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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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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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People’s Daily: Tens of Thousands of Troops in Large-scale Maneuvers

Recently, the Chinese military launched the "Mission Action 2013" cross region battle drills, with tens of thousands of troops mobilized on a large-scale and covering remote distances.

The maneuver is divided into A, B, and C, three exercises echelons. The focus is on multidimensional delivery, the use of firepower based on information technology, the coordination capabilities of different army units, and cooperation between military and civilian forces. The Donghai Fleet, the Nanhai Fleet, and the Air Force in the Nanjing Military Region dispatched their ships, planes, and gunships to participate in the exercise, along with civilian assistance forces like the civil airliners and railways. The Chinese media said it had "rarely been seen around the world in the past ten years."

Over 40,000 troops from the Nanjing and Guanzhou Military regions are expected to maneuver over 30,000 km. by vehicle, railway, sea, and air. At the same time, they will conduct anti-reconnaissance, air defense, and anti-interference drills, as well as red-blue air attack and defense drills.

‘Mission Action 2013’ is part of the annual military training plan and has been approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC) chaired by Xi, who is also General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee.

Source: People’s Daily, September 12, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0912/c1011-22897974.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

New Guideline: Social Media Users May Face Jail Time

On September 9, China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, issued a joint guideline defining the criteria for convicting and sentencing persons who use the Internet to defame, provoke and instigate, blackmail, or engage in illegal business. Under the guideline, these activities are defined as criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment. 

For example, Article 2 (1) provides that the use of the Internet to share information that is defamatory is considered to be a serious infraction. If their posts are viewed 5,000 times or forwarded 500 times, such users faces up to three years in prison. 
Article 3 provides that Internet users who share information that is defamatory are considered to have “caused serious harm to the social order and to the national interest” if such activity caused a mass incident, disturbed the public order, incited ethnic and religious conflicts, defamed multiple people, had an adverse social impact, or damaged the State’s image and severely harmed the national interest. The article also includes “other similar cases that have caused serious harm to the public order and the national interest.” 

Source: People’s Daily, September 9, 2013 
http://legal.people.com.cn/n/2013/0909/c42510-22859612.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Economy and Qiushi: Build a Domestic Internet and Information Security Industry Chain in China

On September 5, 2013, Qiushi Theory, a periodical on political theory that the Chinese Communist Party Central Party School and the CCP Central Committee publish, reprinted an article from the “Economy” periodical that the State Council of the People’s Republic of China publishes titled, “Develop the Domestic Internet and Information Security Industry Chain.” In order to prevent the United States from collecting information circulated on China’s Internet, Li Jingchun, general engineer from the National Research Center for Information Technology Security in Beijing, told the “Economy” reporter how China should develop a domestic Internet and information security industry chain. 
1) Continually invest government funding
2) Have strict uniform standards
3) Discount certification fees for domestic enterprises
4) Train more students to study information security technology
5) Isolate China’s competitors using the power of public opinion. Join some International organizations and form an information security industry alliance with developed countries. 
Source: Economy, August 2, 2013
http://www.jingji.com.cn/Item/Show.asp?m=113&d=2705 http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/wwtj/201309/t20130905_268095.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Propaganda Official: The Key Is to Strengthen Most Party Cadres’ Faith in Marxism and Communism

On September 9, 2013, People’s Daily published an article on the importance of propaganda and ideological work in China. The author of the article, Luo Shugang, Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, further explained CCP’s General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent speech at the National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference. 
1) “The key is to strengthen most Party cadres’ faith in Marxism and Communism; strengthen the entire Party, the nation, and the People of different ethnic groups’ faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics.” 
2) Resolutely obey the CCP Central Committee led by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and resolutely safeguard the authority of the CCP Central Committee.
3) Always adhere to principle of the Party’s control of media. The Chinese Communist Party has the absolute leadership position over all media and communication channels at all different levels. 
4) Punish those who spread “rumors” and “harmful information" on the Internet.
5) Guide people to look more at the bright side. Announce the full scope of authoritative information in a timely manner so as to suppress negative information and wrong views. Constantly reinforce the people’s trust and confidence.  
Source: People’s Daily, September 9, 2013
http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2013/0909/c40531-22849942.html 
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily: The Internet Has Kidnapped Real Society to Some Extent

On August 29, 2013, People’s Daily published an article titled, “The Internet Has Kidnapped Real Society to Some Extent.” According to the article, negative emotions, group anger, rumors, grandstanding, … and the chaotic Internet environment are somewhat like a ‘pressure cooker’ of society’s emotions. Any public event could detonate it and lead to serious consequences in the real society.” "Group emotions circulated online may turn into a group incident in the real world; any celebrity online may gain practical benefits offline. Gradually, the online world has kidnapped real world to some extent and has become the fission core of the trend of the entire society’s emotions and public opinions." 
Source: People’s Daily, August 29, 2013
http://js.people.com.cn/html/2013/08/29/252272.html
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

BBC Chinese: China and Kazakhstan Signed Large Oil Deal

BBC Chinese recently reported that, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan, PetroChina and KazMunaiGas signed an oil and gas supply agreement valued at US$30 billion. The deal includes selling China an 8.33 percent ownership interest in the Kashagan Oilfield, which is worth US$5 billion. The agreement also covers that China will help Kazakhstan build an oil refinery by providing a US$3 billion loan. Kashagan Oilfield, discovered in the past 50 years, is the world’s largest oilfield. Its current mineable scale is at nine to thirteen billion barrels. The Chinese purchase of the oilfield share stopped the competition from India. China has been involved in the Kazakhstan oil industry for many years now. Kazakhstan is a neighboring country of China. It is five times the size of France with a population of only seventeen million. 
Source: BBC Chinese, September 7, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2013/09/130907_china_kazakhstan_oil.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: BRICS Countries Establish Emergency Reserve

According to Xinhua, at a recent G20 press conference, Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the Chinese central bank, discussed the BRICS countries establishing a shared reserve fund. He expressed the belief that such a reserve arrangement represents a major milestone that would also contribute to global financial stability. Zhou suggested that the reserve is an important development in terms of “tangible” cooperation between the BRICS countries as it offers a much better capability to defend against “external shocks.” Zhou revealed that the new reserve arrangement involves a multi-nation currency cooperation based on the currency exchange mechanism. The initial scale of the reserve is US$100 billion with China holding the largest share. Zhou also discussed the negative impact of the U.S. exit strategy from its Quantitative Easing (QE) program. The BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Goldman Sachs was first to use the term.
Source: Xinhua, September 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-09/06/c_117253284.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Global Times: Xi Jinping Chatted with Shinzo Abe at G20

Global Times recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “quick chat” with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the VIP Lounge before the G20 summit started. Xi explained the Chinese principles on the relationship with Japan and pointed out that the relationship is currently suffering “serious difficulties.” Xi said he did not want to see this happening and that China is willing to push the strategic relationship forward based on the original four political documents signed at the time the formal China-Japan relationship was established. Abe said that he was very hopeful seeing President Xi at the G20 and that Japan was eager to improve the relationship between the two countries. 
Source: Global Times, September 5, 2013
http://world.huanqiu.com/regions/2013-09/4327924.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend