China Economy Forum

[Brotherhood]

Cities team up to bolster Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail - People's Daily Online May 31, 2011

Cities along Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway have formed a tour alliance ahead of the route's official launch in June. The alliance consists of Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Jinan, Cangzhou and Bengbu. The trains will travel through several cities in Shandong province with well-known tourist sites, such as Confucian temple in Qufu and Mount Tai in Tai'an. Many travel agencies in Shanghai have eyed the business opportunities brought by high-speed railway.

It may take tourist merely three or four hours to arrive at scenic spots in Shandong by high-speed train. Many travel agencies in Shanghai are exploring new tourist routes that are expected to be launched in parallel with the full use of high-speed route.

"Beijing will be a spotlight after the railway opens to public," said Zhou Xiang, deputy general manager in charge of domestic travel lines in Shanghai Spring International Travel Services, Ltd. He believes that the high-speed train, which is still a new thing to many, could help Beijing to lure tourists. The trains have several stations in Shandong, therefore the agency plans to promote travel lines there.

"The cities along the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway abound in tourism resources, like Qufu's Confucian temple, Tai'an's Mount Tai and the Cave of Fireflies in Linyi. And Shandong's hot springs remain unknown for many people," said Zhou Xiang.

Zhou expects to see an increasing number of tourists turning to inland cities instead of coastal areas in Shandong after the high-speed route in service.

Ctrip.com, China's leading online travel services supplier, said it would also open new travel lines related to high-speed railways in Shandong.

Restraining factors

The agencies admitted that high-speed railway's role in boosting tourism is not in full swing. For example, few travel groups would choose high-speed trains on the routes between Shanghai to Nanjing and Shanghai to Hangzhou because of the high ticket price.

The travel agencies believe the Beijing-Shanghai route has an edge considering the distance. The opening date, ticket price and purchasing procedure are the issues that are the greatest causes for concern among agencies. It is estimated that the price will be set around 500 yuan to 600 yuan while the current price of traveling in Shandong for Shanghai tourists is only 1,100 to 1,200 Chinese yuan. That means tourists will pay more if they take high-speed train. But the high-speed train will curtail the time spent on the track to from one night to only three hours.

Industrial insiders foresaw a strong demand for tickets. Travel agencies' ability to organize high-speed travel will be restricted by ticket supply and an ID-based system to buy ticket.

By Chen Lidan, People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

Sino-Japanese E-waste recycling plant to be built in E China - People's Daily Online May 31, 2011

An electronic waste recycling company, jointly funded by Japan's Panasonic, Sumitomo, DOWA Group and China's Hangzhou Dadi Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., will be built in east China's Zhejiang Province, local authorities said Monday.

Located in Tonglu County under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou City, and built at a cost of 121.7 million yuan (18.8 million U.S. dollars), the Panasonic Dadi Dowa Summit Recycling Co., Ltd. will focus on the collection and recycling of discarded home appliances, including television sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and computers.

The construction of the plant will begin in June, and the project is expected to be able to recycle 500,000 to 1 million discarded home appliances per year after its completion in January 2012, said Katsuyuki Mikawa with Panasonic, who will be the general manager of the new company.

Mikawa added that the Japanese companies would bring advanced technology and managerial experience to the joint venture in order to provide an environmentally friendly and energy efficient project.

Both Panasonic and Dadi hold 35 percent of the shares of the company, While DOWA and Sumitomo hold 18 percent and 12 percent of the shares of the firm, respectively.

E-waste refers to electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life." Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers and fax machines are common electronic products. Some E-waste contains toxic materials which can cause severe environmental pollution if not properly handled. At the same time, the e-waste can be turned into useful materials after refurbishment and extraction.

Electronic waste is becoming an increasingly pressing problem in China with the surging of the sales of electronics. It is estimated that the country will be producing more than 6 million tonnes of electronic discards in 2020.

The central government has been encouraging recycling and centralized treatment of E-waste. A regulation issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, has been in place since January 1 to ensure better management of E-waste recycling.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China Construction Bank opens Moscow office - People's Daily Online

Russian Central Bank deputy chairman Viktor Melnikov (L) and China Construction Bank President Zhang Jianguo (R) attended the opening ceremony of the Moscow Representative Office of China Construction Bank on May 30, 2011. China Construction Bank opened its representative office in Moscow, capital of Russia, on May 30, 2011. (Photo by Zhang Guangzheng,people.com.cn)

 

[Brotherhood]

China's first 6-megawatt wind turbine made public - People's Daily Online May 31, 2011

China's first six-megawatt wind turbine unit made its commercial debut in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd., maker of the turbine, said the unit was indigenously developed and has the largest single-machine capacity in China at the current time. Public files provided by an independent authority show this is the first 6-megawatt wind turbine in the world that has been put into commercial use.

Sinovel's new wind turbine unit has wide applications in generating power on the land, ocean and in the intertidal zone. The length of the turbine's paddle wheels reaches 128 meters, which helps to capture stronger wind force and increase energy efficiency. The turbine even could work normally in the extreme cold and set a record of 62.5 meters per second in the speed test.

By People's Daily Online

 

[daiyu]

Cities team up to bolster Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail - People's Daily Online May 31, 2011

Cities along Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway have formed a tour alliance ahead of the route's official launch in June. The alliance consists of Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Jinan, Cangzhou and Bengbu. The trains will travel through several cities in Shandong province with well-known tourist sites, such as Confucian temple in Qufu and Mount Tai in Tai'an. Many travel agencies in Shanghai have eyed the business opportunities brought by high-speed railway.

It may take tourist merely three or four hours to arrive at scenic spots in Shandong by high-speed train. Many travel agencies in Shanghai are exploring new tourist routes that are expected to be launched in parallel with the full use of high-speed route.

"Beijing will be a spotlight after the railway opens to public," said Zhou Xiang, deputy general manager in charge of domestic travel lines in Shanghai Spring International Travel Services, Ltd. He believes that the high-speed train, which is still a new thing to many, could help Beijing to lure tourists. The trains have several stations in Shandong, therefore the agency plans to promote travel lines there.

"The cities along the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway abound in tourism resources, like Qufu's Confucian temple, Tai'an's Mount Tai and the Cave of Fireflies in Linyi. And Shandong's hot springs remain unknown for many people," said Zhou Xiang.

Zhou expects to see an increasing number of tourists turning to inland cities instead of coastal areas in Shandong after the high-speed route in service.

Ctrip.com, China's leading online travel services supplier, said it would also open new travel lines related to high-speed railways in Shandong.

Restraining factors

The agencies admitted that high-speed railway's role in boosting tourism is not in full swing. For example, few travel groups would choose high-speed trains on the routes between Shanghai to Nanjing and Shanghai to Hangzhou because of the high ticket price.

The travel agencies believe the Beijing-Shanghai route has an edge considering the distance. The opening date, ticket price and purchasing procedure are the issues that are the greatest causes for concern among agencies. It is estimated that the price will be set around 500 yuan to 600 yuan while the current price of traveling in Shandong for Shanghai tourists is only 1,100 to 1,200 Chinese yuan. That means tourists will pay more if they take high-speed train. But the high-speed train will curtail the time spent on the track to from one night to only three hours.

Industrial insiders foresaw a strong demand for tickets. Travel agencies' ability to organize high-speed travel will be restricted by ticket supply and an ID-based system to buy ticket.

By Chen Lidan, People's Daily Online

any tourist sights or beautiful places can we see from the train while running on the beijing to shanghai High speed rail?just like you can see the Fuji Mount while riding on the Shinkansen between tokyo and osaka?

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

China property
Housing subsidies at heart of Beijing’s ‘new deal’

By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing

Published: May 31 2011 17 :19 | Last updated: May 31 2011 18 :02

When Guo Chunping, 47, an unemployed cleaner, met Hu Jintao, China’s president, a few months ago her widely publicised remarks about her state-subsidised apartment caused an outpouring of disbelief and scorn.

Ms Guo said she paid Rmb77 ($11.90) a month for her 45 square metre flat in suburban Beijing, an impossibly small amount to most urban Chinese, many of whom went online to deride the claims as Communist party propaganda.

In spite of widespread popular disbelief, a visit to her flat and statements from neighbours confirmed Ms Guo’s account.

Ms Guo is a beneficiary of a Chinese “new deal”, a hugely ambitious social plan to tackle worsening social inequality and address imbalances in the economy while maintaining the rapid investment and construction-led growth of the past decade.

Central to the initiative is Beijing’s plan to build 36m state-subsidised housing units within the next five years.

By 2015, the government hopes to have almost a fifth of the country’s 218m urban households living in apartments that are state-subsidised in some way, up from an estimated 11 per cent at the end of 2007.

The goal is not only to overhaul the real estate market but to create a new impetus to keep the economy humming even as Beijing attempts to shift to a different growth model.

In its latest five-year plan, which runs from 2011-15, the Communist party has identified its top priority as shifting from an economy driven by investment and export-oriented, low-end manufacturing to one driven by consumption and innovation.

As part of the shift, the party also aims to reduce the widening income gap and improve the well-being of its citizens. One way it hopes to do this is by reining in speculation and rapid price rises in the residential real estate market that have made owning an apartment in the booming cities an impossible dream for most of the population.

In the past year, Beijing has introduced a slew of measures to bring down overheated prices – including increasing minimum downpayments, banning banks from giving mortgages to people with more than one property and launching a trial property tax in Shanghai and Chongqing.

A huge portion of China’s rapid growth in the past decade has been driven by investment in real estate and by the stimulus it gives related industries, ranging from steel and cement to makers of washing machines and cars. So by curbing rising prices and developers’ profits, Beijing risks a wider economic slowdown, one reason the subsidised housing plan is so important.

Ernest Ho and Zhu Yuande, economists at Morgan Stanley, say: “The unprecedented construction volume, political intensity and determination to deliver indicate that the authorities consider social housing vital to sustainable development.

“It is not only an issue related to economic growth but also a timely effort to alleviate social tension
that had built up.”

In theory, the boom in subsidised housing will pick up the slack from slowing real estate investment while allowing rapid urbanisation to continue by providing affordable homes for new migrants from rural areas.

In 1998, when the government first decided to privatise the housing market, it launched a plan to ensure up to 70 per cent of urban people had access to public rental or other low-cost housing. In practice, local governments across the country largely ignored the directive.

Andrew Rothman, chief China economist for CLSA, the investment bank, says: “The problem with social housing in past years was a lack of political support from the top. That is no longer the case.

“In his annual address to the legislature in March, [Wen Jiabao, premier] clearly put local officials on notice that building too few low-income flats would be a firing offence.”

While Beijing seems determined to pick up the pace of investment, it is not entirely clear how the ambitious building targets will be financed.

Beijing has set a target of building 10m subsidised apartments at a cost of Rmb1,300bn this year alone but only Rmb103bn from the central government budget has been allocated to the project.

Officials say a further Rmb400bn-500bn will come from local governments, although their revenues are already under pressure from falling land prices, while the remaining Rmb800bn-900bn is expected to come from commercial developers.

Stephen Green, chief China economist for Standard Chartered Bank, says: “There are huge question marks over how this will all be funded. The quiet message to developers is clear: you’ve made your money, now it is time to serve the country.

“We believe the silent message to the banks is: developers and local government investment vehicles will be looking to borrow, so support them.”

City races to meet clamour for public housing

By Kathrin Hille in Chongqing

Published: May 31 2011 16 :17 | Last updated: May 31 2011 17 :59

When the residents of Minxin Garden look down their street, they see a giant building site. The 3,000 families that moved into new government-subsidised flats in this northern suburb of Chongqing in May are the first beneficiaries of China’s largest public housing programme.

In the Minxin Garden complex, 54 tower blocks are being built. When the 30-storey structures are complete, they will house 17,900 families.

It is one of 20 public housing projects planned in Chongqing. Of the vast municipality’s more than 30m residents, 6m live in the city itself. The government expects that number to double as rural workers travel to the rapidly growing industrial centre.

Unlike other big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen, which house the working class in cramped dormitories or slum-like accommodation, Chongqing wants to be prepared.

“We can prevent the mistakes that were made in the coastal provinces,” says Yang Zhihong, a municipal planning official. “We will build enough public housing for all the workers.”

The municipality expects to build 20 satellite towns, with a population of 300,000 apiece, around Chongqing’s urban area. In each one, 50,000 people will live in state-subsidised housing.

The construction of 13m square metres of subsidised housing, which began last year, comprised 50 per cent of housing starts in 2010.

At Minxin Garden, rents range from just below Rmb300 ($46) for a 30 sq m studio to just over Rmb600 for a three-bedroom flat.

“It is set at 60 per cent of the average price of local commercial real estate,” says Yuan Jianbo, an official at the public housing office.

In theory, many qualify. “Anyone who works in Chongqing but doesn’t own property here can apply,” says Mr Yuan.

But so far, applicants have only a 6.8 per cent chance of getting in. Demand far outstrips supply and flats are being allocated through draws.
.

 

[Brotherhood]

Construction of China's longest undersea tunnel complete - People's Daily Online May 31, 2011

Workers conduct maintenance work as the Jiaozhou Bay undersea tunnel project nears completion at Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province on May 31, 2011. (Photo by Li Ziheng, Xinhua)


Recently, Jiaozhou Bay undersea tunnel, located in Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province, completed major construction, and progress on affiliated projects, such as installing equipment and electronic cables, is being accelerated. Inspection and approval is being carried out gradually.

On June 30, 2011, the undersea tunnel will be open to traffic.

The Jiaozhou Bay undersea tunnel is the longest undersea tunnel in China and the third longest underwater tunnel in the world. It has a total length of 7,800 meters, of which the undersea section of the tunnel is 3,950 meters long. The project has a total investment of 3.3 billion yuan.

By Ye Xin, People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

Largest domestic air cargo carrier set up in Shanghai - People's Daily Online June 01, 2011

On May 30, the new China Cargo Airline started its business in Shanghai with a registered capital of 3 billion yuan, or 463 million U.S. dollars, which makes it the country's largest cargo carrier.

A joint venture of the former China Cargo Airline, Shanghai Airlines Cargo and Great Wall International Shipping Ltd., the corporation owns a large number of freight routes. It owns many cargo routes and operates the belly cargo business in 337 passenger airlines of China Eastern Airlines at 152 navigation points. Through the international cooperation and consistently improved ground distribution network, the New China Cargo Airline is making an effort to extend its freight service to more than 200 destinations worldwide.

By People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

China says service trade to hit 600 bln USD by 2015 - People's Daily Online June 01, 2011

China is drafting a five-year plan to promote trade in its service sectors, with a projected service trade volume of 600 billion U.S. dollars by 2015, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"Despite a relatively late take-off, China's service trade has huge potential," said Assistant Minister of Commerce Qiu Hong at a press conference in Beijing.

She said China's service trade reached 362.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, doubling that of 2005 and ranking fourth in the world.

However, the proportion of service trade to the country's overall foreign trade was just 10.9 percent in 2010, compared to the global average of around 20 percent, according to Qiu.

The country's manufacturing sector has long depended on high consumption of energy and natural resources, whereas the service sector features high added value, smaller environmental impact and ample jobs, according to Qiu.

"The development of service trade is conducive to the transformation of China's foreign trade growth and the promotion of economic restructuring," she said.

China has seen a growing service trade deficit as it sends more students and tourists abroad.

A report released on May 11 by the U.S. Commerce Department said that the U.S.'s service surplus with China has accelerated rapidly in the last several years, from 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 to 10.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.

Statistics from the World Trade Organization show that global trade in services expanded from 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars to 7.2 trillion U.S. dollars over the past five years, with an average annual growth rate of 8 percent.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Aramsogo]

China needs to follow the Singapore housing model. There needs to be private ownership of public housing in a two tier system.
China needs to be careful and not build 'projects'/ghettos like the US/UK did.

 

[Brotherhood]

China's Y-8 aircraft poised to land in South American market - People's Daily Online June 02, 2011

AVIC Shaanxi Aircraft Industry (Group) Corporation Ltd. and China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation signed a contract to export Y-8 transport planes to Venezuela on May 21.

The planes exported will successively arrive in South America in 2012. Venezuela is the most recent country to which China will supply the Y-8 planes, after Sri Lanka, Sudan, Burma, Iran, Egypt, Tanzania and some other countries. By now, the number of the Y-8 planes exported by China has reached 25, signaling a huge international market with strong demand for the Y-8 aircraft has been opened.

Currently, the Y-8 aircraft is the largest mid-size Chinese aircraft for mid-range transportation. Since its maiden flight in December 1975, the AVIC Shaanxi Corporation has made many adjustments and improvements based on the original design and also developed three series of 24 models from the prototype, including the "Blackhawk" helicopter transporter, civil model, export model, airtight model, postal model and special model. AVIC Shaanxi Corporation has filled many gaps in China's aviation industry.

While promoting Y-8 planes in the civil aviation area of China, the AVIC Shaanxi Corporation has also changed their marketing ideas and is actively exploring international markets by sticking to the policy of "aviation oriented, integrating civil and military planes, military planes first, emphasizing civil planes and going global." Ultimately, the corporation has brought Y-8 planes out of China and to the world.

Since the export model of the Y-8 aircraft developed by the AVIC Shaanxi Corporation started its first export in 1987, a total of 13 planes have already been delivered to its foreign customers. The outstanding performance of the planes and the excellent after-sale services provided by the AVIC Shaanxi Corporation are making Y-8 planes attractive to more foreign customers, and the optimistic market prospect has also brought a lot of vigor and energy to the development of the corporation.

The purchase contract of eight Y-8C aircraft signed by the CATIC and AVIC Shaanxi Corporation sets a record high on the single export order quantity of the Y-8 series of transport aircraft. Based on the current technical conditions of Y-8 planes, AVIC Shaanxi Corporation reloaded part of the avionics equipment of the eight export-oriented aircraft and adjusted the dashboard layout to improve the handling efficiency of the freight system in accordance with user requirements, according to sources.

In addition, the company also launched adaptability improvements regarding aircraft systems, such as aircraft structure, environmental control, oxygen, living facilities, power distribution and lighting, to meet the requirements of freight and equipment air transport, airborne landing as well as the air drop of various small and large goods and equipment.

Although the air transport market embraced an initial recovery after the international financial crisis, the overall situation of international aircraft sales still looks gloomy. In this context, CATIC and the AVIC Shaanxi focus on the future, complement each other and work together to expand their presence in the international market. Executive leaders of AVIC Shaanxi visited Venezuela several times with a study group to conduct detailed investigations on the service conditions of Venezuela's airports, the airports' equipment and climate characteristics in order to ensure that the Y-8 aircraft technical state is suited for the local conditions and can better meet user requirements.

Venezuela also repeatedly sent officials to conduct investigations at AVIC Shaanxi. Both sides finally reached a consensus after one year of business negotiations.

Ma Zhiping, general manager of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation, said that as the corporation and AVIC Shaanxi has reached a purchase contract for eight Y-8 planes, the aircraft will successively arrive in South America in 2012. Ma also said that the corporation will spare no efforts to explore the international market to allow more Y-8 planes to fly around the world.

Li Guangxing, chairman of the board and the general manager of AVIC Shaanxi, said that the company will continue to produce high-quality aircraft to satisfy customers, offer various services to create value for customers and lay a foundation for follow-up aircraft to enter the South American market to achieve win-win cooperation for various parties.

By People's Daily Online

 

[Brotherhood]

KuiBei Railway linking major cities in Xinjiang put in operation - People's Daily Online June 02, 2011

A train runs on a grand bridge of the newly opened "KuiBei Railway", connecting Kuitun to Beitun in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 1, 2011. The 468.5-kilometer's "Kui Bei Railway" has a total of 22 stations, linking some of the major cities in Xinjiang such as Altay, Tacheng and Karamay. (Xinhua/Zhang Wencheng)

 

[CardSharp]

China needs to follow the Singapore housing model. There needs to be private ownership of public housing in a two tier system.
China needs to be careful and not build 'projects'/ghettos like the US/UK did.

Well the projects and the ghettos weren't solely caused by the construction of public housing. The ghettos are really a result of racial antagonism, class suppression and drug abuse. Won't likely get that in China.

 

[casual]

Well the projects and the ghettos weren't solely caused by the construction of public housing. The ghettos are really a result of racial antagonism, class suppression and drug abuse. Won't likely get that in China.

+ the lack of proper city planning/ employment opportunities.

 

[Brotherhood]

China invests 1.84 billion yuan in agricultural projects in Jan.-May - People's Daily Online June 05, 2011

China invested 1.84 billion yuan (284.54 million U.S. dollars) over the first five months of this year to support agricultural projects, said a statement from the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The investments were used to pay for the interest on 75.76 billion yuan in loans for agricultural projects, said a statement issued by the state agricultural comprehensive development office of the MOF.

Projects enjoying the discounted loans primarily deal with grain, cotton and vegetable oil processing.

The office actively supports agricultural industrialization and boosting the incomes of rural farmers, the statement said.

Source: Xinhua