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EU Investigates Chinese Credit Rating Company

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, for the last two and a half years now, European Union regulators have been investigating Dagong Europe, a branch of the Chinese credit rating company Dagong International. The EU discovered that the company’s internal inspection and balancing system has defects. The confidential investigation that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been conducting is still on-going. ESMA was concerned that the company did not fully comply with the EU regulations on credit rating agencies. One of the conditions under which Dagong was issued its operating license was to avoid a conflict of interest with the licensee’s customers. The investigation was triggered when a fund named Mandarin Capital Partners, who was one of the initial investors in Dagong Europe, filed a complaint. Dagong Europe is the first Asian competitor in Europe that the top three American rating agencies (Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s) have had to face. 
Source: Sina, December 23, 2015
http://finance.sina.com/bg/economy/sinacn/20151223/08121390239.html
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Xi’s Camp Hinted That the North Korean Music Troupe Incident Was a Planned Scheme.

On December 18, 2015, Caixin (http://www.caixin.com/), a Mainland China media that is closely related to Xi Jinping’s leadership camp, published a commentary on the cancellation of a North Korean’s music performance in Beijing. This original article was removed from the online site, though the title of the article can still be found on Google.com (朝鲜演出事件与中朝关系_观点频道_财新网).  However, before the removal of the article, some overseas Chinese media had soon reprinted it and added their comments.

On December 18, 2015, creaders.net published an article titled, “Xi’s Camp hinted that the North Korea music troupe incident was a planned scheme.” Caixin’s article, according to creaders.net, implied that the cancellation of the North Korea concert was due to North Korea’s announcement of having developed a hydrogen bomb on the same day when the music troupe arrived in Beijing. This must be the scheme planned by the fraction of Jiang Zemin, who was the former top leader of China. Jiang’s faction attempted to tie up Xi Jinping’s authorities with the North Korean dictatorship.

Jiang’s faction is very close to North Korea’s Kim’s family. Inviting the North Korean troupe to China and announcing having H-bomb in the same period of time could be a scheme plotted by Liu Yunshan, who is Jiang’s follower. On October of 2015, Liu Yunshan, Head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department and a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP, attended North Korea’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Kim’s ruling party. Having Xi Jinping’s authorities and North Korea tied up would benefit North Korea on the one hand and attack Xi Jinping on the other hand. Liu Yunshan might have manipulated the Mainland Chinese media to promote the North Korean concert heavily when the troupe arrived.

Source: Creaders.net, December 18, 2015
http://news.creaders.net/china/2015/12/18/1619338.html

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BBC Chinese: China Criticized Singapore after U.S. Deployed P-8 Reconnaissance Aircraft

BBC Chinese recently reported that China criticized Singapore after the United States announced the deployment of the P-8 reconnaissance aircraft in Singapore. China’s state-owned newspaper warned that Singapore may not want to be over-confident in playing a game between China and the U.S. Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen visited Washington not long ago and called for the continued presence of the U.S. military in the region in order to maintain stability. He explained that the U.S. role is very important to the pacific. China thinks the P-8 reconnaissance aircraft is “obviously against China” and stated that, even if the China-U.S. military race escalates in the future, it should not be in the South China Sea region. Singapore has long been a militarily ally of the United States. The two nations have signed agreements since 1990. Ng Eng Hen signed another defense agreement with the U.S. during his stay in Washington. The new agreement also covers copyright protection and anti-terrorism missions.
Source: BBC Chinese, December 10, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2015/12/151210_singapore_south_china_sea
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BBC Chinese: U.S. DMG Group Moves to Aquire Taiwanese EBC TV

BBC Chinese recently reported that U.S. based DMG Group made an investment of US$600 million as the last step in acquiring the Taiwan based Eastern Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (EBC). Combined with earlier investments, DMG now owns over eighty percent of the EBC stock. EBC is one of the most influential cable and satellite TV companies in Taiwan. In 1993, U.S. citizen Dan Mintz and two Chinese citizens, Xiao Wenge and Wu Bing, founded the DMG Group. Xiao’s father is a former general in the Chinese Army. The first movie DMG invested in was named “Founding of the Republic.” The Chinese government officially backed the movie as a means of celebrating its 60th National Day. Current Taiwanese laws do not allow Mainland China to invest in the Taiwanese satellite and broadcasting industry. The DMG acquisition triggered a heated debate in Taiwan on the background of this deal. The deal still requires approval from two Taiwanese regulatory authorities: the Investment Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as well as the National Communications Commission (NCC). EBC expects the deal can be completed in Spring 2016. 
Source: BBC Chinese, December 11, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/12/151211_taiwan_ebc_us_dmg
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RFI Chinese: China-Africa Honeymoon Seems to be Ending

Radio France International (RFI) Chinese recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited South Africa last week to attend the Sixth China-Africa Cooperation Forum. Xi had just finished his visit to Zimbabwe. China’s investments in Africa have increased rapidly in recent years. However, in the first half of this year, Chinese investments dropped sharply by 40 percent. This brought the key topic to the Sixth China-Africa Cooperation Forum: what will the future be like in terms of the Chinese investments in the continent? China has been the largest buyer of resources exported out of Africa and one third of China’s overseas infrastructure construction contracts are from Africa. Using natural resources in exchange of construction investments has been a typical model between China and African countries. With the slowing of the Chinese economy, Chinese Foreign Affairs Official Zhang Ming suggested that China-Africa cooperation may need some adjustments.
Source: RFI Chinese, December 2, 2015
http://rfi.my/1Qi1OPg
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Xi Jinping: China-Africa Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership

On December 4, 2015, at the opening of the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Johannesburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to elevate “the new type of the China-Africa strategic partnership” to a “comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership.”  The comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership will be based on five principles: political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation, culture exchanges and mutual learning, mutual assistance on security, and cooperation and solidarity in international affairs. 


Xi indicated that in the next three years, China will implement cooperation programs with Africa in the following ten areas: industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, finance, green development, trade and investment, poverty reduction, public health, culture, and peace and security. 

Source: Xinhua, December 4, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-12/04/c_1117362945.htm
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BBC Chinese: South China Morning Post Acknowledged Acquisition Talks under Way

BBC Chinese recently reported that the board of the South China Morning Post released a statement which acknowledged the fact the newspaper may be acquired by a third party. Not long ago Bloomberg and China Daily both reported that Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma was attempting to acquire the Hong Kong based newspaper. South China Morning Post is the top English language newspaper in Hong Kong with a circulation of 104,000. It was founded by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham in 1903 (during the Qing Dynasty). The first edition of the Post was published on November 6, 1903. The largest shareholder of the South China Morning Post is Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok Hock Nien, who is often labeled as pro-Beijing. He clarified in a media interview that, if his shares were to be sold to a third party, it would be a pure business decision – nothing political. 
Source: BBC Chinese, November 26, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/business/2015/11/151126_scmp_statement
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Should China Participate in Military Combat against ISIS?

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Islamic State also killed a kidnapped Chinese hostage. The voices in support of military participation in anti-terrorism are gradually increasing. Proposals have been made that [China] join forces with Russia and Europe to combat terrorists. China Review News published a commentary article stating that such an action can only occupy a position of "moral righteousness." However, it is not only unconducive to the effective governance of global terrorism, but also may cause damage to national security and the national interests of China. 

The article argues that China’s focus on terrorism should not be in the Middle East. For China, the anti-terrorism issue most closely related to the Xinjiang region is always the terrorism in Central Asia and South Asia. With involvement in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East quagmire, the most likely outcome would be getting trapped and unable to disengage from it. Therefore, the most sensible thing for China on anti-terrorism in the Middle East is to support verbally, encourage morally, and maintain calm in action. 
What is more, the nature of China’s anti-terrorism and the West’s counter-terrorism, although sharing the same name, are completely different. China does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, does not seek regional hegemony, does not export values, and does not want to export revolution. China’s anti-terrorism is mainly to safeguard national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of people and goods. Therefore, China needs to maintain some distance from the anti-terrorism of the West whose [intention] is to maintain its economic system and export its values. 
Source: China Review News, November 21, 2015 http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1040/1/3/2/104013218.html?coluid=202&kindid=11690&docid=104013218&mdate=1121105932
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