Root out external link to Xinjiang terrorists

According to the Associated Press, Russian warplanes have carried out airstrikes against an office of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a group that is also named the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). The AP reported the news based on information from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In the report, the Turkistan Islamic Party was not a terrorist organization, but was described as "a group that consists mainly of fighters from Asian states." According to solid intelligence that Chinese anti-terrorism agencies have, the TIP and ETIM are one and the same, and the TIP claimed responsibility for the terror attack on October 28, 2013 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Quite a few terrorist attacks and violence in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are related to the group, which takes separating the region as its public political goal. The news of the airstrikes from Russia is not yet confirmed. If it is true, then the first reaction from Chinese society would be without doubt welcome. European media has lately been quoting Amnesty International's repeated claims that ETIM no longer exists, and China is not credible when it links the organization to Chinese domestic violence and terrorist attacks. Now the AP has proved that the TIP is active in Middle East. Even if the West is having second thoughts over whether the TIP and ETIM are the same, the TIP's nature as a terrorist group as well as its relations with terror attacks within China should be affirmed given its responsibility for the attack in Tiananmen Square. It is thus clear that the violent and terror forces in Xinjiang are spiritually supported, and to some extent commanded and manipulated by foreign terrorist organizations. Certain people from the West still obstinately believe that only terror attacks in their countries are acts of terror, while the killings against civilians in China are resistance with just cause. Such an argument has breached the global anti-terror united front. The underlying cause of terrorism is hard to root out, but China is genuinely making great efforts toward solving the puzzle. In the meantime, however, the West has done almost nothing in this regard. Instead, they seem to have continued to stir up more hornets' nests. China's crackdown on terrorism should be based on its own circumstances. Russia has hit the TIP this time, but we cannot expect other countries to clean up the entirety of ETIM. The complicated fight will continue. We should stay clear-minded in tackling terrorism, stand firm on our rights, and not make terrorism disturb the big picture of Chinese domestic affairs as well as its diplomacy. Once this foundation is solid, our future actions against terrorist groups will be more precise and efficient.

China to solidify ties with African nations

China will work with Zimbabwe and other friendly African nations to create a broader and more solid road of mutual benefits and common development for China and Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in an article published in a local newspaper prior to his first State visit to Zimbabwe, which begins on Tuesday. In a signed piece carried by Zimbabwe's leading newspaper, The Herald, on Saturday, Xi said it remains a cornerstone of China's foreign policy to consolidate relations with Zimbabwe and other African nations despite the constant profound and complex changes in the international landscape. China and Zimbabwe, despite their vast distance, have maintained a traditional friendship that is deep and firm, Xi said, adding that the two peoples have "stood with each other rain or shine," and enjoyed strong friendship and fruitful cooperation over the past 35 years. He stressed that he looks forward to having in-depth discussions with his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe and friends from all sectors of Zimbabwe, with the aim of enhancing friendship between the two countries, exploring new opportunities for cooperation in all areas and delivering more benefits to the two peoples. "China and Zimbabwe enjoy traditional friendly ties with frequent State visits between leaders, and the Chinese government and businessmen have also helped stabilize Zimbabwe's economy amid Western countries' sanctions," Liu Haifang, a deputy director of the Center for African Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times. "Mugabe, currently the African Union chairman, is also a leader who tends to look eastward," Liu said. China firmly supports Zimbabwe's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and its choice of the development path that suits its national conditions, Xi said. Xi called on the two nations to enhance collaboration in the international arena and uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. Liu said Xi's trip to Zimbabwe also carries symbolic political significance, as Xi's African visit would not be confined to certain countries, which shows that China does not only treasure ties with separate African nations but with the continent as a whole, and that it will continue to push forward regional integration in Africa. The Chinese president is scheduled to visit Zimbabwe on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of Mugabe, before heading to Johannesburg, South Africa to chair the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) from Wednesday to Saturday. Dismissing speculations that China was dominating the forum, Liu said that "it was South Africa that took the initiative to hold the upcoming FOCAC summit and set its agenda." Liu underlined that "the mechanism is carried out through negotiations, and this year's summit will prove that Africa is capable of advocating and organizing a high-profile summit against the backdrop of a complicated global situation."

IMF approves inclusion of China's RMB in SDR basket

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s executive board on Monday approved the inclusion of China's currency renminbi (RMB) in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket as an international reserve currency. The IMF board, which represented the fund's 188 member countries, decided that the RMB "met all existing criteria," the IMF said in a statement after completing the regular five-yearly review of the SDR basket here. Effective from Oct. 1, 2016, the RMB will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound, it said. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, said, the board's decision is "an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system." "It is also a recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China's monetary and financial systems," she said. "The continuation and deepening of these efforts will bring about a more robust international monetary and financial system, which in turn will support the growth and stability of China and the global economy," she added. The RMB will have a weighting of 10.92 percent in the new SDR basket, while the respective weighting of other currencies in the basket are 41.73 percent for the US dollar, 30.93 percent for euro, 8.33 percent for the Japanese yen and 8.09 percent for the British pound, according to the IMF. "Launching the new SDR basket on October 1, 2016 will provide sufficient lead time for the Fund, its members and other SDR users to adjust to these changes," the Washington-based international lender said. The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. It can be exchanged among governments for freely usable currencies in times of need. The IMF reviews the currencies in the SDR basket every five years, and whether to add the RMB to the basket is a major issue for this year's assessment. To meet the IMF's criteria, Chinese authorities have undertaken a series of reforms in recent months, such as improving its foreign exchange rate formation system, opening up its interbank bond and forex markets, and improving data transparency by subscribing to the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). Nicholas Lardy, a senior researcher with the Washington-based Peterson Institute of International Economics, told Xinhua that "China has taken enormous efforts to address the operational shortcomings and that dramatically increases the probability of yuan's inclusion." Meg Lundsager, a former US Executive Director at the IMF, told Xinhua that what is important is it shows the evolution of the system is possible, reflecting what China has undertaken over the past years. "China is clearly on the path of reform. It wants to show yuan is widely traded and freely usable by the IMF definition," said Lundsager, now a senior researcher with the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank. At the G20 summit in Antalya of Turkey, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the inclusion of the yuan will help increase the representation and attraction of the SDR, improve the international monetary system, and safeguard global financial stability. Eswar Prasad, the former head of the IMF's China Division, said IMF wants to avoid another knock on its legitimacy, already tainted by the lack of progress on giving emerging markets their rightful voting shares. "Excluding the yuan from the SDR could crystallize the concerns of policy makers in emerging markets that the IMF remains an institution run by and for the benefit of advanced economies," he noted. Being one of global reserve currencies will prompt central banks to increase their holdings of yuan in the reserve currency portfolio. Private sectors will also be encouraged to gradually buy more yuan-denominated assets. However, the global reserve currency status will not automatically turn yuan into a major global reserve currency which is a choice of the market. "So it's very important to keep China on path of reform. It's tough that everything you do is closely scrutinized by the market. But China can't backtrack in a major way. Inclusion will re-enforce the trend," Lundsager said. In an article published in the People's Daily last week, Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan committed himself to making the RMB fully convertible and freely usable within five years. By then, Zhou said he expected more than a third of the world's international trade to be conducted through the RMB.

Xi sends strong signals at Paris climate talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent strong signals at the ongoing Paris climate change conference, warning against mentality of zero-sum game, expressing resolve in fulfilling Beijing's commitments and showing willingness to advance international cooperation. Xi made the remarks in a speech at the opening ceremony of the two-week Paris gathering, officially called the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The highly-anticipated meeting, opened by leaders from over 150 countries, aims to produce a new international agreement to cut greenhouse gases beyond 2020 when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol expires. Such an accord is seen as crucial for keeping the rise in global temperatures within two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, a goal scientists say should be met to avoid risky changes in the climate. No mentality of zero-sum game The Paris climate talks should reject the narrow-minded mentality of zero-sum game, said Xi, urging all countries, particularly developed countries, to assume more shared responsibilities for win-win results. Developing nations insist their developed counterparts with completed process of industrialization shoulder the greater burden for carbon emission reductions. In his speech, Xi reiterated the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," a cornerstone laid by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, adding that it must be adhered to during the upcoming climate negotiations. Xi suggested the Paris conference accommodate the national conditions of various countries and lay emphasis on practical results. It is imperative to respect differences among countries, especially developing ones, in domestic policies, capacity building and economic structure, the Chinese leader said, noting the legitimate needs of developing countries to reduce poverty and improve their peoples' living standards should not be denied when the issue of climate change is being addressed. Along with leaders of other developing nations, Xi also called upon developed countries to honor their commitment to climate finance and transfer of low-carbon and eco-friendly technologies to developing countries. In the 2009 Copenhagen conference, it was agreed that poorer nations vulnerable to global warming impacts would receive 100 billion US dollars per year by 2020 to give up fossil fuels and shore up defenses against climate-driven food scarcity, heat waves and storm damage. "Developed countries should honor their commitment, mobilizing 100 billion US dollars each year before 2020, and provide stronger financial support to developing countries afterwards," said Xi. "It is also important that climate-friendly technologies should be transferred to developing countries," he added. China's confidence, resolve With regard to China's commitment to combating climate change, Xi said the world's second largest economy has confidence and resolve in walking its words. As a matter of fact, China, as a developing country, has taken bold actions to reduce carbon emissions with ambitious climate goals. According to an action plan submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat late June, China has pledged to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, raise the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same year. "This requires strenuous efforts but we have confidence and resolve to fulfill our commitments," Xi said. China has been actively engaged in the global campaign on climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation and utilization of new and renewable energies. Aimed at a more sustainable and balanced way of growth, China's next national development blueprint seeks to promote clean industrial production, low-carbon development and energy conservation from 2016 to 2020. China will, on the basis of technological and institutional innovation, adopt new policy measures to improve industrial mix, build low-carbon system, develop green building and low-carbon transportation and establish a nationwide carbon-emission trading market, Xi elaborated. To act on climate change is not only driven by China's domestic needs for sustainable development, but also driven by its sense of responsibility to fully engage in global governance, and to forge a community of shared destiny for humankind, the action plan explained. Advancing global cooperation Xi stressed that the Chinese government will continue to advance international cooperation on climate change, and earnestly implement its policy commitment to south-south cooperation. In September, China announced the establishment of the China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, with an input of 20 billion yuan (about 3 billion dollars), to help other developing countries combat climate change "in a show of greater support," as Xi put it. Next year, China will launch cooperation projects to set up 10 pilot low-carbon industrial parks and start 100 mitigation and adaptation programs in other developing countries, and provide them with 1000 training opportunities on climate change, Xi announced. China will continue to promote international cooperation in such areas as clean energy, disaster prevention and mitigation, ecological protection and climate-smart agriculture, and low-carbon and smart cities, he said. China will also help other developing countries build up their financing capabilities for dealing with climate change, Xi added. Positive reactions Xi's speech at the Paris gathering has drawn positive reactions from delegates and experts attending the 12-day event. His remarks are welcomed, said Samantha Smith, leader of World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Global Climate and Energy Initiative, noting Xi has detailed China's cooperation plans with other developing countries in the Monday speech. The principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities", "equity" and "respective capabilities" as Xi reaffirmed in his remarks are what the UNFCCC requires, commented Przemyslaw Sobanski, an official at Poland's Department of Sustainable Development and deputy head of the Polish delegation to the summit. Speaking highly of China's initiative of setting up the climate cooperation fund, Sobanski said China is playing a responsible role in coping with challenges brought about by climate change. Xi's remarks show his resolve in addressing climate change and pushing for a strong agreement with all parties to take actions, said Jennifer Morgan, head of the climate program for the World Resources Institute, a global research organization that has been working on climate change for over two decades. China is ready to step into a pivotal role in reaching common ground on key issues in Paris, Morgan added.

RMB goes global, SDR entry milestone

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board has decided to include the Chinese currency, the yuan, to its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket, marking a milestone in the renminbi (RMB) global march and a vote of confidence in China's ongoing financial reforms. During a meeting on the regular five-yearly review of the SDR basket, the IMF executive board, which represents the fund's 188 members, decided that the RMB "met all existing criteria," the Washington, D.C.-based international lender said in a statement afterwards. Effective from Oct. 1, 2016, the RMB will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde described the decision as "an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system." "It is also a recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China's monetary and financial systems," she said. The RMB will have a weighting of 10.92 percent in the new SDR basket, while respective weightings of other currencies in the basket are 41.73 percent for the US dollar, 30.93 percent for the euro, 8.33 percent for the Japanese yen and 8.09 percent for the British pound. Created by the IMF in 1969, the SDR is an international reserve asset created to supplement its members' official reserves. It can be exchanged among governments for freely usable currencies in times of need. The long-awaited outcome came as China has been pushing its currency to wider use on the global stage. The RMB became the world's No. 2 currency for global trade finance in 2013, and overtook the Japanese Yen to become the fourth most-used world payment currency in August, only after the US dollar, the euro and the sterling, according to the global transaction services organization SWIFT. To meet the IMF "freely usable" criteria, Chinese authorities undertook a series of reforms in recent months, such as improving its foreign exchange rate formation system, opening up its interbank bond and forex markets, and improving data transparency by subscribing to the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), announced early Tuesday morning that it welcomes the IMF decision to include the redback in the SDR basket, saying the move shows the IMF's recognition of China's economic development and reform achievements. "The joining of RMB in the SDR basket means the international community has greater expectations on China to play an active role in the world economic and financial arena," the statement said. Offshore yuan strengthened sharply on Monday ahead of the decision, with the currency rising 0.4 percent against the US dollar during the trading, marking the biggest gain in a month. In a muted reaction to the inclusion news, the central parity rate of the yuan weakened on Tuesday by 11 basis points to 6.3973 against the US dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. "Expectations have already been riding high that the board would formally announce the RMB's inclusion, which implies that a lot of near-term expectations should already be factored into the RMB movement," HSBC said. The market reached a consensus that immediate yuan demand triggered by the new formula will be negligible due to the limited asset value of total SDR outstanding. Over the long run, the balance of risk remains tilted toward depreciation, a latest Bloomberg Brief special report commented on the issue. Membership in the IMF's SDR club might encourage more funds to flow into China, but the capital-account opening that SDR inclusion is intended to catalyze may see even larger quantities of funds flowing out, the report said. It projected a median forecast for the yuan to end 2015 at 6.4 against the dollar and drop further to 6.6 at the end of 2016. Wang Tao, a UBS economist, expects a 5 percent depreciation of the yuan against the US dollar in 2016 in a gradual rather than one-off manner. The Aug. 11 depreciation move, explained by the PBOC as allowing the central parity rate of the yuan to better reflect the market rate, was largely understood by the market as China wishes to have a solid grip on fairly stable exchange rate while maintaining independence on making monetary policies. While the immediate benefits of the yuan's SDR entry may be limited, economists have looked beyond the symbolic significance of the label to far-reaching implications for China's economic and financial reforms. "The significance will continue to lie in all the necessary financial reforms and the capital-account opening to achieve a positive outcome and further advance RMB internationalization," Wang said. Following the IMF decision, China's central bank vowed to speed financial reforms and opening up to make positive contribution to global economic growth, financial stability and economic governance. In an article published last week on the flagship People's Daily which mainly reflects views from the leadership, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan pledged to make the RMB a convertible, freely usable currency when expounding China's financial reform agenda in the next five years. The senior policy maker, however, warned in the same article against any possible financial attacks or sanctions from overseas in some extreme circumstances. He expected the share of RMB use in cross-border trade settlement will exceed one third by 2020, and the yuan will become an international currency by that time. As the regulator grants wider access for foreign financial institutions to the domestic interbank bond market and the onshore interbank foreign exchange market, China also encourages more domestic funds to invest overseas by trying out the scheme of qualified domestic individual investors (QDII) II in big hubs such as Shanghai. In a press conference on Tuesday, PBOC Vice Governor Yi Gang said the yuan's SDR entry is not the end of the story, adding that China is committed to cementing the yuan's position as a global currency. Key Efforts in 2015 On July 14, the central bank granted access for foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds and international financial institutions to the domestic interbank bond market and further opened the onshore interbank foreign exchange market to such institutions on Sept. 30. On Aug. 11, the PBOC reformed the country's exchange rate formation mechanism to allow the central parity rate of the yuan to better reflect the market rate. On Oct. 8, the first phase of the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), which provides capital settlement and clearing services for cross-border yuan transactions for financial institutions, was launched in Shanghai, promoting the global use of the Chinese currency. On Oct. 20, the PBOC extended an agreement on a reciprocal currency swap scheme with the Bank of England to promote London as an offshore RMB center. Meanwhile, the PBOC also issued its first offshore RMB note in London. On Oct. 24, the central bank scraped the ceiling limits on all deposit interest rates, marking the completion of interest rate liberalization.

Chinese president arrives for state visit to Zimbabwe

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Tuesday for a state visit to Zimbabwe aimed at further cementing the traditional friendship between the two countries and charting the course for the future development of bilateral ties. The trip, which comes upon the 35th anniversary of the establishment of China-Zimbabwe diplomatic relations, is Xi's first to the African country and also the first state visit by a Chinese president to Zimbabwe since 1996. During his stay in Harare, Xi will hold talks with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is revered as an old friend of the Chinese people, and the two sides are expected to ink a series of cooperation deals covering such fields as infrastructure construction, investment, financing, culture and wildlife protection. "I'm looking forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with President Mugabe on China-Zimbabwe relations as well as global and regional affairs of common concern," Xi said in a written statement upon arrival, adding that he believes his visit will strongly push forward the two countries cooperation in various fields. The traditional friendship forged by Mugabe and past generations of Chinese leaders is a precious wealth shared by both countries, he said, calling Zimbabwe an "all-weather friend" of China. Over the past 35 years since they established diplomatic ties in 1980, the two countries have stood with each other rain or shine, and enjoyed fruitful cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields, said the Chinese president, adding that he is glad to see the agreement reached during Mugabe's state visit to China last year has been implemented in an effective way. China highly appreciates the important role Mugabe has played in safeguarding African unity and promoting development of the continent as the rotating chairman of the African Union, said Xi. Calling China Zimbabwe's "best friend" on the international stage and describing Xi's visit as a significant event in the development of bilateral ties, Mugabe told Xinhua in a recent interview that he will confer with Xi on bilateral cooperation in multiple areas. Harare, he said, hopes that China will help Zimbabwe carry out some key economic and public-welfare projects so as to speed up the country's socio-economic development. China and Zimbabwe boast a time-honored brotherly relationship that dates back to the former's provision of substantial assistance for the latter's struggle for national liberation and independence. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations on the very day of Zimbabwe's independence, bilateral ties have witnessed steady and fruitful development. China has become a major trading partner of Zimbabwe and its largest source of foreign investment. Two-way trade reached 1.24 billion US dollars in 2014, marking a year-on-year increase of 12.7 percent. During Mugabe's state visit to China in August 2014, the two countries agreed to be good friends, good partners and good brothers that treat each other as equals, support each other, and pursue win-win cooperation and common development. In April this year, the two leaders held a meeting in Jakarta on the sidelines of an Asian and African leaders' summit, and pledged to make concerted efforts to lift bilateral relations to higher levels. Xi flew to Harare from Paris, where he delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of a highly anticipated UN climate change conference. His ongoing three-nation trip will also take him to South Africa for a state visit and a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China has no military ambition in Djibouti

China confirmed on Thursday that it is in talks with Djibouti about the building of logistical facilities to support Chinese peace-keeping and anti-piracy missions near Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. Western media have been paying great attention to China's move, saying that China is building its first overseas military base in Djibouti. They reported that China is avoiding using the word "military base," and said China's move will help expand its global influence. The US and France have military bases in Djibouti, which serves as the outposts for their African military strategies that maximize their national interests. China's ties with all African countries are based on equality and mutual benefit, which do not need the drive of military deterrence. The Chinese navy's patrols near the Gulf of Aden mainly target pirates. The navy also played a key role in evacuating Chinese citizens in recent cases of regional turmoil. China has no intention of building a military base from which to launch a military strike at a certain Middle Eastern foe. It will not seek to become an empire by building military bases and project its military clout around the globe. Logistical facilities may not appear absolutely different from military bases on the surface. But the motives behind sets them apart. The Chinese fleet needs a supply spot near the Gulf of Aden. The logistical facilities at Djibouti are a natural solution, instead of a prelude for China's military strategy. No Western countries or those around the region have raised official protests. Djibouti government expressed its welcome of China's logistical project there. It sees the coming of China's construction teams as a chance for local development. There is no doubt that China's influence in Africa will keep growing. Such influence mainly comes from economic cooperation and mutual political trust. After the logistical facilities are finished, the Chinese navy's patrols near Africa will become more regular. This is a positive factor in Africa's rise, not a military uncertainty for Africa's future. As long as the other countries welcome China's merchant ships as part of its "Belt and Road" initiative, the world will gradually understand and support the fact that the Chinese navy also appears on major sea routes to protect the safety of ships from China and other countries. As the biggest global trader, China sending out its navy to all oceans should not be a surprise. Actually there are still many places that the Chinese navy has yet to cover. Compared with the US whose military bases lie around the world, it is ridiculous to talk about China's "ambition to become a new sea power."