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

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

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

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Xinhua: A Regrettable Ruling

Xinhua recently reported that a WTO group of experts issued a “rule violation” conclusion after investigating China’s imposition of restrictions on the export of several raw materials. Xinhua called it a “regrettable ruling,” citing the need for China to protect the environment. In the year 2009, the U.S., the European Union, and Mexico jointly filed the WTO complaint for China’s taking “unfair advantage.” The materials in question are bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, phosphorus, and zinc. China tried to explain the “export restrictions” as “administrative means.” The report suggested the current mining process used in China results in significant pollution. The new “enhanced management” is designed to improve the sustainability of providing the resources to the world market.

Source: Xinhua, July 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-07/06/c_121632341.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Tsinghua Students Called on to Study Socialist Core Values & Political Ideology

On June 30, Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, visited Tsinghua University. Li called on the university to “improve the quality of education and persistently strengthen and renew political ideology education so as to speed up Tsinghua’s progress in advancing toward being a world first class university.”

Li said that universities should launch education programs for students to learn about contemporary history so they can understand "how history and people chose Marxism, the Communist Party, the socialist path, and the open and reform policy. … Therefore, they will be able to form a firm belief in walking the socialist path with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the Communist Party."

Source: Xinhua, July 1, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-07/01/c_121608015.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: China’s Internet Blocks Rumors of Jiang Zemin’s Death

An article in BBC Chinese reported that, “China’s Internet police have apparently blocked discussions about Jiang Zemin, the formal Party Secretary.” The BBC Chinese said, “On July 1, while many formal top party leaders including the formal Prime Minister Li Peng and Zhu Rongji appeared at the celebration ceremony of the Party’s 90th anniversary, Jiang, who is 84, was not present. This led to the rumor that Jiang was seriously ill or has passed away.”

According to BBC, on July 6, a BBC reporter logged on to the Sina website and typed “Jiang Zemin.” A message came back stating, “According to the related legal rules and policy, your search results cannot be displayed.” A list of Chinese words including “heart attack,” and “Party Secretary” were also blocked. Even the word “Yangtze” and other river related words were blocked because the Chinese characters contains the characters for “Jiang,”  the same name as the former Party Secretary. BBC said that several Hong Kong media sources from Beijing disclosed that Jiang suffered a massive heart attack and was hospitalized at the PLA 301 hospital where many top party leaders have paid visits.

Source: BBC Chinese, July 6, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/07/110706_jiang_censor.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China’s Overseas Investments Receive Attention

VOA published an article on concerns over China’s overseas investments. The article said that as demand for raw materials increases in China, many Chinese companies have gone overseas and signed contracts with local companies. However, China’s foreign expansion has raised concerns over the direct impact on the world’s economic development, environmental issues, and compensation to workers in those countries.
 
In VOA’s interview with J. Peter Pham, Director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, Pham said that since China’s loans are paid in the form of investment in the infrastructure or soft loans, the cash that those foreign countries were to receive would have been a lot less than expected. David Sean, a former official with the Department of State, told VOA that the trade relationship between China and African countries often lacks transparency and involves environmental concerns. Moreover, local hired workers often complain about their treatment and compensation. However Chinese government officials denied all of the above allegations and explained that, unlike other foreign investors, Chinese investors don’t get involved in local politics.

Source: VOA, July 1, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110701-china-global-investment20110701-china-global-investment-124886109.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

International Herald Leader: China Should Compete with the U.S. for Friends

[Editor’s Note: On May 21, the Pacific Research Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) held a forum on “The Strategy of China’s Rise – Theory and History.” Issues discussed included foreign diplomatic strategy, cooperation among countries in the region, and internationalization of the Renminbi. The International Herald Leader reported on several representative points of view. Excerpts from the article related to diplomatic and cooperative strategies are translated below.] [1]

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Reports | | |   Report

Study Times: How to Increase Cultural Power

Study Times, a publication of the Central Party School, published an article on the importance of cultural power. The article suggested that (China) should increase cultural power in six different ways. 1) Enhance the cultural education of children and adolescents, using culture to shape their value system. 2) Integrate and consolidate cultures of different ethnic groups and establish a core national value system. 3) Learn from the West’s creativity. 4) Advance the study of philosophy and other branches of the social sciences. 5) Increase investment in cultural industries. 6) Strengthen cultural exportation. 

To back up the last point, the article explained that “military and economic power will no longer be the major parameters to evaluate national strength. In the 21st century, the control of culture will be the focus of power struggles. If a country’s cultural and value systems are attractive, other countries will move towards it. If a country takes the lead in global cultural development, it will occupy an advantageous position in future development. If a country’s values (ideologies) can dictate the international political order, it will inevitably be the leader of international society.”
Source: Study Times, July 4, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/07/04/06/06_52.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

New Characteristics of Sino-U.S. Security Relations

A scholar from the Research Center of World Affairs under Xinhua News Agency, published an article discussing the new characteristics of Sino-U.S. security relations. As China’s comprehensive power increases, China’s national interests are surpassing its national boundaries, its international influence is expanding, and the conflicts with the U.S. in its strategic goal and its interest in dominating the globe are increasing. Due to their increasing inter-dependence, however, the content and scope of co-operation in their common security interests, particularly in dealing with the challenges of global issues, are also broadening. 

The article believes that Sino-U.S. security relations are becoming more and more complicated. In geographic security, they have surpassed the area of East Asia; in space, they have expanded into air space; in security, they have surpassed military areas and broadened to the economy, energy, resources, and the Internet. 
It concluded: 1) Complications come from two factors. First, as China’s power increases, the U.S. is getting more wary and suspicious of China and structural conflicts are becoming more prominent. Second, the contradictions due to their different strategic goals (affect relations). 2) Due to the rapid development of economic globalization, both countries are not only economically inter-dependent; in security relations, the area that requires cooperation is also increasing.

Source: Xinhua, July 7, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-07/07/c_121635114.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua: Watch Out as the U.S. May Repudiate Its Debts.

A Xinhua commentary cautioned about the possibility that the U.S. may default on its debt. The article said, “No one wants to see the U.S. breach its debt obligations, but (everyone) has to be prepared (in case it happens). As long as no one can shake the U.S.’s (global) hegemony in military, currency, and media, any U.S. ‘action to repudiate its debts’ will benefit itself at a cost to others.” “In the current situation, only by ‘repudiating its debts’ can the U.S. rapidly decrease its debt ratio and reduce its heavy debt burden, so as to have ‘consumption recover.’” 

The article argued that, in the short term, the U.S. cannot expand its economy through investments or exports. “In the short run, the U.S. must continue to walk the path of ‘relying on consumption’ to improve its economy. In fact, the Republicans, the voice for the oil and financial conglomerates on the East Coast, are very aware of the reality. Therefore, they are not afraid of the U.S. defaulting on its debt, and have even proposed a ‘technical default.’” 
“The world’s countries will have nothing to say but acknowledge their bad luck if the U.S. ‘defaults on its debt’ or ‘engages in disguised debt default’ in order to reduce its fiscal deficit. If the default causes the collapse of bond prices and the skyrocketing of commodity prices, those who suffer will be countries with foreign exchange reserves and industrial manufacturing countries. To avoid their capital loss and remedy their economies, these countries will have to unconditionally agree to the U.S debt restructuring. Historically, the collapse of the Bretton Woods system was a typical case of the U.S. ‘repudiating its debt.’ This is also why the author worries about the ‘U.S. repudiating its debt.’”

Source: Xinhua, July 7, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-07/07/c_121635675.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations