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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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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: Beidou System Accuracy Will Surpass GPS

Xinhua recently reported on the new developments related to the Chinese global positioning system named Beidou. Based on the comments made by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the accuracy of the Beidou system’s 10-meter services has already reached the same level as the U.S. GPS system. With the enhancements that are planned, the Beidou system will soon offer better accuracy than the GPS system. It is also expected that the price of the Beidou commercial chip will drop sharply in the near future. As of October 25, the Beidou system included a network of sixteen satellites, which cover all of China and the surrounding regions. The era of commercialized Beidou applications has arrived. The domestic market size of the satellite positioning system is expected to reach RMB 200 billion yuan. 
Source: Xinhua, November 18, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2012-11/18/c_123966005.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China News: Number of Half or Fully Shutdown Companies Reached a 3-Year High

China News recently reported on research results that the China Entrepreneurs Survey System (CESS) had released. The CESS is a research institute jointly established by the Development Research Center of the State Council, the National Bureau of Statistics, and four other government agencies. According to the research, 23.1 percent of the company owners surveyed claimed that, at the time of the survey, their companies were either “shutdown” or “semi-shutdown.” This number is the highest in three years. The key reasons cited for the situation were a decline in orders, inventory pressure, and dropping prices. The health of privately owned companies was worse than for those that were state-owned. Most of the troubled companies were small to medium sized ones. Over a quarter of the companies expressed the belief that their inventory level was “higher than usual.” Half of the companies suffered a “lower than usual” order level. Most of the troubled companies were in mining, chemical fiber, non-ferrous metals, general equipment, and automobile and other transportation equipment industries. 
Source: China News, November 17, 2012
http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2012/11-17/4336528.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: China’s Dependence on Foreign Oil Will Reach 60%

People’s Daily recently reported on the First China International Petroleum Trade Conference. According to experts attending the conference, China’s oil consumption is expected to increase to half a billion tons in 2013. Meanwhile, China’s dependence on foreign oil will reach 60 percent next year. China is currently the primary source of demand for global oil market growth. In the year 2002, China became the second largest oil consuming country in the world (after the United States). According to experts, in the next five years, China’s oil imports will maintain a growth rate of eight percent annually, while the average annual growth rate for global oil consumption will remain at 1.2 percent. The decline of oil imports in North America and the geopolitical situation in the Middle East will be the two main factors that will impact the international oil market the most. However, more than half of China’s foreign oil supply comes from the Middle East. This adds a lot of uncertainty to China’s energy safety. 
Source: People’s Daily, November 15, 2012
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2012/1115/c1004-19594376.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Red Flag Manuscript: State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Are the Bellwether for the Rise of the Economy

[Editor’s Note: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was mandated in the year 2000 to report to Congress annually on the security implications of trade with the People’s Republic of China. It recently published its 2012 report, "An Analysis of Chinese Investments in the U.S. Economy." [1] Bill Gertz discussed some of the report’s conclusions in an article he wrote for the Washington Free Beacon, "Congressional Report: Chinese government-controlled enterprises threaten U.S., world economy." Gertz summarized from the

report, "The Chinese system of state capitalism or ‘capitalism with Chinese characteristics’ has blocked many of the potential benefits of a free market, not only in China, but among China’s trading partners," "The state-owned sector in China can undercut prices charged by privately held competitors globally due to a variety of subsidies granted by the Chinese government: low-interest-rate loans; below-market-rate land, fuel, and electricity; special exemptions from environmental and labor regulations; tax abatements and preferences." [2]

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agreed that having the backing of state funding and favorable government policies gives China’s SOEs a huge economic advantage. Hu Angang, Director of the Center for China Studies, Tsinghua University, wrote an article on for Red Flag Manuscript, a publication of the Central Committee of the CCP in which he argued that, although China’s SOEs are a form of enterprise and compete in the global market, they differ greatly from Western enterprises in that they are state-owned and under the leadership of the CCP. China’s SOEs have the advantage of being backed by state-owned capital and, as such, have the ability to generate strong competition to rival the world’s top 500 enterprises. They should be the leading force for China’s "going abroad" strategy. The following are translated excerpts from the article.] [3]

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Reports | | |   Report

Money Spent on Domestic Production of Satellite Navigation System to Exceed 200 Billion Yuan by 2015

The China Hi-Tech Fair was held in Shen Zhen from November 16 to 21, 2012. The Shen Zhen Beidou Navigation Application Alliance was officially announced at the fair. Based on the estimates from the Shen Zhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Science, the monies spent on the domestic production of its satellite navigation system will exceed 200 billion yuan (US$32 billion) by 2015.

According to the president of the Shen Zhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Science, the development of the Beidou Navigation System broke the GPS monopoly and will be a significant strategic benefit to China. It was reported that the Beidou Navigation Application Alliance will achieve the development and industrialization of the Beidou navigation system in the following four areas: core components, application platform, smart phone, and an auto service terminal.

Source: Huanqiu, November 17, 2012
http://china.huanqiu.com/politics/2012-11/3285498.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Political Bureau Mapped Out Plans to Impart Key Messages from 18th Congress

The 18th Political Bureau held a meeting on November 16, 2012, at which it mapped out plans to disseminate key messages from the 18th Congress. The meeting emphasized that the most important political task in the near future will be to “diligently promote and promulgate the key messages from the 18th Congress and to unify people’s understandings and efforts to achieve the goals and tasks set by the Congress.”

Xi Jinping, the new General Secretary of the Party, hosted the meeting.

Source: Xinhua, November 16, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-11/16/c_113707591.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Displays the FB-6A: China Made Version of Avenger Air Defense System

At the 9th Airshow held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation displayed a variety of missile systems, including the FB-6A, an air defense system claimed to be similar to the U.S. Avenger Air Defense System, but with better missile defense capability.

According to Zong Wenbo, Vice Dean of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the missile used on the FB-6A has better air defense capability than the Stinger Missile used on the Avenger Air Defense System. Its price is reasonable and suitable for large volume export. The system has been used in military exercises and can provide air defense capability for the field army.

Source: China Review News, November 17, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/crn-webapp/doc/docDetailCreate.jsp?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=102306077&mdate=1117112223

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

What Did the CCP’s 18th National Congress Tell the World?

On November 14, 2012, the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chose seven Politburo Standing Committee members. They are Xi Jinping (习近平), Li Keqiang (李克强), Zhang Dejiang (张德江), Yu Zhengsheng (俞正声), Liu Yunshan (刘云山), Wang Qishan (王岐山), and Zhang Gaoli (张高丽). What does this selection tell people about the future direction of the Communist regime?

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Perspectives | | |   Opinion