Category: Foreign News

By Xi Jinping

President of the People’s Republic of China

It is a great pleasure for me to pay a state visit to the Italian Republic at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella in this blossoming season of spring. In 2011, I visited Rome on celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification and, in 2016, I had a stopover on Sardinia. I was deeply impressed by the way of life and industrial outlook of Italy that blend together the ancient and the modern, the classic and the novel. Now that I am about to set foot again on this beautiful country, it feels like I am to be among old friends and get immersed in their wonderful hospitality.

China and Italy are both stellar examples of Eastern and Western civilizations, and both have written splendid chapters in the history of human progress. Being the birthplace of ancient Roman civilization and the cradle of the Renaissance, Italy is known to the Chinese people for its imposing relic sites and masterpieces of great names in art and literature. Friendly ties between our two great civilizations go back a long way. As early as over 2,000 years ago, China and ancient Rome, though thousands of miles apart, were already connected by the Silk Road. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220), Chinese emissary Gan Ying was sent to search for “Da Qin”, the Chinese name of the Roman Empire at the time. Roman poet Virgil and geographer Pomponius Mela made many references to Seres, the land of silk. The famous explorer Marco Polo’s Travels roused the first wave of “China fever” among European countries. That pioneer of cultural exchanges between East and West was followed by a long list of personages in search of friendship over the centuries.

In our own era, China-Italy relations, tracing the footsteps of our ancestors, are brimming with dynamism. The People’s Republic of China and the Italian Republic established diplomatic relations in 1970. In 2020, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our relations. Through the past decades, our two countries have enjoyed mutual trust and close cooperation regardless of changes in the international landscape. Together, we have set a fine example of mutually beneficial relations between two countries that have different social system, cultural background and stage of development. The traditional friendship between us, stronger than ever, has become a strong pillar supporting the rapid and steady growth of our bilateral ties.

Sino-Italian friendship is rooted in our long history of exchanges. In the course of over two millennia, our two countries have embraced the principles of mutual respect, mutual learning, mutual trust and mutual understanding in our interactions, principles that underpin our long-lasting, ever-strong friendship. Confronted by the transformations and challenges of today’s world and informed by our deep appreciation of history, China and Italy both envision a new type of international relations that are built on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and a community with a shared future for all mankind.

Sino-Italian friendship is embedded in our deep strategic trust. Both countries’ leaderships approach our relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. Since the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004, our two countries, guided and driven by high-level exchanges, have given each other understanding and firm support on issues concerning our respective core interests and major concerns. Our strategic trust provides a firm underpinning for the long-term and steady growth of China-Italy relations.

Sino-Italian friendship is reflected in our multi-faceted cooperation. As key trading and investment partners for each other, China and Italy have deeply entwined interests. Two-way trade exceeded US$50 billion in 2018 and investment surpassed US$20 billion in accumulative terms. “Made in Italy” is a guarantee of quality, Italian fashion and furniture are immensely popular with Chinese consumers, and pizza and tiramisu are the love of many young Chinese. Every now and then, we hear stories about the success of Sino-Italian cooperation in satellite R&D and manned space exploration. Initiatives such as the China-Italy science, technology and innovation week, joint police patrols and football training, to name just a few, are applauded by people in both countries.

Sino-Italian friendship is carried forward through our intensive cultural exchanges. Chinese and Italians have a deep interest in each other’s cultures. A Chinese professor in his 70s spent 18 years translating Dante’s Divine Comedy, and after revising several drafts, completed this mammoth task before his final days. From Martino Martini, author of the first Chinese grammar book in Europe, to Giuliano Bertuccioli and Federico Masini who wrote Italy and China, many Italian Sinologists have built bridges between Europe and China and contributed to a long-running boom of China studies on the Apennine Peninsula.

The well-known Italian writer Alberto Moravia once wrote, “Friendships are not chosen by chance, but according to the passions that dominate us.” In a world that faces profound changes of a kind unseen in a century, the onus is on us to bring China-Italy relations to a higher level and to jointly safeguard world peace, stability, development, and prosperity. Through my upcoming visit, I hope to work with Italian leaders to map out the future of our relationship and move it into a new era.

China hopes to work with Italy to strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership. Our two countries may plan more high-level exchanges and cooperation between our governments, parliaments, political parties and subnational entities, strengthen policy communication, enhance strategic trust and synergy, and continue to give understanding and support to each other on issues of core interests and major concerns, so as to consolidate the political foundation of our relations.

China hopes to work with Italy to advance Belt and Road cooperation. Our two countries may harness our historical and cultural bonds forged through the ancient Silk Road as well as our geographical locations to align connectivity cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with Italy’s plan to develop its northern ports and the InvestItalia program, and jointly build the Belt and Road of the new era on sea, on land, in the air, in space and in the cultural domain.

China hopes to work with Italy to expand cooperation into new areas. China will open up further to the rest of the world and share its market opportunities with Italy and other countries through the annual China International Import Expo and other avenues. Our two countries may fully tap our cooperation potential in ports, logistics, ship-building, transportation, energy, telecommunications, medicine, and other fields, and encourage our companies to partner with each other in third markets for win-win cooperation.

China hopes to work with Italy to promote closer people-to-people ties. As countries with the largest number of UNESCO world heritage sites, China and Italy have plenty of cultural and tourism resources. We may encourage our world heritage sites to forge twinning relationships and our cultural institutions and individuals to organize premium relic and art exhibitions. We may also encourage joint production of films and TV programs, the teaching of each other’s languages, as well as more mutual travel and visits. Through these exchanges, we will make new contributions to the diversity of civilizations and mutual learning between different cultures.

China hopes to strengthen coordination with Italy in international affairs and multilateral organizations. China is ready to enhance communication and collaboration with Italy in the United Nations (UN), the G20, Asia-Europe Meeting and the World Trade Organization (WTO) on global governance, climate change, UN reform, WTO reform, and other major issues. Working together, we will promote our shared interests, uphold multilateralism and free trade, and safeguard world peace, stability, development, and prosperity.

Looking back at the last five decades, China-Italy relations have struck deep roots and borne rich fruits. Looking ahead, China-Italy cooperation will continue to flourish and prosper. The Chinese people look forward to working hand in hand with our friends in Italy to carry forward our blossoming relationship and imbue our friendship with more vitality and dynamism.

Source：People’s Daily

By Ye Qi and Han Shuo from People’s Daily

Chinese company COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited is contributing efforts to the construction of an Italian port, lifting capacity for the terminal and creating win-win results, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues expanding its global influence.

The Port of Vado Ligure, 140 kilometers away from Italy’s industrial powerhouse Turin and 190 kilometers away from Milan, enjoys ideal geographical location. It is of vital importance for the economic development of northern Italy.

In October 2016, the COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited officially joined the construction and operation of a new container terminal at the Port of Vado Ligure, after reaching an agreement with Vado Holding B.V.

The terminal, upon completion, will become Italy’s first automated container terminal, and also the first one built in the recent three decades in the country.

Currently, the construction of the container terminal is in full swing. Gantry cranes and quay cranes have been installed and started operation, and the bridge cranes are also ready for use.

Site manager of Vado Holding Bruno told People’s Daily that nearly 80 percent of the project had been completed, and the first berth is expected to be put into use before the end of this year. “The new terminal will have a quay that is 700 meters long, with an annual handling capacity of 860,000 TEUs,” Bruno said, adding that it can berth the largest vessel in the world.

According to Wang Yuqiu, vice-general manager of Vado Holding, the maximum capacity of surrounding terminals was 8,800 TEUs due to the limited channel depth and headroom. He introduced that the new terminal would be able to berth 20,000-TEU vessels, expanding the original cargo structure of the port that used to center with fruits.

With the inflow of other commodities such as industrial products and daily necessities, the cargo supply structure of the port will be largely diversified, Wang added.

After inspecting at the construction site, Vado Holding’s general manager Paolo Cornetto received an interview from People’s Daily. He said that the advanced equipment and operation system brought by the Chinese enterprise offered powerful technical support for the Italian side to construct its first automated container terminal. The new terminal would create nearly 400 jobs for local community, he added.

Since the start of the China-Italy cooperation, the operation of the Vado Holding witnessed continuous improvement. Last year, the company’s profit went up by 16 percent.

Cornetto was very pleased to see the new development of the company, saying the Chinese management team shared valuable experiences in construction and operation. “We have the same goal, and the cooperation is energetic. Everyone is actively facing challenges and focusing on their jobs,” he said.

“In a sense, the cooperation between China and Italy on the construction of the Vado port is a collaboration between the strong, and our clients are also expecting the cooperation to bring new changes to the port,” Cornetto told People’s Daily.

“The BRI enhanced connectivity among countries along the route, and facilitated social and economic development,” said Cornetto, believing that the Vado port would play a more important role in the initiative.

Paolo Emilio Signorini, president of the Port Authority of the Port of Genoa, noted that Chinese investment endowed the Vado Ligure port with a new look. Thanks to the COSCO fleet, more and more cargos were entering the port, which further facilitated the development of local logistics industry, created more jobs, and injected impetus to the economy of Genoa, he said.

“The construction of the Vado Ligure port is an important part to improve the supply chain in northern Italy, Switzerland, and southern Germany, and the port will possess a vital strategic position in the Liguria region, greatly improving the efficiency of the terminals,” said Giovanni Toti, president of Liguria.

“We hope to make more contributions to the construction of the Belt and Road,” he told People’s Daily.

In the future, most of the cargos imported via the Vado Ligure port will be transported by rail to northern Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

“I hope that the port can be connected with the China-Europe freight trains so that the cargos imported via the port can be shipped to central and western Europe, central Asia and China by land. In addition, the cargos transported by the freight service can also be transferred to the port and be shipped to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco,” Wang told People’s Daily.

If so, the Vado Ligure port will not only serve as a new gate for central and southern Europe but also a channel to enhance the region’s trade relations with Africa.

Apart from the Vado Ligure container terminal, other ports in Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, in Venice and Ravenna are also beefing up cooperation with Chinese enterprises.

Italy issued its fifth annual report on the blue economy last June, pointing out that the transportation route of Asian trade was gradually becoming a leading force for global trade under the promotion of the Belt and Road construction.

The competitiveness of the Mediterranean ports was rising together with their elevating importance, the report said.

By Zhong Sheng

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Italy, Monaco, and France from March 21 to 26.
Xi was invited by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Head of State of the Principality of Monaco Albert II and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Chinese President’s first overseas trip this year, scheduled at the spring equinox, heralds hope and vitality and bears the earnest anticipation from the heads of state and people of the three countries.

Planting a seed of a friendly relationship between China and the three countries, the visits will definitely further boost China-Europe ties.
Both China and Italy are ancient civilizations closely bonded by the ancient Silk Road – a bridge for the exchanges of western and eastern cultures.
In recent years, the two countries maintained frequent high-level exchanges, as well as people-to-people exchanges at all levels. The Belt and Road construction also establishes a bridge for bilateral friendly cooperation in each field in the new era.

A recent special exchange of letters delivered a warm message to the public. Eight students from Italian boarding school Rome Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II and its president Paolo M. Reale wrote Xi a letter to express their eager expectations for his visit and their willingness to promote friendship between Italy and China.
In the response letter, Xi encouraged the students to be cultural ambassadors between the two countries, and become modern-day Marco Polo.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy. Xi’s upcoming visit to the European country will take China-Italy ties in the new era to a new high.

Though China and Monaco are geographically far apart, the two countries maintained sound development of a bilateral relationship based on mutual respect, equality, and win-win cooperation, setting an example for the friendly ties and common development between big and small countries.
In recent years, China-Monaco relations enjoyed stable and healthy development under the personal guidance from the heads of state of the two countries, with progress continuously being made in trade and economy, culture, and environmental protection.
The two countries held an economic and trade forum during Prince Albert II’s state visit to China last year.
They also held frequent cultural exchanges in recent years. China’s Palace Museum displayed cultural relics at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, and 271 collections from Monaco were also exhibited at the Palace Museum.

The increasingly frequent cultural exchanges have reinforced public support for further consolidation and development of bilateral friendly cooperation. It is believed that fruitful results will be achieved for China-Monaco friendship during Xi’s visit.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France.
Over the past 55 years, the two countries upgraded their comprehensive partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and then the close and enduring comprehensive strategic partnership.

China-France ties have always been at the forefront of China’s relations with major countries in the west.
In Xi’s speech at the Meeting Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of China-France Diplomatic Relations held in 2014, the Chinese President described the spirit of the bilateral relationship with “independence, mutual understanding, strategic vision, and win-win cooperation”.
In January 2018, Macron became the first head of state visiting China in 2018, and also the first European state leader to visit China after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese and French Presidents agreed to carry forward their traditional friendship and ensure the long-term stability of the close and enduring comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France.

Today, Xi chose France as an important destination of his first overseas trip in 2019. His state visit to France will point the clear direction and draw a blueprint for the future cooperation between the two countries in each field.
During Xi’s first visit to Europe as the Chinese President in March, 2014, he proposed to link the two strong forces, two big markets, and two major civilizations of China and the European Union (EU), and build China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, pointing out the strategic direction of the development of China-EU relationship.

During Xi’s following visits to European countries, he made great efforts to draw new blueprints for China-Europe relations and vitalize China-Europe cooperation.
At the end of last year, the Chinese government issued its third policy paper on the EU, defining its EU policy objectives in the new era and its major measures to enhance China-EU dialogues and cooperation for a time to come. The policy paper endowed China-EU ties with new connotation.
Under the complicated international situation, the stable development of the relationship between China and Europe, two of the world’s major stabilizing factors and major economies, conforms to the common interests of both parties, and will also inject certainty to the world.
It is expected that Xi’s first overseas trip this year will deepen China-Europe cooperation and create more positive energy for global win-win cooperation.
(Source: People’s Daily)

By Zhai Jun

Paris has already felt the warmth of the spring wind in March. In this beautiful season of the revivification of nature, President Xi Jinping is about to pay his second state visit to France.

In March five years ago, President Xi visited France, and the leaders of the two countries reviewed the precious experience of the development of bilateral relations in half a century. Both countries have followed the spirit of independence, mutual understanding, strategic vision and win-win cooperation in developing bilateral ties, a principle providing important guidance to an even brighter future of China-France relations.

Today, five years later, our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. On one hand, the trend toward globalization and informatization is gaining momentum, and countries are increasingly interconnected and interdependent. The historical trend of peace, development, openness, and cooperation is irreversible. On the other hand, amid surging protectionism, unilateralism, and populism, as well as growing uncertainty and instability in the international situation, the global governance system based on multilateralism is faced with challenges unseen before.

There are certain historic occasions that empower us with the wisdom and strength to move forward. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. President Xi’s visit this time is the first visit to France by a Chinese top leader after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and President Emmanuel Macron’s assumption of office. It is of great significance for promoting the development of China-France and China-Europe relations in the new era.

The two countries will take President Xi’s visit as an opportunity to revitalize the spirit of bilateral diplomatic relations, and plan the future of bilateral relations from a historical and strategic perspective to better benefit both countries and people of the world.

China and France should continue to respect each other, seek common ground while reserving differences, and set a model of relations between eastern and western major countries. 55 years ago, China and France independently made a great decision to establish ambassadorial diplomatic ties, transcending their huge differences in geography, national conditions, ideology, and political systems and focusing on the common and long-term interests of both sides.

Today, the desire for independence and the pursuit of multi-polarity are still the underlying features of China-France relations and the inexhaustible energy for boosting closer and sincere bilateral cooperation.

China and France should continuously make new progress for mutual benefit and win-win results, and deepen pragmatic cooperation and integration of interests.

The two sides will make solid efforts to advance cooperation in traditional fields such as nuclear energy and aerospace, and maintain the prominent characteristics of pragmatic and strategic cooperation. Both sides will also strengthen cooperation in emerging fields such as agricultural integration, digitalization, artificial intelligence, medicine and health, and green development to promote deep integration of development strategies.

Meanwhile, the two countries will also actively facilitate cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative via cooperation platforms in third-party markets, in a bid to chart the course for the BRI cooperation between China and Europe.

China and France should uphold openness, inclusiveness, exchanges and mutual learning to further strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation. Both countries should promote in-depth communication and cooperation in a wide range of areas including language, culture, science, education, health and sports, especially exchanges between young people, from a perspective of dialogue between the two civilizations.

By doing so, the two countries will bring closer the hearts of the two peoples, pass on bilateral friendship from generation to generation, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations in the world for the prosperity of human civilization.

Still, further, China and France should stand together with a global perspective to enhance strategic coordination and cooperation. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and France should take responsibility for speaking with one voice on safeguarding basic norms of international relations, promoting global peace and prosperity, and advancing international unity and justice in an unstable world troubled by mounting unilateralism.

The two sides should also intensify communication and coordination to tackle climate change, address the Iranian nuclear issue, promote the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and build broader consensus to safeguard multilateralism and improve global governance.

These endeavors will provide solutions to challenges facing the international community and to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Spring is meant to bring people confidence and strength. I look forward to President Xi Jinping’s upcoming historic visit to France, which will bring new prospects for China-France relations and the world.

(The author is Chinese Ambassador to France.)
(Source: People’s Daily)

By Jane Adams

On the outskirts of Oslo, a row of Fiat 500es imported from California stand parked in the snow outside the Buddy Electric dealership, part of a global flow of pre-owned electric cars to Norway powered by green subsidies elsewhere in the world.

Tor Einar Hanssen,the company’s production manager, said it had sold about 110 in the past year and a half, making a small profit on the cars, most of which had been used for a few years by U.S. leasing companies.

“They’re surprisingly good in cold weather,” he said.

A gleaming blue Fiat 500e is on sale for 129,000 Norwegian crowns (15,000 dollars) with 24,000 km (15,000 miles) on the clock. It costs about 20,000 crowns(2,300 dollars) to import and adapt each Fiat, Hanssen said.

On U.S. used car websites, similar Fiats in California are advertised for about 10,000 dollars.

Norway has the world’s highest rate of electric car ownership in the world, partly thanks to long-term perks such as free or discounted road tolls, parking and charging points, which boost the appeal of second hand models unwanted elsewhere.

The government also exempts electric vehicles from taxes on traditional vehicles that are very high in a country which does not have its own fossil fuel car industry to lobby against them. Rebates offered by other countries are another part of the equation.

In California, residents who own a new battery electric car for at least 30 months can get a rebate of up to 4,500 dollars, said John Swanton, of the California Air Resources Board.

The Fiats show how varying incentives around the world to promote electric cars, spurred by efforts to combat climate change and limit air pollution, can affect trade flows.

They can also distort national goals for shifting from fossil fuels, although U.S. exports to Norway of 4,232 used electric cars in the past two years are tiny compared with U.S. sales.

The state of California alone aims to have five million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2030.

The issue has a bigger impact in some European countries, which may be over-estimating the greenness of their domestic car fleets due to exports to Norway, where top plug-in cars include Nissan Leafs, Volkswagens, BMW and Tesla.

“We’re getting a certain amount of vehicle electrification for free, paid by other countries,” said Lasse Fridstroem, a senior research economist at the Norwegian Center for Transport Research.

“But perhaps it won’t last,” he said of the used e-car imports. He and some car dealers say demand for electric cars elsewhere in Europe is picking up, and that Norway could swing to be a net exporter of used electric cars in coming years.

At the moment, long waiting lists for new electric cars in Norway mean that people who obtain a new model in high demand, such as a Tesla Model 3 or Hyundai Kona, can potentially re-sell it above list prices that are already higher than elsewhere.

Part of the reason is a bottleneck in new e-car imports. This is caused, to some extent, by incentives for car makers to sell electric cars in the European Union, of which Norway is not a member, even if they are immediately exported to Norway.

To tackle this issue, from January 2019, sales of new cars in Norway are included in a broader EU calculation of the greenness of each manufacturer’s European-wide car fleets, a target the carmaker must meet to avoid large penalties.

This could reduce Norway’s demand for imports but may also mean its EU neighbors record fewer sales.

Last year, plug-in electric cars accounted for 31.2 per cent of new car registrations in Norway, the highest in the world, and the share rose to 34.2 per cent when including second-hand imports, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).

The two figures surged to 40.7 and 43.5 per cent in February 2019.

Statistics Norway said 11,913 used electric cars and vans were imported last year, up from 9,063 in 2017 when it started to compile data of the second-hand trade.

They came from countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Britain and South Korea, bringing some of the benefits of cleaner air and less noise intended for their citizens to Norway, where the environment is already far cleaner than in many other countries.

Trod Sandven, a Jaguar Land Rover dealer in Bergen in west Norway, bought 250 new Kia Soul cars last year in countries including Germany.

After registering them for a day so that they counted towards manufacturers’ green goals under the EU rules, he exported them undriven to Norway to sell as “second hand”.

“They’re brand new, with the plastic still on the seats. The only thing we do is the paperwork,” said Sandven.

He said he received no German subsidies, since that would require owning the cars for several months in Germany.

“Now it’s changing again, now we are exporting cars to other countries,” he said. “Norway is crowded with used electric cars and Europe is screaming for electric cars. It’s changing every year.”

Stockholm tightened subsidy rules last July after finding that about 10 per cent of all electric and plug-in hybrids were exported within five years. Eighty percent of those exports ended up over the border in Norway.

“It is problematic that some of the used electric vehicles, that have been subsidized by Swedish tax payers, are exported,” said Jakob Lundgren, spokesman for Sweden’s Environment Minister Isabella Lovin.

Under the new system from July 2018, Swedes have to own a new electric car for six months before receiving a 60,000 Swedish crowns (6,398.50 dollars) rebate. Previously, they got a 40,000 crown discount on buying the car.

Lundgren said there were no data yet to show if the rule change had made an impact.

With just five million people, Norway bought 46,143 new battery electric cars in 2018, making it the biggest market in Europe ahead of Germany with 36,216 and France on 31,095, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

EU rules in effect from 2020-21 will force new cars sold in Europe, including Norway, to average no more than 95 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometer, with carmakers facing hundreds of millions of euros in potential fines for non-compliance.

Other nations tend to hand out subsidies to make e-cars cheaper but lag in infrastructure, such as charging points. Norway wants all new cars to be zero emissions by 2025. Among other nations, Britain and France have similar goals for 2040.

Electric cars depreciate less quickly in Norway than elsewhere, partly due to the ongoing benefits, which include low-cost ferry trips and use of bus lanes to avoid congestion.

“Norway has become a magnet for the rest of Europe to ship used battery electric vehicles,” Matthew Harrison, executive vice president Toyota Motor Europe, said at the Geneva motor show this month.

“Frankly there is no used-car demand for battery electric vehicles” elsewhere in Europe, he said.

Among sources of second hand imports, Fridstroem and other economists said they were baffled by those from Britain. Norway imported 2,147 electric cars from Britain in 2017, and 133 in 2018, according to Statistics Norway.

The steering wheel in British cars is on the right, the wrong side for driving in mainland Europe, making them unattractive in Norway.

A spokesperson for the British Department for Transport said the main conditions for plug-in car grants, of up to 3,500 pounds (4,624.55 dollars), were that buyers have an address in Britain and register the vehicle in the country.

The Department did not comment when asked if some dealers might be buying electric cars made in Britain but designed for mainland Europe.

That might be a loophole allowing dealers to pocket the grant and export the car to Norway, although it was not clear why the number of exports had dropped.

By Chu Daye

Shanghai will likely surpass Singapore as the world’s fourth-largest financial hub within three years, based on the metrics of a recent ranking of global financial centers that put the city in the fifth position, thanks to its strength in the volume of products and deals, as well as further opening-up, a Chinese analyst said on March 17.

Shanghai retained the No.5 position but saw its score move closer to those of global hubs including New York and London, according to the 25th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 25) compiled by the China Development Institute in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province and London-based Z/Yen Partners.

The GFCI 25 provides evaluations of future competitiveness and rankings for more than 110 major financial centers has received considerable attention from the global financial community.

China announced an action plan in January to transform Shanghai into an international financial center by 2020, with a focus on yuan-denominated products and strong financial resource allocation capability.

New York remains in first place in the index with 794 points, followed by London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Shanghai was just ahead of Tokyo with a score of 770 points. In the previous survey in September 2018, Shanghai’s ranking was also fifth with a score of 766 points.

“This ranking focuses on volume. Shanghai has the vast Chinese domestic market as its source for growth,” Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics told the Global Times on March 17.

Shanghai made great progress in 2018 in terms of the volume of deals and the growth in types of financial products, Xi said. Its level of openness also greatly improved.

In 2018, Shanghai had the financial market turnover of $245.15 trillion, up 15.2 percent year-on-year, according to news site jiemian.com on Friday.

An indication of greater openness in recent years in Shanghai included the internationalization of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the creation of a crude futures exchange. A bond connect plan is also in the works to integrate bond investors with the global market, and the daily quota on the Hong Kong-Shanghai stock link program has been expanded.

“Improved rankings of Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong reflect the advance of China’s financial industry and its trend of greater openness. Their influence is also rising as global economic activity shifts toward Asia,” Zhao Xijun, deputy director of the Finance and Securities Research Institute at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

When the index was first published in 2007, Shanghai only ranked in 24th position with a score of 576 points. Its gap with the No.1 global hub narrowed by 165 points over the years, said jiemian.com.

However, experts said to catch up with global leaders, Shanghai still has a lot to do.
“There has been much progress but there is also much room for improvement,” Zhao said. “We must not forget that the reason China develops its financial industry is to let it serve the overall economy.

Source: Global Times/People’s Daily

By Wang Zheng from People’s Daily

In the Tesla’s new mega factory in Shanghai, hammer apparatus, excavators, dumper lorries, and dozens of electric workers are busy with the construction of a plant that is capable of producing 500,000 cars each year upon completion.

As the first wholly foreign-owned new-energy car subsidiary in China, the super factory received 50 billion yuan ($7.45 billion) of investment from Tesla. Started on January, the project is scheduled to be completed in July and put into operation by the end of 2019, which stands for a high-efficient job since it usually takes at least 18 months to build such a sizable factory.

The US electric car maker is one of the latest and symbolic beneficiaries of China’s new round of efforts to open up the auto sector. The country announced to phase out share-holding limits for foreign investors in the automobile sector last April and cut import tariffs on vehicle products a month later.

Thanks to the stepped-up efforts in opening up the sector, Tesla inked the agreement to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in China last July, and German automaker BMW took a majority stake in its China joint venture in October 2018, making itself the first beneficiary since China relaxed the joint-venture equity limit for the automobile sector.

In six months, the country’s determination to deliver its words has ignited enthusiasm of automakers across the world to put a bet on the Chinese market.

Five months after Tesla sealed the agreement of plant establishment in July 2018, it moved fast to break the ground in this January.

Elon Musk, CEO of the American car manufacturer, wowed China’s impressive development speed and working efficiency, saying that it is hard to imagine that the process of opening a car factory could be done in such a short period of time.

It is benefited from China’s sound business environment and demonstrates China’s resolution to open up to the outside world, he added.

BMW is another foreign investor gripped by China’s resolution. The Munich-based maker, on October 11, 2018, announced to increase investment in the joint venture it set up with Chinese partner Brilliance Auto.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new BMW Brilliance plant in Tiexi district in the city of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province on that day.

According to their cooperation plan, BMW would invest more than 3 billion euros to help the factory increase its annual production capacity to 650,000 vehicles in three to five years.
“A total of over 52 billion yuan has been invested to build a high-end car manufacturing base with a gross output of 200 billion yuan since Brilliance Auto and BMW cooperated in joint venture 15 years ago,” said Qi Yumin, chairman of Brilliance Auto.

BMW Brilliance has created more than 18,000 local jobs and contributed taxes of over 24 billion yuan in 2017, Qi added.

The deal came in as Brilliance Auto’s response to the national reform and opening up campaign, and also as a great opportunity for the company to inspire vitality by reforming across the board, Qi pointed out.

The car industry is one of the earliest sectors that China opens up to the world. China allowed foreign car makers to build joint ventures alongside local entities with ownership restricted to 50 percent in 1994, making the country rise as the world’s biggest car market packed up with nearly all transnational car makers in 2009.

Till last year, China has stayed as a top player for ten consecutive years with over 28 million cars sold in 2018.

The new round of opening up has brought the Chinese car industry more opportunities for cooperation and joint venture.

Last April, Aisin Seiki, Japan’s auto component and system producer, signed joint venture agreements on automatic gearbox with China’s FAW Group Corporation, Geely Auto, and Trumpchi.

Two months later, German automaker Volkswagen transferred its one percent share in SAIC Volkswagen to another car maker giant Audi. Then in last July, BMW signed a deal with Great Wall Motors to produce MINI electric vehicles in a joint venture.

A more open car sector not only drives technological innovation and industrial upgrading in home, but also propels other international companies to jump on the bandwagon.

BMW got the first license to have a road test of self-driving vehicles in Shanghai, and also became the first transnational car company having a license for a ride-sharing business in China last year.

Daimler AG, German multinational automotive corporation, wasted no time to catch up and got the road test license for driver-less cars in Beijing, after which the company conducted cooperation with Baidu, Chinese tech giant, in auto driving and the internet of vehicles.

Two companies under Daimler AG and Geely Auto announced to establish a joint venture providing ride-hailing mobility services on October 24, 2018, followed by the cooperation between Volkswagen and Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi for offering similar services on February 28 this year.

By Li Ruiyu

Spring heralds a fresh start. At the invitation of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Italy. This visit is the first visit to Italy by a Chinese President in a decade and marks Xi’s first state visit to Italy. It is of epoch-making significance for China-Italy relations and will surely open a new chapter in bilateral friendship and pragmatic cooperation.

China and Italy are outstanding representatives of eastern and western civilizations. Although they are far from each other geographically, the friendship between the two countries goes back a long way.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Italy in November 1970, especially since the establishment of China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership 15 years ago, bilateral relations have embarked on the fast track of development, with traditional friendship brimming with new vitality and vigorous cooperation in various areas.

China and Italy are sincere friends that respect and trust each other. In recent years, high-level exchanges between the two countries have maintained a good momentum.

In November 2016, President Xi made a stopover on the Italian island of Sardinia en route to South America and met with the then Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. In 2017, President Mattarella paid a state visit to China.

The then Italian Prime Ministers Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gentiloni attended the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit and the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017, respectively. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte successfully started the prime ministers’ regular meeting mechanism between the two countries.

The two sides have always understood each other and supported respective core interests and major concerns, and constantly cemented the political foundation of bilateral relations.

China and Italy are win-win partners on the basis of mutual benefit. The two countries are highly complementary to each other in economy and share prominent common interests.

Bilateral trade hit a record level of $54.23 billion in 2018. The two-way investment between China and Italy has kept expanding to exceed $20 billion. Italy participated in the first China International Import Expo with high standards, introducing more high-quality commodities made in Italy to the Chinese market.

With the continuous deepening of cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the two countries enjoy a broader prospect of cooperation and will make fresh progress in such areas as infrastructure construction, aerospace, communications, and third-party cooperation.

China and Italy are friendly countries that help each other. After the Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province in 2008, the Italian side immediately donated relief supplies and dispatched an emergency medical team to the disaster area.

After the earthquakes in L’Aquila and Amatrice, Italy, China and the Chinese communities in Italy donated money and materials to the disaster-stricken areas in time to help the victims rebuild their homes. After the outbreak of the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis, China worked together with Italy like passengers in the same boat to overcome difficulties through mutually beneficial cooperation.

China and Italy are good teachers and helpful friends who learn from each other. The two countries have successfully held their respective culture years in each other’s cities, witnessing more high-level exhibitions and performances.

The China-Italy innovation week program has become a model of China-Europe cooperation in science and technology. 92 pairs of provinces, cities, and regions from both sides have established friendly relations with each other.

There are more than 20,000 Chinese students studying in Italy, and China has become the second largest host of Italian students following the European Union. The two countries are witnessing more tourists from each other.

As 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, President Xi Jinping’s visit this time will chart the course and open up new vistas for the future development of bilateral relations. Standing at a new historical point of the development of bilateral ties, both sides should implement the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries to constantly elevate bilateral relations in the new period to new stages.

China and Italy will further deepen political mutual trust, adhere to the spirit of treating each other as equals and seeking common ground while reserving differences, respect their respective development paths, and jointly build a closer comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two sides will further expand shared interests, strengthen top-level design, further synergize development strategies, actively leverage the role of dialogue mechanisms including the Joint Meeting of China-Italy Government Committee, promote implementation of the four-year action plan for strengthening cooperation, and strive for more mutually beneficial results under the BRI framework, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Both sides will also further strengthen international cooperation, and continue maintaining close communication and cooperation on major issues such as global economic governance and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UN) within multilateral frameworks including the UN. The two countries will together to advocate openness and win-win results and safeguard multilateralism and free trade.

The two sides will also further strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and continuously improve the quantity and quality of exchanges and cooperation in such fields as culture, science and technology, education and tourism, as well as at sub-national levels. More measures should be introduced to facilitate personnel flows and promote closer people-to-people ties.

As a Chinese saying goes, a man of virtue will not be isolated. Cherishing the traditional friendship, China is willing to work with Italy to deepen friendship, strengthen cooperation, meet challenges, and strive for a better future for bilateral relations.

The author is Chinese Ambassador to Italy
Source: People’s Daily
 

By Johnny Falcon (Peru)

Past experience over the five-plus years since the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has fully demonstrated that the BRI has revitalized the ancient Silk Road, enhanced connectivity and people-to-people exchanges around the world, and extensively benefited the countries involved in the initiative.

The construction of the BRI has intensified the links across the Eurasian continent, boosted the land-sea connection and free trade among East Asia, Central Asia, and Europe, and made China an important cooperation partner of many developing countries.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund initiated by the country have bolstered win-win cooperation among en-route countries and played important roles in facilitating the construction of the BRI.

China-Latin America cooperation has been beefed up in recent years. China has signed free trade agreements with a number of Latin American countries including Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica, enabling the Latin American products to enter the Chinese market easier.

China is now the largest foreign investor of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.

China’s growing consumption demands have resulted in rising imports of agricultural products from the Latin American region year after year.

In 2018, the Latin American region had witnessed an increase of 24.2 percent in its exports to China, making China a key engine propelling export growth of the region.

Though living at another side of the world, Latin American people bear enormous enthusiasm for the Chinese language and culture.

In Medellin, the second largest city of Colombia, two colleges filed applications simultaneously for the establishment of Confucius Institute, while in Chile, the Santo Tomas University offered classes in 18 cities nationwide after setting up Confucius Institute.

So far, China has established 40 Confucius Institutes and multiple Confucius classrooms in 21 Latin American countries, offering Chinese language and culture education to more than 100,000 students in total.

Various contests, exhibitions, tours of arts groups, and other exchange activities held by Confucius Institutes have helped people in Latin America get a better knowledge of the Chinese culture.

Over the past few years, the China-Peru cooperation on BRI collaboration has served as a model for cooperation in the Latin American region.

China is now Peru’s largest source of imports, the biggest export destination, and largest trading partner. The two countries have sealed a number of cooperation documents such as the Peru-China Free Trade Agreement and joint action plan for cooperation in 2016-2021, which have further reinforced their long-existing friendly cooperation.

As a major destination of Peru’s exports in the Asian market, China has been witnessing continuously increasing agricultural imports like avocados, mango, and grapes from Peru.

The investments in various fields by Chinese enterprises in Peru under the framework of BRI have been helpful in advancing infrastructure construction, boosting Peru’s connectivity with the rest of the world, increasing tax revenue, creating jobs, and accelerating economic growth.

By the end of 2018, the Peruvian subsidiary of China’s steel company Shougang Group had paid Peruvian government an accumulative amount of $1.52 billion tax, purchased a total of $1.43 billion worth of local goods and created about 5,000 jobs for local people.

I’ve felt that the BRI has brought all-around and multi-layered benefits to the world.

(Johnny Falcon is a professor at Economic Research Center with ESAN University in Peru. The article is compiled by Chen Xiaowei, reporter of People’s Daily based on an interview with Falcon.)

（Source: People’s Daily）

After a quick lunch, Li Tieling, 69, rushes to a location to take part in the filming of a war-themed TV drama in his village of Beishanyun, Yushe county, North China’s Shanxi Province.

At the entrance of this traditional and ancient village, uniformed figures in army caps hold a heated discussion with the director about their scenes and positions, as well as how to interact with the lead actors.

These figures are not professional actors, but local villagers who normally make their living from farming. As one of the new industries emerging in local poverty alleviation process, the film crew has brought opportunities of higher incomes for farmers.

Li Tieliang gets up early in the morning to bring his passion and enthusiasm to his performances, and excitedly looked forward to getting himself into a big scene of a blockbuster. He discussed the details of the scenes with his wife over breakfast to prepare for the day’s work.

“I’ve been acting for three days, and it’s not over yet. My wife and I can earn 100 yuan ($15) respectively for each workday from 8 am to 6 pm,” he told the China News Service. After only a few days of filming, some local families have earned thousands of yuan as extras.

Li has participated in a number of film and television dramas as an extra, and sometimes he even brings his whole family along. His son, who left the village for work, also joins them when he comes back to visit. For the family, this is not just a chance to earn a little extra income, but also a chance to have fun together.

Shanxi Province is considered “the museum of ancient Chinese architecture.” According to media, the province preserves more than 70 percent of old wooden-structure buildings constructed during or before the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Beishanyun is an ancient village that dates back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1636-1912) dynasties. More than 30 courtyards built in the Ming and Qing style are still well preserved.

The authentic setting, a draw for many film and television crews, has become the shooting base for an increasing number of films and TV shows, especially those set during the Republic of China era (1912-1949).

Zhang Yuzhong, a director who is currently filming here, told chinanews.com that it is hard to find backgrounds like this. “It gave us a lot of surprises,” he said.

Beishanyun is a typical farming village, with many young people leaving home for work and elderly people accounting for more than one-third of the 248 villagers. When the film crews arrive, the surrounding businesses are also boosted, including convenience shops, hotel, and farmhouses.

Liu Peng, 33, who works outside all year round, was once a poverty-stricken member of the village. In October 2018, taking advantage of a poverty alleviation policy, he opened a farmhouse. It has now received nearly 3,000 tourists coming to visit this ancient village, which has become known because of the filming.

He also hired local villagers and encouraged them to join the tourism industry to start their own businesses and pull themselve out of poverty.

Since 2018, Beishanyun has been a model tourism poverty alleviation village in Shanxi Province as it develops tourism further by building a popular film studio.

According to media reports, the village was lifted out of poverty in 2017. In the future, small-scale grain processing workshops, film and television bases, clothing workshops and rural tourism cooperatives will be established.

“In addition to film and television base, we have also proposed to develop an ancient village tour to recreate the disappearing farming culture and lifestyle, such as ploughing and sowing, so as to attract research, study and tourism teams to experience the non-mechanized farming life,” Li Xiaoli, the first secretary who was dispatched to the village by Shanxi Red Cross Society, told the China News Service. There are rich intangible cultural heritages here, such as yangko (a popular rural folk dance), weaving arts, dough figurines and so on, she added.

In the future, the village aims to build inns that will allow tourists to live in greater comfort, also attracting more capital to further develop Beishanyun’s tourism and drive up every family’s income, according to Li Zhigang, Beishanyun’s village secretary.

Tourism is a new and powerful means of achieving poverty alleviation.

According to statistics released by the National Tourism Administration and other departments, it is expected that the development of tourism will lift about 12 million people out of poverty by 2020.

Source: Global Times/People’s Daily