Keith Bradsher’s article in the New York Times of 17 March is breath-taking but worrying for the West. It confirms the incredible drive by China to lead in all relevant technological developments. Just imagine that China may produce this year two-thirds of the global output of PV panels, despite Europe’s long start. And last, and [...]

The following interview appeared in Global Times on 15 March 2010: Editor’s Note: China constantly complains of being misperceived by the West, but how much of that is China’s own fault? Do Europeans still see China through an ideological lens, or does China fail to present itself in a way acceptable in the modern world? Global [...]

My blog post of 12 March reported Premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual address to the National People’s Congress, stating that corruption threatened the rule of the CCP.  China’s former state auditor, Li Jinhua has, in the official ‘People’s Daily’ on-line, identified the business dealings of Party officials as the main source of public dissatisfaction.  [...]

The US Treasury, in its semi-annual report delivered every April and October, can formally label China as a “currency manipulator” on account of the yuan’s substantial undervalue.  This would allow the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on a wide range of Chinese products. US Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner told the Senate Finance Committee [...]

Corruption has always been addressed by Premier Wen Jiabao in his annual address to the National People’s Congress, but this year he went much further than before by stating that corruption threatened the rule of the CCP.  In his speech on 5 March 2010, the Premier affirmed  that the battle against graft would be a [...]

There has been much talk in the past about China and the European Union having more in common in a number of policy areas than either has with the United States.  Thus Beijing saw the EU as a potential factor moderating US influence; Washington could see a world being led by a G2 of the [...]

With the above words, Peter Mandelson, former EU Trade Commissioner and now UK First Secretary of State, concludes a perceptive op-ed in today’s New York Times. Lord Mandelson identifies a mismatch between our expectations of China and China’s own assessment of its role and responsibilities. Today’s Chinese leadership is defined by two decades of Chinese [...]

China’s influence on the world stage steadily increases but European media reporting remains generally prejudiced against China.  This is probably due to two main factors.  First, bad news makes  good news in the news world.  Second, there are well-organized lobby groups hostile to China, namely Taiwan, Tibet and human rights, and also industrial sectors seeking [...]

Chas W. Freeman Jr spoke to the Global Strategy Forum on 20 January 2010 on the mounting speculation about China’s emergence as a global hegemon to rival and, perhaps in time, surpass the United States. This is the thrust of what he said: The US – which spends more on its military than the rest [...]

France and Germany sought the lifting of the EU arms embargo in 2004 but Washington insisted on the embargo being maintained.  The embargo was lifted against Uzbekistan last October, despite continuing concerns about human rights in the central Asian nation.  This leaves China in the company of a handful of countries, including  Congo, North Korea, [...]