Suggested Readings: November 9-14, 2018

作者：Robert A. Kapp  来源：US-China Perception Monitor

November 9 – 14

PRC Domestic

http://chinaheritage.net/journal/and-teachers-then-they-just-do-their-thing/  MUST READ, LONG READ.  Starting with this, from the introduction:  “In advocating New Sinology 後漢學, we have repeatedly observed that if the world is to deal with China, and the multiplicity of ways that the Chinese world expresses meaning (be it politically, intellectually, socially, economically or culturally) on a global scale, then surely a few of those who want to understand more than the ‘Translated China’ concocted by party-state propagandists and their in-house interpreters will make an effort to learn not only the latest political slogans, advertising jokes, popular memes or songs, but also how to delve with due seriousness into the universe that underpins modern expression.”

https://macropolo.org/reform-and-opening/  The first of an upcoming multi-part Macropolo (Paulson Institute) look at Reforming and Opening after 40 years.  Each part will focus on a single example of larger phenomena.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003146/publish-or-perish-the-dark-world-of-chinese-academic-publishing A sobering article about the publish-or-perish situation facing Chinese Ph.D students.  An agony to read.

https://www.weekinchina.com/2018/11/lets-have-a-chat/?dm  President Xi sits down to talk with private-sector corporate heads.  “Message:  We Care”?

https://www.weekinchina.com/2018/11/last-resort-2/?dm  Wanda continues to shrink, selling off the last of its vaunted tourism properties.  Tycoon Wang Jianlin’s persona continues to contract.

https://tinyurl.com/y7fljaul  Very good, short piece on upcoming changes in China’s income tax system.  Implications for various sectors of the economy.  Winners and losers.  Political impacts.  Tax reform has been a huge factor in China’s economic and political changes since the beginning of Reform and Opening in the late 1970s.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/new-york-ice-cream-truck-mister-softee-in-suzhou-china.html  The lugubrious tale of Mister Softee’s rise and fall in Suzhou.

https://tinyurl.com/y8zbfp3b  Middle-class Chinese family finances.  Splurging on luxury goods slowing down.  Vuitton, Zegna, et al. feeling the pinch.  Interesting facts on “middle class” incomes and expenditures.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003166/on-the-trail-of-sichuans-catholic-past A gentle illustrated article on the Catholic churches of Sichuan Province, in China’s southwest.

https://tinyurl.com/y84q93bu  The scope of the corruption epidemic in Shanghai.

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/abolishes-11132018112433.html/ Death of a law firm known for taking on “sensitive cases” in its heyday.

PRC Global

https://tinyurl.com/y8wlkoms  McKinsey’s new report on Chinese tourists – types, sought-for experiences, etc.  Shatters some stereotypes.  Advice to global tourist industry.  Full PDF report downloadable from this summary site.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/asia/china-stealth-fighter-zhuhai-airshow-intl/index.html  Flashy new stealth fighter plane capabilities at the Zhuhai Air Show.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/full_coverage/2018ciie The official, chock-full web site of the just completed Import Expo in Shanghai.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201811/12/WS5be92ad8a310eff303288208.html An official announcement of bold plans to improve the investment and business operating environment for foreign firms.  Devil in details, time will tell, etc., but potentially promising.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/11/06/the-case-for-rcep-as-asias-next-trade-agreement/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=67389612  RECEP – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal originally promoted by the PRC – is moving toward agreement, though issues remain.  A status update.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-11-13/barry-eichengreen-the-belt-and-road-in-the-mirror-of-the-marshall-plan-101346183.html A quirky interpretation of the real significance of Belt and Road, and of the limited comparisons with the US Marshall Plan after World War II.

https://tinyurl.com/yab8z6jj  US President skips the big annual Asia heads of government meetings, including APEC.  More of the same.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fewer-international-students-heading-to-the-u-s-1542105004?mod=hp_listb_pos1  Fewer international students coming to the U.S.  China obviously a part of that.

https://www.uscc.gov/Annual_Reports/2018-annual-report  The starter page for links to all or any parts of the Annual Report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a body which specializes in reporting on the dire and the dangerous in and coming from China.  Originally created by Congress in 2001, in the immediate aftermath of the Congress’s approval of “Permanent Normal Trade Relations” status for China as the PRC entered the WTO. The Commission’s founding mission was to focus on the effects on US national security of US-China trade and economic relations.  Executive Summary and Recommendations at https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/annual_reports/Executive%20Summary%202018%20Annual%20Report%20to%20Congress.pdf

US-PRC

https://tinyurl.com/yb737g3c  As of Nov. 13, as good a piece as any in the suddenly reignited “fizz” preparatory to a Trump-Xi meeting next week at the G-20.  Given Trump’s unpredictability as to attendance at meetings overseas, to say nothing of the fulminations erupting from parts of his administration, this burst of media excitement may or may not turn out to be justified.

https://www.ft.com/content/389a92c2-e738-11e8-8a85-04b8afea6ea3 Unfortunately paywalled: Jamil Anderlini’s analysis of how and why American multinational corporate CEOs soured on China.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-approves-american-express-card-service-addressing-u-s-concerns-about-markets-1541766874   American Express approved for a 50-50 JV to provide card-clearing services in China. “Goodwill gesture” in advance of Trump-Xi rendezvous at G-20? Forerunner of further, long overdue, opening of this sector (as promised long ago)? Good analysis by Lingling Wei, as usual.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-11-12/competition-low-fees-could-dampen-amexs-landmark-china-entry-analysts-101345865.html  Further commentary on the Amex deal and the challenges it will face. (Paywall)

https://tinyurl.com/yaa75jpf   In the US, the contest is underway to put a name on a redefined Sino-American relationship as the fortieth anniversary of “normalization” of diplomatic ties approaches.  Joseph Nye, best known for coining the term “soft power,” comes up with a promising idea in this analysis of the future of U.S.-China relations: “cooperative rivalry.”  Among other things, he finds mirror-image responsibility for the current mess on the shoulders of Trump and Xi.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/larry-kudlow-peter-navarro-china-trade-globalists.html Mutual sniper fire among Trump’s China trade advisors.  Not a pretty sight, but neither was the presentation that set it off.

来源时间：2019/6/14   发布时间：2018/11/14

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