People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by atma »

Last edited by SSridhar on 13 Apr 2011 11:16, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Atma, two mistakes. One, there is no caption for the link. Second, this link has no relevance to this thread.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by atma »

Last edited by SSridhar on 13 Apr 2011 11:16, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Same as above. One more, you will receive an official warning.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by ManishH »

Good chance MMS will get a "grainy photo leak" kind of welcome in PRC.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

The Chinese should not be allowed to manipulate BRICS to further its own interests or use that to act as a shield for pushing its agenda, to our cost. What made me worry is the following report.
Mr. Yang {Yang Jiemian, president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies and influential strategic analyst, who has shaped China's BRICS policy}, who has led the calls for China to expand its engagement with emerging countries as a way to challenge the West, has described the BRIC mechanism in several essays as a future model for diplomacy . . . Chinese analysts see it as a vehicle to push China's interests, from issues at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to exchange rate regimes and climate change. . . . For China, this means garnering support on specific issues where it has faced pressure from the West. On climate change and trade talks at Doha, Chinese officials acknowledge, the country would have been left isolated without India and Brazil. The recent UNSC vote, where the BRIC nations abstained from supporting military intervention in Libya, also underscored common concerns. . . . Reforming exchange rate regimes is another case in point. To challenge the United States dollar, China is also seeking to use the BRICS mechanism to gradually promote trade settlements in alternative currencies. . . China did not favour “a single currency regime again,” according to Jiang Chunyue, director of the Department for World Economy and Development at the CIIS. “I think we should move towards a basket of currencies, with the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, Euro, Chinese yuan and other currencies,” he said.

Officials from India and South Africa said they were struck by China's accelerated interest in recent months in driving forward engagement through the BRICS mechanism. “There is no question that China is taking this far more seriously than we are,” an official said. “In some sense, for us, it's still just another acronym.”
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Hari Seldon »

Yup, while excitable DDM and aam jingoes in India may go all gaga over sooper-power talk, nobody who matters anywhere takes such talk seriously. And rightly so.

PRC on the other hand, while quietly broadcasting its virtuous introspection, humility etc etc avoids such premature sooper-power talk and instead walks the walk directly. That is good because, the more the west starts to respond to PRC by tripping PRC's plans, the less likely they or the PRC will focus on tripping our tortoise pace anyway. Or so I hope.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by putnanja »

India, China to resume high-level military exchanges
India and China have agreed to resume high-level defence exchanges, stalled after Beijing denied a proper visa to a senior Indian army officer serving in Jammu and Kashmir, it was announced Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in this Chinese coastal resort. The two leaders discussed a range of bilateral and global issues.

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon told reporters after the 50-minute meeting that “following the discussions in the last few months about these exchanges, it has been agreed that a multi-command Indian army delegation will be visiting China later this year.
...
...
Asked about stapled visas, Menon said the Chinese “are working to resolve this”. He said Manmohan Singh and Hu “expressed satisfaction at the steady growth in the bilateral relationship” after “a very productive warm, friendly meeting”.
...
...
Why are we even resuming exchanges without a solid commitment from China that they will issue regular visas to J&K and Arunachal residents?
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by joshvajohn »

SSridar
I agree to your quote fully. It is true and pity that Indian govt falls into such trap. Even this BRIC can be used as way to keep off India's and Brazil's aspirations of becoming members of UN Sec council in the sense that any Chinese would represent their views in the council of so called BRICS. Our foreign ministry advisors have not got a clue of what is the long term strategy in doing this. They should learn from history Chinese before Invasion kept a good friendship with Nehru. I am not against the friendship of Chinese people or govt. But while their army is taking survey in Pok borders what our pm and foreign ministry is doing without raising concerns about this. I even assume that there can be sympathisers within foreign ministry for China'a activities against India. India also needs West and rest. When Climate change issue came up India stood with China but it was India which was targeted at the end because Chinese had talks at the door with folks. I would even suggest that the whole of foreign ministry advisors be transferred to something else and bring in some young strategic brains that are not bribed nor lazy thinkers rather bring India to lead many contemporary issues in a critical and creative and leadership way. India can provide best leadership in the world by creative youthful but experienced and learnt ways.
China does all that against Indian Interests, our folks are not only prepared for this but also are not showing neither awarness nor strategical countering!

Krishna assures BJP of strict vigil on China's activities in PoK
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/krish ... ok/773034/

Arunachal MP urges security on eastern front
http://articles.economictimes.indiatime ... kam-sanjoy

Rajnath: India faces danger from China
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... al-pradesh


China claims no affect to India from its Dam on Brahmaputra#
http://www.timesofassam.com/headlines/c ... rahmaputra
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

India & China agree to address irritants in ties
India and China on Wednesday agreed to work towards removing all major irritants impacting bilateral relationship including the border issue and trade imbalance. At their first meeting this year, both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed to set up a mechanism on coordination and consultation on border affairs, resume senior-level defence exchanges, initiate a high-level economic dialogue for focussed redress of investment and market access grievances and step up high-level contacts.

On the sidelines, officials came away with the impression that China is agreeable to resolving the issue of issuing stapled visas to Indians domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir. {Mere impressions are not good enough. This diplomatic language is actually an admission that China did not promise anything. The unnecessary hype about 4 J&K journalists getting regular visas to cover Man Mohan Singh's trip was because the Chinese probably did not want to create an unpleasant sitution just before the important BRIC(S) meeting which it is trying to manipulate and use to its advantage. Sooner than later, China will revert to the stapled visas. India's test case of sending 4 J&K journalists along with the PM's entourage was to test the waters but it was not the conclusive test. China has to expressly admit that it would no longer issue stapled visas. There should be no defence exchanges or even port calls by naval ships}

The two countries decided to end the pause in high-level defence exchanges with a multi-command Indian Army delegation scheduled to visit China later this year.{This is a shame without the complete and once-and-for-all resolution of the stapled visas. This government is surrendering everywhere}
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by harbans »

Sridhar Ji, the GOI is being Chanakyan. They have convinced the Chinese to give an impression that they are agreeable on the staple visa issue for J & K. Now India's relations with China will improve by leaps tarrel than Himalayas. India will give a statement that Tibet is an integral part of China. To really stress on that they will also say Shiva was originally Chinese and Mansarover and Kailash are actually Man Chou Lou and Kai Lai. That Buddhism is Chinese and issuing no visas by Chinese to Arunachalese is OK and in return look what we are getting,..China is cooperating with India to snub US in climate control talks..China and India are cooperating militarily too..now even our troops can tell that to Comrades across the POK. The firing too has reduced from the Pakistani side after Chinese troops have moved into the bunkers at the LOC.. no?
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

harbans, indeed, we Tamils call Kailash as Kailai or Kailaiam.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by abhishek_sharma »

Not stapled, J&K scribes get regular China visa

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... wen-jiabao
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

Action Plan by BRICS

I am posting it here because of the concern that China is perhaps dominating in drawing up the action plan and other BRIS are too weak to resist. I am not sure if B, R & S are capable or even willing to stand up to the Chinese hegemon. Among the BRIS, China has huge spat and border dispute only with India. It is the only country to contain which it has not only transferred nukes & missiles to its arch enemy but continues to prop up hostility. China is the only one among P-5 to be hostile to India's presence in UNSC. And, yet, BRICS talks of increasing cooperation at international level on security and UN reforms. While bilateral issues in a multilateral forum may not be discussed, there is a real danger of the Panchsheel making a rear and new entry into India-China relationship with equally disastrous consequences. We should also guard against PRC driving a wedge between the rapidly developing relationship between India and the US (read, 'West'). While we may have our own gripe with the US on many issues, especially Pakistan, we must not let PRC sabotage the relationship because we certainly need it.
This followed a concurrence of views on almost all issues of international importance, including political, economic, climate change, terrorism and reforms of the United Nations and international financial institutions.

The plan schedules a string of high-level meetings on almost all issues — security, political and economic — to enable the five countries better coordinate their positions.

India, Brazil and South Africa drew comfort from Russia and China “endorsing” their candidature for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the Sanya Declarationthough Indian officials later sounded a cautionary footnote. {Indian officials are not entirely convinced about Chinese intentions vis-a-vis Indian candidacy. This is correct reading.} “Language-wise this is an advancement but this only indicates the trend. Maybe China and Russia feel that the three [IBSA] have more wind behind their sails now,” observed a senior official. In return, the four countries called for early inclusion of Russia in the World Trade Organisation.
While the BRICS is still a work-in-progress with intentions still at the declaratory stage, the grouping decided to tackle the problem of foreign exchange volatility by endorsing primacy for local currency in trading with each other. {India will have to tread carefully here. The Renminbi's artificial parity is causing concern. The Chinese may be attempting a divide-and-conquer policy.}
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

China signals interest in expanding defence exchanges
Excerpts
The Chinese government said on Thursday it was “vigorously committed” to developing military ties with India, drawing a line over nine months of strained defence ties and indicating it was in favour of expanding military-to-military contacts.

The two countries on Wednesday agreed to resume defence exchanges following a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, along the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Sanya, in southern China's Hainan province.

“India is an important neighbour of China. China is vigorously committed to developing military-to-military relations with India,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said on Thursday.

“China always values our military exchanges with India, and believes the two sides could proceed from the overall interest of bilateral relations, and follow the principle of seeking for common ground while solving differences, to promote the sound and stable development of our military relations,” he said.

According to Indian officials, China had agreed to receive a delegation comprising officers from the Northern Command later this year, and will issue them regular visas. China has not issued stapled visas since November, Indian officials said adding that it was not, however, clear whether the policy had been stopped.{That's the point. India must understand from China clearly as to why it resorted suddenly to the stapled-visa policy and whether the stoppage is now permanent. There should be no hurry, at least from our side, to resume these exchanges. If the Chinese are in a hurry, let us leverage that.}

Mr. Hong did not reply to a question on whether China had indeed withdrawn the stapled visa policy, or whether it was merely making an exception to allow exchanges to resume. He said: “For issues relating to people-to-people exchanges in our relations, we are ready to properly solve these issues through friendly consultation.” {The spokesman is not clearly answering the question which, in diplomatese, means 'no'}

The resumption of exchanges would allow both countries to address persisting mistrust, said Zhao Gancheng, Director of South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

“I think the two sides have successfully resolved problems, including I think, the stapled visa issue,” he said. “Resuming exchanges is useful and helpful in improving mutual understanding on security issues, and to get better perceptions of what both sides are thinking about.”

He said the two countries should, at once, resume holding joint exercises. “We have had three naval exercises, and one or two army exercises on counter-terrorism. We have not yet conducted any joint exercise between the air forces. Perhaps this is the time for the two sides to resume these exercises, which is useful for both countries to get a better understanding of each other.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SureshP »

India
India is a global leader as a provider of services, practically inventing the outsourcing industry.

Unlike Brazil and Russia, which have built their economies on commodities exports, India has developed its people.

Along with computer services, the medical-care industry has taken huge strides.

But it has failed to become a mass manufacturer like the other Bric countries, and as a result still imports much of its manufactured goods from China.

This means that although China is now India's largest trade partner, India runs a large trade deficit with the country.

"There is an asymmetry in their relationship," said Taimur Baig, from Deutsche Bank.

China

China has reinvented itself and is now a mass producer of hi-tech products, including semi-conductors and solar panels.

It also still continues to be a large producer of low-cost, high-value industries, like garments and textiles.

"Its about maintaining competitiveness in the global economy," said Damian Tobin, from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

"Low-cost manufacturing is intensely driven by the labour cost component, if that starts to rise then a lot of firms will look for the next cheapest alternatives like Vietnam," he added.

To maintain growth in manufacturing, China has increasingly turned towards more high-tech products.

In the past year, China has successfully won contracts to build high-speed rail around the world, after it became the global leader in the industry and is now home to the world's fastest train.

Just this week Brazil said it would allow Chinese companies to bid for a planned high-speed rail project.

The four Bric countries are united in their hunger for raw material to feed their rapid growth.

China has led the way in looking for resources around the globe but has been followed by Brazil, Russia and India

"China has been very pragmatic in reaching out across the board, all the way to Africa and Latin America, to secure supplies of commodities and at the same time creating markets for its own exports," said Taimur Baig, chief economist at Deutsche Bank in Singapore.

But they don't agree on everything.

Brazil and India have expressed concern about China flooding their markets with cheap goods, sparking a debate about the value of the yuan.

Most analysts agree that giving these four countries an acronym does not mean they will act as one on the global stage.

"I wouldn't expect the Brazilians or the Chinese to say Bric means a new configuration of the world. It's a longer process of seeing what gains can be made from collaboration with the G20 and other countries," said Mr Selwyn.

Even though the Bric countries are decreasing their dependence on developed economies, on a global stage they still need to work with the major industrialised nations.
Image

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13046521
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Shankas »

^^
Last year during Ganesh Chaturti, I went with my Cousin in Mumbai to purchase an Idol. The Chinese made one was cheaper than the one locally made.

I still can not figure out how an idol made of local clay is more expensive than one made 5000 km away and shipped.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by shiv »

Shankas wrote:^^
Last year during Ganesh Chaturti, I went with my Cousin in Mumbai to purchase an Idol. The Chinese made one was cheaper than the one locally made.

I still can not figure out how an idol made of local clay is more expensive than one made 5000 km away and shipped.
Its the lead paint that makes it cheap.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Shankas »

shiv wrote:
Shankas wrote:^^
Last year during Ganesh Chaturti, I went with my Cousin in Mumbai to purchase an Idol. The Chinese made one was cheaper than the one locally made.

I still can not figure out how an idol made of local clay is more expensive than one made 5000 km away and shipped.
Its the lead paint that makes it cheap.
Still doesn't add up
Lead Paint + Prison Labor + shipping + customs chai pani < Locally made Ganpati

I can't figure it out
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by shiv »

Shankas wrote:
Still doesn't add up
Lead Paint + Prison Labor + shipping + customs chai pani < Locally made Ganpati

I can't figure it out

Here's a guess.. Indian laws demand non use of lead paint. Indian buyers will not buy unpainted idols. Painted ones must use water colors that are less bright and less freely available. That means higher price. China just paints them with the usual and ships them. One shipload should cover Mumbai. One hafta payment in customs.

Has anyone actually bought a Chinese idol and had the paint tested?
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by saip »

I am little confused only. In the graphs above China exports to India should equal India imports from China AND China imports from India should equal India exports to China. But they don't. What am I missing?
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

saip wrote:I am little confused only. In the graphs above China exports to India should equal India imports from China AND China imports from India should equal India exports to China. But they don't. What am I missing?
Well, they almost closely match. A billion or two here and there could be because of the cutoff dates, sources of these data and accounting practices.
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Reviving the "Silk Route"

Post by khwaja »

http://www.dailypioneer.com/332355/Chin ... again.html

China plans reviving the Silk Route, while MMS continues his journey spreading his visions, dreams, world peace and so on...
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by VinodTK »

Manmohan's Pain Balm in the region may not work
So while there is an incremental gain at Sanya on the military exchanges, India has few reasons to cheer. Similarly on Pakistan too, while the spirit of Mohali has joined diplomatic lexicon, the fact that the security establishment of both the countries are still sceptical of this peace process is apparent from what happened outside the Mohali cricket stadium when a Pakistan mission staffer was detained, sparking a tit-for-tat response in Islamabad. While not making any efforts to repair these crucial relationships is not an option, the problem is that without any tangible action on India's core security concerns, terrorism in case of Pakistan, and a policy of non-provocation in case of China (the stapled visa issue et al), it will send wrong signals to these neighbours. This will only strengthen a soft state theory which is dangerous and may only compound Manmohan's nagging headache.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Stan_Savljevic »

China Has More Than 1.2 Million Students Studying Abroad

China had a record 1.27 million students studying abroad last year, says the country’s Ministry of Education, reports China Daily. The number of new students going abroad grew 24 percent from 2009, and the top 10 destinations are the United States, Australia, Japan, Britain, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, France, Germany, and Russia. Enrollments of Chinese students at American universities shot up 30 percent during the 2009-10 academic year, and a 9-percent increase in applications from foreign students to graduate schools is also largely due to students from China.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Christopher Sidor »

China and the End of the Deng Dynasty | STRATFOR

STRATFOR has written an article today regarding the current chinese state of affairs. Worth Reading, I am reproducing it in full over here. But before we go and read it some caveats are in order.

There are some glaring inconsistency in what the authors are saying in this article. Firstly they say that "plans of boosting household consumption have failed". Later they say " it (boosting household consumption) cannot (happen) within the decade period that China’s leaders envision — then growth will slow sharply and unemployment will rise". And finally they say "the attempt at economic transition has hardly begun."
So it is not clear what do the authors mean. Do they mean
1) Re balancing has failed ?
OR
2) Re balancing is not being attempted whole-heartedly ?
OR
3) Re balancing is being attempted but might fail ?

Basically this one of the dooms day pitch. We should not believe outright but nor should we discard it entirely. There are some gems and very important insights on offer in this article. These insights are definitely worth of a second look.


Happy reading...
China and the End of the Deng Dynasty
April 19, 2011 | 0855 GMT
By Matthew Gertken and Jennifer Richmond

Beijing has become noticeably more anxious than usual in recent months, launching one of the more high-profile security campaigns to suppress political dissent since the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. Journalists, bloggers, artists, Christians and others have been arrested or have disappeared in a crackdown prompted by fears that foreign forces and domestic dissidents have hatched any number of “Jasmine” gatherings inspired by recent events in the Middle East. More remarkable than the small, foreign-coordinated protests, however, has been the state’s aggressive and erratic reaction to them.


Meanwhile, the Chinese economy has maintained a furious pace of credit-fueled growth despite authorities’ repeated claims of working to slow growth down to prevent excessive inflation and systemic financial risks. The government’s cautious approach to fighting inflation has emboldened local governments and state companies, which benefit from rapid growth. Yet the risk to socio-political stability posed by inflation, expected to peak in springtime, has provoked a gradually tougher stance. The government thus faces twin perils of economic overheating on one side and overcorrection on the other, either of which could trigger an outburst of social unrest — and both of which have led to increasingly erratic policymaking.

These security and economic challenges are taking place at a time when the transition from the so-called fourth generation of leaders to the fifth generation in 2012 is under way. The transition has heightened disagreements over economic policy and insecurities over social stability, further complicating attempts to coordinate effective policy. Yet something deeper is driving the Communist Party of China’s (CPC’s) anxiety and heavy-handed security measures: the need to transform the country’s entire economic model, which carries hazards that the Party fears will jeopardize its very legitimacy.

Deng’s Model

Former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping is well known for launching China’s emergence from Mao’s Cultural Revolution and inaugurating the rise of a modern, internationally oriented economic giant. Deng’s model rested on three pillars.

The first was economic pragmatism, allowing for capitalist-style incentives domestically and channels for international trade. Deng paved the way for a growth boom that would provide employment and put an end to the preceding decade of civil strife. The CPC’s legitimacy thus famously became linked to the country’s economic success rather than to ideological zeal and class warfare.

The second pillar was a foreign policy of cooperation. The lack of emphasis on political ideology opened space for international maneuver, with economic cooperation the basis for new relationships. This gave enormous impetus to the Sino-American detente Nixon and Mao initiated. In Deng’s words, China would maintain a low profile and avoid taking the lead. China would remain unobtrusive to befriend and do business with almost any country — as long as it recognized Beijing as the one and only China.

The third pillar was the primacy of the CPC’s system. Reform of the political system along the lines of Western countries could be envisioned, but in practice would be deferred. That the reform process in no way would be allowed to undermine Party supremacy was sealed after the mass protests at Tiananmen, which the military crushed after a dangerous intra-Party struggle. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the People’s Armed Police would serve as Deng’s “Great Wall of steel” protecting the Party from insurrection.

For three decades, Deng’s model remained mostly intact. Though important modifications and shifts occurred, the general framework stands because Chinese-style capitalism and partnership with the United States have served the country well. Deng also secured his policy by establishing a succession plan: He was instrumental in setting up his immediate successor, Jiang Zemin, and Jiang’s successor, current President Hu Jintao.

Hu’s policies have not differed widely in practice from Deng’s. China’s response to the global economic crisis in 2008 revealed that Hu sought recourse to the same export- and investment-driven growth as his predecessors. Hu’s plans of boosting household consumption have failed, the economy is more off-balance than ever, and the interior remains badly in need of development. But along the general lines of Deng’s policy, the country has continued to grow and stay out of major conflict with the United States and others, and the Party has maintained indisputable control.

Emergent Challenges

Unprecedented challenges to Deng’s model have emerged in recent years. These are not challenges involving individuals; rather, they come from changes in the Chinese and international systems.

First, more clearly than ever, China’s economic model is in need of restructuring. Economic crisis and its aftermath in the developed world have caused a shortfall in foreign demand, and rising costs of labor and raw materials are eroding China’s comparative advantage even as its export sector and industries have built up extraordinary overcapacity.

Theoretically, the answer has been to boost household consumption and rebalance growth — the Hu administration’s policy — but this plan carries extreme hazards if aggressively pursued. If consumption cannot be generated quickly enough to pick up the slack — and it cannot within the decade period that China’s leaders envision — then growth will slow sharply and unemployment will rise. These would be serious threats to the CPC, the legitimacy of which rests on providing growth. Hence, the attempt at economic transition has hardly begun.

Not coincidentally, movements have arisen that seek to restore the Party’s legitimacy to a basis not of economics but of political power. Hu’s faction, rooted in the Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL), has a doctrine of wealth redistribution and Party orientation. It is set to expand its control when the sixth generation of leaders arrives. This trend also exists on the other side of the factional divide. Bo Xilai, the popular Party chief in Chongqing, is a “princeling.” Princelings are the children of Communist revolutionaries, who often receive prized positions in state leadership, large state-owned enterprises and the military. This group is expected to gain the advantage in the core leadership after the 2012 transition. Bo made himself popular by striking down organized-crime leaders who had grown rich and powerful from new money and by bribing officials. Bo’s campaign of nostalgia for the Mao era, including singing revolutionary songs and launching a “Red microblog” on the Internet, has proved hugely popular. It also has added an unusual degree of public support to his bid for a spot on the Politburo Standing Committee in 2012. Both sides appeal to the inherent value of the Party, rather than its role as economic steward, for justification.

The second challenge to Deng’s legacy has arisen from the military’s growing self-confidence and confrontational attitude toward foreign rivals, a stance popular with an increasingly nationalist domestic audience. The foreign policy of inoffensiveness for the sake of commerce thus has been challenged from within. Vastly more dependent on foreign natural resources, and yet insecure over prices and vulnerability of supply lines, China has turned to the PLA to take a greater role in protecting its global interests, especially in the maritime realm. As a result, the PLA has become more forceful in driving its policies.

In recent years, China has pushed harder on territorial claims and more staunchly defended partners like North Korea, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar. This trend, especially observable throughout 2010, has alarmed China’s neighbors and the United States. The PLA is not the only institution that seems increasingly bold. Chinese government officials and state companies have also caused worry among foreigners. But the military acting this way sends a particularly strong signal abroad.

And third, Deng’s avoidance of political reform may be becoming harder to maintain. The stark disparities in wealth and public services between social classes and regions have fueled dissatisfaction. Arbitrary power, selective enforcement of the law, official and corporate corruption, and other ills have gnawed at public content, giving rise to more and more frequent incidents and outbursts. The social fabric has been torn, and leaders fear that it could ignite with widespread unrest. Simultaneously, rising education, incomes and new forms of social organization like non-governmental organizations and the Internet have given rise to greater demands and new means of coordination among dissidents or opposition movements.

In this atmosphere, Premier Wen Jiabao has become outspoken, calling for the Party to pursue political reforms in keeping with economic reforms. Wen’s comments contain just enough ambiguity to suggest that he is promoting substantial change and diverging from the Party, though in fact he may intend them only to pacify people by preserving hope for changes in the unspecified future. Regardless, it is becoming harder for the Party to maintain economic development without addressing political grievances. Political changes seem necessary not only for the sake of pursuing oft-declared plans to unleash household consumption and domestic innovation and services, but also to ease social discontent. The Party realizes that reform is inevitable, but questions how to do it while retaining control. The possibility that the Party could split on the question of political reform, as happened in the 1980s, thus has re-emerged.

These new challenges to the Deng approach reveal a rising uncertainty in China about whether his solutions are adequate to secure the country’s future. Essentially, the rise of Maoist nostalgia, the princelings’ glorification of their Communist bloodline and the CCYL’s promotion of ideology and wealth redistribution imply a growing fear that the economic transition may fail, and that the Party therefore may need a more deeply layered security presence to control society at all levels and a more ideological basis for the legitimacy of its rule. Meanwhile, a more assertive military implies growing fears that a foreign policy of meekness and amiability is insufficient to protect China’s access to foreign trade from those who feel threatened by China’s rising power, such as Japan, India or the United States. Finally, a more strident premier in favor of political reform suggests fear that growing demands for political change will lead to upheaval unless they are addressed and alleviated.

Containing the Risks

These emerging trends have not become predominant yet. At this moment, Beijing is struggling to contain these challenges to the status quo within the same cycle of tightening and loosening control that has characterized the past three decades. Though the cycle is still recognizable, the fluctuations are widening — and the policy reactions are becoming more sudden and extreme.

The country is continuing to pursue the same path of economic development, even sacrificing more ambitious rebalancing to re-emphasize, in the 2011-15 Five-Year Plan, what are basically the traditional methods of growth. These include massive credit expansion fueling large-scale infrastructure expansion and technology upgrades for the export-oriented manufacturing sector, all provided for by transferring wealth from depositors to state-owned corporations and local governments. Modifications to the status quo have been slight, and radical transformation of the overall growth model has not yet borne fruit.

In 2011, China’s leaders also have signaled a swing away from last year’s foreign policy assertiveness. Hu and Obama met in Washington in January and declared a thaw in relations. Recently, Hu announced a “new security concept” for the region. He said that cooperation and peaceful negotiation remain official Chinese policy, and that China respects the “presence and interests” of outsiders in the region, a new and significant comment in light of the U.S. re-engagement with the region. The United States has approved China’s backpedaling, saying the Chinese navy has been less assertive this year than the last, and Washington has since toned down its own threats. China’s retreat is not permanent, and none of its neighbors have forgotten its more threatening side. But China has signaled an attempt to diminish tensions, as it has done in the past, to avoid provoking real trouble abroad (while focusing on troubles at home) for the time being.

Finally, the security crackdown under way since February — part of a longer trend of security tightening since at least 2008, but with remarkable new elements — shows that the state remains committed to Deng’s general deferral of political reform, choosing strict social control instead.

The Deng model thus has not yet been dismantled. But the new currents of military assertiveness, ideological zeal and demand for political reform have revealed not only differences in vision among the elite, but a rising concern among them for their positions ahead of the leadership transition. Sackings and promotions already are accelerating. Unorthodox trends suggest that leaders and institutions are hedging political bets to protect themselves, their interests and their cliques in case the economic transition goes wrong or foreigners take advantage of China’s vulnerabilities, or ideological division and social revolt threaten the Party. And this betrays deep uncertainties.

The Gravity of 2012

As the jockeying for power ahead of the 2012 transition has already begun in earnest, signs of vacillating and conflicting policy directives suggest that the regime is in a constant state of policy adjustment to try to avoid an extreme shift in one direction or another. Tensions are rising between leaders as they try to secure their positions without upsetting the balance and jeopardizing a smooth transfer of power. The government’s arrests of dissidents underline its fear of these growing tensions, as well as its sharp reactions to threats that could disrupt the transition or cause broader instability. Everything is in flux, and the cracks in the system are widening.

One major question is how long the Party will be able to maintain the current high level of vigilance without triggering a backlash. The government effectively has silenced critics deemed possible of fomenting a larger movement. The masses have yet to rally in significant numbers in a coordinated way that could threaten the state. But the regime has responded disproportionately to the organizational capabilities that the small Jasmine protests demonstrated, and has extended this magnified response to a number of otherwise-familiar spontaneous protests and incidents of unrest.

As security becomes more oppressive in the lead up to the transition — with any easing of control unlikely before then or even in the following year as the new government seeks to consolidate power — the heavy hand of the state runs the risk of provoking exactly the type of incident it hopes to prevent. Excessive brutality, or a high-profile mistake or incident that acts as a catalyst, could spark spontaneous domestic protests with the potential to spread.

Contrasting Deng’s situation with Hu’s is illuminating. When Deng sought to step down, his primary challenges were how to loosen economic control, how to create a foreign policy conducive to trade, and how to forestall democratic challenges to the regime. He also had to leverage his prestige in the military and Party to establish a reliable succession plan from Jiang to Hu that would set the country on a prosperous path.

As Hu seeks to step down, his challenges are to prevent economic overheating, counter any humiliating turn in foreign affairs such as greater U.S. pressure, and forestall unrest from economic left-behinds, migrants or other aggrieved groups. Hu cannot allow the Party (or his legacy) to be damaged by mass protests or economic collapse on his watch. Yet, like Jiang, he has to control the process without having Deng’s prestige among the military ranks and without a succession plan clad in Deng’s armor.

More challenging still, he has to do so without a solid succession plan. Hu is the last Chinese leader Deng directly appointed. It is not clear whether China’s next generation of leaders will augment Deng’s theory, or discard it. But it is clear that China is taking on a challenge much greater than a change in president or administration. It is an existential crisis, and the regime has few choices: continue delaying change even if it means a bigger catastrophe in the future; undertake wrenching economic and political reforms that might risk regime survival; or retrench and sacrifice the economy to maintain CPC rule and domestic security. China has already waded deep into a total economic transformation unlike anything since 1978, and at the greatest risk to the Party’s legitimacy since 1989. The emerging trends suggest a likely break from Deng’s position toward heavier state intervention in the economy, more contentious relationships with neighbors, and a Party that rules primarily through ideology and social control.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Sudip »

Trading With The Enemy: Sino-American Cyber-Espionage
over the last several months network, security experts have noticed that Facebook internet traffic has been purposely routed through China. In the case of Facebook, analyst are concerned that China is spying on foreign users in order to lift session ID information, personal information, e-mails, photos, chat conversations, all in order to lift propitiatory information, as well as monitor human rights activism.
Although Beijing is notorious for draconian internet censorship, having invested inordinate resources in a 30-50,000 man-strong internet shield, known as the Golden Shield
In a private meeting of U.S., German, French, British and Dutch officials held at Ramstein Air Base in September 2008, German officials said such computer attacks targeted every corner of the German market, including “the military, the economy, science and technology, commercial interests, and research and development,” and increase “before major negotiations involving German and Chinese interests,” according to a cable from that year…French officials said at the meeting that they “believed Chinese actors had gained access to the computers of several high-level French officials, activating microphones and Web cameras for the purpose of eavesdropping,” the cable said.
Are “chicken’s coming home to roost”?
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on November 30 that it had arrested 460 suspected hackers thought to have been involved in 180 cases so far in 2010.
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has two military units dedicated to this issue, the Seventh Bureau of the Military Intelligence Department (MID) and the Third Department of the PLA. The MID is the offensive arm (or terrorist/spy wing, depending on how you wan t to see things).
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by wig »

worth reading in full
The Courage of the Few-Dozens Targeted in Chinese Crackdown on Critical Voices
These are the actions of a government with unbridled power. One day the authorities detain activist Ni Yulan -- who is now confined to a wheelchair as a result of being tortured -- another day they sentence critic Liu Xianbin to 10 years in prison. Then they warn Zhao Lianhai, who fought for an investigation into the 2008 milk powder scandal, that if he doesn't stop speaking out, he's going back to prison. Zhao had dared to describe in a newspaper interview how he had been force-fed through the nose with a milk powder solution. He had also called for Ai Weiwei's release.

The fear has reached such levels that a single piece of news is enough to cause alarm. Late last week, suddenly no one was able to reach lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan. His cell phone was off, and nobody had heard anything from him. Shortly beforehand, Liu had given Ai Weiwei's wife legal advice. He is regarded as one of the lawyers who might possibly represent the artist. Although Liu has reappeared in the meantime, his sudden disappearance led to fears that the government now has its sights on the lawyer.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 52,00.html
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by wig »

Chinese police have raided a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in western China, killing two people, rights campaigners have said.
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) says two elderly men were killed trying to prevent police arresting monks at the Kirti monastery.
Tension has been high since a monk set himself on fire last month in an apparent anti-government protest.
Foreigners have been prevented from travelling to the region.
'Beaten'
The US-based ICT said paramilitary police raided the monastery in Aba, in the Sichuan province, on Thursday night and detained more than 300 monks.
As the monks were being driven away, the police beat a group of people who had been standing vigil outside Kirti, resulting in the deaths of two Tibetans aged in their sixties, ICT said, citing exile groups in contact with people in the area.
"People had their arms and legs broken, one old woman had her leg broken in three places, and cloth was stuffed in their mouths to stifle their screams," an exiled Kirti monk was quoted as saying by the rights group.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the account.
Aba has been restive since Tibetan communities across western China rose up in protests three years ago.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13174810
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

The PRC perfidy on militarization of outer space
This written from a US perspective. However, one can see a parallel here to the way the cut-off date of 1964 was arrived for characterizing some nations as Nuclear Powers for the purposes of NPT. India must be careful here too. And, one can also see the perfidy of China.
Excerpts
On March 31, 2011, the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issued a white paper on national defense titled China’s National Defense in 2010.1 The white paper is a comprehensive public statement of the PRC’s stance on matters relating to its national defense. Chapter X of the report, Arms Control and Disarmament, states the PRC’s position on the prevention of an arms race in space. Specifically, the section states that:

he Chinese government has advocated from the outset the peaceful use of outer space, and opposes any weaponization of outer space and any arms race in outer space. China believes that the best way for the international community to prevent any weaponization of or arms race in outer space is to negotiate and conclude a relevant international legally-binding instrument.

In February 2008, China and Russia jointly submitted to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) a draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space and the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT). In August 2009, China and Russia jointly submitted their working paper responding to the questions and comments raised by the CD members on the draft treaty. China is looking forward to starting negotiations on the draft treaty at the earliest possible date, in order to conclude a new outer space treaty.


The United States rejected the PPWT in 2008, and the provisions of the proposal have raised questions among other members of the Conference on Disarmament, yet the Russian Federation and the PRC continue to press for its adoption. However, in spite of the PRC’s stance in its white paper, is the true policy of the PRC to prevent an arms race in outer space or does it have a different objective in mind? The teachings of a legendary Chinese general may offer some insight.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles.”

A 2007 report to Congress from the State Department’s Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division3 addressing the PRC’s January 11, 2007, ASAT test quoted the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, General Peter Pace. At a March 7, 2007, news conference regarding the ASAT test, General Pace notes several comments made by PRC military and foreign policy personnel concerning the threat of the United States’ outer-space systems to the PRC’s national security:

* “Various comments by PLA officers and PRC civilian analysts have justified the ASAT test as needed to counter perceived U.S. ‘hegemony’ in space and target the vulnerability of U.S. dependence on satellites.”
* “A PLA Air Force colonel wrote in late 2006 that U.S. military power, including long-range strikes, have relied on superiority in space and that leveraging space technology can allow a rising power to close the gap with advanced countries more rapidly than trying to catch up.”
* “A PRC specialist at Fudan University indicated that China’s ASAT program is developed partly to maintain China’s nuclear deterrence, perceived as undermined by U.S. space assets.”

The PPWT offers the following definition of a space weapon:

The term “weapon in outer space” means any device placed in outer space, based on any physical principle, which has been specially produced or converted to destroy, damage or disrupt the normal functioning of objects in outer space, on the Earth or in the Earth’s atmosphere, or to eliminate a population or components of the biosphere which are important to human existence or inflict damage on them;

The PPWT goes on to say that:

A weapon shall be considered to have been “placed” in outer space if it orbits the Earth at least once, or follows a section of such an orbit before leaving this orbit, or is permanently located somewhere in outer space;

The PPWT then defines the “use of force” or the threat of “use of force” as:

The “use of force” or the “threat of force” mean any hostile actions against outer space objects including, inter alia, actions aimed at destroying them, damaging them, temporarily or permanently disrupting their normal functioning or deliberately changing their orbit parameters, or the threat of such actions.

The PPWT prohibits space weapons as defined by stating that:

he States Parties undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying any kinds of weapons, not to install such weapons on celestial bodies and not to place such weapons in outer space in any other manner; not to resort to the threat or use of force against outer space objects; and not to assist or induce other States, groups of States or international organizations to participate in activities prohibited by this Treaty.

More important than what the PPWT prohibits is what it does not prohibit or address. An August 18, 2009, letter from the Russian Federation and PRC delegation to the Disarmament Conference addressed concerns with the PPWT raised by other members. In particular, the letter asserts that:

1. The PPWT prohibits the use or threat of force against “outer space objects”, but it does not prohibit the use or threat of force in outer space.
2. The PPWT does not alter the right to self-defense allowed under Article 51 of the UN Charter; so long as that weapon is not prohibited by international law and is not used against a signatory of the PPWT.
3. The PPWT does not prohibit, the development, testing, and deployment of anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) so long as they do not meet the definition of “weapon in outer space” as defined by the PPWT.
4. The PPWT does not prohibit the development, testing and deployment of ground-based lasers and electronic suppression systems.
5. The PPWT does not address the issue of “dual-purpose” space technologies that could be employed both for peaceful or aggressive purposes.
6. The PPWT does not include any mechanism for verification.

The wording and interpretation of the PPWT works to the PRC’s advantage by allowing it to continue to develop and deploy direct-ascent ASAT technology and other ground-based ASAT techniques. On the other hand, countries such as the United States would be limited in the means it could use to develop and deploy defenses specifically if the means of defense might be defined as a space weapon under the PPWT.

Two faces of the PRC’s defense policy?

As noted earlier, much of the insight into the PRC’s intentions are the result of open-source information; however, there is evidence from official channels that may indicate the intentions and policy of the PRC.

An article from the Washington Times reported on an missile-defense test performed by the PRC in 2010 using components of the ASAT system used in the January 2007 test.13 The information concerning the test was gleaned by from a diplomatic cable belonging to the United States and disclosed by Wikileaks.14 In addition to the information relating to the missile-defense test, the disclosed cable purportedly notes concerns from United States’ diplomats that Beijing has duplicitous motives in regards to the issue of weapons in spaces.

According to the article, the cable purportedly contains concerns from United States’ diplomats that, while Beijing is promoting international treaties to limit or ban weapons in outer space, it is secretly developing its own missile defense and space weapons programs. The article continues that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, during a recent visit to Beijing, offered to hold talks with China on missile defense, space weapons, nuclear weapons, and cyber weapons, but was apparently rebuffed, with the PRC relegating the offer to be studied.

If accurate, diplomatic channels seem to verify that while publically touting its intention to prevent a arms race in space, the PRC is willing to do so only on its terms and through mechanisms like the PPWT to the exclusion of other methods, all the while increasing its ability to neutralize United States space systems and gain an upper hand in outer space.

The two faces of the PRC on outer space

The combined open source material and information gleaned from official diplomatic communications suggest the PRC is following a two-pronged approach to address outer space security. The first prong of the PRC’s strategy is to publically denounce the weaponization of outer space and advocate the international community to enter into formal treaties banning space weapons as defined by the PRC thereby leaving the outer space systems belonging to its potential adversaries open to exploitation. The second prong of the PRC’s strategy is to continue to pursue the development and deployment of infrastructure both to deny an adversary the use of outer space while establishing an advantage in outer space.

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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by SSridhar »

India can take advantage of policy shift in China
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday said that India could well benefit from the policy shift in China from export oriented to domestic consumer-driven economy by increasing exports and help bridge the trade deficit.

Expressing concern over the widening trade deficit between the two countries, Mr. Sharma said the policy shift would provide tremendous opportunity to Indian exporters to channel new shipments. India's trade deficit with China in 2010 stood at $20.02 billion against $15.87 billion in 2009.

“The recently unveiled 12th Five-Year Plan for 2012-16 by China, with a strong slant for a domestic consumer-driven economy will give enormous opportunity for Indian exporters to access China's huge consumer market in the coming years,” Mr. Sharma said after his meeting with Jiang Jufeng, the Governor of Sichuan Province of China, here on Monday.

He said there was a great potential for cooperation between the regions. “India is an important partner to Sichuan Province, in terms of trade, engineering contracting and service outsourcing cooperation, as well as an emerging investment destination and source,” he added.

India has invested in seven projects in Sichuan, with a contracted foreign investment of $10.59 million. The province has annual trade of $1.2 billion with $1.1 billion in exports to India. Indian imports from the province include electrical and mechanical equipment, audio and video equipment, textiles, metal ware and chemicals. Exports include minerals, chemicals and electrical and mechanical products.

In January, total volume of import and export between Sichuan and India soared 41.64 per cent to $129 million on yearly basis. China has emerged as one of India's largest trading partners. The bilateral trade stood at $61.74 billion in 2010.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Austin »

IMF Predicts Chinese Economy to Surpass U.S. in 2016
America's economic dominance on the world stage could end in five years, according to a new report.

The International Monetary Fund's latest forecast predicts that China's economy will outflank the United States' in 2016.

That moment would come more than a decade earlier than most forecasters suggest. However, other forecasts compare the gross domestic products and current exchange rates of the U.S. and China in arguing that it will be many years before the countries trade places. MarketWatch reported that the IMF is using what's known as "purchasing power parities," comparing what residents of both countries earn and spend domestically.

Based on that comparison, China's economy will rise from $11.2 trillion in 2011 to $19 trillion in 2016. The U.S. economy will rise at a slower pace, from $15.2 trillion to $18.8 trillion in that period. According to MarketWatch, China's share of the global economy will hit 18 percent, while the United States' share will lag behind at 17.7 percent.

The finding comes at a rocky time for the U.S. economy. Though the job market has improved since the 2008 Wall Street collapse, unemployment remains high and Washington has struggled to balance stimulus and incentive programs against the need to close the deficit.

In the absence of a deficit-reduction deal, Standard & Poor's rating agency last week announced that it was downgrading the U.S. debt outlook from stable to negative, warning that a failure to strike a deficit agreement could lead to a lower credit rating in the future.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Suraj »

Not mentioned in those articles, since they focus on US vs China, but as of 2011, India also overtakes Japan as the world's third largest economy in PPP terms behind US and China, with a PPP GDP of $4.45 trillion as opposed to Japan's $4.41 trillion (may be lower due to the quake and aftereffects).
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Hari Seldon »

Came across a firm's India entry plans wherein Indian economy's size in 2020 is pegged at US 3.1 trillion. I thought we'd already crossed 2T and another odd T in the next 6 yrs looks all set. What's withthese lowballed figures I wonder.

Economissed had another lazy, shallow deprecatory article on the IndEconomy wherein they let slip that because GOI arms collect GDP data at factor cost (supply side then projected onto and sclaed upto the entire economy) unlike what the rest of the world (and esp the TFTA nations) do - compute GDP by expenditure (demand side story emphasized upon mainly) - Indian inadvertantly (??) lowballs its growth figures by anywhere between 1.5 to 2 % points. Well, well....reminded me of Desh not building an ICBM even though it's long had the capability to do so. Why stir hornet's nests unnecessarily? Similarly, why expose economic muscle this early on in the game?

Anyway, sorry if OT. Have a nice day, all.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by joshvajohn »

China Projecting India Threat And Limiting India: The Game Goes On – Analysis
http://www.eurasiareview.com/china-proj ... -03052011/
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Klaus »

Christopher Sidor ji, many thanks for posting the entire transcript of the white paper on defense. It was a worthwhile read indeed!
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by putnanja »

Chinese presence in Siachen, army alert
The Indian army has sent a note of caution ahead of India-Pakistan talks this month that Pakistan should be offered no concessions on Siachen glacier as the heavy presence of the Chinese troops in Karokaram has added to already existing dangers there. It has been made clear that "no risks" can be taken at this stage. The biggest danger, according to the highly placed sources in the army is that there was no guarantee of "Pakistan not repeating what it did in early 1980s when it set its footprints on the glacier".
...
...
It is believed that Pakistan's insistence that Siachen should be demilitarised is connected with its future plans on Siachen glacier with the active assistance of the Chinese troops. Much before the Northern Command chief Lt. Gen. K T Parnaik voiced his apprehensions that about the presence of the Chinese troops along the Line of Control, the American newspaper New York Times revealed it all.


...
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by asprinzl »

The fault lies in Indian importers who source goods blindly from chinese factories instead of sourcing them from Indian factories or cottage industry houses. Indian manufacturers/investors cannot invest in production runs unless an order is placed with good lead time. Mass manufacturing can bring down cost. India with more than a billion people cannot bring down the price of a religious idol through mass production?
Or at least traders/importers can help indian industries by limiting their sourcing from China. They can learn a huge lesson from Chinese traders in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. If you go looking for a crew driver...they will get you one made in china. If you ask for a bolt, same story. If you ask for other brands...they would tell you that it is no good or not available etc and keep pushing made in china goods. if a sales rep from tata approaches a dealer/inporter/distributor in Malaysia to sell pliers...the chinese dude would tell the tata rep there is no market for pliers at all in malaysia. If an Indian Malayan customer goes looking for a tata brand plier, the chinese retailer would say...tata dont make pliers. This is how the overseas chinese have been helping the homecountry for decades. Some levels of patriotism is surely needed.
Some of the biggest independant electronics importers/distributors in the world are people of Indian descent and they could help by sourcing from India. But they dont. You can see them all lining up at the annual trade expo in Hing Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai etc.
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by wig »

not exactly an uplifting article in the new york times: In China, Fear of Fake Eggs and ‘Recycled’ Buns
In recent weeks, China’s news media have reported sales of pork adulterated with the drug clenbuterol, which can cause heart palpitations; pork sold as beef after it was soaked in borax, a detergent additive; rice contaminated with cadmium, a heavy metal discharged by smelters; arsenic-laced soy sauce; popcorn and mushrooms treated with fluorescent bleach; bean sprouts tainted with an animal antibiotic; and wine diluted with sugared water and chemicals.

Even eggs, seemingly sacrosanct in their shells, have turned out not to be eggs at all but man-made concoctions of chemicals, gelatin and paraffin. Instructions can be purchased online, the Chinese media reported.

Scandals are proliferating, in part, because producers operate in a cutthroat environment in which illegal additives are everywhere and cost-effective. Manufacturers calculate correctly that the odds of profiting from unsafe practices far exceed the odds of getting caught, experts say. China’s explosive growth has spawned nearly half a million food producers, the authorities say, and four-fifths of them employ 10 or fewer workers, making oversight difficult.

China’s iron political controls ensure that no powerful consumer lobby exists to agitate for reform, press lawsuits that punish wayward producers or lobby the government to pay as much attention to consumer safety as it does to controlling threats to its own power. Instead, like Alice after falling through the rabbit hole, consumers must guess what their food and drink contain.
Even the government’s most dramatic crackdowns have fallen short. After the 2008 milk-powder scandal drew international attention, the authorities ordered all melamine-tainted dairy products to be destroyed. But they have turned up again and again.

Last week, the police in Chongqing in southwestern China uncovered 26 tons of melamine-tainted milk powder at a factory that made ice cream bars, The People’s Daily reported.

Clenbuterol is another recurring problem. According to the Chinese news media, the drug was banned in animal feed nearly a decade ago because it can cause heart palpitations and other health problems in humans.

But experts say it remains widely available. Many farmers continue to feed it to pigs because it helps the animals develop more muscle and less fat and allows them to be sold for slaughter more quickly.

Just last month, the Shuanghui Group, one of China’s largest meat producers, recalled thousands of tons of meat and meat products after news reports that a company affiliate had processed pork from pigs that were fed clenbuterol.

Consumers have also been repeatedly poisoned by excessive levels of the chemical nitrite in meat, Feng Ping, a professor at the Beijing Academy of Food Sciences, told an international food-safety conference last month. The most recent suspected case occurred April 21 when a 1-year-old Beijing girl died after eating fried chicken bought from an outdoor vendor, a local newspaper reported.

How many others fall sick or die from contaminated food is anyone’s guess because data on food-borne diseases is spotty at best. “We operate in the dark in many ways,” Dr. Ben Embarek said.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/world ... ndex.jsonp
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by VinodTK »

China goes all out to defend ally Pakistan
Global Times said, "Being a populous country with nuclear weapons, Pakistan's stability is vital for the whole region. It would be ridiculous and wrong to force Pakistan to bend before external pressures: Respect rather than oppression from the West is what would help the nation realize modernization."

It went on, "Standing at the beachhead of the war on terror, the Pakistani government has taken risks beyond the imagination of the West in recent years. Pakistan has suffered huge losses from the war, making it a victim of social disruption and numerous violent incidents as well as the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who was one of the most outstanding leaders of the nation."

It concluded that it was the infusion of American money into Pakistan that made the West treat Pakistan as "nothing but a country that has been bought and maneuvered by US dollars".


PLA makes first appearance at US-China talks
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by putnanja »

China can deploy half-a-million troops on LAC for a month, Army alerts PM
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Combining deft defence diplomacy with India’s neighbours and major infrastructure upgradation in restive Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing is expected to be increasingly assertive towards New Delhi and may put pressure on Arunachal Pradesh in near future.

This threat perception and assessment in the form of a presentation in South Block was given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony, National Security Adviser S S Menon, Principal Secretary T K Nair and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar by the Indian military brass last month.
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As part of major infrastructure upgradation in Tibet and Xinjiang, China is doing the following:

Connection with all counties in Tibet with border roads completed. Road network increased from 51,000 km in 2008 to 58,000 km in 2010. Plans to increase black topped roads by another 70,000 km on the anvil.

Extension of Qinghai-Tibet Railway from Golmund to Lhasa and thereon to Shigatse (close to Sikkim). Rail connectivity is planned to link Kathmandu, Myanmar, Bhutan, Pakistan and Central Asian republics. Eleven new rail lines on the anvil in Tibet and Xinjiang for rapid deployment of PLA.

There are eight airfields in Tibet, including five operational ones; 18 air bases in Tibet and Xinjiang have the capability to put India under range of Sukhoi 27 aircraft.

The Indian security concerns get multiplied when this Chinese advantage is backed with an all-weather friend like Pakistan. Beijing is in the process of supplying four F-22 frigates along with JF-17 aircraft to Islamabad. PLA has pushed some 1,000 troops in PoK for upgradation of Karakoram Highway and to link it with sea ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Bin Qassim. This will not only give strategic depth to Pakistan but also allow PLA to control the Persian Gulf.
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Nesoj
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Re: People's Republic of China Nov 22, 2009

Post by Nesoj »

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... _the_world

The Strategic Pork Reserve

China is a porcine superpower as well as a human one. The Middle Kingdom boasts more than 446 million pigs -- one for every three Chinese people and more than the next 43 countries combined. So when there's a major disruption in the pork supply it hits the economy hard; the "blue-ear pig" disease that forced Chinese farmers to slaughter millions of pigs in 2008, for example, drove the country's inflation rate to its highest level in a decade.

To prevent further disruptions, the Chinese government established a strategic pork reserve shortly afterward, keeping icy warehouses around the country stocked with frozen pork that can be released during times of shortage. The government was forced to add to the reserve -- taking pigs off the market -- in the spring of 2010 when a glut led to prices collapsing.
on another note - doesn't this reserve include the 'Porkis' ??
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