china

Wall Street Journal’s Chinese version site blocked in China

"Access to the Wall Street Journal’s Chinese-language edition has been cut off in China, where official censors routinely delete online content deemed sensitive but less often block entire websites. The Journal’s Chinese-language site has had certain articles blocked since it was launched in 2002, but rarely the whole site. The ruling Communist Party blocked the websites of the US media outfits Bloomberg and The New York Times last year after exposes revealed the huge fortunes amassed by relatives of President Xi Jinping and of former premier Wen Jiabao." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWall Street Journal’s Chinese version site blocked in China

China’s Spending on Renewable Energy May Total 1.8 Trillion Yuan

"China may invest another 2.3 trillion yuan in key energy-saving and emission-reducing projects, Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said today at a conference in Beijing. The government aims to have 100 gigawatts of wind-power installed capacity and more than 35 gigawatts of solar power by 2015, Xie reiterated today. China’s targets have encouraged companies including China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec Group, to strengthen their commitment to protect the environment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina’s Spending on Renewable Energy May Total 1.8 Trillion Yuan

China is Banking on a Detroit Comeback

"Detroit real estate agents have been swamped with requests for cheap properties by Chinese investors. One agency even sold 30 properties to a single buyer. Why all the interest from Chinese investors? Back in May, The New York Times reported that dozens of companies from China were putting down roots in Detroit in order to push their way into the American auto industry. Chinese businesses have tried to keep the movement of Chinese auto suppliers into Detroit as quiet as possible to avoid the public backlash experienced by Japanese automakers moving manufacturing to the U.S. in the 1980s. The Chinese know an opportunity when they see one." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina is Banking on a Detroit Comeback

5,000 Chinese factory workers strike over Indian takeover of American firm

"Cooper Tire and Rubber announced last month that it would be taken over by Apollo Tyres of India, making the combined group the seventh-largest such firm in the world. But thousands of staff at Cooper Chengshan, a joint venture in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, have walked out in protest, the Xinhua news agency said late Tuesday. It is the latest incident to hit a foreign joint venture after Chinese workers held an American factory executive hostage for nearly a week in late June over a plan by his US-based medical supply company to lay off 30 workers." Continue reading →

Continue Reading5,000 Chinese factory workers strike over Indian takeover of American firm

China “offers sturdy floor” in gold: UBS

"In China – now the world's second-largest economy, and likely to overtake India as world No.1 gold consumer in 2013 – private household demand for gold bullion 'does hold the promise of a sturdy price floor' says a note from fellow Swiss investment bank and London market-maker UBS. Moreover, 'In China banks are setting up and/or growing gold accumulation plans offered to the public. Better and easier access to gold via banks' growing networks combined with strong appetite from retail customers have driven the tremendous appetite from China this year.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina “offers sturdy floor” in gold: UBS

Taiwanese Apple contractor probes claims of labor abuse

"The US rights groups said three Pegatron plants in China impose excessive overtime and employ minors. It also cited crowded dormitories, insufficient fire escape routes and arbitrary fines for perceived minor lapses of behaviour. Apple has also said it will investigate the claims. Pegatron produces consumer electronics like game consoles, television sets and computers for Sony, Toshiba and some other brand name vendors, as well as assembling products for Apple, an official of the Taiwanese company said. It currently has around 110,000 employees, the vast majority of them in the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Suzhou and Chongqing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaiwanese Apple contractor probes claims of labor abuse

Ex-inmate at Chinese prison: We made airline headsets

"Major airlines including British Airways and electronics manufacturers have been accused of sourcing products from a Chinese prison where inmates are tasered if they don’t hit production targets. The Australian Financial Review was tipped off about the story by New Zealander Danny Cancian, a former inmate of Dongguan prison in southern Guangdong province. He claimed he had made in-flight headphones for Qantas, British Airways and Emirates as well as parts for local firms which supply US technology giant Emerson and home appliance maker Electrolux. All companies denied any knowledge of selling products made in Dongguan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-inmate at Chinese prison: We made airline headsets

Challenging a Long-Held Assumption about Commodities

"When it comes to oil demand, 17 years ago, China was a net exporter. Today, it is the second-largest importer, transporting 5.4 million barrels of oil into the country every day. That’s why it is widely accepted that the Asian giant spurred higher commodity prices in the past decade. And if the country was the force behind the boom, then the assumption is that China’s lower, but still healthy growth will be a drag on commodity prices. But recent research challenges this assumption. According to BCA Research’s Chen Zhao, what is initially an 'outrageous proposition' may not actually be." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChallenging a Long-Held Assumption about Commodities

Bill Bonner: How America’s Working Stiffs Got Stiffed

"The Party leadership is not infallible. Neither in China nor in the US. In both countries, the feds – looking out for themselves – make policy decisions that are disastrous for others. We have no idea what calamity the central planners will cause in China. But we can take a fair guess of what they will do to America. Broadly, China’s feds build too many factories, malls and apartments. America’s feds encouraged the opposite error – borrowing and spending too much for consumption purposes. China’s real wages doubled in the last 10 years… after doubling in the previous 10 years. That is why the Chinese feel so much better off. They ARE much better off." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: How America’s Working Stiffs Got Stiffed