OPINION: COMPUTING POWER GROWTH P.23 | FEATURES: EMPLOYMENT IN XINJIANG P.

32

VOL.66 NO.35 AUGUST 31, 2023 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM

BRICS+
Cooperation on an equal footing
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CONTENTS
EDITOR’S DESK 18 Championing a New 28 A Study Trip Bringing Goodwill
02 Development With Multilateral World Order Academic exchange resumes with Australia
Independence Bringing equity and inclusiveness 32 Catalysts of Change
to global governance Creating employment in south Xinjiang
THIS WEEK
20 BRICS and Global 34 Aroma Appeal
COVER STORY Financial Power County’s coffeehouses draw tourists and entrepreneurs
12 Building Bricks Increasing payment options and
36 Recovering After Flood
/HDGHUVRIÀYHPDMRU reducing vulnerabilities
Beijing rebuilds after record deluge
emerging economies gather
38 Father to Future
in Johannesburg OPINION How second-gen factory owners are taking the
16 Deconstructing Western 22 A Precarious Pact
helm of manufacturing
Mischaracterizations of Takeaways from the U.S.,
40 In Tandem
BRICS Japan and ROK summit
The robotics revolution is here
Group’s rise threatens only 23 Computing Power Drives
42 Striking a Cord
hegemony Growth
Dance-related spinal injuries in children
Fueling China’s digital
transformation
Cover Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping, CULTURE
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa,
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 46 Break Out the Popcorn!
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and FEATURES The summer movie season proved hottest ever
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose for
a group photo during the 15th BRICS Summit :LOGÀUH&KDOOHQJHV
in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 23
(XINHUA) 'HYDVWDWLQJÁDPHVWRRNWKH EXPAT’S EYE
island of Maui by surprise 48 From Molepolole to the Top of Shanghai
©2023 Beijing Review, all rights reserved.
Conquering fears and scaling new heights

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MEDIA PARTNER %5($.,1*1(:6–6&$10(–8VLQJD4UFRGHUHDGHU

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EDITOR’S DESK
Development With Independence
A News Weekly Magazine
Published Since 1958 The first offline summit since 2020 of very beginning, the BRICS mechanism
BRICS, a group named after the world’s has been guided by the principle of
President: Li Yafang
Editor in Chief: Li Jianguo five leading emerging economies— dialogue without confrontation and
Associate Editor in Chief: Liu Yunyun
Associate President: Gao Dingbo Brazil, Russia, India, China and South partnerships instead of military alliances.
Executive Editor: Yan Wei Africa—was held in Johannesburg, BRICS countries are committed to
Production Director: Yao Bin
Editor: Wang Hairong South Africa, in August. Key agenda observing the purposes and principles
Researcher: Lan Xinzhen items discussed included closer coopera- of the UN Charter, international law
Editorial Consultants: Elsbeth van Paridon, G.P. Wilson
Reporters: Ji Jing, Kang Caiqi, Li Qing, Li Wenhan, Li Xiaoyang, tion and the expansion of the group’s and basic norms governing international
Liang Xiao, Lu Yan, Ma Miaomiao, Pan Xiaoqiao, Peng Jiawei,
Tang Yuankai, Tao Xing, Tao Zihui, Wang Jun, Wang Ruohan, membership. relations.
Yuan Yuan, Zhang Shasha
Visual Director: Pamela Tobey
The BRICS mechanism originated BRICS nations do not gather in an
Photographer: Wei Yao with the BRIC concept coined by Jim exclusive circle; they believe in injecting
Art: Li Shigong
Design Director: Wang Yajuan 2·1HLOO&KLHI(FRQRPLVWRIÀQDQFLDOVHU- positive energy into the world as they
Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong
Designer and proofreader: Zhao Boyu vices giant Goldman Sachs, in 2001. The develop. Since it proposed BRICS Plus,
Editorial Administrator: Zeng Wenhui First BRIC Summit was held in Russia a framework that promotes cooperation
Planning Director: Xu Bei
Deputy Planning Director: Li Nan
in 2009 before South Africa joined a year between the BRICS members and other
World News Director: Ding Ying later and debuted at the 2011 BRICS developing economies, in 2017, China
World News Deputy Director: Li Fangfang
Director of Digital Media: Yu Shujun Summit in China. has reiterated its support for expanding
Director of Strategic Research: Zan Jifang
Deputy Director of Strategic Research: Lu Ling At this year’s summit, leaders agreed the group. Its recent expansion is an in-
Administration: Zhang Yajie to invite six more countries—Argentina, dication of the high hopes pinned on it
International Cooperation: Sun Xuan
Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and by the Global South and the international
North America Bureau (New York City)
the United Arab Emirates—to become community at large.
Chief: Yu Shujun members as of January 1, 2024. As the BRICS countries therefore have a
Executive Assistant: Zhao Wei
Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334 BRICS concept gains increasing recogni- responsibility to make a contribution
E-mail: yushujun@cicgamericas.com
Latin America Bureau (Mexico City) tion, the group has become an important to world peace and stability. China is
Chief: Lin Yeqing force in shaping the international land- ready to work with its partners, carry
Tel: 52-55-55127271
Fax: 52-55-55332027 scape. forward the tradition of independent
E-mail: chinahoymx@gmail.com
3HUX2IßFH /LPD The charm of BRICS stems from the diplomacy and uphold international
Chief: Meng Kexin
Tel: 0051-959212702
independence, equality, openness and equity and justice. Together they aim
E-mail: revistachinaperu@gmail.com inclusiveness it promotes. Successful to push for a multipolarization process
*HQHUDO(GLWRULDO2IßFH BRICS cooperation brings confidence that better reflects the interests of the
Tel: 86-10-68996252
Fax: 86-10-68326628 to developing countries that hope to developing countries where the vast
Editorial Desk
Tel: 86-10-68996250 accelerate their development while majority of the people in the world
Partnerships
Tel: 86-10-68995807
maintaining their independence. Since the reside. BR
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2 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

 THIS WEEK

XINHUA
A WELCOME SIGN!
Volunteers for the 19th Asian Games learn sign language at the Moganshan Campus of the Zhejiang University
of Technology in Deqing, a county in Huzhou, one of the cohost cities of the Games, in Zhejiang Province in east
China, on August 23.
The Games will take place in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, and five cohost cities in the province, from
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EUHDNGDQFLQJDUHRIÀFLDOO\OLVWHGDVPHGDOVSRUWVLQWKH*DPHV

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 3

THIS WEEK SOCIETY
Happily Ever After
Couples attend a group wedding in Yibin, Sichuan Province in southwest China, on August 22. Many
couples chose to get married on that day as it was the traditional Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day.
National Parks
China will establish a new batch
of national parks, including
Huanghekou, Qianjiangyuan-
Baishanzu and Kalamayli,
in a steady and orderly
manner, Guan Zhiou, head
of the National Forestry and
Grassland Administration
(National Park Administration),
said on August 19.
Speaking at the Second
National Park Forum in Xining,
capital of Qinghai Province,
Guan said China has adopted
the most stringent measures
to strengthen the protection of
the ecosystem, and promote
the continuous improvement of
ecological functions.
China’s national parks are
URGEK³ENCPFQTUGCCTGCUVJG
main purpose of which is to
preserve the nationally represen-
4 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
tative natural ecosystems of the
EQWPVT[CPFTGCNK\GVJGUEKGPVK³E
protection and rational use of
natural resources.
In 2021, China established
KVU³TUVDCVEJQHPCVKQPCNRCTMU
with a protected land area of
230,000 square km. These
parks, namely, the Sanjiangyuan
National Park, Giant Panda
National Park, Northeast China
Tiger and Leopard National
Park, Hainan Tropical Rainforest
National Park and Wuyishan
National Park, are home to
nearly 30 percent of key ter-
restrial wildlife species found in
the country.
Following the establishment
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parks, more than 390 mining
sites have been closed, and near-
ly 100 small-scale hydroelectric
stations have been phased out,
Guan said.
XINHUA
“The Sanjiangyuan park
realized the full protection of the
source of the Yangtze, Yellow
and Lancang rivers and the
Tibetan antelope population has
recovered to over 70,000. In the
Giant Panda National Park, more
than 70 percent of wild giant
pandas are under strong
protection,” he added.
Trade Expo
A total of 360 investment and
trade deals were inked at the
2023 (China) Eurasia Commodity
and Trade Expo in Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region,
organizers said on August 23.
The deals had a total value
of over 521 billion yuan ($71.6
billion), with the expo witnessing
a record-high exhibition space
and number of international
exhibitors, Xing Tao, head of the
regional commerce department,
VQNFCRTGUUDTKG³PI
Over 1,300 enterprises
attended the expo on site and
4,600 more participated in its
online version. The organizers
held 64 trade promotion ac-
tivities in major local industries,
such as green mining, grain and
oil, cotton, textiles and clothing.
The expo took place in
Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, from
August 17 to 21, and attracted
over 100,000 visitors, with on-
site sales of exhibited products at
the venue exceeding 100 million
yuan ($13.7 million).
Nuclear Energy
The China National Nuclear
Corporation (CNNC), one of the
country’s largest nuclear power
operators, has seen its total pow-
er generation from clean energy
sources hit 863.1 billion kilowatt
hours (kWh) since its merger with
the China Nuclear Engineering
and Construction Corporation,
the country’s nuclear power
plant builder, in 2018, the CNNC
said on August 22.
The CNNC’s generation of
clean energy, which led to a re-
duction in coal consumption by
262 million tons and a decrease
in carbon dioxide emissions by
688 million tons, holds environ-
OGPVCNDGPG³VUGSWKXCNGPVVQ
planting 2.26 billion trees and
afforesting 1.88 million hectares,
the CNNC said.
By now, the CNNC operates
and holds a controlling stake in
25 operational nuclear power
units, with a combined capacity
of 23.75 million kilowatts (kW).
The company has 15 approved
nuclear power units currently un-
der construction, with an expected
capacity of 16.25 million kW.
In 2022, these power units
generated 185.81 billion kWh of
electricity, accounting for 44.48
percent of the country’s total
nuclear power generation.
http://www.bjreview.com
 THIS WEEK
Affordable Meds

More than 50 out of the 75 rare
disease drugs approved for
marketing in China have been
incorporated into the catalog of
medicines covered by medical
insurance, according to the
National Healthcare Security
Administration (NHSA).
To enhance the accessibility
and affordability of rare disease
drugs, the NHSA has added more
qualifying medications to the
medical insurance drug list by
optimizing the admission proce-
dure and reducing entry barriers.
XINHUA
the local tourism development
bureau said on August 22.
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ending on August 20, Lhasa
raked in 1.03 billion yuan ($141.5
million) in tourist revenue,
0CIYCPI6TKPNG[CPQH³EKCNYKVJ
the bureau, said.
“Tibet has seen a tourism
boom since early summer and
the Shoton Festival has injected
new vitality into the region’s
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particularly in Lhasa,” he said.
The Shoton Festival, celebrat-
ed mainly in Lhasa, was among
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Efforts have been made to
ensure the supply of rare disease
medications. As of late June,
229,000 designated hospitals
and pharmacies nationwide had
been stocked with rare disease
medicines covered by medical
insurance.
The NHSA said that more
eligible rare disease medications
will be included in the medical
insurance drug list to reduce their
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Tibetan Festival
Tibet Autonomous Region’s
capital of Lhasa received over
2.86 million tourist arrivals dur-
ing this year’s Shoton Festival,
a traditional holiday featuring
religious rituals, food and art,
in the national list of intangible
cultural heritage in 2006.
Typical celebrations
begin with unrolling a giant
thangka painting at the Drepung
Monastery, a ritual also known
as the “sunning of the Buddha.”
Other activities include yogurt
tastings, picnics and attending
traditional events such as Tibetan
opera performances and horse
racing.
Health Awareness
The health awareness level of the
Chinese public was 27.78 percent
in 2022, 2.38 percentage points
higher than the previous year,
the National Health Commission
(NHC) said on August 21.
The health awareness level is
XINHUA
Trade Talk
A Russian exhibitor introduces products to visitors on the opening day
of the 14th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, Jilin Province in
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DQVJQPNKPGCPFQH´KPGCVVTCEVGFOQTGVJCPEQORCPKGUHTQO
home and abroad.
the proportion of those deemed and understand basic health
VQJCXGUWH³EKGPVDCUKEJGCNVJ information and services and use
knowledge compared to the the information and services to
total population. maintain and promote his or her
Those who scored 80 health.
percent and above in a question- In recent years, the NHC has
naire released by the NHC were constantly encouraged medical
considered to have ample basic institutions and professionals to
health knowledge, the NHC said. popularize health knowledge,
*GCNVJCYCTGPGUUTG´GEVU which has helped elevate
an individual’s ability to acquire people’s health awareness level.

Countryside Creations
A child paints a pottery clay installation during a children’s art festival
in Youyujing Village, Ningyuan County of Hunan Province in central
China, on August 19.

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 5

THIS WEEK ECONOMY
Tax Policies
Authorities introduced a number
of preferential tax and fee
policies to support the healthy
development of the capital
market on August 22.
The preferential policies,
including individual income tax
and value-added tax exemptions
or cuts, were jointly issued by the
Ministry of Finance (MOF) and
other related departments. They
are valid until the end of 2025 or
2027.
The policies aim to promote
the two-way opening up and
healthy development of the
capital markets on the Chinese
mainland and in Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region,
supporting the opening up of the
goods futures market, ramping
up the implementation of the
innovation-driven development
strategy and boosting the
development of venture capital
enterprises, according to the
ministry.
In cooperation with related
NUMBERS
7 (% y.o.y.)
5.8 5.9
6 5.7
5 4.7
4 3.8
3
0
JAN-JUL JAN-AUG JAN-SEP
2022
6 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
departments, the MOF has issued
10 preferential tax and fee poli-
cies to support small and private
enterprises.
New Growth Drivers
China’s new development drivers
have gained momentum, adding
to economic vitality and innova-
tion capability, an index showed.
The new growth driver index,
compiled by the National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS), increased by
28.4 percent in 2022 from a year
ago to hit 766.8, the NBS said.
One example of a rapidly rising
new growth driver is sustainabil-
ity—and green investment in
particular. For example, demand
for renewable power equipment
in China will push up capital
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transition.
With 2014 as the base year
and 100 points as the base
value, the index measures the
vitality of new industries, new
business forms and models with
subindices covering the digital
Fixed Assets Investment Growth in China
5.8
5.3
5.1
JAN-OCT JAN-NOV JAN-DEC
economy, innovation capability,
economic vitality and manufac-
turing upgrades.
All subindices climbed in
2022, with the subindices for the
digital economy surging 39.6
percent year on year, contribut-
ing a whopping 91.6 percent to
growth in the index.
NPL Ratio
The non-performing loan (NPL)
ratio of commercial banks stood
at 1.62 percent as of late June,
´CVYKVJVJCVKPNCVG/CTEJFCVC
from the National Financial
Regulatory Administration
showed on August 18.
The ratio was lower than the
1.63 percent registered at the end
of 2022.
The balance of non-
performing loans stood at 3.2
trillion yuan ($439.2 billion) at
the end of June, up 83.1 billion
yuan ($11.4 billion) from the end
of March.
Commercial banks reported
sound asset quality and healthy
liquidity. The liquidity coverage
5.5
5.1
JAN-FEB JAN-MAR JAN-APR
2023
ratio was 150.86 percent at the
end of June, up 1.4 percentage
points from the end of March.
Lending Rate Cut
The loan prime rate (LPR), a
market-based benchmark lend-
ing rate, saw its second decline
this year on August 21.
The one-year LPR came in
at 3.45 percent on August 21,
down from the previous reading
of 3.55 percent, according to
the National Interbank Funding
%GPVGT6JGQXGT³XG[GCT.24
on which lenders base their mort-
gage rates, remained unchanged
at 4.2 percent.
In June, the LPR went down
10 basis points in both one-year
CPF³XG[GCTVGTOU
Commenting on the latest
LPR decline, analysts said the
lower rate will help reduce
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credit demand, further bolstering
the consumption and investment
momentum.
The People’s Bank of China,
the country’s central bank, cut
4.0
3.4
JAN-MAY JAN-JUN JAN-JUL
http://www.bjreview.com

several policy rates in the previ-
ous week to shore up economic
recovery. The interest rate of a
one-year medium-term lending
facility (MLF) was reduced from
2.65 to 2.5 percent. The MLF tool
helps commercial and policy
banks maintain liquidity by
allowing them to borrow from
the central bank using securities
as collateral. The interest rate
of seven-day reverse repos, or
UJQTVVGTONQCPUVJCVJGNR³-
nancial institutions and investors
earn returns on cash, fell from 1.9
percent to 1.8 percent
The overnight, seven-day
and one-month interest rates on
the central bank’s standing lend-
ing facility were all lowered by
10 basis points to 2.65, 2.8 and
3.15 percent, respectively.
ODI Increase
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direct investment (ODI) increased
18.1 percent year on year to
500.94 billion yuan ($68.7 bil-
NKQP KPVJG³TUVUGXGPOQPVJUQH
VJG[GCTQH³EKCNFCVCUJQYGFQP
August 17.
In U.S. dollar terms, the ODI
went up 10.6 percent from a year
earlier, according to the Ministry
of Commerce.
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countries along the Belt and
Road routes came in at $13.69
billion, up 15.3 percent year on
year. The China-proposed Belt
and Road Initiative aims to boost
connectivity along and beyond
the ancient Silk Road routes.
The turnover of contracted
projects overseas expanded 6.3
percent year on year to 563.76
billion yuan ($77.4 billion), while
the contract value of newly
signed projects amounted to
746.36 billion yuan ($102.4 bil-
lion), up 0.6 percent from a year
earlier.
CBZ Support
The General Administration of
Customs of China has rolled out
23 reform measures to support
the comprehensive bonded
zones (CBZs).
CBZs are special commercial
zones that enjoy favorable
taxation policies managed by
customs authorities.
The move aims to provide
more policy support for the
high-quality development of
the CBZs, expand their functions
and streamline their operational
procedures.
The new measures will opti-
mize inspection and quarantine
QRGTCVKQPUNCWPEJVJGENCUUK³GF
and graded management of
checkpoints, and upgrade key
commodity management.
Special customs supervision
areas are key platforms for
opening up, especially when it
comes to expanding trade and
attracting investment.
A total of 171 special customs
supervision areas have been built
in China, including 161 CBZs, ac-
cording to customs authorities.
Foldable
Smartphone
The foldable smartphone market
has seen remarkable growth in
THIS WEEK
China, with shipments jumping
173 percent year on year to reach
1.26 million units in the second
quarter of this year, according to
an industry report.
+PVJG³TUVJCNHQHVJG[GCT
the country shipped 2.27 million
foldable phones, marking a
102-percent surge from the same
period last year, global market
TGUGCTEJ³TO+PVGTPCVKQPCN&CVC
Corp. (IDC) said.
Huawei maintained its top
position in the domestic market
in the second quarter of the year
with a market share of 43 percent,
while Vivo climbed to second
place, occupying a market share
of 19.7 percent. Oppo secured
a market share of 15.9 percent,
ranking third in the period, data
from the IDC showed.
Since the introduction of
foldable phones, the niche
market has maintained rapid
growth and is currently the only
segment that continues to show
an upward trend within the
smartphone market as a whole,
the IDC said.

Fixed Assets Investment Growth in China by Sector Fixed Assets Investment Growth in China by Region
January-July (% y.o.y.) January-July (% y.o.y.)
10 8
Primary industry:
8.5 Agriculture,
forestry, animal 5.9
8 husbandry and 6
ĶVKHU\

6 4
Secondary
industry: Mining,
4 manufacturing, 2
construction, and
electricity, thermal,
fuel gas and water
2 1.2 production and 0
supply -0.3
0 -2
Tertiary industry: -1.9 -1.9
Services
-0.9
-2 -4
Primary industry Secondary industry Tertiary industry East China Central China West China Northeast China

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics)

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 7

THIS WEEK WORLD
XINHUA
THAILAND
Srettha Thavisin meets supporters
in Bangkok on August 22. Backed by
the country’s populist Pheu
Thai-led coalition, he was elected as
the country’s new prime minister
earlier that day
XINHUA
8 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
RUSSIA
Smoke billows from the site where a
private plane crashed in the Tver Region
near Moscow on August 23. The Federal
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the head of the private military company
Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin,
was killed in the crash
XINHUA
GREECE
$ĶUHĶJKWHUEDWWOHVDZLOGĶUHLQWKHYLOODJH
of Hasia, near Athens, on August 22. Two
PDMRUZLOGĶUHVLQWKHUHJLRQIRUFHG
communities to evacuate and roads
to close
http://www.bjreview.com
 THIS WEEK

XINHUA
¼
UNITED STATES
A man captures the huge waves at Newport Beach,
California, on August 20. After making landfall in Mexico,
tropical storm Hilary started to unleash wind gusts and
KHDY\UDLQDFURVV&DOLIRUQLDZLWKRIĶFLDOVZDUQLQJRI
SRWHQWLDOO\GHDGO\ßRRGLQJ

XINHUA

XINHUA

¼
MONGOLIA
A rider performs at the opening
ceremony of a cultural festival to
promote nomadic intangible culture
and the development of the local
tourism sector in Nalaikh District
of Ulan Bator on August 18

AUSTRALIA
Team Spain celebrates winning the
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
on August 20 in Sydney

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 9

THIS WEEK PEOPLE & POINTS
¾ PIONEERING EDUCATOR DIES AT 107
Isabel Crook, a Canadian educator and anthropologist who pioneered English
language teaching in China, died on August 20 in Beijing at the age of 107.
Crook lived and worked in China for nine decades, teaching English for more
than 70 years at Beijing Foreign Studies University. She helped compile China’s
ÀUVW(QJOLVKODQJXDJHWH[WERRNVIRUFROOHJHVWXGHQWVDQGZDVLQVWUXPHQWDOLQWKH
development of foreign language education in the country.
As an anthropologist and sociologist, she wrote books on
China’s development and presented to the world a real and vivid
picture of the country, promoting communication with the rest of
the world and people-to-people exchanges.
She was a recipient of the Friendship Medal, China’s highest
honor for internationals.
Fantastic Forests
Oriental Outlook
Photo Buddies The other is travel photography, which of-
ten involves taking an entire camera crew August 10
Eastday.com on a trip and playing local dress-up in front Covering around one third of all land
August 19 of picturesque backdrops to capture post- on Earth, forests are vital to sustaining
While some of China’s top theme parks, such worthy shots. life on this planet. They purify the air,
as Universal Beijing Resort and Shanghai A photo buddy is at once a photographer prevent erosion, regulate the climate,
Disney Resort, have banned the entry of capable of producing better photos than provide homes for diverse animal
unauthorized professional photographers, the average rookie, a travel dazi with the and plant species, and support local
a trend called photo buddies has arisen potential of becoming a friend, and often- communities by nurturing numerous
among young Chinese travelers. These times a tour guide, who is familiar with the trades and industries.
so-called photo buddies are mostly local surroundings and can therefore offer useful According to a report released by
amateur enthusiasts and students majoring in traveling tips. the National Greening Commission,
photography, who offer quality photography Many issues are yet to be addressed: in 2022, China had 231 million hect-
services at a relatively low price. Extra fees may be charged; scammers may ares of forests, which covered about
This newfangled service is rooted in easily disguise themselves as photo buddies; 24 percent of the country’s total land
the fusion of two wider trends. One is the the quality of the final images might not be area. Between 2010 and 2020, China
dazi culture, which refers to China’s Gen Z guaranteed. Therefore, rules and standards produced more than half of the world’s
linking up with random strangers who share should be set up to safeguard the healthy newly added forest area.
their hobbies and interests on social media. growth of this newly emerging trend.

“The negative impact of the ocean “We need the voice of the South in
discharge cannot be undone. We don’t revitalizing the Sustainable
want August 24, 2023 to be a disaster Development Goals as the only real
day for the marine environment.” commitment for solidarity and
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of collective action at the global level.”
Foreign Affairs, at a news briefing on August 23, the day Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General of the United
before Japan started releasing into the ocean radioactive Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in a recent
wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant wrecked interview with Xinhua News Agency
by a tsunami 12 years ago

10 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com


Over the past decade, industrial
clusters have taken shape in the forestry
sector, transforming many regions into
major industrial hubs for the special-
ized production of forest-related goods
and services. The production of wood-
based panels has centered in Guangdong
Province and Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region in the south;
northeast China has become a leading
producer of forest-grown vegetables,
fruits and herbal medicine products; and
forest tourism has thrived in the coun-
try’s southwestern inland regions, home
to dense tropical rainforests.
Technological innovation has con-
tinued to power the growth of China’s
IRUHVWU\VHFWRU7KHLQWHJUDWLRQRIDUWLÀFLDO
intelligence, big data and machine vision
allows foresters to remotely locate pests
and keep pesticide sprays on target to
reduce potential spray drift. Scientists can
now also build virtual models of a forest to
monitor and predict the natural processes
that take place within its ecosystem.
Hopefully, with the continuous ad-
vancement of technologies and China’s
enduring commitment to afforestation,
forests will play a bigger role in boost-
ing local economies and facilitating
sustainable development.
THIS WEEK
Shrinking Sizes go through extreme fasting and overly in-
tense workouts.
Ce.cn Another factor that helps perpetuate
August 19 the shrinking of clothing sizes is the lack
In recent years, China’s fashion industry of uniform sizing standards. China did
has been dominated by a petite craze that create a set of national standards, which
sees women’s clothing continue to shrink. were last updated in 2018 and are therefore
Young Chinese women are squeezing into quite outdated. What’s more, the standards
XOWUDSHWLWHRXWÀWVWKDWDUHVRPHWLPHVHYHQ are merely recommended, not mandatory,
smaller than childrenswear. leaving room for brands to create their own
This shift toward extra-small sizes size charts.
has been fueled by a growing obsession For clothing brands, petite sizes
among some Chinese women with look- should be an option, not a standard. For
ing ultra-skinny. A set of unrealistic body authorities, mandatory standards should
standards that champion the ideal A4 be introduced and constantly updated to
waist, which compares waist sizes to the ensure the orderly operation of the garment
width of an A4 sheet of paper, and the industry. Consumers should also always
perfect L-shaped shoulders have led many remember to love themselves and embrace
to experience body image anxieties and their own body images.
¾ FIGHTER DEFENDS WORLD TITLE
Mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete Zhang Weili retained her Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC) strawweight world title in Boston, the U.S., on August 19.
Strawweight is a division for female competitors weighing between 48 and 52 kg.
%RUQLQ+DQGDQ+HEHL3URYLQFHLQ6HSWHPEHU=KDQJLVWKHÀUVW8)&ZRUOG
champion in Asia.
At the age of 6, Zhang’s mother sent her to learn traditional
Chinese martial arts with a local kungfu master. At 17, however,
Zhang had to give up due to serious injuries. She worked several
jobs such as a hotel receptionist, a bodyguard and a gym salesper-
son, before reengaging in the career she loves.
Zhang signed with the China MMA League in 2014 and bagged
DZLQQLQJVWUHDNRIÀJKWVEHIRUHMRLQLQJWKH8)&WKHZRUOG·V
largest MMA organization, four years later.

“The Regional Comprehensive ´&KLQDóORRNVóIRUZDUGóWRóLQGHSWKó

Economic Partnership (RCEP) will
help transform the ASEAN region
into a new engine of growth in Asia.”
Kin Phea, Director General of the International
Relations Institute of Cambodia think tank, in a recent
interview with Xinhua News Agency. The RCEP, the
world’s largest free trade agreement, comprises 15
$VLD3DFLILFóFRXQWULHVóLQFOXGLQJóDOOóó$6($1óPHPEHUV
discussions on resolving economic
and trade differences and promoting
practical cooperation.”
Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting at a
press conference ahead of U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina
Raimondo’s visit to China in late August

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 11

 COVER STORY

BUILDING BRICKS
BRICS grouping expects membership expansion and seeks better
global governance By Ma Miaomiao

A staff arranges a banner advertising the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 17

wenty-two years %5,&6ZLWK6RXWK$IULFDEHFRPLQJWKHÀIWKPHP- Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz

ago, when then
Goldman Sachs
Chief Economist
Jim O’Neill coined
the term “BRIC”—an acronym for
Brazil, Russia, India, and China—
to highlight the growth potential
of the four countries, he may not
have imagined how their rise would
reshape the global economy and
global governance.
BRIC was later expanded to
12 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
ber in December 2010. It now represents about a
quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP)
and about 40 percent of the world’s population.
$FFRUGLQJWR8.EDVHGUHVHDUFKÀUP$FRUQ0DFUR
Consulting, BRICS is now the largest GDP group
in the world in terms of purchasing power parity,
ZKLFKLVDPHDVXUHRIWKHSULFHRIVSHFLÀFJRRGVLQ
different countries and is used to compare the abso-
lute purchasing power of the countries’ currencies.
On August 22-24, the 15th BRICS Summit took
place in Johannesburg, South Africa’s most populous
city. The event brought together Chinese President
Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and South
African President Cyril Ramaphosa
at the Sandton Convention Centre,
with Russian President Vladimir
Putin joining via video link, and
called on the countries to uphold
fairness and justice and improve
global governance.
More members
In his speech at the 15th BRICS
http://www.bjreview.com

Summit on August 23, Xi laid out a
broad vision for expanding BRICS
cooperation, calling on the group to
promote high-quality partnerships,
make global governance fairer and
more equitable, and inject more
security, stability and positive
energy into the world.
For the first time in 13 years,
since South Africa became the new-
est member, BRICS is once again
seeing membership expansion. So
far, more than 40 countries have
expressed their willingness to join
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
the cooperation mechanism, and more than 20 of
them have formally submitted their applications. Six
countries, namely Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been
invited to become BRICS members as of January 1,
2024, according to a press conference during the sum-
mit on August 24.
Noting that plenty of countries are interested in
BRICS membership, Evandro Menezes de Carvalho,
a professor at and head of the Brazil-China Center
at FGV Law School in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, said
this demand has emerged in response to international
uncertainties.
He Wenping, a researcher with the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences
Institute of West-Asian and African
Studies, said the enthusiasm dem-
onstrates the vitality, influence and
attractiveness of the BRICS mecha-
nism. “Over the past years, BRICS
has stood firm against the West’s
pessimistic rhetoric,” she said, add-
ing that in the face of the surging
exclusionism and protectionism, the
ÀYH%5,&6PHPEHUVKDYHDGKHUHG
to the principles of openness and
cooperation.
Xu Feibiao, Director of the
China Institutes of Contemporary
International Relations (CICIR)
Center for BRICS and G20
(Group of 20) Studies, told Beijing
Review that the BRICS coopera-
tion mechanism is not yet mature,
but its vitality has been verified.
Many countries want to join the
BRICS family because they’re dis-
VDWLVÀHGZLWKWKHH[LVWLQJ:HVWHUQ
dominated international order
that mainly serves the interests of
Western developed countries rather
than those of the international com-
munity at large, and developing
nations in particular.
Many countries believe that
financial institutions such as the
International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank have neither pre-
vented financial crises nor helped
solve their development problems
over the years, Xu said, adding that
since the contribution of BRICS
countries to global economic
growth has exceeded that of the
Group of Seven (G7) industrialized
nations, these countries (consisting
of Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, the UK, the United States,
with the European Union as a non-
enumerated member) now believe
that joining hands with BRICS will
EHQHÀWWKHLUHFRQRPLHV
“BRICS countries gather not in
a closed club or an exclusive circle,
but a big family of mutual support
V
V
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 13
 XINHUA
and a partnership for win-win coop-
eration,” Xi said while hosting the
14th BRICS Summit in Beijing via
video link last year.
“Countries add to BRICS
through practical cooperation,”
He Wenping said while taking
the establishment of the New
Development Bank (NDB) as an
example, adding that the bank has
played its role in boosting global
growth.
Headquartered in Shanghai,
the NDB was established by the
five BRICS members in 2015 to
mobilize resources for infrastructure
and sustainable development
projects in BRICS and other
emerging markets and developing
economies, complementing the
efforts of multilateral and regional
financial institutions for global Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg,
development. South Africa, on August 23
In 2021, the NDB initiated
membership expansion and admitted Zealand), according to the United Nations Conference including Iran and Saudi Arabia, are
Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab on Trade and Development. Most countries in the admitted to the group, its economic
Emirates and Uruguay as its new Global South are characterized by low income, dense and demographic significance will
members. population, poor infrastructure and often political or increase dramatically and reinforce a
On August 15, the bank issued cultural marginalization. reorientation of trade and investment
LWVÀUVW6RXWK$IULFDQUDQGERQGRQ In He’s view, the BRICS grouping serves as the and the integration of producers from
the South African bond market. It is most important platform for emerging markets and BRICS Plus economies into regional
the bank’s ambition to provide loans major developing countries to strengthen dialogue and global value chains that are al-
in the U.S. dollar, the euro as well as and cooperation, as well as the most important ready underway, Michael Dunford,
other currencies, especially the cur- channel for the Global South to carry out strategic a visiting professor at the Chinese
rencies of member countries, Leslie communication. Academy of Sciences Institute of
Maasdorp, Vice President and Chief As early as in 2017, Xi said at the BRICS Business Geographical Sciences and Natural
Financial Officer of the NDB, told Forum that “as a cooperation platform with global Resources Research, wrote in an
Xinhua News Agency. LQÁXHQFH%5,&6FRRSHUDWLRQLVPRUHWKDQDERXWRXU op-ed for newspaper China Daily’s
five countries. Rather, it carries the expectations of website.
For the world emerging markets and developing countries and indeed In his summit speech, Xi said,
China plays a critical role within the international community at large.” “We must fully utilize the role of
the BRICS mechanism and is China has accelerated BRICS cooperation with the NDB, push forward the reform
“providing leadership to the emerg- its support for multilateralism, Carvalho continued. of the international financial and
ing markets in the Global South,” Over the years, the BRICS Plus initiative, a program monetary system, and increase the
Maasdorp said. The Global South is proposed by China in 2017 that seeks to create a new representation and voice of develop-
a term that broadly comprises platform for forging regional and bilateral partnerships ing countries.”
countries in the regions of Africa, across continents, has been seeing expansion, becom- BRICS’ recent progress could
Latin America and the Caribbean, ing a model for countries to carry out South-South signal the end of a more than 500-year-
Asia (without Israel, Japan and the cooperation and achieve strength through unity, He long era in which Western nations
Republic of Korea), and Oceania said. have dominated world affairs and
(without Australia and New If other large countries in the Global South, the emergence of a new multipolar
14 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com
world characterized by fairer and more
democratic rules and a greater quest for
collective solutions to global problems,
Dunford summarized.
Renewed friendship
Prior to arriving in South Africa for
the BRICS summit and a state visit,
Xi said in a signed article published
in South African media that the
blossoming China-South Africa
relationship “has entered a ‘golden
era’ and enjoys broad prospects and a
promising future.”
The town of Atlantis, near Cape
Town, lost its industries after the end
of apartheid in South Africa in the
early 1990s. Today, it’s becoming
a major manufacturing hub for the
country’s renewable energy sector. Its
transformation was catalyzed by the
establishment of a factory by Chinese
consumer electronics company
Hisense right in the heart of this once
sleepy town in 2013.
About 700 km to the east of
Atlantis, Chinese automaker BAIC
has been rolling out cars from the
assembly line at its South African
plant near the auto export hub of Port
Elizabeth since 2018.
Vehicles at Qingdao Port in Qingdao, Shandong Province, before their transfer onto a cargo
vessel to depart for Africa, on August 7, 2022
http://www.bjreview.com
Both plants are key contributors to the creation of
employment opportunities for their host cities. Hisense,
for example, now employs around 700 local people,
accounting for more than 90 percent of its total work-
force, and has created more than 4,000 indirect job
opportunities.
Hisense and BAIC are among the many Chinese
corporations involved in local economic development
in South Africa. As Xi said in his signed article, many
Chinese companies are expanding their business activi-
ties in South Africa and at the same time are taking on
more social responsibility.
Chinese-brand automobiles and home appliances,
which are manufactured in the African country, are very
popular with local consumers and are now found in
many households.
Since China and South Africa established diplomatic
relations in 1998, bilateral ties have developed
comprehensively and rapidly.
China has been South Africa’s largest trading
SDUWQHUIRUFRQVHFXWLYH\HDUV,QWKHÀUVWKDOIRI
bilateral trade reached $28.25 billion, up 11.7 percent
year on year. South Africa is one of China’s largest
investment destinations in Africa. By late June, China’s
investment stock in South Africa was about $10 billion.
South African companies are also racing to invest
in the Chinese market to seize the abundant business
opportunities, and have made important contributions to
China’s economic growth, Xi wrote.
,WZDVDOVRWKHÀUVW$IULFDQFRXQWU\WRVLJQDFRRS-
eration document with China under the Belt and Road
XINHUA
Initiative, Sun Hong, a researcher with
the CICIR Institute of African Studies,
told Beijing Review, adding that the
two countries feature promising co-
RSHUDWLRQSRWHQWLDOLQÀQDQFHHQHUJ\
infrastructure, e-commerce, 5G and
RWKHUÀHOGV7KH&KLQDSURSRVHG%HOW
and Road Initiative aims to boost con-
nectivity along and beyond the ancient
Silk Road routes.
During his talks with Ramaphosa,
Xi said China will expand imports of
South African products and encour-
age more Chinese enterprises to invest
in South Africa.
Based on the existing strong
relations, China and South Africa
should better integrate the countries’
manufacturing and supply chains to
facilitate development in both, senior
lecturer at Johannesburg’s University
of the Witwatersrand Kenneth
Creamer told Xinhua, adding that in
this regard, Chinese companies should
be encouraged to use South Africa
as a base for supplying and servicing
other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Official statistics showed that
bilateral trade between China and
South Africa in 2022 accounted for
20.1 percent of total China-Africa
trade.
In recent years, Sino-African
cooperation has expanded from
agriculture, infrastructure and
manufacturing to new industries such
DVJUHHQHFRQRP\KHDOWKFDUHÀQDQFH
and digital innovation.
Costantinos Berhutesfa
Costantinos, a professor of public
policy at Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa
University, told Xinhua that it is
a combination of political justice,
mutual economic benefit, win-
win cooperation and common
development that laid the basis for a
shared future of Africa and China. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to mamm@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 15

DECONSTRUCTING WESTERN
MISCHARACTERIZATIONS
OF BRICS
BRICS and the quest for a world toward multipolarity
By Josef Gregory Mahoney
W
estern mainstream
media and pundits have
long derided BRICS as
an awkward mishmash of different
economies and cultures with little in
common. For the past decade and
a half, their echo chambers assured
us that BRICS was very little to do
about nothing. But now, as BRICS
has come of age, as it has begun to
provide what many view as both
a shared philosophy and practical
framework for advancing a more
equitable and multipolar world order,
and with more than 40 countries
reportedly seeking membership, the
talk in Washington, London and
elsewhere has shifted predictably.
Indeed, now that BRICS is
no longer easily dismissed by its
naysayers, it’s being recast by
some in the West as a “Sino-centric
conspiracy,” one that wants to align
what have been described as the
“mostly authoritarian” governments
of the Global South against the
democratic countries of the Global
North. With that in mind, let’s
deconstruct these characterizations and
reveal their stark misrepresentations
of simple facts.
From inevitable
collapse to rising
threat?
The change in Western discourses
16 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
COVER STORY
about BRICS maps neatly with similar changes in
how the West talks about China. For a long time
the dominant narrative about China promoted the
so-called “collapse thesis.” This theory was based
primarily on the values associated with the American
scholar Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history”
narrative—in so many words that history had proven
that the American model of liberal democracy and
free market capitalism was be-all-end-all of human
development. Consequently, collapse theorists
promised that China’s rapid economic development
and increasing presence in global trade would assure
a fundamental change in its political system, and
would eventually establish a liberal democratic
regime in Beijing similar to or at least compliant with
the one in Washington.
Of course, there have been important changes
in China, including lifting more than 800 million
people out of poverty, eliminating extreme poverty
altogether, and establishing a middle income
population of more than 400 million. Along the way,
China has fostered major improvements in governance
and advanced its capacities to promote the wellbeing
of the Chinese people, including reinforcing national
sovereignty. In the meantime, many leading countries
in the Global North experienced reversals in fortune,
DVZHOODVGHFOLQHVLQFRQÀGHQFHLQWKHLURZQSROLWLFDO
economies. Consequently, “threat thesis,” which
views China’s rise as dangerous to Western interests,
began to displace the collapse thesis.
The same is true for Western narratives about
BRICS. We were told BRICS members had
little in common with each other economically,
geographically, or culturally. We were told their
collective flaws, underdevelopment and in some
cases, the lingering conflicts between them, would
PDNHLWGLIÀFXOWLIQRWLPSRVVLEOHIRUWKHPWRZRUN
together in meaningful ways. We
were told that conflicts like the
one between Russia and Ukraine
or American efforts to kneecap
China’s development would split
them. And yet, here’s BRICS,
stronger and coming of age 15
years later. Thus, there should be no
surprise: A rising BRICS is being
recast like a rising China—as a
“global threat.”
This is typical of zero-sum logic
and its simplistic balance sheet of
winners versus losers. It’s also the
logic of liberal democracy, as we
see with the winner-take-all politics
that’s reducing many Western
countries to unstable and almost
ungovernable messes. It’s likewise
the logic of the sort of free market
capitalism that more often than not
normalizes poverty at home and
abroad, denying both the Western
poor and developing countries
realistic opportunities to actualize
their development potential. But
the key point is: How does working
in the best interests of the Global
South pose a “global threat?”
Authoritarian versus
democratic?
The Chinese political system is
described officially as developing
and practicing whole-process
people’s democracy. On the one
http://www.bjreview.com

hand, this kind of Chinese democracy
has been clearly institutionalized
and reinforced via the rule of law,
ensuring broad political inclusion
and participation. On the other, it’s
also worked effectively to ensure
China can maximize the growth and
development that Chinese people
demand. Of course, whether or not
foreign critics consider Chinese
democracy to be democratic is beside
the point: The Chinese Government
enjoys substantial popular support at
home, far outstripping the popularity
of the Western-style democratic
governments.
In fact, all the current members
of BRICS practice various forms
of democracy, and while each,
including China’s, have not yet
been perfected, almost everyone
agrees that the Western models
should not be blindly emulated. Let’s
not allow a discussion of political
philosophy to distract us from more
fundamental questions regarding
the lack of democracy in a global
system dominated by Western and
above all U.S. hegemony. Namely,
what democratic right do Western
countries have to tell others how to
govern themselves? For decades this
has been the standard practice, one
that has often resorted to imposing
Western models on developing
nations, often by using economic
coercion and military force.
In short, many Western countries,
especially the U.S., do not practice
democracy in global affairs. Instead,
they assert the privileges of wealth
and power, and do so through their
domination of international organi-
zations and their ability to control
JOREDOÀQDQFLDOPHFKDQLVPV)UHQFK
President Emmanuel Macron effec-
tively acknowledged this problem
when he suggested the West ought
to endeavor to make international in-
stitutions more equitable and justice-
oriented, rather than deriding the
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
place of the Washington Consensus
or American dream. It’s about
creating space for all to dream and
realize those dreams, and to do so in
ways that nurture a shared future for
humanity.
There’s a strange contradiction
at work in the allegation of Sino-
centrism. On the one hand, Western
discourse itself is Sino-centric,
obsessively focusing on China and
The photo taken on August 10 shows wind turbines anything China touches as evidence
of the De Aar wind power project in De Aar, South
Africa. The installed capacity of the project invested by of a rising threat to Western values
China’s Longyuan Power and its South African partners and interests. Of course, if Western
is 244.5 megawatts values and interests are based on
hegemony and anti-democratic
Global South for seeking better alternative pathways to
approaches to international relations,
development, such as BRICS. But such realization fell
then perhaps China’s rise and that of
on deaf ears, including in Paris and Brussels, as the EU
BRICS do constitute threats. But the
and others have been dragged backward in time into
point I want to make here is that it is
what appear to be U.S.-led efforts to reestablish a Cold
the non-stop, hysterical anti-China
War order.
narratives that perpetuate in Western
Interestingly, as an organization, BRICS has been
discourses that are themselves darkly
a paradigm of democratic practices. Furthermore,
but fantastically Sino-centric.
it’s not an anti-democratic association that’s seeking
On the other hand, there is in
more anti-democratic countries from the Global South
fact a degree of Sino-centrism in
to join its ranks. Rather, the purpose is to extend China itself. This is both reasonable
greater democracy to countries that have been denied and unavoidable insomuch as it’s
their democratic rights for development by Western- typical for many to think first of
dominated systems that have instead chronically their interests, particularly when
exploited them and effectively suppressed their ability those interests are truly their own
to move forward in real democratic ways. This is what and not the business of others.
the founding BRICS members had most in common, But the great irony of actual Sino-
and as they’ve put aside their differences and helped centrism in China itself, which is
each other move forward, and this is why other quite out of favor, is its general
developing countries have found prospective BRICS tendency to be self-limiting. In
membership enticing. short, Sino-centrism in China tends
to be xenophobic and stay-at-home.
Sino-centric? ,WGRHVQ·WÁ\WR6RXWK$IULFDWRMRLQ
China is the second largest economy in the world and hands with leaders representing a
the largest in BRICS. Despite this, China has resisted very large percentage of humanity
dominating its BRICS partners and instead emphasized to discuss ways to improve their
equitable membership. This has not stopped Western collective wellbeing, or consider the
critics from asserting that BRICS is part of a Beijing ambitions of 40 other nations who
conspiracy to establish a Sino-centric world order, one wish to join the same. BR
that might negate a Western and above all American-
dominated global system. But let’s be clear, China, and The author is a professor of politics and international
relations at East China Normal University and senior
indeed the other BRICS members, do want to create research fellow with the Institute for the Development
multipolarity to replace what has long been and to of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics at Southeast
University
some extent remains a unipolar world order. But this is Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
not about asserting a China model or Chinese dream in Comments to zhaowei@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 17

CHAMPIONING
A NEW MULTILATERAL
WORLD ORDER
The 2023 BRICS Summit provides an opportunity to showcase BRICS’
commitment to multilateralism and advancing the interests
of the Global South By Anil Sooklal
I
n the ever-evolving and fluid
geopolitical landscape, the
rise of emerging markets and
developing countries over the past
three decades has been a trans-
formative force in reshaping the
dynamics of the international order.
This rise of the Global South can
be traced back to the economic and
political changes that took place in
the 1990s. In the aftermath of the
Cold War, market-oriented reforms
became the prevailing trend across
the world. These changes unlocked
the Global South’s immense growth
potential and positioned it as a sig-
nificant geopolitical and economic
force globally.
It is within this context that
a number of minilateral group-
ings were formed, leading to new
alliances and partnerships. The
G20 emerged as the preeminent
global financial and economic fo-
rum, bringing together the leading
economies of the Global South and
North. However, as the G7 contin-
ued to champion the interests of the
West, the concerns and challenges
pertaining to the developing world
continued to be ignored. It is within
this context that Brazil, Russia,
India and China (BRIC) came
18 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
COVER STORY
together as a collective to champion the interests of
the Global South and called for real and meaningful
reform of the global multilateral architecture.
7KHÀUVWIRUPDO%5,&6XPPLWWRRNSODFHLQ5XVVLD
in 2009. South Africa was invited by China to join
in 2010, resulting in the acronym being changed to
“BRICS.” South Africa attended the BRICS Summit in
2011 in Sanya, Hainan Province, under China’s chair-
ship. South Africa was invited to join BRICS precisely
to give greater impetus to the spirit of BRICS as a pow-
erful voice and champion of the Global South. South
Africa’s membership of BRICS also added the voice of
Africa to BRICS, ensuring that Africa’s interests were
also at the center of the BRICS agenda.
Inclusive approach
BRICS has as its fundamental principle an inclusive
approach in working toward creating a global order
underpinned by multipolarity and inclusiveness. It up-
holds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter
as well as international law.
Since the establishment of the UN and the Bretton
Woods Institutions following the end of World War
II, the world has continued to be dominated by the
The establishment of BRICS provided an important
platform to consolidate its members’ collective
SROLWLFDOHFRQRPLFDQGßQDQFLDOLQķXHQFHWR
champion the creation of a more equitable and
LQFOXVLYHSROLWLFDOHFRQRPLFDQGßQDQFLDORUGHU
same Western powers that were
at the forefront of the creation of
these institutions. However, the
world of today is vastly different
from when these institutions were
established and they now no longer
reflect the current global realities.
Despite repeated calls for the reform
of the global political, economic
and financial institutions, there has
been no movement to make these
organizations inclusive and repre-
sentative of the current global order.
UN Secretary General António
Guterres recently noted that the
UN Security Council and Bretton
Woods Institutions are in need of
real reform. He further indicated
that these institutions are unrepre-
sentative, outdated and irrelevant.
These are views that echo the posi-
tion of BRICS over the past decade
and a half.
Thus, the establishment of
http://www.bjreview.com

Banners for the 15th BRICS Summit on a street in Johannesburg, South Africa,
on August 17
BRICS provided an important plat-
form to consolidate its members’
collective political, economic and
ÀQDQFLDOLQÁXHQFHWRFKDPSLRQWKH
creation of a more equitable and
inclusive political, economic and
financial order. BRICS, by har-
nessing its collective strengths and
leveraging common interests, con-
tinues to challenge the unfair global
dominance of traditional powers. It
seeks to promote multipolarity and
a world that does not marginalize
anyone. This is not currently the
situation due to the unwillingness of
the West to engage in meaningful
and real reform of the global gover-
nance architecture.
It is within this historical and
current geopolitical context that
South Africa hosted the BRICS
Summit in 2023. The theme,
BRICS and Africa: Partnership
for Mutually Accelerated Growth,
Sustainable Development and
Inclusive Multilateralism, empha-
sizes and reflects the vision of the
http://www.bjreview.com
XINHUA
continued shared values of BRICS as a partnership of
leading emerging markets and developing countries.
South Africa’s chairship will continue the momentum
toward inclusive global economic growth, sustainable
development, and inclusion of the Global South in a
more fair and just global governance architecture.
Importance of collaboration
The theme and deliverables highlight the increasing
importance of collaboration, cooperation, conver-
gence and functional coherence among BRICS,
the African continent and the Global South. South
Africa will aim to consolidate and expand existing
collaborations, with a focus on areas such as fairer
trade, more inclusive economic growth, infrastruc-
ture development, information and communication
technology and sustainable development, as well
as people-to-people exchanges. By fostering more
inclusive economic integration and inclusive mul-
tilateralism, the intention is to create an enabling
environment for more shared and inclusive growth
and prosperity for BRICS and the Global South.
In addition, BRICS will also enhance avenues for
South-South cooperation, innovation and technology
transfer, thus addressing the developmental chal-
lenges faced by BRICS, Africa and other developing
countries.
To strengthen the group further,
BRICS will continue to deepen
institutional mechanisms, enhance
cooperation in diverse sectors,
and promote people-to-people ex-
changes, expanding collaboration
beyond traditional areas and em-
EUDFLQJHPHUJLQJÀHOGVVXFKDVWKH
digital economy, renewable energy,
and climate action. It will continue
to promote the New Development
Bank as a major multilateral de-
velopment bank committed to
infrastructure and sustainable de-
velopment projects.
The 2023 BRICS Summit held
in Johannesburg, South Africa,
from August 22 to 24, provided
a pivotal moment for BRICS to
strengthen global governance part-
nerships, foster inclusive growth,
and champion sustainable develop-
ment. South Africa’s chairship also
provides it with an opportunity to
showcase BRICS commitment to
multilateralism and advancing the
interests of Africa and the Global
South.
The summit saw the BRICS
countries interact with the invited
African countries as well as other
Global South countries that rep-
resent the major Global South
regional bodies. This is an impor-
tant and seminal opportunity for
BRICS and the Global South to
address collectively the current
geopolitical, security, economic and
ÀQDQFLDOFKDOOHQJHV
BRICS must seize the moment
and provide leadership by fostering
global cooperation, peace and
stability, reinforced through
multilateralism with a reformed UN
at the center. BR
The author is ambassador-at-large for Asia and BRICS
at South Africa’s Department of International Relations
and Cooperation. This article was first published in
ChinAfrica magazine
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to zhaowei@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 19

BRICS AND GLOBAL
FINANCIAL POWER
B
RICS held its 15th heads of
state and government sum-
mit in the South African city
of Johannesburg from August 22 to
24. On the agenda was the alliance’s
expansion, with the inclusion of new
countries in the New Development
Bank (NDB) and the revival of the
idea of creating a common currency.
Established in 2015 by the
BRICS countries, the NDB is a mul-
tilateral development bank aimed at
mobilizing resources for infrastruc-
ture and sustainable development
projects in BRICS and other emerg-
ing and developing countries.
In an interview with Fortune
magazine in early August, Jim
O’Neill, former Chief Economist at
Goldman Sachs, expressed his skep-
ticism about the creation of a BRICS
currency, “Are you going to create
a BRICS central bank? How would
you do that?” The top economist said
he believed despite the size of the
nine-member organization, it would
be more plausible to expand the use
of the BRICS members’ national
currencies to make international trade
viable with less use of the U.S. dollar
than to create a new instrument.
Current analysis suggests that the
status quo, namely, the U.S. dollar
dominating world trade, will prevail
BRICS has the potential to forge a path that strengthens
their individual economies and contributes to a more
just and inclusive global system
20 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
COVER STORY
By Filipe Porto
for the next 10 years, with the dollar accounting for
more than half of the reserve and reference assets for
FRPPHUFLDODQGÀQDQFLDOFRQWUDFWV
Since the beginning of this century, the U.S. cur-
rency has already lost 10 percentage points in the
portfolios of central banks around the world, accord-
ing to a recent study published by the International
Monetary Fund. This diversification movement
will continue in the next decade, if the plans of the
central banks consulted in the 2023 Global Public
Investor report materialize. The report is published
annually by the Official Monetary and Financial
Institutions Forum, an independent think tank con-
cerned with central banking, economic policy and
public investment.
Western analysts are usually quick to criticize the
rise of China and other rising powers, and in doing
so diminish the legitimacy of different views of the
present and future of global society. They also tend to
overestimate the achievements of the West over the
past 200 years. After all, the material progress of indus-
trial capitalism has not led to prosperity or “perpetual
peace” for all.
Criticism of American hegemony, neo-liberalism
and the use of the U.S. dollar and its related institu-
tions as a geopolitical weapon is legitimate. It is rather
strange that the desire of emerging and developing
countries to break the shackles that imprison many
peoples and limit the possibilities of building less un-
just and more prosperous societies is not considered
PRUHWKDQQDWXUDOE\WKH86HVWDEOLVKPHQWLWVÀQDQ-
ciers, academics and analysts.
Of course we should not underestimate the chal-
lenges facing the countries of the Global South, a term
that refers to various countries around
the world sometimes described as
“developing,” “less developed”
or “underdeveloped.” Many of
these countries are in the Southern
Hemisphere, largely in Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
There is, in fact, a movement
WRZDUGWKHGLYHUVLÀFDWLRQRIUHVHUYH
assets on the part of the monetary
authorities and the expansion in the
use of emerging currencies, such as
China’s renminbi (RMB), in interna-
tional payments.
Such processes may gain addi-
tional momentum with the inclusion
of more countries in BRICS, the
expansion of the scope of partner-
ships between emerging powers
and other countries of the Global
South, and ongoing technological
and institutional innovations, such as
China’s digital RMB and the Cross-
Border Interbank Payment System, a
Chinese payment system that offers
clearing and settlement services for
its participants in cross-border RMB
payments and trade.
BRICS has the potential to forge
a path that strengthens their indi-
vidual economies and contributes to
a more just and inclusive global sys-
tem. The path ahead may be fraught
with challenges, but the potential
benefits for the Global South are
great. BR
The author is an associate researcher at the Brazil-
ian Foreign Policy Observatory
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to taoxing@cicgamericas.com
http://www.bjreview.com
OPINION PACIFIC DIALOGUE
A Precarious Pact
By Liang Xiao
O
n August 18, Camp David, the
American presidential country
retreat in the state of Maryland,
welcomed two dignitaries from East Asia:
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
and President of the Republic of Korea
(ROK) Yoon Suk-yeol. U.S. President Joe
Biden hoped to make Japan and the ROK
closer partners while “institutionalizing”
the U.S.-Japan-ROK alliance, meaning that
cooperation between Washington, Tokyo and
Seoul can be sustained no matter how the
governments or domestic politics of the three
countries change.
The prospects for this new trilateral
mechanism, however, remain to be seen. In
a scientific way, when the centripetal force
cannot resist the centrifugal force, an alliance
tends to fall apart.
Although both countries are important
allies of the U.S. in Asia, the hostility
between the ROK and Japan has long
hindered the integration of American alliance
forces.
Due to historical grievances and ongoing
disputes, Japan and the ROK have been in
FRQVWDQWFRQÁLFWIRUDORQJWLPH
In 1910, the Korean Peninsula officially
became Japan’s colony. As many as 7.8
million Koreans were conscripted as forced
labor or soldiers during Japan’s imperial
expansion before and during World War II,
according to ROK estimates. They toiled in
mines and munitions factories across Asia
and fought alongside Japanese troops. More
than 100,000 Korean women were sent to
military-run brothels to serve as “comfort
women”—a euphemism for women who
provided sexual services to Japanese Imperial
Army troops from 1932 to 1945 and who
generally lived under conditions of sexual
slavery. The Korean Peninsula has not for-
gotten this history of humiliation.
Then there’s the pending territorial
22 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
dispute between Japan and the
ROK over a small group of is-
lands that the Korean side calls
Dokdo and the Japanese call
Takeshima. And Japan’s recent
insistence on dumping radioactive
wastewater from the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into
the Pacific Ocean, despite strong
opposition from neighboring
countries, hasn’t helped matters
either, triggering a new round of
Korean discontent with Japan.
The turning point came in
May 2022, when the ROK’s for-
eign policy underwent a drastic
shift with the arrival of the Yoon
administration. While seeking
to further deepen the ROK-U.S.
alliance, Yoon also actively
sought to improve relations with
Japan. Earlier this year, Seoul an-
nounced a plan to resolve a long-
running dispute on compensating
people who were forced to work
in Japanese factories and mines
during World War II. Unveiling
the plan in March, ROK Foreign
Minister Park Jin said the for-
mer workers, the surviving of
whom are now in their 90s, will
be compensated through a pub-
lic foundation funded by private
companies rather than by the
Japanese firms involved in the
forced labor. The plan was met
with immediate protests in the
ROK but hailed as “historic” by
the U.S.
Obviously, the ROK’s uni-
lateral compromise is the main
reason for the improvement in
ROK-Japan relations, on which
Yoon bets on his political life by
betraying the nation’s history and people.
And the negative rating of the Yoon admin-
istration had mounted to 61.2 percent as of
mid-August, according to a survey conducted
by Realmeter, a polling agency based in the
ROK.
But the real purpose of the U.S. hosting
the Camp David gathering may have been
to push Japan and the ROK, both hesitant to
confront China head-on, to the forefront and
make them a key part of building a tighter
Asian network against China. And Japan and
the ROK each have their own considerations
for going along with this.
Japan may want to seize the opportunity
to regain its status as a normal state since
its unconditional surrender in World War II
in 1945, including the normalization of the
military and the lifting of the ban on collec-
tive self-defense; while the ROK may hope
to strengthen security cooperation with the
U.S. and Japan to achieve a strategic bal-
ance in light of its northern neighbor’s rapid
development of military science and technol-
ogy. Either way, confronting China does not
appear to be a priority for either Japan or the
ROK.
China sees the Biden administration’s
latest initiative as yet another violation of
the American commitment not to revive al-
liances against China. “We urge the relevant
countries not to go against the trend of the
times, to stop repeating bloc confrontation
elsewhere in this region and to stop pursuing
selfish gains at the expense of other coun-
tries’ strategic and security interests and the
wellbeing of the people in the Asia-Pacific
region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes-
person Wang Wenbin said at a regular press
EULHÀQJRQ$XJXVW
The Americans may not realize how un-
wise it is to form this precarious pact. It is
GLIÀFXOWIRUWKH52.WRIRUPDQXQEUHDNDEOH
alliance with the Japanese. And it is impos-
sible for China to allow a possible revival of
Japanese militarism. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to liangxiao@cicgamericas.com
http://www.bjreview.com

Computing Power
Drives Growth
By Lan Xinzhen
A
t the China Computational
Power Conference 2023, held in
Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region, in mid-August, Jin
Zhuanglong, head of the Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology (MIIT), said
China is in the process of improving the
infrastructure development for computing
power and accelerating its application.
These efforts aim to build a more accessible
information superhighway for China’s
economic and social development.
Computational power, the ability to
process data by computers, is measured
in floating-point operations per second
(FLOPS). All that computers do relies on
highly complex floating-point operations.
The more such operations a computer can
conduct per second, the smoother it runs.
In the digital era, computing power is
presenting itself as a new driver of economic
and social development and the bedrock
for the transition to digitization and smart
technologies.
According to MIIT statistics, China’s
computing power has reached 197 exa-
FLOPS, or 197 quintillion floating-point
operations per second, ranking second
in the world after the United States. This
falls far behind demand, as China’s boom-
ing digital economy has pushed computing
power into every corner of people’s daily
lives and work. Moreover, China’s com-
puting power is scattered among several
tech giants, which have yet to forge a syn-
ergy. It’s thus urgent to build a national
computing power network and data center
clusters.
Meanwhile, China’s computing power
industry is thriving, with its output of serv-
HUVFRPSXWHUVDQGVPDUWSKRQHVUDQNLQJÀUVW
http://www.bjreview.com
FACT CHECK OPINION
globally. Going forward, it will
need to focus on the following
two areas:
The first is to provide more
convenient and safer computing
power network technologies. The
HIÀFLHQF\RI,QWHUQHWWUDQVPLVVLRQ
is quite low in China, worsened
by poor security, while the high
cost of private networks is deter-
ring a lot of users. Solutions for
these problems must be identi-
fied and implemented. A new
concept, public-private network
In the digital era,
computing power
is presenting itself
as a new driver of
economic and social
development and
the bedrock for
the transition to
digitization and smart
technologies
technology, has now emerged in China’s
computing power market, which ensures
both security and efficiency at reasonable
prices. This computing power-dedicated
technology has already been applied in
around 40 cities across the country. A new
model for computing power supply, known
as a computing power grid connection, is
expected to be brought into being.
Second is to push computing power into
public services such as administrative af-
fairs, transportation and medical care. This
is expected to facilitate the development
of new technologies, models and sectors,
which will greatly accelerate digital and
intelligent transformation of these public
services.
In 2021, the computing power industry’s
market value exceeded 1.5 trillion yuan
($222.5 billion), while the number of super-
large and large data centers in use exceeded
450 across the nation, and that of intelligent
computing centers surpassed 20, according
to the MIIT.
A mega project was launched in February
involving the establishment of eight national
computing hubs and 10 national data center
clusters. By creating a national computing
power network, the project will support the
less developed regions that have abundant
renewable energy in west China to store
and process data transmitted from the
economically advanced areas in the east
to meet the soaring demand and address
regional capacity imbalances.
%RRPLQJDUWLÀFLDOLQWHOOLJHQFHWHFKQROR-
gies in recent years, particularly driverless
cars, intelligent manufacturing and biomedi-
cine, are thirsty for computing power. In
order to become more competitive, many
countries are rushing to invest heavily in the
development and deployment of intelligent
computing power. Computing power is also
being put to greater use in China thanks to
the constant improvement and coordination
of its computing power resources. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to lanxinzhen@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 23
FEATURES U.S.

Wildfire Challenges
How unprecedented wildfires wreaked havoc on the Hawaiian island of Maui
By Li Wenhan

W
hen Chun Fan and his friends arrived
in Maui, Hawaii, from the U.S. main-
land on August 5, they were ready
for a sun-soaked stay in tropical paradise. Over
the two days that followed, they enjoyed the soft
sands, cruised along picturesque coastal highways
and savored the highly Instagrammable sights and
servings of local restaurant Monkeypod Kitchen
by Merriman.
Never could they have imagined how abruptly
their journey into bliss would be set ablaze.
“As I gazed at the stars from my balcony on
August 7, I could feel the wind picking up,” Chun
told Beijing Review. “This persisted well into the
next morning, alongside an unsettling shroud of
heavy smoke on the horizon. And then the elec-
tricity went out.”
Electricity and mobile network services
remained suspended through the afternoon. As
dusk fell, Chun witnessed in the distance an
inferno casting its ominous glow across the sky.
Chun was staying at a hotel along Maui’s
western coast, a mere 5 km from the most devas-
tated area, Lahaina.
After visiting the wreckage of Lahaina,
XINHUA
unaccounted for” was between 1,000 and 1,100. The day before, Maui
County Mayor Richard Bissen had stated the number of missing people was
believed to be around 850.
0DQ\0DXLUHVLGHQWVUHFDOOHGKDYLQJWRÁHHWKHLUKRPHV'XVWLQ.DOHLRSX
WROG1%&1HZVWKHÀUHZDVPRYLQJVRIDVWKHDQGKLVIDPLO\KDGMXVW´PLQXWHV
WRHVFDSHµWKHLUKRPHEHIRUHLWZDVFRQVXPHGE\ÁDPHV
In an interview with China Central Television on August 23, Lapsodi
Lunes, another resident, said the government’s paralysis after putting out the
ÀUVWURXQGRIZLOGÀUHVRQWKHPRUQLQJRI$XJXVWKDGGHOD\HGWKHEHVWWLPH
for residents to evacuate.
By 9 a.m. on August 8, Maui officials declared the fire “100 percent
FRQWDLQHGµDQGWKHÀUHÀJKWHUVOHIWWKHDUHD%XWDURXQGSPWKDWVDPHGD\
the same area reignited, smoke and embers being carried toward residential
areas as howling winds continued to lash the island.
“Now the Internet is still out and the entire community remains without
power,” Lunes continued. “The government is here, but they don’t accept help
from the outside; they even closed the port so we can’t go there for help either.
We have to survive on our own.”
The Lahaina fire burned an estimated 878.2 hectares, according to the
0DXL&RXQW\*RYHUQPHQWRQ$XJXVWZLWKSHUFHQWRIWKHÀUHVWLOOXQ-
contained at the time.
Kaleiopu said when he returned to the town on August 10, it was gone,
and his world as he knew it had changed. “In 36 hours, our town was reduced
to ashes. There’s nothing left,” he added.

Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green called the Maui

ÀUHVWKH´ODUJHVWQDWXUDOGLVDVWHU+DZDLLKDVHYHU
experienced” at a news conference on August
12. He said around 2,200 structures had been de-
stroyed or damaged and total losses “approach $6
billion.”

Reduced to ashes
$VRI$XJXVWWKHÀUHVKDGFODLPHGWKHOLYHVRI
115 people and 13 families had been notified of
the deaths of the individuals who had been identi-
ÀHGWKH0DXL3ROLFH'HSDUWPHQWVDLGLQDQHZV
release.
Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honolulu divi-
VLRQVDLGDWDQHZVEULHÀQJRQWKHDIWHUQRRQRI $SLFWXUHRIGDUNQHVVDQGGHVWUXFWLRQIROORZLQJWKHGHYDVWDWLQJZLOGĶUHVRQ0DXL
August 22 that the number of people “reported Island, Hawaii, the United States, on August 10
26 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

An aerial image that made front pages around the world, taken on August
10, showed the streets of Lahaina after the fire. Houses lay smashed, walls
crumbled and roofs collapsed; trees burned to the ground. The entire image
cloaked in a heavy black.
“As we made our way to the airport, the whole town of Lahaina seemed to
have been steamrolled,” Chun recalled. On August 10, evacuation buses with
police escorts took tourists to the airport. A large crowd had gathered there
DQGLWWRRN&KXQPLQXWHVWRUHERRNKLVÁLJKWDQGDQDGGLWLRQDOWKUHHKRXUV
to check in.
Back to the beginning
August is Hawaii’s typical dry season, with certain areas of the island
experiencing unusually severe droughts. According to the U.S. Drought
Monitor, nearly 16 percent of Maui County was experiencing severe droughts
as of August 8. Lahaina, located on the more arid, leeward side of the island,
tends to receive less rainfall.
$FRQÁXHQFHRIIDFWRUVLQWHQVLÀHGWKHZLOGÀUHV.HOVH\&RSHV*HUELW]
DÀUHHFRORJLVWDQGVRFLDOVFLHQWLVWIURPWKH&DQDGLDQ8QLYHUVLW\RI%ULWLVK
Columbia, told Beijing-based newsweekly Lifeweek. “These factors includ-
HGGU\FRQGLWLRQVLQ+DZDLLVWURQJKXUULFDQHVDQGÁDPPDEOHQRQQDWLYH
grasses,” she said.
The drought made the area more susceptible to wildfires by drying out
QRQQDWLYHJUDVVHVRQDEDQGRQHGIDUPÀHOGV7KDWPHDQVWKDWZKDWHYHUVWDUWHG
the fires in the first place quickly ignited the parched vegetation. And per-
VLVWHQWVWURQJZLQGVLQWXUQSXVKHGWKHÁDPHVWRZDUGFRPPXQLWLHVLQVRPH
cases forcing residents to flee into the Pacific Ocean. Many of them had to
wait for hours before the Coast Guard was able to get to them.
Around 5 a.m. on August 8, some residents of Lahaina shot a video that
VHHPHGWRFRQÀUPWKHÀUHVZHUHFDXVHGE\GDPDJHGSRZHUOLQHV
A growing number of Lahaina residents affected by the disaster are
SRLQWLQJWKHÀQJHURIEODPHDW+DZDLLDQ(OHFWULF&RFULWLFL]LQJWKHFRPSDQ\
for failing to heed warnings and plan for power outages during peak winds.
The U.S. National Weather Service had issued a warning on August 7, stating
XINHUA
$YHKLFOHFRPSOHWHO\GHVWUR\HGE\ßDPHVVLWVRQZKDWZDVRQFHDUHVLGHQWLDO
driveway in the town of Lahaina, Maui Island, on August 14
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
that “strong winds combined with low humidity
and an abundance of dry, flammable vegetation
FDQLQFUHDVHWKHULVNRIZLOGÀUHVµ
Behind the scenes
In addition to the criticism of the local power
sector, residents have also blamed the govern-
ment for failing to provide adequate warnings.
$VZLOGÀUHVFRQVXPHG/DKDLQD+DZDLL·VVLUHQ
warning system remained eerily quiet. Hotel
manager Kawena Kahula told CBS News that
she “blindly drove” to Lahaina in a desperate
search for her family, but didn’t receive any
warning from authorities that the fire was ap-
proaching.
With more than 400 emergency sirens located
throughout Hawaii, this statewide system is said
to be the largest integrated emergency siren net-
work in the world. Its purpose is to alert residents
WRQDWXUDOGLVDVWHUVVXFKDVWVXQDPLVRUZLOGÀUHV
or manmade threats. It includes 80 alarms in Maui
County, many in and around Lahaina.
,QWKHDIWHUPDWKRIWKHGLVDVWHURIÀFLDOVKDYH
offered several explanations amid growing public
frustration: The sirens were broken. They weren’t
activated. They would have led people into
danger, not away from it. And so on.
When asked during a press conference on
August 16 if he regretted not sounding the
alarms, Maui Emergency Management Agency
Administrator Herman Andaya said, “I do not.”
He further told reporters that the sirens are used
primarily for tsunami warnings.
“The public is trained to seek higher ground
in the event that the siren is sounded. Had we
sounded the siren that night, we feared people
would have gone mauka (meaning toward the
mountainside),” he said. “And if they had done so,
WKH\ZRXOGKDYHZDONHGVWUDLJKWLQWRWKHÀUHµ
Citing “health reasons,” Andaya later resigned,
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced
the following day.
Local residents are now turning to each other
to lend a helping hand, from delivering food to
collecting donations, as they begin to pick up the
pieces. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to liwenhan@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 27
FEATURES &+,1$$8675$/,$
A Study Trip Bringing
Goodwill
People-to-people exchanges seen as vital to fostering ties
between future generations By Jiang Lu
I
n the early morning of August 3, a delegation
from Beijing Foreign Studies University
(BFSU), comprised of two lecturers and
eight undergraduate and postgraduate students,
touched down in Australia after a 12-hour flight
from China’s capital. This brisk winter morning
was filled with a mixture of flight fatigue and
excitement as these young people, without even
checking into their hotel, headed straight to La
Trobe University on the outskirts of Melbourne,
WKHÀUVWVWRSRIWKHLUVWXG\WULS
Back in June, when the delegation reached
out to the Australian Visa Application Center
via e-mail to inquire about the type of visas they
should apply for, they were quite uncertain about
the trip. However, the visa processing went
unexpectedly smoothly, with nearly everyone
obtaining a visitor visa (subclass 600) within
10 days. At that time, they had no idea this 10-
day study trip would prove to be a valuable and
memorable experience for both the participants
and the Australian host organizations.
A long-awaited reunion
“Your visit holds immense significance,” Dr.
Yangbin Chen, a senior lecturer from the School
of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe
University, told the group during their meeting.
“As you are the first Chinese delegation to
visit La Trobe University after the coronavirus
outbreak.”
The Foundation for Australian Studies in
China (FASIC), which promotes academic
exchange between Australia and China, also
UHFRJQL]HGWKHVLJQLÀFDQFHRIWKHJURXS·VWULSWR
Australia. FASIC CEO Stephanie Lowe expressed
her excitement about having face-to-face contact
ZLWKDVWXGHQWGHOHJDWLRQIURP&KLQDIRUWKHÀUVW
28 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
time in over three years.
As a BFSU scholar of Australian studies who took part in the delegation,
I had previously been awarded a grant from the 2019 Australian Studies in
China Program (ASP), jointly funded by FASIC and the National Foundation
for Australia-China Relations. However, my plans to travel to Australia
for my research project were disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Back in 2020, I expected the then “epidemic” to be under control within a
few months, so I bought a ticket to go to Australia in February. However,
it escalated into a pandemic and I had to cancel my trip. Little did I know
that it would be three and a half years before I would be able to go back to
Australia.
During this prolonged period, as China-Australia relations suffered some
severe setbacks before a gradual recovery since May 2022, people-to-people
exchanges between the two countries were even more severely impacted by
the pandemic. It is understandable that the eight BFSU students, who had
never been to Australia before, experienced anxiety during the visa applica-
tion process. After all, the information they read in both countries’ media was
predominantly negative after China-Australia relations began deteriorating in
2018. Visas for Chinese students were revoked, and many visitor visa applica-
tions from China were denied by Australia. Two prominent Chinese scholars
of Australian studies were denied entry to Australia on the grounds of alleged
SROLWLFDOLQÀOWUDWLRQ$XVWUDOLD·VSDUWLFLSDWLRQLQWKH$XVWUDOLD8.86WULODWHUDO
security pact and its perception of China as a “national security threat” further
strained the relationship. Trade between the two countries suffered. “My par-
ents were concerned when they heard about my plan to visit Australia. They
SHUFHLYH$XVWUDOLDDVDQWL&KLQDµ/XR7LDQ\LDQRWKHUWHDFKHUFRQÀGHGLQWKH
group.
However, the study trip has offered them a deeper understanding of
Australia, which is difficult to attain solely through news consumption
or Internet browsing. This experience has the potential to reshape their
perceptions of Australia, and perhaps even those of their parents.
“I never anticipated seeing so many Asian faces along the way!” Yang
Yuqi, a sophomore student, exclaimed. “It’s amazing how many Chinese
restaurants there are in the heart of Melbourne. It almost feels like I am still in
China.”
Reflecting on their visit to the National Gallery of Victoria, Liu
Chengchang, another student, said, “Having been to Britain and France, I
noticed that locals here have a stronger interest in Asian or Chinese art than
http://www.bjreview.com
 FEATURES
Europeans. Australian society is more open-minded.” deeper understanding of the country, greatly en-
As the students undertook days of street interviews and distributed hancing the students’ interest and motivation to
questionnaires on the theme of multiculturalism, they had the opportunity learn Chinese.
for closer contact with everyday Australians. “Before I came here, I had read )$6,&DOVRKDGWRVXVSHQGRQHRILWVÁDJVKLS
some literature about Australia, so I always thought that racism was prevalent programs, the BHP Chair of Australian Studies
here and that Australians might not be friendly toward Chinese people. at Peking University, due to funding issues.
However, after arriving here I realized that people here are incredibly friendly, However, the foundation is actively looking at
and most of them are willing to participate in our interviews,” Tang Xiang new ways to promote Australian studies in China,
said. as Lowe acknowledges that it is a challenging task
that must be undertaken. Each year, dozens of
Much-needed exchanges Chinese researchers and college students receive
As an old Chinese saying goes, “The friendship between nations lies in the research grants from the ASP, another flagship
affinity between their people.” People-to-people exchanges are essential program of FASIC. FASIC encouraged the
to fostering understanding, and it is through understanding that trust and students from the BFSU delegation to apply for
goodwill can be established. the 2023 ASP during meetings with them, saying
Unfortunately, due to the once-deteriorating bilateral relations, China the next generation will determine the course of
studies programs in Australian universities have faced funding cuts, with some bilateral ties.
programs even being suspended. The attitudes of Chinese youth regarding
At La Trobe University, Dr. Chen is responsible for the China Studies Australia also attracted attention from the
program. One of his students, Theodore White, is an avid fan of Chinese Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the
xianxia literature, a genre that blends elements of fantasy with swordplay. University of Technology Sydney, which had just
:KLWH·VLQWHUHVWGULYHQOHDUQLQJKDVVLJQLÀFDQWO\HQKDQFHGKLV&KLQHVHUHDG- conducted a survey on Australians’ opinions of
ing skills. Australia-China relations. When ACRI discovered
However, he humorously refers to his speaking abilities as “mute Chinese” through dialogues with the BFSU delegation that
due to the lack of an immersive environment for practice. As a result, Dr. one of the study trip’s subjects was Australian
Chen is actively seeking to expand cooperation with Chinese universities, al- perceptions of Chinese culture, they asked each
lowing more students interested in China to participate in short-term study student to give three words that best described
programs. He believes even a two-week experience in China can provide a how they felt about Australia. The replies they
received proved the trip to be surprisingly
COURTESY PHOTO

meaningful. In addition to conventional symbols

such as kangaroos and koalas, students mentioned
diversity and migrants, demonstrating a deeper
understanding of the nation.
China has recently sent out encouraging
messages about promoting two-way cultural
exchange. In early August, the Chinese Ministry of
Culture and Tourism announced the resumption of
outbound group tour services to 78 more countries
and regions, including Australia. Chinese Minister
of Education Huai Jinpeng visited Australia from
August 14 to 15. Hopefully the BFSU study trip
will be followed by many more goodwill trips
and substantive exchanges between the two sides,
bringing the strained bilateral relations back on
track. BR

The author is a research fellow at the Australian Studies Center and

lecturer at the Graduate School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing
Foreign Studies University
A delegation from Beijing Foreign Studies University meets teachers and Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
students at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, on August 3 Comments to zhaowei@cicgamericas.com

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 29

FEATURES XINJIANG

Catalysts of Change
From unemployment to empowerment By Tao Xing

W
hether China’s jobless rate is soaring,
especially among the nation’s youth,
has become a hot topic in China and
abroad today. However, Aksu Prefecture in the
southern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region has its own answer: the number of front-
line factory workers is not sufficient to meet
demand and flexible employment is available
across the prefecture.

Youth employment
Twenty-year-old Capya Any comes from the
prefecture’s Kalpin County. She has worked in
a local garment factory as a quality inspector
since last year, after graduating from the gar-
ment manufacturing major in Aksu Technical
College (ATC), a vocational school in Aksu. She
is already the main breadwinner in her family.
In addition to giving 1,500 yuan ($205.7) of her
3,500 yuan ($478) monthly salary to her mother,
she also takes responsibility for the daily costs
of her younger sister and brother, who are still in
school.
Twenty-two-year-old Cao Yuhao also gradu-
ated from ATC last year. He studied electrical
automation and now works at a local textile
enterprise, taking charge of the daily repair and
maintenance of equipment for a monthly salary of
5,000 yuan ($685.6).
In addition to their basic salaries, workers like
these two are provided free accommodation by
their employers. According to the Xinjiang branch
RI1DWLRQDO%XUHDXRI6WDWLVWLFVLQWKHÀUVWKDOIRI
2022, the average per-capita disposable income of
residents in Xinjiang was 10,748 yuan ($1475.6).
In the southern part of Xinjiang, the average per-
capita disposable income was 6,640 yuan ($911.6).
However, it is important to note that the national
average income was more than triple that of
Xinjiang.
Most graduates of vocational-technical
schools in China go directly to work in factories.
The students who study at vocational-technical
schools in Xinjiang do not have to pay tuition
32 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
fees, accommodation fees or textbook fees. Local farmers
Additionally, they are provided a monthly living package grapes at a
allowance of 200 yuan ($27.4), which greatly grape-growing base in
Wushi County, Aksu
UHGXFHVWKHÀQDQFLDOEXUGHQRQVWXGHQWV·IDPLOLHV Prefecture of Xinjiang
many of whom have recently escaped from Uygur Autonomous
poverty. Region on August 17.
Ding Yonggang, Deputy Director of the
During the harvesting
season, a large amount
$GPLVVLRQVDQG(PSOR\PHQW2IÀFHRIWKH$7& of labor is needed, which
told Beijing Review that 60 percent of students in provides local farmers
the college undergo market-driven training with with extra income
factories and companies. This targeted approach
improves post-graduation prospects for appren-
tices and mitigates the risk of hiring unsuitable
employees for companies.
In the past five years, the ATC has trained a
total of 22,000 skilled employees for enterprises.
ATC graduates have enjoyed a per-capita monthly
salary surpassing 3,000 yuan ($411.4), estab-
lishing their financial stability. Furthermore, the
employment rate has consistently exceeded 95
SHUFHQW'LQJDIÀUPVWKDWDOOVWXGHQWVVSHFLDOL]LQJ
in textiles, clothing, and electromechanics will be
employed.
http://www.bjreview.com

Qiu Mingke, Vice President of Aks
Vocational and Technical College, another vo-
cational school in the prefecture, told Beijing
Review, “We train blue-collar workers. There is
a greater shortage of blue-collar workers than
white-collar workers in Aksu because demand for
front-line workers is higher in Aksu.”
TAO XING
The employment rate of the 3,096 graduates
at Xinjiang Institute of Technology (XIT) in
Aksu in 2023 was 84.1 percent as of August 16.
To better connect graduates with the potential
employers, the XIT, which offers degree pro-
grams, has created an online recruiting platform.
Some 700 companies and agencies have made
use of the platform that has provided about
12,000 jobs since it was established in the mid-
dle of 2022.
Wang Liangliang from Gansu Province, who
graduated from XIT this year, now works at the
State Grid Aksu Electric Power Supply Company.
Wang studied electrical engineering and automa-
tion and landed the job in March. “Many of my
classmates who come from other provinces have
decided to stay in Xinjiang. Aksu is our second
hometown and we have adapted to the lifestyle
here,” Wang said.
A wider consideration
In addition to graduate employment, it is crucial
to prioritize the employment of adults and people
facing hardships. Local government, companies
and entrepreneurs are all contributing solutions to
“There is a greater boost employment opportunities.
shortage of Guoxing, a local property management
company, has recruited many laid-off workers
blue-collar and disabled people. Fifty-year-old Mamatjan
workers than Turdy lost his job in 2018 because the factory he
white-collar worked in went bankrupt and one of his hands
workers in Aksu was injured by a machine at work. Before joining
because demand Guoxing in 2018, he lived off a small workers’
compensation benefit and some part-time jobs.
for front-line Now he is the leader of a security team in the
works is higher company, with a monthly salary of around 2,400
in Aksu.” yuan ($329).
—Qiu Mingke, Vice Alygul Dawut, 54, retired early in her 40s
President of Aks because the company she worked for went bank-
Vocational and Technical rupt. The 2,400 yuan ($329) monthly retirement
College pension was insufficient for her to take care of
her family—a paralyzed husband and a growing
son. After beginning work in Guoxing in 2018,
she began earning an extra 2,350 yuan ($322.2)
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
every month.
There are also many agricultural companies
and cooperatives scattered throughout Aksu.
Cooperatives serve as entrepreneurial platforms
for farmers, enabling them to grow high-value
DJULFXOWXUDOSURGXFWVÀQGZD\VWRDGGYDOXHWR
them, and discover markets and sales channels
for them. Moreover, during the approximately
ÀYHPRQWKJURZLQJDQGKDUYHVWLQJVHDVRQWKHUH
LVDVLJQLÀFDQWGHPDQGIRUODERURIIHULQJORFDO
farmers an opportunity to earn additional in-
come.
In addition, Xinjiang’s advantageous posi-
tion in fruit, vegetable and cotton cultivation,
combined with the ongoing industrial transfer
from costal regions, has attracted many facto-
ries and companies to the area, resulting in the
FUHDWLRQRIVLJQLÀFDQWMRERSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUWKH
local population.
Xinjiang Dashengda Packaging Co. Ltd.
produces the packaging for use in the export
of local fruit to other provinces. Invested by a
company in Zhejiang Province that engages in
manufacturing, printing and sale of corrugated
boxes and cardboard, Dashengda provides train-
ing and jobs to local residents and farmers.
The South Xinjiang Silk Road Zhongchuang
Park is home to many small and micro en-
terprises. The park, established by the local
government, provides free working space and
necessary working equipment to startups during
WKHLUÀUVWWZR\HDUV,WDOVRSURYLGHVJXLGDQFHWR
entrepreneurs.
In order to support these enterprises and
agencies, which are a source of employment, the
Aksu local authorities do their best to create a
friendly business environment. For example, the
legal departments have opened a “green chan-
QHOµIRUHQWHUSULVHVWRÀOHFDVHVERWKRQOLQHDQG
offline, within and outside Aksu. Additionally,
65 quick judgment teams have been established
for civil and commercial matters, which handle
80 percent of related cases, according to a press
release issued in Aksu on August 20. BR
(Reporting from Aksu, Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region)
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
Comments to taoxing@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 33
FEATURES TRENDS
Aroma Appeal
A small county in east China embraces growing
coffeehouses By Li Xiaoyang
S
ituated beside a heart-shaped blue lake
surrounded by rocky landscape, Deep Blue,
a coffeehouse in Anji, a small county in
the eastern province of Zhejiang, is known as a
“miniature Iceland” on Chinese social media. Many
people queue for around an hour just to take a photo
at one of its windows, which provide the perfect
backdrop.
Located in Hongmiao Village, the lake beside
the coffeehouse, formed from a discarded quarry pit,
has been transformed into a scenic spot. Now, with
one ticket, sold for 68 yuan ($9.3), one can access
the lakeside to take walks and get a cup of coffee at
Deep Blue. Although the price for a cup of coffee
is higher than that in many coffeehouses in China,
Deep Blue, popular on social media platforms, still
draws a growing number of visitors.
Since it opened for business in May 2022, Deep
Blue has received over 350,000 tourists. It sold
5,120 cups of coffee on May 1 alone this year, the
ÀUVWGD\RIWKH,QWHUQDWLRQDO:RUNHUV·'D\KROLGD\
For comparison, a coffeehouse in Sanlitun, one of
Beijing’s busiest commercial areas, sells around 500
cups of coffee on an average day.
From tea to coffee
Anji, with a permanent population of about 580,000,
has traditionally been known for its production of
a type of minimally processed tea known as white
tea. However, in recent years, the county has also
become well-known for coffee, with strong growth
in the number of coffeehouses and in coffee-related
tourism. As of August this year, there were around
300 coffee shops in Anji, surpassing Shanghai in
terms of coffeehouses per capita. The boom of cof-
feehouses has attracted many tourists, and local
people to return from other cities to start their own
businesses.
Shen Jinlong, a native to Dazhuyuan Village
in Anji, is one of the owners of Beetle Coffee.
After quitting his job in a real estate company in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital, in 2021, he returned
34 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
to his hometown and opened Beetle, which was
among the first batch of rural coffeehouses in the
county.
“Last year, coffeehouses started booming in
Anji. The coffee industry is accessible for many
entrepreneurs and coffee businesses are easy to
promote. That is one of the reasons for the boom of
coffeehouses here,” Shen told Beijing Review.
Hu Jian, the owner of Cozy Coffee, another
coffeehouse in Dazhuyuan, has also felt the rising
tide of coffee in the county. Hu said Anji has been
attracting tourists with its beautiful scenery and that People relax at Deep Blue
many people today look for a place to relax instead in Anji County, Huzhou
of tiring themselves with travel. Deep Blue, where
City in Zhejiang Province,
during the National Day
tourists can enjoy both coffee and scenery, caters to holiday on October 1-7
their need for a relaxed vibe. in 2022
Coffee culture is popular among China’s young
people and coffee consumption is growing. For
many of them, a cup of coffee is the button to start
their day. Moreover, nowadays for young people,
coffeehouses are more than just a place to sip
the beverage; they are also on-trend locations for
snapping social media photos.
“Young people are becoming major coffee
consumers, and coffeehouses in Anji have ridden
the tide. From white tea to coffee, it is all about
meeting market demands,” Song Xiangqing, Vice
President of the Academy of Government at Beijing
Normal University, told Beijing Business Today.
As an increase in the number of tourists has
brought about the boom in coffeehouses, so too has
the increased number of coffeehouses attracted even
more tourists. Beetle is known for the beautiful rice
paddies outside its windows. During peak seasons,
its monthly turnover reaches around 150,000 yuan
($20,580). “Tourists from other regions account for
around 60 percent of our customers,” Shen said.
According to Shen, many villagers previously
thought coffeehouses were only suitable businesses
for cities and that rural coffeehouses would be un-
SURÀWDEOH%XW%HHWOHFKDQJHGWKHLUPLQGVDQGVRPH
of them began investing in coffeehouses.
http://www.bjreview.com
 FEATURES

COURTESY PHOTO
meticulously for a good view. The coffeehouse
even provides photography services for visitors.
Deep Blue has generated more than 6 million
yuan ($820,000) in revenue for the village since it
began operating. Today 29 percent of its shares are
held by local villagers, and 20 percent is owned by
the village collective. Villagers have also earned
money through working at the coffeehouse.
Deep Blue now has around 30 staff members,
with half of them native to Anji. The company now
plans to promote its business model in other mining
pits in the village, offering chances for university
graduates to start their businesses in the village.
As coffeehouses bring urban lifestyles to rural
areas, Anji is also embracing digital nomads,
who use technology to work remotely. Digital
nomads generally stay longer than tourists, giving
them more time to enjoy the rural atmosphere.
The success of Deep Blue is being replicated.
In Hengshan Village, also in Anji, a discarded
Cozy Coffee, with its chill, French-inspired style, has seen around 6,000 visitors factory has been adapted into China’s first zone
per month during peak periods, Hu told Beijing Review. Now it is a landmark in the for digital nomads—Digital Nomad Anji. Last
village. “Many local villagers invite their friends and relatives from other regions to year, it attracted 473 residents, who stayed for an
our coffeehouse, many of whom later stayed to work here,” she said. average of 47 days.

Green gains The way ahead

In June 2003, Zhejiang launched the Green Rural Revival Program, planning While coffeehouses continue to mushroom in Anji,
to rejuvenate about 10,000 incorporated villages and transform around 1,000 coffeehouse owners are beginning to consider
central villages into examples of moderate prosperity in all respects. Anji, the whether the market has become saturated. “Some
birthplace of the idea “clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as coffeehouses don’t focus on improving the quality
gold and silver,” has been promoting ecological protection, and has therefore of drinks, which will affect reputation of the whole
attracted growing numbers of tourists. market,” Hu said.
Quarrying used to be a major industry in Hongmiao. To make use of the According to Hu, in order to diversify its
discarded mining pit, the villagers’ committee chose to collaborate with a business, Cozy Coffee launched a second estab-
group of creative college students, establishing a travel company and opening lishment close to the center of Dazhuyuan this
Deep Blue last year. year, which serves both coffee and distinctive
Cheng Shuoqin, in his 30s, is one of the operators of Deep Blue. Anji dishes.
According to Cheng, the deep mining pit had been used by the villagers as a “We have developed an online community
JDUEDJHGXPS+LVWHDPFOHDQHGRXWWKHUXEELVKÀOOHGWKHSLWZLWKZDWHUDQG for our customers, and will continue to improve
added amenities and the coffeehouse, while maintaining the original natural the café’s environment to retain and attract
landscape in the vicinity. customers,” Shen said.
At one point, the team tried introducing activities such as camping and Cheng’s team is considering expanding their
boating, but felt they didn’t possess the necessary professional skills to businesses beyond coffeehouses by organizing
undertake the expansion. “We then realized that beautiful scenery is a major music festivals and fairs. “The boom of rural
appeal for tourists today. Many young people post photos of such places on coffeehouses is a nice trend. Since every village
social media to show that they have visited some impressive places. We have has different natural conditions, making the most
seized the opportunities and made it,” Cheng told Beijing Review. of the natural resources is key to boosting rural
The insight about social media photos has been taken into consideration tourism,” he said. BR
for the design of Deep Blue. Of all of the coffeehouse’s windows, one is
clearly the most popular for taking photos. Beyond the window, the blue wa- Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
ter is caught in the frame as if in a picture. The team designed the window Comments to lixiaoyang@cicgamericas.com

http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 35

FEATURES RECONSTRUCTION

Recovering
After Flood
A closer look at the post-disaster
rehabilitation efforts in Beijing’s suburbs

N
ational Highway G109 follows the Yongding River, which
runs through the mountainous areas of Mentougou District on
Beijing’s western outskirts. From July 29 to August 2, Beijing
was hit by a catastrophic flood, with Mentougou receiving an average
precipitation of 538.1 mm. The massive flood submerged parts of the
highway, leaving many villages unable to contact the outside world.
Disaster relief operations began soon after. Damaged roads were
swiftly repaired, with highway management, electric power, com-
munication and water supply returning to normal. The highway was
returned to working order within a week, allowing much needed ser-
YLFHVWRUHDFKWKHÁRRGDIIHFWHGYLOODJHV
2Q$XJXVWDORQJ*WKHLPSULQWVRIWKHÁRRGZHUHVWLOOYLVLEOH
on both sides of the river. Vegetation and farmland by the river had been
destroyed, with mud and fallen trees strewn everywhere. Some sections
of the highway were demolished by landslides, so a temporary road was
built on one side of the original road, and many construction vehicles
roared back and forth.
'LQJMLDWDQ9LOODJHZDVFXWRIIIURPWKHRXWVLGHZRUOGZKHQWKHÁRRG
first hit and the half of the village closest to the Yongding River was
completely destroyed. Thanks to measures taken by the villagers, there
were no casualties. In addition to all the houses and farmland along the
river, several plant nurseries and half of the vehicle charging piles in a
tourist service center were buried in mud. Heavy machinery continued to
work there to restore normalcy.
:DQJSLQJ7RZQZDVDOVRKLWKDUGE\WKHÁRRG1HDUO\WKUHHZHHNV
after the flood receded, the smell of silt and debris still lingered in the
streets. Members of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, part of
China’s armed forces tasked with guarding important sites and events,
counterterrorism, disaster relief and other missions, were working to
clear the silt. Telecom staff were reinstalling communication lines, and
local residents had returned home from emergency accommodation.
Volunteers set up stalls on the roadside, providing drinking water and
food for relief teams and local residents. BR
(Text and photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

Comments to weiyao@cicgamericas.com

36 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

 FEATURES

2
1. Residents of Wangping Town clean up their
neighborhood after returning from emergency
accommodation on August 21
2. A lineworker restores communication to
:DQJSLQJ7RZQDIWHUWKHßRRG
3. Heavy machinery has been brought in to clear
mud and debris from Dingjiatan Village
4. The construction site of a new expressway in
Mentougou District on Beijing’s western outskirts
1

4 3
http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 37
FEATURES 45 YEARS OF REFORM AND OPENING UP
Father to Future
Second-generation owners breathe new life into Chinese factories
By Zhang Shasha
W
hen her father’s factory director failed to
ÀQLVKDQRUGHUWKDWZDVWREHGHOLYHUHG
the next day, Gloria Liang finally
lost her cool. After a heated argument, the director
threatened to resign. This startled her semi-retired
IDWKHUZKRWKHQGHFLGHGWRÁ\LQIURPDQRWKHUFLW\WR
mediate.
“It was like throwing pebbles into a pool of
stagnant water,” Liang, 27, told Beijing Review when
describing her feelings about taking over her father’s
PHWDOSURFHVVLQJEXVLQHVV,QKHUÀUVWVL[PRQWKVDW
the helm, whatever efforts she exerted to reform the
production processes all proved to be in vain, she
explained.
After a lot of back and forth, Liang finally
decided to heed her father’s advice and reconcile with
the director.
A golden decade
In Liang’s eyes, her father was always “clear-headed.”
Thirty years ago, he left a remote village in the less-
developed western part of Guangdong Province,
south China, and came to the frontline of China’s
reform and opening up—today’s buzzing tech hub of
Shenzhen in the south of the province.
From that point on, the family’s story was rewrit-
ten. In 1993, Mr. Liang established his first metal
plate processing factory in Shenzhen. As sales grew,
he was able to install the city’s third laser cutting
machine, imported from Switzerland, in his factory
in 2006. It cost him more than 4 million yuan (about
$500,000 in 2006). The move gave him an edge over
his competitors and ushered in a golden decade for
his business. After that, he bought some advanced
machinery from Japan and Finland.
Processing aside, her father also started producing
high-end stainless steel kitchen cabinets, and at one
SRLQWVHWXSVWRUHVDVZHOODVDWKUHHVWRU\ÁDJVKLS
store. But this new attempt wasn’t as successful as his
previous undertakings. So in 2018, he took decisive
action, closed all stores and once again focused on the
processing business.
38 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
Until 2020, Mr. Liang’s business had enjoyed the
stability of having consistent and big buyers. But the
situation nosedived after the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic in early 2020, which, over the three years
that followed, caused his clients’ exports to decline,
resulting in lower demand. To attract new customers,
Mr. Liang in 2022 encouraged his daughter to make
short videos promoting the business.
Results speak louder
Coincidentally, Gloria Liang had just quit her job at
a leading real estate company and decided to help
her father. This was the beginning of her career at the
factory.
In the first six months starting from June 2022,
she mainly handled the factory’s legal, financial
and human resources affairs. Although she had
fixed many contract errors and optimized business
processes, her colleagues still considered her a junior.
She then decided to shift to the areas where
she could play to her strengths. A former regional
sales manager, Liang has been conducting online
marketing since January of this year, running eight
social media accounts on platforms such as the
lifestyle and e-commerce app Xiaohongshu (literally
“Little Red Book”) to introduce herself, the factory
and its products. As of June, the online channels had
generated 1.4 million yuan ($192,233) in sales, with
each order worth about 30,000 yuan ($4,119). And
QHZFXVWRPHUVFRQWLQXHGWRYLVLWKHUIDFWRU\RIÁLQH
Seeing the vibrant scene, her colleagues began
to look at her with different eyes. She reformed the
sales system so that everyone could be part of the
sales system and get a percentage. Plus, under her
leadership, the factory expanded its product line. All
in all, Gloria Liang is now on the right track.
In Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong and a one-
hour train ride from Shenzhen, second-generation
factory owner Luo Zi is running her family’s
cosmetics business. But her taking up the position
did go against her original plan to become an
entrepreneur in her own right.
http://www.bjreview.com

“When you succeed, people will say you’re
standing on the shoulders of giants, and when you
fail, they’ll say you’re not making the most of
being in pole position,” Luo told Beijing Review.
Luo Zi checks different
packaging colors for Having excelled in school, Luo was determined
her cosmetic products to prove herself in business. She has launched
at a printing house in several startups since she was 18. But none of
Guangzhou, Guangdong them lasted.
Province, in March 2020
At her father’s advice, Luo joined the family busi-
COURTESY PHOTO
ness in late 2019. The ensuing pandemic was like a
EDSWLVPE\ÀUHIRUWKHWKHQ\HDUROG2UGHUVIURP
beauty salons, a major source of customers, began
WRGHFOLQHDQGWKHIDFWRU\IDFHGPDQ\GLIÀFXOWLHVLQ
resuming normal operations.
Luo then made a big decision—the factory would
start producing hand sanitizer. By then, the authorities
had relaxed related policies and allowed cosmetics
companies to produce disinfectant products.
“I never thought that it would turn into a big
business, but from that moment on, I had a whole
new customer base of my own,” Luo said.
Twenty years ago, Luo’s father moved to
Guangzhou from Jiangxi Province in east China and
created a reseller business focusing on cosmetics.
To ensure every single product he sold was of good
quality, he started his own factory.
Today, Luo carries on the family legacy and puts
her own contemporary stamp on it. For example,
to improve customer experience, Luo oversaw the
COURTESY PHOTO
design of a mini program, a sub-application within the
ecosystem of China’s ubiquitous super app Weixin,
which presents over 3,000 formulas for customers
to match their needs and categorizes formulas by
function to offer modularized options.
The mini program has shortened the time of new
product development from 60 days to 30 days.
Luo has further upped the factory’s new media
efforts by promoting their products on her personal
social media accounts, and has created a brand-new
department specifically intended to serve emerging
Gloria Liang
writes down the cosmetics brands.
measurements of “Whereas my father serves his clients better than
a client’s home for I can, I can better serve customers my own age,” Luo
the customization added. A new factory in Guangzhou with Luo as the
of her factory’s
stainless steel No.1 shareholder will open in October.
products in
Shenzhen, Two generations
Guangdong The 1980s to 2000s witnessed an explosive upsurge
Province, LQ&KLQD·VSULYDWHVHFWRUZLWKÀUVWJHQHUDWLRQIDFWRU\
on August 1
owners harnessing the momentum of the country’s
reform and opening up that first took off in 1978
http://www.bjreview.com
FEATURES
and laying the foundation for family prosperity
through vision, guts and persistence. But as this
ÀUVWJHQHUDWLRQLVUHDFKLQJUHWLUHPHQWDJHWKHPRVW
pressing question usually becomes: Who will take
over? A proper passing of the baton determines the
ongoing success of both a company as well as its
founder’s legacy.
Second-generation factory owners like Liang
and Luo have started their journey in the new era,
brimming with new opportunities. Both have had
the opportunity to study overseas and see what’s
out there. And both agree that with more modern
methods of communication, the chances of being
noticed are increasing. But with the supply-demand
relationship inverted in China, they also face the
pressures of a rat race.
“In my father’s era of insufficient supply, the
speed of making money depended on the speed of
production,” Luo said. “Today, the emergence of
online platforms and the increasing consumer quest
for new, niche brands push us to update our products
more frequently.” Liang echoed this sentiment,
adding that the proliferation of small factories across
&KLQDKDVKDGWKHHIIHFWRIÁDWWHQLQJSURÀWV
The past few decades have seen great changes
at all levels of Chinese society. But for factory
owners, old and young, their family business
continues. Liang’s family insists on producing high-
end products. Once, when she proposed to lower
their prices to allow the company to better compete
in the e-commerce field, her father flat-out refused,
a decision his daughter has gradually come to
understand. She’s finally realized that the secret to
her father factory’s success had always been the high
quality of the products and his impeccable sense of
timing.
When she was embroiled in the dispute with the
factory director, her father at one point told her, “I
know all about the problems we’re having, but it’s
not the right time to address them—we’re still not
strong enough.”
Luo, on her part, no longer pursues self-made
entrepreneurial success, but has now set her sights
on bigger things —selling Chinese cosmetics
brands overseas at decent prices. She’s taken the
baton from her father and has since gone on to
raise the bar. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to zhangshsh@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 39
FEATURES AUTOMATION

In Tandem
Robots ready to lend humans a helping hand By Kang Caiqi

KANG CAIQI
he 2023 World Robot Conference
(WRC), held in Beijing from August 16
to 22, showcased the latest technological
innovations in robotics from around the world.
It featured a main forum and more than 20 sub-
forums, each with a different focus—ranging
from technological innovation, industrial ap-
plication and regional coordination to industry
development.
Eight sessions of the WRC have been held
since 2015. Xu Guanghong, deputy director of
science and innovation at the China Association
for Science and Technology, said the conference
KDVEHFRPHDSODWIRUPIRUVFLHQWLÀFDQGWHFKQR-
logical exchange and industrial cooperation to
promote the high-quality development of robot-
ics and intelligent equipment.
The seven-day event also saw the re-
lease of the 2023 Report on China’s Robotics Humanoid robots at the World Robot Conference 2023 in Beijing on August 16
Technology and Industrial Development. The
further application of robotics in areas such as used in hospitals across Europe and Africa.
new-energy vehicles, and surgery and power In China, the R-ONE® recently completed the country’s first robot-
line inspection can support the country’s digital assisted 5G ultra-remote percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a
transformation and intelligent upgrading, ac- procedure used to widen coronary arteries that are blocked or narrowed. On
cording to the report. July 14, the operation was performed over a distance of 2,800 km courtesy
of 5G network communication. Professor Chen Yundai of Beijing-based
The physical protector Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital remotely controlled
At the exhibition, Cathbot (Shanghai) Robot Co. the R-ONE® via a robotic control in an operating room in Beijing, and
Ltd., a joint venture under Shanghai MicroPort a team led by Professor Yang Yining, President of the Xinjiang Uygur
MedBot (Group) Co. Ltd., a company focusing Autonomous Region People’s Hospital, assisted on-site in Xinjiang. The
on providing intelligent surgery total solutions, entire procedure took only 20 minutes. Based on the results of the post-
presented their latest work—R-ONE® Vascular operative angiography follow-up, the patient was discharged on July 17.
Interventional Surgical Robot. In traditional PCI surgery, physicians wear a surgical lead apron
Developed in 2019 by Robocath, headquar- throughout the procedure to protect themselves from X-rays. “Wearing such
tered in France, Cathbot’s R-ONE® represents a lead apron for a long time can damage the skeletal system. Moreover, the
the first robotic system designed to provide apron does not cover the surgeon’s arms and brain, resulting in surgeon fa-
advanced surgical assistive technology, spe- tigue and even poor surgical quality. In the long run, PCI doctors are prone
cifically to help interventional cardiologists to occupational diseases such as spinal diseases and cataracts,” Lin Lei, a
implant stents (angioplasty). The robot received senior clinical marketing manager at Cathbot, who received her Ph.D in on-
in February 2019 its European Conformity cology from Peking University, told Beijing Review.
Certification, a confirmation that a product Using the panvascular interventional surgical robot, physicians can
meets the health, safety and environmental re- manipulate the catheter, guidewires and other equipment in the operating
quirements of the European Union, and is now module. This also reduces radiation absorption and eliminates the burden of
40 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com
 FEATURES

COURTESY PHOTO
objective and accurate. Related methods and
technologies have developed rapidly since 2010.
“Currently, the development level of BCI
research in the field of psychological assess-
ment in China and abroad is similar, and Chinese
VFKRODUVKDYHDFKLHYHGVROLGUHVXOWVLQWKHÀHOGV
of emotion recognition (the process of identify-
ing human emotion) and personality assessment
(the measurement of personal characteristics) in
recent years,” Zhang told Beijing Review.
Part of the school’s psychology depart-
ment, Tsinghua’s BCI research team conducts
psychological assessment research. But unlike
most research groups, which are mainly active in
biomedical engineering, computer science and
other disciplines, the Tsinghua team is unique in
its interdisciplinary integration of psychological
Chen Yundai, a doctor in Beijing’s Chinese People’s Liberation Army General
Hospital, operates on a patient 2,800 km away in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous theories, methods and BCI technology. “For ex-
Region via a robotic device for interventional cardiology procedures on July 14 DPSOHLWZDVWKHÀUVWLQWKHZRUOGWRFRQGXFW%&,
research on positive emotion recognition based
having to wear the heavy lead apron. on the theory of positive psychology,” Zhang
“Experiments have proven that robotic PCI surgery can reduce radiation added.
E\SHUFHQW,QDGGLWLRQWKHURERW·VÀUVWRILWVNLQG¶WZRKDQGVGRXEOH An important issue in today’s world is the
twisting mimic technology’ allows guidewires to move through blood increasing prevalence of mental health prob-
vessels and complex lesions, giving physicians submillimeter-level control lems. Currently, the screening and diagnosis of
over precise catheter positioning and reducing the risk of complications,” mental health problems rely on psychiatrists,
Lin added. psychological counselors and other mental health
professionals interviewing patients, which is
The psychological monitor costly in terms of time and labor. It’s difficult
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the concept of Brain-Computer to meet the rapidly growing demand for mental
Interfaces (BCI), and the exhibition area of BCI systems at the conference at- health services. “This challenge is particularly
tracted special attention. In the foreseeable future, human intelligence will be pronounced in China because the psychological
DEOHWRZRUNLQWDQGHPZLWKDUWLÀFLDOLQWHOOLJHQFH industry started relatively late here,” Zhang said.
A BCI creates a direct communication pathway between the brain’s elec- “The gap between the limited number of pro-
trical activity and an external device, usually a computer or robotic limb. fessionals and the large demand for services can
“As the name suggests, BCI refers to the direct connection between the be bridged by applying BCI technology to pro-
brain and the computer. In other words, getting things done with the mind,” vide intelligent and automated objective mental
Gao Xiaorong, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tsinghua University, health assessments,” he added. At the same time,
said. “Traditional human-computer interaction must involve muscle tissue, %&,·VÀQHDQDO\VLVRIEUDLQVLJQDOVFDQDOVRJXLGH
through the use of means such as keyboard, mouse or speech, otherwise com- follow-up intervention to improve a patient’s
munication is impossible. But a BCI can extract signals directly from the mental health status, promoting the closed loop
brain to control external devices, replacing, restoring, supplementing or even from assessment to treatment. “Therefore, ‘BCI
improving brain functions,” Gao elaborated. The combination of machine SOXVSV\FKRORJ\·FDQSURYLGHLPSRUWDQWVFLHQWLÀF
memory and computing power with the thinking and innovation of the hu- and technological support for building China’s
man brain will create a new future of brain-machine collaboration. mental health services and for developing the
At the WRC, a BCI research team from Tsinghua introduced their global mental health service industry,” Zhang
more “niche” research, namely, the combination of BCIs with psychology. concluded. BR
According to Zhang Dan, an associate professor of psychology at Tsinghua,
BCIs for psychological applications are mainly “passive BCIs.” These
involve using individualized BCI signal analysis methods to evaluate indi- Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to kangcaiqi@cicgamericas.com
vidual mental states and psychological traits, making the evaluation more
http://www.bjreview.com AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 41
FEATURES HEALTH

Striking a Cord
A warning for children in dance training By Yuan Yuan

W
ithin just three weeks this summer,
Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in
HDVWHUQ-LDQJVX3URYLQFHUHFHLYHGÀYH
children with spinal injuries caused by dancing.
Treating children’s spinal injuries and
deformities caused by movements such as
backbends and somersaults has become a global
challenge over the past two decades, according to
Liu Zhen, associate chief of the hospital’s spinal
surgery department.
An 11-year-old girl, one of the five, became
paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 5
after practicing backbends in a dance class. Over
the next six years, she also developed scoliosis, a
sideways curvature of the spine.
“This is a common complication of paralysis,”
Liu told Chengdu Economic Daily. “Children with
this kind of paralysis [resulting from sports-related
spinal cord injury] will usually be wheelchair-
bound for the rest of their lives.”
the complications also include severe osteoporosis, a condition that causes
bones to become weak and brittle, recurrent urethral infections, bedsores and
psychological disorders.
But how can movements like backbends and somersaults potentially have
such severe consequences?
The spinal cord is stretched when bending backward, Guo explained.
&KLOGUHQ·VVSLQHVDUHÁH[LEOHDQGWKHYHUWHEUDHFDQUHDOLJQWKHPVHOYHVDIWHU
relative displacement, but it is usually difficult for the spinal cord to adapt
to the excessive stretching that is caused by significant changes in posture.
Eventually, these substantial postural changes are more likely to lead to spinal
injuries.
However, it is still common for dance training schools to include moves
like the backbend as basic movements and as part of the routine practice for
children. Many teachers, and parents, are not aware of the dire consequences
these exercises may have.
But in the authoritative Chinese dance grading textbooks published by Beijing
Dance Academy, the backbend is not included for grading children’s dance.

The culprit
Given there is currently no effective treatment
for this type of paralysis, prevention is the only
cure. But data from a team of medical professors
in Shanghai shows that the number of very young
victims of sports-related spinal cord injuries has
risen sharply in recent years.
Guo Xiaodong, a professor at the city’s Union
+RVSLWDODIÀOLDWHGWRWKH7RQJML0HGLFDO6FKRRORI
Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
leads a research on the issue. His team’s statistics
show that since 2005, more than 1,000 children in
China have been paralyzed after doing backbends,
making it a leading cause of spinal cord injury in
children in the country.
From 1992 to 2002, children with spinal cord
injuries caused by backbends accounted for only 4
percent of all cases. However, from 2015 to 2019,
this percentage increased to 33.9 percent and has
continued to increase since.
Experienced in treating children with such
paralysis, Guo told Xinhua News Agency that
42 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023 http://www.bjreview.com

Children do a bar stretch
as part of their warm-up
routine during a dance
class in Gongxian County,
Guizhou Province, on
August 6
XINHUA
http://www.bjreview.com
“It is not recommended that dance instruc-
tors apply external pressure to a child’s lower
back, which especially goes for children between
the ages of 4 and 6, the age group most prone to
dance-related injuries,” Dong Daier, an instructor
at Beijing Dance Academy, said in a video she
uploaded to Douyin, China’s TikTok.
“Risky moves, including the backbend, are
not meant for beginners and experienced teachers
should know that; it’s a matter of common sense,”
Dong said. “Flexibility training should be built up
over time, with shorter practice times and lower
intensity in the initial stages.”
6RPHXQTXDOLÀHGGDQFHWUDLQLQJVFKRROVVLPSO\
don’t follow standardized training requirements,
Dong concluded, adding this, from her perspective,
was the main cause of the tragedies.
Bending over backwards
On July 21, the Ministry of Education and the
China Consumers Association jointly issued a
warning to parents to be wary of their choice of
dance classes for their offspring. In particular, it
warned parents to be highly aware of the risks of
injury, and even paralysis, which may result from
movements such as backbends in children’s dance
training.
“We don’t recommend children under
the age of 8 to practice the backbend,” Sun
Haolin, an orthopedist at Beijing-based
Peking University First Hospital, explained.
“Unsuitable dance movements have become a
major cause of spinal cord injuries among chil-
dren in China.”
He recommended parents get their children
checked out before letting them practice back-
bends. “Children with underlying spinal defects,
such as spinal dysraphism, a group of disorders
of the spine in which the posterior bony and
neuronal tissues fail to fuse, and tethered cord
syndrome, a group of neurological disorders that
relate to malformations of the spinal cord, should
avoid practicing backbends. In addition, children
should have an adequate warm-up prior to the
performance of movements such as backbends,”
he said.
Dong emphasized children should always
practice dance movements under professional
supervision. Children under the age of 10 should
focus more on cultivating interest and artistic
sense in practicing dance, and should not practice
FEATURES
difficult movements such as backbends, or any
moves involving excessive spinal extension, splits,
or somersaults at an early age.
“And I won’t give a specific age that would
be fine for children to start doing these moves,”
Dong added. “If a child shows a strong interest
and unique talent in dance, it is recommended
that they undergo formal and regular dance
training after their skeletal development is mature.
Experienced and qualified teachers will tell you
the same thing.”
A netizen named Yanting commented on a
video about dance-related spinal cord injury and
paralysis on Douyin, saying that she is now in her
early 20s and still suffers from lower back pain
caused by being forced to practice backbends in
dance class at the age of 7.
“It was like a competition among the parents,”
she wrote. “When some of the other children
could do a backbend in class, my mother would
push me to practice more and say I should easily
be able to literally bend over backwards given
FKLOGUHQDUHPRUHÁH[LEOHµ
“It is a matter of awareness,” Dong said. “We
should help more parents to learn about the risks
these movements can hold for their children.”
Professor Guo revealed there is a period of
time known as the “golden hours” immediately
after a traumatic injury, during which there is
the highest likelihood that prompt medical and
surgical treatment will prevent serious injury, or
even death, for children who are unfortunately
injured due to improper practice. If a child feels
discomfort after doing a backbend, it is crucial to
seek medical help within eight hours to minimize
injury to the spinal cord.
If a child feels physically uncomfortable while
practicing backbends, they should stop immedi-
ately and lie down to rest. If the child feels better
after resting for a while, they should continue to
rest, but standing up and walking are not recom-
mended. “If the child doesn’t feel better after an
hour, they should be taken to a hospital, but the
FKLOGVKRXOGOLHÁDWRQDERDUGRUDVWUHWFKHUDQG
avoid being carried or held while being taken to
the hospital,” Guo said. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to yuanyuan@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 43
CULTURE MOVIE
Break Out the Popcorn!
The summer box office has reached a new historical high By Ji Jing
T
his summer, the performance
of China’s domestic movie in-
dustry has been nothing short
of exhilarating. According to Chinese
entertainment live tracker Beacon, box
RIÀFHVDOHVRIÀOPVVFUHHQHGRQ&KLQD·V
mainland this summer season (from June
1 to August 31) reached 19 billion yuan
($2.6 billion) as of August 22, a historical
high.
The figure marked a significant
improvement over those of the 2020,
2021 and 2022 summer seasons during
the COVID-19 pandemic, which were
3.62 billion ($497.2 million), 7.38 bil-
lion ($1.01 billion) and 9.14 billion yuan
($1.26 billion), respectively, according to
Beacon.
It was also higher than the pre-
Moviegoers enter a cinema in Shanghai on August 13
46 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
pandemic levels in 2018 and 2019, which
were 17.4 billion ($2.39 billion) and 17.8
billion yuan ($2.44 billion), respectively,
according to Beacon.
Aside from the post-pandemic surge
in moviegoers, the higher cost of movie
tickets also helped drive the record box
RIÀFHWDNLQJV$FFRUGLQJWR%HDFRQWKH
average movie ticket price rose from 35.3
yuan ($4.8) during the summer season in
2014 to 42.7 yuan ($5.6) as of August 22
this year.
Savoring the suspense
To cater to the needs of audiences of dif-
IHUHQWDJHVWKLVVXPPHU·VÀOPVFRYHUHG
a variety of genres, including action, ani-
mation and comedy. The diverse themes
and genres provided a wide variety of op-
tions for moviegoers to choose from.
At the box office this summer, do-
mestic films performed better than their
imported peers. As of August 18, all six
of the top-grossing films were domestic
films, and the market share of domestic
ÀOPVGXULQJWKHVXPPHUVHDVRQH[FHHGHG
80 percent.
“The performance of this year’s sum-
mer season has exceeded many people’s
expectations. The entire film industry is
H[SHULHQFLQJDUHFRYHU\ZLWKVHYHUDOÀOPV
playing a key driving role,” Rao Shuguang,
President of the China Film Critics
Association, told major Chinese news
portal People’s Daily Online. He added
that this year’s summer film market not
only featured big-budget (more than $11
million) films but also mid-budget ($1.4
CNSPHOTO
http://www.bjreview.com

PLOOLRQWRPLOOLRQ ÀOPVLQGLFDWLQJWKH
ÀOPPDUNHW·VPRUHEDODQFHGGHYHORSPHQW
Movies depicting traditional culture
played into the growing cultural confi-
dence of cinema audiences. For example,
Chang An, an animated film about the
friendship between Tang Dynasty (618-
907) poet Gao Shi and master of romantic
poetry Li Bai, rekindled the public’s love
for Chinese poetry. The movie features
48 Tang poems in 168 minutes, and many
moviegoers eagerly recited poems along-
side the protagonists on the big screen.
$VRI$XJXVWWKHÀOPKDGHDUQHG
more than 1.7 billion yuan ($233.3 mil-
lion), making it the second highest-
grossing animated film ever released in
China, behind the 2019 animated fantasy
film Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child,
which featured the Chinese mythologi-
cal character Ne Zha—a teen deity who
serves as a patron saint of young adults.
“The way people can access knowl-
edge changes from one generation to the
next. Those born after 1995 are used to
learning new things through online videos,
and we should attract more young people
to learn about traditional culture in a way
that is popular with them,” Yu Zhou,
President of Light Chaser Animation,
the Beijing-based animation studio that
produced the film, told People’s Daily.
“Young people’s rising interest in tradi-
WLRQDO&KLQHVHFXOWXUHPDNHVXVFRQÀGHQW
that the domestic animated genre will
soon be booming.”
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of
Storms, a fantasy epic about the over-
throw of a tyrant 3,000 years ago, is
inspired by the rich culture and history
of China. One of the summer season’s
biggest blockbusters, the film, based on
a novel from the Ming Dynasty (1368-
1644), had grossed more than 2.2 billion
yuan ($301.9 million) as of August 21.
Realistic films, too, struck a chord
with moviegoing audiences. For example,
the thriller Lost in the Stars had raked in
over 3.5 billion yuan ($480.4 million) as
of August 21. The movie tells the story
of a woman who disappears while on an
http://www.bjreview.com
overseas trip with her husband. Just when
the search for her runs out of steam, she
mysteriously reappears. But the husband
does not believe she is the same woman
and thinks she is a fraud. Online reviews
raved about the film’s suspense build-
up and plot twists. Other super popular
ÀOPVWKLVVXPPHUZHUHWKHVSRUWVPRYLH
Never Say Never, telling the tale of how
wrestling has changed the lives of rural
children, and No More Bets, a crime
drama about overseas cyberfraud.
Plot twist
8QOLNHGRPHVWLFÀOPV+ROO\ZRRGÀOPV
performed poorly.
Take the highly anticipated Mission:
Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One,
for instance. For the seventh installment
in the Mission: Impossible franchise, a
world-renowned franchise known for
its thrilling espionage action, movie
star Tom Cruise once again reprised his
iconic role of Ethan Hunt, the impossibly
skilled leader of the secretive spy organi-
zation Impossible Mission Force.
But as of August 22, 40 days after its
UHOHDVHWKHÀOPKDGHDUQHGRQO\PLOOLRQ
yuan ($47.6 million) at the Chinese box of-
ÀFHIDUOHVVWKDQWKHWRSJURVVLQJÀOPV
+ROO\ZRRGÀOPVDUHXVHGWRDWWUDFWLQJ
audiences with their dazzling visual effects,
focusing on action, fantasy and adventure.
However, Chinese audiences are increas-
ingly paying attention to more realistic,
day-to-day issues they can relate to.
Liu Peng, Director of the Maoyan
Research Institute, an entertainment in-
dustry analysis platform, told News.cn
that Hollywood may need to better un-
derstand the Chinese market to win back
viewers. “Audience preferences for mov-
ies are changing. They need innovation in
content and emotional resonance, as spe-
cial effects and ‘big scenes’ can no longer
satisfy their needs,” he said.
But Hollywood movies are not to be
discounted, either. Barbie, the first live-
action movie about the iconic doll, received
a high rating of 8.3 out of 10 on popular
Chinese movie review site Douban.
CULTURE
7KRXJKWKHÀOPWRRNMXVWSHUFHQW
of all screens on China’s mainland on its
opening day, word of mouth and online
reviews helped it gain more attention
from cinemas and moviegoers alike.
By the fourth day, the movie’s
screenings had risen to 8.6 percent. As of
August 22, it had earned more than 248
million yuan ($34 million) in China, ac-
FRUGLQJWRÀOPVWDWLVWLFVZHEVLWH0DR\DQ
and its global box office revenue had
surpassed $1.2 billion as of August 22,
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%R[RIÀFHPRMRFRP
For Chinese audiences, the film
encouraged people to think about how
society views and portrays women.
Sino-foreign co-productions broke
new ground this summer. Meg 2: The
Trench, the sequel to The Meg, had
earned 771 million yuan ($105.8 million)
in China as of August 22, 19 days after its
release, according to Maoyan. The Meg,
a shark-versus-human action/horror film
released in 2018, grossed $530 million
DWWKHJOREDOER[RIÀFHPDNLQJLWRQHRI
the most successful blockbusters ever co-
produced by China and the United States.
Unlike in many previous co-produced
blockbusters where the Chinese had sup-
porting roles, Chinese actor Wu Jing,
who played scientist Zhang Jiuming in
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As the summer film season now
prepares for its closing shot, industry in-
siders have high expectations for China’s
upcoming National Day Holiday season
in late September and early October,
which will see the release of The Great
War, a movie about the Chinese People’s
Volunteers army, directed by Chen
Kaige, the Chinese film director noted
for his realistic, sensitive, compassion-
ate, and unflinching view of the lives
and hopes of Chinese people, and urban
crime drama Under the Light directed by
the iconic Zhang Yimou. BR
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
Comments to jijing@cicgamericas.com
AUGUST 31, 2023 BEIJING REVIEW 47
EXPAT’S EYE
From Molepolole to the Top of Shanghai
By Lesego Alicia Keimetswe
L
ate South African leader
Nelson Mandela once said
bravery is not the absence
of fear, but the triumph over it. This
sentiment rang true for me when I
first visited Shanghai in 2012 and
had the opportunity to climb the
Oriental Pearl TV Tower. As a
small-town girl from Molepolole,
Botswana, I was awestruck by the
towering skyscrapers that domi-
nated the city’s skyline. During my
two-week winter camp sponsored
by the Confucius Institute at the
University of Botswana, I had the
chance to visit many of Shanghai’s
famous landmarks, but it was walk-
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the Oriental Pearl TV Tower that
left the biggest impression on me.
Confucius Institutes, named after
ancient Chinese philosopher and
educator Confucius (551-479 B.C.),
VHUYHDVQRQSURÀWSXEOLFLQVWLWXWLRQV
to help foreigners better understand
China by teaching the Chinese lan-
guage and culture at universities in Lesego Alicia Keimetswe at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower through Shanghai, I marvel at how
their host countries. in Shanghai
Though my fear of heights sent
shivers down my spine, I summoned
the courage to stand firmly on the glass
path and take in the breathtaking view
of Shanghai. Looking back, I realize that
Mandela’s words were right—the best
way to conquer our fears is to face them
head-on, and what a pity it would have
been to miss out on the beauty that await-
ed me at the top of the Oriental Pearl TV
Tower.
The glowing, tall and slender tower,
which resembles a space rocket, is located
in Lujiazui, a bustling financial center,
and is visible from many places in the
FLW\7KHWRZHU·VWKUHHSULPDU\ÁRRUVDUH similar. It was fascinating to view a video Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
located within the spheres that give the
48 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 31, 2023
hi-tech developments will look like
COURTESY PHOTO
over the next decade, in addition to
brief video clips about events in space.
,ZDVEOHVVHGWRÀQGP\VHOIRQWKH
highest floor of one of Asia’s tallest
towers—an experience beyond my
wildest dreams. Every time I recall
that sensation, a new set of memories
floods my mind. The whole trip was
worth it, and I took many photos and
videos to share with my family and
friends on Instagram. I even kept a
snapshot of the tower on my phone’s
lock screen, visualizing the day when
I would return to China.
And sure enough, that day came
in 2019, when I was awarded a
scholarship to pursue my doctorate
at East China Normal University in
Shanghai. A month after arriving
in the city, I dragged an acquain-
tance from Botswana who had
never been to the tower before to
relive the memories. It all felt like a
dream, and I am still in admiration
of Shanghai’s beauty. As I wander
much I’ve come to know this city.
structure its distinctive shape. The first Each corner reveals a new surprise,
level is where the entertainment center is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
ORFDWHG7KHQH[WOHYHOLVWKHÀUVWHOHYDWRU But despite all the places I’ve explored,
stop at a height of 270 meters, where there the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and its daz-
is an open observation deck with a glass zling surroundings still captivate me. I
floor. Two floors above this terrace is a recommend visiting this iconic landmark
panoramic level that is accessible through at night, when the city transforms into a
staircases. It offers views of the entire vibrant sea of colors and the tower itself
metropolis. The third ticketed level is the is illuminated in all its splendor. It’s a
340-meter-high Space Capsule, which is spectacle that leaves a lasting impression,
the last level. It is the highest accessible a memory that will stay with you long
point of the tower, from which one can after you’ve left the city’s bustling streets
observe the city below and where video behind. BR
content is displayed. It gives a feeling of
being in an orbital station or something The author is a Motswana student at East China Normal
University in Shanghai
projecting what China’s infrastructure and Comments to yanwei@cicgamericas.com
http://www.bjreview.com
In addition to Beijing Review,
Review, CICG Americas
publishes China Hoy,
Hoy, a monthly publication
launched in 1960, aiming to bridge the gap
between China and the Spanish-speaking
world—particularly Latin American countries.

Website: www.chinahoy.com.cn