July 21:
Several recent incidents suggest that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has a “greater and greater voice,” in Chinese foreign policy and that its role in Chinese political circles has become decisive, the Ming Pao reports. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee continues to have at least two military members, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. Both are PLA generals who regularly step into foreign policymaking. There are also disturbing incidents like the cancellation of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' visit to China, which Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command said shows that China does not value bilateral military exchanges. Also, rather than a civilian, Ma Xiaotian, PLA Deputy Director of General Staff was the first to oppose the joint U.S. – Korea military exercise; although Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang repeated the statement four times afterward. On August 1, there were large pay increases for all military personnel, from non-commissioned officers to generals. PLA budgets continue to rise.
[Editor’s Note: During the Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping eras, the military, although having a major role in politics, had little power to intervene in foreign affairs. Starting in 1989, however, the rise of the technocratic Jiang Zemin, the retirements or deaths of political leaders with military experience, coupled with the 1996 Taiwan Strait missile crises and the Tiananmen square military crackdown have increased the role of the PLA. Under Hu Jintao this trend has continued and promotions of generals now occur every year compared to every two years under Jiang.]
July 29:
Hu Jintao's son, Hu Haifeng, accompanied by unidentified high-ranking Chinese officials, made a top-secret visit to Taiwan earlier this month. He arrived on the self-governing island on July 18 and met with agricultural experts. In May, Hu Haifeng called off a planned trip to Taiwan after the island's media got wind of it. Hu, a top official at Tsinghua University's Yangtze Delta Region Institute in Zhejiang Province, also discussed agricultural technology transfer with researcher Tsay Tung-tsuan, who heads the plant pathology department in National Chung Hsing University in central Taiwan. As the son of China's leader, Hu Haifeng would be one of the highest-profile visitors yet from the mainland, since Taiwan's Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou assumed power in 2008, Taiwan’s China Post reports.
July 30:
China has inked its largest ever mining cooperation project with Burma, the Norway-based Burmese Democratic Voice of Burma reports. China’s Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company, the largest steel manufacturer in the world, in collaboration with the China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC) will operate a massive nickel mine in Tagaung Taung, Sagaing (northern Burma). Estimates suggest the site holds about 30 million tons of high-grade nickel. Taiyuan and CNMC will invest around $800 million into the project, which is expected to generate roughly 22,000 tons of nickel per year. Operations are due to commence next year with an expected lifespan of two decades. Smelting facilities are already under construction despite concerns about the environmental impact of the mine. Refining and purifying mined metals utilizes noxious chemicals that can be hazardous if not properly disposed of. China’s huge demand for steel makes it vulnerable to the price of nickel, a key ingredient. Taiyuan’s steel production alone uses 100,000 tons of nickel per year so it seeks to secure cheap, reliable supplies for the long term.
[Editor’s Note: This is the second major mining deal agreed between China and Burma within a month: Chinese weapons manufacturer Norinco last month secured a deal to mine for copper in Monywa, also in Sagaing; a deal sweetened by the firm’s sale of heavy artillery to Burma’s ruling Junta a few weeks prior.]
July 31:
Senior Chinese Colonel Geng Yansheng has said that China would discuss the removal of guided missiles targeting Taiwan under the “one China” principle “at a proper time.” In response, Liu Te-shun, Vice Chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Committee, requested a complete written version of Geng’s comments and said that Taipei will focus on economic exchanges with Beijing, but that “after business and trade issues a good climate will arise for the two sides to talk about other matters, including building a military mutual trust mechanism across the Taiwan Strait,” Taiwan’s China Post reports.