US and South Korea launch major war games
The drills are seen as rehearsals for invasion by North Korea
Chinatown hawker centre. Hawker Centres are a national heritage, selling a wide variety of food at very reasonable prices. They are spread across the whole island and is part of the Singapore way of life.
2050, when the BRI is completed, Xi Jinping would be elevated to the status of a legendary figure for building and connecting the world for the betterment of humankind. The BRI is the super structure that would bring the world closer, connected and facilitate trade for countries of the world, for maritime countries as well as landlocked countries. It would be a new and more vibrant world, more trade through better connectivity and better facilities and better cooperation between countries and participants in the BRI project.
The caveat, if the Americans did not have their ways to sabotage the whole project, the continents of the world could be reached by a network of high speed trains. This is what a world leader is all about, looking at the good of the whole world, not a narrow minded hillbilly perspective of 'America First' or I first, you die your business. China, under Xi, is proposing a win win formula for the rest of the world through trade and economic development.
By 2050, the whole world would be linked not only by high speed railways, there will also be mega seaports sprouting all over through Latin America, Africa and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. There will also be superfast communications from the sky, 6G or even 7G or 8G, utilising satellite technology and AI in a highly advanced futuristic world.
The other option or scenario could be a devastated world destroyed by nuclear wars, brought about by the belligerent American savages in their selfish pursuit of world hegemony and dominance, if they could not win, then all should be razed to the ground. Hopefully the wisdom of human beans triumphed and the vision of Xi Jinping in building a better well connected world for all human beans came up tops and life becomes better for all in Year 2050.
Let's pray and hope that the BRI becomes a reality for the good of all humankind when war is no longer a preferred option, a relic of the barbaric past, and human beans can live in peace together in a better and well connected world. And the world has Xi Jinping to thank for. Xi Jinping would become a legendary figure for this massive work he dreamt and built for the world.
In a time when the world lacks leadership, when the Americans and Anglo Saxons were all out to start wars, Xi stepped forward to propose the BRI, a project that transcends national boundaries, that no leaders would even dare to think as many were bogged down in internal politics and quarrels. And the BRI is not for the weak leaders to ponder. The difficulties and hazards to over come with so many countries across the world, of different political stripes and interests, and conflicting ideologies are immense and precarious. But no one can miss the goodness of the BRI and what benefits it could bring to the participating countries. Against all odds, against the intense political pressure not to join by the evil American Empire, as they said, evil cannot triumph over goodness, many countries voluntarily joined the BRI. More than 140 countries have signed up as of today. The benefits of the BRI cannot be missed or ignored by sensible leaders that want to bring growth and development to their countries. And Xi is willing to put the cash upfront, and with Chinese technologies and resources to make sure this mammoth project of the century will succeed. It takes a lot of tenacity, perseverance and commitments to see this through. It takes more than 4 years or multiples of 4 years, several decades to slog it out.
Despite all the bad vibes from the Americans, despite all the coercions and sabotages, despite all the pressure and smears of debt traps, the BRI is steaming ahead by the sheer force of China and Xi Jinping. Short of a world war, and a brutal and direct physical attack on the BRI, come 2050, the BRI would be the biggest achievement of the 21st Century in scale and participation, in cost and in everything. It would be the biggest man made wonder built by the cooperation and collaboration of humankind across the continents. It is an international project that takes the whole world to make it happen. And Xi will be raised and acknowledged as the undisputable leader of the Century, a leader of peace and co prosperity, the win win leader hailing from China that brought a divisive world together, united in one purpose, to build the BRI to connect the world as one single entity for the good of humankind.
Singapore have join the western majority to walk down the slippery road of the unconventional. Or it is now the conventional wisdom?
When would Singapore join the West in legalising marihuana/ It is legalised in the West, so must be ok. The West is always right and very safe to follow the West, like using mRNA vaccines, the world's best vaccine. It saves a lot of hard work, a lot of thinking, a lot of explaining if things go wrong. Just follow the best practices of the West, cannot be wrong, cannot be accused of violation of human rights, democracy or whatever. This is the way going forward. The dam is broken.
China's
export grew by double-digit in August, 2022. The official data shows a
11.8 percent growth, year-on-year, bucking the market trends of a
probable slowdown because of growing geopolitical uncertainty and high
inflation.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs
(GAC) on Wednesday, show that China's foreign trade totaled 3.71
trillion yuan ($531.64 billion) in August, an increase of 8.6 percent.
In
August, China's exports increased 11.8 percent to 2.12 trillion yuan,
while imports rose 4.6 percent to 1.59 trillion yuan. The country's
trade surplus expanded 40.4 percent, maintaining at a relatively high
level.
The first 8 months of 2022 showed China's foreign trade
grew 10.1 percent to 27.3 trillion yuan, while exports gained 14.2
percent to 15.48 trillion yuan.
ASEAN has become China's largest
trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of China's total foreign
trade between January and August. China's trade with its top three
trading partners - ASEAN, EU and USA - grew 14.2%, 9.5% and 10.1%
respectively.
The biggest jump is in the trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partners. It jumped 20.2% over the same period.
In
August alone, China's import and exports with BRI countries and regions
increased 23.8 percent year-on-year, contributing to 6.9 percentage
points of the country's total foreign trade growth.
Last but not
least, over the same period, China's foreign trade with the 14 Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) economies increased by 7.5%.
The trade data, if it continues uptrend as it is, will see China attaining another double-digit growth at the end of 2022.