Category Archives: Opinion

Stockholm ranks 11th in tourism in European cities

STOCKHOLM, June 10th(Greenpost)–Stockholm has one of the highest growth rates in Europe when one considers the number of guest nights.

This year, Stockholm has climbed up two places in the rankings, from 13th to 11thplace, on the International ECM Benchmarking Report’s list that measures the growth of tourism in European cities.

“Stockholm is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities and we are regularly ranked one of the best cities in the world to live and work. We work with the Stockholm brand from a long-term perspective, so that it stands out internationally,” commented  Karin Wanngård, (S), Mayor of Stockholm.

“Therefore, it is extremely gratifying to see the great results we have been seeing.”

Even for guest night statistics from a global perspective, Stockholm climbs up the list from 22nd place to 21st place. And of the top 25 cities, Stockholm has the highest rate of growth, a considerable 13.8%.

“Stockholm is all about openness, diversity and sustainability, with a strong international vibe. Our city is a hub for innovation within the music, tech and creative industries,” says Karin Mäntymäki, acting CEO of Visit Stockholm.

The ECM Benchmarking Report is produced by European Cities Marketing.

Long live to Sino-Swedish relations

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Today marks the 66th anniversary of Sino-Swedish relations. In China, when a person becomes 66 years old, we will give a grand celebration with food and wine.

Similar, the relations between China and Sweden is worthwhile to celebrate too.

Recalling the past 66 years,  a lot has happened between the two countries.

Sweden was the first western country that established diplomatic relatlions with China.  That was May 9, 1950.

According to historical documents, Norway, Danmark, Finland and Sweden all recognized China in January.  But due to Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai’s diplomacy of cleaning up the house first, they decided to accept Swedish offer first and established diplomatic relations with Sweden on May, 9, 1950.

So the former Swedish to China Ambassador said Sweden was chosen to be the first one to establish relations with China. Then Denmark, Finland and Norway established relations with China.

The consideration likely involves the history between China and Sweden. As early as 1700 century, Sweden had sent Gothenburg Ship to China to buy the tea, porshelin and silk. The trade caused a wave of China heat.  Even Queen Lovisa was a fan of China.

China Pavillion in Drottningholm was the typical evidence of this craze. It was Lovisa’s gift from the king when she was 33 years old.  Inside the pavillion there are a lot of Chinese books. The most impressive thing was the echoing room on the second floor.

Sometimes I feel the down to earth manner and the honesty Swedish people own are the trace of Chinese virtues. Honesty and down to earth are also the virtues Chinese seek.

In the 19th century, Sweden was the first country that signed a business agreement, but didn’t openly invade China or rob China like the other eight western  power.   But the two sides did sign agreements to divid the antiques people unearthened in Beijing Suburbs. That is why people today can see a whole lot of precious antiques dating back to Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty in Fareastern Antiquities Museum.

Swedish explorer Sven Hedin explored a lot along the silk road. Many Swedish like to have adventures in China. Ericsson established its office in Shanghai at the end of 19th century.

Meanwhile, Chinese also visited Sweden.  Liang Qichao, one of the six Gentlemen who presented a proposal to the Qing Emperor but faced severe punishment escaped to Sweden and lived here for a year.

When New China was established, General Geng Biao who was also vice premier then became the first ambassador to Sweden.  New China sent quite a few generals abroad to become the first ambassador.

DSC_9023Sino-Swedish relations have been so good that they sometimes can criticise each other. But they remain good friends.

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf visited China many times. Crown Princess Victoria had her training in China for a month.

Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Sweden in June 2007. President Xi Jinping visited Sweden in 2010 when he was vice president.   Premier Wen Jiabao visited Sweden in 2012.

Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of CPPCC visited Sweden in June 2014.

While about 500 Swedish companies operate in China, many Chinese companies come to Sweden to invest. Volvo car owner now is Chinese Geely. Saab was also bought by Chinese from Shandong province.

Many Chinese investors bought houses in Sweden and like to contribute to Swedish economies.

Meanwhile, Swedish companies are also seeking opportunities in China.

In terms of culture, a new Chinese Culture Center will be established right in the center of the Stockholm City.  It is a good present for the 66th anniversary of Sino-Swedish relations.

What will be the future like?  In fact, from what I observed, more and more tourists, especially ordinary tourists are visiting Sweden. This is a sign that the Chinese are getting richer and richer. They can spend money from their own pocket to go abroad. They can afford it and they are allowed to do this.  There is no lofty slogan going on, but there is still a lot happening on the ground.

In my opinion, it is these down to business kind of relations that can be more sustainable if the embassy can allow this to happen. More freedom to move and more permission to visit,  it will be good for both sides, for the common people to exchange and do business.

Without such freedom, without such permission, it is difficult to really get the business booming.  Without exchange of people, we cannot talk about exchange of culture and business.

Sweden has advantage in environmental technology and practices, design, water and air and green energy while China is in need of green food, green tech and green energy.

DSC_9577Recently the exchange of Ice Hockey becomes frequent too. Several activities have taken place.  It is hoped more and more exchange activities will take place with the support from both government and businesses.

Super powers should cooperate for a better world

Xuefei Chen Axelsson

After Iraq War in 2003, I gave up talking about international politics, because I thought the super power broke the international standards and took unilateral action. The world was full of power politics and hegemonism.

With the rising of China, the triangular relations between China, Russia and the United States should be a model for world peace if they can cooperate with each other.

However, the development seems not to develop towards people’s will. The US economy get worse and worse after 2008 dragging the world economy down. The European economy has been even more worse and worsened even more by the refugee issue.

But how come there was refugee issue? Where has the refugees come from?  Here there are two explanations: one is that the United States has tried to support the Arab Spring movement. Most of the European countries also support it. But they don’t understand the color revolution can only bring about chaos at the beginning. These chaotic situation caused a lot of people flowing to European countries.  A lot of them used to be the opposition in their own countries.

For examples, the refugees coming to Sweden are from Somalia, Iraq and Syria in recent two years.

Why Syria? In Syria, the United States supported some opposition organization against the Asad regime.  But the opposition was very weak. Then the Syrian government asked Russia to help to crack down some Islamist terrorist groups who fought against both the government and the opposition.

The latest information we get is that Russia didn’t bomb the terrorist groups, but the opposition or other groups causing a flood of refugees coming to Europe through Turkey.

With the strategy of supporting opposition, the US strategy successfully created these chaotic situation because the sovereign government in those countries couldn’t function properly.

With Russia suports the government, it means the conflict between the US and Russia actually caused the conflict between different groups in the third country.  Thus that country Syria is suffering from all these changes and a lot of people come out of the country hoping to find a peaceful and better life in Europe.

Similarly, the US presence in Asia seems to cause trouble too.  The US claims that they are kind hearted and take good care of some small countries defence by being present in those countries such as South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and other countries. America claimed that they are worried that Asian countries will fight each other and they should take care of those countries because they worry about China which is a big country.

But China as a big developing country has never invaded any country in the world. Its culture has decided that it has been focusing on its own land its own country for a long time.

Now with the development strategy of one belt and one road, China hopes that the surrounding countries will be happy to have a good and strong neighbour to provide good trade with them.  But many people exaggerated China’s power and said China’s rise threats the others.  In fact, China’s rise brings better opportunities for the surrounding countries. China likes to build more infrastructure for surrounding countries so that they can trade with each other.

But no one knows if it shows the weakness of the US or its dominant idea supports its action. It is as if an old person who is relatively weak will really like to manage to do things.  But it is just this kind of presence or support for some small countries that cause problems for China.

If the US, Russia and China can cooperate rather than confront each other or challenge each other, the world will be much better.

South China Sea Islands belong to China: Li

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, May 4(Greenpost)– Overseas Chinese leaders in Sweden Wednesday gathered at the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm to discuss the situation in the South China Sea.

DSC_9412Li Junfeng, Charge D’affair at the Chinese Embassy said at the gathering that he has heard some western reports proposing such questions such as South China Sea Islands are so far away from Chinese mainland, how can that belongs to China?

“The territories and jurisdictions are not decided by how far it is away from the mainland. Hauwaii sits far away from the American mainland, but no one can deny that it belongs to America.  In fact, South China Sea Islands belong to China since ancient times. China is the first to discover, name and develop these islands. Chinese government exerted its sovereign rights over these islands. Chinese government has published the names of these islands in 1935, 1947 and 1983. ”

During the Japanese invasion and occupation of China in the 1930s, the islands were temporarily occupied by the Japanese. But after the Second World War when Japanese was defeated by the Atomic Bombs thrown in by the Americans, China took back these Islands with the observance of the United States and the International Communities. It was well recognised by the International Communities.

There were no disputes before the 1970s. However,  after the 1970s, the Philippines illegally occupied eight small islands through four military actions causing the South China Sea dispute.

In 1999, the Philippines sent a ship to an island there and left there. When the Chinese side went to ask them to leave, the Philippine side said they lost a screw in the ship. They would leave later when they get the ship repaired.  But that was an excuse. Since then they never left.

Now the Philippines claimed that they occupied the island since then. But the Chinese side holds that the Philippines action was illegal. He criticised the Philippines action of illegally occupying some islands.

He also said that China insists on solving the dispute through peaceful negotiations and ASEAN countries should work together for a common prosperity in the region.

“China believes in that saying: Relatives from far away is not as useful as a neighbour which lives nearby.  Let alone China and the Philipines share similar oriental culture. Sooner or later, the friendly relations between the two countries should be resumed, and that should be the right track,”  said Li.

“China has never changed its stance of leaving dispute aside and achieving common development,” said Li.

His stance was supported by the Chinese in Sweden.

DSC_9433James Wang, President of the Chinese Federation of Industry and Commerce in Sweden said South China Sea Islands belonged to China since ancient times. It is hard to believe that other countries claim them.  China has the full right to protect its own territories.

DSC_9437Peiqun Ye, Executive Director of Swedish National Federation of Chinese Associations said as China grows stronger, the dispute will be less. He hopes that in a couple of years, the situation will change for the better.

DSC_9439Liran Yang, former chairwoman of Stockholm Chinese Cultural Association said all the women of the Chinese origin or second generation should exert their influence by giving true explanation of Chinese history and evidence that China owns the South China Islands.

DSC_9429Yuli Wang, Vice President of the Swedish Chinese Federation of Industry and Commerce said he doesn’t rule out the possibility that some people are jealous of China’s develepment over the past years and want to disturb the peaceful environment China enjoys.

Jisheng Wang, honorary Chairman of Swedish Chinese Federation said China has no doubt to hold its bottom line about the South China Sea Islands which belonged to Chinese since ancient times.

“The Philippines has been colonised many times by other invaders, but with China, similar to other parts of China, the Philippines used to pay tribute to the Chinese. It is right not to recognise the Philippines’ unilateral action about the South China Sea Islands,” said Wang.

About 20 Chinese leaders of various associations in Sweden attended the talk and expressed support for China’s stance on the so-called South China Sea issue.

For Chinese it is not an issue, but other countries around the South China Sea began to claim some islands and even occupy them illegally.

DSC_9395Li Junfeng said the Philippines claimed Huangyan Island and other smaller islands belong to them. But the fact is that according to the Paris Treaty signed in 1898, The Washington Treaty signed in 1900, British and American Treaty in 1930, the Philippines’ western border lies in 118 degree in longitude.  And Huangyan and other Islands lie in the west of 118 degree in longitude. After the Philippines got independent, its national law recognizes the relevant treaties about its territories.

In 2013, the Philippines sued China to the International Arbitration Tribunal in the Hague. China accused the Philippines went against their promises of solving the problems through bilateral negotiations.

It is hoped that the current Philippine presidential election will vote out the Aquino government so that the South China Sea issue calms down.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Walström said at least the South China Sea area is in peace. In deed, China has actually played a great role in stablizing the Asian situation and bringing prosperity in the region with the focus on  booming economic development.

Many people in China actually think the government was not tough enough in dealing with the dispute. But many wise Chinese drew the lessons of American invasion of Iraq.

It is easy to enter into a war, but it is difficult to withdraw from the war.  “Man can say that they won the war but lost the peace,” said Li.

He said hegemonism doesn’t work because China is still a developing country and China needs a peaceful environment for economic and social development. Some super powers have taken impulse actions and created a lot of enemies for themselves. That is not good for a harmonious world.

China still embraces the idea of building a harmonious world with its neighbours and all the people who love peace.

 

新闻分析:冰岛总理为何辞职?

北欧绿色邮报网评论员陈雪霏

冰岛总理古恩劳松4月5日被迫辞职。因为他夫人在巴拿马拥有壳牌海上石油的股份。那么,这与他有什么关系呢?原来,他在冰岛2008年金融危机之前就拥有壳牌分公司Wintris. 该公司购买了冰岛银行的股份。

冰岛银行在金融危机过程中坏账太多,导致政府垮台,总理被告到法庭,很多议会官员事后被证明都牵涉到金融危机之中。冰岛危机的根本原因就是人为制造了泡沫,导致银行破产,政府崩溃,因为政府挽救不了银行,银行资产比整个国家拥有的资产还多几倍。因此,银行出问题,没人能救。结果是冰岛政府垮台,欠国外客户的钱要经过45年以后还清就行。从国际货币基金组织借了大笔贷款,也从周边国家借了大笔的款。

从此,冰岛国家和人民都过上了勒紧裤腰带的日子。实行外汇管制,保持金融稳定成为重中之重。

本来,冰岛总理在2013年当选总理后,应该坦白交代,或者完全离职,卖掉。但是,他没有这么做,而是把股份转让给了妻子。如果冰岛没有发生过那么严重的危机,或许人们也不会那么无情。但是,冰岛危机给人们带来的伤痛很深,他们不能容忍自己的总理有这样的利益冲突。

他妻子拥有石油公司账户,说明她成了冰岛银行的债权人。而这正是冰岛人不希望看到的。也是冰岛政府想要打击的对象。如果政府不打,就是违规。因此,总理不得不辞职。

由此也可以看出,冰岛人还是不能容忍腐败,吃一欠,长一志。人们的眼里不能再揉沙子。

Premier Li draws a comprehensive blueprint, action plan for China

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Beijing, March.5(Greenpost)–China’s Premier Li Keqiang made a very comprehensive and down to earth blueprint and action plan to China for the next five years and this year.

This year marks the beginning of the 13th five year plan period for China. China has set up a goal of realising the comprehensive wealthy and healthy society by 2020.

“We shall eradicate poverty all over the country by 2020,” said Premier Li.

He stressed economic development again as the first important task, but he also emphasised the importance of environment and the balance of structure.

He said China must restructure its economy so that it can be sustainable.

Li said the important task in the following five years will be to treat the filthy air pollution and water pollution. In 2015 China has outdated 1.26 million vehicles and it plans to outdate three million in the following five years.

He also emphasised the equal treatment between the state-owned enterprises and private sectors.  The government will further reduce tax for industries.

Modern agriculture is encouraged to help eradicate poverty.

Li stressed the completion of social security so that all the people in China can benefit from the social security.

He almost mentioned all the areas that need to be done in the country which draws a very promising picture for China.

Commentary: Time for EU to grant China market economy status

by Xinhua writer Chen Jipeng

BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — It is high time for European Union (EU) member states to grant full market economy status to China, the second largest trading partner of the 28-nation bloc.

The market economy status is relevant for Chinese exporters because it determines the way in which dumping is assessed in EU’s trade remedy cases against imports from China. With market economies, the assessment of dumping is based on a comparison of the export price and the domestic price of the product in question.

However, China’s non-market economy status is often cited so that the domestic price in China is not considered a suitable benchmark. The export price is compared with domestic price of a surrogate country.

In one of such cases, the United States was chosen as a surrogate country to assess the price levels of stainless steel from China. This is obviously unfair given the much higher labor cost in the United States and the tendency of the producers in the United States — who compete against Chinese companies — to inflate price estimates.

Fortunately, the legal basis for such an obviously unfair practice will no longer exist starting from Dec. 11 this year, under the provisions of the World Trade Organization accession protocol signed by China.

Commissioners from the EU’s 28 members will on Wednesday debate for the first time the issue of granting China full market economy status from December.

Legal experts are of the opinion that the European Union should grant China full market economy status, according to European media reports.

The non-market economy status of China, however, has often become a convenient weapon for trade protectionists. Some of the EU members have continued to be swaying over the issue to retain an unfair advantage.

Nevertheless, the undoubtedly protectionist practice is obviously out of time. Despite its existence, bilateral trade between China and the EU have been growing quickly. China is now the EU’s second largest trading partner and one of the biggest markets for the 28-member bloc. The idea of free trade and comparative advantage has been the driving force behind the phenomenal growth. Sticking to a weapon of protectionism would only increase frictions rather than help the gigantic bilateral trade.

It is known that China has built an efficient market economy to achieve remarkable growth over the decades and it is duly recognized by more than 80 countries, including Russia, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia.

A quick look at the list of the countries that the EU has recognized as market economy tells us that China deserves the market status, too.

It is advisable for some of the EU members to dump the idea of resolving to labelling one of their top trading partners as a non-market economy for a bit of protection. If history tells, it is much wiser to continue opening up and practise free trade.  Enditem

 

What do you think North Korea launched H-Bomb?

Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 6(Greenpost)–This morning, it was my turn to work for the Church. I went there at 10:00. As soon as I arrived in the kitchen where we should prepare coffee and food for lunch after the God’s service.

A colleague immediately talked about North Korea’s hydrogen bomb.  This was the fourth time, north korea held nuclear test.

“It caused a lot of concern around the world.” said David. Due to my poor Swedish, I thought he was talking about something else. But as soon as I realized the news, I felt a curse.

Yes, Kim Jong-un should be condemned.  The calmness of the world is not normal.

Last year, when we celebrated the New Year, I was happy that the third world war didn’t happen. But this year, I was neither happy nor sad. It was quiet. But I didn’t know what this quietness meant.

The war is at someone’s hands and the crazy one is holding the butt of the grenade. That is the situation we are facing.

China is surrounded by the nuclear countries.  The US knew North Korea developed nuclear but didn’t know it should help it or hold it.

What do you think? dear reader? What shall we do?

As editor of Green Post, my call is to stop any war or conflict, let’s sit down and talk.  Does it work?

Yearender: New laws, regulations make difference for China in 2016

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) — Several laws and regulations will take effect in 2016, and change the day-to-day lives of the Chinese people.

From allowing a second child and making it easier for migrant workers to settle down in big cities, to measures that make the stock market more stable and market-oriented, these new rules touch on the deeper problems facing the Chinese and will go down in history.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

From the first day of 2016 the lives of tens of millions of Chinese couples will change when the amended family planning law takes effect,allowing all couples to have two children.

This historic move is part of efforts to balance the population structure.

Chen Li, who works at a public institute in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, has always wanted a second child.

“Thanks to the amended law, my husband and I can plan for another child. My daughter will have a younger sibling, and they can take care of each other,” said Chen, who is in her forties.

China’s family planning policy was first introduced in the 1970s to rein in the surging population. For decades, most urban couples were limited to one child, while rural couples were allowed to have two children if the first was a girl.

The policy gradually relaxed as a number of social problems arose. In 2013, China began to allow couples to have a second child if either parent was an only child.

Guo Zhigang, a sociologist with Peking University, said around 35 percent of the population will be over 60 by 2050. “The new law will help balance the decreasing labor force and aging population,” he added.

CITY LIFE

The new year also brings good news for the 250 million migrant workers in cities, mainly from rural areas. They will be able to apply for residence permits that will give them better access to local public services from Jan. 1.

According to the new regulation, applicants must have lived in the city in which they are applying for residency for at least six months and either have a stable job, stable place to live or be studying.

Those granted the new residence permits will gain access to more basic public services, including nine years of compulsory education for children and basic health care. The new permits will also bring conveniences such as passport issuance and automobile registration.

“For decades, migrants have experienced inconveniences in places they work and live in because they are not locals,” said Wang Han, 31, a software engineer in Beijing. Wang came to Beijing in 2006 from the northeast province of Jilin.

Although Beijing has issued residence permits since 2003 for migrants who have made extraordinary contributions or those who are classified as urgently needed talent, Wang found it difficult to get one. “The regulation will ensure migrants have more equal access to social services received by local ‘hukou’ holders,” said Wang. In China, people with a city’s “hukou” enjoy better educational opportunities, employment support and social welfare.

A STABLE MARKET

China will introduce a circuit breaker next year in addition to the existing daily trading limit for individual stocks to ward off major swings in the country’s stock market.

Market gyrations during the summer this year ended a bull-run of Chinese stocks since late 2014 and wiped out trillions in market value.

The circuit breaker will force trading at exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen to suspend for 15 minutes if the Hushen 300 index falls five percent. Trading will halt for the rest of the day if the index plunges more than seven percent.

There were 25 days when the index fell over five percent between the beginning of 2014 and the end of October this year, including 11 days when the decline exceeded 7 percent, data compiled by Ping An Securities shows.

Meanwhile, new stock offerings on the domestic market will see less bureaucratic meddling as registration-based IPO rules will replace the approval-based listing process. The supply of new stocks will gradually increase and more companies can access fundraising through the stock market under more flexible listing requirements.

Under the registration-based IPO rules, regulators will only need to ensure thorough information disclosure for IPOs and let the market determine the value of new stocks rather than hand-pick companies for listing, a practice that has bred corruption among officials who get to decide on which company goes to market.

IT’S EASY TO BE GREEN

A new law on air pollution control will become effective on the first day of 2016. This new legislation was amended and passed this year amid worsening air pollution across China.

Beijing and its surrounding region in northern China were among the regions worst hit by smog containing hazardous air-borne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter, known commonly as PM 2.5.

China has made similar legislation in the past, but existing regulation has been seen as increasingly outdated and less effective in reducing pollution.

The new law metes out tougher punishments to industries and seeks to curb air pollution at its root.

In the past, companies and organizations that failed to comply with legal requirements on air pollution faced fines of up to 500,000 yuan (around 80,600 U.S. dollars). That limit is gone in the new law, in the hope that reckless polluters will no longer be able to afford to pollute.

The new law also mandates that gasoline be produced at a higher quality and alternative energy used to reduce coal consumption.

Local governments will also be assessed and monitored over what they do to improve air quality. They have largely ignored environmental protection in the past in their growth-at-all-cost approach to economic development.  Enditem

President Xi’s greetings in the New Year 2016

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Dec. 31(Greenpost)–As a tradition since 2001, Chinese President sends New Year’s  greetings to Chinese people home and abroad and friends all over the world  through China Radio International, China National Radio and China Central Television Station.

The following is the whole text translated by Xuefei Chen Axelsson, Chief editor of Green Post:

20151231190305_8279.jpg@640w_1l_1c_0i_80q_1x_1e

After a couple of hours, the New Year’s bell will toll. We shall say goodbye to 2015 and welcome the first ray of sunshine of 2016.  At this moment, I would like to say New Year blessings to you, people of all ethnic groups in the whole nation, to compatriots in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao SAR, to Taiwan compatriots and compatriots overseas, to all friends from all countries and regions in the world! Happy New Year!

No pains, no gains. In 2015, Chinese people made great efforts and harvested a lot. China’s economic growth continutes to rank the first in the world, reforms have begun in almost all fields,  reform in  judicial system continues to be deepened, the “three stricts and three solids” thematic education has improved the political ecology, the anti-corruption struggle continues to deepen.  Through the joint efforts of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, the 12th five-year plan has successfully ended with a sense of fulfillment in some sense for the vast masses.

This year we held a grand celebration on the 70th anniversary of victory in Chinese people’s anti-Janpanese War and the World’s anti-Fascist war. We held a grand military parade showing the truth that justice shall win, peace shall win and the people will win. We have implemented a comprehensive reform strategy to consolidate our military strength and announced that we shall cut our military personnel by 300 thousand. I have met Mr. Ma Yingjiu in Singapore and shaken hands with him after 66 years, showing that the peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait is the common will of our compatriots on both sides of the strait.

This year Beijing won the rights of hosting the 24th Winter Olympics and the RMB was included in the SDR basket of IMF. The assembling line of C919 airplane developed by  Chinese has been in operation. China’s super computer broke the world record and won its sixth consecutive championship. Dark matter exploring Satellite developed by the Chinese scientists has been launched into the universe. Tu Youou became the first Chinese scientist who won the Nobel Prize…these all prove that as long as we are persistent, our dreams will be realised sooner or later.

This year we had joy, but we also had sorrow. The accidents such as the capsized Oriental Star passenger ship in the Yangtze River, the most serious explosion at the Tianjin Port and the landslide in Shenzhen have deprived many compatriots’ lives, let alone the dreadful incident that quite a few compatriots were cruelly killed by terrorists. We missed them, may them rest in peace and may the alive healthy.There are still some difficulties and irritations in the lives of the masses. The party and government are determined to continue to make efforts to guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property, improve people’s living standards and health.

2016 is the first year of the decisive period China enters to build comprehensive wealthy and healthy society. The 5th session of the 18th plenary session of the Communist Party of China has set up clear directions for the development in the following five years. The prospect is encouraging and inspiring, but the happiness doesn’t come from the sky. We should be confident and continue to make efforts in implementing the development concept of being innovative, harmonious, green, open and sharing, pushing forward the structural reform, pushing forward reform and opening up, and doing our best to promote equity and justice and create clean and transparent political environment to make a good start for the decisive period of building comprehensive wealthy healthy society.

To build comprehensive wealth and healthy society, it needs the joint efforts of the 1.3 billion people. It is my great concern to improve the living standards of the hundreds of thousands of poor people in the rural areas.

We have blown up the trumpet to win the campaign of poverty alleviation. All the party members and the people of all ethnic groups should join hands in the battle to ensure that all the poor people should alleviate their poverty as scheduled. We should take care of all the people who have difficulties so that they can feel the warmth from their inner heart.

We only have one earth, and it is the common home of all the people in all nations. This year, Chinese leaders participated in many international conferences, conducted many diplomatic activities, pushed forward some tangible progress in the construction of “one belt and one road”, participated in the United Nations 2030 sustainable development agenda and the Paris Climate Change Conference. The world is large and problems are many. The international community anticipated to hear China’s voice, see China’s solutions and China cannot be absent. We should not only have empathy and be sympathised with those who are suffering from difficulties and war fires, but also take responsibility and action. China will forever open its heart to the world and stretch her hands to those who are in difficulty so that our “friends circle” will be larger and larger.

We sincerely hope that the international community will make joint efforts to have more peace and cooperation, change the antagonism into cooperation, replace the spears with the silk, jointly build a human community jointly owned and shared by the people of all nations.

Thank you all.

新华社12月31日电:国家主席习近平通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台、中央电视台,发表了二○一六年新年贺词。全文如下:
再过几个小时,新年的钟声就要敲响了。我们即将告别2015年,迎来2016年的第一缕阳光。在这辞旧迎新的时刻,我向全国各族人民,向香港特别行政区同胞和澳门特别行政区同胞,向台湾同胞和海外侨胞,向世界各国和各地区的朋友们,致以新年的祝福!
有付出,就会有收获。2015年,中国人民付出了很多,也收获了很多。我国经济增长继续居于世界前列,改革全面发力,司法体制改革继续深化,“三严三实”专题教育推动了政治生态改善,反腐败斗争深入进行。经过全国各族人民共同努力,“十二五”规划圆满收官,广大人民群众有了更多获得感。
这一年,我们隆重纪念了中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年,举行了盛大阅兵,昭示了正义必胜、和平必胜、人民必胜的真理。我们全面实施改革强军战略,宣布裁军30万。我和马英九先生在新加坡会面,实现了跨越66年时空的握手,表明两岸关系和平发展是两岸同胞的共同心愿。
这一年,北京获得第24届冬奥会举办权,人民币纳入国际货币基金组织特别提款权货币篮子,我国自主研制的C919大型客机总装下线,中国超级计算机破世界纪录蝉联“六连冠”,我国科学家研制的暗物质探测卫星发射升空,屠呦呦成为我国首位获得诺贝尔奖的科学家……这说明,只要坚持,梦想总是可以实现的。
这一年,我们有欣喜,也有悲伤。“东方之星”号客轮翻沉、天津港特别重大火灾爆炸、深圳滑坡等事故造成不少同胞失去了生命,还有我们的同胞被恐怖分子残忍杀害,令人深感痛心。我们怀念他们,愿逝者安息、生者安康!群众的生活中还有一些困难和烦恼。党和政府一定会继续努力,切实保障人民生命财产安全、保障人民生活改善、保障人民身体健康。

↑新年前夕,国家主席习近平通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台、中央电视台发表二〇一六年新年贺词。新华社记者兰红光摄

2016年是我国进入全面建成小康社会决胜阶段的开局之年。中共十八届五中全会明确了未来5年我国发展的方向。前景令人鼓舞、催人奋进,但幸福不会从天降。我们要树立必胜信念、继续埋头苦干,贯彻创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的发展理念,着力推进结构性改革,着力推进改革开放,着力促进社会公平正义,着力营造政治上的绿水青山,为全面建成小康社会决胜阶段开好局、起好步。
全面建成小康社会,13亿人要携手前进。让几千万农村贫困人口生活好起来,是我心中的牵挂。我们吹响了打赢扶贫攻坚战的号角,全党全国要勠力同心,着力补齐这块短板,确保农村所有贫困人口如期摆脱贫困。对所有困难群众,我们都要关爱,让他们从内心感受到温暖。
我们只有一个地球,这是各国人民共同的家园。这一年,我国领导人参加了不少国际会议,开展了不少外交活动,推动“一带一路”建设取得实质性进展,参与了联合国2030年可持续发展议程、应对全球气候变化等国际事务。世界那么大,问题那么多,国际社会期待听到中国声音、看到中国方案,中国不能缺席。面对身陷苦难和战火的人们,我们要有悲悯和同情,更要有责任和行动。中国将永远向世界敞开怀抱,也将尽己所能向面临困境的人们伸出援手,让我们的“朋友圈”越来越大。
我衷心希望,国际社会共同努力,多一份平和,多一份合作,变对抗为合作,化干戈为玉帛,共同构建各国人民共有共享的人类命运共同体。
谢谢大家。

China shipbuilding industry’s five-year plan focuses on high-end manufacturing

      BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — China has set the target of significantly strengthening its manufacturing capacity of high-tech ships, oceanic engineering equipment and key supporting equipment by 2020, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported on Wednesday, quoting the first draft of the shipbuilding industry’s five-year development plan (2016-2020) just completed by the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.

According to the draft, China will edge itself up into world advanced countries in marine engineering equipment manufacturing and become a major supporting equipment manufacturer in the world by 2020.

The “Made in China 2025” technology roadmap also sets the goal that China’s self-made marine engineering equipment and high-tech ships will take an international market share of 35 percent and 40 percent respectively by 2020.

The government’s supportive policy for the shipbuilding industry is likely to benefit the listed companies including China CSSC Holdings (600150.SH) and China International Marine Containers Group (000039.SZ). Enditem

Sweden faces housing shortage crisis: senior economist Eklund

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Dec. 19(Greenpost)–Klas Eklund, Chairman of the Swedish Housing Crisis Committee, SEB bank senior economist has said that Sweden has faced a shortage of houses leading to a shortage crisis.

DSC_5258

“It is definitely a crisis in a sense that there are not enough housing, We have had a great inflow of refugee from middle east, asylum seekers. And a combination of lack of construction and low mobility on real estate market means we have an urgent crisis of houses today,” said Eklund.

He made a presentation again at a seminar held by Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm recently.  Leading the Swedish Housing Crisis Committee, they published a report about housing situation in Sweden in June 2014. The report had been presented to the government, but it seemed not enough attention or action to be given.

DSC_5295According to his report, Sweden has been building houses and the number of houses have been doubled. However, the demand is increasing drastically due to the rapid influx of refugees.

“We have a lack of housing and that housing prices are pushed up rapidly . Some people even believe there is a crash, I don’t believe in that, but there is numerous kinds of problems. Very high prices in the cities, and a huge influx of immigrants and too low constructions,” said Eklund.

Being asked about what measures can be taken or what kind of suggestions he has made, Eklund said:

“I think a number of things have to be done, we havet to stimulate construction and make it easier by easing up the regulatory process which is common in Swedish municipalities. I also think you have to change the tax system. Now the sales tax is very high and there is so low mobility in the market. Further more when it comes to rental apartment, there is a regulation, ceiling for rents, which means it is not profitable to build rental apartments. Not profitable enough,” said Eklund.

China is famous for building faster. When being asked if Chinese developers can help ease the situation, Eklund said he is happy to see them to come and try.

” I am happy to see them to come and try. I definitely welcome them. There is already a lack of construction workers. I think a lot of politicians and decision-makers would welcome Chinese construction workers. But the problem is the Swedish labor market which has a very high minimium wages and it is very strict. Rent control and building permit. Process from planning to construction takes very long time,” he warned.

DSC_5262Olle Zetterberg, CEO of Stockholm Business Region agrees with Eklund.

 

“I think he is totally right. Housing crisis here in Stockholm and other major cities is the major threat to our otherwise good economy. We have a very good growth rate. The problem is  if we can house so many people. We have so many refugees coming to Sweden, we have to house them. They can’t stay in tents for a long time,” said Zetterberg.

He said  the problem is shortage of housing.

“We have to do a lot of things, financial regulation, tax change. It is not a quick fix, it is a long term issue, ” Zetterberg said.

He held that changes must be done at national and governmental level. People in the parliament and government have to do more to change the tax, change the rules and make it easy to move or to build. The current regulations are so easy to stop people from building.

He also thinks it is not bad if there are Chinese bidders coming to build. He also complained that the workers rules are too strict for companies to hire people.

DSC_5285Hans Lind, professor in economics at Swedish Royal Institute of Technology or KTH said that is definite that there is a shortage of housing in Sweden. The question is whether it should be built by the municipalities or by private developers.

DSC_5271Lennart Weiss from Veidekke, a Norweigian builder said he was very disappointed at the non-action by government.

He agreed with Eklund’s proposal and called on the government, no matter it is the red-green ruling parties or the blue alliance opposition to join hands to solve the housing shortage problem.

“Sweden has a tradition that various parties can make compromise in key issues and find a better solution,” Weiss said.

Swedish population is expected to surpass the ten million record due to the influx of refugees late this year.

DSC_5266About 100 people from various real estate related companies, universities, banks and parties and government attended the seminar.

Photo by Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

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China Voice: Booming service sector will not replace industry

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — It would be unwise, especially during an economic slowdown, for China to solely rely on the service sector, as it belittles the significance, and potential, of its industry.

While it is true that the service sector is outperforming industry in terms of the share of GDP, industry remains the backbone of the economy.

After all, services are dependent on the development of the industrial and agricultural sectors. To underestimate this relationship would result in an unsustainable economic model.

Manufacturing, especially the processing trade, was the main fuel firing China’s rapid expansion for the past decades.

Given the size of the economy, over-dependence on exports and credit expansion is no longer tenable. China needs to shift to a more consumption- and service-driven growth model to sustain growth, albeit at a slower rate, over the next decade and beyond.

The aim of such a transition, however, is to make the traditional industrial sector more competitive, rather than less significant.

To this end, programs such as “China Manufacturing 2025” and “Internet Plus,” aim to support the upgrading of the industrial sector by focusing on modernization and innovation, and to rebrand China from “the factory of the world” to a premier industrial power.

While the need to maintain its industrial might is influenced by its own development story, there are untold number of lessons to be drawn from developed nations.

The United States is one such example. Once the world’s largest industrial producer, in the 1980s it started to out-source manufacturing. The service sector not only flourished but actually replaced manufacturing as the backbone of the economy, eventually accounting for as much as 70 percent of the economy. Without the support of a real economy, it was only a matter of time before the bubble burst, triggering the 2008 mortgage crisis that spiralled into the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression.

The United States is now trying to claw back the lost advantages of its industrial sector. This time, however, by focusing on innovation it aims to create a stronger sector that is able to compete globally.

Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers, once said, “not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers.” That judgement still holds true for today’s China. Enditem

China Focus: New engines to bolster growth in next 5 years

   BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — To ensure a medium-high level of economic growth for the next five years, China has moved to foster new growth engines as old ones lose steam.

China’s exports dropped by 3.7 percent in November, the fifth straight month of decline, to 1.25 trillion yuan (195 million U.S. dollars), customs data showed Tuesday.

In recent years, old growth engines, including exports and investment, lost momentum partly due to weak demand at home and overseas. The country’s quarterly GDP growth slowed to a six-year low of 6.9 percent in the third quarter of this year.

In the next five years, the country’s annual growth rate should be no less than 6.5 percent to realize the goal of doubling the GDP and per capita income of 2010 by 2020.

To attain that goal, the government must cultivate new growth engines to bolster growth in the next five years.

EMERGING INDUSTRIES

As traditional industries including steel, coal and cement sectors are facing excessive capacity, China is moving to tap the potential of new industries with bright prospects.

A proposal for formulating the country’s 13th five-year plan unveiled last month said that China will step up researches on core technology concerning the new generation of telecommunications, new energy, new material and aviation, and support the development of new industries, including energy conservation, biotechnology and information technology sectors.

In Changzhou, a city in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, there are more than 50 companies producing graphene, a new material that widely used in high-end equipment manufacturing, forming a national level production base for the material. Products made by Changzhou Tanyuan Technology Co. are used in smartphones. The company’s sales have risen from 6 million yuan to more than 200 million yuan in only three years.

Qi Chengyuan, head of the high-tech division of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said China will turn new strategic industries into major driving forces for economic growth in the next five years.

The country should form five new pillar industries that each have a potential of becoming a 10 trillion yuan industry, including information technology, bioindustry, green industry, high-end equipment and material, as well as the creative industry, Qi said.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

New impetus must also come from the government’s emphasis on mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

In the first three quarters, China’s newly registered companies rose 19.3 percent to 3.16 million, as the country pushed for easier registration to promote innovation.

Innovation is the most important impetus for China’s growth, according to the proposal for formulating the 13th five-year plan.

A good example is the strong growth in Shenzhen, a national demonstration zone for independent innovation. In the first 10 months, the proportion of R&D investment in Shenzhen’s regional GDP was more than 4 percent, nearly doubles the national average.

The city’s economic growth stood at 8.7 percent in the first three quarters, higher than the country’s growth of 6.9 percent in the same period.

imagesThe Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has set up 16 overseas R&D institutions and owns a total of 76,687 patents, said its CEO Ren Zhengfei.

The company realized a sales volume of 288 billion yuan last year. Ren forecast that the company will more than double that sales figure by 2019 on the back of constant innovation.

Song Weiguo, researcher with the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, said that technological innovation will provide greater impetus for growth in the next five years.

REFORMS ON SUPPLY SIDE

Structural reforms on the supply side will lend more steam to sustainable growth, President Xi Jinping said last month at a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs.

Xu Lin, head of the NDRC’s planning division, said reforms on the supply side, which means sustainable growth instead of short-term demand management, is necessary for cultivating new growth impetus.

An important aspect of supply side reforms is government efforts to streamlining administrative approvals and delegating power to lower levels.

From early 2013 to the end of September 2015, the central government has canceled or delegated 586 kinds of administrative approval.

In the economic and technological development zone of Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the bureau in charge of administrative approvals cut the red tape and reduced the time needed for getting an approval from more than 300 days to 20 days.

On the supply side, China should maintain structural tax reductions to boost the service and advanced manufacturing sectors and support small enterprises, and push forward entrepreneurship and innovation, Premier Li Keqiang said earlier this month.

China will keep cutting red tape to foster emerging industries and speed up the overhaul in traditional industries to improve efficiency, Li said.

With new impetus from China’s reform pushes, the country will be able to realize an average annual growth of 6.5 percent in the next five years, said Yu Bin, researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council. Enditem