19th of August 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."
People's Daily
PD interview with U.S.Vice President Joseph R. Biden
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden kicked off visit to China on Aug. 17, 2011. Before his visit, Wen Xian, People’s Daily's resident reporter in the United States had a written interview with Mr. Biden. The following is the content of the interview:
Vice-President Xi Jinping greets his US counterpart Joe Biden during a welcoming ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday
Experts urge China to trim US T-bond holdings
BEIJING - China should reduce its holdings of US Treasury bonds to protect the value of its massive foreign exchange reserves despite reassurances from US Vice-President Joe Biden, analysts said on Thursday.
"China should move progressively to cut its holdings of US Treasury bonds and use it as leverage to ask Washington to further open its markets, including the high-technology sector, to Chinese investment," Xiang Songzuo, deputy director of the Center for International Monetary Research at Renmin University of China, said at a forum.
"Washington should provide a guarantee on the safety of China's assets," while it is creating global inflationary pressure through quantitative easing to stimulate its economy, Xiang said.
Qinghai to develop vast mineral resources
China's northwestern Qinghai province will spend 20 billion on prospecting under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), a senior official said.
Speaking at the eighth forum of National Reform and Development for Non-ferrous Metal Geology Exploration, Qinghai's Vice Governor Luo Yulin said that greater efforts should be made to prospect a variety of mines and a 3-billion-yuan campaign will kick off this year.
Located in northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Qinghai is at the intersection of China's four plates. It is endowed with a unique geological environment and the most abundant metallogenic belts. So far, only one-fifth of the mine survey has been done across the province, leaving great potential for further prospecting.
Wuhan to develop micro-sized enterprises
It is reported that Wuhan city recently has announced the decision of promoting the development of local micro-sized enterprises since this year.
The city plans to develop over 20,000 micro-sized enterprises and create jobs for more than 10,000 people every year. Within the next five years, the number of micro-sized enterprises will be increased five times over, while more than 50,000 workers will be absorbed into micro-sized enterprises. The target set for the plan is to hatch and foster a group of small and medium-sized enterprises with steady growth prospects.
History of US debt is history of US wars
Regardless of if and how politicians in Washington will resolve the debt ceiling issue, it might be noteworthy to review how America's national debt has bloated to such an astronomical figure and reflect on any lessons that may be learned from the debt history.
The defense industry's self-propelling war-making mechanism may be best summarized by what is called the "(Michael) Ledeen principle," which states: "Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business."
Japan, China join hands to mourn Nanjing Massacre victims
On Aug.15, 2011, more than 100 people, including Nanjing citizens, experts with the Nanjing International Peace Research Institute and Japanese citizens, attended an international peaceful assembly in Nanjing to mourn for more than 300,000 victims killed in the Nanjing Massacre and pray for eternal world peace.
The peaceful assembly was held in front of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre. After attendees laid wreaths and expressed condolences to the dead, the director of the Memorial Hall said that the purpose of this commemorative activity is to remind people not to forget the history and draw on historical experience. He also added that we should never allow the tragedy repeat itself.
Shenzhen ready for unique opening of World University Games
SHENZHEN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's organizers have vowed to open the 26th World University Games with a totally "unique" ceremony Friday night in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city that neighbors Hong Kong.
With the spectacular opening of Beijing 2008 Olympics still lingering in the memoies of many, Shenzhen is keen to impress the world in a different way when the Universiade start at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, nicknamed the "Spring Cocoon" because of its look.
"Unlike the ceremonies of previous multi-sport events, we've given emphasis to the ritual itself and the athletes, while the artisitc performance takes secondary role," said Jiang Haoyang, the chief director of the opening ceremony for the Shenzhen Universiade, which take place from Aug. 12 to 23.
Old Han customs stand the test of time
Guizhou is home to 34 ethnic groups of China's total 56. A clan of Han Chinese, an overall majority in China but known as Tunpu people here, has strived very hard to maintain their traditions of old Han culture.
For 600 years, Tunpu people have been living in fortress-like stone houses and keeping the old Han culture.
China Daily
Opening ceremony starts for Shenzhen Universiade - SLIDESHOW
'We must boost market confidence'
Vice-President tells Biden cooperation is the only choice
BEIJING - China and the United States share a responsibility for boosting global market confidence, Vice-President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while meeting US Vice-President Joe Biden who is on a trust-building visit.
"Recently, turmoil in international financial markets has deepened and global economic growth faces severe challenges," Xi said.
"As the world's two biggest economies, China and the US have a responsibility to strengthen macro-economic policy coordination and together boost market confidence.
"In facing a complicated and fast-changing world, cooperation is the only correct choice for the two countries," Xi told Biden during their two-hour meeting inside the Great Hall of the People.
The Chinese leader also expressed confidence in US economic prospects.
Biden said that economic stability depended on US-China collaboration.
Property prices in top cities remain flat
BEIJING - Property prices in three first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen - were flat on a monthly basis in July, the first time this has happened in three years, as rigorous tightening policies started to bite.
New home prices in the three cities were the same in July as they were in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.
"The figures clearly point to a falling trend in property prices," Zhang Dawei, chief researcher with Centaline Group, a Hong Kong-based real estate agency, said.
But price growth was static only in the big cities and a national turning point "has yet to emerge", he said.
In July, 31 cities recorded lower or flat property prices, five more than in June.
See Kaixin's - China Real Estate
Chinese leaders call for Sino-ASEAN cooperation
Chinese leaders have called for greater cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in a time of economic uncertainty.
"China and ASEAN countries need to strengthen economic ties at a time when the cloud of the financial crisis is yet to clear and new waves of risks are bubbling", Hua Jianmin, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee said at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Pan-Beibu Gulf (PBG) Economic Cooperation Forum.
China and PBG countries should establish and improve cooperation mechanisms, set up transportation networks via land and sea, and boost cultural exchanges, Hua said.
PBG countries include China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Guangdong province, Hainan province, and six ASEAN members including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.
See Kaixin's - Economic China
Demand surge driving gas imports
Economic expansion, urbanization supporting domestic consumption
BEIJING - Swelling domestic demand for natural gas could lift China's foreign-dependency ratio for the less-polluting fuel to as high as 50 percent by 2020, industry experts estimate.
Rapid economic expansion and accelerating urbanization are providing strong support for natural gas consumption, making it hard for domestic production capacity to catch up, they said.
China recorded first-half GDP growth of 9.6 percent.
Choking to death
A runaway hit on Beijing's stage highlights the plight of China's creative industry under the yoke of nonsensical censorship and the hopelessness of its struggle for more breathing room.
Chinese actor Chen Daoming stars in Beijing People's Art Theater's drama Sorrows of Comedy
Primary school closed in Beijing
Two boys worry about their schooling for the coming semester in Beijing on August 15, 2011. Their primary school, where most pupils are the children of migrant workers, was demolished on August 10 after the contract between the school and local government ended. Local officials promised the school's students could go to other primary schools in the area, but parents are concerned there may be extra fees to pay and worry places are limited.
School's out forever
If there is such a thing as Tiger Mom in China, Fang Lian is surely one as she seems ready to pounce.
Her eyebrows knit together and she's furious but not because her child has been inattentive at piano lessons. She's upset with the Beijing municipal government which is forcing her son's school to close.
"Why would they shut down this school?" said the 42-year-old mother from Bengbu, Anhui Province, who has sold vegetables in Beijing for a decade but has no claim to permanent residency status.
"Where am I supposed to send my kid? Don't they care about the education of our children?" said the bewildered mother who has been through this once before with terrible results.
China's sex ratio declines for 2 straight years
BEIJING - China's sex ratio has declined for two straight years, which shows the nation's increase of sex ratio at birth has been preliminarily brought under control, China's chief of population and family planning said on Tuesday.
Li Bin, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, made the remarks at a press conference regarding the work of the crackdown on illegal sex determination and sex-selective abortions for non-medical needs.
China's sex ratio at birth was 118.08 males for every 100 females in 2010, according to census data, Li said.
Strict campaign to rectify sex imbalance
BEIJING - As China's population becomes more dominated by males, authorities have begun a national campaign to crack down on procedures used to determine a fetus' sex for anything other than medical purposes and abortions performed because a fetus is of a certain sex.
Dollar assets concerns eased
Locke emphasizes importance of bridging differences
BEIJING - China's dollar investments in the United States remain safe despite concerns following the credit rating downgrade, Gary Locke, the new US ambassador to China, said on Sunday.
Since Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating for long-term US debt in early August, Washington's fiscal policy, and the uncertainty it has caused for Beijing's large holdings of dollar assets, have been under fire in the Chinese media.
Beijing has urged Washington to take "responsible" measures to raise market confidence in the dollar and US government debt.
Much of Beijing's $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves are invested in US government bonds.
New US ambassador to China Gary Locke is surrounded by journalists outside his residence in Bejing on Sunday during his first meeting with the media after arriving on Friday night.
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XinHua News
Rwanda sees trade expansion with China as key objective
KIGALI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- During a visit by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, Rwandan officials on Thursday urged local companies to use the leverage of its government's strong political relationship with China to develop new business and investment opportunities.
Tibet to extend free education to senior high school students
LHASA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region will extend free education, which used to cover only primary and junior high schools, to all senior high school and secondary vocational school students starting from the autumn semester this year.
See Kaixin's - China & Tibet
Senior Chinese official outlines proposal to boost China-Nepal ties
KATHMANDU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Visiting senior Chinese official Zhou Yongkang put forward a range of measures here Wednesday to promote China-Nepal relations.
Senior Chinese official stresses diversification in coal-rich province
TAIYUAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) He Guoqiang has reiterated the government's call for the coal-rich province of Shanxi to diversify away from being so reliant on its resource-based economy.
Vice Premier Li Keqiang visits elders' home in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang visited an elders' home on Tuesday, the first stop of his community inspection tour in Hong Kong.
The social services building, managed by Hong Kong's leading charity organization Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and named after a well-known Hong Kong architect and philanthropist Wong Cho Tong, started operation in 2001 and now serves over 10,000 people every year.
China's aging population rises to nearly 178 mln
BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A government report released Tuesday showed that the number of China's citizens at and above 60 years old had increased to 177.65 million.
The aging population made up 13.26 percent of the total Chinese population, according to the report by the administration department of China's National Working Commission on Aging (CNWCA).
The world appreciates a steady yuan: World Bank
SYDNEY, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- In a ranging speech, World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick on Sunday warned of a continuing dangerous world economic climate and said in such fragile times the RMB may prove a surprise winner.
Zoellick said the steady Chinese yuan may help global markets pull through "a time of danger."
Speaking at the Asia Society's annual dinner in Sydney, Zoellick said RMB and other currencies may form a basket in the future to play the role as the international reserve currency and better serve the world economy.
Zoellick said that while China may not be able to repeat its past stimulatory policy due to high inflationary pressures, he was encouraged by both the Chinese leadership's attentiveness and its track-record of working with organizations like the IMF and the World Bank.
See Kaixin's - Yuan Revaluation & Internationalisation
China's microblogs enhance public's supervision of government
BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A decade ago, the most favored medium for Chinese people to air their complaints was perhaps through the state-owned China Central Television network.
However, the Internet has superseded television as the most popular means for the airing of discontent, with microblogs leading the charge.
Microblogs came to prominence in China just two years ago, but have exploded in popularity. Sina Weibo, one of the country's most popular microblog providers, has allowed the country's citizens to supervise - and criticize - China's government in ways that were never thought possible before.
In comparison to microblogs, traditional media entities face technical and systematic restrictions in their efforts to observe and supervise the government. The Internet and its vast number of microbloggers are now able to make up for this deficiency, according to Zhan Jiang, a professor of journalism at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
China's stealth fighter J-20 shows flexibility in test flight
Global Times
Biden's noodle diplomacy hailed
US Vice President Joe Biden impressed the Chinese public Thursday by dining in a small restaurant in Beijing, while he and Chinese leaders vowed to deepen the two countries' economic partnership and expand high-level exchanges.
Biden started his second day in Beijing by meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People.
"In the face of a complicated and fast-changing world, cooperation is the only correct choice of the two countries," Xi said. "China and the US are transforming their economic development modes and restructuring their economies, which has provided the two nations with good opportunities for cooperation."
"There is no more important relationship that we need to establish on the part of the US than the close relationship with China," Biden replied, adding that cooperation between the two sides has a significant impact on world economic stability.
Xi stressed the importance of maintaining high-level exchanges and pursuing common interests, while reiterating that Taiwan and Tibet-related issues are China's core interests and should be handled prudently and properly.
Biden faces tough talks in China
US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Beijing Monday, starting a four-day China tour that will see him meet with Chinese leaders on hot issues such as the US debt crisis and pending arms sales to Taiwan.
This is Biden's first trip to the region as Washington's second-in-command. He was a member of the first US delegation to visit China 32 years ago, following the normalization of Sino-US relations.
Antony Blinken, Biden's national security advisor, said Monday that the economic aspect of the trip is "obviously very important."
"Of course, our trade and investment ties with China in particular are growing rapidly in both directions, and we expect this to continue to be a vitally important trade investment relationship in terms of our broader jobs and exports agenda," Blinken told reporters.
China's grass really is greener
The most chaos I deal with in my daily life in China is whether or not a cyclist or cabbie is going to stop for me as I cross the street. I don't live in fear of violent riots breaking out in the streets of Beijing, of the economy collapsing around me, of being ordered into my home at night due to a police curfew. I feel safe here, more so than I ever did in the American cities in which I lived.
CCTV - 9
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China Business Culture Science & Technology Travel
Full CCTV9 Television Coverge in English
Full Video: Opening ceremony of 2011 Shenzhen Universiade
CCTV's "Heart-to-Heart" Art Troupe performed at Potala Palace in Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday. Now, let's join the more than 10,000 people who attended the show.
This performance by the "Heart-to-Heart" Art Troupe was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of the Tibet Autonomous Region, showing the great changes and development that has occurred there.
The number of participating performers and audience members was the most ever since the art troupe began performing there. And many of the performers are local.
See Kaixin's - China & Tibet
China’s stealth fighter J-20 shows flexibility in test flight - Dynamic Slideshow
A special tourist train travelling from Moscow to Beijing began its first voyage on this week. The train on the world's longest railroad will offer tourists the opportunity to appreciate exotic scenery in Russia, Mongolia and China.
Departing in Moscow, this new tourist train has begun its first two-week trip to Beijing. It stops in a total of eight cities. A rich programme of sightseeing and excursions are offered in each of these cities. One of the highlights is travelling on a circular railway around picturesque Lake Baikal, and a night in an authentic Mongolian yurt.
At China's biggest beer gala in Qingdao, nearly 300-thousand thirsty drinkers enjoyed a pint or two. Apart from the popularity of the local brew, some festival goers also prefer imported foreign beers.
Some 280,000 people streamed into the Qingdao International Beer Festival's opening day over last weekend in the eastern coastal city of Shandong Province.
China's refitted aircraft carrier left its shipyard at Dalian Port in northeast Liaoning Province on Wednesday morning to start its first sea trial. Military sources said that the first trial is on schedule for the carrier's refitting project and shouldnt take long.
After returning from its trial, the aircraft carrier will continue refitting and testing work. The carrier was originally built by the former Soviet Union which named it Varyag but failed to complete its construction before collapsing in 1991. The still-unnamed aircraft carrier was an empty shell. Ukraine disarmed it and removed its engines before selling it to China.
Environment protection: Small actions in community, big impact in the world
The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program, an initiative implemented by the United Nation...
Wine becomes mark of China´s middle class
For China´s new middle class, wine has become a way of expressing social elitism, while it&acu...
Dialogue 11/08/04 India looks east
Dialogue 11/08/05 Inflation and China´s masses
Dialogue 11/08/07 Homegrown terror in the west
Dialogue 11/08/09 New figures reaffirm inflation challenge
The Wall Street Journal
At Robotic Show, a New Player: China (Video)
At a convention in Washington, D.C., showcasing the latest in robotic technology is featuring a Chinese company for the first time. AEE’s F50 drone shoots video in high-definition and can hover in the air for 30 minutes.
Coca-Cola Plans $4 Billion China Investment
Coca-Cola Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said Thursday that the Atlanta soft-drink giant plans $4 billion in new spending in China over the next three years, the latest big investment commitment by multinational food and beverage groups targeting the world's No. 2 economy.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Kent said the investment would be used to add bottling plants, expand some existing facilities and fund initiatives in distribution, marketing and the development of new cold drinks. "It's our third-largest global market, growing at double-digits," he said.
Finding Green Pastures in China
Brian Curley is One of the Most Prolific Course Designers in the World's Fastest Growing Golf Market
Brian Curley has designed dozens of golf courses in China, but none is quite as outlandish as the one he's crafting now.
First Photos of Chinese Aircraft Carrier Sea Trials
The first pictures of what appear to be China’s new aircraft carrier conducting its sea trials near the northeastern port of Dalian last week have been posted online.
China’s Presumptive Premier-to-Be Busts Out English Skills
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, widely expected to replace Wen Jiabao as premier in 18 months, showed off his English-language skills at a speech Thursday morning on a high-profile trip to Hong Kong.
Should My Kid Learn Mandarin Chinese?
I started to truly appreciate the power of early childhood Chinese-language education when our son, at the age of two, started speaking English wrong. “The blue of cup,” he would say, meaning his blue cup.
See Kaixin's - Introduction to Chinese
Chinese Hunger for Corn Stretches Farm Belt
China's struggle to meet the growing demands of its middle class is fueling a sudden surge in demand for corn, sending vast ripples across the U.S. farm belt and potentially upending the grain's trade flows around the world.
China's need for corn—which forms the basis of sweeteners, starch and alcohol as well as feed for livestock—was on stark display in July when the nation ordered 21 million bushels of U.S. corn in one hit, more than the U.S. government thought the country would buy in a year. The purchase surprised the market and came as an intense July heat wave ...
Biden, Xi Talk Up Ties
BEIJING—U.S. and Chinese leaders at the outset of a visit by Vice President Joe Biden stressed the importance of cooperation amid global uncertainty, with U.S. officials saying they'd received a vote of confidence in America's economy from the man expected to soon become China's top official.
Reading the Tea Leaves on Biden’s Trip to China
Always-quotable Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing Wednesday evening for several days of meetings with China’s pursed-lipped Communist rulers in a trip largely devoid of access for journalists.
In Chinese Interview, Biden Stresses Better Ties
SHANGHAI—U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sounded a positive note toward China in an interview with its main official newspaper ahead of a four-day visit to the country, welcoming Chinese companies to invest in the U.S. and reiterating a pledge to address a key Chinese trade complaint by easing U.S. restrictions on exports.
China Environmental Protests a Victory for People Over Party? Not So Fast
This past weekend’s protests in the northeastern city of Dalian to close a controversial chemical plant there have been interpreted by many observers as yet another sign of the Communist Party in retreat.
It’s nothing of the kind. The protests do not demonstrate that people’s power is changing China. The event actually demonstrates the current weakness of the public when matched against the Party.
Photos: Massive Environmental Protest in Northeastern China
China Bows to Plant Protesters
SHANGHAI—The Dalian city government agreed to shutter a chemical plant in an unusual display of responsiveness, bowing to environmental protests that brought thousands of residents onto the streets of the northeastern Chinese port city.
The decision to close the plant was announced just hours after Dalian's Communist Party Secretary Tang Jun, standing atop a police van, tried and failed to disperse a crowd authorities estimated at 12,000 with a pledge to relocate the plant at a future date.
"Time!" "Time!" "Tell us when!" members of the crowd shouted back at Mr. Tang, drowning him out.
Just two years old, the ...
Kaixin OpEd - From time to time (well, quite regularly really) people accuse of being too pro China, or ignoring the problems.
Xiaosui and I (Graeme) are not saying that there are no problems in China, no issues. However, that is not the focus of Kaixin. The problems and negative issues in China are well covered in both the Western and the Chinese Media.
It is necessary that people stand up and expose problems and negative issues in any country, China included.
Xiaosui and I respect the people who stand up in China and voice their concerns and expose corruption. It can take immense courage in China, where the power of the State and the Communist Party is still strong and largely un-accountable. Where the judicial system has a long way to go before it is independent and fully transparent.
However, there are positive steps being taken, and the Chinese people are starting to demand a more open and fairer society, free (as possible) from corruption and nepotism.
This will take time.
They need the encouragement and the hand of friendship from countries like America. Not constant criticism, derision and patronising, which Xiaosui and I see every day in the Western Media.
The people on the ground, the everyday people of America, and western countries in general, are on the whole fine, upstanding and open to friendship. Just like the people in China.
Shouldn’t we extend the hand of friendship and not let the media and the politicians get in the way.
Are China’s National Treasures Safe Inside the Forbidden City?
A string of recent stories in the Chinese press have sparked a new wave of public scrutiny of Beijing’s Palace Museum, home to a number of relics considered precious in China, further complicating a contentious debate around whether or not the many artifacts that have been taken or smuggled out of the country should be returned.
Kaixin OpEd – This has to be a joke …. surely.
It is beyond patronising.
Any objects stolen or looted from China must be returned. How China cares for these items is solely the concern of China.
This pitiful article seems to argue that if a burglar looks after something they stole from your house, and subsequently you had dropped a cup in the kitchen, then they should keep it, because you might not care for it as well.
Jeez …. you yanks are unbelievable ….
See Kaixin's - Does an immoral act cease to be immoral over time? - The Looting of the Summer Palace
Is the World Ready for Baijiu?
Baijiu isn’t for the easily tipsy. Richard Nixon’s advisers famously tried to keep the president away from the strong Chinese liquor (baijiu translates as “white spirit”) at state dinners during his first visit to China in 1972.
Chinese Man Proposes to Girlfriend, Backed by Giant Dancing Carrots
Over the weekend, one bride-to-be in the eastern China city of Qingdao was taken by surprise by a quirky marriage proposal involving her boyfriend and 48 of his friends dressed as giant carrots.
The stunt, performed on Saturday’s qixi holiday—the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, often referred to as Chinese Valentine’s Day—was captured on video broadcast on Liaoning TV.
The Age
America is rotting at its core
Hugh White
As China rapidly ascends in influence, its superpower rival seems unable to face up to its failings.
Kaixin OpEd - 'And while it is easy to see how Windows and Word make real differences to productivity throughout the economy, that's less clear for later generations of software. Facebook, for example.'
From the chattering of productive machinery to the chattering of the great unwashed ....
A profound lack of understand about China is creating its own problems for Australia and the world (America in particular).
America is not going to decline into oblivion. When the America people reclaim their political agenda and are allowed to get back to work, America will get through this current turmoil.
However the world is changing. America will have to share power with China & BRICS in general. That, in my opinion, is a good thing.
Oh, and Europe …. they will probably buy a latte on credit and talk about something really really important, like the existential meaning of tulips in a declining economy.
This dragon has plenty of fire left
John Garnaut
Yet an economy as centrally controlled as is China's is particularly vulnerable to political stagnation and procrastination, writes John Garnaut in Beijing.
Kaixin - An interesting and detailed overview
The New York Times
Biden Opens Talks in China
BEIJING — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Chinese leaders on Thursday stressed the need for economic cooperation at a time when the global economy is struggling with new crises. But a fistfight at an American-versus-Chinese good-will basketball game at night cast a shadow on the day’s diplomacy.
‘Made in China,’ but Still Profiting Americans
A new study finds that a majority of the price consumers pay for goods labeled "Made in China" goes to American businesses, not Chinese ones.
China Moves Swiftly to Close Chemical Plant After Protests
The decision to shut down the plant after protesters demanded its closure because of safety concerns represents an uncommonly rapid government response to public anger.
China Begins Security Crackdown in Western Region
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
BEIJING — China announced a two-month “strike hard” security campaign on Tuesday in the troubled western region of Xinjiang, with 24-hour police patrols of crowded areas, identity checks, street searches, increased criminal investigations and accelerated trials.
Books
Highlighting Differences in Interpretations of the Opium War
HONG KONG — Julia Lovell’s book tour for “The Opium War” sailed along the historic path of the conflict itself.
The book was introduced last month in Hong Kong, a city whose modern history began when it was handed to Britain after China’s defeat in the first Opium War in 1842, marking the start of 155 years as a prosperous crown colony.
Caixin Online
Blindfolds and Bullet Trains
The nation's high-speed railroad roared to life with tricky technology transfers and unscientific decisions
Train speeds in China topped out at 160 kilometers per hour back in 2004, the year the government pulled the throttle on an historic, nationwide expansion for high-speed rail.
Ministry of Railways Spokesman Sacked
Wang Yongping, spokesman of China's Ministry of Railways, is the fourth senior official to be dismissed following the deadly train crash on July 26
(Beijing) – China's Ministry of Railways said on August 16 that it had dismissed its spokesman, Wang Yongping. A source from the ministry said Wang has been appointed to the represent a railway construction project in Poland.
China Sets Criteria for "Overheated" Housing Market
Cities that have seen significant price or sales growth in the residential housing market and areas where public discontent over home prices are high are among the criteria
(Beijing) -- The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has set specific criteria for gauging property markets at the municipal-level, with markets determined as "overheated" now subject to new home purchasing restrictions, Shanghai Securities News reported on August 17.
See Kaixin's - China Real Estate
Foreign Exchange Regulator Says Hot Money Inflows on the Rise
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said it will continue to monitor hot money inflows and strengthen measures against illegal exchanges
(Beijing) -- China's foreign exchange regulator said hot money inflows are a growing concern, with illegal exchanges up by over 20 percent in the first half of this year. According to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), over 1,800 cases of illegal foreign exchange businesses have been shut down since the start of the year, which involved a total of US$ 16 billion.
See Kaixin's - Yuan Revaluation & Internationalisation
Caixin Survey: An Era of Wage Growth
Economists say recent wage data shows that China is entering a period of accelerated wage growth in the manufacturing sector
China is approaching a new era of wage inflation that may last as long as 10 years. There are many contributing factors – rising consumer good prices, soaring property prices, a tightening labor supply and a new generation of more educated workers.
In addition, as per-capita GDP surpasses US$ 3,000 to 4,000, China's manufacturing workers' demands for leisure time has been growing, further increasing the pressure for wage growth.
See Kaixin's - Economic China
Economist: Pork Reserves Will Not Ease Prices
A researcher at the National Development and Reform Commission says local government pork reserves are too limited to affect pork prices
(Beijing) – China's efforts to release pork reserves into the market may have a psychological impact on consumers but is unlikely to ease surging prices, said a state-affiliated researcher.
The Self-Estrangement of Officials
The shortcomings of corrupt officials should all be balanced against the fact that limitless power often induces a certain removal from reality.
Not Too Late for Fujian's Tulou Buildings
The 400-year-old Chengqi clan home in Fujian Province's Yongding County is known as the "king of earthen Hakka buildings." Known locally as ‘tulou,’ it received World Cultural Heritage status from the United Nation’s World Heritage Centre in 2008.
Asia Times Online
US gropes, muscular China wrestles
By Benjamin A Shobert
As the United States model of reliance on free-market forces coupled to political liberalization sinks further into the mire, two camps in China are slugging it out to wrestle with capitalism, post 2008. Caped crusaders in the Rightist corner follow the Stars and Stripes, while the pants of those in the New Left corner are emblazoned with "democracy with Chinese characteristics".
SINOGRAPH
China's shift in posture as the West wanes
By Francesco Sisci
China views the economic crisis afflicting the United States and Europe as indicative of failure in Western democracy and the need for a new financial order to reduce risks from that malaise. Perceptions of the West's waning credibility could prompt preparations for a new order on many fronts.
Hong Kong rocked by illegal structures
By Augustine Tam
A mudslinging match between Hong Kong's pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps over "illegal structures", such as home extensions, is playing out in the media. Newspapers have taken turns to expose indulgent additions by officials to the island's jam-packed skyline, such as glass-covered balconies, roof canopies and swimming pools, but this has only created a zero-sum political game.
When Hu's carrier met Ma's missile
By Jens Kastner
Taiwan's decision to reveal a supersonic "carrier killer" missile on the day China launched its first aircraft carrier seemed to contradict the warming climate of cross-strait relations. A closer look at the premature nature of both launches reveals that the weapons are more aimed at domestic targets, for both Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.
THE ROVING EYE
An extreme traveler, Pepe's nose for news has taken him to all parts of the Pepe Escobar globe. He was in Afghanistan and interviewed the military leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Masoud, a couple of weeks before his assassination
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