People In the Know

If you are planning a trip to Hainan, an island slightly larger than Belgium in the South China Sea, here's good news for you.The world's first-ever high-speed railway to circle an island recently began operation on Hainan, after the construction of its western track was completed late last year. With this new railway, it takes only three hours to travel around the island.This is the latest step forward that China's second largest island has made in order to enhance its development and, at the same time, attract tourists from home and from abroad.As well as being China's southernmost province, Hainan is also one of the youngest. It was only in 1988 that the island gained independence from Guangdong and simultaneously became one of China's special economic zones.So, how would experts assess the development of Hainan over the past three decades? PIK speaks with Professor Kjeld Erik Brodsgaard, Director of The Asia Research Center, Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and Dr. Wei Xiang, an expert on tourism economy from the National Academy of Economic Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In a sign that the situation in the Middle East is worsening, Kuwait has recalled its ambassador from Iran. Earlier, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan all cut their own diplomatic ties with Iran. The deterioration of relations comes after protesters attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its Consulate in Mashhad. The protesters were angered by Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheihk Nimr Al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric. But despite the political turmoil, the escalating tensions seem to have had a limited impact on global oil prices. This is despite the fact that Iran and Saudi Arabia collectively hold one quarter of the planet's proven oil reserves. Oil briefly spiked above $38 a barrel on Monday, but it retreated back below $36 by Tuesday. PIK speaks with Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and Assistant Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, at the University of Denver, George Wang, Professor from City University of New York, and Paul Gillis, Professor from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.

The first trading day of 2016 on the Chinese mainland stock market closed earlier than expected, after a 7 percent slump triggered the newly-introduced circuit breaker mechanism, bringing trading to a halt. The sharp falls in China have been blamed on the contraction of the country's manufacturing sector.Globally, Wall Street continued the trend, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closing down more than 1.5 percent, and Nasdaq down 2 percent.Other Asian markets also fell, while in Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 2.6 percent and Germany's Dax index dropped 4.3 percent.Meanwhile, news that Saudi Arabia had broken off diplomatic ties with Iran sent oil and gold prices higher.So, was this stock market turbulence unexpected? Is this a sign that concerns about the Chinese economy are not yet over? And what's the outlook for global financial markets in 2016? PIK speaks with Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at Capital Economics, an economic think tank based in Singapore, Victor Gao, chairman of China Energy Security Institute, and Professor Liu Baocheng from the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics.

The Chinese military is carrying out extensive reforms as part of its plans to streamline and better organize its various branches. Described by President Xi Jinping as "a major policy decision to realize the Chinese dream of a strong army", the introduction of the reforms will have wide ranging implications for the navy and air force, as well as the army.So what's significant about the timing of these reforms? Which aspects of China's military will see the biggest changes? And how might this restructuring be seen internationally? PIK speaks with Dr. David M. Finkelstein, vice president and director of CNA Studies, and Professor Shen Dingli, vice director of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University.

China's cities continue to struggle with the effects of severe air pollution. Despite the warning and prevention systems which are attempting to curb the problem, millions of people still find themselves suffering under a thick cloud of hazardous smog.So, what impact is air pollution having on Chinese society? What measures can ordinary citizens take to protect themselves? And could big industries find that turning greener might actually make them more profitable? PIK speaks with Wu Changhua, Greater China Director of The Climate Group, an international non-profit organization, and Zha Daojiong, Professor of International Political Economy at the School of International Studies at Peking University.

President Xi Jinping spent more than 40 days outside of China in 2015. He began his 2015 foreign tour by visiting China's all-weather partner Pakistan and attending the Bandung conference in Indonesia. Then in summer he took part in the BRICS summit and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Russia's Ufa. Later on, he visited the US and the UK, followed by the trip to Vietnam and Singapore in fall. Then there were the G20 summit in Turkey and the APEC summit in the Philippines. After speaking at the climate change talks in Paris, President Xi headed to Africa and led the summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum.The past one year has also witnessed several major international events being hosted by China - the V-Day Parade in September, the summit for leaders from China and Central and Eastern European countries in November, and the World Internet Conference in December, among others.At the same time, the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was recently officially established.So, looking back, how would experts assess the China's diplomatic achievements in 2015? PIK speaks with  Professor Jin Canrong, Associate Dean of School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, and Professor Su Hao, Director of Center for Strategic and Peace Studies, China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.

The news that the former NBA player Stephen Marbury has been granted China's permanent residence permit, also known as the Chinese green card, has once again aroused people's interest in this issue.It is reported that Marbury, who has led the Beijing ducks to three Chinese Basketball Association championships, fell into the category of "outstanding contributors" to China. Most people have heard of the permanent residence permit for foreigners living in China, but rarely have they met anyone who actually holds it.Indeed, in the first eight years following the launch of the scheme in 2004, only about 5000 foreigners out of the 600,000 who lived in China were granted this permit.So what is this mysterious residence permit, and what qualifications do foreigners have to meet in order to get it? PIK speaks with Liu Guofu, professor of law at the Beijing Institute of Technology. Professor Liu's recent research focuses on immigration law; David Moser, an American who first came to Beijing in 1986 and has lived in China continuously since 1994; and Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank based in Beijing.

China's top legislature has adopted the country's first anti-terrorism law, in an attempt to address terrorism at home and help maintain global security.A national counter-terrorism unit will be established, which will identify terrorist activities and personnel, and coordinate nationwide anti-terror efforts.So how serious is the current threat of terrorism in the country? And how significant is the timing of this new law? PIK spoke with Teng Jianqun, Senior Researcher at China Institute of International Studies, and Professor William C. Banks, Director at the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism; at the College of Law, at Syracuse University.

After more than two years of preparation, the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, has been formally launched in Beijing.With 57 developed and developing nations as prospective founding members, the bank aims to provide financing for infrastructure construction across Asia.China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, taking stakes of around 30 percent, 8.5 percent, and 6.7 percent, respectively.So what opportunities and challenges will the AIIB bring? And what impact will China's slowing economy have on the bank's future prospects? PIK spoke with Dr. Hu Yuwei, Research fellow at the macro research department at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China; Einar Tangen, Former Chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council; and Winston Wong, Managing Director of Shipstone Group Limited.

In China, Hukou or household registration system determines where a hukou holder can access public services, such as medical care, education and pention. In China's big cities, a local hukou is quite difficult to come by for an immigrant as there are simply too many applicants. Without a local Hukou, a new immigrant might face numerous restrictions to get social services. This has been a source of grievances for new comers despite the fact that the hukou system has come under constant reforms. Recently, Beijing came up a points-based system, which looks at one's education level, financial status and criminal records, among other criteria, to select possible candidate for a Hukou.So how do experts read this system? What further measures can be taken to address China's internal migration issue?For more I speak to Tao Ran, a professor in School of Economics and the Director of China Center for Public Economics and Governance at Renmin University of China; and Professor Peng Xizhe, Professor of Population and Development at Fudan University.