19th of January 2011
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007
"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."
China Daily
President Hu kicks off landmark US visit
Washington — President Hu jintao arrived in Washington Tuesday afternoon (local time) for his four-day highly-exposed state visit to the United States.
Hu is expected to lay out his blueprint on US policy during his three days in Washington, where he'll meet with President Barack Obama, top legislators and business executives, followed by a stop in Chicago.
The US has made grandeous reception for Hu, with the White House busy preparing for a State banquet on Wednesday night, prior to a private dinner given by Obama to Hu on Tuesday night.
China, US to deepen clean energy co-op
Washington DC – Chinese President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of China-US cooperation in energy and environment in their messages to the Second China-US Strategic Forum on Clean Energy Cooperation, which opened on Tuesday morning in Washington.
"In the face of a series of major tasks in the development mankind, China and the United States share broader common interests and more important responsibilities," Hu said in his message.
"China is ready to work with the United States on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit to deepen the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship to the benefit of the people of our two countries and the world over," Hu said.
Keeping in step to cut carbon footprint
Corporations and NGOs in China and the US team up to carve clean-energy route in climate cooperation. Li Xing traveled to six US cities to find out more.
As the rest of the United States celebrated Labor Day last September, Doug Durst was working with four Chinese researchers as they monitored 48 tubes filled with algae in a mobile laboratory in Kentucky.
As a strategic planning manager for Duke Energy Corp, he was working with experts from China's ENN Group on a three-month mission to find the best strain for soaking up carbon emissions at coal-fired power plants.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
Yuan to be convertible in capital account in 5 yrs
BEIJING - China would progressively make its currency, RMB, convertible on the capital account in the next five years amid its push for the deeper internationalization of the currency, or yuan, the country's foreign exchange chief said Tuesday.
"The overall strategy for the reform of China's foreign exchange management system is to achieve the convertibility of the yuan on the capital account progressively, as this will make trade and investment more convenient and boost the development of the foreign exchange market," said Yi Gang, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges (SAFE), in a signed article published on SAFE website.
The remarks by Yi, also deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, came after the PBOC announced last week that the country's qualified businesses and banks could now settle their overseas direct investment in yuan.
Yi also said the SAFE would continue to maintain a strict stance in cracking down on hot money inflows into the country during the next five years.
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
China's outbound direct investment up 36%
BEIJING - China's outbound direct investment in the non-financial sector hit $59 billion last year, up 36.3 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Tuesday.
Total outbound direct investment in the non-financial sector had amounted to $258.8 billion by the end of 2010.
Though China's outbound direct investment grew rapidly last year, most of it went to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as countries in Asia and Latin America, with a very small amount to Europe, the United States and Japan, said MOC spokesman Yao Jian.
Trial program for offshore funding
HONG KONG - The Chinese mainland securities regulator will begin a trial program that allows local fund houses to raise money offshore for investment in the domestic financial market, two sources said.
At least 80 percent of the money raised will have to be invested in the domestic bond market, said the sources who were familiar with the matter but were not authorized to publicly disclose the details.
"The move is based on the overall financial trend of the yuan increasingly becoming more international," one of the sources said on Monday. "The banks are already moving forward in this aspect and it's time for brokerages and securities companies to follow suit."
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
'Experience China' debuts at Times Square
A video show about Chinese people made its debut on screens at Times Square on Monday, presenting Americans a multi-dimensional and vivid image of Chinese people.
With China's traditional red as the theme color, the 60-second video was shown on six screens simultaneously at Times Square with a billboard written "Experience China" on top of the screens. The show highlights Chinese ordinary people and some important figures recognized by the international community, including Chinese pianist Lang Lang, basketball player Yao Ming and Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei, etc.
VIDEO - A sneak peek at the China promo at Times Square
Footages of a short film promoting China are shown on the screens at the Times Square in New York, the United States, on Jan 17. The video will be on until Feb 14. Get a sneak peek at the video and find out what people in New York think of it.
Uranium shortage likely to end in 10 years: CNNC
It takes time for reprocessing of spent fuel to be large-scale by then
BEIJING - It will take at least a decade for China to start the large-scale industrial application of spent fuel reprocessing technology, which may be the solution to the supply shortage, the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) said on Monday.
The remarks at the company's annual briefing added to earlier news that China's latest spent fuel reprocessing technology, developed by CNNC, will boost the usage rate of uranium sixtyfold.
"The technological breakthrough is a crucial step toward initial practical application, which is likely to happen within a year," said Li Tao, a spokeswoman for CNNC.
China launches its online mapping service
BEIJING - China on Tuesday officially launched a state-sponsored mapping website that is aimed at offering "authoritative, credible and unified" online mapping service.
The online service, which is overseen by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, can be accessed at www.tianditu.cn.
The bureau said in a statement that the website included the most comprehensive geographical data and information on China.
Global geographic data is accessible at the site, said SBSM vice director Min Yiren at a Tuesday press conference, adding that the data on China was "particularly detailed," covering towns and villages in China's extensive rural areas.
Beijing to go fully WiFi this year
China's capital will become a city-wide wireless network in 2011, according to a senior local official.All areas within the fifth ring road and the central regions of Beijing’s suburbs will have access to the Internet , said He Ning, deputy of Beijing Municipal People's Congress and general manager of China Mobile Group Beijing Co Ltd.
The target to build the capital into a "Wireless City" has been listed on the agenda by the municipal government, said He. Beijing currently has more than 5,000 WiFi sites, and the number is expected to multiply several times by the end of the year.
Trade frictions won't derail bilateral ties, ministry says
BEIJING - Trade frictions cannot smear economic and trade relations between China and the United States, and bilateral ties have been "fairly good" and "mutually beneficial", a senior official with China's Ministry of Commerce has said.
He Ning, director-general of the ministry's department of American and Oceanian affairs, also emphasized in an exclusive interview with China Daily on Monday that "stable and healthy economic relations could translate into huge benefits for both", and the Chinese government is willing to take steps to make that happen.
FEATURE - Milestones in Sino-US relations
See Kaixin's - China & America 1972 to 1979 - Video Documentary
People queue to buy laba porridge at a temple during the Laba Festival in Hefei, Anhui province, Jan 11, 2011. The Laba Festival, which falls on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar Chinese calendar, commemorates the date of Sakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment. Having laba porridge during the Laba Festival is believed to bring good fortune.
Prayers in Shanghai's temple
A man burns incense at the Old City God Temple in Yuyuan Garden, downtown Shanghai
Tianjin Binhai New Area to propel development
TIANJIN - The Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA) will serve as the circum-Bohai region's main growth engine - fueled by 1.5 trillion yuan ($228 million) in investment from 2011 until 2015 - propelling an industrial boom supporting three world-class industrial clusters, senior officials said on the sideline of the Tianjin People's Congress on Sunday.
"To better hone the economic structure and transform the development pattern, we must seek growth by cultivating three internationally leading hubs in the Tianjin Binhai New Area - namely, in the aerospace and aviation, the petrochemical and the alternative energy industries," TBNA head Zong Guoying told China Daily.
Five other bases, including those for equipment manufacturing, electronics and information industries, will be established in the TBNA. These clusters will be nationally leading in terms of scale and quality.
Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli praised high-quality, large-scale industrial projects' role in the municipality's overall development.
Such projects have long been crucial to enabling Tianjin to guard against risks and ensure sustainable development, Zhang said.
A320 Family aircraft are put together at the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly Line in the Tianjin Binhai New Area
230 million expected to go home by train
BEIJING - The volume of China's railway passengers during the coming Spring Festival peak period is expected to hit a new high of 230 million, an increase of 12.5 percent over last year's figures, officials said on Saturday morning.
See Kaixin's - Chinese Folk Customs
Lunar new year merchandising market
A woman smiles as she shops at a Chinese new year merchandising market in Shanghai January 17, 2011. Hundreds of millions of Chinese geared up to welcome the Year of the Rabbit next February 3, packing temple fairs, entertainment parks, setting off fireworks and firecrackers and hurrying to train and bus stations to get home for the traditional holiday.
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
CHINA
Counting Costs
We are looking for stories that would tell us how life on the ground is responding to the rising yuan and price hikes.
Editor's note: We are looking for stories that would tell us how life on the ground is responding to the rising yuan and price hikes. We found tales of courage, resilience and of lessons learned and mastered.
There is no clearer barometer of change than a country's attitude toward money. China is no different.
Secret of attraction
Feminine beauty has been celebrated over the centuries in China and the perception is ever-evolving, but an enduring beauty standard is as follows: a rosy plump oval face, new-moon-shaped eyebrows, delicate and soft limbs and fingers, and fine porcelain skin. More than skin deep, a Chinese beauty should also have good manners, temperament, tastes, and style of conversation.
Ancient ideas behind Olympic buildings
Situated in the north of the Beijing’s axis, the shapes of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube are respectively round and square, representing the semi-circular dome of the sky and the square earth in the traditional Chinese philosophy.
The Philosophy of the Round Heaven and Square Earth
Six arts of ancient China
In ancient Chinese culture, to promote all-around development, students were required to master six practical disciplines called the Six Arts (liù yì in Chinese): rites, music, archery, chariot racing, calligraphy and mathematics.
The study of rites and music instills in people a sense of dignity and harmony. The rites include those practiced at sacrificial ceremonies, funerals and military activities.
Global Times
Global Times 2010 Year in Review
Sino-US relationship must be better defined
What exactly is the Sino-US relationship? It seems that the answer to this question will largely guide the fate of the 21st century. But global politics does not have the wisdom to answer this question.
Chinese President Hu Jintao is leaving Tuesday for the US with a major pillar of his agenda set to be redefining the bilateral relationship.
The ambiguity of this influential relationship has seemingly unnerved the world. It has also hijacked the policies of other countries. On certain issues, such as the Korean Peninsula, the two have been tied to the demand of others.
As the two most powerful countries in the world, China and the US should clarify their relationship, and lay speculations to rest.
It is not easy to give this bilateral relationship a clear definition, but perhaps they can start from what it is not. Occam's Razor teaches that the more wrong definitions are excluded, the clearer the right one will become.
The US has been running the table on how to position Sino-US relations. Former President Bill Clinton declared it a constructive strategic partnership.
But it has retreated from those heady days. The word "partnership" is still mentioned, but no longer recorded in official documents, replaced by terms such as "constructive cooperation" or "stakeholders." It shows the US' misgivings in taking China as a friend.
But is China a foe of the US? US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates openly stated that China is not a potential enemy of the US. Attempts to drive a wedge between the two countries have not gained traction in the US and the West.
President Hu's visit will be placed under a global microscope. It is good timing for Washington to declare that China and the US are not enemies today, and will not be in the future. This clarification will remove many uncertainties that may jeopardize global stability.
Any amount of China-US confrontation will cause trouble that is difficult to fix. That China and the US are not enemies should be demonstrated in actions, not simply diplomatic remarks.
But recent activities by the US, including securing military alliances with China's neighboring countries, supporting anti-China political exiles, selling weapons to Taiwan, have confuse the world as to its true intentions
It is often said that the US needs a strategic foe to stimulate its growth. We would rather believe this is a joke. Up to the US to laugh along with us.
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
Strategic reassurance to be tested
Gates' fence-mending visit to Beijing
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal - China RealTime Report
The Wall Street Journal
Pictures of China
Slideshows
Hu's Feel-Good Tour of U.S. Is Likely to Be a Bit Chilly
It is almost inevitable that when a country gains economic power it uses that new clout to its advantage. Now it's China's turn.
Lately, China has been showing the business world the business end of its economic cudgel. So when President Hu Jintao visits the U.S. this week, the reception will likely be frostier than usual.
About a year ago, China announced a program of "indigenous innovation" that would require foreign companies that want to do business with the government to design and produce their products in China. Beijing said it wanted to spur home-grown invention.
The move was a ...
U.S. Envoy in Beijing Charms and Unsettles
BEIJING—Summoned for a diplomatic dressing down last year, Jon Huntsman Jr., the American ambassador to Beijing, hopped on his sturdy "Forever" brand Chinese bicycle and pedaled off to the Foreign Ministry.
Flustered guards there, expecting the U.S. representative to sweep up in an armored Cadillac made him park by a side gate and walk in.
The unceremonious arrival—at once suggesting humility and defiance—was typical of Mr. Huntsman, a Mandarin-speaking former Mormon missionary and the son of a billionaire who has set himself the ambitious goal of "humanizing" the world's most important bilateral relationship.
Kaixin OpEd - The world seems a touch safer with someone like that around
After Hu-Obama Summit, Political Hurdles Await
Russell Leigh Moses is a Beijing-based analyst and professor who writes on Chinese politics. He is writing a book on the changing role of power in the Chinese political system. Read more by Mr. Moses
As President Hu Jintao starts his trip to the United States, the real political drama for U.S.-China relations is what happens as Hu begins his political exit back in China.
China Plants Its Image on Times Square
BEIJING—When many Americans think of China, they think of a rising rival accused of manipulating its currency and siphoning U.S. jobs. China's government wants them to think of sports stars, Internet entrepreneurs, and astronauts.
Wen Seeks Stable Pace of Lending Growth
BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China must avoid an abnormal increase in bank lending at the beginning of this year and will continue to use various monetary policy tools to maintain a reasonable amount and pace of financing in the country.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Road-Building Rage To Leave U.S. In Dust
China’s road-building has surpassed even its own ambitious plans. The Ministry of Transport said Tuesday that construction of twelve national highways has been completed 13 years ahead of schedule. Another eight highways in western China are almost complete, as well, it said.
The massive buildup of China’s highways will soon leave the U.S., the originator of the national highway system, in the dust.
Li Ning Makes U.S. Push
BEIJING—Li Ning Co. is increasing its investment and marketing in the U.S. as the Chinese sports-apparel maker attempts to become a global brand.
Li Ning will invest $10 million in its U.S. business this year and enter a joint-venture with Acquity Group LLC to expand U.S. distribution, Li Ning Chief Executive Zhang Zhiyong said in an interview Tuesday.
Acquity, a Chicago-based brand-consulting firm whose clients include General Motors Co. and the American Airlines unit of AMR Corp., is designing an ad campaign for Li Ning. The campaign, the apparel maker's biggest yet for the U.S. market, is expected to roll ...
Kaixin OpEd – Instead (as well as) of trying to buy global brand companies, China is also focusing on creating global brands.
The People’s Republic of the U.S. Treasury
Here’s an ominous image of the U.S. Treasury Department building today, decked out with flags of the People’s Republic of China, in honor of China’s visiting president, Hu Jintao.The flags are a common courtesy on the streets of Washington D.C. for visiting dignitaries.
But given all of the U.S. Treasury debt held by the Chinese — $896 billion as of November, more than any other country, not counting mortgage debt — it has some unsettling overtones.
Hu Holds to Tradition of Discreet Leadership
BEIJING—When President Barack Obama traveled to Beijing in November 2009, his first visit there, U.S. officials pressed the Chinese government to agree to a joint news conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao—a fairly routine event during meetings of world leaders.
Video: Intepreting Hu Comments on Currency, Clout
Follow the Debate
Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?
A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:
Tiger Mother Chua Gets Mixed Reviews in China
A week after it was published in the Review section of The Wall Street Journal, Amy Chua’s essay arguing the superiority of strict Chinese parenting continues to stir debate. The argument–whether Chua’s approach to raising kids (no TV, no school plays, no grade lower than an A) is a tough-minded response to a culture of chronic underachievement or some form of well-intentioned-but-misguided child abuse–has generated 4,000 comments on wsj.com, more than 100,000 comments on Facebook, and dozens of response articles elsewhere on the English-speaking Internet, including this moving testimonial from tech entrepreneur Christine Lu.
But how has the essay been received in China?
NYT - Op-Ed Columnist
The real strategic challenge isn’t Chinese fighter aircraft. It’s China’s focus on education.
Kaixin OpEd - A well informed and insightful article, well worth reading in the context of this debate
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA'S SOCIETY & CULTURE
The New York Times
China’s Leader Has Message of Harmony, but Limited Agenda
BEIJING — For the Obama administration, the four-day visit by President Hu Jintao of China may offer a platform to try to make progress on issues troubling their countries: currency, the trade imbalance, human rights and China’s military stance. But Mr. Hu arrives with a comparatively low-key message, intoning his favorite idea: harmony.
For Chinese Leader’s Visit, U.S. to Take a Bolder Tack
Officials say President Obama will take an assertive stance as he greets his biggest global economic rival on Tuesday.
China’s Leader Has Message of Harmony, but Limited Agenda
Seen as nearing the end of his tenure, President Hu Jintao will emphasize common interests during his visit to the United States but may have little to offer on issues that most concern the White House.
What America and China Must Not Forget
Both countries have huge incentives to get along, and the world faces many dangers if they fail to do so.
Op-Ed Contributor
China’s Currency Isn’t Our Problem
By MARK WU
A stronger renminbi won’t save many jobs or help U.S. exports.
Mark Wu is an assistant professor at Harvard Law School.
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
China Leader’s Limits Come Into Focus as U.S. Visit Nears
BEIJING — With President Hu Jintao at the helm, China has become a $5 trillion industrial colossus, a growing military force, and, it sometimes appears, a model of authoritarian decisiveness, navigating out of the global financial crisis and sealing its position as the world’s fastest rising power.
Taiwan Stages Missile Tests on Eve of U.S.-China Meeting
BEIJING — On the eve of a summit meeting between the presidents of China and the United States, Taiwan tested 19 missiles on Tuesday with mixed results.
Caixin Online
2010 FDI in China Tops US$ 100 Bln
Foreign direct investment in 2010 for the first time broke the US$ 100 billion threshold, boosted by the improvement of China's domestic investment environment
(Beijing) - Foreign direct investment FDI into China reached a record high in 2010 of US$ 105.7 billion, a 17.4 percent increase from the previous year.
Robust Outlook for Chinese M&As
Strong growth is expected in Chinese M&A activity for 2011 – last year, total transactions for overseas M&A activity hit US$ 38 billion, compared to US$30 billion in 2009
(Beijing) – China has set a record in overseas merger and acquisition activities in 2010, and the momentum is expected to remain in 2011, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
China Strengthens Rare Earths Regulation
The Ministry of Land and Resources has designated 11 rare earth mining blocks in Jiangxi as national planning centers
(Beijing) – China has drawn-up national planning regions for rare earth and iron mines to strengthen government regulation over the development of the metals.
The Age
China aims to cut 2011 lending by 10%
China's central bank aims to cut new lending for 2011 by 10 per cent from last year, state media reported on Tuesday, as Beijing fights to rein in inflation and a soaring property market.
Asia Times Online
Eyesight to the blind
By Peter Lee
The United States axis with South Korea and Japan is laboring to cope with China's support for North Korea, which President Barack Obama last year characterized as "willful blindness". As China's President Hu Jintao visits America, Washington is in the "charm stage" - and letting it appear that new understanding with China means more to America than Korean aspirations or the anxieties of Japan.
Seoul wants Obama to get serious
By Donald Kirk
South Korean officials are scarcely hiding their misgivings as Obama prepares to receive Hu at the White House with all bells and whistles on Wednesday. Their basic message is that they want the United States and China to get serious about ridding North Korea of its nukes.
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