Posts tagged ‘Beijing’

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31/01/2014

Environment: Browner, but greener | The Economist

China stands out for its greenness in a new environmental ranking

CHINA is the world’s biggest polluter, so it is no surprise that it fares poorly on some measures of pollution in a new global index of environmental performance. The shock is that it also stands out for its world-beating greenness in other areas on the same index.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a joint product of America’s Yale and Columbia universities, is the latest volume in a long-running biennial ranking of 178 countries on a variety of measures of environmental performance. New this year are assessments of performance in waste-water treatment and combating climate change, as well as the clever use of satellite data (to track trends in forestry and air pollution) in order to top up traditional computer modelling and official data.

The report’s conclusions are more cheerful than most green report cards. The experts believe countries are doing well in improving access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and in bringing down child mortality. However, the global trends are worrying in other areas like fisheries, wastewater treatment and air quality. Overall, Switzerland came out top. Somalia came last. China was 118th, a middling ranking that beats India (155th) but falls well below South Africa (72nd), Russia (73rd) and Brazil (77th).

However, that average masks a huge divergence in China’s performance in two areas. Using satellite data, the boffins worked out, for the first time, what global exposures were to fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) from 2000 to 2012. China ranked at the bottom on air pollution, with nearly all of its population exposed to levels of PM2.5 pollution deemed unhealthy by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Though less frequently criticised than Beijing, Delhi’s air is also terrible—but China as a whole fares worse. In 2012 the average human exposure to PM2.5 for all of China was 48 micrograms per cubic metre, but the national figure for India was only 32 units (the WHO says anything above 10 units is unhealthy).

The surprise is that China has done very well on carbon. The experts calculate that, unusually among big emerging economies, it slowed the rate at which its greenhouse-gas emissions have grown in the past decade. That is partly a natural result of its development, which has led to investment in better technology and cleaner industries, but it is also thanks to policies to improve efficiency and boost renewable energy.

Environmentalists the world over can breathe a little easier knowing that the biggest global polluter has started to slow the rise in its greenhouse-gas emissions and may one day even reduce them. If only China’s urban residents could breathe a little easier, too.

via Environment: Browner, but greener | The Economist.

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31/01/2014

China’s Xi Jinping calls for less pollution in year of the horse – FT.com

The Mongolian steppes was where Chinese president Xi Jinping offered his televised New Year’s greeting as Chinese people worldwide celebrated the year of the horse with fireworks and feasting.

While the content of his message varied little from previous years, the choice of setting shed light on the great strains confronting today’s China.

And this year, the message was pollution.

The lunar new year, which began on Friday, is the main holiday in the Chinese calendar. Far-flung families, gathered for holiday meals, inevitably tune to state television, which this year emphasised Mr Xi’s theme of a “Chinese dream” and urged viewers to lay off on fireworks in order to reduce pollution.

Urging “continued struggle with one heart and mind” and prosperity for the motherland, Mr Xi did not address specific policies directly. But Chinese leaders’ New Year’s visits often coincide with priorities for the year ahead, including visits to coal miners, Aids patients and impoverished country villages.

This year the wide-open grasslands framed behind Xi’s dark winter coat and black fur hat are a fitting symbol for the country’s new focus on pollution, which clashes with its enormous appetite for coal.

The herders applauding Mr Xi in the freezing wind at Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia, have been on the receiving end of a black gold rush, as state-backed mining companies from richer provinces rip up the grasslands in search of coal.

China’s leadership is now trying to reduce coal pollution in wealthier cities, but renewed plans for coal development in the north and west could cause new stresses in arid and ethnically distinct areas like Xilin Gol.

via China’s Xi Jinping calls for less pollution in year of the horse – FT.com.

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29/01/2014

Corruption: Less party time | The Economist

FOR a sense of how President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign is doing, a recent report by Xinhua, the official news agency, is a good place to start: it said that 56 five-star hotels in China had asked to be downgraded last year in order to survive, as local governments have been prohibited from using luxury hotels. Chen Miaolin, chairman of New Century Tourism Group, told Xinhua that revenues at his group’s (mostly five-star) hotels fell by 18% last year.

In big cities business is down at many of the best private clubs and restaurants. A number of luxury brands have reported sharp falls in revenues. Rémy Cointreau saw sales of its flagship cognac fall by more than 30% in the last three months of 2013 over the previous year, mostly owing to falling Chinese demand.

The campaign begun more than a year ago by Mr Xi has been surprisingly broad and sustained, and is intensifying as it enters a second year. The Central Commission for Discipline and Inspection, the party’s watchdog, says that 182,000 officials were punished for disciplinary violations in 2013, an increase of more than 20,000 over 2012, and of nearly 40,000 over 2011. Thousands of officials have been disciplined for extravagances such as hosting lavish banquets, weddings and funerals, spending public funds inappropriately on travel, the improper use of government vehicles and constructing luxurious government buildings. But two recent developments illustrate the difficulty and sensitivity of the task the party has set itself.

On January 21st a report by a team of media outlets led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an American organisation, revealed the secret offshore holdings of close relatives of some of China’s elite, including Mr Xi’s brother-in-law and the son of Wen Jiabao, the former premier. Then on January 22nd authorities began criminal trials in Beijing of independent anti-corruption activists who campaigned for, among other things, public disclosure of official assets (see article).

The message from Mr Xi is that the party, and only the party, will patrol itself, and is perfectly capable of doing so. But the ICIJ report hints at the failures during decades of self-policing.

via Corruption: Less party time | The Economist.

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28/01/2014

More violence in Xinjiang: Unquiet on the western front | The Economist

THE LATEST flurry of news from and about Xinjiang—a fresh bout of deadly violence in the region and the arrest of an activist scholar in Beijing—suggests that Chinese authorities are not about to change their strategy for managing ethnic tensions there. But neither do they look like succeeding in bringing an end to the anger, suppression and unrest.

Twelve people were reported killed January 24th in the latest flare up of violence. And on January 15th, police in Beijing detained Ilham Tohti (pictured above), a 44-year-old professor of economics, a native of Xinjiang and a member of the native Muslim Uighur minority, which has long bristled under Han Chinese rule. Chinese officials have only cited unspecified “violations of law” but Global Times, a party-run newspaper, accused him of frequently giving “aggressive lectures” and “attempting to find a moral excuse for terrorists”.

In another article, Global Times quoted police as saying Mr Tohti “recruited and manipulated some people to make rumours, distort and hype up issues in a bid to create conflicts, spread separatist thinking, incite ethnic hatred, advocate ‘Xinjiang independence’ and conduct separatist activities”.

Mr Tohti is a well-known scholar, focussing on topics like labour and migration. He has also been an outspoken critic of Chinese policies in Xinjiang, and an advocate for better treatment of Uighurs. Last year, he was stopped at Beijing airport as he tried to travel to the United States to take up a teaching position at Indiana University.

The American government said in a statement that the case appeared to be part of a disturbing pattern of arrests and detentions of people “who peacefully challenge official Chinese policies and actions”. Scholars who are familiar with Mr Tohti’s work have also expressed concern. “It’s not a good sign,” says Dru Gladney, a Xinjiang specialist at Pomona College, in California.  “It gave us some hope that some Uighurs were still able to teach classes, speak out and speak to foreign media. I’ve never known him to advocate independence or violence, or to associate with separatists.”

via More violence in Xinjiang: Unquiet on the western front | The Economist.

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27/01/2014

* China to Cut Dependence on Coal for Energy as Smog Chokes Cities – Bloomberg

China to Cut Dependence on Coal for Energy as Smog Chokes Cities

China plans to cut its dependence on coal as the world’s biggest carbon emitter seeks to clear smog in cities from Beijing to Shanghai.

English: Shanghai Smog

English: Shanghai Smog (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The nation is aiming to get less than 65 percent of its energy from coal this year, according to a government plan released today. Energy use per unit of gross domestic product will decline 3.9 percent from last year, compared with 2013’s target for a 3.7 percent decrease.

The plan may help President Xi Jinping’s drive to reduce pollution as environmental deterioration threatens public health and the economy. More than 600 million people were affected by a “globally unprecedented” outbreak of smog in China that started last January and spread across dozens of provinces, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs based in Beijing said Jan. 14.

“China previously targeted to cut coal consumption to below 65 percent in 2017,” Helen Lau, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Hong Kong, said by phone today. “Now they have officially pulled it earlier to 2014, which reflects that they want to speed up restructuring energy consumption and are determined to reduce air pollution.”

China’s coal use accounted for 65.7 percent of its total energy consumption in 2013, the 21st Century Herald newspaper reported Jan. 13, citing an official it didn’t name.

via China to Cut Dependence on Coal for Energy as Smog Chokes Cities – Bloomberg.

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27/01/2014

Dissent in China: Xu Zhiyong’s verdict | The Economist

IN OUR print edition this week, we reported on the trial of Xu Zhiyong, a prominent political activist charged with “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place”. Though we went to press before there was a verdict, there was little doubt as to what it would be. Now the verdict is in: Mr Xu was convicted, and sentenced to a four-year prison term. This was less than the maximum possible sentence of five years.

The news was announced January 26th through a microblog feed (here, in Chinese) belonging to the No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing. The one-day trial was held at the heavily guarded courthouse (pictured above) in the western part of the city on January 22nd. Mr Xu and his lawyers declined to mount a defence, decrying the proceedings as nothing more than theatre. Mr Xu did try to read a lengthy statement, but was stopped before he could finish.

Mr Xu is one of the founders of the New Citizens Movement, which in general terms calls on Chinese citizens “not to act as feudal subjects” but “to take seriously the rights which come with citizenship” according to China’s own constitution. In specific terms, the group has, among other things, called on Chinese officials to disclose their personal assets in order to combat corruption.

It is this call that authorities seem to find most threatening. The “disruption” Mr Xu is charged with causing refers to small and peaceful demonstrations that have occurred since he wrote about his ideas in 2012, in which other activists displayed banners urging asset disclosure for officials.

In principal, Chinese authorities would seem to agree with Mr Xu and his supporters. The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) came into force in 2003 and, in Article 52.5, says its adherents “shall consider establishing\” effective financial disclosure systems for appropriate public officials and appropriate sanctions for non-compliance. China signed the convention in 2003 and ratified it in 2006.

China’s commitment to “consider establishing” such an asset disclosure regime is of course fairly weak tea; its response to Mr Xu and other citizens advocating the same thing, on the other hand, offers a fairly strong hint as to how the government\’s “consideration” is going thus far.

In his statement Mr Xu tried to tell the court, “By trying to suppress the New Citizens Movement you are obstructing China on its path to becoming a constitutional democracy through peaceful change.”

At the trial, the presiding judge reportedly stopped Mr Xu ten minutes in to the reading of his statement, calling it “irrelevant to the case”. But it is undoubtedly relevant to many of the biggest issues facing China today and is well worth an airing. It can be read in the original Chinese here, and in English translation here.

via Dissent in China: Xu Zhiyong’s verdict | The Economist.

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26/01/2014

The party is over for SOEs conferences – Chinadaily.com.cn

\”Best employee\” got a Porsche. The \”excellent\” few scooped 500,000-yuan stocks and trips to Hong Kong. \”Good\” employees won cool gadgets like NOTE2 and IPhone 5s.

The party is over for SOEs conferences

Generosity indeed at the year-end dinner of Qihoo 360, an NYSE-listed Chinese Internet company, which wowed netizens and left many public sector employees somewhat slightly envious.

A female employee with a private petroleum company in Yantai, Shandong province poses after winning a car as a year-end bonus on Jan 15, 2014. The affluent company gives away 52 cars worth 6.5 million yuan ($1.07 million) to employees with outstanding performance in the last year. [icpress.cn]

Traditionally, Chinese companies host \”annual conferences\” in the last lunar month of the year to celebrate their success by thanking staff and clients.

In previous years, the most lavish of such extravaganza were often the headline grabbing spectacles staged by China\’s mammoth state-owned enterprises (SOEs) featuring sumptuous banquets in five-star hotels, swanky gifts and wall-to-wall celebrities. This year, it was private firms which stole the show, while the otherwise high-profile SOEs had little to celebrate.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

Employees of a number of big SOEs in Beijing have told Xinhua that \”annual conferences\” would either not be held at all, or would be receptions made \”as simple as possible\”.

The gifts for staff and clients have morphed from MacBooks, IPads and IPhones to chocolates, towels and even toothpaste, they said.

Tian, who works in a state-owned Beijing bank, told Xinhua that his bank won\’t be hosting any annual conference at all this year, for the first time in many years.

He recounted the good old days when the winner of the prize draw at the annual conference received a 60-gram gold bar and he, together with hundreds of colleagues, won a MacBook.

This new austerity SOEs have suddenly adopted is a direct result of a campaign to cut extravagance and reduce red tape which has been in full swing since the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership election in 2012.

The CPC has sworn to reduce waste, promote frugality and banned CPC officials from pomp, ceremony, bureaucratic visits and unnecessary meetings.

These annual dinners, often attended by government officials, evolved into nothing more than wining and dining away public funds, and an opportunity of buying gifts and trips, said Yu Nanping, a professor at the East China Normal University.

Many companies turned the year-end dinners into public relations events and a tool for cozying up to government officials, he added.

An annual conference can cost hundreds of thousands yuan, including planning, lighting, venue hire, catering, services and gifts.

A state-owned building material company in Beijing used to host annual conferences for officials, employees and clients not justin Beijing, but often flew guests to Yunnan or Fujian provinces, costing about 2 million yuan each time, according to the firm\’s public relations manager.

This year they canceled such trips and held a conference call with staff and clients in other cities, said the manager.

via The party is over for SOEs conferences – Chinadaily.com.cn.

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25/01/2014

China’s Latest GDP Numbers Are Under Scrutiny From Xinhua – Businessweek

This article ends on a high note: “Finally, and perhaps most important, China’s top leaders announced after a key meeting in December that from now on local officials’ performance will be evaluated on several criteria, including controlling debt and maintaining a better local environment, rather than just achieving high GDP growth.”

As China released gross domestic product and other economic statistics earlier this week, a perennial question has once again been raised: To what degree can the numbers be trusted?

Or as the Xinhua News Agency put it on Jan. 23: “One plus one equals two. But it’s not always the case, especially when you are talking about the calculating of local and national gross domestic product GDP data in China.”

What raised eyebrows was that the national GDP number came in below the figure one gets from totaling all the provinces’ GDPs. That presents, as Xinhua said in its unusually acerbic piece, “a somewhat peculiar math problem.”

While China’s official GDP in 2013 amounted to 56.9 trillion yuan ($9.4 trillion, up 7.7 percent from the previous year), the aggregate of all the provincial figures was about 2 trillion yuan more. And that’s not including three provinces (of 31 regions reporting), which have yet to publish their GDP numbers, according to Xinhua.

While this has “aroused suspicion among Chinese netizens that some growth-obsessed local officials have cooked the books,” (quite likely, Xinhua says later in its piece) there are other reasons for the discrepancy, the article explains.

One important reason: overlapping calculations, particularly when companies have businesses extending across different provinces. “Unlike the calculation of the nations’ GDP, where you have customs to clearly define the attribution of added value, it is very difficult to define which part of added value belongs to which provinces,” explained Cong Liang, an official with China’s state planning agency, who spoke at a press conference in Beijing on Jan. 22 and was quoted in the article.

via China’s Latest GDP Numbers Are Under Scrutiny From Xinhua – Businessweek.

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23/01/2014

China must spend $330 billion more to do fair share on climate – report | Reuters

China must increase spending on emission cuts and clean technologies by 2 trillion yuan ($330 billion) to do its fair share to halt climate change, a report by Beijing\’s Central University of Finance and Economics said.

It urged the government to raise money from carbon markets to fund investments.

The report\’s conclusion contrasted with China\’s official policy that the main responsibility for ramping up action against climate change rests with developed nations.

China, the world\’s biggest-emitting nation, has already pledged to spend 520 billion yuan to help prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2C, according to Chen Bo, co-author of the report.

But that is only a fifth of what is needed if China – trailing only the United States on the list of history\’s biggest carbon emitters – is to shoulder a proportionate burden in global efforts to stop climate change, the report said.

The main responsibility for ratcheting up the extra funds should fall on the government, it said.

via China must spend $330 billion more to do fair share on climate – report | Reuters.

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23/01/2014

China’s Five-Star Hotels Are Desperate for Lower Ratings – Businessweek

After local governments in China began prohibiting government officials from spending money at five-star hotels last year, dozens of top-rated hotels took steps to preserve their government business—by voluntarily dropping at least one star.

“I’ve been in the business for decades and I’ve never seen this before,” Chen Miaolin, chairman of the New Century Tourism Group, told the China News Agency. He was quoted in two official news releases describing star-reduction attempts by 56 hotels. The hotel industry in China is rated by the state tourism bureau and other government agencies, and five stars is the highest rating.

As the Communist Party led by President Xi Jinping continues a campaign against corruption and government extravagance, some top-of-the-line hotels are feeling the pain. Revenue declined 18 percent last year at Hangzhou-based New Century, which operates 64 hotels around China, including 40 with five-star ratings. In October, Chen was quoted in a Hong Kong paper saying New Century’s income from government agencies had fallen to less than 3 percent of overall catering revenue—down from 15 percent—because of Beijing’s anti-extravagance measures.

One of the company’s hotels in Nanjing responded by proposing to give up all its stars, Chen said, and five others shelved new ratings applications. It’s not clear whether the hotels’ prices have changed; the ban is aimed only at their ratings, not their prices.

via China’s Five-Star Hotels Are Desperate for Lower Ratings – Businessweek.

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