Chinascope – Page 854

Chinese Tourists Ranked First in the Global Shopping Market for Three Consecutive Years

According to the Chinese Luxury Traveler White Paper that the Hurun Report released on June 4, 2013, this is the third consecutive year that Chinese tourists have ranked first in the global shopping market. Chinese tourists’ overseas consumption in 2012 grew rapidly at the rate of 57 percent over 2011, while the global tourists spending rate growth remained at around 30 percent. The average amount that Chinese travelers spend per trip is 71 percent higher than the global average.

Source: Beijing News, June 4th, 2013
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/finance/2013/06/04/266929.html

Briefings | | June 5, 2013 | Economy/Resources

China’s Rural Environment Deteriorates

On June 4, 2013, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) released a report on China’s environment. According to the report, pollution has resulted in the poor quality of the water and air in China. Of a total of 113 environmentally protected cities, only 23.9 percent meet acceptable air quality criteria.

The rural environment, including drinking water and air, suffers different degrees of contamination. Last year, China’s emission of chemical oxygen and its ammonia emissions was 24.2 million tons and 2.54 million tons respectively. Rural pollution has resulted in food safety problems. For example, not long ago, Guangdong Province had to admit that their rice contained heavy metals that had exceeded safety criteria.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 4, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/06/130604_china_environment_rural.shtml

Briefings | | June 5, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Huanqiu Compares U.S. Companies with the Eight-Power Allied Forces that Invaded in 1900

In an article published on June 4, 2013, Huanqiu expressed its unhappiness with the United States’ accusations about China’s cyber attacks against the U.S. Hunqiu warned of the potential danger to security that eight specific American companies may have brought to China. The companies are Cisco, IBM, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Apple, Oracle, and Microsoft. The article compared these eight companies to the Eight-Power Allied Forces, the aggressive troops that Britain, the United States, Germany, France, tsarist Russia, Japan, Italy, and Austria sent to China in 1900 and said that the eight companies are even more dangerous in a time of crisis.

The writer made three suggestions about how to restrict the power and freedom of these eight companies in China.

Source: Huanqiu, June 5, 2013
http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-06/3998303.html

Briefings | | June 5, 2013 | US-China Relations

Li Keqiang: Turning the Service Industry into an Economic Growth Engine

People’s Daily recently reported that new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered a speech at The Second Beijing International Services Forum and Trade Fair & The Beijing Global Services Summit. In his speech, Li pointed out that the service industry is playing a more and more important role in international development and cooperation. The employment volume in the Chinese service industry has surpassed that in agriculture. However the contribution this industry has made to the growth of China’s GDP is lower than in other developing countries. The Chinese government is determined to develop its service industry to become the key driving force of the sustainability of the Chinese economy. Li suggested that the service industry should play a much more important role in providing employment opportunities, pushing strategic economic structural adjustments, realizing the modernization of the country, and improving the socialist market mechanism. Li also suggested that his government will give priority to expanding international services, increasing international investments in the service industry, establishing a fair services trade market, and promoting free trade in this industry.

Source: People’s Daily, June 2, 2013

http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0602/c1024-21701819.html

Briefings | | June 4, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua: China’s Response to U.S. Accusations of Chinese Military Hacking

Xinhua recently reported on Chinese General Yao Yunzhu’s response to the accusations that U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel made at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue that both of them had attended. General Yao thanked Secretory Hagel for his “multiple mentions of China” and suggested that China never believed that the daily expansion of U.S. Asia-Pacific presence is not against China. At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Yao expressed the belief that there is no value in stealing U.S. hardware technologies, as China is fully capable of developing its own. Hagel publicly accused China of “invading” U.S. network systems . He suggested that some of the hacking activities are related to the Chinese government and the Chinese military. The U.S. media recently referred to some latest investigation reports that showed Chinese hackers’ success in obtaining over twenty secret U.S. combat system designs. The Chinese government has already called these reports “baseless.” The U.S. Department of Defense recently announce detailed plans for deploying significantly more resources in the Asia-Pacific region to support the so-called “rebalancing strategy.”

Source: Xinhua, June 2, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-06/02/c_124797952.htm

Briefings | | June 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

China Net: China Plans to Enhance National Accreditation Systems

China Net recently reported that the State Council has just announced a plan to enhance a number of different national accreditation systems. Of all of the systems planned, the accreditation standard for information security products was given a top priority. The plan also required a “breakthrough” in the technologies used to establish and enhance the accreditation systems in other key fields, including food safety, carbon emissions, new energy, environmental protection, transportation vehicles, agriculture, biology, medicine, and contemporary services. The plan also called for establishing complete and strengthened national or industry standards, as well as improving China’s capability of participating in the processes of building international standards. The plan also included requirements to expand the technology for measuring and tracing capacities, which should be fully compliant with international metrological standards.

Source: China Net, May 29, 2013

http://www.china.com.cn/news/txt/2013-05/29/content_28970217.htm

Briefings | | June 4, 2013 | Information/Technology

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

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

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.