2nd of November 2010
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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China Daily
SPECIAL FEATURE - Anatomy of the currency war
The buzzword "currency war" has been making headlines around the world in recent months since the Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega coined the phrase for the first time in September.
An army of experts and officials declared their thoughts on the issue as more and more economies joined in the intervention over exchange rates. Here we try to map out the cause and developing progress of the episode and work out a possible finale.
China urges US to reduce investment barriers
China backs outbound investment, but questions why obstacles remain
BEIJING - China is encouraging investment into the United States, but is also urging the world's largest economy to improve its investment environment and reduce barriers.
China has so far invested "more than $900 million" in the US non-financial sector, and is encouraging and assisting more domestic enterprises to inject funds "in all areas", Chen Jian, vice-minister of commerce, told a news conference on Monday.
"We have no specific goal (on volume of the investment)", but "we expect the US could improve the investment environment to attract more investment from China, and to strengthen China-US economic relations", he added.
The amount is just a fraction of China's total overseas investment of $56.5 billion in 2009, despite the huge trade volume between the two largest global economies.
Chen said that in the next five years, China's outbound direct investment (ODI) will make huge strides, both in size and quality, and consequently its contribution to GDP growth will rise significantly and boost the nation's global influence as an investor.
While the Chinese government has been urged by the US and some European nations to allow its currency to rise, Chen said ongoing yuan revaluation will have a positive effect on Chinese overseas investment, although he believed currency appreciation will hurt exports.
Kaixin OpEd – That’s an interesting side-effect of appreciating the value of the Yuan. It makes investing overseas more attractive for everyone in China, from the grandmother with a huge nest egg to Government Enterprises.
That huge sucking sound will be ownership of the worlds assets being sucked into China.
That, of course, is the problem with basing your economies on DEBT and not SAVINGS. When it hits the fan, ie: the GFC, the economy based on SAVINGS simply buys up the assets of those where the economy is based on DEBT.
America calls it not playing the game (their game with their rules which they change all the time), China calls it prudent management of their economy.
China multinational firms seek to upgrade international operations
Chinese multinationals need to up their game. That was the key message at a seminar to improve the international performance of mainland firms which attracted a whole host of CFOs, consultants and foreign representatives.
Held as part of the 14th China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, it looked at the problems arising from the rising overseas direct investment (ODI) of Chinese multinational companies and solutions that can improve operations and maximize profit.
"There is no doubt about the contribution by Chinese ODI to the government through taxation, but the benefits also include the creation of value in the areas they have invested in," said Cao Hongying, Deputy Head of the Foreign Investment Department. Cao also said that ODI by Chinese firms in the first half of this year had reached $50 million.
Diaoyu are sovereign: Beijing
BEIJING - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday strongly reprimanded Tokyo for its assertion that China is at fault for a maritime collision near the Diaoyu Islands in September, saying the fact is that Japan has no right to disturb or harass Chinese vessels in Chinese territorial waters.
It is illegal for the Japanese authorities to seize Chinese fishing ships in waters around the Diaoyu Islands, which have been part of China since ancient times, the ministry's spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a press release on the website.
The Japanese move "seriously infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty and legal rights of the Chinese fishermen. The so-called footage cannot change the facts, nor can it cover the illegality of the Japanese move," said the document.
Sustained growth difficult to achieve
Significant progress has been made in providing healthcare, education
BEIJING - The rapid pace of urbanization in China has left cities challenged by air pollution, shortages of energy and water resources, and limited space for growth, according to a report released on Monday.
China's president reaffirms support to UN
BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday vowed continued support for the work of the United Nations and its chief, and pledged unswerving efforts to promote the building of a peaceful and harmonious world.
China adopts zero tolerance toward academic fraud
Fuzhou - China aims to become an innovative country by 2020 and will not tolerate any academic fabrication, falsification or plagiarism, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang said on Monday.
China will raise academic conduct, improve credibility and gradually develop moral standards in society, Wan said in a speech at the annual meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology.
His speech gave hints about the blueprint for China's scientific and technological development during the period of 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the country's agenda for economic and social development.
The country has adopted an attitude of zero tolerance toward any acts of academic corruption and fraud, he said.
If academic misconduct in the past is uncovered, it will be harshly dealt with in the present.
List of forced demolition cases grows longer
BEIJING - China's list of violent and bloody home demolitions gained two new entries on Saturday, as a man set himself on fire in protest in Northeast China and another man in North China was beaten to death after he refused to move out.
Cui Dexi, a 56-year-old man from Mishan city of Heilongjiang province, set himself alight on Saturday morning during a conflict with about 100 local officials, policemen and housing developers who wanted to demolish Cui's house for a real estate project.
Cui was not sent to hospital for more than one hour after he set himself on fire, his family said, adding that he might lose the use of both hands.
Cui's son-in-law, Hou Jinlong, said more than 100 people, most not in uniform, burst into their house on Saturday morning as ambulances and fire engines waited outside.
"It was about 7 am, we found the house was filled with people. They even set a police cordon around the nine houses not demolished yet in the neighborhood," Hou told China Daily on Monday over the phone. "They came to demolish the house."
However, the local city government said the people went to negotiate with the Cui family, not to demolish the house. The government said nine households have refused to move out because they are not satisfied with the compensation deal, which for Cui's family is 600,000 yuan ($89,800).
A publicity official surnamed Chen told China Daily that the area where Cui lives is mostly old houses and in 2008 the local government invited about 15 real estate developers to rebuild the area. The nine families who have refused to leave, out of 45 households in the community, want more compensation than offered.
Kaixin OpEd – A vexed issue. Just who do you believe?
If the owners had been offered fair compensation then they put themselves in harms way. It is well known that when patience wears thin, officials can get very handed in China. Combine that with a development company with debts to service then you have all the elements for conflict.
This is one area where a clear rule of law should apply. Compensation should be fair, but after that the owners should have a defined time to vacate, enforced by the courts.
Chinese lacking scientific literacy
Knowledge crucial to development and stability
Fuzhou, Fujian - Only 3.27 percent of Chinese people have basic scientific literacy, which signifies a failure to keep pace with developed countries, according to a report by the China Association for Science and Technology.
Han Qide, president of the association, released the findings of the report at the group's 12th annual meeting. It was the eighth survey that China has conducted on the subject since 1992.
US says won't solve currency dispute at G20
WASHINGTON - The United States said on Monday it does not foresee China bowing to pressure over its yuan currency during a Group of 20 summit in Seoul, playing down expectations for major progress on global economic imbalances.
A US official said they do not expect the currency issue to be solved once and for all in Seoul. "This is part of an ongoing effort," Michael Froman, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters.
President Hu greets UN chief Ban Ki-moon
BEIJING - China will continue in its unremitting efforts to promote enduring peace and common prosperity for a more harmonious world, President Hu Jintao said during his meeting with visiting United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday.
Hu commended Ban for his great accomplishments to improve the UN's work and promote international cooperation and world peace since taking office.
In appreciation of what the UN chief has done, "China will, as it has always done, support and coordinate with the work of UN and the Secretary-General, and make unremitting efforts to promote enduring peace and common prosperity of a harmonious world," Hu told Ban, who is on a five-day official visit to China.
China, Russia oil pipeline starts trial operation
BEIJING - Russia's crude oil started flowing into China through a pipeline linking Russia's far east to China's northeast as the two countries began testing the pipeline Monday evening.
Kaixin OpEd – Kaixin has long opined that Russian and China are natural allies. If you combine the natural resources of Russia with the energy of China the potential is truly enormous.
It is interesting that this piece of news has gone un-reported in the ‘west’.
Chinese auto sector gears up
Authorities move to boost sector with latest guidelines on M&A
BEIJING - Chinese authorities are pushing ahead with reforms for the country's automobile industry to leverage its increasingly important position in the global market.
The lure of the silver screen looms ever larger
China's cinema market has developed at an unprecedented speed, fueled by media companies establishing new cinemas to bring an increasing number of dramas to the silver screen.
China Daily Special Feature - Videos capturing special moments at Expo
Interesting comments by Noam Chomsky on China:
Chinese Zodiac
Jewellry
Global Times
Epic census launched
Census takers record information at a household in Lianxin village of Tengchong county, Southwestern Yunnan Province
Japan's nationalism leads Asia astray
Asia is witnessing an overflow of nationalism. Disputes over a few islands in the western Pacific will probably shift East Asia's attention from cooperation to antagonism.
Japan is setting a bad example in this process.
In modern history, Japan was the first to awake in Asia as a naval power. Excessive expansion brought Japan not only its earliest modernization, but also catastrophes like the two atomic bombs dropped on it in 1945. It was actions by world powers, led by the US in mid-20th century, that deterred Japan's expansion and led to its relatively cramped territory.
Since World War II, Japan has not seriously reflected on itself. Instead, its national sense of tragedy has been accumulating. Japan now has territorial conflicts with its various maritime neighbors, and all the controversies over those islands stemmed from the redrawing of boundaries after World War II.
It's a pity that the Japanese have not yet walked out of that war, and got rid of the narrow nationalism that once deeply influenced their fate. Even today, the nation still worships Class-A war criminals at the Yasukuni Shrine.
In the late 20th century, contentions over islands in East Asia gradually became intense, which was largely stirred up by Japan.
It takes understanding and sincerity in demarcating territorial boundaries. China has settled disputes over Heixiazi Island with Russia through negotiations, and delimited all the land frontiers with its neighbors except India. Similar negotiations are not likely to take place in Japan.
Japan's long tradition of nationalism has easily captured successive administrations in modern history. The Japanese government and many intellectuals have been loyal to this tradition.
Japan's nationalism has stimulated the growth of nationalistic feelings on the Asian continent. It has also stirred up hurt feelings over issues like visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, revising history textbooks and islands disputes.
Just like a counterforce accompanying any force, Japan's nationalism will overwhelm itself. The public always has a reason to demonstrate and the politicians are always tub-thumping.
But this doesn't change the growth pattern in other Eastern countries.
China is developing rapidly and other Asian countries are persistently emerging, while Japan's nationalism helped create more IOUs for its declining economy.
The growing nationalism is like a shovel, and we don't know whether we can finally dig a grave or a vegetable cellar with the shovel. Therefore, we'd better not deepen the hole.
The Japanese seem quite passionate and vigorous in brandishing the shovel, which has brought a sense of crisis in this region. It's indeed time to have a break.
Maehara, a foreign or defense minister?
A tie-mending summit meeting between Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan was canceled shortly before it took place on Friday in Hanoi.
The seemingly recovering Sino-Japanese ties have suffered a new blow.
The one to blame is Japan's newly appointed foreign minister, Seiji Maehara.
It may be better to call Maehara a defense minister rather than a foreign minister. He has been hawkish at the East Asia Summit in Vietnam, wholesaling his strong rhetoric.
Apparently, Kan has chosen the wrong guy to represent Japan in international relations. The young and promising new-generation politician proved to be more like a political extremist than a diplomat.
Since Maehara became Japan's foreign minister in mid-September, the conflict between China and Japan has become even worse than during the first few days after the collision between the Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coastguard vessels.
If the initial conflict was only an unexpected "accident," the situation now has evolved into a major territorial dispute between the two countries.
Maehara's right-wing comments have reduced Japan's diplomatic flexibility to zero.
Kaixin OpEd - Which shrine does Maehara worship at?? Nanking
Dialogue - A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
Inclusive growth of next five years
Beijing vows to keep a lower but steady GDP growth rate in the next five-year plan. The blueprint is compared to a more sustainable strategy of inclusive development.
The consensus is generated at a landmark conference of the Chinese communist party that comes to a very fruitful conclusion on Monday. The strong visible hand of the central government has helped bail out a big continental economy in times of financial meltdown.
But is the Chinese mode of development healthy enough to sustain a sizable economy that will be based more on its domestic consumption and environmentally friendly manufacturing? How shall we examine the sense of global responsibility for China as its economy continues to pull the world economy out of recession?
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The Wall Street Journal - China RealTime Report
Picture China, Shanghai Special: Expo No More - Slideshow
Images from the last day of the Shanghai Expo: Ban Ki-Moon, “Pavilion Hats,” Haibao gets funky and more.
The Wall Street Journal
Pictures of China
Slideshows
A Speedbump in China’s Consumption Boom?
With China’s economy apparently rebounding to vigorous growth in recent months, market worries about a slowdown have receded. But there’s still one part of the picture that is showing some unusual weakness: consumer spending.
Now Boarding – Tokyo to Taipei - VIDEO
As China and Japan continue to trade jabs in the latest diplomatic tiff between East Asia’s two largest economies, Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flew to Taiwan yesterday on the first direct flight from Tokyo in 30 years.
China Gives Hong Kong a Yuan Investor License
SHANGHAI—China's securities regulator said it approved an application from Hong Kong's de facto central bank for a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor license, which would allow the territory to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves into the Chinese yuan.
The New York Times
Looking for Investments, China Turns Toward Europe
As China puts money into infrastructure projects and buys European government debt, it is also looking for friends in disputes over currency and world trade.
I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
Two Among Many
Southeast Asian states share a common agenda: how to manage China's rapid rise and America's slow decline.
Caixin Online
It is far from obvious whether democratic India has an advantage in the economic growth race over autocratic China
The Economist in its October 2-8 issue has a cover page with the title: "How India's growth will outpace China's." One of the main reasons they give for this claim in their leader on this topic is that India is democratic while China is autocratic. The other is that India has higher birth rates, and hence a younger population. Both arguments can be questioned, although I concentrate my discussion on whether democracies favor economic growth.
China's Manufacturing Expands in October
Inflationary pressure will continue to mount and future interest rate hikes are likely
(Beijing)-- China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) in October rose to 54.7 percent from 53.6 percent in September, beating market expectations. It also marked the 20th straight month of expansion, according to data released by the China Confederation of Logistics and Purchasing on Monday.
China Tightens First-Time Home Mortgages
First-time home buyers will enjoy less favorable rates in mortgage loans from November 1
(Beijing) -- First-time home buyers will have a maximum 15 percent discount on interest rates in mortgage loans from November onwards. The 30 percent discount, offered from 2008 until last month to stimulate the then-flagging property market, was revoked by the China Banking Regulatory Commission this week.
The move followed a September 29 measure banning mortgages to households who buy a third home, indicating the government's resolve to curb the increasingly soaring housing prices. China's property prices have risen to a level which ordinary households cannot afford.
Purchasers of second apartments have to pay 110 percent of interest rates from April, with a down payment as 50 percent of total prices.
See Kaixin's 'China Real Estate'
China Warns of Coming Power Shortages
Southwestern and Central China may be hit with electricity shortages due to weather conditions and a slow down in the expansion of power generation capacities
(Beijing) -- Several regions in Southwestern and Central China are likely to face short-term power shortages during the coming winter and the following spring, affected by factors such as extreme temperatures, according to the country's top economic planner.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a third quarter press release for the power industry that during the first nine months this year, China's power industry has shown stable performance with supply and demand remaining balanced.
But the commission warned of a possible electricity shortage in parts of the country at the end of this year and early next year, due to the slow down in power generation growth and weather factors.
Why Paint Buildings a China Shade of Green?
Experts say environmentally friendly buildings in China should receive domestic, not American, certification
The China World III office and hotel tower, Beijing's tallest building, expects to receive a distinguished award by year's end: an international certificate for conserving energy and other "green" accomplishments.
But many experts would rather see the 74-story skyscraper stamped with a badge of approval from a domestic architectural institution rather than an LEED Gold certificate from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
China May Impose Resource Tax on Coal
Coal companies have begun preparing for a new tax which is likely to be launched by the end of the year
China may start to tax coal by 3 to 5 percent based on prices as part of the country's resource tax reform, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
According to a report from Economic Information Daily, run by Xinhua News Agency, major coal producers including Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Group and Shenhua Group have been actively preparing for the new tax. The report cited industry analysts as saying that the resource tax reform is ready to be launched on a broader scale in China and the levy of a resource tax on coal will be necessary.
Sources from Xishan Coal and Shenhua said that the companies are prepared to see the tax implemented within the year.
The Age
Australia looks for a way
John Garnaut
AS FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd returns to Beijing today he has been holding up his "third way" of dealing with China as an example for the rest of the world.
"There is an unfortunate polarisation, internationally, of the view on China,'' he told visiting journalists from Caixin.
''One is that in any international engagement with China, you should always be so polite, that nothing of substance is said of the real things which are problems.
Kaixin OpEd – Kaixin has quietly argued all along that the way to engage China is with respect and quiet determination.
China is called the Middle Kingdom.
One of the characteristics of the Chinese way of thinking is finding the middle way.
Like every nation, they do not respond well to weakness, particularly when that weakness is manifest in not saying clearly where you stand.
China certainly does not respond to aggression.
China’s experiences of colonialism, and the 20th century, where it was raped and pillaged by Japan, then surrounded and isolated by America have gone deep into the Chinese psyche.
A miss-conception of the ‘west’, bought about by arrogance, is that when the ‘west’ does state clearly where they stand on an issue China should meekly agree and acquiesce.
China does not have to do that any more, nor will it.
The peaceful middle way is all that is logically left if the world is to engage with China in a mature way.
Of course there is no simple way of doing this. The issues are complex, the societies different.
However with respect and quiet determination on both sides progress will be made.
Asia Times Online
China expands reach in East Europe
By Antoaneta Becker
Old communist comradeship is being remembered in Eastern Europe as China expands its economic and political presence in former Soviet bloc countries. German claims that unfair subsidies are part of that growing friendship are just sour grapes, say the Chinese.
A revolt of sorts in Vietnam
By The Hanoist
The Vietnamese government faces renewed opposition to plans for a US$15.6 billion bauxite mining project, with environmentalists gaining fresh backing in the wake of the toxic spill last month in Hungary. They are also finding allies among National Assembly members and Communist Party luminaries, concerned about the Chinese role in the project.
Shanghai revels in its coming-out party
By John Parker
Shanghai's Expo 2010 has closed after six months having enthralled millions with its hundreds of wildly diverse attractions, although jaw-dropping queues and boiling summer weather detracted from the experience for some. Overall, the Expo represented both a coming-out party for the new Shanghai and a significant milestone in the globalization of China itself.
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