Chinese Economics Thread

[solarz]

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The next target in the struggle to stamp out ivory trade and its debilitating effect on elephant populations across Africa is the European Union (EU).

A petition

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has called on the EU—the world’s largest exporter of legal ivory—to close its thriving market. Advocacy groups suggest that while ivory trade is legal within the EU, it could also be fueling poaching. “Europe has become both a destination and transit hub for illegal ivory,” says Bert Wander, campaign director of Avaaz, a global advocacy group.

In the past year, the push to curtail ivory trade has recorded some success, especially in Asia where demand has been historically high. China, the world’s largest importer of ivory, finally

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in Dec. 2017 and, the following month,

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Both decisions are crucial to the future of Africa’s elephant populations as trade in China alone accounts for deaths of up to 30,000 elephants per year on the continent. Overall, elephant populations across the continent have declined: an

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pegged the elephant population at just over 350,000, a sharp drop from the 1.3 million population in 1979. To survive, researchers believe elephants in Africa are

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in parks where they remain protected by strict anti-poaching laws. One of those is Chobe National Park in northern Botswana. The southern African nation has become a safe haven for elephants and now accounts for a third of the continent’s elephant population. Since 1995, the elephant population in Botswana is believed to have risen by over 30,000.

The argument to end the trade in the EU is driven by a need to totally eliminate possible destinations for poachers and merchants who continue to circumvent laws around hunting and ivory trade. “The reason the EU must close the trade is because China has closed that avenue.” Tshekedi Khama, Botswana’s environment minister says. “If we can close the main exit areas then we are going to be a lot more successful than we are.”

For all this time, western media has portrayed China as a devastator of the environment and a new colonial power in Africa. Turns out, China voluntarily banned ivory trade while EU continues to allow it.

 

[AssassinsMace]

The hypocrisy is not surprising. Most of the world's human caused near extinct or extinct species were because of the West. Many of it from big-game trophy hunting. They mock Chinese medicinal beliefs but the whole idea of big game trophy hunts is thinking your penis is bigger killing such animals.

Look at animals rights tactics these days. Westerners eat more meat per person and kill more animals for food every year than the rest of the world combined. And their culturally picky and wasteful of what parts of the animal they eat. Just imagine the amount of waste because they're picky. They're always dictating appropriate eating practices but notice how they don't adapt to eating the parts of animals they throw away so that many more animals aren't killed to feed their gluttonous lives.

Because US animal rights activists get so much back-lash from Americans, their new tactic is to exploit American racism and ethnocentrism and concentrate on foreign eating practices in order to gain support for their cause. No more practicing what you preach. They're so twisted in their logic that they made themselves believe when they kill animals it's all right because they kill humanely. Ask the animal they're about to kill if they think it's humane. Oh but they're so in tune with what's good in the universe, they think they speak up for those that don't have a voice...

 

[Jura The idiot]

now I read
China to recycle waste from Pacific countries
Xinhua| 2018-03-21 14:15:06

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The China Navigation Company (CNCo) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment (SPREP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to address critical waste management issues in Pacific islands.

Known as the "Moana Taka Partnership", this MoU allows for CNCo vessels to carry containers of recyclable waste from eligible Pacific island ports, to be sustainably treated and recycled at suitable ports in the Asia-Pacific.

"This historic partnership will be of great benefit to our Pacific islands, and one for which we are very appreciative to The China Navigation Company," said director general of SPREP Kosi Latu.

"Our Pacific islands face an immense waste management challenge. With many geographical limitations, the Moana Taka Partnership can help us address the problem of taking our recyclable waste off island for proper recycling. This is a great step, or shall we say paddle, in the right direction."

A total of 21 countries are eligible for these opportunities, including American Samoa, Cook Islands, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.

CNCo managing director James Woodrow, said, "China Navigation has provided sustainable shipping solutions to the Pacific islands for 80 years.

He said they stepped in as the communities in the Pacific islands were facing pressing environmental challenges.

Woodrow said there was a critical need for sustainable waste management in the region, and they worked urgently with the SPREP and UN Environment to put this partnership in place.

Under the agreement, Pacific island countries who have insufficient or inappropriate landfill space to store waste, have inadequate waste treatment facilities, and the financial inability to ship recyclable waste are eligible for this opportunity.

The types of materials that are considered recyclable include plastics, aluminium cans, waste oil and ozone depleting substances.

"Better waste management is absolutely critical for Pacific island nations. Landfills should be the last option and throwing it all in the ocean is not an option. We need to innovate, and this kind of public-private partnership is the way forward. Only when we work together can we overcome one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time," said executive director of UN Environment Erik Solheim.

 

[manqiangrexue]

China takes down Japan in number of international patents filed and races to number 2 position close behind the USA.

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China expected to take the crown in 3 years give or take a little. Huawei and ZTE (China) hold the top spots for tech patents, with Intel coming in at third.

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[Jura The idiot]

now I read
China toughens supervision on third-party payments
2018-03-21 18:28 GMT+8

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China's third-party payment companies may face intensified competition as regulators step up oversight of the industry to prevent financial risks.

Agricultural Bank of China announced in a recent notice that it would cut off the payment channel for Internet finance businesses such as peer-to-peer lending, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported.

The move followed a series of penalties levied at banks and online payment companies, which analysts said were aimed at curbing risks arising from direct clearance agreements between them.

Last week, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website that it has fined China Minsheng Bank's Xiamen branch and Pingan Bank for violations of rules concerning clearing management, management of yuan settlement accounts, and management of payment services by non-financial institutions.

In 2017, the central bank made 109 penalty decisions against third-party payment companies, tripling the number in 2016.

China's third-party mobile payment market has been growing rapidly in recent years with key players such as Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay dominating the industry.

While such platforms have offered consumers an alternative to bank payment channels at lower transaction costs, the rapid expansion has also led to financial risks, which regulators are determined to rein in.

Facing tighter scrutiny at home, many payment companies have chosen to expand their business overseas. Alipay, for example, has expanded into over 27 countries and regions.

 

[Jura The idiot]

now I read
World eagerly awaits China's response to US trade tariffs
2018-03-22 08:37 GMT+8

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US-China trade tension concerns will likely sit high on the agenda at the upcoming Boao Forum for Asia, as government heads, academia and business leaders gather to meet and discuss issues under the theme "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity."

The last thing that will contribute to common prosperity is a full-fledged trade war, which could ultimately be the case if China unleashes similar tariffs to the ones imposed by the US on solar panels washers, steel and aluminum.

Tough gesturing and real action from US president Donald Trump aimed at leveling a "tilted" playing field in trade relations with China has since emerged as the biggest uncertainty in the global market, keeping investors on their toes.

Such tit-for-tat reaction at present seems less than likely. China has so far taken a measured response to the threat of US protectionism, showing restraint in retaliating against US tariffs and repeatedly urging its second largest trade partner to act rationally.

Even as Trump professes to use all possible tools to assert pressure on China, Beijing has stood firmly behind its stance that both sides lose out in a trade war, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressing that the term “war”, used in association with trade, defeats the very purpose and principles of commerce.

What might China do to soothe Trump’s rage?

Beijing has already pledged to continue to open its gates to the world upon the 40th anniversary of the opening-up and reform policy. Newly-elected vice premier Liu He, then still holding a more discreet economic adviser role to President Xi Jinping, said that China in the coming year would move to enhance market access to finance sectors, further expand on imports, and push for a negative list – lists of exceptions to unlimited market access barring only specific companies and sectors from the Chinese market, instead of a more sweeping term. They also pledged to grant national treatment to all other foreign firms.

The trade deficit with China, currently at 284 billion US dollars, according to China’s figures – and at 375 billion dollars by US tallies, is at the core of Trump’s argument that China is not a fair player on the global stage, with policies that make it easier for China to sell to the world and for the world to export to China.

Another often wielded argument by Trump is that China’s joint venture polices require foreign firms to transfer technology to its local partners in exchange for market access. But the question has already been addressed. Premier Li Keqiang stated that the nation is adamant in further opening the market, and giving foreign enterprises an equal footing. Last November, China lifted a policy that restricted foreign companies from taking a controlled stake in electric auto joint ventures, has consistently cut red tape to give foreign banks a better footing, and recently promised to give foreign companies a level playing field to invest in and provide payment services.

The world jitters at Trump’s every fist shake towards China, anxiously waiting to see whether a threatened 60-billion-US-dollar package will materialize by the end of the week, and if so, whether China can still demonstrate its even-minded composure in the event of such a blow.

And while the world’s second largest economy now has a plethora of instruments at its disposal, from large imports of US soybean, orders of Boeing aircraft, cars and Apple devices, to halting purchases – or even selling off US treasury bonds, China has refrained from resorting to any remedial measures just yet.

The question hangs as TV pundits and economists try to assuage the spreading fear that the world will find itself caught in a trade war between the largest developed and developing nation, saying that we can only expect that both nations will remain sensible.

 

[Jura The idiot]

now I read
Feature: China's skilled workers incentivized to succeed
Xinhua| 2018-03-24 09:04:28

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Car painter, Jiang Yingcheng, has joined the exclusive club of "super technicians," the youngest person in east China's Zhejiang Province ever to do so.

The honorary title will give the young assembly-line worker the same status and benefits as an engineer with a doctorate. At the 44th World Skills International in 2017 in Abu Dhabi, Jiang won the car-painting championship.

"Receiving the title is a great honor and a greater responsibility. It encourages me to devote myself to my work, to improve my skills and pass them on to other skilled workers," Jiang said, who also teaches at Zhejiang Technician College.

Jiang is lucky. He has a rare talent. A shortage of skilled workers is a long-term problem for China, but things are starting to change.

SERIOUS IMBALANCE

As a key aspect of the "Made in China 2025" manufacturing upgrade, China is expanding its pool of skilled workers. On Thursday a guideline was issued on incentivizing skilled workers through their political status, incomes and social benefits.

China has an employed population of 776 million, of which a mere 165 million are skilled, and less than a third of those count as "highly-skilled," about six percent of the entire workforce.

"There is a serious skills imbalance between demand and supply in the labor market," said Lu Aihong of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

"We need more skilled workers and improving their conditions and wages are just two of the ways to inspire them," he said.

Skilled workers have long been long undervalued, with low incomes, little job security and low social status. The guideline encourages enterprises to draft incentive plans in career development and salaries to motivate technical personnel.

CREATIVITY, STATUS, RESPECT

The Made in China 2025 strategy is characterized by a switch from low-end manufacturing to more value-added production, with a focus on emerging industries. That calls for more highly skilled industrial workers.

In some job fairs in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, salaries as high as 20,000 yuan (about 3,200 U.S. dollars) a month are on offer, but qualified technicians are simply not there.

China is expected to face a shortage of around 3 million skilled workers by 2020, and the gap will expand to 4.5 million by 2025.

Vocational education is the key to the cultivation of these workers.

Xing Hui, director of the National Academy of Education Administration vocational education center, believes that methods and curricula in vocational schools should be employment-oriented.

"We need integration between industry and education. Vocational schools should work closely with enterprises in nurturing talent," Xing said.

In February, the Ministry of Education released a guideline on cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises. Enterprises are encouraged to offer internships and invest in training.

"Incentives inspire creativity. Higher status and incomes bring respect," said Lu.

 

[Franklin]

US asks China not to implement ban on foreign garbage

The United States asked China on Friday not to implement a ban on imports of scrap materials, after the world’s top scrap buyer abruptly shut the door to many types of waste, throwing the global recycling industry into turmoil.

China told the World Trade Organisation last July that it would stop accepting shipments of rubbish such as waste plastic and paper as part of a campaign against “foreign garbage”.

The US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries said at the time that the ban would devastate an industry that supported 155,000 jobs and had exported scrap worth US$5.6 billion to China in 2016.

The United States raised concerns about the ban, and a subsequent revision of standards for a variety of scrap metals, at the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods on Friday.

“China’s import restrictions on recycled commodities have caused a fundamental disruption in global supply chains for scrap materials, directing them away from productive reuse and towards disposal,” a US representative told the meeting, according to a trade official in Geneva.

[A worker dismantles electronic waste at the government-sponsored recycling park in the township of Guiyu, Guangdong Province, China, on January. Photo: Reuters]

The United States recognised China’s environmental concerns but Beijing’s approach seemed to be having the opposite effect to what was intended, and its rules had changed far too quickly for industry to adjust, the US representative told the meeting.

China seemed to be breaching its WTO obligations by treating domestic and foreign waste differently and employing an excessively trade-restrictive policy, the US official said.

“We request that China immediately halt implementation and revise these measures in a manner consistent with existing international standards for trade-in scrap materials, which provide a global framework for transparent and environmentally sound trade-in recycled commodities.”

Trump tariffs imposed ‘because China pledges didn’t convince US’

The European Union’s representative at the meeting said China’s policy would force scrap to be diverted to third countries which may not have facilities for safe recycling, or to landfill or incineration, causing environmental damage.

The EU also questioned the science behind China’s ban, while several countries said they appreciated China’s goal but were not convinced about how it was trying to get there.

China’s representative agreed to take the comments into account but said that every country had a responsibility to dispose of its waste, and with its large population China was obliged to restrict imports of waste while cleaning up at home.

“China is seeking a path towards harmonisation of man and nature,” the trade official quoted China’s delegate as saying.

The dispute over scrap comes amid increased concerns of a full-blown trade war between the United States and China.

US President Donald Trump this week signed a memorandum targeting up to US$60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs over what his administration says is misappropriation of US intellectual property but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published.

Trump has also announced steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the United States.

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[Jura The idiot]

now I read

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·

Experts say trade war a “lose-lose ” game

International

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experts and media called Trump’s trade philosophy as “weird and absurd” to back tariffs on Chinese goods and warned of a “lose-lose” game that would jeopardize world economy and damage low-income

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consumers.

Timothy Taylor, American economist and author of the best-selling author, told FTChinese that trade conflicts are “lose-lose” games and both sides are going to take losses.

He argues that the benefit of protectionism doesn’t help the ordinary people. Those with low-income levels often are the ones who benefit most from being able to buy goods and services from all over the world. So those people will suffer greatly from limited trade.

“When you look at poor people in the United States and what they buy, they benefit enormously from less expensive Chinese goods. ” he said.

“He (Donald Trump) is still in the formation of the will, if he has long been pursuing politics.” wrote Olaf Gersemann, business editor of the German national newspaper Die Welt in an editorial published on the newspaper’s website.

He argues that Trump’s decision to exclude the EU, South Korea and other countries from import tariffs only hours before imposing punitive tariffs on Chinese imports is difficult to understand. “Once again, the U.S. President acts arbitrarily and remains indifferent to current commercial law.”

DRadio, German public radio broadcaster reports that experts believe that if China, the world’s second-largest

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, is impacted by punitive tariffs, so will Germany who has close economic ties with

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.

The German newspaper "NeueOsnabrueckerZeitung" wrote that taking aim at China's alleged theft of US intellectual property, Trump is actually giving EU a helping hand. However, in a potential trade war aiming China as the biggest enemy, the EU wouldn’t offer a helping hand.

The World Trade Organization chief warned states Friday that creating barriers to international trade would "jeopardize the global economy," after Washington slapped steep tariffs on Chinese imports, heightening fears of a trade war.

"Disrupting trade flows will jeopardize the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement, calling for "restraint and urgent dialogue."

The business tycoon-turned president of the US wants the trade deficit with China to be reduced by 100 billion US dollars immediately, which, according to Chen Zhao – chief strategist of Alpine Macro, is totally unrealistic.

Chen Zhao, who spent 23 years at Canada-based BCA Research, denounced the White House trade philosophy as weird and absurd. "They judge whether you are a friend or foe. Economically speaking, by looking at whether a country runs trade surplus or deficit with the United States, this is nonsense because trade brings in comparative advantage. This is a basic economic one-on-one," he noted, expressing his concern that the White House trade policy staff may plunge the US economy into a messy downward spiral.

 

[Jura The idiot]

now I read
China's big data exchange attracts over 2,000 members
Xinhua| 2018-03-24 15:30:11

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The Global Big Data Exchange (GBDE) based in southwest China's Guizhou Province has attracted over 2,000 members, according to the Big Data Development Administration of Guizhou Province.

The members come from over 20 industries including finance, telecommunications, information technology and media. They exchange and trade data-related assets and services at the GBDE.

The GBDE, the first of its kind in the world, started operations in April 2015. Headquartered in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, the GBDE also has two operation centers in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as 11 transaction service centers across China.

Its tradable data capacity has exceeded 150 petabytes, and the transaction value had topped 120 million yuan (19 million U.S. dollars) as of October 2017.