Posts tagged ‘China’

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
11/12/2013

Santander ups bet on China with Bank of Shanghai stake | Reuters

Santander (SAN.MC), Spain\’s largest bank, is to buy HSBC\’s (HSBA.L) 8 percent stake in Bank of Shanghai, just as many international rivals are beginning to sell out of China.

A man uses an ATM machine at a Santander bank branch in Madrid September 16, 2013. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Santander, which already has a consumer finance venture in China as well as a car financing business, said on Tuesday the Bank of Shanghai deal also included a cooperation agreement, taking the value of its investment to 470 million euros ($647.3 million).

Several major U.S. and European banks including Bank of America (BAC.N) and Switzerland\’s UBS (UBSN.VX) have started shedding their Chinese holdings for a variety of regulatory and business reasons.

via Santander ups bet on China with Bank of Shanghai stake | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
11/12/2013

China cuts more red tape, paves way for NDRC slim-down | Reuters

China has stripped dozens of powers away from central government ministries as it bids to cut red tape and prevent Beijing\’s army of bureaucrats from micromanaging the world\’s second-largest economy.

Paramilitary policemen stand in formation as they pay tribute to the Monument to the People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, November 17, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

China\’s cabinet, the State Council, announced on Tuesday that it was removing 82 powers from a number of central government ministries, including the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In a series of sweeping reforms published in November, China\’s ruling Communist Party promised to free up the market by simplifying administration and \”restrict central government management of microeconomic issues to the greatest possible extent\”.

via China cuts more red tape, paves way for NDRC slim-down | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Politics, Reform | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , ,
10/12/2013

Public Ouster in North Korea Unsettles China – NYTimes.com

North Koreans had long known Jang Song-thaek as the No. 2 figure in their country, the revered uncle and mentor of Kim Jong-un, the paramount leader. Then on Monday state-run television showed two green-uniformed guards clutching a glum-looking Mr. Jang by the armpits and pulling him from a meeting of the ruling party after he was denounced for faction-building, womanizing, gambling and other acts as dozens of former comrades watched.

The spectacle of Mr. Jang’s humiliating dismissal and arrest was a highly unusual glimpse of a power struggle unfolding inside the nuclear-armed country. But the major impact may be outside, and nowhere is the downfall more unnerving than in China.

North Korea’s longtime protector and economic lifeline, China has considered strategically close relations with North Korea a pillar of foreign policy and a bulwark against the United States military presence in South Korea. Despite Chinese irritation with North Korea’s nuclear tests and other bellicose behavior, China had built a good relationship with Mr. Jang as the trusted adult who would monitor Mr. Kim, who is less than half his age.

Any shift by China concerning North Korea has the potential to significantly alter the political equilibrium in Asia, where the divided Korean Peninsula has been a fact of life for more than 60 years. While there is no indication that the Chinese intend to change their view, it seemed clear that even Beijing’s top leaders were surprised by Mr. Jang’s abrupt downfall on Sunday, and even more on Monday by the North Korean state television broadcast.

“Jang was a very iconic figure in North Korea, particularly with economic reform and innovation,” said Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Peking University, and a specialist in North Korea. “He is the man China counted on to move the economy in North Korea. This is a very ominous signal.”

Mr. Jang’s dismissal was a shock not only because he had long been considered a core member of the country’s ruling elite and a regent and confidant of Mr. Kim, who assumed power only two years ago upon the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The way that Mr. Jang was dismissed also was considered extraordinary, as the North Korea government has almost always maintained secrecy over its inner workings, power struggles and skulduggery during the more than six decades of rule by the Kim family.

via Public Ouster in North Korea Unsettles China – NYTimes.com.

Posted in China alert, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
10/12/2013

China to judge local governments by their debt: Xinhua | Reuters

China will soon rate the performance of local governments partly by how much debt they incur, as Beijing tries to wean the country off heavy government investment, state media said.

A farmer carries a shovel over his shoulder as he walks to tend his crops in a field that includes an abandoned building, that was to be part of an amusement park called 'Wonderland', on the outskirts of Beijing December 5, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray

The central organization department, which oversees the appointment of senior party, government, military and state firm officials, said debt will be key when evaluating performances, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

Large-scale government investment has helped China\’s gross domestic product expand at double-digit rates for the past three decades. But analysts say China\’s economy has now hit a turning point, and domestic consumption must grow and investment fall to ensure a healthy expansion.

via China to judge local governments by their debt: Xinhua | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, debt, deficit, Economics, Good news, local government debt | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
10/12/2013

China state media under fire for arguing benefits of smog | Reuters

Commentaries by two of China\’s most influential news outlets suggesting that the country\’s air pollution crisis was not without a silver lining drew a withering reaction on Tuesday from internet users and other media.

A man wears a mask while walking on a bridge during a hazy day in Shanghai's financial district of Pudong December 5, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song

In online commentaries on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV and the widely read tabloid the Global Times, published by the Communist Party\’s official People\’s Daily, both tried to put a positive spin on China\’s smog problem.

The Global Times said smog could be useful in military situations, as it could hinder the use of guided missiles, while CCTV listed five \”unforeseen rewards\” for smog, including helping Chinese people\’s sense of humor.

via China state media under fire for arguing benefits of smog | Reuters.

Posted in carbon emission, China alert, Ecology, Economics, Environment, Green, greenhouse gas, Pollution | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
10/12/2013

Chinese People: Weird Things Foreigners Do

One person’s flower is another person’s weed; or vice versa!

Posted in China alert, Social & cultural | 1 Comment »

Tags: ,
09/12/2013

Guest post: Senkaku – accelerating the China relocation trade? | beyondbrics

The debate continues on the motivations and risks of China’s decision on November 23 to announce an East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) which critically includes the disputed Senkaku Islands (know in China as Daioyu). There is little dispute that the standoff between China, Japan and the US has the capacity to escalate into something much more dangerous unless US Vice-President Joe Biden’s recent Asia trip is effective in ratcheting down tensions.

Has China miscalculated in terms of the rapid US response of B52 bomber sorties over the disputed Islands or prospective US naval deployment build-up in the region? Or is this the preliminary phase of a much longer-term slow creep by China in fulfilling its ambitions in establishing a more dominant regional role? Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei (all US allies) are – like Japan – enmeshed in arguments with Beijing over relatively minor but potentially strategic bits of maritime real estate. Does the US administration have the willingness to back its allies on all fronts

Others have argued that the new Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping are using nationalist sentiment to distract the Chinese public from the growth slowdown as well as solidify support among the Chinese military. Meanwhile Japan has been busily building up mutual defence and security ties across southeast Asia, and with Australia and India, as a hedge against Beijing. The state visit of the Japanese Emperor to India to has taken on even more significance.

While the geopolitical dynamics remain fluid and uncertain, a more definite consequence of the dispute may well be to accelerate the China relocation macro theme with major implications for FDI flows in the rest of the region. Up until now the primary motivation for foreign companies with large scale manufacturing operations to relocate from China has been the rapid rise in Chinese labour costs and the growing signs of worker shortages. The case was made most effectively by former World Bank Chief Economist Justin Yifu Lin (see Chandra, Lin and Wang (2012)) who suggested that:

industrial upgrading has increased wages and is causing China to graduate from labor-intensive to more capital-and technology-intensive industries. These industries will shed labor and create a huge opportunity for lower wage countries to start a phase of labor-intensive industrialization.

This process, which they called the Leading Dragon Phenomenon, offers an unprecedented opportunity to low-income countries where the industrial sector is underdeveloped and investment capital and entrepreneurial skills are leading constraints to manufacturing. They also note that low income countries such can seize the opportunity and resolve the constraints by attracting some of the FDI flowing currently from China, India and Brazil into the manufacturing sectors of other developing countries.

So the relocation of factories as a result of China economic rebalancing is a multi-year structural trend that is likely to be the dominant macro theme for developing economies for the next decade and beyond. But it is becoming more apparent that political risk mitigation in the face of resurgent Chinese regional territorial ambitions and aggressiveness will re-inforce the macroeconomic justification for diversifying away from China. Japanese outward FDI has increased for two years in succession, with 2012 the second highest increase in history ($122.4bn, an increase of 12.5 per cent over the previous year). Japan’s total outward FDI stock exceeded $1tn. However what is more interesting, as illustrated in the diagram below, is that Japan’s FDI flow to ASEAN has grown relative to that towards China.

Even if it’s a remote scenario, what if accidental engagement between Japanese and Chinese fighters in the newly announced ADIZ rapidly escalated into a more serious conflict or even declaration of war? The hundreds of billions of dollars of Japanese investment into factories in China would appear at risk. Even if we exclude the expropriation of factories directly, at the very minimum, the experience of Chinese nationalist protests over the Yasukune shrine visits by Japanese politicians or in the more distant past the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade are clearly risks that policy makers and boards of Japanese multinationals must be increasingly worried about. And, unlike Chinese holdings of US treasuries that could be liquidated reasonably quickly, albeit potentially at the risk of self-destructively causing a meltdown in global financial markets, FDI in factory assets is, by its very nature, immobile. Moreover Japanese managers and workers in China would also be vulnerable. One might argue that there is a risk of a similar level of concern developing in Seoul or Taipei or perhaps even Washington.

via Guest post: Senkaku – accelerating the China relocation trade? | beyondbrics.

Ifty Islam is the managing partner of AT Capital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ifty.islam@ at-capital.com

Posted in BRICS, China alert, Diplomacy, Economics, exports, FDI, GeoPolitics, Manufacturing, Neighbour conflict, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
09/12/2013

Mao Zedong: Merry Mao-mas! | The Economist

THE village of Shaoshan in the green hills of Hunan province in east-central China is gearing up for a big party on December 26th: the 120th birthday of its most famous son, Mao Zedong. Debate rages in China over Mao’s historical role. Some call him a tyrant for the violence he put at the heart of his rule, causing the deaths of tens of millions of people. Others worship him almost as a god. In Shaoshan he is a money-spinner, with the farmhouse where he was born attracting millions of Chinese tourists every year.

For President Xi Jinping evaluating Mao’s legacy is especially tricky. On the anniversary he must tread a careful line. Since he took over as Communist Party chief a year ago Mr Xi has shown a fondness for Maoist rhetoric. He calls, for instance, for a “mass line” campaign to restore the party’s traditional values and a “rectification” movement to purge it of corruption. Mr Xi’s willingness to show off his grip on power suggests a leadership style more evocative of the Mao era than of the grey consensus of recent years. Earlier this year he is reported to have told Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, that “you and I have very similar characters”.

Maoism

Yet in ideological terms, Mr Xi is no Maoist. This month’s anniversary is probably a headache he could do without. In November, at a landmark plenum, the party’s central committee adopted a resolution which, in economic terms, aims to shift China even further from Maoism than the late reformer, Deng Xiaoping, attempted. Market forces, it ruled, would henceforth play a “decisive role” in the economy.

Still, Mao continues to exert a powerful influence over the party and public opinion. Mr Xi dares not play down Mao’s “contributions” for fear that outright de-Maoification could fatally weaken the party’s grip. A recent article in the party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, said that a big reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union—an unadulterated tragedy, it was naturally understood—was the “negation of Lenin and other [historical] leaders”. As Communist China’s founder as well as the leader most noted for brutal excess, Mao is Lenin and Stalin rolled into one.

At December’s birthday celebrations, some sense an opportunity. At one end of the political spectrum are liberals who want Mr Xi and China’s new generation of leaders to repudiate Mao as a prelude to far-reaching political reform. At the other end are diehard or born-again Maoists who revere the late chairman as an embodiment of anti-Western nationalism. They want Mao to be, in effect, sanctified, with December 26th declared a national holiday. In recent months, both ends of the spectrum have been trying to push their cases. They will be paying close attention to what Mr Xi has to say.

via Mao Zedong: Merry Mao-mas! | The Economist.

Posted in austerity, China alert, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
09/12/2013

Could China lead the race to develop world’s first invisibility cloak? | South China Morning Post

Scientists on the mainland say they are increasingly confident of developing the world’s first practical invisibility cloak, using technology to hide objects from view and make them “disappear’’.

harry-potter-invisibility-cloak.jpg

At least 40 research teams have been funded by the central government over the past three years to develop the idea, which in recent decades has largely been the stuff of science fiction and fantasy novels like the Harry Potter series than science fact.

The technology would have obvious military uses, such as developing stealth aircraft, but Beijing believes the research could lead to wider technological breakthroughs with broader uses, scientists involved in the research said.

The teams involved include researchers at Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China\’\’s J-20 stealth fighter jet. The invisibility technology would have obvious military uses, such as developing stealth aircraft. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The main approaches are developing materials that guide light away from an object; creating electromagnetic fields to bend light away from what you are trying to hide, plus copying nature to make high-tech camouflage materials.

A team led by professor Chen Hongsheng at Zhejiang University released a video earlier this month demonstrating a device that made fish invisible. The same technology also made a cat “disappear’’.

The device was made of a hexagonal array of glass panels, which bends light around the object, making it disappear from view.

Other teams on the mainland have made similar breakthroughs during their research. Professor Ma Yungui, an optical engineering scientist who also works at Zhejiang University, said his team would soon announce their latest finding: a device that stops objects being detected by heat sensors or metal detectors.

via Could China lead the race to develop world’s first invisibility cloak? | South China Morning Post.

Posted in China alert, Economics, innovation, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
08/12/2013

China sees renewed enthusiasm for Confucius – Xinhua | English.news.cn

The Chinese President\’s recent remarks on reviving the country\’s traditional culture have refocused attention on Confucius and sparked vibrant discussions about how the ancient sage can inspire modern China.

Confucius

Confucius (Photo credit: JayPLee)

During his visit to Confucius\’ hometown of Qufu in east China\’s Shandong Province in late November, Xi Jinping said scholars should follow the rules of \”making the past serve the present\” and \”keeping the essential while discarding the dross\” when researching ethics passed on from the nation\’s forefathers.

Xi called for the promotion of morality across society and \”a pursuit of a beautiful and lofty moral realm from generation to generation.\” He also stressed the importance of cultural prosperity while talking with experts at the Confucius Research Institute during his stay in Qufu.

His comments have helped draw a wider readership for the country\’s ancient philosophical classics, which have seen brisk sales in recent days, leading publishing houses to hastily print additional copies.

A bookseller with TMall, a large Chinese e-commerce platform, told Xinhua that some previously less-known works that interpret Confucian teachings have sold out, \”but orders have continued to flood in.\”

Xi\’s positive remarks indicate there has been a \”consensus\” on the value of traditional Chinese culture, characterized by Confucianism, with a history of about 2,500 years, according to Yang Chaoming, head of the Confucius Research Institute.

Yang Yitang, another Confucian researcher in Shandong, believed that the leader\’s emphasis on traditional culture showcases the confidence and pride of the Chinese nation. \”In the country\’s rich ancient culture, the 90-year-old Communist Party of China (CPC) has found its DNA and the nourishment to grow,\” he said.

Preaching moral righteousness, harmony and peace, in addition to hierarchy and order, Confucian doctrines were generally worshipped by ancient monarchs, but denounced a century ago by some intellectuals who blamed Confucian thought for China\’s decline at the time. The anti-Confucius sentiment later climaxed during the Cultural Revolution.

However, the official endorsement of the ancient thinker has become increasingly clear. In September, the State Council released a draft plan to move the present Teachers\’ Day, Sept 10, to what is believed to be the birthday of Confucius (551-479 BC) on Sept. 28.

In another sign, a communique issued following a key CPC meeting that concluded last month highlighted the need to build a socialist culture, enhance the country\’s cultural soft power and improve education in traditional culture.

The doctrines of the much-revered thinker have been spread worldwide with the establishment of more than 420 Confucius Institutes in over 100 countries to teach Chinese language and culture.

via Xinhua Insight: China sees renewed enthusiasm for Confucius – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, Confucius, Politics, Social & cultural | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India