Category: Featured

Nigerian comedian, Afamefuna Igwemba popularly known as Klint Da Drunk, expressed gratitude to God for surviving a car crash along Bauchi-Jos express road.

Klint Da Drunk, took to his instragram handle @klintdadrunk to express his joy on Friday.

Below are extracts from the message:

“Please, help me in praising God Almighty for delivering us from the Jaws of death. Along Bauchi-Jos express road, we were involved in a terrible car crash.

“We boarded golf 2 on charter as it was the only means to move.

“The driver was careful enough so I had no issues with him but then, out of the blues, a truck jumped right in front of us and road was wet as it had been drizzling.

“The driver tried all he could to stop the car but the slippery road just made it look like he did nothing all I was shouting was “JESUS! JESUS!! JESUS!!!” and with a speed of about 100km/per hr or there about, we rammed right into the back of this truck.

“God being so merciful and wonderful, we got out of the car with very minor injuries, how the tail of the truck was stopped from causing major damage on us is just God’s doing.

“God I thank you for life, I thank You for Your Mercies, I thank You for Your Grace and for your love on sinners like us.

“May your name be glorified forever in Jesus Mighty Name!!! Amen!!!,” he said

The car at the scene of the accident

The Nigerian comic actor is a famous Nigeria stand out comedian and musician that has contributed to the entertainment industry immensely.

Klint Da Drunk became popular after he made his first appearance in Nigga raw first album “Obodo” then appeared in several other videos.

He became a public figure after his unique performance in a ‘Night of Thousand Laugh’ a comedy show hosted by Opa Willims in several part of Nigeria.

The renowned comic actor has featured in numerous Nollywood movies which include Destroyer, Chain Reaction, Lost Kingdom, My house help etc.

He is married to his longtime girlfriend Lillian and their marriage is blessed with two children.

Meanwhile,Many celebrities were very excited that the comedian and other passengers survived the mishap.

They shared comments of gratitude on his page. Some reactions below:

@julietibrahim: “Glory be to God. I had a similar encounter before and it’s just God’s miraculous intervention God is good all the time.”

@ruggedybaba: “Thank God for His mercies bro.”

@okonlagos: “Thank You Jesus.”

@senatorcomedian: “Thank God!!!!”

@alexxekubo: “God almighty we thank you.”

@patrick_salvado: “God is good bro, sorry about that Ordeal”.(NAN)

By Danzumi Ishaku

Kaka ethic nationality in Sarduana local government council, of Taraba state, located in the Mambilla Plateau, have again reaffirmed their support for the leadership of the State governor, Darius Ishaku.

Leader of the ethnic group Peter Samuel Kamak and Nathaniel who made the declaration in Jalingo, said the creation of Kaka chiefdom by the state governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku , as one of the major reason the community would continued to work tirelessly round the clock for the governor to achieve his dream of ensuring peaceful coexistence among all the entire ethnic groups in the state.

The governor’s moves towards ensuring peace among all the groups and to as well herald the presence of investors to the state, they said also motivated them to throw their weights behind that of the governor and the leaders of the state.

Peter Samuel Kamak and Nathaniel , said the decision of the governor, his deputy, Engineer Haruna Manu, as well as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abel Peter Dish, has gone a long way to “place Kaka on the map of traditional authority in Nigeria.”

Lauding the efforts of the governor for the choice of monarch appointed to preside over the affairs of the chiefdom, whom they described as “a man endowed with wisdom, and the custodian of our culture, tradition and values” the ethic group according to the statement , would not relent in joining forces with the leadership of the state to promote peace in the area and the state as a whole.

They Called on other ethnic groups especially those in the Mambilla Plateau to “embrace peace” the Kaka who also use the opportunity to felicitate with the governor on his 65 birthday said ” the good people of Kaka chiefdom wish to pledge an allegiance to your government and to declare our undying support to your administration. ”

Above all , the community reiterated their determinations to embark on “peace campaign on the Mambilla Plateau through love accord and brotherly hood, to let everyone know that Peace cannot be bought with money but peace can be made and can be maintain through coexistence, tolerance and forgiveness.

By Dauda R Pam

BORNO state government has concluded plans to offer scholarships to 2,700 indigent students from the 27 local government areas of the state to study science courses in the newly established Borno state University.

This was contained in a press statement issued by the Director of Press, Government House, Pindar Sawa Ndahi, and made available to the media.

According to the statement,Gov. Babagana Zulum, made the disclosure while inspecting ongoing projects at the Borno State University at the weekend, quoting,the governor to have said that 100 students would be selected from each of the 27 local government areas of the state, to benefit from the gesture.

he added that between 300 and 600 students would be admitted into the faculties of humanities in the university, which is expected to commence academic activities in October.

The governor,the statement said, directed the university to liaise with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Chief of Staff, Government House,to fashion out modalities of providing scholarship to the students to read mathematics, physics and other sciences and further directed the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Umar Kyari, to warn contractors to ensure completion of all projects or face revocation.

He directed the vice-chancellor to look into the issue of bringing in private developers to support the government in the provision of accommodation and thanked the university’s management over its commitment and dedication towards ensuring that the university project becomes a reality.

Earlier, the Vice-chancellor of the state university, Professor Umar Kyari applauded the governor over his support and provisions of fund for the execution of the projects.

The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that the Nigeria Information and Technology Development Agency ( NITDA), had provided over N250 million to the university, for procurement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment and internet facilities.

Highlights of the visit were the inspection of ongoing Mega School projects at Abuja Sheraton; Sajeri, and Moramti areas of Maiduguri metropolis.

By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
Twitter: @farooqkperogi

The sensational but entirely false story about one Dr. Nura Yakubu (or is it Yakubu Nura) of the University of Maiduguri winning “the World Physics Competition by defeating about 5720 contenders from 97 countries,” which reputedly earned him the distinction of becoming “the father of modern Einstein’s planetary equation studies in Physics,” is another sad example of how the Nigerian news media help to give publicity to patent intellectual fraud by Nigerian academics.

I can forgive the Nigerian media’s failure to detect Philip Emeagwali’s intellectual 419. It was a sophisticated, well-layered intellectual con game that suckered even well-established media outfits like CNN and otherwise perceptive politicians like former US president Bill Clinton.

Emeagwali’s deception was believable because he actually did win a real award. It was just that he exaggerated the worth of the award and used it as a launching pad to orchestrate one of the most labyrinthine intellectual swindles I’ve ever come across in all my years of systematic study of the rhetorical strategies of fraudsters.

Although several well-researched reports have blown the lid off Emeagwali’s unfounded claims, Yemi Osinbajo recently repeated the discredited falsehoods Emeagwali had peddled for years. During an Independence Day speech on October 1, 2018, Osinbajo said, “the world’s fastest supercomputer was designed by a world-renowned inventor, Philip Emeagwali, a full-blown Nigerian.”

Premium Times was compelled to fact-check Osinbajo in an October 20, 2018 report titled “FACT-CHECK:Did VP Osinbajo goof in his Independence Day speech?” “There is no evidence that Mr. Emeagwali, 64, has ever invented anything, not to talk of the ‘world’s fastest supercomputer’,” the paper wrote. “A detailed investigation by the rested NEXT newspaper in 2010 indicated that Mr. Emeagwali’s biggest achievement at the time was his winning of the $1,000 Gordon Bell Prize in 1989.”

I wasn’t surprised that Osinbajo said this. His media aide, Laolu Akande, was one of the biggest enablers of the false and exaggerated claims of Nigerian academics when he was a reporter for the Guardian in New York.

As I wrote in my November 6, 2010 column titled “Intellectual 419: Philip Emeagwali and Gabriel Oyibo Compared,” “The Guardian’s U.S. correspondent, a certain Laolu Akande, is the biggest accomplice in Oyibo’s fraud. Until the last few years, the Guardian often reported that Oyibo was among the top three candidates being considered for the Nobel Prize in Physics. This intentionally deceitful newspaper speculation was/is the basis for his unearned popularity in Nigerian elite circles.”

You would think after Emeagwali and Oyibo, the Nigerian media would be wary of future unverified claims by Nigerian academics. On the contrary, however, they seem to be falling for even less sophisticated, easily detectable scams.

For instance, on July 28, 2011, the Guardian publicized the false claims of a Benue State University lecturer by the name of Michael Atovigba who claimed to have solved a 262-year-old mathematical puzzle (for which he said he would win $1 million from the US-based Clay Mathematics Institute) based on an article he published in a predatory, pay-to-play Pakistani journal (with more than half of his references from Wikipedia!) The Guardian caused Nigerians to celebrate him wildly until I—and others— burst his bubble.

Four years later, the Vanguard of November 15, 2015 publicized the false claims of a Dr. Enoch Opeyemi of the Federal University in Oye-Ekiti who claimed to have solved the same centuries-old mathematical puzzle that Atovigba had claimed to have solved! As I pointed out in my November 21, 2015 column titled “‘Mathematical’Enoch Opeyemi and the Making of Another Nigerian Intellectual 419er,” Opeyemi’s only evidence for claiming to have solved the Riemann Hypothesis was that he presented a paper on the puzzle at the “International Conference on Mathematics and Computer Science” in Vienna, Austria.

It later emerged that the “conference” itself was a scam operation. An August 20, 2011 blog post titled “Fake Paper Accepted by Nina Ringo’s Vienna Conference” revealed that a scientist by the name of Mohammad Homayoun who was suspicious of the genuineness of the “International Conference on Mathematics and Computer Science (ICMC)” decided to test his suspicion by submitting a fake, worthless, nonsensical paper to the conference to see if it would be accepted or rejected.

The researcher’s hunch was accurate: the ICMC in Vienna was an elaborate, money-making scholarly scam. His paper was accepted even though it was intentionally nonsensical.

Opeyemi also said he would be paid $1 million by the Clay Mathematics Institute in two years for his “feat,” and the media believed him. On November 25, 2017, I did a follow-up column titled “Remember Enoch Opeyemi Who Claimed to have Solved the Riemann Hypothesis?” where I pointed out that two years later, the puzzle Opeyemi claimed to have solved was still listed as “unsolved” on the Clay Mathematics Institute’s website. It’s still unsolved as I write this.

In spite of my pointing this out, many Nigerians continued to celebrate Opeyemi’s delusional claims to nonpareil intellectual accomplishment—until Dr. Nura Yakubu came and displaced him.

As I pointed out on social media, the truth is that Dr. Nura is the willing victim of a scam, a kind of scam I call scams of ego, which prey on the status anxieties and low self-esteem of insecure, fraud-prone people. World Championship, the “organization” that conferred the “award” on Dr. Nura, is a well-known scam operation that does not, for strategically fraudulent reasons, have a site with its own domain name. It uses a free sites.google.com account to perpetrate its swindles.

Anyone who pays a fee can get any—I mean ANY—award from the site. Check the site to see the list of “award winners” it features in every imaginable field. You will find many Nigerians there. Some past Nigerian “winners” even managed to defraud the ever credulous Nigerian news media into publicizing their “feat.”

For instance, one Dr. Kaywood Leizou of the Niger Delta University (NDU) got the Guardian to write a story about his “award” from this same fraudulent site on October 19, 2018. Titled “Bayelsa don wins global chemical sciences contest,” the report said, “The Bayelsa-born don beat 5,845 others from 89 countries whose nominations were screened for this year’s edition. Consequently, the International Agency for Standards and Ratings (IASR) has recognised Leizou as one the world’s 500 most influential experts on earth in chemical sciences for the year.”

In 2018, the same website “conferred” one “Dr.” Shuaib Idris Mohammed of Edo State (who hasn’t even completed his PhD) with the “World Champion in Agricultural Extension (Credit Facilities)” award “out of 91 countries.” The site added: “Dr. Shuaib Idris Mohammed is now recognized as Father of modern Credit Facilities in Agricultural Extension. The purpose of the award is to identify brilliant scientists and academicians around the world through World Championship. The World Championship is organized by International Agency for Standards and Ratings at international level.”

Sounds familiar? That’s the exact language used for Dr. Nura. It’s the same suspiciously atrocious grammar. The “contenders” for the “awards” are always in the thousands—and from more than 80 countries in the world.

But nothing in Nura’s scholarly record—and those of others who have been made “fathers” of whole disciplinary specialties by the fraudulent site—suggests that he is anywhere close to the pinnacle of his career. In fact, most of his articles are published in dodgy, predatory journals that publish ANYTHING submitted to them for a fee.

The scariest thing in all this is that Dr. Nura Yakubu was going to be hosted in the Presidential Villa and honored by Muhammadu Buhari. A friend of mine who is a close confidant of Buhari’s called to tell me this and to ask that I help verify the authenticity of Nura’s “award.” My findings and subsequent status update saved Buhari from a potentially momentous embarrassment.

Well, even Buhari himself fell for a fraudulent “MLK award.” So he and Dr. Nura Yakubu would have made good company in the Villa! Nigerians have to be the world’s greatest suckers for cheap scams!

By our reporter.

Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba state, has reviewed the existing curfew imposed on some parts of Jalingo and Ardo Kola Local Government Areas from twelve o’clock in the morning to six o’clock in the morning daily.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku on Media and Publicity Bala Dan Abu says the review does not affect Keke Napep operators which stands between eight o’clock in the evening to six o’clock in the morning.

The Governor directed security agencies to arrest and ensure the prosecution of Keke Napep operators who violates the restriction order.

By Samuel Itsede

The Federal government says it has commenced move to reverse the judgment of a British court which ordered the seizure of 20 per cent in assets, of Nigeria’s foreign reserves, amounting to $9bn (£7.4bn).

Justice Butcher of the British Commercial Court while delivering judgment in the suit filed by an Irish firm, Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) against Nigeria gave the firm the go-ahead to seize Nigeria’s asset to the tune of $9bn in terms of judgment debt in favour of the firm.

However barely few hours the judgment was given in favour of P&ID, Nigeria has indicated it would appeal the judgment.

A statement from the Federal Ministry of Justice, signed by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Dayo Apata, yesterday disclosed that the FG had already instructed its lawyers to initiate appeal proceedings against the judgment at the British court.

Apata, while assuring that the Federal government shall do everything possible to defend vigorously its interest and that of the people of Nigeria, hinted that part of the move is to seek for a Stay of Execution of the said judgment, adding that the issue is a current litigation issue at the United States of America.

“As regards the recent Judgment of the English Court of 16 August
2019, the Federal Government’s Counsel have been instructed to pursue an appeal on the judgment of the English Court dated 16 August 2019 and at the same time seek for a Stay of Execution of the said judgment.

” In view of the above, please be informed that the Federal Government of Nigeria is making vigorous efforts to defend its interest in this matter and would not relent in exploring every viable option in doing so”, the statement read in part.

P&ID had dragged the Federal government and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to court over alleged breach of an agreement entered in 2010 by Nigeria to supply gas to a processing plant built and run by P&ID in Calabar.

The agreement was for a 20-year deal but the Nigerian government failed to keep to her own side of the agreement, prompting the legal action against the country.

But in the statement issued to journalists, Apata disclosed that since the matter came up the government has continued to “pursue the validity of its jurisdictional defence as a preliminary matter which must be conclusively resolved prior to any consideration of the merit argument up to the Court of Appeal”.

The Federal government had continued to maintain that P&ID never began the construction of the project facility for which it claimed about $40m in preliminary expenses.

The FG said the firm’s claim in the arbitration proceedings was mainly for loss of profit for the entire twenty-year term of the GSPA, “initially claiming the sum of US$1.9 Billion and later increasing its claim to
US$5.9bn.

Apata however disclosed that though the Arbitral Tribunal had on 31st January 2017 rendered its Final Award against the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in the sum of US$6.597bn together with pre-award interest at the rate of 7% per annum effective from March 20, 2013 and post award interest at the same rate till date of payment, the government had challenged the decision.

“In granting the huge arbitration award against Nigeria the tribunal decided the following:

i. that the project would operate at 93% uptime during the twenty year of the GSPA despite the well-known risks of operating such a project in the Niger-Delta.

ii. that the average price of Natural Gas Liquids (the main revenue earner for P&ID assuming the GSPA had been implemented), should be based on an average oil price in excess of $100 per barrel over the twenty-year life of the project;

iii. to apply a discount rate to P&ID’s supposed lost profits of 2.65 %, the same interest rate paid on United States treasury notes thereby adjudging P&ID, a start-up company that never commenced any physical work on the project but planned to operate in the midst of the Niger-Delta crisis, using a novel and unproven technology, a virtually “risk-free” investment.

“Upon the Award, P & ID commenced recognition and enforcement proceedings of the arbitration award against FGN in March 2018 in both the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the United States of America (the “United States”).

“The FGN is duly represented in the proceedings in the United States by the Law Firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP which also represented it in the UK proceedings of which judgement was given on 16th August 2019 in favour of the P&ID to commence enforcement proceeding against the FGN assets in the UK.

“Recall further that this matter was inherited from the previous Administration by the present one. Upon inheriting this matter, this Government engaged the renowned US Law Firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP to defend the interest of the FGN. The Law Firm has taken the step to defend the proceedings in the United Stated by urging the District Court to dismiss the P&ID application for enforcement of the award on the ground that Nigeria as a sovereign state has an absolute right to obtain an authoritative determination of its sovereign immunity.

“The FGN, therefore, demanded that the jurisdictional issue must be conclusively resolved before Nigeria may be required to litigate the merits of P&ID’s petition.

The traditional ruler of Obeagu Ugwuaji, Awkunanaw Autonomous Community of Enugu state, Igwe Christopher Nyia has been arraigned by the police over suspicion of kidnapping among other charges.

the traditional ruler was arraigned before an Enugu South Magistrates Court presided over by Mr A. P. C. Amalu on four count charges allegedly committed with others at large in November 2014.

Nyia was said to have conspired to commit the crime to wit: malicious damage/unlawful detention, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 517 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nyia was said to have willfully and unlawfully destroyed the house of one Hillary Okoye valued at N1.6 million and committed an offence punishable under sect. 451 of the same law.

He was said to have also unlawfully detained one Chinaza Agah against her will and, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 365 of the Criminal Code Act.

The last charge was that the monarch attempted to kidnap one Chinaza Agah and, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 86 (1) of the Criminal Code Act.

When the charges were read, the monarch pleaded not guilty and elected for summary trial.

The defense counsel, Prof. Osita Ogbu applied for the quashing of the charges against his client on grounds that the case had earlier been heard and dismissed by an Enugu Magistrates Court in 2016.

Ogbu said the case was dismissed due to lack of diligent prosecution.

The counsel, who tendered the certified copies of the proceedings, said it was surprising that the prosecution would bring up the matter again.

Read Also: Kidnapped college provost regains freedom in Benue – Police
The defense counsel also said the laws on the basis of which his client was arraigned, did not apply to Enugu State.

He said the law was a creation of the National Assembly adding that the body had no constitutional powers to make laws for an offence applicable to Enugu state.

Ogbu said that criminalisation was a residual matter under the 1999 Constitution and amended except in treasonable felony.

He said his client was charged under the criminal code applicable in Abuja, adding that Enugu State had its own Criminal Procedure Law.

“The powers to enact general criminal laws are incidental which is not applicable here. These offences are under the legislative powers of the state assembly,” he said.

He said that under Sect. 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, “a person could only be brought to the court for an offence prescribed by a valid law.

“We urge the court to quash the charges and discharge the accused person as he is not charged under any valid law,” he said.

Ogbu however, applied for the bail of his client should the court find no valid reason to quash the charges.

He said that the monarch was conscientiously attending court proceedings even when the prosecution was not attending prior to the initial dismissal of the case in 2016.

However, the prosecution counsel, Mr D. T. Abi opposed the bail application on the grounds that the allegations were heinous.

Abi however, told the court that the case was not dismissed on its merits but on technical grounds.

He said that under the circumstance, the police have the powers to re-arrest and bring the accused back to the court.

He said the charges were applicable to the state as the NASS had the powers to make laws for good governance of all parts of the country.

Abi prayed the court to discountenance the submissions of the defense counsel and deny bail.

However, Amalu granted the accused bail for N1 million and one surety in like sum.

The matter was adjourned until Sept. 2 for hearing.

By Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth

I visited China for the first time in the early 1980s. Back then, China had just started reforming and opening up, and was in an early stage of accelerated urban construction. There were not many cars, but the people there, many of whom were riding bikes on the streets, were showing energy in their eyes.

About 10 years later, I went to China again. The country was showing even greater signs of change, with a rapid development of infrastructure. The living standard of the Chinese people was improving everywhere you looked. There was a tremendous momentum all throughout the country.

To put it simply: one noticed right away that the roads were wider, and that automobiles were getting more affordable for average families. I started to realize that, as China’s automobile market took off, the country was seeing huge market demand. This demand would soon make China the world’s fastest-growing and largest auto market.

Subsequent visits to China gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the country’s development potential. After I became the CEO of Jaguar Land Rover in 2010, I immediately led the company to enter the Chinese market. We soon achieved leapfrog growth after entering what had indeed become the world’s largest auto market.

We started cooperation with China’s Chery Automobile Co., Ltd to produce automobiles and engines. So far, we have set up offices in four Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, employing over 6,000 staff and authorizing 245 dealers across the country. I continue to be hugely optimistic about the Chinese market, and look forward to finding out what the future will hold.

As a witness of – and participant in – the miracle of China’s development, I am amazed by the spectacular progress achieved since the foundation of the modern nation. My daughter also developed a strong interest in China, under my influence. After she came to see it firsthand, she was immediately attracted by the dynamism and charm of the country. Now she is a doctor serving an internship in Shanghai.

As I started to learn more about this country, I came to understand why young people around the world are yearning to engage with it. My daughter often tells me that being a doctor in Shanghai means working at the forefront of medical science and having access to the world’s most advanced technologies.
This is true. It only took a few decades for China to become one of the leading countries in medical science, and ‘miracle’ has become the most frequently used word to describe China.
China has not only achieved economic development, but also advanced technological progress and an open and inclusive culture. The country is promoting world peace and development through dialogue and cooperation.

In recent years, China has lifted more than 10 million people out of poverty annually; it is seeing rapid expansion of the middle-income group, which is resulting in a growing set of expectations for the country from the world.

I believe China’s development is not only quantitative, but also qualitative. The country is leading the world in multiple areas and becoming one of the most attractive destinations on offer. Young graduates from many countries hope to work in China and get involved in the great tide of the country’s development.
Rather than focusing on only its own development, China also hopes to promote shared progress across the world. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) being implemented by the country has created a great opportunity for global economic prosperity. Today, the joint construction of the BRI is yielding rich developmental fruit.
In particular, the initiative is rapidly improving the infrastructure of participating countries. Infrastructure is an accelerator of commercial development, and the Belt and Road countries are seeing the benefits from it already.

Culturally, joint construction of the BRI has significantly boosted understanding and inclusiveness among different civilizations and diverse cultures. The BRI advocates for the principle of seeking shared benefits through consultation and collaboration, which not only helps innovation and fosters mutual understanding, but also improves the livelihood of the people. Besides, it also bears huge significance for promoting peaceful development.
We, as multinational enterprises, welcome the application of such principles. In our industry, the ideals being upheld by the BRI ultimately facilitate the international auto trade and the trade in auto parts. Only by sticking to this kind of reciprocal cooperation can enterprises achieve long-term development.

(The author is the CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. This article is edited by Niu Ruifei from People’s Daily)

On Aug. 13, People’s Daily published an article under the pen name “Guo Jiping”, probing into the economic development of China. The abstract of the article is as follows.
The economic and trade friction unilaterally started by the US has brought too many uncertainties to Chinese economy and even the world.
However, China’s economy still maintains stability while making progress despite the domestic downward pressure and trade disputes with the US. It is still a major highlight of the world economy.
Any inharmonious voice that overstates China’s short-term economic fluctuation, sings the blue over the country’s economy, or exaggerates the country’s economic risks will be turned down in the face of facts.

The major macroeconomic indicators of China have been maintained within a reasonable range, and consumption is served as a more powerful engine of economic growth. In addition, domestic demand is making larger contribution to growth, with continuous improvement being made in people’s living standard and quality. More factors are driving high-quality development of the country.
China released half-year economic data in mid-July, saying its GDP increased 6.3 percent from a year ago, and 7.37 million new jobs were created. Besides, 19,400 new enterprises were being established on a daily basis, and consumption contributed 60.1 percent to economic growth. In addition, the service sector contributed 60.3 percent to GDP growth.

The annual economic growth of the country is equal to the total GDP of a medium-sized developed country.
China has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, a 900-million-strong workforce, a talent pool of 170 million college graduates and people with professional skills. It is also home to the world’s largest middle-income group and over 100 million market entities.
Domestic demand is a major driving force of China’s economic growth. It contributed 108.6 percent to the country’s growth in 2018, and final consumption 76.2 percent.

China is the world’s second largest investor in R&D, spending 2.18 percent of its GDP in this field. New economic drivers such as the strategic emerging industry and sharing economy are gradually maturing.
China is optimizing its economic structure, transforming development models and improving economic quality. It is seeing a more obvious trend of maintaining stability and making progress. Facts have proved that China has adequate conditions to keep stable, sustainable and healthy development of its economy.

The confidence for China’s high-quality economic development comes from the strong leadership of the of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (CPCCC). Such leadership, guiding the overall situation and coordinating the work of all sides, plays a key role for China to handle its affairs well.

The confidence also comes from China’s vital decision to implement reform and opening up. During the past 40 years, China has created an economic miracle, becoming the world’s second largest economy, the largest manufacturing country, the largest trader of goods, the second largest consumption power, and the second largest destination of foreign capital. In addition, it has also maintained for years the largest foreign exchange reserves.

Starting this year, the country successively issued Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China which has reduced the items on the negative lists for foreign investment market access in pilot Free Trade Zones and the rest of the country, and further expanded the areas of reform and opening up, demonstrating its sincerity and resolution to open wider.

The confidence comes from the country’s people-centered philosophy of development and also the undying spirit. It is because of the joint efforts made by every Chinese that China has turned risks into development opportunities and pressure into impetus again and again.
When global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain are highly integrating, China and the world need to maximize the common denominator of interests.

Today, China is a major trading partner of over 130 countries, the only country in the world that can produce all the products listed in the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities(ISIC) which is issued by the United Nations, and the largest contributor for world economic growth. It will also promote the rapid development of other countries as China embraces high-quality development.
The global market needs to expand the cake of common interests, while equal and win-win cooperation maintains the only right path. Those practices forcing China to compromise and containing its development through adding additional tariffs and pressuring Chinese enterprises are ridiculous and doomed to fail.

The Chinese people believe that no power is able to deprive their country of the right to development or stop their efforts to pursue a better life. China has the confidence to conquer all difficulties and challenges, and the economic progress of the country is unstoppable.
The Chinese people will jointly pave a wider road leading to a brighter future together with the people from the rest of the world.

(Guo Jiping is the pen name for a commentary column of People’s Daily that explains China’s stands and views on major international issues.)