Today's world has two major economic zones: the Pacific economic zone and the Atlantic economic zone. But with the development and prosperity of the Silk Road Economic Belt, China and the Muslim-majority countries along the belt will become the world's most important economic zone. The 57 Muslim countries along the President Xi Jinping-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Maritime Century Silk Road account for one-fifth of the world's population, 70 percent of the world's energy and 50 percent of the natural resources. Added to this is the economic vitality of China, which is expected to become the world's largest economy in the coming decade.
There are fears about China's growth prospects given the recent bad news about weak credit demand, high real interest rates and tight liquidity. But we (at Standard Chartered) see three reasons for at least some optimism:
In sharp contrast to the withering ties between China and Japan, Japan's tourism is blossoming because of Chinese tourists. No wonder Chinese tourists to Japan have sparked much controversy back at home, where they have even been described as "traitors" by some netizens.
Belgium's former prime minister Elio Di Rupo expressed both excitement and regret when talking about his country's ties with China in recent times, when I spoke with him on Thursday.
After eight days of marathon talks, Iran and the P5+1 world powers have hammered out a milestone agreement to address the Iranian nuclear issue. A framework nuclear deal was inked between the two sides on Thursday, paving the way for a comprehensive accord by June 30 that could put an end to the 12-year-old standoff between Teheran and the West.
With the authorities maintaining the pressure to stamp out corruption, some officials have resorted to inaction or doing little in order to prevent themselves from being implicated in possible corruption cases or because they no longer receive kickbacks.
IN RESPONSE TO MOUNTING COMPLAINTS about the policy of the Beijing bureau of human resources and social security to encourage employers to recruit more locals, Liu Xiaojun, an official from the bureau, said on Saturday that this policy will only give priority to unemployed Beijing residents regarding some newly added posts, and it is not designed to discriminate against non-locals. The unemployment rate of local citizens, Liu explained, is much higher than that for migrants in many industries. Comments:
A WOMAN IN HER 50S IN NANJING, JIANGSU province, was detained for allegedly beating her adopted son. According to the local police, the 9-year-old boy was hit by his adoptive mother with a rod, whipped with ropes and kicked, simply because he failed to finish the extra homework she assigned him. Comments:
LIU XIANG, China's Olympic 110m hurdles gold medalist and former world record holder, is expected to announce his retirement on Tuesday after more than two years of treatment for an ankle injury. The 32-year-old hurdler's goodbye announcement has taken a lot longer than expected, because he was unlikely to return to action at his age after surgery. Comments:
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