|
China’s Rise:
China’s Economic and Social
Developments
~
2004 ; 2005 ; 2006 ; 2007
[News] [Papers]
China’s Wen Reassures
Student on Jobs amid Crisis
(Reuters, Dec. 21, 2008) Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao, in a surprise visit to a Beijing
university, tried reassuring students they would be able to find jobs amid
the current global economic woes, and promised more unspecified steps to help
the economy.
China’s President Hu Urges
Growth and Stability
(Reuters, Dec. 18, 2008) China must focus on economic
growth and social stability in the face of a global slump, President Hu
Jintao said, vowing a stronger state role in steering market reforms.
China Is Said to Restore
Blocks on Web Sites
(New York Times, Dec. 17, 2008) The Chinese
government has quietly begun preventing access again to Web sites that it had
stopped blocking during the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, Internet
experts said.
On Rights Day, China Hails
Gains and Detains Protesters
(New York Times, Dec. 11, 2008) China celebrated
International Human Rights Day with newspaper editorials and television
commentaries hailing what they called the country’s “unremitting efforts” and
“nonstop progress” in promoting free speech and individual rights.
Slumping Trade a Sign of
Great Fall for China By Don Lee
(LA Times, Dec. 11, 2008) The 2.2% drop in
exports from November 2007, reported by the government, underscores the
rapidly deteriorating conditions in China's economy. In October, the nation
had posted a 19.2% jump in exports from a year earlier.
Yuan Falls Most Since End of
Currency Link Before Paulson Visit
(Bloomberg, Dec. 1, 2008) China’s yuan fell the most since the
government ended a fixed exchange rate in 2005, supporting the nation’s
exporters three days before U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson visits Beijing.
Chinese Leader Says China
Losing Competitive Edge
(AP, Nov. 30, 2008) Chinese President Hu Jintao
warned that China
has started to lose its competitive edge in trade amid the global financial
crisis.
China Rate Cut Highlights
Concern Over Slowdown, Jobs
(Bloomberg, Nov. 28, 2008) China’s biggest
interest-rate cut in 11 years highlights government concerns that the country
risks spiraling unemployment, social unrest and the deepest economic slowdown
in almost two decades.
Protest-hit China Says Job
Stability Top Priority
(Reuters, Nov. 20, 2008) Stabilizing employment
is the top priority for China, a minister said on Thursday as he revealed a
rise in jobless workers triggered by a weakened export sector amid a series
of strikes and protests.
Hu Tells Leaders China
Growth Will Help World Economy
(Bloomberg, Nov. 16, 2008) Chinese President Hu Jintao,
speaking to leaders from the Group of 20 nations in Washington,
said China
can help alleviate the impact of the financial crisis and slowing global
growth by stoking its own economy.
China’s Hu Goes to
Washington Wary of Wish-list
(Reuters, Nov. 14, 2008) China goes to the
Washington financial summit facing expectations for global leadership that
innate caution and domestic fears leave it unready to shoulder.
China Says It Can Withstand
World Crisis
(AP, Oct. 30, 2008) China said its financial
markets would remain stable enough to allow it help ex-Soviet Central Asian
countries weather the global economic crisis while appearing to snub Western
calls for Beijing to help boost the IMF’s bailout pot for countries worst hit
by the financial meltdown.
China to Allow Land Leasing,
Transfer
(Washington Post, Oct. 20, 2008) China's
Communist Party issued new rules on Sunday that would allow farmers to lease
their contracted farmland or transfer their land-use rights.
Premier: China’s Government
Shares Responsibility
(AP, Oct. 18, 2008) In a rare admission by a
member of China’s
leadership, China's
Premier Wen Jiabao says the government was partly responsible for the tainted
milk scandal.
China’s Economy Shows Signs
of Weakening
(Vancouver
Sun, Oct. 2, 2008) While China's official statistics show the economy is
still steaming ahead, there are other signs the pace of economic growth is
already slowing down as many observers have long feared it would.
China Can Best Help World by
Growing Fast: Wen
(Reuters, Sep. 27, 2008) Premier Wen Jiabao expressed
confidence on Saturday that China could maintain fast growth and said this
was the greatest contribution it could make to help the world weather the
current financial crisis.
‘China Repression Grow’,
Says US
(BBC, Sep. 20, 2008) Repression of religious
freedom in some parts of China
has intensified over the past year, the US government says.
China Wealth Fund Plays Down
Morgan Stanley Talk
(Reuter, Sep. 19, 2008) China Investment Corp
dampened speculation that the sovereign wealth fund could be ready to
increase its stake in U.S.
investment bank Morgan Stanley.
China Eclipses US as Japan’s
Biggest Customer
(Telegraph, Aug. 21, 2008) China has replaced the US as Japan's biggest customer,
underlining the emergence of the country in the global economy.
China Became Net Food
Importer in 1st Half
(Reuters, Aug. 21, 2008) The swing into deficit
sheds an interesting light on China's stance in last month's abortive global
trade talks when Beijing is increasingly concerned about food
security.
Poll: Most in China Expect
Olympics to Help Image
(AP, Jul. 22, 2008) Overwhelming numbers of Chinese
say next month's Olympics will help their country's tattered image abroad,
and they predict the Beijing Games will be successful, according to a poll
released Tuesday. Pew Research Center Survey
Report
China Orders Probe into
Latest Rural Clash
(Reuters, Jul. 21, 2008) China flew a provincial Communist party boss
to a remote rubber-growing area of southwestern Yunnan to investigate a weekend clash
between police and residents in which two people were killed, state media
said.
China’s Foreign Investment Up
45 Percent at US$52.4 Billion in First Half of 2008 (AP, Jul. 11, 2008) Foreign investment in China in the first half
of the year rose 45 percent over the same period a year ago to US$52.4
billion, the government said Friday.
China’s Trade Surplus Falls
Nearly 12 Percent in First Half: Customs
(AFP, Jul. 10, 2008) China's trade surplus reached
99.04 billion dollars in the first half of 2008, the customs bureau said
Thursday, a fall of nearly 12 percent from a year ago.
China’s Economy to Become
World’s Biggest in 2035: Study
(AFP, Jul. 9, 2008) China's economy will overtake that of the United States
by 2035 and be twice its size by midcentury, a study released Tuesday by the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace concluded.
Thousands March for Greater
Democracy in HK
(Reuters, Jul. 2, 2008) Thousands in Hong Kong
urged Beijing
to grant it greater democracy on Tuesday, with a recent furor over newly
appointed political aides stoking perceptions of the unelected government's
lack of accountability.
U.N.’s Ban Calls on China to
Be Bigger Peacemaker
(Reuters, Jul. 1, 2008) U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged China
to match its growing economic and political clout with more funding and
troops for peacekeeping operations to meet growing international crises.
China Calls for Rich Country
Help on Climate Change
(Reuters, Jun. 29, 2008) Addressing climate change head-on is in China's best interests, but it
needs developed countries to do their fair share, President Hu Jintao said in
a speech reported by the Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
China Still Lags Behind U.S.
in Influence, Survey Shows
(New York Times, Jun. 17, 2008) Despite China’s
remarkable economic rise, and its efforts to spread its influence in Asia
through what is known as “soft power,” the country still lags far behind the
United States in that sphere, according to a survey to be released Tuesday. Pew Global Attitudes Project A recent survey shows
approval for China
is down while respect is up.
Asia Soft Power Survey 2008 By Christopher Whitney and David Shambaugh (Chicago
Council on Global Affairs, Jun. 2008) As China prepares to host the 2008
Olympics and display the result of its great economic progress to the world,
the survey finds that in the estimation of most Americans and many Asians,
China still has a way to go to claim the world’s full recognition as a
multifaceted power.
New
Disease Outbreaks in China; 15K Children Infected
(AP, May 8, 2008) New outbreaks in China reported Wednesday put the number of
children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 15,000 and the
death toll has risen to at least 28 across the country.
China Calls for Halt in
'Radical' Anti-France Demonstrations
(AP, Apr. 23, 2008) With praise for the French president and appeals for
calm, China's leadership
signaled that it is ready to put an end to anti-France sentiment that has swept the country since the
chaotic Olympic torch
relay in Paris.
Protests of the West Spread in China
(New York Times, Apr. 21, 2008) Nationwide demonstrations against a French
supermarket chain spread on Sunday as thousands of people protested what they
said was France’s sympathy for
pro-Tibetan agitators. The protesters have also been singling out Western
news outlets, especially CNN, for what they said was biased coverage of
unrest in Tibet.
China Urges Control of
'Patriotic Fervor' over Tibet
(AFP, Apr. 18, 2008) China has urged its people to contain their patriotism,
in the first sign Beijing may be
growing uncomfortable with a nationalist outburst over the Tibet issue that
it has tacitly supported.
Europeans See China as Biggest
Threat to Global Stability: Poll
(AFP, Apr. 15, 2008) Europeans see China
as a bigger threat to global stability than the United
States, Iran
or North Korea,
according to a poll. The Harris survey for the Financial Times showed that an average of 35 percent of
voters in Britain,
France, Germany, Spain and Italy saw China as the biggest
threat to global stability, compared to 29 percent who thought the same of
the United States.
China, New Zealand Sign Free Trade Deal
(AP, Apr. 7, 2008) China and New
Zealand signed a sweeping free trade agreement Monday, the rising economic
giant's first such pact with a developed country. The deal, signed by Chinese
Commerce Minister Chen Deming and his New
Zealand counterpart, Phil Goff, will give New Zealand
access to one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
China Hopes to Tame Its
Rapid Economic Growth
(Associated Press, Mar. 5, 2008) China's premier called for "powerful
measures" to rein in the persisting inflation battering ordinary
Chinese, saying the government will use further price controls and curb
soaring investment to hold prices to a 4.8% rise.
China's Communist Party
Approves Leadership, Reform Plans
(AFP, Feb. 28, 2008) China's
ruling communist party approved top leadership jobs and government reform
plans Wednesday, ahead of the annual session of its parliament next week,
state media said.
China Turns to Economic
Controls
(Associated Press, Feb. 11, 2008) Fighting stubbornly high inflation, China's
leaders dusted off a blunt tool from its pre-market reform era and commanded
utility companies to freeze electricity prices.
China Tries to Reassure U.S.
About Its Investing Plans
(New York Times, Feb. 1, 2008) The head of China’s $200 billion government
investment fund, seeking to reassure Americans nervous about the possibility
of foreign takeovers, said that China would invest mostly in portfolios
rather than individual companies — except when a “big fat rabbit” like the
investment banker Morgan Stanley came along.
China Snow Crisis Shows
Vulnerability
(AP, Jan. 31, 2008) China's
financial capital saw fresh snowfall as the impact of unusually wintry
weather deepened, highlighting the vulnerabilities of the country's booming
economy. Heavy snows in recent days have stalled shipments of food and fuel,
complicating authorities' efforts to combat a spike in inflation.
Foreign Companies Pour Money into China:
Govt
(Agence France Presse, Jan. 22, 2008) Foreign firms invested a record 82.7
billion dollars in booming China
last year, the government said, with analysts adding the tide of money had
undermined efforts to slow economic growth. The 2007 figure for foreign
direct investment, or FDI, was up 13.8 percent from a year earlier.
China's Trade Surplus Surges to
Record
(AP, Jan. 11, 2008) China's
global trade surplus soared nearly 50 percent last year to a record despite
an avalanche of safety warnings and recalls of Chinese-made products abroad.
The sharp rise could add to pressure on Beijing
to act on currency controls and import barriers.
China to Launch Rockets, Manned Mission, in Olympic Year
(Associated Press, Jan. 8, 2008) China plans to launch its third
manned space mission that will feature its first-ever space walk during 2008.
China
will also send up 15 rockets and 17 satellites. In 2003, China became only the third country in the
world after the United States
and Russia
to send a human into orbit. It followed with a two-man mission in 2005.
China Clamps Down on Internet
(AFP, Jan. 4, 2008) China has announced tough new rules to crack down on the
explosion of audio-visual content on the Internet, reiterating that sex and
politically sensitive material will not be tolerated. Only state-controlled
entities will have the right to operate websites that post audio-visual
content, according to the rules.
Morgan Stanley Sets Price for China
Deal
(AP, Dec. 25, 2007) Morgan Stanley and the Chinese government said that the U.S. investment bank has determined the range
of prices to be used when China's
international investment fund converts $5 billion worth of securities into
Morgan Stanley stock.
Hong
Kong Leader Presses China
for Vote
(NYT,
Dec 13, 2007) Facing widespread demands from the public for full democracy to
be introduced within five years, the Hong Kong
government urged the Chinese government on Wednesday to set a firm timetable
for direct elections for the region’s leader and legislature.
As Trade Slows, China
Rethinks Its Growth Strategy By Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Jan. 1, 2009)
Particularly noteworthy have been the Chinese government’s steps to help
labor-intensive sectors like garment production, one of the industries China
has been trying to move away from in an effort to climb the ladder of
economic development.
In China, Media Make Small
Strides By Maureen Fan
(Washington
Post, Dec. 28, 2008) President Hu Jintao
said in June that news coverage of emergency incidents should be more timely,
authoritative and transparent, but he stressed the need to adhere to party
propaganda.
The China Growth Fantasy By
Yasheng Huang
(Wall Street Journal, Dec. 21, 2008) China
is one of the few countries in the world endowed with the land mass, the
energetic and talented population, and the entrepreneurship to become a true
global economic powerhouse. But that potential has been squandered by a
misguided development strategy that privileges production at the expense of
consumption.
After 30 Years, Economic
Perils on China’s Path By Jim Yardley
(New York Times, Dec. 19, 2008) Beyond the
oratory, Mr. Hu and other Chinese leaders are now facing a new era in which
Deng’s export-led economic model, as well as his iron-fisted political
control, face unprecedented challenges.
Divergence Grows Between
China and the West—Part I By Xu Sitao (YaleGlobal, Dec. 18, 2008) Like so many other nations, China’s
hands are tied when it comes to demonstrating international leadership or
offering aid, especially on policies preferred by the West. China’s priority is looking after
the interests of its own people, which in the long term benefits the world.
China’s Communist Party
Cautiously Celebrates Its Reforms By
Peter Ford (Christian Science Monitor, Dec.
23, 2008) After riding the tiger of rising expectations so successfully for
so long, the government may have met its match in the international economic
crisis.
China’s Charter
(Editorial, Washington Post, Dec. 17, 2008) What
they advocate, as Charter 2008 puts it, is to "embrace universal human
values [and] join the mainstream of civilized nations." That's an offer
that ever more Russians and Chinese are likely to find preferable to
21st-century dictatorships.
With Strikes, China’s New
Middle Class Vents Anger By Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington
Post, Dec. 17, 2008) Rural protests, often led by impoverished farmers angry
over land seizures that leave them unable to feed their families, have
occurred sporadically over the past decade. But richer, more educated Chinese
are behind the recent strikes, which have disrupted life in China's cities.
What China Can Learn from 1929 By
Michael Pettis
(Newsweek, Dec. 22, 2008) As the key sources of
the imbalance, the United States
and China
must recognize the roles each must play in resolving the crisis. America must reduce spending to bring its
overconsumption down, and China
must reduce overcapacity.
A Straitjacket for Criticism
(Editorial, Boston Globe, Dec. 12, 2008) Reform
is needed for sure, but not only in the economic sphere. The ultimate break
with the old Maoist ways would be to let the Chinese people speak their
minds.
The Second Long March
(The Economist, Dec. 11, 2008) Now Chinese
officials fret about the possibility of growing unrest as the economy suffers
the impact of the global crisis. Democrats must wait.
Keep China on the Capitalist
Road By Fred Hu
(Wall Street Journal, Dec. 11, 2008) Of the many
actual and possible victims of the current global slowdown, one of the most
troubling could turn out to be China's process of economic
opening and reform.
China Grapples with New
Social Safety Net By Lucy Homby
(Reuters, Dec. 9,
2008) Creating a new social safety net for millions of workers cast
adrift in the past 15 years has emerged as a key challenge for the Communist
Party -- especially given the global economic downturn could create waves of
more unemployed.
China Economy at Crossroads
After 30 Years of Reform By Alan Wheatley (Reuters, Dec. 7, 2008) For 30 years, concentrating resources in
the hands of the government through state ownership and taxes has served China
well. But the private consumption needed to power self-sustained growth is
lacking.
Chinese State Media Pushes
for Press Freedom By Malcolm Moore
(Telegraph, Dec. 5, 2008) Xinhua, the Chinese
government's news agency, has condemned officials who try to cover up dissent
and called for greater press freedom in the internet age.
China Scholar Warns of
Social Turmoil As Growth Slows
(Reuters, Dec. 4, 2008) China risks massive
social turmoil next year as the economy slows and the number of angry jobless
grows, a leading Communist Party scholar has warned.
Factory Closures, Layoffs
Stir Unrest in China By Calum MacLeod
(USA Today, Dec. 2, 2008) A wave of often violent
protests poses a challenge to China's ruling Communist Party, as people take
to the streets on issues ranging from factory closures to government land
grabs.
Ex-bad Boy China Praised at
Climate Talks By Arthur Max
(AP, Dec. 2, 2008) Once global warming's bad boy,
China is now winning praise for its upbeat role in climate talks, a
turnaround perhaps brought on by the effects of carbon emissions on its
choking cities, shrinking water resources and increasingly flooded lowlands.
China Defines Future with
Peasant Migration to City By Norman Levine (Washington Times, Dec. 2, 2008)
With a population of 1.3 billion, and with a vast demography of farmer
poverty, China
is confronting one of the major socioeconomic challenges of the 21st century:
how to overcome the class polarization of urban wealth and agricultural
deprivation.
Leadership Gap in China By
Elizabeth Economy
(Washington Post, Dec. 1, 2008) In the midst of a
global financial crisis, the world has come to China's doorstep seeking leadership.
Yet China's
leaders have largely kept the door shut. China wants to be a responsible
partner, not a global leader.
China Can No Longer Save
World By Michael Sheridan
(Times, Nov. 30, 2008) If the world was looking
for China
to save it, the actions of Chinese leaders in the past few weeks suggest they
intend to save their own economy first.
China’s Taxi Strikes: A Test
for the Government By Simon Elegant
(Time, Nov. 28, 2008) By a rough estimate, this
was the eighth time in four weeks that taxi drivers around the nation had
slammed on their brakes, making the rolling strikes the longest sustained
chain reaction of labor unrest in the history of the People's Republic.
China’s Media Seen Gradually
Freeing Up By Ben Blanchard
(Reuters, Nov. 27, 2008) China's media is not as
tightly controlled as foreigners make it out to be but serving demands to
maintain "social stability" means reporters must heed official
guidance.
Regions Won’t Dance to
Beijing’s Tune By Wu Zhong
(Asia Times, Nov. 26, 2008) It may be too
far-fetched to explain the controversy as a manifestation of intensified
power struggles in the party - it is more likely a good example of the open secret that regional authorities will often circumvent
policies from Beijing deemed not to be in the region's interests.
Did Britain Just Sell Tibet? By
Robert Barnett
(New York Times, Nov. 25, 2008) The financial
crisis is going to do more than increase unemployment, bankruptcy and
homelessness. It is also likely to reshape international alignments,
sometimes in ways that we would not expect.
China Basks in APEC
Limelight, Balks at Star Role By Chris Buckley
(Reuters, Nov. 23, 2008) China will keep edging towards
greater activism on world economy, while fending off the demands roused by
its huge foreign exchange reserves and exports, said a Beijing-based expert.
China Will Be a Winner in
the New Economy By Zachary Karabell
(Wall Street Journal, Nov. 22, 2008) In the new
system the United States
will still be the largest economy but no longer the sole determinant of
global economic health. The new winners will be cash and China.
Chinese Governor,
Demonstrators Hold High-Profile Meeting By
Lauren Keane (Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2008) A senior
Chinese official met with participants in a recent riot as the government
sought to highlight how much it was doing in the face of a shaky economy and
an increasingly restive population.
Thousands Battle Police in
China’s Northwest By Andrew Jacobs
(New York Times, Nov. 19, 2008) A local newspaper
and Xinhua, the official news agency, said the skirmishes began Monday and
involved 2,000 people.
China’s Huge Poverty Gap
Slowing Growth, UN Says By Tania Branigan (Guardian, Nov. 17, 2008) The gulf between rich and poor in China
is affecting growth by deterring consumption and holding down productivity,
according to a report released by the United Nations Development Program.
China Signals It Is Ready to
Help IMF By Jane Macartney
(Times, Nov. 14, 2008) With Chinese President Hu
Jintao set to be a focus of international hopes at the G20 meeting of world
leaders, Beijing gave its first clear signal that is ready to help the
International Monetary Fund to help countries hit by the global credit
crisis.
China’s New Deal
(Independent, Nov. 11, 2008) Poverty breeds
division; division begets weakness; weakness brings national humiliation, as
it did for so much of China's story in the 20th century. China's leaders will be very
happy to spend their way out of that particular problem.
China Unveils Sweeping Plan
for Economy By David Barboza
(New York Times, Nov. 10, 2008) China announced a huge
economic stimulus plan on Sunday
aimed at bolstering its weakening economy, a sweeping move that could also
help fight the effects of the global slowdown.
Once Sizzling, China’s
Economy Shows Rapid Signs of Fizzling By
David Barboza (New York Times, Nov. 7, 2008)
Just as China attained supercharged growth that astounded much of the world,
it appears to be slowing more sharply and more quickly than anyone
anticipated.
As China’s Losses Mount,
Confidence Turns to Fear By Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington Post, Nov. 4, 2008) In the initial weeks of the global
financial crisis, Chinese officials resolutely declared that they were not
significantly affected. But now, the Communist Party's confidence has changed
to another feeling entirely: fear.
As China Goes, So Goes …
(Editorial, New York Times, Oct. 27,
2008) A boost to consumer spending would undoubtedly help China weather the economic storm.
But by raising Chinese imports and reducing its dependence on exports, it
would also help the rest of the world.
Hu Says China’s Economy
Stable, Pledges Coordination on Crisis By
Dune Lawrence (Bloomberg, Oct. 25, 2008)
Chinese President Hu Jintao
said maintaining his country's economic growth rate, the fastest among major
economies, is the best way to combat a credit crisis that threatens a global
recession.
China’s Activist Wins Rights
Prize By Jim Yardley
(New York Times, Oct. 24, 2008) In
a rebuke of China’s
Communist Party, the European Parliament gave a prestigious human rights
prize to Hu Jia, an imprisoned advocate for democracy in China.
China’s 3rd-Quarter GDP
Drops Sharply By Ariana Eunjung Cha
(Washington Post, Oct. 21, 2008) If China's
growth falls below 8 percent, it "would be equivalent to a recession in
advanced economies" because that pace is needed to support the labor
market.
Giants Feel the Pinch By
Rowan Callick
(The Australian, Oct. 20, 2008) The global
meltdown is starting to claim its first casualties in China and India, the Asian giants whose
economies were believed to be mostly insulated from the international
financial crisis.
China Enacts Major Land-Use
Reform By Jim Yardley
(New York Times, Oct. 19, 2008) After days of
uncertainty, the governing Communist Party announced a rural reform policy
that for the first time would allow farmers to lease or transfer land-use
rights, a step that advocates say would raise lagging incomes in the Chinese
countryside.
Wary of Islam, China
Tightens a Vise of Rules By Edward Wong
(New York Times, Oct. 18, 2008) To be a
practicing Muslim in Xinjiang is to live under an intricate series of laws
and regulations intended to control the spread and practice of Islam, the
predominant religion among the Uighurs.
China Extends Olympic-style Foreign
Media Freedom at Last Minute By Richard Spencer (Telegraph, Oct. 18, 2008) China has enacted new regulations
giving foreign journalists freedom to travel around the country, confirming
hints that this Olympics-related reform would be a "lasting legacy"
of the Games.
Promises, Promises
(The Economist, Oct. 16, 2008) Chinese academics
have long argued that a freer and better-regulated rural property market is
essential if peasants are to enjoy more of the fruits of growth.
Hints of Discord on China
Land Reform By Edward Wong
(New York Times, Oct. 15, 2008) Chinese leaders have
yet to announce details of a rural reform policy they said they adopted on
Sunday, contributing to speculation that Communist Party officials are in
disagreement on major aspects of the policy.
China Land Reform Disappears
from Radar By Mark Magnier
(LA Times, Oct. 15, 2008) By the time the
closed-door meeting wrapped up Sunday, the issue had all but disappeared from
public view. It wasn't even mentioned in the final communique from the
368-member decision-making body.
China Democracy: Reformer’s
Words Signal a New Debate on Political Reform By
Malcolm Moore (Telegraph, Oct. 14, 2008)
President Hu Jintao has promised "more extensive democratic rights"
by 2020, without being more specific, and this is also the year when China's
booming economy should deliver per capita GNP of $3,000, ushering in
"moderate prosperity for all."
Radical Reforms to Set
China’s Farmers Free By David Stanway
(Guardian, Oct. 13, 2008) Thirty years after
first setting out on the capitalist road, China's ruling Communist party has
approved bold proposals that aim to liberate 700 million peasants from their
state-owned land.
China Announces Land Policy
Aimed at Promoting Income Growth in Countryside By
Edward Wong (New York Times, Oct. 13,
2008) Chinese leaders said Sunday that they would adopt a rural growth policy
aimed at vastly increasing the income of China’s hundreds of millions of
farmers by the year 2020, setting in motion what could be the nation’s
biggest economic reform in years.
China’s Communist Rulers
Debate How to Respond to the Crisis of Capitalism By
David Eimer (Telegraph, Oct. 12, 2008) For
four days, the Chinese Communist Party elite has been meeting behind closed
doors in Beijing to thrash out how to prevent the global financial crisis
from damaging China's continued prosperity as much as that of the West.
China to Maintain ‘Fast and Stable’
Economic Growth, Yi Says By Nipa Piboontanasawat (Bloomberg, Oct. 11, 2008) China will boost domestic demand to
sustain the nation's “fast and stable” economic
growth, central bank Deputy Governor Yi Gang said.
In China, Leaders Turn Focus
to Farmers’ Plight By Andrew Batson
(Wall Street Journal, Oct. 10, 2008) The decision
to focus the high-level Communist Party conclave on rural matters shows how
China's relative insulation from the credit crunch is allowing it to continue
working on a crucial long-term issue. It also shows the gravity of the
situation in the countryside.
China Opposes Peace Prize
for Rights Activist
(AP, Oct. 9, 2008) China
said Thursday that a prominent Chinese human rights activist should not be
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, saying such an honor would go against the
spirit of the award.
World Shouldn’t Foot Bill
for US Woes—China Paper
(Reuters, Oct. 7, 2008) The People’s Daily
commentary comes against a background of speculation that China, with U.S.
bonds making up the lion's share of its $1.81 trillion in foreign exchange
reserves, could have a role to play in any globally coordinated response to
the meltdown.
China’s Rulers Vulnerable If
U.S. Contagion Hits Asia By Jonathan Manthorpe (Vancouver Sun, Oct. | 