Month: July 2012

  • Bill Bishop: Is power use still a proxy for Chinese economy?

    “So is electricity consumption no longer the reliable proxy for Chinese economic activity that it once was?” That’s the question posed by Bill Bishop at Sinocism today, following on reports that power consumption data in some sectors were inflated, and a new article from Caixin (Chinese version), in which some analysts argue the economy is…

  • China News Update, July 5, 2012 – U.S.–China ties, South China Sea

    Today’s news opens with a speech July 5 in Hong Kong by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, a key figure in Chinese relations with the United States. The speech calls for “building a new type of relationship between major countries here in the Asia-Pacific,” a key Hu Jintao phrase from the Strategic and Economic…

  • China News Update for July 1, 2012 – U.S.–China relations and South China Sea update

    The first set of links are on things other than the South China Sea. The second set are devoted to that ongoing issue. See also my new post on the Global Times referring to the South China Sea as one of China’s “core interest.” The People’s Daily reported that preparations are on track for the…

  • 'Global Times' calls South China Sea a 'core interest'

    The nationalist-leaning state-controlled newspaper Global Times on its English-language website Sunday made what might be a significant statement in the ongoing Chinese dispute with Vietnam and the Philippines, among others, in the South China Sea. In an unsigned opinion piece, the paper states: As to China, it is not interested in being involved in frequent…