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Sino-US trade talks expected to resume next week

(China Daily)10:26, July 06, 2019

China is unlikely to soften its position on issues concerning its core interests in upcoming consultations with the United States, experts said, as both countries are reportedly looking to resume talks sometime next week.

Following the top leaders meeting at the G20 summit last month, Reuters reported that top representatives of the US and China are planning an imminent return to the negotiating table to try to resolve their trade differences.

The talks will continue in earnest this coming week, said White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow during a Wednesday briefing. I dont know precisely when. Theyre on the phone. Theyre going to be on the phone this coming week and theyll be scheduling face-to-face meetings, Kudlow said.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday, without elaboration, that economic and trade teams from both countries have recently been in contact.

Wei Jianguo, a former vice-minister of commerce, said China is open to high-level talks with the US, but it will unlikely make concessions on issues that relate to the countrys core interests.

China will not tolerate any country hurting its core interests, Wei said, adding that the countrys core interests include sovereignty, safety and the right to development. Wei is now vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a major government think tank.

In a white paper in June, the government described what it called Washingtons demands that led to failure to resolve remaining rifts. For example, the US government insisted on including mandatory requirements concerning Chinas sovereign affairs in the agreement, which only served to delay the talks progress, the report said.

Chen Wenling, chief economist at the center, said that in bilateral negotiations, both sides should treat each other on an equal basis, and any countrys sovereignty cannot be undermined.

Dong Yan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of World Economics and Politics, said: Facing uncertainties, China needs to continue on its set course of reform and opening-up. That can help speed up the countrys pace to achieve high-quality growth.

Wu Changqi, executive director of the Institute of International Business and Management, Peking University, said China has made great progress in protecting intellectual property rights, and will continue to do so.

China has rich intellectual resources and a complex market structure. Multinationals have sped up the pace of setting up research and development centers in China in recent years, Wu said.

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Huawei opens in Madrid its largest flagship store outside China

(Xinhua)11:15, July 06, 2019

MADRID, July 6 (Xinhua) — Chinas technology giant Huawei on Friday opened in Madrid its largest flagship store outside China.

The two-storey, 1,100-square-meter shop is located in Madrid city center, where the customers can experience Huaweis latest technologies, including 5G and artificial intelligence applications, and enjoy the products it has launched such as smartphones, tablets as well as personal computers, President of Huaweis Consumer Business Group for the Western European Region Walter Ji told Xinhua.

More than 1,000 people came to the new flagship store on the opening day.

On June 15, Vodafone Espana, in cooperation with Huawei, rolled out the first commercial 5G mobile services in Spain, making it one of the first European countries with the ultrafast mobile network in Europe.

Vodafone announced that its offering 5G roaming in four European countries — Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy over the summer.

On May 30, mobile network operator EE launched Britains first 5G service, using Huawei equipment.

Huawei is the worlds leading company in 5G. The Chinese company said it has already won 50 5G contracts globally.

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Analysts hope U.S., China to reach trade deal soon

(Xinhua)13:10, July 06, 2019

HOUSTON, July 5 (Xinhua) — As expectation of solid U.S. economy grows, experts and business insiders on Friday voiced hope that the United States and China will reach a trade deal in the near future.

U.S. economy in June performed slightly better than expected, with 224,000 new jobs created in non-farming sectors, according to a report on Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Unemployment, however, rose mildly to 3.7 percent, as more workers sought to enter the job market, increasing expectations of Washingtons solid economic stewardship when the presidential election year approaches.

With respect to trade issues specifically, when returning to the negotiation table, more of a problem-solving approach needs to be applied than blaming one another for the current status of talks, Peter D. Johnston, a professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, told Xinhua Friday.

There is absolutely room for a major and significant trade agreement if this approach is taken, he said.

Looking to 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump needs to be considered as a provider of economic prosperity for American voters, analysts said, adding that resolving trade issues with China may be the key.

Trump probably desperately needs a truce by the end of the year. Hell be full-time on the campaign trail starting in 2020, so he has to wrap this trade dispute soon, Stanley Chao, managing director of U.S. consulting firm All In Consulting, told Xinhua on Friday.

Because the Sino-U.S. economic and trade frictions were triggered by the U.S. imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods, all those tariffs must be lifted if the two countries could reach an agreement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

There is a strong probability that the United States will at least temporary rescind the remaining tariffs, said Chao.

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Tianjin-Taiwan trade fair highlights cooperation, communication

(Xinhua)08:43, July 05, 2019

TIANJIN, July 4 (Xinhua) — The Tianjin-Taiwan trade fair opened Thursday in northern Chinas Tianjin Municipality, highlighting cooperation and communication.

The four-day event attracted about 600 companies from Taiwan, which brought products including food, tea, jewelry and farm produce to the fair, according to Tianjins Taiwan affairs office.

Liu Jieyi, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said there were over 4 million cross-Strait visits in the first five months, up about 10 percent year on year.

He said the mainland will offer thousands of internship opportunities for Taiwan compatriots this summer.

Chiang Hsiao-yen, former vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang Party, said the mainland has done a lot to protect the rights and interests of Taiwan business people, who in turn have made contributions to the economic development and vitality of the mainland.

People of both sides across the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family and they should cooperate, Chiang said.

Zhang Yanmei, assistant vice president of Xiabuxiabu Catering Management (China) Holdings Co., Ltd., said many Taiwanese employees at her company have benefited from the 31 measures, a spate of preferential policies for Taiwan compatriots unveiled by the mainland in February.

The 31 measures cover a wide range of fields including industry, finance and taxation, land use, employment, education and health care.

Our Taiwanese employees now enjoy an even better working environment on the mainland, Zhang said.

Wu Ming-chi, deputy mayor of New Taipei City of Taiwan, said at the fair that New Taipei hoped to further cooperate with Tianjin in fields such as tourism, culture and high technology.

I have attended a number of trade fairs on the mainland since 2004. The mainland has many opportunities, said Tsai Yi-huei, manager of an aquatic product company based in Taiwans Chiayi County.

More than 2,300 people from all walks of life in Taiwan have attended the annual trade fair since 2008. The investment fair, which has been held since 2010, has attracted 3.6 million buyers.

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Greater visa-free access to benefit Chinas resort island

(Xinhua)08:56, July 05, 2019

HAIKOU, July 4 (Xinhua) — China will offer greater visa-free access for foreigners to its southernmost province of Hainan, in its latest move to support the construction of the Hainan pilot free trade zone (FTZ) and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

Under the new policy, foreigners are allowed to enter Hainan visa-free for a wider range of purposes including business, visit, visiting relatives, medical treatment, exhibition and sports, said Qu Yunhai, deputy head of the National Immigration Administration, at a press conference held Wednesday.

Apart from the visa-free policy, China will also facilitate foreigners to work in Hainan and provide more convenience for inbound tourists on cruises and yachts, as well as foreign patients and their families.

Group and individual tourists from 59 countries, including Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States have been given visa-free access to Hainan on condition that they would book their tours through travel agencies since May 1, 2018.

As of June 30, 447,000 foreign tourists visited Hainan visa-free, up 18.8 percent year on year. The province raked in 767 million U.S. dollars in foreign exchange earnings from tourism last year, up 12.7 percent.

A total of 35 overseas air routes were launched or resumed over the past year, enhancing the connections between Hainan and the world.

The visa-free policy covering tourists from 59 countries has promoted the tourism of Hainan and is of great importance to the construction of the Hainan FTZ, said Jia Tongbin from the National Immigration Administration.

The new policy is an effective supplement for the existing visa-free policy, said Fu Fenghua, an official with the Hainan provincial bureau of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports.

Fu said the cancellation of the travel agency restriction and the expansion of entry purposes will help change the tourist structure and boost inbound tourism in the long run.

The facilitation of entry and exit services for high-end tourism will bring an increasing number of tourists and encourage the development of new tourism types, he said.

Fu said Hainan will enrich its tourism products and better meet the demands of inbound tourists.

The island has become a popular tropical resort among overseas tourists in recent years, with the number of overseas tourists exceeding 1.2 million in 2018, up nearly 13 percent year on year.

The province aims to attract 2 million overseas tourists by 2020, according to a three-year action plan released last year.

Apart from benefits to the Hainan FTZ, the new policy also brings challenges to border inspection departments, said Yun Daxin, deputy head of the Haikou immigration inspection authority, adding they would provide more convenient and efficient customs clearance services for inbound and outbound passengers.

Hainan was approved in April 2018 to build a pilot FTZ, the 12th and largest among its peers, and explore the establishment of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

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Chinas people-to-people, cultural exchanges with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan deepening

(Xinhua)09:12, June 14, 2019

BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) — Chinas people-to-people and cultural exchanges with both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have deepened in recent years under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, with new progress in terms of cultural heritage preservation, films and publishing cooperation.

Some facts are as follows:

— Since 2013, China has continued to hold the Happy Spring Festival — China Tajikistan One Family event in Tajikistan, which has been warmly welcomed by local people.

— In 2014, the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Changan-Tianshan Corridor was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a joint application by countries including China and Kyrgyzstan.

— Under the framework of the Silk Road Film Television Bridge Project launched in 2015, Tajik and Kyrgyz language versions of some outstanding Chinese movies and TV series were made, including the documentaries Tea: Story of the Leaf and Porcelain Story in Tajik and Silk Road: The Journey Goes on and Chinas Mega Projects in Kyrgyz, which have been aired through the two countries national television broadcasts.

— In 2018, China exported copyrights of more than 190 books to Kyrgyzstan. A book on jointly building Belt and Road was among those translated into Kyrgyz and published in Kyrgyzstan.

Shans, a bookstore in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is the first bookstore in Central Asia selling works of Chinese authors translated into Kyrgyz and Kazakh languages and serves as a window for local readers to learn about China.

— In June 2018, delegations from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan attended the first Shanghai Cooperation Organization film festival in China. Tajik film Air Safar was among the winners of the Special Jury Awards, while Kyrgyz film Night Accident got the Best Actor Award.

— In May 2019, representatives of the cultural and artistic circles of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan attended the thematic forum Culture, Tourism and People-to-People Exchanges of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations as well as events like the Asian culture carnival.

— On June 10, 2019, a major event featuring Chinese cultural elements was held to mark the inauguration of the China Pavilion at the Bishkek Humanities University. Programs with Chinese features like the Kunqu Opera, ventriloquism, the dramatic art of Face-Changing, as well as traditional Kyrgyz dances were performed.

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Chinese opera staged in Kyrgyz capital helps boost bilateral ties

(Xinhua)15:11, June 14, 2019

BISHKEK, June 13 (Xinhua) — A Chinese opera staged in the Kyrgyz capital reviving a heroic epic shared by the two neighbors highlights a common wish to enhance the understanding between the two peoples and boost bilateral ties.

An original work by China National Opera House, Manas that tells the tale of the hero Manas, was greeted with warm welcome when it debuted here Tuesday at the 884-seat Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theater.

The opening night received a congratulatory message from Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. The audience, including senior Kyrgyz officials, applauded more than 30 times during the performance and cheered for nearly 20 minutes after the curtain fell.

Jeenbekov watched the opera of Chinese-version Manas in Beijing in June 2018 during his state visit to China and invited the artists to perform in Kyrgyzstan.

The epic of Manas tells tales about Manas, a chieftain of the Kyrgyz people, and his descendants who struggled to build a homeland and fight off external enemies. It has been sung for centuries in Kyrgyzstan, Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and parts of the ancient Silk Road.

After enjoying the Chinese opera, the well-known Kyrgyz Manas narrator Baktybek Maksutov said he was satisfied with its portrayal of the hero and was thankful to the Chinese artists.

Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen said the epic of Manas is a spiritual wealth shared by the two peoples, and it is also an important bridge for cultural exchanges between the two countries.

She said she hopes that the opera Manas will promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strengthen the traditional friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan.

The operas staging in the Kyrgyz capital, which came ahead of the 19th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held here, added a festive atmosphere to the event.

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Exquisiteness and dignity How Japanese university students feel about Chinese culture

(Xinhua)14:51, June 15, 2019

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) — Masaaki Miyasako was among the 3,000 Japanese young people invited to visit China in 1984 to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the normalization of the China-Japan relations.

For decades, Miyasako, professor emeritus with Tokyo University of the Arts and a prestigious cultural heritage protection expert, has endeavored to promote friendly exchanges and cooperation with China and made a remarkable contribution to the preservation of Dunhuang grottos.

Thirty-five years later, Miyasako is in China again, now leading a delegation of young Japanese students, with whom he fondly shares his observations of Chinas development over the past decades.

The delegation is the second batch of Japanese university student dispatched by Japan-China Cultural Exchanges Association to visit China on a tour from June 11 to 17.

At the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association, the group, comprised of 110 students and scholars from 40 institutions of higher education as well as personnel from the association, is scheduled to visit Beijing and northwest Chinas Gansu Province, where the Dunhuang grottos are located.

The Chinese and Japanese governments have designated 2019 as the China-Japan Youth Exchange Promotion Year, and agreed to arrange exchanges and visits for 30,000 young people of the two countries in the next five years, said Song Jingwu, vice president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Song, delivering a welcome address, expressed his hope that these Japanese students can form strong friendships with their Chinese peers.

There is a lot that we now need to learn from our Chinese friends, including the Belt and Road Initiative, a great concept that the Chinese people are now promoting, said Miyasako.

Miyasako said he hopes this generation of Japanese students can take over the relay baton of exchanges and serve as a positive influence for the relationship between the two countries.

EXQUISITENESS OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY

The delegation attended three interactive workshops at the Palace Museum, located in the Forbidden City, on Tuesday afternoon, on seal carving, porcelain painting and court necklace making.

There are profound ties between the cultures of China and Japan, said Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum. We learned from each other during ancient times, and we can still do the same today.

A first-time visitor to China, Marie Ogura, a student from Heian Jogakuin University, said the Palace Museum is delicate and exquisite.

Ogura said she was impressed by the sense of community and strict self-expectation in China.

Hayato Miura, a senior at the Law School of the University of Tokyo, just completed his year-long studies at Peking University. China has a diverse culture and a profound history.

Japanese society has a fairly limited understanding of China, said Miura. I hope the Japanese public can take part in more cultural exchanges to see the real China.

Minami Yamaguchi studies at Tokyo University of the Arts and visited the Palace Museum two years ago. This time, she brought a drawing book to sketch the buildings and decorations.

Noting her interest in Chinese culture, with which Japanese arts are closely related, Yamaguchi hopes to get to know more friends in China through paintings.

SEEING THE REAL CHINA

Suiko Wakano, from Heian Jogakuin, has made four trips to China. I have many very friendly Chinese friends in Japan. We often go to restaurants, temples and shrines together.

With a love of Chinese culture, I chose to major in Chinese classics, said Yuri Iida from Keio University.

Iida said Chinese people are very warmhearted and she enjoys such close feelings between people.

On Wednesday, the delegation climbed the Great Wall with 40 students from Beijing Forestry University. They also cooperated to complete nine illustrated descriptions of selected specimens at the university museum.

Kenjiro Kase entered Kyorin University in 2018, where he made Chinese friends and became interested in Chinese for the first time.

Having now learned Chinese for a year, Kase said he felt the dignity of Chinese culture through visiting the Palace Museum and the Great Wall.

Hana Nakanishi specializes in ancient Chinese poetry. I wish to become a teacher after graduation to pass on the fun of Chinese poetry to my students, and to tell them about the real China.

Starting a decade ago, I bring my students to Dunhuang every two years, offering them an opportunity to learn more about China, Miyasako told Xinhua. I am willing to serve as a bridge between them and China.

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Forum opens to boost people-to-people exchanges across Taiwan Strait

(Xinhua)08:23, June 17, 2019

XIAMEN, June 16 (Xinhua) — The main conference of the 11th Straits Forum was held Sunday in the port city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, to boost grassroots exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

More than 10,000 people from Taiwan attend the week-long forum, a record high, according to the organizer.

Of all participants from Taiwan, some 40 percent attended the forum for the first time and young people made up half of the participants.

Featuring 67 interactive activities across the province, the forum is also expected to explore new ways of integrated development across the strait.

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Xis article on cultural confidence to be published

(Xinhua)08:43, June 17, 2019

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) — An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on strengthening cultural confidence and developing a great socialist culture in China will be published Sunday in the 12th issue of the Qiushi Journal this year.

The article by Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that the Chinese nation will not be able to rejuvenate itself without strong cultural confidence and a rich and prosperous culture.

The article called for efforts to develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, inspire the cultural creativity of our whole nation, and develop a great socialist culture in China.

To develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics means to develop a socialist culture for our nation — a culture that is sound and people-oriented, that embraces modernization, the world, and the future, and that both promotes socialist material wellbeing and raises socialist cultural-ethical standards, according to the article.

In developing this culture, we must follow the guidance of Marxism, base our efforts on Chinese culture, and take into account the realities of contemporary China and the conditions of the present era, the article said.