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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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China’s Junk Bond Crisis Is Looming

On July 22, the Chinese media wallstreetcn.com reported that, with the frequent defaults on debt in China, 2014 is becoming the year of defaults for the Chinese financial market. 

It has been 26 months since June 2012, when the Chinese version of junk bonds (bonds issued by mid and small businesses) were first introduced in the capital market. With a typical two year maturity, 46 junk bonds, with a total value of 4.143 billion yuan (US$670 million) and an average yield of 8.79 percent, are about to reach maturity. 
In April of this year, "13 Zhong Sen" was about to default on 180 million yuan (US$29.05 million) of its interest payments when its guarantor stepped in to commit to making the payments. When it was unable to make payments on its bonds, Zhejiang Huatesi Polymer Technical Co Ltd., the issuer of “12 Huatesi” went bankrupt. The court ordered it to restructure. 
In July, “12 Kim Tae” failed to meet its July 10 obligation to make its principal and interest payments. The issuer of another junk bond “12 Jin BBDO,” with a nne percent yield, is expected to default on the payments of principal and interest due on July 28. Its State-owned guarantor, Tianjin Hi-tech Investment Management Co., Ltd., is in the middle of its own crisis. In 2013, it had issued a guarantee for a total of 7.592 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion), which was 13 times the amount of its security deposits at the bank. 
Source: wallstreetcon.com, July 22, 2014 
http://wallstreetcn.com/node/100649 http://wallstreetcn.com/node/100657
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Is Developing Special Chinese Discourse System to Promote China around the World

On July 23, 2014, People’s Daily published an article on the development of a “Chinese discourse system.” The 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Nov. 9 to 12, 2013, in Beijing) stressed the need to develop “a discourse system” for foreign affairs and international relations so as to “tell China’s story and spread China’s voice" skillfully.

According to the article, the original Marxism and contemporary Chinese Marxism are the theoretical basis and the guidelines for the development of the Chinese Discourse System. Selected portions of the ancient Chinese culture are the “rich nutritious sources” for the Chinese Discourse System. China’s dream of national rejuvenation (the China Dream) and the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics are the foundation and root of the Chinese Discourse System.

Source: People’s Daily, July 23, 2014
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2014-07/23/nw.D110000renmrb_20140723_2-07.htm
http://www.qstheory.cn/zhuanqu/zywz/2014-07/23/c_1111749353.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

The CCP Is Worried about Chinese Intellectuals’ Distrust of China’s Political System

On July 22, 2014, Qiushi Theory, a periodical on political theory run by the Chinese Communist Party Central Party School and the CCP Central Committee, criticized Chinese intellectuals in China’s academia (for example in the fields of economics, law, political science, sociology, and international relations) for their agreement with Western constitutional democracy and universal values. The article asserted that those intellectuals do not have confidence in China’s socialist road and China’s political system because they do not have a sufficient understanding of China and Marxism. However, China needs a large group of researchers to develop a Chinese Discourse System in order to tell China’s stories and spread China’s voice around the world. Therefore a wake-up call is needed to awaken most of the intellectuals in the ideological field and call on them to summarize, categorize, and beautify the “Chinese style discourse system” so as to spread it among the international mainstream discourse system and eventually turn it into the authoritative national voice of China.

Source: Qiushi Theory, July 22, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/wp/2014-07/22/c_1111732295.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Review News: What Is Lacking in China’s Economy?

In a recent article in China Review News, the author asked the question, "What is lacking in China’s economy?" The article answered with the statement, "It is not money that the economy lacks, but a market-drive mechanism and an innovation-encouraging system.
The article listed several examples of areas that lack a market-driven force. First, some government departments still favor a system of review and approval, and thus use administrative power [instead of market force] to allocate resources. Second, administration rather than the market determines the price of raw materials. Finally, state-owned enterprises and local governments dominate the market; they even act as if they are the market. Such policies inherently discriminate against private companies.
Source: China Review News Online, July 17, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1032/9/0/7/103290768.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=103290768&mdate=0717065546 
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: China Protested against the British Deputy Prime Minister

BBC Chinese recently reported that the Chinese government officially protested the fact that British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met with Hong Kong’s former Chief Secretary Anson Chan and Hong Kong Democratic Party founder Martin Lee. Ms. Chan and Mr. Lee both testified before the British Parliament when it held a hearing on the upcoming Hong Kong democratic election arrangements. The two expressed their deep concerns about the lack of responsible moves on the part of both of the two signatory states of the "Joint Declaration,” on which the current Hong Kong political system was founded. The Chinese government called for an immediate suspension of all British “interference” in Chinese domestic matters. Nick Clegg, in his announcement, maintained that the people of Hong Kong deserve the right to make a real choice in a democratic election. Over half a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets on July 1 to demonstrate their unity in their quest for the freedom to cast meaningful votes.
Source: BBC Chinese, July 16, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/07/140716_china_hk_clegg.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: The Safety of the Public Transportation System is Very Important

Xinhua recently reported that the police in Guangzhou City announced the capture of a 25-year-old man who, the previous day, had bombed a bus used in public transportation. The bombing caused two deaths and injured 32 people. This was the sixth public transportation bombing incident in China in the past thirteen months. Public transportation safety is becoming a widely discussed topic across the nation. Some government officials observed that these deadly incidents are a clear reflection of the lack of management of inflammable and explosive materials. Some have requested that enhanced public safety education be added throughout the education system from elementary schools to colleges. The Ministry of Public Safety had an emergency national conference after the Guangzhou bombing, requiring all branches to increase the security level mainly in subway systems, while, meanwhile, cracking down proactively on serious criminal attempts in all public transportation systems.
Source: Xinhua, July 16, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-07/16/c_126762003.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xi Jinping Discussed Internet Management in Speech to Brazilian Congress

Xinhua recently reported that, when he was in Brazil, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to the Brazilian Congress in which he discussed Internet management. Xi emphasized the fact that, in today’s world, Internet development has become a new challenge to national sovereignty, security, and development interests. He explained that the Internet has to be managed carefully. Internet technology, though recognized as a global tool, still cannot violate the “information sovereignty” of any nation. There is no “double-standard” in the information area. The information security of one nation or some nations should not be established at the cost of the rest of the nations. No nation has the right to sacrifice other nations’ security through its own selfishness. He called for effective international cooperation to build a peaceful, secure, open, and cooperative Internet space, where a multi-national, democratic, and transparent management structure is in place.
Source: Xinhua, July 17, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-07/17/c_1111673270.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Thirty-nine Investigated and Punished for Spreading Rumors on the Internet

According to a recent article in Guangming Daily, the public security bureau disclosed that 37 people have been investigated or punished and two people have been detained for “fabricating facts and spreading rumors to slander others on the Internet." The public security bureau also issued warnings to all Internet users that they should “abide by the laws and safeguard the Internet environment and the social order.”

Source: Guangming Daily, July 20, 2014
http://legal.gmw.cn/2014-07/20/content_12064916.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability