China Reform Monitor: No. 783

September 15:

Global Witness has released a report claiming the oil production figures published by the Government of National Unity in Khartoum are smaller than the equivalent figures published by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the operator of the oil blocks. In response Sudan’s President Bashir has issued a directive to the Ministry of Energy and Mining to clarify facts related to CNPC oil production in Sudan. Lual Deng, Sudan’s minister of finance and former Sudan People's Liberation Movement [SPLM] rebel, said that until the Ministry of Energy issued clarifications there could be no definite answer as to whether or not Global Witness' report was accurate. Following a directive from the presidency, Deng said, the ministry had formed a committee to study the report and issue clarifications about oil production and revenue, the Sudan Tribune reports.

September 17:

Dmitriy Bezdelov, head of Russia’s Federal Agency for State Border Control and Maintenance (Rosgranitsa) is in Beijing to 1) study how China equips its border checkpoints, 2) purchase Chinese-made equipment for Russian border checkpoints, and 3) boost Sino-Russian border cooperation. "If we see that Chinese-made screening equipment fits the parameters listed in their technical specifications and is capable of performing the tasks and if its price is reasonable, then we consider Chinese companies' participation in equipping our border checkpoints," Bezdelov said before submitting to his Chinese counterpart a draft agreement on cooperation and information exchange aimed at synchronizing checkpoints on the Russian-Chinese border, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reports.

September 18:

At a meeting between India’s Central security establishment and state police chiefs it was announced that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) border incursions across the Line of Control into the disputed Arunachal Pradesh region are not a precursor to military confrontation with China. Indian experts attributed the higher frequency of cross-border incursions to the extensive, high-quality road network China has recently completed along the border. For its part New Delhi is scrambling to strengthen its own infrastructure in the region to “help establish our claim over the disputed border areas” one Indian official told the Economic Times. The Indian daily reports that the assessment stems from New Delhi’s belief that China aims to overtake the U.S. as the global leader by 2050 so does not want a war with India. This effort to downplay PLA border incursions has been opposed by a portion of India’s security establishment that believes ignoring frequent incursions will only embolden Beijing.

September 19:

An editorial in the Bangkok Post has identified three concerns about China's ongoing 850 billion renminbi ($125 billon) health-care plan to extend basic health insurance to 90% of the country's population by 2011. First, local protectionism: since each provincial government can now select suppliers, local pharmaceutical companies may be given preference even if other companies are better. Second, overemphasis on traditional remedies: about one-third of the 307 drugs on the essential medicines list are traditional Chinese remedies. These producers tend to be government-protected monopolies, whereas multiple manufacturers typically produce chemical medicines. Finally, government price-fixing: The government will select the manufacturers for a certain drug through competitive bidding then it will set the retail price. Since the government selects the producers, if the bidding process is inefficient or lacks transparency, corruption may occur in the government-controlled pharmaceutical market.

September 21:

A joint Sino-Russian anti-piracy naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa coast has been successfully completed, Russia’s Interfax News Agency reports. During the exercise held between September 18 and 20, which was intended to “strength[en] mutual understanding on sea," the two navies performed various tasks including a search for a suspect pirate vessel. After the exercise Russian and Chinese sailors escorted 23 civilian ships, including nine under the Russian flag, through "a safety corridor."