Day: September 11, 2024

Lanzhou: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected the city of Baoji in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province and the city of Tianshui in neighboring Gansu Province.

Xi visited the two cities from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning.

In Baoji, he visited Baoji Bronze Ware Museum and an ecological park along the Weihe River to learn about the local efforts to enhance the protection and use of cultural relics as well as the ecological conservation of the Weihe River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River.

In Tianshui, Xi went to the Fuxi Temple, a local apple production base and the Maijishan Grottoes to learn about the protection and preservation of local cultural heritage and the development of the modern specialty fruit industry in mountainous areas.

The Fuxi Temple is dedicated to Fuxi, a mythical ancestor of the Chinese nation.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Beijing: China’s State Council has unveiled a set of guidelines to enhance the regulation and high-quality development of the insurance sector, as well as risk prevention in the industry.

The guidelines call for efforts to form an initial high-quality development framework for the insurance industry that has been steadily expanding coverage, increasingly comprehensive protection, continuously improving services, stable and balanced asset allocation, sufficient solvency, sound and effective governance, and internal control by 2029.

By 2035, the insurance industry should have a complete market system, diversified products and services, scientific and effective supervision, and strong international competitiveness, according to the guidelines.

It is necessary to strengthen the regulation of insurance market access, tighten the continuous supervision of insurance institutions, crack down on illegal activities in the insurance sector, and effectively prevent and resolve risks in the industry in an orderly manne
r, the guidelines noted.

Efforts should also be made to diversify forms of catastrophe insurance, actively develop commercial old-age financial products and the private pension system, expand health insurance coverage, optimize the inclusive insurance system, and improve the industry’s ability to serve people’s livelihoods, the guidelines say.

They urge a focus on national strategies and key areas, and note that the insurance sector should serve sci-tech innovation and the construction of modern industrial systems.

The insurance market system should be optimized constantly, the guidelines say, calling for deepened reforms in key areas of the insurance sector and the advancement of the industry’s high-level opening-up.

They also call for improved accuracy in product pricing, the promotion of digital and smart development, and the enhancement of the industry’s capacity for sustainable development.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Beirut: A Hezbollah official was killed and another member severely injured on Wednesday afternoon during an Israeli raid in southeastern Lebanon’s Mays al-Jabal village, Lebanese sources told Xinhua.

Military sources, who spoke anonymously, said an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle with two air-to-ground missiles in Mays al-Jabal, killing a Hezbollah military cadre and wounding his companion.

They added that the civil defense crew is working to transfer the casualties to the government hospital.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Operations Center of Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry issued a statement and confirmed the incident and casualties.

Israeli airstrikes also targeted the municipality of Yater and the villages of Maroun al-Ras and Rachaya al Foukhar in the eastern sector of the border area in southern Lebanon, the official National News Agency reported.

Also on Wednesday, Hezbollah claimed in a series of statements that its fighters have targeted the Israeli sites of Ruwaisat Al-Qarn, Al-Alam, and Al-Ra
heb, as well as the Zebdine barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms.

The exchange of fire took place as tensions mounted along the Lebanon-Israel border since Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel the previous day. Israel then retaliated by pounding southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah builds numerous weapons caches, tunnels, and bunkers, with heavy artillery.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Geneva: As part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum 2024, the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) held a seminar here on Tuesday, which focused on leveraging China’s green transition for global climate mitigation.

The session titled “Leveraging China’s green transition for global climate mitigation: perspectives, opportunities and challenges,” was moderated by Wang Huiyao, founder and president of CCG.

During the session, which was attended by more than 100 participants from WTO members, media outlets and think tanks, representatives from China, the United States, Europe and Africa discussed China’s green transition, relevant policies and its implications for climate change response.

Former WTO Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun stated that China’s renewable energy industry has made a significant contribution to global emissions reduction.

In 2022, China’s wind and photovoltaic power products helped other countries reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 573 million tons, pro
viding consumers in various countries with more affordable renewable energy products, which also helped alleviate inflationary pressures, Yi said.

The development of China’s new energy industry is not by virtue of government subsidies, Yi said, pointing out that relying on subsidies could never create a healthy industry.

The growth of China’s renewable energy sector has been driven more by intense market competition, rapid technological iteration, and an ever-expanding market scale; government policies have played a signaling role by encouraging research and development, building infrastructure, and nurturing consumer markets, Yi said.

He cautioned against using climate action as a pretext for protectionism. “Tackling climate change and promoting green economic transitions should not come at the expense of violating WTO rules. Nor should it weaken the multilateral trading system.”

Former Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed stressed that the green transition in African countries would bring enormous oppo
rtunities in renewable energy, infrastructure and mineral processing. However, attracting foreign investment and technology, as well as building local production capacity, is essential. Strengthening international cooperation is crucial, while subsidy wars and protectionism would pose challenges for Africa.

Elvire Fabry from the Jacques Delors Institute pointed out that although there are frictions between Europe and China over electric vehicles, given China’s dominant position in the new energy industry chain, the EU needs to engage with China and attract Chinese companies to invest in Europe for its green transition.

Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, urged Europe and China to strengthen cooperation and reach high-standard bilateral agreements.

The panelists concurred that national policies for addressing climate change and promoting green transitions should not violate multilateral rules. The WTO should play a key role in setting a positive trade agenda and stre
ngthening coordination between trade and other policies.

The four-day WTO public forum, which kicked off on Tuesday, will feature over 130 sessions, drawing nearly 4,400 participants from governments, businesses, academia and various sectors of society.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Xi’an: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed developing a sense of reverence and affection for Chinese civilization and called for passing on fine traditional Chinese culture from generation to generation.

Xi made the remarks when inspecting the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum in the city of Baoji in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on Tuesday afternoon.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

Kabul: The major projects under the cooperation of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan will strengthen bilateral relations between the two neighbors, Acting Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund told an inauguration ceremony for the projects on Wednesday.

The construction work of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline on Afghan territory and other development projects were inaugurated on Wednesday on the Turkmen side of the two country’s border.

“These initiatives would strengthen the bilateral relationship between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, delivering substantial economic and social benefits to the populations of both countries,” Akhund said.

Spanning 1,814 km in total, with 816 km on Afghan territory, the pipeline would transport 33 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan, the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs posted on X.

The project is expected to generate 450 million U.S. dollars for Afghanistan. The
impoverished country will get 500 million cubic meters of gas for the first decade, 1 billion in the second decade, and 1.5 billion in the third decade, the office added.

According to the office, thousands of people will be employed directly and indirectly under the project.

The TAPI project was initially commenced in 2018, but it had been suspended due to unknown reasons.

Source: The Namibia News Agency