Prepare for more serious flooding of Huaihe River: Chinese Premier

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L, front) visits soldiers at a stone storing site at Huaihe River dike, east China's Anhui Province, July 24, 2010. Wen Jiabao Saturday visited Anhui Province to inspect the flood control operations along the Huaihe River. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

HEFEI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has told local authorities to be fully aware of the "grave flood-control situation" and to prepare for more serious flooding of the Huaihe River, the third longest waterway in China.

Wen made the remarks during an inspection tour in east China's Anhui Province on July 24 after concluding an inspection of flood control operations along the Yangtze, China's longest river, in Hubei Province.

Water levels on the Huaihe's main stream and tributaries have risen above the warning levels after extensive heavy rains in the river's upper reaches this month.

Although water levels have dropped in recent days, weather forecasters are predicting more heavy rain along the river and areas to its south in the next two days.

CHINAsia Update 15

CHINAsia Update 15 is out and can be downloaded here:
http://sites.google.com/site/chinasiaupdate/magazine/issue-15

Our focus for this issue is Nepal is waiting for its Constitution

Some key articles are:
- Prime Minister of Nepal Agrees to Resign
- Nepal’s young lawmakers want more say in constitution drafting
- Thailand: Arson in Bangkok, protests spread to other provinces
- Thoughts of a Buddhist Monk on Conflict and Peace in Sri Lanka

Bridging the China-India gap

A recent survey conducted by Beijing-based Horizon Research, though by no means comprehensive, should sound alarms that China and India need to do more to deepen mu- tual understanding, especially at the people-to-people level. According to the survey, 45 percent of Chinese view India favorably, while 43 percent of Indian respondents view China as a partner. More disturbingly, most Chinese still perceive India, along with the US and Japan, as posing the most threat to China.

Findings about whether Indians perceive China as a threat are unavailable. But there is ample evidence that a consider- able number of Indians do consider China a threat. Suspicion and even hostility toward China also run rampant in Indian society.

The plight of Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh offers an immediate example of this judgment. No sooner had he made some remarks in favor of China during his visit to Beijing earlier this month than the Indian official came under immediate attacks from his own countrymen.

The common practice of India applying stricter terms on imports from China than from Western countries also bears witness to the country’s distrust of its neighbor to the north. Many Chinese experts believe trade protectionism is behind India’s suspension of importing telecom equipment from Apparently, there is a huge gap between how our two coun- tries are perceived by each other and how our two countries wish to be treated.

Due to issues left over from history, the bond between our two peoples is not as close as it was in the Mao-Nehru era. In recent years, the two largest developing countries have both undergone profound social changes while coping with the changing international situation. The West-dominated media machine has also amplified disputes and fuels rancor be- tween us. All that has sowed the seeds of misunderstanding and estrangement.

Beijing and New Delhi vowed to push bilateral ties to a new high while marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations last month. More people-to- people level exchanges should be conducted to expand mutual understanding, update our knowledge about each other and improve our perceptions.

The two countries also should tackle their differences in a more constructive and forward-thinking way.

It is in our two peoples’ interests to forge a friendly relation- ship featuring robust trade ties and deeper political trust. Only when the two Asian giants feel a genuine closeness between them will the world treat our two nations with more awe and respect. - Wang Hui /China Daily

Chinese Ambassador Qiu guohong Attends the Inaugura- tion Ceremony of Nepal-China Friendship Center

On March 24, 2010, Mr. Qiu Guohong, Ambassador of
the People’s Republic of China to Nepal attended the In-
auguration Ceremony of Nepal-China Friendship Center.
Together with Mr. Bajracharya, the Chairman of the
Nepal-China Friendship Center and all the members, as
well as the distiguished guests from Nepal, the Ambas-
sador expressed his congratulations and hope for the
newly-established center as an NGO to promote people-
to-people exchange and cooperation between China and
Nepal.

Reacting to Climate Change: Vision, Action Plans & Media Involvement

BEIJING, April 8 (China Daily )The 2010 ANN Annual Meeting and Asia Forum co-organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network was held at the Kempinski Hotel, Beijing on April 8th.

The forum covered progress on battle against climate change in Asia. It was joined by top Chinese environment officials and their international counterparts, business leaders and chief editors of 21 leading newspapers in 19 Asian countries.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world today. Asia, as the fastest developing and the most populated region, will need to respond appropriately to this greatest challenge.

After the Copenhagen meeting, the role of Asia will be one of the most important in deciding how the world will develop. How will Asian governments act in building a sustainable and energy efficient society? What will Asian companies do in meeting the challenges and develop a sustainable model? What roles should the media play in building a more environmental friendly world?

The conference was not only a gathering of government officials, business people, academics and media to share their works and ideas with 120 participating audience, but will serve as the start of a series of efforts to promote united actions against climate change which Asia has a crucial role to play. Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 newspapers in 18 Asian countries, hopes to be pivotal in this endeavor.

The conference is designed to share knowledge of climate change trends among Asian countries and the future of green Asia, look at the policies and action plans, and efforts from the various organizations.

Edited by: Ingmar Zahorsky / CHINAsia Update Reacting to Climate Change: vision, Action Plans & Media Involvement

Earthquake rocks Tibet

Yushu ,Tibetan Autonomous Province APR 14 - On April 14, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Yushu County of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province, causing huge casualties and losses of property. The quake so far has left at least 2000 dead, 294 missing, 11,486 injured, 15,000 residential buildings toppled and 100,000 residents to be relocated.

Most dwellings in the region collapsed due to the poor con- struction of the tenement-style mud-and-timber houses that most Tibetan’s in the region live in.

The Chinese President Hu Jintao cut short a trip to South America and traveled to the disaster site to console the surviving victims.

Many international aid agencies pledged to send supplies and mergency teams into the region to support the Chinese aid workers already in place.

Hundreds of monks and nuns were led by the Dalai Lama in prayer in Dharamsala, India. The exiled Tibetan leader ex- pressed a desire to travel to affected region which he has not visited for over 50 years. - Edited by Ingmar Zahorsky / CHINAsia Update

Shanghai Expo to be platform for world to know China better

by Li Xueqing Wee Song Ying

SHANGHAI, March 27, 2010 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on
March 26, 2010 shows the bird’s-eye view of the Expo
Park at night in Shanghai, east China. The Expo Park
will be put into trial operation in the end of April.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Expo 2010 Shang- hai China is expected to reflect today’s real picture of China’s economic development and national strength and help rectify the wrong perception others have on it.

Koong Heng Sze, chairman of the coordination committee of Malaysia’s Seven Clan Associations, told Xinhua here on Wednesday that the expo could serve as a platform for for- eigners to gain better understanding about China.

Koong, who was invited by China to join the grand event in May, said that China has been involved in international affairs all these while and can certainly contribute to globalization. He also said that besides promoting economic and trade development under the concept of “prosper thy neighbor”, China can also drive the world towards building a peaceful and harmonious society.

Formed in 2002, the coordination committee of Malaysia’s Seven Clan Associations is tasked to coordinate operations of seven Malaysian clan association and protect their rights and benefits.

During the interview, Koong said that he was proud for being invited to visit the expo by China.

He said that after a few decades of development and con- tinued opening-up, China has achieved much in terms of economic development, creating excitement among many overseas Chinese.

Koong said that a few Chinese associations in Malaysia, including the Associated Chinese Chambers of Com- merce, Federation of Chinese Associations, Malaysia-China Friendship Association and Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce,will organize group trips to the expo.

Each delegation is believed to comprise 80 to 100 delegates, added Koong.

Themed “Better City, Better Life”, many pavilions at the expo focus much on going green, emphasizing elements such as energy efficiency, water conservation and carbon-free. Koong said the Chinese pavilion at the expo, which highlights being environmental friendly, showed that China is actively pursuing the environment agenda drawn by the United Na- tions.

As China has put in much effort to develop green technology, Koong hoped that the Chinese associations in Malaysia could bring back the relevant knowledge from China.

Meanwhile, Koong said that the business community in Ma- laysia would actively search for business opportunities dur- ing the expo, pushing the bilateral trade between China and Malaysia further upwards.

On people-to-people interaction, Koong said that the coordi- nation committee would look into the feasibility to cooperate with the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia to arrange for student visits to the expo.

The returning students from the expo could share their experi- ence with Malaysians of other races, raising their understand- ing about China, added Koong.

Geithner’s dash on yuan

If you think United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithn- er’s impromptu visit to Beijing will give a clear picture of where the renminbi rate will go, think again. It only adds to the unpredictability of China’s currency.

Few are expecting that his visit will produce any immedi- ate breakthroughs on China’s currency policy. On the other hand, as economic relations between the two countries mend following Washington’s step back from naming China as a currency manipulator, Geithner’s visit does offer hope that the two sides might be reaching a common understanding on China’s currency policy.

Due to domestic concerns over the impact of a hasty appre- ciation on both the trade sector and the overall economy, the Chinese government has insisted on keeping the renminbi stable at a balanced and reasonable level.

A key message for the US treasury secretary is that if China is to change its currency policy, these domestic problems must be properly addressed first.

In other words, the pace of domestic adjustment will largely determine whether China will let the renminbi appreciate and how fast it does so.

The recent easing in Sino-US economic ties also indicates that the US government has recognized how unproductive it was in politicizing the exchange rate issue.

Hence, another message for Geithner is that if the US wants to see a speedy change in China’s currency policy, it actually has a lot to do before blaming the renminbi for all of its eco- nomic woes once more.

A rapid appreciation of the Chinese currency will not only cause a loss in the value of China’s foreign exchange re- serves but also incur undesirable fluctuations in the global commodities markets.

One obvious way to minimize, if not avoid, such conse- quences will require the US to open its door wider for Chinese importers and investors.

Can Geithner take that message home quickly? - China Daily

China power consumption in January grows by 40pct

Xinhua quoted the National Energy Administration said in a statement that China electricity consumption in January 2010 grew 40.14% YoY to 353.1 billion kilowatt hours.

The NEA said the electricity con- sumption volume was 2.7% higher than that in December 2009. Con- sumption in the primary industry sector topped 7 billion kWhs last month up by 23.5%YoY.

Secondary industry consumption rose 45.99% to 262.4 billion kWhs and the tertiary sector demand was up 25.61% to 39.8 billion kWhs.

According to the statement resi- dential power use rose 25.9% to 44 billion kWhs. - Xinhua