Green Development Leads the Way in Better Economic Recovery
China Today (English)|September 2020
IN terms of COVID-19’s impact on climate change, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that global carbon emissions will fall by around eight percent in 2020.
MANISH BAPNA
Green Development Leads the Way in Better Economic Recovery

This is largely caused by a reduction in industrial production and energy consumption, and changes in transportation. However, past experience shows us that emissions reductions caused by an economic slowdown are likely to be temporary and may rebound to exceed previous levels. After the global financial crisis of 2008, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production grew 5.9 percent in 2010, more than offsetting the 1.4 percent decrease in 2009 from the crisis. To truly advance a more sustainable development path, countries need to undergo significant and lasting structural transformation.

As governments look to create jobs and promote economic growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they need to make a choice in designing economic stimulus programs. They can choose more polluting, inefficient, high-carbon and unsustainable development, or they can accelerate the inevitable shift to low-carbon and increasingly affordable energy, and transport systems that will bring long-term economic and social benefits. Obviously the latter seems to be the wiser choice.

Governments and international financial institutions are mobilizing an unprecedented level of funding — already over US $10 trillion — to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. What happens during the next year or so will have a major impact on whether the world will be able to overcome the massive and urgent sustainability issues we face. We hope that governments will choose not to return to the same old way of doing business but will choose to “build back better.”

Important Lessons to Learn

These are still early days in terms of developing an understanding of the overall impact of the pandemic and the economic knock-on effect. Here are four lessons that the international community can draw from the outbreak:

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A City with Vision for the Future
China Today (English)

A City with Vision for the Future

LOCATED on the edge of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at one of the farthest points in China from the sea, stands a city that began to embrace its great economic takeoff just 10 years ago.

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5 mins  |
August 2021
Setting out on the Great Rejuvenation
China Today (English)

Setting out on the Great Rejuvenation

THE centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was marked by a grand gathering held on July 1 at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square.

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10+ mins  |
August 2021
A Similar History Has United Us
China Today (English)

A Similar History Has United Us

— Interview with Carlos Miguel Pereira, Ambassador of Cuba to China

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10+ mins  |
August 2021
The CPC's 100 Years of “Routine Miracles”
China Today (English)

The CPC's 100 Years of “Routine Miracles”

AT a grand ceremony commemorating the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square on July 1, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, solemnly declared the completion of building China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the country’s first centenary goal.

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4 mins  |
August 2021
An Open Xinjiang with Multi-Ethnic Beliefs
China Today (English)

An Open Xinjiang with Multi-Ethnic Beliefs

SINCE ancient times, Xinjiang has been a region where ethnic groups live together, religious beliefs are diversified, and many cultures coexist. Primitive religion and Shamanism were initially prevalent in the region.

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5 mins  |
August 2021
Xinjiang in My Eyes
China Today (English)

Xinjiang in My Eyes

ON May 24, 2021, I boarded a flight to Urumqi from Beijing with a group of Chinese and foreign journalists to learn more about Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a vast territory that is home to many ethnic groups and diverse cultures. The visit has left me with lasting memories and a deeper understanding of the people and the region as a whole.

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6 mins  |
August 2021
Stability and Development Are the Strongest Evidences of Human Rights
China Today (English)

Stability and Development Are the Strongest Evidences of Human Rights

OVER the past months hostile elements in certain Western countries have trumped-up charges against China concerning human rights in Xinjiang, spreading lies about “forced labor,” “genocide,” and “religious oppression” in the region.

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6 mins  |
August 2021
BRI Nexus Promoting Multilateralism in a Post-Pandemic World
China Today (English)

BRI Nexus Promoting Multilateralism in a Post-Pandemic World

BORN of centuries-long interactions between China and other civilizations along the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) appears as the quintessential manifestation of multilateralism on the world stage since the Second World War which was, sad to say, one of quite a different kind.

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4 mins  |
August 2021
Tourism Boosts Rural Revitalization in Ili
China Today (English)

Tourism Boosts Rural Revitalization in Ili

THEY say you never know how big China is until you come to Xinjiang, and never know how beautiful Xinjiang is until you come to Ili.

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6 mins  |
August 2021
Xinjiang's Cotton Industry Gets Smart
China Today (English)

Xinjiang's Cotton Industry Gets Smart

LOCATED in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.

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4 mins  |
August 2021