Chinascope – Page 980

China’s Ambassador to UK: China is not a Communist Country

On January 23, 2012, Jeremy Paxman interviewed China’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Liu Xiaoming, live on BBC 2’s Newsnight program. During the interview, Liu made the remark that China cannot be called a communist country. Paxman asked Liu whether he was a communist. In response to the question, Liu did not answer directly but stated, “Well, in China, the ruling party is the communist party. The communist party now has more than 80 million party members. But you have to remember China is a country with 1.3 billion people. So I don’t think you can call China a communist country, just as you can not call the UK conservative UK.” The Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom has posted the full English text of the interview on its official website. Media in China, such as the popular portal sina.com, had reported the interview earlier.

Sources:
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in United Kingdom, January 26, 2012
http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/EmbassyNews/t899190.htm
Sina.com, January 24, 2012
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/chn/chnnews/ausdaily/20120124/16313091588.html

Briefings | | January 27, 2012 | Government/Politics

In the U.S.-Iran Conflict, China Needs to Prepare for the Worst Scenario

Xinhua republished an article from Guangzhou Daily about how, in the U.S.-Iran conflict, China should be prepared. The article stated, “From the perspective of oil supply, if China cooperates with the United States to sanction Iran, it will undoubtedly bring us a lot of trouble. Considering the direction in which the U.S.-Iran conflict is developing, we need to prepare for the worst case scenario, that the U.S. starts a war against Iran. That way we can make arrangements accordingly in advance to assure our domestic energy supply.”

The article also suggested, “At the same time, (in making decisions) we should not just consider the issue of Iran in the context of oil. We should also consider the geopolitical situation. Even if the U.S. were to use its armed forces to strike Iran, the war would eventually end. Many countries, including China, would still need to import oil from Iran.”

Source, Xinhua, January 25, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2012-01/25/c_122618892.htm

Briefings | | January 27, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Waves of Chinese Companies Delisted from U.S. Stock Exchange

Over the past year, waves of Chinese companies (28 in total) have been delisted from U.S. stock exchanges. Since 2011, the total market value of the delisted and about to be delisted Chinese companies has amounted to US$7.8 billion. That compares to US$2.2 billion for IPOs that Chinese companies have issued in the U.S. market. The large number of delisted companies has also had an effect on other Chinese companies that are planning to go public in the U.S. The reasons for the delistings include a stock price that is too low, back door listings (such as reverse takeovers or reverse mergers), and fraudulent accounting practices. The fraudulent accounting practices are the most common reason for delisting.

Source: China Review News, January 24, 2012
http://www.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1019/8/3/8/101983871.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=101983871&mdate=0124000417

Briefings | | January 26, 2012 | Economy/Resources

State Economist: The Real Challenge in 2012 Will Be the Structural Adjustment of the Economy

Outlook Weekly recently interviewed Fang Jianping, the Chief Economist at China’s State Information Center. In the interview, Fang stated that the real challenge to the economy in 2012 will be the economic structural adjustments, rather than inflation or GDP growth. “Although the price level and growth rate may both show downward movement, it will not be drastic and will not exceed the expected range of the State’s macro-control. The potential growth rate of the economy is between 8 and 9 percent. The real challenge is whether there will be substantial progress in the structural adjustments.”

Source: Outlook Weekly, reprinted on China’s Communist Party website, January 17, 2012
http://theory.people.com.cn/BIG5/49154/49155/16901916.html

Briefings | | January 26, 2012 | Economy/Resources

Qiushi: Make Every Effort to Improve Party Leaders’ Credibility

On January 16, 2012, Qiushi published an article titled, “Make Every Effort to Improve Party Leaders’ Credibility.” The article proposed five ways to improve Party leaders’ credibility: 1) Strengthen people’s faith in Communism; 2) Strengthen ties with the masses; 3) Change the concept of being the authorities and provide good services for the masses; 4) Follow rules and procedures; 5) (Have an attitude of) dare not corrupt and cannot be corrupted.

The article lists some examples on how to improve the Party leaders’ credibility, including sending letters to the Party cadres during holidays to remind them, presenting relevant shows, having relevant conversations, having corrupt officials who are in prison share their experiences, visiting farmers in the rural areas, severely punishing corrupt officials, and building an electronic monitoring system.

Source: Qiushi, January 16, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/dj/201201/t20120112_134628.htm

Briefings | | January 25, 2012 | Government/Politics

Qiushi: Use the Socialist Core Value System to Guide the Development of Social Ideology

On January 21, 2012, Qiushi, a flagship publication of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee published an article titled, “Cultural Soft Power Is the Unity of Direction and Quantity.” According to the article, China must “use the socialist core value system to guide the development of ideology in society.” The article criticized and opposed “neo-liberal ideas,” the ideas of "democratic socialism saving China," a "Confucian-oriented China," and "universal values.” The article stated that, at the same time, China can learn any capitalist management principle, mechanism, or technique that is conducive to the development of China’s cultural undertakings and culture industry.

Source: Qiushi, January 21, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2012/201202/201201/t20120121_135708.htm

Briefings | | January 25, 2012 | Government/Politics

Chinese Scholar’s Perspective on the Weaknesses and the Strengths of the United States

On January 20, 2012, Financial Times Chinese published an article written by a Chinese professor discussing the weaknesses and the strengths of the United States and the complicated U.S.-China relationship. The scholar pointed out “without the Western countries’ investment in China and the transfer of technology to China, China could not have achieved its rapid rise, though China’s policy of opening and the Chinese people’s hard work made an essential contribution to China’s rise.”

According to the article, the U.S. faces four problems: 1) Job loss and an unequal distribution of wealth due to domestic manufacturing industries outsourcing their production; 2) A rise in the budget deficit and national debt; 3) Having difficulty reaching consensus on the fiscal balance because of friction between the two Parties; 4) Overseas expansion has led to a depletion of its national power. However, the U.S. also has four strengths such as its political system, values, technological innovation and world-class quality education, as well as its top military capabilities.

Source: Financial Times Chinese, January 20, 2012
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001042828

Briefings | | January 25, 2012 | US-China Relations

HSBC January Chinese PMI Number Released

Jinghua Times reported on January 21, 2012, that HSBC just released its latest Chinese manufacturing industry’s PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number. The January number is 48.8, which indicates that the manufacturing sector remained weak in the first month of the year: output and new orders are still declining. Qu Hongbin, HSBC’s Chief Economist in the China Region, commented that the HSBC PMI has been below 50 for three consecutive months, which shows that the growth of the Chinese economy is still slowing down. The continuous decline of investment and exports may result in serious challenges for economic growth. The manufacturing sector may very likely face the heavy pressure of dealing with a high inventory level. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Jinghua Times, January 21, 2012
http://news.jinghua.cn/348/c/201201/21/n3611197.shtml

Briefings | | January 24, 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.