Chinascope – Page 1053

Retired Military General: In the Future China Will Surely Have Overseas Bases

In response to Western media’s reactions to the news that Pakistan asked China to help build the Gwadar port, Xu Guangyu, a retired military major general, wrote an article in Global Times “In the future China will surely have overseas bases.” The author argued, “There is no need for much ado about nothing, even if it is true; let alone that China has denied the news.” Xu continued, “[China’s] growing national power and an ever interconnected world do not allow us to avoid exchanges with the outside. It is inevitable to contact and cooperate with other countries on issues of the economy, culture, and security. Since ancient times, the vast ocean has been an irreplaceable platform for such exchanges. Any country, as long as it has a coastline of over a kilometer, will try to build ports and a fleet, exchange voyages and share ports with friendly countries.” “Today, if such a big China peacefully assists Pakistan or other countries to build ports or even naval bases, it will be a breakthrough for China’s normal overseas condition of ‘two zeros’ (no ports, no bases). This is progress. For China, as a big country with the responsibility for regional and world peace and development, such breakthroughs should become quite normal. Are you ready (to accept it)?”

Source: People’s Daily website, May 26, 2011
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/42969/58519/14742139.html

Briefings | | May 27, 2011 | Defense/Military

VOA: China’s First Military Game Uses the U.S. as the Imaginary Enemy

According to a Voice of America report, Nanjing Military Region and Wuxi Giant Network Science and Technology Corporation developed China’s first military game, which is called “mission of honor.” The introductory video shows Chinese soldiers firing at the imaginary “enemy” using obvious images of American soldiers. Then they shoot down an American military “Apache” helicopter. The article points out that using games translated from foreign languages “is not good for the military’s educational training; it may misguide the soldiers” because the contents, values, and military ideals are quite different from (China’s). PLA Daily says, “’mission of honor’ is completely our own intellectual property. It has filled a blank in China’s military games. The improved version of the software will be distributed to the army for application.”

Source: Voice of America, May 20, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110520-Chinese-Army-Video-Game-122359839.html

Briefings | | May 27, 2011 | US-China Relations

China’s Mobile Phone Accounts Surpass 900 Million

On May 24, 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued a release indicating that, from January to April, the net increase in China’s mobile phone accounts was 41.386 million, bringing the total number of mobile phone accounts to 900.389 million. Among them, 3G accounts increased by 20.521 million, reaching 67.572 million.

Source: Xinhua, May 24, 2011.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/24/c _121452959.htm

Briefings | | May 27, 2011 | Information/Technology

Party Members Warned Not to Spread Political Rumors

In an unusual, harsh tone, People’s Daily published an editorial warning that “The Party’s discipline does not allow Party members to spread political rumors.” The editorial states that safeguarding the Party’s political discipline is a serious political struggle. It further alleges that a very small group of Party members and officials make irresponsible remarks on major political issues and act on their own, that some overtly agree but covertly oppose the Party’s decisions, and that others make up stories and tarnish the image of the Party leadership. The editorial said that the Party’s disciplinary authorities have “seriously punished a number of CCP members and cadres who disobeyed the political discipline.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 25, 2011
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2011-05/25/nw.D110000renmrb_20110525_2-04.htm

Briefings | | May 26, 2011 | Government/Politics

Scholar: International Financial Reform Does Not Give China More Voice

In an interview with the official Outlook Weekly magazine, Jiang Yong, a scholar with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the international financial reform has not given China more of a real voice. Since April 2010, China’s voting right in the World Bank has risen from 2.77% to 4.42%, second only to the U.S. and Japan. Its voting power in the IMF jumped to 3rd place, after the U.S. and Japan. However, “After the reforms, the U.S. still sits in the top position at the World Bank and it retains a one-vote veto with its shares at the IMF. Although the EU countries ‘gave up’ some shares, they still retain a veto power. The fact that the top decisions on the world economy and financial system fall into the hands of Western developed countries hasn’t change,” said Jiang. He believes that if others control a country financially, the impact will be felt not only in financial security, but also in economic and national safety.

Source: Outlook Weekly, May 23, 2011
http://www.lwgcw.com/NewsShow.aspx?newsId=20819

Briefings | | May 26, 2011 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Major General Faults the U.S. for Rocky Military Relationship

Professor and Major General Zhu Chenghu of China’s National Defense University believes that the U.S. is responsible for the vicious cycle in the current U.S.- China relationship, i.e., interrupt, start over, interrupt again and start over again. Zhu states that the U.S.-China military relationship faces three obstacles: arms sales to Taiwan, the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and U.S. reconnaissance of China’s coastal areas. Zhu does not expect that the recent visit to the United States of Chief of the PLA, General Staff Chen Bingde, will put the relationship on a healthy path. Although the U.S. State Department opposes the sale of the F-16CD to Taiwan, the U.S. Defense Department, which proposed the sale, will eventually prevail, thus creating another crisis in the U.S.-China relationship. Zhu holds that the 2000 NDAA is unfair in that it prohibits military exchanges with China in 12 categories.

Zhu is famous for the comment he made in 2005, in which he warned that his country could destroy hundreds of American cities with nuclear weapons if the two nations clashed over Taiwan.

Source: People’s Daily, May 23, 2011
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/42969/58519/14714651.html

Briefings | | May 26, 2011 | US-China Relations

Guangming Daily: State-Owned Enterprises Should Learn to Avoid Risks in Overseas Investment

A recent Guangming Daily commentary advises that state-owned enterprises should learn to avoid commercial and political risks when making overseas investments. Among the US$18.8 billion worth of contractual projects of Chinese enterprises in Libya, commercial insurance only covered less than 400 million Chinese yuan (US$61.50 million) of the loss. The rest of the investment in Libya has been “left to God’s mercy.”

The article said, “in a country with an immature market, the big hand of government still influences the economy. When the government is stable, the risk is controllable. To make money in such a country, as long as one holds onto the big hand of government, everything – winning projects, making investments, and obtaining loans – falls into place. … Once the big hand of government is crippled due to political changes, all the ‘hands’ holding that hand will inevitably become empty.”

At the end of 2009, the state-owned enterprises had 6,000 branches overseas with total assets of over 4 trillion yuan (US$615.62 billion). From 2010 to the present the period of Chinese companies investing overseas peaked.

Source: Guangming Daily, May 23, 2011
http://politics.gmw.cn/2011-05/23/content_1992697.htm

Briefings | | May 25, 2011 | Economy/Resources

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

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

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

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