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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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Leadership Reshuffle in State Oil Giants

China recently appointed the top leaders of the state Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). Su Shulin, Party Secretary and General Manager of Sinopec, was appointed Deputy Chief of the Party Committee in Fujian Province. Fu Chengyu, Party Secretary and General Manager of CNOOC, was appointed Party Secretary and Chairman of Sinopec. Wang Yilin, Deputy Manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), was appointed Party Secretary and Chairman of CNOOC. China is also using this opportunity to set up a board of directors at the two state oil giants, although their subsidiaries listed in domestic and overseas stock markets already have boards. Sometime later, a board will also be created for CNPC.

Source: Beijing News, April 12, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-04/12/content_219795.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

VOA: Aircraft Carrier Varyag Sets a Milestone for the Chinese Military

Voice of America (VOA) recently reported that China’s first aircraft carrier is approaching the stage of final delivery. The report saw this as a major milestone in China’s effort to modernize its military –despite the fact that the aircraft carrier is just a refit of the long-retired Ukrainian aircraft carrier “Varyag.” It is widely believed that this new addition to China’s Navy will be used mainly for training purposes and as a reference for future aircraft carrier designs. The real-world battlefield capabilities are far behind the ship’s counterparts in today’s U.S. Navy. The VOA report also mentioned the worries expressed in the media on the part of China’s neighboring countries, such as Taiwan and South Korea.

Source: Voice of America, April 9, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110409-China-First-Aircraft-Carrier-119529679.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily on Internet Culture

Qiushi Journal, a bi-weekly magazine published by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, recently republished an article from People’s Daily on the phenomenon of Internet culture. According to the author, theoretical studies on this culture are far behind the reality of its rapid development. The article focused on the fastest growing portion of the domestic Internet market – online gaming – saying that the growth of the gaming industry should be limited. The author dismissed the view that Internet culture represents only a “virtual” world. He suggested that the virtual world is obviously interacting with the real world and concluded that, to a certain degree, “managing the virtual society amounts to managing the real one.” The author also expressed the belief that Internet-based enterprises lack deep cultural resources and called for help from the traditional culture industry. The article ended with the observation that the Internet culture is merging into mainstream Chinese culture.

Source: Qiushi Journal, April 5, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/wh/sxdl/201104/t20110405_75256.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Xinhua: Over 93% of Imports and Exports Rely on Sea Transportation

Xinhua recently reported on The Symposium Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of China’s Sailors’ Union in Beijing. The article stated that China now has over 1.55 million sailors; of those, 650,000 are seamen. Today, 93% of the transportation used for Chinese import and export industries is sea-based. Over 95% of all oil and 99% of all ironstone rely on water transportation. Currently, the scale of China’s water transportation fleet is the fourth largest in the world. It includes 184,000 vessels, which translates into a transportation capacity of 124 million tons. Mainland China now has 12 out of the world’s top 20 ports with an annual freight handling capacity of over one-hundred-million tons.

Source: Xinhua, April 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-04/06/c_121273093.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

State-owned AVIC buys US-based Nexteer

China’s State-owned parts manufacturer, AVIC Automobile Industry Holding Co. Ltd. recently became the majority stockholder in Nexteer Automotive, the Michigan-based maker of steering and drive-line systems. The merger is said to be the largest acquisition that the China’s auto parts industry has made. 
Last November, Pacific Century Motors (PCM) bought Nexteer from General Motors. PCM is a joint venture; the Beijing E-Town International Investment & Development Co Ltd, the financial and investment arm of the Beijing municipal government, owned the majority of PCM. In March, AVIC Automobile then acquired a 51 percent stake in PCM, becoming the controlling stockholder in Nexteer. Beijing E-Town and its partners own the remaining 49 percent.
Based in Saginaw, Michigan, Nexteer is the world’s third-largest company in sales of drive-shaft components and the fourth-largest for steering systems. It had more than $2 billion in revenue last year.

Source:
Xinhua, April 8, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/08/c_121283512.htm
http://www.nexteer.com

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Huanqiu: Who Is Seriously Breaching the Spirit of the Law?

Huanqiu recently published a provoking  article in response to Western countries’ criticism of China’s arrest of artist Ai Weiwei. The article said that Western media are “using their own logic to interpret (the facts) and try to influence China.” “It is precisely their (the West’s) approach that breaches the basic spirit of the law in a serious confrontation, and that tries to portray (Ai as) a legally ‘sacred and inviolable’ ‘democracy fighter.’”
“Since the ‘Middle East revolution,’ the U.S. and European countries haven’t been able to put a brake on pointing fingers and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs.” “The interference in Ai Weiwei’s case is a total negation of China’s law. It is no different from a group of Westerners assembling to burn down China’s supreme court building.” “Chinese law is the skeleton of this country; the Western attempt to influence the trial of Ai Weiwei is like installing a remote control for the skeleton. With the control in their hands, they are making China a large and obedient puppet.”

[Ed: Ai Weiwei，a well known Chinese artist, designed the Olympic’s Bird’s Nest stadium and has also focused on government corruption, especially in the construction of schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The police recently arrested him and charged him with "economic crimes."]

Source: Huanqiu, April 8, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-04/1615335.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Asks the U.S. to Stop Being a Self-styled Human Rights Preacher

Following the U.S. State Department’s April 8 release of the 2010 Annual Human Rights Report, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei responded in a press briefing, “The U.S. should reflect more on its own human rights issues, stop acting like a ‘Human Rights Preacher,’ and stop using its Human Rights Report to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.” Hong also touted the Chinese government’s protection of human rights.

Source: China News Service, April 9, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/04-09/2961757.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Made in China Handicapped by Six Weaknesses

An article in Study Times listed six weaknesses that affect China’s manufacturing industry. They are: 1) An over-reliance on a low-cost production environment; 2) Being locked up in low-end markets; 3) An overcapacity in low efficiency production; 4) Chinese companies are not competitive; 5) The cost advantage is gradually diminishing due to growing labor costs; 6) The trade model based on processing raw materials cannot be sustained.
 
Source: Study Times, April 4, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/04/04/12/12_38.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources