Caucus Brief: U.S.-China Talks to Yield 'Incremental' Progress: Vilsack

China Caucus Blog

Posted by The Congressional China Caucus | December 20, 2012

U.S.-CHINA TALKS TO YIELD ‘INCREMENTAL’ PROGRESS: VILSACK. Reuters reports that the United States expects only ‘incremental’ progress on longstanding farm trade issues in high-level talks with China. From the piece: “The United States has been pressing China before Wednesday's U.S-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meeting to ease restrictions on imports of U.S. meat and horticultural products that the United States believes are not based on sound science. ‘There's also the issues of biotechnology and the regulatory process,’ Vilsack (U.S. Agriculture Secretary) said, referring to delays in Chinese approvals of new genetically modified crop varieties. ‘Our hope is that by the time the meeting ends we have progress on some of those fronts.’ The JCCT is an annual forum launched in 1983 for the two countries to address trade and investment concerns.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-usa-china-trade-idUSBRE8BI1E420121219

BEIJING CRITICIZES U.S. ‘POLITICAL CHECKS.’ According to the Financial Times, the Chinese Communist Party is opposed to Chinese citizens having to undergo ‘political background checks’ before investing in the United States. From the piece: “Wang Qishan, the outgoing vice-premier responsible for commerce, trade and finance, said at a dinner attended by US cabinet members there was no reason for Chinese investors to be asked about their political affiliations. ‘How can you check if they belong to the Communist party or other parties?’ he said, adding that Americans were not asked similar questions about their politics when investing abroad. Mr Wang has just been promoted to the seven-member politburo inner-circle, China’s most powerful political body, and will soon take up his new job as the party’s anti-corruption chief. His comments about political checks touch on a long-running complaint of the Chinese – that their state-owned companies are unfairly discriminated against when trying to invest in the west.” http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/be4aa5d8-4a59-11e2-a7b1-00144feab49a.html

INHARMONIOUS SOCIETY? CHINA’S RISING INCOME INEQUALITY. A piece from The Diplomat discusses a recent survey released by the People’s Bank of China that raises concerns over growing income inequality in China. From the piece: “China stopped publishing its national Gini results in 2000, and the World Bank stopped in 2005 when it calculated China’s reading to be 0.42. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), which often publishes interesting and stimulating research on China’s economy, calculated a Gini figure of 0.54 in 2008. In March of this year, shortly before his spectacular ouster, Bo Xilai, the former Party Secretary for Chongqing, stated that China’s coefficient had surpassed 0.46. Earlier this year, the head of China’s National Bureau of Statistics claimed that the country was simply refining its methodology, in an attempt to counter suspicions that the ostensibly communist nation was hiding the extent of its widening wealth gap. A repressed financial system, toothless trade unions and corruption/rent-seeking by the rich and powerful have long been blamed for China’s dramatically worsening inequality.” http://thediplomat.com/pacific-money/2012/12/15/inharmonious-society-chinas-rising-income-inequality/

U.S. WARNS CHINA ON NORTH KOREA. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/19/inside-the-ring-us-warns-china-on-north-korea/

FIVE TRENDS TO WATCH FOR IN CHINESE CYBERSECURITY IN 2013. According to a piece from the Council on Foreign Relations, there are five important trends in Chinese cyber issues to pay attention to over the next year. From the piece: “There are rumors that there will be another round of bureaucratic reforms in the spring. Chinese analysts have pointed out that one of the great weaknesses in their defenses is that institutional oversight of cybersecurity is fragmented and ineffective, and there is a low degree of information sharing between the government and industry. There have also been complaints that China lacks adequate strategic planning for information security. In the past, efforts at ministerial reform have been underwhelming, resulting in little more than shuffling around of titles.” http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2012/12/18/5-trends-to-watch-for-in-chinese-cybersecurity-in-2013/

TROUBLE IN CHINA’S RARE EARTHS TREASURE. http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-12-19/industries/35911359_1_rare-earths-iron-ore-mine-baosteel

MORE DOOMSDAY CULT MEMBERS ARRESTED IN CHINA. The BBC reports that police in China have carried out further arrests of members of a doomsday cult for spreading rumors about the imminent end of the world. From the piece: “Almost 1,000 members of Christian group Almighty God have now been detained. State media terms Almighty God an ‘evil cult’ - the same description it applies to the banned Falun Gong group. The sect predicts Friday will usher in three days of darkness and has urged its members to overthrow communism. Its adherents believe 21 December is the last day in the Mayan long count calendar and thus signifies the end of the world. The belief has gained considerable popularity in China where the film 2012 was a box office hit.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20794276

The Caucus Brief is a daily publication for Members of Congress and Hill Staffers on China news and information compiled by the office of Congressman Randy Forbes, Founder of the Congressional China Caucus. Email Reed.Eckhold@mail.house.gov with tips, comments, or to subscribe/unsubscribe.

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