"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
This week should be fairly slow in China as the country begins to shutdown for the Lunar New Year holiday. What are the odds Trump takes actions at the start of the holiday just to ruin things for Xi Jinping and his colleagues?
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. As Promised, Trump Pulls the Plug on the Trans Pacific Partnership | Foreign Policy Big labor, which hated the TPP, welcomed Trump’s move. AFL-CIO president RIchard Trumka called it “an important first step toward a trade policy that works for working people.” But some Republican lawmakers slammed the decision. Withdrawing from TPP, said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is a “serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America’s economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Related: TPP, explained: What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership that President Trump is withdrawing from? Comment: Peter Navarro right behind Trump’s left shoulder as he signs the executive order withdrawing from the TPP
Related: Trump’s Pacific Trade Retreat – WSJ Opinion The failure is a strategic win for China and a defeat for Japan’s Shinzo Abe.
Related: After U.S. exit, Asian nations try to save TPP trade deal | Reuters Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had held discussions with Abe, New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong overnight about the possibility of proceeding without the United States. “Losing the United States from the TPP is a big loss, there is no question about that,” Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. “But we are not about to walk away … certainly there is potential for China to join the TPP.”
2. U.S. says will prevent China taking over territory in international waters | Reuters “It’s a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we’re going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country.” Spicer was responding to a question as to whether Trump agreed with comments by his Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson, on Jan. 11 that China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.
Related: China hits back at US over South China Sea ‘takeover’ claims | The Guardian “My own view, and my own experience in government, is that when you are very clear with China about what your national interests are and what you are going to do in the region, they become very clear as well and say, ‘You know what, we’re going to stop pushing’ and the relationship in certain areas can improve. // Comment: Mr. Blumenthal was in government 2001-2004.
Related: Is Trump ready for war in the South China Sea, or is his team just not being clear? – The Washington Post Mira Rapp-Hooper, a South China Sea expert at the Center for a New American Security, called the threats to bar China’s access in the South China Sea “incredible” and told Reuters it had no basis in international law. “A blockade — which is what would be required to actually bar access — is an act of war,” she added.
Related: Where Are U.S.-China Relations Heading? – Bloomberg Christopher Johnson, Freeman chair in China studies and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses U.S.-China relations, what role the U.S. should play in Asia and the likelihood of a conflict with China
Related: The Sinocism China Newsletter 01.22.17-Risks In The US-China Relationship Under Trump Comment: Commentary from yesterday’s newsletter for those who missed it // There are indications that a deal is possible with the PRC over trade issues. Leading with challenges over sovereignty and threats of blockades would likely be a gross strategic miscalculation that massively increases the risks of outright conflict with the PRC. War may be what Trump, Bannon et al want, but it seems at least as likely they hold an outdated, caricatured view of the PRC, misunderstand the depth of popular PRC nationalism around sovereignty issues, underestimate the shift in the relative balance of power between the US and the PRC and do not appreciate how little appetite there is in most of the rest of Asia for a breakdown in the US-PRC relationship.
3. Forget Xi’s ‘defense’ of globalization. China just fortified the Great Firewall. – The Washington Post Comment: Is this just a formalization of existing policy and closing of loopholes? // But as Davos drew to a close, a timely reminder that open borders are not really Xi’s thing: Over the weekend, China announced a new, year-long crackdown on “unauthorized Internet connections.” That means another fortification of the Great Firewall that largely keeps China’s Internet users in a “room” of their own — and hurts U.S. companies along the way. A statement published on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Sunday said regulators will spend the next year “cleaning up” the Internet by taking aim at companies that provide virtual private networks, or VPNs, that allow people to access blocked sites, including the likes of Twitter and Facebook.
Related: Notice by the Ministry of Information Technology on Cleaning Up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market Comment: Unofficial translation
Related: Beijing Is No Champion of Globalization | Foreign Affairs Notably, nowhere in Xi’s Davos speech did he mention the free flow of information—also an essential element of globalization. Xi might seek to promote the Chinese narrative abroad, but he has little interest in allowing alternative ideas and ideals to influence the Chinese domestic audience. The Chinese Internet, in the words of the Chinese blogger Michael Anti, is in danger of becoming a “Chinanet,” with less and less access for Chinese citizens to foreign content. China has the right to determine its own laws and regulations with regard to information access—real or virtual—but there is no way to square such laws with those that promote globalization…The world must recognize that globalization with Chinese characteristics is not globalization at all. // Comment: “Chinanet”, aka “ChiComNet”…Actually China’s information “globalization” strategy goes beyond censoring inside China to trying to shape and ultimately control discourse about China globally
4. China clamps down on banks moving currency overseas-FT $$ According to several people briefed on rules introduced this month, banks in Shanghai must “import” Rmb100 for every Rmb100 they allow a client to remit overseas, ensuring no net outflows of the Chinese currency. Shanghai-based banks had been allowed to remit Rmb160 overseas for every Rmb100 they brought back into China. The clampdown goes even further in Beijing where banks must import Rmb100 for every Rmb80 they remit overseas on behalf of clients, ensuring a net inflow into the capital. The People’s Bank of China declined to comment.
Related: Chinese banks told to issue dollar-denominated debt-sources | Reuters Financial institutions already account for around half of new US dollar bond issues in China. While the PBoC has not explained its reasons, market participants think it aims to curb renminbi depreciation by keeping US dollar outflows within the Chinese financial system. Mainland banks will be able to onlend the proceeds to corporate clients, while dollar issuance will also offer Chinese investors an alternative to buying wholly foreign securities.
Related: China’s Efforts to Stem Capital Outflows Are Starting to Pay Off – Bloomberg For the first time since the yuan’s devaluation in August 2015, Chinese banks last month registered net inflows under the capital account, according to cross-border payments figures released last Thursday by the currency regulator. The yuan, which plunged last year by the most in two decades, is now heading for its biggest monthly advance against the dollar since March.
Related: China fixes yuan midpoint at strongest since mid-November-Reuters The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.8331 per dollar prior to the market open, some 241 pips, or nearly 0.4 percent, stronger than the previous fix of 6.8572.
Related: MSCI head expresses concern on China capital controls | Reuters “If they reverse course and they restrict the ‘out’ door, then how can we?” MSCI Chairman and Chief Executive Henry Fernandez told Reuters. “It’s going to be hard for the MSCI to put the A shares into the index because we will not be doing a good service to our clients.” // Comment: How is the IMF feeling?
Related: China reiterates no restrictions on foreign firms’ profit transfers – Xinhua Authorities will maintain the continuity and consistency of its forex policies, said Pan Gongsheng, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), when meeting Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.
5. China Readies for World’s Biggest Human Migration: QuickTake Q&A – Bloomberg China’s railways expect to host 356 million passengers during the 40-day official travel season, known as “Chunyun.” (That translates as “Spring Festival Transportation” and begins 15 days before the start of Chinese New Year). Then there’s the estimated 58.3 million people who will take flights, up 10 percent from 2016. In total, the government is anticipating a 2.2 percent increase to 2.98 billion journeys for the 2017 holidays, as many migrant workers seize their only chance in the year to flock from the cities back to their rural roots.
Related: Chinese Are Celebrating Lunar New Year by Escaping China – Bloomberg The essence of China’s seven-day holiday, also called Spring Festival, is morphing as rising incomes and an expanding network of international flights prompt more people to go abroad — the equivalent of Americans choosing Bermuda over the Midwest for Thanksgiving. Outbound travel for the holiday break is expected to top a record 6 million passengers, with airlines hauling near-full loads to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
6. China’s Growing Ambitions in Space – The Atlantic While Trump works to set out a new policy for NASA, China is set to conduct a record number of launches this year.
7. The strange case of Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin-Navy Times As Lin’s trial date in March approaches, Navy lawyers have a problem: There’s very little evidence of any espionage by Lin and there is growing doubt that the government can prove that Lin was a spy, according to a trove of documents obtained by Navy Times and a series of interviews with officials inside and outside the military. At a court hearing here in November, government attorneys conceded that, despite Lin’s initial confession, they had no direct evidence corroborating much of what Lin supposedly confessed to. Furthermore, there is little or no evidence he transferred classified information to Taiwanese officials aside from two emails that were classified “secret” after the fact.
8. Questions Surface Over Certain Debt-to-Equity Swaps – Caixin At a recent meeting, Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said banks must ensure that the sales of debt in the swap program are real, in the sense that the bank is no longer exposed to the risk.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China’s central bank lifts two of its lending rates to rein in debt | Reuters The central bank raised the interest rate for one-year and six-month MLFs by 10 basis points each to 3.1 percent and 2.95 percent, respectively. The move was designed “to maintain basic stability in the banking system”, the PBOC said in a statement.
These Companies Are at Risk in a U.S.-China Trade War – Bloomberg “Most people I talk to tend not to think a trade war is the base-case scenario — they treat it as a black swan event,” Hao Hong, an analyst at Bocom International Holdings Co. based in Hong Kong, said in a phone interview. “I think the possibility is much larger.”
Alibaba’s Profile Is Global, but Its Fate Is Tied to China – The New York Times On Tuesday, Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant, posted strong earnings for its third quarter and beat analysts’ estimates. The quarter, which ended in December, is an essential one for the company: Its biggest sales event of the year is in November. Nonetheless, the results showed how Alibaba — despite Mr. Ma’s global profile and its 2014 initial public offering in the United States — is still dependent on China.
China Creates 13 Million Jobs in 2016, But Pressure Mounts – Caixin China’s official urban unemployment rate declined slightly last year to finish at 4.02%, but the world’s most populous country still faces challenges in creating enough jobs for a huge and mobile workforce, a human resource official said Monday.
China’s 2016 Fiscal Deficit Overshoots Target – Caixin Fiscal revenue last year came in at 15.96 trillion yuan ($2.32 trillion), up 4.5% from 2015, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. The growth was the lowest in 29 years, since a gain of 3.6% in 1987, according to government figures. Expenditures rose 6.4% to 18.78 trillion yuan, the statement said.
China to ‘cut local influence over economic statistics’ | South China Morning Post The National Bureau of Statistics will move its teams out of joint offices they share with regional counterparts around the country and shift into separate facilities, said the person, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly.
Flying High and Flying Blind: How One Chinese Buyout of a US Aviation Firm Soared While Another Crashed – Paulson Institute This case tells the twinned stories of two attempted Chinese acquisitions of US commercial aviation firms, Cirrus and Hawker-Beechcraft. One transaction succeeded. The other failed spectacularly.
China Plans to Relax Curbs on Stock-Index Futures – Caixin The China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) will reduce margin deposits and trading commissions, and allow larger trading volumes of stock-index futures before the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday, sources familiar with the matter told Caixin. The decision follows the conclusion of an investigation by regulatory authorities into the possible role played by futures derivatives in exacerbating a stock market crash in the summer of 2015
China to Include Autos, New Energy, Graphene Into Overcapacity Cuts – Caixin The government may broaden targeted groups to include autos, new energy and graphene — used in making of electric circuits, solar batteries and display screens — said the Economic Information Daily, citing unnamed sources. The newspaper, owned by the official Xinhua News Agency, did not elaborate. During Sunday’s meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo, Xi called for supply-side reforms to be deepened this year, urging the structure of supplies to be improved to “better adapt to changes in demand,” according to Xinhua.
‘China’s Carl Icahn’ Jailed for 5 1/2 Years for Tinkering Stock Prices – Caixin Xu Xiang, founder of Shanghai-based asset management firm Zexi Investment, and two associates were convicted of driving up share prices, the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court in Shandong province said on Monday. Xu was also fined 11 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), sources who attended the court hearing said. It is the highest-ever fine for an individual committing a financial crime in China.
End of China’s one child policy sees births rise to 18.46 million in 2016 … but it’s still not enough | South China Morning Post More than 18.46 million babies were born in mainland hospitals in 2016 – 11.5 per cent more than 2015 – which was the record total since 2000, Yang Wenzhuang, a division director at the National Health and Family Planning Commission, told reporters at a briefing on Sunday. China’s National Statistics Bureau previously reported that 17.86 million babies were born in 2016 based on a 1/1,000 sample survey. Both ways of calculating births are considered legitimate. But these numbers are still below previous estimates
国务院关于印发“十三五”市场监管规划的通知_政府信息公开专栏 国务院 2017年1月12日
Australia Catches Protectionist Wave by Tightening Oversight of Overseas Deals – WSJ Chinese buyers unveiled 60 acquisitions in Australia last year, worth $3.7 billion // Comment: Protectionism, or responsible move in response to potential security threats?
Faraday Future Hit With $1.8 Million Lawsuit Over New Car Debut-Jalopnik Comment: Said it before, will say it again: if you are doing a deal with Faraday make sure you get paid upfront for everything // In August, the complaint says, Faraday contacted The Mill and asked the company to produce a graphic presentation “with virtual reality, augmented reality, and holographic components, to promote the January 2017 launch of a new electric vehicle deployed by Faraday.”
China-led investment bank attracts 25 new members-FT $$ 25 African, European and South American countries are set to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank this year, reinforcing Beijing’s determination to push a global agenda even as US president Donald Trump rails against the ills of economic globalisation.
POLITICS AND LAW
全国政协原副主席苏荣被判无期徒刑 受贿1.16亿新闻腾讯网 Su Rong gets life
习近平春节前夕赴河北张家口看望慰问基层干部群众 祝伟大祖国更加繁荣昌盛 祝各族人民更加幸福安康_CCTV // Comment: 1.24.17 CCTV Evening News leads with Xi’s pre-Chinese New Year grassroots inspection and poverty alleviation work tour in Zhangjiakou. Xinhua summarized-Xi pushes poverty alleviation
Chinese liberal think tank slams Beijing censors after website and media accounts shut down | South China Morning Post The move to delete the website and a handful of Unirule Institute of Economics’ social media accounts and those of a few of its members – all within the space of one hour last Friday afternoon – was done with “the obvious aim of silencing Unirule totally”, it said in a letter it published online on Tuesday. The letter by the private think-tank, established by a group of liberal intellectuals – which was quickly deleted from the internet after being published – said no Chinese authorities had presented any official documents to support or explain the punishment, nor had they listened to the think tank’s pleas, which Chinese law required.
这次梁宏达惊动军方、公安部和团中央，他诋毁英雄的原因找到了 这位梁某网上号称老梁，此前也算小有名气。不过，这次一不小心，或是别有用心地把内心的秘密说出来后，不但引起社会各界爱国人士的强烈愤慨，众网友也一片哗然：老梁，原来是这样的一个人！
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Nagoya mayor should “kneel and apologize” for Nanjing Massacre: FM – Xinhua Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura should kneel and apologize to the Chinese people for the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The comment came after Kawamura downplayed the severity of APA, a Japanese hotel chain, placing in its rooms a book denying the Nanjing Massacre and the forced recruitment of comfort women.
China Slams Western Democracy as Flawed – Bloomberg Democracy has reached its limits, and deterioration is the inevitable future of capitalism, according to the People’s Daily, the flagship paper of China’s Communist Party. It devoted an entire page on Sunday to critiquing Western democracies, quoting former Chairman Mao Zedong’s 1949 poem asking people to “range far your eyes over long vistas” and saying the ultimate defeat of capitalism would enable Communism to emerge victorious. // Comment: The original was #6 in the 1.22.17 newsletter’s Essential Eight 系统性危机：资本主义新动向–理论-人民网
【知识分子】陈宇翱：量子通信与信息安全政经频道财新网 Comment: Chen Yuao on quantum communications and security
China developing manned submersible capable of reaching the bottom of any ocean | South China Morning Post Vessel is being built by company that developed the Jiaolong, which took a crew two-thirds the way down the Mariana Trench is 2012
China imports more North Korean coal even after ban, customs data shows | South China Morning Post China unexpectedly boosted imports of coal from North Korea last month, even after Beijing slapped a temporary ban on shipments from its northern neighbour ahead of fresh UN sanctions that came into effect this month.
Three Observations on China’s Approach to State Action in Cyberspace – Lawfare We just returned from 36 hours in Beijing as part of a small group of American academics and government representatives to meet with Chinese counterparts about contemporary issues in cybersecurity. This is the 10th round of this dialogue, led by U.S. think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Chinese think-tank China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). (These so-called “Track 1.5” dialogues blend official Track 1 discussions between senior government leaders with Track 2 meetings of academics and other non-government individuals.)
3 Performances by Sumi Jo, Korean Soprano, Canceled in China – The New York Times The cancellations have heightened suspicions that South Korean classical musicians are the latest casualties of political tensions with China that go back to July, when the government in Seoul announced that it would deploy a United States missile-defense system known as Thaad on its soil.
Young star tipped to become political commissar for PLA’s western command | South China Morning Post The possible appointment comes amid high-level reshuffles in the military ahead of a key, once-every-ten-years party congress this year. Lieutenant General Wu Shezhou, until recently the army political commissar for the Central Theatre Command, was seen sitting side by side with the western theatre commander, General Zhao Zhongqi, during an exercise aired on state television on Saturday.
Hong Kong to return seized armoured vehicles to Singapore | This Week In Asia | South China Morning Post Hong Kong customs said investigations into the episode over a possible breach of laws governing the import and export of strategic commodities “might lead to criminal prosecution”, while a source told the Post that the shipping company responsible for transporting the vehicles was likely to face legal action.
Trump’s Inauguration: Whither China-US Relations? – CGTN Comment: Robert Kuhn’s show, worthwhile to hear the Chinese talking heads on these issues
China reportedly deploys ICBMs near Russia’s border — RT News “Pictures of China’s Dongfeng-41 ballistic missile were exposed on Chinese mainland websites,” the Global Times said citing reports in “some Hong Kong and Taiwan media.” Russian news agencies identified one of them as the Apple Daily, a Hong Kong-based tabloid-style resource. “It was revealed that the pictures were taken in Heilongjiang Province. Military analysts believe that this is perhaps the second Dongfeng-41 strategic missile brigade and it should be deployed in northeastern China,” the report in the Chinese daily adds.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
The River | Chublic Opinion If history is indeed a river, it seems that the people of Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China have each drifted on different rivers for too long. Even with the best intention and an openness for conversation, they find themselves unable to step into the same river anymore.
Taiwanese cement scion Leslie Koo dies in fall | South China Morning Post Leslie Koo Cheng-yun, the son of Taiwan’s late top negotiator with the mainland, Koo Chen-fu, died on Monday morning after stumbling down a flight of stairs at a plush hotel in Taipei on Saturday night. He was 62.
TECH AND MEDIA
Xiaomi, Chinese Phone Maker, Losing Its Global Face as Hugo Barra Exits – The New York Times In a note about his resignation on Facebook, Mr. Barra, who joined Xiaomi in 2013, called his time there “spectacular” and said that he was moving on for personal reasons. “But what I’ve realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health,” he wrote, adding that he was moving back to Silicon Valley to be closer to friends and family. //Comment: There is a reason top Chinese tech execs and VCs spend so much time in the Bay Area and/or have moved their families there. Xiaomi may never get back to is $45B valuation of a few years ago, hope Barra was able to sell some shares in that round
Wanda’s AMC to Buy Scandinavia’s Top Cinema Chain – Caixin In the $930 million deal announced on Monday, Wanda fully owned subsidiary AMC Entertainment will acquire Stockholm, Sweden-based Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB, adding another 600 screens to its sprawling chain that operates nearly 1,400 cinemas with 15,000 screens across the globe.
Alibaba’s local commerce platform, Koubei, raises $1.1 billion | TechCrunch Koubei, an Alibaba affiliate company focused on enabling local commerce, closed a $1.1 billion financing round this month. The funding was led by Silver Lake, CDH Investments, Yunfeng Capital and Primavera Capital, Alibaba said
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Xi stresses preparation for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – Xinhua | English.news.cn Xi also visited national ski-team athletes, saying the country would provide all they needed for training and competition. The president expressed his hope that the national team would train hard, enhance their technical skills and win glory for the country. // 1.23.17 CCTV Evening News 11+ minute report on Xi’s visit to Zhangjiakou 习近平在张家口市考察冬奥会筹办工作时强调 科学制定规划集约利用资源 高质量完成冬奥会筹办工作
In China, an Ancient People Watch Their Floating Life Dissolve – The New York Times DATANG, China — For six generations, Chan Kuai-hung’s family has worked and lived on the rivers of southern China, roving on wooden boats that served as fishing vessels and homes. But Mr. Chan said his generation would be the last to take up this floating life.
China’s New Couture Committee Is Bringing Its Own Emerging Designers to Paris | Jing Daily Taking over the historic 18th century Hotel d’Evereux next to Schiaparelli on the Place Vendome, the New Couture Committee was the catalyst for a debut show by Beijing designer Tanya Wang on January 13. “This show confirms China’s New Couture Committee is gathering some of the best talents in China,” said Christophe Billet, the Paris-based vice-president of the newly formed organization. “They are looking beyond Asian shores for recognition.”
Shanghai Dwellings Vanish, and With Them, a Way of Life – The New York Times To walk through Shanghai’s last remaining shikumen (alleyway complexes entered through a stone-framed kumen, or gateway) is to return to the wicked, glamorous “Paris of the Orient” — and to get a glimpse of what has happened to Shanghai in the century since then.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Organ Donation System Sees Progress But Problems Remain – Caixin As of early December, there were fewer than 80,000 registered potential donors in China — less than one-tenth the number of people in need of kidney transplants alone. A simplified donor registration system, like Alipay’s, could boost donor numbers. But issues such as poor insurance coverage for transplant operations and a lack of trust still get in the way of thousands of transplants annually, health care professionals say.
China to Spend $37 Billion to Tackle Growing Waste Problem – Caixin About two-thirds of the money will fund “non-harmful” methods of household-waste disposal, such as incineration, landfills and recycling, according to a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The move aims to reduce worsening soil and water pollution caused by household waste, it said.
The Collateral Damage from China’s ‘Great Wall of Sand’ – The Environmental Dimensions of the South China Sea Case by Tim Stephens :: SSRN This contribution to the Australian Year Book of International Law’s agora on the South China Sea case assesses its treatment of fisheries and environmental issues. These matters might seem only second or third order concerns given the sovereignty and security issues also at stake. However, the South China Sea is one of the world’s most ecologically diverse marine bioregions and sustains an array of coral reef systems and highly productive and valuable fisheries. Contrary to popular perceptions access to these fisheries is more central to the disputes between the littoral states of the region than control over oil and gas resources. The arbitral Tribunal’s merits award clearly recognises this and addresses environmental protection and living resource questions in great length and detail.
Tibet’s bottled water output to exceed one mln tonnes in 2017 – Xinhua Qiu Chuan, deputy director of the regional industry and information technology department, said Tibet has more than 40 bottled water production lines with combined capacity of 3.25 million tonnes a year.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ISSUES
（受权发布）中共中央 国务院关于加强耕地保护和改进占补平衡的意见-新华网 （2017年1月9日） 耕地是我国最为宝贵的资源，关系十几亿人吃饭大事，必须保护好，绝不能有闪失。近年来，按照党中央、国务院决策部署，各地区各有关部门积极采取措施，强化主体责任，严格落实占补平衡制度，严守耕地红线，耕地保护工作取得显著成效。当前，我国经济发展进入新常态，新型工业化、城镇化建设深入推进，耕地后备资源不断减少，实现耕地占补平衡、占优补优的难度日趋加大，激励约束机制尚不健全，耕地保护面临多重压力。为进一步加强耕地保护和改进占补平衡工作，现提出如下意见。
人民日报评论员：努力开创耕地保护新局面–观点–人民网 耕地是我国最为宝贵的资源，关系十几亿人吃饭大事，必须保护好，绝不能有闪失。中共中央、国务院近日印发《关于加强耕地保护和改进占补平衡的意见》，就事关国家粮食安全、生态安全和社会稳定的耕地问题做出了重大决策，应对新情况、解决新问题、明确新要求，为当前和今后一个时期做好耕地保护工作勾勒出一幅清晰的路线图。
JOBS AND EVENTS
John Fisher Zeidman ’79 Memorial Lecture Eric Liu, Wednesday, February 22, 2017, in DC, free with registration
Chinese Politics in the Xi Jinping Era | National Committee on United States – China Relations January 25, 2017 5:30pm to 7:00pm EST Speaker(s): Cheng Li Venue: Covington and Burling, LLP New York, NY
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