Growing China is repaying the world

The ongoing modernization drive in China is one of the largest in human history. It will provide modern living conditions to an estimated 1.5 billion people - that is, one and half times the combined population of the developed world - by the middle of the 21st century.

Elephant and dragon hug mutual interests

The specific reference to the South China Sea disputes, along with the forward movement on the US-India nuclear deal, in the joint statement issued by US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Jan 25, is seen by analysts and some Indian media outlets as a significant outcome of Obama's recent visit to India. The US-India joint statement issued in September 2014 during Modi's visit to the US too had mentioned the maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

Big data can help build better cities for the poor

The rate of migration to cities in East Asia is very high. People move to urban areas in search of more jobs and a better life. But urbanization comes with risks that can prolong impoverishment and lack of opportunity instead of improving prospects. Once cities are built, their urban form and land-use patterns are locked in for generations. Getting it right prevents spending decades and large sums of money trying to undo mistakes.

Inclusive mind is crucial for social progress

'What is it about our clothes that other people seem unable to resist? Is dressing like us about wanting to be like us? Clearly, this is about more than just clothes. It is about embracing an entire popular culture that extends through music and movies, to say nothing of the soft drinks and fast food." This is what Niall Ferguson says in his book, Civilization: The West and the Rest, about how Western values with industrial power behind them have been embraced by the rest of the world over the past more than one century.

Wield power within framework of the law

The leadership of the Party should never be an excuse for a leader to consider his or her own words as the law, to place power before the law or bend law for personal gain. This is what top leader Xi Jinping told a group of provincial leaders at a forum on governing according to the Constitution and the law on Monday.

Confidence in own culture

Only through creative absorption can a culture incorporate positive elements from other cultures into its development. Any indiscriminate duplication of outside models, which would reflect a lack of cultural self-confidence, would inevitably result in the forfeiting of its own foundation, says a People's Daily article.

Clean air requires the efforts of all, not just people in Hebei

THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION has released a list ranking the air quality in 74 major cities in 2014, sparking a debate because it says seven of the 10 cities with the worst air quality are in Hebei province, while another, Tianjin municipality, neighbors it. Comments:

Link officials' higher salaries to performance

PROMOTION IS NO LONGER THE ONLY WAY up for civil servants. A recent official document shows that low-ranking officials who have worked for a certain time without being promoted - eight years for the lowest level - can enjoy salary of a higher level. Comments:

Hostage deaths no excuse for Japan to build up its military

IN RESPONSE to the recent beheadings of two Japanese citizens by Islamic State militants, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he wanted to debate the possibility of rescuing nationals overseas when they were in danger. Comments:

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By denying wartime history, Abe will lose faith

Since taking office in 2012, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made consistent efforts to reinterpret the historic 1995 Murayama Statement: the then Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama's apology for the damage and suffering caused by Japan to its neighbors before and during World War II.