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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: The U.S. is Mass-Selling Weapons to China’s Neighbors

Xinhua recently published an article which reviewed a number of media reports from Russia, Hong Kong, Iran, Taiwan, Japan, and Britain on U.S. arms sales in Asia. The number of fighter jets, missiles, and rockets that the U.S. will sell to China and North Korea’s neighbors is expected to increase significantly in 2013. U.S. Aerospace Industries Association, whose members include Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, and Northrop-Grumman, issued the same forecast. The Asian focus of the Obama administration and the increased Chinese defense budget are considered primary drivers behind this move. Experts suggested that conflicts in the South China Sea and the East Sea are fueling the U.S. arms manufacturers. Four Global Hawk unmanned aircraft worth US$1.2 billion were sold to South Korea right after North Korea’s rocket launch last month. It seems that both U.S. allies and their opposition agree that the re-balancing process in East and Southeast Asia is profiting the U.S. arms industry.
Source: Xinhua, January 5, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-01/05/c_124184314_3.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: PetroChina Investments in Iran Got Stuck

Xinhua recently reported that Iran’s Oil Ministry announced, at the end of 2012, that PetroChina “lacked the willingness” to push forward on the investments in some of its projects in Iran. The two sides have been in negotiations for over half a year and PetroChina is not moving forward. Last summer there had already been reports on PetroChina withdrawing from its investment plans. However, PetroChina officially denied any withdrawal. This new Iranian announcement is the latest development under the “shadow of U.S. sanctions.” PetroChina has recently been pulling workers out of some sea-side Iranian cities. PetroChina officials were not available to comment on the latest Iranian government announcement. After the U.S. sanctions started, all Western companies left Iran, which made the Chinese companies the primary investors in Iran’s energy industry. Restrictions and policy constraints present other barriers to PetroChina’s project schedules. PetroChina currently has four investment projects in Iran totaling over US$10 billion. 
Source: Xinhua, January 5, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-01/05/c_124186289.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: Ministry of Commerce Concerned about the U.S. Control of Its Exports

People’s Daily recently reported that President Obama just signed the Fiscal 2013 National Defence Authorization Act, which maintained control of satellite exports to China. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce commented that the Act bans exports, re-exports, and the launch of U.S. satellites in China, while restrictions on other countries were loosen up. He expressed deep concern regarding this issue and pointed out that the United States previously agreed to lift the ban on high-tech exports to China if they were for civilian use. The spokesperson called on the U.S. to delivery on its previously promised reform of U.S. export control policies and asked the U.S. to drop its discrimination against China. He expressed the belief that a balanced trade will benefit both countries.
Source: People’s Daily, January 5, 2013
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2013/0105/c1004-20099348.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xi Jinping: the Party Must Adhere to Socialism

On January 5, 2013, the Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping reiterated the Party’s determination to adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He stressed that the issue matters for the success or failure of the cause of the future of the Chinese Communist Party. And the Chinese Communist Party must unswervingly adhere to the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

After 1978, Deng Xiaoping began to replace the Mao era socialism featured by “class struggles” with one centered around opening-up and reform. Many people believe there is a fundamental difference between Deng’s socialism and Mao’s socialism. Xi Jinping also stressed that one can neither use the historical period after the reform and opening-up to negate the historical period before the reform and opening-up, nor use the earlier period to negate the later period of reform and opening-up. "Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism and not any other doctrine. The basic principles of scientific socialism cannot be abandoned; otherwise it’s not socialism."

Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-01/07/c_124196084.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

27 Percent of China’s Billionaires Have Emigrated

China’s International Migration Report (2012) was released in December 2012. The report showed that in China, among business owners with personal assets of more than one billion yuan (US$160 million), 27 percent have emigrated, and 47 percent are considering emigration. In the past three years, at least 17 billion yuan ($US2.7 billion) of capital has flown abroad.

The Blue Book shows that the emigration of the wealthy reflects, to a certain extent, the problem of capital flight. Some people transferred their "gray income" overseas to achieve tax avoidance and also to evade prosecution in accordance with the national laws. This capital flight has led to a huge loss of the nation’s wealth.

Source: Xinhua, January 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-01/06/c_124191693.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFA: Significant increase in Chinese students in the U.S.; Safety and Legal Issues Are Concerns

China Press, a Chinese language newspaper based in the U.S., reported that the number of Chinese students in the U.S. in 2011 increased by 23 percent over the 2010 level. The number reached 157,000, or 21.8 percent of all foreign students in the U.S. At the same time, problems associated with the Chinese students have emerged. For example, last year in California a few Chinese students were shot and killed. In addition, China Press also reported that, last May, over one hundred Chinese students from California State University reported a false claim of the “American Opportunity” tax credit (AOTC), provided for American citizens and permanent residents. Although most of the students returned the tax refund, the IRS and relevant authorities still paid attention to this incident.

Reports indicate that the number of mainland Chinese students in the U.S. is 50% more than the total number of Indian students. The University of Southern California (USC) has the most foreign students in the nation. There are more than 2,500 Chinese students at USC. The Chinese are becoming the largest group of foreign students at the university.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 4, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xs-01042013143923.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China’s State Media Floats the Idea of Establishing the “Maritime Ministry”

China’s state media Huanqiu (Global Times) published an article titled, “Establishing a ‘Maritime Ministry’ is in Line with China’s Grand Strategy.” The article discussed the need to form a ‘Maritime Ministry’ as part of the overall planning of China’s maritime strategy. The background of the discussion developed because of two facts. Starting in 2012, China and its neighboring countries have consistently had maritime disputes and in the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, China set the goal of “building a powerful maritime nation.” 

The article depicted some of the “major reasons” that China should establish a maritime development strategy. First, China has 1/5 of the world’s population. But 70 percent of "the world" is ocean. China has been growing rapidly in recent years. Therefore it is natural and right for China to look into its maritime development.  

Second, China’s revival, from the strategic level to the technical details, requires marine development. Strategically, from diplomacy, economic development, resources, and energy to military and defense, marine development is an area that urgently needs to be strengthened. 

Third, to establish a marine strategy, China must distinguish between a variety of different kinds of contradictions and issues. For example, the Diaoyu Islands dispute is a Sino-Japanese conflict on the surface. In fact, it involves the relations between China, the United States, Japan and Taiwan.

In addition, the problems in a number of different areas also require more specialized, balanced, and coordinated work. 

Source: Huanqiu, December 31, 2012 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2012-12/3433622.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily Says It Will “Work Hard” to Tell Truth in 2013

On December 31, the Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, issued a posting on its official blog announcing its expansion from 8 pages to 12 pages on weekdays and 4 pages to 8 pages on weekends. In addition, it added the statement, “In the new year, we will work hard to tell the truth and write the truth … making [our paper] more readable and viewable to truly serve our readers.”

Because of its insistence that it would "work hard to tell the truth," the posting has drawn a large number of sarcastic comments from Chinese netizens.

“I am surprised at this announcement. If it is true, it would be the first step that the People’s Daily is taking the lead to make the media move towards openness and its contribution should deserve recognition. If, however, this first sentence from the People’s Daily in the New Year is a true lie, what to do? How could the People’s Daily face its readers?”

“Does this mean that the Party’s official media has always been lying?”

“How come the Party’s newspaper must "work hard" to tell truth?”

“It is very hard for a newspaper belonging to the Party to speak the truth. Of course, it must work hard to do so.”

“When we were young, parents and teachers taught us not to lie. But after we grew up, [we] found out that one may lose his life just for telling the truth. …”
 
“Even the Central Government newspaper must work hard to tell the truth. Whether after the hard work, the truth is really told or not may never be known. …”

“Anything that requires ‘hard work’ is usually difficult. To call a deer a horse is normal. But to call a deer a deer requires hard work.”

Source: Official Blog of People’s Daily, December 31, 2012 (comments made as of January 3, 2013, at the blog)
http://www.weibo.com/rmrb

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics