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A small step for Ren, a big one for Huawei

2013-05-17 08:39

When Ren Zhengfei, the founder and president of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, talked to journalists in New Zealand a week or so ago, much was made of the media-shy businessman publicly expressing his views. But there was much more to it than that.

Jack of all things Internet

2013-05-17 08:39

The Chinese count years in cycles of twelve. When a Chinese person enters an age that's a multiple of twelve, it is often viewed with great anticipation and anxiety as it said to signal a major event in that person's life.

Trade figures raise sticky questions ...

2013-05-17 08:39

Trade figures are a central element when you analyze the Chinese economy, which is understandable given that trade accounts for one-third of the country's GDP.

... and straight answers are needed

2013-05-17 08:39

China has a huge interest in looking at the way its official statistics are compiled

The trade game that everyone must win

2013-05-17 08:39

While the European Union announced this month that it will seek to impose duties as high as 47.6 percent on European imports of Chinese solar panels, the 159 members of the World Trade Organization were voting to replace the outgoing French Director-General Pascal Lamy with a Brazilian, Roberto Azevido.

Technology paves way to realizing dream

2013-05-10 08:49

Taking a subway in China today is a digital trip. I remember the first time I saw the poster of a Shanghai subway station turned into a "digital" shelf. Simply scan the barcode of an item on the poster, and by the time you get home, the product will be on its way for delivery. And while riding the train, it is hard not to notice most people are leaning into digital screens. They are engrossed in a micro blog, playing a game, or messaging friends. Today more than half of all access to the Internet occurs through mobile devices, and technology has revolutionized the way Chinese interact with the world.

Dazzled by the great Chinese puzzle

2013-05-10 08:49

A quick trip to the country throws up many answers - and just as many questions

Wages reach point of no return

2013-05-10 08:49

China has reached its Lewis turning point. This is a critical milestone for a developing economy, when urban factories, restaurants and other businesses have to start raising wages faster than the inflation rate to attract rural workers. Until that point, factory wages can remain flat and still attract farm workers living on subsistence incomes at home. It will take years for China to reach the end of the turning point, when urban and rural wages are equal. Until then, the increase in real wages for unskilled workers is here to stay.

Travel boom a jumbo opportunity

2013-05-10 08:49

A few days ago Airbus announced that the largest market for its super jumbo, the A380, will be China. Airbus went further with a forecast that market demand in China over the next 20 years will top 200 aircraft with 500 or more seats.

HK handover one of legacies of Thatcher

2013-05-10 08:49

Most obituaries and memorials of Margaret Thatcher, who died aged 87 on April 8, failed to mention that she was British prime minister when China negotiated and then signed the joint declaration regarding Hong Kong. This agreement with Britain decided Hong Kong's future, and underpins its success today.

Deal sealed with a handshake and fish

2013-05-03 08:27

When China wants to try something new, it usually launches a pilot program. If that runs well, it is declared to be a demonstration project aimed at being a model of its type.

The changing face of service society

2013-05-03 08:27

The face of China's civil society has undergone a dramatic makeover in recent years, none more so than in the way its organizations are funded.

Armed, overbearing and dangerous

2013-05-03 08:27

Officials in both the Bush and Obama administrations have argued that China's military budget is excessive for the country's legitimate defense needs. But US military spending is vastly greater than that of China or any other country. Indeed, Washington's military budget for this year, including funding for the war in Afghanistan, is about six times Beijing's official defense budget. Given that China is located in a region with multiple security concerns while the US neighborhood is extremely stable and peaceful, it would seem that it is US military spending that is excessive for legitimate defense needs.

The West needs to learn, not to teach

2013-05-03 08:27

The head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, visited Beijing in March to attend the annual meeting of the China Development Forum.The OECD wrote a report especially for the forum, titled Stepping Up the Pace of Reform and Fostering Greener and More Inclusive Growth in China. Gurria was joined at the forum by the CEOs and chairmen of 67 large foreign multinationals, other foreign experts such as the Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Spence from Stanford and the economist Martin Feldstein from Harvard, as well as many senior figures from the Chinese government including Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who gave the keynote address. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the options for China's development.

Fixing the environment is in our hands

2013-04-26 08:35

China's environmental problems were propelled to the forefront of national consciousness at the start of the year, highlighted by smog in Beijing that prompted the city to issue the first-ever orange fog alert, indicating that visibility fell below 200 meters.

Tips that will keep firms on right path

2013-04-26 08:35

It used to be that the only way for multinational corporations to enter China was through a joint venture with a local Chinese partner, typically a government-appointed state-owned enterprise. Foreign ownership was capped at 50 percent, and multinational corporations faced numerous hurdles, such as local supplier requirements and mandatory technology transfer agreements.

Bonds of lasting friendship

2013-04-26 08:35

It has been more than 38 years since China and the European Union first established diplomatic ties. During the past decade, the two sides have become strategic partners striving for stable, sustainable relations, with mutual trust being the cornerstone of all bilateral engagements.

US faces a dilemma on terrorism

2013-04-26 08:35

The Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 170, the shootout that followed on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a massive explosion in a fertilizer plant in Texas made up a black week for the United States and highlighted domestic security issues.

Lessons from an earthquake

2013-04-26 08:35

The earthquake in Ya'an in western Sichuan province on April 20 with a magnitude of 7 was the second major seismic event to occur in China - the other being the Yushu quake in Qinghai province in 2010 - since the Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008. The Wenchuan earthquake was bigger, at a magnitude of 8, and killed more than 80,000 people and injured 375,000; In Ya'an about 200 are dead, and more than 12,000 injured. Does this show that the earthquake emergency services in Sichuan have become more efficient than they were in 2008?

A change of course: It's all in the mind

2013-04-19 09:35

The Chinese economy fared poorly in the first quarter if you look only at the growth rate.

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