Djibouti: China Will Soon Start Naval Base Construction
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.