Not Quite There Yet

Despite China's remarkable economic achievements, staggering trade volume and trillions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves, it remains a developing country. Zhou Shijian, Standing Councilor of the China Association of International Trade , and Wang Lijun, Associate Prof essor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, have tried to set the record straight and present a true picture of China's curren t economic status in the global context. They believe that a developed China is still far from a reality. In explaining the gap caused by different economic measurement standards between China and the Western world , they note that China's economic capacity as seen by others is somewhat exaggerated .     

PEOPLE & POINTS

正CHINESE SPEAKER AT HARVARD COMMENCEMEN He Jiang,a doctoral student in biology at Harvard University,has been chosen as one of the speakers at the university's May 26 commencement ceremony.He is the first ever student from the Chinese mainland to speak at the event.He,who comes from a village in central China's Hunan Province,graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2009.The PhD student won the     

Development in All Aspects

<正>Finding clues to understand China's progress and expectations Every five years,foreign expats who work and live in Beijing—from executives of multinational companies to journalists and teachers—take time out from their daily business to see what's going on in China's politics,a topic also kindled by local taxi drivers.The National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)is held every five years.     

The Border Runners

<正>A boom town on the western border of China By Yuan YuanHundreds of coaches carrying tourists in and out every day;cargo buses from China and Kazakhstan shuttling across the border 24/7;Khorgos,a city sprouting from barren dunes,is moving into the spotlight.Located in northwest China's Xinjiang     

Eyeing Financial Reform

Xu Xiaonian is a professor of economics and finance at the China Europe International Business School. He has been a managing director and head of research for China International Capital Corp. Ltd. and senior economist with Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific in Hong Kong. He has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank. Xu obtained a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Davis and has taught at Amherst College in Massachusetts. At a recent forum sponsored by the China Europe International Business School, Xu discussed the objectives and procedures of China's financial reform. Excerpts of that talk follow:     

MARKET WATCH

A batch of macroeconomic statistics were published during the third week of June. The consumer price index, a key barometer of inflation, grew 3.4 percent from a year before. Government departments are still at ease about the rise, believing the index and inflation are still under control. China's trade surplus expanded again to $22.45 billion, leading to more pressure on yuan appreciation. The Chinese stock market grew steadily after a market correction in early June, while stocks from listed companies in Chongqing and Chengdu saw their prices soar on the news of their selection as the next set of pilot reform cities. Finally, China will further restrict foreign investment in the country's property market.     

An International Platform of Consumption

The first China International Consumer Products Expo is to be held in Haikou.the provincial capital of Hainan Province,from May 7 to 10.The event joins China Import and Export Fair(Canton Fair)and China International Import Expo,as one of China's leading international commercial and trade events.China has been constantly working to foster the development of foreign trade platforms around a variety of themes that cater to the demands for development that occur at different times.     

Foreign-funded Banks：A Grip on Their Holy Grail？

ON December 11, 2006, China honored its WTO commitment to open its Renminbi business to foreign banks. Since that date, both locally incorporated foreign-funded banks and joint venture financial institutions are licensed to offer RMB services. Non-incorporated branches may also accept time deposits from Chinese citizens within the territory of China of no less than RMB 1 million for each time. It seems foreign banks at last have one hand on their holy grail - China's 1.3 billion customers. But their grip is so far a weak one. China Youth Daily carried out a survey, and of the 3,384 respondents, 85.2 percent said that they paid close attention to the development. As regards their impression of foreign banks, 66.7 percent said their main advantage was a better service. Just 10.8 percent said they would open an account in a foreign bank, and 16.4 percent said they would wait and see what happens. What lies ahead for foreign banks in China, and how will the phenomenon impact domestic banks in the Chinese mainland?     

It''''s All About Harmony

As a responsible big country, China has long applied the concept of building a harmonious world to its foreign policy. Wang Yusheng, China's former senior official to APEC, and Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, share their views on this vision.     

Brain Banks Among the Best

China's colossal number of think tanks on international relations are earning greater international recognition and exerting increasing influence on China's foreign policymaking.Leading think tanks,such as the China Institute of International Studies,China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations,China Center for Contemporary World Studies and Shanghai Institutes for International Studies,have made significant progress in the past decades.Beijing Review reporter Li Li recently interviewed Professor Jin Canrong,Associate Dean of the School of International Studies,Renmin University of China,to find out the latest development trends of these organizations.     

Foreign Investment Welcome

BusinessWeek recently published an article reporting that China is becoming hostile to foreign capital and that China's policy on foreign investment will change to reflect that attitude. Yi Xianrong, a researcher at the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explains China's position in an article posted on People's Daily Online.     

My Speech on China’s Human Rights at the University of Nantes

At the invitation of Professor Francois Collart-Dutilleul from the University of Nantes in France,I attended an international academic conference focusing on the EU’s foreign policies after the Lisbon Treaty,which was held at the university from Nov.21 to Dec.1,2011. Afterwards Professor Collart-Dutilleul asked me to give a lecture on human rights in China to his Ph.D.students and the following is what I got from this experience in France.     

Labor Shortage Looming Ahead?

The large quantity of cheap labor resources has long been regarded as one of the important factors that make it possible for China's economy to maintain rapid growth. However, Cai Fang, Director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, warned at a lecture in early May that China's surplus rural labor force is not as large as thought and that China will soon experience the transition from labor surplus to labor shortage. He predicted that the turning point would occur probably in 2009. In response, Hou Dongmin, Director of the Institute of Population, Resources and Environment of Renmin University of China, and Deng Yuwen, researcher at the China Society of Economic Reform, analyze the expected impacts of transition on China's future growth mode (in sequence).     

GREAT TREK INTO AFRICA

On the eve of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to be held between November 2 and 5 in Beijing, Beijing Review reporter Li Li talks with South African Kobus van der Wath, the founder and Managing Director of The Beijing Axis, a consulting firm based in Beijing and Johannesburg that serves foreign organizations with a "China agenda," especially those from Africa. Van der Wath discussed China's economic boom and its implications for the African continent     

Hi-Tech to Replace Labor?

It's an open secret that China's economic structure is drawing fire. Local and foreign economists are agreed in thinking that China's labor-intensive economy cannot maintain the current momentum in development in the long term. Hua Min, Dean of the Institute of World Economy, Fudan University, is an exception. He has different opinions, arguing that China's problem is not a shortage of labor, but a shrinking market demand on cheap labor. He explains why.     

MARKET WATCH

TO THE POINT: In the first quarter, both the Chinese property and stock markets enjoyed rapid growth. Since the beginning of the year, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has jumped more than 20 percent. The Bank of Communications, China's fifth largest bank, will soon be listed on the Shanghai A-share market, giving it the ability to throw its hat into the bullish ring. Housing prices have also increased substantially despite harsh regulative measures and the property market is seeing rapid foreign and domestic investment growth, with money from abroad pouring in the fastest. China Life, which returned to the Shanghai A-share market last year, left its competitors far behind in 2006, seeing its net profit more than doubled from the year before. U.S. software guru Microsoft is forming a partnership with China's computer giant Lenovo Group on the construction of a research and development (R&D) facility. It will be Microsoft's first ever R&D center partnership worldwide. In an attempt to narrow the trade gap with the United States, China is seeking the procurement of a variety of imports from the United States worth $12 billion. China's total trade surplus with the United States was $144 billion in 2006.     

The Human Rights magazine： A window on China＇s human rights

<正>Launched in 2002,the Human Rights magazine operates under the auspices of the China Society for Human Rights Studies,a non-governmental organization in SPECIAL consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.The magazine is the first of its kind ever published in China.While devoted to theoretical studies of human rights and human rights education,it provides a forum for dialogue between China and foreign countries on human rights-related issues.The Human Rights magazine sets for itself the task of promoting China's human rights and contributing to the     

Society

A delegation of the Wenzhou-Kean University at a meeting in the U.S.last November.Remarkable Progress on Sino-Foreign Joint Schools So far the number of schools and programs jointly run by Chinese and foreign institutes stands at 1,780, including 732 that grant bachelor’s degrees and above.Last year China’s Ministry of Education     

World Could Pay For Yuan Appreciation

Debating whether China's yuan is undervalued is a hot topic of conversation between China and its major trading partners, particularly the United States, which has a large trade deficit with China. Soon after the Second Meeting of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue focused on this topic in May, some U.S. senators proposed a bill that is widely recog- nized as aiming to force the acceleration of appreciation of the yuan. But Professor Liu Zhibiao, Dean of the School of Economics of Nanjing University, points out one salient fact: With the increase of foreign invest- ment and rising level of trade openness, China is contributing more and more to the world's economic growth, with the benefits of this growth being shared by the whole world. Therefore, the cost of sharp appreciation in the value of the Chinese currency will exert impact on the whole world, he says.     

A Foreign Education in China

SINCE the first batch of foreign students - 33 eastern Europeans - came to Beijing to study in 1950,their number in China has seen a continuous increase.According to statistics from the Ministry of Education (MOE),China has welcomed a total of 1.69 million students from 190 countries and regions;currently there are nearly 240,000 foreign students in China.In November 2009 U.S.president Barack Obama announced on his visit to China that from 2010 to 2013 the U.S.would send 100,000 Americans to follow suit.