Weekly News Collection

ECONOMY

Cooperation, friction predicted for China-US trade
An all-out trade war between China and the United States during this phase of Donald Trump’s presidency is unlikely to erupt, but friction may be possible, according to the second issue of the Global Report of Tsinghua released by the Institute of Global Development at Tsinghua University on Feb. 27. The report suggests China should be fully prepared for disputes over trade deficits and the RMB exchange rate. Zhou Shijian, author of the report and a senior research fellow from the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, said the US trade deficit was the inevitable result of economic globalization and the adjustment of industrial structure as well as the international division of labor. Meanwhile, the RMB has been included into the Special Drawing Rights basket of the International Monetary Fund, and it would be unreasonable to treat China as a currency manipulator, he said.  

Guangdong tops rankings of provincial competitiveness
Guangdong Province topped the list of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in mainland China ranked by competitiveness, according to the Blue Book of China’s Provincial Competitiveness (2015-2016) released by the Research Center on Comprehensive Competitiveness of National Economy on Feb. 28. The blue book suggests that compared with the situation in 2014, the competitiveness of China’s western provinces has improved, but they still lag far behind the developed eastern regions. And the gap between northeastern and eastern regions in competitiveness is significantly widening, while the gap between the middle and eastern areas is mildly expanding. On the whole, the economic competitiveness of provinces has slowly improved from 2014 to 2015 due to the influence of supply-side structural reform and the cultivation of new momentum for regional economy, according to the report. 

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Social security system vital to justice, equality

China should include the social security system into the nation’s system of governance, granting it the same role as such macroscopic policy tools as national fiscal and finance measures, said Zheng Gongcheng, president of the China Association of Social Security and a professor of economics from Renmin University of China at the third Academic Conference on National Social Security, held from Feb. 25 to 26 in Beijing. Facing the uncertainties brought by globalization as well as the challenges of a rapidly aging population and increasing inequality, the social security system is essential to resolve social conflicts, promote social justice and encourage shared development, he said. Shen Shuguang, a professor of economics from Sun Yat-sen University, said the development of social security is not the burden of economic development, but a driving force for it.

Legal system supports social organizations

With the enactment of the Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China and other legal documents, the legal system and policies continue to improve and diversify, providing external support for social organization, according to the Blue Book of Social Organizations released by the Research Center of Social Organizations and Public Governance at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Feb. 24. The report also suggests that supporting policies are homogeneous and fragmented, making them ill-suited to promote qualified social organizations. Meanwhile, concrete and operational policy measures are inadequate. Huang Xiaoyong, editor-in-chief of the report, said the development of social organizations in China requires the establishment of a mutually complementary, respectful as well as cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership between the government and social organizations.