Chinascope – Page 902

Qiushi Journal: Is China’s economy Really Heading Downstream?

On July 16, 2012, Qiushi, a journal of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article titled “Is China’s Economy Really Heading Downstream?” The article’s writer expressed the belief that, although China’s economic growth has indeed been slowing down for the past 5 consecutive seasons, the current economic slowdown is still within a normal range. He asserted that, as Southeast Asian countries have a more obvious advantage in terms of labor cost, it is an inevitable trend for China to make some adjustments in terms of labor-intensive manufacturing and foreign trade structures and that, with China’s $3.3 trillion foreign exchange reserves, a short-term deficit won’t seriously impact China’s economy.

Source: Qiushi Journal, July 16, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2012/201214/201207/t20120712_169555.htm

Briefings | | July 18, 2012 | Economy/Resources

BBC: Chinese Official Media Worry about Anti-Government Remarks Online

Recently, China’s official media have expressed concern in their commentaries about a decrease in the government’s credibility and the proliferation of anti-government remarks online. Public opinion in China, especially online public opinion expressing “anti-official voices,” is almost out of control. It is no longer a secret that the Chinese government at every level employs a large number of "Fifty Cent Party Members" (who earn 50 cents for each pro-government posting online). The Communist Party has failed to control the minds of the younger generation.

Source: BBC Chinese Edition, July 14, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/07/120714_china_internet_weibo.shtml

Briefings | | July 18, 2012 | Economy/Resources

China’s High-Speed Rail Transportation Army’s First Exercise in Providing Food Rapidly

On July 15, 2012, China’s high-speed rail transportation army held its first exercise in rapidly providing food to the troops. In recent years, more and more military troops have been taking the high-speed railway to carry out their tasks. Quickly providing military provisions to PLA troops inside a train at a station will help the whole PLA establish a more perfect system for providing military provisions support.

Source: China Review News, July 15, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/6/8/2/102168214.html?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=102168214&mdate=0715202537

Briefings | | July 18, 2012 | Defense/Military

CRN: China still has Three Policy Tools to Stabilize the Economy

China Review News (CRN) recently published an article that discussed the strategy for dealing with the current decline of the Chinese economy. The author suggested that the Chinese government still has three policy tools that it can use: (1) With the decline of the CPI (Consumer Price Index), China has more room to reduce the interest rate; (2) The government can still increase direct investments into the economy, although this may have a negative effect; (3) The central government can temporarily relax the restrictions on local governments’ borrowing power. The article expressed the belief that the government should determine a minimum risk control line which would serve as an indicator of whether or not to use some of these policy tools.

Source: China Review News, July 14, 2012

http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/6/7/2/102167204.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102167204&mdate=0714062027

Briefings | | July 17, 2012 | Economy/Resources

The U.S. Controls the Energy Card

The International Herald Leader recently published an article that suggested that the United States holds an “energy card” in its hands that it can play against China. Not long ago, the U.S. offered China relief from a sanction applying to any country that buys oil from Iran. However the relief is only effective for 6 months. The article expressed the belief that it is unfair for the U.S. to tell China which country China can buy oil from. However, the author admitted that the U.S. has 3 “energy advantages”: (1) China relies significantly more on Middle East oil than the United States does; (2) The U.S. has many more ways to influence the international oil price than China has; (3) The U.S. has a large degree of energy independence, while China is now the world’s biggest importer of energy. The article concluded by calling for serious consideration of the “worst case scenario,” which is that the U.S. can play the energy card to strategically suppress China.

Source: International Herald Leader, July 10, 2012

http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0710/59111.shtml

Briefings | | July 17, 2012 | Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Who is the Troublemaker for East Asian Security?

People’s Daily recently published an article discussing the heated security issues in East Asia. The article started with expressing the belief that, in terms of regional security, a new order is developing in the region. Some “forces outside the region” are interfering in the process of changing the order and have “introduced uncertainty.” The article stated that the status of the East Asian region is rising on a global basis. It is very important to identify the recent troublemaker in this region. The author suggested that, apparently, China has never been a troublemaker and has consistently demonstrated patience and a sense of responsibility at all times. China has large direct investments in nearby countries and has not become a threat. The article also insisted that freedom of navigation (an issue that the United States has raised) has nothing to do with the various recent conflicts in the South China Sea. The author referred to a Philippines’ web article that suggested: it “seems” that the only superpower left in the world, the United States, is trying to contain China.

Source: People’s Daily, July 11, 2012

http://gx.people.com.cn/n/2012/0711/c229266-17231746.html

Briefings | | July 17, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Shenzhou-9 and People’s Livelihood

[Editor’s Note: On June 16, China launched the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with three crew members. It docked successfully with the Tiangong-1 space station. While the state media kept praising this great achievement, the public questioned the relevance of such an expensive space program on people’s livelihoods. Netizens suggested it would be better to take the hundreds of billions of yuan that were spent on the space program and spend it on improving people’s living standards. One netizen even dug out a People’s Daily article written in 1977 that criticized the Soviet Union for its huge spending on space programs at the cost of people’s basic standard of living. The voice of concern got so loud that Xinhua published an article to argue that Shenzhou-9 was relevant to people’s livelihoods. The following are excerpts from these articles and from netizens’ comments.]

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Reports | | July 16, 2012 | Report

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

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

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

CCP, Master of Hostage Diplomacy