Caixin Media

11.04.14

Cai Jinyong: A Chinese Voice at the Top of the IFC

Three top executives serving in recent years at the World Bank and its emerging markets financing arm International Finance Corp. (IFC) have called China home.Economist Cai Jinyong became the fourth in October 2012, when he was named IFC's...

Japan Warns China Coral Poachers

Toko Sekiguchi
Wall Street Journal
Top Japanese officials on Tuesday warned coral poachers to stay out of the country’s territorial waters after arresting six Chinese nationals suspected of hunting illegally for precious red corals in recent weeks.

Why China Won Mexico’s High-Speed Rail Project

Clint Richards
Diplomat
Underlying Mexico’s decision to choose China, and what may have made it the only country able to meet to proposal deadline, was its decision to finance 85 percent of the project through the Export-Import Bank of China.

China Planning $16.3 Billion Fund for “New Silk Road”

Bloomberg
The fund, overseen by Chinese policy banks, will be used to build and expand railways, roads and pipelines in Chinese provinces that are part of the strategy to facilitate trade over land and shipping routes.

China Rolls out the Red Carpet for APEC

Lucy Hornby
Financial Times
The APEC summit of nations that collectively represent more than half the global economy is more about dialogue and non-binding commitments than implementing change.

Wanted: 500,000 Pilots for China Aviation Gold Rush

Fang Yan and Matthew Miller
Reuters
The aviation boom comes asChina allows private planes to fly below 1,000 meters from next year without military approval, seeking to boost its transport infrastructure.

AFP Follows Chinese Fugitive Money Trail

Samantha Hutchinson, Lisa Murray, Angus...
Agence France-Presse
The son of China’s most famous fugitive spent the five years before his father was placed under investigation for corruption setting up two Australian companies and buying a development site in Sydney’s Neutral Bay.

In War on Smog, Struggling China Steel Mills Adapt to Survive

David Stanway
Reuters
Dozens of steel mills in industrial areas straddling the capital are set to shut from November 1 to cut smog before leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. China had imposed...

Conversation

10.31.14

What Should Obama and Xi Say to Each Other at APEC?

Chen Weihua, Hugh White & more
Next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing (November 5-11) between Presidents Xi Jinping, Barack Obama, and other leaders from around the world, is billed as the Chinese capital's highest-profile international event...

Media

10.29.14

Foot Spas, Steamed Buns, and Midday Drinking

It may not be Monty Python’s famous “Ministry of Silly Walks,” but it’s close.The Office of Forbidding Midday Alcohol Consumption, a local government initiative in China’s southern Henan province which seeks to reduce alcohol consumption at...

It’s Time to Give China Some Time

William Pesek
Bloomberg
There’s also evidence the country may be approaching something of a Henry Ford moment, when a manufacturing-based economy matures to point where workers can afford to buy the products they're making.

China Says It Will Be Good Host to Japan During APEC

Reuters
Voice of America
A one-on-one meeting would be a symbolic breakthrough in ties between the world's second- and third-biggest economies, which have turned frigid in the past two years over a territorial row.

China’s Assault on Corruption Enters Executive Suite

Lingling Wei and Bob Davis
Wall Street Journal
Communist Party leaders plan to slash the compensation of the top executives at China's largest state-owned companies over the next few months to make sure only those truly committed to the party run them.

China, Vietnam Say Want Lasting Solution to Sea Dispute

Mai Nguyen and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
The two countries have sought to patch up ties since their long-running row erupted in May, triggered by China's deployment a drilling rig in waters claimed by the communist neighbors.

Troubles in China Rattle Western Banks

Enda Curran
Wall Street Journal
Foreign lenders in China have been stung by a string of suspected fraud cases and problem loans in the country as Beijing investigates company executives and seizes assets in a crackdown on corruption.

Caixin Media

10.27.14

Rise and Fall of a Coal Boomtown

Some 187 kilometers west of Taiyuan, capital of the northern province of Shanxi, the city of Luliang is located on the dry and gullied Loess Plateau in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River.The city, which covers 21,143 square kilometers...

China Vows Better Rule of Law, But No Word of Disgraced Security Chief

Sui-Lee Wee
Reuters
The moves, made at a closed-door meeting of the ruling party's elite, are pivotal to the workings of China's market economy.

Ministry Said to Propose Local Governments Issuing Bonds to Cover Debts

Huo Kan
Outstanding central and local government debt totaled 20.7 trillion yuan at the end of June last year, data from the National Audit Office show.

A Chance to Introduce Social and Environmental Protections

David Dollar, Hugh White, Oliver Rui,...
New York Times
Instead of opposing its creation, the U.S. should consider joining the bank as a means of guaranteeing that it matches world-class financing strength with world-class environmental practices.

Sinica Podcast

10.24.14

Chomping at the Bitcoin

Kaiser Kuo & Jeremy Goldkorn from Sinica Podcast
After a shocking expose of Jeremy Goldkorn’s criminal past, Sinica this week moves on to examine the Bitcoin phenomenon in China. Joined by Zennon Kapron, owner of the Shanghai consultancy Kapronasia and recent author of the book Chomping at the...

Conversation

10.23.14

Are China’s Economic Reforms Coming Fast Enough?

Daniel H. Rosen, David Hoffman & more
Economic data show a slowdown in China. At least two opposing views of what’s next for the world’s largest economy have just been published: one skeptical, from David Hoffman at The Conference Board, and one cautiously optimistic, from Dan Rosen and...

Caixin Media

10.21.14

Revision of Securities Law Is Chance to Liberalize Market

China's securities law is to undergo a comprehensive revision almost a decade after the last major overhaul. Public consultation is due to start in the first half of next year, following recent comments from officials, scholars, and market...

Why China May Avoid a U.S.-Style Property Crash

Esther Fung
Wall Street Journal
“China has clear signs of ‘froth,’ if not a bubble, in housing,” says Goldman Sachs. It looks reminiscent of the bubbles in Japan in the early 1990s and the U.S. from 2006 to 2010, it says—and finds China might turn out differently.

Reports

10.20.14

The Long Soft Fall in Chinese Growth

David Hoffman and Andrew Polk
David Hoffman
The Conference Board
As recently as the fourth quarter of 2013, there were few detractors from an optimistic assessment of China’s prospects to achieve a “soft landing” and continue to enjoy relatively stable growth in the 7 to 8 percent range for the next 10 years and...

Books

10.15.14

China’s Super Consumers

Savio Chan and Michael Zakkour
China has transformed itself from a feudal economy in the 19th century, to Mao and Communism in the 20th century, to the largest consumer market in the world by the early 21st century. China's Super Consumers explores the extraordinary birth of consumerism in China and explains who these super consumers are. China's Super Consumers offers an in-depth explanation of what's inside the minds of Chinese consumers and explores what they buy, where they buy, how they buy, and most importantly why they buy.The book is filled with real-world stories of the foreign and domestic companies, leading brands, and top executives who have succeeded in selling to this burgeoning marketplace. This remarkable book also takes you inside the boardrooms of the people who understand Chinese consumers and have had success in the Chinese market.A hands-on resource for succeeding in the Chinese marketplaceFilled with real-world stories of companies who have made an impact in ChinaDiscover what the Chinese consumer wants and how to deliver the goodsThis book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a clear understanding of how China's Super Consumers are changing the world and how to sell to them. —Wiley {chop}

Maid in Hong Kong Fights for Justice Against Abuser

Deb Price, Chester Yung and Sara...
Wall Street Journal
Maids from Indonesia and the Philippines are an indispensable part of the Hong Kong’s vibrant economy and society. But incidents of abuse often stay hidden from public view.

All Eyes Will Be On China This Week

Jeremy Gaunt
Business Insider
China's economy, the second largest in the world, gets a spot check this week with a barrage of data due that should indicate how successful Beijing has been in supporting growth.

Conversation

10.14.14

Will Asia Bank on China?

Zha Daojiong, Damien Ma & more
Last week The New York Times reported U.S. opposition to China's plans to launch a regional development bank to rival the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. If, as some say, the the launch is a fait accompli, should Washington focus...

Once a Symbol of Power, Farming Now an Economic Drag in China

Ian Johnson
New York Times
Frustrated by how little they earn, the ablest farmers have migrated to cities, hollowing out this rural district in the Chinese heartland.

All Eyes Will Be On China This Week

Jeremy Gaunt
Reuters
China's economy, the second largest in the world, gets a spot check this week with a barrage of data due that should indicate how successful Beijing has been in supporting growth.

China’s Migrants Thrive in Spain’s Financial Crisis

Tobias Buck
Financial Times
Laden with beer, liquor, soft drinks and snacks, the trucks are on their way to restock the thousands of Chinese-run corner shops and convenience stores that dot the Spanish capital. Business is good. It always has been, even in the worst moments of...

Getting Real About China

Wesley K. Clark
New York Times
China’s harsh suppression of political dissent, from Hong Kong to Xinjiang, and its close ties to Russia, Iran and North Korea, have finally laid to rest the dream many Western leaders have had since the 1990s.

China’s Economy Just Overtook The U.S. In One Key Measure

Mark Gongloff
Huffington Post
Here's another way of looking at it -- China's share of the global economy is now slightly bigger than America's, at 16.5 percent to 16.3 percent.

Protests in Hong Kong: Three Things to Know

Barbara Demick
Council on Foreign Relations
Former Los Angeles Times Beijing bureau chief Barbara Demick tells us the Hong Kong protests are Not Tiananmen, show Broken Promises and reveal Hong Konger's Basic Complaints.

Read the Anti-Hong Kong Rant That’s Going Viral in China

Anonymous
Foreign Policy
Hong Kong's real problem is that most people have no awareness of changing patterns of development, and thus are not psychologically prepared for economic restructuring.

China Removes 160,000 ‘Phantom Staff’ from Government Payroll

Katie Hunt
CNN
Hebei province in central China was the worst offender, with 55,793 officials found to be getting paid even though they never worked, followed by Sichuan and Henan.

Waldorf Astoria NY hotel sold to China’s Anbang for $1.95bn

Anna Nicolaou
Financial Times
The sale allows the companies to “finally maximise the full value of this iconic asset on a full city block in midtown Manhattan,” said Christopher Nassetta, chief executive of Hilton Worldwide.

Reports

10.01.14

Avoiding the Blind Alley: China’s Economic Overhaul and Its Global Implications

Daniel H. Rosen
Daniel H. Rosen
Asia Society
President Xi Jinping announced a sweeping overhaul for China’s economy in November 2013, with pledges to make market forces decisive, treat homegrown and foreign investors with the same laws and regulations, and change the mission statement of the...

Why Hong Kong Remains Vital to China’s Economy

S.R.
Economist
Foreign companies also use Hong Kong as their staging post for investing in China as it offers them something that no mainland city does: a stable investment environment, protected by long-established rule of law.Although much of this money is...

China and ‘The Battle for Africa’

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Al Jazeera stands alone among the major international news channels in its regular coverage of the Chinese in Africa. In the network’s latest documentary released in September 2014, veteran Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura hosts “The Battle...

China Ponders Slow-Growth Dilemma

Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Leadership may have to sacrifice reform agenda to maintain 7.5% economic-growth target.

A New Central Banker for China?

http://www.economist.com/blogs/...
Economist
In the world of rumours, Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s central bank chief, has lost his job multiple times. First there was a 2007 reshuffle when he was pushed aside early in his tenure, sidelined to an academic role.

Is China Still a ‘Developing’ Country?

Isaac Stone Fish
Foreign Policy
A look at Beijing’s favorite rhetorical trick.

China Uncovers $10bn Fake Trades

BBC
China has uncovered $10bn worth of fake trades as part of a nationwide crackdown on companies. The nation's currency regulator said 15 fraud cases had been handed over to the police for prosecution.

The Chinese Invade Africa

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
In early May, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, made a trip to Africa that raised a central question about China’s rise: What effect will it have on the world’s poorer countries? As a big third-world country that has lifted hundreds of millions out of...

Books

09.24.14

A Chinaman’s Chance

Eric Liu
From Tony Hsieh to Amy Chua to Jeremy Lin, Chinese Americans are now arriving at the highest levels of American business, civic life, and culture. But what makes this story of immigrant ascent unique is that Chinese Americans are emerging at just the same moment when China has emerged—and indeed may displace America—at the center of the global scene. What does it mean to be Chinese American in this moment? And how does exploring that question alter our notions of just what an American is and will be? In many ways, Chinese Americans today are exemplars of the American Dream: during a crowded century and a half, this community has gone from indentured servitude, second-class status and outright exclusion to economic and social integration and achievement. But this narrative obscures too much: the Chinese Americans still left behind, the erosion of the American Dream in general, the emergence—perhaps—of a Chinese Dream, and how other Americans will look at their countrymen of Chinese descent if China and America ever become adversaries. As Chinese Americans reconcile competing beliefs about what constitutes success, virtue, power, and purpose, they hold a mirror up to their country in a time of deep flux. In searching, often personal essays that range from the meaning of Confucius to the role of Chinese Americans in shaping how we read the Constitution to why he hates the hyphen in "Chinese-American," Eric Liu pieces together a sense of the Chinese American identity in these auspicious years for both countries. He considers his own public career in American media and government; his daughter's efforts to hold and release aspects of her Chinese inheritance; and the still-recent history that made anyone Chinese in America seem foreign and disloyal until proven otherwise. Provocative, often playful but always thoughtful, Liu breaks down his vast subject into bite-sized chunks, along the way providing insights into universal matters: identity, nationalism, family, and more. —PublicAffairs {chop}

Caixin Media

09.22.14

Nudging China Toward Governance Reform

Three recent items of news deserve attention. First, revisions to the budget law were passed late last month. Second, in a speech this month marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National People's Congress, Party General Secretary...

Towards an Asian Century of Prosperity

Xi Jinping
Hindu
The combination of the world’s factory and the world’s back office will produce the most competitive production base, writes Xi Jinping , President of China

China’s Central Bank Said to Inject $81bn Into System

BBC
The move may be the first of several stimulus measures, analysts say. It is aimed at lifting business confidence and investment following a string of weak economic data.

With Much at Stake, Chinese Leader Visits India

Ellen Barry
New York Times
China has the ability to channel billions of dollars into Indian infrastructure and manufacturing projects, allowing Mr. Modi to pursue the jobs-creation agenda that was at the heart of his campaign.

China’s Moment of Truth: Financial Reform or Growth?

Lingling Wei, Bob Davis and Mark Magnier
Wall Street Journal
With economy faring worse than thought, efforts to reform are colliding with the need to boost growth.

Mugabe Critic: Zimbabwe’s ‘Old Friend’ China is Bleeding it Dry

Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more
Harare-based economist and columnist Vince Musewe doesn’t mince words in his criticism of Zimbabwe’s growing financial dependence. Beijing is “bleeding Zimbabwe dry” through loans and Musewe says enough is enough. He is calling on Robert Mugabe’s...

U.S. Treasury Warns China Over Antimonopoly Efforts

Laurie Burkitt and Bob Davis
Wall Street Journal
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew Issues Antimonopoly Warning in Letter to Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang

How China Maneuvered to Buy U.S. Pork Giant

Nathan Halverson
Reveal
The Center for Investigative Reporting spent four months digging into the deal and produced two pieces that aired on PBS NewsHour over the weekend. The reporting was funded in part by the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at...

Conversation

09.12.14

Is a Trade War with China Looming?

Arthur R. Kroeber & Donald Clarke
As Alibaba gets ready to sell shares on Wall Street, U.S. investors will be focused on Chinese companies getting a fair shake here in America even as some big U.S. brand names (Microsoft, Chrysler, et al) are being shaken down by China's newly...

Alibaba’s IPO and the Hypocrisy in U.S.-China Economic Relations

Minxin Pei
Fortune
While Alibaba is readying its massive U.S.-based IPO, Chinese authorities are carrying out tough anti-monopoly enforcement actions against well-known U.S. companies.

The China Wave

Economist
Chinese management ideas are beginning to get the attention they deserve.

Could China’s Anti-Japan Propaganda Hurt Alibaba’s Image at Home?

Offbeat China
With Alibaba's IPO price set between $60 to $66, the company’s market valuation could hit as much as $200 billion, if everything goes as planned.

U.S. Group Says China Could Be Violating Trade Accords

Neil Gough
New York Times
The US Chamber of Commerce, which is based in Washington, raises the possibility of a new approach to China’s increasingly vigilant antitrust actions: lodging a complaint at the World Trade Organization, which China joined in 2001.

The Jack Ma Way

David Barboza
New York Times
At Alibaba, the founder Is squarely in charge ahead of the e-commerce giant's U.S. initial public offering.