Weekly News Digest (November 16~November 22)

1. Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On November 18, 2021, Lithuania, despite China's solemn protests and repeated representations, allowed the Taiwan authorities to set up a "Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania". This move blatantly creates "one China, one Taiwan" in the international arena, betrays the political commitment made by the cube in the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, damages China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side expressed strong dissatisfaction and solemn protest against this, and decided to downgrade the diplomatic relations between the two countries to the charge d'affaires level.

2. Putin: Russia-China relations have reached the highest level in history

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently attended the enlarged meeting of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and said that bilateral relations between Russia and China have reached an all-time high. He emphasized that Russia and China will ignore Western provocations, continue to expand bilateral interactions, and actively coordinate their positions on the international stage.

3. UNCTAD: Global seaborne trade will shrink by 3.8% in 2020

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released a review report on maritime transport, focusing on the impact and recovery of global maritime trade due to the epidemic. The report pointed out that the decline in global seaborne traffic in 2020 was less than expected, laying the foundation for the transformation of global supply chains and new seaborne trade models. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted maritime transport, the consequences have not been as severe as initially predicted. Global seaborne trade contracted by 3.8% last year, but there are already signs of recovery, with global seaborne trade expected to grow by 4.3% in 2021. UNCTAD expects annual growth in seaborne trade to slow to 2.4% between 2022 and 2026, compared with an average annual growth rate of 2.9% over the past two decades.

4. Turkish lira hits record low against dollar

Since the beginning of this year, the Turkish lira has depreciated by more than 25%, which is the most depreciated currency among emerging economies. The lira has even lost 2/3 of its value in the past five years. Over the years, the devaluation of the lira can be described as "textbook style", depreciating more than 10% every year for eight consecutive years.

5. India plans to reduce import dependence on 102 key products

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India has recently formulated a special list, which lists a total of 102 products with the characteristics of a large number of imports, including coking coal and digital cameras, and the number is still growing. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India will work with various departments to discuss how to increase local production capacity, thereby reducing import expenditures.

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6. The EU approves the freeze-dried powder of migratory locusts to be put on the market as a new type of food

According to the Official Journal of the European Union, on November 12, 2021, the European Commission issued Regulation (EU) No. 2021/1975, according to Regulation (EC) No 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council, approving the freeze-dried powder of migratory locusts as a new type of food Placed on the market and amends the annex to the European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 dealing with the requirements for the use of novel foods. These Regulations shall take effect on the twentieth day from the date of promulgation.

7. Anti-epidemic demonstrations broke out in many parts of Europe

Anti-epidemic demonstrations broke out in many parts of Europe. Demonstrators confronted the police. The streets of France and the Netherlands were like "battlefields", and hundreds of people were arrested; more than 100,000 people in Australia demonstrated against the government's epidemic prevention measures, claiming to be "freedom".

8. EU agricultural policy in the period of green transition

The new EU agricultural policy may take effect from 1 January 2023. If in previous versions of the EU Common Agricultural Policy the focus was on the allocation of funds, the current discussion focuses on the implementation of environmental reforms in European agriculture under the Green Deal. This includes reducing pesticide use by 50%, reducing chemical fertilizer use by at least 20%, and converting a quarter of agricultural areas to organic production.

9. The global food price index rose to its highest level in a decade

According to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization recently, the global food price index rose by 3.9% month-on-month in October, increasing for three consecutive months and hitting a 10-year high. The reason is that the world's major economies continue to issue more currencies, causing commodity prices to soar, and then global inflation.

10. China added more than 8,000 cross-border e-commerce companies

A few days ago, the "2021 E-commerce Industry Data Report" released by the Qichacha Data Research Institute showed that in the first three quarters of 2021, there were 7,943 new cross-border e-commerce-related enterprises, with an average growth rate of 90.6% in the two years. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that new business models and new models

11. On November 19, the Big Data Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was officially established. "Big data" boosts the development of "big agriculture".

On November 19, the Big Data Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was officially established. In the new era and new stage, the focus of Sannong work has historically shifted to comprehensively promoting rural revitalization, which urgently needs the support and assistance of informatization and big data. The establishment of the Big Data Development Center is just in time. According to statistics, in the first nine months of this year, my country's agricultural and sideline food processing industry above designated size increased by 8.6% year-on-year; rural leisure tourism basically recovered to the level of the same period in 2019, and online retail sales of agricultural products maintained double-digit growth; 50 national modern Agricultural industrial parks, 50 advantageous and characteristic industrial clusters, and 298 strong agricultural industrial towns have promoted the integration of production towns and villages. These bright data reflect the important role of developing "big agriculture" in rural revitalization.