Posts tagged ‘Xi JinPing’

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17/06/2014

China Seeks Shorter, ‘More Portly’ Troops With Brainpower – Bloomberg

China’s military has relaxed its height, eyesight and weight requirements for soldiers in an effort to attract more educated personnel, the state-owned China Daily newspaper said today.

Male recruits can now be 1.6 meters tall (5 foot 2 inches), down from 1.62 meters, while the minimum height for women will reduced by the same margin to 1.58 meters, the paper said, citing the Ministry of Defense’s recruitment office. The upper weight limit for male enlistees was also relaxed to “allow more portly young men” into the military, it said.

Eyesight standards were also lowered because nearly 70 percent of high school and university students in China are short-sighted, it said. Mental illnesses including schizophrenia, dissociative disorder, depression and bipolar disorder has also been removed from a list of conditions barring candidates from enlisting, according to the paper.

The looser requirements come as President Xi Jinping tries to hone the world’s largest army by headcount into a professional fighting force capable of winning wars. Efforts by China’s military to attract better-educated recruits to match its modern weaponry has been hampered by a decline in the health of candidates. According to Beijing’s army recruitment office, some 60 percent of college students fail the physical fitness examination, with most graduates being overweight, the China Daily reported in August.

via China Seeks Shorter, ‘More Portly’ Troops With Brainpower – Bloomberg.

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16/06/2014

China aims to revamp justice system but Communist Party to retain control | Reuters

Legal reforms are a key platform for President Xi Jinping‘s government to restore popular faith in the Party and judicial system amid simmering public discontent over miscarriages of justice often caused by officials‘ abuse of power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the sixth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing June 5, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool

China must “improve the requirements for appointing justices and prosecutors while upholding the principles of leading party officials and respecting the rule of justice”, an unnamed official in the top office in charge of judicial reforms told the official Xinhua news agency.

It did not say when the pilot programs would be launched.

To limit interference by local governments, provincial governments will pick judges and prosecutors and fix the budgets of local courts and procuratorates, Xinhua reported. The system currently gives local governments greater sway in appointments.

Panels of legal specialists at the provincial level will nominate judges and prosecutors, but the Party must still approve their appointments.

The reforms must “uphold the Party’s leadership,” the official said, signaling a willingness by the central leadership to improve its courts as long as the Party’s overall control is not threatened.

Critics have described the leadership’s call for greater independence for courts as a hollow gesture, because judges ultimately answer to the Party.

via China aims to revamp justice system but Communist Party to retain control | Reuters.

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13/06/2014

China’s 85 Million-Strong Communist Party Wants to Slim Down – Businessweek

Finally, quality over quantity.

“Amid a sweeping crackdown on official corruption, Beijing has announced it’s time to start emphasizing quality over quantity in the Chinese Communist Party, the world’s largest political organization.

High school students dressed in uniforms carry red flags onto a bus after they performed a ceremonial post guarding of Young Pioneers, a youth group under Chinese Communist Party, around the Monument to People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square on May 29

No more signing up recruits willy-nilly is the new message: Local governments need to be “prudent” and act in a “balanced” manner when seeking to enlist party members, announced the Party Central Committee’s Organization Department on Wednesday.

The announcement followed the release of updated enrollment rules a day earlier—the previous regulations had been largely unchanged for 24 years. “Many new circumstances and new problems have emerged in the enlistment of new members, rendering the old version no longer suitable,” reported the official Xinhua News Agency on June 11. (Basic requirements include being at least 18 years of age, abiding by the Party Constitution, and carrying out party decisions, as well as paying membership dues.)”

via China’s 85 Million-Strong Communist Party Wants to Slim Down – Businessweek.

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13/06/2014

Does China Care About its International Image? | The Diplomat

China’s global image faces challenges — but if asked to choose between its national interests and preserving its national image, China would choose the former

Does China Care About its International Image?

A recent poll conducted by the BBC World Service shows that China’s international image is not that great around the world. Although this year China’s international image is equally divided (42 percent vs. 42 percent) between those who think China’s influence is positive and those who think it is negative, China’s image in Japan and South Korea (two of China’s most important Asian neighbors) is quite negative. In South Korea, only 32 percent of South Koreans have positive perceptions of China whereas 56 percent of them hold a negative perception of China. In Japan the picture is ugly as only 3 percent (a record low) of Japanese hold positive views of China whereas 73 percent view China as a negative influence in Asia.

However, China’s image in Africa and Latin America is quite positive. All three African countries surveyed have very high levels of positive views of China, with 85 percent in Nigeria, 67 percent in Ghana, and 65 percent in Kenya. Of all four Latin American countries surveyed, only Mexico has more negative views than positive views of China (40 percent vs 33 percent); the other three countries are mostly positive about China (Peru 54 percent vs. 24 percent; Brazil 52 percent vs. 29 percent; Argentina 45 percent vs. 20 percent). Another interesting finding about China’s international image is that most advanced countries hold negative views of China, with the U.K. (49 percent vs. 46 percent) and Australia (47 percent vs. 44 percent) being exceptions. Especially puzzling is Germany, which only has a 10 percent positive view of China against 76 percent negative views of China. This might not be surprising as most advanced countries happen to be democracies and they are often quite critical of China’s lack of democracy and human rights problems.

A natural question that one might ask is “does China care about its international image?” Due to China’s recent assertive actions (here and here) in East China Sea and South China Sea, it might seem like China is not worried about its image among its Asian neighbors. But it is inconsistent with China’s efforts in recent years to enhance its soft power and build a positive national image around the world. Thus, the puzzle is this: if China does care about its international image, why would China behave in a way that hurts its own national image? This is a legitimate question given some evidence showing that many in Asia now see China as a big bully.

There are three possible explanations for the seeming inconsistency between China’s national image campaigns and its recent assertive behavior. First, it could be that China does not genuinely embrace the idea of national image or soft power. According to realist logic which is dominant in China, what really matters in international politics is material power; also, soft power often is a byproduct of material power. Thus, the Chinese leadership might have accepted the idea “it is better to be feared than loved” in international politics. If indeed this is the reasoning behind China’s foreign policy in recent years, then it is not surprising at all that China feels little need to promote its national image.

The second reason could be that China does care about its national image but the problem is that China is inexperienced or even clumsy in promoting its national image. Indeed, in recent years China has put in lots of resources into its ‘public diplomacy’ which has generated mixed results. Just think about how much money Beijing spent on the Beijing Olympics 2008 to promote China’s positive image. It is abundantly clear that Beijing does want to present a positive and peaceful national image to the international community. Nonetheless, it could well be that officials in China who are in charge of promoting national image are incompetent or there is no coordination between different ministries and actors such as the Foreign Affairs ministry and the military. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finally released a position paper on the 981 oil rig crisis after a month had passed. Although this is helpful, one wonders why China could not have done it earlier. Now the damage is already done. Also, China has maintained that Vietnamese vessels have rammed Chinese vessels more than 1,400 times, but it would be much more convincing if China could release videos showing how the Vietnamese vessels rammed Chinese ships. There are many other examples like this one, suggesting that China’s public diplomacy needs to be more skillful and sophisticated if it is going to win international public opinion.

Finally, China’s neglect of its national image could be explained by a rational choice strategy that puts national interests in front of national image. Thus, China does care about its national image, but it cares more about national sovereignty and territorial integrity. When forced to choose between sovereignty and national image, China will choose sovereignty — and any other country would do the same. As Xi Jinping said earlier this year, China will never sacrifice its core national interests, regardless of the circumstances. Viewed from this perspective, national image becomes secondary compared to territorial integrity.

via Does China Care About its International Image? | The Diplomat.

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11/06/2014

China targets officials who sent families abroad

China’s anti-graft campaign is now targeting officials who have sent their spouses and children abroad, where they can create channels to potentially funnel illicit gains and establish footholds for eventual escape from the mainland.

Nearly 900, mostly mid-level, government officials in the southern province of Guangdong have been demoted or forced to resign or retire early after being identified as having spouses or offspring with permanent residency or citizenship abroad while they themselves continue to work on the mainland. Because they remain without their families, they are known colloquially as “naked officials” – a term popular with the public because of its mocking tone. It is the first time a provincial government has taken action against them. The move signals a new approach in President Xi Jinping‘s anti-corruption campaign that takes aim at a phenomenon in Chinese politics that has hindered the Communist Party’s efforts to curb the flight of crooked officials and their ill-gotten assets. “The perception among the Chinese public is that these officials use their positions for their personal gains, then they send their families away and when the time comes, they are going to bail,” said Dali Yang, a China expert at the University of Chicago. Guangdong authorities said they found more than 1,000 such officials, among whom about a fifth had promised to try to get their families to return to China.

Though it’s up for debate, the general definition of “naked officials” excludes officials whose children are only studying abroad but not holding foreign residency or passports – allowing the sons and daughters of top leaders to pursue expensive college degrees at top overseas universities.

via China targets officials who sent families abroad.

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11/06/2014

Why Chinese Officials Are Resigning From Company Boards Left and Right – China Real Time Report – WSJ

In concept, a company’s independent directors serve to check abuse of power and protect shareholders. In practice here in China, they’re often seen as a vehicle for corruption, as companies stack their boards with government officials who accept handsome compensation for the post and do an indifferent job.

China’s central authorities have been cracking down on the phenomenon, with the Communist Party issuing a circular last October banning officials and college professors from holding second jobs. According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, as of this week, more than 200 listed companies have reported independent director resignations.

October’s directive—which also said officials could only take on such posts following a three-year cooling-off period once they leave office—isn’t the first time that the party had cracked down on such activities: In 2009 and 2011, the country’s education and finance departments also banned cadres from taking outside jobs or holding independent director posts.

Still, according to statistics from the party-controlled China Youth Daily, in a survey of 5,760 independent directors at Shenzhen and Shanghai-listed companies conducted last year, fully 45% had government backgrounds.

A Monday editorial in party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said it was important for cadres “not to mistakenly convert their public power into private power, or to mistakenly think they have captivating backgrounds, when in fact all people are seeing is their backgrounds.” Official resignations from company boards, the paper said, would be a way to “purify” the party.

The move to purge company boards of officials comes as President Xi Jinping has pushed a broader anti-corruption drive that has encompassed a crackdown on everything from lavish weddings and funerals to red carpets and even luxury mooncakes. After decades of breakneck economic growth that has disproportionately benefited companies and individuals with political connections, the party is eager to erase the notion that the country’s economic system is rigged, particularly as growth has begun to slow, political analysts say.

via Why Chinese Officials Are Resigning From Company Boards Left and Right – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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10/06/2014

Indian PM Modi meets with Chinese FM – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday met here with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

INDIA-NEW DELHI-PM-CHINA-WANG YI-MEETING

During the meeting, Wang conveyed greetings and messages from President Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Prime Minister Modi.

The Chinese president said in his message that he believes India will obtain greater development and progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.

The Chinese president said that as two important forces in the process of multi-polarization of the world, China and India share far more common interests than differences and that the two countries are long-term strategic cooperative partners rather than adversaries.

The Chinese president pointed out that the dreams of both China and India to build a strong nation and to upgrade the living standards of their people have a lot of commonalities and the two countries should make an in-depth convergence of their development strategy, support each other with their respective strengths, build a close development partnership, and hold hands to realize peaceful development, cooperative development, and inclusive development, in order to benefit their people and enhance peace, stability and prosperity of Asia and the whole world.

Prime Minister Modi said that the important message from President Xi Jinping has given a clear guidance for developing bilateral relations.

Modi said he highly appreciates the achievements in the field of development made by China and personally cherishes a friendly feeling toward China.

Modi said India’s new government is willing to join China to give a clear signal to the world that the two countries are dedicated to common development.

He suggested that the two countries maintain exchange of high- level visits, consolidate strategic trust, and use each other’s strengths to deepen cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, manufacturing, and IT industry.

Modi also said that India and China should develop their resources of two ancient civilizations to enhance cooperation and increase exchanges in humanity.

On the boundary issue, he said the two countries should commonly maintain peace and tranquility on the border areas in order to provide guarantees to the development of bilateral relations.

Foreign Minister Wang said that China and India are now standing at a new historical starting point of developing their relations and in the meantime are faced with important opportunities of their own development.

He said that China is ready to realize convergence with India in the fields of development theories and ideas, exchange and learn from each other in practice and theories of governance.

Wang said China is also willing to realize convergence of development strategies with India and let the “Look East” policy of India meet and confluence with China’s acceleration of opening its western regions.

The two countries should also use their respective strong points to support and supplement each other in their respective development, he said.

Wang said as the two ancient civilizations, China and India should join each other to make new contributions to human civilization and progress. He also suggested that the two countries properly control and manage their boundary problem to seek a mutually acceptable, fair and reasonable solution to the boundary issue.

via Indian PM Modi meets with Chinese FM – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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08/06/2014

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi holds talks with Sushma Swaraj – The Times of India

In the first high-level interaction with the new dispensation here, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday held talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in key areas including trade and investment.

Wang, who is special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, arrived in the wee hours to establish political contacts with the new Indian government amid hopes of an upswing in bilateral ties due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s familiarity with China.

Both Wang and Swaraj were assisted by their delegations which comprised of senior officials from the foreign ministry.

via Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi holds talks with Sushma Swaraj – The Times of India.

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06/06/2014

Modi govt to promote civilian settlements along India-China border – The Times of India

The Narendra Modi government may not only strengthen ITBP deployment and infrastructure along the India-China border, but also promote civilian settlements in border areas.

China-India Map

Unlike the UPA regime that was reluctant to undertake aggressive deployment of troops in stretches close to the India-China border, the Union home ministry may now go for a formal survey of the border gaps and come up with a fresh deployment plan to ensure that ITBP troops are in good strength to discourage incursions on part of the Chinese troops into Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

In addition to that, road connectivity will also be strengthened along the border areas. The strengthening of infrastructure will also cover construction of bridges and better mobile connectivity through setting up of BSNL towers.

However, a significant move on part of the Centre would be to promote human settlements towards Indian side of the India-China border. This, sources pointed out, would help reinforce India’s claim to the area in any subsequent border settlement negotiations. A senior government functionary recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s insistence on leaving human settlements untouched while working out the border demarcation.

Meanwhile, with reports indicating that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit India later this year, there is renewed hope among the people of Arunachal Pradesh that the stapled visa issue would finally be settled. “The two leaders wield all the power to have the final word on betterment of India-China ties,” a senior government functionary pointed out.

via Modi govt to promote civilian settlements along India-China border – The Times of India.

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25/05/2014

China and Russia: Best frenemies | The Economist

ON MAY 21st, after a nail-biting session of late-night brinkmanship, China and Russia signed an enormous gas deal worth, at a guess, around $400 billion. Their agreement calls for Russia’s government-controlled Gazprom to supply state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation with up to 38 billion cubic metres of gas a year between 2018 and 2048. The deal capped a two-day visit to China by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that included a regional-security summit and joint military exercises off the Chinese coast.

Mr Putin called the deal the biggest in the history of Russia’s gas industry. But it counts, too, for the geopolitics that underpin it. That an agreement should come now, after a decade of haggling, is no accident. The deal will help the Kremlin reduce Russia’s reliance on gas exports to Europe. It is proof that Mr Putin has allies when he seeks to blunt Western sanctions over Ukraine. Both Russia and China want to assert themselves as regional powers. Both have increasingly strained relations with America, which they accuse of holding them back. Just over 40 years ago Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger persuaded China to turn against the Soviet Union and ally with America. Does today’s collaboration between Russia and China amount to a renewal of the alliance against America?

That is surely the impression Mr Putin wants to create. Ahead of his visit he gushed to Chinese media, saying their country was “Russia’s reliable friend”. Co-operation, he said, is at its “highest level in all its centuries-long history”. From the Chinese side, Xi Jinping chose Russia as the first country he visited on becoming president in 2013.

Commercial ties are growing. China is Russia’s largest single trading partner, with bilateral flows of $90 billion in 2013. Even before the gas deal, the two sides hoped to double that by 2020. If Western banks become more reluctant to extend new loans, financing from China could help Russia fill the gap. China badly needs the natural resources which Russia has in abundance. The gas deal will ease China’s concerns that most of its fuel supplies come through the strategic chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca, and will also enable China to move away from burning so much of the coal that pollutes the air in Chinese cities.

The two have also made common cause in geopolitics. China abstained from a UN security council vote in March that would have rejected a referendum that Russia backed in Crimea before it annexed it. China has also joined Russia in vetoing UN attempts to sanction the regime of Bashar Assad fighting a civil war in Syria. The two have taken similar stances over issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.

China and Russia share a strong sense of their own historical greatness, now thwarted, as they see it, by American bullying. Both want the freedom to do as they please in their own back yards. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its manoeuvring in eastern Ukraine have vexed America and Europe and left Mr Putin with even fewer friends than before. China’s push into the East and South China Seas is causing similar concerns in Asia, as smaller neighbours worry about its expansionism.

But the West should not panic. Despite all this, Russia and China will struggle to overcome some fundamental differences. Start with the evidence of the gas deal itself: the fact that it took ten years to do, and that the deal was announced at the last minute, suggests how hard it was to reach agreement. The Chinese were rumoured to have driven a hard bargain, knowing that Mr Putin was desperate to have something to show from his trip.

More a grimace than a smile

In this deal, as elsewhere in the relationship, China has the upper hand. Other supplies of gas are coming online in Australia and Central Asia. And whereas China’s global power is growing, Russia is in decline—corroded by corruption and unable to diversify its economy away from natural resources. The Chinese government will expect the Kremlin to recognise this historic shift—a recipe for Chinese impatience and Russian resentment. Although the two countries are united against America, they also need it for its market and as a stabilising influence. And they are tussling for influence in Central Asia. Their vast common border is a constant source of mistrust—the Russian side sparsely populated and stuffed with commodities, the Chinese side full of people. That is why many of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons are pointed at China (see article). In the long run, Russia and China are just as likely to fall out as to form a firm alliance. That is an even more alarming prospect.

via China and Russia: Best frenemies | The Economist.

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