China Daily - 30.07.2019

TOP NEWS

CHINA DAILY Tuesday, July 30, 2019 | 3

FM will lead

delegation to

regional talks

Bangkok meetings to bolster mutual

trust-building, reinforce teamwork

By ZHANG YUNBI
[email protected]

China, the 10 members of Associa-
tion of Southeast Asian Nations and
other countries such as the United
States are set for a range of one-on-
one and multilateral meetings to take
place starting on Tuesday in Bang-
kok, the Thai capital, to discuss
regional affairs of concern.
State Councilor and Foreign Min-
ister Wang Yi will lead the Chinese
delegation from Tuesday to Satur-
day in the annual gathering of for-
eign minister-level officials focused
on East Asia cooperation.
Diplomats said the upcoming
gathering is an indispensable arena
for mutual trust-building, reinforc-
ing actions in regional teamwork
projects and offsetting acts aimed at
undermining joint efforts.
During the annual gatherings,
Wang will attend the China-ASEAN
foreign ministers’ meeting and the
ASEAN+3 foreign ministers’ meet-
ing, the latter involving China,
Japan and the Republic of Korea,
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Hua Chunying said on Thursday.
“China stands ready to co-build the
Belt and Road of great quality with
ASEAN, deepen pragmatic coopera-
tion, build a higher-standard strategic
partnership and a closer community
with a shared future,” Hua said.
The two sides also need to “contin-
ue properly handling the South Chi-

na Sea issue, strengthen maritime

practical cooperation and jointly

uphold regional peace and stability”,

Hua added.

Huang Xilian, ambassador and

head of China’s mission to ASEAN,

said the stable, promising situation

in the South China Sea has been bol-

stered with the joint efforts of China

and ASEAN members, and the sea is

shifting from the center of friction

to new highlights of maritime coop-

eration and dialogue.

However, the biggest threat to the

sea’s peace and stability “is from out-

side the region”, as some major coun-

tries have sent warships or planes

for provocation, such as challenging

territorial waters of countries or

flexing muscles through military

drills, Huang said in a group inter-

view with media on Wednesday.

Huang urged ASEAN countries to

jointly guard against and fend off

disturbing attempts by the region’s

outsiders and effectively champion

the region’s stability.

Also, Wang will attend the annual

East Asia Summit foreign ministers’

meeting, which brings together dig-

nitaries of 18 countries — all 10

ASEAN members, China, Japan, the

ROK, the US, Australia, New Zealand,

Russia and India, according to Hua.

Wang will attend the ASEAN

Regional Forum foreign ministers’

meeting as well, which involves even

more countries, including the Dem-

ocratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Streamlining, effective regulation

at heart of new fire control reform

By HOU LIQIANG

[email protected]

China will comprehensively

reform how fire control depart-

ments operate by devoting more

effort to effective supervision while

streamlining administration and

delegating powers, according to

the country’s top emergency man-

agement authority.

The country will ratchet up

reforms dealing with how fire con-

trol laws are enforced, according to

a guideline released on Sunday by

the general offices of the Commu-

nist Party of China Central Com-

mittee and the State Council.

The guideline asked fire service

authorities to take more measures

to enhance management at the

source to prevent and defuse risks.

Chungsas, deputy head of the

fire services bureau of the Ministry

of Emergency Management, said

the ministry will make greater use

of the country’s credit rating sys-

tem and carry out more random

inspections of those who frequent-

ly violate fire regulations in order

to enhance governance. Chungsas,

like many ethnic Tibetans, uses

only one name.

“Offenders with serious violations

will be included in a blacklist and be

subject to punishment by different

government bodies,” he said.

Special campaigns will be

launched in a timely fashion, tar-

geting industrial sectors frequently

affected by fire disasters. More of

those found to have outstanding

hazards and serious or frequent

fire regulation violations will be

subject to random inspections

more often, he said.

Rewards will be available to mem-

bers of the public who report fire

hazards to firefighting authorities to

encourage their participation in fire

control supervision, he added.

According to the guideline, tech-

nology such as big data and the

interconnection of devices through

the internet of things will be used

to enable real-time evaluation of

fire risks and precise oversight.

Also, under the guideline, offi-

cers’ activities in enforcing fire

safety rules will be further regulat-

ed, said Shang Yong, vice-minister

of emergency management.

“Firefighters will be forbidden to

take posts in firefighting industry

associations and agencies. Retired

firefighters who take such posts

should abide by relevant govern-

ment regulations and accept no

wages from these posts,” he said.

More measures will be adopted to

ensure the participation of at least

two officers during the enforcement

of fire regulations, he added.

Efforts will also be made to fur-

ther streamline administration and

delegate powers while more effec-

tive enforcement methods are used.

According to the guideline, new,

densely populated business prem-

ises will no longer have to pass a

firefighting authority’s examina-

tion before going into operation.

With their business license in

hand, they can start business after

promising that their fire control

facilities meet national standards.

The guideline also exempts new

businesses involved in mainte-

nance of fire control facilities and

fire safety assessments from exam-

ination and approval by firefight-

ing authorities before they open for

business.

According to preliminary esti-

mates, each year the new policies

will benefit over 100,000 densely

populated business premises and

tens of thousands of businesses

and agencies providing fire control

services, Chungsas said.

He said the ministry will take a

series of measures to intensify man-

agement of these business premises

and agencies so that they will not

relax their fire control efforts as the

reform moves forward.

Inspections will be used to check

whether business premises have

fixed fire control facilities as they

promised. Businesses will be sus-

pended for serious violations.

The ministry will carry out more

random inspections to enhance

supervision over businesses that pro-

vide fire control services. Such agen-

cies and their employees may

permanently be denied access to the

sector if violations are serious, he said.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei advances social credit system

By XIN WEN

[email protected]

Top courts in Beijing and Tian-

jin soon plan to release a map of

delinquent debtors as a mini pro-

gram on WeChat.

The move comes after Hebei

province introduced its own dead-

beat map identifying such debtors

in January in a preliminary step

toward establishing a credit sys-

tem in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei

region. Mini programs are sub-

applications within the WeChat

social media system.

The construction of the region-

al social credit system is progress-

ing rapidly because it is an

important part of optimizing the

regional business environment,

said Zhang Yuhang, director of

the social credit system construc-

tion department at the Beijing

Municipal Bureau of Economy

and Information Technology.

“It also helps remove illegal

construction and restore the capi-

tal’s traditional appearance,”

Zhang said.

In addition to including infor-

mation on any illegal construc-

tion that delinquent debtors may

have undertaken, the system lists

any of their traffic violations.

By 2023, a credit cooperation

mechanism in the Beijing-Tianjin-

Hebei region will be complete and

public credit information will be

shared and applied by companies

and individuals, he said.

A website including recent dis-

ciplinary punishments in Beijing,

Tianjin and Hebei province has

been established, making public

more than 5 million pieces of

information, said Pan Feng, depu-

ty director of the capital’s Bureau

of Economy and Information

Technology.

“It also urges deadbeat debtors

who refuse to remove illegal con-

struction in Beijing to fulfill their

obligations in a timely manner

and create a more socially respon-

sible environment,” he said.

On Thursday, construction

began on a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei

regional credit technology labora-

tory. The lab, in Beijing, will be the

first national credit technology

center and promote integrated

development of the region.

Wang Zhen, general manager of

China Xiongan Group Digital City

Co, said the lab will focus on sci-

ence, technology, information

and talent to create more oppor-

tunities to explore entrepreneur-

ship.

“The lab will develop relevant

pilot credit projects in Beijing

using big data technologies, and

an information exchange hub will

be built in the Beijing-Tianjin-

Hebei region,” he said.

Drivers from around the country compete in a road rally in Zhangye, Gansu province, on Sunday.

The rally, which attracted 121 contestants, crossed 200 kilometers of road, passing through desert,

valleys, areas of sandstone cliffs and other landforms. YANG YANMIN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Road runners

Commemorative medals are presented on Sunday ahead of an
international military skills competition in the Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous region on Saturday. LIU XIAODONG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Memorable event

Safeguard

core values

of WTO,

China says

By ZHOU JIN

[email protected]

Beijing said on Monday that

the core values and basic princi-

ples of the World Trade Organiza-

tion, as represented by special

and differential treatment, must

be safeguarded during its reform.

Foreign Ministry spokes-

woman Hua Chunying made the

remark after United States Presi-

dent Donald Trump put pres-

sure on the WTO on Friday to

change how it designates devel-

oping countries, singling out

China as unfairly getting prefer-

ential treatment, Reuters report-

ed.

Trump, in a memo, directed

the US Trade Representative to

stop treating such countries as

developing countries for the

purpose of WTO membership if

“substantial progress” toward

reform had not been made with-

in 90 days.

“Such remarks have further

exposed the waywardness, arro-

gance and selfishness of the US,”

and such approaches do not

match its status as the world’s

largest economy, the spokes-

woman said, adding that some

people in the US should reflect

on themselves.

China’s status as a developing

country is not maintained so

that it can avoid international

responsibilities, but to push for

the basic rights of developing

countries and maintain interna-

tional fairness and justice, Hua

said.

The WTO is not owned or

dominated by any single or few

countries, she said, adding that

the general will of all members

should be respected.

Two similar proposals the US

previously submitted to the

WTO were rebuffed, and Wash-

ington should be clear that such

claims will not be supported, she

said.

Hua said that the criteria to

define developing members in

the WTO must be determined

through consultation among its

members and the opinions of

developing countries should be

especially respected.

“Only by maintaining the

position of developing countries

can fair trade be achieved,” she

added.

The US has exaggerated the

development level of some

developing members, which has

been repeatedly opposed by

those members, she said, adding

that the current designation for

developing countries is reasona-

ble.

China will continue making

contributions compatible with

its own capability and the level

of its development in WTO nego-

tiations, she said.

The country will also continue

to help other developing mem-

bers achieve common develop-

ment, and contribute to

upholding multilateral trade

system and pushing the reform

of WTO forward in the right

direction.

Kennedy Gastorn, secretary-

general of the Asian-African

Legal Consultative Organiza-

tion, said that the WTO is crucial

and important to contributing

to the welfare of the internation-

al community and promoting

global trade.

Relevant issues and concerns

need to be addressed within

the framework of the WTO, he

said.

HK: Full

support for

police urged

punishment to violent criminals
according to law, he said.
Yang also said that the principle of
“one country, two systems” is the
best institutional arrangement for
maintaining long-term prosperity
and stability in the SAR.
The Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong
Kong — the largest political party in
the Legislative Council — welcomed
the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs
Office’s remarks.
Holding this news conference
showed the importance the affairs
office attaches to the HKSAR, as well
as support for the SAR government
and the police force, said the party’s
Chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king.
The central government’s expec-
tations are in line with those of most
Hong Kong people, Lee said.
The HKSAR government on Mon-
day strongly denounced escalated
and repeated violence by protesters
and vowed to give full support to
police to strictly enforce the law.

Contact the writers at
[email protected]

From page 1

Fo r e x: Nation’s currency structure diversified, spokeswoman states

The administration said China’s

gold reserves increased to $87.27 bil-

lion by the end of June, up from

$79.32 billion in January. China had

the world’s sixth-largest gold

reserves by the end of 2018 with a

total of 1,852 metric tons.

“In 2019, the major task of for-

eign exchange management is to

enhance mid- and long-term asset

allocation and optimize and adjust

From page 1 investment strategies,” the admin-

istration’s report said.

The administration also for the

first time disclosed the currency

composition of the country’s foreign

exchange reserves in the annual

report. The reserves denominated

by the US dollar accounted for 58

percent of the total by the end of

2014, down from 79 percent in 1995.

Among global foreign exchange

reserves, US dollar-denominated

assets made up 65 percent of the

total by 2014, up from 59 percent in

1995, according to the report.

“China’s forex reserve currency

structure is diversified, even more

diversified than the world’s average

level,” Wang said. “It is in line with

requirements of China’s economic

and trade development, as well as the

demand of international payments.”

For China, most of the foreign

exchange reserves, nearly 60 to 70

percent, are held as sovereign debt

from advanced economies as well as

financial and corporate bonds with

high credit ratings, experts said.

“Forex reserves will continually

play an important role in cushion-

ing depreciation pressure on the

renminbi and maintain a balance of

international payments,” said Zhao.

But it is quite unlikely for the Peo-

ple’s Bank of China, the central

bank, to influence the renminbi

exchange rate through selling of for-

eign exchange reserves, even if the

currency may be under deprecia-

tion pressure amid global monetary

easing, he added.

As of the end of June, China’s for-

eign exchange reserves stood at $3.

trillion, up from $3.10 trillion by

May, according to central bank data.

$3.

trillion

China’s foreign exchange

reserves as of the end of June

Offenders with serious

violations will ... be

subject to punishment

by different

government bodies.”

Chungsas, deputy head of the

fire services bureau of the Min-

istry of Emergency Management