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A Sampling of How Xinhua’s International Sphere Reports World News

International Sphere, an online magazine under Xinhua, is dedicated to reporting on international topics under a major theme in each issue. It has published 615 issues so far. Below is list of the titles of the most recent issues: 

09/09/2015 [issue 615]: Can the U.K. and France’s Bombing of IS Solve the Refugee Crisis? [The Answer is no.] 

09/08/2015: “Opening the Door” for Refugees. Will Europe Be Able to Resolve the Crisis? 

09/07/2015: The Death of a Little [Boy] Refugee Raises Questions about U.S. Tyranny and Indifference 

09/06/2015: The World’s Praises: China’s Military Parade Is All for Peace 

09/03/2015: Behaving Willfully. What Is [Shinzo] Abe’s Administration Up to?  
09/02/2015: The European Refugee Crisis: The Struggle between Morals and Ability 

09/01/2015: A Million People Protesting. Is Abe Deaf? 
08/31/2015: What Is Japan Hiding behind the “Revival” of the Warships That Invaded China? 
08/28/2015: With the Backing of the U.S., the Philippines Can Act at Will? 

08/27/2015: What Is the Intention in Making Irresponsible Remarks about the China-Russia Military Exercises? 

Source: Xinhua, September 9, 2015 
http://www.news.cn/world/hqlft.htm

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Xi Jinping Called for Resumption of the Six-Party Talks

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping called for resuming the halted Six-Party Talks, which included North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, and the United States. Xi made the suggestion when he met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Xi also said that China is against any activity that will intensify the situation on the Korean Peninsula. He emphasized that China sticks to the denuclearization of the Peninsula and to the process of using dialogue to resolve conflicts. All parties should make an effort to resume the Six-Party Talks. President Park Geun-hye’s office issued a statement advising that the situation on the Korean Peninsula remains tense.
Source: Sina, September 3, 2015
http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/forex/20150903/150723155741.shtml
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Xinhua: What Does Japan Intend to Do with Its Continual Revival of Invasion Battleships?

Xinhua published a series of articles in its magazine Global Sphere commenting on Japan’s intention to resurrect its military. Below are some quotes from the articles. 

“Recently, Japan officially launched the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s newest quasi-carrier ‘Kaga.’ It has the same name as the main ship known as the ‘devil ship’ aircraft carrier ‘Kaga’ that invaded China. In 2013, Japan’s quasi-carrier ‘Izumo’ followed the name of the old warships that invaded China. The Abe government’s excuse is very simple, ‘This is only the name of the ancient nation.’ There are so many names of ancient nations. Why pick the name of the battleship that was used for aggression in World War II and more than once. Japan used this name [of the battleship] again, totally ignoring the feelings of World War II victims. It adds insult to injury for the World War II victims. It is to summon the spirit of militarism and create more obstacles to Sino-Japanese relations.” 
“Japan expert Yuan Yang from the Chinese Military Academy said that, many times, Japan has been like a bad child, constantly challenging the adults’ bottom line with petty actions. Adults do not care about him but feel somehow bothered. If we took him seriously, he would feel aggrieved. This approach seems to have become a strategy in Japan. Jin Canrong, Vice President of international relations at Renmin University of China, believes that the fact that Japan chose the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to launch the "quasi-carrier" into the water has a special meaning. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes to use the nation’s emotions towards the tragedy to support his militaristic ambitions of rearmament. Jin said that now the U.S. military is financially weak; it is reducing its military budget. The U.S. military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region must rely on Japan. This gives Abe the opportunity for the massive development of military power.” 
Source: Xinhua: Global Sphere issue 608, August 2015 
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/jrch/608.htm

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China Three Gorges to Buy Brazil Power Assets

On Tuesday, August 25, the São Paulo-based firm and Brazilian group, Triunfo Participações e Investimentos (TPI) announced that it had agreed to sell a controlling stake in three energy subsidiaries to China Three Gorges for up to 1.9bn reais (US$538 million).
In a statement, Triunfo said the divestment included all of its shares in Rio Verde Energia, Rio Canoas Energia, and Triunfo Negócios de Energia. Triunfo added that the deal is for 970mn reais plus 770mn reais in debt, with an additional 148.5mn reais payable "upon the achievement of certain events."
Rio Verde Energia is operator of the 116MW hydropower plant of the same name in Goiás state while Rio Canoas is responsible for the 192MW Garibaldi plant in Santa Catarina. Triunfo Negócios de Energia is involved in power trading. According to Triunfo, the operation is subject to conditions and approval from local regulators.
Excluding the latest acquisition, China Three Gorges Brazil holds interests in three hydropower plants and 11 wind farms totaling 687MW of installed capacity.
Source: Xinhua, August 26, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-08/26/c_1116381781.htm
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Xinhua: The Philippines Is Determined to Reopen the Subic Bay Base

Xinhua recently reported that the Philippines’ Defense Secretary stated that, even if the United States military won’t be able to be stationed at Subic Bay, the government has decided to rebuild and reopen the military base for its own military. The Subic Bay Base used to be the United States’ largest overseas military base. The U.S. closed and left the Base in 1992. In order to support the activities in the South China Sea, last year the Philippines government signed an agreement with the United States for its temporary use of the Base. The Philippines left-wing political party filed a claim in the Supreme Court charging that the agreement was a violation of the nation’s Constitution. The case is still pending a Supreme Court final ruling. Subic Bay is an ideal location for a naval base. Its location is strategic to the South China Sea region. Currently it is a free port, but the local authorities had an agreement with the domestic military to rebuild part of the military base for the Navy and the Air Force. The Defense Secretary of the Philippines called the nearby Chinese activities “a threat,” and that’s “why the U.S. presence is needed.”
Source: Xinhua, August 15, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-08/15/c_128132224.htm
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Qiushi Theory: How Close Can the U.S. and Vietnam Relationship Be?

Qiushi Theory carried an article on the U.S. and Vietnam relationship. It relied heavily on quotes from an interview with Yuan Zheng, Deputy Director of the Division of American Foreign Policy Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article said that the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam is warming up due to the economic and strategic benefits that both countries are seeking from each other. According to the article, the amount of goods traded both ways between the U.S. and Vietnam has increased from US$450 million in 1995 to the current annual amount of US$36 billion. In addition to maintaining the U.S. as the largest export market for clothing and shoes, Vietnam also wishes to benefit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. is working on. From a strategic perspective, Vietnam is trying to use the U.S. to balance China, while the U.S. effort to improve its relationship with Vietnam is an important part of the U.S. Asia and Pacific strategy. The article said that differences still exist between the U.S. and Vietnam as the U.S. will use human rights as an excuse to control Vietnam. Meanwhile there is no independent union in Vietnam, which will be a disadvantage for Vietnam during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The article also predicted that Vietnam still has reservations about the U.S. and that it is unlikely that it will lean totally towards the U.S.

Source: Qiushi Theory, August 11, 2015
http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2015-08/11/c_1116216614.htm

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Global Times: Russia and Japan Will Not Get Close Together

Recently, news about Russian-Japanese relations has repeatedly appeared in the media. Talking about whether a closer relationship between Russia and Japan will damage China’s interests, Wang Haiyun, senior adviser at the Chinese Institute of International Strategic Association, expressed the belief that Russia and Japan will not really come together. He listed the following reasons as the basis for his opinion: 

First, the strategic interests of Russia and Japan are in conflict. Russia is an emerging big non-Western country, while Japan is a developed country which has boasted that it is an important member of the Western powers. Russia’s biggest security threat comes from the U.S.-led military alliance system, while Japan plays a very active role in the alliance system. 
Second, there is a huge difference between Japan and Russia’s strategic ideals. Russia values a multipolar world, democratization of international relations, and a diversified world civilization. It strongly advocates the establishment of a just and rational international political and economic order and safeguards the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and the principle of an independent development path. Japan, on the other hand, has closely followed the U.S. which has repeatedly and brutally been destroying these major principles. 
Third, there are many strategic contradictions between Japan and Russia. The territorial dispute between Russia and Japan is a dead knot. 

All in all, there are many structural contradictions between Russia and Japan. Although relations between the two countries may be easing, they definitely will not get very close. It is reasonable to be vigilant to the risk that closer Russia-Japan relations may harm China’s interests, but there is no need to worry too much. 

Source: Huanqiu (Global Times), July 29, 2015 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2015-07/7129964.html

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Xinhua: Japanese Media Are Turning Right

Xinhua published a commentary stating that, since the beginning of this century, Japanese media have been turning right, following the political right-wing development. They exaggerate the “China Threat” and advocate populism, thus providing excuses for Abe to amend the Constitution to allow military expansion. 

The commentary alleged that the Japanese media make misrepresentations when reporting on China related events. It cited the September 2010 incident in which a Chinese fishing boat collided with a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat near the Diaoyu Islands and also the news reporting on the South China Seas dispute. 
The commentary further alleged that, since 2013, books that criticize China and South Korea have been selling fast. It has become a fashion in the publishing business to publish such books. 
Lastly, the commentary stated that new online media have also been following suit and are increasingly vocal about their dislike of China. In particular, the online media dedicated to China news are keen on picking negative news about China to demonstrate “their superiority over China or their hatred of China.” These reports are often reproduced on Yahoo in Japan, further amplifying the adverse effect. 
Source: Xinhua, July 31, 2015 
 http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-07/31/c_128076805.htm
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