Today is the start of about two weeks of the "Two Meetings". The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opens this morning, the National People's Congress (NPC) starts Tuesday. During these couple of weeks do not expect much official news out of China that is not about these two meetings.
Nor should we expect to see delegates with lots of bling, unlike in years past. Between the Internet and the anti-corruption and frugality campaigns wearing and carrying expensive name brands to these meetings may be an invitation to a scandal.
The "Two Meetings" is usually a big gift giving event but not this year. Luxury firms should not expect a good first quarter in China, or a good second quarter the way things are going. A friend who does a lot of "facilitating" expects the gifts to eventually be given, but very carefully and only once the campaigns slow down.
Today's Links:
*THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT*
*2nd Plenum of 18th CPC Central Committee ends - Xinhua | English.news.cn *- The committee approved a list of candidates for China’s next administration. The list will be presented to the National People’s Congress session which begins next week. It also approved a list of candidates for the leadership of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee. The committee stressed the importance of institutional restructuring as well as reform to improve people’s livelihood. It also stressed the need to reduce emissions and promote sustainable development.// *full Chinese announcement*
*Cnooc Said to Cede Control of Nexen’s U.S. Gulf Assets - Bloomberg* - Cnooc Ltd. (883), China’s largest offshore oil and natural gas producer, was barred from controlling Gulf of Mexico oilfields under U.S. terms for its $15.1 billion takeover of Nexen Inc. (NXY), people familiar with the matter said. In its purchase of Calgary-based Nexen, Cnooc acquired about 200 deep-water leases in the Gulf with reserves equivalent to about 205 million barrels of oil, one of the largest holdings in the Gulf, according to Nexen’s website. The state-owned Chinese oil explorer surrendered operating control of those assets to quell U.S. national security concerns, said two people familiar with the agreement who asked not to be named because the terms aren’t public.
*Is America’s Door Really Open to China’s Investment? | ChinaFile* - At this early stage of China’s global arrival as investor, CFIUS has blocked a tiny number of Chinese overtures, and required preconditions to approval of others. A few high profile deals have also been scuttled by Congressional or other political objections before they could even go to CFIUS, for example CNOOC’s attempted takeover of Unocal in 2005. That has left an impression in China and elsewhere that the U.S. is not as open to Chinese direct investment as it says. While understandable, that’s unfortunate, because the truth is that the vast majority of Chinese deals have gone through, and that CFIUS has found ways to work with companies to mitigate existing risks. At the Rhodium Group, our China Investment Monitor database currently tracks 620 deals done since 2000—and the annual figures are at an all-time high, not on the wane.
*Spill in China Lays Bare Environmental Concerns - NYTimes.com* The conflict over the Changzhi spill (Slide Show) has drawn attention to the growing problems with water use and pollution in northern China. The region, which has suffered from a drought for decades, is grappling with how industrial companies should operate along rivers. Local officials are shielding polluting companies and covering up environmental degradation, say environmentalists.
*人民日报-在中央党校建校80周年庆祝大会暨 2013年春季学期开学典礼上的讲话 （2013年3月1日* - *Xi Jinping speech at Central Communist Party School welcoming new class, commemorating 80th anniversary of school founding.*
*Huawei Executive Explains Plan To Overtake Apple And Samsung In Mobile - Business Insider* - Technology giant Huawei is plotting to overtake Apple and Samsung in the mobile phone market. Matt Warman spoke to the firm’s director of innovation about China, expansion and making great kit.
*An Illicit Trail of African Ivory to China - NYTimes.com *- “We call them bloody teeth,” said Xing, a furniture maker and ivory trafficker who is part of a shadowy trade that has revived calls for a total international ban on ivory sales. To the outrage of conservation groups trying to stop the slaughter of African elephants and the embarrassment of Chinese law enforcement agencies, Xing’s thriving ivory business is just one drop in a trail of blood that stretches from Africa, by air, sea and highway, to Chinese showrooms and private collections.
*Here Come…China’s Drones--The Diplomat*- China has rightly identified a gap in the market, with relatively few countries having inducted UAVs so far, and few capable of building drones themselves, the low cost of Chinese systems will certainly be an advantage. A U.S. Predator costs around $4.5 million, while a Reaper is closer to $10 million for countries that manage to obtain clearance to buy them. Chinese sources have claimed that their equivalent UAVs cost less than $1 million, making them a highly affordable capability for a host of international customers, especially those unable or unwilling to source U.S. and Israeli technology. So if there is an alarm bell worth ringing about the emergence of Chinese UAVs, it is probably not the threat they will pose to the U.S. or Japan in the Asia-Pacific – it is the proliferation to the developing world of armed, unmanned systems that China’s low prices, and even lower export barriers, may soon begin to drive.
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Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.
Nor should we expect to see delegates with lots of bling, unlike in years past. Between the Internet and the anti-corruption and frugality campaigns wearing and carrying expensive name brands to these meetings may be an invitation to a scandal.
The "Two Meetings" is usually a big gift giving event but not this year. Luxury firms should not expect a good first quarter in China, or a good second quarter the way things are going. A friend who does a lot of "facilitating" expects the gifts to eventually be given, but very carefully and only once the campaigns slow down.
Today's Links:
*THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT*
*2nd Plenum of 18th CPC Central Committee ends - Xinhua | English.news.cn *- The committee approved a list of candidates for China’s next administration. The list will be presented to the National People’s Congress session which begins next week. It also approved a list of candidates for the leadership of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee. The committee stressed the importance of institutional restructuring as well as reform to improve people’s livelihood. It also stressed the need to reduce emissions and promote sustainable development.// *full Chinese announcement*
*Cnooc Said to Cede Control of Nexen’s U.S. Gulf Assets - Bloomberg* - Cnooc Ltd. (883), China’s largest offshore oil and natural gas producer, was barred from controlling Gulf of Mexico oilfields under U.S. terms for its $15.1 billion takeover of Nexen Inc. (NXY), people familiar with the matter said. In its purchase of Calgary-based Nexen, Cnooc acquired about 200 deep-water leases in the Gulf with reserves equivalent to about 205 million barrels of oil, one of the largest holdings in the Gulf, according to Nexen’s website. The state-owned Chinese oil explorer surrendered operating control of those assets to quell U.S. national security concerns, said two people familiar with the agreement who asked not to be named because the terms aren’t public.
*Is America’s Door Really Open to China’s Investment? | ChinaFile* - At this early stage of China’s global arrival as investor, CFIUS has blocked a tiny number of Chinese overtures, and required preconditions to approval of others. A few high profile deals have also been scuttled by Congressional or other political objections before they could even go to CFIUS, for example CNOOC’s attempted takeover of Unocal in 2005. That has left an impression in China and elsewhere that the U.S. is not as open to Chinese direct investment as it says. While understandable, that’s unfortunate, because the truth is that the vast majority of Chinese deals have gone through, and that CFIUS has found ways to work with companies to mitigate existing risks. At the Rhodium Group, our China Investment Monitor database currently tracks 620 deals done since 2000—and the annual figures are at an all-time high, not on the wane.
*Spill in China Lays Bare Environmental Concerns - NYTimes.com* The conflict over the Changzhi spill (Slide Show) has drawn attention to the growing problems with water use and pollution in northern China. The region, which has suffered from a drought for decades, is grappling with how industrial companies should operate along rivers. Local officials are shielding polluting companies and covering up environmental degradation, say environmentalists.
*人民日报-在中央党校建校80周年庆祝大会暨 2013年春季学期开学典礼上的讲话 （2013年3月1日* - *Xi Jinping speech at Central Communist Party School welcoming new class, commemorating 80th anniversary of school founding.*
*Huawei Executive Explains Plan To Overtake Apple And Samsung In Mobile - Business Insider* - Technology giant Huawei is plotting to overtake Apple and Samsung in the mobile phone market. Matt Warman spoke to the firm’s director of innovation about China, expansion and making great kit.
*An Illicit Trail of African Ivory to China - NYTimes.com *- “We call them bloody teeth,” said Xing, a furniture maker and ivory trafficker who is part of a shadowy trade that has revived calls for a total international ban on ivory sales. To the outrage of conservation groups trying to stop the slaughter of African elephants and the embarrassment of Chinese law enforcement agencies, Xing’s thriving ivory business is just one drop in a trail of blood that stretches from Africa, by air, sea and highway, to Chinese showrooms and private collections.
*Here Come…China’s Drones--The Diplomat*- China has rightly identified a gap in the market, with relatively few countries having inducted UAVs so far, and few capable of building drones themselves, the low cost of Chinese systems will certainly be an advantage. A U.S. Predator costs around $4.5 million, while a Reaper is closer to $10 million for countries that manage to obtain clearance to buy them. Chinese sources have claimed that their equivalent UAVs cost less than $1 million, making them a highly affordable capability for a host of international customers, especially those unable or unwilling to source U.S. and Israeli technology. So if there is an alarm bell worth ringing about the emergence of Chinese UAVs, it is probably not the threat they will pose to the U.S. or Japan in the Asia-Pacific – it is the proliferation to the developing world of armed, unmanned systems that China’s low prices, and even lower export barriers, may soon begin to drive.
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.