Chinascope – Page 709

BBC Chinese: China Blocks VPN and Proxy Providers

On January 23, BBC Chinese reported that the Chinese government has recently been blocking more and more VPN (Virtual Private Network) and Proxy service providers. [Editor’s note: VPN and Proxy servers are the primary technology channels used to bypass the government controlled Internet firewalls, such as the Chinese “Great Firewall.”] Multiple commercial VPN/Proxy service companies are reporting failures on overseas servers located in the United States and Australia. Some regular companies’ communications with foreign partners or even with their parent companies located outside China have been seriously impacted, especially small and medium sized companies. Large international companies are not heavily impacted since they typically build their own VPN infrastructure. Some Chinese officials, who would like to remain anonymous, confirmed that the government recently “upgraded” the Great Firewall to defend its “Internet sovereignty.” Not long ago, Google Mail was blocked in China as well – now the connection is largely restored.

Source: BBC Chinese, January 23, 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/01/150123_china_vpn_block

Briefings | | January 27, 2015 | Information/Technology

China’s Capital Outflow Exceeds Inflow for the First Time

According to the latest statistics from the Commerce Ministry, in 2014, China’s total outbound foreign direct investment amounted to US$116 billion, an increase of 15.5 percent over the figure for 2013. If reinvestment after financing in the local foreign countries were included, the total scale of China’s outbound investment would be US$140 billion, exceeding the total inbound foreign investment by US$20 billion. 2014 marked the very first year that China became a country of net capital exports. As of 2014, China’s outbound foreign investments had increased by almost 40 times in the past 12 years, with its annual outbound investment ranking third place in the world for two consecutive years.

In 2013, China’s outbound investments spanned 6128 overseas enterprises in 156 countries and regions, covering transportation, storage, and postal services. In addition to traditional natural resources and energy projects, Chinese investments in manufacturing and agriculture are increasingly active.

Source: People’s Daily, January 26, 2015

http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2015-01/26/content_1526312.htm

Briefings | | January 26, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: National Food Security and Permanent Farmland

On January 23, 2015, Xinhua reported that one of the priorities of the State Council for 2015 is to designate permanent farmland.

As of now, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Land Resources have already begun full implementation. The effort will start with big cities and spread to small towns. The effort is expected to be completed in 2016 and farmland will be returned to farmers.

According to the 2015 National Conference on Land Resources, which just adjourned, the priority is to designate farmland around cities as permanent farmland so that it will be impossible to change the size of the designated farmland. Large-scale urbanization means more and more rural land has become "non-agricultural." To ensure national food security for China’s 1.3 billion people, China has designated 1.8 billion mu (approximately .3 billion acres) as permanent farmland. From 1996 to 2009, China lost 205 million mu (approximately 33.8 million acres) of high quality farmland to urbanization.

Source: Xinhua, January 23, 2015.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-01/23/c_1114106019.htm

Briefings | | January 26, 2015 | Economy/Resources

Qiushi: China Must Safeguard the State-Owned Economic Dominance

Qiushi published an article on January 23 that emphasized the importance of the dominance of the State-owned economy.

The article stated that, in China’s socialist economy, the State-owned economy takes the leading role. Without the State economy, it would be impossible to adhere to socialism with Chinese characteristics. State ownership and all of the people achieving prosperity are inseparable. The fundamental difference between the socialist market economy and the capitalist market economy is that China’s economic system is dominated by State ownership. To adhere to socialism is to maintain the economic system which is dominated by State ownership and supplemented by other types of ownership.

To support its position, the article cited language from a politburo meeting on August 19, 2014, stating that State-owned enterprises dominate major industries and key areas of national security and are an important pillar of the national economy.

Source: Qiushi, January 23, 2014

http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/hqwg/2015-01/23/c_1114109520.htm

Briefings | | January 25, 2015 | Economy/Resources

In 2014, the Chinese Military Investigated 16 Major Corrupt Officials above the Corps Level

On January 15, Chinese Military authorities announced the major corruption cases investigated in 2014 which involved those above the army corps level. The list of 16 officials follows.

Wang Minggui, former Political Commissar of the Air Defense Forces Command Academy; Fang Wenping, former Commander of the Shanxi Province Military Region; Jin Wei, Deputy Political Commissar of the Tibet Military Region; Ye Wanyong, former Political Commissar of the Sichuan Province Military Region; Yang Jinshan, Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region; Zhang Qiqin, Former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Jinan Military Region; Fu Linguo, Deputy Chief of the General Logistics Command; Xu Caihou, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission; Liu Zheng, Deputy Minister of the General Logistics Department; Dai Weimin, Vice President of Nanjing Academy of Political Science; Gao Xiaoyan, Deputy Political Commissar of the PLA Information Engineering University; Ma Xiangdong, of the Political Department of Nanjing Academy of Political Science; Zhang Daixin, Deputy Commander of the Heilongjiang Provincial Military Region; Fan Changmi, Deputy Political Commissar of the Lanzhou Military Region; Yu Daqing, Deputy Political Commissar of the Second Artillery Corps; and Chen Qiang, Deputy Army Chief of the 96301 Military Troops.

Source: People’s Daily, January 15, 2015

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2015/0115/c1011-26393184.html

Briefings | | January 23, 2015 | Government/Politics

Study Times: Industrial Overcapacity and Countermeasures

On January 19, 2015, Study Times published an article setting forth measures to combat industrial overcapacity.

In the second half of 2013, capacity utilization in China was at 78 percent, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2009. The third quarter of 2014 saw the capacity utilization at 78.7 percent, a reduction of 0.9 percent when compared to same period in 2013. The inventory of finished industrial goods grew by 12.6 percent in the first half of 2014, an increase of 5.4 percentage points. In the second half of 2014, capacity grew faster than demand, adding pressure to the inventory.

The article proposed a three-prong approach: Government intervention, industrial policies to increase capability instead of providing subsidies, and optimization of the system environment for the market economy.

Source: Study Times, January 19, 2015

http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20150119/9125.shtml

Briefings | | January 23, 2015 | Economy/Resources

Qiushi: China Must Develop its Own Discourse System

On January 21, 2015, Qiushi published a commentary that advocated that China develop a comprehensive, thorough, and strong discourse system.

“We must strengthen [China’s] discourse system by cultivating a comprehensive, thorough, and strong discourse system. The term ‘comprehensive’ means that we should be able to use our own words to explain fully China’s achievements, its problems, and its future; the term ‘thorough’ means that we should explain the issues of concern clearly to everyone so that ordinary people and foreigners can understand them; the term ‘strong’ means that we must have a strong response to the challenge of Western discourse. The West accuses China of strong discourse. Those pro-Western forces in China also use strong but shallow western discourse. We need to fight back forcefully.”

The commentary stated that Maoist ideology, Deng Xiaoping theory, “the three represents,” the scientific outlook on development and Xi Jinping’s important speeches are all part of the Chinese discourse system.

The commentary expressed the belief that, without its own discourse system, China could be fooled by Western discourse. Citing the destruction of the former Soviet Union, it stated that, in that year, armed to the teeth, Germany and France failed to destroy the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. However, the United States, using Western discourse, played such a role in the development of the Soviet Union’s mistakes and errors, that it destroyed them. The lesson we must bear in mind is not to let the Western discourse fool us. “We must bear this lesson in mind and not be fooled by Western discourse.”

Source: Qiushi, January 21, 2015

http://www.qstheory.cn/tjyd/2015-01/21/c_1114068621.htm

Briefings | | January 23, 2015 | Government/Politics

Huanqiu Reports on Obama’s State of the Union Address Comments on China

Huanqiu published an article commenting on what Obama said about China in his State of the Union Address:

The article said that Obama’s talk on diplomatic issues allowed us, once again, to see the hegemonic attitude of the United States toward "leading the world." Interestingly, similar to the previous State of the Union speeches, China was again a target of critics. Obama directly mentioned China on three occasions. The first two were mainly about trade competition with China, calling for rules that the United States sets rather than China. The third was praise because China and the U.S. reached a "historic" emissions reduction agreement. Given his emphasis on competition and his "high praise" [of cooperation with China], what are Obama’s hidden intentions?

The Huanqiu article cited a report from the Wall Street Journal on [January] 21 for its answer: "Obama uses China as an excuse to gain support for his trade policy." U.S. government officials have been using the excuse that China might gain economic dominance to try to win support for the TPP. The [TPP] agreement includes Japan and 10 other Asia Pacific countries, but excludes China. Critics claimed that warning about China’s intentions is a cover-up, an attempt to cover up the economic risks associated with lower trade barriers.

The article said that Obama’s enthusiasm about the climate change agreement is understandable because it is a major achievement [he made] to improve bilateral relations between the two countries.

Jin Canrong, Vice Dean of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said, "Obama delivered both positive and negative signals regarding China in his State of the Union Address. It just shows the complexity of Sino-U.S. relations and the ambivalence of the U.S. when handling Sino-U.S. relations." On the one hand, as the world’s only superpower, the United States is very worried about the emergence of new powers and a re-set of the world’s rules. [The U.S.] hopes to revitalize its domestic economy through the implementation of re-industrialization. This is precisely the reason a competitive relationship with China exists. On the other hand, in response to climate change, counter-terrorism, and other global issues, the United States alone cannot handle them with its own power and needs to cooperate with China.

Source: Huanqiu, January 22, 2015

ttp://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2015-01/5466186.html

Briefings | | January 22, 2015 | US-China Relations

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.