US-China Relations - 104. page

Xinhua recently reported that the American Chamber of Commerce in China just released the results of a report showing that many international companies are considering reducing their investments in China. This new trend came about mainly because of the antitrust investigations and other legal attacks these companies have been facing in China. Greg Gilligan, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, pointed out that international companies were obviously singled out in this round of legal attacks. Of the member companies of the Chamber that were surveyed, half expressed the belief that the Chinese government is "selectively and subjectively” targeting them using law enforcement as the justification. The Chamber’s report suggested that China is moving closer and closer to the risk of losing its attractiveness as an investment destination. Sixty percent of the companies surveyed said they did not feel welcomed in China. The same number was 40 percent at the end of 2013. The EU Chamber of Commerce did research this year that drew a similar conclusion.

Source: Xinhua, September 3, 2014 

http://finance.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2014/0903/483485.shtml

In an article in China’s People’s Daily, Qiao Liang (乔良), a professor at China’s National Defense University, a Major General in the People’s Liberation Army, and also the co-author of the book Unrestricted Warfare, criticized the U.S. for containing China via proxies.

Qiao stated, "Today, the U.S. strategists, through the hands of Japanese right-wingers and via the Diaoyu Islands dispute, have successfully blocked the process of the China–Japan–South Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations and the process of the China-Japan currency swap. China’s periphery geopolitical environment is becoming complicated and grim."

"Now, we must understand the increasingly fierce global competition for resources, the U.S. eastward shift of its strategic center of gravity, and its strategy of ‘re-balancing to Asia’. Against such a backdrop, the Sino-Japanese dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, the Sino-Philippines dispute over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and Renai Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), and the Sino-Vietnamese dispute over China’s maritime rights and interests are not only bilateral competition over territories and maritime rights, but part of the greater game in the U.S.’ attempt to ‘contain China by proxy,’ to block China’s development, and to defend American hegemony."

"What is the real purpose of launching the strategy of ‘rebalancing to Asia’? There is only one answer: to disarm China’s potential challenge and threat to American hegemony."

"So, how will the U.S. achieve this? Ever since the financial crisis, we have seen that the U.S. has resorted to every conceivable means. Its methods include the following: pressure on RMB appreciation, anti-dumping investigations of Chinese products, higher tariff barriers, road blocks to Chinese acquisitions of foreign access to resources and buying of overseas companies, and excluding China from the TPP."

Source: People’s Daily, September 4, 2014

http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2014/0904/c40531-25601000.html

People’s Daily recently reported that the popular U.S. SAT exam is planning reforms for 2016. The SAT announced that the upcoming new exams will include materials from the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the United States Constitution. Chinese media have accused the exam of having the potential to brainwash the Chinese students who plan to study higher education in the United States. They worry that the kids will be faced directly with the American definition of such concepts as human rights. Some well-known Chinese social leaders have expressed the concern that the United States will “forcefully plant” the seeds of U.S. values in Chinese students taking the SAT exams. However some experts suggested that the U.S. schools use the SAT exams primary for U.S. students. It is understandable that they try to ensure a certain level of awareness of their own values. According to Xinhua, currently there are around 50,000 Chinese students taking the SAT exam every year.

[Editor’s note: According to the College Board, the current policy of China’s Ministry of Education prohibits the administration of foreign admission tests (such as the SAT and ACT) to mainland Chinese national students within mainland China. Chinese national students interested in taking the SAT are welcome to take it in SAT testing centers in Hong Kong, Macao or any other country such as Taiwan or Korea, among others. A Hong Kong testing center reported that, of 50,000 who took the test last year, 90 percent were from the mainland.]

Sources: People’s Daily, August 29, 2014

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0829/c1002-25563054.html

Shen thought that this would be a more practical way to distinguish between enemies and friends in international relations. Using the United States as an example, where should it be classified among friends, allies, and foes? Based on China’s most important core interests of "national sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, and national unity, because the United States insists on arms sales to Taiwan and uses the threat of force to interfere in China’s internal affairs, it is very clear that America is in the enemy position." However, based on China’s core interests of "sustainable social economic development," due to the economic cooperation of the United States with China in the past 30 years, it should be in the "friend" category. Even though its performance cannot be classified in the "ally" category, at least it is not in the "enemy" category. Japan’s relationship with China is mostly in a similar situation to that of the U.S. 

Chinese Navy military expert Cao Weidong said, during an interview with CCTV, that the purpose of the United States’ frequent surveillance of China is to gather Chinese military intelligence. The U.S. is deliberately hyping the Sino-U.S. military confrontation in order to increase its bargaining chip in the forthcoming Sino-U.S. Military Maritime Consultation. 

Military expert Wang Ming proposed that China should take both offensive and defensive measures to cope with the U.S. military aircraft reconnaissance. First, from the "defensive" perspective, the U.S. reconnaissance is of a strategic reconnaissance nature. It is intended to study China’s air defense system deployment, electronic spectral information, and so on. China must strengthen electronic protection and operational secrecy; it must be strict in separating its wartime military equipment from the peacetime equipment used in training; it must hide its wartime equipment and its enhanced defensive controls. Second from the "offensive" perspective, when the Americans carry out reconnaissance, we should try to extend our defensive area forward, expand the scope of control, and be more active. We should prevent foreign military aircraft from getting close to their intended target area. "This time, the J-11’s active verification of the United States patrol plane was a form of offensive counter-surveillance." 

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that China is tightening up inspections of U.S. sorghum cargo ships. Very likely Chinese customs plans to limit imports of U.S. sorghum. Last month the Chinese quarantine agency asked Chinese local authorities to increase the inspection level of imported sorghum for pesticide residues, heavy metals, and other toxic substances. Not long ago, China refused the entry of over one million tons of U.S. sorghum. Since the Chinese government started protecting domestic corn farmers, corn prices in China have been on the rise. Sorghum is quickly becoming a less-costly replacement for fodder. Market experts have already decreased the estimate of the level of annual sorghum imports by half. The spokesperson for the National Bureau of Inspection and Quarantine declined to comment on this matter.

Source: Sina, August 21, 2014

http://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/cyxw/20140821/171620082019.shtml

According to the commentary, although the conflicts in East Asia appear to be irreconcilable, on the whole, the situation may be a different story. “China does not have the capability or the intent to challenge the U.S. position on the global platform. The two countries still have additional room for cooperation on global issues. If the two sides share more common interests in dealing with global issues and establish more robust cooperation mechanisms, they may be able to transcend the inevitable, structural geopolitical conflicts in East Asia."  

Due to differences in ideologies, any specific conflict could easily be magnified to become a lethal attack against and a part of the strategy to weaken the adversary. “The life and death confrontation between the capitalist countries and socialist countries is more the result of traditional international political realism and geopolitical competition. The confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union was, ultimately, one for hegemonic power to protect their national interests. … The actual role of ideology in Sino-U.S. relations may be more minor than imagined.” 

Source: Qiushi, August 19, 2014 

http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2014-08/19/c_1112140291.htm

People’s Daily recently published a commentary dismissing the points that angry American media have been making about a series of antitrust investigations against American companies in China. In the past several months, high profile American companies (among other foreign companies) have been subject to Chinese antitrust investigations. Examples are Microsoft, Qualcomm, Accenture, General Motors and General Electric. Many Western media companies, especially some of the American media companies such as Fortune, have called for “Tit for Tat” retaliatory actions. The commentary said these “suggestions” are “very ignorant” and that they “put the spirit of the free market to shame.” The author expressed the belief that the voices aired by companies like Fortune are “too stupid to realize” that Western companies have been enjoying special treatment in China for too long. 

Source: People’s Daily, August 15, 2014

http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2014/0815/c1004-25474576.html