29th September 09

The New York Times

No Detail Overlooked for Celebration in China

BEIJING — Domesticated pigeons of this city, take note: Until Oct. 1, you are prohibited by government edict from flying over the center of China’s capital.

World Bank Head Sees Dollar’s Role Diminishing

WASHINGTON — The president of the World Bank said on Monday that America’s days as an unchallenged economic superpower might be numbered and that the dollar was likely to lose its favored position as the euro and the Chinese renminbi assume bigger roles.

In China Quake Analysis, Insight Into Devastation

The 2008 earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people in Sichuan Province in China was especially devastating in three towns — Beichuan, Nanba and Yingxiu. In Yingxiu, nearly two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants were killed, while in Beichuan, more than one-quarter of the population of about 20,000 died.

Chinese Bond Sale Tests Global Demand

China started selling yuan-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong for the first time on Monday, testing international demand for its currency with the $879 million issue as it moves to widen the yuan’s exposure and appeal to markets abroad.

The Australian

China's wind farms bring coal plants

CHINA'S ambition to create "green cities" powered by huge wind farms comes with a dirty little secret: Dozens of new coal-fired power plants need to be installed as well. Part of the reason is that wind power depends on, well, the wind. To safeguard against blackouts when conditions are too calm, officials have turned to coal-fired power as a backup.

The Sydney Morning Herald

US panic at China's new ship killer

The father of China's modernisation, Deng Xiaoping, gave his colleagues a famous piece of advice: "Hide your strength, bide your time, and do what you can." China's leaders have kept to Deng's advice, modernising at breakneck speed without calling too much attention to the Middle Kingdom's gathering power.