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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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CRN: “610 Office” Chief Li Dongsheng Investigated

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that Li Dongsheng, Chief of the Central Leading Group of Cult Prevention and Handling (also known as the "610 Office"), and Deputy Minister of Public Safety, is currently under investigation for “severe violation of Party discipline and the law.” Li has been a long-term senior political news reporter. He served as Deputy Director of Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee. Li is the second “Minister-Level” official to have been investigated in the last few months. It is widely believed that this is a clear signal of a deepened anti-corruption investigation into the Party’s Politics and Legislative Affairs Committee. [Editor’s note: The 610 Office is a nationally organized governmental structure that violates human rights. It is considered the primary operational system that persecutes religious movements such as underground Christian Churches, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong. The "610 Office" has been mentioned in multiple reports published by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission  on China (CECC), as well as by the United Nations. The name derived from the fact that it was formed on June 10, 1999, for the specific purpose of eliminating Falun Gong. In 2003, its mission expanded to include other religious groups.]
Source: China Review News, December 21, 2013.
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1029/3/6/7/102936729.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=102936729&mdate=1221112036
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

SOE’s Debt for November Year to Date Increased 14.5 Percent

On December 20, People’s Daily published an article about the financial status of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The financial reports from SOEs showed that November year to date sales and profits were up 11.3 and 8.2 percent respectively compared to the same period last year. However their total debt was close to 60 trillion yuan (US$9.8 trillion), up 14.5 percent. The industries that saw growth in their profits include power, electronics, building construction, auto, and transportation. The industries that saw a decline in their profits include non-ferrous metals, coal, chemicals, and light industries.

Source: People’s Daily, December 20, 2013
http://ccnews.people.com.cn/n/2013/1220/c141677-23895718.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Guangming Daily: No Mistakes Allowed on Fundamental Issue: the Chinese Communist Party Rules China

Guangming Daily published a commentary stating that no mistakes are allowed on the understanding of the fundamental issue that the Chinese Communist Party is the ruling party in China. Therefore, China must be persistent in following the Communist Party’s leadership and its fundamental guidelines. The article reiterated a similar statement that Xi Jinping made on a number of occasions that the people should have an unshakeable belief and determination on such “fundamental issues.” The article also cited a few phenomena that could change or even subvert these fundamental issues. They include the political value system from the West, domestic social conflicts, and the tendency to alter China’s path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and instead follow a Neoliberalism ideology.

Source: Guangming Daily, December 20, 2013
http://theory.gmw.cn/2013-12/20/content_9874351.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Commentary: The U.S. China Relationship is Delicate and Sensitive

Xinhua published a commentary which stated that the U.S. China relationship has entered into a time frame that is both delicate and sensitive. On the one hand, the U.S. China economic relationship remains strong, but, on the other hand, the U.S. is still on guard and distrusts China. At the same time, occasional military conflicts have taken place between the two countries from time to time. The article cited three reasons for the complexity of the relationship between the U.S. and China. The first reason is that the base for the U.S. China relationship developed out of the confrontational relationship during the cold war and thus is weak. Secondly, the relationship between the two has involved broader aspects. The third reason is that the power between the two shows that the U.S. is getting weaker while China is getting stronger. The article ended by pointing out that, if both countries can handle the relationship well, it will mean not only that the U.S. China relationship is growing stable and mature, but also that it has a significant impact on the international situation and the world’s security environment.

Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2013-12/20/c_118642127.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

U.S. Secretary of State Targets China by Throwing Money to Vietnam

Xinhua published a report from Beijing Youth Daily about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Vietnam. On December 16, Kerry announced a pledge of US$18 million in aid to Vietnam to strengthen Vietnam’s coastal patrol. Kerry said this assistance had nothing to do with the South China Sea issue. 

 The report said that Kerry gave a pretty name, “maritime security assistance,” to the aid but the U.S.’s intentions were quite clear. The report, citing Associated Press, said that the United States is directly targeting China by aiding Vietnam. It said that Kerry also spared no effort to meddle in the East China Sea issue. He mentioned Japan-China relations at a news conference, urging both sides to "strengthen dialogue and diplomatic efforts" to resolve their East China Sea-related differences. 

Source: Xinhua, December 18, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-12/18/c_125875820.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Control of Local Government Debts to Be a Top Priority in 2014

According to the China Central Economic Work Conference, China’s highest-level economic conference, held from Dec 10 to 13, one of the top six priorities for next year will be the control of local government debts. 

The third item of the six reads, “Third, focus on prevention and control of debt risk. As an important task of economic work, take control and resolve local government debt risk. Combine short-term response and long-term institution building and defuse local government debt risk. Strengthen the standardization of the source of risk, categorize local government debts, put them under budget management, and tighten up government borrowing programs. Assign responsibilities and hold officials accountable. Governments at provincial, district and city levels should be responsible for their respective local debts, for strengthening education, and for tests, so as, ideologically, to rectify incorrect performance-driven behavior.” 
Source: People’s Daily, December 13, 2013 
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1214/c1001-23839592.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Three Gorges Dam May Cause Earthquakes

Shen Guofang, head of an assessment group for the Three Gorges Dam, acknowledged that the dam can definitely induce earthquakes. 

"It is certain that irrigation dams will induce earthquakes, but the magnitude is generally small. They are primarily microseismic or very microseismic. That is because the deep penetration of the reservoir water along the fault would reduce their resistance to shear. Also enormous pressure from the dam itself and from the water will lead to the formation of certain changes in the geological structure.” 
Sheng dismissed suggestions that the Three Gorges Dam may have caused the Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008 (8.3M) and the Lushan earthquake in April 2013 (7.0M). 
Source: Xinhua, December 18, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2013-12/18/c_125875613.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Navy Admiral: U.S. Warships Forcibly Entering Our Carrier Zone Is Similar to Provocation

The report below was originally published in Jinghua Times and then republished in People’s Daily. 

On December 5, a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class of guided missile cruiser nearly collided with a Chinese warship while carrying out surveillance of China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. According to the Global Times, the U.S. military had entered the inner defense zone of the cruiser aircraft carrier battle groups. 
This is another incident in the escalating confrontation between an emerging big maritime country, China, and the United States, the maritime power that has been dominant in the Asia-Pacific since World War II. 
Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo, director of the Chinese PLA Navy Advisory Committee for Information Technology, said that reconnaissance operations do not violate international law; however, because the Liaoning ship had already designated the area of activity and briefed the world before the pilot training exercises, under normal circumstances, other country’s ships would not freely enter the relevant waters for safety reasons. He noted that the U.S. military "test Gibbons" cruiser was sailing through our carrier battle groups, ignoring the advice of our guard vessels. This is a very unfriendly close reconnaissance operation, similar to provocation. 

Source: People’s Daily, December 17, 2013
 http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1217/c1011-23858252.html 
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2013-12/17/content_48996.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations