China May Hold Key to Calming the Storm

By Eadie Chen and Simon Rabinovitch Reuters
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

China, the world's biggest holder of currency reserves, may yet play an important part in calming a global financial storm from which it is largely sheltered.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who has promised to "join hands" with other nations to tackle the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression, says the biggest contribution China can make is to keep the world's fourth-largest economy humming.

To that end, China has cut interest rates twice in three weeks, including a move on Wednesday. Yet speculation is swirling that Beijing could also chip in with a vote of confidence by pledging to hold onto its vast dollar assets and even buy more to help fund the massive bailout of the U.S. financial system now under way.

"For the sake of long-term U.S.-China relations, for the sake of China presenting a better image, I think China should stand up and say that it supports the U.S. dollar and is buying Treasuries," said Tao Xie, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
On one level, doing so would be very much in China's self-interest. Perhaps two-thirds of its $1.81 trillion in foreign exchange reserves is in U.S. Treasury and other bonds, and there was much hand-wringing during the dollar's slide earlier this year at the hefty losses Beijing was incurring.

"The dollar assets are held hostage. Dumping them is in nobody's interest," said Ding Zhijie, a finance professor who advises the government.

On the other hand, there is a strong current of opinion in official circles that America has only itself to blame. A leading state newspaper said on Tuesday that China should not foot the bills for U.S. woes, while a commentary on Wednesday lashed Washington for a lax, short-sighted monetary policy.

And China's state-owned banks and its sovereign wealth fund, stung by losses on earlier investments, have conspicuously kept their hands in their pockets while Japanese financial firms have bought into Wall Street's fallen or ailing giants.

As a quid pro quo, researchers suggested, Beijing should press Washington to open U.S. markets wider to Chinese companies, take concrete steps to stabilize the dollar and help China wield more power in bodies like the International Monetary Fund.

The global crisis has so far had little impact on China. Far from depending on capital inflows, it is a huge exporter of savings; the financial system is awash with cash; capital controls shield it from volatile outflows; and its banks are underdeveloped and inward-looking.

Yet collateral damage through economic linkages are a growing concern. Exports are softening and recent surveys of purchasing managers have been weak.

Auto sales growth has slowed to single digits. Housing sales in major cities have almost ground to a halt as people expect prices to fall further. And four big steelmakers have agreed to cut output by 20 percent to prop up prices.

"I personally feel that the economic fundamentals are undergoing dramatic changes," said an official close to a team from the National Development and Reform Commission that visited five central provinces last month.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/08/business/col09.php

Chinese education attractive to US students

By Li Xiang (China Daily)

More US students will see China as an attractive study destination especially after the country has successfully staged the Olympic and Paralympic Games, a senior US official said in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The Olympic Games have allowed China to take its rightful place on the global stage and one thing we've noticed in the US is that increasingly more American students are coming to China to study," US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Goli Ameri said at a press briefing.

China is such a popular destination for American students mainly for economic reasons, Ameri said.

"Smart American students clearly understand that China is playing a very major role in the global economy, and they want to be able to show on their resumes that they have studied in China and understand the Chinese culture and the language," she said.

"I believe that the interest for American students in learning more about China and coming to China is a real interest," she added.

In recent years, China has surged ahead as a destination for American students. The number of US students studying in China increased fivefold over the past decade.

According to the Institute of International Education, nearly 9,000 US students were enrolled in programs in China in the 2006-207 academic year, making China the seventh most popular destination for American students.

It is believed that if this trend continues, China will soon surpass Western European countries to become the most popular study destination for American students.

Ameri, who arrived in China on Tuesday and will leave today, met officials from the Ministry of Education during her visit.

The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding on a summer exchange program for undergraduate students from the two countries.

According to the MOU, each country will send 30 undergraduate students every year for a three-week study program at the other country's best universities. Students will attend lectures and meet important leaders and government officials.

The program is largely symbolic but its purpose is to sow the seeds of future educational exchanges between US and China, especially at the level of undergraduate study, Ameri said.

"Expanding educational exchanges is a very important component of our bilateral relationship. That's why this MOU is so timely and we are very pleased with it," she added.

Original article available at: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/18/content_7036922.htm

Lancaster, PA expands mandarin program

Lancaster, PA expands mandarin program

Click here for the article

Mixed interest for Mandarin at Westborough schools

Kudos to the school board in Westborough, MA for keeping their mandarin program going at the high school level...not sure what the parents in the middle school students are thinking...

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Federal funds to pay for mandarin in Saginaw, MI

"Hundreds of Saginaw School District students could begin learning Mandarin Chinese in the fall."

What is interesting about this article is the push the schools are making with spanish...we see this time and again - spanish over mandarin - not the optimal emphasis, in our opinion....

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You Have 7 Years to Learn Mandarin

Good article from Fortune on the growth of China's economy vs. the U.S.

Interesting quote:
"...[B]ecause China has grown so stupendously during the past decade, it should still be able to take the crown in just seven more years.

If that happens, America will close out a 125-year run as the No. 1 economy. We assumed the title in 1890 from - guess who. Britain? France? No. The world's largest economy until 1890 was China's. That's why Maddison says he expects China to "resume its natural role as the world's largest economy by 2015."

For the full article, click here

And the astute parent award of the day goes to....

....Abby Anders from California. Good quote from her in a recent article in the San Diego Union Tribune, which highlighted Riverview Elementary School's tri-lingual immersion program (english, spanish, and mandarin).

From the article:
"
Abby Anders said she is excited that her daughter, Kaya, will be learning about Chinese culture. “That's very important exposure,” she said. “It's hard not to want to do that when you see what their world is going to be like at every level, in diplomacy, trade, even militarily."
”
For the full article, please click here