Chinascope – Page 538

Local Officials Will Have Lifetime Accountability for Government Debt

According to an article from Yicai.com, in order to reign in the exploding local government debt that has been growing out of control, Xi Jinping recently announced that the municipal government must strictly control the debt ceiling and the related officials must have lifetime accountability for the debt. Xi made the announcement during the finance conference which was held last week. The lifetime accountability will prevent the officials from shirking their responsibility once they have retired, According to the article, local debt has risen rapidly in recent years because officials seek GDP growth as a measure of their political achievement. The article went on the report that the Ministry of Finance has set up a debt ceiling in order to ease the local debt risk. By the end of 2016, local debt was at 15.32 trillion yuan (US$2.27 trillion) which was less than the 17.19 trillion (US$2.54 trillion) debt ceiling. The debt ceiling for 2017 was set at 18.82 trillion yuan (US$2.78 trillion). Meanwhile, in 2014, the State Council started to include the local debt as one of the measures for party official’s political achievement.

Source: Yicai.com, July 16, 2017
http://m.yicai.com/news/5316629.html

Briefings | | July 23, 2017 | Economy/Resources

China to Invest US$2 Billion in the Reconstruction of Syria

At the First Trade Fair on Syrian Reconstruction Projects (on July 9), Qin Yong, Vice President of the China-Arab Exchange Association, revealed that China plans to invest US$2 billion in Syria to establish industrial parks. The first phase will attract 150 enterprises to participate.

Syrian ambassador to China, Imad Mustafa, said that this is the first time that a Syrian reconstruction project fair has been held in Beijing. The hope is to build an important platform for Chinese enterprises to understand Syria and participate in the reconstruction of Syria.

The Syrian ambassador also said, “China, Russia, and Iran have provided substantial support to Syria during the military conflict. Therefore, it is these three countries that should play a major role in the reconstruction of Syria. If the work were to be carried out by other countries, even by those who participate in the damage to the Syrian infrastructure, it would be very unfair.”

“We learned the lessons from what happened (during the domestic war). We learned who our strategic partners are. Now we will not move closer to the West, but to the north and the east (referring to China, Russia and Iran).”

Source: Sina, July 14, 2017
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/china/2017-07-14/doc-ifyiakur8888497.shtml?cre=milpagepc&mod=f&loc=1&r=9&doct=0&rfunc=49

Briefings | | July 19, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Chongqing Held 11 Consecutive Important Meetings Following Sun Zhengcai’s “Disappearance“

Duowei reported that Chinese political star Sun Zhengcai’s “bizarre disappearance” caused quite a stir in Chongqing’s officialdom. Since July 15, when Chen Miner took office in Chongqing, the municipal committee has held 11 important meetings.

On July 19, Chongqing Daily reported nine of those important meetings.

On July 15, the CPC Organization Minister Zhao Leji announced that the former Guizhou Provincial Party Secretary Chen Miner replaced Sun Zhengcai as secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee. Chen Miner said at the meeting that (the new leadership) will resolutely support Xi Jinping’s core position, “have a firm political stance, and adherence to political discipline.”

On July 17 and 18, Chongqing held 10 meetings. Those present at the meetings, repeatedly brought up the issue of eliminating the lingering toxic influences from the (sacked) Bo Xilai, (the former head of Chongqing) and Wang (Lijun), as well as the issue of the reinspection report from the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work.

The inspection group pointed out that the problems in the official circles in Chongqing included “weakening of the party’s leadership, the promotion of cadres with problems,” and other related issues. It also specifically singled out the problem that the remaining impact of “Bo and Wang” has not been completely removed.

Source: Duowei, July 19, 2017
http://china.dwnews.com/news/2017-07-19/59826245.html

Briefings | | July 19, 2017 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily: Army’s Active Duty Member Count Was Reduced to 50 Percent in Military Reform

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily published an article on WeChat (a popular Chinese social media) under its WeChat account Jun Zhen Ping Studio, regarding the on-going military reform.

The article stated that, “After this reform, for the first time, the Army’s active duty member count dropped below one million. The Navy, Rocket Army, and Strategic Support Force all had increases while the Air Force stayed at the same level. The Army numbers about 50 percent of the overall military forces.”

Source: Chuansong.net, July 11, 2017
http://chuansong.me/n/1968026052724

Briefings | | July 18, 2017 | Defense/Military

People’s Daily: “The Borderline Is the Bottom Line!”

For the past few weeks, China and India have had a standoff in a disputed area between China and Bhutan.

The Chinese call the disputed highland region “Donglang” and the Indians call it “Doklam.” It is on the border between China and Bhutan. Bhutan is China’s only neighboring country that has not established a formal diplomatic relationship with China, mainly due to the border dispute.

Recently, China started building a road in the disputed area. India then sent its soldiers to block China from building the road.

An Indian brigadier-general said, “We didn’t fire. We only formed a human body wall to prevent Chinese from continuing its invasion.”

China’s Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said during an interview, “This is the first time that the Indian military crossed the predefined borderline to invade China’s territory, causing the military standoff.” “There is no disagreement between China and Bhutan that Donglang belongs to China. India has no right to intervene in Sino-Bhutan negotiations, nor does it have the right to advocate for territory for Bhutan.”

On July 7, People’s Daily’s official weibo account published a picture with the title, “The Borderline Is the Bottom Line.” The picture is the border map showing the area of China, India, and Bhutan. It shows Donglang is in China. It also shows an arrow pointing from India to China. The note read, “The Indian military illegally crossed the border to enter China’s side.”

{Editor’s note: According to an article published in War on the Rocks on July 13, 2017, when China initiated its road building, “(India) in ‘close coordination’ with a Royal Bhutan Army patrol approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist… (This) appears to be an attempt to wean Bhutan away from India.”}

Sources:
1. Weibo
http://weibo.com/p/100808b2f565c3e128dcf37ac2e69d40235183?k=界线即是底线&from=526&_from_=huati_topic
2. BBC, July 5, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/world-40503298

Briefings | | July 18, 2017 | Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: China Seems to Be Planning to Ban VPNs

BBC Chinese recently reported, based on a number of media sources, that the Chinese government appears to have become much stricter on domestic Internet access control. The three primary Chinese communications companies have been ordered that, by February 2018, they must ban Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) on their Internet networks. VPN refers to the technology to form an encrypted secure channel to go across the public Internet. This is the primary technology for Chinese netizens to access the free Internet outside of China’s “Great Firewall.” It has been estimated that over 30 percent of the 700 million Chinese Internet users depend on VPN technology to break the government’s firewall to visit banned websites such as Facebook and Twitter. It is technically challenging to fully ban VPN usage. At the same time, it may also impact the international companies that use VPN technology for their secure connections to their headquarters’ networks for legitimate business purposes. The VPN ban will further limit Chinese scientists, researchers, and scholars from their day-to-day research work and their communications with foreigners in the same field. Experts expressed their belief that this recent VPN ban demonstrates the Chinese government’s desperation in its attempt to obtain tight Internet control.

Source: BBC Chinese, July 12, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/press-review-40580679

Briefings | | July 17, 2017 | Information/Technology

Caixin: Chinese International Travelers Significantly Changed Their Spending Pattern

The well-known Chinese financial news media group Caixin recently reported that Chinese international travelers have been labeled as major spenders. The United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) 2016 numbers showed that Chinese consumer’s international spending reached US$261 billion, which was more than twice the U.S. total (the U.S. spending was ranked number two). However, international consulting company Oliver Wyman just released a study showing some significant changes in the pattern of Chinese’ international spending habits. The report showed that, starting in 2016, Chinese international tourists spent only 33 percent in their total overseas expenditures on buying physical products. The same number was 41 percent in 2015. The statistics also showed that those who are still interested in buying physical products are among the lower income population. The spending trend is shifting to the categories of “Sightseeing” (ranked number one) and “Entertainment” (ranked number two). The research also showed that Chinese travelers depend heavily on Chinese language website reviews and on security incident news about the destination countries.

Source: Caixin, July 12, 2017
http://international.caixin.com/2017-07-12/101114417.html

Briefings | | July 17, 2017 | Economy/Resources

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.