Monthly Archives: October 2011
Critical Next Step For China’s Space Program
When China sent up the first building block of its space station in September, it was always the case that the second module wouldn’t be far behind. Shenzhou-8 will get blasted off on Tuesday to join–if all goes well–the unmanned … Continue reading
Filed under Space
The Troubling Trouble On China’s Southwestern Reaches
The situation just across the border from Yunnan in Myanmar’s Kachin state is becoming increasingly unstable. Beijing has moved additional troops to its side of the border to prevent a trickle of refugees into China again turning in to a … Continue reading
Filed under China-Southeast Asia
China Will Be Exacting Contributor To Euro-Bailout
China’s contribution to the euro-zone’s would-be 1 trillion euro bail-out fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), will likely be more token than substantive. The head of the fund, Klaus Regling, is in Beijing with his collecting tin, but while … Continue reading
Filed under China-E.U.
China’s Muni-Bond Market Brought Back To Life
This Bystander noted last year that moves were afoot to develop a municipal bond market as a way to put the financing of provincial and local governments on a more transparent footing, and to wean it from the off-balance sheet … Continue reading
Chinese Seeking Asylum In Rich Countries On The Rise
Nearly 11,700 Chinese sought asylum in the U.S, Europe and other industrialized countries in the first half of this year, 15% more than in the same period of 2010, and the highest half-yearly figure since the second half of 2003, … Continue reading
Filed under Politics & Society
China Still On Course For Soft Landing
China’s economy grew by 9.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, suggesting that policymakers are sustaining the flight path to a soft landing. Quarter-on-quarter GDP growth slowed from 2.4% to 2.3%, but was still faster than the 2.0% of the first … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
China’s Inflation Remains Stubbornly High
Consumer price inflation remains persistently high, though it has eased from July’s peak of 6.5%. September’s number came in at 6.1%, against August’s 6.2%. The summer’s storms and droughts kept food price rises from moderating. The food component of the … Continue reading
Myanmar Said To Compensate China For Myitsone Dam Suspension
This Bystander is starting to pick up details of a settlement between China and Myanmar following Naypyidaw’s unilateral suspension of construction work on the Myitsone hydroelectric dam on the Irrawaddy river. State media report that the two countries “agreed to … Continue reading
Filed under China-Southeast Asia
China’s Stimulus Two Planners Have A Weaker Hand To Play
James Kynge, of the FT’s China Confidential, writing in the parent newspaper at the weekend, makes grim reading for any European or American policymaker hoping that a second Beijing stimulus would be able to pull the world economy though its … Continue reading
Filed under Economy
Trouble For China Spreads From The Irrawaddy To The Mekong
More trouble for Beijing on its unruly southwestern reaches beyond Yunnan. Pirates seized two Chinese freighters on the upper reaches of the Mekong river in northern Thailand, killing at least 11 of their 13-strong crews and purloining the vessels to … Continue reading
Filed under China-Southeast Asia
