Before Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang’s appointment to the top of the CPC, few noticed the changing signage on the streets of Beijing and around China. For decades the Communist Party has directed its people with slogans, placed on bridges, public transport, and various public locations.
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The Princeling Has No New Clothes
A new era has begun in China and arguably for the world, with the ascent of Xi Jinping to President of China, and the appointment of new Premier, Li Keqiang. Gone are the more autocratic and stiff character associations of former President Hu Jintao. Xi, like the country itself, is likely to walk taller and more comfortably on the international stage.
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European vs Asian integration: is China Asia’s Germany…and Japan its UK?
As Xi takes China’s reigns at the 2013 Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, it is worth a longer-term look at what might change in the region over his expected decade-long Presidency of the People’s Republic of China. In this commentary we do so comparatively, through the lens of regional changes underway in the European Union.
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A Tang Tied Future
China’s need to shift its growth model toward domestic consumption and innovation, and away from physical investment and export driven growth is increasingly common knowledge. For most in the West the idea an innovative China however is new, at least within their lifetimes.
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China’s Integrated Nuclear Energy Future
China is in the middle of a remarkable phase of nuclear power plant construction - unsurpassed in history. This is understandable given that nuclear energy is the only credible means of producing dozens of gigawatts of emission-free electric power capacity with high load factors.
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Myanmar: Between Powers
Myanmar is one of just four countries in the world to share a border with both of the world’s most populous countries, the others being Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. It is also a land passage through which the Indian Ocean is accessible to China without passing the choppy waters of the South China Seas or the Straits of Malacca.
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Are London and Hong Kong trading places?
Hong Kong lies strategically on China’s southeast coast, on the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea. Serving as a trading port for centuries, it was overseen from Beijing until the mid-19th. In 1842 China’s loss in the Opium Wars saw the area ceded to Britain. Under British administration and a favourable taxation regime, over the 20th century in particular Hong Kong was transformed into a thriving international business hub. The city grew to enjoy one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, amid a region that was still relatively poor. Until 1979 and for at least a decade thereafter main land China was impoverished, and largely cut off…
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North East Asia’s “Waterloo” in Gangnam
In 1974 the first Swedish pop band hit the English language Billboard Hit 100 with a cover of “Hooked on a Feeling”, by Blue Swede. The same year, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with their hit ‘Waterloo’.
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Socialist Scientists meet Social Scientists in China’s new Secret Seven
As a child I was enthralled by the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven. Led by Peter, and together with Janet, Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara, the seven would meet regularly to discuss local problems and adventures requiring their imagination and attention. Their headquarters was a garden shed, entry to which was protected by password and a badge marked SS.
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Here Xi Comes
Next week the US election and China's once-in-a-decade transition coincide. In China's case not only will the ruling Party anoint a new President and Premier, a new Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee, but furthermore will also replace a full 60-70% of China’s leadership. Little is known of the incoming line-up or their policies, with the exception of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, future Chinese President and Premier respectively.
