Category Archives: Energy

Norway Ranks first in the Regional Potential Index

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 16(Greenpost)–Norway ranks the first of the top ten cities in nordic region in the Regional Potential Index, according to a new report published on Tuesday.

“Norway has succeeded in keeping these regions’ economy boosting with very high GRP/capita. It is accompanied by important immigration flows, especially in Oslo and Akershus, and low demographic dependency rate”, the report said.

Norway’s most successful regions in the top five are there mostly due to their very high scores in economic potential. Oslo and Akershus have very high scores in demographic potential, whereas the three other Norwegian regions perform pretty well in labour market potential. Demographic potential consist of important immigration flows, high population density, low demographic dependency.

 

 

2015 rank

(2010 rank)

Region Territorial potential (total points) Demographic potential Labour market potential Economic potential
1 (3) Oslo (NO) 758 278 190 290
2 (1) Hovedstaden (DK) 756 286 170 300
3 (4) Stockholm (SE) 753 263 190 300
4 (2) Akershus (NO) 748 248 260 240
5 (5) Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI) 738 278 180 280
6 (6) Rogaland (NO) 728 188 270 270
7 (10) Sør-Trøndelag (NO) 703 173 260 270
8 (7) Hordaland (NO) 685 165 240 280
9 (9) Uppsala (SE) 618 218 180 220
10 (8) Höfuðborgarsvæðið (IS) 598 248 220 130

 

 

Norway’s strengths and weaknesses

The largest population increases for the period 2005-2015 were in the municipalities of Stockholm (+147.000 inhabitants), Oslo (+118.000) and Copenhagen (+78.000). Norway is one of the Nordic countries among Sweden and Denmark where migration has accounted for the majority of population growth over the past twenty-five years. Migration movement between Nordic countries (intra-Nordic migration) in 2014 shows, that Denmark and Norway have net Nordic immigration, whereas Finland, Iceland and Sweden have net emigration. The largest flows are between Norway and Sweden (about 7,5% of the total intra-Nordic migration, in each direction). Norway is the only country with net immigration from all the four other Nordic countries.

 

Norway has the highest share (36%) of international PhD graduates followed by Denmark (33%), Sweden (29%) and Iceland (26%). Surprisingly Norway also stands out together with Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland in the early school leaver rates, above 15%.

 

Nordkapp in Northern Norway received the most passengers in 2014 in the Nordic Arctic. Norrkapp received 122 000 passengers from 109 ports of call. In Northern Norway, cruise ship tourism is centred on a few ports, the largest, in terms of passenger numbers, also include Tromsø (112 000 passengers), followed by Leknes (60 000 passengers).  In Norway a clear trend is that a large share of the international tourists are from other European countries. However, the largest numbers of overnight stays are comprised by visitors from Sweden and Denmark.

 

Since 2011, the increase in air passengers has been highest in Norway and Iceland. The air passenger development is expected to slow down to annual growth by year 2020 for Norway and Finland, with only 1-2%.

 

In all of the Nordic countries Housing price indexes have increased more than the EU average. As an example the housing prices in Norway have increased with 400 percent in the period 1992-2014. During the same period prices overall have increase with only 55%.

 

In sharp contrast with falling emissions in Finland, Denmark and Sweden, Norway’s emissions have actually increased since 1990. After decades of support at levels below its neighbours, Norway has emerged as the largest funder of low-carbon RD&D in recent years due especially to two very large demonstration projects in CCS and aluminium smelting.

 

Nordregio’s State of the Nordic Region 2016 is a unique collection of comparative data and maps on economy, migration, employment, education, energy and accessibility in the Nordic countries – at regional level. The report includes a new Regional Potential Index, highlighting climbers and slow movers among the 74 regions of the Nordic countries. State of the Nordic Region is released biannually by Nordregio – Nordic Centre for Spatial Development.

 

 

China plans more cross-border e-commerce zones

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Greenpost) — China will set up more cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, the State Council announced Wednesday.

The zones will attract businesses, help create jobs and nurture new business models to boost foreign trade and stimulate the economy, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the council chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
They will be built in cities in China’s east, center and west that have good infrastructure and a good trade and e-commerce base.
The move follows the approval of the Hangzhou cross-border e-commerce pilot zone in March last year, which is based on open information sharing between businesses, financial institutions and regulators, one-stop online financial services, smart logistics and open e-commerce credit systems.
Efficient services will help businesses cut costs, said the statement.
Following its inspections last year, the State Council cited 50 provincial regions, cities, districts and counties for good work in shantytown renovation and other major projects and promised them policy support and funding.
However, it also said more than 900 officials have been punished for inaction found in the inspections.  Enditem

 

First nuclear plant in ethnic minority region begins operations

NANNING, Jan. 1 (Greenpost) — The first nuclear power plant located in one of China’s ethnic autonomous regions began commercial operation of its first reactor on Friday.

The No. 1 reactor of the Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region can supply 24 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a day, catering to the needs of a medium-sized city, said Gong Guangchen, the plant’s spokesperson.

Based on the domestically developed CPR-1000, the No.1 reactor began generating power in October 2015. The plant’s No. 2 reactor is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2016, Gong said.

The two reactors are expected to contribute 8 billion yuan (1.2 bln U.S. dollars) to the local GDP and create 64,000 new jobs annually. They will also cut coal burning by 4.82 million tonnes and CO2 emissions by about 11.9 million tonnes every year.

China has seen rapid nuclear power growth in recent years, but it suspended approval of new programs after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Construction projects did not resume until 2014.

China currently has operating capacity of 25.5 million kilowatts and aims to raise installed nuclear power to 58 million kilowatts by 2020 in order to reduce pollution from coal-burning generators and deliver on its promise to reduce carbon emissions.  Enditem

Source Xinhua      Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

China to set up third-generation nuclear power company

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Greenpost) — Two Chinese nuclear power giants on Wednesday concluded a deal on a joint venture to promote China’s third-generation nuclear reactor design, Hualong One, in overseas markets technologies.

The Hualong international nuclear power technology company in Chinese, has a registered capital of 500 million yuan (77 million U.S. dollars), with  China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) each holding 50 percent of shares.

The Hualong One design is the country’s third generation of nuclear reactor design for safer and more efficient operations that will be widely adopted in domestic nuclear power projects.

The two companies began R&D for Hualong One in 2013. In May 2015, construction on a pilot project using Hualong One started in Fuqing, southeast China’s Fujian Province.

An agreement with Argentina was reached in November, guaranteeing the use of it in the fifth nuclear plant in Argentina, a key emerging market for Chinese companies.

In October, CGN and Electricite de France (EDF) signed a strategic investment agreement to build a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the southwestern part of Britain.  Enditem

Source   Xinhua   Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

President Xi’s greetings in the New Year 2016

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Dec. 31(Greenpost)–As a tradition since 2001, Chinese President sends New Year’s  greetings to Chinese people home and abroad and friends all over the world  through China Radio International, China National Radio and China Central Television Station.

The following is the whole text translated by Xuefei Chen Axelsson, Chief editor of Green Post:

20151231190305_8279.jpg@640w_1l_1c_0i_80q_1x_1e

After a couple of hours, the New Year’s bell will toll. We shall say goodbye to 2015 and welcome the first ray of sunshine of 2016.  At this moment, I would like to say New Year blessings to you, people of all ethnic groups in the whole nation, to compatriots in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao SAR, to Taiwan compatriots and compatriots overseas, to all friends from all countries and regions in the world! Happy New Year!

No pains, no gains. In 2015, Chinese people made great efforts and harvested a lot. China’s economic growth continutes to rank the first in the world, reforms have begun in almost all fields,  reform in  judicial system continues to be deepened, the “three stricts and three solids” thematic education has improved the political ecology, the anti-corruption struggle continues to deepen.  Through the joint efforts of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, the 12th five-year plan has successfully ended with a sense of fulfillment in some sense for the vast masses.

This year we held a grand celebration on the 70th anniversary of victory in Chinese people’s anti-Janpanese War and the World’s anti-Fascist war. We held a grand military parade showing the truth that justice shall win, peace shall win and the people will win. We have implemented a comprehensive reform strategy to consolidate our military strength and announced that we shall cut our military personnel by 300 thousand. I have met Mr. Ma Yingjiu in Singapore and shaken hands with him after 66 years, showing that the peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait is the common will of our compatriots on both sides of the strait.

This year Beijing won the rights of hosting the 24th Winter Olympics and the RMB was included in the SDR basket of IMF. The assembling line of C919 airplane developed by  Chinese has been in operation. China’s super computer broke the world record and won its sixth consecutive championship. Dark matter exploring Satellite developed by the Chinese scientists has been launched into the universe. Tu Youou became the first Chinese scientist who won the Nobel Prize…these all prove that as long as we are persistent, our dreams will be realised sooner or later.

This year we had joy, but we also had sorrow. The accidents such as the capsized Oriental Star passenger ship in the Yangtze River, the most serious explosion at the Tianjin Port and the landslide in Shenzhen have deprived many compatriots’ lives, let alone the dreadful incident that quite a few compatriots were cruelly killed by terrorists. We missed them, may them rest in peace and may the alive healthy.There are still some difficulties and irritations in the lives of the masses. The party and government are determined to continue to make efforts to guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property, improve people’s living standards and health.

2016 is the first year of the decisive period China enters to build comprehensive wealthy and healthy society. The 5th session of the 18th plenary session of the Communist Party of China has set up clear directions for the development in the following five years. The prospect is encouraging and inspiring, but the happiness doesn’t come from the sky. We should be confident and continue to make efforts in implementing the development concept of being innovative, harmonious, green, open and sharing, pushing forward the structural reform, pushing forward reform and opening up, and doing our best to promote equity and justice and create clean and transparent political environment to make a good start for the decisive period of building comprehensive wealthy healthy society.

To build comprehensive wealth and healthy society, it needs the joint efforts of the 1.3 billion people. It is my great concern to improve the living standards of the hundreds of thousands of poor people in the rural areas.

We have blown up the trumpet to win the campaign of poverty alleviation. All the party members and the people of all ethnic groups should join hands in the battle to ensure that all the poor people should alleviate their poverty as scheduled. We should take care of all the people who have difficulties so that they can feel the warmth from their inner heart.

We only have one earth, and it is the common home of all the people in all nations. This year, Chinese leaders participated in many international conferences, conducted many diplomatic activities, pushed forward some tangible progress in the construction of “one belt and one road”, participated in the United Nations 2030 sustainable development agenda and the Paris Climate Change Conference. The world is large and problems are many. The international community anticipated to hear China’s voice, see China’s solutions and China cannot be absent. We should not only have empathy and be sympathised with those who are suffering from difficulties and war fires, but also take responsibility and action. China will forever open its heart to the world and stretch her hands to those who are in difficulty so that our “friends circle” will be larger and larger.

We sincerely hope that the international community will make joint efforts to have more peace and cooperation, change the antagonism into cooperation, replace the spears with the silk, jointly build a human community jointly owned and shared by the people of all nations.

Thank you all.

新华社12月31日电:国家主席习近平通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台、中央电视台,发表了二○一六年新年贺词。全文如下:
再过几个小时,新年的钟声就要敲响了。我们即将告别2015年,迎来2016年的第一缕阳光。在这辞旧迎新的时刻,我向全国各族人民,向香港特别行政区同胞和澳门特别行政区同胞,向台湾同胞和海外侨胞,向世界各国和各地区的朋友们,致以新年的祝福!
有付出,就会有收获。2015年,中国人民付出了很多,也收获了很多。我国经济增长继续居于世界前列,改革全面发力,司法体制改革继续深化,“三严三实”专题教育推动了政治生态改善,反腐败斗争深入进行。经过全国各族人民共同努力,“十二五”规划圆满收官,广大人民群众有了更多获得感。
这一年,我们隆重纪念了中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年,举行了盛大阅兵,昭示了正义必胜、和平必胜、人民必胜的真理。我们全面实施改革强军战略,宣布裁军30万。我和马英九先生在新加坡会面,实现了跨越66年时空的握手,表明两岸关系和平发展是两岸同胞的共同心愿。
这一年,北京获得第24届冬奥会举办权,人民币纳入国际货币基金组织特别提款权货币篮子,我国自主研制的C919大型客机总装下线,中国超级计算机破世界纪录蝉联“六连冠”,我国科学家研制的暗物质探测卫星发射升空,屠呦呦成为我国首位获得诺贝尔奖的科学家……这说明,只要坚持,梦想总是可以实现的。
这一年,我们有欣喜,也有悲伤。“东方之星”号客轮翻沉、天津港特别重大火灾爆炸、深圳滑坡等事故造成不少同胞失去了生命,还有我们的同胞被恐怖分子残忍杀害,令人深感痛心。我们怀念他们,愿逝者安息、生者安康!群众的生活中还有一些困难和烦恼。党和政府一定会继续努力,切实保障人民生命财产安全、保障人民生活改善、保障人民身体健康。

↑新年前夕,国家主席习近平通过中国国际广播电台、中央人民广播电台、中央电视台发表二〇一六年新年贺词。新华社记者兰红光摄

2016年是我国进入全面建成小康社会决胜阶段的开局之年。中共十八届五中全会明确了未来5年我国发展的方向。前景令人鼓舞、催人奋进,但幸福不会从天降。我们要树立必胜信念、继续埋头苦干,贯彻创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的发展理念,着力推进结构性改革,着力推进改革开放,着力促进社会公平正义,着力营造政治上的绿水青山,为全面建成小康社会决胜阶段开好局、起好步。
全面建成小康社会,13亿人要携手前进。让几千万农村贫困人口生活好起来,是我心中的牵挂。我们吹响了打赢扶贫攻坚战的号角,全党全国要勠力同心,着力补齐这块短板,确保农村所有贫困人口如期摆脱贫困。对所有困难群众,我们都要关爱,让他们从内心感受到温暖。
我们只有一个地球,这是各国人民共同的家园。这一年,我国领导人参加了不少国际会议,开展了不少外交活动,推动“一带一路”建设取得实质性进展,参与了联合国2030年可持续发展议程、应对全球气候变化等国际事务。世界那么大,问题那么多,国际社会期待听到中国声音、看到中国方案,中国不能缺席。面对身陷苦难和战火的人们,我们要有悲悯和同情,更要有责任和行动。中国将永远向世界敞开怀抱,也将尽己所能向面临困境的人们伸出援手,让我们的“朋友圈”越来越大。
我衷心希望,国际社会共同努力,多一份平和,多一份合作,变对抗为合作,化干戈为玉帛,共同构建各国人民共有共享的人类命运共同体。
谢谢大家。

China Focus: China likely to introduce new coal-power link regime after cutting thermal power price

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — China will cut the on-grid price of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants and sold to the country’s power grid operators in a bid to cut emissions and reduce the burden on industrial enterprises.

In addition, the country is mulling over a new mechanism that will better link the fluctuation of coal prices with power prices. The new mechanism is expected to be rolled out soon, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

China will lower the on-grid thermal power price by an average of 0.03 yuan per kilowatt-hour (kWh) starting from Jan. 1, 2016, according to a statement released on Thursday after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The government will continue to impose punitive power prices on sectors that consume a lot of energy on a tier basis, the statement said.

The price cut is expected to hurt performance of coal-fired power companies in 2016, said Deng Shun, a coal industry analyst with ICIS.

Prior to the announcement, the government has pledged to lower electricity prices, push forward the marketization reform of the power industry, and improve the mechanism that links prices of coal and thermal power.

The move is hailed by industry experts as a step forward in a reform that aims to let the market play a bigger role in deciding power prices.

The cut in the on-grid price of coal-fired power signals that there will be big changes in the coal-electricity link regime, according to Lin Xiaotao, a coal industry analyst with market research firm ICIS.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, launched a coal price index in September, which reflects the prices of coal with a fuel value of 5,000 kilocalories per kilogram.

The index, seen by many as preparation for the new coal-power link mechanism, will enable the market to see the direction of future power price adjustments, according to Lin.

Coal prices in China are largely decided by the market after years of reform. The market will play an increasingly bigger role in power prices, according to Deng. (Edited by Huang Xiaolan, huangxiaolan@xinhua.org)

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Smoggy China shuts down production capacity

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — A huge amount of polluting production capacity was closed in 2015 as part of government efforts to combat persistent haze, an industrial watchdog said Thursday.

About 30 million tonnes of iron and steel production capacity were shut down this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an online statement.

Production capacity for electrolytic aluminum, cement and plate glass was reduced by 300,000 tonnes, 38 million tonnes and 11 million standard cartons, respectively.

Consolidation in the integrated circuit, rare earth and infant formula industries sped up in 2015, according to the statement.

“There was active progress in phasing out outdated and excess production capacity this year,” said the MIIT.

Chinese cities, particularly those around Beijing, have been choked by smog this winter, with factory emissions blamed as one of the major pollutants. Enditem

China to lower benchmark on-grid prices of onshore wind power, solar PV power, NDRC

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — China will lower the benchmark on-grid prices of electricity generated by new onshore wind farms and solar PV power plants in a bid to facilitate orderly development of the country’s new energy industry, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday.

The benchmark on-grid prices of onshore wind power will be lowered by 0.02 yuan/kWh in the first, second and third-class regions and 0.01 yuan/kWh in the fourth-class region in 2016. The prices will be further cut by 0.03 and 0.02 yuan/kWh respectively in 2018.

The benchmark on-grid prices of solar PV power will be slashed by 0.1 yuan/kWh in the first-class region, 0.07 yuan/kWh in the second-class region and 0.02 yuan/kWh in the third-class region in 2016.

In addition, power grid companies will purchase electricity from eligible rooftop distributional solar PV projects at prices equal to the benchmark on-grid prices of local solar PV power plants. (Edited by Huang Xiaolan, huangxiaolan@xinhua.org)

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China to offer greater policy support for program to build low-carbon cities and towns, NDRC

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) – China is going to work out detailed supporting policies for the program to pilot low-carbon cities and towns, formulate a related assessment index system, and offer greater financial support, said Su Wei, head of the Bureau of Addressing Climate Change under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

So far, the implementation plans for piloting low-carbon programs in eight cities and towns have taken shape, and are going through argumentation by experts.

To push forward the pilot low-carbon programs, the Bureau of Addressing Climate Change would approve pilot plans and promote launching of these pilot programs. (Edited by Li Xiaohui, lixh@xinhua.org)

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China inks nuclear power partnership deal with Thailand

  GUANGZHOU, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — China and Thailand reached an agreement Wednesday to cooperate on a nuclear power project in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) announced on Thursday.

According to the agreement, CGN, Guangxi Investment Group Co. Ltd., and Thailand’s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company Limited (RATCH), a subsidiary of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, will team up to establish a joint venture to develop, construct and operate the second phase of the nuclear power plant in Fangchenggang City.

The project is a pilot site for Hualong One nuclear power technology, the country’s third-generation nuclear reactor design, which was jointly designed by CGN and China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC).

Rum Herabat, chief executive officer of RATCH, said the project has the support of the Thai government. He said he hopes cooperation with China will help Thailand train talent and gain experience in nuclear power development.

The project will also serve as a bridgehead for China’s nuclear power technology to expand in the ASEAN market.  Enditem

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China Exclusive: China builds 3rd largest hydropower station on Yangtze River

 

 KUNMING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — China on Thursday started construction of its third largest hydropower station on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The Wudongde project, located upstream from two other hydropower stations on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze, is the world’s 7th largest in operation or under construction, said Lu Chun, chairman of the China Three Gorges Corporation.

The project has a designed capacity of 10.2 gigawatts and will be able to generate 38.9 billion kwh of electricity per year after its 12 generating units start operation, Lu said.

The first unit is expected to start operating in August 2020 and all are expected to be operational by the end of 2021, he said.

The project, which was approved by the State Council on Dec. 16, is estimated to cost more than 100 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars), Lu said.

A 270-meter-high dam will be built to block the river to form a reservoir that can store about 7.4 billion cubic meters of water.

The project’s construction will require more than 16,000 workers in the next few years.

Meanwhile, about 31,000 residents in 10 counties and districts in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan will be relocated to make room for the project.

Lu said that, as a major project that transfers power from the resource-rich west to the industrial east, it will also help adjust the country’s energy mix and reduce pollutant emissions.

China still relies heavily on coal to power its economy and is seeking to increase the clean energy share as it is faced with worsening air pollution.

The project can help reduce coal consumption by 12.2 million tonnes and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30.5 million tonnes and sulfur dioxide emissions by 104,000 tonnes per year, he said.

Situated between Luquan County in Yunnan and Huidong County in Sichuan, it can help create about 70,000 jobs for locals per year during construction. After it starts operating, it can bring 1.35 billion yuan in revenues for local governments annually.

Authorities have invested more than 900 million yuan in environmental protection in the area, and many precious species of trees have been transplanted, he said.

The other two hydropower stations on Jinsha River are Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba. Both started operating in July 2014.

Xiluodu is the country’s second largest, with power-generating capacity of 12.6 gigawatts. It had generated more than 100 billion kwh of electricity as of November.

The Three Gorges hydropower project is the country’s largest, with a generating capacity of 22.4 gigawatts in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Baihetan, a fourth hydropower project planned on the Jinsha River, has yet to receive the final government go-ahead.  Enditem

China Voice: China allows no compromise on cyberspace sovereignty

WUZHEN, Zhejiang, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — At the opening of the second World Internet Conference on Wednesday, China made sure its voice was heard: Every country has the right to create its own Internet governance model, and the cyber sovereignty of all nations should be respected.

China firmly opposes Internet hegemony, foreign interference in internal affairs, and incitement that could threaten national security, President Xi Jinping said during his opening remarks at the conference.

The Internet is not beyond law and it should be ruled in accordance with a country’s laws and regulations.

There are certain common principles in cyberspace that all countries should follow to assure win-win outcomes, however, each country is unique and its Internet governance models will reflect this.

Some countries have been preaching “absolute” freedom in cyberspace for years. Ironically, they exercise the strictest surveillance when national interests may be harmed.

China has about four million websites and 668 million Internet users. According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, 30 billion pieces of information are created every day.

The Chinese government and IT companies trawl the Internet looking for online rumors, pornography, gambling and other cyber crimes to protect the lawful interests of its citizens.

Although China has amassed the world’s largest Internet population since the Internet arrived in 1994, it remains a latecomer, and there is still much to fully tap the potential of the Internet.

Particularly, China is a major victim of cyber hacking as many deem it a rising threat.

There is no “absolute” freedom in either the physical world or cyberspace. Freedom and order must be upheld side by side. Freedom is the purpose and order is the means.

China applies rule of law to the Internet with the enacting of new laws and regulations regarding cyber security and other Internet areas.

These laws not only provide the legal basis for counter-cyber crime work, but also guarantee the lawful interests of Internet users and companies at home and abroad.

Economic opening up and effective governance of the Internet by law have played key roles in the growth of China’s Internet sector over the past two decades.

And China’s Internet regulators have repeatedly promised to give freedom to those who abide by the country’s laws and regulations and help them achieve bigger success. Enditem

Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China Exclusive: China set for leading role in Industry 4.0: Klaus Schwab

  WUZHEN, Zhejiang, Dec. 17 (Xinhua)– China is going to play a leading role in the new wave of economic activities and technological innovation, World Economic Forum founder and executive chair Klaus Schwab told Xinhua in an exclusive interview during the ongoing Second World Internet Conference (WIC).

“The Internet is already part of culture and we should learn to use it to promote global cultural exchanges,” he said.

As a speaker at the opening ceremony of WIC, Schwab found that he shared many ideas of Internet development with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“The most important one is that we should keep the Internet open and we have to work together on the global level,” he said, noting it needs the dedication of governments, businesses and individuals to shape the Internet in such a way that everybody has access and that the Internet can really serve as an engine and catalyst for economic development.

In his observation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution featuring technology such as artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing and nanotechnology is coming our way at an overwhelming speed.

Schwab said China has already established a foothold in many areas and looks set to continue. However, China must ensure the transition from low-end manufacturing to modern industry is successful to sustain this path.

“The ‘Internet Plus’ and ‘Made in China 2015’ [strategies] show that China is going right toward that direction,” Schwab added.

Schwab pointed out that a big task will be ensuring equal assess to the Internet. The digital divide is a problem both across the world and it must be addressed on a global level.

“China has good preconditions to bridge the digital divide and help other countries enhance information infrastructure,” said Schwab citing China’s huge population with Internet access and the current developments regarding 5G.

To cope with the challenges to governance brought about by the current technological shift, Schwab suggested a more agile approach to government-private-expert cooperation to create the optimal conditions for smart technology and service orientated design, both hallmarks of Industry 4.0, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution is also known.

Looking ahead, Schwab pictures a future where a sensor implanted in our body will help us control objects around us. Industry 4.0 will change the way we work, too, as we will no longer be held back by geographical limitations, the world will be our office.

“We will have richer social lives […] and most importantly a greener environment where we can breathe fresh air every day. It’s not fiction and its not far away,” Schwab said. Enditem

 Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Steel industry to face unprecedented bankruptcy, M&A tide

BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — China is mulling over more efficient measures to eliminate excess capacities in the steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement and shipbuilding industries, making those industries face an unprecedented tide of bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions.

The National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are making policies on the issue based on proactive long-term investigations, the Economic Information Daily quoted an unnamed source as saying.

Apart from controlling the launch of new projects and punishing those unapproved ones, the government will raise the industry thresholds in terms of energy consumption, environmental protection examinations, bank credit and an accountability system, to make the fittest survive.

The central government will also take local investment and employment into consideration when creating the withdrawal mechanism for excess capacities.

As Chinese economy transforms from an investment-pulled growth to an innovation, science and technology-driven one, the basic industries such as steel must adjust with it, said Xu Xiangchun, head of the information department of MySteel.

Currently, Chinese demand for steel is approaching the ceiling. As the economic restructuring further drags down steel demand and banks stop lending money to the sector, it is expected more and more steel mills will face a capital chain rupture, Xu added. Enditem

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China, Kyrgyzstan ink deals to cement pragmatic cooperation

   BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — China and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday signed a number of cooperative documents in finance, culture and energy after talks between the prime ministers of the two countries.

“China is willing to discuss industrial capacity and investment cooperation with Kyrgyzstan,” said Premier Li Keqiang during talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart Temir Sariyev in Beijing.

Sariyev is paying an official visit to China. He just attended the two-day 14th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) prime ministers’ meeting in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.

He said Kyrgyzstan is ready to align its development strategy with China and actively promote cooperation on industrial capacity.

Li voiced the willingness of providing technology and production equipment to Kyrgyzstan, in a bid to help the country speed up its industrialization and independent development.

He urged the two sides to push forward cooperation in infrastructure construction and called for early resumption of the working group meeting on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project.

He hoped the two sides to advance the construction of big cooperative projects, including the north-south highway in Kyrgyzstan and a highway around the Lake Issyk Kul.

The premier also supported the two countries to speed up construction on cross-border transportation passageway and set up port cooperation mechanism.

In the context of complicated international and regional security situation, Li said China and Kyrgyzstan should strengthen law-enforcement and security cooperation to cope with the threat of terrorism.

As Kyrgyzstan will host the 15th SCO prime ministers’ meeting, Li said China will work with Kyrgyzstan to bolster the organizing matters of the SCO and the pragmatic cooperation among SCO members.

Sariyev welcomed China’s investment in transportation, energy and social infrastructure.

He said Kyrgyzstan is willing to work with China to push forward infrastructure construction cooperation and carry out the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project as soon as possible.

After their talks, the two prime ministers signed a joint communique between their governments.

In the communique, the two sides agreed to promote pragmatic cooperation within the framework of joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The two sides decided to enhance financial cooperation and accelerate settlement in local currency.

The two sides will strengthen cooperation on expanding the export of Kyrgyz agricultural products to China and will hold consultation on Chinese market access of Kyrgyz meat products.

In the document, the two countries vowed to enhance information sharing and jointly fight the “Three Evil Forces” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, including the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

The two countries also agreed to enhance coordination within the framework of United Nations, the SCO and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Enditem