Geo-Strategic Trend - 246. page

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang recently commented that, as a bilateral arrangement, the US-Japan Alliance should not have activities exceeding the scope of the two countries, and especially should not aim at third countries. The Japanese Prime Minister suggested on June 22 that the U.S. military presence in Japan has a significant deterrence function. He also expressed his serious concern about China’s growing military capabilities. When spokesman Qin Gang was asked for his opinion on the Prime Minister’s comments, he declared China’s refusal to accept any “deterrence” from any country.

Source: Xinhua, June 24, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-06/24/c_12259411.htm

Huanqiu, China’s official newspaper, published an article stating, “While we adhere to a "non-alignment" policy, we must create conditions for an alliance for future needs.” The author believes that Russia is probably the best partner for a military-political alliance, along with a few small countries.

The author said on the one hand, “China should not establish a military and political alliance with Russia or other countries; and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) should not develop into a military and political group as long as there are no substantial changes in the international strategic situation and no serious threats to national security.” On the other hand, he suggests that China lay the necessary foundation for a future alliance in case of a crisis so as to avoid international isolation.

Source: Huanqiu, July 10, 2010
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Exclusive/2010-07/918019.html

China Review News recently republished an article by an expert from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Center for Strategic Studies. The article pointed out that the typical and wide use of the concept “The West,” which includes the United States, is a mistake. Taking the West as a strategic unity does not reflect the reality of the world’s structure. The author believes that, after the Cold War, the common enemy that the U.S. and Europe shared disappeared, and the U.S. pushed a new round of expansion. The recent EU debt crisis is also proof of the obvious U.S. intention of attacking the Euro. Even the recent U.S. military base conflict between the U.S. and Japan showed the deviation from the Japanese. The article suggested that the situation seems to offer a good opportunity for China to weaken U.S. power by taking advantage of any discord within “The West.”

Source: China Review News, July 2, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/6/9/6/101369692.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101369692&mdate=0702000656

At the press briefing of the CCP’s Central Committee, the spokesperson from the International Liaison Department, one of the 11 spokespersons from 11 agencies under the party’s Central Committee, showed up to talk to journalists, and confirmed that the CCP has been in contact and cooperation with more than 570 political parties or organizations in 160 countries around the world.

“The communication mechanism between us and political parties among the big powers such as Japan, Russia, India, Vietnam, and Brazil is set. We also signed certain inter-party dialog agreements with the UK, Germany, and France. With Russia, we have Dialogue Mechanism between the Ruling Parties of China and Russia. Not long ago, we invited political parties in Europe to a China-Europe High-Level Political Party Forum. We also held a High-Level Dialog with both parties in the U.S.”

Source: www.china.com.cn, June 30, 2010
http://www.china.com.cn/news/2010-06/30/content_20389220.htm

A forum on expanding the Party’s propaganda in other countries was held jointly by the Party’s Propaganda Department and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

At the forum, staff from several State owned companies spoke about their achievements and lessons learned when spreading propaganda overseas while doing business.

Staff from the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co., Ltd., and Hisense Group Co., Ltd. shared their experiences.

Liu Yunshan, Politburo member and Minister of the Party’s Propaganda Department delivered a speech at the forum.

Source: Xinhua, June 23, 2010
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-06/23/c_12253762.htm

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s office is investigating two high-ranking Chinese officials on allegations of espionage targeting Falun Gong practitioners, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on June 26. One of the accused is said to hold the position of a Chinese vice-minister and serves as head of the “610 Office,” an extra-judicial arm of the Chinese Communist Party, which executes the Communist Party’s directive to fight the Falun Gong meditation movement worldwide. The Spiegel report mentioned the investigation could make Chancellor Angela Merkel’s upcoming China visit more difficult.

In December 2009, a diplomat of the Chinese Consulate in Munich was ordered to leave Germany after being found to have spied on the German Uighur community.

Source: The Central News Agency, June 27, 2010
http://www.cna.com.tw/SearchNews/doDetail.aspx?id=201006270171