“The social gap is widening at the moment, and even more than during the pandemic,” Fratzscher told German media.
Since people with low incomes are spending a majority of their income on basic supplies such as energy and food, they are feeling the effects of inflation three times as strongly as those on high incomes, Fratzscher stressed.
A similar trend can also be seen among German companies. “Some of the big players are making big profits even in these times, while many medium-sized companies (…) are barely surviving,” Fratzscher said.
A study also published on Thursday by the Institute of Economic and Social Research at the Hans Boeckler Foundation found that the financial gap between households below the poverty line and the median income had already grown significantly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This development was an “extremely poor starting position for the continued social stress tests” caused by the ongoing pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and record inflation, the foundation said.
Inflation in Germany climbed to 10.4 percent in October, the highest level since 1990, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The development was mainly driven by rising energy and food prices, which were up by 43 percent and 20 percent year-on-year, respectively.
“The number of the death toll has reached 268 people now,” Head of the National Disaster Management Agency Suharyanto told a press conference.
The 5.6-magnitude quake which hit Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday also left 1,083 people injured and forced 58,362 others to flee home as the tremors of the quake destroyed over 21,000 houses and infrastructure facilities, he said.
Search and rescue operations for the quake victims is still underway, Suharyanto said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked authorities to prioritize the operation and to rescue the victims first.
The government would compensate the houses damaged by the tremors, ranging from about 10 million rupiahs to 50 million rupiahs, the president said when visiting the quake-affected areas.
Widodo stressed that the new houses to be built must be able to resist the earthquake tremors.
The quake struck at 13:21 Jakarta time (0621 GMT) on Monday with the epicenter at 10 km southwest of the district of Cianjur in West Java province, and a depth of 10 km, the meteorological, climatological and geophysical agency said. (1 U.S. dollar equals 2,005 rupiah)
In Venice, Italy’s city of canals, the water level rose 170 centimeters above normal levels on Tuesday due to intense rains, the highest of this year, but still below the 187-centimeter rise — the highest in 50 years — reported in 2019, city authorities said.
Thanks to the “Mose” system of 78 separate mobile floodgates that went into partial operation in 2020, the latest water rise did not result in widespread flooding, said Venice’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro.
“Mose,” which stands for “Experimental Electromechanical Module,” helped the city avert devastation, said Minister of Transportation Matteo Salvini, noting that torrential rain and strong gales could have been catastrophic.
The extreme weather was reported across Italy on Tuesday. Seven of all the 20 regions issued severe weather warnings and two issued red alerts — the island region of Sardinia and Abruzzo, east of Rome. Dozens of people were injured as the storm wreaked havoc.
The severe weather is expected to continue lashing parts of the country through Thursday.
This is the latest of a long series of severe weather events that have hit Italy this year. The country suffered unusually long heat waves and severe drought during the summer, which caused hundreds of death and slashed agricultural production, followed by flash floods and intense thunderstorms that killed at least 10 people and caused hundreds of millions of euros in damages.
The European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) said earlier that Italy recorded five times more extreme weather events than a decade ago.
“We will fully implement the trilateral memorandum,” Kristersson said at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara.
“Sweden will take important steps with regards to the fight against terror,” he added.
Sweden plans to introduce new legislation by 2023 to fight terror groups, whether they pose risk to Sweden or Türkiye, the Swedish leader noted.
Kristersson said his country has designated the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization and his government was willing to support Türkiye in its fight against the group.
“Joining this alliance is a vital security issue for us. Being a NATO member means taking (security) responsibility for other allies,” he added.
Kristersson held talks with Erdogan on Tuesday in a bid to convince the Turkish leader to approve Sweden’s bid to join the NATO.
“Sweden wants NATO membership for its own security, and we want to see a Sweden that supports our own security concerns,” Erdogan said.
Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid was initially blocked by Ankara, which accused them of supporting anti-Türkiye groups as they rejected Ankara’s extradition requests for the suspects affiliated with the PKK and the Gulen movement.
On June 28, Türkiye, Sweden and Finland reached a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) ahead of the NATO Madrid summit.
Sweden and Finland pledged to support Türkiye’s fight against terrorism and agreed to address Ankara’s pending deportation or extradition requests for terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly.
Türkiye remains one of the two NATO members yet to ratify their accession, as Ankara has been complaining that the two countries have moved too slowly in fulfilling their commitments over the Turkish security concerns.
The PKK, listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
The Gulen movement, led by the U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, has been accused by the Turkish government of masterminding the 2016 failed coup to topple Erdogan’s rule.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Podolyak said that a potential ceasefire deal at the current stage of the conflict would provide Russia with time to strengthen its positions.
“The ceasefire for Russia is a tactical pause for reinforcement,” Podolyak said.
While commenting on the reports that the representatives of the U.S. Pentagon and the Russian Defense Ministry are involved in talks, Podolyak said that “there are no negotiations between Russia and Western countries regarding Ukraine.”
“Our partners adhere to the principle of ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.’ Neither side will be able to ensure the implementation of agreements without the support of the Ukrainian people,” he said.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict started on Feb. 24.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held the latest round of face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, on March 29.
“If we look at high-frequency indicators and the economic sentiment, we see that many things point to a contraction in economic activity this winter,” Gentiloni said at a press conference of the Eurogroup.
Paschal Donohoe, president of the Eurogroup, said everyone knows that the economy within the euro area is slowing down. In October, economic growth for the area stood at 0.5 percent.
The finance ministers, representing the 19-country euro area, met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the eurozone’s economic development, as well as budgetary measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices.
According to estimates by the Commission, euro area governments have so far collectively spent about 200 billion euros, or 1.25 percent of the European Union’s (EU) gross domestic product (GDP), on energy support for the year.
Gentiloni said around 70 percent of the supporting measures adopted by the member states so far are untargeted, meaning “they benefit all, or a very large share, of the population.”
“We are aware of course that targeting is not always easy, politically and technically, especially if you have to react very quickly. This is also why we have the expectation that this targeting of measures can improve in the coming months,” he added.
Donohoe said the ministers noticed the challenges of significant supports and effectively managing the trade-off between reducing inflation, while supporting both vulnerable households and the euro area’s international competitiveness
Xi noted that Scholz is the first European leader to visit China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and that it is also his first visit to China as the Federal Chancellor.
Xi said the visit will further enhance the mutual understanding and trust between the two sides and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and gives the two sides an opportunity to plan for the growth of bilateral ties going forward.
Xi stressed that China-Germany relations could not have reached today’s level without the extraordinary vision and political courage of generations of Chinese and German leaders, mentioning this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Germany diplomatic relations.
The five-decade journey shows that as long as the two sides follow the principles of respecting each other, seeking common ground while reserving differences, maintaining exchanges and mutual learning, and pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation, bilateral ties will keep going in the right direction on the whole and making steady progress, he said.
Noting the complex and fluid international landscape, Xi underscored the need for China and Germany, two major countries with great influence, to work together in times of change and instability and contribute more to world peace and development. China will work with Germany for a future-oriented all-round strategic partnership and for new progress in China-Germany and China-Europe relations.
Xi briefed Scholz on the 20th CPC National Congress, with a particular focus on the essence of Chinese modernization. He pointed out that modernization is an aspiration and goal shared by people in all countries. That said, countries should choose their paths to modernization in light of their own national realities.
Xi said Chinese modernization has elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features unique to the Chinese context, because of China’s unique national conditions, because of China’s social system and governance philosophy, and because of understanding gained through decades of endeavors toward modernization.
The president said China has been upholding and promoting world peace through its own development. In this process, the development of China and that of other countries have become more interconnected and mutually reinforcing. China will stay committed to advancing high-standard opening up, keep to the right direction in economic globalization, promote an open world economy, and expand converging interests with other countries.
Xi stressed that political trust is easy to destroy but difficult to rebuild and that it should be nurtured and protected by both sides. He cited a quote which former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt used and which he appreciated, that political leaders should have the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, the courage to change the things they can change, and the wisdom to distinguish between the two.
“It is important that China and Germany respect each other, accommodate each other’s core interests, adhere to dialogue and consultation, and jointly resist disturbance from bloc confrontation and attempts to see everything through the prism of ideology,” Xi said.
He called on both sides to keep to the overall direction of bilateral ties from a strategic height, pursue the biggest common ground in a constructive manner, and advance practical cooperation with an open mind to create conditions for long-term and steady growth of bilateral ties.
“There should be no self-imposed restrictions or unrealistic expectations,” Xi said.
Noting the high degree of stability and consistency in China’s policy toward Germany, he called on Germany to follow a positive China policy for the mutual benefits of both countries.
Xi pointed out that over the past five decades, bilateral practical cooperation has kept deepening, with two-way trade growing by almost 1,000 times, serving economic and social development in both countries.
“The two sides should make the pie of common interests still bigger,” he said, adding that while exploring more cooperation potential in traditional areas, efforts should be made to energize cooperation in emerging fields such as new energy, artificial intelligence and digitalization.
China will work with Germany and Europe to further deepen aviation cooperation, conduct exchanges and cooperation on COVID-19, increase interactions and mutual learning on green development and ecological conservation, and encourage more people-to-people exchanges, he said, calling on Germany to join China in resisting protectionism so that the fruitful bilateral cooperation can deliver more benefits to the two peoples.
Xi pointed out that China-Europe relations bear on global stability and prosperity in Eurasia and should be maintained and developed with efforts from both sides.
Xi said China always regards Europe as a comprehensive strategic partner, supports the strategic autonomy of the European Union and wishes Europe stability and prosperity. China maintains that its relations with Europe are not targeted at, dependent on, or subjected to a third party.
The more complex and difficult the situation becomes, the more important it is for China and Europe to uphold mutual respect, mutual benefit, dialogue and cooperation, Xi said. “China will work with Germany and with Europe to step up coordination and cooperation in international affairs and jointly look for solutions for such global issues as climate change, biodiversity and food security.”
Scholz expressed his pleasure to visit China in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of Germany-China diplomatic relations and have an in-depth discussion with Xi on Germany-China relations and on important issues of mutual interest. He thanked Xi for the update on China’s development outlook.
He observed that in a complex and grave international landscape, Europe also faces unprecedented challenges. China is playing an important role on many global issues like climate change, biodiversity, COVID-19 response and food crisis. Germany wants to maintain communication and coordination with China to better safeguard regional and global peace and security.
Scholz said China is an important trading partner for Germany and for Europe as a whole. Germany firmly supports trade liberalization, supports economic globalization, and opposes decoupling. Germany stands ready for closer trade and economic cooperation with China, and supports more mutual investment by Chinese and German businesses.
Scholz said on issues where the two countries’ positions diverge, Germany is willing to exchange views with China to increase mutual understanding and trust, and stabilize, cement and grow bilateral ties. A multi-polar world is needed in which the role and influence of emerging countries can be taken seriously. Germany opposes bloc confrontation for which politicians should be responsible. Germany will play its role in furthering Europe-China relations.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Xi reaffirmed China’s support for Germany and Europe to play an important role in facilitating peace talks and to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe.
Under the current circumstances, the international community should support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and call on relevant parties to remain rational and exercise restraint, start direct engagement as quickly as possible, and create conditions for the resumption of talks; oppose the use of or the threat to use nuclear weapons, advocate that nuclear weapons cannot be used and that nuclear wars must not be fought, and prevent a nuclear crisis in Eurasia; work together to keep global industrial and supply chains stable and forestall disruption to international cooperation in energy, food, finance and other areas and consequent damage to global economic recovery, especially the economic and fiscal stability of developing countries; and make joint efforts to tide civilians in areas affected by the crisis through the winter, and improve the humanitarian situation to avoid a humanitarian crisis on a bigger scale.
After the meeting, Xi held a banquet for Scholz at the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People.
The number of ships leaving Ukraine’s ports reached 426, and the amount of grain transported exceeded 9.7 million tons, Akar said in a statement.
“We will intensify our efforts on the extension of the grain initiative, which will expire on Nov. 19,” he added.
The Turkish minister underlined that while using the model of consensus reached in the grain initiative, Türkiye wanted to establish a ceasefire and open the road to peace in the coming days between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia on Wednesday announced its return to the implementation of a grain export deal via the Black Sea, saying Ukraine has promised not to use the humanitarian corridor for military attacks.
The joint coordination center for the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on Tuesday received a written guarantee from Ukraine of not using the shipping route defined in the deal and Ukrainian ports designated for grain export to conduct military operations against Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian side officially assured that the maritime humanitarian corridor will be used only in accordance with the provisions of the grain export deal and related regulations of the joint coordination center, it added.
On July 22, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Türkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Xi Jinping was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee at the first plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee following the Party’s twice-a-decade national congress.
Greeted by rapturous rounds of applause, Xi led Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi onto a red-carpeted stage at the Great Hall of the People.
They are members of the newly-elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
According to the Party Constitution, the highest leading bodies of the Party are the National Congress and the Central Committee which it elects. Between plenary sessions of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee shall exercise the functions and powers of the Central Committee.
The 20th CPC Central Committee was elected Saturday at the closing session of the 20th CPC National Congress.
Speaking to over 600 journalists from home and abroad, Xi hailed the congress as one that held high its banner, pooled all the strength, and promoted solidarity and dedication.
Xi expressed gratitude for the trust the whole Party has placed in the new central leadership.
“We shall keep in mind the Party’s nature and purpose and our own mission and responsibility, and work diligently in the performance of our duty, to prove worthy of the great trust of the Party and our people,” he said.
Xi said China, having completed its building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, is now taking confident strides on a new journey to turn China into a modern socialist country in all respects.
That journey, one that is “filled with glories and dreams,” will see China advance toward the second centenary goal, and embrace the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, Xi said.
In its two-step strategic plan, the CPC aims to basically realize socialist modernization from 2020 through 2035, and build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful from 2035 through the middle of this century.
The world’s second largest economy is walking on a model of modernization that has not been seen before — the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development.
“This is a great yet enormous undertaking. The enormity of the task is what makes it great and infinitely glorious,” Xi said.
He said the CPC and the Chinese people have sought long and hard to pursue a Chinese path to modernization, and the Party must always act for the people on the journey ahead and rely on them in everything it does.
“We will always ride out the storm with our people and stay heart to heart with them, taking their priorities as ours and acting on their wishes. We will continue the hard work to turn their aspiration for a better life into a living reality,” he said.
His emphasis on the people echoed a report Xi delivered to the 20th CPC National Congress, hailing the great achievements of the new era, which came from “the collective dedication and hard work” of the CPC and the Chinese people.
In the past decade, China’s GDP has grown from 54 trillion yuan (about 7.6 trillion U.S. dollars) to 114 trillion yuan and come to account for 18.5 percent of the world economy, up 7.2 percentage points. China has remained the world’s second largest economy, and its per capita GDP has risen from 39,800 yuan to 81,000 yuan.
The country has eradicated absolute poverty, and built the largest education, social security, and healthcare systems in the world.
It has also joined the ranks of the world’s innovators, while achieving an overwhelming victory and fully consolidating the gains in the fight against corruption.
But Xi said the Party cannot rest on its laurels just yet.
The just-concluded 20th CPC National Congress came at a time when the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, and a new phase of uncertainty and transformation.
China has entered a period of development in which strategic opportunities, risks, and challenges are concurrent, and uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising, Xi said in the report to the congress.
“Confronted with new challenges and tests on the journey ahead, we must remain on high alert and stay sober-minded and prudent like a student sitting for a never-ending exam,” he told journalists Sunday.
“We must make sure that our century-old Party will become ever more vigorous through self-reform and continue to be the strong backbone that the Chinese people can lean on at all times,” he said.
The journey ahead is long and arduous, but with determined steps, “we will reach our destination,” he said.
“We’ll not be daunted by high winds, choppy waters or even dangerous storms, for the people will always have our back and give us confidence,” Xi said.
He went on to express China’s commitment to further promoting the building of a human community with a shared future.
“We will work with peoples of all other countries to champion humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom to safeguard global peace and promote global development, and keep promoting the building of a human community with a shared future,” Xi said.
Just as China cannot develop in isolation from the world, the world needs China for its development, he said, adding that the Chinese economy would remain on the positive trajectory over the long run, and that the country will open its door wider to the rest of the world.
“We’ll be steadfast in deepening reform and opening up across the board, and in pursuing high-quality development. A prosperous China will create many more opportunities for the world,” Xi said.
