NIAS Area Studies
PAKISTAN READER
Photo : State Council Information Office, PRC
IN FOCUS
By Avishka Ashok
Chinese white paper on Responding to climate change: Four takeaway
On 27 October, China’s State Council Information Office published a white paper emphasizing the country’s shift in policies and actions in an effort to reduce emissions and achieve its climate goals. The paper is titled “Responding to Climate Change: China's Policies and Actions." The 35-page report responds to the impending climate crisis in four parts.
Involving and prepping the Chinese people for drastic changes
Acknowledging the need to achieve eco-friendly goals set by the government in international conferences, China introduced five principles in its new plan. First, the government will promote the idea of a common community to ensure every individual works towards protecting and conserving the earth. Second, the state will implement a new philosophy that encourages innovative, green, coordinated, open and shared development that actively works towards sustainability. Third, the paper promised that the state would undertake a people-centred approach towards implementing and executing its new policies and ensure the development of its people along with achieving its climate goals. Fourth, the state has prioritized carbon peaking and ultimately carbon neutrality and will emphasize green and low-carbon development of the energy sector. Lastly, pollution prevention and reducing emissions will be crucial to achieving its goals. According to the paper, the state aims to jointly reduce emissions and control pollution through “structural adjustments, optimized configuration, policy synergy and innovative mechanisms.”
The government seeks to change the mentality of the Chinese people and transform them into sincere advocates for climate change. Through the shift in policy and principles, the government seeks to bring out the necessary change in people’s opinions that will enable the country to achieve its goals quickly.
China gears up for changes in climate policy
China is aware of the challenges it faces in order to ensure a stable supply chain that helps its GDP but also substantially reduces its industrial pollution and environmental degradation. The report explained the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the planning and coordination amongst smaller government bodies to execute its new policies. China has also included carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals in its five-year plans and the national economic and social development plans. The government will also implement a mechanism to break down its major goals to more achievable, smaller and closer targets. It reiterated the country’s targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, lower carbon intensity by 65 per cent by 2030, increase the share of non-fossil fuels by 2030, increase forest cover and increase dependency on renewable sources of energy.
Other efforts include committing to a green and low-carbon path to development by coordinating the population’s carbon footprints and emissions, organizing strategies for green development of agricultural, ecological, urban and other sectors, developing industries that are less dependent on high energy consumption, curbing the development of uneven energy-intensive projects and more.
The state will also actively control its greenhouse emissions, promote low-carbon development in infrastructure and transportation and enhance its carbon sink capacity. The state will allow full play in carbon emissions trading, build a carbon market system and encourage communities to participate in emission-reducing activities. The government will actively improve climate resilience and teach the people to adapt to the unavoidable changes caused due to global warming. On a national and local level, Chinese governmental institutions and associated organizations will expand their support for addressing climate change.
Despite adopting extremely uncomfortable changes in its industrial and economic policies, the country is gearing up to earnestly modify its old plans and rectify the harm caused to the ecological system in the previous decades of rapid industrialization in China. The new plan puts emphasis on transforming the energy sector and reducing the dependency on fossil fuels.
China admits inadequacy of previous policies
The People’s Republic of China reduced its carbon intensity by 18.8 per cent between 2015-20, leading to a reduction of 5.8 billion tonnes of carbon-di-oxide from 2005-2020. The country has managed to, simultaneously, sustain its development. The changes in the country’s policies are aimed at revolutionizing energy production and consumption by rapidly developing non-fossil energy and accelerating the transition to a clean energy-dependent economy. The country is currently developing non-fossil fuel energy and is encouraging the use of alternative energy. The report boasts of great achievements in the renewable energy sector which has been a priority for the government since the last decade.
The report appreciates the past efforts of the Chinese people and the country to reduce its emissions but also admitted that the previous targets were not enough to overturn the damage. Hence, the report complimented the achievements but also pushed the companies, firms, organizations and people for heightened activity in the area of conservation and ecological preservation.
China urges international communities to fight climate change unitedly
The report also sheds light on the challenges faced by the international community in achieving carbon neutrality and acting immediately for the benefit of conserving the planet. The report showcased China’s contributions towards preventing the fast degradation of the global ecology and emphasized Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to achieve global consensus to act unitedly on the issue of climate change. The report stressed the significance of the green silk road to achieving global climate governance. Finally, the paper pledged to commit to sustainable development, promote multilateralism, commit to common but differentiated responsibilities and take concrete actions towards the achievement of global governance on climate change.
The report seeks to explain that China or any other country cannot unilaterally revoke and rectify the climate crisis. There is an urgent need for the international communities to come together to resolve the issue effectively and China seems to be taking the lead in guiding others by bringing changes to its internal policies. The white paper and the ensuing change in strategy is China’s way of assuming leadership in the field of climate governance.
References
“Responding to Climate Change: China's Policies and Actions,” State Council Information Office, 27 October 2021
IN BRIEF
By Dincy Adlakha and Keerthana Nambiar
INTERNAL
President Xi Jinping to attend the G-20 summit via video link
On 29 October, according to the notice published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, President Xi Jinping will attend the G-20 summit in Rome via video link. President Xi is going to address the 16th G-20 Summit at the invitation of Italian President Mario Draghi. The summit is to be held on 30-31 October with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending it online. (“Xi to address 16th G20 Leaders' Summit,” Xinhua Net, 29 October 2021: “China's Xi to participate in G20 leaders' summit via video link,” Reuters, 29 October 2021)
REGIONAL
People’s Liberation Army on high alert to resolve China’s complete reunification
On 28 October, Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense announced that “the Chinese military is fully committed to its missions and responsibilities and remains on high alert to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The remarks came in as a response to the leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party’s concerns over Chinese intervention in Taiwan’s ADIZ. The spokesperson stressed that contemptible moves by DPP’s authorities advocating “Taiwan independence” is “the biggest obstacle to the national” “it is a sacred mission of the People's Liberation Army to thwart any external interference and separatist acts seeking ‘Taiwan independence’.”(“Chinese PLA on high alert to safeguard national sovereignty: military spokesperson,” People’s Daily, 29 October 2021)
INTERNATIONAL
Top Pentagon official confirms Chinese hypersonic weapon test
On 28 October, General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the Financial Times report that the Chinese military conducted a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August. In an interview on The David Rubenstein Show, he said: “What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system, and it is very concerning.” He also called the significant technological event ‘close to a Sputnik moment’. China has refuted the reports of the test and has stressed that it was a routine test checking re-usability of a spacecraft. The new confirmation from the Pentagon official has been taken very seriously by many countries, especially in the Pacific rim. (Robert Burns, “‘It has all of our attention’: Pentagon confirms Chinese hypersonic weapon test,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 2021)
China responds to the criticism by WTO trading partners
On 28 October, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen declared, “China has already fulfilled its obligations under the WTO, and also delivered its commitments, which has been broadly affirmed and recognized by several WTO directors-general and most WTO members.” The statements were a response to some of the concerns raised by some of WTO’ trading partners. Members including the US, the EU, Australia, Japan, and India addressed their concerns deeming China’s “unfair trade practices.” Wang further added that China will take seriously questions, complaints, and even criticism raised by other WTO members, but will not accept criticism based on expectations or requirements beyond the WTO provisions, as such criticism is unreasonable and unfair.” (“China 'has fulfilled' WTO obligations,” Global Times, 28 October 2021: “Official: Nation fulfilled WTO commitments,” China Daily,29 October 2021)
China-Serbia’s “iron-clad friendship”
On 28 October, Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi held a meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. Vucic hailed China’s “steely friendship with China, describing China as a most reliant, most valuable and greatest friend.” He thanked China for supporting Serbia’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. Wang expressed China’s “iron-clad friendship” with Serbia and willingness to “actively promote the alignment of the two countries' development strategies, and to speed up cooperation in industrial capacity building and infrastructural projects such as the Belgrade-Budapest Railway within the Belt and Road framework”. (“Serbian president hails steely friendship with China, pledges deeper cooperation,” Xinhua Net, 29 October 2021)
US expels unit of Chinese phone carrier from US market
On 27 October, The Asahi Shimbun reported that US regulators are expelling a unit of China Telecom Ltd from the American market citing national security threat. China Telecom is one of the three major state-owned phone carriers. According to reports, the telecom provider is required to cease domestic interstate and international services in the US within a period of two months. The order for this step was approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Earlier, in 2019 as well, FCC had expelled two Chinese telecom providers from the US. Amid rising tensions, China Telecom Ltd. becomes the third phone carrier to be outed from the US market. (“Washington orders Chinese phone carrier out of U.S. market,” The Asahi Shimbun, 27 October 2021)
China’s Ambassador to Australia set to return amid tense bilateral ties
On 28 October, the Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye, delivered his farewell address as he is set to leave the post. According to Global Times, the Ambassador had tried to salvage the deteriorating ties by adopting numerous means like people-to-people exchange and links with Australian media. However, the Australian government has not responded well and is the only one to be blamed for this situation. As reported in The Australian, the return of the Ambassador is seen as a “whimper” despite the pompous show as ‘wolf warrior’. (Chen Qingqing, “Chinese Ambassador to Australia to leave position at most difficult time in bilateral ties,” Global Times, 28 October 2021; “Beijing’s ‘wolf warrior’ slinks away,” The Australian, 28 October 2021)
World links India’s nuclear capable missile test with tensions at Chinese front
On 28 October, The Mainichi newspaper in Japan published a report that linked Indian nuclear-capable missile tests with the India-China tensions. On 27 October, India had tested an intercontinental ballistic missile as continuation of its policy of credible minimum deterrence and commitment to no first use. This test was seen as a response to the reports of Chinese hypersonic missile test in August. Many experts have observed it as a push to increase missile arsenal in New Delhi due to the aggressive show of power by Beijing. India and China are engaged in multiple border disputes and have held numerous high-level military talks on the same. (“India tests nuclear-capable missile amid tensions with China,” The Mainichi, 28 October 2021)