China developer Wanda eyes sale of 48 shopping malls in $6.9bn deal
DALIAN, China -- Major Chinese commercial property developer Dalian Wanda Group plans to sell 48 of its shopping malls to a joint venture led by Hong Kong investment firm PAG, continuing to shed assets to raise cash amid a slumping real estate market.
The joint venture of five companies, including a PAG subsidiary and China's Tencent Holdings, will acquire shares in 48 regional companies that back Wanda Plaza malls across China. The plans were revealed in a disclosure document dated May 20 from the State Administration for Market Regulation.
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The Mainichi
14 hours ago
- The Mainichi
China's 'panda diplomacy' in focus as zero moment may come in Japan
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- China's "panda diplomacy" is drawing renewed attention with Japan's first zero giant panda moment in over half a century approaching, amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry that could provide an incentive for Beijing to stabilize its oft-strained ties with Tokyo. China's decisions on leasing the bear species abroad are usually revealed in high-level bilateral talks. Foreign affairs experts say a new loan may be announced late fall this year during a possible visit by a Chinese political leader to Japan, though they doubt the gesture will carry the same diplomatic weight as it once did. Since the first black-and-white animal arrived in Japan in 1972 to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic ties, Chinese pandas have become beloved by the Japanese public, bringing major economic benefits as tourist attractions. The two governments have embraced the bamboo-munching iconic animal's role as a symbol of friendship. China last sent pandas to Japan in February 2011, based on a deal struck at a meeting between then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Tokyo in May 2008. Currently, Japan is home to six pandas, all of which were born domestically but owned by China. Four at the Adventure World leisure complex in the western Japanese town of Shirahama will be handed over to China next Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their loan period in August. The other two at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens are also due to return to China next February. Emi Mifune, a Komazawa University professor well-versed in Chinese diplomacy, believes China will rent out new pandas instead to Japan as Beijing is "in the middle of an escalating confrontation with the United States and needs to mend relations" with Tokyo. China's relationship with the United States has been cooling in recent years, as Washington maintains a hard-line stance toward China, renewed by tariff-fueled trade salvos by President Donald Trump who returned to the White House in January. She also said Beijing's agreement with Tokyo in late May to begin procedures to resume importing Japanese marine products indicates that China is making visible efforts to improve the relationship, something that a new panda allocation would support. China imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports in August 2023 in opposition to the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. The Asian neighbors have long been at loggerheads over historical and territorial issues, including a dispute over the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China's increasing military activities in the Indo-Pacific region have only stoked tensions. China has long used the panda as a tool of diplomatic outreach and goodwill toward various nations, including the United States, Russia, Australia and South Korea among others. With an eye on fostering "an atmosphere of improving bilateral ties," China may announce a new panda loan, perhaps during the next meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mifune speculated. Japan hopes to host a summit with China and South Korea later this year in Tokyo, and Ishiba-Li talks are expected to take place on the sidelines. During a China trip as leader of a business delegation in early June, Yohei Kono, the former Japanese House of Representatives speaker, met with Li and floated the idea of the high-ranking Chinese official bringing pandas with him to Japan. While calling on Japan to promote cooperation to address "challenges posed to the world," such as "U.S. tariff measures," Li told Kono he attaches "great importance" to the panda request as "an important proposal," according to a delegation member. However, on Sept. 3 China will mark 80 years since it declared victory in its 1937-1945 War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, making diplomatic outreach in the approaching period challenging, Mifune said. Mifune also pointed out that China may be unwilling to send pandas to Adventure World in Shirahama during the tenure of the town's pro-Taiwan Mayor Yasuhiro Oe, who took office in May last year in a move that might have led to the four panda's repatriation ahead of schedule. Oe, a former House of Councillors member, has deep ties with Taiwan, with which the Japanese government only maintains unofficial relations. China sees the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Adventure World has engaged in a collaborative project to breed the animal, now classified as "vulnerable" on the global list of at-risk species, with China since 1994. Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, said that China has used pandas not as a tool to demand other nations "give ground" on bilateral issues, but as a signal that the attitude toward Beijing in the recipient nation is "right and friendly." "Even if China were to give Japan some pandas, it would not mean that Japan has to do a lot of things for it," but how the Japanese public reacts to the arrival of new pandas will matter to Beijing, he said. Ienaga is also skeptical that a new panda loan will have any tangible impact on the Japanese government's diplomatic posture toward China or Japanese public opinion about its neighbor. "Japanese society no longer really looks at pandas through a political lens," as opposed to in 1972 when the animals were accepted "genuinely as a symbol of friendship," Ienaga added. By Keita Nakamura
Yomiuri Shimbun
16 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Konica Minolta to Provide Schools with AI-Powered Real-Time Translation Service Using Tablets
Konica Minolta, Inc. will launch 'KOTOBAL,' a multilingual interpreting service using tablets and other devices, for use in schools. As the number of foreigners living in Japan has increased, the number of children with foreign backgrounds enrolled in childcare centers and schools has been rising sharply, and the service is designed to support communication between teachers and other children. Three municipalities have already introduced the service on a pilot basis since April, and the company aims to have 30 municipalities adopt it by the next fiscal year. KOTOBAL is an AI-assisted, real-time automatic translation service, and is available in 23 languages, including English, Chinese and Vietnamese. The service enables students to check in their native language what the teacher is saying in Japanese during class via a tablet or other device. The service is also intended to be used for conversations between foreign and Japanese students during break times. A service in which remote interpreters respond to users' questions will also be available in approximately 20 different languages. A system will be set up to provide counseling on higher education and bullying. Also, parents and guardians of the students will be able to participate in meetings with teachers with no appointment necessary. According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, the number of foreign students requiring Japanese-language instruction in public schools was 57,718 in 2023, about double compared to nine years earlier. A survey showed that about 30% of them do not understand classes held in the Japanese language, which has become an issue in the field of education.
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Singapore Diplomat Bilahari Kausikan Says U.S. Has Long-term Competitive Strategy with China
Bilahari Kausikan, former permanent secretary of the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Yomiuri Shimbun that the United States' tariff policy is part of a long-term competitive strategy against China, and Washington will continue to have the same policy even after the president changes. The following text, excerpted from his interview, has been edited for flow and you look at various things that [U.S. President Donald] Trump and other members said, Trump seemed to think of [the] tariff as a kind of universal tool. He tried to do several things at the same time. He tried to use the tariff as a tool for national security goals to stop drugs and migrants, to reduce the deficit, bring back manufacturing to the U.S., increase revenue. I personally don't think this policy is sustainable in the long run. The 90-day timeline is running out soon. I won't be surprised if he extended it — in individual cases. I guess they will extend the timeline for major countries like the U.K., Japan, India and China. [The U.S. tariff policy] will slow down the U.S. economy, increase inflation and it will hurt Trump's own base. I think [the tariffs are] dangerous for all of us, at least most of us. But the real danger I think is for low-income countries, and middle-income countries. For example, how did Japan, South Korea and Singapore become high-income countries? The growth path was the normal one — by exports. It is going to become much more difficult for Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. In fact, it will even become much more difficult for some parts of China. So, I think that's the big danger. Because when you get countries stuck in a real income trap, they will get frustrated. When they get frustrated, there will be a kind of geopolitical problem. The competition between major powers is quite natural. You can see trade policies in the context of broader strategic competition. Why does he [Trump] want to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.? I think these are all preparations for long-term strategy competition with China. Trade is just one instrument. That is why there is really no difference in this trade policy. There is very little difference anyway between Biden and Trump. I don't know who is going to succeed Trump. Whoever it is, more or less should have the same policy because this strategic competition with China is a long-term thing. He's also concerned about transshipment from China, to Southeast Asia to the U.S. That is going to be a big problem for countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. It's not just a simple method of smuggling or backdooring. There are legitimate reasons why Chinese companies are moving to Southeast Asia. It is not all because of tariffs placed on China or geopolitical tensions. China is becoming a more expensive place to produce for many industries. Some Chinese industries are worried about their own government, so they are trying to move their own business out. Those are very legitimate things, and it is going to be not so straightforward for Southeast Asian countries to deal with it. The U.S. is still a very important market. There is no substitute for the U.S., for anybody. So, every country will make its own calculations — balance or benefit against cost. I don't think we should stop trying to attract Chinese investments or any kind of investment, but we have to be more careful about what kinds of things we work on with China. Economic integration is politically difficult for any country in any region. If you are in a period of slow growth, it is going to become even more politically difficult. And the hard fact is, while we have plans for economic integration, 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economies are competitive. Some leaders think that they are competitive. We need the integration, but whether we will get it is another matter. You have to make yourself an attractive place for people to want to invest in your country. I think some Asian countries have not done enough to keep themselves attractive. We hope you will continue to invest in ASEAN. Japan is one of the most important partners for all ASEAN countries. And you will continue to be so. We hope you will not lose faith in Southeast Asia and continue to invest here. On the other hand, I think Southeast Asian countries must do what they can to make themselves attractive for Japanese investments. The responsibility is ours. — This interview was conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Takashi Itoda. Bilahari Kausikan Kausikan, 71, joined the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981. He has held posts such as ambassador to the United Nations and assistant secretary for Southeast Asian affairs. He served as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2013. Since retiring, he has spoken actively about the future of ASEAN and is known as a leading voice in Southeast Asia.
