"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.
Repressed demand for real estate and expectations of a relaxation of some of the more repressive real estate policies have led to a rise in sales. Reuters reports that China property sales rise in key markets and Caixin tells us that Listed Real Estate Firms See Sales Jump in May on the back of price cuts. An official of the China Banking Regulatory Commission told China Daily the CBRC “is preparing to relax regulations on bank lending to local government vehicles and the property sector.”
The official line may be that the the restrictions will remain mostly in place, but developers, investors and consumers increasingly expect a relaxation. The challenge for the government is that if it relaxes too quickly prices could spike immediately. An opinion piece in Caixin discusses some of the challenges for the government–Showdown Stage for Housing Price Controls.
Regular readers of Sinocism had an inkling of the loosening in the Sinocism May 23 note, in which I wrote that:
The Beijing municipal government has taken steps to revive its property market and transactions increased 40% from April to May–北京楼市“红五月”被放大 疑为政府托市. Shijiazhuang just raised its reference land price by 43% effective June 1–6月1日起石家庄基准地价上调涨幅近43%–prompting a Beijing developer friend to excitedly quote a famous Chinese poem that “ducks first know when the Spring river water begins to warm” (春江水暖鸭先知, from 苏轼–惠崇春江晚景) to make his point on Weibo that the Shijiazhuang move is another early sign of loosening in the property market. One real estate market participant has posted to Weibo a chart of what it believes are the government’s recent signals about imminent moves to simulate the property market.
Fresh off new reports of backdoors in Chinese telecom gear, The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. Lawmakers Press China’s Huawei, ZTE:
“In letters sent Tuesday to Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., the top lawmakers on the House intelligence committee outlined concerns about the companies’ ties with the Chinese government, including the role of a “party committee” at Huawei…The lawmakers also asked about Huawei’s relationships with five U.S. consulting firms and requested an expansive collection of documents, including the contracts between the firms and Huawei as well as the results of the firms’ consulting work for Huawei. Those firms include International Business Machines Corp., IBM, Accenture and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Evan Osnos explains in The Unwritten Rules in Chinese Technology why it may be difficult for the US Congress to learn what is really going on at Huawei and ZTE, writing that “part of the complexity about being a big Chinese company is that it’s not clear what information related to your relationship with the government counts as a secret.”
Reuters looks at Mitt Romney’s history with China in when Romney wasn’t so tough on China. China is once again an incendiary campaign issue, as Bloomberg documents in China-Bashing as Campaign Rhetoric Binds Obama to Romney. In February I wrote In A WSJ Op-Ed Mitt Romney Confronts The China Fantasy, Ignores His Own Hypocrisy? One question that remains unanswered is how much of a distribution, if any, Romney has received from Bain Capital’s hugely profitable investment in Youku, once a leading IPR violator and now the very legitimate, largest Chinese Youtube-clone.
The occasionally reliable Duowei claims in 独家：中共十八大政治局常委变7人制已成定局_多维新闻网 that it can report exclusively, with confirmation from three independent, knowledgeable sources, that there will be 7 members of the 18th Party Congress Politburo Standing Committee, down from 9 currently. Duowei goes on to speculate that the Politics and Law chair seat will be combined with the NPC chair seat, and the Propaganda seat will be merged with the CPPCC seat. Consider the source, as always. Gady Epstein wrote a bit about Duowei and its background in February in Reporting Chinese Politics: Hidden News.
Meanwhile, the top story in today’s People’s Daily details the the smooth progress in delegate selection work for the 18th Party Congress. Last month’s report by Reuters that the 18th Congress could be delayed looks to have been off, though of course we will not know until it is held.
We have new assholes du jour. Apparently three Mianzhu, Sichuan officials have been detained for stealing 300 million Renminbi in Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction funds–潜规则重回灾区：“绵竹镇长贪污灾后重建款”调查|绵竹|灾区|贪污_21世纪网 . As expected, this news has set off a bit of a firestorm on Sina Weibo, as has the editorial in the People’s Daily stating that “criticizing everything about the country because of corruption is extremism.”
Today’s links:
- CBRC ‘set to relax limits on lending’ |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn
An official at the China Banking Regulatory Commission told China Daily on Wednesday that the agency is preparing to relax regulations on bank lending to local government financial vehicles and the property sector, two areas that the CBRC has repeatedly termed very “risky” since 2010.
- Showdown Stage for Housing Price Controls – Caixin Online
Price controls have had a limited impact on an increasingly polarized, but economically crucial real estate market
- Public Hospitals in Beijing, Shenzhen Raise Doctor Fees – Caixin Online
The two cities also take measures to lower costs for prescription medicines
- China eyes on all-round cooperation with Cambodia, says CPC senior leader – Xinhua | English.news.cn
China treasured its traditional friendship with Cambodia, and would take strategic approaches to step up the bilateral cooperation to a new height, visiting senior leader of the Communist Party of China He Guoqiang said here on Tuesday.
- Helping preserve rainforest in S China[1]|chinadaily.com.cn
Dr Bosco Chan Pui Lok, right, visits Bawangling Natural Reserve in Hainan province to study the wild gibbon, October 2003. Chan is a Hong Kong biologist specializing in amphibians, reptiles and fish. He graduated from the University of London and later received a doctorate from the University of Hong Kong. Chan is director of Kadoorie Conservation China (KCC), a non-government organization that focuses on conservation projects in Hainan’s natural forests. Chan has been studying the biodiversity and wildlife of Hainan since 2001 and discovered nearly 20 new species with his colleagues in Hainan’s rainforest
- Spacecraft launch to set new records|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn
The impending launch of the manned Shenzhou IX spacecraft will be the first time that China’s astronauts will stay in space for more than 10 days, said Cui Jijun, chief commander of the country’s first space docking mission’s launch site system, on Wednesday.
- China’s manned spacecraft in final preparations |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn
China’s Shenzhou IX manned spacecraft is in final preparations for its launch in mid-June, paving the way for China’s first manned space docking mission, as well as the country’s first space mission featuring a female astronaut.
- Kickback allegations made over study guide |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
of course it did. you have to assume any product sold through schools/teachers is paying kickbacks// Authorities are investigating a popular English-language study guide that is alleged to have used discounts and kickbacks to promote sales in Hubei province. English Weekly, a study guide in the form of a newspaper, has the largest circulation of its kind in China.
- 明鏡新聞網: 央視人巴不得焦利趕緊走人
more from mirror news about cctv and jiao li. as always, consider the source
- 人民日报:因腐败就批国家一无是处是极端主义_网易新闻中心
people’s daily–criticizing everything about the country because of corruption is extremism
- 人民日报-决不辜负党和人民的重托 ——党的十八大代表选举工作顺利推进
party telling the world all is well with 18th party congress planning// top story :we will not fail to live up to the great rust of the party and the people. election work for 18th party congress delegates is proceeding smoothly”
- Charting the Cozy Connections between JP Morgan and the Senate Banking Committee | Mother Jones
- 揭秘中共十八大中央政治局产生过程_多维新闻网
duowei looks at how the 18th party congress will be selected
- 陕西被引产孕妇:交不起4万元被逼引产_网易新闻中心
the shaanxi forced late term abortion story keeps getting worse, and is geting top billing on major news portals
- China to Let Insurers Invest More Broadly – WSJ.com
The new rules by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will allow insurers to invest in financial derivatives—including forward contracts, swaps, options and futures, such as China’s nascent stock-index futures—both in the domestic market and overseas, said the people. They will also allow insurers to put more funds into equities and real estate.
- Review & Outlook: The Beijing Model Under Stress – WSJ.com
We don’t subscribe to the “China collapse” school of thought, that the Chinese economy is a Ponzi scheme built on a massive expansion of credit. Cases of malinvestment and even fraud continue to emerge, and bank nonperforming loans are bound to increase dramatically. But Beijing has the capacity to recapitalize the banking system at least one more time… Beijing continues to use old-style repression to tamp down opposition. Wang Yang, Communist Party Secretary in southern Guangdong Province, once hailed as a reformer, issued a directive to officials to crack down quickly on any hint of dissent akin to last year’s saga in Wukan, a village that rose against corrupt local officials to demand democracy. Beijing has also ramped up spending on “internal security.”
- At CIC, Resources Spell Pain – Deal Journal – WSJ
For China’s sovereign-wealth fund, the slump in global commodity prices may be far from welcome. China Investment Corp. has been bingeing on energy and resource assets in North American and Europe since 2009.
- AAPL, Samsung Dominate China, But Not Entirely, Says Raymond James – Tech Trader Daily – Barrons.com
Raymond James’s Tavis McCourt this morning takes a “deep dive” into the Chinese market for smartphones, the largest market for the devices in the world, consuming 23% of all shipments.
- All Things Nuclear • Why China is Building a Space Station
China’s human spaceflight program is back in the news. On June 9 the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced its next human spaceflight mission would be launched sometime later this month. The primary objective is to develop and test critical technologies, like docking mechanisms and life support systems, that China will need to achieve its long-term goal of building and operating a national space station. If all goes well China will complete its station sometime in the early years of the next decade.
- Insight: When Romney wasn’t so tough on China | Reuters
Mitt Romney may be down on China and threatening to declare Beijing a currency manipulator from day one if he is elected president, but his past dealings with the country show he was not always so hostile.
- 武汉救湖风暴：“湖长”目标责任制|武汉|风暴|目标_21世纪网
Wuhan and Hubei leadership take interesting step to try to reverse the pollution in wuhan’s lakes. they are appointing “lake chiefs” for the 40 biggest lakes lake, one an official and one a local volunteer. all depends on how empowered they are
- 中石油阿富汗勘探遭军阀威胁|军阀|中石油|阿富汗_21世纪网
sinopec exploration team threatened by afghan warlord. welcome to afghanistan…
- 潜规则重回灾区：“绵竹镇长贪污灾后重建款”调查|绵竹|灾区|贪污_21世纪网
3 Mianyang County officials allegedly under investigations for stealing 300m RMB of the post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction funds
- The Unwritten Rules in Chinese Technology : The New Yorker
Both Huawei and ZTE have pledged full coöperation with the lawmakers’ questions, but I would not expect them to be any more forthcoming than they can legally manage. Part of the complexity about being a big Chinese company is that it’s not clear what information related to your relationship with the government counts as a secret.
- Pressure To Restart Work On Myitsone Dam Intensifies | China Bystander
Beijing continues to press Myanmar to allow a restart to work on the Myitsone Dam. Myanmar’s President Thein Sein unexpectedly and unilaterally pulled the plug last September on state-owned China Power Investment Corp.’s controversial hydropower project in Kachin state near the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river. The issue was again raised by foreign minister Yang Jiechi during his Myanmar counterpart’s visit to Beijing this week.
- Taobao Launches Organic Food Channel | Marbridge Consulting – China Internet News
Agri.taobao.com, the organic food channel of Hangzhou-based C2C & B2C e-commerce site Taobao, has officially gone online. According to Taobao, the channel is now open after a year of preparations and will be centered on transactions involving organic food products. Products include fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and eggs, grain, oil, and other non-staple foodstuffs. To date, over 1,000 farms have joined the channel.
- China denies exporting North Korean missile launch vehicles | World news | guardian.co.uk
Japanese media claim Chinese firm shipped vehicles to North Korea in possible violation of UN sanctions
- Airbus Weighs Chinese A320 Future as Competition Gains – Bloomberg
Airbus SAS is evaluating the future of its assembly facility for single-aisle aircraft in China, as the country works on its own design of a competing airliner.
- Cracking the Code on China’s Rate Cuts – China Real Time Report – WSJ
On a windy Saturday in late February, a professor of economics atXiamenUniversityby the name of Gong Min tried to convince a skeptical audience of reporters and researchers that China’s central bank would cut interest rates in the first half of the year
- Greentown Needs More Stable Approach, Boss Says – Caixin Online
- Listed Real Estate Firms See Sales Jump in May – Caixin Online
- U.S. Lawmakers Press China’s Huawei, ZTE – WSJ.com
Lawmakers investigating spying threats from China are pressing two Chinese telecommunications firms active in U.S. markets for details about their relationship with the Chinese government and with U.S. companies.
- J-20 fighter designed for South China Sea conflict: Global Times｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
China’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-20, is designed for potential conflict in the South China Sea, says the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid known for its nationalistic bent.
- A bite of poisoned apple: Have media in China gone too far in food safety reporting? | Offbeat China
“I just talked with Wang Ruifeng (reporter of the poisoned apple bags article) for about 20 mins on the phone and briefly discussed the case. Wang said 1) the article did over-generalize because they only checked two places; 2) it is true that he only interviewed one farmer; 3) he received a lot threatening calls today; 4) Beijing News will have another report out very soon to explain and comment on the case.”
- China Stocks Rise to One-Week High; Power Shares Gain – Bloomberg
China’s stocks rose, driving the benchmark index to its biggest gain in a month, on speculation the government will ease monetary policy and increase spending for infrastructure to stem the slowdown in the economy.
- » A Bite of Food, A Whole Lotta Love Rectified.name 正名
Rather than shouting about bombing some rocks in the South China Sea or whining about evil foreigners, CCTV has finally given us a show which instills a sense of true pride in our culture and our nation. Since I complain about CCTV all the time, I think it’s only fair that when they do something good they should get the credit too. So…well done, CCTV.
- China denies visa to former premier : Views and News from Norway
Kjell Magne Bondevik, warmly welcomed to Beijing when he was Norway’s prime minister in 2002, has now become the latest Norwegian to be denied a visa to China. Bondevik, an ordained pastor in Norway’s state church, was supposed to have led a meeting at a seminar of the World Council of Churches in Nanjing this week.
- 南方周末 – 制造芮成钢
profile of cctv’s rui chenggang
- China jails former football bosses in match-fixing crackdown | World news | guardian.co.uk
Ex-national team coaches Xie Yalong and Nan Yong sentenced along with players and referees in crackdown on corruption
- China Makes Golf History Twice in One Week – China Real Time Report – WSJ
Over the weekend, 22-year-old Chinese golfer Feng Shanshan claimed women’s golf’s LPGA Championship title by shooting 6-under-par for the week, becoming the first Chinese player to win a major tour event and title. As if that weren’t enough, 14-year-old Chinese golfer Andy Zhang made history of his own on Monday by becoming the youngest player ever to qualify for this week’s U.S. Open after Briton Paul Casey withdrew because of a shoulder injury.
- Avoiding a U.S.-China War – NYTimes.com
The dangers inherent in present developments in American, Chinese and regional policies are set out in “The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power,” an important forthcoming book by the Australian international affairs expert Hugh White. As he writes, “Washington and Beijing are already sliding toward rivalry by default.” To escape this, White makes a strong argument for a “concert of powers” in Asia, as the best — and perhaps only — way that this looming confrontation can be avoided. The economic basis of such a U.S.-China agreement is indeed already in place.
- Beijing Auto Luring Ferrari Designer for Chinese Daytona – Bloomberg
Leonardo Fioravanti, the designer of the Ferrari Daytona and 288 GTO, has a new job on his hands: transforming a Chinese army motorcycle maker into a global premium car brand. Beijing Automotive Group Co., which traces its roots to producing sidecar motorcycles for use in the Korean War, hired Fioravanti as a consultant and gave him the title of Chief Design Officer in April. The carmaker unveiled a prototype luxury sedan at the Beijing motor show and has said it wants to make “world-class” cars by 2025.
- » Real Gaokao Questions: Hilarious, Baffling, Pointless (In Some Order) Beijing Cream
- 包头最大房企老板自杀 7亿债务压顶|房企老板|自杀|债务_21世纪网
head of baotou’s largest real estate developer kills himself. 700m rmb in debt 6月6日，这位包头最大房地产企业——鼎太置业的董事长，在包头市东河区某酒店上吊自杀。
- “中国蒜都”潜规则：游资囤货 孬蒜入市|大蒜|游资|豪赌_21世纪网
一位大蒜经纪人透露，大蒜行业其实是一个“暴利”行业，这个行业没有几个月的时间你根本了解不清楚，里面的水分大了。大蒜分为很多级别，个头越大的大蒜价格越高，现在走向市场的蒜很多都是孬蒜，长得好的大蒜，一般不发国内市场。
- » Middle School Students Beat Up Chengguan Beijing Cream
a dozen middle school students in Zaozhuang, Shandong province beating up a chengguan, who are unofficially this country’s “city management officers” and more unofficially this country’s street thugs disguised as people with actual authority. The fight apparently began, according to the video title on 56.com (embedded after the jump for those in China), when the students saw the chengguan hurting an old man. No further information is available, but a fair number of commenters on 56.com and Youku have expressed support for the students’ actions.
- China property sales rise in key markets | Reuters
The number of property purchases in some major Chinese cities has picked up, as regulators struggle to combat rumours that Beijing is preparing to loosen curbs on real estate investment to combat slowing economic growth.
- Wanda acquisitions questioned amid high debt ratio｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
A fresh round of mergers and acquisitions at Dalian Wanda Group, the largest entertainment firm in China, has triggered speculation about the company’s cash flows and motivations given its liability-to-asset ratio of 90%, reports Guangzhou-based newspaper Xin Kuai Bao.
- Zhou Xiaochuan survives reshuffle at China’s central bank｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, has undergone a major management reshuffle, though the future replacement for the bank’s aging governor Zhou Xiaochuan has yet to be announced, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.
The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.
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