A recent influx of Russian tourists to Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, with many sharing their travel photos and videos on social media, has led to widespread discussion among netizens. This phenomenon highlights the growing popularity and international appeal of Sanya as a major tropical tourist destination.
From January to May 2024, Sanya received 38,000 Russian tourists, making it the top source of inbound visitors and 2.6 times the total number of Russian tourists for all of 2023, according to a report from the Sanya Tourism Board sent to the Global Times on Thursday.
Many Russians posted pictures on social media to express their love for Sanya's natural beauty. "We love to sunbathe and swim in the sea while enjoying the beautiful scenery," a Russian tourist said in an interview video provided by the Sanya Tourism Board.
Outside the beach views, seeking traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is popular among foreign tourists. Three Russian tourists visited Sanya to seek TCM treatments for their chronic pain. After two sessions, all three reported notable improvements and expressed their gratitude in a letter to the hospital, commending TCM's effectiveness the dedicated team at the Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The Sanya city government has also made significant improvements in international tourism services.
Since March 2024, Sanya has introduced a mobile payment app to make transactions easier for international tourists in Hainan, along with the "Visit Sanya" online consultation and complaint service on overseas platforms like X and Facebook. Additionally, high-end hotels now offer multilingual menus, and major tourist attractions have added Russian and English signage to better serve visitors, Albert Yip, the director general of the Sanya Tourism Board told the Global Times on Thursday.
"There weren't that many Russian tourists six months ago. I've been seeing more and more of these foreign faces. Sometimes, when I go to malls or bars with friends, we meet young Russians who actively start conversations with us," Ye Zhuyun, a local resident, told the Global Times on Thursday.
"I'm happy and proud because the scenery and cultural atmosphere of my hometown are appreciated by people from different parts of the world. Their arrival has brought a multicultural feel to Sanya, making it more international," she added.
"The visa-free policy, the increasing flights between Sanya and Russian-speaking regions, and the tropical scenery, which contrasts sharply with high-latitude areas, are the main reasons attracting tourists from the Russian-speaking world. " Wang Jinwei, a professor at the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
"The increase in international tourists, including those from Russia, reflects the growing extent of our opening-up. Sanya serves as an excellent window for showcasing China to the world," Wang added.
Sanya's tropical coastal resources, visa-free policy, leisure sports, TCM and ethnic cultural attractions have long attracted the Russian-speaking market. Since July 2023, Sanya has opened international flights to several Russian-speaking destinations, including Almaty, Astana, Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, according to the Sanya Tourism Board.
Since September 2023, the implementation of visa-free policy between China and Russia has facilitated increased cultural and trade exchanges. Building on this, Hainan expanded this policy for citizens of 59 countries to include business, visits, family reunions, medical treatment, exhibitions, and sports events, allowing stays of up to 30 days since February 9.
The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session, drawing up a sweeping blueprint that will guide China's reform and opening-up for years to come, according to a communique released on Thursday.
The communique was released following the completion of the third plenary session, which was held in Beijing from Monday to Thursday.
General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping delivered important addresses. At the session, the Central Committee heard and discussed a report on the work of the Political Bureau, presented by Xi on behalf of the Political Bureau, according to the communique.
Amid a complex international and domestic situation, many in China and around the world have been closely following the reform-themed session, which is often referred to as the "third plenum."
Over the past four decades or so, the "third plenums" have played critical roles in China's economic miracle.
This edition of the third plenum not only reaffirmed China's unwavering commitment to reform and opening-up, but also drew a clear path for China's continuous high-quality development, which helps boost confidence both at home and abroad, experts said.
For the world, China's deepening reform and expanding opening-up will create greater opportunities amid a global economic downturn and rising economic protectionism, and China's high-quality development will help create a new type of international relations based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, foreign experts said.
Clear path
In line with decades of tradition, the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee also focused on mapping out reform and opening-up plans. Noting that the present and the near future constitute a critical period for China's endeavor to build a great country and move toward national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization, the session further elevated the importance of reform for the country and stressed the advancing of Chinese modernization.
"Chinese modernization has been advanced continuously through reform and opening-up, and it will surely embrace broader horizons through further reform and opening-up," the communique said. "We must purposefully give more prominence to reform and further deepen reform comprehensively with a view to advancing Chinese modernization in order to better deal with the complex developments both at home and abroad."
The reform tasks laid out in the resolution covered a wide range of areas from the economy and whole-process people's democracy to ecological conservation and national security, according to the communique.
Economic reform, in particular, was a main focus. The third plenum said that China will build a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects by 2035. In building a high-standard socialist market economy, the role of the market must be better leveraged, with a fairer and more dynamic market environment to be fostered and resource allocation to be made as efficient and productive as possible.
Various reforms will also be carried out to promote high-quality development, including deepening supply-side structural reform. Institutions and mechanisms will also be improved to foster new quality productive forces in line with local conditions. Reform tasks were also laid out for macroeconomic governance and key areas such as finance and taxation.
Li Daokui, director of Tsinghua University's Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking, said that the third plenary session not only lays out a clear path for reform in the coming years, but also reaffirmed China's commitment to reform and opening-up.
"The communique put emphasis on both reform and opening-up and reaffirmed upholding the basic national policy of opening-up, which I believe offers further reassurance for foreign businesses and investors," Li told the Global Times on Thursday.
Describing opening-up as a "defining feature of Chinese modernization," the communique said that the Party will "steadily expand institutional opening-up, deepen foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening-up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative."
Among the highlights of the reform tasks, Li pointed to the various reform measures to ensure and enhance the people's well-being, including improving the income distribution system and the employment-first policy, which will help address the direct concerns of the people. The reform plan for building a high-standard socialist market economy is also of great significance, as it will help create a fairer and more dynamic market environment, Li said.
Boosting confidence
The sweeping reform plan laid out by the third plenum will have profound significance for both China and the world, and will help boost confidence amid rising risks and challenges for the world as a whole, Chinese and foreign experts said.
"The reform tasks are critical in shaping China's economic development and its position on the global stage," Lian Ping, director of the China Chief Economist Forum, told the Global Times on Thursday. "The success of these reforms will directly affect whether China's economy can continue to rise in the next 10 years and beyond."
While China's economy has maintained stable growth in recent years despite a global downturn, it faces a growing set of risks and challenges, including rising economic protectionism and geopolitical tensions. The reform measures are key to tackling these challenges and ensuring China's continuous high-quality development, experts said.
"The goal of reform is to address long-standing problems and improve systems to remove hurdles for continued economic growth," Lian said.
The communique also said that the overall objectives of further deepening reform comprehensively are to continue improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernize China's system and capacity for governance.
This also reflects the effectiveness and importance of the CPC's leadership, according to Alexander Lomanov, deputy director for scientific work at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow).
"The CPC's ability to correctly assess the situation in the economy, proceed from the interests of the people, and defend these interests with all its strength is particularly important," Lomanov told the Global Times. "The top-level design in economic policy, which only the CPC leadership can provide, is very important."
The CPC's leadership is the source of confidence in China's economic development both in the short term and in the long run, experts said.
The third plenum not only mapped out reform tasks to ensure long-term high-quality development, but also conducted an analysis of the present situation and the tasks the Party faces, and urged firm commitment to accomplishing the goals for this year's economic and social development, according to the communique.
Li said that the content suggests that more measures will be rolled out for the second half of 2024, especially in terms of expanding domestic demand, so as to ensure that the annual growth target will be met.
"This is a very important message for the world," Li noted.
Chinese modernization and China's continued high-quality development are also of great significance for the trend of multipolarization of the world, said Lomanov.
"China's economic development creates favorable prerequisites for the creation of a new type of international relations based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, free from intimidation and pressure," Lomanov said.
The communique stressed that Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. "In foreign relations, China remains firmly committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future," it noted.
China's shipbuilding industry made significant gains in the first half of 2024, with revenue and profits rising as the country secured almost 75 percent of new global orders, demonstrating the growing momentum of Chinese manufacturing.
Rising global demand played a part, experts said, but China's technological advancements are the cornerstone of its rapid development. These achievements show the country's efforts to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and develop new quality productive forces.
Experts said that there is a potential for even further growth and increasing profitability. For this purpose, advancements in technology and achieving self-reliance in producing core components of high-value ships are essential.
Ship completions rose 18.4 percent year-on-year to 25.02 million deadweight tons (dwt), making up 55 percent of the global total in the first half, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.
The industry also saw an increase in order backlogs, which rose 38.6 percent to 171.55 million dwt.
China takes the lead globally in 14 out of 18 major ship types in terms of new orders, an indicator of its dominant position in the market.
The rapid progress in Chinese shipbuilding stems from multiple factors, including advances in shipbuilding technology, increased demand from the global shipping market, and the high quality and efficiency of Chinese-made vessels, Zheng Ping, chief analyst at industry news portal chineseport.cn, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
China has made significant technological breakthroughs in various shipbuilding sectors, from liquefied natural gas carriers to cruise liners. Better shipbuilding technologies and experiences in construction, coupled with process optimization and digital tools, have shortened construction cycles and improved quality, boosting competitiveness and profits, Zheng noted.
Profit growth in China's shipbuilding industry has been robust, with total profits for the first five months of the year reaching 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion), up 187.5 percent year-on-year, the MIIT said.
The expansion of the global shipping market has also resulted in a surge of orders for China, reflecting the industry's growing potential, Li Yanqing, secretary-general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry, told China Central Television.
The thriving shipbuilding sector mirrors the rapid progress in China's manufacturing sector, particularly high-tech manufacturing. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of China's high-tech manufacturing rose 8.7 percent in the first half of the year, compared with overall manufacturing sector growth of 6.5 percent.
Besides, China's high-tech manufacturing sector has made a significant progress in the first half of 2024, providing vital impetus for industrial growth, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
China's innovation-driven development strategy, focusing on the research and development investment and advanced technologies, has continuously enhanced its independent innovation capabilities, driving product upgrades and technological progress, Wang said.
Among China's shipbuilding orders, high-tech and high-value vessels are on the rise. The country's shipyards have delivered new models of ships, including the world's largest 93,000 cubic meter ultra-large LNG carrier and a 99,000 cubic meter ultra-large ethane carrier.
China expands the number of ports that adapt the 144-hour visa-free transit policy to 37, with the three new ports including Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Central China's Henan Province, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, and the Mohan railway port in Yunnan, China's National Immigration Administration announced on Monday.
As the Communist Party of China (CPC) is expected to convene a crucial reform-themed meeting next week, a look back on China's remarkable achievements in comprehensively deepening reform and opening-up over the past decade, which underpinned China's high-quality development against a complex global geo-economic situation, offers a critical window into what to expect from the upcoming meeting.
The third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee, often referred to as the third plenum, has carried enormous significance in China's economic and social development, as it has drawn up the reform agenda for years since the third plenum in 1978, which marked the beginning of China's reform and opening-up that helped lift China from a backward agrarian country to the world's second-largest economy. Since the third plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee, convened in 2013, ushered in an era of comprehensively deepening reform, China has witnessed greater social and economic development despite external and internal challenges and become a pioneer and builder of world peace and development, and a driving force in shaping a more just and effective global governance structure.
Today, as the world navigates its way through the mist of escalating geopolitical tensions, flagging economic growth, and global economic and financial fragmentation triggered by some Western powers' rising protectionism, domestic and global expectations for the upcoming third plenum are running high. Many in China and around the world are anticipating that the meeting will spur the world's second-largest economy toward higher level development through further deepening reform and opening-up and to contribute certainty and stability to a world in turbulence.
Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, China has witnessed comprehensive achievements in its reform and opening-up, paving ways for the country to realize its second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by 2049, Chinese economists said.
Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took the top office more than a decade ago, China has entered a "new era." As the world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, the country's economic strength has grown, and its international influence has continued to rise. Reform is the hallmark of this era.
As the CPC will convene on July 15 in Beijing the third plenary session of its 20th central committee, which will primarily examine issues related to further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization, analysts noted that China's economic progress fostered by the Party's relentless efforts in forging ahead reform and opening-up has contributed to global prosperity and security.
China's economy has achieved a historic rise, with GDP growing to 126 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) in 2023 from 53.9 trillion yuan in 2012. For years, China has contributed about 30 percent of global GDP growth.
Market's decisive role
Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the country has conducted in-depth reforms in both building the unified domestic market and forming new structure of all-round opening-up, having scored remarkable achievements in promoting the market economy, sci-tech innovations and higher-level opening-up, Yu Miaojie, president of Liaoning University, told the Global Times.
One of hallmarks in the past years is that the Chinese economy was able to maintain a relatively fast growth rate while conducting its structural reforms that give the economy new vitality for more sustainable and high-quality growth, experts noted.
Along with the country's policies to optimize resources allocation and foster the transition of traditional industries, emerging industries saw fast expansion and the services industry continued to grow in prominence.
A reform decision in 2013 said that it was China's aim for the market to play a "decisive" role in allocating resources.
Through the implementation of the supply-side structural reform, the country pushed the economy toward high-quality development and moving to construct a new development pattern. This was achieved while the country is being confronted with major challenges, such as downward economic pressure due to the lingering impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, rising protectionism and suppression from Western nations, and risks associated with the real estate sector and local government debt issues.
From 2012 to 2023, the proportion of the value-added output from high-tech manufacturing in overall value-added output of large industrial enterprises has grown from 9.4 percent to 15.7 percent, while that of the equipment manufacturing sector rose from 28 percent to 33.6 percent, according to a report by Xinhua.
The added value of the services sector accounted for 54.6 percent of the GDP in 2023, up from 45.5 percent in 2012, while the contribution of domestic demand to the nation's economic growth has increased from 105.8 percent in 2012 to 111.4 percent in 2023.
Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times that under the Party's leadership, the Chinese economy was able to maintain growth rate at roughly twice the rates of other major developed economies, and the Chinese economy has entered a period of steady progress in upgrading its economic structure and the adoption of new technologies, gradually shifting its production model from the traditional assembly line manufacturing to connected and sharing manufacturing supported by advanced digital technologies.
Such a transition would be impossible without the steadfast leadership by the Party in promoting scientific and technological progress which allows the digital economy to penetrate all sectors of the economy, and all of these are happening amid a challenging external environment featured by a global slowdown and US-led decoupling push and tech war against China, Cao said.
Now China is a world leader in digital infrastructure with the digital economy now accounting for about 44 percent of China's GDP. "In some fields such as the installations in 5G wireless base stations, China far outperforms the US and other major economies," noted Cao.
In the next five years, the ratio of China's digital economy to the national GDP could further grow to over 50 percent, marking the successful transition into a growth model powered by digital technologies, Cao said.
Over the years, the country's leadership has pushed for high-quality development and innovation-driven growth through deepening reforms and unleashing the vitality of market participants.
The system of a negative list for market access was comprehensively implemented, allowing entry into areas not explicitly prohibited by the list, and financial reforms were promoted to facilitate financing for private enterprises.
A number of statistics has demonstrated the evident effects of these efforts.
In 2023, the country saw 3.33 trillion yuan poured into research and development (R&D), accounting for 2.64 percent of the GDP, up from 1.91 percent in 2012.
According to the Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China's ranking has jumped from 34th in 2012 to 12th last year.
"With heavy investment in R&D, China's original innovation capacity and process R&D can almost compete with developed economies such as the US," Yu said, noting that China's industrial capacity is also outstanding, represented by the electric vehicle (EV) sector.
A number of Chinese private companies, such as EV maker BYD and battery maker CATL, have attained global recognition for the competitiveness of their products and more private companies are now leading China's push in emerging sectors.
"Our company directly benefits from the country's policies to encourage private capital into emerging and innovative sectors and into the new-type infrastructure," Zhang Jingru, an executive with private Chinese commercial space company LandSpace, told the Global Times. In July last year, the company launched the world's first liquid oxygen, methane carrier rocket into orbit.
High-level opening-up
Since the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the CPC Central Committee has taken into account both the domestic and international imperatives, and advances a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth in a bid to expand new growth room for the economy.
Xi has repeatedly stressed that China's door of opening-up will only open wider, and he has made "institutional opening-up" a priority.
"Establishing new systems for a higher-level open economy is a strategic measure to promote reform and development through opening up," Xi said when presiding over the second meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform (CCCDR) in July 2023.
Over the past ten years, China is committed to establishing a new system for higher-level open economy, which in turn boosts in-depth reforms in the country while contributing China's wisdom and China's solution for an open global economy.
"China has said that it is committed to reform and opening-up and will never close its door to the world. Faced with questions from certain Western countries, China continues to deepen cooperation with the rest of the world in a larger scale, represented by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)," Wan Zhe, an economist and professor at the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.
Official data showed that China has signed free trade agreements with 29 countries and regions by January, and has signed more than 230 BRI cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 30-plus international organizations. On the 10th year of the BRI, the cooperation platform has become a popular international public good and added new growth drivers to the global economy at a time when the world is facing tremendous changes, Wan said.
While the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has been fully implemented, China is working toward joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).
The country has lifted foreign ownership limits for securities companies, management companies of securities investment funds, futures companies, and life insurance companies.
As of January, 24 foreign Global Systemically Important Banks had established institutions in the Chinese mainland and nearly half of the world's top 40 insurance companies had entered the Chinese mainland market, according to data from the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).
The brilliant achievements made by the country under the leadership of the CPC have demonstrated the advantages of the socialist system. The CPC, adhering to a people-centered approach, has united the Chinese people and led them to make remarkable achievements, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, analysts said.
They expressed full confidence in China's economy despite short-term and medium-term challenges including anti-globalization trend pushed by some Western countries, aging population and weak demand. "The upcoming third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee is expected to focus on comprehensive, systemic and in-depth reforms, becoming another milestone in China's reform and opening-up," Yu said, noting that China's economic growth will grow more sustainably after in-depth reforms.
Yu projected that the country's GDP growth rate will likely reach 5.3-5.4 percent in 2024, higher than the pre-set target.
Looking ahead, Chinese policymakers should continue to push ahead market reforms, enhance rule of law and come up with detailed policies against the West's "small yard and high fence" policy, Wan said.
As China's economy enters a new stage of development, more reforms are needed to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces so as to boost total factor productivity and promote high-quality development, Wan said.
Betting on China's bright economic prospects, multinationals continue to expand their footprints in China and share the dividends of China's high-quality economic development as "investing in China means investing in the future."
Recently, PepsiCo began construction of a new food greenfield plant in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with the total investment reaching 1.3 billion yuan ($178.9 million). Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has started construction of its second production site in China with total investment at around 600 million yuan.
On Thursday night, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Germany expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to Germany's decision to phase out Huawei, ZTE telecom gear from its 5G network, warning the move will seriously undermine the mutual trust between the two sides and will also affect the future cooperation between China and the EU in the relevant fields.
Chinese experts on Friday said Germany's decision suggests that it is under greater pressure from the US and the EU, warning that the removal of Chinese components from its 5G network will have significant cost and hinder the country's communications development.
Reuters reported on Thursday that under the preliminary agreement driven by "security considerations," the German government and telecom carriers in the country have agreed in principle on steps to take out components made by Chinese companies from the nation's 5G wireless network during the next five years.
In response, the spokesperson said that Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese communications companies have long been operating in Germany in compliance with the law, making a positive contribution to the German digitalization process.
Huawei, ZTE 5G issue essentially is a behavior of individual countries to suppress their competitors beyond the bottom line in order to safeguard their own scientific and technological hegemony, the spokesperson said, noting that the so-called cybersecurity risk is nothing more than a pretext. In fact, no country has so far produced any conclusive evidence of the existence of security risks in the equipment of Chinese enterprises, the spokesperson added.
"The German side's announcement of the relevant decision at the time of the NATO Summit in Washington has further caused China to seriously question the independence of its decision-making," the spokesperson noted.
"Germany's move can be seen as politicizing economic cooperation, as the country is now facing more pressure from the US and the EU," Sun Yanhong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
Openness is mutual, and China's 5G construction has always been open to European companies such as Nokia and Ericsson, and has never seen them as a security threat. Germany's move is naked political discrimination, which seriously undermines the mutual trust between the two sides and will also affect the future cooperation between China and the EU in the relevant fields, said the spokesperson.
Sun noted that Germany's digital infrastructure is relatively backward, while Huawei and ZTE's equipment is leading in terms of technology, integrated solutions and cost-effective products.
"The cost of the transition is expected to be significant, which will limit the development of all areas of the country's digital economy including smart driving, smart healthcare and manufacturing automation factory," the expert warned.
The German and European sides cannot, on the one hand, demand fair competition and, on the other hand, discriminate against companies from other countries on the basis of unfounded so-called potential security risks, said the spokesperson.
Whether the relevant issues can be handled fairly and impartially is a litmus test of Germany's own business environment. By then, not only the normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries will be affected, but also the confidence of foreign investors in Germany. China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises, the spokesperson noted.
Not only Germany, but also a number of other European countries are faced with the challenge of balancing the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment to drive their 5G network development and digital infrastructure development with responsiveness to US and EU pressures, Sun said.
China hopes Germany will respect facts and make reasonable decisions, and urges the European country to provide a fair market environment for enterprises from all countries, including Chinese companies, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a press conference on Thursday.
China on Thursday issued a white paper on marine eco-environmental protection, presenting a full picture of China’s ideas, actions, and achievements in marine eco-environmental protection to the international community to facilitate understanding of China’s conservation efforts and advance international cooperation in this regard.
The white paper titled “Marine Eco-Environmental Protection in China” was issued by the State Council Information Office. It includes seven parts elaborating on China’s efforts to improve the marine eco-environment and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and oceans, coordinating marine eco-environmental protection, the systematic governance of the marine eco-environment, the country’s science-based conservation and restoration of marine ecosystem.
The white paper also introduces how China has been strengthening supervision and administration of the marine eco-environment, advancing its green and low-carbon maritime development and carrying out all-round international cooperation on marine eco-environment protection.
In October 2023, the State Council Information Office released a white paper on development of China’s distant-water fisheries. Analysts said that Thursday’s white paper, which is also about maritime development, offers an overall picture on how China has taken its responsibility to protect and improve the marine environment to conserve and use marine resources in a sustainable way.
In the preface, the white paper stressed the importance of the marine eco-environment, noting that it is essential to the ecological balance of the planet, to the rational use of resources, to sustainable development of human civilization, and to the present and future development of the maritime community of shared future. Its protection is important for national eco-environmental security, sustainable maritime development, and the harmonious coexistence between humans and the ocean.
Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, in order to complete new tasks and meet new requirements for marine eco-environmental protection in this new era, China has launched a series of campaigns and has made historic transformations and progress of overarching importance, according to the white paper.
It noted that while China continues to follow best practices in the past, it has been working hard on innovative new approaches to protecting the marine eco-environment, including respecting nature and prioritizing eco-environmental conservation, integrating conservation and management, enforcing supervision in accordance with laws, pursuing innovation-driven and tech-led development; pursuing green transformation and low-carbon development, and maintaining a global vision and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.
In the third part of expounding China’s systematic governance of the marine eco-environment, the white paper explains how China has continued to tighten regular supervision over industries such as marine engineering, dumping of wastes at sea, mariculture, and maritime transport, and active response to marine environmental emergencies.
China is exercising strict control over the eco-environmental impact of marine engineering and dumping of wastes at sea. It is formulating technical standards to bring marine engineering pollutants into discharge permit administration. Also, the Chinese government enforces strict ocean dumping permits, and exercises off-site supervision through automatic vessel identification and online monitoring of ocean dumping to minimize the eco-environmental impact of waste dumping, according to the white paper.
Moreover, China is enforcing systematic pollution prevention and control of mariculture, intensifying pollution prevention and control for ships in ports, and establishing the marine environment emergency response system.
More concrete data and examples have been listed in the white paper to underscore China’s efforts in identifying environmental risks. For example, Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong provinces and Tianjin Municipality in the Circum-Bohai Sea Region have conducted assessment of risks of environmental emergencies and worked out contingency response plans for more than 5,400 key enterprises involved in hazardous chemicals, heavy metals, industrial waste, and nuclear power.
Marine issues are global issues, and protecting the marine eco-environment is a common concern for people all over the world. The white paper said China has conducted in-depth mutually beneficial cooperation with the international community through multiple channels and in various forms, contributing Chinese wisdom to global marine eco-environmental protection.
While expanding cooperation in deep-sea and polar scientific expedition, China has been working with other countries to promote sustainable development of these regions.
For example, China has built five Antarctic research stations, and two Arctic research stations in Norway and Iceland, which serve as important platforms for several thousand scientists to carry out polar observation, biological monitoring, and glacier research.
Additionally, it has organized 13 scientific expeditions in the Arctic Ocean and 40 in the Antarctic, while signing memorandums of understanding or joint statements with the US, Russia, Australia, Iceland, and New Zealand and carrying out international cooperation with more than 10 countries, according to the white paper.
In the conclusion part, the white paper noted that as China embarks on a new journey of rejuvenating the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization, the country’s maritime endeavors have entered an era of historic opportunities with protecting the marine eco-environment becoming an essential requirement and fundamental guarantee for building China into a strong maritime country and achieving harmony between humans and the sea.
The white paper said the country will continue to build a marine eco-environment underpinned by harmony between humans and the sea. It also said that China is ready to work with other countries to build a cleaner and more beautiful world where oceans serve as a permanent home for humans to live and thrive.
As of March 18 this year, Boeing's stock price had fallen by 28 percent, while the international rating agency Fitch Ratings stated that Boeing's default risk is gradually approaching junk bond status.
The American news website Quartz recently sorted out "A timeline of Boeing's brutal 2024 (so far)." On January 5, a Boeing 737 Max jetliner's built-in emergency door fell off, starting Boeing's "chaotic year." Subsequently, from February 6 to March 15, there were at least five safety incidents, including a stuck rudder pedal, wheel detachment, rapid air descent, a tire explosion, and missing external panels. On March 9, the death of former Boeing employee John Barnett, who had previously exposed serious deficiencies in Boeing's oxygen system, also sparked media speculation.
Industry insiders and experts reached by the Global Times revealed that behind the frequent incidents is the American hegemony that has fallen apart like scattered nuts and bolts on the floor. The serious safety problems of the head of the US aerospace industry and the world's leading manufacturer of civil and military aircraft have also made the US media, scholars and the public think of the long-standing systemic problems in the country's manufacturing industry, and reflect on the entire trajectory of "deindustrialization" and "re-industrialization" in the US. Competitive pressure
Chinese student Li Yu, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where Boeing has a factory and is one of the local pillar industries, told the Global Times that she often encounters Boeing employees attending advanced training classes at the university.
Although she has heard of the recent incidents, Li admitted that in the US, it is difficult to avoid Boeing planes for most people when traveling.
"When taking a plane, although I feel uneasy, I can only grit my teeth and go through with it," Li said.
A former airline employee from Georgia told the Global Times that the majority of the planes used by airlines in the US are Boeing planes, many of which are quite old. Airlines have detailed operating instructions for Boeing planes, and he guessed that the airlines involved in the recent incidents might not have maintained the Boeing planes as directed.
"It's as if I'm watching a troubled child," said Captain Dennis Tajer, the lead spokesman of the Allied Pilots Association, when describing flying a Boeing 737 Max, according to BBC.
Tajer stated that if the plane is not safe, he would never board it, and he can no longer assume that the planes he pilots are of good quality.
However, according to the American online media outlet Axios, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has made continued attempts to assure the US public that flying is as safe as ever. In Buttigieg's view, the "real concerns" are Boeing's quality control, but he would still sit by the window on a Boeing plane.
According to the American Forbes magazine website, fortunately, there have been no fatalities due to Boeing plane malfunctions in recent weeks. However, five years ago, within nearly five months, two crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people.
In September 2021, PBS's Frontline channel and The New York Times co-produced a documentary titled "Boeing's Fatal Flaw," which, after an in-depth investigation, revealed the systemic causes behind the Boeing crash incidents - competitive pressure, inadequate pilot training, and regulatory absence.
According to the documentary, the 737 Max model was born under intense competitive pressure. In 2011, Airbus launched the new, more energy-efficient, and higher-efficiency model A320neo, and reached a preliminary agreement with a US airline, marking the airline's first order with Airbus in over a decade. Under this pressure, Boeing urgently initiated the design program for the 737 Max model.
Former employees involved in the work revealed that Boeing executives consistently pressured the staff to design the new model "faster, better, and cheaper," continually trying to reduce costs and minimize changes to the new plane to simplify pilot training differences, and to get the new model to market as quickly as possible.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which was supposed to regulate Boeing, authorized some of the safety inspection work to Boeing's own employees, leading to numerous cover-ups.
Increased risks
In this year's safety issues with Boeing, the far-reaching impact of the aforementioned systemic problems is still evident.
Analysts noted that Boeing's decline is the result of prioritizing profits over decades. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, who influenced Boeing's culture with his "lean management" philosophy, focused on cutting manufacturing processes and workforce to boost stock prices.
Boeing's excessive reliance on outsourcing, as reported by The Wall Street Journal in January, has also led to safety issues and increased risks, with critical components being manufactured globally. Moreover, interviews with industry executives revealed that production pressure and loss of experienced workers caused further problems. Boeing, needing to meet growing aircraft demand, reduced quality checks while prioritizing production speed, Reuters reported.
The international logistics media site Polar Star reported that the US aviation industry has long been troubled by supply chain issues. Many parts are in short supply, with delivery times for some metal parts and windshields being 2 to 5 times longer than normal.
The shortage of aircraft mechanics and other aviation industry professionals also strains the supply chain. Media reports say that some machine shops have sophisticated equipment but lack the labor to operate it, making licensed aircraft mechanics "as rare as unicorns," citing local experts.
Similar dilemmas
Shen Yi, director of the Research Institution for Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, told the Global Times that the frequent Boeing incidents actually manifest the falling of US hegemony.
Boeing, based on neoliberal business and management concepts, once enjoyed the dividends of the Cold War. Now the company has shifted its focus from quality control to cost control, Shen said.
He pointed out that additionally, the US government, driven by the so-called "identity politics" movements that emphasize diversity and equality, has made technical skills, capabilities, and experience secondary factors in personnel selection and appointment.
Therefore, after a period of sedimentation and accumulation, the lack of focus on the expertise has led to the increase in safety-related accidents this year, he noted.
Recently, the US magazine Foreign Affairs published an article pointing out the problem of the "privatization and the hollowing out of the US defense industry." In addition to the defense field, many other manufacturing sectors are reportedly facing similar troubles.
According to the Financial Times, the decline of the US shipbuilding industry is causing anxiety in the US. Industry insiders widely attribute this decline to several factors. First, in the 1980s, the Reagan administration pursued a free-market economy and thus eliminated most subsidies for the shipbuilding industry. US defense officials and unions have stated that due to the shrinking domestic manufacturing base and outsourcing, a significant portion of the materials and components needed to produce new ships are no longer available domestically. And this is also happening in other manufacturing sectors.
In addition, due to the "just-in-time" production methods adopted in recent decades, US contractors are reluctant to maintain redundant capacity. Furthermore, industry consolidation and the rise of shipbuilding industries in Japan, South Korea, and China have led to reduced investment in technology, factory equipment, and worker training in the US, according to the article.
Analysts pointed out that the real issue with US labor is its low productivity as workers have long demanded high wages and work-life balance. Moreover, the infrastructure conditions in the US are not promising.
Reports showed that much of the existing infrastructure in the US was built in the 1960s. Therefore, much of it is virtually defunct.
While the US Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) in 2021, the real process of upgrading the infrastructure is slow as there is no consensus on funding and building. Misplaced obsession
According to the 2024 manufacturing industry outlook issued by Deloitte, the manufacturing sector in the US will continue to face challenges this year. However, several US media outlets and think tanks are optimistic about the country's manufacturing industry.
In October 2023, the Cato Institute, a US think tank, published an analysis titled "The Reality of American Deindustrialization," arguing that "American manufacturing has not disappeared but has undergone a transformation instead."
While US politicians have been actively advocating for the reviving of manufacturing, an article published by The Hill pointed out that "unfortunately, this obsession with manufacturing is misplaced."
"This manufacturing subsidy war will be expensive and will support inefficient sectors, raising costs for households and firms. For example, most estimates of semiconductor chip fabrication in the US are that it costs up to 50 percent more than fabrication elsewhere. American taxpayers will eventually bear the cost of subsidizing this kind of relative inefficiency," it said.
Several experts told the Global Times that reviving the manufacturing industry requires good infrastructure, research and development investment, industrial support, a continuous supply of adaptable labor, as well as a global network supporting the supply chain and trade value chain.
Even the US, once known as the "world's factory," would find it difficult to fill the gap and revive its manufacturing sector, Zhang Yugui, dean of School of Economics and Finance in Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
"If the US tries to revitalize its manufacturing industry, it must abandon the zero-sum game mentality and instead form an effective division of labor and cooperation with major manufacturing powers such as China, Europe, Japan, and emerging economies. It should not continue to artificially build 'small yard and high fence'. However, even if some advanced manufacturing industries are lured back to the US, it would be a short-sighted strategy that is unlikely to succeed, Zhang noted.
After the administration of Yoon Suk-yeol came to power in South Korea, the relationship between China and South Korea has continued to deteriorate.
From April 6 to 10, 2024, the Global Times Institute (GTI) conducted a survey in 17 administrative regions in South Korea.
The survey targeted ordinary people aged from 18 to 70, focusing on their perceptions of China, South Korea-China relations, South Korea-US relations, and domestic issues in South Korea. A total of 1,045 valid questionnaires were collected. In terms of the perception of China, 72 percent of respondents in the survey conducted by the GTI expressed a desire to visit China in the future, with half of them hoping to do so within the next 3 years.
Among the 750 respondents who expressed a desire to visit China, tourism was the primary reason for their visit, with 93 percent of them stating that they wanted to visit China for tourism, far exceeding other reasons, and only 5 percent saying they want to work in China. When it comes to specific cities in China that respondents want to visit, Shanghai and Beijing were most favored, followed by Qingdao in Shandong Province and Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province.
Mu Yadi, a researcher at think tank Pangoal Institution, told the Global Times that the reason why so many respondents expressed a desire to visit China may be related to the "China craze" in the South Korean tourism industry.
"China's culture, cuisine, natural scenery, and convenient transportation systems are key factors that attract South Korean tourists. Data indicates that the majority of South Korean people have high expectations for China, and China is influential and attractive to South Korean people in terms of culture and tourism," Mu said.
However, at the same time, it should be noted that since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, South Korea has diplomatically leaned more toward the US and Japan, distancing itself from China.
South Korean media has increased negative reports on China, leading to a more negative perception of China among young people, Chung Jae-hung, director of the Department of Security Strategy Studies & Center for Chinese Studies of the Sejong institute in Korea, told the Global Times.
Chung said that the reason for this is that since Yoon's administration presented a completely "one-sided" situation, emphasizing ideology, and strengthening cooperation with the US, Japan, and other Western countries. Their diplomacy has some "new Cold War" characteristics, which is an important reason for the change in South Korea-China relations. Previously, South Korea's foreign policy was relatively balanced, maintaining cooperation with both the US and Western countries, as well as seeking to maintain good relations with China, Russia, and even North Korea.
When asked to rate their level of understanding of China on a scale of 1-10, the average score given by the respondents was 5.3, indicating a "basic understanding" of China. Only 30 percent of respondents rated their understanding of China as "moderate" or "high" with a score no less than 7.
In terms of specific knowledge about China, the highest rate was related to the giant panda "Fubao," at 76 percent, followed by popular foods such as spicy hot pot and sugar-coated haws, with an awareness rate of 68 percent.
Lü Chao, a Korean Peninsula issues expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that his interactions with Koreans mirror the results of the above-mentioned survey. Korean people's understanding of China is indeed somewhat one-sided and limited. For example, their impressions of China mostly come from tourism.
Lü said that besides tourism, he welcomes more Korean friends to come to China to invest, work, study, and engage in more exchanges that will boost their understanding of China.
China-South Korea ties key to latter's development
Regarding the changes in South Korea-China relations in recent years, 57 percent of respondents said they believe that the relationship has become more distant or hostile, with 26 percent believing it has become more hostile, and 31 percent believing it has become more distant.
By contrast, only 11 percent of respondents believe the relationship has become closer and friendlier.
As to what kind of relationship should South Korea have with China, more than 80 percent of the respondents said they hope the two countries should remain friendly and cooperative ties. In specific, 52 percent think South Korea and China should remain cooperative but competitive ties; another think 10 percent prefer close and friendly ties while the other 20 percent choose cooperative ties.
"Currently, China-South Korea relations can be said to be not in a good stage, and there has even been some regression. The current South Korean administration has made many erroneous remarks on certain China-related issues, crossing the line as far as many Chinese people are concerned. Korean people do not understand China's principled position on these issues," Lü said.
Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that according to opinion polls, South Korean people generally believe that the relationship between South Korea and China is becoming increasingly tense, and in some aspects, it has even deteriorated further.
Da believes that South Koreans perceive a distancing in relations with China due to their own cognitive issues, friction between China and South Korea, and the influence of other countries outside the region.
In the survey, more than half of respondents said they believe that the US is or may be a major factor hindering the establishment of friendly relations between South Korea and China, with nearly 20 percent not expressing a clear stance.
Da told the Global Times that the results of the Korean National Assembly elections may further influence the future policies implemented by the Yoon administration, and an increase in seats for the opposition party may provide a balance at the parliamentary level to maintain the basic stability of China-South Korea relations.
In the survey, over 70 percent of respondents affirmed the importance of South Korea-China relations for South Korea's future development. Over 80 percent of respondents acknowledge that China has aspects worth learning from for South Korea, with China's experiences in public health and medicine, as well as high-tech industries and technology, receiving the highest recognition.
In 2023, South Korea's trade balance with China turned into a deficit for the first time in 31 years, causing 82 percent of respondents to feel worried, uneasy, shocked, or angry.
Lü pointed out that many South Koreans often bring up the issue of the trade deficit when discussing China-South Korea relations. The reason for the trade deficit is that South Korea blindly follows the US and adopted a policy of decoupling from China, including in areas such as semiconductors.
"Restrictions on China in the high-tech and semiconductor sectors have led to this problem. South Koreans should be more aware of this," he said.
US' shadow
In the last two years, the US has increased pressure on South Korea to ban the export of semiconductors and other chips to China. A majority or 80 percent of respondents said they believe that the pressure has had a negative impact on the South Korean economy.
Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times that the US does not allow South Korea to sell high-end semiconductor materials to China but allows some of its own companies to do so.
The US is taking advantage of the situation and is seizing South Korea's market share in China, and this has angered South Koreans, Zheng said.
The US also wants South Korea to transfer the core production chip technology to the US, which is crucial to South Korea's economy. It has also securitized various economic issues and set up trade barriers under the Indo-Pacific strategy, all with significant impacts on South Korea, Zheng noted.
Behind the scenes, the US has been instigating conflicts in industrial cooperation between China and South Korea, in a bid to create a narrative of negative competition between China and South Korea. The US has also deliberately stirred up issues related to North Korea, the island of Taiwan, and the South China Sea. In combination, these factors have affected trade between China and South Korea, and influenced public sentiment, according to Zheng.
"In the past, China-South Korea relations did not have structural problems. However, with the rise of extreme conservative forces following the entrance of the current administration, South Korea has actively participated in the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, leading to a significant decline in trade between China and South Korea. To address these issues, South Korea must first recognize the nature of the competition between China and the US, which is that the US is using all means to suppress China, and is using South Korea as a tool to contain China. If South Koreans understand this, they can leverage the competition between China and the US and utilize their strengths."
As for the recent South Korean parliamentary elections, where the ruling party suffered a major defeat, Zheng said that the South Korean government is likely to take action. "Whether they need to fix domestic political difficulties or address economic issues, they will need to improve relations with China," Zheng said.
When asked whether they were confident that the US-South Korea alliance would solve South Korea's security issues, nearly half of the respondents expressed doubt. Opinions on the role of the US in the Russia-Ukraine conflict were also divided, with many respondents stating they were unsure.
In terms of the perception of the US and the US-South Korea alliance among South Koreans, Zheng pointed out that while the US-South Korea alliance has existed for over 70 years, it cannot be compared to the US-Japan relationship. The risk of being abandoned by the US is higher for South Korea than Japan. Many South Koreans have a negative view of the US, especially regarding the imbalance in the US-Japan and US-South Korea alliances. Policy not conducive to stability
Regarding South Korea's diplomatic actions in the last two years, 52 percent of respondents said they believe that they have had a negative impact on the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, with 18 percent among them believing the impact is "very negative."
The rising cost of living in South Korea has also led to dissatisfaction among the population. Looking ahead, half of the respondents have a pessimistic outlook on the South Korean economy for the next year.
The responsibility for the negative development of the policy toward North Korea lies with the current administration, Wang Junsheng, an East Asian studies research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times.
The Yoon administration has not shown any sincerity in dialogues regarding North Korean issues. Therefore, the poll results just reflected South Korean people's disappointment with the policy toward North Korea, Wang said.
Wang noted that the current economic situation in South Korea has led to widespread discontent among the population. The economic downturn, coupled with rising prices, has fueled criticism of the government.
Wang also predicted that the Yoon administration would adjust policies following the parliamentary elections. However, economic issues that have been developing over a long period cannot be immediately changed. While a complete transformation is desirable, it may simply be wishful thinking. The internal divisions in South Korea are likely to continue, he warned.
In his recent visit to Australia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China welcomes Australia, an ally of the US, also a partner of China, and more importantly, a sovereign nation, to make policies independently, based on its own fundamental interests. After Wang’s visit, the two countries saw positive signs in the healthy development of bilateral ties. Given the importance of the relations between China and Australia, Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) conducted an exclusive interview with John Queripel (Queripel), an Australian historian and author, on bilateral relations, Australia’s foreign policy, how Australia views its role in Asia, as well as its relations with the US.
GT: How do you assess the outcomes of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Australia?
Queripel: Wang Yi’s visit, the most senior Chinese official to visit Australia in seven years, for the seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue, was another important step in re-establishing China-Australia relations after a period in which, under the previous Australian government, they had sunk to great depths.
The Albanese government has spoken of its desire to consolidate and normalize relations between the two countries, and this was a crucial step in achieving that.
Core to the visit was the economic relationship between the two countries. China makes up around one third of Australian exports and imports. The economic relationship ought to be complementary, as it has been in the past, but in recent years has stuttered.
Both sides seem to have been pleased with the talks. Wang called for no hesitation, no yawing, and no backward steps in the bilateral relationship, stating that both sides should strive to make steady, good, and sustained progress as the course forward has been charted.
He expressed his hope that Australia would take measures to uphold the principles of the market economy and provide a non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Australia. Canberra screens foreign investment in key sectors for national security, including critical minerals, and has blocked some Chinese deals. He also highlighted the need for independence, likely a reference to China’s view that Australia’s foreign policy is dominated by its strategic alliance with the US.
His Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, stated that Australia desired a mature and productive relationship, though there is more to be done. Dialogue, she maintained, “enables us to manage our differences. We both know it does not eliminate them. Australia will always be Australia and China will always be China.”
GT: What’s the general response of the visit in Australian society?
Queripel: Australian societal attitudes toward China are strongly shaped by the attitudes displayed by the nation’s politicians and media, which are often negative, sometimes virulently so. Polls, however, indicate a gradual warming of attitudes toward Australia’s major trading partner. This visit is likely to continue that warming.
The Australian business community has often found itself at strong odds with the political and media establishment. They are the ones, along with their employees, who suffer from any breakdown in that relationship. It appears that the ever-deepening thaw in relations under the previous government has been reversed, while there also is an increased questioning of the depth of Australian subservience to the US, particularly as represented by AUKUS.
As increased numbers of Australians are now visiting China, and the Chinese are traveling to Australia; understandings and interactions are likely to warm as they increase.
GT: There has been continuous opposition within Australia toward collaboration with China, particularly due to concerns about the so-called “China threat.” How do you perceive this sentiment? In the last two years, is there any reflection now in Australia about the previous policy on China?
Queripel: The so-called “China threat” is played everywhere in Australia. Even previously respectable media, including public broadcasters, the ABC and SBS, get caught up in it. It seems all pervasive. Its worst expression was the infamous “red alert” series, wherein it was argued, with all seriousness, that China was about to “invade” Australia any day now. Of course such inanity stands at total odds with the AUKUS idea of acquiring submarines 15-20 years down the track for the nation’s defense. While the current government, though still intimately involved in US war planning, is hosing down the extremes of the “China threat” narrative, nearly all of the mainstream media is still enthralled by it. Members of the previous government, now in the opposition, remain rabidly anti-China. Sad to say, for many there has been little reflection on previous policy toward China. There are some hopeful signs though, with people in general seeing through the lies and duplicity, and gradually again warming toward China. Polls also indicate that the majority of Australians reject the government policy of total subservience to US foreign policy.
GT: From your perspective, is there anything that the current Australian government can learn from former prime minister Paul Keating’s China policy?
Queripel: Under the then prime minister Gough Whitlam, Australia established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China half century ago. Relations deepened through each subsequent government change in Australia, due to both nations understanding their inter-dependence, and how that benefited both. Both sides of Australian politics understood this. Around 2015, feeling under threat due to China’s rise, US policy turned against China. That was associated with former US president Obama’s “pivot to the Indo-Pacific,” something which obviously drew in Australia. From around 2017 intense “Sinophobia” was unleashed in Australia.
Former prime minister Paul Keating has been excoriating in his criticism of it. For that he has worn much opprobrium, but of course he is right. Of former prime ministers, Keating is the only one contributing in a clear-sighted, level-headed manner to the debate.
Current Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, believes the attitude of Australia needs to be one where “we seek to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest…It’s Australia’s view that a stable bilateral relationship would enable both countries to pursue respective national interests, if we navigate our differences wisely.” Such an attitude sounds prescient.
GT: This year, 50 prominent figures in Australia released a joint statement, calling on the Albanian government to assume a “constructive middle-power” role in alleviating tensions between Australia’s largest trading partner, China, and its closest ally, the US. Do you believe Australia can effectively fulfill this role?
Queripel: Australia needs to play this role. Former Singaporean diplomat and now international relations scholar Kishore Mahbubani has cast the choices for Australia thus: “Australia’s strategic dilemma in the 21st century is simple: It can choose to be a bridge between East and West in the Asian Century — or the tip of the spear projecting Western power into Asia.”
Too often Australia, hamstrung by its colonial history, has acted as a white outpost in Asia. AUKUS is the latest manifestation of this, and it has a bad look in Asia, being made without any consultation with Australia’s Asian neighbors. If Australia can accept its geographical location as part of Asia, and bring with that its allied status for some 80 years with the US, it can play a very important part in alleviating tensions between the superpowers.
GT: How do you think Australia should navigate its relationship with China while also balancing its alliances with other countries, such as the US?
Queripel: The world does not, indeed should not be seen in either or, us or them dualities. Indeed, faced with the common problem of climate change, which is presenting itself as an existential threat, it is imperative that nations of the world take a much more co-operative approach.
It is the West which has thought of itself as being separate to others, “carrying the white man’s burden,” needing to bring its “values’ to the world.” That was its reason for building its colonial power, though in reality this provided a good cover for economic exploitation. This type of “exceptionalism” still informs US policy today.
China, on the other hand doesn’t think in this manner. China is exhibiting a much more co-operative style in international relations.
Australia ought to leverage its close relationship with the US to encourage them to move beyond an aggressive hegemonic world view, to one built on cooperation. That will call Australia first of all, to commit itself to such a path. Currently it is far too closely allied to the US, something from which it has gained nothing.
It is time for Australia to step back from backing one side, and instead use its close connections with both China and the US to act as an honest broker. It can choose to be a “bridge” rather than a Western “spear tip” into Asia. That will be to Australia’s great advantage as Asia increasingly becomes the economic hub of the world.
GT: What role do you see Australia playing in promoting regional stability and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in relation to China?
Queripel: Currently, far from playing a stabilizing role, Australia is playing a role of destabilizing the region. Australia needs to change its own practices as well as pressing the US to stop playing a game of brinkmanship in the Asia-Pacific region, with its warships sailing provocatively close to China. Brinkmanship is always dangerous, especially when nations are nuclear armed.
Asia is committed to peace. The ASEAN is a great sign of cooperation between nations, with sometimes very different ideologies and forms of government. Marked by a special summit in Melbourne, Australia has just celebrated 50 years of dialogue partnership with the ASEAN. In that period Asia has been the great success story in dealing with conflict.
There is a role for Australia in promoting regional stability and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. For it to do that, however, will mean a radical reorientation of the current policy, and for it to advocate with its ally, the US to change its policy.
