Search Results for: china

Found 130 search results for china (this is page 2 of 13).

China Shows Off an Aircraft Carrier, but Experts Are Skeptical

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning

Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, assistant to the chief of the PLA’s general staff said “All of the great nations in the world own aircraft carriers — they are symbols of a great power.”

No, simply owning an aircraft carrier isn’t power. Anyone can buy one. Knowing how to use an aircraft carrier is a great power.

Cute, China. Cute.

In a ceremony attended by the country’s top leaders, China put its first aircraft carrier into service on Tuesday, a move intended to signal its growing military might as tensions escalate between Beijing and its neighbors over islands in nearby seas.Officials said that the carrier, a discarded vessel bought from Ukraine in 1998 and refurbished by China, would protect national sovereignty, an issue that has become a touchstone of the government’s dispute with Japan over ownership of islands in the East China Sea.

via China Shows Off an Aircraft Carrier, but Experts Are Skeptical – NYTimes.com.

US warns China on South China Sea moves

Interesting. I’m glad America still has a strong Navy!

The Obama administration has warned China against further moves to tighten control over a disputed section of the South China Sea, as tensions rose in the flashpoint region.

In a statement, the US State Department cautioned China about its addition of a military garrison and civilian officials near the contested Scarborough Reef and its use of barriers to deny access to foreign ships.

These moves "run counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region", said the statement, issued early on Friday morning and attributed to Patrick Ventrell, the acting deputy spokesman.

via US warns China on South China Sea moves.

Outlet mall to become Chinatown

Last week, I made my first trip to the Prime Outlets mall in probably ten years. The outlet mall, across I-40 from the RDU airport, was a very popular place to shop in its prime (pardon the pun). It was also an even more popular place for RTP workers to grab lunch as there were very few restaurants in RTP for the longest time. It was obvious from last week’s visit, though, that times have changed for the mall. I was shocked at how empty it was, with storefront after storefront dark. Fortunately for me, my clothing store was still around but few other stores were.

Still, I was struck by how clean and tidy the mall was, in spite of its lack of tenants. It was obviously being well kept. There was no decline in its care. I told Kelly later that night that if I had a few million lying around, I would buy that mall. We agreed that the Triangle was a good market for an outlet mall.

Turns out someone beat me to it, someone with plans to make it the Triangle’s Chinatown.
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Solar Shakeout Could Soon Reach China

This is astonishing news.

The race of utilities and dirty-fuel industries to build more power plants or drill more wells is not so much a race against dwindling dirty-fuel supplies, it’s a race against dirty-fuel obsolescence.

Oh, and that Solyndra so-called scandal? It’s a blessing in disguise, caused by the falling price of solar cells.

If oil prices fell from their 2008 peak as far as solar component prices have, a barrel of oil would cost about $10 – a 93 percent drop. Everyone could afford to fuel his own Formula One racecar.

Solar is already competitive with fossil fuel power in many markets around the world, especially where supply is unreliable and diesel backup generation is uncommon. “People are missing out about how cheap solar power has become,” said Ramesh Misra, senior analyst covering solar and technology at Brigantine Advisors in New York. “There is no other energy source that can make that claim.”

via Solar Shakeout Could Soon Reach China – Bloomberg.

China Tests Stealth Fighter

With China’s supreme understanding and adherence to face there is absolutely no way this was a coincidence. This was a deliberate slap in the face to Secretary Gates.

In a show of force that seemed aimed at the United States and visiting Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, China apparently conducted the first test-flight of its new stealth fighter jet on Tuesday, only hours before Mr. Gates was to meet with President Hu Jintao.

Mr. Gates said he directly asked Mr. Hu why it was conducted during a three-day trip that is meant to smooth over rocky relations between the U.S. military and China’s increasingly assertive armed forces.

Mr. Hu replied, Mr. Gates said, that it “had absolutely nothing to do with my visit.” Asked if Mr. Gates truly believed that, Mr. Gates said yes, but acknowledged he had questions about whether the Chinese military was acting independently of the political leadership. “I’ve had concerns about this over time,” Mr. Gates said.

via China Apparently Tests Stealth Fighter – NYTimes.com.

China punishes source of embarrassment

Shanghai high rises

There was a deadly fire in a residential high-rise in Shanghai yesterday. Over 60 people lost their lives in the blaze, blamed in part on flammable scaffolding.Today, the Chinese government arrested 8 people in connection with the blaze and began investigating claims of unlicensed welders on the project.

What I want to know is why the Chinese government chose not to inspect the construction before the building caught fire. As some news stories pointed out, there are thousands of similar high-rises in Shanghai. It’s an easy bet that a majority of them also cut corners. Will these get any attention? Not likely, unless they happen to catch fire or cause some other incident that can’t easily be covered up.

A friend once relayed the view of one Chinese-American who said “China [is] not known for safety.” I saw firsthand how this is the case. It’s sad that the Chinese government only seems to care after the fact.

John Denver: still big in China

I was listening to the Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication as I was mowing the grass today. The B-Boys are Buddhists and their songs often have lyrics about Tibet. They’d never be welcomed with open arms in China, I thought.

Then I remembered someone who was welcomed with open arms in China: John Denver. Denver toured China in October 1992, playing multiple cities, apparently the first Western artist to tour there. I remembered someone telling me during my visit to China that his song Take Me Home, Country Roads was one of the most popular Western songs in China.
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