Chinascope – Page 509

Sinchew: Most of the Contractors of “The Belt and Road Initiative” Are Chinese

Major Singapore newspaper Sinchew recently reported that, based on a U.S. think tank study, China’s grand “The Belt and Road Initiative” which pushes infrastructure work across Eurasia has largely contracted out work to Chinese bidders. Among the 34 current projects in Europe and Asia, around 89 percent have been contracted to Chinese construction companies and only 11 percent have been given to contractors from other countries. This dramatic difference made the lofty tone of the Belt and Road Initiative look questionable, especially when China is counting on the Plan to win friends in over 70 countries. International analysts have expressed their concern about this China-centric approach, since more and more countries are rethinking their support for the grand Chinese Plan. Compared to the Chinese way of favoring its own contractors, contracts that the West has funded, typically under the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are more neutral toward the bidders and the grants have been more diversified. The study showed that 41 percent of these grants were given to local contractors, 29 percent went to Chinese contractors, and 30 percent went to a bidder from a third country.

Source: Sinchew, January 25, 2018
http://bit.ly/2rJLUtN

Briefings | | January 29, 2018 | Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Mingpao: Guangdong Province Has Given up Achieving Poverty Goal by 2018

Mingpao published an article in its 2018 government work report delivered at the People’s Congress Conference of Guangdong Province which ended on Wednesday, January 24. According to the article there was no mention of the plan to achieve its poverty goal in 2018. The Guangdong provincial government body established the poverty goal back in 2015 after the Central Committee Political Bureau passed a “Decision on Winning the Tough Battle against Poverty.” The goal was to win the battle by 2020. The article reported that in 2015 Guangdong put pressure on itself and vowed to achieve the poverty goal by 2018, two years earlier. At the end of 2017, it gave up trying to achieve the goal due to personnel changes and a lack of experience in dealing with poverty issues. Xi Jinping also directed, during Lianghui in 2017, that the poverty deadline set by the central administration is 2020 and that the local municipal governments should be realistic and shouldn’t casually change the poverty deadline themselves.

Source: Mingpao, January 26, 2018
https://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20180126/s00013/1516904093908

Briefings | | January 29, 2018 | Government/Politics

13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Name List Has Been Published

Well-known Chinese news site Sina published an article on the members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). There are 2,158 members on the list. Among them 99 are Chinese Communist Party members including Wang Yang, the only member from the Politburo Standing Committee and Xie Fuzhan, the Henan provincial party committee secretary and director of the Provincial People’s Congress of Henan Province. Xie is 63 years old and was born in 1954. He was promoted to the provincial party committee secretary in March 2016.

{Editor’s note: The Chairman of the CPPCC is always a CCP Politburo Standing Committee member. Given that Wang Yang is the only Politburo Standing Committee member on the list, he will most likely take the Chairman’s position and Xie Fuzhan is likely to be the Vice Chairman.}

Source: Sina, January 25, 2018
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2018-01-25/doc-ifyqyuhy6394518.shtml

Briefings | | January 29, 2018 | Government/Politics

Xinhua Article Outlined the Criteria for the 13th CPPCC Member Selection

Xinhua published an article in which it outlined three criteria that the Central Committee would use in the selection of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) name list. The list of these criteria follows:
1) Emphasize the party’s leadership. Adhere to the requirement that “those who make a recommendation should be responsible for the recommended candidate.” Be specific about who can make the recommendation; all candidates that the organization nominates should effectively play a leadership role in the party organization. All units should make recommendations carefully and responsibly after collective research and on the basis of deliberation.
2) Conduct thorough communication and consultation
3) Apply a strict selection criteria to the candidates. Follow the standards and apply strict selection to the candidates who can pass the political and integrity test with positive reputations. Pay attention to candidates’ political and work performance, their images and reputations, as well as their performance as Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee members. Those who cannot pass the selection criteria cannot be selected as candidates.

{Editor’s note: Observers have pointed out that Song Zuying (宋祖英) who has been a member of the 10th, 11th, and 12th CPPCC, is not in the 13th CPPCC list. Song, 51, is widely reputed to have been involved in an extramarital affair with former CCP leader Jiang Zemin.}

Source: Xinhua, January 25, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/2018-01/25/c_1122310656.htm

Briefings | | January 28, 2018 | Government/Politics

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

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.