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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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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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China Automotive Industry Association Issued its Semi-Annual Auto Report

Xinhua published an article on the China Automotive Industry Association auto sales report for the first half of the year. According to statistics, in the first 6 months of 2016, even though the auto production and sales volume grew 6.47 percent and 8.14 percent respectively compared to the same period last year, only 5 big auto manufacturers hit 50 percent of their annual sale’s target. The article stated that, without question, China’s automobile market’s growth is slowing down and many auto manufacturers have already reduced their 2016 annual sale target. The sales numbers also showed that there was an increase in sales for Japanese made models, a decrease for Korean made models, and increase in sales for China made brands.

Source: Xinhua, July 25, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2016-07/25/c_129174541.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

VOA: “Patriots” Boycott KFC

After the International Tribunal at The Hague made its arbitration decision rejecting China’s territorial claim over the South China Sea, Chinese state media blamed the U.S. as the evil force working behind the scene. Some Chinese suggested campaigns to boycott American products, including Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and McDonalds.

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Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Knight Island Criticized the Central Communist Youth League over the Zhao Wei Incident

Because of attacks in a series of articles from the Central Communist Youth League and many other accusations posted on China’s Internet, the “Zhao Wei Incident” recently became a hot topic on the Internet in Mainland China. The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “Taiwanese Actor Leon Dai Loses Part in Zhao Wei Film After Political Pressure in China.” Taiwanese movie actor Leon Dai lost a major role in Mainland Chinese director Zhao Wei’s movie because he supported the “sunflower movement” in Taiwan in 2014 and he made positive comments about gala shows that Falun Gong practitioners had launched [the Shen Yun Performing Arts show in 2016].

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Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Private Sector’s Investments in the U.S. Skyrocketed

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that new research found that Chinese companies invested around US$29 billion in the U.S. in the first half of this year. This is more than the full-year-investment record set in 2014. Companies in the Chinese private sector made over half of the investments. This round of investments has one unique characteristic; nearly all of the money ended up in acquisitions and mergers instead of new establishments. There were quite a few high profile deals in this round such as Haier acquiring GE Appliances with US$5.4 billion. Analysts expressed the belief that the attractiveness of the U.S. comes from its diversified investment opportunities as well as the stability of the U.S. Dollar. The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is expected to say no to more applications than it did previously. However, no one seems to be really worried.
Source: Sina, July 16, 2016
http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/news/int/int/chinesedaily/20160716/07337423734.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Leadership Identified Five Key Economic Concerns

The well-known Chinese financial newspaper The Economic Observer published an article on the Economic Forum that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosted on July 11 in Beijing. The Forum, which analyzed the situation of the Chinese economy in the first half of the year, took place before the National Bureau of Statistics released the key index numbers for the first half of 2016. The Forum identified five key concerns that “should not be ignored.” First, investments in the private sector continue to decline. Second, the effort to reduce industrial production capacity faces obstacles. The third concern was the increase in the number of non-performing loans in the banking industry. The fourth one was the worsened difficulties that small and medium sized companies have in obtaining financial help. The fifth concern lies with the uncertainty that developed from the British exit from the European Union. Li suggested in the Forum that both the global and the domestic challenges are generating growing pressure on the Chinese economy and that the government’s structural adjustment strategy will remain the key direction for the second half of the year.
Source: The Economic Observer, July 14, 2016
http://www.eeo.com.cn/2016/0714/289594.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China News: Japan is Making Trouble in the East China Sea Again

China News recently reported, based on information from Japan’s Kyodo News, that the chairman of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party East China Sea Development Committee has decided to recommend to the Abe Cabinet that Japan bring the East China Sea oil field conflict with China to The Hague Tribunal. For a long time, Japan has held a grudge against China for its oil and natural gas development in the East China Sea. Now the Japanese just want to try their luck and get a free ride on the recent South China Sea Arbitration case that the Philippines filed. China had a peaceful agreement with Japan to develop the natural resources in the East China Sea jointly. However, Japan destroyed the agreement by provoking the Diaoyu Islands dispute. Japan took the Chinese development on the Chinese side of the East China Sea as a violation of Japan’s rights to the resources. It seems Japan will not learn a lesson from its past failures; China has no choice but to be prepared to defend China’s interests all the way to the end.
Source: China News, July 16, 2016
http://www.chinanews.com/mil/2016/07-16/7941421.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Pediatricians Under-Paid and Under-Appreciated

Guangming Daily carried an article on the troubled situation that Chinese pediatricians face. First, Chinese pediatricians carry a higher risk than other medical professionals and are often blamed and misunderstood. Most of the patients are from a single child home. Pediatricians often have to deal with patients who are too young to describe their symptoms. Meanwhile their parents and grandparents on both the mother and the father’s side anxiously stand behind them, which creates extra pressure for the doctors. Second, there is a shortage of pedestrians in China and they are often overloaded with work. According to statistics that the National Health and Family Planning Commission published, the ratio of pediatricians to patients is 0.53 doctors for every 1,000 children compared with 0.85-1.3 in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Each pediatrician has to see 17 patients a day, which is 2.4 times higher than other medical specialties. Lastly, the article said, pediatricians are not well compensated; they are underappreciated; and they have little opportunity to be promoted.

Source: Guangming Daily, July 18, 2016
http://health.gmw.cn/2016-07/18/content_20999288.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability