Chinascope – Page 626

Xinhua: China Plans to Build Several National Labs

Xinhua recently reported that China is actively planning to build several national labs in some areas of key innovation. This is considered a major change in the Chinese national science research structure. The Chinese Academy of Science just hosted a forum with well-known national lab managers from the U.S., Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, and Singapore. China’s plan is to concentrate the nation’s talent in the establishment of a series of cross-field and integrated research bases, which are aligned with China’s national goals and strategic needs. The large-scale and comprehensive national labs are first set to establish the Comprehensive Experimental Device in Extreme Conditions, Advanced Light Sources, and the Digital Earth Simulation System. The planned national labs will also cover the research areas of clean energy, materials genome, environmental science, brain science, accelerators and X-ray technologies. The mission of the labs is to address science and technology related needs that may impact national security or national economic and social development.

Source: Xinhua, February 2, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/02/c_128696147.htm

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Information/Technology

Djibouti: China Will Soon Start Naval Base Construction

BBC Chinese recently reported that Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh told the media that China will soon begin construction work on China’s naval base. The Northeast African country of Djibouti is located on the west bank of the Gulf of Aden, which holds the entrance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. It’s a country with strategic geographic importance. Both the United States and France have naval bases in Djibouti, which supports the mission of battling the Somali pirates. However, Djibouti is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It is expecting to attract US$12.4 billion in investments in order to achieve the goal of becoming an international transportation hub. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs once explained that China’s plan in Djibouti also involves providing logistic supplies to its fleets fighting the pirates. At this moment, there are no further details on the timing of the construction and on the scale of China’s personnel deployment.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 3, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/02/160203_djibouti_china_military_base

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Defense/Military

Retired Officials Urged to Follow Party’s Disciplinary Regulations

On February 4, 2016, Xinhua reported that the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of State Council issued a new directive on retired officials.

According to the new directive, retired officials are required "to keep the political character of loyalty to the Party at all times and to conscientiously maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party’s Central Committee headed by Xi Jinping, in their thoughts, in their political views, and in their actions."

The new directive requires that retired officials be guided "to establish a firm sense of discipline and of the rules, and to abide strictly by political discipline and political rules." Retired officials must conduct themselves in compliance with the Party’s charter and disciplinary regulations and must stand firm on major issues.

Source: Xinhua, February 4, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/04/c_1117995803.htm

Briefings | | February 8, 2016 | Government/Politics

Caixin: China’s January Manufacturing PMI Remains Low

Well-known Chinese financial site Caixin recently released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI index number for January 2016, which remained below 50, at 48.2. Caixin PMI was formerly known as HSBC PMI, which was a well-respected economic indicator monitored globally by financial institutions. The Caixin manufacturing PMI has remained below 50 for eleven consecutive months. The index showed that the domestic market is a weakening. New orders shrunk, which caused the manufacturers to reduce production for the month. However, internationally, new orders have increased slightly. In January, employers in manufacturing continued to reduce headcounts. In the meantime, the Chinese manufacturing PMI number reported by the National Bureau of Statistics was also below 50, at 49.7, which was the lowest number from the Bureau in three years. PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Caixin, February 1, 2016

http://pmi.caixin.com/2016-02-01/100905659.html

Briefings | | February 8, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Is Xi Thinking About Political Reform?

Xinhua and other Chinese media recently reported, with great calm, “Putin criticized Lenin. He said, ‘Lenin’s ideas eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.'” [1]

The report of Putin’s statement may turn out to be an event of some consequence in China’s ideological history. Lenin was the founder of Communism in Russia and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) inherited that legacy. To the CCP conservatives, criticizing Lenin is the same as denouncing Mao Zedong, the first generation leader of the CCP. It undermines the very pillar of the CCP’s legitimacy. Thus it is definitely a taboo in China.

Continue reading →

Perspectives | | February 5, 2016 | Opinion

CCDI Uncovered Corruption and Abuse of Power During Inspections

On February 4, 2016, The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Chinese Communist Party published the findings of its third round of inspections, which involved 31 entities. Major problems uncovered included corruption, weakening of the Party’s leadership, and violations in personnel selection and placement.

CCDI launched the third round of inspections in October of 2015. Fifteen inspection teams were dispatched to cover the 31 entities. Several central government organs such as the Ministry of Education and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), along with 21 major financial institutions including the central bank, securities regulators, state-owned banks and insurance companies were inspected.

For example, at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, CCDI discovered loopholes that breed corruption due to conflicts of interest. At China Construction Bank, CCDI also found officials abusing their power in order to attain personal gain. At China Life, China’s largest insurer, CCDI found that "the company’s local branches frequently violated laws and regulations" including fundraising fraud. CCDI has required these 31 entities to correct the problems per the CCDI’s recommendations. Further CCDI inspection teams may be dispatched to monitor the progress of the effort.

Source: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party, February 4, 2016 http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xwtt/201602/t20160204_74087.html

Briefings | | February 5, 2016 | Government/Politics

China Puzzled by Australia’s Public Support for U.S. South China Sea Navigation

After January 30, when the U.S. Navy sent the USS "Curtis Wilbur" missile destroyer into the area that is within 12 nautical miles of China’s Paracel islands, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang responded that the U.S. action was to exercise Maritime hegemony and asked the U.S. to stop such acts as early as possible. The Chinese Communist mouthpiece Global Times, a subsidiary of People’s Daily published a report critical of the fact that some countries are adding fuel to the flames by publicly supporting the “Freedom of Navigation Operation” (FONOP) of the United States. The article named Japan and Australia in particular.

On February 1, Global Times interviewed Chinese maritime scholar Liu Feng. During the interview, Liu said that Japan’s position of supporting the United States is not surprising. It is mainly due to its interests and strategic needs. However, the latest Australian statement on the issue was [surprising] and worthy of special attention. Liu Feng expressed the belief that following the United States to interfere with the South China Sea issue should not be Australia’s intention. He observed that, if Australia disregards China’s interests, it is likely to bring substantial harm to Sino-Australian relations.

Liu Feng said that the Sino-U.S. competition in the South China Sea is entering a new phase. Military provocation is becoming America’s customary option. [We] cannot rule out that the United States will choose a new target area for continued provocation in the future. The United States’ reckless acts in the South China Sea have significantly increased the possibility of an incident of Sino-U.S. friction at sea.

Source: People’s Daily, February 2, 2016

http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0202/c1011-28103543.html

Briefings | | February 5, 2016 | Defense/Military

China’s Negative Population Growth, Not Far Away

According to a recent report on the website of yicai.com, a Shanghai based online media, the impact of a comprehensive two-child policy on the size and structure of the Chinese population may be less than expected. Due to the diminished willingness of Chinese people to give birth, a negative growth in population may arrive as early as 2023.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) is the government agency responsible for drafting laws and regulations on family planning policy. According to an NHFPC survey, Chinese couples are willing to have an average 1.93 children. NHFPC projects that, as a result of the implementation of the two-child policy that started on January 1, 2016, the annual birth rate will increase to 3 million. This will increase the active labor force by an additional 30 million people by the year 2050. NHFPC expects to see the negative population growth begin in 2030.

However, a few scholars estimate that the positive impact of the two-child policy will be lower than expected. Yao Meixiong, a statistician based in Fujian Province, believes that an addition of 30 million to the labor force by the year 2050 may be an overestimate. Due to the ever increasing annual death rate, China will see a negative population growth as early as 2023, when the annual death rate exceeds the birth rate. This is seven years earlier than the official estimate.

Gu Baochang, a professor at Renmin University of China, looked at the characteristics of the women of childbearing age, more than half of whom are of age 40 and above. Considering the low willingness among the Chinese population to have more than two children, the new policy may not be as effective as expected.

Censuses have shown that the population of Chinese children who are below 14 years of age is trending downward in a surprisingly sharp decline. In 1964 the proportion of 14-year-olds among the total population was 40.7 percent; it was 33.6 percent in 1982; 27.7 percent in 1990; 22.9 percent in 2000, and only 16.6 percent in 2010. Alarmingly, the downward trend is continuing. According to statistics, 2015 was the fourth consecutive year of decline in China’s working-age population. It was the first time in the past 30 years to see a reduction in the population of migrant workers. Economists believe that China’s 2015 GDP growth rate, which saw a 25-year low, had a lot to do with the decline in migrant workers.

Source: yicai.com, February 1, 2016

http://www.yicai.com/news/2016/02/4746821.html

Briefings | | February 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.