The massive bailout of Western financial institutions is remaking the international financial order, spurring debate in China about what adjustments and financial instruments need to be on the table for Beijing to address domestic challenges and the international financial crisis. These calls come amid the... MORE

The agency that serves as China's economic bellwether, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has indicated that it will undertake new statistical reform and development. Ma Jiantang, the new NBS chief, stated that the financial turmoil facing the global economy "had increased the uncertainties of... MORE

The transfer of responsibility for the approval of medium- and long-term corporate bond issues by listed companies from NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission) to CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) may turn out to be a watershed decision in China's transition to a more market-oriented... MORE

Three months ago, on April 11th, Taiwan's Vice-President-elect Vincent Siew sat down together with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Boao Forum, held annually on Hainan Island off China's southern coast. The Boao Forum had never fulfilled its original promise as a Chinese-hosted global conference... MORE

The May 12, 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China with its epicenter at Wenchuan County in Sichuan province imposed a heavy death toll that so far has reached almost 70,000 with more than 17,000 still missing (People’s Daily, June 17). More than a month after... MORE

Two years following the peace agreement that brought an end to 11 years of Maoist insurgency against government forces in Nepal, Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal’s interim prime minister, has resigned on June 26, paving the way for a Maoist-led government under Communist Party of Nepal... MORE

The value of the Chinese yuan, or RMB, has been a sore spot in U.S.-China relations in recent years. Faced with a massive $256.3 billion trade deficit with China for 2007 that has increased over three times since 2000 ($83.8 billion) and continues to increase... MORE

In recent years, oil product shortages in China have frequently caught the attention of the world. In August 2005, China’s southern manufacturing heartland of Guandong was plagued by closed service stations, fuel rationing and hours-long gas queues, and authorities were forced to send thousands of... MORE

Nearly a month after the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 left Sichuan in ruins—with massive relief operations still on-going—Beijing is beginning to grapple with the arduous task of post-quake reconstruction and assessing its costs to the Chinese economy. The State Wenchuan Earthquake Reconstruction Planning... MORE