22nd & 23rd of January 2011 - Weekend Edition
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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China Daily
President Hu's speech at arrival ceremony
President Obama's speech at welcoming ceremony
Common interests shared
WASHINGTON - President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama agreed to "share expanding common interests" while pledging closer cooperation in areas that included trade, energy, the environment and protection of intellectual property rights, as they held a summit in the White House on Wednesday.
"We both agreed to further push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship and commit to work together to build a partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit, so as to better benefit people in our own countries and the world over," Hu told a post-summit news briefing.
Obama said he "absolutely" believes "China's peaceful rise is good for the world, and it's good for America.
"We've shown that the US and China, when we cooperate, can receive substantial benefits," he said.
Hu said China will continue to provide a level playing field for US investors and urged the US to relax its restrictions on high-tech exports and offer a fair environment to Chinese enterprises investing in the US.
He also asked Washington to recognize China's full market economy status.
China welcomes inter-Korean military talks
BEIJING - China Friday applauded the proposed inter-Korean military talks, welcoming the prospect of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) improving ties through dialogue.
33 firms among top emerging challengers
BEIJING - Thirty-three Chinese companies have made it to the top 100 "global challengers" this year, reflecting the dynamic growth and international aspirations of China's corporations, according to a report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on Thursday.
The group identified 100 global challengers from 16 rapidly developing economies that are now playing prominent roles in global markets and also reshaping global industries.
Those 100 companies could collectively generate $8 trillion in revenues by 2020, an amount roughly equivalent to the collective revenues of the S&P 500 companies at present, said the report.
During the last decade, revenues of the global challengers rose by 18 percent annually, triple the average annual growth rate achieved by global peers, who are multinational companies that are headquartered in developed economies.
In 2009, 100 global challengers generated $1.3 trillion in revenues.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
China, US need co-op to solve trade imbalance: Chinese minister
WASHINGTON -- China is willing to work with the United States on the imbalance of bilateral trade through communication and cooperation, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Wednesday.
Trade imbalance is indeed "an important issue that the two sides need to have a correct perception of," Chen told reporters during Chinese President Hu Jintao's ongoing state visit to the United States.
Responding to a question that linked the trade imbalance with China's currency RMB, Chen said the two issues are irrelevant.
"I have read a lot of comments by many US think tanks and members of US Congress. They believed there should be a major RMB appreciation because of the trade imbalance between the two nations," he said.
"According to Western economics theories, currency will have an impact on the overall export of a nation. But if it is just about trade surplus or deficit between two countries, then it is not a matter of currency. Rather, it is something about trade barriers, trade liberalization and trade facilitation, which both countries need to sit down and talk about," he said.
China's trade surplus totaled 183.1 billion US dollars in 2010, of which 181.3 billion dollars was gained from the United States, meaning the Sino-UStrade imbalance has nothing to do with the currency, as China barely had a surplus with other trading partners, Chen said.
He listed three major reasons for the huge surplus.
First, part of that surplus comes from the trade surplus originally held by other countries and regions against the United States. This is a result of the globalization process.
Second, the United States still holds trade discrimination against China.
"The United States bans military items export to China and also subjects military-civilian dual-use items to very rigorous restrictions," Chen said.
Currently China is the third largest export market for the United States, and China's imports from the country is expected to further grow as it continues to implement an import stimulus policy this year. However, China is excluded from the Obama administration's list of countries and regions to which US export control will be eased, he said.
"This is apparently not in the interests of American companies and workers," Chen said. "We hope the United States could change such policy and readdress the trade imbalance between the two countries."
Third, there were some misalignments in trade statistics that both sides are currently working together to reconcile.
"We believe we should discuss the trade issues in an atmosphere of mutual trust and equality. Only in this way can we find a better solution to the issue," he said.
The minister, currently accompanying Chinese President Hu Jintao on a four-day state visit to the United States, said multi-billion deals between the two countries will be signed during Hu's visit, including Chinese purchases of US products worth a total of 24.9 billion dollars, which testifies to the importance of Sino-US trade relations.
Kaixin OpEd – Kaixin has observed for some time that China is challenging the assumptions of the western economists.
Particularly the ones that say it is: “Basic Economics 101”
Rather, China is evolving ‘Basic Economics Yi Ling Yi’ – Economics with Chinese Characteristics.
Therefore, Kaixin was interested to see the comment by Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, "According to Western economics theories …”
We shall see, we shall see …
China expected to be top tourist destination
MADRID - UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General Taleb Rifai said Thursday he expected China to become the world's largest tourist destination within five to seven years.
Kaixin OpEd – That makes perfect sense to Kaixin. China is largely un-explored by western tourists, yet it has an almost unlimited wealth of natural beauty and culture to be explored.
Instead of making widgets and selling them to the west, people from the west will come to China and spend their money there.
That will boost domestic consumption.
And so it goes …
Officials to be required to report assets
GUANGZHOU - South China's Guangdong province will launch a pilot project this year requiring Party and government officials to report their assets in the latest move to curb corruption.
Guangdong's deputy Party chief Zhu Mingguo said the campaign will be introduced in designated cities and departments before the year-end and will be expanded to become province-wide in the following years.
See Kaixins - Corruption v 'li shang wang lai' 礼尚往来
FEATURE - Milestones in Sino-US relations
See Kaixin's - China & America 1972 to 1979 - Video Documentary
Courses for true love run smooth
Singles turn to relations experts and pickup artists to boost chances of finding love. Hu Yongqi and Duan Yan in Beijing and Liu Ce in Shenyang report.
Shen Cai is a major player when it comes to business and has made millions from publishing and real estate in Beijing. Yet, for years he struggled to have any success with the ladies.
Last year, to impress a woman he met at a banquet, he treated her to a 10,000-yuan ($1,500) dinner and sent her fresh flowers to her desk every morning. The woman quit her office job shortly after.
"Although I was talented in business, all I knew about love was what I'd seen in romantic movies," said the 33-year-old. "I didn't figure on scaring the girl off."
Studies show that China's 180 million single men and women, particularly those aged 25 to 45, are finding it increasing difficult to find partners. To boost their chances, more are turning for help from pickup artists to master the art of seduction.
A pickup artist talks his students through the delicate methods of wooing women, at a shopping mall in downtown Shanghai. Some men are paying up to 4,500 yuan to attend three-day boot camps and workshops that teach how to interact better with women in social situations.
See Kaixin's - Marriage in China
Bamboo, a symbol of traditional Chinese values
China is not only famous for its national treasure, the giant pandas, but also the giant panda’s staple food -- bamboo. The Chinese love bamboo, and bamboo culture has been rooted in their minds for a long time. To the Chinese people, bamboo is a symbol of virtue. It reflects people’s souls and emotions.
Bamboo is viewed as a symbol of traditional Chinese values. It is an example of the harmony between nature and human beings. Ancient Chinese people designated the plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum as the "four gentlemen", and pine, bamboo and plum as the "three friends in winter". People think its deep root denotes resoluteness; its tall, straight stem represents honor; its hollow interior modesty and its clean and spartan exterior exemplify chastity.
Ancient Chinese literature held bamboo in profound esteem. This explains why there are so many writings and paintings dedicated to the plant throughout history.
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
Tianjin aims to double container throughput by 2015
TIANJIN - Tianjin Port in North China aims to double its handling of containers by 2015 to become one of the world's top five container ports, the port's chairman said Thursday."The plan is to increase the port's annual container throughput to 20 million TEU by 2015," said Yu Rumin, chairman and senior engineer of Tianjin Port (Group) Co, Ltd, at the annual session of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress.
Yu said the central government's 2010 policies to develop Tianjin's port area will help. The policies outline tax reductions for ocean-going ships that use Tianjin Port and the creation of a free-trade zone in Binhai New District, the port area.
China begins annual Spring Festival travel rush
BEIJING-- China's annual Spring Festival travel rush began Wednesday in freezing weather, with some 700 million people, or half the nation's population, expected to travel within the country during the 40-day-long travel period. China's Ministry of Transport (MOT) estimates that 2.85 billion passenger trips will be made during the period, 11.6 percent more than last year.
The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New year, is the most important traditional festival of family reunions. This year, it falls on February 3.
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.
Cosplay complex of Emperor Yongzheng
Much mystery clouds over Yongzheng, the controversial emperor who ruled over China from 1722 to 1735. Nearly three centuries after he died at the age of 58, his life and reign has remained shrouded by various versions in truth.
Zhong Ming's Book of Insects
It's a big world of the world's smallest creatures - from Zhong Ming's lens to the compelling close-up shots here.
Beautiful -- but perhaps different from traditional beauty -- through an entomologist's eyes, the microcosm of insects is perfectly demonstrated by Zhong. He sees it as a way of getting closer to Nature.
Global Times
Global Times 2010 Year in Review
Hu's US visit shapes new political civilization
The joint statement signed by the presidents of China and the US, setting out a new cooperative partnership, put to rest any fears that new Cold War might break out between China and the US.
Their coexistence has created a geo-political miracle. The next decades will tell whether the competition between China and the US will truly change human history, or if differences will triumph. The joint statement was dismissed by some overseas observers. A Reuters analysis stated that no major breakthrough was achieved by the visit of President Hu Jintao.
This view ignored the fact that China and the US are trying to shape a new political civilization. Dependence on mutual cooperation is leaving behind the traditional zero-sum competition between major powers.
Sino-US relations have gone up and down, but both countries have displayed significant care in their handling. China's rise has not challenged existing global institutions, and the US is showing a moderate and pragmatic attitude toward a rising power.
The public in both countries do maintain a certain distrust toward each other, but their leaders have correctly advanced bilateral ties in uncertain times, thus laying a foundation for lasting world peace.
Strong rhetoric, though eye-catching, cannot prevail over the desire of peace and prosperity. Mutual respect and mutual benefits advocated by the joint statement represent the desired true public opinion.
The visit of President Hu Jintao deserves the applause of the world. The message sent has soothed apprehensions in the Asia-Pacific region and ended various speculations. The clearer the stance of China and the US remains, the more stable global development can be. More resources can be devoted toward growth, rather than set aside for nameless fears.
But the cooperative partnership is still subject to change. President Obama said that "the US welcomes China's rise." The message has not been widely accepted in the US. The acceptance and judgment of China's rise in the US will largely decide the direction of Sino-US relations.
Confidence is reciprocal. Mutual trust between China and the US will be built gradually, but firmly.
Japan's illusionary sense of fear
The successful flight of the J-20 stealth fighter has sparked concern among China's neighboring countries. Japan seems to be the most worried. It is reported that Japan is discussing importing the American F-35 jet fighter, as well as buying Russian fifth-generation jets. This build-up is aimed at the J-20.
Every step of China's military growth seems to unnerve Japan more than it does the US. This is understandable given the geographic proximity of China and Japan. But does Japan's fear of China's rise make sense?
That China remains less powerful than Japan seems to be the endgame here. Otherwise, Japan would not feel any unease. It cannot accept China's military spending growth, it is unwilling to see China's fleet breaking through neighboring island chains. China's plans to build aircraft carriers and to fly the J-20 compounds this unhappiness.
But will China adjust its long-chosen military plan because of this worry? China has a population 10 times larger than Japan's. China's growth cannot be decided by the will of Japan. Japan has to gradually accept a stronger China and ponder the future of northeast Asia based on that reality.
The "China threat" is imaginary: Japan has benefited from China's rise. Japan is clear that the way China is dealing with Asian countries is different from its own militaristic past. Japan had invaded other countries when it was a rising power. Does the fact give it reason to infer China will follow the same route? China's military growth is not targeting Japan. Japanese society must understand this. The competition between the two countries has to be rational and pragmatic.
China, aiming at having more open land and sea territory, is encouraged by the J-20. Japan's worry demonstrates that it is overly guarding against China.
The illusionary sense of crisis will not make Japan feel any better. Perhaps it should take a look at the cultural relics looted from China now on display in the Tokyo museums. China didn't harm Japan in history. Why would it do so in future?
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
US & China's best way forward through trade
China-US relations in transition
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
WSJ - Photos of President Hu's visit to America
Obama-Hu News Conference Transcript
Chinese flags were wrapped with American ones outside the White House during Hu Jintao's state visit. Kaixin OpEd - I wonder if that was Hillary's idea ....
Chinese Shoppers Hitting Their Stride?
Americans shop. Chinese people save. That, at least, has been the lesson of the U.S.-China economic relationship, one borne out by a $250 billion trade gap and China’s roughly $900 billion in U.S. Treasury holdings. But a new study suggests things are changing.
Kaixin OpEd – If you believe, ‘Americans shop. Chinese people save.’ then you haven’t been to China lately.
Indeed, you don’t understand the Chinese.
Yes, they save, but they LOVE to shop.
Surely it is more prudent to spend less on shopping than you earn. The ‘west’, Americans in particular’, had a great big party thrown by Greenspan and spent far more then they earned and, for many, far more then they were worth.
That went for countries, States, Local Councils, Corporations …
Hence, the GFC.
The Chinese just increased their shopping as their incomes went up ….. but they made sure they saved a little as well.
Hence, for China, no GFC.
As China’s wealth increases you will have around 1.4 billion people who love to shop.
This may come as a surprise to many in the ‘west’ …. but that is an opportunity, not a threat.
(This OpEd is dedicated to my friend Hong Ying - who has turned shopping into an art form)
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA'S SOCIETY & CULTURE
As Chinese Media Trumpet Status, Some Shrug
BEIJING—From the ads on Times Square to the 21-gun salute on the White House lawn, everything about President Hu Jintao's visit has been designed to show that China has arrived as a major world power, and its leader deserves to be treated as an equal.
More broadly, on the Internet and Beijing streets, many Chinese appeared uncomfortable about their country's newly feted status as an emerging superpower—or were nonplussed by the coverage.
China's ICBC Bids for U.S. Entry
CHICAGO—Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. on Friday signed an agreement here to acquire a majority stake in Bank of East Asia Ltd.'s U.S. subsidiary, becoming the first state-owned Chinese bank to make an acquisition of a U.S. deposit-taking institution.
Kaixin OpEd - And why can China afford to do that? See OpEd above ...
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Shanghai Resorts to Property Tax to Stem Prices
SHANGHAI—Shanghai's mayor on Friday said the city will impose a controversial tax on property, a move by China's richest city that may be rolled out nationally as authorities scout for new ways to cool housing prices.
Kaixin OpEd – The issue with rising residential real estate prices is that the average person is soon priced out of the market. It creates an artificial divide in a society.
In America, prices were going up and up in all sorts of places and Greenspan simply did not understand the problem….. bit of a worry that.
Then, President Bush (Jnr), taking a leaf from Greenspan's book of Economic Management - titled, 'One trick pony' - decided to give everyone free money so they could buy their own house. No credit checks, no ability to repay the loan … just free money.
What was that about the way to hell being paved by good intentions …
Greenspan was still confused, but he knew a good con when he saw it, so he let the dogs from Wall Street gorge themselves on that morsel of economic incompetence.
The result, massive inflation of house prices followed by the GFC.
It all made matters worse.
People were being thrown out of their houses.
China is taking a different approach.
They are not flooding the country with cheap money.
They are lending prudently (mostly).
They are finding ways to control the price of residential real estate, of which this tax is one.
They are trying to ensure that the average person can afford to purchase a house and not let the artificial divide between rich and poor based on house prices become too great.
That is what America did in the past, under competent Central Bankers. That is what kept house prices in check. That is what made a fairer society in America.
Think about it …
(and yes, economists will point to all sorts of little niggles in the above, but I suggest that the basis of the observations are correct)
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Chinese Agriculture Imports See Sharp Rise
BEIJING -- China's grain imports made the largest gains by far among China's commodity purchases last year, signaling higher demand and flush liquidity that analysts say is likely to pave the way for more imports this year.
Led by a surge in corn shipments from the U.S., Chinese grain imports in 2010 surged as the rise of large-scale livestock farms and a shift in diet patterns dented Beijing's policy of self-sufficiency in the sector.
China imported 1.57 million metric tons of ...
China Increases Uranium Imports
SHANGHAI—China more than tripled its uranium imports last year to feed new nuclear reactors and to raise stocks of the fuel for its aggressive civil nuclear expansion program.
Beijing aims to raise nuclear power's contribution to 5% of total generating capacity by 2020, from less than 2% now, as it is cleaner-burning than coal and oil, despite the problem of permanently storing the deadly waste.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
Video: China’s Next Leader–Who is Xi?
With Chinese President Hu Jintao poised to step down by 2013, WSJ’s Jeremy Page tries to unravel the mystery surrounding Xi Jinping, the man most likely to take over the reins of the world’s second largest economy:
Video: China’s Fast Growth Continues
The latest China GDP growth numbers are out, and they’re bigger than expected. On Asia Today, WSJ’s Jake Lee speaks to Heard on the Street Asia Editor Mohammed Hadi about the implications of China’s strong growth numbers, and the implication for its efforts to control inflation:
Pandas Can Stay in D.C. Five More Years
On a day full of carefully choreographed events to announce incremental progress on thorny political and economic issues in the U.S.-China relationship, one big diplomatic issue has been put to rest: the pandas can stay at the National Zoo.
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have been at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., for 10 years. And with today’s agreement, they can stay for another five.
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
From China, Almost a Sigh of Relief
BEIJING — President Hu Jintao’s ground-breaking trip to the United States is not quite over, but the sense of relief here over how well it has gone is almost palpable.
Kaixin OpEd - Check out the China Daily coverage of Hu's visit over the last few days and form your own opinion.
China and U.S. Businesses See Gains in Deeper Ties
Referring to large American corporations, China’s president told executives that China was in many cases the “biggest source of profits in their global operations.”
Kaixin OpEd - See OpEd's above ...
China May Be Masking Its Purchase of U.S. Securities
China is a net seller of Treasury securities, according to government figures. That has raised speculation that it is channeling its purchases through British accounts.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Op-Ed Columnist
China Goes to Nixon
By PAUL KRUGMAN
With Hu Jintao, China’s president, currently visiting the United States, stories about growing Chinese economic might are everywhere. And those stories are entirely true: although China is still a poor country, it’s growing fast, and given its sheer size it’s well on the way to matching America as an economic superpower.
What’s also true, however, is that China has stumbled into a monetary muddle that’s getting worse with each passing month.
Op-Ed Columnist
The Rise of Chinese Cheneys
When Deng Xiaoping made a landmark visit to the United States in 1979, he was seated near the actress Shirley MacLaine. According to several accounts that Ms. MacLaine confirmed this week, she told Deng rhapsodically about a visit to China during the Cultural Revolution. She described meeting a scholar who had been sent to toil in the countryside but spoke glowingly about the joys of manual labor and the terrific opportunity to learn from peasants.
Deng growled: “He was lying.”
In that blunt spirit, let me offer a quick guide to some of the issues that we have put on the table during President Hu Jintao’s state visit to Washington, at a time when Chinese-American relations are deeply strained and likely to get worse.
Kaixin Oped - Interesting read ...
See Kaixin's - ''Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious.'', Deng Xiaoping 邓小平
Bringing a Woman's Touch to Chinese Art Scene
In some numbers now, female artists are forging images and voices.
"Sea Level" by the artist Josephine Do.
See Kaixin's - Women in China
WSJ - A Chinese 'Hometown Boy' Makes Good
Liu Xiaodong, a star of the contemporary-art market, returns to the factory town of his childhood
Liu Xiaodong makes intimate portraits to convey big stories about China.
In recent years, Mr. Liu has become a star of the contemporary-art market, where his vivid portraits and depictions of everyday life in China have attracted major collectors. In April 2008, an Asian buyer paid $7.9 million at Sotheby's for Mr. Liu's "Battlefield Realism: The Eighteen Arhats." The work consists of nine pairs of portraits showing visiting front-line soldiers serving along a sea lane where Taiwan and mainland China continue to point missiles at each other. Last September, all of his 17 canvases on offer at "Yan' Guan Town," an exhibit at New York's Mary Boone Gallery, sold at prices between $75,000 and $800,000.
China Daily - Qi Baishi and his paintings with unique style
On June 28, 2009，the renowned painter Qi Baishi’s work, "Mouse and Cat with Lamp", was sold for RMB 4.48 million at the 18th China Guardian Quarterly Auction.
In this painting, a mouse is standing on the top of a long pole where a lamp is hung. Under the pole is a cat. Despite the images simple composition, the dynamic and motionless elements are both there, creating an explosive situation.
The images of mouse and cat contrast sharply with each other, which evokes a hearty laugh.Moreover, the inscription on this picture is intriguing: “Last night I lit the lamp early and planed to go to bed soon. Since I’m poor, I put too little oil into the lamp to feed the mouse sufficiently. When the cat sneaked in, the oil had been gone and the lamp burned out.”
Qi Baishi (1864 - 1957), also known as Ch'i Pai-shih in the western literature, is perhaps the most well-known contemporary Chinese painter for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works.
Caixin Online
State Visit: See or Saw for Sino-U.S. Ties?
Relations between China and the United States have vacillated over the years, yet lines of communication endure
President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States, his first in nearly five years, has set the tone for future Sino-U.S. relations. The visit's aftermath will determine how the two countries work together for mutual gain in the post-financial crisis era.
Visits by Chinese leaders to America are major events for Chinese diplomacy. Hu's visit this time was viewed especially as a milestone. It not only marked the 40th anniversary of the resumption of ties between the two countries, but also the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. And in a first, Hu and U.S. President Barack Obama met as leaders of the world's two largest economies, biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, and most productive nations.
PetroChina Primes Pump for Europe, Americas
Buying stakes in a British firm's refineries fits a PetroChina go-global strategy for western assets
Hunting for global profit potential, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina, has set sights on new investment targets in developed markets in the wake of a deal for refineries in Scotland and France.
Caixin learned PetroChina, which like many Chinese companies is pushing a go-global agenda, is not only entering West Europe but is cultivating an interest in U.S.-based Valero Energy Corp.'s Aruba oil refinery as well.
Plans for Property Trusts Put on Ice
A lawyer close to regulators told Caixin that the State Council postponed the launch of REITs to coordinate property market policies
(Beijing) - After a long road riddled with twists and turns, the much anticipated launch of the Chinese version of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) has been suspended, Caixin learned from various sources.
"Research on the plan for REITs was halted around late September and early October," a finance official from a local government told Caixin. However, a source close to the central regulator said that plans to go through with a Chinese version of REITs still exists, but that significant work still needs to be done on reviewing implementation and regulation by high-level government agencies.
Kaixin OpEd – This picture is a good example of what is driving real estate in China.
It is simple supply and demand.
Huge demand, limited supply.
Combined with a subtle change in attitude from paying cash for everything, to borrowing.
It is not, as many commentators and economists in the west think, driven by a Wall Street Ponzi scheme.
Housing Prices on the Decline?
Price indices for new home sales and existing home sales in 70 major Chinese cities since January 2009.
Kaixin OpEd - See OpEd on Shanghai's property tax in WSJ, above.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Asia Times Online
For Hu, style is the substance
By Peter Lee
The empty verbiage dumped on the world on the occasion of Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States reflects that the trip is a victory lap prior to the Chinese president's retirement. Yet useful observations can still be extracted from the rhetoric - and by winding back the clock to the last time Hu went to Washington.
China's state giants too big to play with
By Willy Lam
China's state-owned enterprises, their special privileges and huge profits, are attracting attention from the government media and a disenchanted public. Premier Wen Jiabao has vowed "to render society more fair and just", but their relation to the ruling Communist Party means little is likely to change.
Stealth fighter sneaks up on Taiwan
By Jens Kastner 
China's recently unveiled J-20 stealth fighter will change the cross-strait military balance with its ability to penetrate Taiwan's airspace and to threaten American aircraft-carrier groups. But the island's intelligence agencies gave no warning of this game-changing development, and its military has been ominously silent on how to deal with it.
SINOGRAPH
Confucius takes a stand
By Francesco Sisci
Chinese authorities last week placed a statue of Confucius in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, near the portrait of former paramount leader Mao Zedong. The move to give such a public face to the great philosopher is in line with Beijing's decision to cut down on Maoist paraphernalia in the political heart of China. Maoists are up in arms.
See Kaixin's - Confucius, Traditional Chinese Medicine ... best represent Chinese culture
See Kaixin's - Confucius - Video Documentary
See Kaixin's - Mao’s Last Swimmer - Chairman Mao's swim anniversary Nanning China
Kaixin OpEd – Xiaosui recalls the Cultural Revolution (which she lived through) and how Mao wanted to wipe Confucius from Chinese history.
Why?
Mao came from a village in rural China. He had seen how lofty ideas such as Confucianism had not benefited the rural population and peasants of China one jot.
He wanted to leave all that behind and forge a new China.
Yes, his ideals were corrupted by power, but the Cultural Revolution was actually founded on a sound idea, to rid China of the old ways that had contributed to grinding the average rural worker/farmer into the dust.
However, an idea, a philosophy, as strong as Confucianism cannot be wiped from the face of history.
It is re-emerging in China as China is taking its place in the world as a leading power. A place it held for most of recorded history.
The leaders of China know that the Chinese people, in particular the youth, need a powerful philosophy to guide them.
The influences and temptations of China’s re-gained wealth are great, and distracting.
Communism is a strong philosophy, but it is mainly political and economic. Also, China has let it evolve to benefit the needs of China, rather than wear it as a straightjacket.
Confucianism has 1,000’s of years of history in moral guidance.
Communism may provide the physical sustenance to the people of China, however Confucianism will provide the philosophical sustenance.
Global Times - Demented art
As a child, Guo Haiping witnessed his disturbed brother Guo Enping being dispatched to a mental hospital after reading The Selected Works of Mao Zedong nonstop for three days and three nights.
Kaixin OpEd - This article featured on the front page of one of China's leading overseas English newwspapers (news website). Along with the statue, it says something of how China is viewing Mao's legacy. Not all bad, but in perspective.
See Kaixin's - Mao’s Last Swimmer - Chairman Mao's swim anniversary Nanning China
Hu's dollar frustration
By Hossein Askari and Noureddine Krichene
Chinese President Hu Jintao and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are two of the more influential critics of the international reserve currency system. Yet the same US dollar-dominated system, while acting as a tax on other countries, has also hurt the industrial structure of the United States.
Hossein Askari is Professor of International Business and International Affairs at the George Washington University. Noureddine Krichene is an economist with a PhD from UCLA.
THE ROVING EYE
The Google-GM summit
By Pepe Escobar
Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States can best be seen as a summit between Google and General Motors. The US is the beleaguered car company, doggedly peddling yesterday's product to the world. China is the sexy search engine that nobody can live without. To understand this, all you need to do is watch the Wall Street head honchos fighting for a seat at the summit table.
Hit Chinese film a sharp-edged satire
By Robert Hartmann
The black comedy Let The Bullets Fly has become a box-office smash in China by satirizing the country's rampant corruption and inequality. Although set in a 1920s China ruled by warlords, its sharp dialogue is a not-so-subtle condemnation of the mainland of today, choking on its own development and run by officials on the take.
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