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THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. IMF Approves Reserve-Currency Status for China’s Yuan – Bloomberg Business The addition will take effect Oct. 1, 2016, with the yuan having a 10.92 percent weighting in the basket, the IMF said. Weightings will be 41.73 percent for the dollar, 30.93 percent for the euro, 8.33 percent for the yen and 8.09 percent for the British pound. The dollar currently accounts for 41.9 percent of the basket, while the euro accounts for 37.4 percent, the pound 11.3 percent and the yen 9.4 percent. // so not actually added until 10.1.2016, ten months from now. Will China dare devalue the RMB in any material way between now and the addition, as many bears are hoping/predicting/betting on?
Related IMF Lifts Chinese Yuan to Elite Lending-Reserve Currency Status – WSJ U.S. officials privately question the yuan’s ripeness for reserve-currency status but also see the step as aiding efforts by reformers within the People’s Bank of China to liberalize the country’s economy. The U.S. Treasury issued a short two-line statement saying it supported the IMF staff recommendation to include the yuan. After the IMF’s announcement, China’s central bank pledged to accelerate efforts to overhaul the country’s financial system and further open its markets.
Related 央行回应人民币入篮 详细解读SDR七大疑问 PBoC Statement // 中国人民银行欢迎基金组织执董会将人民币纳入SDR货币篮子的决定，这是对中国经济发展和改革开放成果的肯定。中方对基金组织管理层和工作人员在SDR审查过程中的辛勤工作以及广大成员国的支持表示赞赏。人民币加入SDR有助于增强SDR的代表性和吸引力，完善现行国际货币体系，对中国和世界是双赢的结果。人民币加入SDR也意味着国际社会对中国在国际经济金融舞台上发挥积极作用有更多期许，中方将继续坚定不移地推进全面深化改革的战略部署，加快推动金融改革和对外开放，为促进全球经济增长、维护全球金融稳定和完善全球经济治理做出积极贡献。
Related: Wall Street Group Pushes Trading of China’s Yuan in U.S. – WSJ Mr. Bloomberg, founder of the financial-data and information company Bloomberg LP and former New York City mayor, will chair a new working group that hopes to build a framework for the trading and clearing of China’s yuan in the U.S. The group will also reunite two of the government’s most prominent officials during the financial crisis, former Treasury secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner, who will be co-chairmen. Mary Schapiro, who led the Securities and Exchange Commission, will serve as vice chairman.
2. Improper Readings of “Improper Discussion” — Medium translation of this article 人民日报热点辨析：认清“妄议”的错误和危害 from People’s Daily last week (and #3 in yesterday’s Essential Eight ) on clearing up the meaning of Article 46 of the new Party Discipline regulations about “improper discussion of central party policies 妄议中央. Article 46 should not be underestimated // Second, [improper discussion] weakens the Party’s authority and its leadership position. Some people, as they implement the policies of the centre, do so at a discount, fashioning their own alternatives, so that what we have are “policies above and countermeasures below” (上有政策, 下有对策), and disconnects from top to bottom that thwart [policy] decrees. This damages the authority and governing ability of the central Party. In fact, all of these [trends] have a great deal to do with the improper discussion of the policies of the central Party.
3. Xi sends strong signals at Paris climate talks – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent strong signals at the ongoing Paris climate change conference, warning against mentality of zero-sum game, expressing resolve in fulfilling Beijing’s commitments and showing willingness to advance international cooperation. Xi made the remarks in a speech at the opening ceremony of the two-week Paris gathering, officially called the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. // 习近平出席气候变化巴黎大会开幕式并发表重要讲话 wonder what kind of briefings he is getting on the current Beijing smog storm
4. Following U.S. indictments, Chinese military scaled back hacks on American industry – The Washington Post “The big picture is that from 2014 on, the administration pursued a much more direct and coercive approach with China, and it has produced results over time,” said Evan S. Medeiros, a former senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council…Prime among the other government hacking organizations is the Ministry of State Security. The MSS, which also employs elite contractors as hackers, is more skilled than the PLA and better able to hide telltale digital trails, analysts say. It is particularly suited to carry out economic espionage, some say, because it has direct channels to state-owned enterprises. // nice timing for some self-serving leaks to the Washington Post, on eve of cyber crime talks in DC?
Related China, U.S. high-level cyber crime talks to begin Tuesday | Reuters China’s Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun is in Washington through Sunday and will meet U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Chinese state media reported. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is also expected to take part in the discussions.
5. Xi’s African Tour Highlights China’s Expanding Security Role – Bloomberg Business Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a five-day African visit on Tuesday that he’ll use to showcase China’s expanding role as a protector of regional security, as well as a provider of infrastructure and consumer of resources. China has pledged $100 million of military aid for the African Union, sent an infantry battalion to support peacekeeping efforts in South Sudan and deployed frigates to fight piracy off the Somali coast, leading the country to consider building its first overseas naval resupply station in Djibouti.
Related The China Africa Relationship: Crossroads or Cliff? | A ChinaFile Conversation With Cobus van Staden, Eric Olander, Huang Hongxiang, Yu-Shan Wu, Lina Benabdallah, Kemo Bosielo so far
6. 成都律师出国需提前3日报司法局和律协，律师质疑无法律依据法治中国澎湃新闻-The Paper ThePaper reports that the Chengdu Judicial Bureau issues rule that Chengdu lawyers must notify it at least three days before leaving the country to participate in exchanges, forums, seminars…Lawyers claim rule has no basis in law// 律师出国、参加各类交流活动和论坛研讨会，应提前3日报司法行政机关和律协——日前，成都司法局出台新规，对律师活动作出上述要求。这瞬间在律师界引发反弹：多名律师在接受澎湃新闻（www.thepaper.cn）采访时表示，该规定并无法律依据，且有司法行政机关“扩权”之嫌。
7. 400,000 people to move to suburbs amid Beijing’s administrative shift – Xinhua Tongzhou housing prices been soaring, government imposed very strict purchase restrictions a few months ago // Beijing will move many of its city administration offices out of the city center to the eastern suburb of Tongzhou, with “substantial progress” by 2017, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning announced on Monday. Building a new municipal subsidiary administrative center in Tongzhou, about 40 minutes drive from the city center, will draw approximately 400,000 urban residents from city center to the suburban district in the future, the commission said. // 北京行政副中心将吸引40万人转移
8. 重访“艾滋病第一村”：“年轻人还要活得更好”综合新京报网 20年前，因有偿献血引发感染疫情的上蔡县文楼村，一时成为“艾滋村”的代名词。今天是第28个世界艾滋病日，新京报记者通过重访文楼，对话防艾领域的专家，除了呈现文楼的变化，也试图梳理当下中国艾滋病防治出现的新问题。 // For World AIDS Day a reporter from The Beijing News returns to Wenlou Village, known as the “No 1 AIDS village” for the AIDS epidemic that ravaged it in wake of rampant blood selling.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
J.P. Morgan Hires Were Referred by China IPO Clients – WSJ Chinese officials who the document lists as having referred candidates to J.P. Morgan include China Banking Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Guo Ligen; Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun; People’s Bank of China Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng; the chairman of state-owned grain trader Cofco Corp., “Frank” Ning Gaoning; and a senior executive at state-owned shipping giant Cosco Group, Sun Jiakang. // true that the Feds only started this investigation after discovering a document about this program in HR files turned over by JP Morgan in the London Whale investigation?
Chinese asset-backed securities rise from the ashes | CER The market for ABS in China has grown more rapidly than ever this year thanks to a new issuance system, and further healthy growth could also help pull a substantial sum out of the country’s notoriously opaque shadow banking sector and put it back on banks’ books. Kingsley Ong, a partner at law firm Eversheds International who was asked in 2007 to help draft China’s asset-backed security laws, said only half-jokingly that potential for securitization in China was “quite unlimited”.
China’s Central Bank to Establish Online Finance Stats Monitoring System | Marbridge Consulting China’s Central Bank and Association of China Internet Financial Industry have jointly developed a preliminary system for the monitoring of online finance statistics, according to an announcement by Sheng Songcheng, department head of survey and statistics at the People’s Bank of China. The announcement, made at the Second China Internet Finance Development Summit, said that the Central Bank will begin using the system by the end of the month to understand the basic circumstances of the market and to better guide policy making and regulatory decisions.
China’s Manufacturing PMI Weakens to Lowest in Three Years – Bloomberg Business The official purchasing managers index fell to 49.6 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday — the weakest level since August 2012. That compared with a median estimate of 49.8 in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which was also the level for September and October. The non-manufacturing PMI was at 53.6. Numbers below 50 indicate deterioration.
As Economic Doubts Grow, China Rolls Out a New ‘Keqiang Index’ – China Real Time Report – WSJ Last week, China’s State Council, the nation’s cabinet, suggested in an online post that it was time for a new Keqiang index.The new measure should be focused on employment, personal income and environmental improvement to better reflect Beijing’s growing focus on innovation and quality of life, said the post, which cited stories by China Business News and the Economist.
为经济持续健康发展提供有力法治保障 Cao Jianming, head of Supreme People’s Procuratorate, has lead essay in latest issue of Qiushi–“Provide vigorous “rule of law” safeguards for continued healthy economic development
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
[视频]习近平会见美国总统新闻频道央视网(cctv.com) CCTV Evening News on the Obama-Xi meeting in Paris
Spotlight: Xi, Obama meet in Paris, pledging cooperation on ties, climate change – Xinhua Xi said China and the United States should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and properly manage differences through dialogue and negotiations. On the Taiwan issue, Xi said maintaining peace and stability across the straits serves the interests of both China and the United States, and the Chinese side expects the U.S. side to support the peaceful development of cross-straits relations through concrete action. The two presidents also discussed the cyber issue. Xi said the two sides need to show sincerity and work together to achieve positive results in related talks. // what does China acknowledge as America’s “core interests”, and what “core interests” does the US claim in discussions with China?
Thailand knew deported Chinese were refugees awaiting resettlement in Canada: U.N. document | Reuters The Thai junta knew that two Chinese men it detained were refugees awaiting resettlement in Canada but still deported them to China, according to a United Nations letter seen by Reuters. The letter, sent by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Thai foreign ministry, contradicts Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s statement last week that Thailand “did not know” that the men were under UNHCR protection.
Xi, Putin agree to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation – Xinhua During a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a UN climate change conference, Xi said against the backdrop that tremendous changes have taken place in global anti-terrorism situation, China stands ready to work with the international community, including Russia, to combat terrorism and uphold the common interest of the world.
坚持用强军目标审视引领推进改革 – 中国军网 ——四论认真学习贯彻习主席在中央军委改革工作会议上的重要讲话
John Garnaut joins Malcolm Turnbull’s PMO | afr.com Fairfax Media’s Asia Pacific editor John Garnaut has won the Australian media quinella: he’s scooped up a fat redundancy package and scored a gig in the Prime Minister’s office. Starting next week Garnaut will be a senior media adviser/speechwriter for PM Malcolm Turnbull.
Xinhua proposes greater media role in promoting understanding – Xinhua President of China’s Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao on Monday stressed media’s role in promoting understanding and friendship among the public of BRICS countries. Cai made the remarks while meeting separately with N. Ram, chairman and publisher of The Hindu Group of Newspapers, and Mikhail Gusman, first deputy director general of TASS Russian News Agency, who are in Beijing to attend the first BRICS Media Summit.
加强国际传播能力建设 讲好中国故事 传递中国声音 Xinhua head Cai Mingzhao in latest Qiushi on strengthening China’s international propaganda efforts, properly telling “China’s story” // ■ 在世界经济走势、大国关系、文明冲突、安全反恐、气候变化、网络治理、地区争端等国际热点的报道中，外宣媒体必须旗帜鲜明地发出中国声音，而不能人云亦云、盲目跟着西方媒体调子走。 ■ 渠道建设是新兴媒体传播的重要组成部分。在这方面，要处理好“造船出海”和“借船出海”的关系。 ■ 要与国内外一流高校、培训机构建立长期合作关系，输送外文人才进修深造，引进高质量培训项目，培养一批优秀的国际新闻评论员和“全媒编辑”“全媒记者”。
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Taiwan, China swap jailed spies after leaders’ historic meet | Reuters China released Colonel Zhu Gongxun and Colonel Xu Changguo of Taiwan’s Military Intelligence after they had been held for more than nine years, while Taiwan gave advance parole to Chinese spy Li Zhihao, according to a statement from the office of Taiwan’s president.
Senators McCain, Cardin Question Lack of U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan in Letter to Obama – USNI News The lack of a pending arms package sale to Taiwan has raised concerns with two U.S. senators on America’s commitment to Taiwanese security, according to a Nov. 19 letter to the White House. In the letter — obtained by USNI News — Senate Armed Services Committee chair Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) expressed concerns that the U.S. has not done enough to adequately arm Taiwan while China is in the midst of a rapid military expansion.
TECH AND MEDIA
China Mobile to Get Fixed-Line Broadband Assets in 32 Bln Yuan Deal-Caixin The country’s largest wireless carrier says it will spend 31.88 billion yuan on China Tietong Telecommunications Corp. assets so that it can further explore the fixed-line broadband business.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
中央统战部官微：真正活佛是有“藏传佛教活佛证”的 _社会万象 _光明网 近日，藏传佛教的“活佛”又引起广泛关泛。到底什么是活佛?活佛是如何产生的？中共中央统战部宣传办公室微信公号统战新语（ID：tongzhanxinyu）小编试着带大家探个究竟。
The Last Reservoir of Glamour From China’s ‘Four Great Actresses’ – The New York Times Qin Yi was called the most beautiful woman in early Communist China. Now, at 93, as she sits in her apartment in the city where she appeared in more than three dozen movies, her pale complexion and dark eyes are still charming. Ms. Qin is the last surviving member of a group once known as the “four great actresses.”
With Big TV Deal, China’s Pro Soccer League Looks to Score-Caixin China Sports Media Ltd., better known as Ti’ao Dongli, paid a whopping 8 billion yuan in late October for the rights to televise Chinese Super League (CSL) games for the next five years. The second and third place bidders, Great Sports Media Co Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, and CCTV Sports & Entertainment Co. were only willing to cough up half that amount. The figure took industry insiders by surprise, given that television rights for the 2015 season cost only 80 million yuan.
‘Father’of Chinese rock back with album| China Daily Even talented people need encouragement, singer-songwriter Cui Jian says. Often described by his fans as the “father” of Chinese rock, Cui announced in Shanghai on Nov 17 that he would release a new album on Dec 18, produced by Sony Music.
The Girl From Harvard, the Girl From China | Foreign Policy Ultimately, neither “the girl from China” nor “the girl from Harvard” tells my story adequately. I am perhaps best described as “the girl who went from China to Harvard,” a path that has become less unusual as the number of Chinese students in American universities continues to rise. If China will one day become a more democratic and open society, it will probably be a result of the effort of this large group of culturally hybrid individuals whose heads are now used to Western thinking — but whose hearts are unchangeably Chinese.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Luis Ho Pushes China Into World Astronomy Club – The New York Times Luis Ho, 48, is the director of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics and a professor at Peking University in Beijing. As an American researcher who has worked for more than two years in China, he has a unique perspective on the country’s scientific ambitions. Dr. Ho is on leave from Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, Calif. We spoke for nearly three hours this summer at his office there — it once belonged to Edwin P. Hubble — and later by telephone
“土十条”将出或开启10万亿市场 掘金概念股_证券时报网 Ministry of Agriculture official tells Securities Times that the release of “Ten Articles for Soil” for dealing with spoil pollution is imminent// 农业部科技教育司司长唐珂日前透露，“土十条”即将推出。这也意味着，继“气十条”“水十条”相继出台后，三大战役中的土壤污染防治战役也即将正式揭幕。
China takes big step in electricity system reform| China Daily China released documents on Monday on electricity sector reforms covering everything from pricing to setting up a national electricity futures market. // 新电改六管齐下 三类公司料受益
Putting China’s coal consumption into context | Brookings Institution for several important but overlooked reasons these anxieties over Beijing’s intentions regarding its statistics may be misplaced. First of all, revisions of initially reported national statistics—dealing with everything from local finance and expenditure to energy use—are common practice in China, as in many other countries. The good news is that China is making serious efforts to correct those statistics as additional information becomes available—and to publish those corrections.
China jails 14 officials over 2013 Sinopec oil pipeline blast | South China Morning Post China has sentenced 14 former officials at state energy firm Sinopec and the local government to jail for up to five years for their role in a massive oil pipeline explosion in 2013, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. The explosion in the eastern province of Shandong killed 63 people and injured 156, and caused losses worth 751.7 million yuan (US$117.53 million), Xinhua said.
BEIJING
Beijing, N. China endure worst smog of year – Xinhua Concentrations of PM2.5, tiny airborne particles that embed deeply in the lungs, peaked at 900 micrograms per cubic meter in southern Beijing, the municipal environment monitoring center said. The World Health Organization’s recommended maximum is 25 microgram per cubic meter. // Beijing Pollution approaching 2013 airpocalypse levels. This we do not miss
小伙用100天收集雾霾 灰尘制成板砖高清图集新浪网 2015年11月29日，北京，一位来自深圳、自称“坚果兄弟”的小伙，完成了他使用工业吸尘器为北京吸雾霾100天的《尘埃计划》第一部分。次日，他将携带这些灰尘赶赴唐山一家制砖厂，用这100天内收集到的灰尘做一块板砖 // guy from Shenzhen who calls himself “nut brother” collects Beijing air pollution with an industrial vacuum cleaner for 100 days, uses the dust he collected to make a brick…
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