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Briefings - 319. page

CNA: Government Paying Off Debt Is Now a Political Duty

Primary Taiwanese news agency CNA (The Central News Agency) recently reported that Chinese Deputy Premier Liu He tasked all levels of the government, as a “political duty,” to pay off their debts owed to private sector companies. Currently, privately owned companies are facing high pressure from both internal challenges and international threats. Liu indicated that this important task is tightly related to the government’s reputation, economic growth, social expectations, and the job market. The measures of the task were established to, by the end of this year, clear up half of the debts that the government and state-owned companies owe as well as all debts that the central government owned companies owe. The urgent task reflected a growing problem that the government, for many years, has been dragging out the payments owed to the private sector. The current domestic and international economic challenges have now brought that issue to a tipping point. Private companies in China face a very unfair business environment.

Source: CNA, October 23, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201910230098.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry: CNN Asked a Questionable Question about the 39 Deaths in Britain

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented in a press conference on a question that CNN asked regarding the recent 39 deaths discovered in a container truck in Britain. The question CNN asked was, “When China just declared major achievements at its 70th anniversary, why are people still fleeing China for the West?” Hua pointed out that the motive for this question itself was very questionable. She said the victims have not yet identified as Chinese citizens and it is a big tragedy regardless which country these people are from. She also said that the Chinese people have never ever had the level of happiness that they have today and from a global angle, the country with serious illegal immigration issues is not China.

Source: Sina, October 25, 2019
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2019-10-25/doc-iicezzrr4947922.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The Paper: China Organized 2019 World Young Scientist Summit

The Paper recently reported on the World Young Scientist Summit, which was held in Wenzhou city on October 26. The China Association of Science and Technology, the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, the Zhejiang Science and Technology Association and the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Government hosted the summit. This summit involved the strategic cooperation agreement signed between the China Association for Science and Technology and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. It is a high-level and international talent exchange that the China Association for Science and Technology and the Zhejiang Provincial Government created. One-hundred nine domestic and foreign academicians attended the summit, including four Nobel Prize winners, one Turing Award winner, 57 overseas academicians, 52 domestic academicians, 269 overseas representatives, and 475 young science and technology professionals from 102 countries, regions, and international organizations. According to the article, the summit will set up a young scientists’ network to enable commercialization of scientific inventions and projects, set up new business funding and introduce a talent acquisition policy.

Source: The Paper, October 26, 2019
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4783203

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Sohu: Guangzhou International Conference on “Understanding China” Held in Guangzhou

Sohu reported that the “Understanding China” Guangzhou International Conference opened in Guangzhou on October 26. Huang Kunming, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and director of the Central Publicity Department, attended the opening ceremony. He read a congratulatory letter from Xi Jinping and delivered an opening speech. Li Xi, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. In Huang’s speech, Huang emphasized that, in order to “understand China,” it is important first to understand the path China is taking. It is a path based on the domestic situation in China and must move forward under the leadership of the party. About 600 people including more than 30 world-renowned politicians, strategists, scholars, and entrepreneurs attended the conference. Keynote speakers also included former Mexican President, 21st Century Council President Zedillo, United Nations Industrial Development Organization Director-General Li Yong, President of the National Innovation and Development Strategy Research Association Zheng Bijian, and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.

[Editor’s note: The “Understanding China” Guangzhou International Conference is part of China’s effort to control the discourse power and to “tell the China story” amid the global wave of questioning of China’s economic practices and the expansion of its power.]

Source: Sohu, October 27, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/349847656_120152148

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCP Propaganda Chief Criticized America for Cyber Bullying without Naming It

Huang Kunming, head of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and a member of the CCP Politburo, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 6th World Internet Conference.

Lianhe Zaobao [the largest Singapore-based Chinese-language newspaper] reported that, without specifying which country he was referring to, Huang was criticizing the United States. He stated, “Some countries have used national security as an excuse and have restricted and attacked other countries and enterprises. This has increased the uncertainty and even the antagonism in cyberspace.”

Huang warned, “The Cold War and zero-sum game thinking have hindered exchanges in cyberspace. Cyber hegemony and bullying behavior in cyberspace have jeopardized the mutual trust in Internet space.”

This is the second year for Huang to attend the opening ceremony of the World Internet Conference. In his speech last year, he called for “effectively safeguarding the right to development, participation, and governance of all countries in cyberspace.” This year, he took a tougher, offensive stance and emphasized the rationality of China’s development of a new generation of Internet technology to seek more space for China’s 5G technology in the international communities.

Although the World Internet Conference this year is not getting as much attention as it did in previous years, it remains an important platform for China to declare its cyber position and compete for the right to speak on global Internet space. In his keynote speech, Huang Kunming reiterated China’s vision of promoting China from a “big cyber player” to a “major cyber power.”

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, October 21, 2019
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20191021-998663

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Scholar: China Has the Ability to Destroy the U.S., but Should Avoid a Hot War

Jin Canrong, a scholar at Renmin University of China, spoke at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum. He stated that China and the United States should show transparency to each other and that both countries ought to avoid a hot war. Jin said, “China has the ability to destroy the United States.”  He said that the U.S. can destroy China ten times but China need only destroy the U.S. once. The Beijing Xiangshan Forum was an international event that the Chinese military hosted. Jin made the above remarks when the Taiwan based Central News Agency interviewed him.

Jin added that many Chinese scholars today hope to return to the “keeping a low profile” foreign policy from the Deng Xiaoping’s era, believing that with a continuation of that policy, China will attract little attention and there will be no problems (between the two countries). Jin refuted the idea as “being very naïve.” “Keeping a low profile would lead Americans to think it is deception.” If Deng Xiaoping were still alive, Jin believes Deng will also change his strategic thinking because Deng’s strategy came out of “practice.” It is useless even if the policy has not changed. Anyway, China is too strong to hide it.

Jin said that China and the U.S. should also avoid a cold war, which is no good for either side. The game played between the two powers needs to be transparent. Therefore, it was necessary to show some strength during the recent military parade so as to avoid miscalculations by the hostile parties. After all, in  history, “miscalculations” caused many wars.

Source: Central News Agency, October 21, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201910210268.aspx

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Beijing’s Angry Response to Pence’s China Speech

On October 25, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying commented on Vice President Mike Pence’s China speech for the Wilson Center. Hua said, “(the Pence speech) deliberately distorted China’s social system and its human rights and religious conditions and unreasonably criticized China’s domestic and foreign policies. Pence’s remarks were exactly the same as his speech given last October, full of arrogance, hypocrisy, political prejudice and lies.”

Hua continued, “On these issues, Pence headed a handful of American politicians in calling white black and black white, made carping comments, and spread rumors and slander. Their purpose was to interfere with China’s internal affairs and obstruct China’s stability and development. However, dark clouds cannot cover up the sun and lies cannot cover up the truth. Any attempt to undermine China’s national unification, ethnic unity, and social stability, as well as any plot to damage the reputation of and splash dirty water on China is destined to be only daydreaming and to be cast aside by history.”

“People like Pence easily make irresponsible remarks and boss around other countries. At the same time, they turn a blind eye to the serious problems in the United States. They attempt to cover up their political problems by defaming other countries and diverting the attention of the American public.” Hua added, “We advise some people in America to take a hard look in the mirror, see clearly their own problems, mind their own business, stop yelling around the world, and pack up the set of tricks that harm others without benefiting themselves.”

Source: Xinhua, October 25, 2019
http://www.xinhuanet.com/2019-10/25/c_1125153705.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Epoch Times: As GDP Hits All Time Low, Li Keqiang Invites Foreign Companies to Invest in China

In spite of an economy that worsened in the first three quarters of 2019, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently invited overseas multinational companies to invest in China. On October 18, Li met with representatives from BMW, Airbus, Sanofi, Emerson Electric, Schneider Electric, and Rolls-Royce Holdings. He told them that Beijing will deal with its economic difficulties and he welcomed the world’s manufacturing companies to invest in China. On October 16, in Beijing, Li met with Greenberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the US-China Business Council. Li once again said, “We welcome companies from all over the U.S. to expand investment cooperation with China.” On October 14, during his visit to Shaanxi, Li visited South Korea’s Samsung in China. Li said that China treats domestic and foreign companies in China equally and “welcomes the opportunity for companies from all over the world to share the development opportunities in China.”

According to a commentary article Epoch Times published, the speeches on foreign investment that Li gave in the past five days underlined a domestic economic downturn. The article also summarized the current state of the top private business owners in China indicating the tough business environment that private owners in China have had to deal with. This environment has resulted in a serious lack of confidence among them:
1) Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese-Canadian businessman and billionaire, who is the owner of Tomorrow Holdings, is known for managing assets for members of China’s Crown Prince Party. He was abducted to Mainland China in 2017.
2) Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman and chief executive of Anbang Insurance Group, was one of the largest insurers in China. In May 2018 China confiscated $85.7 billion of his assets and sentenced him to 18 years in prison based on charges of fraud and embezzlement.
3) Ye Jianming, founder and former Chairman of China Energy Company Limited, has been under investigation in China since March 2018 on charges of bribery.
4) Wang Jian, Chairman of the HNA group, died from a fall while he was vacationing in France in July 2018.
5) Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba, resigned on September 10.
6) On September 19, Ma Huateng stepped down as the legal representative of Tencent Credit.
7) On September 20, Liu Chuanzhi, the chairman of Lenovo, stepped down as the legal representative and director of the company.

Source: Epoch Times, October 27, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/10/20/n11601007.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics