Tag Archives: China

China pledges to help developing countries with much-needed infrastructure

08/12/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here that China will provide developing countries including the Southeast Asian nations with infrastructure “most in need.”

At a press conference after the China-ASEAN (10+1) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Wednesday, Wang said the priorities of the cooperation between ASEAN and China in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road should be the infrastructure construction and international cooperation in production capacity.

The minister said China and the ASEAN countries, at different stages of industrialization, could realize complementarity. The cooperation between them bore its unique characteristic, he said, which meant China will take the needs of target countries into consideration before it provide the infrastructure and industrial production capacities “most in need.”

“That is certainly of high quality and sustainability,” he said.

During the process of cooperation, China had no intention of competing with other countries, the Chinese minister said. However, it seemed that certain country did not really want to work on cooperation, but actually intended to “grapple with” China.

All countries should give full play to their respective advantages and focus on their own affairs, Wang said. Enditem

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China’s supreme court validates private loans for rightful purposes

08/12/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Greenpost) — Companies will be allowed to lend and receive private loans for the sake of production management, according to the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) Thursday.

Defining “private loans” as financial exchanges among individuals, legal entities and other organizations, the judicial explanation clarifies that private loan contracts signed by companies for production management should be recognized by courts as long as they do not violate the Contract Law, and such financial exchange activities should be protected.

Chinese courts closed more than 1 million private loan cases in 2014, a year-on-year increase of 19.9 percent, making private loans the second most common civil case after family.

“Allowing companies to conduct financing activities does not mean that they can do whatever they want for a loan,” said Du Wanhua, a senior SPC official, at a press conference Thursday, adding that the document aims to ensure loan security and justice in pace with finance market reform.

The document specifies conditions in which private loan contracts should be deemed invalid, including a borrower knowing the loan is granted by financial institutions to the lender who then lends it out as usury, as well as knowingly lending funds for criminal activities.

Courts should reject cases on private loans involved in criminal activities and pass evidence to police or judicial organs.

According to the SPC, a borrower is obligated to pay interest in its entirety if the annual interest rate is not above 24 percent. If the rate is above 36 percent, a borrower has the right to demand lenders return the part of interest accrued over the 36 percent threshold if it has already paid for.

“Interest based on an annual rate between 24 and 36 percent is not legally valid either, but if it has already been paid, courts will turn down the borrower’s request to demand it back,” Du said.

The rules will take effect on Sept. 1. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News

China, the kingdom of potatoes in world

08/04/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Stockholm, Aug. 3(Greenpost)– China has become the world’s largest potato producer, accounting for 25 percent of global production, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The country grew 5.6 million hectares of potato in 2014, yielding in excess of 95 million tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture . China’s potato acreage makes the crop the country’s fourth staple after rice, wheat and corn.

Last year, despite enjoying the 11th consecutive year of bumper grain harvests, the country still imported 71.4 million tonnes of soybean and 19.5 million tonnes of rice, wheat and corn, up 12.7 percent and 33.8 percent, respectively.

With a shortage of farmland in China, the ministry stressed that it is difficult to improve the yield of wheat and rice but easier with potatoes.

It’s hoped that the name of Kingdom of bikes will come back one day when the crazy wave of industrialization ebbs.

More for the following, stay tuned.

China becomes biggest potato producers and consumer

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) — Planting area and output of potato in China each have accounted for about a quarter of the world’s total, making it the biggest potato producer and consumer in the world, according to the 2015 Beijing World Potato Congress and China Potato Expo on Wednesday.

However, per unit area yield and per capita consumption of potato in China are still low, showing the big development potential.

In 2014, the country’s planting area of potato amounted to 5.57 million hectares, accounting for a quarter of the world’s total.

Meanwhile, China yielded more than 95 million metric tons (tonnes) of potato last year, representing a quarter of the world’s total.

Despite the high yields, per unit area yield of potato in China was only 17.7 tonnes per hectare, far lower than that in developed countries.

According to official statistics, per capita consumption of potato in China was only 41.2 kg at present. Enditem

Xinhua Insight: Producers hope potatoes takes root in China

by Xinhua writers Tan Yixiao, Cheng Lu and Wei Mengjia

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) — Potatoes seem like an unlikely ingredient for ice cream, but the allure of tasting the strange concoction had dozens of visitors lining-up at the China Kitchen exhibition at the 2015 World Potato Congress in Beijing.

The 1,000-square-meter stall was serving up to 100 potato-based foods, from noodles to sweet purple drinks, developed by Xisen Potato Industry Co. Ltd., the country’s biggest potato producer. By combining potatoes with traditional Chinese cuisine, the company is at the congress looking for partners to promote their new products being tested at the China Kitchen.

With China promoting potato acreage and encouraging the vegetable as one of the country’s staple foods, more companies like Xisen want to take a bigger slice of the growing market.

Around 500 km away from Beijing, Linkage Potato Co. Ltd., based in Inner Mongolia, China’s major potato production base, is expanding its product portfolio to satisfy people’s appetite.

With five farms and a 70,000-mu (around 4,667 hectares) high standard planting base, the company produces potatoes and seeds and processes potato flakes.

Yan Hongxin, vice president of Linkage, told Xinhua that the company will set up a new production line in autumn to increase its annual output of potato flakes from current 3,000 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes.

In addition, they are eyeing the frozen French fry market as domestic demand grows, driven by expanding fast food chains.

In March this year, it has established a joint venture with Farm Frites, a Dutch enterprise with over 40 years experiences in potato processing, in Wudan Town, Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia.

The new production line will have a capacity of 70,000 tonnes frozen French fries annually with consumption of 140,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes. The fries will be put into the market by 2017 and expansion will continue after that, Yan said.

NO SMALL POTATO

His confidence in the domestic potato market is justifiable.

China is the largest potato producer in the world with a planting area of 5.5 million hectares. However, average Chinese consumption of potatoes is 41.2 kilograms, far below the consumption level of European and American countries, data from China’s Ministry of Agriculture showed.

“Its nutritious value is often overlooked,” said Bi Yang, professor of Gansu Agricultural University.

He pointed out that an average-size potato contains as much protein as an egg, and 10 times more vitamin C than an apple.

With the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per person surpassed 7,000 U.S. dollars last year, people’s need for improving food nutrition patterns has grown. Bi said potato is a good option to improve nutrition.

In addition, potato is more resistant to the cold and the drought compared with wheat and rice. China is boosting its acreage to make potato as one of the country’s staple foods to better ensure its food security under the pressure of less farmland, water, labor and chemicals.

After years of research, steamed buns made from potato flake made their debut in more than 200 supermarkets in Beijing last month, one step closer to make it a centerpiece of people’s dining table.

LONG WAY TO GO

Seed quality, production cost and eating habits all pose a challenge for potato companies.

Kiremko, a food processing equipment company from the Netherlands, has cooperated with 15 Chinese potato companies for over 30 years.

Joost Miltenburg, area sales manager of Kiremko, said two kilograms of European potato can make one kilogram of French fries with the company’s processing equipment, but some Chinese potatoes fail to produce the same amount of French fries owing to poor quality.

He sees a lot of potential in China but also a lot of waste in potato storage and transportation, inefficient planting and irrigation.

Companies are also seeking ways to lower cost. The potato yield per hectare is 16 tonnes in China, while the number is around 50 tonnes in developed countries, making potato flakes three times more expensive than wheat flour, said Lu Xiaoping, director of International Potato Center’s branch in Asia and the Pacific area.

“Only by establishing a high-tech breeding base and producing in a mechanized way can we guarantee high-quality seeds,” said Liang Xisen, chairman of Xisen Potato Industry Co. Ltd.

But the most difficult problem facing potato companies is to change Chinese people’s long-standing diet habits and give potatoes similar role as rice and wheat.

Miltenburg said Chinese potato noodles and steamed buns are new for him. Although it takes time to change people’s habit, he believes that providing more choices can earn potato fans sooner or later. Enditem

Business, China

China Focus: Consumer inflation picks up, producer deflation stays stubborn

07/27/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) — China’s consumer inflation ticked slightly higher in June while at wholesale level, deflation remained a problem for a 40th month in a row, official data showed on Thursday.
China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, edged up 1.4 percent in June, slightly above market forecasts of 1.3 percent and a 1.2-percent rise in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices in June remained unchanged, compared with a dip of 0.2 percent posted in May.
NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the pick-up to a lower comparative base from June last year and higher prices of food, including vegetables and pork.
For the first half of the year, CPI edged up 1.3 percent year on year.
Minsheng Securities forecast that China’s CPI growth will continue accelerate in the second half, to around 2 percent in the last quarter, but remain under the government’s annual target of 3 percent set for the year.
The producer price index (PPI), a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 4.8 percent year on year in June, widening from the 4.6-percent drop seen a month earlier.
The reading also marked the 40th straight month of decline.
“This showed industrial demand is worsening, and China continues to face prominent deflationary risks,” noted Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC.
Wen Bin, chief researcher with China Minsheng Bank, said the data pointed to continuously weak domestic demand in the economy, adding there is still room for the central bank to ease its monetary policy.
China’s economy grew at its lowest rate in six years in the first quarter, expanding 7 percent, weighed down by a housing market downturn, weak domestic and external demand and overcapacity.
To bolster growth, the Chinese government has unveiled measures including four interest rate cuts since November, accelerated fiscal spending and industrial reforms.
However, analysts predict growth will slip further in the second quarter to below 7 percent as the impact of these pro-growth measures has yet to spread. Second-quarter GDP data is due on July 15.
Given the weak growth, Qu predicted an interest rate cut by 25 basis points and 100-basis-point reductions in banks’ reserve requirement ratio in the third quarter.
Recent stock market volatility has cast a further shadow on the world’s second-largest economy, with its key Shanghai index shedding nearly one third since a June peak.
A batch of supportive policies has been rolled out in the past week to revive investor confidence, including asking 21 major securities brokers to spend 128 billion yuan (about 21 billion U.S. dollars) on exchange traded funds that track the performance of blue chip stocks.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 2.13 percent lower on Thursday, but turned positive to close the morning trading session by rising 1.3 percent. The market staged a strong rally minutes after the afternoon trade started.
As of 13:30, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged nearly 5 percent while the Shenzhen Component Index gained 4 percent. Enditem

Business, China

China Focus: E-commerce behind new wave of consumption in China

07/27/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) — When Jia Hailan wants to buy something, she reaches for her phone almost as much as she opens her wallet.
The Beijing twentysomething buys food and clothing for her cat via her mobile phone and orders lunches through apps that track nearby eateries with delivery services. She hails taxis through cab-hailing apps when she goes out, and much of her home possessions were purchased online, including an electronic scale she uses to track her weight every morning.
Young Chinese born in the 1990s are a generation of online consumers, and older generations are catching on as well. By late 2014, the country had 360 million online shoppers, accounting for almost a quarter of the nation’s population.
In the first five months of 2015, online retail sales value in China grew 40 percent year on year, four times the growth for general retail sales value for consumer goods during the same period.
The trend is expected to continue as the number of Chinese Internet users grows. The country’s online population reached 649 million by the end of 2014, with some 557 million accessing the Internet via mobile phones.
“The Internet has brought three irreversible changes to China’s social consumption: online shopping is reaching everyone after becoming popular with young people, desktop shopping is being rapidly overtaken by mobile-based shopping, and buying based on what other people are buying has given way to personalized consumption,” said Shang Yan, online marketing director of womai.com, an online food retailer.
“These changes are certain to deeply transform Chinese people’s consumption style,” Shang said.
The online shopping boom is helping lift consumption’s role in the Chinese economy, which once relied too heavily on exports and investment.
The National Bureau of Statistics said consumption contributed 51.2 percent to China’s economic growth last year, beating contributions by exports and investment, which cooled due to uneven global demand and a downturn in the domestic property market.
A McKinsey report from 2013 said China’s online consumption has not simply replaced consumption that would have taken place offline. For each dollar of online consumption, around 40 cents were from incremental — or new — consumption, it said.
The report predicted that by 2020, China’s “e-tailing” market could generate up to 650 billion U.S. dollars in sales, equal to the 2013 e-commerce sales value of the United States, Japan, the UK, Germany and France combined.
Experts said the Internet is making consumption easier due to free flow of information between sellers and buyers. “It is just open information on the Internet that is making new consumption possible,” said Zhang Jindong, founder of top Chinese retailer Suning, a leader in home appliances.
Brick-and-mortar stores are also feeling pressure to adopt new business models to retain customers.
Shenzhen-headquartered Rainbow, a department store chain with 58 flagship stores across the country, has rolled out its own online sales service and promoted discounts and new product information through instant messaging service WeChat.
“By analyzing customers’ online shopping data, we will be able to refine and deliver our product promotions directly to users’ phones,” said Tan Xiaohua, deputy general manager of Rainbow’s e-commerce department.
In addition to boosting consumption, the government is exploring other ways the Internet can bolster the economy and employment.
It unveiled an “Internet Plus” action plan on July 4 to integrate the Internet with sectors such as modern manufacturing, agriculture, energy, finance, public services, logistics, traffic and e-commerce. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Business, China, News, Opinion, World News

China Voice: BRICS a stabilizer of global economy

07/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) — A BRICS group with deepened cooperation will not only serve its five member countries and other developing nations, but also stabilize and even boost the world economy.

In upcoming days, leaders of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will meet in Ufa of Russia for the seventh BRICS leaders meeting.

They met for the first time in 2009, launching the bloc’s cooperation mechanism. Since then, the BRICS have shown vitality and innovation through cooperation, with deepened participation in global governance.

Now these countries will set up the New Development Bank (NDB). The institution’s board of governors will hold its first meeting in Moscow to appoint members of the board of directors and the management.

The NDB shows that the BRICS bloc has transformed from a political concept to a real force for reform in the international community.

With the bank’s funding, developing countries, especially the African states, can improve their infrastructure, rather than struggling with the limited funds the current international agencies provide them.

The new development bank will cover the shortcomings of the global financial system. It is not intended to overturn the current system, but to encourage investment from developed countries and other developing countries with an open and inclusive mind.

The BRICS has become an importance platform for exchanges and cooperation among the world’s major emerging economies. It has brought real benefits for the member states, and also earned a good reputation among the international community.

This new cooperation mechanism pointed to an important trend: emerging economies are playing bigger roles in global issues.

Global economic recovery remains slow. While trade globalization agreements are still being negotiated, the Western countries and Russia are introducing sanctions against each other, and the developed and developing countries have not yet reached agreement on how to balance economic development and climate change.

Under such circumstances, the BRICS leaders’ meeting in Ufa has critical significance as cooperation among them will not benefit not only themselves but also the world economy.

Although the five countries are at very different stages of their development, they will still become new growth poles for the world economy.The five have contributed half the world’s economic growth in the past 10 years.

They have complementary industrial structures. Sufficient labor, abundant resources and large markets give them great opportunities for development.

The five countries are also important players in both their continents and international affairs. In multilateral platforms such as the UN and the G20, they are playing bigger roles than ever before, thus their booming economies can drive the whole global economy through their deepened cooperation with other countries and international organizations. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, Indepth, News, World News

AIIB agreement signed, China-led bank takes key step forward

07/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) — A China-initiated multilateral bank that has dominated media headlines for months took a key step forward on Monday, with the signing of an agreement that outlines the framework and management structure for the institution.

Representatives of the 57 prospective founding countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) gathered in Beijing for the signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People. Australia was the first country to sign the document.

The 60-article agreement specified each member’s share as well as the governance structure and policy-making mechanism of the bank, which is designed to finance infrastructure in Asia.

Seventy-five percent of the bank’s share is distributed among Asian and Oceanian countries while the remaining 25 percent is assigned to countries outside the region. As the bank expands its membership, countries outside of the region can expand their stake, but the portion cannot exceed 30 percent. Each member will be allocated a share of the quota based on the size of their economy.

China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, taking a 30.34 percent, 8.52 percent, 6.66 percent stake, respectively. Their voting shares are calculated at 26.06 percent, 7.5 percent and 5.92 percent.

China’s stake and voting share in the initial stage are a “natural outcome” of current rules, and may be diluted as more members join, China’s Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin said in an interview with Xinhua.

“China is not deliberately seeking a veto power,” Shi stressed.

Being the largest shareholder does not mean China will have veto power over major issues. Instead, China will closely watch and balance other members’ interests, said Tang Min, with Counselors’ Office of the State Council, who previously worked for the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Speaking at Monday’s ceremony, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the new bank will uphold high standards and follow international rules in its operation, policies and management to ensure efficiency and transparency.

The bank, headquartered in Beijing, will possibly set up regional offices in other countries. It will be led by a president with a five-year term that can be extended once.

The articles do not say who will be the president, but said the president will be chosen from Asian member countries using an “open, transparent and excellent” selection process.

Jin Liqun, former vice finance minister of China, is secretary-general of the interim multilateral secretariat for establishing the AIIB.

After signing the agreement, representatives from prospective founding countries will return home with the document for legal adoption.

The AIIB was proposed by President Xi Jinping in October 2013. A year later, 21 Asian nations, including China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore, signed an agreement to establish the bank.

After the new bank garnered support from countries like Britain and Germany, much focus has been trained on whether the U.S. and Japan, the world’s largest and third largest economies, will join.

While stating that the U.S. will not join the AIIB at present, U.S. President Barack Obama said the country looked forward to collaborating with the new development bank “just like we do with the Asia Development Bank and with the World Bank”in April.

Despite outside worries that a new investment bank will challenge the established order of multilateral lenders, the IMF, World Bank and other leading global lenders have welcomed collaboration with the new bank to fill Asia’s infrastructure gap.

Statistics from the ADB show that between 2010 and 2020, around 8 trillion U.S. dollars in investment will be needed in the Asia-Pacific region to improve infrastructure.

“We view the AIIB as an important new partner that shares a common goal: ending extreme poverty. With strong environment, labor and procurement standards, the AIIB will join us and other development banks in addressing the huge infrastructure needs that are critical to ending poverty, reducing inequalities, and boosting shared prosperity,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement after the signing ceremony.

Chinese officials have reiterated that rather than being a competitor, the new bank will complement the current international economic order and enable China to take more global responsibility.

The bank will start operation at the end of the year under two preconditions: At least 10 prospective members sign the agreement and the initial subscribed capital is no less than 50 percent of the authorized capital.

“We are confident of working with related parties to accelerate legal procedures and push for the official set up of the AIIB before the year end,” Lou said.

TIMELINE

October 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the bank.

October 2014, 21 Asian nations, including China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore signed an agreement to establish the bank.

March 12, 2015, Britain applied to join the AIIB as a prospective founding member, the first major western country to do so. France, Italy and Germany quickly followed suit.

March 31, 2015, China announced that 57 countries joined or applied to join the AIIB as prospective founding members before the deadline.

Until May, five rounds of talks were held and consensus was reached on all key elements, such as the bank’s purpose, membership, capital subscription, voting powers and decision-making structures.

June 29, 2015, delegates of the 57 prospective founding countries of the AIIB gathered in Beijing for the signing ceremony of an agreement to lay the legal framework and management structure for the bank. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, World News

Interview: Europe should recognize China as market economy to further bilateral relationship: former Italian PM

07/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

by Matt Burgess

SYDNEY, July 9 (Xinhua) — Maybe it is time for Europe to change policy and officially recognize China as a market economy to further the China-EU trade relationship, said former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.

The key issue to creating links in the China-EU relationship is China’s market economy status, Letta told Xinhua in an exclusive interview here.

Analysts believe this status could be approved in 2016, a year Letta predicts will be a major turning point for the China-EU relationship.

“It could be recognizing by the EU of the market economy status, it could be the year we can launch the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations,” Letta said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made a strong appeal for the early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement with the EU at the recent China-EU summit in Brussels at the end of June.

However, establishing a China-EU FTA will be a very complicated process, Letta said.

“There are many fields from agriculture to protection of intellectual property and so on and we need to solve all together, ” Letta said.

Engagements in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as well as the “Belt and Road” strategy are important steps in strengthening Europe’s economic ties with Asia, Letta said.

The Silk Road Economic Belt, together with the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, commonly known as the “Belt and Road” initiatives, were proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.

“I think (the AIIB) was an important and decisive step on behalf of the Chinese leadership,” Letta said. “It was important

for EU countries to follow this step, to react in a positive mode. This is why Italy as well as the main EU countries decided to apply for the membership.”

Letta, who is a visiting scholar at the University of Technology, Sydney, said Europe is too focused on domestic political issues, such as the Greek debt crisis, which is taking up too much of the member states’ energy.

“I think the EU must focus the great opportunities we have around the world,” Letta said.

In an on-stage conversation with former Australian Foreign Affairs minister and Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) Bob Carr at the University of Technology, Sydney on Tuesday night, Letta said “I exactly think that the future of the world will be Asian-driven,” noting that was why he is in Australia.

Letta said Australia was not susceptible to the “virus,” the global financial crisis, because of the links with the Asian region.

“We need, as all western countries, change our mind, change our way to do business and to try to create permanent links,” Letta said. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, World News

Chinese company acquires Czech turbine manufacturer

07/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

XI’AN, July 5 (Greenpost) — Xi’an Shaangu Power, a Chinese engineering company based in northwestern Shaanxi province, paid 318 million yuan (51 million U.S. dollars) for a 75 percent stake of Brno Ekol, a leading Czech turbine manufacturer.

According to an agreement signed by the two companies in January, the acquisition will take place in two steps, with delivery of the remaining stake completed in the years to come.

It is the biggest amount paid by China into Czech’s manufacturing industry over the recent years, accounting for about 17 percent of China’s total investment into the European country.

Shaangu Power, established in 1999, is a major industrial compressor producer in China. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, Opinion, World News

China Voice: BRICS a stabilizer of global economy

07/09/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China Voice: BRICS a stabilizer of global economy

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) — A BRICS group with deepened cooperation will not only serve its five member countries and other developing nations, but also stabilize and even boost the world economy.

In upcoming days, leaders of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will meet in Ufa of Russia for the seventh BRICS leaders meeting.

The NDB shows that the BRICS bloc has transformed from a political concept to a real force for reform in the international community.

This new cooperation mechanism pointed to an important trend: emerging economies are playing bigger roles in global issues.

Under such circumstances, the BRICS leaders’ meeting in Ufa has critical significance as cooperation among them will not benefit not only themselves but also the world economy.

They have complementary industrial structures. Sufficient labor, abundant resources and large markets give them great opportunities for development.

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, World News

220 Chinese enterprises raise USD37.96 bln globally via IPOs in H1

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220 Chinese enterprises raise USD37.96 bln globally via IPOs in H1

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) — A total of 220 Chinese firms conducted successful initial public offerings (IPOs) on both domestic and overseas capital markets in the first half of this year, accounting for 45.2 percent of global total, raising 37.96 billion US dollars, accounting for 57 percent of global total, according to statistics from investment research company Zero2IPO.

Globally, 487 companies conducted IPOs during H1, up 52.7 percent year on year, raising 66.609 billion US dollars, down 25.3 percent year on year, said Zero2IPO on Tuesday.

Among the 220 Chinese enterprises, 187 were listed on China’s A-share market, raising 23.572 billion yuan. In a breakdown, 78 were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and 74 were listed on the SME board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, 33 Chinese enterprises were listed on 5 overseas capital markets, raising 14.388 billion yuan, up 42.8 percent year on year. Enditem

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, World News

China becomes globally largest gold spot trading market for eight years running: SGE

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China becomes globally largest gold spot trading market for eight years running: SGE

SHANGHAI, July 9 (Xinhua) — China has become the globally largest spot trading market of gold for the eighth consecutive year, according to the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) on Thursday.

The SGE data shows that transaction volume in the bourse increased by 151 percent year on year in the first half of 2015. In a breakdown, the SGE’s gold transactions jumped 166 percent year on year to 17,520 metric tons (tonnes), and silver transactions surged 151 percent year on year to 380,000 tonnes.

The international board of the SGE has so far seen accumulative gold transactions stand at 4,764 tonnes and silver transactions stand at 525 tonnes.

The SGE launched the gold international trading board on September 18, 2014. It is the first international financial asset transaction platform launched in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ).

As the only legal gold spot trading market in China approved by the country’s central bank, the SGE has become the global largest gold spot trading on-floor bourse for the eighth consecutive year. Rankings of its gold and silver transactions among global exchanges have increased continuously, said an official of the SGE. Enditem

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Indepth, Opinion

Commentary: Cooperation in production capacity to benefit China, Europe

07/03/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Commentary: Cooperation in production capacity to benefit China, Europe

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — International cooperation in production capacity offers huge opportunities for participating in a country’s economy. China and Europe, at different stages of development and with their respective strengths and demands, have a lot to share in this regard.

The world economy is undergoing a profound readjustment, and expansive monetary policies such as the quantitative easing (QE) measures applied in certain parts of the world offer no effective way out of sluggish growth.

Many developing countries including China find themselves in the process of industrialization and urbanization, while the rich nations are confronted with the challenge of re-industrialization.

“It is the right time to push for international cooperation in production capacity,” said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang while addressing a China-EU business summit in Brussels on Monday.

China has hoped to match its advantages in production capacity with demands in infrastructure updates in the rest of the world.

The European Union last week reached a deal to create a 315-billion-euro (345-billion-U.S. dollar) fund to upgrade infrastructure, stimulate the EU’s sluggish economies and ignite job growth.

China has a full-fledged construction material production capacity and relevant made-in-China equipment is widely adaptable, which make China a qualified candidate to be part of this ambitious plan.

Europe, meanwhile, boasts the most advanced and valuable technologies urgently needed by China to update its equipment and manufacturing capacities.

China encourages its best enterprises to participate in infrastructure construction projects such as the Trans-European Transport Networks, China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line and New Euro-Asian Continental Bridge.

European enterprises are also encouraged to join the “Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim to revive the ancient trade route between Asia and Europe.

Cooperation between China and Europe would also facilitate their expansion into the third-party market and lead to better performance both at home and abroad.

China will have to buy some of Europe’s advanced equipment while giving full play to its manufacturing and assembly capacities in its cooperative projects with other developing nations and in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe.

China-Europe cooperation involving third-party markets is destined to be an all-win situation, as excessive production capacity in China will be used to galvanize developing countries’ real economies while pressing for industry updates back home in China.

Europe is in the position to provide China with the elements it needs to grow, and in turn be rewarded with China’s strengths to realize its re-industrialization.

Financial cooperation is also indispensable. China has announced plans to expand its purchase of bonds issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and improve the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) system.

In addition, China encouraged bigger roles of other investment and financing arrangements in the revitalization of the European economy, including the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Under the “Belt and Road” initiative, a Silk Road Fund has been set up by China to improve infrastructure connectivity between Asia and Europe.

The fund, according to Chinese Premier Li, will be used for cooperating with Europe in hi-tech development, infrastructure construction and financial services.

To promote their cooperation, China and Europe also need to further liberalize trade and investment and properly handle trade frictions.

All these measures would ensure a continued leap forward in their bilateral trade. It’s highly feasible that China-Europe bilateral trade will exceed one trillion U.S. dollars by 2020, as Premier Li said he hoped it would during his ongoing European tour. Enditem

Business, China, Chinese circle, Energy, Green-tech, Indepth, News, World News

China, France prioritize partnership in industry, energy, third-party markets

07/03/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China, France prioritize partnership in industry, energy, third-party markets

PARIS, June 30 (Greenpost) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday agreed here with his French counterpart Manuel Valls on expanding cooperation in industry, energy and third party markets.

Li, who is on a four-day official visit to France, said China is willing to advance practical cooperation and cement mutual trust with France.

Li suggested that the two sides should deepen industrial cooperation in fields including aviation and space, high-speed railway, steel, nuclear, oil and hydro power while increasing added value and jointly exploring third-party markets.

The Chinese premier also noted China and France should step up their cooperation in such areas as agriculture, food, health, digital economy, ocean and polar region development as well as energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, Li called for more favorable conditions to facilitate trade and investment so as to push for a dynamic balance in bilateral trade. “China backs domestic enterprises to invest in France and welcomes French businesses to expand Chinese market with their leading technology.”

Li said the two countries should deepen financial cooperation to provide support for exploring third party markets and enhance exchanges and cooperation in supervising their banking sectors.

France is a core member of the European Union and a partner of special importance for China within the organization, Li noted. “A healthy growth of China-France ties will be exemplary for China-Europe relations.”

He urged France to continue to play an active role in this regard so as to inject new vigor into China-Europe relations.

For his part, Valls said the two countries enjoy fruitful practical cooperation and a broad prospect.

He expressed his hope that France and China could strengthen their economic dialogue and deepen their cooperation in traditional areas including nuclear energy, aviation and space, agriculture and food production while speeding up interaction in such new areas as trilateral cooperation and eco-city building.

Valls called for more two-way investment and exchanges in sectors of culture and tourism.

The French side, he said, appreciated China’s actions in tackling climate change and is grateful for its efforts in working with France to prepare for the 2015 Paris climate change conference.

Li, who arrived here from Belgium after meeting with Belgian leaders and attending the 17th China-EU leaders’ meeting, is now on an official visit to France.

During his stay, he will also pay a visit to the headquarters of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, Indepth, News, World News

China, Africa to strengthen industrial cooperation

07/03/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China, Africa to strengthen industrial cooperation

ADDIS ABABA, June 30 (Greenpost) — Officials from China, Africa, and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday pledged efforts to strengthen industrial cooperation between China and Africa to boost the continent’s economic development at a two-day investment forum held in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Chinese Deputy Minister of Finance Liu Jianhua said as Chinese businesses are investing abroad and African countries are attracting foreign capital, technology, and development experience, there is huge room for cooperation.

She said China is willing to help Africa build infrastructure network, achieve industrialization by scaling up financial, technological, and human resources support to Africa.

Liu also said China will increase its cooperation with multi- lateral institutions like the WB in its engagement with Africa. She revealed that China is planning to set up a 50-million-U.S.- dollar trust fund with the WB to support infrastructure development in developing regions including Africa.

According to official statistics, China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for six consecutive years, with trade in 2014 reaching 222 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese invested a record high of 4 billion U.S. dollars in Africa last year, up 14 percent from a year earlier. At least 2,500 big and medium Chinese companies have registered to be operating in Africa, across a broad variety of sectors.

A WB report shows that Chinese investment in Africa is increasingly shifting towards the manufacturing sector as the Asian nation diversifies out of primary sectors such as agriculture and mining. Manufacturing is key to Africa’s future development, the report notes.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia noted that his government sees the forum embodying three important themes, including Africa’s commitment to economic transformation, strong partnership between Africa and China, and the power of industrialization to deliver development results.

The Premier said China-Africa partnership, which has mutually beneficial results across Africa, has expanded rapidly and taken new momentum.

“As China-Africa trade cooperation moves into its next phase, there will be significant scope for diversification of our economies and exports, particularly into agriculture and manufacturing,” he said. “Chinese investment can be instrumental in addressing structural and logistical constraints that impact the competitiveness of African exports.”

Makthar Diop, WB Vice President for Africa, highlighted China’s experience of dedication, long-term planning, and pragmatism as three major lessons for Africa to learn in order to industrialize. He said Africa’s economy has been growing averagely 5 percent over the past decade and proved itself resilient during the 2008-2009 global economic crisis. However, the negative impacts on the economy brought by recent months’ drop of commodity prices signifies the need for Africa to diversify its economy, Diop said.

One of the key issues discussed at the forum was the role industrial parks and special economic zones play in the process of industrialization.

Since 2007, the Chinese government has been supporting six Chinese company-initiated industrial zones in Africa, located in Egypt, Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Mauritius. Economists including WB former chief economist Justin Lin highlighted the success of this innovation especially the Eastern Industrial Park in Ethiopia for facilitating the relocation of China’s labor- intensive light manufacturing.

He said Africa, with 1.1 billion population and low labor costs, is an ideal place to relocate the light manufacturing sector of China as the trend of global value chain moves. Lin urged the governments of China and African countries to seize this opportunity that can help both China and Africa move a step up the global value chain.

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson