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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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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Xinhua: The West’s Strong Intervention Caused the Chaos in Ukraine

Xinhua recently reported on the fall of Ukraine’s Yanukovych government, which had been closer to Russia. The report expressed the strong belief that the heavy intervention that the West imposed significantly encouraged the opposition to “raise the price” against the Yanukovych government. Ever since the beginning of the crisis, the European Union and the United States have stood strongly behind the opposition. High ranking EU and U.S. government officials frequently visited Ukraine during the crisis. Some appeared in person right at the center of the demonstrations and even delivered speeches. The report downplayed the role Russia had in the process by saying Russia engaged in the negotiations too late and could do little to change the direction. The report concluded that uncertainty is still the key word to describe the situation currently in Ukraine. 
Source: Xinhua, February 23, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-02/23/c_126176278.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China News: China Made Solemn Protest against Obama’s Meeting with the Dalai Lama

China News reported on February 22 that Zhang Yesui, the Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, summoned the U.S. Embassy charge d’affaires Daniel Kritenbrink to protest the recent meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama. Zhang called this a “wrong move,” saying it severely interfered with China’s internal affairs and it caused significant damage to the China-U.S. relationship. Zhang expressed “strong indignation and opposition.” The Chinese spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that the Dalai Lama has long been performing the function of splitting China under the name of religion and that the U.S. move violated its promise not to support the idea of an independent Tibet. He also asked the U.S. government to take immediate steps to eliminate the “adverse effects” so as to prevent further damage to the relationship between the U.S. and China. 
Source: China News, February 22, 2014
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2014/02-22/5869673.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Daily: RMB Depreciation Signals Economic Slowdown

China Daily recently reported that on February 19, the Chinese currency, the RMB, sharply depreciated by nearly 100 points against the U.S. Dollar. At least two Chinese major banks triggered this dramatic market change by buying the U.S. Dollar for no apparent reason. Some experts suggested that worries about a tangible slowdown of the Chinese economy is changing people’s positive attitude towards the Chinese currency. The offshore RMB exchange rate and offshore RMB futures also dropped immediately. According to Sina Finance, the official RMB to U.S. dollar exchange rate fell another 88 points on February 21; it thus reached the lowest point since last December. This round of sudden RMB depreciation occurred when there was no other clear market fluctuation. 
Source: China Daily, February 19, 2014
http://caijing.chinadaily.com.cn/xfly/2014-02-19/content_11244630.html
Sina Finance, February 21, 2014
http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/forex/20140221/111618291056.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Revenue from Land Sales Was 33 Percent of National Financial Income

People’s Daily published an article titled, “It Is a Dangerous Sign that Revenue from Selling Land Has Become the Major Source of Income for Municipal Governments.” The article said that, according to the statistics published by the Ministry of Land and Resources, in 2013, income from land sales was 4.1 trillion yuan (US$0.67 trillion) which was 33 percent of the national income. The article stated that, ten years ago, the cost of land was 20 percent of the cost of housing. In recent years however, it has grown to be 60 percent or even higher. The article pointed out, “Land sales may appear positive but it sends many dangerous signals. … The municipal government can easily rely on land as its income source rather than developing its own economy or making changes to its economic structure. This also increases the financial risk while it impairs the stability and safety of the tax revenue.”

Source: People’s Daily, February 23, 2014
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2014/0223/c1004-24436578.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Qiushi Theory: Dominance in Cyberspace will Shift from the U.S to China

Qiushi Theory (Seeking Truth) a bi-monthly periodical on political theory published by the Central Party School and the Central Committee of the Communist Party circulated an article stating that cyberspace security has become the major battleground between China and the U.S. The article predicted that, in the next five to 10 years, China will shift from being in a defensive position to gaining control and dominance in cyberspace security.

According to the article, the U.S. currently leads the world in Internet infrastructure; the U.S. is the most competitive [country] in the Internet industry and it is the most powerful in cyber warfare. According to the article, the U.S. is also the only country in the world that has the capacity to be aggressive in its cyberspace strategy, even though it claims its strategy is a defensive type.

The article also pointed out that the U.S. utilizes its discourse right to frame China as the cyber attacker but neglects to mention that the U.S. is the origin of cyber attacks and has the largest base for cyber attackers. It pointed out that the U.S. dominates in cyberspace infrastructure including the root name server and IP name server. Both of these are under the control of the U.S. government, while U.S. companies have the absolute advantage of dominance as the supplier in building Internet infrastructure.

The article anticipated that the dominance of cyberspace will shift to China due to the fact that China’s netizen population is three times that of the U.S. The main task for China is to finish improving its cyberspace security defense strategy. The article concluded that China also has an urgent need to finalize its top level national strategy so that it fits China’s capabilities and its growth trend. At the same time, it must come up with the proper strategy and wisdom to face competition in the cyberspace industry and in the media war.

Source: Qiushi Theory, February 22, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/wwtj/201402/t20140220_322880.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Director of CCTV Chinese New Year Gala: The Leaders Must be Happy with the Programs First

During a recent interview with Portrait Magazine, Feng Xiaogang, a famous movie director and the chief director of the 2014 CCTV Chinese New Year Gala, said that he was not able to inject his personal style into the 2014 Chinese New Year Gala when he was the chief director. Feng said during the interview that “No matter what you wish to do, they always want you to follow their protocol. They claim that we must make the public happy. That is sheer nonsense. The prerequisite for the general public to be happy is that you must make the leaders happy because if the leadership is not happy, the public will not even get to see anything.” Feng also disclosed that the reason that he took this position this year was simply to return a favor he owed for the “Back to 1942” movie he directed in 2012.

[Editor’s Note: The CCTV New Year’s Gala also known as the Spring Festival Gala and commonly referred to by the abbreviation Chunwan (春晚), is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Central Television shown on the eve of the Chinese New Year. The program was criticized as having subtle political enhancements to glorify the progress China made under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Since it was launched in 1983, the viewership of the program has continued to decline year after year.

Source: Xinhua, February 22, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-02/22/c_126174516.htm
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCTV_New_Year%27s_Gala

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Royce, It Is Time to Change [Your] Old Brain!

Xinhua published a commentary on Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Below is an excerpt from the article: 

“While meeting in Tokyo on February 17 with Nakasone and other Japanese politicians, Republican lawmaker [Ed] Royce criticized Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying that ‘it caused confusion for the coordination among the U.S., Japan, and the ROK, and isn’t this helpful to China?’"　 
“Although Royce’s remark is consistent with the U.S. government’s position of opposing Abe’s homage on the surface, after a second thought, it has other overtones.” 
“According to Royce’s logic, by opposing Abe’s [Shrine] visit, he is not worried that Abe’s action will harm the world. Rather, he is worried that it will cause a division between the United States, Japan, and Korea and he is worried that it is counter-productive to their jointly dealing with China. Clearly, Royce is very much concerned about the progress of China’s development.”
“As the ‘head’ of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Royce pays no attention to the harm and danger of Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and ignores [Abe’s] damage to U.S. interests. Instead, he is very concerned about how to deal with China by uniting Japan and Korea. This is really incredible. This is not what a leader who has significant influence on U.S. foreign policy should do.” 
“The reason for this is that Royce’s head is full of a Cold War mentality.” 
“Currently, China and the U.S.’s interests are blended together. No one can survive without the other; and no one can contain anyone.”
 “China’s rise is the inevitable choice of history and is the seismic trend. Anyone who attempts to prevent this historical process is bound to fail. It is impossible [for them] to succeed.” 
“Royce, it is time to change [your] old brain!” 
Source: Xinhua, February 21, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-02/21/c_126170719.htm http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0221/c157278-24427625.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

CRN: Air Defense Identification Zone Reflects the Strategic Battle between U.S. and China

China Review News reported from Washington on the U.S. response to China’s establishment of an air defense identification zone. The following is an excerpt from the report: 

The U.S. reaction was fast and strong in responding to China’s move to set up an air defense identification zone (ADIZ). This is not very common in the history of U.S. reactions to Chinese diplomatic moves. Following Japan’s recent media report that China is about to expand its ADIZ to the South China Sea, the United States launched a new wave of criticism to pressure China. 
The reason that the United States is strongly against China’s establishment of an ADIZ is twofold. First, the U.S. is worried that China’s move is intended to challenge U.S. dominance in the Western Pacific, as well as the accompanying freedom of flight in international airspace. Second is the fear that, since China and Japan’s air defense zones overlap, if the two sides frequently dispatch planes for law enforcement but lack communication channels and crisis control mechanisms, then in case of an unexpected escalation of the conflict, the U.S. may be dragged into the difficult situation of having to decide whether to fight against China. 
What upsets China the most is the following. On the one hand, the United States claims that it does not take sides on the issue of sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands; on the other hand, it constantly stresses that the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies to the Diaoyu Islands. This time, Kerry even extended [the treaty] to the entire East China Sea. The United States established an ADIZ 60 years ago. Japan also established an ADIZ as early as 1969. The U.S., however, was so furious when China set up the same type of ADIZ, even sending military airplanes to test China’s reaction. The U.S. Congress did not ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but it still requires China to act in accordance with the United Nations Convention. 

In the Western Pacific region, the Sino-Japanese dispute over the Diaoyu Islands or over the air defense identification zone in the East China Sea is ultimately a Sino-U.S. strategic dispute. If there is no mutual strategic trust between the United States and China, the East China Sea dispute between Japan and China will not have an end. 

Source: China Review News, February 10, 2014 
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1030/1/2/9/103012947.html?coluid=93&kindid=7950&docid=103012947&mdate=0210001040

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations