Chinascope – Page 811

Wine Industry Sales Down 50 Percent; Some Inventories up 30 Percent

China Radio International republished an article, originally from Beijing Business Today, about China’s domestic wine market. The article reported that sales for China’s domestic wines were down 50 percent while the wine makers carried inventories that were as much as 30 percent higher than the previous year. Changyu Wine Company in Yantai, Shandong Province, one of the top wineries in China, had third quarter financial results showing that the company’s net profit had declined by 46.94 percent, the lowest in five years. The government, because of its use of public funding, maintains a hard grip on food and entertainment, which is one of the reasons that the domestic wine industry has suffered from low demand. Other factors include a pricing adjustment that imported wines made in order to stay competitive. In addition, consumers favor imported wines over domestic brands.

Source: China Radio International, October 25, 2013
http://gb.cri.cn/44571/2013/10/25/3005s4297565.htm

Briefings | | October 28, 2013 | Economy/Resources

People’s Daily Commentary: Chinese Party Officials Lose Faith in Marxism

People’s Daily carried an opinion piece criticizing some Party officials because they believe in superstitions such as lucky numbers and Fengshui, an indication that they are losing faith in Marxism. The article said that those Party officials have forgotten who they are and who they can rely on. It called on the Party to intensify ideology education and to “knock down Fengshui and superstition from the altar.”

Source: People’s Daily, October 27, 2013
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n/2013/1027/c1003-23337869.html

Briefings | | October 28, 2013 | Government/Politics

China’s Weapons Exports Go Global

On October 25, Huanqiu (Global Times) published an article about China’s military exports. From 2008 to 2012, China’s arms exports increased by 162 percent. Its market share surpassed Britain and ranked fifth in the world.

An insider in the Chinese military exports industry informed the Global Times reporter that China’s arms exports in the past consisted mostly of light weapons and army weapons. As technology has improved, the proportion of exports of such weapons has dropped below 50 percent. At the same time, aviation and aerospace products, such as fighter planes and long-range tactical missiles, have increased dramatically. The product mix has evolved from a unitary product to a more complete set of products. In the past, [China] exported only bullets or artillery. Now it can export an entire set of equipment such as equipment for a camp including a variety of tanks, radar, communications equipment, and so on. Chinese military enterprises did a lot of research on NATO weapons systems and can integrate Chinese products into these weapons systems. This is particularly attractive for some countries, so that they do not need to worry about the changing relationships between states or being controlled by others.

Source: Huanqiu (Global Times), October 25, 2013

http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-10/4488462.html

Briefings | | October 25, 2013 | Defense/Military

Qiushi: There Is No Such Thing as Universal Values

Qiushi published an article proposing that there is no such thing as the "universal values" that the West advocates.

Qiushi stated that the international community has never reached a common understanding as to a set of values. “There are so many countries in the world with such diverse cultures and value systems. Which of them has values that could be called "universal"? Which of their systems could not become “universal values”? There has to be an acceptable screening procedure that would allow all countries to express their views. If only a few Western countries have the final say on such an important matter, where in this world is there justice and fairness?”

“Some Western countries prefer to use abstract concepts to bluff, while, behind the scenes, they engage in deliberations over their selfish strategic interests. Today, we ought to transform this abstract concept into something specific. Then we can ask a few whys so we will not be fooled by this Western discourse. The West spreads the concept everywhere that democracy is a ‘universal value.’ We can clearly respond: democracy can be a value most people agree to, but the Western democratic system was not, is not, and never will be a ‘universal value.’”

Source: Qiushi, October 16, 2013

http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2013/201320/201310/t20131012_278157.htm

Briefings | | October 25, 2013 | Government/Politics

State Think Tank on Strategies for China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves

Zhang Ming, an official from China’s Academy of Social Sciences, suggested that China, as the largest creditor of the U.S. debt may be the key to stabilize the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate.

Zhang said that, in the long term, the U.S. exchange rate rather than the U.S. Treasury yield is the determinant for China’s purchase of the U.S. Treasury debt, thus stabilizing the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate in the foreign exchange market. When the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate is under pressure to appreciate, China will buy additional U.S. Treasury bills to help depreciate the U.S. dollars.

Zhang recommended that China should diversify its foreign reserves within its U.S. dollar assets, rather than changing into other currencies. Also China should buy credit default swaps or S&P Volatility Index (VIX) calls to hedge against the risk that the U.S. Government may default. China should also take action to reduce the growth of its foreign exchange reserves.

Source: Financial Times (Chinese Edition), October 23, 2013

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001053040

Briefings | | October 25, 2013 | US-China Relations

People’s Daily: For the U.S. Government to Preach “Freedom of the Press” Is Hypocritical

An article appearing in the CCP’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, made some comments about the U.S. freedom of the press. “Even with the ‘protection’ of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and even though it is regarded as the ‘gold standard’ of America’s soft power, the so-called ‘sacred inalienable’ ‘freedom of the press’ that the U.S. government preaches is, after all, hypocritical.” As evidence, the commentary cited the Committee to Protect Journalists’ report which states that how the U.S. government dispenses harsh punishment to those who leak information and how it monitors reporters’ survey data poses a threat to freedom of the press.

The article stated, “The relationship of the U.S. government to the media has never been cool. Sometimes [the government] applies more ‘soft intervention,’ such as making up some hidden news for the media. Sometimes it imposes ‘hard monitoring,’ such as suppressing some media and reporters. Even more common is the use of both together. Such intervention and monitoring have never stopped and will not be reduced in the future.”

“Why is Washington so keen on exporting the concept of freedom of the press to other countries and even getting involved in promoting freedom of the press by itself? In addition to the consideration of adding the ‘superior system label’ to the United States, an important objective is to demonstrate the U.S.’s ‘political correctness.’ Once this so-called political correctness is combined with its powerful economic and military strength, it is not surprising [to see the U.S.] playing tricks, being preemptory, and using extortion.”

Source: People’s Daily, October 22, 2013

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/1022/c1002-23279889.html

Briefings | | October 24, 2013 | US-China Relations

Red Flag Manuscript: Take the Initiative in the Ideological Battlefield

An article titled "Take the Initiative in the Ideological Battlefield" appeared recently in Red Flag Manuscript, a main publication of the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party. The article pointed to the importance of the Party’s ideology and also to the challenges the Party faces.

"Profound lessons should be learned from other countries and other political parties. For example, after Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, he gradually abandoned the guiding position of Marxism and switched to an ideology of pluralism, an abstract humanitarian philosophy, neo-liberalism in economics, nihilism in history, and freedom of criticism in literature, resulting in the wide spread of non-Marxist and anti-Marxist ideas. This was an important cause leading to the collapse of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. The recent color revolutions in West Asia and North Africa all began with the ruling party’s giving up control of the mainstream ideology."

"Ideological work faces challenges. The real danger from the Western anti-China hostile forces should not be underestimated. They vigorously promote Western-style democracy and the values of freedom and human rights and they maliciously attack the Party’s leadership in an attempt to disintegrate the Party’s ruling base in order to replicate the "color revolutions" in China. Some anti-China forces collude and support each other and do everything possible to rope in groups such as those advocating Tibetan separatism and Taiwan independence, the East Turkistanis, pro-democracy movements, and Falun Gong, in an attempt to foster a strategic alliance from within China. By seizing the hot issues in economic and social development, they have sentimentalized the theories of the failure of socialism, of the clash of civilizations, and the idea that human rights is above sovereignty. They have also deliberately hyped up the theories of China’s economic threat, energy threat, and military threat. The sinister intention of subverting and containing China is abundantly clear."

"Negative online information that confuses our common ideals and beliefs should not be underestimated. Although China’s Internet penetration rate is 42 percent and Internet users have reached 564 million, 80 percent of Internet information is provided by the United States, 90 percent is in the English language, and the export of China’s information is less than 1 percent of the global total. The passive pattern of ‘the West being strong and we being weak’ in online discourse rights is very prominent. Taking advantage of their network hegemony, Western countries cultivate and order some Internet "dissidents" and "opinion leaders" to speculate maliciously as to Party and military-related public opinion in order to concoct massive negative rumors and false information, so they can discredit the Party and the government’s image."

Source: Qiushi journal, October 23, 2013
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2013/201320/201310/t20131023_281706.htm

Briefings | | October 24, 2013 | Government/Politics

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.”

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