Worldcrunch
PARIS — France rolled out the proverbial red carpet this past week for Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, offering what one diplomatic source described as “presidential treatment.” The welcome contrasts with the second-fiddle status Li is used to back in China, where he is more often than not overshadowed by President Xi Jinping, with whom […]
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that China is leading will launch with 57 founding members, but Japan isn’t among them. Its dependency on the U.S. is a symptom of its outdated thinking, and will leave it badly isolated.
Though graft is reduced, there are new negative side-effects to the way public officials approach their work in what is billed as the *new normal*.
People’s Daily (China) January 22, 2015 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first “domestic inspection tour” of 2015 was used this week to try to boost the economy in the impoverished Yunnan Province in southwest China. The People’s Daily featured in-depth coverage and up-close photographs of Xi meeting with locals as the government seeks to rally support […]
SINGAPORE — Jashodaben Modi arrives at the police station sitting on the luggage rack of her brother’s motor bike. A simple woman, she wears a white cotton sari with an orange top underneath, wire frame glasses, and her grey hair in a braid. She wants to lodge a complaint with the police of the Mehsana […]
Ahead of the anniversary of Macau passing under Beijing’s control, and a delicate visit from Xi Jinping, a closer look at the troubling formula of the former Portuguese colony.
SEOUL — For a long time, China was the only ally of real consequence of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This is no longer the case, as Moscow and Pyongyang have been edging closer together over the past year. Russia’s multiplying contacts on the North Korean spectrum, where it has played a very discrete […]
France knows the place, China has the money, and now a major joint investment fund for Africa is in the works between Paris and Beijing to help drive the continent’s economic expansion.
Could the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong spread to the mainland? The choices taken by the Chinese Communist Party could have long-term implications.
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to India this month was the perfect opportunity to watch the “dance of the dragon with the elephant.” This visit was extremely important to both nations. China, in the face of its difficult diplomatic predicament in the South China Sea and the East China Sea as well […]
Outrage in China over high salaries and low performance of top executives of state-owned enterprises exposes an entire system that responds to neither markets or the public interest.
MYITKYINA — This is a sacred place for all Burmese people. The confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers, known as Myitsone in Burmese, forms here in Burma’s northernmost state of Kachin. The converging rivers form the Irrawaddy river, which flows north to south over more than 2,000 kilometers. It’s a vital artery that the […]
BEIJING — Wang Huning is on time, standing alone. The lean man, who looks as if he might be a university professor, doesn’t stand out in the lobby of the luxury hotel. He is waiting for the sign that it’s time for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s delegation to leave. The protocol officers who’ve come to […]
China is set to supplant the US as Latin America’s preeminent outside economic power: it remains to be seen if that is a good thing.
GHENT — When the Volvo factory in the Belgian city of Ghent hosted China President Xi Jinping last week, along with the Belgian king and queen, the facility was covered in red Chinese knotting, a decorative Chinese folk art. It was a festive touch meant both to welcome the Chinese leader and to celebrate the […]
One year after rising to power, Chinese President Xi Jinping shows no signs of turning back on major reforms…or sweeping purges.
Times are tough for corrupt officials who have long counted on cashing in when the Chinese New Year festival arrives.
BEIJING — Last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping gave a speech and released a document to local authorities reaffirming a key new reform message: From now on, “officials should no longer blindly compare only their GDP when it comes to performance and success.” Xi added that “the problem of “GDP-based promotions’ shall be rectified.” His […]
BEIJING – It’s rare that one sees the Communist leaders of China transformed into caricatures. However, a few days ago a video appeared called “How leaders are made” in which Xi Jinping’s avatar appears, from 2 minutes and 35 seconds onward, as a comic figure along with American President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister […]
BEIJING — When recently visiting four Central Asian countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the starting point of the ancient Silk Road by which China exported its silk, china and jade to Europe was his own hometown of Xi’an. He suggested that China and the Central Asia countries, with a total population of 3 […]
Following fast on the heels of President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Indonesia and Malaysia, China’s Premier Li Keqiang also showed up in Southeast Asia, attending the East Asia leaders’ meeting before bilateral visits to Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam. It is rare in China’s diplomatic history that its president and premier visit the same region […]
Thursday, July 3, 2014 ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN STRIKES CONTINUE Israel’s air force and Palestinian militants exchanged fire for another night, with 15 air strikes in Gaza leaving at least 10 Palestinians injured. The New York Times reported that multiple rockets were also fired from across the border, with two Israeli houses hit in the border town of […]
The some 10 million Catholics in China remain divided between those loyal to the Pope and those in step with the Chinese Communist Party hierarchy.
HAARETZ, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), REUTERS, AFP, BBC Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – The situation in Syria has gotten both more dangerous and more complicated over the past 72 hours. On Monday, Chinese officials indirectly criticized Israel’s weekend strikes in Syria, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a five-day visit to China. During a […]
SICHUAN RIBAO, CHINADAILY, XINHUA, GLOBAL TIMES (China) Worldcrunch LU SHAN – The death toll from this weekend’s earthquake in central China climbed to 188 on Monday, with thousands injured and forced from their homes, reports Xinhua. The quake’s epicenter was registered in Lushan County in the southwest of Sichuan Province at around 8 a.m. local […]
BEIJING – On April 6, China’s new Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the North Korean situation on the phone with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Wang made China’s stance quite clear: it will not allow “troublemaking” at its doorsteps. This is the toughest talk to date from the Chinese government, and its intention is clear: to […]
Look at the numbers, both environmental and economic, and the solution is clear: slower growth.
The two world powers and BRICS nations enjoy friendly relations, and both have an interest in expanding economic and political links. Still, there is another big player always looming.
LE MONDE (France), XINHUA (China) Worldcrunch BEIJING – According to Le Monde, the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on March 3, was more like a star-studded film premiere than a political event. The CPPCC is a 2,200-member body that meets annually to debate policy and advise government. It includes politicians, but […]
As tensions increase again on the Korean Peninsula, and China rethinking its rapport with Pyongyang, a reset could be in order between Seoul and Beijing.
CHINA MEDIA PROJECT, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong), REUTERS Worldcrunch GUANGDONG– Journalists at the Chinese newspaper The Southern Weekly (also known as the Southern Weekend) have gone on a rare strike, claiming in an open letter that a New Year’s editorial calling for political reform and protection of individual rights was censored and re-written […]
BEIJING – After the end of last month’s 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China seems to have witnessed a nationwide wave of corruption investigations against the rich and powerful. First several high-ranking officials from Canton were dismissed from their posts. Then it was the turn of Li Chungcheng, the Deputy Party […]
-Analysis- BEIJING – Zhang Lan, founder of restaurant chain South Beauty, is one of China’s richest women and a symbol of the country’s booming economic success. Thus it is not surprising that the recent news that the billionaire has renounced her Chinese citizenship to take on a foreign nationality has been met with some significant […]
SINA WEIBO (China), TEALEAF NATION (China), LE MONDE (France), ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan), NPR (U.S.A.) Worldcrunch BEIJING – The Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Congress concluded with 59-year-old Xi Jinping being officially chosen as head of state. The decision at the weeklong meeting was in no way a surprise but came as the culmination of the months […]
BEIJING – First you have to get through the police cordons, four or five of them. Tourists on their way to the Forbidden City are asked to remove their hats and open their coats for inspection. On the steps of the Great Hall of the People, a Tibetan woman in traditional dress and other delegates […]
His name is Xi Jinping (pronounced Shee Jin-ping). The future Chinese leader was born into privilege as a child of the “red dynasty.” His father was an old revolutionary companion of Mao’s. But after his father’s fall into disgrace, Xi experienced poverty, prison and the hardships of peasant life. What kind of leader will he […]
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, RADIO AUSTRALIA (Australia), CNN, WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA), REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIJING – Xi Jinping, the 58-year-old Chinese Vice President, widely expected to be the next leader of the People’s Republic of China, has not been seen in public since September 1. Several meetings planned with foreign leaders have been canceled, reports Reuters […]