Tag Archives: China

Cuba, China wrap up session on biotech cooperation

07/03/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Cuba, China wrap up session on biotech cooperation

HAVANA, June 30 (Greenpost) — Cuba and China Tuesday wrapped up a two-day meeting to expand cooperation in the field of biotechnology.

Participants of the 8th meeting of the Cuba-China Joint Working Group on Biotechnology reviewed progress made on existing agreements and outlined bilateral cooperation for the coming two years.

About 100 representatives from biotech and pharmaceutical companies and research institutes from both countries attended the event, which was expected to conclude with the signing of agreements between Cuban state biotech group BioCubaFarma and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (CNDR).

Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel attended the first day of the session, where participants discussed biotech applications in five key areas: industry, sanitary regulations, health, science and neurotechnology and agriculture.

The president of BioCubaFarma, Dr. Carlos Gutierrez, addressed the opening of the session, saying cooperation in biotechnology has become one of the driving engines of the relationship between Havana and Beijing given its “great outlook.”

The deputy director of the CNDR, Lin Nianxiu, concurred, saying collaboration in the field has been mutually beneficial in the past decade.

Chinese firms, said Lin, are interested in establishing themselves in Cuba, investing in the country’s new Mariel Port development, a deep-water shipping port and industrial park taking shape near Havana.

China has spent some 500 billion yuan (about 82 billion U.S. dollars) in recent years on the production and sale of biotech products.

The two countries began to cooperate in the field starting in 2004, during a visit to Cuba by then Chinese president Hu Jintao.

Today, about a score of Chinese biotech or pharmaceutical companies are involved in more than 30 joint projects with their Cuban counterparts. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, Environment, Green-tech, News, World News

China unveils plan to implement environmental protection pacemaker program

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China unveils plan to implement environmental protection pacemaker program

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) – China’s four ministries and commission jointly publicized a plan to implement the environmental protection pacemaker program, according to an announcement posted on the website of Ministry of Finance (MOF) Wednesday.

According to the plan, environmental protection pacemakers are required to have their products meet the technical requirements on environmental protection-labeled products and also lead comparable products of their kinds in terms of environmental performances, to implement management of green supply chain environment with environmental-friendly designing, efficient clean production technologies and low emission of pollutants in the whole lifecycle of products, to have no bad records for its products in the state’s random inspections on product quality in the recent year, to be independent legal entities in the Chinese mainland with complete quality control system, perfect supply systems and fine after-sale services, promising normal supply of products via the mainstream marketing channel.

The Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Environmental Protection promised in the plan to release on a regular basis the name list of environmental protection pacemakers and catalogues of their products give them appropriate policy supports.

Business, News, World News

Balancing reforms, growth remains China’s priority: World Bank

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Balancing reforms, growth remains China’s priority: World Bank

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — China’s growth slowdown is not unexpected. In fact, it is desirable in the short and medium-term perspective, as the country prioritizes balancing reforms and managing short-term demand, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

In the short term, China’s economic moderation reflects policies to slow rapid credit growth, contain shadow banking, limit borrowing by local governments and reduce excess capacity in industry, which address the vulnerabilities that built up after the 2008 global financial crisis, the World Bank said in its latest China Economic Update released in Beijing.

“Over the medium term, lower growth is consistent with a gradual shift in China’s growth model, from manufacturing to services, from investment to consumption, and from exports to domestic spending,” it said.

Balancing reforms and short-term demand management remains a priority in 2015 as large-scale and broad-based measures aimed at supporting short-term growth may conflict with efforts to increase the sustainability of medium-term growth.

“Engineering a gradual shift to a more sustainable growth path poses challenges for policy makers, given real-sector weaknesses and financial-system vulnerabilities,” noted the report.

Efforts to cut excess capacity in heavy industry, dampen unproductive risk taking in shadow banking, and solidify budget constraints on local governments will help make investment more efficient and realign growth over the medium term. However, such reforms will depress economic activity in the short term, it added.

The World Bank predicted China’s economy would expand 7.1 percent in 2015 and 7 percent in 2016.

China’s economy grew 7.4 percent in 2014, the slowest rate for 24 years, albeit with more focus on higher-quality and innovation-driven growth. Enditem

Business, China, News

China Focus: New consumption mode, new growth engine

06/29/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China Focus: New consumption mode, new growth engine

BEIJING, June 23 (Xinhua) — Against the headwinds towards China’s economy, new ways of consumption empowered by development of Internet Plus is likely to become the country’s new growth engine.

China’s economic growth slowed to a six-year low at 7 percent in the first quarter of 2015 while it has been seeking ways to shift its growth away from a dependence on investment and export to domestic consumption.

The latest data showed that China’s retail sales growth accelerated in May, indicating that its pro-consumption policies launched recently have begun to take effect.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that retail sales in May grew 10.1 percent year on year to 2.42 trillion yuan, a tad up from the 10 percent growth recorded in April.

More importantly, online shopping took a larger share in total consumption. In the first five months, online sales rose 39.3 percent year on year to reach 1.34 trillion yuan.

Internet Plus is an idea that combines mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, modern manufacturing industries, e-commerce, industrial Internet and Internet finance.

Besides buying consumer goods and ordering food, Internet Plus has also penetrated in all aspects of life, such as transportation, traveling, medical care, entertainment and education, and the new consuming experience has stimulated the potential of consumer spending.

In a bid to further spur demand from middle and low-income earners, the State Council, China’s cabinet, said on June 10 that private capital, foreign and domestic banks and Internet companies will be allowed to set up “consumer credit” firms, which can offer small loans to the public.

Compared to traditional loans offered by banks, loans designed specifically to fund retail purchases are generally small and without the need of guarantees. Such loans are especially handy for people who are either denied of credit cards by banks or whose cards have low credit lines

The move is widely expected to effectively expand domestic consumption and help China’s economy shift to a consumption-driven economy as “borrow to consume” are now more acceptable to Chinese consumers and China’s credit information system is further completed.

China’s e-commerce giants such as Alibaba, JD.com and Suning have already launched similar services, which give consumers access to loans to buy goods on their online shopping sites and the money could be repaid in installments.

Moreover, China has slashed import duties on consumer goods by an average of 50 percent, starting from June 1, which is another move to encourage domestic spending. The duty on cosmetics was reduced to 2 percent from 5 percent.

China’s State Council has also released a guideline on June 20 saying the customs administrator will streamline customs procedures for e-commerce exports and imports to make the processes simpler and quicker, while the quality supervision authorities will allow collective declaration, examination and release of goods.

The government will keep export taxes low while formulating import tax policies. It will also encourage domestic banks and institutions to launch cross-border electronic payment businesses and advance pilot overseas payments in foreign currencies.

However, experts note that some of the policies and regulations in China have fallen behind the development of the new consumption mode and they suggest the government should continue to improve consuming environment, upgrade consuming infrastructure, strengthen regulation and further open domestic market. Enditem

Business, China, News, World News

China Southern Airlines launches Guangzhou-Paris-Vienna cargo route

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China Southern Airlines launches Guangzhou-Paris-Vienna cargo route

PARIS, June 23 (Xinhua) — China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd., one of China’s leading airlines based in south China city of Guangzhou, has launched Guangzhou-Paris-Vienna cargo route in a bid to further expand its cargo transport network in Asia-Europe region.

At present, two flights are arranged for the new route each week and the number of the flights will be raised to three each week starting from July 1, said Zhu Jinliang, general manager of the Pairs office of China Southern Airlines. Enditem

Business, China, News

Cabinet stresses “Internet Plus” strategy

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Cabinet stresses “Internet Plus” strategy

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — China will put more momentum behind its “Internet Plus” drive, which aims to integrate the Internet and industry while encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, the cabinet vowed on Wednesday.

The campaign is very important in creating a new engine for economic growth, said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, who proposed Internet Plus in March.

An Internet Plus guideline was approved at the meeting. It maps development targets and supportive measures for sectors which the government hopes can establish new industrial modes, including agriculture, energy, finance, public services, logistics, e-commerce, traffic, biology and artificial intelligence.

Unreasonable regulations and policies which hinder Internet Plus will be cleared and market accesses will be lowered for integrated products and services, according to the guideline.

China will launch hardware projects to support Internet Plus, build more next-generation infrastructure, develop more core chips and high-end servers, and better apply cloud computing and big data, it said.

Based on Internet Plus, open and shared platforms will be built to improve public services and share public data, it added. Enditem

Business, China, News, World News

China mulls cyber security law

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China mulls cyber security law

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislature is considering a cyber security law, according to a statement released Wednesday.

The draft law was submitted to lawmakers for its first reading at the bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee which runs from Wednesday to July 1.

The law aims at “safeguarding cyberspace sovereignty and national security,” according to the draft.

Cyber security has become an important issue concerning national security and development as well as public interests, said Lang Sheng, deputy head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, at the session.

The 68-article draft law suggests mechanisms to guarantee the safety of Internet products and services, operation, network data, as well as information.

The draft also highlights “development,” prescribing national strategies for cyber security and supportive measures to promote cyber security, Lang said.

Key information-related infrastructure will be put under protection, according to the draft.

The draft also stresses protecting citizens’ personal information from being stolen, leaked or used illegally.

State Council departments related with cyber security will establish systems for cyber security monitoring, warning and reporting. An emergency response mechanism will also be set up, according to the draft. Enditem

Business, China, News

China’s top legislature reviews BRICS bank agreement

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China’s top legislature reviews BRICS bank agreement

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislature started reviewing an agreement on the founding of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), intended to fund infrastructure in the BRICS bloc and other developing economies, on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed by five of the bloc’s members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — on July 15 last year during the sixth BRICS summit.

It will enter force only when all BRICS countries have deposited instruments of acceptance, ratification or approval.

The agreement over the Shanghai-based bank had been ratified in India and Russia by April 27, said Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin while elaborating on the deal at the bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The NDB will have initial authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, and its initial subscribed capital of 50 billion U.S. dollars will be equally shared among founding members, under the agreement.

It will stipulate a three-tier governance structure — a board of governors, a board of directors and management led by the president.

As agreed by the five countries, the first chair of the Board of Governors will be nominated by Russia, the first chair of the Board of Directors by Brazil, and the first president of the bank by India, Shi said.

They also agreed to set up an African regional center of the NDB in South Africa.

The establishment of the bank will be a milestone in financial cooperation among BRICS members, according to Shi.

Aside from its main funding function, it will help enhance the bloc’s role in the international arena and promote reform of global economic governance, he said.

The agreement will initially not be applied in the Hong

Kong Special Administrative Region after the foreign ministry consulted with the regional government.

Once the agreement is approve by the NPC Standing Committee, the Chinese government will subscribe 10 billion U.S. dollars on time as prescribed, Shi said.

He also noted that the NDB, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund would operate independently although all three were financed by the government. Enditem

Business, China, 人物专访, 北欧体育

Chinese billionaire ambitious in world’s sports industry

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Chinese billionaire ambitious in world’s sports industry

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — Bold plans unveiled by the Chinese government to develop the sports industry have fueled hunger and ambitions among Chinese investors.

Besides manufacturing sport wear and gear, Chinese investors have started to buy stakes in European soccer clubs and sports-related international companies.

Billionaire Wang Jianlin said one of his goals is to turn his Wanda Group into a leader in the world’s sports industry.

“We are going to merge at least three sports-related enterprises by the end of the year, a move expected to give Wanda a leading position in the world’s sports industry,” Wang told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The Chinese real estate and entertainment giant bought Swiss sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media three weeks after it purchased stakes of 2014 Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in January. The two deals cost Wang about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars.

Wang admitted that his group, well known for real estate projects, cinemas and plazas, is a “green hand” in the sports industry but ample budget ensured his group’s rapid rise in the sector.

“What we are doing is merging, which paved our way to the industry,” he said.

Wang took Infront as an example.

“Infront is a company with many resources, controlling sports events’ broadcast rights and marketing rights,” he said. “With Infront, we now stand at the upstream of the industry.”

China has unveiled plans to raise sports sector into a 5-trillion-yuan (817 billion U.S. dollars) industry by 2025.

Under a sweeping reform plan, private investment will be encouraged, new sports facilities will be built and the government will support the sector by increasingly buying its services.

Encouraged by the plans and later a reform agenda to revive Chinese soccer, many enterprises including Wanda have started to invest heavily in sports, especially soccer. Enditem

Business, China, News

China creates leading group for enhancing manufacturing prowess

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China creates leading group for enhancing manufacturing prowess

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — The State Council, China’s cabinet, will set up a leading group for its ambitious plan to enhance manufacturing prowess and change the reputation of “Made in China” goods.

The group, led by vice premier Ma Kai, will coordinate, deliberate and implement plans for becoming a world manufacturing power, according to a statement published on the government website.

The group will be headquartered in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the statement said.

The decision came a month after the release of the “Made in China 2025” plan, which aims to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.

The plan lays out strategies for upgrading from low-end manufacturing to more value-added and tech-intensive production, and encourages domestic manufacturers to achieve technological breakthroughs across a number of emerging industries from numerical control tools and robotics to aerospace equipment and new energy vehicles.

Nine tasks have been identified as priorities: improving manufacturing innovation, integrating technology and industry, strengthening the industrial base, fostering Chinese brands, enforcing green manufacturing, promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors, advancing restructuring of the manufacturing sector, promoting service-oriented manufacturing and manufacturing-related service industries, and internationalizing manufacturing. Enditem

Business, China, culture, Environment, News, World News

WSSCC supports hygiene, health and well-being in China

06/25/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Stockholm, June 25(Greenpost)– WSSCC, a UN organization for water and sanitation has stretched its hand to help Chinese women to pay attention to hygiene and health during their menstrual period. From left to right: Archana Patkar, WSSCC Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management; Ulf Söderström, President SCA Asia Pacific; Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President Sustainability, SCA; and Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director, Vinda International. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Some 76% of Chinese women are uncomfortable in a social setting — a dinner with friends or family, for example – while having their period, participants learned today at a special seminar hosted by the global hygiene company SCA and its affiliate Vinda International together with WSSCC.

The seminar, “Hygiene Matters 2014” focused on the findings of a recent survey of the same name and assembled 30 people, including representatives of elderly welfare associations in seven Chinese cities, to the SCA Pavilion in Sanya. The pavilion is hosting a range of events during the two-week stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in this southern coastal city.

Archana Patkar, WSSCC Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management, discussed the links between hygiene, aging and disability at the Hygiene Matters Workshop in the SCA Pavilion. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

WSSCC’s Archana Patkar, Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management, was one of three keynote speakers at the event. She joined Ulf Söderström, President SCA Asia Pacific; Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President Sustainability, SCA; and Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director, Vinda International.

Ms. Patkar discussed the links between hygiene, aging and disability. She noted that for men, and particularly for women, there are distinct hygiene-related needs that coincide with the human lifecycle, from birth to old age and including periods of disability, both physical or mental, that most people eventually encounter.

“We must unlock dignity for all people in all the stages of their lives,” said Ms. Patkar. “For women and for men, this means not being afraid to talk about issues linked to childbirth, puberty, menstruation, menopause and old age, including incontinence.” Do public facilities, for example, consider lifecycle differences, she asked, such as lower wash basins which can be reached by wheelchair-bound people?

Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President for Sustainability at SCA, presented results emanating from the 13-country Hygiene Matters Consumer Survey conducted in 2014. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Ms. Strandkvist and Mr. Söderström gave global and Chinese results emanating from the 13-country Hygiene Matters Consumer Survey 2014. The survey is designed to glean insights which can be used to raise awareness among decision makers, experts and the general public on hygiene and health, as well as improve the quality of the company’s products, 80% of whom are women.

Ulf Söderström, President of SCA Asia Pacific, revealed that personal hygiene, according to one of many survey responses, was the greatest worry of growing old in China. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

In China, personal hygiene, according to one of many survey responses, was the greatest worry of growing old – with issues such as elderly incontinence ranking higher than sickness, Mr. Söderström said.

“Compared to other surveyed countries, Chinese people are quite worried of becoming ill due to poor hygiene – more than half of the respondents worry often or always. In China, SCA and Vinda aim to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere by providing innovative solutions to the market that improve the quality of life for millions of people; from developing professional nursing services to championing elderly education and providing assisted living expertise,” said Mr. Söderström during the presentation of the local survey results.

There are also economic impacts, Ms. Strandkvist revealed. As people live and work longer, untreated incontinence reduces quality of life and causes enormous costs to society by reducing working people’s productivity an average of 12.6 days per year. In addition to this, caregiving relatives lose in average 3.7 hours work per week while attending to their relative. In just Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong, this value loss is estimated at USD 1.7 billion in 2014.

Whether the issue is incontinence or menstrual hygiene, Ms. Yu said the aim for SCA and Vinda International is to “raise awareness about the connection between hygiene, health and well-being, and to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere.”

Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director at Vinda International, underlined the organisation's aim to raise awareness about the connection between hygiene, health and well-being, and to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Since November 2014, SCA, a leading global hygiene and forest products company, and WSSCC have teamed up in an innovative public-private partnership to break the silence around menstruation for women and girls around the world. In connection with the all-female Team SCA’s participation in the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, WSSCC and SCA (a member of the UN Global Compact) are campaigning for greater attention to the issue, as well as hosting educational and training events designed to leave practical skills in the stopover sites.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, WSSCC, SCA, Vinda International and the Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government will conduct a menstrual hygiene teacher training, as well as an educational workshop with school girls in the capital city of Haikou. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the two partners together with Vinda International and the Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government will conduct menstrual hygiene teacher training, as well as an educational workshop with school girls in the capital city of Haikou. Similar activities took place last November with The Volunteer Centre, a local NGO, in Cape Town, South Africa, for young girls from local townships.

At any given moment, 800 million women around the world are menstruating, and in many countries, millions of them are left to manage their periods with unhygienic solutions such as cloth, paper or clay, and without access to private toilets, water or soap. Sanitary products like pads are unaffordable or unavailable, and urinary or reproductive tract infections are common. As a result, girls miss valuable days in school, and women are unable to work, stifling productivity and advancement.

Source WSSCC website

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China, Chinese circle, culture, Environment, News, World News

WSSCC and SCA help Chinese girls to break the silence on menstruation

06/25/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

The Great Aunt: WSSCC and SCA help Chinese girls to break the silence on menstruation

Stockholm, June 25(Greenpost)–While the girls from countryside didn’t know how to describe their period, girls in the city for example in Beijing got an euphimism for menstruation, that is Dayima or the Great Aunt.

It was true that women used clothes to deal with their period because there was no paper before 1970s in the countryside in China. Many women who were born in the 1950s and 1960s said they were not aware of it when their period came for the first time.

But now the situation changed for the better. Thanks to SCA and WSSCC program, girls from Haikou got more knowledge about this private matter.

In a safe and supportive environment, thirty girls from Haikou, China, sat down on February 5 to talk with each other and learn from experts about an important but little discussed topic that will impact their lives for the next 40 years: menstruation.

The girls, aged 10 to 12, participated in a menstrual hygiene management (MHM)training session organized by SCA and WSSCC through their public-private partnership on the issue. The training session was supported by the General Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government, as well as Vinda International, one of China’s largest tissue companies. The training took place at the Hainan Provincial Population and Family Public Service Center.

SCA and WSSCC have entered into their collaboration aiming at breaking the stigma and silence that surrounds menstruation.

In the MHM session, local women trained by WSSCC taught the girls about their bodies, the importance of good hygiene during menstruation and to feel pride in what happens naturally every month. The local women were given a full day of pre-training on Feb. 4 , which will enable them to continue to spread the knowledge and achieve sustainable change.

“The health and well-being of a nation is very much connected to the health and well-being of its women and girls,” said Chen Jinling, Deputy Director of the General Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government. “We are happy to support this workshop, which has done much to raise awareness of menstrual hygiene management and has provided nearly 30 girls, and their friends, with very important information for their own futures.”

With the group of women trainers – who included doctors, teachers and community volunteer organizers – and later with the students, the session provided an opportunity to discuss in clear terms what usually is done euphemistically. It was said how the monthly period is often explained away as “the Great Aunt”, or “the thing”, or “my routine holiday”, or “the typhoon”. Some cultural practices and beliefs in China linked to menstruation include in many places, including Hainan, girls having their period cannot go with their families to worship their ancestors. Or, there are beliefs that they should not go swimming, or eat chocolate (because Chinese traditional medicine suggests that some foods help or hinder the circulatory system, and that sweet foods will make you bleed more).

“Breaking the silence [around menstruation] requires knowledge and leads to real change,” said Archana Patkar, Programme Manager, WSSCC. “Today’s training went very well and it shows that the WSSCC/SCA partnership will leave a positive and lasting imprint for girls and young women in Haikou while also raising awareness of menstrual hygiene issues globally. We’re grateful to the Hainan Provincial Government for welcoming and supporting us in this work.”

Kersti Strandqvist, SCA’s SVP Sustainability described the partnership as a valuable tool to make a difference. “We want to move from well-meaning words to real action. To meet the young girls today is also a means for us to adjust our products and trainings to their needs and strengthen them in their role as women. For us at SCA it is inspiring and motivating when we see how we make a difference in these girls’ lives!”

WSSCC has a multi-faceted approach to menstrual hygiene management, and other equity issues.

Source WSSCC

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China

Spotlight: China’s growth brings fresh opportunities for world economies

06/22/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 1 Comment

PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (Greenpost) — China’s economic growth will bring new development opportunities for the world, especially for cooperation in Euro-Asia regions, a Russian official said here Thursday.

Boris Titov, chairman of the Russian part of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development, said in an interview with Xinhua that “China’s economic momentum is unstoppable and its growth will bring fresh development opportunities for world economies including Russia.”

China has become the world’s second largest economy by nominal total gross domestic product (GDP), Titov noted, adding that the most prominent characteristic of China’s economic “new normal” is the transformation of its economic development mode.

Under the “new normal” status, the export-driven economy will now need to refocus on boosting domestic consumption, which will unleash the full potential of China’s economy.

However, Titov said, a substantial amount of Chinese investment will find its way to markets around the world as the country’s economy keeps growing.

China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative is conducive to the infrastructure development of the countries concerned in the Euro-Asia region, he said, adding that benefit-sharing is the most prominent characteristic of this strategy.

“The strategy will do nothing to harm the interests of the countries concerned. Instead, it will help these countries develop their own economies, and that is why the strategy gets very strong support from them,” Titov said.

As for bilateral cooperation, Titov said that energy is a key area of Russia-China economic cooperation, and the two countries’ cooperation in the area of small- and medium-sized businesses is also quite promising.

Titov said that a Russian-Chinese forum on small- and medium-sized businesses was successfully held in Beijing in April, adding that China’s economic growth will give impetus to the development of Russia’s small- and medium-sized businesses and will also help the country exit the recession at an earlier date.

According to official statistics, China’s investment in Russia has been growing steadily over the past few years. Chinese direct investment in Russia, including those via third countries, totaled 33 billion U.S. dollars by 2014.

At the 19th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which opened on Thursday, a group of Chinese and Russian companies officially signed a contract on jointly conducting the pre-construction survey and design of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway.

The 770-kilometer railway is a key infrastructure development project for Russia. It is estimated to cost more than 20 billion dollars. Upon completion in 2018, the rail link will dramatically reduce the travel time between Moscow and Kazan from 14 hours to three and a half hours. Moreover, it will become part of the planned Beijing-Moscow high-speed transport corridor.

Besides the high-speed railway, China and Russia are also working on such large-scale cooperation projects as cross-border natural gas pipelines, the development of large, wide-body airplanes and a development strategy for the Far East region.

Both China and Russia have injected more and more financial resources into these cooperation projects. The central banks of the two countries signed a currency swap agreement worth 150 billion RMB or 815 billion rubles (24 billion dollars) last October. The amount of RMB currency used in bilateral trade settlement at the Russian branch of Bank of China grew more than six times last year, according to branch chief Zhao Lianjie.

The National Development Bank of China, a state-owned bank for financing overseas investment by Chinese companies, has signed cooperation agreements with three major Russian banks in May to finance large-scale cooperation projects and the development of the Far East region.

China and Russia have also stepped up financial cooperation on such multilateral platforms as the Silk Road Fund and the Asia Infrastructure Development Bank.

Under the direct guidance of top leaders of both countries, investment and financial cooperation have become a new growth point for the China-Russia all-round strategic cooperation partnership. Two-way trade is expected to top 100 billion dollars this year after reaching an all-time high of 95.3 billion dollars in 2014.

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China

China Focus: Key China-U.S. dialogue set for next week

06/22/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China Focus: Key China-U.S. dialogue set for next week

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — High-ranking officials from China and the United States will meet next week in Washington D.C. to discuss issues ranging from security to the economy and people-to-people exchanges, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The two countries have decided that the seventh China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) and the sixth China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) will take place on June 23 and 24, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

The S&ED will be co-chaired by Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who will act as special representatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who will act for U.S. President Barack Obama.

The CPE will be co-chaired by Vice Premier Liu Yandong and Kerry.

“China is ready to work with the United States to implement the consensus reached by their leaders, enhance strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, properly handle differences, so as to push for new progress in the building of a new model of major power relationship,” said Lu.

The CPE will discuss cooperation in education, science and technology, culture, health, sports, women and youth, according to the spokesperson.

The S&ED and CPE, among more than 90 dialogue mechanisms between China and the United States, have become the most important regular platforms between the two countries, gathering dozens of influential officials in fields ranging from trade and finance to diplomacy and defense.

“The coming S&ED and CPE will help enhance mutual understanding and build trust, promote cooperation and make preparations for President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in September,” Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said on Friday.

Xi accepted U.S. President Barack Obama’s invitation for a state visit during a phone conversation in February.

It will be Xi’s first state visit to the United States since he became president in 2013.

“This year’s strategic dialogue will cover a wide range of topics,including bilateral, regional and global issues of common concern,” Zheng said.

Hot topics include climate change, China-U.S. interaction in the Asia-Pacific region, management of differences and sensitive issues, United Nations and multilateral issues, science and innovation, green ports and ships and the illegal trade in animals and plants.

Ahead of the strategic dialogue, Chinese and U.S. representatives of the military and related departments will meet to discuss security, Zheng said.

“The major task for the economic dialogue is to reach agreement on economic issues and create a good environment for the presidential summit in September,” China’s vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao said.

At the economic dialogue, officials will have in-depth discussions on macro-economic policy and restructuring, promoting trade and investment and stabilizing and reforming the financial market, according to Zhu.

As the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China are increasingly economically interdependent, with their trade volume hitting 550 billion U.S. dollars last year.

U.S. investment in China has amounted to nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese investment in the United States has also grown, official data indicates.

“Increasing China-U.S. economic cooperation is not only in tune with the requirements of the two peoples, but also a reflection of two countries’ efforts to shoulder their responsibilities as world powers,” Zhu said.

The fact that the CPE and S&ED are being jointly held in the United States for the first time this year shows the seriousness in which the two sides are aiming to build their new-model relationship, according to Chinese Vice Minister of Education Liu Limin.

He said people-to-people exchanges are irreplaceable and he is looking forward to the upcoming consultation.

A range of China-U.S. events will take place in America during the Chinese leaders’ time there.

Liu Yandong will address a forum for university presidents of the two countries. Twenty-six Chinese university chiefs and 23 from the United States are scheduled to attend.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and also victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Chinese Embassy to the United States will hold a joint exhibition to commemorate cooperation between China and the United States in World War II, Liu Limin said.

Liu Yandong will deliver a speech at a dialogue with female leaders from the two countries.

She will attend a seminar aiming to help African countries improve their healthcare systems and the opening ceremony of a competition for young technology enthusiasts.

According to Liu Limin, one of the achievements of the CPE is expected to be a plan for China to invite 100 American youth leaders to visit China for a study tour in the coming five years.

The coming activity will follow a U.S. visit by Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, earlier this month. Fan said during the trip that the the two nations “should take the higher ground to look into the future and gain perspective on regional and international issues”.

His U.S. meetings saw discussion of a “mutual trust mechanism” covering encounters in the air, building on such mechanisms for land-based and maritime encounters, Zheng said.

The main goal of Fan’s visit was to create “a positive atmosphere” for Xi’s September U.S. visit, according to Guan Youfei, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the National Defense Ministry. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News, World News

China relaxes e-commerce investor rules for foreigners

06/22/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

China relaxes e-commerce investor rules for foreigners

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — China has decided to give foreign investors greater freedom in the booming e-commerce industry by allowing them to fully own e-commerce companies in the country, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced Friday.

The MIIT said in a brief statement that it would open up the online data processing and transaction processing businesses to foreign investors.

The new policy will enable more foreign companies to compete with local firms, thereby driving the sector to higher standards, the MIIT said.

The move is an expansion of a pilot scheme launched in January in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Currently, China’s lucrative e-commerce business is dominated by big homegrown firms. The e-commerce market hit 13.4 trillion yuan (2.2 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014, and China is aiming to almost double the value of the sector in two years. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson