Chinascope – Page 686

National Development and Reform Commission: More Reform Measures to be Introduced

On May 18, China Youth Daily reported that, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, more reform measures will be introduced soon in order to ease the pressure from the slowdown of economic development. The reforms will take place in areas that include the investment and financing system, pricing, State Owned Enterprises, the tax and financial systems, urbanization, and the countryside. The article stated that the goal is to stimulate the market, regain confidence, promote reform in State Owned Enterprises, protect intellectual property, and speed up transformation within government entities.

Source: China Youth Daily, May 18, 2015
http://finance.youth.cn/finance_gdxw/201505/t20150518_6640811.htm

Briefings | | May 18, 2015 | Economy/Resources

China Won Russian High Speed Rail Project

People‘s Daily reported that the China Railway Group Limited’ subsidiary, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd., has formed a consortium with two Russian companies. This consortium signed a 20 billion ruble ($390 million) agreement with the Russian Railways to design and construct a high-speed railway system from Moscow to Kazan.

The project is 770 kilometers (480 miles) long, with the highest speed being 400 km. per hour. It is the first overseas contract that the China Railway Group has won.

Sources:
1. People’s Daily Online, May 6, 2015
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0513/c1002-26991896.html
2. People‘s Daily Online, May 6, 2015
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-05/06/content_20637032.htm

Briefings | | May 13, 2015 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua: People Should Get Used to Seeing China’s Warships in The Sea

Xinhua reported that China and Russia held joint naval exercises, the "Joint Sea 2015" in the Mediterranean Sea. China sent its primary battle ships, two Type 054A Frigates (NATO code: Jiangkai II Class Frigates), and a supply ship to the exercises. The joint exercises will run from May 11 to May 21.

"This is the first time that [China] has conducted naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a new challenge for the Chinese Navy. It also showed that [China] is expanding its national interests and security interests to waters further away from China. People should get used to seeing China’s warships out in the sea."

Source: Xinhua, May 12, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-05/12/c_127791919.htm

Briefings | | May 13, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: The Intentions of Philippine Military Officials’ Illegal Tour of the Spratly Islands

Wang Xiaopeng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), wrote an article, which People’s Daily recently published, commenting on the Philippine’s armed forces chief of staff Kata Pang’s tour of the Spratly islands. Below is an excerpt from the article:

“On May 11, the Philippine’s armed forces chief of staff, Kata Pang, entered the Philippines’ illegally occupied Thitu Island of China’s Spratly islands in the maritime area of China, along with many foreign media reporters who were stationed in the Philippines. During their island activities, Kata Pang also discussed the development of tourism and a marine resources program with the so-called ‘Kalayaan town mayor.’ [Kalayaan town is a municipality in the Philippine’ province of Palawan in the Spratly islands]. Staging a landing force at this point shows that the Philippine military official harbors three ulterior motives.”

“The first is to solidify the illegal presence of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands by means of internationalization. This will achieve the Philippine military strategy of transformation of a counterinsurgency in the south to control the sea in the west.”

“The second is, with the backing of the United States, to play a self-fulfilling game by having more follow-up actions after the end of the U.S.-Philippine military exercises. To further achieve military allocation of its ‘Asia-Pacific rebalancing’ strategy, the United States actually is building an ‘East – South China Sea dispute chain.’ The Philippines is an important chess piece in the chain. On the premise of ‘fighting without breaking,’ the United States needs the Philippines to use as a continual provocation in the South China Sea dispute. That way, the South China Sea remains in a ‘controversial state,’ in order to distract China’s strategic attention at all times.”

“The third is to cheer Japan, encouraging Japan to move from its current, tentative involvement [in the dispute] into a more permanent intervention.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 12, 2015

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0512/c1002-26988535.html

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

BBC Chinese: China Unhappy about Abe’s Address to the U.S. Congress

BBC Chinese recently reported that Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, expressed his unhappiness about Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s address to the U.S. Congress in April. Yu delivered the message when he met Japanese Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Fukushiro Nukaga in Beijing. Yu commented that China could not accept any speech that had no mention of “apology” and “invasion.” This was the first time a high ranking Chinese leader expressed unhappiness about Abe’s speech. However Fukushiro Nukaga pointed out that Abe’s speech received high praise from countries in Asia and around the globe.

Source: BBC Chinese, May 9, 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/05/150509_yu_zhengsheng_china_japan

Briefings | | May 12, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: China Responded to Pentagon’s Annual Report on China’s Military

On May 9, People’s Daily reported that the Chinese Ministry of Defense responded to the newly released Secretary of Defense report to the U.S. Congress on "Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2015." Geng Yansheng, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, told the media that the 2015 U.S. report completely ignored the facts and simply repeated the long outdated theory of the “Chinese military threat.” The United States made “groundless accusations” against the Chinese military’s strategic planning, the development of its military branches, space development, Internet warfare, military transparency, and the Taiwan issue. The United States Report especially ignored the positive contributions China has made to maintain regional stability and to improve the relationship between the U.S. military and the Chinese military. China is firmly against this report. Geng also suggested that the United States has been publishing the Report for several years, which has significantly damaged the mutual trust. He asked the U.S. Department of Defense to take immediate steps to stop its negative activities. He also said that China reserves the right to have further reactions.

Source: People’s Daily, May 10, 2015

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2015/0510/c1011-26975141.html

Briefings | | May 12, 2015 | US-China Relations

The 117th Canton Fair Saw a Decline in the Volume of Exports

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported on the 117th China Import and Export Fair (also known as the Canton Fair) which concluded on May 5. As China’s largest import/export fair, the Canton Fair is considered “symbolic.” It is China’s foreign trade barometer and wind vane. According to the official statistics of the Fair, the total contract value this year was US$28.1 billion, which represents a year-over-year decline of 9.64 percent. The number of business visitors also declined. This level of decline matches the actual first quarter import/export data that the General Administration of Customs (GAC) recently reported. It seems that meeting the goal of a six percent annual increase in trade that the central government set earlier, will be a difficult task. At this year’s Fair, the export of electromechanical products saw an overall increase, but exports to Japan, Russia, and the United States declined by 31.4 percent, 30 percent and 25.9 percent, respectively. Home appliances and consumer electronics products, which hold 47.5 percent of the total trade volume, suffered a significant decline. For example, the consumer electronics category saw a decline of 34.1 percent, year-over-year.

Source: Sina, May 6, 2015

http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20150506/065222114888.shtml

Briefings | | May 12, 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.