China's Vice President Xi Jinping is visiting Iowa, where Chinese buyers have pledged to buy $4.3 billion worth of soybeans from the USA. That is nearly 9 million metric tons of soybeans to be bought from American companies. The Chinese trade representatives are expected to sign another soybean deal when they travel with to California. The total purchase amount of soybeans should be 12 million metric tons. That would be the most soybeans China has ever purchased from the USA during one visit.
Soybean fields are a common site on the Eastern Shore.
Here a some some interesting facts about soybeans provided by VOA.
What are Soybeans?
*An edible bean high in protein cultivated in China as many as 3000 years ago. The soybean has been used in a number of traditional Asian foods, including soy sauce, tofu and edamame.
Where do Soybeans grow?
*Nearly 260 million metric tons of soybeans were produced worldwide in 2010. The U.S. grew the largest percentageof soybeans — more than a third — followed by Brazil and Argentina.
What are Soybeans used for?
*Besides the traditional Asian foods, soybeans today are processed into a variety of products:
– Soybean oil: soybeans are about 18% oil, which can be extracted and is used in margarine, mayonnaise, in cooking, and to pack canned food, like tuna.
– Soybean meal: the high-protein meal left over after the oil is extracted is a major component of livestock feed.
– Biodiesel: remove the glycerin from soybean oil and what remains is soy biodiesel, which can be used as an energy source.
– Soy milk: a beverage made by straining out liquid after soybeans are soaked and ground up in water.
* Soybeans also can be used to make:
– Wax (used in crayons and candles)
– Inks
– Asphalt
– Lotion
What countries are the largest importers of Soybeans?
* China is the world's largest importer of soybeans, accounting for nearly 60% of the soybeans sold worldwide.
* The European Union is the second largest importer of soybeans and the world's largest importer of soybean meal.
* India also is a growing consumer of soybeans, which are a cheap source of protein for its surging population. But the government limits imports of soybean products, in preference to domestic suppliers.
* The U.S. is the world's largest soybean exporter, but also is a large soybean consumer.
Soybeans have many uses. From soy milk to biodiesel. Learn more at Eastern Shore Magazine.
Have you ever eaten Edamame?
Edamame are green soybeans, harvested before it reaches the "hardening" time. Salt-boiled edamame in pods are eaten by squeezing beans out of pods with fingers and are very popular in Japan. The name Edamame originates from Japan and means "twig bean" (eda = "twig" + mame = "bean") referring to young soybeans cropped with their twigs. Edamame also means the salt-boiled dish because of its popularity.
Soybeans Learn Interesting Facts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
2012-02-16
2012-01-09
More Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China
US Seriously Concerned Over Tibetan Self-Immolations
VOA - Monday, January 9th, 2012
The United States says it is “seriously concerned” that more Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China, and says the actions represent deep frustration with Chinese government restrictions.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday the self-immolations show there is enormous anger over severe Chinese restrictions on human rights and religious freedoms.
She added that Washington has consistently raised the issue with China.
Reports from Tibet say another Tibetan monk died Sunday after setting himself on fire in Dari county of Amdo region.
The reports say that before 42-year-old Lama Sopa Tulku set himself ablaze, he said he was doing so to commemorate all the Tibetans who have died since 2009 for Tibet's freedom and for the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.
Two other Tibetans immolated themselves Friday near the flashpoint Kirti monastery in Sichuan province.
At least 14 Tibetan Buddhists are believed to have set themselves on fire in the past year since a young monk protesting Chinese rule died after self-immolating outside the Kirti monastery in March. That death sparked months of protests by monks and nuns and triggered a major Chinese crackdown that included the arrests and disappearances of hundreds of monks.
Beijing has denounced the self-immolations and accuses Tibetan exiles of encouraging them. The government says Tibetans enjoy religious freedom.
VOA - Monday, January 9th, 2012
The United States says it is “seriously concerned” that more Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China, and says the actions represent deep frustration with Chinese government restrictions.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday the self-immolations show there is enormous anger over severe Chinese restrictions on human rights and religious freedoms.
She added that Washington has consistently raised the issue with China.
Reports from Tibet say another Tibetan monk died Sunday after setting himself on fire in Dari county of Amdo region.
The reports say that before 42-year-old Lama Sopa Tulku set himself ablaze, he said he was doing so to commemorate all the Tibetans who have died since 2009 for Tibet's freedom and for the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.
Two other Tibetans immolated themselves Friday near the flashpoint Kirti monastery in Sichuan province.
At least 14 Tibetan Buddhists are believed to have set themselves on fire in the past year since a young monk protesting Chinese rule died after self-immolating outside the Kirti monastery in March. That death sparked months of protests by monks and nuns and triggered a major Chinese crackdown that included the arrests and disappearances of hundreds of monks.
Beijing has denounced the self-immolations and accuses Tibetan exiles of encouraging them. The government says Tibetans enjoy religious freedom.
2011-12-16
Marriott Hotels - rapid expansion in China and other emerging economies
Hotel Magnate Sees Bright Future for Hospitality
VOA - Jeff Seldin | Washington, DC
December 16, 2011
The man credited with turning his father's soda stand into a global hotel business is stepping down after 39 years running Marriott International. The change at the top of the company (announced this week) comes during rapid expansion in China and other emerging economies.
A global hotel empire, built on a simple recipe for success... “Take good care of your employee and they’ll take good care of the customer. And that applies around the world. I don’t care what country you’re in, everybody wants to be treated with warmth, with precision, good food, hot food hot, cold food cold," Marriott explained. "They want to be able to have a good experience.”
Coworkers and competitors credit the now 79-year-old Bill Marriott with using that mantra - and his personal touch - to help turn what began as a small soda stand, and restaurant chain, into Marriott International with 3,600 hotels spanning more than 70 countries, and growing.
Now, it's up to incoming Chief Executive Aren Sorenson - who takes over in March - to keep the global expansion going. "We stand today, we think, at the dawn of a new golden age of travel. And that golden age of travel is driven by explosive growth in the developing world. China and India and Brazil are well known to everybody. But sub-Saharan African is exploding in many markets in a positive way,” he said.
Both Sorenson and Marriott, who will remain on the company's board of directors, say there are reasons to be concerned, especially with Europe's ongoing debt crisis and continued fallout from the Arab Spring. But they stress there is no shortage of need or opportunity.
“The business is good in sub-Saharan Africa. We’re going into several countries down there and we just feel there’s a great opportunity there. They’ve got a lot of minerals. They’ve got a lot of oil. They’ve got a lot of things that are going on that the world is going to continue to buy and develop and grow in sub-Saharan Africa and we want to be part of that growth,” Marriott stated.
Marriott International reported sales of $12 billion in 2010, with strong growth in China and Brazil.
Bill Marriott says his global hotel empire was built on a simple recipe for success.... “Take good care of your employee and they’ll take good care of the customer"
VOA - Jeff Seldin | Washington, DC
December 16, 2011
The man credited with turning his father's soda stand into a global hotel business is stepping down after 39 years running Marriott International. The change at the top of the company (announced this week) comes during rapid expansion in China and other emerging economies.
A global hotel empire, built on a simple recipe for success... “Take good care of your employee and they’ll take good care of the customer. And that applies around the world. I don’t care what country you’re in, everybody wants to be treated with warmth, with precision, good food, hot food hot, cold food cold," Marriott explained. "They want to be able to have a good experience.”
Coworkers and competitors credit the now 79-year-old Bill Marriott with using that mantra - and his personal touch - to help turn what began as a small soda stand, and restaurant chain, into Marriott International with 3,600 hotels spanning more than 70 countries, and growing.
Now, it's up to incoming Chief Executive Aren Sorenson - who takes over in March - to keep the global expansion going. "We stand today, we think, at the dawn of a new golden age of travel. And that golden age of travel is driven by explosive growth in the developing world. China and India and Brazil are well known to everybody. But sub-Saharan African is exploding in many markets in a positive way,” he said.
Both Sorenson and Marriott, who will remain on the company's board of directors, say there are reasons to be concerned, especially with Europe's ongoing debt crisis and continued fallout from the Arab Spring. But they stress there is no shortage of need or opportunity.
“The business is good in sub-Saharan Africa. We’re going into several countries down there and we just feel there’s a great opportunity there. They’ve got a lot of minerals. They’ve got a lot of oil. They’ve got a lot of things that are going on that the world is going to continue to buy and develop and grow in sub-Saharan Africa and we want to be part of that growth,” Marriott stated.
Marriott International reported sales of $12 billion in 2010, with strong growth in China and Brazil.
Bill Marriott says his global hotel empire was built on a simple recipe for success.... “Take good care of your employee and they’ll take good care of the customer"
2011-12-15
Investor Citizenship Abroad - Chinese and others emmigrate to United States, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore
China's Wealthy Set Their Sights Abroad
Stephanie Ho | Beijing
VOA - December 13, 2011
As China's wealth increases, so does the number of well-off Chinese seeking to emigrate to other countries.
Their reasons vary: some say they want to switch citizenship to improve educational opportunities for their children, others say they are trying to “hedge their bets” against an uncertain economic future.
The U.S. state of Florida, with its sunshine and beaches, is on the other side of the planet from the southern Chinese commercial center, Guangzhou.
The distance does not deter one ambitious Guangzhou resident who is in the process of obtaining an investor immigrant visa to the United States.
She says she is willing to leave because she thinks her two children will have better opportunities for education. She says holding a U.S. passport also will make it easier to obtain visas to go to other countries.
Many wealthy Chinese do not publicly talk about their desire to immigrate since such a move can be seen as disloyal to their country. This would-be emigre agreed to speak to VOA only on the condition that she not be identified.
To qualify for her visa, she and her husband are planning to invest in a wind farm in South Dakota. She says they made their decision after a trip to the United States in 2009.
She says her friends in the United States introduced her to lawyers, and then after she returned to China, she said she was bombarded with “all sorts of advertisements” about immigrating to other countries.
She says they were considering moving to two U.S. cities, Chicago or Tampa, because that is where their friends live. They decided Chicago is too cold, she says, and because they come from a warm climate, they chose Tampa.
For more than 20 years, the United States has had an immigration program under which a foreigner can qualify for U.S. citizenship if he or she invests one million dollars in a venture that creates at least ten jobs for Americans.
Charles Bennett, the head of consular affairs at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, says in China, most of the interest in the program so far has come from American companies that are trying to find Chinese investors. But, he notes that it is only recently that many Chinese could even meet the steep financial requirements for the program.
“The interest has grown over the life of the program of course because 20 years ago, there weren't the same number of people that there are now who would be able to qualify for this type of visa. So, there has been more interest recently," Bennett says.
China’s economy has recorded some of the world's highest annual growth rates for more than a decade, and the trend is expected to continue this year.
The apparent paradox of those growing riches is that there is also an increasing number of the newly-wealthy who are seeking to emigrate.
Charles Qi is the president of Beijing East J&P Star Consulting, a company that helps Chinese people obtain visas to other countries. When he started 16 years ago, he mostly helped people apply for skilled worker status. Now he helps customers who have the means apply for investor citizenship abroad, especially to Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.
Qi says before 2000, he only had about 20 to 30 business applications each year. Now, more than ten years later, he says the applications have increased ten-fold, to a few hundred business investor applications each year.
Qi says he thinks that, although his clients may leave behind their Chinese citizenship when they emigrate, many of them are still Chinese in their actions and in their hearts.
Most of his clients still have their equipment and business in China, and he thinks this type of immigration will help make China more open in the future and will have a positive impact on China's economic development.
The American economy has not been growing as strongly as in China, in recent years, but William Zarit, a commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, says he believes many Chinese still see the United States as a safer investment.
“We don't know what's going to happen here in the next three to five years economically, how hard that landing is going to be," says Zarit. "So, I think investors here in China are thinking of that also, you know, let's diversify and get a steady [return]. We might not be getting the return on investment that I possibly would get here [in China] in whatever the industry, maybe, but I think I will go to America anyhow, to hedge my bet.”
Although Chinese who are thinking of emigrating abroad do not generally talk publicly about their decision making, there is a heated debate on the topic in Internet chat rooms.
In those online discussions, commentators suggest that the decision to leave China is not solely an economic one.
One real estate mogul recently posted an online comment bemoaning China's overall lack of a sense of basic security for things like property, food, air, education and basic rights. He says this is not only the main reason motivating people to leave the country, it is also the main thing threatening China's overall stability.
Stephanie Ho | Beijing
VOA - December 13, 2011
As China's wealth increases, so does the number of well-off Chinese seeking to emigrate to other countries.
Their reasons vary: some say they want to switch citizenship to improve educational opportunities for their children, others say they are trying to “hedge their bets” against an uncertain economic future.
The U.S. state of Florida, with its sunshine and beaches, is on the other side of the planet from the southern Chinese commercial center, Guangzhou.
The distance does not deter one ambitious Guangzhou resident who is in the process of obtaining an investor immigrant visa to the United States.
She says she is willing to leave because she thinks her two children will have better opportunities for education. She says holding a U.S. passport also will make it easier to obtain visas to go to other countries.
Many wealthy Chinese do not publicly talk about their desire to immigrate since such a move can be seen as disloyal to their country. This would-be emigre agreed to speak to VOA only on the condition that she not be identified.
To qualify for her visa, she and her husband are planning to invest in a wind farm in South Dakota. She says they made their decision after a trip to the United States in 2009.
She says her friends in the United States introduced her to lawyers, and then after she returned to China, she said she was bombarded with “all sorts of advertisements” about immigrating to other countries.
She says they were considering moving to two U.S. cities, Chicago or Tampa, because that is where their friends live. They decided Chicago is too cold, she says, and because they come from a warm climate, they chose Tampa.
For more than 20 years, the United States has had an immigration program under which a foreigner can qualify for U.S. citizenship if he or she invests one million dollars in a venture that creates at least ten jobs for Americans.
Charles Bennett, the head of consular affairs at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, says in China, most of the interest in the program so far has come from American companies that are trying to find Chinese investors. But, he notes that it is only recently that many Chinese could even meet the steep financial requirements for the program.
“The interest has grown over the life of the program of course because 20 years ago, there weren't the same number of people that there are now who would be able to qualify for this type of visa. So, there has been more interest recently," Bennett says.
China’s economy has recorded some of the world's highest annual growth rates for more than a decade, and the trend is expected to continue this year.
The apparent paradox of those growing riches is that there is also an increasing number of the newly-wealthy who are seeking to emigrate.
Charles Qi is the president of Beijing East J&P Star Consulting, a company that helps Chinese people obtain visas to other countries. When he started 16 years ago, he mostly helped people apply for skilled worker status. Now he helps customers who have the means apply for investor citizenship abroad, especially to Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.
Qi says before 2000, he only had about 20 to 30 business applications each year. Now, more than ten years later, he says the applications have increased ten-fold, to a few hundred business investor applications each year.
Qi says he thinks that, although his clients may leave behind their Chinese citizenship when they emigrate, many of them are still Chinese in their actions and in their hearts.
Most of his clients still have their equipment and business in China, and he thinks this type of immigration will help make China more open in the future and will have a positive impact on China's economic development.
The American economy has not been growing as strongly as in China, in recent years, but William Zarit, a commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, says he believes many Chinese still see the United States as a safer investment.
“We don't know what's going to happen here in the next three to five years economically, how hard that landing is going to be," says Zarit. "So, I think investors here in China are thinking of that also, you know, let's diversify and get a steady [return]. We might not be getting the return on investment that I possibly would get here [in China] in whatever the industry, maybe, but I think I will go to America anyhow, to hedge my bet.”
Although Chinese who are thinking of emigrating abroad do not generally talk publicly about their decision making, there is a heated debate on the topic in Internet chat rooms.
In those online discussions, commentators suggest that the decision to leave China is not solely an economic one.
One real estate mogul recently posted an online comment bemoaning China's overall lack of a sense of basic security for things like property, food, air, education and basic rights. He says this is not only the main reason motivating people to leave the country, it is also the main thing threatening China's overall stability.
2011-12-10
Chinese Tourists - US Travel Industry Caters to Visitors from China
December 09, 2011
US Travel Industry Caters to Chinese Tourists
Elizabeth Lee | Los Angeles - VOA
US Travel Industry Caters to Chinese Tourists
Elizabeth Lee | Los Angeles - VOA
2011-08-15
China's First Aircraft Carrier Completes Initial Sea Trials - Taiwan responded to China's aircraft carrier trials by exhibiting a supersonic missile which it called the "aircraft carrier killer."
China's First Aircraft Carrier Completes Initial Sea Trials
VOA
Chinese news media say the country's first aircraft carrier has returned to the northeastern port of Dalian after completing its initial sea trials.
The Shanghai Daily reports that the carrier was towed back into the shipyard Sunday morning amid firecracker blasts and cheers. The report says that some navy personnel were seen walking on the deck, but that all the weapons were covered.
This refitted former Soviet vessel that China bought from Ukraine in 1998 began its inaugural sea trials last Wednesday, at a time of increased regional tensions in the South and East China Seas.
The United States has expressed concern about Beijing's lack of transparency regarding the carrier.
But Chinese officials have responded that the vessel is not a threat to anyone and that its primary purpose is scientific research and training. They also have pointed out that China is the only one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council without an operational aircraft carrier.
The United States has sent two of its carriers to the region. The George Washington arrived Saturday in international waters off the coast of Vietnam and has invited Vietnamese military and government officials to visit the 333-meter Nimitz-class vessel. The Japan-based vessel is said to be on a goodwill tour of Asia-Pacific nations.
The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier began a four-day visit to Hong Kong Friday. It offers visiting tours to the general public.
Taiwan responded to China's aircraft carrier trials by exhibiting a supersonic missile, which it called the "aircraft carrier killer." The Hsuing Feng-3 was displayed against a huge photo of a burning aircraft carrier that bears a striking resemblance to China's carrier.
The French News Agency quoted legislator Lin Yu-fang as saying that Taiwan is developing a new mobile version of the missile, which will have a longer range and carry a heavier warhead.
August 14, 2011
VOA
2011-06-18
Sustainable Seafood - Growth in farmed fish
Farmed Fish Feed More, Pollute Less
WorldFish Center, a private advocacy group, says sustainable seafood holds the key to global food needs
VOA - Rosanne Skirble | Washington, D.C. - June 17, 2011
The growth in farmed fish has significantly outpaced growth in world population China supplying 61.5% of the global market.
Farmed fish, if raised sustainably, can help feed the world, according to a report by the WorldFish Center, a private group that advocates sustainable fishing.
As overfishing continues to deplete ocean fish populations, farmed fish have stepped in to fill the gap. The report, presented at a conference in Thailand, finds the industry has grown at such a rapid pace that it now supplies nearly half the fish eaten on the planet.
It compares farming practices and fish species across 18 countries. WorldFish director general and report author Stephen Hall says it answers some basic questions “What works best? What’s most efficient? Which things do we need to pay most attention to when we try and think about improving the environmental performance of a very important food production sector?”
Ninety-one percent of farmed fish come from Asia, with China alone accounting for more than 61 percent of that production. Hall says from country to country, and across a range of production systems and fish species, the environmental impact of aquaculture varies widely.
“And that tells us that that there are huge opportunities for the best to learn from the worst and reduce the environmental impact across the globe.”
That impact can be considerable. Waste from poorly managed aquaculture ponds can pollute ground and coastal waters, and certain carnivorous species like salmon must be fed products made from other fish, like oil and meal - meaning continued pressure on wild fish populations.
The report finds that shrimp and prawn production methods in China had a greater impact on the environment than the methods used in Thailand or Vietnam. Hall notes that other marine species are more ecologically friendly.
“One of the real ‘good guys’ in this are the bivalves, the oysters and the mussels, which actually take up nutrients and actually remediate and improve the environment as one grows more of them.”
While the report did not look at the impact of farmed fish on wild fish populations or on disease, it did find that when comparing the impact on climate change, land use and energy demand, aquaculture fared much better ecologically than livestock. Consider, says Hall, that it takes 61 kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of beef protein, while the ratio for fish protein is only 13 to one.
“And so when we make these decisions on what we eat and how we manage our environment and the resources we use to produce our food, fish are an important part of that equation because they are in the animal source food area, one of the groups that is particularly attractive for developing further.”
Industry experts predict that farmed fish output will increase 50 percent from current levels by 2030.
In the United States, which currently imports 84 percent of its seafood and produces less than 2 percent of the world’s cultivated fish - the Obama Administration has proposed new guidelines that would make it easier to set up fish farms in federal waters.
U.S. officials say expanding domestic aquaculture production will reduce pressure on wild ocean catch and cut the nation’s seafood imports.
While many environmental groups have expressed wariness about the rapid expansion of fish farming, the global aquaculture assessment released this week suggests that fish farming done well can be ecologically benign. Sebastian Troeng is a vice president at Conservation International, a co-sponsor of the report. He says among its key recommendations are increased innovation in aquaculture production, and better regulations in the part of the world where the sector is big and growing very rapidly.
Troeng adds that careful compliance with environmental regulations is also essential in reducing adverse impacts as the industry grows. “So we can understand where there is going to be a push to increase production and then help guide that production so that it doesn’t place unacceptable demands on the environment.”
Troeng says the challenge is to get public officials, agencies, industry and communities to work together with a set of common goals that address world food needs while also protecting the environment.
Farmed Fish Feed More, Pollute Less
Article from VOA
2011-06-15
China's Renminbi Will Be Among Dominant World Currencies - World Bank Predicts
New Report Predicts China's Renminbi Will Be Among Dominant World Currencies
A new report from The World Bank predicts that China's renminbi will join the U.S dollar and the euro as dominant international currencies sometime in the next 10 to 15 years. Some economists say is a major realignment in the global economic order, with developing countries playing a more dominant role.
The World Bank reportMultipolarity: The New Global Economy focuses on the growing economic power and influence of leading emerging markets that include China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Russia and Indonesia and several other developing countries.
Half of economic growth
Mansoor Dailami, a senior economist at the World Bank says by 2025 those countries could account for about one half of all global economic growth.
Dailami says a major indicator of the country’s future economic growth is the number of companies that invest and do business abroad. He says between 1997 and 2010 the bank identified 10,000 companies from developing countries involved in cross-border transactions.
“That you see more and more companies from India, from China, from Indonesia, from South Africa, from Brazil, from Mexico, these companies are venturing outside in terms of the production, in terms of the investment, in terms of their financing. In short these companies are becoming multinationals,” Dailami explained.
Prominent role
Of the emerging economies, he says China is posed to play the most prominent role in setting global economic policies. Dailami says China is already taking steps to make the renminbi a dominant international currency like the U.S. dollar and the euro.
“It’s a way of China diversifying its huge amount of foreign exchange risk. Right now China as I say is the second largest economy, the largest exports in the world, but China borrows and lends in a foreign currency, not its own currency,” Dailami said.
Reserves
He says China holds $3 trillion in currency reserves and as the dollar continues to drop in value, so too does the value of China's reserves. Establishing the renminbi as an international currency that reflects China's strong economic position, could protect it and other countries from fluctuations in the stagnant economies of Europe and America.
The renminbi is not presently an international currency in part because China does not allow it to be converted at free market rates.
But Dailami says Beijing is moving in that direction by increasingly using renminbi in international transactions and by allowing an off shore market in Hong Kong to issue bonds and banks loans in Chinese currency.
The World Bank reportMultipolarity: The New Global Economy focuses on the growing economic power and influence of leading emerging markets that include China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Russia and Indonesia and several other developing countries.
Half of economic growth
Mansoor Dailami, a senior economist at the World Bank says by 2025 those countries could account for about one half of all global economic growth.
Dailami says a major indicator of the country’s future economic growth is the number of companies that invest and do business abroad. He says between 1997 and 2010 the bank identified 10,000 companies from developing countries involved in cross-border transactions.
“That you see more and more companies from India, from China, from Indonesia, from South Africa, from Brazil, from Mexico, these companies are venturing outside in terms of the production, in terms of the investment, in terms of their financing. In short these companies are becoming multinationals,” Dailami explained.
Prominent role
Of the emerging economies, he says China is posed to play the most prominent role in setting global economic policies. Dailami says China is already taking steps to make the renminbi a dominant international currency like the U.S. dollar and the euro.
“It’s a way of China diversifying its huge amount of foreign exchange risk. Right now China as I say is the second largest economy, the largest exports in the world, but China borrows and lends in a foreign currency, not its own currency,” Dailami said.
Reserves
He says China holds $3 trillion in currency reserves and as the dollar continues to drop in value, so too does the value of China's reserves. Establishing the renminbi as an international currency that reflects China's strong economic position, could protect it and other countries from fluctuations in the stagnant economies of Europe and America.
The renminbi is not presently an international currency in part because China does not allow it to be converted at free market rates.
But Dailami says Beijing is moving in that direction by increasingly using renminbi in international transactions and by allowing an off shore market in Hong Kong to issue bonds and banks loans in Chinese currency.
New Report Predicts China's Renminbi Will Be Among Dominant World Currencies
Article from VOA2011-06-07
Li Na’s French Open Victory Stirs Debate Over China's State-Sponsored Sports Program
Li Na’s Victory Stirs Debate Over China's State-Sponsored Sports Program
VOA, Stephanie Ho - Beijing June 06, 2011
People across China are still reveling in Chinese tennis champion Li Na’s victory Saturday at the French Open. After becoming the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament, Chinese online discussion groups turned to analyzing her decision three years ago to leave behind the state-sponsored sports program and train on her own.
2011-06-06
Dreams of Joy - Lisa See takes readers on a trans-Pacific journey in her latest novel...
Writer Takes Trans-Pacific Journey in New Novel
VOA - Mike O'Sullivan | Los Angeles June 04, 2011
The writer Lisa See takes readers on a trans-Pacific journey in her latest novel, Dreams of Joy.
The book is a sequel to See's 2009 novel Shanghai Girls, which tells the story of two sisters, Pearl and May, who live through the turbulence of 1930s China and escape the Japanese invasion and occupation of Shanghai. They reach Los Angeles Chinatown, where restrictions on immigration have led to networks of fictitious relationships, with so-called "paper sons" claiming the right to immigrate based on forged documents.
2011-06-02
China Rejects Google Hacking Claim - Email Accounts Owned by American Politicians and Chinese Dissidents
China Rejects Google Hacking Claim
China on Thursday rejected claims by Google that China-based hackers have spied on email accounts owned by American politicians and Chinese dissidents.
The allegations are just the latest confrontation between the web search giant and the government of a country with the most Internet users in the world.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei called it unacceptable for Google to blame China for trying to steal the email account passwords of senior U.S. government officials, Chinese activists and journalists.
2011-05-27
China - Country's Worst Drought in more than 50 Years
China Grapples with Worst Drought in More Than 50 YearsCities and provinces along the Yangtze River in central China are grappling with the country's worst drought in more than 50 years. Resource analysts say the drought highlights not only the impact of climate change, but also China's persistent problem of water scarcity and how it must balance that with the country's enormous demand for energy and economic growth. See Video |
2011-05-19
Internet Censorship Lawsuit Filed - accuses the Chinese company Baidu of censoring its Internet services on behalf of the Chinese government
China Rejects Internet Censorship Lawsuit Filed in US
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Photo: VOA - D. SchearfJiang Yu, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman |
2011-05-18
Top Chinese General Says China Will Never Challenge the US Military
Top Chinese General: China Will Never Challenge the US Military
VOA - Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
A top Chinese military officer says China never intends to challenge the United States military.
General Chen Bingde, chief of staff of China's People's Liberation Army, told an audience of U.S. military officers in Washington Wednesday that there is a huge gap between the Chinese and the United States. He says China does not have the capability to challenge the United States.
2011-05-17
Pakistan Turns to Longtime Friend China
Reeling After Osama, Pakistan Turns to Longtime Friend China
Anti-terror allies Pakistan and the United States are struggling to mend their often uncomfortable relationship which has been strained by the secret U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottatad, Pakistan.
Now, it appears Pakistan is looking to its northern neighbor, China, for support.
2011-04-22
Civil War History - Did you know Chinese Americans Fought in the US Civil War?
Historian Recounts Role of Chinese Americans Who Fought in US Civil WarCivil War Article from VOA |
2011-03-30
Libya Bombing - Chinese President Criticizes France
Chinese President Criticizes France About Libya Bombing
Chinese President Hu Jintao has warned that coalition airstrikes on Libya could violate the spirit of the UN resolution on the North African country if civilians are killed in the process.
Speaking at a press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday, Hu also said violence would not resolve the armed political stand-off in Libya.
Rebels in eastern Libya are fighting to end Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's 41-year hold on power.
Sarkozy is a strong backer of the coalition operation against Gadhafi that aims to destroy the Libyan leader's air and land defenses, and prevent him from attacking his own people.
But China's state news agency reported that Hu said if the military action were to "bring disaster" to civilians, then the operation would run counter to the intent of the United Nations resolution. Hu also said China disapproved of the use of military force in international affairs.
Sarkozy was in China at a meeting of the Group of 20 top world economies.
China abstained from the UN Security Council vote on Libya, but did not veto the resolution.
Speaking at a press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday, Hu also said violence would not resolve the armed political stand-off in Libya.
Rebels in eastern Libya are fighting to end Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's 41-year hold on power.
Sarkozy is a strong backer of the coalition operation against Gadhafi that aims to destroy the Libyan leader's air and land defenses, and prevent him from attacking his own people.
But China's state news agency reported that Hu said if the military action were to "bring disaster" to civilians, then the operation would run counter to the intent of the United Nations resolution. Hu also said China disapproved of the use of military force in international affairs.
Sarkozy was in China at a meeting of the Group of 20 top world economies.
China abstained from the UN Security Council vote on Libya, but did not veto the resolution.
Chinese President Criticizes France About Libya Bombing
Article from VOA2011-03-10
No Democracy for China Says a Senior Chinese Leader - But what do most people in China want?
No Democracy for China, Says Prominent Official
VOA - Thursday, March 10th, 2011
A senior Chinese leader says his country will never embrace democracy or other Western-style political reforms.
Wu Bangguo made the assertions Thursday during a speech before the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Mr. Wu, the chairman of the NPC, told the delegates that China's leaders have made “a solemn declaration” that they will not adopt a multiparty system of democracy.
He also dismissed the notion of separating power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, or adopting a federal style of government that delegates broad powers to local and regional administrations.
The Chinese Communist Party has ruled the country with a tight grip since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces defeated the Nationalists in a civil war.
No Democracy for China, Says Prominent Official
Article from VOA
VOA - Thursday, March 10th, 2011
A senior Chinese leader says his country will never embrace democracy or other Western-style political reforms.
Wu Bangguo made the assertions Thursday during a speech before the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Mr. Wu, the chairman of the NPC, told the delegates that China's leaders have made “a solemn declaration” that they will not adopt a multiparty system of democracy.
He also dismissed the notion of separating power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, or adopting a federal style of government that delegates broad powers to local and regional administrations.
The Chinese Communist Party has ruled the country with a tight grip since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces defeated the Nationalists in a civil war.
No Democracy for China, Says Prominent Official
Article from VOA
2011-03-04
Chinese Plane Maker Agrees to Buy US Aircraft Company Cirrus Industries
Chinese Plane Maker Agrees to Buy US Aircraft Company
China's state-owned aircraft company has agreed to buy a U.S. manufacturer of small planes for personal and business use.A division of the China Aviation Industry company says it will buy Cirrus Industries for an undisclosed price. It is a purchase that exhibits China's effort to expand into overseas industrial sectors where it currently does not have a large presence. It is the first time China has bought a competing U.S. or European aircraft manufacturer.
The deal must still be approved by U.S. regulatory authorities. It would give the Chinese access to Cirrus's technology, as well a foothold in the U.S. general aviation market, the world's largest.
The use of small planes is not widespread in China, where air traffic lanes are often reserved for military operations or commercial aviation. Many of China's airports are not equipped to handle small, privately owned planes, although its civil aviation agency recently proposed opening low-altitude airspace for such aircraft over the next several years.
Cirrus is based in the Midwest U.S. state of Minnesota and has sold nearly 5,000 aircraft in 58 countries over the last decade, but only a handful in China. The U.S. firm manufactures the world's top-selling four-seat aircraft.
Chinese Plane Maker Agrees to Buy US Aircraft Company
Article from VOAChina News - Foreign Journalists Were Detained and Harassed
China Muzzles Media to Prevent Mideast-Style Protests
Chinese authorities appear to be nervous about the spread of protests that have toppled and threatened Middle Eastern and North African rulers in recent weeks.
The government has threatened to revoke visas and expel foreign journalists who report from certain busy areas of the country without prior approval.
Last Sunday, about 16 foreign journalists were detained and harassed by security forces in the Beijing shopping district of Wangfujing. The journalists were there to document a small gathering of people who responded to Internet calls for public gatherings to support the "Jasmine Revolution" in the Middle East and to call for reform in China. One American journalist was beaten so badly he was hospitalized.
Press freedom
Freedom of expression in China is already severely curtailed. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and many foreign broadcasters, like the Voice of America, are blocked, as are many foreign news Web sites.
Spreading protests
But since the protests in the Middle East and North Africa shook long-entrenched governments there, China has stepped up efforts to prevent similar protests.
Gilles Lordet, research coordinator for Asia at Reporters without Borders in Paris, says China has increased its control over the media and government critics since human rights activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
"It shows the nervousity [nervousness] of the government about demonstrations, about the possibility of that the demonstrations in the Middle East can have an impact on [a] network of human rights defenders, journalists and defenders of freedom of expression in China," Lordet said. "We see that it is a policy that’s more and more strict since the attribution of the Nobel Prize to Liu Xiaobo in October. The situation of the Middle East increased the nervosity of the government on this subject."
Track record
China’s communist party has ruled the country since 1949. The last mass anti-government protest in Beijing ended in bloodshed in 1989, when government forces fired at hundreds of students in Tiananmen Square. In 2008, unrest in Tibet was put down by the military, and in 2009, the government again suppressed riots in the Xinjiang autonomous region.
The organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders warned Thursday of a “new wave of frenzied repression in China. The group says many activists across China have been arrested or placed under house arrest for endangering state security and subversion related to calls for a Jasmine Revolution.
"I think we are seeing one of the harshest crackdowns in the last, probably, five years because if you look at how many people are under soft detention, there’s over a hundred," said Wang Songlian, a research coordinator for the group. "That number is more or less the same as the period during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. But I think the difference here is that how quickly the government mobilized the police to put these activists under soft detention."
Social harmony
The government under President Hu Jintao has stressed the importance of social harmony. It has spent heavily on advanced surveillance systems, Internet censorship and other ways to snuff out social unrest or dissent before they spread. Some political analysts say this makes it impossible to easily launch a challenge against the government.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday the Chinese government has nothing to fear and any attempt to destabilize the country cannot succeed.
Some overseas Chinese Web sites have called for protests again this Sunday. However, it is unclear whether citizens in China can still see these messages.
The government has threatened to revoke visas and expel foreign journalists who report from certain busy areas of the country without prior approval.
Last Sunday, about 16 foreign journalists were detained and harassed by security forces in the Beijing shopping district of Wangfujing. The journalists were there to document a small gathering of people who responded to Internet calls for public gatherings to support the "Jasmine Revolution" in the Middle East and to call for reform in China. One American journalist was beaten so badly he was hospitalized.
Press freedom
Freedom of expression in China is already severely curtailed. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and many foreign broadcasters, like the Voice of America, are blocked, as are many foreign news Web sites.
Spreading protests
But since the protests in the Middle East and North Africa shook long-entrenched governments there, China has stepped up efforts to prevent similar protests.
Gilles Lordet, research coordinator for Asia at Reporters without Borders in Paris, says China has increased its control over the media and government critics since human rights activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
"It shows the nervousity [nervousness] of the government about demonstrations, about the possibility of that the demonstrations in the Middle East can have an impact on [a] network of human rights defenders, journalists and defenders of freedom of expression in China," Lordet said. "We see that it is a policy that’s more and more strict since the attribution of the Nobel Prize to Liu Xiaobo in October. The situation of the Middle East increased the nervosity of the government on this subject."
Track record
China’s communist party has ruled the country since 1949. The last mass anti-government protest in Beijing ended in bloodshed in 1989, when government forces fired at hundreds of students in Tiananmen Square. In 2008, unrest in Tibet was put down by the military, and in 2009, the government again suppressed riots in the Xinjiang autonomous region.
The organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders warned Thursday of a “new wave of frenzied repression in China. The group says many activists across China have been arrested or placed under house arrest for endangering state security and subversion related to calls for a Jasmine Revolution.
"I think we are seeing one of the harshest crackdowns in the last, probably, five years because if you look at how many people are under soft detention, there’s over a hundred," said Wang Songlian, a research coordinator for the group. "That number is more or less the same as the period during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. But I think the difference here is that how quickly the government mobilized the police to put these activists under soft detention."
Social harmony
The government under President Hu Jintao has stressed the importance of social harmony. It has spent heavily on advanced surveillance systems, Internet censorship and other ways to snuff out social unrest or dissent before they spread. Some political analysts say this makes it impossible to easily launch a challenge against the government.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday the Chinese government has nothing to fear and any attempt to destabilize the country cannot succeed.
Some overseas Chinese Web sites have called for protests again this Sunday. However, it is unclear whether citizens in China can still see these messages.
China Muzzles Media to Prevent Mideast-Style Protests
Article from VOA
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