China Economy Forum

[truthseeker2010]

China ‘Winning the Green Economy Race,’ UN Climate Chief Says

China is pushing ahead of the U.S. and Europe in developing clean- and low-carbon energy as a way to spur the nation’s economy, the diplomat leading United Nations Climate talks said.

“China is going to leave all of us in the dust,” Christiana Figueres, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said at a panel discussion today at the World Economic Forum today in Davos, Switzerland. “They’re committed to winning the green economy race.

China last year boosted spending on low-carbon energy by 30 percent to $51.1 billion, ‘‘by far the largest figure for any country,’’ Bloomberg New Energy Finance said Jan. 11. Global accounting firm Ernst & Young said in September that China for the first time overtook the U.S. in its quarterly index of the most attractive countries for renewable energy projects.

‘‘You can leapfrog -- you don’t have to follow the model of the north,’’ Figueres said. ‘‘China is showing this.’’

Chinese officials including lead climate negotiator Su Wei have said the country will push energy efficiency in its next five-year plan to be detailed this year.

At today’s panel, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the world is waiting for action from the U.S. in fighting climate change, while European Union Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard said that U.S. businesses stand to lose out by stalling in taking action.

‘‘American business should be aware that we’re up here saying this is a race,” Hedegaard said. “It’s bad economics, it’s bad business not to be among the front runners but to be hesitating. I hope that even more American business people would understand that they need to put the pressure on their politicians."

China ?Winning the Green Economy Race,? UN Climate Chief Says - Bloomberg

 

[Brotherhood]

Jiangsu stays ahead among global capitals investments - People's Daily Online January 28, 2011

Last year Jiangsu Province, a rich coastal province in eastern China, achieved an actual foreign investment of more than 28 billion US dollar, up 12.54 percent over the previous year.

The investment size keeps the first in China for eight years despite the global recession since for the past few years, according to the press briefing held on Jan, 27 by the Commerce Department of Jiangsu Province.

Foreign capital utilization was better structured in the year of 2010. Growing rates of the actual utilized foreign capital of both primary industry and tertiary industry were higher than that of secondary industry, respectively by 49 points and 15 points, as Zhu Min, Director-General of the Commerce Department of Jiangsu Province, elaborated on the achievements.

He also pointed out that the inter-regional development was better balanced. The actual utilized foreign capital of northern Jiangsu increased by 35.17 percent, while middle Jiangsu 18.1 percentage, respectively 22.63 points and 5.57 points higher than the provincial average.

Another progress was contributed by the soaring number of huge projects signed.

Additionally, the channels of using foreign capital became diverse. New foreign M and A projects reached 148, up 52.58 percent over the previous year. Other sources include 10 newly-registered investment companies with foreign investment, six venture capital companies, and 20 Co.,Ltd firms with foreign investment.

By Li Yancheng, People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

Rising labor cost may affect flow of FDI, says Nomura - People's Daily Online

China's fast rising labor costs are likely to affect the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and will make the country's labor-intensive manufacturing industry face more intense competition from other Asian economies, Nomura Securities said in a report.

"For some labor-intensive manufacturers, China's wage level is no longer attractive. The manufacturing factories will likely be moved to China's inland provinces or to countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia where labor costs are much lower," Nomura Securities said.

Nomura expected the pace of China's wage increase to exceed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the mid-term, which will change the pattern of foreign direct investment in Asia.

Despite the significant wage increases, China's manufacturing sector has continued to attract FDI inflows over the past several years. In fact, FDI in the manufacturing sector still accounts half of the total FDI in the country, Nomura Securities said.

But economists warned that such trend may start to shift as China gradually loses the advantages of its cheap work force given the expectation of further wage increases and the yuan's appreciation.

Local governments in China have announced plans to raise the standard minimum wage, with Beijing and Jiangsu province raising it by 21 percent and 18.8 percent respectively, this year.

The central government also said in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) that it will significantly raise the percentage of wages in the national household income in order to raise the proportion of consumption in the overall economy.

According to Robert Subbaraman, chief Asia economist for Nomura Securities, China should quicken its pace of economic restructuring by boosting consumption and reduce its reliance on investment. Currently, investment is close to half of the country's GDP.

"We are happy to see that China's consumption is picking up, and it should be a key driver for growth in the following years," said Subbaraman. "However, consumption-led growth will probably increase China's inflationary pressure."

"As the factors driving up inflation this time are more broad-based and the pressure for wage growth is building because of labor shortages, we believe China's inflation will stand at 4.5 percent this year and grow to 5 percent next year," said Subbaraman.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose to a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November. The growth was mainly driven by an 11.7 percent surge in food prices, which accounts for one-third of the basket of goods used to calculate the country's CPI. The December CPI rate dropped to 4.6 percent, with food prices rising 9.6 percent, government data showed.

Lu Zhengwei, senior economist at Industrial Bank Co, forecast that CPI would accelerate to 5.3 percent this month, outpacing November's figure.

"To curb inflation, the government needs to improve the Total Factor Productivity by boosting the efficiency of labor and capital, besides employing tightening monetary policies," said Subbaraman.

Nomura expects China's GDP growth to reach 9.8 percent this year and slow slightly to 9.5 percent in 2012.

Source: China Daily

 

[Brotherhood]

China to take measures to ensure energy supplies in 2011: NEA - People's Daily Online January 28, 2011

China will take measures to ensure energy supplies in 2011 to meet growing demand, a National Energy Administration (NEA) official said Friday.

The government will boost energy production and control consumption, Wang Siqiang, deputy director of the NEA General Affairs Department, said at a press conference on China's 4th-quarter of 2010 energy situation.

Wang did not specify an energy consumption control target.

Coal supply will be improved with the construction of 14 large coal bases and increased imports, he said.

Net coal imports totaled 146 million tonnes in 2010, he said.

Installed electricity capacity is forecast to expand by 80 million kilowatts in 2011 to 1.04 billion kilowatts, he added.

China will focus on offshore oil and gas exploitation during the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015) period, he said.

Offshore oil and gas output exceeded 50 million tonnes in 2010, he said.

The Chinese energy sector has faced difficulties in recent years, including imported inflation and extreme weather events, making energy product price reform difficult, he added.

Source:Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China to continue efforts to harness Huaihe River: State Council - People's Daily Online January 29, 2011

China will further its efforts to harness the Huaihe River over the next five to 10 years in a bid to support the economic development of the regions along the river.

The decision was announced Friday in a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council, China's Cabinet, which was presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The work will include upgrading dams and water gates in flood diversion programs and building more irrigation and water conservancy projects in low-lying lands along the Huaihe River, said the statement.

Further, efforts will be made to guard against water pollution and help urban and rural residents in the Huaihe River regions have sufficient access to clean water, it said.

Also, more flood control reservoirs will be constructed, while more residents will be relocated from flood diversion areas as well as flood land.

The cabinet urged government departments to earmark more funds and enhance management and cooperation in implementing these measures.

The 1,000-kilometer Huaihe River, the third longest water way in China, originates from Mount. Taibai, central Henan Province, and runs eastward between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the two largest rivers in the country. It cuts through Henan and east China's Anhui and Jiangsu provinces before entering the Yangtze River via the Hongze Lake.

The flood-prone river has a drainage area of about 180,000 square kilometers.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China, Switzerland launch free trade agreement talks - People's Daily Online January 29, 2011

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (R, front) and Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann (L, front) attend a signing ceremony to mark the official launch of negotiations between Switzerland and China for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Yu Yang) China and Switzerland formally launched bilateral talks on a free trade agreement Friday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chinese Commerce Minister Cheng Deming said the agreement talks between China and Switzerland have attracted huge attention and interest from the countries' leadership and business communities.

Cheng expected a successful conclusion of the FTA negotiations. Cheng said a free trade agreement would enhance mutual trust between the two sides and promote economic development and closer ties between China and Switzerland.

Swiss Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann expressed similar aspirations for the agreement as did his Chinese counterpart.

"The free trade agreement would further enhance trade and investment relations on a mutually beneficial basis, but also create many new opportunities for close exchange and cooperation," Schneider-Ammann said.

China and Switzerland have seen fast-growing bilateral trade and investments for decade. In the past 10 years, China's exports to Switzerland have grown by 18 percent while Switzerland registered an even stronger 25 percent surge in exports to China.

Currently, China is the largest trading partner of Switzerland in Asia, while Switzerland ranks ninth among China's trading partners in Europe.

The Chinese commerce minister is leading a delegation at Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, which started Wednesday.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (R) and Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann are seen during a signing ceremony to mark the official launch of negotiations between Switzerland and China for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Yu Yang)

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (R) shakes hands with Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann during a signing ceremony to mark the official launch of negotiations between Switzerland and China for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Yu Yang)

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming speaks during a signing ceremony to mark the official launch of negotiations between Switzerland and China for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Yu Yang)

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

So who’s top of the class now?

By Gillian Tett
Published: January 21 2011 22:04 | Last updated: January 21 2011 22:04
A few weeks ago, I visited New York’s Columbia University to take part in a debate about the global economy. Since the evening was chaired by Hugh Patrick, a professor of Japanese studies, I was not surprised to see some Japanese faces there.

What was striking, though, was the behaviour of the Chinese students in the audience. When the speeches were over a clutch of them introduced themselves very articulately, and continued the debate in impressively fluent English. The Japanese students, by contrast, hovered silently on the margins, half-unseen.

Perhaps that was a coincidence. Or maybe not. This week, following the visit by Chinese president Hu Jintao to Washington, the US has been convulsed by debate about the changing role of China on the world stage. But away from those visible, macro-economic changes in east Asia, a rather fascinating little power shift has been quietly developing in the grassroots of some American business schools and universities.

The issue revolves around the behaviour of Chinese and Japanese students. A couple of decades ago, when Japan was riding high in the global economy, Japanese companies and institutions were keen to send their brightest students to study in US (or British) universities, to teach them western technology and skills.

Once those students arrived, they were often a rather polite, quiet bunch; typically they kept their heads down while working phenomenally hard. But nobody at the universities dared ignore them: Japan was associated with money and power. (Just read Michael Lewis’s book Liar’s Poker for an entertaining description of how this played out in the Salomon Brothers 1980s training programme.) And Japanese students were usually enthusiastic about the opportunity; going to Harvard or Columbia was considered useful for their career.

But in the past five years the number of Japanese students at six of the most elite American universities, such as Harvard and Stanford, has tumbled by 36 per cent to 477, according to the Nikkei newspaper. Last year alone, Japanese enrolments at all US institutions fell by 15 per cent to 24,000, according to the Institute of International Education. That pushed Japan into sixth place in the foreign students’ league table, below Taiwan and South Korea.

Kathy Matsui, a Harvard alumna who is now one of the most senior economists in Japan, confirms: “The number of Japanese students studying abroad has plummeted. If you look at what Chinese or Korean students are doing, there is a real contrast. It is worrying, because Japan needs more people who are global and international.”

Why is this happening? One factor is Japan’s stagnant economy. “Japanese corporations don’t have the money to send people over here in the numbers they used to, nor does the government,” observes Alicia Ogawa, adjunct associate professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. But the problem goes beyond finance: even when Japanese students can find the money to come, their English is often too poor – and they often fail to properly engage. “In Japan there now seems to be a ‘What’s the point?’ attitude,” Ogawa suggests. “Even when Japanese are let in, they often won’t engage in the class debate – they keep to themselves.”

. . .

The trend in China could hardly be more different. Last year, the number of Chinese students at US institutions rose by 30 per cent to 128,000, pushing China for the first time into the top slot. And the Chinese who are now arriving at Columbia, Harvard – or anywhere else – not only tend to speak good (self-taught) English, but they are becoming increasingly assertive too. “The Chinese are really engaging in the class,” says one Harvard academic. “So are the Koreans.”

Perhaps this is inevitable: China, after all, is a vast, rapidly growing country, while Japan is a mature economy. Young Chinese consequently seem convinced that there is plenty to learn – and copy – in America. Many young Japanese, however, feel that learning foreign skills, ideas or technology is more effort than it is worth; a new sense of isolationism is taking hold.

To me, this seems to be a tragedy for Japan; particularly since it reflects and fuels subtle cultural perceptions inside the US too. Twenty years ago, Japan was perceived in America as a powerful presence on the world stage; these days, the country has slipped into the margins of public consciousness and debate.

China, by contrast, is visible and centre-stage – partly because America cannot decide whether it poses an opportunity or threat. Perhaps the presence of those Chinese students at US universities will be a force for good; after all, it should promote more engagement and global growth. Or perhaps this trend will simply enable Chinese students to beat Americans at their own game, and thus ultimately create more tension. Either way, the one thing that is clear is that nobody can afford to ignore the Chinese; the country, like its students in that Columbia hall, has presence – and an air of purpose.

The only question that really hangs in the air, at Columbia and other campuses, is whether this pattern will still be in place in 20 years time. Will those Chinese students still be flocking to the US? Or will they have decamped to Shanghai, or been replaced again by another group of “newcomers”? Any predictions or ideas would be gratefully received; particularly if they emanate from China – or Japan.

gillian.tett@ft.com

China could price itself out of all sorts of markets

By Merryn Somerset Webb
Published: January 28 2011 18:08 | Last updated: January 28 2011 18:08
On the train a few weeks ago, I sat next to a burly garment supplier. He spent the entire trip – when not yelling at his ex-wife-to-be on the phone (“you made your bed love, you lie in it”) – calling clients and telling them that their prices were going up. Those who asked questions were told that factory prices were rising in China and that they were taking the hit. End of story.

I told this to a City audience a few days later during a debate with Matt Ridley on whether optimism or pessimism is the correct approach to the future – only to hear a voice piping up from the floor telling me I knew nothing about inflation in China.

This interruption came from a young dress designer at the back. She told us that the factories she uses would bump up their prices every couple of months: these days, if you don’t take the price you are given on the spot, it goes up in 24 hours. That’s real inflation.

But the interesting bit was that the fast-moving prices have prompted her to do her sums again: she is moving her production back to Europe. It won’t cost less, but it certainly won’t cost any more. It will also allow her to keep an eye on quality – which has apparently been falling as fast as prices are rising at those Chinese factories.

For more on how fast prices are rising, look at Shanghai Scrap, where you can see pictures of packs of instant noodles in a Shanghai convenience store. According to the blogger, the clerks aren’t bothering to print new price labels for the noodles as prices rise; they simply “cross them out and write in the new [substantially higher] ones”. That’s also real inflation.

This is anecdotal evidence but it suggests that, given the wage pressures building behind it, the consumer price index in China might, just might, be a tad higher than the official number of 4.6 per cent suggests.

It also chimes with news of minimum wage rises in Chinese cities: pay is about to rise 20 per cent in Beijing, 10 per cent in Shanghai and 19 per cent in Guangdong. Shanghai’s mayor says this is about “rational income distribution”. But odds are it has something to do with staff shortages (young Chinese workers are becoming more demanding) and the odd strike as well.

Either way, you could make a reasonable argument that 30 years into its 10 per cent a year GDP expansion, China is beginning to price itself out of the low-cost manufacturing market. Leave out Malaysia and Thailand, says a note from Liberum Capital, and the average worker in China is now more expensive than the average worker in any other emerging Asian economy.

One thing all this should remind us about is the power of demographics. Years of one-child policies have left the Chinese population nastily unbalanced. Today, its dependency ratio hovers around 40 per cent. That’s good – it means 60 per cent of the population is of working age. But as the only children reach working age and their parents retire, this ratio changes fast: by 2040 it will be well over 50 per cent and by 2050, over 60 per cent. If employers think young Chinese workers are stroppy now, they should wait until the poor things are trying to support two parents each, as well as their own children.

However, this shift from a nation of the youngish to a nation of the old won’t just affect China’s economy. It will, if things work out as they have in the US, affect its stock market, too.

Société Générale has a neat chart that plots the growth rate of retirees in the US against the Shiller price/earnings ratio for the US equity market. And guess what? It’s a pretty good correlation. When not many people are retiring, the stock market gets more expensive (more people are saving for retirement). When lots are retiring, it gets cheaper (people take their money out). The same goes for house prices: working people upsize, retirees downsize so the more retirees you have knocking around, the less likely it is that house prices will rise.

Anyone looking for corroboration of the argument need only look to Japan where the working age population as a percentage of the total population began to fall in the early 1990s – a time that marked the start of a 20-year grind-down in domestic asset prices.

That doesn’t bode well for US asset prices over the next couple of decades given that the working population as a percentage of the total population, having risen from 1990 through to 2008, is now set to fall until some time in the region of 2030. It bodes really badly for the Chinese stock market where the ratio of working-age people to retirees will shift much faster – starting in 2014, according to Standard Chartered. By 2030, the median age in the US is forecast to be 40. In China it will be 41. Just one more reason to stay out of the Chinese stock market.

Merryn Somerset Webb is editor-in-chief of Money Week and previously worked as a stockbroker. The views expressed in her column are personal.

merryn@ft.com

Not sure about the external validity of her observations, but inflation must be controlled. I don't agree with some of her views, like overexaggerating the demographics problem, but inflation is valid.


China dims prospects for Silicon Valley jobs

By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: January 28 2011 21:06 | Last updated: January 28 2011 21:06
Light bulb maker Bridgelux is exactly the kind of company that Barack Obama had in mind when he stressed the importance of innovation in winning jobs for US workers during his State of the Union address this week.

A manufacturer of light bulbs that use low-power light-emitting diodes, it is part of a wave of companies formed in Silicon Valley in recent years specialising in “green” technologies such as alternative energy, new forms of energy storage and conservation, and electric vehicles.

Yet most of the people who make Bridgelux’s products are based in Asia and the company is considering moving its remaining manufacturing staff offshore as well, according to Bill Watkins, chief executive.

By guaranteeing access to big local markets, countries such as China have worked harder than the US to attract new industries like these, Mr Watkins says. Incentives are also being offered to move research and development jobs to Asia as well.

The experience of companies such as Bridgelux points to a dilemma for the US as it faces what Mr Obama called a “sputnik moment”. The country’s universities still lead the world in many areas of basic research, and Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial system continues to be the envy of other countries. But most new jobs resulting from US innovation are likely to be created in other places, most notably Asia, say many tech industry insiders – and it is not just low-value assembly work that is at stake.

Silicon Valley, though a bright spot in California’s labour market, has seen only sluggish job growth since the recession, according to Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, which represents business, government and other interests in the region. High costs are likely to prevent even the top tech companies from hiring many more people locally, he says.

“Extraordinarily high-value products are still going to emanate from the US – but these companies aren’t going to employ a lot of people here,” says Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, a top start-up financiers.

Against that background, Mr Obama’s focus this week on stimulating innovation was generally welcomed in the technology industry, even if the effect on job prospects is uncertain.

The president’s emphasis on the need to improve the nation’s infrastructure, alongside spending on basic research and improvements in education, could pay dividends in the long term, says John Seely Brown, a former had of Xerox’s Silicon Valley research centre.

“We really have to get back to building things,” he says. “We can’t just design things.” Linking spending on basic research with heavy investment in physical and digital infrastructure points to a “new kind of 21st-century economy that still has us building stuff”.

Some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs say the model for the kind of high-tech manufacturing that can work in the US already exists. “The rumours of the demise of the US manufacturing industry are greatly exaggerated,” says Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors, an ambitious Californian electric car start-up that has received a $465m loan from the Department of Energy.

Along with staff making rockets at his other company, SpaceX, in California, Mr Musk employs more than 2,000 people in the state. California has “an incredible labour pool, but is kind of expensive”, he says – something his companies have to overcome by “figuring out clever ways to be more productive”.

Entrepreneurs such as Mr Musk play down Washington’s ability to shape the conditions for high-tech industries to take root in the US, and cast the issue as a battle between US ingenuity on the one hand and brawn on the other.

That battle is being fought out most dramatically in solar power manufacturing. An industry that was once seen as a bright hope in many parts of the US has shifted rapidly to Asia. This month, Evergreen Solar shut a plant in Massachusetts after less than three years with the loss of 800 jobs, and is moving production to China.

The pendulum will swing back to the US lead with the next generation of more advanced solar power technology, according to venture capitalists.

Yet the fact remains that the companies mastering the new technology are already creating more jobs abroad than at home. Fewer than a third of the workers at First Solar, the leading company in the most advanced photovoltaic technologies, are based in the US – though the construction of large-scale solar farms that use its products will add to the local job-count.

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

Company that built a 15 story building in 6 days claims they will complete a 200 story skyscraper in 6 months in 2011

Company that built a 15 story building in 6 days claims they will complete a 200 story skyscraper in 6 months in 2011

The proposed vertical city skyscraper is in the background

Singularity Hub has more details about the 15 story building that was built in 6 days and the company behind it.

China’s Broad Industrial Group wanted to showcase the speed and efficiency of its new construction technology, so it constructed the Ark Hotel in Changsha in record time.

A team of 200 workers erected the 15 story internal structure in just 46.5 hours.

External construction took another 90 hours, for a total of less than 6 days.

According to Broad, the hotel is built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake while using one sixth the material and costing 20% less.

The foundation and other ground construction was completed before main construction was timed. Also, the building is constructed from prefabricated parts which were manufactured off site and likely took weeks to fully produce.



The building itself uses one sixth the materials of a comparable facility with 15 stories and 600 square meters per floor (~5500 square feet). Waste generated by construction was only 1% of the total weight, not including waste generated during prefabrication. Ark Hotel was built to be extremely energy efficient with 15cm thermal insulation, triple pane windows, external solar shading, fresh air heat recovery, and LED lighting. Broad claims that it is roughly five times more energy efficient than similar structures. The air inside the building is supposedly 20 times cleaner than the outside thanks to a triple purification process.

The 15 story building cost around 3,000 yuan per square meter. Broad has developed technology and methods to reduce the cost of residential buildings made with reinforced concrete to average of less than 1,500 yuan / square meter.

Vertical City

Vertical City is the latest solution being offered by China's Broad Industrial Group in response to the land shortages that major Asian cities are facing given their high rates of urbanization. The 200-storey (600-meter-high) building is expected to rank as the world's second-tallest building after the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai (828m) when it is completed. The building, which uses a new construction material and a basic steel structure, will be able to accommodate up to 110,000 people at a time. The structure can be factory-produced within four months, and the whole installation can be finished in two months. Zhang Yue, president of China's Broad Industrial Group said "We are very confident this will work because we've conducted a lot of experiments and we expect to complete construction by next year (2011 from an October 2010 statement)"

Waste material will be reduced to a minimum, while a specially designed exterior wall made from recycled materials will help preserve the building's core temperature, he added.

"We aim to build a people-oriented construction, so we tend to abandon anything that is not concerned with comfort and safety," Zhang said. "This means we can make the best use of space, and trim our costs to 7,000 yuan to 8,000 yuan per square meter."

The company then adds its profit margin and sells its properties for around 10,000 yuan per sq m - or about half the price of properties in Shanghai outside the city center. This would convert to a 660 square foot unit costing about US$100,000.

If they can pull of the construction of a 600 meter tall 200 story building in 6 months, then it would a taller building than One World Trade /Freedom tower. It would be built about 14 times faster than the 7 year schedule of the Freedom Tower and have almost twice as many floors.

There is no floor area but assuming it was 400,000 square meters and they can hit the 7000 yuan per square meter cost target, then it would cost about 440 million US dollars to build. The Burj Khalifa cost US$1.5 billion and took 7 years to build

Freedom tower will cost over $3.1 billion.
YouTube - 2010 Shanghai World Expo, construction timelapse of Broad Pavilion

YouTube - Ark Hotel Construction time lapse building 15 storeys in 2 days

 

[Brotherhood]

1,000 km per hour high speed train is in develop: report - People's Daily Online January 30, 2011

The Southwest Jiaotong University in China’s Sichuan Province is endeavoring developing the vacuum tube high speed train with a speed of 600 to 1,000 kilometers per hour and is expected to release the train model in the next two to three years, according to Voice of China, the China’s national radio, on Jan. 30.

Limited by the energy consumption, noise and other factors in the atmosphere, the actual operating speed of a train is expected not to exceed 400 kilometers per hour at present.

In order to build the higher speed train, scientists proposed a new vacuum tube technology. Its principle is to build up an isolated vacuum tube separating from the outside air to run the maglev train in it.

The vacuum maglev train is then capable of running in a higher speed without wheel track friction and with much lower air resistance.

It was reported that this technology is expected to be widely adopted in around 2030, when the traveling time between Beijing and Guangzhou is expected to be cut into one to 2.5 hours to run the 2,300 kilometers distance.

By People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

China to see gas demand soar by 20% in 2011 - People's Daily Online January 30, 2011

China's natural gas demand will rise 20 percent in 2011 to 130 billion cubic meters (cu m) and production will increase 16 percent to 110 billion cu m, according to a statement from the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Jan 28.

According to the NEA, China's gas consumption in 2010 was 110 billion cu m, a rise of 20 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, production was 94.48 billion cu m, a 12 percent increase from 2009.

Wang Siqiang, deputy director at the NEA, said the expansion of the nation's pipeline coverage means that natural gas consumption will keep increasing rapidly in the coming years. In addition to the areas close to production sites for gas, which are traditionally major consumers, other areas, such as Bohai Bay, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River Delta regions, will also become consumers as their economies expand.

"The consumption growth rate will be more than 20 percent in the next 10 years because this is now the peak period for China's urbanization and industrialization," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.

The country's 2011 power demand may rise 9 percent to 4.5 trillion kilowatt-hours, and the power-generating capacity will increase by 80 gigawatts (gW), bringing total capacity to 1,040 gW, according to the NEA.

The increases in generating capacity will result in greater consumption of coal, the country's biggest energy source, which in turn will increase the demand for natural gas.

However, Lin said natural gas, as the major substitute for coal, has an obvious disadvantage as its price is high and will rise further in the future.

"The price of imported natural gas is twice as high as that in the domestic market. Even after the government's price adjustment, it is still 60 to 70 percent higher," Lin said. "Also, I believe the increase in imported natural gas will influence the domestic price, driving it higher," he said.

"As a clean-energy resource, it will definitely cost more because of the increasing demand," he added.

China imported 9.34 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2010, up 75 percent year-on-year.

Xu Bo, senior analyst at China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), said the country produced 9 million tons of LNG in 2010 and estimated that 2011 production will reach 19 million tons, according to an interview he gave to Caijing.com.cn.

Lin said that as a supplement to natural gas, imports of LNG may decline if China's natural gas consumption keeps increasing.

Source: China Daily

 

[Brotherhood]

CNOOC lifts production target by 11 percent - People's Daily Online

China's top offshore oil and gas producer, CNOOC Ltd, has lifted its 2011 production target by up to 11 percent as new projects at home and overseas come on stream.

CNOOC, with a market capitalization of about $105 billion, said in a statement on Thursday that it aimed to produce between 355 and 365 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), compared with estimated output for 2010 of between 327 and 329 million BOE.

Oil prices climbed 15 percent in 2010 on the back of expectations that a global economic recovery will drive demand. Analysts are similarly bullish for 2011, predicting crude prices to trade at around $100 for the year.



The offshore oil producer said four new offshore China projects were expected to come on stream this year. While CNOOC has had a traditional stronghold in offshore China, its ageing fields have sparked production-growth concerns, putting more emphasis on securing outbound deals.

"We will maintain a robust capital expenditure plan and implement exploration and development activities as scheduled," Chief Financial Officer Zhong Hua said in the company's statement.

CNOOC said its Eagle Ford project in the United States, with Chesapeake Energy Corp, a largely shale project of oil and gas, was expected to start production soon, and its Bridas venture in Argentina would also deliver this year.

The company added that 15 new projects were under construction.

Unlike PetroChina and Sinopec, CNOOC makes almost all of its profit from exploration and production and does not have to sell fuel at State-capped prices, sometimes below costs.

CNOOC said it would focus on oil and gas exploration in core areas, while strengthening exploration in new regions, especially the South China Sea. It aims to achieve a reserve-replacement ratio of more than 100 percent this year.

CNOOC's parent, China National Offshore Oil Corp, said in January that it planned to invest between 800 billion and one trillion yuan ($121-151 billion) over the next five years to boost production and expand overseas.

The parent has stepped up acquisitions of unconventional gas assets over the past year, buying a 50 percent stake in China United Coalbed Methane Co Ltd in December.

Last year, CNOOC agreed to a $1.1 billion deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp for a US shale oil and gas field and is pursuing a $5 billion bid with Ghana National Petroleum Corp for major fields in the West African state.

Source: China Daily/Agencies

 

[Bigoren]

1,000 km per hour high speed train is in develop: report - People's Daily Online January 30, 2011

The Southwest Jiaotong University in China’s Sichuan Province is endeavoring developing the vacuum tube high speed train with a speed of 600 to 1,000 kilometers per hour and is expected to release the train model in the next two to three years, according to Voice of China, the China’s national radio, on Jan. 30.

Limited by the energy consumption, noise and other factors in the atmosphere, the actual operating speed of a train is expected not to exceed 400 kilometers per hour at present.

In order to build the higher speed train, scientists proposed a new vacuum tube technology. Its principle is to build up an isolated vacuum tube separating from the outside air to run the maglev train in it.

The vacuum maglev train is then capable of running in a higher speed without wheel track friction and with much lower air resistance.

It was reported that this technology is expected to be widely adopted in around 2030, when the traveling time between Beijing and Guangzhou is expected to be cut into one to 2.5 hours to run the 2,300 kilometers distance.

By People's Daily Online

This will be amazing if this project is success and the speed is incredible -1000km/h

 

[Brotherhood]

China to double imports by 2015 to balance trade - People's Daily Online January 30, 2011

Ten years ago when China laboriously won membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), many were doubtful. Who would be the biggest losers, they asked, China, or the rest of the world?

Looking back and reflecting on the debates on China's WTO entry during that time, the organization's chief Pascal Lamy disappointed the doubters.

Admitting that China joined under terms much tougher than those imposed on any other developing country - a "bitter pill" which turned out to be "an insurance policy against protectionism" - he concluded during an interview with China Daily. "It seems that nobody has been a loser it is win-win."

At a panel discussion with Lamy on the tenth anniversary of China joining the WTO, the country's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming offered a list of figures to support Lamy's conclusion.

Describing the entry as a "courageous and tough" but the "right" choice, Chen said that in the past decade, China's average duty rate has dropped from 15.3 percent to the current level of 9.8 percent.

Meanwhile exports have increased 4.9 times and imports by 4.7, with a two-fold increase in economic output.

Meanwhile, Chinese consumption grew at an average rate of 15 percent between 2001 and 2010 and the nation ended up as the world's second-largest importer in 2010, with a total import value of over $1.4 trillion, accounting for 10 percent of the global total.

Chen pledged that the country will further open its economy, forecasting another decade of prosperity for it and the rest of the world. This will be done by encouraging Chinese companies to invest overseas, increasing foreign purchases and boosting domestic consumption.

The US is still experiencing difficulties with toxic assets, Europe is in a public debt crisis, and the emerging economies are facing inflationary pressures. That being the case, Chen said China will cooperate to help promote global economic recovery, even though the world's second-largest economy also faces severe challenges itself, not least rising inflation.

Chen also said China's imports will double during the coming five years.

"This (the doubling of imports) highlights China's commitment to balancing its foreign trade, and the nation's aim of shifting its economic growth mode to one driven by demand," said Li Yong, assistant to the chairman of the China Association of International Trade.

Chen Deming said the major task facing the commerce ministry in the next five years will be that of balancing trade by stimulating imports and stabilizing exports.

"Such a task (the doubling of imports) is not difficult to implement. A more optimistic estimation is that China's imports will more than double by the end of 2015," said He Weiwen, a standing council member of the China Society for WTO Studies.

According to data from the customs service, China's imports for 2010 surged to $1.39 trillion, a rise of 38.7 percent from a year earlier.

He Weiwen suggested that China reduce her reliance on imports of energy products and spend more on technology-related goods, in the sectors of agriculture, information, energy, infrastructure, aerospace, materials and autos.

During the recent annual Commerce Work Conference, the commerce ministry said it will launch guidelines on promoting imports of mechanical and electrical products this year.

Imports related specifically to new energy, new materials, energy saving, high-end equipment manufacturing, low-carbon technology, aerospace, shipbuilding and rail transportation will also be a focus.

On Thursday, China announced it will cut import tariffs on some electronic goods, including laptops and digital cameras, to 10 percent from 20 percent.

Chen also said he has consulted with his US counterpart to seek a doubling of US exports to China, amounting to $200 billion by 2015.

Chen told China Daily that "we will encourage Chinese companies to invest overseas", without giving a specific investment plan.

China's overseas investment soared to $60 billion in 2010 from around $1 billion 10 years ago.


Source: China Daily

 

[Brotherhood]

China to be a bigger investor and importer on the international market - People's Daily Online January 30, 2011

The first ten years of China’s WTO membership has supported one of the country’s fastest and best growth periods and the next ten years will embrace more opening up, said Chen Deming, Chinese Commerce Minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In the last ten years, China cut its tariffs to 9.8 percent to 15.3 percent and opened more than 100 service sectors. The country’s exports and imports were 4.9 times and 4.7 times as much as ten years ago. China became the world’s second largest importer in 2010 and its imports in goods reached 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 10 percent of the world’s total.

That is also one of the best and fastest period of the economic growth in China, Chen said. The country’s GDP more than doubled, China’s per capita income was 800 U.S. dollars in 2001 and rose to 2,500 U.S. dollars in 2009, with more than 200 million people out of poverty.

In addition, China attracted more than 70 million U.S. dollars of foreign investment and 480 multinationals on the world’s top 500 has operation in China.

The domestic consumption market also increased by 15 percent annually over the past ten years. That strong momentum will continue in the next ten years as the country will further open its market, said Chen.

Promotion of international investment by Chinese enterprises, more imports and bigger domestic consumption is on the top of the agenda for the country. The 10th year anniversary of China’s WTO membership will a new starting point for China’s further opening up, Chen noted.

Chen believes that China’s imports from the international market would surge and contribute more to the world trade as a whole. He added that China had to accept more stringent condition for its WTO accession. However, that has also helped China ward off some protectionism attacks to some extent, he said.

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of WTO, described China’s WTO membership as a win-win deal for China and the rest of the world.

On the regard of the pending Doha talks, Chen called for realistic expectation for the negotiation, given the difficult recovery of the world economy. He urged all parties involved to stop exchange of criticism and make concerted efforts on a successful conclusion of the negotiation.

Chen stressed that China regards the multilateral trade rules as the foundation of any new rules and bilateral free trade agreements with other economies as a complement. The Doha talks should be recognized as an important part of the new rules and China, Chen pledged, will make all efforts to facilitate a breakthrough of the talks for a more favorable environment for the world economic recovery.

By Li Jia, People’s Daily Online

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

The Confucius connection
Updated: 2011-01-28 12:29

By Xiao Xiangyi (China Daily European Weekly)

Students learn the unique tea ceremony at a classroom in Tongxueguan, Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province. Provided to China Daily

Ancient sage's wisdom helps Chinese students prepare for a more modern, global future

Bundled in gray robes and seated on round red cushions, dozens of children in a Wuhan classroom are chanting the old Confucian analect, "By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart" on a typically cold Saturday morning.

Wafts of music emanate from ancient Chinese zithers in the next classroom as students learn the ancient and unique tea ceremony from teachers. Students are also seen practicing calligraphy on rice paper or playing blindfold chess in groups.

It was as if time has stood still many centuries ago. The rumble of traffic and honking of horns from the nearby streets, however, puts things in a more modern perspective.

Children, mostly three to six years old, are flocking to schools on weekends to learn the teachings of the ancient sage Confucius and other interesting facets of traditional Chinese culture.

Nothing dominates the learning experience here like Confucius. Students bow to portraits of "Grandpa Confucius" on the walls before classes and regard him as the "teacher of all teachers."

In China, "old is gold" is best exemplified by the growing popularity of Confucian schools. The schools aim to train students to delve into the rich legacy of the past for solutions to modern day problems.

Tongxueguan, in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province is considered to the pioneer of the Confucian revival in classrooms. Till date, nearly 20,000 students have attended classes in more than 20 branches of the school in cities as diverse as Shenzhen, Nanning, Kunming and Dalian.

"We try to combine traditional Chinese culture and the best Western educational practices in our curriculum," says Li Guangbin, headmaster of Tongxueguan.

"Education is the best way to transmit the greatness of ancient Chinese culture to the present generation. It also instills in students the importance of certain core values in life," Li says.

"Role-playing games, for example, train students in behavior and communication. Students are also given virtue assignments, like helping parents in daily household chores, to do at home.

"The art of tea making is a slow and quiet process, which helps improve mental strength. During the process one need to be patient and have utmost concentration," Li says when asked why four-year-olds are taught the entire process of tea making. "There is no extreme happiness or sorrow. It's gentle and peacefully deep."

It is this belief that the teachers of Tongxueguan hope to pass on to their students. "Be smart and willing to learn. Be happy and polite. Be brave and benevolent," is the motto of the school.

According to Li, the current educational system lacks in moral and spiritual enlightenment for children. "Morality is more of a habit than a perception for a child."

In Tongxueguan, children aged from three to six get trained in an integrated course that includes Chinese poetry and the four arts of the Chinese scholar-music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Older children start off with a course on classical Chinese.

Despite the advantage of having multimedia teaching equipment, the Confucian schools still use the oral recitation technique. Children read aloud the classic texts until they are able to recite them from memory.

"It is a pity if children are able to understand only modern Chinese. The ignorance of classical Chinese leads to an indifference of Chinese history and thousands of years of civilization," says Li.

"Classical Chinese loses its rich sheen when translated into the modern language. Children's interest for classical Chinese is just like English and is often best imbibed at an early age," he says.

"Children should read the best texts at the best age. It is the Chinese way of learning. They absorb the historical essence and classics when they are young. It's okay that they don't understand it for the time being, but they certainly will digest the content in their minds when they grow up and help shape life experiences," says Zhao Boyi, a teacher at Zaiqianxuetang, a Confucian school in Beijing.

"The parents of our students are well-educated. Many are highly paid overseas returnees, entrepreneurs, officials and intellectuals. They are not looking for quick fixes, nor do they worship Western culture blindly. Instead, they have a good understanding and yen for traditional Chinese culture," says Li.

It is not an easy task to be a teacher at the Confucian school. Proficiency in Chinese language, a good background in children's education, psychology, capability and sound moral background are some of the desired requirements.

"In China the family is everything. Children are influenced by the behavior of their parents. So we have classes for parents too, which run in conjunction with the courses for the children."

"Modern parents often feel irritated, stressed and flustered. And these are exactly what traditional Chinese culture heals. It makes parents more assured and capable of dealing with the problems.

"There is no dominant religion in China, hence the people feel the need to be bound by a spiritual force, called Li and Yi (rituals and righteousness) in traditional Chinese culture," says Zhao.

But not everything in these schools is run on the age-old lines. Entry to the schools is no longer the prerogative of the male students/teachers. Female students and teachers are present in equal strength in modern day Confucian schools.

"Gender discrimination is not a tenet of Confucianism. Rather it is the limitation of the ancient times," says Zhao.

"I can now sense the subtlety and delicacy of Chinese classics. What the ancient sages said are indeed inspiring," says He Xiyuan, who studies at Zaiqianxuetang and is now able to recite many Chinese classics from memory.

"I study at school for grades, but study here for myself," says Shen Lijun, a winter-holiday course student at Zaiqianxuetang.

"Children who are acquainted with traditional culture can lead a life that is more elegant and healthier than their parents. Lifestyles are highly relevant to one's life quality and sense of joy," says Li.

"A good understanding of traditional Chinese culture will definitely become their unique competitiveness when they grow up."

"The 'Standards for Students' helps improve children's implementation capacity, which is exactly the weakness of the younger generation, " says Wang Jing, the mother of a seven-year-old student. Wang says she was surprised that her son was able to shed the habit of procrastination after he started attending the classes.

"Wisdom buried in traditional Chinese culture makes us light-hearted, generous and tolerant. It will give students self-balancing and self-healing powers," she says.

"Morality comes first at any time for a child's education," says Shan Qi, a high school teacher and the mother of a six-year-old girl.

"The saddest thing is that even teachers like us find what we teach is meaningless in the examination-oriented educational system," says Shan.

"It's good to see the rehabilitation of traditional Chinese culture, which is much better preserved in Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Singapore than the Chinese mainland," says Cui Libin, professor at the College of Chinese language and Culture in Beijing Normal University.

China's long history of civilization, socio-economic development have also attract more foreign students.

By the end of 2009, some 282 Confucius Institutes and 272 Confucius classrooms had been established in 88 countries. They were educating about 260,000 students in 2009, an increase of 130,000 over 2008, on China's culture and language, according to the Ministry of Education.

Chinadaily European

Shaping the children's behaviour as early as possible is best. I remember that the fundementals of my moral, attitude and discipline was shaped already when I was 8 years old.