Economic and Social Developments

China’s Rise:
China’s Economic and Social Developments

2008 Beijing Olympics

Exchange Rates and Internationalization of RMB

~ 2004 ; 2005 ; 2006 ; 2007; 2008; 2009

PRC Must Pursue Political Reform, Wen Jiabao Says
(Reuters, Aug. 23, 2010) China has to pursue political reform to safeguard its economic health, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said during a visit to the booming town of Shenzhen, Xinhua news agency reported.

Protesters Rally in China, Hong Kong Over Local Dialect
(AFP, Aug. 2, 2010) More than 1,000 protesters rallied in Guangzhou and Hong Kong yesterday against what they say is China’s bid to champion the national language, Mandarin, over their local dialect, Cantonese.

Wen Says China Faces Economic ‘Dilemmas’
(Wall Street Journal, Jul. 5, 2010) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday the country's economic policies "face increasing dilemmas" because the impact of the global financial crisis is more serious than expected.

China’s Inflation Picks Up
(Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2010) Chinese economic data out Tuesday showed that inflation picked up in April and that property prices continue to rise at record speed, while new lending also increased.

China Puts Power on Show at World Expo
(Reuters, Apr. 30, 2010) The Shanghai World Expo opening on Friday is the ruling Chinese Communist Party's latest extravagant use of money, underscoring the extent to which it seeks to brandish its power through flashy spectacle.

China Set to Tighten State-Secrets Law Forcing Internet Firms to Inform on Users (AP, Apr. 28, 2010) China is poised to strengthen a law requiring telecommunications and Internet companies to inform on customers who discuss state secrets.

China Gains Clout in World Bank Vote Shift
(Reuters, Apr. 25, 2010) The agreement increases the voting shares of some emerging and developing countries by 3.13 percent to a total 47 percent stake. It puts China's share behind that of the United States and Japan, but above Germany, Britain and France.

Long-Hated One-Child Rule May Be Eased in China
(AP, Apr. 25, 2010) The long-sacrosanct one-child policy may be on its way out, as some demographers warn that China is facing the opposite problem: not enough babies.

China Economy Grows 11.9%, Pressuring Wen on Yuan Peg
(Bloomberg, Apr. 15, 2010) China’s economic growth accelerated to the fastest pace in almost three years in the first quarter, adding pressure on Premier Wen Jiabao to sever the yuan’s peg to the dollar and raise interest rates.

China Sees First Trade Deficit in Years
(New York Times, Apr. 10, 2010) China announced on Saturday that it had a trade deficit of $7.24 billion last month, its first monthly trade deficit in nearly six years.

Rio Tinto Bribery Case Highlights Tensions with Foreign Business in China (Washington Post, Mar. 23, 2010) The case against Hu comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and the Western business community.

Official in China Says Western-Style Democracy Won’t Take Root There (New York Times, Mar. 21, 2010) A Chinese legislative official has said that China will not adopt Western-style democracy.

World Bank Urges China to Cool Its Economy
(Wall Street Journal, Mar. 16, 2010) The World Bank urged China's government to take more measures to cool its economy and head off inflation, as the bank expects the country's economic growth to accelerate to 9.5% this year.

China Trade Surplus Falls As Import Surge Aids World
(Bloomberg, Mar. 10, 2010) China’s trade surplus shrank to the lowest level in a year in February as a surge in imports signaled the nation may start to outshine the U.S. as a destination for the world’s goods.

Climate Goal Is Supported by China and India
(New York Times, Mar. 10, 2010) China and India formally agreed Tuesday to join the international climate change agreement reached in December in Copenhagen, the last two major economies to sign up.

China Indicts Rio Tinto Staff on Bribery Charges
(New York Times, Feb. 11, 2010) Chinese prosecutor handed down indictments against an Australian citizen and three Chinese employees of the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, charging them with accepting bribes and stealing trade secrets.

China Allegedly Blacklists Canadian University
(Global Times, Feb. 9, 2010) China's Ministry of Education refused to immediately comment on media reports of its decision to remove Canada's University of Calgary from a list of accredited schools because the latter bestowed an honorary degree on the Dalai Lama last year.

China Sets Up Energy Agency Headed by PM
(AP, Jan. 28, 2010) China has set up a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao to better coordinate energy policy.

China, Conflict in Views Are Major Trends
(China Post, Jan. 19, 2010) China's dominance in the world stage and a tug-of-war between economic optimists and pessimists will be two major economic trends this year, said Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor of The Economist.

China Becomes World’s No. 1 Exporter, Passing Germany
(AP, Jan. 11, 2010) China overtook Germany as the world’s top exporter after China’s December exports jumped 17.7 percent for their first increase in 14 months, data showed.

China Think Tank: Timing Good for Yuan Revaluation
(Dow Jones, Jan. 5, 2010) A prominent Chinese think tank said now is a good time for a 10% revaluation of the yuan as it warned the world's third-largest economy is at risk of asset bubbles and overheating this year.

The China Syndrome By Joel Kotkin
(Forbes, Aug. 24, 2010) The U.S. has a decent chance of remaining the world's pre-eminent economy not only over the next decade or two and even by mid-century. There are five key reasons for this contrarian conclusion.

For China, Will Money Bring Power? By Piers Brendon
(New York Times, Aug. 22, 2010) China may well keep its promise, for the moment at least, to follow the path of peaceful development. We can’t know, of course. But doom-merchants predicting that China will topple America from its pre-eminence should recognize that history is not necessarily on their side.

China’s Spectacular Ascendance Begins to Reshape the World Economy By David Barboza (New York Times, Aug. 22, 2010) Assessing what China's new clout means is complicated. While the country is still poor per capita, it has an authoritarian government capable of taking decisive action – to stimulate the economy, build new projects and invest in specific industries.

China ‘Hukou’ System Deemed Outdated As Way of Controlling Access to Services By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Aug. 15, 2010) Some economists here say the hukou system is outdated and unsuited to a modern economy that requires the free movement of labor. Others call it "China's apartheid," saying it has created a two-tiered system of haves and have-nots in all the major cities.

China Setting Milestones As Economy Passes Japan’s By Joe McDonald (AP, Jul. 31, 2010) China is set to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy in a resurgence that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed.

China Invest Heavily in Brazil, Elsewhere in Pursuit of Political Heft By John Pomfret (Washington Post, Jul. 26, 2010) The investments in Brazil reflect China's "going out" strategy, which seeks to guarantee natural resources for development purposes and to shield the country's state-owned enterprises from slower growth at home.

Foreign Companies in China Sound off on Business Policies By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jul. 22, 2010) The heads of some leading U.S. and European multinationals have publicly questioned recently whether new Chinese policies and regulations are making China a more difficult place for foreign firms to do business.

How Will China’s Tech-Savvy, Post-90s Generation Shape the Nation? (CNN, Jul. 19, 2010) One thing for certain is the post-90s are different from those born before them: they have no memory of China's tumultuous past, instead only experiencing it as a country with rapid economic growth underscored by rampant consumerism and globalization.

How Serious Is the Chinese Challenge? Part II By Markus Jaeger
(YaleGlobal, Jul. 15, 2010) Greater economic power will shift China’s way once it adopts a flexible currency and reduces dependence on US markets relative to US dependence on Chinese markets.

China Hopes Social Safety Net Will Push Its Citizens to Consume More, Save Less By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jul. 14, 2010) The country's leaders want to persuade Chinese citizens to spend more and save less, a goal that analysts say could be achieved if the government provided a safety net.

Why China Is Putting the Brakes on Export-Driven Growth By Darius Dale (Fortune, Jul. 9, 2010) Over the past several weeks, China has taken a number of steps to increase its citizenry's purchasing power -- none arriving with more fanfare than the de-pegging of the yuan.

China Seeks to Spend Its Way to Stability in Its Far West By Michael Wines (New York Times, Jul. 8, 2010) China’s central government has announced a plan to spend more than $100 billion in the region to “promote the fast and healthy development of the western areas,” according to a government newspaper.

China Sentence American Geologist to 8 Year for Stealing State Secrets By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jul. 5, 2010) An American geologist was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing state secrets, in a case that underscored how the Chinese government will use the legal system to protect the business interests and competitive edge of its state-run firms.

China Puts Best Face Forward with News Channel By David Barboza (New York Times, Jul. 2, 2010) The Xinhua News Agency introduced a 24-hour English-language news channel and is preparing to open a prominent newsroom in Times Square, part of an expensive push to increase the reach and influence of the Chinese news media overseas.

Beijing: A Global Leader with ‘China First’ Policy By David Shambaugh (YaleGlobal, Jun. 29, 2010) Shambaugh anticipates that China will continue with its cautious ways in the global arena, emphasizing domestic and regional priorities, selecting partnerships on a case-by-case basis while being wary of too many global obligations or entanglements.

China’s Push to Develop Its West Hasn’t Closed Income Gap with East, Critics Say By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jun. 29, 2010) China's west -- defined as the dozen provinces and "autonomous regions" stretching from Inner Mongolia to Xinjiang and Tibet -- remains the poorest, least-developed and least-educated part of the country.

China Takes Hands-off Approach to Labor Strikes By Tini Tran
(AP, Jun. 25, 2010) Boosting wages fits in with Beijing's strategy of closing the income gap and promoting more equal growth in coming years, said an analyst at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Political Science in Beijing.

China’s Export Economy Begins Turning Inward By Edward Wong
(New York Times, Jun. 25, 2010) Chinese officials now see the millions of poor workers as the linchpin of China’s move away from a lopsided economic model that relies too heavily on foreign consumption.

PRC Unlikely to See Wage-Price Spiral: World Bank
(Reuters, Jun. 19, 2010) China's economic prospects remain good despite the frailty of the global recovery, while a spate of big pay increases is unlikely to touch off a wage-price spiral, the World Bank said.

In China, Labor Movement Enabled by Technology By David Barboza and Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Jun. 17, 2010) It is labor revolt by text message and video upload, underwritten by the Chinese government.

In China, Unrest Spreads As More Workers Rally By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jun. 11, 2010) A series of labor strikes continued to spread across parts of China, as newly emboldened workers pressed for higher wages and better conditions.

Power Grows for Striking Chinese Workers By David Barboza and Hiroko Tabuchi (New York Times, Jun. 9, 2010) After years of focusing on luring foreign investment, Chinese government officials are now endorsing efforts to improve conditions for workers and raise salaries. But analysts say wage pressure is also coming from labor shortages in coastal cities.

Labor Unrest in China Reflects Changing Demographics, More Awareness of Rights By Keith B. Richburg (Washington Post, Jun. 7, 2010) Shifting demographics, including years of effective population control through the government's "one child" policy, have left China short of younger workers.

Chinese Economy Treads Risky Path. (Ask Japan.) By Michael Wines (New York Times, May 26, 2010) As outsiders behold China’s transformation from peasant nation to economic colossus, the risks of extrapolating from China’s robust present into an indeterminate future are not to be ignored.

Foreign Companies Chafe at China’s Restrictions By Keith Bradsher (New York Times, May 17, 2010) China has filed more than a dozen trade cases to limit imports, imposed a series of “buy Chinese” measures and limited exports of some minerals to force multinationals to move factories to China.

China’s Premier Discusses School Attacks By Edward Wong
(New York Times, May 15, 2010) Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China said that the Chinese government would examine the deeper social problems that might have led to the recent string of deadly attacks on schoolchildren.

China to Force Internet Users to Register Real Names By Peter Foster (Telegraph, May 5, 2010) China is considering measures to force all its 400m internet users to register their real names before making comments on the country’s myriad chat-rooms and discussion forums.

Limits of China’s Charm Offensive By Jonathan Holslag
(Project Syndicate, Apr. 27, 2010) If Beijing is serious about building strategic partnerships with the West, it should back up its charm offensive with deeds and take the initiative in fostering more effective cooperation.

China Replaces Leader of the Restive Xinjiang Region By Edward Wong (New York Times, Apr. 25, 2010) Chinese leaders announced that they had replaced Wang Lequan, the ruling official in the vast western region of Xinjiang.

Do the Awakening Giants Have Feet of Clay?—Part II By Borje Ljunggren (YaleGlobal, Apr. 21, 2010) Börje Ljunggren, Sweden’s former ambassador to China, argues that the rise of Asian powers has momentum. In particular, China’s rapid economic development is likely ”the biggest change” of our lifetime.

Do the Awakening Giants Have Feet of Clay?—Part I By Pranab Bardhan (YaleGlobal, Apr. 19, 2010) While China and India have lifted millions out of poverty, both continue to work under structural constraints with much political uncertainty.

For Chinese, Web Is the Way to Entertainment By David Barboza
(New York Times, Apr. 19, 2010) The Internet, already a potent social force, has become China’s prime entertainment service.

Chinese Premier Offers a Tribute to a Reformer By Sharon LaFraniere (New York Times, Apr. 16, 2010) A long and emotional tribute to Mr. Hu Yaobang — written by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao — was published Thursday in People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper.

Google and China’s Changing Economic Paradigm By Gordon G. Chang (China Brief 10(7), Jamestown Foundation, Apr. 1, 2010) So far, we are seeing a spiteful response from an angry government. And a government that will go to great lengths to make sure the Chinese market is reserved for Chinese competitors. Google’s recent troubles show us that Beijing has a new economic paradigm, and it is not a good one.

Chinese Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences to Four Mining Company Employees By David Barboza (New York Times, Mar. 30, 2010) Four employees of the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, including an Australian citizen, were found guilty by a Chinese court of accepting millions of dollars in bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

China’s Growth Shifts the Geopolitics of Oil By Jad Mouawad
(New York Times, Mar. 20, 2010) While exports to the United States might rebound this year, in the long run the decline in American demand and the growing importance of China represent a fundamental shift in the geopolitics of oil.

China Drawing High-Tech Research from U.S. By Keith Bradsher
(New York Times, Mar. 18, 2010) Companies — and their engineers — are being drawn here more and more as China develops a high-tech economy that increasingly competes directly with the United States.

Newly Powerful China Defies Western Nations with Remarks, Policies By John Pomfret (Washington Post, Mar. 15, 2010) China's government has embraced an increasingly anti-Western tone in recent months and is adopting policies across a wide spectrum that reflect a heightened fear of foreign influence.

China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage By Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Mar. 15, 2010) With China’s exports soaring, even as other major economies struggle to recover from the recession, evidence is mounting that Beijing is skillfully using inconsistencies in international trade rules to spur its own economy at the expense of others.

The Trouble with China’s Economic Bubble By David Ignatius
(Washington Post, Mar. 11, 2010) For a country addicted to export-led growth, transitioning to a sustainable economy won't be easy. People who assume that an ever-expanding China will inexorably replace America as the world economic superpower should take a close look at the numbers.

China Faces New Pressure to Let Currency Rise By Joe McDonald
(AP, Mar. 6, 2010) China faces mounting pressure from trading partners to loosen currency controls and is giving signs it might raise the value of the yuan to ease strains on its fast-growing economy.

China Premier Details Economic Plan By Michael Wines
(New York Times, Mar. 6, 2010) Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told his nation’s unelected legislature that the government could expand social spending, increase lending, pour money into strategic industries and still meet its traditional 8 percent economic growth target in 2010.

Trial of American Puts Spotlight on the Business of ‘State Secret’ in China By Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington Post, Mar. 4, 2010) Company executives, trade groups and diplomats said Xue's case and two similar ones appear to be part of a broader effort by China over the past few years to use everything at its disposal to promote its own "national champions."

Chinese Editorials Assail a Government System By Andrew Jacobs
(New York Times, Mar. 2, 2010) In a country where the press is tightly managed by the state, the identical editorials that appeared Monday in more than a dozen publications calling for reform of China’s onerous household registration system were noteworthy.

Communist Party Needs to Loosen Its Grip in China By Alan Wheatley (New York Times, Mar. 2, 2010) The phrase “guojin mintui” — the state advances as the private sector retreats — has become common currency in debate about the Chinese economy.

I.M.F. Chief Suggests Look at New Reserve By Sewell Chan
(New York Times, Feb. 27, 2010) The I.M.F. leader, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, floated the idea of creating a global reserve currency that could serve as an alternative to the dollar.

China, Defying Global Slump, Faces a Labor Shortage By Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Feb. 27, 2010) Just a year after laying off millions of factory workers, China is facing an increasingly acute labor shortage.

Rogoff Says China Crisis May Trigger Regional Slump By Aki Ito and Patrick Rial (Bloomberg, Feb. 24, 2010) China’s economic growth will plunge to as low as 2 percent following the collapse of a “debt- fueled bubble” within 10 years, sparking a regional recession, according to Harvard University Professor Kenneth Rogoff.

The Danger Behind China’s ‘Me First’ Worldview By Robert J. Samuelson (Washington Post, Feb. 15, 2010) Unlike the isolationist America First movement of the 1930s, China First does not mean global disengagement. It does mean engagement on China's terms.

China’s Defiance on Rights Stirs Fears for Dissident By Andrew Jacobs (New York Times, Feb. 3, 2010) Legal experts say the disappearance of Mr. Gao, whose case has been championed by American lawmakers, several European leaders and the United Nations, represents a disturbing milestone.

As Hong Kong’s Political System Stalls, So Does Its Democracy Movement By Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Jan. 28, 2010) The political system in Hong Kong is increasingly paralyzed; at the same time, the pro-democracy movement here has splintered, weakening its ability to press for changes.

Confucius vs. Avatar: And the Winner Is… By Mary Kay Magistad
(YaleGlobal, Jan. 25, 2010) Beijing did not admit censorship was at play. In the end, if the government were trying to squelch Avatar and the themes likely to lead to unrest, it proved unsuccessful – the film was brought back by popular demand.

China’s Global Role Still Questionable By Dani Rodrik
(Project Syndicate, Jan. 18, 2010) China’s growth currently relies on an undervalued currency and a huge trade surplus. This is unsustainable, and sooner or later it will precipitate a major confrontation with the US (and Europe).

No Chance Against China By Martin Jacques
(Newsweek, Jan. 16, 2010) Google's fate is a sign of the world to come, and the sooner we come to appreciate the nature of a world run by China, the better we will be able to deal with it.

Censorship Provokes Cracks in China’s Great Firewall By david Pierson (LA Times, Jan. 16, 2010) Despite—and sometimes because of—increasingly aggressive government measures, China’s Internet users are finding ways to evade the country’s online restrictions.

Follow the Law, China Tells Internet Companies By Andrew Jacobs
(New York Times, Jan. 15, 2010) Two days after Google announced that it would quit China unless the nation’s censors eased their grip, the Chinese government offered an indirect but unambiguous response: Companies that do business in China must follow the laws of the land.

China’s Soft Power Hardens in Cambodia By Sebastian Strangio
(Asia Times, Jan. 12, 2010) Despite the Cambodian denials, the nature and timing of the seemingly hurried deportations are a vivid illustration of the new bonds of patronage and political accommodation now linking Beijing and Phnom Penh.

As China Rises, Fears Grow on Whether Boom Can Endure By Michael Wines (New York Times, Jan. 11, 2010) China confronts a number of challenges about its recent surge, including whether its formula for growth is sustainable, and how it will manage its increasingly strained economic relations with the outside world.

In China, Fear of a Real Estate Bubble By Steven Mufson
(Washington Post, Jan. 11, 2010) With property prices soaring in key cities, many investors and bankers worry that China has the next great real estate bubble waiting to be popped.

China’s Lonely Dissidents By Jaroslaw Adamowski
(Guardian, Jan. 8, 2009) Despite the internet, Twitter, Facebook, mobile phones and all that technology has to offer, the likes of Xiaobo seem to be more on their own than the 1989 revolutionaries were.

Fighting Trend, China Is Luring Scientists Home By Sharon LaFraniere (New York Times, Jan. 7, 2010) Determined to reverse the drain of top talent that accompanied its opening to the outside world over the past three decades, China’s leaders are using their now ample financial resources to entice scientists and scholars home.