Skip to content

All posts by LLD - 148. page

Discrepancy between Local and Central Governments GDP Statistics

According to a recent Guangming Daily article, a reporter found that the sum of China’s provincial accounting of GDP statistics for 2012 totaled 57.69 trillion yuan, 5.76trillion higher than the National Bureau of Statistics’ preliminary estimate of 51.93 trillion. The difference is the equivalent of the total GDP for Guangdong Province’s economy.

The problem has existed for years. Since 1985 when the central government and the local governments started to do independent accounting of GDP statistics, the sum of the provincial figures has been higher than the total GDP. For example, the provincial total in 2009 exceeded the national figure by 2.68 trillion yuan; the difference increased to 3.2 trillion yuan in 2010, and 4.6 trillion in 2011. It was 5.76 trillion for 2012.

In March 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics exposed cases in which local governments were involved in local enterprises’ fraudulent statistical reporting. The article called for a reform of the current system of using GDP figures as a major factor in evaluating local officials’ performance.

Source: Guangming Daily, February 4, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-02/04/content_6613391.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Survey Finds the Average Life Expectancy of a Chinese Manufacturer Is 11.1 Years

The Global Market Group, a China based business service provider, conducted a recent survey in which it found that the average "life expectancy" of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is 11.1 years, while only 7.9 percent last more than 20 years.

From a sample of over 1,000 manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta region, the survey found that very few enterprises have lived as long as 30 years. Most of those had Taiwan or Hong Kong investors. About 45 percent of those surveyed had been in existence less than 10 years.

Source: Xinhua, February, 3, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/energy/2013-02/03/c_124315773.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

A Panamanian Lawyer’s View on China’s Silent Army

BBC Chinese recently interviewed a Panamanian lawyer, Berta Thayer, about her view on the new book, China’s Silent Army.  It was written by two Spanish journalists, who documented the unprecedented growth of China’s economic investment in the developing world and its impact at the local level.

According to the United Nations, in 2001, China’s investment in Latin America was less than one US$1 billion, while the figure grew to 44 billion in 2010.

For example, according to Thayer, in Panama, about one fifth of its 3.3 million population is either ethnic Chinese or of Chinese descent. China is already the second largest client of the Panama Canal, next to the U.S. China is also the largest supplier in Panama’s Colon Free Zone, whose annual trade volume amounts to US$5 billion.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 1, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/02/130201_china_silent_army_berta.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Car Drivers in China Exceeded 200 Million in 2012

China’s Ministry of Public Security recently announced that, as of the end of 2012, the nation’s registered motor vehicles reached 240 million and the number of drivers rose to 260 million. The number of car drivers increased by 26.5 million. For the first time that number exceeded 200 million.

The number of major highway accidents has also increased. Among the 25 major serious road traffic incidents that occurred in 2012, eight occurred on the highway, accounting for 32 percent.

Source: Xinhua, January 30, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-01/30/c_114558196.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Radio Free Asia: China’s Working-age Population Drops for the First Time in Decades

China’s National Bureau of Statistics recently released figures showing that, in 2012, the number of Chinese who are of working age, that is, between 15 and 59, has declined significantly since 1978. The decrease in 2011 was 3.45 million.

Yao Shujie, a professor at the University of Nottingham, in the UK, believes that 30 years of family planning in China first showed up in 2006 as a decrease in the number of primary school students. That the working age population has now contracted for the first time foretells the looming end of an era of abundant cheap labor.

Another report by the China Development Research Foundation predicted that, between 2010 and 2020, China’s working-age population will decrease by 29 million.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 30, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/gr-01302013160016.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese People Continue to Petition for Press Freedom

On January 13, 2013, a group of people in Beijing held petitions in front of the office building of the Beijing News newspaper, expressing support for the editors and reporters of the newspaper who the authorities had disciplined. On January 12, dozens of people in Guangzhou gathered in front of the Southern Newspaper Group to express solidarity with the Southern Weekend and support the value of freedom of the press. On the same day, some of the residents of Suzhou City (in Jiangsu Province) arrived at the tomb of Lin Zhao, who died in the tragic persecution during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution, showing banners in support of the Southern Weekend. These activities clearly relate to the incident of Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial being censored.

Li Xiaobing, a Professor and Director of the Western Pacific Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma, said that since the new Communist Party’s leadership of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, China has not seen real freedom of the press, but people want to have an independent media.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 13, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/sd-01132013142859.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Air Quality Deteriorates in Large Areas in China; Public Advised to Stay Inside

Recently misty weather has covered large areas of China with a serious deterioration in air quality. The air quality in multiple metropolitan areas has been coded as “serious pollution.”
The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center released data showing that, since Thursday night (January 10), the pm2.5 concentration has been sustained at above 300 micrograms and reached level six, which is “serious pollution.” In the most polluted area the pm2.5 index reached 456.
In nine out of 11 cities in Hebei Province, the measure of air quality has been labeled "serious pollution.” In Shijiazhuang, Handan, Xingtai, and Hengshui, the quality index even exceeded 500. Air in Wuhan City in central China was also "heavily polluted" for several days.
On Saturday January 12, China’s Central Meteorological Station issued a blue fog warning. Nine provinces, including Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei and Sichuan Basin, had heavy fog with visibility of less than 1000 meters. Environmental experts warned that heavy fog prevents the dispersion of air pollutants. Local governments have issued air quality warnings to the public and advised people to stay indoors. Schools have suspended outdoor physical activities.
Source: BBC Chinese, January 12, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2013/01/130112_china_air.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Radio Free Asia: Half of World’s Black Dollars Are from China; Capital Flight Is Accelerating

Radio Free Asia quoted a report from the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which said that, in the past 10 years, through different means and various channels, the illegal funds fleeing from China reached a staggering US$3 trillion. Out of every two "black dollars" in the world, one is from China. It was estimated that, after the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, when the authorities considered implementing the exposure of the personal assets of government officials, the capital flight accelerated to US$41.2 billion in November alone. Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the second largest group responsible for the flight of capital was government officials.
Li Xinde, who runs a website that monitors Chinese public opinion, believed that the cause of the problem was the current policies and laws that involve anti-corruption, exposure of personal assets, and supervision of power.
A Beijing economist Zhong Dajun attributed the rampant capital flight to the current social political system, where a person can become rich quickly but develop a strong sense of insecurity after becoming rich. A 2011 report from China’s central bank revealed eight major means that corrupt officials use to transfer their property: cash smuggling, remittance fraud, current account fraud, overseas investment, credit card spending, creating an offshore financial center, foreign direct receipt, and transfer through offshore special relationships.
Although China has strict foreign exchange regulations, more and more rich people continue to transfer their money overseas. Hexun, a Chinese financial news portal, reported that China’s capital flight using even the most simple and primitive method–hiding bundles of cash in ones luggage–has accelerated.
Source: Radio Free Asia, January 10, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xl2-01102013123334.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources