21 CN: Profitability of the Large Companies in China is Worrisome
The TenCent website carried an article that was originally published by China Telecom on 21CN. The article stated that Chinese companies have been unable to make it to the list of the top brands in the world. They lag behind in their profitability and in their investment in research and development. According to the article, among the Forbes’ top 100 world’s most valuable brands list and the Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2013, no Chinese brand made it to the list. Meanwhile the net profit that Chinese companies make lags far behind compared to those large companies in the U.S. and England. According to the China Enterprise Confederation, the profitability of the large companies in China is worrisome. Among the world’s top 500 companies, the average net profit for U.S. companies was 9.33 percent while Chinese companies were at 5.1 percent. Among the world’s top 500, of the 49 companies that had financial losses in 2014, one-third were Chinese companies. The article said that large companies in China lack the capacity for innovation and rely heavily on imports for their core technology. In 2014, among China’s top 500 companies, the average ratio of research and development spending to income from sales was 1.25 percent. This figure had declined over the last three consecutive years. At the same time, the technology commercialization ratio in China is only at 10 percent which is far below the 40 percent ratio in developed countries.
Source: TenCent, September 5, 2014
http://finance.qq.com/a/20140905/058701.htm
Huanqiu: China Built the First G20 World Think Tank Summit System
On September 3, Huanqiu reported that the China Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University organized a G20 world think tank summit in Beijing, a step towards reinstating the world’s first G20 think tank system. The article said that the summit will help to lay out the plans for the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit in Australia. According to the article, the theme of the summit is “Great Finance and Global Comprehensive Growth.” The summit participants include think tanks from China, Russia, the U.S., India, Japan, and the EU, as well as representatives from the World Bank, the IMF, and the United Nations. The article claimed that hosting the summit shows the rise of China’s think tanks in their competitive position of the world knowledge. It also demonstrates the ability of China’s think tanks to attract, appeal to, and influence the think tanks in the world. In an interview with Huanqiu, the deputy director of the Chongyang Institute said that the reason that the Chongyang Institute took the lead to reinstate the G20 thank tank system is that China wishes to inject its wisdom and its ability into global management, especially in the reform of the international financial system. He said that China is the country that has made the fewest number of mistakes in financial management in the past 20 years and that the world’s future development needs the Chinese people’s governance experience.
Source: Huanqiu, September 5, 2014
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2014-09/5127787.html
People’s Daily: Party Leadership Provides the Fundamental Assurance to the People’s Congress System
Following Xi Jinping’s recent talk during the 60th anniversary of the People’s Congress, People’s Daily published a commentary in which it reported on the statement that Xi made. Xi stated, “In order to uphold and improve the People’s Congress’s system, the Party must maintain the core leadership power in China.” The article commented that China has no prosperity without the Party and the Party’s leadership must be increased not diminished. The article concluded that the People’s Congress is important and irreplaceable in managing the country but only when it is under the Party’s leadership can it maximize its role.
Source: Guangming Daily, September 7, 2014
http://politics.gmw.cn/2014-09/07/content_13087923.htm
People’s Daily: Radical Opposition Groups are the Major Roadblock to Democracy in Hong Kong
Yellow Book: India and Pakistan Top Picks for the Expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
A Shanxi Township Party Secretary Wrecked a Restaurant Because She Did Not Get Quality Alcohol
During working hours, a female Party Secretary from Xintangshi (Town), Hongdong County of Shanxi Province brought a nine-member team of Party officials to dine at a village restaurant located outside of the town center. After dining there, the team, led by the female Secretary, demolished the restaurant because the alcoholic beverage served there was not up to their standard of quality. On September 3, the picture of the restaurant, after it had been wrecked, was posted and spread on the Internet. The woman was later demoted and the involved officials were also punished.