International

Chinese vice premier calls for strengthening early warnings for all at COP29

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special representative Ding Xuexiang, also China’s vice premier, on Tuesday called for strengthening early warning systems for all and enhancing climate adaptation capacity when addressing a high-level meeting held by China on early warnings during the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Ding, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that China attaches great importance to international cooperation on meteorological early warning and President Xi has made specific requirements on this issue.

In recent years, climate change has had an increasing impact globally, with frequent extreme weather events posing unprecedented challenges to the safety of people’s lives and property as well as to economic and social development, Ding said, adding that strengthening early warning systems for all and enhancing climate adaptation capacity have become increasingly important and urgent.

China is willing to work with all countries to advance the implementation of the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All initiative, make new and greater contributions to addressing climate change, Ding said. He further proposed three points.

First, jointly improving global risk assessment capabilities and promoting the standardization of climate risk assessments to provide scientific support for climate governance.

Second, jointly building a global early warning network, sharing technology, enhancing system interconnectivity, and working to improve global early warning systems.

Third, jointly establishing a climate adaptation partnership. Ding said that China will develop and implement a South-South cooperation flagship project for early warning in response to climate change, supporting other developing countries through the provision of meteorological observation equipment, early warning systems, and capacity-building training.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, the UN secretary-general’s Special Adviser on Climate Action and Just Transition Selwin Hart, World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, and Kamal Kishore, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for disaster risk reduction and head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, also attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

During the meeting, China’s Action Plan on Early Warning for Climate Change Adaptation (2025-2027) was published. Article from CGTN

International

Japan to Put Tonnes of Rice on the Market to Arrest Soaring Prices

The Guardian is reporting that Japan is to flood the market with almost a quarter of a million tonnes of stockpiled rice in an unprecedented attempt to arrest soaring prices caused by record summer heat, panic buying and distribution problems.

Agriculture minister, Taku Eto, says the government will release up to 210,000 tonnes of rice, as consumers battled a surge in prices of more than 50 per cent in recent months.

Speaking shortly before the decision, Eto noted that the government did not normally intervene in the market, but conceded that recent price rises have had a significant impact on people’s lives.

He says the price hike has been too sharp.

The latest average retail price of an 11 pound bag of the Japanese staple was 3,688 Yen, according to a government survey, over 1,500 Yen more than last year.

Japan’s government has previously dipped into its rice reserves in the aftermath of natural disasters or crop failures, but this is the first time it has intervened over distribution issues, including when supply chain disruption contributes to rising prices.

International

Over 20m Chinese consumers apply for electronic products trade-in subsidies

More than 20 million consumers have applied for China’s electronic products trade-in subsidies since the government launched the pro-consumption program three weeks ago, data from the commerce ministry showed Sunday.

Some 20.09 million consumers applied for the subsidies to buy 25.41 million units of electronic products such as mobile phones as of Saturday, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

China started to offer subsidies for electronic products trade-in from Jan 20 as the country expanded the scope of consumer goods trade-in program to further boost consumption, which provides consumers with up to 500 yuan ($69.7) apiece on the purchase of digital products.

Card payment giant China UnionPay said it has recorded 6.27 million subsidized transactions with sales value totaling 20.58 billion yuan in the reporting period.

Driven by the government incentives, mobile phone sales in China jumped by 74 percent in volume and 65 percent in value on a weekly basis in the week prior to the Spring Festival, which fell on Jan 29 this year, market data revealed.

China launched an action plan to promote large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods in March 2024 as part of efforts to boost domestic demand and support economic growth. Official data showed that the trade-in scheme has boosted sales of automobiles by 920 billion yuan last year, and that of home appliances by 240 billion yuan. (Article from China Daily)

International

CHINA RESPONDS TO THE NON RENEWAL OF MOU ON BRI

China firmly opposes U.S. pressuring and coercion that smear and sabotage BRI cooperation. We deeply regret Panama’s decision to not renew the MoU on BRI.

BRI is an economic cooperation initiative with the participation of 150+ countries, including 20+ LAC countries. It has delivered tangibly for people in these countries, including Panama.

We hope that Panama will steer clear of external disruption and make the right decision which is good for bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples.