Skip to content

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Read More ...

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Read More ...

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Read More ...

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

Read More ...

Li Changchun Speaks at the 80th Anniversary of Xinhua

On November 7, Li Changchun, the Propaganda Chief of the Chinese Communist Party and the 5th ranked member of the Politburo, spoke at the 80th anniversary of China’s state-run media, Xinhua News Agency. Li called on Xinhua to develop China’s national and global influence, “Under the new historical conditions, whether (you can) truthfully and accurately report the news, correctly and effectively guide public opinion, and analyze and explain while removing doubts, matters for the fundamental interest of the people, matters for the Party’s ruling position, and matters for the long term stability of the country.”

Li advised, “Further strengthen the news coverage of major emergencies, improve the reporting of emergency responses and the mechanism for guiding public opinion, and strive to be the first in time and right on the spot to release authoritative information at home and abroad.”

Li also asked for Xinhua to develop its abilities in international broadcasting. “Improve the means and methods of international and foreign reporting, go deep into the front line of international news, do more live coverage, use more formats and more languages that foreign audiences easily accept, and issue a more authoritative voice so as to embody our views and express common concerns at the same time. … Actively advance the development of CNTV, vigorously implement the ‘localization’ strategy, increase the amount of news collected, improve the quality of production, and constantly expand both coverage and influence.”

Source: Xinhua, November 9, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-11/09/c_122252816.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Li Yuanchao Promotes Party Development in Private Enterprises and Individually Owned Businesses

On November 6, 2011, China Review News reported that, during his visits to the service industry and commercial systems, Li Yuanchao, a Politburo member of the CCP Central Committee and the Minister of the CCP Central Committee Organization Department, has been promoting Party development work in private enterprises and individual owned businesses.

Source: China Review News, November 6, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1018/9/6/0/101896063.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101896063&mdate=1106111535

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua News Agency Delivers the Chinese Communist Party’s Messages

On November 7, 2011, Xinhua News Agency’s Outlook Weekly published an article titled “The 80th Anniversary of Xinhua News Agency’s Founding: a Media with a National Mission.” Recalling Xinhua‘s 80-year history, the article proudly proclaimed that “no other media in the world has even been so closely linked to the rise and fall of a country, a nationality, and a ruling party.” Under the leadership of the CCP, Xinhua News Agency delivers the Chinese Communist Party’s messages.

The article especially mentioned the Xinhua billboard which has been in New York City’s Times Square since August 1 of this year, saying it “represents the beginning of a new era.” It concluded that “a culturally powerful country must have a powerful media force to influence world public opinion.”

Source: Xinhua News Agency Outlook Weekly, November 7, 2011
http://lwgcw.net/NewsShow.aspx?newsId=24278

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Study Times: Let’s Continue to Hide Our Capabilities and Bide Our Time

On November 7, 2011, Study Times, a journal of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CCP, published an article discussing the benefits of China’s foreign policy that Deng Xiaoping, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, had proposed: to “hide our capabilities and bide our time.” The article pointed out, “After China started its economic reforms and opened to the world, China stopped using its (Communist) ideological standards to deal with other countries. This has successfully reversed the diplomatic situation, which has been unfavorable to China.” It continued that China’s foreign policy is to “hide the (Communist) ideology and modernize China according to its plans while other countries are in chaos.”

“Sino-US relations can usually move forward when a ‘third party trouble maker’ appears. Once the ‘third party’ (Ed: such as bin Laden) disappears, the Sino-US relationship becomes problematic.” The article concludesd that the foreign policy “hide our capabilities and bide our time” is very important and necessary when China is in the process of integrating into the international system, since the U.S. foreign policy is more ideologically based when no third party trouble makers are around. “To create a favorable international environment to develop our domestic economy, we should continue to hide our (Communist) ideology so as to minimize the differences (between the U.S. and China).”

[Editor: “Hide one’s capabilities and bide one’s time” (or “hide one’s ambitions and disguise one’s claws”) comes from a well-known Chinese historical novel, "The Three Kingdoms" based on real stories from the end of the Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD) to the Three Kingdoms era (220 AD- 280 AD) of Chinese history. The kings of the Three Kingdoms were Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. When Liu Bei was seeking refuge in Cao Cao’s territory, he was afraid that Cao Cao would kill him if he did not hide his ambition to unite the whole nation and become king. By working hard in his backyard vegetable garden every day and pretending to be cowardly, he successfully misled Cao Cao, who no long viewed Liu as a competitor. Liu Bei’s strategy was called “hide one’s ambitions and disguise one’s claws” (or “hide one’s capabilities and bide one’s time”).

Source: Study Times, November 7, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/11/07/02/02_34.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of Railways Requests RMB 800 Billion in Government Rescue Funds

People’s Daily recently republished an article on the latest development in the collapse of the Ministry of Railway’s problematic construction plans. The report stated that over 10,000 kilometers of construction work had to be suspended nationwide. Together with the 13,000 kilometers currently under construction, the gap in funding is around RMB 1 trillion. For the time being the Ministry of Railways has collected RMB 200 billion to fill the gap. The State Council is coordinating a “blood transfusion” campaign to save the troubled Ministry of Railways. Tax adjustments and government bonds are also being considered.

Source: People’s Daily, November 6, 2011
http://auto.people.com.cn/GB/16147703.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

VOA: China Uses Confucius Institute to Exercise “Soft” Power

Voice of America (VOA) recently reported that China is using funding for the Confucius Institutes to exert pressure on western universities. Since 2004, China has established around 350 Confucius Institutes around the globe. These Institutes are generally viewed as a channel for China to exercise its “soft power.” However, when China offered to spend US$3 million to create a Confucius Institute at Stanford University in 2009, a condition was that “sensitive topics” such as the Tibet issue would have to be blocked. Stanford refused the condition. The University of North Carolina had a similar experience when the Dalai Lama was invited to the university to give a speech. In the end the university gave in.

The report pointed out that the function of the Confucius Institute is supposed to be to teach the Chinese language and Chinese culture, but some Chinese government officials have suggested that the Confucius Institute is an important channel to make use of China’s "soft" power.

Source: Voice of America, November 13, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111103-China-Says-No-Talking-Tibet-in-Confucius-Institutes-133188683.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Study Times: What is a Culture Superpower?

Study Times, a magazine of the Chinese Communist Party Central Party School, recently published an article on how to define “Culture Superpower.” The article described three aspects of a culture superpower: (1) the nation must have relatively strong cultural charm, which is demonstrated by its self-confidence and attractiveness; (2) a culture superpower must be able to create, produce and distribute cultural elements, which include cultural innovation, an advanced culture industry and modern media; (3) a culture superpower must have a baseline indicator that is reflected by the quality of its people – their quality includes moral standards as well as scientific and artistic standards. All these aspects should have deep roots in the political, economic, and social lives of the people.

Source: Study Times, October 31, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/10/31/03/03_46.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

International Herald Leader: To Begin Intervening in Western Interventionism

[Editor’s Note: An article published on Xinhua’s International Herald Leader explains China’s recent veto of the draft of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. “The direct goals that China wanted to achieve, specifically, were to prevent the West from imposing possible military sanctions on Syria, to obstruct the legalization of the West’s deployment and implementation of military operations in the Middle East, and to contain the West’s barbaric practice of using military means to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.” “China’s veto is a counter-attack against American unilateralism; it is a beautiful debut for China’s pursuit of a new international order.”] [1]

Continue reading →

Reports | | |   Report