“I would like to wish the Chinese communities in Britain, China, and around the world a very happy Chinese New Year. I hope that the year of the Dragon brings you and your family good luck and fortune.

2012 will be a significant year for relations between Britain and China as we mark the 40th Anniversary of full diplomatic ties. We also look forward to building on the success of the Beijing Olympics as the torch passes to London this year.

Britain and China enjoy an increasingly deep and broad relationship – rapidly increasing trade and investment, strengthened dialogue between our two governments, and bringing our people closer through growing exchanges in education and tourism.

Britain values this relationship because many of the challenges in the coming year are global in nature. It is in the interest of both our countries to work constructively together on matters of common concern.

I hope that the year of the Dragon brings greater success and prosperity for British and Chinese communities across the world.

Happy New Year.”

It is so small that it cannot be seen by the naked eye – but a tiny Chinese New Year greetings card created by the University of Glasgow represents the huge potential for China to profit from Scottish innovation.

The card was produced by experts from the University’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre to showcase their world-leading expertise in nanotechnology ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations, which begin on Monday 23 January.

The card expresses warm wishes for health and prosperity during the Year of the Dragon from Scotland to China, and is also an invitation for collaboration and partnership in cutting-edge technology between the two countries.

The card is 300 micro-metres wide by 200 micro-metres tall (a micro-metre is one-millionth of a metre). It is so small that 21,600 of them could fit on an area the size of the China Post’s 36mm-by-36mm 2012 Chinese New Year commemorative stamp. The Chinese characters are just 45 micro-metres tall, and the dragon is just 116 micro-metres long. By comparison, the width of a human hair is about 100 micro-metres.

Professor David Cumming and Dr Qin Chen from the University’s School of Engineering etched the Chinese characters and dragon image onto a very small piece of glass. The manufacturing process took just 30 minutes.

Professor Cumming said: “The future applications of nanotechnology are vast, but the nature of nanotechnology can be difficult to express to the public. Making this Chinese New Year card was a simple way to show how accurate our technology is.

“The colours were produced by plasmon resonance in a patterned aluminium film made in our James Watt Nanofabrication Centre. The underlying technology has some very important real world applications in bio-technology sensing, optical filtering and light control components, and advances in micro and nanofabrication for the electronics industry.

“All these applications are critical in the future development of the digital economy and the emerging healthcare technology markets. Within a home environment, this technology could eventually find its way into cameras, television and computer screens to reduce the manufacturing cost.”

The card was developed in conjunction with Scottish Development International (SDI), Scotland’s international trade and investment body.

SDI Chief Executive Anne MacColl said: “Nanotechnology is just one area in which Scotland is considered a world leader. From renewable energy to life sciences, digital media to ICT and education to financial services, Scotland has a wealth of expertise, skilled people and knowledge.

“Chinese firms can gain a competitive edge by partnering with Scottish universities and companies across these critical high growth sectors. Innovation is key to China’s economic development and SDI’s offices in Beijing and Shanghai are on hand to help Chinese universities and firms learn more about the benefits of international partnership.”

Many examples of collaboration between Scotland and China exist today, particularly in the field of innovation-based research and development. Four mainland Chinese companies are investors in Scotland and a number of Scotland’s world-leading universities have research partnerships and joint ventures in place with Chinese academic institutions and corporations. Scotland’s First Minister recently made his third visit to China in two years, underpinning Scotland’s commitment to growing business and academic links with China even further.

The trio of cyclists, Shao, Jiang and Yang (left to right) outside Jianghu Bar Sunday. Photo: Wang Zi/GT

Three young cyclists have announced a plan to pedal from Beijing to London, in time to catch next year’s Olympic Games, which start on July 27, 2012.

Two male cyclists, Shao Ming, 28 and living in Beijing, and Yang Kai, 21, a senior at Nanjing Normal University Taizhou College in Jiangsu Province, will join female cyclist Jiang Yan, 22, a graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University.
The trio, and about 100 of their friends, announced their plans at Jianghu Bar in Dongcheng district Sunday afternoon.

They have worked on the logistics of the transcontinental ride for six months, and will start their journey on Saturday from Beijing. They will traverse Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces to Tibet, and then ride through Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and on to London. They expect the trip will last around 10 months and cover 18,000 kilometers.

“I don’t really put a very special meaning on the trip, it’s just an interesting activity, as I like many of the countries and cities we’ll visit on the way,” Jiang said.

“We’d like to go to the Olympic Games, but if we don’t make it in time, we won’t worry too much, it’s just a dream,” said Shao.

The trio are experienced cyclists, Shao having already pedaled his way through a number of countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, France, Germany, and the US.

Yang and Jiang also rode to Tibet in 2010. Yang’s college sponsored him so he could film the trip and make a documentary during the trip.

The cyclists shared their worries about possible dangers, visa issues, and the costs. Sponsorship has paid for some equipment like their bikes and tents, but the rest they must find themselves. They have budgeted 30,000 yuan ($4,704) per person for the journey, of which more than 10,000 yuan will be for visas.

“The trip will be tough, but we must make it through,” Shao said.

The three plan to apply for their visas as they go, but an officer with the British Embassy in Beijing told the Global Times they could make their journey to London more efficient if they applied for their British visa in advance, “as the entry checks would be more careful before the Games,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Rotherham Council has backed a multi million pound project to create a unique culture and leisure development in Rotherham based on the “Visions of China.”

The Council’s Cabinet has selected the preferred developers for the fomer Pithouse West colliery site, located to the north of Rother Valley Country Park.

The site of the proposed £350m YES! Project was put up for sale by the Council in May after developers, Oak Holdings made a material lack of progress since they entered into a preferred developer agreement in 2003.

Visions of China will be a £118m, 120 acre cultural theme park set in an authentically built and landscaped Chinese environment combining a range of experiences and activities for visitors.

The bid was put forward by leisure organisation China Vision Ltd and regeneration specialist MCD Developments.

The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was keen to endorse a bid led by the consortium to secure £5.7m from the government’s Regional Growth Fund that would “bring forward an iconic addition to the British tourism market.”

Councillor Roger Stone, Leader of Rotherham Borough Council, said: “This is a prestigious project which will create hundreds of new jobs and bring in many thousands of visitors and we are delighted that it is being brought to Rotherham.

“Our decision today is the first stage on the road to turn this “China Vision” into a reality and we will be working hard with the partnership to make it happen.

“This site has great potential and this proposal offers an exciting, unique and imaginative new attraction which meets our local regeneration aspirations and the desire of the region to increase the numbers of visitors from across the world heading to Yorkshire.”

From: Rotherham Business News

The series of events builds upon the wide ranging relationship that Wales has developed with the Chinese Municipality over a number of years.

The week involves five performances by the Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and an exhibition by Chongqing artists at the National Museum.  Both events are being put on free of charge to the public by the Culture Bureau.

The First Minister said:

I would like to send my congratulations and best wishes to the Chongqing Culture Bureau and all the artists taking part in Chongqing Culture Week in Wales.

For a number of years we have held very successful ‘Wales Weeks’ in Chongqing, which have helped to cement and strengthen the relationship between Wales and Chongqing.

I am delighted that Chongqing has decided to hold a series of events in Wales as part of Chongqing Culture Week and the move is evidence of the strong relationship between us. I am sure that it will do much to raise the profile of Chongqing, not only in Wales but in the UK.

As well as the cultural events, three co-operation agreements will be signed during the week between:

• the Wales Millennium Centre and Chongqing Performing Arts Group
• Chongqing and Wales National Libraries (a donation of 500 Chinese books also being made)
• Chongqing Culture Bureau and the Welsh Government’s Culture Department.

The cultural week will run from 4th – 8th August. In 2006 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed linking Wales to the Chongqing Municipal Government.

The agreement commits the two Governments to working together in the areas of economic development, education and training, the environment, culture, governance and agriculture.

Source: Welsh government

This course is designed to provide an introduction to contemporary Chinese language cinema including both Mainland Chinese film and the cinemas of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Organised around a weekly screening and seminar, it aims to provide a historical, political and cultural framework against which to view the films and an informal space in which to discuss their artistic merits. Over the 5 week course participants will cover a wide range of material including the development of Chinese social realism; the growth of Chinese ‘art house’ cinema; the international success of the ‘Fifth’ and ‘Sixth Generations’; and finally, censorship and the growth of digital and documentary filmmaking in today’s PRC.

Spring Term 2011:
China On Film I: Wednesdays from 27th April- 25th May 2011, 6-9pm

To book: Ricefield Chinese Arts and Cultural Centre

About the Teacher

Philippa Lovatt is in the final year of her PhD entitled, ‘Narrative Cinema in Cultures of Censorship: Politics, Aesthetics, Memory’ at the University of Glasgow in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television.  This AHRC funded project analyses key films produced in China, Thailand and Iran and explores the often fraught relationship between official history and personal memory. Philippa has taught widely on Asian cinema at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art, and has presented her research both nationally and internationally at several conferences.

http://glasgow.academia.edu/PhilippaLovatt

Known as the “modern day Chopin” in China, Yundi Li is visiting London this month to launch his second album and accompanying DVD Yundi: Live in Beijing, which is a live recording of his concert at the Beijing National Centre of the Performing Arts and is released under the EMI Classics label.

The DVD is the first live recording from the impressive venue in Beijing, fondly nicknamed “The Egg” due its unique oval exterior, to be commercially issued for international release and captures the magic of Yundi’s interpretations of Chopin.

As the youngest and first Chinese winner of the prestigious Chopin International Piano Competition in 2000, Yundi has ‘rock star’ status in China and has an international following. Last year his first concert at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London was a complete sell out.

Returning to London this month to kick off his worldwide release of his new album and DVD Yundi commented: “I love coming to London it’s exciting and multicultural. It’s where a rich heritage meets contemporary creativity. I’m looking forward to visiting again and sharing my new album with all my fans in the UK, including the British Chinese community.”

The new album is his most accomplished to date and features four Chopin nocturnes. As a Chinese pianist, the disc concludes with Cai Yun Zhui Yue, one of the traditional Chinese pieces that have proved popular as encores with the pianist’s recital audiences around the world.

The UK tour will include:

* An exclusive recital and album signing at Foyles book shop on 21 March, 6.30pm – 8pm
* A master class at the Royal College of Music on 22 March, 11am – 1.30pm
* A master class at the University of Cambridge on 23 March, 1pm - 4pm

Track list

1. étude in C minor, Op. 10, No. 12, “Revolutionary”
2. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 “Marche funèbre”
3. Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, Op. 22
4. Four Mazurkas, Op. 33
5. Nocturne No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1
6. Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2
7. Nocturne No. 5 in F-sharp, Op. 15, No. 2
8. Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat, Op. 53 “Héroïque”
9. Traditional Chinese: Cai Yun Zhui Yue
10. Revolutionary Etude

Yundi Li’s biography

Internationally renowned pianist Yundi, a household name in his native China, was propelled into the international music scene in 2000 when he became the first pianist in 15 years to be awarded first prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. At 18 years of age, Yundi was also the youngest and the first Chinese winner in the history of the prestigious competition. Since then, he has been regarded as a leading interpreter of Chopin’s music.

Critically acclaimed for his technical precision and boundless enthusiasm, Yundi has collaborated with such prestigious orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  In his regular recital tours he has performed at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Zurich Tonhalle, Royal Festival Hall (London), Carnegie Hall (New York), Herkulesaal (Munich), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), Suntory Hall (Tokyo) and the Verbier Festival (Switzerland).

In 2010, Yundi was honoured to participate in the Chopin 200th anniversary festival in Warsaw. He also undertook two European tours, performed recitals across Japan and made return visits to Carnegie Hall, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Lanaudiere Festival (Canada).

Yundi has released nine CDs and DVDs worldwide.  In 2007, he became the first Chinese pianist to record live with the Berlin Philharmonic and Seiji Ozawa.  The disc of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major met with rave reviews and was named ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone Magazine.

Born in Chongqing, Yundi began piano studies at age seven and in 1995 moved with his family to Shenzhen, where he received training from Zhaoyi Dan at the Shenzhen Arts School.  After his triumph at the Chopin International Piano Competition, he embarked upon six years of intensive musical studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover.

Writing Smoke-Long Fiction
With Laura Tansley
Starting 19 Mar
A writing style that promises to let the reader relish the sights and sounds of an entire make-believe world before he or she has time to finish one delicious cigarette. The classes will provide an introduction to Smoke-Long fiction and help you produce a portfolio of your own Smoke-Long writing. Read More

Chinese Seal Carving
With Chi Zhang
09&10 Apr
Discover the ancient practice of seal carving and make your unique seal stamps! During this course participants will learn how to write Chinese characters in seal script and practice Chinese calligraphy; be introduced to the basic knife technique and make their own carving. Read More

Chinese Book Arts
With Alison Newman and Chi Zhang
16&17 Apr
Follow a chronological journey through a variety of book forms and learn a range of traditional Chinese bookbinding techniques. During the final afternoon of this course, calligrapher Chi Zhang will introduce participants to the traditional Chinese calligraphy and brush painting.

For more information visit Ricefield Arts & Culural Centre website.

The Mayor of London was quick to lap up the publicity surrounding the recent launch of the Chinese Business Association (CBA) set up by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) with his “backing”.

The Mayor promised to do all he can “to ensure this city retained its
competitive edge…” yet, ironically, he is now busy closing down his
office in Shanghai! This illustrates well the short-sightedness of public
expenditure cuts in the UK in response to the fragile world economy,
coming also on the back of the closure of its Indian offices last year.

The last Mayor had set-up his stall globally by promoting London to the emerging economies in Brazil, Russia, India and China, in recognition of their growing economic stature. Now, with the proposed closures and particularly with the dramatic move towards Asia in the world economy, London will undoubtedly be the loser. Without a local presence in these powerful emerging markets, we will miss out on opportunities to do business, for example by promoting tourism and study in our capital as well as direct foreign investment, which has seen a rapid growth in the last two decades. Surely, whilst China is booming, London should be looking to “lasso” the rampaging tiger and secure some traction for the capital.

The launch of the CBA was precipitated by the growing influence of
China. Research by the LCCI, revealed that about 400 Chinese-owned
companies operated in London and the South East. At the launch, the
Mayor made reference to the increased investment we’d seen from
China in recent years with the opening of new offices in the heart of
the City and the promise of telecoms and technology companies
arriving too. So why withdraw from a city which promises so much and which has so much potential? It seems that the Mayor may be relying on the newly established CBA to forge links between its members and “business opportunities London has to offer”. But isn’t the Mayor missing an obvious trick here? What about the business opportunities in China?

It is of course welcome and reassuring that the CBA will look out for
opportunities in the UK market but equally, isn’t just as likely (if not more so), that a UK presence in China would be just as well placed to look out for new opportunities in the Chinese market?

Britain does not make many of the goods China or any developing
countries are interested in. If they want machine tools or engineering
expertise, they will look to Germany or Japan, if they want wines,
perfume or agricultural knowhow they will look to France. In fact, Britain sells less to China than Italy!

A single trip by the Prime Minister, coupled with all the noise and
column inches in the media will not win the trade billions the Prime
Minister is after. This is a long haul - trust and respect - two essential
ingredients needed in any business relationships in the Middle Kingdom.

The soon to be defunct London Development Agency (LDA) which is
the Mayor’s agency responsible for driving London’s sustainable
economic growth currently operates two overseas offices in Beijing and Shanghai and employs three members of staff in these cities.

Following a review, the LDA has commenced a close-down of its
operations in Shanghai. The total budget for the LDA’s overseas offices
in 2010/11 is £250,000. In 2011/12 the planning budget is £100,000, making a total saving of closing these offices £150,000. Surely, this would have been a relatively small price to pay for keeping a front row seat in some of the major economic capitals of the world? For example, without the Mayor’s representation in China over recent years, we would have lost at least seven direct inward investment leads and four trade missions including the opportunity to promote London in at least twenty eight key events since November 2009. Not forgetting his expenditure of almost £2million at the Shanghai Expo last year to promote London as the world’s best city in which to invest, study and visit.

The Mayor set up a review of the GLA’s overseas offices in 2008 and it
reported its findings in January of the following year. Headed by the
Mayor’s then deputy Ian Clement, the review concluded that there
was no case for closing these offices finding that “the rationale for
London to have offices in key emerging markets is fundamentally
sound” and that they “do play an important role in promoting
London’s interest, from supporting the capital’s businesses to
enhancing the image of our city around the world.”

In a submission to the GLA review, the London Chamber of Commerce
stated; “Closing the offices in India and China as part of a cost-cutting
exercise would be short-sighted and send entirely the wrong signals to
potential investors and importers in two of London’s most important
potential markets. The GLA may save £1 million, but it is London’s firms that may ultimately end up paying a much higher price. If the mayor is not out there promoting London, someone else will be promoting New York, Paris and Sydney instead.”

Past warnings of this clarity make uncomfortable reading while it’s
recently emerged that only 7 per cent of UK exports go to China, India and Brazil. These are the economies seen as the locomotive of global growth. Developing economies like China’s have grown in global importance due to their having escaped the worst consequences of the recession. It also illustrated the foresight of the previous Mayor’s, Ken Livingstone regime which established these hubs based upon an economic health warning that without them, we would suffer lost opportunities.

Last year, David Cameron famously said that “we do more trade with
Ireland than with China, Brazil, India and Russia combined” In contrast, last week, he announced that the UK is “open for business” This is a juxtaposition which will be made worse by the Mayor’s shortsighted doggedness to castrate his offices abroad which have, based upon his own figures paid for themselves many times over in terms of the business and employment prospects they have generated.

China is the second largest economy in the world, why then would the
Mayor not want to help drive the London economy by retaining a
direct presence in Shanghai itself, the financial and commercial
capital? For me, the sign on this London Mayor’s shop window is not a
big clear “Open” for business, but more akin to, “Out for lunch, back
soon or perhaps when it’s a bit too late……”.

Twenty five years ago, after travelling for two weeks on business across Africa, I finally arrived in Kenya longing for some rice or noodles. On the way to the hotel I was surprised to see a Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Upon checking into the hotel, I ventured to this restaurant for some special fried rice or chicken chow mein. I encountered diners using chopsticks! That was an eye-opener, little did I know that Chinese restaurants exist in Africa or usage of chopsticks was common.

Foreign aid to the Dark Continent has been part of China’s strategy
since the end of World War II. In the 1950s, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation centered on bilateral trade and China’s aid to
Africa. Through joint efforts of both sides, cooperation has been
developed in ever-expanding fields and with increasingly richer
contents.

Investment in African countries by China began in the 1980s, and on a
small scale at the beginning. In the 1990s China kept expanding its
investment scale, widening the fields of investment and diversifying
investment opportunities in Africa.

In 2000 with the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation (FOCAC), economic and trade cooperation has been
further enhanced and revitalized; trade, investment, infrastructure and capacity building have been pushed forward in an all-round way; and cooperation in finance and tourism has been gradually expanded,
thereby forming a multi-tiered and wide-ranging cooperation pattern
on a new historical starting point.

Meanwhile, Africa has also become active in its investment in China,
and the business of a number of African enterprises is fast growing in
the Chinese market. The China-Africa relationship shot to attention in November 2006 when 48 African heads of government attended a forum in Beijing. China’s capital was festooned with images of exotic Africa for the occasion. Speeches were made and deals were struck.

“This is a new strategic partnership. There is no colonial history
between Africa and China, so they are well received here.
There is no psychological bias against the Chinese.” Tsegab
Kebebew, a senior official in Ethiopia’s foreign ministry, who
was in Beijing for the meeting told the BBC.

The image of China was divided between heroic assistance – in both
liberation struggles and developmental efforts – and the romance of
pony-tailed Shaolin fighters in the ubiquitous kung fu films. No one really wanted to understand China and fewer wanted to understand Africa. They just wanted to know about the ‘sudden’ arrival and growing suspicion by the Western outlook on resource-expropriation from Africa by China.

Engagement with Africa has deepened substantially over the past
decade. For African nations, this engagement presents both
opportunities and challenges at a critical conjuncture in the
continent’s history.

Economic co-operation lies at the forefront of contemporary China-
Africa relations. She has committed itself to becoming a development
partner for Africa and has started to deliver development assistance.
China’s engagement in Africa has been welcomed by many African
leaders, who see it as an opportunity to fuel economic growth, to put
them into a better negotiating position with traditional Western donors and to amplify Africa’s voice in international forums.
Bilateral relations with African states have been largely determined by the principles of non-interference and respect for state sovereignty. Domestic political affairs are seen as the exclusive concern of national governments: other states must respect this basic principle no matter the conduct of the government.

China has developed close relationships with African regimes that the
international community, or more specifically Western countries, only engage with in a manner that is conditional on improvements in
governance. Chinese officials maintain that such improvements must
come from within and that, in order to allow this to happen,
sovereignty must be respected.

Chinese scholars and officials subscribe to the view that
underdevelopment is a root cause of conflict. They argue that through
its trade, investment and development assistance, China contributes to African economic growth and thus plays a positive role in promoting African peace and security.

Chinese enterprises are encouraged and supported to expand their
investment in Africa, and have adopted necessary measures to guide
them in this respect. So far, China has signed bilateral agreements with
33 African countries regarding the promotion and protection of
investment, and it has signed agreements with 11 African countries on
avoiding double taxation, thereby creating favourable conditions for
China-Africa enterprise cooperation.

An equity fund, China-Africa Development Fund, was created by
China’s financial organisations to give special support to Chinese
enterprises when investing in Africa.

Economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa have been created.
Supported by governments of both sides, Chinese enterprises take
charge of infrastructure construction in the operation zones, and
attract Chinese and other foreign enterprises to move in to form
industrial bases.

As economic globalisation progresses, the economic and trade
cooperation between China and Africa will definitely gain momentum
to reach a larger scale, broader scope and higher level with their joint
endeavours, which can give new energy and vitality to overall China-
Africa cooperation.

The truth is that China is itself a developing country that has successfully reduced its poverty from 53 to 8 percent over twenty years, while Africa’s poverty persists despite 60 years of aggressive foreign aid by the West. There is much more to Africa than China and they can decide their own futures, with or without China.

Oh yes, I did have my chicken chow mein, though, not as good as my
local takeaway.