Chinascope – Page 729

Occupy Central Participants Denied Entry into Mainland China

According to VOA, on Sunday, November 9, a member of Scholarism, a Hong Kong student association, was denied entry into Shen Zhen, a border city next to Hong Kong. Since the member carried winter clothes and a yellow umbrella in his luggage, he was accused of conspiracy to go to Beijing for the umbrella movement. Just a couple of days earlier, on November 7, another low key Scholarism member, who used to travel between the mainland and Hong Kong, was denied entry when he tried to meet a friend in Shen Zhen. The article expressed the belief that the tightened security was related to the upcoming week long APEC meeting to be held in Beijing starting on Monday. The article also expressed concern that the mainland has put forth much effort to collect information on those who were involved in the occupy central movement and has since compiled an extensive blacklist.

Source: VOA, November 9, 2014
http://www.voachinese.com/content/hk-activist-china-20141109/2513569.html

Briefings | | November 10, 2014 | Government/Politics

Guangming Daily: 30 Percent of Online Products Failed the State Inspection

Guangming Daily reported that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has been conducting random inspections of online products this year. The AQSIQ recently published a report on its findings that close to 30 percent of the online products failed the inspection. Of the products inspected, shoes had the highest failure rate followed by toys made with flannel material. The report also named a certain brand of cashmere products that contain only Angora hair. Other materials include down jackets that contains fake down. The Administration claimed it will conduct an inspection again in November and will take necessary actions to deal with the manufacturers who make defective products.

Source: Guangming Daily, November 6, 2014
http://tech.gmw.cn/2014-11/06/content_13773599.htm

Briefings | | November 10, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua Article on China’s Current Manufacturing Model

Xinhua published an article on the current manufacturing model in China. The article said that manufacturers do not invest sufficiently in research and development and do not have the urge to transition from a traditional manufacturing company into one that conducts its own technological innovations. Because Chinese manufacturers don’t own the core technology and can only make a small profit, they have lost their competitive advantage in the international market. The article also pointed out that the contribution from China’s scientific research remains low. The rate at which a research concept is actually converted into the final product is at less than 5 percent. At the same time, China is losing most of its elite talent to foreign countries. According to the article, the statistics available during a recent international optoelectronics expo held in Wuhan City suggested that 77 percent of the world’s cell phones are made in China each year. However, China only owns less than 3 percent of the chip technology. Therefore it has to spend over US$200 billion a year on cell phone chip imports.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/info/2014-11/10/c_133778091.htm

Briefings | | November 10, 2014 | Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: What Does China Expect to Get from Xi-Obama Meeting during APEC?

Ahead of the meeting between the Sino-U.S. heads, Chairman Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama, during the APEC meeting in Beijing, People’s Daily (overseas edition) published an opinion article commenting on what China would like to see from the meeting. The article was titled, “What Does the World Expect from Xi Jinping and Obama’s Meeting [during APEC]?”

The article stated that the first Xi and Obama meeting last June in California set the tone for the development of Sino-U.S. relations. One year later, both countries have made new progress in Sino-U.S. cooperation in a number of fields. At the same time, there is no denying that the U.S. has digressed from the direction set in the first meeting. Some remarks that the U.S. made have not had the right tone. The road leading to great power relations between the two countries has hit some bumps. Pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has increased. However, there are danger signs that mutual strategic trust is decreasing instead of increasing.

The article stressed that during the remainder of Obama’s term as President, Sino-U.S. relations need to adjust to ensure that both sides have better control of their differences and make big efforts to allow the two sides to have more sincere cooperation and less suspicion.

The article also stressed that the international community looks forward to Sino-U.S. relations continuing to improve and develop. Because China and the United States are countries with huge body masses, not only will cooperation benefit them while confrontation will hurt both countries, but also, regarding other countries, better Sino-U.S. cooperation will be a booster and stabilizer for world peace; otherwise the world will not have peace.

Source: People’s Daily, November 7, 2014

http://cpc.people.com.cn/pinglun/n/2014/1105/c78779-25977571.html

Briefings | | November 7, 2014 | US-China Relations

Disasters in October Caused Direct Economic Losses of 8.1 Billion Yuan

On November 6, the Ministry of Civil Affairs released information explaining that, in the month of October, the occurrence of a number of calamities resulted in direct economic losses of more than 8.1 billion yuan (US$1.33 billion). The disasters in October consisted primarily of earthquakes, flooding in the south, and snow in the northeast. The disasters impacted over 3.25 million people in 21 provinces and resulted in direct economic losses of 8.1 billion yuan. During the disasters, over 8,000 houses and buildings collapsed and an additional 179,000 houses and buildings suffered different degrees of damage. A total of 3,527,000 hectares of crops were damaged, while 421,000 hectares of crops were totally destroyed.

Source: Ministry of Civil Affairs, November 6, 2014
http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/mzyw/201411/20141100723376.shtml

Briefings | | November 7, 2014 | Economy/Resources

China’s CPI Growth Continues to Slow Down

Economic Information Daily reported that the anticipated growth of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in October will reach a new low of 1.4 percent. It is likely that the 1.6 percent growth earlier, which was the new low for the last 56 months, had not bottomed out. Estimates for the CPI growth for October came in at 1.4 percent. Analysts believe that the consecutive decline in the CPI monthly growth is indicative of the deepening pressure from the deflation in the world economy. The sharp slowdown in the CPI and PPI growth requires further relaxation of China’s monetary policy.

“We cannot supply a simple explanation of the decline using numbers alone. The real problem is that the factors causing the decline are very complex, including expansionary macroeconomic policies, rising costs amid economic growth, dependence on foreign raw materials, and other factors. These factors are structural and deep-rooted. They cannot be resolved using short-term macroeconomic policy.”

Source: Economic Information Daily reprinted by Xinhua, November 7, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-11/07/c_127187247.htm

Briefings | | November 7, 2014 | Economy/Resources

China to Build High-speed Rail in Mexico

On November 4, Xinhua reported that the Mexican Transportation & Communications Ministry announced that an international consortium led by China’s state giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) won the bid to build Mexico’s first high-speed rail connecting the capital, Mexico City, with Queretaro. According to Xinhua, this will be the very first 300 kph overseas high-speed rail that is designed and constructed by China, adopting Chinese standards and equipment.

This is Mexico’s largest infrastructure project so far. The high-speed rail connecting Mexico City and Queretaro will be 210 kilometers in length, with a designed speed of 300 kph. The project is planned to be finished within 40 months, with an additional 60-month period of operation maintenance and technical services. The contract amount is US$4.4 billion. The consortium led by CRCC will undertake the design, construction, equipment manufacturing, installation and testing, and maintenance services.

At present, CRCC’s international operations reach 77 countries and regions. The first quarters of 2014 saw new overseas contracts of 114.7 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion), a year-over-year increase of 243.99 percent. The CRCC-built Turkish high-speed rail between the capital city Ankara and the largest city Istanbul was put into operation this year.

Source: Xinhua, November 4, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-11/04/c_1113103242.htm

Briefings | | November 6, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Seventy Percent of Coal Companies in the Red; Inventory Hits 400 Million Tons

On November 5, 2014, the 21st Century Business Herald reported that, at 400 million metric tons, the inventory of coal in 2014 has hit a record high in China. Seventy percent of coal companies are in the red.

At a November 4 press conference, Song Yuanming, Deputy Director of the State Administration of the Coal Mine Safety Supervision Bureau, stated that there is a serious oversupply of coal on the market.

According to statistics, 23 State-owned companies that account for 76.7 percent of the 30 publicly listed coal companies saw their profits slashed in the third quarter. The industry wide decline was, on average, 67 percent. On October 17, the China National Coal Association released information that 70 percent of all coal companies in China are losing money.

The earnings for one metric ton vary between a profit of six yuan and a loss of over 20 yuan. The coal price index of 136.3 for the second half of 2014 reflects a 38.9 percent or 86.7 point decline from its peak in July 2008. Experts expressed that the coal inventory level in 2014 will exceed 400 million metric tons, hitting a record high in history. In 2009, the coal inventory level was 50 million metric tons.

Source: 21st Century Business Herald, November 5, 2014

http://money.21cbh.com/2014/11-5/zNMDA0MDRfMTMzMzIzNA.html

Briefings | | November 6, 2014 | Economy/Resources

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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