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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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Xinhua: U.S. Engages “Double Standard” on Anti-Terrorism; It Is Like a Dog in the Manger

Xinhua published a commentary to rebut the U.S. State Department spokesman’s statement on the recent incident in Bachu County in Xinjiang, which the Chinese government characterized as violence and terrorism. The article said, “The U.S. not only did not condemn the incident; on the contrary, it criticized China’s ethnic and religious policies for no reason. This type of behavior of engaging in a ‘double standard’ in the fight against terrorism will, in the end, end up being a dog in the manger.”

"In 2002, after the ‘9/11’ incident, the United States cooperated with the international community to support the United Nations Security Council’s decision to list the ‘East Turkistan Islamic Movement’ as a terrorist organization.  However, with the advance of the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq war, Washington began to change its stance; it vigorously implemented a ‘double standard’ in the fight against terrorism. The most prominent manifestation includes selectively ignoring the extremist groups in the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian and the "East Turkistan" terrorist organizations that threaten China’s national security.” 
The article advises the United States, in the fight against terrorism, not to do things like a dog in the manger. 

Source, Xinhua, April 26, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-04/26/c_124637279.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Eighty Percent of the Imported Milk Powder Products in China Involves Fraudulent Packaging

According to a CCTV report, most of the milk powder that is sold in China and labeled as “imported” is fake. Reporters found that, in the infant milk powder area of several large supermarkets in Beijing, the vast majority of the shelves were filled with imported milk powder; very few were domestic products. However, they had never heard of many of the brands and those brands could not be found in the country from which they allegedly came. They were only sold in China. The reporter found that the labels on many of these milk powders were falsified. They were packaged as foreign OEM-milk. [Editor’s note: Due to numerous scandals involving Chinese domestic milk products, people don’t trust local brands.] 

There are less than 100 well-known foreign brands of milk powders and only about 20 of them have entered the Chinese market. However, the number of milk powders in the Chinese market that had foreign brand names exceeded 100. The other 80 brands were [fraudulently] packaged as imported foreign products. Many of these milk powders are processed in China with the raw milk coming from abroad; some even use domestic raw milk to process the milk powder. 

Source: Xinhua, April 28, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-04/28/c_124644058.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: North Korea Asks Mongolia for Food

Xinhua recently published a report on aid to North Korea based on a number of different international media sources. On April 22, the North Korean Ambassador to Mongolia told the Mongolian President that North Korea “may soon face a very serious food shortage.” He asked if Mongolia would consider the possibility of providing assistance in the form of food. Korea shares a common cultural heritage with Mongolia, such as their ancient language. On the same day, the United States suggested that it would consider resuming food aid as long as North Korea would allow personnel from the U.S. to monitor the distribution and allocation of the food provided by the U.S. The United States recently refused the acknowledgement of North Korea’s status as a nuclear country.
Source: Xinhua, April 24, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-04/24/c_124622524.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFA: Seven Christian Church Members Sentenced in China

Radio Free Asia (RFA) recently reported that seven Christian house church members in Henan Province were accused of being “evil cult members” and were sentenced to up to seven years in prison. These Christian church members were arrested because they were using a version of the Bible that the government does not officially approve. The churches that use these particular Bibles are considered to be an “evil cult.” Lawyers defending the church members suggested that many countries, such as the United States, allow people to use different versions of the Bible. However the court ignored the lawyer’s arguments. Zhang Mingxuan, Chairman of the Mainland House Church Alliance, commented that this is another example of the consistent approach the Communist authorities use to crush freedom of religion. The China Aid Association of the United States described the sentence as “shocking.”
Source: Radio Free Asia, April 23, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/religion-04232013102804.html?encoding=simplified
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

People’s Daily: Top Ten Companies That Suffered Large Losses are State Owned

People’s Daily recently reported on the final 2012 annual reports of publicly traded companies. Of those companies that suffered the largest losses, the top ten are all state-owned. These ten companies had total losses of RMB 50 billion (US$8.11 billion). They received a total of RMB 57 billion (US$9.25 billion) in government subsidies last year as well. The number one loser was China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), which reported a loss of RMB 9.56 billion (US$1.55 billion). The second and the third were Aluminum Corporation of China (CHALCO) and Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC); they lost RMB 8.23 billion (US$1.33 billion) and RMB 6.95 billion (US$1.13 billion), respectively. Five of the top ten were steel companies, led by Anshan Iron and Steel, which lost RMB 4.16 billion (US$670 million). All these companies blamed the downturn in the market for their losses. However, based on a deeper study of the reports, many state-owned companies spent a large amount of money in different industries, instead of their primary ones. They especially suffered heavy losses in their stock market investments.
Source: People’s Daily, April 28, 2013
http://ccnews.people.com.cn/n/2013/0428/c141677-21313410.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Outlook: China’s Financial System Faces Danger

[Editor’s Note: Outlook Newsweek published an article stating that China’s financial system is facing great risks. These risks range from an abundance of financial service offerings to an increasing number of companies involved in financial activities; from local government’s excess borrowing to the central government’s providing insufficient supervision. The following are some excerpts from the article.] [1]

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Reports | | |   Report

Iron and Steel Industry: Supply Exceeds Demand with High Cost and Low Profit

According to the China Iron and Steel Association, the sales for China’s Iron and Steel industry were up 0.94 percent to 875.8 billion yuan (USD$142 billion) in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year, while its first quarter profit reached $2.486 billion yuan (USD$400 million). Monthly profits in Q1 declined, with 1.3 billion (US$210 million) in January, 998 million (US$162 million) in February, and 267 million (US$42 million) in March. These figures suggest that, while the production volume remains high, it exceeds the weaker market demand. Predictions are that the overall iron and steel market will improve over last year. However it will continue to operate at a high cost and with low profit.

Source: People’s Daily, April 28, 2013
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2013/0428/c1004-21312705.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

First Group of 50 Officials to Attend Media Training Class

On April 11, the Communication University of China and the China Public Relations Association established the first “Media Training Center for Leaders and Managers.” The training center will teach officials how to interact with the media and the public. The  first group of 50 officials will attend in mid-May. They will take a five day training course which includes the study of cases and theory; it will also include live demos and exercises.

According to Dong Guanpeng, the Principal of the Communication University of China, many leaders currently lack the skills needed to work with the media. They simply rely on the spokesperson in their work unit to deal with the media. However. that person is not the decision maker and does not have access to the overall information. There are many other media training classes in the public relations market but many of them teach skills related to how to delete social media postings rather than the skills of working with the media and public. Therefore, the first training center was meant to correct the chaotic situation in the market and attract officials from around the country. They have invited Wang Guoqing, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office to be the board director of the training center.

Source: Xinhua, April 28, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-04/28/c_124643018.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics