Chinascope – Page 773

China Review News: Xi Jinping’s International Strategy

China Review News published a commentary on Xi Jinping’s international strategy for China. A few points it mentioned follow:

1. China wants a peaceful development path; it also needs other countries to take the peaceful approach. If some country takes China’s restraint and patience as a sign of weakness, and takes advantage of China’s suggestion of solving conflicts via political dialog and the diplomatic approach, it will pay dearly for it. “China is not afraid of conflict, nor does it want conflict. One should not separate peaceful development from safeguarding our national interest. China’s core national interest is not allowed to be attacked or harmed.”

2. China is working on the following international relationships:

– Establishing a new type of relationships with major countries. For the U.S., take the approach of no-confrontation, mutual respect, and cooperation for a win-win situation. For Russia, treat each other as the largest and most important strategic partner. For the Europe Union, focus on the trend of change there and the on development opportunities. For India, take the advantage of the rapid development trend in both countries and engage in cooperation and joint-development.

– Advance the diplomatic relationship with neighboring countries. In the next five to ten years, create win-win situations, push for regional security cooperation, and establish a public opinion base for a sense of community.

– Set up the right view of righteousness and interest in order to strengthen and develop the cooperation with developing countries. For those countries that have been a long-term friend of China but are having a hard time with their own development, China should give greater consideration to their interests.

– Be more active in international affairs.

Source: China Review News, May 7, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1031/7/0/1/103170107.html?coluid=151&kindid=11513&docid=103170107&mdate=0507000519

Briefings | | May 14, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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

Briefings | | May 13, 2014 | Economy/Resources

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

Briefings | | May 13, 2014 | Economy/Resources

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

Briefings | | May 13, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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

Briefings | | May 12, 2014 | Government/Politics

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

Briefings | | May 12, 2014 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily on Internet Security

[Editor’s Note: PLA Daily published an article that stressed the importance of Internet security. It stated that Internet Security is part of the nation’s sovereignty. A translation of the article follows.] [1]

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Reports | | May 11, 2014 | Report

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.”