The Lion Awakes 

Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China

See how China sees the world, see how the world sees China

 Xiaosui Zhou is an editor of Kaixin

These are stories of her time growing up in China

during the Cultural Revolution

Photo Essays of China

People's Daily

Xi's visit to boost Sino-US relations

Vice-president's visit will show ties can rise above turbulence: experts

BEIJING / WASHINGTON - Vice-President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the United States will help China-US ties fly clear of US election year turbulence, experts said.

The visit, which starts on Monday, sends a strong signal that China places a high value on bilateral relations and wants ties to be stable, Jin Canrong, a Sino-US relations expert at Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said.

"That signal is especially important" amid Republican presidential hopefuls targeting China to win votes, the White House using currency issues to criticize Beijing and Washington generally playing up China's growth to increase the US presence in the Asia-Pacific region, Jin said.

China to raise gasoline, diesel prices

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China will raise the retail prices for gasoline and diesel by 300 yuan (47.53 U.S. dollars) per tonne starting Feb. 8, the country's top economic planner said Tuesday.

The benchmark retail price of gasoline will be lifted by 0.22 yuan per liter and diesel by 0.26 yuan per liter, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Fair distribution "lifeblood" of housing program: vice premier

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang recently pledged to make housing accessible to more mid- and low-income families, saying fairness in the distribution of affordable homes is the "lifeblood" of the housing program.

China explains veto of Syrian draft resolution

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said it will continue to play a positive role in the proper settlement of the Syrian issue after it vetoed a draft resolution on the country.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin made the remarks when asked why China vetoed the draft resolution at a regular press briefing.

Russia and China on Saturday both vetoed an Arab-European draft resolution backing an Arab League plan to promote regime change in Syria.

China has been closely following the situation in Syria, said Liu.

'US doesn't want to contain China'

SHANGHAI - The United States has no interest or intention of encircling China in the Asia-Pacific region, and both countries have clear mutual interests in seeing the Six-Party Talks work more effectively, a former US diplomat said on Monday.

China and the US need to be in close contact to assure there are no misunderstandings "in a difficult era whose pace of change is unprecedented in human history", Christopher Hill, former US assistant secretary of state, told the International Conference in Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Shanghai Communique.

Hill said that the US' return to Asia "has less to do with China, and much more to do with the fact that the Obama administration is disengaging from wars in the Middle East and South Asia".

Airlines told not to pay EU green tax

BEIJING - Domestic airlines have been banned from complying with the European Union's scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions from flights to and from Europe, the civil aviation authority said on Monday.

Rapid growth triggers environmental accidents

BEIJING - China is suffering from an increasing number of environmental accidents, mainly triggered by the rapid growth of the chemical industry in the wake of urbanization, a senior environmental official said.

Last year, 542 environmental accidents were handled across the country, statistics from the Ministry of Environmental Protection showed.

"At present, nearly 60 percent of such accidents were triggered by traffic accidents and safety accidents in the process of production," Ling Jiang, deputy director of the department of pollution prevention and control under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told China Daily on Monday.

China halts 'one-sided' draft

Experts called for unified international efforts to promote peaceful negotiations as a way to stop the violence and settle disputes in Syria, after Russia and China jointly vetoed an Arab-European draft UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution concerning Syria on Saturday.

Proposed by European and Arab nations, the draft aimed to give strong backing to an Arab League plan to ask Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Russia and China used their second ever double-veto to block the plan in the UNSC as the two countries believed that it was not the best way to promote peace in the Middle Eastern country, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Helping Europe is 'helping ourselves': Premier Wen

CHINA has a stake in helping eurozone countries get through their debt crisis, Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments published yesterday, pointing to Europe's importance as a market and hinting at more possible support for beleaguered exporters.

Wen's remarks built on comments he made during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China, when he said Beijing was considering increasing its participation in rescue funds to address the European debt crisis.

This time, Wen urged skeptical Chinese citizens to understand that supporting Europe was also in their own benefit.

"Now Europe is facing a debt crisis and we must consider relations with Europe strategically to protect our national interests," Wen said while visiting the export-dependent southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Military blocs 'have no role in Asia'

BEIJING - Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on Saturday rejected moves to deliberately strengthen military alliances in Asia as "going against the times and people's will" and reiterated China's policy of building friendship and partnership with its Asian neighbors.

Zhang made the remarks during a panel discussion entitled "America, Europe and the Rise of Asia" at the 48th Munich Security Conference.

China bans airlines into EU carbon scheme

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's airlines are not allowed to pay a charge on carbon emissions imposed by the Europe Union(EU), and neither to hike freights nor to add other fees accordingly without government permission, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Monday.

China's stance on Iranian nuclear issue is clear

Despite the delicate situation in Syria, the world's attention is now focused on the confrontation between Iran and the West.

Saber-rattling does not necessarily turn into an actual war. Iran is a major oil exporter, and the Persian Gulf is a strategic energy transportation hub. The complex situation and uncertain prospects for the region have caused instability in global energy markets, and cast a heavy shadow over the world economy. Once this hornets' nest is stirred up, the entire world will be affected.

The confrontation between Iran and the West is a threat to world peace and a challenge for China. With rising global clout, it is in China's interests to make its stance clear and to make practical efforts to resolve this major issue.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

China Daily

Canadian PM heads to China to enhance partnership

OTTAWA  - Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper left here on Monday for an official visit to China in a bid to enhance the Sino-Canadian strategic partnership.

To demonstrate the importance of his second visit to China since he took office in 2006, Harper is bringing a large delegation of Ministers and Members of Parliament, including Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of State for Seniors Alice Wong.

Veto boosts Syria peace initiatives, experts say

BEIJING / United Nations - The veto by China and Russia of a draft UN resolution to promote regime change in Syria will win more time for a political solution to the crisis, experts said.

But the diplomatic divide on the Syrian issue will remain and possibly worsen, they said.

Taleb Ibrahim, a Syrian political analyst, said in Damascus that the veto on Saturday by China and Russia would usher in a new balance of global power. "The UN will no longer be a tool in the hands of the US and its allies to pass their military schemes."

The veto will help restore peace and stability in the country and will also save Syrian lives, Ibrahim said

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.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

XinHua News

Cultural activities held on 2nd day of Chinese Lunar New Year

Chinese, U.S. vice presidents discuss bilateral relations in phone conversation

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping discussed bilateral ties with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden during a telephone conversation on Tuesday.

Xi, who is scheduled to pay an official visit to the United States next week, said during the talk with Biden that China-U.S. relations have maintained their momentum for steady, positive development over the years.

China, Cambodia vow to further promote strategic partnership

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia on Monday vowed to further promote their ties in a meeting between top political advisor Jia Qinglin and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Nam hong.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Global Times

Values are thin excuses to start new wars

The US is apparently angered by the vetoes of China and Russia concerning the UN Security Council resolution on Syria. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "a neutered Security Council." The US and Europe are likely to move against Syria without UN backing.

China and Russia are acting within the UN framework, but the US and Europe are trying to set their own rules. In the 2003 Iraq war, France and Germany shared the same stance as China and Russia. During the Bosnia-Herzegovina war in the 1990s, the UK and France sided with Russia.

It is far different now. Shared values are bonding Europe and the US again diplomatically. They both adopt this value diplomacy as a powerful tool in the current global competition. With their declining technologic advantage, values are being applied to widen the gap between the West and the developing countries.

The US still enjoys dominant military power, which helped it win the Cold War and smash the Milosevic and Saddam regimes. But now it faces economic competition from emerging countries, where military power cannot help directly.

Anxiety, paranoia lead to US shooting from the hip

The Munich Security Conference (MSC), known as the Davos of Defense, ended yesterday after three days of discussion on current and prospective security policy challenges.

On a panel themed "America, Europe and the Rise of Asia" on Saturday, US Senator John McCain created a stir by tearing into China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on a wide range of topics from China's human rights record and "repression" of the Tibetans to China's democracy, warning "the Arab Spring is coming to China." McCain's remarks obviously strayed away from the subject of the panel.

The MSC witnessed an important moment last year when Russia and the US decided to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). It marked the most significant disarmament treaty since the end of the Cold War and contributed to global stability.

Wise diplomats should create a favorable atmosphere for countries to reach an understanding on how to deal with security challenges rather than stirring up tensions.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

 CHINA

CCTV 9

News and Current Affairs

Dialogue
Beijing´s veto at UN Security Council

Watch Video
Bank of China celebrates centenary

Watch Video
Recent development of Chinese banks

Dialogue
China´s outbound tourism

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

The Wall Street Journal

Photos: Celebrating the Lantern Festival

People across China gear up to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month on the Chinese lunar calender and traditionally marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Lawmakers Want Minerals on Menu for Chinese VP’s Visit

As official Washington prepares to roll out a welcome for Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the visit provides a launch pad for a variety of issues, from high-stakes finance to human rights.

The Yuan’s Road to Becoming a Reserve Currency

In a new Brookings Institution study, Esward Prasad and Lei Ye of Cornell University say China’s currency will become an international reserve currency within the next decade, “eroding but not displacing the dollar’s dominance.”

IMF Urges Beijing to Prepare Stimulus

China should be prepared to sharply stimulate its economy if Europe's growth falls more than anticipated, the International Monetary Fund said, adding to expectations that Beijing could turn to spending if conditions significantly worsen.

China Takes On Skeptics of Aid to Euro Zone

BEIJING —Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered a forceful justification for helping Europe out of its debt crisis, in remarks that appeared aimed in part at countering public skepticism about the wisdom of using Chinese money to support rich world countries.

Chinese Leader Backs Land Rights

BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for better protection for the land rights of farmers during a visit to southern Guangdong province, where a reformist leader has grabbed national attention by defusing a violent land dispute with a groundbreaking experiment in local democracy.

Chinese Village Vote Tests Waters on Reform

Elections in Wukan Are Being Closely Watched to Gauge Beijing's Willingness to Address Failings of Local Governments

BEIJING—Villagers in southern China who rebelled against local leaders took a first step toward creating a new democratic local government, with potentially broad implications for the future of grass-roots democracy in China as well as the country's coming top leadership transition.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

The New York Times

The Eurozone, Seen from 6,000 Miles Away

When the financial community in Hong Kong helped with an informal (and unusual) straw poll by Fitch Ratings, the consensus was that the Eurozone would neither break apart nor achieve a full fiscal and political union. Instead, the analysts expected a "muddling through." .

Why Beijing Votes With Moscow

China has less interest in Syria than in maintaining a diplomatic alliance with Russia.

‘Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom’ by Stephen R. Platt

In his new book, Stephen R. Platt recounts the 19th-century Taiping conflict in China, perhaps the bloodiest civil war of all time.

Veto Powers

Not all opinion writers are down on the Russian and Chinese votes against the U.N. resolution on Syria.

China Weighs Helping a European Debt Rescue

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said China might be willing to help finance Europe’s stabilization by working with the International Monetary Fund.

Envisioning a Deal With Iran

President Obama can find lessons in Nixon’s diplomatic strategy with China as he tries to avoid conflict with Iran.

In Chinese Village of Wukan, Protesters Become Voters

Less than two months after staging a bold protest against official corruption, thousands of people in the village of Wukan cast their first ostensibly independent votes on Wednesday.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Asia Times Online

A dragon dance in the Negev

Bedouins of the Negev will soon witness a Chinese-built railway line snake its way through the desert to the Mediterranean and Levant Basin oil and gas reserves. The "Med-Red" plan is symbolic of China's bold Middle East advance on three tracks: Iran, Gulf states and Israel. The geopolitical implications are profound and pose unsolvable riddles for other outside powers. - M K Bhadrakumar

 SINOGRAPH
Dai talks the talk,
walks the line for Xi
China State Counselor Dai Bingguo's visit to India marks the beginning of a thaw that takes the neighbors off a dangerous war path over the longest contested border in the world. An agreement that could one day - though not now - lead to a Line of Actual Control and warm words set the compass as Beijing prepares for Xi Jinping, vice president and anointed future leader, to go west to Washington.
- Francesco Sisci

Will China help out the West in Sudan?
China is considered key to ending the crisis in the Horn of Africa as Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in effect seeks US$15 billion for assuring the survival of his Western-backed, breakaway neighbor South Sudan. That is Bashir's price for keeping open the pipeline from the South that supplies 5% of China's oil imports. After doing the strategic math, Beijing will likely keep the book shut. - Peter Lee

European Union passes oil buck to China

By agreeing to close off Iran's second-biggest market, European foreign ministers have dramatically escalated the pressure on Iran to negotiate on its nuclear program. However, the immediate effect will be to pass the diplomatic initiative to Iran's largest trading partner, China, which will reluctantly become a powerful arbiter of the oil market and Iran's fate. - Phil Radford

China, Vietnam drift in South China Sea
Eight months after trading threats, China and Vietnam are now huddled in negotiations over claims to the South China Sea. With elements of a deal on the table, the full prestige of both politburos has been engaged, even though it's a high-stakes game for the countries' communist leaders. - David Brown

China's slowdown fears ease
Fears are easing that China's efforts to rein in inflation will drag down economic growth to dangerous levels, with expansion at the end of last year stronger than expectations. Further slowing is forecast, but a hard landing now looks unlikely. - Robert M Cutler

SINOGRAPH
Ma's re-election rings
loudest on the mainland
The re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwan probably has more important consequences for Beijing than for the island. Political reunification is far in the future, but the political questions are on the agenda and de facto pressing Beijing's own political reforms schedule today.
- Francesco Sisci

China weighs 'right side of history' in Gulf
While a tour by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was solidifying political and energy ties with Sunni Gulf countries, Beijing was at the same time standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Shi'ite Iran over United States sanctions. That the Saudis invited Wen despite tensions with Tehran shows China's diplomatic hedging is paying off. Meanwhile, Washington's attempt to sanction a Chinese oil firm smacks of desperation.
- M K Bhadrakumar

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

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Caixin Online

Economist Lin Yifu on Post-Crisis Development

The World Bank official says poverty-fighting industrialism that shifted to China from the Asian Tigers is now jumping to Africa

Rudd on Pictures of Growth in Asia

Is state capitalism a misnomer for China's growth model? Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd makes the case to Caixin and discusses Asia's prospects amidst the European debt crisis

China's Fiscal Revenues Up in 2011

China saw its fiscal revenues jump by 25 percent year-on-year, largely on land VAT revenue

Emissions Get Set for a Speed Cleaning

New emissions standards will require power plants to install nitrogen oxide scrubbers within two years but some experts argue results will hinge on technology requirements

China's Labor Force Decreased in 2011

China's share of working-age people has decreased for the first time since 2002, prompting some experts to suggest abolishing the one-child policy

Shanghai to Spend 1.2 Bln Yuan on Airport Renovation

Shanghai Pudong International Airport's terminal one will undergo refurbishment to increase passenger capacity from 20 million to 36.8 million people per year

Liu Mingkang: Responding to the Challenges of 2012

Interview with Liu Mingkang, former chairman of the China Banking Regulation Commission

 

 

 

Subscribe to 'The Lion Awakes'

NEWS FEED

& Receive a Daily Summary of the International News about China

Subscribe in a reader

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARCHIVE

 

 

今天的中国新闻

Today's News

 

 

 

Photo Essays of China

 

 

 

 Mei Tian Picture Galleries

(Full Size Images)

 

 

 

The Lion Awakes 

Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China

See how China sees the world, see how the world sees China

 Xiaosui Zhou is an editor of Kaixin

These are stories of her time growing up in China

during the Cultural Revolution

Photo Essays of China

People's Daily

China explains veto of Syrian draft resolution

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said it will continue to play a positive role in the proper settlement of the Syrian issue after it vetoed a draft resolution on the country.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin made the remarks when asked why China vetoed the draft resolution at a regular press briefing.

Russia and China on Saturday both vetoed an Arab-European draft resolution backing an Arab League plan to promote regime change in Syria.

China has been closely following the situation in Syria, said Liu.

'US doesn't want to contain China'

SHANGHAI - The United States has no interest or intention of encircling China in the Asia-Pacific region, and both countries have clear mutual interests in seeing the Six-Party Talks work more effectively, a former US diplomat said on Monday.

China and the US need to be in close contact to assure there are no misunderstandings "in a difficult era whose pace of change is unprecedented in human history", Christopher Hill, former US assistant secretary of state, told the International Conference in Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Shanghai Communique.

Hill said that the US' return to Asia "has less to do with China, and much more to do with the fact that the Obama administration is disengaging from wars in the Middle East and South Asia".

Airlines told not to pay EU green tax

BEIJING - Domestic airlines have been banned from complying with the European Union's scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions from flights to and from Europe, the civil aviation authority said on Monday.

Rapid growth triggers environmental accidents

BEIJING - China is suffering from an increasing number of environmental accidents, mainly triggered by the rapid growth of the chemical industry in the wake of urbanization, a senior environmental official said.

Last year, 542 environmental accidents were handled across the country, statistics from the Ministry of Environmental Protection showed.

"At present, nearly 60 percent of such accidents were triggered by traffic accidents and safety accidents in the process of production," Ling Jiang, deputy director of the department of pollution prevention and control under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told China Daily on Monday.

China halts 'one-sided' draft

Experts called for unified international efforts to promote peaceful negotiations as a way to stop the violence and settle disputes in Syria, after Russia and China jointly vetoed an Arab-European draft UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution concerning Syria on Saturday.

Proposed by European and Arab nations, the draft aimed to give strong backing to an Arab League plan to ask Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Russia and China used their second ever double-veto to block the plan in the UNSC as the two countries believed that it was not the best way to promote peace in the Middle Eastern country, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Helping Europe is 'helping ourselves': Premier Wen

CHINA has a stake in helping eurozone countries get through their debt crisis, Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments published yesterday, pointing to Europe's importance as a market and hinting at more possible support for beleaguered exporters.

Wen's remarks built on comments he made during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China, when he said Beijing was considering increasing its participation in rescue funds to address the European debt crisis.

This time, Wen urged skeptical Chinese citizens to understand that supporting Europe was also in their own benefit.

"Now Europe is facing a debt crisis and we must consider relations with Europe strategically to protect our national interests," Wen said while visiting the export-dependent southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Military blocs 'have no role in Asia'

BEIJING - Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on Saturday rejected moves to deliberately strengthen military alliances in Asia as "going against the times and people's will" and reiterated China's policy of building friendship and partnership with its Asian neighbors.

Zhang made the remarks during a panel discussion entitled "America, Europe and the Rise of Asia" at the 48th Munich Security Conference.

China bans airlines into EU carbon scheme

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's airlines are not allowed to pay a charge on carbon emissions imposed by the Europe Union(EU), and neither to hike freights nor to add other fees accordingly without government permission, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Monday.

China's stance on Iranian nuclear issue is clear

Despite the delicate situation in Syria, the world's attention is now focused on the confrontation between Iran and the West.

Saber-rattling does not necessarily turn into an actual war. Iran is a major oil exporter, and the Persian Gulf is a strategic energy transportation hub. The complex situation and uncertain prospects for the region have caused instability in global energy markets, and cast a heavy shadow over the world economy. Once this hornets' nest is stirred up, the entire world will be affected.

The confrontation between Iran and the West is a threat to world peace and a challenge for China. With rising global clout, it is in China's interests to make its stance clear and to make practical efforts to resolve this major issue.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

China Daily

Canadian PM heads to China to enhance partnership

OTTAWA  - Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper left here on Monday for an official visit to China in a bid to enhance the Sino-Canadian strategic partnership.

To demonstrate the importance of his second visit to China since he took office in 2006, Harper is bringing a large delegation of Ministers and Members of Parliament, including Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of State for Seniors Alice Wong.

Veto boosts Syria peace initiatives, experts say

BEIJING / United Nations - The veto by China and Russia of a draft UN resolution to promote regime change in Syria will win more time for a political solution to the crisis, experts said.

But the diplomatic divide on the Syrian issue will remain and possibly worsen, they said.

Taleb Ibrahim, a Syrian political analyst, said in Damascus that the veto on Saturday by China and Russia would usher in a new balance of global power. "The UN will no longer be a tool in the hands of the US and its allies to pass their military schemes."

The veto will help restore peace and stability in the country and will also save Syrian lives, Ibrahim said

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.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

XinHua News

Cultural activities held on 2nd day of Chinese Lunar New Year

China, Cambodia vow to further promote strategic partnership

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia on Monday vowed to further promote their ties in a meeting between top political advisor Jia Qinglin and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Nam hong.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Global Times

Values are thin excuses to start new wars

The US is apparently angered by the vetoes of China and Russia concerning the UN Security Council resolution on Syria. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "a neutered Security Council." The US and Europe are likely to move against Syria without UN backing.

China and Russia are acting within the UN framework, but the US and Europe are trying to set their own rules. In the 2003 Iraq war, France and Germany shared the same stance as China and Russia. During the Bosnia-Herzegovina war in the 1990s, the UK and France sided with Russia.

It is far different now. Shared values are bonding Europe and the US again diplomatically. They both adopt this value diplomacy as a powerful tool in the current global competition. With their declining technologic advantage, values are being applied to widen the gap between the West and the developing countries.

The US still enjoys dominant military power, which helped it win the Cold War and smash the Milosevic and Saddam regimes. But now it faces economic competition from emerging countries, where military power cannot help directly.

Anxiety, paranoia lead to US shooting from the hip

The Munich Security Conference (MSC), known as the Davos of Defense, ended yesterday after three days of discussion on current and prospective security policy challenges.

On a panel themed "America, Europe and the Rise of Asia" on Saturday, US Senator John McCain created a stir by tearing into China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on a wide range of topics from China's human rights record and "repression" of the Tibetans to China's democracy, warning "the Arab Spring is coming to China." McCain's remarks obviously strayed away from the subject of the panel.

The MSC witnessed an important moment last year when Russia and the US decided to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). It marked the most significant disarmament treaty since the end of the Cold War and contributed to global stability.

Wise diplomats should create a favorable atmosphere for countries to reach an understanding on how to deal with security challenges rather than stirring up tensions.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

 CHINA

CCTV 9

News and Current Affairs

Dialogue
Beijing´s veto at UN Security Council

Watch Video
Bank of China celebrates centenary

Watch Video
Recent development of Chinese banks

Dialogue
China´s outbound tourism

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

The Wall Street Journal

Photos: Celebrating the Lantern Festival

People across China gear up to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month on the Chinese lunar calender and traditionally marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

IMF Urges Beijing to Prepare Stimulus

China should be prepared to sharply stimulate its economy if Europe's growth falls more than anticipated, the International Monetary Fund said, adding to expectations that Beijing could turn to spending if conditions significantly worsen.

China Takes On Skeptics of Aid to Euro Zone

BEIJING —Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered a forceful justification for helping Europe out of its debt crisis, in remarks that appeared aimed in part at countering public skepticism about the wisdom of using Chinese money to support rich world countries.

Chinese Leader Backs Land Rights

BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for better protection for the land rights of farmers during a visit to southern Guangdong province, where a reformist leader has grabbed national attention by defusing a violent land dispute with a groundbreaking experiment in local democracy.

Chinese Village Vote Tests Waters on Reform

Elections in Wukan Are Being Closely Watched to Gauge Beijing's Willingness to Address Failings of Local Governments

BEIJING—Villagers in southern China who rebelled against local leaders took a first step toward creating a new democratic local government, with potentially broad implications for the future of grass-roots democracy in China as well as the country's coming top leadership transition.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

The New York Times

‘Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom’ by Stephen R. Platt

In his new book, Stephen R. Platt recounts the 19th-century Taiping conflict in China, perhaps the bloodiest civil war of all time.

Veto Powers

Not all opinion writers are down on the Russian and Chinese votes against the U.N. resolution on Syria.

China Weighs Helping a European Debt Rescue

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said China might be willing to help finance Europe’s stabilization by working with the International Monetary Fund.

Envisioning a Deal With Iran

President Obama can find lessons in Nixon’s diplomatic strategy with China as he tries to avoid conflict with Iran.

In Chinese Village of Wukan, Protesters Become Voters

Less than two months after staging a bold protest against official corruption, thousands of people in the village of Wukan cast their first ostensibly independent votes on Wednesday.

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Asia Times Online

A dragon dance in the Negev

Bedouins of the Negev will soon witness a Chinese-built railway line snake its way through the desert to the Mediterranean and Levant Basin oil and gas reserves. The "Med-Red" plan is symbolic of China's bold Middle East advance on three tracks: Iran, Gulf states and Israel. The geopolitical implications are profound and pose unsolvable riddles for other outside powers. - M K Bhadrakumar

 SINOGRAPH
Dai talks the talk,
walks the line for Xi
China State Counselor Dai Bingguo's visit to India marks the beginning of a thaw that takes the neighbors off a dangerous war path over the longest contested border in the world. An agreement that could one day - though not now - lead to a Line of Actual Control and warm words set the compass as Beijing prepares for Xi Jinping, vice president and anointed future leader, to go west to Washington.
- Francesco Sisci

Will China help out the West in Sudan?
China is considered key to ending the crisis in the Horn of Africa as Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in effect seeks US$15 billion for assuring the survival of his Western-backed, breakaway neighbor South Sudan. That is Bashir's price for keeping open the pipeline from the South that supplies 5% of China's oil imports. After doing the strategic math, Beijing will likely keep the book shut. - Peter Lee

European Union passes oil buck to China

By agreeing to close off Iran's second-biggest market, European foreign ministers have dramatically escalated the pressure on Iran to negotiate on its nuclear program. However, the immediate effect will be to pass the diplomatic initiative to Iran's largest trading partner, China, which will reluctantly become a powerful arbiter of the oil market and Iran's fate. - Phil Radford

China, Vietnam drift in South China Sea
Eight months after trading threats, China and Vietnam are now huddled in negotiations over claims to the South China Sea. With elements of a deal on the table, the full prestige of both politburos has been engaged, even though it's a high-stakes game for the countries' communist leaders. - David Brown

China's slowdown fears ease
Fears are easing that China's efforts to rein in inflation will drag down economic growth to dangerous levels, with expansion at the end of last year stronger than expectations. Further slowing is forecast, but a hard landing now looks unlikely. - Robert M Cutler

SINOGRAPH
Ma's re-election rings
loudest on the mainland
The re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwan probably has more important consequences for Beijing than for the island. Political reunification is far in the future, but the political questions are on the agenda and de facto pressing Beijing's own political reforms schedule today.
- Francesco Sisci

China weighs 'right side of history' in Gulf
While a tour by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was solidifying political and energy ties with Sunni Gulf countries, Beijing was at the same time standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Shi'ite Iran over United States sanctions. That the Saudis invited Wen despite tensions with Tehran shows China's diplomatic hedging is paying off. Meanwhile, Washington's attempt to sanction a Chinese oil firm smacks of desperation.
- M K Bhadrakumar

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

LEARN CHINESE

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Caixin Online

Rudd on Pictures of Growth in Asia

Is state capitalism a misnomer for China's growth model? Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd makes the case to Caixin and discusses Asia's prospects amidst the European debt crisis

China's Fiscal Revenues Up in 2011

China saw its fiscal revenues jump by 25 percent year-on-year, largely on land VAT revenue

Emissions Get Set for a Speed Cleaning

New emissions standards will require power plants to install nitrogen oxide scrubbers within two years but some experts argue results will hinge on technology requirements

China's Labor Force Decreased in 2011

China's share of working-age people has decreased for the first time since 2002, prompting some experts to suggest abolishing the one-child policy

Shanghai to Spend 1.2 Bln Yuan on Airport Renovation

Shanghai Pudong International Airport's terminal one will undergo refurbishment to increase passenger capacity from 20 million to 36.8 million people per year

Liu Mingkang: Responding to the Challenges of 2012

Interview with Liu Mingkang, former chairman of the China Banking Regulation Commission

 

 

 

Subscribe to 'The Lion Awakes'

NEWS FEED

& Receive a Daily Summary of the International News about China

Subscribe in a reader

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARCHIVE

 

 

今天的中国新闻

Today's News

 

 

 

Photo Essays of China

 

 

 

 Mei Tian Picture Galleries

(Full Size Images)