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100th joint patrol on Mekong highlights success in stabilizing region

(Xinhua)10:06, December 13, 2020

KUNMING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) — Four Chinese patrol ships returned to Jingha Port in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province on Friday after completing the 100th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

More than 200 law-enforcement officers and eight vessels from the four countries joined the mission that started on Tuesday, the latest edition of an ongoing operation that has boosted regional security over a period of years.

The monthly joint patrol was inaugurated in 2011 to conduct random inspections along the Mekong and crack down on drug trafficking, smuggling and other cross-border crimes in the region. The patrols have proceeded as usual this year despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River along its Chinese stretch, meanders for over 4,900 km through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea. A key waterway for transnational shipping, the Mekong was, nevertheless, once a border area notorious for rampant criminal activities.

The river faced one of its darkest days on October 5, 2011 when a gang hijacked two cargo ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors in the waters near the Golden Triangle, an area known for drug production and trafficking.

The brutal incident sent shivers across the region and brought shipping activities in nearby waters to a halt.

Xiong Rui, a Chinese businessman who has been running a ship-building factory in Laos since 2001, said many ship-building companies along the river were then forced to suspend business.

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand issued a joint statement after the October incident, pledging to strengthen law-enforcement and security cooperation along the Mekong. In December 2011, the first joint patrol by the four countries was launched in an event marking the resumption of international shipping on the river.

Official data from the Yunnan provincial public security department showed the joint patrol teams have escorted more than 2,000 commercial ships and rescued 130 vessels in distress over the past nine years, preventing economic losses valued at up to 188 million yuan (about 28.7 million U.S. dollars). They have also seized over 4.6 tonnes of drugs during the patrols.

According to the department, the section of the Mekong between Chinas Guanlei Port and Thailands Chiang Saen Port has not reported a single case of commercial ship hijacking since the joint patrols were launched. Major ports on the section have seen surging cargo throughput in the past nine years, and river cruises on the section had seen growing popularity before the pandemic.

Xiong said the Mekong has regained its former glory thanks to the joint patrols.

Right after the patrols began, our company resumed production and commercial ships from the four countries started returning to the river, he said. Now our company is getting orders for bigger ships that can transport more cargo.

Vidone Phutdavong, a Lao law-enforcement official, said during the 100th joint patrol that the patrols on the Mekong have brought safety and positive changes to the region.

He commended Chinas continuous support for the joint-patrol mechanism and hoped the four countries would further advance cooperation under the mechanism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not hampered the joint patrols, but rather brought the four countries closer to safeguard the region and fight the pandemic together, said Yuan Yaping, with the water patrol general corps under the Yunnan provincial public security department.

Yuan said authorities in Laos and Myanmar donated medical supplies, including masks, disinfectants and protective gowns, to the Yunnan provincial public security department after the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Chinese law-enforcement authorities later returned the favor by donating supplies to their counterparts in Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

In September, law-enforcement authorities from the four countries launched a joint operation targeting stowaways in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the region.

Zhao Kezhi, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, said in a congratulatory letter to the 100th joint patrol team that he hoped law-enforcement authorities from the four countries would continue to strengthen cooperation in combating cross-border crimes and fighting the pandemic to better ensure regional stability and promote regional prosperity.

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Whats behind Washingtons frequent troop withdrawal orders?

(Xinhua)09:55, December 09, 2020

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — The Pentagon said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered the majority of American military forces out of Somalia by early 2021.

The decision was the latest among a series of troop withdrawal orders by the current U.S. administration. The Pentagon last month announced U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq would be reduced to 2,500 in each country by mid-January 2021.

Such orders, which have been announced with growing haste in recent months, not only seek to fulfill Trumps promises during his time in office but are an important component of the so-called America First policy, analysts say.

Still, accelerated U.S. troop withdrawals, which suggest that Trump is determined to downgrade U.S. participation in distant wars while cementing his political legacy before his presidency ends, will on the one hand face resistance from home and abroad, and on the other leave an even more daunting challenge for the next administration, according to experts.

TRUMPS PROMISES

Analysts believe there are mainly three reasons behind Trumps troop withdrawal push.

First of all, Trump has promised time and again to extract the United States from costly foreign conflicts, bring U.S. troops home, and shrug off burdensome overseas commitments, according to a Foreign Affairs article published Tuesday.

Back in December 2018, the Trump administration announced that it has started returning U.S. troops home from Syria after claiming a victory in the fight against the Islamic State militant group.

In June this year, Trump said to reporters at the White House that the number of U.S. troops deployed in Germany would be reduced to 25,000 due to Germanys insufficient defense spending. Five months later, he ordered U.S. troop pullouts from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Calling Trumps troop withdrawal orders a central component of his America First agenda, the New York Times said in an article published Friday that that appeal has particularly animated his base of populist voters, many of them veterans who have grown weary of their roles in longstanding wars.

Second, most of the pullouts were made to put an end to what Trump referred to as endless wars the country has been entangled in, cut U.S. spending for foreign aid, and reduce casualties for U.S. soldiers.

For example, the Somalia pullout could be a decision made partly due to growing risk for U.S. soldiers in the African country as its security has been, as the Brookings Institution pointed out in a November article, slowly but steadily deteriorating.

Third, as Trump faces the end of his presidency, the orders could be political, and have more to do with President Donald Trumps legacy than concern for Americans, said news magazine The Week in a feature story published late November.

RESISTANCE HOME, ABROAD

Over time, U.S. troop pullouts ordered by the Trump administration have been met with resistance at home and abroad. Those orders concerning the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan, in particular, have been strongly opposed by not only the federal government, but also the GOP and senior U.S. military officials.

In fact, following the administrations announcement of the Syria pullout in 2018, Trump himself and administration officials said in 2019 that there was no timetable for the withdrawal. According to an article published in mid-November by the New York Times, several hundred U.S. troops remain stationed in Syria.

Besides, among the U.S. troops that would be withdrawn from Germany, nearly half will be repositioned to other NATO countries like Belgium and Italy, while the rest will return to the United States with some beginning rotational deployment back to Europe, then Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in late July.

Furthermore, on the Afghanistan and Iraq pullouts, the Trump administration failed to win support not only from its NATO allies, but also senior U.S. military officials such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and Republican members like Esper.

During an interview with U.S. media organization NPR this October, Milley said he was not going to engage in speculation on an Afghanistan pullout timeline National Security Adviser Robert OBrien had announced earlier.

According to a CNN report in mid-November, Esper had sent a classified memo to the White House, warning that the necessary conditions had not been met for the Afghanistan pullout.

Trump orders most American troops to leave Somalia. Impulsive, ill thought out orders will result in a bitter harvest for U.S. national security interests, Barry McCaffrey, a retired U.S. army general, tweeted Saturday.

A CNN article published on Nov. 17 noted that Trumps order on the Afghanistan and Iraq pullouts is the latest foreign policy move on a growing list in his final weeks in office that are meant to limit President-elect Joe Bidens options before he takes office in January.

Citing Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, the article said Trump is trying to put the Democrats in a tricky situation.

However, multiple media reports have showed that Trumps orders were often slow-rolled by Pentagon.

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Spain willing to provide military support to Mozambique on antiterrorism

(Xinhua)10:36, December 09, 2020

MAPUTO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — Spains ambassador to Mozambique Alberto Cerezo said Tuesday in Maputo that his country is willing to offer military support to Mozambique for fighting insurgents in the countrys northern province Cabo Delgado.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with the President of the Assembly of the Republic Esperanca Bias, the ambassador said the Spanish authorities have already expressed an interest in military cooperation with Mozambique on antiterrorism.

This was following the European Union and the United States that have already expressed their willingness to do so.

We have experience in combating terrorism, and we are available to help Mozambique. We will be here for whatever is needed, said the ambassador.

Government spokesman Filimao Suaze said at a press conference on Tuesday that the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado does not only affect Mozambique and the north of the country, it also poses a threat to the whole region of the continent.

According to the Mozambican government, terrorist attacks have killed more than 1,100 people, causing displacement of hundreds of thousands that are in need of humanitarian aid since 2017.

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Chinese defense ministry firmly opposes U.S. arms sale to Taiwan

(Xinhua)10:53, December 09, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — A Chinese military spokesperson on Tuesday voiced firm opposition to the U.S. sale of military communications systems to Taiwan.

Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to reports that the U.S. Department of State has approved the sale of military communications systems worth about 280 million U.S. dollars to Taiwan.

U.S. arms sale to Taiwan has severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, especially the August 17 Communique, Ren said.

Ren noted that such a move blatantly interferes in Chinas internal affairs, seriously undermines Chinas sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, damages state-to-state and military-to-military relations between China and the United States, and harms peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Reiterating that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Ren stressed that the Taiwan question bears on Chinas core interests and brooks no external interference.

He urged the U.S. side to stop arms sale to and military contact with Taiwan to avoid dire consequences to the state-to-state and military-to-military relations between China and the United States as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army has full confidence and sufficient capability to thwart any attempt to split the country, and to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, he said.

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China appears to have gotten second wave of COVID-19 under control media

(Xinhua)10:38, July 05, 2020

NEW YORK, July 4 (Xinhua) — China appears to have gotten a second wave of COVID-19 under control following an outbreak at a sprawling Beijing produce market last month, an article published by Time magazine has said.

The article published on Thursday quoted Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghais COVID-19 clinical experts team, as saying that Beijing has set a clear example that China will ward off a new wave of infections — domestic or imported — through a prompt and refined epidemic control response.

On Wednesday, Beijing reported one new confirmed case and two asymptomatic cases after massive testings were conducted around the Xinfadi wholesale market in the citys southwestern Fengtai district, where a new outbreak was detected on June 11.

While that broke Beijings run of 56 days without any new local infections, no new deaths have been recorded as a result, the article said.

The article said the contrast in leadership is striking when compared with the United States. While Chinese officials talked of wartime mode and explosive situation at the battleground by Xinfadi market, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the virus would just disappear as the United States saw a daily record high of more than 52,000 new infections.

I dont think the virus is going to disappear, the article quoted Ben Cowling, a public health expert at Hong Kong University, as saying.

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99 years on, CPC leads Chinas evolution on world economic stage

(Xinhua)17:04, July 03, 2020

BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) — Turning 99 this week, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has much to be proud of. The largest political party in the world has transformed a weak, war-torn nation into an economy with one of the fastest growth rates in recent decades.

Yet for the rest of the world, the CPC has offered more than economic miracles and growth locomotives.

Under the CPCs leadership, and moving ever closer to the worlds center stage, China has evolved from a follower and learner into a champion and contributor of multilateralism and globalization, one that is always willing to share ideas and solutions to address common concerns, especially in times of pandemic and recession.

AN INSPIRING DEVELOPMENT PATH

This year also marks Chinas final push in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and winning the battle against poverty, despite the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

In 2019, Chinas GDP per capita exceeded 10,000 U.S. dollars for the first time in history. It was a new milestone in the countrys decades of economic catching-up, which proves that a developing country is capable of climbing the ladder of development through structural reform, opening up and technological advancement.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has expanded the modernization path for backward countries, said Song Tao, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

An increasing number of political parties have expressed hopes of enhancing exchange and cooperation with the CPC on state governance, according to Song.

Amid the fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, China has strengthened cooperation with other countries, especially in the developing world, to fight the global pandemic.

Chinas development experience over the past decades offers key lessons to Africa, according to UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who said in February that Chinas remarkable achievements in lifting its people out of poverty contributed to major advances under the Millennium Development Goals.

With the aim of eliminating absolute poverty this year, China saw the number of impoverished people fall to 5.51 million at the end of 2019 from 98.99 million at the end of 2012.

FIRMLY SUPPORTING AN OPEN ECONOMY

One principle enshrined in the Constitution of the CPC is that a continued commitment to reform and opening up is the path to a stronger China.

Since 1978, China has been promoting opening up as a fundamental state policy, following the trend of globalization.

From 1978 to 2018, China attracted more than 2 trillion U.S. dollars in non-financial foreign investment, and its foreign trade amounted to 52.2 trillion dollars. In 2018, Chinas overseas investment reached 143 billion dollars, 53 times as much as in 2002.

According to the report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the CPC, to make new ground in pursuing opening-up on all fronts, China will not close its door to the world, but will instead become increasingly open.

While protectionism is on the rise and globalization is under vicious assault in some countries, the CPC still keeps its strategic momentum and acts as an anchor for China to bolster wider opening-up, as always, said Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University, in an interview with Xinhua.

To fulfill its commitment, China has unveiled new, shortened negative lists for foreign investment, and to date, the number of sectors that are off-limits for foreign investors has been slashed to 33 from 93 in 2017.

The country has also announced that it will transform its island province of Hainan into a globally-influential high-level free-trade port focusing on trade and investment liberalization and facilitation by the middle of the century.

It is for sure that China will contribute to a stable world economy by continuing to advance reform and opening-up, widen market access, improve the business environment and expand imports and outbound investment.

At this critical juncture, when the COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging the globe and brings shocks to the global economy, China does not waver in its determination to further open up, said Ren Lin, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

A COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

Facing a world with growing anti-globalization sentiment, populism, unilateralism and protectionism, the CPC has come up with its own vision of global governance.

The notion of a community with a shared future for humanity, which pursues an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, has gained worldwide recognition.

China, together with many countries, is working to transform this concept into reality.

A total of 138 countries and 30 international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

A World Bank report estimated in 2019 that, if fully implemented, BRI transport projects could increase global real income by up to 2.9 percent and help lift 32 million people out of moderate poverty.

Meanwhile, the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has grown to 102 approved members worldwide, has a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.

The bank has also played an active role in global COVID-19 containment efforts by providing billions of dollars of loans for virus-hit countries.

By proposing public goods like the BRI and AIIB, among many others, China has shared its development dividends in real terms with the world and let other countries hitch a ride, Wang Wen of Renmin University told Xinhua.

Martin Jacques, a senior fellow of politics and international studies at Cambridge University, said China has done unprecedented pioneering work and offered a new possibility to the world.

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China taking no chances of a second COVID-19 wave CNN

(Peoples Daily Online)13:28, July 03, 2020

Screenshot of the report by CNN

China isn’t taking any chances of a second wave gripping the country, wrote CNN on June 29.

In a report entitled “As coronavirus spikes in US, China locks down 400,000 people … over 18 cases”, the authors compared the relaxing of restrictions in the US with stringent measures taken in China, praising Beijings efforts to contain the new outbreak and saying they “appear to have been successful.”

Beijing’s efforts demonstrated again the “effectiveness of lockdowns, social distancing and mask wearing combined with widespread testing”, it noted.

Citing the example of Anxin County, in the central province of Hebei, near Beijing, the report said that about 400,000 people in the county have been placed under strict lockdown, after just 18 fresh cases were detected.

Other measures in Anxin included fully closing all villages, communities and buildings, only permitting one person per household to go outside to purchase supplies once a day, and banning all outside vehicles.

The report noted that after a cluster of cases linked to Xinfadi, a fresh produce market, emerged in the southwest of the capital in mid-June, authorities quickly imposed a lockdown on residential compounds in the vicinity of the market, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. Residents had their temperatures checked and reported on a daily basis, and their food and daily necessities delivered.

Moreover, Beijing rolled out mass nucleic acid testing for the coronavirus, setting up 193 sampling booths across the city. More than 76,000 people were tested within 48 hours of the cluster being detected.

By June 30, about 8 million Beijing residents had been tested for the coronavirus, with the number of daily tests expanding from 40,000 to more than 450,000.

On the same day, Beijing authorities planned to remove closed-off management in 12 residential communities near the Xinfadi market after the city confirmed three additional coronavirus cases, the lowest number seen in 19 days.

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China suspends Dhaka-Guangzhou flight over COVID-19 cases

(Xinhua)10:16, July 07, 2020

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) — Chinas civil aviation regulator said on Monday that a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, to Chinas Guangzhou would be suspended after five passengers had tested positive for COVID-19 on a June 28 flight.

The suspension of flight BS325 will last for one week, starting on July 6, and is the third of its kind ever to be imposed. It is also the first suspension of an overseas airline.

To further contain the spread of COVID-19, a reward and suspension mechanism by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was introduced on June 4.

According to the CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the operating airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.

If the number of passengers testing positive reaches five, the airlines flights will be suspended for a week. The suspension will last for four weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches 10.

The CAAC also said that the company is not allowed to transfer the original quota of flight BS325 to other routes.

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Xi Focus-Quotable Quotes Xi Jinping on remembering history, cherishing peace

(Xinhua)15:17, July 07, 2020

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) — Tuesday marks the 83rd anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, which is recognized as the start of Japans full-scale invasion of China, and Chinas whole-of-nation resistance against Japanese aggression.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has on many occasions stressed remembering history and cherishing peace. The following are some highlights of his quotes.

— War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace.

— The Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War were a decisive battle between justice and evil, between light and darkness, and between progress and reaction.

— The Communist Party of China played a central role that was key to the victory of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

— The great spirit of resisting aggression is part of the precious cultural wealth of the Chinese people. It will always provide a strong impetus for the Chinese people to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and strive for national rejuvenation.

— The Chinese and Japanese people should pass on their friendship from generation to generation, learn the lessons of history and look forward, to make joint contribution to world peace.

— China is a staunch advocate and strong defender of world peace. The Chinese people will stay committed to the noble cause of peace and development of mankind.

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China-Europe cargo trains drive Belt and Road cooperation

(Xinhua)08:53, September 14, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — After a China-Europe cargo train left east Chinas Jinhua city for Baku in Azerbaijan on Thursday, an inbound train carrying 50 containers of polyethylene arrived in the coastal city of Xiamen the next day.

With the new Jinhua-Baku route, the number of China-Europe (Central Asia) freight train routes starting in Jinhua city, Zhejiang Province, has increased to 12. The train from Russias Tobolsk was the first return train fully loaded with bonded cargo to Xiamen, Fujian Province.

As the coronavirus pandemic severely hits international transport, the China-Europe freight trains play a pivotal role in land transport among countries, as shown by the rising number of trains, opening of new routes, and the volume of goods.

The China-Europe freight trains, first launched in 2011 in the southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chongqing, are running more frequently than ever this year ensuring trade and transport of epidemic prevention materials in both directions. They have been an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.

By the end of July, the China-Europe cargo train service had delivered 39,000 tonnes of goods for epidemic prevention, providing strong support to international COVID-19 control efforts, data from the China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. showed.

The number of China-Europe freight trains hit a record high of 1,247 in August, up 62 percent year on year, transporting 113,000 TEUs of goods, an increase of 66 percent.

Outbound trains carry goods like daily necessities, equipment, medical supplies and vehicles while inbound trains transport milk powder, wine and automobile parts among other products.

By Aug. 20, Xian, a major city on the Silk Road Economic Belt, had launched 2,305 freight trains this year, transporting a total of 1.79 million tonnes of goods, 1.9 times and 1.8 times the number and volume respectively of the same period last year.

Xian, the provincial capital of Shaanxi Province, has 15 international trunk freight train lines, covering 45 countries and regions in central Asia, western Asia and Europe.

During the epidemic, the China-Europe freight train service showed how it could promote win-win situation that would be mutually beneficial. It also highlighted the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits embodied by the Belt and Road Initiative, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday.

The China-Europe freight train has not only delivered to European countries anti-epidemic materials and daily necessities that are in short supply, but also shipped a large number of quality foreign products to China.

This is conducive to the resumption of production and the rapid economic restart of countries along the Belt and Road, providing a strong impetus to the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and bringing new opportunities for the recovery and development of the global economy, Zhao said.

A number of Chinese provinces and regions have reported growth in foreign trade with Belt and Road countries.

The China-Europe trains have accelerated the citys opening up, said Li Mingyuan, mayor of Xian. In the first half of this year, Xians foreign trade grew 2.9 percent to reach 166.15 billion yuan (about 24.3 billion U.S. dollars).

In the first seven months, central Chinas Henan Province saw its trade with Belt and Road countries increase by 28.8 percent year on year to reach 76 billion yuan. Trade between the eastern province of Shandong and countries along the Belt and Road hit 346.3 billion yuan, up 5.5 percent year on year, accounting for 30.4 percent of the provinces total foreign trade.

Good connectivity is a hugely important factor facilitating growth in international trade. We believe that much of Chinas experience in terms of improving connectivity can be replicated elsewhere, to the benefit of trade, companies and local economies, said Jens Eskelund, vice chairman of European Chamber of Commerce in China and managing director of Maersk China Limited.

According to Chinas Ministry of Commerce, from January to July, the non-financial direct investment of Chinese companies in countries along the Belt and Road reached 10.27 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.9 percent year on year.