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China Review News: A Prolonged Struggle for Oil between China and the U.S.

A recent China Review News article predicts a “prolonged struggle for oil between China and the U.S.” It quotes Craig Roberts, a former senior U.S. Treasury official, in an interview with Middle Eastern media, “Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi has made two mistakes: He blocked the US Africa Command by not joining it and he let China make major energy investments in Libya instead.” The author thus concludes that the motive for the U.S. to support the rebels in overthrowing the Qaddafi regime is to remove Chinese companies from Libya. 

The article points to the global competition for oil between China and the U.S. “In the eyes of the U.S., China is vying for oil interests in the territory of U.S.” “On the surface, there is no conflict between China and the U.S. on the Libya issue, but one may overlook the point that the current war in Libya is comparable to what the U.S. and U.K. did to Japan in the 1940’s. At that time, the U.S. and U.K. cut off Japan’s oil, rubber, and minerals, which caused the Pacific War in World War II. Now, the U.S., U.K., and France are doing the same to China.” “In the future, China will inevitably compete with the U.S. for oil around the world. It is difficult to predict whether armed conflicts will occur.”

Source: China Review News, April 24, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/7/0/0/101670071.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101670071&mdate=0424002415

Scholar Warns of Risks to Chinese Assets from Downgrade of U.S. Credit Outlook

In a recent interview regarding the downgrade of the U.S. credit outlook, Renmin University Professor Zhao Xijun warns that the book value of Chinese investments (in U.S. government debt) may incur a loss. “Although the U.S. government is not facing default on its debt, we should be on the alert, continue to diversify our investments, and take risk control measures as well.”

Source: China Review News, April 21, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/6/6/4/101666490.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101666490&mdate=0421003909

VOA: High Cost Drives Chinese Exporters to Leave Coastal Provinces

Voice of America (VOA) recently reported that Chinese export businesses are planning to leave coastal provinces for inland locations or other countries. The report gave the example of the Apple iPhone OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) vendor FoxConn’s plan to invest US$12 billion to open new plants in Brazil. With salary increases, raw material price increases, and currency appreciation, the exporters’ production costs are growing steadily. A global supplier in Hong Kong estimates there will be a 15% increase in the price of Chinese exports. Although the government is encouraging the businesses to move their plants to inland provinces, the concern is that the increase in transportation costs to access sea ports will eat up the savings. Moving manufacturing lines to locations in nearby countries like Vietnam and Indonesia may become easier choices for their existing infrastructures.

Source: Voice of America, April 20, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110420-China-Manufacturing-by-Heda-Bayron-120312824.html

China to Strictly Control Water Consumption

The Chinese Minister of Water Resources, Chen Lei, recently spoke at a forum, stressing a strict control of the nation’s annual water consumption. The goal set for the year 2015 is 635 billion cubic meters; it is 670 billion for the year 2020. The Ministry is speeding up the process of defining national water consumption standards for high-water-consumption industries and for the service industry. Chen also emphasized that it is very important to protect drinking water sources and underground water. He said China has the most difficult water management situation in the world. The next step is to hold heads of local governments responsible for enhancing water management supervision and for implementing the administrative system.

Source: China News Service, April 15, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/04-15/2976679.shtml

Chiefs of General Staff of SCO Member Countries Meet in Shanghai

On April 25, 2011, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO – founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) held a conference for the Chiefs of the General Staff in Shanghai, as part of the agreement of the Tashkent Summit of SCO Heads of State. China initiated the conference; it will be the first of its kind since SCO was founded ten years ago. Chen Bingde, China’s chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army and also the host of the conference pointed out that, over the past 10 years, defense and security cooperation among SCO member states has been fruitful; mutual military trust has deepened; laws and regulations have continued to improve; the cooperation mechanisms have developed; and joint anti-terror exercises have been effective. SCO defense ministers signed a cooperation plan last month for the period 2012-2013.

Source: Xinhua, April 22, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/22/c_121335988.htm

37 Karaoke Songs Blacklisted Due to Forbidden Contents

Recently, an entertainment karaoke TV venue in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, banned a list of 37 karaoke songs, mostly from Taiwan and Hong Kong. The ban triggered a widespread outcry from Chinese netizens. 

In response to inquires in the aftermath of the event, the Ministry of Culture issued a notice in support of the ban, citing the “Regulation on the Administration of Entertainment Venues” issued by the State Council. Articles 13 and 18 of the Regulation prohibit “activities in entertainment venues that contain content banned by the Regulations.” “Song lyrics, TV pictures, and electronic games should not contain content banned by article 13 of the Regulation.” “The music selection system used in entertainment venues should not connect to an overseas music database.”

Source: People’s Daily, April 22, 2011
http://culture.people.com.cn/GB/87423/14462009.html

County Level Human Resource Social Security Bureau Chiefs to Take Training Courses

A ten-day training has been planned for the county level Human Resources and Social Security Bureau chiefs, the largest of its kind since its inception. The first session started on April 18 in Beijing. Accordingly to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, it is expected to take three years for all 3,000 grassroots bureau chiefs to complete the training course. The purpose of the training is to improve the leadership quality of officials at the local level, as well as enhance their capability to handle social crises and to combat corruption.

Source: Xinhua, April 18, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2011-04/18/c_121318606.htm

Li Changchun Calls for African-Chinese Media Cooperation

During a visit to Kenya, Li Changchun, the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda chief, gave a speech at Nairobi University encouraging further cooperation between the media in China and Africa. Li proposed to actively implement the “Forum on ChinaAfrica CooperationSharm El Sheikh Action Plan.” He also suggested strengthening direct interactions between Chinese and African media and promoting cooperation in training, technical support, programming, and resource sharing, as well as technology development.

Source: Xinhua, April 22, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/22/c_121337861.htm