Chinascope – Page 621

Caixin: China’s February Manufacturing PMI Continued to Decline

Well-known Chinese financial site Caixin recently released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI index number for February 2016, at 48.0, which is lower than January. Caixin PMI was formerly known as HSBC PMI, which was a well-respected economic indicator that financial institutions monitored globally. The February manufacturing PMI is now at the lowest point in five months. The index showed a decline in both manufacturing output and new orders. New export orders have been declining for three months. Most manufacturers expressed the belief that the domestic market is very weak. The February unemployment sub-index in manufacturing reached the lowest point since January 2009. In the meantime, the Chinese manufacturing PMI number that the National Bureau of Statistics reported reflected the same situation, at 49.0, which was the lowest since December 2011. PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) is an indicator of financial activity reflecting the purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Caixin, March 1, 2016

http://pmi.caixin.com/2016-03-01/100914282.html

Briefings | | March 8, 2016 | Economy/Resources

During the Current Lianghui, Deputy of Chinese Society of Education Raised Two Education Issues

Guangming Daily reported that during the current Lianghui [the "Lianghui" consists of two parts: the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference (CPPCC)], Zhu Yongxing, deputy director of Chinese Society of Education raised two areas that demand education reform: the increase in Chinese youth studying abroad and the lack of education for migrant workers. Zhu commented that the current education system in China is ineffective and can’t meet the demand of its people.

According to Zhu, in 2014, Chinese oversea students spent close to 200 billion yuan (USD$31 billion) on higher education overseas. From July 2014 to February 2015, the number of Chinese high school students studying in the U.S. grew 50 percent. Zhu called for renovation in the Chinese education system to improve its quality in order to make it more diverse and advanced so as to keep the Chinese youth from studying abroad.

Zhu also said that, based on the statistics from the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, there are 150 million technical workers in China, accounting for 19 percent of total employed population. Among them 37 million are workers with advanced skills. Zhu claimed that vocational education can solve the issue of the technical labor shortage and lack of quality workers. However the current vocational schools lack flexibility; they are unable to provide evening and weekend classes and a curriculum that will attract migrant workers. Their admission rate continues to drop while their resources remain underutilized. Zhu suggested that the funding from the central administration and local government can help the vocational schools to provide professional training classes and redesign the courses so that they provide flexibility to enable the migrant workers to gain technical skills.

Source: Guangming Daily, March 3, 2016
http://edu.gmw.cn/2016-03/04/content_19160882.htm

Briefings | | March 7, 2016 | Government/Politics

VOA-: China to Increase 2016 Financial Deficit

VOA published an article which stated that, based on the financial data that China disclosed, the growth rate of its 2016 GDP will remain between 6.5 and 7 percent and its finance deficit will grow from 1.62 trillion (US$0.25 trillion) in 2015 to 2.18 trillion (US$0.33 trillion) in 2016; its local treasury bonds are expected to be 400 billion yuan (US$61 billion). The article said that the Chinese government admits that its economy will face a bottleneck which it must break through to succeed. It also said that, according to the statistics, the Chinese government plans to allocate 16 billion yuan (US$2.45 billion) to urban medical assistance funds, an increase of 10 percent from 2015. It also claimed that it will increase the low income supplement fund by 5 percent for urban and 8 percent for the rural region.

Source: VOA, March 6, 2016
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-economy-20160306/3221705.html

Briefings | | March 7, 2016 | Economy/Resources

The CCTV 2016 Chinese New Year’s Gala Propaganda Disaster

[Editor’s Note: China Central Television (CCTV) started broadcasting a special Chinese New Year celebration program in 1983. This Chinese New Year’s Gala, also called the Spring Festival Gala and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as chunwan (春晚), consists of songs, dances, talk show segments, acrobatics, martial arts performances, and other forms of entertainment.

While there is always some of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) propaganda embedded in the performances, the public generally finds the show entertaining. Many Chinese watch it on Chinese New Year’s eve, from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., to welcome in the New Year.

This year, the Chinese people felt that the CCTV 2016 Chinese New Year’s Gala on February 7, 2016, carried an unbearable amount of propaganda. Netizens flooded the Internet with so much criticism that the CCP’s Internet guards remained frantically busy deleting them. Of course, the Chinese media praised the show as a great success.

Many overseas Chinese media reported this propaganda disaster. Reports from a number of different sources follow.]

Continue reading →

Reports | | March 4, 2016 | Report

Expert: U.S. Can Monitor Nearly Half of China if “THAAD” Enters Korea

How much harm can the "THAAD" Missile System do to China if it enters Korea? CCTV interviewed Chinese military expert Du Wenlong, who said that, if the THAAD system is deployed in Korea, the United States will further improve its capability of reconnaissance and surveillance activity in China. Previously, U.S. ships and planes had to come close to China’s territory to conduct surveillance, covering the surface above the water, under the water, the air, and any other range. If the "THAAD" enters Korea, the U.S. military will increase its reconnaissance capabilities deep into China’s hinterland and will have a combination of fixed and mobile reconnaissance and surveillance. It can do real-time monitoring and continuous surveillance of different launch activities in China. This will have a serious impact on China’s national security.

In addition, the "THAAD" system deployed in South Korea will extend U.S. strategic surveillance "eyes" farther, and further expand the scope of monitoring and surveillance of China. Nearly half of China’s national territory is within its monitoring range. If its radar system improves further in the future, the reconnaissance range will be even greater.

Source: People’s Daily, February 26, 2016

http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0226/c1011-28151263.html

Briefings | | March 4, 2016 | Defense/Military

Huanqiu: Hong Kong Independence Backed by International Anti-China Forces and Financiers

The Chinese government’s mouthpiece Huanqiu issued a commentary which discussed the court trial of three leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong: Joshua Wong, Alex Chow, and Nathan Law. The charges include inciting others to join an unlawful assembly and taking part in an unlawful assembly.

The commentary referred to the Occupy Central movement as a radical movement; it linked it to the clashes between the police and protesters earlier this year in the Mong Kok district. “The serious bloodshed in Mong Kok on Chinese New Year’s Day this year was the consequence of the ‘Occupy Central’ movement. The event escalated from demonstrations to riots that included brick throwing, arson, car burning, and even club fighting, deliberately endangering the personal safety of front line police officers.”

Huanqiu quoted a member of the Beijing based Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies, “Hong Kong is not America’s backyard; Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affair; and the United States has absolutely no voice.” “If the U.S. attempts to intervene in Hong Kong affairs, there is a suspicion that it has contempt for the Hong Kong courts. The fact that these few defendants could actually get U.S. Congress involved shows that their relationship with the U.S. is not simple. Hong Kong should be wary of outside interference. Black financiers are fostering spokespersons by making investments behind the scenes.”

The comments about “U.S. interference” likely refer to an earlier statement issued by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, “CECC Chairs Troubled by Recent Developments in Hong Kong; Say Trial of Joshua Wong and Fellow Protesters Will be Important Bellwether.” The comment continued, "The ‘Hong Kong independence’ can be traced back to the international anti-China hostile forces. By means of education during the British Hong Kong, religion, and the poitical propaganda backed by the so-called core values of Western democracy, they are exerting a subtle influence with the minds of the younger generation."

Source: Huanqiu, March 1, 2016

http://msn.huanqiu.com/mil/observation/2016-03/8628798.html

Briefings | | March 2, 2016 | US-China Relations

China Will Cut 1.8 Million Jobs in the Steel and Coal Industries

Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, stated in a press conference on February 29, that China will cut 1.3 million jobs in the coal industry and a half million jobs in the steel industry, to solve the over capacity problem in these two industries.

According to Radio Free Asia, the State Council proposed, in January, to reduce crude steel production by 100 to 150 million tons, on top of the already planned elimination of 90 million tons of steel produced from old technology, over the next few years.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recommended that 4,300 coal mines be closed and 700 million tons of coal production be cut over the next three years.

"Experts anticipate that, over the next two to three years, if such industries as steel, coal mining, cement, ship building, aluminum, and plate glass, which are severely over-capacity, cut their production by 30 percent, China will lose at least 3 million jobs."

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 1, 2016
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql2-03012016105153.html

Briefings | | March 2, 2016 | Economy/Resources

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.”

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