Skip to content

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Read More ...

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Read More ...

PRC State Council Encourages More Private Capital to Enter China’s Financial Sectors

On July 5, 2013, the website of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China released a document titled, “The State Council’s Guide on Financial Support for Economic Restructuring, Transformation, and Upgrading.” The document lists ten items designed to help guide the “effective prevention and dissolution of financial risks” in China. In the ninth item of the guide, the State Council gives a green light to the establishment of private banks funded by private capital under the leadership of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. However, private banks or other private financial institutions must face their own risks.

Source:
The website of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China & Xinhua, July 5, 2013
http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-07/05/content_2440894.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-07/05/c_124964540.htm  

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Five Key Points of the China-Russia Military Exercises

Xinhua recently reported that the China-Russia joint naval military exercises had five important focal points: (1) The large scale included surface ships, submarines, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and Marine Special Forces units; (2) Both sides sent flagship level warships; (3) The scope of the exercises was wide and practical. They therefore enjoyed deep mutual trust and covered joint anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship exercises, as well as joint civilian escort missions; (4) The operational integration level, from planning to commanding, was high; (5) They emphasized real-life combat exercises and cooperation with the air force. The China-Russia “Joint Maritime 2013 Exercises” started on July 5 in the Japanese Sea. A total of 19 warships and 8 aircraft participated in the exercises. This was the first time a Chinese Naval fleet participated in international exercises with no direct logistic support from China.
Source: Xinhua, July 5, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-07/05/c_116424731.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: U.S. Missile Intercept Test Failed Again

On July 7, People’s Daily reported in its Top News section that a U.S. land based missile intercept test suffered yet another total failure in the pacific region. The report was based on the July 5th announcement made by the U.S. Department of Defense that a missile launched from the California Vandenberg Air Force Base failed to intercept a long-range missile from the Ronald Reagan Air Force Base in the Pacific. The announcement did not mention the reason of the failure. This was the third consecutive failure of the same intercept system. According to People’s Daily, the U.S. Military has conducted a total of sixteen missile intercept tests in the past. It has only eight successes on its record. The last successful intercept test occurred in the year 2008.
Source: People’s Daily, July 7, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0707/c1011-22104719.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

HSBC Chinese June PMI Number Released

China News recently reported that, on July 1, HSBC released the June PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number for the Chinese manufacturing industry. The June number was 48.2, which is lower than the previous month’s 49.2. This latest PMI number marked a nine month low and indicates that the Chinese manufacturing sector is still on a decline. The new low is directly related to the widespread decrease in customer demand. Both new orders and new exports are shrinking in volume, representing the largest slide since last September. The level of the labor workload in manufacturing companies is declining as well. This is the heaviest decrease since last August. The manufacturing sector inventory level has also dropped for the fifth month. Meanwhile investments and prices are all falling. Qu Hongbin, HSBC Chief Economist for the China Region, commented that the HSBC PMI number demonstrated that the Chinese manufacturing sector is showing signs of shouldering heavy pressure on the demand side while small and medium sized companies are seeing a deterioration of financing conditions. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.
Source: China News, July 2, 2013
http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2013/07-02/4993914.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Officer from Suzhou Petition Office: The Police Have a Duty to Beat People up

According to VOA, an officer from the Suzhou Petition Office made some shocking remarks while being videotaped. The video then spread widely over the Internet, causing many heated discussions. A local businessman from the city of Suzhou encountered resistance when he went to the Petition Office to file a complaint against a land developer. During the argument, an officer from the Petition Office shouted, “If the policeman does not beat people up, then why do we have policemen?” One writer responded with an online post saying, “The official made a true statement. This has been on people’s minds, but no one has dared to speak up.” Another post commented, “This officer’s mentality is scary, but at least it was a true statement. It contains much more powerful information than the national news program that CCTV aired just 30 minutes ago.”

VOA called the Suzhou Petition Office to interview the officer, but the office declined the request. The office stated that they could not validate the legitimacy of the reporter’s status.

In interviews with VOA on this topic, people told VOA that many local legal departments have become thoroughly corrupt. Jiang Tianyong, a rights lawyer, told VOA that the official’s remarks reflect the reality in China, making the issue a social tragedy. Hu Xingdou, a China expert from the Beijing Institute of Technology, stated that the police force has a poor public image and has become a thug for the government.

Source: VOA, July 2, 2013
http://www.voachinese.com/content/suzhou-video-clip-20130702/1693378.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Decline in Teen Physical Fitness a Major Concern in China

According to an article in China Review News, Chinese teenager’s physical health continues to decline. A research study showed that, from 2005 to 2009, the measure of power, speed and endurance, and instantaneous reactions among teenage students had gotten worse. A lack of physical exercise was cited as the major contributor. According to the article, middle school students spent an average of 11 hours a day at school including travel time, plus an additional two hours on homework or reviews. The study showed that only 9.34 percent of middle school students and 14.89 percent of high school students participate in after school sports activities in China compared to 57.39 percent, which is the average rate for Japan, the U.S., England, Australia, and Singapore.

Source: China Review News, July 6, 2013
http://www.chinanews.com/edu/2013/07-06/5010696.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Study Shows 33.5 Percent of General Public Utilize Private Lending Channels

The Chinese Family Finance Investigation and Research Center of South Western University recently conducted a research study on lending. The results disclosed that 33.5 percent of Chinese citizens utilize private lending channels. The total amount channeled through the private lending business has reached 8.6 trillion yuan (US$1.4 trillion). Of this amount, 3.8 trillion (US$0.62 trillion) was used in home financing, 3 trillion (US$0.49 trillion) was for agriculture and business financing, and the rest was used for auto equity and education. It was believed that these results indicated that the financial services in China’s banking sector have not been able to meet public demand.

Source: Guangming Daily, July 5, 2013
http://finance.gmw.cn/2013-07/05/content_8180051.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Philippines Committed “Seven Crimes” in the South China Sea Issue

The overseas edition of the People’s Daily published an article that enumerated seven “crimes” the Philippines committed in the conflict with China over the South China Sea issue. They are:  

“The first is the ‘original sin’ of illegal occupation of China’s eight Nansha islands and reefs. The second is to continually strengthen the so-called ‘actual control’ of the eight islands and reefs. The third is the attempt to turn Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Reef) into an actual possession. The fourth is unilaterally inviting foreign capital to engage in oil and gas development in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The fifth is deliberately promoting the internationalization of the South China Sea conflict. The sixth is trying all means to pull in extraterritorial countries as its supporters in order to increase the leverage against China. The seventh is the complete lack of good faith in solving the South China Sea problem through dialogue and cooperation.” 

The article warned, “If [the Philippines] wants to choose confrontation … and tries to rely on external forces to strengthen their claim, which lacks legitimacy, it is futile and will eventually prove to be a pyrrhic strategic misjudgment.” 

Source: People’s Daily (overseas edition), June 29, 2013 
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2013-06/29/content_1261261.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend