SwedCham China Insights for the Week of April 22 - April 26 , 2024

Top news of the week:

Overseas institutions encouraged to invest in Chinese tech firms

April 22, 2023

China published measures to facilitate investment by overseas institutions in Chinese technology-oriented enterprises, another step by the world’s second-largest economy to attract more foreign investment and foster new quality productive forces.

China's top legislature starts standing committee session

April 23, 2023

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, started its ninth session on April 23 to review multiple draft laws and law revisions. The session's agenda includes reviewing a draft academic degrees law, a draft tariff law, a draft revision to the Law on National Defense Education, a draft amendment to the Accounting Law, a draft amendment to the Statistics Law, a draft energy law, a draft atomic energy law, and a draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law, among other bills.

President Xi Jinping inspects Chongqing city

April 24, 2023

President Xi paid an inspection visit to Chongqing city from April 22 to 24. Xi emphasized to build a new era of the western development of an important strategic fulcrum, inland open comprehensive hub for Chongqing. Xi made an in-depth inspection and research in logistics parks, urban communities, and digital urban operation and governance centers.

2024 Zhongguancun Forum opens in Beijing to focus on cutting-edge technologies

April 25, 2023

The 2024 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) kicked off on Apil 25 in Beijing and focused on cutting-edge fields from artificial intelligence to life sciences and new materials during the five-day session till April 29.

Xi meets US secretary of state

April 26, 2023

President Xi Jinping met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 26.

Insight of the week:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on April 24 for his three-day visit to China. This was Blinken’s second trip to China after a diplomatic mission to cool U.S.-China tensions in June last year.

Upon his arrival of Beijing on April 26, Blinken met with Presiden Xi Jinping. And in prior Blinked had a closed-door talk with on Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang said that US-China relations are “beginning to stabilize” with increased dialogue and cooperation. However, he warned that “negative factors in Sino-US relations are still rising and accumulating”. “China’s legitimate right to development is being unreasonably repressed and China’s core interests are constantly challenged,” Wang said. Wang did not specify these challenges, but there are several sensitive flashpoints between the two superpowers, including their positions on the South China Sea, US support for Taiwan, and human rights.

Blinken replied that “active diplomacy” was needed to move forward with the agenda set by President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping when they met in San Francisco in November 2023. “There’s no substitute in our judgement for face-to-face diplomacy,” Blinken said, adding that he wanted to ensure that “we’re as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations”.

In his meeting with Presiden Xi, Chinese state media quoted Xi’s comment on Sino-US relationship, saying that “the two countries should be partners, not rivals; they should make achievements for each other, not do harm to each other; they should seek common ground while reserving differences, not engage in vicious competition; and they should be true to their words and act according to their words, not say one thing and do another. The three major principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation that I have put forward are both a summary of past experience and a guide to the future.”

Blinken’s visit followed with the earlier visit by US Treasrury Secretary Janet Yallen, and is seen as part of the two countrie’s effort in stabilizing diplomtic relations. Blinken’s visit also showed an effort in involving community – he watched a CBA Shangahi Sharks postseason game and also visited the New York University Shanghai campus – both are signs and areas where China and the US have long tradition of collaborating.