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All posts by RWZ - 242. page

Xinhua: Canada’s Betrayal is Sign of a More Chaotic World

Xinhua recently published an editorial commenting on the Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. The article expressed the belief that the sole motivation for Canada’s “betrayal” was to avoid a fine of CAN$14 billion due to the fact that Canada did not meet the requirements to which it had committed. The United States was referenced as another example of “Western selfishness” since the U.S. refused to even join the Protocol. Japan and Australia are considering the same action, following Canada’s move. The author of the editorial suggested that China should “pay close attention” to the “new signals in international relations” that appeared before and after the Climate Conference in Durban, and China should improve its readiness to face new strategic challenges in defending its national interests. The editorial concluded that moral standards no longer constrain some countries’ behavior, and the West will play more games showing a “loss of patience.”

Source: Xinhua, December 14, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-12/14/c_122418663.htm 

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: United States Should Stop Pointing Fingers

On December 13, Xinhua reported that Liu Weimin, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a briefing to the media on the subject of human rights. Liu suggested that the United States should stop pointing fingers at China and should do some introspection. Liu’s comment was in response to U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s recent speech about human rights and Internet freedom. The U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Faye Locke made similar comments not long ago as well. Liu also pointed out that the Chinese government protects the people’s basic human rights according to the law. He said that China’s human rights related efforts have achieved major accomplishments and that China is a country that exercises the rule of law. The U.S. cannot interfere with China’s internal affairs and judicial sovereignty. He also insisted that China manages the Internet according to Chinese law.

Source: Xinhua, December 13, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-12/13/c_111239921.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

People’s Daily: China’s Foreign Trade Increased 21.6% Per Year over the Past Decade

People’s Daily reported on the 10th anniversary of China’s entry into the WTO (World Trade Organization). According to the report, China’s total foreign trade has grown by 21.6% annually since 2001. Standing as the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world, China’s customs tariffs are now five times the level they were in 2001. Statistics show that, due to the decrease in international demand resulting from a sluggish world economic recovery, the rate of growth of China’s exports has been declining since August of this year. The authorities are fighting the downturn by adjusting the structure of exported goods, as well as by advancing the transformation of export companies. Those provinces that traditionally handle large numbers of exports are still responsible for over 80% of the country’s international trade.

Source: People’s Daily, December 11, 2011

http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2011-12/11/nw.D110000renmrb_20111211_6-01.htm?div=-1

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Guangzhou Daily: Technical Trade Barriers against Chinese Exports are Increasing

Guangzhou Daily recently published a report complaining that other countries have rapidly increased the technical trade barriers against Chinese exports. Estimates are that the direct financial losses due to these technical trade barriers have grown by 15% per year over the last several years. Last year, the figure was US$58.2 billion. In addition to traditional trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas, ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries have adopted more and more technical trade barriers against China. China’s three largest trade partners (Europe, the U.S. and Japan) have recently imposed more and more complicated technical requirements on Chinese products. For example, Chinese rice exported to Japan faces 579 technical inspection items.

Source: Guangzhou Daily, December 11, 2011
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2011-12/11/content_1554950.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: China will not Rescue Europe

Xinhua reported on December 10 that the Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fu Ying, stated in Vienna that China is not in the business of “rescuing” Europe. Fu offered her opinion when she was visiting Europe and suggested that China is an active participant of Europe’s effort to fight the debt crisis. She said the word “rescue” was misleading. Since the European Union is the world’s largest economy with strong economic power and a much higher living standard than developing countries, it does not need a “rescuer.” Fu expressed her belief in a strong Euro and Europe’s ability to resolve the crisis. She emphasized the point that China does not intend to use financial tools to “control” any European country. She called for a “good investment environment in Europe” for investors from developing countries.

Source: Xinhua, December 11, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-12/11/c_122405576.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Business Daily: Global Decline in Manufacturing Impacts Chinese Currency Policies

Business Daily recently published a report on China’s currency policy changes after figures on the global manufacturing sector demonstrated it was clearly declining. The report first referred to the latest major decline of China’s PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) to 49. This was the first time since February 2009 that it fell below 50. When the PMI is below 50 it is generally considered to be an indication of recession. Meanwhile, the Euro Area PMI dropped to 46.4 and the British PMI reached 47.6. Global PMI was 49.6 in November. The United States was the only exception with the PMI being 52.7, which the report called “puzzling.” The Chinese central bank responded with an immediate decrease in the Bank Deposit Reserve Ratio. Two to three more decreases in this ratio are highly likely in the first half of 2012. The market is expecting more currency related policy shifts towards loosening up the restrictions on loans. However the concern over inflation is still keeping the government from taking more dramatic actions. The report expressed the belief that the interest rate will not go down.

Source: Business Daily, December 4, 2011
http://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2011-12-04/620989.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

County in Poverty Builds a Luxury Government Building

China Economy recently republished a report by Xi’an Evening News on a new construction project – a luxury county government building. Wangjiang County of Anhui Province is a “county in poverty.” However the county government is building a new county office building which is eight times the size of the White House. The latest investigation showed that the project never completed the required Feasibility Study Report or the Initial Design Blueprint. The construction also did not follow the national standards established by the government building regulations on the use of luxury materials. Around one-sixth of the project’s funding was sourced from the construction budget of the County Archives project. The building is coupled with the construction of a county square of the same size.

Source: China Economy, November 28, 2011
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/shgj/gdxw/201111/28/t20111128_22870962.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Criticized for School Bus Donation

BBC Chinese recently reported that Chinese netizens widely criticized the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs because, on November 25, 2011, China donated 23 school buses to Macedonia. On November 16, 2011, a school bus accident in Gansu Province had just caused the death of 19 Chinese children. At the time 64 children were on a school bus that had a maximum capacity of nine children.

The donation of 23 luxury school buses to Macedonia immediately triggered massive online discussions. BBC English reported, "On Sina Weibo – one of China’s Twitter equivalents – more than 480,000 entries on the subject had been published by Monday. One commentator, Liang Yu, a TV news presenter in the southern city of Guangzhou, asked with an emoticon in tears: ‘Where are our school buses?’" The Ministry’s spokesman explained that the agreement of the donation was reached at the beginning of the year and the donation “demonstrated China’s international responsibilities.”

Source: Chinese, November 28, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/11/111128_china_school_bus.shtml
BBC English, November 28, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-15916190

Briefings | | |   Social Stability