每日一篇英文中国报道（Washington Post and NY Times)

时务轩

A television production line at the Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliance company plant in Sichuan, China. An agreement with Apex Digital, an American distributor, has resulted in a tremendous amount of debt.


Political Tones to Problems of TV Maker in China

NY Times
By CHRIS BUCKLEY
Published: January 1, 2005

EIJING, Dec. 31 - The tale of China's biggest exporter of televisions to the United States - a company that disclosed huge losses earlier this week - seemed to take a new turn on Friday with the abrupt dismissal of the Communist Party boss of the company's hometown.

The official, Huang Zuejui, a former executive at the company, was party secretary of Mianyang, a city in the Sichuan province of western China that is home to the company, Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliance. He was removed because of "work needs," according to a brief announcement posted Friday on the city's official Web site. City and provincial officials declined to comment further.

The removal of Mr. Huang follows news this week that the company would probably report huge losses for the year, mostly from nearly a half-billion dollars in unpaid debts it had racked up with an American distribution company, Apex Digital. Apex had made Changhong a leading provider of Chinese television sets sold under various labels in the United States by retailers like Wal-Mart, Kmart and Circuit City.

Word also emerged earlier this week that the president of Apex, which is based in Ontario, Calif., had been arrested by the Mianyang police and charged with financial fraud.

The United States Embassy in Beijing on Thursday confirmed that the Apex president, David Ji, an American citizen, was being held by Chinese authorities. The Apex office in Shanghai referred all questions to the California headquarters, and officials there did not return phone calls.

In China, where business, politics and bureaucracy are closely intertwined, few things are ever explicit. But the removal of Mr. Huang, just nine months after his elevation from mayor to local party secretary, may indicate that higher rungs of the Chinese government are reassessing official involvement in Changhong's activities.

The Sichuan provincial government and the city government have a controlling interest in Changhong through a holding company and have been active in Changhong's aggressive foray into the American market through Apex.

In recent years, as much as half of Mianyang's tax revenues have come from Changhong, which also employs tens of thousands of local people. The resulting tangle of financial, managerial and political interests, with perhaps inadequate oversight, may have sowed the seeds of Changhong's large loss, industry analysts said.

"The government is the largest shareholder in Changhong," said Ivan Chung, the managing director of Xinhua Far East China Ratings, a company that assesses Chinese companies. "This relationship with government is a double-edged sword. It can bring benefits but also pressures and interference."

Apex seemed unstoppable when Changhong teamed with it two and a half years ago. Despite a sales force of only a few dozen, Apex had already shaken up the American DVD player market by selling cheap Chinese-made players that forced furious price slashing by established competitors. At the time, Changhong, China's biggest television maker, was seeking to escape slowed growth in its home market and had turned to Apex and its seeming mastery of the United States market to revive its fortunes.

The partnership was forged by Ni Runfeng, who had retired as Changhong's president in 2000 but was coaxed back early the next year by the Mianyang government to revive the city's star business.

Changhong's previous efforts to maintain growth by expanding sales in the Chinese countryside had fizzled. Expanding its exports offered a way to shore up sales and also bestow glory upon the company's government patrons, eager to show that even businesses in inland provinces could take part in China's export boom. Last year Changhong produced about $1.3 billion worth of televisions, and exported about $600 million worth.

"Ni had such an ambitious overseas strategy because it was a way of earning political capital," said one industry analyst, who said that his firm's policy dictated that he could not be quoted by name. "The Sichuan government was proud to hold up Changhong, and to some extent that put pressure on Changhong to deliver."

Mr. Ni personally took control of dealings with Apex but, according to recent Chinese news accounts, waived many of the normal checks on credit payments and deliveries in the rush to achieve growth. Mr. Ni was removed as president and chief executive of Changhong in July, and succeeded by Zhao Yong, who previously served as a deputy mayor of Mianyang. A Changhong spokesman, Liu Haizhong, declined on Friday to discuss those news accounts and other aspects of the company's dealings with Apex and government officials.

Even as Apex was basking in its dominance of the market for discount televisions and DVD players, it is far from clear that Changhong's sales to Kmart, Wal-Mart and other American retailers brought it many profits. Chinese television exporters like Changhong, Konka and Skyworth generate gross profits of about 5 percent on their exports, according to estimates by Mr. Chung, the analyst.

Taking into account overheads and fees, Mr. Chung said their net profits from those exports were probably "razor thin." But analysts say Changhong's export strategy emphasized market share over profits.

Because Chinese electronics manufacturers often have heavy investments in their factories, export orders can help to absorb operating costs and keep production lines running, said Paul Gao, who follows China's electronics sector for McKinsey & Company, the business consulting company. "With price competition, large-volume manufacturers are basically breaking even," he said.

The Mianyang government is heavily dependent on tax revenues from Changhong, and those revenues are calculated on sales volume, not profits, said Nancy Dang, a Chinese television analyst in Shanghai for iSuppli, a market research company based in El Segundo, Calif.

"If a company focuses on sales revenues, it will enlarge its sales even with low profit margins," Ms. Dang said. "Many people in Changhong realized there were problems with this, but did not stop it - could not stop it."

Changhong's eagerness to expand in the United States market apparently led it to ignore signs about Apex Digital. Even before Changhong agreed to make televisions for Apex in 2002, some Chinese companies had begun shying away from the distributor because of credit concerns.

In 2001, Xiahua Electronics, a maker of DVD players in the coastal city of Xiamen, was negotiating with Apex to supply players for the American market. But when Xiahua checked on Apex's creditworthiness with the China Export Insurance Corporation, it was told Apex's creditworthiness was "zero" and the insurer would not cover shipments to it, Li Yong, Xiahua's international sales manager, said in a telephone interview. Another Chinese company had already sued Apex over failed payments for shipments, the insurers told him. Xiahua stopped talks with Apex.

"That was a long time ago, so I don't understand why companies like Changhong trusted them," Mr. Li said. "How could you do that sort of business with a company with zero credit?"

Meanwhile, the United States government's decision to begin imposing high tariffs in November 2003 on Chinese television importers it accused of dumping sets below their reasonable market price probably accelerated Changhong's financial problems, analysts say. "I'd guess without the antidumping problems, it would still have come out, but two years later, because the tariff worsened Apex's finances," said Xu Shezhi, the general manager of the Damo Investment Consultancy Company and a longtime observer of Changhong.

Changhong remains a powerful player in China's television sector, controlling about 13 percent of China's television market, as measured by revenues. But the traditional cathode-ray tube segment of the television market that the company dominates is stagnating. And its recently announced financial losses are likely to hinder its ability to invest in increased production of more sophisticated and potentially lucrative products, such as flat-screen televisions.

"If Changhong can't invest now in high-end televisions, they'll lose opportunities and market," said Ms. Dang, the iSuppli analyst.

City and company officials refused to comment on the removal of Mr. Huang and whether it was related to Changhong's recently announced losses. He was made secretary in March, after serving as the Mianyang's mayor and was heavily involved in the city's dealings with Changhong.

But politics, as well as business, is likely to continue steering Changhong's fate.

Ultimately, Changhong's size and the same political bonds that apparently contributed to its woes may save it from downfall. Because of its status as a dominant employer and a provider of tax revenue, its collapse could spark the popular unrest the Chinese government dreads.

"The company is large enough to absorb these losses," Mr. Chung said. "If it comes to it, it's quite likely the government will bail it out."

pping

不见了
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时务轩

Counterfeit Goods That Trigger the 'False' Alarm

By Don Oldenburg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 4, 2005; Page C10

Shopping for a Gore-Tex jacket last November, Shane Gooding found several deals on eBay. But he grew concerned that some of the jackets might not have been the real thing.

"With knockoffs flooding the market from China and other countries, is there a way to verify whether the jacket or other products I'll buy are real?" asks Gooding, who lives in Springfield.

Tim Trainer says telling the difference isn't easy. "And once it's home, then it's too late if you bought a counterfeit," warns the president of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, a D.C.-based nonprofit association that combats counterfeiting and piracy.

Product counterfeiting has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Trainer says a conservative estimate, from the International Chamber of Commerce, is that product counterfeiters rake in $300 billion to $500 billion annually. Sixty to 70 percent of counterfeit goods seized by U.S. Customs come from China, says Trainer. Even major chains, which buy in bulk, get knockoffs mixed in with legitimate shipments, and they end up on store shelves.

Practically anything can be counterfeited today, and is: Rolex watches, and clothes and accessories from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Kate Spade, Coach, Christian Dior and other high-end brands. But everyday items are counterfeited as well: electrical cords, standard AA batteries, surge protectors, pharmaceuticals, even pet flea products.

Soon after the comedy "Meet the Fockers" opened in theaters recently, unauthorized copies were on sale.

"The piracy rate for U.S.-released movies is 100 percent," says Jim Spertus, director of the Motion Picture Association of America's U.S. anti-piracy operation, which estimates the industry loses more than $3.5 billion a year in DVD and tape sales to counterfeiters.

What makes a knockoff illegal? Trainer says "looks-like-the-real-thing counterfeits" that use manufacturers' names or copyrighted elements is an infringement of trademark and copyright laws. Products whose designs are "inspired" by brand-name products are a murkier issue, but the law considers look-alike products that are likely to confuse consumers illegal. "We had this footwear maker who took 'Converse' and [transposed] the 'v' and 's' so it read 'Conserve,' " he says. "We said it was counterfeit because people didn't notice the difference."

How to avoid buying a counterfeit product? Price and vendor are the most reliable tip-offs.

"If you are talking about a Rolex watch, a Louis Vuitton bag or Oakley sunglasses, products which are pretty pricey," says Trainer, "the question is, did you buy it from a reputable vendor? If you bought it off the street, forget about it."

A new Gucci handbag for $100 really is too good to be true when the real thing costs $1,000, says Trainer. "A lot of this is really common-sense stuff. If it is discounted 70 percent, hello?"

But unless you know what a Rolex watch is supposed to look and feel like, you probably can't tell the difference. "If it's a nice Nike shirt or whatever, it may have the hangtag or the tag that says 'Genuine Nike.' The counterfeiters are so good today that it sometimes takes experts at the companies to tell if it is a counterfeit," Trainer says.

Counterfeits often have blurred or ripped labels; product names misspelled; contents, color, smell or packaging wrong. Trainer says he saw counterfeit Duracell batteries for sale at local supermarkets and drugstores recently. He turned the package over, he said, "and the word 'China' was misspelled."

Spertus says pirated movies are usually easy to recognize. Pirated DVDs are usually blue on the data side instead of gold or silver. The packaging is unprofessional, with imperfections in the artwork -- "things like spelling Tom Cruise's name 'Cruz' is common."

Online sales make it tough to identify counterfeits, too. "eople go to China and buy a whole set of counterfeit Callaway golf clubs for $300, and then they bring it back here, put it on eBay and sell it as legitimate stuff," Trainer says.

Ebay admits that for a marketplace where 3.5 million new goods are put up for auction daily, it's a difficult battle. "Our policy is we don't allow it," says eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. "The problem is, how do you tell? We are in no position to judge whether something could be counterfeit or not."

But eBay cooperates with those who can judge -- the manufacturers -- through its VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program. It allows 8,000 member manufacturers and artists to file notices about any eBay listing they determine violates their copyrights. "If they are reported to us, we pull those listings," Durzy says.

And Gooding's jacket? He entered a bid on eBay. An hour before the auction's end, eBay shut it down as a suspected knockoff. Gooding bought a jacket from Lands' End.

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Manipulating the Mekong
China's Push to Harness Storied River's Power Puts It at Odds With Nations Downstream

By Peter S. Goodman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page E01

CHONG KHNEAS, Cambodia -- A decade ago, Chan Kimoeun could pilot his skiff across the turbid water of the Tonle Sap, stay out for two days and bring home as much as 400 pounds of fish. On this day, he returned from five nights of floating torpor with a mere 50 pounds -- hardly enough to cover the costs of fuel or the rice he cooked during the trip.

"All that time for nothing," said Chan, whose four children depend on his catch to pay for school and any prospect of escaping this floating town on the trash-strewn shores of Cambodia's largest lake. "There are fewer and fewer fish."

While Chan futilely drifted, construction crews 650 miles to the north in the Chinese province of Yunnan labored to secure energy for China's breakneck industrialization. Dumping truckloads of boulders and concrete, they fashioned a 300-foot-high hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River.

China's rapid development is changing the global economy as the country absorbs vast quantities of energy and raw materials and presses wages and manufacturing costs lower. But the changes along the Mekong highlight another aspect of China's ascendance: Its threat to the environment.

Japan blames China's smokestacks for increased volumes of acid rain. Chinese timber companies have pressed into neighboring Burma to harvest hardwoods. And throughout Southeast Asia, farmers and fishermen complain that China's thirst for hydroelectric power is choking the Mekong, a waterway that sustains some 70 million people.

Known to Americans largely for the struggle over its fertile southern delta during the Vietnam War, the Mekong winds 3,000 miles from the highlands of Tibet to the South China Sea, irrigating crops, nurturing fish and supporting shipping across a vast area.

China already has completed two dams across the river, with two more under construction and four others planned. Despite the geographic distance, scientists are beginning to document links with growing environmental troubles downstream. A team of researchers last year at the Finnish Environment Institute concluded that China's Manwan Dam cut by one-half the amount of sediment in the water at Chiang Saen, Thailand. The researchers also concluded that China's network of dams would likely lead to lower water levels in the river, less flooding of the Tonle Sap, less transfer of nutrient-rich sediment -- and a degraded fishery.

The stakes are considerable. The Mekong is a crucial artery of nutrients for the Tonle Sap, for example, whose fish provide most of the protein in the Cambodian diet. The fish catch following the end of the wet season in 2003 declined by roughly half compared with the previous year, according to a report by Milton Osborne, an Australian researcher. While overfishing and habitat destruction are also factors, researchers place some of the blame on China's dams.

"China, they will work for their own country," said Khy Tanglim, a Cambodian cabinet minister who heads a team devoted to Mekong policy. "We are downstream, so we suffer all the negative consequences. If there is no more water for us, no more fish, no more vegetation, this is a big disaster."

The catch in northern Thai waters declined by half from 2000 to 2004, according to the Southeast Asia Rivers Network, an environmental group. Concern is also mounting about Vietnam's Mekong River Delta, whose soils produce roughly half of the country's agricultural output. Less fresh water coming down river could allow more saltwater to spill in from the South China Sea, ruining farmland. More than 40 percent of the Mekong passes through Chinese territory, and about 16 percent of the runoff that feeds it originates in China -- a figure that jumps to perhaps 40 percent in the dry season, Osborne said.

So far, China has not joined the four-nation Mekong River Commission, which coordinates development.

"The Chinese government is not concerned about the impact on the lives of people downstream," said Chainarong Settachua, director of the Southeast Asia Rivers Network.

Beijing asserts rights to do what it wants on its portion of the Mekong, while arguing that its dams could lessen flooding downriver. China also cites the absence of data definitively linking its dams to trouble downstream. A spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China considers the environmental impacts of its hydroelectric dams.

The United Nations' 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses requires nations sharing a waterway to coordinate development and lessen the effect on downstream communities. But China's neighbors so far have muted their criticism, preferring to promote trade. Laos has its own dam-building plans. Thailand hopes to buy electricity produced by China. Cambodia's government sees China as a key source of aid.

"What can we do?" said Khy, the Cambodian minister. "They are upstream. They are a richer country operating in their own sovereign territory. How can we stop them?"

On a journey down portions of the Mekong in early November, China's industrial ambitions contrasted with the struggles of its neighbors. North of the Chinese town of Jinghong in Yunnan province, some 5,000 people are scouting new places to live, having been told by the government that their land would soon be under water.

Ai Bin and his family, members of the Bulang ethnic minority, prepared to dismantle their house and move it to higher ground. Rice and rubber farmers, they built their house four years ago for what constituted their life savings -- about $3,000. Brick by brick, board by board, they must now take it apart, carry it up the mountain and put it back together.

"It's so much trouble," Ai said.

Just downstream, around a series of jungle-covered hills, the cause of his dislocation gleamed under a tropical sun. In eight years, the dam at Jinghong is expected to produce 1,500 megawatts of power, boosting by more than 50 percent the energy delivered by two other dams already in place upriver -- the Manwan dam, completed in 1996, and the Dachaoshan, launched a year ago. Further upriver at Xiaowan, work has begun on a dam that will tower 900 feet over the Mekong. Slated for completion by 2012, it would stand second only to China's controversial Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

With China now rationing energy in key industrial areas, the Yunnan's rivers have become central to boosting the supply of electricity. A frontier mission is also at play. Dam building in China is championed as part of the construction of a modern nation, much as the taming of the Colorado and Columbia rivers in the United States gave form to American ambitions.

"This dam is making people rich," said Jiang Yen, 35, as he rode a boat past the Jinghong construction site. "It's giving people jobs. We'll all get cheap electricity."

From Jinghong, the Mekong winds past thick stands of bamboo and soaring hardwoods necklaced by vines. At the port town of Mengla, close to where China, Laos and Burma converge, Chinese cargo vessels load fresh apples, dried fruit and green tea bound for Southeast Asia. Trade has been widened by the blasting of rapids upriver, a project coordinated by multiple governments but paid for almost exclusively by China. Local shippers decry an influx of Chinese competitors, but more significantly complain of volatile fluctuations in the river's depth as China shuts and opens gates on its dams.

At the end of the rainy season in late October, the river at Chiang Saen is typically 7 1/2 feet deep, enough to allow the local boats to load as much as 250 tons of cargo. This year, it fell below six feet. At one local shipping firm, ChairatanaMunkong Co., marketing manager Kitchai Taetemwong complained that because of the shallower depth his boat could carry only 150 tons on a recent run to Jinghong from Chiang Saen. That sliced a usual $2,500 profit to a mere $500.

Shifts in the water level and changes in water temperature have wreaked havoc on fish farms near Chiang Khong, Thailand. Production fell nearly one-third over the past two years, said Kasem Jongpaisansin, president of an association of fish farmers.

Farmers say so little water is available during the dry season that planting crops is futile in some places.

"The soil is too dry," complained Pun Yauthani, 55, who plants peanuts on a sandy island between Thailand and Laos. "This year, I'm thinking I won't plant. It's a waste of time."

South of Chiang Khong, erosion ravages terraced plots carved into the sloping banks. With the rocks blasted upriver, water runs swiftly, tearing away chunks of soil. Leafy trees sit shorn of support, their roots snaking into thin air. A gas station has become a pile of broken concrete, its foundation stripped away.

Every morning, Kaen Boonnak, who grows broccoli on a roughly one-acre plot, looks to see how much land the river stole overnight.

"I've already lost the bottom third," he said, estimating that his $1,500 annual income has dropped by one-fifth. "I'm afraid that we're going to lose more."

The worst fears lie downriver in Cambodia, where the Tonle Sap's prodigious fishery depends on a yearly flow of nutrient-rich floodwaters down the Mekong. The worry is that the dams are disrupting the annual cycle, narrowing the area in which fish can breed.

Many of the people who live along the lake are landless and unable to grow rice, making them particularly vulnerable. They catch fish with handheld nets, eating some and selling some to buy rice and other goods. The shore is a riot of boats and sputtering engines and palm-frond squatters' huts, the air laced with the smell of rotting innards and diesel fuel.

Men just in from the lake unload sardine-sized fish from a 50-foot vessel, using straw baskets balanced from poles slung over their shoulders. They drop their loads into the back of a dump truck that will carry the oozing pile to a drying factory. A barefoot girl scans the muddy ground for fish that have landed there, placing her finds into a plastic bag.

These are days of scarcity and alarm. Most people have not heard of the dams in China, and shrug when asked why fish are elusive. But they understand the implications of shortage. Chan Kimoeun and his family live on a floating house that shifts with the changing contours of the shore. He used to earn about $6.50 per day fishing. Now he often fails to break even, tapping loan sharks for the next load of fuel.

He estimates his debt at about $1,000 -- more than his annual income -- with 10 percent monthly interest mounting. Neither Chan nor his wife can read, but their 12-year-old daughter can, a subject that brings a glow to their faces. With school costing them about $50 per year, her future is in jeopardy. "We're worried," Chan said. "We struggle on the Tonle Sap to catch fish. There is no other way."

下弦月

楼主的文章着实考验我的英语水平

时务轩

As Asians Offer Much Aid, Chinese Role Is Limited

By Anthony Faiola and Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, January 5, 2005; Page A10

TOKYO, Jan. 4 -- Several Asian countries, led by Japan, have responded swiftly to the plight of their stricken neighbors, generating a major share of global relief aid and mobilizing as never before to help the region cope with a natural catastrophe.

But the response has also underscored the limitations of China -- a fast-growing economic powerhouse that nevertheless has not been able to offer anywhere near the amount of aid provided by Japan, the United States or Britain.

China is viewed by many experts as heir to the financial and political influence in South Asia now enjoyed by Japan and the United States. It has actively cultivated relations with South Asian countries in recent years and has mustered one of its largest foreign disaster assistance packages ever.

But the $64 million offered by Beijing has been dwarfed by the massive pledge of $500 million from Japan, the largest donor to the relief effort. Moreover, China is ill-equipped to launch major rescue operations. It has deployed only several dozen medical personnel to the disaster zone, while the United States has sent 13,000 troops to help.

The contrast is a reminder of the ways in which China is still significantly restricted in its capabilities. Its booming economy has led to greater influence, as smaller nations seek trade and investment. But China remains poor, with low average incomes and a relatively weak military.

While China has achieved a great deal, analysts said, the aftermath of the tsunami has provided stark evidence of how much further it must go before it can hope to challenge the economic prowess of Japan or the regional military dominance of the United States.

"China has played a greater role in promoting [Asian] economic integration, but Japan's role in providing foreign aid is unmistakable," said Zhu Feng, director of an international security program at Beijing University.

In addition to Japan and China, South Korea and Taiwan have each pledged $50 million. Singapore has pledged more than $3 million.

At an emergency summit Thursday in Jakarta about the disaster, the highest-ranking delegates will come from Asian nations. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, Premier Wen Jiabao of China and Prime Minister Lee Hai Chan of South Korea are expected. The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

Asian nations -- in part because of their proximity to the disaster zone -- were the first to provide logistical and emergency help. Hours after the tsunami struck, Malaysia and Singapore were scrambling to deploy search-and-rescue teams to Indonesia.

India, among the countries slammed by the waves, quickly sent naval vessels, helicopters and other aircraft to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Japan quickly dispatched medical teams and emergency supplies to crippled parts of South Asia.

Analysts said the two main Asian powers, Japan and China, were also viewing tsunami relief partially as a tool in vying for regional clout in South Asia. The $64 million pledged by China could represent half of its foreign aid budget.

Analysts said the pledge highlighted the importance Beijing attaches to improving relations with countries in Southeast Asia. The tsunami devastated parts of the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Indonesia in addition to damaging South Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka.

"The goal is to enhance their trust in China," said Zhang Xizhen, a scholar who studies the politics and economies of Southeast Asia at Beijing University. "During the Cold War . . . their attitudes toward China were suspicious and distrustful. Even now, there are many conflicts. . . . But China is trying hard to change these attitudes. The tsunami aid shows the emerging influence of China in Southeast Asia."

Japan, meanwhile, increased its offer of aid Jan. 1 from $30 million to "a minimum" of $500 million, a figure that China could not hope to match.

Analysts said there was much more than philanthropic superiority at stake. For one thing, there could be significant windfalls from the billions of dollars worth of contracts expected to come from affected nations as they begin reconstruction.

"Japan is afraid of losing influence and business in that region to China," said Masaaki Okamoto of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Japan's Kyoto University. "Giving aid is one way to ensure Japan's continued dominant role in South Asia."

Pan reported from Beijing.

时务轩

NYTimes.com > International  


BEIJING'S ROLE

Size of China's Aid Marks a Policy Shift, but Is Still Dwarfed by That of Richer Countries
By JIM YARDLEY

Published: January 4, 2005


EIJING, Jan. 3 - China's response to the tsunami disaster is showing the nation's limitations as an aspiring superpower, despite its new and growing influence in Asia.

China's offer of aid, if slightly belated, is sizable, given its often inward-looking history. But it is also a reminder that the world's most populous country is still far from being the dominant power in Asia.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced that China would donate about $63 million, one of its largest pledges of international relief aid. It was a marked increase from earlier in the week, when China had pledged only $2.6 million.

But the higher figure was quickly eclipsed when the United States increased its pledge to $350 million and Japan followed with $500 million. Moreover, China has watched as American vessels have moved quickly into the region with Navy helicopters delivering food and critical supplies to the hardest hit areas of Indonesia. This week, a convoy of American ships is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka with more than 1,500 marines.

By contrast, China's primary contribution at the scene of the catastrophe has been a 35-member medical team now treating patients in Indonesia. Other Chinese medical teams are being dispatched, and at least one commercial cargo plane has already left Beijing with $1.8 million in medicine, food and generators.

For more than a year, China's top officials and diplomats have sought a leadership role in the region on the strength of the country's booming economy. Other Asian countries have eagerly sought trade deals with China, and Mr. Wen has promoted the idea of an Asian equivalent to the European Union.

But gaining such economic clout has not yet translated into broader power or influence, according to Robert Sutter, a former American government official who has written extensively about United States-China relations. Mr. Sutter said China's "soft power" is growing in the region but should not be overstated.

"The things China has been doing are all win-win," said Mr. Sutter, now a visiting professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. "They don't generally cost China anything. But when you have to do something that costs something, it's hard for them to do it."

He added, "They are still an aid recipient."

In the past few years, China has begun a transition from being a recipient of international assistance to a donor nation. The World Food Program will phase out subsidies to China by the end of this year, while China is now starting to make small donations to the agency. Japan also has been scaling down its aid to China while increasing support for India.

Meanwhile, China has increased its donations to nations like Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar as part of its effort to raise its profile in the region. China is also believed to donate tens of millions of dollars in annual aid to help prop up North Korea.

But such direct donations are different than responding to an international disaster. Last Thursday, a Chinese spokesman sounded defensive when asked about the country's relatively low initial donation of $2.6 million. At the time, by contrast, Taiwan had offered $5 million.

"China is a developing country," said the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao.

The next day Mr. Wen announced that China had increased its aid.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international politics at People's University in Beijing, said the United States has a "huge superiority" over China in such crises. But he said China's pledge marked a milestone shift from the more aloof stance the country has traditionally taken in such efforts. "We are still learning how to react multilaterally," Mr. Shi said. "But there is a new sense that China should play more of a role."

President Hu Jintao, quoted in the state media, said the Chinese government would provide "any possible aid in its power to those in need." Mr. Wen is scheduled to attend a meeting next Thursday in Indonesia, where leaders from a number of nations are expected to discuss coordination of recovery efforts for the region.

Meanwhile, the Chinese propaganda machine has been hard at work. Stories of ordinary citizens making small donations to nongovernmental relief funds have filled newspapers here. Monday's edition of People's Daily carried an article about the Chinese medical team with a headline declaring: "Indonesian Disaster Victims Speak From the Heart: China is a Great Country!"

But China is also a country with a yawning wealth gap and huge domestic problems. On the Chinese Internet, writers posted e-mails in several chat rooms questioning why China was not spending its money at home. Others were furious that China was helping Indonesia, which has a history of discrimination and violence against ethnic Chinese.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing has already spoken by telephone with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. The official China Daily reported that China has endorsed the United Nations taking the lead role in the relief effort.

No mention was made of the coalition of donor nations announced by President Bush that include India, Japan, Australia and the United States. China is conspicuously absent from this group, though Mr. Bush said he expected other nations to quickly join in.

David Shambaugh, director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University, said China has the basic capability to provide a military response to future disasters assuming its leaders chose to, and other nations approve. "Given China's growing influence in the region, this catastrophe is going to reveal whether China will put resources behind its rhetoric and can contribute on the ground in a meaningful way," Mr. Shambaugh said.

pping

真的不想看见在海啸问题处理上拿中国和日本比了
可终究还是无法避免的
中文前半部分说的太让我生气了
中国发展迅速，经济增长快就一定要多出钱吗？国内温饱问题都还没解决好，国外花那么多钱做什么，尽自己的努力帮助就够了。
我才不相信日本有那么好心只是为了捐助而捐助

kelee

还在讨论这个问题啊，没必要了吧
现在各高校都在行动中，没必要再费口舌了。
捐钱吧

gungun2001

大哥，翻译过了再发上来…………

天要下雨

大哥的特色就是英文，翻译过来就没意思了