All posts by NNL - 181. page

On November 12, 2010, the International Herald Leader reported that Beijing recently started a round of intensive diplomatic offensives in response to the U.S. employment of a surrounding and blocking strategy against China. Five out of the nine CCP Politburo Standing Committee Members, including Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Wu Bangguo, and Zhou Yongkang, have visited foreign countries in the past two months. Their foreign visits focused on Europe (the EU, France, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Turkey), Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand), and India. [Ed: On November 14, Xi Jinping also started a series of visits to Singapore, South Africa, Angola, and Botswana, but this was not mentioned in the article.]

The article stated that the U.S. has intensified its Asian diplomacy and has focused on the security issue. It labeled China a “threat creator” and has been marketing itself as “big brother” to those of China’s neighboring countries that fear China. China has countered with economic, trade, and cultural diplomacy, since “its economy and trade are China’s strength.” “Though China should not expect much strategic gain from Europe, diplomatic success in Europe can boost China’s confidence while it faces setbacks in Asia.”

Source: International Herald Leader, November 12, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-11/12/c_13603314.htm

The U.S. has created a great challenge for China’s economy, China Radio International Online reported. The U.S. flooding the market with U.S. dollars has multiple impacts and effectively devalues the U.S. dollar: 1. It makes China lose money on its foreign reserve holdings of U.S. dollar based assets, such as U.S. Treasury bonds. 2. It puts great pressure on the renminbi to appreciate and hurt China’s export economy. 3. It provides the market with extra money that may come to China and continue pushing up China’s stock and housing market bubble. 4. It causes a big increase in the price of commodities such as oil, food, and iron ore, and in turn, it creates the pressure of inflation on China’s economy as China imports large quantities of these commodities. 5. It forces the Bank of China to increase the renminbi supply to maintain the renminbi exchange rate.

Source: China Radio International Online, November 9, 2010
http://gb.cri.cn/27824/2010/11/09/5311s3049187.htm

According to an article on the Guangming Daily Online Website, the U.S. has intensified its trade war against China. Over the past 2 weeks, the U.S. filed 24 trade actions against China. These cases of trade violation exhibit a new pattern: 1. They focus on high value-added products and new industries; 2. Instead of using anti-dumping charges, the new cases are an outgrowth of 337 investigations and 301 methods of investigation; and 3. They represent highly-synchronized attitudes and actions on the part of all U.S. departments.

The article also stated that the exchange rate war was just the beginning of the trade war. “The exchange rate debate is an excuse. Starting a trade war against China is the fundamental reason.” The article praised China for not taking action to counter the U.S. trade war. It also warned the U.S. that, given its extremely weak economy, it will not be able to bear the consequences of a Sino-U.S. trade war.

Source: Guangming Daily Online,  November 1, 2010
http://guancha.gmw.cn/2010-11/01/content_1352482.htm