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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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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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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 | | |   Economy/Resources

China Plans Multiple Launches of Missiles and Spacecraft This Year

China News Net recently reported that the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, which is considered the "cradle" for Chinese missile and spacecraft products is planning a large number of activities. Multiple strategic and tactical missile weapons tests have been scheduled for this year. Also in the plan are 21 rockets with 30 satellites that will be sent into space. They will include one remote-sensing satellite exported to Venezuela, as well as four communications satellites for Nigeria, Bolivia and Belarus. The plan also puts in place a new research and manufacturing administrative structure, which includes a maturity evaluation model, a certification process for production lines, and an integrated safeguard system for weapon types and model management.

Source: China News Net, January 19, 2012
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2012/01-17/3612130.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily: The U.S. Denies China Is Competitive

People’s Daily recently reported that on January 18, 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched a new combined investigation of anti-dumping and countervailing against Chinese wind power products. Over ten Chinese wind power companies gathered in Beijing to coordinate their reactions. China Machinery and Electronic Products Import and Export Chamber of Commerce issued an announcement on January 20, suggesting that the reason China sold a large number of products in the U.S. was due to the strong competitiveness of Chinese products instead of any government subsidy. U.S. wind power operating companies have welcomed the Chinese products for their better quality and more reasonable pricing. An official from the Chamber of Commerce expressed the belief that the political background of the U.S. presidential election was the true motive behind the investigation. The U.S. Department of Commerce started a similar investigation against Chinese solar power products last November.

Source: People’s Daily, January 21, 2012
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2012-01/21/content_997494.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

GDP Rises While Chinese Migrant Workers Aren’t Paid

Nanfang Daily published a commentary on migrant workers whose wages had not been paid due to local governments’ drive to increase GDP. The commentary reported that the Ministry of Railways recently obtained 250 billion RMB to use before the 2012 Chinese New Year (January 23, 2012) to pay off the unpaid wages owed to migrant workers for the work they had done on railroad construction. “The reason why migrant workers are not paid on time for their work is because the government [rather than the contractors that directly employ the migrant workers] fails to make payments. A number of local governments have no budget. Nevertheless, driven by their political need to show that their performance contributes to a rising GDP, they have blindly ordered new starts on projects. They are thus, at the outset, inevitably short of funds to pay migrant workers’ wages.” The article cited examples. One was of a migrant worker in Xinjiang. It took that worker 27 years before he was able to collect unpaid wages of 5,000 RMB from a local government. Another example was migrant workers on the government’s landscape project in Guangdong. They had been working for over a year without receiving any wages at all.

Source: Nanfang Daily, January 21, 2012
http://opinion.nfdaily.cn/content/2012-01/21/content_36772533.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Official Says Price Controls Effective, but Residents Disagree

On January 12, 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics released information on China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). According to the latest release, the CPI fell during the five consecutive months prior to the close of 2011. In December, the CPI showed an increase of 4.1% compared to the same month last year. This was a record low for the prior 15 months. The annual CPI increase for 2011 was 5.4%. Ma Jiantang, the Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, expressed that the government’s regulation and control of prices had achieved remarkable results. However, a survey conducted by China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, during the fourth quarter of 2011, showed that 68.7% of the residents surveyed believed that prices were “high and hard to accept.” Many residents indicated that their “income could not catch up with price increases”

Source: Xinhua, January 22, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-01/22/c_111457063_2.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Wen Jiabao: China Will Face Bigger Challenges in 2012

On the eve of the New Year, the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council held a joint Chinese New Years’ event in the Great Hall of the People. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a speech at the gathering. “The new year is an important year in the course of the development of our country. We will strengthen and improve macro-control, continue to maintain rapid economic development and stable prices, accelerate the transformation of development patterns, adjust the economic structure, improve the coordination and sustainability of development, push harder on the reform and opening up, continuously increase the vitality and momentum of economic and social development, and place more importance on protecting and improving people’s livelihoods to let the people share in the achievements of the reform and development!”

Wen stated, "We are going to face bigger challenges in the new year."

Source: Xinhua, January 21, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-01/21/c_111456893.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Globe Magazine: On Dealing with Neighboring Countries

[Editor’s Note: Globe Magazine, under the official Xinhua News Agency, published an article discussing how China should deal with its neighboring countries. The article recommended that China adopt new approaches in dealing with its neighbors. It argued that “goodwill that is one-sided (from China) may not bring about harmony with our neighbors,” and suggested that “sometimes certain altercations (with the neighbors) are appropriate and can foster the return of peace.” The following is a translation of the article.] [1]

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Reports | | |   Report

It Is the Party That Develops and Spreads Mainstream Socialist Culture

Study Times published an article on the Communist Party’s objective of developing and promoting its mainstream culture. According to the article, the key to enhancing China’s soft power “is to develop and nurture our own mainstream culture that is attractive, appealing, and easy to spread.”

“In today’s society, the socialist mainstream culture in our country is the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics that is guided by Marxism, drawn from the fine traditional Chinese culture and the fine cultural heritage of the world, [maintains] the advanced nature and the spirit of contemporary times, and serves the people.” The article expressed the belief that the mainstream culture must be heavily promoted and marketed in order to ensure that the people accept it. “Moreover, [we] should have brand-name mainstream culture products to effectively take over the international culture market, win over international consumers, and ultimately improve the position of our mainstream culture in the world’s culture and enhance the our country’s cultural soft power.” 

Source: Study Times, January 16, 2012
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2012/01/16/15/15_26.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics