Category Archives: World News

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。

Xinhua Insight: Lawmakers approve China’s five-year plan against economic headwinds

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday approved the country’s economic and social development blueprint for the 2016-2020 period, which sets targeted average annual economic growth at above 6.5 percent in the next five years.

A total of 2,778 lawmakers, or 97.27 percent, voted in favor of the five-year plan at the closing meeting of the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

China has set 2020 as the target year to realize the first “centenary goal” of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, pledging efforts to double GDP and per capita personal income from the 2010 level before the Communist Party of China’s 100th anniversary of founding in 2021.

To this end, the five-year plan aims to keep medium-high growth in the next five years. By 2020, the size of China’s economy is expected to exceed 90 trillion yuan (13.8 trillion U.S. dollars), compared with 67.7 trillion yuan in 2015, according to the plan.

Addressing fellow lawmakers at the closing meeting, top legislator Zhang Dejiang called the 13th Five-Year Plan a document of “guiding importance” in the final stretch toward building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

His words came amid rising economic headwinds in China, with uncertainties clouding global economic recovery.

China’s economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year in 2015, the slowest in a quarter of a century, weighed down by a property market downturn, falling trade and weak factory activity.

The government now hopes to shift the economy from the previous mainstay of exports and investment toward services and consumer spending.

According to the five-year plan, the reform and opening up drive will continue between 2016 and 2020.

China will push ahead urbanization and agricultural modernization, coordinate development in urban and rural areas, and work to improve the people’s well-being across the board so that all people can share the fruits of development.

An innovation-driven development strategy shall be implemented, while industries must be propelled toward medium-high end, the document read.

By 2020, advances should be made in core technologies such as information communication, new energy, new materials, aviation, biological medicine and intelligent manufacturing, it said.

The environment is another key priority in the 2016-2020 plan.

As binding targets, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP will fall 23 percent by 2020, while energy consumption per unit of GDP will be cut by 15 percent. Carbon dioxide emissions will also be cut by 18 percent.

Major progress should be made on the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and the service trade’s share in total foreign trade would be increased.

“The five-year plan has offered a clear roadmap for the fulfillment of our centenary goal,” said Liu Xiya, an NPC deputy.

In his government work report, Premier Li Keqiang said China had successfully fulfilled all the main tasks and targets set out in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), setting a positive tone for the implementation of the new one.

Chinese can derive great confidence and a strengthened sense of unity from the country’s achievements, drawing on them to forge ahead on this new leg of the journey toward the Two Centenary Goals, he said.

His optimism was shared by Liu. “The next five years will mark the home stretch to 2020 target, and there is every reason to believe that we can deliver on those targets since our economic fundamentals are still sound,” she said.

The drafting of the new plan started early. A plenary session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee last year was dedicated to review proposals for the five-year development blueprint and set its overarching principles.

A draft version of the plan was submitted to lawmakers for review at this year’s annual legislative session, during which dozens of changes were made.

Kan Ke, an official with the secretariat of this year’s NPC session, said the formulation of the final document was a very China-style political process: The proposition of the ruling Communist Party becomes the will of the state in a due course of legislative procedures.

He added that the drafting process was in line with the evolution of modern state governance, and is conducive to the implementation and enforcement of the Party’s decisions.

His words were echoed by Zheng Yongnian, professor and director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore.

Zheng hailed the consistency of China’s political and economic design in comparison with the West, where “a political party may make plenty of pledges before elections, but fail to deliver after coming to power.”

Kan agreed. “Coherence is the basis for our economic and social development. This is where our institutional superiority comes from,” he said.  Enditem

 

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

China urges EU to accept its market economy status

   BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) — China on Thursday urged the European Union (EU) to obey the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and stop its unfair treatment of China.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks following comments by EU Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom on Wednesday. She said the EU must maintain solid trade defenses even if it decides to grant China market economy status.

China joined the WTO in 2001. The WTO accession protocol means China will automatically transit to a market economy for Europe by Dec. 11, 2016, the 15th anniversary of its accession to the organization. However, Europe insists this must be debated.

“We’ve heard different opinions on China’s market economy status from the EU recently,” Hong said, noting that China had fulfilled its obligations since becoming a member of WTO.

So far, over 80 countries, including Russia, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia, have recognized China’s status as a market economy.

China is now the EU’s second largest trading partner and one of the biggest markets for the 28-member bloc.

The EU is an important member of the WTO, a vital supporting force to the multilateral trade and international legal systems, Hong said, adding that China hopes the EU will fulfill its commitments to China’s entry into WTO.  Enditem

 

 

Lang Lang performs in Stockholm for the third time

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, March14 (Greenpost)–World famous pianist Lang Lang gave a wonderful performance on Sunday in Stockholm.

IMG_2395This was the third time he came to Stockholm to perform.  It was also the first time that he gave signature to his fans.

IMG_2412

Lang Lang’s performance saw a very full konserthall.

IMG_2418

Lang Lang, a Manchurian, was born on June 14, 1982.  His father was a professional Erhu player. Later he quit his job and concentrated on raising Lang Lang to become the world famous pianist.  Both became the role model for many parents and children in China.

Lang Lang played twice in Nobel concert, once in 2007 in Stockholm and once in 2009 in Oslo when Obama won Nobel Prize for Peace.

Lang Lang has also become the pride for Chinese people. Wherever he goes,  he is a super star and loved by many, both old and young.

(Photo by Wan Juan)

Audio: SIPRI celebrates 50th anniversary, a year of reflection

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 26(Greenpost)–Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute has celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday with the presence of the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, the Speaker of the Parliament Urban Ahlin, Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, the highest level of attention in Sweden.  Green Post’s reporter Xuefei Chen Axelsson has more.

DSC_7224

等待瑞典国王的到来!Waiting for the King to come!

DSC_7226

记者往后站,给国王留出足够的空间!Back! leave some space for the King.

DSC_7227

我们都检查了,门前没有任何问题!准备!No problem!

DSC_7228

你们记者老给我们照,现在我要给你们照一张!I take a picture of you journalists!

DSC_7229

陛下,您请!Your Majesty, Please!

DSC_7230

这位是SIPRI主任丹.史密斯。This is Dan Smith, director of SIPRI.

DSC_7231

来我们一起合个影!Let’s take a photo!

DSC_7233

好!相机在哪里?(中间的是国王,左边是SIPRI理事会主席,右边是主任。)Ok, no problem, where is the camera?

DSC_7237

快照!Ok!

DSC_7239

照完了!Let’s go!

DSC_7242

我很荣幸能够请国王陛下上台讲话。Let me invite his majesty!

DSC_7254

国王卡尔十六世古斯塔夫高度赞扬SIPRI在过去五十年中取得的成就。The King praised SIPRI for its research in nuclear weapons.

DSC_7264 DSC_7274

Urban Ahlin, Speaker of Parliament spoke at SIPRI’s 50th anniversary celebration.  SIPRI was established by the Swedish Parliament in 1966. 瑞典议会议长阿林说,虽然斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所是由议会建立的,但它保持研究独立。而这种独立客观的研究成果才能不会遭到任何质疑。他赞扬SIPRI是同行中的佼佼者。

DSC_7283

都是肉食者。Big heads gathered here.

DSC_7301

瑞典外交大臣马约特.瓦尔斯特罗姆说,想要和平,必须要为战争做好准备,她的意思是必须投资于研究,了解世界的军事情况。

Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström said she believed in that saying if you want peace, be prepared for war. We must invest in research.

DSC_7323

SIPRI主任史密斯说,人们应该停下来,想一想,或许战争就可以避免。因此,他们把今年定为“反思年”。

SIPRI director Dan Smith said people should stop and think, maybe the war won’t happen if people did so. So SIPRI labelled 2016 as a year of reflection.

 

Swedish garment giant H & M reports 16 percent profit increase last year

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Jan. 28–Swedish garment giant H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB has reported 16 percent gross profit increase in 2015.

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M said 2015 has been a very expansive year for the H&M group.

“We have opened 413 new stores net, of which 249 in the fourth quarter, as well as ten new H&M online markets and we have successfully established stores in our new markets of India, South Africa, Peru, Taiwan and Macau. In total, we now have stores in 61 markets and offer online sales in 23 of these.

It published its full year report on Thursday.

Persson said sales have developed well for all our brands: H&M, H&M Home, COS, & Other Stories, Weekday, Monki and Cheap Monday. During the year sales totalled SEK 210 billion including VAT, which is an increase of 19 percent in SEK. In local currencies the increase was 11 percent. Profit for the year after tax increased to SEK 20.9 billion, which is our highest result to date – this despite the fact that the strong US dollar exchange rate has made our purchasing much more expensive.

“Our employees are doing a fantastic job and are decisive for our success. The increase in the financial result for the year means that SEK 75 m has been allocated to the H&M Incentive Program (HIP), which is for all employees in the H&M group. The accumulated value to an employee who has been in the programme since it started five years ago amounts to approximately SEK 45,000 per person*. In 2015 we created 16,000 new jobs within the H&M group and we are now more than 148,000 employees and we plan to employ further thousands of new employees in 2016 since our strong expansion continues.” said Persson.

“Our growth target of increasing the number of stores by 10-15 percent per year with continued high profitability remains intact, In 2016 we plan to open 425 new stores net and open H&M stores in three new markets: New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto Rico. In addition, H&M plans to offer e-commerce in a further nine existing H&M markets. These countries are Ireland, Japan, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg. We are very pleased with the continued strengthening of our online customer offering and developments within our online operations.” said Persson.

“We operate in an industry that is exposed to a lot of competition and are therefore constantly working to develop our customer offering within our different brands which are all based on the idea of giving customers the best combination of fashion, quality, price and sustainability – from each brand’s unique identity. Among other things, we are making substantial long-term investments in order to grasp the opportunities coming from the increased digitalization.
In addition, we are also continuing to broaden the product range further as well as adding more brands to the group. One example of broadening our range is the successful launch of H&M Beauty, which is now in 900 stores in 41 markets and which will continue to be rolled out to a further 300 stores in 2016.” said Persson.

“Sustainability is something that concerns us all and at H&M we have been working on these matters for a long time. We have made lots of improvements and are constantly working on how to improve even further to meet the challenges that we and our industry are facing. A specific example of what we have achieved in 2015 is that we have switched to 100 percent renewable energy in all markets where this is possible. For the group as a whole, this means that around 80 percent of all the energy that we use globally comes from renewable sources; in 2014 this figure was 27 percent. We have also increased the proportion of cotton that comes from sustainable sources, which now represents 31 percent of our total cotton usage (21 percent in 2014). Our goal is that all cotton in our product range will come from sustainable sources by 2020 at the latest.We closely follow developments in the market in each country where we are present. For 2016 we see many opportunities, but are also well aware of the challenges that exist. We firmly believe that our customer offering and our investments will lead to increased market share and strengthen H&M’s position even further in 2016.” said Persson.

The following is the summery of the yearly report.

  • The H&M group’s sales excluding VAT increased by 19 percent to SEK 180,861 m (151,419) during the financial year. In local currencies the increase was 11 percent.
  • Gross profit increased by 16 percent to SEK 103,167 m (89,052). This corresponds to a gross margin of 57.0 percent (58.8).
  • Profit after financial items increased by SEK 1.3 billion and amounted to SEK 27,242 m (25,895), an increase of 5 percent. The group’s profit after tax increased to SEK 20,898 m (19,976), corresponding to SEK 12.63 (12.07) per share, an increase of 5 percent.
  • The profit increase for 2015 has led to SEK 75 m being allocated to the H&M Incentive Program (HIP), which is for all employees.
  • Very strong expansion during the year with a total net addition of 413 (379) new stores and ten new online markets. At the end of the financial year H&M had 23 online markets and the number of stores amounted to 3,924 in 61 markets.
  • More than 16,000 new jobs were created in the H&M group in 2015. The number of employees amounted to more than 148,000 (132,000) at the end of the year.
  • The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 9.75 (9.75) per share for the 2014/2015 financial year.
  • Sales including VAT in December 2015 increased by 10 percent in local currencies compared to the corresponding month the previous year.
  • Sales including VAT in January 2016 are expected to increase by 7 percent in local currencies compared to the same month last year.
  • The H&M group plans a net addition of around 425 new stores for the 2015/2016 financial year. Most of the expansion will take place in existing markets. New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto Rico are planned to become new H&M markets. In addition, H&M plans to offer e-commerce in a further nine existing H&M markets.

The information in this full-year report is that which H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) is required to disclose under Sweden’s Securities Market Act. It will be released for publication at 8.00 (CET) on 28 January 2016. This full-year report, and other information about H&M, is available at www.hm.com
    

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M’s business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories as well as H&M Home. The H&M group has more than 3,900 stores in 61 markets including franchise markets. In 2015, sales including VAT amounted to SEK 210 billion and the number of employees was more than 148,000. For further information, visit www.hm.com.

China Focus: China suspends stock market “circuit breaker”

BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — China announced Thursday night that it will from Friday suspend the stock market “circuit breaker” mechanism that has been implemented since the beginning of this year.

“Currently, the negative effects of the mechanism are greater than the positive effects. Thus, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had decided to suspend the circuit breaker mechanism to maintain market stability,” CSRC spokesperson Deng Ke said in a statement.
Under the mechanism that became effective on Jan. 1 to tame the wildly fluctuating Chinese stock market, trading will be halted for 15 minutes if the Hushen 300 Index, which reflects the performance of bluechips listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, moves up or down by 5 percent before 2:45 p.m. If the movement reaches 7 percent when trading is resumed, the market closes for the day.
The circuit breaker was triggered on both Monday and Thursday, as plunges in the Hushen 300 Index reached 7 percent in both trading days.
“The mechanism was introduced with the aim of providing a calm-down period for the market to avoid or reduce hasty trading decisions in the case of sharp fluctuations, protecting the interests of investors. It also provides time for dealing with technological and operational risks,” Deng said.
He said the mechanism “is not the major reason for the market plunge, but it failed to achieve the anticipated effects,” adding that the mechanism in effect accelerated the plunge as some investors decided to sell when the index’s drop neared 5 percent or 7 percent.
The CSRC decided to introduce the circuit breaker system and conducted a public consultation on the plan for its introduction in September 2015 to prevent further abnormal fluctuations.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged about 154 percent from July 2014 to as high as 5,178 points on June 12, 2015, but then plunged about 45 percent from the peak by Aug. 26, 2015. The sharp falls gave rise to calls of a “circuit breaker.”
The new mechanism would help prevent excessive reactions of investors and give them more time to confirm whether a stock’s price is reasonable, according to the plan.
With no precedent, the market has taken time to adapt. “Next, the CSRC will carefully sum up the experience and lessons, organize research on improving the mechanism and seek extensive public opinions,” Deng said.
Trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses stopped early on Thursday after shares tumbled 7 percent within the first 30 minutes of trading, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism. It was the shortest trading time in the history of China’s stock market.
At 9:42 a.m., trading was suspended for 15 minutes after the Hushen 300 dropped by over 5 percent. The index dived a further 2 percent in just 2 minutes after reopening at 9:57 a.m., and trading was ceased.
Following the trading suspension Thursday, the CSRC unveiled new rules to limit big shareholders from selling their stocks.
Big shareholders, the management and those who hold more than 5 percent of a company’s shares were asked not to sell more than 1 percent of the company’s shares within any three-month period, a notice said.
Those who want to reduce their holdings have to publicize their plans 15 trading days beforehand. The new rule will take effect on Jan. 9.
On Thursday, several state-owned enterprises, including China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, announced that they will not sell shares of listed companies they control in order to help maintain market stability.  Enditem

Headlines: Winter economy thaws frozen Northeast China

HARBIN, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) — The bitter cold in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, powerful enough to cause frostbite, is heating up the economy of the frozen land.

Harbin’s International Ice and Snow Festival, in trial operations, is drawing global tourists with its shimmering castles, huge towers and thrilling slides, all made of ice and snow.

The largest winter festival in China, the frozen structures have been built in the provincial capital every winter since 1999, earning Harbin a fame of “Ice City.”

The park this year has been the largest ever, the size of 112 football fields. A record 330,000 cubic meters of ice and snow were used.

“The main tower, 46.5 meters high, was built with 20,000 cubic meters of ice,” Wang Zengyu, deputy general manager of the park, said. “It might be the highest ice tower in the world.”

A team of Chinese and Dutch designers spent three months in landscaping the park, which was built by more than 10,000 workers. The result is one of the most attractive festivals to date, Wang said.

The time and energy put into the festival is a sign of the hope local authorities have for winter tourism, a bright spot in Heilongjiang’s economy, which has been slowed by sagging energy and heavy industries.

Along with adjacent Jilin and Liaoning provinces, Heilongjiang has been a traditional industrial base for decades. From January to September, Heilongjiang’s economy expanded by 5.5 percent, ranking third from the bottom among China’s provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

However, the province’s tourism revenues grew by 35 percent during the first three quarters.

Even better growth is expected for this winter, as the popularity of winter sports is predicted to grow following the announcement that Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Last month, Heilongjiang provincial officials came to big cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Hangzhou to promote five new travel routes in Northeast China featuring frozen landscapes and winter activities.

In addition to tourism, Heilongjiang’s cold weather, with average January temperatures between minus 31 and minus 15 degrees Celsius, has created other business opportunities, such as mass storage of information data, among others.

Harbin is working to become a base for cloud computing, which allows users to store files in a remote data center, or “cloud,” to enable access from any computer.

The city is attractive to cloud computing companies due to its cool climate, with a yearly average temperature of 3 degrees Celsius. Low temperatures help save on the cost of operating heat sinks and other units required to keep massive banks of computers from overheating.

“According to our calculation, a data center’s power consumption here is 40 percent less than in South or Southeast China. We don’t need compressors for refrigeration for eight months a year,” said Tan Liyan, general manager of data service provider Gopha in Harbin’s cloud computing industrial park.

More than 300 companies have moved into the industrial park, named “China Cloud Valley,” since its launch in late 2010.

Companies in the park inked investment deals worth 31 billion yuan (4.7 billion U.S. dollars), official statistics said.

Hundreds of kilometers away from Harbin, Heihe City has become the first choice for auto makers and auto parts suppliers to test new products under extreme cold conditions, with roads and rivers frozen for more than 200 days a year.

Auto companies started coming to Heihe for testing in the 1980s and the local government began to provide services in 2006.

“We earned just over 100,000 yuan in our first year in 2006, now we have 20 testing grounds and are earning a lot more,” said Zhao Xinhong, general manager of Honghegu, the city’s largest vehicle testing service provider.

“Currently 80 percent of China’s vehicle tests for cold regions are carried out in Heihe,” Sun said.

Demand for the services has boomed despite an economic downturn. Chen Ying, a city official, said a record number of 75 companies brought more than 1,300 vehicles to Heihe last winter.

“As the auto market has been cooling, we should spend more on research and development to win customers,” said Deng Yongjun, an engineer with Chang’an Automobile based in Southwest China’s Chongqing. Deng’s team took 100 cars to Heihe last winter.

Once China’s industrial base, the northeastern provinces have experienced an even faster economic downturn than the rest of the country, with the slowdown in heavy industry, chemicals and the real estate sector being blamed for the sluggish growth.

The situation, however, is improving. During the first three quarters in 2015, Heilongjiang’s gross domestic product (GDP) gained 0.4 percentage point from the first half of the year.

Liaoning’s GDP expanded 2.7 percent in the first three quarters, the lowest in the nation, but higher than the 2.6 percent registered in the first half of the year. Jilin’s GDP expanded 6.3 percent, up from 6.1 percent during the first six months.

The Chinese government has been rolling out measures since 2003 to boost the region, free up private businesses and restructure state-owned enterprises.

By 2020, Northeast China is expected to achieve medium-high growth, and by 2030, it is encouraged to become an important region in sustaining national growth, one key meeting of China’s top leadership planned recently.

The leadership promised more market-oriented administration, structural reform, stimulation for innovation and entrepreneurship, and improved quality of life in the often frigid region.  Enditem

 

China-Europe fast rail brings mutual benefit

CHENGDU, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) — Trains made nearly 180 round trips between Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province and Lodz, Poland, in the last two and a half years.

Since 2013, three trains a week have made the 9,826 kilometer trip on the Chengdu-Europe fast rail, reaching Poland via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus.
“Commodities are transported to Europe within 15 days,” said Xu Pingfu, vice director of the Chengdu logistics office. “It is the fastest freight railway between China and Europe.”
Around 300 trains will ply the route in 2016, which will extend to Hamburg in Germany and Tilburg in the Netherlands. Commodities from coastal cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen are transported to Chengdu and from there to Europe because of the line’s low cost and high reliability.
“The price of transporting commodities on the Chengdu-Europe line is one fifth of the air freight cost, and it is three times faster than shipping,” said Xu.
Chengdu will spend a total of 1.9 billion yuan (300 million US dollars) in the next three years building China’s largest international railway port, said Chen Zhongwei, director of Chengdu logistics office.
Many leading exporters are considering moving to Chengdu for these reasons, according to Chen.
“We aim to be the pivot between Europe and Pan-Asia by building international railways and establishing a European commodity distribution center in the next three years,” Chen said.   Enditem

Editor: Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

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

China to set up third-generation nuclear power company

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Greenpost) — Two Chinese nuclear power giants on Wednesday concluded a deal on a joint venture to promote China’s third-generation nuclear reactor design, Hualong One, in overseas markets technologies.

The Hualong international nuclear power technology company in Chinese, has a registered capital of 500 million yuan (77 million U.S. dollars), with  China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) each holding 50 percent of shares.

The Hualong One design is the country’s third generation of nuclear reactor design for safer and more efficient operations that will be widely adopted in domestic nuclear power projects.

The two companies began R&D for Hualong One in 2013. In May 2015, construction on a pilot project using Hualong One started in Fuqing, southeast China’s Fujian Province.

An agreement with Argentina was reached in November, guaranteeing the use of it in the fifth nuclear plant in Argentina, a key emerging market for Chinese companies.

In October, CGN and Electricite de France (EDF) signed a strategic investment agreement to build a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the southwestern part of Britain.  Enditem

Source   Xinhua   Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

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:

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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。

Photo news: 2015 Stockholm Peace Talk held in parliament

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Jan. (Greenpost)– 2015 Stockholm Peace Talk was held in the parliament in January.  UN special envoy Jan Eliasson attended the talk and made a speech.

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Eliasson talked about his experience in peace mediation in Sudan.

DSC_5912Princess Victoria also attended the talk.

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Parliament Speaker Urban Alin talked about peace during the talk.

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Swedish Foreign Minister attended the talk.

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Late Prime Minister olof Palm’s statue sits in the parliament.

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Jan Eliasson talked with acquintance. DSC_5999

Beautiful voice as a melody during the talk.

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Peace Talk organizer.

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DSC_6021Victoria said it would be unfair if she didn’t take a photo with me since she just had one with another journalist. She also said Ni Hao to me in very standard Chinese. Before she got married, she had been in China for a training for a month. Then she wrote 30 letters to her boyfriend, whom later she got married with. It was at their grand wedding ceremony, Prince Westling revealed this.  Here I realized how tall she is and how elegant she is. She is very beautiful and nice. I felt very privileged and so excited that I couldn’t help laughing.

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When Victoria came, the public politely stood up to welcome her.

Photo by Greenpost.se  editor and reporter Xuefei Chen Axelsson. Jan. 2015.