CSG news update -- 2007-05-29

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

China Study Group news update

Rural social security 'to be ensured'
http://en.ce.cn/National/Politics/200705/29/t20070529_11524800.shtml
China Daily | 2007-05-29
The State Council will release guidelines on a basic national social security system next month that for the first time will cover the neglected rural areas, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said yesterday.  Sun Yang, an official with MCA's department of subsistence security, said the State...

China becomes net coal importer
http://en.ce.cn/Industries/Energy&Mining/200705/29/t20070529_11525512.shtml
Xinhua | 2007-05-29
China became a net coal importer as imports exceeded exports by 2.89 million tons in the first quarter, says a report issued by the national economic planner on Monday.  From January to March, coal exports slumped 32 percent to 11.4 million tons while imports surged 61 percent to 14.3 million tons...

China wants extradition treaties with West
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/america/china.php
International Herlald Tribune | 2007-05-28
David Lague
BEIJING - China has called on Western countries to put aside fears about the death penalty and sign extradition treaties, state media reported Monday, as the Communist Party seeks the return of suspected corrupt officials and criminals who have fled overseas.  In March, France became the third dev...

China wants funds from foreign private equity firms
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-05/28/content_6162464.htm
Shanghai Daily | 2007-05-28
China welcomes more foreign private equity firms to invest in its real estate, technology and services industries, the capital's equity exchange said.      "China hasn't sufficiently opened up to foreign firms" in purchases of state-owned enterprises, said Xiong Yan, president of the China...

77 pct of rural poor covered by allowance program
http://en.ce.cn/National/Politics/200705/28/t20070528_11511789.shtml
Xinhua | 2007-05-28
Nearly 77 percent of China's rural poor have been covered by the country's subsistence allowances system so far, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said here Sunday.  "Twenty-seven provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have already established the system, benefiting 18.15 million peo...

Gazing into the property crystal ball means looking as far away as China
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2089652,00.html
The Guardian | 2007-05-28
Larry Elliott
All economic commentators know when it's about to happen. A colleague sidles up, asks how you're doing and then gets down to business.  The honest - indeed, the only - response to this question is to say that nobody really knows. At present, the consensus view is that the Bank will push up...

Seeking justice, dodging capture in Beijing
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-grab28may28,1,3853142.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
LA Times | 2007-05-28
Mark Magnier
BEIJING — As Chinese have done for generations, Qiu Jie came to the capital to seek justice after being cheated out of his life savings. Instead, he says, officials from his home province lured him to a Beijing hotel, where they slapped him in handcuffs, beat him and took him away.  After th...

China to be private equity hub
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=1&art_id=45429&sid=13787580&con_type=1&d_str=20070528&sear_year=2007
The Standard | 2007-05-28
Benjamin Scent
As the mainland continues to reform its economy to align its business environment with international standards, it will become one of the top three epicenters for private equity money.  Gene Donnelly, global managing partner, advisory and tax, at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there will soon be "th...

China's Buffett says he's top man
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c68cc18e-0c77-11dc-a4dc-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2007-05-27
Jamil Anderlini
In China, the role models presented by the state-controlled media tell you much about the momentous social changes of the past few decades.  In the golden years before the Cultural Revolution, the masses were told to emulate Lei Feng, the selfless worker-soldier who drove a tractor and spent his s...

Toxic pet food dogs US-China relations
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bb1664a0-0c71-11dc-a4dc-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2007-05-27
Mure Dickie
Memo to Chinese food exporters: don't mess with America's pets.  It was, after all, the apparent accidental poisoning of thousands of cats and dogs that first drew widespread US media attention to the failings of Chinese food safety controls last month.  Fuelled by revelations of other C...