"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Thanks everyone for the responses to yesterday’s note. I am overwhelmed by the number of replies and apologize if I do not respond individually to each one. The commentary will stay. I appreciate the feedback and will incorporate some of the suggestions over the coming weeks.
China is at the dawn of its space age, and today the first Chinese woman will go into orbit. The Shenzhou 9 launch is dominating the news, and while there is a strong propaganda element to it there is also a real sense of pride and excitement about China’s march into space. Perhaps the US was this way in the late 1960s and 70s.
Reuters reports that Liu Yang draws cheers as first Chinese woman set for space voyage; All Things Nuclear examines Why China is Building a Space Station and explains China’s Shenzhou 9 Mission; Xinhua provides pictures of the astronauts’ pre-launch press conference in 首次载人交会对接任务航天员与记者见面_图片频道 and the women who have preceded Liu Yang into space in “巾帼飞天路”:那些挑战太空的女宇航员们, and China Daily claims that the Spacecraft launch to set new records and extols China’s scientific successes exploring the oceans and heavans in Neither sky nor sea the limit.
The Shenzhou 9 launch is set for 18:37 Beijing time Saturday. Tencent has built a terrific interactive site to follow the launch and the mission at 神舟九号载人飞船. Let’s hope that this America Space report–Pentagon Warns of China Failure Risks, As Chinese Woman Astro Set for Launch–does not apply to this mission. My twin 6 year old girls are excited about the launch.
Reuters claims another exclusive in the China spy story, writing that Arrested spy compromised China’s U.S. espionage network. In 明鏡獨家:邱進當選十八大代表,間諜案與他無關 Mirror News also claimed an exclusive with some, but not all, of the same information, a week earlier on June 8. It sounds like a very damaging case, though it seems a bit strange that official Chinese sources would be discussing this with foreign reporters.
Paul Gillis responds to a China Daily OpEd–Resolving SEC-China impasse is negotiators’ job–calling for diplomacy to resolve the US-China accounting impasse. In If diplomacy fails, what’s next? Gillis discusses the worst case outcome, which is the delisting of all the US-listed China firms. Until this is resolved, how can the SEC approve any new China IPOs?
The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions/donations are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.
Today’s links:
- WTO Rules Chinese Tariffs on U.S. Steel Products Are Illegal – Bloomberg
China broke global commerce rules by imposing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on more than $200 million of U.S. steel products, the World Trade Organization said in a ruling today.
- Resolving SEC-China impasse is negotiators’ job|Cover Story|chinadaily.com.cn
Clearing a path through this clash of good intentions and sovereignty is a duty not for zealous advocates or jurisdiction-constrained judges, but for senior government negotiators working diplomatic channels. It will be the dispassionate pursuit of mutual goals in commerce and trade that ultimately yields a solution to this regulatory impasse. Unfortunately, until these issues move up the bilateral agenda the SEC, US-listed Chinese companies and lawyers representing them will be left in suspense.
- If diplomacy fails, what’s next? | China Accounting Blog | Paul Gillis
- Neither sky nor sea the limit |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn
China is going to extremes this weekend, breaking new ground in space with its first female astronaut, while sending a submersible to record depths in the ocean.
- Liu Yang draws cheers as first Chinese woman set for space voyage | Reuters
- UPDATE 1-Burger King eyes China expansion | Reuters
Joint venture deal plans 1,000 restaurants in coming years
- Reforming the north-east: Rustbelt revival | The Economist
A decade after an explosion of unrest in China’s north-east, a remarkable recovery is under way
- India and America: Less than allies, more than friends | The Economist
- Abortion and Politics in China : The New Yorker
By Friday, with the storm growing, Chinese officials issued a rare apology and vowed to punish the bureaucrats in charge. In America, the case will be interpreted in political terms that we understand. But in China, it will have a different color. It will be as much as anything about money, freedom of movement, and the danger of a state that interferes in the most private matters of life.
- China Said to Buy 1 Million Tons of U.S. Cotton for Reserves – Bloomberg
- Online English Editor position at the Economic Observer
The Economic Observer is looking for a full-time editor and translator to help expand and improve our English-language website. We’re looking for a native English speaker who can not only speak fluent Chinese but can also handle long articles written in Chinese. If you have a strong background in economics and finance, possess a good knowledge of Chinese politics and business, have experience working in the media, can write well and have plenty of enthusiasm, send a copy of your CV and a cover letter explaining why you’d like to work for us to english@eeo.com.cn before June 26.
- 降息后部分楼盘优惠减少 业内:2个月后房价涨_中国经济网――国家经济门户
real estate developers cutting discounts, expecting sales increases as government loosens restrictions. a messy dance, prices could pop too fast, government very wary
- [priv] Simon Johnson: An Institutional Flaw at the Heart of the Federal Reserve – NYTimes.com
- » The Soft Power Own Goal: China, Leeds, and Mad Men Rectified.name 正名
If the Chinese propaganda professionals really wanted to end this game, they would approach the Leeds invitation to the Dalai Lama or the next Nobel Prize winning dissident or provocative documentary about China with the same mix of disdain and hollow bravado that Don Draper used on new copywriter Michael Ginsberg this season on Mad Men. Every time the Ginsberg’s of the world get in an elevator and talk about how sorry they feel for China, just take a line from Don Draper’s playbook:“Really? Cause I don’t think about you at all.”
- A Plan to Build the World’s Tallest Building in China — in Nine Months – China Real Time Report – WSJ
A Chinese construction company that has struck Internet gold in recent years with a series of videos highlighting its lighting-fast building technique is once again attracting attention, this time with a plan to build the world’s tallest building. In nine months. Changsha-based Broad Group says the skyscraper – dubbed Tiankong Chengshi, or Sky City, and to be located in Broad’s home city of Changsha in central China’s Hunan province – will climb to a height of 838 meters. That’s 10 meters higher that the world’s current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
- Exclusive: Arrested spy compromised China’s U.S. espionage network: sources | Reuters
新聞網: 明鏡獨家:邱進當選十八大代表,間諜案與他無關 http://bit.ly/L9J81M mirrornews had item june 8 that alleged spy worked for lu zhongwei not qiu jin, per 外參// A Chinese state-security official arrested this year on allegations of spying for Washington is suspected to have compromised some of China’s U.S. agents in a major setback that angered President Hu Jintao, sources said.
- Contractors run U.S. spying missions in Africa – The Washington Post
they ever run into the Chinese? and if so, what happens?
- Pentagon Warns of China Failure Risks, As Chinese Woman Astro Set for Launch « AmericaSpace
China’s aggressive satellite production and launch pace is threatening launch vehicle failures and the malfunction in orbit of important spacecraft, according to a largely classified Defense Dept. report to Congress. The report comes as China is poised for an extremely high profile mission, the launch into space of China’s first woman astronaut as early as mid June. Examples of failures stemming from the growing risk factors are cited in an unclassified summary of the 2012 Pentagon report titled “Military and Security Developments of the People’s Republic of China”.
- All Things Nuclear • China’s Shenzhou 9 Mission
- Yukon Huang: The Stimulus China Really Needs – WSJ.com
China should instead be selectively focusing on structural reforms, along with related expenditures that support these reforms. It took this tack after 1997 and successfully helped the country’s longer-term requirements.This time, what China needs in the long term is to make the economy more efficient and improve the standard of living. Two themes are hence strategic: tapping the repressed potential in the private sector and allowing urbanization to speed up.
- Boeing Courts China as Partner While Mindful of Future Jet Rival – Businessweek
Boeing Co. (BA) (BA) is walking a delicate line in China between helping nurture a customer’s aerospace capability and preparing for its partner’s emergence as a rival, the planemaker’s regional chief said.
- 北京住宅土地供应创新低_中国经济网――国家经济门户
beijing government has released low amount of land for residential use in 2012.
- Dick Clark Productions Said to Pursue a Sale of Itself – NYTimes.com
Dick Clark Productions, the 55-year-old company that produces the Golden Globe awards show and the New Year’s Eve broadcast created by the company’s late founder, is exploring a sale of itself, people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. The company has hired the Raine Group, a boutique investment bank, to run the sales process, these people said. Raine has begun reaching out to potential buyers, which may include Chinese media companies and private equity firms. The company decided to pursue a sale after receiving an expression of interest from a Chinese media company, these people said.
- 山西晚报:被引产的7个月胎儿从天堂的来信-财经网
shanxi evening news runs letter “from aborted baby in heaven”
- Walmart expands bribery investigation to China and Brazil|Economy|News|WantChinaTimes.com
US retail giant Walmart has extended an investigation into allegations of bribery by the company from Mexico to also include China and Brazil, according to two members of Congress.
- 谷开来与海伍德同居 阳台挂帘防偷窥_多维新闻网
gu kailai had english bodyguard named michael wright? he claims gu & heywood lived together 2001-03 in bornemouth, according to oriental daily 【多维新闻】前重庆市委书记薄熙来的妻子谷开来,与涉嫌被她毒杀的英商海伍德之间的关系仍扑朔迷离,曾担任谷开来保镖的英国男子赖特(Michael Wright)日前向媒体证实,谷在2001至2003年间,的确曾与海伍德在英国滨海度假城镇伯恩茅斯(Bournemouth)同居。 据《东方日报》6月15日报道,赖特表示,谷开来与海伍德2001年起在伯恩茅斯国际中心附近的基斯顿大楼顶层公寓同居,谷至2003年才搬走。赖特与另外两名保镖负责为谷开来、海伍德二人提供24小时保护。赖特形容:“我想他们是同居情人,她(谷)是个可爱的女子,很有魅力,但很紧张。”
- Mexico Replaces China as U.S. Supplier With No Wage Gains: Jobs – Bloomberg
Mexico’s low wages, cheap peso and surging auto shipments to the U.S. — which buys 80 percent of its exports — have increased manufacturing competitiveness during the past decade as labor costs in China and Japan have risen.
- Oil Rout Has China Hoarding Most Since Olympics: Energy Markets – Bloomberg
China is hoarding crude at the fastest rate since the Beijing Olympics four years ago as the slump in international prices prompts it to import unprecedented volumes even as refining slows.
- China eases restrictions on corporate forex transfers | Reuters
China will allow domestic firms to use foreign currency loans from domestic banks to finance operations overseas, in a move to promote overseas expansion by Chinese companies, the country’s foreign exchange regulator told Reuters on Friday.
- Recent Cases Shed Light on China’s Feared Interrogation System – NYTimes.com
When party members are caught breaking the rules — or even when they merely displease a superior — they can be dragged into the maw of an opaque Soviet-style disciplinary machine, known as “shuanggui,” that features physical torture and brutal, sleep-deprived interrogations.
- Recent Cases Shed Light on China’s Feared Interrogation System – NYTimes.com
The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions/donations are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.
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