Dear all,
In today’s news, we will dive into two pieces of information—one real and one false. For a discerning eye, both are quite reflective the ongoing public sentiments in China.
First, the upcoming China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit: From September 4 to 6, 2024, the summit will be held in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony on September 5 and deliver a keynote speech.
The China-Africa Cooperation Forum has been in place for 24 years, during which it has held 8 ministerial conferences and 3 summits. The forum includes 53 African countries and the African Union Commission as its members.
This China-Africa Cooperation Forum is the largest diplomatic meeting hosted by China in recent years, with the most foreign leaders in attendance. "CCTV News" summarized the achievements of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum mechanism and the key points to anticipate at this summit.
Achievements of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum:
In 2023, China-Africa trade volume reached $282.1 billion, setting a new historical record for the second consecutive year.
China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years.
Over the past three years, Chinese enterprises have created 1.1 million jobs in Africa, investing in and building economic and trade cooperation zones that cover industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and trade logistics, attracting more than 1,000 companies to settle in these zones.
Africa has become China's second-largest overseas contracting market. Over the past decade, Chinese companies have signed contracts in Africa worth over $700 billion, with completed revenues exceeding $400 billion.
The value of agricultural imports from Africa to China has seen positive growth for seven consecutive years. In 2023, imports of fresh pears from South Africa increased by 1773% year-on-year, and imports of avocados from Kenya increased by 624% year-on-year.
As of the end of 2023, China's direct investment in Africa had exceeded $40 billion, making it one of the largest sources of foreign investment in Africa.
China and African countries have jointly established more than 10 bilateral joint laboratories or research centers, conducting joint research in areas such as resource remote sensing, renewable energy, and ecological agriculture.
In 2023, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products to Africa became a leading force. Exports of the "new three items"—new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products—grew by 291%, 109%, and 57% year-on-year, respectively.
Four Key Points to pay special attention to during this summit:
-President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the opening ceremony.
-Four high-level dialogues with topics including governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, and high-quality co-construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative."
-An accompanying China-Africa Entrepreneurs Summit to encourage communication and explore cooperation opportunities between Chinese and African business communities.
-Planning the pathways for China-Africa cooperation over the next three years.
If WeChat No Longer Supports the iPhone 16, Which Would You Choose: WeChat or Apple?
On September 2, an unverified rumor circulating on the Chinese internet sparked widespread discussion among netizens. The rumor claimed that the iPhone 16 might no longer support "WeChat," a social app with 1.4 billion monthly active users in China. According to the rumor, if the iPhone is upgraded to the iOS 18.2 system, users would no longer be able to use WeChat.
Reporters contacted Apple’s official customer service, who responded, "WeChat is a very commonly used app, and the new iPhone will not remove or revoke permissions for apps that customers have been using." Meanwhile, an official representative from WeChat's parent company, Tencent, stated, "We have not received this information at the moment."
There were already talks of "friction" between Apple and Tencent two weeks prior to the rumor surfaced.
In late August, there were rumors that Apple was in conflict with WeChat and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok). The rumors suggested that Apple was unhappy with these two apps for introducing external payment systems, allowing users to pay for games while bypassing Apple's commission system. Apple’s much higher commission rate for the Chinese market (30%) compared to Europe (17%), compounded with the immense profits Apple derives from mini-games on WeChat and Douyin, lends more credibility to the rumor of an Apple-WeChat breakup among the average Chinese netizen.
Now, let’s take a look at the reactions of those who could potentially be affected if this were true:
For those staunchly supporting WeChat, one of them says, "I can live without Apple, but not without WeChat. All my work groups are on WeChat, and without it, I can't do my job. If this is true, I'll ditch my iPhone and switch to a domestic brand."
Apple fans, on the other hand, argue, "I'll continue using the new iPhone and keep an old iPhone with the previous system version just for WeChat."
Others criticize Apple, asking, "How much confidence does Apple have in its own brand influence? Can’t they even provide the most basic usage guarantees for consumers?"
There are also those who place their faith in the negotiation abilities of the two tech giants, stating, "Given the massive user base on both sides, even if it comes to that, someone will step in to mediate."
This is just greed. Ditch apple. Buy Chinese, support local brands. Help yourselves, you fools.
If people are held back by iPhone status, maybe some Chinese brand could embed custom jewelry into their handsets that could be moved over to newer models as needed? 💎