SwedCham China Insights for the Week of November 20 - November 24 , 2023

Top news of the week:

Premier Li Qiang presides over meeting of Central Financial Commission

November 20, 2023

Premier Li Qiang, the head of the Central Financial Commission, presided over a meeting of the Commission on November 20. The meeting reviewed and adopted a plan for the division of key tasks related to promoting high-quality financial development.

China welcomes Arab and Muslim foreign ministers for talks on ending war in Gaza

November 21, 2023

A delegation of Arab and Muslim officials have called for a ceasefire in Gaza after arriving in Beijing on November 20 and being welcomed by China’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. His counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, as well as Indonesia and the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, have begun a tour of world capitals with the aim of ending Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to visit China

November 22, 2023

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna would visit China from November 23 to 24 and hold the 6th meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Top Chinese diplomat meets Japanese guests in Beijing

November 23, 2023

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with a delegation led by Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Japan's ruling coalition party Komeito, in Beijing on November 23.

China’s State Council approves plan to develop Beijing demonstration zone for service sector

November 24, 2023

China’s State Council has approved a plan to support Beijing in developing a comprehensive demonstration zone for the expansion and opening up of the service sector. Main tasks include: 1) promoting reform and opening up in key areas of the service sector; 2) emerging industry rules and regulations; 3) optimizing trade and investment institutional arrangements.

Insight of the week:

President Xi Jinping attended the BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 21, saying that the parties to the conflict must end hostilities and achieve a ceasefire immediately. He reiterated that establishing “an independent state of Palestine” through a two-state solution is the “fundamental way out of” the conflict. Xi also called for an international peace conference to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Such a conference would, he added, “work towards an early solution to the question of Palestine that is comprehensive, just and sustainable”. Beijing, he said, “has provided humanitarian assistance to help ease the humanitarian plight in Gaza” and would continue to do so.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current chair of the BRICS group, convened a virtual meeting of the BRICS – a group of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – aimed at drawing up a common response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The analysts consider that through the BRICS mechanism, the collective appearance of the Global South is of great significance, and while it may not necessarily solve the conflict, the unity of developing countries is important.