Monthly Archives: December 2007
Chen Deming & China’s Future
In the latest of the slow shuffle of top jobs that takes place in the six months or so between a quintennial party congress and the next annual session of China’s legislature — the hires, fires and retires that signal … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Economy, Politics & Society
From Steel To Insurance
Baosteel, China’s largest steel maker, is making a measured diversification into financial services in general and insurance in particular. The moves are worth following as a case study in the shaping of a national champion. This month the company has … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Environment, Markets, Uncategorized
Poor Rich Country
There are lies, damn lies and statistics, as the old saw has it. Then there is the World Bank’s shrinking of its estimate of the size of China’s economy. The new number shows gross domestic product at $5.3 trillion in … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Environment, Politics & Society
Bali Result: China 1 – 0 U.S.
Those scoring the undercard match between the U.S. and China at the U.N. conference on climate change in Bali would have given it to China on points. Beijing scored for being seen to be a constructive participant whereas Washington was … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Environment, Politics & Society, Uncategorized
Getting Off The Bottom Rung In India And China
Here is one of those snapshot statistics that throws into sharp relief an entire economy, or two in this case. It comes via journalist Rob Gifford, writing about Hefei in Prospect magazine. There is one crucial difference between China and … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Politics & Society
Slowly Spreading Jam
The latest Strategic Economic Dialogue meeting between China and the U.S. has concluded with a long study list for the two governments and few parting gifts from Beijing in the form of more financial markets opening. Foreign firms will be … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Economy, Markets
Cut!
Not only is Hollywood having to deal with a writers’ strike, now China has halted the import of its films, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who is in China for the biannual bilateral dialogue talks. The Hollywood trade … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Media, Politics & Society
Dialogue And Departures
A couple of notes ahead of the U.S.-China chinwag later this week that goes under the rubric of the two countries’ biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue. The first is that this looks likely to be the last of these meetings for … Continue reading
Filed under China-U.S., Economy, Markets
Tightening The Monetary Policy Wrench
China’s tenth turn of the bank reserves ratio wrench was more vigorous than the previous ones but just as likely to be as ineffective. The People’s Bank of China said today that it will raise from December 25 the proportion … Continue reading
Filed under Economy, Markets, Uncategorized
Bali High
China is a polluted place but getting less so. That according to Germanwatch, a German environment watchdog that releases an annual ranking of the most environmentally friendly industrialized and developing countries. Its latest annual Climate Change Performance Index, which covers … Continue reading
Filed under Environment, Politics & Society
