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China: High-Tech Manufacturing Is Growing at 13.4% Per Year

November 15, 2017by Jason Ross in General, World Land-Bridge updates

Nov. 14 – Xinhua reported Nov. 13 on third quarter 2017 results for the Chinese economy, as presented by Zhang Liqun, researcher with the State Council’s Development Research Center.

The year-on-year overall growth rate in China for the first three quarters of 2017 was 6.9%, which was higher than expected. Most interesting is that “the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors posted stellar growth in the first three quarters, with output up 13.4% and 11.6% respectively,” Xinhua reported. Investment in high-tech manufacturing rose even more dramatically, by 18.4%, up from 11.7% for the same period in 2016. Job creation is correspondingly strong: China created almost 11 million jobs in the first three quarters of 2017—300,000 more than the same period last year. Official unemployment in Chinese cities stands at 3.95%, the lowest level since 2008.

The Xinhua article also quoted the chief economist at the Bank of China, Cao Yuanzheng, who said that it is of vital importance to contain financial risks, including “countering debt, shadow banking and asset bubbles.” Even Moody’s had to admit, in a recent research note, that “a stronger policy focus on financial sector regulation should continue to restrain the growth of shadow banking activities, help mitigate asset risks for the banks, and address some key imbalances in the financial system.” On poverty reduction, which is the central concern of President Xi Jinping and the entire national leadership, Vice Premier Wang Yang presided over a meeting of the State Council’s group on poverty reduction on Nov. 13. Wang emphasized that they had to be focused on “enhancing a sense of mission and crisis awareness, and targeting problems to fulfill the Party’s promise to the Chinese people and the international community,” Xinhua wrote. (The fact that Wang presented this policy as a commitment to the international community is especially notable.) Wang added that to meet these goals it was necessary to train local authorities, “stressing the importance of carrying out research and investigation, and averting formalism.”

Egypt Positioned for Working with New Silk Road

November 9, 2017by Jason Ross in General, New Silk Road / BRI updates

Nov. 7, 2017 -“Egypt supports the Belt and Road Initiative that connects China with the world’s continents through massive networks of land and sea routes,” Ibrahim Mahlab, the Egyptian President’s assistant for strategic and national projects, told a forum in Cairo. Describing the China-Egypt ties as “strong, unique and sustainable,” Mahlab, a former prime minister, expected the initiative to “restructure the traditional models of world trade.”

Egyptian and Chinese officials, businessmen, representatives of financial and economic institutions, as well as a delegation from the Communist Party of China, attended the Nov. 6 forum, on “Belt and Road–Together for a Better Future.” The participants at the forum, co-organized by Sharaf Foundation for Sustainable Development and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, discussed ways to boost China-Egypt economic, trade and cultural relations, and the available investment opportunities.

“Being a central point between Africa and Asia, Egypt is also a focal axis of Arab and African trade,” Mahlab said, highlighting the significance of Egypt’s strategic location for the Belt and Road Initiative. He noted that Egypt has carried out massive infrastructure projects over the past three years that have greatly upgraded the country’s energy supplies and road networks which could help future investors in the country.

China and Russia: “Silk Road on Ice”

November 9, 2017by Jason Ross in General, New Silk Road / BRI updates

Nov. 8, 2017 -Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev was in Beijing for regularly-scheduled meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, and he also met with President Xi Jinping. Xi told Medvedev that China and Russia should create a “Silk Road on the Ice,” and fully “integrate the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union.” According to a Xinhua wire, “Xi called on both sides to increase the content of

technological innovation in their cooperation and integrate the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union. China and Russia should cooperate in the development and utilization of the Arctic navigation channels to create a `Silk Road on the Ice,’ Xi said.”

Xinhua’s report adds: “Xi said China is ready to work with Russia to expand cooperation in various fields, maintain close coordination in international affairs and promote the building of a community of shared future… Xi pointed out China and Russia should give full play to the prime ministers’ regular meetings and enhance cooperation on energy, equipment manufacturing, agriculture and aerospace.”

Medvedev, for his part, transmitted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to Xi, and his congratulations on the recently concluded CPC Congress and Xi’s re-election as the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. The Congress, Medvedev said, “carries great significance to both China and the world.”

Medvedev also met with China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who noted that “Medvedev is the first foreign leader to visit China after the 19th National Congress of the CPC,” Xinhua reported. “This has shown the closeness and high level of China-Russia ties,” Li stated. He also stated that, as affirmed in the 19th CPC Congress, China will “share development opportunities with countries around the world,” Xinhua reported.

Webcast: Trump, Xi, and the Spirit of the New Silk Road

November 8, 2017by Motoki Kasai in General, Helga Webcast

Tune in on Thursday at 12PM EST/6PM CET!

On November 8, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing, their first face-to-face meeting since their April 2017 summit in Mar-e-Lago, Florida. At that meeting, Trump expressed his pleasure at being introduced by Xi to what Helga Zepp-LaRouche calls the “Spirit of the New Silk Road.” The collaborative relationship which has developed between the two leaders is a cause for optimism, and should develop further with their meetings this week.

That is why the imperial financial oligarchy and their neocon mouthpieces, whose policies have put nations on the brink of World War III and financial bankruptcy, have been escalating wildly, to prevent this meeting from happening. This includes the deployment against Trump by the legal assassin Robert Mueller and his cohorts.

Do you believe that they will allow an honest report of the events in Beijing and, more broadly, on Trump’s trip to Asia, to reach you, through their Fake News media?

On Thursday, Helga Zepp LaRouche will provide a full update on the events taking place in Asia and their strategic significance, and offer her insights on what potential has been created for the successful consolidation of a New Paradigm. As she has emphasized, knowing the truth will provide the inspiration for citizens to act to shape their own future.

International Webcast with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

November 2, 2017

With President Donald Trump set to leave for his Asia tour within days, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Following the inspiring developments of the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Trump called President Xi Jinping to congratulate him on the results, and to confirm that he is looking forward to their meeting on November 8.

New China-Europe `Silk Road’ Line Inaugurated in Azerbaijan

November 2, 2017by Jason Ross in General, New Silk Road / BRI updates, World Land-Bridge updates

Oct. 30 — There was great enthusiasm in Baku, Azerbaijan today as the head of state of that country, Ilham Aliyev, was joined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in a ceremony to inaugurate the new 826 km. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, which was set to take off on its maiden trip to Europe. According to {The Daily Sabah}, the BTK is a “key link in the modern Silk Road Railway” that will carry goods between Beijing and London. Initially, it is expected to carry almost one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight annually, but aims to transport up to 50 million tons a year when it reaches its full potential.

Also present at the ceremony was the U.S. ambassador Robert Cekuta, who noted that the BTK railroad is an important part of the New Silk Road, the Azeri news service APA reported.
President Erdogan, who is also in Baku for a two-day visit commemorating the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, said at the ceremony that “Baku-Tblisi-Kars is part of a big Silk Road and it’s important that we have implemented this project using our own funds,” most of the $1 billion of which came from Azerbaijan’s state oil fund. Erdogan emphasized that the project will bring “peace, security, stability and prosperity and will contribute to the development of our countries.”

The {Daily Sabah} points out that, as “one of the land routes in the scope of China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative passes through Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the railway projects being launched in the context of the `Iron Silk Road’ have gained significance as they are connecting the regions.” The transportation from Georgia to Turkey is provided via a border tunnel, some 2,375 meters of which are within Turkey’s borders, while 2,070 meters are on the Georgian side. Thanks to the railway network linking the Middle East to Europe via the 13.6 km Marmaray rail connection, “transportation between Turkey and Asia, the Caucasus and European countries will be easier,” {Sabah} predicts.

The new line will reduce travel time from China to Europe to 15 days, twice as fast as the sea route, at half the cost of air freight. Trains can depart from Chinese cities, cross into Kazakhstan at the Khorgos Gateway, be transported across the Caspian Sea by ferry to the new port of Baku and then be loaded onto the BTK to head for Europe. President Aliyev said that several European countries are interested in the project and that his government is in talks with them. Kazakhstan is very interested in transporting goods via the BTK line.

Portugal Signs Action Plan with China on Maritime Silk Road

November 2, 2017by Jason Ross in General, New Silk Road / BRI updates, World Land-Bridge updates

Nov. 1, 2017 -Portugal’s Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, accompanied by representatives of 39 Portuguese port and related companies and industries, is in China for a busy, eight-day visit (10/28-11/4) to concretize Portugal’s participation in the Maritime Silk Road. That includes hopes for some $2.5 billion in Chinese investments in expanding container and other facilities in the Portuguese ports of Sines (towards the south), Lisbon (in the center), and Leixoes (towards the north), as well as in areas of “blue biotechnology,” oceanic aquaculture, and marine industry. The first of two planned high-level seminars took place in Beijing on Monday, with representatives of 86 Chinese companies present. Vitorino’s Chinese counterpart, State Oceanic Administration Director Wang Hong, there spoke of maritime cooperation as an “essential part” of Chinese-Portuguese cooperation, and discussed China’s overall view of the “ocean as an important doorway for China to embrace the whole world.”

Vitorino, for her part, said that “Portugal wants to declare itself a global logistical hub in the Atlantic area,” and “double the value of the blue economy,” to the level of becoming one of the five most sea-related economies in the world. She described Portugal as “a necessary stop on north-south Atlantic routes … [and] a required crossing point in east-west routes.”

That statement echoes Portuguese State Internationalization Secretary Jorge Costa Oliveira’s declarations at the May Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, that Portugal desires that “a maritime route to [the port of] Sines be included, and in addition, that the land rail Silk Road, which already goes from Chongqing to Madrid, also comes to Portugal.”

So far, Vitorino has signed an Action Plan with her Chinese counterpart, outlining collaboration on research and commercial projects as China and Portugal establish an expanded “blue economy” partnership. She met today with the President of the Development Bank of China. Vitorino also reported that agreements had been reached between Portuguese and Chinese companies to form consortia which would compete for various of the planned investment projects. No specific details were given, but the Portuguese businesses represented are leading port operators, construction companies, logistics operators, naval boatyard repair works, engineering, energy, aquaculture, and fish transformation companies, Macauhub reported.

International Youth Discussion with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

March 15, 2020by Jason Ross in Economic development updates, General, Helga Webcast, New financial order updates, Our initiatives (petitions, etc)

Tuesday, March 31 at 10:00 am EDT (16:00 CET). The world is in a grave crisis which is unlike anything before. The good news is that, given that it is the terrible policies of the past decades that have put us in this situation, it will be impossible to “go back to normal.” Helga Zepp-LaRouche has called on young people of the world to take leadership at this moment of great change to fight the two deadly viruses now threatening humanity—the coronavirus pandemic and the meltdown of the global financial system. The world must emerge from this crisis with an entirely New Paradigm of peaceful relations among nations, and a new economic system based on cooperation for the progress of all humanity. As is becoming more and more stark with the coronavirus pandemic, an urgent priority will be to build a modern global health system to ensure the right to life of all people on the planet.

This video conference is an opportunity for young people across the world to speak with Helga Zepp-LaRouche and join the fight for this New Paradigm. After opening remarks by Helga, representatives from each nation will give a 2-4 minute report on their organizing, and a Q&A will follow.

RSVP

Join us and participate in the discussion with Helga Zepp-LaRouche and young people from around the world.

Belt and Road Offers Great Future for Italian Ports and Shipowners

October 30, 2017by Jason Ross in General, World Land-Bridge updates

Oct. 27, 2017 -Matteoli, chairman of the Italian shipowners association Confitarma, said that the New Silk Road initiative represents a major o ppMario ortunity for growth mainly for Italian ports, since they become the next preferred gateway for goods coming from Asia into Europe, while today, cargo flows are more often offloaded in Northern Europe before being distributed in Central and Southern Europe.

“The Belt and Road project is of course challenging and scary at the same time,” Matteoli said,”but I think that the Italian players should be aware of this great opportunity mainly because instead of being at the terminus of the belt, we could have an inversion of the tendency of what the flows are now. Many industries in the north of Italy import goods from the ports based in Germany and The Netherlands, but the new infrastructure projects could instead invert the trend, and eventually Italy could become the entry point for the goods to be distributed towards the north.”

Matteoli also addressed  a crucial role of shipowners for mankind, stating that “we, as shipowners, have to participate (in the New Silk Road) in order to grant a better world for the future generations.”

Turkey wants to join the New Silk Road

October 30, 2017by Jason Ross in General, World Land-Bridge updates

Oct. 29 – “China is an important country in all respects. It is a country with which we want to develop our relations, and revive the historical Silk Road together,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday, in a speech in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa, Xinhua reports. He noted that the Silk Road includes many issues, including those of economy and security.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a prominent participant in the May 2017 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China; the country’s {Official Gazette} reported two days ago that Emin Onon, described as Erdogan’s “chief advisor” by Turkey Minute website, has been appointed Ambassador to China.

The pro-government newspaper {Daily Sabah} ran a story that same day reviewing the last decade of Turkish-Chinese economic ties, with an eye to how, “having gained momentum in the last decade, Turkish-Chinese cooperation is set to capitalize on further cooperation with additional joint investment projects to unlock the potential offered by the Belt and Road project.”

“Millennia-long ties between the Turks and the nation of dragons, China, have not always been marked with lucrative cooperation,” {Daily Sabah} wrote, but “history tells us that the two nations have enjoyed the benefits of trading on the ancient Silk Road…. China’s willingness to render the Belt and Road initiative as integrated into Turkey’s development strategy, will also help strengthen the exchange between China and Turkey.”

Among the economic cooperation underway or in the works mentioned by {Daily Sabah}, are ongoing negotiations on construction of the Edirne-Kars high-speed railway route, the agreement on China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp.’s construction of a third nuclear power plant in Turkey, and promotion of the use of direct renmimbi-lira currency transactions to finance trade and investment by the Chairman Xu Keen of the Turkish branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC Turkey).

Xu told {Daily Sabah}, “we will strengthen the market surveys in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, while acting as the major partner to infrastructure projects including energy power plants, railroads, highways and others, in addition to other projects in Turkey and surrounding regions.”

Likewise, PowerChina (Power Construction Corporation of China) decided at the end of last May to establish its Eurasian regional headquarters operations in Istanbul. PowerChina Deputy General Manager Wang Bin explained, in opening the regional headquarters, that “Turkey is one of the most important countries along the Silk Road and has important regional advantages,”

Webcast—Will Ongoing Shocks Provoke a New Kind of Thinking Necessary to Overcome a New Dark Age?

March 11, 2020by Jason Ross in Economic development updates, General, Helga Webcast

Helga reiterates the serious warnings from leading German infectious disease officials and looks at the Wuhan model of breaking transmission paths at the outset. Helga calls on countries to coordinate their efforts to conquer this pandemic, including stemming the economic impacts on the global economy, but that doesn’t mean a bailout for Wall Street! See her updated petition.

Helga and Harley discuss the fraud of the just-in-time economy, reminding people of Lyndon LaRouche’s warning that if we continued down the road of zero-growth, the West would no longer be able to support itself and implode. She calls for an end of geo-politics and all efforts to be focused on solving the joint virus and finance crisis.

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