No more plastic bags and single-use straws in Tianjin 禁用塑料吸管塑料餐具

BusinessTianjin 2021-10-09

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No more plastic bags and single-use straws in Tianjin

Restaurants, e-commerce platforms and delivery firms will be forced to report their utilisation of single-use plastics to the authorities and also submit formal recycling plans, China’s commerce ministry said in proposals published on Monday.

The Ministry of Commerce said it had established a nationwide system for retailers to report their plastic consumption as part of trial scheme to encourage recycling.

Food delivery drivers pick up their parcels at a makeshift lunch hour distribution spot outside an office building

Plastic pollution has become one of China’s biggest challenges, with vast amounts buried in landfills or dumped in rivers. The rise in home food deliveries has also caused volumes to surge.

Tianjin said single-use plastic bags and eating utensils would be banned by the end of the year, while single-use straws would be banned nationwide.

Wang Wang, chairman of the China Scrap Plastic Association, said the bans would “only resolve the most visible types of plastic pollution” and were just one part of the country’s efforts to tackle waste.

From September, China has also prohibited some types of agricultural-use plastic film used to keep crops warm and moist. Chinese farmers use around 1.5 million tonnes a year, but it leaves residues that damage the soil.

A new “solid waste law” also came into effect in September, raising fines tenfold for those who break rules and mandating the construction of new recycling infrastructure.

Though there have been complaints China is moving too fast, Wang said the business impact of the measures would be limited, with firms aware in advance that some products would be banned.

China produced 63 million tonnes of plastic in 2019, with a recycling rate of around 30%. It produces around 20 million tonnes of single-use non-biodegradable material annually, including 3 million tonnes of shopping bags.

天津餐饮行业将禁用一次性塑料吸管

按照本市最新规定，餐饮行业将不允许使用不可降解的一次性塑料吸管。日前本市发布的《市生态环境局市发展改革委关于印发天津市进一步加强塑料污染治理工作实施方案的通知》，对全市餐饮行业使用一次性塑料餐具颁布了新规。

这份通知中明确提出，到2020年底，全市餐饮行业禁止使用不可降解一次性塑料吸管；全市建成区、景区景点的餐饮堂食服务，禁止使用不可降解一次性塑料餐具。到2025年，全市餐饮外卖领域不可降解一次性塑料餐具消耗强度下降30%。同时明确推广应用替代产品，在餐饮外卖领域推广使用符合性能和食品安全要求的秸秆覆膜餐盒等生物基产品、可降解塑料袋等替代产品。

China's wine tariffs will have a 'devastating impact' on small Australian producers

Australia's winemakers are scrambling to find new buyers around the world after China imposed hefty tariffs on the industry, effectively cutting it off from its most important export market.

Beijing's decision last week to impose tariffs of up to 212% on Australian wine imports has endangered business with China, according to Tony Battaglene, CEO of Australian Grape and Wine, a national association.

Battaglene works with around 800 wine producers in Australia who have "built their businesses" around exporting to China and are now left with no backup plan, he added.

China's Commerce Ministry announced Friday that its decision was made after finding preliminary evidence of dumping. Australian officials have bitterly protested the move, saying that China has been unable to provide proof.

The wine war is taking place against the backdrop of a wider deterioration in relations. Australia has upset China this year by calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing later targeted Canberra over trade, namely by suspending some imports of beef and slapping heavy tariffs on barley.

The tariffs on wine, which took effect on Saturday, have forced businesses to scramble. After the announcement, some container ships that were en route to China had to turn back to Australia, according to Battaglene.

China is by far the biggest importer of Australian wine, according to Wine Australia, a trade organization backed by the country's government. In the most recent financial year, which ended this September, China alone made up 39% of Australia's total wine exports by value, the group said.

澳大利亚红酒近日将被中国征以重税

商务部网站11月27日消息，根据《反倾销条例》第二十八条和第二十九条的规定，调查机关决定采用保证金形式对原产于澳大利亚的进口相关葡萄酒实施临时反倾销措施。自2020年11月28日起，进口经营者在进口被调查产品时，应依据本初裁决定所确定的各公司的保证金比率向中华人民共和国海关提供相应的保证金。

US sanctions Chinese firm over business with Venezuela

The US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions on a Chinese firm for conducting business with Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro's government.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) for supporting efforts in Venezuela to restrict internet service and conduct digital surveillance and cyber operations against political opponents, Treasury Department said in a statement.

OFAC argued that Chinese technology companies, including CEIEC, challenge democratic values of freedom and transparency in Venezuela by developing and exporting tools to monitor, censor, and surveil its citizens’ activities on the internet.

OFAC said CEIEC has been supporting the Venezuelan government's cyber efforts since 2017 by providing software, training, and technical expertise to state-run telecommunications provider Venezuelan National Telephone Company, which controls 70% of all internet service in the country.

Software and hardware that CEIEC provided to Venezuela is a commercialized version of China’s "Great Firewall," which is a nationwide system of internet blocks and filters, used as a tool to maintain online censorship and control flow of information Chinese citizens can access outside China, it added.

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