INFOCUS | INDIA-CHINA | NEWS
HK Halts Investment Immigration Programme
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ong Kong has decided to halt its capital investment immigration program, which used to allow people to gain residency by investing HK$10 million ($1.28 million) in the local financial market. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Hong Kong no longer had the economic environment of 2003, when the plan was introduced to counter recession by attracting new capital to stimulate growth. Leung said the need for Hong Kong now is to look for talent rather than money. The decision has been met with a mixed response amid speculation that the suspension may not be permanent. Some analysts feel investments in business rather than in stock markets would be more beneficial to the economy as that would create jobs and ensure more transparency in transactions in keeping with the Chinese mainland's anti-graft efforts.
China’s Central Bank to Increase Re-lending
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he People's Bank of China has decided to increase its re-lending quota by 50 billion Yuan ($8.20 billion) in a bid to increase its financial support for small businesses and agriculture. The central bank, which uses the re-lending monetary tool to increase the liquidity of financial institutions and guide credit flows, said in a statement in Beijing that it would continue its monetary policies “with better coordination of tight and loose monetary measures and proper fine-tuning.” The year 2014 saw a record 267.8 billion Yuan accumulated in the re-lending quota, with 215.4 billion Yuan going to agriculture and 52.4 billion to small and micro-businesses.
Sri Lanka Continues Energetic Cooperation with China
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he new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe during his meeting with Chinese ambassador Wu Jianghao on January 14, 2015, said that his country will build strong cooperation with Chinese counterparts. It seems both the nations are
|4| India-China Chronicle January–February 2015
eager to develop relations to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields for mutual benefit. Relations between China and Srilanka got cosier under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa when the US and Canada, cut back on aid, criticizing Srilanka in its war against Tamil rebels. China stepped in with billions of dollars in loans for new ports and roads for Srilanka. New Delhi is closely watching the relationship between the two unfold, even as, unlike Rajapaksa, incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena has hinted less reliance on China.
Windows 7 Support Postponed in China
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icrosoft has postponed “mainstream support” of Windows 7 operating system in China. No new features or free help will be provided to Windows 7 users, however, the company will continue to patch security vulnerabilities untill 2020. This means that Chinese users will run Window 7 without full original factory support in all the PCs, laptops and smartphones. With Windows 7, which holds another 38.3 percent of the market, being added to the products without support, 95 percent of the web-connected Windows devices in China will not get full technical support from Microsoft, Chinadaily.com.cn reported. Nearly 57 percent of the Windows-based devices that have connected to the Internet in China are still running Windows XP, a system Microsoft stopped upgrading entirely last year. Local cyber security companies, including Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd and Beijing Rising Information Technology Co Ltd, have provided security updates for Windows XP users in China since Microsoft ditched the product, the website further reported.
Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Instructions
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resident Xi in the fifth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), stressed on pursuance
of party rules and called for corruption eradication efforts. China's top legislature, in addition to other authorities had assembled to study President Xi Jinping's latest anticorruption instructions. At the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political leaders of China were told to fulfill the instructions of President Xi and were asked to adhere to the anticorruption instructions as “important political task.” Central authorities, legislators, and party members were told to be self-disciplined and to safeguard unity within the party. The Supreme People Procuratorate and the Supreme People’s Court too pledged ‘relentless punishment for corrupt officials’.
China to Invest in Silk Road Links
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he Northwest regions of China will invest more in tourism, infrastructure, and tourism- related industries to attract visitors to the ancient Silk Road that linked China with Central Asian nations. Shaanxi province had launched a tourism investment fund of 5 billion Yuan. Gansu province, with more than 1,600 kilometers of the Silk Road, has rapidly improved its transportation network. In the next five years, it is slated to connect major national scenic spots and major transport roads with nearby cities. The China National Tourism Administration has declared this year as the Silk Road Tourism Year. China expects that this initiative will promote regional cooperation and mutual understanding between the nations involved. Tourism and marketing authorities will work with other
departments like culture, transportation, and public facilities to expend the current tourism products and improve the tourism experience.
China Bans U.S. Poultry
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hina recently prohibited import of US poultry, eggs and poultry products after the discovery of highly contagious avian flu in the Pacific Northwest. The US exports of chicken, turkey and duck products to China in 2014 were valued at $272 million. China’s ban has been criticized by the US. “There’s absolutely no justification for China to take such a drastic action,” Jim Sumner, USAPEEC's president said. He also said that these restrictions could negatively impact China’s domestic poultry industry. Meanwhile, all poultry and poultry related products shipped from the US after January 8, 2015 would be returned or destroyed by China.
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hina’s average double-digit growth rate has come to a halt. In 2013, China registered growth rate of 7.7 per cent , however, in 2014, economy slid to 7.4 per cent, slightly below the government’s target growth of 7.5 per cent. Premier Li Keqiang said that China would balance efforts to stabilize economic growth and boost structural reforms in 2015, as downward pressure on growth still remains, reported Xinhua news agency ................................................................................................................ hina reacted sharply to Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida’s statement that acknowledged Arunachal Pradesh as “ India’s territory.” China disputes with India over Arunachal Pradesh calling it South Tibet. Beijing asked Tokyo to “understand the sensitivity of the Sino-India boundary issue”. ................................................................................................................ n a move that may worry New Delhi, Beijing declared year 2015 as ‘China-Pakistan Year of Friendly Exchanges’. The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said that there is a huge opportunity for Sino-Pak all-weather strategic partnership. China and Pakistan are pushing forward construction of a China-Pakistan economic corridor. The Ambassador expressed hope that ‘Pakistan could play an active leading role in promoting the construction of the “One Belt, One Road,” which are initiatives to revive the ancient Silk Road with a focus on infrastructure.’
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January–February 2015 India-China Chronicle |5|