Skip to content

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

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

Read More ...

People’s Daily: China Is Leading Quantum Technology Development Worldwide

People’s Daily published an article claiming that China has made significant strides in quantum technology and become a leading country at the forefront of quantum technology research globally.

The article praised Chinese scientist Pan Jianwei and his research team at the University of Science and Technology of China for spearheading the research.

According to the article, China launched the “Micius” satellite in 2016, which was the world’s first space quantum science experimental satellite. It established a global quantum communication experiment platform, significantly advancing space-based quantum communication technology. By distributing quantum keys between the satellite and ground stations, it achieved secure communication at 10kbps, far surpassing ground-based quantum communication levels. Quantum computing is considered a key technology for the next information revolution. In 2020, China successfully constructed quantum a computing prototype “Jiuzhang” computer with 76 photons, 100,000 times faster than the fastest supercomputer at that time. China later constructed a “Jiuzhang II” computer with 113 photons, outperforming the world’s fastest supercomputers by a factor of 10 billion. “Jiuzhang II” can solve a problem in 1 millisecond that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 100 days to finish.

Source: People’s Daily, July 25, 2023
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0725/c1004-40042581.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Chinese Scholar: Possible Underestimate of Youth Unemployment Rate

According to Zhang Dandan, a professor from Beijing University, the youth unemployment rate in China may be underestimated due to discouraged workers temporarily leaving the labor force during weak job markets,

According to an article published by Zhang in China Digital Times, structural and short-term factors both contribute to high youth unemployment. In the long run, three years of COVID-19 restrictions significantly impacted consumption, business, and economic vitality. In the short run, the 16.6% year-on-year increase in college graduates in 2022 and the 12% increase in graduate students flooded the job market. Rapid AI development has also begun replacing human roles in some white-collar professions like finance and sales, disproportionately impacting highly-educated youth. While vocational youth employment has rebounded slightly since March, unemployment remains high for 4-year college graduates. The number of civil service exam takers surged 80% during the period 2022-2023, reflecting graduates’ job insecurity. With 11.58 million total 2023 graduates, competition is fierce.

According to China’s Bureau of Statistics, urban youth in the 16-to-24-year old age range comprise 96 million individuals, of whom 64 million do not have jobs. Among this group of non-laboring urban youth, 16 million are non-students, many of whom choose to “lie flat” by relying on their parents rather than working. If these individuals were counted as unemployed, the youth unemployment rate could be as high as 46.5% rather than the reported 19.7%.

College graduates are increasingly choosing to not work immediately after graduation, comprising about 75% of the youth who choose to “lie flat. This situation may be helped as college graduates reduce their salary expectations and gradually enter the workforce. However, economic recovery is needed to fundamentally address the root cause of youth unemployment.

Source: China Digital Times, July 19, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/698406.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi’an’s “Exam Migration” Controversy Tests Limits of Hukou Reforms

An imbalance in educational resources in the Chinese city of Xi’an sparked intense debate last week. Parents sought answers from the local education authorities, asking why so many students from other provinces took the high school entrance exam (zhongkao) in the city this year.

After the Xi’an government released the results of the zhongkao (senior high school entrance examination) results on July 14th, rumors circulated that 40,000 of the 100,000 exam takers were “returning students” – students who came to Xi’an just to take the exam, hoping to later take the Xi’an gaokao (college entrance exam) because Xi’an has a lower college admission cutoff than other areas. This would potentially enable test takers to get into better universities.

Experts believe that the trend of allowing outsiders to take exams locally is “irreversible” in most cities, saying that authorities should be rational about zhongkao and gaokao migration and be more transparent about “returning student” data.

Xi’an officials responded last week, claiming only 3,608 “returning students,” or 3.5% of exam takers, took the zhongkao in Xi’an. The parents of local students, who were not convinced by the official data, protested against unfair use of local resources by outsiders. After widespread pushback from parents, Xi’an authorities launched an investigation. By Monday, police had detained 40 people for providing false registration information to ineligible students.

The “returning students” benefited from Xi’an’s 2017 household registration (hukou) reforms, which allowed non-local children of Xi’an hukou holders working elsewhere to take exams in Xi’an. The reforms also granted Xi’an hukou to outsider talent, making their children eligible to take Xi’an school tests as “returning students.”

Experts say the core issue at play is unequal distribution of educational resources nationwide, with college admission cutoff lines being different from one province to another. This gives rise to the phenomenon of “zhongkao migration.”

Authorities have vowed to verify each “returning student’s” eligibility and cancel admissions obtained fraudulently. By Monday, police had cracked down on institutions providing false services to ineligible students.

Source: BBC, July 24, 2023
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-66291281

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xi Jinping Calls for Strengthened Farmland Protection

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently stressed the importance of food security, calling for enhanced protection of China’s farmland, improved quality of the farmland, and full utilization of the potential of saline-alkali land to boost agricultural production.

On July 20, Xi chaired a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Financial and Economic Committee to study the issues of strengthening farmland protection and comprehensive improvement of saline-alkali land. The meeting notes say that China’s situation, with a large population and a small amount of land, has not changed, and that the country still faces prominent problems around use of farmland for non-agricultural purposes. The meeting stressed the need to “ensure that the red line of 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectacres) of farmland will never be broken.”

The meeting stated that the central government should motivate farmers and local governments to protect farmland and promote grain production, establish a mechanism to guarantee the income of grain farmers, and develop various forms of moderate-scale agricultural operations.

The meeting pointed out that the comprehensive improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land is an important aspect of farmland protection and improvement. China has a large amount of saline-alkali land, and the trend of saline-alkaliization of farmland in some areas is becoming more serious. The meeting notes said that it is of great significance that China launch a project of comprehensive improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land, fully tapping the potential of saline-alkali land, strengthening the improvement of existing saline-alkali farmland, and effectively curbing the trend of saline-alkaliization of farmland.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 20, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307200385.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

LTN: The Illusion of China’s GDP

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently published a commentary on China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) authored by Yen Qingzhang (顏慶章), who served as Taiwan’s Minister of Finance and was the first ambassador of Taiwan to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Below are some key points made in the article.

GDP has become the main data point for measuring national output and economic activity across the world. China’s official records state that, in 1985, the country’s State Council gave approval for the National Bureau of Statistics to calculate China’s GDP using the System of National Accounts (SNA) methodology recommended by the United Nations. However, on March 18, 2022, China’s National Supervision Commission for Central Discipline Inspection (中央紀委國家監委) officially stated that “in recent years, the National Bureau of Statistics has resolutely investigated and dealt with statistical violations of disciplines and laws, but the problem of persistent statistical fraud is still relatively prominent.”

In 2019, a joint publication by University of Chicago Economist Xie Changtai and three scholars from the Chinese University of Hong Kong concluded that China’s economic data, including industrial exports and investment amounts, have been skewed for a long time. The paper indicated that China’s annual GDP growth from 2008 to 2016 was exaggerated by an average of two percentage points per year. Cumulatively, the official figures for 2016 are exaggerated by 16 percent, equivalent to more than US$1.5 trillion.

The tragic truth of China’s economic development, putting aside controversy around GDP exaggeration, is that the “achievements” of China’s economic growth have not resulted in accumulation of national wealth. To the contrary, the country’s wealth has been hollowed out. First, as far as residential construction and real estate are concerned, there are as many as 60 million empty housing units. What a waste of GDP! Second, investment by local governments in public facilities, originally an important factor driving local GDP, has been corrupted to the point of being unusable with the passage of time. Although future demolition of unnecessary construction projects will contribute to GDP, such demolition will not create any real wealth. Third, public investment by the central government in major projects such as China’s highspeed railway system have suffered from major losses. The highspeed railway’s income can only compensate for its electricity consumption, and by the end of 2022 the railway system’s liabilities totaled RMB 6 trillion (around US$0.834 trillion).

Source: LTN, July 23, 2023
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/4365526

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

CNA: Taiwanese Businesses Withdrawal from China

Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that Taiwanese capital is leaving mainland China at an accelerated rate. This is due to geopolitical concerns linked to post-pandemic changes in international supply chains.

In the past, the primary reasons Taiwanese companies might leave China were economic — businesses wished to optimize production costs or avoid high tariffs under the Sino-US trade war after 2018. Now, the primary reason for Taiwanese businesses flight from China is due to international political factors.

New Taiwanese investment in China during the period between January and May of 2023 decreased by 4.05 percent year-over-year. Taiwan-funded consulting companies have been holding lectures on how to close companies and sell factories in China, and Taiwanese companies have been withdrawing large sums of money from the country. Taiwanese listed companies repatriate a total of NT$114.4 billion (around US$3.7 billion) in investment profits from China in 2022, the highest figure since 2013.

In the meantime, Taiwan’s total overseas investment in countries excluding China surged by 197 percent during the period from January to May, totaling US$8.3 billion. Taiwanese investment in Southeast Asia has almost doubled.

In addition to imposing export controls on high-tech products to China, the United States has been promoting the concept of “friend-shoring,” advocating that production should be outsourced to allies with similar values rather than to strategic competitiors like China and Russia.

Source: CNA, July 21, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202307210113.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Vatican Finally Recognizes Beijing-Picked Bishop

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that Pope Francis has backed down on his earlier position, agreeing to formally recognize Beijing’s pick of Shen Bin as the new bishop of Shanghai. Beijing placed She Bin in this position three months ago.

Although the Vatican agreed to recognize Shen Bin, it criticized China’s unilateral decision on personnel as “disregarding the spirit of dialogue and cooperation.” The Bishop position of the Shanghai Diocese had been vacant for ten years since the previous bishop Jin Luxian passed away in 2013. Father Ma Daqin, once seen as a successor to Jin Luxian, was placed under house arrest after he resigned from his positions in the official Chinese Patriotic Association. The Vatican said in April that they only learned about China’s appointment of Shen Bin from media reports.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that the Pope’s decision to accept Shen Bin as the Shanghai bishop is for the benefit of the Shanghai Diocese and to promote dialogue with the Chinese authorities. Parolin also said China’s move runs counter to the “spirit of cooperation” outlined in the 2018 agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops.

China and the Vatican have had no formal diplomatic relations since the Communist Party took power and expelled foreign priests in 1951. However, the two sides do have a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops, originally signed in 2018 and extended for two-year periods in 2020 and 2022. The wording of the agreement has been kept secret.

Source: DW Chinese, July 16, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/mrj3nwv5

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Rare Earth Manufacturers Struggle to Profit

(Editor’s Note: Ever since the US began negotiating with China over fair trade and tariffs under the Trump administration, some Chinese scholars have talked about restricting rare earth exports from China as an powerful weapon against the US. However, recent news showed that Chinese manufacturers of rare earth cannot generate large profits, making people wonder if Beijing really has the power to control the rare earth market.)

China’s online news media Sina reported that, in the first half of this year, Chinese rare earth companies experienced a significant drop in revenue and profits due to falling demands and prices. This contrasts sharply with the high prosperity of the same period last year. Companies like China Rare Earth (中国稀土), Northern Rare Earth (北方稀土), Rising Nonferrous Metals Share (广晟有色), and Xiamen Tungsten (厦门钨业) all reported a slump in net profits. Additionally, industry leader Jiangsu Huahong Technology (华宏科技) went from being profitable to reporting a loss. Experts attribute the continuous decline in rare earth prices to insufficient demand and increased supply. The second half of the year remains uncertain, as the future trend depends on whether demand will increase substantially.

Source: Sina, July 19, 2023
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2023-07-19/doc-imzcfekt6975040.shtml

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources