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Xinhua Published Three Commentaries on Risks from the U.S

Xinhua recently published three consecutive commentaries warning about the “American risks,” especially the risks that Wall Street poses. The first commentary is titled “Is Wall Street Brewing a New Crisis?” The article warned that the whole landscape of economic optimism, the appreciating dollar, and a rapidly growing stock market, seems to be déjà vu all over again, just like the days before the last global crisis. People should not underestimate Wall Street’s greed. The second commentary pin-pointed the question, “Will Deregulation Trigger a New Crisis?” The commentator suggested that, since President Trump promised deregulation of the financial market along with plans for a tax cut and major infrastructure investments, Wall Street has been enjoying a “rave party.” The combined stimulation package could increase the risks to a dangerous level. The third commentary asked, “Why Are the Wounds from the Previous Crisis So Difficult to Heal?” The author quoted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which stated that the advanced economies responded to the earlier Crisis with public financial stimulation like the Quantitative Easing (QE) policies. These policies introduced high debt, low investment and a fragile financial industry across the globe. The structure of the U.S. financial system originally caused a lack of investment and consumer spending and slowed the recovery from the previous crisis.

Source: Xinhua, February 15, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-02/15/c_1120472782.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-02/15/c_1120472801.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-02/15/c_1120472823.htm

Chinese Military Experts Discuss New U.S. Administration’s Intention to Repress China in the South China Sea and Diaoyu Islands

Chinese military expert Yin Zhuo said, in an interview with CCTV, that the United States is trying to use the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands issues as a means to crush China. New U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis’s visit to South Korea and his scheduled talks with Korea Foreign Minister Yoon Boon-sik and Defense Minister Han Min-chou are to discuss such issues as the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system, the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons to the Korean Peninsula, and strengthening the deployment of the Asia-Pacific strategic weapons. The intention is to target China. Yin expressed the belief that the United States is forcing China to meet the United States’ requirements in such areas as the economy, the world order, and on other issues.

Military expert Du Wenlong pointed out that the new U.S. Defense Secretary’s choice of South Korea as his first destination in visiting a foreign country is an indication of the two countries’ intention to strengthen their military alliance.

Du said that, for China, there is no room for negotiations on territorial and sovereignty issues, not to mention using them as a bargaining chip. China should let the world see its determination and also its ability <to safeguard its territory>. At the same time, China should display its own advantages and its expertise in the modernization of its national defense and the development of its weaponry to deal well with threats and to contain opponents.

Source: People’s Daily, February 4, 2017
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0204/c1011-29056802.html

United States Became Top Destination of China’s 2016 Overseas Investments

Well-known Chinese news site Tencent recently reported that, according to newly released statistics, China’s 2016 overseas commercial real estate investment reached a record high of US$38.3 billion, which constituted over 45 percent of China’s overall overseas investments. The United States was the largest destination of China’s investment money, totaling US$18.3 billion, which represented a 400 percent growth over 2015. Chinese investment in Britain increased 32 percent. Hong Kong, Korea, Canada and Germany all saw growth. However, since China’s foreign exchange reserve decreased US$69.1 billion in November, that month, the central government tightened up control of overseas investments. That control included a ban on investments over US$10 billion and restrictions on deals over US$1 billion. Experts expressed the belief that overseas investments will remain strong in 2017 due to the fact that investors typically expect a low return on domestic investments.

Source: Tencent, January 26, 2017
http://haiwai.house.qq.com/news/206146.html

People’s Daily: Bringing Manufacturing Back to U.S.? Dream On.

People’s Daily recently published an analysis article evaluating whether there is a chance that manufacturers in China can be attracted to the United States, which is a critical cornerstone of Trump’s strategy. However, capital always seeks low-cost, high-profit destinations. The most profitable industry for the U.S. is the financial industry instead of manufacturing. The last three projects Trump had before he won the presidency resulted in U.S. manufacturers losing at least US$350 million to low-cost Chinese products. Trump’s campaign T-Shirts were made in China and Honduras. Robots can help, but that won’t add more jobs. The U.S. may be able to improve on the high-end manufacturing as a high-tech power, but that won’t significantly improve employment. The article also identified the lack of blue collar labor resources in the U.S. population as a major problem to re-establish manufacturing on a large scale. Manufactures are more likely to move to India, Vietnam, Myanmar, or Cambodia instead of the U.S. Another immediate obstacle the U.S. will face is that the United States no longer has the full supply chain from the natural resource to supporting parts suppliers. The author concluded that Trump was just bragging – the best case is that he could move manufacturers out of China, but not into the U.S.

Source: People’s Daily, December 31, 2016
http://original.hubpd.com/c/2016-12-31/552491.shtml

Nikkei: Xi’s Strong Position on Maritime Rights

Nikkei, Japan’s leading economic news provider, reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping used strong words in his 2017 New Year’s speech televised to the nation, “We have adhered to peaceful development while resolutely safeguarding the territorial sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests of China. To whoever wants to take issue with this, the Chinese people’s answer is a resounding No!”

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Global Times: Why Is the U.S. More Arrogant toward China than toward Russia? China Has Too Few Nuclear Weapons!

Following Trump’s tweet and Putin’s statement about the expanding nuclear capabilities in the U.S. and Russia, China’s state media Global Times published a commentary claiming that China needs to advance its nuclear program to stay relevant as a world power.

The article said, “Russia’s conventional military capabilities have been far less than those of NATO, but the Russian-U.S. equal nuclear balance of power continues to ensure that Russia’s status as a military superpower is almost equal to the United States. Russia dared to confront the United States in Ukraine, in Syria and in other conflicts. The number one reason is the support of its nuclear forces.

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The U.S. Government Put Alibaba Back on the Notorious Markets List

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) once again put the Chinese online trade platform Alibaba on the annual “Notorious Markets” list. Alibaba was listed on the same blacklist four years ago. Alibaba Group President Michael Evans expressed his disappointment after USTR’s announcement. Alibaba complaint that the huge effort the company put in to battle counterfeits was ignored. However, USTR explained that the percentage of the counterfeit products sold on Alibaba’s platform is still too high. In this latest “Notorious Markets” list, four Chinese online markets and six physical markets were included. Alibaba is currently working with famous global labels such as Apple, Burberry, LV, Cartier, and Nike to fight the fake products. This program now includes 18,000 international brands. Alibaba hinted that the recent move by USTR might have something to do with the “new U.S. domestic political atmosphere. “

Source: Sina, December 22, 2016
http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2016-12-22/doc-ifxyxury7995018.shtml?source=cj&dv=2

RFA: Obama Signs Defense Bill Strengthening Military Exchanges with Taiwan

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Saturday that, on Friday, December 23, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which requires the Pentagon to facilitate military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan.

It was the first time that high level military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan had been written into an Act of Congress.

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