China: Daily Scan, December 20, 2021

China's State Council appoints, removes officials: Xinhuanet

December 17, 2021

China's State Council, the cabinet, on Friday announced the appointment and removal of officials. Yu Jiadong was appointed vice minister of human resources and social security. Sheng Qiuping was appointed assistant minister of the Ministry of Commerce.Yan Qinghui was appointed deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration. .Click here to read... [2]

Zhang Guoqing elected Party chief of China's Liaoning: Xinhuanet

December 18, 2021

Zhang Guoqing has been elected secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Zhang was elected to the post at the first plenary session of the 13th CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee on Saturday.Click here to read... [3]

Chinese researchers develop light-splitting solar greenhouse roof: Xinhuanet

December 17, 2021

Chinese researchers have developed a new type of light-splitting greenhouse roof that can allow visible light to enter while converting near-infrared light into electricity. A group of researchers from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, developed this new greenhouse covering structure based on the solar spectral splitting utilization, according to China Science Daily.Click here to read... [4]

China to create 1 mln innovative SMEs by 2025: Quishi

December 20, 2021

China aims to cultivate 1 million innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 2025, according to a government guideline on the development of SMEs during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). By then, the country will also incubate 100,000 SMEs that feature specialization, refinement, uniqueness and innovation, and 10,000 "little giant" firms, which refer to small enterprises in their early stage of development and focusing on high-end technologies, said the guideline jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 19 other ministries and government departments. .Click here to read... [5]

Xi stresses building unified national market, enhancing government oversight: China Military

December 18, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged efforts to build a unified national market at a faster pace and enhance government oversight efficacy. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, also stressed furthering the construction of world-class universities and first-class disciplines. .Click here to read... [6]

China issues white paper on HKSAR democracy, stresses CPC, central govt’s role as guardian of its democracy: Global Times

December 20, 2021

Shortly after the Legislative Council election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded on Monday morning with all 90 seats elected, the Chinese central government released a white paper on Monday titled Hong Kong Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems, which stresses that there is no question that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government designed, created, safeguarded and pushed forward Hong Kong's democratic system. .Click here to read... [7]

China's 2nd aircraft carrier conducts exercises in South China Sea: Global Times

December 19, 2021

The Shandong, the second aircraft carrier of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, recently set out for realistic combat-oriented drills in the South China Sea, in a move experts said on Sunday will enhance its capabilities. Since reports suggested that the Liaoning, the PLA Navy's first aircraft carrier, is also currently undertaking drills in the Pacific Ocean, observers are looking forward to seeing the Liaoning and the Shandong form a dual carrier group for the first time in the not-too-distant future. .

China holds democracy conference, sets up global network: China Daily

An international forum on democracy attended by global experts has concluded in Beijing, with the launch of a global think tank on democracy. The 'International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values', ran from Dec 4 to 15, bringing together 500 guests from 120 countries and regions as well as 20 international organizations both online and on-site to discuss democracy. .Click here to read... [8]

Pro-Beijing candidates sweep 'patriots'-only Hong Kong vote amid low turnout: Reuters

December 20, 2021

Pro-Beijing candidates swept to victory in an overhauled "patriots"-only legislative election in Hong Kong that was deemed regressive by critics, with turnout hitting a record low amid a crackdown on the city's freedoms by China. The turnout of 30.2% was almost half that of the previous legislative poll in 2016, with the latest results showing almost all of the seats being taken by pro-Beijing and pro-establishment candidates. .Click here to read... [9]

China’s future spaceplane may be able to take off and land at airports: South China Morning Post

December 19, 2021

China’s space flight technology may have advanced beyond that of the United States as it can now launch spaceplanes without rocket propulsion, according to a Chinese military magazine. It means the spaceplanes will not need launch sites and will be able to take off and land at airports – a cost-saving development that has added to concerns over the weaponisation of space. China is developing a spaceplane known as Tengyun, which has a horizontal take-off and horizontal landing (HTHL) system. That gives it an advantage over the US equivalent, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), which is rocket-launched, according to military magazine Naval and Merchant Ships. .Click here to read... [10]

Hit back when criticised on human rights’: Xi to officials: South China Morning Post

December 18, 2021

Chinese officials should “resolutely hit back” whenever confronted by the West on human rights, President Xi Jinping instructed China’s ruling elite in 2014, a new book has revealed.
In a February meeting that year, just 11 months into his first term as state president, Xi told about 170 ministerial-level officials that there were plenty of problems in the West. “When Western leaders talked to me about human rights, I always said there’s no such a thing as best human rights, only better human rights,” he said. “By saying that, I mean of course China’s human rights need development but you also have lots of problems on human rights, too.” .Click here to read... [11]

China’s hydrogen energy industry accelerates as country races towards carbon neutral goal: South China Morning Post

December 17, 2021

China’s hydrogen energy industry is taking off thanks to huge investment over the past five years, as the country pushes towards peaking emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, industry insiders and experts say. Authorities’ tolerance for trial and error and China’s huge market potential are key factors in its world-leading hydrogen energy development, according to observers. In 2016, key components and materials for hydrogen fuel cell electric cars in China relied on imports, and most domestic products were only in the R&D stage, according to Li Wei, vice general manager of the China Automotive Technology & Research Centre. .Click here to read... [12]