CiCM 10th November 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Xi Jinping visited Provinces for post disaster reconstruction inspection: The President of China Xi Jinping visited the flood affected areas and called for continuous efforts in post-disaster reconstruction to ensure that local people live comfortable lives and have warm winters. Xi expressed condolences to family members of the people who sacrificed their lives for public service during the disaster, he urged for the schools to carry out safety education to enhance safety awareness and emergency abilities. He also urged that relevant efforts should be taken in accelerating the flood prevention projects and emergency management, and continuous enhancement of disaster prevention and mitigation. During his visit he also inspected the water diversion project in the Yongding River in Beijing’s Mentougou district and pointed out that mountainous areas which are most flood affected should make relevant efforts to build reservoirs and other infrastructure. He also asked detailed questions to the local people regarding their house damage, repair expenditure, heating conditions and others as the winter season is long in the northen China and particularly in mountainous areas. He stressed that pepper heating should be ensured in each household to keep the residents warm.
China and Russia cooperate on safeguarding global and regional prosperity: The strong friendship between Russia and China has been developed and strengthened over time. The militaries of both the countries serve as an important symbol of the high level relationship which has gained momentum and diversified in recent times. Both countries are willing to work together to further deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two militaries and safeguard global and regional prosperity and stability. The successful meeting by the heads of the state has charted a new blueprint for bilateral cooperation. The relationship has strengthened during recent times by the economic and trade relationship and the close coordination in international and multilateral platforms such as the UN, SCO and BRICS. Regarding military cooperation China and Russia plan to regularly organise joint maritime and and air patrols, exercises and training, strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries, including those under existing bilateral mechanisms. The Chinese counterpart Zhang Youxia and his Russian counterpart Shoigu have met twice this year, the first meeting was held when the Russian Defence Minister was attending the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a global security conference.
The President of China Xi Jinping paid his respects on Comrade Zhou Tienong’s cremation: Former vice chairman of the 9^th and 10th NPC Standing Committee and leader of the Revolutionary Committee of Chinese Kuomintang, Zhou Tienong died in Beijing at 16:15 on November 3, 2023 due to serious illness. He was 85 years old and cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on the 9th of November 2023. The members of the government Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and other officials visited the hospital to pay their respects and later waited at the cemetery to bid farewell and offer condolences to Zhou Tienong’s family.
China calls for overseas investors to the Greater Bay Area for global cooperation: The huge development spaces and broad prospects of the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area has been an important opportunity for overseas investors.. The opening ceremony of the Investment Promotion Conference for the GBA, which was concluded on Thursday, saw the signing of 859 trade and investment agreements between the Chinese and international companies. The ceremony also had the presence of the Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, who promised continued support for the opening up and development of GBA. Huang Kumming, member of the Political Bureau and Party Secretary of Guangdong expressed confidence in GBA’s development and said “the vast market contains greater possibilities”. The provinces of the region are coming together with their special administrative regions to establish a market-oriented, rules based and internationalised business environment for promoting a strategic pivot for a new development pattern. For instance, Siemens Energy and Guangdong Energy Group Co. have announced a strategic partnership agreement indicating cooperation in the field of gas, turbine and offshore grid connection.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Rather than ‘Sugar solves all the problems’ say ‘Sugar is the problem’: A man named Ming from southeastern China’s Guangdong Province says weight loss for him was eliminating sugar from his diet as much as possible. He shed 50 kg in less than two years after reducing the amount of sugar from his diet, which has gained social media attention and the netizens say he looks 20 years younger according to the photos he shared. He thought that sugar can heal all the problems in his life whenever he felt stressed. But this idea changed when Ming came across his neighbour who suffered a paralysis due to his bad lifestyle choices, he decided to improve his lifestyle and cut as much sugar as possible. He said that he replaced his high-glycemic food with high protein and did normal exercises but nothing out of the ordinary for an average human being. The social media users were stunned by the dramatic changes in his photos some were shocked and commented “stop using your son to trick us”, “You look 20 years younger” and some appreciated his journey by sharing their own experiences and praising him for his hard work to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

INDIA WATCH

During the ongoing Russia-Ukriane crisis India took a stand of strategic neutrality where China had an ambivalent stance as well. India has a longstanding and wide-ranging relationship with Russia in the field of defence. India-Russia military cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller relation to involving joint research and development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems. BrahMos Missile System as well as the licenced production in India of the SU-30 aircrafts and T-90 tanks are examples of this flagship cooperation. The two countries also hold exchanges and training exercises between their armed forces annually. The joint-military exercise Indra-2016 was held in Ussurisyk district in Vladivostok. The annual bilateral naval exercise Indra-Navy took place off the coast of Visakhapatnam on 14-16 December 2016. Although India has signed various exercises with its neighbouring countries in the region of Asia, India should seek to sign more deals with neighbours in the South Asian region to strengthen military callabilities and overall ties with them.

Prepared By

Avi Sharma

Avi Sharma is currently pursuing her masters degree in International Studies at Symbiosis International University, Pune with a specialisation in Asia as her area studies. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Political Science honours from St.Xaviers College, Jaipur, Rajasthan. She has a keen interest in the field of geopolitics and Asia with understanding the diplomatic, economic, political, social and cultural developments that take place with a strategic knowledge to the same. She constantly aspires to work in the realm of Research and International Relations in her future ahead.