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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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China Accelerates the Growth of Its ‘rospace Industry

Zhang Jianhen, Vice President of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) disclosed that, during the 12th Five Year plan, China will launch 100 space shuttles and satellites averaging 20 launch missions each year. One of them is Shenzhou No. 9, which is scheduled for a June to August launch this year. The spacecraft will carry three astronauts and implement China’s first space rendezvous. China will also launch 6 BeiDou （COMPASS）Navigation Satellite dishes in 2012. Their launch will mark the completion of China’s navigation system, which will cover China and the nearby regions.

According to Zhang,  CASC’s total revenue for 2011 was 100 trillion yuan and its total assets exceeded 200 trillion yuan. It plans to reach over 250 trillion yuan in revenue by the end of the period of the 12th Five Year plan.

Source: China News Review, March 12, 2012
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1020/3/7/5/102037591.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=102037591&mdate=0312085324

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Chinese Companies Investments in Foreign Countries Increase

According to the Ministry of Commerce, by the end of 2011, Chinese companies had invested US$322 trillion in 18,000 businesses in over 178 foreign countries. There were close to 1.2 million expatriates stationed overseas and the cumulative capital investment exceeded US$1,500 trillion.

Of those regions where China invested, the investments in European and African countries grew 57.3% and 58.9% respectively, compared to the same period last year. China’s investment in EU countries grew by 94.1%. The areas in which China invested consisted mainly of coal mining, manufacturing, electricity production and supplies, transportation, and retail industries.

Source: China Economic Net, March 1, 2012
http://intl.ce.cn/specials/zxxx/201203/01/t20120301_23119212.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Global Times: China to Cancel the Purchase of 45 Airbus Jets

Global Times recently reported, based on news from the French newspaper the Tribune, that China has decided to cancel its plan to purchase 10 Airbus A380 super-jumbo jetliners and 35 Airbus A330 airplanes. Louis Gallois, Chief Executive of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS), confirmed the cancellation. EADS is the parent company of Airbus. Gallois explained that the decision was based on China’s position of opposing the EU Carbon Tax. He complained that this cancellation was a major setback for Airbus’ business. Airbus already made a request that the European Union cancel the tax. Twenty-six out of the 36 members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are against this tax, including China, the United States, and Russia. It is also damaging for Airbus because, according to a report by Bloomberg, Boeing’s commercial aircraft group is hoping to sell 200 737-MAX and a “certain number” of 747-8S airplanes to China this year.

Source: Global Times, March 9, 2012
http://firefox.huanqiu.com/mil/Exclusive/2012-03/2509889.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Ministry of Commerce: China to Purchase 48 Fighter Jets from Russia

China’s Ministry of Commerce recently published a piece on its official website quoting the Chinese Embassy in Russia, which revealed that negotiations between China and Russia on the purchase of 48 Su-35 fighter jets are close to being finalized. The contract will total US$4 billion. This is China’s largest single international military procurement contract in a decade. There is one key issue that still remains unresolved in the negotiations: intellectual property protection. The Russians are requiring a legally binding guarantee to ensure that China will not illegally copy Russian technology and use it to eat into Russia’s share of the international military aircraft market.

Source: Ministry of Commerce, March 10, 2012
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/i/jyjl/m/201203/20120308007354.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Member of the National People’s Congress: Too Many Government Officials

City Express, a newspaper based in the city of Hangzhou, recently reported a comment made by Liu Xirong, a member of The National People’s Congress (NPC), Vice Chairman of the NPC Law Committee, and former Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Liu suggested that China is “overflowing with government officials.” Four years ago, there were six million government officials nationwide. Now the number is ten million. Based on his experience working in the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Liu expressed the belief that it is very hard to manage that many government officials. The cost of their salaries, benefits, training, and administration is very high. “The tax payers have to pay for all this,” Liu sighed. “No matter how hard the people work, they will not be able to afford so many public servants.”

Source: City Express, March 11, 2012
http://hzdaily.hangzhou.com.cn/dskb/html/2012-03/11/content_1234636.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

The Moral Crisis in China, Part II – Traditional Chinese Culture

Part II – Traditional Chinese Culture

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In “Part I – Seven Areas that Showcase China’s Moral Crisis,” we gave examples of the great moral deterioration that has taken place in China. From officials raping an innocent child and then declaring her a prostitute to doctors treating a beggar to a nice meal and then killing him to harvest and sell his organs; from Chinese netizens singing eulogies to bin Laden after the U.S. killed him to the series of frauds that China perpetrated on the public at the Beijing Olympics, we saw the extent of China’s current moral crisis.

This is not how China used to be. China has a proud heritage of 5,000 years as an “ancient civilization” with very high moral standards. Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism either originated in China or took root there. They flourished and were promulgated in a land whose people were devoted to achieving a oneness with heaven. The very concept of enlightenment originated in ancient China. Part II of the Moral Crisis series reviews the foundation of China’s morality in ancient times. Without understanding the heritage of China’s traditional cultural and the height China’s moral standards attained in history, we would not have a clear understanding of how profoundly China has been severed from its past, its own true cultural heritage.

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Analyses | | |   Opinion

China Ended Two Years of Negative Real Interest Rates

According to the statistics published by the National Statistics Bureau, February’s CPI growth was 3.2 percent compared with the same period last year, the lowest since July 2010. The February CPI was below the one year savings interest rate of 3.5 percent thus ending the two year long period of “negative real interest rates” where the CPI has been higher than the interest rate.

Among commodities, food is still the key factor that drives up CPI growth. For example, pork, fresh vegetables, and cooked vegetable’s prices have increased 18.2%, 12.3% and 6.1% respectively over the same period last year.

Source: Chinese Economy, March 10, 2012
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201203/10/t20120310_23144612.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Top Leaders Addressed the Need to Maintain Stability in Ethnic Minority Regions

On March 9, during the two Conferences [the National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference], selected provinces and ethnic groups held panel discussions. China’s top leaders joined the discussions and stressed the importance of promoting growth while maintaining stability and ethnic harmony.

During the panel discussion with the Tibetan group, President Hu insisted that Tibet “must follow the directives that the central administration has given, walk the path of Chinese characteristics with Tibetan uniqueness, and effectively carry out the work that will safeguard development and stability in Tibet.” When Premier Wen Jiabao attended the discussion with Guangxi Province, he stated that harmony between ethnic groups is a key component of social harmony. In meeting with representatives from Xinjiang, vice President Xi Jianping noted that it is important to safeguard unity among ethnic groups, firmly resist division, and ensure stability.

Source: People’s Daily, March 9, 2012
http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64093/64094/17344951.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics