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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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Xi Jinping Chaired Work Report Session

On January 7, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee held an all day meeting. Xi Jinping chaired the meeting to listen to the work reports. The Party Committees of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the State Council, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate gave reports. At this meeting, the CCP Central Committee also reported on its work.

The head of the NPC Standing Committee is Zhang Dejiang. The head of the State Council is Li Keqiang. The head of the CPPCC National Committee is Yu Zhengsheng. The head of CCP Central Committee is Liu Yunshan. All of them are members of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.

Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-01/07/c_1117705534.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of National Defense’s Spokesperson on CMC Administrative Organ Reshuffle

China has continued its military reform. On January 11, Xi Jinping met the new leaders of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC’s) 15 administrative organs.

After the adjustment, the former four headquarters/departments of the CMC, namely the General Staff Headquarters (GSH), the General Political Department (GPD), the General Logistics Department (GLD), and the General Armaments Department (GAD), were replaced by 15 functional sections including seven departments (offices), three commissions, and five directly affiliated bodies.

The 15 functional sections are: CMC General Office, CMC Joint Staff Department, CMC Political Work Department, CMC Logistic Support Department, CMC Equipment Development Department, CMC Training Management Department, CMC National Defense Mobilization Department, CMC Discipline Inspection Commission, CMC Political and Legal Affairs Commission, CMC Science and Technology Commission, CMC Strategic Planning Office, CMC Reform and Formation Office, CMC International Military Cooperation Office, CMC Audit Office, and CMC General Affairs Administration.

Wu Qian, a spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense held a news conferences and answered many questions on the CMC changes. The whole English translation of the Question and Answers is available at: http://english.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/china-military-news/2016-01/12/content_6854444.htm.

Source: Xinhua, January 11, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-01/11/c_1117739984.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China’s Economy Faces Three Constraints

Li Wei, head of the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), recently expressed the view that it will be "very difficult” for China to maintain a GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent in 2016 because the Chinese economy faces three constraints.
“The first is a tightened external demand from the global market. Since the 2008 financial crisis, although major economies have initiated a series of stimulus measures for economic recovery, … it will still take time to see a new round of high growth. The IMF lowered [its forecast] for the world’s economic growth in 2016 from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent.
“The second is the kink in the population structure, which results in escalating labor costs. With an aging population and a rapid decline in the active labor force, the competitiveness of Chinese laborers has weakened.
“The last is the pressure on the environment and resources. For a long time, China’s arable lands have been decreasing due to industrialization and urbanization, directly threatening China’s food security. A development model that neglects the cost to the environment cannot last.”
The DRC is a ministerial level government policy research and consulting institution directly under the State Council.
Source: China Securities Journal, January 11, 2016
http://www.cs.com.cn/xwzx/hg/201601/t20160111_4881221.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: RMB Depreciation Caused Online Exchange System Failures

People’s Daily recently reported that the Chinese currency, the RMB, underwent a rapid pace of depreciation at the beginning of the new year, which caused a serious disturbance in the investment market. This negative wave impacted many individuals. Subsequently, reporters observed a sharp increase in personal exchange transactions for foreign currencies in banks in major cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen. Since many of the personal transactions occurred online, some banks suffered slowness and even breakdowns of their online systems. Managers of major banks such as the Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, and the Agricultural Bank of China all told reporters that the flood of customers who were exchanging RMB for U.S. Dollars or Hong Kong Dollars was “scary.” Many banks started to set caps and other restrictions on personal foreign exchange requests. 
Source: People’s Daily, January 8, 2016
http://money.people.com.cn/bank/n1/2016/0108/c202331-28027995.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Police Close Down Chinese Company’s Booth at CES

Well-known Chinese technology news site Tencent News recently reported that a Chinese company named First International Trade set up a booth at the CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, where it was selling a scooter named Trotter. The Trotter was later identified as a counterfeit which replicated the well-known U.S. product that Future Motion made, called Onewheel. Future Motion founder Kyle Doerksen said the Trotter violated several Future Motion patents. His company then went through the proper legal process to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order to have the police shut down First International Trade’s booth. Future Motion discovered the Trotter last year and contacted First International Trade to request that it discontinue the Trotter. Future Motion received no response. The CES host, the Consumer Technology Association, refused to comment on this incident. It had accepted the fees that First International Trade paid and allowed the booth to be set up despite Future Motion’s before-show complaint.
Source: Tencent News, January 8, 2016
http://tech.qq.com/a/20160108/031302.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Xi Jinping: Give Extremely High Priority to Repairing Yangtze River Ecological Environment

China News recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping attended an economic development strategy Forum for the Yangtze River Basin. At the Forum, he emphasized that the Yangtze River is the “mother river” of the Chinese civilization and is a key supporting resource for the future developmental roadmap for China’s economy. Xi pointed out that the Yangtze River ecological system repair work must be given an “extremely” high priority and that the “Ecology First, Green Development” strategy should be implemented not only immediately but for a long period of time into the future as well. He asked all provinces and cities along the Yangtze River to focus on “Grand Protection” plans instead of “Grand Development” ones. Xi suggested that China must optimize the urban agglomeration along the River and sort out the current disorderly development of local industries and ports. Top leaders of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan attended the Forum. These are key regions in the Yangtze River ecological system.
Source: China News, January 7, 2016
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2016/01-07/7706502.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi Jinping on Political Discipline

On January 9, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party published the highlights from Xi Jinping’s speeches given in recent years on abiding by the Communist Party’s discipline and rules. It had Xi’s quote as the title, “In Politics there are Some Things One Should Absolutely Never Do; Otherwise, One Must Pay for it.” 

October 23, 2014, at the Second Meeting of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi made the following remarks: 
 “Corruption is corruption; political problems [opposing Xi’s leadership] are political problems. [We] cannot talk about the problem of corruption without talking about political problems. Party officials who have political problems have caused harm to the Party in the same way that corruption has. In some cases, the harm has been even more damaging than corruption." 
“Similarly, on political issues, no one can cross the red line [bottom-line]. If anyone crosses the red line, they will undergo a serious investigation and be held accountable politically. In politics there are some things one should absolutely never do; otherwise, one must pay for it. No one can take political discipline and political rules as a trifling matter.” 
Source: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party website reprinted by Xinhua, January 10, 2016 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-01/10/c_128612581.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Caixin: China Manufacturing PMI of 2015’s Last Month Was Low

Well-known Chinese financial site Caixin recently released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI index number for December 2015, which was 48.2. The Caixin PMI was formerly known as HSBC PMI, which was a well-respected economic indicator monitored globally by financial institutions. The new Caixin PMI indicated that the Chinese manufacturing industry has been declining for ten consecutive months. The index showed weakened foreign demand. New export orders shrank, which impacted the overall new business volume for the month. Further analysis demonstrated that domestic demand was declining as well. In December, employers in manufacturing continued to reduce headcounts. In the meantime, manufacturers remained conservative in their procurement activities. However, data showed a lowered average cost across the industry even though the inventory level had a slight increase. 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, January 1, 2016
http://pmi.caixin.com/2016-01-04/100895398.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources