The climate summit has started. China is one of the decisive players here. And in China, Xie Zhenhua is a key player. Reason enough for us to introduce the chief negotiator of the People’s Republic. Nico Beckert presents the Profile of an experienced environmental politician who moves confidently in the international arena – and thus represents China’s interests all the more effectively.
In China, lockdowns continue, even if some of them have instead received creative names such as “Days of Silence”. Our author team in China captured the mood of the citizens about the ever-new restrictions: Anger and frustration rise once again after the Party Congress. The hope, after all, was that the first relaxations would come after the political event.
The yuan wanted to become a global currency, but Xi Jinping’s financial policies wouldn’t allow it. Xi loves control – including capital and exchange controls. Despite this, the renminbi is on the upswing. This affects both usage and the exchange rate. We analyze the consequences of this.
In the beginning, everything happened very fast in the Beilun district of the ten-million metropolis of Ningbo. The district government imposed the so-called “in yes, out no” policy. Travelers were free to enter the city but not allowed to leave. “It feels like a trap,” said a Shanghai businessman. The middle-aged man only wanted to visit Ningbo for an appointment; in the end, without any preparation, it turned into a weeks-long stay. At first, escape seemed impossible.
Security forces still patrol the neighborhoods and inform shopkeepers without warning that they would have to close. Those affected believe to know the reason for the lack of transparency. They remember the panic at Shanghai’s Ikea. At the time, people started running after a rumor about a Covid case in the store started circulating.
Nobody in Ningbo knows anything for sure either. What there are, on the other hand, are plenty of rumors. “You cannot rely on official information here. Unofficial information is faster and also more reliable,” says a young woman who the lockdown caught by surprise. And she was proven right. Long before official announcements to close stores came, people started to rush to the supermarkets. People stocked up on basic foodstuffs. For how long? No one knew. But everyone knew what had happened in Shanghai, of course – and preferred to take a few extra boxes of instant noodles with them. Not long after that, stores were closed and people were left trapped in their apartments or hotels. Only then did the official instructions follow: seven days of “silence” (静默 jingmo). This is now a widely used synonym for lockdown.
The local authorities still do not provide exact infection numbers. Citizens speculate about the reason. “The district administration does not want to lose face,” says one shopkeeper. Assumptions in the rumor mill even go so far as to say that the whole lockdown could be a signal to Beijing that they support the zero-Covid policy. The local cadres would use it to make themselves look good to the top leadership. But that, too, is mere speculation.
While the real world still debates the advantages and disadvantages of the zero-Covid, WeChat groups are very unified in their criticism of its implementation. For example, people criticize the fact that those affected are locked up in their apartments or hotels all day to minimize the risk of transmission, while the authorities send them all out for mass testing in the evening. The consequence is endless queues where distancing rules are ignored. In addition, test stations are constantly relocated, which means that people often form long lines while medical staff is absent. Confused residents would frequently roam the district in search of test stations.
Roadblocks are in place to prevent people from leaving the area without permission, but many – especially travelers – still try to get away. It seems like something out of the movie classic Casablanca. Some get special permission to leave the area because of physical ailments that the local hospital cannot treat. Others invent stories of grandparents in need of care. And yet others secretly leave the lockdown area at night on back roads. The area is vast and difficult to control. Side roads are only partially guarded. And if it rains, no one even pays attention anymore because the police officers do not have shelters or enough rain gear.
Some leave the rental cars behind somewhere and make their way through the woods or parks on foot. And many do manage to get away. Secretly and quietly, hotel guests disappear. And everyone agrees: This lockdown makes no sense. Either the number of cases is much higher than officially stated, which means the government is lying. Or the actual numbers really are that low. Then the lockdown is an overreaction. Once people flee the area, they are free and can easily book fast trains or flights to other cities – except Beijing. In Beijing, a visit to a supposedly risky region would be visible on the surveillance app.
Meanwhile, the complaint hotline is either unavailable or people get hung up on as soon as the phone is answered. International journalists, on the other hand, receive calls from the subdistrict’s PR department, asking them to get in touch if they have any questions or problems. Those who ask for actual information, however, receive a brief answer at best. The young woman on the other end says that this number is not meant to provide information or receive complaints. She is there to help out with food or chocolate in an emergency. Then she hangs up.
As the lockdown passes the 8-day mark, supplies also become a problem. Even those who have learned of the Lockdown in time run out of their hoarded supplies. The only other option is to buy goods illegally. The three hours a day during which those affected are supposed to go to mass testing becomes a window of freedom. People take walks in the neighborhood or stock up on food. Because even though the stores are supposed to be officially closed, they secretly start selling again. They leave their shutter doors open just a crack, signaling that shoppers can crawl into the store. Others even offer under-the-counter home deliveries, but only during testing times.
This alleviates some of the burdens of those in quarantine. But in reality, the streets are completely deserted for 21 hours a day, only to burst with activity for three hours. The government ultimately concentrates the entire public life of the district on these three hours. “Contagion prevention with Chinese characteristics,” one person says cynically.
Controversy also rages over the word “free” in public messages about the government providing free meals for stranded guests. It turns out that the term “free” is used as creatively as the term “lockdown” or “silent”. Even ¥15 (€2.50) per serving is considered free here. “Why are you talking about the food?” one hotel resident rants in a WeChat group, “I want back what I paid for the hotel!” Upon inquiry, however, the subdistrict government makes it clear that it will not cover any hotel costs caused by the “silence.”
Just in time for the end of the Party Congress – the “silence” had already lasted a good 10 days by now – came the news that the district would gradually be reopened. The relief was palpable and visible. During mass testing, some staff now no longer wear fully protective clothing. Also, the testing stations now close on time, even when there are still lines of people waiting to be tested. “The test is not that important,” the people in white now claim.
Overall, there was a lot of alarm for only very few actual infections in Ningbo. The city retrospectively reported 120 asymptomatic cases and 73 symptomatic cases for the entire Ningbo metropolitan area. About 830,000 people live in the affected Beilun district. Yet this lockdown is one of the smaller, lower-profile ones, and even one of the better-executed ones.
Many of the people who were in Lockdown tested negative in more than ten PCR tests and had green QR codes over the entire time. The region was also marked in green as a “low-risk area” on official apps over the entire period. What is noticeable is that people begin to lose their fear. They are more willing to take risks in order to avoid lockdowns. Respect for the authorities is waning – for the measures themselves and slowly also for those who order and execute them. Joern Petring/Gregor Koppenburg
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz landed in China with a tailwind: He arrived in Beijing three-quarters of an hour earlier than planned. And he also traveled back with a tailwind. With a political tailwind this time. He revives previously severed talks while still finding clear words on human rights issues.
Although observers interpreted the greeting as distant, he was able to open the doors a crack wide on central issues. No more, but also no less. Now a lot of work awaits in Beijing and Berlin to translate this into concrete policy for the G20 summit in Bali in mid-November.
These major global issues dominated Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s speed dating over his eleven hours in Beijing:
As is well known, Scholz is the first Western head of government to meet President Xi Jinping after the conclusion of the 20th Party Congress. Now Xi is more powerful than ever. But Scholz is also a little more powerful than usual. He is still the chairman of the G7 round of developed industrialized nations. His visit to Beijing comes just two weeks before the G20 summit in Bali. Not only US President Joe Biden is expected to meet President Xi there, but also Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Scholz and Xi, as well as departing Premier Li Keqiang, used the few hours in the Great Hall of the People to revive personal contacts after three years without personal meetings – due to Covid and sanctions. Both sides quickly agreed on a motto that Scholz had put forward in advance and that Xi adopted: pragmatic cooperation. This means being open, frank and sometimes even tough when it comes to stating differences of opinion, but without getting bogged down in them. Rather, this visit was also about sounding out the areas in which cooperation can continue in the future.
A closer look at the official Chinese summary of the talks reveals where and to what extent Xi went along. Xi noted that the visit had strengthened “mutual understanding and trust” and “deepened practical cooperation in various fields.” However, Xi stressed that this would only work through “mutual respect.”
Xi agreed with Scholz that Germany and China, as “influential powers,” have a “greater contribution to make to world peace and development” amid “changes and chaos.” China was willing to enter into a “comprehensive strategic partnership for the future” with Germany. However, he stressed that despite the partnership, each country must “choose the path according to its own reality.” Both sides opposed “irresponsible” nuclear threats.
Overall, Xi displayed openness to Scholz’s efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war. Xi called on “all parties concerned” to exercise “reason and restraint” and to create the “conditions for the resumption of negotiations” as soon as possible; together they also very clearly spoke out against “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.” That is rather far-reaching for a country that is actually a close partner of Putin. In addition, efforts should be made to “support civilians in crisis areas during the winter.”
However, high-ranking Chinese politicians do not always tend to mean what they appear to be saying in translation. There is often a second layer for their own target audience. The call to keep the peace does not necessarily have to be aimed at Russia but can also be directed at the US, which, according to Russian and, to some extent, Chinese interpretations, is fueling the conflict. By leaving this open, however, Xi also gives Scholz an acceptable position.
Xi further told Scholz that China would continue to maintain a “high degree of openness to the outside world” in the spirit of “economic globalization.” But Xi also warned that “mutual trust is difficult to rebuild” once it has been destroyed or damaged. To explain what Xi meant, he used a quote from former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. “Politicians should accept with serenity what cannot be changed, change with courage what can be changed, and with wisdom recognize the difference.”
Later on, the conversation shifted to trade issues. At the same time, the “stability of industrial supply chains” should be ensured and cooperation on energy, food and finance should prevent “undermining the stability of developing countries.” In this way, both aim to prevent a major humanitarian crisis and fight hunger.
Pandemic prevention was also a topic. The vaccine Comirnaty developed by Biontech is initially to be approved for foreigners in China. In parallel, both parties want to advance the respective approvals of the vaccines. Scholz wants to press the German and EU authorities in this regard if Beijing, in turn, answers any remaining questions.
However, a supposed deal with Airbus only consisted of rehashed contracts, some of which were already signed in 2019 and some in the middle of this year. The contracts with a volume of $17 billion were probably a pure attempt to feign vital trade relations in the absence of new deals. It is Chinese custom to have major contracts signed in the presence of foreign government leaders.
One very important point: Beijing and Berlin want to develop a joint strategy to step up the fight against climate change. Beijing and Berlin were able to agree on a common starting point quite easily: The market alone does not make the world green. It needs to be regulated. How, that is now the big question.
Scholz has made his position on human rights issues very clear, for example, on the Taiwan question. Here, Scholz emphasized that while Germany adheres to the one-China policy, it expects that any change in the status quo must take place only by mutual agreement.
On this issue, as was to be expected, consensus could be found only for the first part. As far as the second part is concerned, Beijing did not budge. This is also evident from the fact that this issue was not mentioned at all in the official statements, just like Xinjiang or the treatment of civil society in Hong Kong. The German side assures us that Scholz has addressed these issues.
Scholz also took the opportunity to seek contact with regime critics. Due to current circumstances, the conversation took place in the form of a video call, according to government sources. The dissidents and human rights lawyers reportedly traveled to the German Embassy in Beijing to speak with Scholz via video from there. Names were not mentioned. Some of the participants had already served time in prison for their activism. During her visits to Beijing, Angela Merkel had also spoken with representatives of civil society, but only in person at that time.
One major criticism remains: Scholz went it alone without the EU. While this may not really be in Europe’s interest, it may have been the right thing to go to Beijing alone first to reopen the doors in the first place. This would have been more complicated and possibly less successful if Emmanuel Macron had accompanied Scholz. All the more reason for Scholz to get the EU on board for the next steps. After all, he is not the only European head of government who will be sitting at the table in Bali.
A lot is now in motion, certainly more than could have been expected a few days ago. However, Scholz should not overestimate what he has achieved, even if he has made enough concessions to satisfy the Greens and the Liberals in the German government coalition, who expressed great skepticism about the visit. Now Scholz and the ministries involved, as well as the Chinese side, still have a lot of work to do and a vote in the EU to turn this into a tangible policy at the G20 summit.
What could this be, for instance, on climate change? China and Germany, but also the EU, could suspend mutual sanctions and tariffs on climate technologies. On climate change, this could be done without each losing face. But in the area of economic cooperation, too, they have mutually pledged not to decouple. But there is still a long way to go to reach equal market access. Cosco’s stake in the Port of Hamburg was no longer a topic of discussion. Collaboration: fin/rtr
The yuan significantly gained in importance on the international currency market over the past three years. This is shown in a new study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). According to the study, the Chinese currency has passed three other countries in the ranking of the most traded currencies during this period. China now ranks fifth, ahead of Australia, Canada and Switzerland. The yuan continues to be surpassed by the US dollar at the top, followed by the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.
For its calculations, the BIS looks at the trading of international currency pairs on the financial markets. Data from April 2022 and the same month in 2019 were compared, showing that the yuan was most recently involved in seven percent of all currency transactions, a jump of 2.7 percentage points compared to three years ago.
The BIS figures should not be confused with data on the global use of the yuan as a payment currency. There is a separate statistic on this from the Swift international payments system. According to these, the yuan was most recently used for 2.44 percent of all cross-border payments. It has been in fifth place in this ranking for some time.
Although the yuan cannot be freely traded and is subject to government restrictions, most observers agree that the currency will continue its slow but steady rise in the coming years. Especially if China manages to convince other countries to settle mutual transactions directly in domestic currencies rather than in US dollars.
The Chinese currency is currently benefiting greatly from the weakening of Russia, which is looking for alternatives for its international business due to the Western sanctions. The Russian gas company Gazprom, for example, announced in September that it will have its deliveries to China paid for in equal shares in rubles and yuan. Dollars will no longer be used.
Other Russian companies follow similar practices. In August, for example, Russia became the third-largest market for offshore yuan transactions for the first time. 4.27 percent of all international yuan payments were processed there, the South China Morning Post reported. Just in May, Russia had ranked only 12th among major yuan-paying countries. So interest in the yuan in Russia increased significantly.
The key to smooth foreign yuan trade are so-called swap agreements, which Beijing has been aggressively promoting for years. China signed such agreements with more than 40 countries, under which the respective central banks supply each other with their national currencies. As recently as October, China and the European Central Bank extended a swap agreement worth ¥350 billion , or €45 billion, for another three years. Apart from China, the ECB has such a mutual agreement with only eight other countries.
The fact that China is building yuan money highways to other countries does not mean, of course, that they will be used right away. However, the example of Russia shows that China can react quickly in the event of a crisis. If the US dollar is no longer an option for a country, switching to the yuan is an option thanks to the existing swap infrastructure.
Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions expect that China’s current strategy will allow the yuan to rise further in the ranking of the world’s currencies and pass Japan and the UK by 2030. However, the US dollar and the euro are likely to remain out of reach for the yuan for the time being. This would require very far-reaching reforms and a complete opening of the Chinese financial markets. Joern Petring
On Sunday, running enthusiasts were able to let loose in the Beijing Marathon for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. The 20,000 participants set off from Tiananmen Square, made their lap around the city, and then ran through the finish line at Olympic Park in the north of the city.
Among the men, Uyghur runner Anubaike Kuwan was the fastest with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes, and among the women, Xia Yuyu won with a time of 2 hours 29 minutes. The Beijing Marathon has been held since 1981. Only residents of the capital were allowed to participate, it was not possible to travel from outside. Marathon races are also planned in Shanghai and Chengdu. fin
Xie Zhenhua was actually already in political retirement. But then the climate expert’s career really took off again. When it came to defining the long-term climate targets of the largest CO2 emitter, Xie played an important role. With his decades of experience, it’s hard to imagine Chinese climate policy without him. Now he is taking on a key role at the COP27 world climate conference in Egypt.
Xie has been China’s chief negotiator at international climate conferences since 2007. Initially, he appeared as a hardliner. Sometimes vociferously, he took the position that China, as a “developing country,” did not bear the same responsibility for overcoming the climate crisis as the Western industrialized countries. China’s hardline position even contributed to the failure of the Copenhagen COP. Over the years, however, Xie has become more diplomatic, and climate protection is becoming more important for China as well.
In 2014, the turning point came. Xie and then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed on a deal to reduce emissions. It is still considered an important step for the Paris climate agreement. Xie and Kerry are said to be on friendly terms. “I know him very well because I’ve worked with him for about 20 years,” Kerry told Reuters news agency. “He has been a leader for a long time and believes in what he is doing.”
His ability to listen and negotiate tenaciously has enabled him to persuade other developing and emerging countries to compromise in difficult negotiating situations, said former U.S. negotiator Todd Stern. Stern and Xie also became closer in person, visiting their hometowns of Tianjin and Chicago.” He has a sense of humor and likes to laugh. I liked him right away,” Stern said.
Li Shuo of Greenpeace East Asia is also full of praise. “When you talk to Xie, you feel like you’re communicating with a real human being,” he said ahead of the Glasgow 2021 climate summit, adding that other Chinese officials tend to make you feel like you’re “talking to robots.”
Although Xie now also publicly acknowledges the dangers of climate change, he strictly follows the guidelines from Beijing. They say: The economy must not be slowed down too much by climate change. Therefore, the People’s Republic’s medium- to long-term climate targets, which refer to the years 2030 and 2060, do not correspond to the agreement at the conference in Paris.
At the end of 2019, Xie stepped down from his position as “special envoy for climate change” and chief negotiator at the age of 70. But his retirement did not last long. In the summer of 2020, he became an advisor on climate issues at the invitation of the Ministry of the Environment. In this new position, he regained political influence and made a major contribution to the formulation of China’s long-term climate goals, which Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly in 2020.
He made particular use of his connections with Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2017, he received the Lui Che Woo Award for his contribution to combating climate change. He donated the prize money, equivalent to 2.5 million US dollars, to Tsinghua, which it used to establish the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD). Xie became director of the institute. Since 2018, decarbonization pathways for the industry, transportation, construction and energy sectors have been researched at the ICCSD.
After Xie presented the research findings to Environment Ministry officials, they found their way to China’s top decision-making bodies: the State Council and Politburo. Without the sound scientific results from the institute, the government would not have made a decision as far-reaching as the climate targets, analysts say.
Xie is also considered a respected expert in the West. His work has been recognized with several awards, including:
Xie has been involved in energy, environmental and climate issues since the beginning of his career. After graduating from Tsinghua University with a degree in nuclear engineering, he became a civil servant in the then-new Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection, responsible for controlling pollution of rivers and seas. But his career path was not always preordained. During the Cultural Revolution, like millions of other young people, he was sent to the countryside to be“re-educated” through hard labor. This experience links him to Xi Jinping, who walked a similar path as a youth.
Xie then became special envoy for climate change again in February 2021. Li Shuo said at the time that this was “clearly a move tailored to the U.S., an effort to ensure that diplomatic channels are in place.” For Xie and Kerry continue to get along well.
Before the U.S.-China bilateral climate talks were ended by China after the Taiwan dispute, they reportedly spoke frequently on the phone. At the time, it was seen as a good sign that Xie Zhenhua, who is experienced and highly regarded abroad, would again become the chief negotiator and special envoy on climate change. Nico Beckert
The climate summit has started. China is one of the decisive players here. And in China, Xie Zhenhua is a key player. Reason enough for us to introduce the chief negotiator of the People’s Republic. Nico Beckert presents the Profile of an experienced environmental politician who moves confidently in the international arena – and thus represents China’s interests all the more effectively.
In China, lockdowns continue, even if some of them have instead received creative names such as “Days of Silence”. Our author team in China captured the mood of the citizens about the ever-new restrictions: Anger and frustration rise once again after the Party Congress. The hope, after all, was that the first relaxations would come after the political event.
The yuan wanted to become a global currency, but Xi Jinping’s financial policies wouldn’t allow it. Xi loves control – including capital and exchange controls. Despite this, the renminbi is on the upswing. This affects both usage and the exchange rate. We analyze the consequences of this.
In the beginning, everything happened very fast in the Beilun district of the ten-million metropolis of Ningbo. The district government imposed the so-called “in yes, out no” policy. Travelers were free to enter the city but not allowed to leave. “It feels like a trap,” said a Shanghai businessman. The middle-aged man only wanted to visit Ningbo for an appointment; in the end, without any preparation, it turned into a weeks-long stay. At first, escape seemed impossible.
Security forces still patrol the neighborhoods and inform shopkeepers without warning that they would have to close. Those affected believe to know the reason for the lack of transparency. They remember the panic at Shanghai’s Ikea. At the time, people started running after a rumor about a Covid case in the store started circulating.
Nobody in Ningbo knows anything for sure either. What there are, on the other hand, are plenty of rumors. “You cannot rely on official information here. Unofficial information is faster and also more reliable,” says a young woman who the lockdown caught by surprise. And she was proven right. Long before official announcements to close stores came, people started to rush to the supermarkets. People stocked up on basic foodstuffs. For how long? No one knew. But everyone knew what had happened in Shanghai, of course – and preferred to take a few extra boxes of instant noodles with them. Not long after that, stores were closed and people were left trapped in their apartments or hotels. Only then did the official instructions follow: seven days of “silence” (静默 jingmo). This is now a widely used synonym for lockdown.
The local authorities still do not provide exact infection numbers. Citizens speculate about the reason. “The district administration does not want to lose face,” says one shopkeeper. Assumptions in the rumor mill even go so far as to say that the whole lockdown could be a signal to Beijing that they support the zero-Covid policy. The local cadres would use it to make themselves look good to the top leadership. But that, too, is mere speculation.
While the real world still debates the advantages and disadvantages of the zero-Covid, WeChat groups are very unified in their criticism of its implementation. For example, people criticize the fact that those affected are locked up in their apartments or hotels all day to minimize the risk of transmission, while the authorities send them all out for mass testing in the evening. The consequence is endless queues where distancing rules are ignored. In addition, test stations are constantly relocated, which means that people often form long lines while medical staff is absent. Confused residents would frequently roam the district in search of test stations.
Roadblocks are in place to prevent people from leaving the area without permission, but many – especially travelers – still try to get away. It seems like something out of the movie classic Casablanca. Some get special permission to leave the area because of physical ailments that the local hospital cannot treat. Others invent stories of grandparents in need of care. And yet others secretly leave the lockdown area at night on back roads. The area is vast and difficult to control. Side roads are only partially guarded. And if it rains, no one even pays attention anymore because the police officers do not have shelters or enough rain gear.
Some leave the rental cars behind somewhere and make their way through the woods or parks on foot. And many do manage to get away. Secretly and quietly, hotel guests disappear. And everyone agrees: This lockdown makes no sense. Either the number of cases is much higher than officially stated, which means the government is lying. Or the actual numbers really are that low. Then the lockdown is an overreaction. Once people flee the area, they are free and can easily book fast trains or flights to other cities – except Beijing. In Beijing, a visit to a supposedly risky region would be visible on the surveillance app.
Meanwhile, the complaint hotline is either unavailable or people get hung up on as soon as the phone is answered. International journalists, on the other hand, receive calls from the subdistrict’s PR department, asking them to get in touch if they have any questions or problems. Those who ask for actual information, however, receive a brief answer at best. The young woman on the other end says that this number is not meant to provide information or receive complaints. She is there to help out with food or chocolate in an emergency. Then she hangs up.
As the lockdown passes the 8-day mark, supplies also become a problem. Even those who have learned of the Lockdown in time run out of their hoarded supplies. The only other option is to buy goods illegally. The three hours a day during which those affected are supposed to go to mass testing becomes a window of freedom. People take walks in the neighborhood or stock up on food. Because even though the stores are supposed to be officially closed, they secretly start selling again. They leave their shutter doors open just a crack, signaling that shoppers can crawl into the store. Others even offer under-the-counter home deliveries, but only during testing times.
This alleviates some of the burdens of those in quarantine. But in reality, the streets are completely deserted for 21 hours a day, only to burst with activity for three hours. The government ultimately concentrates the entire public life of the district on these three hours. “Contagion prevention with Chinese characteristics,” one person says cynically.
Controversy also rages over the word “free” in public messages about the government providing free meals for stranded guests. It turns out that the term “free” is used as creatively as the term “lockdown” or “silent”. Even ¥15 (€2.50) per serving is considered free here. “Why are you talking about the food?” one hotel resident rants in a WeChat group, “I want back what I paid for the hotel!” Upon inquiry, however, the subdistrict government makes it clear that it will not cover any hotel costs caused by the “silence.”
Just in time for the end of the Party Congress – the “silence” had already lasted a good 10 days by now – came the news that the district would gradually be reopened. The relief was palpable and visible. During mass testing, some staff now no longer wear fully protective clothing. Also, the testing stations now close on time, even when there are still lines of people waiting to be tested. “The test is not that important,” the people in white now claim.
Overall, there was a lot of alarm for only very few actual infections in Ningbo. The city retrospectively reported 120 asymptomatic cases and 73 symptomatic cases for the entire Ningbo metropolitan area. About 830,000 people live in the affected Beilun district. Yet this lockdown is one of the smaller, lower-profile ones, and even one of the better-executed ones.
Many of the people who were in Lockdown tested negative in more than ten PCR tests and had green QR codes over the entire time. The region was also marked in green as a “low-risk area” on official apps over the entire period. What is noticeable is that people begin to lose their fear. They are more willing to take risks in order to avoid lockdowns. Respect for the authorities is waning – for the measures themselves and slowly also for those who order and execute them. Joern Petring/Gregor Koppenburg
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz landed in China with a tailwind: He arrived in Beijing three-quarters of an hour earlier than planned. And he also traveled back with a tailwind. With a political tailwind this time. He revives previously severed talks while still finding clear words on human rights issues.
Although observers interpreted the greeting as distant, he was able to open the doors a crack wide on central issues. No more, but also no less. Now a lot of work awaits in Beijing and Berlin to translate this into concrete policy for the G20 summit in Bali in mid-November.
These major global issues dominated Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s speed dating over his eleven hours in Beijing:
As is well known, Scholz is the first Western head of government to meet President Xi Jinping after the conclusion of the 20th Party Congress. Now Xi is more powerful than ever. But Scholz is also a little more powerful than usual. He is still the chairman of the G7 round of developed industrialized nations. His visit to Beijing comes just two weeks before the G20 summit in Bali. Not only US President Joe Biden is expected to meet President Xi there, but also Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Scholz and Xi, as well as departing Premier Li Keqiang, used the few hours in the Great Hall of the People to revive personal contacts after three years without personal meetings – due to Covid and sanctions. Both sides quickly agreed on a motto that Scholz had put forward in advance and that Xi adopted: pragmatic cooperation. This means being open, frank and sometimes even tough when it comes to stating differences of opinion, but without getting bogged down in them. Rather, this visit was also about sounding out the areas in which cooperation can continue in the future.
A closer look at the official Chinese summary of the talks reveals where and to what extent Xi went along. Xi noted that the visit had strengthened “mutual understanding and trust” and “deepened practical cooperation in various fields.” However, Xi stressed that this would only work through “mutual respect.”
Xi agreed with Scholz that Germany and China, as “influential powers,” have a “greater contribution to make to world peace and development” amid “changes and chaos.” China was willing to enter into a “comprehensive strategic partnership for the future” with Germany. However, he stressed that despite the partnership, each country must “choose the path according to its own reality.” Both sides opposed “irresponsible” nuclear threats.
Overall, Xi displayed openness to Scholz’s efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war. Xi called on “all parties concerned” to exercise “reason and restraint” and to create the “conditions for the resumption of negotiations” as soon as possible; together they also very clearly spoke out against “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.” That is rather far-reaching for a country that is actually a close partner of Putin. In addition, efforts should be made to “support civilians in crisis areas during the winter.”
However, high-ranking Chinese politicians do not always tend to mean what they appear to be saying in translation. There is often a second layer for their own target audience. The call to keep the peace does not necessarily have to be aimed at Russia but can also be directed at the US, which, according to Russian and, to some extent, Chinese interpretations, is fueling the conflict. By leaving this open, however, Xi also gives Scholz an acceptable position.
Xi further told Scholz that China would continue to maintain a “high degree of openness to the outside world” in the spirit of “economic globalization.” But Xi also warned that “mutual trust is difficult to rebuild” once it has been destroyed or damaged. To explain what Xi meant, he used a quote from former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. “Politicians should accept with serenity what cannot be changed, change with courage what can be changed, and with wisdom recognize the difference.”
Later on, the conversation shifted to trade issues. At the same time, the “stability of industrial supply chains” should be ensured and cooperation on energy, food and finance should prevent “undermining the stability of developing countries.” In this way, both aim to prevent a major humanitarian crisis and fight hunger.
Pandemic prevention was also a topic. The vaccine Comirnaty developed by Biontech is initially to be approved for foreigners in China. In parallel, both parties want to advance the respective approvals of the vaccines. Scholz wants to press the German and EU authorities in this regard if Beijing, in turn, answers any remaining questions.
However, a supposed deal with Airbus only consisted of rehashed contracts, some of which were already signed in 2019 and some in the middle of this year. The contracts with a volume of $17 billion were probably a pure attempt to feign vital trade relations in the absence of new deals. It is Chinese custom to have major contracts signed in the presence of foreign government leaders.
One very important point: Beijing and Berlin want to develop a joint strategy to step up the fight against climate change. Beijing and Berlin were able to agree on a common starting point quite easily: The market alone does not make the world green. It needs to be regulated. How, that is now the big question.
Scholz has made his position on human rights issues very clear, for example, on the Taiwan question. Here, Scholz emphasized that while Germany adheres to the one-China policy, it expects that any change in the status quo must take place only by mutual agreement.
On this issue, as was to be expected, consensus could be found only for the first part. As far as the second part is concerned, Beijing did not budge. This is also evident from the fact that this issue was not mentioned at all in the official statements, just like Xinjiang or the treatment of civil society in Hong Kong. The German side assures us that Scholz has addressed these issues.
Scholz also took the opportunity to seek contact with regime critics. Due to current circumstances, the conversation took place in the form of a video call, according to government sources. The dissidents and human rights lawyers reportedly traveled to the German Embassy in Beijing to speak with Scholz via video from there. Names were not mentioned. Some of the participants had already served time in prison for their activism. During her visits to Beijing, Angela Merkel had also spoken with representatives of civil society, but only in person at that time.
One major criticism remains: Scholz went it alone without the EU. While this may not really be in Europe’s interest, it may have been the right thing to go to Beijing alone first to reopen the doors in the first place. This would have been more complicated and possibly less successful if Emmanuel Macron had accompanied Scholz. All the more reason for Scholz to get the EU on board for the next steps. After all, he is not the only European head of government who will be sitting at the table in Bali.
A lot is now in motion, certainly more than could have been expected a few days ago. However, Scholz should not overestimate what he has achieved, even if he has made enough concessions to satisfy the Greens and the Liberals in the German government coalition, who expressed great skepticism about the visit. Now Scholz and the ministries involved, as well as the Chinese side, still have a lot of work to do and a vote in the EU to turn this into a tangible policy at the G20 summit.
What could this be, for instance, on climate change? China and Germany, but also the EU, could suspend mutual sanctions and tariffs on climate technologies. On climate change, this could be done without each losing face. But in the area of economic cooperation, too, they have mutually pledged not to decouple. But there is still a long way to go to reach equal market access. Cosco’s stake in the Port of Hamburg was no longer a topic of discussion. Collaboration: fin/rtr
The yuan significantly gained in importance on the international currency market over the past three years. This is shown in a new study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). According to the study, the Chinese currency has passed three other countries in the ranking of the most traded currencies during this period. China now ranks fifth, ahead of Australia, Canada and Switzerland. The yuan continues to be surpassed by the US dollar at the top, followed by the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.
For its calculations, the BIS looks at the trading of international currency pairs on the financial markets. Data from April 2022 and the same month in 2019 were compared, showing that the yuan was most recently involved in seven percent of all currency transactions, a jump of 2.7 percentage points compared to three years ago.
The BIS figures should not be confused with data on the global use of the yuan as a payment currency. There is a separate statistic on this from the Swift international payments system. According to these, the yuan was most recently used for 2.44 percent of all cross-border payments. It has been in fifth place in this ranking for some time.
Although the yuan cannot be freely traded and is subject to government restrictions, most observers agree that the currency will continue its slow but steady rise in the coming years. Especially if China manages to convince other countries to settle mutual transactions directly in domestic currencies rather than in US dollars.
The Chinese currency is currently benefiting greatly from the weakening of Russia, which is looking for alternatives for its international business due to the Western sanctions. The Russian gas company Gazprom, for example, announced in September that it will have its deliveries to China paid for in equal shares in rubles and yuan. Dollars will no longer be used.
Other Russian companies follow similar practices. In August, for example, Russia became the third-largest market for offshore yuan transactions for the first time. 4.27 percent of all international yuan payments were processed there, the South China Morning Post reported. Just in May, Russia had ranked only 12th among major yuan-paying countries. So interest in the yuan in Russia increased significantly.
The key to smooth foreign yuan trade are so-called swap agreements, which Beijing has been aggressively promoting for years. China signed such agreements with more than 40 countries, under which the respective central banks supply each other with their national currencies. As recently as October, China and the European Central Bank extended a swap agreement worth ¥350 billion , or €45 billion, for another three years. Apart from China, the ECB has such a mutual agreement with only eight other countries.
The fact that China is building yuan money highways to other countries does not mean, of course, that they will be used right away. However, the example of Russia shows that China can react quickly in the event of a crisis. If the US dollar is no longer an option for a country, switching to the yuan is an option thanks to the existing swap infrastructure.
Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions expect that China’s current strategy will allow the yuan to rise further in the ranking of the world’s currencies and pass Japan and the UK by 2030. However, the US dollar and the euro are likely to remain out of reach for the yuan for the time being. This would require very far-reaching reforms and a complete opening of the Chinese financial markets. Joern Petring
On Sunday, running enthusiasts were able to let loose in the Beijing Marathon for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. The 20,000 participants set off from Tiananmen Square, made their lap around the city, and then ran through the finish line at Olympic Park in the north of the city.
Among the men, Uyghur runner Anubaike Kuwan was the fastest with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes, and among the women, Xia Yuyu won with a time of 2 hours 29 minutes. The Beijing Marathon has been held since 1981. Only residents of the capital were allowed to participate, it was not possible to travel from outside. Marathon races are also planned in Shanghai and Chengdu. fin
Xie Zhenhua was actually already in political retirement. But then the climate expert’s career really took off again. When it came to defining the long-term climate targets of the largest CO2 emitter, Xie played an important role. With his decades of experience, it’s hard to imagine Chinese climate policy without him. Now he is taking on a key role at the COP27 world climate conference in Egypt.
Xie has been China’s chief negotiator at international climate conferences since 2007. Initially, he appeared as a hardliner. Sometimes vociferously, he took the position that China, as a “developing country,” did not bear the same responsibility for overcoming the climate crisis as the Western industrialized countries. China’s hardline position even contributed to the failure of the Copenhagen COP. Over the years, however, Xie has become more diplomatic, and climate protection is becoming more important for China as well.
In 2014, the turning point came. Xie and then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed on a deal to reduce emissions. It is still considered an important step for the Paris climate agreement. Xie and Kerry are said to be on friendly terms. “I know him very well because I’ve worked with him for about 20 years,” Kerry told Reuters news agency. “He has been a leader for a long time and believes in what he is doing.”
His ability to listen and negotiate tenaciously has enabled him to persuade other developing and emerging countries to compromise in difficult negotiating situations, said former U.S. negotiator Todd Stern. Stern and Xie also became closer in person, visiting their hometowns of Tianjin and Chicago.” He has a sense of humor and likes to laugh. I liked him right away,” Stern said.
Li Shuo of Greenpeace East Asia is also full of praise. “When you talk to Xie, you feel like you’re communicating with a real human being,” he said ahead of the Glasgow 2021 climate summit, adding that other Chinese officials tend to make you feel like you’re “talking to robots.”
Although Xie now also publicly acknowledges the dangers of climate change, he strictly follows the guidelines from Beijing. They say: The economy must not be slowed down too much by climate change. Therefore, the People’s Republic’s medium- to long-term climate targets, which refer to the years 2030 and 2060, do not correspond to the agreement at the conference in Paris.
At the end of 2019, Xie stepped down from his position as “special envoy for climate change” and chief negotiator at the age of 70. But his retirement did not last long. In the summer of 2020, he became an advisor on climate issues at the invitation of the Ministry of the Environment. In this new position, he regained political influence and made a major contribution to the formulation of China’s long-term climate goals, which Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly in 2020.
He made particular use of his connections with Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2017, he received the Lui Che Woo Award for his contribution to combating climate change. He donated the prize money, equivalent to 2.5 million US dollars, to Tsinghua, which it used to establish the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD). Xie became director of the institute. Since 2018, decarbonization pathways for the industry, transportation, construction and energy sectors have been researched at the ICCSD.
After Xie presented the research findings to Environment Ministry officials, they found their way to China’s top decision-making bodies: the State Council and Politburo. Without the sound scientific results from the institute, the government would not have made a decision as far-reaching as the climate targets, analysts say.
Xie is also considered a respected expert in the West. His work has been recognized with several awards, including:
Xie has been involved in energy, environmental and climate issues since the beginning of his career. After graduating from Tsinghua University with a degree in nuclear engineering, he became a civil servant in the then-new Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection, responsible for controlling pollution of rivers and seas. But his career path was not always preordained. During the Cultural Revolution, like millions of other young people, he was sent to the countryside to be“re-educated” through hard labor. This experience links him to Xi Jinping, who walked a similar path as a youth.
Xie then became special envoy for climate change again in February 2021. Li Shuo said at the time that this was “clearly a move tailored to the U.S., an effort to ensure that diplomatic channels are in place.” For Xie and Kerry continue to get along well.
Before the U.S.-China bilateral climate talks were ended by China after the Taiwan dispute, they reportedly spoke frequently on the phone. At the time, it was seen as a good sign that Xie Zhenhua, who is experienced and highly regarded abroad, would again become the chief negotiator and special envoy on climate change. Nico Beckert
