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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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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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Wanda Group CEO: Build Channels to Export Chinese Culture Overseas

Huanqiu recently interviewed Wang Jianling, CEO of Wanda, who told Huanqiu that China’s ability to export its culture overseas would be very difficult without acquiring and having control of the proper channels. Wang acknowledged that acquiring AMC has enabled Wanda to take a first step into the world’s culture industry. Wanda’s goal is to reach a 20 percent market share worldwide by 2020. Wang continued, “We plan to show three to five Chinese movies in the U.S. this year. I don’t care which movies will be shown but AMC must do so. Otherwise, we will fire the management. If we have worldwide channels like this, why should we be concerned about not exporting Chinese movies to the world?” Wang also claimed that Wanda might consider investing in some influential television stations overseas or participating in the distribution of English films worldwide. “Only through this, can we make culture infiltration possible and allow our culture to go out the door,” Wang said. Wanda Group recently announced a US$1.08 billion investment in building a Wanda Hotel in London and a US$483 million purchase of UK yacht builder Sunseeker. It was back in May 2012, that Wanda announced its acquisition of AMC, a U.S. Cinema chain, for US$260 million. The purchase made Wanda the largest owner of movie theaters in the world.

Source: Xinhua, July 11, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2013-07/11/c_132525691.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Huanqiu Editorial-: The U.S. Should Be More Honest in the Sino-U.S. Dialogue

Huanqiu published an editorial to give “suggestions” to the Chinese delegates participating in the China-U.S. dialogue. The following are excerpts from the article: 

“The biggest problem in China-U.S. relations is that the U.S. appears to be frank and honest, but actually, it has a lot of hidden hypocrisy and tricks. The U.S. has many systems through which it can channel and express its demands. Congressmen, labor unions, and the media can always weigh in on the issue of Sino-US relations. Some play good cop and some others play bad cop, forming a pattern of dealing with the Chinese from multi-sides.” 
“The U.S. is also good at openly posturing, trying to control the high ground through the media before the dialogue. Regarding the Internet security issues, the United States has been pretending to be a victim for several years. It has now been proven that the U.S. is the world’s most serious organizer and implementer of cyber espionage.” 
“The United States is so used to hypocrisy and being bossy. The Americans even suggest that their pretense is "good faith." We must suppress how the Americans play these bad habits in front of us.” 
“The Snowden [incident] is a good opportunity. We do not necessarily need to play the Snowden card in the China-U.S. strategic dialogue, but whether to play this card or not, the Chinese delegate should have the card ready in hand, applying it as a psychological pressure to the Americans.” 
 
“We should spare no effort to dissolve the American’s strong negotiating power. China now has a capital advantage; its market capacity is developing rapidly; technological progress is gradually catching up. The equality status between China and the U.S. is already closing; and now it is time for the United States to reflect on its attitude toward China.” 
“The Chinese delegate should strive to get stronger in the dialogue. There is no need to worry that it will damage China-U.S. relations. China-U.S. strategic relations are backed by a gigantic exchange of contents and are not so fragile.” 

Source: Huanqiu (Globe), July 11, 2013 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-07/4115156.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Red Flag Manuscript: Solidify China through Propaganda

Xinhua reprinted a Red Manuscripts’ interview of Zhan Dexiong, a Xinhua researcher, on how to use propaganda to solidify China.

Zhan stated, “Revolution depends on two rods – the gun and the pen; these are the heirlooms of the Chinese Communist Party. Looking at the situation at home and abroad, although the political, economic, cultural, and public opinion means have undergone tremendous changes, reality tells us not only that we cannot throw these two rods away; we must greatly enhance them. It is not because of people’s subjective intent, but because the reality of the situation forces us to do so.”

Zhan also stated that the current situation is unfolding in China’s favor because the United States and Europe have been struggling with their respective political or economic crises and are helplessly watching China’s rise. "You could say that we now in a better position to push propaganda and ideological work toward a new height."

Zhan recommended that China get out of the box of the Western hegemony of discourse and build its own discourse community. He also suggested, “Through propaganda, we should make clear to the cadres and the masses what are the advantages of our democracy and the Achilles heel of the West.

Source: Red Flag Mnauscripts reprinted by Xinhua, July 11, 2013 http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-07/11/c_124994085.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Qiushi: Former Soviet Union Stopped Controlling the Armed Forces

Qiushi published a commentary on how the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) abandoned its role of leadership of its armed forces and the Soviet Union ended up disintegrating.

“At that time, the Soviet Communist Party discontinued its leadership of the armed forces. At the critical juncture, the armed forces simply stood by without taking any action. At the last moment, the Soviet Union collapsed instantly and the CPSU fell apart. What a profound lesson!”

According to the commentary, first, the former CPSU discarded Lenin’s principles and abolished the CPSU leadership of the military so that, in the end, the military did not follow the Party. Second, Gorbachev’s “reform and the new thinking” collapsed the ideological foundation of the CPSU’s leadership of the military. Consequently, the military did not have a unified resolve or will at the most critical moment. Lastly, the CPSU’s unrealistic military reform undermined military discipline and order and led to chaos among the military.

Source: Qiushi, July 10, 2013
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2013/201313/201307/t20130710_247739.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Drop in China’s Foreign Trade Exacerbates Fears of Economic Slowdown

On Wednesday, July 10, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) released data showing that, in June, the total value of China’s imports and exports was two trillion yuan (US$0.3 trillion), down two percent from the same month last year. The decline in exports was as high as 3.1 percent. The data was beyond analysts’ expectations. Many expected China’s exports to grow at about four percent in June. Meanwhile the imports in June also fell by a lesser amount of 0.7 percent, indicating a weakness in China’s domestic demand.

Zheng Yuesheng, an official at GAC, worries about the severe challenges that China’s foreign trade faces. He predicted more difficulties in the second half. Zheng suggested that China needs to adjust the structure of its foreign trade to protect its products in the global market.

Source: BBC Chinese, July 10, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/07/130710_china_export.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Presented a Wax Statue of Kim Jong Il to North Korea

On July 9, the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the Great Man Wax Museum of China jointly organized a ceremony in Beijing in order to "present a wax statue of Comrade Kim Jong Il" to the Korean people. The North Korean delegation traveled to Beijing to receive Kim Jong Il’s wax statue. Zhang Murray, the president of the Great Man Wax Museum of China, delivered a speech at the ceremony. 

Source: People’s Daily, July 10, 2013 
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/0710/c1002-22144115.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Scholar: Challenges to China’s Economic and Social Transformation

On July 8, 2013, Chi Fulin, President of the China Institute for Reform and Development in Hainan Province wrote a commentary for China Business News entitled, “The Challenges and Trends in China’s Economic and Social Transformation.”

Chi stated that it was his understanding that the new Chinese government has established the goal of doubling China’s per capita GDP and per capita income by 2020. “Currently, both the international environment and the China’s domestic economic and social transformation are right in the middle of complicated, profound changes. Three key elements will determine whether or not China can achieve this goal. The first is whether China can objectively handle the challenges it faces; second is whether China can seize the opportunities available to it; and third, the key is whether China is able to speed up transformation and reform.”

Chi identified three challenges to social transformation: (1) the gap between rich and poor is quite conspicuous; (2) the social structure is irrational. So far, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s middle-income groups account for about 23 percent [of the population]; and (3) as a result, social conflicts and social risks continue to increase.”

Source: China Business News reprinted by Finance (Jingrongjie), July 8, 2013
http://opinion.jrj.com.cn/2013/07/08072415493871.shtml 

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Review News: How to Avoid Indigestion of the State Council’s Financial Guidance

On July 9, 2013, China Review News published an article discussing how to ensure the actual application of “The State Council’s Guide on the Financial Support for Economic Restructuring, Transformation, and Upgrading.” According to the article, in order to avoid “indigestion" when implementing "this good policy," relevant government agencies must develop concrete operational measures and approaches for implementating the “guide.” Meanwhile, they should establish strict reward and punishment measures to ensure the implementation of the “State’s 10 Policies” (the 10 items listed in the guide).

Source: China Review News, July 9, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1026/1/9/7/102619738.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102619738&mdate=0709063526

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics