Chinascope – Page 793

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 | | February 25, 2014 | 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 | | February 24, 2014 | 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 | | February 24, 2014 | 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 | | February 24, 2014 | 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 | | February 21, 2014 | 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 | | February 20, 2014 | US-China Relations

Deutsche Welle Chinese: Wealthy Chinese Are Fleeing China”

On February 8, 2014, Deutsche Welle Chinese published an article titled, “Fleeing China – Chinese Millionaires’ Shared Dream.” According to the article, no country in the world is like China. Individuals can quickly and suspiciously accumulate large sums of wealth in its socialist market economy. Rupert Hoogewerf [the publisher of the Hurun Report, a monthly magazine best known for its "China’s Rich List," a ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China] has found a close relationship between political power and wealth in China. Of the 1,000 richest people in China, 84 are members of the National People’s Congress and 69 are members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. About a quarter of the wealthiest Chinese are registered Chinese Communist Party members, though the Chinese Communist Party claims that it is the vanguard of the proletariat class. Hoogewerf reported last year that 315 of the richest Chinese have personal wealth of over 1 billion U.S. dollars; 64,500 Chinese people have wealth that exceeds U.S. $10 million; more than 1.05 million Chinese people have over $1.2 million in assets.

The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing reported in 2013 that 60 percent of Chinese millionaires have applied for or have considered applying for EB-5 immigration visas which the United States provides to wealthy investors. From 2009 to 2011, the Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong received more than 60,000 applications for immigration to Canada, in the name of foreign investors, from the super-rich Chinese in Mainland China. These applications accounted for 86 percent of the total applications worldwide during that period. Recently, the Canadian government had to freeze the immigration project that meant to attract global investment since the number of applications was too large to handle. Now China’s super-rich are waiting for investment immigration visas to United States, New Zealand, or Australia. In 2011, the United States issued 3,340 permanent residence permits to the Chinese investment immigrants. Each applicant must spend at least $500,000 on creating a company or creating jobs. The article concluded that it is the difficulties China faces that are causing China’s wealthy to emigrate.

Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, February 8, 2014
http://www.dw.de/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%AF%8C%E8%B1%AA%E5%90%91%E5%A4%96%E9%80%83/a-17419066

Briefings | | February 20, 2014 | Grapevine

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.”