BEIJING: One of the first things newcomers to doing business in China learn is the importance the Chinese place on seating arrangements at the dining table.
The recent Congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission accuses China of building cyber warfare capaibility. (which nation is not), and that China is using prison labour to manufacture products for export (wonder what % of China's export labour are from the prison). China is not using trade surplus to build schools and top up the pension funds and that China is using it's trade surplus to influence foreign government. This accusation is valid for the US but not China, as even lay person marvel at the amount of schools and infrastructure China is building. While the US pension system is almost bankrupt.
It goes to show the hidden or real attitude of the US towards China.
Chinese demonstrate maturity in understanding all these "face value" work. The problem is with some overseas Chinese that still don't get it. Wonder how much some overseas Chinese really "understand the west", although many master the English language better than the Chinese language.
Well, it's a change from the usual nettling treatment but it'll be silly to get carried away. As the Chinese have pointed out themselves, large reserves are also matched by really big problems and potential problems. Above all, you don't need to find validity through fishing for approval from others.
Hope the Chinese leaders are smart enough not to be carried away by all these. There is still a lot to be done back home and charity begins at home. Unlike some governments who have pumped billions into the US to support overly-paid American workers so that they can continue to have their obscene lifestyle at the expense of the rest of the poorer world.
Countries are governed by self-interest, and that includes China.
I agree with the Chinese netizens who claim that they need to save their country first. Despite all that Chinese economic clout, China has lots internal problems to solve - the wide income gap between farmers in the rural areas and the rich in the cities, between provinces (eg. between Guizhou and Guangzhou), the rebuilding after the earthquake in SiChuan etc.
But despite Chinese pride or ego, China's economy still depends on the US economy. Recent happenings in China clearly reveal this, such as Chinese factories shutting down as US demand for their products drops. Even Chinese officials have revealed that unemployment in China would rise, following the US subprime crisis. In fact, Hu most probably realises the importance of the US to China, that Hu went to the US to meet Obama(not the other way round) to talk about US-China relations, soon after Obama was elected as the next US president.
So what constitutes Chinese interest? that's the question.
#6
Thank you for your enlightening as I understand very well now that why Singapore leaders including MM, SM, and PM always go to China.
And the recently signed FTA after years of delay due to political hicups is to whose benifits?
#6
After centuries of colonial exploitation of the rest of the world, it is not inconceivable that the bulk of the world's wealth are still being held by the Western nations especially the US. Hopefully, the rest of the world are able to develop internally and not continue to throw good money into the US and will continue to be dependent on their consumers.
#7
The British have their mad-cows, the US their tainted bottled spring water and exaggerated beneficially food products, the Japanese their expired and recycled sushi and so on. So, what's the difference? What is there to be proud of? Is it because the western-controlled media did'nt play them up unlike anything and everything that comes from China?
Actually, I thought there was a lot of Western media coverage for the British mad-cows too. Until now, I still check the labels on the beef I buy, just to make sure they are not from Britain.
November 24, 2008 Monday, 05:34 AM
