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US-China Relations - 112. page

BBC Chinese: U.S. Professors Jointly Challenged the Confucius Institute

BBC Chinese recently reported that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called for a cancellation or a renegotiation of the agreements between the Confucius Institute and around 100 U.S. universities. The AAUP expressed the belief that the agreements must abide by Western values. It suggested that the Confucius Institute “is a branch of the Chinese government” and “is allowed to ignore academic freedom.” AAUP was founded in 1915 to defend academic freedom. It currently has 47,000 members. The AAUP announcement urged the U.S. universities to stop cooperating with the Confucius Institute unless it undergoes major reform. The Confucius Institute is an organization funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education. By the end of 2013, it had established 440 institutes across 120 countries around the world. In May 2014, over 100 professors at the University of Chicago, including seven deans, jointly asked the university to discontinue its contract with the Confucius Institute, citing lack of freedom to discuss “sensitive issues” such as the Tiananmen Massacre and the issue of Tibet. The Confucius Institute also controls the hiring and training of its teachers. 
Source: BBC Chinese, June 18, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/06/140618_confucius_institutes.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua: U.S. Intends to Hit “Three Birds” by Placing Anti-Missile Defense in East Asia

Xinhua published a commentary on the U.S. deployment of its anti-missile system in East Asia. The following is an excerpt from the Xinhua article:

 
“Recently, the United States media disclosed, one after another, that the United States is considering deploying its terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) system in Korea. The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has publicly vowed to strengthen missile defense cooperation with Korea. Seeking to strengthen anti-missile deployment in East Asia is another major trend for the United States."
“From the current situation in the Asia-Pacific region and the background of the U.S. promoting a ‘rebalancing Asia’ strategy, the United States is trying to achieve three main objectives.” 

“First, through deploying its anti-missile facilities in Korea, it can advance the layout of its East Asian missile defense systems, thus boosting U.S.-Japan-Korea trilateral military cooperation. 

“Second, the United States can defend any ‘missile threat’ from related countries [North Korea and Russia]. 

“Third, the United States is using cooperation on missile defense in the region in an attempt to sell arms.” 

“The U.S. deployment of an East Asia anti-missile network will have multiple negative impacts in the region. “The biggest impact will be the destruction of strategic stability in Northeast Asia and the subversion of China’s national security. Since 2013, the United States has been advancing East Asian missile defense deployment continuously. Compared to the other military measures of the U. S. ‘rebalancing Asia’ strategy, deploying its anti-missile system, if it continues, will present China with more real and more profound pressure on its national security.” 

Source: Xinhua, June 11, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2014-06/11/c_133394093.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Military Experts Say U.S. reports on China’s Military Developments Show U.S. Anxiety

On June 6, the U.S. Department of Defense released the "2014 Annual Report on Military and Security Developments Involving China." Chinese military experts commented that the report continued the "China threat theory" platitudes and the "Cold War" mentality from previous years. It reflected the United States’ two-pronged strategy of both "contacting" and "guarding against" China; it was filled with "anxiety" about China’s development of its military defenses. 

Zhao Weibin, Colonel from the Research Center of Sino-U.S. Defense Relations at the Academy of Military Sciences, said that the report reflected the United States’ suspicions about China’s strengthening of its defense forces. The U.S. will also use that as an excuse for its own development of information warfare, cyber warfare, and space warfare. 
Zhao said, "As the development of China’s armed forces becomes more diversified, the United States will go from ‘concern’ and ‘worry’ to a state of ‘anxiety’ about China’s military modernization. Through the publication of the report on Chinese military power, the United States aims to damage China’s international image and even demonize China so as to enhance the international community’s concerns and fears about China. The intention to suppress and contain China as part of its global strategy is very clear.” 
Major General Peng Guangqian, Deputy Secretary of the National Security Policy Committee of the China Association of Policy Science, said that the more irresponsible the remarks the United States makes about China’s national defense, the more China should stay calm, quietly pursue peaceful development, and adhere to a defensive national defense policy. "After all, the U.S. provocations will never have a significant effect." 

Source: People’s Daily, June 9, 2014 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0609/c1011-25120199.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Study Times: Hide Our Capabilities and Bide Our Time. No Need to Challenge U.S. Leadership.

On June 9, 2014, Study Times, a journal of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article commenting on President Barack Obama’s recent speech at the U.S. West Point Military Academy in which he discussed the U.S. global leadership role. The article proposed some “soft” strategies in dealing with the U.S. as the world’s leader. Though “China’s national power is increasing rapidly,” “China must remain clear-headed” when facing “flattery.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Deng Xiaoping, the former top head of the Chinese Communist Party, said that China should “hide its capabilities and bide its time” and “never take the lead” because it would be too expensive to take the responsibility for the whole world. Today, it is still unnecessary for China to challenge the U.S.’s global leadership position. The United States already has difficulties paying for the huge cost of its international moral responsibilities.

“In this new period of time, China must keep ‘hiding its capabilities and biding its time.’” “When dealing with the United States, China may step back on issues not dealing with principle and use gentleness (or softness) to overcome its power while resolutely defending China’s core interests.”  “For China’s fundamental national interests, China must oppose America’s containment, democratic evolution, and the isolation of China.” China and the U.S. can gain “mutual benefits” economically. In terms of security issues, China can fight against the U.S. without breaking the Sino-US relationship.

Source: Study Times, June 9, 2014

http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140609/5194.shtml


 

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Use of Chinese Currency in the U.S. Significantly Increased

The well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the number of financial settlement activities using the Chinese currency RMB has tripled in the United States. This was based on official numbers released by SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) for the first four months of this year. The total number of RMB transactions in the U.S. is now the third largest outside China – after Singapore and Great Britain. Starting in 2009, China lifted the restrictions on using the RMB overseas. The Chinese government has been encouraging the import/export companies to settle in RMB instead of the US dollar. According to SWIFT, between January and April, 2.6 percent of global RMB transactions were settled in the United States, making the U.S. a bigger RMB settlement center than Taiwan. SWIFT also reported that the Chinese RMB ranks seventh among all currencies in the world. 
Source: Sina Finance, June 3, 2014
http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/20140603/153919300724.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Military Experts Rebut U.S. Annual Report on China’s defense

On June 5, the U.S. Department of Defense issued its 2014 annual report on China’s Defense. On June 8, Xinhua published an article titled, “Clichés That Are Full of Anxiety and Have Ulterior Motives – China’s Military Experts’ Analysis of the U.S. Report on China’s Defense.” The following is a summary of several military experts’ reactions to the annual report.

One expert said that the annual report followed the usual “China Threat” theory and “cold war” mentality. It showed that the U.S. is using the strategy of connecting with China while being precautionary at the same time. The U.S. anxiety about the growth of China’s national defense does not contribute anything good to mutual trust between the two countries and should stop. Another expert’s reaction was that the U.S. tries to create trouble for China in the South and East China Sea and intends to use this report to “damage China’s international image or even demonize China.” Another one said that the U.S. demonstrates its “psychological weakness and mental illness” in reacting to China’s effort to build its national defense.

Source: Xinhua, June 8, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2014-06/08/c_1111033758.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Military Online: Whichever Country Provokes China Will Pay a Heavy Price

People’s Daily republished a commentary from China Military Online (http://www.81.cn/), stating that the U.S. will live in a nightmare for the next 100 years for being hostile to china. 

The commentary stated, “In a speech before the closing session of the 13th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1, PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff Wang Guanzhong refuted the malicious accusations against [China] that some individual countries uttered. This stems from the U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel who, at the dialogue meeting, publicly accused China of ‘destabilizing the South China Sea.’ It is worth noting that U.S. President Obama, in a May 28 speech at West Point, said the United States has the ability to maintain global leadership for a hundred years. At the same time, he also accused China several times in his speech, stating that [the U.S.] should be ready to respond to China’s ‘aggression’ toward neighboring countries in the South China Sea.” 
The commentary threatened, “While the U.S. foreign policy has not accomplished anything and has been in a mess, such moves will make people feel that America’s global leadership is establishing the basis for suppressing China. If it makes China its enemy, the United States will be destined to live in a nightmare for the next hundred years.” 

“After 30 years of reform and opening up, China has become the world’s second largest economy. [China’s] military strength has steadily increased. For the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and core interests, China will make thorough preparations. No matter which country, big or small, whoever insists on provoking China is bound to pay a heavy price.” 

Source: People’s Daily, June 5, 2014 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0605/c1011-25109016.html 
http://www.81.cn/sydbt/2014-06/04/content_5938754.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Tsinghua Professor: Maximally Increase Nuclear Deterrence to Deal with the Threat of U.S. and Japan

Chu Shulong, director of the International Strategy and Development Institute at Tsinghua University, wrote an article for Global Times, a division of People’s Daily, calling for China to maximally increase its nuclear deterrence against the U.S. and Japan. 

The article said, “Recently, leaders and senior officials from Japan and the U.S. have continued to distort the facts, stir up trouble, brazenly criticize, accuse, attack, and abusively smear China. The manner and rhetoric lack the very basic politeness. They look like they are a bit hysterical and have the ultimate madness.” 
“Since they have common interests in restraining, balancing, and containing China, Japan and the U.S. mutually cooperate and echo each other [in attacking China]. China has no choice but to resolutely fight back.” 
“Now that Japan and the U.S. choose provocation and confrontation, China can only undo them as they did unto us. The whole country should act like our military, strongly fighting back against the Japan-U.S.’s attacks, slander, confrontation and provocation; we should stop using those channels that have no real contents and results, such as visits, dialogues, ‘consultation,’ and ‘mechanisms.’ On issues such as North Korea, Iran, Syria, climate change, UN affairs, and other regional and international issues, we must make our decisions based on the merits, instead of the wishes and ‘requirements’ of the U.S. In the shortest possible time, we must make up for the insufficiency in our sea and air forces and enhance our readiness to respond to Japan and the U.S., who may provoke a conflict in the western Pacific sea and air. At the same time, [we] should also maximally increase the strategic deterrent capability of our missiles and nuclear weapons, in order to defend against the U.S.’ threats and blackmail on a larger scale.” 

Source: People’s Daily, June 4, 2014 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0604/c1011-25100384.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations