Menu
close
Anonymous.
AnonymousJust read a story on China's race for energy resources. The CNOOC (China National Overseas Oil Corp) just purchased a 45% stake in the Akpo fields. This 2.3 billion dollar Nigerian oil venture is the biggest overseas investment by Bejing since the CNPC (Chinas National Corp) took over Central Asia's PetroKazakhstan Inc. for 4.18 billion--the largest deal ever by a Chinese Corporation.
China has been desperately seeking fuel to power its fast growing economy.
India and China have been fierce rivals in the race for global energy resources, but last month they won a joint bid to buy stake in Syria's Al Furat oil fields for 573 million.
China is also keeping an eye on Russias trans-Siberian pipeline that will deliver 80million tons of oil a year--even though Japan looks to be the front-runner in getting access to it.
China and Japan also remain locked in bitter arguments over disputed claims over reserves in the East China Sea.
The Nigerian deal was seen as important to the CNOOCs global expansion plans--especially after failure to aquire U.S. Unical last year @ 18.5Billion. Some are concerned about the political and cultural risks for the Chinese who have no experience operating in Africa. Regardless, they feel they have no choice. China is the worlds most populous nation and is continuing it's near double-digit economic growth. They are already the world's biggest consumer of oil after the United States.
AnonymousThis is a related article taken from Radio National Australia. The discussion was on China becoming one of the worst polluters on the globe--as a result of its booming economy and insatiable demand for energy. As a result of demand outstripping supply, power outages are common in many Chinese cities. This is why the Chinese are scouring the world locking up energy supply contracts. Besides moving to improve efficiency of energy production and consumption,the Energy Foundation in China promotes renewable energy. The Foundation says a consensus has emerged in China to clean up its act. China has committed to reduce its energy consumption by 20%. They've also passed a renewable energy law to have 10% of all energy consumption to come from renewables by 2010. On the other hand, faced with growing demand for for energy, they've turned to traditional sources to meet the demand. Coal, is at record production levels. Change may be very slow as a result of this conflict--the environment-vs-the developing economy.
Anonymous1/10 there was a very interesting article in the LA Times on China's military cuts. I had no idea that China had more active-duty personnel (2,250,000) then the U.S. (we rank 2nd at 1,625,853---could it be the Iraq War, one might wonder?)
The Chinese Army has eliminated 200,000 jobs (9% of the service). By the end of 2006, China expects to have a 45% reduction. They make no secret of the reason, they want to create a more mobile force that is well trained in advanced weponry as a deterrent to Taiwanese independence.
They are getting rid of their least educated military personnel, and there is growing discontent over this issue by uniformed and retired military personnel---they are protesting (shades of democracy). China is extremely upset over these actions and has warned those taking part that they will be severly punished.
China is also concerned about the more educated people they are hiring, who were brought up in another generation and are used to having much more personal choice.
China wants the EU to end its ban on weapon sales, but they have not succeeded in this attempt. As of now, Russia is the primary supplier of weapons to Russia, but they will not share their most advanced weaponry, because they still consider China a rival.
AnonymousI am catching up on my reading: There was a great article 1/8 in the LA Times Business section on the home market in Shanghai. The housing market bubble has burst! Prices have ben slashed and real estate brokerages are closing thousands of offices. Anybody following the California market could learn a lot about what is happening in Shanghi. This has caused a significent slump in the Chinese economy. Shanghai accounts for 20% of the country's property value. Therre are about 1 million homes in Shanghai that are under construction. There is a presumption that the housing market will not bounce back quickley, and will indeed worsen. They feel a large part of the cause of this was due to speculation. I am reading that the same kind of speculation is going on in parts of the US, most notably FL and CA. They also put blame on the central government, because they have tried over the last year to quash excessive speculation and price increases, which killed the speculators, but hurt the housing market. Shanghai is very similar to the LA housing market because real estate drives our economy and theres. Thsi is an interesting topic to follow.
AnonymousIt is so interesting that in an article on China last week, that I posted on, it spoke of how China was cutting their militery by 45% by the end of the year. Now, in today's LA Times, we are informed that China is boosting their Paramilitary Police to 1 million. This group of police is called The people's Armed Police, or PAP for short. They are staffing it with decommissioned soldiers and officers (could it be some of the same uneducated soldiers they are getting out of the military?) This group is designed to deal with "sudden incidents", probally language for protesters, or those who follow the Falun Gong religion. It seems China is very worried about "large scale mass incidents", due to the growing problem of civil unrest. They accuse the West of spreading our values to splinter their country. According to the article, there is growing anger on several fronts in China: corruption, rich vs. poor, and groups that are identified as "enemies". It seems, according to Sharon Hom, the New York based Executive Director of Human Rights in China, that Beijing is not addressing the core problems that are causing the unrest, but rather strengthening their ability to deal with "problems" when they occcur.
AnonymousI absolutely agree that CA & FL are in this bubble that is about to burst. It is hard to convince fellow residents of this but we will see a similiar situation as to Shanghai -- thanks for bring this point up. We should watch what unfolds closely ... as teachers who would like to live where they teach we will have to prepare ourselves to jump on the coming slump!
AnonymousI absolutely agree that CA & FL are in this bubble that is about to burst. It is hard to convince fellow residents of this but we will see a similiar situation as to Shanghai -- thanks for bring this point up. We should watch what unfolds closely ... as teachers who would like to live where we teach, we will have to prepare ourselves to jump on the coming slump!
AnonymousYou're up late! 
Just got back from my Bordeaux tasting out in Bev. Hills. Imagine my surprize when while reading Conde Nast Traveler, I found myself reading about Red Red
Wine--made in China! Grace Vineyard is the only family owned boutique winery in China. It
is located in the central Shanxi Province. Evidently they make good whites, roses and reds.
The best bottle--a premium red--the "Chairmans Reserve" is a limited edition barrel -aged blend of Cab. , Cab. Franc, and Merlot--3 of the 5 most used varietals in Bordeaux! Coincidence?
[Edit by="scampbell on Jan 14, 2:26:50 AM"][/Edit]
AnonymousFor those doing a lesson plan on China, I ran accross a very interesting publication. It is called the CQ Researcher, and is a division of the Congressional Quarterly. It is a publication that comes out with one issue per month, on a single topic. While researching something else, I happened to come accross an issue on "Emerging China". It was published on 11/11/2005. If you can't find a copy of it in your school library, we here at West subscribe to it, and I am sure would be willing to share. It is pretty expensive, $700. a year. They do have a web-site, but I think you might have to be a subscriber. The web site is http://www.thecqresearcher.com. The tenor of the issue is: Can the United States succesfully compete? It would be great for one of the lesson plans I am proposing on China vs. the U.S. It also has an argument from 2 sides on "Does China present a technological challenge to the U.S.? I believe it is well worth the read.
AnonymousI can't wait to see your lesson plan. It sounds great, something I could use in both government and world history. 😀 In fact we just had an informal discussion of the US v. China in government last week.
Last year Newsweek came out with a "Special Report" issue on China and I saved it. Not in anticipation of our class but the World History China Unit. I will teach that unit for the first time next semester and I have the issue in my desk. I will make a copy of it for you. I think the articles are very "readable" for high school students.
AnonymousThe Chrysanthemum and the Sword is a book written by cultural anthropologist, Ruth Benedict, discussing Japanese culture. The book was written in 1946 and was translated into Chinese 16 years ago. It has become a bestseller; in 2005 it sold over 70 000 copies. It has sold more lately -- book is ranked 4th on the December 2005 best seller list. The author points to the strained relationship between Chian and Japan as the reason for its popularity.
AnonymousThe Chinese economy has garnered a lot of attention in the last decade. Chinese products have made their way into every market. Now a Chinese company has bought the unmistakenly classic American toys: Hula-Hoop, Frisbee and Silly String.
The LA Times reported 1/20/06 that the privately held Whan-O company had been sold to Cornerstone Overseas Investments for an undisclosed amount (asking price was $80 million and it was reported to be an all cash deal!). This was a Californain campany started in 1948.
The article discusses a key point. In the past, American companies outsourced manufacturing and distribution; now, the Chinese are buying established businesses and running it all themselves.
AnonymousYour Post got me wondering...Do you think that we will see an anti-china sentiment rise in the U.S. due to these acquisitions? I was thinking of what we saw in the early 1990's with Japan. I think that the feeling is already out there but the focus is more on globalization as a whole. I wonder if Americans are up to another demonizing of a foreign land? If we are then I think that purchases like this will help to fuel the fire. I guess I will have to wait and see.
AnonymousWell, it is interesting that in China this book is so popular since there is "internal angst in Japan over the growing 'China threat'". This quote is from an article in the Japan Times online 1/16/06 "Concern grows in Japan over Asia ties".
The article discusses the interview the Emperor of Japan gave on his 73rd birthday, December 23rd. In this discussion he called on Japan to "accurately understand its history at the end of a year that had been marked by severe criticisms of Japan from abroad for Tokyo's failure to atone for its militaristic past." The author speculates whether this is an indication of the Emperor being a "peacemaking mediator at a time when the Koizumi government is clashing diplomatically with Beijing, Seoul an Pyongyang."
Interesting stastistics are given from an October 2005 poll that 63% 9(of Japanses pooled) viewed China negatively and a shocking 71% felted that Sino-Japanese ties were "in poor shape". These were based on a small pool of 1,750 so it is dangerous to cite as a true reflection of the nation. But coupled with the concerns voiced from the Imperial house, anti-China and anti-Korean cartoons appearing in mainstream publications and the debates on social reforms and constitutional issues all point to brewing issues in East Asia.
This is a situation I have been ignorant to and claerly an important foreign issue to watch closely. As the cliche goes ... history repeats itself ... scary, really!
AnonymousHow about oil? It is in the news: China was not able to buy Unocal last summer, but it is now trying to secure overseas oil reserves. China like the US isi one of the two biggest consumers of crude oil. china is thinking of of obtaing a stake in Kazakhstan. They have already taken control of PetroKazakhstan, and China and India just teamed up to purchase Petro-Canada's stake in Syrian oil fields. China also put together a consortium to purchase oil assets in Ecuador. China's statement: "Wherever there's oil, that's where we'll go." This is the only way China feels it can continue it's strong economic growth.