China Short of People？

BELIEVE it or not, in recent years the armada of factodes on China＇s coast have to grapple with an undersupply of laborers for an extended period following the annual Spring Festival. ＂In a sense, the shortage of migrant workers is a wake up call to upgrade and transform our industries,＂ remarked an official in the Employment Promotion Department, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security （MHRSS）.     

Is the Dearth of Young Rural Labor Worrisome?

正Dear Readers,Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society.We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics(in either English or Chinese).yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments Recently,a study by the Beijing-based Economic Information Daily found that in many Chinese provinces—such as Jiangxi,Anhui,Sichuan and Hubei—there are few young people to be seen in rural areas.     

Is China a Power?

In a speech at Oxford Union in April,Fu Ying,Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom,discussed China's strengths,weaknesses and objectives. Her main points follow:The splendid fireworks of the Beijing Olympics are seen as marking China's     

How Much Surplus Labor Is in the Countryside?

The long-held belief of an inexhaustible surplus of labor in rural areas of China is fading fast.Amid worries over its aging popula- tion,China is confronted with serious challenges to sustain its labor supply so as to shore up its growing economy.How to fur- ther transfer the remaining surplus labor into cities and how to improve the quality of Chinese laborers are questions the country faces.The Guangming Daily,a newspaper based in Beijing,con- ducted an interview with Cai Fang,an economist and Director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,to delve into China's labor dilemma.Cai gave his opinions in the following excerpts:     

China Is in?the?Mind of Every Arab and Muslim

正CHINA has a strong relationship with Kuwait,characterized by continuous improvements and mutual respect.To shed more light on these relations,China Today sat down with Kuwait’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Mohammed Saleh Ahmed Al-Thuwaikh.     

China Has Only 1 Percent of the International Labor Market

Wang Dongjin, vice minister of Labor and Social Security, said that although progress has been made in overseas employment, China‘s overseas work force makes up less than 1 percent of the international labor market, This is surprisingly low in view of China‘s huge population, According to statistics, at the end of 2003, China‘s overseas work force amounted to 525,000 and created foreign exchange earnings of US $2 billion.     

Is China Ready for Bird Flu?

Besides a clear plan to deal with bird flu, a leading epidemic expert warns the biggest challenge is raising public awareness Premier Wen Jiabao said in his government work report, presented March 5 at the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, that the country is attaching great attention to the prevention and control of     

Is China Ready for Environmental Tax?

On February 9, Zhang Lijun, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, said that his ministry, along with the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Taxation,     

Is China Ready for Home Schools?

<正>The new semester has begun and students have gradually returned to their schools. However, the end of the summer holiday doesn’t mean a return to school for some children. Today, a growing number of children in China are staying at home, not because they are giving up education but because their parents think they will actually receive a better education at home.     

Is China Headed for a Debt Crisis?

正AS local government debts pile up,there are concerns about the effects on the Chinese and world economy.To evaluate the risk posed by such debts,the State Council in 2011 and 2013 instructed the National Audit Off ice to comprehensively examine the debt status of regional government bodies.The two audits–one     

Is‘Made in China’ Bust?

正The manufacturing industry will undergo a disruptive,but creative period China is facing challenges in its economic horizon.The sharp fluctuations of its stock and foreign exchange markets in January have cast a gloomy light on its fnan-     

Is China Ready for Full Yuan Convertibility?

Although China has made headway in reforming the exchange rate regime of its currency,the yuan,and expanding the use of it in cross-border trade during the past year,the yuan is far from fully convertible.Huang Yiping,a professor at the National School of Development of Peking University,said in an article for Beijing Review that China has the conditions for capital account liberalization and should strive for basic convertibility within five years. Edited excerpts follow     

Is Inflation China’s Latest Export?

Recent food and energy price hikes in China won’t deal a heavy blow to the world economy.Chen Zhiwu,professor of finance at the Yale University School of Management,tells Xinhua News Agency why.     

Is China Developing an Independent Technology Capability?

Are Chinese technology enterprises only the "hired laborers" of other countries? Does China possess high technology in a real sense? When will the country develop independent scientific and technological innovation? Those are not brand new questions. However, after the Chinese Government issued its National Guidelines on the Long- and Medium-Term Program for Science and Technology     

Is China a Developed or Developing Economy?

On July 26, U.S. President Donald Trump asked his Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to increase pressure on the World Trade Organization(WTO)to change how it designates developing members including China.     

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).     

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.     

Luxury in China:Where Is It Headed?

China tops the world in luxury spending, but is there room for the country’s buddinghomegrown brands? After having lived in France for four years,Jiang Jianlong developed a propensity for luxurygoods.