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INFOCUS | INDIA-CHINA | NEWS

China Raises Defence Budget

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hina will raise its defence budget by 12.2 per cent this year. This announcement was made by Beijing DV LW RSHQHG LWV DQQXDO SDUOLDPHQW VHVVLRQ LQ 0DUFK ÂżUVW week. The increase in budget is to the tune of $131.57 billion and will be used partly to develop more high-tech weapons and to beef up coastal and air defences. The country has also announced country’s growth target of 7.5 per cent. The 7.5 per cent target is aimed at ‘building a moderately prosperous society in all respects’, Premier Li Keqiang said. China wants to focus on boosting market and providing stable growth that ensures employment.

However, to accomplish the growth task, ‘painful structural adjustments’ will be needed said Premier Li. The focus on economic growth has further raised concerns on the country’s notorious pollution situation in the country. Addressing this concern Li said that strong measures will be taken to strengthen pollution prevention and control. An amount of $35 billion has been pledged to combat toxic smog that frequently engulfs Chinese cities.

Chinese Cargo Ship in Space

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his could be China’s another major step towards the destination Space. China is expected to launch a cargo ship into the space by 2016 to serve the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, state media Xinhua reported in early March.

The announcement underlines the space ambitions of China, bent on making its mark, even as the US and some European countries are busy working on their space station technology.

The cargo transportation is an important part in supplying materials on the space. The Tianzhou cargo ship can send supplies to the space station, including propellants, living necessities for astronauts and HTXLSPHQW IRU VFLHQWLÂżF UHVHDUFK ,W FDQ GHVWUR\ YDULRXV ZDVWH PDWHULDOV 7LDQJRQJ &KLQDÂśV ÂżUVW VSDFH ODE DQG target orbiter, was sent to orbit in September, 2011.

Surge in Consumer Complaints

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atest data from the China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) shows that consumer complaints on Internet shopping experiences have registered and increase. The complaints totaled around 17,000 in 2013 marking a rise of 60 per cent. These complaints were about discrepancies between product quality and advertisement as well as cases involving counterfeit products, slow after-sales service, long repair and delivery period.

The report stated that the rise in complaints shows that consumer rights violations in China are still a pronounced problem. The report also suggested that Chinese consumers are increasingly aware of their interests and will report to authorities if their interests and rights are infringed upon.

|6| India-China Chronicle ƒ March 2014

No Impediments in Software Cooperation

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ndia and China’s third round of Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) held in March has brought some cheer to the Indian IT software companies, who would now have access to the Chinese market. The countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on IT cooperation, marking a formal recognition from the Chinese government to promote Indian software companies.

Indian companies have long struggled to obtain contracts from Chinese state-run companies.

Yang Xueshan, Vice Minister in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and one of &KLQD¶V VHQLRU PRVW RI¿FLDO LQ FKDUJH RI ,7 SROLF\ VDLG WKDW China’s State- owned Enterprises (SOEs) do not pose any impediments for Indian software companies.

Mumbai University Set to Start Martial Arts

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hina offered to start a programme in martial arts through Mumbai University. This was announced by the Consul General of China, Liu Youfa, during a meeting with Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan in February. Youfa told the Governor that having established a Confucius Institute at the University of Mumbai last year, China is now considering offering a programme in martial arts through the varsity. The programme will train students in self defence, he said.

He also highlighted that China was seriously considering setting up an Industrial Park in Nashik. An area of 2,000 DFUHV KDV EHHQ LGHQWL¿HG IRU WKH SXUSRVH $FFRUGLQJ WR <RXfa, the China Industrial Park will have 20-30 non-polluting, high-end manufacturing and IT companies which will provide direct employment to nearly 3,000 people. Youfa, an economist by training, said the trade volume between India and China was USD 64 billion last year. Efforts are being made to increase the same, he added. Youfa said he has been conducting market research in Mumbai and Bangalore to identify new areas of co-operation for trade and investment.

The meeting was presided by Xu Shaoshi, head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission of India.

India also sought Chinese support in substantially raising the speed on three rail corridors and in developing modern stations. China has rapidly modernised its rail network in the last 30 years. India has sought assistance in raising speed on three lines, between New Delhi Agra, .DQSXU DQG &KDQGLJDUK &KLQHVH UDLO RI¿FLDOV VDLG WKH\ could help raise speeds from the current 130 kilometres per hour to 160 or even 200 kilometres per hour.

7KH ¿UVW 6(' GLDORJXH ZDV KHOG LQ %HLMLQJ LQ 6HSWHPEHU 2011 and the second in New Delhi in November 2012.

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ccording to Centre’s urbanization plan, the permanent urban residents of China’s total population will reach 60 per cent by 2020. The proportion of urbanites holding household registration will increase to about 45 per cent at the end of 2020, up from 35.7 per cent of 2013.

This implies that about 100 million migrants from rural China will settle down with equal access to public services in cities. ................................................................................................................

Chinese man from Northern city of Beijing has become the first person in the country to sue the government for air pollution. The resident, from Hebei province, submitted his complaint to a district court asking the municipality to control the air pollution according to the law. He is also seeking compensation. ................................................................................................................ he Chinese film ‘Bai Ri Yan Huo’ (Black Coal, Thin Ice) won the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin International Film Festival. Chinese actor Liao Fan, who played a role of detective Zhang in the film, won the Silver Bear for Best Actor. ................................................................................................................ ndia’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced Mandarin language in 22 schools across the country. The schools are from three metro cities besides Bangalore, Raipur and Jaipur. For this pilot project, CBSE has tied up with Hanban-China’s national office for teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

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March 2014 India-China Chronicle |7|