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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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Beijing News: State Council Considers Allowing Private Banks

Beijing News recently reported that the State Council announced a series of new policies at its latest executive meeting. One decision was the policy that the central government will no longer require approval for 32 counts of earlier restricted activities such as non-stop direct railway passenger and cargo transportation plans, or a change in the registration of publishing businesses. The goal is to promote fewer government regulations in market-based operations. One key focal point of the discussion at the meeting was the intent to allow the creation of private banks. The meeting recognized that the Chinese market has a significant lack of competition in the banking sector. Meanwhile, small businesses, private companies, as well as agricultural areas suffer a serious lack of lenders. The large state-owned banks are typically not interested in lending money to the businesses other than state-owned companies, which often enjoy fewer risks and a higher profit margin due to government endorsement. 
Source: Beijing News, June 20, 2013
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2013-06/20/content_441918.htm?div=-1
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi Jinping: The South China Sea Issue Should not Interfere with China-Vietnam Relations

On June 19, 2013, China News reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met with Vietnamese President Zhang Jin in Beijing. Xi suggested that the two nations should prevent the issues of the South China Sea from interfering in the relationship between the two neighbors. Xi said China is determined to solve the issues in a political manner such as bilateral negotiations and friendly discussions. China called for stopping any activity that would further complicate the situation and for avoiding the internationalization of the issues. President Zhang agreed to the friendly negotiation approach and suggested that Vietnam is willing to participate actively in the joint delimitation effort as well as the peaceful joint development plan. Vietnam also does not want the issues to be a threat to the relationship between the two countries. The China News report described the meeting as “friendly and frank.”
Source: China News, June 19, 2013
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2013/06-19/4947354.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Global Times: Russia Signed Long-Term Oil Supply Deal with China

Global Times recently reported that, on June 21, Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft Oil, signed a long-term oil supply contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Deputy Premier Zhang Gaoli were both present at the ceremony. The contract is for Russia to supply 365 million tons of crude oil to China over the next 25 years. The total contract value is around US$270 billion. The contract was based on a framework agreement between the two governments which signed in March 2013. 
Source: Global Times, June 21, 2013
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-06/4051963.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFA: Tibet Completed Real-name Telephone, Cell Phone, and Internet Registration Process

RFA reported that Tibet has become the first region in China to have completed the real-name Telephone, Cell Phone and Internet registration process. RFA said it believed the measure was an effort the Chinese government used to intensify information control in Tibet, .

The statistics suggested that there are 2.7 million land line and mobile telephone users as well as 1.4 million Internet users registered in Tibet. However a Tibetan resident told RFA that, if they paid a high enough price, they could buy a mobile phone outside of Tibet and use it in Tibet.

Also the effect of the real name registration process is questionable. People told RFA that it is extremely difficult to control the flow of information in today’s advanced information era. “Even though China made a requirement last year that all microblog users register using their real names, online criticisms against the government did not diminish. According to RFA, this is a clear indication that the real name registration system has limited effectiveness in media control.”

Source: RFA, June 19, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/xql-06192013151943.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Ministry of Environmental Protection Issued its May Report on Air Quality

According to China Review News, on June 19, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued its May report on the air quality in 74 cities. In those cities, the number of days that met the air quality standard was only 60 percent. The number was much lower in the Beijing, Tianjing, and Shandong province region which dropped from 50.6 percent in April to 27.4 percent in May. Beijing was again listed among the ten cities with the worst air quality. In May it only had 8 days during which air quality met the standard. In Hebei Province alone, six cities placed in the top ten list of those with the worst air quality.

Source: China Review News, June 20, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1025/8/9/9/102589915.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=102589915&mdate=0620101342

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Top Party Official Affirmed Policy that “Party Members Are Not Allowed to Practice Religion”

According to Huanqiu, in a recent interview with China Newsweek, Zhu Weiqun, the head of the Committee for Social, Legal，Ethnic, and Religious Affairs and former executive vice director of the United Front Work Department stated once again, “It needs be very clear and firm that Communist Party members are not allowed to practice religion.” According to Zhu, “If the Party members are allowed to practice religion, our Party will be demobilized in Party ideology and organizational structure while we will lose the Party’s advanced nature.”

Zhu also denied that his statement contradicts the “freedom to practice religion” as guaranteed in the constitution. He believes that one can choose either to practice a religion or to join the Party, but not both.

Zhu did acknowledge that the number of people who practice religion is growing and that the influence that religion is having on society is also increasing. He estimated the total number of people who practice the top five religions in China is over 100 million.

Source: Huanqiu, June 16, 2013
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2013-06/4031025.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China State-Run Media Use the Snowden Incident to Attack U.S. Values

People’s Daily, overseas edition, which is distributed to Chinese all over the world, published a commentary that used the Snowden incident to attack the U.S. values of human rights and freedom of expression. 

The article was titled, “The Snowden incident blew off the cosmetics of the human rights issue from the American face.” The article said, “The ‘Prism project’ clearly tells people that the United States is trying to control the massive information transmitted within the entire Internet.” “The leader of equality, democracy, freedom, and fraternity" is nothing but a thick layer of ‘cosmetics’ covering the face of the United States." “The truth is that the U.S. has been using a double standard, yelling at other countries but being indifferent to its own illegal acts. The U.S. intelligence system has been using a variety of means to monitor the flow of information in cyberspace in order to ensure U.S. national security, even if it is at the cost of individual citizens’ privacy being potentially or actually threatened.” 

The article was re-posted all over the websites of China’s state media. 

Source: People’s Daily, Overseas edition, June 20, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-06/20/c_124880986.htm http://news.cntv.cn/2013/06/20/ARTI1371688926444143.shtml 
http://world.huanqiu.com/regions/2013-06/4044520.html http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/gjgc/201306/t20130620_241558.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Huanqiu Warns Chinese Dissidents Not to Flee to the United States

Shan Renping, a commentator for China’s state-owned Huanqiu, published a commentary on Chen Guangcheng, the blind activist who fled China with the help of the United States. The commentary was clearly intended to dissuade other Chinese from taking similar actions. “There are some dissidents in China who believe that once they arrive in the United States, they will be treated as a treasure. This is their misunderstanding.”

“China and the United States are not enemies. Cooperation between the two countries will confuse those who live off the rice bowl of ‘Sino-US confrontation.’ They will feel that the United States is ‘not resolute’ in its attitude toward China, and that the United States chickens out during its fight against China. They even complain about ‘being ‘betrayed’ because they answered the call of the United States and took China as the enemy, only to be ‘abandoned halfway.’”

“China’s rapid development has attracted people around the world to come to look for development opportunities. At this time betraying this country’s mainstream development process and attempting to develop a personal life through renouncing this country is bound to be difficult in the long run. Such people will have no future.”

Source: Huanqiu, June 20, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2013-06/4044144.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations