Chinascope – Page 772

300 out of 657 of China’s Cities Face a Severe Water Shortage

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, based on the standard set by United Nations Human Settlements Program, out of 657 cities in China, over 300 cities can be categorized as facing a “severe water shortage.” The Ministry also disclosed that the consumption structure of China shows that agricultural use is at 61 percent, industrial use is at 24 percent, and residential use in the urban regions is at 13 percent.

Source: Xinhua, May 17, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-05/17/c_1110734884.htm

Briefings | | May 19, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Qiushi Theory on the Challenges China Faces in Growing into an Internet Superpower

Qiushi Theory published an article on the strategy for China to grow into an Internet superpower. The article also listed three challenges that China faces. The first is that, even though China is the largest manufacturer of mobile devices in the world, accounting for 70 percent of the world’s production, it is lagging behind because it does not own the core technology rights as compared to developed countries. The second challenge is how to maintain Internet security. The article stated that the Internet is a double edged sword. While the Internet is a platform to spread mainstream ideology, “those criminals or those who have the ulterior motive of spreading rumors can use it to stir up affairs or conduct illegal activities.” The third challenge is how government can maximize its role in the allocation of resources in the market, such as by creating a market for domestic made products. The article used the example of how the EU set up GSM (the Global System for Mobile Communications) and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) as the European communication standard before certain products were even developed.

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 13, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2014/201410/201405/t20140513_348197.htm

Briefings | | May 19, 2014 | Government/Politics

Guangming Daily on the China (Shenzhen) International Culture Industries Fair

In a recent article, Guangming Daily featured the China (Shenzhen) International Culture Industries Fair (ICIF) for its role in "stimulating the development of China’s culture industry and promoting Chinese culture in the world."

According to its website, the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China; the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China; the State Administration of the Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television; the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government; and the Shenzhen Municipal Government hosted the ICIF. The ICIF serves as a platform for Beijing to promote its own culture products to the world.

The 10th ICIF, taking place between May 15 and 19, 2014, has over 2,000 exhibitors with 17,000 overseas buyers in attendance. It is said to be the largest such fair to be presented in the last 10 years. The total trade value of the previous nine fairs amounted to US$85 billion.

Wang Jingsheng, the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda chief in Shenzhen, said, "Chinese Culture’s ‘going global’ is the symbol of our national rejuvenation."

Ye Jianqiang, CEO of the Fair, expressed the belief that "the key is to have the products which carry the cultural ideology and values that meet the demand of the international market."

According to the article, the Shenzhen culture industry has become an important import and export base. The annual volume of culture products exported is 20 percent of the national total and the import volume is 18 percent. The products include original animated movies and 3-D movies that have penetrated the market in 40 countries, including the U.S. and Canada.

Source: Guangming Daily, May 18, 2014
http://news.gmw.cn/2014-05/18/content_11346311_2.htm

Briefings | | May 19, 2014 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily: The U.S. Showcase of Aircraft Carrier Is a Scare Tactic

People’s Daily Online wrote an article about the U.S.’ invitation to PLA’s Chief of General Staff Fang Fenghui to visit the aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan" and the Littoral Combat Ship "Colorado" and to tour the North Carolina Army base during his coming visit to the United States. China’s state media expresses the belief that the U.S. has the intention of scaring China with its advanced weapons. A Beijing’s military expert Yin Zhuo said that the arrangement of Fang’s visit to the U.S. advanced battleships is intended to remind China that it should not overestimate China’s own strength and underestimate that of the U.S. Yuan Zongze, Deputy Director of the China Institute of International Studies, expressed his opinion that Sino-U.S. military relations still face obstacles and China should respond with a two-sided policy, namely, to continue the communications and, at the same time, not to give up the fight.

Source: People’s Daily Online, May 14, 2014

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0514/c1011-25016299.html
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0515/c1011-25020179.html

Briefings | | May 16, 2014 | US-China Relations

Housing Market: Mortgage Defaults and Foreclosures on the Rise

China Securities reported that, since the beginning of 2014, people have been defaulting on high-end real estate loans or have simply abandoned their property. Some bank staff members have said that they no longer make housing loans. Real estate auction announcements frequently appear on the homepage of major auction websites. It will take a couple of years for banks to auction off their foreclosed properties. Few banks are interested in offering low interest loans; they prefer to keep the interest rate at 10 percent or above. However, some investment professionals indicated that those who are willing to pay 10 percent interest for loans are more likely to default. Typically, they have secured emigrant status and bought properties overseas. They are the high risk groups for defaults on loans.

Source: China Securities reprinted by Xinua, May 15, 2014 http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/www.cs.com.cn/ssgs/fcgs/201405/t20140515_4390839.html

Briefings | | May 16, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Politburo Group Study on Safeguarding State Security

On April 25, the Politburo held the 14th group study on safeguarding the State security. Xi Jinping spoke again to repeat his emphasis on the issue. Earlier, on April 15, at the first session of China’s newly established State Security Committee, Xi had hosted the meeting and given a speech on State security.

A Study Times article described the concept of State security as "a complete system including State security in eleven main areas: politics, homeland, military, economic, culture, social, technology, information, ecology, resources, and nuclear."

The article continued that China’s State security has its "domestic and foreign elements that are more complicated than at any other period in the history." "China is facing a dual pressure. Internally, it’s about political security and social stability; externally, it includes pressure on national sovereignty, state security, and its interests in development."

Source: Study Times, May 12, 2014

http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140512/4927.shtml

Briefings | | May 16, 2014 | Government/Politics

Confucius Institute Inaugurated Its Latin American Center in Chile

The Confucius Institute, the government-backed Chinese language teaching program, hit another milestone in its overseas expansion. On May 12, it held an opening ceremony in Santiago, Chile, for the Regional Center of the Confucius Institutes for Latin America. Xu Lin, the Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and the Director-General of Hanban, the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, inaugurated the center together with former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle.

Xu Lin said that the establishment of the Regional Center in Latin America marks the regular cooperation and exchange mechanism and a new service platform for all Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in the region. It will contribute greatly to promoting the development of the Confucius Institutes in Latin America. Xu Lin also said that, over the years, China and Latin American countries have always maintained s good cooperative relationship in the fields of politics, the economy, culture, and education. Currently, 14 countries in Latin America have a total of 31 Confucius Institutes and 10 Confucius Classrooms. The Latin American Center, the second regional center overseas after the U.S. Center, aims to coordinate the work of the entire Latin American region and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between all Confucius Institutes in the area.

Former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle pointed out in his speech that the inauguration of the Latin American Center is the result of good bilateral political, economic, and cultural relations. The two governments should further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of culture and strive to see that language is no longer a barrier of communication between the two peoples.

Source: Xinhua, May 13, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-05/13/c_1110665413.htm

Briefings | | May 15, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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

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

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

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