Talking Points, December 3 -17, 2008

Talking Points
December 3 - December 17, 2008

Dismal economic news has become the norm on both sides of the Pacific. American and Chinese economic interdependence has been highlighted by the dramatic impact of declining U.S. demand on Chinese producers. The number of Chinese toy manufacturers exporting more than US $100,000 worth of goods, for example, has declined by 67% since 2007. Even before the fall meltdown of America’s financial system, the managers of China’s largest investment houses had grown wary of buying stakes in American financial firms. Large investments in Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, and other companies had yielded large losses. Those Chinese managers are far from convinced that the moves the U.S. government has thus far made to resolve the crisis will work. As Lou Jiwei, head of China’s largest sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp., said today, “The policies of the developed nations on these [financial] institutions are not clear. Until they are clear, I don’t dare to invest in them. What if they go bust? I will lose everything.”

As it happens, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the key figure in the American crisis management effort, will be in Beijing tomorrow to start the 5th meeting in the Strategic Economic Dialogue. Chinese and American officials are expected to take up a number of issues including how the two nations can collaborate to strengthen the global economic system. The US dollar – Chinese yuan exchange rate is likely to be among the topics discussed. Some, including President-elect Obama, have argued that the Chinese government inflates the value of the yuan to make Chinese exports cheaper. On Tuesday, Sec. Paulson said, “Now is an opportunity for China to take measures to ensure sustainable, strong and balanced economic growth for its future. This means relying more on domestic demand and less on exports to drive growth…. As I have emphasized in the past, continued reform of China's exchange rate policies is an integral part of this broader reform process.” (Paulson’s speech is available in the “documents” section of our website.)

The American call for boosting the value of the yuan is likely to be rejected. In the words of Tao Wenzhao of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “China has its own program for currency reform and it will not change because of external interference." On the principle of fostering greater consumption within China, though, there is complete agreement. In April, influential Chinese economist (and now World Bank Chief Economist) Justin Yifu Lin told a USC audience that stimulating domestic spending was essential and could keep the Chinese economy expanding at the near record rates it has achieved since 1978. In announcing their US $586 billion stimulus package a month ago, Chinese officials said it would put people to work expanding China’s infrastructure would encourage domestic spending. Chinese officials have steadily asserted that taking care of the Chinese economy is the best contribution they can make to solving the global crisis.

Speaking at USC yesterday, economist Calla Wiemer expressed cautious optimism that the Chinese government’s stimulus will foster economic expansion. She argued, however, that investing in infrastructure (where 45% of the funds are targeted) will stimulate the increased domestic consumption necessary to raise living standards, address income disparities, and make China’s economy less vulnerable to economic gyrations outside of China. Dr. Wiemer rejected claims by some that China was the cause of the crisis. She also asserted that China can not tap its vast foreign reserve holdings to alleviate the global credit crunch. A full summary of her presentation will be available next week at the U.S.-China Institute website.

Please pass this issue of Talking Points along to friends and colleagues. They can subscribe at: http://china.usc.edu/subscribe.aspx. We love getting questions and comments from you. Please write us at uschina@usc.edu.

Best wishes,
The USC U.S.-China Institute
http://china.usc.edu

California: 

12/04/2008: Bronze Age Qufu: The Hometown of Confucius in the Archaeological Perspective
UCLA Rolfe Hall 3134
Los Angeles, CA
Time: 8:30AM - 9:45AM
A talk by Professor Xu Hong, distinguished archaeologist from the Institute of Archaelogy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 

12/04/2008: Master Plans and Model Communities: Rationalities of Planning in Contemporary Urban China
UC Berkeley 3401 Dwinelle Hall , Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Phone: (510) 643-6321
Time: 12:10PM - 1:00PM
Dr. David Bray, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies from the University of Sydney, speaks on urban planning in China  

12/05/2008: New Media and the Documentary Impulse
University of California, Berkeley
Sproul Room, International House
2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94720
Time: 1:30PM - 6:00PM
This workshop will explore the possibilities and problems represented by new and alternative modes of documentary work, including digital, on-line, and sonic media.
 
12/05/2008: Asian Images Inside-Out: What Can We Learn From the Contents of East Asian Statues?
University of California, Los Angeles
243 Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free
Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM
Discussion of East Asian Buddhist images and icons by Professor James Robson of Harvard University.
 
12/06/2008: Confucius in Modern Asia
Pacific Asia Museum
Pacific Asia Museum 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101
Admission: $7 for adults, $5 seniors, free for students
Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Confucian scholars come together for a panel discussion on Confucianism in modern Asia.

12/08/2008 - 01/04/2009: Divine Performing Arts: Chinese New Year Spetacular
The Pasadena Civic
300 East Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
Divine Performing Arts' Chinese New Year Spectacular 2009 is a grand live stage production inspired by the rich spirit of traditional Chinese culture. 

North America:

12/04/2008: Historic Beijing in the 21st Century
Rice University
Herring Hall, Room 100, Houston, Texas 77005
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
Professor Robert Thorp will discuss how the architectural heritage of the Ming and Qing capitals survives amid the Olympic venues of 2008. 

12/05/2008: Suzhi (Quality), Self and Gendered Individualism in Chinese Style Divorce
University of Illinois
910 S. Fifth Street, 101 International Studies Building, Champaign , IL 61820
Cost: Free
Phone: 217.333.7273
Time: 12:00PM - 1:30PM
The Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at University of Illinois presents Hui Xiao's discussion on Chinese Style Divorce. 
 
12/05/2008: Ethnicity with Chinese Characteristics? The Chinese State and Tibetan, Uyghur, and Mongol Identities
NED Main Conference Room
Address: 1025 F St NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM
The East Asia Program of the National Endowment for Democracy presents a panel discussion on ethnic tensions in China. 
 
12/09/2008: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Normalization of Relations between the United States and China
Feldman Auditorium
New York Life Insurance Company 51 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010
This event brings together five former American ambassadors to China between 1985 and 2001 to reflect on their time in Beijing.

Exhibitions: 

09/10/2008 - 01/04/2009: Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection
2626 Bancroft Way, UC Berkeley campus
Cost $5- 12     General Admission
141 works by 96 artists, drawn from one of the world’s most important and comprehensive collections of contemporary Chinese art. 

09/17/2008 - 01/11/2009: Confucius: Shaping Values Through Art
Pacific Asia Museum
Address: 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena , CA 91101
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for students/seniors
Phone: (626) 449-2742 
Confucius: Shaping Values Through Art explores how Confucian values have permeated East Asian culture. It utilizes the Museum’s own collection as a case study.  
 
09/05/2008 - 01/11/2009: Art and China's Revolution
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City
General admission is $10, seniors $7, students $5 and free for members and persons under 16
Asia Society Presents First Comprehensive Exhibition Devoted to Revolutionary Chinese Art from the 1950s Through 1970s. 

10/18/2008 - 01/11/2009: China Design Now
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
This exhibition captures an extraordinary moment as China opens up to global influences and responds to the hopes and dreams of its new urban middle class. 

08/23/2008 - 02/22/2009: Guests of the Hills: Travelers and Recluses in Chinese Landscape Painting
Freer Gallery of Art/ Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Smithsonian Institution P.O. Box 37012, MRC 707, Washington DC 20013-7012
Phone: 202.633.1000
Freer Gallery of Art presents an exhibition on the depictions of recluses and recreational travelers in Chinese landscape painting.

11/03/2008 - 11/03/2009: Ancient Arts of China: A 5000 Year Legacy
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
Bowers Museum presents a collection that portrays the evolution of Chinese technology, art and culture.  

11/14/2008 - 11/14/2009: Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective
Seatle Asian Art Museum
Address: 1400 East Prospect Street , Volunteer Park , Seattle, WA 98112–3303
Phone: 206.654.3100
The Seattle Asian Art Museum presents an opportunity to see a collection with representative works from each dynastic period.

11/15/2008 - 11/15/2009: Masters of Adornment: The Miao People of China
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
The Bowers Museum presents a collection of exquisite textiles and silver jewelry that highlights the beauty and wealth of the Miao peoples of southwest China.

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