North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has promised President Xi Jinping that he will follow through the wishes of his father and grandfather in denuclearising the Korean peninsula, but added he wants assurances from the United States and South Korea.
The leader of the reclusive state made the remarks during a trip to China, his first overseas visit since he became North Korea’s leader, according to the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Kim, the third generation of his family to lead his country, said the situation on the Korean peninsula was improving and that his government has taken steps to ease tensions, Xinhua reported.
Kim added that if the US and South Korea were willing to respond to North Korea’s efforts with sincerity the nuclear issue “can be solved”.
“Our unswerving stance is that we will make efforts towards the denuclearisation of the peninsula,” Kim was quoted as saying by Xinhua. President Xi pledged to work with North Korea to achieve denuclearisation.
“China is willing to continue to make a constructive impact on the Korean peninsula problem,” President Xi said. He called upon all sides to solve the problem through dialogue, Xinhua reported.
Tensions have risen on Korean peninsula after North Korea has increased nuclear weapons tests.
The United Nations has enforced a series of sanctions to try to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Hopes of a breakthrough in the crisis have risen since the announcement that North and South Korea’s leaders have agreed to meet.
Beijing is North Korea’s long-standing traditional ally, but ties have been frayed by North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and China’s support of UN sanctions.
Pang Zhongying, a senior fellow at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, said Kim was securing China’s support ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump, scheduled to be held by May.
“By denuclearisation, Kim actually means the whole Korean peninsula should be denuclearised and that the nuclear weapons deployed by the US in South Korea should be withdrawn,” Pang said. “Can the US really accept that request? The gesture means that the chance of a significant breakthrough between Kim and Trump may be slim.”
Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre in China, agreed Kim was looking for support from Beijing ahead of his meetings with South Korea’s president and Trump.
”Just as Kim may have felt he had secured some leverage against Xi having independently secured summits with Trump and Moon, he’ll now feel more confident knowing where things stand with Beijing heading into those same meetings,” he said.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Chinese government had briefed the Trump administration about the visit on Tuesday.
The Trump administration sees the development “as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea”, she said.
Kim arrived by train in Beijing on Monday and left the following day, with his trip to China coming just days before a planned meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and ahead of the possible summit with Trump.
Speculation about a visit by Kim to Beijing came earlier this week after a train similar to the one used by Kim’s father was seen in the Chinese capital.
Ri Sol-ju, Kim’s wife, was also part of the delegation to Beijing, Xinhua reported.
China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, Vice-President Wang Qishan and Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning also met the North Korean leader.
The green armoured train carrying the North Korean leader returned to the reclusive state at about 6am on Wednesday across a bridge connecting the two countries in Dandong, Liaoning province.
Chinese police had blocked access to the area around the bridge before the train’s arrival.
Access to parts of the Yalu River riverbank, which separates North Korea and Dandong, were blocked. Some police officers also stopped people from taking pictures of the bridge before the train’s arrival.
“I can only say that a situation is happening here,” a police officer at one of the blocked roads told the South China Morning Post.
About three minutes after the train passed over the bridge, police officers finally allowed pedestrians to enter the area.
As the Post visited the area in the early hours of Wednesday – before the area was cordoned off – five plainclothes police officers approached and asked staff to leave.
They did not explain why, only saying “it was not safe” to be there so late at night.
Source: South China Morning Post by Phila Siu is reporting from Dandong
There are many issues on a fast and slow boil and some of them could reach a tipping point in the new year
ANOTHER new year has dawned, and it’s time to preview what to expect in 2018.
The most obvious topic would be to anticipate how Donald Trump, the most unorthodox of American presidents, would continue to upset the world order. But more about that later.
Just as importantly as politics, we are now in the midst of several social trends that have important long-term effects. Some are on the verge of reaching a tipping point, where a trend becomes a critical and sometimes irreversible event. We may see some of that in 2018.
Who would have expected that 2017 would end with such an upsurge of the movement against sexual harassment? Like a tidal wave it swept away Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film star Kevin Spacey, TV interviewer Charlie Rose and many other icons.
The #MeToo movement took years to gather steam, with the 1991 Anita Hill testimony against then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas being a trailblazer. It paved the way over many years for other women to speak up until the tipping point was reached. So, in 2018, expect the momentum to continue, and in more countries.
Another issue that has been brewing is the rapid growth and effects of digital technology. Those enjoying the benefits of the smartphone, Google search, WhatsApp, Uber and online shopping usually sing its praises.
But the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It has many benefits but also serious downsides, and the debate is now picking up.
First, automation with artificial intelligence can make many jobs redundant. Uber displaced taxis, and will soon displace its drivers with driver-less cars.
The global alarm over job losses is resonating at home. An International Labour Organisation report warning that 54% of jobs in Malaysia are at high risk of being displaced by technology in the next 20 years was cited by Khazanah Research Institute in its own study last April. TalentCorp has estimated that 43% of jobs in Malaysia may potentially be lost to automation.
Second is a recent chorus of warnings, including by some of digital technology’s creators, that addiction and frequent use of the smartphone are making humans less intelligent and socially deficient.
Third is the loss of privacy as personal data collected from Internet use is collected by tech companies like Facebook and sold to advertisers.
Fourth is the threat of cyber-fraud and cyber-warfare as data from hacked devices can be used to empty bank accounts, steal information from governments and companies, and as part of warfare.
Fifth is the worsening of inequality and the digital divide as those countries and people with little access to digital devices, including small businesses, will be left behind.
The usual response to these points is that people and governments must be prepared to get the benefits and counter the ill effects. For example, laid-off workers should be retrained, companies taught to use e-commerce, and a tax can be imposed on using robots (an idea supported by Bill Gates).
But the technologies are moving ahead faster than policy makers’ capacity to keep track and come up with policies and regulations. Expect this debate to move from conference rooms to the public arena in 2018, as more technologies are introduced and more effects become evident.
On climate change, scientists frustrated by the lack of action will continue to raise the alarm that the situation is far worse than earlier predicted.
In fact, the tipping point may well have been reached already. On Dec 20, the United Nations stated that the Arctic has been forever changed by the rapidly warming climate. The Arctic continued in 2017 to warm at double the rate of the global temperature increase, resulting in the loss of sea ice.
These past three years have been the warmest on record. The target of limiting temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a benchmark just two years ago by the UN’s top scientific climate panel and the Paris Agreement, seems outdated and a new target of 1.5°C could be adopted in 2018.
But it is much harder to meet this new target. Will political leaders and the public rise to the challenge, or will 2018 see a wider disconnect between what needs to be done, and a lack of the needed urgent response?
Another issue reaching tipping point is the continuing rise of antibiotic resistance, with bacteria mutating to render antibiotics increasingly ineffective to treat many diseases. There are global and national efforts to contain this crisis, but not enough, and there is little time left to act before millions die from once-treatable ailments.
Finally, back to Trump. His style and policies have been disruptive to the domestic and global order, but last year he seemed unconcerned about criticisms on this. So we can expect more of the same or even more shocking measures in 2018.
Opposition to his policies from foreign countries will not count for much. But there are many in the American establishment who consider him a threat to the American system.
Will 2018 see the opposition reach a tipping point to make a significant difference? It looks unlikely. But like many other things in 2018, nothing is reliably predictable.
The US abruptly changed some of the rules of the game in
the international community, yet the tools in Washington's hands are
limited. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula revealed that Washington's
capabilities don't match its volition.
There are many issues on a fast and slow boil and some of them could reach a tipping point in the new year
ANOTHER new year has dawned, and it’s time to preview what to expect in 2018.
The most obvious topic would be to anticipate how Donald Trump, the most unorthodox of American presidents, would continue to upset the world order. But more about that later.
Just as importantly as politics, we are now in the midst of several social trends that have important long-term effects. Some are on the verge of reaching a tipping point, where a trend becomes a critical and sometimes irreversible event. We may see some of that in 2018.
Who would have expected that 2017 would end with such an upsurge of the movement against sexual harassment? Like a tidal wave it swept away Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, film star Kevin Spacey, TV interviewer Charlie Rose and many other icons.
The #MeToo movement took years to gather steam, with the 1991 Anita Hill testimony against then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas being a trailblazer. It paved the way over many years for other women to speak up until the tipping point was reached. So, in 2018, expect the momentum to continue, and in more countries.
Another issue that has been brewing is the rapid growth and effects of digital technology. Those enjoying the benefits of the smartphone, Google search, WhatsApp, Uber and online shopping usually sing its praises.
But the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It has many benefits but also serious downsides, and the debate is now picking up.
First, automation with artificial intelligence can make many jobs redundant. Uber displaced taxis, and will soon displace its drivers with driver-less cars.
The global alarm over job losses is resonating at home. An International Labour Organisation report warning that 54% of jobs in Malaysia are at high risk of being displaced by technology in the next 20 years was cited by Khazanah Research Institute in its own study last April. TalentCorp has estimated that 43% of jobs in Malaysia may potentially be lost to automation.
Second is a recent chorus of warnings, including by some of digital technology’s creators, that addiction and frequent use of the smartphone are making humans less intelligent and socially deficient.
Third is the loss of privacy as personal data collected from Internet use is collected by tech companies like Facebook and sold to advertisers.
Fourth is the threat of cyber-fraud and cyber-warfare as data from hacked devices can be used to empty bank accounts, steal information from governments and companies, and as part of warfare.
Fifth is the worsening of inequality and the digital divide as those countries and people with little access to digital devices, including small businesses, will be left behind.
The usual response to these points is that people and governments must be prepared to get the benefits and counter the ill effects. For example, laid-off workers should be retrained, companies taught to use e-commerce, and a tax can be imposed on using robots (an idea supported by Bill Gates).
But the technologies are moving ahead faster than policy makers’ capacity to keep track and come up with policies and regulations. Expect this debate to move from conference rooms to the public arena in 2018, as more technologies are introduced and more effects become evident.
On climate change, scientists frustrated by the lack of action will continue to raise the alarm that the situation is far worse than earlier predicted.
In fact, the tipping point may well have been reached already. On Dec 20, the United Nations stated that the Arctic has been forever changed by the rapidly warming climate. The Arctic continued in 2017 to warm at double the rate of the global temperature increase, resulting in the loss of sea ice.
These past three years have been the warmest on record. The target of limiting temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a benchmark just two years ago by the UN’s top scientific climate panel and the Paris Agreement, seems outdated and a new target of 1.5°C could be adopted in 2018.
But it is much harder to meet this new target. Will political leaders and the public rise to the challenge, or will 2018 see a wider disconnect between what needs to be done, and a lack of the needed urgent response?
Another issue reaching tipping point is the continuing rise of antibiotic resistance, with bacteria mutating to render antibiotics increasingly ineffective to treat many diseases. There are global and national efforts to contain this crisis, but not enough, and there is little time left to act before millions die from once-treatable ailments.
Finally, back to Trump. His style and policies have been disruptive to the domestic and global order, but last year he seemed unconcerned about criticisms on this. So we can expect more of the same or even more shocking measures in 2018.
Opposition to his policies from foreign countries will not count for much. But there are many in the American establishment who consider him a threat to the American system.
Will 2018 see the opposition reach a tipping point to make a significant difference? It looks unlikely. But like many other things in 2018, nothing is reliably predictable.
The US abruptly changed some of the rules of the game in the international community, yet the tools in Washington's hands are limited. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula revealed that Washington's capabilities don't match its volition.
President Xi Jinping looked forward to 2016 in a speech calling for confidence and hard work for a good start in the home stretch of building a “well-off society in an all-round way”.
In his New Year speech, Xi said a Party meeting in late October had set out a promising blueprint for development over the next five years.
He said lifting tens of millions of rural people out of poverty was his top concern and called for joint efforts to achieve this goal.
“We should care for all people facing difficulties ... making them feel warm from the bottom of their hearts,” he added.
China must not be absent from international affairs, Xi said in the speech, as the world was looking forward to voices and answers from China.
“The world is so big, the challenges so complicated. For those people torn by hardship and war, we need to offer not only sympathy and compassion, but also responsibility and action.
“China will always welcome the world with an open embrace, and we will extend our hand to those in difficulty as best as we can, and our ‘circle of friends’ will grow,” Xi said, borrowing a term from the messaging app WeChat. — China Daily / Asia News Network
Events that shaped China in 2015
THE year 2016 will see China implementing its 13th five-year plan, pursuing an economic growth of no less than 6.5% and hosting the G20 summit.
But before that, let’s take a look at eight major headlines in China in 2015.
China Victory Day parade
All eyes were on Beijing on Sept 3 as Chinese soldiers marched along Chang’an Avenue to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victories of the Anti-Japanese War and World Anti-Fascist War.
Seventeen other countries such as Russia, Mexico and Cuba sent their troops to take part in the parade, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-hye were among the international dignitaries in attendance.
But most Western leaders, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, shunned the event. The parade was widely interpreted as a showcase targeting Japan, which China has denied.
Yuan in the basket
The Chinese yuan has been admitted into the special drawing rights (SDR) currency basket in the Washington-based International Monetary Fund alongside the US dollar, British pound, Japanese yen and euro.
Back in 2010, the yuan had failed to be included in the SDR as it did not meet the “freely usable” criterion. China then introduced a series of measures to reform its financial market and speed up the process of capital account convertibility. The new basket, to be launched on Oct 1, 2016, will feature the yuan with a 10.92% weighting.
Xi visited the United States
Chinese President Xi Jinping had his first trip to the United States as China’s leader in September. Among the deliverables in a 49-point outcome list of Xi’s state visit published by the Xinhua News Agency were conducting a forum to exchange views on judicial reform, seeking to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation, designating 2016 as China-US Tourism Year and agreeing not to steal each other’s trade secrets.
When speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Xi pledged a donation of US$1bil (RM4.29bil) to the UN for a peace and development fund. He also took a group photo with the chief executives of top US and Chinese tech companies, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alibaba’s Jack Ma, at the Microsoft campus.
The Chinese media noted that the total market value of the companies present was almost US$2.5 trillion (RM10.73 trillion) “or one-tenth of the combined GDP of China and the United States, or the total GDP of the United Kingdom”.
... and the United Kingdom
Xi visited Britain in October. China and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement declaring a “global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century” which, among others, pledged to support each other in (China’s) Belt and Road initiative and (Britain’s) National Infrastructure Plan and the Northern Powerhouse.
During Xi’s trip, China General Nuclear Power Corporation entered into a deal with energy company EDF for a £18bil (RM115bil) nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset.
A light-hearted moment was captured in a selfie at Manchester City’s ground. China’s elite politicians are rarely seen taking selfies but at Manchester City’s ground, football fan Xi obliged to a selfie with footballer Sergio Aguero and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Xi’s UK trip was hailed by Xinhua as opening a “golden era” of China-UK ties.
Belt and Road is underway
The Belt and Road initiative continued to be a buzzword in China. Countries along the routes – land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and seafaring 21st Century Maritime Silk Road – have responded warmly to the initiative to foster connectivity and cooperation.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a development bank for infrastructure projects, was formally established in December and will be put into operation following the first-ever meeting of its board of directors and executive council in January.
The US$40bil (RM171bil) Silk Road Fund, meanwhile, announced its first investment – a US$1.65bil (RM7bil) Karot hydropower station in Pakistan – during Xi’s state visit to the country in April.
The US presence in the South China Sea
The South China Sea, an important maritime passage for trade and a resource-rich region, is the subject of overlapping territorial claims among China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. China has said that its extensive construction on the Spratly Islands, which it calls Nansha, is for civilian purposes.
The United States, in denying China’s claims over the rocks and reefs, expanded its military presence in the waters by sending a destroyer within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands in October.
In early December, it deployed a spy aircraft to Singapore for the first time to step up its surveillance in the South China Sea.
Most recently, an American B-52 bomber unintentionally flew within two nautical miles of the Cuarteron Reef, prompting Beijing to lodge solemn representations with the United States.
First Nobel laureate in science
In October, Tu Youyou became the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the anti-malaria drug artemisinin, which is extracted from sweet wormwood.
Tu, 85, is also the first female Chinese national to win a Nobel. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tu’s Nobel prize “marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese medicine to the cause of human health”.
Enter the second child
China’s decades-long one-child policy has officially been scrapped. All couples are now allowed to have a maximum of two children in a legislation rubber-stamped on Dec 27 to address the challenges of an ageing population.
Xinhua said the two-child policy would inject 30 million more people into the workforce by 2050, lower the percentage of senior citizens in the population by 2% and boost economic development by 0.5%.
By Tho Xin Yi Check-in-China
Video and full text of President Xi’s New Year address
December 31, 2015
In a televised address on Thursday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended New Year wishes to people across the Chinese mainland, compatriots in the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR and Taiwan, along with overseas Chinese and friends in other countries and regions around the world.
During the speech, Xi recounted the achievements made through the year with regard to economic growth, judicial and education reforms and the fight against corruption, while pledging that the Communist Party of China and the government will continue their efforts to improve people’s livelihood.
In a few hours, the New Year bell will be ringing. We will say goodbye to the year 2015 and welcome the first ray of sunshine of the year 2016.
At this turn of the year, I wish to extend my New Year greetings to the people of all ethnic groups in China, to our compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, to our compatriots in Taiwan and overseas Chinese, as well as to friends in other countries and regions in the world. As long as we pay, there will be gains.
In 2015, the great efforts of the Chinese people have paid off.
China’s economic growth continues to lead in the world. Reform has been pushed forward comprehensively. Reform in the judicial system has been further deepened. The special educational campaign of “Three Stricts and Three Earnests” has promoted the improvement of the political eco-system. The fight against corruption has been carried out deeply. Through the joint efforts of the people of all ethnic groups across the country, we see a successful conclusion of the “12th Five-Year Plan”. The general public has enjoyed the increasing “sense of gain”.
During this past year, we solemnly commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. We held a grand military parade, making the truth clear to all that justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail.
Mr. Ma Ying-jeou and I met in Singapore, with a handshake that transcended 66 years of time and space. This shows the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations is the common wish of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
During this past year, Beijing won the bid to host the 24th Winter Olympic Games. The renminbi has been included into the Special Drawing Rights basket of the International Monetary Fund. China’s domestically-produced C919 large passenger aircraft rolled off the production line. China’s super computer broke the world record for a sixth consecutive year. A satellite developed by Chinese scientists to detect “dark matter” was launched. Tu Youyou became China’s first scientist to win a Nobel Prize.
These show that as long as we persevere, dreams can always be realized. During the past year, we had happiness, as well as sadness.
The capsizing of the “Eastern Star” ferry, the major fire and explosions at Tianjin Port, the Shenzhen landslide and other accidents have taken the lives of many of our countrymen. And some countrymen were brutally killed by terrorists.
All these are deeply heartbreaking. We will remember them. We wish all the deceased to rest in peace and the living safe and healthy. Some difficulties and troubles still remain in people’s daily life.
The Communist Party of China and the government will surely continue efforts to effectively guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property, guarantee the improvement of people’s livelihood, and guarantee people’s health.
The year 2016 is the first year when China enters the crucial period to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
The 5th Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee has made clear China’s development direction for the next five years. The future is encouraging and inspiring. But happiness does not fall from the sky.
We shall establish a spirit to prevail, continue to immerse ourselves in hard work, implement the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing.
We shall put forth efforts in promoting structural reform, and reform and opening up, promoting social fairness and justice, as well as creating a green political eco-system.
We shall get off to a good start as we advance in the crucial period for China to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
To build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way, our 1.3 billion people should join hands and move forward together. A better life for tens of millions of poor people in rural regions is dear to my heart.
We have sounded the trumpet to win the battle of poverty alleviation. All Party members and fellow countrymen should pull together and work hard as a team, put forth efforts to lengthen this short stave. We should make sure that the entire poor population in rural regions can rise out of poverty on schedule. For all the people in difficulties, we should care for them and let them feel the warmth from deep in their hearts.
Comrades and friends, ladies and gentlemen,
We have only one earth, which is the common home of people of all countries.
During this past year, Chinese leaders have participated in many international conferences and conducted many diplomatic activities. We have achieved solid progress in promoting the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative. We engaged in many international affairs including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and issues on dealing with global climate change.
The world is so big, and the problems are so many. The international community expects to hear China’s voice and see China’s plans. China cannot be absent.
Seeing the people trapped deep in suffering and war, we should have compassion and sympathy, but also take responsibilities and action. China will always open its arms to the world and will make all efforts possible to extend our helping hand to the people facing difficulties. Let our “circle of friends” grow bigger and bigger.
I sincerely hope that the international community can work together. With more peacefulness and more cooperation, let’s turn confrontation into cooperation, and turn swords into ploughshares.
Let’s work together to build a community of common destiny of all mankind, which is shared by all people in every country.
