On Chinese Media

Outlook Weekly

Issue No. 10，

Published on March 30， 2015

Prospects for Western Development

Located at a remote corner of the Gobi desert on Chinas western boundary， Alashankou City lacks the bustle of inland cities； however several dozen trains pass through this tiny city of less than 20，000 residents every day. Many products hailing from Xinjiang and inland markets have been exported from here to Central Asian countries， Russia， and European nations； meanwhile， cargo flows into the national market via this channel， too. The changes in Alashankou City fully reflect Chinas development under the current climate of the Belt and Road Initiatives and the nations ability to discover potential， expand opening-up， and realize a holistic pattern of coastal， inland， and frontier opening-up.

China， together with the five Central Asian countries， the Gulf States， Russia， and the European Union， maintains a huge cooperation potential due to their different industry structure， resource reserves， and trade structure. Data show that in the last 10 years， the trade of China and Arab countries grew at an annual speed of over 30 percent. In 2011， the China-Arab bilateral trade reached US $195.9 trillion. The Arab states have become Chinas seventh largest mercantile partnership， while China has become the second largest trade partner of the Arab states.

Since reform and opening-up， and in particular， the Western Development Strategy， the development of infrastructure construction， such as transport networks， in the western regions has sped up remarkably.

After the Belt and Road Initiatives were proposed， western provinces and regions have accelerated their development. A new opening-up landscape of the country across its vast east， mid and west territory is taking shape. However， the overall opening-up of western China lags behind the eastern regions， and that of the frontier areas falls behind that of the coastal areas. Insiders observe that Western Development is a systematic project， not supposed to be improvised， but which nevertheless needs an implementation scheme from the top level. Chinas further aim is to construct a platform to cultivate an inland economy of openness and to simplify inland customs clearance， to provide a solid foundation for convenient trade and business investment.

China Economic Weekly

Issue No. 12， Published on March 30， 2015

Balancing Fulcrum of AIIBendprint

On October 2， 2013， President Xi Jinping put forward the proposal of establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）. One year later， in October 2014， 21 Asian countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing AIIB. The following months witnessed more Western countries joining as founding members of the regional multilateral development organization.

Over the 70 years since the end of World War II， the U.S.-led Bretton Woods System has dominated the global economy. In multilateral financial organizations such as the World Bank， the International Monetary Fund， and the Asian Development Bank， developed countries like the U.S. and Japan have an absolute monopoly. The unbalanced international financial order severely restricts economic growth of developing countries. A new fulcrum is needed for a balanced world economic growth.

Lou Jiwei， Minister of Finance， said， “Under the circumstances of the huge financing demand of Asian infrastructure， the AIIB will serve as a complement to other multilateral development banks due to its different positioning and business focus， instead of emerging as a rival.”

As of 15 April， 2015， 57 countries had officially proposed becoming founding member of the AIIB.

South Reviews

Issue No. 7， Published on March 25， 2015

Inquiry into New Health Care Reform

According to modern political ideas， enjoying fundamental health care guarantees is a human right. In the blueprint set out by the CPC and the Chinese government， providing complete public health care services is a vital part of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way.

In 2009， a new round of health care reforms was initiated. The main focus was to shift from being market-oriented to government-led and to create a non-profit public welfare system. In just a few years， the coverage of medical insurance has been expanded from less than 20 percent to over 96 percent.

The central government asked all provinces to explore innovation in health care reform and to determine various practical modes， among which the Anhui Mode and the Sanming Mode stood out. The former， focusing on grassroots medical reform， has spread throughout the nation， with palpable effect on the general public； the latter has blazed a new way for reforms in urban public hospitals， but whether it will be rolled out to larger extent is not yet clear.

The government work report this year said， “As a fundamental public need we should increasingly promote health care to foster a healthy China.”endprint

China Weekly

Issue No. 3， Published on March 5， 2015

Design Changes Life

In the traditional mindset， innovation and design seems a sideline topic. The features of high caliber， high value， low energy consumption， and low pollution incorporated in cultural innovation and design services have not yet been widely acknowledged.

In the post-financial crisis era， developed countries， leveraged by their leading advantages， are dominant in the world cultural industry division system and commercial structure， and sway the development trend of global cultural values， trade and industries； however， they are thereby restricting some developing countries international influence through their cultural power. Therefore， cultural innovation and design services have become a contest arena for different interest groups in the world in which to reshape their global strategic pattern and promote their cultural values. International experience has proven that only after making cultural innovation and design services part of their national strategic industry did developed countries embrace unprecedented prosperity.

From the global perspective， design is changing world politics， economy， and culture.

Todays China provides fertile soil for design ideals. While the government worries about sustainable development， and producers realize that price is no longer the decisive sales factor， innovation in design seems to answer the call of Chinas weary citizens.

Economy & Nation Weekly

Issue No. 6， Published on March 23， 2015

Blueprint of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Integration

Since the integrated development of the Jing-Jin-Ji Region（Beijing， Tianjin and Hebei Province） was set up as a major national strategy， there have been nonstop discussions on the top-level design. How to coordinate multiple interests， how to make a unified plan of industry layout and ecological structure， and how to create an open community for development by breaking space limitation and political boundaries and to furthermore establish an integrated market have become main focuses， and also sticking points.

The integration development planning outline of the Jing-JinJi Region deliberated by the ninth meeting of the Central Financial Work Leading Group emphasized different development orientations of the three regions. Beijing will remain the center of politics， culture， international exchanges， and technology. But Tianjin will be modified into a city with one base and three areas – a national advanced manufacture research base， with an international shipping core area， a financial innovation demonstration area， and a reform and openingup pioneer area. Meanwhile， Hebei Province will develop into four main bases covering industry transformation and upgrading， trade and business logistics， environmental protection and ecological conservation， and technological achievements transformation.endprint