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

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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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Report: Micro-blogs Have Become Second Largest Source of Public Opinion

An Internet research group under of the Communications University of China issued a report on its study of Chinese Internet opinion that covered the first half of 2011. The report concluded that micro-blogs have become the second largest source of public opinion after news media reports. The conclusion is based on an analysis of the source, geography and subject matter of over a thousand popular topics on the Internet. Forums, blogs, and news websites used to be the most important sources of public opinion. In the first six months of 2011, 18% of public opinion originated from micro-blogs. In those six months, public opinion on the micro-blogs tended to focus consistently on food safety issues. More opinions and information came from developed provinces with Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang being the top three. Hunan Province, Chongqing City and Hubei Province showed rapid growth. According to the report, news media remain the largest source of public opinion but their dominance has weakened.

Source: Xinhua, July 18, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-07/18/c_121684906.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Huanqiu: U.S. Debt Negotiation is Holding Other Countries Hostage

Huanqiu published an editorial on the current negotiation between the U.S. President and Congress to increase the national debt ceiling. “Although analysts believe that Obama and Congress ultimately will ‘definitely’ reach an agreement, they dare to use their sovereign credit as a rubber ball on a playing field, and dare to hold hostage China, Japan, Germany, and the many countries that have bought U.S. Treasury bonds. Imagine how unbalanced this world is!”

“There must be more restrictions placed on the prerogatives of the United States. It would require that the world join hands in fighting the U.S. as well as that the United States awaken. The self-serving nature of the U.S. dollar as the sovereign currency is incompatible with the role of internationalism that it plays. … Wall Street used to be the recharger of the U.S. economy and has now become a smoke-filled common gaming house and a school for thieves. Power cannot sustained unreasonable things for long. The United States should awaken.”

Source: Huanqiu, July 16, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-07/1826399.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Outlook Weekly’s Comments on Mullen’s China Trip

Outlook Weekly, a magazine under Xinhua, published an article commenting on the visit to China by Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The article claimed that the Sino-U.S. relationship has entered a period in which both sides accommodate each other. It stated that there are still several legacy issues (caused by the U.S.) impacting the Sino-U.S. relationship: U.S.’ arm sales to Taiwan, military surveillance of China under China’s nose, restrictions on Sino-U.S. military exchanges, political discrimination against China, restrictions on high-tech exports to China, criticism of China’s political system, military alliances in Asia, and involvement in its ally’s territorial disputes with China.

It also warned that new issues may emerge. “Along with China’s continuing to rise in power and expand its national interests, … the chances of friction or collision developing between the two countries are increasing.”

Source: Sohu, July 18, 2011
http://news.sohu.com/20110718/n313762556.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua: The Provincial vs. National GDP

Xinhua reprinted an article from Yangcheng Evening News, which reported that the GDP numbers that each province in China reported did not match the GDP number from the central government. For the past several years, the sum of GDPs reported at the provincial level has always been greater than the national number. In 2010, the provincial sum was 3.5 trillion yuan (US$540 billion), or 8.8%, greater than the national number. The report listed the reasons for this inconsistency as double counting, calculation errors, and false claims at the provincial level. “For example, an economic review of the previous two years found significant gaps in some provinces’ GDPs numbers. As a result, those GDP numbers underwent a major correction.”

Source: Xinhua, July 19, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2011-07/19/c_121690132.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi Jinping’s Speech at China’s Celebration of Tibet’s Peaceful Liberation

Xi Jinping, China’s Vice President, the expected incoming paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party, led a central government delegation to Lhasa to attend the celebration of “the 60th anniversary of China’s peaceful liberation of Tibet.” In his speech at the celebration, Xi called for the promotion of advanced socialist culture and a patriotism-based national spirit, as well as sticking to, consolidating, and expanding the patriotic united front and “carrying the struggle against the Dalai group’s separatist activities to a deeper level.” Xi praised all those who are stationed in Tibet – the PLA, the armed police, and law enforcement – as “loyal guards and strong pillars who defend the country, safeguard Tibet’s socialist development, and maintain Tibet’s social stability.”

Source: Xinhua, July 19, 2011
http://tibet.news.cn/xwzt/xzhpjf60/qzdh/wzzb.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China Launched Tian-Lian One-02 Satellite

According to China Manned Space Engineering Online, China recently successfully launched a second data relay satellite named Tian-Lian One-02. The satellite is to be used for China’s first space docking mission planned for the second half of the year. The satellite was developed by China Academy of Space Technology, under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. This new satellite works in conjunction with the Tian-Lian One-01 satellite, launched three years ago, to form a network to support space data relay and to provide monitoring and control services. The Tian-Lian One-01 satellite served the manned space mission Shenzhou VII to increase the coverage of monitoring and control services from 15% to 50%. 

Source: China Manned Space Engineering Online, July 12, 2011
http://www.cmse.gov.cn/news/show.php?itemid=1485

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Beijing Daily: Dongcheng District Builds Grid-Based Party Structure

  Beijing Daily recently reported that the Communist Party branch in Dongcheng District was building a grass roots structure based on a grid format, dividing the District into grid cells. The 17 streets in the District have 589 cells in which 822 Party units were created. These units further include 1,565 Party Groups that reach 37,452 Party members. The grid structure is designed to do better “social service management,” enabling Party members to have a deeper reach. Party members in each grid cell are to note down detailed information about the resident families in the cell, such as some family’s low-income status or whether some household has a water leak. It is believed that this is a new model for community self-management. 

Source: Beijing Daily, July 17, 2011
http://bjrb.bjd.com.cn/html/2011-07/17/content_426162.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Sinopec Tops Fortune 500 China

Jinghua Times, a Beijing based daily newspaper under Chinese state media People’s Daily, recently reported on the newly released 2011 Fortune 500 China list. China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) remains number one on the list with a revenue of RMB 1.91 trillion, followed by PetroChina as second and China Mobile as third. The total revenue of all 500 companies on the list reached RMB 18.9 trillion, which is 47% of the nation’s GDP. This total represents a growth of 38% over last year. State owned capital still holds the vast majority of the Fortune 500 China list. This year, 45 new companies joined the list. Only 9 out of the 500 reported financial losses. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Sinopec and China Construction Bank are the top 3 most profitable companies on the list.

Source: Jinghua Times, July 14, 2011
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2011-07/14/content_679703.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources