Caucus Brief: Chinese Companies Embark on Shopping Spree in Europe

CHINESE COMPANIES EMBARK ON SHOPPING SPREE IN EUROPE.  Beijing is encouraging Chinese companies to reshape global trade through the purchase of European companies.  In 2003, Chinese investment in European businesses totaled $853 million, from 2008 to 2010 that investment total surged to $43.9 billion.  While this investment is being welcomed by many Europeans, several countries have expressed concern that Chinese companies are buying European businesses for the purpose of stripping their technology.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704355304576214683640225122.html

VOLVO BEGINS CHINESE OVERHAUL.  The future of Volvo Car Corp. will be determined by compromises between the company's European chief executive and its Chinese owner.  The competing visions of the company's leadership focus on whether Volvo should center on safety and fuel-efficiency, or instead begin aggressively competing in the luxury car market.  The WSJ reports that the future of Volvo Car Corp. could be an indicator of how China and Chinese companies will take on management roles tied to international investment.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576363041069364856.html

PICTURES: CHINA'S BLUE-WATER NAVY.  A piece from Foreign Policy describes China's ambitions to increasingly project naval power beyond its own coastlines.  China's evolving blue-water navy is highlighted with a series of photographs to support the piece's assertions.  http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/03/Beijings_blue_water_navy

CHINA HOSTS LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-07/libyan-foreign-minister-lands-in-beijing-after-china-diplomats-meet-rebels.html

IS CHINA PUSHING U.S. SPENDING TO AVOID A COLD WAR REDUX?  A piece from CSIS's Pacific Forum asks if China is implementing the strategy that is often credited with the U.S. success in the Cold War.  The piece argues that there are a number of warning signs that China is effectively pushing American buttons that require increased funding.  The U.S. can counter this strategy by ensuring that U.S. capability can support U.S. preeminence in the Western Pacific, while not overinflating the Chinese threat.  Lastly, the more committed the U.S. is to its allies in the region, the more opportunities to maintain a robust deterrent.  http://csis.org/files/publication/pac1131.pdf

EXAMPLE OF CHINESE EMAIL HACKING TARGETING U.S. CONTRACTORS.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576368120651884858.html

CHINA'S FUTURE LEADER'S WIFE BECOMES GOODWILL AMBASSADOR.  Peng Liyuan, the wife of Xi Jinping, likely China's next president and Communist Party chief, is often considered more famous than her husband inside China.  This notoriety is set to take an international turn when Ms. Peng steps into the role of a Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/Aids for the World Health Organization.  This is the most prominent international role for the spouse of a Chinese leader.  http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/06/07/future-leader%e2%80%99s-wife-steps-further-into-the-limelight/

VIETNAM'S ANGER OVER CHINA MARITIME MOVES.  Hundreds of Vietnamese gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to protest China's policies in the South China Sea.  This anger stems from China's use of surveillance ships to harass and damage a Vietnamese oil vessel that Vietnam claims was operating deep inside of Vietnamese waters.  This type of protest is very rare in Vietnam whose one-party government does not often tolerate any form of political dissent.  While China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territories in the South China Sea, China's claim is by far the largest and includes the Spratly islands and Paracel archipelagos.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13664408

The Caucus Brief is a daily publication for Members of Congress and Hill Staffers on China news and information compiled by the office of Congressman Randy Forbes, Founder of the Congressional China Caucus.  Email Reed.Eckhold@mail.house.gov with tips, comments, or to subscribe/unsubscribe.