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

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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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Xi Jinping’s Speech on the People’s Congress System

Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping made an important speech at the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on September 5, 2014. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and the Standing Committee of the NPC organized the event. All seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee were in attendance.

According to Xinhua, "Xi stressed that the People’s Congress system is a key component of the Socialist system with Chinese characteristics." "In China, to develop the socialist democratic system, …, the key is to adhere to the unity of the Party’s leadership, to the people being in charge, and to the rule of law."

"Xi stated that to adhere and improve the People’s Congress system, [China] should strengthen and improve legislative work to ensure that national development and major reform have a legal basis."

"Xi stated that to develop a socialist democracy, the key is to increase and expand, but not weaken or contract, [China’s] strengths and characteristics. [China] should adhere to the CCP’s leadership to set the overall direction and to coordinate all sources."

Source: Xinhua, September 5, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-09/05/c_1112384336.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Review News: It Is Urgent for China to Develop an Aggressive Maritime Strategy

On September 4, 2014, China Review News published an editorial commentary titled, “It Is Urgent for China to Develop an Aggressive Maritime Strategy.” The commentary viewed the United States as the top obstructionist hindering China’s rise. “The purpose of the United States’ ‘Return to Asia’ strategy is to counterbalance China in order to ensure the Asia-Pacific security system. To do this, it takes advantage of the disputes between China and its surrounding countries and uses China’s neighboring countries’ forces (to act together to go against China).” The commentary asserted that the United States has constantly been making trouble so as to contain China’s rise and to let China’s neighboring countries rely on US protection. “America’s ‘Return to Asia’ strategy has undoubtedly encouraged China’s neighbors to challenge China more boldly in their maritime disputes and even take risky actions against China.”

The commentary suggested that China should be more aggressive. In the disputes in the South China Sea, “China should target Vietnam as a main breakthrough country. It should increase its efforts to crack down on Vietnam through economic, diplomatic, and other means. Scaring Vietnam can achieve the effect of “striking at the mountain to frighten the tiger.” As for the dispute with Japan on the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands), the commentary suggests China should use the same aggressive strategy to crack down on Japan so as to scare the Philippines and Vietnam.

Source: China Review News, September 4, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1032/8/1/3/103281309.html?coluid=136&kindid=4710&docid=103281309&mdate=0904000620   

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Review News: The U.S. Sets Off and Puts Out War Fires around the World

On September 6, 2014, China Review News published an article accusing the United States of being an arsonist in global wars, titled, “The U.S. Sets off War Fires Globally and Has Planted Sino-Japanese Dispute War Seeds.” The article asserted that the United States has been the cause of all of the chaos in the Middle Eastern countries because it has “spread the democracy fire seeds” and supported the “Arab Spring” movement. According to the article, the United States is also responsible for the current “Ukraine crisis” because it has supported “color revolutions” including Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution.” In terms of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands dispute between Japan and China and the South China Sea conflicts between China and Vietnam and the Philippines, “the United States appears to be putting out the fire but is actually fanning the flames.” 

The article concluded, “Through setting off fires and putting out fires, the United States hopes to highlight its presence, display the superiority of its own values, realize its own strategic interests, and make some money from arms sales.”

Source: China Review News, September 6, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1033/7/3/4/103373437.html?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=103373437&mdate=0906075819

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Nearly 100 Million Poisonous Pill Capsules Sold on the Market

Well-known Chinese online news site Sohu recently reported that a company in Zhejiang Province manufactured over 90 million capsules of medical pills containing poisonous materials and sold all of them to a large number of customers. Chinese law enforcement discovered it and captured the primary criminal. He had lost his job two years ago and then hired over ten other workers to found a new company producing the capsules. Two years ago, the workers had worked for another company that made poisonous capsules. When the police closed the company, it made big news nationwide. The new poisonous capsules main ingredient was the heavy metal chromium, which exceeded the maximum permitted level by 65 times. This level of poison could result in significant damage to the patient’s vital internal organs. The sales channels and the whereabouts of the capsules still remain a mystery. The case is currently under investigation. 
Source: Sohu, September 2, 2014
http://business.sohu.com/20140902/n404001909.shtml
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: International Companies Threaten to Reduce Their Investments in China

Xinhua recently reported that the American Chamber of Commerce in China just released the results of a report showing that many international companies are considering reducing their investments in China. This new trend came about mainly because of the antitrust investigations and other legal attacks these companies have been facing in China. Greg Gilligan, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, pointed out that international companies were obviously singled out in this round of legal attacks. Of the member companies of the Chamber that were surveyed, half expressed the belief that the Chinese government is "selectively and subjectively” targeting them using law enforcement as the justification. The Chamber’s report suggested that China is moving closer and closer to the risk of losing its attractiveness as an investment destination. Sixty percent of the companies surveyed said they did not feel welcomed in China. The same number was 40 percent at the end of 2013. The EU Chamber of Commerce did research this year that drew a similar conclusion.
Source: Xinhua, September 3, 2014 
http://finance.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2014/0903/483485.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

BBC Chinese: China Appreciates That South Africa Declined the Dalai Lama’s Visa Request

BBC Chinese recently reported that the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave high praise to South Africa because of the fact that South Africa refused the Dalai Lama’s visa request. The Dalai Lama was planning to attend the Nobel Prize Winners’ Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. South Africa has had four Nobel Prize winners on the basis of human rights, including former South African President Nelson Mandela. The Dalai Lama’s representative stated that the South African government called him and told him that they could not issue the visa since it might “interfere” with the relationship between South Africa and China. China stated that South Africa “took the right position.” China is South Africa’s largest trade partner. In the year 2012, the trade volume between the two countries reached $21 billion.
Source: BBC Chinese, September 5, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/09/140905_china_safrica.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

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

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

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

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics