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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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Britain and China Signed Agreement on Currency Swap Valued at 21 Billion British Pounds

According to BBC Chinese on June 23, 2013, the Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China signed an agreement to establish a reciprocal 3-year sterling/renminbi (or Chinese yuan) currency swap line. The maximum value is 21 billion British pounds or 200 billion Chinese yuan.  Beijing hopes to further facilitate the internationalization of the renminbi through currency swap agreements. So far, China has signed currency swap agreements with a number of major trading partners, including Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Brazil.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 23, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/uk/2013/06/130623_uk_china_currency_deal.shtml  

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China News: More Pregnant Chinese Women Go to the U.S. for Delivery

China News recently reported that the number of pregnant Chinese women visiting the U.S. for delivery increased by twenty times in the past five years. More and more Chinese companies are getting into this new highly profitable “business.” The advertising, “return on investment higher than bank robbery,” can be seen in many places. The implication is that the United States offers much better social benefits to its citizens than what the Chinese government offers. However, the U.S. operations for many of these “delivery services” are not properly licensed. Some of them are only registered as “consulting firms.” Dual citizenship and gray legal gaps are other problems associated with this “business.” Despite all the issues, the number of “customers” coming to the U.S. grew from 600 in 2007 to over 10,000 in 2012. Most of the women delivering in the U.S. are related to company owners, executives of international firms, famous politicians, doctors, lawyers, statisticians, and professors. A typical “U.S. Baby” costs US$20,000 to US$30,000. Most of the U.S. side operations are located in Los Angeles.
Source: China News, June 24, 2013
http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2013/06-24/4959459.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Beijing News: Stock Market Landslide Results in 1.3 Trillion Loss in One Day

On June 25, Beijing News reported that, on June 24, the Chinese domestic stock market suffered a major landslide, losing RMB 1.34 trillion (around US$194 billion) in one day. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Index dropped below 2,000, which was the biggest single-day decline in 46 months. Over 200 stocks were suspended from trading. The banking stocks suffered the biggest loss. In the weeks before this landslide, a number of Chinese banks had been running very low on liquidity. The Shanghai Inter Bank Offered Rate (SHIBOR) reached over 13 percent, which was much higher than the normal level of less than 4 percent. The central bank did not immediately inject money into the market this time like it had in previous years. Sectors related to banking, such as insurance and brokerage, all suffered major losses in this round of crisis. Experts expressed the belief that mid-sized banks were the biggest losers in this wave and that this market landslide was a clear signal calling for better risk management in the Chinese banking industry. Some also blamed the QE exit strategy that the U.S. Federal Reserve had announced as being responsible for triggering the event. Since 2009, there have been four other Chinese domestic stock market landslides at this level.
Source: Beijing News, June 25, 2013
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/finance/2013/06/25/269993.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Global Times: Chinese Central Bank Requires Enhanced Liquidity Management

On June 24, Global Times reported that the Chinese central bank issued a regulatory requirement that all financial institutions, including commercial banks, must apply more control over liquidity management. The central bank statement suggested that the purpose of the new requirement is to stabilize the currency environment and to improve the handling of an increasingly volatile financial market, especially at the mid-year time point. The central bank also asked all banks to “pay careful attention” to the market trend and to maintain an adequate reserve level. Large commercial banks were asked to maintain good control over risks as well as to cooperate with the central bank in the effort to stabilize the market. The central bank statement mentioned that banks should set reasonable profit goals and loans should be used mainly to support the growth of the real economy.
Source: Global Times, June 24, 2013
http://china.huanqiu.com/politics/2013-06/4057189.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Faces Severe Shortage of Pediatricians

According to an article in Guangming Daily, China is facing a severe shortage of pediatricians. The article said that Shanghai Pediatric Hospital published statistics showing that there is less that 1 pediatrician for each 1,000 children in Shanghai. Their number was between 0.5 to 0.6 per 1,000.

The information released by the Website for China Medical Profession Talent Pool had similar findings. The website quoted the data from the Pediatrician Division of the China Medical Doctors’ Association which showed that the average number of pediatricians in China for one thousand children was only 0.26. This means there is a shortage of over 200,000 pediatricians. Some of the reasons that people are not attracted to this profession are the high risk, a heavy workload, limited personal growth, and low pay. The website stated that in 2012, most pediatricians worked over 10 hours a day in a hospital and had almost no time off on weekends.

Another concern in the pediatrics profession is an inconsistency in education and job skills between hospitals and clinics in urban and rural regions. College pediatrics graduates tend to be centralized in urban hospitals. Only 3.4 percent of the pediatricians in rural regions have college graduate degrees, while 28.8 percent holds associate degrees, and 54.2 percent are graduates from vocational schools.

Source:
Guangming Daily, June 28, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-06/28/content_8101470.htm
Website for China Medical Profession Talent Pool, April 16, 2013
http://www.120job.cn/News/12831.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Meng Jianzhu Called for Tough Measures to Crack Down on Violent Crimes in Uyghurian Region

On June 30, Meng Jianzhu, secretary of Central Politics and Law Commission, attended and spoke at the "anti-terrorist operation for maintaining the peace" rally held in Xinjaing. The Xinjiang Police Armed Forces in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, held the rally. Meng praised the work the local police had done and called for tough measures to crack down on recent violent crimes.

According to VOA, there have been a number of recent violent attacks reported in the Uyghur region in Xinjiang. On June 28, over 100 people rode motorcycles and held long knives to attack a local public security bureau in He Tian County. On the same day, about eight people broke into an armed police station and clashed with the police. On June 26, a fight broke out in Piqan County in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between the local Uyghurs and the local police, resulting in 35 deaths.

Source:
People’s Daily, June 30, 2013
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0630/c1001-22020068.html
VOA, June 29, 2013
http://www.voachinese.com/content/xinjiang-20130629/1691732.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xi Jinping: Maintain Party’s Key Leadership and Build Gigantic High-caliber Cadre Team

On June 28 and 29, prior to 92nd anniversary of Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping spoke at the central Organization Department meeting held in Beijing. Xi emphasized that the Party and the Party members are the key components in accomplishing the goals and tasks set by the Party’s 18th National Congress. According to Xi, the Party must “maintain the key leadership role” while the Party members must be “a group that has high caliber cadres.” Xi’s talk also covered other areas, including the qualities a cadre should have, the selection and development of a cadre, as well as the roles that the organization department should play during the process. Liu Yunshan, President of Central Committee, was present and also spoke at the meeting.

Source: Xinhua, June 29, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-06/29/c_116339948.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Special Interview: U.S. Didn’t Just Harm China a Little Bit

On June 26, Xinhua conducted a special interview with military expert Wang Changqin, a Professor at the PLA Academy of Military Sciences. Xinhua used the Snowden incident to continue its anti-American propaganda. In the more than one hour interview, Wang harshly attacked the U.S. while commenting on the “Prismgate" incident. 

Wang said, “The United States has a lot of different faces. In the network area, they include the so-called ‘safety victims,’ ‘moral persons’ and ‘freedom defenders,’ but, after all, these are ‘disguises.’ We the people have a saying, however: no matter how well you disguise yourself, there will always be a time when your ‘true face will be exposed.’ ‘Prismgate’ let the United States expose its ‘true face.’” 
"Now we have evidence. Everyone clearly understands now: it is not others that ‘harm’ the U.S.; it is the U.S. that harms others, especially China." “Not long ago, they were still shouting: PLA hackers attacked us. … Even the ‘big boss’ Obama also claimed that this was ‘stealing American property.’ Now we understand: the purpose of their screamingly and shouting was to conceal their act of ‘theft’!” 
“From the revelations of Snowdon, the United States didn’t just harm China a little bit [it harms China a lot instead].”
“This kind of hegemony, which is an apparent violation of human fairness, justice, and conscience has met opposition from most of the countries and people in the world, including some Americans. … Therefore, as the saying goes: He who is unjust is doomed to destruction. If the United States does not learn its lesson and stop its hegemonic acts, it will eventually ‘shoot itself in the foot,’ fall in the no-return path of ‘imperialism’ and will never be able to get up.” 
Source: Xinhua, June 26, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-06/26/c_116297101.htm
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations