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PR Newswire

Fraud Costs Increased More Than 10% over Pre-Pandemic Levels for APAC Businesses, According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions Study

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Each Fraudulent Transaction Costs Nearly U.S. $4 for Every $1 Lost to Fraud

SINGAPORE, July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — LexisNexis® Risk Solutions released the latest Asia-Pacific edition of the LexisNexis® True Cost of Fraud™ Study, which surveyed 387 risk and fraud executives in Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The study analyzed fraud trends in retail, ecommerce, financial services and lending industries and spotlights key pain points related to new digital payment methods and transaction channels.

The study found the cost of fraud rose 10% – 16% across APAC from 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The LexisNexis Fraud Multiplier™ determined that for every U.S. $1 lost to fraud costs the organization an average of $3.99, compared to $3.50 in 2019. The cost of fraud per transaction was higher than average, costing digital banks and alternative lenders $6.33. Other new payment channels, such as buy now pay later (BNPL) and digital wallets, cost businesses $4.75 for every dollar lost to fraud.

Fraudsters evolved tactics in parallel with the changes in consumer behavior brought on by the pandemic. A recent Cybercrime Report showed consumers made a significant shift to mobile transactions, which now accounts for 75% of all transaction traffic globally. While in-person transactions remain the most popular point-of-sale channel, fraud occurs more in online channels than mobile channels. Within the mobile channel, 34% of fraud occurs through mobile web browsers.  

Key findings from the True Cost of Fraud Study – APAC edition:

  • Fraudsters Target Alternative Finance Providers – Competition in the BNPL market is accelerating globally, led by local, homegrown players across markets, according to the study. BNPL providers recorded a 65% jump in new account creations, which aligns with the strong growth in remote online and mobile transactions. However, BNPL providers also account for more than one-tenth of payment losses, which is disproportionately higher than the average volume of transactions through other payment channels.
  • Identity Verification Challenges – The top contributor to fraud losses for businesses remains the inability to identify synthetic identities and verifying and authenticating identities using attributes such as phone numbers, email addresses, behavioral analysis and devices. Ecommerce merchants in particular find identity verification challenging since it requires finding a balance between providing a seamless customer experience and implementing step-up authentication and security measures.
  • Adoption of a Fraud Management Framework – Almost all digital banks and alternative finance providers including BNPL and digital wallets have not yet fully integrated cybersecurity and operations into fraud prevention processes. Findings also show that organizations are not widely using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models for fraud detection, weakening mitigation efforts. Percentage of organizations using various capabilities to fight fraud:
    • Rules-based Approaches – 52%
    • Crowdsourcing – 36%
    • Social Media Intelligence – 33%
    • Cybersecurity Alerts – 25%
    • AI/ML Models – 21%

“Organizations are fighting a tough battle against fraudsters in the new normal,” said Thanh Tai, director of fraud and identity strategy, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Fraud is sophisticated and evolving exceedingly fast. We are seeing a high volume of fraud attempts following a continued shift towards digital channels spurred by the pandemic. This means businesses must integrate a fraud detection and prevention approach with both physical and digital identity attributes to enhance customer experience, stay competitive and avoid losses.”

Methodology
The True Cost of Fraud APAC study surveyed 387 risk and fraud executives in retail, ecommerce and financial services/lending across Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Data collection occurred during February/March 2022 and survey questions reference the past 12 months.

Download a copy of the True Cost of Fraud Study – APAC Edition or register to attend the LexisNexis Risk Solutions True Cost of Fraud APAC webinar on Tuesday, 19 July, 11am SGT to learn more.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions 
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.

Media Contact:
Joyce LEE
+852 9883 9321
joyce@montiethsprg.com.hk

PR Newswire

Lighting Controls Industry Expands as Awareness of Energy Solutions Grows

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The need to replace conventional lighting systems promotes global lighting controls
market growth, says Frost & Sullivan

SAN ANTONIO, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The demand for energy-efficient lighting, alongside regulatory compliance and building codes are key drivers propelling the lighting controls market, finds Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Growth Opportunities in Global Lighting Controls Industry. Growing consumer awareness of sustainable solutions and the need to replace conventional lighting systems will further boost the industry’s growth. The global lighting controls market is expected to reach $11.82 billion by 2028 from $7.13 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%.

Lighting Controls Industry Grows.
Lighting Controls Industry Grows.

For further information on this analysis, please click here.  

“Lighting controls have transitioned beyond energy-saving devices to connected and intelligent devices that store and use data to enhance living conditions,” said Dennis Marcell Victor, Energy & Environment Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “As light points generate valuable amounts of data, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) can provide lighting controls service providers analytical insights about users to create additional revenue.”

Victor added: “The construction industry’s post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery will encourage stakeholders to prioritize enhancing commercial and residential buildings for additional comfort. This will lead them to install platform solutions that can control, analyze, and integrate all systems in a building, including lighting.”

Growing consumer awareness toward energy efficiency and sustainable solutions presents the following growth opportunities for lighting controls service providers:

  • The utility sector should implement energy management strategies in the industrial segment, as demand response programs are still underutilized in the lighting industry, followed by other commercial buildings.
  • Lighting controls manufacturers should meet codes compliance and obtain certifications to distinguish their products in the market.
  • Companies can offer comprehensive facility support and analytical solutions with data collected from light points as a value-added service of lighting systems.

Global Lighting Controls Growth Opportunities is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan’s Energy & Environment research and analysis available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

About Frost & Sullivan
For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Nicole Ryder
Corporate Communications
E: Nicole.Ryder@frost.com
https://www.frost.com/

Global Lighting Controls Growth Opportunities 
PCB1

PR Newswire

China Matters explores the promise of smart cities in Guiyang

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BEIJING, April 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Why smart cities? From all perspectives, it ticks all the boxes: innovation, technology and new economy. On a day-to-day basis, it makes our urban environments more liveable, it saves energy, keeps traffic flowing and keeps us safe. 

In 2020, China was estimated to have some 800 smart cities under construction or in planning – that’s about half of the world’s total. And that number is continually rising.

And key to powering these smart cities is technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence and big data. Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou province, has been a hotbed for experimenting with digital transformation in the country’s push towards building smart cities, thus a smart society.  Smart cities are an integral part of China’s continued push for urbanization to drive the country’s economic development now and in the years to come.  

More than 5,000 big data companies take residence in Guiyang including Alibaba, Baidu, Apple and Google, to name a few. That’s because, for years, Guizhou has been home to the country’s first national big data experimental zone. And now it has opened the floodgates for a shift from a smart-city concept to a smart-city reality.

China Matters’ Josh Arslan goes to Guiyang to see what ordinary folks can get out of living in a smart city? What benefits it brings? He also meets up with people behind the innovations that power a smart city from facial recognition to a car parking app vital in congested cities to autonomous vehicles, redefining the way we live, work and play.

Contact: Li Siwei
Tel:008610-68996566
E-mail：lisiwei5125@gmail.com
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/JP7_ylRLRME  

PR Newswire

Artmarket.com: Pak allows thousands of collectors to buy part of a work whose total price reaches $91.8 million

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PARIS, Dec. 11, 2021 — The idea of buying an artwork collectively goes back a long way and has been entertained in various schemes and formats. But the problem of how to resell your ‘shares’ was always a complicated obstacle.

However, according to Artprice, this problem has finally found a solution with NFTs. Anonymous artist Pak put "mass units" up for sale on Nifty Gateway for 48 hours. The final work, titled The Merge, is made up of 266,445 "units" that can be sold separately and instantly on the blockchain. 

Invader - Rubik Mona Lisa (2005), sold for $520,000 by Artcurial on February 23, 2020
Invader – Rubik Mona Lisa (2005), sold for $520,000 by Artcurial on February 23, 2020

thierry Ehrmann, CEO and Founder of Artmarket.com and its Artprice department: "

Blockchain and NFTs have at last made it possible to design properly effective forms of securitization on the art market. Non-fungible tokens open up endless possibilities for the acquisition of shares in a work, as Pak has demonstrated with this extraordinary sale. This represents a veritable paradigm shift for the art market".

28,000 collectors

From now on, the unknown factor is no longer the sale price (fixed in advance) but rather the number of units purchased. Moreover, Pak and Nifty Gateway developed a whole strategy to boost demand during the 48 hours that the sale lasted:

  • initial price of $299 for loyal collectors of Pak and $400 for new entrants
  • increasing price by $25 every six hours
  • for 10 units purchased an eleventh is free; for 1,000 units purchased 300 more are free
  • a continuous real-time ranking of the best buyers (under pseudonyms)
  • the work Alpha Mass offered to the largest buyer

In total, 266,445 "mass units" were purchased for $91.8 million by 29,000 different buyers. This makes an average price of $316 per unit and an average of 9 units acquired per buyer. According to Artprice by Artmarket, the result is a genuine ‘community’ that the artist has brought together to create a gigantic and dematerialized work, in which everyone is free to resell their shares at any time.

Typically, works of art are auctioned off as one-offs rather than as a series. Jeff Koons’ Rabbit sculpture (1986) made Koons the most expensive living artist in 2019 when it sold for $91.12 million.

One or more works?

In April 2021, Pak organized a sale with Sotheby’s called The Fungible Collection. For three days, for only 15 minutes each day, anyone could acquire "cubes" at a fixed price:

  • 1st day: 19,737 cubes sold at $500 = $9,868,500
  • 2nd day: 3,268 cubes sold at $1,000 = $3,268,000
  • 3rd day: 593 cubes sold at $1,500 = $718,500

While the cubes in each buyer’s wallet were linked, the 23,598 cubes did not make a total work per se: each purchaser acquired his own set of cubes with an average purchase price of $587. Similarly, Beeple’s The first 5,000 days (sold at Christie’s in March 2021 for $ 69.4 million), is theoretically made up of 5,000 full works, the average price of which is therefore around $14,000.

By way of comparison, the sale of the Macklowe Collection on 15 November 2021 at Sotheby’s New York raised $676 million from 35 works; that’s an average value of $19.3 million per lot. The comparison doesn’t make a lot of sense except from the point of view of the homogeneity of the works and their securitization. Imagine you’d been given the opportunity of acquiring a share in Mark Rothko’s No. 7 (which entered the Macklowe Collection in 1987) for $500. After its sale for $82.5 million, you would own a 165,000th part of the painting.

However, Pak’s approach is the opposite since the work, The Merge, did not yet exist at the time of the sale. No-one knew what it was going to look like. By buying a part of this unknown work, each collector contributes to it. Encouraged by a low starting price but also encouraged to acquire the largest number of units in order to receive a reward, The Merge is a game that brings together technology buffs, cryptocurrency and NFT devotees and art enthusiasts increasingly fascinated by this universe. 

Artists have now moved into the primary position around which the art market revolves.

According to Artmarket.com, NFTs represent a genuine grassroots movement that has created its own ecosystem, with a virtuous economy and exponential growth potential.

Indeed, the turnover generated by NFTs so far this year (to 9 December 2021) – as measured by ERC 721 and ERC 1155 Ethereum smart contracts relating to the art market and collections – is 26.9 billion dollars (source Chainalysis).

Copyright 1987-2021 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com – www.artmarket.com

About Artmarket:

Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 – Bloomberg: PRC – Reuters: ARTF.

Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video: www.artprice.com/video

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur, created in 1987.

See certified biography in Who’s who ©:
Biographie_thierry_Ehrmann_2022_WhosWhoInFrance.pdf

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures, its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than 770,000 artists.

Artprice by Artmarket, the world leader in information on the art market, has set itself the ambition through its Global Standardized Marketplace to be the world’s leading Fine Art NFT platform.

Artprice Images® allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by our art historians.

Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 5.4 million (‘members log in’+social media) users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace® to buy and sell artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article L 321.3 of France’s Commercial Code).

Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label "Innovative Company" by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art.

Artprice’s 2020/21 Contemporary Art Market Report by Artmarket.com:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2021

Artprice by Artmarket’s 2020 Global Art Market Report published in March 2021:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2020

Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department:
serveur.serveur.com/Press_Release/pressreleaseEN.htm

Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice department on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (over 5,4 million followers)
twitter.com/artmarketdotcom
twitter.com/artpricedotcom

Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department https://www.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary Art Museum "The Abode of Chaos" (dixit The New York Times): https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013

L’Obs – The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o

www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999 
(4.4 million followers)

https://vimeo.com/124643720

Contact Artmarket.com and its Artprice department – Contact: ir@artmarket.com

PR Newswire

Jacobi Asset Management Receives Approval to Launch the World’s First Tier One Bitcoin ETF

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–  Custody provided by Fidelity Digital Assets 

–  Authorised by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC)

–  Administrators: Sigma Asset Management (Guernsey) Limited

–  Fund Architecture/Consultancy: Midshore Consulting Limited

LONDON, Oct. 16, 2021 — Jacobi Asset Management  has received approval to launch the world’s first tier one Bitcoin ETF. The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF is a centrally cleared crypto-backed financial instrument, authorised by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and with custody provided by Fidelity Digital AssetsSM. It is Jacobi’s intention to list the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF on Cboe Europe, one of the largest pan-European equity exchanges, subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) listing approval.

Launched in May 2021 to shape the future of digital asset management, Jacobi brings together decades of expertise from Banking, Regulation, and Fintech to shape the future of digital asset management by designing, issuing and managing institutional crypto products and funds connected to digital assets.

Jacobi is spearheaded by CEO Jamie Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and pioneer of regulatory transparency in financial markets. Jamie was named by Financial News as one of the top 40 under 40 in European trading and technology and ranked in the ‘Exchange invest’ Top 1000 most influential people in global financial markets. He has appointed a team with extensive financial services, regulatory and crypto asset expertise.

CEO Jamie Khurshid said: "We are excited to be launching a new secure, transparent and accessible product to track the performance of Bitcoin. We are de-risking investments in crypto by removing the technology risk associated with the physical asset and the counterparty risk associated with traditional funds or tracker products that are unregulated leveraged debt instruments. We are proud to collaborate with Europe’s leading regulated firms for a truly tier 1 offering to service market demand, subject to the necessary regulated approval. This is an exciting moment for Europe as regulatory approval comes ahead of those waiting for a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

"The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF will finally bring digital assets wholly into the mainstream investment infrastructure with the support of the leading firms we are working with. It will provide investors with the opportunity to participate directly in physically-settled Bitcoin. This new ETF provides simple, secure, accessible investing into one of the world’s most exciting asset classes via some of the world’s leading regulated entities," commented Roy McGregor, Chairman of Jacobi Asset Management and former CEO of Credit Suisse Channel Islands.

Jacobi Bitcoin ETF investors will benefit from the security of Fidelity Digital Assets’ enterprise-grade custody and execution services, designed to enable institutional investors to safely secure, trade and support investments in digital assets. Chris Tyrer, Head of Fidelity Digital AssetsSM in Europe, commented: "Greater diversity of investor interest has created significant demand for additional vehicles for exposure to help provide broader access to digital asset markets. While safekeeping of assets is a top priority for investors and asset managers in all asset classes, the highly technical nature of digital assets places even more emphasis on this and underscores the need for institutional-grade custody solutions like ours."

The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF was developed to meet regulatory standards by Christopher Jehan, Head of Fund Architecture and former Chair of the Guernsey Investment & Funds Association (GIFA). Christopher led the team at Midshore Consulting in designing the Fund with legal work performed by Collas Crill led by Partner Wayne Atkinson and Senior Associate Gareth Morgan.

Prior to FCA listing approval, Jacobi Bitcoin ETF investments will be facilitated through Sigma Asset Management (Guernsey) Limited ("Sigma"), the fund manager providing management and administration. Fund consultancy support will continue through Midshore Consulting.

For further information visit Jacobiam.com

For enquiries about Jacobi Asset Management, please contact:

Geneva Loader
Jacobi Asset Management
Tel: +44 (0)3330 165 232
Email: Geneva@jacobiam.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Vanessa Green
The Realization Group
Tel: +44 (0) 771 333 2303
Email: vanessa.green@therealizationgroup.com

PR Newswire

CGTN: From a barren land to the world’s largest man-made forest, Saihanba and China’s ecological efforts

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BEIJING, Aug. 26, 2021 — Decades ago, no one would imagine that Saihanba – the once barren land located in north China’s Hebei Province – would turn into the world’s largest man-made forest. 

 

China did it. 

Saihanba now sees a forest coverage of 80 percent, which can conserve and purify 137 million cubic meters of water every year, an achievement hailed "great" by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"It is a model in the world’s ecological civilization history," he said during his recent two-day tour in Hebei.

During his trip, Xi learned about the management and protection of the forest farm, as well as Hebei’s coordinated efforts in conserving its mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands, and desertification control. 

The president stressed the importance of developing the green economy and furthering ecological progress, urging to carry on "Saihanba spirit"—a term attributed to generations of workers on the farm who have kept their mission in mind, worked hard and pursued green development. 

Xi urged the workers at the Saihanba forest farm to gain a deeper understanding of ecological conservation and continue their hard work for new achievements.  

Xi encourages elderlies to stay active in job market

Facing a rapidly aging labor force in a continuously expanding economy, Xi encouraged more elderly folks to "stay active" in the job market when inspecting the Binhe community service center.

Xi suggested those "younger seniors" to participate in duties like community volunteering jobs.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, there are currently 264 million people aged 60 and over, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total population. The trend – many say – could potentially pose threats to the world’s second-largest economy.

The country has put it explicitly in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) that it will raise the statutory retirement age "in a gradual, flexible and differentiated manner" to adapt to that "new normal."

During his visit, Xi also stressed the need to achieve this year’s major goals for the country’s economic and social development. 

He underlined the need to achieve a balance between COVID-19 prevention and control and economic and social development, and between development and security, to promote high-quality development, and to strive to fulfill major social and economic targets and tasks for this year to ensure a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

A new development philosophy in an all-round, faithful manner is need to put into practice, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said.

Xi calls for preservation and development of cultural heritage

In the renowned Chengde Mountain Resort – a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site—Xi learned about its history as well as the preservation efforts there.

The resort serves important historic meanings to communication between different ethnic minority groups, adaption of religion and the society, preservation and development of cultural heritage, as well as the peaceful coexistence between human and nature, Xi pointed out.

He also highlighted cultural confidence and the unity between multi-ethnic groups.

The Chinese president then visited Puning Temple, a famous Buddhist temple near the resort, and the Chengde Museum.

Xi: From ‘rural revitalization’ to ‘industry revitalization’

China has always viewed rural vitalization as one of the keys to developing a modern economy, and President Xi took that a step further. He stressed the importance of "industry revitalization."

Daguikou village—where Xi visited—now grows strawberries, grapes and cherries. Yet fruit was not their first choice.

The village had tried rice, corn and vegetables. But for all sorts of reasons like the lack of water, these products were underproduced. Therefore, villagers couldn’t make money off them. So they turned to growing fruits instead.

Now, growing strawberries has become the main business for the 1,700 residents, with each household making around $15,000 a year.

Xi called on villages to implement tailored methods and find out their distinctive resource in singling out their advantages, while also calling to strengthen rural infrastructure and public service system.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-08-25/Aging-in-China-Xi-encourages-seniors-to-stay-active-in-job-market-131aEaOXqU0/index.html

Related Links :

http://www.cgtn.com

PR Newswire

CGTN: China vows ‘lasting stability, high-quality development’ in Tibet Autonomous Region

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BEIJING, July 24, 2021 — China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, known as "the world’s last piece of pure land" and "the roof of the world," celebrates its 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation this year, and the plans for its future development are becoming clearer.

 

At last year’s high-level meeting on Tibet, China mapped out policy directions for building a new modern socialist region that is united, prosperous, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful.

Tibet’s long-lasting peace and stability, as well as developing an ecological civilization and achieving high-quality development, were among the issues highlighted during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day inspection tour of the region, which began on Wednesday, to mark the 70th anniversary of peaceful liberation.

The development of Tibet, an inseparable part of China, is a priority for the central government. Since taking the helm of the country in 2013, President Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has paid close attention to the development of the region. Arrangements have been made to promote social stability, border development, ecological protection and ethnic unity in Tibet, opening a new chapter of improved governance, stability and people’s well-being.

Adherence to building ecological civilization

On Wednesday, President Xi arrived at Nyingchi Mainling Airport and was warmly welcomed by local people and officials of various ethnic groups before visiting the Nyang River Bridge to inspect ecological preservation in the basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River and its tributary Nyang River.

Tibet maintained stable environmental quality in 2020, according to a report by the region’s ecology and environment department.

Speaking at a meeting wrapping up his inspection tour on Friday, Xi reiterated his belief that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" as he called for greater promotion of biodiversity conservation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

"We should unswervingly give priority to ecology and pursue green development, strive for modernization focusing harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and protect the third pole environment," he said.

By the end of 2020, Tibet had built 47 nature reserves spanning 412,200 square kilometers, accounting for over one-third of the region’s total.

Pursuing high-quality development

"High-quality" is another keyword in the plan for Tibet’s development. President Xi outlined critical elements of the process: ensuring national security and enduring peace and stability, steadily improving people’s lives, maintaining a good environment, solidifying border defense and ensuring frontier security.

The process of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way has begun and Tibet has now reached a new historical starting point in its development, the president said on Friday, stressing the importance of consolidating and expanding China’s achievements in poverty alleviation and guaranteeing a smooth transition into rural vitalization.

During his stay, Xi visited a local city planning hall, a village and a park in Nyingchi, to learn more about the city’s development planning, rural vitalization plans and park building.

As transportation is critical to the economic development, he also visited Nyingchi Railway Station to see the design of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and the operation of Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway section, and then took a train to the regional capital, Lhasa.

Officially put into operation last month, the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is Tibet’s first electrified railway.

Xi stressed the importance of blazing a path of high-quality development that suits Tibet’s actual conditions, and said the reform and opening-up process should be deepened, and the construction of railways, highways and other major infrastructure accelerated. He also urged the development of industries with local characteristics and a national base for clean energy.

Given that Tibet’s security and stability are closely related to the overall development of the whole nation, Xi also stressed that work related to Tibet must focus on safeguarding national unity and strengthening ethnic solidarity.

President Xi was briefed on work related to ethnic and religious affairs at the Drepung Monastery, Barkhor Street and the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, and he emphasized the importance of protecting freedom of religious belief, managing religious affairs in accordance with the law and guiding Tibetan Buddhism in adapting to the socialist society.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-07-23/Xi-Jinping-inspects-southwest-China-s-Tibet-127IZgyrmpi/index.html

Related Links :

http://www.cgtn.com

PR Newswire

Xinhua Silk Road: Broader opening-up underway in Shanghai FTZ’s Lin-gang Special Area

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BEIJING, July 22, 2021 — Lin-gang Special Area, a new zone added to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in August 2019, is forging ahead on all-around and high-level opening-up.

Photo shows the 12th Symposium on Chinese Scholars and Shanghai Development in the 21st Century held in Shanghai on July 15, 2021.
Photo shows the 12th Symposium on Chinese Scholars and Shanghai Development in the 21st Century held in Shanghai on July 15, 2021.

Since its establishment, the special area has focused on building up an investment and trade liberalization-centered rules system to boost opening-up.

In the future, where will the Lin-gang Special Area be heading for? Experts who attended the 12th Symposium on Chinese Scholars and Shanghai Development in the 21st Century held in Shanghai on Thursday generally believed that the special area shall continue to broaden opening-up and intensify stress testing to construct a more influential and competitive special economic zone. Jointly organized by Shanghai Chinese Overseas Friendship Association and Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association, the symposium is dedicated to depicting the future of Lin-gang Special Area.

In the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Lin-gang Special Area will take full advantage of its role as a testing field for reform and opening-up to better participate in global cooperation and competition, said Zhu Zhisong, member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and deputy managing director of Lin-gang Special Area Administration.

To better support the area, more talents and resources will be pooled from home and abroad, vowed Zheng Gangmiao, member of the Standing Committee and head of United Front Work Department of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee.

Alongside application of the first batch of innovative business modes and debut of innovative programs and businesses, the special area is linking up the domestic and foreign factor market with improved efficiency.

By far, Lin-gang Special Area has piloted a series of financial innovation measures such as facilitating cross-border RMB settlement for quality enterprises, cross-border transfer of domestic trade financing assets and one-off foreign debt registration, introduced Xie Dong, head of Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau.

It also valued developing hardcore technology-driven industries. Currently, an integrated circuit industry chain covering chip design, equipment and materials, manufacturing, the third generation of semiconductor, and packaging and testing has basically been in shape in the area.

Original Link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/322739.html

PR Newswire

China Matters reveals the effort of a Chinese village in preventing falling back into poverty

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BEIJING, July 2, 2021 — 2020 was undoubtedly the year of Covid-19 but in the same year, it is also the year of China’s eradication of absolute poverty in rural areas. And key to this has been China’s formula to focus on a collective effort where the urban and rural areas work together to achieve shared prosperity.

 

jwplayer.key=”3Fznr2BGJZtpwZmA+81lm048ks6+0NjLXyDdsO2YkfE=”
 

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But could rural areas fall back into poverty? Do people still need to be supported from here and onwards? And how do you prevent people from falling back into poverty? China’s answer is ‘rural revitalization’. China Matters reveals the effort of a Chinese village in preventing falling back into poverty.

A year on, in 2021, as part of this strategy, rural areas like Sanjianxi village in Shandong province’s capital of Jinan, are kicking on and not looking back. Sanjianxi is now looking to tap into its own resources to further develop. It is aiming to become self-reliant by developing its own local tourism sites, creating its own industrial business zone and putting together sustainable agriculture that’s greener.

But how do you bring all these aspects together to make it work? And how do these benefit the village? British host Josh Arslan from China Matters goes to find out. He speaks to one lady who is behind Sanjianxi’s transformation as well as the lives of many in the village. And more importantly, Josh asks if this is a ‘pilot project’ whereby if successful, which can be replicated across other rural areas in China? And whether it could go as long as in narrowing the country’s longstanding rural-urban gap to bring up the living standards of rural residents to the level of their urban counterparts?

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/Lh-Ikbaw0w8

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh-Ikbaw0w8  
Logo – https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/1515102/China_Matters_Logo.jpg?p=medium600

 

 

Contact: Li Siwei
Tel：008610-68996566
E-mail：lisiwei5125@gmail.com

 

PR Newswire

CGTN: Long-term planning key to China’s continuous growth

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BEIJING, June 17, 2021 — Speaking a few days ahead of the Earth Day summit on climate change in April, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that the U.S. had fallen behind China in developing the technology needed to curb climate change. 

CGTN:Long-term planning key to China's continuous growth
CGTN:Long-term planning key to China’s continuous growth

China’s global dominance in renewable energy is no accident. It is the result of the type of long-range planning that has become a well-known characteristic of the nation’s governance system. 

The bedrock of China’s economic planning has been its five-year plans that began in 1953 and were patterned initially after the centralized Soviet system. In the early years, the economic and production targets did not always go to plan, and officials made mistakes.

For instance, during the Great Leap Forward, an economic campaign in the late 1950s to transform China from an agrarian to an industrial economy, many targets were unmet because they were too ambitious. As a result, the campaign ended in disaster.

The country learned from that experience, devising attainable goals and consulting widely in subsequent years. It was not until the 1970s – and the unleashing of the groundbreaking "reform and opening-up" policies – that the world really sat up and took notice.

Since then, the CPC’s quinquennial strategic visionary planning has been widely credited with facilitating continuous economic expansion in China and underpinning its transformation into the world’s second largest economy. 

The heavy centralization of the past has been modified in favor of widespread buy-in for the national development goals. Hence, they have a greater chance of succeeding. Input is sought from government ministries, state enterprises, provincial administrations, scholars and think tanks, grass-root level CPC delegates, non-CPC political parties and the private sector.

The upshot is that China’s economy grew from over $76 billion (493 billion yuan) in 1981 to almost $16 trillion (100 trillion yuan) in 2020. The country’s per capita GDP was comparable to that of India’s in 1978 at about $200 (1,280 yuan). Today, it is five times larger than that of its neighbor at $10,000 (64,000 yuan).

China’s leaders often stress that the market should be allowed to play a decisive role in allocating resources, and the country can never go back to a dominant centrally planned economy.

Five-year plans combine the visible hand of the government and the invisible hand of the market to turn China into the world’s second largest economy.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-06-16/Long-term-planning-key-to-China-s-continuous-growth-116PwO0Zd1S/index.html

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http://www.cgtn.com