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All posts by RWZ - 243. page

Business Daily: Global Decline in Manufacturing Impacts Chinese Currency Policies

Business Daily recently published a report on China’s currency policy changes after figures on the global manufacturing sector demonstrated it was clearly declining. The report first referred to the latest major decline of China’s PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) to 49. This was the first time since February 2009 that it fell below 50. When the PMI is below 50 it is generally considered to be an indication of recession. Meanwhile, the Euro Area PMI dropped to 46.4 and the British PMI reached 47.6. Global PMI was 49.6 in November. The United States was the only exception with the PMI being 52.7, which the report called “puzzling.” The Chinese central bank responded with an immediate decrease in the Bank Deposit Reserve Ratio. Two to three more decreases in this ratio are highly likely in the first half of 2012. The market is expecting more currency related policy shifts towards loosening up the restrictions on loans. However the concern over inflation is still keeping the government from taking more dramatic actions. The report expressed the belief that the interest rate will not go down.

Source: Business Daily, December 4, 2011
http://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2011-12-04/620989.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

County in Poverty Builds a Luxury Government Building

China Economy recently republished a report by Xi’an Evening News on a new construction project – a luxury county government building. Wangjiang County of Anhui Province is a “county in poverty.” However the county government is building a new county office building which is eight times the size of the White House. The latest investigation showed that the project never completed the required Feasibility Study Report or the Initial Design Blueprint. The construction also did not follow the national standards established by the government building regulations on the use of luxury materials. Around one-sixth of the project’s funding was sourced from the construction budget of the County Archives project. The building is coupled with the construction of a county square of the same size.

Source: China Economy, November 28, 2011
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/shgj/gdxw/201111/28/t20111128_22870962.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Criticized for School Bus Donation

BBC Chinese recently reported that Chinese netizens widely criticized the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs because, on November 25, 2011, China donated 23 school buses to Macedonia. On November 16, 2011, a school bus accident in Gansu Province had just caused the death of 19 Chinese children. At the time 64 children were on a school bus that had a maximum capacity of nine children.

The donation of 23 luxury school buses to Macedonia immediately triggered massive online discussions. BBC English reported, "On Sina Weibo – one of China’s Twitter equivalents – more than 480,000 entries on the subject had been published by Monday. One commentator, Liang Yu, a TV news presenter in the southern city of Guangzhou, asked with an emoticon in tears: ‘Where are our school buses?’" The Ministry’s spokesman explained that the agreement of the donation was reached at the beginning of the year and the donation “demonstrated China’s international responsibilities.”

Source: Chinese, November 28, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/11/111128_china_school_bus.shtml
BBC English, November 28, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-15916190

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

State Council to Regulate Financial Exchange Markets

China Daily recently republished a report on the State Council’s decision to straighten out the financial and market exchanges that facilitate trade activities in stocks, futures, and other financial products without official approval. The State Council’s decision was distributed in the form of an official document which sets the goal of this campaign as the reduction of national financial risks. It was estimated that hundreds of such exchanges will be impacted or completely closed. In the “decision,” all financial institutes with the word “exchange” in the name will need the central government’s approval or at least government approval at the provincial level. In the past few years, more than 300 exchanges have been established across China, doing business in a number of categories such as precious metals and agricultural products. The government has not established laws to regulate these facilities, so no administrative procedures have been put in place to monitor them.

Source: China Daily, November 26, 2011
http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/hqcj/lc/2011-11-26/content_4492907.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Zhou Yongkang: Xinjiang Government Work Should Focus on Religious Activities

China News Service recently reported that Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, asked the officials from the central government and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region to focus their work on effectively suppressing illegal religious activities. The comment was made at a meeting to advance nine primary tasks in Xinjiang during the year 2012. The nine tasks include plans for starting new construction projects, creating new jobs, enhancing education, and maintaining social stability. The latter includes such tasks as suppressing illegal religious activities, preventing terrorism, and improving international propaganda. Zhou asked the central government branches to make sure coordination effectively insures the rapid implementation of the policies.

Source: China News Service, November 25, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/11-25/3487947.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

1.3 Million Take Entry Exam for 18,000 Central Government Positions

Jinghua Daily, a newspaper under People’s Daily, recently reported that the 2012 Entry Exam for Central Government Civil Officials started on November 26, 2011. The exam takes two days. There are around 1.3 million people registered nationally for the exam. The total number of job openings is around 18,000. In Beijing City alone, 2,940 exam sites were established. This year is the first year for all sites in Beijing to be equipped with radio shielding devices. Branches of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also sent mobile radio activity monitoring vehicles to fight high-tech cheating techniques. Large construction sites have been closed temporarily during the exam.

Source: Jinghua Daily, November 26, 2011
http://edu.people.com.cn/GB/16399354.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Wen Jiabao: China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Zone Negotiation Starts Next Year

Beijing News reported that, on November 19, 2011, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President, Lee Myung Bak. Wen called for an intensified joint effort to complete the research work on the free trade zone of the three nations. He expected the free trade negotiation to start next year and a completion of the investment negotiation as early as possible. China, Japan and Korea are the three most important nations in the East Asia region. The sum of the GDP of these three countries accounts for more than half of the GDP of the entire East Asia region. However, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expressed the belief that the three nations have to build political trust first.

Source: Beijing News, November 20, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-11/20/content_293741.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Research Results on the Made in China Commercial

Beijing News recently published a report on the “Made in China” commercial sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce. The commercial has run on CNN, the BBC, and other European and North American media since 2009. The Ministry did not release the cost officially, but it was estimated to be in the millions of dollars. A Hong Kong based researcher released a recent report that showed the commercial was “generally effective.” However, half of the viewers surveyed said that the commercial did not impact them at all. Compared to another “National Image” commercial that the same Ministry also sponsored, the “Made in China” one was much more successful. About seven percent of viewers had a positive view of the “National Image” commercial while the number of people having a negative view increased by 10% after seeing it. BBC research showed the same result.

Source: Beijing News, November 16, 2011
http://news.bjnews.com.cn/2011/1116/138896.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics