Gates says China moving fast on new weapons.

U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that China is quickly improving their arsenal of both weapons and vehicles. In addition to creating a new stealth jet, China has also developed a missile that could do massive damage. Gates goes on to say that China outpaced their expectations on development. China has said that the weapons are purely defensive, and interestingly enough, they released video footage of the testings.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/09/gates-says-china-moving-fast-new-weapons/

by Jim Michalik

World leaders seek to save the tiger

The tiger, and endangered species continues to inch closer to extinction due to poachers limiting their range. 13 states were part of an international summit in Russia to discuss how to double the tiger population by 2022, the next year of the tiger. The main problems against saving the species is the trade of tiger parts, such as bone and paws, that are used for traditional medicines in China. This supplies the market, and to further complicate matters, the tigers are processed in a different country, and are from tigers in a third. The trade is international, and therefore so must be the response and conservation initiatives.

China orders more inflation fighting measures

China has started the process of increasing social services. On a local level, fuel and power is to be secured so that subsidies can be provided. They were also ordered to prepare for a slow rise in pensions, minimum wage, and unemployment.

This comes a day after announcing that more land would be freed for food production, and that enforcement would increase against hoarding food stores to sell when the prices rise.

These measures come amidst worries of food shortages this coming winter, due to a poor growing season, early frost, and natural disasters. Food prices are already inflated over 60% compared to last year.

China Mine Accident

A recent mining accident in China has spotlighted issues of safety regulations in the midst of the Chilean rescue of miners, according to Khaleej Times. Two-hundred seventy-six (276) miners were working when a gas and coal outburst occurred, and currently 20 people have been found dead, and 17 are missing; the rest have been extracted.
Over two-thousand five hundred (2500) deaths of miners occurred are listed in the official statistics. With 70% of China's energy dependent upon coal, mining is a large and necessary aspect of the economy. In response, China seems to have enacted methods to improve safety inspection and expressed intent to rectify the disparity in mine safety between them and other countries.

Fears of space arms race emerge

On Friday, China launched its second lunar exploration probe. The country hopes to increase popular belief that they will be able to send a man to the moon one day. This is worriesome to the United States who currently leads the world in space technology development. The United States is upset by the change in relative power. Russia and China are the only other countries who have been able to send people into outer space. The orbiter, named Chang'e 2, got its name from a Chinese folk tale in which a goddess called Chang'e flew to the moon. Chang'e will fly 9.3 miles above the moon to prepare for a possible landing in a few years. It will also be taking pictures of the moon's Bay of Rainbows, a plain of basaltic lava. China has plans for future space missions including a space station and a manned spacecraft.

written by Amy Mori

U.S. pushes China to punish North Korea.

The United States begins to push China to punish North Korea for its torpedoing of a South Korea warship last March. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Dai Bingguo, a China state councilor in charge of foreign affairs and also who has raised the South Korea report of official accusation that the North had torpedoed the ship, killing 46 sailors. Meanwhile, China is showing extreme cautious steps, digesting the findings of the investigation backed by the United Nation and other countries as “the historic ties between the two countries would make that difficult,” a government official pressed.

At the same time, this three-day high level of economic and security meeting of Mrs. Clinton also goes with seeking China’s support for heavier sanctions on Iran. Even though China had joined the other four permanent members of the Security Council and Germany last Tuesday to extend more punishments on Iran’s nuclear program, there is some hold-back relating to China’s extensive investment in Iran’s oil and gas industries.

The meeting also observes the States’ encouragement of China’s openness in its economy.



Submitted by Yen Do.

Criticisms among ethnic Tibetans on China’s rescue efforts after the quake rise the already tension between them.

The strong Earthquake that hit China earlier this week has not only mourned the country, with casualty number seems not to stop anytime soon, but also heated up the already tension between China and Tibet. Despite the number of Tibetans who have shown gratitude for the aids including food, tents, restless searches for survivor and prevention of possible epidemic disease given by China’s government, there are Tibetans who criticize the help of China. The scenario described by many Tibetan monks is that Chinese soldiers prevented them from helping rescue injured people and find bodies of the dead. Moreover, the number of dead people was reported just by half of the real number as a monk discontented “I think they’re afraid to let the world know how bad this earthquake is.” And another girl sobbed a day earlier that the machinery inadvertently tore apart the body of her classmate. The help of Chinese soldiers seems solely a duty without any inside feelings for the unfortunate Tibetan victims of the quake. It’s difficult to understand the real picture when there aren’t any voices of Chinese soldiers. However, as the enormous consequences of the quake keep rising, the tension between China and Tibet seems not to cease.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/world/asia/18quake.html?pagewanted=1&src=un&feedurl=http://json8.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.jsonp

Submitted by Yen Do.

Chinese currency to be depegged

Since 2008 the Chinese currency, yuan or renminbi, has been prevented from fluctuating. Now, the government is making plans to let the currency revalue gradually. The Chinese government will be largely in control of all aspects of the shift. Some think this change may be brought about by the U.S. suggesting that China was "manipulating currency". What we do know is that when the peg is removed, the relatively inexpensive Chinese goods that we have now will raise in price slowly. Similarly, U.S. goods exported to China will become more expensive. This will help lessen the large trade deficit between the two countries, which as been said to be an unfair and pointed action by the Chinese. China argues that the currency is not undervalued and that the trade deficit is due to their abundance of cheap labor. What do you think?

Submitted by: Mallory Neumann

http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/04/06/beijing.rmb.shift.ft/index.html

Nigerians Angered over China Deaths

The Nigerian government has been asked to investigate illegal inhabitance of Chinese in Nigeria. They are also asked to reject a request by the Chinese to cremate the bodies of thirty Nigerian prisoners in China. There are currently aobut 700 Nigerians in the Chinese prison system on mostly immigration, drug and fraud charges. Trade between China and Nigeria has been growing especially since the Chinese president secured four oil drilling licenses in exchange for $4 billion in oil and infrastructure projects.

Aminat T. Odunewu

First Talk with the Big Dog

by Sarah Richardson

Yesterday the US Treasury Chief left for China for the first major visit of the Obama administration. The idea is to strengthen the US-China relationship. Some are concerned based on the recently increased debt and dependence on China. I thought that it was particularly interesting considering our recent discussion about new world powers on the rise. The fact that China is concerned about the security of their investment in the American economy is something to think about.

China's plan to wait out the Dalai Lama

By Jeff Gimm

In a recent interview with Fareed Zakaria, The Dalai Lama addressed concerns over the future of his people and what will happen once he is gone. What seems to be the current Chinese plan is to let more ethnic Han Chinese move into Tibet and slowly project their culture over that of the Tibetan people. The Chinese are vehemently opposed to anything that resembles independence for Tibet and some look upon the Dalai Lama as some sort of rebel leader. However the Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he does not want seperation from China but rather an autonomous region working within the Chinese sphere of control. The other half of the current Chinese plan is to wait out the Dalai Lama who is currently 72. Traditionally, Tibetan leaders would seek out the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. But with the current unease, there may end up being two Lamas, one backed by Lhasa and one by Beijing. Zakaria warns in his article though that this may backfire, as without the current Dalai Lama as a figurehead, the movement for independence within Tibet may pick up a radical, more violent tone.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/08/zakaria.dalailama/index.html?eref=rss_world

Secretary of State warns against growing Iranian, Chinese gains in Latin America

by Jeff Gimm

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently described the growing gains of Iran and China in Latin America as "quite disturbing." CNN quotes Clinton as saying that "What we are doing hasn't worked very well and in fact, if you look at the gains, particularly in Latin American, that Iran is making and China is making, it is quite disturbing."
The effort to counter Chinese and Iranian may be one of the reasons why Obama made a semi controversial move at a recent summit by talking to Hugo Chavez, along with the recent thawing of relations with Cuba.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/01/clinton.latin.america/index.html?eref=rss_world

Spotlight on China at G20 Summit

By Jeff Gimm

This week's G-20 Confrence in London is a time for the top economic powers to discuss the current financial crisis. It is also a time to see how how these powers interact with one another. China, one of the few economies expected to grow this year, seems reluctant to act like this is the case. “China's economy is not as strong as some people might think” is a recent quote by one Chinese official. However, many believe that China's economy is expected to surpass Japan's in the upcoming year as the world's second largest behind the U.S., if it hasn't already.

This behavior by China is puzzling to much of the international community because of the large amount of foreign debt China holds would seem to give the country more power than it seems willing to admit. The United States alone owes China $1 Trillion in loans, with the rest of the “West” owing close to that amount. Though with the majority of China's cheap exports going to the U.S., it is not in the Middle Kingdom's to call in these debts. The best case scenario for China would be when the recession is over to have over taken the Japanese economy, continued their 6.5% growth rate and have the U.S. ready to buy Chinese goods again.

What does all of this mean? It means that regardless of if the rest of the world or the Chinese themsevles want China to be a player in the 21^st Century, by sheer weight of numbers(both financial and population. Remember, China has 1/6 of the world's population within its borders) China will be an intigral part of the world community for the foreseeable future.