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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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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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Chinese Language Newspapers Facing Tough Times

From October 16 to 17, over 200 representatives from Chinese language newspapers in 12 countries and regions held their 42th annual meeting in Chongqing, Sichuan Province to discuss the challenges facing them due to the expansion of electronic newspapers. Zhou Xisheng, Deputy Director of Xinhua urged them to "adapt to changes in the world media and develop Chinese newspapers hand in hand." He stated that the traditional newspapers cannot step back, but to adapt to the what young people like, and strive to transfer the contents of the newspapers to electronic versions. Currently Mainland China publishes 1,943 newspapers with a daily circulation exceeding 100 million copies. However since 2003, the number of newspaper has declined by 10% as a result of the expansion of electronic newspapers.

Source: People’s Daily, October 19, 2009
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2009-10/19/content_363421.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

State Gets New Funds to Expand Overseas Chinese Teaching

The Chinese Language and Culture Education Foundation of China (CLEF) received a corporate donation of 100 million yuan from an Indonesian company at a ceremony held on October 19, 2009. CLEF indicates that the funds will be for overseas expansion of Chinese language teaching of overseas Chinese. Politburo member Wang Gang attended the ceremony. CLEF was founded in 2004 and is operated by the State Council Overseas Affairs Office. Its council members include the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party, the International Communication office of the Communist Party (State Council Information office), the State Development Planning Commission, the State Administration of Radio, Film And Television, the State Council’s office of Overseas Chinese Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: Xinhua, October 19, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-10/19/content_12270778.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Outlook Weekly: Tit for Tat Against Trade Protectionism

China should proactively strive for fair treatment, tit for tat, says Outlook Weekly a publication under Xinhua. The statement was made in reference to an October 8 letter from the U.S. Alliance for American Manufacturing to U.S. trade officials that the Chinese government spends billions of dollars subsidizing the glass industry’s energy costs. The contract to manufacture blast-resistant glass for the new World Trade Center’s first 20 stories was awarded earlier this year to a Chinese company that underbid U.S. competitors. Song, director of a government think tank, the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is worried, “The U.S. has set a bad example and other countries will follow suit.” Song recommended enforcing and expanding diplomatic and cultural ties to reduce trade friction to the maximum extent.

Source: China News Service, October 20, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/news/2009/10-20/1919399.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Study Times: Sino-Russian Relationship from the Natural Resources Perspective

Study Times published an article that suggests that China’s rise requires it to develop alternate natural resources despite its present favorable Sino-Russian relationship (continued friendly relations with China). Currently, China has access to a vast supply of natural resources from Russia, which may not be the case in the future. Therefore, China needs to develop alternatives to protect its supply of natural resources, including building the blue water naval capability to ship natural resources over the sea, before the Sino-Russian strategic relationship turns sour. At this time, the US has closed down any possible land route over which China could obtain oil from the Middle East, except Iran. China’s land route is limited to the Central Asian countries and Russia.

Source: Study Times, October 19, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=3001&nid=10873&bid=12&page=1

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

National Defense University Professor: Strategic Partnership with Russia Has Reached a New High

On October 13, 2009, China and Russia signed an agreement regarding mutual notification when launching ballistic missiles and carriers. The People’s Daily published a commentary by Wang Baofu, a professor at the Strategic Institute of China’s National Defense University. Wang acknowledged that signing of the pact is a clear indication that the security collaboration between the two countries has reached a new high. The significance of this collaboration has reached beyond military security and trust. The development of the Sino-Russian relationship in all areas is the result of strategic trust between the two countries.

Source: People’s Daily, October 17, 2009
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2009-10/17/content_361741.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Hunan Province Advances a New Internet Control Platform

Red Net, the Website for the Communist Party’s Hunan Province Committee and Hunan Provincial government, disclosed that Hunan will advance an Internet monitoring platform soon, as directed by the Ministry of Culture. The platform contains the traditional Internet Café monitoring software and a Hunan Culture Website, providing monitoring and servicing capabilities. This platform prevents users from accessing “harmful” information.

The provincial Cultural Inspection Team and municipal and county-level cultural inspection team will inspect Internet Cafés randomly and penalize businesses that haven’t installed, have stopped using or have removed the platform.

Source: Red Net, October 17, 2009
http://hn.rednet.cn/c/2009/10/17/1840624.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Xinhua: Obama Changed His Position on RMB

Xinhua reported that the US Treasury Department published a report acknowledging that China did not manipulate its RMB currency. Obama took a strong position at the beginning of his presidency, claiming China did manipulate the RMB. The new report indicated that his administration is loosening its position. However, the United States is still maintaining a double-standard on currency policy. Compared to the RMB’s over 21% appreciation over the US Dollar in the past several years, the US Dollar’s rapid devaluation is more alarming, but the US government is keeping quiet about it. The newly published report still believes the RMB is undervalued, an indication that the United States is still playing the currency card to apply pressure on China.

Source: Xinhua, October 16, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-10/16/content_12246002.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

CIC $300 Million Russian Oil Investment

By the end of September, China Investment Corporation (CIC) completed phase one of its acquisition of a 45% share of Nobel Holdings Investments Ltd., a Russian oil and gas company. The second phase will include investment in assets around the oil field. The entire deal amounts to $300 million. This move is only one month after CIC spent $939 million to purchase 11% of Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) of a Kazakhstan oil company. Experts suggested that this current series of Chinese acquisitions is the result of the devaluation of US Dollar. CIC’s investing into natural resources is a new trend in its investment strategy.

Source: China Economy Net, October 16, 2009.
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/200910/16/t20091016_20214735.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources