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All posts by RWZ - 206. page

CRN: Chinese Military Unmanned Aircraft Deployed Nationwide

China Review News (CRN) recently published a report commenting on remarks that a Chinese general made. The general suggested that China would continue to send unmanned aircraft to certain areas with the full confidence of self-protection. The comment was made in response to the Japanese threat of shooting down Chinese unmanned aircraft. The report went further into an investigation on China’s actual capabilities in the area of unmanned aircraft and found that the Chinese military has completed deploying fleets of unmanned aircraft to all seven military regions. These unmanned aircraft fleets are composed of different types of unmanned aircraft that play different roles such as intelligence gathering, command control, and precise attack. The Chinese unmanned aircraft can now carry out all-weather and long-range military missions. The report also mentioned that the Chinese military is aiming to reach the same advanced level that the U.S. unmanned aircraft enjoy. 
Source: China Review News, November 14, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1028/6/5/9/102865972.html?coluid=4&kindid=18&docid=102865972&mdate=1114172715
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

BBC Chinese: Chinese Netizens Doubt the Shanghai Government

BBC Chinese recently reported that the City government of Shanghai just announced that it will become a “government by law” within five years. The new announcement promised to change the role of the government dramatically, to improve the laws, to deliver better transparency, to encourage public participation in the political process, and to make Shanghai the regional government with the highest approval rating in the nation. The government claimed to have a detailed plan with a timeline. However no details have been released. The announcement triggered a widespread discussion online among Chinese netizens. Most of the comments online expressed doubt. Some suggested that, finally, the government admitted it is not based on the law. Some called for a deeper investigation into the recent scandal involving a group of Shanghai High Court judges caught on tape with prostitutes who a large state-owned company had paid. 
Source: BBC Chinese, November 7, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/11/131107_shanghai_government.shtml
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

OPEC: The Chinese Automobile Market will Support an Increase in the Demand for Oil

Global Times recently reported that OPEC just adjusted its earlier long-term oil market forecast on market demand to show an increase. This is the first time in six years that OPEC has projected an optimistic forecast. The organization also re-estimated China’s automobile market size. OPEC expressed the belief that the world demand for oil will be 108.5 million barrels per day by the year 2035. The organization also estimated that China’s “vehicle parc” will increase by 380 million over the next 22 years. That will be the equivalent of every 1000 people owning 320 vehicles. This rate of increase is based on the same pace that Japan had in the 1990s. The OPEC report also expected that the Indian automobile market would show rapid growth. However the U.S. shale oil and the Canadian oil sands have been rapidly changing the landscape of the oil market, making today’s reality very much different from OPEC’s forecast made two years ago. 
Source: Global Times, November 8, 2013
http://finance.huanqiu.com/world/2013-11/4545717.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CRN: Chinese Army’s Regimental Combat Troops Armed with Beidou Positioning System

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that nearly all Chinese regimental combat troops have been equipped with the Beidou global positioning system. The Beidou system is the Chinese home-grown positioning system that the Chinese military operates. The system claims to be the world’s third largest global positioning system (the U.S. GPS being number one). The Chinese military started developing the system in 1985, after Chinese missiles failed to receive the U.S. GPS signals. The Chinese system uses only two satellites, which work jointly with a “height distance” database to offer precise positioning. It is considered to have the world’s most secure architecture with the widest coverage for a two-satellite system. The Chinese military aims to accomplish global coverage by the year 2020.
Source: China Review News, November 9, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1028/5/5/2/102855294.html?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=102855294&mdate=1109211306
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Sina Finance: WTO Ruled China’s Rare Earth Export Restrictions Illegal

Sina Finance recently reported that the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on the complaints that Japan, the United States, and the European Union filed against China’s rare earth export restrictions. The WTO concluded that these restrictions are not compliant with the WTO’s regulations. This initial ruling is not considered final. China can still appeal. China implemented the restrictions after an incident with Japan in the East China Sea in 2010. It was widely considered to be a way of punishing Japan. Japan later jointly filed the WTO complaints with the United States and the European Union. Rare earth is used as basic material in the high-tech industry and the defense industry globally. China argued that China is authorized, in accordance with WTO rules, to apply restrictions on the export of strategic resources and high-pollution products. However, China did not restrict domestic rare earth development expansion which increased the level of pollution.
Source: Sina Finance, October 30, 2013
http://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/cyxw/20131030/133917165289.shtml
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China News: Significant Bursts in China’s Housing Bubble

China News recently reported that China’s official top-level think tank acknowledged the fact that prices are plummeting in some areas of China’s housing market. Li Wei, Director of the State Council Development Research Center, reported at a conference that risks are escalating in the housing market. The bubbles are already bursting in tier-three and tier-four cities. [Editor’s note: tier-three and tier-four cities are typically mid-sized cities that are not the national or provincial capital.] The Research Center recently released a report on studies and statistics which demonstrated that the Chinese housing market shows the “highest uncertainty in today’s Chinese economy.” While top-tier cities still enjoy rising housing prices, more and more “ghost towns” [Editor’s note: These are newly developed towns that remain vacant because there are no real estate buyers.] are appearing in or near smaller cities, which is becoming a heavy burden to the financial system.
Source: China News, October 30, 2013
http://finance.chinanews.com/house/2013/10-30/5439880.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: Japan Unable to Understand China’s Protest on Exercise Interference

Xinhua recently reported that Yang Yujun, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, announced at a press conference that the Japanese Navy has performed intensive following, monitoring, and intelligence gathering whenever the Chinese Navy was in the middle of a military exercise mission in the Western Pacific high seas. China officially protested against the Japanese Navy’s behavior. However the Japanese Defense Minister stated on November 1 that he was “completely unable to understand” China’s reaction as international law permits Japan’s activities, so they are therefore fully lawful. The Japanese government expressed the intent to continue to pay attention to China’s military activities. Yang Yujun also warned that Japan’s recent activities have frequently “produced a war-time atmosphere.”
Source: Xinhua, November 1, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-11/01/c_125636532.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Defense Ministry: Shooting Down a Chinese Unmanned Aircraft Considered Act of War

People’s Daily recently reported that Geng Yansheng, the spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, made an announcement about the Japanese position that it would shoot down Chinese unmanned aircraft. Geng stated that China will consider that to be an act of war. He also said China will respond with “decisive” counter-attacks, and no one should under-estimate the “firm will” of the Chinese military. Earlier, the Japanese Defense Ministry had announced that Japan “may consider” shooting down Chinese unmanned aircraft if they “invade Japanese airspace.” Geng claimed that China has never invaded any foreign airspace and that Chinese military training activities in the East China Sea are “lawful normal operations.” Geng also mentioned the fact that, very recently, the Chinese Navy helped save a Japanese fishing vessel.
Source: People’s Daily, October 26, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1026/c1011-23336424.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend