Newsletter By 2022-06-24
【KC’s Column】 The recently launched Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian owes its existence to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the “golden decade”, said
ANBOUND’s founder Kung Chan. The BRI has created numerous demands, as was originally intended. Not only did Chinese enterprises become larger and more prominent, but the annual growth rate of the government’s fiscal year also far exceeded that of GDP. It was such an accumulation of financial resources that supported the construction, aircraft carriers and other grand projects. Some were unimaginable in the past, yet China managed to accomplish them, such as high-speed rail networks, manned spaceflight, and so on. All these rely on both demand and capital. From the point of view of naval projects, as an important military asset in the future, their very existence will require more financial resources. To make them sustained, China will either need to continue gaining money or it will need to tighten its belt. These are the only two options left for the policymakers.
>> Under the current geopolitical conditions, China shall adjust and optimize its energy utilization policies. Foreign experiences and measures can serve as a referential example for the country to develop its clean coal technology. The government will also promote coal-hydrogen linkage production, and relax coal-fired power generation. These means are necessary steps to be taken in the country's national security production. Noteworthily, the country's energy supply should be seen as a whole, hence the issue cannot be viewed merely from a single category. This is true whether it is natural gas, oil, coal, wind energy, hydropower, and others. To solve energy supply, utilization, and security issues, it would be necessary for China to mull strategy from a perspective more holistic and systemic, and maintain balanced energy utilization, noted
He Jun, Director of Macro-Economy Research Center and Senior Researcher at ANBOUND.
>>A new study from the not-for-profit research institute
RAND Europe involving more than 80 UK-based academics from a range of disciplines and institutions finds a resounding appetite for continued collaboration with Chinese colleagues, despite acknowledged tension over security concerns. Most UK academics consulted in the study were positive about their engagement with Chinese partners. They stressed the benefits of working with leading researchers, emphasising the potential for delivering high-quality research outputs, and praising the quality and rigour of the Chinese partners they worked with. The research was commissioned by the British Embassy Beijing on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Due to increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, the earth has seen its hottest days on record in the past 10 years since 2005 according to climate research at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate.
ESI Intern Kendra Hills examines
"urban heat islands" as cities face rising temperatures due to global warming. She explores causes, impacts, and puts forth a framework for heat resiliency that could be beneficial for all. The future of cities will require combating both the imminent consequences of climate change, as well as the inequities and disparities that will be exacerbated because of them.
As the United States began to tighten monetary policy, simultaneously raising interest rates and shrinking its balance sheet, Japan still adhered to its quantitative easing policy, which is one of the "three arrows" of Abenomics. The Bank of Japan maintains negative interest rates, and consistently injects yen liquidity into the market by purchasing yen assets. With the widening policy differences between the Federal Reserve and the BOJ, as well as with the rising inflation in Japan, the yen continues to depreciate. This has turned it from a traditionally safe-haven currency into the eye of the storm within the international capital market. The game between the market and the BOJ has caused the Japanese central bank’s future policy choice to become a global focus. Regardless of what its decision might be, the market will certainly feel the new pinch, said
Wei Hongxu, Economist at ANBOUND.
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