Skip to content

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

Global Times’ Survey: The U.S. Is the Cause of the Korean Peninsula Crisis

In a public survey conducted by the Global Times in China from November 26 to 28, 2010, almost 60% of survey respondents saw the U.S. as the main cause of the crises in the Korean Peninsula and 60% believed that China should maintain its special relationship with North Korea.

The survey was conducted in seven large cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. When asked, “What does North Korea represent to China,” 44.7% chose “a strategic defense line for China” and another 43.2% checked “China’s ally." Regarding North Korea’s bombing of South Korea, 56.7% chose “(the issue is) too complex to comment on," while 22.4% checked “North Korea was forced to do so." When asked, “Which country is the cause of the continued crises in the Korean Peninsula," 55.6% said the U.S. and 10% chose South Korea, while only 9% checked North Korea.

Source: Global Times, November 29, 2010
http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2010-11/1299649.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

The People’s Daily Publishes Five Commentaries on Stabilizing Prices in China

From November 22 to 26, 2010, the People’s Daily published five commentaries, one per day, on stabilizing prices in China. These commentaries echoed the State Council’s “Notice on the Protection of the General Price Level and the Stability of the Basic Livelihood of the Masses” that was issued on November 20. These articles stressed that China is able to control prices and that “the reason for rising farm product prices is that some bad people stockpiled farm products to increase prices."

Source: People’s Daily Online, November 28, 2010
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/13334957.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: China Publishes Rules on Registering Foreign Firm’s Representative Office

According to Xinhua, on November 25, 2010, China published "Regulations on the Registration of Foreign Companies’ Representative Offices (as opposed to subsidiaries) in China." The regulations, which go into effect March 1, 2011, include rules on registration, establishment, cancellation of registration, and legal responsibilities of the representative offices of foreign companies. According to the regulations, such representative offices may only conduct non-business activities, including market surveys, product display and promotion, and liaising on behalf of their parent companies on product sales, customer service, and procurement and investment in China. The regulations also apply to the representative offices that companies from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan set up in Mainland China.
 
The representative offices must not conduct activities that endanger China’s state security or social benefits. Offices violating the rules face up to a 500,000 yuan fine.

Source: Xinhua, November 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-11/26/c_12817789.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Hong Kong Plays an Important Role in Internationalizing the RMB

Tsang Chun-wah, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong S.A.R. government, recently commented that 75% of the cross-border RMB settlements are made through Hong Kong. In the first half of this year, cross-border RMB settlements reached a total of RMB 67 billion. Tsang believes that Hong Kong will play a more and more important role in the process of internationalizing the RMB. He suggested that the Chinese economy is bringing Hong Kong new potential as a global growth leader. Hong Kong is becoming a very good place to raise capital. In the future, Tsang believes, one of the areas Hong Kong plans to focus on is RMB offshore transactions.

Source: Xinhua, November 16, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-11/16/c_12779545.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Using Culture to Increase China’s Soft Power

People’s Daily recently published an article by Jiang Jianguo, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP). The article called for culture system reform in order to increase the nation’s soft power, which should match China’s current economic and international status. The author pointed out that the U.S. commands 43% of the world’s “culture market.” The E.U. holds 34%. The Asia-Pacific region only holds 19% (Japan 10%, Korea 5%, China and the other nations 4%). It is believed that China’s international influence is very weak. The article suggests establishing a strategy to use culture to improve China’s “cultural soft power.” The article identified the key principle as “ensuring the Party tightly maintains control over the culture industry.”

Source: People’s Daily Online, November 22, 2010
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/30178/13279140.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CRN: Two Deeper Reasons for the U.S. to Attack the RMB Exchange Rate

China Review News (CRN) recently republished an article from Shanghai based Wen Hui Daily on the U.S. “currency war” against China. The article indicated that there are two “deeper” reasons behind the U.S. strategy: (1) pushing the RMB exchange rate higher will serve to suppress China’s rise as a world power; (2) Obama is using China as a scapegoat for his losses in the recent mid-term elections. The article suggested that the U.S. strategy is to remain the sole leader of the world, and China is now seen as a “serious challenge” to the status quo. The article’s author believes that, as the biggest currency manipulator in the world market, the United States’ attitude towards China is “the devil calling sin bad.”

Source: China Review News, November 25, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1015/1/6/1/101516177.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101516177&mdate=1125004421

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua Explains the Reasons for Sharp Price Increases in China

On November 22, 2010, Xinhua published an analytical article explaining why prices, especially food prices, have been increasing sharply in China. Below are the key points:

China has excess currency. China’s banking system has made 17 trillion yuan in RMB loans since 2008. The broad money supply is approaching 70 trillion yuan. The excess currency in the market leads to excess purchasing power that needs to find investment opportunities. However, the real estate market is now regulated; the stock market is in the recovery stage; and the RMB’s appreciation limits capital outflow.

In addition, the prices of agricultural products have increased in the international market. The prices of bulk raw materials have also increased. This is the result of the United States’ monetary policy and in particular, the second round of quantitative easing, and also from other countries’ loose monetary policies.

Source: Xinhua, November 22, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-11/22/c_13616725.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The CCP Achieves 100% Coverage of Law Firms in China

People’s Daily Online published an article on November 26, 2010, reporting that, on November 25, 2010, the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and Ministry of Justice announced that the Chinese Communist Party had achieved 100% coverage of all of the law firms in China. 

By June 2009, 3,895 of the 14,741 law firms in China had their own Party branches (26%) and 8105 law firms had joint Party branches (55%). Regarding the law firms without any Party members (19%), political instructors and coordinators had been assigned to build up the Party’s presence in each of them.

Source: People’s Daily Online, November 22, 2010
http://qh.people.com.cn/GB/182778/13326203.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics