On Chinese Media

A Shared Future —Lancang-Mekong Cooperation

China Economic Weekly Issue No. 12， 2016

With its source in the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province， the Lancang River flows through Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province in China. After leaving China its name changes to the Mekong River. With a total length of 4，880 kilometers， the river flows through Myanmar， Laos， Thailand， Cambodia， and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea.

Before the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia， the first LancangMekong Cooperation （LMC） Leaders Meeting was held from March 22 to 23， 2016 in Sanya， Hainan Province. At the meeting themed “shared river， shared future，” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang， Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha， Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen， Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong， Vice President of Myanmar Sai Mauk Kham， and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh discussed the plan for Lancang-Mekong cooperation.

On the morning of March 23， Li Keqiang and the leaders of the other five countries attended the opening ceremony of the LMC mechanism. The six leaders took bamboo tubes filled with water from the LancangMekong River， and together poured the water into a basin， marking the official launch of the mechanism.

Before the ceremony， Li Keqiang chaired the First LMC LeadersMeeting， after which the six countries jointly issued the Sanya Declaration of the First LMC Leaders Meeting and the Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation Among Lancang-Mekong Countries. They set interconnectivity， production capacity， cross-border economy， water resources， and agriculture and poverty alleviation as five priorities for cooperation.

In 2012， Thailand raised the idea of enhancing Lancang-Mekong sub-regional cooperation， to which China positively responded. At the 17th China-ASEAN Summit held in November 2014， Premier Li Keqiang proposed establishing the Lancang-Mekong dialogue and cooperation mechanism.

The new type of sub-regional cooperation mechanism， first proposed by China， has prompted keen responses from related countries. The LMC has demonstrated high efficiency since its very beginning. It has taken just over one year to launch a cooperation framework. So far the six countries have held three meetings of their working teams， three meetings of senior officials， and a foreign ministers meeting as well as the aforementioned First LMC Leaders Meeting. Such multilateral cooperation is unprecedented considering its fast progress.

Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that the synergy that could forge through Lancang-Mekong cooperation will be much greater than the mere add-up of six individual countries. He added that the cooperation would help China withstand economic downward pressure， promote respective development， and open up new ways for sub-regional and regional development and revitalization.

Chinese EnterprisesOutbound Investment

Faren Magazine Issue No. 4， 2016

If Chinese enterprises triggered a “wave” of overseas mergers and acquisitions in 2015， then that wave has now become a “tsunami.”

Dalian Wanda bought Hollywoods Legendary Entertainment for US $3.5 billion； Haier bought GEs home appliance business for US $5.4 billion； and the HNA Group bought the U.S.-based technology distributor Ingram Micro for about US $6 billion.

The value of outbound Chinese deals in the first quarter of 2016 has already nearly eclipsed that for the whole of 2015. According to the Financial Times， Chinese overseas deals have totaled US $102 billion since January 2016. According to Thomson Reuters， Chinese acquisitions abroad now account for 47 percent of overall cross-border activity this year.

China Outlook 2016 released by KPMG Global China Practice predicts that Chinese enterprises outbound investment will continue to focus on sectors such as real estate， agriculture and food， infrastructure， and high-end manufacturing.

The driving force and objective of the buying spree have been extensively discussed in international circles. Chinese enterprises that have completed their overseas deals should ponder the question of how to achieve a win-win result and not end in failure.

Will Donald Trump Be the Next President of the U.S.？

South Reviews Issue No. 7， 2016

Donald Trump is an Internet celebrity and a symbol of a capitalist overturn-the-heavens faction. His political contribution in terms of finance and his experience of three marriages and four bankruptcies have earned him a polarized reputation.

Trump， who is outspoken and represents the anti-establishment side， has won support from blue collar voters. The political system of the U.S.， known as Checks and Balances， ensured by a shared power， is mature enough to allay any fears that Trump would become another Hitler or Mussolini.

As a descendent of immigrants to the U.S.， Trump has German and Scottish heritage. He has no intention of changing the characteristic of the U.S. as a Great Melting Pot and will not do anything beyond the democratic framework. However， Trump takes the opportunity wherein many Americans tend to support left-wing politics， and caters to the fifth wave of creedal passion that American society has entered in recent years.

Many people believe that Trump has a zero chance of winning the campaign against Hillary Clinton， even if he wins the Republican nomination. But “Trump fever” has shed light on the future direction of American politics.

Skyrocketing to Three Trillion

Oriental Outlook Issue No. 12， 2016

On March 21， 2016， Alibaba Group announced that its gross merchandise volume （GMV） for the 2016 fiscal year exceeded RMB 3 trillion（US $463 billion）， with average daily purchases of RMB 8.4 billion on the dealing platforms of Chinas biggest e-business corporation.

Chinas total retail sales of consumer goods in 2015 reached RMB 30 trillion， among which Alibabas GMV accounted for one tenth. This signifies a huge success for the company. But the significance of the statistics may far exceed the business itself.

It took Walmart 54 years to achieve an annual revenue equivalent to RMB 3 trillion； while Alibaba achieved this goal in only 13 years. However， Alibaba has a totally different genetic make-up from its former competitor Walmart. The ambitious adventurist aims to build up an epoch-making business model rather than a new Walmart.

This new ecological system has triggered the transformation and upgrading of industries， the mushrooming of start-ups， and the rural consumption revolution， and has an undeniable impact on peoples lifestyle. Following Alibaba， multiple e-business companies established their own brands and gradually became large taxpayers. The e-business and relative industries have directly created over 15 million jobs， and more than three million students have chosen to start their own businesses online.

Bilibili Dominates the World

SWEEKLY

Issue No. 6， 2016

Among the cement forest of skyscrapers on Shanghais Pudong Avenue， the offices of video sharing website Bilibili has the most vulnerable link with the real world. At 4 pm， girls in twos and threes enter in succession wearing garments reminiscent of a cosplay show， which are very popular in the ACGN world （a two-dimensional world comprising animation， comics， games， and novels， versus the real world）.

The decor inside Bilibilis offices also represents a typical ACGN style. On the desks of almost all employees sits a television-shaped stuffed toy， mascot of the start-up. In the offices of the technical department， lines of coding farmers are busy at keyboards with various sophistically-made figure collectibles.

Though it has been around only six years， Bilibili has already become the largest ACGN platform and youth fashion culture icon. Its users make animated bullet curtains to create a power that deconstructs reality. According to data from the website traffic information company Alexa， from December 3 to 9， 2015， daily page views reached 112.86 million.

Bilibili is designed to offer a shield between the ACGN world and the real world. However， with increasing momentum， the ACGN world has stealthily pierced the bullet curtain and is occupying real life.