Chinascope – Page 978

Europe Should Think More about What China Wants

An opinion article published in People’s Daily asks that European leaders consider offering China what China needs in exchange for economic help from China. The article states, "Immediately after the Chinese New Year, European leaders started visiting China one after the other. The first was German Chancellor Merkel, then Herman Van Rompuy, President of the Council of the European Union. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission will follow. The speculation is that the suitcases they bring will contain long lists of requests for China’s help."

The article suggests that "European leaders coming to China should not simply ask for China’s help; they should also think more about what China needs, what Europe can offer China, and what can they do for the long-term stability and development of Sino-European relations. As compared to Europe’s request for ‘economic’ help from China, China hopes to gain political respect from Europe. Even now, Europe still maintains an arms embargo on China and is not willing to admit China’s position as a market economy. On the one hand, the E.U. welcomes China to increase its investments in Europe. On the other hand, it also follows the media to politicize China’s investments. The ‘China economic threat’ theory is quite popular within the E.U. There are still many obstacles keeping Chinese enterprises from investing in Europe."

In closing, the author asks, "After all, what image does the E.U. want to have among the Chinese people? We hope European leaders will think again and give a wise answer with far-reaching impact."

Source: People’s Daily, February, 2, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/14549/16999697.html

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

People’s Daily: Internet Erodes China’s Sovereignty

People’s Daily published a commentary stating that the Internet has weakened the state’s control of information. “Through its open platform, the Internet is eroding state sovereignty. … The bar for individuals to use Internet is extremely low due to its openness. Basically, anyone can engage in communication on an equal platform. … In the political arena, someone can spread things on the Internet using audiovisuals, advertisements, games, speeches, or online work products that threaten or potentially threaten the state’s regime, all of which influences the thinking and behavior of Internet users. This type of infiltration is long-term and subtle. It can gradually replace Internet users’ original ideals and values with various political principles that the Internet media advocate.”

The commentary concluded that, because of the Internet, the state is no longer the only source of information, thus weakening the state’s control over information. The information boundary is no longer the same as the border of the national territory.

Source: People’s Daily, February 2, 2012
http://opinion.people.com.cn/BIG5/17003075.html

Briefings | | February 3, 2012 | Information/Technology

China Scholar Warns Long Term, Serious Challenges Due to Unfavorable Public Opinion from the West

Li Xiguang, a professor and director of the Tsinghua University International Center for Communication (TICC), published an article in the Chinese Communist Party’s Qiushi journal, warning of “long term and serious challenges” due to public opinion from the West creating an unfavorable environment for China.

Li quotes reports from the U.S. based Rand Corporation that laid out the U.S. strategies on cyberwars and global information infiltration. Li’s article said, “We must see that, after China became the world’s second largest economy with its comprehensive national strength continuously growing, the United States and other Western countries found out that when the growth of their hard power was insufficient, they needed to implement their soft power to make up for the relative weakness of their national power.” “They (western media) often hold a strange fear of a heterogeneous and powerful China. They often jeer at certain unavoidable incidents in China’s development and fault them as being the unavoidable consequences of China’s social system. Western media, with their deep-rooted ideological bias, plus their ‘loud voice’ in international communication, has seriously damaged China’s international image and harms China’s peaceful development.”

Source: Qiushi, February 1, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2012/201203/201201/t20120129_135976.htm

Briefings | | February 2, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Scholar: Heightened Risks in International Financial Market

Tan Yaling, President of China Foreign Exchange Investment Research Institute, predicted that 2012 may present potential risks in three areas of the international financial market: First, there are risks to the Euro and a crisis is imminent. Greece or Germany may opt out, which may lead to higher Euro risks and a further crisis. Second, oil price hikes may lead to severe inflation and an economic crisis would be inevitable. Third, fluctuations is the price of gold will be unpredictable and there will be an increase in speculative moves in the gold market. While the price of gold may continue to rise, severe drops may occur. The price of gold is a double-edged sword. It may protect the dollar and the U.S. but the U.S. may also be forced to sell gold in order to save itself.

Source: Xinhua, January 24, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/finance/2012-01/24/c_122611836_4.htm

Briefings | | February 2, 2012 | Economy/Resources

Nanfang Weekend: Integrating China’s Culture with the International Community

Nanfang Weekend published an article on China’s cultural integration. The article suggested that cultural integration needs flagship cultural products, or cultural aircraft carriers, to provide a major cultural influence to the world. The article argued that, though cultures in different countries are very diverse around the world, their underlining human civilizations are based on a common value system that the whole world shares. China should grasp that value system and develop its culture products in line with that value system in order to become a cultural “super power.”

[Ed: As China’s major state media continually deny that there are “universal values,” it is interesting to note that this article subtly hints that Western countries’ “universal values” are closer to the common value system of the world. The article pointed out, “(China’s) emphasis on the ‘Chinese characteristic’ and ‘China’s special situation’ is more focused on ‘individualism’ than on ‘commonality’ (of the world’s common value system).”]

Source: Nanfang Weekend Online, Jan 20, 2012
http://www.infzm.com/content/67963

Briefings | | February 1, 2012 | Government/Politics

Chinese Scholar on Letting the Market Determine Interest Rates

Economic Information recently interviewed Wang Guogang, the Dean of the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS). During the interview Wang explained, “For a long time, (China) has mainly used the administrative mechanism to regulate the market and has become an expert in using the administrative mechanism, but the end result is that (China’s economy) has been drifting further and further away from a market economy.”

In early January, China’s National Conference on Financial Work called for pushing forward on reform of the market-controlled interest rate or a more complicated interest rate establishment mechanism. Wang believes that reducing and weakening administrative factors, such as the government’s control of policy, is a pre-condition, which cannot be circumvented, for these reforms to occur.

Wang stated that the bottom line for the government’s regulatory body is not to let any financial institute go bankrupt. He asked, “In this way, how can we weed out the weak ones? Where’s the competition? Where’s the innovation? Where’s the development?” Wang also pointed out that currently both the government and the public keep their foreign currency as a reserve. Wang advocated that the government should open channels to export capital overseas in the form of financial loans or manufacturing funds, to form an RMB exchange market.

Source: CASS website, January 19, 2012
http://ifb.cass.cn/show_news.asp?id=44509

Briefings | | February 1, 2012 | Government/Politics

Outlook Weekly: Four Challenges for China’s Economy

Outlook Weekly published an article discussing China’s economic growth in the mid to long term. It listed four challenges that China faces:

1. As the global economy is still depressed, the demand for exports may negatively impact China’s economic growth. In 2011, exports dragged down the GDP growth rate by 5.8%.

2. Consumption is likely to stay at the same level. However, the continued economic depression may cause consumption to decrease.

3. The pressure of inflation still exists due to a lack of land in cities, a rapid increase in labor and service costs, an upward adjustment in service industry pricing, the the continuous increase in the price of agricultural products as a result of urbanization, and the ongoing pricing reform

4. High financial leverage results in a risk of bad loans. The M2/GDP ratio, which was 180% in 2011, is higher than in both developed countries and developing countries that are at a comparable income level with China. Local governments and state-owned enterprises are both highly leveraged.

Source: Outlook Weekly, republished on Sohu.com, January 29, 2012
http://news.sohu.com/20120129/n333094430.shtml

Briefings | | February 1, 2012 | Economy/Resources

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.