China
G7 finance leaders vow to contain inflation, strengthen supply chains but avoid mention of China
The Group of Seven’s top financial leaders united Saturday in their support for Ukraine and their determination to enforce sanctions against Russia for its aggression but stopped short of any overt mention of China.
The finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended three days of talks in Niigata, Japan, with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control, help countries struggling with onerous debts and strengthen financial systems.
They also committed to collaborating to build more stable, diversified supply chains for developing clean energy sources and to “enhance economic resilience globally against various shocks.”
The statement did not include any specific mention of China or of “economic coercion” in pursuit of political objectives, such as penalizing the companies of countries whose governments take actions that anger another country.
Also Read: G-7 talks focus on ways to fortify banks, supply chains as China accuses group of hypocrisy
Talk this week of such moves by China had drawn outraged rebukes from Beijing. Officials attending the talks in this port city apparently balked at overtly condemning China, given the huge stake most countries have in good relations with the rising power and No. 2 economy.
The finance leaders' talks laid the groundwork for a summit of G-7 leaders in Hiroshima next week that President Joe Biden is expected to attend despite a crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling that could result in a national default if it is not resolved in the coming weeks.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mentioned the issue in a working dinner, but he refrained from saying anything more.
While in Niigata, Yellen warned that a failure to raise the debt ceiling to enable the government to continue paying its bills would bring an economic catastrophe, destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs and potentially disrupting global financial systems. No mention of the issue was made in the finance leaders' statement.
The G-7's devotion to protecting what it calls a “rules-based international order” got only a passing mention.
The leaders pledge to work together both within the G-7 and with other countries to “enhance economic resilience globally against various shocks, stand firm to protect our shared values, and preserve economic efficiency by upholding the free, fair and rules-based multilateral system,” it said.
G-7 economies comprise only a tenth of the world’s population but about 30% of economic activity, down from roughly half 40 years ago. Developing economies like China, India and Brazil have made huge gains, raising questions about the G-7's relevance and role in leading a world economy increasingly reliant on growth in less wealthy nations.
China had blasted as hypocrisy assertions by the U.S. and other G-7 countries that they are safeguarding a “rules-based international order” against “economic coercion” from Beijing and other threats.
China itself is a victim of economic coercion, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday.
“If any country should be criticized for economic coercion, it should be the United States. The U.S. has been overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export controls and taking discriminatory and unfair measures against foreign companies,” Wang said in a routine news briefing.
China accuses Washington of hindering its rise as an increasingly affluent, modern nation through trade and investment restrictions. Yellen said they are “narrowly targeted” to protect American economic security.
Despite recent turmoil in the banking industry, the G-7 statement said the financial system was “resilient” thanks to reforms implemented during the 2008 global financial crisis.
“Nevertheless, we need to remain vigilant and stay agile and flexible in our macroeconomic policy amid heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook,” it said.
Meanwhile, inflation remains “elevated" and central banks are determined to bring it under control, it said.
Since prices remain “sticky,” some countries may see continued rate hikes, said Kazuo Ueda, Japan’s central bank governor. “The impact of the rate hikes has not been fully realized,” he told reporters.
Japan won support for its call for a “partnership” to strengthen supply chains to reduce the risk of disruptions similar to those seen during the pandemic, when supplies of items of all kinds, from medicines to toilet paper to high-tech computer chips, ran short in many countries.
Suzuki said details of that plan would be worked out later.
“Through the pandemic, we learned that supply chains tended to depend on a limited number of countries or one country,” he said, adding that economic security hinges on helping more countries develop their capacity to supply critical minerals and other products needed as the world switches to carbon-emissions-free energy.
Tensions with China, and with Russia over its war on Ukraine, inevitably loomed large during the talks in Japan, the G-7's only Asian member.
“We call for an immediate end of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, which would clear one of the biggest uncertainties over the global economic outlook,” the joint statement said.
The financial leaders took time to listen to ideas on how to focus more on welfare in policymaking, rather than just GDP and other numerical indicators that often drive decisions with profound impacts on people's well being.
“These efforts will help preserve confidence in democracy and a market-based economy, which are the core values of the G-7,” the finance leaders' statement concluded.
Suzuki said he and other leaders learned much from a seminar by Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize winner who worked in the Clinton administration and who has championed what he calls “progressive capitalism.”
It's a "very interesting view," Suzuki said, adding that “so far, we’ve been mostly focused on GDP and other numerical indicators."
Bangladesh number one place to engage 3 big powers and play a bridging role: Prof Kanti Bajpai
Despite some difficulties, Bangladesh is the number one place to engage all three big powers – India, China and the United States - in a bridging role, says a Singapore-based foreign affairs analyst.
“Anything to do with China and India has a shadow over the United States as well. And so I think Bangladesh is the number one place to engage all three in a bridging role,” said Professor Kanti Prasad Bajpai, Vice Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School, National University of Singapore.
He was speaking at a discussion this week as part of Cosmos Dialogue Distinguished Speaker’s Series, entitled “China-India Relations: Implication for South Asia.”
“I think its (Bangladesh’s) diplomatic links with both China and India, probably the strongest amongst all the countries of South Asia. The kind of positive equidistance that Bangladesh has between China and India probably no other country in this region can match. It also has fairly good relations with the United States,” Prof Bajpai said.
Read More: China "unswervingly mediating" between Bangladesh, Myanmar to promote Rohingya repatriation: Ambassador Yao
The discussion was chaired and conducted by President of Cosmos Foundation and renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.
Chinese youths devoted to BRI projects in Bangladesh
In Dasherkandi village, located around the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, local children happily swam in the clean river under the scorching sun. Deng Mingze, deputy manager of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant project, felt elated as he observed this scene.
"Things were completely different before," explained the 33-year-old Chinese engineer from PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited, adding that untreated sewage went straight into the river, making it so dirty in the past.
The Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and constructed by HydroChina Corporation, a subsidiary of PowerChina, started operation in April 2022. It marked the first modern large-scale sewage treatment plant in Bangladesh, capable of providing modern sewerage services to approximately 5 million people in Dhaka.
From then on, all water that flows into the river has been treated, making the river clear and visible to the naked eye, Deng said, citing that children frequently play in the area.
However, the project was not without its challenges. During the busiest period of construction, Deng and his colleagues worked from 6 a.m. until late at night for nearly six months.
As the saying goes, "no pain, no gain." Deng recalled that despite difficulties throughout the project, he became stronger mentally and more capable.
"As young people, we should have adaptability, innovation and problem-solving skills while working on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects to demonstrate the positive spirit of the Chinese youth to the world," he stressed.
In Keraniganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Zhang Yadong, an engineer from China Railway Group Limited, is working alongside his local colleagues on Bangladesh's largest BRI rail project.
Zhang arrived in Bangladesh right after his graduation in 2016, and he vividly remembers his initial struggles. "The first difficulty I encountered was having a meeting with the quantity surveyor to discuss measurements independently. It took me a long time to communicate with him due to differences in our understanding of the measurements," he said, adding that "it was a small thing, but I was really nervous at the time."
Using this experience as a foundation, Zhang has grown from an assistant economist to a commercial executive, working on key projects such as the 172-km Padma Bridge Rail Link Project that connects over 20 districts in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s GDP growth rate will overtake China’s in current fiscal year, IMF predicts
The latest report of the Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) on Asia-Pacific region forecasts that Bangladesh's GDP growth rate in the current fiscal year will overtake that of China.
The report also predicts that Bangladesh will be in second place, after Vietnam, in terms of GDP growth rate in Asia-Pacific in the next fiscal year.
According to the IMF's Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific May 2023 report, Bangladesh is expected to surpass both China and India in terms of growth in 2024.
In Bangladesh, GDP growth rate will slow down to 5.5 percent in 2023 because of demand-management measures, which is still higher than China's projected growth rate of 5.2 percent.
Read more: Bangladesh's GDP growth expected to pick up to 6.2% in FY2024: World Bank
But the economy of China is much bigger than that of Bangladesh.
The IMF report suggests that the recently approved Extended Fund Facility for Bangladesh will help address economic challenges caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement will expand fiscal space to finance climate investment priorities and build resilience against long-term climate risks.
The report highlights the importance of international cooperation, particularly in securing financial assistance for climate change adaptation in vulnerable emerging markets in the region, including Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands.
Read More: Govt struggles to lift tax-GDP ratio to double digits
China "unswervingly mediating" between Bangladesh, Myanmar to promote Rohingya repatriation: Ambassador Yao
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Saturday (May 06, 2023) said China, as a responsible major country, has been "unswervingly mediating" between Bangladesh and Myanmar to promote the repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland.
"A local friend once told me sincerely that many people provide lip-services, but only China is actually doing practical things to proceed with the repatriation," he said.
The ambassador was delivering keynote speech at a symposium as part of the Cosmos Dialogue Ambassadors’ Lecture Series entitled "Bangladesh-China Relations: Prognosis for the Future" at hotel in Dhaka.
The discussion was chaired and conducted by President, Cosmos Foundation and former foreign affairs advisor Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.
Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan delivered the welcome remarks.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.
A 27-member delegation including 20 Rohingyas visited Myanmar’s Rakhine on Friday to see the preparation to resettle the possible returnees. They visited 15 villages and other infrastructure built for the Rohingyas.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, also the leader of the delegation said, “We returned with 20 Rohingyas after visiting the arrangements made for them around Maungdaw town. I have seen the goodwill of the Myanmar government regarding repatriation. We want to start repatriation.”
Also Read: Momen sees hope for Rohingyas' repatriation in latest Chinese initiative
Responding to a question, Ambassador Yao said the Rohingya issue is a humanitarian tragedy and it should never happen again.
Dhaka, Beijing should "deepen strategic partnership" to explore new growth points: Ambassador Yao
Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Saturday said Bangladesh and China "should deepen the strategic partnership" for cooperation and explore new growth points.
"China is willing to work with Bangladesh to continue exploring cooperation opportunities under the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI)," he said.
In particular, the ambassador said, they are willing to promote upgrading of industries and digitalization process in Bangladesh, and to improve the quality and competitiveness of “Made in Bangladesh”.
He was delivering keynote speech at a symposium as part of the Cosmos Dialogue
Ambassadors’ Lecture Series entitled "Bangladesh-China Relations: Prognosis for the Future" at a hotel in Dhaka.
The discussion was chaired and conducted by President of Cosmos Foundation and renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.
While delivering the welcome remarks, Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan said Bangladesh and China are moving closer together as friends on the international stage.
The ties received a major boost during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to China in 2019 and the watershed point of this transformation was President Xi Jinping’s all-important visit to Bangladesh in 2016, he said, adding that this heralded the beginning of the “strategic partnership”.
"It is a great source of inspiration to Bangladeshis as we witness China’s peaceful rise. We know from President Xi that the Chinese people have a dream; so do we in Bangladesh as we strive to achieve middle-income status, of which we are on the cusp," Khan said.
"It is my firmest conviction that ties with China will continue to form the bedrock of our efforts to fulfill these aspirations," he added.
Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury said it appears to all of them that China is rising; and the Chinese saw this as a peaceful rise.
“Now, being even more careful, they no longer talk of ‘peaceful rise’ but only peaceful development,” he said, adding that established global powers, of course, see this as a threat.
Referring to PM Hasina’s visit to Beijing in 2014 and President Xi’s visit to Bangladesh in 2016, he said these visits saw an “all-weather” friendship elevate to a strategic partnership.
Dr Iftekhar said Bangladesh-China relations are, therefore, emerging as an equation in the diplomatic calculations in Asia that will not fully show for itself tomorrow, nor the day after but in the long run in a continent where time for many is not the essence.
Also Read:Momen sees hope for Rohingyas' repatriation in latest Chinese initiative
Ambassador Yao said his country has noticed the “Indo-Pacific Outlook of Bangladesh” released recently, and believes that many of its ideas are similar to those of China.
China biggest global jailer of journalists: Press group
China was the biggest global jailer of journalists last year with more than 100 behind bars, according to a press freedom group, as President Xi Jinping’s government tightened control over society.
Xi's government also was one of the biggest exporters of propaganda content, according to Reporters without Boarders. China ranked second to last on the group’s annual index of press freedom, behind only neighbor North Korea.
The ruling Communist Party has tightened already strict controls on media in China, where all newspapers and broadcasters are state-owned. Websites and social media are required to enforce censorship that bans material that might spread opposition to one-party rule.
Also Read: Chinese who reported on COVID to be released after 3 years
Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades, called during a 2016 meeting with journalists who had been awarded official prizes for them to adhere to “the correct orientation of public opinion."
Xi is pursuing a “crusade against journalism,” Reporters Without Borders said in a report Wednesday. It called China's decline in press freedom “disastrous.”
Beijing operates what is regarded as the world's most extensive system of internet controls. Its filters try to block the Chinese public from seeing websites abroad operated by news outlets, governments and human rights and other activist groups.
Chinese journalists have been prosecuted on charges of spying, leaking national secrets and picking quarrels, a vague accusation used to jail dissidents. Others are subjected to surveillance, intimidation and harassment.
Also Read: China's foreign minister makes rare visit to Myanmar border
Journalist Dong Yuyu, who worked at a ruling party-affiliated newspaper and is a former Harvard University fellow, faces espionage charges after being detained for more than one year, his family said last week.
In 2022, Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei was tried in China on national security charges but has yet to learn the verdict, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in March.
Cheng worked for CGTN, the English-language state TV channel aimed at foreign audiences. She was detained in August 2019 and accused of sharing state secrets.
In Hong Kong, the Communist Party forced a prominent newspaper, Apple Daily, to shut down as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy sentiment.
Apple Daily's founder, Jimmy Lai, was convicted of fraud last year that his supporters said were politically motivated. Six other former executives of the newspaper pleaded guilty.
21 dead in Beijing hospital fire, dozens evacuated
Twenty-one people have died in a fire at a Beijing hospital that forced the evacuation of dozens of patients, Chinese state media reported.
Staff removed 71 patients after the fire broke out Tuesday in the inpatient department of Beijing Changfeng Hospital, state media including CGTN reported.
Videos of the fire circulating on social media show black smoke billowing from the building, with some people climbing out of the windows using what appears to be makeshift ropes made out of bedsheets. Others took refuge on air conditioning units outside the windows.
State media said the fire has been extinguished and rescue work has been completed.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the reports said.
G-7 envoys urge tough stance on Chinese, N Korean aggression
Top diplomats from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are tackling two major worries in Northeast Asia, vowing a tough stance on China’s increasing threats to Taiwan and North Korea's unchecked tests of long-range missiles.
Another major crisis, Russia’s war in Ukraine, will also consume the agenda Monday as the diplomats gather in this Japanese hot spring resort town for Day Two of talks meant to pave the way for action by G-7 leaders when they meet next month in Hiroshima.
For the American delegation, the meeting comes at a crucial moment in the world’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to deal with China, two issues that G-7 ministers from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union regard as potent challenges to the post-World War II rules-based international order.
Also Read: G7 vows to step up moves to renewable energy, zero carbon
A senior U.S. official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration’s goal for the talks is to shore up support for Ukraine, including a major initiative on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure launched at last year’s G-7 gatherings in Germany, as well as to ensure the continued provision of military assistance to Kyiv. Ramping up punishment against Russia for the conflict, particularly through economic and financial sanctions that were first threatened by the G-7 in December 2021, before the invasion, will also be a priority, the official said.
Ukraine faces an important moment in coming weeks with Russia’s current offensive largely stalled and Ukraine preparing a counter-offensive. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Blinken’s priorities at the closed-door meetings, said there would be discussion about ways to deepen support for Ukraine’s long-term defense and deterrence capabilities. That might also improve Kyiv’s position for potential negotiations that could end the conflict on its terms.
The role of Japan — the only Asian member of the G-7 — as chairman of this year's talks provides an opportunity to discuss coordinated action on China. Leaders and foreign ministers of G-7 countries, most recently France and Germany, have recently concluded visits to China, and the diplomats in Karuizawa are expected to discuss their impressions of where the Chinese stand on numerous issues, including the war in Ukraine, North Korea, and Taiwan, which is a particular sore point in U.S.-Chinese relations.
At a private working dinner on Sunday night that marked the diplomats’ first formal meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged continued dialogue with China on the many global challenges where participation from Beijing is seen as crucial. Among the Chinese interests that are intertwined with those of wealthy democracies are global trade, finance and climate efforts.
But the diplomats are also looking to address China’s more aggressive recent stance in Northeast Asia, where it has threatened Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own.
Hayashi told ministers that outside nations must continue “building a constructive and stable relationship, while also directly expressing our concerns and calling for China to act as a responsible member of the international community,” according to a summary of the closed-door dinner.
China recently sent planes and ships to simulate an encirclement of Taiwan. Beijing has also been rapidly adding nuclear warheads, taking a tougher line on its claim to the South China Sea and painting a scenario of impending confrontation.
The worry in Japan can be seen it its efforts in recent years to make a major break from its self-defense-only post-WWII principles, working to acquire preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter growing threats.
Blinken, the top U.S. diplomat, had been due to visit Beijing in February, but the trip was postponed because of a Chinese spy balloon incident over U.S. airspace and has yet to be rescheduled.
Blinken met briefly with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Forum, but high-level contacts between Washington and Beijing have become rare. Thus, Blinken will be seeking insight from his French and German counterparts on their interactions with the Chinese, the senior U.S. official said.
Despite indications, notably comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, that the G-7 is split over China, the official said there is shared worry among G-7 nations over China’s actions. The official added that the foreign ministers would be discussing how to continue a coordinated approach to China.
North Korea is also a key area of worry for Japan and other neighbors in the region.
Since last year, Pyongyang has test-fired around 100 missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that showed the potential of reaching the U.S. mainland and a variety of other shorter-range weapons that threaten South Korea and Japan.
Hayashi “expressed grave concern over North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles with an unprecedented frequency and in unprecedented manners, including the launch in the previous week, and the G-7 Foreign Ministers strongly condemned North Korea’s repeated launches of ballistic missiles,” according to the summary.
China says no weapons exports to parties in Ukraine conflict
China's foreign minister on Friday said the country would not sell weapons to parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine and would regulate the export of items with dual civilian and military use.
Qin Gang was responding to concerns from the U.S. and others that China was considering providing military assistance to Russia, which Beijing has backed politically and rhetorically in the conflict while formally saying it remains neutral.
Qin reiterated China’s willingness to help facilitate negotiations to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and said all parties should remain “objective and calm.”
Speaking at a news conference with his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, Qin also blamed Taiwan’s government for heightened regional tensions after Beijing held large-scale military drills in an attempt to intimidate the island it claims as its own territory.
On both Ukraine and Taiwan, Qin articulated well-worn defenses of Chinese policies that underscore Beijing's rejection of criticisms from the West, particularly the U.S. Under ardently nationalist leader Xi Jinping, China has been sharpening its rhetoric, particularly on the issue of Taiwan, which split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.
“Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible attitude," Qin said.
"China will not provide weapons to relevant parties of the conflict, and manage and control the exports of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations,” he added.
In her remarks, Baerbock said that as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China bore a special responsibility for helping end the conflict.
She also referred to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, through which much of the world's international trade passes, and said a conflict in the area would be a global disaster.
China’s ruling Communist Party sent warships and fighter planes near Taiwan last weekend in retaliation for a meeting between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen.
China insists that self-governing Taiwan submit to its rule, either peacefully or by force, and Qin said the pursuit of independence by Taiwan's government and its foreign supporters — a veiled reference to chief ally the United States — were the reason for the tensions.
Apparently rejecting Baerbock's concerns, Qin said Taiwan was “China's internal affair and bore no outside interference."
“Taiwan independence and peace can not co-exist,” he said.
While Germany has strongly backed Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, Beijing has blamed the U.S. and NATO for provoking the conflict, refused to criticize Moscow's actions and criticized economic sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's regime.
“Territory is indivisible, and security is equally indivisible," Qin said. “Without recognition of the security interests of a particular party, crises and conflicts are inevitable.”
"China is willing to continue to work for peace, and hopes that all parties involved in the crisis will remain objective and calm, and make constructive efforts to resolve the crisis through negotiations,” he added.