CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

07/12/2014

China looking to curb fertilizer, pesticide use | Reuters

China, the world’s top producer of rice and wheat, is seeking to cap the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that have helped to contaminate large swathes of its arable land and threaten its ability to keep up with domestic food demand.

More than 19 percent of soil samples taken from Chinese farmland have been found to contain excessive levels of heavy metals or chemical waste. In central Hunan province, more than three quarters of the ricefields have been contaminated, government research has shown.

China is the world’s top consumer of pesticides but almost two thirds of pesticides are wasted, contaminating both land and water, an environment official said last year.

“We need to be determined to control the use of fertilizer and pesticides,” said chief economist at the agriculture ministry Bi Meijia.

Zhejiang province in eastern China plans to cut the use of nitrogen fertilizer by 8 percent in the next three years, Bi said, and the whole country could cap the growth in use of fertilizer and pesticides by 2020.

Still, China is aiming to remain self-sufficient in its staple crops, even as it moves to control pesticide and fertilizer use, Bi and another agricultural official said.

China recorded a bumper grains harvest in 2014, with output up about 1 percent to 607.1 million tonnes, official data showed, the 11th consecutive year of rising production.

via China looking to curb fertilizer, pesticide use | Reuters.

More than 40 percent of China’s Arable Land Degraded

Posted in agriculture, China alert, Economics, Pollution | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Agricultural policy, agriculture, Arable land, Beijing, China, Heilongjiang, Land degradation, pesticides, Soil contamination

07/12/2014

Transparency International Socks China for Corruption – Businessweek

Given all the emphasis Chinese President Xi Jinping has put on fighting corruption over the past two years, you might think China was getting a lot cleaner. More than 80,000 officials have already been punished for breaking party rules, the graft-fighting Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced earlier this week.

China's President Xi Jinping

But in reality, corruption may be getting worse, according to a survey by Transparency International released today. In its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, the Berlin-based watchdog found that China dropped four points, to 36, on a scale from zero, or highly corrupt, to 100, or very clean, over last year.

That put it alongside Turkey, Rwanda, Malawi, and Angola as the countries where conditions deteriorated most. Meanwhile, China fell from 80th least-clean country to the 100th worst place amongst the 175 countries rated, the report shows. Cleanest was Denmark, while North Korea and Somalia were tied for worst.

“We have heard a lot about government efforts to prosecute corruption and corruption scandals in China. Its commitment to catch ‘tigers and flies’—public officials big and small—indicates the government is serious,” wrote Transparency’s Srirak Plipat in a blog post on the organization’s website today.

Still, the worsening situation poses “a hugely challenging question: how effective is a top-down approach when you don’t have transparency, accountable government and free media and civil society?” Plipat wrote.

The larger picture across Asia was hardly more encouraging. All told, 18 of the 28 Asian countries ranked fell below 40 on the index. The “scores of countries from Asia Pacific, the world’s fastest growing region, are a resounding message to leaders that, despite many public declarations and commitments, not enough is being done to fight corruption,” Plipat wrote.

via Transparency International Socks China for Corruption – Businessweek.

China, Turkey, Angola slip in global graft index

Posted in China alert, corruption | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Corruption Perceptions Index, Economic growth, North Korea, Somalia, Transparency International, Turkey, Xi JinPing

04/12/2014

Family support planned for aging population – China – Chinadaily.com.cn

China will support the role of family in providing care to the elderly as the country responds to the rapid aging of its population, a top health and population official of China said during the 2014 World Family Summit.

“China will actively respond to population aging and include it as part of China’s national plan for development,” Li Bin, minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said during the summit, which concluded on Wednesday in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. “The government will help families increase their capacity for elder care and provide more training to them.”

To cope with its rapidly aging population, China will establish social security and health support networks for the elderly and provide a better environment to serve the elderly, she said.

The government will create policies targeted at the development of families and invest more human resources to help families guard against potential risks, she said in a speech during the summit.

The number of people aged 60 or above in China reached 202 million last year, accounting for nearly 15 percent of the country’s population, according to a report released by the commission in November.

More than 20 percent of families in China had at least one member aged 65 or older in 2010, and almost half of all people aged 65 or above live with their children, according to the report. Most elderly Chinese are still cared for by their families, the report said.

A severe shortage of quality elderly-care institutions and traditional beliefs are the major reasons family members mostly care for their own elderly, experts said.

via Family support planned for aging population – China – Chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in aging population, China alert, Economics, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Aerobatics, Aerospace, aging population, Air show, aviation, China, Economic development, Global Aviation, Guangdong, Middle class, population aging, Zhuhai

04/12/2014

Visas for travel: Common sense comes to India | The Economist

RED TAPE is the bane of frequent business travellers. Many places in the world require arduous and expensive visa applications for even the most routine travel. I have two passports just so I can juggle concurrent applications when necessary. But the best policy, for business travellers and tourists alike, is a less-restrictive visa regime. The Schengen Area has proven a huge boon to European travellers; this blog has long supported making it easier for people to travel abroad.

Now there’s some good news. India, a nation notorious for bureaucracy and red tape—not to mention the long queues outside its diplomatic missions of people hoping to visit the country (see picture above of India House in London)—has dramatically loosened its visa policies. Travellers from 43 nations, including Germany, Japan, Russia and America, will now be able to receive visas upon arrival. There are, unfortunately, some restrictions:

You have to apply online four days in advance, pay a $60 fee, and upload a passport photo and a scan of your passport.

It only works for the international airports in nine cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Goa.

It is valid for 30 days, and you can only get two per year.

Narendra Modi‘s government has referred to the changes as being for a “tourist visa”. But the announcement makes clear the visa can be used for a “casual business visit”, and many Gulliver readers may decide that’s good enough for them.

The new policy is far from perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction and one that travellers should applaud. It will “send out a clear message that India is serious about making travel to the country easy,” Mahesh Sharma, the country’s tourism minister, said in a statement. That’s an encouraging attitude. If Mr Modi’s government can pull off more changes along these lines, travellers—and the Indian economy—should benefit greatly.

via Visas for travel: Common sense comes to India | The Economist.

Posted in Economics, India alert, Tourism, Trade | 1 Comment »

Tags: AirAsia, Bangalore, Business travel, business travellers, Chennai, European travellers, frequent business travellers, Hyderabad, India, India House, Kolkata, Schengen Area, travel, Visa (document), visa applications

04/12/2014

End of the road for Delhi’s old cars as India battles smog | Reuters

The National Green Tribunal has banned all vehicles older than 15 years from the streets of the capital, New Delhi, in a bid to clean up air that one prominent study this year found to be the world’s dirtiest.

Heavy traffic moves along a busy road during a power-cut at the traffic light junctions in New Delhi July 31, 2012. REUTERS/B Mathur/Files

The ruling hits up to a third of the 8.4 million motorbikes, trucks, cars and auto-rickshaws that ply the traffic-choked roads of Delhi and its surrounding areas, transport officials estimate.

Cities across the world are ordering older vehicles off the road or restricting private car use to tackle growing air pollution. Mexico City introduced a ban on older vehicles driving on Saturdays this year, while in March, France briefly enforced the most drastic traffic curbs in 20 years.

“It is undisputed and in fact unquestionable that the air pollution of … Delhi is getting worse with each passing day,” the National Green Tribunal ruled in a judgment last week banning older vehicles from city streets.

Vehicular emissions are the cause of close to three-quarters of Delhi’s air pollution, the Delhi government estimates, and a World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released in May found India’s capital had the world’s dirtiest air. India rejected the report.

The ban in Delhi lacks incentives to encourage drivers to trade in their older vehicles but eventually could boost sales for carmakers like Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors, as the capital accounts for 17 percent of India’s new car sales, said IHS automotive analyst Puneet Gupta.

via End of the road for Delhi’s old cars as India battles smog | Reuters.

Posted in car, Economics, India alert, Pollution | 1 Comment »

Tags: air pollution, Air purifier, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, India, National Green Tribunal Act, New Delhi, Particulates, pollution, World Health Organization

04/12/2014

India Ranked Less Corrupt Than China for the First Time in 18 Years – India Real Time – WSJ

Transparency International’s annual survey ranked India as less corrupt than China for the first time in 18 years as a nationwide outcry against corruption helped lift global perceptions of the South Asian nation.

In the yearly ranking of least-corrupt countries, India jumped 10 places from in its ranking last year to 85th out of the 175. China tumbled 20 places in the ranking to number 100. The last time India did better than China in the rankings was 1996.

The Berlin-based watchdog surveyed multilateral banks, big foundations and other international institutions about the level of corruption in different countries to come up with its annual Corruption Perceptions Index which was used for the rankings.

Perceptions about India were helped as street protests and national elections focused the world’s largest democracy’s attention on corruption, said the Berlin-based watchdog.

The call for a crackdown on corruption led to new laws and a new government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power in May on pledges to fight corruption.

Transparency International India executive director Ashutosh Kumar Mishra gives credit to the anti-corruption movement sparked by Gandhian Anna Hazare. His high-profile protests helped force the previous government to create a number of anti-corruption bills.

China slipped below India after it lost more ground than almost any other country in the rankings, suggesting that many observers are unconvinced by President Xi Jinping’s high-profile campaign to combat corruption.

While the two Asian giants have had the same rankings in 2006 and 2007, this is the first time China has been below India in the rankings since 1996, the first year Transparency International had rankings.

While it may have gained a little ground this year, India still has a long way to go before it can be ranked near the least-corrupt countries like Australia, Canada, Singapore and Denmark.

via India Ranked Less Corrupt Than China for the First Time in 18 Years – India Real Time – WSJ.

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, corruption, India alert, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Anna Hazare, Anti-Corruption, China, Corruption Perceptions Index, India, Narendra Modi, President of the People's Republic of China, Transparency International, United States, Xi JinPing

04/12/2014

Modi seeks to draw line under row over minister’s pro-Hindu comments | Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought on Thursday to draw a line under a row sparked by a ministerial colleague’s derogatory comments about non-Hindus, urging angry parliament deputies to accept her apology and move on.

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a placard with a picture of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he attends a rally addressed by the party president Amit Shah (not pictured) in Kolkata November 30, 2014. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

The opposition, led by the Congress, has demanded the dismissal of Niranjan Jyoti, the junior minister for food processing industries, for telling voters this week that they must “decide whether you want a government of those born of (Hindu god) Ram, or those born illegitimately”.

The saffron-clad minister apologised a day later after her remarks drew outrage and calls that she be prosecuted for violating the secular spirit of India’s constitution.

Critics say that Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has a deep-seated bias against Muslims and that it is pursuing Hindu-dominant agenda.

Modi urged the upper house of parliament to accept Jyoti’s apology amid a third straight day of protests.

via Modi seeks to draw line under row over minister’s pro-Hindu comments | Reuters.

Posted in India alert, Internal politics, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: Bharatiya Janata Party, Cabinet of India, Delhi, derogatory comments, Hindu, Hindu deities, Hindu god, Hindu nationalism, India, junior minister, line, Minister (government), Narendra Modi, Niranjan Jyoti, prime minister of india

04/12/2014

China bolsters support for farm sector with tax breaks | Reuters

China is increasing its support for agriculture by renewing select tax breaks that have expired, the government said on Wednesday, in another move to support the real economy.

A farmer plants paddy on a terrace field in Suichuan county, Jiangxi province May 20, 2014. REUTERS-Stringer

China’s stumbling economy this year has pared banks’ tolerance for risk when they lend, further reducing the supply of loans to small-time borrowers who are usually ignored by banks because they are deemed to be high-risk borrowers.

Financial companies do not have to pay a business tax on the interest earned on agricultural loans worth no more than 100,000 yuan ($16,260), the Chinese cabinet said after a weekly meeting.

Their corporate income tax would also be discounted by 10 percent to “muster the enthusiasm of financial institutions when it comes to lending to farmers”, the cabinet, or State Council, said in an online statement.

The tax breaks, previously in place but had expired, would be reinstated and are effective until the end of 2016.

Insurers that sell insurance to crop and livestock farmers would also get a 10 percent discount on their corporate income tax, the government said.

A tax break that cuts the business tax to three percent for financial firms working within counties would also be extended until the end of 2016, the cabinet said.

Buffeted by a slowing housing market and slowing domestic demand and investment, China’s economy is forecast by some analysts to be sliding towards its worst downturn in nearly a quarter of a century this year.

Annual growth in the world’s second-largest economy could fall to 7.4 percent, a Reuters poll showed in October.

To rejuvenate the real economy, China announced a cut in interest rates of 40 basis points on Nov. 21 in a move that the central bank said was aimed at lowering borrowing cost.

via China bolsters support for farm sector with tax breaks | Reuters.

Posted in agriculture, China alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, Economic growth, Finance, Financial institution, Interest, Interest rate, Peoples Bank of China, Percentage point, real economy, State Council of the People's Republic of China, tax break, tax breaks

04/12/2014

Intel to invest $1.6 billion in China factory | Reuters

Intel Corp (INTC.O) will invest $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) to upgrade its factory in the city of Chengdu in western China, the latest sign of how the chipmaker is deepening ties in a market that is proving increasingly troublesome for some U.S. technology peers.

Indonesian youth walk past an Intel sign during Digital Imaging expo in Jakarta March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Beawiharta

As part of the upgrade, Intel said in a statement on Thursday it would bring its most advanced chip-testing technology to China. In exchange it will receive local and regional government support for construction.

“Deploying our newest advanced testing technology in China shows our commitment to innovating jointly with China,” Intel executive vice president William Holt said in the statement. “The fully upgraded Chengdu plant will help the Chinese semiconductor industry and boost regional economic growth.”

The announcement comes three months after Intel purchased a minority stake in a government-controlled semiconductor company to jointly design and distribute mobile chips, an industry that China considers to be of strategic importance.

Intel’s fortunes in China contrast with the travails of its rival, Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), which is expected to announce in the coming days a potentially record-breaking settlement with Chinese antitrust regulators.

China’s investigation into San Diego-based Qualcomm, as well as a spate of recent probes against firms including Microsoft Corp, have prompted an outcry from foreign business lobbies. They say the Chinese government is increasingly adopting strong-arm tactics to yield technology-sharing or other arrangements beneficial to domestic industry.

The government, meanwhile, has defended its regulatory scrutiny as even-handed. It has pointed to a history of Qualcomm and Microsoft facing similar antitrust probes in Western countries.

Analysts say there is a broad recognition that foreign companies must do more to stay in China’s good graces.

via Intel to invest $1.6 billion in China factory | Reuters.

Qualcomm: Street Dazzled by ‘Roadmap,’ But China Uncertainty to Linger

Posted in China alert, Economics, FDI, IT, Manufacturing, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Chengdu, Western China, Intel, Microsoft, List of cities in the People's Republic of China, Internet of Things, Qualcomm, ARM architecture, MediaTek, Rockchip, Intel Corp

03/12/2014

China’s Left-Behind Children are Lonely, Underperforming, and Sad – Businessweek

China has an estimated 61 million “left-behind children”—youths in the countryside who grow up separated from migrant worker parents. A survey has just detailed the problems facing an alienated generation whose members are usually raised by relatives, educated in rural boarding schools, or even forced by circumstance to live alone.

China's Left-Behind Children Are Lonely, Underperforming, and Sad

Without proper attention, many regularly suffer injuries, says a report released on Nov. 30 by the China Youth & Children Research Center. Almost half of the group’s members (known in Chinese as liushou ertong) has been injured in accidents involving cuts, burns, animal bites, traffic accidents, and electric shocks. That was 5.3 percent higher than the rate of injury experienced by other children, the study said.

With most attending underfunded, overcrowded rural schools—or even dropping out—the academic problems facing left-behind children are particularly severe. More than four-fifths reported problems with declining scholastic performance, and 43.8 percent were not interested in studying.

Just under 70 percent of left-behind children reported being unable to understand their class lessons. About one-half had problems finishing homework, 40 percent were late for classes, and 5.5 percent were often absent—all higher rates than those experienced by children raised by their parents.

Without access to adequate social support, many reported experiencing negative feelings. Almost one-half were irritable, while around 40 percent said they were unhappy. One-fifth said they had problems losing their temper without good reason.

Left-behind girls were even more vulnerable than boys, repording higher rates of problems in each of these areas, as well as a lower sense of self-worth than their male counterparts. As for loneliness—a problem experienced by all the left-behind children— girls again suffered more: Some 42.9 percent of left-behind girls said they often feel lonely. That’s 6.2 percent higher than their male counterparts reported, and it’s 6.7 percent higher than girls who live with their parents.

via China’s Left-Behind Children are Lonely, Underperforming, and Sad – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Economics, migrant worker | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, Boarding school, children, China, Chinese language, communist party of china, Filmmaking, Mao Zedong, Rural area, Xi JinPing

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon