World viewpoints offers a quick look at how the international media reports developments in the world's biggest country and fastest growing economy.
Read and compare articles, opinions and analyses gathered from the best news sources around the globe.
3rd September 2010
Visiting big brother - Kim Jong-Il in China, Part II
“China held that all parties concerned should continue to actively work for peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula” -CRI
“Pyongyang may seek to shift the focus in any fresh negotiations away from its own nuclear disarmament and to broader demands, including an end to U.N. sanctions, a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War and broader international nuclear disarmament” -Reuters Canada
North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il made his second visit this year to China last week. In accordance to a policy of discretion between the two countries, the visit was not publicized until after it had concluded. Why was Kim in China?
27th August 2010
Is China's economy reflected in the mother of all traffic jams?
“Beijing's private cars are now kept off the roads one day a week according to their plate number. In addition, Beijing in April introduced staggered working hours to ease the traffic pressure.” -CRI
“China’s road network wasn’t intended for the level of motorization currently going on” Author Tom Vanderbilt in an interview with The Wall Street Journal
It used to be that everything was bigger and better in the United States, but traffic jams can now be cut from the list as Chinese motorists this and last week lined up to create a monster of a highway jam that, depending on the source, stretched 100 km and lasted more than ten days. Is road congestion another side-effect of China's headlong dash to prosperity?
20th August 2010
What next for China, the world's second biggest economy?
China was the second largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worldwide last year, following the US. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development predicted last month that the nation was on course to repeat the feat this year. - CRI
For all the hype about Chinese millionaires buying Mercedes cars and Louis Vuitton handbags, a country with a GDP of £2,500 per head is still a very long way from having a consumer base that can take the strains currently being put upon it by the global economy. - Daily Telegraph
China's economy surpassed Japan's for the first time in the second quarter of 2010, setting off a wave of excited comment on this momentous event around the world. Some revelled in the symbolism, others pointed out the insignificance of GDP compared to other economic measures, while still others preferred to dwell on the frailties displayed in the Chinese economy despite its startling growth.
12th August 2010
Gansu landslide – Natural or man-made disaster?
“[There are] several causes for Sunday's disaster: the county's loose, weathered terrain that is prone to landslides and other disasters; the massive earthquake of 2008 that shook the mountains around Zhouqu; the sustained drought and soil erosion in the region since last winter; and the torrential rain that lasted more than 40 minutes.” Minister of Land and Resources Xu Shaoshi on CRI
“Officials have warned for years that heavy tree-felling and rapid hydro-development were making the mountain area around Zhouqu more vulnerable to landslips, government reports show.” -The Guardian
In Zhouqu county of northwest China's Gansu province, at least 1,117 people died when a massive onslaught of mud and rocks engulfed their town over the weekend. Due to its mountainous location, Zhouqu has been known to be prone to landslides, but now reports pointing a finger at overdevelopment in the area are raising questions about who is really to blame for the tragedy, man or nature?
6th August 2010
TV language request sparks protests
"We made the proposal because one-third of Guangzhou's population came from elsewhere and their language preference should be also considered at the municipal TV station," said Han Zhipeng, a member of the committee. - CRI
Language policy (and language resentment) has been the dog that hasn't barked in China. Now it has barked meekly—twice. Both protests have been quite small. But this situation should be an interesting one to keep an eye on. - The Economist
Recent protests over the status of Cantonese have attracted the attention of the world's media. The protests broke out after a request from the People’s Political Consultative Conference in Guangzhou for local television stations to begin broadcasting part of their output in Mandarin.
