3rd March 2010

The Lion Awakes 

News at a Glance

今天的中国新闻

A compilation of Headlines + Brief Summary from Chinese & International Publications relating to China.

Just 5 Minutes each day to be up-to-date on the News of China

Combined with Kaixin’s boutique SITE SEARCH ENGINE, it is a unique source of knowledge about China"

China News Archive

From 2008

China Daily

New rules to control housing prices on the way

The Chinese government is preparing much stricter rules to stabilize housing prices, and the annual meetings of China's top legislature (NPC) and top advisory body (CPPCC) starting this week may become a turning point for the real estate market, Shanghai Securities News reported.

China's watchdogs on banks, securities and land resources may act together to curb rising home prices and issue much stricter rules on mortgage loans, taxes, financing for listed companies, land surpply and use, the newspaper said.

The government's efforts to control housing prices in the past months decreased only the volume of sales in some cities, but prices remained firm. According to statistics, housing prices in 70 major cities increased 9.5 percent year-on-year in January.

Kaixin - China is moving to stabilize housing prices. Housing is a key measure of security for society. Note the methods include stricter rules for doling out credit. If the U.S had done that, instead of letting loose the Wall Street dogs of greed, then there probably, certainly, would not have been the debacle that is the Great Financial Crisis.

Beijing property value down 15.5% in February

Beijing's property market cooled down in February, with a nearly 40 percent decline in trade volume from the previous month, as the government tries to stabilize the feverish real estate sector, Beijing News reported Tuesday.

Beijing to invest $1.5b in Tibet environment

The Chinese central government will allocate a further investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) by the end of 2015 to help protect and preserve the ecological environments in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinhua reported Tuesday.

The southwest plateau inland, with its nature reserve sprawling over 413,700 square kilometers, is a haven for at least 125 wild animal species and 39 wild plant species that are on the national protection list.

From 2001 to 2009, the Chinese central government has committed 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) to environmental preservation in Tibet, said Zhang Yongze, the region's environment bureau chief.

China urges US to respect its core interests

BEIJING - A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman urged the United States to respect its core interests while commenting on a trip to China by two senior US diplomats on Tuesday.

"We urge the US to earnestly observe the principles laid down in the three Sino-US joint communiques and their joint statement, respect China's core interests and properly handle sensitive issues, so as to push the relations back to the normal track," said spokesman Qin Gang at a regular press conference.

China is not to blame for the current difficult situation, Qin said, urging the US to take China's interests and concerns seriously.

The foreign ministry said the US side proposed the visit and China then accepted it.

CPPCC calls for less containment in Sino-US ties

BEIJING: There should be more cooperation and less containment in Sino-U.S. relations, which suffered a "spring chill" at the beginning of 2010, said a spokesman for China's top political advisory body here Tuesday.

Zhao said since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, the China-U.S. relations had developed rapidly with the volume of bilateral trade expanding more than 100 times as well as a lot of cultural, political and economic exchanges, which benefited both sides.

Urban-rural income gap widest since reform

Experts warn disparity will continue to expand if govt fails to act soon

BEIJING: China recorded its widest rural-urban income gap last year since the country launched its reform and opening-up policy in 1978.

Chi Fulin, president of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development, urged the government to unveil an overall program to double people's income within five years. He said that in the post-crisis era, China must primarily resort to domestic consumption, instead of investment and foreign trade to keep its economy on the fast track.

"To boost domestic consumption, I am urgently expecting the government to announce a program to double people's per capita income in five years," said Chi, who is a member of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He will submit the proposal to the annual session this week.

Super-rich have craze for luxuries

Chinese mainland among world's top buyers of expensive goods

Beijing: A private jet will set you back $20 million, not including the nearly $2 million a year needed to maintain it, but the expense is not enough to stop China's super-rich from acquiring such a "luxurious toy" - along with a slew of other luxury items.

China has 825,000 individuals worth more than 10 million yuan and 51,000 individuals with more than 100 million yuan, according to Hurun, a research company that has tracked China's rich and famous for 11 years.

The company found 57 percent of these multi-millionaires spend between 1 million and 3 million yuan a year, and another 18 percent spend more than 3 million yuan a year - and their biggest expenditure is luxury goods.

According to Meng, most luxury goods they buy are gifts.

The Wall Street Journal    China RealTime Report

Expect the Expected: Wen to Lay Out Targets

Premier Wen Jiabao will lay out China’s 2010 economic blueprint Friday to open the annual session of the National People’s Congress, putting on the record key economic targets for the year.

Few surprises are expected.

CPPCC Spokesman Waxes Metaphorical on U.S.-China Ties, Google

At a press conference Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s opening of the CPPCC, Zhao rolled out not one, not two, but three different winners from his analogy bag to describe the recent impasse in U.S.-China relations, then managed to fire off another metaphorical zinger at Google over its threat to pull out of China.

Asia Times Online

Home is best for China's migrant workers
By Olivia Chung

HONG KONG - Chinese factories ranging from electronics giant Foxconn to diminutive outfits employing a handful of people are struggling to find workers to help fill surging export orders. Migrant workers who returned home for the recent spring festival are deciding to stay there, where they are finding opportunities that appeal more than going back to long hours and often hard conditions in the Pearl River Delta.

SUN WUKONG
Jiang gives China something to think about
By Wu Zhong, China Editor

HONG KONG - After the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, political and social lives in China are returning to normal, with the National People's Congress (NPC) kicking off a new session on Friday, as are provincial parliaments.