The Chinese Success Story

While the credit flow in economies like that of the US and the major European countries got mugged up, looks like the same in China went the other way and heated up, and will drive up domestic demand just when China needs it.

News is China is now officially the third largest economy, set to take the number two spot from Japan in a few years.

The Chinese success story is remarkable. China as a nation has a long collective memory. 800 years ago China was the number one nation on earth, it was not America. To the Chinese it is not about claiming the prize, it is about reclaiming the prize, reclaiming what was once theirs.

But America has democracy, America has diversity. Take the Bush Brain out of the equation, and this economy will sizzle again.

But if there is competition, it is not a race to the bottom. It is to be a win win situation. I just wish China did lend more of its money to the poor countries, and less to a country wanting to wage war.

But then China has put a major focus on Africa recently.

Even on democracy I don't see China copying America. There is a middle ground somewhere where the two need to meet. The democracy in America is not one person one vote. Loot at all the White Males in the Senate. These are Greek Gods. These are not democrats.

But the Chinese did beat the Americans at the Olympics. They got the most gold for the first time. It is as if they were saying, we know how to get organized.

And as to democracy, it is near impossible to meet Chinese in America who think China needs a different political arrangement to what it has now. These are not people in fear of the Chinese Communist Party. They are in America. The CCP is their own NAACP, making them proud.







In The News

China overtakes Germany in terms of GDP China Daily The revised growth estimate for 2007 - from 11.9 percent to 13 percent, the fastest rate since 1994 - raised the country's GDP to 25.7 trillion yuan, ($3.5 trillion) at 2007 exchange rates ..... "I think it will take only three to four years for China to overtake Japan as the second-largest economy. The US is by far still the largest economy.
China overtakes Germany as third-largest economy Deutsche Welle
China revises 2007 GDP growth rate to 13% Xinhua the industrial sector achieved the fastest growth followed by the service and trade sector and then agriculture.
China's 2008 customs revenue up 21% to record high China Daily
China’s trade Economist in 2007 China overtook Germany to become the world’s third-biggest economy .... China’s trade surplus rose to a record $457 billion ..... The best way for China to support its economy—and to help unwind global trade imbalances—is instead to bolster domestic demand. .... Thanks to the healthier state of its banking system, China is perhaps the only big economy where credit has heated up rather than frozen in recent months. If sustained, this could help to support domestic spending—and hence imports. China’s economy certainly can not depend on exports over the next year.
China's exports, imports drop CNN International falling demand in the United States and the European Union.
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Google conquers 2008 search market in US CNET News
Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan rubbishes Slumdog Millionaire guardian.co.uk the film was a big winner at Sunday's Golden Globes and is seen as a frontrunner for the Oscars .... The film is based on a novel, Q&A, by the Indian writer and diplomat Vikas Swarup ..... an Indian director making a western-style film might not meet with the attention lavished on Slumdog Millionaire: "It's just that the SM idea, authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a westerner, gets creative globe recognition. The other would perhaps not." .... he was the original host of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a show that resurrected his career.
Film review: Slumdog Millionaire the 2005 novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup
Amitabh blasts 'Slumdog Millionaire' on blog Economic Times
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Obama warns of long recession without quick action International Herald Tribune
Saviour of the Republicans New Statesman the best prospect for revitalising a Republican Party .... His rush of words is likely linked to the rush of his ambition, and his ambition - at 37, just two years above the minimum to be president - appears beyond restraint. ..... To understand why Republicans are so excited about Jindal (the conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh calls him "the next Ronald Reagan") .... white people are expected to become a minority by 2042. .... When John LaBruzzo, a Republican legislator in Louisiana, once asked a Jindal aide what the governor's hobby was, he says he was told it was "to read information". ...... Jindal's wonkishness could be as much a novelty as his ethnicity. ...... he has that technocratic edge to him that makes him palatable to moderates and independents ....... Jindal has sought more to find common cause with white Americans ....... some relatives in the Punjab complain that he downplays his ties to his ancestral homeland. ...... at 5ft 8in and 135lb, offers little in the way of physical presence. ....... earnest air and obvious intelligence
Louisiana, Joseph Cao, Bobby Jindal and David Duke Bayou Buzz having a Indian American as our Governor and a Congressman formerly from Viet Nam as our Congressman does not mean that Louisiana would automatically vote for a black person as Governor.
Clinton Is Moving to Fill Senior Posts at State Dept. New York Times
Clinton Confirmation Tuesday: Caroline D-Day Next MSNBC
Paterson: Kennedy lacks some experience for Senate The Associated Press Kennedy has many positives despite never holding elective office. .... New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi of Long Island, and Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Steve Israel, Jerrold Nadler, Kirsten Gillibrand and Brian Higgins.
Billions pulled out of China Financial Post
Daschle vows aggressive reform as US health leader Reuters
Motorola Combines WiMax, WiFi, Ethernet, VoIP In One Device InformationWeek
Maybe it was love at first sight with Amitabh: Jaya Bachchan Hindustan Times“I first saw Amitji in an institute. I saw him, I liked him and I told my friends that you know he has got a personality. And they said what...he looks like a stick!" “He was very thin and his face was full of his eyes. I remember I fought with my friends and said he is different.”
Obama asks Congress to delay digital TV switch Los Angeles Times
Bride Wars (2009) New York Times

New Voices in Congress Will Change the Tone of the Democratic Majority New York Times “You’re not going to see any wild, left-wing policymaking,” he added. “You’re not going to get the Berkeley wish-list out of this crowd.” ..... taxpayers have grown increasingly impatient with bailout after bailout. “There’s a level of frustration from people saying enough taking care of fat cats, the executives, the stockholders” ....... Steve Austria, a Republican from Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, is the first Filipino-American...... Anh (Joseph) Cao, the Republican who defeated William Jefferson in Louisiana, is the first Vietnamese-American ...... Jared Polis of Colorado is the first openly gay male candidate ...... Jews make up 13 percent of the Senate and 7 percent in the House, while Mormons are 5 percent in the Senate and 2 percent in the House. ........ The House now includes two Muslims

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