China

(AP) - China announced a $586 billion stimulus package today in its biggest move to stop the global financial crisis from hitting the world's fourth-largest economy. A statement on the government's website said China's Cabinet had approved a plan to invest the money in infrastructure and social welfare by the end of 2010. More »

(Newser) - The first high-level talks between China and Taiwan in 60 years have set aside politics in favor of building trade ties, Reuters reports. Negotiations in Taipei sidestepped the sovereignty question and yielded 13 agreements to triple the number of cross-strait flights, allow direct cargo shipments, improve food safety, and normalize financial relations between the once-hostile neighbors. More »

(Newser) - China has offered a fresh round of negotiations with the Dalai Lama on Tibet’s political status, the BBC reports. The religious leader should “treasure this opportunity,” according to an announcement in Chinese state media, which added that Beijing was willing to overlook the violent Tibetan protests that broke out last March. The Dalai Lama said over the weekend that he doubts whether talks with China will ever result in substantive change. More »

(Newser) - Asian and European world leaders joined forces today to call for stricter regulation of world financial markets and a shakeup of the monetary system, the Washington Post reports. The declarations marked the close of a 2-day summit in Beijing attended by more than 40 heads of state. Bailouts in the West are "not enough given the current situation, and more needs to be done," said Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. More »

(Newser) - A move by the European Parliament to award a major human-rights prize to a Chinese dissident has Beijing outraged on the eve of a summit on the economic crisis, the Telegraph reports. The government denounced as “gross interference in China's domestic affairs” news that the jailed Hu Jia had won prestigious Sakharov Prize; a delegation including French president Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Beijing tomorrow. More »

(Newser) - For three decades now, China has established itself as a global economic powerhouse by providing cheap exports to the rest of the world. But as demand for Chinese goods slumps in a global recession, the ruling Communist Party, which owes its popularity to expanding prosperity, faces new tests: slowing growth, rising unemployment, an epidemic of factory closings, and a stock market that's lost 65% of its value. More »

(Newser) - Banks are moving to tap China’s lucrative market for credit cards, issuing millions in new plastic in recent years, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are about 100 million credit cards today in China, up from 3 million in 2003. And the market is still tiny, by American standards: The average Chinese consumer has only two cards, while an American has five. More »

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as a wave of poor earnings soured investor confidence across the board, though the continued drop in interbank lending rates kept losses in check, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow closed down 231.77 at 9,033.66. The Nasdaq fell 73.35 to 1,696.68, while the S&P 500 slipped 30.35 to settle at 955.05. More »

(Newser) - The dragon isn’t sick yet, but it’s definitely catching cold: China’s gross domestic product grew by an enviable 9% in the third quarter, but still failed to match last quarter’s result of 10.1%, the Guardian reports. The data mark the first time China’s GDP has dipped below 10% in almost 3 years, and the fifth consecutive quarter GDP has slowed. More »

(Newser) - Seoul is facing a ferment in its effort to promote South Korean cuisine around the world: declining exports of its national dish, kimchi. The country recorded a $77.3 million trade deficit of the spicy pickled cabbage and other veggies over the past 3 years, BBC reports. A government report blamed competition with cheaper Chinese-made kimchi for the "kimchi deficit." More »

(Newser) - China has resumed a strict crackdown on Internet users less than two months after the Olympic Games, ending the more relaxed regulations that accompanied the international spotlight, reports the Times of London. All visitors to Internet cafes in Beijing will be required to have their photograph taken, reports the Times of London. All photos and identity cards will be scanned into a database maintained by China's Cultural Law Enforcement Task Force. More »

(Newser) - It’s no secret that China is moving into position as a global superpower, writes James Fallows in the Atlantic , and this only further highlights its leaders’ baffling inability to understand how the country is viewed from the outside—and how to change those opinions for the better. Officials just don’t understand “the crass value of cultivating the press,” he writes. More »

(Newser) - Wondering how the bailout will work out? Look no further than China, David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post . Beijing test-piloted exactly this kind of strategy, doling out $15.1 billion to buy up companies gashed by the 1998 Hong Kong market crash. Now, he writes, the Chinese need to move toward a more outward-facing kind of capitalism even as the West leans toward nationalization. More »

(Newser) - In an effort to reassure its milk-drinking public, China has issued a complete recall on any milk, powdered or liquid, made more than a month ago, the BBC reports. The products will return to shelves only after passing a quality test and receiving an approval sticker, according to the state news service. It is the first such blanket recall since last month’s tainted milk scandal. More »

(Newser) - It's now possible to visit one of Beijing's premier tourist sights without having to worry about bad air quality or hard-to-get visas, Reuters reports. A new computer game allows users to experience the Qing emperor's Forbidden City complex as member of his court, embodying any character from soldier to eunuch—delicately renamed "imperial servant." More »

(Newser) - China is poised to announce a sweeping reform that would allow rural farmers to sell land use rights, the New York Times reports. Communist Party officials, meeting this weekend, hope the move will reignite double-digit economic growth and stave off looming recession. It could also curb the thousands of riots in rural areas every year, sparked by corruption allegations and illegal land takeovers. More »