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

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

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

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

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Study Times: China’s External Relations

On September 15, Study Times reported a few highlights of a recent Communist Party conference on its external relations with other countries. 

The overall assessment of the international environment was that the strength of China’s rise necessitated that other countries engage in strategic re-balancing. China itself also faces re-balancing between domestic and external strategies and between its economic development and its national security strategy. 
The U.S. re-balancing is not balanced. First, the use of economic means and the use of military forces are not balanced. Second, the handling of the relationships between the Asian Pacific countries is not balanced. For example, the U.S. clearly favors Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. China should maintain its strategic confidence and face the reality of the U.S. presence in Asia. “China should not have wishful thinking about driving the U.S. out of Asia. The U.S. cannot expect to contain China either." 
Source: Study Times, September 15, 2014 http://www.cntheory.com/news/XXSBRDGZ/2014/915/1491593210G0B53J4280D431IDHB3J.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Huanqiu: The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Helped China Develop Advanced Military Weapons

On September 16, 2014, Huanqiu, (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article on how the Russia-Ukraine conflict has benefited China in helping it to develop advanced military weapons. The article cited the information from the Russian Military Messenger. “After the Ukrainian crisis, China’s importance as a partner, both for Ukraine and Russia, has increased significantly in arms sales, joint research and development, as well as in military technology exchanges.”

“Russia and Ukraine regard China as a sales market for their products, especially the products developed and produced jointly by Russia and Ukraine. Experts pointed out that China relies on Russian and Ukraine’s technology in terms of weapons and equipment production. Therefore, China has increased its interest in cooperation with Russia and Ukraine.” The article particularly gave the example of a People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) Shenyang J-11 fighter, which had harassed a US Navy (USN) Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft on August 19, 2014. This Shenyang J-11 fighter is not only a replica of the Russian fighter Su -27SK. “All components of its airborne radio-electronic equipment, including avionics and airborne radar, were actually produced in Russia or Ukraine.”

Source: Huanqiu, September 16, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-09/5139493.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Huanqiu: China Does Not Need to Send Troops to Fight against ISIS

On September 17, 2014, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article titled, “It Was the U.S. That Caused the ISIS Trouble; China Does Not Need to Worry about the Problems of the United States.” The article asserted that the calls from the U.S. to attack ISIS were for its own self-interest. China should be very cautious about whether to send troops to participate in the fight against ISIS, even though China has huge interests in Iraq. The article said that, “From a moral point of view, the legitimacy of the US-led counter-terrorism operations is still insufficient.” 

The Obama administration made it clear that the U.S. would not cooperate with Syria and Iraq where ISIS has been engaging in its major cross-border activities. “As the United States has not given up its idea to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government, the U.S. will increase its military crackdown in Iraq and eventually drive ISIS into Syria’s territory.” The article contended that the scene of ISIS and the Syrian government’s army fighting each other is what the United States wants see. It concluded that, “Since the legitimacy of the anti-terrorist operations does not bear scrutiny, China does not need to intervene in these dubious military operations.” 

Source: Huanqiu, September 17, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-09/5140363.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xi Jinping and Shanghai Officials Fight over Ancient Chinese Poems

On Chinese media, Xi Jinping and Shanghai officials had an open fight on the issue of whether to include Ancient Chinese poems in elementary school textbooks. People’s Daily, Xinhua, and Jiefang Daily were all involved.

On September 9, People’s Daily published a commentary by an author whose name was "Commentator of the Party’s Newspaper," stating that Xi made a statement that "he is very much against removing classic ancient poems and articles from students’ textbooks." "To see this form of ‘de-Sinicization’ (removing Chinese factors and culture) is very sad. We should put these classics into student’s heads to form the genes of Chinese culture." The commentary further pointed out that Xi’s criticism was targeting Shanghai, which recently conducted text book reform and removed all ancient poems from the elementary school’s first grade textbooks.

The Beijing local government responded that they will increase the number of ancient poems in the first grade textbooks from 8 to 22 and that, during the years of elementary school, students will learn over 100 ancient poems.

However, Jiefang Daily, the Shanghai government’s official media, provided a different response on an official microblog: "What benefit does it bring to tradition to add a dozen poems over a night? Anyone who understands a little bit of ‘tradition’ knows what ‘揠苗助长’ (trying to help shoots grow by pulling them up – also spoils things by pushing) means and also what ‘过犹不及’ (going too far is as bad as not going far enough) means. Tradition does not need a coarse tribute, nor can education ignore the natural law. Progress gradually; be gentle and honest. If you have extra energy then start to learn more literature and don’t forget: this is the tradition." The blog stayed on the site for a day before it was removed.

Xi fought back from the sky. According to Xinhua, on his trip to Tajikistan on September 11, Xi spoke from his plane while flying at 10,000-meters high, "Classic ancient poems and articles are part of the Chinese nation’s blood and our genes. … Chinese classes [in school] should teach classic ancient poems and pass on the Chinese tradition."

On September 14, Xinhua reported that during Xi Jinping’s visit to the Maldives, Xi published an article in his name in the local newspaper, Today’s Evening, and on the website for Sun Online. The article, titled "True Friend, Partner in Development" quoted two Chinese ancient poems.

[Editor’s note: As Xi and Wang Qishan have continued their anti-corruption campaign, a Central Commission for Discipline Inspection team has been sent to Shanghai to gather public reports on Shanghai official’s corruption cases. The team has been stationed in Shanghai for about two months.]

Sources:
[1] People’s Daily Online BBS, September 10, 2014
http://bbs1.people.com.cn/post/2/0/0/141813132.html
[2] DWNews Online, September 11, 2014
http://blog.dwnews.com/post-805684.html
[3] Xinhua, September 11, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-09/11/c_1112446258.htm
[4] Xinhua, September 14, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-09/14/c_1112472554.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Chinese Military Needs to Improve Its World War III Readiness

Xinhua recently published an article discussing the possibility of World War III. The article started with an analysis of the Ukraine situation. The author expressed the belief that a large scale war may spread much wider if the United States engages in military conflict with Russia. He also thought that World War III is a practical possibility and China should aim its military development towards the background of global stability. For the purpose of strategic planning, China should focus more on naval warfare capabilities, more on being prepared to deal with a war on a global basis, more on defending those international interests that the United States threatens, and more on remote military deployment capabilities, especially on the Air Force side. 
Source: Xinhua, September 13, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2014-09/13/c_126981950.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

BBC Chinese: Survey Showed 93 Percent of Japanese Have Negative Views of China

BBC Chinese recently reported that Genron NPO, a well-known Japanese non-profit think tank, just released the results of its public opinion poll on the Japan-China relationship. The organization started this annual poll in 2005. The current survey was done jointly with China Daily, a Chinese state-owned newspaper published mainly in foreign languages. Among the Japanese surveyed, 93 percent had negative views of China. Among the Chinese people surveyed, 86.8 percent had negative views about Japan. The Japanese negative views were based primarily on China’s violation of international rules, its selfishness in sharing natural resources, its territorial disputes, and on China’s constant criticism of Japan’s war history. After the number one threat, North Korea, 64 percent of the Japanese thought of China as a military threat. For the Chinese in the survey sample, 55 percent expressed the belief that Japan is a military threat, the number one threat being the United States.
 
Source: BBC Chinese, September 9, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/09/140909_japan_poll_china.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

EU Chamber of Commerce: Golden Age of Doing Business with China is Ending

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the European Union’s Chamber of Commerce just released its annual report on the state of the EU-China business relationship. In its report, the Chamber questioned how trustworthy China will be in keeping its promise to let the market play a decisive role in the economy. The report warned that the Communist country must speed up on the delivery of its promise of reform or the world’s second largest economy will see a landslide in its growth rate. The Chamber suggested that “the golden age of doing business with China is about to end.” The report expressed the belief that the window of opportunity for rebalancing the Chinese economy is closing. In the meantime, the Chamber had doubts about whether, during the process, foreign companies will be treated fairly or not. It also expressed concern about the role that state-owned companies will play. The Chamber’s report from last year already showed that only 44 percent of the EU companies saw a growth in their profits in China. 
Source: Sina, September 10, 2014
http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/20140910/145320255115.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua Commentary: China’s Social Mentality Crisis Is Getting Worse

Xinhua published a commentary expressing concern about an increase in the level of "negative social mentality" among the Chinese people. The commentary stated that the Chinese have become a group of people who seek material gain without any spiritual pursuit. It observed that, if the Chinese people do not pay attention to spiritual transformation, the ongoing social changes and the transformation going on in China will only contribute to GDP growth with no values added to mankind’s spiritual enrichment. The article listed the negative mentalities that Chinese people have. These include being impulsive and loud, deceiving others, speculating, showing off their wealth, feigning poverty, committing violent acts, and being apathetic.

[Editor’s note: In 2012, Chinascope published its series, Moral Crisis in China. See Part I; Part II; and Part III for a more complete description of this crisis.]  

Source: Xinhua, September 14, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-09/14/c_1112473487.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics