General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping and Chairwoman of the Việt Nam National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân perform the symbolic ’handing over of the key’ ceremony to inaugurate the Việt Nam – China Friendship Palace yesterday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping and Chairwoman of the Việt Nam National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân attended an inaugural ceremony for the Việt Nam – China Friendship Palace in Hà Nội on Sunday.
Questions are being asked about how, and whether, China can deliver the benefits of its multi-trillion-dollar initiative to connect a region with 62 per cent of the world’s population. Between The Lines debates the issue.
The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is a crown jewel of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a massive global infrastructure programme to revive the ancient Silk Road and connect Chinese companies to new markets around the world. AFP/Johannes EISELE
HONG KONG: In Myanmar, first a China-led dam project was suspended because of environmental and social problems. Then local protests about environmental damage have made the joint development of a copper mine a stop-start affair.
In Pakistan, there are internal differences over where the China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects should take place, with poorer provinces petitioning for more projects to be directed towards them instead of Punjab.
Such snags on the ground, among other things, are raising questions about how, and whether, Beijing can deliver on the grand vision of its Belt and Road initiative ushering in a new era of globalisation in Asia, Europe and Africa.
That was an issue debated in a recent Between the Lines episode looking at the implementation of China’s multi-trillion-dollar push to connect a region with 62 per cent of the world’s population. (Watch the episode here)
One thing is clear: Lessons have to be learnt. “The Chinese authorities as well as the business community have to go through a soul-searching process,” said commentator Professor Joseph Cheng, one of four discussants on the programme.
CULTIVATE PEOPLE, NOT JUST GOVERNMENTS
Their suggestions included taking care of local communities, doing good work, such as community projects to build good relations – and not only good public relations – as well as learning the local culture.
“Certainly, some Chinese corporations working in Myanmar were or have been perceived as looking down on the local people, not showing adequate respect for the local people,” said Prof Cheng. “It isn’t enough just to deal with the government.”
Myanmar activists protest against The Chinese Copper Mine Wanbao Company, in front of the Chinese
Other characteristics of Chinese investment and participation in infrastructure projects have also led to complaints.
“China has a lot of manpower, so when it takes part in projects, it not only brings along engineers, it also brings along skilful technicians, skilled labour and so on,” noted Prof Cheng.
So this means very little employment opportunities for local labour.
This contrasts with, say, the American viewpoint that bringing engineers to developing countries is costly, he added.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent policy shift, said on Wednesday he planned to ask China to make clear its intentions in the disputed South China Sea during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during Change of Command ceremonies of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao
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MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent policy shift, said on Wednesday he planned to ask China to make clear its intentions in the disputed South China Sea during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippines to ask China to clarify its intentions in disputed sea”→
Reuters – China and Vietnam have reached agreement on managing their dispute in the South China Sea through friendly talks, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, following an ugly spat over the summer between the two communist neighbours.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) poses for photo with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh before their meeting at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kham
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test. (Photo: REUTERS/US Department of Defense)
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SEOUL/BEIJING: Seoul and Beijing on Tuesday agreed to move beyond a year-long stand-off over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, a dispute that has been devastating to South Korean businesses that rely on Chinese consumers.
BANGKOK — Thirty million people depend for a living on the Mekong, the great Asian river that runs through Southeast Asia from its origins in the snowfields of Tibet to its end in the delta region of Vietnam, where it fertilizes one of the world’s richest agricultural areas. It’s the greatest freshwater fishery on the planet, second only to the Amazon in its riparian biodiversity. If you control its waters, then you control much of the economy of Southeast Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “China’s Mekong Plans Threaten Disaster for Countries Downstream”→
China urged the United States on Friday not to permit Taiwan’s president to travel through U.S. territory en route to the island’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a sensitive visit shortly ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen gives a speech during the National Day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
(Updated: )
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BEIJING/TAIPEI: China urged the United States on Friday not to permit Taiwan’s president to travel through U.S. territory en route to the island’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a sensitive visit shortly ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing.
The Communist Party wants to blame Hollywood and “loose women,” instead of acknowledging its own epidemic levels of sexual assault.
In the fall of 2004, when I was 19, I studied abroad in the beautiful coastal Chinese city of Xiamen. One Friday evening, I attended an English meetup at a local university, hoping to make some Chinese friends. To my surprise, a group of Chinese men — young, but older than I was — flocked to me, asking me repeatedly if I had any boyfriends, if my dating life resembled the popular American sitcom Friends, and if I was “open,” which I later learned was a poor translation for a Chinese phrase that meant “sexually liberal.” I was not.
channelnewsasia Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at the Economic Club of Washington during his US working visit. (Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb)
WASHINGTON: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of his leadership position is a signal that this is the start of a new phase for China, according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Oct 25).
Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn speaks at the Global Gaming Expo 2014 at The Venetian Las Vegas on September 30, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
New revelations about the Chinese government’s attempt to forcibly repatriate a Chinese fugitive show an assertive Beijing benefitting from a U.S. administration at odds with itself. But who is that American casino mogul who has apparently become the Chinese government’s backchannel to the White House? It turns out he’s a businessman beholden to Beijing and willing to press their case in the corridors of power in Washington — and he has just the ticket. Tiếp tục đọc “The Chinese Have Cracked the Code for Communicating With Trump”→
(TBKTSG) – Hòn đảo du lịch Jeju – được mệnh danh là Hawaii của Hàn Quốc – những ngày này thật vắng vẻ dù theo thông lệ, hiện đang là tuần lễ vàng (golden week) khi hàng triệu du khách Trung Quốc đến vui chơi, nghỉ dưỡng trong dịp lễ quốc khánh kéo dài cả tuần ở Hoa lục.
Quan hệ tam giác Trung Quốc – ASEAN – Nhật Bản có vai trò quan trọng trong việc thiết lập cục diện quan hệ quốc tế ở khu vực Đông Á. Trong mức độ nhất định, cấu trúc quan hệ này đang trực tiếp thúc đẩy và quyết định chiều hướng vận động của tiến trình hợp tác phát triển khu vực. Bài viết vận dụng phương pháp phân tích quan hệ “Tam giác chiến lược” để tìm hiểu quan hệ tương hỗ giữa Trung Quốc, ASEAN và Nhật Bản, qua đó đưa ra những khả năng và triển vọng về mô hình nhất thể hóa Đông Á trong tương lai. Tiếp tục đọc “Biến đổi trong quan hệ tam giác Trung Quốc – ASEAN – Nhật Bản với triển vọng nhất thể hóa Đông Á”→
Hải Phòng Port in Hải Phòng City is expected to be part of the Maritime Silk Road. – VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Nations should look beyond mere economic gains at questions of sovereignty and excessive dependence when considering participation in China’s Belt and Road (BRI) initiative, experts said yesterday.
Quốc Hội VN Thứ hai, 25/09/2017, 13:44 (GMT+7) Biển đảo – Trung Quốc đổi sang chiến thuật mới với khái niệm “Tứ Sa” không có nghĩa là nước này từ bỏ đường lưỡi bò.
Liên quan đến những yêu sách phi lý của Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông, Washington Free Beacon đưa tin, giới chức ngoại giao Trung Quốc vừa hé lộ cách diễn giải phi lý mới trong cuộc họp kín với phía Mỹ ở thành phố Boston vào ngày 28 và 29/8.
Đảo Jeju, Hàn Quốc. Ảnh: internet
CVD 