China decided not to follow the growing trend of investing in overseas farmland to outsource food production. According to Niu Den, deputy agriculture minister, outsourcing food production to Africa is not an option for China. While countries like South Korea and Saudi Arabia recently accelerated outsourcing of their food production particularly to Africa, China will continue to depend on its own soil to maintain self-sufficiency in grain.
Chinese companies increasingly are falling victim to trademark pirates. Companies targeted include international heavyweights such as Bank of China, China Investment Corporation, China Minmetals and the Nasdaq-listed internet portal Sohu. Cases abound in which Chinese individuals registered Chinese companies’ trademarks in a given country before the original owner of the trademark expanded in that country. Upon market entry, the original trademark owner then faces severe challenges including legal disputes, as well as damaged customer and supplier relations.
Using corn and rapeseed for bioenergy production is not an option for China, according to an agricultural legislator. High domestic demand due to changing consumption patterns, as well as an expansion of the processing industry are already raising crop consumption. Hence, China decided against following the U.S. and EU bioenergy production path with corn and rapeseed as traditional raw materials. Instead, domestic bioenergy production will focus more on non-grain raw materials such as wheat or rice stalks,a heretofore largely unused byproduct of grain production.
A new estimate of the number of migrant workers who have lost their jobs due to China’s economic slowdown raised a previous government estimate by as much as 50 percent. According to the new report by Cheng Guochiang, deputy head of the Chinese State Council’s Development & Research Center, about 30 million farmers have lost their jobs in China’s cities. The higher estimate will increase pressure on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who identified creating jobs and ensuring growth as China’s biggest tasks this year.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
