"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Just links today:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
正确看待中国经济的下限、上限和底线-财经频道-新华网 Sunday Xinhua article says 7% is GDP lower bound// 根据“十二五”规划提出的目标，“十二五”期间中国经济年均增速目标为7%。要确保2020年全面建成小康社会，实现GDP比2010年翻一番的目标，增速低于7%这个“底线”是不允许的。
Related: 李克强谈经济形势：逼近下限时侧重稳增长_财经频道_一财网 looks like there may be some stimulus after all, reports First Financial monday, if growth weakens much more // 《第一财经日报》获悉，在这两次会议上，针对如何平衡“稳增长”和“调结构”的问题，李克强表示，当经济运行保持在合理区间时，主推调结构、促改革；当经济运行逼近下限时，要以稳增长、控风险为主，同时兼顾调结构、促改革。他还表示，上下限指标值不会一成不变。考虑到目前中国经济增速放缓的现状，当前政策取向中“稳增长”的重要性日益凸显。此前有政府人士向本报透露，预期在投资和消费政策方面会有一定宽松，包括促进信息消费、铁路投资、棚户区改造、城市基础设施建设、节能环保投资等方向将成为重点。而出口方面，商务部已于6月下旬至7月上旬赴沿海省市调研，真正的政策或许将在7月下旬密集出台。
习近平：饭碗主要要装自己生产的粮食_网易新闻中心 interesting comments and visuals from Xi Jinping’s visit to Wuhan // 新华网北京7月21日电 据新华社新华视点微博报道，21日下午，习近平来到武汉重型机床集团有限公司。看到这家老牌企业坚持自力更生、自主创新，习近平十分感触地说，工业化很重要，我们这么一个大国要强大，要靠实体经济，不能泡沫化。自力更生任何时候都不能少，我们自己的饭碗主要要装自己生产的粮食。
Related: 习近平：科技是国家强盛之基 – 高层动态 – 新华网 新华网北京7月21日电 据新华社新华视点报道，21日下午，习近平来到武汉东湖国家自主创新示范区，了解中国光谷发展情况。看到光纤通信、3D打印、生物质能源等成果，总书记感到很欣慰。他说，一个国家只是经济体量大，还不能代表强。国家富强靠什么？靠自主创新，靠技术，靠人才，科技是国家强盛之基。
Related: 习近平冒雨考察武汉新港 – 高层动态 – 新华网 picture of Xi holding his own umbrella, pants leg rolled up, standing in the rain // 新华网北京7月21日电 据新华社新华视点微博报道，21日上午，习近平来到湖北考察，一下飞机就冒雨来到武汉新港阳逻集装箱港区。雨下得很大，积水没过了脚面。他卷起裤腿，打着雨伞，向工作人员了解物流等情况。谈了10多分钟，雨水打湿了他的衬衫。他说，长江流域要加强合作，发挥内河航运作用，把全流域打造成黄金水道。
Latest H7N9 case confirmed in Beijing – Xinhua | English.news.cn Doctors introduce the situation of a new H7N9 patient in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, capital of China, July 21, 2013. A 61-year-old woman from north China’s Hebei Province Saturday became the latest confirmed case of the H7N9 strain of bird flu. The patient is currently in critical condition
Related: 河北廊坊活禽市场检出H7N9病毒_网易新闻中心 H7N9 virus detected in live poultry market in Langfang, Hebei, just over the border from Beijing. Is this worrisome that the virus survives and apparently spreads in the height of summer? // 我们得到的最新消息是：廊坊在综合市场活禽交易区已经检测出了H7N9病毒。目前，廊坊市已经在布置全市农贸综合市场活禽交易区的消毒、关闭等防控措施。
气功师曾欲为刘志军弄靠山石保其“一辈子不倒”_网易新闻中心 on the Qigong master who once promised Liu Zhijun he would be protected for life from downfall, was recently visited by Jack Ma of Alibaba, has three humvees
China Detains Fraud Investigator – WSJ.com Shanghai police are holding a well-known China-fraud investigator, according to people familiar with the matter. The people identified him as British national Peter Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey is the founder and managing director of ChinaWhys Co., a Hong Kong-based investigation firm that focuses on fraud and accounting for multinational businesses operating in China. According to the people familiar with the matter, one of Mr. Humphrey’s clients was GlaxoSmithKline
Related: – ChinaWhys -An International Business Risk Advisory Firm with Eyes in China Peter Humphrey has spent 37 years involved with China and Eastern European countries. After two decades as a foreign correspondent with Reuters in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, he has spent the past 14 years as a risk management specialist and corporate detective focused on white-collar crime prevention, fraud investigation and crisis mitigation for multinationals in Asia. Before founding ChinaWhys, Peter had served as China country manager for US risk consultancy Kroll and head of China investigations at PwC as well as undertaking a number of humanitarian assignments.
President Xi reaffirms environmental obligation – CGlobaltimes.cn China will commit to its international obligations and work with countries around the world to make a better Earth, President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to an environmental forum on Saturday. In the letter, Xi extended his congratulations on the opening of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2013, which was held in Guiyang, capital city of Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
Related: 生态文明的中国觉醒-人民日报 Page 1 People’s Daily Monday from “任仲平 (Ren Zhongping)” on China’s Awakening about “Ecological Civilization”// 不必讳言，今天的中国，我们还未能完全摆脱很多发达国家经历过的“先污染后治理”老路。但转型已经开启，发展不容回头。“同呼吸，共奋斗”，为子孙后代留下天蓝、地绿、水清的生产生活环境，是13亿中国人的共同追求。美丽中国，正孕育在每个人的努力之中。// a recent China Quarterly article discussed the “Ren Zhongping” pseudonym–“When big incidents occur, the CCP publishes articles by Ren Zhongping to boost public morale, and so many high-level officials pay close attention to articles appearing under this name.”
Related: 环保专家：中国已成世界上PM2.5污染最严重地区_网易新闻中心 中新网贵阳7月21日电 21日上午，生态文明贵阳国际论坛2013年年会PM2.5(细颗粒物)分论坛在贵阳举行，来自中国工程院、中国环境科学研究院、北京大学等部门的环保专家就“PM2.5危机”展开探讨，专家们表示中国目前已成为世界PM2.5污染最严重的地区。
“污水白处理了”_杂志频道_财新网 Depressing cover story in latest Caixin magazine about the widespread shortcomings of wastewater treatment even after 500B of investment // 80%污泥未处理，5000亿污水处理投资有多少在打水漂？
Related: China moves to address drinking water woes – Xinhua Ling Jiang, deputy director of the pollution prevention department under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that although 95.3 percent of the monitored drinking water sources in 113 major cities across China met national standards last year, people should not be too optimistic about the situation. China has no special national standards to monitor drinking water sources, according to Ling. The figures were obtained from 387 drinking water sources in the 113 cities and by testing only about 20 indicators based on surface water standards. “Some harmful and poisonous contaminants for drinking water were not included,” he said.
Hauling New Treasure Along the Silk Road – NYTimes.com Hewlett-Packard, the Silicon Valley electronics company, has pioneered the revival of a route famous in the West since the Roman Empire. For the last two years, the company has shipped laptops and accessories to stores in Europe with increasing frequency aboard express trains that cross Central Asia at a clip of 50 miles an hour. Initially an experiment run in summer months, H.P. is now dispatching trains on the nearly 7,000-mile route at least once a week, and up to three times a week when demand warrants. H.P. plans to ship by rail throughout the coming winter, having taken elaborate measures to protect the cargo from temperatures that can drop to 40 degrees below zero. Though the route still accounts for just a small fraction of manufacturers’ overall shipments from China to Europe, other companies are starting to follow H.P.’s example
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Liberalizing Interest Rates Remains a Challenge for China – NYTimes.com In China, Mr. Zhang said, “the discussion in the government was quite serious. It was about liberalizing all interest rates within four to five years.” “The Path to Interest Rate Liberalization,” the thesis he wrote in 1986 at the People’s Bank of China graduate school, ‘‘did not stand out in any way, because that was an accepted topic,” said Mr. Zhang, who is now an independent corporate adviser based in Hong Kong. Nearly three decades later, China still struggles with the issue of interest rates.
China Move to Free Lending Rates Puts Focus on Low Saver Returns – Bloomberg The PBOC began an overhaul of deposit rates in June last year, when it allowed banks to offer as much as 10 percent above the benchmark. The next step should be to raise the ceiling to 30 percent, the IMF said last week in its annual assessment of China’s economy released before the PBOC’s announcement. China isn’t ready to free up deposit rates, the PBOC said in a statement July 19, highlighting that the nation lacks a deposit-insurance system.
News Analysis: Freeing bank lending rates a critical step in financial reform – Xinhua “This indicates that the nation has begun a new round of financial reforms. It also showcases that the new leadership’s economic policies seek to enhance marketization and ease controls,” said Sun Lijian, dean of School of Economics, Fudan University. According to the PBOC, lifting controls on lending interest rates can help cut costs for enterprises in raising funds and it can also optimize financial resources to boost the real economy and economic restructuring. The reform will boost the competition between banks, and speed up their currently uniformed models of operation,” said Ba Shusong, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council… Ba said that freeing deposit rates will have a more profound impact, and it needs in place mature mechanisms regarding deposit insurance and risk management, which are yet to be improved and rolled out.
利率市场化_财经频道_新华网 Xinhua special section page on the interest rate liberalization
Interview: Hard landing of Chinese economy no topic at G20 ministerial meeting: finance minister – XinhuaThe risk of hard landing of China’s economy is not envisaged at a Group of Twenty (G20) ministerial meeting as the country has seen increasing vitality, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said here Saturday. “That issue is not on the agenda of the meeting as no participant even believes the existence of the risk,” Lou told Xinhua on the sidelines of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting here. He noted that such concerns raised by some domestic economists showed their “lack of confidence” amid economic restructuring. “Although the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate is not as high as that of last year, we see more jobs created and more investment directed into the service industry,” Lou said. “That shows the increasing vitality of the economy.”
Chinese economy set to turn around, no hard landing: finance minister | Reuters China’s finance minister denied that the world’s second-largest economy was entering a crisis period, adding that he believed growth could even accelerate, as quoted by the official Xinhua news service in an interview. The report quoted Lou Jiwei, speaking on the sidelines of the G20 conference on Saturday, saying he expected China’s economic growth to end the year at 7.5 percent, the official target rate. A Xinhua report on July 12 that quoted him saying he expected growth to come in at 7 percent caused brief market confusion, but Xinhua later changed the report to quote him as saying 7.5 percent.
半年房地产新增贷款占新增贷款1/4_财经频道_一财网 real estate related loans in 1H 2013 were 27.1% of total loans in period, per PBOC. Not sure of TSF or just bank loans // 中国人民银行19日披露，上半年房地产贷款增加1.3万亿元，同比多增7326亿元，增量占同期贷款增量的27.1%。
多省高官拜会铁路总公司 争抢4000亿铁路投资_财经频道_一财网 Local governments lobbying the new Railways Company for pieces of the 400B RMB investment// 尽管中央政府一再强调“没有大规模经济刺激计划”，并将“向市场放权”和“结构调整”作为释放经济增长活力的路径。但是，对于“投资拉动”驾轻就熟的地方政府，这一切都没有“大项目”来的直接。
At Beijing Job Fair, China’s Millennials Fret About Their Future – BusinessweekOver the past decade China’s government has pushed for rapid expansion of higher education; the country’s leaders aim to upgrade the labor force and tilt the economy away from low-wage manufacturing. This year, 6.99 million students graduated from universities in China, up 190,000 from last year. There are nearly four times as many graduates in 2013 as there were 10 years ago. But the demand for young professionals in China hasn’t risen nearly as quickly. One government study from last winter indicated that the unemployment rate among 21- to 25-year-old college graduates was 16 percent, four times the official urban unemployment rate. // what has that rate been over the last few years?
Chinese manufacturing data faces hit from credit squeeze – FT.com
阿里向左，平安向右_财经频道_一财网 First Financial on Alibaba and Ping An’s diferent approaches to and competition for “Internet Finance” // 互联网改变了世界，也正在改变金融。在这个正在不断缔造的新王国中，谁将执掌未来互联网金融的权柄？ 来自互联网和金融领域的两位大佬——马云和马明哲正在以惊人的速度攻城略地，他们正在勾勒的或许正是未来互联网金融的雏形。
POLITICS AND LAW
他为刘志军辩护_财经频道_一财网 First Financial interviews Liu Zhijun’s lawyer // 这位律师就是钱列阳，他曾在“德国牙医案”、“厦门远华案”、“赵安受贿案”、“刘晓庆税案”等备受舆论瞩目的刑事案件中，为被告做辩护，近日第一财经独家专访了这位被坊间称为“专为坏人做辩护的律师”。
Two officials sacked after vendor’s death in C. China – Xinhua | English.news.cn Hu Bin, director and Communist Party chief of the urban management administration in Linwu county of Hunan province and Zou Hongwei, the administration’s deputy Party chief, are currently under investigation, the county government said in a statement. The family of the dead watermelon vendor has received 897,000 yuan (146,208 U.S. dollars) in compensation from the local government, local authorities said Saturday.
Chengguan blamed for beating another vendor | South China Morning Post In the latest incident, four or five chengguan allegedly bashed a hawker over the head with their walkie-talkies and even bricks – then refused to take him to hospital even though his head was covered in blood, People’s Daily reported. The assault allegedly took place on Thursday night in the Daiwai district of Harbin , the capital of Heilongjiang province.
Beijing airport bomber’s ‘mistreatment’ case reopened | South China Morning Post Security officials in the Guangdong city of Dongguan have been ordered to reopen the case into an alleged beating eight years ago that paralysed a motorcycle taxi driver who set off a home-made bomb in protest at Beijing’s airport on Saturday. The Public Security Bureau in Guangdong asked the Dongguan branch to carry out a thorough investigation into mistreatment claimed by Ji Zhongxing, the bomber, and his ensuing petitions, the national broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday, adding that the probe was already under way.
历史是最好的教科书-——学习习近平同志关于党的历史的重要论述-人民日报–中共中央党史研究室 习近平同志指出：“以正确的立场、观点、方法对待党的历史，是巩固党的执政地位、实现党的执政使命的必然要求，是应对意识形态领域挑战，抵制西方敌对势力西化、分化图谋的必然要求，是开创党和国家事业发展新局面的必然要求，关系党和国家长治久安，关系我国社会主义前途命运。”习近平同志的这一重要论述，深刻阐明了科学对待党的历史的重大意义。党的十八大前后，习近平同志在一系列重要讲话中，系统阐述了如何科学对待党的历史的问题。
川中女富豪何燕被抓_财经频道_一财网 magnate Ms. He Yan has been detained // 持股国腾电子51%，但未在上市公司任职。成都国腾集团董事长何燕被湖北省宜昌市公安局以涉嫌非法经营罪采取了刑事强制措施。。。19日，湖北省宜昌市公安局在官方微博上确认：6月30日，国腾实业集团董事长何燕因涉嫌非法经营罪被宜昌市公安局采取了刑事强制措施，此案系公安部指定湖北省宜昌市公安局管辖。目前，此案正在依法侦办中。《第一财经日报》记者从宜昌市公安局内部人士处了解到，该局为何燕案成立了专案组，由于案情比较敏感，对外保密，即使该局内部的非办案人士，也难以了解到案情具体情况，而且案件“也不是一天两天就能搞完的”。
人民日报–充分调动两个积极性–把握教育实践活动三大关系之一 本报评论员 群众的眼睛是雪亮的。党员、干部身上的问题，群众看得最清楚，最有发言权。没有群众的积极参与，教育实践活动容易变成“自说自话、自弹自唱”，达不到群众满意的效果。如果搞闭门修炼、体内循环，摆问题与现实不对接，作批评与群众不见面，怎么可能有的放矢、求得实效？把群众这个积极性发挥好，坚持开门搞活动，一开始就扎下去听取群众意见和建议，每个环节都组织群众有序参与，让群众监督和评议，才能用好人民群众这个原动力，积聚起转变作风的正能量。
Citizens issue statement on Xu Zhiyong detention – China Media ProjectParticipants of China’s New Citizen’s Movement, a grassroots social campaign launched by lawyer and activist Xu Zhiyong (许志永), issued a statement today objecting to Xu’s recent detention and calling for greater attention to his case. The letter, apparently drafted by Chinese investor Wang Gongquan (王功权) and veteran journalist Xiao Shu (笑蜀) (the author of a petition earlier this year calling on China’s National People’s Congress to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), called the New Citizen’s Movement a “movement of social renewal and reform led by citizens themselves,” its objectives to promote constitutionalism and civil society.
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Election Win by Ruling Party Signals Change in Japan – NYTimes.com The victory comes at a time when many Japanese seem more open than ever to change, after years of failed efforts to end the economic slump, and as an intensifying territorial challenge by China that has nudged this long-pacifist nation toward seeking a more robust military. And unlike some of Japan’s previous colorless leaders, Mr. Abe, 58, seems eager to become such an agent of change. He campaigned on promises to make fundamental, and possibly painful, changes in the economy. But his vows to stand up to China and rewrite Japan’s antiwar Constitution to allow the legal right to maintain a full-fledged military, rather than self-defense forces, raising fears he will go too far and further isolate Japan in the region.
Shake off old ideas, general warns PLA | South China Morning Post In this month’s influential Communist Party magazine Qiushi Journal, General Liu Yazhou wrote that the People’s Liberation Army continued to be held back by the same blind adherence to past practice that led to the Qing dynasty’s downfall. Liu, who is political commissar at the National Defence University, argued that the refusal to set aside “old thinking” left the army at risk, despite huge advances in equipment and technology in recent years. // 贯彻落实党的十八大战略部署<br>推动中国特色军事变革深入发展_2013/13_求是理论网 actually Liu’s essay from last issue, not current one. Qiushi comes out twice a month
中美投资合作需要好环境–钟 声–人民日报 Zhong Sheng on US-China investment cooperation needing a good environment // 对话会进行的同一天，美参议院举行中国企业双汇收购美国猪肉企业听证会，会上美议员对收购发起轮番质疑和挑刺。猪肉生产行业在美早已高度成熟和透明，美议员居然能从中找出危害美经济安全的理由，足见中国企业赴美投资之路尚不平坦。宽广的太平洋有足够空间容纳中美两个大国。培育开放、公平、透明的投资环境，对整个中美关系的氛围将产生积极影响。中美企业加深“你中有我、我中有你”交汇融合，有利于推动整个经济层面更加平衡发展，为中美关系发展积累正能量。
Proof Mugabe buys elections: Astonishing documents show evidence of ‘neutralising’ of voters, millions paid for systematic rigging and smuggling of blood diamonds – to ensure tyrant, 89, clings to power | Mail Online The papers show how much of the regime’s funding, security training and tactical advice comes from China. They reveal great anxiety over ‘enemy’ pirate radio stations adding that China has ‘donated and is installing new short-wave jammers and updating old equipment’.
TECH AND MEDIA
High-End Smartphone Boom Ending as Price Drop Hits Apple – Bloomberg The average price of a smartphone has plunged to $375 from $450 since the beginning of 2012, IDC estimates. That drop has already threatened revenue growth and profit margins at Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), and could further squeeze companies like Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and BlackBerry that were counting on new products to revive sales. Beneficiaries include up-and-comers, such as Huawei Technologies Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. (992), which specialize in low-priced gear. “The days of great growth in the high end of the market are gone,” said Michael Morgan, an analyst at ABI Research. “It’s the Chinese companies who know how to survive on tiny margins that are ready for the fight that’s about to ensue.”
华为4G阳谋_杂志频道_财新网 中国移动开标之际，华为突然打出了一张令所有厂商都意外的牌，高调支持TD-LTE新建
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
As luck would have it | South China Morning Post Historian, China scholar and bestselling author Jonathan Spence retraces a career driven by serendipity, writes Kate Whitehead.
Chinese Law Prof Blog: A conversation with a gay activist lawyer in China I just had an interesting lunch with one of China’s few openly gay lawyers, who also engages in activism on behalf of the LGBT community. Here are some interesting points from our conversation…One discouraging part of our conversation: he noted that in general it was the house churches that were the most visible and outspoken homophobes in China. Generally Christian parents in the house churches, for example, have a much harder time accepting gay children than non-Christian Chinese parents…With China having so many human rights problems and the weiquan community facing so many difficulties, it seems unfathomably boneheaded to waste time and energy, and alienate potential allies, by worrying about what people want to do with their private parts. This kind of obsessive homophobia has no roots in traditional Chinese culture; it’s imported. But when shopping for values to import from the West, why on earth would one want to line up first at the hate counter?
强制使用儿童安全座椅将立法 上海或先行 | 每经网 China to soon require car child seats for children? It is needed, but good luck with enforcement // 核心提示： 报告首次对我国“强制使用儿童安全座椅”的可行性进行了系统研究，综合分析了国内儿童乘车现状、国内强制使用儿童安全座椅影响因素和我国儿童安全座椅行业现状后，认为我国具备了强制使用儿童安全座椅条件。
BEIJING
北京六环房价全面突破2万元 开发商暗战国五条|六环|房价|开发商_新浪财经_新浪网 20k/rmb a meter for houses in beijing 6th ring road area…so why is CBD still only 60k/m?// 今天，位于大兴区天宫院的某低总价楼盘开盘，预售许可证上的均价为16500元/平方米，而购房人实际买单的价格却接近20000元/平方米。随着被视为价格“洼地”的天宫院新盘也接近20000元/平方米，北京六环房价已全面突破2万元大关。
北京蚁族租房生活探寻：90平方米房住52人_网易新闻中心 不过，北京住建委等部门7月18日联合发布《关于公布我市出租房屋人均居住面积标准等有关问题的通知》表示，厨房和卫生间、阳台、地下储藏室一样属于不能出租的范畴。这让王梦芸有点担心，她是不是需要第五次搬家？