Economy/Resources - 252. page

21cbh.com, a branch of the Nanfang Daily Media Group based in Guangdong Province, recently published a commentary on the macroeconomic data for the first half of 2009. Although the government reported a 7.9% increase in the Q2 GDP, the primary force behind the growth is still government investments in fixed assets. Consumer spending is still sliding both domestically and internationally. Trade surpluses kept dropping. While there has been a loss of balance in the domestic private economy, manufacturing and service industries are intensifying.

The commentary is primarily concerned with the bubble of asset prices. Since the 2008Q4, China has had the most accommodative monetary policies to date. In the first half of 2009, new loans reached RMB 7.4 trillion yuan, a large amount of which flowed into the stock and real estate markets instead of fixed assets. Combined with international hot money, the second half of 2009 can be considered the start of the new round of the asset price bubble.

Source: 21cbh.com, July 17, 2009.
http://e-news.21cbh.com/html/2009-07/17/content_100605.htm

Financial security is a matter of national security to China, according to Study Times. An instability in the financial system may ultimately lead to a social political crisis. “Loss of financial control means loss of control of the economy.” “By building a financial security network, we can guard against the technical attack of financial risks to China’s financial security, strengthen public confidence in China’s financial security, and safeguard our financial stability and financial security.”

Source: Study Times, July 13, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=2790&nid=10103&bid=10&page=1

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently published an article arguing about “Discourse Power.” The article mentioned the Chinese proposal of reforming the IMF and the World Bank. The author believed that many countries supported the idea, but it seemed China did not have much say in these organizations, which are primarily controlled by Europe, US and Japan.

The author found that, in order to conduct important reform, many international academic organizations usually provide a large amount of research help. Chinese scholars rarely participate in these processes. The article identified the lack of English skills as the primary reason.

Source: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, May, 26, 2009.
http://www.cass.net.cn/file/20090526235133.html

Xinhua published a series of front page articles calling on all levels of regions and government bodies to be on guard against the extreme weather condition. In recent months, China has been hit by stormy and rainy weather in the south and extreme heat in the north. China Daily reported that as of July 5, 75 people had died, 13 were missing, and 39 million people were affected by the flooding in the south.

On Monday July 6, the China Ministry of Finance announced a 170 million yuan emergency fund for the southern regions, including 13 provinces that had suffered from the flood. The article calls on the regions to take the responsibility and cooperate with each other to ensure “winning the battle against the flood.”

Source:
[1] China Daily, July 6, 2009
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/zgzx/2009-07/06/content_8380361.htm
[2] Xinhua, July 8, 2009
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/szch/20090708/

The International Herald Leader, under Xinhua News Agency, reported from Beijing and Manila that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has protested the loan that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to provide to India. The Ministry criticized ADB’s involvement in a border dispute among member countries. The disputed area is between India and China, which India calls the Arunachal Pradesh and China calls the South Tibet area.

The report also criticized Indian media for declaring China was its enemy. However the report mentioned the leadership and military of India remained univolved, as the two countries are trying to improve cooperation. The ADB Board approved document is not yet final.

Source: International Herald Leader, June 22, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-06/22/content_11580169.htm

Floods, draught and severe water pollution will be the three constraints for China, Study Times observes. “China’s water resources total 2.8 trillion cubic meters, ranking No. 6 in the world, but the per capita water resource is only 2,200 cubic meters, about 30% of the world average.” “The water shortage amounts to 40 billion cubic meters. Nearly two-thirds of the cities suffer from insufficient water resources. On average drought disasters hit 2.3 million mu of agriculture land [1 mu = 0.165 acre] every year.” The article concludes that China is highly eco-environmentally vulnerable.

Source: Study Times, June 22, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=0&id=2727&bid=1

Science and Technology Daily recently reported on severe desertification of land in China. With 2,636,200 square kilometers of desertified land, China is now one of the largest countries of desertification. Nearly 0.4 billion people are living in those areas. Human factors have been identified as the primary cause of the problem. Under the burden of high-speed economic development, the demand for water is above the bearing capacity. Stockbreeding [overgrazing] has overloaded the land as well. The article recommended four strategies to remedy the problem.

Source: Science and Technology Daily, June 18, 2009.
http://www.stdaily.com/special/content/2009-06/18/content_73248.htm

The biggest challenge that Chinese export businesses face next to currency is compliance with the “technical barriers to trade,” the international product standards issued by the WTO. According to the National Bureau of Quality Inspection, 36.1 percent of export businesses failed to comply with the WTO’s “Technical Barriers to Trade.” In 2008, they suffered financial losses of US$50.5 billion.

Research data suggests that the top five countries or regions that affect China’s export businesses are the EU, U.S., Japan, Russia and Latin American countries. The top five businesses that suffered the most are electric parameters, agricultural production, textiles/garments/shoes/hats, and wood/paper/non-metasl and chemicals/minerals/metals. 

Source: Xinhua, June 25, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2009-06/25/content_11602642.htm