Chinascope – Page 503

VOA Chinese: In 2017, Mainland China Supplied the Most Counterfeit Goods to the U.S.

Voice of America (VOA) Chinese recently reported that, according to the U.S. Customs and the U.S. Border Protection Agency (BPA), the number of import seizures increased from 31,560 in 2016 to 34,134 in 2017. Most of the counterfeits were jewelry; the second largest number consisted of bags and wallets, followed by consumer electronics. Including all imported counterfeit items, the Chinese Mainland had a share of 46 percent, followed by Hong Kong’s 32 percent. Of all those supplying counterfeit goods to the United States, Mainland China remains the largest. In 2017, the U.S. imported goods that violated intellectual property rights increased by eight percent overall. The U.S. authorities arrested 475 people last year and filed 288 legal cases.

Source: VOA Chinese, March 9, 2018
https://www.voachinese.com/a/voanews-20180309-intellectual-property-rights-seizure-stats/4287708.html

Briefings | | March 12, 2018 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: Trade War Casts Shadow over EU-US Relationship

Xinhua recently published an analysis article discussing the intensified tough relationship between the European Union and the United States. As soon as U.S. President Trump announced the U.S. hike in the tariffs on steel and aluminum, the EU immediately described its counter measure to increase its tariffs on U.S. products such as Jeans and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. However, Trump responded with threats against EU automobiles. The EU then promised to hold a “firm position” on defending EU interests. The French President even confirmed the position to take the fight to the WTO. Germany, the nation having the largest surplus with the U.S. in the EU, stated that “protectionism is the wrong path.” However, the U.S. is the EU’s largest trade partner. Just for the automobile and parts industry, the EU has a near US$40 billion trade surplus. The EU may not want to engage in an actual trade war against the U.S. or at least hopes to contain the conflict to a manageable level. Chinese analysts expressed their belief that Germany may not agree with the EU Council on increasing tariffs. The EU should also worry that its counter measures may end up pushing the U.S. to leave the WTO – if Trump actually delivers on his campaign promises. This may cause a global chain reaction leading to greater chaos. At the moment, with the EU-US strategic alliance relationship still in place, trade conflicts could be the new norm between the two in the years to come.

Source: Xinhua, March 8, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2018-03/08/c_1122507087.htm

Briefings | | March 12, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Duowei: Hong Kong Media Exposed the Secrets behind the Presidium Name List

Duowei News published an article reporting that the 190 member Presidium of the 13th National People’s Congress held its first meeting on March 4. The host was Li Zhanshu. Duowei quoted an analytical article from Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, which stated that the sequence on the presidium members list usually carries a certain meaning. For example, the first name on the list is usually the future Chairman of the National People’s Congress. Therefore it predicted that Li Zhanshu would be the chairman of the upcoming National People’s Congress. The second person on the list usually manages the personnel. Xi Jinping had that role ten years ago while Liu Yunshan held the position five years ago. For the upcoming term, it is Chen Xi, who currently heads the Organization Department. The third person on the list is usually the secretary of the presidium, who will be the future first vice chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. According to an article from Epoch Tomes, Li Zhanshu is considered Xi’s right-hand man. He helped Xi to clean out the residual forces that Ling Jihua left at the General Office. Chen Xi was Xi’s classmate from the Chemical Engineering department of Tsinghua University. Wang Huning, the current member of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee will mainly be responsible for party affairs and ideological work.

Source: Duowei, March 8, 2018
http://www.dwnews.com…1520811016781

Briefings | | March 11, 2018 | Government/Politics

Epoch Times: Behind the Box Office Revenues of the Patriotic Movie, “Amazing China”

Epoch Times reported that a patriotic movie “Amazing China” was recently released in China. Xinhua claimed that the opening day revenue broke 40 million yuan (US$6.32 million). The article displayed copies of two official notices. One notice, from China Unicom (a state-owned telecommunications operator in China), stated that, from March 2 to 4, the company must organize at least one-third of its party members to watch the movie and the rest of the party members must watch it within the month. The second notice was from the Beijing office of China Radio International Digital Cinema Line (a state-owned international radio broadcaster in China). It contained the guideline for the SOE corporate group rate. The article stated that most of the movie tickets were sold as group tickets and the movie’s current rating on IMDB was 1.0.

Source: Epoch Times, March 11, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/3/11/n10207717.htm

Briefings | | March 11, 2018 | Government/Politics

Chen Guangcheng: The Vatican Plans to Make a Deal with the Devil

By Chen Guangcheng

{Editor’s Note: Reports indicate that the Vatican is getting closer to signing a contract with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in which they jointly appoint Bishops in China. Continue reading →

Reports | | March 10, 2018 | Government/Politics Opinion Report

China Review News: The U.S. Strategy on China Has Changed from Cooperation to Containment

China Review News, China’s state-sponsored media in Hong Kong, published an article stating that Trump clearly explained the Trump administration’s position on China in the economic field in his State of the Union address and in the U.S. National Security Strategy adopted in December 2017. He said that the U.S. strategy on China has changed from cooperation to containment.

The article compared Trump’s speech to former U.S. presidents’ remarks and previously issued U.S. documents pertaining to U.S. China policies. The article said, “The national security strategy that President Barack Obama approved in 2015 highly praised ‘unprecedented cooperation’ with China and called China a ‘strategic partner.’” (However), “the new U.S. national security strategy has, for the first time, listed economic cooperation and development issues as the core issue of ensuring national security. It characterizes the economic relations with China as one of the U.S.’s major security threats as well as a current challenge of ‘the global order that the Western powers established after the Second World War.’”

The article concluded, “U.S. policy toward China has turned a corner: Washington has shifted from a policy of trying to change China’s political system via cooperation to a ‘containment’ policy. The impending ‘trade war’ is only the first stage of a war of ideals. (We) hope Beijing can have enough wisdom (to deal with it).”

The article has been republished in many popular online based Chinese news media including People’s Daily (overseas edition), Sina, and others.

Sources:
1. China Review News (CRN), March 6, 2018
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1049/9/7/0/104997076.html?coluid=58&kindid=1213&docid=104997076
2. Sina, March 7, 2018
http://news.sina.com.cn/w/sy/2018-03-07/doc-ifxpwyhv5351463.shtml

Briefings | | March 8, 2018 | US-China Relations

China Review News: Russia Cannot Achieve Its Return to Being a Great Power without Cooperation from China

China’s state-sponsored media, China Review News, published an article stating that Russia recently gave its people the impression that it is filled with calm and confidence as a big country; however, Russia can only become a global power if, in the future, it cooperates with China.

The article stated, “Look at the timeline over a longer period. Russia has not yet stepped out of the slow recession that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian economy, which relied on abundant resources, has not had breakthroughs for a long time. Russia has a vast territory and fertile land. It is one of the few countries in the world with large resources. Russia, however, lags far behind developed countries in Europe and America in terms of industrial modernization.

“Putin positioned Russia as a Eurasian country and sought to find a way out from its role as a bridge connecting Asia and Europe. The situation of the Eurasian continent has undergone great changes in the past 20 years. At what speed and in what form China will exert its influence on the Eurasian continent is a major issue that is related to Russia’s national fate.

“President Putin is a realist. The border line between Russia and China is as long as 4,300 kilometers. Judging from the gap in economic strength between the two sides, Russia has been unable to compete with China. What is more, China is the most important buyer of Russian oil and natural gas. In the diplomatic field, in order to compete with the United States, China is an indispensable partner.

“In the future, Russia can only become a global power by cooperating with China. Therefore, cooperation with China is the way for Russia to survive as a Eurasian country.”

Source: China Review News, March 7, 2018
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1049/9/9/1/104999100.html?coluid=58&kindid=1211&docid=104999100

Briefings | | March 8, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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

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

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.