china

Chinese Tourists with Pockets Full of Dollars

"Chinese tourists have become the highest-spending overseas visitors, reports LaTi. Chinese tourists spend an average of $2,932 per visit to California compared with $1,883 for other overseas visitors, according to the latest statistics by the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. 'What we know about Chinese visitors is they don't like to lay on the beaches,' said Ernest Wooden Jr., president of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. 'What they do like is shopping.' The outpouring of Chinese money helped set a record for spending by foreign visitors to the U.S. — $168.1 billion in 2012, says LaTi." Continue reading →

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Chinese expat author decides to move back to China after receiving green card

"Living overseas expanded her vision of the world, enabling her to review her previous life in China from a different perspective. 'However, I finally came to realize that America will never be home for my spirit and career. Unlike the previous generations of immigrants to America, it is not a problem of language or the bread-and-butter things. The country is materially affluent, but sheer material well-being will not provide real happiness. Add to that the fact that China's rapid economic growth these past few years has made it unnecessary for me to stay in the U.S. just for a comfortable life. As a writer, I found my readers, my development and my roots lie in my motherland.'" Continue reading →

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China housing inflation quickens to two year high

"China's housing inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in April in two years, driven by a jump in prices in Beijing and Shanghai, complicating the task of policymakers trying to cool the property sector while supporting economic expansion. Average new home prices rose 4.9 percent last month from a year ago, after a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent in March, according to Reuters calculations from data released by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) on Saturday. The rise was the sharpest since April 2011. New home prices in Beijing rose 10.3 percent in April from a year earlier and Shanghai's prices were up 8.5 percent in April from a year ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina housing inflation quickens to two year high

Pilotless Planes, Pacific Tensions

"This week the Navy will launch an entirely autonomous combat drone — without a pilot on a joystick anywhere — off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the George H. W. Bush. The drone will then try to land aboard the same ship, a feat only a relatively few human pilots in the world can accomplish. This exercise is the beginning of a new chapter in military history: autonomous drone warfare. But it is also an ominous turn in a potentially dangerous military rivalry now building between the United States and China. To offset China’s numerical advantage and technological advances, the United States Navy is betting heavily on drones." Continue reading →

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Gold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

"China's demand for gold jumped 20% to 294 tonnes in the first quarter of 2013, while global gold demand overall slid 13% thanks to the dramatic rotation of demand from paper to physical. Central banks added 109.2 tonnes of gold to their reserves in Q1 2013, the ninth consecutive quarter of net purchases. But it was the Q1 ETF outflows of 176.9 tonnes, equating to a 7% decline in total gold ETF holdings that obscured the strong rise in investment for gold bars and coins at the retail level. In the face of the huge 'paper' gold ETF outflows, 'physical' gold demand surged to its highest in 18 months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

Gold’s dichotomy: Investment demand plunges, but consumers keep buying

"Today’s gold market is being defined by two trends: aggressive selling by investors in North America through exchange-traded funds, and aggressive buying by consumers in Asia. But for now, the ETF investors are overwhelming everyone else. Gold prices settled below US$1,390 an ounce on Thursday, and after five rough trading days in a row, they are approaching the lows that were reached during last month’s dramatic collapse. Chinese gold imports have been going through the roof. Data released last week showed that China imported 223.5 tonnes (or 7.9 million ounces) from Hong Kong in March, crushing the previous monthly record." Continue reading →

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Switzerland to sign free trade agreement with China

"Switzerland has reached an agreement on details of a free-trade pact with China and expects to sign a deal in coming months, the country's economy minister said on Wednesday. 'What we currently have is a deal at the technical level,' Johann Schneider-Ammann told a news conference in Berne. He said exact details of the agreement would be given once it has been signed in the next few months. China is Switzerland's third biggest trading partner after the European Union and the United States, and the pact covers industry as well as agriculture. More details may emerge when China's Premier Li Keqiang visits Switzerland next week." Continue reading →

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U.S. Blames China’s Military Directly for Cyberattacks

"The Obama administration on Monday explicitly accused China’s military of mounting attacks on American government computer systems and defense contractors, saying one motive could be to map 'military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.' The accusations relayed in the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on Chinese military capabilities were remarkable in their directness. Missing from the Pentagon report was any acknowledgment of the similar abilities being developed in the United States, where billions of dollars are spent each year on cyberdefense and constructing increasingly sophisticated cyberweapons." Continue reading →

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Mao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

"Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine. Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting 'Red Culture' after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US. The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million