Canadian-Asian Affairs

There are many China stories to catch up on today. The first item was written by Lori McLeod and appeared in the business section. McLeod reports on new ventures by two major Canadian pension funds (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) in China. Both funds are investing significant money in China because they feel the growth potential is significant. The CPPIB has just opened its first overseas office in Hong Kong. McLeod's article characterizes Asia, and China in particular, as an economic frontier. This theme appears regularly in Western coverage of China. At times difficulties investing in China, or perceived unfair advantages (such as those formerly enjoyed by People's Liberation Army controlled companies) are presented as obstructing free access to the Chinese economic frontier. However, that view is notably not echoed when protectionist voices protest potential Chinese investments in important Canadian industries.

The next item was pulled off of the AP wire. The article deals briefly with the trial of Mining company employees tried for the deaths of 105 workers in an industrial accident. There has been a surge in coverage of Chinese industrial accidents over the last year. However there has not been much coverage of the aftermath. This article very briefly (ie. one paragraph) lets readers know that 3 individuals were sentenced to life while 14 others were given sentences ranging from 1-20 years. It is interesting to note that there is no mention of China's crackdown on illegal mining and attempt to increase industrial safety. Rather there is simply an explanation that "the mine had been operating with complete disregard for the law."

Andrew Torchia filed the next item from Shanghai. Torchia reports on a "clampdown" on IPOs on China's faltering stock markets. The article characterizes the current problems with China's market as a result of Chinese companies abusing the recent vogue for IPOs. Torchia quotes Xinhua's explanation that "companies should not regard the stock market as an automatic teller machine." This particular story is guilty of one of the major problems with Western China coverage. The reporter's major source for the article is Xinhua. He requotes the quotations Xinhua used from a China Securites Regulatory Commission Spokesman, but also quotes Xinhua's own editorialization. It is impossible to tell whether Torchia used the English or Chinese version of Xinhua. Not that the language in particular would matter. The English and Chinese Xinhua reportage is usually almost identical. However it would possibly indicate one of the major reasons for relying so heavily on official media. Many Western reporters in China have limited Chinese language proficiency. Using state-run English media to pound out a quick story is therefore easy and doesn't require calling your translator in to work.

Our final report for this installment offers a welcome diversion from the business pages. It's an article by Beverly Smith forebodingly titled "Chinese domination may be nearing its end." Judging by the title it would be difficult to guess Smith's topic. She is, in fact, reporting on the recent diving World Cup test event in Beijing. While the Chinese won seven of eight gold medals, Canadian chief technical officer Mitch Gellner claims they are vulnerable to the competition. The piece is a rather work-a-day report covering the ins and outs of the international diving scene leading up to the Beijing Olympics. While it is interesting to see non-financial stories on China, the sports page characterization of China as dominating enemy is not much better. While it is certainly the norm in national sports discourse to discuss opposing countries as the enemy, Smith presents China as a monolithic diving force. Little room is given to China's individual competitors. Rather it is a case of 'us' against 'them.'

Posted by Ryan at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today's globe featured some interesting China stories. The first two are both off the AP wire, and focus on the familiar topics of markets and economics.

First we have a story reporting on the rise in patent filings from Asian countries. China is singled out as having greatly increased applications for patents. This evidence is used to confirm the hypothesis that there are indeed "shifting patterns of innovation around the world." The article's characterization of "Asian" countries is interesting. It sets up an us and them, East and West, Occident and Orient binary relationship. If one believes the article, 'we' are losing ground to 'them.'

Next is a very interesting story which turns many common assumptions about the Chinese market on their head. It reports that China is losing its international competitive advantage, resulting in a flood of imports from other countries onto China's market. In addition, increasing numbers of manufacturing jobs are leaving China for more competitive (read cheaper) countries. These observations are interesting in that they run corollary to observations in the West about China's impact on our own markets. While these observations are interesting, they still dwell on China as an economic entity. If one were to come to his or her views of China purely from Globe and Mail reportage those views would be highly skewed and not representative of China's real complexities.

Today's third story maintains the focus on China's domestic market. This more in depth piece written by Jason Shubler for Reuters, reports on the PRC's new subsidy program to encourage rural residents to buy consumer durables. The article focuses on the disparity between rural and urban residents in China and how the state is utilizing new rebates to both diminish this gap and increase domestic consumption to off-set the threat to exports. I feel like a broken record, but again we have stories which are interesting in their own right, but focus on a very narrow range of topics pertaining to China. The reasons for this level of tunnel vision in the Globe's China coverage will be explored in coming posts.

Posted by Ryan at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In more frightful stories of unfair advantages for Chinese producers, the Globe picked up an AP item detailing how the USA plans to impose duties on Chinese fridge magnets.

Olympic coverage is also heating up. Spielberg's decision to not work with the Olympic team has led to controversy in the Chinese media which is being picked up on over here. The Globe ran this AP item explaining how China's state run media has been criticizing Spielberg.

Also in on the Olympic theme is the Reuters piece which quotes a "Chinese Olympic official" claiming that marketing revenues will pay for the Olympic games.

Again we see some pretty clear themes in the Globe's China coverage. Human rights, press freedom, and money make the paper.

Posted by Ryan at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The espionage case involving Boeing has been one of the more prominent China stories recently. The Globe has pulled this one of the AP wire. It details both an American charged with selling secrets to China and a Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant charged with buying state secrets. How the Taiwanese figure fits into things is left unexplained. In Cold War style the article argues that the "arrests mark China's latest attempts to gain top secret information about U.S. military systems and sales." Articles like this one build on the China as adversary discourse used in most financial reportage on China.

Next we have another of the Press' favourite China topics: human rights. The debate over Chinese human rights abuses has raged for decades, but has been especially prominent since the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. Some argue that China's human rights record is deplorable and unjustifiable, while others take the stance that China has drastically improved its situations over the past three decades and that outside observers should not expect overnight miracles, but rather appreciate the slow-but-sure progress China is making. James Christie with the help of AP takes a new approach by reporting on athletes and celebrities who are advocating against China's international human rights record in Sudan. Two Canadian swimmers along with other athletes and celebrities such as Steven Spielberg condemn Beijing's support of the Sudanese government. While this is laudable in its own right, it also speaks to the double standard often applied to Chinese rights policy. Where as not many athletes would balk at competing in the USA which has a long record of rights abuses both domestically and abroad, China is fair game for this sort of advocacy.

Following trade and human rights, China's censorship laws rank up there with the most active Western media interests in China. The next article reports on how the Chinese government has refused to approve a new John Cusak and Gong Li vehicle to shoot in Shanghai without script revisions. The most interesting aspect of the story is how it refers to the Chinese authorities as simply 'China.' As in: "China has blocked a Hollywood movie." This sort of approach, which is common in Western media accounts of Chinese stories characterizes the Chinese government and bureaucracy (and even occasionally business interests) as a single monolithic entity. It would not have required many more words to nuance the story by explaining which body had blocked the film.

In keeping with our hit parade of Western media's China interests the last story for this installment reports on China's illegal trade practices. Steven Chase reports on the leaked WTO's ruling on China's unfair trade barriers to auto parts. Trade deficits with China feature large in the Western media discourse. This attempt to crack into the China market by Western part manufacturers represents a broader struggle to achieve something close to trade parity with China. Chase's article isn't terribly interesting but it does fit into the broader pattern of the obsession with economic-slanted China stories.

Posted by Ryan at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have four stories to touch on briefly for this installment of our examination of the Globe's China coverage.

The first is from today's travel section. It expounds the virtues of a trip to Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year celebration. Amongst the recommended activities is a long list of engineering feats and shopping excursions one should partake of while in Hong Kong.

Second we have an article by David Berman from the front page of the Report on Business. Berman argues that the spread between prices on domestic shares and shares available to overseas investors is abnormally large and indicative of overheating in the Chinese stock market. In fact he argues that it is "arguably the most dangerous thing facing the Chinese economy right now." This article demonstrates very limited reporting. It is essentially a repetition of a report from another analyst (Heather Bell) made the preceding day. It is also indicative of the chicken little phenomenon so common in much China reportage. No matter what, there always seem to be indicators of impending sky collapse to be found.

Third we have a short piece by James Christie for Globe Sports. It reports on the (already often covered) route for the Olympic flame, which will bypass Canada en route to Beijing for the opening of the 2008 summer Olympics. Apparently this isn't a snub. Although some commentators at other sources have suggested it is related to China's overall diplomatic displeasure with Canada. They would have us believe that the Lai Chang Xin issue, Falun Gong, and the government's insistence on human rights dialogue play an important role in flame route design.

Finally we have a very interesting article suggesting that China's reluctance to invest in Alberta's energy sector is due to political concerns. This report written by one of the Globe's chief reporters on China, Geoffrey York. York points out that China is a growing economic concern and a key global energy consumer. He points to experts, such as Wenran Jiang, who claim that China's reticence to do business in Alberta is due to poor relations between Ottawa and Beijing.

This is another excellent example of the focus on economic matters as central to the Chinese narrative. It is often suggested that China's authoritarianism is rooted in economic imperative, and that these imperatives drive international policies from energy investments to tourist classifications. While this article in particular is well researched and largely accurate it makes the commonly made mistake of conflating Chinese business interests with the Chinese government. While there are certainly close relationships between the two, especially in the energy sector, they are clearly two distinct entities. It generally leads to inaccuracies when one says "the Chinese" to refer to both the government and business interests in the same breath.

Posted by Ryan at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)