Economic
China and US commerce chiefs agree to push trade, Beijing says
Top U.S. and Chinese commerce officials spoke by telephone and agreed to promote healthy trade and cooperate over differences, China's commerce ministry said on June 10, the latest high-level exchange as the countries spar over disagreements. Both sides recognise the importance of business exchanges and will keep lines of communication open, the Chinese statement said after Commerce Minister Wang Wentao spoke with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Earlier this month, Chinese Vice Premier Liu spoke with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and late last month he held a similarly "candid" exchange of views with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The world's two biggest economies are at loggerheads on a variety of fronts, with the U.S. Senate this week approving a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology, drawing strong criticism from Beijing. On June 09, however, President Joe Biden withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of the popular Chinese-owned WeChat and TikTok and ordered a Commerce Department review of security concerns posed by those apps and others.
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IMF eyes new trust to provide aid to broader group of countries
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is exploring the creation of a new trust that could allow its members to lend their IMF reserves to more countries, including middle-income countries vulnerable to climate change, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on June 13. Georgieva said leaders of the Group of Seven rich economies had given the IMF a "green light" to keep working on the plan, and China – the world's second-largest economy – had also expressed interest, along with middle-income countries that stand to benefit from such a fund. She said the IMF would continue working on the "Resilience and Sustainability Trust" – which could help countries combat climate change or improve their healthcare systems – ahead of the July meeting of finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies, which includes China. G7 leaders on June 13 said they welcomed an expansion of the global lender's emergency reserves, or Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), by $650 billion, and backed a global target of providing $100 billion to the most vulnerable countries but said other countries should participate.
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Hainan plans to invest 220 billion yuan by 2025 to build global-connected transportation hub
South China’s Hainan Province vowed on June 08 to invest 220 billion yuan ($34.41 billion) by 2025 in order to improve local transportation and to build an international transportation hub that can connect most of foreign countries by using the province’s geographic advantages. The Hainan government on June 08 revealed a comprehensive transportation development plan during the 14th Five-Year Plan period 2021-2025, which listed the detailed development plan of the provincial transportation system to ensure the construction of Hainan free trade port in future. The plan highlighted the goal of expanding the province’s global airline networks around, including expanding the cover area of Russian language areas and Northeast Asia countries, increasing airlines to Oceania, South and West Asia, and exploring new long-distance airlines to Europe, America and Africa. The plan also vowed to increase the intensiveness of domestic flight network especially the airline among Hainan and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region and the island of Taiwan.
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China passes law to make Hainan free trade haven
China moved forward with plans to turn the southern resort island of Hainan into a free trade hub, passing legislation June 10 to lower barriers to cross-border investment. The law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress provides a legal foundation for plans drafted last June to make Hainan a "free trade port." Tariffs will be reduced to zero in principle by 2025, and businesses and individuals will receive tax breaks. The government looks to make Hainan a center for foreign finance as well as a destination for Chinese shoppers, spreading out functions that had been largely concentrated in Hong Kong, though geopolitical risks and a shortage of talent could throw a wrench into these plans. Authorities including the People's Bank of China set out policies in April to open up the island's financial sector. Certain foreign funds can invest in Chinese private equity products, as well as freely transfer capital into and out of the country within certain limits. Companies in Hainan can borrow or otherwise raise capital from foreign banks up to a higher cap.
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Swiss reject law to help country meet Paris carbon emissions goal
Swiss voters rejected a trio of environmental proposals on June 13, including a new law intended to help the country meet its goal for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A new CO2 law was narrowly rejected, with 51.6 percent of voters opposing it in a nationwide referendum conducted under the country's system of direct democracy. The result was a defeat for the Swiss government which supported the new law that included measures such as increasing a surcharge on car fuel and imposing a levy on flight tickets. The rejection meant it would now be "very difficult" for Switzerland to reach its 2030 goal of cutting carbon emissions to half of their 1990 levels and to be become net neutral on emissions by 2050, Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said. "Today's no is not a no to climate protection, it is a no to the law on which we have voted," Sommaruga told a news conference. "Debates in the last few weeks have shown that many people want to strengthen the climate protection but not with this law," she said.
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Iran ready to ‘revive’ its oil production within a month once US sanctions are lifted
Iran is ready to revive its crude production as soon as possible should US sanctions be lifted, the deputy director of the national oil company said, adding that he estimates about a month is needed to return to full capacity. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is prepared to ramp up its production as soon as the restrictions imposed on the sector are lifted, the company’s deputy director for production affairs, Farrokh Alikhani, said on June 09. “After the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran and the development of a production control scenario, the production recovery scenario was also put on the agenda and plans were made to revive production at one-week, one-month and three-month intervals,” he told the oil ministry’s Shana website. While “some young and energetic wells” are expected to become fully operational on short notice, more work will likely be needed on other wells, he added. All in all, the NIOC expects to reach levels close to pre-sanctions oil production capacity a month after the restrictions are gone.
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Twitter must register company in Nigeria to resume operations – information minister
If Twitter wants the government of Nigeria to lift its ban against the site, it should register as a local entity and be licensed in the country, Information Minister Lai Mohammed has said amid a spat with the social media giant. The minister told journalists on June 09 that Twitter has reached out to the government for talks after Nigerian telecom firms were ordered to suspend access to the platform on Friday. The ban was announced a few days after the social media company removed a tweet by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari in which he appeared to threaten to punish separatists. “First and foremost, Twitter must register as a company in Nigeria. It will be licensed by the broadcasting commission,” Mohammed said of the conditions that must be met before lifting the ban. The company also “must agree not to allow its platform to be used by those who are promoting activities that are inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria,” he added. The minister said Twitter has become a platform for incitement of violence by the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, which is pushing for an independent state for the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria.
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Europe’s Carbon Border Tax Plan Looms Over Global Trade
Europe is preparing legislation that would jolt the rules of international trade by taxing imported goods based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them, a plan that has sent shudders through the world’s supply chains and unsettled big trading partners such as the U.S., Russia and China. The EU proposal would open up a new front in the fight against climate change by setting the world’s first limits on carbon in traded goods. The 27-nation bloc says it wants to stop polluting industries from shifting production outside Europe to avoid the bloc’s emissions limits and then exporting back into the EU. The proposal would also use the EU’s economic heft to send a powerful signal for other countries to start regulating carbon emissions. It comes as President Biden and European leaders are aiming to breathe new life into the Paris climate accord, after the Trump administration pulled the U.S. out and some European nations fell off track from their own emissions targets. John Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate envoy, has said carbon-tariff proposals could undermine that process, even as the administration says it is considering whether to support the policy for the U.S.
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U.S. Fight Against Chinese 5G Efforts Shifts From Threats to Incentives
The U.S. government is ratcheting up pressure on Beijing’s 5G ambitions overseas, offering financial incentives and other enticements to countries willing to shun Chinese-made telecom gear. U.S. foreign-affairs agencies are developing workshops and a handbook that would help policy makers in places like Central and Eastern Europe, and in developing countries elsewhere, to build next-generation 5G cellular networks that don’t use equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. and China’s ZTE Corp. U.S. officials say they also plan to offer training to foreign politicians, regulators and academics overseeing the rollout of 5G networks in their respective countries in coming months and years. Leading the initiative is the Commerce Department’s Commercial Law Development Program, whose mission is to advance U.S. foreign policy by directly collaborating with foreign governments on technical and legal matters. Late in the Trump administration last autumn, U.S. agencies began a push to offer loans to developing countries to buy from preferred telecom-equipment providers such as Sweden’s Ericsson, Finland’s Nokia and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. The initiative notched a victory in Ethiopia last month, when a U.S.-backed consortium beat out a Beijing-funded rival to build a new nationwide wireless network. Washington had offered up to $500 million in loans.
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Strategic
Lots of tone, little substance at G7
Despite some notable novelties, there was a strong sense of déjà vu about the results of this year’s G7 summit of industrialized economies. It seemed to be a throwback to 2016, the final year of President Barack Obama’s time in office and the eve of Donald Trump’s. And why not? Current US President Joe Biden, who attended the summit in Cornwall, England, this year, was Obama’s vice-president back then. He and much of his team are veterans of the Obama administration’s foreign policy squad. All were committed to multilateralism, which in the end was music to the ears of America’s G7 allies fatigued by Trump’s go-it-alone policies. France’s President Emmanuel Macron proclaimed it out loud. “It is great to have a US president who is part of the club and very willing to cooperate,” he said. One Trump critic immediately said he preferred “boring” Biden to “circus freakshow” Trump. That was a shot at Trump’s “America First” policy. During G7 meetings he attended, Trump badgered allies to increase funds to pay for military defense of the West, to abandon trade practices he claimed undermined the US economy and to stop focusing on climate policies that aim to eliminate fossil fuels, whose US production Trump promoted.
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G7 infrastructure plan can hardly rival BRI
The Biden administration's new proposed infrastructure plan has been downsizing, from the original $2.3 trillion to the recent $1.7 trillion, which seems still not enough to gather support from the Republicans. And the UK's financial deficit has hit a record high in 50 years and its national debt is expected to rise to 93.8 percent of GDP next year. Moreover, infrastructure projects usually demand huge investments while have a long horizon for a return. The so-called B3W initiative, as media reports revealed, will be used to mobilize private-sector capital in areas such as climate, health, digital technology, and gender equality. There is likely to be significant obstacles in mobilizing private-sector capital to join any projects with long payback period, the climate and other areas mentioned in the proposal are not in line with the current development demand of the less developed countries, Wang noted. Not to mention the distinct technological gap between China and most of the Western countries when it comes to infrastructure construction. China has been a well-known leading player in infrastructure sector, with distinct advantages in related technology, talent, experience, management, as well as capital, the experts said.
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G-7 plans steps to defend academic research with eye on China
The Group of Seven nations will agree on creating guidelines to prevent leaks of sensitive research data amid growing concerns about the risk of theft by China. The U.S. and fellow major economies will discuss including this in a statement to be released after the three-day summit that begins June 11. The statement will underscore the view that the science and technology cannot be expected to progress without measures to prevent research from being stolen by other countries. Given concerns about interfering in free and independent research, the guidelines will only target projects on AI, quantum technologies and other areas that have military applications. A working group will be formed this year to hammer out the details, including the areas to be covered and specific steps to take. The measures may be limited to advanced technologies with potential military applications, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. One proposal calls for creating a shared list with the names and nationalities of researchers at businesses, universities and research groups, as well as information about any foreign funding these entities receive. The G-7 also will discuss the need for individual members to expand legal protections such as patent frameworks.
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Macron says G7 is not a club hostile to China
French President Emmanuel Macron said on June 13 that the Group of Seven (G7) is not a club that is hostile to China and should work with the Asian economy on multiple fronts, including climate change, world trade and development policies, despite sharing differences. "China is an economic rival from whom we expect the full respect of (international trade) rules," Macron told a news conference at the end of G7 leaders' summit in Britain. Some EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are wary of Cold War-style rhetoric aimed at China and some do not like the term "adversary," which is often used by Washington when referring to Beijing, the Financial Times reported. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also urged the G7 not to cause undue offense to China, and stressed the need to cooperate with it, according to the Guardian. On China, a joint communique of the G7 did not fail to mention issues such as Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the East and South China Seas, in the name of "upholding the rules-based international system and international law," despite pledging to cooperate with China to tackle "shared global challenges" like climate change and biodiversity loss.
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In China's Communist Party, white collars now outnumber blue
For the first time ever, the number of professionals registered with the century-old Communist Party of China has exceeded the number of factory and farm laborers in its ranks, showing the changing nature of the self-described vanguard of the working class. The Communist Party had nearly 32.19 million members who can be classified as white-collar workers at the end of 2019, according to data from its organization department, topping the 32.01 million registered industrial and service workers. The Communist Party, which on July 1 will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding, states in its constitution that it "is the vanguard of the Chinese working class." Article 1 of the national constitution says the "People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants." But Takashi Suzuki, associate professor of Chinese politics at Aichi Prefectural University in Japan, said that "with laborers and farmers no longer in the mainstream, the Communist Party is losing its identity as a political organization." In 2002, the party's constitution was amended to allow private-sector employees to join as part of then-General Secretary Jiang Zemin's "Three Represents" concept.
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Who is Naftali Bennett, Israel's incoming PM?
Naftali Bennett, who was sworn in June 13 as Israel's new prime minister, embodies many of the contradictions that define the 73-year-old nation. He's a religious Jew who made millions in the mostly secular hi-tech sector; a champion of the settlement movement who lives in a Tel Aviv suburb; a former ally of Benjamin Netanyahu who has partnered with centrist and left-wing parties to end his 12-year rule. His ultranationalist Yamina party won just seven seats in the 120-member Knesset in March elections - the fourth such vote in two years. But by refusing to commit to Netanyahu or his opponents, Bennett positioned himself as kingmaker. Even after one member of his religious nationalist party abandoned him to protest the new coalition deal, he ended up with the crown. Bennett has long positioned himself to the right of Netanyahu. But he will be severely constrained by his unwieldy coalition, which has only a narrow majority in parliament and includes parties from the right, left and centre. He is opposed to Palestinian independence and strongly supports Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians and much of the international community see as a major obstacle to peace.
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Japan says ties with Taiwan are only unofficial
Japan’s relations with Taiwan are nongovernmental and practical and are based on Tokyo’s recognition of China as the sole legitimate government, a top Japanese official said June 12, following Beijing’s protest over a recent reference to the island as a country. As China flexes its muscle in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region, the issue of Taiwan is a sensitive topic, especially as Japan, the United States and other democracies develop closer ties with the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference June 11 that “Japan’s position is to maintain working relations with Taiwan at the nongovernment level,” in line with the 1972 Japan-China Communique, when Tokyo switched the diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. “That’s our basic policy and there is no change to that." Kato’s remark came a day after China protested Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s reference to Taiwan as a country during a parliamentary debate on June 09. Suga, while answering a question about pandemic measures, made a passing reference to Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia as “three countries.”
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Taiwan says will be ‘force for good’ after unprecedented G-7 support
Taiwan will be a “force for good” and continue to seek even greater international support, the presidential office said, after the Chinese-claimed island won unprecedented backing from the Group of Seven of major democracies. The G-7 leaders on June 13 scolded China over human rights in Xinjiang, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan presidential office spokesman Xavier Chang said this was the first time the G-7 leaders’ communique has stressed the importance of peace and stability in the strait and first time since its founding there was “content friendly to Taiwan,” expressing deep thanks for the support. Taiwan and G-7 member countries share basic values such as democracy, freedom, and human rights, he added. “Taiwan will certainly adhere to its role as a responsible member of the region, and it will also firmly defend the democratic system and safeguard shared universal values,” Chang said. Taiwan will continue to deepen its partnership with G-7 states and other like-minded countries and strive for greater support from the international community, he said.
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US Congress concerned over lack of hotline to avoid unintended escalation
China is set on controlling the Indo-Pacific, and without a direct line of communication between leaders in Washington and Beijing, a small incident can spark a crisis, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers June 10. Austin described the lack of a hotline -- popularly called a red phone -- as a "critical" issue. "It's concerning to me that we don't seem to have an effective hotline, direct line, whatever you want to call it, with China" at the presidential or defense secretary level, Maine Sen. Angus King said. "I understand the Chinese are reluctant about this, but I believe this ... should be a national security priority." "I absolutely agree with you," Austin said when King asked whether better links on both levels would be an important way to mitigate the risk of accidental conflict escalating. "As we look at some of the aggressive behavior that we've witnessed from China in the Indo-Pacific, you know, I'm concerned about something that could happen that could spark a crisis, and I think ... we need the ability to be able to talk with both our allies and partners but also our adversaries, or potential adversaries." "I share your concern and I absolutely agree with you that this is critical," he said.
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US-Philippine defense pact lives on for another 6 months
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has suspended the termination of a key military agreement with the U.S. by another six months, his foreign minister said late June 14, prolonging the uncertainties around one of the region's oldest defense alliances. Duterte has now put off ending the pact for a third time. The move essentially extends the Visiting Forces Agreement, a crucial component of the alliance, which is being tested by China's expansion in the disputed South China Sea. "The president conveyed to us his decision to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement by another six months while he studies and both sides further address his concerns regarding particular aspects of the agreement," Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a video message. Locsin did not elaborate on the aspects of the deal still under review. The U.S. Embassy in Manila had yet to react to his announcement. Duterte's decision comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are locked in a territorial dispute. But Duterte has said the U.S. needs to "pay" if it wants to keep the military deal.
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Soured ties between Korea, Japan exposed at G7
The bleak state of relations between Korea and Japan, caused by historical and territorial issues, continued at last week's Group of Seven (G7) Summit in the United Kingdom, as the two heads of state failed to hold an already long-overdue summit. In addition, Tokyo was reportedly opposed to expanding the G7 so that it might include other countries, including Korea. In the lead-up to the G7 Summit, there had been speculation that President Moon Jae-in and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would likely have their first in-person talks on the sidelines of the event, or even a trilateral meeting including U.S. President Joe Biden. Suga took office in September of last year. On June 14, an official of Korea's foreign ministry revealed that the two countries had provisionally agreed to hold a Moon-Suga meeting during the three-day summit, but that the Japanese side called it off, citing Korea's annual military exercises on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo, scheduled for this week.
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China nuclear plant operators release gas in bid to fix issue
Gas was deliberately released from a nuclear power plant in southern China as operators work to fix an issue at the facility, its French part-owner said on June 14 following a US media report of a potential leak. CNN said the US government is assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in populous Guangdong province after Framatome, a French firm that partly owns it, warned of an "imminent radiological threat". EDF, the majority owner of Framatome, said the plant's number one reactor experienced a build-up of noble gases in its primary circuit, which is part of the cooling system. The gas leaked after the coating on some fuel rods had deteriorated, said an EDF spokesman, who asked not to be named. Noble gases are elements which have low chemical reactivity - in this case it was xenon and krypton. The gases were collected and treated as part of a process to remove any radiocativity before their release, which was normal and "in accordance with regulations", the spokesman said. "We are not in a scenario of an accident with a melting core," he said. "We are not talking about contamination; we are talking about controlled emissions."
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Top Military Officer Clarifies Biden’s Threat Assessment: Climate Change – But Also China and Russia
The military's top officer asserted on June 10 that the biggest threats the U.S. faces are China and Russia, a day after President Joe Biden recounted to American troops during a trip to the U.K. that military leaders told him climate change represents the "greatest threat to America." "Climate change does impact, but the president is looking at a much broader angle than I am," Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional panel June 10 morning. "I'm looking at it from a strictly military standpoint. And from a strictly military standpoint, I'm putting China, Russia up there." Milley, appointed to his current position during the Trump administration, was responding to a question from Sen. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Republican, about comments Biden made on June 09 during the first stop of his week-long tour through Europe. Speaking to American forces based at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, Biden recounted a discussion with the Joint Chiefs in their cloistered "tank" meeting room at the Pentagon when he was vice president: "This is not a joke. You know what the Joint Chiefs told us the greatest threat facing America was? Global warming."
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White House says NATO will launch 'ambitious' security initiatives
The White House said on June 13 ahead of June 14's NATO summit that alliance leaders would launch an "ambitious" set of initiatives to ensure it continues providing security through 2030 and beyond. It said the 30 member countries would agree to revise NATO’s "Strategic Concept" to guide its "approach to the evolving strategic environment, which includes Russia’s aggressive policies and actions; challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China to our collective security, prosperity, and values; and transnational threats such as terrorism, cyber threats, and climate change." The White House statement said the new Strategic Concept would be prepared for adoption at the 2022 NATO Summit. "Allied leaders will launch an ambitious set of initiatives to ensure NATO continues to provide security to our citizens through 2030 and beyond," the statement added. Reuters reported earlier that NATO's Strategic Concept was expected to include China's military rise as a challenge for the first time. NATO leaders will endorse a new Cyber Defense Policy boosting coordination to ensure the alliance "is resilient against the increasingly frequent and severe threats ... including disruptive ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure."
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NATO approaches Qatar to seek training base for Afghan forces after withdrawal
Security officials under NATO command have approached Qatar to secure a base that can be used to train Afghan special forces as part of a strategic commitment after foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan, three senior Western officials said. After two decades of war, forces from 36 countries involved in NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan are set to pull out of the country in coordination with a U.S. troop withdrawal by Sept. 11. "We are holding talks to earmark a base in Qatar to create an exclusive training ground for senior members of the Afghan forces," said a senior Western security official in Kabul. The official, whose country is part of the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Afghanistan, requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak with journalists. An integral part of Resolute Support has been to train and equip Afghan security forces fighting the Islamist Taliban, which was ousted from power in 2001 and has since waged an insurgency. "We have made an offer but it is for authorities in Qatar to decide if they are comfortable with NATO using their territory as a training ground," said a second security source based in Washington DC.
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Turkey should pull troops from Afghanistan under 2020 accord -Taliban spokesman
Turkey should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan under the 2020 deal for the pullout of U.S. forces, a Taliban spokesman said on June 10, effectively rejecting Ankara's proposal to guard and run Kabul's airport after U.S.-led NATO forces depart. The development raises serious questions for the United States, other countries and international organizations with missions in Kabul about how to securely evacuate their personnel from landlocked Afghanistan should fighting threaten the capital. It also appeared to dash Ankara's hopes of using the securing of Kabul airport to help improve ties with Washington - strained by Turkey's purchase of Russian defense systems - in talks set for June 14 between President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Asked in a text message whether the Taliban rejected Turkey's proposal to keep forces in Kabul to guard and run the international airport after other foreign troops leave, the Taliban spokesman in Doha responded that they should go as well. "Turkey was part of NATO forces in the past 20 years, so as such, they should withdraw from Afghanistan on the basis of the Agreement we signed with US on 29th Feb 2020," Suhail Shaheen told Reuters.
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Explainer: An eye for an eye? China's new anti-foreign sanctions law
China passed a wide-ranging law to counter foreign sanctions on June 10, in an apparent move to legalise its tit-for-tat retaliation against punitive actions taken by foreign countries over issues from human rights to Hong Kong. The law, effective immediately, builds upon previous administrative countermeasures against foreign sanctions issued by the Chinese foreign and commerce ministries. It also lays out the scope of China's countersanctions. Individuals or entities involved in the making or implementation of discriminatory measures against Chinese citizens or interfering with China's internal affairs could be put onto a blacklist, according to the full text of the law published on June 10. Blacklisted individuals could find their relatives, and the organisations of which they are senior managers or have control over placed on the list. "Relevant departments" in the Chinese government can decide who to put on or remove from the blacklist. Those blacklisted could be denied entry into China or deported from China. Their assets within China can be sealed, seized or frozen. Entities within China could be restricted from engaging in all forms of transactions or cooperation or other activities, potentially limiting the investment activities of blacklisted entities in China.
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Doctors Without Borders warns of ‘life-threatening’ consequences after Myanmar junta demands group cease work
Thousands of HIV and tuberculosis patients in southern Myanmar are facing serious health risks, the aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned after the country’s military junta told it to “suspend all activities”. MSF said on June 09 that it had received a letter from officials asking the group to stop its work in the southeastern area of Dawei, where it has provided healthcare for more than two decades. Trying to clarify the situation, MSF said it had reached out to regional officials in an attempt to “understand” the reasoning for their decision, which, if followed, would prevent the group from treating more than 2,000 people in the area who are living with HIV. Almost all public medical facilities across Myanmar have been closed in the wake of the February 1 coup, after doctors and other health officials took part in the ongoing civil strike opposing the military takeover. The order for MSF to suspend its work comes despite a meeting between the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, and Hlaing on June 3.
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Medical
G7's billion vaccine plan counts some past pledges, limiting impact
A G7 plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries will have limited impact because it includes some previous pledges, but it still offers a small lifeline to a global vaccine buying system, according to some experts. Leaders from the Group of Seven major economies announced the move on June 11. A U.S. initiative announced on June 10 to donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech SE vaccine is part of the G7 pledge. Many of the promised doses will flow through COVAX, a global vaccine buying system backed by the World Health Organization and Gavi, the vaccine alliance. The pledge does not represent entirely new resources, and the donation is far short of the 5 billion to 6 billion shots needed by poorer nations. Moreover, the plan does not address distribution gaps that could make it difficult to deliver doses. But experts said it is still a much-needed boost to COVAX, which has so far only distributed 83 million shots worldwide. COVAX has struggled to secure deliveries as wealthy nations reserve enough shots to vaccinate their populations several times over.
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China gives Sinopharm green light to use Covid-19 vaccine on children aged 3 to 17
Beijing has given its approval to Sinopharm for one of its vaccines to be administered to children between the ages of three and 17, after Sinovac’s shot was given the green light for use on youngsters last week. Speaking to reporters on June 11, Shao Yiming, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products subsidiary had been granted approval to use its vaccine on children and adolescents. The approval means the vaccine, which is administered in a two-dose regimen, can be given to those aged between three and 17. In May, it was granted emergency approval by the World Health Organization in a move that removed residual doubts about its effectiveness and safety. Sinopharm’s second shot, produced by its Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, is also awaiting approval for use on children. The approval comes after another Chinese vaccine-maker, Sinovac, was given the green light by the Chinese authorities last week for its Covid-19 shots to be administered to three- to 17-year-olds.
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Japan city uses tsunami lessons for COVID-19 vaccinations
Soma, a rural city 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Tokyo that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has surged ahead of most of the country in vaccinations by heeding lessons learned from the catastrophe of a decade ago. That disaster taught Soma the importance of laying out and communicating clear plans, working closely with local medical professionals, gathering affected people in concentrated places - and not waiting for a plan to come down from Tokyo - said Vice Mayor Katsuhiro Abe. Soma's leaders and doctors, drawing on 2011 lessons, began drafting plans and running inoculation drills in December, months before vaccines were approved. The city set up a central vaccination centre, conserving medical manpower. Residents were called by city block, no reservation necessary, and the city sent busses for those who could not travel on their own. After the previous disaster, Soma's neighbours know to look out for each other, while city officials are used to shifting gears from office work to crisis management, said Abe, a lifelong Soma resident. Townspeople are shuttled briskly to waiting areas and screenings, then to a partitioned area for their shots.
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