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China News Net Report on “Vanguard û 2009A” Military Maneuver

According to China News Net, on October 20, 2009, a joint fire military maneuver of ground and air forces called "Vanguard – 2009A" will be carried out on a tactical training base in the Jinan Military Command. Over 150 foreign military students from more than 70 countries and some military observers from the United Kingdom, Israel, Turkey, and other countries, will be on site watching. Hu Xiubin, the chief director of the exercise and an army Major General for the Jinan Military Region, said that the characteristics highlighted in this maneuver will be “Joint Operations” and “Precise Operations” in combat, which reflect the ideas of joint operations and winnings using the conditions of information technologies.

Eleven military branches from both the army and air forces, armed with over 50 kinds of equipment, will participate in the military maneuver.

Source: China News Net, October 20, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/10-20/1921318.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Liberation Army Will Build 10,000-Ton Destroyers

On October 13, 2009, Sichuan News Network published an article about the international concerns caused by the PLA Navy’s plan to build 10,000-ton destroyers. The displacement of the new destroyers will be over 10,000 tons and they will be equipped with a variety of anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft missiles. The main focus of building the new destroyers will be on the development of mobility, stealth and oceangoing combat capability. They will be able to provide protection for all future Chinese aircraft carriers.

The United States is increasingly concerned that China is building aircraft carriers. However, the real threat to the U.S. is the anti-ship missiles that China is developing. These missiles are based on the existing medium-range missiles, with the goal to attack U.S. aircraft carriers.

Source: Sichuan News Network, October 13, 2009
http://china.newssc.org/system/2009/10/13/012368458.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Outlook Weekly: Tit for Tat Against Trade Protectionism

China should proactively strive for fair treatment, tit for tat, says Outlook Weekly a publication under Xinhua. The statement was made in reference to an October 8 letter from the U.S. Alliance for American Manufacturing to U.S. trade officials that the Chinese government spends billions of dollars subsidizing the glass industry’s energy costs. The contract to manufacture blast-resistant glass for the new World Trade Center’s first 20 stories was awarded earlier this year to a Chinese company that underbid U.S. competitors. Song, director of a government think tank, the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is worried, “The U.S. has set a bad example and other countries will follow suit.” Song recommended enforcing and expanding diplomatic and cultural ties to reduce trade friction to the maximum extent.

Source: China News Service, October 20, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/news/2009/10-20/1919399.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

State Gets New Funds to Expand Overseas Chinese Teaching

The Chinese Language and Culture Education Foundation of China (CLEF) received a corporate donation of 100 million yuan from an Indonesian company at a ceremony held on October 19, 2009. CLEF indicates that the funds will be for overseas expansion of Chinese language teaching of overseas Chinese. Politburo member Wang Gang attended the ceremony. CLEF was founded in 2004 and is operated by the State Council Overseas Affairs Office. Its council members include the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party, the International Communication office of the Communist Party (State Council Information office), the State Development Planning Commission, the State Administration of Radio, Film And Television, the State Council’s office of Overseas Chinese Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: Xinhua, October 19, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-10/19/content_12270778.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Language Newspapers Facing Tough Times

From October 16 to 17, over 200 representatives from Chinese language newspapers in 12 countries and regions held their 42th annual meeting in Chongqing, Sichuan Province to discuss the challenges facing them due to the expansion of electronic newspapers. Zhou Xisheng, Deputy Director of Xinhua urged them to "adapt to changes in the world media and develop Chinese newspapers hand in hand." He stated that the traditional newspapers cannot step back, but to adapt to the what young people like, and strive to transfer the contents of the newspapers to electronic versions. Currently Mainland China publishes 1,943 newspapers with a daily circulation exceeding 100 million copies. However since 2003, the number of newspaper has declined by 10% as a result of the expansion of electronic newspapers.

Source: People’s Daily, October 19, 2009
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2009-10/19/content_363421.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Study Times: Sino-Russian Relationship from the Natural Resources Perspective

Study Times published an article that suggests that China’s rise requires it to develop alternate natural resources despite its present favorable Sino-Russian relationship (continued friendly relations with China). Currently, China has access to a vast supply of natural resources from Russia, which may not be the case in the future. Therefore, China needs to develop alternatives to protect its supply of natural resources, including building the blue water naval capability to ship natural resources over the sea, before the Sino-Russian strategic relationship turns sour. At this time, the US has closed down any possible land route over which China could obtain oil from the Middle East, except Iran. China’s land route is limited to the Central Asian countries and Russia.

Source: Study Times, October 19, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=3001&nid=10873&bid=12&page=1

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

National Defense University Professor: Strategic Partnership with Russia Has Reached a New High

On October 13, 2009, China and Russia signed an agreement regarding mutual notification when launching ballistic missiles and carriers. The People’s Daily published a commentary by Wang Baofu, a professor at the Strategic Institute of China’s National Defense University. Wang acknowledged that signing of the pact is a clear indication that the security collaboration between the two countries has reached a new high. The significance of this collaboration has reached beyond military security and trust. The development of the Sino-Russian relationship in all areas is the result of strategic trust between the two countries.

Source: People’s Daily, October 17, 2009
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2009-10/17/content_361741.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Hunan Province Advances a New Internet Control Platform

Red Net, the Website for the Communist Party’s Hunan Province Committee and Hunan Provincial government, disclosed that Hunan will advance an Internet monitoring platform soon, as directed by the Ministry of Culture. The platform contains the traditional Internet Café monitoring software and a Hunan Culture Website, providing monitoring and servicing capabilities. This platform prevents users from accessing “harmful” information.

The provincial Cultural Inspection Team and municipal and county-level cultural inspection team will inspect Internet Cafés randomly and penalize businesses that haven’t installed, have stopped using or have removed the platform.

Source: Red Net, October 17, 2009
http://hn.rednet.cn/c/2009/10/17/1840624.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology