China Advances Globalization

China Economic Weekly Issue No. 13， 2017

This years Boao Forum for Asia （BFA）， entitled “Globalization and Free Trade： The Asian Perspective，” highlighted the attention that has been paid to globalization by the international community， especially Asian countries.

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2017 meeting of the World Economic Forum， Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that， as anti-globalization rears its head， the right thing to do when faced with the opportunities and challenges of economic globalization， is to seize every opportunity， take a collective approach to the challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization.

So what is the right course for economic globalization and what can China do in this regard？

During the 2017 BFA annual conference， the BFA Secretary General， Zhou Wenzhong， said that the Belt and Road Initiative， in a sense， is Chinas answer to globalization. If participants can achieve their

goals for development during the implementation of the initiative， it is foreseeable that they will develop a community with a shared future.

Asia has grown into the most vibrant and promising region in the world. Asian countries have consistently taken an active part in economic globalization and have benefited from it. After the Second World War， Asian countries seized the opportunities brought by economic

globalization and implemented the strategy of trade for growth and economic catch-up， thereby achieving the levels of prosperity seen today.

Singapores Emeritus Senior Minister， Goh Chok Tong， shared his views on globalization. He said that all participants benefit from globalization and therefore everybody is winner. Some， however， lag behind， which means that they benefit less than others. Although people tend to focus on the negative aspects and there has been， of late， a distinct trend in de-globalization， he doesnt believe it is possible to stop globalization.

President Hery Rajaonarimampianina of Madagascar said that economic globalization creates a large market where the players are connected and depend on each other. In the face of the challenges brought about by globalization， we should strongly encourage free trade to promote inclusive global economic growth and seek cooperation， while nationalism and trade protectionism should be discouraged.

By collecting a wide range of opinions and conducting discussions， the 2017 BFA conference released the Boao Forum for Asia Declaration on Economic Globalization， which put forward a six-pronged suggestion for building a more open， inclusive， win-win， and balanced form of economic globalization that will benefit everyone.

Tomorrows Urban Rail Transit

China Financial Weekly Issue No. 7， 2017

Chinas urban rail transit has entered a new phase of development. Whats its development trend over the next five years？ After carrying out various investigations and surveys and making an overall analysis， we made a report on the plans for urban rail transit development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period （2016-2020）.

The results of our investigations and surveys show that Chinas urban rail transit will embrace a new kind of development under the impact of the National New-Type Urbanization Plan， economic transformation and upgrading， the “Internet Plus” initiative， the Belt and Road Initiative and environmental factors.

By 2020， China will have 870 million urban residents. From 2016 to 2020， about 100 million people will move to cities. Therefore， the market demand for rail transit will increase.

The National New-Type Urbanization Plan （2014-2020） proposes that public transport in big cities should constitute over 60 percent of motorized journeys. The percentage of public transport journeys made by rail is over 50 percent in many developed countries. However， in China it was just 9.6 percent in 2014.

It is foreseeable that shares in both public transport and urban rail transit will be substantially increased during the period from 2016 to 2020.

Fight Against Counterfeiting

Oriental Outlook Issue No. 11， 2017

“We need to fight counterfeits the same way we fight drunk driving，”said Jack Ma， executive chairman of Alibaba Group， during the annual sessions of Chinas top legislative and advisory bodies in 2017. His proposal has won support from famous entrepreneurs and government officials. Zhang Mao， director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce， said that efforts should be made to enhance laws and regulations， give heavier punishment to offenders and establish a business credit system to gradually eliminate counterfeit products.

So far a work mechanism involving the coordination of administrative law enforcement and criminal law enforcement， with the aim to crack down counterfeiting and infringement of intellectual property， has been established. This ensures that suspected criminal cases enter the judicial process promptly. In addition， various governmental departments are working together to punish enterprises which make or sell counterfeit goods.

Also worth noting is that over the past few decades， fake products have branched out from copying luxury brands， to fake food products， medicines and daily necessities， posing a threat to consumer health and safety.

There is still a long way to go in the fight against counterfeits， not just in China， but around the world.

Dying with Dignity

Xinmin Weekly Issue No. 13， 2017

“Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves，” said Rabindranath Tagore in his poem Stray Birds. People often use this sentence to describe their attitude towards life. They want to keep their dignity at the end of their lives， but this is not easy to achieve.

In an aging society， how to provide care to patients and help them maintain dignity during the last days of their lives is an issue demanding serious thinking and also a complicated project.

Chiung Yao， a famous writer from Taiwan， said in a letter to her children that she would prefer to die naturally. She said that she would refuse pointless treatment or life-support as she felt that this would be a painful way to live. Her letter triggered a heated debate on attitudes toward life and death.

Chinas average life expectancy continues to rise. However， people are becoming increasingly confused about how to face death.

The good news is that people have started to pay attention to this issue and have come up with a number of solutions. For example， hospice care is now available in Chinas mainland. Luo Diandian， an experienced doctor， founded the website Choice and Dignity， which is the first in China to provide advice on making living wills.

Business Opportunities in Distinctive Towns

Money Weekly Issue No. 7， 2017

Now people will have the opportunity to enjoy relaxing rural life as China promotes the construction of distinctive towns. As an important part of the National New-Type Urbanization Plan， the construction of these distinctive towns will provide a new impetus for economic development.

As early as July 2016， the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development， the National Development and Reform Commission， and the Ministry of Finance issued a joint circular announcing that China will build around 1，000 towns with distinctive features in tourism， trade and logistics， modern manufacturing， education and technology， and traditional culture by 2020.

So what are the differences between these distinctive towns and ordinary administrative towns？

Distinctive towns are places where local distinctive industries （such as culture and tourism） can be developed and better community services are available. Therefore， a distinctive town can be constructed based on an administrative town， or a piece of land near a city， or a place that is composed of several towns.

It has become a national strategy to develop distinctive towns， which is significant for the future development of the national economy.