China
Li Na French Open Win Demonstrates ‘Superiority of Socialism’
Christophe Ena/Associated Press A socialist forehand with Chinese characteristics? Feng Zi/European Pressphoto Agency A provincial sports chief speaks to reporters after watching Li Na win the French Open in Wuhan, Li’s hometown, in central China’s Hubei province, June 4, 2011. More In Li Na Li Na Is Magnanimous in Victory Li Na Heats Up After Firing Husband China Watch: The Costs of Going Home, China the Next Egypt? In Chinese Tennis, Women Hold Up All The Sky Li and Zheng Lose in Australia , But Chinese Tennis Scores a Victory Apparently it wasn’t Wheaties that made Chinese tennis star Li Na a champion. In case global tennis fans had any questions about how the 30-year-old became China’s first Grand Slam singles champ at Roland Garros, the Communist Party chief from Ms. Li’s home province of Hubei provided an answer. “Li winning the French Open was a showcase of her competitive strength as well as a demonstration of the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” the party secretary, Li Hongzhong, said at a ceremony in her honor this week, according to the Party-backed Global Times tabloid. It’s an interesting theory for an athlete whose acumen with a racket parallels her reputation as an off-court rebel constantly clashing with China’s rigid state sports training system. But in the aftermath of her victory, the tattooed Ms. Li appears to have at least accepted – if not fully embraced – the hero’s welcome, which has catapulted her to the ranks of gold medal winners and NBA basketball star Yao Ming. “I want to thank the country, Hubei, my family and all my coaches for their support. I’m willing to dedicate my victory to the country,” Ms. Li said, according to the Global Times. Her speech this week in Hubei followed words of gratitude she offered after her victory for Sun Jinfang, director of China’s Tennis Sport Management Center with the General Administration of Sport, who’d heaped criticism on Ms. Li ‘s decision to finally break ties with the state sports system in 2008. Ms. Li appeared to put hard feelings aside, accepting a 600,000 yuan ($93,000) prize from the local government. It’s a fraction of the €1.2 million she pocketed for winning the French Open, but a tidy sum nonetheless from a still-developing region. She stopped short of performing the entire prodigal child act, however. A spokesman for the Hubei Administration of Sports said Ms. Li had already agreed to serve as deputy director of the province’s tennis administration center after she retired. Ms. Li denied the new gig, apparently not prepared to join the government of a province more famous for its freshwater fishing industry than its ability to produce athletic stars. “I heard about it, but haven’t taken it seriously,” she told a gaggle of reporters on Tuesday at a trendy shopping area in downtown Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. “I am not capable of managing others.” –Brian Spegele. Follow him on Twitter @bspegele .
- Christophe Ena/Associated Press
- A socialist forehand with Chinese characteristics?
- Feng Zi/European Pressphoto Agency
- A provincial sports chief speaks to reporters after watching Li Na win the French Open in Wuhan, Li’s hometown, in central China’s Hubei province, June 4, 2011.
Apparently it wasn’t Wheaties that made Chinese tennis star Li Na a champion.
In case global tennis fans had any questions about how the 30-year-old became China’s first Grand Slam singles champ at Roland Garros, the Communist Party chief from Ms. Li’s home province of Hubei provided an answer.
“Li winning the French Open was a showcase of her competitive strength as well as a demonstration of the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” the party secretary, Li Hongzhong, said at a ceremony in her honor this week, according to the Party-backed Global Times tabloid.
It’s an interesting theory for an athlete whose acumen with a racket parallels her reputation as an off-court rebel constantly clashing with China’s rigid state sports training system. But in the aftermath of her victory, the tattooed Ms. Li appears to have at least accepted – if not fully embraced – the hero’s welcome, which has catapulted her to the ranks of gold medal winners and NBA basketball star Yao Ming.
“I want to thank the country, Hubei, my family and all my coaches for their support. I’m willing to dedicate my victory to the country,” Ms. Li said, according to the Global Times.
Her speech this week in Hubei followed words of gratitude she offered after her victory for Sun Jinfang, director of China’s Tennis Sport Management Center with the General Administration of Sport, who’d heaped criticism on Ms. Li ‘s decision to finally break ties with the state sports system in 2008.
Ms. Li appeared to put hard feelings aside, accepting a 600,000 yuan ($93,000) prize from the local government. It’s a fraction of the €1.2 million she pocketed for winning the French Open, but a tidy sum nonetheless from a still-developing region.
She stopped short of performing the entire prodigal child act, however. A spokesman for the Hubei Administration of Sports said Ms. Li had already agreed to serve as deputy director of the province’s tennis administration center after she retired. Ms. Li denied the new gig, apparently not prepared to join the government of a province more famous for its freshwater fishing industry than its ability to produce athletic stars.
“I heard about it, but haven’t taken it seriously,” she told a gaggle of reporters on Tuesday at a trendy shopping area in downtown Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. “I am not capable of managing others.”
–Brian Spegele. Follow him on Twitter @bspegele.
China has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion.
In 2006, China announced that by 2010 it would decrease energy intensity 20% from 2005 levels.
China is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with an average growth rate of 10% for the past 30 years.
Some economists believe that Chinese economic growth has been in fact understated during much of the 1990s and early 2000s, failing to fully factor in the growth driven by the private sector and that the extent at which China is dependent on exports is exaggerated.
Its mineral resources are probably among the richest in the world but are only partially developed.
A report by UBS in 2009 concluded that China has experienced total factor productivity growth of 4 per cent per year since 1990, one of the fastest improvements in world economic history.
China’s increasing integration with the international economy and its growing efforts to use market forces to govern the domestic allocation of goods have exacerbated this problem.
The ministry made the announcements during a press conference held in Xiamen on the upcoming United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Forum and the 14th China International Fair for Investment and Trade.
Last year was the eighth consecutive year that the nation’s ODI had grown.
China is aiming to be the world’s largest new energy vehicle market by 2020 with 5 million cars.
Although China is still a developing country with a relatively low per capita income, it has experienced tremendous economic growth since the late 1970s.
Despite initial gains in farmers’ incomes in the early 1980s, taxes and fees have increasingly made farming an unprofitable occupation, and because the state owns all land farmers have at times been easily evicted when croplands are sought by developers.
In terms of cash crops, China ranks first in cotton and tobacco and is an important producer of oilseeds, silk, tea, ramie, jute, hemp, sugarcane, and sugar beets.
Livestock raising on a large scale is confined to the border regions and provinces in the north and west; it is mainly of the nomadic pastoral type.
China is one of the world’s major mineral-producing countries.
Alumina is found in many parts of the country; China is one of world’s largest producers of aluminum.
Major industrial products are textiles, chemicals, fertilizers, machinery (especially for agriculture), processed foods, iron and steel, building materials, plastics, toys, and electronics.
Shanghai and Guangzhou are the traditionally great textile centers, but many new mills have been built, concentrated mostly in the cotton-growing provinces of N China and along the Chang (Yangtze) River.
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Li Na French Open Win Demonstrates ‘Superiority of Socialism’
China
Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
Chinese social media influencers have recently claimed that prominent Chinese-born Australian journalist Vicky Xu had posted a message saying she planned to return to China.
There is no evidence for this. The source did not provide evidence to support the claim, and Xu herself later confirmed to AFCL that she has no such plans.
Currently working as an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, Xu has previously written for both the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, and The New York Times.
A Chinese language netizen on X initially claimed on March 31 that the changing geopolitical relations between Sydney and Beijing had caused Xu to become an expendable asset and that she had posted a message expressing a strong desire to return to China. An illegible, blurred photo of the supposed message accompanied the post.
This claim was retweeted by a widely followed influencer on the popular Chinese social media site Weibo one day later, who additionally commented that Xu was a “traitor” who had been abandoned by Australian media.
Following the publication of an ASPI article in 2021 which exposed forced labor conditions in Xinjiang co-authored by Xu, the journalist was labeled “morally bankrupt” and “anti-China” by the Chinese state owned media outlet Global Times and subjected to an influx of threatening messages and digital abuse, eventually forcing her to temporarily close several of her social media accounts.
AFCL found that neither Xu’s active X nor LinkedIn account has any mention of her supposed return to China, and received the following response from Xu herself about the rumor:
“I can confirm that I don’t have plans to go back to China. I think if I do go back I’ll most definitely be detained or imprisoned – so the only career I’ll be having is probably going to be prison labor or something like that, which wouldn’t be ideal.”
Neither a keyword search nor reverse image search on the photo attached to the original X post turned up any text from Xu supporting the netizens’ claims.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Read the rest of this article here >>> Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
China
Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
Foreign residents in China can request a criminal record check from their local security bureau. This certificate may be required for visa applications or job opportunities. Requirements and procedures vary by city. In Shanghai, foreigners must have lived there for 180 days with a valid visa to obtain the certificate.
Foreign residents living in China can request a criminal record check from the local security bureau in the city in which they have lived for at least 180 days. Certificates of no criminal record may be required for people leaving China, or those who are starting a new position in China and applying for a new visa or residence permit. Taking Shanghai as an example, we outline the requirements for obtaining a China criminal record check.
Securing a Certificate of No Criminal Record, often referred to as a criminal record or criminal background check, is a crucial step for various employment opportunities, as well as visa applications and residency permits in China. Nevertheless, navigating the process can be a daunting task due to bureaucratic procedures and language barriers.
In this article, we use Shanghai as an example to explore the essential information and steps required to successfully obtain a no-criminal record check. Requirements and procedures may differ in other cities and counties in China.
Note that foreigners who are not currently living in China and need a criminal record check to apply for a Chinese visa must obtain the certificate from their country of residence or nationality, and have it notarized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
Foreigners who have a valid residence permit and have lived in Shanghai for at least 180 days can request a criminal record check in the city. This means that the applicant will also need to currently have a work, study, or other form of visa or stay permit that allows them to live in China long-term.
If a foreigner has lived in another part of China and is planning to or has recently moved to Shanghai, they will need to request a criminal record check in the place where they previously spent at least 180 days.
There are two steps to obtaining a criminal record certificate in Shanghai: requesting the criminal record check from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and getting the resulting Certificate of No Criminal Record notarized by an authorized notary agency.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
China unveiled a comprehensive action plan for upgrading industrial equipment, with a focus on driving technological innovation and economic growth. The plan, released on April 9, 2024, aims to enhance competitiveness and sustainability within the manufacturing sector through extensive investment and regulatory support.
China announced an ambitious action plan for industrial equipment upgrading, which aims to drive technological innovation and economic growth through extensive investment and regulatory support.
On April 9, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and six other departments jointly released a notice introducing the Implementation Plan for Promoting Equipment Renewal in the Industrial Sector (hereafter referred to as the “action plan”).
Finalized earlier on March 23, 2024, this comprehensive action plan addresses critical issues related to technological innovation and economic development. It reflects China’s proactive stance in enhancing competitiveness and sustainability within its manufacturing sector. The initiative underscores the recognition of industrial equipment upgrading as a top policy priority.
The scope of China’s action plan to upgrade industrial equipment in manufacturing, is extensive, covering various aspects such as:
In line with China’s ambitious goals for industrial modernization and sustainable development, the action plan outlines several key objectives aimed at driving substantial advancements in the industrial sector by 2027.
These objectives encompass a wide range of areas, from increasing investment to enhancing digitalization and promoting innovation, including:
The objectives and key actions proposed in the action plan are summarized below.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
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- Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
- China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
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