Economy/Resources - 194. page

On June 27, Qiushi Theory carried an opinion piece that was originally from Red Flag Manuscript. A research fellow at the Academy of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences wtote the article. The piece stated that, in the current economy, the development of the public sector part of the economy should take precedence over the non-public sector. It also raised the question as to what can be done to bring back the dominance and control of the declining State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

According to the article, China’s economic model consists of the co-existence of public and non-public ownership. During the Party’s 16th National Congress, a proposal was made to extend an equal effort in developing both the public and non-public sectors of the economy. The author asserted, however, that these efforts can’t carry an equal weight. Rather, the development of the public sector of the economy should take priority over the non-public sector. The author stated, “The public sector of the economy provides the base and the guarantee that the people will be the masters in a socialist country. Allowing the public sector to dominate will determine the characteristics of the socialist system.”

At the end of the article, the author raised the question as to what can be done to protect the dominant status of the public sector of the economy and enable the SOEs to regain their dominant status. The GDP of SOEs dropped from 49.6 percent of total GDP in 1998 to 26.6 percent in 2010, while the GDP of the private sector increased from 3.1 percent to 30.5 percent in the same period and has thus surpassed SOEs.

Source: Qiushi Theory, June 27, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2012/201212/201206/t20120627_166477.htm

RFA carried a report on China’s growing urbanization and the social implications of the coutryside’s decline.

The report stated that, according to official statistics, in 2011, China had 691 million urban residents, which accounts for 51.27 percent of the total population. This was the first time that the urban population exceeded that of the countryside. The China Urban Development Report of 2012 predicted that, if urbanization grows one percent per year, the urban population will exceed 60 percent by 2020.

Many experts are concerned about the social implications of the growth in the urban population. Agricultural productivity has declined as more and more young and middle aged farmers have left the countryside. Other potential issues include: 1) when farm workers go to the city to work, their family members can’t go with them; 2) farmers do not have title to their land and can’t transfer or sell the land; 3) because of their residential status, farm workers do not have social security.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 24, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xql-08242012151753.html

Epoch Times reported that, many years ago, People’s Daily wrote two articles that show that China acknowledged that it does not owner the Ryukyu Islands. The images of the two People’s Daily articles have been posted on the Chinese Internet and have been spreading rapidly. They are dated January 8, 1953, and March 26, 1958, respectively. The March 26, 1958, People’s Daily editorial quoted Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai as saying, “These islands have never been determined to be separate from Japan in any international agreement.” In the earlier January 8, 1953, commentary, People’s Daily stated that the United States falsified a Beijing Radio news report that said China would not give up its sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands. People’s Daily commented, “This is clearly a vicious attempt at instigation; it is aimed at exciting the Okinawan people’s strong emotions, as they seek the return of Okinawa to Japan … "

China claims that the Ryukyu Islands do not include the Pinnacle Islands (which are also called the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and which China now claims). Japan also claims ownership of the Pinnacle Islands. Ownership of the Pinnacle Islands would allow for exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

Source: Epoch Times, August 19, 2012.
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/8/19/n3662869.htm

People’s Daily published an article on the “Chinese Farmers’ Economic Status Report” that The Center for Chinese Rural Studies at Central China Normal University (CCRS) recently released. According to the report, the gini coefficient of China’s rural resident income gap is 0.3949, which is close to 0.4, the international warning standard. A major factor that caused the widening income gap among farmers is their wages, which account for 70% of their per capita income. “The income gap among rural residents represents the gap between workers and peasants and between urban and rural areas."

Source: People’s Daily, August 22, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/n/2012/0822/c1001-18798331.html

As China has become the world’s second largest market for luxury goods, the population of young consumers has steadily been growing, particularly when compared to the small number of affluent luxury consumers in Europe and the United States who are mostly over the age of 40. According to the World Luxury Association (WLA), the average Chinese consumer of luxury goods is 15 years younger than the European consumer, and 25 years younger than the American consumer. Ouyang Kun, CEO of the WLA’s China Office, said that more than half of China’s luxury goods consumers have monthly earnings of about 10,000 yuan (US$1,570) with an age between 25 and 28.

“The world’s youngest luxury goods consumers are in China. The vast majority of them received their money from their parents.” said Ouyang Kun. As China’s first generation of entrepreneurs didn’t spend their time enjoying their lives because they were starting and growing their businesses, they then passed that wish on to their children, who now own the best phones, the best bags, and the best pens. A large factor affecting this trend is the way the offspring of millionaires and billionaires compare themselves to others. They use the possession of luxury goods as a way to identify themselves and show themselves off, as well as their family’s wealth and social status, while European and U.S. parents rarely buy luxury goods for their children.

Source: People’s Daily, August, 15, 2012
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2012/0815/c1004-18745005.html

Three typhoons consecutively slammed 12 of China’s coastal provinces, causing severe damage. The three typhoons hit Jiangsu, Fujian and Zhejiang in the first half of August, delivering strong storms, heavy rains, floods, and landslides. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the typhoons affected 30.84 million people, and caused 51 deaths, while 21 went missing. Over 4.06 million residents were evacuated to other regions; 80,000 houses collapsed with 500,000 houses damaged. The crops on 22.98 million acres of land were hit hard; the crops covering 2.63 million acres were totally ruined, resulting in direct economic losses of 65.5 billion yuan ($10.3 billion).

Source: Xinhua, August 13, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-08/13/c_112712692.htm