China – Page 13 – praag.org

Australia, China to enable direct currency convertibility

A month ago we pointed out that as a result of Australia’s unprecedented reliance on China as a target export market, accounting for nearly 30% of all Australian exports (with the flipside being just as true, as Australia now is the fifth-biggest source of Chinese imports), the two countries may as well be joined at the hip.

Over the weekend, Australia appears to have come to the same conclusion, with the Australian reporting that the land down under is set to say goodbye to the world’s “reserve currency” in its trade dealings with the world’s biggest marginal economic power, China, and will enable the direct convertibility of the Australian dollar into Chinese yuan, without US Dollar intermediation, in the process “slashing costs for thousands of business” and also confirming speculation that China is fully intent on, little by little, chipping away at the dollar’s reserve currency status until one day it no longer is.

That said, this latest development in global currency relations should come as no surprise to those who have followed our series on China’s slow but certain internationalization of its currency over the past two years. To wit: “World’s Second (China) And Third Largest (Japan) Economies To Bypass Dollar, Engage In Direct Currency Trade”, “China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade”, “China And Iran To Bypass Dollar, Plan Oil Barter System”, “India and Japan sign new $15bn currency swap agreement”, “Iran, Russia Replace Dollar With Rial, Ruble in Trade, Fars Says”, “India Joins Asian Dollar Exclusion Zone, Will Transact With Iran In Rupees”, and “The USD Trap Is Closing: Dollar Exclusion Zone Crosses The Pacific As Brazil Signs China Currency Swap.”

And while previously the focus was on Chinese currency swap arrangements, the uniqueness of this weekend’s news is that it promotes outright convertibility of the Yuan: something China has long said would happen but many were skeptical it ever would. That is no longer the case, and with Australia setting the precedent, expect many more Asian countries (at first) to follow in Australia’s footsteps, because while the developed world is far more engaged in diluting its currency as a means to spur “growth”, Asian and developing world nations are still engage in real, actual trade, where China is rapidly and aggressively becoming the world’s hub.

China, Brazil drop Dollar

China and Brazil agreed to trade in each other’s currencies just hours ahead of the BRICS summit in South Africa.

The deal, which extends over a three-year period and amounts to an exchange of about $30 billion in trade per year, marks the latest effort among two of the world’s largest emerging economies to shift the dynamics of international trade that have long favored the U.S. dollar.

“Our interest is not to establish new relations with China, but to expand relations to be used in the case of turbulence in financial markets,” Brazilian Central Bank Governor Alexandre Tombini said, Reuters reported.

By shifting some trade away from the U.S. dollar, the world’s primary reserve currency, the two countries aim to buffer their commercial ties against another financial crisis like the one that resulted from the collapse of the U.S. housing market bubble in 2008.

“Trade ties between China and Brazil are of great importance to the two countries’ economies amid global woes and the member states’ economic stability is vital for the BRICS mechanism,” said Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Xinhua reported.

Trade between China and Brazil has exploded in recent years from $6.68 billion in 2003 to over $75 billion in 2012, and in 2009, China replaced the U.S. as Brazil’s main trading partner.

The trade deal comes before a summit of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Durban, where the group of five is expected to discuss the establishment of an international development bank.

“BRICS Development Bank will make the global financial sector more democratic,” said Brazil’s Minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Fernando Pimentel, according to Xinhua.

China and has touted the proposed bank as an alternative to international financial institutions like the World Bank, which funds infrastructure and development projects in emerging economies around the world.

With a combined GDP of over $14 trillion, the BRICS is looking to expand its economic influence throughout African countries in particular.

“We are creating new axis of global development,” Anand Sharma, India’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Xinhua reported. “The global economic order created several decades ago is now undergoing change and we believe for the better to make it more representative.” – IBT

China’s drone fleets

China is building one of the world’s largest drone fleets aimed at expanding its military reach in the Pacific and swarming U.S. Navy carriers in the unlikely event of a war, according to a new report.

The Chinese military — known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — envisions its drone swarms scouting out battlefields, guiding missile strikes and overwhelming opponents through sheer numbers. China’s military-industrial complex has created a wide array of homegrown drones to accomplish those goals over the past decade, according to the report released by the Project 2049 Institute on March 11.

“The PLA now fields one of the world’s most expansive UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] fleets,” said Ian Easton and L.C. Russell Hsiao, researchers at the Project 2049 Institute and authors of the new report.

U.S. military forces still operate the largest drone fleet, with at least 679 drones in 2012, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported by the Guardian. But the new Project 2049 Institute report estimates that China had 280 military drones as of mid-2011 — a number that has likely grown since then.

Chinese military drones have already entered the frontlines of China’s territorial disputes with neighboring countries such as Japan by flying maritime patrols over disputed areas. The Project 2049 Institute report warned that China could be tempted to use drones more aggressively without risking human lives, or even consider “plausibly deniable” drone attacks blamed upon mechanical failure or cyberhackers.

Chinese strategists have also discussed using swarms of drones to overwhelm the U.S. Navy’s carrier groups in the unlikely possibility of a shooting war. The drones could act as decoys, use electronic warfare to jam communications and radar, guide missile strikes on carriers, fire missiles at U.S. Navy ships or dive into ships like kamikaze robots.

“In particular, numerous authoritative studies indicate a strong emphasis on developing UAVs for locating, tracking and targeting U.S. aircraft carriers in support of long range anti-ship cruise and ballistic missile strikes,” the Project 2049 Institute report says.

All the main branches of the Chinese military field operational drone units. The new report identifies those military units along with major academic, industry and military organizations involved in building Chinese drones.

The report goes on to examine the state of Chinese drone technology. China is developing drones such as the rumored “Dark Sword” stealth drone that have low radar profiles to escape radar detection. It also wants to build “space” drones that could loiter at heights of 31 miles (50 kilometers) above the Earth to provide constant surveillance. (Scientists typically consider 62 miles (100 km) to mark the boundary for the edge of space.)

Chinese engineers have even begun working on drones that have the software brains to fly in formation, do aerial refueling and takeoff and land autonomously — capabilities that the U.S. military has also developed or begun testing for its own drones.

The risk of war between the U.S. and China remains low. But the report cautions that the U.S. military could prepare for the worst-case scenario by hardening its existing air bases in Asia and developing energy weapons (such as lasers) for better air and missile defense. – TechNewsDaily

Japan scrambles fighters as Chinese plane flies over disputed islands

Japan_Air_Self_Defense_Force_F-15 — Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15

Tokyo scrambled F-15 fighter jets on Thursday after a Chinese state-owned plane entered airspace over islands disputed by the two countries. A Chinese maritime aircraft ventured over the Senkaku islands, called the Diaoyu Islands in China, just after 0200 GMT, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said, as cited by AFP. Confrontations have become commonplace since Japan nationalized the East China Sea islands in September. Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Nanjing Massacre, when Japanese Imperial Army troops entered the then-capital of China.

This is the first time the dispute over the islands, which Japan calls Senkaku and China refers to as Diaoyu, has involved aircraft.

Chinese government ships have repeatedly entered the waters around the remote, rocky islands since the Japanese government announced in September it was buying several of the islands from private owners.

Japanese Coast Guard vessels have engaged in games of cat and mouse with the Chinese ships, with both sides broadcasting messages to one another insisting they have territorial sovereignty over the area.

On Thursday morning, a Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessel spotted the Chinese government plane in airspace around the islands, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.

Japanese Self Defense Force sent four F-15 jets and another aircraft to the area, Fujimura said, describing the Chinese plane’s entry into the area as “extremely regrettable.” Japan has lodged a protest with the Chinese government through diplomatic channels, he said.

The Japanese government’s acquisition of the islands in September also set off several days of violent anti-Japanese protests across China and soured economic ties between the two Asian nations.

There was no immediate reaction from China about the incident.

The race for resources

The year 2030 will see an increasingly chaotic world where China is the top economy and demand soars for resources, a US intelligence report said Monday.

The National Intelligence Council, in its first assessment in four years aimed at shaping US strategic thinking, said that China will surpass the United States as the largest economy in the 2020s, in line with independent forecasts.

But the study said that the United States, while weaker, will probably stay the top player in two decades thanks to its role in resolving global crises, its technological prowess and its “soft power” that attracts outsiders.

“The US most likely will remain ‘first among equals’ among the other great powers in 2030 because of its preeminence across a range of power dimensions and legacies of its leadership role,” the 137-page report said.

“Nevertheless, with the rapid rise of other countries, the ‘unipolar moment’ is over and Pax Americana — the era of American ascendancy in international politics that began in 1945 — is fast winding down,” it said.

The study predicted that Asia’s economy, military spending and technological investment would surpass those of North America and Europe combined by 2030, but warned of major uncertainty over an emerging China.

“If Beijing fails to transition to a more sustainable, innovation-based economic model, it will remain a top-tier player in Asia, but the influence surrounding what has been a remarkable ascendance will dissipate,” it said.

China’s global power is likely to keep rising but at a slower rate — a phenomenon of easing growth that, according to historical precedent, makes countries “likely to become fearful and more assertive,” the study said.

Europe, Japan and Russia are expected to maintain slow economic declines through 2030, while a number of middle-tier countries could rise such as Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey, it said.

The study expected major benefits from technology by 2030, but warned that climate change threatened to pose serious challenges.

With a growing population and rising incomes, the planet’s demand for water, food and energy will grow by 35, 40 and 50 percent respectively by 2030, it said.

A wealthier China and India will likely need to rely more on food imports, driving up international prices. Families in low-income nations would feel the pinch hardest on food, likely fueling social discontent.

The National Intelligence Council estimated that the world would have nearly 8.3 billion people in 2030, up from 7.1 billion now, but that the average age would be older — with potentially giant consequences.

The study said that 80 percent of armed and ethnic conflicts occurred in nations with youthful populations. The number of youthful states will fall significantly by 2030, with the remaining ones clustered around central Africa.

Other areas that will still have youthful populations — and the fuel for potential conflict — include Afghanistan, western and tribal areas of Pakistan and India’s poorer northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it said.

By contrast, the study found that the Middle East “will be a very different place” in 2030 with the gradual aging of the youth bulge that took to the streets in the Arab Spring protests that brought down autocratic leaders.

But the report predicted instability in nations with rooted sectarian or other tensions such as Bahrain, Iraq, Libya and Syria along with Yemen, which the study predicted could break up for the second time.

Iran was a question mark. The study expected “far-reaching instability” if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, but also said that a more pro-Western Iran could emerge due to public pressure and infighting within the clerical regime.

The study said a potential resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have “dramatic consequences,” but suggested that a more likely scenario consisted of unofficial actions that lead toward a Palestinian state with key issues such as the status of Jerusalem remaining unresolved in 2030.

While the study looked at trends, it warned of the potential for game-changing events by 2030 such as a global economic meltdown. – AFP

Russia, China wrestle US on Internet governance, freedom

A Russia-led proposal calling for sweeping new governmental powers to regulate cyberspace could enable countries to block some Web locations and wrest control of allotting Internet addresses from a U.S.-based body.

The proposal, co-signed by Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, added to fears in some Western countries of a stalemate midway through a 12-day conference in Dubai to rewrite a longstanding treaty on international communications.

Russia and its supporters, which include many African and Arab states, seek to formally extend the remit of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to govern many aspects of the Internet.

The United States, Europe and other allies including Australia and Japan insist the treaty should continue to apply only to traditional telecommunications such as international wireline and wireless calls.

Countries can opt out of parts of the revised treaty when it emerges or refuse to sign it altogether.

“If we have no agreement it will create political tension around the Internet,” said Markus Kummer, vice president for public policy at industry think tank The Internet Society.

A leaked draft of the Russia-led proposals would give countries “equal rights to manage the Internet including in regard to the allotment, assignment and reclamation of Internet numbering.”

This could allow governments to render websites within their borders inaccessible, even via proxy servers or other countries. It also could allow for multinational pacts in which countries could terminate access to websites at each others’ request.

Such moves would undermine ICANN, a self-governing nonprofit organization under contract to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is ultimately responsible for making sure that people trying to reach a given website actually get there.

“Much of the Internet was developed from U.S. research funding, and the U.S. has kept a residual role, so many other governments say it’s not right that one government ‘controls’ the Internet,” said Kummer.

“The irony is the U.S. has a very laid-back role and protects the Internet from political interference, but the fact it’s the U.S. makes it highly political.”

Beyond web locations and addresses, the Russia-led coalition document says ITU member states should be able to control other elements of the Internet’s infrastructure within their borders, as Russia has sought for months.

The revision would give nations the explicit right to “implement policy” on net governance and “regulate the national Internet segment,” the draft says.

“If you throw in addressing and naming, that puts the entire ecosystem in play, which is what the U.S. and E.U. said they would never agree to,” said a Western participant.

“You’re almost guaranteeing lock-up in certain areas that might prevent the other areas from easily going forward,” he said.

Another clause states any country should have the right to know the route of telecom traffic “where technically feasible,” which differs from an earlier submission and appears to acknowledge tracing Internet traffic is impractical.

“Internet networks don’t follow national borders and a lot of governments are not happy with that notion, that they don’t have control over their territory,” said Kummer. “Some governments feel threatened, which they see as undermining their national sovereignty.”

The ITU usually agrees decisions by consensus, but the intransigence of both sides means it could come down to a vote, which may leave the United States and its allies in the minority.

“The U.S. is not considering walking out of the conference and is still participating as normal,” a U.S. spokesman said in an emailed statement, denying an earlier report that the United States could quit the summit, which ends on Friday. – Reuters

China surpasses US as trading partner

In just five years, China surpassed the US as leading a trading partner in the world. With 124 countries considering China their largest trading partner and only 76 having that relationship with the US, the Asian country’s influence is on the rise.

In 2006, the US was the larger trading partner for 127 countries, while China dominated among 70. In 2011, the numbers reversed, with China dominating trade among 124 countries and the US being the top trade partner for only 76, the Associated Press reported. Some US allies even consider China their top trading partner, including Australia and South Korea.

The AP findings demonstrate China’s rapid ascent as a trade partner. As a result of its international relationships, the world’s most populous country is becoming more politically influential – and its rise won’t be ending anytime soon. China’s world output is forecasted to grow up to 8 percent a year over the next decade – a rate that surpasses all Western levels.

Trade with China was on average 12.4 percent of GDP for other countries – a rate that is higher than trade with the US has been in the past 30 years. Trade with China was only 3 percent of a country’s GDP in 2002, which demonstrates the surge that occurred in the last decade.

With rising trade influence, China is likely to also generate jobs, raise living standards and gain political power.

“The United States is a tiger with no power. Nobody can deny that China is the one now rising,” said Shin Cheol-soo, a South Korean businessman at the ENA Industry Co.

While the US is still the world’s largest importer and exports more expensive and high-quality products, China is a bigger market for 77 countries, which is an increase of 20 countries since the year 2000. The US exports innovative products in the automobile industry, aerospace, medicine, computers, finance and pharmaceuticals, but China’s low labor costs make it a success in products that can be produced cheaply.

At the current rate of trading, China will surpass the US and become the largest trader by the end of this year.

“The center of gravity of the world economy has moved to the east,” Mauricio Cardenas, the finance minister of Colombia, told AP. “I would say that there is nothing comparable in the last 50 years.”

While the recession hit US businesses hard, some began to thrive in China. Shin, the businessman at ENA Industry Co. who sold auto parts, moved his struggling business from the US to China. And across the world, people have begun to recognize the importance of China in the future world economy. Parents are increasingly encouraging their children to learn Mandarin in school.

“Mothers who send their kids here believe our children’s generation is the China generation. In the future, without learning Chinese, one won’t be able to get a job,” said Nancy Ching, who opened a Chinese-language school in South Korea.

China is also starting to look into markets that were so far dominated by the US. Rather than exporting products, the Chinese hope to soon sell services and investments, including construction and engineering. By building roads, dams, highways, and other structures in developing countries, China is now rivaling the US and Europe in areas it never touched before.

“When we see the people from America, they say ‘We want to assist Kenya’. But I don’t see it. China comes and I see one thing: the road,” said Joseph Makori, a professional driver in Kenya, where Chinese companies are increasingly winning government contracts to do construction.

China’s trade is reaching beyond just economic partnerships with countries in need of cheap products. The world’s most populous country is becoming an influential power in a range of aspects. While China is set to surpass the US and become the largest trader by the end of 2012, it may not be long before the countries will compete politically. – RT

Ten reasons why Chinese are despised in Africa

: Living in the Rainbow Nation

Codrin Arsene writes from a black man’s perspective. About one hundred Algerian and Chinese residents clashed in Algeria’s capital a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated phenomenon. Violent clashes between Chinese immigrants and Ten reasons why Chinese are despised in Africa discontented Africans have occurred all over the continent from South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, my research site in Tanzania, to Ethiopia and Egypt. The situation is getting worse by the day since various factors are provoking these unforeseen acts of xenophobia. In the light of the latest attacks against Chinese in Algeria, I’m piling up a list of the top ten reasons why Chinese are despised in Africa. I am basing my list on the most common answers I received from Africans I interacted with in South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania. I believe these causes might be similar in other countries as well. The top is not made from the most significant to the less significant factor as this is irrelevant since all these causes act together and can only be seen as a whole!

Disclaimer: This article is more about perceptions than facts. These perceptions are the ones that cause xenophobia even if there is a loose connection to facts. This article is not meant to suggest that Chinese people are hated all over the continent. In fact, many Africans I talk to every day praise the Chinese for being hardworking, honest and direct people. The only reason why this article was written was to contextualize the attacks against the Chinese people in Africa, not to draw conclusions about the Chinese Diaspora itself.

High unemployment in urban centers (where most Chinese immigrants work) fuels tensions over migrant workers. In Dar es Salaam, I met Chinese citizens working on less than 60,000 Shillings a month (45 dollars) which is unacceptable even for the average person working in the city.
Chinese workers in Africa, most of which happen to be uneducated, have no respect for local customs. I witnessed one Chinese getting brutally beaten in Zanzibar last August because he refused to stop drinking beer in front of his shops and listen to loud music. It goes without saying that this type of behavior is offensive during a religious holiday, especially one as important as the Ramadan.
Chinese traders sell extremely cheap products which break easily. This causes tensions between buyers and sellers.
More than half of the uneducated Chinese that I interacted with are very aggressive in their behavior and use curse words loosely. This is another cause of frustration among the local people.
Various Chinese living in Africa are not only aggressive but racist in their attitudes and behavior. Instead of trying to see other Africans as their equals, they claim to be superior in front of the ones they interact with. This brings back old memories from the colonial period. Moreover, the actions of a few (not every Chinese I met in Africa is racist) affect the perception of the whole community.
Many Chinese do not speak the local language at all which makes communication even harder.
Various Chinese run enterprises throughout Africa have failed to pay their employers, something that is seen by many Africans as another form of direct exploitation. While the Chinese government has taken concrete measures against some of these companies, these instances are still prevalent in much of Africa.
At least in East Africa, Chinese citizens have been incarcerated for illegal fishing, illegal activities or even prostitution (I myself and currently into the businesses of two Chinese run brothels in Tanzania.) Illegal fishing in Tanzania made a lot of Tanzanians who depend of the fish trawled out of Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean think that “the Chinese” are stealing their food. Such generalizations are harmful but the local authorities have not put any effort into addressing them. Not all Chinese are illegal fishermen or crooks but if people take some isolated incidents out of context they are more likely to form negative opinions about them.
There are more and more biased media accounts in East Africa that portrait the Chinese community in less than favorable terms. It took me a lot of time to find out why this is the case. My findings point to the fact that the businesses of some of the most important businessmen in Tanzania and Kenya are affected by the Chinese firms operating in this part of Africa. These owners have many political connections and are now pressing of the local mass media to write about the Chinese community in negative terms. Two businessmen told me they actually ordered inflammatory articles against the Chinese community.
There is almost no effort to control Chinese immigration in East Africa. More and more Chinese people come here every year which creates anxieties among the local people. And why shouldn’t that be the case? In one month since I came to Dar es Salaam I interacted with Chinese who, to come to the first reason why Chinese I despised in Africa, are plumbers, electricians, instructors, engineers, agriculturalists, babysitters, carpenters, miners, machine operators, street sellers or even baggers. Again, I don’t think this is a problem on its own but uncontrolled migration causes much of the anxieties to begin with. – african-politics.com

New colonists in Africa

vuvuchina — A truly South African vuvuzela, made in China

: A truly South African vuvuzela. Or not

The new colonials have arrived.

Without as much as a whisper the South African government allowed at least 400 000 Chinese to swamp the country during the past six years. Chinese migrants, mainly from the overpopulated Fujian province in China, have been shipped off to South Africa at an alarming rate. Spreading all over the country…

Even in the remotest parts, between 6000 and 12000 “Chinese shops” sprang up – indicating that the phenomenon is well-orchestrated by both China and South Africa.

Prof Colin McCarthy, retired from the University of Stellenbosch, first noted the “Chinese colonization”. Says Prof McCarthy: “All the evidence indicates that the project to set up such an extensive network of Chinese shops, all following the same pattern and targeting the same market, was well researched, well planned, well organized and well financed”.

The young, unemployed couples from Fujian province settled into the network – pushing up cheap Chinese plastics, products and clothing into a lucrative retail chain far bigger than Pick n Pay, Pep Stores
or Edgars. And to make matters worse: most of the Chinese shops are not registered and do not pay any taxes in South Africa; not even import or export duties – in fact, China put its clothing exports to South Africa to R11,3 billion in 2010; while South Africa’s failing statistics put the Chinese clothing imports at only R6,7 billion! It means that in one single year R4,6 billion worth of Chinese clothing entered South Africa illegally.

A South African Revenue Services employee spilled the beans on a small Chinese shop in a rural area where, when raided by SARS, R1,2 million was found under the counter.

Janet Wilhelm of the HSRC observes: “It is amazing how so many people can enter a country seemingly unnoticed!” She quotes the SAPS Aliens Investigation Unit as saying “many Chinese travel to South Africa via Mbabane, Maputo and Maseru from where they enter South Africa with false identity documents by road”.

Patrick Chong, chairman of the Chinese Association of South Africa, says: “Many would enter on tourist or student visas then simply stay”.

Researchers of Noseweek followed the Chen family where one pioneer settled illegally in South Africa, spreading within four years to 172 members of the family scattered across Lesotho trading Chinese
products.

What is even more mind-boggling and sinister is that the South African ANC government officially proclaimed Chinese as “honorary blacks”, making them exempt from affirmative action, quotas and Black Economic
Empowerment.

The whole “Chinese” experiment has been carefully planned, criminally enhanced, and no doubt. vast sums of money are involved, lining the pockets of very influential South African politicians.

It is ironic that while populists like Malema and Shivangu walk about claiming “land and minerals for the South African people”, the ANC government has allowed at least 400 000 additional Indians and
Pakistanis, at least 400 000 Chinese and at least 10 million illegals from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola and now also Zambia into the country.

Zuma made honorary professor

President Jacob Zuma was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of International Relations by the Peking University in Beijing, China, on Friday, the presidency said.

Zuma was in the country attending the fifth Forum of China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) meeting, the presidency said in a statement.

In his acceptance speech, Zuma said the award was a sign of China’s confidence in South Africa.

“Let me also express my personal thanks to this institution and the broader leadership of the People’s Republic of China for deeming me worthy of this honour,” he said.

“I take this as a symbol of the confidence the Chinese have in South Africa as an emerging country of the South, as well as a partner in the pursuit of a just international order.”

He said the award confirmed that China was a country “inspired by the zest for knowledge through education”.

“We are inspired by the value attached to education in the analects of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, who stressed the importance of education and study as being fundamental to human progress,” Zuma said.

“We believe that today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the educational relations between our two countries.”

He said that education was important in South Africa, and it received the biggest share of the country’s budget.

“More money is always needed to address the huge backlogs left by more than 300 years of colonial subjugation, and we appreciate that our international partners, like China, play a major role in this regard,” the president said.

“History tells us that if used positively, education develops people and ensures that they are capacitated to change society for the better. I say this because some have used education negatively.”

He said the award could be seen as the recognition and appreciation by China of the role the African National Congress played in the struggle against apartheid.

“All of us in the leadership of the ANC have made these accomplishments because of the unwavering support of the South African people,” Zuma said.

“I am genuinely humbled that this recognition is done through me as the leader of this organisation, and as the leader of the democratic government of South Africa.”

This is the ninth honorary academic award that Zuma has received.

The others are from the University of Fort Hare, the University of Zululand, the Medical University of Southern Africa, the University of Limpopo, the University of Zambia, the American University of Nigeria, the University of Abomey-Calavi of Benin and the Texas Southern University. – Sapa

Russia and China again veto Syria resolution

Russia and China again vetoed a Western-backed U.N. resolution Thursday aimed at pressuring President Bashar Assad’s government to end the escalating civil war in Syria, sparking dire warnings of even greater bloodshed and spillover to the wider region.

The 11-2 vote, with two abstentions from South Africa and Pakistan, was the third double veto of a resolution addressing the Syria crisis, now in its 17th month, by Damascus’ most important allies.

The key stumbling block was the West’s insistence that a new resolution include the threat of non-military sanctions to step up pressure against Assad’s regime. The sanctions are under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which also includes provisions authorizing the use of force, but no force was authorized in the British draft.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the resolution should never have been put to a vote because the sponsors knew it had no chance of adoption.

“We simply cannot accept a document under Chapter 7, one which would open the path for the pressure of sanctions and further to external military involvement in Syrian domestic affairs,” he said.

The defeat leaves in limbo the future of the 300-strong U.N. observer mission in Syria, which was forced to suspend operations because of the intensified fighting. Its mandate, to monitor a cease-fire and implementation of international envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, expires Friday.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, who sponsored the Western-backed draft, said he had circulated a new draft resolution that would extend the mission of the unarmed observers one last time, for a final 30 days. A copy of the draft obtained by the AP showed the mission would continue only if the council confirmed that Assad’s government had pulled artillery and heavy weapons back from the cities and sent his troops back to barracks.

Pakistani circulated a rival draft that would extend the mission for 45 days, with the possibility of further renewals.

After closed council consultations late Thursday, Churkin emerged visibly upset and said the British draft was imposing political conditions on the mission’s continuation. He said Russia would oppose that and would support the Pakistani text.

Churkin said he expects the council to vote on both drafts Friday morning.

Lyall Grant said he was “appalled” at the third double veto of a resolution aimed at bringing an end to the violence in Syria and creating conditions for political talks. He called Russia’s argument that the resolution would allow for military intervention “irrational,” saying Article 41 deals only with non-military sanctions “and could not, therefore, be construed as a precursor to military intervention.”

“The consequence of their decision is obvious,” Lyall Grant said. “Further bloodshed, and the likelihood of descent into all-out civil war.”

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters history will judge the Russians and Chinese “harshly,” saying their vetoes at a time when the conflict is deteriorating rapidly “threatens to engulf the region in a wider war.”

France’s U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said Russia and China must answer for the rise in casualties in Syria – 3,000 at their first veto last October, 7,000 at their second in February, and 17,000 at present. Activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011, most of them civilians.

The latest veto was a blow to Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, who had called for “consequences” for non-compliance with his peace plan, which has been flouted by the Assad government.

The vote on the resolution was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but Annan requested a delay and appealed to the council to unite behind a new resolution – but neither side would budge.

Annan expressed disappointment through his spokesman, as did U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ban also accused the Syrian government of failing to protect its people and pledging that with Annan and the U.N., he will “spare no effort” in the search to end the violence and bring about a peaceful, democratic Syrian-led transition, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

“The onus is also on the parties, and with the Syrian government in the first place, who must stop the killing and stop the use of heavy weapons against population centers,” Ban’s spokesman said.

The delay in Wednesday’s vote was announced shortly after the deadly bombing of a high-level security meeting in Damascus that has made Assad’s hold on power look increasingly tenuous.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari blamed elements from al-Qaida and Arab and non-Arab jihadist and terrorist groups for the attacks.

He reiterated the Syrian government’s support for Annan’s mission and a Syrian-led national dialogue.

“However, it also requires a sincere international commitment and political will from all – especially those parties that have influence on the armed groups and the armed opposition,” Ja’afari said. “Some countries are still bent on undermining any serious effort that seeks to solve the problem in Syria peacefully.”

Churkin told the council he would not put Moscow’s rival draft resolution to a vote to avoid continuing confrontation in the U.N.’s most powerful body. Moscow’s proposal called for the “immediate implementation” of Annan’s plan and guidelines for a political transition approved at a meeting in Geneva last month and would have extended the observer mission for 90 days but made no mention of sanctions. – AP

Apple’s iPhone loses market share in China

Apple Inc’s share of China’s booming smartphone market slipped for a second straight quarter in October-December, as it lost ground to cheaper local brands and as some shoppers held off until after the iPhone 4S launch last month.

China, the world’s largest mobile phone market, has not been easy for Apple, which is grappling with a lawsuit from a local firm over the iPad name and issues at its suppliers’ factories over wages and working conditions.

With the number of mobile subscribers set to top 1 billion in China this year, there is cut-throat competition among South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Nokia, Apple and local firms Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp.

While Apple regained its top spot as the world’s largest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter and for last year as a whole, it slipped to 5th place in China, overtaken by ZTE. Apple’s China smartphone market share slid to 7.5 percent from 10.4 percent in July-September.

In the last quarter, Samsung knocked Nokia off the top slot, taking 24.3 percent of the market, more than three times Apple’s share, data from research firm Gartner showed. Nokia’s market share more than halved last year, from above 40 percent in the first quarter to below one fifth by the fourth quarter.

“Chinese handset makers have been actively promoting their smartphones with China’s three telecoms operators, so we saw ZTE and Huawei gain significant market share,” said Taipei-based Gartner analyst CK Lu.

Gartner said this week it expected Apple’s iPhone market share to slip for a couple of quarters as the novelty of its latest 4S model wears off.

In the first quarter of last year, ZTE had a market share of just 3 percent, but ended 2011 ranked 4th with more than 11 percent market share.

Chinese firms are gradually shifting up towards the higher end of the market, unveiling more feature-packed smartphones.

“If you want to sell handsets to the mass market, a simple rule of thumb in China is that the handset price has to be close to 70 percent of the monthly salary,” said Jayesh Easwaramony, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan in Singapore.

“Today, an iPhone is more than two months salary.”

This, said Easwaramony, gives the likes of Huawei and ZTE the opportunity to cater to a mass market that is captivated by the iPhone, but doesn’t have the purchasing power for it.

VALUE FOR MONEY

“The quality of Huawei’s phones is quite high and it’s good value for money compared to the iPhone,” said Dale Dai, a 28-year-old sales executive from Beijing.

Dai, who uses his Huawei phone to write weibo, or Chinese microblogs, surf the Internet and make calls, recently bought a new Honor smartphone for 1,800 yuan ($290), almost a third of the price of a new iPhone 4S at 4,988 yuan.

But given the sheer size of the Chinese market, just targeting the highest end users should be enough for Apple, though it’s not always been a smooth ride.

Last month, shoppers in Beijing threw eggs at the Apple store and fought with police when they were told the iPhone 4S would not be on sale as scheduled.

In Shenzhen, some genuine iPhones and iPads are smuggled in from Hong Kong, while sellers also take advantage of Apple’s popularity by packaging fake iPhones in iPhone 5 boxes – even before the 4S was launched.

In Hong Kong, Apple resorted to an online lottery reservation system for the 4S model after crowd control issues disrupted initial sales.

Analysts expect Apple to stem its slide in market share in China by signing up another carrier.

China Unicom, the country’s No.2 telecoms operator, is currently the only carrier to officially carry the iPhone. It has not officially given its iPhone sales, but analysts estimate it has sold around 3 million iPhones since signing a contract with Apple in 2009.

China Telecom Corp Ltd, the third and smallest operator, is expected to be next to clinch a similar deal with Apple later this year, and analysts predict it would sell about 1.4 million iPhones this year if it can reach a deal with Apple by May, rising to 2-4 million new iPhone users in 2013.

($1 = 6.3016 Chinese yuan)

– Reuters