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Chinese Official Media Launched Propaganda Video to Show Foreigners Complimenting Xi Jinping

RFA reported that China’s official media, China Daily, published a three and half minute long video titled, "Who is Xi Dada" [in China, Xi Jinping is often called "Xi Dada" or "Big Daddy Xi"] on YouTube. The video consisted of compliments that foreign students studying in China gave to Xi Jinping. The article said that Xi’s visit to the U.S. faced many issues. Chinese authorities wished to use the video to glorify Xi’s image but the effort appears to have been in vain. The article said that, by the time RFA published the report, there were over 100,000 clicks on the video. However, the video also drew criticism and sarcasm. Some people called it the worst mentally retarded video ever. Some said that the video of Xi was published on a website that the Chinese people can’t even visit and that only People’s Daily can do things like this. RFA also quoted from the phone interviews it conducted. One comment said that the video is China’s propaganda to fool the foreigners because many protesters outside of China call Xi a dictator. Another comment said that China is concerned about Xi’s international image and that Xi has a very low acceptance rate. The article stated that the video is political propaganda but that it will not achieve the anticipated results.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 25, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/yl-09252015102746.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

VOA: Beijing Grants New York Times’ Chris Buckley a Journalist Visa

After three long years, the New York Times correspondent Chris Buckley was granted a journalist visa prior to Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States. Buckley was pleased with the result after the long wait, and expressed his appreciation to friends, colleagues and family. 

Buckley was forced to leave China on the last day of 2012 after China’s Foreign Ministry denied his application for the renewal of his journalist visa. Overseas media widely held that China’s denial of Buckey’s visa application was related to the fact that, in 2012, the New York Times published the results of an investigation into the family wealth of former premier Wen Jiabao. The Chinese government also blocked the websites of both the Chinese and the English editions of the newspaper. 
During a joint press conference with President Obama last November, Xi Jinping at first appeared to dodge the question of Beijing’s withholding residence visas for U.S. journalists. Toward the end, he stated that the foreign media had to abide by Chinese laws. "When a car breaks down on the road," Xi went on to say, "perhaps we need to get out of the car and see where the problem lies. The Chinese say, ‘Let he who tied the bell on the tiger take it off’." 
Analysts held that granting Buckley a journalist visa would avoid the same question being raised again in the press conference to be held during Xi’s upcoming visit to Washington. 
In Beijing, days before his trip to the U.S., Xi also met with Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp. Xi assured Murdoch that China will remain open to the world’s media. During the meeting on September 18, Xi said, "[We] welcome foreign media and correspondents to cover China stories, introduce China’s development to the world, and help the world grasp the opportunities [afforded by] China’s development." 
Still, websites of the Wall Street Journal, which Murdoch owns, and of Voice of America remain blocked in China. The public has to install software applications that circumvent Beijing’s Internet censorship to visit these sites. 
Source: Voice of America, September 22, 2015 
http://www.voachinese.com/content/voa-news-beijing-chris-buckley-20150922/2973587.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

The Three Pillars for China to Build New Sino-U.S. Relations with Big Powers

In anticipation of Xi Jinping’s visit to U.S., Liu Jianfei, deputy director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies of the Central Party School, published an article on the website of People’s Daily, discussing the direction of current Sino-U.S. relations   

The author stated that, in recent years, Sino-U.S. relations have been facing turbulence and frequent disputes. However, bilateral collaboration has not stopped. Overall, the relationship is not off the normal track; it is just not smooth. 
Liu said, “Maintaining the stable development of Sino-U.S. relations is one of most important objectives of China’s diplomatic strategy. China has offered to build new relations with the major powers, which fully reflects the expectations of the development of China-U.S. relations. According to the primary meaning of the new relations between big powers — no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect, win-win cooperation — China has three pillars on the development of relations with the U.S. The first is the strengthening of strategic mutual trust, effectively managing differences, and ensuring that no conflict or confrontation will occur. The second is the promotion of exchanges at all levels so as to improve mutual respect between the two countries. The third is to promote the pragmatic cooperation in various fields, to continue mutual benefits. However, currently, [China’s] U.S. policy should focus on strengthening strategic mutual trust, effectively controlling the differences.” 
Source: People’s Daily, September 19, 2015 
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0919/c1002-27607163.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China News: China Asked the U.S. to Stop Making Accusations

China News recently reported that Hong Lei, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a press conference that China is strongly against Internet hacking. When asked about China’s response to the comments that the U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper made when he pointed a finger at the Chinese state-sponsored hacking, Hong said “some people” in the U.S. government should stop making “groundless accusations” against China. Hong said China was “also a victim” of Internet hacking. He asked for respect and trust from the United States. Clapper’s earlier comments also mentioned that the Chinese hacking and spying activities penetrated widely into many areas of the U.S.’ interests, and thus he justified his position of strengthening U.S.’ Internet security.
Source: China News, September 11, 2015
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2015/09-11/7519460.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

BBC Chinese: The U.S. Asked China to Release Human Rights Lawyer

BBC Chinese recently reported that the United States confirmed that the Chinese police arrested human rights lawyer Zhang Kai, along with two of his assistants, just before he was to meet with David Saperstein, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. The U.S. government asked the Chinese authorities to release Zhang. Ambassador Saperstein described the arrest as “outrageous” since the Chinese government had encouraged his visit to China, suggesting to him that he “hear from people with different opinions.” Zhang Kai served as the lawyer representing Christians in Zhejiang Province, where crosses atop Christian churches were being removed. Zhang Kai also organized a lawyers’ group named “Defend the Cross.” The Police refused to allow the lawyers who support Zhang to meet with and to represent him, citing the sensitivity of the charge of “endangering national security.”
Source: BBC Chinese, September 2, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/09/150902_us_china_church_lawyer
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Expert Discuses the One Belt and One Road Initiative and Sino-U.S. Competition

China Review News reported on China’s think tank expert Wang Wen’s discussion of the first "Hundred People Forum on the One Belt One Road Initiative.” Wang is the Executive President of the Chongyang Institute of Finance at the People’s University of China (also known as Renmin University). The following is the report on Wang’s discussion.

Wang said that Sino-U.S. relations are gradually entering the first-ever global scale, three-dimensional competition of big countries. China’s diplomacy is entering a new normal state of “bracing up and pressing ahead (奮發有為).” The major projects and planning for the “One Belt and One Road" initiatives are gradually entering the implementation and promotion phase. China and the U.S. are in an unprecedented policy contact and interests collision worldwide at a number of different points, lines, and surfaces. How to avoid combat between China and the U.S. that is too intense and too close so the relationship does not deteriorate into a full scale competition is a test of both countries’ wisdom. 
Wang said that, in the U.S. view, China is the only rising power in history that is close to the level of the United States in national power. The U.S. is unable to broaden the gap. In contrast, the United States cannot make the determination to inhibit the development of China, and cannot find a way to deal with China’s rise. The U.S.’s "boxing" attitude against China in the military field often encounters the Chinese "Tai Chi" attitude as a response [in boxing the goal is to "knock out" the opponent; in Tai Chi one diffuses the opponent’s attack]. More than US$500 billion in economic and trade exchanges hold the mainstream American business and industrial community in check. Since the financial crisis, the U.S. has been less and less confident in its political system and has no clout to dictate to China about its system and social development path. However, no matter how much the two countries do not want to see the China and U.S. competition intensify, that China and the U.S. are competing at the global level has become a basic fact. 
Wang said that in 1500 years of history, there has always been an existing dominating power colliding simultaneously with an emerging power in all three areas of ideology, military security, and financial currency. China and the U.S. are gradually entering the first-ever global scale, three-dimensional competition of great powers. 
At present, some U.S. media and politicians frequently manifest a hardline attitude on the South China Sea, currency, cyber security, and ideology. For the sake of maintaining stability in Sino-U.S. relations, China must pay great attention to and cannot lose sight of a potential “black swan event” in the interaction of big countries. 
Source: China Review News, August 11, 2015 
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1038/8/4/1/103884133.html?coluid=202&kindid=11695&docid=103884133&mdate=0811002819
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua Questions U.S. Cooperation in China’s Anti-Graft Campaign

In response to the New York Times report on August 16 that the Obama administration ordered the Chinese law enforcement personnel who are in the country for the "Fox Hunt" operation to return home immediately, Xinhua News Agency published an op-ed questioning whether the U.S. is siding with the corrupt officials that Beijing is seeking. 

Xinhua cited the 1997 China-US Joint Statement which led to the establishment of a joint liaison group for law enforcement cooperation, composed of representatives of the relevant agencies from both governments. Under this mechanism, a former Bank of China manager, Yu Zhendong, involved in embezzling and money laundering nearly US$500 million was extradited from the U.S. back to China in 2004. 
Xinhua‘s op-ed added that in April 2015, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson met Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun in Beijing and they agreed to strengthen cooperation on law enforcement.
Xinhua‘s op-ed concluded, "While we do not expect the U.S.to go out of its way to help, we will not agree to any man-made barriers set up to impede anti-corruption cooperation. 
Source: xinhuanet.com, August 17, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-08/17/c_128136845.htm
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Daily: Is the United States Trying to Fight a “Cyber Cold War”?

Following The New York Times report that the U.S. may take action to retaliate against China for hacking the information of 20 million U.S. government employees, China Daily interviewed Chinese scholars on cyber security to discuss what it means to China. 

Shen Yi, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Governance Research Institute at Fudan University, thought that this incident was different from the previous Sino-U.S. "cyber disputes." It seems to be "very serious." He said that for the U.S. to upgrade the “accusation" to “threatening” may suggest that a Sino-U.S. cyberwar could be imminent. 
Shen said, "The United States always wants to replicate the dialogue experience gained in arms sanctions, nuclear disarmament, and other issues with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, as well as with Russia after the Cold War. In doing so, it hopes to use pressure to force China to enter into negotiations passively and to accept the outcome of negotiations when the U.S. is completely in control of the topics." Shen suggested that China should take action and not let the rhythm of the United States be the controlling factor. 
Although the Sino-U.S cyber security incidents have arrived at the “critical point” of an "imminent war," Shen Yi believed that, on the other hand, this is a good thing for the Chinese side. It forces China to move forward faster, better, and more effectively with the national strategy of cyber security. 

Zuo Xiaodong, Vice President of the China Information Security Institute, also said that the escalation of cyber security incidents between the two countries is a serious and dangerous signal to China. The escalation suggests that China should strengthen the development of infrastructure in tracking, tracing, and reacting to foreign attacks. It is also very urgent. 
Source: China Daily, August 3, 2015 
http://china.chinadaily.com.cn/2015-08/03/content_21488123.htm 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-08/03/c_128088613.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations