Trade volume between China and the US hit $441.6 billion in the first three quarters of the year, surpassing the $438.1 billion in trade between Canada and the US. [Photo/IC]
In the past year, the growing pressure on US President Barack Obama's foreign policy due to the unfolding US presidential race cast a shadow on US-China ties despite some achievements.
The international situation and diplomatic practices in the passing year, to a large extent, confirm this contention. Some impartial American scholars agree to it because of the global issues the US faces, and wonder why the US has gone all out looking for "adversaries" in every corner of the world. Also, a number of such scholars believe that whether China and the US can avoid a confrontation largely depends on whether the US can rethink its "dominant power" status.
The world is undergoing profound changes, and that includes China's rise. The changes, however, have made some people in the US nervous, according to some American scholars. The US has got accustomed to being the world's most powerful country. But the fact is, the US' power has been declining. And these people attribute the development to the weakening US leadership and argue that a strong leadership will help restore Washington's unchallenged position in the world.
Needless to say the presumption is unrealistic. A sagacious analysis of the situation, however, can help the US rethink its real position in the world. Regrettably, US decision-makers have failed to read the vicissitudes of the times and still want to maintain world peace under Washington's leadership and change other countries by forcing them to adopt the US model of "democracy".
The world today is different from what the US imagines it to be. Countries, including the powerful ones, will prosper if they follow the general world trend and falter if they go against the tide. The trend suggests the developing world as a whole will continue to rise because emerging countries now contribute more than 50 percent to world economic growth. Even some Westerners admit that no major world issue can be resolved without the participation of big countries such as China, India and Brazil.
Despite all this, there is hardly a country that doesn't want to maintain and develop good ties with the US. The BRICS countries expect smooth cooperation with the US. Russia may be determined to rid Syria of terrorists, but it has still made it clear that it wants cooperation with the US. China's willingness to cooperate with the US is also beyond doubt. But the problem is, the US has not made appropriate changes in its stance and often takes actions without paying attention to other countries' interests.
Because of China's consistent efforts, Beijing and Washington have made notable achievements in economic, military and cultural fields, and these hard-won achievements should be cherished by both sides. But by being unnecessarily worried that China will challenge its hegemonic status, the US has been making moves to contain China on various fronts. Apt examples are the US' tough and even provocative stance and actions on the South China Sea issue.
The ever-increasing interdependence of China and the US should have led to better bilateral ties. And with many US allies, including Britain, Canada and Australia, showing greater interest in cooperating with China, one wonders why the US cannot do the same when it comes to its relationship with China.
By Wang Yusheng (China Daily)
The author is executive director of the Strategy Study Center, China Foundation for International Studies.
Related:
China Establishes PLA Army General Command, Creates Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force - nuclear strategy to remain consistent
At the inauguration ceremony for the three military forces, President Xi Jinping conferred military flags to the commanders and political commissars of each force.
The commander of the PLA Army is Li Zuocheng, who was previously commander of the Chengdu Military Region. The Rocket Force is headed by Wei Fenghe, previously commander of the Second Artillery Corps, while the Strategic Support Force chief is lieutenant general Gao Jin, former president of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences and chief of staff of the Second Artillery Corps.
President Xi Jinping looked forward to 2016 in a speech calling for confidence and hard work for a good start in the home stretch of building a “well-off society in an all-round way”.
In his New Year speech, Xi said a Party meeting in late October had set out a promising blueprint for development over the next five years.
He said lifting tens of millions of rural people out of poverty was his top concern and called for joint efforts to achieve this goal.
“We should care for all people facing difficulties ... making them feel warm from the bottom of their hearts,” he added.
China must not be absent from international affairs, Xi said in the speech, as the world was looking forward to voices and answers from China.
“The world is so big, the challenges so complicated. For those people torn by hardship and war, we need to offer not only sympathy and compassion, but also responsibility and action.
“China will always welcome the world with an open embrace, and we will extend our hand to those in difficulty as best as we can, and our ‘circle of friends’ will grow,” Xi said, borrowing a term from the messaging app WeChat. — China Daily / Asia News Network
Events that shaped China in 2015
THE year 2016 will see China implementing its 13th five-year plan, pursuing an economic growth of no less than 6.5% and hosting the G20 summit.
But before that, let’s take a look at eight major headlines in China in 2015.
China Victory Day parade
All eyes were on Beijing on Sept 3 as Chinese soldiers marched along Chang’an Avenue to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victories of the Anti-Japanese War and World Anti-Fascist War.
Seventeen other countries such as Russia, Mexico and Cuba sent their troops to take part in the parade, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-hye were among the international dignitaries in attendance.
But most Western leaders, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, shunned the event. The parade was widely interpreted as a showcase targeting Japan, which China has denied.
Yuan in the basket
The Chinese yuan has been admitted into the special drawing rights (SDR) currency basket in the Washington-based International Monetary Fund alongside the US dollar, British pound, Japanese yen and euro.
Back in 2010, the yuan had failed to be included in the SDR as it did not meet the “freely usable” criterion. China then introduced a series of measures to reform its financial market and speed up the process of capital account convertibility. The new basket, to be launched on Oct 1, 2016, will feature the yuan with a 10.92% weighting.
Xi visited the United States
Chinese President Xi Jinping had his first trip to the United States as China’s leader in September. Among the deliverables in a 49-point outcome list of Xi’s state visit published by the Xinhua News Agency were conducting a forum to exchange views on judicial reform, seeking to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation, designating 2016 as China-US Tourism Year and agreeing not to steal each other’s trade secrets.
When speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Xi pledged a donation of US$1bil (RM4.29bil) to the UN for a peace and development fund. He also took a group photo with the chief executives of top US and Chinese tech companies, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alibaba’s Jack Ma, at the Microsoft campus.
The Chinese media noted that the total market value of the companies present was almost US$2.5 trillion (RM10.73 trillion) “or one-tenth of the combined GDP of China and the United States, or the total GDP of the United Kingdom”.
... and the United Kingdom
Xi visited Britain in October. China and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement declaring a “global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century” which, among others, pledged to support each other in (China’s) Belt and Road initiative and (Britain’s) National Infrastructure Plan and the Northern Powerhouse.
During Xi’s trip, China General Nuclear Power Corporation entered into a deal with energy company EDF for a £18bil (RM115bil) nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset.
A light-hearted moment was captured in a selfie at Manchester City’s ground. China’s elite politicians are rarely seen taking selfies but at Manchester City’s ground, football fan Xi obliged to a selfie with footballer Sergio Aguero and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Xi’s UK trip was hailed by Xinhua as opening a “golden era” of China-UK ties.
Belt and Road is underway
The Belt and Road initiative continued to be a buzzword in China. Countries along the routes – land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and seafaring 21st Century Maritime Silk Road – have responded warmly to the initiative to foster connectivity and cooperation.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a development bank for infrastructure projects, was formally established in December and will be put into operation following the first-ever meeting of its board of directors and executive council in January.
The US$40bil (RM171bil) Silk Road Fund, meanwhile, announced its first investment – a US$1.65bil (RM7bil) Karot hydropower station in Pakistan – during Xi’s state visit to the country in April.
The US presence in the South China Sea
The South China Sea, an important maritime passage for trade and a resource-rich region, is the subject of overlapping territorial claims among China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. China has said that its extensive construction on the Spratly Islands, which it calls Nansha, is for civilian purposes.
The United States, in denying China’s claims over the rocks and reefs, expanded its military presence in the waters by sending a destroyer within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands in October.
In early December, it deployed a spy aircraft to Singapore for the first time to step up its surveillance in the South China Sea.
Most recently, an American B-52 bomber unintentionally flew within two nautical miles of the Cuarteron Reef, prompting Beijing to lodge solemn representations with the United States.
First Nobel laureate in science
In October, Tu Youyou became the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the anti-malaria drug artemisinin, which is extracted from sweet wormwood.
Tu, 85, is also the first female Chinese national to win a Nobel. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tu’s Nobel prize “marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese medicine to the cause of human health”.
Enter the second child
China’s decades-long one-child policy has officially been scrapped. All couples are now allowed to have a maximum of two children in a legislation rubber-stamped on Dec 27 to address the challenges of an ageing population.
Xinhua said the two-child policy would inject 30 million more people into the workforce by 2050, lower the percentage of senior citizens in the population by 2% and boost economic development by 0.5%.
By Tho Xin Yi Check-in-China
Video and full text of President Xi’s New Year address
December 31, 2015
In a televised address on Thursday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended New Year wishes to people across the Chinese mainland, compatriots in the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR and Taiwan, along with overseas Chinese and friends in other countries and regions around the world.
During the speech, Xi recounted the achievements made through the year with regard to economic growth, judicial and education reforms and the fight against corruption, while pledging that the Communist Party of China and the government will continue their efforts to improve people’s livelihood.
In a few hours, the New Year bell will be ringing. We will say goodbye to the year 2015 and welcome the first ray of sunshine of the year 2016.
At this turn of the year, I wish to extend my New Year greetings to the people of all ethnic groups in China, to our compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, to our compatriots in Taiwan and overseas Chinese, as well as to friends in other countries and regions in the world.
As long as we pay, there will be gains.
In 2015, the great efforts of the Chinese people have paid off.
China’s economic growth continues to lead in the world. Reform has been pushed forward comprehensively. Reform in the judicial system has been further deepened. The special educational campaign of “Three Stricts and Three Earnests” has promoted the improvement of the political eco-system. The fight against corruption has been carried out deeply. Through the joint efforts of the people of all ethnic groups across the country, we see a successful conclusion of the “12th Five-Year Plan”. The general public has enjoyed the increasing “sense of gain”.
During this past year, we solemnly commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. We held a grand military parade, making the truth clear to all that justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail.
Mr. Ma Ying-jeou and I met in Singapore, with a handshake that transcended 66 years of time and space. This shows the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations is the common wish of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
During this past year, Beijing won the bid to host the 24th Winter Olympic Games. The renminbi has been included into the Special Drawing Rights basket of the International Monetary Fund. China’s domestically-produced C919 large passenger aircraft rolled off the production line. China’s super computer broke the world record for a sixth consecutive year. A satellite developed by Chinese scientists to detect “dark matter” was launched. Tu Youyou became China’s first scientist to win a Nobel Prize.
These show that as long as we persevere, dreams can always be realized. During the past year, we had happiness, as well as sadness.
The capsizing of the “Eastern Star” ferry, the major fire and explosions at Tianjin Port, the Shenzhen landslide and other accidents have taken the lives of many of our countrymen. And some countrymen were brutally killed by terrorists.
All these are deeply heartbreaking. We will remember them. We wish all the deceased to rest in peace and the living safe and healthy.
Some difficulties and troubles still remain in people’s daily life.
The Communist Party of China and the government will surely continue efforts to effectively guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property, guarantee the improvement of people’s livelihood, and guarantee people’s health.
The year 2016 is the first year when China enters the crucial period to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
The 5th Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee has made clear China’s development direction for the next five years. The future is encouraging and inspiring. But happiness does not fall from the sky.
We shall establish a spirit to prevail, continue to immerse ourselves in hard work, implement the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing.
We shall put forth efforts in promoting structural reform, and reform and opening up, promoting social fairness and justice, as well as creating a green political eco-system.
We shall get off to a good start as we advance in the crucial period for China to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
To build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way, our 1.3 billion people should join hands and move forward together. A better life for tens of millions of poor people in rural regions is dear to my heart.
We have sounded the trumpet to win the battle of poverty alleviation. All Party members and fellow countrymen should pull together and work hard as a team, put forth efforts to lengthen this short stave. We should make sure that the entire poor population in rural regions can rise out of poverty on schedule. For all the people in difficulties, we should care for them and let them feel the warmth from deep in their hearts.
Comrades and friends, ladies and gentlemen,
We have only one earth, which is the common home of people of all countries.
During this past year, Chinese leaders have participated in many international conferences and conducted many diplomatic activities. We have achieved solid progress in promoting the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative. We engaged in many international affairs including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and issues on dealing with global climate change.
The world is so big, and the problems are so many. The international community expects to hear China’s voice and see China’s plans. China cannot be absent.
Seeing the people trapped deep in suffering and war, we should have compassion and sympathy, but also take responsibilities and action. China will always open its arms to the world and will make all efforts possible to extend our helping hand to the people facing difficulties. Let our “circle of friends” grow bigger and bigger.
I sincerely hope that the international community can work together. With more peacefulness and more cooperation, let’s turn confrontation into cooperation, and turn swords into ploughshares.
Let’s work together to build a community of common destiny of all mankind, which is shared by all people in every country.
Appreciate the good and bad in your life and be optimistic about the future
WITH two days left for this year, it is time to reflect and make fresh resolutions for 2016.
I have learnt to give thanks for all things – good or bad – that came my way.
But why be thankful even for the bad?
Truth be told, it took me a long time to be willing to accept misfortune and longer still to give thanks for them.
Now I appreciate there are far too many factors that I cannot control despite my best efforts.
So I just learn from the sad experiences to avoid repeating them and hold on to the hope that something good will come out of them later.
2015 has been a victorious year for me with more blessings than woes.
With a grateful heart, I choose to remember the former with rejoicing and overlook or forget the latter.
Wonderful blessings
Firstly, I am thankful that everyone in my family is in good health.
My biggest blessing is my baby, Cat.
My life has completely changed since her arrival in mid-year and everything I do now revolves around this little bundle of joy.
Healthy, joyful and growing well, she sits, crawls and listens whenever we speak to her.
On her second swimming class, she was submerged briefly in water and has been doing this with ease ever since.
In a couple of months she will start her nursery and music appreciation classes.
Meanwhile, she is learning to recognise words being pronounced and images with the aid of picture cards.
Being an inexperienced mother, the help and support from my husband, his parents and my parents has been invaluable.
My mother is a great help in tending to baby Cat and teaching me many valuable lessons about caring for my baby.
Everyone knows how difficult it is to hire a maid these days.
The timely arrival of our maid who is well-mannered and an experienced mother to take care of the many household chores lifted a heavy load of me.
It spite of the current weak economy, our architectural firm has been successful in securing several commercial and residential projects in addition to our appointment to design automotive facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific region for an upmarket marque.
We are continuously developing talented architects and designers while fostering in them a passion and enthusiasm for their work.
My 95-year old grandmother fell very ill in September but has since recovered almost fully.
She has good health except for occasional bouts of sleeplessness for a couple of days after which she will be groggy for two or three days and regale us with funny tales.
I am thankful to have clean air to breathe for the next few months before the haze sets in again, and that our economy is not too bad and personal safety here is much better than most other countries.
Looking forward
Our family has a saying that “next year will be a better year”.
Thankfully, it has been so all these years.
I eagerly await the time when baby Cat begins to talk and walk.
I am certain my heart will melt at the sweet sound of her voice when she calls me “mummy” and the sight of her staggering towards me for a hug.
After several months’ hiatus, I am getting ready to return to work which I miss very much.
Meantime, I have to trim off at least 6kg to get back in shape.
With determination, it will take three to four months.
I am yearning for the opening of our new automotive facility which specialises in the restoration and maintenance of classic and exotic cars.
Renovation work on the premises is in their final stages and business should commence in the first quarter of 2016.
Everything seems bright
Ever since my father told me about the downfall of his arrogant business principal, I have always reminded myself to be more careful when everything seems bright.
After a conference in a five-star hotel in Madrid, he asked the latter why he was wearing dark sunglasses in the coffee house.
Puffing a cigar, the principal replied that his future was too bright.
He lost his job soon after and his fortune has dwindled further ever since.
While I receive blessings, I remember there are many poverty-stricken people.
I shall rekindle my passion for charity and do my part for orphans and old folks.
We cannot do much about the burning national issues but I hope that they will be settled expeditiously so that the government can begin to organise itself to take care of wage-earners who are hard-pressed due to the rising cost of living.
On balance, I am optimistic about the future because the scriptures teaches me to always have hope and that the righteousness of God will bring peace and joy to anyone who puts it into practice.
May you be blessed with peace, joy, love, excellent health and prosperity in 2016 and beyond.
By Chermaine Poo Slice of life
Chermaine Poo is a chartered accountant turned actress, TV host, emcee and columnist. Follow her on www.chermainepoo.com, Facebook.com/ChermainePoo, and Instagram.com/Chermaine Poo or drop her an email at info@chermainepoo.com
Trade volume between China and the US hit $441.6 billion in the first three quarters of the year, surpassing the $438.1 billion in trade between Canada and the US. [Photo/IC]
