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Expert Blames SOE’s Privileged Status for New College Graduates’ Low Employment

The year 2013 has seen the largest number of college graduates since 1949. With 6.99 million new graduates, there were 190,000 more that last year. However, the rate of employment for these graduates is less than 30 percent. In fact, a large number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) need college students, but many students do not want to work at SMEs.

Zhang Weiying, a prominent Chinese economist and  head of the Guanghua School of Management at Beijing University, attributed the mismatch in the Chinese job market to the ingrained notion that only a job at a state-owned enterprise (SOE) is secure; it is called the "iron rice bowl," whereas a job with a private enterprise is only good for a temporary situation. Zhang believed that the government has set up a large number of SOEs; they receive more resources and better treatment than private enterprises. If SOEs did not have such an identity, employment opportunities would be relatively fair and students would not have to pick and choose.

A media survey found that many students use personal connections to hunt for jobs at SOEs. Many employers’ hiring decisions are based upon the applicant’s connections rather than their capabilities. The students who get into SOEs through personal connections create a new form of nepotism. Beijing News conducted a recent survey which showed that about 21.5 percent of those surveyed admitted this regarding the question, "Have you used personal connections when looking for a job?"

Source: Beijing News, carried by Caijing magazine, May 30, 2013
http://economy.caijing.com.cn/2013-05-30/112843978.html

China Military Think Tank: U.S. Accelerating Asia “Re-Balancing” Is Targeting China

In the report, "Strategic Assessment 2012," published on May 28, 2013, in Beijing, China’s military think tank, the Research Center for Military Defense Policy at the Academy of Military Science (AMS), pointed out that, in accelerating its Asia-Pacific "rebalancing" strategy, the United States has a clear intention of targeting China. This has added a lot of variables to China-U.S. relations, but the possibility of a complete confrontation between the two countries remains modest. 

The annual report "Strategic Assessment 2012" is the second book the Center has published on the strategic assessment. In last year’s "Strategic Assessment 2011,"the report indicated that, in this new round of post-Cold War major strategic adjustments, the U.S.’s core goal was to ensure its ‘global leadership’ and its main task was to revive the economy, focus on the Asia-Pacific region and cope with the rise of emerging powers. It was clearly targeting China." 
Based on this assessment, this year’s report said the U.S.’s strategic adjustment of focusing on promoting the Asia-Pacific "rebalancing" gives the impression, not only to China but also to its neighboring countries, that it is “targeting China” and “containing China.” This has resulted in China’s peripheral security environment becoming increasingly complex. The mutual suspicion between China and U.S. only exacerbates the issue. The possibility of third-countries causing tensions has also increased. The prospect of maintaining the overall stability of Sino-U.S. relations now faces new uncertainties. 
Source: People’s Daily, May 28, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0528/c1011-21644649.html

PLA’s Report: Let the World Hear Our Voice

On May 28, 2013, the Academy of Military Science (AMS), the highest-level research institute of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), published a report titled "The Strategic Assessment 2012." The report analyzed the international strategic situation and regionally sensitive issues, as well as setting forth some counter strategies.

Experts and scholars from several different disciplines prepared the AMS 2012 report, which is now published in both Chinese and English. it contains a total of nearly 50, 000 words. The report includes a preface and nine chapters: Asian Pacific Strategic Situation, the U.S. Asian Pacific “Re-balancing,” U.S.-China Relations, Strategic Gaming by Major Powers, New Trends in Regional Economic Development, Asia-Pacific Maritime Security, the Iranian Nuclear Crisis, the Korean Peninsula, and the Asia-Pacific Military Competition.

The AMS 2012 report is the second research report to perform a strategic assessment. Henceforth it will be an annual report.

Chen Zhou, chief editor of the AMS 2012 report, stated in an interview, “Releasing the annual assessment report is to let the world learn about our viewpoint and to hear our voice.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 28, 2013
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/0528/c1031-21649804.html

The Source of China’s Financing Chaos

On May 22, 2013, 21cbh.com, a professional financial news website under the 21st Century Media Group in Guangdong Province, published an article titled, “The Source of China’s Financing Chaos.”

According to the article, a large number of small and medium enterprises have two or even more sets of financial records, one of which is used only for applying for bank loans. However, this set of financial records is not accurate in presenting the true financial situation of the enterprise. As a result of this practice, banks and trust companies would rather lower their interest rate for large enterprises than lend money to the small and medium enterprises.

Source: 21cbh.com, May 22, 2013
http://www.21cbh.com/HTML/2013-5-22/4MMDM2XzY4OTQ4MQ.html

Huanqiu: Soft Power Can No Longer Solve the South China Sea Dispute; Strike Whenever Necessary.

On May 27, 2013, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article on the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines titled “Soft Power Can No Longer Solve the South China Sea Dispute; Strike Whenever Necessary.” The article reported on a recent interview of Han Xudong, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, on a Shanghai-based radio station .

In the interview, Han Xudong said, “Diplomacy only has leverage when backed by military might. As Renai Shoal and Scarborough Shoal are the sovereign territory of China, why can’t we make military moves now to protect our territorial rights? China’s marine power is now strong enough to protect our national interests and rights. (China should) exercise its diplomatic and military clout interactively to achieve its aim.”

Source: Huanqiu, May 27, 2013
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2013-05/3973411.html

People’s Daily Website Invites Articles for The Dishonest Americans Series

On May 22, 2013, the People’s Daily website launched a column called “The Dishonest Americans Series.” The series invited Chinese to write about their unhappy experiences in the United States. The following is the Editor’s note introducing a complaining article titled “U.S. Refuses to Apologize after Insulting Passengers.”

“From the editor: Most Chinese people think that Americans are honest, reliable, and righteous. However, once you live in that country for a while, you may discover the descriptions above are a bit misleading. Today’s topic on “The Dishonest Americans Series” does not refer to all Americans. We want to disclose some incidents and Americans we have encountered so as to provide a more objective picture of what the U.S. and Americans are really like.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 22, 2013
http://usa.people.com.cn/n/2013/0522/c241376-21564627.html
http://usa.people.com.cn/n/2013/0522/c241376-21564657.html

Xinhua: China and Switzerland Sign MOU on Free Trade Agreement

Xinhua reported that China and Switzerland signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on May 24. This concluded the FTA negotiations that started in 2010. The signing of the MOU is the last step before the final agreement is officially established. This action marked the top agenda item for China’s new Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Switzerland. The China-Swiss FTA, after nine rounds of negotiations, will be the first FTA between China and a European country. It is also the first FTA China has with one of the World’s Top-Twenty Developed Countries. China is currently Switzerland’s largest trade partner in Asia and Switzerland is China’s seventh largest trade partner in Europe as well as its sixth largest source of foreign investments. 
Source: Xinhua, May 24, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-05/25/c_115905331.htm

Xinhua: HSBC Chinese PMI Initial Value Broke the Redline

Xinhua recently reported that the HSBC PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number for the Chinese manufacturing industry had an initial value of 49.6 for the month of May. The new number is the lowest in seven months. The breakdown numbers for new orders, new exports, and the employment index are all below fifty. Experts expressed the belief that these numbers indicated a decline in the manufacturing industry. The outlook for the second quarter is not optimistic. Low export levels seems to have had a direct impact on the overall decline of manufacturing activities. However the domestic demand side is weak as well. The central government investment in April was weakened and manufacturers faced inventory pressure. In addition to PMI numbers, the growth rate of the generated electrical energy in May also suffered a decline. 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: Xinhua, May 24, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-05/24/c_124756706.htm