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HSBC’s April Chinese Manufacturing PMI Remains Low

Well-known Chinese news site Sina Finance recently reported that the newly released HSBC April Chinese Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number remains low, at 48.1. This key indicator has remained below 50 for four consecutive months. Both “new export orders” and the “employment rate” have dropped significantly. Qu Hongbin, the HSBC Chief Economist for the China Region, commented that the domestic demand level recovered slightly but still remains low. He expressed the belief that the new numbers demonstrate that the manufacturing sector as well as the whole Chinese economy are still slowing down and that more economic stimulation policies are needed. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting the purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline. 
Source: Sina Finance, May 5, 2014
http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/hgjj/20140505/103519001934.shtml

China News: The Canton Fair Reflected a Weak Import Export Situation

China News recently reported that China’s largest trade show, the China Import Export Fair (also known as The Canton Fair), closed on May 5 in Guangzhou, Canton Province. The 115th Canton Fair, widely regarded as “China’s International Trade Barometer,” attracted significantly fewer foreign attendees than last year, while the volume of signed export agreements also fell. Over 55 percent of the foreign procurement representatives were from Asia. Those from Europe and North American combined held only around one third of the foreign customers. The main region that saw an increase of the number of buyers was Africa. This round of the Canton Fair concluded with a total export volume of US$31 billion, which represented a 12.64 percent decrease from last year. The Spokesperson for the Fair indicated that the outcome was slightly disappointing; however, it correctly reflected a very slow recovery of the global economy, especially in China’s “traditional European and American markets.” Another key observation at this Fair was that most (more than 80 percent) of the contracts were short-term contracts (less than six months into the future). 
Source: China News, May 5, 2014
http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2014/05-05/6135380.shtml

Qiu Shi: China’s African Investment Model Upgraded

Qiu Shi, a magazine of the Communist Party Central Committee, recently published an article discussing the strategy of investing in Africa. The author expressed the belief that China’s pace of entering the African market is speeding up. China’s primary investment focus has shifted from mines to infrastructure-building. In its plans for the future, agricultural and financial cooperation are the next steps. For the past five years in a row, China has been Africa’s largest trading partner. The trade volume in 2013 was over US$200 billion. China has been helping many African countries turn natural resources into economic power sources by spending money made in mining to develop hospitals, roads, the education system, and water processing facilities. Africa’s high speed economic growth is opening up many new market segments, such as communications. For example, Large Chinese companies such as ZTE, Huawei, and Shanghai Bell have already established footholds in the African communications market. With more and more Chinese investments pouring in, the Chinese currency has become the number one choice of reserve currency for Angola, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. 
Source: Qiu Shi, May 7, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/jj/jjyj/201405/t20140507_346875.htm

China Youth Daily on the Anti-Terrorist Measures China Has Implemented

Xinhua published an article that China Youth Daily originally carried. The article reported on the anti-terrorist measures that China has implemented as a result of the recent domestic terrorist incidents. One of the measures reported was that the first tier police forces in Shanghai and in Guangzhou have started to carry guns while they are on duty. A second measure that the article mentioned was that China’s Public Security University has initiated China’s first anti-terrorism major. The University intends to recruit 80 students who will major in anti-terrorism. Lastly, the article pointed out that axes and gasoline have become the terrorists’ top two choices. As the article indicated, while these items are readily available and easy to access, they are equally dangerous.

Source: Xinhua, May 12, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2014-05/12/c_126486862.htm

Qiushi Theory: Western Discourse Cannot Depict the Real China

Qiushi Theory published a commentary titled, “Western Discourse Cannot Depict the Real China.” The commentary stated that, of all the theories that the many foreign scholars have developed about China, whether it includes praise, questions, or disapproval, those are all based on the Western analytical style and cannot depict the real China. Therefore China must gain its own discourse rights in the midst of the “China Fever.” According to the commentary, China should also “reexamine the different understandings that foreign scholars have, develop a broader view, combine the development of China with Chinese characteristics with [an understanding of] world affairs, and let the world know that the matters that concern China also affect the rest of the world.”

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 9, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/wz/shp/201405/t20140509_347419.htm

Qiushi Theory Commentary on Regulatory Challenges that WeChat Faces

Qiushi Theory published a commentary discussing WeChat and listing a number of unprecedented regulatory challenges that WeChat faces as compared to traditional media. First, the commentary compared WeChat with traditional media whose contents the government is able to control. WeChat was developed as a private friends channel and the role of the government was missing from the very beginning. Second, compared to traditional media, WeChat’s contents and coverage are hard to measure and monitor, while the content that traditional media publishes can be determined by which media published the contents, what the length of the contents is, and when it was published. Third, WeChat can penetrate large circles where the government will not be able to influence or evaluate the contents. According to the commentary, if there is lack of control over WeChat, then, when a crisis takes place, its social influence will be hard to control.

According to Wikipedia, WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent in China. It was first released in January 2011. Wikipedia reported that, by January 2013, it had 300 million users, making it the largest social network in the world.

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 8, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2014/201409/201405/t20140508_347251.htm

Academician Ni Guangnan: There Will Be No National Security without Network Security

People’s Daily interviewed Ni Guangnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and professor at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, about network security issues. Ni pointed out that without network security there would be no national security. This is the Chinese government’s point of view today. Ni stated that network security is by no means a purely technical issue and China must raise it to the national strategic level.

Ni said, "Apple, Google, and Microsoft have monopolized the operating system running on intelligent terminals including desktop PCs, notebooks, and smart phones. If China does not have the core technology of the smart terminal operating system, it is impossible to safeguard network security."

Ni also said, "All of the Internet’s root servers are in the hands of the United States and several of its allies. The United States has the actual control. Over the years, a number of countries, including China, have repeatedly asked for ‘international co-administration’ of the Internet, but the United States does not agree. … Therefore, to truly safeguard China’s network security, we cannot have any illusions. We should earnestly take action through the development of future networks; ultimately we must solve the problem that the Chinese public network is dependent on other [countries]."  

Source: People’s Daily, April 29, 2014
http://it.people.com.cn/n/2014/0429/c1009-24953592.html