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THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. In Lee Kuan Yew, China Saw a Leader to Emulate – NYTimes In the last decade of his life, Mr. Lee gave advice to the Bush and Obama administrations on how to handle a rising China, and frequently they did not like his blunt assessments. When Graham T. Allison and Robert D. Blackwill, both at Harvard University, asked Mr. Lee whether China’s goal was to become the predominant power in Asia and then the world, he responded: “Of course. Why not? They have transformed a poor society by an economic miracle to become now the second-largest economy in the world,” he said. “Unlike other emergent countries, China wants to be China and accepted as such, not as an honorary member of the West. The Chinese will want to share this century as coequals with the United States.”
Related: In China and West, contrasting views on legacy of Singapore’s patriarch – The Washington Post “Neither slander from the foreign media, nor criticism from the West, has ever shaken Lee Kuan Yew’s governing ideals and values,” China’s Xinhua News Agency wrote. “He thought the U.S. and Europe would not succeed in imposing their so-called human rights and democratic standards onto the world. It is exactly thanks to his firm belief and long implementation of Asian values that he could establish an Asian ‘micro power’ with good order, a prosperous economy and a rich culture.” But China’s reading of Lee’s legacy has largely been selective, and his personal attitude toward China was almost always more complicated than Xi and Xinhua said.
Related: SIM CHI YIN: As all reporters who travelled with Mr Lee Kuan… In my earlier years as a Singapore-based journalist active in civil society, particularly on migrant labour rights, my friends and I had run-ins — ideological and real-life — with his state, its apparatus and its all-permeating mindset. Many of us still cringe or flinch at parts of the state’s meta-narrative, its decisions, how things are, and debate the paths not taken, paths quashed. Conflicted as many of my generation are about Mr Lee, his decisions and legacy, and what Singapore has become, warts and all, I think many of us are, at base, respectful of and grateful for the stability and opportunity the country afforded us as we were growing up and finding our way and purpose in life. Thank you and rest in peace, Mr Lee.
2. China eyes innovation in face of economic “new normal” – Xinhua A document, co-published by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Monday underscored the role of innovation-driven development amid the economic “new normal” of slower growth. A government work report, delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on March 5, highlighted the “twin engines” that would drive development, namely popular entrepreneurship and mass innovation paired with increased supplies of public goods and services.
Related: 中共中央 国务院 关于深化体制机制改革 加快实施创新驱动发展战略的若干意见新闻频道央视网(cctv.com) 中共中央、国务院23日印发《关于深化体制机制改革 加快实施创新驱动发展战略的若干意见》。《意见》共有九项三十条。 《意见》指出，创新是推动一个国家和民族向前发展的重要力量，也是推动整个人类社会向前发展的重要力量。面对全球新一轮科技革命与产业变革的重大机遇和挑战，面对经济发展新常态下的趋势变化和特点，面对实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标的历史任务和要求，必须深化体制机制改革，加快实施创新驱动发展战略，现提出如下意见。
Related: China is getting ahead. Can the rest of the world keep up? – The Washington Post I’m not trying to alarm anyone. But we need to rethink the idea that the West is ahead of everybody else. Yes, we have more companies, but China is catching up — and doing it with less capital.–Linda Bernardi is the chief innovation officer at IBM focused on cloud and the Internet of things
3. U.S. Looks to Work With China-Led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – WSJ Has Treasury been driving the bus (off the road) on the US response to the AIIB? // “The U.S. would welcome new multilateral institutions that strengthen the international financial architecture,” said Nathan Sheets, U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs. “Co-financing projects with existing institutions like the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank will help ensure that high quality, time-tested standards are maintained.” Mr. Sheets argues that co-financed projects would ensure the bank complements rather than competes with existing institutions. If the new bank were to adopt the same governance and operational standards, he said, it could both bolster the international financial system and help meet major infrastructure-investment gaps.
Related: Beijing cedes veto power on new bank-Wall Street Journal China offered to forgo veto power at a new Beijing-led development bank in a proposal that helped attract major European countries despite US concerns. Chinese negotiators presented the no-veto position to some of the US’s staunchest allies in Europe in the past few weeks, according to individuals involved in setting up the bank. The offer proved critical in getting first the UK and then France, Germany and Italy to break with Washington and line up as founding members of Beijing’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, these people said.
Related: Premier Li reaffirms AIIB cooperative stance – Xinhua Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday reaffirmed cooperation between the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and existing financial institutions. The AIIB will take an open and inclusive attitude and be complementary to existing development banks, said Li at a meeting with the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakao . The AIIB will strengthen the region’s communication, social and economic development, Li said. Nakao said the ADB was ready to cooperate with the AIIB.
4.郭正钢寓所抄出7百万现金 其妻曾5年半攫取15亿新闻腾讯网 more details on the corruption of Guo Zhenggang (Guo Boxiong’s son) and his second wife Wu Fangfang. 7 million RMB cash found in his house, claims his wife made 1.5 Billion RMB in 5 years (that’s it?), says Wu had their child two months after they were married… // [摘要]杭州女商人吴芳芳租用土地建设两家商贸城，凭借丈夫、少将郭正钢关系获取四季青市场经营权，5年半攫取15亿资金。据她本人透露，郭正钢被带走后，办案人员从两人杭州的寓所抄出700万现金。
Related: 【独家】郭正钢火箭式升迁路，曾称反腐”搞搞就得了” The media destruction of the Guo family is well underway, I will bet there will be a Guo Boxiong detention announcement by June 1. I wonder how Wendi Deng feels about this comparison of Wu Fangfang to her-the “Wendi Deng of Tonglu”// 吴芳芳就是‘桐庐的邓文迪 // 环球人物杂志记者深入调查发现，郭正钢案的相关情况，要从浙江省军区门口响起的“还钱”声说起。
5. The “cancer” of all things Western – China Media Project There are many textbook examples of oddly “take-ist” (Marxist) critiques on “take-ism”, but one of the best and most recent is a piece on economics education in China written by Qiu Haiping (邱海平), a professor at Renmin University of China. The piece, published in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Journal, bemoans the fact that the teaching of “political economy,” which in this case refers narrowly to Party-approved Marxist theory, has fallen by the wayside in China. Qiu, himself an expert on Marx’ Das Kapital, paints a portrait of the progressive infiltration of Western economics and Western-trained economists in China’s universities. This has brought a shift and displacement of the “mainstream” in economics teaching, he says. That is important in particular because the word “mainstream,” in the context of the People’s Republic of China, refers generally to the ideas espoused by the Party and Party-controlled vehicles of media and culture. Qiu’s piece is supremely dogmatic in its approach to economics education and its political goals. And yet one of chief reasons he gives for the need to control the trend of “severe Westernisation” is the risk of “dogmatism and atrophy” in economics education.
6. Kissinger: China, U.S. Must ‘Lead in Cooperation’ – Caixin “I’m very confident President Xi, when he comes to the United States, will present a picture of what is going on in China that will be very significant,” he said. Kissinger said China is bound to rise despite some down periods, and its influence will make the United States feel uneasy in certain regards. However, it is very important that the world’s two biggest powers “lead in cooperation,” as they did in a recent agreement on climate change, he said. The United States’ former top diplomat also said both countries should “remember that whatever their differences, their common interests are greater.” He also talked about a wide range of other issues, including Russia and the crisis in Ukraine, landscape-changing events occurring in the Middle East, and how diplomacy should work in an age where it is harder to keep secrets.
7. Beijing to Shut All Major Coal Power Plants to Cut Pollution – Bloomberg Business The capital city will shutter China Huaneng Group Corp.’s 845-megawatt power plant in 2016, after last week closing plants owned by Guohua Electric Power Corp. and Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co., according to a statement Monday on the website of the city’s economic planning agency. A fourth major power plant, owned by China Datang Corp., was shut last year. The facilities will be replaced by four gas-fired stations with capacity to supply 2.6 times more electricity than the coal plants. Once complete, the city’s power and its central heating will be entirely generated by clean energy, according to the Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
8. 【棱镜】郭文贵与他的神秘“盘古会”综合产经频道首页_财经网 – CAIJING.COM.CN long Tencent Finance story on Guo Wengui, the man behind Pangu Plaza and involved in the Founder Group case and apparently the downfall of MSS Vice Minister Ma Jian // 郭文贵，因为方正与政泉一场“恶斗”被更大范围地知晓。他曾扳倒过原北京市副市长刘志华，建成了地标建筑盘古大观。在这里，他搭建了一个被称为“盘古会”的政商网络，已落马的原国安副部长马建等赫然在列。他不断地与曾经的合作伙伴“反目成仇”，在残酷的政商斗争中，他选择信奉了“丛林法则”，有人说他是孤独的，因为他成为了一个“没有真正的朋友的人”。
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China March flash HSBC PMI contracts to 11-month low, new orders shrink | Reuters The flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 49.2 in March, below the 50-point level that separates growth in activity from a contraction on a monthly basis. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 50.6, slightly weaker than February’s final PMI of 50.7. “A renewed fall in total new business contributed to a weaker expansion of output, while companies continued to trim their workforce numbers,” said Annabel Fiddes, an economist at Markit said.// the real Q1 GDP growth figure closer to 3%?
It looks like the Chinese slowdown is finally here—for real this time – Quartz In Q1, Chinese firms continued to pull back on investing in their businesses, according to just-published research by China Beige Book, a research group. While cooling investment growth could be a good thing—it might help curb debt—there’s nothing to fill that void. The feeble retail sales that CBB documented in its surveys suggest that consumers didn’t pick up that slack.
China Stocks Eke Out Gain for Longest Winning Streak in 23 Years – Bloomberg The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 3,691.41 at the close, erasing a loss of as much as 2.4 percent. The gauge has risen 12 percent during the 10-day rally, the longest winning streak since May 1992. Combined turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges jumped to an all-time high, while new account openings surged to a record 1.14 million last week, according to data released today.
Stricken China steel mills look to state to ease exit strategy | Reuters Under a revised restructuring plan the government will improve “exit mechanisms” for the sector, allowing enterprises already facing losses to find a way out, according to a draft published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
SOEs Should Contribute to Pension Funds, Finance Minister Says – Caixin Shortfall in funding should be offset by profits earned by state-owned companies, Lou Jiwei says // nice way to redistribute to citizens
China to reap Alibaba windfall as tightens up on tax | Reuters It is not uncommon for employees participating in Chinese company stock incentive schemes to transfer their shares to offshore trusts in the Cayman or British Virgin Islands to avoid tax, according to a person who helps create such structures. But Alibaba’s newly minted millionaires won’t escape the gaze of the tax inspector, said a Beijing-based accountant. “Because it was such a large IPO, the tax bureau will for sure be monitoring that.”
Why China Wants Yuan to Be the World’s 5th Reserve Currency – Bloomberg Business At a forum on Sunday, central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan swapped the topic of a panel discussion so he could pitch the renminbi’s readiness for reserve status to his co-speaker, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Premier Li Keqiang told Lagarde in a meeting Monday that China hopes to get the IMF’s seal of approval, according to the government. It may have worked.
经济参考网 – 新三板：我才是中国版“纳斯达克” 制度改革预期渐强 投资者蜂拥而至 Economic Information on the rise of the New Third Board // 随着市场容量的扩大和流动性的提升，越来越多的投资者正在通过各种方式涌入新三板。而随着包括分层管理、竞价交易以及转板等制度改革预期的不断强化，新三板正显现出中国版“纳斯达克”的气象。
China’s start-up board surges as investors bet on transformation – FT.com An index launched last week shows the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) has gained 53 per cent in 2015, more than the 13 per cent rise for the Shanghai Composite Index and comparable to the gains in ChiNext, Shenzhen’s Nasdaq-style start-up board. Launched in late 2012 and known as the “new third board”, NEEQ hosts trading of 2,130 companies, up from about 350 at the start of 2014.
一汽高管贪腐窝案内幕：开家奥迪4S店花千万打点新闻腾讯网 details being dribbled out about corruption allegations against various First Automotive Works executives…one allegation is that it took 10m RMB in bribes to get approved to set up an Audi dealership. Did Volkswagen really have no idea any of this was going on?
Chinese premier pledges wider market access, stronger IPR protection – Xinhua nice picture of the foreign exec // “We will continue to expand market access, open the service sector wider, and strengthen intellectual property rights protection to create a stable and transparent policy environment; an efficient and normative administrative environment; and a fair market environment for foreign corporations,” Li said. He hoped foreign enterprises could benefit from China’s economic growth and realize reciprocity. Li made the remarks while meeting over a hundred CEOs, experts and scholars, who are here for the annual meeting of the China Development Forum.
Infrastructure money continues to pour into Kunming – East by Southeast The seemingly unlimited supply of development money made available to Spring City urban planners shows no signs of letting up. A new report released by the municipal governmentreveals 340 billion yuan (US$54.3 billion) has been allocated to “accelerate” construction, especially on the city’s metro, railway and highway systems, over the next five years.
Tesla Says Buyers in China’s Shenzhen Can Get Special Licenses – Bloomberg Business Starting from today, buyers of Tesla’s Model S electric sedan can apply for license plates through a program that sets aside 20,000 tags annually in the southern city bordering Hong Kong. Regular license plates in Shenzhen are awarded through a lottery and auction system to curb pollution, making them difficult to obtain.
经济参考网 – 新华社《经济参考报》官方网站 NDRC Anti-monopoly Bureau chief Zhang Handong says next focus of AML enforcement will be “IPR abuse”…Don’t foreign firms usually have the strongest IPR portfolios in China? // 发改委反垄断局局长张汉东表示，强调知识产权保护同时，目前需要加强对知识产权滥用的反垄断执法
全国四个自贸区有望共用一张“负面清单”宏观一财网 The four Free Trade Zones will use the same negative list, which will be formulated by the NDRC // 上海、广东、天津、福建四个自贸区将在2015年使用同一张“负面清单”，该清单正在由国家发改委制定。而此前的2013版和2014版负面清单，均是由上海方面制定，并经过国家发改委认可。
POLITICS AND LAW
耿莹：父亲耿飚的一生_共识网 Geng Biao’s daughter Geng Ying talked about her father, discusses her impressions of Xi Jinping, who once worked for the elder Geng, says Xi, like Deng, is a “needle concealed in silk floss”, voices strong support for the corruption crackdown // 耿莹：我对这个小弟弟的感情，应该说，跟对我亲生弟弟的感情是一样的。首先，他人品正，绝对没有邪的歪的念头。另外，他睿智、聪明。我比他大，是大姐姐。主席说邓小平是绵里藏针，我觉得我这个小弟弟绝对也是绵里藏针，他眼里揉不得沙子，容不下那些歪的邪的念头，而且他疾恶如仇，性格非常坚韧。 从他插队的经验可以看到，他要干一件事情，一定会划一个句号，这个句号也许不一定完美，但一定都是有封口的。 从他当政的短短的这两年来看，首先，他做事风格雷厉风行;第二，他有策略，有政策。他的脑子是清楚的，他清楚自己想要什么，清楚他的人民要什么，也清楚他的祖国要什么、他的党需要什么。所以他当政后一系列的动作就是清理，尤其是对腐败的清理。因为现在，不清理是不行的，不清理要亡国了，这不得了!
河南省人大常委会原党组书记、副主任秦玉海案件警示录:“雅好”，错就错在越界——中央纪委监察部网站 2月13日，中央纪委监察部网站发布消息，河南省人大常委会原党组书记、副主任秦玉海因违反廉洁自律规定、挥霍浪费公共财产、收受巨额贿赂等问题，被开除党籍、开除公职。秦玉海的蜕变过程，大多与他的雅好——艺术摄影分不开，与他痴迷摄影、追名逐利如影随形。 小节之中有大义，爱好之中见品行。领导干部的个人爱好直接关系其从政道德和公权力的廉洁公正使用，影响党和政府的形象。秦玉海的落马让每一个领导干部深思：该培养什么样的爱好？又该如何对待自己的爱好？这不仅是一个生活情趣问题，更是领导干部思想情操、生活作风的重要体现。// Love of photography proves Chinese official’s undoing-SCMP
中纪委：群众来访数量增多 被举报人级别高者猛增新闻腾讯网 CCDI says there has been a surge in tips from citizens, and the rank of those accused going higher and higher // 3月20日，北京永定门西街东侧，来访群众正在依次排队进入中央纪委来访接待大厅。一位来访群众排队进入大厅，从安检、存包、取号排队到窗口接待、进谈话室谈话，整个过程一个多小时。 党的十八大以来，中央纪委紧紧围绕受理和处理检举控告这个基本职责来谋划、部署和开展信访举报工作，畅通和拓宽举报渠道，充分发挥举报作用，加强信息化规范化建设，力求做到让来访的群众满意而归。
南京一副区长在女儿婚礼上被纪委带走-凤凰新闻 a deputy chief of Nanjing’s Jianye district taken away by corruption investigators at his daughter’s wedding
1.5 million Chinese officials report personal assets – Xinhua A total of 1.5 million Chinese officials reported their personal property and investments to the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2014. This year, verification of these reports will be increased. The sampling rate for random checks will be doubled from one in 20 to one in 10, according to a report Tuesday by the People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the ruling CPC. Officials being promoted or appointed to important positions will also have their personal reports scrutinized and asked to explain errors or omissions. If found to have intentionally concealed anything vital, they will be disqualified from their new jobs // 副处以上完成个人事项填报 干部选拔任用必查
AFP–China executes three for Kunming attack China has executed three people for a mass stabbing that killed 31 people last year, the country’s top court said on Tuesday, with authorities blaming the attack on separatists from mainly Muslim Xinjiang. Iskandar Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad were put to death for “leading a terrorist organisation and intentional homicide”, the Supreme People’s Court said in a microblog post.
俞可平：政治生态恶化与官本位观点频道财新网 Yu Keping in Study Times on worsening political ecology and “officialism”…or is there a more official translation for “官本位” // 官本位意识也是形式主义和官僚主义的重要思想根源。一些官员搞所谓“形象工程”和“政绩工程”，无非是为了给自己的职务晋升增添政绩资本，或是为了给自己为官一任留下所谓的“美名”。一些官员讲排场，比阔气，端架子，计较名位和排序，无一不是官本位思想在作祟。现实生活中每每能看到，一些官员，连个笔记本和水杯都让秘书拿。并非官员们拿不动，而是在显示自己的“威严”和“权威”。中共十八大后新一届中央实施的“群众路线教育实践活动”，集中反对官僚主义、形式主义、享乐主义和奢靡之风，重要目的就是要净化政治生态。不仅如此，新一届中央领导强调依法治国，加大打击腐败力度，推进国家治理现代化，根本目标当然在于巩固党的执政地位，但直接目的也是为了净化政治生态，营造健康良好的社会政治生活环境，为实现两个“百年目标”创造必要的社会政治条件。
【特稿】赵黎平涉单位行贿 死者家属称对其陌生政经频道财新网 Caixin with more details on the corrupt, homicidal former police chief of Inner Mongolia // 赤峰被杀李姓女子家属称，未听死者提起过赵黎平。赵黎平曾涉及一起贪污案和向“公安部某领导”送古董的单位行贿案，案发不久提升为自治区副主席，并陪同周永康视察
中央党校原副校长:”圈子文化”离不开”贪”字新闻央视网(cctv.com) 党内拉帮结派的“圈子文化”，具有依附性、投机性、帮派性、贪婪性的特点，是一种具有浓厚封建主义色彩的腐朽文化。各级干部都是党的干部，不是哪个人的家臣。这种“圈子文化”，玷污了共产党人应有的先进性和纯洁性，严重败坏了党的形象和风气。在这次反腐斗争中揭露出来的帮派圈子，无论是人身依附，还是搞政治投机、结党营私，都离不开个“贪”字。人们常用“巨贪”“贪得无厌”“贪赃枉法”来形容他们。这种贪婪性，决定了他们不管有多高的地位、多大的权力，最终必将自绝于党和人民，受到党的纪律和国家法律的严惩。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Indonesian president says China’s main claim in South China Sea has no legal basis | Reuters Indonesian President Joko Widodo said one of China’s main claims to the majority of the South China Sea had no legal basis in international law, but Jakarta wanted to remain an “honest broker” in one of Asia’s most thorny territorial disputes. Widodo’s comments in an interview with a major Japanese newspaper came as he embarked on a visit to Japan and China, and was the first time he had taken a position on the issue since coming to power in October.
China, India agree to safeguard peace, tranquillity in border regions – Xinhua China and India agreed on Monday to properly handle and control their disputes and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in their border regions before the boundary issue is solved. At the 18th round of talks of special representatives for boundary issue, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval exchanged in depth their opinions on the boundary issue, and made strategic communications on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.
Japan caught off-guard by Chinese PR blitz in U.S. over Senkaku Islands – Asahi Shimbun Scholars, experts and executives of U.S. media organizations were contacted. Reports were quickly released, describing how Japan, in a stunning move, had softened its stance on its sovereignty claims over the Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China. That was also news to the Japanese government. Tokyo had never changed its policy over the islands, but nonetheless found itself scrambling to undo the damage caused by the media blitz perpetrated by Chinese government officials.
Full Text: Reflecting on past aggression to ensure a peaceful future – Xinhua The People’s Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, on Monday published an article written by Bu Ping, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, urging Japan to reflect on its aggression past. Following is the full text of the article: Reflecting on past aggression to ensure a peaceful future
端正历史认知方能重建信任（国际论坛·牢记历史 维护和平）–国际–人民网 “对过去的清算是实现战后和解的前提。”这是德国总理默克尔本月初访问日本时讲过的一句话。 像日本这样一个发动过侵略战争、制造过巨大灾难的国家，要想获得亚洲邻国的宽恕，首先要完成自我救赎。由着性子伤害亚洲邻国人民的感情，不断挑战国际公理和国际正义，却要求亚洲邻国的理解和信任，世界上实在没有这样的道理。2015年对日本同亚洲邻国的关系是检验，也是机遇，关键要看日本有什么样的作为。 70年前，日本输掉了战争。70年后的今天，日本不应再输掉良知。
Commentary: Absurd conception of history held by Abe’s advisers alarming – Xinhua indefensible, and as someone whose grandfathers and great uncle fought the Japanese in World War II, I find what Japan is doing despicable, quite damaging to US interests in Asia, and quite beneficial for China. The Obama administration needs to find better ways to stop enabling Abe without damaging the US-Japan alliance // Some members of the expert panel tasked to draft the Abe Statement to mark the end of WWII have revealed their absurd conception of history when they expressed doubt whether what Japanese troops did during the war should be described as aggression. According to a report by the Kyodo News, the experts had a heated debate during their second panel meeting over whether to use the word “aggression” in the document as the landmark Murayama Statement did 20 years ago.
Obama to host Japan’s Abe to discuss security, trade | Reuters U.S. President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House next month for talks expected to focus on their joint response to China’s rising power and efforts to finalize a major Asia-Pacific trade pact.
PLA to relax cellphone regulations – China Daily In addition, rules governing PLA members’ use of the Internet and uniform code for civilian personnel will also be adjusted, it added, without giving details about the adjustments. The revisions are part of the PLA’s ongoing efforts to update three regulations that govern service members’ conduct and discipline. The updated versions will take effect next year. The PLA Academy of Military Science is responsible for the revisions and will send researchers to various PLA units to solicit soldiers’ suggestions and find which parts of the current regulations, which took effect in June 2010, have become inconsistent with service members’ needs, the statement said.
China’s self-made single crystal blade ready for aviation use｜WantChinaTimes According to China Aviation News, Southern China Aviation Industry Aviation Industry Group, affiliated with China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), announced the results of the advanced single crystal blade development on March 18.
空军飞行数据告别人工判读–军事–人民网 原标题：空军飞行数据告别人工判读 飞行训练质量安全监控评估系统可自动识别飞行异常状态、危险动作和操纵偏差等问题，促进飞行训练精细化
Diminishing China-North Korea Exchanges: An Assessment | U.S.-CHINA This report seeks to quantify changes in the bilateral relationship between China and North Korea by examining hundreds of discrete exchanges between Chinese and North Korean officials as reported by the Director of National Intelligence Open Source Center from January 2009 to December 2014. The authors categorized these exchanges by type and by seniority of the participants and evaluated trends in these categories over time. Finally, this report assesses trends in China-North Korea exchanges in the context of overall China-North Korea bilateral relations.
Taxi driver in northern China accused of spying for foreign intelligence agency | South China Morning Post The man is alleged to have monitored a military unit based in the city of Kaifeng in Henan province, the Dahe Daily reported. Henan has become a target for overseas spy agencies because several military units are garrisoned in the province and defence-related science and technology industries have bases there, according to the report.
China completes second test on new carrier rocket’s power system – Xinhua The second ground test of the power system of China’s next-generation carrier rocket was completed Monday, ahead of its first flight in 2016. Using non-toxic, non-polluting liquid propellant, the engines of Long March-5 were test-fired on the ground to test current technology, said Tan Yonghua, head of the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology.
赴美生产加州劫财新周刊频道财新网 long Caixin piece on the long overdue US crackdown on birth tourism // 美国查抄“月子中心”的举动，已经表明美国联邦政府对于“产子移民”问题的重视，在欺诈签证不可行的前提下，以产子为由的“诚实签证”也会面对越来越严苛的盘问和越来越大的拒签几率。可以明确预见的是，赴美产子之路将阻力重重，风险更多
Israel Is Being Forced to Look at “The China Option” – Town Hall no one serious in DC believes this is a real option, do they? Good luck to Israel if it thinks China can replace the US… // China is already Israel’s leading trading partner in Asia and with the “Free Trade” announcement at the end of last year, that relationship can be expected to grow stronger. Israel is a natural ally of the United States. Our values are their values; the intelligence we receive from the Israelis is incalculable; the technology exchanges and advances are spectacular. Israel does not want to hit the button marked “The China Option.” But I can now see circumstances where she might be forced to do so.
TECH AND MEDIA
China Focus: IT tycoons aim bigger role in economy – Xinhua Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the favorable wind of the “Internet Plus” is set to push the Chinese economy to a higher level. The “Internet Plus” action plan was unveiled in the government work report that Li delivered to national lawmakers on March 5. The plan aims to integrate mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing, to encourage the healthy development of e-commerce, industrial networks, and Internet banking, and to help Internet companies increase international presence.
China University Deal Spree Exposes Zhao as Chip Billionaire – Bloomberg Business China, with 1.3 billion mobile-phone accounts, is seeking to build its domestic chip industry and reduce reliance on overseas producers. Chinese companies led by Unigroup have tapped that state support for most of the $6.1 billion in major chip-related takeovers they’ve made during the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
China’s Internet Boom Starts to Fade – Bloomberg Business Half of the 14 Chinese dot-coms that debuted in the U.S. last year are now trading below their initial sale prices. Even Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., one of those still up in price, has dropped 28 percent from its record high in November. On average, the 14 Chinese shares are down 3.1 percent this year, compared with a 6.1 percent advance in the Nasdaq through March 20.
Caixin Media Files Lawsuits against News Websites over Republished Content – Caixin but they can’t sue Western outlets for using what they have reported in Chinese without giving credit // This media outlet is committed to protecting its original content and to that end has filed lawsuits against Sohu.com, Sina.com, Ifeng.com and Hexun.com in Haidian District People’s Court
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Games bid puts focus on frugality – China.org.cn The joint bid by Beijing and Zhangjiakou to stage the 2022 Olympic Winter Games is based on ideas of sustainability and frugality and places athletes center stage, according to the capital’s mayor. “Holding the games in a frugal way is not a slogan, it’s a reality,” said Wang Anshun. “We will make full use of our current sports facilities and strictly control construction costs.”
China Seeks to Impose Its Own Routine on Public Dancing – NYTimes The General Administration of Sport of China and the Ministry of Culture announced on Monday that a joint study had concluded that the Chinese public wants “healthy, watchable, scientific and wide-ranging” dancing, state news media reported. To that end, an expert panel has developed 12 model routines that will be taught nationwide by instructors who have received official training.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Lanzhou, CNPC Subsidiary Agree on 100 Mln Yuan Pollution Payout – Caixin A subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay the government of Lanzhou 100 million yuan over incidents that polluted air and water in the city in the northwestern province of Gansu. The money will be used to upgrade the drainage system at the CNPC subsidiary to prevent any more leaks into the city’s soil and water table, the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau said. The bureau released an environmental impact study for the project on March 12 so the public could comment on it over a 10-day period. The plan is for the project to be launched at the end of March and be done in two years.
China Seen Curbing Coal Supply as Price Drops to Near 8-Year Low – Bloomberg Business Spot coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram at the port of Qinhuangdao, China’s benchmark grade, fell for a fourth week through March 22 to an average of 465 yuan ($75) a metric ton, according to data from the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association in Beijing. That’s down almost 9 percent from the start of the year and the lowest since August 2007.
China Will Ensure Purchase of All Renewable Power It Generates – Bloomberg Business China, the biggest renewable-energy investor, has asked local authorities to ensure the purchase of all the clean power generated in the country. The nation has also asked renewable-power plants to run at full capacity, taking into account grid safety and stability, the National Development and Reform Commission said Monday in a statement on its website. China will prioritize the use of clean power to meet electricity demand in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, the agency said. // 发改委、能源局发布改善电力运行指导意见
China Issues Rules to Reform Electricity System, NE21.Com Says – Bloomberg Business but not as aggressive as some hoped // China issued rules to overhaul its electricity market in a move aimed at gradually loosening the state’s monopoly and spurring competitive energy pricing, a website covering clean energy reported. The world’s second-biggest economy will make its power-distribution system and retail sales channels accessible to private companies in an orderly way, according to a State Council document posted on the website of NE21.com
经济参考网 – “水十条”将出台 或涉两万亿投资 将加快水价改革，完善污水处理费、排污费和水资源费等收费政策 《经济参考报》记者日前从权威人士处获悉，被称为“水十条”的《水污染防治行动计划》已经在年前获得国务院常委会通过，有望在下月出台。经过多轮修改的“水十条”将在污水处理、工业废水、全面控制污染物排放等多方面进行强力监管并启动严格问责制，铁腕治污将进入“新常态”。
Saudi Aramco’s Supply to China Potentially Doubling – Caixin Khalid Al-Falih, head of the world’s largest oil producer, says in exclusive interview with Caixin that the firm sees great growth room in China and beyond
Obscure Chinese-Tibetan Dictionary Says Ominous Things About Climate Change – WSJ The region is also extremely vulnerable to climate change. A recent study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the country has lost almost 3,500 square miles’ worth of glaciers since the 1950s, with Tibet home to some of the fastest melting. Xinhua cited Wang Pengxiang of the regional meteorological bureau as saying the new dictionary was expected to improve disaster prevention and reduction, and response to climatic change.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ISSUES
China seeks to develop crop seed giant to keep global firms at bay | The Wall Street Journal The world’s second-largest seed market, after the US, limits foreign producers to minority stakes in joint ventures. Seeds from foreign ventures supply about 20 per cent of the market, but that is likely to rise as a gulf in quality widens between local and foreign products, growers and analysts say.
EDUCATION
Internet to cover all Chinese middle, primary schools – Xinhua All primary and middle schools in China will soon be connected to the Internet, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. Each school will have at least one state-of-the-art computer facility, according to a 2015 plan on digitalized education issued by the ministry in February.
JOBS AND EVENTS
Navigating Choppy Waters: China’s Economic Decision-Making at a Time of Transition | Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC, March 31, 2015 | 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM–The Simon Chair has recently completed a two-year study of China’s economic decision-making designed to shed light on this important topic and help inform U.S. economic strategy towards a rapidly changing China. We hope you will join us for the rollout of the results of this study and a stimulating discussion of China’s political economy.
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