The New York Times reports: "When the veteran Chinese diplomat Wu Dawei left for North Korea last week, he probably knew he had been dispatched on mission impossible: to persuade the country's young leader, Kim Jong-un, to climb down from his threat to launch a rocket as part of his quest to develop ballistic missile technologies. Not only did Mr. Kim ignore China's entreaties, sending Mr. Wu home empty-handed. He did so emphatically, ordering the launch a day earlier than expected so that it fell on one of China's most important holidays, the eve of the Lunar New Year. It is unclear how long President Xi Jinping of China will tolerate what some analysts here are calling the humiliation of his country at the hands of a capricious Mr. Kim. But there are no immediate signs that Beijing will radically change course and turn away from its traditional ally."
The Washington Post reports: "Chinese and others around Asia flocked to temples and fairs to pray for good health and fortune on Monday, the first day of the Lunar New Year. In Beijing, hundreds of thousands of people visited traditional fairs held in parks, as well as Buddhist and Taoist temples offering singing and dance performances and open-air markets selling handicrafts. Ethnic Chinese people in other countries celebrated the holiday as well. Monday marks the first day of the Year of the Monkey — the ninth animal on the Chinese zodiac calendar. The weeklong holiday, known as the Spring Festival in China, is focused on family reunion and is a time when students and migrant workers return to their hometowns. It is the country's most important holiday."
Bloomberg Business reports: "The decline in China's foreign-currency reserves to a four-year low, even without evidence of widespread domestic capital flight, adds pressure on policy makers to strengthen the economy through fiscal easing and structural reforms. China's reserves, once a continuously rising hoard, fell $99.5 billion in January, continuing a slump from 2015 as the People's Bank of China sought to shore up the yuan....China increased its gold hoard in January, raising its holdings to 57.18 million ounces at it looks to diversify its foreign-exchange stockpile....The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey is for the yuan to fall to 6.76 a dollar by the end of this year, with Rabobank Group the most pessimistic with a 7.53 prediction. The currency has declined 1.24 percent so far this year, closing at 6.5755 in Shanghai on Friday."