Skiing through climate change: China’s latest indoor facility embraces sustainability

By:
On:
In: Asia

Mr Greg Dingle, a researcher and educator focusing on sport and climate change at La Trobe Business School, questioned the sustainability of indoor ski resorts especially amid China’s climate pledges.

“Producing temperatures indoors that are cold enough for ski activities requires energy, lots of energy,” Mr Dingle said.

“Given the energy-intensity and likely tourist visitation of indoor ski resorts, my assessment is that they are likely not environmentally sustainable.” 

Other experts like Mr Liu Daizhong, East Asia director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), noted severe environmental impacts which come with indoor ski resorts that use significantly higher energy and water consumption as compared to traditional outdoor ski lodges and resorts. 

“Climate change has a significant impact on the ski tourism industry,” Mr Liu told CNA, adding that indoor resorts were expected to operate all year round and “rely entirely on artificial snowmaking and cooling systems” which could lead to substantial electricity and water consumption. 

“Without effective energy-saving technologies, large-scale energy-intensive facilities like this could weaken China’s efforts to achieve its carbon neutrality goals,” Mr Liu said. 

Citing the example that if Chinese skiers are required to commute in a carbon-neutral manner to the resort, and stay in carbon-neutral accommodations, Mr Dingle believes it “perhaps is possibly consistent with the 2030 and 2060 climate commitments.”

When asked how L+SNOW resort could serve as a model for sustainable tourism, the operator told CNA that consumers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai previously had to fly to snowfields in Northeast China or even farther abroad, which “generated considerable carbon emissions during the trip.”

“But now, they don’t need to travel far to go skiing, making it more economical and energy-saving.”

Mr Ma, the ski instructor, says he sees a bright future for winter sports in China.

“Indoor ski resorts will have a positive impact … it’s not limited by seasons or weather, allowing more people to experience the joy of skiing at any time,” he said. 

“Skiing should focus more on popularising and promoting the sport to encourage greater participation, while simultaneously raising public awareness about environmental protection, contributing collectively to the preservation of our planet.”

Continue Reading

A US-China science pact has expired after 45 years. How is the world poorer for it?

By:
On:
In: Asia

According to analysts, US-China medical cooperations were now heading in troubled waters as geopolitical tensions grew before the STA expired.

Dr. Reyes claimed that the US-China scientific collaborations have typically fallen and are now” cold-storage periods.”

This is supported by research results. According to a study by Professor Tang Li from the Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs in February this year, the percentage of Sino-American combined papers reached a peak of 13.9 percent in 2019 before declining to 11.7 percent in 2023, in comparison to US analysis alone.

Also, the share of US-China creative study compared to all Chinese content saw a strong drop, falling from 12.2 per share in 2017 to 5.7 per cent in 2023.

This general pattern had already been highlighted by academics at Yangzhou University in China and Ohio State University in the US, who co-published a research paper in February 2022.

” The drop in China-USA cooperation can be seen beginning in 2019, before the ( COVID-19 ) pandemic… the patterns suggest that political tensions, more than the pandemic, influenced the drop in China-US cooperation”, the paper stated. &nbsp,

A set point came in 2018 when the Trump presidency in the US launched the so-called China Initiative, say experts. The program sought to investigate possible breaches of regional security resulting from the leak of delicate scientific information to scientists who are suspected of having connections to Beijing.

According to a study conducted in 2022 by lawyer and law professor Andrew Chongseh Kim, scenarios involving Chinese academics who were subject to the Economic Espionage Act were more likely to be exposed and subject to harsher penalties than those involving non-Asians.

Additionally, according to the study, up to one in three Eastern scientists had false accusations, with the majority of those false accusations being dropped from juries and judges or dismissed by judges and juries.

The Biden presidency actually ended the China Initiative in early 2022. A senior US Justice Department official stated the focus on China had been” too narrow”, and the new approach would be a broader,” threat-driven” strategy targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea as well.

However, experts say there has been a lingering effects. Dr. Reyes, a researcher at HKU, claimed that institutions over the past two decades have been more cautious in their efforts to avoid breaking the law when working with Chinese scientists. He claimed that based on his relationships with academics in the US and internationally.

Because virtually every area of research has the potential to be viewed as a legitimate risk or used by China for unfriendly purposes, he said, “it’s a difficult position for institutions.”

Since the start of the China Initiative, a study by the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions in July revealed a 75 % increase in the number of Chinese-born scientists leaving the US, with the majority of them establishing new careers there. &nbsp,

The federal government is the main one source of funding for simple studies in the US. However, according to the study, 44 % of researchers who are awarded federal grants choose to avoid applying for them.

Among those in this group, 84 percent expressed concerns about possible legal repercussions from errors in forms and disclosures, and 65 percent expressed concern that their collaborations with Taiwanese researchers or institutions does make them suspect.

Continue Reading

Sri Lanka arrests over 230 Chinese in cybercrime raids

By:
On:
In: Asia

The foreign minister said on Tuesday ( Oct 15 ) that Sri Lankan police have detained more than 230 Chinese men who are accused of stealing money from international banks through online scams with assistance from security officials sent by Beijing. According to Vijitha Herath, authorities have seize 250 computersContinue Reading

Small businesses, big challenges: The reality of China’s post-US Fed cut economy

By:
On:
In: Asia

Additionally, analysts told CNA that the effect on small businesses would probably be generally direct and minimum. According to Mr. Bell,” I do n’t think Fed cuts will have much impact on Chinese consumers,” adding that” small businesses with a domestic focus are less impacted,” while citing low domestic confidence as a limiting factor. &nbsp,

” Frequently, small businesses and individuals are shielded from immediate effect by broader plan adjustments”, said American economic columnist Mr Daryl Guppy, even the CEO and founder of Guppytraders.com.

He noted that US economic policy may have a far greater impact on Chinese usage habits than US tariffs and punishment. &nbsp,

The main effect may be price changes for imported American items.

Next THE FED?

China’s central bank has implemented a number of smaller cuts, including a policy interest rate reduction of 0.2 % and a reduction of banks ‘ reserve requirements by half a percentage point, despite the Fed’s aggressive stance in cutting rates. &nbsp,

However, Mr. Guppy made it clear that the PBOC’s actions did not directly affect the US’s subsequent actions. &nbsp,

According to Mr. Guppy,” PBOC policy decisions are not made in a knee-jerk effect to US policy.” Lower rates often lead to a higher consumer and business confidence because they lower the cost of loans and paying off debt.

Experts believe Beijing’s factual response to the US Fed price cuts could also provide some much-needed information into its possible future actions.

According to Mr Bell, China generally “has had a very distinct economic policy platform than the Fed’s interest-rate focused strategy”.

” For much of the early 2000s, China pursued a dollar nail, and after that, a much more quantity-driven model focused on the quantity of credit rather than their cost”, Mr Bell told CNA. &nbsp,

He also explained that China was “more insulated”, because of its relatively” closed” investment account, at least until 2015, which helped it experience fewer spillovers from international financial situations. Companies and individuals are prohibited from moving money into and out of the country under strict regulations in a sealed capital account.

China focused on a lot of fiscal and credit stimulus when extreme crises struck and threatened to spread through the trade channel.

Some believe that Chinese politicians should concentrate on resolving these internal problems, such as revitalizing the faltering business, which may call for a more subtle approach this time around.

” China’s emotions are tempered by the demands of the local economy and policy information”, he said. ” US Fed rates movements are a factor that may make it easier, or more difficult, ( for China ) to continue with an appropriate domestic policy”, said Mr Guppy.

Although Mr. Bell believes that China” should not be in a location where Fed moves matter little,” he also acknowledges that “any global circumstances,” including Fed rate policy, had have” a more important impact on the Foreign economy.”

” But that is not a given, many more a representation of lacking plan activities in Beijing”, Mr Bell added. &nbsp,

Continue Reading