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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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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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