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China’s Rise:
China’s Economic and Social
Developments
Google and China
2008 Beijing Olympics
Exchange Rates and
Internationalization of RMB
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2004 ; 2005 ; 2006 ; 2007; 2008; 2009
[News] [Papers]

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.
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