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China police stop spread of Egypt news: activist
BEIJING — Police in southwest China have barred activists from distributing leaflets about anti-government protests in Egypt and Tunisia, deeming the news too sensitive, one dissident said Wednesday.
Activists in Guizhou province tried to hand out information about the demonstrations over the weekend, but police told them this was an “unusual period” and gave them 3,000 yuan ($450) to stop, Chen Xi told AFP.
The police paid the money to compensate for losses incurred from the printing costs, and when the activists tried to distribute more information in Guiyang city on Monday, police again barred them from doing so, Chen said.
“We do this (hand out leaflets) all the time but the Read more…
China’s hostile space capabilities worry US: official
WASHINGTON (AFP) – China is developing “counterspace” weapons that could shoot down satellites or jam signals, a Pentagon official said Friday as the United States unveiled a 10-year strategy for security in space.
“The investment China is putting into counterspace capabilities is a matter of concern to us,” deputy secretary of defense for space policy Gregory Schulte told reporters as the defense and intelligence communities released their 10-year National Security Space Strategy (NSSS).
The NSSS marks a huge shift from past practice, charting a 10-year path in space to make the United States “more resilient” and able to defend its assets in a dramatically more crowded, competitive, challenging and sometimes hostile environment, Schulte said.
“Space is no longer the preserve of the US and the Soviet Union, at the time in which we could operate with impunity,” Schulte said.
“There are more competitors, more countries that are launching satellites… and we increasingly have to Read more…
WikiLeaks: US and China in military standoff over space missiles
The United States threatened to take military action against China during a secret “star wars” arms race within the past few years, according to leaked documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph
The two nuclear superpowers both shot down their own satellites using sophisticated missiles in separate show of strength, the files suggest.
The American Government was so incensed by Chinese actions in space that it privately warned Beijing it would face military action if it did not desist.
The Chinese carried out further tests as recently as last year, however, leading to further protests from Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, secret documents show.
Beijing justified its actions by accusing the Americans of developing an “offensive” laser weapon system that would have the capability of destroying missiles before they left enemy territory.
The disclosures are contained in the latest documents obtained by the Wikileaks website, which have been released to The Telegraph. They detail the private fears of Read more…
Gold buying spree grips Chinese households
In this world of chaos and tumult, the Chinese people know what to do to preserve their wealth – they buy gold. When Americans finally wake up, if that ever happens, there is a good chance that there won’t be any gold to buy at any price.
By David Lew
BEIJING (Commodity Online):An unprecedented investor interest in gold is turning Chinese households as store houses of wealth these days as people are on a gold buying spree across the rural and urban areas of the dragon country.
Bundles of news stories are these days written on the gold buying spree by the Chinese households. If not an overstatement, it is now a fact that people’s houses in China have soared in value thanks to the rising prices of gold in the last two years.
“People in China are buying gold like never before. They believe that gold is the best form of investment. So they are buying gold coins, bars and jewelery items and stocking up safely in their homes,” says Beijing-based bullion dealer J Kim Lee.
Quoting the World Gold Council figures, Lee says that if the gold buying spree by Chinese households goes on at the current pace, private gold Chinese demand may overtake Indian gold demand by 2014, giving the world’s two most populous nations two ounces of gold in every five sold worldwide that year.
Indian households are estimated to be owning 15,000 tonnes of gold. India continues to the largest consumer and importer of gold worldwide.
According to precious metals analyst Steven Jon Kaplan, a significant percentage of gold’s price increase in 2009-2010 was caused by the incremental demand from Read more…
Small China quake forces evacuation of 65,000 people
KUNMING, China, Feb. 2 (UPI) — An earthquake that damaged nearly 700 homes forced some 65,000 people into shelters Wednesday in China’s southwestern Yunnan province.
The quake hit Yingjiang County Tuesday afternoon and had a magnitude of 4.8 on the open-ended Richter scale, county officials told the Xinhua news agency.
There was no immediate report on injuries, but officials said 229 homes had been seriously damaged and 448 others had sustained lesser damage, the report said.
The quake’s center was about 6 miles deep, geologists said.
The quake came just before Chinese New Year Thursday and county officials said they were trying to ensure a “merry and safe” celebration for evacuees by providing them with tents, blankets, coats and 10 tons of rice, Xinhua said.
China to raise interest rates within month – report
The Hong Kong-datelined story did not identify its sources, citing the sensitivity of the information.
It also cited the economists and bankers as saying China was unlikely to let the yuan currency appreciate faster anytime soon as a way to fight inflation.
Analysts polled by Reuters saw two more rate rises by the end of the first half.
The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters is for inflation to reach its fastest in more than two years at an annual pace of 5.3 percent for January.
Ignoring China’s Military Buildup At Our Own Peril
China should increase precious metals
Sungwoo Park
SEOUL – China should increase its gold and silver reserves, the Economic Information Daily reported on Monday, citing an interview with China’s central bank adviser Xia Bin.
Increasing gold reserves at the “appropriate time” is in line with the strategy of internationalizing the yuan, the report cited Xia as saying. “Related departments” should employ a “buy in the dip” strategy over a very long period of time, Xia said.
Bullion soared nearly 30 percent in 2010, advancing for the 10th year, as the dollar dropped and investors sought a store of value amid currency debasement. China is allowing greater use of its currency for cross-border transactions, seeking to reduce reliance on the dollar.
The report is “a positive factor for gold prices in the mid-and-long term,” Hwang II Doo, a senior trader at Seoul-based Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co, said on Monday. Still “it didn’t have immediate impact on prices as gold’s gain has more to do with the unrest in Egypt at the moment.”
Total gold consumption in China, the second-largest buyer, may gain 15 percent in the first-half, fueled by growing demand for alternative investments and a hedge against inflation, the China Gold Association said last week.
Imports of gold by China jumped almost five-fold in the first 10 months of last year from the entire amount shipped in 2009, the Shanghai Gold Exchange has said. Shipments were 209 metric tons compared with 45 tons for all of 2009, said exchange Chairman Shen Xiangrong.
The country increased gold reserves by 454 tons to 1,054 tons since 2003, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in April 2009. The metal only accounts for 1.6 percent of the nation’s reserves held by the People’s Bank of China, according to the World Gold Council. China doesn’t regularly publish gold-trade figures and rarely comments on its reserves.
Bullion for immediate delivery gained as much as 0.7 percent to $1,346.27 an ounce, and was at $1,339.25 at 12:53 pm in Seoul. The price rose 2.5 percent on Jan 28, the biggest intra-day increase since Nov 4 as escalating tensions in Egypt fanned concern that unrest may spread to other parts of the Middle East, increasing demand for an investment haven.
Could China Be Forced To Bring A New Global Recession by 2015?
By Dian L. Chu, EconForecast
Bloomberg on Sunday, Jan. 30 cited a 28-page report–The Financial Crisis of 2015: An Avoidable History (pdf file below)–by Barrie Wilkinson, a London-based partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
The report describes a scenario–spanned 2013 to 2015–when Western QE-induced inflation brings down China, creating a debt crisis in the commodity sector–inclusive of resource-dependent countries as well as commodity producers–which eventually plunge the world into another recession, and a new world order by 2015.
“…the dramatic rises in commodities prices resulting from loose Western monetary policies eventually caused rampant inflation in China. China was forced to raise interest rates and appreciate its currency to bring inflation under control.”
Well, I think we are pretty much there already.
“Once the Chinese economy began to slow, investors quickly realized Read more…
The African Chinese Connection
Shu Yunguo & James Shikwati
China and Africa had established relations as early as 2,000 years ago, during which, there were no wars, aggression or looting but only exchanges of trade between China and Africa. The history and tradition of China-Africa relations not only exerted positive and enormous influence, but also laid a solid foundation on the relationship development between countries in modern times.Secondly, developing countries have common qualities. Both China and African countries are developing countries meaning they have not only common history, but also share similar targets for development. Developing countries’ common qualities determine that there is no conflict of interest between them, and also that the countries have the same or similar opinions on many major international issues (such as the establishment of a new international political and economic system).
Thirdly, they are all eager to develop themselves. Currently, developing countries are still weak compared with the strong developed countries. When dialogue between developing and developed countries is progressing slowly, the cooperation between developing countries becomes especially important. Both China and African countries are developing countries, and strengthening cooperation is the request of the era and the common need to develop.
Fourthly, the countries stood the test of practice. The establishment of the People’s Republic of China and African countries gaining independence proved that the equal, reciprocal and win-win relationship between China and Africa has strong vitality and the prospect of sustainable development. Fifthly, the relationship can be guaranteed by a system and mechanism. China and Africa launched the Read more…
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