Chinascope – Page 508

More Fake GDP Numbers Reported in China

Xinhua reported that, recently, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin City revised down their 2016 GDP numbers. Inner Mongolia adjusted down its public budget revenue by 26.3 percent, or 53 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion) and industrial added value down by 40 percent, or 290 billion yuan (US$46 billion). Tianjin lowered its Binhai District’s GDP from the previous amount of 1 trillion yuan (US$160 billion) down to 665 billion yuan (US$106 billion), a cut of one-third.

These are the second and third cases in which local governments have revised the 2016 level they reported for GDP. The first to admit reporting an inflated GDP was Liaoning Province in early 2017, when it said that its GDP in 2016 actually went down 23 percent from the 2015 level.

It has long been known that China inflates its GDP. Cheng Xiaonong, a political and economic researcher, provided two reasons why the local governments are now willing to admit faking GDP:

First, Xi Jinping’s administration no longer uses the GDP growth rate to evaluate local officials. The newly appointed officials feel that they don’t have to carry the weight that the incumbent left them because they may not be able to make that fake number anyhow. If they cut down the previous year’s number, they can show a growth in their years.

Second, with a lower GDP, the local government can show the central government that they had less money and can request more financial help from the central government.

Sources:

1. Xinhua, January 21, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2018-01/21/c_1122289640.htm
2. Epoch Times, January 20, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/1/20/n10073822.htm

Briefings | | January 24, 2018 | Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Apple Hands over Its iCloud Accounts to Chinese Servicer

Apple announced that, starting on February 28, it will hand over its iCloud service for Chinese customers to a Chinese company. The company taking over the service is one that the Guizhou Provincial government owns called Guizhou Cloud Big Data (GCBD). GCBD will be responsible for the iCloud operations serving customers in China and also responsible for legal and financial relations with those customers.

This has triggered many concerns over data privacy. Chinese companies are known to share customer data with the government, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Apple has given China-based users the option of deleting their data, but no option to store their data any other place.

The company TechCrunch found that, when the iCloud setting is set to China, the accounts to be handed over will also include “iCloud accounts that were opened in the U.S., are paid for using U.S. dollars and/or are connected to U.S.-based App Store accounts.”

“One user did find an apparent way to opt-out. It requires such users to switch their iCloud account back to China, then sign out of all devices. They then switch their phone and iCloud settings to the U.S. Then, upon signing back into iCloud, their account will (supposedly) not be part of the migration.”

Sources:

1. People’s Daily, January 10, 2018
http://media.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0110/c40606-29755229.html
2. TechCruch.com, January 11, 2018
Apple’s China iCloud data migration sweeps up international user accounts

Briefings | | January 24, 2018 | Information/Technology

South Korean Duty-Free Stores Saw Record High Sales

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that South Korean duty-free stores experienced a major loss of customers last year due to the conflict with China on the issue of deploying the U.S. THAAD missile defense system. For example, in the month of November, Chinese visitors to South Korea declined by 42.1 percent. Chinese visitors were the primary buyers at duty-free stores; the headcount reduction caused major concerns earlier last year. However, last November’s nearly US$1 billion in duty-free sales set a historic high for November. This became a typical situation in almost all months last year and duty-free stores achieved their best sales records when having the lowest number of Chinese visitors. Analysts found that the high sales volume were supported by the Chinese proxy shopping channels, which allowed Korea-based agents to make purchases for their Chinese buyers when paid a small fee. The duty-free stores saw a significant increase in sales through these channels.

Source: Sina, January 13, 2018
http://k.sina.com.cn/article_5895814239_15f6afc5f001002glv.html?cre=newspagepc&mod=f&loc=2&r=9&doct=0&rfunc=100

Briefings | | January 22, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China News: China’s Rating Agency Lowered the Sovereign Rating of the U. S. Dollar

China News recently reported that China’s rating agency, the Dagong Global Credit Ratings, just lowered the sovereign rating of the U.S. Dollar from A- down to BBB+. The outlook for the U.S. sovereign rating was marked as negative. Dagong explained that this move was due to the fact that the U.S. capability of paying back debts significantly weakened after the newly passed tax cut bill. The U.S. government’s credit is directly associated with the amount of tax it collects, which is the primary source for backing its debts. Dagong expressed its belief that the U.S. Federal government’s income will decline due to the tax cut, while defense spending and infrastructure investment will see massive increases. The U.S. deficit is expected to climb higher in the foreseeable future. Also, the promised upcoming U.S. interest rate hikes will further worsen the situation. The Chinese government certified Dagong’s rating qualifications.

Source: China News, January 16, 2018
http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2018/01-16/8425496.shtml

Briefings | | January 22, 2018 | US-China Relations

Bangladesh Government Terminates Contract with CHEC and Adds CHEC to Its Black List

VOA reported that, according to The Daily Star of Bangladesh, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh told the reporter that Bangladesh has canceled the Dhaka-Sylhet road expansion project that was awarded to the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC). CHEC has been added to the Bangladesh blacklist for alleged bribery of a Bangladesh official and is forbidden from participating in any future projects in Bangladesh. CHEC is a subsidiary of the China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) and is a star company in China’s “one belt one road” project. A news article from the Indian media The Print stated that there was also a dispute about the total amount of the project where CHEC proposed a cost that was twice the amount that the Bangladesh Highway Department estimated. The Dhaka-Sylhet road project is one of the US$2.1 trillion investment projects that Xi Jinping signed with Bangladesh when he visited in October 2016.

According to The Daily Star, this is not the first time that CHEC attempted to bribe Bangladesh officials. The CHEC’s last attempt at bribery cost the sons of two Bangladesh senior officials a sentence to six years in jail. China is the largest country to provide foreign aid to Bangladesh. Currently it has several other projects including a highway, an Industry Park, and a harbor expansion going on in Bangladesh. The Daily Star reported that the termination of CHEC contract does not affect these projects.

Source: Voice of America, January 19, 2018
https://www.voachinese.com/a/bangladesh-blacklists-20180119/4215741.html

Briefings | | January 22, 2018 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Summary of the Recent Amendments to the Constitution

An article published on Haiwainet summarized the amendments to the constitution which were passed at the second plenary session of the 19th Party Central Committee held on January 18 and 19. According to the article, four revisions have been made since the first Constitution was adopted in 1954. They were in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004.

Below is a summary of the amendments made at the recent plenary session:
1) Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics was the result from the latest achievements of Marxism in China. It is 21st century Marxism and should serve as the guiding principal for the party and the nation to follow on a long term basis.
2) The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. We must uphold and strengthen the party’s leadership over all work.
3) Form “five developments” in “economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization” by using the concepts of “innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing” to develop China into a Well-off Society by 2020, a basic socialist modernized nation by 2035, and a powerful modern socialist country by the middle of this century. At the same time, we also need to realize the great renaissance of the Chinese nation. It is of great significance to inspire and guide the entire party and the people as well as the people of all nationalities to make a concerted effort.
4) Adhering to the road of peaceful development, adhering to the opening-up strategy for mutual benefit, and promoting the development of a common community of human beings are of great significance in promoting the lofty cause of mankind’s peaceful development.
5) The reform of the state supervisory system is a major reform of the political system that is related to the overall situation. It is a major policy-making plan for strengthening the self-supervision of the party and the state. It is necessary to establish a law on an anti-corruption work organ under the unified leadership of the party; to establish a centralized, authoritative, and efficient national surveillance system; and to achieve the full coverage of all public officers exercising their public authority.

Source: Haiwainet, January 19, 2018
http://opinion.haiwainet.cn/n/2018/0119/c456317-31240914.html

Briefings | | January 22, 2018 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: Xi Vows to Apply Measures to Combat Corruption to Achieve Overwhelming Victory

Xinhua reported that, on January 11, Xi Jinping made an important speech at the second plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee. Xi analyzed the existing anti-corruption environment and vowed to continue to “fix the issue on the surface while looking for the root cause in order to achieve an overwhelming victory in combating corruption.” Xi listed the following six targeted areas:
1) Be persistent with zero tolerance on the anti-corruption effort and with 100 percent coverage. Where corruption is involved, apply restraint, pressure, and threats. Investigate both parties – those who offer and those who accept – bribes. Clean up past due corruption cases and minimize the increases in the number of corruption cases.
2) Change the focus of the anti-corruption effort so it shifts more towards the grassroots level and apply severe remediation on corruption cases among the officials who work closely with the general public.
3) Tackle gang organizations and the “protective umbrella” behind them.
4) Increase collaboration with international legal teams to threaten the corrupt criminals.
5) Make the officials fearful and conscious so they are afraid of corruption and don’t want to be corrupt.
6) Launch a reform of regulations and form effective systems to cut off the network among the interested parties while enforcing legal restrictions and supervision.

Source: Xinhua, January 19, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-01/19/c_1122281826.htm

Briefings | | January 22, 2018 | Government/Politics

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.