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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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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

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

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

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

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
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

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
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

CRN: China Expands Its Satellite Data Receiving Capabilities

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that the Remote Sensing and Digital Earth Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences officially launched a satellite receiving station in Hainan Province. This extended China’s direct data receiving capabilities to the South China Sea. For a long period of time, China has suffered from not having sufficient data from remote sensing satellites. The new station was equipped with dual large-sized satellite dishes as well as long distance fiber data communication systems. The station is not only tasked with communicating directly with several Chinese environment and disaster monitoring satellites and earth resource satellites. It was also assigned the mission of accepting data from Pakistani satellites. The Chinese government has plans to double the capacity of this station over the next two years. The new station is strategically important because it is part of a three station national land-based satellite data receiving infrastructure. The other two stations are located in Beijing and Xinjiang. 
Source: China Review News, May 25, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1025/5/2/9/102552906.html?coluid=4&kindid=18&docid=102552906&mdate=0525075222
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China Youth Daily: U.S. Military Jumps Ahead to Develop Cyber War Rules

People’s Daily republished an article reporting on the United States’ recent developments in cyber war preparation. The article said, “Cyberspace has become an entirely new battlefield. In this new battlefield, the U.S. military was the first to wake up and the first to take action. Therefore it has benefited the most.” “It is the same as in physical space, the U.S. military has adopted a series of measures to maintain its leading edge in cyber warfare capabilities. This year, the U.S. Cyber Space Command substantially expanded its capacities, announced that it established 40 global cyber warfare combat forces, secretly implemented cyber warfare rules, and launched the "Tallinn Handbook" via NATO with the intention of using it as the International Code of cyber warfare. The U.S. military markedly speeded up the pace of cyberspace internationalization.” 

The article pointed out that “the U.S. has made it clear that China is the ‘biggest rival’ in cyberspace; it has repeatedly accused China of launching ‘cyber attacks’ and it has been disseminating the Chinese ‘cyber threats’ theory. Following the U.S. report on China’s ‘military-related hacking incidents’ earlier this year, its allies have set up or expanded its Cyber Army, in one measure after another, with the goal being to prevent Chinese ‘cyber attacks.’ 
"Under the auspices of the United States, the ‘China threat theory’ in cyberspace has entered a new stage, going from media attacks to joint counterbalancing. The United States, taking China as its ‘biggest imaginary enemy’ in cyberspace, has achieved its strategic intent of jointly counterbalancing [China] on a global scale."  

Source: China Youth Daily and People’s Daily, May 24, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0524/c1011-21595608.html 
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2013-05/24/nw.D110000zgqnb_20130524_1-09.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Scholar: Relaxing Control of the Real State Sector Will Collapse the Economy

Yi Xianrong, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Finance and Banking under China’s Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), stated that once the control of real estate is relaxed, the Chinese economy will be dead. Yi made the remarks in response to reports that the central government may relax its control of the real state sector. “China’s housing market has been very high even under the tight controls. If the controls are relaxed, there is no doubt that the economy will be dead. Once the bubble bursts, the Chinese economy will not be salvageable whatsoever.”

Source: Sina.com, May 24, 2013

http://news.sina.com.hk/news/20130524/-9-2976740/1.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

“Student Zhang, Please Return to China; Use the U.S. Style and Breathe Freely”

People’s Daily published a commentary supporting the Chinese student who criticized Joe Biden, Vice President of the United State, for the comments he made about China.

On Monday, May 13, 2013, Biden spoke at the commencement ceremony of the University of Pennsylvania. About China, Biden said, “You CANNOT think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free. You CANNOT think different in a nation where you aren’t able to challenge orthodoxy, because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy.” Zhang Tianpu, a Mainland Chinese student and graduating senior at the ceremony, felt insulted and wrote a letter to Biden demanding an apology. As of May 22, the letter had collected over 300 signatures.

State media published reports about Zhang. For example, a People’s Daily commentary stated that Biden’s self-righteousness is typical of American pride and prejudice. “The young Chinese are, in general, full of confidence in China’s situation and development. … China is walking its own path and that represents the confidence of young Chinese. This confidence is particularly valuable for the future of China and should be highly commended.”

Some Chinese newspapers and netizens thought differently. Nanfang Daily commented, “The Chinese student asked for an apology, ‘challenged orthodoxy,’ and ‘breathed freely,’ and moreover, he loved his motherland in an orthodox manner, but it reminds us of the classic joke about the former Soviet Union.” There was a popular joke in the former Soviet Union. A visiting U.S. Secretary of State told Brezhnev that people in the U.S. can criticize the U.S. President in front of the White House. Brezhnev replied, “So what? The people in the Soviet Union can also criticize the U.S. President in front of the Kremlin."

On weibo (Chinese version of twitter), some netizens urged Zhang to bring the U.S. style criticism back to China  and “breathe freely.” Others complained about Internet control in which the authorities delete their posted comments on these topics.

Sources:
Huanqiu, May 23, 2013
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-05/3961235.html
People’s Daily, May 24, 2013
http://www.people.com.cn/24hour/n/2013/0524/c25408-21594797.html
Nanfang Daily, May 23, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/o4dgr75
Weibo, May 24, 2013
http://weiba.weibo.com/10015/t/zy9s058OQ; http://weiba.weibo.com/10015/t/zy9s058OQ

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations