Skip to content

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Read More ...

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Read More ...

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 ...

People’s Daily: RMB Appreciation Hits New Highs

People’s Daily recently reported that the Chinese currency (RMB) exchange rate reached a new high in ten of the trading days in April. This was the largest round of appreciation since 2005. The appreciation level so far this year was over six times more than the level of the entire last year. However, the report expressed the belief that, based on the basic data of the Chinese economy, this round of RMB appreciation seems to be overheated. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange recently announced regulations to tighten up control over foreign exchange inflow. This move effectively cooled down the inflow of hot money, which was widely considered to be the result of the monetary “easing” policies of Japan, the U.S., and the European Union. Experts suggested that the appreciation may become an obstacle for Chinese exports and that the RMB has room for depreciation.
 
Source: People’s Daily, May 11, 2013
http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2013/0511/c40531-21447088.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Nanfang Daily: State Council Considering Individual Overseas Investment System

Nanfang Daily, a daily newspaper based in the City of Guangzhou, recently reported that the State Council Executive Meeting discussed a plan to open the option for individuals to invest directly overseas. Currently only some approved organizations (QDII) are permitted to make direct overseas investments. A plan for direct individual investments to be made into the Hong Kong stock market was attempted in 2007, but was called off. It was decided that a new international investment system for individuals will be established with a carefully designed protection mechanism for medium and small investors. A clear plan for opening up capital accounts was also discussed at the Executive Meeting. The French bank Societe Generale recently released a report pointing out that, based on a series of steps the Chinese State Council took, “a five-year road map to a freely exchangeable Chinese currency (RMB) is very clear.” The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is expected to be the biggest winner of these new policies. 
Source: Nanfang Daily, May 8, 2013
http://news.nfdaily.cn/caifu/content/2013-05/08/content_68409983.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

BBC Chinese: China Cautiously Mediating Peace in Middle East

BBC Chinese recently reported that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both visited Beijing in the same week. However, neither of the two sides nor the new Chinese President Xi Jinping seemed to be ready to start a negotiation with China being the mediator. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping did offer a four-point peace proposal. Although Xi’s proposal does not have anything new or creative, the report expressed the belief that he was somewhat playing a mediator’s role, with caution. When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Netanyahu, he suggested that the sole solution to the Middle East peace and stability issue is conducting dialogues and peace talks. Li also mentioned that China is willing to work with the two sides on the peace-making effort, since China is a common friend of both. China has a US$10 billion annual trade volume with Israel and half of China’s annual oil imports are from the Middle East region. 
Source: BBC Chinese, May 9, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/press_review/2013/05/130509_press_review_china_middleeast.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

2013 College Graduates Face Tough Job Market

According to the Ministry of Education, 6.99 million college graduates will face a tough job market this year. The number of graduates is 190,000 higher than the number in 2012 and one million higher than 2009. 2013 graduates will compete with 25 million people who are looking for employment in the country and urban regions where the demand for college graduates continues to decline due to a number of changes in industrial structure and a decline in the export market. Among all the professions, there has been a slight increase in demand in the medical profession and in the consulting, business, travel, culture, and sports industries but the demand in steel, machinery, mining, energy, and architecture is shrinking.

Source: Xinhua, April 11, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2013-04/11/c_115357763.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

PLA Formed First Carrier-borne Naval Air Force

On May 10, 2013, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the PLA formed the first carrier-borne naval air force. Xinhua reported that the naval air force consists of elite candidates selected from the existing PLA aviation force. The qualifications include their record for flying a minimum of five different types of aircraft and a minimum of 1,000 hours of air time. They must have completed training certification at the PLA Dalian Naval Academy, have the experience of participating in military exercises and be considered the highest-potential candidates in their unit.

Source: Xinhua, May 10, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-05/10/c_124694934.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Internet Affairs Bureau Launched Effort to Regulate Online News Communication Channels

Xinhua reported that the Internet Affairs Bureau has launched a two-month effort to regulate online news communication channels. The bureau stated that the goal is to tackle improper news posting behavior. Articles are improper if they have inconsistent references for the sources, are false reports, alter the news title, or use fictitious media agencies.

Source: Xinhua, May 10, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-05/10/c_115720522.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Why Does the United States Always Vilify China Year after Year?

Following the release of the United States annual report on China’s military power, Xinhua published a series of commentaries. Below is one of them: 

“Each year, when, with a Cold War mentality, the United States releases a China’s military power report, it does so out of consideration for its own interests. For example, from the perspective of the U.S. military, the first consideration is to ask for money for the military budget from the U.S. Congress by speculating on China’s military development. At the same time, the United States disseminates the China military threat theory to achieve the purpose of creating a reason for its return to the Asia-Pacific with the so-called Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy. Then it can also pull its allies in to share responsibilities and let its allies stand as the front for it in this region.” 

“In addition to the usual ‘smearing,’ it is noteworthy that the report also said that the momentum of bilateral military exchanges is good despite the leadership turnover of both countries in 2012. On the one hand, the report contains groundless accusations and disseminates the China threat theory; on the other hand, it also signals to maintain communication on both sides. It reflects the U.S. strategy of ‘having both hands ready’ towards China. From a series of recent statements that the U.S. Defense Department made, the goal of the U.S. military to stress communication and contacts with China is more ‘one-dimensional.’ It is trying to strengthen communication and exchanges in order to make China agree and accept the U.S. viewpoint, rather than let both sides understand each other in order to reach a compromised view through the exchange.” 

Source: Xinhua, May 9, 2013 
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/jrch/20130509.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

BBC: Hundreds Protest in Beijing over Girl’s Death

A large number of migrant workers from Anhui Province took to the street in a rare protest to demand a full investigation of the death of Yuan Liya, 22, also from Anhui.

According to the official weibo (China’s version of twitter) of the Beijing police authorities, on May 3, 2013, Yuan Liya, a 22-year-old from Anhui, fell to her death from a mall in Fengtai district in Beijing. Close to a hundred people gathered near the mall and the police quickly arrived at the scene.

Many indicated on-line that they found the death to be suspicious. The on-line pictures showed that more than a hundred people were there. Some said it was closer to a thousand. Dozens of police vehicles and hundreds of police lined the streets near the mall where Yuan had died. The pictures posted on-line showed migrant workers marching on the streets, holding banners in protest.

Source: BBC (Chinese), May 8, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/05/130508_beijing_anhui_girl.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability