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Briefings - 1061. page

Minister of Culture Reports on Disseminating China’s Culture Products Abroad

According to a People’s Daily article on April 28, at the Fourteenth Meeting of the Eleventh National People’s Congress in Beijing, the Minister of Culture, Cai Wu, reported on the ever-growing international influence of Chinese domestic culture products. 

“In 2009, about 426 performing groups presented 16,373 performances receiving revenue of approximately 76.85 million yuan. Overseas sales of China-made films amounted to 400 million U.S. dollars; exports of various types of television programs added up to more than 10,000 hours, totaling 58.98 million U.S. dollars in income. From January to November, China exported core culture products worth 9.4 billion U.S. dollars. The import and export ratio of copyrighted books dropped to 3.4:1 in 2009 from 9:1 in 2003. In the Frankfurt International Book Fair, China achieved 2,417 copyright transfers.” 

Source: People’s Daily, April 28, 2010 
http://npc.people.com.cn/GB/11476093.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Head of United Front Work Department: Efforts to Build Up Non-party Personnel

Du Qinglin, the head of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCCCP) spoke at a conference in Shanghai, emphasizing the importance of working with non-party representatives. “(It) is an important job that matters for the overall situation, a strategic task with profound influence, and a pressing, realistic topic.” Du called for an “in-depth study of these people’s growth pattern, deep understanding and an accurate evaluation of their characteristics.” 

The United Front Work Department is a function of the CCP’s Central Committee that aims to form political alliances with non-party entities so that they will accept the CCP’s absolute leadership and participate in its causes. 
Source: Website of United Front Work Department, CCCCP.
http://www.zytzb.cn/09/newscenter/benwang/201004/t20100426_656950.html
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China to Push for Soft Power Overseas

Cai Wu, the Minister of Culture, discussed preferential policies to encourage and support the export of Chinese culture products and services. These would include marketing, technology and customs services. “China’s culture products and the dissemination of the international competitiveness of power have yet to be further enhanced.” Cai stated that for every show the State sends overseas, China imports 10 shows, and that the annual total income from all shows sent to and performed oversees is less than that of a popular overseas circus. Chinese companies are encouraged to establish an overseas presence by investment or by setting up branches. Minister Cai indicated that the State will support hosting various expos, participation in arts and film festivals, and booking shows.

Source: Huanqiu, April 28, 2010
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-04/796483.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Domestic Pressure on RMB to Depreciate

The Journal of China’s Academy of Social Science, a government think tank, published an article stating that the external appreciation of the RMB might lead to domestic inflation. The Chinese RMB is facing two challenges: one from the international market to appreciate and the other from domestic market to depreciate. There are three reasons. First is that the settlement system for Chinese exports prohibits the free flow of foreign exchange – all exchange earned by exporters must be sold to the State at the official rate. The State has increased the money in circulation by 15,000 bn RMB for the $2,400 bn foreign exchange reserves. Second is that the relaxed monetary policy has led to staggering loans reaching 9,500 bn RMB. Third is that the various bank deposits represent potential purchasing power.

Source: China Review News, April 22, 2010
http://www.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1012/9/7/0/101297006.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=101297006

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Netizens Reach 404 Million

The first quarter in 2010 saw an increase of 20 million Internet users in China, with the total reaching 404 million. About 191 million use online social networking services. As of Feb. 25, IPV4 addresses amounted to 235 million, the second largest in the world. There were over 3.22 million websites at the end of 2009, up 12.3% from a year ago.

Source: Xinhua, April 23,
2010 http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2010-04/23/content_13408048.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

International Herald Leader: U.S. and Japan Control China’s Access to the Ocean

China’s navy has nine access paths to go to the ocean, but only three or four paths on the east side of China, between Japan and Taiwan, can be used frequently and do not require notification to other countries, the International Herald Leader reported. The U.S. and Japan have beefed up their military and surveillance capabilities to closely monitor and contain China’s navy. The report quoted an anonymous Navy official’s suggestion: China should use these ocean access channels more frequently and familiarize itself with the environment, build large surface ships to cover submarines to go to the ocean during wartime, and improve its capability to control these key access paths.

The report is a comment on the Japanese media’s heavy coverage of ten of China’s navy ships, including two submarines appearing in international waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island on April 10.

Source: International Herald Leader, April 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-04/26/content_13424980.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China’s Internet of Things Is Growing Rapidly

The “Internet of Things” refers to utilizing the Internet and modern technology, such as RFID, censoring, GPS, and scanning, to identify, locate, track, and manage object movement. Deng Shoupeng, the Vice Chairman of the China Federation of IT Promotion pointed out at the “2010 Wireless Communication Application Conference,” that 2009 is the first year that China has entered the “Internet of Things” market. In 2010, the “Internet of Things” market in China will have reached 200 billion Yuan, including IC, censor, software, and other related industry chains. The size will grow to 750 billion Yuan by 2015.

Deng listed five areas in which China is currently lacking: standards, core technology to support the "Internet of Things," coordination among regions and industries, policies and regulations, and people who understand both the Internet and business.

Source: Xinhua, April 22, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/internet/2010-04/22/content_13399614.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Beijing News: High Ranking US Officials Took Training on ‘China Model’

Beijing News reported on April 24 that around 20 “bureau chief level” US officials from the Federal Executive Institute recently completed a week-long training session at Tsinghua University on topics such as Chinese political, economic and military management and decision making. Most of the US officials are from the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. The teachers are Chinese government acknowledged experts specializing in various fields. It took China two years to settle on the course contents with the US side. One Chinese expert believes that the training may soften the atmosphere during the tough times of the China-US relationship.

Source: Beijing News, April 24, 2010
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2010-04/24/content_92210.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations