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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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A New Round of MassiveTraining of Law Enforcement

Public Security Bureaus chiefs, presidents of courts and prison political commissars have been called on to go through mandatory training with increased responsiblities to neutralized social conflicts and maintain national stability. A special Symposium started on March 20 for district and municipal level public security bureau chiefs. The fifth class for presidents of intermediate and lower courts opened on March 23. On the same day, prison political commissars throughout China attended the first class in Beijing.

Source: Legal Daily, March 29, 2010
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/content/2010-03/29/content_2097065.htm?node=20733

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

New Communist Party Efforts to Revive Itself

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In his September 18, 2009, speech at the Fourth Session of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao admitted that strengthening the 75 million-member Party was an urgent need, and that there were numerous problems within the Party that seriously weakened its power as the ruling party.  [1] That same day, the Party passed the “Decision on a Number of Major Issues Regarding Strengthening and Improving the Party’s Growth under New Situations.” Xinhua touted it as “a programmatic document to guide the current and future Party’s growth.” [2]

The decision admits that “some Party members and cadres neglect theoretical studies; their studies and practices are out of touch; ideals and beliefs are shaken; their beliefs in Marxism are not firm and they lack confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics. … These problems have seriously weakened the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness; gravely damaged the Party’s close ties with the masses; and seriously affected the consolidation of the Party’s ruling status and governance to achieve its mission. We must alert the entire Party to pay close attention to resolve it.”

However, the CCP’s sense of urgency and insecurity is not new.

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Analyses | | |   Opinion

Reporting of 18 Issues Banned by Chinese Communist Propaganda Department

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Propaganda Department banned the Chinese media from reporting on 18 sensitive issues. Asahi Shimbun reported as front-page news on March 25 that Liu Yunshan, the Head of the Propaganda Department, ordered the ban on March 21, a day before Google announced its decision to stop censoring information on its Chinese site. The 18 issues include the Renminbi appreciation, official corruption, the high cost of medicine, food poisoning, turmoil in Xinjiang and Tibet, the gap between the rich and the poor, household registration reform, the unemployment of college graduates, corruption in handling Sichuan Earthquake donations, corruption of the police and gangsters in Chongqing, sky-rocketing real estate prices, and so on.

Concerning the Renminbi appreciation and Google’s refusal to censor information in China, the media was told that only Xinhua can report on those two issues. However the media can criticize the US.

It’s a sign that the Propaganda Department is trying to strengthen its control over the media after its negotiations with Google failed.

Source: Radio France International, March 25, 2010
http://www.chinese.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20100325-

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Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Bottleneck for China’s Books to be Published Outside of China

Lack of professional translators has turned into a major bottleneck for China’s books to be published outside of China. China’s publishing industry officials acknowledged the problem at the Sixth Conference of the “Chinese Books Promotion Plan.” Jing Ruibin, a subject matter expert of the Working Group for the Chinese Books Promotion Plan, suggested that it’s urgent to bring translators who are familiar with social science, literature, arts, and language up to par. This effort should be under the auspice of the government. Furthermore, publishing companies that have long-term objectives should develop their own translation team.

Source: Xinhua, March 27, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2010-03/27/content_13257393.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

International Herald Leader: Kim Jong-il May Visit China Soon

North Korea’s top leader Kim Jong-il will most likely visit China soon, according to the International Herald Leader. The article suggests that the most obvious reason for Kim’s visit is to ask for financial aid from China. North Korea is short of funds, especially since last-year’s embargo initiated by the U.N. that greatly restricted North Korea’s arm sales overseas. Also, Kim Jong-il is likely to officially introduce his chosen successor, his third son Kim Jong-un to Chinese leaders. The article said that Kim Jong-il’s visit to China will fall between March 25 and 31. He will visit Northeast China first before he comes to Beijing.

Source: International Herald Leader, March 25, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-03/25/content_13242755.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Publishers Rush to Grab the World Market

In the recent Chinese Publications Export Promotion Planning Conference, the General Administration of Press and Publications was pushing for more copyrighted publications to be exported not only to the major markets of Britain, the U.S., Germany, France and Russia, but also to countries surrounding China as well as Arabic, African, and Latin American countries. The “Go Out” strategy promotes these models: direct publishing overseas; using foreign planning skills for out-going projects; key products bringing along weaker ones; and publishing/printing bundling. In the recent couple of years, the China Publishing Group has already established a network of publishing companies around the globe.

Source: Xinhua, March 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2010-03/26/content_13249632.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Post Crisis Period: Focus on External Political Risks

Xinhua recently published an official report by China Renmin University that talked about risks after the rebalancing of the world economy. The report discussed three changes after the crisis: (1) The U.S. will hold onto the services market while Europe will be marginalized; (2) High end manufacturing, represented by Japan and Germany, will decrease while the low end will increase; (3) U.S. dominance of the global financial system will weaken while East Asia has an opportunity. The report also listed four Chinese risks: (1) Wrong international positioning; (2) The fight for profit; (3) Tightened liquidity; (4) Political risks – non-economic means of re-balancing. The report concluded with three recommendations: (1) Improve the Chinese financial market’s maturity; (2) Promote regional financial cooperation; (3) Improve Chinese export products structure towards the higher end.

Source: Xinhua, March 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2010-03/26/content_13249430.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: The U.S. is a Master at Exchange Rate Manipulation

Xinhua recently published an article suggesting that the U.S. is the country unloading the financial crisis burden onto other countries by manipulating the dollar exchange rate. During 2005 and 2008, the Chinese currency, the RMB, had an appreciation of 20% against the U.S. dollar, while the trade surplus increased. Then last year, the RMB exchange rate remained stable, while the trade surplus decreased. This was considered proof that a higher RMB exchange rate does not help U.S. exports. The author believes that the U.S. is taking advantage of the dominant position of the U.S. dollar to increase the cost of Chinese exports, thus increasing the competitiveness of U.S. products in the domestic market.

Source: Xinhua, March 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2010-03/26/content_13249503.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations