Chinascope – Page 962

Xinhua: Chinese Cellphone Users Exceeded One Billion

Xinhua recently reported that, based on the Communication Industry’s data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the end of February 2012, China had 1.007 billion mobile phone users. The total number of all telephone users was 1.29 billion. It is expected that the total will rise to 1.3 billion by the end of March. Among the 1 billion mobile phone users, 144 million are on the 3G network. According to past statistics, the number of Chinese cellphone users reached 800 million in June 2010 and 900 million in April 2011. Since this new landmark was achieved in February 2012, it seems the Chinese cellphone market is growing at a rate of 100 million every 10 months.

Source: Xinhua, March 31, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2012-03/31/c_122912215.htm

Briefings | | April 3, 2012 | Information/Technology

Xinhua: COSCO Suffered Massive Loss

Xinhua recently reported that China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) reported a 10.5 billion yuan (〜US$1.67 million) loss in 2011. The company blamed its poor performance on the decline of the global economy and suggested that the entire ocean shipping industry is showing a loss. The second reason identified for the loss was the rising cost of oil. The fourth quarter loss accounted for more than half of the total annual loss. The COSCO CEO, Wei Jiafu, suggested that, based on the signs of recovery in the United States and Europe, it is expected that the global container shipping market will improve during the year 2012. The Chinese government owned COSCO is one of the largest liner shipping companies in the world. COSCO stops at over 1,000 ports around the globe.

Source: Xinhua, March 31, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-03/31/c_122913532.htm

Briefings | | April 3, 2012 | Economy/Resources

CRN: Partnering with Russia is the Best Choice for Now

China Review News (CRN) recently published a commentary on the relationship between China and Russia. The commentary expressed the belief that, although China has had previous issues with Russia, China’s best strategic choice for now is to partner with Russia. The author suggested that, as two neighboring major “BRICS” countries, the two countries’ economies complement each other. Also, the distribution of the two countries’ natural resources are in the same situation. At the same time, both countries are against the “unipolar world” model that the United States is trying to build. Instead, the partnership is the best choice to promote a “multipolar” international environment. However, the commentary suggested that China should maintain control of the initiative and ensure that the partnership benefits China’s needs and its future development.

Source: China Review News, March 28, 2012
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1020/5/5/6/102055614.html?coluid=169&kindid=0&docid=102055614&mdate=0328091807

Briefings | | April 3, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong ranked the top three in Openness

The China National Development and Reform Commission published the results of a study of 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions that measured economic, technological, and social openness. Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong were ranked the top three with scores of 84.7, 68.1, and 56.9 respectively while Guizhou, Qinghai, and Tibet were ranked the bottom three with scores of 3.4, 6.5, and 7. The report showed Beijing tied with Shanghai on social openness and on technological openness; it scored the highest among the top three. However, its economic openness was far behind Shanghai and Guangdong. Among the four economic zones, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta had the highest scores in openness but the Bohai Economic Rim and the Sichuan/Chongqing district lagged behind.

Source: Xinhua, April 1, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-04/01/c_122916340.htm

Briefings | | April 2, 2012 | Economy/Resources

Scholar: Chongqing Practice to Revive Mao’s Control Bound to Fail

Zhang Ming, a professor of political science at Renmin University of China, wrote about Chongqing’s attempt to restore Mao’s model of control. In recent years, under the leadership of Bo Xilai, who was removed from his position this month, Chongqing launched a campaign to crack down on “black” businesses and their owners; and a movement to sing “red” songs in an attempt to revive Mao’s style of control. According to Zhang, there are two major vulnerabilities inherent in the Chongqing practice. First is that it is not economically sustainable. A number of grand government projects have been launched without considering the cost; they were funded largely with money that may have been wrongfully confiscated from “black” businesses. Neither borrowing nor advancing funds before the revenue came in has helped to ease the lack of funding. Second, Chongqing’s practices have led to increased tension, internally and externally. A Chongqing practice as implemented in one city is merely a pike fish in a carp fish pond (the entire country). If materialized nation-wide, the Chongqing practice would become a mammoth shark. Communist Party officials who previously were persecuted during the “Great Cultural Revolution” still remember Mao’s way of using political movements to purge others. “The louder the noises generated by Chonqing’s practice and the more followers it gathered throughout the country, the more apprehensive were the Communist Party officials. Not just those in Chongqing but those outside of Chongqing were equally apprehensive. Because of these two vulnerabilities, it was inevitable that Chongqing’s practices would end up in trouble.”

Source: Zhang Ming Blog at Caijing.com, March 24, 2012
http://blog.caijing.com.cn/expert_article-151368-34329.shtml

Briefings | | March 30, 2012 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily: the Military Must be Politically Correct and Well Disciplined

A commentary jointly issued on March 28, 2012, by the People’s Liberation Army General Political Department and China’s National Defense University called for the highly centralized unity of military personnel and stressed having the utmost discipline. It stated that maintaining the Party’s highly centralized unity is critical to the enhancement of the cohesive combat effectiveness of the military. Regardless of the changes and new challenges ahead, the military must be under the absolute leadership of the Party and “firmly follow the orders of the Party’s Central Committee, the Central Military Committee, and President Hu under all circumstances.” If the military is not politically correct, “it will likely lose direction amidst complex and confusing political struggles. … For every Party member, following the Party’s discipline is a political requirement; the most important requirement is to be in compliance with political discipline.”

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily reprinted by People’s Daily, March 27, 2012 http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49150/17497817.html

Briefings | | March 30, 2012 | Defense/Military

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

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

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