October 10, 2008
Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING - The Wall Street fire-sale has prompted economic pundits in China and elsewhere to call on Beijing to snap up stakes in United States financial institutions and further China's influence on global financial power.
From Mexico to South Africa, investors and strategists are calling on China's leaders to use the opportunity of the spreading financial crisis to help determine the new set of financial rules that will emerge from it.
"China cannot easily afford to pass up such an opportunity," says Chen Jie, professor of economics at Shanghai Fudan University. "We have been anxiously trying to find investment opportunities for our financial capital but before the crisis there existed a myriad of visible and invisible barriers for Chinese investment overseas, particularly in the United States."
China should lead rescue efforts for the US financial crisis, Mexican tycoon Carlos Sim, one of the world's richest men, told the press last week.
"China is now the most important country to help responsibly in this crisis," he said. "In the past, developed countries had reserves and financed developing countries, while today developed countries, especially the United States, are being financed with resources from developing countries".
But China's response to expectations at home and abroad has been unassuming. Although fortified with great liquidity and large reserves, Chinese banks and government investors have preferred to sit on their hands rather than go on a shopping spree of tumbling Wall Street firms.
Chinese politicians have expressed support for the US bailout plan to save banks and arrest the financial turmoil but stopped short of pledging to do more than keep their own financial house in order.
Premier Wen Jiabao summed up China's cautious position: maintaining "steady and fast growth" is the "biggest contribution" China can make to help the world overcome the current financial crisis stemming from the United States, he said during an inspection tour of Chinese provinces this week.
Chinese bank officials have dismissed as groundless reports that China plans to buy up to US$200 billion worth of US Treasuries to help Washington combat the deepening financial crisis. In a statement published on the central bank's website this week, governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the bank views a "stable currency and job creation" as priorities in the current situation.
Some of Beijing's conservatism stems from the fact that the global credit crisis has walloped the value of the Chinese government's initial batch of investments in US financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group. In Internet forums and the press at home the government has been criticized for taking equity stakes in US financial companies that have nose-dived.
"No one can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the US crisis and in view of our past blunders it will be prudent of China to observe more and act less," the Investors Daily said last week.
Several media outlets have engaged in predictions about the decline of US dominance in world affairs, presenting the demise of Wall Street as a retribution for US "arrogance and greed".
"The crisis that befell ordinary American people is caused by the greed of Wall Street bankers," Wang Songqi, financial analyst with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the China Business Journal.
An editorial in the Economic Observer said: "The United States is no longer the omnipotent savior and global protector of American values ... The demise of Wall Street means that the cornerstone of this global financial empire has been broken and no one knows whether it can ever be repaired."
Officially, few Chinese officials have shared in the European politicians' criticism of the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism, which they blame for spawning the global financial crisis.
While embarrassed by the nosedive of its initial Wall Street investments, Beijing has more pressing tasks than assigning blame for the crisis. Chinese policymakers have been racing to prevent the country's economy from slowing too sharply because of global economic forces.
The legitimacy of the ruling communist party rests on maintaining a robust economic growth and providing prosperity to its people. Over the past 30 years of reforms, Chinese people have grown richer but not much freer and the country's rulers have staked their future on efforts to preserve the status quo by fueling continuous economic growth.
A survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project this spring found that 86% of Chinese said they were content with their country's direction, double the percentage who said the same thing in 2002. By contrast, only 23% of Americans polled in the survey said they were satisfied with their country's direction.
Yet China's growth, fueled by foreign investment and exports, is interlinked to the global economy. Any radical downturn in economic prosperity could undermine the communist party's chance of holding on to its political scepter. There are already signs of a slowdown. Growth in GDP dropped to 10.1% in the second quarter from 11.9% in all of 2007.
To counter the fallout, in recent weeks Beijing has made a u-turn on its tight monetary policy set last year to fight overheating and inflation. The government relaxed caps on bank lending and approved new tax breaks for textile exporters, which have been hard hit by weakening demand and rising costs.
Experts anticipate that the forthcoming plenum of the central committee of the communist party would approve even more decisive measures of easing fiscal and monetary policies to prevent the global financial crisis from dramatically slowing down the Chinese economy.
(Inter Press Service)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
New Chinese Policy Draws Farmers Into Market Economy
October 13, 2008
Edward Wong
Chinese leaders approved on Sunday a policy that will in theory allow peasants to buy and sell their land rights, a move that sets in motion the nation's biggest economic reform in many years, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news agency.
The report did not immediately give details on the changes, but scholars and government advisers have said that the new policy would allow China's more than 800 million peasants to engage in the unrestricted trade or sale of 30-year land-use contracts that are given to them by the government.
The goal of the new policy is to stimulate market-driven business growth in the countryside and to narrow the huge income gap between people living in rural areas and those in the cities.
While China's cities have profited enormously from economic reforms first announced in 1978, the countryside has lagged further and further behind. Protests are common now throughout rural China, and the most common grievance centers around seizure of land by corrupt government officials.
According to some land-reform experts, the policy change would grant peasants more land security and inspire them to make better use of the small patches of fields that they now manage under the 30-year contracts. The ability to sell the contracts could also lead to the establishment of large-scale farms, which some economists say would help China's agriculture industry better compete in a global marketplace.
The Xinhua report came on Sunday evening, after four days of deliberation during the Communist Party's annual planning session. On Thursday, the first day of the session, party members began reviewing a draft of a plan detailing the land reform. The draft had been drawn up by the Central Committee.
"With rapid industrialization and urbanization, the violation of farmers' land rights happens all the time, as local governments make decisions for farmers instead of allowing farmers to decide for themselves," Song Hongyuan, the head of the Research Center for the Rural Economy in the Ministry of Agriculture, said in an interview. "Thus the government needs to improve the policy to fully protect farmers' interests."
Through state-run news organizations, the government has been signaling since the start of the month that the leadership was ready to announce a major policy shift on the issue of land use. On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party, made a much-publicized visit to Xiaogang village in Anhui Province, during which he said farmers would be allowed to transfer their land contracts and management rights. Xiaogang is synonymous with land reform: A group of villagers banded together there in 1978 to quietly start a system of private farming that rejected the collectivization of Maoist-era China.
Their experiment was later lauded by Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader who started China on the path of economic reform.
Rural land reform was actually at the forefront of that economic overhaul, as communal farms were divided up among peasants. But the peasants remained extremely restricted in their ability to trade or sell those new land-use rights. Meanwhile, land reform in the cities began to surpass the countryside, as the government granted urban residents the right to trade or sell their contracts.
A law passed in 2002 allowed farmers to engage in limited trades of their land-use contracts, but still kept many restrictions in place.
Advocates for land reform say that in order for the new system of land use to work properly, the Chinese government still has to ensure that rule of law is established and followed, especially by local government officials. This would curb the land seizures that have recently caused so many mass protests in the countryside.
"Implementation of the law is the key," said Keliang Zhu, a lawyer with the China research division of the Rural Development Institute, a group in Seattle that pushes for land reform for poor people around the world. "You have a much greater test in the future. We need to make sure to establish supporting institutions that will help to carry out laws and policies."
Zhu said that the government needed to educate farmers and local officials about what the law says about land rights. In addition, farmers should be given full documentation ensuring their rights to a piece of land, he said. Officially, the government claims that 80 to 90 percent of peasants have proper documentation, but in reality only half do, he said, citing recent statistics compiled by the Rural Development Institute.
Under the new system, the companies buying land-use rights from peasants probably will not easily be able to convert the land to some use other than for farming. Senior Communist Party officials often express reservations at allowing businesses unfettered access to China's land.
Peasants have long had an uneasy relationship with Chinese rulers over use of the land. Each dynasty has tried various ways of controlling and taxing rural land, which at various times has resulted in large-scale peasant rebellions. Sun Yat-sen, one of the founders of the modern nation-state of China, put land reform at the top of his agenda after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.
In the 1950s, Mao Zedong began herding China's farmers onto collectives, a move that resulted in widespread famine and is now considered one of the worst economic policies of the 20th century.
Huang Yuanxi contributed research.
Edward Wong
Chinese leaders approved on Sunday a policy that will in theory allow peasants to buy and sell their land rights, a move that sets in motion the nation's biggest economic reform in many years, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news agency.
The report did not immediately give details on the changes, but scholars and government advisers have said that the new policy would allow China's more than 800 million peasants to engage in the unrestricted trade or sale of 30-year land-use contracts that are given to them by the government.
The goal of the new policy is to stimulate market-driven business growth in the countryside and to narrow the huge income gap between people living in rural areas and those in the cities.
While China's cities have profited enormously from economic reforms first announced in 1978, the countryside has lagged further and further behind. Protests are common now throughout rural China, and the most common grievance centers around seizure of land by corrupt government officials.
According to some land-reform experts, the policy change would grant peasants more land security and inspire them to make better use of the small patches of fields that they now manage under the 30-year contracts. The ability to sell the contracts could also lead to the establishment of large-scale farms, which some economists say would help China's agriculture industry better compete in a global marketplace.
The Xinhua report came on Sunday evening, after four days of deliberation during the Communist Party's annual planning session. On Thursday, the first day of the session, party members began reviewing a draft of a plan detailing the land reform. The draft had been drawn up by the Central Committee.
"With rapid industrialization and urbanization, the violation of farmers' land rights happens all the time, as local governments make decisions for farmers instead of allowing farmers to decide for themselves," Song Hongyuan, the head of the Research Center for the Rural Economy in the Ministry of Agriculture, said in an interview. "Thus the government needs to improve the policy to fully protect farmers' interests."
Through state-run news organizations, the government has been signaling since the start of the month that the leadership was ready to announce a major policy shift on the issue of land use. On Sept. 30, President Hu Jintao, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party, made a much-publicized visit to Xiaogang village in Anhui Province, during which he said farmers would be allowed to transfer their land contracts and management rights. Xiaogang is synonymous with land reform: A group of villagers banded together there in 1978 to quietly start a system of private farming that rejected the collectivization of Maoist-era China.
Their experiment was later lauded by Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader who started China on the path of economic reform.
Rural land reform was actually at the forefront of that economic overhaul, as communal farms were divided up among peasants. But the peasants remained extremely restricted in their ability to trade or sell those new land-use rights. Meanwhile, land reform in the cities began to surpass the countryside, as the government granted urban residents the right to trade or sell their contracts.
A law passed in 2002 allowed farmers to engage in limited trades of their land-use contracts, but still kept many restrictions in place.
Advocates for land reform say that in order for the new system of land use to work properly, the Chinese government still has to ensure that rule of law is established and followed, especially by local government officials. This would curb the land seizures that have recently caused so many mass protests in the countryside.
"Implementation of the law is the key," said Keliang Zhu, a lawyer with the China research division of the Rural Development Institute, a group in Seattle that pushes for land reform for poor people around the world. "You have a much greater test in the future. We need to make sure to establish supporting institutions that will help to carry out laws and policies."
Zhu said that the government needed to educate farmers and local officials about what the law says about land rights. In addition, farmers should be given full documentation ensuring their rights to a piece of land, he said. Officially, the government claims that 80 to 90 percent of peasants have proper documentation, but in reality only half do, he said, citing recent statistics compiled by the Rural Development Institute.
Under the new system, the companies buying land-use rights from peasants probably will not easily be able to convert the land to some use other than for farming. Senior Communist Party officials often express reservations at allowing businesses unfettered access to China's land.
Peasants have long had an uneasy relationship with Chinese rulers over use of the land. Each dynasty has tried various ways of controlling and taxing rural land, which at various times has resulted in large-scale peasant rebellions. Sun Yat-sen, one of the founders of the modern nation-state of China, put land reform at the top of his agenda after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.
In the 1950s, Mao Zedong began herding China's farmers onto collectives, a move that resulted in widespread famine and is now considered one of the worst economic policies of the 20th century.
Huang Yuanxi contributed research.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Premier Says China's Financial System 'Sound and Safe'
October 5, 2008
Xinhua News Agency
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in Nanning Sunday that China's financial institutions have generally increased their strength, profitability and risk-resisting ability, and the financial system as a whole is sound and safe in face of the international financial crisis.
Wen made the remarks during an inspection tour to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China.
He said that the world economic situation has had dramatic changes this year, the United States' subprime crisis has been deteriorating and is having an increasingly serious negative impact on the world's financial market and the world economy as a whole.
Under multiple negative factors, both international and domestic, China has reacted actively and properly, made efforts to improve the predictability, pertinence and flexibility of macro-economic control policies, and timely solved outstanding problems in economic development. As a result, the country's economy has maintained its momentum of smooth and rapid development, Wen said.
Generally speaking, China's economic foundations have not changed and the economy is developing towards the preset macro control targets, said the Premier.
"We have full confidence in China's economic development and financial stability," Wen said, stressing that the most important thing is to do our own business well, maintain the stability of the economy and the financial and capital markets.
"It is the biggest contribution to the world when a big country with a population of 1.3 billion is able to maintain a lasting, smooth and fast economic development," he said.
On Saturday and Sunday, Wen inspected villages and factories in the cities of Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang, and talked with local people of different nationalities and from all walks of life.
He said that the development of Beibu Gulf should focus on technological innovation and environmental protection to build into an important zone for international and regional economic cooperation.
In Gaosha Village of Qinzhou, Wen inspected rice paddy and visited farmers' homes. He said that the government will further reinforce its support for agriculture, continue to increase subsidies to farmers and raise the minimum grain purchasing prices to mobilize farmers to produce more grain.
Xinhua News Agency
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in Nanning Sunday that China's financial institutions have generally increased their strength, profitability and risk-resisting ability, and the financial system as a whole is sound and safe in face of the international financial crisis.
Wen made the remarks during an inspection tour to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China.
He said that the world economic situation has had dramatic changes this year, the United States' subprime crisis has been deteriorating and is having an increasingly serious negative impact on the world's financial market and the world economy as a whole.
Under multiple negative factors, both international and domestic, China has reacted actively and properly, made efforts to improve the predictability, pertinence and flexibility of macro-economic control policies, and timely solved outstanding problems in economic development. As a result, the country's economy has maintained its momentum of smooth and rapid development, Wen said.
Generally speaking, China's economic foundations have not changed and the economy is developing towards the preset macro control targets, said the Premier.
"We have full confidence in China's economic development and financial stability," Wen said, stressing that the most important thing is to do our own business well, maintain the stability of the economy and the financial and capital markets.
"It is the biggest contribution to the world when a big country with a population of 1.3 billion is able to maintain a lasting, smooth and fast economic development," he said.
On Saturday and Sunday, Wen inspected villages and factories in the cities of Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang, and talked with local people of different nationalities and from all walks of life.
He said that the development of Beibu Gulf should focus on technological innovation and environmental protection to build into an important zone for international and regional economic cooperation.
In Gaosha Village of Qinzhou, Wen inspected rice paddy and visited farmers' homes. He said that the government will further reinforce its support for agriculture, continue to increase subsidies to farmers and raise the minimum grain purchasing prices to mobilize farmers to produce more grain.
Morgan Stanley Plans Broader Push Into China
Despite Market Woes, Firm's Local Chief Expects Huge Growth
September 11, 2008
Rose Yu
SHANGHAI -- Morgan Stanley will continue to broaden its business in China despite a slowdown in the market, the chief executive of the U.S. investment bank's China operation said Wednesday.
"The market is obviously slowing down compared with 2007. But that doesn't mean the business is slowing down," Wei Sun Christianson said. "In the long run, we do believe China is going to be unstoppable; not only that, it will be unimaginable in terms of the pace of growth."
More than a decade after entering mainland China, Morgan Stanley has obtained a variety of business licenses, covering commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and fixed-income investment.
To expand its mainland China business over the long run, Morgan Stanley will consider hiring local talent or moving people from Hong Kong, Ms. Christianson said.
Morgan Stanley established an office in China in the early 1990s, before helping to set up investment bank China International Capital Corp. with China Construction Bank Corp. in 1995.
In 2006, Morgan Stanley was granted a license to offer corporate-banking services through its wholly owned unit that is now known as Morgan Stanley Bank International (China) Ltd.
The Wall Street bank also plans to set up an investment-banking joint venture with Shanghai-based China Fortune Securities Co., people close to the deal said earlier. But failure to sell its 34% stake in China International Capital appears to have complicated Morgan Stanley's plan to pursue a new partnership with Fortune Securities, they said.
Ms. Christianson declined to comment on the new joint venture Wednesday.
"In the future, we hope to gain more licenses to offer Chinese clients a full suite of services that Morgan Stanley has offered around the globe," she said on the sidelines of a charity event for the city of Dujiangyan, one of the areas worst hit by a major earthquake in May.
In December, China Investment Corp., the state-run investment vehicle that manages China's $200 billion sovereign-wealth fund, paid $5 billion for a 9.9% stake in Morgan Stanley.
September 11, 2008
Rose Yu
SHANGHAI -- Morgan Stanley will continue to broaden its business in China despite a slowdown in the market, the chief executive of the U.S. investment bank's China operation said Wednesday.
"The market is obviously slowing down compared with 2007. But that doesn't mean the business is slowing down," Wei Sun Christianson said. "In the long run, we do believe China is going to be unstoppable; not only that, it will be unimaginable in terms of the pace of growth."
More than a decade after entering mainland China, Morgan Stanley has obtained a variety of business licenses, covering commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and fixed-income investment.
To expand its mainland China business over the long run, Morgan Stanley will consider hiring local talent or moving people from Hong Kong, Ms. Christianson said.
Morgan Stanley established an office in China in the early 1990s, before helping to set up investment bank China International Capital Corp. with China Construction Bank Corp. in 1995.
In 2006, Morgan Stanley was granted a license to offer corporate-banking services through its wholly owned unit that is now known as Morgan Stanley Bank International (China) Ltd.
The Wall Street bank also plans to set up an investment-banking joint venture with Shanghai-based China Fortune Securities Co., people close to the deal said earlier. But failure to sell its 34% stake in China International Capital appears to have complicated Morgan Stanley's plan to pursue a new partnership with Fortune Securities, they said.
Ms. Christianson declined to comment on the new joint venture Wednesday.
"In the future, we hope to gain more licenses to offer Chinese clients a full suite of services that Morgan Stanley has offered around the globe," she said on the sidelines of a charity event for the city of Dujiangyan, one of the areas worst hit by a major earthquake in May.
In December, China Investment Corp., the state-run investment vehicle that manages China's $200 billion sovereign-wealth fund, paid $5 billion for a 9.9% stake in Morgan Stanley.
Green Victory
Award-winning solar energy project benefits millions of people in underdeveloped areas
By JING XIAOLEI
The world's leading green energy prize, Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy, announced on June 19 that China's Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) was among its latest recipients. The REDP was jointly launched by the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the World Bank in 2001, with an international grant provided by the Global Environment Facility.
The project aims to promote the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems in remote off-grid homes in nine west China provinces and to improve the quality of production of PV modules and other system components. It also provides free information about PV and facilitates cooperation between the PV sector in China and the rest of the world.
Since its inception, the REDP has enabled sales of more than 402,000 PV solar-home systems to rural people, who live off the land by tending yaks or other animals in remote areas of the western and northwestern parts of China, through a subsidized program.
With the systems, around 1.6 million people, who live in tents for at least several months in a year and previously had little access to electricity, now have an improved living conditions featuring better lighting, communications and entertainment equipment, which are ideally suited to the lifestyle of these semi-nomadic users.
"We bought the system just in time for the Spring Festival (Chinese lunar New Year) in 2007," said a yak herder from Inner Mongolia. "We had the money saved up from selling fungus. It's so much better than before-we used to just have candles. It's good for charging the phone, and for music. It's good that we can carry it with us."
A typical solar home system supplies two lights, a radio and a mobile phone charger, and comes in a metal carry-case so that it is portable. Larger systems can power radio-cassettes, televisions and DVD players. For users, the main benefit of the REDP is brighter, cleaner lighting, for study, work and recreation.
The REDP also supports some village-based PV systems to provide electricity for public facilities, such as schools and health centers.
The REDP has boosted the PV industry in China, improving the quality of production while keeping costs low. It has also greatly expanded the market for solar home systems, and prompted the formation of a network consisting of suppliers, wholesalers and retailers.
"The project has been of enormous economical and social significance to the people living in remote and poor areas in China," said Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder of the Ashden Awards.
The REDP was one of the six pioneering renewable energy projects from Africa, Asia and Latin America that each received a prize of 20,000 pounds ($40,000) at the Ashden Awards ceremony in London.
At the ceremony, India's Technology Informatics Design Endeavour was announced the winner of this year's title and given a prize of 40,000 pounds ($80,000). Bangladeshi Grameen Shakti won the 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award and a prize of 15,000 pounds.
The Ashden Trust, a Britain-based charity, founded the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in 2001. The competition is held annually to identify and reward outstanding and innovative projects in Britain and developing countries, which provide renewable energy and improve energy efficiency at a local level.
By JING XIAOLEI
The world's leading green energy prize, Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy, announced on June 19 that China's Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) was among its latest recipients. The REDP was jointly launched by the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the World Bank in 2001, with an international grant provided by the Global Environment Facility.
The project aims to promote the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems in remote off-grid homes in nine west China provinces and to improve the quality of production of PV modules and other system components. It also provides free information about PV and facilitates cooperation between the PV sector in China and the rest of the world.
Since its inception, the REDP has enabled sales of more than 402,000 PV solar-home systems to rural people, who live off the land by tending yaks or other animals in remote areas of the western and northwestern parts of China, through a subsidized program.
With the systems, around 1.6 million people, who live in tents for at least several months in a year and previously had little access to electricity, now have an improved living conditions featuring better lighting, communications and entertainment equipment, which are ideally suited to the lifestyle of these semi-nomadic users.
"We bought the system just in time for the Spring Festival (Chinese lunar New Year) in 2007," said a yak herder from Inner Mongolia. "We had the money saved up from selling fungus. It's so much better than before-we used to just have candles. It's good for charging the phone, and for music. It's good that we can carry it with us."
A typical solar home system supplies two lights, a radio and a mobile phone charger, and comes in a metal carry-case so that it is portable. Larger systems can power radio-cassettes, televisions and DVD players. For users, the main benefit of the REDP is brighter, cleaner lighting, for study, work and recreation.
The REDP also supports some village-based PV systems to provide electricity for public facilities, such as schools and health centers.
The REDP has boosted the PV industry in China, improving the quality of production while keeping costs low. It has also greatly expanded the market for solar home systems, and prompted the formation of a network consisting of suppliers, wholesalers and retailers.
"The project has been of enormous economical and social significance to the people living in remote and poor areas in China," said Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder of the Ashden Awards.
The REDP was one of the six pioneering renewable energy projects from Africa, Asia and Latin America that each received a prize of 20,000 pounds ($40,000) at the Ashden Awards ceremony in London.
At the ceremony, India's Technology Informatics Design Endeavour was announced the winner of this year's title and given a prize of 40,000 pounds ($80,000). Bangladeshi Grameen Shakti won the 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award and a prize of 15,000 pounds.
The Ashden Trust, a Britain-based charity, founded the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in 2001. The competition is held annually to identify and reward outstanding and innovative projects in Britain and developing countries, which provide renewable energy and improve energy efficiency at a local level.
China Confident of Continued Growth
Source: Xinhua News Agency
September 27, 2008
Though faced with "the most difficult year" for its economy, China on Saturday showed a strong confidence in its sustained, rapid growth, with Premier Wen Jiabao telling a top-grade world economic forum that his country enjoys a favorable development environment as a whole.
"We have full confidence and capability to overcome various difficulties to ensure sound and fast growth of the national economy for an even longer period of time," said the premier while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Davos forum in Tianjin on Saturday afternoon.
And such a growth will be China's "greatest contribution" to the world economy under the current circumstances, said Wen during a brief question and answer session that followed his speech.
The two-day forum, also known as the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2008, has drawn some 1,400 participants from nearly 90 countries and regions, most of whom are successful entrepreneurs and high-ranking government officials.
The meeting, second of its kind sponsored by the prestigious World Economic Forum, took place at a difficult time for the world economy, as a financial storm starting from the Wall Street rocked the globe and triggered widespread worries about economic slowdown or even depression.
"It has been an extraordinary few weeks on the financial markets, weeks with consequences across the global economy," said European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who is also in this north China metropolis to attend the forum, on Friday in a speech to the local European business people.
The costs of this crisis will be felt by all countries, including China through changing stock market sentiment, falling inward investment and a fall in export demand tied to falling consumer spending in Europe and the U.S., said Mandelson.
The Chinese premier also observed that the world economic environment is getting "tougher and more complex," with "exacerbated financial volatility" and "notable economic slowdown."
And this is just one of many "considerable difficulties" faced by the country, which also needs to address other prominent problems such as domestic price rises, a weak agriculture, energy and resources constraint, poor business management, and hidden problems in the financial sector.
"As I said earlier in the year, 2008 could be the most difficult year for China's economy," said Wen, who also cited natural calamities that struck the country in a row, including heavy snow and sleet storms in January and February and a devastating earthquake in May.
Nevertheless, he stressed that "the economic fundamentals in China remain unchanged" and the economy "is moving in the direction envisaged in the macro-economic control policy."
He listed out "many favorable conditions" for China to maintainits growth, including the rapid industrialization and urbanization process, abundant supply of labor and capital, huge potential of increased domestic consumption and investment demands, a vast domestic market, and improved ability of macroeconomic regulation.
But most of all, the premier's confidence derives from China's adoption of a correct development course, as reflected in the title of his speech: "Reform and Opening-up -- the Eternal Driving Force for China's Development."
"China's changes over the past three decades would not have been possible without reform and opening-up... Reform and opening-up must be carried on through the entire process of China's modernization drive," said Wen.
The fundamental solution to all problems China now faces, including unbalanced growth, pollution and corruption, lies in deepened reform, he stressed.
Applause burst out from time to time in the full-packed Plenary Hall of the Binhai International Convention & Exhibition Center, the meeting's venue, as the participants expressed their approval of Wen's words.
Many of them have come with the hope of finding a platform to pool the wisdom of business leaders and economic masterminds worldwide, to evaluate the impact of the current crisis and propose possible ways out.
They are also interested in what China will do in the face of the crisis, and whether the country could repeat its success in handling the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
"A crisis is often totally unexpected, and it always strikes atthe most unlikely links," said veteran Chinese investor Wu Ying. "That's why we are here -- to react to the crisis with innovative methods and approaches of imaginative power."
Asked about his prescription for the current crisis, the Chinese premier emphasized international cooperation and -- more importantly -- confidence, on the parts of economists, entrepreneurs, the public and the state leaders. "At this moment, confidence is even more precious than gold or any currencies," he said.
And some key participants of the forum share China's confidence.Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, predicted on Friday that the world economy will see a slowdown in growth in the next one to three years, but China will remain the fastest-growing economy with a growth rate of seven to eight percent.
Founded four years ago for growing enterprises, even though some of them were just of medium or small size, the forum of the new champions has picked "The Next Wave of Growth" as the theme for the Tianjin meeting.
In the context of the financial woes, this theme appears even more significant, as many people have started to view the new businesses, whose growth is often driven by inspiration and innovation, as a major leading force of the global economic revival.
And more attention was paid to the emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The infrastructure improvement in the developing nations has given them more opportunities to embrace new technologies and the new economy, such as bio-techs, which will bring new growth, said Peer M. Schatz, chief executive officer of Germany's Qiagen company.
"These young companies have the potential to list among the Fortune 500 in next five to ten years," said Schwab of the more than 200 new champion companies that have come to the Tianjin forum.
According to Premier Wen, China is ready to share its development opportunities with these new businesses, and Tianjin, designed to be "the economic center in north China" in the country's development blueprint, could be a perfect starting ground.
"Many of you are from growing enterprises that are most dynamic,competitive and full of development potential. You are welcome to invest in China, to start businesses in Tianjin and to seize the opportunity and pursue greater development," Wen told the forum participants at the opening ceremony.
September 27, 2008
Though faced with "the most difficult year" for its economy, China on Saturday showed a strong confidence in its sustained, rapid growth, with Premier Wen Jiabao telling a top-grade world economic forum that his country enjoys a favorable development environment as a whole.
"We have full confidence and capability to overcome various difficulties to ensure sound and fast growth of the national economy for an even longer period of time," said the premier while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Davos forum in Tianjin on Saturday afternoon.
And such a growth will be China's "greatest contribution" to the world economy under the current circumstances, said Wen during a brief question and answer session that followed his speech.
The two-day forum, also known as the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2008, has drawn some 1,400 participants from nearly 90 countries and regions, most of whom are successful entrepreneurs and high-ranking government officials.
The meeting, second of its kind sponsored by the prestigious World Economic Forum, took place at a difficult time for the world economy, as a financial storm starting from the Wall Street rocked the globe and triggered widespread worries about economic slowdown or even depression.
"It has been an extraordinary few weeks on the financial markets, weeks with consequences across the global economy," said European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who is also in this north China metropolis to attend the forum, on Friday in a speech to the local European business people.
The costs of this crisis will be felt by all countries, including China through changing stock market sentiment, falling inward investment and a fall in export demand tied to falling consumer spending in Europe and the U.S., said Mandelson.
The Chinese premier also observed that the world economic environment is getting "tougher and more complex," with "exacerbated financial volatility" and "notable economic slowdown."
And this is just one of many "considerable difficulties" faced by the country, which also needs to address other prominent problems such as domestic price rises, a weak agriculture, energy and resources constraint, poor business management, and hidden problems in the financial sector.
"As I said earlier in the year, 2008 could be the most difficult year for China's economy," said Wen, who also cited natural calamities that struck the country in a row, including heavy snow and sleet storms in January and February and a devastating earthquake in May.
Nevertheless, he stressed that "the economic fundamentals in China remain unchanged" and the economy "is moving in the direction envisaged in the macro-economic control policy."
He listed out "many favorable conditions" for China to maintainits growth, including the rapid industrialization and urbanization process, abundant supply of labor and capital, huge potential of increased domestic consumption and investment demands, a vast domestic market, and improved ability of macroeconomic regulation.
But most of all, the premier's confidence derives from China's adoption of a correct development course, as reflected in the title of his speech: "Reform and Opening-up -- the Eternal Driving Force for China's Development."
"China's changes over the past three decades would not have been possible without reform and opening-up... Reform and opening-up must be carried on through the entire process of China's modernization drive," said Wen.
The fundamental solution to all problems China now faces, including unbalanced growth, pollution and corruption, lies in deepened reform, he stressed.
Applause burst out from time to time in the full-packed Plenary Hall of the Binhai International Convention & Exhibition Center, the meeting's venue, as the participants expressed their approval of Wen's words.
Many of them have come with the hope of finding a platform to pool the wisdom of business leaders and economic masterminds worldwide, to evaluate the impact of the current crisis and propose possible ways out.
They are also interested in what China will do in the face of the crisis, and whether the country could repeat its success in handling the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
"A crisis is often totally unexpected, and it always strikes atthe most unlikely links," said veteran Chinese investor Wu Ying. "That's why we are here -- to react to the crisis with innovative methods and approaches of imaginative power."
Asked about his prescription for the current crisis, the Chinese premier emphasized international cooperation and -- more importantly -- confidence, on the parts of economists, entrepreneurs, the public and the state leaders. "At this moment, confidence is even more precious than gold or any currencies," he said.
And some key participants of the forum share China's confidence.Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, predicted on Friday that the world economy will see a slowdown in growth in the next one to three years, but China will remain the fastest-growing economy with a growth rate of seven to eight percent.
Founded four years ago for growing enterprises, even though some of them were just of medium or small size, the forum of the new champions has picked "The Next Wave of Growth" as the theme for the Tianjin meeting.
In the context of the financial woes, this theme appears even more significant, as many people have started to view the new businesses, whose growth is often driven by inspiration and innovation, as a major leading force of the global economic revival.
And more attention was paid to the emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The infrastructure improvement in the developing nations has given them more opportunities to embrace new technologies and the new economy, such as bio-techs, which will bring new growth, said Peer M. Schatz, chief executive officer of Germany's Qiagen company.
"These young companies have the potential to list among the Fortune 500 in next five to ten years," said Schwab of the more than 200 new champion companies that have come to the Tianjin forum.
According to Premier Wen, China is ready to share its development opportunities with these new businesses, and Tianjin, designed to be "the economic center in north China" in the country's development blueprint, could be a perfect starting ground.
"Many of you are from growing enterprises that are most dynamic,competitive and full of development potential. You are welcome to invest in China, to start businesses in Tianjin and to seize the opportunity and pursue greater development," Wen told the forum participants at the opening ceremony.
Hurdling Language Barriers
Source: China Daily
09-05-2008
For many people, studying Chinese is nothing more than a mild flirtation, but for others it is the Holy Grail, their very reason for being in China.
I'd like to say a foreigner's interest in learning Chinese stems from a deep-seated desire to understand China's ancient and mysterious culture but, frankly, the motivation is often more pragmatic. The temptation to cash in on this booming economy is irresistible. Learn the lingo and the world is your oyster.
Call it what you will, more foreigners are learning Chinese than ever before, many of us burying our heads in textbooks and homework for the first time in decades.
As growth industries go, it is a phenomenon. Only 20 years ago, less than 8,000 foreigners studied Chinese in this country. By the turn of the century it was up to 50,000. By 2004 it was 86,000, and the government estimated then that the number would be 120,000 by the time of the Olympics. Talk about an opening-up. This is a deluge.
If that isn't impressive enough, include the rest of the world in the picture. Even 10 years ago, it was estimated nearly 100 million people around the world were studying Chinese and about 100 countries were offering Chinese courses in various educational institutions. One result of this growing demand was a dire shortage of Chinese teachers and urgent requests to this country to send out more.
The burgeoning growth statistics are borne out by Zhao Changzheng, who has taught Mandarin at Peking University for seven years.
"When I came here we only had 300 foreign students learning Chinese," he says. "Now it's around 500-600 and we could have many more if we wanted.
"The university is keen to expand the department to 1,000 new foreign students each semester but we don't have enough room in the classes and dorms. Soon we will have a new building for foreign students and then the number learning Chinese will be as high as 2,000 each semester."
The geographical breakdown has also changed. "Ten years ago, it was just called the Chinese International College for Language Study and we mostly had Japanese and South Koreans," says Zhao. "In the last 4-5 years we've experienced such an surge of interest from the US that Americans are our biggest group, about 40 percent of all foreigners."
The benefit to the university has been more than merely financial. "Years ago, when we didn't have many applications to our department, we had no choice who we took," he continues.
"Many of the students from South Korea weren't that interested and weren't very good students. Now we have a big pool of students to choose from. We are able to select only the best ones and we have noticed their attitude to be getting better and better."
Courses last one semester, though students can apply to stay on longer. At the start of each semester, students are tested on their oral Chinese and put into the 34 classes, each with around 15 students, according to their results. There are also 34 parallel classes in vocabulary, grammar and script.
It may come as a surprise, but studying Chinese characters is a compulsory component of the program. For Zhao, this is essential. "If you don't study the characters you can't really know our language and our culture," he says. "The best students are also taught about Chinese society, culture, economics and law, and we find they are very interested in these extra subjects."
The rewards are mutual. "I am their teacher but also their student too, sometimes. Just as it is a culture shock for students coming here from Europe and America, so it is for us at the university. The students tell me things I never knew and I learn from them all the time, so life is much more interesting."
While Zhao is reluctant to guesstimate how well students can expect to speak after just one semester, he says the sky is the limit.
"We once had a student who spent one year in China - 6 months with us and 6 months in Shanghai - and at the end of the year he spoke Chinese very, very well," he says.
Usually, though, he reckons you'd need to study full-time for 2-3 years before you are likely to speak with any fluency.
If students need to work hard to achieve their dreams, the same is true for 110-year-old Peking University, which is constantly reviewing its course structures to cater to the ever-changing student roll.
"Having so many Americans and Europeans here spreads the word about Peking University around the world," says Zhao.
"This is already the best university in China but we want more. We want to be the best, most famous university in the world. That has been our dream for a long time."
"Bah, humbug!" I thought. Then I surfed the Net and discovered the Times Higher Education Supplement, published in London, rated Peking University the best in Asia in 2006 and the 14th best in the world. Maybe it isn't an impossible dream.
09-05-2008
For many people, studying Chinese is nothing more than a mild flirtation, but for others it is the Holy Grail, their very reason for being in China.
I'd like to say a foreigner's interest in learning Chinese stems from a deep-seated desire to understand China's ancient and mysterious culture but, frankly, the motivation is often more pragmatic. The temptation to cash in on this booming economy is irresistible. Learn the lingo and the world is your oyster.
Call it what you will, more foreigners are learning Chinese than ever before, many of us burying our heads in textbooks and homework for the first time in decades.
As growth industries go, it is a phenomenon. Only 20 years ago, less than 8,000 foreigners studied Chinese in this country. By the turn of the century it was up to 50,000. By 2004 it was 86,000, and the government estimated then that the number would be 120,000 by the time of the Olympics. Talk about an opening-up. This is a deluge.
If that isn't impressive enough, include the rest of the world in the picture. Even 10 years ago, it was estimated nearly 100 million people around the world were studying Chinese and about 100 countries were offering Chinese courses in various educational institutions. One result of this growing demand was a dire shortage of Chinese teachers and urgent requests to this country to send out more.
The burgeoning growth statistics are borne out by Zhao Changzheng, who has taught Mandarin at Peking University for seven years.
"When I came here we only had 300 foreign students learning Chinese," he says. "Now it's around 500-600 and we could have many more if we wanted.
"The university is keen to expand the department to 1,000 new foreign students each semester but we don't have enough room in the classes and dorms. Soon we will have a new building for foreign students and then the number learning Chinese will be as high as 2,000 each semester."
The geographical breakdown has also changed. "Ten years ago, it was just called the Chinese International College for Language Study and we mostly had Japanese and South Koreans," says Zhao. "In the last 4-5 years we've experienced such an surge of interest from the US that Americans are our biggest group, about 40 percent of all foreigners."
The benefit to the university has been more than merely financial. "Years ago, when we didn't have many applications to our department, we had no choice who we took," he continues.
"Many of the students from South Korea weren't that interested and weren't very good students. Now we have a big pool of students to choose from. We are able to select only the best ones and we have noticed their attitude to be getting better and better."
Courses last one semester, though students can apply to stay on longer. At the start of each semester, students are tested on their oral Chinese and put into the 34 classes, each with around 15 students, according to their results. There are also 34 parallel classes in vocabulary, grammar and script.
It may come as a surprise, but studying Chinese characters is a compulsory component of the program. For Zhao, this is essential. "If you don't study the characters you can't really know our language and our culture," he says. "The best students are also taught about Chinese society, culture, economics and law, and we find they are very interested in these extra subjects."
The rewards are mutual. "I am their teacher but also their student too, sometimes. Just as it is a culture shock for students coming here from Europe and America, so it is for us at the university. The students tell me things I never knew and I learn from them all the time, so life is much more interesting."
While Zhao is reluctant to guesstimate how well students can expect to speak after just one semester, he says the sky is the limit.
"We once had a student who spent one year in China - 6 months with us and 6 months in Shanghai - and at the end of the year he spoke Chinese very, very well," he says.
Usually, though, he reckons you'd need to study full-time for 2-3 years before you are likely to speak with any fluency.
If students need to work hard to achieve their dreams, the same is true for 110-year-old Peking University, which is constantly reviewing its course structures to cater to the ever-changing student roll.
"Having so many Americans and Europeans here spreads the word about Peking University around the world," says Zhao.
"This is already the best university in China but we want more. We want to be the best, most famous university in the world. That has been our dream for a long time."
"Bah, humbug!" I thought. Then I surfed the Net and discovered the Times Higher Education Supplement, published in London, rated Peking University the best in Asia in 2006 and the 14th best in the world. Maybe it isn't an impossible dream.
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