Changing China
Giant on the move
from Sebastian Tong:
Stop pushing and we’ll do it
The growing acrimony in the international debate over China's currency policy has led some to warn that Beijing could dig in its heels if pushed to hard to let its yuan rise.
But Barclays Capital says Beijing could let its currency strengthen as early as next month, notwithstanding its public resolve against Washington's threat to label it as a currency manipulator.
"They do have a 'If you stop pushing, we'll do it' attitude, which is kind of childish, really. But it will happen because they are the only country in the world, besides India, where there is a whiff of inflation," says Barclays' asset allocation head Tim Bond.
"It's in their own interest. It's the right thing to do."
Barclays expects the relaxation of China's de facto dollar peg to result in the equivalent of a five percent annual appreciation over the next year.
Investors should also keep the heightened rhetoric among U.S. lawmakers in perspective, Bond says.
"The anti-China lobbyists in the U.S. are a lot noisier than the pro-China lobbyists."
from Global News Journal:
Interview with North Korea border crosser Robert Park
(Photographs by Lee Jae-won)
North Korea said on Tuesday it had detained a U.S. citizen who entered its territory, apparently confirming a report that an American activist crossed into the state to raise awareness about Pyongyang's human rights abuses. Robert Park, 28, walked over the frozen Tumen river from China and into the North last Friday, other activists said. The Korean-American told Reuters ahead of the crossing that it was his duty as a Christian to make the journey and that he was carrying a letter calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to step down.
Park had an exclusive interview with Reuters last week before starting on his journey. The following are excerpts from the conversation. He requested that the comments be held until he was in North Korea.
Reuters: Why are you planning to go into North Korea?
Robert Park: The North Korean human rights crisis by murder rate is the worst in the world. An estimated 1,000 people a day die by starvation and starvation is a murder case. North Korea has been sent more food aid than any nation in the world but the food has not gone to the people who need it. So this is murder.
But not only that, there are concentration camps in North Korea that are of the same brutality as in Nazi Germany.
Robert Park wasn’t helping anyone but himself. There are already scores of Christians who go into the North covertly to retrieve people or bring in supplies. Personally I think they’re the only ones with enough guts (or reckless enough) to endanger themselves on a regular basis and, because of their strong personal convictions, are the only ones who should be doing it.
They don’t get nabbed and they don’t bring the spotlight. The authorities would have fiercely interrogated and punished anyone suspected of coming into contact with him or aiding him.
Now he can go write a book and be a ‘specialist’. A risky, but great career move. We already are aware of the dire situation in North Korea. The Authorities have a strangle hold on their own people and are holding them hostage. It’s not an easy situation, but Parks efforts will only risk more lives. He is a far cry from bringing down the regime peacefully without collateral damage.
from Pakistan: Now or Never?:
Can China help stabilise Pakistan?
When President Barack Obama suggested in Beijing last month that China and the United States could cooperate on bringing stability to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and indeed to "all of South Asia", much of the attention was diverted to India, where the media saw it as inviting unwarranted Chinese interference in the region.
But what about asking a different question? Can China help stabilise the region?
As I wrote in this analysis, China -- Islamabad's most loyal partner -- is an obvious country for the United States to turn to for help in working out how to deal with Pakistan.
It already has substantial economic stakes in the region, including in the Aynak copper mine in Afghanistan and Gwadar port in Pakistan. Its economy would be the first to gain from any peace settlement which opened up trade routes and improved its access to oil, gas and mineral resources in Central Asia and beyond. It also shares some of Washington's concerns about Islamist militancy, particularly if this were to spread unrest in its Muslim Xinjiang region.
There is virtually no chance of Beijing sending military forces to Pakistan or Afghanistan. But Chinese support could come in the form of pressure on Pakistan, help for its economy, and at least tacit backing for U.S. actions and demands.
It already indicated a willingness to take a more nuanced approach to Pakistan when it supported a U.N. ban on the Jamaat ud-Dawa, the humanitarian wing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, after last year's attack on Mumbai. It is also looking for ways to help bolster Pakistan's economy --a Pakistani finance ministry official said this week that Pakistan was in talks with China on a currency-swap deal with the aim of conserving its foreign exchange reserves.
But Chinese antipathy to interference in other countries' affairs, a divergence of views on exactly what needs to happen in Pakistan, and China-India rivalry all limit how far Beijing can be roped into helping on Pakistan.
China is great, I am a Chinese men, I support.But we are happy and the world to make friends with other people.We can provide the products you like.
Obama at the Great Wall
Aides say U.S. President Barack Obama really enjoys sightseeing breaks during the hectic schedules of his foreign trips, since they let him clear his head.
The blustery wind on the Great Wall on Wednesday may have helped as well, as Obama broke away from tour guides and walked alone for a few minutes to Badaling’s third watchtower.
Mao said “Bu Dao Changcheng Fei Hao Han” which can mean “You aren’t a great man until you’ve been to the Great Wall” but also implies “You aren’t a good Chinese until you’ve been to the Great Wall.”
Nixon said “I think you would have to conclude that this is a Great Wall and it had to be built by a great people.”
And Obama?
“It’s magical. It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on Earth is not that long and we better make the best of it.”
He hadn’t brought a camera, but he did seem reluctant to leave, instead posing for photos with American and Chinese ambassadors.
Check out this funny post: http://barackoflove.wordpress.com/2009/1 1/18/hidden-potus-crouching-tiger/
An Unlikely Couple
Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, arguably the world’s two most powerful men, stand shoulder to shoulder for their respective national anthems in Beijing on Tuesday.
But there are few smiles ahead of a morning of bilateral meetings on everything from the value of China’s currency to global warming. With their nations’ fates so bound to the relationship, and faced with the challenge of juggling trade and Tibet, it’s anyone’s guess what’s going through their minds.
It doesn’t help when a slightly disorientated Obama bumps into Hu’s back. But the Chinese President comes to the rescue with a gentle tug in the right direction.
“Which way are we going?” Obama asks Hu (who is not known to speak much English) as they leave their joint press briefing.
The question others may be asking is: “Who’s leading whom?”
Photo credit: David Gray
Obama should have arrived Beijing one day earlier to rehearse this welcoming proceedings and so save himself from embarrassement in bumping Hu’s shoulder. Or the rehearsal may take place inside White House with Gary Lock prior to this trip.
“Wonderful Tonight”
By Lucy Hornby
The setting for Barack Obama and Hu Jintao’s “date night” on Tuesday was magnificent — the Gold Room in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, with its lush red carpets and elaborate murals.
The chef was cautious, choosing a menu of chicken and tofu soup, steak and grouper without any of the spicier or exotic fare common to Chinese banquets. For the wine – a little vin d’appellation Hebei, c 2002, otherwise known as Great Wall, gave Obama, a foretaste of his trip on Wednesday to the Great Wall itself. And the music? The military band of the People’s Liberation Army serenaded Hu, Obama and the 150 other guests with a selection that combined keen hopes for the future with a whiff of the karaoke playbook.
“Wonderful Night” gave way to “America the Beautiful,” “We Are the World” segued into the Chinese tune “Step by Step Higher”. But then the band turned coy – “I Just Called to Say I Love You” was met with “In that Faraway Place.” The band finished off with “In the Mood” before the two went their separate ways, returning home through the chilly night and the empty Beijing streets.
On Obama’s trail in Beijing
Guan Yongning is a senior cameraman with Reuters Television in Beijing . In 15 years in the field, he has covered stories ranging from natural disasters to politics and major sporting events. Guan was one of the chosen few reporters able to follow U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit in China up-close. He tells the story of what reporters have to go through to capture a few precious shots of the U.S. leader.
The reporters able to cover Obama’s visit up close might be considered the lucky ones. Following the American commander-in-chief means long hours working days, skipping meals, lugging around heavy gear and enduring the harsh Beijing winds. But would they give up the chance?
U.S. expats discuss Obama’s visit over a beer
Beijing’s local Americans believe Obama can maintain his popularity with the Chinese public just as long as he focuses on their main interests - trade relations and the fate of the huge Chinese holdings of U.S. government debt.
Tim’s Texas BBQ restaurant offers Beijing’s several thousand expat Americans grilled ribs, beer and live TV coverage of the President’s visit to China, from November 15 to 18. Chinese President Hu Jintao and American President Barack Obama are expected to discuss a wide range of issues from trade to currency imbalance and climate change to human rights.
Changing China
Interesting,
I live in the mid west, since 2001 this area has suffered greatly, last good job I have had was in 2001. This week I looked at the Jobs for area, 26 listings, for a town of 0ver 100,000 people.
I haven’t had insurance since 2001,I haven’t been to the dentist in years. My wife a teacher, of course an over paid occupation. We cannot sell our house to move to a different area.
If you go to WAL MART you are attacked by people JUST PLEADING FOR A FEW DOLLARS, some very good folks all in the same boat, I used to finance Category Eight Trucks.
I WAS just turned down for a job shoveling turkey guts……$9 hr
I have three kids, no extras in our house, mortgage payment, not much more than rent would be…………….no new cars, and me as a father, cant even get a fast food job…………(changing China……….Hmm)
GM has now shipped most of the Jobs to India, didn’t we win there.
Im all for another another bailout of a heartless bank.
since 2001 our gas a doubled, groceries have double, my wife makes $2600 more a year than in 2001, but her insurance on the kids is now up to $400 up 76% since 2001………….. and not a Job in site to keep us above water. This is how you truly come to faith.
Yet through God somehow we are making it.
Back to Changing China (hurray for O’Bama)
I Wonder if you can eat a Nobel Peace Prize
Hair, wax Obama models
U.S. President Barack Obama’s first state visit to China has sparked a creative urge among Chinese sculptors to produce models of him, ranging from traditional sculptures to some truly unique designs.
(Hairdresser Huang Xin and waxwork sculptor Er Baorui)
Video Credit: Christina Hu and Anita Li
Freudian Slip?
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk had an amusing slip of the tongue during remarks to U.S. businessmen in Beijing on Monday, ahead of the arrival of his boss, President Barack Obama. Talking about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kirk referred to her instead as “President Clinton”. Click on the video to see his good-humored comeback from what he called his YouTube moment.
