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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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People’s Daily: Japan Miscalculated in the East China Sea Situation

People’s Daily recently reported that Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been making a lot of noise about using international arbitration to call for settling the conflicts with China in the East China Sea. Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also accused China of breaking its agreement with Japan on “joint development” of natural resources. The People’s Daily article countered that Japan is doing the wrong math on three fronts. The first is by supporting the Philippines, who went through international arbitration. Japan wishes to tie the East China Sea issue to the South China Sea issue. The second is the attempt to distract the Japanese voters from Japan’s failing economic policies in order to gain more seats in the July Japanese Senate election. The third is to snatch Chinese sovereignty in the East China Sea. However, in creating new trouble, Japan will not benefit from the international laws, or fool the Japanese voters, or earn a good relationship with neighbors.  
Source: People’s Daily, March 19, 2016
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0319/c1003-28210788.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: U.S. Political Spectrum is Quietly Moving to the Right

Xinhua recently published a commentary suggesting U.S. society is developing an anti-establishment trend. The article emphasized that the “big mouth” Trump caught everyone by surprise when he swept the Republican political landscape, and that Hillary Clinton’s “sure thing” no longer seems so sure any more. The “Trump Phenomenon” is effectively turning extreme right-wing opinions in important areas such as gun control, immigration, healthcare, and the economy into the symbol of the “American Spirit.” The article points out that the anti-establishment “movement” started when the TEA Party gained its popularity in 2002. The “mainstream” Republicans lost ground to the TEA Party and that had a significant impact on the Republican’s loss of the 2012 presidential election. In the meantime, the Democratic “establishment” is also facing unexpected challenges, though not as dramatic as the Republicans. The author concluded that the cause of this new political trend is largely rooted in President Obama’s inability to deliver on his campaign promise of “change.” As a result, the American people are quietly turning to the right, which is highlighted by support for someone whose funds are not derived from “Washington.”
Source: Xinhua, March 19, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-03/19/c_128813476.htm
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

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