|
|
|
|
|
Hainan fears
real-estate bubbles - again
Money has flooded into the Chinese province of Hainan in the few weeks since
the central government said it should become an international tourist resort.
The sub-tropical island's attractions could certainly lure visitors, but
residents with a sense of history already fear a property crash might come
first. - Stephen Wong (Feb 8, '10)
BOOK REVIEW
Look who's come to dinner
Superfusion by Zachary Karabell This insightful book
examines the alternatives to fearing China's inevitable rise as a super-economy
and global political force and asks whether American hostility to making room
at the table for an upsetter of the old economic order is more a reflection of
its own lost confidence. - Benjamin A Shobert
(Feb 5, '10)
Shanghai wishing on a fading
Disney star
China's financial center, Shanghai, may be losing its warm, fuzzy feelings over
getting the third Disneyland theme park in Asia, scheduled to open in 2014. As
the city’s politicians look south to the magic kingdom in Hong Kong, where the
reality of losses never matched the expectations of a bonanza for the economy,
they see a warning of what their dreams may bring about. - Olivia Chung
(Feb 4, '10)
China's US spending passes
landmark
Chinese businesses last year invested more in United States entities than was
invested in the other direction. Such cash flows can benefit the American
economy at large; if politicians mishandle matters, the Chinese funds will go
elsewhere. - Benjamin A Shobert (Feb 1, '10)
China's 'little dollar' spreads
its wings
The China-ASEAN free-trade pact, which came into effect this month, will be a
vehicle for the widescale adoption of the yuan as a de facto regional currency.
Though official statistics are not available, numbers show this process is
already well along. China is likely to use penetration into Southeast Asia as
the first step to converting the yuan into a global currency. - Reginald Smith
(Jan 27, '10)
Huawei points way into India
Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei's pledge to invest US$500 million to
expand in India and add thousands to its employee strength there may encourage
other Chinese companies struggling to soothe the Indian government's security
concerns over their potential role in key areas of infrastructure. - Vijay
Sakhuja (Jan 26, '10)
Have yuan, will travel
China's blistering economic growth - near 11% in the last quarter of 2009 -
rising individual wealth and relaxation of travel curbs are encouraging
increasing numbers of Chinese to travel overseas. With hard-up foreigners less
likely to return the calls, the result is a US$4 billion tourism deficit for
China. - Olivia Chung (Jan 21, '10)
Google searches for lock on
China
Google's threat to pull out of China stunned even Microsoft's chief executive
officer, Steve Ballmer - how, after all, can a few hackers and a concern for
human rights be set against the drawing power of the world's biggest Internet
market? Yet with talks between Google and the Chinese government still ahead,
the outlook for Google in China is possibly brighter than ever. - Sherman So
(Jan 19, '10)
'Made in China' gets a new gloss
The latest consumer health scare linked to Chinese-made goods comes as the
government in Beijing launches a global TV campaign to highlight the
interconnectedness of overseas companies with "Made in China" products. - Benjamin
A Shobert (Jan 14, '10)
China tries to cool down
China, through measures such as raising the reserve requirement ratio for
banks, is trying to cool the impact of its economic stimulus introduced over a
year ago to maintain growth amid the global financial crisis. That will not
prevent the possibility of a renewed stimulus later this year, which would
carry global risks. - Robert M Cutler (Jan
13, '10)
China's automakers get a turbo
boost
Changes in Chinese government procurement rules are set to give a turbo-charged
boost to Chery Automobile, BYD and other local makers of small cars, already
enjoying a boom as China runs away from the United States as the world's
biggest car market. - Olivia Chung (Jan 13,
'10)
China and a new world economic
order
China can exert a positive influence on a new world economic order by setting
an example with its own national development policy. Settling exports in yuan,
not in US dollars, would be a start, allied to central planning and a domestic
goal of full employment with rising wages. And any idea of throwing money at
green technology to spur recovery should be dropped. - Henry C K Liu
(Jan 11, '10)
 SUN
WUKONG
Hainan tries (once more)
to get rich
China's tropical island of Hainan, one of the country's poorest provinces, is
to become an international tourist destination, by government edict, with
visitors lured by fine beaches, duty-free shopping and maybe even gambling.
Concern in Macau and Hong Kong at the new competition may be misplaced - Hainan
has a history of thwarting plans to make it rich. - Wu Zhong
(Jan 8, '10)
China in surplus cul-de-sac
With United States sovereign debt no longer the obvious safe place as a store
of value, China's continued purchase of US Treasuries with its trade surplus
dollars is open to question. Yet the answer is that China has no other options.
- Henry CK Liu (Jan 7, '10)
China tightens grip on Kazakh
gas
China's growing involvement in Kazakhstan's energy sector, underlined by
President Hu Jintao's visit to the Central Asian country last month, is only
part of Beijing's economic expansion there. The scale of investment and
generosity is raising alarm among some Kazakhs. - Farkhad Sharip
(Jan 7, '10)
China-ASEAN pact offers more
than win-win
The inauguration of a free trade area encompassing China and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations marks a remarkable turnaround in relations since the
end of the Cold War. Their pact offers numerous opportunities for China's
far-smaller neighbors. It also carries risk. - Brantly Womack
(Jan 6, '10)
Krugman blaming victim for the
crime
American economist Paul Krugman's claims that China is following a predatory
mercantilist policy to keep its trade surplus artificially high errs in several
ways, not least that only the United States, these days, is placed to pursue
mercantilism. - Henry C K Liu (Jan 5, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
China plays Pipelineistan
While China is at the forefront of moves toward green energy supplies, it is
leaving nothing to chance. Imported oil and gas are still crucial - and will be
for a long time - to its economic growth, and Central Asia is key to Beijing's
wide-ranging energy strategy. - Pepe Escobar (Dec
23, '09)
Youku, Tudou battle for video
billions
China's video-sharing web sites, with the multi-billion dollar valuation of
YouTube as a keen incentive, are battling for viewers and advertising. Youku
and Tudou are the front-runners to win a listing on Nasdaq and a payback for
early investors. - Sherman So (Dec 23, '09)
Rusal strains HK to the limit
The strain of accommodating efforts by Russia's United Company Rusal, one of
the world's leading aluminum producers, to sell and list shares in Hong Kong
appears to be testing to the limit the local market authorities. On the one
side, this is business. On the other, there are certain rules to follow. John
Helmer (Dec 22, '09)
Pakistan Rail sticks with Dong Fang
China's Dong Fang Electric Corp has secured confirmation of a US$110 million
contract to supply locomotives to Pakistan Railways. The contract price
undercut a bid by General Electric of the United States, but past experience
suggests this could prove an expensive deal for Pakistan. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Dec 21, '09)
Kazakhstan mulls China land deal
Vast empty spaces of Kazakhstan may soon be populated by Chinese farmers - 15
million, according to opponents - if President Nursultan Nazarbayev follows
through on what he says is Chinese interest in renting 1 million hectares of
Kazakh farmland. (Dec 18, '09)
China pledges steady as it goes
China's economic policymakers have pledged to boost domestic consumption by
increasing the pace at which country folk move into the cities, while
maintaining existing fiscal and monetary policies. That could mean a risk of
higher inflationary and asset bubbles. - Olivia Chung
(Dec 17, '09)
Blindfolded on a cliff edge
China's faltering stock market may be indicating that global hunger for risk is
diminishing, as investors grope their way from headline data to recognition of
the role played by hot money linked to the government's huge stimulus package.
The latest export figures and bank fraud concerns are also serving as a wake-up
call. - Robert M Cutler (Dec 17, '09)
Russia labors as neighbors do
deals
Moscow insists that the Turkmenistan-China pipeline is not of concern to
Russia, which also looks to the Central Asian country for energy supplies. Yet
the speed with which the pipeline was agreed to and built contrasts strongly
with the Kremlin's labored efforts to do deals with Beijing and its own
negotiations with the Turkmen leadership. - Sergei Blagov
(Dec 16, '09)
China ends Russia's grip on
Turkmen gas
The opening of a 1,833-kilometer pipeline from Turkmenistan to China this week
ends Russia's grip on the Central Asian country's natural-gas exports. Backers
of the proposed Nabucco pipeline to Europe will also gain heart from the
success of the Turkmen-Chinese project. (Dec 15,
'09)
China poses a riddle in US
backyard
The strengthening economic alliance between China and Brazil, the two giants of
the developing world, is unnerving the powers in Washington. But the South
American country has much to do, and ask of itself, if it wants to expand
beyond commodities trade to become a true strategic partner. - Peter J Brown
(Dec 11, '09)
Hong Kong closes in on rail cost
record
Hong Kong legislators have voted to fund and build what could be the world's
most expensive high-speed rail link, with the 26-kilometer line costing about
US$226 million for each kilometer from the city center to neighboring Shenzhen.
The choice is build, or be excluded from the mainland's 18,000-km high-speed
network now under construction. - Olivia Chung
(Dec 9, '09)
Africa warns China: Money is not
enough
China's increasing presence in Africa, in terms of money and personnel, has
been portrayed by critics in the West as a form of neo-colonialism. Now leaders
within Africa are starting to suggest that the Asian giant must take a broader
view of its role in the continent. - Yitzhak Shichor
(Dec 8, '09)
Drywall can corrode US-China
links
Evidence is growing that defects in Chinese-made drywall - a building material
- used in the United States is heaping more misery on thousands of already
financially beleaguered US homeowners. The scale of damage and costs is
unfolding slowly, but the resulting disillusion could spread to corrode the
international body politic. - Benjamin A Shobert
(Dec 1, '09)
Fair wind blows for China's
Longyuan Power
China Longyuan Power Group, its US$2.3 billion share offering in Hong Kong
attracting strong demand, is taking full advantage of the fair wind blowing at
the backs of green-energy producers. With international alternative-energy
cooperation on the increase, other outfits are also trying to cash in, one way
or another, on climate concerns. - Ryan Rutkowski
(Dec 1, '09)
Macau leader raises integrity
doubts
Macau's new chief executive, Fernando Chui Sai-on, has raised concerns about
future government integrity in the Chinese territory's gambling haven with his
choice of a new anti-corruption commissioner and by dropping the previous
government's top auditor. - Olivia Chung (Nov
30, '09)
Rusal's crossroads - Russia,
Libya or China
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, international creditor banks and the Kremlin
should know this week if shares of his debt-burdened United Company Rusal can
be listed in the Chinese special region of Hong Kong. Closely watching are
Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, a potential investor; the government of Guinea, source
of much of Rusal's raw supplies; and China - which recognizes in Guinea a
source of a much-needed product if Rusal is out of the way. - John Helmer
(Nov 24, '09)
Rusal tests Hong Kong's waters
Members of the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gather on
Thursday to discuss the listing plans of United Company Rusal, the first
application lodged by a Russian company to sell shares in the city's market.
More than the possible US$3 billion value of the share sale will be at stake. - John
Helmer (Nov 18, '09)
CHINA'S REVOLUTION, Part 5
Surplus and capital formation
China's post-revolution challenge was to transform a feudal economy whose
surpluses were mostly unproductive into a system that would increase capital
formation and hence national income. Land reform, a significant contributor in
the pursuit of this goal, remains a key issue in the country's progress and
potential. - Henry CK Liu (Nov 18, '09)
This is the fifth article in a multi-part series.
Part 1:
In the beginning was Tiananmen
Part 2:
Revolutionary lessons
Part 3:
Lessons of the Soviet experience
Part 4:
Mao's legacy lives on
China's phone firms help Africa
go mobile
Overshadowed by China's big-number infrastructure and commodity projects in
Africa, the country's phone companies, such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE
Corp, are helping to bring affordable mobile-phone communications to the
continent's people. - Peter J Brown (Nov 17,
'09)
China trade surplus shadows
Obama visit
China's still surging trade surplus and rising unemployment in the United
States ensure that trade will be a key topic when US President Barack Obama
visits Beijing next week. Preliminary talk of friendly competition and
opposition to protectionism is unlikely to be a prelude to a change in hard
political realities. - Olivia Chung (Nov 12,
'09)
China keeps its purse open for
Africa
China's policy of no-strings-attached aid to Africa, augmented this week with a
pledge of more assistance in agriculture and infrastructure on top of a US$10
billion promise on loans, is welcomed by the continents' leaders, even as
critics continue to question Beijing's motives. - Antoaneta Bezlova
(Nov 10, '09)
China hints at move to rein in
growth
China's decision to increase the number of funds that invest domestic savings
in overseas markets may be a prelude to a tighter monetary policy as the
country's recovering economy surges towards double-digit growth. - Olivia Chung
(Nov 4, '09)
China electrifies urban transit
Chinese companies such as Zhengzhou Yutong Bus and Anhui Ankai Automobile
China, at present little known outside their home country, are seeking to lead
the world in making public buses fit for a health-conscious world. In their
favor is a vast and growing urban population - and a government determined to
clean up China's megacities. - Ryan Rutkowski
(Nov 3, '09)
China stocks surge on new board
debut
High returns and high risks is the name of the game as never before in China's
stock markets, with values of companies listed on the world's newest exchange,
the small-market ChiNext based in Shenzhen, surging on its opening day on
Friday. - Olivia Chung (Oct 30, '09)
China leads solar home
revolution
Chinese homes are increasingly likely to carry a solar water heater on the
roof, with one in 10 families already owning devices. This is attracting
overseas investment into the fragmented market, while local companies are also
boosting sales overseas. - Ryan Rutkowski (Oct
28, '09)
India-China nudge forward on climate
issues An agreement between China and India to increase
their cooperation on renewable energy and power efficiency indicated their
desire to tackle climate-change concerns, even as they continue to oppose
Western demands for binding cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
(Oct 28, '09)
Yuan gaining currency beyond
China
Beijing's apparent disinterest in developing a policy on the convertibility of
the yuan has given way since the global financial crisis to a clear
determination to increase international use of the Chinese currency,
particularly by its Asian neighbors. The launch in January of the China-ASEAN
free trade area will help to accelerate this regionalization of the currency. - Russell
Hsiao
(Oct 28, '09)
China challenge for African
prosperity
China's increasing dependence on Africa for oil and minerals is being matched
by concern that only a few Africans benefit from the big deals involved. Extra
vigilance and a new attitude to training and development could change that, as
China's own success in reducing poverty demonstrates.
(Oct 27, '09)
SUN WUKONG
China's insurers denied run of property
The Chinese government's decision to allow insurance companies to invest some
of their near US$500 billion in holdings directly in real estate has property
developers keenly anticipating a new inflow of cash. Yet the red tape with
which Beijing is tying up the reform should be sufficient to ensure no quick
bucks - or sharp losses - for anyone. - Wu Zhong
(Oct 26, '09)
Property too hot to handle in Hong Kong
A world-record price for an apartment in Hong Kong highlights rising
demand from wealthy mainland Chinese, while a 26% surge in prices since January
raises fears of a bubble. This boom has prompted calls for restrictions on
non-Hong Kong residents buying residential housing, and for the government to
release its vice-like grip on land. - Olivia Chung
(Oct 22, '09)
China's graduate glut grows
Beijing's efforts to reshape the manufacture-driven economy as a high-knowledge
one through increased enrollment have resulted in swelling ranks of unemployed
graduates, with last year's downturn exacerbating the situation. And for some
of the graduates who do get a job, they earn less than migrant workers.
(Oct 21, '09)
Beijing takes on Latin America
China is increasingly deepening its aid and investment ties with Latin America,
while also playing an expanding role as an alternative provider of technology
and military goods. In particular, Brazil's economic performance has been
driven, in part, by its export-oriented iron and soy industries, for which
China is a key customer. (Oct 21, '09)
New broom may sweep Google China
ahead
Lee Kai-fu's decision to quit his job as head of Google China has been
portrayed as a major setback for the company as it struggles to catch up with
mainland rival Baidu. Yet his successor's background and preference for a
less-technology heavy approach could play very much in the United States
company's favor. - Sherman So (Oct 19, '09)
Sechin's energy enigma
Russia's agreement in principle to supply up to 70 billion cubic meters a year
of natural gas by pipeline to China raises a discomfiting question for Deputy
Prime Minister Igor Sechin - if the Chinese haven't agreed on a price for the
gas, is there a real deal to sell it? Either way, gas monopoly Gazprom looks to
have come out ahead. - John Helmer (Oct 15,
'09)
Tsang keeps purse strings tight
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who oversees a city with about US$64
billion in fiscal reserves and a budget surplus even amid the present downturn,
used his annual policy address to promise redevelopment of a few old buildings
and to give handouts for light bulbs. The city's increasing numbers of
unemployed and impoverished appear to have disappeared off his radar. - Olivia
Chung (Oct 15, '09)
Price limit on China-Russia
friendship
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's latest visit to China indicates that a
closer strategic cooperation is developing between the two countries. Beijing's
determination to drive a hard bargain on the price of gas imports, a change
from the offer of oil-related concessionary loans earlier this year, indicates
that the cooperation has its limits. - Robert M Cutler
(Oct 15, '09)
China's rich throw lifeline to
the West
Western makers of luxury products are enjoying a sales boom in China, as the
number of rich Chinese continues to grow while the rest of the world struggles
amid the continuing downturn. - Olivia Chung (Oct
14, '09)
Duty call trips Russia steel
game
Russian steel bosses and coal-miners, in Beijing this week with Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin hoping to secure business-bolstering agreements with
China, have been done few favors by a Russian Trade Ministry recommendation for
a near 30% penalty duty on imported Chinese line pipes. As it is, the Russians
appear to be playing Chinese checkers, while the Chinese are playing something
much more complex. - John Helmer (Oct 13,
'09)
Wynn the master of Macau gamble
Gaming magnate Stephen Wynn's bet that punters would flock to buy shares in his
Macau casino interests, made as the outlook soured for new listings in Hong
Kong, has paid off big time, with the risky initial US$1.6 billion sale being
followed by a soaring stock price on the first day of trading. - Olivia Chung
(Oct 9, '09)
Currency fiddlers wrong to cry
foul
China and other countries seeking an end to the US dollar's status in global
commerce should stop crying foul as the dollar's value slides. Instead, they
should abandon currency manipulation and let their populations purchase more US
goods and services. - Peter Morici (Oct 8,
'09)
SPEAKING FREELY
China's electric car revolution
In a world in which market mechanisms determine consumption patterns, it seems
unlikely that clean cars will be able to make significant inroads until the
last drop of oil is sucked out of the ground. But just maybe, China's market
and subsidized rush for electric vehicles could help it mass manufacture
environmentally-friendly autos for the rest of the world. - Ryan Rutkowski
(Oct 8, '09)
China stands firm against market
scramble
China has little intention of letting its role as the world's factory decline
or of allowing its currency to strengthen faster, despite the Group of 20's
pledge to work towards reducing global trade imbalances. Beijing believes the
true nature of such demands is a scramble by the United States for markets.
(Oct 7, '09)
Shanda Games shows its wrinkles
China's Shanda Interactive is laughing all the way to the bank after the US$1
billion spin-off and Nasdaq listing of its Shanda Games unit, while buyers of
the stock are wondering why their fingers got burnt. Perhaps they forgot that
when it comes to games, age matters. - Sherman So
(Oct 6, '09)
SPEAKING FREELY
China's eye on African
agriculture
China is investing huge amounts in African agricultural resources, but is it
being self-interested and disadvantaging Africa or is it truly seeking to help
the continent to address its widespread hunger? The record thus far does not
support Western cries of Chinese neo-colonialism. But Africa must be on its
guard and protect its poor farmers. - Carl Rubinstein
(Oct 1, '09)
Hong Kong faces Rusal dilemma
Shares of Rusal, Russia's aluminum monopoly, may soon be up for sale in Hong
Kong. Much will depend on how Hong Kong stock exchange investigators view the
proposed initial public offering and the state of play in court cases elsewhere
in the world. - John Helmer (Sep 30, '09)
China moves into reserve
position
China's leaders react to change, rather than orchestrate it. They are also
pragmatic, learning from the country's economic transformation that there are
no global models, but that each country knows what works best for it. Right
now, what's best for China is to become the reserve bank to the International
Monetary Fund. - Laurence Brahm (Sep 30, '09)
Guangxi flies regional trade
flag
China's southwest Guangxi region is preparing to host representatives from
across Southeast Asia in a trade fair that, more than most, represents the
growing integration of China and its southern neighbors into a thriving and
complex economic center. - Tim Summers (Sep
25, '09)
China hedges emissions pledge
President Hu Jintao's promise to world leaders to break China away from its
highly polluting ways came with gaps and caveats that mean its overall level of
greenhouse gas emissions could still grow. (Sep 24,
'09)
China faces a retail reality
check
Premier Wen Jiabao's dire warnings of continued instability seem out of step
with China's recently announced surge in retail sales. As the sales upturn has
been driven mostly by steep discounts, government subsidies and promotions -
and accompanied by crashing revenues - Wen's skepticism is likely nearer the
target. - Olivia Chung (Sep 18, '09)
AirMedia gambles on Shanghai
space
AirMedia, barely four years in existence, has made its
advertising screens a must-see for practically all China's air travellers.
After adding Shanghai's main terminals to a portfolio headed by Beijing
International Airport, where 55 million people pass the company's products each
year, the trick now is to make the business pay. - Sherman So
(Sep 16, '09)
'Tire war' strains US-China
relations
Some analysts worry that the war of words between Washington and Beijing over
recent tariffs imposed on Chinese tire imports could spark a trade war of
retaliatory measures and spur a protectionist trend in United States President
Barack Obama's trade policy. (Sep 16, '09)
COMMENT
Obama in showdown over Chinese
tires
United States President Barack Obama's attempt to be all things to all people
on trade issues has run its course, as his labor union campaign backers force a
decision on whether punitive tariffs should be imposed on tires imported from
China. The Chinese, though, have allies, in the shape of US tiremakers. - Patrick
Chovanec (Sep 9, '09)
Pakistan acts to guard Chinese
interests
A change in status for Pakistan's Northern Areas, now known as Gilgit
Baltistan, reflects a desire to improve security for China's growing financial
stakes in the strategic region. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Sep 3, '09)
Rent soars for Hong Kong cage
dwellers
Hong Kong's economic downturn is turning into good news for some of the city's
landlords and, with low-skilled unemployment as high as 11%, bad news for
thousands of tenants forced to pay higher rents to live in squalid metal cages.
- Olivia Chung (Sep 2, '09)
Google, Baidu do battle
in China's 3G frontier
Google's world dominance of Internet search stops at China, where it has more
then met its match in local rival Baidu. Now it hopes to turn the tables as the
world's biggest mobile-phone market switches over to third-generation
technology. Yet as the two giants battle it out, they may find deep pockets and
fancy applications are not enough. - Sherman So
(Sep 2, '09)
SUN WUKONG
China admits pay fudge
China's top number cruncher has come clean on his bureau's income statistics -
they ignore millions of non-state workers, although they contribute about
two-thirds of China's gross domestic product. The omission goes against the
wishes of Premier Wen Jiabao, but suits local bureaucrats just fine. - Wu Zhong
(Sep 1, '09)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
Copyright 1999 - 2010 Asia Times Online
(Holdings), Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
