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

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Xinhua: Problematic Vaccines Entered the Market Illegally

Xinhua recently reported that the police in Shandong Province uncovered a massive case involving the illegal distribution of vaccines that is worth RMB 570 million yuan (around US$88 million). The illegal vaccines have been distributed widely across China. They can simply be ordered through online chats and delivered via express delivery services. Although the vaccines discovered so far were all manufactured by legitimate medical companies, the storage and transportation did not follow the regulations required by law. Using these vaccines could possibly cause permanent disability or death. China has strict regulations on vaccine distribution and the vaccination process. This case demonstrated that the entire chain of vaccine wholesaling, distribution, vaccination, and retailing lacked effective government supervision. Had any of the government agencies across the nation responsible for any one of the steps in the chain done their job right, this “business” would not have lasted for over five years. The report called for a deeper investigation into different government administrative branches to find potential corruption. 
Source: Xinhua, March 18, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-03/18/c_1118379015.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Liu Yunshan Met Zuckerberg

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and of the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee, met with Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, in Beijing on March 19, 2016. Liu is the top CCP official in charge of propaganda. 


Liu said that the Internet is the new home that mankind shares. It is the common responsibility for the international community to build a ‘community that will share the future’ in cyberspace.  Liu pointed out that President Xi’s four-point principles and five-point proposals on global Internet governance have won much popularity. 

Liu said that after over 20-years of development, China’s Internet industry, has blazed a path of development and governance with Chinese characteristics. He hoped that Facebook, with its advanced technology and governance mode, would work with Chinese Internet enterprises to enhance exchanges, share experiences, promote mutual understanding, and push for an outcome for the Internet’s development that would improve the benefits for the people of all countries. 

Source: Xinhua, March 19, 2016 
http://big5.news.cn/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-03/19/c_1118382522.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Ten Problems Hindering China’s Economy

An article listing ten problems that will further hinder China’s economy was widespread on the Internet. It claimed that the next two years will be the most challenging for China, due to the following problems:

One, exports: the main driver for China’s economic growth will no longer be as effective as before. China’s strategy of “low prices to occupy the world” is no longer in effect. Without low prices, exports will not be booming; without booming exports, China’s economy is losing its growth lever.

Two, high taxes: The high corporate tax system has suppressed businesses’ creativity. Whether a corporation makes money or not, the tax is always there.

Three, monopolies: Monopolies have shut down the door on innovation. In any business where a company has a monopoly or in one with enormous government administrative offices, it is very difficult for someone to create a small business.

The other seven problems include the following: It has proven difficult to generate an increase in demand for domestic consumption; the government is more conscious about return on investment and steers away from the old practice of making a large investment without considering the return; the real estate industry is hopeless; China does not have a good system to encourage people to innovate; the government’s functions prohibit further economic growth; high tolls on the roads, the high expense of freight train shipping, and the high cost to obtain the needed certificates from government offices all contribute to blocking the free flow of the economy; and also, people are losing their confidence in China’s economy.

Source: Eastday.com, March 10, 2016
http://mini.eastday.com/a/160310101029314.html?btype=index&subtype=guonei&idx=8&ishot=0

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

TISCO Struggles as Profits Drop

China.com carried an article on the financial struggle that the Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group (TISCO) is going through. According to the article, TISCO is the largest and most advanced stainless steel manufacturer in the world. Its annual steel production volume exceeds 10 million tons, 40 percent of which is in stainless steel. However the company’s profits have been declining yearly since 2012. They dropped from 18 billion (US$2.8 billion) in 2011 to 10 billion (US$1.55 billion) in 2012; 5 billion (US$0.77 billion) in 2013; 4 billion (US$0.62 billion) in 2014; continuing to a negative 40 billion (US$6.19 billion) in 2015. Recently, the company had to shut down some equipment and production lines and significantly cut back workers’ hours. According to the article, TISCO employees were asked to work one month and take three months off. They were told that during the three months that they are off, they are required not to take on any other jobs and must remain on call in case of any last minute schedule changes. The workers had to take a 20 percent pay cut and some of the workers could only make 50 percent of their pay compared to what they made before. Other measures that the company took included shifting the direct workforce to an indirect role by taking back-end maintenance and support functions such as working in a nearby agriculture farm that the company built. At the same time, TISCO set up sales offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and the U.S. in order to expand its sales channels.

Source: China.com, March 20, 2016
http://finance.china.com.cn/industry/hotnews/20160320/3636545.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Youth Daily: China has 3.2 Million Registered Drug Users

China.com carried an article which China Youth Daily had originally published. According to the article, by June 2015, the number of registered drug users in China had reached 3.2 million. Of these, 1.8 million or 58.4 percent were under the age of 35. The article pointed out that, in addition to the traditional drugs, many new types of psychoactive substances are on the rise while preventive education is lacking among China’s youth.

Source: China.com, March 20, 2016
http://guoqing.china.com.cn/2016-03/20/content_38068570.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Ministry of Finance: China is Not Concerned about Moody’s Downgrade

People’s Daily reported that, during the 2016 China Development Forum currently being held in Beijing, Lou Jiwei, China’s Minister of Finance, commented on Moody’s recent downgrade of its rating on China. Lou said that China does not particularly have a problem with the downgrade, even though it understands the agency’s concerns about the local debt in China. As to whether China can reduce its current capacity and overcome issues while going through structural reform, Lou said that China didn’t have any policies in place when Moody’s issued the downgrade but, since then, China has decided to spend one trillion yuan (US$150 billion) on capacity and inventory reduction, which shows its confidence in dealing with the issues.

Source: People’s Daily, March 20, 2016
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0320/c403268-28212252.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Li Keqiang: China Will Not Have a Hard Landing

On March 16, 2016, Li Keqiang stated at a press conference that China’s economy will not have a hard landing and that Government officials will be held accountable if they do not do their jobs. 

"We are fully confident in the long term prospects for the Chinese economy. This confidence is not without basis. We firmly believe that, as long as we continue to reform and open up, China’s economy will not suffer a hard landing." 
Li expressed that last year, due to multiple factors, the mainland’s stock market went through abnormal fluctuations and the authorities took comprehensive measures to stabilize the market only to prevent systemic financial risks. As the situation has changed, there is now a need for reform and a need to improve the financial regulatory system. Efforts should be made to achieve full coverage without leaving any regulatory gaps. At the same time there must be coordination among the authorities, as well as accountability. 
Li stressed that reform and improving the financial regulatory system is a process and all cognizant departments and local governments should continue to do their jobs in accordance with the existing descriptions of their responsibilities. “Otherwise, you will be held responsible for the slackness.” The press conference lasted two hours and ten minutes with close to 1,200 foreign and domestic reporters in attendance. 
Source: People’s Daily, March 17, 2016 
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0317/c1024-28204946.html
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCTV Rebuts U.S. Criticism with Documentary, The Human Rights Record of ‘Defender of Human Rights'”

China Central Television (CCTV) broadcasted a documentary film on the evening March 13 on its Channel 1 (CCTV-1) program. The title was, “The Human Rights Records of the ‘Defender of Human Rights.’" It claimed that the film presented the real human rights situation in the United States with informative interviews, authoritative data, and interpretations from experts. 

By collecting reports from the mainstream media in the United States and rest of the world, the film enumerated how the U.S. disregards the human rights of its people in all areas of life. For example, in 2015, the United States had more than 56 million homeless people, including 25 percent of the minors in the country. Among the deaths because of injury, of the deaths among adolescents over the age of 15, 1/4 died in shootings. From justice, political rights, labor rights, and basic living guarantees, to the rights of women and children, the so-called "melting pot" of the United States applies a double standard to almost all human rights issues.
The program claimed that the 45-minute-long television documentary used interviews of human rights experts from China, the United States, France, Canada, Russia, Switzerland, and other countries and that it also used an analyses from a plurality of sides and angles of U.S. human rights issues. It evaluated U.S. human rights standards and provided a vivid and close-up window for the public to understand the human rights situation in the United States. 

Source: People’s Daily, March 14, 2016 
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0314/c1002-28195502.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations