Today’s focus: Cash purchase of gold exceeding 100,000 yuan must be reported! What is the Chinese Communist Party afraid of? Airbus A320 replicated? The shocking insider behind the domestic C919.
Recently, the People’s Bank of China issued a notice on “Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Management Measures for Precious Metals and Gem Institutions”, stipulating that starting from August 1st this year, for any cash purchases of gold, diamonds and other valuable commodities, if the single transaction or cumulative amount on the same day exceeds 100,000 yuan, the relevant institutions must report to the regulatory authorities.
In order to ensure the implementation of the policy, the authorities require institutions selling gold, diamonds, and other valuable commodities to strictly implement customer identification procedures, and submit detailed reports on large transactions to the China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center within 5 working days.
Furthermore, the scheme also requires institutions to establish a long-term tracing mechanism, mandating that all customer information and transaction records be kept for no less than 10 years, and stipulating that regardless of the amount, any suspicious transaction must be reported to the regulatory authorities immediately.
Industry insiders widely believe that this policy will not only have far-reaching impacts on the jewelry and precious metal industries but will also have a significant effect on cash circulation order and public financial freedom.
A commentator stated that while these new regulations are introduced by the Chinese Communist authorities in the name of “anti-money laundering”, experts generally believe that this is the Communist Party eyeing the assets of the common people.
Current affairs commentator Yang Wei told The Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party is short of money and has set its sights on the money in the hands of the common people. The report released by Xinhua News Agency stating that “cash transactions exceeding 100,000 yuan need to be reported” is likely no error, but a trial balloon to gauge public reaction. He also believes that the new power center in Zhongnanhai is concerned that some officials may embezzle money and run away, deliberately giving a one-month buffer period to observe which individuals take action, in order to control officials’ assets; or use the anti-corruption campaign to crack down. However, whichever approach is taken reveals that the Communist Party is in a state of extreme weakness and unable to protect itself.
Chinese issues expert Wang He, in an interview with The Epoch Times, stated that the true purpose of the Chinese Communist Party’s so-called anti-money laundering measures is financial stability. By strictly controlling the flow of funds of residents to prevent the outbreak of systemic financial risks. He said, “When there is a crisis of trust in the banking system, the natural reaction of the people is to withdraw cash or convert assets into physical forms such as gold, which may trigger regional, or even national, bank runs.” In order to prevent such events, the Chinese Communist Party must use administrative means, such as limiting cash transactions, to slow down the rate of outbreak of financial risks.
Wang He added that in recent months, there have been frequent cases of “difficult bank withdrawals” in many parts of China, which is a manifestation of the strict restrictions imposed by the Chinese Communist authorities on cash flow.
Capital market senior analyst Xu Zhen provided an interpretation from the dual perspectives of monetary policy and capital flow. He told The Epoch Times that currently, the Chinese economy is undergoing a rapid transition from deflation to inflation, and gold, as a traditional hedging asset, has become the main choice for the high net worth group. This trend has raised high alert among regulators, and the Chinese Communist Party’s reinforcement of control over “gold cash” transactions at this time is likely in preparation for the imminent large-scale monetary easing policy (unanchored money printing). In addition, the Chinese authorities may also be aiming to control “non-traditional capital outflow channels.” This is because compared to electronic transfers, physical gold transactions are more discreet, leading regulatory departments to intensify their efforts to block this area.
French economic magazine “Capital” recently revealed that in the early 2000s, China purchased two A320 aircraft from Airbus. However, one of the A320s “disappeared” without being registered for operation! This bizarre incident has sparked widespread attention in the aviation industry.
Former Airbus executive Patrick Devaux stated that when the A320 “disappeared” overnight, he and his colleagues believed that China dismantled the plane, then copied it part by part, and then reversed engineered it to recreate the original.
In January of this year, the former head of the French Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) responsible for economic intelligence, Alan Juillet, stated in a documentary on France’s public broadcaster M6 that France sold two A320 aircraft to China, but one of them never flew and disappeared from radar.
At the Paris Air Show in June, Patrick Devaux told the English-language The Epoch Times, “When the C919 appeared, we immediately thought, this is an A320.” He said, “No one would have thought that they would put an aircraft in the hangar, completely disassemble it, and then replicate it. You can call it imitation.”
So, how similar are the C919 and A320 really? From publicly available data, the C919 and A320 are both single-aisle narrow-body passenger aircraft, with the C919 slightly larger than the A320 but overall similar in size. The standard model of the C919 has a length of about 38.9 meters, a wingspan of about 35.8 meters, and a height of about 11.95 meters. The A320 standard model has a length of about 37.57 meters, a wingspan of about 34.1 meters, and a height of about 11.76 meters.
In addition, the C919 and A320 are also very similar in terms of maximum takeoff weight, empty weight, and passenger capacity.
The standard maximum takeoff weight of the C919 is 75.1 tons, an empty weight of 45.7 tons, and a standard passenger capacity of 158 to 168 people, with a reinforced version capable of carrying up to 190 people.
The standard maximum takeoff weight of the A320 is 72.5 tons, an empty weight of 42.6 tons, and a passenger capacity of 158 to 192 people.
It is worth noting that 80% of the parts on the C919 aircraft rely on imports, including the LEAP engine jointly developed by Safran of France and General Electric of the United States. In other words, this “pride of domestic production” highly technological product is heavily dependent on Western technology.
Su Ziyun, director of the Institute of Defense Strategy and Resources at the National Defense Security Research Institute in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times that “The Chinese Communist Party is adept at reverse engineering, but crucial technologies cannot be copied; drawing a cat is not the same as drawing its heart, so these ‘hearts,’ one being the chip, and the other the engine core, are currently difficult for the Chinese Communist Party to overcome in the short term. Chinese netizens say that the Communist Party’s airplanes all have heart disease, which is quite apt.”
It is noteworthy that the monthly magazine “Capital” also mentioned that Airbus has never publicly condemned China’s replication because Airbus fears commercial retaliation from China, especially since Airbus has sold over a hundred aircraft to China. Furthermore, Airbus is set to establish a large A320 assembly plant in Tianjin. Hence, Airbus dares not take any rash actions.
France’s public broadcaster M6 reported that Airbus refuses to acknowledge the above facts. Former Airbus executive Devaux stated, “China is a huge market, and we need to establish good relations.”
In response, the magazine “Capital” stated, “If the C919 receives EASA certification, then it will become a headache for the European Union, like Chinese electric cars, aggressively expanding market share in Europe. Over time, Chinese aircraft may also shake the foundation of Airbus.”
— Production team of “Epoch Focus”