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US-China Relations - 161. page

Xinhua Editorial: Yuan Appreciation Will Not Help

Xinhua published an editorial on international affairs addressing yuan appreciation. It stated that trade deficits that some countries have with China are caused by their domestic structural and policy factors, not the exchange rate with China. The editorial questioned the magnitude of the reported trade deficits, suggesting the increase in Chinese exports may be attributed to the foreign companies in China exporting back to their own home countries.

“From whatever angle, to pressure a substantial appreciation of the yuan within a short time is unwarranted, unfounded and even, it is more useless. Some Western politicians have tirelessly speculated a ‘yuan appreciation’ theory. Its underlying motive is questionable. The financial crisis has brought people to see that the current world economic imbalance is mainly attributed to excess consumption in some developed countries, and to the economic contraction. To pressure for yuan appreciation does not help resolve these issues. In fact, it is developed countries that should make positive policy adjustments to reform their economic structure in order to fulfill their international responsibilities.”

Source: Xinhua, March 18, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-03/18/content_13197957.htm

China and US: Friend or Foe?

China and the U.S. are more foes than friends, says Yan Xuetong, a Chinese international relations scholar. In an interview with the State’s International Herald Leader, Yan stated that while the two do share some economic interests, they have much greater conflicting strategic interests in term of security. While the U.S. continues to support the Dalai Lama, Taiwan independence and East Turkistan independence, China will not allow these groups to succeed. Thus, on the political front, conflicts dominate the Sino-US relationship with few common interests. He expressed that cooperation does not mean China and the U.S. are friends and that the two will continue to pretend to be friends during the Obama administration.

Yan received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.

Source: Xinhua, March 22, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-03/22/content_13221096.htm

Global Times: Currency Exchange Rate Fight Is an Informational War

The Global Times published an article by a professor from the National Defense University titled, “Currency Exchange Rate Fight Is an Informational War.” The author argued that the U.S. pressure on China to appreciate the Renminbi is an information war with China in a broader sense. U.S. war tactics include information control and system integration. Its goal is to devalue the US dollar so as to pay less to China. The U.S. has set and controlled the tone of the information. It also tries to enlist allies to jointly fight China. China needs to improve its informational war capability by disclosing more true information on the Renminbi exchange rate and increasing China’s “speaking power” with international society.

The author also pointed out that every 1% appreciation of the Renminbi eats 1% of the profit for Chinese companies. Since Chinese export factories live on the average on a 3-5% profit margin, the currency exchange rate battle is critical to China’s economy.

Source: Global Times, March 23, 2010
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-03/753215.html

Mingpao: Uygur Major Blames U.S.-led Western Forces

According to Mingpao, a Chinese language newspaper in Hong Kong, Canada, and the U.S., Mohammad Hasan, the deputy political commissar of the Xinjiang Military District in China said on March 11, 2010, that the U.S.-led Western forces do not want a powerful China, and “try all means to get you into trouble,” choosing Xinjiang as a breakthrough point. This article is reprinted on http://news.wenxuecity.com and several other overseas Chinese websites.

At present, Xinjiang Uyghur and Han ethnic tension is high because of the July 2009 Urumqi riots. The CCP Central Committee will hold a Xinjiang Work Conference in May of 2010 focusing on how to fix the problems between the ethnic groups and regain the people’s good faith. Hasan emphasized the importance of children’s education: “propagandize positive things more and make fewer irresponsible remarks.”  

Source: Mingpao, March 11, 2010
http://news.wenxuecity.com/messages/201003/news-gb2312-1035769.html

Red Flag Manuscript: The U.S. Threatens China’s Oil Imports

Red Flag Manuscript, a semi-monthly publication by Qiushi Magazine, published an article concerning China’s procurement of oil, which was written by a researcher from the Party Construction Research Institute, Communist Organization Department. The National Energy Commission, created on January 27, 2010, with Wen Jiabao as Director and Li Keqiang as the Deputy, is a clear indication that energy resources have become a top priority for China’s leaders.

The article claimed that U.S.’ control of the world’s oil supply and shipping routes are a potential threat to China’s procurement of energy resources. Not only is the U.S. well placed in the Middle East, but also is well established in the Caspian Sea through military cooperation with Azerbaijan and Armenia. Among the sixteen channels the US claims to control, three are directly linked to China’s survival. The U.S. patrols the Malacca strait with the excuse of anti-terrorism activities. this is a smoke screen and in reality it is to control China’s oil life-supply from the sea.

Source: Qiushi Magazine, February 26, 2010
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2010/201004/201002/t20100226_21515.htm

Use Buying U.S. Bonds as a Political Chip

The Chinese state owned newspaper People’s Daily recently published an article discussing the way China purchases U.S. bonds. The article suggested that although Yi Gang, Deputy Managing Director of People’s Bank of China and Chairman of State Administration of Foreign Exchange, claimed the bond purchase was purely a market investment behavior, yet it is impossible to completely de-link economic and political considerations. That President Obama’s recent protectionism is serving some political interest is proof. Some U.S. bankers now see China’s holding a large amount of U.S. bonds as a threat to the United States. It’s time for China to use it as a political chip. This is an “international common practice.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 11, 2010
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/182743/182750/11117686.html

Beijing’s 2009 U.S. Human Rights Report

On March 12, the State Council Information Office published the 2009 U.S. Human Rights Record, an annual government paper to counter the United States annual human rights report, which was published one day earlier. 

The 15,000 word long document details U.S. human rights in six categories including life, property and personal safety; civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; racial discrimination; women and children’s rights; and infringement of other countries human rights. In one account, it claimed that the “occurrences of rape in the U.S. is 13 times higher that the U.K. and 20 times higher than Japan, ranking the highest in the world.” 
The report concludes that, “All the above facts show that the United States of American not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, but has been a major source of many world human rights disasters.”

Source: China News Service, March 12, 2010 
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2010/03-12/2167287.shtml

Global Times: US High-Ranking Officials Travel to China to be Chastised

China published several articles about the forthcoming visit by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Steinberg and Senior Director for Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council Bader. These articles claimed that U.S. President Obama caused the tension in the Sino-US relationship. Steinberg and Bader’s visit, in the mind of the Chinese, was President Obama’s administration’s way of easing the tension and apologizing to China. Chinese scholars also claimed that they came to China to be chastised, creating friction between the two nations.

Chinese media stated that both of them were considered to be U.S. officials who “know China,” but that “knowing China” does not mean they are “pro-China.”

China is watching closely whether in April the U.S. is going to classify China as a government that manipulates the foreign exchange rate.

Sources:
1. Outlook, March 6, 2010
http://news.sohu.com/20100306/n270629379.shtml
2. Global Times, March 3, 2010
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-03/731711.html