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

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

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

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

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Chinese Military Professor Says U.S.’ Military Pressure on China Will Ease during Trump’s Time

Chinese Defense University professor Jin Yinan said in an interview that, after Trump takes office, China will face less pressure on military issues, political issues, and on the South China Sea; however, China may face heightened pressure in the economic area. In his view, Trump wants to focus on building the economy rather than on confronting China.

Jin also said that, among the national and regional leaders, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen were the least interested in Trump because they want to push the United States to be against China,

Jin Yinan pointed out that Trump intends to revive the economy and bring the manufacturing industry back to the U.S. With regard to the military, Sino-U.S. military exchanges, which were limited during the Bush administration and the Obama administration, are expected to make progress during Trump’s time.

Jin believes that Trump has a clear mind strategically despite his style of speaking without concern for his wording, whereas Hillary Clinton is “strategically confused.” She still wants the United States to get deeper into the Middle East and other battlefields, which will cause an excess consumption of national strength.

Source: Mingpao, November 19, 2016
http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20161119/s00013/1479491936073

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China News: Italian Police Conducted a Large-Scale Search Involving Immigration Cases

China News recently reported that the police in Prato, a city in central Italy at the foot of Monte Retaia, conducted a massive search operation that involved immigration cases. It resulted in 15 arrests, with 83 people under further investigation. The immigration cases mainly involved documents that had been forged for Chinese immigrants. Prato is one of the cities with the highest number of Chinese immigrants in Europe. According to official records, the total population of Prato is 180,000, 16,000 of whom are Chinese immigrants. Locals, however, widely believe that the Chinese population is actually 50,000. Prato has devloped a very large garment industry and is one of the cities in Europe that is enjoying rapid economic growth. According to the Italian authorities, over 400 policemen were devoted to this recent operation aimed at cracking down on organized crime. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a short stop in Italy one day later.

On November 16, 2016 local time, President Xi Jinping met on Sardinia Island in Italy with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Source: China News, November 17, 2016
http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2016/11-17/8066071.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Australia Supports China’s FTAAP Plan

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Steven Ciobo, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, told the press that Australia plans to support China’s effort to reach new trade agreements in the Asia Pacific region. He explained that, according to the U.S. President Elect Donald Trump, it seems the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will be discontinued. TPP excludes China. Ciobo confirmed that Australia will support China’s Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which is expected to be discussed at the upcoming APEC Leadership Summit. He also mentioned that Australia intends to cooperate in the Chinese led effort to establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is a free trade agreement still under discussion. RCEP excludes the United States. Analysts expressed the belief that FTAAP will improve China’s influence in the region.

Source: Sina, November 16, 2016
http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2016-11-16/doc-ifxxwrwh4492769.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Global Times: USCC Recommended a Ban on Chinese Acquisitions of U.S. Companies

Global Times recently reported that the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) recently published its annual report in which it recommended that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) establish a ban on Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies. The USCC report to Congress proposed that the authorizations to CFIUS be adjusted so that Chinese buyers cannot acquire controlling stakes in U.S companies. According to Thomson Reuters, this year the United States has been China’s largest acquisition destination. Chinese buyers invested US$64.5 billion in the U.S. this year, which set a new record. USCC did not mention CFIUS in last year’s report. CFIUS did increase its action level against Chinese investments this year. The USCC report was submitted right after Donald Trump won the election. His transition team is in the middle of forming U.S. trade policies. Trump has criticized China’s trade policies. Several times during his campaign, he has suggested a 45 percent tariff [on Chinese imports].

Source: Global Times, November 17, 2016
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-11/9690979.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Mingjing News: A CPPCC National Committee Membership Sells for 500 Million Yuan

At a high-level meeting on November 3, Yu Zhengsheng, the Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), disclosed that Chinese officials have been buying and selling memberships in the CPPCC committees at all levels as if they are “commodities” on the market and that the price of a CPPCC membership has risen to more than 500 million yuan (US$72.52 million). The meeting issued documents asking for a thorough investigation and for the rectification of the problem of the Hong Kong and the Macao SAR CPPCC members at all levels, demanding that a thorough investigation of the Hong Kong CPPCC system be conducted.

At the meeting, it was pointed out that memberships at all levels of the CPPCC have a “market price used for bargaining.” The so-called “bargaining price” is the amount tendered as a quote to society’s elite. For example, the price for a CPPCC National Committee membership was 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) in the late 1980s and grew to 500 million yuan today for one who makes donations or invests in enterprises. Similarly the price of a provincial CPPCC membership was 5 million yuan in the late 1980s and rose to 30 to100 million today. The CPPCC membership at the prefectural level has risen to 10 to 30 million yuan depending on the local economic situation and the geographic location.

Although the CPPCC National Committee and the National People’s Congress (NPC) are known as “vase organizations” [for the Chinese Communist Party, they are for show], there are many benefits to buying the title of NPC or CPPCC member. For example, if a city official wants to become the mayor or vice mayor, he will need the votes of the NPC members. When each vote is given a monetary value, it is easily worth tens of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of yuan.

Source: Mingjing News, November 19, 2016
http://www.mingjingnews.com/MIB/blog/blog_contents.aspx?ID=0000047000004789

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Epoch Times: Epoch Times and NTDTV Jointly Interviewed Shanghai Official

Epoch Times recently reported that Epoch Times and New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) in the United States jointly interviewed Dr. Sheng Jianhong, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Local Historical Records Office. Dr. Sheng visited the States to participate in cultural exchange events. She is a well-known scholar and is the author of the book Golden Spike that describes the history of Chinese workers’ participation in constructing the U.S. Central Pacific Railroad 150 years ago. It is unusual for a sitting Chinese government official to accept a formal interview by Epoch Times and NTDTV – both have a Falun Gong background. Dr. Sheng mentioned in the interview that Chinese President Xi Jinping has “admiration” for traditional Chinese culture. She referred to the Chinese President as “Mr. Xi Jinping” instead of his official title. She also said that Xi mentioned the Central Pacific Railroad construction twice in his speeches last year during his visit to Seattle.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a Chinese spiritual practice centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. In 1999, the Communist leadership under Jiang Zemin started a brutal crackdown on Falun Gong due to its membership size, independence from the state, and spiritual teachings. The movement has been persecuted in China ever since.

Source: Epoch Times, November 17, 2016
http://bit.ly/2fxL1Kb

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

Duowei: Military Fiscal Power Quietly Changed Hands in China

In mid-November, China‘s top leader Xi Jinping attended the logistics support conference of the Central Military Commission.

According to public reports, in the two-day meeting that the Central Military Commission members and their major regional-level senior officials attended, Xi Jinping rolled out his plans to resolve the two major problems of the PLA logistics support system. One was the establishment of a modern logistics organizational model and mode of operation, in order to strengthen the centralized management of financial resources and to strengthen the centralized deployment of military assets. The other was to continue the anti-corruption campaign to the finish line, further cleaning up the Guo [Boxiong] and Xu [Caohou] remnants.

Neither Xi nor Xinhua explained the content of the so-called Joint Logistic Support System Reform. Xi did, however, reveal a clear signal – to break the monopoly on financial power that the General Logistics Department had, while establishing a clear unified deployment.

On September 13 of this year, the Communist Party of China suddenly announced the establishment of a logistics support unit under the Central Military Commission. This force does not belong to any military entity, but it will provide support for every military entity.

Source: Duowei, November 17, 2016
http://china.dwnews.com/news/2016-11-16/59782358.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Huanqiu: Will a Warmer Russia-U.S. Relationship Affect China’s Closeness to Russia?

Huanqiu (Global Times) published an editorial discussing the impact of Trump’s winning the election on China’s relationship with Russia. Below are excerpts from the article:

“The international strategic community is forming a kind of expectation. Because of Trump, the U.S.-Russian relationship will improve. This expectation is not only based on Trump and Putin’s interaction. It is also based on the following analysis: First, Obama’s opposition to Putin has gone too far; therefore, a back swing itself has a high probability. Second, Trump has expressed a preference for placing a priority on domestic policy. Easing the relations with big countries can reduce external constraints.”

“As China, the United States, and Russia have long been regarded as a ‘big triangle’ in international relations, to what extent the Russia-U.S. relations will improve and whether they will have an impact on intimate Sino-Russian relations formed in recent years, has become the next extension of the topic.”

“First of all, it is not normal for Russia-U.S. relations to be highly strained and for the United States to lead the Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia. If the relations between the two countries improve somewhat, it will not affect China’s interests. The starting point for improving relations between Russia and the United States is obviously not to ‘deal with China.’”

“For a fundamental change to occur in Russia-U.S. relations, some of conditions that contribute to their opposition need to be removed, including: the United States to ease NATO’s eastward expansion strategy; to stop the deployment of medium-range missiles in Eastern Europe; not to increase or even to withdraw NATO forces; to recognize Russia’s interests regarding the Ukraine issue; to strengthen coordination on the Syria issue; and to reach a compromise on the future of the Assad regime. It now appears that Washington has little room to recede. Moscow has been pressed into a corner and has almost no room to take a step back. The European allies of the U.S. are worried about having “Washington ‘abandon’ them.”

“A series of long-term factors have contributed to the close relationship between China and Russia. The strategic benefits such relations have brought to the two countries have been very stable. Sino-Russian cooperation is completely positive for Moscow. It is not through the exchange of a special price Russia has to pay. Therefore, Russia does not have a reason to develop the Russia-U.S. relationship at the expense of the Sino-Russian relationship.”

“A pattern of forces determines the basic form of the China-U.S.-Russia triangle. Its primary operational formula is to achieve a balance of power and of the situation. When the United States is in the strongest position of the three parties and also takes the most obvious offensive position, it is logical in international politics that China and Russia will become closer. Under normal circumstances, the better the Sino-Russian relationship is, the more flexibility each side will have to develop its own relations with the United States.”

“In this triangle, Sino-Russian relations will certainly be the most stable bilateral relations for a long time into the future. These relations experienced the test from Yeltsin’s era to Putin’s. During this period, Russia has gone from jumping into the West to becoming an enemy of the West. If Sino-Russian relations are solid, the two countries will be able to support each other back-to-back, and shake hands with other countries without a burden. [We] believe that the leaders of the two countries and the diplomatic elite groups will cherish the situation created by the joint efforts of China and Russia.”

Source: Huanqiu, November 16, 2016
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2016-11/9683379.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend