GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review

 
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GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
OPINION: LESSONS FROM AFGHANISTAN P.24 | FEATURES: FAIR FOR SERVICES TRADE P.32

VOL.64 NO.37 SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                              WWW.BJREVIEW.COM

                                  GOT TUTORING?
                            Double reduction policy changes the
                                  after-school landscape
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GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
CONTENTS
EDITOR’S DESK                                         OPINION                            FEATURES
02 Study Burden Cut                                   22 The Future of BRICS             32 Trading Together
                                                      Closer cooperation in light of     The 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services
                                                      the Fourth Industrial Revolution   36 Universal Amusement
THIS WEEK
                                                      24 Dodging Responsibility          Universal Beijing Resort poised for a big public blastoff
COVER STORY                                           Leads to Crisis                    40 Skill Rules
12 Reshaping Education                                Does the U.S. really care about    Trade schools get a leg up in China’s education system
New guidelines aim for                                the Afghan people?
                                                                                         42 Bright and Sunny
students’ well-rounded                                26 Experience Guides Belt
development                                                                              American Tommy Coleman streams the Hainan lifestyle
                                                      And Road Future
16 More Than Art                                      Only cooperation can
Educational enterprises zoom in                       guarantee the healthy expansion    CULTURE
on art and science                                    of globalization                   46 Tradition Gets a New Look
18 Drumming Up                                        28 Hopes on the Beijing            Designer Zhang Kejia digs deep into the beauty of
A New Beat                                            Bourse                             minority traditions
Creative summer camps lend                            A new stock exchange
rural children a touch of                             dedicated to serving SMEs          EXPAT’S EYE
diversity                                             29 Restructuring Social            48 Birthplace of the Qing Dynasty
                                                      Wealth Distribution                Shedding some light on Shenyang’s Palace Museum
                                                      Common prosperity cannot be
Cover Photo: VCG                                      obtained overnight
  ©2021 Beijing Review, all rights reserved.

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GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
EDITOR’S DESK
                                                                                           Study Burden Cut
                                                                     Primary and junior-high school stu-           most of which privately funded, were
A News Weekly Magazine                                               dents and their parents across the            producing social anxiety in the name
Published Since 1958                                                 country have seen some changes                of creating a better future for children.
                                                                     since the new school year started on          Each of these factors contributed
President: Li Yafang
Editor in Chief: Li Jianguo                                          September 1. Students have less home-         to an excessive burden on primary
Associate President: Yan Ying
                                                                     work, and their parents no longer need        and junior-high school students, and
Content Director: Liu Yunyun                                         to correct the homework of their chil-        made education a results-oriented tool
Executive Editor: Yan Wei                                            dren. At the same time, the number of         serving short-term interests, endanger-
Associate Executive Editors: Zan Jifang, Ding Ying                   after-school tutoring institutions for pri-   ing the entire education system and
Production Director: Yao Bin
Editorial Administrators: Zeng Wenhui, Hou Beibei                    mary and junior-high school students          even the mental health of the future
Assistant Executive Editor: Li Fangfang
Commentator: Lan Xinzhen
                                                                     is reducing. These changes are the con-       generations.
Editors: Wang Hairong, Li Nan                                        sequence of national guidelines to ease           The policy of easing study burden
Editorial Consultants: Elsbeth van Paridon, Ryan Perkins
Reporters: Tang Yuankai, Wang Jun, Pan Xiaoqiao, Yuan Yuan,
                                                                     the burden of excessive homework and          aims to help education resume its es-
Ji Jing, Lu Yan, Wen Qing, Li Qing, Li Xiaoyang, Ma Miaomiao,        off-campus tutoring for students during       sential purpose with schooling as the
Zhang Shasha, Tao Xing, Tao Zihui
Visual Director: Pamela Tobey
                                                                     the nine years of compulsory educa-           cornerstone of the system, social edu-
Photo Editor: Wang Xiang                                             tion. Known as the “double reduction”         cation as the supplement and family
                                                                     policy, the guidelines were issued at         education as the foundation, so as to
Photographer: Wei Yao
Art: Li Shigong
Design Director: Wang Yajuan                                         the end of July, and took effect this         better educate high-caliber talents for
                                                                     semester.                                     the country. No new academic course
Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong
Designer: Zhao Boyu
Proofreading: Ma Xin                                                     The policy is an important step in        tutoring institutions will be approved;
Human Resources: Zhang Yajie                                         China’s boosting of more well-rounded         existing ones must register as non-prof-
Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng
                                                                     educational practices. In addition to         it organizations and are banned from
North America Bureau
Chief: Yu Shujun                                                     providing compulsory education, China         going public for financing or receiving
Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334
E-mail: yushujun@bjreview.com
                                                                     is also working to develop an educa-          investments from listed companies.
Africa Bureau                                                        tion system that enables young people             The policy may bring back well-
Chief Correspondent: Ni Yanshuo
Tel: 27-71-6132053
                                                                     to create a moral, intellectual, physical     rounded education; however, the
E-mail: casa201208@hotmail.com                                       and mental grounding. China’s educa-          motivation to receive and offer exam-
General Editorial Office                                             tion system had become increasingly           oriented learning will persist as long
Tel: 86-10-68996252
Fax: 86-10-68326628
                                                                     exam-oriented in recent decades due           as exam scores remain the standard
English Edition                                                      to the desire of achieving high scores        for entry to high schools and colleges.
                                                                     in high school and the college en-            There is still a long way to go for
Tel: 86-10-68996250
Advertising Department
Tel: 86-10-68995807                                                  trance examinations. In addition, the         China to transit from exam-oriented to
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2   BEIJING REVIEW SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                                                                                                  http://www.bjreview.com
GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK

                                                                                                                                       XINHUA

                          HIGHLAND HARVEST
           The farmers of Kere Village in Dagze District, Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, harvest their highland
           barley on September 6.

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GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK SOCIETY

                                                                                                                XINHUA
                                                                                                                         honors, business qualifications
                                                                                                                         and academic degrees, shall be
                                                                                                                         canceled or revoked.

                                                                                                                         Fiber Battery
                                                                                                                         Chinese scientists have realized
                                                                                                                         the scalable production of high-
                                                                                                                         performing woven lithium-ion
                                                                                                                         fiber batteries, bringing wirelessly
                                                                                                                         charging electronics via clothes
                                                                                                                         one step closer to reality.
                                                                                                                              Researchers from Fudan
                                                                                                                         University have recently published
                                                                                                                         their study in Nature journal, sug-
                                                                                                                         gesting how the internal resistance
                                                                                                                         of such fibers changes with their
                                                                                                                         lengths, providing a theoretical
                                                                                                                         support framework for the devel-
                                                                                                                         opment of secure lithium-ion fiber
                                                                                                                         batteries.
                                                                                                                              The 1-meter-long fiber
                                                                                                                         developed by the research
                                                                                                                         team is proven to be capable of

Flood Preparedness
                                                                                                                         powering wearable electronics
                                                                                                                         including smartphones, smart
                                                                                                                         bracelets and heart rate monitors
A view of the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province on September 6. Chinese authorities have called for
                                                                                                                         continuously for an extended
rigorous anti-flooding measures along the Yangtze River as water levels continue to rise following heavy
                                                                                                                         period of time.
rainfall, the Ministry of Water Resources said on the same day.
                                                                                                                              Previously, the length of
                                                                                                                         such batteries remained within
                                                                                                                         the centimeter scale, preventing
                                                                                                                         the weaving of the fibers into
Nurses Awarded                              The medal, introduced in
                                        1912, is the highest international
                                                                              Inspection of the Communist
                                                                              Party of China and the National
                                                                                                                         textiles.
Three Chinese nurses were                                                                                                     Based on the new discovery,
                                        honor for nurses. A total of 83       Supervisory Commission, as well            the researchers have managed
awarded the Florence Nightingale        Chinese nurses have won the           as a series of Party departments
Medal on September 2 for their                                                                                           to manufacture high-performing
                                        award since the country first         and top judicial authorities.
outstanding contributions to                                                                                             woven lithium-ion fiber batter-
                                        began to recommend candidates              Stressing that punishment
healthcare.                                                                                                              ies. After being integrated with
                                        back in 1983.                         shall be given to both those who
     Wang Qishan, Chinese                                                                                                wireless charging launchers,
                                                                              take bribes and those who offer
Vice President and Honorary                                                                                              the textiles can become flexible
President of the Red Cross              Blacklisting Bribers                  them, the guideline specifies how
                                                                              the investigation will focus on
                                                                                                                         and stable power solutions for
Society of China (RCSC),                Chinese authorities will introduce                                               smartphones, the team said.
                                                                              those committing multiple acts of
presented the medals to the             a blacklist system for bribers to     bribery, large bribery or the brib-
nurses during a ceremony inside         intensify the fight against corrup-   ery of many; Party members and             More Teachers
the Great Hall of the People in         tion, according to a guideline.       state employees offering bribes;           The number of teachers in China
Beijing.                                    Research shall be carried         bribery in key areas and fields;           has reached 17.93 million, an
     The Chinese awardees               out to put in place punishments       and major commercial bribery.              increase of 609,400, or 3.52
are Cheng Shouzhen from                 regarding bribers’ market access           It asks for measures to en-           percent, from the year 2020,
Guangdong Province, Hu Minhua           and qualification restrictions,       sure that illegal assets obtained          statistics from the Ministry of
from Jiangxi Province, and Tuo          read the document published on        via bribery shall be confiscated,          Education showed.
Yali from Gansu Province.               September 8.                          recovered, or restituted accord-                Of all subcategories, the
     A total of 25 nurses from              The document was jointly          ing to the law; and that other             number of special education
18 countries won the medal this         formulated by the Central             improper interests obtained, such          teachers saw the most notable
year.                                   Commission for Discipline             as professional titles, political          growth, which is 6.11 percent
4   BEIJING REVIEW SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                                                                                  http://www.bjreview.com
GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK

                                                                                                                                                              XINHUA
higher than in 2020, the ministry      meets the needs of firefighting
said at a press conference on          and marine rescue missions, as
September 8.                           well as other critical emergency
     The numbers of kindergarten       rescue operations.
teachers and teachers in higher            The AG600 is designed to
education institutions grew 5.44       operate in complex weather and
percent and 5.34 percent respec-       environmental conditions. It suc-
tively, according to the ministry.     cessfully completed its maiden
     In 2021, a total of 1.9 million   flight taking off from land in
people in the country obtained         2017, its first takeoff from a water
their teaching certificates.           reservoir in 2018, and its first
                                       takeoff at sea in 2020.
Airshow Debut                              This year’s Airshow China will
China’s independently devel-           take place from September 28 to
oped AG600 large amphibious            October 3 in Zhuhai, Guangdong
aircraft will perform its first        Province.
airshow flight at the upcoming
Airshow China, according to its
                                           About 700 companies from
                                       40 countries and regions, includ-
                                       ing the U.S., Britain, Germany,
                                                                                    New Release
developer, the Aviation Industry                                                    A collection of the Palace Museum’s themed calendars, published in
Corporation of China (AVIC).           Russia, Canada and Brazil, will
                                                                                    different years, is on display in Beijing on September 6. The Palace
     Among the various key             participate in the airshow both
                                                                                    Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, released its calendar for
exhibits of China’s homegrown          online and offline.
                                                                                    2022 that same day.
aviation products, the AG600 will
showcase its capacities of aerial      Digitalized Grottoes
water-dropping at Airshow China,       Digitalization of the 1,600-year-
or the 13th China International        old Jinta Temple Grottoes in
Aviation and Aerospace                 the city of Zhangye, Gansu                   altitude of more than 2,800 me-          only help permanently preserve
Exhibition, AVIC spokesperson          Province, has been completed,                ters, endure severe cold in winter       the cultural relics, but also
Zhou Guoqiang said.                    local authorities announced on               and heavy humidity in summer.            provide essential data for future
     The water-dropping per-           September 8.                                 Though the local cultural protec-        research and online exhibitions,”
formance will fully display the            Launched in June, the                    tion authorities have taken the          Yao said.
firefighting capacities of this        digitalization project covers the            necessary measures, the grottoes             The grottoes, famous for their
large amphibious aircraft model,       grottoes’ eastern and western                still face several risks, including      unique high relief sculptures with
Zhou said.                             caves, as well as the murals and             weathering and efflorescence,            the pattern of the flying Apsaras
     Code-named Kunlong , the          colored sculptures inside.                   according to Yao Guilan, head of         of Buddhist art, include more
AG600 is a key piece of aero-              Located in the Qilian                    the Institute for Cultural Heritage      than 200 colored sculptures as
nautical equipment in China’s          Mountains, the grottoes, built               Preservation in Zhangye.                 well as murals spanning over
emergency rescue system. It            on fragile red sandstone with an                   “Digital technology can not        500 square meters.
                                                                           XINHUA

                                                                                    Underwater Tunnel
                                                                                    The construction site of the Taihu Tunnel, part of the Changzhou-
                                                                                    Wuxi Highway, in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, on September 5. The
                                                                                    10.8-km-long, 43.6-meter-wide tunnel is China’s longest underwater
                                                                                    highway tunnel and runs under Taihu Lake, the country’s third
                                                                                    largest freshwater lake.

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GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK ECONOMY
Business Facilitation                     day in China. “Revitalizing
                                          market entities is crucial for
                                                                               to manage it. The State Grid
                                                                               and the China Southern Power
                                                                                                                      industrial and supply chains,
                                                                                                                      construction of industrial clusters
The implementation of the                 anchoring market expectations        Grid will establish power ex-          in manufacturing, agriculture,
Regulation on Improving the               and maintaining steady eco-          change centers in Beijing and          medicine and health, and explo-
Business Environment will be ad-          nomic performance,” Premier Li       Guangzhou to facilitate the            ration in emerging sectors such
vanced, and a market-oriented,            Keqiang said at the meeting.         project.                               as clean energy, digital economy
world-class business environ-
                                                                                                                      and 5G.
ment governed by a sound
legal framework will be nurtured          Pilot Scheme                         Trade Growth                                The Second China-Africa
                                          A pilot trading scheme will be       Trade between China and Africa         Economic and Trade Expo will
across the nation, according to a
                                          rolled out to encourage the          rose 40.5 percent year on year         take place in Changsha, Hunan
State Council Executive Meeting
                                          consumption of green energy          to $139.1 billion in the first seven   Province, from September 26
on September 8.
                                          and accelerate China’s low-          months of the year, Vice Minister      to 29. In addition to offline
    As part of the efforts, pilot
                                          carbon transition, the National      of Commerce Qian Keming said           activities, a cloud platform will
programs on improving the
                                          Development and Reform               on September 3.                        be established to host online
business environment will be
                                          Commission said on                        China’s imports climbed 46.3      conferences, exhibitions and
launched in Beijing, Shanghai,
                                          September 7.                         percent year on year to $59.3          transactions. A report on China-
Chongqing, Hangzhou in
                                              According to the commis-         billion, with imports of rubber,       Africa economic and trade
Zhejiang Province, Guangzhou
                                          sion, the scheme will allow users    cotton, coffee and other agricul-      relations is expected to be
and Shenzhen in Guangdong
                                          with demand to trade directly        tural products doubling from the       released at the expo.
Province, which are home to a
relatively large number of mar-           with enterprises generating wind     same period last year.
ket entities. The goal is to better       and solar power, with other               “China’s direct investment in     Cooperation Plans
meet the needs of market entities         renewable energy generation          Africa reached $2.07 billion in        On September 6, central
and the public and to align local         enterprises to be included in the    the seven months, outperform-          authorities issued a new plan
reforms with advanced interna-            future.                              ing the pre-pandemic level in the      for the further development
tional standards.                             The commission did not           same period of 2019,” Qian said.       of a zone created in 2010 for
    During the first half of this         specify a timeline for the                He also noted that Chinese        service industry cooperation
year, 77,000 market entities              scheme, but said it will work with   and African enterprises have           between Shenzhen and the
were added on an average                  the State Energy Administration      boosted cooperation on                 neighboring Hong Kong Special

NUMBERS
($1=6.5 yuan)
Foreign Trade in January-August
(All growth rates are y.o.y.)
Total                                                                                    Exports
                                            Up 23.7%
                                                                                                                Up 23.2%
                24.78 tln yuan

Imports         Up 24.4%
                                                                                         Exports of labor-intensive products
                                                                                         2.46 tln yuan
Imports of energy products                                                                                               Up 10%
                                                              Down 5.7%
    Crude oil                      346 mln tons

                                                        Down 10.3%                       Trade surplus
        Coal        198 mln tons                                                                                 Up 17.8%
                                                                                         2.34 tln yuan
Natural gas            79.31 mln tons                            Up 22.2%

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                   SEPTEMBER
                          19, 2021
                               16, 2021                                                                                             http://www.bjreview.com
GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK
Administrative Region.                     Administrative Region.               consumption, according to the            fund manager to obtain a
     The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong                 Covering approximately 106       bureau.                                  license for conducting Qualified
Kong Modern Service Industry               square km, the zone will serve as         Over 3,000 first, innova-           Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP)
Cooperation Zone is home to                a new platform to boost Macao’s      tion and flagship stores of              business in Chongqing.
11,500 Hong Kong-invested                  economic diversification and         brands from both China and                    The newly qualified firm has
companies, with a registered               a new space providing conve-         abroad are expected to open              been granted a QDLP quota to-
capital of 1.28 trillion yuan ($198        nience and enjoyment to Macao        by 2025. The capital will also           taling $200 million, according to
billion). The plan will see its area       residents. The plan also defines     build approximately 10 cluster           the Administrative Bureau of the
expand from 14.92 square km to             the zone as a new model to en-       areas featuring domestic time-           China-Singapore (Chongqing)
120.56 square km.                          rich the practice of “one country,   honored brands and fostering             Demonstration Initiative on
     Qianhai will play an                  two systems,” as well as a new       the development of more than             Strategic Connectivity.
exemplary and leading role                 high ground for the building of      100 new brands.                               The QDLP outbound invest-
in the development of the                  the GBA.                                  “Through five years of effort,      ment scheme aims to offer
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao                                                       Beijing will become an interna-          channels for qualified domestic
Greater Bay Area (GBA), the
plan said. By 2035, it will have
                                           Consumption City                     tional consumption center with           institutions to invest overseas. At
                                                                                                                         the end of 2020, China launched
                                           On September 5, the Beijing          global influence, competitive-
a world-class business environ-                                                 ness and reputation,” Yan Ligang,        the pilot QDLP program in
ment and become an engine                  Municipal Commerce Bureau                                                     Chongqing, with an assigned
                                           unveiled a plan to turn the city     head of the Beijing Municipal
for high-quality development                                                    Commerce Bureau, said.                   quota of $5 billion.
with a strong capability in global         into an international center of                                                    Prior to its launch in
                                           consumption by opening thou-              In July, Shanghai, Beijing,
resource allocation.                                                                                                     Chongqing, the pilot scheme
                                           sands of new stores over the next    Guangzhou, Tianjin and
     On September 5, a plan                                                                                              was also launched in Beijing,
                                           five years.                          Chongqing were designated to
for establishing a Guangdong-                                                                                            Shanghai and Shenzhen to pro-
                                                Specific projects under the     take the lead in building interna-
Macao in-depth cooperation                                                                                               mote the two-way opening up of
                                           plan include new consumption         tional consumption center cities.
zone in Hengqin was also                                                                                                 financial markets.
unveiled. Hengqin is located               landmarks, new brands, digital                                                     ICHAM Pte. Ltd. will establish
in the southern part of Zhuhai             consumption and the devel-           QDLP License                             a private equity fund manage-
in Guangdong, just across                  opment of cultural, tourism,         Singaporean company, ICHAM               ment firm and raise funds in
the water from Macao Special               sports, education and medical        Pte. Ltd., has become the first          China to invest in global projects.

Foreign trade by                                                                                         Top three trading partners
Private enterprises                                                                                      Association
                                                                                                         Of Southeast
                                                Up 29.9%                                                 Asian Nations                             Up 22.8%
      11.92
    tln yuan
% of China’s foreign trade in the period
                                                                                                         European                                 Up 22.1%
48.1%
                                                                                                         Union
                                                     100%
State-owned enterprises
 3.81 tln yuan                                                                                           United                                     Up 25.8%
                                           Up 25.2%                                                      States

% of China’s foreign trade in the period                                                                 Trade with countries along the Belt and Road
15.4%                                                                                                        7.29                                   Up 24.6%
                                                     100%                                                  tln yuan
                                                                                                                      (Source: General Administration of Customs)

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                                                                                                                         AUGUST 19,
                                                                                                                                16, 2021 BEIJING REVIEW        7
GOT TUTORING? Double reduction policy changes the after-school landscape - Beijing Review
THIS WEEK WORLD
XINHUA

                                                                                       XINHUA
                                                              
                      

              UNITED NATIONS                                 SPAIN
    The multinational peacekeeping exercise,             A teacher checks the
    Shared Destiny-2021, begins at a military     temperature of students in Madrid
     training base in Henan Province, central     on September 8. Around 8 million
   China, on September 6. The 10-day-long drill    children in Spain started the new
  focused on the joint operations conducted by            school year that day
       peacekeepers from different nations
                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                              GERMANY
                                                                                                    Visitors take photos of the illuminated
                                                                                                Brandenburg Gate during the Festival of Lights
                                                                                                 in Berlin on September 3. The festival lasted
                                                                                                               until September 12
XINHUA

8        BEIJING REVIEW SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                                                                         http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK

                                       
                               AFGHANISTAN
                    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announces
                          the formation of Afghanistan’s caretaker
                     government during a press conference in Kabul
                         on September 7. The spokesman said the
                   remaining posts would be announced at a later date

                                                                        XINHUA
                                                                                 XINHUA

                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                               FRANCE
                                                                                                    A little boy is intrigued by plants at
                                                                                                     the Seventh World Conservation
                                                                                                   Congress in Marseille on September 4.
                                                                                                   Themed One Nature, One Future, the
                                                                                                            nine-day event ended
                                                                                                              on September 11

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                               MEXICO
                                                                                                        Evacuated residents are seen
                                                                                                        on the streets of Mexico City
                                                                                                     on September 7. A 7.1-magnitude
                                                                                                    earthquake shook the southern city
                                                                                                     of Acapulco that day, with tremors
                                                                                                       felt all the way in the capital of
                                                                                                           Mexico City as buildings
                                                                                          XINHUA

                                                                                                              rocked and swayed
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THIS WEEK PEOPLE & POINTS
 NEW PRESIDENT OF JD.COM
 Xu Lei, previously CEO of JD Retail, will take up the role of president of JD.com as
 the company’s founder Richard Liu will stay on as chairman and CEO, but is step-
 ping back from day-to-day operations.
     Xu joined the company in 2009. In the past three years, while acting as retail head
 of the company, Xu has led JD.com’s retail business to achieve high-quality growth.
                     In the second quarter of 2021, JD Retail accounted for 90 percent
                       of JD.com’s net revenue of 253.8 billion yuan ($39.3 billion),
                       according to company statistics.
                           In his new role, Xu is expected to take over the company’s
                       day-to-day workings and lead the collaborative development of
                       the various business units of JD.com. These changes will allow
                       Liu to switch his focus to formulating the Chinese e-commerce
                       giant’s long-term strategy.

                                                      Generally, students from schools
Student Loan Aid                                  included in the Double First Class
                                                  Universities initiative, which will partici-
Guangming Daily
                                                  pate in the country’s construction plan             A Positive Change
September 6                                       of world-class universities and first-class         Lifeweek
A State Council executive meeting on              disciplines, can obtain more access to
September 1 decided to improve loan aid for       the aid. Others, especially those private
                                                                                                      August 30
students from families in financial difficulty.   ones charging higher tuition fees, will             After capital enters the film and TV series
    Since the onset of this fall semester, the    receive less financial allocation from the          industry, the amount of Internet traffic gen-
government has raised the annual maximum          government. The policy ensures that stu-            erated becomes the index to evaluate any
amount to 12,000 yuan ($1,857) for an             dents from poorer families will get more            work. To up viewer numbers, investors, in-
undergraduate and a junior college student        support, which pushing forward more                 cluding video platforms, always ask for the
from 8,000 yuan ($1,238). That of a post-         equality in the field of higher education.          participation of stars with huge fan bases.
graduate increases to 16,000 yuan ($2,476)            In addition, the meeting also asked                 Sun Wenji, a senior producer, started to
from a previous 12,000 yuan. The loan in-         schools to increase efforts to provide more         work in the online drama market in 2017.
terests accumulated during their studies will     part-time jobs for students, thus creating more     During talks with various video-sharing
be subsidized by national finance.                channels to relieve their financial burden.         platforms, she found the overall market

     “China and the U.S. cannot strengthen                                          “When it comes to an issue of global
       green and low-carbon cooperation                                               health, the first priority has to be
       without sound and stable bilateral                                            science and facts... However, given
     economic and trade ties... Unilateralism                                      the opaque nature of the evaluations
       and trade protectionism harm the                                           used in the decision-making of the U.S.
     interests of both sides and undermine                                        intelligence community, the amount of
           global economic recovery.”                                                  consideration given to science
      Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce, at a seminar                                    is questionable.”
       during the 21st China International Fair for Investment                         Mohamed Waheed Hassan, former President of
                     and Trade, on September 8                                        the Maldives, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency
                                                                                                           on September 3

10   BEIJING REVIEW SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                                                                      http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK
                                                                                                    on-year increase of more than 180 percent.
philosophy to be that including certain “top-      Domestic Sports Brand                            Chinese consumers are more supportive of
tier traffic Internet stars” in the cast will                                                       their local brands, compared to global ones,
                                                   Economic Daily                                   a recent report released by Adidas read.
guarantee a hit show. So Sun and her team
have to attract those influencers by offering      September 5                                          Along with an enhanced fitness con-
them a wide range of good conditions, mean-        The curtain has closed on the Olympic            sciousness, many Chinese today have
ing more investment, higher profits and nicer      Summer Games Tokyo 2020, but domestic            cultivated exercising habits and are more
interaction data. “This way, platforms, the        sports brands are still riding the wave of the   willing to spend money on their new
market and the audience jointly push up the        Olympic season to usher in a surge in sales.     healthy hobbies.
pay of stars with huge fan bases,” she said.       According to the e-commerce section of               With improved quality, domestic
    Nevertheless, a slew of recent scandals        TikTok, sales of sporting goods rose over        brands provide increasingly cost-effective
forced them to rethink the issue. For in-          360 percent year on year during the season,      products to the market, establishing their
stance, Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu was          and domestic brands will continue to per-        influence among consumers. At the same
accused of rape and consequently arrested.         form well.                                       time, Chinese shoppers have formed a
As a result, one drama starring him, with an           For instance, Li-Ning achieved a net         more mature attitude toward consumption,
investment of 300 million yuan ($46.4 mil-         profit of over 1.9 billion yuan ($294 mil-       especially the younger generations who no
lion), cannot be released.                         lion) in the first six months of 2021, a year-   longer blindly pursue foreign brands.
    “The market finally saw that using those
stars comes with uncertainties,” Chen Ziyang,
an investor in the film and television industry,
said. His team has not dabbled in the realm of      ARMLESS SWIMMER BAGS FOUR GOLD MEDALS
online drama—dominated by stars with huge
                                                    Chinese para-swimmer Zheng Tao won four gold medals and broke his own
followings on social media.
                                                    50-meter backstroke S5 world record by recording a time of 30.31 seconds at the
    Sun said they are increasingly detailing
                                                    Paralympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020.
the terms of contract with celebrities, such
                                                       Zheng, born in 1990, lost both his arms after getting electrocuted when he
as including how the companies will (or will
                                                                      was a child. He took up swimming at the age of 13 and made
not) be compensated during the production
                                                                      his debut at the World Championships in the Netherlands six
period if things go awry due to stars’ moral
                                                                      years later. Zheng has put a total of nine Paralympic medals to
misbehavior.
                                                                      his name thus far, six of which are gold. His final medal also
    “When the market stops focusing on
                                                                      marked China’s 500th summer Paralympic gold since first par-
Internet traffic and imposes stricter require-
                                                                      ticipating in the games in New York City back in 1984.
ments on celebrities, we have more money
                                                                          His story has gone viral on the Internet, and social media users
and energy to create works of high quality,”
                                                                      are impressed by his body strength, calling him a true inspiration.
she concluded.

    “BRICS countries need to develop                                           “Following the signing of the RCEP
    their roles as regional leaders, aid                                       pact, China needs to identify new
     neighboring nations and boost                                            zero-tariff items and service trade
      cooperation with regions like                                          opening-up sectors of ASEAN, explore
           Europe to inject BRICS                                            ASEAN’s diversified market and make
    momentum into global economic                                            good use of the RCEP cumulative rules
              development.”                                                                 of origin.”
    Jin Xin, Secretary General of the China Council for                           Wang Qin, a professor with Xiamen University,
   the BRICS Think Tank Cooperation, at the 2021 BRICS                         commenting on China-ASEAN cooperation in an article
    Forum on Partnership on New Industrial Revolution                               published on China Daily, on September 8
                     on September 7

  http://www.bjreview.com                                                                                  SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 BEIJING REVIEW   11
A
A primary school workout in Haian, Jiangsu Province, on September 3
                                                                                       s the new semes-
                                                                                       ter started on
                                         COVER STORY                                   September 1, Liu
                                                                                       Jing, mother of

     RESHAPING
                                                                                       a primary school
                                                                      pupil in Beijing, heaved a sigh of
                                                                      relief since her kid can now arrive
                                                                      at school at 8:20 a.m. on a week-

     EDUCATION
                                                                      day, about half an hour later than
                                                                      before.
                                                                          “Although it’s only half an hour
                                                                      later, it allows us to have breakfast
                                                                      and get ready for school in a more
                                                                      leisurely manner,” Liu told Beijing
 New policy relieves student burden and changes the                   Review.
                                                                          The change comes courtesy of a
    landscape of the tutoring industry By Ji Jing                     new guideline issued by the central
12   BEIJING REVIEW SEPTEMBER 16, 2021                                                  http://www.bjreview.com
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