Skip to content

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Read More ...

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Read More ...

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

Read More ...

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

Read More ...

EU Chamber of Commerce: A Quarter of EU Companies in China Are Pessimistic

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, not long ago, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China released its annual report on business confidence. The report showed that the EU companies in China are reconsidering their strategy in the Chinese market. The report pointed out that the continuing top challenge remains the on-going slow-down of the Chinese economy. More and more EU companies are laying off people based on their pessimistic expectations. According to the report, around a quarter of the companies surveyed expressed deep concern about their profitability in the near future. Among the industrial companies, only 13 percent of them expected growth and 28 percent expected profit over the next two years. The top three categories of companies, including machinery, legal, and transportation/logistics do not expect to expand their businesses this year. Around 39 percent of the EU companies in China are planning on cost-cutting activities. The Chamber sent their survey to 1,474 EU companies currently doing business in China.
Source: Sina, June 11, 2015
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2015-06-11/011631936498.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

SOE Reform: The Party Must Assume the Responsibility for Managing SOEs

People’s Daily carried an article which Outlook Weekly had originally published. The article stated that, recently, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms passed two opinions on State Owned Enterprise Reform. One is called the “Opinion on Being Persistent in the Party’s Leadership and Development during State Owned Enterprise Reform.” The other is called the “Opinion on Strengthening and Reform of State Owned Enterprise Asset Supervision and the Prevention of State Owned Enterprise Asset Loss.” The article stated that these two Opinions have set the tone from the central administration and provided a timely guarantee to ensure the smooth progress of State Owned Enterprises reform.

According to the article, of the two opinions, the Opinion on “Party Must Assume Responsibility for Managing SOEs” attracted the most attention but it was not the first time that it was brought up. The article listed similar proposals made in the Fourth Conference of the 16th Congress of the CCP in 2004 and the National Party Development within State Owned Enterprise Conference in 2009. Based on the comments from the research experts quoted in the article, defining the Party’s legal position within the company is very sensitive because the current company structure has a board of directors as the core leadership team. Therefore company policy may need to be modified to define the Party’s legal position within the corporation. It is expected that more policies on this subject will be introduced in the near future.

Source: People’s Daily, June 14, 2015
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0614/c1001-27150930.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily Opinion Article: U.S. Can’t Forcibly impose its Democratic Values on Other Countries

People’s Daily published an opinion article that attacked the U.S. for exporting its democratic values to the world and said that the U.S. should not forcibly impose its democratic system on other countries. The article stated that a number of the countries that had color revolutions had encountered such economic and social issues as slow economic growth, a high unemployment rate, and extreme domestic conflicts. The article said that, since World War I, the Western countries, especially the U.S., have constantly tried to export the value of democratic freedom to the world. By doing so, the U.S. has interfered in the internal affairs of other countries and forced its democratic values on others. The article listed the “theories and strategies” that the U.S. uses to launch color revolutions in other countries. It also quoted media articles to show that democracy will not solve all (these countries’) problems; democracy also has its dark side and forcibly exporting democratic values is an act of barbarism. The article concluded that each country has its own uniqueness and can’t blindly borrow experiences from other countries. Imposing democratic values on others would only cause chaos, social instability, and economic recession and would not serve any purpose in promoting world peace.

Source: People’s Daily, June 14, 2015
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n/2015/0614/c1003-27150413.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

VOA: Chinese Diplomat Calls on Chinese Media to Break the Foreign Media Barrier

Voice of America carried an article that quoted comments that He Yafei, Chinese diplomat and current Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave at a recent talk. He spoke at a “China and External Communication Forum” held in Chongqing on June 11. The article said that He called on the media in China to break the barrier of foreign media. According to He, even though China has made a large investment in building its propaganda team overseas, China’s voice is too weak and is limited in disseminating its story. Close to 50 Western media outlets account for 95 percent of the world’s media market and only 20 percent of the people from foreign countries have gotten to know China through Chinese media. He said that the Western media initiated propaganda promulgating the China Threat and the China Collapse theories. They constantly impose its own value system on others. As to the attacks and negative comments on China, He said that China needs to have an open dialogue and clarify the facts.

Source: Voice of America, June 12, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/media-watch-20150612/2819105.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in Prison

On June 11, 2015, Xinhua reported that China’s ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life in prison. He is the most senior Communist official to face corruption charges. Zhou is 72 years old.

Xinhua reported that the Tianjin Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court held the on camera trial on May 22, 2015. The charges included taking bribes, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of State secrets. For the charge of bribery, he was sentenced to life in prison, with his political rights deprived for life and his personal assets confiscated. For the abuse of power, Zhou also received seven years and for the intentional disclosure of State secrets, he received four years. 
Xinhua reported that the court found that on bribery, there were mitigating factors including his confession and his remorse; his abuse of power charge was particularly serious; intentional disclosure of State secrets was also particularly serious but there were not any particularly serious consequences. 
On July 29, 2014, Zhou had been placed under investigation on suspicion of "serious disciplinary violations." Zhou was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested in December 2014. On April 3, 2015, Zhou was charged with bribery, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of State secrets. 
Source: Xinhua, June 11, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2015-06/11/c_1115590304.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: How Can the Half Torn G7 Intervene in the South China Sea Issue?

Xinhua’s web magazine, International Sphere (Volume 551) published a group of articles commenting on the G7 summit’s joint statement about China’s actions in South China Sea. The editor added the following comment in the introduction, “Because of [Japanese Prime Minister] Abe’s plot behind the scenes, the just-concluded summit of the G7 issued a joint statement, irresponsibly commenting on the South China Sea issue. Japan coerced the G7 summit into placing the South China Sea issue on its agenda. Its attempt to instigate the Western countries to choose sides is all too clear. In the end, though, the statement did not name China, indicating that the European G7 countries are very clear that the remote South China Sea belongs to Asia and that the issue should be resolved among the related countries through consultation. What qualifications do outsiders have to criticize the involved country so recklessly? Meanwhile, the rich G7 countries’ club is no longer what it once was. It is in a semi-torn state on many issues. Even though the U.S. and Japan forcefully pushed the South China Sea issue, how will the European countries that are in a big mess and have a hard time taking care of themselves have the energy to interfere in the South China Sea, not to mention their becoming an enemy of China? This is by no means the best policy!” 

Source: Xinhua, June 11, 2015 
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/jrch/551.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Central Bank Report: China’s Economy Is Slowing Down

The Chief Economist of China’s central bank led a number of officials from the bank in writing a research report predicting that China’s economy will continue to slow down for the rest of 2015. 

According to the report, in the first four months of 2015, industrial output continued to drop, while the downward pressure on the economy has been increasing. The report observed three new changes in China’s economy. Export growth has decreased significantly; real estate and manufacturing investment are slowing down faster than expected; and banks are now facing the problem of there being an insufficient demand for loans. 
The report adjusted its prediction for 2015 GDP growth downward from 7.1 percent to 7 percent. 
Source: ifeng.com, June 10, 2015 
http://finance.ifeng.com/a/20150610/13767943_0.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources