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Global Times: Park Geun-hye Received Happy Birthday Greetings from China

Global Times recently reported that South Korean President Park Geun-hye celebrated her 64th birthday on February 2. She received a greetings letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi hand-wrote the letter himself. The two presidents have been exchanging birthday greetings letters every year since they took power. The latest letter from Xi was shortly after the North Korean nuclear test. In the letter Xi also invited Park Geun-hye to visit China and attend the APEC leadership summit. Xi and Park developed a good relationship about ten years ago, in 2005, when Park was the South Korean opposition party leader and Xi was the Party Committee Secretary of Zhejiang Province. President Park Geun-hye also received birthday presents from her Chinese grass-roots fan club as well. The club has 23,000 members across China. 
Source: Global Times, February 2, 2016
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-02/8487834.html
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China Signed 17 Agreements with Iran

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Iran, China signed 17 agreements with Iran. The agreements covered energy, finance, telecommunications, and other fields, including peaceful use of nuclear energy. China is currently Iran’s largest trade partner with an annual trade volume of US$50 billion. In the newly signed agreements, the two countries agreed to target US$600 billion in the next ten years. The two countries also signed a joint statement on establishing a 25-year “comprehensive strategic partnership.” Both Xi and Iranian President Rohani agreed to develop a tighter relationship in politics, culture, and trade. Both sides committed firmly to supporting each other on major issues concerning independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. China supports Iran in playing a more important role in regional and international matters. China also supports Iran in applying for membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). 
Source: Sina, January 24, 2016
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/china/2016-01-24/doc-ifxnuvxc1838003.shtml
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Mingpao: Military Exercises near Taiwan Not Meant to Intimidate Tsai, the President-elect of Taiwan

On January 21, 2016, Mingpao, a pro Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chinese language newspaper headquartered in Hong Kong, published an article titled, “CCTV Broadcasted the PLA Landing Exercises in Fujian after the Taiwan Election. Military Expert: Propaganda Mainly for Internal Audience Rather Than to Intimidate Tsai.” The original article was taken down from Mingpao’s main website on the afternoon of January 27, 2016. However, the article is still available online at Mingpao Canada and on some other websites which have republished it.

Five days after Taiwan’s presidential election, China Central Television (CCTV) broadcasted the news that the 31st Group Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian Province, conducted large scale landing exercises with live ammunition. The 31st Group Army mobilized long-range rockets, howitzers troops, amphibious tanks, and helicopter landing forces. Before 1979, the 31st Group Army, clearly defined as “reuniting China by landing onto the main island of Taiwan,” used to perform shelling of the Kinmen island group and the Matsu Islands of Taiwan. Broadcasting the 31st Group Army military exercises on CCTV, the predominant state television broadcaster in mainland China, triggered much speculation outside of China.

In response, Wu Ge, a military commentator in Mainland China said, “This is a routine exercise. In general, it is mainly used for internal propaganda to satisfy sentimental needs of some extreme nationalists.” Mr. Wu further said, “Tsai Ing-wen has not assumed (the presidency of Taiwan) and has not proposed any policies yet. What made the army so anxious? The main reason was that Xi Jinping was in a tour outside of China. Someone took the opportunity to exaggerate the propaganda. The exercise did not target the Taiwan election. The main purpose of the propaganda targeted Taiwan.”

Source: Mingpao, January 22, 2016
http://www.mingpaocanada.com/VAN/htm/News/20160122/tcaa1_r.htm
http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20160122/s00013/1453398732530
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http://news.pchome.com.tw/finance/cnyes/20160122/index-14534206806688009003.html

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Tsai Ing-wen’s Possible TPP Strategy: Taiwan Will Go to the World without Going through China

On January 19, 2016, Ettoday, a media in Taiwan, published an article on Tsai Ing-wen’s possible TPP Strategy. Ms. Tsai is the new president-elect of the Republic of China (Taiwan). While China and Taiwan’s cross-strait trade negotiations are all temporarily on hold before Tsai takes office, some people are worried that Tsai’s government may hinder Taiwan’s economic integration with other regions.

However, one official from the National Development Council in Taiwan released the information that the United States might help Taiwan to “by-pass” China by supporting Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) so as to counterbalance China. The TPP is a US-led trade agreement that includes twelve Pacific Rim countries. The treaty was signed on October 5, 2015, after 7 years of negotiations in which China was absent. A Taiwanese official who did not give out his name explained, “For Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan will go to the world without going through China.” 

Source: Ettoday, January 19, 2016
http://www.ettoday.net/news/20160119/633874.htm  
http://travel.ettoday.net/article/633874.htm
http://一頁.com/detail/1MeOchYM

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Xi Jinping’s Signed Article in Iran Newspaper

Xi Jinping published a signed article titled, "Work Together for a Bright Future for China-Iran Relations." It appeared in the Iranian newspaper Iran on January 21, 2016, during his state visit to the country.

In his article, Xi said, "Economically, our bilateral trade jumped from tens of millions of U.S. dollars in the 1970s to 51.8 billion dollars in 2014. China has been Iran’s largest trading partner for six years in a row."

"I think, the cooperation between China and Iran under the framework of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative can focus on the following areas:

"- Enhance political mutual trust and firm the foundation for cooperation. We will establish a comprehensive strategic partnership and increase exchanges between political parties, legislative organizations, and local levels. We will deepen our cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and the U.N.

"- Pursue win-win outcomes and common prosperity. China has considerable strength in capital, technologies, equipment, and other areas. Iran has rich resources, an ample labor force, and a substantial market potential. The resource endowments and comparative advantages of China and Iran are highly complementary. The implementation of the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which includes China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States] will bring new opportunities for the growth of China-Iran relations. 

"- Promote connectivity and expand practical cooperation. Connectivity is the artery of the "One Belt, One Road" Initiative. In building connectivity, we should give priority to Asian countries and start with transportation infrastructure. China has a strong competitive edge in areas such as railway, electricity, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and construction materials. We committed US$40 billion to establish a Silk Road Fund in 2014 to support relevant cooperation projects in countries along the ‘One Belt, One Road.’ Iran is strategically located in the west part of Asia and has distinctive geographical advantages. China is willing to deepen cooperation with Iran on building roads, railways, sea routes, and the Internet; facilitate East-West connectivity in Asia; lower the cost of the cross-border movement of people, merchandise, and capital; and expand cooperation involving energy resources and industries.
"- Uphold openness and inclusiveness and encourage cultural exchanges. We need to strengthen exchanges in culture, education, news, publishing, tourism, and other fields and to encourage more exchanges between the youth and students."

Source: Xinhua, January 21, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-01/21/c_1117854563.htm

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Chinese Military Hawk’s Opinion on Taiwan

Luo Yuan, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) major-general and Chinese military theorist, published an opinion article on Huanqiu, a People’s Daily publication; in the wake of the recent Taiwan general election, Luo expressed the following:
“Despite the fortuitous development of the Taiwan issue, an iron principle should never be bent: to conform to the historical trend. … No matter what kind of twists and turns may appear, reunification with the motherland is a historical trend that no one can stop.
“We will respect public opinion, but there is a difference between a broad and a narrow public opinion. On the issue of national unity, one should only listen to the broad public opinion of the entire nation, instead of the narrow opinion of the people in one region. … The option of Taiwan’s reunification or independence can be decided only by the 1.3 billion Chinese people including those in Taiwan.
“We will weigh the pros against the cons, but there is a difference between major pros and cons and the small pros and cons. National unity is a serious matter. No cost can be weighed as being superior to the value of unification.
“We will act according to the law. There is a difference between the large law and the small law. On the matter of national unity, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the National Defense Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the Anti-Secession Law are the iron laws that establish the bottom line that no one should touch and the legal framework that no local laws can surpass.
“There is a difference between peaceful reunification and military reunification and we will make every effort to achieve a peaceful reunification. As long as the peace does not die, we will make a one hundred percent effort. In exchange for the best interest of a unified country, we will minimize the costs for the people on both sides. We have made the promise that ‘Chinese don’t fight Chinese,’ but if the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces drive us into a corner, we have no choice but the military solution. ‘If you want reunification, then peace; if independence, then war.’ One cannot draw an equal sign between independence and peace.”
Source: Huanqiu, January 25, 2016
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/1152/2016-01/8438331.html
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BBC Chinese: African Exports to China Declined by 40 Percent

BBC Chinese recently reported that, according to official data that Chinese Customs just released, total exports from Africa to China declined by around 40 percent in 2015. China is Africa’s largest trade partner. In recent years, China’s demand for Africa’s resources greatly pushed the African economy forward. However, the obvious slow-down of the Chinese economy directly caused the significant decline in African exports to China. Many African currencies devalued in the past year due to heavy economic pressure. In the meantime, China’s investment in Africa has been shrinking too. In the first half of 2015, China’s direct investment in Africa saw a 40 percent drop, year-over-year. However, statistics showed African demand for Chinese goods is increasing. Chinese exports to Africa in 2015 reached US$102 billion, which represents an increase of 3.6 percent. 
Source: BBC Chinese, January 13, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2016/01/160113_china_africa_trade
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China Urges North Korea to Return to the Negotiating Table

Xinhua recently published an article in which it made an express commentary on North Korea’s test of the hydrogen bomb, stating that Beijing authorities strongly oppose the North Korean test. The article commented, “The North Korean bomb test runs counter to the goal of denuclearization.”   

The commentary further stated, “[N]o one will benefit from chaos in the peninsula. Any thoughts or actions that disrupt the peace and stability of northeast Asia are neither appropriate nor wise.” It urged that “interested parties should abandon this confrontation mentality and return to resolving the dispute through dialogue.” 
Caixin, which is pro-Xi Jinping, expressed in its commentary that “[T]he six-party talks to resolve the nuclear issue continue to be shelved. North Korea’s nuclear test is reckless. Condemnation and sanctions are not good medicine for the North Korean nuclear issue. When will North Korea stop this practice of never listening to others?” 

Sources: 
Xinhua, January 6, 2016 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-01/06/c_1117686698.htm 
Caixin.com, January 6, 2016 
http://international.caixin.com/2016-01-06/100896794.html

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