MSM: "Saudi Arabia, China Ink Nuke Cooperation Deal" [01/17/12] "The world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with China for cooperation in the development and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, which will help to meet the Kingdom's increasing demand for energy and cut its growing dependence on depleting oil resources. The deal was signed in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday in the presence of King Abdullah and visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The agreement seeks to establish a legal framework to strengthen scientific, technological and economic cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing, while the two sides reaffirmed their desire to place the highest priority on nuclear safety and environmental protection, the Arab News reported quoting officials. Another agreement to expand cooperation in the field of academics and library affairs was signed by the Riyadh-based King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) and Beijing University. The pact will broaden the scope of cooperation between the two premier institutions and allow KAPL to open its branch in the Chinese capital. Asked about details of the talks Wen had with King Abdullah, Chinese Embassy spokesman Li Lianghua said the talks with the monarch was preceded by Wen's meetings with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The talks with King Abdullah covered the whole gamut of bilateral issues and regional development, said another Chinese official. [...]"  Related: "Saudi, Chinese Oil Giants Ink Joint Refinery Deal"[01/16/12]   

MSM: "China Rejects US Limits On Iran Trade" [01/10/12] "China has rejected the US trade restrictions on Iran's oil industry, saying it has nothing to do with Tehran's nuclear energy program. A Chinese deputy foreign minister, Cui Tiankai, said on Monday that Beijing is against mixing the issues with different natures, rejecting linking Iran's nuclear program to trade. Tiankai made the remarks on the eve of a visit by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to seek Beijing's support for anti-Iran sanctions. “The normal trade relations and energy cooperation between China and Iran have nothing to do with the nuclear issue… We should not mix issues with different natures, and China's legitimate concerns and demands should be respected," he said. Tiankai went on to say that Beijing supports nuclear nonproliferation efforts but believes Iran is entitled to develop peaceful nuclear energy, and called for talks between Iran and the West in order to build mutual trust. "We believe… the normal economic ties between countries in the world and Iran should not be affected," he said. Earlier in the day, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin, said China is against unilateral sanctions against Iran, noting that dialog is the only way to resolve the remaining issues over Tehran's nuclear energy program. "China opposes placing domestic law above international law and does not favor unilateral sanctions against other countries," he said. The unilateral sanctions on Iran have led to a clash of interests between Washington and its key commercial partners, including China. Iran exported about 622,000 barrels of oil per day to China in November, maintaining its place as the third largest crude supplier to the East Asian country. [...]"  

MSM: "Strikes Erupt In China’s Sichuan Province" [01/10/12] "Thousands of workers from the state-owned company Pangang Group Chengdu Steel & Vanadium (known as Chengdu Steel) went on strike on January 4 over low wages in Chengdu, the capital of the inland province of Sichuan. The New York-based China Labour Watch put the number of strikers at 2,000, but other reports estimated that 10,000 were involved. Hong Kong’s Mingpao Daily said 1,000 police were sent to block the workers, who marched to a crossroad of the Chengdu-Mianyang Highway near the factory. China Labour Watch reported: “Over several hours, the confrontation paralysed traffic and the police dispelled the crowd by use of pepper spray. Several workers were injured in the ensuing clashes.” Five workers were arrested, but released after the steel company intervened. Witnesses quoted online said workers were holding banners saying, “We want a wage increase” or “We want to survive, we want meals.” Other slogans called on the enterprise to disclose the salaries of the management. [...]"  

MSM: "China To Prepare For Social Unrest As The Economy Takes A Slide" [12/05/11] "Beijing has underlined its concern that an economic slowdown could lead to social unrestin China, with the country’s security chief urging local officials to do more to prepare for the “negative effects of the market economy”. Zhou Yongkang, a member of the politburo, told provincial officials that they needed to find better methods of “social management” – a euphemism which can include everything from better internet censorship and strategic policing of violent unrest, to a better social safety net. “It is an urgent task for us to think how to establish a social management system with Chinese characteristics to suit our socialist market economy,” he told a seminar on “social management innovation”. “Especially when facing the negative effects of the market economy, we still have not formed a complete mechanism for social management,” he said. Mr Zhou also urged officials to limit spending on wasteful “vanity” projects that trigger public anger. His comments are the clearest sign yet that Beijing is worried that the global economic crisis could lead to serious domestic social unrest. Mr Zhou’s remarks, published by the state-run Xinhua news agency on Saturday, came at the end of a week which saw evidence of a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing, an easing in credit policy to avert a sharper slowdown, and two outbreaks of violence. Recent months have seen a rise in unrest – apparently linked to economic grievances, including workers’ fears about the economic dislocation caused by Beijing’s long-term plan to move away from low-value manufacturing to more creative and innovative industries. [...]"  

China: "Two Worrying Possibilities For China's Disappearing Bank Deposits" [10/08/11] "No one knows exactly what happened to $173 billion that was withdrawn from China's banks in July. Victor Shih draws some disturbing conclusions: Although the mystery remains unsolved for the moment, solving the mystery is important for investors who want a sense of where the economy is heading. If large sums are indeed disappearing into the shadow banking system, then a rapidly rising share of the financial system is beyond the direct control of the government. If large sums are indeed flowing out of China, we may have the beginning of major, sustained outflows from China. [...]"   Related: "Chinese Professor Warns Of 6,400-Fold Increase In Land Sale Values, Huge Local Government Financing Bubble"  [2:17] "A Tsinghua University professor posted the following stunning fact on Sina Weibo (via Global Macro Monitor). In 1989 the value of China's land sales was $70 million. By 2010 land sales were worth $470 billion -- a 6,700-fold increase. This increase reflects a ridiculous surge in land values and growing use of land sales by local governments for revenue. The professor also found that land sales had risen from 0.24 percent to 74 percent of local government financing. This land is mostly coming from farmers, as many as 140 million of whom had their land confiscated in the past 17 years. Cities turn around and sell land to developers who build giant ghost cities. Worried yet? [...]"  "Fears Of An Economic Meltdown In China" [10/08/11] "Far from being able to rescue world capitalism, China is becoming a major source of economic instability, feeding the deepening global crisis. [...]"  

Commentary: "China Assisting Pakistan in Upgrading Power Infrastructure" [07/16/11] "Chinese fiscal assistance is allowing Pakistan to begin rebuilding its energy infrastructure in its portion of the contested Himalayan state, which it labels “Azad Kashmir,” heavily damaged during last year’s flooding. A senior official at the Planning Commission told journalists, “The main objective of the project is the restoration of the power supply to the flood affected areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) which were fully or partially damaged due to floods in July-August 2010. The reconstruction of the distribution infrastructure in AJK will reverse the devastating impact of the flood, reviving the areas’ economic activity and enabling the people to return to normal life and to provide electricity to the areas which were turned into dark due to damage of electrical works. This project will support the AJK government to achieve targets for revenue collection from the industrial, agriculture and social sectors.” [...]"  

Commentary: "China’s Scramble For Europe" [07/13/11] "China is using its growing economic strength to buy up strategic assets in Europe, from companies to government debt and infrastructure contracts. A new brief published by ECFR – ‘The scramble for Europe’ – explores the extent and nature of China’s game-changing presence in Europe. China has moved on from buying African ports and building Saudi railways, taking advantage of its economic strength and European weakness to buy up Europe. Its acquisitions include infrastructure such as ports and motorways, symbolic car companies like Volvo and MG, and high tech firms. It has bought large quantities of debt in the EU’s troubled periphery and won government contracts while excluding European companies from bidding for Chinese contracts. [...]"  

Commentary: "China Economy: Incentives and Debt" [07/10/11] "... For the past decade China-focused analysts have been able to describe static economic conditions with some accuracy but have failed generally to understand the underlying growth dynamics. We’ve done a great job, in other words, of describing the landscape through which the train is passing, but because we don’t understand where the train is headed we are constantly shocked when the landscape changes. It should have been clear for many years that China’s investment-driven growth model was leading to unsustainable increases in debt. As recently as two years ago most analysts were ecstatically – and mistakenly – praising the country’s incredibly strong balance sheet, but when Victor Shih shocked the market last year with his analysis of local government borrowing, the mood began to change. Now the market has become obsessed with municipal debt levels. But dangerously high levels of municipal debt are only a manifestation of the underlying problem, not the problem itself. Even if the financial authorities intervene, unless they change the economy’s underlying dependence on accelerating investment, it won’t matter. They will simply force the debt problem elsewhere. In all previous cases of countries following similar growth models, the dangerous combination of repressed pricing signals, distorted investment incentives, and excessive reliance on accelerating investment to generate growth has always eventually pushed growth past the point where it is sustainable, leading always to capital misallocation and waste. At this point – which China may have reached a decade ago – debt begins to rise unsustainably. China’s problem now is that the authorities can continue to get rapid growth only at the expense of ever-riskier increases in debt. Eventually either they will choose sharply to curtail investment, or excessive debt will force them to do so. Either way we should expect many years of growth well below even the most pessimistic current forecasts. But not yet. High, investment-driven growth is likely to continue for at least another two years. [...]"  

MSM: "Top U.S. Military Officer Heads To China For Visit" [07/10/11]   "The top U.S. military officer begins a four-day trip to China on Sunday in another sign of warming military ties between the two countries after a break in relations following a $6.3 billion U.S. arms deal with Taiwan. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was leaving Washington on Friday afternoon for a visit to Beijing at the invitation of his counterpart, General Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, who visited Washington earlier this year. [...]"  

Commentary: "China Inflation: Getting Worse And Coming To A Wal-Mart Near You" [07/10/11] " ... Many economists predict that China will likely be forced to take stronger measures that could slow economic growth. Reuters reported China may increase the bank deposit reserve ratio to 23% from the current 19.5%, and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) is also expected to permit the yuan to rise further, according to a report by the State Information Centre under the National Development and Reform Commission. Japan’s Mizuho Research Institute predicted in December that China may raise interest rates up to six times by the end of 2011 (one rate hikes in Feb. 2011 so far). Regardless when or what China’s doing to rein in inflation, it no doubt will put a brake on one of the very few bright spots in the world. While China’s busy tightening and dealing with the once in 60-year mass drought, consumer price inflation, and diminishing margins will likely crop up pretty much everywhere from mass retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, to high tech products from companies such as Apple, Hewlett Packard, and Dell.  [...]" 

Commentary: "Moody's Rating Agency Finds 10% Of Chinese GDP Is Bad Debt, Claims "China Debt Problem Bigger Than Stated" [07/05/11] " Moody's has identified another potential RMB 3.5 trillion ($540 billion) of such loans that the Chinese auditors did not discuss in their report....we find that the Chinese audit agency could be understating banks' exposures to local governments by as much as RMB 3.5 trillion." Naturally, the implication is that this is an absolutely willing "omission" (thank you central planning), which means that of China's $5.8 trillion GDP (or whatever imaginary number the Polit Bureau is happy with throwing around for mass consumption), $540 billion is debt that is "unaccounted for", most likely due to being, well, bad. That would be equivalent to saying that $1.4 trillion of US corporate debt is delinquent. And lest anything is lost in translation, Moody's drives the steak through the Dragon's heart: "Since these loans to local governments are not covered by the NAO report, this means they are not considered by the audit agency as real claims on local governments. This indicates that these loans are most likely poorly documented and may pose the greatest risk of delinquency." So let's get this straight: a country which has 10% of its GDP in the form of bad debt, is somehow expected to be credible enough to buy not only Greek debt, but the EURUSD each and every day? Mmmmk. In the meantime, Dagong downgrades the US to junk status in 5, 4, 3... [...]"  

Slide Show: "Why Rare Earths Are A Bubble Just Waiting To Explode: China's Fragile Rare Earth Monopoly " [07/04/11] Related: Commentary: "Japanese Researchers: Mother Lode Of Rare Earth Metals In The Pacific Ocean" "More proof that so-called rare earth elements aren't that rare. A team of scientists from Japan are announcing today the discovery of the rare earth mother lode in the Pacific Ocean. According to a report by Nikkei, the deposits -- which are all around Hawaii, as well as French Polynesia -- dwarf anything on land to the tune of 1000x. And it's not necessarily a fanciful notion that the deposits could be mind: Extracting the deposits requires pumping up portions of the ocean floor. The rare-earth metals can be separated out in several hours. But carrying out such operations in international waters requires the approval of the International Seabed Authority, established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Japanese research team will apply to the authority to have the areas certified for mining. If approval is granted, they would be divvied up for development by different countries. [...]" | "Sea Holds Treasure Trove Of Rare-Earth Elements"  

Commentary: "Why China’s Heading For A Hard Landing, Part 1" [07/03/11] | Pg 2  | Pg 3 | Pg 4 |  Pg 5 |  "Investor Gary Shilling is a China bear (like many others) and he just wrapped up a 5-part series for Bloomberg on why the country is zooming towards an inevitable hard landing. In it he takes a wide-ranging look at the country, examining its growth strategy, its demographic problems, and its failures in economic planing. Few countries are more important to the global economy than China. But its reputation as an unstoppable giant -- as a country with an unending supply of cheap labor and limitless capacity for growth -- masks some serious and worsening economic problems. China’s labor force is aging. Its consumers save too much and spend too little. Its political and economic policy tools remain crude. Its state bureaucracy seems likely to curb spending just as exports weaken, and thus risks deflation. As U.S. consumers retrench, and as the global commodity bubble begins to dissipate, these fundamental weaknesses will combine in a way that’s unlikely to end well for China -- or for the rest of the world. To start, China is much more vulnerable to an international slowdown than is generally understood.  [...]"  

Commentary: "What The Siemens Bribery Case Says About The Future Of Corruption In China" [07/01/11] "The China-end of the Siemens bribery scandal came to a conclusion in an Intermediate Court in Henan last month when a China Mobile executive received a death sentence. For the most part, this was just another anti-corruption case, one of a multitude flooding China’s courts these days. However, the participation of the U.S. government, and the information it shared with Chinese enforcement officials, serves as an important reminder that the global fight against corruption has entered a new phase. Since the case involved state secrets and was therefore not opened to the public, there hasn’t been a lot of reporting on the verdict. Caixin, however, published a breakdown of the case today: [...]"  

MSM: "China Sells US Navy Fake Microchips" [06/30/11] "It seems the only time the US government does its due diligence with respect to security is when they are dealing with the citizenry. In yet another gaping security hole within the overall national security infrastructure, Wired Magazine reports that the U.S. Navy was duped into buying ‘fake’ micro chips: In 2010, the U.S. military had a problem. It had bought over 59,000 microchips destined for installation in everything from missile defense systems to gadgets that tell friend from foe. The chips turned out to be counterfeits from China, but it could have been even worse. [...]"  

Commentary: "Paul Craig Roberts: Will Washington Foment War Between China and India?" [15:24]  Part 2 [4:46]  "The staging of the fake death of bin Laden in a commando raid that violated Pakistan’s sovereignty was sold to President Obama by the military/security complex as a way to boost Obama’s standing in the polls. The raid succeeded in raising Obama’s approval ratings. But its real purpose was to target Pakistan and to show Pakistan that the US was contemplating invading Pakistan in order to make Pakistan pay for allegedly hiding bin Laden next door to Pakistan’s military academy. The neocon, and increasingly the US military position, is that the Taliban can’t be conquered unless NATO widens the war theater to Pakistan, where the Taliban allegedly has sanctuaries protected by the Pakistan government, which takes American money but doesn’t do Washington’s bidding. Pakistan got the threat message and ran to China. On May 17 Pakistan’s prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, as he departed for China declared China to be Pakistan’s “best and most trusted friend.” China has built a port for Pakistan at Gwadar, which is close to the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz. The port might become a Chinese naval base on the Arabian Sea. [...]"  

MSM: "China Tightens Grip On Rare Earths" [05/20/11] "China expands export quotas of rare earth metals, further tightening its grip on the minerals used in a number of high-tech electronics. From Friday, iron alloys containing more than 10% of rare earths will fall under the export quota, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
Rare earths are a collection of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table. World manufacturers rely heavily on China for these minerals. China had already cut exports by about 35% in the first half of 2011. This has pushed up the price of rare earth metals, used in everything from Ipods and TVs to cars.[...]"   

"China Urges US To Lift Export Controls" [05/11/11] "China urged Washington to lift export and investment controls directed against Beijing, saying such a move could go a long way towards conquering the steep trade imbalance between the two powers. But in their annual bilateral dialogue, US officials continued to press Beijing over its allegedly undervalued yuan as a way to redress China's $273 billion trade surplus with the United States. "The way to resolve this imbalance is to ease the export control regime of the United States towards China and to encourage US exports to China rather than restricting Chinese exports to the United States," Chen Deming, the Chinese trade minister, told reporters. Chen said Washington's forex argument over the trade issue between the world's two largest economies "is not founded."... [...]"  

World Politics: "U.S. Officials: 'Vigorous Disagreement' With China Over Human Rights" [05/10/11]    "As the United States opened two days of talks with China Monday, Vice President Joe Biden lauded the growing political ties between the world's two largest economies but emphasized that the Obama administration remains deeply concerned about continuing human rights violations in China. "We have vigorous disagreement in the area of human rights," Biden said as the third annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue got underway. "We have to be honest with each other," he added, noting the recent arrests and disappearances of Chinese journalists, human rights lawyers, bloggers, writers and artists. Biden allowed that many Chinese people consider America's preoccupation with human rights in their country to be an "intrusion" into internal matters that "rankles" the country's leaders. Yet, he insisted, "no relationship that’s real can be built on a false foundation." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke out about the "candid discussions" she and other U.S. officials intend to have over the next two days about human rights, as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo looked on silently from the stage of the Interior Department auditorium. [...]"  

Commentary: "Pakistan's Praise Of China An Angry Message To U.S.  " [05/10/11]    "In the thunderous speeches to Pakistan's parliament about the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Prime Minister's spirited defence of his administration and the opposition's fiery attacks, all sides agreed on one point: Pakistan's new best friend is China. That is the angry message that Pakistani politicians wanted their American allies to hear, at least, when they applauded and banged their desks at every mention of the word "China" in Parliament House. The United States inflicted deep embarrassment with the unilateral raid on Mr. bin Laden's hideout, and the discomfort continues as Washington pushes for answers about Islamabad's role in concealing the world's most-wanted terrorist in a garrison town. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani answered with a 30-minute speech to parliament, denying any collusion with terrorists, warning of retaliation against future breaches of sovereignty, and promising an investigation. He said his government can still work productively with the United States, on which Pakistan depends for at least $4-billion a year in assistance. [...]"   

"Primer on China’s Leadership Transition" [05/09/11] "Over the past few months, several people have written asking me to offer a short “primer” on China’s upcoming leadership transition, which begins next year. The handover to a new president and premier has generated plenty of speculation in the press, about who the leaders are and what is will all mean, but sometimes it’s useful to go back and fill in the very basics, since China has a unique and in some ways quite confusing political system. The first and most important thing to understand about that political system is that it is composed of three parts. In the U.S., we have the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. In China there is the Party, the Army, and the State. Unlike in the U.S., where the three branches are co-equal and are specifically designed to check and balance each other’s powers, in China the Party is supreme and rules over the other two elements. China’s “leadership transition” involves coordinated handovers of power involving all three parts of the political system. [...]"  

"U.S. Treasury: China Has Decreased Its Holdings of U.S. Debt" [04/30/11] "Mainland China has decreased its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities since last October, according to a report updated today by the U.S. Treasury Department. Since September 2008, when they eclipsed Japan, entities in mainland China have been the largest foreign owners of U.S. government debt. But, as indicated by the Treasury Department chart linked here, Chinese ownership of U.S. Treasury securities peaked in October 2010 and has declined in each of the four most recent months reported by the Treasury Department. At the end of October 2010, China owned 1.1753 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. That dropped to $1.1641 trillion by the end of November, $1.1601 trillion by the end of December, $1.1547 trillion by the end of January, and $1.1541 trillion by the end of February 2011. February is the latest month for which the Treasury has estimated foreign holdings of U.S. debt. [...]"  Related:  Commentary: "China Proposes To Cut Two Thirds Of Its $3 Trillion In USD Holdings" [04/26/11] "All those who were hoping global stock markets would surge tomorrow based on a ridiculous rumor that China would revalue the CNY by 10% will have to wait. Instead, China has decided to serve the world another surprise. Following last week's announcement by PBoC Governor Zhou (Where's Waldo) Xiaochuan that the country's excessive stockpile of USD reserves has to be urgently diversified, today we get a sense of just how big the upcoming Chinese defection from the "buy US debt" Nash equilibrium will be. Not surprisingly, China appears to be getting ready to cut its USD reserves by roughly the amount of dollars that was recently printed by the Fed, or $2 trilion or so. And to think that this comes just as news that the Japanese pension fund will soon be dumping who knows what. So, once again, how about that "end of QE" again? [...]"   

Alex Jones Interviews: "Paul Craig Roberts: Further Collapse of America's Empire May Lead to Global Nuclear War" [04/29/11] [14:47] "On this important Monday edition of the Alex Jones Show, top economist and columnist Paul Craig Roberts joins the show to discuss the latest revelations out of the IMF including a report indicating that China's economy will surpass the U.S. by 2016. Wayne Madsen will join Alex in-studio to discuss his decision to leave the country. Alex will discuss the latest on the TSA, the collapse of the U.S. dollar, ongoing fighting in Libya, and more.  [...]"  Note: Part 2 [15:27] Related: World Politics: "US At Risk Of War With China, Russia" [04/28/11]   "The US is at the risk of a war with Russia and China as its main objective behind engineering the Libyan war and Syrian unrest is to remove the two world powers out of the Mediterranean, a former US official warns. [...]"  "Pakistan’s Gilani Asks Karzai To Dump US And Ally With China" "Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has asked Afghan President Hamid Karzai to dump United States and instead align with China for help in striking a peace deal with Taliban and rebuilding the economy, a media report has claimed."The pitch was made at an April 16 meeting in Kabul by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who bluntly told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the Americans had failed them both," the Wall Street Journal reported quoting senior Afghan officials familiar with the meeting. [...]"  "Trump Rips China: "Listen You Motherfuckers ..." [9:59]   "The f-bomb entertainment begins at the 5-minute mark. [...]"  

"China Again Cracks Down On Planned Protests Across Country" [03/01/11] "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday held an online forum in which he promised to focus on making the lives of ordinary people in China more comfortable and secure. Just a few hours later, Chinese police unleashed a show of force in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities to clamp down on public gatherings after a second week of overseas Internet-based calls for protests across the country. The combination of Wen's comments about government efforts to raise living standards, accompanied by a display of China's police state tactics aimed at squelching dissent, neatly laid out in one day's time the Chinese Communist Party's approach to avoiding the kind of unrest seen across the Arab world. [...]" Related: "Central Asian Regimes Fear Unrest"  As revolutions and popular protests against dictatorships spread across northern Africa and the Middle East, questions are being raised whether they will inspire similar uprisings in Central Asia. Activists say that it is now a question of when, not if, regime change comes in the region. The resource-rich and increasingly strategically important region of Central Asia has some of the world’s worst dictatorships. Uzbekistan is widely regarded as having one of the most brutal dictatorships on the planet with state-sanctioned torture, including the boiling alive of prisoners, corruption, and religious and political persecution all rife. Turkmenistan is seen as little better, while regimes in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are less cruel but remain in the complete control of powerful dictator presidencies.

"Chinese Protesting Lawless Dictatorship in China" [02/22/11] "   [2:06] "A call for a "Jasmine revolution" inspired by the protests in the Arab world prompts a small pro-democracy rally in Shanghai. [...]"  

"China Creates Rare Earth Strategic Reserves" [02/09/11] "China is building up strategic reserves of rare earth metals in a move that could give it better control over the resource so indispensable to high tech products, the Wall Street Journal reported. Storage facilities have been built in recent months in the northern region of Inner Mongolia with the capacity to hold more than the 39,813 tonnes of the metals China exported last year, the paper said. But details of the strategic reserves have not been made public, it added on Monday. [...]" 

"China Matches U.S. Space Launches for First Time" [12/27/10] "Friday’s blast-off of a rocket, carrying a Chinese GPS-style navigation satellite, from the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center was different. It set a record for successful Chinese launches in one year: 15. The launch represented another important milestone. For the first time since the chilliest days of the Cold War, another country has matched the United States in sheer number of rocket launches. [...]"   

"US-China tensions mount amid widening war exercises" [12/14/10] "A late night Sunday telephone call between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao underscored the mounting tensions between the two countries in the wake of last month’s military clash between North and South Korea. The White House and the Chinese Foreign Ministry each issued one-sided accounts of the telephone conversation, illustrating the deep gulf dividing Washington and Beijing over the crisis on the Korean peninsula. [...]"   

World Politics: "US technology goes to North Korea via Israel and China" [12/06/10] "America’s most vital Cold War defence information, nuclear technology, air defence systems, classified weapons and even NATO defence plans in case of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, all went to Russia as part of an arrangement between the Soviets and Israel. Pollard is doing life in prison for this. Why is the American public generally unaware of Israel's theft of US military secrets? The Western media adamantly refuses to report anything critical of Israel. [...]"  

"China may abandon N Korea as ally" [12/01/10] "Diplomatic cables suggest that senior Chinese officials are willing to allow North Korea to fall under Seoul's control. [...]" 

"China, Russia quit dollar" [11/25/10] "China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday. Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies. "About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies," Putin said at a joint news conference with Wen in St. Petersburg.  [...]" Related: More From the China Daily on this story.

"Chinese workers build 15-story hotel in just six days" [11/16/10] "As the United States and China battle over the finer points of currency manipulation at the G-20 summit, American negotiators may want to take note of this startling testimonial to the productivity of Chinese workers: A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha has completed a 15-story hotel in just six days. If nothing else, this remarkable achievement will stoke further complaints from American economic pundits that China's economy is far more accomplished than ours in tending to such basics as construction. The work crew erected the hotel -- a soundproofed, thermal-insulated structure reportedly built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake -- with all prefabricated materials. In other words, a crew of off-site factory workers built the sections, and their on-site counterparts arranged them on the foundation for the Ark project. [...]"  

"US asks China to raise Yuan by January" [11/14/10] "The United States has called on China to hasten its efforts toward reforming its currency exchange rate against the dollar by January of next year. US President Barack Obama, who has repeatedly said the yuan's undervalued currency has hurt the US economy, urged Chinese officials to let the yuan rise against the dollar by the time Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington in January, Reuters reported on Saturday. "President Hu Jintao's visit in January would be an important time to look at exactly what the quantum of progress has been on this," said United States' National Security Advisor Tom Donilan [...]"   

"US diplomatic offensive tightens strategic encirclement of China" [11/14/10] "At the heart of the US geo-strategic campaign is a provocative drive to contain China by preventing it from controlling the South China Sea and connecting waterways to the Indian Ocean. [...]"  Note: The policies of Zbigniew Brzezinski are manifesting nicely. Related: "Chinese President Hu visits France"  "The French government provided full military honors to President Hu Jintao of China during the latter’s recent visit, while the two countries signed major business and industrial contract [...]"

"China Fired Missile Seen In Southern California" [11/12/10] "China flexed its military muscle Monday evening in the skies west of Los Angeles when a Chinese Navy Jin class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, deployed secretly from its underground home base on the south coast of Hainan island, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from international waters off the southern California coast. WMR’s intelligence sources in Asia, including Japan, say the belief by the military commands in Asia and the intelligence services is that the Chinese decided to demonstrate to the United States its capabilities on the eve of the G-20 Summit in Seoul and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Tokyo, where President Obama is scheduled to attend during his ten-day trip to Asia. The reported Chinese missile test off Los Angeles came as a double blow to Obama. The day after the missile firing, China’s leading credit rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating, downgraded sovereign debt rating of the United States to A-plus from AA. The missile demonstration coupled with the downgrading of the United States financial grade represents a military and financial show of force by Beijing to Washington. The Pentagon spin machine, backed by the media reporters who regularly cover the Defense Department, as well as officials of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and the U.S. Northern Command, is now spinning various conspiracy theories, including describing the missile plume videotaped by KCBS news helicopter cameraman Gil Leyvas at around 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, during the height of evening rush hour, as the condensation trail from a jet aircraft. Other Pentagon-inspired cover stories are that the missile was actually an amateur rocket or an optical illusion. [...]"    Related:  "U.S. pledges to send super carrier to Yellow Sea for joint drills: Pentagon"   "The United States has reiterated its pledge to send a super carrier to the Yellow Sea for joint naval drills with South Korea without specifying the timing, despite China's objections. "The only thing I'd answer is those are international waters and they aren't owned by China," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a media roundtable in Melbourn, Australia, Monday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon, Tuesday. "They aren't owned by Korea. They're international waters in which we have and many other countries have sailed forever. My expectation is we'll continue to do that." [...]"  "Chinese Missiles Could Close U.S. Bases in Attack, Report Says"  "The Chinese military’s non-nuclear missiles have “the capability to attack” and close down five of six major U.S. Air Force bases in South Korea and Japan, an unpublished government report says. China’s improved inventory of short- and medium-range missiles provides a “dramatic increase” in its ability to “inhibit” U.S. military operations in the western Pacific, according to excerpts from the draft of the 2010 annual report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission scheduled for release on Nov. 17. China’s current force “may be sufficient” to destroy runways, parked aircraft, fuel and maintenance facilities at Osan and Kunsan air bases in South Korea, and Kadena, Misawa and Yokota bases in Japan, the report says. The facilities are within 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) of China. [...]"  

"China says G20 should monitor US Fed" [11/09/10] "China's state media has issued a new broadside at the US Federal Reserve's move to prime the US economy, suggesting the Group of 20 should monitor policy shifts by the US central bank. The Xinhua news agency said in a commentary the Fed was "risking the global recovery by following its own track for economic revival" by spending an extra $US600 billion ($A593.65 billion) buying Treasury bonds " to stimulate the US economy". [...]"  Note:  China wants the G20 to have the authority to "monitor" the Fed. Since the Fed has battled an audit by our own Congress it's doubtful it will happen, but it will be interesting to see if they concede any ground to accommodate global monetary cooperation.

China's dark side: On Yellow River, corpses mean cash [09/18/10] "While some of the 80 to 100 bodies Wei gathers each year are victims of accidents and floods, he thinks that the majority end up in the river after suicide or murder. There's no overt sign of a crime spree, though there's evidence of many people taking their own lives. Indeed, suicide is the leading cause of death for women in rural China, and 26 percent of all suicides in the world take place in the nation, according to the World Health Organization [...]"   

Trends: Floods, Drought Will Prevent Gains in China's Grain Production This Year [08/28/10] "Natural disasters may block any increase in China’s grain production this year as the worst floods in a decade ruin crops.  Flooding cut harvests of early rice in the major growing areas of southern China, Xinhua News Agency cited Vice Agriculture Minister Chen Xiaohua as saying yesterday during a government inquiry on grain safety. Crops in low-lying areas of the country’s fertile northeast were also damaged, he said. China’s corn imports in July surged after traders bought the most overseas grain in more than 10 years to replenish shrinking domestic supplies. Early rice production this year fell 6.1 percent to 31.3 million tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website yesterday. The world’s most- populous country grows almost a third of the globe’s rice and cotton, and produces about half its pork.  “This year’s weather will not reduce the output,” Chen Shuwei, a manager at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Co. said in a telephone interview. “China will not have a shortage in the next one or two years.” Low temperatures due to floods delayed the ripening of winter wheat by five to seven days, and spring sowing in the northeast by seven to 10 days, the minister said. Lower rice output won’t stop overall summer grain production from equaling the levels of previous years, making it China’s seventh year of bumper harvests, Xinhua quoted the government’s Chen as saying.  [...]" 

China's Looming Real-Estate Bubble [08/28/10] "Despite the global downturn, China's economic growth rate remains above 10 percent. But there is mounting evidence that Beijing has misallocated vast amounts of capital, touching off a real-estate crisis that could yet drag the world's second-largest economy down to earth. [...]  The problem is that government money is going to build homes not for occupancy but for ownership. Speculation, if you will. Andy Xie, a Shanghai-based economist formerly with Morgan Stanley, believes almost 25 percent to 30 percent of private commercial and housing stock in China is vacant. Entire cities, such as Ordos in inner-Mongolia, erected literally from scratch, stand empty. "Chinese treat homes like gold bars buying multiple units as a store of value," notes Chovanec. Chinese avoid the stock market because it is still volatile and risky, and banks and bonds offer a low yield. Hence, Chinese are content to buy homes and let them sit because, thanks to the absence of property taxes, holding costs are negligible. Having never experienced a housing slump since China privatized its housing market in the 1990s, they believe that home prices only rise. This can't last, but backers of China's stimulus believe there won't be any serious economic downside when the bubble bursts. Homeowners won't be thrown on the street because Chinese buy their first homes outright through their savings—not loans.  [...] "   

China Buys Euros as Fear of World Depression Grows [08/27/10] [7:11]  "The US Treasury has just announced that China’s official holdings of U.S. Treasury securities declined by about $30 billion between April and May of this year, from about $900 billion to some $868 billion. According to the US authorities, this means that Chinese holdings of US government paper are now at the lowest level in the past year. A 2% to 3% decline in a month does not qualify as massive dumping, but simply means that China is in the process of diversification. It is also very likely that China has more U.S. Treasury bonds than this official count would indicate, quite possibly through proxy purchases via Hong Kong and other places. With the sales of existing homes in the United States falling by 27% this morning, together with disastrous statistics regarding unemployment and foreclosures, it ought to be obvious that the US economy is in depression. Even experts interviewed on CNBC are beginning to wake up to this obvious fact. [...] On August 24, the Treasury’s two-year note reached its highest price in recorded history, meaning that the yield was at a record low. The entire world is piling into short-term U.S. Treasury paper, and many buyers cannot get enough. This makes a mockery out of the right wing reactionary refrain that the US equals Greece and soon will be unable to borrow. If, according to the crackpot Austrian theory, markets know things that individual humans cannot know, then surely the market is signaling a great desire for  Treasury bills and Treasury notes at the short end. The main reason for this demand is of course fear and panic – coming from the growing awareness that the world is indeed experiencing the second wave of a world economic depression of colossal proportions."   [...]  Related:  Commentary: It's Official: China is Unloading its Treasury Bonds  "It looks like the smart money these days is found in China. While American investors have been scrambling over each other to buy more Treasury bonds at historically low yields, China has begun quietly unloading some of its own enormous holdings. In June, the Middle Kingdom sold $21.2 billion of paper, reducing its net long to $839.7 billion. This is little more than 10% of the total $8.18 trillion in federal debt that Uncle Sam has outstanding. [...]"   

US-China tensions over South China Sea [08/04/10] "Hillary Clinton’s provocative stance at the South East Asian Nations security forum last month, opposing China’s claims in the South China Sea, has inflamed another global flashpoint. [...]"  Note: Why is the US even going to this? It's for Asia only. As if the US has some leverage here, with China holding all the treasury bonds. Clinton needs to just shut up and go back to Arkansas. That people believe she's important is their first error in judgment.

China manufacturing output slows [08/01/10] "Chinese manufacturing output grew at its slowest rate for 17 months in July, as the government continues efforts to rein in rapid economic growth. [...]"  

China is 'number one energy user' [07/21/10] "China overtakes the United States to become the world's biggest energy consumer for the first time, a new report says. [...]"  

China on track to aim 2,000 missiles at Taiwan — report [07/19/10] "China will have 2,000 missiles aimed at its rival Taiwan by the end of the year, several hundred more than the current number, despite fast-warming trade ties between the two sides, an island defense study said. Beijing's preparations setting Taiwan further back in the military power balance against its political adversary could destroy 90 percent of the island's infrastructure, the report published in the defense ministry's naval studies periodical said. The increase from today's estimate of 1,000 to 1,400 missiles could raise tensions after two years of upbeat dialogue between the rivals that has cleared the way for direct civilian flights and a free trade-style deal in June. "Even though we've signed the trade deal, there won't be any progress on military issues," Hsu Yung-ming, political science professor at Soochow University. China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to bring the island into its fold. [...]"   

China Buys Unprecedented Amounts of Uranium for Nuclear Power [07/16/10] "China is currently buying "unprecedented" amounts of uranium to ensure supplies for its fast-expanding nuclear power sector, the China Daily reported from Beijing. China now has 13 nuclear plants under construction and, as Xu Yuming, executive director of the China Nuclear Energy Association, announced in Beijing July 6, is planning to build at least 60 new reactors by 2020. [...]"   

China Boosts Oil Imports to New Record [07/13/10] "China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, increased net crude-oil imports to a record in June... [...]"  

China's property market falters [07/13/10] "China's frothy property market may have peaked after a government clampdown on speculators, data shows. [...]" 

Exposé: Organ-Harvesting From the Living, in Chinese Concentration Camps [07/12/10] [1:30] Note: Even the Israeli's haven't gone this far ... or have they, in this profiteering from the dissolution and 'disposal' of those who disagree with the involuntary co-opting of their experiences by twisted reincarnating sequential control freaks.

China: Strike erupts in Japanese-owned electronics plant [07/04/10] "China’s strike wave has extended to the Mitsumi Electric plant in northern Tianjin city, adding to nervousness in international financial circles. [...]"   

Honda Lock strike in China continues as industrial unrest spreads [06/13/10] "Strikes at three Honda plants have been followed by industrial action in other parts of the country."  Related: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific

North Korean border guard 'shoots three Chinese dead' [06/09/10] "China says a North Korean border guard shot and killed three people near the countries' border last week.  A fourth person was reportedly injured in the incident near the north-eastern border town of Dandong.   China has made a formal complaint to North Korea, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said. The two countries are considered to be close allies and Beijing rarely makes any public criticism of its isolated neighbour. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference in Beijing that the four residents of Dandong, in Liaoning province, had been shot "on suspicion of crossing the border for trade activities". Last month, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, was reported to have visited China to seek economic and political support. China is crucial to North Korea's fight for economic survival, providing Pyongyang with food, fuel and much-needed investment.  [...]"    

Beijing suspects false flag attack on South Korean corvette [05/29/10] "WMR’s intelligence sources in Asia suspect that the March attack on the South Korean Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, the Cheonan, was a false flag attack designed to appear as coming from North Korea. One of the main purposes for increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula was to apply pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to reverse course on moving the U.S. Marine Corps base off Okinawa. Hatoyama has admitted that the tensions over the sinking of the Cheonan played a large part in his decision to allow the U.S. Marines to remain on Okinawa. Hatoyama’s decision has resulted in a split in the ruling center-left coalition government, a development welcome in Washington, with Mizuho Fukushima, the Social Democratic Party leader threatening to bolt the coalition over the Okinawa reversal. The Cheonan was sunk near Baengnyeong Island, a westernmost spot that is far from the South Korean coast, but opposite the North Korean coast. The island is heavily militarized and within artillery fire range of North Korean coastal defenses, which lie across a narrow channel. The Cheonan, an ASW corvette, was decked out with state-of-the-art sonar, plus it was operating in waters with extensive hydrophone sonar arrays and acoustic underwater sensors. There is no South Korean sonar or audio evidence of a torpedo, submarine or mini-sub in the area. Since there is next to no shipping in the channel, the sea was silent at the time of the sinking.  However, Baengnyeong Island hosts a joint US-South Korea military intelligence base and the US Navy SEALS operate out of the base. In addition, four U.S. Navy ships were in the area, part of the joint U.S-South Korean Exercise Foal Eagle, during the sinking of the Cheonan. An investigation of the suspect torpedo’s metallic and chemical fingerprints show it to be of German manufacture. There are suspicions that the US Navy SEALS maintains a sampling of European torpedoes for sake of plausible deniability for false flag attacks. Also, Berlin does not sell torpedoes to North Korea, however, Germany does maintain a close joint submarine and submarine weapons development program with Israel. [...]"  Related: “Attack against South Korean ship looks like false flag operation”  Video clip   [1:12] 

China vow on Korea ship sinking [05/28/10] "Chinese PM Wen Jiabao says Beijing will not protect whoever was behind the sinking of a South Korean warship. [...]" 

China Signs $23 Billion Oil Deal With Nigeria [05/28/10] "China has signed a $23 billion deal with the new government of Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria to build three oil refineries and a petrochemical plant. Goodluck Jonathan came to power on May 6 after the death of the former president, Umaru Yar’Adua. The new government declared that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with China State Construction Engineering Corporation on May 13. The three refineries are to be built in Lagos, the commercial capital, in Kebbi state in the remote northeast, and Bayelsa, Jonathan’s home state within the Niger Delta. The refineries would have a combined capacity of 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), double the expected domestic demand of 450,000 bpd by the time they are due to be completed in five years. [...]"  

China vow on Korea ship sinking [05/28/10] "Chinese PM Wen Jiabao says Beijing will not protect whoever was behind the sinking of a South Korean warship. [...]" 

Kyrgyzstan as a Geopolitical Pivot in Great Power Rivalries F. William Engdahl [05/28/10] "Washington, Moscow, Beijing and the Geopolitics of Central Asia"  | Part 2: Kyrgyzstan’s "Rose Revolution": Washington, Moscow, Beijing and the Geopolitics of Central Asia Related: China and the Kyrgyz geopolitical future "Continuing with F. William Engdhal's analysis of what is playing out in this prize region, part two examines China's geopolitical interest regarding fellow SCO member Kyrgyzstan. Triggering the 2005 Tulip Revolution, inter alia, were the economic ties between the two countries which had grown too close for Washington's comfort. Today, China's economic strength remains its strongest asset in aiming not only to secure good relations with the new Kyrgyz government and consolidate its foothold in the country, but also to offset U.S. military presence in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, far too close for China's comfort! [...]"   

China's ex-police chief faces death [04/16/10] "A former Chinese police chief has been sentenced to death for a series of charges including rape, corruption and receiving more than $2 million in bribes. ..." 

China in better position to absorb the ‘shock' of a decline in US economic relations and still land on its feet [03/10/10] "The Obama regime's escalating provocations against China may come at a very high price. It would be unrealistic to assume that China will continue to remain impassive, absorbing territorial threats, economic pressures and gratuitous diplomatic insults without taking counter-measures especially in the economic sphere. China may decide to unload a large share of its US securities holdings, inducing other foreign investors to follow suit. Those who claim Chinese economic interests would suffer from such a sell off, overlook the fact that China is in a better position to absorb the ‘shock' of a decline in US economic relations and still land on its feet. ..."  Note: "US – China: Provoking the Creditor, Hugging the Holy man"

China battles increased desertification [02/23/10] VIDEO [2:59]  "One of the many climate issues being blamed on global warming is the expansion of deserts. The United Nations says drought could impact 70 per cent of the world's land over the next 15 years. In China, overgrazing, irrigation farming, and land degradation, combinded with drought, are turning more and more fertile land barren. But, as Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan reports from the Kubuqi Desert, China is launching a new project it hopes will stop the sand spreading. ..."   

China Dumping of T Bonds Has Begun; Japan now top US Treasury holder [02/17/10] "China's holdings of US Treasury bonds tumbled in December, allowing Japan to take over as the top holder of American government debt, according to Treasury data released Tuesday. ..."  Related: China cuts holdings in U.S. treasuries 

China v world as a trade war comes closer [02/16/10] "After a 17.7% jump in its exports in December, China passed Germany as the world’s largest exporter. A 15% increase in imports from China helped to drive the US trade balance to the unexpectedly high level of $40.2 billion, up from $36.4 billion a month earlier. Both the EU (imports from China up 10% in December) and the US reacted with import restrictions, the EU on shoes, the US on tyres. To which China responded by restricting imports of poultry and car parts from the US, and complaining to the WTO about the 16.5% anti-dumping tariff the EU has imposed on shoe imports from China.  ..."  

China surprises by raising banks’ required reserves [02/16/10] "China sprung a surprise on global markets on the eve of its New Year’s holiday with an increase in banks’ reserve requirements, a move that can slow bank lending and tamp down on rising inflation. Although investors had been expecting the People’s Bank of China to push the reserve requirement ratio higher after an increase last month, few thought the second rise would come so soon. Markets were rattled by fears that the pace of monetary tightening in China would be more aggressive than had been reckoned on, potentially denting global growth. Investors pulled back from riskier assets, buoying the dollar which rose 0.7 percent against a basket of currencies. Stocks fell, while European and U.S. bonds jumped. ..."   

Shortage of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation [02/15/10] "Rare earth elements hold the key to hybrid cars, wind turbines and crystal-clear TV displays."  Note:  They mostly come from China, which the US has alienated.

Goldman’s O’Neill Says ‘Something Brewing’ in China on Currency [02/15/10] "Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Economist Jim O’Neill said China may be poised to let its currency strengthen as much as 5 percent to slow the world’s fastest growing major economy. “I have a strong opinion that they’re close to moving the exchange rate,” O’Neill said in a telephone interview from London after China’s central bank told lenders on Feb. 12 to set aside larger reserves. “Something’s brewing. It could happen anytime.” Chinese policy makers are seeking to restrain credit growth after their economy grew the fastest since 2007 in the fourth quarter. Banks extended 19 percent of this year’s 7.5 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) lending target in January as property prices climbed the most in 21 months. Officials in Beijing have resisted allowing gains in the yuan, having controlled its value since July 2008 after it strengthened 21 percent against the dollar in the previous three years. The status quo has drawn criticism from foreign policy makers who say keeping the currency undervalued has handed China’s exporters an advantage and inflated asset bubbles. ..."   

China to Sell U.S. Assets [02/11/10] "Something big is happening in China which could have a huge effect on the American economy. On Tuesday, Reuters reported: Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country … possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan. Now, Asia Times is reporting: Dollar-denominated risk assets, including asset-backed ......"  Note: More info

Chinese scientists add to climategate [02/07/10] "Several Chinese scientists who have gone over the IPCC report believe that the IPCC may have overstated the link between global temperature and CO2 ..."   

Dalai Lama to meet Barack Obama as US relations with China worsen [02/06/10] "The sudden deterioration in US-Chinese relations is set to accelerate after the White House confirmed today that Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama in Washington later this month in defiance of Beijing. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, did not set a date, but the Dalai Lama's secretary has said he will be in Washington on 17 and 18 February. Beijing claims Tibet is part of China, views the Dalai Lama as a troublemaker and has lobbied firmly against the visit. Although other US presidents have met the Dalai Lama, China had hoped that Obama might adopt a different approach, given the enthusiasm with which he wooed Beijing last year. The controversial visit comes on top of a series of rows over the last few weeks in which relations between the US and China have taken a turn for the worse. Obama told US legislators on Wednesday that he will take a tougher line towards China over its huge US trade surplus. Other grievances include US plans to sell arms to Taiwan, the row with the leading search engine Google over alleged cyber attacks, and US disappointment at China's failure to support it over climate change at Copenhagen and on sanctions against Iran. ..."  

Beijing warns U.S. Obama against meeting with Dalai Lama [02/03/10] "Beijing warned the U.S. President Barack Obama that in case he decides to meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, during his visit to China this month relations between countries may deteriorate. ..."  Note: All this posturing between 'nation-groups' is so tedious. 

US ups pressure but China won't buckle on Iran issue [02/03/10] "The United States is strongly urging China to respond to its call to impose new sanctions on Iran, but Beijing has not succumbed to the pressure to turn against Tehran. ..."  Note:  China has no reason to comply.

Analysis: the worsening relationship between America and China [02/03/10] "A year ago, American hopes were high for a friendly relationship with China. But the White House seems unwisely to have raised expectations – the Chinese have been consistent in their unwillingness to change positions on key issues. ..."   Related: Inside Story - US - China relations VIDEO [24:00]  "Tact and diplomacy, a sign of mutual respect, and cautious optimism between an established superpower, and an emerging giant. They're two of the world's biggest economies and the world's two biggest polluters... Is China hoping to grow to match the United States' economic and military might? And can Washington succeed in gaining its biggest creditor, as an ally. ..."    

Out of slump-swamp: China a global economy 'prime mover'? [02/02/10] VIDEO [5:34] "Asian leaders say it's their part of the globe that will lead the world out of recession. Twenty one nations are participating in this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. As part of that Chinese leader Hu Jintao has put forward a four-point proposal to boost economic growth and revive the world economy. ..."   

CrossTalk: Obama takes on Chinese Red Dragon  [02/01/10] VIDEO [26:45]  "China has arrived in a big way. Peter Lavelle asks his guests whether the world should embrace China's rising or whether we should expect a major reordering of the international system. ..."  

GLOBAL PULSE: China - A Second Superpower [02/01/10] VIDEO [5:25]  "Obama makes a historic trip to China, stressing the importance of China as partner in economics and climate change. While media characterized the visit as a debtor treading lightly with its creditor, the reality of the trip may prove to be the emergence of another superpower.  ..."  Note: Compares how several countries portray an Obama visit to China.

Soros: "China Must Be Part Of The New World Order" [02/01/10] VIDEO [2:49] "In a recent interview Soros spills the beans, talks about the new world order and describes the current and future managed and well plot out destruction of the american dollar, all though he warns it might spin out of control." Note: Soros, himself a Jew, helped the Nazis kill other Jews in WWII. A real sequential piece of work, too. 

"Game Changer": China Plans to Open Military Bases Worldwide [02/01/10] "It has been speculated upon in open-source intelligence circles for years. So, there is little surprise for the rest of the world when it hears of China’s first major foray in its new role as a Superpower. Although Americans might be surprised. That is, if they even hear about it before the Juarez, Mexico base goes live. ..."  Note: This ought to be an interesting shift in the dynamic, especially because China holds so much US debt. Related:  China mulls setting up military base in Pakistan  | China, Iran Prompt U.S. Air-Sea Battle Plan In Strategy Review   "The U.S. military is drawing up a new air-sea battle plan in response to threats such as China’s persistent military build-up and..."   

What If China Collected on U.S. Debt? [02/01/10] VIDEO [2:49]  Note: Very informative clips.  Related: USA Will Not Repay $1 Trillion Debt To China [02/01/10] VIDEO [4:58]  "While all the talk is about gold bullion right now, silver is still a bargain and will be playing catch up very soon. China is dependant on buying USA's depreciating dollars so that it's own currency doesn't become more valuable- thus affecting export affordability. China is trying to hoard as much gold as it can because it knows that the US dollar is eventually going to crash. Luckily China is a huge producer of gold bullion.  ..."    Note: Interesting clip.    

U.S., China Are on Collision Course Over Oil [01/12/10] "A cursory look at the map of region will show that Yemen is one of the most strategic lands adjoining waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. It flanks Saudi Arabia and Oman, which are vital American protectorates. In effect, Uncle Sam is “marking territory” – like a dog on a lamppost. Russia has been toying with the idea of reopening its Soviet-era base in Aden. Well, the US has pipped Moscow in the race. The US has signaled that the odyssey doesn’t end with Yemen. It is also moving into Somalia and Kenya. With that, the US establishes its military presence in an entire unbroken stretch of real estate all along the Indian Ocean’s western rim. Chinese officials have of late spoken of their need to establish a naval base in the region. The US has now foreclosed China’s options. The only country with a coastline that is available for China to set up a naval base in the region will be Iran. All other countries have a Western military presence. (are western military puppet governments) ..."