeklong holiday starting on 1 May, International Workers’ Day, News on China will be taking a break, returning in two weeks. Happy May Day!
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Geopolitics
Solomon Islands signs security deal with China, defends right to sovereignty, and sparks criticism from Washington and allies in the region
US and Australia accuse China of trying to establish a military base in the South Pacific country, but its Prime Minister defends the pact as a domestic security measure; last year, homes and businesses in the country’s Chinatown were destroyed in violent protests
Suicide terrorist bombing at Karachi University’s Confucius Institute in Pakistan kills three Chinese professors and a local driver
Separatist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) from Baluchistan province claimed responsibility for the attack, the country’s fifth against Chinese people and projects since 2017; nine Chinese and three Pakistanis died in July 2021 near the China-funded Dasu hydroelectric dam, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Economy
Rapid capital outflows from China in the last two months cause the yuan to fall almost 2% against the US currency (exceeding 6.6/dollar)
Move comes amid market expectations of further interest rate hikes in the US, Omicron surge, and Russia-Ukraine conflict; People’s Bank of China reduces reserve requirements for banks (9% to 8%), releasing about US$10 billion into the market
National Politics
To prevent a Shanghai-like outbreak, Beijing takes tougher measures against Covid-19, implementing massive testing and suspending some activities
Country recently increased booster shots to people aged above 60 (590,000/day in mid-April), but 100 million people remain; 57.3% of Beijing’s elders received three doses and only 38% in Shanghai, which registered 285 deaths (28 April)
Government publishes first official document on youth for the centenary of the Communist Youth League’s founding
Report highlights the contributions of youth in campaigns against Covid-19 and poverty, and their confidence in the national project and socialism, having grown up during period of economic boom and social stability; the League has 84 million members, while ¼ of CPC’s members are under 35 years-old
China’s State Council announces first-ever private pension scheme that will allow voluntary deposits and investments in stable financial products
National pension fund expected to run into US$90.18 billion deficit in 2028 due to shrinking workforce and aging population; people aged over 65 have increased from 9.1 to 14.2% (2011-21) of the population
Agriculture and Environment
China clears six new nuclear reactors (about US$18.2 billion) expected to add up to 7.2 GW of power generation capacity
Country plans to increase total nuclear power capacity from 50 to 70 GW by 2025, with its 53 reactors having generated 407.1 billion kW/h (5.02% of total energy) in 2021; two of the new reactors will have 100% Chinese Hualong technology
People’s Life and Culture
Social work plays an increasingly important role in elder care, but sector struggles with professional autonomy, funding, and recognition
Responding to rapid urbanization and migration, professional social work emerged in 1980s/90s and increased in recent years to address aging population (43,600 to 737,000 certified workers, 2010-22), highlighted in poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and epidemic control programs
Chinese women film directors are creating box office hits on diverse topics, including rural development, wars, social issues, and women’s rights
With few women in the first and second generations of directors before 1949, over 50 notable directors have emerged since 1978, alongside boom in film education and production; Jia Ling became the world’s highest-grossing women director of all time with Hi, Mom (2021)
Annual national Youth Day commemorates the May Fourth Movement, an anti-imperialist uprising led by Beijing students in 1919
Outraged by the colonial concessions after WWI by China’s republican government, young intellectuals sought new ideas and culture to awaken a national consciousness and transform the country; Marxist ideas arriving in China inspired the CPC’s (1921) and Youth League’s (1922) founding soon after
May Fourth Movement “Fight to the Death for Qingdao” [不岛的小站]
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