Skip to content

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Read More ...

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Read More ...

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 ...

Pakistan Sold China a 40 Percent Stake in Its Stock Exchange

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Pakistan and China just inked an agreement that allowed Chinese buyers to acquire a total of a 40 percent stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The price of the deal was US$85 million. China Financial Futures Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange will jointly receive 30 percent of the shares. The Pakistan Investment Company and Habib Bank of Pakistan will hold five percent each. Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will attend the official ceremony set to take place in January. The Pakistan Stock Exchange will be the first foreign stock exchange organization in the Chinese “One Belt, One Road” strategy. This recent deal brings new capital, management experience, and financial products to Pakistan. Experts expected the Stock Exchange will offer more new products such as futures.

Source: Sina, December 26, 2016
http://finance.sina.com/bg/usstock/sinacn/20161226/09341539531.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: India Launched Agni-V ICBM Again

People’s Daily recently reported that the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) announced a test launch of its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Agni-V claims a range of 5,000 kilometers with an effective weapon load of one ton. Since the range is far enough to cover all of China if launched in the northern part of India, Indian domestic media widely believed this is the best weapon to counterbalance China. According to DRDO, this is the fourth test launch of the Agni-V, and they are still examining the data collected to validate the correctness of the design. Experts expressed their belief that this launch seems to be the final acceptance test for the Agni-V. Once passed, the next step may be final ground tests before production. Indian media have been bragging about the coverage to Stockholm, Sweden, and Harbin, China, if launched from Amritsar, thanks to Agni-V’s mobility feature. However, the swift mobile launch capability they have been dreaming about may not actually be available any time soon. Thus, the real “threat” that China must pay attention to is yet to be formed. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the launch. It stated that the UN Security Council has already made a clear resolution on whether or not India can develop an ICBM that can carry nuclear warheads.

Source: People’s Daily, December 27, 2016
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1227/c1011-28978929.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: China Will Ban Ivory Trade before the End of 2017

BBC Chinese recently reported that the Chinese government announced it will ban ivory trading before the end of the year 2017. Animal protection organizations recognized this decision as “historic.” The Chinese State Council put in place the regulations for a phased approach to the discontinuation of the sales of ivory-based products as well as the business of manufacturing them. Currently China is the largest ivory market in the world. Seventy percent of the world’s ivory products have China as the intended final destination. The price of ivory In China is US$1,100 per kilogram. In China today 34 companies are authorized ivory manufacturers and 143 are authorized retail stations. A recent study on African elephants showed that, in the last seven years, the elephant population there shrank by one third. Both the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) indicated that the Chinese decision will make a major contribution to saving elephants, which are an endangered species.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 30, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-38473312

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

DW Chinese: CCTV “Self-Upgraded” to a “Global Network”

Deutsche Welle Chinese reported that China Central Television (CCTV) recently announced the establishment of the China Global Television Network (CGTN), which includes six TV channels, three overseas channels, one video reporting station, and a group of new media branches. The Chinese government has long been complaining about the Western media’s control of international public opinion. In recent years, as part of the government’s “Grand International Publicity” strategy, China has spent a large amount of capital to spread China’s opinion on international issues. CCTV had five foreign language channels in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Russian. CCTV also has one branch in Washington DC and another in Nairobi. The new CGTN has three mobile apps; all CCTV accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Tumblr have been renamed and assigned to CGTN. <Editor’s note: All these Western social media are blocked by the Great Firewall and Chinese residents cannot have access and accounts like CCTV does.> Major Chinese broadcasting agencies have spent many years to expand their reach to the West. In 2009, the announced spending was around US$6.4 billion. The Chinese budget for CCTV, China Radio International, and Xinhua English TV in 2016 (as well as in 2017) was 1.84 billion euro (US$1.94 billion), way higher than the BBC (0.47 billion euro, US$.49 billion) and the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG, 0.68 billion euro). China is also sending more and more reporters to the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa for daily news reporting.

Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, December 31, 2016
http://bit.ly/2ijSot5

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: How Many Chinese Are Working in Indonesia?

BBC Chinese recently published a report on the ever-growing fear in Indonesia of the Chinese workers’ “invasion” into the Indonesian labor market. The number of Chinese workers in Indonesia has been a debate topic for many years. Some even said this number is around ten million. However, the Indonesia’s Ministry of Labour and Employment showed that the total of Chinese workers is 21,271. At least this is the number of Chinese workers with valid visas. Some Indonesian congressmen are planning to issue official inquiries to the government to find out whether Chinese visitors with tourist visas are working in the country or not. Congressman Muslim Ayub said he visited many cities and found a large number of Chinese workers. He doesn’t believe the Chinese workers have a headcount of ten million, but he is quite confident that the number will be much larger than 21,271. Ayub estimated that there are potentially up to one million Chinese workers in Indonesia. Some research studies showed that the government lacks an effective way to manage work permits for foreigners.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 23, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-38412851

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The U.S. Government Put Alibaba Back on the Notorious Markets List

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) once again put the Chinese online trade platform Alibaba on the annual “Notorious Markets” list. Alibaba was listed on the same blacklist four years ago. Alibaba Group President Michael Evans expressed his disappointment after USTR’s announcement. Alibaba complaint that the huge effort the company put in to battle counterfeits was ignored. However, USTR explained that the percentage of the counterfeit products sold on Alibaba’s platform is still too high. In this latest “Notorious Markets” list, four Chinese online markets and six physical markets were included. Alibaba is currently working with famous global labels such as Apple, Burberry, LV, Cartier, and Nike to fight the fake products. This program now includes 18,000 international brands. Alibaba hinted that the recent move by USTR might have something to do with the “new U.S. domestic political atmosphere. “

Source: Sina, December 22, 2016
http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2016-12-22/doc-ifxyxury7995018.shtml?source=cj&dv=2

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

“Remove Kim Jong-un” Slogans Appear on North Korean Paper Currency

DailyNK, a South Korean news site focusing on North Korean activities, recently reported, based on its own sources, that tens of 5000-yen paper currency bills were discovered in North Hamgyong Province having slogans on them such as “Remove Kim Jong-un” and “Down with Kim Jong-un.” Not long ago, people found similar fliers in Yanggang Province and North Hamgyong Province. The newly discovered currency bills were found near popular markets in the City of Hoeryong early in the morning. The local police kept the news as top secret and mobilized all available intelligence sources to trace the source. The work of checking the handwriting is also underway. Sources from government insiders suggested that this latest development showed there could be some coordinated anti-Kim activities across the provinces. In North Korea, this level of crime, if caught, could result in a death sentence to not only the individual who conducted the actives but also to his parents and children.

Source: DailyNK, December 19, 2016
https://www.dailynk.com/chinese/read.php?cataId=nk00600&num=15387

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFA: Obama Signs Defense Bill Strengthening Military Exchanges with Taiwan

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Saturday that, on Friday, December 23, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which requires the Pentagon to facilitate military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan.

It was the first time that high level military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan had been written into an Act of Congress.

Continue reading →

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations