Media Report
- The Wall Street Journal reports: "China's housing market is showing nascent signs of recovery after a two-year downturn, helping to counter a slowdown in the broader economy but prompting fresh warnings about a buildup of debt....From January to April, housing sales rose 61.4% to 2.41 trillion yuan ($369 billion) from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday....But the rosy statistics present a quandary for Chinese officials. After engineering a credit-fueled property upturn, Beijing has started tapping the brakes amid concern that it has overshot, economists say. Among the fixes Beijing has imposed are a decrease in bank lending and more purchase restrictions on some of the hottest property markets, including Shanghai and Shenzhen. A column in the official People's Daily recently criticized debt-fueled growth policies, warning that China faces a 'property bubble.'"
- BBC News reports: "The 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution, which plunged China into a decade of chaos, has been met with silence in state media. On 16 May 1966 Communist leader Mao Zedong began a campaign to eliminate his rivals....Years of bloodshed and turmoil ensued, ending with Mao's death in 1976. How to handle the era's contentious legacy has remained a challenge to China's Communist rulers to this day. On Monday, the main state media outlets made virtually no mention of the anniversary, focusing on coverage of the South China Sea and other domestic issues. No official events were planned by the authorities to mark the 50-year milestone."
- The Guardian reports: "China is using large numbers of irregular maritime militias, dubbed 'little blue men', to assert and expand its control over an increasingly large area of disputed and reclaimed islands and reefs in the strategically important South China Sea, the Pentagon says. The militias, comprising hundreds of fishermen and motor boats mainly based on Hainan island, south of the mainland, have been involved in 'buzzing' US navy ships and those of neighbouring countries with rival territorial claims....Maritime experts say such behaviour exploits 'grey zones' where US navy and other countries' military rules of engagement prevent tough counter-measures."
Calendar
- 2016-05-15 Maoists Still a Force 50 Years After the Cultural Revolution
- 2016-05-13 Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing
- 2016-05-12 EU lawmakers reject market economy status for China
- 2016-05-11 Ahead of inauguration, China says Taiwan to blame for any crisis
- 2016-05-10 U.S. Sails Warship Near Island in South China Sea, Challenging Chinese Claims
- 2016-05-09 EU Envoy Calls for Fairer Economic Relationship With China
- 2016-05-08 China to Curb Land Supply for Cities with Property Glut
- 2016-05-06 China says South China Sea criticism could rebound like coiled spring
- 2016-05-05 Disney CEO meets Chinese president ahead of park opening
- 2016-05-04 China to carry out more military drills in South China Sea
News
- BBC News China's Cultural Revolution: 50th anniversary unmarked by state media
- The Guardian Little blue men: the maritime militias pushing China's claims
- The Wall Street Journal China Housing Revival Buffers Economy
- The New York Times Asian Stocks Up Despite Disappointing China Factory Data
- TIME Read a Harrowing Memoir From China's Cultural Revolution
- Bloomberg Business China Slowdown Shows Debt Addiction Will Be Tough to Shake
- The New York Times Personal Data of Prominent Chinese Posted on Twitter
- The Wall Street Journal China Challenged to Keep Yuan Stable as Dollar Rises
- The Washington Post SOUTH CHINA SEA WATCH: US angers China as UN ruling looms
- The New York Times Anticorruption Campaign in China Snares Former Top Party Official
- The Wall Street Journal 'Elusive Risks' Cited as Chinese Banks Blur Lines
- The Washington Post US stocks gain in morning trading as crude oil rises
- Bloomberg Business Uber China Rival Didi to Consider U.S. IPO as Soon as 2017
Commentary
- The Washington Post Provocations in the South China Sea
- The National Interest The Pentagon's 2016 China Military Report: What You Need to Know
- The New York Times Voices From China's Cultural Revolution
- Financial Times 'China's future', by David Shambaugh
- The Diplomat China: US Report 'Deliberately Distorted' China's Defense Policy
- The Washington Post Apple's big bet on China is also a bet on driverless cars
- The New York Times Why Chinatown Still Matters