China executes nine for ethnic riots

China has executed nine people for taking part in July’s ethnic unrest in the western city of Ürümqi, according to a local state news agency.

The official Xinhau news agency reported that the nine were the first of those convicted in the riots to be executed. It said the sentences were carried out with the approval of the country’s supreme court; however, it was not immediately clear where the executions were carried out.

Violence erupted in the Xinjiang regional capital of Ürümqi on July 5, after Uighurs protested the deaths of two Uighur factory workers in a brawl with Han Chinese in southern China’s Guangdong province.

Russia strikes multi-billion deals with China

China and Russia has signed billions of dollars worth of deals during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing on Tuesday. The trip was aimed at bolstering business, political and military ties.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that Putin came to Beijing to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said that the Russian leader would also meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The two sides are to sign a joint statement of regular high level meetings between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, Russian officials told reporters Russian and Chinese companies signed US$3.5 billion worth of deals. They include a $500 million loan from the Agricultural Bank of China to Russia’s second biggest lender, VTB.

On this day October 1, 1949

Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

毛泽东 Mao Zedong Mao Tse-tung

Mao’s first goal was a total overhaul of the land ownership system, and extensive land reforms.

China’s old system of landlord ownership of farmland and tenant peasants was replaced with a distribution system in favor of poor/landless peasants.

Mao laid heavy emphasis on class struggle and theoretical work, and in 1953 began various campaigns to persecute former landlords and merchants, including the execution of more powerful landlords.

Drug trafficking in the country as well as Foreign investment were largely wiped out. Many buildings of historical and cultural significance as well as countless artifacts were destroyed by the Maoist regime, since they were considered reminders of the “feudal” past.

On this day September 25, 2008

China launches the spacecraft Shenzhou 7, the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crewmembers Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement of the second phase of the Chinese government’s Project 921.

Shenzhou 7 Launch

The Shenzhou spacecraft carrying the three crewmembers was launched 25 September 2008, by a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 21:10 CST.

The mission lasted three days, after which the craft landed safely in Siziwang Banner in central Inner Mongolia on 28 September 2008, at 17:37 CST. The EVA carried out during the flight makes China the third country to have conducted an EVA, after the Soviet Union and the United States.

U.S. and China in trade dispute

The United States (U.S.) and China this week initiated a trade dispute over tires, auto-parts, and poultry products just a week ahead of the 2009 G-20 trade summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The most recent trade policies enacted by the U.S. government includes a September 12 decision to impose a 35% trade tariff on Chinese tire imports as an anti-dumping measure. The trade policy came about as a result of a trade-complaint initiated by the United Steelworkers Union (USW) filed before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The union documented a tripling of Chinese tire imports from 2004 to 2008. The Trade Commission initially recommended a 55% tariff however, President Obama agreed to only 35%. The trade tariff will be diminished by 5% per year for the next three years to 25%. The trade tariff will take effect on September 26, pegging rates at the new level from the current 4%. The dispute will now move to the WTO where it can take up to 18 months for adjudication.

On this day August 29, 1842

The Treaty of Nanking, an Unequal Treaty ending the First Opium War, was signed, forcing the Chinese Qing Dynasty to give foreign trading privileges, war reparations, control of Hong Kong, and other concessions to the British.

In the wake of China’s military defeat, with British warships poised to attack the city, representatives from the British and Qing Empires negotiated aboard HMS Cornwallis anchored at Nanjing.

Signing of the Treaty of Nanjing

On 29 August 1842, British representative Sir Henry Pottinger and Qing representatives, Qiying, Ilibu and Niujian, signed the Treaty of Nanjing. The treaty consisted of thirteen articles and was ratified by Queen Victoria and the Daoguang Emperor nine months later. As one historian notes, a “most ironic point was that opium, the immediate cause of the war, was not even mentioned.

Hong Kong emerges from recession

According to official records, Hong Kong’s economy has left a year-long recession, recording a growth of 3.3% in June’s second quarter. The figures, which were seasonally adjusted, had been higher than forecast by economists.

As a result, the government has increased its growth predictions for 2009. Previously, estimates suggested the economy would contract by 5.5% to 6.5%. Now, the contraction is only predicted to be between 3.5% and 4.5%.

“The GDP data was much better than we expected, partly because the exports were better and partly because of a pick-up in private consumption,” Bank of East Asia’s chief economist, Paul Tang, noted. “Private consumption is being driven up by stock market gains and by the property sector, which started doing well.”

However, government economist Helen Chan warned that “while we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, [...] the outlook remain highly uncertain because the situations in the United States and Europe are still very weak.”

Spanish economy contracts 1% in second quarter

Official statistics indicate that the economy of Spain, the fourth-largest member of the eurozone, contracted by one percent in the quarter to June. The GDP was 4.1% lower by comparison to this time last year.

However, the rate of the decline was less severe in this quarter than previously, and the government said the figures indicated “relatively better performance.”

The numbers are a contrast with the economies of France and Germany, who both saw their GDPs increase by 0.3% in the same time period.

Dominic Bryant of BNP Paribas commented that “this was a bit disappointing and worse than we expected, since a number of indicators had improved in Spain over the last few months.

“We do expect Spain to do worse than other European countries for a few years. Germany and France don’t have the same imbalances as Spain, which means we expect it to stay weaker for longer,” he added.

Spain’s government says it expects the economy will shrink by 3.6% by the end of the year, but will start growing again in the second half of 2010.

Typhoon Morakot leaves more than 10,000 missing

Torrential rains from the storm killed at least 41 people in Taiwan, with over 600 more missing, many of whom are feared dead after a massive mudslide buried an entire town.

An additional 23 people were killed in the Philippines and six more in China. Damages from the storm amounted to at least $1.3 billion in China and more than $2.1 billion in Taiwan.

In the Taiwan village of Xiaolin, of its 1,300 residents, about 600 are believed to have died in a mudslide. At least 10,000 others were missing in mountainous areas cutoff from the rest of the country, hundreds of whom are feared dead.