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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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Hu Jintao: Build a Strong Chinese Air Force

Chinese President Hu Jintao talked about building a strong Air Force in a new historic period. On May 22, he delivered a speech at the 11th Air Force’s CCP Representatives Conference. Hu emphasized keeping “politically right thinking,” describing it as the top priority.

Hu also suggested in his speech that today’s Chinese military needs to stand firm on “core values” which he then referred to as strictly and willingly following the Communist Party’s orders. He also mentioned that the Air Force should be prepared to win local wars under information system oriented conditions.

Source: Boxun, May 22, 2009.
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2009/05/200905221858.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China’s Position on Maritime Delimitation Unchanged

Xinhua reported that China will continue its current policy on Maritime Delimitation and island sovereignty. The issue involves China’s May 11, 2009, submission of information on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLSC). China reiterates in the submission that China has sovereignty, but will put aside disputes to seek joint development with other countries. Most of submissions made by other countries to CLCS are for areas over which the submitters have disputes with China, Xinhua observed.

Source: Xinhua, May 18, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-05/18/content_11394144.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Study Times: U.S. Smart Power and China

According to comments in Study Times, the United States is applying its smart power policy to its U.S.-China relationship. The article states that smart power has three major characteristics: it is rational and objective; it is comprehensive and very “pragmatic;” and finally, it has a high operability. “Almost all of those who have proposed and developed the ‘smart power’ policy are politicians who have given full consideration to the needs of front-line diplomatic practices, thus making the policy highly operable.” According to Study Times, the record of Obama’s first 100 days indicates that smart power has been adopted to guide U.S. foreign strategy.

Source: Study Times, May 18, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=2647&nid=9615&bid=2&page=1

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Loyalty to the Party is Required for Senior Military Officers

With approval from its chairman, Hu Jintao, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Military Commission recently issued “The Order on Further Strengthening the Leadership Behavior for Senior and Mid-Level Military Officers.” The order requires that the senior and mid-level military officers have firm belief in the Communist Party and remain clearheaded politically. It states that the overall requirements are: insisting that the Communist Party manage itself; manage the party strictly; focus on the capability development and advancement of the Party organization in the military; greatly promote the core values of contemporary revolutionary soldiers: "loyalty to the party, love for the people, service to the country and devotion to the mission and upholding honor;” emphasize on improving the leaderships’ party nature (primarily loyal to the party and following party’s direction) and establishing and maintaining fine style of work; and start from strictly executing and maintaining the Party’s discipline and formalizing and executing procedures.

Source: China News, May 17, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/05-17/1695110.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China News: China and Europe Hugging Each Other

China News published a report that Premier Wen Jiabao would go to Prague, Czech Republic on May 20, 2009 for the eleventh China-EU Summit. It stated that China and the EU are closely embracing each other.

The second China-EU High-level Trade and Economic Dialogue was held in Brussels on May 8, 2009. China sent senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Transportation, General Administration of Customs, and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The EU representatives were from the fields of business and industry, transportation, internal market, agriculture, consumer protection, customs, environmental protection, information society, and competition. With such a large number of participants, the meeting reached agreements in five areas, including implementation of the general agreement from G-20, anti-protectionism for trade and investment, encouragement for business to participate in each party’s economy development plan, joint support to small to mid-sized business development, and energy development and environmental collaboration.

China is the EU’s second largest trading partner.

Source: China News, May 17
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/05-17/1695184.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Youth: US Media Pretend There Is No Flu

China Youth published an article titled “The Flu Wreaks Havoc, but the U.S. Media Pretend They Haven’t Seen it” on May 15, 2009. The report said that U.S. media covered little about the influenza A(H1N1) flu, also called swine flu, though U.S. has already confirmed more than 3,500 infection cases. It criticized U.S. media for using a double standard in its reporting: it has extensive coverage and follow-ups for SARS when it was spreading in Asia, but kept quiet about swine flu when it is in the U.S. in the fear of hurting travel business and tourism and creating public anxiety. [1] [Editor’s Note: In 2003, China was criticized by the international community for covering up the SARS epidemic in China and providing unreliable information to WHO staff who went to China to monitor the spread of the disease.]

The Epoch Times reported on May 20, 2009, according to insider information from China’s security system, Chinese media have been providing intensive coverage of A[H1N1] flu to Chinese. The exaggerated reports of the U.S. and other countries’ “swine flu epidemics" make many in China feel that other countries are in great danger. On the surface it is for public health, the underlying reason is to use it as an excuse to declare a state of emergency in case there is a sudden event beyond the CCP’s control. This year is the most challenging year for the CCP, as it marks the 10th anniversary of the CCP persecuting Falun Gong, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, the 50th anniversary of Dalai Lama leaving Tibet, and 60th anniversary of the CCP’s rule in China. [2]

Source:
[1] China Youth, May 15, 2009
http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2009-05/15/content_2667711.htm
[2] Epoch Times, May 20, 2009
http://epochtimes.com/gb/9/5/20/n2532456.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chi Fulin: Three Important Signals

Famous scholar, Chi Fulin, who acts as an important advisor in Chinese reform and development research, believed that the Third Central Committee Plenary Session of the Seventeenth CCP National Assembly sent three important signals.

The first was rural reform, which he claimed was the central point connecting the rest of the reform strategy; the second was to stabilize the macroeconomic environment, which heavily relies on expanding rural markets;the third defined the focal point of rural reform – the increasingly larger gap between cities and rural areas, which was believed to be a primary reason for social conflicts.

Source: Xinhua News, October 28, 2008.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-10/28/content_10265488_1.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

HK Wen Wei Po: The Direction of The Chinese Road

Hong Kong based newspaper, Wen Wei Po, strongly supportive of the Chinese Communist government, published an article on May 15 to discuss the future direction of the Chinese economy. The article suggested that although tertiary industries such as the techology and services industries are important; it is very hard for them to compete against the West. Agriculture and basic industries still provide the primary support to Chinese economy. A future strategy emphasized in the article was to keep developing the economy’s export orientation which is believed to have been a successful approach thus far. The article also stated that the Chinese financial industry needs significant improvement, yet it should not follow the example of the West, offering too many complicated “gambling” financial tools which form what the article called the “Casino Economy”.

Source: Wen Wei Po, May 15, 2009.
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2009/05/15/PL0905150001.htm 

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources