Chinascope – Page 617

BBC Chinese: The U.S. Will Not Recognize the South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone

BBC Chinese recently reported that U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work announced that the United States informed China of its decision not to recognize a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. Some U.S. officials thought earlier that the international court might rule in the next few weeks based on the filings that the Philippines submitted in its South China Sea sovereignty dispute. China may establish a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone just like it did in the East China Sea. Mr. Work commented, in an event that the Washington Post organized, that the United States won’t recognize the South China Sea Zone the same way that it did not recognize the one in the East China Sea. He said the move could be baseless according to the international laws and could intensify the tension in the region. China declared earlier that China’s activities in the South China Sea, in essence, are the same as what the U.S. does in Hawaii.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 30, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2016/03/160330_south_sea_china_us

Briefings | | April 5, 2016 | US-China Relations

China Plans to Require International Companies to Register Domain Names in China

The well-known new Chinese news site The Paper recently reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released a draft of the amended Internet Domain Name Regulations to the public for comments. Article 37 of the new Regulations caused considerable controversy. It requires the Chinese authorities to service and administer domain names (such as Microsoft.com) that connect to the Internet from within China. If they do not, Chinese Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are prohibited from connecting the domain owner’s computers to the internet. In addition, according to earlier business regulations, all companies conducting business in China must locate server and storage computers in China. In theory, under the new Regulations, international companies such as Apple and Microsoft will have to move their domain names to China to continue doing business in China. China started its amendment work on the Internet Domain Name Regulations in 2013, hoping to strengthen Internet administration, resource management, and “purify” the Internet environment. Chinese technical experts contend that China’s domain administration lacks the level of security protection that matches the current standard that the major foreign providers offer.

Source: The Paper, march 29, 2016

http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1449565

Briefings | | April 5, 2016 | Information/Technology

BBC Chinese: S&P Downgraded China’s Rating

BBC Chinese recently reported that, at the end of March, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded its outlook on China’s sovereign bonds from stable to negative. The downgrade reflects concerns over China’s economy in general, as the world’s second largest economy is slowing amid a rebalancing that increasingly brings economic and financial risks. S&P expressed its belief, in an announcement sent to BBC Chinese, that it expects China to see some improvements in the next five years and China’s credit growth will slow. However, S&P also expects the financial leverage situation of the Chinese government and enterprises will worsen. In the meantime, S&P predicts that China’s investment weight in its GDP will remain far above the sustainable 30 to 35 percent.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 31, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2016/03/160331_standard_poors_china_economy_outlook

Briefings | | April 5, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Chinese Citizens Transacted US$133 Trillion Overseas on Their Credit Cards in 2015

People’s Daily reported that, according to the statistics that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange published, in 2015, Chinese citizens spent US$133 trillion using their credit cards in transactions overseas. The foreign countries include Hong Kong, Macau, the U.S., Japan, and Korea. The category that had the largest spending was consumable goods, which accounted for 63 percent or 83.6 trillion while the second largest amount was cash withdrawals, which amounted to 23.1 trillion or 17 percent. The balance of the money, that is, the amount over that 80 percent, was spent on lodging, meals, transportation, education, and other services.

Source: People’s Daily, April 1, 2016
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0401/c1004-28242926.html

Briefings | | April 4, 2016 | Economy/Resources

CCDI Criticized the Communist Youth League

China Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League, reported on April 1 that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Chinese Communist Party provided feedback after it conducted an inspection of the Communist Youth League.

The CCDI inspection team criticized the Communist Youth League for its four tendencies. The Communist Youth League is out of touch with young people. Instead, it focuses on what the superiors are doing. It relies on an administrative mechanism from the top down; it rules by orders and demands obedience. It caters to the interest of elites and ignores working young people. It conducts too many entertainment activities that do not have educational content.

“The Communist Youth League serves the Communist Party by working with the masses. … It mustn’t continue the four tendencies and mustn’t be out of touch with the masses. Otherwise, it will fail to fulfill the fundamental value for which the organization [the Communist Youth League] exists.”

Source: China Youth Daily, April 1, 2016

http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2016-04/01/nw.D110000zgqnb_20160401_6-01.htm

Briefings | | April 4, 2016 | Government/Politics

Guangming Daily: Chinese Companies Increase Overseas Acquisitions to Gain a Global Advantage

Guangming Daily published an article on Chinese companies’ overseas acquisitions, including a recent one on March 30 in which Midea spent US$473 million to acquire an 80.1 percent share of the stock in Toshiba. Also, on January 15, GE sold its appliance business to China Haier for US$5.4 billion.

The article stated that the move is part of the effort that the Chinese manufacturing companies are making in order to gain a competitive advantage in the world’s market. The article quoted a statement that a Chinese businessman made, saying that China’s overseas acquisitions grew 40 percent in 2015. According to the article, in today’s world, China lags behind in technology and brand recognition. China wishes to improve its competitive advantage and increase its overseas market share through mergers and acquisitions. The article stated, “In order for China to enter the world market, China is required to increase communication and cooperation with other companies.”

According to statistics that the Ministry of Commerce released, among the overseas investments that Chinese companies made in 2014, manufacturing ranked 5th, following leases and commercial services, the financial industry, coal mining, retail, and distribution.

Source: Guangming Daily, April 1, 2016
http://economy.gmw.cn/2016-04/01/content_19533590.htm

Briefings | | April 4, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Urbanization and China’s Housing Inventory

Xinhua’s Economic Information Daily recently published an article reporting on discussions that the attendees at the 2016 Boao Forum for Asia had about China’s large housing inventory. They expressed the belief that, in order for China to be successful in reducing its housing inventory, the number of new local residents must increase. About 70 percent of China’s real estate inventory is located in third or fourth tier cities such as capitals of less developed provinces, prefecture-level cities, and county-level cities.

According to the article, experts at the forum pointed out that new residents who come to these cities may be the primary group to reduce the housing inventory. Urbanization based on population has reached 56 percent while urbanization based on registered urban residents is 37.5 percent, 18.6 percentage points lower. Farmers who left the countryside to work and live in the cities do not enjoy the same benefits in terms of pay, education, social security and housing, which makes it hard for them to take root in the cities. To incentivize these former farmers to buy houses in the cities requires the reform of the urban household registration system to allow them to register as well as solutions to other issues they face, such as enabling them to dispose of and liquidate their old farm houses.

Source: Economic Information Daily, March 31, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-03/31/c_128850177.htm

Briefings | | April 1, 2016 | Economy/Resources

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

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.”