China is now the World’s Leading Power!
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just made the news official: China has surpassed the United States to become the largest economy in the world.
An economic growth and PPP higher than the USA
This result relies on the comparison of purchasing power of the two countries, and especially the GDP of the two countries in terms of market exchanges and purchasing power. With a 7.4% economic growth and a PPP which is higher than the USA, China has just become the world’s leading economic power; and the USA is now in second place for the first time in 142 years.
The World Bank had predicted it
International Comparison Program (ICP), an institution under the World Bank, was right, saying last Spring that China would become the world’s leading power in the world before the end of the year. In 2005, ICP’s calculations had demonstrated that the Chinese economy represented only 43% of the United States’ economy, so less than half of it. The Chinese economy had finally grown faster than expected: in 2011, it already represented 87% of the United States’ economy. Then, IMF estimated that China’s economy would still grow by 24% between 2011 and 2014, while only 7.6% for the United States during the same period, so the statistics agency had concluded that China could overtake the United States this year to become the largest economy in the world. It is ultimately what just happened.
According to estimates, China will represent 16.48% of the world’s GDP at the end of 2014, compared to 16.28% for the United States. And IMF says it will still earn 20% by 2019.
Source: IMF
However, China has not caught up with the gross market value of the United States yet: it is still dominating, with a 6500 billion difference.
Source: IMF
Since 2007, the weight of developing countries in the world’s GDP has exceeded that of developed countries, and now, the share of world’s income they produce is 57%. The results are impressive: between 2007 and 2014, emerging countries have experienced a growth nine times higher than in developed countries. “Pretty amazing,” said Chris Giles from the Financial Times.
A Frenchman arrested in Shanghai for carrying a passenger on his electric scooter/moped
Well, I didn’t know it’s a “crime” either until the news report. For I’ve seen a whole family (3 & 3+) riding on a moped/electric scooter. Oh well, learn something new everything.
Hmmm….observed a family of 5 on a scooter, Dad with 2 young children plus the mother carrying an infant in an ice cream bucket. Selective enforcement for Lao Wai is not unusual. Remember the 2 Germans busted last year for urinating in public?
Take a look at the full story:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/French-biker-detained-for-saying-non-to-police/shdaily.shtml
Excellent ! Frenchmen… Why most of these issues are caused by frenchmen? Maybe they think they can “bend the law” in the same way as they do in france?
While we may not agree about the interpretation of carrying a passenger as a “crime”, it still does not validate his actions of evading the police and driving an unregistered scooter. In my opinion, especially in a country like China where the government does NOT mess around, any foreigner should be very cautious of challenging authority. This case seems quite mild (it could be much worse) and considering the same “crime” in my native US of A, the police probably would have pulled out their guns (or at least tasers) when they caught up with him..
I wish the police would devote much, much more effort (time & manpower) in controlling traffic, especially mopeds & scooters running red lights and pedestrians. It is not safe (downright dangerous) to cross the streets EVEN if pedestrians have the green lights or crosswalks.
I agree with the previous comment. The police is the law enforcement he has ignored them when asked to stop he has therefore committed several offences, French or otherwise its immaterial. The fact that he decided to run away means that he was aware of his offence to..! even more serious. The sad thing here is that being French, by his action, he tarnishes the foreign community in China as well, at least for some people who are waiting just for that to prove their points i.e. the foreigners cannot be trusted.
As far as I know, evading the police by refusing to stop and running away is a crime in every country I know. The police deal with it in different ways depending on the country I am sure. As our American friends can testify, it can get you shot in the US. Just look at the recent events in Ferguson Missouri.I have been chased down and interrogated by the RCMP in Canada because they thought I was evading a roadside check. In fact, I had simply missed my turnoff and had turned around on the road to go back.
For me there is crime and crime. Being arrested for this kind of things in France will be impossible especially with a scooter with a passenger on it. The guy probable behave like if he was in his country. Concerning the sentence about tarnishing the foreign community, i found that clearly….too much.
I agree with punishing an offence like that (not a crime per say) but days of prison or even kicking him out of the country is completely out of proportion.
We as foreigners are not above the law and should respect it.
But you lead by example and the examples are scooters, motor bikes and even cars without lights at night, 2-wheelers driving in every direction without any respect or looking out, cars not respecting red lights, priorities or showing any care about their surroundings and I don’t want to even mention the training drivers get in the first place.
I would start by enforcing the rules that mater and really put people’s life in danger on the street even parking rules that forces 2-wheelers in the middle of cars.
I fully agree with those comments. It is clearly out of proportion and i will not call that a crime but an infraction
I m driving a vehicle for more than 5 years in china, and i can tell you that it is clearly the jungle…there are law but nobody respect them except when there are camera. Have you ever seen a driving school car on the street….answer no cause they got the driving license on a parking….they should start there
it is often the bicycles, tricycles and motorcycles that are dangerous as they cross with red lights, they don’t care, and at night evn with no lights at all! They even come from the wrong side while you are watching the left side of the road before turning right!!! Sanlitun is an example where the police doesn’t care and the main traffic problem is due to pedestrians and bicycles
Dear all, I stand corrected. As it was, the “crime” was not carrying passenger, but rather, not have the moped/scooter registered. My apology to all.
I agreed with many comments here, expats should pay special attention. They are guests of and in China, they should not and must not act like they are special, and are exempted from rules & regulations.
I agree regarding the respect of the laws but the punishment should be accordingly the same. I am sure that in no country someone will have his staying permit removed for a traffic infraction even if here it seems to be a runaway from a control (and that should also be proven at the court). the law should be the same for all and not different according to your skin colour. If it was a chinese, would have he been sent back to where? most of them do not have a Hukou too. But it is true that we should show a good example. I found that in Beijing the registration costs 10 RMB for the registration at the local police where you register your residence permit and you must show an original FAPIAO even if you buy it from second hand! Be careful don’t loose the Fapiao if you intend to sell it later. The fapiao should have his serial number too on! the only question is: should you go with it or not? if you go ON it, in theory you are driving without a licence…;)
On another note, there is also news here in Beijing that tricycles (motor vehicles with three wheels, like rickshaws) will also be rounded up soon by police/chengguan. It’s got both good and bad points.
I am always uncomfortable with a Chinese explaining that foreigners are guest here.
First, I may remind you the campaign from the Government about “uncivilised behaviors” of Chinese tourists. Which makes me think that the notion of “being a guest => following the local rules” isn’t that clear when not applied to laowais…
Second, I tend to believe that foreigners are generally speaking being pretty good guests in China. We drive well, we don’t spit, we line up, 先下后上 is in our DNA…
Yes, we can blame those who drive without plate, those who urinated in public, those who crossed at the red light. But how about taking some wider look, and see that they did actually follow the locals’ example ?
This sentence is always used in the same context: an article about a busted laowai. Among a million people driving unlicenced bikes with passenger(s), the laowai had to be caught. And among the hundreds of people who got caught, it is the laowai who was privileged enough to have an article publication.
This sentence is always hiding a nationalism which is growing to a ridiculous extend in this country. And it is regrettable…
I bought a scooter some months ago. Since that time the scooter shop tries to get a license plate. They said a representative of the manufacturer (Sino-li) must come and apply for the plate. They had a copy of my passport but at the registration they “did not find my passport number”. Now I’m on travel quite some times (outside china) eventhough I am registered here at the police with the address of my appartment in Shanghai. I could have been on travel at that time. So they try again this week…any advice?
I have had two accidents in the PRC. Both were not my fault and in both cases were against my physical person. Once a car hit me literally with the rear-view mirror in my arm. Fortunately for me I am quite strong and just only some scratches happened to me.
What really put me angry was the reaction of the driver that was a woman. The driver tried to escape like nothing happened but as happened inside a residential area I could stop the driver on time. She did not show any remorse nor apologize like nothing happened as she was very in a hurry. Security guards asked her what happened, and mention nothing, Hopefully my wife which is Chinese was with me and saw everything and we decided to call the police. The rest you can imagine.
The second time a woman in a bike crossing in the opposite direction of normal driving hit me in a zebra crossing and had the same reaction no apologize no remorse no any action. Even no any 对不起, like an animal.
My opinion is that traffic lights and traffic norms are like X’mas decoration in China. No any respect…Later foreginers we complain about certain topics and foreginers bla bla bla… I cannot deny that there are some foreigners they do not know how to behave. It’s true. How about certain Chinese people.
In my country for those reasons specially the first one that woman was in jail, specialy for not stoping and at least check if there was an injury. Just paid a medical revision and short medical care. Hopefully for me nothing serious in my arm. The second … better not to talk. If I call her SB for not going in the right direction which is the softer maybe they tell me I am uncivilized and try to deport to me. Not to mention that she was maybe looking in another direction or had the eyes as a decoration. So now I have to look on the left and on the right side when I cross the zebra crossing because maybe there is some idiot that try to pass over me. They do not use the eyes.
Those things did not appear in the chinese news is not it?. Do we need to talk more?
Hi all, I just moved to Shanghai last week and brought my scooter with me – I didn’t need a tag in Nanjing so can anyone point me in the direction of this new regulation so I know what I need to do?
Suggest you carry a copy of the invoice and a note in Chinese to explain the situation. In Shanghai there are thousands of people in this situation, including motor car owners!