OPINION: CHINA-AFRICA COMMITMENTS P.24 | FEATURES: PROVINCES PLAN FOR 2023 P.

36

VOL.66 NO.4 JANUARY 26, 2023 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM

HOMEWARD BOUND
Families reunite for the Spring Festival

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CONTENTS
EDITOR’S DESK 20 Taking Off Again FEATURES
02 Time for Reunion Civil aviation’s post-pandemic 34 Back on the Mend
rebound China’s globalization push to gain momentum
THIS WEEK 36 The Level Best
OPINION Provincial economic roadmaps unfold for 2023
COVER STORY 24 Continued Commitment
12 The Journey Home 38 Thriving in Headwinds
New Chinese foreign minister The steady growth of the equity market
Mass migration for Spring visits African nations
Festival 40 Fueling the Future
26 Iran Nuclear Issue: The The era of hydrogen energy
16 On-line Shopping Obstacle Is on the U.S. Side
Train carriages turn into 42 Mural, Mural on the Wall
Washington’s sincerity key to Collotype and the art of reproducing history
holiday carts breaking the gridlock
18 Duty Calls 28 The Pressure Is On CULTURE
Railway employees work Republicans will only get 46 Raise the Red Lantern
nonstop during the year’s tougher on China Light festival unleashes consumption vitality
busiest season 30 Contributions to in Shanghai
Globalization
Bringing nations closer
FORUM
48 Spring Festival Fireworks: Time to
together
Get Cracking?
32 Reinvigorating Old
Cover Photo: VCG Brands
Modernizing China’s oldest
©2023 Beijing Review, all rights reserved.
companies

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EDITOR’S DESK
A News Weekly Magazine
Published Since 1958
Time for Reunion
President: Li Yafang
Editor in Chief: Li Jianguo
Associate President: Yan Ying China’s Spring Festival travel rush, The Spring Festival travel rush this
Associate Editor in Chief: Liu Yunyun
Executive Editor: Yan Wei
the largest annual human migration on year will last 40 days from January 7 to
Associate Executive Editor: Ding Ying Earth, is underway. )HEUXDU\%DVHGRQWKHÀJXUHVGXU-
Production Director: Yao Bin
Editor: Wang Hairong As part of its pandemic control LQJWKHÀUVWZHHNELOOLRQWULSVZLOO
Researcher: Lan Xinzhen
Editorial Consultants: Elsbeth van Paridon, G.P. Wilson
measures, China called on people not be made, up 99.5 percent over a year
Reporters: Ji Jing, Kang Caiqi, Li Qing, Li Wenhan, Li Xiaoyang, to travel during the Spring Festivals ago.
Liang Xiao, Lu Yan, Ma Miaomiao, Pan Xiaoqiao, Peng Jiawei,
Tang Yuankai, Tao Xing, Tao Zihui, Wang Jun, Wang Ruohan, in 2021 and 2022. Many could reunite This has been made possible
Yuan Yuan, Zhang Shasha
Visual Director: Pamela Tobey with their families only via video link. through China’s optimization of its
Photo Editor: Wang Xiang
Photographer: Wei Yao
As China now manages COVID-19 efforts to contain COVID-19. As the
Art: Li Shigong with measures designated for combat- virulence of the virus waned, China
Design Director: Wang Yajuan
Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong ing Category B, instead of the most made a series of science-based adjust-
Designer and proofreader: Zhao Boyu
severe Category A, infectious diseases, ments, leading to the downgrading of
Editorial Administrator: Zeng Wenhui
Planning Director: Xu Bei passengers are no longer subject to COVID management measures as of
Deputy Planning Director: Li Nan
World News Deputy Director: Li Fangfang
nucleic acid tests or the risk of central- January 8 this year.
Director of Digital Media: Yu Shujun ized isolation. Family reunion is now As the peak of the latest infection
Director of Strategic Research: Zan Jifang
the order of the day. wave has subsided, Chinese people are
Administration: Lu Ling
International Cooperation: Sun Xuan Category B management, of course, returning to their normal lives, with the
Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng
does not mean no management at all, Spring Festival travel rush being a tell-
North America Bureau (New York City)
Chief: Yu Shujun because the pandemic is not yet over. ing example of recovery.
Executive Assistant: Zhao Wei
Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334
The Chinese Government has taken The Spring Festival is also a
E-mail: yushujun@cicgamericas.com steps to minimize the impact of the vi- national spending spree. Thailand,
Latin America Bureau (Mexico City)
Chief: Lin Yeqing rus. For instance, the country will equip Indonesia and other popular holi-
Tel: 52-55-55127271
Fax: 52-55-55332027 public transportation hubs and long- day destinations are trying to attract
E-mail: chinahoymx@gmail.com distance trains with more emergency Chinese tourists. Many shopping malls
3HUX2IßFH/LPD
Chief: Meng Kexin medicine. Transport operators are re- and supermarkets in China have re-
Tel: 0051-959212702
E-mail: revistachinaperu@gmail.com quired to increase backup staff for key corded their biggest increase in sales
*HQHUDO(GLWRULDO2IßFH personnel such as drivers and rotate within the past three years. All these
Tel: 86-10-68996252
Fax: 86-10-68326628 work schedules to prepare for possible are signs boding well for both China
Editorial Desk staff shortages caused by infections. and the world. BR
Tel: 86-10-68996250
Partnerships
Tel: 86-10-68995807
E-mail: yecong@cicgamericas.com
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2 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

 THIS WEEK

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http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 3

THIS WEEK SOCIETY
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underlying issues complicated
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COVID-19 prevention and con-
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combined with COVID-19 infec-
tion, have led to a relatively high
number of deaths among that
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China downgraded the
management of COVID-19 from
the most severe Category A to
the lesser Category B infectious
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ted in a nature reserve in Hebei
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tory-bird monitoring operations
conducted from January 7 to
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species of migratory birds,
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protection, such as the Baer’s
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national nature reserve on the
North China Plain that maintains
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China will continue to tackle
noise pollution and improve the
country’s acoustic environment
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period (2021-25), according to
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With remarkable progress
being made in pollution control,
public expectations regarding
the ecological environment
are growing and noise pollu-
tion is now among the most
complained-about environmen-
tal issues, an action plan jointly
issued by the Ministry of Ecology
and Environment and 15 other
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complaints received by China’s
national platform for environment-
related complaints from the public,
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bance, ranking second among all
types of pollution, according to the
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The plan pledged to
enhance control of the noise
sources, as well as noises from
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sites, transportation and social
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China imposed disciplinary pun-
ishment on 592,000 individuals
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an announcement released by
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and warning individuals who
conducted a minor breach of
discipline, which involved about
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Procuratorial organs across
China handled 1,073 criminal
cases of intentional wage
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involved in these cases were
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percent from the same period
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leased by the Supreme People’s
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In recent years, the rising in-
cidence of defaults on the wages
of migrant workers has further
reversed in China, courtesy of
increased efforts in eradicating
such problems and a better
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ened punishment over wage
default crimes to create a sound
legal environment for the private medium grades today exceeds with neutral soil accounting for
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total, which meets the needs of provide a basis for decision-mak-
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JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 5
THIS WEEK ECONOMY
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China’s prudent monetary
policy will focus on coordinating
the expansion of domestic
demand and supply-side struc-
tural reform, Xuan Changneng,
Vice Governor of the People’s
Bank of China, the country’s
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To increase domestic
demand, measures will be taken
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tions to release credit supply
reasonably and in accordance
with market principles and the
rule of law, Xuan told a press
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China will actively coordi-
nate its monetary policy with
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ramp up support for enterprises
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creating jobs and raising the
incomes of urban and rural
residents through multiple
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Work should be done to
ensure the monetary policy is
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reasonable and moderate, and
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Xuan said, stressing the impor-
tance of efforts to balance stable
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At the same time, structural
monetary policy tools will be
used to improve support in
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reduction, technological in-
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novation, the construction of a
modern industrial system, major
infrastructure and projects and
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between effective supply and
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enterprises’ comprehensive
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fectively promoting the sector’s
consumption costs to boost both
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to shore up support for manu-
facturing companies, as well as
for private and smaller services
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Bulk consumption related
to housing and automobiles will
be encouraged, and services
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education, culture and sports
will also receive more support,
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China’s annual foreign trade
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in 2022, as the country works to
better coordinate its pandemic
response with economic and
social development amid
complex domestic and interna-
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the world for six consecutive
years, according to the General
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China’s imports and exports
with the Association of Southeast
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Trade with other Belt and
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foreign trade, while that with
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Automobile exports of China
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vehicles were exported last year,
with passenger car exports near-
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according to the China

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China’s Producer Price Index Growth China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) Growth
(%) (%)
12 4
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DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
2021 2022 2021 2022

6 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com


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In the same period, exports
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of commercial vehicles climbed
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and exports of new-energy
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of Chinese auto companies and
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exports exceeded 2 million units
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about 1 million units in previous
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The renminbi has gained
popularity in cross-border
transactions and settlements
as China steps up efforts to
expand the use of its currency
in trade and investment, the
Ministry of Commerce said on
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Cross-border renminbi
settlements for trade in goods
Food
Clothes
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Articles and services of daily use
Transport and telecommunication
Education, culture
and entertainment
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try and information conference
percent from a year ago, Shu
Jueting, a spokesperson for
the ministry, told a press
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In addition, cross-border
renminbi settlements for direct
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trillion yuan ($1 trillion) last
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Affected by changes in the
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currencies have experienced
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exchange rates and businesses
are more inclined to use the
renminbi in cross-border trans-
actions and settlements, she
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noted that market demand
for renminbi in cross-border
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Local state-owned enterprises
China’s CPI Growth by Type
December 2022 (% y.o.y.)
0.5
Housing
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0.6
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(SOEs) saw a steady growth of
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percent year on year, the State-
Owned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission
of the State Council said on
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Local SOEs saw their total
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China launched a three-
year campaign in 2020 to
boost SOE competitiveness and
innovation capabilities through
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campaign ended in 2022 with
its targets accomplished, the
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The industrial economy posted
overall steady growth in 2022,
1.5
2.8
2.8
2.0
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW
THIS WEEK
according to a national indus-
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The country’s value-added
industrial output of industrial
business revenue of at least
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year in 2022, the conference
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trial output of manufacturing
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By late 2022, the country
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million 5G base stations had
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volume to expand 8 percent
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3.7
3.0 4.0
(Source: National Bureau of Statistics)
7
THIS WEEK WORLD
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Crowds gather at the crash site of a
passenger plane carrying 72 people
in the Pokhara region on January 15.
At least 69 had been killed in the
accident as of January 16
8 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
CROATIA
Kuna and euro banknotes are shown
at a vegetable stand in Sibenik
on January 14. Croatia adopted the euro
as its currency on January 1, becoming
the 20th member state of the eurozone.
7KHNXQDWKHFRXQWU\oVRIĶFLDOFXUUHQF\
since 1994, ceased circulation
on January 15
XINHUA
MALAYSIA
A resident of Kuala Kubu Bharu follows
the traditional recipe and method to make rice
cakes for the Lunar New Year, which fell
on January 22 this year, on January 8
XINHUA
http://www.bjreview.com
 THIS WEEK

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/(%$121ó
Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
(left) and his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib
attend a press conference on bilateral relations
in Beirut on January 13

XINHUA
XINHUA

XINHUA

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8*$1'$ó
A cleaner works at an Ebola
isolation center at a hospital in the
Central Region district of Mubende
on January 11. That same day, the
country announced the Ebola
Sudan Virus outbreak had ended

SWEDEN
European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen (center), King
of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (right)
and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf
Kristersson jointly cut the ribbon
at the inauguration ceremony of
the Spaceport Esrange, Europe’s
ĶUVWVDWHOOLWHODXQFKFRPSOH[DWWKH
Esrange Space Center in Kiruna
on January 13
http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 9
THIS WEEK 3(23/(ó ó32,176
¾ GOLDEN GLOBES BEST ACTRESS

Michelle Yeoh won the award for best performance by an actress in a motion
picture (musical or comedy) for her role as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything
Everywhere All at Once at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Born in 1962, the Malaysian actress and action film star rose to fame in the
VDIWHUVWDUULQJLQDVHULHVRI+RQJ.RQJDFWLRQÀOPVLQZKLFKVKHSHUIRUPHG
her own stunts, such as Yes, Madam!, Police Story 3: Super Cop
and Holy Weapon. Internationally, she is known for her roles in the
-DPHV%RQGÀOPTomorrow Never Dies and Ang Lee’s martial arts
ÀOPCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Yeoh is the second actress of Asian descent to win in the best
performance by an actress in a motion picture (musical or comedy)
FDWHJRU\IROORZLQJ$ZNZDÀQD·VZLQIRUThe Farewell in 2020.

Ecological Defense for

Safe Journeys
Yangcheng Evening News
January 13
7KHSDVVHQJHUÁRZIRUWKLV\HDU·V6SULQJ
Festival rush is expected to reach 2.1
billion trips or so, up by 99.5 percent
from a year earlier. At a time of frequent
COVID-19 infection, the railway authori-
ties of some cities have already deployed
first-aid teams that have undergone spe-
cialized training onto trains.
COVID-19 infection could seriously
disrupt a passenger’s travel, but with the
presence of these first-aid teams, pas-
sengers can breathe a sigh of relief. The
teams’ medical kits contain a lot of basic
medicines, including fever medications,
and a number of seats are reserved for
patients with a fever. Sometimes, even
those who have recovered from infec-
tions might suffer from complications
such as viral myocarditis (inflammation
of the heart muscle). In this case, such a
PHGLFDOWHDPRQERDUGFDQEHÀUVWRQWKH
scene to provide treatment.
The first-aid teams are good news
for passengers taking these trains. It’s
hoped that more trains will be equipped
with such staff all the year around,
and that this service will expand to
airplanes, ships and other forms of
passenger transport to ensure smooth
journeys for all.
Green Development
Outlook Weekly
January 9
Acting on the idea that green ways of
life and business are the foundation
for sustainable high-quality growth,
Chongqing Municipality in southwest
China is playing an exemplary role in the
green development of the Yangtze River
Economic Belt by promoting low-carbon
transition in its industry and business.
Environmentally friendly industries
like new-energy vehicles, biomedi-
cine and sophisticated equipment are

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10 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com


being encouraged and green development
concepts are being used to accelerate
the development of other sectors. The
two conventional pillar industries in
Chongqing, electronic information tech-
nology and the auto industry, are being
upgraded, with hi-tech and strategic new
manufacturing accounting for an increas-
ing share of local industrial added value.
The Yangtze River and Jialingjiang
River run through the central district of
the city. For decades, factories stood along
the rivers, high buildings and streets ate
into river banks while quays big and small
dotted the banks. In this mess, the ecologi-
cal system of the whole city was cut into
pieces.
In recent years, more than 40 cruise-
boat restaurants that were moored along
the river have been removed to make
room for scenic spots. Since 2018,
Chongqing has renovated more than 2,600
old and dilapidated residential areas. The
final goal is to have 100 million square
meters of old communities renovated.
As a crucial ecological defense for
downstream regions along the Yangtze
River, by taking advantage of its
geographical location and ecological en-
dowments, Chongqing is advancing at a
fast and steady pace on the path of green
development.
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http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK
Let Them Stay to stay. Many of these students either want
to prepare for their graduate entrance ex-
Rednet.cn ams, or need to do part-time jobs to pay for
January 12 tuition and daily expenses. After all, not
Winter vacation is kicking off across the all families can afford to support their chil-
country’s universities. Some universities dren’s studies after two years of financial
are requiring that graduate students who hardship.
have strong reasons to stay on campus Part-time workers may not be given
need to have their requests approved the green light to stay as easily as those
after talking to their tutors. If they are preparing for exams. They may be re-
allowed to stay, their tutors should ac- quired to rent a room off campus, adding
company them while they remain on to their economic pressures. Colleges and
campus, instructing them on experiments universities thus need to show more care
or research. Other students are required to and tolerance to these students. After all,
leave as soon as possible. their braveness to earn their own living
The majority of students have chosen to and relieve their parents of economic bur-
go home. However, some have still chosen dens deserves encouragement.
¾ ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION VICE PRESIDENT
Olympic shot put champion Gong Lijiao and star sprinter Su Bingtian have been
elected as vice presidents of the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), the govern-
LQJERG\FRQÀUPHGRQ-DQXDU\
Thirty-three-year-old Gong won the women’s shot put gold medal at the
Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020, and she also claimed titles at the 2017 and
2019 World Championships.
Su, also 33, set a new Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the
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WKHÀQDORIWKHHYHQWLQ2O\PSLFKLVWRU\DW7RN\R
Yu Hongchen was elected as the CAA president during
the First Session of its 10th Congress in December 2022.
Gong and Su are the only two active athletes among all 14
vice presidents.
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JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 11
 VCG


COVER STORY

THE JOURNEY HOME

More people hit the road for the Spring Festival holiday after the lifting of
travel restrictions By Ji Jing
12 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

Waiting hall of the Beijing South Railway Station during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2020,
2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively (from 1 to 4)
ei Lili, a woman who deliv-
ers milk to households with
her husband in Beijing, hadn’t
been back to her hometown
in Shanxi Province for three
years, owing to travel restrictions imposed to control
the spread of COVID-19. This year, as China has
optimized its pandemic control measures and lifted
travel restrictions, she booked two train tickets to
4 Owing to the easing of restric-
her hometown well in advance for
a reunion with her children and
other family members to celebrate
the Chinese New Year, or Spring
Festival, which fell on January 22.
Wei has two daughters: One is
around 20 and the other is 5. When
her younger daughter was only 6
months old, Wei came to Beijing
with her husband to work and left
her children in the care of her par-
ents-in-law.
Before the pandemic, she had
returned home every year for the
Spring Festival. On Spring Festival
Eve, she used to make dumplings
while watching the annual Spring
Festival Gala broadcast by China
Central Television with her family.
“I have been longing to go
home for a long time and am count-
ing the days till our departure.
My family members are also very
happy knowing we are going home
this year,” Wei told China Business
Herald News Weekly in the days
before she left Beijing.
“I want to share the housework
with my parents-in-law and take
my children to visit local scenic
spots during the festival,” she said.
Wei added she also wants to take a
family portrait this year and bring it
back to Beijing after the holiday.
Zhang Guibo, who works for
an air compressor company in
Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, also
hadn’t returned to his hometown for
the Spring Festival for three years
for similar reasons. After the relax-
ation of these restrictions, travelers
now no longer need negative nucle-
ic acid test results to catch planes,
trains and buses, and no longer need
to go through test and quarantine on
arrival at their destinations.
tions, Zhang decided to go back
for a visit. He arrived at Taizhou
West Railway Station before 6
a.m. on January 7, took a six-hour
train to Jinan, capital of Shandong
Province, and then a three-and-a-
half-hour bus to his home in Linyi
County of Dezhou in Shandong.
He took back with him Taizhou
specialties including brown sugar
DQGGULHGVDOWHGÀVKIRUKLVSDUHQWV
and told Dazhong Daily that he
wants to make some dishes using
V
V

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 13

 XINHUA
the fish for his family during the
festival. “I am really homesick after
all the years of working away from
home and I want to spend more
time with my family during this
year’s festival,” Zhang said.
There are a huge number of
people like Wei and Zhang who
are returning home for the Spring
Festival after a three-year separa-
tion. The mass mobilization of
Chinese people returning home for
the holiday, known as chunyun,
usually lasts around 40 days. This
year, it started on January 7 and is
expected to end on February 15.

Well-prepared
On January 7, 34.74 million passen-
ger trips were made across China,
an increase of 38.9 percent over the
first chunyun day of last year, ac-
cording to the Ministry of Transport
(MOT). However, the number was
still 48.6 percent lower than that of
WKHÀUVWchunyun day in 2019.
In 2019, prior to the emergence
of COVID-19, nearly 3 billion pas-
senger trips were made during the
40-day period. However, beginning
in 2020, people have been encour-
aged to avoid traveling during the
festival to prevent infection. As a
result, just 1.05 billion trips were
made during the travel rush for the
festival in 2022, only 870 million
were made in 2021, and 1.5 billion
were made in 2020.
About 2.1 billion passenger
trips are expected to be made dur-
ing this year’s chunyun period, a
year-on-year increase of 99.5 per-
cent, Vice Minister of Transport
Xu Chengguang said at a press
conference on January 6, while
introducing preparations authori-
ties had made for the 40-day travel
rush. The volume of passenger trips
is expected to be around 70.3 per-
cent of the total in 2019, Xu said.
The railway and civil aviation
14 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
A woman picks out Chinese New Year decorations at a store in Longhui County,
Hunan Province, on January 16
sectors have taken a series of measures to guar-
antee transportation capacity during the travel
rush. “A daily maximum of 6,077 pairs of pas-
senger trains have been scheduled to operate in
the lead-up to the Spring Festival, and a daily
maximum of 6,107 pairs for the post-festival
period,” Huang Xin, Deputy Director of the
Passenger Transport Department of the national
railway operator China State Railway Group,
said at the press conference.
$ERXWÁLJKWVKDYHEHHQVFKHGXOHGRQDY-
erage for each day of the travel rush period, about 73
percent of the volume during the same period in 2019,
Wan Xiangdong, chief pilot of the Civil Aviation
Administration of China, said at the press conference.
Airline companies have been encouraged to
schedule more domestic flights to meet the in-
creasing demand for travel from Beijing, Shanghai
and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, to Sanya
and Haikou in Hainan Province, Chengdu in
Sichuan Province, and Chongqing Municipality,
Wan said.
:DQVDLGWKHÁLJKWVFKHGXOHZRXOGEHDGMXVWHG
according to passenger demand and changes in
weather to reduce the inconve-
QLHQFHFDXVHGE\ÁLJKWGHOD\VDQG
cancellations.
Although China has optimized
its COVID-19 management and
lifted travel restrictions, pandemic
prevention and control is still very
important during the travel rush as
the huge migration of people and
large logistic flows increase the
risk of infection.
“Disinfection and ventilation
of airports, train and bus stations,
expressway service areas and trans-
portation tools will be improved,”
Cai Tuanjie, head of the Transport
Service Department of the MOT,
said at the press conference.
“We should be prepared for
large-scale infections of staff mem-
bers in the transportation industry
and ensure that there will be people
to take over their work when staff
begin to show symptoms such as
http://www.bjreview.com

A staff member inspects the wheels of a train in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, on January 7
fever,” Cai said.
Every passenger should be re-
sponsible for their own health by
wearing masks and avoiding public
transport when ill, he added.
Back from abroad
In addition to people in China,
Chinese working, studying or liv-
ing abroad are also back to visit
their families.
According to the latest changes
in the country’s COVID-19
policy, people coming to China
from abroad no longer need to be
quarantined on arrival, starting on
January 8. Nucleic acid testing on
arrival was also scrapped beginning
that day, though inbound passen-
gers still need to show a negative
result of such test taken within 48
hours before departure.
Li Mingyu, a student at the
University of Auckland in New
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
Zealand, hadn’t been back to her home in Xuzhou,
Jiangsu Province, for three years, owing to the
pandemic.
On January 8, Li’s flight arrived at Shanghai
Hongqiao International Airport early in the morning
and her father Li Honglin was waiting for her at the
arrival hall. The older Li had driven all the way from
Xuzhou, more than 500 km from Shanghai, to pick
up his daughter.
“My wife and I haven’t seen our daughter in
person for three years. We were so excited that we
weren’t able to fall asleep last night. Her grandpar-
ents also miss her very much and are happy we can
ÀQDOO\UHXQLWHIRUWKH6SULQJ)HVWLYDOWKLV\HDUµWKH
older Li told ThePaper.cn.
The younger Li plans to stay for almost two
months at home to spend more time with her family.
Tourism revival
In addition to people visiting family, many have
decided to spend the festival traveling and the tour-
ism market is expected to see a boom during this
holiday.
On January 7, the first special train for ice
and snow tourism departed from
Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang
Province. The train was heading
for popular winter tourism des-
tinations such as Mohe, China’s
northernmost city, which is also
in Heilongjiang, and Zhalantun, a
picturesque city in Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region.
Wang Bowen, a college student
from Guangzhou, was on board the
train with his parents. “I have long
been wishing to come to northeast
China to see real snow. However,
I have not traveled far in the past
three years because of the pandem-
ic. This year, with the adjustment
of COVID-19 control measures
and as the winter vacation started
early, I have come with my parents
to celebrate the Spring Festival,”
Wang told Guangming Daily.
Chen Dongsheng, a software
engineer working for an Internet
company in Beijing, has also cho-
sen to spend the festival traveling.
He traveled to Sanya, a coastal city
in Hainan, on January 7 with his
family. He told China Securities
Journal that although hotel prices
in Sanya have surged recently, he
still decided to make the trip be-
cause his family hadn’t traveled
for a long time. “We will go to the
seaside and the duty-free shopping
mall to have a good time,” Chen
said.
According to a report pre-
dicting the 2023 Spring Festival
tourism market, released by Trip.
com Group, formerly known as
Ctrip, on January 5, reservations
of tourism products for this year’s
Spring Festival holiday increased
by 45 percent year on year and
per-capita spending on tourism
increased by 53 percent from the
previous year. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to jijing@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 15
 COVER STORY

ON-LINE SHOPPING 1
T
o help locals prepare for the Chinese New
Year, or Spring Festival, which fell on
January 22 this year, two trains running
in Guizhou Province had their carriages temporar-
ily converted into shops selling Spring Festival
merchandise to homebound travelers during the
holiday travel rush.
The trains run between Yuping Dong
Autonomous County of Tongren and Guiyang, the
provincial capital. Famous for their convenience
and affordable prices, the trains usually serve
locals in mountainous areas. They pass through
several townships in Qiandongnan Miao and
Dong Autonomous Prefecture, connecting more
than 100 ethnic minority villages along the 337-
km route. BR
(Photos by Xinhua News Agency)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Comments to dingying@cicgamericas.com

16 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

 2

4 3 1. A woman from the Dong

ethnic group checks out a typical
Chinese New Year decoration
bearing the Chinese character fu
(meaning good luck) on the train
on January 10
2. Aerial photo taken on January 11
shows a train running near Kaili,
Guizhou Province
3. A passenger holds up two bags
with Spring Festival goodies she
just purchased on board the train
4. Passengers board a train at
Kaili Railway Station in Kaili
5. Performers from the Miao (in
the silver headdress) and Dong
ethnic minorities liven up the
train ride

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 17


COVER STORY
Duty Calls
Railway employees ensure safe train operations
during busiest time of year By Tao Zihui
A
ll was dark and quiet outside,
at 5 a.m. on January 13,
with temperatures plum-
meting to 22 degrees Celsius
below zero. Chen Lili, an op-
erations director at Zhangjiakou
Railway Station in Zhangjiakou,
Hebei Province, was at home get-
ting ready to leave for work.
At 5:30 a.m., Chen arrived
at the station where her morning
shift would commence at 6 a.m.
sharp. After changing into her
work clothes, putting on anti-
COVID-19 protective gear and
gathering the necessary work
equipment, like walkie-talkies
and audio and video record-
ers, Chen headed over to her
designated train platform. This
was her 10th Spring Festival
travel rush, the country’s typi-
cal 40-day transportation peak
around the Chinese New Year,
as a railway worker. This year’s
travel rush, also known as chu-
nyun in Chinese, started on
January 7 and will last until
February 15. It is estimated to
see roughly 2.1 billion passenger
trips, up 99.5 percent from the same pe-
riod last year. A significant
proportion of these trips will be
made by train.
Duty and diligence
As an operations director with
China Railway Beijing Bureau
Group Co. Ltd., 36-year-old Chen
18 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
is mainly responsible for receiving and dispatch-
ing high-speed trains as well as regular-speed
trains, and for ensuring the safety of passengers
boarding and disembarking.
On this day, Chen was to oversee boarding
operations on two of the station’s busiest plat-
forms. The huge passenger flow, courtesy of the
long-distance trains arriving at and departing
from the platforms, would make her job more
demanding than usual. “Be careful and then be
even more careful; don’t get sloppy,” Chen re-
minded herself.
The year 2022 was a tough one for many
residents of China, with the rapid spread of the
highly contagious Omicron variant greatly af-
fecting daily life nationwide. As the country
eased its COVID-19 control policy early last
December, also scrapping domestic travel re-
strictions, many people were looking forward
to a trip home for the Spring Festival holiday
(January 21-27).
Given the Spring Festival holiday season also
happens to be the busiest time of year for China’s
railway industry, as hundreds of millions reunite
with their families all over the country, many
railway employees like Chen remain on duty,
ensuring the safe operation of every single pas-
senger train under their supervision.
“I haven’t been home for the Chinese New
Year in 10 years. When I worked as a train con-
ductor, I would celebrate New Year’s Eve on the
train with my colleagues and passengers; this
year, I was on duty at the station,” Chen told
Beijing Review.
“China’s railways serve the people,” Chen
said. “Even though many of us [working at the
station] often cannot return home to celebrate
the Spring Festival ourselves, seeing all the pas-
sengers embark on a safe and smooth journey
to reunite with their loved ones
makes us happy,” she added.
Past and future
For Chen, the current working
environment is much better than
ZKHQVKHÀUVWVWDUWHGKHUFDUHHUDVD
railway employee in 2013. “I was a
conductor on the slow train, or what
we called the ‘green train’—in ref-
erence to its carriage color scheme;
it took more than six hours to get
from Zhangjiakou to Beijing.”
Things changed after the
Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed
Railway went into operation.
On December 30, 2019, after
four years of construction, the
high-speed railway line connecting
Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the co-
host city of the Olympic Winter
Games Beijing 2022, was up and
running. The new line was an
important part of the region’s in-
frastructure plans to serve the 2022
Olympics.
The railway stretches 174 km,
with a maximum design speed
of 350 km per hour, reducing
travel time between Beijing and
Zhangjiakou to 47 minutes and
stopping at 10 stations along the
way.
“I still remember my first trip
on the high-speed train,” Chen re-
called. “That feeling of flying, the
VFHQHU\ÁDVKLQJE\«,UHPHPEHULW
like it was yesterday.”
Pride and possibility
At 8:05 a.m. on January 13 in
Beijing North Railway Station, the
D6711 train left the station right
on time, heading for Taizicheng
Station in Zhangjiakou’s Chongli
District, which hosted most of the
skiing events during the Winter
Olympics.
This cutting-edge train is
among the most advanced in the
world. The new railway is in
http://www.bjreview.com

Chen Lili gives guidance to her colleague in a monitoring room at Zhangjiakou Railway Station
in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, on January 13
Chen gives a passenger directions on a platform at Zhangjiakou Railway Station on January 13
sharp contrast with another rail-
way between the two cities, the
Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway
completed in 1909.
The old railway was China’s
first-ever domestically designed
and constructed railway, with a
http://www.bjreview.com
ZHANG WEI
in the Olympics’ closed-loop
management, a measure to pre-
vent the spread of COVID-19. “I
had never met so many foreign-
ers; my English improved by
leaps and bounds!” she laughed.
Though a year has passed since,
Chen is still proud to have served
the Winter Olympics.
This winter season is the
first ice and snow season fol-
lowing the conclusion of the
Winter Olympics. The high-
speed railway linking Beijing and
Zhangjiakou has seen a rising
number of passengers recently.
Many travelers are headed to
the ski resorts dotted along the
rail line, Taizicheng being one
of them. The railway station has
also set up a check-in counter in
ZHANG WEI
the waiting hall where ice and
snow aficionados on their way
home can drop off their ski and
snowboard equipment prior to
boarding their train so that the
equipment can be delivered di-
rectly to their destinations.
“After the Winter Olympics
concluded, all service facilities
in the station were opened to
the public, and memories of the
Olympic Games can still be seen
and felt everywhere in the sta-
tion,” Chen said.
For Chen, whether it be the
Winter Olympics or the high-
speed rail, they all symbolize
China’s growing national strength.
“As a railway worker, I have a
dream that when I retire in the fu-
ture, I can take high-speed trains
to travel around the country, and
even around the world,” she con-
design speed of just 35 km per hour. cluded.
The differences between these two railways But for now, with chunyun
connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou mirror the still in full swing, duty calls. BR
progress that China has made in railway develop-
ment in the past century.
During the Winter Olympics, Chen served as a Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridonǂǂ
Comments to taozihui@cicgamericas.com
guide at Taizicheng Station—which was included
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 19
 COVER STORY
TAKING OFF
AGAIN
China’s civil aviation is returning to life
By Tao Xing
A
fter nearly three years of
suspension since March 14,
2020 due to COVID-19,
international flights began resum-
ing operation at Beijing Daxing
International Airport (BDIA) from
January 17.
BDIA was put into operation
in September 2019 to relieve the
flight pressure at Beijing Capital
International Airport. But months
later, the pandemic led to a sharp de-
cline in international travel and then
all international flights to and from
Beijing were left to be handled only
by the older airport.
BDIA’s reopening to interna-
WLRQDOÁLJKWVLVDVLJQLQGLFDWLQJWKH
recovery of the aviation industry.
China has removed all quarantine
requirements for inbound passen-
gers since January 8, and introduced
policies to facilitate the resumption
of international flights, which is
boosting demand for inbound and
outbound travel. In addition, the
country has also ended the require-
ment for travelers to quarantine upon
arrival in destination cities and to
present their health status before en-
tering attractions and entertainment
venues since last December.
The general public has responded
to the policy changes with enthusi-
20 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
asm. After these new policies were released, searches
for plane tickets have soared in recent days.
Many airlines, both domestic and foreign, are
formulating new flight schedules to catch the op-
portunities in China’s aviation market. China United
Airlines (CUA), a budget carrier headquartered in
Beijing and a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines,
has resumed 109 of its flight routes, covering many
popular destinations. “We will fully meet the travel
needs of our customers,” a representative of CUA
told Beijing Review.
Gear up to rebound
International flights have been severely disrupted by
the pandemic and the ensuing measures to control
it. According to data from DAST, a transport data
analysis platform, from June 2020 to July 2022, 1,963
inbound flights were cancelled due to the “circuit
breaker mechanism.” The mechanism means if there
were more than a certain number of COVID-19 cases
RQLQWHUQDWLRQDOÁLJKWVWKDWDUULYHLQ&KLQDWKDWURXWH
would be suspended for a certain period of time.
Last year was even worse, the data showed, with as
PDQ\DVLQERXQGÁLJKWVVXVSHQGHGRUUHVWULFWHG
from January to the end of July, accounting for about
SHUFHQWRIWKHWRWDOLQERXQGÁLJKWVVXVSHQGHGRU
restricted during the pandemic.
“People’s demand for air travel also decreased in
recent years,” Su Yiming, a business manager who
works at an airport, told Beijing Review.
At a national civil aviation conference on
January 6, Song Zhiyong, head of the Civil Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC), said 250 million
passenger trips were handled and about 6.08 million
tons of cargo and mail were trans-
ported by air last year, which was
only 46.3 percent of the pre-pandem-
ic level.
The civil aviation industry hit a
low in 2022, with an overall loss of
216 billion yuan ($32 billion), Song
said, adding that the cumulative loss
across the entire industry since the
beginning of the epidemic is expect-
ed to reach 400 billion yuan ($59.3
billion). The industry had been prof-
itable for 11 consecutive years before
the pandemic.
China built or relocated eight
airports in 2022, lifting the total
number of cargo airports to 254 and
general airports to 399, according to
Song. The sector aims to break even
amid a solid recovery this year and
is expected to rebound to around 75
percent of its pre-pandemic level in
2023, he said.
Increased market
In recent days, the Spring Festival
travel rush, also known as chunyun,
which lasts from January 7 to
February 15 this year, is bringing
http://www.bjreview.com

An airplane departs from Meilan International Airport in Haikou, Hainan Province, on January 7
a surge in demand. Airlines have
stepped up efforts in expanding their
transport capacity.
According to the Global Times,
China Eastern Airlines plans to al-
locate 753 aircraft for the travel rush,
with an average of more than 2,900
SODQQHGGDLO\ÁLJKWVDQGWKHSODQQHG
passenger seat kilometers returning
to 87 percent of the pre-pandemic
level in 2019.
CUA has also made thorough
preparation for the surge in demand,
expecting to handle 800,000 do-
mestic passengers trips to and from
BDIA during this year’s travel rush.
“Besides, an average of 150 flights
have been scheduled by CUA per
day nationwide for the travel rush,
which is equivalent to the same pe-
riod in 2019,” the airline said.
Besides, many people in China
are also planning their travel.
Mohammed Kpannah Fahnbulleh,
a Liberian student at the Qilu
University of Technology in Jinan,
Shandong Province, told Beijing
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
paperless transit by introducing e-
boarding and e-security checks,
allowing identity cardholders to
travel with only their identity cards
and eliminating the need for con-
ventional paper boarding passes.
During the chunyun, BDIA is
optimizing the allocation of trans-
portation resources and adjusting
the frequency of airport buses ac-
cording to flights and passenger
volume. For example, they added
two bus routes from other regions
of Beijing to the airport, according
to an article on BDIA’s social me-
dia on January 7.
Additionally, nearly 200 stores
in the airport are maintaining
normal operations with adequate
products. The airport also regulates
the quality and price to create a safe
and secure shopping and dining
environment for passengers, the ar-
ticle read.
Review that he has not been home in four years because “This year, BDIA, in asso-
of the COVID-19 situation. ciation with domestic and foreign
´,KDYHORWVRISODQVWRWUDYHO0\ÀUVWWUDYHOSODQ, airlines, will continue to increase
want to go to Shanghai and then maybe go back to my the recovery and expansion of in-
country to see my family and then come back to com- ternational routes, to promote the
plete my education,” Fahnbulleh said. development of this world-class in-
On January 9, a 70-year-old Beijinger surnamed ternational hub airport,” the article
Li came to the Exit-Entry Reception Hall of Beijing said.
Municipal Public Security Bureau (BMPSB) in CUA has offered some incen-
Dongcheng District of the capital city to renew his tives to promote its services and
passport. “My passport expired last year. I heard that products to the general public in
the policy has shifted lately in light of the current situ- the travel season, such as providing
ation, so I came today to update my passport so I can group tickets, preferential tickets
visit my nephew abroad,” he told Beijing Review. and launching a lucky draw activ-
According to the Exit-Entry Administration ity. Additionally, they provide free
Department of BMPSB, there was a significant in- reading materials to passengers dur-
crease in the number of applicants for exit and entry LQJÁLJKWV
services on January 9, the first workday after China “The new rules bring hope to
lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travelers. China’s aviation sector, which will
also contribute to the faster recov-
Upgrading services ery of the world aviation market,”
Airports and airlines are busy upgrading their ser- Su concluded. BR
vices and products to improve customers’ travel
experience.
In recent years, major progress has been achieved
in building a smart civil aviation industry. For ex- Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
&RPPHQWVWRWDR[LQJ#FLFJDPHULFDVFRP
ample, according to the CAAC, 234 airports offer
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 21
23,1,21 &+,1$$)5,&$
Continued Commitment
By Ehizuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen jointly meet the press in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
on January 10
A
s one popular saying goes, do not
be afraid to celebrate a kept prom-
ise. In doing so, you embrace the
potential for a better world. Following in the
footsteps of his predecessors, China’s new
Foreign Minister Qin Gang embarked on his
term with a seven-day visit to five African
nations—Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin
and Egypt—from January 9 to 16. The visit
also brought him to the African Union (AU)
headquarters and the League of Arab States
headquarters.
Prior to Qin’s arrival, this visit was
widely expected to restore momentum in
China-Africa cooperation, help China’s
undertakings in Africa and develop an in-
tegrated strategy that does three things:
establish continent-wide objectives for China
and African nations with tailored regional
strategies, expand mutually beneficial eco-
nomic cooperation and investment, and
support African nations in their independent
development and capacity building.
China’s leadership in the international realm
sees it fulfill its promises and commitments
24 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
CHINESE EMBASSY IN ETHIOPIA
top trading and economic partner. As for
Ethiopia, the nation could easily leverage the
Chinese knowledge of peace and security as
well as comprehensive development to over-
come its internal upheavals. As for the visit
to the AU headquarters in Ethiopia, coupled
with the fact that Chinese contractors would
soon finish building the Africa Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in the capi-
tal Addis Ababa, Qin’s visit demonstrated
China’s determination to choose multilateral-
ism over unilateralism.
As for Egypt, as a major voice and sig-
nificant connection between the continent
of Africa and the Arab world, the minister’s
visit provided China with the opportunity to
continue the ongoing constructive dialogue
on how to encourage development collabo-
ration on both sides of the Red Sea. China
to friends and partners, which is Gabon’s largest economic and trading
ultimately leads to building trust. partner and top investor. Qin’s visit helped
This is one of the reasons why, fortify the synergy between the Emerging
over the past three decades, China Gabon Strategic Plan and the Belt and Road
has kept its promise and has re- Initiative, a China-proposed initiative that
mained committed to a diplomatic aims to boost connectivity along and beyond
tradition to commence every year the ancient Silk Road routes, to diversify the
with a visit to Africa, truly prov- nation’s economy. As for Benin, the visit
ing how China greatly values its helped promote the financing pact between
traditional friendship with African China and Benin to support high-impact so-
nations and the development of cial and economic projects in the nation.
China-Africa cooperation. Likewise, the visit conveyed the Chinese
belief that Africa should be a place for inter-
A prized partnership national cooperation, not for major-power
China’s unshakable commitment competition or geopolitical gains. Qin’s
to its diplomatic engagement with former role as Chinese ambassador to the
the continent of Africa is a privi- United States put him in a good position to
lege that will forever be cherished promote China-Africa cooperation against a
by the African people. With re- backdrop of increasing American presence in
gard to the reason why Qin visited Africa.
these five African nations, these
nations truly reflect China’s for- Shared prosperity
eign policy toward Africa. That is In recent years, the Chinese Government
why in Angola, China intends to has extended its presence in Africa not
solidify its position as the nation’s only by building infrastructure, but also
http://www.bjreview.com

by providing information and communica-
tions technologies. This makes China’s
engagement across the continent vital be-
cause it meets the needs of local people,
from the creation of employment to pro-
viding required technology and related
infrastructure. As such, China’s lending,
construction, investment, as well as other
business activities, are not inherently bad
or dangerous for African nations. But
rather, these different development projects
represent an enormous opportunity for the
African people to create a continent where
no African nation is left behind.
/LNHZLVH&KLQDRIIHUVÀQDQFLDOVXSSRUW
and affordable proposals to local econo-
mies to build up the economic strength that
can weather present and future challenges.
African leaders and citizens have appreciat-
ed not just the material help arising from the
continent’s relationship with China, but also
the sense of not being patronized. African
people like seeing their economies treated
as business opportunities rather than places
to run randomized trials for foreign aid with
political strings attached. It’s no wonder that
when the Chinese Government negotiates
with African nations, it considers them as
partners with whom it can expand business
opportunities, rather than as recipients of
charity.
Qin’s visit helped bring fresh impetus
and great potential to China and Africa and
created new hope for the decade to come.
That’s because the African Continental Free
Trade Area (AfCFTA), industrial parks or
special economic zones could be a major
engine to connect Africa with the interna-
tional market, and China could focus more
on new infrastructure construction across the
African continent that would help to propel
the AfCFTA, which boasts a market of more
than 1 billion people and a combined GDP
of over $3 trillion.
African nations and China see Qin’s visit
as an opportunity to reinvigorate Chinese
investments in Africa and explore new ways
to incentivize China’s top decision-makers
and businesses to use joint ventures as a
vehicle for their investment in Africa more
http://www.bjreview.com
23,1,21ó
A Big Stage for International Cooperation
The Sino-American relationship played an important role in advanc-
should not be about competition or ing economic and social development
zero-sum games that enlarge one’s and improving the African people’s
own gain at the expense of the livelihood, demonstrated the true
other, Foreign Minister Qin Gang color of China-Africa relations and
said while meeting the press with the defining color of China-Africa
Chairperson of the African Union friendship, and been praised by
Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat African countries and people, Qin
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on said.
January 11. Qin further noted Africa is an
China and the United States emerging continent full of hope,
should respect each other, coexist in vigor and vitality.
peace and pursue win-win coopera- “Africa needs solidarity and
tion, and should not harm third-party cooperation, rather than bloc con-
interests, he replied when journal- frontation,” he said. “No country or
ists asked him about China’s views individual has the power to force
on the Second U.S.-Africa Leaders African countries to pick sides.
Summit in December 2022. Africa should be a stage for inter-
As permanent members of the national cooperation, not an arena
United Nations Security Council, for major-force rivalry. If there is
China and the U.S. shoulder impor- competition, it should be about who
tant responsibilities for world peace, does more practical things for the
security and development, he added. peace and development of Africa and
Having withstood the test of the who helps Africa have more repre-
changing international landscape, the sentation and say in the international
China-Africa relationship has gone governance agenda.”
from strength to strength and become Qin said China is glad to see
unbreakable, he said. any country truly help Africa real-
Since the beginning of the new ize peace and development with
century, China has built more than sincerity.
6,000 km of railways, 6,000 km of “If African friends wish, China
roads, nearly 20 ports and over 80 is also ready to carry out trilateral
large-scale power facilities, as well or multilateral cooperation with any
as funded over 130 hospitals and other country in Africa to jointly
clinics, over 170 schools, 45 sports make greater contributions to the
venues and over 500 agricultural development and rejuvenation of
projects in Africa. Africa,” he said.
These tangible outcomes have (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
frequently. people harmony, safeguard people’s health,
Qin’s visit was the starting promote social and economic recovery and
point of a new era for China and help both African nations and China unleash
African nations to work together their development potential in the decade to
to build a high-quality community come. BR
with a shared future for human-
ity that can further grow into a 7KHDXWKRULVH[HFXWLYHGLUHFWRURIWKH&HQWHUIRU1LJHULDQ
Studies, Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University
community of collaboration to Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to yanwei@cicgamericas.com
meet the challenges in people-to-
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 25
23,1,21 121352/,)(5$7,21
Iran Nuclear Issue:
The Obstacle Is on the U.S. Side
E
arly January 2023 saw U.S. media
intensify condemnation of Iran for
suspending talks in the Austrian
capital, Vienna, aimed at reviving the 2015
multilateral deal on its nuclear program.
2QWKHYHU\ÀUVWGD\RIThe National
Interest, a leading mainstream U.S. me-
dia outlet, carried an article titled In 2023,
Washington Can’t Neglect Iran, which called
for even tougher measures to prevent Iran
from using its nuclear program to produce
weapons.
It is a pity that international efforts to
address the Iran nuclear issue have stalled,
but it is not fair to blame the failure solely
on Iran. Actually, the U.S. should also be
held responsible for the current stalemate, as
much of the fault lies in its domestic politics.
Progresses and setbacks
There are very strong anti-Iran forces in the
U.S., consisting mainly of three elements.
7KHÀUVWLVWKHSROLWLFDOOLEHUDOLVWVZKRGLVUH-
gard cultural diversity in the world, worship
American exceptionalism, and oppose the
political systems of any other non-Western
countries. Iran, particularly for its Islamic
system, has been the target of their criticism
and opposition for more than four decades.
They are the mainstream in U.S. domestic
politics and determinant in U.S. foreign
policy.
The second is those affected by the
trauma of the Iran hostage crisis from
1979 through 1981. During the Islamic
Revolution, some Iranians captured
American diplomats as hostages to prevent
the U.S. from meddling in their uprising to
overthrow the U.S.-backed Shah regime.
Albeit more than 40 years ago, those directly
involved, their families and witnesses have
26 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
%\-LQ/LDQJ[LDQJ
held onto the bitter memories and
UHPDLQHGDVLJQLÀFDQWSDUWRI86
anti-Iran politics.
The third comes from pro-
Israel political lobbyists, who
strongly oppose Iran as they
believe it poses a major security
threat to Israel. In their opinion,
Iran possessing nuclear weapons
would neutralize Israel’s strategic
deterrence against it.
Though different in stand-
ing, these three elements share
hostility toward Iran. Their final
objective is to overthrow Iran’s
Islamic system.
The year 2015 had already
seen a soft landing for the Iranian
nuclear crisis as, with the EU fa-
cilitating negotiations, Iran came
to an agreement with the five
permanent members of the UN
Security Council (Britain, China,
France, Russia and the United
States) plus Germany, known as
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nucle-
ar deal. But unfortunately, former
U.S. President Donald Trump
withdrew from the nuclear deal in
May 2018 and reimposed sanc-
tions on Iran, which led to Tehran
suspending its implementation of
some of the commitments under
the nuclear deal.
That is the story of the sus-
pension of the JCPOA from 2018
to 2020. It was the U.S. that had
withdrawn from the nuclear deal
as a result of the change of ad-
ministrations in the White House.
Trump reneged on the commitments made
by his predecessor Barack Obama.
The irresponsible moves on the U.S. side
had not only frustrated Iran but also other
JCPOA signatories, and so it was rebuilding
multilateral confidence in the U.S., rather
than in Iran, that was critical in coming to a
resolution.
Upon taking office in early 2021, U.S.
President Joe Biden had demonstrated his in-
terests in rejoining the JCPOA and relevant
parties therefore kicked off the negotiations
again in Vienna in April 2021, with the indi-
rect participation of the United States.
Due to the previous lessons, Iran proposed
that the U.S. side could not withdraw again
after a deal had been reached. But the U.S.
negotiators replied that the Biden administra-
tion could not provide a guarantee on behalf
of future administrations. The rationale is
certainly strange as it is naturally and legally
assumed that an international commitment
by predecessors should be honored by suc-
cessors. So long as a new government can
overthrow decisions made by previous ones
DUELWUDULO\DQGXQMXVWLÀDEO\KRZFDQLQWHUQD-
tional agreements ever be upheld?
Though Iran reduced its requests as to
JXDUDQWHHLWVEHQHÀWVLQDVXVWDLQDEOHPDQ-
ner, the U.S. didn’t offer a positive reply.
That is the story of Vienna negotiation.
Iran’s position, judging by U.S. previous
poor behaviors, was legitimate, and was also
regarded as reasonable by Josep Borrel, EU
High Representative of Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy. That is the main reason be-
hind the stalled Vienna talks.
Other obstacles
The nuclear issue is also damaged by
America’s bipartisan divide, which means
http://www.bjreview.com

A meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, in Vienna, Austria,
on December 3, 2021
one party will always challenge the deci-
sions made by the other party. Even when
JCPOA was reached in 2015 and authorized
by the UN Security Council, it was not fully
implemented by the U.S. The U.S. had actu-
ally never removed the sanctions on Iran’s
financial sectors as it was opposed by the
Republicans in the Congress, even though
Obama was serious about the deal. That’s
why Iran had been complaining that the re-
moval of sanctions never came to pass.
The negative impact of U.S. domestic
politics on the Vienna talks has also been
obvious since they started in April 2021. The
Biden administration stopped short before
a critical point in October 2022, which con-
stituted the reason for the suspension of—if
not breakaway from—the negotiations. The
underlying reasons are nothing else but the
coming U.S. mid-term elections. The Biden
administration was worried that reaching
a deal with Iran would be criticized by the
Republicans as making concessions to Iran,
which would undermine the Democrats’
election results.
In addition, Iran’s internal affairs have
http://www.bjreview.com
also affected Washington’s
decision-making. Since mid-Sep-
tember 2022, Iran saw domestic
turmoil triggered by the death of
22-year-old Kurdish girl Mahsa
Amini in police custody after she
was arrested for wearing her hijab
incorrectly in public. The Biden
administration was under domes-
tic pressure not to negotiate with
the Iranian Government that a
lot of Americans deem has “poor
human rights records,” and it
might have expected that domes-
tic turmoil would lead to regime
change and, finally, the collapse
of Iran’s political system.
All in all, it is the U.S. that
should be responsible for the
suspension or disruption of the
implementation of JCPOA and
negotiations to revitalize the deal.
Though the U.S. always has a big-
ger voice particularly in blaming
Iran as it has the most advanced
media, facts speak louder.
23,1,21ó
XINHUA
The year 2023 is critical for multilateral
efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue.
Kamal Kharazi, former Iranian Foreign
Minister, had declared several times in
2022 that Iran had become a country on the
nuclear threshold as it already had a suf-
ficient stockpile of uranium of 60-percent
purity, close to the level of a bomb. It will be
a pity if Iran would cross the threshold. But
if it turns true, the U.S. side should take the
blame.
It is time that the U.S. makes reasonable
judgment about Iran’s domestic politics by
separating the nuclear issue from the latter’s
internal affairs, and takes the opportunity
of low domestic pressure during the post-
midterm elections period to remove related
sanctions on Iran so as to deliver a soft land-
ing of a potential nuclear crisis, though Iran
is always expected to refrain from acting ag-
gressively on the issue. BR
The author is a senior research fellow with Shanghai Institutes
for International Studies
Comments to zhaowei@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 27
23,1,21 &+,1$86
The Pressure Is On
D
on’t let the headlines about bitter
Republican infighting on Capitol
Hill distract you. The raucous
new majority party in the U.S. House of
Representatives is united in its goal of chang-
ing the trajectory of U.S.-China relations
following the recent cautious rapprochement
between the nation’s leaders.
“The era of trusting communist China is
over,” new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
said shortly after narrowly winning the top
House leadership position on the 15th round
of voting on January 7. In sharply worded
comments, the California Republican alleged
that “China has exported oppression, ag-
gression and anti-Americanism. Today, the
power of its military and economy are grow-
ing at the expense of freedom and democracy
worldwide.”
At a time when the Chinese Foreign
Ministry has sent conciliatory signals to
Washington, and American Secretary of
State Antony Blinken is planning his first
diplomatic trip to Beijing, the aggressive
anti-China stance of the Republican-led
House threatens to reverse recent progress
in repairing a bilateral relationship damaged
by a trade war launched by former President
Donald Trump and serious disagreements
over issues including Hong Kong, Taiwan,
economic blacklisting of Chinese companies,
COVID-19 response and sanctions related to
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Provocative opportunism
House Republicans are certain to provoke
the Chinese Government with a series of
investigations into sensitive areas such as
alleged ties between Chinese technology
giants and their government, purported spy-
ing by Chinese academics in the U.S., the
origins of the coronavirus pandemic, alleged
human rights violations against Muslims
and Christians, possible concessions made
by American companies in return for
28 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
By Rick Dunham
investments in China, and any
business dealings of the U.S. pres-
ident’s son, Hunter Biden, on the
Chinese mainland. Republicans
hope to portray China as a grow-
ing threat to American interests
and the Joe Biden administration
as weak—and even corrupt.
Chinese analysts see echoes
of the Cold War and partisan
political opportunism behind
the Republican approach. Dong
Chunling, an assistant research fel-
low with the Institute of American
Studies at the China Institutes
of Contemporary International
5HODWLRQVLGHQWLÀHGWKUHHJRDOVLQ
a Global Times opinion piece:
zto mobilize American public
opinion in support of “a com-
prehensive containment strategy
against China;”
zto influence the Biden ad-
ministration’s China policy; and
zto “create more stumbling
blocks for China-U.S. ties during
Biden’s presidency.”
Whatever the motives,
McCarthy’s ascendancy has ce-
mented a shift in the Republican
Party away from the pro-business
establishment of the 20th cen-
tury to a populist nationalism
that sees little benefit in engage-
ment with China. James Palmer,
Deputy Editor of Foreign Policy
magazine, said the new Congress
“represents an end to the role of
business advocates in determining
An easy gesture of goodwill would be to increase
person-to-person exchanges and a rebooted
tourism business as the COVID-19 threat wanes
China policy.” The new Chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael
McCaul of Texas, underscored the shift when
he declared that “the Republican House is la-
ser-focused on the CCP (Chinese Communist
Party, sic) as an existential threat to our
nation.”
The opening volley in McCarthy’s anti-
China offensive was a pair of legislative
initiatives approved in mid-January banning
the export of oil from the U.S. Strategic
Petroleum Reserve to China and creating a
“House Select Committee on the Strategic
Competition Between the U.S. and the
Chinese Communist Party.” The panel’s
Chairman, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin,
said its goal is to highlight what he called the
CPC’s “coordinated whole of society strat-
egy to undermine American leadership and
American sovereignty” and “long overdue
commonsense approaches to counter CCP
aggressions.”
China’s Foreign Ministry responded
diplomatically to the committee’s creation,
which had the support of two thirds of House
Democrats. “We hope the relevant U.S. poli-
ticians view China and China-U.S. relations
in an objective and reasonable light, proceed
from the U.S.’ own interests and the common
interests of China and U.S., head toward the
same direction with China and promote the
development of China-U.S. relations based
on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and
win-win cooperation,” Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated at a regu-
ODUSUHVVEULHÀQJRQ-DQXDU\
Political machinations
Relations between the world’s two largest
http://www.bjreview.com

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives gather around Congressman
Kevin McCarthy (center) inside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the U.S.,
on January 6, the day before he was elected House speaker
economic powers have been strained since
former President Trump imposed tariffs
on $50 billion of Chinese goods in 2018, a
move that was followed by U.S.-imposed
economic sanctions and waves of recipro-
cal tariffs. Despite the urging of the Chinese
Government, the Biden administration has
not lifted all of the tariffs and has extended
the blacklists that bar some Chinese tech
companies from U.S. sales.
But signs of a thaw came with a bilat-
eral meeting between Chinese President
Xi Jinping and Biden in Bali on November
14, 2022. At the meeting, the Chinese leader
made it clear that China would not make
concessions on core interests but added “it is
LQERWKVLGHV·PXWXDOLQWHUHVWWREHQHÀWIURP
each other’s development.”
The Bali meeting led to a diplomatic
flurry. Secretary of State Blinken, while
critical of China for specific actions, said
it is important “to find areas of coopera-
tion” and to ensure that “competition does
not veer into conflict.” Chinese Foreign
Ministry officials described discussions
as “candid, in-depth and constructive” in
preparation for Blinken’s expected visit to
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
Beijing in early 2023.
That meeting—and any po-
tential warming between the two
superpowers—could be compli-
cated by the aggressive agenda
of the House of Representatives.
Dong believes the pressure caused
by the House committee on China
“will cause constraints for the
Biden administration to show a
positive attitude toward China, or
to promote dialogue and coopera-
tion with China.”
Biden is also constrained by
the 2024 reelection campaign. The
president receives overwhelm-
ingly unfavorable ratings from the
American public for his handling
of relations with China, and he
may be reluctant to make any con-
cessions that allow Republicans to
reprise Trump’s depiction of him
as “Beijing Biden.”
But Republicans also run risks
with their China-bashing strategy
if they inspire a new wave of vio-
lence directed at Asian Americans
23,1,21ó
like the attacks that occurred across the
U.S. in the early months of the COVID-19
pandemic. And the credibility of the inves-
tigations could be damaged if they veer off
into unproven rumors alleging American
Government involvement in the Wuhan labo-
ratory that some conspiracy theorists link to
the 2019 outbreak. “House Democrats will
ÀUPO\VSHDNRXWDJDLQVW[HQRSKRELFUKHWRULF
and conspiracy theories should this commit-
tee devolve into extreme [Make America
Great Again] Republican talking points
that further anti-Asian hate crimes in this
country,” the top House Democrat, Hakeem
Jeffries of New York, warned.
Amid these American political machi-
nations, diplomats for both governments
continue their discussions out of the public
eye. Their best hope for improving China-
U.S. ties, veteran analysts on both sides of
the Pacific believe, would be to focus on
areas of common interest such as climate
change and global economic growth while
managing areas of disagreement so that
single incidents do not precipitate a major
crisis. An easy gesture of goodwill would
be to increase person-to-person exchanges
and a rebooted tourism business as the
COVID-19 threat wanes.
But negotiators from each country will
have to give ground if there is any hope to
roll back the trade tensions of the past four
years. And Biden seems likely to complicate
matters if, as reported by American news
website Axios’ Hans Nichols on January 12,
he issues an executive order imposing new
controls on projects by American companies
RULQYHVWRUVLQ&KLQDLQWKHÀHOGVRITXDQWXP
computing, artificial intelligence and semi-
conductors.
Biden’s ambivalence on trade is another
reminder of the political pressures that will
continue to constrain him as long as he is
an avowed candidate for reelection. And
the pressure is not likely to let up as long as
Republicans control the House. BR
The author is co-director of the Global Business Journalism
Program at Tsinghua University
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to ffli@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 29
23,1,21 *29(51$1&(
Contributions to Globalization
By Nada Hamza Mohamed Osman
C
hina is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world. The na-
tion has made huge progress over
the last decade in reducing poverty and
becoming more open to trade and foreign
investment.
Emerging as a global economic super-
power in recent decades, it is now not only
the world’s second largest economy and the
largest exporter by value, but has also been
investing in overseas infrastructure and de-
velopment at a rapid clip as part of the Belt
and Road Initiative it proposed in 2013.
A recently released Pew Research Center
survey found that, particularly in emerging
markets, publics largely have a positive view
of China’s economic stature. Respondents
to the survey generally saw China’s grow-
ing economy as a good thing for their own
30 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
countries and believed China is
having a predominantly positive
LQÁXHQFHRQWKHLUFRXQWULHV·HFR-
nomic affairs.
Transformation
The combined force of four
“conventional transformations,”
namely marketization, interna-
tionalization, industrialization
and urbanization, promoted the
rapid growth of China’s economy
during the first three decades of
reform and opening up, which be-
gan in 1978. Now, the four “new
transformations,” of consumption,
services, digital and artificial in-
telligence, and green technology,
are shaping the future of China’s
economy.
Over the past decade, the Chinese econ-
omy has made rapid progress in these four
areas, which have become the main driving
forces promoting economic growth and im-
proving development quality.
In particular, in terms of consump-
tion transformation, total retail sales have
JURZQUDSLGO\WKHFRQWULEXWLRQRIÀQDOFRQ-
sumption expenditure to GDP growth has
VLJQLÀFDQWO\LQFUHDVHGDQGWKHXSJUDGLQJRI
consumption driven by brands, quality and
digitalization has continued to deepen. The
improvement in both the quality and quan-
tity of consumption in China has provided
huge business opportunities for both domes-
tic and multinational corporations, including
enterprises of all sizes across a wide range
of industries.
XINHUA
Workers process
\ODQJ\ODQJßRZHUVRQ
Nosy Be, Madagascar,
on September 23,
2022. Essential oils
H[WUDFWHGIURPWKH
plant, widely used in
perfumery and
aromatherapy, were
featured at the Fifth
China International
,PSRUW([SR
in Shanghai that year
http://www.bjreview.com

China has entered a new era of develop-
ment. Its global impact is growing ever more
comprehensive, profound and longlasting,
and the international community is paying
ever greater attention to the path China has
taken, its future direction, its interactions
with other countries and its goals in shaping
the world.
Positive energy
The volume of China’s foreign trade has
been increasing constantly. In 2009, China
emerged as the world’s largest exporter
and second largest importer of goods; in
2013, it became the world’s largest trader
in goods. Since 1978, foreign investment in
China has seen a substantial increase and the
country has become an increasingly attrac-
tive destination for overseas investors. It is
the world’s second largest economy, largest
manufacturer, largest trader in goods, second
largest consumer of commodities, second
largest recipient of foreign direct invest-
ment and largest holder of foreign exchange
reserves.
China is building platforms for multilat-
eral dialogue and cooperation in political,
HFRQRPLFVHFXULW\FXOWXUDODQGRWKHUÀHOGV
firmly supports multilateralism and advo-
cates that international affairs be discussed
and handled by all countries.
To promote multilateral cooperation,
China has established a number of global
and regional multilateral platforms including
the Belt and Road Forum for International
Cooperation, China International Import
Expo, Hongqiao International Economic
Forum, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation,
China-Arab States Cooperation Forum,
China-CELAC Forum (with Latin American
and Caribbean countries), Boao Forum for
Asia, China-ASEAN Expo, China-Arab
States Expo, China-Africa Economic and
Trade Expo, Conference on Dialogue of
Asian Civilizations and World Internet
Conference.
China’s development path has unique
Chinese characteristics, and features a broad
and farsighted global vision. It is dedicated
to the interests of humanity. Over the past
70-plus years since the founding of the
http://www.bjreview.com
China contributes to a better world and cannot
develop in isolation from the rest of the world.
Nor can the world as a whole maintain peace,
development, prosperity and stability
without China
People’s Republic of China, while
working hard to realize their own
development, the Chinese people
have contributed to world peace
and added momentum to the com-
mon development of all countries.
&KLQD·VVFLHQWLÀFDQGWHFKQR-
logical innovations have injected
new momentum into world eco-
nomic growth. In recent years,
LQYHVWPHQWLQWKHÀHOGRIVFLHQFH
and technology in China has been
increasing, and major innovations
have emerged. In 2018, China’s
research and development spend-
ing accounted for 2.19 percent of
GDP.
According to the Global
Innovation Index released by
the World Intellectual Property
Organization and other organiza-
tions, China continued its rise in
2019, moving from 17th in 2018
to 14th; it is the only middle-
income economy in the top 20.
In the field of high technology,
China is catching up and getting
ahead.
Quantum communications,
supercomputing, aerospace, arti-
ÀFLDOLQWHOOLJHQFH*WHFKQRORJ\
mobile payment, new-energy
vehicles, high-speed rail and
financial technology are sectors
in which China leads the world.
China’s innovations in science
and technology have been widely
applied, bringing more conve-
nience to the work and daily life
of people of other countries and
injecting new momentum into the
world economic growth.
23,1,21ó
Global player
&KLQDLVDQDFWLYHSDUWLFLSDQWLQDQGDÀUP
supporter of economic globalization. It is
fully committed to a multilateral trading
system with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) at its core. It is keen to extend coop-
eration with other countries on the basis of
equality and mutual respect, and to jointly
maintain the stability and development of
the global economy and trade. China advo-
cates compliance with WTO rules to address
issues in international trade through dialogue
and consultation based on mutual respect,
equality, mutual benefit, cooperation and
good faith.
China contributes to a better world and
cannot develop in isolation from the rest
of the world. Nor can the world as a whole
maintain peace, development, prosperity
and stability without China. China will do
well only when the world does well, and
vice versa. It continues to place its own de-
velopment in the context of overall human
development, seeing that its future is closely
connected with that of the rest of the world
and the interests of the Chinese people are
integrated with the common interests of
people in other countries.
China is always a builder of world peace,
a contributor to global development, and
a guardian of global order, contributing
Chinese wisdom and strength to building a
global community with a shared future and
developing a better world. BR
This article was first published on the China Focus website. The
author is an official working in the WTO Accession Department of
the International Relations General Directorate of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry of Sudan
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to yanwei@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 31
23,1,21 FACT CHECK
Reinvigorating
Time-Honored Brands
T
he saying “behind every signboard,
there is a legend” encapsulates the
unique cultural and brand value of
China’s time-honored brands.
According to the Ministry of Commerce
(MOFCOM), China is now home to 1,128 of
WKHVHEUDQGVZKLFKDUHGHÀQHGDVEUDQGVHV-
tablished before the founding of the People’s
Republic of China in 1949. Many of these
brands, which are hundreds of years old, have
survived fierce competition over their long
histories, and still offer products and services
that are well received by customers.
Promoting consumption is a key item on
China’s economic agenda for 2023 and these
old brands are expected to play a big role
in this mission. On January 3, MOFCOM,
Ministry of Culture and Tourism and National
Cultural Heritage Administration jointly is-
sued an official document on tapping into
the cultural and historic value of established
brands as part of the country’s efforts to re-
kindle the public’s interest in consumption.
In recent years, time-honored brands have
been growing with the times. Many of them
are enhancing their branding and merchan-
dise, which they are using across e-commerce
platforms as well as in brick-and-mortar
outlets. New products based on the culture
held by these established ancient brands are
gaining increasing popularity among young
people. These efforts to modernize not only
secure more market share for these brands,
but have also made them popular with
younger consumers, thus helps to bolster the
longevity of their heritage.
The unique charm of these old brands is
that they not only elicit economic behaviors,
but more importantly, they represent cultural
values. Once combined with proper business
models, the cultural values of these brands
32 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
By Lan Xinzhen
KHOSFRQWULEXWHWRWKHLUSURÀWV7KH
question now is how to help these
brands take advantage of the his-
torical and cultural resources long
embedded within them, and how
to promote consumption based on
this momentum.
A lot of things need to be done
to reach this goal. In-depth research
into these brands can help to reveal
interesting stories from within their
centuries of commercial activ-
ity. The ancient heritage of these
brands needs to be identified and
classified into different grades for
better protection; business locations
where precious cultural relics lie
VKRXOGEHPDGHRIÀFLDOO\SURWHFWHG
sites; galleries should be established
to display the history and culture
of these ancient brands, and digital
technologies should also be used to
tell their stories.
The document released on
-DQXDU\SURYLGHVVSHFLÀFWLSVRQ
how to stoke consumer interest in
the historical and cultural elements
of these brands. These include
creating a new consumption model
that combines business, culture and
tourism and helping these brands to
participate in international trade shows. Short
videos, live-streaming and other forms of new
media should be used to promote products
and services. These ancient brands should
also try their best to digitalize by applying
big data, cloud computing and other modern
information technologies to modernize their
operations.
Some of these brands are facing challenges
in achieving these kinds of modernization.
Their historical backgrounds and cultural sig-
nificance are often a mixed blessing, in that
their age and traditions are holding back their
upgrading and transformation in the digital era.
Additionally, the lack of brand consciousness
makes them vulnerable when facing intel-
lectual property rights infringement, and slow
innovation is hobbling their long-term growth.
Particularly, a lack of interest from young
people is making it difficult to pass on the
time-honored knowledge and craftsmanship
necessary to provide many of the goods and
services on which these brands trade. Worse
still, younger consumers are unfamiliar with
DOPRVWKDOIRIWKHFRQÀUPHGWLPHKRQ-
ored brands, making it difficult to grow new
consumer bases. These brands must make in-
creased efforts to modernize and upgrade their
products and services to satisfy the demands of
modern consumers.
The good news is that traditional culture
is becoming increasingly popular and so con-
sumers are able to engage with these traditional
brands and products. Time-honored brands
must take advantage of this renewed interest to
capture market share among younger consum-
ers in order to ensure their legacies continue
for decades and generations to come. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
&RPPHQWVWRODQ[LQ]KHQ#FLFJDPHULFDVFRP
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES */2%$/,=$7,21
Back on the Mend
China’s support gives a boost to globalization By Li Wenhan
W
hat direction will globalization take in
2023? The international community
is in urgent need of an answer as the
reconstruction of the world order accelerates amid
the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. According to a
report released on January 8 by the Center for China
and Globalization (CCG), a Beijing-based non-
governmental think tank, the nature of globalization
is undergoing in-depth re-adjustment.
CCG delegations visited the U.S., Germany,
Singapore and other nations in June and November
2022, sitting down with leaders and experts from
local think tanks, academia and business circles at a
time when people-to-people and cultural exchanges
between China and the rest of the world had been
stagnant. It also hosted hundreds of virtual and face-
to-face talks with its overseas counterparts in 2022.
Based on these first-hand sources, the CCG
compiled and released the 2023 China and
Globalization Report, summarizing and forecasting
the trends and prospects of the China-U.S. relation-
ship, China’s integration into the world economy,
cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and
other issues in the coming year.
for resuming a routinized dialogue mechanism to stabilize bilateral ties. In
2023, the China-U.S. relationship will be centered on managing risks, sustain-
ing benign competition and leveraging the overlap of their interests, it added.
The report pointed out it is possible that the two sides can work together
to boost trade and global governance. The U.S. needs interaction with China
within frameworks such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), International
Monetary Fund and World Bank, to maintain the stability of the global gov-
ernance system. The report also underlined the indispensable role of global
cooperation with China on climate change.
The level of China-U.S. trade is telling, standing at $541.5, $586.9 and $755.7
billion from 2019 to 2021, respectively, according to China’s customs data. As
the U.S. remains one of China’s most important trading partners, the two are by
no means fully decoupling from one another, according to the report.
However, this will not reduce the U.S. intention to contain China. The U.S.
has been deepening its military and security alliances, such as the AUKUS tri-
lateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the U.S., the Indo-
Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) between the U.S., Japan, India
and Australia, and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance grouping Australia, Britain,
Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. Washington’s focus will also shift to tightening
control of semiconductor and digital technology exports to China to prevent related
Chinese industries from taking off.
China is able to offset the effects of U.S. containment efforts by increasing in-
tegration with the world economy. It can do this by driving forward cooperation
under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP), applying for membership of the Comprehensive and
China-U.S. relations
“China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum
game in which one side out-competes the other or
one nation thrives at the expense of the other. The
world is wide enough for China and the U.S. to both
develop and prosper,” Chinese Foreign Minister
Qin Gang said in an opinion piece published by The
Washington Post on January 4.
Forty-plus years after the establishment of
diplomatic ties between China and the U.S., the bi-
lateral relationship took a nosedive after former U.S.
President Donald Trump began a trade war against
China in 2018 and the relationship has remained in
a downward spiral as President Joe Biden inherited
most of Trump’s China policy, according to the
CCG report.
The meeting between Chinese President
Xi Jinping and U.S. President Biden in Bali,
Indonesia, in November 2022 laid the groundwork
34 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
3URJUHVVLYH$JUHHPHQWIRU7UDQV3DFLÀF3DUWQHUVKLS&3733DQGVWUHQJWKHQLQJ
economic and trade ties with the EU and Africa, the report stated.
It is already clear where the China-U.S. relationship is heading, the report
said. The two sides will continue to cautiously interact with each other in years to
come, with the trade staying stable. But in geopolitics, they will continue to navi-
gate differences although it is hard to seek common ground.
Economic interdependence
“China’s foreign trade and exports showed strong resilience in the face of
many difficulties and challenges,” Lu Dalian, a spokesperson for the General
Administration of Customs of China, said at a news conference on January 13.
Its total import and export volume grew 7.7 percent year on year to a record
In 2023, the China-U.S. relationship will be
centered on managing risks, sustaining
benign competition and leveraging the
overlap of their interests
http://www.bjreview.com

XINHUA
9LVLWRUVDWWKHWK&KLQD$6($1([SRLQ1DQQLQJ*XDQJ[L=KXDQJ$XWRQRPRXV
Region, on September 19, 2022
high of $6.28 trillion in 2022, despite the unabated spread of the virus around the
world. Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations wit-
QHVVHGD\HDURQ\HDULQFUHDVHRISHUFHQWLQWKHFRUUHVSRQGLQJSHULRGWKHÀUVW
year the RCEP went into effect, with the region remaining China’s top trading
partner, Chinese customs data showed.
%LODWHUDOWUDGHEHWZHHQ&KLQDDQG5XVVLDKDVIRUWKHÀUVWWLPHVXUSDVVHGWKH
1-trillion-yuan threshold to 1.28 trillion yuan ($190 billion) in 2022. Last year
China’s exports to the U.S. edged up 1.2 percent over 2021 to $581.8 billion despite
heavy tariffs from the Trump administration still being in place on many goods.
“The lifting of most [COVID-19] restrictions will inject vitality into the econ-
omy as people return to regular work and life patterns,” CCG President Wang
Huiyao said in an opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post on
January 10. “The positive outlook is reinforced by Beijing’s shift to a more prag-
matic pro-growth economic policy, as signaled at the recent central economic
work conference [in December 2022].”
Morgan Stanley raised its forecasts for China’s GDP growth rate in 2023 to
5.4 percent from its previous outlook of 5 percent, predicting a rebound in activ-
ity will come earlier and be sharper than expected, according to a research note
OHGE\WKHJOREDOÀQDQFLDOVHUYLFHVÀUP·VFKLHI$VLDHFRQRPLVW&KHWDQ$K\DWKDW
was released on December 13, 2022. Jing Liu, chief economist for Greater China
at HSBC, shared a similar prediction in her research, indicating China’s economy
will grow by 5.2 percent this year.
The CCG report reviewed China’s efforts to further engage in the regional
DQGJOREDOHFRQRPLHV³LWKDVRIÀFLDOO\DSSOLHGWRMRLQWKH&3733DKLJKVWDQ-
GDUGIUHHWUDGHDJUHHPHQWFRYHULQJ$VLD3DFLÀFHFRQRPLHVWKDWWRRNHIIHFW
at the end of 2018, and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, an inter-
national agreement established between Singapore, Chile and New Zealand
in May 2019 on approaches and collaboration in digital trade issues; and con-
tinued to implement the outcomes approved at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial
Conference. It is committed to promoting other regional cooperation mecha-
nisms including BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Belt and
Road Initiative.
After a decade in operation, the Belt and Road Initiative, which China
proposed in 2013 to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia
with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes,
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
DOUHDG\ÀWVLQWRWKHELJJHUSLFWXUHRIJOREDOL]DWLRQ
In 2022, China operated 16,000 China-Europe
freight trains, up 9 percent year on year; the China-
Laos Railway recorded 9 million passenger trips;
more than 1 million vehicles have traveled on
the Chinese-invested Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville
Expressway, Cambodia’s first expressway; and
the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in
,QGRQHVLDWKHÀUVWRILWVNLQGWREHEXLOWE\&KLQD
in Southeast Asia, was successfully put into trial
operation.
“These examples show that the Belt and Road
Initiative meets the needs of market demand and the
expectations of the international community with
better prospects for development,” Wang Wenbin, a
spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said on
January 10.
Globalization never ends
The future direction of globalization raises concerns
on all sides. While the world has been undergoing the
process of globalization for decades, some argue it
has now come to an end.
The CCG report noted this is not the case. What
is ending is an era in which globalization of a neo-
liberal model is led by the U.S. But in the transition to
a new phase, disputes and vagueness emerge because
social media disproportionately spreads information
all around the world, resulting in information mis-
match. The different ideologies and values between
FRXQWULHVPDNHLWPRUHGLIÀFXOWWRUHDFKDFRQVHQVXV
China has doubled down on its commitment to
globalization, but, more importantly, it needs to come
up with an ideal the world is hungry for—an order
that is widely acceptable and consistent, and that not
only doesn’t make other participants worse off, but
WKDWDOVRGHOLYHUVUHDOEHQHÀWVWRWKHPDFFRUGLQJWR
the report.
Moving forward, as China optimizes its pandemic
controls and inbound and outbound travel policies,
bilateral trade and people-to-people exchanges, in-
cluding overseas studies and tourism, are getting back
on their feet. A post-pandemic landscape is unfolding.
It’s time to frame globalization with more equality,
inclusiveness, sustainability and good faith, the report
concluded. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to liwenhan@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 35
FEATURES DEMOCRACY

The Level Best

Local Two Sessions outline regional development roadmaps
By Zhang Shasha

‘W
KHUHWKHUHDUHOLJKWV\RXZLOOÀQG
merchants from China’s Zhejiang
Province; where there are no
lights, you will still find Zhejiang merchants.”
This is how the province’s residents describe its
entrepreneurial soul.
“I was born into a merchant family in
Zhejiang. My parents became first-generation
Zhejiang entrepreneurs after the launch of reform
and opening up in 1978 and I am the second
generation. The diligent and initiative spirit of
the older generation have always inspired me
and their entrepreneurship and patriotism are
part of my DNA,” Wu Jinhua, President of hi-
tech intelligent equipment provider Zhejiang
Wanfeng Technology Development Co. Ltd., said
on January 11. Wu, a member of the Zhejiang
Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made
the remarks during the committee’s annual session
from January 11 to 15.
The CPPCC members, selected through con-
sultation and recommendation, represent all levels
political advisory body, respectively—meet for the highest-level Two
Sessions.
Economic roadmaps
“This year is important for local authorities to implement the decisions and
plans drafted at the 20th Communist Party of China National Congress
[in October 2022],” Song Xiangqing, Vice President of the Academy of
Government at Beijing Normal University, told Beijing Review.
Plus, after China adjusted its COVID-19 policy in late 2022, dropping most
restrictions on social and economic activities, the top leadership announced at
the agenda-setting Central Economic Work Conference last December that the
country would prioritize overall economic recovery and improvement in 2023.
“As China has entered a new phase in its COVID-19 response, economic
issues are key topics in the work reports of most local governments,” Song
said. “Many regions have seen relatively low growth rates over the past year.
It’s crucial for them to seize opportunities in 2023 to fully unleash their capa-
bilities, speed up growth and improve the quality of development.”
6HWWLQJIHDVLEOHWDUJHWVZLOOSURYHHVVHQWLDOLQPRWLYDWLQJWKHPWRIXOÀOO
their established indicators, he added.
Local economic roadmaps have unfolded across China. Provincial-level
governments rolled out their economic plans based on their own circumstances
and advantages during the local Two Sessions season. The plans required the en-

XINHUA
of society. They put forward proposals centering
on political and social issues to government bod-
ies. Growing up in the 1990s, Wu represents the
economic sector. And he had a lot on his plate this
year.
Roughly at the same time of the meeting
of CPPCC members, the Zhejiang Provincial
People’s Congress also convened its annual ses-
sion from January 12 to 16.
In China, the provincial-level Two
Sessions refer to the yearly gatherings, usu-
ally in January or February, of local people’s
congresses and CPPCC committees, where
participants discuss regional economic and so-
cial development over the past year and draft
plans for the 12 months ahead. Then, in March,
deputies to the National People’s Congress
Production staff package luosifen, a local dish that consists of rice noodles
(NPC) and members of the CPPCC National ERLOHGDQGVHUYHGLQDVSLF\EURWKDWDZRUNVKRSLQ/LX]KRX*XDQJ[L=KXDQJ
Committee—China’s top legislature and top Autonomous Region, on January 5
36 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

XINHUA
7RXULVWVWU\WKHLUKDQGDWVXUĶQJLQ:DQQLQJ+DLQDQ3URYLQFHRQ-DQXDU\
dorsement of local people’s congress deputies before they were put in place.
While most local governments expect their GDP to grow by 4.5-6.5 per-
cent in 2023, the southern island province of Hainan eclipsed others by setting
its target growth rate at 9.5 percent. Tibet Autonomous Region was the runner-
up, setting an 8-percent goal.
“The Hainan Free Trade Port has yielded fruitful results in 2022,” Feng
Fei, Governor of Hainan, said while presenting his government work report
to the provincial people’s congress session on January 13. Its imports and ex-
ports of goods, trade in services and paid-in foreign investment all registered
double-digit growth last year, according to the report.
As China’s largest special economic zone, largest free trade pilot zone
and only free trade port, Hainan is expected to optimize its tariff policy, invite
new investment and prioritize the expansion of consumption, with the goal of
increasing tourist numbers and tourism revenue by 20 percent and 25 percent,
respectively, the report further stated.
7RWDOJUDLQRXWSXWRIQRUWKHDVWHUQSURYLQFHRI+HLORQJMLDQJKDVUDQNHGÀUVW
in the country for 13 consecutive years. Apart from agriculture, Heilongjiang
will emphasize the development of new growth drivers, the optimization of
its business environment and the creation of a dynamic government-business
relationship this year.
The GDP of the southern province of Guangdong has topped the list for
34 consecutive years, hitting 12.8 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) in 2022. In 2023,
the province will prioritize innovation in its hi-tech and manufacturing sec-
tors. Furthermore, it intends to create more industrial clusters each with an
annual output of more than 1 trillion yuan ($149.1 billion) by developing the
biomedicine, health and ultra-high definition display equipment industries.
Guangdong had established eight 1-trillion-yuan industrial clusters as of 2022,
according to the provincial government.
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, neighboring Guangdong, is pro-
jected to strengthen its light and specialty industries, including those of, for
example, smart home appliances and luosifen, a local dish consisting of rice
noodles boiled and served in a spicy broth, that has seen a boom in export
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
numbers in recent years.
In 2022, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
in the north saw its outputs of milk, mutton, beef,
cashmere and fodder crops take the top spot in the
FRXQWU\LWVÀ[HGDVVHWVLQYHVWPHQWLQFUHDVHGPRUH
WKDQSHUFHQWUDQNLQJÀUVWQDWLRQZLGHDQGLWZDV
the largest source of trans-provincial coal and elec-
tricity supplies. In 2023, it will explore new projects
in modern energy economy, modern agriculture as
well as husbandry and infrastructure construction.
The eastern province of Zhejiang proposed to
focus on the real economy, emphasized high-end,
intelligent and green development of manufac-
turing and regarded digital economy as its No.1
project of development.
Confidence is crucial
It’s worth mentioning that Zhejiang’s government
work report has taken the promotion of both a high-
quality development of the private economy as well
as that of the province’s entrepreneurial spirit as the
new tasks at hand, echoing Wu’s proposal to shore
XSWKHFRQÀGHQFHRI=KHMLDQJ·VSULYDWHHQWHUSULVHV
Before attending the CPPCC meeting, Wu had
traveled to nine overseas cities to visit custom-
ers and conduct field research—that’s how he
discovered a “blue ocean.” This entrepreneurship
industry term created in 2005 refers to the vast
“empty ocean” of market options and opportuni-
ties that occur when a new or unknown industry
or innovation appears.
“Electric vehicles (EVs) account for 30 per-
cent of China’s automobile market, while in the
North American area they only take up a 5-per-
cent market share. The proportion is expected to
expand to 50 percent by 2030 in North America,
which means millions of fuel vehicles will be
replaced by EVs,” Wu said excitedly—given his
company produces EV parts and components.
With these types of market and policy oppor-
tunities ahead, Zhejiang’s 2023 outline has only
confirmed the positive outlook of local business
people like Wu.
This entrepreneur for one is highly optimistic
about the province’s prospects for this year and
DVIDUDVKH·VFRQFHUQHG´FRQÀGHQFHLVPRUHSUH-
cious than gold.” BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to zhangshsh@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 37
FEATURES &25325$7,216

Thriving in Headwinds
China-listed companies continue steady growth over the past year
By Li Xiaoyang

T
hundeRobot, a gaming device company
based in Qingdao, Shandong Province,
became the first company in the gaming
sector to be listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange
(BSE) on December 23, 2022. The BSE, de-
VLJQHGDVDPDMRUÀQDQFLQJSODWIRUPIRUVPDOODQG
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in-
novation-driven ones, began trading in November
$VRI'HFHPEHUODVW\HDUÀUPVKDG
offered their stocks on the BSE.
According to the China Securities Regulatory
Commission (CSRC), the number of companies
listed on the country’s A-share market exceeded
5,000 as of the end of 2022, up over 30 percent
compared with 2019.
Chinese A-shares are the shares of incorpo-
rated companies based in the Chinese mainland
that are listed on the stock exchanges in Shanghai,
Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and Beijing.
In addition to their main boards, the Shanghai
Stock Exchange also features the Nasdaq-style
sci-tech innovation board, known as the STAR
market, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s
ChiNext board mainly serves growth firms and
8.51 percent year on year, data from China Association for Public Companies
(CAPCO) showed.
Li Ming, an official with the CSRC, told the Annual Conference of the
Financial Street Forum in Beijing in November 2022, where participants dis-
FXVVHG&KLQD·VÀQDQFLDOUHIRUPDQGGHYHORSPHQWWKHVWUXFWXUHRIWKHOLVWHG
companies has been improved in recent years. Companies are larger and more
SURÀWDEOHZLWKPRUHEDODQFHGÀQDQFLQJFKDQQHOVDQGPRUHOLVWHGFRPSDQLHV
are from emerging industries, Li added.
3URÀWVRIOLVWHGQRQÀQDQFLDOFRPSDQLHVVXUSDVVHGWKRVHRIOLVWHGÀQDQFLDO
ones, accounting for 57.3 percent of the total, according to the CSRC.
“Around 486 companies were listed on the STAR market, which raised
more than 730 billion yuan ($108.8 billion) in initial public offerings (IPOs).
Their total market value exceeded 6 trillion yuan ($894 billion),” Cai Jianchun,
General Manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, said at the Financial Street
Forum conference.
According to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, there were more than 1,200
companies listed on the ChiNext board as of November 2022, with a total
market value of over 11 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion).
In November 2014, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program was
launched, giving mainland and international investors direct access to each
RWKHU·VPDUNHWIRUWKHÀUVWWLPH,WZDVIROORZHGE\WKH6KHQ]KHQ+RQJ.RQJ
Stock Connect program in December 2016.
2YHUWKHSDVW\HDUIXQGVÁ\LQJWKURXJKWKH6KHQ]KHQ+RQJ.RQJ6WRFN

XINHUA
startups. A-shares are mainly available for trad-
ing to Chinese mainland investors, but foreign
investment in the companies is allowed under
regulation.
“China’s capital market has seen notable
expansion, which is expected to further back
up development of the real economy. Facing
COVID-19 impacts, high-quality listed compa-
nies have been playing a leading role in driving
China’s economic recovery,” Dong Dengxin,
Director of the Finance and Securities Institute at
Wuhan University of Science and Technology,
told Beijing Review.

Boom in storm
Total operating revenue of listed companies on
the A-share market reached 52.37 trillion yuan 7KH%HLMLQJ6WRFN([FKDQJHRQ1RYHPEHUWKHGD\EHIRUHLWVWDUWHG
WULOOLRQLQWKHÀUVWWKUHHTXDUWHUVRIXS trading
38 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

Connect program to China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer Xinjiang
Goldwind Science and Technology Co. Ltd. exceeded 100 million Hong Kong
dollars ($12.8 million).
Goldwind went public on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange
in 2007. China has announced that it will peak carbon dioxide emissions
before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, which brings great op-
portunities for this company.
As of the end of September 2022, Goldwind had a global installed capac-
ity of more than 92 gigawatt. Its products are sold across 38 countries, with
the total number of wind turbines reaching over 46,000 across the globe, the
company said.
Better market
While encouraging the growth of companies, China’s securities regulator has
been improving the delisting system to promote sound development of the
stock market.
Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges on December 31, 2020, released
revised delisting rules for companies listed on their main boards, the STAR
market and the ChiNext board. The revisions allow trading indicators such as
stock prices and market values to play a greater role, and pin more emphasis
to operation sustainability of listed companies, the CSRC said.
The CSRC said the number of delisted companies reached 42 in 2022.
6LQFHÀUPVKDYHH[LWHGWKH$VKDUHPDUNHWDFFRXQWLQJIRUSHU-
cent of the total number of delisted companies over the past three decades.
In 2023, the number of delisted companies in China is expected to exceed
50. The system will help squeeze out malperforming companies from the
market, according to Dong. Once junk stocks are removed, the market envi-
ronment will turn better with high-quality companies becoming the majority,
he added.
“It will still take time to improve the quality of listed companies in China.
Public firms need to overcome internal and external challenges to create
growth in 2023,” Song Zhiping, President of CAPCO, told China Listed
XINHUA
A man takes photos of a big screen displaying stock prices at the listing
FHUHPRQ\RIWKHĶUVWEDWFKRIUHJLVWUDWLRQEDVHGLQLWLDOSXEOLFRIIHULQJVRI
HQWHUSULVHVGHEXWHGRQWKH&KL1H[WERDUGDWWKH6KHQ]KHQ6WRFN([FKDQJH
in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on August 24, 2020
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
Companies Forum, taking place in Jinjiang, Fujian
Province, on December 30, 2022.
In December 2022, the CSRC said it will ad-
vance the registration-based IPO system reform
for efficient resource allocation. The reform,
launched in 2019 to replace the approval-based
regime, aims to ease enterprises’ burdens and
increase transparency with an open and paperless
application review process.
The commission unveiled priorities includ-
ing enhancing the structure of listed companies,
improving market environment and making the
regulatory system more full-fledged in the next
three years. It also pledged efforts to improve
rules and regulations, enhance governance and
strengthen supervision on listed companies.
There is much room for expanding China’s
capital market, according to Dong. He called
on the authorities to further reform the registra-
tion-based IPO system, which has been adopted
by the BSE and ChiNext and STAR markets.
The number of companies listed on the BSE is
likely to reach 5,000 in the next few years, he
said.
“The BSE should distinguish itself from
Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, and pro-
YLGHPRUHLQFOXVLYHDQGÁH[LEOHV\VWHPVWRVXSSRUW
the growth of SMEs,” Dong concluded.
As China is optimizing its COVID-19
response measures, its social and economic ac-
tivities are back to normal and foreign financial
institutions are becoming more bullish about
China’s stock market in 2023.
New York-headquartered investment company
Morgan Stanley upgraded its outlook for 2023
China stocks in early January from equal-weight
to overweight. As it projected, the Chinese stock
market is likely to stand out among those of global
economies this year.
According to the 23rd UBS Greater China
Conference, held by Swiss bank UBS on January
9, the slowdown in Chinese stock valuations in
2022 could be attributed to low investor con-
fidence caused by COVID-19 and a cooling
property market. But the adverse factors will fade
away this year. China is expected to see a 4.9-per-
cent GDP growth in 2023, according to UBS. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
&RPPHQWVWROL[LDR\DQJ#FLFJDPHULFDVFRP
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 39
FEATURES 1(:ó(1(5*<
Fueling the Future
An industrial park gears up to meet the hydrogen market
demands of Beijing By Zhou Lin
I
n the sprawling Daxing International
Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone,
adjacent to the new international airport in
south Beijing, a large white building resembling a
spaceship is an eye-catcher. Known as Hypower,
it is the world’s largest hydrogen refueling station.
With eight fuel pumps and a daily hydrogenation
capacity of 4.8 tons, it beats all competitors across
the globe.
The demonstration zone operates with the sup-
port of targeted policies and funding, and the 139
enterprises in it are provided with hydrogen testing
facilities and business services as well as assis-
tance in putting their technologies in application.
Ren Juanjuan, Deputy Director of the Economic
and Information Bureau of Daxing District,
where the zone is located, said the enterprises
include both upstream and downstream hydrogen
companies, who have built their research and
development (R&D) and manufacturing centers
there. The result is a full industrial chain of hydro-
gen fuel cell vehicles and an integrated hydrogen
energy innovation ecosystem serving Beijing and
its two neighbors, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei
Province.
Hydrogen fuel future
Hydrogen is a clean source of energy that is easy
to store, renewable and abundant, and results in
zero carbon emissions. For these reasons, it is be-
coming a new key to solving the energy crisis and
EXLOGLQJDFOHDQVDIHHIÀFLHQWDQGPRGHUQHQHUJ\
system.
The development of hydrogen energy has
gained more momentum after China issued, in
March 2022, a medium and long-term plan for the
development of the hydrogen energy industry by
2QHWDUJHWRIWKHSODQLVWREXLOGÀYHK\GUR-
gen fuel cell vehicle demonstration city clusters.
Beijing, one of the core cities, has its own plan
for the development of the industry. The plan
envisions the construction of an industrial chain
40 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
ecosystem and a high-end hydrogen equipment
manufacturing and application demonstration zone
in the southern part of the city by 2025. Before the
HQGRIWKHUHVKRXOGEHÀYHWRHLJKWOHDGLQJ
enterprises in the industrial chain with internation-
DOLQÁXHQFHDQGWKHYDOXHRIWKH%HLMLQJ7LDQMLQ
Hebei industrial chain should be higher than 50
billion yuan ($7.1 billion). The capital would also
have 37 hydrogen refueling stations by the end of
2022.
Hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer SinoHytec,
the first company of its kind to be listed on the
sci-tech innovation board at the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2020, is located in the Daxing dem-
onstration zone. Though its production line has
an annual output of 3,000 hydrogen engines, Employees refuel a
there are only eight human workers, whose job hydrogen-powered
is to assemble the precision parts. Hi-tech robots WUXFNDW'D[LQJ
shuttle back and forth along the production line, International Hydrogen
Energy Demonstration
completing all the manual tasks such as lifting Zone in Beijing,
parts. on October 18, 2022
Yu Min, Executive Vice President of
SinoHytec, said the company’s new generation
hydrogen fuel cell engine, over which it has core
intellectual property rights, is of an advanced in-
ternational standard.
Zero-emission transport
Today, Beijing’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
perform a wide range of tasks, including public
transport, sanitation and logistics. As of October
20, 2022, there were over 200 hydrogen buses
running in the city.
The engines of these buses have gone
through rigorous tests. In January 2020, they
were tested in extreme cold weather in Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region. The buses were
kept at minus 30 degrees Celsius for more than
eight hours and were then tested for their abil-
ity to perform ultra-low temperature starts. The
engines, on average, started in 116 seconds. The
successful test led to their deployment at the
http://www.bjreview.com

venues of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Their performance at
the Games was also a demonstration of their reliability in the cold northern
parts of China.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have three main advantages. First, they have
a short refueling time and high mileage compared with battery electric buses.
The 12-meter-long hydrogen fuel cell bus, for example, takes only 10 minutes
to refuel and can be driven up to 300-400 km. Second, they are pollution-free.
They emit only water vapor. And third, they can operate normally at tempera-
tures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.
With China’s new energy drive adopting a multi-track solution, hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles can complement each other. While
electric cells can be used for carrying light loads and short distances, hydrogen
fuel cells can carry heavy loads over long distances to achieve zero-emission
transport.
New growth pole
The Daxing demonstration zone has 139 registered companies. Ren said that
in the early years, most of the key components and materials of hydrogen fuel
cell vehicles were imported. Today, they can all be found locally, except for
a few components like semiconductors. Local companies now have the tech-
nology to manufacture the eight core components of hydrogen fuel cells. The
supply of products has sped up, while the cost of key raw materials has gone
down.
Beijing Wenli Technology, a domestic hydrogen engine R&D and manu-
facturing enterprise in the zone, has independently developed a series of fuel
cell products. These are used in commercial vehicles and engineering machin-
HU\DQGKDYHEHHQH[SDQGHGWRQRQYHKLFOHÀHOGVOLNHPRELOHSRZHUVRXUFHV
Kewell Technology, established in 2011, is a hi-tech enterprise manufactur-
ing power testing equipment. Tai Kun, the company’s vice chairman, said
they provide professional power supplies testing and systems for the many
ZHENG LIANG
FEATURES
businesses in the demonstration zone.
Infrastructure construction is a key link in the
industrial chain. According to the National Energy
Administration, as of June 2022, there were more
than 270 hydrogen refueling stations in China, the
highest number in the world, accounting for about
40 percent of the global total. Within the Daxing
zone, the engines assembled on the production
lines of SinoHytec and Beijing Wenli Technology
can be tested in the facilities of Kewell
Technology. Hydrogen is directly transported
from Hypower to the test center through pipelines.
All these coordinated facilities mean fast, conve-
QLHQWDQGHIÀFLHQWVHUYLFHIRUWKH%HLMLQJ7LDQMLQ
Hebei region.
“If there are more hydrogen refueling stations,
there will be explosive growth in hydrogen fuel
cells,” said Zuo Linlin, Deputy General Manager
of Beijing Wenli Technology.
With the maturity of hydrogen energy technol-
ogy and the mounting pressure created by climate
change, the hydrogen energy industry is grow-
ing worldwide. The U.S., the European Union,
Japan and other developed economies have taken
substantive steps in using hydrogen energy in
industries, with the support of both governments
and investors.
The International Association for Hydrogen
Energy estimates that the use of hydrogen ener-
gy will reduce global carbon dioxide emissions
by 20 percent by 2050. By that time, the hydro-

gen energy industry will have created 30 million

jobs, reduced 6 billion tons of emissions, and
created a market value of more than $2.5 tril-
lion. Hydrogen energy vehicles will account for
20-25 percent of all vehicles in the world, and
hydrogen cells will meet more than 18 percent
of the world’s energy demand, contributing to a
decarbonizing society.
According to the China Hydrogen Alliance,
the output value of China’s hydrogen energy in-
dustry will reach 1 trillion yuan ($149 billion) by
2025; by 2050, the country’s hydrogen demand
will be close to 60 million tons, and the annual
output value of the industry chain will be 12
trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion), becoming a new eco-
nomic growth pole. BR

The article was first published in China Today magazine

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to wanghairong@cicgamericas.com

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 41

FEATURES 5($/ó3(23/(ó5($/ó/,9(6

Mural, Mural on the Wall

An inheritor of photocollography spends decades
reproducing the Mogao murals By Li Qing

I
n the summer of 1984, a train from Beijing, life for good. “The ancient murals are exquisite. Their beauty will stun anyone
with then 27-year-old Li Dongfang on board, who sees them,” she told Beijing Review.
traveled over 2,000 km to Dunhuang, a city in “But unfortunately, time does leave its stamp; they fade and peel. So [back
Gansu Province in northwest China. Before that, the WKHQ@,MXVWÀJXUHG,I,FDQUHSURGXFHWKHPWKURXJKSKRWRFROORJUDSK\LWZLOOEH
farthest from home Li had ever been was the city an asset for future generations.”
of Tianjin—then a two-hour drive from China’s
capital. How it all began…
:KHQVKHÀQDOO\DUULYHGDWKHUGHVWLQDWLRQDIWHU In the early 1970s, responding to then Premier Zhou Enlai’s proposal to revital-
days and nights of taxing travel, she was welcomed ize collotype in China, Li, who was working at the National Cultural Heritage
by a starlit sky that was unlike anything she’d ever Administration, started learning the printing method at the Palace Museum, or
seen. “The sky was like a big pot lid, and the stars WKH)RUELGGHQ&LW\LQ´,W·VDOPRVWLPSRVVLEOHWRIXOO\JUDVSVXFKDGLIÀFXOW
covered me like a quilt,” Li recalled. technique,” Li, who had practiced sketching for three years before trying her hand
But her initial excitement was soon replaced by at photocollography, thought at the time.
a sense of anxiousness in the face of an unknown Invented by French chemist Alphonse Poitevin in 1856, the technique was
future. She had come to Dunhuang to visit the especially popular in the early 20th century for its effectiveness in reproducing
Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site the subtle delicacy of drawings and photographs. A photographic negative is
located about 25 km from the city at the edge of the projected onto a printing plate coated with light-sensitive gelatin that hardens and
Gobi Desert. becomes receptive to the application of ink. Paper is laid on top and the image is
Comprising numerous caves featuring countless printed with a press.
sculptures, murals and manuscripts, the grottoes, The technique entered China in the late 19th century. Including four steps—
or Mogao Caves (also known as the Caves of the
Thousand Buddhas and the Dunhuang Caves), were
constructed over a period of 1,000 years, from the
4th to the 14th century and to this day are the great-
est treasure trove of Buddhist art found in a single
locality anywhere in the world.
One year earlier, Li had read an article about
Japanese painter and educator Ikuo Hirayama’s
visit to these caves, who suggested certain features
of Nihonga, or traditional Japanese painting, could
help reproduce prints of the illustrious Mogao
murals.
The article inspired Li, who decided to write
to Duan Wenjie, then director of the Dunhuang
Academy, saying she could do something similar
by reproducing the murals using photocollography,
also known as collotype, a reproductive printmaking
technique that is based on photography.
Six months after she’d mailed the letter, Duan
ÀQDOO\ZURWHEDFNVD\LQJ´:HOFRPHWR'XQKXDQJ
you have my support.” And so, on July 30, 1984, Li
met the Mogao murals, a meeting that changed her
42 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

photographing, retouching, plate making and
printing—it requires an accurate analysis of the
“Little sparks original colors and expert retouching skills to correct
can light any distortions in the negatives. The best reproduc-
tion requires many modifications, delicate manual
JUHDWßUHV work and endless patience.
Only the Arriving in Dunhuang, Li fully believed she
growth of could make a difference. But life surrounded by
these desert wasn’t easy. “I couldn’t acclimatize to life in
'XQKXDQJZKHQ,ÀUVWJRWWKHUH7KHZHDWKHUZDV
inheritors can dry. We newcomers often got nosebleeds. Also,
inject new homesickness drove me to tears,” she said.
energy But all these thoughts would vanish every time
into the she saw the murals and got immersed in exploring
their culture and beauty, Li explained.
development Her first reproduction was that of a mural
of collotype.” showing Vimalakirti, the only layman who holds a
prominent position within Buddhism, in a face-to-
—Li Dongfang,
face debate with the Bodhisattva Manjusri. This was
a photocollographer
her “entrance exam” given to her by Duan, who had
tried copying the mural with his paintbrush many
WLPHVEHIRUHEXWZDVQHYHUVDWLVÀHGZLWKWKHUHVXOW
So he wanted to evaluate the feasibility of collotype.
Li poured a lot of effort into the undertaking,
Photocollographer polishing it again and again over a period of one
Li Dongfang introduces month. In her duplication, Vimalakirti’s eyes are
a reproduction of a sparkling, capturing his radiance. “Photocollography
Mogao mural (left)
in Beijing on can perfectly reproduce the original work, and even
November 9, 2022 SULQWWKHÀQHGHWDLOVDQGFDSWXUHLWVDSSHDOµ
ZHANG WEI
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
Recording history
Jumping headfirst into her newfound passion, Li
then quit her job in Beijing, relocated to Dunhuang
and embarked on a long journey of reproducing
the Mogao murals. When she returned to Beijing
in 2008, she had copied murals of nine caves.
Some art dealers did offer to buy Li’s work.
%XW/LUHIXVHGGHVSLWHKHUQHHGIRUÀQDQFLDOVXS-
port to reproduce more works. “I cannot use
FXOWXUDOKHULWDJHWRPDNHDSURÀWµVKHH[SODLQHG
In 2014, Li returned to Dunhuang to celebrate
the 70th anniversary of the establishment of
Dunhuang Academy. She found the murals had
further faded. “The change made me feel my years
in the grottoes had been meaningful and without
any regret. I had recorded history,” she said.
That same year, Li first staged an exhibition
of her reproductions themed Flowing Dunhuang,
which has since traveled the world. “This way, I
can introduce both the Mogao murals and collo-
type to a global audience.”
Li has also used photocollography to copy oth-
er cultural relics. For example, she duplicated the
Three Rarities of Calligraphy in 2015. These three
masterpieces by the hand of calligrapher Wang
Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) are the
earliest authentic works of Chinese calligraphy.
Over the past four decades, despite all the
technological advances that have taken place, this
photocollographer has never given up on this old
technique, nor has she ever sacrificed quality for
quantity.
Due to the complex manual work and print-
ing process, the number of people engaging in
this technique has been dwindling, now a dozen
at best, she said. “Such good technology must not
disappear within the hands of my generation.”
And so it came to be that in 2020, she set up a
workshop at her alma mater, the Beijing Institute of
Graphic Communication, to promote the printing
technology. And the collotype major at the Beijing
Industry and Trade Technician College, also initiat-
ed by Li, enrolled 10 students in 2022. “Little sparks
FDQOLJKWJUHDWÀUHV2QO\WKHJURZWKRIWKHVHLQKHUL-
tors can inject new energy into the development of
collotype,” Li said. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to liqing@cicgamericas.com
JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 43
CULTURE
Raise the
Red Lantern
H
undreds of traditional lanterns
featuring mythical creatures
come alive at night at the
Yuyuan Garden, a well-known landmark
in Shanghai, in celebration of this year’s
Spring Festival, which fell on January 22
and marked the beginning of the Year of
the Rabbit. The lights will stay up through-
out this year’s Spring Festival holiday
(January 21-27).
This is the 28th year the Yuyuan
Lantern Festival lights up the dark of
winter.
Whereas many Shanghainese already
consider a visit to the lantern extravaganza
a staple holiday outing, this year’s edition
has proven even more popular following
its debut on Douyin, China’s TikTok, and
Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle and e-commerce
platform, on December 26 last year.
46 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
Themed An Adventure Journey of
Mountains and Seas, based on the an-
cient Chinese text Shan Hai Jing, or
The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the
2023 Yuyuan Lantern Festival combines
China’s longstanding lantern-making
craft with multimedia and augmented re-
ality technologies.
Its popularity also reflects the opti-
mization of China’s COVID-19 control
policies, which has seen consumption
across the country’s cities pick up sig-
nificantly since the updated measures
took effect late last year—especially in
the retail, tourism and food and beverage
industries. BR
(Text and photos by Wei Yao)
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to weiyao@cicgamericas.com
http://www.bjreview.com
 CULTURE
 

1. Visitors admire the Shan Hai Jing-themed

lanterns on the Jiuqu Bridge inside Shanghai’s
Yuyuan Garden on January 12
2. Visitors wearing hanfu, the traditional dress
of the Han Chinese, take pictures under the
lanterns
3. Visitors wait to take photos with an actress
dressed up as the Jade Rabbit, a Chinese
mythical rabbit that lives with the goddess
Chang’e on the Moon
4. Visitors capture the light spectacle on camera
at the Yuyuan Lantern Festival
5. Shops near the Yuyuan Garden receive a lot
RIIRRWWUDIĶFGXULQJWKHIHVWLYDO

4 

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 26, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 47

FORUM
Spring Festival Fireworks:
Time to Get Cracking?
Harbin Ice-Snow World, one of the world’s largest ice and snow theme parks,
ORFDWHGLQ+HLORQJMLDQJ3URYLQFHULQJVLQWKH1HZ<HDUZLWKDĶUHZRUNVGLVSOD\
on December 31, 2021
I
n advance of the Chinese New Year
or Spring Festival holiday this year
(January 21-27), China rolled out
new policies on fireworks. Beijing’s ban
on fireworks within the city’s Fifth Ring
Road, implemented on January 1, 2022,
remained in place for 2023, but in Dongying
and Binzhou of Shandong Province, local
governments made it clear people would be
IUHHWRVHWRIIÀUHZRUNVGXULQJWKHFRXQWU\·V
biggest holiday.
7KHWRSLFRIZKHWKHUÀUHZRUNVDQGÀUH-
crackers should be banned and how to draft
a rational arrangement for Spring Festival
ÀUHZRUNVKDVVSDUNHGKHDWHGSXEOLFGHEDWH
this year.
Qiu Lihua (Zhejiang Daily): Those
who had hoped to see the ban removed put
forward three reasons. First, people feel de-
pressed after experiencing three years of a
SDQGHPLFDQGÀUHZRUNVZLOOKHOSGULYHDZD\
the shadows it’s left behind; Second, the
VXOIXUFRQWDLQHGLQÀUHZRUNVDQGÀUHFUDFNHUV
may kill viruses lingering in the air; Third,
48 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 26, 2023
XINHUA
VHWWLQJRIIÀUHZRUNVLVDWLPHKRQRUHGIHVWLYH
WUDGLWLRQLQ&KLQDDQGVRZLWKRXWÀUHZRUNV
the overall Spring Festival atmosphere is
pointedly watered down.
,IRURQHEHOLHYHWKHÀUHZRUNVEDQLVQHF-
HVVDU\%HIRUHWKHEDQZDVLQSODFHÀUHZRUNV
DQGÀUHFUDFNHUVIUHTXHQWO\OHGWREOD]HVDQG
related accidents. Moreover, they pollute
the air and can harm the human respiratory
system. The claim that sulfur helps eliminate
SARS-CoV-2 is a baseless one.
Then what can we do to dispel the de-
pressing shadows the pandemic has cast
over the country and make the Lunar New
Year celebrations more colorful? The an-
swer is to revive rich traditional folk culture,
such as visiting temple fairs and watching
traditional operas.
Currently, we are moving from pandem-
ic-related restrictions to a reboot of economic
JURZWK&RPSDUHGZLWKÀUHZRUNVWKHUHYLYDO
of traditional festive cultures, which may also
boost consumption of a range of goods and
activities, can bring more lasting and more
environmentally friendly impetus.
Editorial (www.gmw.cn): There are
QXPHURXVUHDVRQVIRUWKHÀUHZRUNVEDQ,Q
the years when the ban was absent, no one
could escape the thundering of fireworks
on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The bangs and
ÁDVKHVZRXOGZDNHXSFKLOGUHQDQGVHQLRUV
especially and even some young people
complained about the noise pollution.
Worse still, communities were covered
in smoke and debris from fireworks and
ÀUHFUDFNHUV$QGWKHUHZDVQRODFNRIDF-
FRXQWVGRFXPHQWLQJÀUHZRUNVEORZLQJXS
community facilities or people suffering
burns. All these led to a social consensus
on a near-sweeping ban on fireworks
across the country for the past few years.
But indeed, fireworks are part of tra-
ditional Chinese folk culture. Given the
opinions from both opponents and pro-
ponents of the ban, there needs to be a
compromised balance between protecting
cultural traditions and protecting public
health and safety. The task at hand is how
WRXSJUDGHWKLV´ÁDZHGµWUDGLWLRQWRDPRUH
acceptable and civilized one.
Ban Laoxi (Hechi Daily): Both support-
HUVDQGRSSRQHQWVRIWKHÀUHZRUNVEDQRIIHU
good reasons.
The former sees it from the perspective
of human safety and environmental protec-
tion while the latter values the protection of
a beloved traditional custom. After all, this
longstanding custom does not necessarily go
against the grain of modern lifestyles or cul-
tural values.
Local governments should pay more
attention to residents’ actual demands on
whether to impose a ban and a universal
ban should be the last option. One sugges-
tion would be to allocate explicit timeslots
for a city, or certain districts of a city, to
VHWRIIÀUHZRUNV0HDQZKLOHWKHGLVWULEX-
WLRQRIÀUHZRUNVUHODWHGVDIHW\JXLGHOLQHV
should be amped up. This way, while
carrying on tradition, the environment,
community facilities and people remain
safe from harm. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to dingying@cicgamericas.com
http://www.bjreview.com
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