29th October 09

New York Times

Untouched by Time: Heshun, China

Set in a scenic valley among cobblestone streets and ancient houses, the rustic village of Heshun, China, feels as if it’s escaped tourism and time. Above, a herder leads his cows at dusk through quiet alleyways, some 600 years old.

Asia Times Online

China hawks target US sign-off shuffle
By Peter J Brown

The White House in late September released a "presidential determination" that entailed a memorandum to United States Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. It went virtually undetected. It simply stated:

India-China nudge forward on climate issues
By Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI - India and China's memorandum of understanding signed last week in the Indian capital may have only had "a symbolic value", but it nevertheless showed that two of the world's big economies are serious about finding an alternative path to dealing with climate change while trying to attain sustainable development, said a top United Nations official.

Yuan gaining currency beyond China
By Russell Hsiao

Since December 2008, China has signed 650 billion yuan (US$95 billion) in currency-swap agreements with Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Argentina and Belarus, in order to promote greater circulation and convertibility of the Chinese currency (also referred to as the renminbi).

China leads solar home revolution
By Ryan Rutkowski

Gazing across the Chinese urban cityscape, one quickly notices many strange tubular devices dotting the rooftops of many residential buildings. These are solar water heaters.

The Age

Rio and Chinalco look to heal rift in Mongolia
JOHN GARNAUT, BEIJIng

RIO Tinto and Chinalco have begun talks about jointly investing in Mongolia, only months after falling out over one of the largest and most acrimonious non-deals in corporate history.