24 June 2022 Welcome back to China-EU Dynamics! In this edition, we are focusing on the BRICS summit, where the Chinese President offers China's answers to questions facing this increasingly turbulent world. We also bring you the interactions between China and the EU, especially the trade statistics and recent business report. Enjoy reading. BRICS:a shot in the arm to global developmentThis week, President Xi Jinping host the 14th BRICS Summit. The BRICS countries, an emerging-market group which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, account for 42 percent of the world's population, 23 percent of global GDP, and 18 percent of global trade. This year's summit carries special significance as the world is at a crossroads. Here are some keywords from President Xi's speeches. Peace and stability. The Chinese President warned against hegemony, group politics, and bloc confrontation and said that the Ukraine crisis serves as another wake-up call and reminds us that attempts to expand military alliances and seek one’s own security at the expense of others will only land oneself in a security dilemma. Instead, he called on BRICS countries to support each other on issues concerning core interests, practice true multilateralism, and safeguard justice, fairness, and solidarity. Solidarity and cooperation. President Xi said that tiding over difficulties together and pursuing cooperation is the only way to solve the disruptions and crises arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, while taking stock of the progress of the BRICS cooperation this year, including new cooperation initiatives and mechanisms on supply chain, food security, climate change, big data, digital manufacturing, and etc. Global development. President Xi called for joint efforts to foster a global development partnership and outlined China's further support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, China would add US$1 billion to the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund on top of the US$3 billion already committed and increase input to the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. Over the past 16 years since its establishment, BRICS has become an all-round and multi-level framework, with practical cooperation carried out in dozens of areas, upholding the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation. China-EU: strong trade flows China-CEEC. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Polish counterpart held the third plenary session of the China-Poland intergovernmental cooperation committee. Apart from reviewing the bilateral relations, Wang Yi said that the two sides should take the 10th anniversary of the launch of China-Central and Eastern Europe Countries (CEEC) cooperation as a new starting point, and make Poland an important gateway to China-CEEC cooperation and China-EU cooperation. In 2021, the total trade volume between China and CCEC reached a record $133.55 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent. Half full or half empty? An annual survey by the European Chamber of Commerce shows that, despite the pandemic and geopolitical challenges, two thirds of European companies in China reported revenue increases in 2021, up 24 percentage points year-on-year, one of the figures that were underreported. It also finds that, rather than leaving China, eight times as many respondents reported plans to onshore their supply chains as they were willing to offshore them. The result is also reinforced by another report, which shows that multinational companies still regard China as an important destination for investment. Trade figures. The trade flows between China and the EU remain strong. According to China's customs authority, the two-way trade increased by 7 percent to 312 billion euros in the first five months of this year. The EU's official statistics also show that its bilateral trade with China reached 267 billion euros, an increase of 25.5% year on year. A cargo train marking the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing) waits for departure. The China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing), launched in March 2011, now operates nearly 40 routes reaching about 100 cities in Asia and Europe. More peace and globalization Promote peace. In a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping talked about the Ukraine issue. Xi called on all parties to push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner, adding that China, for this purpose, will continue to play its due role. More globalization. In a video address at the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Xi called upon countries to advance economic globalization. It is important that we reject attempts at decoupling, supply disruption, unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure, remove trade barriers, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, tackle the worsening food and energy crises, and revive the world economy, the Chinese President said. Reality check. China's Foreign Ministry issued a long article, debunking the lies and falsehoods that the US has spread against China. The article has more than 40,000 words and fact-checked twenty-one claims that the US Secretary of State has made during his recent speeches. A must-read for China watchers. A new railway is opening on June 16 in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, forming the world's first railway loop circling around a desert. The line brings railway service to some new places in southern Xinjiang, boosting socioeconomic development and promoting rural vitalization in the region. About 65 percent of the new line-534 km-is in the sand and storm zone, which made construction tremendously difficult. Experts' Corner -China Surpasses US in Eyes of Young Africans, a new survey by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation found that 76% of 4,507 young Africans across 15 countries named China as a foreign power with a positive influence on their lives, compared with 72% for the US. - Reducing “China-Dependence”? Hemant Adlakha, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, argues that it is not practical nor feasible to decouple from China, given the fact that China serves as an important base for exploring global markets. -Jorge E. Malena, director of the Asian Affairs Committee, Argentine Council for International Relations, hails the ‘BRICS Plus' as a booster of multilateralism, arguing the BRICS members take the lead in promoting free trade and multilateral dialogue, something the developed North began to abandon in recent years. A bite of Chinese GIs Today we are going to introduce one of China's GIs: Korla fragrant pear, a pear species unique to Xinjiang. Located at the northern margin of the Tarim Basin and at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, Korla is an important point on the ancient Silk Road. It earned the name “the City of Pears” because of its pear production. The Korla fragrant pear is known as “the pear of pears” and “the prince of fruit” thanks to its sweet and flagrant taste. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of China or our Mission, except those from the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, our Mission and other Chinese governmental websites. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or comments about this newsletter. |