Geo-Strategic Trend - 223. page

On December 12, 2011, China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing held the opening ceremony for the sixth annual global conference of Confucius Institutes. Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, attended the conference. Liu Yandong, State Councilor and president of the Confucius Institute Headquarters council, gave a speech calling for “supporting the development of Confucius Institutes to further promote cultural exchanges.”

The ceremony featured an “I Sing Beijing” concert performed by foreign vocalists. The music included pieces from classic operas such as Madam Butterfly, as well as from revolutionary operas that forged and culminated in the Cultural Revolution, such as Red Guards on Honghu Lake and Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy.

The first conference was in 2006. More than 2,000 university presidents and representatives of Confucius Institutes from 105 countries in the world attended the 2011 conference.

Source: Xinhua, December 13, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-12/13/c_122412214.htm

On December 12, 2011, Huanqiu, a state newspaper under Xinhua, published an article titled, “China Cannot Sit Idly and Watch the U.S. Military Action against Iran that Undermines China’s Interests.” The article claimed that “the alliance between China, Russia, and Iran will be a nightmare for the United States.” “From the perspective of the U.S. global strategy, the interdependent relationship between Iran and China, as well as Russia, is the relationship between the lips and the teeth. When the lips are lost, the teeth will be exposed to the cold.” “After the U.S. killed Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Muammar Gaddafi, the three anti-American strongmen in the Islamic world, Iran became the last country in the Middle East to be under U.S. siege.”

The article concluded, “After the painful lessons of the Iraq war and the Libya war, China can no longer tolerate the U.S. and the Western countries starting wars at will and undermining China’s interests.” “China should join Russia and firmly oppose any proposal of military action against Iran.”

Source: Huanqiu, December 12, 2011
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2011-12/2255589.html

Xinhua reported on December 10 that the Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fu Ying, stated in Vienna that China is not in the business of “rescuing” Europe. Fu offered her opinion when she was visiting Europe and suggested that China is an active participant of Europe’s effort to fight the debt crisis. She said the word “rescue” was misleading. Since the European Union is the world’s largest economy with strong economic power and a much higher living standard than developing countries, it does not need a “rescuer.” Fu expressed her belief in a strong Euro and Europe’s ability to resolve the crisis. She emphasized the point that China does not intend to use financial tools to “control” any European country. She called for a “good investment environment in Europe” for investors from developing countries.

Source: Xinhua, December 11, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-12/11/c_122405576.htm

Southern Weekend recently reported on an election scandal at Cambridge University. Cambridge suspended the Chinese student organization after it could not agree on electing a new president. It also disclosed the organization’s close ties with the Chinese government.

The incident started when Chang Feifan, who was the president of the Cambridge Chinese student organization in 2010, sent an email claiming that the organization’s board had agreed that she would continue her presidency in 2011. The email generated controversy among the members, who stated that no formal election process ever took place and called for one. As elections are a requirement, when the members had not reached agreement by November 1, Cambridge formally disbanded the organization.

Aside from the election scandal, the article also described Chang Feifan, the former president, as being much like a Chinese government official stationed in Cambridge. Chang’s bio indicated that in less than two years she had hosted Chinese government officials who visited the campus and provided trainings for close to 1,000 senior government officials and senior managers from companies in China. Chang managed the foreign projects at Cambridge and was also responsible for several Chinese government sponsored projects in China. An online search suggested that a number of China’s official news agencies, including People’s Daily and China Review News had covered the activities that the Cambridge Chinese student organization hosted. An article from Beijing Youth Newspaper also reported that the Chinese consulate sponsors the annual Chinese New Years party that the Cambridge Chinese student organization hosts each year.

Source: China Review News, December 2, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1019/2/4/2/101924242.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=101924242&mdate=1202092659

The International Herald Leader published a report from Tivoli entitled “Chinese Companies in Libya in Critical Need of Help.” The article stated that the 7-month war in Libya inflicted immeasurable damage on Chinese companies in Libya and that the first step toward reconstruction of the companies is to learn how to deal with the new Libya government. Among the foes that they are facing, the Chinese companies are concerned that the position of Libya’s leaders toward China is not clear. “Some officials have even shown varying degrees of an anti-China tendency. Thus, Chinese-funded enterprises are at a relative disadvantage politically. Some of the Libya partners even half-jokingly warned that they will reduce cooperation with Chinese enterprises.” Further, China has few political advantages in comparison with the NATO countries that imposed the no-fly zone that led to the defeat of the Kaddafi regime. “Western companies are likely to have a larger piece of the pie during the upcoming Libya reconstruction.”

These Chinese companies recommended that the Chinese government offer low or zero interest rate loans to Libya as a means of winning the the new Libya government’s trust and support. For example, if China agrees to accept oil as in kind payment for its losses during the war and for the project funds that are overdue, it would be a win-win for all: Libya can proceed to complete unfinished projects; the Chinese government can win the trust of the new Libya and have access to more oil reserves; and Chinese companies in Libya can re-build the projects in Libya.

Source: International Herald Leader, November 21, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2011-11/21/c_131253008.htm

Beijing News reported that, on November 19, 2011, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President, Lee Myung Bak. Wen called for an intensified joint effort to complete the research work on the free trade zone of the three nations. He expected the free trade negotiation to start next year and a completion of the investment negotiation as early as possible. China, Japan and Korea are the three most important nations in the East Asia region. The sum of the GDP of these three countries accounts for more than half of the GDP of the entire East Asia region. However, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expressed the belief that the three nations have to build political trust first.

Source: Beijing News, November 20, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-11/20/content_293741.htm?div=-1

China Review News (CRN) recently published an editorial on what impact the United States spearheading the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will have on China. The editorial expressed the belief that the TPP, if successful, will enhance the strategic advantage of the U.S. in East Asia, while weakening China’s influence. The author suggested that China currently has the upper hand in terms of free trade agreements in East Asia. However the U.S. is now trying to take the lead in this region by taking advantage of work with its political and military allies. It seems the TPP rules are designed to eliminate the chance for China to join, especially on the fronts of government purchases, intellectual property protection, and state-owned companies. The editorial suggested that China can bypass the TPP by negotiating free trade agreements directly with TPP countries, even if China is excluded from the TPP.

Source: China Review News, November 17, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1019/0/8/0/101908005.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=101908005&mdate=1117080446

As China’s demand for technology experts continues to rise, Chinese leaders are more and more conscious of how important it is to have technology experts help China grow. The Chinese government has adopted a series of measures to attract Chinese students who have studied abroad to return to China. The “Thousand People Plan” was introduced at the end of 2008. If offers incentives to attract high tech expertise from overseas to work in China. In June 2010, the State Council issued a mid to long term plan to develop technology experts. At the 10th conference on the international Exchange of Professionals that was held in Shen Zhen on November 5, 2011, the Chinese government announced that it will allow foreigners to hold senior positions in the scientific field or state owned enterprises. It will offer them compensation to match the level of pay they would receive in the U.S. and provide them with long term visas to live in China.

Professor Yan Xuetong, the Director of the Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University, predicts that the future competition between China and the U.S. will be in technology, education, and expertise. Yan said, “Whichever country can attract the experts will be the most powerful.” He also believes that China doesn’t just need technology experts; it also needs experts who are capable of strategic thinking.

Source: Voice of America, November 17, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111117-china-talent-war-134070808.html