Xinhua recently published a commentary criticizing the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, saying it “concerns China’s core interests and the Sino-U.S. relationship, and will result in serious damage.”
China Will Be Old before It Becomes Rich
Economic Information, a publication under Xinhua News Agency, published an article on September 16, 2011, titled “Before China Gets Rich, It Will Be Overwhelmed with Old People.” Out of 23 provinces and 5 autonomous regions, 26 are considered to be aging societies, which means that senior citizens who are 65 years old or older comprise over 7% of the population.
According to China’s 6th National Population Census of 2010, 119 million people are 65 years old or over, which constitutes 8.87% of the total population of China; 177.65 million people are 60 years old or over, which is 13.26% of the total population. It is estimated that, within the next 5 years, China’s elderly population will increase to 221 million; that is, 16% of China’s population will be old people.
Source: Economic Information, September 16, 2011
http://www.jjckb.cn/opinion/2011-09/16/content_332540.htm
Huanqiu: China Has One of the Largest Urban-Rural Income Gaps in the World
The Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) recently released a report stating that China’s current urban-rural income gap ratio is 3.23:1, which means that China has one of the largest urban-rural income gaps in the world.
The urban-rural disparity in the Midwest provinces is even greater. There, the urban-rural income gap ratio is up to 4:1 or more, which is even higher than the national average.
Source: Huanqiu, September 20, 2011
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-09/2017113.html
Research Reveals the Poor Performance of China’s State Owned Enterprises
On September 19, 2011, Study Times, the publication of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CCP, published an article about the performance of China’s state-owned enterprises. It was based on a report by the Unirule Institute of Economics, a research institution in Beijing.
From 2001 to 2008, the state-owned and state holding enterprises generated a 7.68% ROE (Return on Equity), while the industrial enterprises above a designated size yielded a 9.22% ROE. Therefore, the performance of the state-owned and state holding enterprises was not good enough. After deducting the costs, government subsidies, and the excess profits due to their being administrative monopolies, it is estimated that, between 2001 and 2008, the true average ROE generated by the state-owned and state holding enterprises was -6.2%.
From 2007 to 2009, the average corporate tax paid by 992 state-owned enterprises was 10%, while the average corporate tax paid by the private enterprises was as high as 24%. In 2008, the employees of the state-owned enterprises received 13.3% more in payments than other companies, which was 12% higher than the average payment level in society. In 2009, the average annual salary of the executive management team of the central government enterprises that were listed on the stock market was 313,000 yuan (US$48,984.5), 37.3% higher than the executive management teams of regional state-owned enterprises and 61% higher than the executive management teams of private enterprises.
Source: Study Times, September 19, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/09/19/12/12_45.htm
Beijing News: India’s Involvement in Oil and Gas Development in the South China Sea
Beijing News recently reported that on September 16, 2011, the Vietnamese and Indian governments jointly announced that the two countries will jointly develop oil and gas in the South China Sea. India’s largest state owned oil company, OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd), has already invested US$225 million on the project. The Chinese Foreign Ministry commented that China is against any country’s involvement (in the South China Sea). The Vietnamese government said it “fully supports” India’s initiative. Earlier there were reports of military co-operation between the two countries as well.
Source: Beijing News, September 18, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-09/18/content_277041.htm?div=-1
Study Times: Reform of the Financial System is the Cure for China’s Economy
Study Times, a newspaper of the CCP Central Party School, recently republished an article from Value China on how to rescue the current imbalanced Chinese economy. The article first compared the Chinese financial system with the U.S. financial structure. Then it asserted that (1) the Chinese financial system is a weak link in China’s global positioning as it relies too heavily on manufacturing and (2) the large amount and the rapid growth of China’s foreign exchange reserves are proof of the lack of domestic consumption and international investments. The author believes that the Chinese financial system has a low service level, a lack of mid-to-small range banks, and a lack of local financial markets. Large national banks have monopoly power and they tend not to provide loans to small businesses even though they create a majority of the jobs in China. The lack of official local financial markets has also encouraged the growth of an underground financial market. In conclusion, the article called for “major structural adjustments.”
Source: Study Times, September 9, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/jj/jjyj/201109/t20110909_109222.htm
CRN: PLA Developed Night Vision Maps
China Review News (CRN) recently reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has developed night vision maps. Last year, the PLA started searching for practical night vision technology for maps. The University of Lanzhou, the Map Institute of Gansu Province, and the Surveying and Mapping Institute of the PLA General Staff Department jointly worked on the project. The night vision maps emit “cold light” which can only be seen by people nearby; remote enemies cannot see them, even with today’s military night vision equipment. The technology used to print the maps enables them to preserve energy in daylight. They are waterproof, radiation-free, and have good luminous intensity. The material is suitable for mass production.
Source: China Review News, September 12, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1018/3/2/7/101832706.html?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=101832706&mdate=0912131552