Straits Times | Wandering China

June 12, 2013 • 11:55 am 0

Greater US-China ties can cut both ways [Straits Times]

A greater engagement between the two countries is helpful, but it is a double-edged sword. Certainly, better understanding between leaders reduces the risk of greater distrust. But it could also expect China to deliver more than it is ready to do. And, not least, as the engagement is strengthened, expectations of each other will increase. Historian Wang Gungwu for the Straits Times.

Interesting times indeed. The Xi-Obama summit sees engagement thrown into the US-China mix while both sides build up respective pivots to contain each other – strategic proxy pieces unveiling in this year alone.

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Greater US-China ties can cut both ways
By Wang Gungwu For The Straits Times
Source – Straits Times, published June 10, 2013

There is rising alarm at the new capacity of the Chinese to buy their way to influence and potential dominance. That was the way many saw the US not long ago. China is now likely to be seen in the same light. — PHOTO: AP

LAST week’s meeting in California between the presidents of China and the United States won the world’s attention. It was convenient for Mr Xi Jinping to stop by after Mexico and it was significant that the meeting was held on American soil. The chance for the two men to get to know each other better is clearly significant for the two countries’ future relationship. The fact that the two have different interests, however, cannot be wished away.

It has been easy for the popular media in each country to portray the other by highlighting what its peoples expect to hear. For example, many Chinese see America as weakening: its liberal capitalist economy is failing, President Barack Obama and his political opponents are fatally divided, and the military planners are determined to contain China in order for America to remain forever dominant in Asia.

At its core, US national interest leads its leaders to think in Cold War terms. Hence the system of alliances from that period is being kept to ensure that ultimately the communist system in China will collapse as it did in the Soviet Union two decades earlier. Most Chinese believe that this factor explains much of what the US is doing in Asia today.

Please click here to read the full article at the Straits Times.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Education, Finance, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, History, Ideology, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Modernisation, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Social, Soft Power, Straits Times, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Technology, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Tourism, Trade, U.S.

June 2, 2013 • 8:20 am 1

BY INVITATION: The slow boat in China is good for the region [Straits Times] #RisingChina #Growth

East Asia Institute professional fellow John Wong with an overview on China’s rejigging of its growth rhetoric and how ASEAN stands to benefit.

China has sustained hyper growth for more than 30 years. This is because it has much greater internal dynamics. A case in point is that only half of China’s population today is urbanised. China may therefore still have plenty of room for expansion in the medium term.

Still, China must also start adjusting to the inevitable transition from double-digit hyper expansion to more sustainable growth levels.

And perhaps quite saliently, this is something many miss – China can afford to do it.

A recent projection by the World Bank shows that China’s average growth through most of this decade will still be around 7 per cent to 8 per cent, easing to 6 per cent or 5 per cent in the 2020s. What is “low growth” for China is actually not low at all by regional and global standards.

Zooming out, while rising China takes a deep breath from hyper growth, it may be an opportune time for ASEAN to gear itself up further. The sustained ideological Sino-US chest beating will continue but it also needs to keep an eye on a multipolar future.

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BY INVITATION: The slow boat in China is good for the region
China’s growth is slowing, in line with long-declared policy to prevent overheating. Asean too will benefit from less competitive pressures in exports and investments.
By John Wong
Source – The Straits Times, published Jun 01, 2013

– ST ILLUSTRATION by ADAM LEE

HAVING chalked up 9.9 per cent growth a year for over three decades, China’s economy is showing clear signs of slowing down.

No economy can keep on growing at such a breakneck rate for so long without running into constraints. An economy that has experienced high growth for a prolonged period inevitably slows as its original growth-inducing forces weaken. This is simply a result of the working of the market forces.

China’s slowing growth is not only inevitable; it is a desirable phenomenon, not only for the country, but also for its neighbours.

Please click here to read the full article a the Straits Times.

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Filed under: ASEAN, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Environment, Finance, Government & Policy, Ideology, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Modernisation, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, Politics, Population, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Resources, Social, Soft Power, South China Sea, Straits Times, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Trade, U.S.

May 28, 2013 • 6:59 am 0

Time to rebuild China-US trust [Straits Times] #SinoAmerica #RisingChina

A time to set a new example for the status quo?

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Time to rebuild China-US trust
Editorial
Source – Straits Times, published May 27, 2013

SUSPICION has overtaken trust in Sino-American ties in recent months for the summit between President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama on June 7 and 8 to assume greater than usual significance. The two leaders will have a face-to-face chance to clear the air over such frictions as North Korean nuclear arms, East and South China Sea island disputes, cyber-hacking and trade issues.

It is good that they are meeting a few months earlier than planned. Before intervening distractions arise, it would be helpful if the two leaders are able to deepen their personal rapport in the relaxed ambience of the Californian venue. It is important to set the right tone for cooperation as regional if not global stability rides very much on how these powers, the world’s two largest economies, conduct their relations.

Beyond immediate trouble-shooting, Mr Xi and Mr Obama can and should help their countries’ ties mature. The two sides have dozens of mechanisms for communication and cooperation at various levels, including the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange. They certainly should, as Mr Xi suggests, make the most of these, but there is nothing like a summit to reset the way the leaders view and deal with each other.

Please click here to read the rest of the article at the Straits Times.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Economics, Education, Finance, Government & Policy, Hard Power, Ideology, Influence, International Relations, Internet, Mapping Feelings, Media, military, Modernisation, Nationalism, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, People, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Straits Times, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Technology, Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Trade, U.S.

April 28, 2013 • 11:38 am 0

Growing breed of Chinese moguls Down Under [Straits Times] #RisingChina #OverseasChinese #Australia

Chinese moguls keeping a toe down under.

‘Australia has more links to China’s tycoons than any other country except the United States, according to the compiler of the Hurun list.’

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Growing breed of Chinese moguls Down Under
Based in China, they have big investments in Australia and some have political clout as well
By Jonathan Pearlman, In Sydney
Source – Straits Times, published April 28, 2013

Xu Rongmao. –
PHOTO: by APPLE DAILY

When a rare chance arose to buy a World Heritage-listed resort island in the Great Barrier Reef last year, Australian-Chinese media mogul William Han decided to invest in paradise.

“Aussie Bill”, as he is known, outbid 200 others for the 584ha Lindeman Island off the coast of Queensland from Club Med, shelling out A$12 million (S$15.3 million) for it. He now plans to spend another A$500 million at least to turn it into a high-end resort for Asian holidaymakers.

Mr Han is one of a growing breed of Chinese-Australian moguls, several of whom are on China’s top 1,000 rich list compiled by the Hurun Report magazine.

Shanghai-based property mogul Xu Rongmao was ranked No. 12 last year with an estimated worth of US$4.7 billion (S$5.8 billion). An Australian citizen, he has invested in properties in Sydney and Darwin and educated both his children in Australia.

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Filed under: Australia, Beijing Consensus, Channel News Asia, Chinese Model, Chinese overseas, Economics, Finance, Greater China, Influence, International Relations, Overseas Chinese, Peaceful Development, Public Diplomacy, Social, Soft Power, Straits Times, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Australian, The Chinese Identity

April 19, 2013 • 9:26 am 0

Chinese firms’ S$741b war chest [Straits Times] #RisingChina #Econo

Straits Times China Correspondent: According to private equity fund A Capital – Chinese firms to look outward and spend US$600 billion (S$741 billion) to assimilate resources and assets from abroad to help restructure the Chinese economy.

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Chinese firms’ S$741b war chest
That’s the amount they’re likely to invest overseas in next 3 years, says report
By Grace Ng, China Correspondent, In Beijing
Source – Straits Times, published April 17, 2013

CHINESE firms are set to spend some US$600 billion (S$741 billion) over the next three years to buy overseas resources and assets offering them the brands and technology to become powerhouses in China’s restructuring economy, a new report has predicted.

And Europe, where Chinese investments grew an impressive 21 per cent last year, will likely continue to be a top destination, private equity fund A Capital said in a report released yesterday.

The fund’s cornerstone investors are China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, and Belgium’s Federal Holding and Investment Company.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Domestic Growth, Economics, Europe, European Union, Finance, Influence, International Relations, Modernisation, Peaceful Development, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Soft Power, Straits Times, Strategy, Technology, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Trade

February 4, 2013 • 4:39 am 0

Securing allies amid China’s rise #StraitsTimes #China #War #US

Straits Times on the Sino-US strategic mind games at risk of becoming friction points ripe for miscalculation.

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Securing allies amid China’s rise
By Michael Richardson
Source – Straits Times, published February 4, 2013

WILL 2013 be the year when one or more of the intractable disputes in the seas off China explode into armed conflict, involving the United States in a wider war to protect its Asian allies?

The disputes are about ownership of islands, and jurisdiction over strategic maritime zones and valuable resources.

The answer should be a resounding “no”. Such a war, with no guarantees that it can be contained, would have unpredictable but potentially catastrophic consequences.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, East China Sea, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, military, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, South China Sea, Straits Times, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S.

December 25, 2012 • 12:01 am 1

Agencies to probe cafe over name [Straits Times] #China #Singapore #Diaoyu #EastChinaSea

Wandering China covered this news story a little over a month ago – see Sophia Rd cafe cashes in on island dispute [AsiaOne]. Now it seems, three agencies in Singapore – the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (Asas), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the Police are going to probe the cafe over its name.

Does this marketing gimmick have enough clout to affect international relations? It looks like Singapore is about to self-regulate in an act of top-down self censorship. One wonders if it is acting on a public complaint, at all.

Why further accentuating divide where convergence could be celebrated I wonder. I had the chance to visit the cafe just a few days ago and people of all races and creed could be seen sauntering in, both out of curiousity and others, to grab an affordable meal.

Some background into the probe -

‘Advertisements should not adopt or encourage a confrontational approach to resolving societal conflicts or differences. Advertisements should not exploit or fuel conflicts relating to national problems and controversial policies or issues.’

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Agencies to probe cafe over name
Diao Yu Dao moniker draws attention of police, Acra and ad authority
By Melissa Lin
Source – Straits Times, Published Dec 25, 2012

The Sophia Road cafe has a signboard bearing the words Diao Yu Dao, China’s name for the group of islands in the East China Sea whose ownership is disputed by Tokyo and Beijing. — ST PHOTO: NURIA LING

BARELY two months after opening for business, a cafe at Peace Centre – called Diao Yu Dao – has come to the attention of at least three agencies for its name linked to islands whose ownership is disputed by Japan and China.

The agencies are the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (Asas), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the police.

Diaoyu is China’s name for the group of islands in the East China Sea. Japan, which controls them, calls them the Senkaku islands.

Please click here to read rest of the article at the source (subscription required)

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Filed under: Advertising, ASEAN, Beijing Consensus, Censorship, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Chinese overseas, Communications, Culture, East China Sea, Government & Policy, Greater China, History, Influence, International Relations, japan, Mapping Feelings, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Straits Times, Strategy, Taiwan, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

December 12, 2012 • 10:27 am 2

George Yeo: #Singapore is ‘only one bonsai that #China looks at’ [Straits Times]

Singapore’s former foreign minister George Yeo puts it best – Bonsai is the word.

On why Singapore, a young nation of just over five million people, is of interest to China, an ancient civilisation with 1.3billion people, he says: “For China, Singapore is sometimes seen as a bonsai, but one with genetic similarities… We must not have too fanciful a notion of ourselves, that we can teach China… They don’t study just Singapore. They study many other countries as well. Singapore is only one bonsai they look at; they study a whole nursery!”

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S’pore is ‘only one bonsai that China looks at’
by Li Xueying
Source – Straits Times, published November 1, 2012

HONG KONG – Singapore, so long as it stays “creative”, will continue to hold both positive and negative lessons for China.

Beijing is studying the island-nation’s political system, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), and how it is responding to the general election in May last year, says Mr George Yeo.

Meanwhile, there is also scope for the PAP to look to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for lessons, such as how the latter prepares promising leaders to take on more responsibilities, he adds.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Chinese overseas, Communications, Culture, Democracy, Domestic Growth, Economics, Education, Ethnicity, Government & Policy, Greater China, History, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Migrant Workers, Nationalism, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Singapore, Social, Straits Times, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Trade, Uncategorized, China's Rise

November 1, 2012 • 2:38 am 1

CCP moves away from Maoism [Straits Times]

Straits Times: No more Mao Zedong thought as guiding ideological principle?

The Bo crisis shows this way of “saying Mao” while “doing Deng” is potentially unstable… Finally, by deleting Maoism, it might usher in a Xi-era of political reform, now that the biggest ideological obstacle is removed. Cheong Ching, Straits Times, 2012

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CCP moves away from Maoism
Revised Chinese Communist Party charter will usher in political reforms
By Ching Cheong Senior Writer
Source – Straits Times, published November 1, 2012

HONG KONG – The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convenes it seventh plenum today with a bold move to take Maoism out of the party’s Constitution.

The meeting’s main agenda is to iron out the details of the leadership changes which had in the past year been the focus of international attention.

An equally important task is to revise the party’s charter: One possible change is that communist China’s founding father Mao Zedong’s thought may no longer be a guiding principle of the party. This would be an extremely important change for China. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Government & Policy, Influence, Media, Modernisation, New Leadership, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Religion, Social, Straits Times, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, Xi Jinping, China's Rise, culture, Democracy, Identity, International Relations, Media, Politics, Propaganda, Public Diplomacy, Social, Strategy

September 30, 2012 • 11:45 pm 2

The curse of China’s big city warlords [Straits Times]

Straits Times: A Singaporean perspective on strong Chinese local leaders as double-edged swords.

It has not gone unnoticed by observers that the fall of Bo, 63, means that the last three most senior leaders disgraced in China were kingpins in major cities. “Probably it is not accidental,” said professor of political science Wang Jianwei from the University of Macau. Chen Xitong controlled Beijing city, a position regarded as local even though it is based in the capital, until his fall in 1995.

Bo Xilai is finally expelled from the party since the drama caught public eye in Feb earlier this year. Here is a selection of headlines from domestic and international press.

Official announcement from Xinhua: Investigations have found that Bo seriously violated Party disciplines while heading the city of Dalian, Liaoning Province, and the Ministry of Commerce and while serving as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and as Party chief of Chongqing Municipality… Bo abused his power, made severe mistakes and bore major responsibility in the Wang Lijun incident and the intentional homicide case of Bogu Kailai.Bo Xilai expelled from CPC, public office, September 28, 2012

BBC: Under China’s system the Communist Party controls the media, the police, the prosecutors and the courts. The party is not subject to outside checks and balances. That’s why Mr Bo has been dealt with, by the party, in secret. The courts will now simply confirm the party’s decisions about how to punish him. Bo Xilai: China leaders try to put scandal behind them, September 30, 2012

See also – BBC timeline of events here.

Reuters agency: “Last night, one of the core members of the ruling party’s leadership was suddenly turned into a demon,” said one commentary on “Red China”, a far-left Chinese-language website that has issued a stream of commentary defending Bo. China leaders show unity after expelling Bo, September 29, 2012

New York Times: In his brief statement, posted Saturday evening on Tumblr, the younger Bo wrote: “Personally, it is hard for me to believe the allegations that were announced against my father, because they contradict everything I have come to know about him throughout my life. Although the policies my father enacted are open to debate, the father I know is upright in his beliefs and devoted to duty.” Chinese Ex-Official Snared in Scandal Is Defended by His Son, September 30, 2012

Telegraph:“With such a political aspect to it, you cannot judge this case solely on a legal basis,” said Pi Yijun, a law professor at China’s Law and Political Science university. ”The sentence took into account his evidence on Bo’s case, and also the likely reaction of the public. The general public liked Wang and the campaigns he ran, which hit at the mafia. It was mostly intellectuals who were unhappy with him because of the illegal way he went about his job,” he added.Bo Xilai scandal: police chief Wang Lijun sentenced to 15 years, September 24, 2012

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The curse of China’s big city warlords
Strong local leaders a ‘double-edged sword’ for the central government
by By Peh Shing Huei China Bureau Chief News Analysis
Source – Straits Times, October 1, 2012

CHONGQING: Bo Xilai was expelled from the party last week. — PHOTO: AP in Straits Times, 2012

BEIJING – In recent years, as his star shone in south-western Chongqing city, Bo Xilai enjoyed an online nickname – ping xi wang, or Prince Who Pacifies the West.

It was the title of famous Qing Dynasty warlord Wu Sangui. But the moniker was also an early sign of trouble for Bo, who was purged last week.

Wu was a rogue general who declared an independent kingdom in 1678, and such unilateral breakaways – perceived or true – do not sit well with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: 52 Unacceptable Practices, Beijing Consensus, Bo Xilai, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Corruption, Culture, Democracy, Law, Media, Nationalism, New Leadership, Politics, Reform, Straits Times, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, Bo Xilai, China's Rise, Corruption, Politics

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Wandering China

Time to rebuild China-US trust [Straits Times] #SinoAmerica #RisingChina

Chinese firms’ S$741b war chest [Straits Times] #RisingChina #Econo

Securing allies amid China’s rise #StraitsTimes #China #War #US

Agencies to probe cafe over name [Straits Times] #China #Singapore #Diaoyu #EastChinaSea

The curse of China’s big city warlords [Straits Times]

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