China Economy Weekly: Monetary Policy; Manufacturing Shifts; Energy Use

China's Loose Monetary Policy: The People's Bank of China has said it will maintain its moderately loose monetary policy and enhance financial supports to boost the economy' s sustainable development.

The PBOC reiterated it would maintain continuity and stability in monetary policy while, at the same time, making the policy more specific and more flexible. It also vowed to improve the yuan's exchange rate mechanism and to increase financial support to promote the transformation of the economic growth pattern and adjustment of the economic structure.

Chinese Economy "To Fare Well": The Chinese economy is on track to fare well this year if recent natural disasters do not disrupt grain supply and thus fuel high inflation, said Zhao Xiaoyu, vice-president of the Asian Development Bank.

Despite the fall in July in the country's procurement managers' index (PMI), which measures economic expansion, policymakers will introduce new supportive measures if economic slowdown continues, making China still attractive for foreign investment, analysts said.

Mergers reduce China's Central Enterprises: The number of China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) was reduced to 123 from 125, after two mergers were approved by the State Council, the country's Cabinet.

China National Real Estate Development Group Corporation was merged into China Communications Construction Company Limited, while Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute became a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Shipping (Group) Company.

The Chinese government wants to reduce the number of SOEs to less than 100,focusing on the creation of 30-50 large groups with strong international competitiveness, by the end of 2010.

China Crackdown on Hot Money:China's foreign exchange regulator Wednesday pledged to continue efforts to manage illegal capital inflows in the second half of the year.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said it had investigated up to 3.5 million cases of international trade transactions, involving a total of $440 billion, during its hot money monitoring campaign, which began in February.

SAFE said last month that its investigations had found 190 cases, involving $7.35 billion, of hot money inflows.

The hot money campaign was launched amid concerns that speculators were betting on an appreciation of the Chinese currency and rising asset prices.

China "To Make Yuan Convertible": The ultimate goal of China's exchange rate reform is to make the yuan a fully convertible currency, Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said Friday, although he added, "There is no official timetable for a convertible yuan."

China can maintain a flexible exchange rate and make the currency stand at a basically reasonable and balanced level, Yi said.

Central Bank Pledges Support to Western Regions: Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the bank will increase its financial support for the development of the country's western regions.

The central bank will offer more financial aid to the tourism industry and other service industries, according to remarks Zhou made during his visit to the provinces of Qinghai and Gansu.

Zhou also said the central bank will seek to make fundraising easier for small- and medium-sized businesses and farmers. Greater efforts will be made to boost financial innovation and to support urbanization in western China, he added.

China Cuts Tariffs for Civilian High-Tech Projects:China has scrapped tariffs and value-added taxes on core equipment, components, and raw materials imported and used in civilian high-tech projects since July 15, according to a circular of the Ministry of Finance.

The projects exempted from taxation include core electronics, high-end universal chips, basic software, integrated circuit-manufacturing equipment, new generation wireless mobile communication networks, and new drugs for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis.

China Automobile Sales Rise: China's annual production and sales of new autos will surpass 15 million vehicles this year, Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufactures, said Wednesday.

Auto sales in China continued to rise in July, though at a slower pace than in previous months. The growth rate slowed from 124 percent in January to 40 percent in April, to 17.18 percent in July.

Based upon June exports, China's total auto exports for the year will hit or even exceed the 2008 levels seen before the financial crisis, Dong added.

China Energy Use: Chinese energy consumption per unit of GDP rose 0.09 percent year on year from January to June, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Some high-energy-consuming industries reported less energy consumption per unit of industrial value-added output: the construction materials industry's use dropped 7.61 percent; the chemicals industry's fell 4.28 percent; and the coal industry's declined 2.69 percent.

Conversely, the nonferrous metals industry consumed 8.11 percent more energy per unit while the oil and petrochemicals industry consumed 11.35 percent more.

China cut energy use per unit of GDP 14.38 percent between 2006 and 2009. It aims to reduce consumption 20 percent between 2005 and 2010.

China Stop Subsidy of Energy-Intensive Firms: Preferential electricity rates granted by 22 provincial governments for high energy-consuming businesses have been scrapped, China's top economic planner announced Friday.

All energy-intensive enterprises must be subject to the new power tariff surcharges introduced in May, said the National Development and Reform Commission.

Expansion in Non-Manufacturing Sector, Drop in Manufacturing: The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector rose to 60.1 percent in July, up 2.7 percentage points from the previous month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Tuesday.

The non-manufacturing PMI includes a package of indices to measure the non-manufacturing sector's performance. A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion, while one below 50 percent indicates contraction.

The July rise in the index came after two successive monthly drops and was the fifth straight month the reading was above 50 percent.

The new orders index jumped to 55.8 percent in July, 2.9 percentage points higher than June, the CFLP said, reflecting robust demand in retail and catering services.

However, manufacturing slowed as the Government tried to
curb the risk of overheating and adjust the economic structure.

The PMI for manufacuring eased 0.9 percentage points from a month earlier to 51.2 percent in July

The index has stood above 50 points for 17 straight months. However, it is down for the third consecutive month and is at its lowest since February 2009, when it fell below 50.

US Politics and Media: Why Glenn Beck Is Good for America (Haddigan)

The history of the United States is one of extremes, a tale of how contending visions of the past should shape the nation’s future. The concept of "America" is a continuous conflict between a respect for traditional explanations of the individual’s responsibilities in a virtuous society and a yearning to unleash modern philosophies of the "Rights of Man".

This battle, since the first settlements in America, has been, largely fought out in the media. Glenn Beck on the Right, and Chris Matthews on the Left, are but the latest manifestations of the eternal struggle for the American Soul.

Recognition of the long history of partisan division in the US over fundamental ideas about politics is needed to calm the disquiet Beck and Matthews provoke in contemporary society. Both might promote an ideology of fear of the "other side", but America has prospered in the past --- and will in the future --- despite dire warnings about their predecessors and successors in the American media. Indeed, you can argue convincingly that the United States benefits from the existence of a partisan media.

The political media have continually forced the populace to evaluate what it means to be "American". Through struggles from the Pilgrims and Puritans through the revolutionaries of the War for Independence to the Civil War, in the conflicts to come in Populism and Progessivism, Fundmentalism (creationism) and Social Gospelism (evolutionism), New Dealism and Reaganism, Cold War conservatism and liberal counter-culture, the American media of the time played a central role in defining the terms on which the often acrimonious debate took place.

Because of our somewhat quaint notion that the past was more civil and polite than the present, aided by the self-perpetuating but false myth of the generation who came to (im)maturity in the 1960s that they revolutionised society, we fail to appreciate that a partisan media is not a modern phenomenon. Our ancestors, as long as visual images have existed, have displayed a sense of impropriety in criticising opponents that would make some today blush. See, for instance, scatological woodcut images (most people of the time couldn’t read) that were used as propaganda to defame the Pope during the early Protestant Reformation of the 1500s in Europe. You may hate Glenn Beck, or Chris Matthews, but these (extremely) sacrilegious cartoons and accompanying doggerel verses will put into perspective the limits that our modern society places on acceptable political discourse. (http://www.uoregon.edu/~dluebke/Reformations441/ReformationSatires.html)

America’s history of partisan conflict, and the role of the media, is more a rollicking and rambunctuous series of colourful disputes and incidents than a threat to American democracy (although Alexander Hamilton may have disagreed, since he was fatally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804 after Burr took umbrage at Hamilton’s criticisms of him in the press). The government have attempted to tame the freedom of expression of both the press and the people, most notably in the Sedition Acts of 1798 and 1918 and the Smith Act of 1940, but have failed to sustain a constitutional case for the argument that "crying fire", in the political theatre at least, is a "clear and present danger" to the nation’s security.

For a short period in its early years, the US did display a remarkable commitment to the idea that "disinterested" politicians could represent the country as a whole. George Washington succeeded in portraying this image, and following presidents laboured to sustain the illusion that the Chief Executive was a neutral approach who umpired the inevitable conflicts in American society (a myth that still held enough emotional sway for Eisenhower to use it in the 1950s).

But American politics changed in 1832 with the election of Andrew Jackson after a populist appeal to the masses, and it became the public-image, spin-dominated spectacle we know today with the election of William Henry Harrison in 1840.

(Of particular interest in the Harrison campaign was the Whigs' profligate distribution of whisky to persuade, or confound, voters to support the original log-cabin candidate. The whisky was handed out in bottles from the E. C. Booz distillery, leading to "booze" becoming a common term for alcohol in America.)

One reason for the overall civility of contemporary political debate, despite what some might regard as the extremist rabble-rousing of Beck and Matthews, is the changing definition of the word tolerance in Britain and in America. When the two countries (at different times) announced the establishment of religious tolerance as a guiding principle of popular democracy, they saw the word as meaning an individual had "to put up with" different religious opinions, even though they may regard them as evil or degenerate. It meant no individual could harm another, or aggress against them, because of their religion.

It did not mean, however, that the individual had to understand, empathize, or respect the tenets of a different faith. Behind the original conception of the tolerance of religion, and freedom of political expression, lay the understanding that both were a battleground where conflicting ideas should be, befitting their essential importance to mankind, fought out with vigour and conviction. Politics and religion, it was assumed, were so crucial to an individual’s definition of their identity that they would be debated with passion, not discussed lifelessly in a soulless debating chamber.

Beck and Matthews display some of that vitality, and as a result they and their like energise the American political debate. They force Americans to question the views they believe in by presenting a no-holds-barred alternative. And with their reliance on examining current events in the light of the nation’s history they allows each person to decide what it means to be an "American".

Beck and Matthews are not a threat to American democracy. They are, in fact, part of the reason why the United States retains a more than passing and rhetorical interest in the role of the individual in a just society.

MENA House: Egypt wins the Robocup (Robot Soccer World Cup) 2010

The German university of Cairo Pharoahs (GUC) came first place beating robOTTO (University of Magdeberg, Germany) in the final and winning the World Cup in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence known as RoboCup within the Festo Logistics League. This year RoboCup 2010 took place in Singapore from 19th -25th June 2010.

The GUC team was the only team participating from Africa, the Arab World and the Middle East. It is their first year to participate in the Robot games since its introduction to the international scene in 1997.  Participants ranged from Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Egypt among others.  A total of 500 teams entered the competition from 40 different countries.   

The Robocup is similar to the world cup, but with robots.  The Robocup is an international competition which was founded in 1997 (with a pre-trila robotcup held in Japan in 1996 for domestic teams).  The competition and conference is designed for participants to test advanced robotics and Artificial Intelligence on a playing field.  Most participants are Undergrads, postgraduates and PhD holders who focus their research on this particular field.  

The Robocup objective is:

To creat a team of full autonomous humanoid robot football players who can play and beat the winners of the most recent (human) world cup, complying with official FIFA rules, by the year 2050.

Members of the GUC team consisted a variety of Undergrads, Postgrads and PhDs.  In fact, the Egyptian representatives were the only team to encoorporate undergraduates into their team.  A risky, but successful move paid off.  Team GUC Pharoahs consisted of: Ahmed Hani, Yomna Gamal, Mustapha Abdullah, Summer Kassem, Hesham Raouf and Nehal Hassan. The team was supervised by Prof. Dr. Hani Hagras, Dr. Rabie Ramadan, Dr. Hisham Elsherif and Engineer Mosutafa Nawito.

The GUC team played two group stages before going on to play in the Semi finals and then the finals of the Robocup.  Teams in their group included: The University of Bern, Switzerland and two teams from Singapore polytechnic and Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. In the second group stages, the GUC team went on to play against their group in the 2nd round which included The University of Magdeburg (Germany) and KAIST (South Korea). The GUC team then went on to beat Hungary in the Semi Final before beating the University of Magdeburg (Germany) in the final to be crowned as World Champions in Robocup 2010.

While it may seem iroic that the German University of Cairo beat representatives from of Germany, The University of Magdeberg, we look forward to the day when Egypt can once again, qualify to play in the (human) world cup and maybe, potentially, win. 

Congratulations to the GUC Pharaohs!

Iran: Open Thread for News and Analysis (Monday 9 August)

2000 GMT: Picture of the Day. Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, now in Norway, and his wife, recently released from prison. [Photo credit: The Times]

1715 GMT: Back to the Bazaar. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty carries a profile from the Tehran Bazaar, which was on strike last month, with critical remarks about the Government. Typical is the comment from "Hossein": "Nobody takes (Ahmadinejad) seriously. You just wonder what kind of logic he and his supporters are using. It is...baseless and aggressive statements that have triggered more and more sanctions against our economy."

The article claims that a combination of Government policies, Revolutionary Guard takeovers, and cheap imports are forcing more and more small businesses.

1610 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. There are persistent reports that detained journalist Isa Saharkhiz, moved to Rajai Shahr Prison in May, is in a state of “paralysis” and is “unable to move.”

The reports appear to be a heightening of information that Saharkhiz is suffering from paresis --- difficuties in moving parts of the body.

Seven Baha'i leaders have been moved to Rajai Shahr prison after sentence of 20 years each.

Photographer Hamed Saber has been temporarily released from prison on bail after being arrested on 21 June for photos of street protests.

1545 GMT: Drawing a Line? Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the political head of the Ministry of Interior, says the Hojjatieh association has not applied for a permit to become a party and, if it applies, it will not receive one.

Hojjatieh, which places great emphasis on the return of the "hidden" 12th Imam, was banned by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. There are persistent rumours that President Ahmadinejad and his spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, are followers.

1530 GMT: Another Larijani Challenges the President. Back to our lead story today....

Sadegh Zibakalam, a leading analyst inside Iran, says the quarrel between the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, and President Ahmadinejad is not about language but is a sign of emerging deep rifts within the establishment.

Zibakalam asserts that --- as reformists and Greens have been imprisoned, have fled, or have been reduced to inactivity --- the battle is between rational, "Majlis- centred" hardliners like Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Ali Motahari, and Elyas Naderan and radical hardliners in the Ahmadinejad Government.

Zibakalam believes the radicals are imposing themselves at the moment, but in the long run rational hardliners will take over because of the Government's failures over the economy and the crisis in foreign policy.

1420 GMT: The Battles Within --- The President's Man and the Head of the Guardian Council. In what appears to be an attempt to take the heat out of the furour over Ahmadinejad Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Avaz Heydarpour, a member of Parliament's National Security Commission, has said Rahim-Mashai's "Iran v. Islam" comments will probably be discussed in the commission but it is not necessary for the aide to appear before the Majlis.

However, Parliamentary rumbling over Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, continues after the cleric's accusations of US-Saudi funding ($51 billion) of the opposition for regime change.

Moh Ali Karimi, suggesting the former President Mohammad Khatami file a complaint, said allegations without proof should be punished by the judiciary.

Qodratollah Alikhani of the Majlis National Security Commission claimed the accusations against Khatami are "a show and a pretext" to make people forget economic, financial and political problems due to sanctions. He added that "slander against a respected member of the political elite is unbelievable and a sin", weakening the Iranian system.

Reformist Nasrollah Torabi charged, "Whenever they cannot eliminate a person with logic or votes, they use these methods (of slander)," and said the judiciary must act.

1410 GMT: Today's World Politics Lesson (Censored and Uncensored Versions). A classic speech from First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and equally classic treatment in Iranian media....

Rahimi told an audience that English people are "a bunch of retards run by a Mafia, actually ruled by a youngster, who is even more idiot than his forerunner", and Australians are a bunch of shepherds. The dollar and Euro are najes (religiously impure), and before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Presidency, "our whole oil industry was English".

But on Fars News' English-language website, the remarks are a lot less fun. There, Rahimi described new international and unilateral sanctions as an opportunity for Iran's further progress and said the government will endeavor to better the situation of the Iranians amid boycotts.

1400 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The list of countries backing pressure on Tehran appears to be slowly expanding. Following a US push to get Asian cooperation, South Korea has submitted a sanctions report to the United Nations.

1345 GMT: More Defiance. A senior aide to President Ahmadinejad, Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, has said that Iran will not hold talks and negotiations with the US due to Washington's "disrespect and hostile stances".

1030 GMT: Economy Watch. In an indication of Iran’s difficulties with trade, the head of the central bank has demanded a cut in imports.

0945 GMT: Energy Squeeze. Peyke Iran claims that the Ministry of Energy now owes $5 billion to private companies.

0930 GMT: Clerical Challenge. Ayatollah Dastgheib has taken another swipe at the Government and President, alleging that mostakberin (oppressors) rule the country with one party.

Dastgheib also had sharp words for the Supreme Leader: “A sacrosanct person doesn’t send an army against people to maintain his position but is friendly to them.” Dastgheib added that a  bad defence of Islam is the biggest injustice to it.

0845 GMT: The Political Prisoners Challenge. Payvand has re-posted the news that seven prominent reformist politicians, all imprisoned after the June 2009 election, are filing a lawsuit against the Revolutionary Guard for manipulation of the vote.

0830 GMT: Economy Watch. Reformist member of Parliament Mohammad Reza Khabbaz has complained that Iran’s oil income is not making it to people’s tables and now Ahmadinejad is ”even taking away their bread”.

Khabbaz also jabbed that the Government had not yet implemented its subsidy cuts.

0815 GMT: Defiance. Amidst talk of renewed US-Iran discussions, Ali Akbar Velayati, the key foreign policy advisor to the Supreme Leader, declares, “Iran has the iron will to pursue nuclear development.”

0715 GMT: The US and Iran (and a Bigger Battle). We start the day with an analysis from Gary Sick considering American foreign policy and the latest state of play with Tehran.

The bigger battle, however, is the battle within, and there’s a new challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this morning.

Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran’s judiciary, has said, “We expect our President to use a decent language and say the truth.” Larijani pointedly added that laws apply to everyone and, in a flexing of muscle for his judicial branch, said that judges are not bound to anyone.

But it’s not the independence of the judiciary that Larijani was asserting. He declared, ”Now they even want to bomb the Majlis (Parliament) and insult its chief.” The “chief” of the Parliament is Sadegh Larijani’s brother, Ali.

Sadegh Larijani concluded, “I told Ahmadinejad he doesn’t say the truth, stop the insults.”

The Latest from Iran (9 August): Another Larijani Challenges Ahmadinejad

We've just merged these updates with the earlier open thread. The latest updates and comments will appear there.