POLITICS AND SOCIETY
China vows ‘zero tolerance’ for election fraud in forthcoming party congress
China has vowed to give no quarter in handling election fraud in the Communist Party’s forthcoming 19th Party Congress to decide on its future leadership, warning cadres to learn from past political scandals.“There will be ‘zero tolerance’ to vote soliciting or vote buying”, and “severe” investigations into any malpractice. Party members were told they must learn the “profound lessons” of past vote-rigging scandals, citing a recent case in northern Liaoning province where half of the province’s legislators were dismissed due to fraud.All cases cited involved officials implicated in various forms of vote-buying and rigging in order to secure themselves seats at the local People’s Congress, lower level legislatures that generally act as a rubber stamp. China does not have fully democratic one-person, one-vote elections, but has experimented with a selection process at the grassroots for local legislatures, even if most candidates are Communist Party members and there is rarely more than a single candidate for each position available.The 19th Party Congress, expected to be in autumn, will see China’s President Xi Jinping look to further cement his grip on power.
Source:South China Morning Post
China mulls inspections on social organisations
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has drafted provisional measures on social organisation inspections, to help support the strategic and functional direction. Social organisations in China include community groups, trust foundations, industry organisations and non-profit organisations. At least three percent of all registered social organisations should be inspected, according to the draft document. The inspections will focus on annual reports, information disclosure, management, and finances. The draft outlined that there would be two types of inspection - "regular" and "irregular" - with the latter focusing on certain sectors or fields. All expenses related to inspections will be paid by the registration and supervisory organs, according to the document, which underscored that no fees will be collected from social organisations in this regard.Problems found during the inspections should be made public and penalties meted out in accordance with the law. The inspection results will be used during appraisals, government procurement of services and tax incentives, according to the ministry. The provisional measures have been posted on the ministry's website (www.mca.gov.cn) to solicit suggestions. China had about 675,000 registered social organisations by the third quarter of 2016, according to the ministry.
Source: China Daily
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China must hear voice of the world on terror: India on Masood Azhar issue
India on January 4 urged China to renew its decision to block designating Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Mazood Azhar as a terrorist by the United Nations and said Beijing should understand the “double standards of this self-defeating purpose.” China, an all-weather ally of Pakistan, has been hamperping Indian efforts to bring Azhar, who heads the JeM India blamed for terrorist attacks on Pathankot airbase January last year in the UN sanctions list. The individuals and entities in the list face an asset freeze, travel bans and other measures that would cripple their efforts to carry out terrorist activities. “We hope as a responsible and mature nation, China will understand double standards of this self-defeating purpose,” minister of state for external affairs M J Akbar said. “We expect China to hear the voice of the world, not just voice of India on terrorism,” he said, recalling barring veto-wielding China, 14 out of 15 countries in the UN Sanctions Committee favoured action against Azhar. Akbar and his ministerial colleague V K Singh, flanked by foreign secretary S Jaishankar were addressing the mid-term press conference of the external affairs ministry.
Source: the Hindustan times
Chinese media warns Beijing of India's takeover as world's manufacturing hub
Apple expanding its business in India could have other tech giants follow suit and threaten China's position as the manufacturing powerhouse, Chinese state media has said, adding that Beijing will have to upgrade its manufacturing to further attract offshore production. "Apple's possible supply chain transfer to the South Asian country adds further pressure on China as its domestic manufacturers show a growing interest in offshore production to low-cost countries," the state-run Global Times said. Even as US President-elect Donald Trump pledges to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, China's competitors seem to be further expanding their businesses offshore. An Apple manufacturing partner is working to build an assembly facility in India, the article said. Apple's three major assemblers - Foxconn Technology Group, Pegatron Corp. and Wistron Corp - are all Taiwanese and any one could be willing to set up India operations. Despite Apple's bumpy journey to expand operations in India when its application to open stores was rejected because at least 30 percent of mobile parts production was not localised, an opportunity seems to have opened up as senior Indian officials have softened their stance, it further added.
Source: NDTV
China urges BRICS nations to deepen partnership for brighter future
Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 1 called on BRICS countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to deepen their partnership for a brighter future. Xi made the call in a letter sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma, Brazilian President Michel Temer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief the leaders on China's blueprint for promoting BRICS cooperation during Chinese presidency over the bloc in 2017. China will host the ninth BRICS leaders' summit in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, in September, Xi said. "The BRICS cooperation, a model for cooperation among emerging markets and that among developing countries, has brought benefits to people of BRICS nations and made great contributions to boosting global economic growth, improving global governance and promoting the democratisation of international relations," Xi added.
Source: Global times
ECONOMY
State Grid deal in Pakistan
China's State Grid Corp has signed a deal with Pakistan's Ministry of Water and Power to invest in and build a power transmission line in Pakistan, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in a statement on January 4.
Under the deal, State Grid will invest $1.5 billion in the 4,000 megawatt power transmission line, according to Pakistani media. The project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative, which drew $55 billion in the latest round of Chinese investment.
Source: Global Times
Canon hit by antitrust fine
The
Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) decided to fine Japan's Canon Inc 300,000 yuan ($43,130) for allegedly violating antitrust regulations with its acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corp, the ministry said on January 4. In 2015, Canon and Toshiba Medical generated more than 2 billion yuan in combined revenue in China, and each generated more than 400 million yuan in revenue. Those amounts reach the standard of declaration of concentration of business operations in China, according to a statement on the MOFCOM's website. But Canon "did not declare
in line with relevant regulations" and the acquisition "did not have an outcome of precluding and restricting competition," the statement said. What makes this case unique is that Canon structured the acquisition as a two-part transaction to avoid making the necessary declarations under Chinese antitrust regulations, said Wei Shilin, a senior partner at Dacheng Law Offices in Beijing.
Source: Global Times
Caixin service PMI rises to 17-month high
China's service sector continued to expand in December 2016, posting its strongest rate in 17 months, according to a private survey Thursday. The Caixin General Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up to 53.4 from 53.1 in November 2016, according to the survey conducted by financial information service provider Markit, sponsored by Caixin Media. The previous high was 53.8 in July 2015. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 represents contraction. Demand in the sector picked up as new orders at service companies rose in December at the fastest pace in 17 months. Optimism about growth prospects in 2017 reached a four-month high, with surveyed companies generally showing more confidence due to improving market conditions and company expansion. Zhong Zhengsheng, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, an investment research firm, said the figures showed continued recovery in China's economy.
Source: Xinhua
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
China's lunar probe to bring soil samples back from the moon in 2017
China's unmanned lunar probe Chang'e-5, set to be launched around December 2017, will bring lunar soil samples back to Earth, says Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of the China National Space Administration. The just-concluded Chang'e-3 mission marked the completion of the second phase of China's lunar program, which included orbiting and landing on the moon and returning to Earth. The third phase, which includes unmanned sampling before returning to Earth, will follow the launch of Chang'e-5. According to Ye Peijian, an expert with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Fifth Research Academy, Chang'e-5 will consist of the orbiter, the return vehicle, the ascender and the lander. The orbiter and return vehicle will orbit the moon, while the lander and ascender will land on the moon.
Source: China Daily
An innovative China gets global attention
With a series of scientific breakthroughs during the past year, China is ushering in 2017 looking to grow into one of the world's great innovators. In his New Year speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping touched on many scientific and technological achievements made in 2016, such as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) being put into operation, and the Dark Matter Particle Explorer Satellite "Wukong" in orbit for a year. He also mentioned launching of a quantum satellite and the Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2 space missions. "We have made a series of breakthroughs this year and established a set of regulations as well as a quality guarantee system. We have also built a young and capable team," said Li Jian, head of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. FAST, the world's largest radio telescope was put into use in September in southwest China to observe space and look for extraterrestrial life.
Source: Xinhua
Tencent teams with Thai start-up Ookbee to launch content platform
Chinese internet giant Tencent has teamed up with Thai start-up Ookbee to launch a digital content platform as the Shenzhen-based company buckles down on expanding its presence in Southeast Asia. Both Tencent and Ookbee have entered a joint venture that will spawn the launch of Ookbee U, a user-generated digital content platform. Tencent’s investment amounts to US$19 million, according to tech news site Techcrunch. The Ookbee U content ecosystem will comprise comics, music, blogs, and stories contributed by users, with an aim to generate over 1 million content items over three years. “This joint venture reinforces our commitment to Thailand and supports our Thailand strategy to grow our digital content platforms,” Poshu Yeung, vice president of Tencent’s International Business Group said in a statement. “We are confident that our investment into Ookbee U will further strengthen our position to capture the promising potential in the dynamic local creative media market.”
Source: South China Morning Post
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jake Van Der Kamp, “Official overestimates of Hong Kong’s future population are deliberate and will prove costly”, South China Morning Post, January 6, 2017
Wang Yusheng, “The 'black swan' marvel in changing times”, China Daily, January 3, 2017
Chris Bukley, “President Xi’s Great Chinese Soccer Dream”, New York Times, January 4, 2016
Kamal Dev Bhattarai, “India and China's Tug of War Over Nepal”, The Diplomat, January 6, 2016
Song Shengxia, ‘China should focus on manufacturing upgrade amid rising competition from India’ Global Times, January 4, 2016
Edward Tse, ‘How Chinese entrepreneurs can help Trump ‘make America great again’ South China Morning Post, January 5, 2016
“Xinhua Insight: An innovative China gets global attention”, Xinhua, January 4, 2017
“Creation of China Global TV Network excellent news, says Spanish observer”, Xinhua, January 1, 2017
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