Friday 31 December 2010

THE RABBIT

The Korea Times

2011 YEAR OF THE RABBIT

Lee Hyo-won

The Korea Times, December 31, 2010

Furry, long-eared and nimbly athletic, rabbits have long been a favorite pet and subject of cartoons. In Korea, these cute creatures have been characterized as being rather frail yet clever, as well as a symbol of abundance for giving birth to dozens of offspring at a time. Hence, the Year of the Rabbit 2011 is expected to be fruitful one.

Rabbit tells time and space

“Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!” exclaims the pocket watch-bearing White Rabbit as he runs toward a rabbit hole in the Lewis Carroll tale of “Alice in Wonderland.” In Korea, the rabbit holds special meanings in terms of time and space.

It comes fourth among 12 zodiac animals and represents the month of February in the lunar calendar as well as “myosi,” the fourth division in the 24-hour clock or 5-7 a.m. It is also a protector of the eastern direction.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Thursday 30 December 2010

CHINA’S ECONOMY IN 2011

irishtimes-logo

NO CHINA CRISIS FOR ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE

Despite rising property prices and a festering global currency dispute, growth is set to surge

Clifford Coonan

The Irish Times, December 30, 2010

Rising inflation, surging property prices and increasingly thorny currency issues are set to dominate the agenda in China during 2011.

Beijing will be under intense pressure to stabilise prices and maintain growth in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The broader economic picture remains upbeat. Foreign direct investment leapt 38.17 per cent in November – foreign companies poured €31.3 billion into China’s services industry in the first 10 months of the year, up nearly 30 per cent on the previous year.

The wider economy is expected to have grown by 10 per cent in 2010, while unemployment is estimated to have run at just over 4 per cent.

These figures are all the more remarkable when you consider that just over 30 years ago, China’s financial health was only of interest outside the country to a handful of observers.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Wednesday 29 December 2010

NORTH KOREA AND THE FIVE

reuters-logo-dec_-2009-o

FACTBOX: WHAT REGIONAL POWERS THINK ABOUT N.KOREA

Reuters, December 29, 2010

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Wednesday the nuclear crisis on the peninsula must be tackled by negotiation, but chances of international talks are slim because of a gulf between the parties involved, and a lack of pressure on an emboldened North Korea.

Lee, who has vowed a tough stance against any further attack by the North, also called for fresh dialogue between the rival Koreas, saying a hardline military policy alone by Seoul will not ease the tension.

Here are the positions of the countries involved in the so-called six-party negotiation process, which stalled in 2008 when Pyongyang walked out. It had already quit a global nuclear anti-arms pact in 2003.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea's position has eased since May, when it announced tough steps in retaliation for the sinking of the navy corvette Cheonan, blamed on North Korea, by dropping an apology from the North as a precondition.

It still says the North must make it clear it is serious about dialogue to reduce tensions and eliminate its nuclear programme. Seoul is working on a proposal for the North with preconditions for resuming the talks, details are unclear.

One of the conditions is that North Korea open up its previously undisclosed uranium enrichment programme to strict international monitoring.

South Korea wants the six-party talks, if resumed, to address the enrichment work and a separate accord on its oversight.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Tuesday 28 December 2010

INDONESIA RISING

The Jakarta Post4

THE WORLD IN 2011

Cyrillus Harinowo Hadiwerdoyo

The Jakarta Post, December 28, 2010

I flew Garuda Indonesia Airlines more than 50 times in 2010, so I can testify that most of those flights were full — or at least at 90 percent capacity — despite the rapid expansion of the airline’s fleet. The Garuda fleet currently boasts nearly 90 airplanes since the addition of more than 40 new Boeing 737-800 planes.

The route to Pontianak is one of many examples of Garuda’s growth. Flights to the provincial capital of West Kalimantan had been suspended for a number of years.

Two years ago, Garuda resumed flights to Pontianak, starting with one a day. After a few months the flights were increased to twice daily. In one year’s time they increased to three times daily, which continues today.

Moreover, the size of the aircraft also increased. Garuda started with the Boeing 737-500, which accommodates fewer than 100 passengers. Then it upgraded to the Boeing 737-300. In the last few months flights were mostly served by Boeing 737-400, accommodating more than 150 passengers.

What will happen in the coming years?

(...) [artículo aquí]

Monday 27 December 2010

CHINA’S THREE RATES

Reuters DEF

ANALYSIS: AS CHINA RAISES RATES, DON'T FORGET THE YUAN

Kevin Yao and Simon Rabinovitch

Reuters, December 27, 2010

BEIJING (Reuters) - China was Grinch-like in raising interest rates on Christmas Day, but in fact investors have good reasons to be grateful.

The government provided much-needed reassurance that it was determined to rein in price pressures -- and a salutary reminder that more yuan appreciation than the market expects could be in the offing.

The key take-away from the rate increase, China's second in just over two months, is that Beijing is softly, softly pulling every tightening lever within its reach.

"The central bank will only raise rates in small and steady increments in the coming months," said E Yongjian, an analyst at Bank of Communications in Shanghai.

"The yuan will also steadily climb next year, serving as one tool to alleviate the inflationary pressure," he said.

Ba Shusong, an economist with the Development Research Center, a think-tank under the cabinet, provided a neat summary of the government's strategy for taming consumer prices, which rose 5.1 percent in the year to November, a 28-month high.

"The rhythm of policies will become regular, something we call the simultaneous implementation of the three rates: banks' required reserve ratios, interest rates and the exchange rate," he said in comments published in the Economic Information Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper, on Monday.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Sunday 26 December 2010

INDIA, CHINA AND THE WORLD

The Deccan Herald

MANAGING INDIA-CHINA TIES

By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, a hyphenation of expectations has appeared on the international stage that India and China with their consistent economic growth can contribute in a great measure to global economic recovery.

C V Ranganathan

The Deccan Herald, December 26, 2010

Such expectations may be exaggerated. However, this widely held perception in Asia and the West underlines what has been reiterated on numerous occasions when the premiers of India and China meet on official visits to each other’s countries.

The India-China joint communiqué released on December 16, 2010, at the conclusion of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India states: “India-China relations go beyond their bilateral scope and strategic significance”.

At a basic level, the statement is obvious enough. The two countries, neighbours and civilisation states, containing 40% of the world’s population have outpaced the GDP growth rates of the advanced countries in recent years.

This in itself, where several millions have reached middle-class status, is a phenomenon which has global implications. This is despite the vast size and scale of the challenges which each country faces in spreading distributive equity and achieving environmentally sustainable models of development.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Friday 24 December 2010

NORTH KOREA’S THREATS

reuters-logo-dec_-2009-o

ANALYSIS: KOREA THREAT SEEN RHETORIC BUT RISK STILL WATCHED

Peter Apps

Reuters, December 24, 2010

LONDON (Reuters) - Political analysts and local markets may largely write off North Korea's threat of a nuclear "sacred war" as rhetoric, but the risk of conflict on the peninsula has clearly reached the radar of global investors.

North Korea's minister of armed forces accused South Korea of trying to start a war by conducting live fire drills on Thursday, saying Pyongyang was prepared to wage war against its neighbor "at any moment necessary."

While local Korean and Japanese markets have tended to shrug off repeated threats from Pyongyang, partly because of a perceived very low risk of war already priced into assets, wider global investors have begun to take much more notice.

"In terms of rhetoric, this is the sort of thing we've heard before," said Alastair Newton, a former British diplomat and senior Cabinet Office official who is now political analyst for Japanese bank Nomura. "But there's no doubt we are... in the most dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula in decades."

(...) [artículo aquí]

Thursday 23 December 2010

CHINA’S ECONOMY IN 2011

International Business Times

HOW WILL CHINA'S ECONOMY PERFORM IN 2011?

Jijo Jacob

International Business Times, December 23, 2010

As the global economy is entering arguably another tumultuous year, spotlight is sharply on the prospects, policies and risks of China's economy, which has all but sailed past Japan's as the world's second largest after the United States.

The following is a look into Chinese economy's prospects in 2011 and the nature and gravity of the challenges it faces.

GDP GROWTH

The fast-growing Asian giant's economy grew an average 10.6 percent in the first three quarters of 2010 though signals of a moderation in the pace of growth have risen of late. A Reuters poll has shown China's growth next year will be marginally weaker. Economists surveyed for the poll said the economy will slow to 8.9 percent in 2011. However, a poll in the previous quarter had shown that growth could be 9 percent next year.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Wednesday 22 December 2010

INDIA’S GROWTH

economic_times

THREATS TO INDIA GROWTH STORY

Motilal Oswal

The Economic Times, December 22, 2010

The GDP growth of 8.9% in 2QFY11 is a resounding validation of the India growth story. India has effectively endured a global crisis and the worst drought in 30 years. It continues to be one of the fastest growing economies - its GDP is likely to grow at ~9% in FY11 and well into FY12.

With nominal GDP growth of 14-15%, at constant exchange rates, India's next trillion dollars (NTD) will come in just five-seven years. We juxtapose the NTD idea with the GDP growth of China to arrive at India's GDP of almost $5 trillion by 2020. India's current gross domestic saving is at 34% of GDP. In line with the long-term trend, we expect this to rise to 40% by 2020. This translates to cumulative decadal saving of over $10 trillion, compared with $2.7 trillion during the current decade. The large savings pool presents a huge opportunity for many businesses.

India enjoys a special demographic advantage. With over 200 million households, India is not only a huge consumer market but also an attractive investment destination. However, the journey is unlikely to be smooth - a number of speed-breakers and roadblocks will be encountered along the way. The fallout of the lack of radical reforms has shown up in high consumer inflation which, though trending down, continues to persist. The rising global commodity prices are adding further fuel to the fire. Interest rates are headed up. The speed with which the reforms process is progressing is less than desirable. Macroeconomic and business headwinds apart, markets have reason to be concerned about the serious and relentless issues of corporate and political governance, which India is currently embroiled in.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Tuesday 21 December 2010

ASIA’S NEW GROWTH PATH

Finance Asia

ASIA'S RE-BALANCING ACT

Asia is rapidly becoming less reliant on the G3 economies, but needs to implement key macro measures to prevent setbacks, says Nomura's Robert Subbaraman.

Rupert Walker

Finance Asia, December 21, 2010

“The debate over Asia 'decoupling’ is too black and white for our liking,” said Robert Subbaraman, Nomura’s chief economist for Asia ex-Japan.

Global financial markets are too integrated for Asia to fully decouple from the major industrialised countries. But, on the other hand, Nomura believes that Asia’s economies are in the process of rebalancing towards domestic demand, China, and emerging markets in general.

“This process is happening faster than most people realise,” said Subbaraman during a media call on December 15. He added that Asia is becoming less reliant on the G3 economies of the US, Europe and Japan, and “is well on the way to being able to achieve its full growth potential, even with only 1%-2% growth in the G3”.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Monday 20 December 2010

JAPAN’S NDPG AND CHINA

idsa

CHINA THREAT PROPELS A NEW DEFENCE THINKING IN JAPAN

Shamshad A. Khan

Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, December 20, 2010

Concerned with Chinese military assertions and increased surveillance around its southern islands, Japan has unveiled its will in its new National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) to fill the “defence vacuum” by deploying permanent troops to these “outlaying islands”. The approval of the new defence guidelines by the Japanese government comes at the backdrop of Japan and China’s diplomatic spat following Chinese fishing trawler’s collision with a Japanese coast guard’s patrolling vessel off the southern Senkaku Islands. The uninhibited Senkaku Islands are under effective administration of Japan since 1895, but its sovereignty is contested by its two other neigbours-Taiwan and China.

Japanese new defence thinking of deploying troops to secure its southern Islands reflects the fact that Japan gears itself to counter any assertion by China over its territory and therefore the guideline has identified Nansei Islands, Ishigaki Islands and Yonaguni Islands - all in the geographical proximity of China and Taiwan - where it would double the presence of its Self Defense Force (SDF) and will also reinforce the presence of the Air and the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Sunday 19 December 2010

NORTH KOREA’S POSSIBLE COLLAPSE

Miami Herald

IN SOUTH KOREA, CONCERN OVER THE NORTH'S POSSIBLE COLLAPSE

Tom Lasseter

The Miami Herald, December 19, 2010

As politicians and analysts argue about the health of Kim Jong Il and his totalitarian regime in North Korea, Woo Kee-sup is troubled by a more basic concern - if the North were to fall, how many of its 24 million residents would be ready to live in a modern society?

Running a small private school that works with North Korean defectors in their teens and 20s, Woo has a firsthand look at students produced by the educational system in the Hermit Kingdom, and the news isn't good, he says.

"Some of them have graduated from high school in North Korea, but their learning capacity is very poor," said Woo, a 64-year-old retired technology executive. "In some cases, we start out teaching them at the elementary school level."

Although the Yeomyung School that Woo heads near central Seoul offers just a snapshot of the issue, it's a worrying reminder for South Korean leadership that should the North collapse, millions of undereducated, traumatized and malnourished North Koreans might come flooding across the border.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Saturday 18 December 2010

TWO KOREAS

The Star - Toronto

A TALE OF TWO KOREAS

Sarah Barmak

The Toronto Star, December 18, 2010

All eyes are on North Korea’s military, which has vowed to launch an attack “of intensity and range” on South Korean much greater than recent skirmishes if the country goes through with a live-fire drill on a border island, planned to take place by Tuesday.

North Korea has made hyperbolic threats against its neighbour to the south in the past. But the international community has been on heightened alert after the North Korean military shelled Yeonpyeong Island, the front-line site of the upcoming drill, last month. Two civilians and two marines were killed in the exchange, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon joined with world leaders to condemn the attack.

The two Koreas have engaged in a series of skirmishes over the past decade, most instigated by the North, but not all. In 2002, a North Korean patrol ship fired on a South Korean ship, killing four civilians; around 30 Northern sailors were then killed or injured when the South retaliated. In March of this year, a Northern submarine torpedoed and sank a Southern naval corvette, killing 46 — although Pyongyang has continued to deny any responsibility for the attack.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Friday 17 December 2010

JAPAN’S NEW DEFENSE POLICY

Bloomberg_logo

JAPAN SHIFTS DEFENSE POLICY TO COUNTER CHINA'S RISING MILITARY INFLUENCE

Sachiko Sakamaki and Takashi Hirokawa

Bloomberg, December 17, 2010

Japan will shift the focus of its national defense toward China and away from Russia, three months after Coast Guard vessels collided with a Chinese fishing boat and re-ignited a territorial dispute.

Japan will deploy troops to its southwestern islands and strengthen its air force in Okinawa, according to military guidelines approved by Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Cabinet today. Personnel and tanks will be moved from the northern island of Hokkaido, close to Russia, which were put in place to counter Cold War threats.

"China is continuously increasing its defense budget, modernizing the military power of its naval and air forces including nuclear and missile capabilities," today’s report said. "These kinds of movements are, along with China’s lack of transparency in military and security, becoming a concern to the region and the international community."

The government will order 10 patrol planes from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. under the five-year plan. The administration put off deciding whether to relax a ban on exporting weapons as sought by manufacturers including Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., in the face of opposition from a small party Kan is courting to help pass his budget.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Thursday 16 December 2010

CHINA TONES DOWN

The Diplomat

CHINA FOREIGN POLICY SHIFT?

Will China tone down its more assertive foreign policy? Straws in the wind suggest that it might.

Rajeev Sharma

The Diplomat, December 16, 2010

The first indications came from Chinese-controlled state media on December 10—the day the Nobel Committee went ahead with its scheduled function to award this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo. The Peace Prize is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm, but in Oslo. And, despite Chinese threats over the prize, Norway ignorered Chinese pressure and went ahead with the prestigious annual event. The presentation ceremoney was attended by representatives of 46 of the 65 countries that maintain diplomatic missions in Norway.

The same day, an article in the Communist Party of China-backed Global Times talked about the countries that succumbed to Beijing’s pressure and boycotted the ceremony. Russia, Iran and Pakistan were among the 19 absentees from the award presentation. However, the Global Times quoted Shi Yinhong, a researcher at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, as saying: ‘It has done harm to the bilateral relations between China and Norway. But China's expressing of discontent with Norway on this specific issue does not represent the long-term direction that China will adopt toward Norway.’

(...) [artículo aquí]

Wednesday 15 December 2010

INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS

Indian Express

WORKING BOTH WAYS

Pranab Dhal Samanta

Indian Express, December 15, 2010

This time everyone’s making the right noises, at least so far. No outrageous Chinese statement like the one on Arunachal Pradesh before Hu Jintao’s visit or any other diplomatic harshness that could sour Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s trip. The statements have all been forward-looking and, at the same time, realistic. Ahead of the visit, a lot of groundwork has gone into getting the atmospherics right and that’s been made possible at the cost of taking expectations to the lowest point on both sides.But India has done a lot more to set things right in the past year or so, and therefore, it does beg the question: why is New Delhi not pegging its expectations much higher?

(...) [artículo aquí]

Tuesday 14 December 2010

POLLUTION IN CHINA AND INDIA

WashPost logo3

WHO'S MORE TOXIC, CHINA OR INDIA?

Brian Palmer

The Washington Post, December 14, 2010

Politicians opposed to unilateral reductions in U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions often claim that China and India are the real problem. Some have even supported legislation barring federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions until the world's most populous nations do the same. China and India are always lumped together. But which of the two countries is more dangerous to the environment?

Before pitting Asia's behemoths against one another in a cage match of environmental destruction, we should note that Westerners remain unsurpassed in the field. Take, for instance, greenhouse-gas emissions. As of 2007, the average American was responsible for 19.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, with Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians in hot pursuit. China (at 4.7 metric tons per person) and India (1.2 metric tons) lag far behind. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, neither country is likely to surpass the United States for decades.

It also bears mentioning that China produces one-third of its CO2 emissions manufacturing goods for export. Forty percent of the consumer goods purchased in the United States are made in China, representing more than 18 percent of China's total exports. So blaming China for climate change is a bit like blaming your chauffeur for using so much gas.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Monday 13 December 2010

CHINA AND THE WORLD ECONOMY

People's Daily logo

CHINA TO BECOME DOMINANT FORCE IN GLOBAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

Liang Jun

People’s Daily, December 13, 2010

According to data from the third quarter of 2010, China's economic growth rate stood at 9.6 percent, which means the rate has begun to slow. The International Monetary Fund said China's economic growth accounts for almost one-fifth of the world total, and China's purchasing power is only one-fourth of the world total.

In 2009, China accounted for 46 percent of the world's total consumption of coal, aluminum and zinc and the consumption of the crude steel was twice as much as the total of the European Union, the United States and Japan, according to figures released by the World Coal Institute.

In addition, demand for mobile phones in China will exceed the combined demand of all other countries in the world.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Sunday 12 December 2010

NORTH KOREA’S BEHAVIOR

SF Chronicle

NORTH KOREA IS THE WORLD'S PROBLEM CHILD

Joel Brinkley

San Francisco Chronicle, December 12, 2010

No other country presents so serious a problem for the world today, and no other problem seems as insoluble. Right now, North Korea's malign behavior could conceivably draw the United States into still another war.

As Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, said on Monday, "tensions" on the Korean peninsula could "spin out of control."

Almost everyone considers North Korea mercurial, unpredictable. But in fact, its behavior usually follows a pattern - if you consider its two greatest needs. It demands to be respected, and it covets copious aid.

Look at what happened in the weeks before North Korea opened fire on Yeonpyeong, the South Korean island. Earlier in November, the United Nations reported that North Korea desperately needed food aid. Half the nation's children are malnourished, some starving. North Korea's leaders obviously don't care much about that. But if the people are starving, then the "Great Leader" Kim Jong Il and his mandarins probably don't have everything they want, either.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Saturday 11 December 2010

CHINESE IN INDIA

The Times of India

THE CHINESE ARE COMING

Kanti Bajpai

The Times of India, December 11, 2010

Premier Wen Jiabao of China will come calling next week. China is India's largest and most powerful neighbour by far and therefore in a strategic sense the most consequential. It is also India's biggest trading partner, which makes it vital to the Indian economy. How should we at this juncture think about the relationship with China?

By way of context, it is crucial to remember that China is the second largest economy in the world and probably the second greatest military power as well. By any reckoning, it will be the greatest power on earth in 30 years if not sooner. It is hard to see what could stop its rise. There is a view that China's internal political and ethno-religious problems, its ageing population, and its peculiar state-led crypto-capitalist economy will singly or in combination constrain its elevation to the world's pre-eminent power. However, we should remember that before China both the US and UK had internal problems prior to their rise. Those problems did not fundamentally stop their ascent.

When Wen arrives in Delhi, he will set foot in the Indian capital as the leader of the next superpower if not the next global hegemon. Projections of China's GDP as a proportion of world GDP, in 30 years from now, range from roughly 25 per cent to 40 per cent. Whatever we may say about Indian economic growth, it is highly unlikely our country will be in the same position. However much it may gall us, we must acknowledge that the next century will be China's.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Friday 10 December 2010

CHINA AND THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Bloomberg_logo

NO-SHOWS FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE REVEAL CHINA'S INFLUENCE

Meera Bhatia and Marianne Stigset

Bloomberg, December 10, 2010

At least 20 countries will be absent from today’s ceremony bestowing the Nobel Peace Prize on Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in the wake of his government’s campaign to portray the award as a western effort to undermine its authority.

Those absent will include countries with unelected rulers such as Cuba and Saudi Arabia, Chinese neighbors Kazakhstan and Vietnam, and U.S. allies Colombia and Egypt. Their decision to skip the ceremony in Oslo comes as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu derided the award as a “farce” bestowed by “clowns” in comments to reporters in Beijing on Dec. 7.

The no-show list, double the number from two years ago, reflects China’s growing global influence as its economic power expands, says Iver B. Neumann, Research Director at the Oslo- based Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

“China is the rising power of the century,” said Neumann in an interview Dec. 8. “This seems to be one of the central dramas of world politics today. The discussion will certainly not blow over.”

(...) [artículo aquí]

Thursday 9 December 2010

SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN

Time

FIGHTING AND FEASTING: ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN

Joe Klein

Time, December 9, 2010

On a moonless, pitch-black but impossibly starry night in early December, I traveled with a U.S. Army patrol through the town of Senjaray, in the Zhari district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Our mission was to attend a dinner party at the local police station. The soldiers, members of the 1-502 regiment of the 101st Airborne Division (famously known as the Black Hearts), were led by their executive officer, Captain Cullen Lind. He, and they, assumed the dinner was a celebration of recent events in the district: after an extremely tough fight, the Taliban had been driven out of the area. The summer fighting season was over; there had been only one violent incident in the past two weeks.

When we arrived at the mud-walled police fort, the soldiers were surprised by the elaborate nature of the party. There were musicians; there was a feast — lamb and rice, fresh bread and vegetables, deliciously prepared. "We've never seen anything like this before," Lind told me. As the musicians, who were excellent, played the desultory Afghan national anthem, a ragtag row of a dozen police officers — some in uniform, some not; some with rifles, others not — stood at strict attention. "The song is good for our national spirit," said Karim Jaan, the local police chief. "It is a way to build power."

(...) [artículo aquí]

Wednesday 8 December 2010

CHINA AND THE US

forbes_logo_main

NATIONALISM AND WESTERNIZATION: CHINA’S PLACE IN THE WORLD?

Helen H. Wang

The Chinese Dream (Forbes), December 8, 2010

The latest The Economist ran a 14-page special report on China’s place in the world. One analysis points out that China’s increasing nationalism could pose a threat to American power and undermine global stability.

The report cited that many Chinese scholars do not believe a partnership with the U.S. is realistic. As Wang Jisi, dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University, was quoted as saying: “Most Chinese would say the U. S. is the enemy.”

I do not want to doubt the source or accuracy of The Economist article. After all, it is one of the best publications that I routinely read – a publication with the most sensible arguments and balanced views.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Tuesday 7 December 2010

CHINA’S ENVIRONMENT

China Real Time Report

FAILURES IN ENFORCING CHINA’S GREEN LEGISLATION

Stanley Lubman

China RealTime Report, December 7, 2010

China, the world’s largest polluter, has been adopting laws to control and reduce pollution since 1979, and there are frequent reports in the press emphasizing efforts to control pollution. But regardless of how many new environmental laws are adopted, enforcement remains a critical problem.

This is true in the case of regulation by local Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs), and also when citizens try to sue polluters in the courts. Both enforcement mechanisms are marked by the ongoing challenge of balancing environmental protection against the promotion of economic growth and by the tensions between central and local governments. Both also highlight broader systemic problems in Chinese governance.

There are numerous reasons why effective enforcement both by the EPBs and civil suits is greatly hampered. Local EPBs are only “nominally responsible” to the ministry-level Environmental Protection Administration in Beijing, as Elizabeth Economy notes in her 2004 book “The River Runs Black,” and rely on local governments for “virtually all their support.” Local government officials also benefit from higher levels of output in their region, as Gregory Chow has observed, noting that “they receive credits for economic development and sometimes bribes from polluting producers.” Local governments, the courts and the EPBs give protection to key local enterprises.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Monday 6 December 2010

CHINA’S INFLATION DANGER

The Telegraph

CHINA'S CREDIT BUBBLE ON BORROWED TIME AS INFLATION BITES

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to take out protection against the risk of a sovereign default by China as one of its top trade trades for 2011. This is a new twist.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

The Telegraph, December 6, 2010

It warns that the Communist Party will have to puncture the credit bubble before inflation reaches levels that threaten social stability. This in turn may open a can of worms. "Many see China’s monetary tightening as a pre-emptive tap on the brakes, a warning shot across the proverbial economic bows. We see it as a potentially more malevolent reactive day of reckoning," said Tim Ash, the bank’s emerging markets chief.

Officially, inflation was 4.4pc in October, and may reach 5pc in November, but it is to hard find anybody in China who believes it is that low. Vegetables have risen 20pc in a month.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Sunday 5 December 2010

NORTH KOREA’S COLLAPSE?

The Korea Times

CHANGE IN NORTH KOREA

Time to prepare for collapse of Kim regime

The Korea Times, December 5, 2010

President Lee Myung-bak hinted at the possibility that the Kim Jong-il regime of North Korea may collapse in the face of people’s call for change. “There is no political power in history that can go against people’s aspiration for change,” Lee told a meeting of the Presidential Committee on Social Cohesion at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday.

Lee said he believes that there has been a positive change in the North. He pointed out that North Koreans can tend a vegetable garden in their backyard and trade goods in a market in their neighborhood. He added a growing number of North Koreans are coming to South Korea. His remarks indicated he has hope that people in the North may bring change to the repressive and brutal regime there.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Saturday 4 December 2010

THE NEW SILK ROAD

economic_times

ASIAN HIGHWAY HAS A LONG WAY TO GO

The Economic Times, December 4, 2010

Since the fabled Silk Road fell into disuse some six centuries ago, Asian commerce has been largely carried by sea. Today, as dynamic and resurgent Asia finds trade within the region growing at almost twice the pace of trade with the outside world, there is a flurry of multimodal connectivity projects involving road, rail, air, pipeline and shipping infrastructure across the region.

The Asian highway (AH) network has the potential of an important building block for pan-Asia integrated intermodal transport system.

Expanded in stages, now comprising over 141,000 km of roads through 32 of the Unescap member countries, AH would extend from Tokyo in the east to Kapikule (Turkey) in the West, and from St Petersburg in the north to Denpasar (Indonesia) in the south. The initial AH routes AH1 and AH2 aimed at linking Bangkok with Tehran through Yangon, Dhaka, New Delhi, Rawalpindi and Kabul, with further connections to Turkey and the E-roads system in Europe.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Friday 3 December 2010

SOUTH KOREA’S MILITARY

NYT_logo_2_thumb

SOUTH KOREAN OUTLINES MILITARY POSTURE

Mark McDonald

The New York Times, November 3, 2010

SEOUL, South Korea — In outlining a muscular new military posture in South Korea, the four-star general selected last week to become the new defense minister said on Friday that the South will “definitely” use airstrikes against North Korea if there are further provocations by the North.

The minister-designate, Kim Kwan-jin, also criticized the military because it had “failed to carry out its basic duty” in defending against North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 and preventing a torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March.

His comments came during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.

The artillery exchange between the Koreas killed two marines and two civilians on the island. In response, defense officials said, South Korea put fighter jets on alert but they did not take off.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Thursday 2 December 2010

CHINA’S LEVERAGE OVER NK

The New Republic

KIMPOSSIBLE

China can't fix North Korea, so don't ask it to try.

Joshua Kurlantzick

The New Republic, December 2, 2010

As the North Korea crisis spirals into its second week, and seemingly out of control, many American policymakers and pundits agree on one thing: China needs to do something about Pyongyang. “China is not behaving as a responsible world power,” Senator John McCain told CNN.  “They could bring the North Korean economy to their knees if they wanted to.”  State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley  echoed that sentiment, saying that “China does have influence with North Korea and we would hope and expect that China will use that influence.”

But in reality, China’s leverage over North Korea is far more limited than it often appears. China’s strategy has been to demonstrate to Kim Jong Il that he could copy Beijing’s economic reforms without losing his grip on political power, while simultaneously using multilateral talks—and occasional demonstrations of Chinese pressure—to show other countries that Beijing is committed to a peaceful resolution of the Korean crisis.

(...) [artículo aquí]

Wednesday 1 December 2010

US-CHINA TRADE

guardian_logo

MAKING PEACE IN THE US-CHINA TRADE WAR

We think of our trade imbalance as a bad thing. Looked at another way, China is paying US workers to take vacation

Dean Baker

The Guardian, December 1, 2010

Trade disputes with China have been heating up lately, but there really is no reason for the hostility. Essentially, China's government is saying is that it has no better use for its money than subsidising the consumption of people in the United States and other wealthy countries, by propping up the value of the dollar. That may seem surprising since per capita income in China is less than $8,000 a year, while it is over $45,000 a year in the United States, but if this is what China's leaders insist, who are we to argue?

But this is raising objections from the United States and other wealthy countries, since Chinese imports are displacing domestic output and thereby costing jobs. But it need not be this way, if governments in the United States and other countries were more effective in managing their economies.

(...) [artículo aquí]