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US-China Relations - 152. page

Red Flag Manuscript: Internet Freedom Has Become Clinton’s New Doctrine for U.S. Foreign Policy

Red Flag Manuscript, a publication of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published a commentary by Zhou Hong, the director of the European division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Based on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s February 15, 2011, speech on Internet Freedom given at George Washington University, Zhou concludes that the U.S. is shifting its foreign affairs strategy by launching “a war without borders in cyberspace.” As a result, China faces new challenges in its foreign affairs. 

The article states “Hillary was using war declaring language when she announced the State Department’s decision. She calls for having the countries that suppress Internet freedom pay economically and face the same threats of political unrest that Egypt and Tunisia faced.” “Hillary openly named China, Cuba, Iran, Burma, Syria, and Vietnam as countries that ‘censor content, do not allow their citizens to access the global Internet, and arrest bloggers who criticize the government.” “Hillary believes this is a major change in U.S. foreign policy. She said this is a critical choice made by the U.S. government in a critical moment.” 
“Hillary’s above statement, along with her Internet freedom speech in 2009, indeed tells of a new U.S. foreign policy strategy: As the status of U.S. hard power is significantly declining, it is increasingly using soft power in a skillful way to serve its foreign affairs.” 
The article points out that China also faces new social challenges in foreign relations as a result of the Internet war the U.S. has launched. “There is no doubt that our foreign affairs will also face a transition from traditional foreign dealings to social foreign affairs, which include a variety of channels, with the Internet as the key component.” “How we can use the Internet and other social channels to tell a convincing ‘Chinese Story’ to our people and to the international community has become a pressing task."

Source: Red Flag Manuscript, April 27, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2011/201108/201104/t20110427_78514.htm

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Global Times: China-U.S. Human Rights Dialogue Should Not Be Like a Negotiation

The website Global Times, published an opinion article commenting on the ongoing human rights dialogue between China and the U.S. The article says that it has been 21 years since the dialogue started in 1990, but the two sides have never found it to be a truly satisfactory conversation. On the contrary, it is a testing exercise to confirm the two countries’ differing values and political disagreements. The article says, “The U.S. is always very imposing. This time it gave us a long list of prisoners and demanded that China release them ahead of the dialogue. The U.S has made similar requests before and has criticized China for not complying with the requests.” The article comments, “China hopes it’s a real ‘dialogue,’ and understands the other side’s meaning of human rights through communication. … China and the U.S. human rights dialogue should not become a negotiation. It is a prerequisite that no one has the right to lecture the opposite side. … The U.S. government often pressures China using human rights as a diplomatic tool or an answer to the domestic media’s radical voice, and hopes to get China’s ‘cooperation.’ China has no obligation to perform in accordance with Washington’s expectations.”

Source: Global Times, April 28, 2011
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-04/1659020.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Scholar Warns of Risks to Chinese Assets from Downgrade of U.S. Credit Outlook

In a recent interview regarding the downgrade of the U.S. credit outlook, Renmin University Professor Zhao Xijun warns that the book value of Chinese investments (in U.S. government debt) may incur a loss. “Although the U.S. government is not facing default on its debt, we should be on the alert, continue to diversify our investments, and take risk control measures as well.”

Source: China Review News, April 21, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/6/6/4/101666490.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101666490&mdate=0421003909

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Review News: A Prolonged Struggle for Oil between China and the U.S.

A recent China Review News article predicts a “prolonged struggle for oil between China and the U.S.” It quotes Craig Roberts, a former senior U.S. Treasury official, in an interview with Middle Eastern media, “Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi has made two mistakes: He blocked the US Africa Command by not joining it and he let China make major energy investments in Libya instead.” The author thus concludes that the motive for the U.S. to support the rebels in overthrowing the Qaddafi regime is to remove Chinese companies from Libya. 

The article points to the global competition for oil between China and the U.S. “In the eyes of the U.S., China is vying for oil interests in the territory of U.S.” “On the surface, there is no conflict between China and the U.S. on the Libya issue, but one may overlook the point that the current war in Libya is comparable to what the U.S. and U.K. did to Japan in the 1940’s. At that time, the U.S. and U.K. cut off Japan’s oil, rubber, and minerals, which caused the Pacific War in World War II. Now, the U.S., U.K., and France are doing the same to China.” “In the future, China will inevitably compete with the U.S. for oil around the world. It is difficult to predict whether armed conflicts will occur.”

Source: China Review News, April 24, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/7/0/0/101670071.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101670071&mdate=0424002415

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S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Outlook: A Conspiracy?

China’s Securities Times published an article questioning Standard and Poor’s (S&P) intention to downgrade the outlook for U.S. credit. The article says, “As a pure U.S. credit rating agency, such an action is like a slap in the parents’ face. One cannot help wondering: Is S&P trying to regain the reputation it lost in the global financial crisis or is it a conspiracy?” The article quoted an economist who said that it is customary for the three large credit rating agencies to apply a double standard in reporting the credit ratings for domestic vs. foreign corporations. They usually overlook the problems in the U.S. domestic market, but are very “sharp” on the market trend in other countries, particularly those the U.S. does not like. In support of the conspiracy theory, the article quoted an analyst, who stated, “The crisis in Europe weakened the Euro and made the U.S. dollar stronger. Since the U.S. does not want a strong dollar right now, S&P downgraded the U.S. credit outlook in order to help the U.S. decrease the dollar’s exchange rate.” Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China’s central bank, said, “Many rating agencies are not accurate in judging a country’s rating. The error rate is very high in reports at the national level, usually with a political purpose.”

Source: Securities Times, April 20, 2011
http://zt.stcn.com/zt2011/content/2011-04/20/content_2518834.htm

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Ministry of Commerce Criticizes U.S. Trade Barrier on High Tech Products

At a monthly news conference, Yao Jian, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, complained about U.S. trade barriers regarding Chinese products. “This is totally without reason and restricts the balance of bilateral trade.” A Xinhua report said that U.S. export controls limit the export of high technology products to China, which are already far less than what is exported to India. 

Yao indicated that U.S. trade subsidy measures and trade investigations all aim at preventing Chinese products from entering the U.S. market, under the pretext of the balance of trade. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Commerce on April 19, 2011, in 2010 there were 66 trade investigations filed against Chinese exports, including anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and special protection measures, involving a total amount of US$7.14 billion. In 2010, the U.S. alone launched 19 cases of Section 337 investigations into Chinese imports.

Source: Xinhua, April 19, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/19/c_121322864.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Review News: The U.S. “Currency War” Is an Economic Encroachment Strategy to Suppress China

On April 19, 2011, China Review News published an article accusing the United States of launching a “currency war” against China by arranging the substantial depreciation of the U.S. dollar. According to the article, the U.S. "currency war" is an economic encroachment strategy to suppress China, replacing its former political and military strategy. “Its goal is to crush China’s newly emerging economic development system, restrict China’s development, and suppress the Chinese people.” The author suggests that the Chinese government respond accordingly and even fight back.

Source: China Review News, April 19, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/6/4/6/101664643.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101664643&mdate=0419003314

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua Cites Criticisms on US Annual Human Rights Report

On April 13, 2011, Xinhua published an article reporting criticism from government officials or scholars in Russia, Venezuela, and the Ukraine, rebutting the recently released State Department’s “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.” The article pointed out, “Such criticism suggests that the U.S. has no right to interfere in other countries’ domestic affairs.” 

The sources it quoted include an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia; remarks from Ana Elisa Osorio Granado, Vice Chairman of the Latin American Parliament; and comments from Mikhail Levski, a scholar from the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research.

Source: Xinhua, April 13, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/13/c_121298898.htm

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