In The News

China Aims for Bigger Share of South Asia's Water Lifeline

Brahma Chellaney July 2, 2007
Asia has less fresh water per capita than any other continent except Antarctica. As the population booms and a growing middle class seeks modern conveniences like washing machines and dishwashers, water becomes a prized commodity and the source of conflict. The latest concern about Asia’s water supplies stems from Chinese plans to build additional dams, redirecting water from the Tibetan plateau...

A Sacred River Endangered by Global Warming

Emily Wax June 25, 2007
One of Hinduism's most revered traditions is a trip to the Ganges River. But the sacred river may vanish as the Himalayan source, the Gangotri glaciers, melt with rising temperatures. With the current rates of melting, the glaciers could vanish by 2030 – and scientists predict that, in the long term, the Ganges will become a seasonal river that relies on monsoon rains. An immediate effect of...

India: The Price of Choice

Gwynne Dyer June 22, 2007
Officials in India had assumed that land disputes with China – over Aranachal Pradesh, in the eastern Himalayas and Aksai Chin, near Kashmir – ended with a visit by the Chinese premier in 2005. India would take the first and China got the second. But India was wrong, and journalist Gwynne Dyer points out that the premier’s overture was merely a low-key effort to stop India from entering a 10-year...

China Overtakes US as World's Biggest CO2 Emitter

John Vidal June 22, 2007
Nations seek to achieve superiority in all sorts of endeavors – but not with carbon-dioxide emissions. A report released by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recorded China’s emissions as 8 percent higher than those of the US. China’s reliance on coal contributed to the high rates, as did cement production, which produces 9 percent of China’s total emissions. China’s lead in...

Capitalism with Special Chinese Characteristics

Gustav Ranis June 19, 2007
On the surface, China’s fast-growing economy looks superb. However, growing income inequality and the massive inflow of foreign funds can pose problems that often go unrecognized. International economics professor Gustav Ranis categorizes China’s economic problems as a type of “Dutch Disease,” a phenomenon when rapid growth in one export can lead to pockets of excessive wealth, weakening of other...

The Last 'Competitive Advantage': Letter From China

Jehangir S. Pocha June 12, 2007
Workers of the West resent the transfer of manufacturing jobs to China, as companies pursue cost advantages and low wages. With good jobs hard to come by, the Chinese have little choice but to work long days for low wages. Some employers withhold wages altogether. Allowing competition to take its course and viewing jobs of any sort as the best way to alleviate poverty, the Chinese government has...

Today’s Iraqi Refugees Key to Tomorrow’s Stability

Humphrey Hawksley June 7, 2007
On the surface, China’s gradual transition from Tiananmen-era suppression of dissent to controlled-yet-liberating market economics would seem to hold few lessons for turbulent Iraq. After all, Iraq needs many more resources, including an end to sectarian violence, before even attempting to emulate China’s evolution toward a competitive and developed economy, one achieved through careful...