Posts tagged ‘China’

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12/09/2014

China’s Xi Enlists Party Recruiters in Anticorruption Effort – Businessweek

Zeng Fanyue is a 24-year-old political science graduate student at Shanghai’s Fudan University. Politically speaking, she’s redder than red. “As a Communist Party member, I have additional social responsibilities. I should help people and do things for others,” she says, telling how she choked up with emotion during a ceremony in which she renewed her oath of loyalty to the party.

The government of President Xi Jinping, who’s also chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC), says it wants more true believers like Zeng. At the same time, it wants to weed out the party’s corrupt members. Last year the number of Chinese joining the party dropped 25 percent as young people saw little to gain from joining an organization in convulsions over the prosecutions of party notables such as ex-Chongqing boss Bo Xilai and former Security Minister Zhou Yongkang. In just the first five months of this year, authorities investigated 26,523 officials, including seven at the ministerial level, for crimes related to their jobs, reported the official Xinhua News Agency on July 3. The CPC—now 87 million strong—is facing “severe dangers,” particularly from corruption, Xi warned in a June 30 speech.

Three weeks before Xi’s speech, the party had issued new recruitment rules, the first major revision in 24 years, that aim to further slow the growth of the world’s largest political organization. Only people likely to be so dedicated to party doctrine that they won’t succumb to the temptations of graft will be welcomed.

Ding Xueliang, professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, says Xi and other top leaders became convinced China needed a smaller, purer party after close study of the collapse of Communist rule in the former Soviet Union. “The major problem they identified about the Soviet Communist Party was: No. 1, the senior cadres didn’t believe in party principles, didn’t believe in communism or socialism, and only believed in their own self-interest,” Ding says. “No. 2, within the cadre system—amongst the higher- and middle-level officials—there were extensive networks of corruption.”

via China’s Xi Enlists Party Recruiters in Anticorruption Effort – Businessweek.

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12/09/2014

When China Cleans Its Air, Health-Care Costs Plummet – Businessweek

Beijing residents checking the hourly air-quality index online and strapping air-pollution facemasks on their children may miss the halcyon days just before the 2008 Olympics, when the city temporarily cleaned up its skies (at least, relatively speaking). But not every city in China has seen the air grow darker over the past half decade.

Unidentified emissions from a coal-fired power plant in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, in 2007

The northern city of Taiyuan, capital of coal-rich Shanxi province, has launched several measures to reduce coal burning and emissions. Although its skies are hardly clear, they are clearer. And that has made a noticeable difference in health outcomes and health-care costs, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Health.

Over the past decade, Taiyuan has closed several large coal-burning power plants and increased environmental monitoring of its other factories—effectively lowering the average concentration of PM 10 (particulate matter 10 micrometers in diameter or less). As a result, average PM 10 concentrations dropped more than 50 percent from 2001 to 2010.

The economic costs associated with pollution—including health-care expenses, loss of labor productivity, and premature death—correspondingly dropped more than 50 percent, according to estimates by the researchers. Specifically, the researchers correlated reduced air pollution over the course of a decade with 141,457 fewer hospital or doctor visits, 31,810 fewer hospital stays, 969 fewer trips to the emergency room, 951 fewer cases of bronchitis, and 2,810 fewer premature deaths.

via When China Cleans Its Air, Health-Care Costs Plummet – Businessweek.

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11/09/2014

India and China in wary dance as Xi Jinping prepares for South Asia trip | South China Morning Post

Xi Jinping will start his first South Asia tour with a visit to Beijing’s latest investment in Sri Lanka, a US$1.4-billion port city development to include a marina and a Formula One track – all just 250km from India’s coast.

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The president’s trip to the site, next to a major Chinese-funded commercial port, will provide a vivid reminder of Beijing’s growing economic clout in India’s backyard ahead of his maiden visit to New Delhi next week.

Despite his hardline nationalist reputation, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved quickly to engage with traditional rival China after taking office in May, inviting Xi to India.

But he has also sought to stop India’s neighbours falling further into China’s embrace, choosing Bhutan and Nepal for his first foreign trips as prime minister and extending an olive branch of peace to arch-rival Pakistan.

That may not worry China too much. Modi’s close relationship with Tokyo, on the other hand, is likely to raise alarm bells in Beijing that analysts say he may be able to use to his advantage.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pictured in New Delhi earlier this month. Photo: EPA

Modi enjoys a particularly warm friendship with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, who welcomed him even as he was shunned by Western powers over claims he failed to stop deadly religious riots in Gujarat, the state he used to run.

Both India and Japan are wary of what many see as Beijing’s growing territorial assertiveness, and Washington is eager for them to step up their cooperation by way of counterweight to China.

“China is looking at India under Modi as a serious and credible partner as well as potential adversary.” POLITICAL ANALYST SHYAM SARAN

“China is concerned that we would get closer to Japan and to the US under Modi. They don’t want that to happen,” said Jayadeva Ranade, president of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy in New Delhi.

via India and China in wary dance as Xi Jinping prepares for South Asia trip | South China Morning Post.

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11/09/2014

Can Jack Ma’s Alibaba Fortune Jump-Start Chinese Philanthropy? – Businessweek

Harvard just announced its largest-ever donation: a $350 million unrestricted gift to its School of Public Health. The donor is Hong Kong-based Morningside Foundation, led by two brothers who earned their fortunes in real estate, private equity, and venture capital. One brother, Gerald Chan, earned a graduate degree from Harvard. The school will be renamed in honor of their late father as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Jack Ma on July 15

Greater China is home to 358 billionaires (including 64 Hong Kong billionaires), according to the 2014 Hurun Global Rich List. Yet with a few exceptions—including the Harvard gift and Chinese tech titans’ recent fondness for the ice bucket challenge—a culture of domestic philanthropy has been relatively slow to take root. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet hosted a lavish 2010 dinner in Beijing intended to encourage the Chinese elite to embrace philanthropy, but several tycoons snubbed the Americans’ invitations and declined to open their wallets.

Now, at last, China has a powerful homegrown evangelist for philanthropy: Jack Ma. As co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, which filed paperwork last week to raise as much as  $21.2 billion in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, he is one of China’s most respected and closely watched tycoons—and he’s publicly embracing a culture of giving.

Ma joined Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai earlier this year in establishing a personal philanthropic trust to be “funded by share options granted by Alibaba … for approximately two percent (2%) of Alibaba’s equity,” according to a statement. The trust will focus on the “environment, medicine, education, and culture.” In Ma’s words, “Alibaba was founded 15 years ago with a mission ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere’ and a set of principles and values that emphasize our responsibility to society. Giving back to society is deeply embedded in Alibaba’s culture.”

The total value of the fund will depend on the performance of Alibaba’s upcoming IPO. If the company is valued at $120 billion, or more, the charitable trust will be worth at least $2.4 billion.

via Can Jack Ma’s Alibaba Fortune Jump-Start Chinese Philanthropy? – Businessweek.

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11/09/2014

The Change in China’s Hukou Policy Is Slow to Help Migrant Families – Businessweek

On July 30, China’s State Council announced plans to abolish the old residence registration permit—or hukou—that distinguished rural from urban households. The move was long overdue.

Young Chinese children attend a kindergarten set up for migrant workers in Beijing

The hukou system was enacted in 1958 as away to limit movement between the countryside and cities. At that time, the Chinese Communist Party was explicitly anti-urban and antibusiness. After economic reform began in 1978, the hukou became increasingly anachronistic as millions of migrant workers left farms and villages for new jobs in factories and private companies in the cities. Yet they were penalized because, without local household registration papers, these migrants were denied access to public health care, education, and other social services.

The new system, however, will be only a partial fix. Discrepancies between rural and urban tax collection will gradually be phased out, but access to services will still be linked to location. While smaller cities may be willing to accept newly registered residents, the governments of China’s leading metropolises—including Beijing and Shanghai—are overburdened and still actively trying to discourage new residents (other than wealthy arrivals) from putting down roots.

via The Change in China’s Hukou Policy Is Slow to Help Migrant Families – Businessweek.

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11/09/2014

Despite Sluggish Economy, China Has Yet Again More Millionaires – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Perhaps the Chinese economy is doing OK after all: The country’s ranks of the rich are growing slightly faster, according to a new report.

By slightly, we mean very: one percentage point.

Still, those who track the rich point to it as an optimistic signal. At the end of 2013, there were 1,090,000 people with a net worth of more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) and 67,000 with more than 100 million yuan, according to the Hurun Wealth Report 2014. That’s an increase of 4% for both categories. In the previous year, the growth rate was 3% and 2%, respectively, which represented the lowest increase over the six years Hurun has compiled the report.

Hurun, which also puts together an annual list of the richest people in China, said it came up with its headcount by two methods. First, it looked at the sales of high-end real estate and cars, as well as income tax returns and other data related to wealthy individuals. Then, it rounded out its headcount by taking into account macroeconomic data like gross domestic product growth and gross national product.

So who are the new rich? Mostly private business owners, said Hurun, who make up 55% of all millionaires (up from 50% last year). The report said the wealthy typically own a personal residence worth at least 2 million yuan, multiple cars worth more than 200,000 yuan as well as 1.7 million yuan in “investable assets.”

via Despite Sluggish Economy, China Has Yet Again More Millionaires – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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11/09/2014

Tech factory workers strike in China over mooncakes, benefits | Reuters

About 16,000 workers at two subsidiaries of Taiwanese touch-screen maker Wintek Corp went on strike over holiday benefits this week in southern China in one of the biggest work stoppages this year, the Xinhua news agency reported.

A Wintek executive said the strikes started on Tuesday at subsidiary Dongguan Masstop Liquid Crystal Display Co Ltd and spread on Wednesday to Wintek (China) Technology Ltd. Each factory employs about 8,000 workers, said the executive who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the company.

The strikes ended on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and the company did not expect production to be affected, the executive added. He did not say how many workers had participated.

Wintek is a long-time supplier to Apple Inc, but it was not immediately clear who the factories’ main customers were. A Wintek Corp facility in the eastern city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, is on the iPhone and iPad maker’s list of 2014 suppliers, but not the factories in Dongguan.

An Apple spokesman in California said the company generally did not comment on supplier relationships beyond the list.

Six police vehicles were parked in the rain outside the gates of the Wintek factory in an industrial estate in the southern city of Dongguan on Thursday, although there were no workers in sight.

A manager surnamed Wu said: “Things have been settled now. The workers are back to work.”

China has seen a surge in the number of strikes at its factories in recent years as the economy slowed and a worsening labor shortage has shifted the balance of power in labour relations. Smartphones and social media have also helped workers become more aware than ever of the changing environment.

The largest strike in decades took place in April when about 40,000 workers halted production at a shoe factory complex in Dongguan that supplies Nike Inc, Adidas AG and other major sneaker brands. Those workers were unhappy about insufficient social insurance payments.

Workers involved in the Wintek strike told Xinhua that recruitment advertisements had offered cash bonuses equal to half of their monthly base salary on three holidays: the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

A worker surnamed Zhang told Xinhua they were only given 100 yuan, a piece of chicken and a banana for Mid-Autumn Festival, which was on Monday. Last year each staff member received 700 yuan ($114.17) in cash and a box of traditional mooncakes.

The workers returned to work after officials explained that the downgraded holiday benefits were a reflection of the company’s relatively weak performance so far this year, the Wintek official said. Wintek incurred a loss in the first half.

via Tech factory workers strike in China over mooncakes, benefits | Reuters.

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05/09/2014

Chinese woman wrongfully jailed for theft given apology and payout 25 years after | South China Morning Post

Twenty-five years after she was locked up behind bars, a Guangdong woman on Thursday received more than 650,000 yuan (HK$818,000) in compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned – in the latest case of corrective measures for miscarried justice in China.

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Bai Chunrong was sentenced to eight years in prison for theft on July 28, 1989, and served time until she was released in 1996, the Guangdong province newspaper New Express reported.

Bai filed an appeal in March 1990 but the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court upheld the conviction. There were no further details about her crime given in the court announcement.

The same court reopened the case in late March and the judge declared her innocent on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Bai received the compensation from the Foshan court judge, who apologised to Bai for the wrongful conviction.

Bai, crying while kneeling on the floor and kowtowing to the magistrate, said: “I really thank the current court and judge for helping me get vindicated.”

Last month, in a rare acquittal, a court in southeastern Fujian province overturned the death penalty against a food hawker convicted of double murder.

via Chinese woman wrongfully jailed for theft given apology and payout 25 years after | South China Morning Post.

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05/09/2014

The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks—Except With China – Businessweek

The good news? The overall U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank a bit less than 1 percent in July from June. It was the smallest gap in half a year, and exports broke a record. The bad news? The U.S. deficit in manufacturing set a monthly record, and the deficit in goods traded with China also broke a record.

China Shipping Container Lines containers sit stacked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California on April 8

Alan Tonelson, a trade analyst who blogs at RealityChek, dwelt on the negative in an interview today. “There’s no doubt that major barriers to U.S. exports remain,” he said. “China is case in point No. 1. It’s still one of the most protectionist economies in the world.”

Boston Consulting Group has argued in a series of reports that the U.S. has a bright future in manufacturing because the high productivity of American workers makes it an affordable location for production, while China is slowly pricing itself out of the market through rising labor costs. It calls the U.S. a “rising global star.”

But that stardom isn’t showing up yet in the trade data. Says Tonelson of Boston Consulting’s view: “If they’re just premature, they seem wildly premature.”

As reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the overall U.S. trade deficit in both goods and services was $40.5 billion in July—down from June, but up $1.1 billion from a year earlier. The July deficit with China in goods was $30.9 billion, vs. a previous high of $30.6 billion. The overall manufacturing deficit, at $67 billion in July, is running 11 percent ahead of last year’s record pace, Tonelson calculates.

via The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks—Except With China – Businessweek.

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05/09/2014

China’s ‘Birthplace of Kung Fu’ Hopes to Train CEOs to Meditate – Businessweek

The ancient Shaolin Temple, perched on a leafy mountaintop in eastern China, is widely recognized as the birthplace of kung fu. For at least 1,500 years, its resident monks have preserved the physical and psychological training regimen of the legendary martial work. Now they’re trying to master commercial arts, too.

A monk practicing kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China

The temple is hiring a media director and social media editor, according to state-run Chinese newswire Xinhua. “The need arises from an internationalizing Shaolin,” a monk who works for the temple’s “Intangible Assets Management Center” told the newswire. The ideal candidate would be versed in China’s fast-growing social media platforms, especially Twitter (TWTR)-like Sina Weibo (SINA), as well as fluent in both Mandarin and English.

Shaolin already offers high-end, live-in meditation courses for chief executive officers willing to live on the mountain as martial arts apprentices for a month, as China Daily recently reported. For those with less time to spare, one-time sit-down sessions with the temple’s abbot are also available. Earlier this year, members of the elite China Entrepreneurs Club attended a private conference at the temple with the theme “self cultivation of entrepreneurs.”

Last year, about 800 foreign executives also came to study and train on the mountain. A marketing manager from Greece who came to Shaolin for a two-week course told the newspaper: “In business, you have to be flexible; you have to find new paths and change. You have to see a crisis and avoid it. Kung fu teaches you to be fluid, like water, because everything in kung fu flows, and stagnation is bad.”

Once its social media marketing team is in place, Shaolin hopes to expand outreach to overseas business leaders who seek to cultivate kung fu mindfulness. Its courses are a relative bargain compared to executive MBA programs, ranging from $800 to $10,000.

via China’s ‘Birthplace of Kung Fu’ Hopes to Train CEOs to Meditate – Businessweek.

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