17th of December 2010
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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China Daily
China-India trade target set at $100b
EW DELHI - China and India vowed on Thursday to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015, from $60 billion in 2010, and called for a stronger partnership between Asia's two giants.
"I believe with our joint efforts ... we'll be able to raise our friendship and cooperation to a high level in the new century," said Premier Wen Jiabao, standing alongside Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Indian presidential palace after a red-carpet welcome ceremony.
n response to Wen's remarks, before they started their formal meeting, Singh said a strong partnership between India and China "will contribute to long-term peace, stability, prosperity and development in Asia and the world".
A joint communiqu issued after the talks between Wen and Singh said the two nations will formalize regular visits between heads of state and government, open a telephone hotline between the two premiers and their foreign ministers will meet once a year.
The two sides agreed to initiate a strategic economic dialogue to enhance macro-economic policy coordination.
The two leaders also set the ambitious goal of bilateral trade reaching $100 billion in 2015, and announced the year 2012 as "Year of China-India Exchanges".
China is India's largest trade partner and the trade has been heavily in China's favor.
Wen: Patience needed to resolve boundary question
NEW DELHI -- The China-India boundary question is a "historical legacy" and its resolution requires patience, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech delivered Thursday at the Indian Council of World Affairs.
"It will not be easy to completely resolve this question. It requires patience and will take a fairly long period of time," Wen said.
"Only with sincerity, mutual trust and perseverance can we eventually find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution," he added.
China targets foreign trade 'balancing'
BEIJING - Against a backdrop of a high trade surplus and protectionist measures targeting China strengthening, China is committed to "balancing" foreign trade through "stabilizing" exports and "boosting" imports over the next five years, the minister of commerce said.
"There are uncertainties in global economic prospects (over the next five years), but China has no choice but to go ahead," Commerce Minister Chen Deming said.
The ministry's five-year plan will focus on "making foreign trade more balanced and improving the quality of goods for export by way of innovation", he said.
Chen's remarks are in line with the outcome of the recent three-day Central Economic Work Conference, in which the State Council pointed out that China will continue to stabilize and develop external demand, promote imports, and add value to exports.
China, US announce series of trade agreements
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration said Wednesday that two days of talks with a high-level delegation from China produced results that should benefit US companies ranging from manufacturers of computer software and wind turbines to beef producers.
The agreements touched on areas that have been the source of sharp discord between the two nations, and which a series of US administrations have failed to resolve.
Sino-Japan ties show signs of improvement: FM
BEIJING -- Sino-Japanese relations have shown signs of improvement and development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday.
Jiang made the comment at a regular news briefing, attributing the improved ties to "the many meetings and contacts" between Chinese and Japanese leaders at multilateral occasions and the important consensuses they had reached.
After a ship collision soured the bilateral ties, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan had briefly met in Hanoi ahead of the East Asian Summit and on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels.
"Attaching great importance to the bilateral relations, China is willing to work with Japan to promote the mutually strategic relationship to new highs," Jiang said.
Both sides should act in accordance with the principles of the four political documents, and maintain the healthy and stable development of the relationship, she said.
The four political documents, namely the China-Japan Joint Statement on Comprehensively Advancing Strategic and Reciprocal Relations, the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, serve as the bedrock for developing friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
China again calls for Six-Party Talks
BEIJING -- China on Thursday again called for a restart of the Six-Party Talks, saying parties involved in the dialogue should strive to bring it back on track.
Diplomacy goes on for DPRK-ROK tensions
China continues to push for a new round of talks as hostilities run high
BEIJING - State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with United States Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on Thursday afternoon, seeking to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid increased fears of war.
"I am glad to meet you here in Beijing," said Dai, who returned last week for talks in Pyongyang with its top leader Kim Jong-il.
He was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying that he believed Steinberg had conducted candid talks with senior Chinese diplomats on bilateral ties and the Korean Peninsula issue.
Chinese become less satisfied: Research
Chinese people have become less satisfied with their lives, according to the Blue Book of China's Society 2010 issued by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
It also shows in 2010, urban residents were more concerned about their life after retirement; meanwhile, rural residents are less optimistic that their income will increase or their living condition will improve.
According to the book, for the past three years, personal financial situations have been the most influential factor in determining how urban Chinese feel about their lives. For rural Chinese, employment status became the top influence this year.
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA'S SOCIETY & CULTURE
China's navy takes charge on the high seas
This was just one of the 666 vessels that frigate Chaohu has escorted in its 276-day mission in the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast.
By October this year, Chinese convoys have rescued 26 ships and escorted 3,736 others since they joined the international mission in December 2008, official statistics show.
Designed and made in China, the frigate Chaohu created a record among the Chinese convoys for conducting missions for the longest periods of time while escorting the largest number of ships - both from China and other nations.
Cambodia welcomes more Chinese investment: PM
NANJING - Cambodia welcomes more investment from East China's Jiangsu province, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday.
Hun Sen, who is paying a five-day visit in China, made the remarks when meeting with Luo Zhijun, secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in Nanjing, provincial capital of Jiangsu.
As an economic power of China, Jiangsu province has made great contribution in getting China out of the global financial crisis. Cambodia has benefited from the fast development of Chinese economy including that of Jiangsu province, Hun Sen said.
China commemorates Nanjing Massacre victims
See Kaixin's - Nanking, Nanking
Snowfall sweeps many parts of China
Heavy snow blankets the road outside the Galongla Tunnel in Bome county, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.
The Galongla Tunnel, built at an altitude of 3,750 meters, is a highway tunnel that links Tibet's Metok county to the outside world. It took more than two years to complete the construction. The highway is scheduled to open in 2011. Metok county, with a population of 11,000, is China's last county with no highway link.
For investors, glamorous bounty lies in looted treasures
Chinese nouveau riche join the hunt for 'safe' status symbols. Cheng Yingqi in Beijing reports.
Yet, although patriotism is playing a part in this hunt to recapture looted treasures, experts say the majority of buyers are in fact more interested in the investment potential of ancient works - and the glamour.
"Buying looted artwork has become high-street fashion among China's elite, especially in the past year," said Zhao Xu, director of Poly International Auction Co Ltd.
No official figure exists for the number of looted artworks bought back by rich Chinese, yet industry insiders say the market is booming.
In the past 13 months, at least 16 Chinese antiques have sold for more than 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) at domestic and overseas auctions - almost four times the total number between 2005 and 2009.
"As artworks inside China are rare, more are setting their sights on looted artwork abroad," explained Zhao.
Artifacts seldom go under the hammer on the Chinese mainland, with most already on display at museums nationwide.
A host introduces one of nine ancient bronze relics returned to China from abroad during a show in Beijing on Mar 20. The set cost a total of 300 million yuan to buy at auction.
'People first' governance bears fruits
BEIJIN - Thirty-three-year-old Wang Binglang, a laid-off worker in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, felt much relieved following positive changes in his life during the past two years.
Wang's family moved into a new apartment two years ago.
Such apartments were specially built by property developers and sold at affordable prices to low-income families in the country at the demand of the Chinese government. They are much less expensive than other apartments in the market, as their developers are only allowed to gain marginal profits from them.
His 8-year-old son now goes to a school near their apartment, and all three family members are covered by the country's medical care insurance.
"The sound housing, schooling and medical care arrangements are very reassuring for a small vendor like me," he said.
The Chinese government has been increasingly attending to ordinary people's lives and rights in recent years.
China published its first working plan on human rights in 2009, pledging to further protect and improve human rights conditions.
As a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion, China must give priority to the protection of the people's rights to subsistence and development, such as the rights to employment, education, medical and old-age care and housing, the plan stressed.
In 2009, the Chinese government began a three-year healthcare reform program designed to provide universal healthcare services, especially iThe government chipped in more funds into the sector, channeling 13.8 billion yuan ($2.07 billion) to medical and health care in 2006, while the central budgetary spending on the sector rocketed to 138.92 billion yuan in 2010.
The government input on education has also been on the rise for years. The central government invested 53.6 billion yuan into education in 2006, while the central budgetary spending on the sector jumped to 215.99 billion yuan in 2010.
"China has been upgrading its concept for development. If we forget our goal of development is the happiness of the people, such development is only unilateral, which neglects human rights," said Zhang Xiaoling, director of the human rights research center of the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
Zhang Xianguo, a 46-year-old citizen in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, received 200 yuan as a subsidy on Thursday.
The Jiangsu provincial government has introduced a system to issue subsidies to low-income groups when the commodity price hike hits a set limit.
The local government activated the system twice in July and November this year, with various levels of governments in the region allocating nearly 200 million yuan as a subsidy.
"The subsidy comes just in time. It can bail my family out," Zhang said.
The CPC Central Committee proposed guidelines in October for mapping out a blueprint for China's development over the next five years .
The proposal pledges intensified protection of human rights in the country.
The "fundamental end" of economic transformation was to improve people's lives, which could only be achieved by giving priority to job creation, providing equal public services to every citizen and stepping up reform of the income distribution system, the proposal says.
Liu Jie, director of the human rights research center of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences said, as the largest developing country in the world, China has never ceased to promote modernization and progress in human rights.
"The development of human rights cannot be achieved overnight. Any opinion that expects China to improve all of its human rights conditions overnight is unpractical or made with ulterior motives," Liu said.n the less-developed rural areas, and cut expenditures. (Published in full because of its importance).
Kaixin OpEd - A seminal article if you want to understand China's socialsim and also how it will unlock savings and encourage consumption.
Why is in so important in Kaixin's opinion?
Because Deng Xiaoping’s exhortation ‘to be rich is glorious’ was seen as socialist China’s capitulation to capitalism.
This was a mistake.
The full quote has to be seen in context.
‘Poverty is not socialism, to be rich is glorious.’
Deng sought to use capitalism to create wealth, which could then be used to achieve socialist ends.
The ‘west’ in its usual hurry enjoy pointing out the faults in China, the inevitable cracks that come with such a rapid economic and social transformation.
Deng’s first objective was always clear, in Kaixin’s opinion: the creation of wealth for China.
China has gone a long way to achieving that objective. Helped not a little by the impatience, greed and sloth of the ‘west’ seeking a free ride and worshiping at the shrine of lucre, with the economist handmaidens rushing about trying to look wise.
It all ended in tears of course, and China is using its wealth to pick up some of the more tasty morsels.
It is also starting to use its wealth for socialist ends: a fairer, equitable and more just society.
The first thirty years were used to focus on wealth creation. Thirty years is but a sneeze for a dragon. There is now plenty of time to consolidate that wealth base and use it for socialist ends.
Capitalism with Chinese characteristics.
See Kaixin’s – ‘ Poverty is not Socialism, to be Rich is Glorious’
VIDEO - Interview with US think tank
The United States and China are at a point to establish a new collaborative relationship to deal with the possible conflicts emerging between the two big economies which happen to be two big militaries in the world, said US think tank analysts during interview by China Daily.
Kaixin OpEd - Well worth seeing
Para Games opening ceremony performance
A world of beauty and care, depicted by outreached hands, is highlighted during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Asian Para Games at the Aoti Main Stadium in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Sunday night.
Games of humanity starts
GUANGZHOU - It was not all about spectacle or splendor at the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Para Games on Sunday night - humanity stole the show.
Emotional scenes throughout the ceremony were the real highlights instead of the traditional attraction of fireworks and the illuminated background.
Zhang Lixin (R) andZhang Haiyuan cooperate to pass torch during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA
A brilliant multi-media presentation on how the world sees China, concentrating on one country at a time.
Vote for China's Top 10 Cultural Events in 2010
China's Economy by Numbers
Top 10 New Investment Ideas in China
Special Coverage: Beijing, I have a dream
A special coverage on people’s dreams in Beijing under its This is Beijing program, and this is the third part of five people's dreams.
The 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference
Green Living Top 10
Global Times
There is room for two ambitious Asian giants 
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao begins his three-day official visit to India Wednesday with a huge trade delegation of more than 300 businesspeople. As two emerging Asian powers, China and India now face a new opportunity to dissolve misgivings and build mutual trust in a pragmatic way.
Days ahead of Wen's visit, some Indian media outlets listed various problems between the two powers. The timing and tone of displaying these problems was however inappropriate. The subtext in the Indian media is not optimistic. It would be more appropriate to pursue mutual interests by taking a more positive stance.
It is not easy to solve problems and conflicts between the two countries. However, is there an alternative to building good neighborly and friendly relationships? Probably not. As two Asian powers with vast territories, neither country could bear strategic confrontation, nor could the entire region. More benefits would come to both countries by solving problem, rather than expanding and focusing on conflict.
From China's perspective, strategic calculations are not in conflict with the goodwill of boosting friendship with India. The problem is that India's public mentality toward this relationship is relatively complicated.
Some Indian people applaud the notion that Asia is slowly growing into an "arc of freedom and prosperity," while others propose to create a triangle of interests among India, China and the US.
Both countries need to further understand each other's diplomatic interests. The countries should work together instead of forming blocs to segregate each other. The bottom line is that each should practically demonstrate goodwill to consolidate the friendship.
Neither China nor India should impose its own requirements on the other country. Both countries should further understand each other's interests and concerns, and properly address existing divergences.
Fundamentally speaking, tolerance is needed in the relationship between the two countries. Both China and India should accept that there is a neighbor running next to it at a rapid pace, rather than being suspicious about each other's achievements. Each should see its partner's success as stimulating and encouraging, rather than a slap in the face.
With a positive mentality, there are actually no haunting barriers between the two countries.
After all, Asia is big enough to accommodate the ambitions of both emerging powers.
Trade to top Wen's India trip
Premier Wen Jiabao begins his three-day visit to India Wednesday, a trip that will revolve around the inking of multi-billion-dollar deals in several important sectors.
Who wins the Dragon-elephant contention?
Many Westerners are asking, who will be the next Asian leader? Will it be the Chinese dragon or the Indian elephant? Their discussions of the dragon-elephant contention have polluted mutual observation between China and India.
The rise of China and India has an inevitable context: a world dominated by the West. No matter whether the two emerging powers like it or not, Western interests will exert profound impact on each of their choices.
It is strange that the contention between China and India is especially singled out. What do they contend for? A faster GDP growth rate? Favor of the West? China is not interested. A more correct development model? This is more like a trap set by the US and Europe against China.
Contention over their borders is real. However, both countries don't want to resort to military force on this issue.
Compared to promoting prosperity, the border disputes are not the most urgent item on either country's agenda.
Both countries endeavor to build a strong economy, whereas neither thinks about hegemony in Asia. Both are seeking further modernization and first-class civil livelihood.
Senseless comparisons between China and India are not meaningful in either country.
Nevertheless, such comparison does exist in both countries, and India is especially excited on this. Some Indian opinions that smear China, in turn, have sparked passionate reaction among the Chinese public.
The so-called dragon-elephant contention mainly exists at the social level in the two nations, and some impulsive words appear quite ludicrous. Nevertheless, both governments generally hold steady and levelheaded attitudes.
India and China have a similar self-identity: a big developing nation. At times, India claims itself as the biggest democratic nation in the world. But in reality, India's key international interests are closely related to its former identity. For instance, it clearly knows its own stand on how to distribute its responsibility toward global climate change, how to combat trade protectionism, and whether to limit US financial privilege or not.
The title of "the biggest democratic nation" looks like a glass of red wine enjoyed together by India and the West. But it doesn't generate anything substantial that is of India's national interests.
With a huge population and much work left to be done in developing the economy, perhaps India won't get too drunk to act superior in front of China, because such superiority will delight India much less than it delights the West.
The dragon-elephant contention is a pseudo-proposition, but a true desire of US and European conservatives. Hopefully both nations will witness a peaceful rise that is good for everyone.
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
60th anniversary of China-India ties; China seeks better ties with India
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of sino-india diplomatic relations. The two countries have made great stress in the bilaterial relations in the past six decades which have been reflected by close cooperation in various fields.
Trade cooperation has made significant growth. Culture exchanges carried out by the two countries in education, tourism, religion, media and sports have grown steadly.
Where are their bilaterial relations are heading and how can their bilaterial relations be mutually benefitial?
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal - China RealTime Report
The Wall Street Journal
Pictures of China
Slideshows
Parsing Wen’s India Diplomatic Schedule
We were impressed that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao managed to slip a visit to a New Delhi school into his India itinerary.
But the rest of Mr. Wen’s schedule seems to mirror what his India visit is really all about: To talk business.
Kaixin OpEd - See Global Times above.
Will China Dance to Indian Tunes?
While Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is in India, one of his main aims is to deepen trade ties so they can provide a counterweight to political relations that can often be shaky as India worries about a neighborhood that may one day be dancing to China’s tune.
Bollywood, of course ...
Don’t Expect Big Movement on Yuan
A big movement in the yuan exchange rate would have a large impact on China’s economic and financial stability next year, so maintaining the basic stability of the yuan exchange rate “is of great significance,” the Chinese central bank-run Financial News said in a commentary Thursday.
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
Electric-Car Maker Fisker Strikes Distribution Deal In China
Fisker Automotive, a maker of high-end electric cars says it entered a partnership with China Grand Automotive Group, or CGA, a large dealership group, to have its vehicles distributed, marketed and serviced in China. The move is part of the company’s strategy to take advantage of China’s rapidly growing luxury-car market and its push to reduce emissions.
Report: China May Be Shifting on Land Use
From redistribution to radical collectivization and back again, massive changes in land use policy have been part and parcel of Chinese politics for the better part of a century. In recent decades, however, the government has been remarkably consistent, holding tight to a land-use policy built around the goal of agricultural self-sufficiency and mandating that any arable land given over to the country’s growing cities be replaced with reclaimed farmland elsewhere.
Rapidly expanding mega-cities like Chongqing have been challenging the central government’s efforts to balance urbanization with agricultural self-sufficiency.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA & INSIGHTS INTO CHINA
PE Firm Invests in China Liquor Chain
Private equity investors are betting China’s hard driving middle class can be convinced to relax and have a drink.
Big Bird to Get Makeover in Mandarin
Can a Chinese cartoon film producer tell Mandarin viewers how to get to Zhi Ma Jie?
Sesame Workshop certainly hopes so.
Taiwan Wrestles With Burgeoning Housing Bubble
Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong aren’t the only cities in the greater China region contending with politically problematic property bubbles. Housing prices are becoming a headache for authorities in Taipei, as well.
India, China Set $100 Billion Trade Target
NEW DELHI—India and China said they aim to lift their annual bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015, more than double the total last fiscal year, illustrating renewed efforts to boost cooperation between the world's two fastest-growing major economies.
Mr. Wen's promises that Beijing will open its large consumer market more to India, which runs a huge trade deficit with China, was welcomed in India.
Seoul Plans Another Drill in Contested Seas
SEOUL—South Korea said Thursday it would test-fire artillery in the next few days from the Yellow Sea island that North Korea attacked last month, in an assertion of its territorial rights and a challenge to Pyongyang's aggression.
China Cracks Down on Shanghai Lending
BEIJING—Shanghai regulators ordered banks in Shanghai, China's financial center, to halt loans for fixed-asset investments—likely affecting construction and property development—for the rest of the year, in a fresh move to contain the flood of credit that has helped accelerate inflation.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
S&P Upgrades China's Credit Rating
BEIJING—Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded China's sovereign-debt rating, citing its large foreign reserves, strong fiscal position and positive growth outlook.
S&P raised its rating on China's sovereign debt to double-A-minus from A-plus, ...
The New York Times
In India, Chinese Leader Pushes Trade
NEW DELHI — China and India set ambitious new economic targets on Thursday by pledging to nearly double their trade in the next five years to $100 billion annually. But the two Asian giants appeared to make little progress on tough geopolitical differences over Pakistan, terrorism and their disputed border.
Caixin Online
U.S.-China Meeting Ends with Progress on Beef Imports
The bilateral trade talks did not cover China's exchange rate policy
(Washington) -- China has agreed to gradually lift the ban on U.S. beef imports and increase the purchase of U.S.-made software in the recently concluded U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade.
China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who led the Chinese delegation, said in Washington that the two sides will carry out an array of cooperation in agriculture, energy, environmental protection and intellectual property rights.
In Villages, Balloting Too Often Turns Bloody
A fight that left two men dead during a Hebei Province village election event was not an isolated incident.
The Age
China gets debt rating upgrade on growth prospects
Standard & Poor’s on Thursday raised China’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to ‘‘AA-’’ from ‘‘A+’’ based on a strong balance sheet and ‘‘exceptional growth prospects’’.
The international debt ratings agency said China’s long-term ratings were stable.
Asia Times Online
Bridging a Himalayan divide
By Sudha Ramachandran 
Beyond Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's weighty political and economic agenda in India lies an important opportunity to banish ugly stereotypes so often displayed in times of Sino-Indian crises. Though separated for a millennium by the Himalayas, the shared experiences and values of the peoples provide more reason to turn to each other than to the West.
Tibetans celebrate Karmapa's anniversary
By Saransh Sehgal
Buddhists around the world have been celebrating the 900th anniversary of the birth of their original reincarnated spiritual leader, the first Karmapa. And Tibetans have been heeding the words of the Karmapa's 17th reincarnation, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who is expected to succeed the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader.
NYT - IHT Business Navigator
Saving Face in China
This is an excerpt from the first in a series of iPhone applications created by the International Herald Tribune to explain the culture and etiquette of major business centers.
When it comes to doing business in China, “respect for people’s feelings is paramount — this sensitivity that needs to be taken in respect to people’s ‘face,’ ” Tom Doctoroff of J. Walter Thompson advertising said.
“Face — a cliché, but it’s so true — is the currency of advancement,” he said. “It’s like a social bank account. You spend it and you save it and you invest. And when you take away somebody’s face you take away someone’s fundamental sense of security.”
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA - Which includes a feature on the 'Culture of Face'
NYT - Puppet Masters Try to Bring Art Out of the Shadows
THE Cui Yongping Shadow Play Art Museum exhibits shadow puppets. Which is like saying the Louvre exhibits paintings.
NYT - Book Review
The Final Conflict
A Stanford historian views the clash between East and West from a long perspective, and argues that we face an immediate choice — East-West cooperation or catastrophe.
NYT - Book Review
Under a Fishbone Clouds
In Sam Meekings’s fable-like first novel, a couple’s devotion is tested during Mao’s Cultural Revolution and beyond.
China, 1946: the Japanese occupation is over, and the people of Fushun are wondering when prosperity will return. But 16-year-old Yuying is anticipating the answer to her own big question — what her new husband will be like.
WSJ - A 546-Million-Ton Elephant in China’s Grain Silo
Jaw-dropping as this new record is, however, it also invites a fair bit of chin scratching.
The sustainability, or not, of China’s grain output matters because a shift in just a few percentage points in the country’s grain demand or output means millions of tons of shipments diverted from other parts of the world.
Kaixin OpEd - An important 'canary in the cage' article.
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