【Native Speaker每日综合训练—38系列】【38-04】经管 China's Economy

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公益申请名额，每月一名   

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亲爱的伙伴们，又是周五啦~假期到了，也不能偷懒哦！
今天的阅读让我们来探讨下祖国的经济发展吧~
近年来，中国进入飞速发展时期，RMB也日益坚挺，中国的经济正不断向美国看齐！然而不久前中国政府却一直采用着保守的非刺激性经济增长政策，RMB币值对美元也有过回落。
今天Speed将着重讨论中国政府对于发展本国经济的态度和策略，以及观望中国未来经济发展的走向，而obstacle部分则让我们看到中国经济腾飞后带来的严峻问题。
让我们开始今天的阅读之旅吧~enjoy~

Part I: Speaker

China Forges Stronger Economic Ties With Greece

Source：NPR
http://www.npr.org/2014/06/19/323510603/china-forges-stronger-economic-ties-with-greece

[Rephrase 1, 3:33]

wnj2611339

Part II: Speed

Beijing Can't Afford to Let The Yuan Keep Tumbling
By JENS ERIK GOULD, THE FINANCIALIST | MAY 5, 2014, 6:54 PM


[Time 2]

The question of whether the yuan could challenge the dollar as the world’s dominant reserve currency is not exactly a new one. China’s emergence as the world’s largest trading nation, coupled with ballooning U.S. public debt, has only served to increase the frequency of its asking. But the recent performance of both the Chinese economy and its currency have put a damper on that talk of late: amid slowing economic growth and its own increasing debt, the yuan has slid 3.2 percent against the dollar so far this year. But economic data suggest the yuan is about to turn the corner and strengthen over the next few months. In which case, the question would once again return to the fore.

The currency, also known as the renminbi, fell to 6.2443 against the dollar on Monday from 6.0517 at the start of 2014. While its depreciation is at least in part due to concerns over economic growth, it also appears to be the result of direct intervention by Chinese policymakers. The People’s Bank of China has been driving down the yuan in a bid to deter short-term speculation by investors betting that it would continue rising, according to Credit Suisse. “The moves have been engineered by the central bank to break the ‘one-way focus’ on appreciation,” says Dong Tao, Credit Suisse’s China economist. “The central bank has had great success in teaching speculators a lesson.”

U.S. officials see additional motives, and have suggested that the Asian giant is weakening its currency in order to bolster exports. In an April 15 report to Congress, the U.S. Treasury called on China to make good on its promise to relinquish the currency to market forces. “Recent developments in the renminbi exchange rate would raise particularly serious concerns if they presage renewed resistance to currency appreciation and a retreat from China’s announced policy of reducing intervention and allowing the exchange rate to reflect market forces,” the report said.
[323 words]


[Time 3]

Still, such concerns may be misplaced. According to Credit Suisse, Beijing is unlikely to allow the yuan to keep falling because it can’t afford the capital flight that might occur if it weakens too much. Positive trade and current account data also point to a turnaround. An unexpectedly large drop in Chinese imports and exports in March generated a trade surplus of $7.7 billion, the strongest for that month since 2009. And the overall current account surplus, which includes trade data plus net cash transfers, was $7.2 billion for the first quarter. “The persistence of China’s large trade and overall balance of payments surplus is the core driver of our constructive view on the currency,” Credit Suisse currency analysts Ray Farris and Trang Thuy Le wrote in an April 10 report.

Investors were justifiably surprised by first quarter growth of 7.4 percent, the slowest pace in a year and a half. But authorities announced moderate stimulus measures earlier this month that include tax relief and spending on housing and rail projects. And last week, they revealed plans to start building a number of large energy projects including hydropower and nuclear plants. The likely outcome of those moves is that the disappointing first quarter GDP figure will be the low point for the year, Credit Suisse says. “The government has begun to take action to stabilize growth,” Farris and Le wrote. “This would work to improve sentiment and reduce policy risk over the next several months.”

Of course, exports and growth could still continue to deteriorate in April, which would make it difficult for the central bank to allow the currency to strengthen immediately. Even in that case, Credit Suisse argues, policymakers will eventually allow for a rebound, giving investors reason to be bullish on the yuan in the medium term. Credit Suisse expects the yuan to rise to 6.10 against the dollar over the next three months and to 6.07 over the next 12. At which point the whole reserve currency conversation would start anew.
[335 words]

Source：Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-on-chinas-yuan-2014-5



Don’t Say Stimulus
Jun 7th 2014 | From the print edition

[Time 4]

With the Chinese government still trying to slow credit growth after releasing a flood of lending from state-owned banks in 2009, stimulus is a toxic word in Beijing. From the prime minister on down, the official line has consistently been that China neither needs nor wants another stimulus, and that the focus is instead on reforms to put the slowing economy on a stable footing for the long run.

So it was notable last month when Chen Dongqi, vice-head of a governmental research institute, chose the term “mini stimulus” to describe the array of adrenalin shots that the state has started administering to the economy. The fear is that the cooling property market, in particular, will pull growth below the official goal of “about 7.5%”. Independent commentators have previously referred to a “mini stimulus”, but Mr Chen was hailed as the first person speaking in an official capacity to define the policy stance as such. It appears to have been a slip-up. The cabinet, the central bank and top policymakers have still managed to keep the dreaded phrase from crossing their lips.

But who can blame Mr Chen? Virtually every week since early April, the government has introduced—often publicly, sometimes not—new measures to encourage investment and prop up growth. The first came in early April when the cabinet announced a small batch of fiscal initiatives, including investment in railways, spending on public housing and tax breaks for small businesses. By themselves, these would not have been enough to arrest the economy’s slowdown, especially as the property market, a critical growth engine, has sputtered.

But the government has steadily added to its initial package. It has pledged to invest yet more in railways and is now aiming for 800 billion yuan ($128 billion) this year, a fifth more than last year. It has launched big water-management projects. And it has taken the unusual step of urging local governments to speed up implementation of their spending commitments.
[327 words]


[Time 5]

Most potently, the central bank has also been drafted into the effort. After resisting calls for nearly a year to ease monetary policy, the People’s Bank of China has quietly taken several stimulative steps. It began by injecting cash in financial markets through its weekly auctions, reducing banks’ short-term funding costs by about a percentage point from the average in the second half of last year. Then the central bank dusted off its relending scheme, originally used to bail out struggling banks a decade ago, whereby it provides cheap funds to be lent on to specific categories of borrower. This time, the money is to be used to tart up poor neighbourhoods, with as much as 300 billion yuan being channelled through the China Development Bank (CDB). CDB will be expected to repay the loan eventually, but in the meantime the relending allows the central bank to expand the monetary base. For that reason, some investors call it “Chinese-style quantitative easing”.

The big question hanging over the central bank is whether it will give a more dramatic loosening signal by cutting either interest rates or reserve requirements, which would free up extra cash for banks to lend. A partial answer came on May 30th, when the cabinet said it would lower reserve requirements for banks that devote a sufficient share of their loans to small businesses and agriculture—a prerequisite that most big banks are likely to satisfy.

All this is still a far cry from the 4 trillion yuan stimulus the government launched in 2008, which led to an even bigger leap in lending. It is also important to note that the looser constraints on banks are partly intended to balance the effects of a clampdown on off-balance-sheet credit flows. But the pattern of the past two months suggests that the government will be firing off new expansionary measures as long as its growth target is in jeopardy.
[319 words]

Source：The Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21603459-government-tries-temper-slowdown-surreptitiously-dont-say-stimulus




Notes:
PBOC: People's Bank of China

Chinese Yuan Sees Biggest Weekly Jump in Years
By MAMTA BADKAR, Business Insider | JUN. 13, 2014, 11:29 AM        

[Time 6]

The Yuan climbed 0.64% against the dollar this week, the most since December 2011, writes Robert Savage at Track Research.

The People's Bank of China lowered its USD/CNY fixing by 257 pips (price interest point, where one pip equals 0.0001) in the June 6-10 time period and then raised it 55 pips on June 11.

This follows on better economic data out of Beijing and knowledge that "the US state department has confirmed that the US- China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) will be held in Beijing in early July," write Claudio Piron and Albert Leung at Bank of America. "This is also likely weighing on the setting of the CNY fixing in order to deflect the criticism of China being a currency manipulator."

The PBOC has a daily fix against the U.S. dollar and can use that to guide the Chinese yuan (CNY) higher or lower. The currency can trade in a 2% band on either side of the daily reference rate. Back in March, headlines were focused on the band widening. Of course if China really wants to let go of its currency, it needs to relinquish control of its exchange rate.

The yuan slid against the dollar at the start of 2014 as Chinese policymakers intervened to guide it lower. This was largely in a bid to curb speculation on yuan appreciation.
[226 words]

Source：Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-yuan-weekly-jump-most-in-2-years-2014-6

wnj2611339

Part III: Obstacle

Feng Shanshan of China tees off the seventh hole during the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic women's golf tournament.

What The Rise of Golf Says about Economic Change in China
By Dan Washburn, THE ECONOMIST | JUN. 13, 2014, 5:16 PM        


[Paraphrase 7]

Zhou Xunshu came from a village so poor that the grown-ups tore down his primary school for the bricks.

They did not know much about book-learning, but they knew good building materials when they saw them.

As an adult Mr Zhou took a job as a security guard at a golf course in Guangzhou, though he had no idea what golf was.

It was while standing guard that he learned about the game.

He watched the players through his binoculars, observing their strategies, squinting to make out the numbers on their shiny clubs. He wished he could afford to play, too.

One day Mr Zhou's bosses were testing some new drivers. "Can I have a try?" he piped up. People laughed at him--a security guard wants to put his rough hands on a club that would cost three months' salary! But someone let him have a go and, to gasps of disbelief, he smashed the ball over the hill at the end of the driving range--dead straight. Mr Zhou was hooked.

Dan Washburn, a journalist who lived in China for a decade, uses golf as a barometer of change. Under Mao Zedong the sport was banned, like so many things that were decadent and fun. When the country began to open up under Deng Xiaoping, a few golf courses were allowed, to entertain foreign investors. As China grew richer, more and more locals wanted to try the sport. Suddenly more golf courses were being built in China than anywhere else, despite the fact that their construction was technically illegal.

For Mr Washburn golf is symbolic not only of China's economic rise but also of "the less glamorous realities of a nation's awkward and arduous evolution from developing to developed: corruption, environmental neglect, disputes over rural land rights and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor".

He tackles these great themes indirectly, by interweaving the stories of three men whose lives were affected by the golf boom. One is Mr Zhou, whose rise from peasant to professional golfer is, as Mr Washburn puts it, "the stuff of movies". Hugely talented but utterly skint, Mr Zhou struggled for years to make a living playing a rich man's game. He travelled to tournaments on slow trains because he could not afford to fly and slept in sordid flophouses miles from the courses.

When he earned enough to buy a flat in Chongqing, he urged his parents to come and live with him. They would be able to rest after 60 years sweating in the fields, he said. Finally they agreed, and came and filled his flat with live roosters. But they were homesick for their dirty village. As soon as their son flew away for a tournament, they went home to their friends and their corn. Anecdotes like this bring China to life in a way that outlandish-but-true statistics--some 250m peasants have moved to Chinese cities--cannot.

The book's other main characters are Martin Moore, an American who builds golf courses, and Wang Libo, a lychee farmer whose land is bulldozed to make way for one. Both tales are as gripping as they are revealing.

Mr Moore, a laid-back, outdoorsy southerner, knew nothing about China before he accepted a job in the remote city of Kunming. But he soon realised that he was not in Florida any more. The local mayor insisted that he join him for a booze-up and a public execution. Mr Moore watched drunkenly as two drug-smugglers were placed on a stool and shot. He couldn't refuse this grisly hospitality because golf-course-developers cannot operate without friends in government.

The tycoons Mr Moore worked for were as ambitious as they were tough. One course was never enough--they wanted ten, or even 36. They wanted the biggest and most opulent golf resorts in the world, and they wanted them built "faster, faster, FASTER". Every step required bribes for officials to look the other way. When the central government cracked down, Mr Moore's workers had to fill in bunkers and pretend that the project was something other than a golf course.

Many new courses appeared to make no economic sense--the owners couldn't plausibly recoup their costs by charging green fees. Mr Washburn explains that golf was often a marketing tool to sell luxury villas nearby. Many Chinese officials have heaps of cash and no easy way to invest it, especially if it has been illicitly earned. Buying property is considered both prestigious and a safe investment, even though China's property market swings more wildly than a drunk golfer.

The victims of China's golf boom are the same people who suffer from other mega-developments: the peasants. When well-connected developers bulldoze villages, the inhabitants are compensated, but they do not get a choice. Mr Washburn describes peasants who rioted after receiving barely a tenth of the payout to which they were entitled. Their protest earned them only tear gas and jail.

That said, Chinese peasants are hardly passive in the face of injustice. Of the 187,000 mass protests that the Chinese government admits occurred in 2010, two-thirds were over land grabs. Some villagers use trickery to boost their compensation--when rumours spread that a new golf course is to be built, phoney graves suddenly pop up on the site, since developers must pay for each one they move.

Mr Wang fared better than many. Realising that he could not fight the Communist Party, he took the cash for his land and opened a shop to sell cigarettes and drinks to the construction workers building a golf resort. "Everything is possible", he tells Mr Washburn, "if you have money."
[935words]

Source：Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/economics-of-golf-in-china-2014-6

疏离无罪

沙发~~~~~~~~~~

Speaekr: China is pouring money in to Greece to support this country's economy,which is making Greece gateway for its products to enter Europe.Tour and investment from China are big good factors to Greece's economy.The connection of shipping sector between China and Greece is important to business.Poll shows that Greeks believe that China will save the economy.And more chinese are coming to Greece and buy real estate.

01:46
The recent depreciation of Yuan is made by chinese policymaker and The People’s Bank of China to strike speculators.And China also wants to use depreciation to bloster its exports.

01:39
Chinese government won't let the currency keep going down,it can not afford this result.Although the data of growth rate of GDP is the lowest in one year and half,the government is taking action to stablize the economy.

01:45
After 2009,stimulus won't be a choice of Chinese government to reboot its economy,the focus is turned into reforms.But the government is still taking some mini stimulus actions,while the effect will be limited when the property market has sputtered.

01:25
The central have taken several ease monetary policy and stimulus actions.And recently the central bank also shows a loosening signal.But compared to 2008 stimulus,it's not a big one.But the government may take further action.

01:00
For many factors,CNY climber 0.64% against the USD this week, the most since December 2011.

05:53
Main Idea: Chinese economic development showed by golf.
The golf can be barometer of Chinese economy.Banned by Mao and Released by Deng,Golf is becoming more and more popular in China now.Golf is more than a symbol of economic rise,it is aslo a symbol ofcorruption, environmental neglect, disputes over rural land rights and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor.
A story about a professional player,a golf coach and a farmer whose land was be bought to bulit golf resort.
All these things show clearly how golf boom affect this country.

TaoRs92

督促做作业~~~~~~~thx

time:1:45.48
Will RMB challenge dollar to become the world's dominated currency.
Recent declining exchange rate of RMB.
Two elements--China's slower economy growth rate/government control.
Two trends--RMB will strengthen in the coming months/government will put RMB into market forces again.
_______________
time:1:49.61
For RMB:
too weak--capital fight.too strong--export declines.
RMB exchange rate declines--exports increase,bring surplus in trade.But the exchange rate can not decline too much.
China economy's slow growth rate--government has started to take action.
Trend--RMB will strengthen again in the next few months.
_________________
time:1:54.52
China's stimulus to boost economy in recent times.
China's recent slow economy growth rate.
More projects--railway and water-management to improve economy.
_______________
time:1:39.54
Details about stimulus--China style quantitative easing.
Question--whether the government will make further loosening.
Compared the situation with 2008 4 trillion.
__________________
time:1:18.84
Yuan climbed against dollar.
Reason--show Chinese government is not a currency manipulator..market forces impact yuan.
But China still doesn't let its currency go completely.
________________
time:5:37.48
The story of Mr.Zhou.
The appear and spread of golf in China:
1 positive part--the economy rise of China
2 negtive part--corruption,environment damage,the gap between rich and poor...
Rural residents can not adapt to the urban life.
The story of Mr.Moore.
Many thins behind the construction of golf courts.(government tie,governer's corruption...)Many have no economy sense at all.
The story of peasants.
Suffer most from the construction of golf yards.

xiaoleirao

第一次这么前哇！

5'39
A poor man Mr Zhou watched others play golf and learned by himself. Than he gained an opportunity to play the golf in a tournament. With the money he got from the tournament, he bought a house and he invited his parents to live with him. However, his parents were homesick and missed their village.
Although the popularity of golf in China shows that China is opening up to the world, it reflects some problems such as the widening gap between the poor and the rich, corruption and dispute over lands.
A journalist wrote about these problems in China in three aspects: Mr Zhou who was once peasant but became a professional, the owner of the course and the farmers who lost their land.
The story of the man who built the course reflects that corruption is a widespread problem in Chinese government. Investing in courses becomes a good way for the officers to use their money gained illegally.
The life of farmers who lost their land shows respute between farmers and government over lands. And farmers seldom get the justice they deserve.

perl

首页么首页么？
-------------------------------------------
Beijing Can't Afford To Let The Yuan Keep Tumbling
time2，2minutes
time3，2minutes

yinghua9122

先占一个。

Speaker
1. China's premier visit Greece and China is the vital economy supporter for Greece.
2. A chinese person found a travel agency, and Chinese tourists are not effected by the crisis.
3. The bound between China and Greece is not just tourism. This bound began from the port lease. Now, Chinese company wants to invest to the Greek railway which is called by the officer "the new silk road".

Time2 2'33
RMB is depreciated recently because of the governemental intervention. Outsider thinks that this is the measure to bolster exports.

TIme3 3'00
Gov. will not let the RMB always depreciate. Then, explain the reasons.

time4 2'51
From the premier to the folks, stimulus is a dreaded phrase and everyone doesn't want to talk. Now a officer says "mini-stimulus" to discribe the stance of economy. For the measures gov. taking to encourage investment.

TIme5 2'25
Central bank is also doing the same effort to support gov. measures. And maybe the interest rates or reserve requirements will lower in the next few months.

TIme6
at the beginning of the year, RMB slid against the $. But this week, RMB climbed 0.64%, this is the highest in recent years.

Obstacle
1. three persons' stories about golf. The author wants to reveal the development of China from these three persons, from the golf.
2. First person is the professional golf palyer who is poor but talent. When he bought home in the city, his parents were brought to the new home, but they don't adopt to this different life. This story is reflecting the problem of the large population moving toward cities.
3. Second person is a foreign investor, his programs are huge and fast. But all of this needs gov. support. corruption is the central topic that this story shows us.
4. the ordinary farmer whose land was forced to be used by the gov. Land protests are very serious in today's China, but farmers have little power and passive to fight aganist the injustince.

醒醒Shine

[speaker]
China support Greece,economic

[time2]-[time3]
1-yuan ,slid, but to turn the corner and strengthen
2-concern: intervention by policymaker to shut down,bolster exports
3-opinion:misplaced.
cant afford the weaken
4-solution: moderate stimulus measures
5-imply: difficult stengthen immediately, but start new

depreciation 贬值，跌价
reliquish 出让（权利或控制）
surplus 过剩的

[time4]-[time5]
1-China not need or want stimulus,but stable long run.
2-mini stimulus
3-new measures,encourage investment. central bank stimulative step,
4-imply: gov. fire new measures

fiscal initiative  财政政策
sputter 经济放缓，说话结结巴巴
bail out 紧急救援
tart up 打扮
jeopardy 危险境地

[time6]
1-phe: RMB climbed against $
2-why: better data; SED in 7; china gov. curb speculation

manipulator 操纵者

牛奶泡小猫

Speaker
1. China's premier is now visiting Greece. China is the vital economy supporter for Greece even though the economy of Greece is very weak.
2. A chinese set up a travel agency in Greece, and Chinese tourists are not effected by the crisis in Greece.
3. The economic bound between China and Greece is not just tourism, and China regards Greece as a gateway to Europe.