SCO urges further cooperation to promote open world economy

(Xinhua)10:49, December 01, 2020

NEW DELHI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Monday underscored the importance of further deepening cooperation to develop a transparent, open, inclusive, fair, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system and to promote an open world economy.

Today humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges in all spheres of life, the severity of which is steadily increasing due to the ongoing spread of coronavirus infection, said a joint communique issued after the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of SCO member states.

High turbulence persists in global politics and economy, said the communique, adding that the process of economic globalization is hampered by the growth of unilateral and protectionist measures, instability of financial markets and other risks for the international trade.

The communique stressed that one of the primary tasks of the SCO is to improve the welfare and living standards of the population, and it is important to continue the consistent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals until 2030 and to strengthen cooperation in various areas of mutual interest.

The announcement noted the relevance of reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO), including by improving its key functions-negotiation, monitoring and dispute resolution functions.

When reforming the WTO, it is necessary to ensure that the key values and fundamental principles of the WTO are preserved, said the communique.

The 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of SCO member states, chaired by Indian Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, was held Monday in a videoconference format.

BRICS media can help promote cultural exchanges, says expert

(Xinhua)11:03, December 01, 2020

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Media outlets play a significant role in promoting people-to-people exchanges among BRICS countries, an expert has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Trust Matsilele, journalism lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa, said while trade and economic cooperation among BRICS countries has received adequate coverage in the media, the coverage of cultural exchanges remains insufficient.

Matsilele said the media play a role in highlighting for the public the cultural uniqueness of the BRICS countries, which include Brazil, China, India, Russia, India and South Africa.

The promotion of cultural exchanges among BRICS countries also has its economic benefits, he said.

I think one of the most important things is that people-to-people cooperation can translate into improved economic trade, the expert said.

Matsilele also pointed out that recent years have witnessed deepening media cooperation among BRICS countries, adding that a growing number of Chinese and Russian media outlets have sent their reporters to South Africa.

The call for increased media coverage of cultural exchanges came ahead of the virtual fifth BRICS Media Forum on Monday.

U.S. losing support in international community over political bullying

By JiPing (Peoples Daily Online)10:39, November 10, 2020

Gross interference in other countries’ domestic affairs is a distinctive feature of American hegemony and diplomacy.

Taking advantage of its economic, military, scientific and technological strength, the U.S. has long been notorious for adopting every possible means and exerting all its authority to meddle in other countries’ internal affairs, posing serious threats to global political security.

Since the end of World War Ⅱ, there hasn’t been one large-scale war in the world that was not directly or indirectly connected to the U.S., and no continued unrest in the world that it has not manipulated.

The country’s acts of seeking hegemony through wars have only intensified over time, along with its unscrupulous intention to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.

In 2001, U.S. troops entered Afghanistan in the name of fighting terrorism. However, after 13 years of continuous war, on which the U.S. spent $900 billion and several thousand U.S. soldiers lost their lives in a foreign land, the situation has only become worse.

In 2003, under the pretext that Iraq was in possession of ”weapons of mass destruction”, the U.S. bypassed the United Nations (UN) and overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime through a massive offensive, eventually seizing control of the country’s oil reserves. Nine years of war in Iraq resulted in several hundred thousand deaths in the country.

In 2011, the U.S. imposed sanctions against Syria in the name of the UN. Rumors that Syria had used chemical weapons gave Western countries justification to intervene with the use of force. However, the issue turned out to be another unjust and unresolved case.

By launching or directly taking part in wars, as well as taking advantage of the UN or bypassing it to go its own way, the U.S. has, in fact, wantonly interfered in other countries’ domestic affairs, adopting a high-handed approach of using force to further its own interests.

All the reasons it gives for meddling in other countries’ internal affairs have been proven to be lame excuses, and even pure lies and tricks. The U.S. has acted in a way that is no different than that of a robber.

While frequently resorting to the use of force to directly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, the US has never stopped manipulating the global political situation from behind the scenes.

History will never forget the color revolutions in the former Soviet Union and the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa, which were all inflicted upon the world at the beginning of the century.

From the Orange Revolution and the Velvet Revolution to the Tulip Revolution, Rose Revolution, and the Jasmine Revolution, and even the turmoil in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, all these events have an evil backstage manipulator: the U.S.

Through open interference from its government and behind-the-scenes manipulations by its so-call “non-governmental organizations,” the U.S. has spared no effort to bring about political changes in some countries, and even in their regimes.

The color revolution is the ugliest means the country has used to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and the most dangerous guise for bringing about so-called “peaceful evolution” in countries that have different ideologies, political systems, and development paths from that of the U.S., as it attempts to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Countries that have been listed as “evil forces” for saying “no” to the U.S. have suffered widespread interference and attacks from the country.

The U.S. has imposed extreme political pressure and cruel economic sanctions on these countries, isolated and cornered them using diplomatic means, intimidated these countries with its military strength, defamed them, and even plotted assassination against their political leaders. It has literally stopped at nothing to contain countries that don’t want to go along with it.

The US does not even make exceptions for its friends, and has been relentless in making carping comments on the foreign relations and national defense policies of its European allies.

The US is the world’s largest economy, but it doesn’t own the world. A country must control its own internal affairs. The U.S. cannot be allowed to decide everything and impose “long-arm jurisdiction” wherever it wants.

The country’s obsession with meddling in other countries’ domestic affairs, bullying the weak, ignoring the core values of the UN Charter and the norms governing international relations, and trampling on the morality and conscience of humanity has inflicted disasters on global security and the well-being of people around the world, and brought shame on the American people.

Nevertheless, history will give a just verdict on everything in the end. It will prove that misdeeds such as meddling, stirring up trouble, pursuing hegemony, and bullying will lead nowhere.

China urges the US to stop anti-subsidy investigations into the so-called Chinas undervalued currency

(Global Times)12:56, November 29, 2020

China urges the US to respect existing international rules and the multilateral trading system and stop its anti-subsidy investigation into the alleged undervaluation of the Chinese currency exchange rate, Chinese commerce authority said on Saturday, in response to the preliminary findings of the countervailing duty (CVD) case against China launched by the US Department of Commerce.

The US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced a so-called affirmative preliminary determination in the CVD investigation of twist ties from China on Tuesday.

The US commerce department preliminarily determined that exporters or producers from China received countervailable subsidies at a rate of 122.5 percent, said the announcement, claiming that among the subsidies preliminarily countervailed is Chinas undervalued currency.

This is the first time the department has countervailed the Chinese yuan.

This practice is a serious violation of relevant international rules, a Chinese commerce official said Saturday, responding to the US allegation.

The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures clearly stipulates the essential elements of subsidies, such as financial support, exclusivity and benefit grant, whilst the US Department of Commerce did not conduct the investigation and demonstration in accordance with the requirements of relevant WTO rules, but made the ruling mainly based on the report of the US Treasury Department which lacked evidence, according to Chinas commerce authority.

It is simply wrong for the US Treasury report to conclude that the Chinese currency was 5 percent undervalued against the US dollar in 2019, the Chinese official said, hoping that the US Department of Commerce will correct the relevant wrong practices and conclusions.

The preliminary decision of the US on Chinese currency exchange rate is one of its usual measures, aimed at pressuring the Chinese government to meet the final demands of the Trump administration, experts said.

We say no intervention because there has been no significant change in the central banks foreign exchange reserves and the use of counter-cyclical factors has been suspended, so I dont think the Chinese exchange rate is undervalued, Tan Xiaofen, deputy head at the School of Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Saturday.

At present, the yuans exchange rate has risen from 7.2 in May to 6.5 at present, with a large appreciation rate. Meanwhile, it can be seen that the central banks intervention has also been greatly reduced, and the exchange rate is more determined by the supply and demand of foreign exchange, experts said.

Meanwhile, the US has accused China of being a manipulator of the currency exchange rate many times, and its motive is to pressure China to make concessions in other aspects, which can be about trade talks, Tan said.

The US conflation of countervailing duties and exchange rates is meaningless, since the US allegation about the subsidies for non-market behavior of Chinese companies is groundless, Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerces International Market Research Institute, told the Global Times.

In terms of exchange rate, the fluctuation of the yuan is based on the market supply and demand, which is often subject to the state of the economy, said Bai, noting that when the economy is slowing, China needs more rapid monetary easing like the US does on dollars.

Bai said that the Trump administration is on its way out, so it is making all the remaining noises before stepping down.

However, if the Trump administration continues its groundless moves on Chinese currency, countermeasures can be expected, noted Bai.