The gentle smile that Joan Chong Leung usually presents to the world has disappeared momentarily from her face. The president of the Commonwealth Society of Beijing, Leung is flipping through pictures from her group's activities over the past year, and her finger stops on a scene from the Mao Er Yan Primary School in Hebei province.

As one of the millions of Americans caught up in foodie trend that had hit the nation over the past decade or so, it is hard for me to think of food as anything other than an indulgence.

Indonesia's ambassador Imron Cotan, a buoyant, smiling man who will end his posting in Beijing soon, recently presented local officials and scholars with a series of kung fu adventures.

Alex Olah's wife's first reaction when he suggested considering teaching English in China was: "Are you crazy?" That was years before the 67-year-old Australian who'd retired from the Australian Trade Commission recently published a book on the topic.

As someone that has emigrated from the UK, I find Shanghai a very free, easy and attractive place to live.[More]

Reducing income disparities and alleviating poverty are noble goals that China has the economic vitality and political will to take on.

Rick Larsen, the Democratic congressman for Washington state, has his own take on US-China relations. He is optimistic about this relationship and has a unique and fitting analogy.

There is no specific cure-all to the health system's ills. The problems are vast and wide, from training doctors to hospital budgets over-reliant on prescribing pills and procedures just to generate enough money to pay hospital staff.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Some of the veteran expats I meet yearn for the good old days when the spidery network of hutong in Beijing defined the capital city.

Since moving from Edinburgh to Beijing last June, I have become a regular traveler on China's high-speed rail network, being bulleted from the capital at up to 300 km per hour to cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and Xi'an.

"It is very reassuring to learn that the government of China has set a target of 7.5 percent GDP growth while trying to keep inflation at a manageable level. It will not only maintain China's prosperity, but also help spur the regional and global economy, which Indonesia can benefit from."