| China's computer makers march inland | |||
| Kathrin Hille revealed that the global PC industry was shifting its Chinese manufacturing base from coastal China to western China, an important trend to which we should pay close attention. | |||
Michele Kearney's China Blog - Economics, Research and Technology, Energy, Nuclear, Currency, and Foreign Policy
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
China's computer makers march inland
Chinese rare earth metals prices soar
| Chinese rare earth metals prices soar | |||
| Markets highlights included an excellent Leslie Hook analysis of how tighter Chinese restrictions on rare earths are pushing the price of the metals much higher. | |||
China's masterclass in schmoozing Pakistan
| China's masterclass in schmoozing Pakistan | |||
| David Pilling posted an excellent column on how Pakistan was leveraging its growing relationship with China to put pressure on Washington. | |||
China energy: supply vs demand
China energy: supply vs demand Try as it might to outrun market forces, China’s decision to hike electricity prices from June 1 shows that even the mighty mandarins in Beijing cannot ignore basic laws of supply and demand. They finally flinched late on Monday, announcing a roughly 3 percent increase in power prices for non-residential users in a move to combat looming blackouts by stimulating more electricity production and discouraging consumption.
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/
Goldwind to supply 50MW to China's Hebei storage initiative
Goldwind to supply 50MW to China's Hebei storage initiative
Turbine manufacturer Goldwind is to supply 50MW of equipment to a trial storage project in China, on course to be the largest of its type in the world
China's 2011 foreign policy puts greater emphasis on Asia (3)
China's 2011 foreign policy puts greater emphasis on Asia (3)
Monday, May 30, 2011
China SAFE Reports Monetary Gold Holdings Increased By $11 Billion, Or 30%, In 2010, As Gross Foreign Financial Assets Pass $4 Trillion from zero hedge by Tyler Durden
The China Story Darkens
The China Story Darkens
Market valuations look stretched Portfolio investors‘ illusions about the "great China growth" story are being stripped away day by day. Instead of the Chinese market looking relatively cheap, at least by comparison with both its past and the nation‘s assumed economic growth rate, it looks seriously over-valued for two very different reasons.
Market valuations look stretched Portfolio investors‘ illusions about the "great China growth" story are being stripped away day by day. Instead of the Chinese market looking relatively cheap, at least by comparison with both its past and the nation‘s assumed economic growth rate, it looks seriously over-valued for two very different reasons.
DPRK's Kim Jong Il calls for early resumption of Korean nuclear talks
DPRK's Kim Jong Il calls for early resumption of Korean nuclear talks
Eyes on East Asian future
Eyes on East Asian future
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo on May 21-22 as scheduled, even though Japan is still recovering from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, demonstrating the three countries’ consensus on regional responsibility.Metals-Energy Update: Copper, natgas on recovery mode
Metals-Energy Update: Copper, natgas on recovery mode
Some remain on track with nuclear plans
Some remain on track with nuclear plans
Despite the disaster in Japan, some countries are still going ahead with their nuclear plans
South China Sea disputes a threat to Asean-China relations
South China Sea disputes a threat to Asean-China relations
China: Vietnam's oil exploration 'violates consensus'
China: Vietnam's oil exploration 'violates consensus'
Goldman Sachs trims China's growth forecast; more banks to follow
Goldman Sachs trims China's growth forecast; more banks to follow
N. Korea leader celebrates 'successful' China trip
N. Korea leader celebrates 'successful' China trip
Seoul (AFP) May 29, 2011 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his son and heir apparent celebrated the "successful" outcome of his trip to China last week, state media said Sunday, without elaborating on what was achieved. The North held art performances celebrating the accomplishments of his visit and watched by Kim and his youngest son, Jong-Un, as well as senior officials of the communist regime, Pyongyang's Korea ... more
Seoul (AFP) May 29, 2011 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his son and heir apparent celebrated the "successful" outcome of his trip to China last week, state media said Sunday, without elaborating on what was achieved. The North held art performances celebrating the accomplishments of his visit and watched by Kim and his youngest son, Jong-Un, as well as senior officials of the communist regime, Pyongyang's Korea ... more
Taiwan welcomes US Senate push for F-16 sale
Taiwan welcomes US Senate push for F-16 sale
Taipei (AFP) May 29, 2011 - Taiwan said Sunday it welcomed a push by nearly half the US Senate for the sale of dozens of F-16 fighters to the island in an arms deal Taipei said would help its dealings with China. In a letter to President Barack Obama last week, 45 out of 100 US senators urged the administration to swiftly approve the sale of 66 F16-C/Ds to Taiwan as the fast-expanding Chinese forces tip the military ba ... more
Taipei (AFP) May 29, 2011 - Taiwan said Sunday it welcomed a push by nearly half the US Senate for the sale of dozens of F-16 fighters to the island in an arms deal Taipei said would help its dealings with China. In a letter to President Barack Obama last week, 45 out of 100 US senators urged the administration to swiftly approve the sale of 66 F16-C/Ds to Taiwan as the fast-expanding Chinese forces tip the military ba ... more
FT.com - Companies Asia-Pacific 5/30
| FT.com - Companies Asia-Pacific |
| Li & Fung fall sourced to acquisition doubts |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Khazanah struggles to revamp state groups |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Vietnam and China oil clashes intensify |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| South Korea: An economy divided |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Fonterra targets Chinese demand for milk |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Japan to invest in quake-struck auto-parts industry |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Mark Mobius: positive about China outlook |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| Hong Kong sales and confidence dented |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
| India's mutual fund sector struggles |
| http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/ |
Sunday, May 29, 2011
How China, U.S. See Each Other at Sea
How China, U.S. See Each Other at Sea
Talks between the US and Chinese militaries can be great. But dialogue can also reduce trust over maritime differences as well boosting it.
Jim Rogers Explains The Crisis That Could End The China Boom
Jim Rogers Explains The Crisis That Could End The China Boom
Cancer now leading cause of death in China
Cancer now leading cause of death in China
Janet Larsen, Earth Policy Institute
Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China. Chinese Ministry of Health data implicate cancer in close to a quarter of all deaths countrywide. As is common with many countries as they industrialize, the usual plagues of poverty--infectious diseases and high infant mortality--have given way to diseases more often associated with affluence, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
China Development Bank to buy stakes in U.S. private equity fund
China Development Bank to buy stakes in U.S. private equity fund
Asia on the right foot to overtake the West in economic power
Asia on the right foot to overtake the West in economic power
So even as the Western world is appearing to be slowing down compare to the rising Eastern economies, the concentration of the former's businesses in emerging markets is increasing.China's yuan rises 28 basis points to 6.4921 per USD Thursday
China's yuan rises 28 basis points to 6.4921 per USD Thursday
The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, continued to strengthen 28 basis points to 6.4921 per U.S. dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading system.35 million people affected by drought
35 million people affected by drought
A severe drought from April has affected some 34.83 million people in five provinces along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and 4.23 million of them are experiencing difficulty with drinking water.China maintains 'yellow alert' on persistent drought
China maintains 'yellow alert' on persistent drought
Saturday, May 28, 2011
More On The Chinese Domino Fundamentally Changing The World's Economic Outlook
More On The Chinese Domino Fundamentally Changing The World's Economic Outlook
SocGen: "The China Domino Has Fallen!", Big-Time Inflation Coming All Around The World
SocGen: "The China Domino Has Fallen!", Big-Time Inflation Coming All Around The World
18 Facts About China That Will Blow Your Mind
Ten Reasons Why China is Different -- Stephen S. Roach, Project Syndicate
Ten Reasons Why China is Different -- Stephen S. Roach, Project Syndicate
* Updates on Fukushima: The Implications of the Fukushima Accident on the World's Operating Reactors
Updates on Fukushima:
| http://www.fairewinds.com/ |
How China Views U.S. Nuclear Policy - Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
How China Views U.S. Nuclear Policy - Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
How India Can Beat China in Africa - Pranay Sharma, Outlook India
How India Can Beat China in Africa - Pranay Sharma, Outlook India
China's String of Pearls Takes Shape - Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy
China's String of Pearls Takes Shape - Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy
Friday, May 27, 2011
S. China Sea Oil Rush Risks Clashes as U.S. Bolsters Vietnam
S. China Sea Oil Rush Risks Clashes as U.S. Bolsters Vietnam
China invites South Africa to jointly develop clean, renewable energy
China invites South Africa to jointly develop clean, renewable energy
China drops the Gwadar hot potato By Peter Lee
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/
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MAY 27, 2011 Should the U.S. Sell More F-16s to Taiwan?
http://blogs.wsj.com/
MAY 27, 2011
Should the U.S. Sell More F-16s to Taiwan?
FT Newsmine on Asia
Asia
Martin Wolf on China's rise, May 23
"The speed and scale of China’s rise is breathtaking. In 1990, its share in world merchandise trade (the sum of exports and imports) was just 2 per cent. In 2000, it was below 4 per cent. By 2010, it had reached 10 per cent. Its share of world exports had risen even faster than this, from below 2 per cent of world merchandise exports in 1990 to close to 11 per cent in 2010. Amazingly, China is already a far more important market for Brazil than the US. The share of the Chinese market in Brazil’s merchandise exports jumped from 2 per cent in 1990, to 5 per cent in the middle of the last decade and 15 per cent in 2010.""In 2002, the US market absorbed as much as 26 per cent of Brazil’s exports. By 2010, the US market share was down to a mere 10 per cent. The share of the Chinese market in Brazil’s exports is not so far below that of the entire European Union, which absorbed 21 per cent of Brazil’s exports in 2010, down from close to 25 per cent in 2007."
On the China Development Bank and China's outbound foreign direct investment, May 23
"China’s outbound foreign direct investment reached $220bn in the five years between 2006 and 2010, according to government figures. That is close to 10 times the total cumulative $26bn that Chinese companies had invested in 150 countries at any time up until the end of 2005.Most of the new investment was funded by preferential loans from state-owned Chinese banks with CDB leading the way."On the China-Brazil investment relationship, May 23
"Last year, China became Brazil’s largest foreign direct investor for the first time. China accounted for about $17bn of Brazil’s total foreign direct investment inflows of $48.46bn in 2010, up from less than $300m in 2009, according to Sobeet, a Brazilian think-tank on transnational companies."On the China-Brazil trade relationship, May 23
"Brazil sent $30.79bn of exports to China in 2010, almost 30 times as much as a decade earlier, when it exported only $1.09bn worth of goods. Over that 10-year period, imports from China also surged more than 20-fold to $25.60bn. Once a relatively obscure force in Brazil, China is now its biggest trading partner after knocking the US off the top spot in 2009."On the credit bubble in developing nations, May 22
"In Asia, the combined issuance of corporate loans, bonds and equity is now almost double the 2007 credit bubble peak, according to Deutsche Bank."In China, a long path of writing the Communist Party’s history
In China, a long path of writing the Communist Party’s history
Mongolia may have 150 billion tons of coal and one million tons of uranium and China gold
Mongolia may have 150 billion tons of coal and one million tons of uranium and China gold
http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/05/mongolia-may-have-150-billion-tons-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fadvancednano+%28nextbigfuture%29
Three blasts hit China govt buildings, two dead: Xinhua
Three blasts hit China govt buildings, two dead: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) May 26, 2011 - A jobless 52-year-old man allegedly triggered a series of explosions at government buildings in eastern China on Thursday, killing himself and at least one other, state media said. The unusually brazen and premeditated incident is likely to add to official fears over possible public unrest stemming from a range of social grievances, with soaring inflation topping the list.
http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Three_blasts_hit_China_govt_buildings_two_dead_Xinhua_999.html
Beijing (AFP) May 26, 2011 - A jobless 52-year-old man allegedly triggered a series of explosions at government buildings in eastern China on Thursday, killing himself and at least one other, state media said. The unusually brazen and premeditated incident is likely to add to official fears over possible public unrest stemming from a range of social grievances, with soaring inflation topping the list.
http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Three_blasts_hit_China_govt_buildings_two_dead_Xinhua_999.html
Locke vows to raise rights concerns with China
Locke vows to raise rights concerns with China
Washington (AFP) May 26, 2011 - Gary Locke, the nominee to be the next US ambassador to China, promised Thursday he would be a forceful advocate for human rights while still seeking broad cooperation with Beijing. Locke, the commerce secretary who would be the first Chinese-American ambassador to Beijing, enjoyed an unusually friendly reception at his Senate hearing, with lawmakers saying he was virtually sure to win confi ... more
Washington (AFP) May 26, 2011 - Gary Locke, the nominee to be the next US ambassador to China, promised Thursday he would be a forceful advocate for human rights while still seeking broad cooperation with Beijing. Locke, the commerce secretary who would be the first Chinese-American ambassador to Beijing, enjoyed an unusually friendly reception at his Senate hearing, with lawmakers saying he was virtually sure to win confi ... more
IMF succession: China urges 'democratic' process
IMF succession: China urges 'democratic' process
Beijing (AFP) May 26, 2011 - China said Thursday the new International Monetary Fund chief should be chosen through "democratic consultation", as the developing world stepped up its campaign to end Europe's hold on the job. India and South Africa - which with Brazil, China and Russia are members of the so-called BRICS bloc of emerging economies - joined calls for reform of the process of choosing a managing director f ... more
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/IMF_succession_China_urges_democratic_process_999.html
Beijing (AFP) May 26, 2011 - China said Thursday the new International Monetary Fund chief should be chosen through "democratic consultation", as the developing world stepped up its campaign to end Europe's hold on the job. India and South Africa - which with Brazil, China and Russia are members of the so-called BRICS bloc of emerging economies - joined calls for reform of the process of choosing a managing director f ... more
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/IMF_succession_China_urges_democratic_process_999.html
China drought impact widens, reaching Shanghai
China drought impact widens, reaching Shanghai
(AP) -- China's worst drought in a half-century is deepening, with the parched weather that has left millions in the Yangtze River region without enough drinking water pushing inflation higher and adding to widespread power shortages.
(AP) -- China's worst drought in a half-century is deepening, with the parched weather that has left millions in the Yangtze River region without enough drinking water pushing inflation higher and adding to widespread power shortages.
Hong Kong tests banks’ ability to survive outflows
Thursday, May 26, 2011
China urges resumption of Iran-5+1 talks
China urges resumption of Iran-5+1 talks
Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN -- China has called for the resumption of talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany).
Tehran Times Political Desk
China raps US sanctions on firms over weapons tech
China raps US sanctions on firms over weapons tech
Invest In China To Make Money On Renewables: Report
Invest In China To Make Money On Renewables: Report
BY Ariel Schwartz A new survey determines that China is the most attractive country for renewable energy installations based on the size of its national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures, and suitability for individual technologies.
Power crunch underscores China's energy challenge and dilemma
Power crunch underscores China's energy challenge and dilemma
The Most Innovative Countries In Information Technology
The Most Innovative Countries In Information Technology
China Widens Lead Over U.S. in Renewable Energy Ranking by Ernst & Young
China Widens Lead Over U.S. in Renewable Energy Ranking by Ernst & Young
Business Travel Day
Dear Readers
I am on business travel today. Will resume posting this evening.
Michele Kearney
I am on business travel today. Will resume posting this evening.
Michele Kearney
Are China's factories running out of power? JEFF RUBIN Special to Globe and Mail Update
Are China's factories running out of power?
JEFF RUBIN
Special to Globe and Mail Update
Central China drought worst in over 50 years: reports
Central China drought worst in over 50 years: reports
Beijing (AFP) May 25, 2011 -
Central China's worst drought in more than 50 years is drying reservoirs, stalling rice planting, and threatens crippling power shortages as hydroelectric output slows, state media said Wednesday. Rainfall levels from January to April in the drainage basin of the Yangtze, China's longest and most economically important river, have been 40 percent lower than average levels of the past 50 year ... more
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Central_China_drought_worst_in_over_50_years_reports_999.html
Beijing (AFP) May 25, 2011 -
Central China's worst drought in more than 50 years is drying reservoirs, stalling rice planting, and threatens crippling power shortages as hydroelectric output slows, state media said Wednesday. Rainfall levels from January to April in the drainage basin of the Yangtze, China's longest and most economically important river, have been 40 percent lower than average levels of the past 50 year ... more
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Central_China_drought_worst_in_over_50_years_reports_999.html
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
China Warns of 'Urgent Problems' Facing Three Gorges Dam
China Warns of 'Urgent Problems' Facing Three Gorges Dam
There is risk of geological disaster, the state cabinet admits, as the project is linked to soil erosion, quakes, drought and social upheaval.
'Dirty coal' likely to fill supply hole if exports cease
'Dirty coal' likely to fill supply hole if exports cease
STOPPING the expansion of Australia's $36 billion coal export industry without an international agreement on global warming could boost global carbon emissions because Asian power stations are likely to plug the big supply gap with even dirtier coal from China, Indonesia and Russia.World Wind Outlook: Down But Not Out
World Wind Outlook: Down But Not Out
By Stefan Gsänger, Secretary-general, World Wind Energy Association
May 25, 2011 |
May 25, 2011 |
Despite gaining 37 GW last year to hit 196 GW — 2.5 percent of global electricity supply — worldwide wind's growth in installation has slowed.
China: Resume Iran-P5+1 talks
China: Resume Iran-P5+1 talks
http://www.presstv.com/detail/181652.html
http://www.presstv.com/detail/181652.html
China's Shale Gas Could Be the Biggest Boom Yet for US Companies
China's Shale Gas Could Be the Biggest Boom Yet for US Companies
Seeking Alpha
The US has long been the world's largest user and importer of energy. Last year, it was announced that China has overtaken the US in overall energy consumption. Its energy imports are on track to overtake America's
Seeking Alpha
The US has long been the world's largest user and importer of energy. Last year, it was announced that China has overtaken the US in overall energy consumption. Its energy imports are on track to overtake America's
A Long March to Cooperation or to Antagonism? The United States and China in the 21st Century Remarks to the United States-China Policy Foundation and China Daily USA
A Long March to Cooperation or to Antagonism?
The United States and China in the 21st Century
Remarks to the United States-China Policy Foundation and China Daily USA
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)
25 May 2011, Washington, D.C.
This is a year of anniversaries. It is the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of China Daily, which we have gathered to commemorate. It is the fortieth anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s initial, secret visit to Beijing. It is the seventieth anniversary of the Sino-American alliance against fascism and militarism that followed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
2011 also marks the centennial of the Chinese people’s repudiation of both foreign rule and imperial tradition. In 1911, Chinese patriots overthrew the Manchu-imposed Qing Dynasty to establish a weak and wobbly republic that quickly succumbed to military dictatorship. In 1949, they installed a Leninist political system and command economy that emulated the Soviet Union. In 1978, they peacefully reinvented themselves by combining Leninism with bureaucratic entrepreneurship in a marketizing economy. By the 1990s, Chinese had crafted a novel system of “cadre capitalism,” which thoroughly blurs the distinction between private and state enterprise, links the boosterism of local politicians to profit-driven corporate management structures, and marries industrial policy to entrepreneurship.
Since 1911, China’s political economy has been the most volatile in the world. It now seems to have found an equilibrium that can fulfill the aspirations of Chinese nationalism, but this success has come through dramatic lurches brought about by trial and error, entailing appalling human costs. Relations between Americans and Chinese since 1911 have also swung between wild extremes – from mutual admiration to antipathy and from suspicion to infatuation and back again. As China returns to wealth and power under its newly invented Leninist-Confucianism, the pendulum is again swinging.
Most observers believe that the quality of relations between the United States and China will have a decisive influence on the course of the 21st Century. Some have imagined a Sino-American partnership at the apex of global governance. Others have, much more realistically, I think, seen cooperation and competition between Chinese and Americans as taking place in the context of shifting or ad hoc coalitions of major nations. But everyone has recognized that, without collaboration between China and America, the world will be a more troubled, less secure, and less prosperous place. Problems ranging from climate change to dysfunctions in the global trading and investment regime cannot be tackled effectively without Sino-American cooperation and leadership.
Unfortunately, the prospects for such collaboration are at best uncertain. This is because both countries are having a hard time adjusting to the shifting balances of power and prestige between them. Managing the political, economic, and military contradictions between China and the United States has always required and continues to demand wise statesmanship backed by effective public diplomacy. These contradictions have been with us since the beginning of constructive engagement between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China forty years ago.
The Shanghai Communiqué of 1972 established a sound formula for coping with these contradictions. In it, America and China declared:
There are essential differences between China and the United States in their social systems and foreign policies. However, the two sides agreed that countries, regardless of their social systems, should conduct their relations on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, non-aggression against other states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. International disputes should be settled on this basis, without resorting to the use or threat of force. The United States and the People’s Republic of China are prepared to apply these principles to their mutual relations.
This formula long helped us manage the differences in our respective political systems. On the international level, there was no strategic contradiction to be overcome, only a rectification to be done. The United States, over the objections of other allies in the Second Wold War, had insisted on recognition of China as a great power with representation in the United Nations Security Council. Once Washington’s Cold War-induced adamance that Taipei was the capital of China was overcome, Beijing was enabled to represent China internationally. (That’s yet another forty-year anniversary.) China has moved skillfully, by stages, into the universally accepted role of a respected senior partner in global governance.
Sino-American bilateral political interaction has been more contentious. During the Cold War, when American interests demanded self-restraint, we followed the Shanghai Communiqué’s formula of ideological reticence. But, once the strategic rationale for tactful silence had been superseded by the ideological triumphalism of the post-Cold War period, Americans became shrilly critical of China’s human rights practices. It is quite clear that most in this country’s political elite doubt – indeed, do not accept – the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance of China. That is not, I think, because the CCP is Communist (whatever that now means) but because its rule has not been endorsed through free and fair elections.
For their part, few Chinese are favorably impressed by the incivility and dysfunction of contemporary American politics.. But many Chinese continue to admire the civil liberties the U.S. political system has traditionally provided. To ensure the cooperation that is in the interest of both countries, we must overcome the mutual dislike Рeven contempt Рthat lies between our respective political elites. Both sides might do well to ponder the merits of a return to the mutual respect for differences that the Shanghai Communiqu̩ prescribed. That will be difficult, but it is not impossible if leaders on both sides will only lead.
I don’t think Sino-American economic relations, despite their natural competitiveness, present difficulties comparable to those in the political sphere. I remember when China used to complain about its chronic trade deficit with America. These things are cyclical. More to the point, economic power, like gravity, is entirely attractive in nature. It does not repel. The mutually beneficial nature of economic exchanges between the U.S. and China is well understood by businesspersons, if not necessarily by economically challenged politicians on both sides. There are lots of frictions, but we shall overcome.
The ability of Americans and Chinese to transcend the implications of military rivalry for our overall relationship strikes me as much more problematic. The two sides have opted for different but ultimately compatible forms of preemptive military antagonism. Military planners in each have come to see the other as a formidable enemy against which to prepare to go to war. The U.S. and Chinese military-industrial establishments are caught in a feedback loop, with potentially dire consequences for both.
Ceremonial exchanges cannot conceal the fact that US-China military relations are now characterized by overt antipathy and deeply imbedded mutual suspicion. US Taiwan policy and aggressive surveillance activities along China's periphery have caused the Chinese leadership to conclude that the United States is fundamentally hostile to China's rising power. In turn, the United States sees China’s challenges to the total military dominance of the Untied States in East Asia as a threat and is responding accordingly.
The framework for managing military tensions over the Taiwan issue that the two sides worked out in 1979 and and elaborated in 1982 has been abandoned. Neither side views the other as in compliance with the agreements that created this framework. Nothing has replaced them. In these circumstances, the growing prospect of a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue by the parties themselves serves, paradoxically, to accentuate rather than reduce Sino-American differences over Taiwan and related matters. China finds US arms sales to Taiwan increasingly intolerable. So this issue, long finessed, is moving back to a more central role in our strategic interaction.
As a result, the two sides are entering into an increasingly overt and economically burdensome military rivalry. This rivalry promises to taint the overall relationship and diminish the prospects for cooperation in other arenas. It is not a minor matter for each side to have come to regard the other as its military peer competitor of choice. I spoke about the implications of this for the United States two weeks ago at Newport. I will not recapitulate the points I made there except to repeat my conclusion: Current trends raise questions for both sides that call out for strategic vision and statecraft on the part of both. These trends emphasize the need for each of us to make a greater effort to understand both the circumstances and the perceptions of the other and to act accordingly as we pursue our respective national interests.
China Daily makes a vital contribution to this essential task by enhancing understanding of contemporary Chinese realities among Americans. That has been important in facilitating cooperation. It will, I believe, be even more important in the days to come.
My congratulations to China Daily on its thirtieth anniversary and to the US-China Policy Foundation on its fifteenth. It’s important that both of you keep up your good work.
The United States and China in the 21st Century
Remarks to the United States-China Policy Foundation and China Daily USA
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)
25 May 2011, Washington, D.C.
This is a year of anniversaries. It is the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of China Daily, which we have gathered to commemorate. It is the fortieth anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s initial, secret visit to Beijing. It is the seventieth anniversary of the Sino-American alliance against fascism and militarism that followed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
2011 also marks the centennial of the Chinese people’s repudiation of both foreign rule and imperial tradition. In 1911, Chinese patriots overthrew the Manchu-imposed Qing Dynasty to establish a weak and wobbly republic that quickly succumbed to military dictatorship. In 1949, they installed a Leninist political system and command economy that emulated the Soviet Union. In 1978, they peacefully reinvented themselves by combining Leninism with bureaucratic entrepreneurship in a marketizing economy. By the 1990s, Chinese had crafted a novel system of “cadre capitalism,” which thoroughly blurs the distinction between private and state enterprise, links the boosterism of local politicians to profit-driven corporate management structures, and marries industrial policy to entrepreneurship.
Since 1911, China’s political economy has been the most volatile in the world. It now seems to have found an equilibrium that can fulfill the aspirations of Chinese nationalism, but this success has come through dramatic lurches brought about by trial and error, entailing appalling human costs. Relations between Americans and Chinese since 1911 have also swung between wild extremes – from mutual admiration to antipathy and from suspicion to infatuation and back again. As China returns to wealth and power under its newly invented Leninist-Confucianism, the pendulum is again swinging.
Most observers believe that the quality of relations between the United States and China will have a decisive influence on the course of the 21st Century. Some have imagined a Sino-American partnership at the apex of global governance. Others have, much more realistically, I think, seen cooperation and competition between Chinese and Americans as taking place in the context of shifting or ad hoc coalitions of major nations. But everyone has recognized that, without collaboration between China and America, the world will be a more troubled, less secure, and less prosperous place. Problems ranging from climate change to dysfunctions in the global trading and investment regime cannot be tackled effectively without Sino-American cooperation and leadership.
Unfortunately, the prospects for such collaboration are at best uncertain. This is because both countries are having a hard time adjusting to the shifting balances of power and prestige between them. Managing the political, economic, and military contradictions between China and the United States has always required and continues to demand wise statesmanship backed by effective public diplomacy. These contradictions have been with us since the beginning of constructive engagement between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China forty years ago.
The Shanghai Communiqué of 1972 established a sound formula for coping with these contradictions. In it, America and China declared:
There are essential differences between China and the United States in their social systems and foreign policies. However, the two sides agreed that countries, regardless of their social systems, should conduct their relations on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, non-aggression against other states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. International disputes should be settled on this basis, without resorting to the use or threat of force. The United States and the People’s Republic of China are prepared to apply these principles to their mutual relations.
This formula long helped us manage the differences in our respective political systems. On the international level, there was no strategic contradiction to be overcome, only a rectification to be done. The United States, over the objections of other allies in the Second Wold War, had insisted on recognition of China as a great power with representation in the United Nations Security Council. Once Washington’s Cold War-induced adamance that Taipei was the capital of China was overcome, Beijing was enabled to represent China internationally. (That’s yet another forty-year anniversary.) China has moved skillfully, by stages, into the universally accepted role of a respected senior partner in global governance.
Sino-American bilateral political interaction has been more contentious. During the Cold War, when American interests demanded self-restraint, we followed the Shanghai Communiqué’s formula of ideological reticence. But, once the strategic rationale for tactful silence had been superseded by the ideological triumphalism of the post-Cold War period, Americans became shrilly critical of China’s human rights practices. It is quite clear that most in this country’s political elite doubt – indeed, do not accept – the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance of China. That is not, I think, because the CCP is Communist (whatever that now means) but because its rule has not been endorsed through free and fair elections.
For their part, few Chinese are favorably impressed by the incivility and dysfunction of contemporary American politics.. But many Chinese continue to admire the civil liberties the U.S. political system has traditionally provided. To ensure the cooperation that is in the interest of both countries, we must overcome the mutual dislike Рeven contempt Рthat lies between our respective political elites. Both sides might do well to ponder the merits of a return to the mutual respect for differences that the Shanghai Communiqu̩ prescribed. That will be difficult, but it is not impossible if leaders on both sides will only lead.
I don’t think Sino-American economic relations, despite their natural competitiveness, present difficulties comparable to those in the political sphere. I remember when China used to complain about its chronic trade deficit with America. These things are cyclical. More to the point, economic power, like gravity, is entirely attractive in nature. It does not repel. The mutually beneficial nature of economic exchanges between the U.S. and China is well understood by businesspersons, if not necessarily by economically challenged politicians on both sides. There are lots of frictions, but we shall overcome.
The ability of Americans and Chinese to transcend the implications of military rivalry for our overall relationship strikes me as much more problematic. The two sides have opted for different but ultimately compatible forms of preemptive military antagonism. Military planners in each have come to see the other as a formidable enemy against which to prepare to go to war. The U.S. and Chinese military-industrial establishments are caught in a feedback loop, with potentially dire consequences for both.
Ceremonial exchanges cannot conceal the fact that US-China military relations are now characterized by overt antipathy and deeply imbedded mutual suspicion. US Taiwan policy and aggressive surveillance activities along China's periphery have caused the Chinese leadership to conclude that the United States is fundamentally hostile to China's rising power. In turn, the United States sees China’s challenges to the total military dominance of the Untied States in East Asia as a threat and is responding accordingly.
The framework for managing military tensions over the Taiwan issue that the two sides worked out in 1979 and and elaborated in 1982 has been abandoned. Neither side views the other as in compliance with the agreements that created this framework. Nothing has replaced them. In these circumstances, the growing prospect of a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue by the parties themselves serves, paradoxically, to accentuate rather than reduce Sino-American differences over Taiwan and related matters. China finds US arms sales to Taiwan increasingly intolerable. So this issue, long finessed, is moving back to a more central role in our strategic interaction.
As a result, the two sides are entering into an increasingly overt and economically burdensome military rivalry. This rivalry promises to taint the overall relationship and diminish the prospects for cooperation in other arenas. It is not a minor matter for each side to have come to regard the other as its military peer competitor of choice. I spoke about the implications of this for the United States two weeks ago at Newport. I will not recapitulate the points I made there except to repeat my conclusion: Current trends raise questions for both sides that call out for strategic vision and statecraft on the part of both. These trends emphasize the need for each of us to make a greater effort to understand both the circumstances and the perceptions of the other and to act accordingly as we pursue our respective national interests.
China Daily makes a vital contribution to this essential task by enhancing understanding of contemporary Chinese realities among Americans. That has been important in facilitating cooperation. It will, I believe, be even more important in the days to come.
My congratulations to China Daily on its thirtieth anniversary and to the US-China Policy Foundation on its fifteenth. It’s important that both of you keep up your good work.
China seen as the candidate for 'next catastrophe'
China seen as the candidate for 'next catastrophe'
Beware the China bubble because until hedge funds have found a way of directly shorting the soaring economy it will remain unchecked, says Greg Zuckerman, author of The Greatest Trade Ever.
China crisis over Yangtze river drought forces drastic dam measures
China crisis over Yangtze river drought forces drastic dam measures
Severe drought has forced China to release 5bn cubic metres from Three Gorges reservoir for irrigation and drinking water
Pakistan Playing the China Card
Pakistan Playing the China Card
By Dilip Hiro and Tom Engelhardt, May 25, 2011
China’s Utilities Cut Energy Production, Defying Beijing
China’s Utilities Cut Energy Production, Defying Beijing
China interested in building nuclear plant in E.Africa, IBI Corp says
China interested in building nuclear plant in E.Africa, IBI Corp says
U.S. Must Adapt to China's New Patterns of Growth By: Iain Mills | World Politics Review
U.S. Must Adapt to China's New Patterns of Growth
By: Iain Mills | World Politics Review
By: Iain Mills | World Politics Review
Kim Visit Highlights China Ties to Shunned Regimes By: CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Associated Press
Kim Visit Highlights China Ties to Shunned Regimes
By: CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Associated Press
By: CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Associated Press
Philippines warns of arms race in South China Sea
Philippines warns of arms race in South China Sea
Manila (AFP) May 24, 2011 - Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday said he warned the Chinese defence minister of a possible arms race in the region if tensions worsened over disputes in the South China Sea. Aquino said he told visiting Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie in their meeting on Monday that such an arms race could result if there were more encounters in the disputed and potentially oil-rich Spr ... more
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Philippines_warns_of_arms_race_in_South_China_Sea_999.html
Manila (AFP) May 24, 2011 - Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday said he warned the Chinese defence minister of a possible arms race in the region if tensions worsened over disputes in the South China Sea. Aquino said he told visiting Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie in their meeting on Monday that such an arms race could result if there were more encounters in the disputed and potentially oil-rich Spr ... more
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Philippines_warns_of_arms_race_in_South_China_Sea_999.html
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Chinese Rating Agency Downgrades UK Sovereign Debt; Downgrade Party Needed
Chinese Rating Agency Downgrades UK Sovereign Debt; Downgrade Party Needed
Aluminium And Steel Might Get Impacted By China Worst Power Crisis
|
China's power shortage to boost demand for oil, coal, natural gas and copper
China's power shortage to boost demand for oil, coal, natural gas and copper
China April rare earth exports down 53 pct y/y, values top $120,000/t
China April rare earth exports down 53 pct y/y, values top $120,000/t
General Electric Said to Invest $15 Million in Huaneng’s Wind Power IPO
General Electric Said to Invest $15 Million in Huaneng’s Wind Power IPO
GT Solar an Acquisition Target After Raising Forecast for Sales, Margins
GT Solar an Acquisition Target After Raising Forecast for Sales, Margins
UPDATE: Huaneng Renewables Secures US$275 Mln From Cornerstone Investors - Source
UPDATE: Huaneng Renewables Secures US$275 Mln From Cornerstone Investors - Source
U.S. looks to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals
Energy Resources
U.S. looks to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/05/24/US-looks-to-reduce-dependence-on-China-for-critical-minerals/UPI-73401306264996/#ixzz1NJGJFlBR
Chinese experts officially invited to visit Iran’s nuclear sites Tehran Times Political Desk
Chinese experts officially invited to visit Iran’s nuclear sites
Tehran Times Political Desk
Tehran Times Political Desk
Iran is a reliable energy provider for China: FM Tehran Times Economic Desk
Iran is a reliable energy provider for China: FM
Tehran Times Economic Desk
Tehran Times Economic Desk
How China views US nuclear policy
How China views US nuclear policy
A year ago the Obama administration released its congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) on the role of nuclear weapons in defending the United States and its allies and partners. Defense planners and national security specialists around the globe eagerly awaited the report to see how it would embody the president's commitment to reducing the role of nuclear weapons in US strategy, and how it would differ from the strategy prepared by the Bush administration in 2001.
Why China’s Leaders Fear Inflation -- Minxin Pei, The Diplomat
Why China’s Leaders Fear Inflation -- Minxin Pei, The Diplomat
Energy Shortages Spreading: Rationing in China, Pakistan, Venezuela, Japan, Argentina; China Resorts to Punitive Prices to Curb Demand
Energy Shortages Spreading: Rationing in China, Pakistan, Venezuela, Japan, Argentina; China Resorts to Punitive Prices to Curb Demand
Electric power shortages caused by insufficient water levels at hydroelectric stations in some places, and unaffordable oil prices in others, have led to rationing, blackouts, and other problems.China's cutting edge By Daniel Allen
China's cutting edge
By Daniel Allen
BEIJING - The district of Panyu in Guangdong province is pressing hard to capitalize on its renown as the gem and jewlery capital of China as booming domestic demand for jewelry drives the country's share of the global market for small diamonds ever higher.
Strategically located a stone's throw from Hong Kong, one of the world's leading diamond trading centers, Panyu now handles much of the former colony's processing requirements.
By Daniel Allen
BEIJING - The district of Panyu in Guangdong province is pressing hard to capitalize on its renown as the gem and jewlery capital of China as booming domestic demand for jewelry drives the country's share of the global market for small diamonds ever higher.
Strategically located a stone's throw from Hong Kong, one of the world's leading diamond trading centers, Panyu now handles much of the former colony's processing requirements.
North Korea takes aim at foreign investors By Yvonne Su
North Korea takes aim at foreign investors
By Yvonne Su
By Yvonne Su
UPDATE 1-China says unaware of Pakistan naval port proposal
UPDATE 1-China says unaware of Pakistan naval port proposal
The Three Signs We're In The Midst Of A China Slowdown
The Three Signs We're In The Midst Of A China Slowdown
China's economy is in the midst of a slowdown, which is being driven by three factors slamming the economy simultaneously, according to Societe Generale.
Beijing admits Three Gorges Dam problems
Beijing admits Three Gorges Dam problems
Beijing (UPI) May 23, 2011 - China has acknowledged there are problems with its massive Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower station. China Three Gorges Corp. said Sunday that an investigation conducted by China's National Audit Office had found 31 "financial issues" related to accounting, financial management, investment, bidding and corporate management, state-run Xinhua news agency reports. Th ... more
Beijing (UPI) May 23, 2011 - China has acknowledged there are problems with its massive Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower station. China Three Gorges Corp. said Sunday that an investigation conducted by China's National Audit Office had found 31 "financial issues" related to accounting, financial management, investment, bidding and corporate management, state-run Xinhua news agency reports. Th ... more
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sino Clean Energy's CEO Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Sino Clean Energy's CEO Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Sino Clean Energy's CEO Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Sino Clean Energy's CEO Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
China to develop nuclear energy
| China to develop nuclear energy Middle East North Africa Financial Network (MENAFN) China's Nuclear Energy Association said that the country would plan atomic power developments that would increase the global output of uranium to more than a double, which might stop the fall in its prices, reported Bloomberg. ... |
Tomato Diplomacy: Is Fukushima Bringing China and Japan Closer Together?
Tomato Diplomacy: Is Fukushima Bringing China and Japan Closer Together?
Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/05/23/tomato-diplomacy-is-fukushima-bringing-china-and-japan-closer-together/#ixzz1NDi6LhZt
East Asian giants move closer on FTA Koichi Uetake / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
East Asian giants move closer on FTA
Disaster cooperation can build better relations The Yomiuri Shimbun
Disaster cooperation can build better relations
Beijing Agrees to Operate a Key Port, Pakistan Says By: JEREMY PAGE | The Wall Street Journal
Beijing Agrees to Operate a Key Port, Pakistan Says
By: JEREMY PAGE | The Wall Street JournalPakistan's defense minister said China has agreed to take over operation of the strategically positioned but underused port of Gwadar, and that Islamabad would like the Chinese to build a base there for the Pakistani navy.
Hu urges to advance partnership with US: Vice premier - China Daily
Hu urges to advance partnership with US: Vice premier - China Daily
WASHINGTON -- China will work together with the United States to keep moving forward the cooperative partnership between the two countries, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a message conveyed Monday by Vice Premier Wang Qishan to US President Barack Obama.
Pope urges Chinese bishops to refuse to split from Rome
Pope urges Chinese bishops to refuse to split from Rome
Vatican City (AFP) May 18, 2011 - Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics across the world on Wednesday to pray that Chinese bishops refuse to separate from Rome, in spite of "pressure" from communist authorities. The pontiff appealed for prayers for the 5.7 million-odd Chinese Catholics caught between staying loyal to the ruling Communist Party in Beijing and an "underground" Church loyal to Rome but not recognised by the authorities.
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