China is Creating A New Stock Exchange in Beijing
Right now, the latest major change in China’s capital market is taking place. China will set up a new stock exchange in Beijing. On the evening of September 2, President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech at the Global Trade for the Services Summit of the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services. Based in Beijing, this new stock exchange is supposed to continue to support the innovative development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
This is the biggest change since the establishment of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations system (also known as the New Third Board). The NEEQ Select, the highest tier of the New Third Board, will be upgraded into the Beijing stock exchange. At the same time, it will also pilot the registration-based mechanism of the new public offering system. This marks a new starting point for reforms on the New Third Board, which focuses on serving the innovation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. The central government has very high expectations on this new exchange. It is expected to provide sufficient financing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.
After Afghanistan Withdrawal, Questions Raised over What Went Wrong
On August 31 a lift aircraft carrying the last batch of American diplomats and soldiers took off from Kabul. This officially ended the US war in Afghanistan. Over the past 20 years, the United States has had four presidents who oversaw this conflict. More than 2,400 American soldiers were killed. Tens of thousands of Afghans lost their lives. Trillions of dollars were invested. For what? This turned out to be one of the most expensive wars in the history. American society keeps asking a question: was this war fought in vain from the beginning to the end?
Ending this 20-year un-winnable war was agreed upon for many years by the United States and NATO member countries. What surprised and angered the world was the repeated misjudgments of the situation in Afghanistan by the United States and coalition forces. With the fall of the Afghan government, the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban has taken control of the country. The US originally assessed that the Afghan security forces would be able to withstand Taliban’s attacks for at least six months. It is widely believed that the former Afghan government’s internal struggle for power, uncontrollable corruption, and inability to unite with the outside world all contributed to its fall.
North China Pharmaceutical Banned From Centralized Drugs Procurement Program
On August 20, 2021, North China Pharmaceutical was banned from bidding in the centralized drugs procurement for nine months. In fact, North China Pharmaceutical was fined for submitting a document to the Shandong Provincial Medical Insurance authority on August 11 that announced it had waived its qualification of providing one certain drug at the agreed price. It blamed it on the company’s lack of capacity and improper internal management.
This is the first time that a pharmaceutical company has won a bid for a national centralized procurement to stop supplies. According to the regulations, companies in breach of contract may face up to two years of banishment from participating in national centralized procurements.
China’s Internet Regulator Determined to Rectify Idolization of Stars
The storm of cracking down upon entertainers’ violation of laws and morality and chaos in the “fan circles” continues. There are currently at least more than 10 website platforms that have issued notifications, announcements, etc. These focus on online star list ranking, hot topics, and fan communities. All pertain to rectification activities.
For example, actress Zheng Shuang was fined 299 million yuan for tax evasion. This decision was announced by the State Administration of Taxation. The day before, some netizens discovered that the film and television works starring Zheng Shuang had been quietly taken down from many video sharing platforms. Since August of this year, a number of celebrity stars have been exposed for illegal and moral misconduct. The rectification of the entertainment industry is now firmly on the line. On August 27, the top internet regulator of China issued new requirements to further strengthen the management of chaos in the “fan circles”.
