Photo taken with an infrared camera shows a wild Siberian tiger at the China National Park for Siberian Tigers and Amur Leopards in northeast Heilongjiang Province. (Photo provided to Xinhua)
HARBIN (Xinhua) — The China National Park for Siberian Tigers and Amur Leopards in northeast Heilongjiang Province has seen its wild tiger population increase.
Since it was established as China’s first national park for the endangered species in 2017, the park has seen 10 wild Siberian tiger cubs newly bred, said Liang Zhuo, a veteran tiger expert.
He said he now worries about his personal safety when making field trips to the park as the number of the big carnivores has increased.
Spanning an area of over 1.46 million hectares in the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, the park covers long stretches of mountain forests.
A forest official introduces a far-infrared camera which can record the condition of wild tigers at the China National Park for Siberian Tigers and Amur Leopards in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo provided to Xinhua)
The 10 tiger cubs were born to the original 27 wild Siberian tigers living in the area. The habitats of the endangered species are mostly distributed in the Russian Far East and the northeast China region.
China has been intensifying the efforts to save the wild animals through the protection of their natural forest habitat, including the introduction of a logging ban in 2014.
The national park bordering Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has created a natural corridor for the wild species to traverse, said Liang.
The national park administration has set up infrared cameras to monitor the activities of the wild animals. Wardens make regular patrols in the park and replace batteries and memory cards in the cameras.
With the protection efforts, the number of black bears, wild boars, roe deer and other animals in the mountain area has also increased. The park administration found the density of wild boar in 2018 was 1.91 per square km, an increase of 1.34 over 2011. Wild boar and deer are the staple food of wild Siberian tigers.
Jiang Guangshun, executive deputy director of the Feline Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said tigers are at the top of the food chain. The tiger’s revival suggests that the food chain is complete in the national park with forest resources being restored.
Farm owner Bill Pellett watches the harvested corn loading into a truck in a field of Pellett family's farm in Atlantic, a small city in Iowa, the United States, Oct. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Donald Trump likes to joke that America’s farmers have a nice problem on their hands: They’re going to need bigger tractors to keep up with surging Chinese demand for their soybeans and other agricultural goods under a preliminary deal between the world’s two largest economies.
But will they really?
From Beijing to America’s farm belt, skeptics are questioning just how much China has actually committed to buy — and whether U.S. farmers would be able anytime soon to export goods there in the outsize quantity that Trump has promised.
It amounts to $40 billion a year, according to Trump’s trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. If you ask the exuberant president himself, though, the total is actually “much more than’’ $50 billion. To put that in perspective, U.S. farm exports to China have never topped $26 billion in any one year.
What’s more, since Trump’s trade war with Beijing erupted last year, China has increased its farm purchases from Brazil, Argentina and other countries. As a result, Beijing may now be locked into contracts it couldn’t break even if it intended to quickly increase its purchases of American agricultural goods to something approximating $40 billion.
“History has never been even close to that level,” said Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University. “There’s no clear path to get us there in one year.”
“The figure of $40 billion,” added Cui Fan, a trade specialist at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, “is larger than I expected, and I wonder whether the United States can ensure the full supply of the products.”
America’s farmers would surely like to. The farm belt has endured much of the impact from Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs since July 2018, when the Trump administration imposed taxes on $360 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing struck back by taxing $120 billion in U.S. exports, including soybeans and other farm goods that are vital to many of Trump’s supporters in rural America.
The impact from China’s retaliatory tariffs was substantial: U.S. farm exports to China, which hit a record $25.9 billion in 2012, plummeted last year to $9.1 billion. Soybean exports to China fell even more — to a 12-year low of $3.1 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture. (Farm imports to China have rebounded somewhat this year but remain well below pre-trade-war levels.)
The so-called Phase 1 deal that the two sides announced Dec. 13 did manage to de-escalate the standoff and offer at least a respite to American farmers. Yet the truce put off for future negotiations the toughest and most complex issue at the heart of the trade war: The Trump administration’s assertion that Beijing cheats in its drive to achieve global supremacy in such advanced technologies as driver-less cars and artificial intelligence.
The administration alleges — and independent analysts generally agree — that China steals technology, forces foreign companies to hand over trade secrets, unfairly subsidizes its own firms and throws up bureaucratic hurdles for foreign rivals. Beijing has rejected the accusations and contended that the administration is instead trying to suppress a rising competitor in international trade.
Under the preliminary U.S.-China deal, Trump suspended his plan to impose new tariffs and reduced some existing taxes on Chinese imports. In return, Lighthizer said, China agreed to buy $40 billion a year in U.S. farm exports over two years, among other things. (Beijing also committed to ending its long-standing practice of pressuring foreign companies to hand over their technology as a condition of gaining access to the Chinese market.)
Many farmers say they’re hopeful but restrained in their expectations.
“At this point, we have to wait to see more details,” said Jeff Jorgensen, who farms about 3,000 acres in southwest Iowa.
Yet the Trump administration has released no text of the agreement. And a fact sheet that Lighthizer’s office issued didn’t specify the target for increased Chinese farm purchases. What’s more, Beijing has so far declined to confirm the $40 billion figure.
“After the agreement is officially signed, the contents of the agreement will be announced to the public,” said Gao Feng, a spokesman for the Commerce Ministry,
Still, Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans more than doubled in November after the Phase 1 agreement was initially announced in mid-October — a sign that reduced tensions might have begun to ease the strain on American farmers, according to AWeb.com, a news website that serves China’s farming industry.
Beijing insists, though, that its farm purchases will be based on consumer demand and market prices, pointedly implying that it won’t buy more than it needs just to satisfy the Trump administration’s promises.
“The purchases should be based on market principles,” said Tu Xinquan, director of the China Institute for WTO Studies in Beijing. “The United States should compete with other countries through price and quality.”
Some analysts suggest that it’s at least theoretically possible for the U.S. to boost its farm exports to China to something close to the figures the administration has promised. Flora Zhu, associate director of China corporate research at Fitch Ratings, calls the $40 billion “achievable.’’
She notes, for example, that China’s demand for soybeans amounts to $40 billion a year. Even before the trade war, the U.S. supplied about a third of that total — “suggesting, Zhu said, that “there is still large room for China to increase its purchases of soybeans from the U.S.”
In addition, China’s demand for imported pork has intensified because its own pig herds have been decimated by an outbreak of African swine fever. Yet that same outbreak could reduce China’s need for American soybeans: Fewer hogs could mean less demand for soybeans and other sources of feed.
But achieving $40 billion a year would likely require diverting market share away from other countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand — that export sizable quantities of farm goods to China. Those nations could then argue to the World Trade Organization that they are losing exports not because they can’t compete but because China is being coerced into buying American to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
“It is a situation many countries are concerned about,’’ said Tu of the WTO studies institute in Beijing.
U.S. farmers sound wary. Some worry that the prolonged trade war will brand the United States an unreliable trade partner in China and jeopardize access to a vast Chinese market that had increased its purchases of U.S. farm products from less than $1 billion a year in the early 1990s to nearly $26 billion by 2012. U.S. farm exports to China then fluctuated between about $20 billion to $25 billion a year before Trump’s trade war erupted in earnest last year.
Farmers have watched with frustration as breakthroughs in the trade war appeared several times to have been achieved only to collapse soon thereafter.
“I think it’s a lot of false promises again,” said Bob Kuylen, who grows wheat and sunflowers and raises cattle near South Heart, North Dakota. “I’d love to see $50 billion, but I don’t think it will ever happen … It’s just almost an impossible thing, so why even say it?”
___
Wiseman reported from Washington and McDonald from Beijing.
Students dress up in Santa costumes on Dec. 25, 2019 at Piyamit Wittaya School in Phayao.
BANGKOK — Cuddle up to your loved ones and count down into 2020 as a slight breeze cools your outdoor fair sweat – Thailand is expecting slightly cooler weather as the new year approaches.
Although it’s not the 17C chill Bangkokians felt earlier in December that had everybody scrambling for jackets and tweeting #ColdWeather, Thais should be prepared for slight dips in temperature in the last days of 2019, according to the state weather department.
In Bangkok, the central provinces, and eastern provinces, lows are expected to drop to 23C to 26C, and Saturday through New Year’s Day should see a dip of 1C to 3C to 21C to 25C, with highs at 31C to 34C.
Throughout this time, the northern and Isaan provinces will see a 2C to 4C drop to lows of 10C to18C, to lows of 12C to 14C, with single digits expected on mountaintops.
Southern provinces expect to see lows of 23C to highs of 33C.
Nearly every major news item in 2019 seemed to involve Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit: billionaire, activist, and founder of the anti-military Future Forward Party.
First there was his stunning debut at the polls, when the Future Forward defied even the most optimistic expectation among his supporters and placed third with over 80 seats gained, despite Thanathorn’s lack of prior experience in electoral politics, and even more dauntingly, the set rules which overwhelmingly favored the pro-military faction.
Thanathorn’s pledges to combat the military’s influence as well as chronic inequality in Thai society struck a chord with millions of voters, especially the youth.
“He’s a rising-star politician who managed to successfully win the hearts of young generations,” Pheu Thai advisor Sudarat Keyuraphan said in an interview.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit takes selfies with university students in Bangkok on Feb. 21, 2019.
“His popularity faces off against the establishment, threatening their comfort zones and their intertwined networks of interests,” said Satithorn Thananitichote, a political analyst at King Prajadhipok’s Institute. “He gives hope to bring forth change, and challenges the patronage system that paralyzed the country for decades.”
Even a pro-government lawmaker acknowledged Thanathorn as a phenomenon to be reckoned with.
“Although we’re on different sides, I don’t have any prejudice about him. I’m not opposed to his ideas,” Democrat MP Thepthai Seanapong said. “His policies appeal to the youth because they match with the current trends.”
Born in 1978 to a wealthy Thai-Chinese family who owns an auto parts empire, Thanathorn has served as a board member to the Thai Auto Parts Manufacturers Association, the National Science and Technology Development Agency, and Matichon Group, which also owns Khaosod English.
But business wasn’t his only passion – Thanathorn is well known among his peers for participating in NGO works, political protests, and environment campaigns.
The young Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, center, sits in a family photo.
Thepthai, who’s been in politics since 1992, said Thanathorn’s background as an entrepreneur could prove to be a double-edged sword for his political career.
“He’s a rising-star politician who has great determination, but he’s inexperienced,” the former Democrat spokesman said. “He used to be a businessman, so he continues to do his business in a swift and decisive way.”
Thepthai added, “However, it’s different in politics, where you have to be attentive to petty rules and regulations. This is why he lost his chance to achieve his promises.”
He was referring to a legal complaint that accused Thanathorn of failing to transfer his shares in a media firm in time before he registered to run in the March elections. His failure to do so, the Election Commission argued, meant he violated voting laws.
Leaders of Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, speak March 24 at a news conference in Bangkok.
The case proved to be his undoing. The Constitutional Court suspended Thanathorn’s lawmaker status back when it took up the case in May – effectively banning him from parliamentary debates – before finding him guilty of the charge in November and stripping him of his MP seat.
There’s also criticism from his allies who felt that the Future Forward prioritizes crowd-pleasing, “woke” issues like localist and gender identities over crucial matters, such as the economic slump. That’s not to mention Thanathorn’s refusal to speak out against royal defamation laws, which caused much disappointment to some progressives.
Despite backlash from enemies as well as allies, Thanathorn’s popularity appears to steadily hold among his young supporters, many of whom saw him as a rare champion who shares their frustration with the many societal ills afflicting Thailand.
A “flash mob” protest called by Thanathorn earlier this month turned out to be the largest political rally in years, drawing thousands of people.
“His messages touch the hearts of the new generation who felt utterly repressed for almost five years during the junta rule,” political scientist Satithorn said. “The way he talks looks powerful and credible, and his image seems to be approachable to everyone even though he’s a billionaire.”
“Still, he’s not the first man to promise such hopes. We have to wait and see how far he can lead Thailand,” the pundit added.
As 2019 comes to a close, uncertainty hangs over Thanathorn’s fate. The same court that booted him from his Parliament seat is set to rule on Jan. 21 whether his party will be dissolved altogether on suspicions of harboring an intent to overthrow the monarchy – and belonging to the fictitious cult of Illuminati.
If found guilty, Thanathorn faces up to a five year ban from politics.
Honorable Mentions
Chavanon “Sean” Caisiri
Photo: Sean_Poem / Instagram
Known for his ombre colors, pantsuits, and structured dresses, the designer of Thai couture brand Poem made waves in the fashion world throughout 2019. His clients include Future Forward Party spokeswoman Pannika “Chor” Wanich, actress Wichayanee “Gam” Pearklin, and Burlesque star Dita von Teese.
Parina “Ae” Kraikupt
Parina “Ae” Kraikupt
What is 2019 without the pro-government Ratchaburi MP’s facepalm-inducing antics, like dissing at a fellow lawmaker, claiming an activist set up his own attack, and suspecting that a former PM staged bomb attacks in Bangkok? She sure succeeded in distracting the media from many other scandals and grafts that deserved more airtime.
Somsak Jeamteerasakul
Somsak Jeamteerasakul at a discussion panel, 14 July 2013 (Photo by Speed Horse TV)
The most prominent critic of the monarchy went on radio silence after he suffered a stroke in late 2018. He apparently recovered and returned to social media this year. Though Somsak no longer wrote lengthy analyses like he used to, his commentaries on the monarchy and politics nevertheless bring delight to his cult of followers.
Bin Bunluerit
Bin Bunluerit
The former TV actor who has since adopted a philanthropic career as a rescue worker came to the aid of rural communities hit by a flood this year by fundraising over 422 million baht in donations.
Werakan Siriprakon and Mateusz Juszkiewicz, who went missing on Dec. 7 in Phuket.
PHUKET — The families of a Polish man and Thai women who disappeared almost three weeks ago at sea in the south said they still have hope for their safe return.
Almost two weeks after search efforts for Polish tourist Mateusz Juszkiewicz, 27, and Werakan Siriprakon, 23, ceased, officials on Wednesday said that reports from locals about a foreign man and Thai woman camping in the area also turned out to be somebody else.
Juszkiewicz and Werakan went missing while kayaking off Yanui Beach on Phuket island on Dec. 7.
Werakan’s mother, Chudarasa Siriprakorn, said by phone Thursday. “I think we haven’t found either their bodies or boat yet, because they must still be alive.”
Juszkiewicz and his friend Werakan had gone out kayaking around 4:40pm at Yanui Beach with six other friends in three other boats, but Werakan’s boat did not return.
“My daughter would be trying her hardest to get back home. She had plans to go overseas in February,” Chudarasa, 46, said. “The man also had travel plans.”
Chudarasa, 46, also dismissed speculation on social media that they might have eloped, because they weren’t in a romantic relationship.
“Perhaps they are stuck or detained somewhere, and they cannot communicate with us,” she said.
Mateusz’s sister Monika Juszkiewicz and other family members were on Phuket and searching for him, aided by a Polish private detective. Monika said “every specialist is saying something different.”
“I do not know what to do,” Monika Juszkiewicz said by message on Thursday. “The worst is the powerlessness that will make us wait and think.”
Monika said their detective will try to do a search via satellite next.
Both families have put out a reward for assistance: 5,000 baht for clues that lead to tracking down the couple, 20,000 baht for confirmed sightings, and 50,000 baht for securing their safe return.
Anongkan “Nok” Srisuphat, the landlady and close friend of Werakan, said that search efforts by officials concluded since Dec. 12. Since then, the families have been searching by themselves on foot and by boat, relying on tips sent in.
The Juszkiewicz family are also offering an additional reward of EUR5,000 (about 168,000 baht) for anyone who finds the couple safe. Those with helpful information are advised to contact Khun Chudarasa at 085-654-2969, or Khun Nok at 064-341-9847.
Riot police past by a Christmas decor in a mall during a protest rally on Christmas Eve in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019. Photo: Kin Cheung / AP
HONG KONG (AP) — Clashes resumed in Hong Kong on Tuesday between police and anti-government protesters, some of them donned in Santa Claus hats, as the more than 6-month-long demonstrations look set to move into the new year.
Black-clad protesters smashed shop windows, while police responded with tear gas and the arrest of a number of demonstrators.
The protests demanding greater democratic rights show no sign of ending despite the overwhelming victory by anti-establishment candidates in elections for district representatives earlier this month.
Tuesday’s protests were focused on the city’s mainly working class Mong Kok district. In response, police ran down suspected protesters in shopping malls and on subway trains.
A woman wearing Christmas decorations in her hair reacts to tear gas as police confront protesters on Christmas Eve in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019. More than six months of protests have beset the city with frequent confrontations between protesters and police. Photo: Kin Cheung / AP
CHENGDU (Kyodo) —The Japanese government said Wednesday that it has tapped popular Japanese boy band Arashi as a goodwill ambassador to promote cultural and sports exchanges with China ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
During his stay in China from Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Chinese leaders about the decision to ask Arashi — also popular in China — to play a key role in accelerating people-to-people exchanges between the two neighbors.
CHANGSHA (Xinhua) — One week before the end of her course at a university for the elderly, Wu Yue’e carefully made notes for her speech at the closing ceremony as a student representative.
Wu, 72, has been a student for more than 10 years at Changsha Senior Cadre University in central China’s Hunan Province, where she learned a number of new skills including reading and writing Chinese pinyin, using traditional Chinese medicine and playing the erhu.
Heading back to school for further study and cultural enrichment is becoming a choice of many Chinese senior citizens.
Self-Improvement
Wu, an active participant in all facets of school life, felt the greatest regret that she had not received a full education when she was young.
“I have always loved literature even though I dropped out of school very early,” Wu said. Before retirement, Wu was a textile worker who insisted on reading in her spare time. Her favorite book is “The Count of Monte Christo.”
After her retirement, she was able to fulfill her dream of studying at the university for the elderly. “I felt the elderly should keep up with the pace of social development, and I haven’t done well enough,” said Wu, adding that she hopes to improve herself through learning and set a good example for her children.
Yin Jianlin, 57, echoed Wu’s views. Five years ago, Yin had just retired from an enterprise where she worked for decades and was unable to adapt to her retired life. “Once a person stops working, the sense of loss comes,” Yin said.
In 2015, Yin was enrolled in the university for the elderly to study folk dance and mental health. With the help of the mental health class, Yin accepted her new role in life and learned to control her emotions.
“I used to take care of my family as my sole responsibility. Now I have learned to take care of myself, too,” Yin said, adding that whenever she took her schoolbag and headed off for class, she was filled with confidence. “Although we are old, we feel like we are still teenagers when dancing with our classmates.”
A Taiji master is teaching Taijiquan at a university for the elderly in central China’s Hunan Province in Oct., 2019. (Photo provided to Xinhua)
Caring Family
Although an increasing number of seniors are heading off in pursuit of self-fulfillment, a large percentage of the elderly in China remain the primary caregivers of their grandchildren, whose parents are tied down with their busy work schedules.
Liu Yanping, a 37-year-old psychological consultant, has run parenting education and positive discipline courses for children and parents in primary schools with her team in Changsha since 2014. Liu found that many children rely on their grandparents rather than their parents for learning about the world.
In 2017, Liu and her team set up a course of alternate-generation education at Changsha Senior Cadre University.
Huang Qijian, 60, who attended the alternate-generation education class, has a pair of twin grandchildren. How to properly educate and guide them has become his major concern.
“My educational method is outdated,” Huang said. By learning advanced educational concepts and methods in the alternate-generation education class, many old people, like Huang, have learned how to balance the relationships between themselves, their children and their grandchildren. “Having practiced the knowledge learned from the classes, I’ve found the atmosphere of our family has become warmer and closer,” Huang said.
People are busy with rehearsals for the Chongyang Festival, equivalent to China’s Seniors’ Day on Oct. 16, 2018 in Changsha City, central China’s Hunan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
Policies Taking Shape
Since China entered an aging society at the end of the 20th century, the number of elderly and their proportion in the total population have continued to grow.
From 2000 to 2018, the elderly population aged 60 and above increased from 126 million to 249 million, and the proportion of the elderly population in the total population increased from 10.2 percent to 17.9 percent.
It has become a trend for Chinese seniors to enrich their spare time and improve the quality of life in their later years by attending classes in universities for the elderly and participating in community activities.
Statistics from the China Association of Universities for the Elderly show that by the end of 2018, China had 62,000 universities and schools for the elderly, with more than 8 million students attending classes and more than 5 million students participating in distance learning.
In November, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council jointly unveiled a medium- and long-term plan for responding proactively to aging population, proposing to build a social environment marked by filial piety, respect for the elderly and the protection of the aged.
The plan highlights improving the effective supply of labor in an aging society, which requires improving the quality of new members of the labor force, establishing a lifelong learning system for senior citizens, and striving to achieve fuller employment and create better quality jobs.
Yin Jianlin and her classmates were sketching the image of perfect grandparents during a class. After counting more than a dozen qualities representing perfection, all the students gathered to share their feelings.
Some said that perfect grandparents should be literate and good-tempered, while others said a decent appearance is also indispensable. Yin, however, had a different perspective, saying, “there are no perfect grandparents, we can only try our best to be better.”
A store manager arranges Christmas products at a MINISO store in Warsaw, Poland, Dec. 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhou Nan)
FRANKFURT/HANGZHOU (Xinhua) — In the holiday season in December, people across Europe may have different ways to celebrate, but their celebrations have one thing in common: made-in-China products are increasingly making their most important festival merrier.
Thanks to direct freight train service between China and Europe, Chinese businesses, with an intimate knowledge of the European market, have stepped up their game in Europe’s Christmas economy by means of innovation and new designs.
Market Expertise
The latest data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office show that in 2018, the country imported 17,720 tons of Christmas items worth around 143 million euros (159 million U.S. dollars). Nearly three quarters of them were from China.
In fact, from decorative LED lights to automated Santa toys, more than 60 percent of the world’s Christmas-related merchandise come from the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, some 260 km south of Shanghai. The great variety of holiday products there have earned the place a nickname: China’s Christmas Village.
“European customers prefer simple and elegant designs for Christmas trees, green pine trees with snow, and a couple of jingle bells would be enough,” said Zhu Zhijuan, who went on about different regions’ preference regarding the choice of a Christmas tree.
Based in Yiwu, her company Xintean Arts & Crafts have been making artificial Christmas trees for 15 years. Its annual revenue amounts to 100 million yuan (14.3 million dollars), and is expected to grow 10 percent this year, Zhu said.
Christmas decorations are seen at a souvenir shop in the Old Town of Warsaw, Poland, Dec. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhou Nan)
In Yiwu, the section of Christmas goods alone boasts 15,000 varieties. The manufacturers have their own organization — Yiwu Christmas Products Industry Association — and follow regularly-published market indicators.
Local commerce bureau has listed 333 exhibitions around the globe as recommendations for local businesses to attend. Shortly after the holiday season, in January or February each year, for example, Zhu will go to Frankfurt Consumer Goods Trade Fair in Germany to get prepared for the coming year.
“We go to exhibitions everywhere every year,” Zhu said. “In the past, we entrusted foreign trade companies to do business for us. Now we take orders directly from customers and learn their different demands, improve our products, and expand the market.”
Jin Zhixun is also a frequenter of trade fairs. His company Fuye Toys specializes in Santa Claus toys and exports products to European markets including Britain, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Norway.
His signature product this year is a Santa Claus toy that could make dance moves to the tune of any song the customer chooses, be it in Spanish or English. “Even the pattern of the clothes is patented,” he said.
Jin said they have their samples made using 3D printing and then modify details. “Yiwu’s local design companies and 3D printing companies have provided good support for innovation, and the entire innovation ecosystem has been established,” he said.
A cargo container on a China Railway Express train is unloaded at Eurokombi terminal in Hamburg, Germany, May 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
“Smart” Gift Choices
Apart from Christmas decorations, more and more Chinese products have made their way into the shopping lists of European households in the holiday season.
In downtown Brussels, Kam Yuen Supermarket, the largest Asian supermarket in Belgium, local residents were bustling for Christmas shopping.
“Kam Yuen used to be a small shop for Chinese people, now 70 percent of the customers are non-Chinese,” said Liu Jingrui, CEO of Kam Yuen Investment. “They not only buy Chinese products, but also start to embrace the Chinese culture,” Liu said.
In Warsaw, Chinese retailer MINISO has become one of the most popular places for Christmas gift-shopping, and their best-seller this year is a stuffed snowman imported from China.
Piotr Piorkowski, the shop’s manager, said that the customers like the original design of the Christmas products sold there and the quality they get for the price they pay.
For Anna Godlewska, co-owner of Amko Toy Store in central Warsaw, which imported 90 percent of their products from China, people’s love for Chinese toys are obvious: Two days before Christmas, all the products in the store like dollhouse, stuffed animal and baby shoes were sold out.
“People love to buy products from China for Christmas because they have reasonable price and really good quality,” said Godlewska.
Customers are seen at a store of Chinese technology company Xiaomi at a shopping center in Budapest, Hungary, Dec. 21, 2019. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)
In Budapest, a lot of Hungarians turn to Chinese tech products for Christmas gifts for their beloved.
“I bought Xiaomi smart lamps,” Tamas Sos, a 40-year-old entrepreneur told Xinhua, noting that the lights are extremely helpful as his pregnant wife has to get up at night in a house with narrow corridors and steep stairs.
According to Extreme Digital, a leading Hungarian online marketplace, their best-selling products during Christmas this year were the Chinese sandwich maker and a smart fitness watch produced by Huawei.
Logistic Support
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of direct freight train service between Yiwu and Madrid, an important logistics center in Europe.
The China-Europe freight train not only delivers Chinese goods to Europe but also brings back overseas items to Yiwu, where they are then sold across the country, said Liu Mingming of the Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment, a private operator of the service.
Photo taken on April 16, 2018 shows cargo containers of China Railway Express at Duisburg Intermodal Terminal (DIT) in Duisburg, Germany. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
Cargo that travels 30-40 days by sea between China and Spain only takes half that time by train, allowing more flexibility to manage inventories for businesses along the route.
The freight trains made 168 round trips in 2017 and 320 in 2018, and are expected to make 500 this year, according to Liu.
Furthermore, the city of Yiwu has set up five logistic distribution centers and eight warehouses in cities along the Belt and Road, including Madrid, Duisburg and London, to facilitate trade.
Customs data show that Yiwu’s exports and imports between January and November this year amounted to 265.76 billion yuan (37.99 billion dollars), topping the figure for the whole year of 2018.
Meanwhile, more than 50 Chinese cities have launched China-Europe direct freight train services. The ever closer bilateral trade ties have prompted Liu Jingrui, who owns the supermarket in Brussels, to come up with a new year wish.
“We look forward to the conclusion of the investment agreement between China and the European Union,” said Liu. “We also hope that free trade negotiations could start as soon as possible so that the potential of the two markets covering nearly 2 billion consumers can be fully unlocked.”
Pope Francis looks at the crowd after he delivered the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / AP
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered a Christmas message of hope Wednesday against darkness that cloaks conflicts and relationships in large parts of the world from the Middle East to the Americas to Africa.
The pope told tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and Romans gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the annual Christmas Day message that “the light of Christ is greater” than the darkness “in human hearts” and ‘’in economic, geopolitical and ecological conflicts.”
The traditional “Urbi et Orbi’’ (“to the city and to the world’’) Christmas message has become an occasion for popes to address suffering in the world and press for solutions. Francis was flanked by Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the papal council for migrants, and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope’s official almsgiver.
The pope cited the Syrian people “who still see no end to the hostilities that have rent their country over the last decade’’ as well as Israel, where Jesus “was born as the savior of mankind and where so many people — struggling but not discouraged — still await a time of peace, security and prosperity.’’
Francis also called for an easing of the crisis in Lebanon, social tensions in Iraq and “a grave humanitarian crisis’’ in Yemen.
He noted that a number of countries in the Americas “are experiencing a time of social and political upheaval,’’ citing “the beloved Venezuelan people, long tried by their political and social tensions.”
The pope also noted migrants forced by injustice “to emigrate in the hope of a secure life.’’ Instead of finding acceptance, Francis said injustice continues along their journey, where they often face abuse, enslavement and torture in “inhumane detention camps” and death during dangerous sea and desert crossings.
And once migrants arrive in “places where they might have hoped for a dignified life’’ … they “instead find themselves before walls of indifference,” he said.
The pope offered prayers of hope for the people of Africa, including those in Congo “torn by continuing conflicts’’ and the people of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, where people have been “persecuted for their religious faith.’’
And in an extraordinary message, Francis along with two other religious leaders urged the rival leaders of South Sudan to maintain a pledge to form a coalition government early next year. A peace deal to end a 5-year civil war that killed close to 400,000 people was signed last year, but a November deadline to form a coalition government was extended to February as key aspects of the peace deal still need to be resolved.
The message, issued separately from the traditional papal Christmas address, was signed by the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop Justin Welby, and the Rev. John Chalmers, ex-moderator of the Church of Scotland.
The religious leaders offered assurances “of our spiritual closeness as you strive for a swift implementation” of peace agreements and prayers “for a renewed commitment to the path of reconciliation and fraternity.”
The leaders also expressed a desire to visit the East African nation.
