1. NYT: China to open 8 state industries for investment
2. WSJ: China to open up infrastructure projects to private investment
3. WSJ: Chinese firms turn to foreign investors to borrow
4. FT: Barack Obama says disputed islands covered by Japan pact
5. WSJ - Editorial: Pacific trade stall
6. NYT: Pacific Rim deal could reduce chance of unintended conflict in contested seas
7. WSJ: China won't necessarily observe new conduct code for navies
8. Reuters: China won't swallow 'bitter pill' of ceding sovereign rights: military official
9. Reuters: China bans petitioners appealing directly to higher authorities

 

10. CD: Slower growth poses challenges: AmCham
11. Xinhua: NDRC says no rollout of economic stimulus
12. Xinhua: China taps corporate investment to fuel growth
13. Xinhua: China denies U.S.-Japan alliance's Diaoyu Islands bearing

 

1. NYT: China to open 8 state industries for investment 
China's government says it will open 80 projects in eight state-run industries to private and foreign investors as part of efforts to make its slowing economy more efficient. The Cabinet announcement is the latest in a series of policy changes aimed at carrying out the ruling Communist Party's promises to give entrepreneurs and foreign investors a bigger role in the state-dominated economy. The statement late Wednesday gave no indication whether private investors would be given any control over the newly opened industries, which include oil and hydro power. Other industries cited by the statement were wind power, natural gas storage and distribution, solar power, coal, railways and port operations.
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2. WSJ: China to open up infrastructure projects to private investment 
Railways, telecoms among those to be available for public bidding. China will open up 80 infrastructure projects to private investment as part of its effort to support slowing growth and give private capital a greater role in the world's No. 2 economy. China's State Council, or cabinet, said Wednesday that projects in railways, telecommunications, clean energy and pipelines will be open to public bidding. The country's infrastructure sector is dominated by state-controlled firms. The cabinet said it encourages private investors to participate in the projects through their own companies or by setting up joint ventures with state-owned firms. The statement didn't give specifics about the first-batch projects or when Beijing will announce them, but said the government next will make it easier for private enterprises to set foot in more state-controlled sectors such as oil exploration, utilities and airports. The State Council's statement didn't mention whether foreign capital would be permitted.
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3. WSJ: Chinese firms turn to foreign investors to borrow 
Move comes as domestic credit dries up.
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4. FT: Barack Obama says disputed islands covered by Japan pact 
President Barack Obama has said the islands in the East China Sea disputed by Tokyo and Beijing are covered by the US-Japan defence treaty as he sought to use the first day of a trip to Asia to reassure anxious allies in the region. In an interview with a Japanese newspaper, Mr Obama became the first sitting US president to acknowledge that his country considered the islands – which Japan calls the Senkaku and China the Diaoyu – to be part of the defence alliance between Washington and Tokyo. His comments were clearly designed to show support for Japan, Washington’s most important ally in the region, but immediately prompted an angry response from China which says the US is trying to encircle it. “The policy of the United States is clear – the Senkaku islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Co-operation and Security,” Mr Obama said in written responses to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. “And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands.”
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5. WSJ - Editorial: Pacific trade stall 
Foreigners won't budge if Obama won't press Democrats in Congress.
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6. NYT: Pacific Rim deal could reduce chance of unintended conflict in contested seas 
A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could reduce the risk of accidental encounters’ spiraling into conflict, experts said. But Beijing’s firm rejection of President Obama’s comments on Wednesday about islands claimed by both China and Japan underscored the maritime tensions that continue to trouble Asia. The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea was endorsed Tuesday by naval officials from the United States, China, Japan and other states at a symposium in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The agreement comes at a time of growing concern about territorial disputes between China and some of its neighbors. China claims islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Several countries, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping maritime claims.
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7. WSJ: China won't necessarily observe new conduct code for navies 
Code approved this week by 21 naval powers isn't legally binding.
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8. Reuters: China won't swallow 'bitter pill' of ceding sovereign rights: military official 
China will not "swallow the bitter pill" of ceding its sovereign rights to others, a senior military official told foreign naval leaders on Wednesday, as the country takes an increasingly assertive approach to guarding its maritime territory. "No country should expect China to swallow the bitter pill of our sovereignty, national security or development interests being compromised," said Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission. The commission is China's top military council, chaired by President Xi Jinping. Fan, who met U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this month in Beijing, made the remarks to delegates at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in the coastal city of Qingdao, where naval leaders from more than 20 countries were meeting.
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9. Reuters: China bans petitioners appealing directly to higher authorities 
China has banned petitioners from taking their grievances directly to higher levels of government without first going through local authorities, state media reported on Thursday, in the latest effort to streamline its chaotic petitioning system. The system of petitions dates back to imperial times as a means for citizens to bring grievances to the attention of government officials by bypassing the legal system or authorities, especially at the local level. In practice, few of the cases are ever resolved and petitioners are frequently forced home or imprisoned by regional or provincial authorities when they seek to escalate their complaints to higher-level officials. The State Bureau of Letters and Calls, responsible for handling petitions, stipulated in a new regulation that the central government will not accept complaints about issues that should be handled at provincial level, the People's Daily said.

Red flags flutter next to a national emblem and a national flag of China on top of the Great Hall of the People, which is the venue of the closing ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, March 12, 2014. Reuters photo.
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10. CD: Slower growth poses challenges: AmCham 
"With slower growth, we see more challenges," AmCham China Chairman Gregory Gilligan told reporters in Beijing. "That is the reason some American companies are scaling back their investment plans." China's economy grew by an annual 7.4 percent in the January-March period, the slowest in 18 months. US non-financial direct investment in China dropped 1.91 percent year-on-year to $1.04 billion in the same period, according to the Ministry of Commerce. China is in a transition period, and American companies in the country are less profitable than before. Fewer plan big increases in investment while others plan none, according to AmCham China's Business Climate Survey in March. "While slower growth and market access barriers were also the No 1 and No 2 drivers for lowered investment, there has been a very significant jump in both factors in this year's survey," Gilligan said. "Obviously, with slower growth in China, there is less need for investment. But also, as the overall economy slows, market access barriers and other constraints become a more prominent concern."
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11. Xinhua: NDRC says no rollout of economic stimulus 
China will not roll out short-term economic stimulus measures because of an economic slowdown, the top economic planning body said yesterday. “If China’s economic growth and employment do not break the bottom line and inflation does not exceed the upper limit, our macro-control policies will not change,” said Li Pumin, secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission. China’s economy slowed to a six-quarter low of 7.4 percent in the January-March period of this year, down from 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. Li said that despite the slowdown, major economic indicators were all within range, adding that multiple factors which have newly emerged will continue to ensure stable and healthy growth in the longer term. “The nation’s comprehensive reform-deepening efforts will inject new vitality to economic development,” he said, adding that domestic demand will rise amid industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization as well as improvements in information.
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12. Xinhua: China taps corporate investment to fuel growth 
As China's growth moderated in the first quarter of 2014, the government has moved to tap the potential of investment from enterprises, instead of rolling out a massive stimulus plan. The country will grant companies greater autonomy in investment and allow private capital to fund some infrastructure and energy projects that were previously dominated by the government and state-owned enterprises, said a statement after a State Council executive meeting on Wednesday presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
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13. Xinhua: China denies U.S.-Japan alliance's Diaoyu Islands bearing 
The US-Japan alliance, a bilateral arrangement made in the Cold War, should not undermine China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights, a Chinese spokesman said on Wednesday. The comment came after U.S. President Barack Obama said the Diaoyu Islands "fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security" in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper ahead of his arrival in Tokyo on Wednesday. "We firmly oppose putting the Diaoyu Islands within the scope of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a daily news briefing. Qin urged the United States to respect facts, take a responsible attitude, and honor its commitment of not taking sides on territorial sovereignty issues. He also said the United States should be cautious with its words and deeds so as to play a constructive role in regional peace and stability. He said China's stance on the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear, since these islands are an inherent part of Chinese territory and China holds indisputable sovereignty over them. Japan's occupation of the islands are "illegal and invalid." Its provocations on the issue are "unjustified," the spokesman said. "No one can shake our determination to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime interests," Qin added.
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14. Reuters: Qualcomm faces China bribery allegations from U.S. regulator 
Leading mobile chipmaker Qualcomm said on Wednesday it could face a civil action from U.S. authorities over alleged bribery of officials associated with state-owned companies in China. With smartphone sales tapering off in the United States, China is a major market for Qualcomm, but doing business there has included disagreements over royalties and an antitrust investigation. In its fiscal second-quarter report, Qualcomm said it has received a notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission's Los Angeles office advising it of a preliminary determination to recommend an enforcement action against the company for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
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15. Bloomberg: MSCI plan mocked as China seen unready for global status 
MSCI's proposal to include mainland Chinese equities in its global indexes is getting a cold reception from investors. Fidelity Worldwide Investment calls it crazy. Schroder Investment Management Ltd. says it’s terrible. Societe Generale SA’s private-banking unit dubs it unfair. While China is opening up its capital markets as part of the most sweeping economic overhaul in two decades, the reaction to MSCI’s plan shows how much more President Xi Jinping needs to do before the country can be integrated into global markets. International investors who measure their returns against MSCI indexes say the proposal is unworkable unless China removes the capital controls that limit access to local securities. “To put them in an index when most of the investors can’t buy those shares, because of the various restrictions that the Chinese have, doesn’t make sense,” Mark Mobius, who oversees about $50 billion as executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets, said in an April 7 interview on Bloomberg Television.

The trading floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Aug. 13, 2013. Bloomberg photo.
Bloomberg       Back to Top

16. Bloomberg: China challenges Obama’s Asia pivot with rapid military buildup 
President Barack Obama’s trip to Asia this week will be dominated by a country he’s not even visiting: China. Each of the four nations on the president’s itinerary is involved in territorial disputes with an increasingly assertive China. And years of military spending gains have boosted the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army faster than many defense analysts expected, casting a shadow over relations between China and its neighbors and sparking doubts about long-term prospects for the U.S. presence in the Pacific. “There are growing concerns about what China is up to in the maritime space,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There’s a widely held view in the region that the U.S.-China relationship is tipping toward being much more confrontational.”
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17. NYT - Sinosphere: 10,000 ‘Olympic Babies’ strain the Beijing system 
"Olympic Babies are Coming,” read a headline in Beijing News on Wednesday. With thousands more children than usual born in Beijing in 2008, a year considered by many to be lucky both for the number eight and for being the year that China hosted the Olympic Games, the state is scrambling to find enough school spaces for all the 6-year-olds heading to first grade this fall — about 10,000 more than last September. And in a sign that the state is listening to widespread dissatisfaction among parents about corruption in the education system amid an anti-corruption campaign by President Xi Jinping, schools are introducing a range of measures aimed at reducing opportunities for graft. These include instructing parents themselves to buy accident insurance for their children before the child can begin school. Previously, schools did this and charged the parents.
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18. WSJ - Bernard Gordon: China belongs in the Pacific trade pact 
Its leaders say they want to better connect with the global economy, and that 'the market will be decisive.'
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19. WP - Dana Milbank: Overseas, President Obama projects a whole lot of nothing 
President Obama landed in Japan on Wednesday night and delivered an important message on behalf of the American people. “That’s some good sushi right there,” he said. Indeed it was. The president had just dined at Sukiyabashi Jiro, where the Michelin three-star chef, octogenarian sushi master Jiro Ono, was featured in the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” Let’s hope Obama didn’t fill up too much during his 90-minute meal. He has three state dinners in his honor on the trip. The seven-day, four-country Asian tour promises to be an excellent adventure for the president. He’ll visit the Meiji Shrine in Japan and dine with the emperor. He’ll visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea and lay a wreath at the National War Memorial. In Malaysia, he will attend a “royal audience” and visit the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. And in the Philippines, he’ll check out an electric vehicle, place another wreath and enjoy his third state dinner. But one thing is missing from the president’s otherwise exciting itinerary: making news. 
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20. FT - Clyde Prestowitz: Obama’s Asian allies need to give something back 
The president’s hosts should ask what they can do for America.
FT      Back to Top

21. NYT - Wu Xinbo: America should step back from the East China Sea dispute 
The United States has been a destabilizing force in the dispute between China and Japan over the sovereignty of a small chain of islands in the East China Sea. Not only did Washington create the problem in 1971 by arbitrarily returning the administrative rights of the islands to Japan, but America’s claim that its security alliance with Japan applies to the tiny islands has emboldened Tokyo to take a more aggressive stance toward Beijing. A peaceful resolution of the issue ultimately depends on the willingness of the Japanese government to acknowledge the dispute and pursue more reconciliatory policies toward China. But a major factor is whether Washington will shift its strategy to help rein in Japan and adopt a more reasonable stance that accommodates Beijing’s concerns about its maritime interests and security environment.
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22. NYT - Michael Green: Negotiating Asia’s troubled waters 
 The mounting tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the small chain of islands in the East China Sea called the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China have profound implications for United States interests and the future of Asia. Both Tokyo and Washington can do more to reduce tensions, but the fundamental problem is China’s pattern of coercion against neighbors along its maritime borders. Any American plan to ease the strain between Japan and China should convince Beijing that coercion will no longer work — but that dialogue and confidence building measures might.
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