Xi urges CEEC to work on new chapter in cooperation
Shanghai Disney prepares for Chinese New Year gala
CHINESE President Xi Jinping yesterday lauded the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries, calling on relevant countries to keep up the momentum and work together for a new chapter in China-CEEC cooperation.
Xi made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech at the China-CEEC Summit via video link.
The China-CEEC cooperation is based on mutual respect and has no political strings attached, Xi said, adding that all countries involved, regardless of size, are equal partners in a cooperation mechanism featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.
The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism came into being in 2012 against the backdrop of the European debt crisis.
Xi said that China-CEEC cooperation has developed some principles that are reflective of its distinctive features and accepted by all parties: making decisions through consultation, delivering benefits to all cooperation partners, pursuing common development through openness and inclusiveness, and achieving better growth through innovation.
“China stands ready for vaccine cooperation with CEE countries,” Xi said. So far, Serbia has received 1 million vaccine doses from a Chinese company, and there is ongoing cooperation between Hungary and Chinese vaccine companies, he said.
“China will actively consider such partnerships with other CEE
countries if there is a need,” Xi added.
Alignment of cross-regional cooperation with Belt and Road cooperation, and improvement of the role of China-Europe freight trains in the economic development were also stressed by the Chinese president.
Currently, all 17 members of the CEEC under the cooperation framework have signed cooperation documents with China on the joint construction of the Belt and Road.
China intends to import, in the coming five years, more than US$170 billion of goods from CEEC, and will make efforts in doubling CEE countries’ agricultural exports to China and raise two-way agricultural trade by 50 percent over the next five years, Xi said.
Meanwhile, the number of China-Europe freight trains stood at 12,400 in 2020, with key passages and destinations including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Last year, a record number of 12,400 freight train trips were made between China and Europe, ferrying goods, particularly personal protective equipment, to the European continent, which was one of the hardest-hit places in the pandemic.
With 88 cooperation documents reached as outcome of the summit, making more progress in sectors like green economy, digital economy, cultural and people-to-people exchanges was also stressed.
Xi voiced support for establishing a university in Hungary by Shanghai-based Fudan University.
China and Central and Eastern European countries will hold a new round of Education Policy Dialogue and Higher Education Institutes Consortium meetings this year, as Xi stressed efforts to enhance exchange and cooperation in culture, education, tourism, sports, media, and among think tanks, young people and sub-national entities.
Joe Schott was on a flight back to China when the novel coronavirus pandemic first broke out during last year’s Spring Festival. The president and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort then experienced the park’s unprecedented closure for 107 days.
This year, he is spending the holiday season with his local work family at Shanghai Disney Resort, delivering surprising celebrations for the Year of the Ox. His own family is separated due to the pandemic.
The park’s Lunar New Year offerings include a special gala fireworks show, traditional Chinese performances and cuisines fused with Disney elements, the return of a Shanghainese version of “Once Upon a Time” and famed Disney characters like Mickey and Minnie decked out in new festive holiday outfits. Minnie’s best friend Clarabelle Cow also made her debut at Shanghai Disney.
Zootopia, the park’s eighth themed land, had its structural topping-out in December. It is the first of its kind at any Disney Park, and a series of new surprises for Shanghai Disney’s fifth anniversary are expected — a sign of the company’s strong confidence in China’s economic recovery and potential.
“We haven’t stopped developing,” Schott said. “We are extraordinarily ambitious about where we are going. We want to be a major draw for Shanghai to attract people and be one of the principal reasons for people to visit the city.”
Having worked in Shanghai for three years, Schott has found warmth and energy all the way through the tourism industry in China.
“We are expecting that when China and the rest of the world are completely back to normal, there will be a lot of demand from people wanting to visit tourist sites, and we hope we will be at the top of their list,” he said. “We invested a lot here because we recognized the potential of the industry in China, which is huge. People need that joy and happiness in their lives, and we can be a very important player in keeping people in a happy state.”
Tourism has been among the hardesthit industries during the pandemic, and Schott considers the Shanghai attraction’s reopening on May 11 as his most challenging and emotional experience in nearly 40 years with the company. He also called it a “beacon of hope, for not just China, but the rest of the world.”
The Shanghai park was the only Disney parks that was open at the time.
“I have seen many things happened at Disney — anniversaries, park openings — but nothing was nearly as emotional as that was,” he said. “We were the first park in the world to close, but we were also the first Disney park in the world to reopen. With our work with the local government in particular, setting guidelines for what was safe and still magical in response, we set the groundwork for every Disney park around the world.”
Every decision was unprecedented and challenging to the company’s tradition and way of its running business, such as asking Cast Members to wear masks.
For the 107 days it was closed, Schott and his staff worked with local government officials to establish safety guidelines to prepare for reopening.
When the resort reopened, the number of visitors was limited to about 20 percent of capacity, social distance and masks were required at all times and people’s temperatures were taken, among other safety measures. Schott was only one of many who felt emotional that day. Many employees and visitors broke into tears, seeing it as a sign that the city was safe and sound.
Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Disney’s largest international expansion has become integrated into the city beyond tourism.
In tune with the city’s growing number of seniors and increasing measures to take care of them, the resort launched a senior seasonal pass on the Double Ninth Festival last year. For Chinese, it was a day to honor the elderly.
When China and the rest of the world are completely back to normal, there will be a lot of demand from people wanting to visit tourist sites, and we hope we will be at the top of their list.
Joe Schott
President and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort
As the city is on its way to becoming a global science and technology hub, animatronics like the huge, vivid and speedy Davey Jones in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” Schott’s favorite ride, can now be built for the first time in Shanghai.
“We are the only site in the world to deliver new animatronics, part of the technological advances that are coming out of China,” he said.
The park was also the first to develop a reservation system fully accessible on mobile devices, a virtual standby pass, and other services on mobile phones that Chinese guests would expect.
“The things that guests expect in every place because of how technology has advanced in China, especially in Shanghai, is that the mobile device is the center of your world,” he said. “We have to fully embrace this reality, and you will see a lot more of that kind of work.”
Having worked at various Disney parks, including Tokyo and Paris, he considers Shanghai’s business environment to be filled with warmth and speed.
“We’ve gotten nothing but strong support,” he said. “The warmth you feel in the city, I feel the same way when it comes to the business environment. We have a very high standard, and that’s been embraced by the business environment in Shanghai.”
He added that the local government was doing everything possible to help encourage consumption. One example is infrastructure expansion that makes it easier for people to come to the city and enjoy everything it has to offer.
He also highlighted access to talent, noting employee’s education base and ability to learn very quickly, making his staff “probably the best people I’ve worked with in my career,” Schott said.
“Nothing moves as fast as China,” he said. “In my three years here, it’s remarkable how quickly things have changed. We have to constantly learn about what’s new.”
AS 2021 marks the beginning of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), Tetsuho Kikuchi, director president of Suntory (China) Holding Co, shared his goals for the next five years.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to taking journeys to more places in China to see more of the country’s scenery as well as the culture and customs of different areas,” he added. He has visited 25 cities in China so far.
For the company, he plans to further promote the Suntory brand to more regions in the country, hoping it becomes more of a household name in China.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company suffered a 5 percent retreat in its global business, while the Chinese market turned out to be a rare bright spot where Suntory saw positive figures for 2020 sustaining its performance in 2019 “thanks to China’s effective prevention and control of the pandemic and the steady economic recovery,” Kikuchi said.
“Based on the surprising performance of the Chinese market in 2020, our Japanese headquarters has asked us to further increase our sales in China from around 2 billion yuan (US$310 million) to 20 billion yuan over the next decade, expanding its business from the East China market to the whole country,” he added.
“We now see China as the most important market in the world, and Suntory wants to keep pace with China’s growing economy.”
Looking back on his more than 10 years in Shanghai, Kikuchi said what impressed him most were the major changes in the city during the Shanghai World Expo.
The environment at that time saw significant improvements, with all citizens having positive responses to the call for a “better city, better life,” starting small and making their own efforts to help make the city a more beautiful place, he said.
Kikuchi spoke highly of the city’s improvements in the business environment, highlighting the city’s efforts to expand opening-up, reduce restrictions for foreign capital, and cut red tape in administrative processes.
Kikuchi is looking forward to the Spring Festival.
“I am going to have Chinese food with my friends on New Year’s Eve,” he said. “I’m looking forward to my first experience of the Spring Festival in China, when I can visit some of Shanghai’s most famous attractions during the holiday.”
WITH this year’s Spring Festival on the doorstep, expats in the city are sharing their staycation plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some foreigners have turned to invites from local friends.
Sophia Alfred, a freshman at NYU Shanghai from Washington DC, will go to her roommate’s house for the New Year dinner.
Even though many celebrations had been canceled due to the pandemic, she is excited about the upcoming festival.
“This is my first New Year in China,” Alfred said. “I used to go to parades and celebrate the festival in Chinatown before I came here for study.”
Alfred recently uploaded a music video cover of smash hit “7 rings” by American singer Ariana Grande on Bilibili.
She has a passion for dancing, and also has a performance at the school for the New Year. She also enjoys many school activities such as learning Chinese cooking.
Frenchman Thibaut Raeis and his Chinese wife Serena Fei who live in Shanghai are planning a party at home on danianye, or Chinese New Year’s Eve. “We’ve invited four friends from France and Italy to our place as they could not fly back home this year due to the coronavirus,” said Fei.
The couple are no strangers to throwing parties, as they also had a good time cooking with their friends for Christmas.
Fei said she is looking forward to teaching everyone how to make dumplings with her parents. Champagne, tiramisu and traditional Chinese rice pudding will also be on offer.
As for New Year wishes, the couple said they really hope to rejoice with their family in France, who they haven’t seen since they married last year.
“We really miss our French family members, especially our little cousin Lou born recently,” said Fei.
Fei revealed that the family planned to travel to Sanya, Hainan Province for the holiday. “We will be particularly careful with the local virus prevention and control rules.”
The Year of the Ox will bring new hope to many, as Ana-Maria Radu, a Romanian architect who has just finished her job in Shanghai, is delighted to be starting a new journey in a new city, Beijing.
Radu, who was offered the Beijing job last month, admitted that the job-hunting process was tough as she had to settle all the visa procedures amid tough virus control measures.
“It was quite an adventure before the holidays, but it worked out just fine,” she said.
“Although I love Shanghai, Beijing is amazing as well. I’m quite afraid of going somewhere due to the pandemic, but I will try to discover more of it in terms of the culture.”
Margie Chiang, an educator from US currently working in Shanghai, said she was looking forward to “getting off the grid,” as she planned to go to a local resort for three days.
She hadn’t thought much about her New Year wish, apart from helping more children with their mental growth.
Chiang provides consultation and support for students applying for universities abroad.
“It’s all about the kids. I would like to skill myself just to have a better impact on kids. Plus, I will also pursue my dream of being a good teacher.”
Strategic miscalculation and doubts can be drastically reduced when the two sides sit down and engage in a comprehensive, frank and in-depth dialogue to make their respective strategic intentions clear and rebuild mutual trust.
IT takes vision, courage and wisdom to restore normalcy to one of the world’s most important bilateral relations which now stand at a key moment.
Just like any bilateral relationship between countries, it is natural for China and the United States to have some differences.
The best solution for both sides is to take a rational, positive and constructive approach, focusing on cooperation and managing differences to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
By cooperating with each other, China and the United States can accomplish many great things that benefit both countries and the world at large.
Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi on Saturday held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during which both said bilateral relations are very important to the two countries and the world, and they are willing to develop stable and constructive bilateral relations.
Dialogues are necessary. But whether China-US relations could return on track hinges on whether the new US administration would respect the red lines in bilateral relations.
The development of China-US relations has brought great benefits to the people of the two countries and also promoted world peace and prosperity. However, the last four years have seen too much anti-China rhetoric and even hatred from certain US politicians.
People like Mike Pompeo, who used to be America’s top diplomat, have failed to show any zeal in helping solve the world’s real problems.
On the contrary, he, along with other political arsonists in Washington, staged one political farce after another on the world stage and dug as many holes as possible for future China-US relations.
As the new year has begun and a new US administration has been sworn in, it is imperative to steer China-US ties back to the right course.
The United States should work with China to uphold the spirit of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, focus on cooperation and manage differences, so as to push forward the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
China’s policy toward the United States has always maintained a high degree of stability and continuity.
The common interests of China and the United States far outweigh the differences. But it has to be noted that there are certain red lines in bilateral relations. The Taiwan issue, the most important and sensitive core issue in China-US relations, bears on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. As Blinken reiterated, the US side will continue to pursue the one-China policy and abide by the three China-US joint communiques, and this policy stance has not changed.
Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet-related affairs are also China’s internal affairs and allow no interference by external forces. Any attempts to slander and smear China are doomed to fail.
Broad common interests
Also, China is committed to the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening-up. It has stated repeatedly that it has no intention to challenge the post-war order or to replace the United States.
What China keeps challenging is itself. It follows the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China’s prosperity will only bring more opportunities to the world.
As two major countries, China and the United States share broad common interests and shoulder important responsibilities for world peace and development. They enjoyed successful cooperation in the past including antiterrorism cooperation, tackling the global financial crisis in 2008, combating Ebola in 2014, and collaborating on the Paris Agreement in 2016.
Now they should seize fresh opportunities to cooperate in fields such as the battle against climate change, COVID-19 response and economic recovery.
Such cooperation can start from interaction as the two sides did on Saturday when the phone call was made. The growth of China-US relations is the result of decades of commitment and dedication by Chinese and Americans from all sectors.
Strategic miscalculation and doubts can be drastically reduced when the two sides sit down and engage in a comprehensive, frank and in-depth dialogue to make their respective strategic intentions clear and rebuild mutual trust.
As William Shakespeare put it: “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” China and the United States can work together to improve their relations.
There is no predestined fate for the world. The future of China-US relations and the future of the world depend on what vision they embrace and what choices they make today.