"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. Obama’s Focus in China Is on Its Leader, Not Its People – NYTimes.com In Beijing, Mr. Obama appeared determined not to antagonize his host. Asked about Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, Mr. Obama appealed for restraint, saying that while the United States did not necessarily agree with China about the issues behind the standoff, it did not want to see the tensions erupt into violence. “Obviously, the situation between China and Hong Kong is historically complicated and is in the process of transition,” he said in carefully calibrated remarks. “Our primary message has been to make sure violence is avoided,” the president said, adding, “We don’t expect China to follow an American model in every instance. But we’re going to continue to have concerns about human rights.”
Related: Expanding the Frontier of U.S.-China Strategic Cooperation Will Require New Thinking on Both Sides of the Pacific | Center for American Progress The cohort of foreign policy experts who are now in their 30s and 40s is the first group to begin their careers in an era when the door was fully open and bilateral exchanges were not only allowed but encouraged. Now, both sides can even leverage the Internet to track political developments in both nations and exchange views about those developments in real time. This new generation is also increasingly bilingual, which can help mitigate the noteworthy language barriers that contribute to misunderstandings between the United States and China. These mid-career experts can exchange views without interpreters and switch back and forth between English and Mandarin Chinese to get difficult points across as clearly as possible. As this generation—whether as government officials, scholars, or business owners—becomes a more influential policy voice in Washington and Beijing, their experience and expertise could play a critical role in deepening bilateral understanding. The Center for American Progress convened a group of these rising leaders in October to take stock of the U.S.-China relationship and delve into some of the most difficult issues that still divide these two great nations
2. Frosty Meeting at APEC Could Be Start of Thaw Between China and Japan – NYTimes.com but they met for 25 minutes // Soon after the meeting, the Chinese state-run media released a photograph of Mr. Xi and Mr. Abe looking at the floor as they shook hands, an image that made both leaders seem grumpy. (In Japan, by contrast, the most widely used photo of the handshake showed the two men looking at each other and smiling slightly.) The encounter came three days after the two countries agreed to a formal document in which they recognized their differing positions on the East China Sea, including the waters around the cluster of disputed islands, known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as the Senkaku. // CCTV Evening News Monday report on the meeting, was the 7th and last segment on Xi meeting with visiting heads of state 习近平会见日本首相
Related: APEC red carpet snapshots: when in Beijing | ChinaHush Xi a bit more smiley when greeting Abe at dinner
Related: Xinhua Insight: Chinese, Japanese leaders meet to thaw ties – Xinhua Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the agreement was “a major step” toward the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations when he met his Japanese counterpart. In his meeting with Abe, Xi expressed hope that the Japanese side should properly handle related issues in line with the agreement. He said Japan must follow the political documents between China and Japan and honor the commitments made by successive Japanese administrations, including a speech by former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama who stated that Japan, through colonial rule and aggression, had caused great damage and suffering to people of many countries, particularly in Asia, and that no such mistake should be made in the future. Only in this way could Japan develop friendly and forward-looking ties with its Asian neighbors, he said. Xi said the Chinese government has always attached importance to its ties with Japan, and has advocated pushing forward Sino-Japanese ties on the basis of the four political documents reached between China and Japan and in the spirit of “taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future.”
Related: 期待中日关系行稳致远（钟声）–观点–
3. China Opens Door Wider to Foreign Investors – WSJ Since the program was announced in April, the Hang Seng Index has gained 3.9%. The Shanghai Composite Index has surged 17.5% in that time, as investors anticipated a flood of cash flowing in, making it one of the world’s top-performing major benchmarks this year. The program has a daily limit of $2.1 billion for investment into Shanghai-listed shares, with an overall cap of $49 billion.
Related: Chinese stocks at 3-yr high on exchange link move, also buoys Hong Kong | Reuters It also on may help that the Shanghai Stock Exchange made comments that have some believing T+0, which would allow day trading, may finally be implemented 沪港通助力A股上攻 T+0或成就大牛市…Beijing wants the market higher. In US people say “don’t fight the Fed”, in China it should be “don’t buck Beijing”. Two years into Xi’s administration and not many people are making money. Goosing the stock market is a great way to change that and improve overall sentiment as well as help companies raise cash. It’s not really about the fundamentals, but it never has been with China’s stock market.
Related: 上交所：政策效应立竿见影 交易账户和开户数暴增70%-手机和讯网 and investors are coming back into the market. According to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Sina Weibo account, since July new account openings and daily account trading activity have increased 70% // 投资者参与度明显提升，
4. Closer Look: So China’s Silk Road Fund Is Marshall Plan Redux? Not Really – Caixin Media commentators love the moniker, but the central government’s plans are really about forex reserves, the yuan and deepening trade with neighbors
5. Shifang deadlock is a “national problem” for China | Yan Dingfei – China Dialogue The Sichuan city of Shifang has suffered economically since mass protests against a proposed molybdenum and copper project in 2012..In mid-October, the Ministry of Environmental Protection submitted a document to the Central Committee, saying that if the Shifang deadlock was not broken there would be no hope for China’s economic transition. Li Zhuo said that “the issue is stuck here in Shifang. It reflects the problems of our economic transition, and that’s a national problem.”–This article was originally published by Southern Weekend
6. A backstage glimpse at the Plenum “Decision” – China Media Project On Thursday, November 6, 2014, Guangzhou Daily, the official Party paper of the Guangzhou city leadership, published an interview with Mr. Hu Yunteng (胡云腾), a member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court who took part in the drafting process of the plenum “Decision.”..Hu Yunteng’s interview now makes two things clear. First of all, it explains why the two constitution-related terms were given short shrift in the “Decision.” They were, after all, last-minute add-ons. Second, it now makes sense that just as the “Decision” was released, Party media scrambled to explain in no uncertain terms that the CCP’s rule according to the Constitution is something quite different from Western constitutionalism.
7. Alibaba Goes Global, Singles Day Sales Top $5.9B-Bloomberg Merchandise sold was 36.2 billion yuan as of 1:31 p.m. Beijing time, Alibaba said in a post on its Twitter Inc. account. That is more than the $5.29 billion of U.S. online sales from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in 2013, the company said.
Related: Is Alibaba’s Singles Day really worth it for China’s stressed-out retailers? – Quartz Alibaba charges a commission of between 3% and 5% to participate in Singles Day, depending on whether merchants are using its Tmall or Taobao platforms. But that’s just the beginning: advertising on Alibaba’s platforms does not come cheap, and merchants also have to splash on marketing, extra staffing, and other costs. Retailers also suffer in the lead up to Singles Day: two weeks before the holiday, merchants say that both online and offline sales drop off as customers wait for 11/11 discounts, which are usually around 50%.
Related: Xiaomi bags $163 million at half-time on the Singles Day–TechInAsia global vice president for product at Xiaomi Hugo Barra posted via his Google Plus account that Xiaomi clocked RMB 1 billion (US$163 million) in 12 hours by selling 720,000 phones. Xiaomi is quite proficient with flash sales and now should be on cloud nine with its sales performance at the half-time mark on Singles Day. Last year, the company made sales worth RMB 550 million (US$89 million) through the Singles Day sale and the company surpassed that figure this year in a mere four hours.
8. 微信学做生意_新世纪周刊频道_财新网 interest
APEC
Putin Hits on China’s First Lady, Censors Go Wild State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) caught the whole encounter on video. Peng and Putin cut small figures from the camera’s distant perch across the vast Water Cube, but the CCTV commentator had no trouble making out their identities. She remarked upon Putin’s chivalrous gesture just moments later, saying, “Putin has just placed his coat around Peng Liyuan’s body.” Major Chinese news outlets including web giant Sina and Phoenix Media quickly posted the video, which also began circulating on Chinese social media. The encounter even spawned a short-lived hashtag, “Putin Gives Peng Liyuan His Coat,” on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging site.
Air Quality App Stops Providing Data From U.S. Embassy – NYTimes.com wind picked up Tuesday Am, air now good in Beijing. China really needs to figure out how to make wind on demand // Just before noon on Monday, one of China’s most popular air quality monitoring apps stopped providing data from a device that sits atop the roof of the United States Embassy in Beijing. The app, China Air Quality Index, continues to provide readings from monitoring stations run by the Chinese government, but those readings tend to provide a rosier portrait of pollution levels in the capital and are viewed somewhat skeptically by many Beijing residents. According to one of the app’s creators, Zhang Bin, a “relevant government department” had notified the company that it could no longer provide data from the United States Embassy in Beijing. The app, which provides air quality readings from
Obama Chews Gum, Chinese Internet Goes Ballistic – China Real Time Report – WSJ nicorette? // As the organizers wrapped up the business end of the conference in Beijing on Monday and prepared to kick off its political leg, they had to ferry dozens of leaders and their spouses from a convention center to the Water Cube, the Beijing Olympic swimming venue that was set up to host an APEC dinner for the politicians. That’s where Obama’s image got all gummed up. First, he didn’t take a ride in one of the official Hongqi cars that China is marketing as a luxury marque and provided especially for the dignitaries, choosing instead to hop on a U.S. State Department limousine. Second – even worse for some Chinese – he was chewing gum.
China Touts Environmentally Friendly Fireworks for APEC – China Real Time Report – WSJ The creative director for the APEC fireworks show, Cai Guoqiang, told state media that Monday night’s piece of work, called “Nature Song,” was “not only spectacular, but green and ecological.” Mr. Cai assured reporters that the bursts “100% do not harm the environment.” Academics were trotted out to declare the fireworks free from heavy metals or any other banned chemicals. The fireworks had some sulfur removed, and the show was also shorter in duration than usual, the report said.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China, U.S. make breakthrough on IT free trade deal: U.S. trade representative | Reuters The ITA, which went into effect in 1997, now covers more than $4 trillion in annual trade, according to the U.S. government. Participants to ITA commit to eliminating tariffs on such items as computers and computer software, telecommunication equipment and other advanced technology products. An expanded ITA would eliminate tariffs on about $1 trillion worth of global sales on IT products, Froman said. More than 200 tariff lines will be reduced to zero under the new agreement.
发改委一月批复7600亿元项目:意在抵消房地产拖累|发改委|
No Longer Business as Usual in China – NYTimes.com Advocates of a more confrontational trade strategy have criticized the administration for not taking a more public stance. They point to various potential tools, like threatening to limit China’s access to the American market. “Washington doesn’t appear to have any idea on how to deal with China’s rising economic nationalism — their default approach is dialogue,” said Michael R. Wessel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a group created by Congress to provide advice on China policy. “But there’s little evidence that dialogue results in anything other than delay and ultimately acceptance of China’s plans.”
China, South Korea sign ‘substantial conclusion’ of free trade deal | Reuters South Korea says the deal, which the neighbors negotiated for more than two years, will help its small and medium-sized producers of clothing, leisure goods and high-end electronics become competitive in China, thanks to the slashing of Beijing’s import tariffs.
China’s economy: Deflation, deflated | The Economist not all episodes of deflation are created equal. Prolonged falls in prices would normally make an open-and-shut case for policy easing. In China, it is a little more complicated. The decline in PPI, which on the surface is the most alarming of the price trends, has been caused almost exclusively by the slump in global commodity prices. This can be seen in the near-perfect correlation between producers’ output prices and their input costs.
特斯拉天猫旗舰店关闭 称Model S限量版已售罄_科技_腾讯网 Tesla has shut its Tmall shop, and not selling the cars on single’s day // 腾讯科技讯 11月10日 ，特斯拉公司近日发布消息称，此次为天猫顾客提供的Model S限量现车已售罄，今后若购买Model S或预约试驾，需登录其官网。目前，特斯拉天猫旗舰店已关闭，
王健林：中国房地产市场进入十年平稳期_财经频道_一财网 Wa
广州卖地一天进账157亿 龙湖、平安在穗首次拿地_财经_腾讯网 Guangzhou sells 15.7b RMB of land in one day
经济参考网 – 中债登或控股国家级信托平台 全国信托登记中心将落户上海 万亿非标资产有望转正 Chinabond to be controlling shareholder in new trust registration platform to be established, likely in the Shanghai FTZ-Economic Information// 全国信托登记、
政泉控股指控方正高管嘴仗升级 或因方正证券控制权- 21世纪网 website of Zhengquan Holdings, firm that has accused Founder Group and its CEO of insider trading and asset stripping, has been inaccessible for more than 48 hours now after coming under DDOS attack // 21世纪经济报道 直到11月10日下午5点，
Buses linking Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan to resume｜｜WantChinaTimes One bus will run between Kashgar and Jalal-Abad, and another will run between Artux and Osh, transport authorities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said Sunday. The four cities are important posts in the “Silk Road Economic Belt” that China is actively promoting.
POLITICS AND LAW
China promotes online public procurement – Xinhua Chinese central government launched its online procurement center on September 1. The website, zycg.gov.cn, has attracted 87 companies, including Haier, Tongfang and Lenovo. More than 10 local governments, including the governments of Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu and Hangzhou, have also opened their online shopping centers. Hangzhou municipal government tried its hand at “online supermarket” in 2009. It keeps 1,814 products available on the official website. According to He Liming, president of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, China spent about 20 trillion yuan (3.3 trillion U.S. dollars) in public procurement last year.
山西一小学副校长猥亵9岁女童被刑拘_新闻_腾讯网 vice-
建国初期对知识分子思想改造的历史必然性
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
谷俊山案内幕曝光 我后面有人_中国-多维新闻网 罗青长之子、
Q. and A.: Dennis M. Gormley on China’s Military Capabilities – NYTimes.com Dennis M. Gormley, a senior lecturer in military affairs at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, is the author, with Andrew S. Erickson and Jingdong Yuan, of “A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions,” published in April by the National Defense University Press. In an interview, he discussed highlights of the [Zhuhai] air show and China’s military development:
China to Debut Fighter Jet as U.S. Brass Attends Airshow – Bloomberg The U.S. is taking part at Zhuhai for the first time. Pacific Air Forces chief General Lori Robinson will represent the U.S. Air Force, along with 15 airman and a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, a large military transport aircraft. “Through participation in airshows like this one, the U.S. demonstrates its commitment to the security of the Asia-Pacific region, promotes equipment interoperability, and displays the flexible combat capabilities of the U.S. military,” the U.S. Pacific Command said in an e-mailed statement.
How Will the Midterm Elections Impact Asia Policy? | The National Interest Third, Republican members of Congress have, typically, strongly favored closer U.S.-Taiwanese relations. The new Congress should, then, be a sight for Taipei’s sore eyes following six years of an administration with no discernible Taiwan policy. And while Congress’s legislative impact on Taiwan policy may be limited, it can wield influence via oversight. With Marco Rubio likely taking over chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, such efforts could receive an important boost. Look for increased pressure on the administration to revitalize defense ties with the island—perhaps by actively participating in Taiwan’s indigenous submarine program—and to work with Taipei to pave the way for its future entry into the TPP.
Senior intel officer removed after controversial comments on China Capt. James Fanell, the director of intelligence and information operations at U.S. Pacific Fleet, has been removed from that position by PACFLT boss Adm. Harry Harris and reassigned within the command, Navy officials confirmed…The reasons for Fanell’s firing remain cloudy, but two sources said the relief stems from alleged mishandling of classified information and fostering a negative command climate.Capt. Darryn James, top spokesman for PACFLT, declined to say whether Fanell’s relief was related to his controversial views, citing privacy concerns.
Chinese hackers suspected in major U.S. Postal Service breach The U.S. Postal Service has been hacked, and the likely culprits are Chinese hackers. The USPS discovered a “cyber security intrusion” that may have compromised the personal data of its more than 800,000 employees, it said on Monday. But the agency downplayed the incident, calling it “limited in scope.”
Chinese-American candidates winning big in US midterms – Global Times nice infographic put together by Chinese media
U.S.-China Agreement: Longer Visa Validity for Business, Tourism, Study, and Exchange – U.S. & China Visa Law Blog today’s announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to the new 5- and 10-year visas as as the maximum validity periods, perhaps to be reserved for the crème de la crème. I’m not asserting that the Chinese government is acting in bad faith. Instead, perhaps the State Department knows China’s intentions and calculates that it’s in American interests for the State Department to issue longer term visas to Chinese, even if China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn’t do the same for Americans. In other words, maybe the drawn out negotiations were unstuck by the U.S. conceding on the requirement of real reciprocity.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Hong Kong protesters face arrest after court rules on evictions | World news | The Guardian Pro-democracy protesters camped out on the streets of Hong Kong for more than six weeks face arrest after a court authorised police to help bailiffs clear them from occupation sites, a senior government official has warned. The acting chief secretary, Carrie Lam, also said there was no room for further dialogue with the student-led protesters, whom she said had hardened their position, raising the prospect of more violence as the government struggles to end the mostly peaceful standoff.
TECH AND MEDIA
百度“内部邮件”扬家丑，披露4起反腐案件-看点-虎嗅网 in
小米3亿美元入股爱奇艺_财经频道_一财网 CBN reports that Xiaomi is investing $300M into Baidu’s video service iQiyi // 或为日后与百度合纵连横的一步棋，
Xiaomi invests in 4G chip development, says sources China-based smartphone vendor Xiaomi Technology and China-based IC design house Leadcore Technology have established a joint venture specifically for developing 4G chip solutions, according to sources at Taiwan’s handset supply chain. Xiaomi will account for 51% share in the joint venture, while Leadcore, a subsidiary of Datang Telecom, will take up the remaining 49%.
Passion Times banned from China’s Apple App Store–TechInAsia A blog post on the Passion Times website displays an email sent by Apple, saying the app will be banned because it contains “content that is illegal in China”, and hence a violation of App Store Review Guidelines. However, the app can still be downloaded in other countries.
Google Fitness App Climbs to Top of China Rankings – Bloomberg Google Fit, which tracks activity and connects to health-monitoring devices, debuted late last month at No. 24 on the Android charts in China. On Nov. 1, the app reached the top ranking in the country and has stayed there since, according to App Annie’s Distimo analytics service. The app peaked at 69 in the U.S., 38 in the U.K. and 272 in Japan.
Here’s why that stunning web traffic from that Chinese startup is probably bulls**t–TechInAsia And any Alexa data out of China are BS too // The buying and selling of web traffic is a global phenomenon, of course, and it makes sense to be skeptical of pretty much any traffic numbers you see. But in China, buying traffic is so cheap that anyone can afford it. I checked a number of global traffic sales sites, and none of them could match the Chinese site’s prices, especially given that the Chinese site claims to be providing Alexa toolbar visitors.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Golf courses continue to be built across China, despite restrictions – Global Times Han claimed that local governments should take the blame for the continued construction of golf courses as they willfully ignore the developers’ exploitation of loopholes and self-interestedly grant permission for the development of golf courses. As the latest call to follow regulations only came three months ago, it is hard to predict whether or not it will stem the unchecked growth of the golf industry, Han said. In the light of the ongoing sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the nation, which has seen hundreds of local-level officials punished for misconduct, Han believes that the new restrictions may actually be followed.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Russia signs second China gas deal, but falling prices raise doubts | Reuters Moscow appeared to be sending a message to Europe, its biggest export market, that it has alternative buyers. Such a move is also important for the state budget, given that oil and gas account for half of its revenue. But the memorandum was non-binding. Those privy to the talks said the drop in oil prices of about a third since mid-June, which is also depressing gas prices, had complicated the talks. Lower prices may undercut the ability of Gazprom to invest in the infrastructure needed to carry the gas to China, while handing Beijing a weapon in negotiations on price.
Debates on Ways to Reform Power Industry Heat Up – Caixin Progress on bringing market-oriented reforms to the electricity sector has been slow, but talks on transmission, distribution and grid issues are gaining pace
Blue-sky thinking: Xi Jinping tells Apec leaders he checks pollution every day | South China Morning Post “These days the first thing I do in the morning is to check the air quality in Beijing, hoping that the smog won’t be too bad so that our distinguished guests will be more comfortable while you are here,” Xi said at a welcome banquet for leaders and spouses. “My hope is that every day we will see a blue sky, green mountains and clear rivers, not just in Beijing, but all across China so that our children will live in an enjoyable environment,”
BEIJING
新土豪渐成豪宅消费主力军 出手阔绰要求很苛刻|新土豪|城市新贵|千万豪宅_新浪财经_