CSG news update -- 2006-04-20

[China Study Group <chinastudygroup@gmail.com>]

China Study Group news update

China Investment Jump a `Problem,' Government Says
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=axL23GJY6GRA&refer=home
Bloomberg | 2006-04-20
China's government said a surge in investment that propelled first-quarter economic expansion of 10.2 percent needs ``attention'' and signaled it will curb lending in the world's fastest-growing major economy.  Fixed-asset investment in urban areas rose 29.8 percent in the quarter ...

In its global rise, China learns how to network in the US
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/04/20/in_its_global_rise_china_learns_how_to_network_in_the_us/
Boston Globe | 2006-04-20
Farah Stockman
WASHINGTON -- The government of China and its state-owned companies have sharply expanded their efforts to bolster China's image in the United States, hiring Washington's top lobbying firms and building relationships with state officials from Georgia to Minnesota.  The effort, underscored ...

Letter from China: Is it a 'peaceful rise'? U.S. shouldn't bet on it
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/19/news/letter.php
International Herald Tribune | 2006-04-20
Howard W. French
SHANGHAI - During his visit to the United States, China's Hu Jintao will work hard to convey a message that is emerging as a central theme of his presidency: His country is not a threat to the United States; indeed, it doesn't even wish to be seen as a challenger.  In the recent past, Chin...

Rising Yuan Pushes China Upmarket
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/business/worldbusiness/20trade.html
New York Times | 2006-04-20
Keith Bradsher
GUANGZHOU, China, April 19 — If the United States persuades China to push up the value of its currency, there could be some unintended consequences: imports of $300 shoes and computer-controlled machine tools from China instead of T-shirts and plastic toys.  In the short run, a stronger curr...

China's Leader, in Seattle, Tells U.S. Not to Dwell on Divisive Issues
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/world/asia/20hu.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
New York Times | 2006-04-20
Joseph Kahn
SEATTLE, April 19 — Gamely donning a Boeing baseball cap and mingling enthusiastically with local business executives, President Hu Jintao of China said Wednesday that his nation and the United States "enjoy extensive common interests" and could avoid major problems in their relationship if th...

China's New Home Life
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/garden/20china.html
New York Times | 2006-04-20
Elaine Louie
ON a cold, gray day in late March, Guan Yi, one of the most influential collectors of contemporary art in China, lifted this reporter by the elbows and pushed her up a steep brick ramp of his own design, toward the second floor of his new house here. Later he jogged down another ramp as his guest fo...

China's Hu: well liked, little known
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0419/p01s02-woap.html
Christian Science Monitor | 2006-04-19
Robert Marquand
BEIJING – Feted by Bill Gates, anticipating a 21-gun salute at the White House, spending $15 billion on US aircraft, software, farm and other goods, China's president Hu Jintao intends to show Americans this week that the world's fastest-rising power is not a threat. Mr. Hu is giving three...

Farmers in China Face Great Wall
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-rural19apr19,1,1214398.story
LA Times | 2006-04-19
Mark Magnier
YANSHOU, China — The teenager shifted his lanky body in a worn folding chair and reflected on his father.  "He's brave," said Huang Chaoping, 17, glancing at the grimy walls and dirt-caked floor of their farmhouse. "I really admire his courage."  His father, Huang Weizhong, was seized ...

High-tech plan benefits foreign firms
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HD20Cb05.html
Asia Times | 2006-04-19
Federico Bordonaro
Beijing recently approved China's 11th Five-Year Plan, setting out the country's goals for national economic and social development through 2010. The one aspect of the plan that has perhaps attracted the most international notice is its goal of upgrading and boosting China's high-tech in...

Unspoken reason for admin fees
http://en.ce.cn/Business/Macro-economic/200604/19/t20060419_6747238.shtml
China Daily | 2006-04-19
It is logical and reasonable: The petroleum price hike prompted the cost of running a taxi to soar; hence taxi fares need to be raised. Taxi passengers will have to pay more. That doesn't sound unfair the person who enjoys the service should pay for the changing cost of producing that service. S...

China heads global executions league
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/27b63fe6-cfdc-11da-80fb-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2006-04-19
Jimmy Burns
China executed more people last year than all other countries combined, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.  It continues to be the country where the use of the death penalty is most prevalent, with more than 60 crimes carrying the maximum sentence of execution, according to a report publishe...

Hu's US visit highlights China-Iran ties
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d545304a-cfcd-11da-80fb-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2006-04-19
Guy Dinmore
China's close relationship with Iran's defence industry will come under the spotlight when Hu Jintao arrives in Washington on Thursday, with at least one major state-owned conglomerate sending a delegation to lobby for the lifting of sanctions against Chinese companies allegedly involved in ...

Greeting Hu With a 21-Gun 'Salute'
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=78021
Tom Dispatch | 2006-04-19
Michael T. Klare and Tom Engelhardt
On Tuesday April 18, Chinese President Hu Jintao landed in the United States and, after a tour of a Boeing plant, made his official way, with all due pomp and ceremony, to the expectable "state banquet" in Washington… no, not at the White House but at the Washington State home of Microsoft Chairma...

Chinese manufacturing hub may raise wages
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/678b04fa-cebd-11da-925d-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2006-04-18
Tom Mitchell
Shenzhen, one of China's leading manufacturing centres, is considering increasing its minimum wage by up to 23 per cent, highlighting the growing cost pressures facing manufacturers and setting a benchmark for rises in the South China region.  Under the proposals by the Shenzhen labour bureau,...