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Economy
As the China-Laos Railway (CLR) celebrates its second anniversary on 3 December, academic Chen Xiangming and postgraduate student Shaun Hoang offer a fresh account of the transformative consequences of the China-built railway. They ask: what happens when a small and landlocked country with hardly any railway history launches a new passenger-freight railway as its transformative transport artery?
Politics
As North Korea continues with its efforts in developing its military weapons — the latest being the launch of a reconnaissance satellite — attention is on Russia’s involvement and assistance, much to the protest of some countries. What are the implications of such cooperation and close relations? Lianhe Zaobao executive translator Mak Cor Sin speaks with academics and experts to find out more.
Politics
Concerns about a stronger Chinese engagement — following the unexpected security pact between China and the Solomon Islands in 2022 — rattled the US and its regional allies, Australia and New Zealand, into stepping up their engagements with the Pacific Island countries. Not unexpectedly, these island countries now find themselves beneficiaries of the competition for geopolitical influence even as they try to avoid being drawn into it.
Economy
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Shanghai, China’s largest financial centre, has sent strong signals of the leadership’s emphasis on the country’s economic development. And it is clear from the itinerary the importance the higher-ups are placing on the three areas of finance, technology and livelihood. Nonetheless, Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes more research needs to be done before the introduction of more powerful policies that can turn the tide of the sluggish economy.
Technology
China’s tech sector has been making mass layoffs, freezing hiring and cutting pay since 2022, and there is little sign of a bounce-back. Cost reductions, efficiency enhancement or talent structure optimisation are often the words these companies use. But what is really weighing on the job market are sluggish business growth, intensified market competition and the unprecedented challenges of the business landscape amid new technology.
How did things change?
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Politics
Love him or hate him, Dr Kissinger played a pivotal role in history, teeing up President Richard Nixon’s visit to China and the normalisation of US-China relations. Even when he left office, he continued to advocate for productive relations with China through engagement, and sought to explain Chinese diplomacy to Western audiences. Even as his admirers mourn the passing of a bygone era, it is now up to the young to take up the mantle of improving US-China relations.
Culture
Artist Lim Tze Peng, who turned 102 this year, was born and bred in Singapore. From having a firm grasp of traditional Chinese painting techniques, he continually experimented with different methods, adjusting his style and finding a new path. Writer Teo Han Wue was there to witness the artist’s pivotal change in style some 15 years ago, when the artist was in his 80s. This was when Lim experimented with using bold, cursive-style calligraphic brushstrokes to create near-abstract and completely abstract paintings, with trees as the main subject matter — a style which came to be known as hutuzi (糊涂字, “muddled writing”). Lim’s “late style” continues to evolve, even until today.
Society
Academic Ying Zhu explains why political and diplomatic tensions aside, the business of motion pictures has its own commercial logic so Hollywood and its Chinese counterpart will continue to be locked in a transactional relationship, though more surreptitiously and in a much more low-key fashion.
Politics
While Pakistan's prized port at Gwadar in Balochistan province is supposed to open up an energy corridor from Central Asia and the Gulf across Pakistan to western China, security is the actual key to the Beijing's grand energy security plan, which includes developing Gwadar port as an alternative to the Strait of Malacca — a narrow waterway between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Politics
A recent land and maritime exercise among China and five Southeast Asian countries highlights some emerging trends but breaks little new ground.
Society
Japanese academic Hisakazu Kato observes that Japan's low birth rate has been an issue for decades seemingly with no solution, and despite efforts by the Japanese government to address the problem, its policies have come under criticism for not being what the people need.
Politics
Academic Fan Hongda says that the Gaza-Israel war is dividing the world on the lines of whether or not they are on the side of the G7. Although there has been no large-scale military spillover yet, the political spillover of the Gaza-Israel war is obvious. For China, a stable and peaceful Middle East is what it wants most. Thus, it has a great stake in pushing for an end to the war.
Society
The death of a Chinese businessman who was under questioning by the discipline inspection commission has garnered widespread attention. The public is asking, why did the private entrepreneur kill himself? Did the questioning and authorities put too much pressure on him? Was his confession coerced? Lianhe Zaobao China Desk looks into the matter and how the incident will affect the private entrepreneur community.
Society
As China tries to sell its soft power, one channel it is tapping into is its food and beverage industry, with brands like Mixue and Luckin Coffee moving into overseas markets. Alongside its tech exports like smartphones, can China convince others of its products and improve its image?
Economy
Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing notes that as China’s economic and business policies shift and change, foreign companies are finding it difficult to decide whether to stay in China or pull out, given the challenges in meeting new regulations and requirements. But there are others who see opportunities.
Economy
Despite speculations about the decline of China’s economy, Chinese academic Han Heyuan says that history has shown that such contrarian sentiments have been proven wrong time and again, for example in the case of the US, Japan and even China during the turn of the century.
Economy
In the ever-evolving landscape of global geopolitics, worsening climate change impacts and the need to accelerate the clean energy transition, the contest for critical raw materials and renewable energy technologies has emerged as a focal point of contention between the European Union (EU) and China. The upcoming EU-China summit in Beijing on 5 and 6 December offers an opportunity to address their disagreements.
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