28th of August 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.
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China Daily
Sunday Update
China, Japan willing to push forward climate talks
Beijing: China and Japan are willing to push forward international climate change talks, based on respective responsibilities and capabilities of both countries, a senior Chinese official said at the sideline of the third China-Japan high-level economic dialogue.
Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told China Daily that he believed the forthcoming talks of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Cancun, Mexico in November and December should stick to the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. The talks also need to be open and transparent, led by participating countries and achieved through consultation and consensus.
He said China and Japan regard energy-saving and environmental protection as very important areas and a growth engine of economic cooperation between both countries.
China restricts rare earths for environment: Minister
Beijing: China’s decision to limit on production and exports of rare earths is based on concerns about environmental protection and national security and it is not contradictory to the rules of the World Trade Organization, Chen Deming, minister of commerce, told reporters after the third China-Japan high-level economic dialogue in Beijing.
Shortage of farms and water threatens grain output targets
BEIJING - The growing shortage of farmland and water resources may prevent China from achieving its ambitious grain output targets in the next decade, warned both officials and experts.
Kaixin OpEd - I have been saying of late that my next vehicle will be an electric one made in China.
China's nuclear power set to increase sevenfold by '20
China has to raise its nuclear power capacity to 75 megawatts by 2020, eight times that of the current nine-megawatt capacity, to offset the pressure of emission reduction, Shanghai Securities News reported Friday citing an official close to the matter.
China to expand trade with Arab, central Asian countries
YINCHUAN - China's only Muslim autonomous region is hoping to set up a free trade zone to expand two-way trade with Islamic countries, the local government said Friday.
"We are hoping to further trade and economic cooperation with the world's Muslim community," said Ma Fu, head of the commerce department in Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
Kaixin OpEd - How smart is that!?
While the world’s attention is focused on America and how it will extricate itself from the GFC, China has been diversifying its markets.
China knows it cannot rely on America.
While America is busily having wars with Islamic nations, China is forming economic relationships.
I tend to think of China as the wise old man, with lots of patience, America as an adolescent youth full of hormones, with little wisdom, plenty of opinion and no patience whatsoever.
Lenders to closely monitor property loans
BEIJING - State-owned Chinese banks on Thursday said they have not suspended lending to realtors, but would monitor such exposure closely to avoid future problems.
Opinions clash on unreported income levels
SHANGHAI - A report on China's widening income gap and a potentially high level of unreported income earned by the rich has come under fire.
Kaixin OpEd - See Below WSJ 'Shining Light On China’s ‘Gray Income’ for our comment.
Foreign faces there for rent
In search of the snow monkey – part 1
In search of the snow monkey – part 2
In search of the snow monkey – part 3
Global Times
World artists show their works in Beijing (Click on Photo for more images)
CCTV - 9
News for Today
China Business Culture Science & Technology Travel
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal China RealTime Report
Limits to the Banking Shell Game
China’s state-run financial system sometimes resembles a sort of shell game, with assets shifted between institutions to give the impression of systemic health but obscuring who is ultimately responsible if things go wrong.
Fraud Case Shows Boom’s Dark Side
A massive fraud trial that opened in Beijing this week is a reminder of the worrisome supervisory cracks in a Chinese banking system that experienced a flood of credit last year.
Kaixin OpEd - America .... AMERICA! Is talking about massive fraud in the banking system. Give me a break!
At least they are only defauding China. America is defrauding the whole world. You gotta wonder ....
Shining Light On China’s ‘Gray Income’
It’s become increasingly widely accepted among researchers that better-off Chinese people not only hide their money from the taxman, they also don’t honestly answer the survey questions that government agencies use to figure out household incomes. The clear implication is that official income figures are too low.
Kaixin OpEd - Probably.
You can't changes 1000's of years of thinking in just 30 years.
And there is another way to look at it ......
The ‘west’ has evolved fairly open and relatively corrupt free institutions; law, government, bureaucracy, business. Government’s raise their money through taxes, fees and charges. That money is redistributed to pay for the institutions, bureaucracy and the business of government. A significant proportion of the rest is used to achieve essentially socialist aims, ie: social justice.
Also, a significant portion is wasted.
High taxes are needed to keep the whole edifice corrupt free and achieve the socialist aims.
It’s a good system and one we in the west understand.
We see other systems, which demand money for services rendered, particularly government or bureaucracy, as corrupt. We laud our system as open and transparent.
China evolved its institutions over millennia. Its bureaucracy is based on Confucian principles. Also, the other great feature is that not much money is spent by the government on paying officials. Rather, the officials charged directly for their services. Hence, over millennia, entrance to an official post via the examination system was a way of advancing yourself and your family.
Entrance to an official post also required that other great Chinese institution, ren ji guan xi. In the west we call it networking, or the old school boy network. However, it is much more subtle than that and must be understood if you want to (successfully) do business in China.
Taxes in China are very low by western standards. One of the key skills for a successful account in China is to have excellent ren ji guan xi with the relevant officials in the tax department.
There is a direct relationship between taxes and how much a government official is paid, in any society.
High taxes and high pay for government officials mean they do not have to find revenue from other services. Low taxes and low pay to government officials mean that other services generally attract a …. non official fee.
In China it is best to think of these, non official fees, as a direct form of taxation. It is very efficient really, as you only have to pay for the service you want.
It has worked for millennia in China. It is different to the west, but it works and like all things that work, probably doesn’t need fixing.
As China increasingly engages with the west then it will undoubtedly evolve to meet the demands of doing business with these wai guo ren (foreigners). Well, at least become better at the P.R. However it is fanciful to think that a system that has evolved over millennia can be speedily or completely changed. To paraphrase Deng Xiaoping, China will do business the western way – with Chinese characteristics.
Spending by Women Jumps
Despite concerns about China’s consumer spending, a new study suggests that women in Beijing and Shanghai are pulling their weight.
Kaixin OpEd - I'm surprised this venerable rag did not complain that because Chinese women weigh significantly less than women from the 'west', the weight being pulled is also comparatively less; therefore it is a fraud by the Chinese.
EHi Looks to Untangle Traffic Jams in China
Like many Chinese citizens, Ray Zhang is worried about his country’s parking issues, traffic snarls, pollution problems, and increasing demand on foreign oil imports.
As Potash Drama Unfolds, China Flogs Fertilizers
BHP Billiton’s bid for Canada’s Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan isn’t the only big thing happening in fertilizer these days. As global attention focuses on that takeover battle, Chinese government officials have fanned out across the country urging greater use of fertilizers to enhance this year’s rice output.
Huawei Embraces Android in New Smartphone
Huawei Technologies, best known as a telecommunications equipment maker, plans to unveil its latest smartphone running on Google’s Android operating system next week as the Chinese vendor looks to beef up its portfolio of high-end phones.
A rare sheet of green “horse and dragon” stamps from Taiwan will be sold at auction on Saturday, paired with a sheet of red “horse and dragon” stamps.
Daniel H. Rosen: Taiwan Is Next Stop in U.S. Re-Engagement in Asia
Daniel H. Rosen is the principal of Rhodium Group, an advisory firm focusing on China, and is also a visiting fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics and an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University.
The Obama Administration is showing a renewed vigor in deepening America’s roots in Asia. This year, it has made a commitment to get the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement through Congress, raised the priority for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, and decided to seek participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s East Asia Summit. These are important steps
China Eases Some Forex Controls
BEIJING—China will start allowing exporters to keep some of their foreign-currency earnings offshore, beginning a new relaxation of the nation's currency controls that could eventually slow its buildup of foreign-exchange reserves and reduce pressure on the yuan to appreciate.
Mad about Mooncakes
Here’s a look at a few from this year’s batch.
– Amy Ma
See Also: Kaixin's 'Admiring the Full Moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival - The Mooncake Festival'
The New York Times
China: A Stealth Move to Make an Underwater Claim
China said Thursday that it had used a small, staffed submarine to plant the national flag deep beneath the South China Sea, where it has tussled with other nations in territorial disputes.
Kaixin OpEd - America is pissed off because they didn't get there first.
Asia Times Online
Bus on stilts to beat Beijing gridlock
By Olivia Chung 
As drivers in Beijing struggle to survive days of being trapped in never-ending traffic jams, entrepreneur Song Youzhou is attracting worldwide interest in his futuristic answer to city gridlocks - a bus on stilts, with an elevated passenger section, allowing it to pass over vehicles stuck in the road below.
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