CHINA MIRROR WEEKLY NEWS 12TH ISSUE 8.11.2021

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Association for Sri Lanka China Social and Cultural Co-operation SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

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ChinaMyanmar natural gas pipeline transports 3.35 bln cubic meters of natural gas in Jan-Sept.

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Wang Yi welcomes Iran’s resumption of JCPOA nuclear negotiations by late Nov

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“China’s Development, World’s Opportunity”

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China-India trade likely to exceed $100 billion in 2021, so what does it tell?

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Whole-process people's democracy: Grassroots elections underway in China

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the fourth China International Import Expo held in east China's Shanghai on Nov. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Amid the weakening of global consensus on opening up, President Xi Jinping made fresh pledges Thursday to open the Chinese market wider as the country has fully delivered on its accession commitments

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China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline transports 3.35 bln cubic meters of natural 2 gas in Jan-Sept.

China-India trade likely to exceed $100 billion in 2021, so what does it tell?

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Wang Yi welcomes Iran’s resumption of JCPOA nuclear negotiations by late Nov 5 “China’s Development, World’s Opportunity” –Says H.E. Qi Zhenhong, 4

Firm determination to safeguard natl sovereignty can’t be underestimated, FM says, responding to US general’s claims to ‘defend Taiwan’ Global Times Nov 04, 2021

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Xi pledges more openness…

Noting that globalization is facing headwinds, Xi expressed concern over the decline of an index on world openness in the past decade while addressing the opening ceremony of the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE).

"We must stay on top of the prevailing trend of economic globalization, and support countries around the world in opening up wider while rejecting unilateralism and protectionism. This is significantly important if we are to take humanity to a better future," Xi said.

NEW PLEDGES "Opening up is the hallmark of contemporary China," Xi told officials, business leaders and entrepreneurs participating in this year's CIIE. As part of the country's efforts to safeguard true multilateralism, Xi said China will uphold the position of the multilateral trading regime as the main channel for international rules-setting, and safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

China will also take an active and open attitude in negotiations on issues such as the digital economy, trade and the environment, industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises, he said.

With a population of 1.4 billion and over 400 million middle-incomers, China will share market opportunities with the rest of the world via measures such as opening more demonstration zones for creative promotion of import trade and promoting Silk Road e-commerce, Xi said.

To firmly promote high-standard opening up, China will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment, and expand the opening of telecommunication, healthcare and other services in an orderly fashion, according to the president.

"China will firmly uphold the common interests of the world," he said, pledging to actively join in global efforts to tackle climate change and safeguard food and energy security, and provide more assistance to fellow developing countries within the framework of South-South cooperation.

UNCHANGED RESOLVE The year of 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the WTO. Over the last two decades, the country's continuous efforts in widening opening-up

have brought its development to a new stage and injected fresh impetus into the world economy, Xi noted.

"China has fully delivered on its accession commitments," Xi said.

China's overall tariff rate has been cut from 15.3 percent to 7.4 percent, lower than the 9.8 percent accession commitment, delivering dividends to its trade partners all over the world.

In the past 20 years, China's global ranking of trade in goods has risen from the sixth to the first, while that of its trade in services has jumped from the 11th to the second.

The country's development and progress since it entered the WTO is the result of much hard work and great tenacity of the Chinese people under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China and the country's proactive steps to strengthen international cooperation and work for win-win outcomes, Xi said.

"As for China, we will not change our resolve to open wider at a high standard; we will not change our determination to share development opportunities with the rest of the world; and we will not change our commitment to an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all," Xi said.

As the world's first import-themed national-level expo, China's CIIE has offered a platform for entrepreneurs and traders worldwide. This year's CIIE draws nearly 3,000 businesses from 127 countries and regions, higher than its last edition.

"As a European company in China for over 30 years, we have witnessed China's continuous efforts to deepen opening up and improve the business environment since its accession to the WTO. We have full confidence in China's development and future," said Tony Wei, Managing Director of Business Services and Managing Director of Swarovski Crystal Business, Greater China.

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China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline transports 3.35 bln cubic

As of October this year, the ChinaMyanmar natural gas pipeline has transported a total of 32.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas since its operation in July 2013.

The 2,500-km natural gas pipeline starts from Myanmar's Kyaukpyu port. It enters China from the border city of Ruili, Yunnan, and passes through Guizhou Province and ends at Guigang City, Guangxi.

Firm determination ...

Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US not to send any wrong signals to the Taiwan secessionists so as not to seriously damage the China-US relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, in responding to the negative and false remarks from Mark Milley, chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The negative and erroneous words and deeds of the US related to the Taiwan question have encouraged the blatancy of the Taiwan secessionists and increased the tension across the Taiwan Straits, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Milley said that Chinese mainland is unlikely to try to "militarily seize" the island of Taiwan in the near future - "six, 12, maybe 24 months."

And he said US forces "absolutely have the capability" to defend the Taiwan island.

"The Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and concerns China's core interests. No one should underestimate China's firm resolve and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity… We will never allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any way," Wang said.

KUNMING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)

"The US should follow a real one-China policy, not a fake one. The US should honor its commitments to China, rather than reneging on its promises. It should put the one-China policy into real action, rather than saying one thing and doing another," Wang noted.

The China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline has transported about 3.35 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the first three quarters of 2021, up 4.2 percent year on year, the energy administration of southwest China's Yunnan Province said Friday.

Among the amount, Yunnan consumed nearly 1.8 billion cubic meters, up 8.1 percent year on year, the provincial energy administration said.

We urge the US to be fully aware of the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question, abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques, prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related affairs, and refrain from sending any wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists so as not to seriously damage the China-US relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, Wang said.

Full text: Xi Jinping's remarks at the 4th CIIE opening ceremony CGTN 4 Nov

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech via video link at the opening ceremony of the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum on Thursday.

Here is the full text of his speech: Dear Friends, Good evening! As the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens today, it gives me great pleasure to meet you online in this cloud meeting.

At the outset, I would like to extend, on behalf of the government and people of China and also in my own name, a hearty welcome to our distinguished guests and warm greetings and best wishes to our friends old and new.

China is a firm believer in honoring its words with actions. The measures I announced at the third CIIE for further opening up have mostly been implemented. The negative list for crossborder trade in services at the Hainan Free Trade Port has been introduced; reform and innovation for pilot free trade zones are making steady progress; foreign investment access continues to expand; business environment continues to improve; negotiations on the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment have been concluded; and China is among the first to have completed domestic ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). China has overcome the impact of COVID-19 to achieve innovative growth in foreign trade. As the only major economy to register positive growth of trade in goods last year, China has made important contributions to keeping global industrial and supply chains stable and boosting world economic recovery.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, As we speak, the world is experiencing the combined impacts of major changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and economic globalization is facing headwinds. Studies show a steady decline of the World Openness Index over the past decade and a weak-

ening of global consensus on opening up, which are causes for great concern. For a boat to sail upstream, it has to forge ahead or be driven backward. We must stay on top of the prevailing trend of economic globalization, and support countries around the world in opening up wider while rejecting unilateralism and protectionism. This is significantly important if we are to take humanity to a better future.

Opening up is the hallmark of contemporary China. This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Over the last two decades, China has fully delivered on its accession commitments.

Its overall tariff rate has been cut from 15.3 percent to 7.4 percent, lower than the 9.8 percent accession commitment.

The central government has reviewed and revised over 2,300 pieces of laws and regulations, and local governments over 190,000 pieces, which all helped to unleash market and social vitality. Since the start of COVID-19, China has provided to the international community some 350 billion masks, over four billion protective suits, over six billion testing kits, and over 1.6 billion doses of vaccines. China has actively promoted international cooperation against the pandemic, and supported waiving intellectual property rights on vaccines for developing countries. These are the concrete actions China has taken to honor commitments and fulfill responsibilities.

Over the last 20 years, China's economic size has grown from the 6th to the 2nd largest in the world, trade in goods from the 6th to the 1st, and trade in services from the 11th to the 2nd. China has led developing countries in utilized foreign investment, and its outbound direct investment (ODI) has risen from the 26th to the 1st. The past 20 years have witnessed a China deepening reform and pursuing all-round opening up, a China seizing opportunities and rising to challenges, and a China stepping up to its responsibilities and benefiting the whole world.

Since joining the WTO, China has kept opening wider to the world, thus generating a new wave of domestic development while injecting fresh impetus into the world economy.

China's development and progress since its WTO accession 20 years ago is the result of much hard work and great tenacity of the Chinese people under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is also the result of China's proactive steps to strengthen international cooperation and pursue win -win cooperation.

On this occasion, I wish to express my

heartfelt thanks to all Chinese and foreign friends from different social sectors for taking part in and witnessing this historic process and for supporting China's opening up and development endeavor.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Ancient Chinese observed, "One can tell the inside of a thing by observing its outside and see the future development by reviewing the past." For any country or nation to thrive, it must follow the logic of history and develop in line with the trend of the times. As for China, we will not change our resolve to open wider at a high standard; we will not change our determination to share development opportunities with the rest of the world; and we will not change our commitment to an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.

First, China will firmly safeguard true multilateralism. The multilater al tr ading regime with the WTO at its core is the cornerstone of international trade. Right now, the multilateral trading regime faces challenges. China supports the WTO reform in moving in the right direction. We support the inclusive development of the multilateral trading regime, as well as the legitimate rights and interests of the developing members. China will take an active and open attitude in negotiations on issues such as the digital economy, trade and the environment, industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises, uphold the position of the multilateral trading regime as the main channel for international rules -setting, and safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

Second, China will firmly share market opportunities with the rest of the world.

China has a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of more than 400 million people. Our annual import in goods and services is valued at around $2.5 trillion. All this offers an enormous market. Going forward, China will lay more emphasis on expanding import, and pursue balanced development of trade.

China will open more demonstration zones for creative promotion of import trade, optimize the catalogue of retail imports via cross-border e-commerce, encourage the on-site processing of imported goods from trading between border residents, and increase imports from neighboring countries. China will better integrate its domestic and foreign trade, speed up the development of international consumption center cities, promote Silk Road e-commerce, build modern logistics systems, and shore up the capacity of cross-border logistics.

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and impetus into the current world

continued to increase (up by 22.3%

economy with uncertainty, which was for the first eight months) and forhighlighted by: First, the consumer price

eign exchange reserves remained stable, maintaining above USD 3.2

index (CPI) was at a relatively low

trillion for five consecutive

level (up by 0.6% year on

months. Fifth, there was sustained

year). Prices of daily necessities

recovery of domestic de-

were stable with a slight decline and

mand. Investment in the manufac-

food prices have dropped by

turing industry and private invest-

1.6%. Second, employment was

ment achieved average two-year

generally stable. 10.45 million new

growth of 3.3% and 3.7% respective-

jobs were created in urban areas,

ly. The per capita disposable income

achieving 95% of this year’s target;

rose by 9.7% year on year, basically

Zhenhong, Chinese Ambassador to

surveyed urban unemployment rate

in line with GDP growth. Sixth, in-

Sri Lanka

was 5.2%. Third, steady progress

novation and entrepreneurship

was witnessed in the development

gained sound momentum. China

three quarters of 2021 released by Chi-

of industries. The total output of

has moved up and ranks the 12th in

na’s National Bureau of Statistics was

summer grain and early rice in-

WIPO’s “Global Innovation Index

very eye-catching: the gross domestic

creased by 3.69 million tons com-

2021”. Market entities have in-

product (GDP) reached 82.31 trillion

pared to last year and the sown area

creased rapidly, with a total number

yuan, up by 9.8% over the same peri-

for autumn grain also expanded. The

of nearly 150 million and the overall

od of last year at comparable prices,

value added of high-tech manufactur- level of activity around

with an average two-year growth of

ing industry increased by 20.1% year 70%. Seventh, the development

5.2%. Despite the continuous impact of

on year with an average two-year

vitality of enterprises was stimulat-

COVID-19 worldwide, China’s econo-

growth of 12.8%. Fourth, foreign

ed. For the first eight months, the

my was growing steadily. Its optimized

trade and investment grew rapid-

value added of medium-sized indus-

and upgraded economy showed extraor-

ly. The trade value of goods in-

trial enterprises and micro and small

dinary resilience to pressure, contribut-

creased by 22.7% year on year in the

ones above designated size increased

ed significantly to the stabilization and

first three quarters, with widened

by 16.3% and 14.1% year on year

restoration of the global supply chain,

trade surplus and optimized trade

respectively and the total profit of

and injected much-needed confidence

structure. Paid-in foreign investment

“China’s Development, World’s Opportunity” –Says H.E. Qi

The economic data for the first

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timely and of interest to all parties. As the host of the third meeting, China is willing to strengthen coordination with relevant parties, including Iran, to accumulate consensus and strive to achieve more results, Wang noted.

Wang Yi welcomes Iran’s resumption of JCPOA nuclear negotiations by late Nov Global Times Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed Iran's decision to resume the JCPOA nuclear negotiations by late November in Vienna, noting that it revealed a positive position of Iran to reinstate its commitment.

In the Saturday's phone call between Wang and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian, Wang urged all relevant parties to strengthen coordination and jointly promote the negotiations in the right direction.

He then called on Iran to restore its commitment on nuclear issues as the US is intended to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Ac-

tion (JCPOA) after its unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal on May 8, 2018 by then Trump Administration. The US should take the lead in correcting its unilateral withdrawal, Wang said.

During the phone call, Wang emphasized the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership and China's firm will to develop the relations and fight against unilateralism and hegemonism.

China was in support of enhanced cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which would create a good atmosphere for resumption of the negotiation, Wang said.

Wang also congratulated Iran on successfully hosting the second Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Afghanistan's Neighboring Countries, saying that the mechanism was

The six neighboring countries should give full play to their advantages in order to address the legitimate concerns of each other and play a unique and constructive role for Afghanistan to achieve long-term stability, Wang pointed out.

Abdollahian stressed the IranChina strategic relationship and appreciated China's positive position and constructive role in the Iran nuclear issues. Iran is committed to resume the negotiations of the JCPOA and willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China in this regard. According to Abdollahian, Iran attached importance to the cooperation with IAEA and would invite the Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to visit the country in the near future.

To respond to China's expectations, Abdollahian emphasized that Iran advocated the Chinaproposed Global Development Initiative. Iran would also support China as the host of the third Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Afghanistan's Neighboring Countries.

ChinaIndia trade likely to exceed $100 billion in 2021, so what does it tell?

Telecommunications equipment imported from China accounted for 41.39 percent of India's total imports, electronic components and devices imported from China account for 36.9 percent, organic chemicals, 25.2 percent, and, machinery and equipment, 30.7 percent.

recovery of China's production activities, a large number of manufacturing orders have flowed to China, driving China's raw material imports, including India demand for intermediate materials and raw materials such as iron ore, bituminous coal and cotton.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promoting his "Make in India" agenda since he came to power in The political relationship between Chi- 2014. Many years have vanished, but na and India has been at a very low the proportion of Indian manufacturpoint since last year's border clash, and, ing has not achieved meaningful prothe economies of the two Asian coungress today. tries have also been through a roller coaster ride under the impact of the India's manufacturing industry acCOVID-19 pandemic. counts for only 13 percent of its GDP

In addition, the pandemic has provided an opportunity for some Indian products to enter Chinese market. For instance, India has been pushing China to import more rice from its domestic producers, and China has over time granted more Indian rice manufacturers export qualifications to China, but the rice transactions between the two countries have not improved significantly.

Global Time

In this context, the trade between the two countries reversed a sharp decline from the same period in 2020 in the first half of this year, growing by nearly 30 percent compared with 2019. It is expected that the annual trade volume will exceed the $100 billion mark for the first time. This was a goal jointly proposed by the two countries 11 years ago.

Following the border clash in 2020, the Indian media sparked a wild wave of opinion uproar calling for the "boycott Chinese goods". While there has been continuous so-called "decoupling" move from the Indian government and the "boycott" campaign by Indian activists, how can the bilateral trade volume keep surging? The reason is simple - it is not that easy as some people think for India to decouple from the Chinese economy.

in 2020. Although the proportion of China's manufacturing industry has dropped by nearly 10 percentage points from its peak, it remains as high as 26 percent. China still has absolute advantages worldwide in the production of many manufactured goods, such as photovoltaic modules, raw materials, electronic components, power equipment, and a broad range of household appliances.

India knows that if it uses trade measures to sanction China, it will suffer more than China. Therefore, although New Delhi has increased additional scrutiny of Chinese investment since 2020, by banning Chineseinvested apps in the Indian market, it did not impose higher tariffs and nontariff barriers on goods from China.

Secondly, India is deeply embedded in the international supply chain with For starters, if India wants to decouple China at its core. In three out of the from the Chinese economy, India must past five years, India's exports to Chiboost its own production capacity in a na were higher than imports. Even as short period of time and guarantee to China-India trade fell 5.6 percent due provide competitive prices, or find alter- to the impact of the COVID-19 in natives to replace Chinese suppliers in 2020, India's exports to China still other parts of the world. But, India find increased by 16 percent. The growth is it difficult to realize them. mainly from the second half of 2020 and continues to the first half of 2021.

Among India's 10 top importing categories of goods in 2019, China is the larg- The reason is that with the large-scale est import source for four categories.

Last year, because China's traditional rice importing source country was unable to guarantee the supply due to the pandemic, China increased its imports from India. The import volume increased from less than 800 tons in 2019 to 330,000 tons in 2020, and it is expected to exceed 1 million tons in 2021.

In addition, Indian pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories, has recently been approved to launch one of its oncological treatments in the Chinese market. This also shows that China has not delayed its commitment to open its market to India over the border conflict.

In the practice of international relations, it is common for politics and economics to be kept separate. For political issues related to homeland security and sovereignty, no politician will measure economic gains or losses, but when they face decisions about investment and consumption, they often make practical decisions.

Although it has become more and more difficult to keep business as usual, economic laws are still showing their fundamental role in economic activities.

Wang Yaping becomes China's first female astronaut to spacewalk CGTN 08 Nov Wang Yaping, 41, became China's first female astronaut to conduct a spacewalk on Sunday.

Wang and her mission commander Zhai Zhigang – both members of the Shenzhou-13 crew – conducted their first extravehicular activities (EVAs) since they entered the space station core module Tianhe in mid-October, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office

(CMSEO).

The operations started at 6:51 p.m.

(Beijing Time), when Zhai opened the hatch of Tianhe's node cabin.

At 8:28 p.m., the pair stepped out of the cabin, both wearing the country's self-developed "Feitian" extravehicular spacesuits, while their crewmate Ye Guangfu remained inside the core module to aid their operations.

They first installed a foot restraint and a workbench on the robotic arm. Then with the support of the robotic arm, they cooperated to install a suspension system and an adapter for it, which will be used for future space station assembling works.

They also carried out tests of classic extravehicular moves and verification of mutual rescue efforts during the EVAs. Wang Yaping was China's second female astronaut to go to space, and the country's first female to live in its space station.

In June 2013, Wang and her two other crewmates, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang, were sent to space aboard Shenzhou-10.

She gave a lecture about space during the mission via live broadcast, a first for China, reaching and inspiring millions of school children across the country.

Zhai, 55, is the first Chinese to have conducted a spacewalk. He performed a landmark 20-minute EVA during the Shenzhou-7 mission back in 2008, which made China the third nation in the world to independently conduct a spacewalk, following the former Soviet Union and the United States.

The Shenzhou-13 mission, launched on October 16, is the second of the four manned missions for the construction of China's space station.

The three crew members are scheduled to stay in space for six months, the longest ever in-orbit duration for Chinese astronauts.

They are expected to conduct one to two more spacewalks during their stay.

Whole-process people's democracy: Grassroots elections underway in China

CTGN, 7 Nov Grassroots elections at the township and county levels are underway in China. Beijing residents made their voices heard at the ballot box on Friday.

In Sikuaiqu Neighborhood of Bejing, voting for District National People's Congress (NPC) deputies started in the cold winter morning at 6 a.m. and lasted until midnight.

There had been lines before the usual official opening hour of nine at the temporary polling station.

From the very old to the young, many in queue say they've been anticipating this moment.

Yu Zhiming, an 86-year-old war veteran, told CGTN that he got up at 4:30 in the morning for the important day.

"I wanted to make it here early as I could to exercise my democratic right," said the veteran, who had brought his honor medals with him for the occasion.

"Voting for representatives is crucial for our lives and crucial for the district's development. My vote counts," he continued.

He also said he planned to work with the elected to "better build our homes."

Li Xuanye, a 32-year-old local, also choose to vote early in the day.

"Even though we can come any time throughout the day, I want to come as early as possible to cast my vote. It's a sacred act," she said.

The neighborhood street committee said they spent months preparing for the voting.

"We reached out to every single resident here, telling them about this election and their voting rights," said Zhang Jing, secretary of Sikuaiyu Neighborhood the Communist Party of China (CPC) Branch. She is also director at the Sikuaiyu Neighborhood Street Committee.

Voting for NPC deputies is a key part of the country's wholeprocess people's democracy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in 2014 that "Democracy is defined not only by people's right to vote in an election but also by the right to participate in political affairs on a daily basis.”

Sun Zhenping, administrative office director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, recently told CGTN that the people's congress system is an important institutional carrier in 'wholeprocess people's democracy.'

"This system has a significant advantage, which is to inspire a sense of responsibility and mis-

sion in people as masters of their own affairs," Sun said.

And for Siquaiyu Neighborhood's democracy process, it's a whole year's worth of engagement.

Li Xuanye added that when she met the candidates last month, she began talking to them and making sure her voices and needs heard.

Zhang Jing, from the neighborhood street committee, said her team had tried to set up new ways to facilitate that process.

"For example, our neighborhood has a 'mobile council' that starts at 6:30 p.m. so that people who got off work can participate on their way home," she said, adding that it's important to engage the younger generation.

Residents like Yu and Li also emphasized that even after the election, they'll continue to keep a close eye on their elected deputies to make sure they do their jobs, and serve the people.

Over 2.3 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland (Xinhua) 16:06, November 05, 2021 A resident gets a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at a community medical service center in Qingxiu District of Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nov. 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 2.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Thursday, data from the National Health Commission showed Friday.

China's import expo brings world towards brighter future

SHANGHAI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) --

The fourth China International

Import Expo (CIIE), scheduled for Nov. 5-10, is set to open in China's coastal city of Shanghai.

As an icon of China's opening-up and international cooperation, the expo, which has been held every year since 2018, has promoted global development and prosperity, and contributed to shaping a brighter future for China and the world.

Bringing together global business opportunities, which have become much more valuable since the COVID-19 outbreak, the CIIE has grown into a one-stop platform for participants to showcase their products, look for partners and explore new markets.

That is why the event has enjoyed worldwide popularity and yielded fruitful results.

The previous three editions of the CIIE saw about 201.6 billion U.S. dollars' worth of deals reached for intended purchases of goods and services. This year, the total exhibition area has been expanded to 366,000 square meters, with nearly 3,000 businesses from 127 countries and regions attending the event.

More than 80 percent of Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading companies from last year's CIIE are returning for this latest edition, according to official data.

Meanwhile, openness and inclusiveness are distinct features of the CIIE. Since its debut, it has been a chorus of the whole world, instead of China's solo show.

Both cutting-edge technologies from developed countries and agricultural goods produced by the de-

veloping world are welcome at the expo. Both big name multinationals and small start-ups can reap the benefits of participating in the event.

This year, more Belt and Road countries, Central and Eastern Europe countries and the most underdeveloped countries, as well as an increasing number of small-andmedium enterprises will take part in the expo.

These facts are a strong testament to China's determination to open its door wider, even facing the fierce headwinds of anti-globalization.

China has always stood on the right side of history and the side of human progress, and endeavored to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.

From pursuing creative ways to grow foreign trade, to improving its business environment and seeking deeper bilateral, multilateral and regional cooperation, China has walked the talk in sharing its development opportunities and building an open global economy.

Moreover, the CIIE has played a vital role in promoting global innovation and replacing old growth drivers for world development with new ones.

In addition to helping the participants grasp the latest innovation trend with novel products, the expo has also shown China's enormous demand for high-quality merchan-

dise.

With a population of 1.4 billion and a middle-income group that exceeds 400 million, China is the most promising market in the world. Total import into China is estimated to top 22 trillion dollars in the coming decade.

As the country is pursuing a new development pattern and trying to achieve carbon peaking and neutrality goals, the tremendous purchasing power of its large market has turned into a driving force for global companies to keep innovating to meet Chinese customers' upgraded needs.

China's active promotion of the transition to a modern green economy offers development opportunities for multinationals, said Yin Zheng, executive vice president of French multinational Schneider Electric.

The CIIE is living proof of China's commitments to making the pie of the global market even bigger, strengthening the global mechanisms for benefits sharing and exploring new ways of international cooperation.

It is hoped that through the CIIE, the world can better understand China's openness, inclusiveness and innovativeness. China, together with other countries, can create a more prosperous and brighter shared future.

(CIIE) Record number of U.S. companies attend China's import expo SHANGHAI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -About 200 U.S. companies are attending the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) that kicked off Thursday night in Shanghai, hitting a new high, the CIIE Bureau told Xinhua.

From 2018 to 2020, the number of U.S. companies attending the CIIE increased from about 180 to 198, and their total exhibition area has been one of the largest among all participating

Xi Jinping's remarks at the 4….

Third, China will firmly promote highstandard opening up. China will fur ther shorten the negative list for foreign investment, and expand the opening of telecommunication, healthcare and other services in an orderly fashion. China will revise and enlarge the encouraged industry catalogue to guide more foreign investment toward sectors such as advanced manufacturing, modern services, high and new technology, energy conservation and environmental protection, and toward the central, western

countries and regions, said the bureau.

Many iconic industry leaders have become regulars at the event. Multinational conglomerate Honeywell, a fourth-time exhibitor at CIIE, has expanded its booth area to more than twice that of last year, showcasing innovative technologies in aviation, smart manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics.

"We are honored to participate in the CIIE for the fourth consecutive year, a world-class event of open collaboration," said Steven Lien, president of Honeywell China and Aerospace Asia Pacific. "We look forward to continuing shoulder-toshoulder advancement with our Chinese customers by capitalizing on the CIIE platform while creating a green, low-carbon industrial ecosystem."

U.S. footwear maker Skechers has enjoyed the CIIE experience nonstop since 2019. "We have confidence in the Chinese market and will continue to deepen our 'In China, for China' development strategy and increase our investment here," said Willie Tan, CEO of Skechers China, South Korea, and Skechers Southeast Asia Limited.

E-commerce giant Amazon is participating in the CIIE for the first time. Li Yanchuan, head of China and northeastern regions. China will conduct stress tests for high-standard opening up in pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port, and will release a negative list for cross-border trade in services in the pilot free trade zones. China will deeply engage in international cooperation on green and low-carbon development and the digital economy, and work actively for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

Fourth, China will firmly uphold the common interests of the world. China will take an active part in cooperation within the United Nations, the WTO, the G20, APEC, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other institutions, and promote more discussions on such issues as trade and investment, the digital economy, and green and low-carbon development. China will support the fair distribution of and unimpeded trade in vaccines and other key medical supplies across the world. China will

Global Store and Prime, Amazon, said the CIIE is a vital platform for stimulating market potential and enhancing global exchanges.

The company is looking forward to new opportunities the event will offer and wishes to bring more fancy global goods to Chinese consumers, added Li. Even before the opening of the 4th CIIE, some U.S. companies, including Cargill and Pfizer, had already signed for the fifth edition next year.

These companies' active engagement in the CIIE mirrors U.S. businesses' continued passion for the Chinese market. China was the only major economy to achieve positive growth last year amid the worldwide impact of COVID-19.

According to a survey report released in September by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, U.S. companies in China are generally optimistic about their growth potential in the Chinese market and continue to expand their operations here.

Initiated in 2018, the CIIE is the world's first dedicated import exhibition. Nearly 3,000 businesses from 127 countries and regions are attending the fourth CIIE, covering an offline exhibition area of 366,000 square meters.

promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation so that more countries and peoples will benefit from its development opportunities and real outcomes.

China will actively join in global efforts to tackle climate change and safeguard food and energy security, and provide more assistance to fellow developing countries within the framework of South-South cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, As a Chinese proverb reads, "The going may be tough when one walks alone, but it gets easier when people walk together." As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc and the global economy faces a bumpy recovery, it is all the more imperative that people around the world pull together to tide over this difficult time. China stands ready to work with all countries to build an open world economy so that the spring breeze of openness will bring warmth to all parts of the world.

“China’s Development, World’s …

in fighting against the Pandemic. Sri

City Colombo becoming new mag-

Lanka’s GDP achieved growth of

nets to attract foreign investment.

industrial enterprises above des- 8% in the first half of this year; our

China looks forward to joining

ignated size recorded an average two-

two countries’ cooperation in areas

hands with Sri Lanka in defeating

year growth of 19.5%. Eighth, financ-

of trade, investment, finance, etc.

the Pandemic and promoting bilat-

ing cost in general has been steadily

also bore fruitful results, with the

eral pragmatic cooperation to

decreasing. From January to August,

value of bilateral trade in goods up

achieve new breakthroughs in the

corporate loan interest rate was 4.63%,

by 54.7% year on year for the first

days to come; China is also willing

down by 0.13% over the same period of three quarters, of which Sri Lanka’s

to share development opportunities

last year.

export to China up by 111.2%, and

and draw up a blueprint for devel-

major cooperation projects especial-

opment with countries around the

ly the Hambantota Port and Port

world to achieve greater and better

He added “I’m delighted to see that China and Sri Lanka have been standing together and helping each other

development.”

Antiy Labs discovered that the organization behind the attacks is from India and its activities can be traced back to as early as April 2019.

By far, more than 100 phishing counterfeit websites have been found by Antiy Labs, some of which target major universities, state-owned enterprises and key organs of the government in China.

Others target the military, defense, and diplomatic circles in South Asia, including Pakistan and Nepal.

China busts cyberattacks from India targeted at China's defense and military departments

A number of cyberattacks targeting China and countries in the South Asian Subcontinent have been busted this year with hackers from India behind the attempts to launch attacks on China's defense and military units as well as state-owned enterprises, Antiy Labs, the country's leading anti-virus company, announced

on Monday.

"Once the phishing activities work, the email address will become the starting point of a new wave of cyberattacks that pose great threats to national and social security, as well as to the privacy of governments, entities and individuals," Li noted.

According to vice chief engineer of Antiy Labs Li Bosong, the phishing activities they have detected since March mainly targeted the country's government, defense and military units, as well as state-owned enterprises in China, Pakistan, and Nepal.

The phishing emails would trick receivers to download the files and trick the target to register on the fake email system. When the victim enters the account's password, the phishing website will send the victim's account information to the hackers.

"The hackers disguise themselves as government or military personnel and deliver emails with phishing attachments or embedded links to targets luring them to visit the websites created by them and collect the account password for intelligence gathering," Li said.

When a phishing website is used, it will first show a message like "restricted" or "updating e-mail system." Then, the website will pop up a window asking to log in to the email account again. When this is done, the user will be switched to the fake email login site that the hackers have created.

Residents commute in Beijing as the city is clouded with smog on Nov 4.

[Photo/IC]

China's tax and fee cuts totaled 910.1 billion yuan ($142.25 billion) during the first three quarters of the year, according to data from the State Taxation Administration.

Some 788.9 billion yuan of taxes and 121.2 billion yuan of fees were reduced, according to the administration.

The first batch of 154 members of China's 38th Antarctic Expedition Team has set off from Shanghai aboard the icebreaker Xuelong. The expedition will focus on global climate change and investigate atmospheric composition, hydrometeorology and ecological environment.

China's Red Eagle aerobatic team wows spectators at Airshow China China's Red Eagle Aerobatic Team performed a series of stunts at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China 2021, in Zhuhai City, south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday.

Having a cup of tea has become an indispensable part of people's lives in China and the development of the tea industry has boomed as more people value healthy lifestyles.

Hundreds of tea merchandisers have been drawn to a tea expo in Jinan, East China's Shandong province.

Exhibitors wearing costumes make Chinese tea on the spot, as visitors listen to traditional Chinese music played on guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, while having a cup of Chinese tea.

An Earth science satellite is launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, Nov. 5, 2021. The satellite, called Guangmu, was launched by a Long March-6 carrier rocket at 10:19 a.m. (0219 GMT) and entered the planned orbit.

NEWS CONTRIBUTION Embassy of China in Sri Lanka, CPAFFC, CAFIU, Chinese Media PUBLISHER

D30, Matha Road, Manning Town Colombo 8

Phone: +94 112695772 +94 710885588

714925151

E-mail: chinamirrorsl@yahoo.com chinamirrorsl@gmail.com

Executive Editor Indr ananda Abeyseker a

Editor in Chief Madushan Kular athne 08.11.2021