Commentary: Leadership in Asia, competition for a liberal world order

channelnewsasia
Beijing is determined to shape a global order in which its interests are respected because of its disproportionate power relative to its neighbours, says James R Keith.

 
What will a new global order look like, from China’s perspective? (Photo: AFP/Karim Jaafar)

WASHINGTON: The essential question of leadership in Asia comes into focus as we reflect on China’s ambitious aspirations enunciated at the 19th Communist Party Congress and on the heels of President Donald Trump’s long trek through Asia this month. Tiếp tục đọc “Commentary: Leadership in Asia, competition for a liberal world order”

China lays out three-point plan to ease Rohingya crisis

South China Morning Post

Beijing on more proactive tack in the region with offer to Bangladesh and Myanmar, observers say

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 19 November, 2017, 10:50pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 19 November, 2017, 11:26pm

China has offered to help Bangladesh and Myanmar resolve the Rohingya crisis, a move Chinese analysts said reflected Beijing’s more proactive and conciliatory tack on regional affairs.

Arriving in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw on Sunday after a stop in Bangladesh, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said the international community must help fight poverty and promote development in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Tiếp tục đọc “China lays out three-point plan to ease Rohingya crisis”

PM: Việt Nam attaches importance to relations with China

Update: November, 12/2017 – 23:28

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (right) receives General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping in the central city of Đà Nẵng on November 11. — VNA/VNS Photo
Viet Nam News ĐÀ NẴNG — The Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and the Vietnamese Government treasure the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, considering it a consistent policy, a strategic choice and a top priority in Việt Nam’s foreign policy, said Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

During a meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping in Đà Nẵng on November 11, PM Phúc applauded the Chinese leader’s State visit to Việt Nam and his attendance at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in the central city. Tiếp tục đọc “PM: Việt Nam attaches importance to relations with China”

Vài khái niệm căn bản trong liên hệ Việt Trung: “16 chữ vàng, 4 tốt” – “Hai hành lang, một vành đai” – “Một vành đai, một con đường”

Trong quan hệ Việt Trung, chúng ta thường nghe các “câu vè” và khẩu hiệu tóm tắt các chiến lược và dự án kinh tế chính trị. Hiểu các câu vè và khẩu hiệu này sẽ giúp ta hiểu hơn về liên hệ Việt Trung.

16 Chữ Vàng, 4 Tốt

16 Chữ Vàng

Phương châm 16 chữ (tiếng Trung: 十六字方针) (thập lục tự phương châm) là đoạn văn:

Sơn thủy tương liên
Lý tưởng tương thông
Văn hóa tương đồng
Vận mệnh tương quan
Tiếp tục đọc “Vài khái niệm căn bản trong liên hệ Việt Trung: “16 chữ vàng, 4 tốt” – “Hai hành lang, một vành đai” – “Một vành đai, một con đường””

VN-China Friendship Palace debuts in Hà Nội

vietnamnews Update: November, 12/2017 – 23:30

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping and Chairwoman of the Việt Nam National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân perform the symbolic ’handing over of the key’ ceremony to inaugurate the Việt Nam – China Friendship Palace yesterday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping and Chairwoman of the Việt Nam National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân attended an inaugural ceremony for the Việt Nam – China Friendship Palace in Hà Nội on  Sunday.

The ceremony formed part of the Chinese leader’s two-day State visit to Việt Nam from November 12. Tiếp tục đọc “VN-China Friendship Palace debuts in Hà Nội”

One Belt, One Trap? A debate over who benefits from China’s new silk road

channelnewsasia

Questions are being asked about how, and whether, China can deliver the benefits of its multi-trillion-dollar initiative to connect a region with 62 per cent of the world’s population. Between The Lines debates the issue.

 
The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is a crown jewel of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a massive global infrastructure programme to revive the ancient Silk Road and connect Chinese companies to new markets around the world. AFP/Johannes EISELE

HONG KONG: In Myanmar, first a China-led dam project was suspended because of environmental and social problems. Then local protests about environmental damage have made the joint development of a copper mine a stop-start affair.

In Pakistan, there are internal differences over where the China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects should take place, with poorer provinces petitioning for more projects to be directed towards them instead of Punjab.

Such snags on the ground, among other things, are raising questions about how, and whether, Beijing can deliver on the grand vision of its Belt and Road initiative ushering in a new era of globalisation in Asia, Europe and Africa.

That was an issue debated in a recent Between the Lines episode looking at the implementation of China’s multi-trillion-dollar push to connect a region with 62 per cent of the world’s population. (Watch the episode here)

One thing is clear: Lessons have to be learnt. “The Chinese authorities as well as the business community have to go through a soul-searching process,” said commentator Professor Joseph Cheng, one of four discussants on the programme.

CULTIVATE PEOPLE, NOT JUST GOVERNMENTS

Their suggestions included taking care of local communities, doing good work, such as community projects to build good relations – and not only good public relations – as well as learning the local culture.

“Certainly, some Chinese corporations working in Myanmar were or have been perceived as looking down on the local people, not showing adequate respect for the local people,” said Prof Cheng. “It isn’t enough just to deal with the government.”

 
Myanmar activists protest against The Chinese Copper Mine Wanbao Company, in front of the Chinese

Other characteristics of Chinese investment and participation in infrastructure projects have also led to complaints.

“China has a lot of manpower, so when it takes part in projects, it not only brings along engineers, it also brings along skilful technicians, skilled labour and so on,” noted Prof Cheng.

So this means very little employment opportunities for local labour.

This contrasts with, say, the American viewpoint that bringing engineers to developing countries is costly, he added.

Some of the Chinese workers also start restaurants, small supermarkets and “even take over a segment, sometimes a very substantial segment, of the restaurant business and so on”. Tiếp tục đọc “One Belt, One Trap? A debate over who benefits from China’s new silk road”

Philippines to ask China to clarify its intentions in disputed sea

channelnewsasia

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent policy shift, said on Wednesday he planned to ask China to make clear its intentions in the disputed South China Sea during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam.

 
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during Change of Command ceremonies of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, metro Manila, Philippines October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao

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MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent policy shift, said on Wednesday he planned to ask China to make clear its intentions in the disputed South China Sea during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippines to ask China to clarify its intentions in disputed sea”

China says hopes US can ‘help, not cause problems’ in South China Sea

 Reuters – China and Vietnam have reached agreement on managing their dispute in the South China Sea through friendly talks, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, following an ugly spat over the summer between the two communist neighbours.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) poses for photo with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh before their meeting at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

BEIJING: China hopes the United States can “help and not cause problems” in the disputed South China Sea, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday ahead of next week’s visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump. Tiếp tục đọc “China says hopes US can ‘help, not cause problems’ in South China Sea”

China, South Korea agree to mend ties after THAAD standoff

channelnewsasia

 
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test. (Photo: REUTERS/US Department of Defense)

SEOUL/BEIJING: Seoul and Beijing on Tuesday agreed to move beyond a year-long stand-off over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, a dispute that has been devastating to South Korean businesses that rely on Chinese consumers.

The unexpected detente comes just days before U.S. President Donald Trump begins a trip to Asia, where the North Korean nuclear crisis will take centre stage, and helped propel South Korean stocks to a record high. Tiếp tục đọc “China, South Korea agree to mend ties after THAAD standoff”

China’s Mekong Plans Threaten Disaster for Countries Downstream

Foreignpolicy

Beijing is building hydroelectric dams and dredging to allow bigger boats as worries of environmental devastation grow.
  • CATEGORIES: DISPATCH

BANGKOK — Thirty million people depend for a living on the Mekong, the great Asian river that runs through Southeast Asia from its origins in the snowfields of Tibet to its end in the delta region of Vietnam, where it fertilizes one of the world’s richest agricultural areas. It’s the greatest freshwater fishery on the planet, second only to the Amazon in its riparian biodiversity. If you control its waters, then you control much of the economy of Southeast Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “China’s Mekong Plans Threaten Disaster for Countries Downstream”

Ahead of Trump trip, China urges US not to allow Taiwan president in

China urged the United States on Friday not to permit Taiwan’s president to travel through U.S. territory en route to the island’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a sensitive visit shortly ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen gives a speech during the National Day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

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BEIJING/TAIPEI: China urged the United States on Friday not to permit Taiwan’s president to travel through U.S. territory en route to the island’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a sensitive visit shortly ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing.

China considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province ineligible for state-to-state relations and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Tiếp tục đọc “Ahead of Trump trip, China urges US not to allow Taiwan president in”

China Refuses to Admit It Has a Rape Problem. I Would Know.

PF via Yahoo News

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
Foreign Policy Magazine
The Communist Party wants to blame Hollywood and “loose women,” instead of acknowledging its own epidemic levels of sexual assault.

In the fall of 2004, when I was 19, I studied abroad in the beautiful coastal Chinese city of Xiamen. One Friday evening, I attended an English meetup at a local university, hoping to make some Chinese friends. To my surprise, a group of Chinese men — young, but older than I was — flocked to me, asking me repeatedly if I had any boyfriends, if my dating life resembled the popular American sitcom Friends, and if I was “open,” which I later learned was a poor translation for a Chinese phrase that meant “sexually liberal.” I was not.

Tiếp tục đọc “China Refuses to Admit It Has a Rape Problem. I Would Know.”

Many watching to see what a ‘strong China’ means: PM Lee

channelnewsasia
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at the Economic Club of Washington during his US working visit. (Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb)

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WASHINGTON: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of his leadership position is a signal that this is the start of a new phase for China, according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Oct 25).

Mr Lee, speaking at a dialogue session at the Council on Foreign Relations during his official working visit to the US, said: “They mentioned a new era; Mao’s era, Deng’s era and now Xi’s era – which he envisages extending to 2050 and taking China to 100 years after the revolution.” Tiếp tục đọc “Many watching to see what a ‘strong China’ means: PM Lee”

The Chinese Have Cracked the Code for Communicating With Trump

FP

Stephen Wynn, who has financial interests in China, seems to be doing Beijing’s bidding.

Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn speaks at the Global Gaming Expo 2014 at The Venetian Las Vegas on September 30, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn speaks at the Global Gaming Expo 2014 at The Venetian Las Vegas on September 30, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

New revelations about the Chinese government’s attempt to forcibly repatriate a Chinese fugitive show an assertive Beijing benefitting from a U.S. administration at odds with itself. But who is that American casino mogul who has apparently become the Chinese government’s backchannel to the White House? It turns out he’s a businessman beholden to Beijing and willing to press their case in the corridors of power in Washington — and he has just the ticket. Tiếp tục đọc “The Chinese Have Cracked the Code for Communicating With Trump”