China Economy: News & Discussion

[nandu]

China's economic might on show

A RIOT OF COLOUR: All roads lead to Shangai as a spectacular fireworks display heralded the opening of the
World Expo 2010 on Friday. Beijing has spent an estimated $45 billion on building infrastructure for the expo

The buildings along the banks of the Huangpu river, which runs right through Shanghai, have always been powerful symbols.

In the early 20th century, the European trading companies which ruled Shanghai's commerce — and much of Asia's — built an impressive array of grand trading houses and banks along the river's Bund, just in case any visitor had any doubt as to who was in charge of the prosperous port.

But now, a hundred years later, the Europeans' legacy is, literally, being left in China's shadow. Across the Bund now lies an even grander line-up of buildings, from a 60 metre-tall red pyramid and golden Buddhist temples to structures from the space age.

For the next six months, the Huangpu's banks will host the biggest and most expensive world's fair in history, an event seen as a display of China's economic might in its financial centre.

If the Olympics marked a display of China's political power, the Shanghai Expo, which was formally kicked off on Friday, is being seen as an opportunity for China to showcase its soft power to the 189 countries which will attend the event.

"The Expo is a unique opportunity for the world to understand China, and for the world to develop links with people and businesses here," said D.K. Nangia, who as director of India's $ 9-million pavilion, will head New Delhi's cultural and economic initiatives in Shanghai.

India's pavilion, however, will face stiff competition, seemingly paling in comparison to the much grander efforts of a host of countries, from the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia to Denmark, which have so far grabbed all the headlines in China.

The U.K. pavilion, a giant porcupine-like structure with 60,000 steel rods, has attracted the biggest queues so far in the Expo's dry runs held this week, organisers said. The Danish pavilion, which features the famous "Little Mermaid" statue, has been another favourite with the locals.

Top of the list, of course, has been the home country's pavilion, a 60-metre tall giant inverted "Oriental Crown." The Chinese government has spent an estimated $ 45 billion on the Expo, upgrading Shanghai's infrastructure in a bid to make the city a "world financial capital" by 2020.

The city's infrastructure has, however, struggled so far to cope with the surge of tourists from across China and the world this past week, as the Expo prepares to open its doors on Saturday. It is expected to attract an estimated 70 million visitors – 25 million tickets have already been sold.

The fair is attracting tourists from all over China's far corners, and like the Olympics, has invoked a sense of national pride in many Chinese. "It is a chance for China to show its development," said Li Xianyan, a volunteer at the Expo who travelled all the way from Heilongjiang in the north to be a part of the event.

But a tightening of security and the dislocation of thousands to make way for the Expo has angered many residents in Shanghai.

A reported 6,000 people have been detained in crime sweeps. Many Shanghai residents have also criticised the local government's massive spending of taxpayer's money on the project in the midst of the economic downturn.

"It is a chance for China to show its development," said Li Xianyan, a volunteer at the Expo who travelled all the way from Heilongjiang in the north to be a part of the event. "It is also a chance for young Chinese who will never have a chance to travel abroad to experience other cultures and learn about other parts of the world," she told The Hindu.

But a tightening of security and the dislocation of thousands to make way for the Expo has angered many residents in Shanghai. A reported 6,000 people have been detained in crime sweeps. Many Shanghai residents have also criticised the local government's massive spending of taxpayer's money on the project in the midst of the economic downturn, saying the money should have been diverted to social welfare projects instead.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article418829.ece?homepage=true

 

[Oracle]

US calls level of China copyright theft 'unacceptable'

WASHINGTON: The US government said on Friday that the level of theft of copyrights and patents in China "remains unacceptable" and kept Beijing on a "priority watch list" for intellectual property protection.

An annual report by the US Trade Representative's office (USTR) said that China's enforcement regime "remains largely ineffective and non-deterrent" and that US copyright industries ranging from software and movies to publishing to footwear "report severe losses due to piracy in China.

China will remain on the "priority watch list" in 2010 and will remain subject to monitoring by USTR.

The report said China's enforcement of intellectual property and implementation of a global agreement on the issue under the World Trade Organisation "remain top priorities for the United States."

"The United States is heartened by many positive steps the Chinese government took in 2009 with respect to these issues," USTR said.

"However, the overall level of IPR (intellectual property rights) theft in China remains unacceptable," it added.

"Exacerbating its enforcement difficulties, China maintains market access barriers, such as import restrictions and restrictions on wholesale and retail distribution, which can discourage and delay the introduction into China's market of a number of legitimate foreign products that rely on IPR."

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ht-theft-unacceptable/articleshow/5878914.cms

(I guess this is the right place to post this, otherwise only Mods can help me)

 

[Armand2REP]

China bubble grows fastest in 2nd and 3rd tier cities

In China, real estate fever is rising
The country is treading dangerously close to a full-blown property bubble, economists say, and the industrial outpost of Hefei represents China's embrace of housing to fuel economic growth.
April 26, 2010|David Pierson, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Hefei, China — Hundreds of miles inland from the booming real estate markets of Beijing and Shanghai, an unlikely property fever is gripping this middling industrial outpost.

Rows of half-completed apartment buildings rise over former farmland, each crowned with yellow construction cranes that seem to outnumber trees in parts of this dusty city of 5 million residents.

Taxi drivers boast of owning multiple flats for investment. Billboards hawk developments with names such as Villa Glorious and Rich Country. Frenzied crowds pack sales events with bags of cash, buying units that exist only on blueprints. Average home values in Hefei soared 50% last year.

China's real estate rush, once confined to a handful of leading cities, has spilled into the hinterlands with a ferocity reminiscent of American expansion into exurbs like the Inland Empire.

In a country that economists say is treading dangerously close to a full-blown property bubble, Hefei represents more evidence of China's headlong embrace of housing to power economic growth.

"The situation in Hefei is a symbol of the craziness in China's real estate market," said Cao Jianhai, a professor of economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank. "Prices in second- and third-tier cities are increasing more dramatically than in the first tier. It's very dangerous, and it puts local banks at risk."

With land increasingly difficult to secure in the most coveted cities, developers are turning to lesser-known destinations in China. Local officials eager to generate revenue through leases and development fees, and to meet growth targets set by the central government, are quick to grant permits.

Hefei, a provincial capital in central China's impoverished Anhui province, has swallowed swaths of countryside, toppled parts of its city center and relocated thousands of residents to feed a growing appetite for new residential property.

All this in a city where many residents are barely a generation removed from working the fields. The average annual income here is $2,000. The local economy centers on home-appliance manufacturing. There are few tourists. Occupants of some of the coming high rises will have little to view but flat fields in the smoggy distance and a man-made pond ambitiously named Swan Lake.

"No one had any idea real estate would get this hot here," said Huang Qingyuan, a sales agent for one of Hefei's most expensive housing estates — they go for about $120,000 per apartment.

While pricey by local standards, that's still a fraction of what homes cost in the capital. That's why buyers continue to pour in from across the region, accumulating apartments as a hedge against inflation in a nation where there are few investment alternatives. More residential units were sold here the first three months of 2010 than in Beijing or Shanghai — cities four times the size of Hefei.

Among the new developments is Binhu Century City, a massive complex just north of the airport. Nearly 200 apartment towers are being erected over what used to be fields of vegetables, rice and cotton.

When completed next year, the development will house 80,000 people and feature a 4.3-million-square-foot shopping mall. Residents will be connected by a new elevated highway, and plans are afoot to build a subway and high-speed rail.

Xi Zhou, a cameraman for a local news channel, paid $50,000 for his 900-square-foot unit in December. He figures it's now worth $80,000. He's so anxious to take possession that he visited Binhu's sales office on a recent weekday to gaze at his property in a plastic diorama of the complex. All but 100 of the 24,000 units have been sold.

"For people of my generation, property is all we talk about," said Xi, 27, who will share the new home with his wife and parents. "I felt a lot of pressure to buy because the longer I didn't, the more likely I wouldn't be able to afford anything."

China's central government is taking steps to cool the market. This month, lawmakers raised down-payment requirements for the purchase of second homes and gave banks new powers to restrict lending to speculators. Capital gains and monthly property taxes are being considered.

Still, economists say pushing back too far could squelch a sector that's creating jobs and filling government coffers.

Local governments and developers are "perfectly happy to ride this out," said Patrick Chovanec, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "There's no other source of revenue to rely on. But it's like they're on a treadmill. Real estate is not a renewable resource. They've got to sell more at increasingly higher prices."

It seems that little can slow charging growth in cities like Hefei in the near term. Officials are investing billions to speed up urbanization in the country's interior. Few may need it more than Anhui province, a major source of China's migrant labor and home to farmers whose desperate existence was the subject of Pearl S. Buck's novel "The Good Earth."

About 15% of the city's residents are now estimated to be construction workers. Roads are pocked with potholes left by the steady crush of trucks carrying raw materials. Building sites often encroach onto busy streets, prompting impatient drivers to swerve onto sidewalks and cut across city parks.

"I'll take one route in the morning and by the afternoon it's already changed," said Hu Bin, a taxi driver.

For the local government, it's a small price to pay for the city's mad march from backwater to metropolis.

"The consequence of the development will be shared with the people," reads a road sign posted on a downtown highway.

Many Hefei residents are as obsessed with real estate news as Angelenos are. One of the most popular radio programs here is an afternoon talk show called "Blossom Real Estate." Some prospective buyers get half a dozen text messages a day on their cellphones from developers advertising new properties. Apartments are opened with great fanfare, with outdoor concerts in malls.

"Everyone in Hefei lives with the real estate industry," said Guo Hongbing, a marketing consultant for several developers. "You can't escape it."

The Hefei native gave visitors a tour of Mediterranean-style condominiums that would have been right at home in Orange County were it not for laundry drying on most residents' balconies (Chinese tend to shun dryers because of high energy costs).

All the properties had been sold, and Guo was interested in estimating how many were left empty by investors. His unscientific method? Looking for curtains.

"See, less than half that building is occupied," he said, pointing to one block with several bare windows. "These speculators want to buy as many as possible."

Many of Hefei's longtime residents still struggle to comprehend the changes. Dai Fangping lives near the city center with her husband in a red brick row house whose neighboring units have all been gutted to make way for a wider road.

"Things used to be really good," said Dai, who was born in the same house 50 years ago. "Kids used to play outside, neighbors used to pop in. Now I'm scared to go outside. I used to know all the roads, but now I get lost sometimes."

Dai said she expects relocation officials to knock on her door any day to tell her she has to pack and leave. Her only hope is qualifying for some form of compensation that can help with rent. Buying real estate now is impossible.

"We really don't know where we'd go," she said. "We've never felt this kind of financial pressure before."

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/26/business/la-fi-china-realestate-20100426

 

[LETHALFORCE]

US calls level of China copyright theft 'unacceptable'

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/US_calls_level_of_China_copyright_theft_unacceptable_999.html

US calls level of China copyright theft 'unacceptable'

The US government said Friday that the level of theft of copyrights and patents in China "remains unacceptable" and kept Beijing on a "priority watch list" for intellectual property protection.

An annual report by the US Trade Representative's office (USTR) said that China's enforcement regime "remains largely ineffective and non-deterrent" and that US copyright industries ranging from software and movies to publishing to footwear "report severe losses due to piracy in China.

China will remain on the "priority watch list" in 2010 and will remain subject to monitoring by USTR.

The report said China's enforcement of intellectual property and implementation of a global agreement on the issue under the World Trade Organization "remain top priorities for the United States."

"The United States is heartened by many positive steps the Chinese government took in 2009 with respect to these issues," USTR said.

"However, the overall level of IPR (intellectual property rights) theft in China remains unacceptable," it added.

"Exacerbating its enforcement difficulties, China maintains market access barriers, such as import restrictions and restrictions on wholesale and retail distribution, which can discourage and delay the introduction into China's market of a number of legitimate foreign products that rely on IPR."

The United States challenged certain restrictions at the World Trade Organization in 2007.

USTR said the share of seizures pirated goods by US border officials was 79 percent in 2009, a small decrease from 81 percent in 2008.

The report said China "should significantly increase criminal prosecutions and other enforcement actions against Internet-based piracy and counterfeiting operations through a sustained national effort backed by appropriate resources."

The report said Washington is also "deeply troubled by the development of policies that may unfairly disadvantage US rights holders by promoting 'indigenous innovation.'"

"Intellectual property theft in overseas markets is an export killer for American businesses and a job killer for American workers here at home," said Trade Representative Ron Kirk in releasing the annual Special 301 report on enforcement of intellectual property rights.

He said this year's figures "highlight several successes in the fight against intellectual property theft. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland have taken significant steps to clamp down on piracy and counterfeiting and will be removed from the watch list."

The priority watch list, noting countries that fail to adequately protect intellectual property, included China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Venezuela.

Twenty-nine other countries are on the lower-level watch list.

 

[Armand2REP]

Just some food for thought on the Chinese export sector. The euro is headed for a nose dive as PIGS crises keeps coming up. A heavily devalued euro is going to directly impact imports from China. That $200 billion trade deficit we have is going to drop real quick whether China keeps their currency pegged or not.

 

[badguy2000]

Just some food for thought on the Chinese export sector. The euro is headed for a nose dive as PIGS crises keeps coming up. A heavily devalued euro is going to directly impact imports from China. That $200 billion trade deficit we have is going to drop real quick whether China keeps their currency pegged or not.

the impact of Euro-develuing can not be one-way street.

One hand, it can reduce EU's trade deficit and increase its export.

On the other hand, it also means that Europeans's purchase power will shrink and their real salary also will shrink... that is mean, European will get poorer than before...

So, Mr Armand, are you ready to live a poorer life ?

 

[Armand2REP]

the impact of Euro-develuing can not be one-way street.

One hand, it can reduce EU's trade deficit and increase its export.

On the other hand, it also means that Europeans's purchase power will shrink and their real salary also will shrink... that is mean, European will get poorer than before...

So, Mr Armand, are you ready to live a poorer life ?

I am ready for society to stop importing Chinois junk that poisons our children and pets. Eurozone is large and diverse enough we can make our own products intertrade so the quality of life will not decrease so much. We just won't be going on holiday much outside the Eurozone. Still leaves Greece which is a nice spot. The increase in exports will make up for the rest.

 

[badguy2000]

I am ready for society to stop importing Chinois junk that poisons our children and pets. Eurozone is large and diverse enough we can make our own products intertrade so the quality of life will not decrease so much. We just won't be going on holiday much outside the Eurozone. Still leaves Greece which is a nice spot. The increase in exports will make up for the rest.

forget what you said.

the impact of Euro devaluation is far beyond what you said.

it not only means that Europeans have to give up oversea holidays, but also means that European have to pay more for imported raw resource such as oil,gas and so on. the increased cost of raw resource will eventuall become higher price of commodities,that is , inflation.
If you now can buy one BMW now,then you will have to replace it with a Chery in furture.

 

[Armand2REP]

forget what you said.

the impact of Euro devaluation is far beyond what you said.

it not only means that Europeans have to give up oversea holidays, but also means that European have to pay more for imported raw resource such as oil,gas and so on. the increased cost of raw resource will eventuall become higher price of commodities,that is , inflation.
If you now can buy one BMW now,then you will have to replace it with a Chery in furture.

forget what you said...

The impact of Euro devaluation is far less than what you say.

It means the high labour costs associated with European products will be greatly reduced. The raw material cost of Euro products is far less a factor than labour. That is why China is able to export so much crap, low labour costs.

 

[badguy2000]

forget what you said...

The impact of Euro devaluation is far less than what you say.

It means the high labour costs associated with European products will be greatly reduced. The raw material cost of Euro products is far less a factor than labour. That is why China is able to export so much crap, low labour costs.

ah, let's wait and see.
BTW, a cheaper Euro also means Chinese will be comparable richer than before and more Chinese will visit and invest in Europe.

It also means that more European will be took over by CHinese and have a CHinese boss.

it also mean that the kids of MR. Armand will have more chance to have a Chinese boss than MR.Armand.

Mr. Armand, are you ready for it?

 

[Armand2REP]

ah, let's wait and see.
BTW, a cheaper Euro also means Chinese will be comparable richer than before and more Chinese will visit and invest in Europe.

It also means that more European will be took over by CHinese and have a CHinese boss.

it also mean that the kids of MR. Armand will have more chance to have a Chinese boss than MR.Armand.

Mr. Armand, are you ready for it?

China has good track record of buying foreign and driving them into the ground. Chinese boss comes in, next month business is out of business.

 

[badguy2000]

China has good track record of buying foreign and driving them into the ground. Chinese boss comes in, next month business is out of business.

one basic economy principle is "balance" . it means that in theory same productivity should be paid with same salary. it also means that same postion should be paid with same salary. Otherwise, there will be a "imbalance".

guy, now, Chnese productivity is getting more and more closer to that of industrialized economies,but its cheap RMB makes "made in China" cost much less than "made in EU" or "made in USA". SO, "imbalance appears ,that is , "made in China" is everywhere.

If such a "imbalance " can not be correct, "made in China" will sweep up "made in EU " and "made in USA" soon or later,because "cost performance" is the king.

In theory, two ways can correct such a "imbalance".

One is appreciation of RMB. that means that "made in China" costs more. but it also means that CHinese become richer.

the other is devaluation of Euro and dollars. it means that "made in EU " and "made in USA" cost less. but it also means that Europeans and Yankees are poorer.

In fact, the real case is that both ways are going at the same time, that is , Europeans and Yankees are getting poorer and CHinese are getting richer.

Once Chinese have the same life quality and productivities, imbalance will be corrected and balance will appear.

 

[badguy2000]

China has good track record of buying foreign and driving them into the ground. Chinese boss comes in, next month business is out of business.

Unless Europeans dirve their business into the ground at first, CHinese would never have chance to take overy their business and be the boss of Europeans. =xy

 

[Armand2REP]

Guy, you want to talk to me about imbalance and list off non-existant theories. EU productivity will increase from exports, this will turn to more employment and rise in GDP. Higher wages will be offered to attract skilled labour so no, Chinese will not be closing an income gap. Europeans will be seeing rises in employment while Chinois will be experiencing massive layoffs. Your GDP declines while ours goes up.

 

[Armand2REP]

Unless Europeans dirve their business into the ground at first, CHinese would never have chance to take overy their business and be the boss of Europeans. =xy

Let us remember how you took over Ssangyong Motors, now it is bankrupt after violent strikes. Chinese don't know how to manage business in foreign markets. I am just waiting to see how fast Volvo goes under.

 

[badguy2000]

Guy, you want to talk to me about imbalance and list off non-existant theories. EU productivity will increase from exports, this will turn to more employment and rise in GDP. Higher wages will be offered to attract skilled labour so no, Chinese will not be closing an income gap. Europeans will be seeing rises in employment while Chinois will be experiencing massive layoffs. Your GDP declines while ours goes up.

If Europeans want to have a better life quality than CHinese, Europeans have to master the skills to produce something more "cost performance " than Chinese can not produce.

30 years ago,nearly all " made by Europeans" had better cost performance than Chinese.

20 years ago, textiles and toys made in europe lost its cost performance edge on "made in China".

15 years ago, house appliances made in Europe lost its cost performance edge on " made in CHina".

10 years ago, shipyards and steel plants in Europe lost their cost performance edge on "made in China";

Now, PC,telecom and highspeed railways made in Europe all lost their cost performance edge on "made in China".Nokia , HP and Simens are ass-kicked by Chinese companies all over the world.

so,what are the last G-string left for Europeans now? big aircraft , autos ..can you name more?

In one decades, Europeans even can not keep their last G-string.

 

[badguy2000]

Let us remember how you took over Ssangyong Motors, now it is bankrupt after violent strikes. Chinese don't know how to manage business in foreign markets. I am just waiting to see how fast Volvo goes under.

hi,guy:

1. to skew one foeign business is not a glory,but it is much better to be taken by foreigners,eapeically by a guy who were much poorer .

2. To be a failed boss is anyhow much better to be a coolie working hard for foriegners.

3. One case can not prove much. Need I name fail taking-over of Europeans? a greeting from Daimler-Chrysler!

 

[Armand2REP]

If Europeans want to have a better life quality than CHinese, Europeans have to master the skills to produce something more "cost performance " than Chinese can not produce.

Europeans already have a better life quality than the poor Chinois. It is better to live in debt stricken Greece than mainland China.

30 years ago,nearly all " made by Europeans" had better cost performance than Chinese.

20 years ago, textiles and toys made in europe lost its cost performance edge on "made in China".

15 years ago, house appliances made in Europe lost its cost performance edge on " made in CHina".

10 years ago, shipyards and steel plants in Europe lost their cost performance edge on "made in China";

Europeans outsourced everything to China because of slave labour. Production efficiency doesn't come anywhere close to European standards. China is the screwdriver of the world while EU and US are the innovators.

Now, PC,telecom and highspeed railways made in Europe all lost their cost performance edge on "made in China".Nokia , HP and Simens are ass-kicked by Chinese companies all over the world.

China doesn't make PCs or highspeed trains. Lenovo is full of Western computer hardware, all you make is a screwdriver case and a shit battery that has to be recalled a half dozen times. Your highspeed trains are European, you import them. Soon you have a license production. Your economy exists because we outsource the screw drivers.

so,what are the last G-string left for Europeans now? big aircraft , autos ..can you name more?

You don't have anything in the value chain that competes with Europe, you are low end manufacture and outsourced screw driver industry. "Made in China" is synonymous with cheap junk.

In one decades, Europeans even can not keep their last G-string.

Save that for Brasil.

 

[Armand2REP]

hi,guy:To be a failed boss is anyhow much better to be a coolie working hard for foriegners.

Really? Better to have a job than be bankrupt.

3. One case can not prove much. Need I name fail taking-over of Europeans? a greeting from Daimler-Chrysler!

Chrysler sales are up 25%. Doesn't have much to do with us. We took over Nissan to make us the 4th largest automaker in the world. Now Daimler wants to join our alliance.

 

[badguy2000]

Europeans already have a better life quality than the poor Chinois. It is better to live in debt stricken Greece than mainland China.

yes, greece is appealing a ass-saving to IMF,where CHina is the 3rd biggest sharesholder.

guy, So many CHinese visits Europes every year....in fact, the average ife quality of Poland,Czech is quite close to that in costal China,although their per captital nominal GDP is much higher.

In fact, the life quality of S.korea, Taiwan, Hongkong ,Poland, Czech are all quite close to those in coastal CHina.

the life quality of Turkey, Russia ,Ukrain, Bulgaria and Romania are obviously lower than that of costal CHina. the so called "higher per capital nominal GDP " in those countries are nothing but bull$hit.

I don't know much about the life quality of Greece. But I think that life quality should between Turkey and Czech.

Europeans outsourced everything to China because of slave labour. Production efficiency doesn't come anywhere close to European standards. China is the screwdriver of the world while EU and US are the innovators.

yes, Europeans outsource everything to CHinese salve labour, just in order that Chinese slavery labour can be the boss of Europeans some day....haha.

China doesn't make PCs or highspeed trains. Lenovo is full of Western computer hardware, all you make is a screwdriver case and a shit battery that has to be recalled a half dozen times. Your highspeed trains are European, you import them. Soon you have a license production. Your economy exists because we outsource the screw drivers.

guy, just go on.
In 10 years most, Europeans highspeed railway industry will be crushed ...hurry in to say good by to your beloved European highspeed railways. Soon, they would be replaced with "made in China'.

BTW, Simens now is begging CHinese companies to save its ass in the bid to highspeed railway projects in S-Arabia. Highspeed railway projects in USA and Russia will be bagged by Chinese companies