Chinascope – Page 663

Chinese Military General: The Era when the U.S. Dictated to China with a Big Stick Is Gone

Chinese military general Rear Admiral Luo Yuan published a commentary in response to the New York Times report that the U.S. is going to retaliate on the incident of "China stealing more than 20 million American’s personal information." Luo claimed that, if the U.S. were to impose sanctions against China, it would be declaring a cyberwar. Luo said that China-U.S. relations are no longer the same as the past U.S.-Soviet relations and that the era when the U.S. dictated to China with a big stick is gone. The order of the strength of power is reversing. Who would win the war is far from conclusive.

Luo also listed five reasons that the U.S. brought up the cyber security issue at this time.

First, the U.S. is anxious about China’s rise.

Second, the involved interest groups have their own agendas. The initiators of the hype were the U.S. Director of National Intelligence and the Cyber Army commander. They wanted to attract attention to secure more funding for their departments.

Third, more sinister military attempts are looking for excuses and preparing public opinion for further cyberattacks against China in critical infrastructure areas such as transportation, financial, industrial control, and the military’s central surveillance system.

Fourth, it serves the need of electoral politics.

Fifth, it undermines the upcoming summit meeting, embarrassing the U.S. think tanks who advocate improving relations with China and making it difficult for them to launch positive recommendations to promote Sino-U.S. relations.

Source: People’s Daily, August 5, 2015

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2015/0805/c1011-27412396.html

Briefings | | August 13, 2015 | US-China Relations

Impact of the Yuan’s Depreciation on the Housing Market

Daily Economic News published an article that discussed the impact of the yuan’s depreciation on the housing market. Continued depreciation of the yuan will increase the cost real estate developers have to pay in order to obtain overseas financing. They may be forced to reduce housing prices to ease their financial difficulties.

According to the article, depreciation will increase the cost of corporate finance overseas. Considering the small amount of such overseas financing, the impact may be limited. However, the depreciation will push real estate developers to return to the Chinese domestic market for financing. For money-hungry real estate developers, if the devaluation continues, it will definitely increase the cost of overall financing abroad. When such costs increase by over five percent, the downstream housing market will be affected.

Source: Daily Economic News, August 12, 2015

http://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2015-08-12/937543.html

Briefings | | August 13, 2015 | Economy/Resources

DW: People’s Daily Implies that Jiang Zemin Is Clinging to Power

On August 10, 2015, DW.com published an article saying that the People’s Daily article titled “Dialectically View the Phenomenon of ‘Tea Turns Cold When People Are Away’” was actually delivering a political message. Since Xi Jinping launched the anti-corruption campaign, there has been speculation that the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection might be targeting Jiang Zemin in an internal investigation.

According to People’s Daily, “When not in the leadership position, the retired cadre should not utilize the power of leadership. Such ‘cold tea’ is the norm.” The People’s Daily article referred to a retired cadre as “cold tea”. Using such a metaphor attracted a lot of online comments. Someone wrote, “If ginger tea insists on being as hot as before, what should we do? In such a case, we should pour it (the ginger tea) out!”

Source: DW.com, August 10, 2015
http://www.dw.com/zh/人民日报一评论文疑影射江泽民/a-18637712

Briefings | | August 12, 2015 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily Criticizes a Retired Leader Who Still Interferes in the Present Leaders’ Work

On August 10, 2015, People’s Daily published an article titled, “Dialectically View the Phenomenon of ‘Tea Turns Cold When People Are Away.’”

The article commented, “People come and go; the present day replaces old times.” “Over the years, many of our Party cadres have correctly treated their status changes after having stepped down from their leadership positions. They consciously have not intervened in the work of the new leadership team, which demonstrates the open-mindedness and noble sentiments of a senior Party member and veteran cadre. They have thus won everyone’s respect.

However, a highly positioned cadre, when he was in power, arranged for his trusted aides to be in the top positions for the purpose of being able to manipulate power in the future. After years of retirement, he is still reluctant to let go of the power from his original work place and from being in charge of major issues. When something does not please him, even in the slightest way, he will sigh, ‘Tea Turns Cold When People Are Away.’ He blames others for slobbering. This phenomenon causes a dilemma for the new leader and puts him in an inconvenient position; this hinders the new leader from doing his job freely and courageously. (The retired cadre’s interference) undermines the Party’s cohesion and combat power and results in rampant vulgar practices. Examples are, organizing many cliques; no one can focus on his own work; it is hard to implement regular work activities.”

“When not in the leadership position, the retired cadre should not utilize the power of leadership. Such ‘cold tea’ is the norm. Once retired from the position, the former leading cadre will no longer be in charge of that job. Naturally, he will not have the power or responsibility.” “We should properly handle the relationship between emotion and principle. Never reheat the cold tea and bring it back to the table.”

Source: People’s Daily, August 10, 2015
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/n/2015/0810/c1003-27434178.html

Briefings | | August 12, 2015 | Government/Politics

Chinese Banking Industry Saw a Large Number of Nonperforming Loans

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the Chinese banking industry suffered the highest nonperforming loans ratio since 2010. In the first half of this year, the banks accumulated nonperforming loans totaling RMB 1.8 trillion (around US$290 billion), which represents a year-over-year increase of 35 percent. This half-year increase is larger than the increase China saw for the entire year of 2014. Shang Fulin, Chairman of the CBRC, suggested that the banking industry should take the task of controlling the rapidly growing number of nonperforming loans as a top priority task. Risk management and prevention are key to this work.

Source: Sina, August 6, 2015

http://finance.sina.com/gb/wsj-ftchinese/ftchinese/20150806/02331311090.html

Briefings | | August 11, 2015 | Economy/Resources

Caixin: July Chinese Manufacturing PMI Continued to Decline

Well-known Chinese financial site Caixin recently released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI index number for July. It was 47.8 – lower than the June number of 49.4. The Caixin PMI was formerly known as the HSBC PMI, which was a well-respected economic indicator that financial institutions widely monitored globally. The British financial company Markit formed the PMI and Caixin recently took it over from HSBC to become the sponsor for the PMI index. The Caixin PMI has been below 50 for five consecutive months so far. Based on sub-indexes under this PMI, in July, both total new business and new exports were on the decline. Manufacturing output suffered the largest decline since November 2011. The employment level in manufacturing has declined for the past 21 consecutive months. 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.

In the meantime, Xinhua reported that, according to The General Administration of Customs, China’s July exports declined 8.9 percent, year-over-year. Exports to Europe suffered the greatest loss.

Source: Caixin, August 3, 2015

http://economy.caixin.com/2015-08-03/100835560.html

Source: Xinhua, August 8, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-08/08/c_1116188457.htm

Briefings | | August 11, 2015 | 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.