IN FOCUS
By Keerthana Nambiar

China’s dooming ‘characteristic town’ project

Recent Developments
On 6 November, South China Morning Post published an editorial on China’s ‘characteristics towns’ and its crackdown. In October, the National Development and Reform Commission made an announcement that the “characteristic towns” will be assessed. And they will be closed down if they do not meet certain criteria like proper usage of the land, preservation of the ecological environment, associated debt, necessity, and safety. The announcement stated, “excluding the existing traditional housing, residential land cannot take up more than 30 percent of a characteristic town, and is encouraged to be less than 25 percent.”

The idea of “characteristic town”
China’s characteristic towns are innovative and entrepreneurial platforms a combination of different lifestyles and eco spaces. They offer space for production, developing industries, culture, tourism, and community. The initiative was developed in 2017 as a part of China’s urbanization push. The idea of these towns was that they would become the engine for emerging industries leading to integrated urban-rural development. Along with this, the “characteristic town” with historical features was meant to preserve the traditional culture thus presenting a newly popular tourist destination.

The crackdown
The characteristic town was meant to be a vital part of the Chinese development program which turned into a total failure. The poor planning of these towns is one of the main issues for the initiative to become unsuccessful. Currently, the towns have been halfway abandoned through construction either due to lack of funding, or bankruptcy due to lack of visitors. Initially, the real estate companies jumped into the idea of investment to develop the towns, eventually, these companies pulled out of the project estimating the failure.

According to Zhou Mingqi, the founder of tourism consultancy Jingjian Consulting, “these tourism-related real estate projects are normally based in rural areas and developed on a large scale, but sales are hard to come by due to a limited number of potential buyers.” The mismanagement and deficiency of forming a complete industrial chain have now led to Beijing eliminating the towns after assessment.

China’s debt reduction plan
The characteristic towns without attracting any businesses created a significant debt hole. Beijing has now stepped up its scrutiny in the local government’s money expenditure warning them to avoid investing in unviable projects. According to the public data, since 2015, land sales and real estate taxes have been increasing and reached a peak of 37.6 percent in 2020.  With the recent real estate and energy crisis in the fourth fiscal quarter in 2021, China needs to expand the supply of public services without increasing debts.

References
“China cracks down on ‘characteristic towns’ that misused land, real estate while racking up massive debt,” South China Morning Post, 6 November 2021
“China endeavors to build characteristic towns,” People’s Daily, 28 July 2020

IN BRIEF
By Dincy Adlakha and Avishka Ashok

INTERNAL
Economic planner announces uptake in coal production and availability
On 8 November, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) which is also the economic planner for China announced that the coal output of the country had substantially improved since mid-October. The output had even reached a record of 11.93 million tonnes which is the highest in the past few years. Chinese power producers also reported the rebound in the coal stockpiles. At the moment, there are 117 million tonnes of coal in the Chinese inventories which can easily sustain power generators and heating mechanisms for the upcoming winter. The NDRC also revealed that the increase in output and availability of coal will help in bringing the costs down. (China's energy crunch eases amid all-out efforts to boost supply, Xinhua Net, 8 November 2021)

Scholars and experts refute claims of forced labour in Xinjiang
On 8 November, Xinhua Net reported that 12 experts and scholars from the Xinjiang region participated in a symposium held in Urumqi and rejected international accusations of forced labour in the region. A professor from Xinjiang University said: “company employees, regardless of their ethnic groups, race, gender or religious belief, have labor contracts with employers and receive remuneration on the basis of equality, free will and consensus through consultation in accordance with China's laws and regulations.” The symposium accused the western countries of publishing lies about the region’s progress and prosperity. The participants raised fingers at the US for not signing important documents to safeguard the rights of the labourers in the country. (“Xinjiang experts, scholars reject "forced labor" lies, Xinhua Net, 8 November 2021)

China announces Wuhan as venue to host upcoming COP14 
On 8 November, the National Forestry and Grasslands Administration announced that China will be hosting the 14th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14) in Wuhan from 21 November to 29 November 2021. The convention is an international treaty that proposes a platform for countries to work towards the conservation of wetlands at a global and national level. As of now, there are 172 members in the conventions who meet once in every three years to decide, invent and implement new tactics to protect the wetlands. (“Wuhan to host 14th COP meeting on wetland conservation, use,” China Internet Information Centre,  9 November 2021)

TECHNOLOGY
Satellite images show US warship mock-ups in Xinjiang desert
On 8 November, satellite images from Maxar Technologies based in Colorado showed outlines of US aircraft carriers and a destroyer in a desert county in Xinjiang. Many reports speculated this to signify practice for a future clash. The images of warships laid out were identified by Maxar Technologies as being situated in Ruoqiang which is a Taklamakan desert county in China. The independent US Naval Institute (USNI) said that these outlined warships were part of a new target range developed by the People’s Liberation Army. However, in a daily briefing, when Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of China was asked of the same, he conveyed he had no information of the images and said: “I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned.” (“Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of US warships,” The Guardian, 8 November 2021)

INTERNATIONAL
Pakistan Navy receives large and advanced warship from China
On 8 November, the China State SHipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) announced in a statement that China has delivered the largest and most advanced warship (that China has ever exported) to Pakistan in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai. According to a Global Times report, the move suggests friendship and strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. The ship is named PNS Tughril and is the first of the four Type 054 frigates that China is constructing for the Pakistan Navy. The ship is capable of combat management, electronic warfare and modern self-defense capabilities for multi-threat environments. The Pakistani Ambassador to China and the Chief of Pakistan Navy saw the development as a new chapter in China-Pakistan friendship. (Liu Xuanzun, “China delivers largest, most advanced warship to Pakistan,” Global Times, 8 November 2021)

Jailed Wuhan journalist gets nominated for RSF award as US urges freedom
On 8 November, the Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan was nominated for a press freedom award for courage given out by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The prize is one of the three awards by RSF and claims to uphold her fearless work. She was convicted in December for “picking quarrels and causing trouble” as her early reporting of COVID-19 in Wuhan became publicised. She has been sentenced to four years jail and is in detention since May 2020. Us, in the meanwhile, has urged Beijing to free the journalist as reports of her losing tremendous amounts of weight and being force-fed through a feeding tube surface. ‘The United States is deeply concerned about the deteriorating health of PRC citizen journalist Ms Zhang Zhan,’ said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price. (Helen Davidson, “Jailed Wuhan journalist Zhang Zhan nominated for RSF press freedom award,” The Guardian, 8 November 2021; Own Churchill, “US urges Beijing to release jailed citizen journalist Zhang Zhan,” South China Morning Post, 9 November 2021)

Barack Obama criticizes China, Russia for slow-paced actions for climate
On 8 November, Barack Obama expressed his views at the UN climate talks and held confidence in the Biden administration to achieve its USD 555 billion climate package. He further criticized Russia and China for their “dangerous lack of urgency” in working for climate. While stressing the hopelessness cannot be afforded, he commented that a trust gap has emerged between rich and poor nations on climate change. He said: "It was particularly discouraging to see the leaders of two of the world's largest emitters, China and Russia, decline to even attend the proceedings, and their national plans reflect what appears to be a dangerous lack of urgency.” (“Obama hits out at Russia, China for 'lack of urgency' on climate,” New Zealand Herald, 9 November 2021)

Chinese media cautions country against possible softening on US policy towards China
On 8 November, Global Times commented on the remarks made by the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to CNN. According to Sullivan, the US was not inclined to bringing about fundamental changes to the Chinese system of politics and governance. The Chinese media perceived this statement as an evidence to the softening of the US stance towards China but cautioned the country to remain vigilant to the often changing perspective of the US. ("Sullivan's remarks suggest softer tone on US-China ties, but 'words alone are not enough'," Global Times, 8 November 2021)