Chinascope – Page 942

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

State-Owned Enterprises Warned of Upcoming “Winter Conditions”

Shao Ning, Vice Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), recently attended a management conference at which he stated, “After 30 years of rapid development, the Chinese economy has entered a period of contraction. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) must prepare for ‘winter conditions’ in the next three to five years.” The first time that the SASAC discussed “winter” was last December when Huang Shuhe, a Deputy Director at SASAC warned twice that SOEs must be prepared for tough winter times in the next three to five years. SASAC Director Wang Yong made similar remarks last March. Wang stated that in a grim economic situation, the SOEs "should identify risk points by improving management and alleviating the bleeding.”

A China Entrepreneurs commentator stated that SOEs are not the only ones that must prepare for a cold winter. “Private enterprises, especially mid to small companies, need to do a better job of preparing for winter. When a cold winter comes, these companies will be the hardest hit as their struggle is in the midst of the market.”

Sources:
Xinhua, June 26, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-06/26/c_112287187.htm
China Entrepreneurs, July 9, 2012
http://www.iceo.com.cn/column/28/2012/0709/252364.shtml

Briefings | | July 16, 2012 | Economy/Resources

IHL: China Should Take a Tough Stance to Make up for Its Military Disadvantage

The International Herald Leader published an article advocating that China be aggressive to make up for its weak military position. The article stated that it is wrong for a weak party to avoid confrontation with a strong opponent. “Patience in the face of a powerful and strong-willed combative opponent is useless because the party that wants to avoid resolving the problem by force cannot prevent a war …” The appeasement policy may also encourage the opponent to take a tougher stance and resort to military action. If China were to wait for the time when it is stronger than the U. S. before taking action in the South China Sea, China would be tying its own hands and feet. “China should demonstrate sufficient resolve to confront the U.S. intimidation tactics, such as visits by U.S. warships to sensitive countries and bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises. It should not retreat when both parties are merely exchanging words in the conflict.” The article concluded with a quote from a military strategist, “If your sword is shorter, you should take a step forward.”

Source: International Herald Leader, July 12, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0712/60019.shtml

Briefings | | July 16, 2012 | US-China Relations

China’s Outlook on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

[Editor’s Note: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) had its 12th Summit in Beijing from June 6 to 7, 2012. Chinese media praised the event highly as a milestone for SCO, marking the transition into its second decade. In China’s view, the SCO model, or “Shanghai Spirit,” is China’s way of dealing with international organizations. It differs from the U.S. model in that China focuses more on political results. It fosters political unity by offering economic help to other countries. China contributes more monetarily to SCO but offers each member country the same share of voting power. China also leverages its huge economic engine to promote joint regional economic development. The economic carrots that China has offered have served to keep the SCO united and have played a more and more important role in regional and international affairs. The following are excerpts from three articles that Outlook Weekly published to commemorate the SCO.]

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Reports | | July 15, 2012 | Report

Forty Three National Enterprises Qualified Finalist of 2012 “Fortune” Global 500

On July 9, 2012. Fortune Magazine published its 2012 "Fortune Global 500" list of companies as ranked by revenue. Seventy-nine Chinese companies made the list, including 73 Chinese mainland and Hong Kong top companies (the other 6 being Taiwanese with the total representing an increase of 12 over the previous year). Of these, 43 were central enterprises (national companies), an increase of five over the previous year.

Of the 43 central enterprises, the China Merchants Bank, the Emerging Jihua Group, the Anshan Iron and Steel Group, China Power Investment, Huadian Group Ltd., and China Power Construction were new companies on the list.

The 2012 "Fortune Global 500" companies required a minimum full-year operating income of US$22.006 billion, an increase of US$2.52 billion over the minimum income for 2011.

Source: Xinhua, July 10, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-07/10/c_112403123.htm

Briefings | | July 13, 2012 | Economy/Resources

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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

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