The Big Five

CHINA: April 23, 2012

TRUE STORIES

Factories in China Show Pace Is Improving

A closely watched survey of manufacturing activity in China rebounded in April, offering the latest sign that the Chinese economy was gradually regaining some of the momentum it lost last year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/business/global/manufacturing-in-china-shows-signs-of-a-rebound.html

China Grows Its Dairy Farms With a Global Cattle Drive

In one of the largest transoceanic cattle drives in history, as many as 100,000 heifers from Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand will board multistory cattle-carrying ships this year—bound for China. The global roundup is a key part of China’s effort to satisfy growing domestic demand for milk and remake its dairies after a deadly tainted-milk scandal in 2008 devastated production and caused distrustful consumers to turn to imported milk.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303863404577281302732745814.html

China policy battles boost South China Sea strains

Jockeying by Chinese agencies over policy fiefdoms and budgets threatens to intensify tension in the disputed South China Sea, a respected think tank warned on Monday, with the Philippines seeking more patrols to guard against China’s claims.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-policy-battles-boost-south-china-sea-strains-040606650.html

China big oil firms on edge over U.S. disclosure

Oil firms may have to share financial data from global projects.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-big-oil-firms-on-edge-over-us-disclosure-2012-04-22

More Chinese Head to U.S., Report Says

An increasing number of people from China moved to America last year.

http://english.caixin.com/2012-04-20/100382301.html

China detains dozens in poison drug capsule scandal

Chinese police have detained 45 people, arrested nine and seized more than 77 million capsules tainted with chromium in China’s latest product safety scandal, which has aroused widespread public concern despite repeated pledges to get tough.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-detains-dozens-poison-drug-capsule-scandal-023359370.html

China, Amid Uncertainty at Home and in Europe, Looks to Germany

As Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China tours Europe this week, it is no accident that Germany occupies a special place on his itinerary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/business/global/china-invests-in-germany-amid-uncertainty.html

China’s leaders are cracking down on Bo Xilai and his Chongqing model

The campaign against Bo Xilai is not motivated by a desire to stop corruption or solve a murder case, but by a deep political conflict.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/china-leaders-cracking-down-chongqing-xilai

South Sudan seeks Beijing investment

South Sudan will seek Chinese funds to build an alternative oil pipeline so that it no longer depends on the north to export its oil, a senior official said, ahead of a presidential visit to Beijing.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e553b90a-8c93-11e1-9758-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1ssW0VObv

China-Russia naval drills begin in Yellow Sea

China and Russia launched joint naval exercises Sunday that highlight warming ties between their militaries and growing cooperation in international affairs.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/22/china-russia-naval-drills-begin-yellow-sea/

Toxic Chinese mercury pollution travelling to US

Mass quantities of air pollutants from China, including mercury discharged from traditional coal-fired power plants, are travelling to places as far away as the US, according to the US environment agency.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/438b99c0-c986-11da-94ca-0000779e2340.html#ixzz1ssWiMUKH

Cyber-attack cripples US website covering Bo Xilai scandal

China’s security services ordered attack, claims manager of Boxun.com, which has seen visitor traffic rise 155% this year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/20/cyber-attack-boxun-com-bo-xilai

China’s car market matures after ultra-fast growth

The market is flat and competition is hot as this year’s Beijing motor show gets underway this week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17786962

China says will “not be absent” from IMF fund boost

China said it will “not be absent” from plans to enhance funds for the International Monetary Fund and repeated its confidence in euro zone economies, according to a People’s Bank of China statement issued on Saturday after an IMF meeting in Washington.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-says-not-absent-imf-fund-boost-022251795—sector.html

China, NKorea Reaffirm Ties After Rocket Test

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with a top North Korean envoy on Monday in a reaffirmation of traditional ties following Chinese pique over Pyongyang’s recent attempted rocket launch.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/04/22/world/asia/ap-as-china-nkorea.html

Palace websites attacked by ‘Chinese networks’

The dispute between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal continued to spill over into cyberspace with Philippine government websites being attacked by “Chinese networks” on Monday.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/23/12/palace-websites-attacked-%E2%80%98chinese-networks

China’s Biggest Banks Are Squeezed for Capital

China’s banks are among the biggest and most profitable financial institutions in the world.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/chinas-biggest-banks-are-squeezed-for-capital/

China to invest in infrastructure to bolster growth

China is set to speed up spending on roads, railways and utilities to boost economic growth, the official China Securities Journal said on Monday, citing government economists.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/us-china-economy-investment-idUSBRE83M00W20120423

China Internet firms face venture capital funding squeeze

China’s hot Internet sector is facing a problem it is unaccustomed to: a lack of money.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/net-us-dealtalk-china-internet-idUSBRE83M0AY20120423

China Court Spares Life of Millionaire

China’s highest court spared a 30-year-old millionaire once labeled one of China’s richest women from the death penalty, in a case that drew attention to the country’s underground lending market and elicited an outpouring of online protests as well as sympathetic comments from Premier Wen Jiabao.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577355351627458794.html

Suspected Sale by China Stirs Concern at White House

The Obama administration says it believes that a Chinese manufacturer sold North Korea the chassis and other parts for a missile-transport vehicle displayed in a military parade this week, a senior official said Friday, raising new concerns about China’s ability to enforce a ban on military sales to North Korea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/americas/suspected-sale-by-china-to-north-korea-stirs-concern.html

Jon Huntsman explains China comment

Jon Huntsman on Monday attempted to explain comments comparing the Republican party to the Chinese communist party.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75461.html#ixzz1ssZGMV9G


OUT LOUD

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)

“Since we have decided on the gradualism approach (for the yuan), and we have been implementing that for years, we are almost there and we must stick to the path… The market supply and demand will play a bigger role, and the central bank will only intervene when the exchange rate movement is out of the normal range — the frequency of our intervention will be less and the way of doing it will be more flexible as well.”

http://news.yahoo.com/yuan-interest-rate-reform-gradual-china-central-bank-034552561—business.html


OPINES

China’s Corrupt Secrets

The Bo Xilai affair offers a reality check for anyone who’s worried that a rising China will supplant the United States anytime soon: First, the Chinese know that the scandal is just the tip of an iceberg of corruption menacing the country; and second, the leadership in Beijing understands that the scandal could have been much messier if the White House hadn’t kept quiet the past two months.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/04/22/the_china_syndrome_113919.html

Three Questions From China’s Bo Xilai Fiasco

Six of nine Politburo members paid homage to Chongqing, implicitly endorsing the now-discredited ‘Chongqing Model.’

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577349881382051876.html

The Startling Plight of China’s Leftover Ladies

China’s men far outnumber women. So why is it so hard to find a good husband?

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/23/the_startling_plight_of_china_s_leftover_ladies

Environmental Standards Give The United States An Edge Over China

This Earth Day is a great opportunity to take stock of the progress we are making around the world on environmental protection. Here in the United States, much can be learned by comparing our environmental progress to China, where they are just now starting down a path we took back in 1970.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/22/468624/environmental-standards-give-the-united-states-an-edge-over-china/

China is deeply flawed. Its dominance is not inevitable

The country’s success will continue only if its elites initiate the political and economic reforms it desperately needs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/05/china-dominance-not-inevitable

China’s Deals Threaten U.S. Supremacy 

The current spate of Chinese bids for U.S. companies has so far received benign treatment in the media. 

http://www.forbes.com/2005/06/23/china-unocal-ibm-maytag-cx_rl_0623soapbox_inl.html

China’s Princelings Become a U.S. Media Phenomenon

On Wednesday morning, Jodi Seth, the communications director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was swamped with calls on a subject she knew little about: Chinese “princelings,” or the children and grandchildren of prominent members of China’s Communist Party, many of them studying and living in the U.S. Seth wasn’t the only one flooded with inquiries she could do little to answer. Her counterparts at the State Department, the FBI and Harvard were experiencing a similar phenomenon. The princelings, it seems, have become somewhat of an American fascination.

http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/19/chinas-princelings-become-a-u-s-media-phenomenon/#ixzz1ssZ7jPi8