1st of March 2011
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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China Daily
Latest count: China has 1.341 billion people
BEIJING -- Preliminary statistics showed China had 1.341 billion people at the end of 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
The figure is compared with 1.335 billion at the end of 2009 and 1.328 billion at the end of 2008.
China's 'floating population' exceeds 221 million
GUANGZHOU - China's floating population, which mostly consists of migrant workers, reached 221 million last year, Li Bin, head of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said on Monday.
The number of rural migrant workers stood at 160 million, Li told a conference on the management of the floating population held in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong province.
Another 300 million people coming from rural areas are expected to move to work and live in cities and towns in the next three decades, Li said. Among the total floating population, 42.8 percent were born after 1980, Li added.
In China, "the floating population" refers to people who live in an area different from the place of their household registration, or "hukou" system.
Retailers sold on selling to rural residents
BEIJING - With China heading toward a new model of economic growth that is driven by domestic consumption, multinational companies are looking to tap into the country's rural consumer market, which is rising from obscurity to become a major growth driver.
Customers from the countryside are now thought to offer the greatest potential for retail growth in the years ahead with their incomes set to continue to rise, according to the Nielsen Company, a global information and market research provider.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Construction starts on Beijing's maglev line
BEIJING - A maglev line using Chinese technology was brought under construction in Beijing on Monday, despite objections from residents living along the line.
The new low-to-medium speed S1 Line is the first of its kind in the country, making China the second nation in the world to have such a line, said Chang Wensen, chief project manager of the line.
The project shows China has the capability to engineer and use low-to-medium speed maglev technology, said Chang, who is also a professor at the National University of Defense Technology and leads a research team that developed the technology.
As one of the eight lines brought under construction on Monday in Beijing to form an urban transit network and help ease traffic gridlock, the S1 Line will extend from Mentougou to Pingguoyuan.
The construction of the line is expected to cost around 6 billion yuan ($910 million) and wrap up in 2013, earlier reports said.
Weekend falls ease drought
BEIJING - The recent widespread rain and snowfalls in northern China, which are expected to end on Monday night, have eased severe drought in some of China's major wheat-growing areas.
The rain, with precipitation between 2 to 9 millimeters in Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, started on Friday at noon.
It reached 10 to 21 mm in some parts of Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Farmers in Taigu village in Yuncheng city, Shanxi province, irrigate a wheat field during a snowfall on Saturday.
China's US debt holdings stand at $1.16 trillion
WASHINGTON - China's holdings of long-term US Treasury securities totaled $1.16 trillion at the end of December 2010, according to an annual revision report released by the US Treasury Department on Monday.
China to restart feasibility study of local debt issuing
China will study whether it is feasible for local governments to issue bonds, the Shanghai Securities News reported Monday. The Ministry of Finance is currently the only organization which can issue bonds on behalf of local governments.
PBOC official blames high trade surplus for inflation
China's excessively large trade surplus is the source of inflation and multiple measures should be taken to deal with inflation, said Yi Gang. Yi, the vice-governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, made the comments at a forum held in Beijing on Saturday, the Beijing News reported Sunday.
Yi said that at the end of the 2010, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $2.85 trillion, and the PBOC had to roll out approximately 20 trillion yuan ($3.04 trillion) to keep the exchange rate stable.
He said it is urgent to expand the domestic demand and reduce trade surplus during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period. China could reduce its trade surplus by increasing imports rather than simply cutting exports, he added.
Hungary sets sights on China's high-speed rail tech
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungary hopes to see China's high-speed trains running on its rail network, Hungarian National Development Minister Tamas Fellegi said on Saturday, while denying recent reports that Beijing would buy Budapest's debt.
"Last time we were in China, in Beijing, we were shown several projects that would include high-speed trains in Hungary, for instance between the airport and downtown Budapest," Fellegi told China Daily in an exclusive interview.
Hungary's interest comes as China exports its high-speed trains to many countries around the world. Building a 1,000-km high-speed railway was part the multibillion deals signed last week in Beijing between the presidents of Kazakhstan and China.
Green standards issued for rare earths
BEIJING - Environmental standards governing the production of rare earths, specifically concerning pollutants, were issued on Monday to ensure the sector's sustainable development.
The standards, which come into force on Oct 1, set strict emission limits possibly affecting at least 60 percent of companies in the industry and could lead to consolidation in the sector, industry sources said.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
China, Russia to jointly develop border island
HARBIN - Chinese and Russian local authorities have been engaged in talks to co-develop a border island, Heixiazi, into a tourist destination visa-free for each other's citizens.
ROK, US begin annual joint drills
SEOUL - Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States on Monday morning kicked off their annual joint military drills amid continuing tensions on the peninsula. The 11-day joint maneuver, codenamed Key Resolve/Foal Eagle, draws some 200,000 ROK and 12,800 US troops.
70% refuse domestic powdered milk
Some 70 percent of people choose imported milk powder as they lack confidence in domestic brands, according to a survey by China Central Television (CCTV), the Beijing Morning Post reported Monday.
China doubles subsidy for Tibetan rural education
LHASA - The government of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region plans to raise the educational subsidy and expand its coverage to include more than 500,000 school-aged children, mostly from herding families, in rural areas of Tibet, a regional education official said.
Dorje Tsering, a spokesman with the Bureau of Education of Tibet, told reporters Monday that the regional government has doubled the budget earmarked for the rural educational subsidy scheme this year to 1.01 billion yuan ($152 million).
Children in rural Tibet from kindergartens to senior high schools will receive 2,000 yuan per person to cover annual expenses on food, clothing, school supplies while they stay in boarding schools. Those who live in remote areas will receive extra subsidies, Dorje Tsering said.
China provides free education for school-aged children in Tibet and has been providing subsidies to children of the herding families since 1985. Previous subsidy scheme did not include kindergarten children.
The government also plans to provide scholarships amounting to more than 10 million yuan for students from low-income families who study in kindergartens, primary, and middle schools in Tibet.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
Malls witnessing gold rush as shoppers fear inflation
Jewelers at shopping malls across Beijing are witnessing a gold rush as residents spooked by inflation fears look to protect their money.
Statistics from Beijing Caibai, the city's largest jewelry store, show sales of gold and other jewelry have totaled about 4 billion yuan ($608 million) so far this year, a 70-percent increase year-on-year.
Cultural reform not commercialization: official
BEIJING - China's reform of the cultural system does not mean the commercialization of culture, a senior official said on Monday.
"I believe this is a total misunderstanding," Sun Zhijun, deputy chief of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at a news conference.
"None of the documents and speeches by State leaders have mentioned that the reform of the cultural sector is cultural commercialization," he said in response to a question on whether the reforms will commercialize the industry.
The general principle followed in carrying out cultural reform during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) was to draw a line between for-profit cultural industries and non-profit cultural services, Sun added.
Chongqing turns into 'red capital'
Officials hope revolutionary approach will disarm critics and put city streets ahead in social planning, Hu Yinan reports in Chongqing.
The public housing program is the latest in a series of high-profile and ideologically driven policies Chongqing has drafted to - in the words of local publicity officials - redistribute its social resources to "help the poor and guide the rich".
This broad social experiment includes granting Chongqing hukou (urban residence) to 3 million farmers by 2012 (10 million altogether by 2020). The plan also hopes to provide 800,000 families with public rental housing by 2015, and establish an information technology cluster through cooperation with HP and Cisco.
Apart from these objectives, the police force have been streamlined amid a clampdown against the city's notorious gangs and corrupt officials who provided them shelter.
Supporters have dubbed this mode of development, which stresses meeting the needs of the city's growing consumer market, the "Chongqing model". Some scholars see it as an alternative to the late 1970s' "Shenzhen model", which relies more on export and labor-intensive industries.
Residents in Chongqing sing revolutionary songs at Shaping Park
Land seizures threaten to disrupt countryside calm
BEIJING - Increasing instances of farmland being confiscated and of insufficient compensation being offered to farmers are harming the legitimate rights of country residents and posing a threat to social stability in agricultural areas, according to a new survey released by a top think tank.
About 37 percent of the 1,564 villages in 17 provinces and autonomous regions that were covered by the survey have experienced land confiscation since the late 1990s.
Farmers in 60 percent of the villages where land has been confiscated reported that they were unsatisfied with the compensation they received, according to the survey released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences late last week.
The document was part of the academy's annual report on China's rule of law and was jointly conducted in mid-2010 by Landesa, a United States-based rural development institute, Michigan State University and the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.
The survey shows that the 1,564 villages that were studied only saw about 20 land confiscation cases in 2000, but that number had soared to about 180 in 2010, suggesting the problem was becoming more widespread.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
New solutions raised for traffic gridlock
BEIJING - As traffic jams in China's big cities have become increasingly common, so have the ways proposed to ease the gridlock.
And the solutions being bandied about range in type from the commonplace to the whimsical.
On Monday, a vehicle developed in Germany and called the H-Bahn, or hanging railway, was introduced to China.
Women's retirement may be delayed
BEIJING - China's labor authority is working on the issue of possibly pushing back the retirement age of women "with caution", according to a report from the top legislature.
The document, which was issued by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, says the possible change to women's retirement age may be done alongside other improvements to the rights of working women.
Qi Shujuan, a media officer from the All-China Women's Federation, told China Daily on Monday that it would like to see a more flexible system in which women can decide when they want to retire within an upper age limit.
Qi said the federation has been promoting women's labor rights in connection with the retirement issue for more than 10 years.
See Kaixin's - Women in China
CCTV
CCTV Migrant workers choose to work in home towns VIDEO
Now the Spring Festival is over, many migrant workers have returned to the cities where they work. However,a new trend is taking hold, where some are choosing to find employment in their hometowns.
Meet Mr Liu. He used to work in Shenzhen City, in southern China.
After returning home last year, he found a job at a plastic pipe production plant.
Compared to his previous job in the city, Liu says his new job is less demanding, so he has more free time.
Liu Yongjian, Former Migrant Worker, said, "I work eight hours a day, that's much less than I did in Shenzhen. Now, I can earn at least 15-hundred yuan a month."
Despite the 2,000 yuan he used to earn in Shenzhen, Liu couldn't save much money because it was more expensive to live there than in his home town.
While working at the local factory, he has saved more than before, and can even enjoy a delicious lunch, with his employers splitting the bill.
But what really makes Liu happy is that he'll be spared the pain of leaving his loved ones behind, like he had to in the past, as his workplace is now only ten minutes away.
For him, playing with his daughter is no longer a rare occasion.
Kaixin OpEd – This was the foundation for the cheap widgets from China that the 'west' gorged on.
Where were all the human rights protesters from the ‘west’?
I doubt any of them would have stopped to question why the widgets they were buying from WalMart were suddenly so cheap.
Yes, where are the strident voices of those human rights yuppies.
After all, they benefited from the tears of Chinese parents forced to leave their children to make a basic living.
Free this, Free that ….. what about Free you minds!
CCTV Studio interview: China's stance on South Korea and US joint military exercises VIDEO
For more insight on the joint military exercises between South Korea and the US, and Japan and US, we are now joined by our current affairs commentator, Mr Raymond Zhou, from the China Daily.
Q1: Hello, Mr Zhou, we know South Korea and the US have kicked off their annual joint military exercises. On the same day, Japan and the US also started joint military drills. What impact could the exercises have on the stability of the Korean Peninsula?
Q2: As neighbors of both South Korea and Japan, what's China's stance on the joint military drills?
CCTV Live cross: Purpose and impact of Japan- US joint drill VIDEO
For further analysis on the drill between Japan and the US, we turn to professor Takesato Watanabe, from Doshisha University. Hello professor.
Q1. What is the purpose of Japan holding this military drill?
Q2. What impact do you think it will bring to the region?
CCTV Chinese Premier Wen chats online with netizens VIDEO
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has chatted online with netizens, which was jointly hosted by the central government website (www.gov.cn) and Xinhua News Agency website (www.news.cn).
Wen Jiabao said China's development blueprint for the coming five years will emphasize efforts on the improvement of people's livelihoods. Wen told netizens he wouldn't allow consumer prices to surge unchecked in the country, saying maintaining the stability of prices has always been the priority of China's economic development. To reduce the wealth gap, Wen Jiabao told Internet users that the State Council would discuss a plan to raise the threshold of personal income tax.
CCTV Studio interview: From public voices to public policies VIDEO
On Sunday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao took part in an online chat with Chinese netizens. Thousands of questions were asked, expressing interests and concerns over property prices, inflation, the wealth gap and other social issues.
To talk more on Premier Wen Jiabao's online communication with Chinese netizens, our current affairs commentator Raymond Zhou joins us in the studio.
Q1. The online discussion has been a tradition since 2009, with more and more netizens voicing their opinions on public affairs. How helpful is the online discussion in transferring the public's voice into policies and actions?
Q2. The chat's taken place just before the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Do you think it's possible to have such significant online communications more often and possibly with more officials involved?
CCTV Job fairs crowded with 2011 graduates VIDEO
It's four months until this year's graduate season starts in China, but many have already begun job-hunting. With large-scale job fairs in Beijing and Dalian on Saturday, Dannielle Taff examines how both employers and graduates have become more open to the two-way selection process.
The snow didn't dampen their enthusiasm in the hunt for jobs. At Beijing's vocational counsel center, queues formed long before the fair opened its doors.
During the two day event for education majors, over 5-hundred vacancies were being advertised for elementary schools, high schools and kindergartens.
But the pressure was on for the grad students, as many postgraduates - who didn't major in education - were also on the look-out for teaching positions.
Employer of Beijing Bayi Middle School said,"We've received about seventy resumes, mostly from double-degree students in Beijing and master-degree from other provinces."
CCTV China's government steps up to curb inflation VIDEO
Questions concerning rising prices were put to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in his online chat. He told Internet users that he would not allow the consumer prices to surge unchecked in the country.
Premier Wen Jiabao said maintaining the stability of prices has always been the priority of China's economic development, as excessive increases in consumer prices would not only affect people's life but also hamper social stability.
The premier said China will take more measures to further constrain inflation.
The country's monetary policy has been shifted to a prudent one since the beginning of the year.
Several programs have been carried out to boost grain output. Price speculation is strictly forbidden. And farm produce transportation has been optimized.
To make the move even more effective, 4 billion yuan will be allocated for rural water conservation projects, with more funds ready depending on the development of drought.
CCTV Chinese evacuees from Libya arrive in Beijing VIDEO
More than 220 Chinese evacuees arrived just hours ago aboard a chartered flight from Libya. A total of 12-thousand Chinese nationals have been evacuated from the North African country since unrest broke out there. A second flight with Chinese evacuees will arrive in Beijing later on Friday.
After a 12-hour flight from Tripoli, the first Air China chartered plane touched down at Beijing International Airport in the early hours of Friday morning.
Most of the evacuees were engineers and technicians working in Libya as well as their family members.
Evacuees expressed their gratitude to the Chinese Embassy in Libya.
CCTV Studio interview: Effect on curbing demand of building subsidized homes VIDEO
For more analysis into the building of subsidized homes, let's again talk to our current affairs commentator, Professor Liu Baocheng, from the University of International Business and Economics.
Q1: It's estimated that the construction of 10 million subsidized homes will cost something like 1.4 trillion yuan. Where will such a huge amount come from?
Q2: Many say the government's latest measures have moved from curbing speculation to curbing demand. Do you think that's so, and will this massive building exercise help ease demand?
East Africa, China explore new areas of cooperation
NAIROBI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The East Africa Community (EAC) and the Chinese government held talks on Wednesday to explore new areas of cooperation and boost trade between both sides.
A statement from the EAC Secretariat said China's Ministry of Commerce Director Department of West Asian and African Affairs Chai Zhijing held discussions with Secretary General of the East African Community Juma Mwapachu on bilateral cooperation. "The Chinese delegation were at the EAC Headquarters to explore areas of cooperation specifically trade and investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, animal-husbandry, production and processing of mineral and other natural resources, manufacturing, commerce and logistics, and tourism," the statement said.
It noted that the delegation wants to know how China could support and facilitate cross-border infrastructure projects such as transport, communication and power.
Global Times
The UK taught the world how to produce in the 19th century, the US showed the world how to consume in the 20th century, and China needs to demonstrate how to develop in a sustainable way in the 21st century.
Government moves to keep grain price low
Authorities have reportedly moved to limit wholesale grain purchases by four State-owned dealers, out of fears that prices could further escalate.
This directive is hoping to strengthen attempts to contain soaring inflation, amid nationwide concerns over higher food prices.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ordered the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), the China Grain Reserves Corporation, the China National Textiles Import and Export Corporation, and the China Grain and Logistic Corporation to suspend their procurements of grains in the market this year, the China Business reported Monday.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Turbulent Mid-East disrupts the world
Faced with uncertainties stemming from ongoing turbulence in the Middle East, no country in the region can safely assert it would smile to the end.
The chaos there seems to supply much more libido to the media in the West than to their counterparts in emerging nations. For the first time in centuries, the pace of development in the emerging nations "embarrassingly" surpassed Western society. The unrest in the region might become a big turning point for Western countries.
It might be unfair to credit conspiracy theorists for the turmoil in the Middle East. Nobody would believe that Western forces did not play a role in the region either. Though the West has lost the strength to manipulate the political process in the Middle East, it is still strong enough to influence the political outlook in some countries.
Turmoil in China is wishful thinking
In the wake of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, popular protests have swept the Arab world. Some lost no time in hyping that the wave would make its way to China. Nevertheless, such a misjudgment would only lead to disappointment.
A few Western media outlets are seeking hints of a Chinese-style "Jasmine Revolution." With a colossal population, China inevitably has a few dissidents, who are energized by the public revolts in the Middle East and call for protests or even a revolution in China. Such people do exist, especially in larger cities.
Recently, a number of Western journalists gathered at an appointed place, watching a performance art version of the "Jasmine Revolution" given by several Chinese. The number of journalists and bystanders there overwhelmed that of the performers. However, some overseas media outlets reported this as a massive popular movement, and barely veiled their expectations for turmoil in China.
Their reports essentially became stage photography, rather than investigative journalism. Strictly speaking, such careless sensationalization was rather news forgery than journalism.
Anyone knowing about the Chinese society would never predict a Chinese-style "Jasmine Revolution." This society is now generally stable. This is not merely a reflection of the state of society, but a widely held public opinion.
Indeed, China has many problems and conflicts - imbalanced development and a wide poverty gap have incurred plenty of complaints. The nation has formed a political determination to address these problems, and possible solutions are being considered.
Chinese society has no interest in solving these problems through revolution. Many still vividly remember the social upheavals that occurred decades ago. They have more faith in the strengths of reform and development.
China is far more stable than some would think. Thousands of years of history have demonstrated the stability of Chinese civilization. The social complexity here has also help created a thorough social balance.
Most problems in China are by-products of the nation's growth. China is not a dumpsite full of problems - it is more like a wharf where both accom-plishments and problems are laid. As long as the nation still keeps the momentum of growth, these disappointments will not become a Gordian knot.
Success is the best theory - no wisdom could question success. China is seeing economic and social progress now. It has drawn worldwide at-tention during the first decade of the 21st century. No matter whether they are applauded or rebuked today, these achievements will turn out to be a great success in our history. And history's dustbin is always littered with those who aspire for China's collapse.
Unrest tests wisdom of world powers
Revolution in the Middle East may gravely disrupt global development and profoundly change the world's interest structure that was established over the past half-century. The consequences of these changes will not be evenly distributed around the world. As such, how China turns these risks into opportunities will be vital to its rise in the decades to come.
National competition in the era of globalization is more cruel than it seems to be. Changes in global positioning could once be achieved through internal development or regional adjustment, but they now require global "re-identification," which cannot be achieved in a short space of time.
Reading too much into a jasmine bunch
A few people in Beijing, Shanghai and several other Chinese cities attempted to mimic the "Jasmine revolution" Sunday, as highlighted by mainstream Western media. These people, however, are like beggars in the streets - they never fade away, while the rest of the country moves forward.
The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have spread in the Middle East, and some in the West want China to become "the next Egypt." This is simply impossible. China is huge and will always contain certain problems. But a few people chanting slogans or throwing jasmine flowers in the street will not slow the country's momentum.
China's government holds the support of the majority of society. Some people do complain - occasionally because they enjoy the thrill of standing up to authority and showing off their bravado - but Chinese society as a whole cannot be represented by these agitated few. There is no collective will for revolution in China.
The Middle East has a place for China
Social revolution is reshaping the Middle East, but China has remained a spectator of this revolution, reducing the diplomatic risks at play. In terms of shaping the future of the Middle East, there is little China can do. The changes in the Middle East do affect the global outlook, with China's interests at play.
Although the US has pretended to support street democracy in the Middle East, its real support lay in a different area to that which was claimed. The US has strongly promoted the expansion of street protests in Tehran, but has not commented on the police repression in Bahrain. The reason for this is that the former is an open enemy of the United States, while the latter is the home of the US Fifth Fleet.
Democracy is more colorful than imagined
The worldwide shift toward democracy is unstoppable. However, with globalization, democracy has become more like a Russian doll: you always see the one on top, but not those hidden inside.
From the perspective of history, the global wave of democratization will remove a Western-focused center of interest.
The beginning of the Egyptian revolution is like a constitutional revolution. There seems to be a wide gulf between Egypt and Western cultures, with some external influences blocked out and some allowed in.
In the future, the US-backed Egyptian military and democrats will compete with the Muslim Brotherhood. It is still too early to assert that Egypt and the Middle East will embark on an anti-American road.
But it is even more foolhardy to conclude that the Egyptian revolution was a victory for the West. The current world order is unfair, just as a nation's richest city is filled with affluent Western influences while many live on in poverty. They will ask: Why?
The late American scholar Samuel P. Huntington wrote in The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century that elections in non-Western countries often induce politicians to come up with the claims that can win the most votes. These often have racist, religious and nationalist hues and will aggravate divisions, leading to more support for anti-Western rhetoric and policies.
For some Muslim countries, Huntington's conclusion is that people there can only choose between anti-democratic secularism and anti-Western democracy.
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
China's policies to avoid property bubbles
Wider impact of food price hikes
Controversy over fireworks in China
Security adversity on China's periphery
See Kaixin's - Tiger Mum - Amy Chua 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'
International News Sources
EastSouthWestNorth
Fake Western Media Coverage Of Jasmine Revolution In China
The website anti-CNN came into being because of the western media reporting about the Lhasa riots. Here is a post from the anti-CNN BBS about some western media coverage of the so-called Jasmine Revolution in China. It is actually not difficult to find these fake photos. You being with a suspicious-looking photo (e.g. people marching down on a major thoroughfare when it is known that the Jasmine Revolution demonstrations were sparsely attended gatherings in front of McDonald's or Starbucks), you use a photo-identification site such as TinEye and you've scored again!
Kaixin OpEd - We rest out case!
As we said before, it was only the hamburgers that were revolting.
The Wall Street Journal
China's Vote On Libya Signals Possible Shift
China's vote for the United Nations Security Council resolution on Libya represents an unusual endorsement by Beijing of sanctions against another government over the treatment of its people.
For decades, the Asian power has held as a central premise of its foreign policy that governments shouldn't interfere in the "internal affairs" of other countries.
Economist: China No. 1 by 2027 Seems ‘A Certainty’
With China now officially confirmed as the world’s second largest economy, the question is when – if ever – it will become number one and force the U.S. to eat its dust . A secondary question: What will be the role of the yuan if China takes the top spot?
Takatoshi Ito, an economist at Tokyo University, thinks China’s heading to the top fairly quickly.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Time for Next Move on Yuan Liberalization
Last year, China made waves by letting foreign investors get their hands on more of its currency. This year, the big question for many is what China will let them do with that money.
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
China's Energy Consumption Rises
SHANGHAI—China's energy consumption rose 5.9% in 2010 to 3.25 billion metric tons of coal equivalent, though growth of such consumption was expected to slow as Beijing promotes cleaner fuels and lowers its target for broader economic growth.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
China to More Than Double Entertainment Industry
BEIJING—China plans to more than double the value of its entertainment and other cultural industries to nearly three trillion yuan, or roughly $460 billion, within the next five years in effort to boost domestic consumption and propel Chinese culture overseas.
Beijing will expedite bank loans and facilitate public listings for companies involved in film and television production, live entertainment, as well as gaming and publishing, said ...
Foreign Affairs
China's Search for a Grand Strategy
A Rising Great Power Finds Its Way
By Wang Jisi
Any country's grand strategy must answer at least three questions: What are the nation's core interests? What external forces threaten them? And what can the national leadership do to safeguard them? Whether China has any such strategy today is open to debate.
Forbes
Jasmine Revolutions Throw China’s Africa Strategy Into Limbo
While many China observers have wondered about the effect of North Africa’s jasmine revolutions on Chinese society, there has been far less discussion about how they will affect China on the business front.
For the past decade, China’s trade with Africa has expanded exponentially ...
The Telegraph
The end of China's cheap denim dream
Rising labour costs and a shortage of cotton means that China's days at the head of a denim empire could soon be numbered.
The New York Times
China Reduces Growth Goal and Vows to Curb Inequities
Premier Wen Jiabao reduced China’s economic growth goals and said that the government would focus on ensuring the benefits of expansion were more evenly distributed.
Caixin Online
Web of Graft Surrounding Railway Minister Uncovered
A probe into the dealings of a well-known associate of the Minister of Railways unearthed illicit gains of up to 800 million yuan, and is believed to have set off a wave of investigations
(Beijing) – A deeply-entrenched network of fraud including equipment suppliers and subsidiary officials has emerged around China's recently dismissed railway head.
See Kaixin's - Corruption v 'li shang wang lai' 礼尚往来
High Costs and Safety Issues Cloud High-Speed Rail Projects
With the abrupt dismissal of the minister of railways earlier this month, the State Council has undertaken a review of plans to rapidly expand China’s high-speed rail capacity
(Beijing) -- China's massive plans to build high-speed railways could be revisited by top decision makers after the ousting of the Minister of Railways, Liu Zhijun. Sources told Caixin that since Liu was detained, the State Council has held several meetings to evaluate the financial sustainability of the project as well as its safety standards.
Maybe the Fed will change its mind when the streets of Washington burn like Cairo's
Popular revolts have toppled governments that have ruled for decades in Tunisia and Egypt.
...
Social revolutions have complex social backgrounds. It usually involves multiple pressure points that fester for many years. The tipping point involves some trigger. In this case the rapid inflation, especially food inflation, in the second half of 2010 was the trigger.
Asia Times Online
Chinese learn to live with rising food costs
Rising food prices are of growing concern to China's central government, with Premier Wen Jiabao this weekend acknowledging the risk they bring of social unrest. Yet a fatalistic acceptance appears more the norm among the capital's shopkeepers.
Kaixin OpEd – That is the message Kaixin is getting from Middle China.
Rising prices are not a particular concern at this point.
See Over for the 28th of February 2011
CULTURAL CHINA
Articles of interest from the week's news
Insights into China's Society & Cutlure
Making the cut for dragon's day
Hair salons get ready for peak in customers
As the legendary dragon prepares to raise its head, Beijing hair salons are being bombarded with bookings by citizens searching for good luck.
Thousands will hit the barbers' chair next Sunday to celebrate Longtaitou - the second day of the second lunar month - as it is a traditional day for Chinese to get haircuts.
A visitor holds a snowball at the snow-covered Temple of Heaven park in Beijing
See Kaixin's - Contemporary China in Photoghraphs
CCTV Studio interview: Encouraging youth to learn traditional culture VIDEO
For more on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, we are joined by our current affairs commentator, RAYMOND ZHOU in the studio.
Q1: Hello, RAYMOND, it seems that there are less young people wanting to learn traditional cultures, what do you think can be done to reverse this trend?
Q2: A new law comes into effect this June, what do you think is the significance of this?
CCTV Can flower-drum song passed to the next generation? VIDEO
It's not only palace lanterns that are losing their vitality but many other Chinese intangible cultural heritages are as well. Folk arts are silently becoming "old arts".
Lyrics Meaning: A girl is sewing flowers in her room. Suddenly she hears someone playing music outside her door.
The song is precious. The 93 year old man is the only person in China who can sing a complete flower-drum song. Yes, that's what you are hearing.
He's definitely a unique artist of the country. But can he pass his art to the next generation? That's what he's really worried about.
He said, "There's no one left but me. If I die, flower-drum songs will be lost."
CCTV Palace lantern craftsmen in search of successors VIDEO
The protection of intangible cultural heritage faces one common obstacle. That is the lack of successors. The Beijing palace lantern, a typical form of traditional Chinese culture, has enjoyed a sought-after reputation in the world throughout history. But now it is in desperate need of successors.
Palace lanterns can be found in many parts of Beijing, such as theatrical stages, tea houses and traditional taverns. The glamorous lanterns themselves are the stories of their past glories.
The beautiful pieces are made by the Beijing Art Red Lantern Factory. Zhai Yuliang is a third generation craftsman. As the sales manager of this lantern factory, he points out the difficulties this cultural industry faces.
Zhai said, "The staff here are not young. Most of us are more than 50 years old. We are not able to recruit youngsters."
The traditional Chinese palace lantern experienced its hey-day after 1915, when it was given the golden award at the Panama World Exposition. After that it became a major export product.
Xiaolin believes in truth through a lens
Walking through city alleys and field ridges in rural areas carrying his cameras, Xiaolin enjoys his time recording every element in life that most easily ignore.
"Going to different places to experience people's life makes me keep tranquil and rich in mind," Xiaolin says of the reward he gets from photography.
Starting from a love for Chinese painting as a child and as a requirement for his job after graduation as a graphic designer, Xiaolin decided to express the beauty frozen in a single frame through photography starting in 2003.
Xiaolin said he cherishes honesty and truth in every photo and considers it necessary for every photographer who wants his works unique.
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