Chinascope – Page 635

EU Investigates Chinese Credit Rating Company

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, for the last two and a half years now, European Union regulators have been investigating Dagong Europe, a branch of the Chinese credit rating company Dagong International. The EU discovered that the company’s internal inspection and balancing system has defects. The confidential investigation that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been conducting is still on-going. ESMA was concerned that the company did not fully comply with the EU regulations on credit rating agencies. One of the conditions under which Dagong was issued its operating license was to avoid a conflict of interest with the licensee’s customers. The investigation was triggered when a fund named Mandarin Capital Partners, who was one of the initial investors in Dagong Europe, filed a complaint. Dagong Europe is the first Asian competitor in Europe that the top three American rating agencies (Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s) have had to face.

Source: Sina, December 23, 2015

http://finance.sina.com/bg/economy/sinacn/20151223/08121390239.html

Briefings | | December 29, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Anti-Terrorism Act to Be Effective January 1, 2016

On December 27, 2015, Xinhua reported that, effective January 1, 2016, the "People’s Republic of China Anti-Terrorism Act," which the National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed on December 27, 2015, will become the law. The Anti-Terrorism Act has 10 chapters and 97 articles covering identification of terrorist organizations and personnel, security, intelligence information, investigations, response, international cooperation, safeguard measures, and legal responsibilities.

The Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Office and the Ministry of Public Security Anti-Terrorism Bureau Chief, An Weixing, said that the promulgation of anti-terrorism law is to meet the needs of the ongoing campaign against terrorism and to meet our international responsibility. Terrorism is defined as “ideas and behavior that, through violence, destruction, intimidation, and other means, create social panic, endanger public safety, violate persons and property, or coerce State organs and international organizations, in order to achieve their political and ideological purposes."

Source: Xinhua, December 27, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-12/27/c_1117591851.htm

Briefings | | December 28, 2015 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: Xi Jinping Met with HK Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung

Xinhua recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung on December 23, 2015. Leung was visiting Beijing for a debriefing. In this meeting, Xi emphasized that, in recent years, Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” policy faced “a new situation.” He made clear that the central government is “unflinching” on this policy and will “comprehensively and accurately” ensure that the practice of this policy will not suffer “deviation or deformation.” Xi added that this established policy will “always advance following the right direction.” In the meeting, Xi also pointed out that developing the economy, maintaining stability, and promoting harmony are the common aspirations of the people of Hong Kong. Those should also be the primary tasks for the Hong Kong government to work on. He expected the government to unite the communities in Hong Kong and safeguard social and political stability in the city.

Source: Xinhua, December 23, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/mrdx/2015-12/24/c_134946317.htm

Briefings | | December 28, 2015 | Government/Politics

Xi’s Camp Hinted That the North Korean Music Troupe Incident Was a Planned Scheme.

On December 18, 2015, Caixin (http://www.caixin.com/), a Mainland China media that is closely related to Xi Jinping’s leadership camp, published a commentary on the cancellation of a North Korean’s music performance in Beijing. This original article was removed from the online site, though the title of the article can still be found on Google.com (朝鲜演出事件与中朝关系_观点频道_财新网). However, before the removal of the article, some overseas Chinese media had soon reprinted it and added their comments.

On December 18, 2015, creaders.net published an article titled, “Xi’s Camp hinted that the North Korea music troupe incident was a planned scheme.” Caixin’s article, according to creaders.net, implied that the cancellation of the North Korea concert was due to North Korea’s announcement of having developed a hydrogen bomb on the same day when the music troupe arrived in Beijing. This must be the scheme planned by the fraction of Jiang Zemin, who was the former top leader of China. Jiang’s faction attempted to tie up Xi Jinping’s authorities with the North Korean dictatorship.

Jiang’s faction is very close to North Korea’s Kim’s family. Inviting the North Korean troupe to China and announcing having H-bomb in the same period of time could be a scheme plotted by Liu Yunshan, who is Jiang’s follower. On October of 2015, Liu Yunshan, Head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department and a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP, attended North Korea’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Kim’s ruling party. Having Xi Jinping’s authorities and North Korea tied up would benefit North Korea on the one hand and attack Xi Jinping on the other hand. Liu Yunshan might have manipulated the Mainland Chinese media to promote the North Korean concert heavily when the troupe arrived.

Source: Creaders.net, December 18, 2015
http://news.creaders.net/china/2015/12/18/1619338.html

Briefings | | December 24, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

The Economic Observer: Do Online Stores Drive Retailers Out of Business?

The Economic Observer, a weekly, Beijing-based national paper that features economic developments, published a commentary on its website which discussed a government commission’s concern that online e-commerce stores are driving retail stores out of business.

While the Central Economic Work Conference, which started on December 18, 2015, was underway, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), directly affiliated with the State Council, submitted a report to the central government. The NDRC report noted, "Despite the fact that online stores, courier delivery services, and associated new lines of business have created some jobs, one must not ignore their impact on physical retail stores, which are being replaced."

While people have been cheering the record setting one-day sale of RMB 91 billion (US$14.05 billion) on November 11 at the Tmall online website, which the Alibaba Group owns, retail outlets for books, clothing, and household appliances have been hit very hard. There are even cases in which retail stores have closed en masse. Some traditional department stores have also lost their appeal. This trend has negatively impacted the employment outlook in areas where it has occurred.

On the one hand, the commentary did not challenge the claim that Ma Yun (Jack Ma), chairman of the board of the Alibaba Group, made. Ma claimed that Alibaba’s online e-commerce platform has 8.5 million active vendors, who directly created 10 million employment positions and indirectly created 3.5 million more. Ma categorized this group as "online merchants." They include merchants with well-known brands; vendors specializing in channel marketing and logistics; and indirect participants doing outsourcing work in communications, design, and sales.

On the other hand, the commentary focused on the retail sector, spanning urban communities as well as rural areas. It raised the question about whether those who the e-commerce platform, such as Tmall, has displaced are in any position to get into logistics, manufacturing, or name branding due to such barriers as technology and intellectual property.

The commentary looked to the government to offer assistance to people losing their retail jobs.

Source: The Economic Observer website, December 21, 2015

http://www.eeo.com.cn/2015/1221/281974.shtml

Briefings | | December 24, 2015 | Economy/Resources

The Economic Observer: Do Online Stores Drive Retailers Out of Business?

The Economic Observer, a weekly, Beijing-based national paper featuring economic developments, published a commentary on its website, discussing a government commission’s concern that online e-commerce stores have driven retail stores out of business. The Central Economic Work Conference brgan December 18, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), directly affiliated with the State Council, submitted a report to the central government. The NDRC report noted: "Despite some jobs have been created by online stores, courier delivery services, and associated new lines of business, one must not ignore the impact on physical retail store, which are being replaced." While people are cheering the record setting one-day sale of RMB 91 billion (around USD 14 billion) on November 11 at the Tmall online website, owned by Alibaba Group, retail outlets for books, clothes, and household appliance are hit the worst. There are even cases that retail stores are being closed en masse. Some traditional department stores have also lost their appeal. All negatively impacted employment outlook in these areas. While the commentary did not challenge the claim by Ma Yun (Jack Ma), chairman of the board of the Alibaba Group, that Alibaba’s online e-commerce platform has 8.5 million active vendors, which created directly 10 million employment positions, and indirectly 3.5 million more. Ma categorized this group as "online merchants," which include merchants with well-known brands, vendors specializing in channel marketing, logistics, and indirect participants doing outsourcing work in communications, design, and sales. However, the commentary focused on the retail sector, spanning urban communities as well as rural areas. It raised the question that those who have been displaced by e-commerce platform, such as Tmall, are not in the position to get into logicstics, or manufacturing, or name branding due to technology and intellectual property barriers. The commentary looks up to the government to offer assistance to people losing their retail jobs. Source: The Economic Observer website, December 21, 2015 http://www.eeo.com.cn/2015/1221/281974.shtml

Briefings | | December 23, 2015 | Economy/Resources

Guangming Daily: Are China and Russia Partners or Allies?

Guangming Daily, a newspaper directly affiliated with the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, published a lengthy article on China’s relations with Russia. The article’s English version appeared in the January/February 2016 issue of Foreign Affairs. The author is Fu Ying, China’s former ambassador to the Philippines, Australia, and the U.K., who currently serves as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress. Guangming Daily received the exclusive authorization from Fu to publish the full, translated Chinese text.

Fu reviewed the several occasions between the end of the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth century, when China entered into an alliance with the Russian empire or its successor, the Soviet Union. Each time, the arrangement proved short-lived, as each amounted to nothing more than an expediency between countries of unequal strength.

It was not until 1989 that the two countries restored normalcy to their relations. Two years later, the Soviet Union disintegrated but Chinese-Russian relations carried on based on the principle of “no alliance, no conflict, and no targeting any third country.” In 1992, China and Russia announced that each would regard the other as a “friendly country” and issued a joint political statement stipulating that “the freedom of people to choose their own development path should be respected, while differences in social systems and ideologies should not hamper the normal progress of relations.”

Fu noted that differences still exist between the two countries. She gave, as an example, that despite the resolution of the border issue, Chinese commentators sometimes make critical references to the nearly 600,000 square miles of Chinese territory that tsarist Russia annexed in the late nineteenth century.

Fu also took stock of where things stand between China and the U.S. given that relations between China, Russia, and the U.S. are intertwined. Chinese president Xi Jinping remarked during his state visit to the U.S. last September that, "If China develops well, it will benefit the whole world and benefit the United States. If the United States develops well, it will also benefit the world and China." Fu went on to claim that Chinese leaders attribute much of their country’s rapid ascent to China’s successful integration into the world economy.

Refuting suggestions from some scholars in China and elsewhere that, if the United States insists on imposing bloc politics on the region, China and Russia should consider responding by forming a bloc of their own, Fu argued that the Chinese leadership does not approve of such arguments. China does not pursue blocs or alliances; nor do such arrangements fit comfortably with Chinese political culture. Russia does not intend to form such a bloc, either. China and Russia should stick to the principle of partnership rather than build an alliance. As for China and the United States, they should continue pursuing a new model of major-country relations and allow dialogue, cooperation, and management of differences to prevail.

Sources: Guangming Daily, December 23, 2015

http://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2015-12/23/nw.D110000gmrb_20151223_2-16.htm

Foreign Affairs, January/February 2016, pp. 96-105

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2015-12-14/how-china-sees-russia

Briefings | | December 23, 2015 | Government/Politics

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.

EU Investigates Chinese Credit Rating Company

China’s Anti-Terrorism Act to Be Effective January 1, 2016

Xinhua: Xi Jinping Met with HK Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung

Xi’s Camp Hinted That the North Korean Music Troupe Incident Was a Planned Scheme.

The Economic Observer: Do Online Stores Drive Retailers Out of Business?

The Economic Observer: Do Online Stores Drive Retailers Out of Business?

Guangming Daily: Are China and Russia Partners or Allies?

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