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Xinhua: Xi Jinping Visited Russian Defense Ministry

On March 23, 2013,  Xinhua reported that new Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Russian Defense Ministry. This was the first time the head of the Chinese government visited Russia’s Ministry of Defense. It was also the first time any head of state paid a visit. The Russian Defense Minister welcomed Xi and guided the tour. Russian President Putin recommended this visit. It was seen as a gesture to demonstrate the close relationship between the two countries. Xi suggested that the military cooperation between the two countries is especially important in the “comprehensive strategic partnership” relationship the two are building. Xi spent quite some time experiencing the live operations of the Russian Federal Combat Command Center.
Source: Xinhua, March 23, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-03/24/c_124495586.htm
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CRN: China to Become Russia’s Largest Oil Customer

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that Russia has decided that, over the next five years, it will double the amount of oil it supplies to China. This will make China Russia’s biggest purchaser of oil. A series of agreements will be signed very soon. Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, is reportedly the primary supplier. In addition to oil agreements, more agreements could be reached during China’s new President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow. Other deals may include arms delivery and natural gas contracts. Anonymous sources also suggested that the oil agreements include loans of over $30 billion to Rosneft. In recent years, Russia has been shifting the focus of its oil exports to Asia. Oil that Russia has been providing to Europe has been on the decline while the market saw a fifteen percent increase this year in oil supplied to the Asia-Pacific region. 
Source: China Review News, March 21, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1024/7/6/7/102476758.html?coluid=10&kindid=253&docid=102476758&mdate=0321092533
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Huanqiu: Close Ties between China and Russia Will Benefit Both in Foreign Policy

On March 23, 2013, Huanqiu published an opinion piece on Xi Jinping’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The article discussed how the two countries can benefit from strategic energy cooperation. It said, "Since China will ultimately become the biggest importer of oil from Russia, it means that, as long as both countries can build a strong basis for trust with each other, China and Russia will have strategic close ties with each other." The article also stated that the cooperation between China and Russia will not harm either country’s relationship with the Western world. It continued, “The strong alliance between the two will not be enough to threaten the Western world, but the strategic partnership would be strong enough for either country to face the isolation and attacks from the outside world.” 

Source: Huaqiu, March 23, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-03/3760782.html

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People’s Daily Online Launches Hong Kong Branch

The network department of the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, People’s Daily Online Co., Ltd. has established a Hong Kong branch. The inaugural ceremony was held in Hong Kong on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

People’s Daily Online, born in 1997, appears in 15 languages ​​and 16 editions, with 24-hour rolling news reports. Liao Hong, the president of People’s Daily Online, said at the inaugural meeting, that the expansion of People’s Daily Online to Hong Kong was to "build a platform for communications between the government and the people and to promote social harmony." According to Liao, People’s Daily Online has no plans, in the short term, to be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

In recent years, China’s official media have continuously expanded overseas. Newspapers and TV networks have launched or expanded their businesses in the West by setting up offices in Western Europe and the United States. People’s Daily Online, which has 29 domestic branches, has already been operating overseas branches in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Russia, Australia, and South Africa.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 20, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/03/130320_people_daily.shtml

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People’s Daily: Xi Jinping Will Soon Visit Russia

People’s Daily recently reported that the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, said at a press conference that the new Chinese President, Xi Jinping, will soon visit Russia. This will be the first country Xi visits as President. Li suggested that this planned visit itself represents the importance of the China-Russia relationship. Li expressed the belief that the political relationship between the two countries is currently “very good, so that the focus should be on actionable cooperation plans.” Li also suggested that the China-Russia trade volume could easily increase several times more “without a problem.”
Source: People’s Daily, March 17, 2013
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2013/0317/c164113-20816833.html
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Chinese-funded Enterprises Made Headway in Europe

On March 15, People’s Daily published an article that gave a detailed account about the expansion of Chinese enterprises in Europe. It mentioned such companies as Haier (in Italy), Shanxi Yuncheng Saueressig Plate-making Co., Ltd (in Spain), Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (in the UK), Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd. (in the Netherlands), Huawei, and ZTE Corporation.

According to the article, as of the end of 2012, the number of Chinese-funded enterprises in Spain reached a total of 34, with the main businesses being in communications, financial services, steel, fishing, air transport, and maritime transport. As of the end of November 2012, cumulative investment from China in Spain amounted to $410 million, including $24.21 million from January to November 2012. In 2011 and 2012, China’s new investment projects in the Netherlands numbered 30 and 31 respectively, expanding to the sectors of energy, construction, finance, and advanced technologies. The total number of Chinese-funded enterprises in the Netherlands is more than 300, with a cumulative total investment of about $30 billion, hiring 7,000 local employees.

Source: People’s Daily, reprinted on Xinhua, March 15
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-03/15/c_124460827.htm

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Xinhua: How Could a Cold Shoulder and a Big Stick Break the North Korea Nuclear Deadlock?

In a Xinhua headline report regarding the North Korea nuclear issue, the editor added the following note:

“On the 5th of this month, North Korea issued a statement declaring three things: first, that the Korean Armistice Agreement would be ‘invalid’ from the time that the U.S.-ROK joint military exercises began on the 11th; second, that the the non-aggression agreement between the two Koreas was totally abolished; and third, that the hot-line between the two Koreas was cut off. At the same time, Korea and the U.S. held a ‘vulture’ and ‘key decision’ joint military exercise and said they would increase their monitoring of the DPRK. 
“After North Korea carried out a third nuclear test and the United Nations announced a new resolution on North Korea, the tension between the DPRK and the ROK-US heightened further. However, the ball is now in the United States’ court. A cold shoulder plus a big stick are not going to resolve the current impasse.”
“How the … can the Peninsula get out of this vicious cycle?" 
“Only by improving relations with the DPRK and making North Korea feel secure, can [the U.S.] help settle the DPRK nuclear issue. It is better than doing the opposite, asking the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program as a precondition to improving U.S.-DPRK relations. This up-side-down policy logic can only lead the relationship to a dead end. Whether it should put down its ‘cold shoulder’ and break the deadlock, or continue the same way, is up to the United States.”
Source: Xinhua, March 12, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-03/12/c_124444019.htm
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Chinese Scholar: China Should Launch Media, Economic, and Military Warfare against Japan

On February 23, 2013, China Gate published a Chinese scholar’s article titled, “Give up the Fantasy about ‘Friendship’: Fight Japan on Three Fronts.” The article asserted that the Diaoyu Islands (also called the Senkaku Islands in Japan) crisis indicates that Japan has renounced its friendship with China. In order to defend China’s sovereignty and maintain regional peace, China should launch media warfare, economic warfare, and military warfare against Japan.

According to the article, Japan is a pawn of the United States. The U.S. just wants to cause the Sino-Japanese relationship to deteriorate. “What the U.S. wants most is to stop the Chinese and Japanese currency exchange so as to consolidate the U.S. dollar’s hegemony.”

Source: China Gate, February 23, 2012
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2013/02/23/2247383.html

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