Notes On China

For those who don't know, Confucius Peace Prize, is a "harmonious" alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize. A brainchild of Peking University professor, Kong Qindong, this prize was "a clumsy attempt to divert attention from the fact that the world’s most famous peace prize had just gone to a jailed Chinese dissident.” The last year's winner was none other than Russian paramount machoman, Vladimir Putin! 

Maybe, being tired of so much ridicule, this year's nominees are far less fun and include:

former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his successor Ban Ki-moon

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates

Peking University professor Tang Yijie

Social activist Wang Dingguo

Agricultural scientist Yuan Longping

Beijing instated 11th Panchen Lama.

From Caixin: 

China International Capital Corp says banks should expect defaults on loans as small and medium enterprises enter an end-of-year credit crunch

China International Capital Corp warned in a recent report that banks are likely to see an increasing number of loans go bad during the first half of 2012, due in part to the scarcity of credit available to small and medium enterprises.

Based on a survey conducted by CICC in the cities of Hangzhou and Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, home to many SMEs, the report said that even though banks have loosened credit controls on SMEs, many SMEs may still suffer a credit crunch in the first quarter of next year.

Local government and financial authorities have encouraged banks to provide credit to SMEs, including subsidizing loans and requiring SMEs to constitute at least half of a commercial bank's clients, according to CICC. Such financial supports have helped SMEs avoid a liquidity crisis so far. But SMEs could face challenges getting loans in the first quarter of 2012, as many payments to suppliers and workers are due before the Chinese New Year, which comes in January next year.

A recent survey conducted by China's leading e-commerce service provider Alibaba Group and Peking University found that so far this year, the average profit margin of Chinese SMEs in the Pearl River Delta has declined by up to 40 percent compared to the same period last year due to the increased costs of raw materials and labor. Exporters have seen order numbers continue to drop, and only 13 percent of SMEs currently have access to bank loans.

Now even the party mouthpiece Global Times, confirms it. The property prices in Beijing are spiraling down: 

A local property company has been promoting its houses in Beijingxiangsu community, located near the East Fifth Ring Road, for 11,600 yuan ($1,825) per square meter and some units are selling for as low as 480,000 yuan, according to the Beijing Morning Post.  Figures from the Beijing Real Estate Trade and Management website show the average price of an apartment in this community has dropped from 22,500 yuan per square meter to 11,600 yuan, said the report. 

Another builder, Vanke, has also reduced the price of several projects by 10 to 20 percent, indicating the housing market in Beijing is in a rapid decline, according to the report. 

From China Daily: 

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, 4.5 million couples divorced in 2010, an 11-percent increase from 2009. The situation has prompted some people to suggest it is now harder than ever for couples to stick together.

At the Moral Education Center in Chaoyang district, which opened in July, staff promise to better equip singles and wives for marriage by nurturing their internal qualities. Among its services, the center offers a 30-hour course for 20,000 yuan on how to snare a millionaire, which features modules on makeup, conversational skills, personality development and traditional tea-pouring techniques.