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

16/04/2013

* China issues white paper on national defense

China Daily: “China on Tuesday issued a white paper on national defense elaborating its new security concept and peacetime employment of armed forces.

Members of the People's Liberation Army guard of honour, 15 April 2013

The document, the eighth of its kind issued by the Chinese government since 1998, says China advocates a new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, and pursues comprehensive security, common security and cooperative security.

“China will never seek hegemony or behave in a hegemonic manner, nor will it engage in military expansion,” the white paper says.

According to the document, China will build a strong national defense and powerful armed forces which are “commensurate with China’s international standing and meet the needs of its security and development interests.”

The paper warns that China still faces multiple and complicated security threats and challenges.

The issues of subsistence and development security and traditional and non-traditional threats to security are interwoven, the document says.

“Therefore China has an arduous task to safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity and development interests,” it says.

The paper elaborates on the country’s diversified employment of the armed forces in peaceful times, saying that it responds to China’s core security needs and aims to maintain peace, contain crises and win wars.

Chinese armed forces are employed to safeguard borders, coastal and territorial air security and they will strengthen combat-readiness and combat-oriented exercises and drills, it says.

And they will readily respond to and resolutely deter any provocative action which undermines China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Transparency move

In this paper, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for the first time reveals the actual number of army, navy and air force servicemen, designations of its army combined corps and the main missile lineup.

China now has about 850,000 army servicemen in 18 combined corps and additional independent combined operational divisions (brigades), according to the paper.

The combined corps, composed of divisions and brigades, are respectively under seven military area commands.

Currently, the PLA Navy has a total strength of 235,000 officers and men, and commands three fleets — the Beihai Fleet, the Donghai Fleet and the Nanhai Fleet.

The PLA Air Force now has about 398,000 officers and men and an air command in each of the seven military area commands of Shenyang, Beijing, Lanzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. In addition, it boasts one airborne corps.

The PLA Second Artillery Force, the country’s core force for strategic deterrence, is composed of nuclear and conventional missile forces and operational support units, according to the paper.

It is equipped with a series of “Dong Feng” ballistic missiles and “Chang Jian” cruise missiles.

It also has under its command missile bases, training bases, specialized support units, academies and research institutions.”

via China issues white paper on national defense |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Defence, Military, peace keeping, Politics, Territorial dispute, terrorism, Transparency, war | 1 Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, Military, People's Liberation Army, People's Liberation Army Navy, United States

14/04/2013

* Spike in land abuse cases in China’s western regions

China Daily: “Chinese authorities are drawing up new land support policies for western parts of the country, following a sharp spike in land abuse cases in the region during the first three months of the year.

In the first quarter, cases jumped 22.4 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Land and Resources on Friday.

“Due to the focus on development of the western regions, demand for land from infrastructure construction and investment is increasing sharply, putting pressure on land supply,” said Yue Xiaowu, deputy director of the ministry’s law enforcement and supervision administration.

“This means the western regions need policy support, which is what we are working on,” Yue said.

Last year, the ministry held an investigation into illegal land use cases in western regions, studying the reasons for the surge in numbers.

Yue said that besides the increased investment and infrastructure construction, the higher rural population had also caused a rise in abuse cases involving farmland.”

via Spike in land abuse cases in China’s western regions |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Construction, Economics, Housing, Illegal practices, Infrastructure, land grab, real estate | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, environment, politics, Xi JinPing

14/04/2013

* China Makes Inroads in Nepal, Stemming Tibetan Presence

NY Times: “The wind-scoured desert valley here, just south of Tibet, was once a famed transit point for the Tibetan yak caravans laden with salt that lumbered over the icy ramparts of the Himalayas. In the 1960s, it became a base for Tibetan guerrillas trained by the C.I.A. to attack Chinese troops occupying their homeland.

Prayer wheels at a temple in the Mustang area of Nepal. The Chinese are trying to restrain the flow of disaffected Tibetans fleeing to Nepal and to enlist the help of the Nepalese authorities.

These days, it is the Chinese who are showing up in this far tip of the Buddhist kingdom of Mustang, northwest of Katmandu, Nepal. Chinese officials are seeking to stem the flow of disaffected Tibetans fleeing to Nepal and to enlist the help of the Nepalese authorities in cracking down on the political activities of the 20,000 Tibetans already here.

China is exerting its influence across Nepal in a variety of ways, mostly involving financial incentives. In Mustang, China is providing $50,000 in annual food aid and sending military officials across the border to discuss with local Nepalese what the ceremonial prince of Mustang calls “border security.”

Their efforts across the country have borne fruit. The Nepalese police regularly detain Tibetans during anti-China protests in Katmandu, and they have even curbed celebrations of the birthday of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to Tibetans living in Nepal.

via China Makes Inroads in Nepal, Stemming Tibetan Presence – NYTimes.com.

Tibetans want release of protester’s body in Nepal (bostonherald.com)
Protests Mark 54th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising (voanews.com)
Nepal police arrest Tibetans on anniversary of uprising (straitstimes.com)

Posted in China alert, Diplomacy, Ethnic clash, Freedom, GeoPolitics, immigration, Political asylum, Politics, self determination, unrest | 1 Comment »

Tags: China, Dalai Lama, Himalayas, Kathmandu, Mustang, Nepal, politics, Tibet, Tibetan people

13/04/2013

* France plans currency swap line with China: paper

Reuters: “China to make Paris a major offshore yuan trading hub in Europe, competing against London, the China Daily on Saturday cited Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer as saying.

A bank clerk counts Chinese yuan banknotes at a branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Huaibei, Anhui province, June 8, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer

Yuan deposits in Paris amount to 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), making it the second largest pool for the Chinese currency in Europe after London. Almost 10 percent of Sino-French trade is settled in yuan, also called the renminbi or RMB, according to French data cited by the official newspaper.

“The Bank of France has been working on ways to develop a RMB liquidity safety net in the euro area with due consideration of a supporting currency swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China,” Noyer told the English-language newspaper.

The yuan’s internationalization and bilateral financial cooperation could be among the main topics during French President Francois Hollande’s visit to China in late April, the paper said.”

via France plans currency swap line with China: paper | Reuters.

BOE Plans to Sign Yuan Swap-Line Arrangement With China Shortly – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
Value of China’s currency swap deals reaches RMB2tn (wantchinatimes.com)
China, Brazil Sign $30B Currency Swap (drudge.com)
China, Singapore Double Currency Swap Agreement to $48 Billion – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)

Posted in Banking, economic inter-dependence, Economics, Reserve currency | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Chinese currency, Currency swap, London, Paris, Peoples Bank of China, Renminbi

12/04/2013

* China labour camp victim sues local authorities

BBC: “A Chinese woman is suing a local authority who sent her to a labour camp for the loss of her personal freedom.

Tang Hui was sent to a re-education camp by Yongzhou’s local authority for “disturbing social order” last August, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

She had been campaigning for harsher punishments for the seven men who raped and kidnapped her daughter, and forced her daughter to work as a prostitute.

Her case sparked a public outcry, and she was released after nine days.

Tang Hui is suing the Yongzhou authorities for 1,463.85 yuan ($236, £152) for her detention, Xinhua news agency reported.

She had taken her case to court after the Yongzhou re-education-through labour commission rejected her demand for compensation, Xinhua added.”

via BBC News – China labour camp victim sues local authorities.

Posted in China alert, Citizens's rights, compensation, Human rights, Illegal practices, labour camp, Rule of law, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Labor camp, labour camp, politics, Re-education through labor

11/04/2013

* China’s ‘Going Out Strategy’ and the implications for agricultural and forestry resources in Africa

CPI: “China is shifting the global political economy which has significant implications for natural resource management. The so-called Western powers, which have dominated global natural resource institutions for centuries, may be about to witness a new mode of resource governance. Although not always perceptible, even our relationship with nature has been modified and shaped in some way due to classifications and instruments of European order. The ‘Columbian Exchange’ (the widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture and human populations following the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492) signified a stage of voyages of discovery which helped create the British Empire and fostered the commodification and exchange of plants through global value chains of influence. The voyages of exploration were in part derived from a need to expand territory and acquire natural resources. In the late 1660s, books such as Silva and French Forest Ordinance signified a shift in thinking and attitudes towards the unforeseen consequences of economic development over conservation. Forestry was starting to be recognised as a science. At that time, the power of the nation rested largely on the ability of nations to continue ship building; resources such as timber therefore were vital to the continuation of that power.

The twenty- first century is witnessing a different mode of power. Empire has given way to new forms of cultural imperialism, or as Nye terms it: ‘soft power’, where culture itself is used as a tool to create influence. ‘Hard’ military power and colonisation are inefficient or ineffective at securing natural resources in an increasingly globalised world, therefore more peaceful methods need to be used. International development has for some time served the purpose of mutual exchange whereby relationships have been based predominantly on a Western notion of ‘conditionality.’ Development assistance is exchanged for a level of compliance with widely shared Western values.

As China leads a new geopolitical trend in ‘South-South’ cooperation, the implications for global governance are vast. China’s new demand for natural resources has, like developing nations before them, led to expanding their boundaries beyond their own nation and engaging in exploitation of other nations. The outward expansion of industry and natural resource management was officially launched in 2001 in a package of initiatives known as the ‘going out strategy’. Since its launch, China’s mode of development based on ‘no strings attached’ financial assistance and ‘non-interference’ in internal affairs as a development strategy (rather than a Western mode of ‘conditionality’) has attracted attention and criticism. After all, Western democratic neoliberal thought has always focused on shared values, even when the planet sits in its own capitalist ruins. That is not to condone human rights abuses, oppressive dictatorships or arms trade, but to recognise that the West has itself turned a blind eye to such issues, or else paid more attention to the plight of certain citizens when natural resources have been involved.

China’s success as the ‘world’s factory’ has led to a new demand in overseas natural resources – particularly oil, timber and minerals. This has resulted in many new formed partnerships between China and Africa. One such example is the establishment of the Centre for China-Africa Agriculture and Forestry Research (CAFOR), in late 2012, in partnership with the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) and Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University (ZAFU). The project proposes to train high level professionals, improve global agriculture and forestry technology and secure China’s influence on African national policy making for international agriculture and forestry development strategies. Moreover, the centres will provide an opportunity for Sino-African agriculture and forestry culture exchange through the development of agricultural and forestry resources traditionally associated with China: tea and bamboo.

Although bamboo is largely associated with Asia, bamboo species are native to Africa. With the global population set to increase by 0.9% per year to 8.2 billion in 2030, according to FAO, there is a pressing need for substitute timber resources. Whilst the global bamboo economy is estimated at US $10 billion (which is set to double in the next five years) according to the World Bamboo Organisation, institutions to facilitate sustainable supply chains suited to the specific management characteristics of the plant are still lacking. Globally there has been a recent surge in interest in the plant in face of resource deficits, however China’s involvement in Africa would signify the first move to actively define and develop modern forestry institutions inclusive of bamboo. This not only has significant implications for Chinese focused trade and investment, but also institutionalised practices within the timber industry, which have been largely driven by Western interests.”

via China Policy Institute Blog » China’s ‘Going Out Strategy’ and the implications for agricultural and forestry resources in Africa.

China in Africa? Capitalism or Exploitation (lloydformankind.wordpress.com)
China woos hearts and minds in Africa (irishtimes.com)

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

Tags: africa, British Empire, China, climate, Development aid, environment, global political economy, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, Natural resource, natural resource management, science, voyage of christopher columbus

11/04/2013

* British shops ration baby milk as Chinese demand surges

Reuters: “British shops are rationing sales of baby milk after Chinese visitors and bulk buyers cleared their shelves to send it to China, where many parents fear the local versions are dangerous.

Shoppers browse the aisles in the Canary Wharf store of Waitrose in London January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), whose members account for 80 percent of the sector, said many stores had imposed a two-box limit on each customer to deter the “unofficial exports” to China.

Demand for foreign milk powder has been high in China since at least six infants died and 300,000 fell ill in 2008 after they drank milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine.

The scandal sapped consumer confidence in Chinese-made food and led to shortages of powdered milk in Hong Kong and Australia as people bought boxes to export to China.

The rise of the middle-class Chinese working mother has greatly increased sales of baby milk in the world’s most populous country. Fast-growing markets like China support a global baby food market worth an estimated $30 billion a year.”

via British shops ration baby milk as Chinese demand surges | Reuters.

Posted in Affluence, China alert, Economics, food safety | Leave a Comment »

Tags: British Retail Consortium, China, economy, Food, Hong Kong, Infant formula, Powdered milk

10/04/2013

* Fitch Lowers Rating on China Local-Currency Debt

WSJ: “Fitch Ratings Inc. lowered one of its key ratings on China’s government debt, in one of the most prominent warnings to date over a credit buildup in the world’s second-largest economy.

The downgrade applies only to China’s yuan-denominated debt, which is primarily traded domestically—not the foreign-currency debt that it issues in international financial markets, so it is unlikely to have a big impact on global financial markets.

Nevertheless, it is the first outright downgrade in years of debt that is widely seen as buffered by China’s vast foreign-exchange reserves, highlighting a growing perception that massive lending by China’s banks, as well as shadowy nonbank lenders that operate under little regulation, could seriously disrupt China’s economic recovery.

Much of China’s debt came from a surge of lending in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, which helped Chinese growth rebound in part with the help of massive infrastructure projects but weighed down local governments and banks with loans. Analysts at Fitch have been part of a chorus of analysts and market players consistently sounding alarms about the run-up in China’s debt.

Saying that “risks over China’s financial stability have grown,” the credit-ratings firm lowered China’s long-term local-currency rating to single-A-plus from double-A-minus, with a stable outlook. It was its first downgrade of Chinese debt since at least 1997. It kept China’s foreign-currency debt rating unchanged at single-A-plus, saying it is well supported by China’s foreign-exchange reserves, worth $3.387 trillion at the end of 2012.

Bank credit extended to the private sector was equivalent to 135.7% of China’s gross domestic product at the end of 2012, the highest level of any emerging-market economy rated by Fitch, it said.”

via Fitch Lowers Rating on China Local-Currency Debt – WSJ.com.

Posted in Banking, China alert, Economics, loans | 1 Comment »

Tags: Bond credit rating, Business, China, Credit (finance), Currency, Debt, economy, Fitch Group, Foreign-exchange reserves, real-estate

10/04/2013

* Antony warns Army against threats from China, Pakistan

Times of India: “India’s deep unease over China’s growing military might and assertiveness as well as intransigence about the boundary dispute resonated at a military brass conclave on Monday, with defence minister AK Antony also underlining the threat posed by the expansive nexus forged between Beijing and Islamabad.

Português: Nova Délhi (Índia) – Desfile do Dia da República, na Rajpath. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

China’s approach to India on the long-standing boundary dispute and other issues, even after the recent leadership change in Beijing, “is not likely to change” in the foreseeable future. Consequently, the Indian armed forces need to “constantly develop” their capabilities to achieve “minimum credible deterrence” against China, said Antony.

The minister, addressing the closed-door Army commanders’ conference, did point out the government was trying to resolve issues with China in a “peaceful” manner, and also cited the new bilateral boundary management mechanism as “a positive development”.

But Antony also stressed it was crucial to modernize the armed forces to counter China’s “military assertiveness”, including its massive development of military infrastructure along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in other neighbouring countries, like the Gilgit-Baltistan areas of Pakistan, said MoD sources.

India has belatedly taken some steps to strategically counter China but much more needs to be done at a rapid clip. While IAF is now progressively basing Sukhoi-30MKI fighters in the north-east and the Navy is bolstering force-levels on the eastern seaboard, the Army’s Rs 81,000-crore plan to raise a new mountain strike corps with associated structures is yet to take off.”

via Antony warns Army against threats from China, Pakistan – The Times of India.

India aware of China, Pakistan’s border infrastructure development (vancouverdesi.com)
India as a great power (economist.com)

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Defence, Diplomacy, Foreign invasion, GeoPolitics, History, India alert, Neighbour conflict, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, India, Indian Armed Forces, K Antony, Line of Actual Control, Pakistan, politics

10/04/2013

* China’s Dalian Wanda Makes a Play for European Movie Theaters

WSJ: “Just months after grabbing a chunk of the U.S. movie-theater market, China’s Dalian Wanda Group Corp. is moving toward becoming a global power in film exhibition, holding talks to purchase a European chain.

The talks follow Wanda’s $2.6 billion purchase last year of the second-largest U.S. chain, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., which has nearly 5,000 screens at 344 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

A Wanda spokesman said the conglomerate has held talks to buy a European chain but declined to provide further details.

People familiar with the situation said the conglomerate has shown interest in at least two of the Continent’s largest chains, Odeon & UCI Cinemas Holdings Ltd. and Vue Entertainment Ltd., both based in the U.K. and with thousands of screens in multiple countries. There are other European chains that Wanda could target as well.

In addition to AMC, Wanda operates 1,000 screens in China, the world’s second-largest movie market, and is aiming to expand to 2,000 by 2015, Chairman Wang Jianlin said last year.

Acquiring a big chain in Europe could make Wanda a major player in both ends of the film business; Mr. Wang has said he wants to invest in making movies in China and elsewhere. Wanda representatives have had talks with Hollywood studios about co-financing a slate of U.S. productions, people close to the discussions said.

Owning European theaters also could give the Chinese company significant leverage when negotiating the terms under which it splits box-office revenue with Hollywood studios.”

via China’s Dalian Wanda Makes a Play for European Movie Theaters – WSJ.com.

Chinese Auto Parts Billionaire’s Real Estate Arm Eyes International Market (forbes.com)
Hollywood courts Chinese box office despite cinema censorship (metro.co.uk)

Posted in China alert, Economics, Foreign acquisition | Leave a Comment »

Tags: AMC Theatres, China, Dalian Wanda Group, entertainment, Hollywood, Movie theater

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

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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* China issues white paper on national defense

* Spike in land abuse cases in China’s western regions

* China Makes Inroads in Nepal, Stemming Tibetan Presence

* France plans currency swap line with China: paper

* China’s ‘Going Out Strategy’ and the implications for agricultural and forestry resources in Africa

* British shops ration baby milk as Chinese demand surges

* Fitch Lowers Rating on China Local-Currency Debt

* Antony warns Army against threats from China, Pakistan

* China’s Dalian Wanda Makes a Play for European Movie Theaters

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Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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