19th of September 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
Solar panel plant shut down as residents protest
Grievances and protests staged by more than 500 residents near a solar panel factory in East China's Zhejiang Province has forced the plant to shut down and deal with pollution it has caused in its vicinity.
The protesters gathered outside the Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd and aired their complaints and disapprovals last week.
The Shanghai Daily reported on Monday that local government in Haining City held New York-listed solar equipment plant responsible for discharging contaminated water into a local river system that has killed large numbers of fish.
US arms sale to 'spark strong reaction'
WASHINGTON / BEIJING - An arms sale by the United States to Taiwan, a probability according to media reports, will damage relations with China and trigger strong reaction from Beijing, analysts said.
China's home prices moderate amid tightening
NEW home prices in major Chinese cities continued to rise in August compared to a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. But more cities reported that increases were slowing as the government's tightening measures took effect.
All 70 cities monitored by the bureau saw prices of new homes rise from a year earlier with 25 reporting increases of 5 percent or more.
India makes waves with South China Sea oil and gas exploration
India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna began a 3-day visit to Vietnam on Friday as reports claimed that an Indian state-owned oil producer is set to undertake joint exploration of gas resources in the South China Sea with Vietnam, in spite of protests from Beijing.
India picks a quarrel with China
By M K Bhadrakumar
Planned exploration of Vietnamese offshore oil blocks by a state-owned Indian firm is Delhi's calculated provocation of South China Sea sensitivities, and the actual target: Beijing's burgeoning alliance with Pakistan. China's stepped up involvement in Kashmir has not gone unnoticed in the Indian capital. Drumming up a sea territories spat also proves a timely distraction from domestic woes.
Vice President of China stresses water conservation
BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Xi Jinping on Sunday called for water-saving awareness in the society and innovation in water conservation across the country.
"The per capita availability of water resources in China is quite small, so water conservation is the principal solution to the country's water resources issue," Xi said.
Foreign investments flood into new Chinese industries
The 2011 International Investment Forum opened on Sept. 8 in Xiamen, Fujian province with the theme "The 10th Anniversary of China's Accession to the WTO: Openness, Cooperation and Mutual Benefit."
This forum has attracted nearly 500 leading investors from 108 countries who are closely watching the investment environment of China.
China to establish fund for investment in Russia
IRKUTZSK, Russia, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- China has planned to establish a special fund to support its investment in Russia and is willing to develop it into a joint project, said a senior Chinese official at an international economic forum here Monday.
China and Russia held talks on the first day of the seventh Baikal Economic Forum, discussing current bilateral trade and investment environment.
Contracts worth 130 bln U.S. dollars clinched at first China-Eurasia Expo
URUMQI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The first China-Eurasia Expo that concluded Monday in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has clinched trade and technical cooperation contracts worth about 130 billion U.S. dollars, expo organizer said.
Among all contracts, 5.5 billion dollars are clinched between Chinese and foreign companies, while 124 billion dollars are among Chinese companies, the organizer said.
About 50,000 officials and business people from China and about 30 countries, regions and international organizations attended the trade fair, which also attracted an audience of more than 300,000 people.
China Daily
People fly Kongming lanterns, also known as sky lanterns, to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Pingxi in northern Taiwan, Sept 12, 2011. Kongming lanterns are paper lanterns traditionally found in some Asian cultures and always released during festivals such as the Chinese Mid-Autumn and Lantern festivals to pray for blessings. Pingxi town is well-known for its sky lanterns and its annual International Sky Lantern Festival near Lantern Festival.
Banking on change
Leading economist says china must transform its growth model soon
Stephen Roach, one of the most prominent economists on Asia, is used to swimming against the tides of conventional wisdom.
He was among the earliest voices on Wall Street to predict, in early 2001, that the United States economy was facing a long stretch of weak growth. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when most critics expected China to be one of many Asian countries to fall hard, Roach, who was then Morgan Stanley's chief economist, said China was not going to fall. He was right.
Now, however, Roach is singing the praises of China's economy to a more common tune: The economy must change its growth model - now.
At his Yale University office in New Haven, Conn, Roach says China must move increasingly away from its exports- and fixed-investment-driven economy of the past 30 years toward growth that is propelled mainly by Chinese consumers.
China, UK to co-work on yuan services in London
London – China and the UK welcome private-sector interest in developing an offshore market in London to trade the yuan.
Following a press conference on Thursday afternoon by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, the two governments issued a statement confirming the agreement.
"We agreed to collaborate on the development of renminbi-denominated financial products and services in London, and our regulators stand ready to support this market," the Chancellor said.
The agreement will reinforce London's position as a global currency hub, whilst the yuan expands its offshore trading. Hong Kong is the only place permitted by China to act as a centre for deposits in the yuan, as the Chinese currency slowly becomes more flexible.
See Kaixin's - Yuan Revaluation & Internationalisation
HK to boost yuan's internationalization
XIAMEN-- Hong Kong is exerting efforts to build itself into an offshore center for RMB or yuan, China's currency, which, experts say, will accelerate the currency's internationalization process.
Hong Kong will be dedicated to developing cross-border settlement in RMB and establishing an offshore center accordingly, Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said Wednesday at a forum in the southeastern city of Xiamen.
"Hong Kong will make it more convenient for mainland enterprises to trade and invest in Hong Kong," he said at the 15th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which opened Wednesday and will end on Sunday.
Central authorities have supported Hong Kong becoming an offshore RMB center in an effort to strengthen the city's status as a global financial hub and push forward the internationalization of the yuan.
More Chinese ODI urged
XIAMEN, Fujian province - A larger outflow of Chinese overseas direct investment (ODI) could help the global economy regain and sustain its growth momentum, even as uncertainties remain over the strength of the global recovery, said officials from both China and overseas.
"The deeper impact of the global financial crisis has expanded, and new uncertainties about the world economic recovery constantly appear," said Chen Deming, the Chinese minister of commerce, at the opening ceremony of the 15th China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) on Wednesday.
"The enhancement of international cooperation and encouragement and support for Chinese ODI would be an effective way of adding vigor to the global economy and help to achieve robust, sustainable and balanced growth," said Chen.
Held in Xiamen, the five-day investment fair has attracted 636 international organizations and 482 high-profile visitors from foreign governments, companies and institutions.
Crisis creating ODI opportunities
Countries 'more receptive' to investment amid global downturn
XIAMEN, Fujian - The global debt crisis presents opportunities for Chinese companies planning to invest overseas amid enticing prospects for outbound direct investment (ODI), the Ministry of Commerce said on Sept 6.
Attendants Huang Tingting (right) and He Jiao share a light-hearted moment on Tuesday ahead of the opening on Wednesday of the 15th China International Fair for Investment & Trade in Xiamen, Fujian province.
Long-term view of history
Pace of technological change will make mockery of differences between East and West, says historian
Ian Morris seems too nice to be a harbinger of doom. As we sit at a pavement coffee bar, just off Piccadilly during the week of the London riots with police sirens sounding nearby, apocalyptic warnings don't seem too much out of context.
The Stanford University historian is the latest to weigh in on the debate as to whether the East is about to take over from the West with his book Why The West Rules - for Now.
He is confident China will take over from the United States as the richest economy in the world some time in the 21st century but that it might not matter that much because we might very soon all blow ourselves up anyway.
The powder keg, according to Morris, could be a combination of nuclear proliferation and global warming - as it is predicted to do - affecting a politically unstable Middle East worse than any other region.
The myth buster
An outsider's look at china's leaders is updated and expanded
The 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China in July coincided with a spate of writing in the Western press most notably Fareed Zakaria (CNN), and Ian Bremmer (Wall Street Journal) - reiterating that China was unlikely to be the next superpower.
Typically, these writers took a skeptical view of the projections that China might push past America's economic hegemony in the next five years or so, or build the political capacity to assume the position of global leadership.
"China is already an economic and political superpower in the perception of many people," says Robert Lawrence Kuhn, international corporate strategist, media personality and adviser to Chinese companies on capitalist markets for more than 20 years. "In today's world, where media makes news more than reports it, perceptions are realities."
As far as he can see "China will only grow in its relative power". He hastens to add that for China's leaders this growth may turn out to be "more a burden than a blessing".
Kuhn is probably at an advantage over fellow China watchers from the Western media to comment on how Chinese leaders may handle this exponential growth and its inevitable side-effects, having interviewed more than a hundred-odd Chinese officials holding key positions in the government and/or the Party, up, close.
Share your China stories!
The China Daily website is inviting foreign readers to share their China stories with our worldwide audience. Please send your story with your contact information to mychinastory@chinadaily.com.cn. Photos of the author or the story are also welcome.
XinHua News
China's top legislator highlights mutual investment with Belarus
MINSK, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The visiting China's top legislator Wu Bangguo said here Sunday that the enterprises of China and Belarus should further enhance mutual investment to facilitate bilateral trade relations.
Western Australia, China sign agreement to boost trade and investment
CANBERRA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Western Australia has signed a bilateral agreement with China's peak economic planning body to boost trade and investment, Western Australia State Premier Colin Barnett said on Monday.
2011 Summer Davos opens in northeast China city
DALIAN, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2011, also known as the Summer Davos, opened in Dalian City of northeast China's Liaoning Province on Wednesday morning.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
The forum, scheduled on Sept. 14-16, has attracted some 1,700 participants from 90 countries and regions.
China pushes for construction of Northeast Asia free trade area
CHANGCHUN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China is seeking to push forward the establishment of a free trade area among Northeast Asian countries in order to further boost the economic and trade exchanges in the region, a senior political advisor said Wednesday.
"All countries in Northeast Asia should make efforts in building a regional cooperative framework and exploring the construction of a free trade area under the backdrop of global and regional economic integration," said Bai Lichen, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Bai made the remarks at the ongoing 7th China Jilin Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo in Jilin's capital city Changchun.
Global Times
Rising China marks day of shame
Cities across northeast China simultaneously sounded their air raid sirens on Sunday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese invasion.
Pedestrians stopped and vehicles joined their horns to the chorus as the sirens began their plaintive wails for three minutes at 9:18 am in more than 100 cities in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.
During the siren, Shenyang, Liaoning, suspended all television and radio broadcasts as a subtitle and audio recording went out with the message, "Never forget the national humiliation. Rejuvenate the nation."
Ahead of the sirens, more than 1,000 representatives from the central and local governments, the People's Liberation Army and various walks of life gathered at the "September 18 Museum" in Shenyang, where the Japanese army began its assault.
"I received a short message to remind Shenyang citizens of the anniversary," Zhu Feifei, an English teacher in Shenyang University of Technology, told the Global Times. "When the sirens started, I stood silently on the balcony. The atmosphere was solemn."
On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops bombarded Chinese army barracks near Shenyang, starting the armed invasion of Northeast China.
Four months later, Japanese troops rolled across the region, occupying territory 3.5 times larger than all of Japan.
The incident was followed by a full-scale invasion of China and Southeast Asia, marking the start of a 14-year war of resistance against Japanese aggression.
Which foreign view of China holds true?
Western media have recently focused on two areas about China: gutter oil and the possibility that China will save Europe with its huge foreign exchange reserves.
In the first subject, China is poor and chaotic while it looks like the world's richest country in the second. But they are the same China. After all, white-collar professionals in the CBD area of Beijing probably have their lunch made with gutter oil.
Meanwhile, there seem to be two Europes. One is arrogant and mocks China for its gutter oil and the other is mired in the eurozone debt crisis, "begging" China to help it. But they are one. Whether criticizing or "begging," Europe always has the initiative.
Why govt cannot spend FX at home
The Italian government is reportedly seeking for Beijing to buy colossal amounts of Italian bonds. Should China make this purchase? This is not only a financial issue, but has becomes a “political” issue at home.
Some plausible but odd questions have been raised. More than a few netizens questioned: Why not use the money to improve lives, rather than to buy foreign bonds? Mounting anger and doubt are now questioning the legitimacy of government decision-making in using foreign exchange reserves. It is high time for the government to provide a complete, straightforward explanation.
CCTV - 9
News for Today
China Business Culture Science & Technology Travel
Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains - FEATURE
Phillip Lim brings new collection with kid dream at NY Fashion Week
On Wednesday, designer Phillip Lim showed his spring collection at New York Fashion Week. He revealed that some of his inspiration comes from growing up in suburban California where as a kid he would pass time making paper kites.
It was a succession of dresses, tops and other garments that fluttered and billowed across the runway.
Dresses or tops with "folded" layers were among the prettiest, most wearable offerings, giving a nice depth and sense of layering.
Phillip Lim said, "It's really an evolution of girls on bikes. And when I say that it's literally just a reference, you know what I mean? But in the end all the clothes are playing with geometry. And using movement to find form, you know."
Musical Play-Love U, Teresa on Center Stage
"Love U, Teresa" is a Broadway-style musical play commemorates late Taiwan singer Teresa Teng (1953-1995). The musical is about Teng in heaven helping young musician Zhou Mengjun to pursue her dream with her music. The musical uses the simple values of love and loyalty celebrated in Teng’s songs. More than 30 of Teng’s greatest hits sung by two actresses who play Teng, including “I Only Care About You,” “The Long Road of Life” and “The Moon Represents My Heart.” The musical made its debut in Hong Kong in 2010 and was well-received. Many people said they could not believe the two singers/actresses looked so much like Teng.
The Wall Street Journal
No New F-16’s for Taiwan, But U.S. to Upgrade Fleet
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan but instead to help it refurbish its existing fleet, prompting criticism in Congress that the United States is buckling to pressure from China.
China's Home-Price Climb Slowed in August
BEIJING—New-home prices rose in fewer Chinese cities in August than in July, indicating that the central government's tightening efforts are continuing to show modest results.BEIJING—New-home prices rose in fewer Chinese cities in August than in July, indicating that the central government's tightening efforts are continuing to show modest results.
China Commerce Official Urges Aid on European Debt
BEIJING—A Chinese Commerce Ministry official said China should help Europe resolve its sovereign-debt problem as much as it can.
"It is our responsibility to help [Europe] within our capabilities," said Chai Xiaolin, director of the ministry's department of World Trade Organization affairs.
In China, Foreign Banks Still Lag
BEIJING-Profit at the China operations of foreign banks improved last year but continued to significantly lag earnings growth for Chinese rivals, as a hiring war drove up costs for the foreign lenders, according to a new report.
Chinese Villagers Protest Pollution
BEIJING—Hundreds of people in eastern China carried out sometimes violent protests over pollution they blame on a solar-panel maker's factory, the latest example of unrest spurred by anger over the country's environmental problems.
China Debates: Should It Save the World?
Reports this week that China might consider buying Italian bonds unleashed a slew of skeptical and sarcastic comments. Many wondered why China – a nation where many families still struggle to put food on their tables, and where children from poor villages walk a couple of hours each day to sit in dilapidated classrooms – should help out Europeans with easier lives.
Fashion House Zegna Battles Rivals for China's Affluent
Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna is facing a big challenge in China: strong competition from luxury rivals for increasingly affluent customers ...
China's Puzzling Numbers
No one doubts that China is an important driver of global growth, with a major impact on the financial markets. But many observers doubt that China's economic data can be trusted.
In his new book, "Understanding China's Economic Indicators," The Wall Street Journal's Beijing-based columnist Tom Orlik guides readers through data on everything from gross domestic product to bond market yield curves.
The China Debate Continues: Rodrik Answers Subramanian
One of the biggest questions in the international economy is whether China can continue its astonishing 30-year record of growing 10% a year. Arvind Subramanian, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, argues in a new book, “Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Dominance,” that China is bound to become the world’s number one economy even if it’s growth rate slows substantially. That’s because China is still likely to grow faster than the U.S. for years to come and its population is four times the U.S.
The New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist
For Jobs, It’s War
“The war for global jobs is like World War II: a war for all the marbles. The global war for jobs determines the leader of the free world. If the United States allows China or any country or region to out-enterprise, out-job-create, out-grow its G.D.P., everything changes. This is America’s next war for everything.”
Once a Redoubt Against China, Taiwan’s Outpost Evolves
As relations between Taiwan and China have warmed, Kinmen has stood as a test case for how some Taiwanese are calibrating their growing dependence on economic ties with China.
After a Long March, Chinese Surrender to Capitalist Shrines
In 2010, 550,000 Chinese visited France and spent about $890 million, 60 percent more than in 2009, and Paris stores work hard to attract their business.
See Kaixin's - Status Symbols in China
An exhibition at the Capital Museum reassesses the paradoxical life of Wan Li, who refused to rule for nearly 30 years, but whose reign saw prosperity and creativity flourish across China.
A photograph of the hall in the Forbidden City where Wan Li held his morning audiences until he suspended them.
Caixin Online
Shanghai to Open Bond Market to RQFII Funds
Morgan Stanley expects around 80 percent of the 20 billion yuan issued in the first round of the Renminbi QFII quotas would enter domestic bond markets
(Beijing) – Shanghai is gearing up to attract Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) through enhancing its bond market, said Shanghai Municipal Financial Office Head Fang Xinghai in a press conference September 15.
P2P Firms Exploring Brave New Credit World
Online and offline lending platforms are skirting regulations and raising new questions about lending in China
Thousands of employees linked in a 30-city network that provides loan services across China are not working for a bank, nor even a company with a financial sector license. They work for China's leading, domestic peer-to-peer (P2P) lending concern, the microfinancier CreditEase.
LaSalle Investment Buys Chengdu Property Site
Ou Weibang, director of LaSalle Investment China Region, said the company plans to target China's second-tier cities for property investment
(Beijing) -- LaSalle Investment Management has purchased a 49 percent stake in a Chengdu property site, for 440 million yuan from Shui On Construction and Materials Ltd. (HKG:0983).
Highway Builders Discover Dead End for Debt
Local governments that raced to start highway projects are now struggling to repay loans or even finish paving
Heavy reliance on bank loans by local governments to finance a 3-year-old, nationwide highway construction boom is showing an uglier side as short-term liquidity risks emerge.
Premier Wen: China Supports EU and U.S. in Fighting Debt Challenges
China remains willing to increase its investments in Europe, said Premier Wen Jiabao at the World Economic Forum
(Dalian) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed China's support for debt-ridden European countries and appealed to the U.S. for broader market access at the World Economic Forum in Dalian September 14.
Following Ji Xianlin's River West, Then East
Eastern thought offers a valuable perspective of economic and ecological issues, proving that culture ebbs and flows
This past summer holiday, I finally read a 2006 book in Chinese written by the grand, old man of Chinese cultural linguistics, Professor Ji Xianlin (1911-2009). The title of his book crystallizes his view that culture and civilization are like a river that flows east for 30 years and then west for the next 30.
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
India picks a quarrel with China
By M K Bhadrakumar
Planned exploration of Vietnamese offshore oil blocks by a state-owned Indian firm is Delhi's calculated provocation of South China Sea sensitivities, and the actual target: Beijing's burgeoning alliance with Pakistan. China's stepped up involvement in Kashmir has not gone unnoticed in the Indian capital. Drumming up a sea territories spat also proves a timely distraction from domestic woes.
China's inflation eases
By Robert M Cutler
China's efforts to rein in inflation appear to be having some effect, with August's figures continuing a steady decline since July. Yet food prices continue to surge at double the headline rate and the full-year target is looking well beyond reach.
Europe - into the end game
By Chan Akya
Concerted action is required to resolve the eurozone's deepening woes, yet the institutions in Europe and the United States required to play a key role are at war with each other, while external intervention, say from China, has little in the way of positive history. We are approaching, or are already in, the end game for the euro project.
The myth of the 'China model' in Africa
By Jian Junbo
The United States has taken aim at a so-called "China model" of authoritarian, state-led capitalism it says is catching on in Africa, while indirectly accusing Beijing of neo-colonialism. African nations indeed want to emulate China's rise, but lack its centralized politics and history of unification, and the West's fears are simply linked to helplessness over its dwindling influence on the continent.
China's elderly offer opening for West's healthcare companies
By Benjamin A Shobert
Western operators of places where old people see out their days are recognizing the opportunities in China, where it is acknowledged that a "demographic tsunami" is about to hit the country. Before profits flow, considerable cultural and local barriers have to be overcome, not least the cost of real estate.
Clausewitz and Sun Tzu after the neo-cons
By Andreas Herberg-Rothe
Battles and even campaigns can be won following Sun Tzu, but it is difficult to win a war by applying his Art of War principles which, unlike Carl von Clausewitz's theories, didn't consider the post-war political-social landscape. Military prowess, neo-conservative desires and the application of some Sun Tze principles have been factors in the United States Army's military successes and likewise in its obvious failures
New Thinking about the Taiwan Issue: Theoretical insights into its origins, dynamics, and prospects (Politics in Asia)
By Jean-Marc F. Blanchard (Editor), Dennis V. Hickey (Editor)
The "Taiwan question" has long been considered one of the most complicated and explosive issues in global politics. In recent years, however, relations between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have improved substantially to the surprise of many. In this ground-breaking collection, distinguished contributors from the US, Asia, and Europe seek to go beyond the standard "recitation of facts" that often characterizes studies focusing on the Beijing-Taipei dyad. Rather, they employ a variety of theories as well as both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to analyze the ebbs and flows of the Taiwan issue. Their discussions clearly illuminate why there is a "Taiwan Problem," why conflict did not escalate to war between 2000 and 2008, and why cross-Strait relations improved after 2008. The book further reveals the limits of realism as a device to gain traction into the Taiwan issue, demonstrates the importance of taking into account domestic political variables, and shows how theory can be used to advance the cause of better China-Taiwan relations and to analyze the potential for future conflict over Taiwan.
New Thinking about the Taiwan Issue is essential reading not only for students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in studying relations across the Taiwan Strait, but also for any reader interested in economics, international relations, comparative politics or political theory.
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
Subscribe to 'The Lion Awakes'
NEWS FEED
& Receive a Daily Summary of the International News about China
"The Real China is made by Chinese mothers and grandmothers, from each individual family's hard work," says Xue Xinran
Insights into China's
Society & Culture
China Themes
Insights into China's Society & Culture
Yuan Revaluation & Internationalisation
Kaixin Mini Google Search Engine
Research China
Kaixin has a wealth of archived news & articles on all aspects of China going back to 2008.
You can SEARCH the WWW via Google but there is no QUALITY CONTROL of the articles.
This can waste a lot of time.
You can SEARCH a particular online publication, but then you would miss out on the cross section of publications that Kaixin collates.
PLUS Kaixin has an extensive archive of background information about China.
ALL of the News & Articles in Kaixin are substantive and come from well-respected sources - each Article has a Link back to the original source.
Enter a Search Term in an area that interests you and see what comes up
Click on a Logo
Share Article 
