Category Archives: China
Latest news: China’s Eastern Star Ship righted
Xuefei Chen Axelsson
Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost)–The search and rescue team has righted the capsized cruise ship in the Yangtze River following more than 12 hours of work, according to CRI.
The operation started Thursday night after no more survivors were found following three days of search and rescue efforts.
The rescue headquarters says righting the ship would help find the missing people “in the shortest possible time”.
The death toll from the shipwreck stands at 97.
More than 350 remain missing.
Only 14 people have been found alive so far.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has been to the rescue site twice to direct the rescue work, look at the rescued persons and the soldiers,
divers and many others.
The ship was believed to capsize due to the severe storm and the
tornado it met.
The ship capsized within just a couple of minutes. It was too quick to
send out rescue signals. The message was sent out after a guide swam out of the river.
The last one who was rescued out was a 65 year old lady.
Chinese army, navy and air force as well as transportation and communication ministries have all sent out people to the site.
More than 4600 soldiers and 200 divers participated in the rescue.
China Headlines: China eyes bigger global role with Chinese solutions
Chinese companies strive to lead development in 5G technology
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Commentary: More trust from the West in China-Africa cooperation key to Africa’s takeoff
Commentary: More trust from the West in China-Africa cooperation key to Africa’s takeoff
by Guo Jun
Stockholm, June 5 (Greenpost)– The year 2015 marks the 15th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a milestone which has seen China and Africa accelerate their steps in expanding cooperations in various fields for the past 15 years.
Infrastructure projects built by Chinese companies are quickly popping up around the continent. Up to now, China has completed 1, 046 projects in Africa, building 2,233 kilometers of railways and 3,530 kilometers of roads, among others, promoting intra-African trade and helping it integrate into the global economy.
However, as Africa is benefiting from the fruits of trust established with China very long time ago, some in the West have been watching all these with doubtful, or green eyes, hence fantastic theories like “neocolonialism” and “China is exploiting Africa’s resources” are floating up.
Believers of such theories seem to ignore the simple fact that Western powers have been holding their grounds in production of natural resources like oil, gas and minerals in many African countries.
According to a report quoted by the Wikipedia, joint ventures between foreign companies and Nigerian government account for approximately 95 percent of all crude oil output in Nigeria, while local independent companies operating in marginal fields account for the remaining 5 percent. And the top six foreign companies operating in Nigeria are all of western origin, including Shell Nigeria who accounts for 50 percent of Nigerian’s total oil production.
The same story happens in many other African countries: Angola, Zambia, Botswana, etc., a story neglected by some people in the West perhaps because they have taken this for granted for too long to remember.
China has grown into one of the major trading partners with Africa. Winning infrastructure project bids with lower cost, quick delivery and good quality, buying and selling goods for each other’s needs, at both parties’ willingness, aren’t these market economy practices?
“Some say that China is conducting ‘concrete diplomacy’ by helping Africa with infrastructure development. I believe that is what badly needed by Africa in pursuing economic growth,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told a recent press briefing.
Infrastructure projects, investment in manufacture and aids in health sector are China’s main gifts to Africa as the continent strides towards a more integrated and promising one, especially with a continental free trade zone encompassing 26 African countries being close at hand.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni told the Financial Times in October 2014 that his main preoccupation was to build efficient infrastructure capable of providing inexpensive services to boost GDP growth to double digit levels.
He said China was a desirable partner in this endeavor not only because of its funding capabilities but also because it desists from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
Africa is big enough to consume investment from China and the West. According to the World Bank, an extra 93 billion U.S. dollars is needed every year over the next decade to bridge the infrastructure deficit alone in Africa.
The efficient West-China cooperation on the continent will provide greater opportunities for African countries, particularly in the area of technology transfer, peace and security operations as China is increasing its coordination with United Nations peacekeeping missions.
There should be more confidence and trust from the West in the engagement between China and Africa, and also more trust from the West that China is a reliable partner to cooperate to help Africa loose no time in taking off so as to benefit the whole world. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
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China Focus: China, ADB can tap “belt and road” potential
China Focus: China, ADB can tap “belt and road” potential
Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost)– The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and China can make use of the huge potential in infrastructure and energy along the belt and road, said ADB Vice President Zhang Wencai.
“Belt and road” refers to the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road proposed by China in 2013 for improved cooperation between countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.
The belt and road will result in increased investment that will improve connectivity across Central Asia, Zhang said in an interview with Xinhua.
The ADB can work with China to translate the concept into concrete action through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, Zhang said.
The CAREC program is an ADB initiative launched in 2001 to promote regional cooperation in transport, energy and trade between its 10 members, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
“China can contribute to the economic corridor development in the CAREC region by sharing its experience in logistics, infrastructure, economic zones, spatial economic agglomeration, urbanization and public-private partnerships,” he said.
“Large investment needs for infrastructure in the region create large funding gaps,” he said.
All CAREC countries have substantial needs in energy development, Zhang added.
An ADB study in central Asia found that investment of about 36 billion U.S. dollars is needed before 2022 for power infrastructure in four countries.
“Given the large funding gap, China could look into co-financing with the ADB and other multilateral institutions in CAREC countries, and share its technical and management skills in large infrastructure projects,” he said. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
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0708261336
中国2014年生产了2900万辆电动自行车
北欧绿色邮报报道（记者陈雪霏）－－据新华社消息，工业信息技术部日前透露，2014年中国生产了2905万辆电动自行车，基本上与2013年持平。
China produced 29.05 million electric bicycles (e-bikes) in 2014, basically equal with that for 2013, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
与此同时，普通自行车产量达到6202万辆，比上年下降了0.9%。
Meanwhile, the output of human-powered bicycles dropped 0.9 percent year on year to 62.02 million units.
12月份，电动自行车和普通自行车分别下降了1.7%和0.4%，达274万辆和567万辆。
In December, the output of electric bicycles and human-powered bicycles declined 1.7 percent and 0.4 percent year on year, to 2.74 million units and 5.67 million units respectively.
2014年中国自行车产业出口值增加了2%。销售与产出比例为98.1%。
In 2014, China’s bicycle manufacturing industry witnessed a year-on-year two percent rise in value of export delivery, with sales-output ratio at 98.1 percent. In December, the value of export delivery grew 0.9 percent year on year, and the sales-output ratio was 94.8 percent.
中国的自行车生产大户年产值都在2000万元以上，去年都增加了10%，利润增加了16%，上缴税收也增加了10%。
China’s large bicycle manufacturers, each with more than 20 million yuan of annual business revenue, saw their total main operating revenue rise 10.3 percent year on year in 2014, their total gross profit grow 16.1 percent year on year, and their total tax payments increase 10.1 percent year on year. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor and translator: Xuefei Chen Axelsson 编译陈雪霏
China’s clock output down 0.1 pct on year in 2014
China’s clock output down 0.1 pct on year in 2014
Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost)– China produced 145.02 million clocks in 2014, down 0.1 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The output of watches declined 3.5 percent year on year to 182.54 million units.
In December, China’s clock output and watch output reached 12.4 million units and 21.28 million units, down 19 percent and 17.6 percent year on year, respectively.
In 2014, China’s clock and watch manufacturing witnessed a year-on-year 10.7 percent increase in value of export delivery, and its accumulated sales-output ratio was 98.6 percent.
China’s large-scale clock and watch manufacturing enterprises, each with more than 20 million yuan of annual business revenue, saw a year-on-year rise of 8.7 percent in main operating turnover. Their total profit and paid taxes grew 25.7 percent and 3.5 percent year on year, respectively. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
China furniture industry revenue up 10.9 pct on yr in 2014, to 718.74 bln yuan
China furniture industry revenue up 10.9 pct on yr in 2014, to 718.74 bln yuan
Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost) — China’s furniture industry generated 718.74 billion yuan of main operating revenue in 2014, up 10.9 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Meanwhile, it made 44.19 billion yuan of total profit in the year, up 12.5 percent year on year; and paid 23.96 billion yuan in taxes, up 10.4 percent year on year.
China’s furniture industry posted a sales-output ratio of 97.8 percent in 2014, basically equal to that for 2013; and its value of export delivery came to 162.44 billion yuan, up 4.9 percent year on year.
In December, the sales-output ratios of China’s furniture industry reached 98.4 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than in 2013; and the value of export delivery was 15.89 billion yuan, up 1.9 percent year on year. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
China tops patent applications list in 2014
China tops patent applications list in 2014
Stockholm, June 5 (Greenpost) — China had more invention patent applications than any other country in 2014 for the fourth year running, official data showed on Monday.
The number of invention patent applications filed to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) in 2014 stood at 928,000, up 12.5 percent from 2013, the SIPO said.
The office authorized a total of 233,000 invention patents in the year, 163,000 of which were from Chinese applicants.
By the end of 2014, China had 663,000 invention patents with high quality and market value, and the number of invention patents per 10,000 Chinese people reached 4.9, the SIPO said.
China has seen rising numbers of patent applications as part of a drive to upgrade the economy. However, the country’s invention patents still lack a competitive edge, experts said.
One of the government’s priorities has been to boost innovation by improving intellectual property rights protection. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
Mobile online games see rapid development in 2014
Mobile online games see rapid development in 2014
Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost) — China’s mobile-based online games grew rapidly last year, powering growth in the country’s game industry, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has said.
A CNNIC report showed China had 248 million mobile online game players by the end of 2014, surging 32.9 million from the previous year.
Thanks to the development of 4G network and smartphone hardwares,China’s online game players are turning from computers to mobile phones, a new powerhouse to drive the vibrant sector, according to the report.
The number of people accessing the Internet from mobiles totaled 557 million by the end of last year, up 56.7 million year on year and accounting for 85.8 percent of China’s total online population. Enditem
China Headlines: Interest rate liberalization in last mile
China Headlines: Interest rate liberalization in last mile
BEIJING, June 3 (Greenpost) — After a series of reforms, China’s decades-long endeavor to free up the interest rates is finally reaching the last mile.
On Tuesday, China’s central bank issued a regulation for financial institutions to issue large-denomination certificates of deposit, known as CDs, to individuals and companies, which analysts hail as a key step forward towards the full liberalization of interest rates.
The certificates are tradable deposit agreements that allow lenders to bypass the interest rate controls. Currently, China has removed its grip on lending rates, but the ceiling on deposit rates is still retained at 1.5 times the benchmark.
“The introduction of the CDs is a milestone in pushing China’s interest rate reform through the last mile,” Deng Haiqing, an analyst with CITIC Securities, said.
MARKET IMPACT
The participation threshold for purchasing a CD is set at 300,000 yuan (about 48,860 U.S. dollars) for individual investors and 10 million yuan for institutions, according to the central bank.
Interest on the certificates will be mainly determined by the market. Banks and investors can set a fixed or a floating rate, using the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) as a benchmark.
Shibor, which measures costs of interbank borrowing that is not under state control, stood at 3.191 percent for six-month loans and 3.4080 percent for one-year loans on Wednesday.
The current interest rates for six-month and one-year ordinary deposits cannot exceed 3.075 percent and 3.375 percent, respectively.
With higher returns and less risks due to the deposit insurance system already in place, the CD scheme is expected to offer banks new channels to lure deposits at a time when they are under vehement attack from other wealth management products and a booming stock market.
Central bank data showed outstanding yuan deposits stood at 125.76 trillion yuan as of the end of April, up 9.7 percent year on year. The growth slowed 4.6 percentage points from a year earlier.
Lou Lili, general manager of the strategy and innovation department under Evergrowing Bank, a Chinese joint-stock commercial bank, said the certificates of deposit tailored to investors will further enrich investment options in China’s financial market.
“Meanwhile, the certificates’ tradable feature will help enhance deposit liquidity,” Lou said.
But at the same time, the freedom to price the rates is likely to set off fierce competition among the lenders, which may translate into higher financing costs for the struggling real economy, a report by Huatai Securities warned.
In the long term, however, liquidity flow will become more market-oriented once interest rate liberalization is realized, the report added.
INTEREST RATE LIBERALIZATION
Interest rate liberalization is a significant part of China’s pledge to allow the market to play a decisive role in allocating resources.
Zong Liang, a finance researcher at Bank of China, said Tuesday’s introduction of CDs would enhance banks’ capability to independently decide the price of interest rates, and nurture social expectations of market-based rates.
Since 1996 when the country removed its control over inter-bank lending rates, China has taken incremental steps toward interest rate liberalization, including a move in July 2013 to scrap the floor limit for bank lending rates and, later, a guideline for piloting negotiable deposit certificates on the interbank market.
On May 1, the long-awaited deposit insurance scheme was put in place, which was considered a precondition for China to free up deposit rates
At a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature’s annual session, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in March that the possibility for China to fully liberalize its interest rate mechanism is “very high” this year.
And with Tuesday’s introduction of the CDs, Guojin Securities predicted that the grip on deposit rate will be completely removed by the end of 2015.
TIMELINE
In 1996, China removed control over inter-bank lending rates.
In 2004, the central bank scrapped an upper limit for banks’ lending rate and allowed a downward flotation of no more than 10 percent from the benchmark lending rate.
In July 2013, the central bank fully scrapped the floor limit for banks’ lending interest rate.
In December 2013, the central bank gave green light to the issuance of inter-bank negotiable certificates of deposit, which expanded banks’ financing channels and encouraged market-based interest rates.
In May 2015, China began implementing the deposit insurance scheme, which is regarded as an important part of financial safety and a precondition for China to free up deposit rates.
On May 10, 2015, the central bank lifted the upper limit of the deposit rate’s floating band to 1.5 times the benchmark from the previous 1.3 times, granting banks more pricing autonomy.
On June 2, 2015, the central bank allowed banks to issue certificates of deposit to both individual and institutional investors, less than two years after the issuance of certificates were rolled out among banks. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
chenxuefei7@hotmail.com
China Focus: China reforms public institution leadership recruitment
China Focus: China reforms public institution leadership recruitment
BEIJING, June 3 (Greenpost) — China has adopted new measures to select management of public institutions, such as allowing headhunters to participate in the process.
Reforms of the personnel system are key to reforming non-profit non-governmental organizations, a process that has been under way for years, said Prof. Wang Yukai of the Chinese Academy of Governance.
Wang has been studying public institution reforms for years and is a government consultant on public administration.
According to a regulation issued Tuesday by the general office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, a more competitive selection process will be introduced, including entrusting “relevant agencies” to select leaders. According to Wang, such agencies may include headhunters.
The regulation will help implement reforms of public institutions and make them provide better service to the public, Wang said.
China has more than one million public institutions founded using state assets. They mainly engage in education, technological, cultural, and health services.
However, their close relations with government have hindered their development and burdened public finance. Authorities have said that they will not approve new public institutions.
Reforms of public institutions are expected to make their management more like that of for-profit companies in order to adapt to market competition.
Wang said an appointment system for public institution management teams should be promoted, as stipulated by the regulation, in order to rid them of reliance on “iron rice bowl” positions — secure and lifelong jobs that have been highly sought after.
The regulation also ordered implementation of a tenure system for members of management teams, stating that a person may not hold a post for more than ten years in a public institution.
The regulation stresses that candidates must have both integrity and ability to act as part of the management team, and they should possess both political integrity and professional competence. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
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China Focus: China’s banking industry expected to unveil mixed ownership reform
China Focus: China’s banking industry expected to unveil mixed ownership reform
BEIJING, June 2 (Greenpost) — Several Chinese banks have launched plans to optimize ownership structure or improve management framework by spinning off some business, signaling that China’s banking industry may unveil the curtain of mixed ownership reform in 2015.
Expectations for some banks’ mixed ownership reform moves have driven a new round of banking stocks rally recently, leading by shares of the Bank of Communications (BOCOM, 601328.SH; 03328.HK).
The BOCOM said in its semiannual report that “as a public company, the bank boasts a mixed ownership with state-owned capital, private capital and foreign capital, and the bank is actively drafting the plan to deepen the mixed ownership reform,” said a report from the Economic Information Daily on Tuesday.
Although BOCOM’s reform plan hasn’t been disclosed yet, the bank’s president Niu Ximing said early in the year that the state controlling structure framework would not be changed, but the inner ownership will be adjusted.
The Bank of Beijing (601169.SH) also disclosed in April the bank is making up employee stock ownership plan but it’s still in the initial stage. Meanwhile, China Merchants Bank (600036.SH) also said in April its board of directors approved its initial plan of employee stock ownership.
Moreover, Minsheng Bank (600016.SH) announced in November 2014 it would issue no more than 1,408 million A-shares and raise about 8 billion yuan for its employee stock ownership plan.
Zong Liang, vice director of the international financial research institute of the Bank of China, said mixed ownership reform is closely related to employee stock ownership, on the one hand, employees would be encouraged to be more efficient and on the other hand, employees would be able to share fruits of the reform and play the role of supervision as a shareholder.
The state-owned investment company Central Huijin Investment Ltd. has recently reduced its holdings in China’s top four banks, which is also believed to be a sign of the start of the ownership reform.
Central Huijin decreased its stakes in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH; 01398.HK) and China Construction Bank (601939.SH; 00939.HK) from 46 percent to 45.89 percent and from 5.05 percent to 2.14 percent, respectively.
Ma Kunpeng, a banking analyst at Sinolink Securities, said through large transactions and directional transfer, state controlled shares would be taken over by private capital.
Besides ownership structure reform, experts suggest banks should be allowed to conduct investment in various ways to improve management framework. Yao Yudong, head of the financial research institute of the People’s Bank of China, said China could consider allowing banks to set up or invest in P2P finance, third-party payment or even e-commerce companies.
Everbright Bank (601818.SH) and SPD Bank (600000.SH) have launched plans to spin off their wholly owned subsidiaries of wealth management business. China Merchants Bank, Minsheng Bank and Industrial Bank (601166.SH) also reportedly have intentions to split their subsidiaries.
The market is generally optimistic about the industry’s ownership reform, Ma said. “The reform is likely to directly bring opportunity of valuation increase to banking stocks, and we expect to see big news as catalysts from June,” he said.
China’s A-share listed banks such as BOCOM, Bank of Beijing, Everbright Bank (601818.SH), SPD Bank (600000.SH) and Industrial Bank (601166.SH) would be the companies to watch. Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor: Xuefei Chen Axelsson
China Voice: South China Sea issue should not hinder China-U.S. ties
China Voice: South China Sea issue should not hinder China-U.S. ties
BEIJING, June 1 (Greenpost) — A series of actions and words by the United States are an overreaction on the South China Sea issue, which only lead to their international credibility being affected.
A U.S. anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft flew over waters off China’s Nansha Islands last month. Onboard the aircraft was also a CNN team, which claimed they had been given permission by the Pentagon.
Clearly the United States wanted to play up China’s island construction activities to portray it as a threat to regional stability.
Speaking on his way to Singapore to attend the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called for an end to island-building in the South China Sea, despite the fact that Beijing has repeatedly elaborated that China’s construction on the islands, besides meeting necessary defense needs, mostly serves civil purposes.
For a long time, the South China Sea has maintained peace and stability with the freedom of navigation fully upheld. China’s construction activities on the Nansha islands and reefs are entirely within China’s sovereignty. They are lawful, justified and reasonable and do not affect or target any particular country.
China’s sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea have been consistently upheld by successive Chinese governments and established over a long history, with ample historical and legal basis.
China’s stand has been firm and clear: It will not want anything that does not belong to it, but it will ensure each inch of land it owns safe and sound.
Currently, China and ASEAN countries have identified a “dual track” approach on the South China Sea, which calls for disputes to be resolved through negotiation and consultation between parties directly concerned and for China and ASEAN member states to work together to maintain peace and stability.
Progress has been made in consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and the COC is meant to be a set of rules for China and countries in the region rather than rules set by outsiders.
One thing for sure, the United States is not a party concerned with the South China Sea issue. Stirring up trouble in the region will only make it unpopular.
If unnecessary anxiety by the U.S. and oversensitivity to the South China Sea issue is developing to the severity that hurts the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region, it will run against the common aspiration of the people and countries of the Asia-Pacific region and be detrimental to the United States itself.
On the whole, the China-U.S. relationship is developing on a steady track, the stability brooks no disturbance or troublemaking. More importantly, both sides should properly handle disputes so as not to distract the overall direction of the bilateral ties. The world’s most important bilateral relationship deserves to be cherished.
The South China Sea issue will not and should not become an obstacle of the China-U.S. ties. Washington should be aware of this and be discreet in its words and deeds. Enditem
Editor’s note: This article doesn’t represent Greenpost’s view.
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
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