Letters and Blogs

Green opportunity

I read with extreme interest the comprehensive article published on April 10 by Liu Junhong. He offers a vision to the climate change talks that will hopefully be successful in Copenhagen at the end of this year.

China and the United States now have the opportunity to lead the world out of an impasse in the issue. The momentum from the election of new US president must not be lost by countries and the Asia-Pacific area - with China, as rightly pinpointed by Liu - having the opportunity to play the role of "compass needle" in facing the challenges of a post-2012 climate change regime.

Playing cautiously on the different tables of the US-China and EU-China relationships regarding this issue, and harmonizing them with the positions on human development needs expressed at the G77+China level, the nation will give high-level benefits to both Chinese interests and the world's. As the larger successful player in the complex game of CO2 emission reductions, China has so far gained a primary role in the system built in 1990 as a base-year, which has its "lintel" in the EU Trading Emission Scheme.

Hence, both the US and China have twofold interests: to preserve the general principles and the frame of that system in order to maintain a stable carbon market boost and trust on behalf of investors; and to lead the world in building on that foundation a new, hopefully simpler and more straightforward, regime.

Andrea De Angelis

Via e-mail

Having too much

Comment on the article "China's foreign reserves hit $1.95 trillion at end of March" (China Daily website, April 11, 2009)

Having all the world's money may seem like a good thing, but like a gambler who has swept the table there will soon be no one left to play with.

China has already been forced to lend back what it has "won" to enable others to keep buying and playing. Ultimately, it is a path to self-destruction because China will be effectively supplying goods against promises to pay. If borrowers stop borrowing, there is no solution except to stop supplying them.

Since China's business structure depends on it being the world supplier, this arrangement will lead nowhere. China must wean itself from exports and that means recognizing that having massive currency reserves is not necessarily a good thing. Money has to circulate to be used effectively and China's does not do that very well.

Tony

on China Daily website

Global fame in art

Comment on the article "Hand over", (China Daily, April 10, Page 18)

The article had very good comments and interviews on Chinese contemporary artists and their worldwide success.

The poor results reported in previous auction sales are a consequence of the global financial crisis, so let us get to the starting point of the access to global fame for Chinese contemporary artists:

1) Their presentation at the Sao Paulo (1994 and 1996) and Venice (1995) Biennials, with the participation in such international events making artists instantly famous.

2) The purchase by some important collectors of the works. For instance, Baron Guy Ullens bought the whole exhibition of Feng Mengbo's "Video game" paintings at the Hanart Tz gallery, not an isolated work, in the mid-1990s. Sir David Tang acquired in the mid-1980s and exhibited at The China Club, Hong Kong, works by Fang Lijun, Wang Guangyi, Zhang Xiaogang, Liu Wei and others.

Collectors are instrumental in making artists famous and sales at auction houses are secondary. Sometimes, a gallery puts works of its artists on sale at Sotheby's or Christie's, trying to valuate their works and increase prices.

Josette Balsa

Via e-mail

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(China Daily 04/15/2009 page9)