Chinascope – Page 561

Global Times: Trump Adviser Hints at Reduced Criticism of China on Its Currency

Global Times, a subsidiary of People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, published a report on March 13 saying that the Trump administration may reduce its criticism of China for manipulating its currency.

Global Times quoted Steve Schwarzman, chairman of Trump’s strategic and policy forum as saying in an interview on CNN, “I don’t think that there’s going to be issues regarding China as a currency manipulator and some of the other things.”

Global Times also cited Bloomberg and Singapore’s leading Chinese newspaper Zaobo, “While Trump said on the campaign trail that he would label the U.S.’s biggest trading partner a currency cheater and seek to fix large trade imbalances, some administration officials and advisers are softening their rhetoric.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month that he wants to undertake a regular review of foreign-exchange markets to determine if China is cheating, adding that no announcement on currency manipulation would come before the Treasury’s April report.

The Global Times quoted Schwarzman, who is also chief executive officer of the alternative-investment management firm, The Blackstone Group LP, and who has close ties to China, “They have a certain equanimity that these are early days and there’s a learning curve for Trump.”

What Global Times did not mention was an anecdote in the Bloomberg report about China’s President Xi Jiinping, who apparently told Schwarzman that, “After three years of doing my job I know much, much more than I did my first day.” Schwarzman added that Xi said, “That’s the nature of being president of any country.”

Sources:
Global Times, March 13, 2017
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2017-03/10299710.html
Zaobo, March 13, 2017
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20170313-735445

Briefings | | March 14, 2017 | US-China Relations

VOA: U.S. Fines China’s ZTE $1.19 Billion for Breaching Sanctions

On March 8, Voice of America (VOA) reported that ZTE Corporation, China’s No. 2 telecom equipment company with extensive overseas operations, agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine of $892 million, as part of the settlement for breaking sanctions and selling electronics to Iran and North Korea. {Editor’s note: In addition to the $892 million ZTE agreed to a penalty of $300 million that will be suspended provided it complies with the agreement.}

VOA cited U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a Justice Department news release, “This plea agreement holds them accountable, and makes clear that our government will use every tool we have to punish companies that violate our laws, obstruct justice, and jeopardize our national security.”

On March 7, VOA quoted Zhao Xianming, chairman and chief executive of ZTE, as saying, “ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them and remains committed to positive change in the company.”

China’s Securities Times reported on its website that, at a press conference on March 9, Sun Jiwen, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce, urged the U.S. to act properly for the healthy development of bilateral trade relations.

In response to ZTE’s having reached a settlement with U.S. authorities over U.S. export controls and sanctions charges, Sun remarked, “China has always resolutely opposed U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies using its domestic laws, and, in overseas markets, has required Chinese companies to operate in compliance with local laws and regulations.”

Xinhua News Agency mentioned in a dispatch that the U.S. Commerce Department added ZTE on the Entity List under the Export Administration Regulations of March 2016. This has made it difficult for ZTE to acquire U.S. products such as chips and software.

VOA noted that when it was denied US chips and software, ZTE could have faced bankruptcy.

Sources:
Voice of America, March 8, 2017
http://www.voachinese.com/a/chinese-company-20170307/3754038.html
Xinhua News Agency, March 8, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-03/08/c_129503736.htm
Securities Times website, March 9, 2017
http://kuaixun.stcn.com/2017/0309/13100764.shtml

Briefings | | March 14, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Shows Its Muscle with Allies in the East China Sea

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that several frigates from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force joined the U.S. Carl Vinson aircraft carrier battle group, which has been conducting the U.S.-South Korean military exercises. The Japanese participation lasted four days. It is very rare for Japanese military vessels to join forces with U.S. aircraft in the East China Sea. Apparently, Japan is gaming its luck to threaten China again. According to Japanese media, this joint exercise was a temporary arrangement instead of a planned event. Japan just completed a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy near Guam. The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force also had a joint exercise with the U.S. Marines at the same time. To add to the picture, the U.S. invited the Philippine Defense Secretary on-board the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier a few days back. All these happened a week before the new U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will start his trip to visit China, Japan, and South Korea.

Source: Sina, March 11, 2017
http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/news/int/int/chinesedaily/20170311/09597767293.html

Briefings | | March 13, 2017 | Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Deployment of China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Alarmed India

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the Chinese Air Force officially deployed the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet J-20, along with a new set of cutting edge aircraft models, including the Y-20 strategic airlifter and the H-6K strategic boomer. The latest deployments placed significant pressure on China’s neighbor India, who is eagerly pressing Russia to transfer its fifth-generation fighter technology. According to Russian media, India expressed a willingness to co-develop the technology with multi-billion dollar investments. It seems India learned a lesson from the failure of its domestic production of the Russian Su-30MKI fighter, which demonstrated India’s inability to manufacture a fourth-generation (the equivalent of China’s third-generation) fighter jet. The new Indian fighter jet will be built based on the Russian T-50 platform. Russia is India’s largest military supplier, providing 70 percent of India’s stock.

Source: Sina, March 10, 2017
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/jssd/2017-03-10/doc-ifychhus0374155.shtml

Briefings | | March 13, 2017 | Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Think Tank Expert: Census Data in China Is Seriously Flawed

Duowei News carried an article about its interview of Huang Wenzhen, a senior think tank research fellow with the Center for China and Globalization. The article quoted a statement that Huang made during the interview. Huang stated that there is a serious flaw with China’s census data which has misled China’s family planning policy. According to Huang, the census data indicated that, in 2000, the birth rate in China had declined to 1.23 which was the lowest level in the world. Huang said that since the officials did not believe that number, they artificially raised the number to 1.8 which has been the official birth rate for the ten years from 2000 to 2010. He projected that the new born population will decrease by 500,000 to 800,000 each year over the next ten years and will incur a sharp decrease starting in 2030. Huang expressed concern about the economic impact that the decline in the population would have because he believes the Chinese population is the biggest advantage the country has in building up GDP. He proposed that people be held accountable since the census data in China has been “distorted” and “mixed up” for many years.

According to Duowei, the statement that Huang made contradicts what Wang Peian, the Vice Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said during the press conference that the National People’s Congress held on March 11. Wang stated that China will not face a population shortage in the next one hundred years and China will reach a peak of 1.45 billion in population by 2030.

Source: Duowei News, March 11, 2017
http://china.dwnews.com/news/2017-03-11/59804918.html

Briefings | | March 12, 2017 | Government/Politics

The State Council Information Office Released China’s “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2016”

On March 3, the United States released “The Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016,” which included a section on China. The State Council Information Office then published China’s rebuttal. Continue reading →

Briefings | | March 12, 2017 | Government/Politics US-China Relations

Sankei: Kim Jong-nam’s Son Arrived in the U.S.

Multiple Chinese news sources (such as Duowei and China.com) republished a report from the major Japanese newspaper Sankei on the whereabouts of Kim Han-sol, who is the son of Kim Jong-nam. Kim Jong-nam, who was recently murdered in Malaysia, is the brother of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Sankei reported that, according to a representative of the South Korean Abductees Family Association, Kim Han-sol has arrived the United States. The report indicated that Kim Han-sol started from Macau and stopped in Indonesia before coming to the United States. Earlier, he posted his passport online and confirmed his father had been murdered. He also said he was with his mother and sister. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the organization that offered protection to Kim Han-sol obtained significant help from the government of the Netherlands. However, the spokesperson of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to comment on this matter.

Sources:
Duowei, March 9, 2017
http://global.dwnews.com/news/2017-03-09/59804636.html
China.com, March 10, 2017
http://m.china.com/data/thread/1011/2789/54/93/4_1.html
Sankei (in Japanese), March 10, 2017
http://www.sankei.com/world/news/170310/wor1703100002-n1.html

Briefings | | March 12, 2017 | 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.