Skip to content

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

China Consolidates 18 Armies into 13

At a news conference on April 27, Yang Yujun the Spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that China consolidated 18 of its armies into 13.

The new armies are given the numbers from 71 to 83, which are brand new designations. China’s armies were named up to 70 in the past.

Consolidating the army is part of Xi Jinping’s 300,000 military cut which he announced in late 2014. He also reduced the number of military regions from seven to five.

Source: Sina, April 28, 2017
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2017-04-28/doc-ifyetxec6878981.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Chinese Family Pays Record Bail Amount

(In Hillsborough, California, in the United States) after Tiffany Li’s family provided a bond worth over US$70 million to bail Tiffany, 31, out while she was going through a murder trial, Tiffany Li and her family were exposed as having ties to a former top Chinese General.

Tiffany Li and her boyfriend were charged with the murder of Li’s ex-boyfriend, Keith Green, who was found dead last May. The judge granted Li’s motion for bail in the amount of US$35 million. Li’s family provided 13 real estate properties as collateral (collateral needs to be twice the required cash amount). Li was then freed on bail.

This bail amount was a record high for San Mateo County, California and ranked eighth highest bail in U.S. history ever to be posted in a state court.

People started to dig into Tiffany Li’s background. It was found that her mother Li Jihong was the sister of Li Jinai (李继耐), former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General and Director of the PLA’s General Political Department. An unofficial report indicated that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection had been investigating Li Jinai for corruption since August 2016.

Li Jihong, 62, immigrated to the U.S. many years ago. In 1992, she founded Top Toyo Lotus Construction Development, Inc. in the U.S. Top Toyo Lotus invested $2.4 million in a joint venture (Ji Tai Construction & Installation Company) with a military construction unit, to conduct a real estate development business in China.

Source: Duowei, April 20, 2017
http://china.dwnews.com/news/2017-04-20/59811598.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Oriental Daily: Police Search ICBC’s London Branch

Popular Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily recently reported that British law enforcement acknowledged a search of the London branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The search was part of an investigation of money laundering and tax evasion activities that Chinese criminal organizations had been operating. The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) refused to comment. ICBC refused to respond either. EU officials suspected that, since 2013, some Chinese criminal groups had illegally imported goods into EU countries via Britain. The total damage to the EU was estimated at around 42.5 billion euro (US$46.38 billion). Spanish police searched ICBC’s Madrid Branch last year. The Luxembourg authorities also searched ICBC’s EU Headquarters. ICBC ranked number one in China’s banking industry in terms of corporate loans and corporate deposits. Oriental Daily has been Hong Kong’s number one newspaper in circulation since 1976, with a record readership of over 3,100,000.

Source: Oriental Daily, April 27, 2017
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170427/mobile/odn-20170427-0427_00180_019.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

LTN: 2017 Press Freedom Index Put Mainland China Near the Bottom

On April 16, major Taiwanese news media, Liberty Times Network (LTN), reported on the 2017 Press Freedom Index that Reporters Without Borders recently released. Taiwan was ranked number 45, a 6-step improvement from last year’s rank. Taiwan’s rank is now at the top of Asia. The five countries at the bottom of the global list are China, Syria, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, and North Korea. According to Reporters Without Borders, the ranking was based on assessments in multiple categories like media diversity, the degree of media independence, and reporter security. Reporters Without Borders pointed out that freedom of the press has never faced such a threatening level as it does today. Even in democratic countries, press freedom is becoming more and more fragile. Reporters Without Borders also announce that the organization is giving up on Hong Kong and decided to move its Asian branch office to Taiwan. In the 2017 report, the top five countries are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The United States is ranked at 43 and Hong Kong is 73.

Source: Liberty Times Network, April 26, 2017
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/2048146

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

China.com: China’s Pension Fund Individual Accounts Face the Risk of Collapsing

China.com recently reported that Tsinghua University just released a study report on China’s Pension Fund Individual Accounts, which are facing more and more serious financial risks. The Tsinghua Report assessment showed the risk level is at Level Three (the top risk level is Four). The Report found that the Pension Fund Individual Accounts currently has “empty accounts” valued at RMB 4.7 trillion (around US$684 billion). The current pension payments are paid out of “accumulated balances” which are only at the level of RMB 3.5 trillion. At the current pace, the Report expects the accumulated balance to be fully consumed in the near future at which point the entire pension system may collapse. The cause of the imbalance was the difficulties that occurred in the national level process of balancing among wealthy and poor regions. The general expectation now is to put hope in the central government to supply money to fill up the black hole. The pension investment funds have not been performing well in the market and spending consistently exceeds income. The Tsinghua Report found that the current model is not sustainable.

Source: China.com, April 25, 2017
http://toutiao.china.com/sh/yw/13000103/20170425/30457617.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Huangqiu Editorial: China Needs to Be Prepared If the Relationship between China and North Korea Gets Worse

On April 28, Huangqiu published an editorial article on the relationship between China and North Korea. Below is the translation of a few key points from the article.
1) The relationship between China and North Korea has gotten worse. Since King Jong Un became the top leader, there have been no meetings between the top leaders of the two countries. Even though a diplomatic exchange between the two remains open, little strategic trust is left and a serious communication barrier exists between the two.
2) As tension in the situation on Korean Peninsula is increasing, the relationship between China and North Korea could get worse. Pyongyang might openly criticize Beijing or make unfriendly moves. China should be prepared for this.
3) Some Chinese residents are concerned that, as the relationship between China and North Korea gets worse, China will lose its bargaining advantage with South Korea and the U. S. It will also miss the strategic shield in North East Asia. We should be aware that, at this moment, North Korea has a direct conflict of interest with China’s national strategic interest. In the long term, there is no doubt that China still has control over the relationship between these two countries. As long as North Korea gives up on nuclear weapons, these two countries can easily go back to the normal relationship that they had before. Beijing can encourage Pyongyang to loosen up on its attitude on nuclear weapons. However if Pyongyang keeps pushing the conflicts to the irrational edge, China has the ability to be in charge of the situation completely so as to protect China’s national security.
4) Frankly speaking, “double suspension” is the ultimate goal for China. China does not have much of a bargaining chip to pressure the U.S. and South Korea. We need to be very clear with the U.S. and South Korea that China is not the key party in resolving North Korea nuclear issues. China will not use the interest of the U.S. and South Korea to set its policy towards North Korea. The U.S. and South Korea should line up their thoughts close to ours rather than try to use theirs to overpower ours. Beijing wishes to find a common ground that benefits all party’s interests and advocacy. If this fails, the solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula has to be put on table. China is not afraid of North Korea nor does it fear the U.S. and South Korea. We have enough power to fight back against any parties that will cross the red line of China’s national interest.

Source: Huanqiu, April 28, 2017
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2017-04/10555354.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Sing Tao Daily: Xi Stresses Placing the Party’s Control over the Financial Industry

According to an article that Sing Tao Daily published, the Politburo of the Central Committee recently held a conference and invited the Central Bank, the Banking Regulatory Commission, the Security Regulatory Commission, and the Insurance Regulatory Commission. During the meeting, Xi Jinping stressed that these agencies should place safeguarding financial security as their top priority. Xi stated that, even though the overall financial risk can be controlled, there must be measures in place to prevent risk from going beyond a certain point so that the agencies “never overlook any risk and never pass by any hidden gap.” Xi also initiated an effort to conduct a complete inspection and investigation in the financial and Internet banking industry. Moreover Xi stressed that it is vital to have the Party and the central administration placed in a position to lead the financial industry. According to the article, there is a need to improve the mechanism that allows the Party to take the lead and form a financial risk prevention system nationwide.

The article quoted the analysis which stated that there might be the possibility of forming a central financial committee like the ones that were formed in 1998 following the financial crisis in Asia. Wen Jiabao, then prime minister, headed that committee, which manages the operation of the financial agencies under the central administration. In 2003 the committee was dissolved and the workload was shared among the Banking Regulatory Commission, the Security Regulatory Commission and the Insurance Regulatory Commission. The article then quoted the words that the director of the China Academy of New Supply-Side Economics gave, “As we all know, the Party has leadership over everything in China. However, if the Party’s leadership is combined with financial security work, it is obvious that it carries certain meanings.”

Source: Sing Tao Daily, April 28, 2017
http://std.stheadline.com/daily/news-content.php?id=1589691&target=2

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Caixin Article: Digging behind the Capital Empire of the Anbang Insurance Group

The Sina website recently carried an article on how the Anbang Insurance Group (a Chinese holding company whose subsidiaries deal mainly with insurance, banking, and financial services) grew from a company with registered capital of 500 million yuan (US$72 million) in 2004 to 61.9 billion yuan (US$8.97 billion) in 2017. The source of the article was Caixin’s 2017 17th edition. The article found that Anbang was under suspicion for faking the registered capital that it used for the insurance fund under its control. According to the article, Anbang has gone through seven major capital growth spurts since 2014. The analysis of its capital structure and stockholders indicates that behind its 37 stockholders, the company sits on a network of 101 companies and 86 stockholders and that all of them can be traced to the relatives of Wu Xiaohui, Chief Executive Officer of Anbang in Zhejiang Province. In the international market, Anbang has been aggressively acquiring insurance companies, banks, and real estate in Europe, the U.S., and Korea, including the Waldorf Hotel in New York City in 2014. However, starting in 2016 Anbang has faced major obstacles in its overseas acquisitions. It failed in the US$14 billion acquisition of the Starwood Hotel as well as the acquisition of Fidelity & Guaranty Life, due to its inability to meet the company’s stockholder disclosure requirements that the Department of NY Financial Services had set.

According to an article that Apple Daily published on February 3, 2015, Wu Xiaohui, Anbang’s CEO, was reported to be separated from his wife, who is the second daughter of Deng Xiaoping. The couple got married in 2004. It was Wu’s third marriage. It is believed that Wu used his relationship to start Anbang and that the separation was an indication that Deng’s family wants to cut its ties with the Anbang group.

Source:
Caixin, April 29, 2017
http://finance.caixin.com/2017-04-29/101084867.html/
Sina, April 29, 2017
http://www.sina.com.cn/midpage/mobile/index.d.html?docID=fyetwtf8994622&url=finance.sina.cn/insurance/hydt/2017-04-29/detail-ifyetwtf8994622.d.html
Apple Daily, February 3, 2015
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/international/art/20150203/19027111

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics