Briefings – Page 796

HSBC February PMI Number Reached a Four-Month Low

Economic Information, a daily newspaper under Xinhua, recently reported on the February HSBC PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number for the Chinese manufacturing industry. The February number was 50.4, which was the lowest in four months. Experts expressed the belief that the primary cause of the decline in the PMI was the high pressure on the export side, especially as the demand from the United States suffered a decline. Some also thought the slowness caused by the Chinese New Year celebration was another factor affecting the low PMI number. Many small and mid-sized manufacturers in the Chinese coastal area are experiencing difficulties in their operations. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting the purchase managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Economic Information, February 26, 2013

http://dz.jjckb.cn/www/pages/webpage2009/html/2013-02/26/content_71548.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | March 5, 2013 | Economy/Resources

CRN: China Is Tightening Its Currency Policy

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that the Chinese central bank has started withdrawing RMB 910 billion yuan from the open market. Experts expressed the belief that this is a sign that the Chinese government is tightening up its currency policy. There are three forces behind this move: (1) Since the last quarter of 2012, capital inflow has significantly increased; (2) The interest rate before the Chinese New Year has remained stable, which indicates an ample currency supply; (3) There is an expectation of increased inflation and real estate prices are high. It seems the central bank is attempting to limit the currency supply in order to control the level of money lending activities. However, since the economic recovery is still weak, it may be too early to predict an interest rate hike.

Source: China Review News, March 2, 2013

http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1024/5/5/1/102455150.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102455150&mdate=0302082735

Briefings | | March 5, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Sanctioned Chinese Firm Profits from Transactions with Iran

Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee, the person-in-charge of the operation of the Dalian Metallurgy & Minerals Co., a firm sanctioned by the U.S. for exporting missile parts to Iran, is still making millions in profit from the company’s transactions. Several officials responsible for overseeing the Western countries and the United Nations sanctions said that, since 2009, when he was sued by the New York District Attorney, Li Fangwei has received at least US$10 million in profit from illegally trading with Iran.

Trade sanctions are the major means for the international community to stop Iran from developing its nuclear weapons program. Li has been accused of continuing his company’s illegal provision of materials to Iran. This may be related to Iran, which is very clever at evading the international sanctions and may also be related to China’s export restrictions policy. Although it is difficult to quantify the support that foreign companies and individuals have provided to Iran’s nuclear and missile program, analysts believe that Iran cannot independently manufacture some important components.

Li told Reuters that Iran continues to propose the commercial requirements to him, but he provides only legitimate goods, such as iron and steel products. Li also denied the charge that he has sold any missiles or nuclear related products since a few years ago, when the United States began the sanctions against Iran. However security officials overseeing the United Nations’ sanctions accused Li of adopting deceptive means to continue these illegal transactions with Iran, including changing the company’s name in order to sell Iran advanced alloys, Chinese or foreign-made uranium enrichment, and missile parts. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China has always abided by international regulations on trade restrictions.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 1, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/03/130301_china_iran.shtml

Briefings | | March 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

Chinese Space Scientist: Chang’e 3 Mission to Launch in 2013

China’s National Space Administration has scheduled a launch of the Chang’e 3 for a lunar exploration mission in late 2013. According to Ye Peijian (叶培建), a space scientist and the chief engineer for the program, the mission will operate by incorporating a robotic lander and a rover; it is part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.

This will be China’s first lunar rover and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976. It is named after Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon and is a follow-up to the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 lunar orbiters. Chang’e 3 will perform tasks that include a soft landing on the Moon, lunar surface exploration, survival on the lunar surface, deep space communications, remote operations, and a carrier rocket directly entering the Earth-Moon transfer orbits. The Chang’e 3 lander is said to be carrying an astronomical telescope and an extreme ultraviolet camera. The rover is said to be carrying radar for lunar exploration.

Source: Xinhua, March 3, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013lh/2013-03/03/c_114868837.htm

Briefings | | March 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

Scholar: 80 Percent of China’s Sludge Not Processed

He Yue, a professor from China’s Tianjin University, recently said that, according to the China’s Sludge Treatment and Disposal Market Analysis Report, China’s annual urban sewage treatment capacity is equivalent to the total storage capacity of the Three Gorges Reservoir. However, 80 percent of the sludge from this "reservoir" is not dealt with, easily causing secondary pollution to the environment. "A large amount of toxic and harmful sludge has become a time bomb for the urban environment." He said that the sludge contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, heavy metals, parasite eggs, and germs. It will not only endanger the environment of the underground water, rivers, and farmland, but also human health through the food chain. "China’s sewage treatment industry has developed rapidly, but the byproduct sludge has not been disposed of reasonably and safely." He said, this "sewage reservoir" produces nearly 22 million tons of dewatered sludge annually, of which only 20 percent receives the necessary processing. It has been estimated that by 2020 China will see as much as 60 million tons of sludge per year.

Source: People’s Daily, March 4, 2013
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0304/c70731-20660367.html

Briefings | | March 4, 2013 | Economy/Resources

China’s Defense Ministry Claims U.S. Hackers Frequently Attack Chinese Military Websites

On February 28, 2013, China’s Defense Ministry held a press conference at which its spokesperson, Geng Yansheng, claimed that hackers from the United States have launched frequent attacks against China’s military websites. Geng stated, “In 2012, according to the IP addresses of the display, the websites of China’s Ministry of Defense and military newspaper PLA Daily suffered attacks from the outside on an average of 14.4 million time per month. Attacks from the United States accounted for 62.9 percent of the total.”

Geng also stated, “A number of China’s military websites have faced serious threats from cyber attacks since their inception. In recent years, the number of attacks has shown an upward trend. We noticed that the U.S. media recently reported that the United States will adopt the policy of "pre-emptive" cyber attacks, expand network warfare units on a large-scale, and establish rules for cyber warfare. The above practices are not conducive to the joint efforts of the international community to enhance Internet security. We hope that the United States will explain and clarify its position.”

Sources: Website of China’s Defense Ministry, Xinhua

http://www.mod.gov.cn/auth/2013-03/01/content_4434987.htm

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-03/01/c_124401781.htm

Briefings | | March 1, 2013 | US-China Relations

SARFT: TV Documentaries to be Submitted for Approval before Shooting

China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) recently issued a "Notice on the implementation of the system of announcing the subject of TV documentaries." The Notice stipulated that, to further boost the market for TV documentaries and to avoid duplication of subject matter and waste resources, starting in 2013, the subject of TV documentaries must be submitted for examination and approval.

Although SARFT did not specify which types of TV documentaries fall under the above regulation, contemporary subjects that involve the corruption of senior officials or promoting multi-party democratic mechanisms are usually strictly scrutinized, in addition to the subjects of violence and pornography.

According to the new policy, 1) those productions of TV documentaries that have been prohibited under the jurisdiction of the central government, documentaries that are to be jointly produced by Chinese and foreign organizations, and imported documentaries, need to submit directly to SARFT; 2) those to be produced or imported by the military must first be submitted to the PLA’s General Political Department before final submission to SARFT; 3) those to be produced or imported under the jurisdiction of local governments must first be submitted to local radio, film, and television authorities before finally being submitted to SARFT.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 22, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/jz-02222013154735.html

Briefings | | February 28, 2013 | Information/Technology

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