Chinese Economy/Development thread (updated regularly)

[Brotherhood]

Test run of China-Russia oil pipeline successful - People's Daily Online November 04, 2010

Photo taken on Nov. 3, 2010 shows crude oil discharge trestle and storage zone of the last of terminal of China-Russia crude oil pipeline in Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The test run of China-Russia crude oil pipeline has been successful on Tuesday. The first shipment, after traveling 13 hours from Russia's Dzhalinda, entered oil storage in Mohe, the first of terminal of the pipeline in China, at around 8 a.m. Tuesday. Monthly crude shipments through China-Russia pipeline are forecast to range from 250,000 to 300,000 tons during the test run period from November to December. The pipeline which is designed to transport 150 million tons of crude oil per year from 2011 to 2030 will enter full operation in Jan. 2011. (Xinhua/Xia Shigang)

A technician records data at the oil storage in Mohe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 1, 2010.

Photo taken on Nov. 3, 2010 shows crude oil storage zone of the last of terminal of China-Russia crude oil pipeline in Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Workers show the first bottle of crude oil transported through China-Russia crude oil pipeline at the oil storage in Mohe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 2, 2010.

Chinese and Russian technicians discuss at the oil storage in Mohe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 1, 2010.

 

[Brotherhood]

China's tri-network integration to form 100 bln USD market - People's Daily Online November 05, 2010

The market outlook for China's tri-network integration was a hot topic at the Seventh Optics Valley of China International Optoelectronic Exposition and Forum. Experts estimated that the market scale of industries created by the tri-network integration will exceed 100 billion U.S. dollars.

The tri-network integration is the combination of the telecommunication network, the cable TV network, and the Internet through technical transformation. After the integration, people may use phones, TV sets, computers or other devices to surf the Internet, watch videos, make calls or enjoy other services that used to be exclusive to only one kind of network.

According to preliminary estimates, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), digital TV, mobile TV, Internet videos, and other businesses, the construction of the backbone network, metropolitan area network, and access network service infrastructure, and the construction and operation of information service platforms will jointly create a huge market of over 100 billion U.S. dollars in the next few years.

Experts believe that the biggest change brought about by the tri-network integration is that customers can gain uninterrupted and coherent information from mobile phones, computers and TVs. Therefore, content providers should take new consumption habits developed under new circumstances into account, make changes and innovation as well as provide more convenient, smooth, lower-cost content consumption services. This way, they will benefit and obtain more from the huge market.

Wu Hequan, head of the tri-network integration leading group under the State Council, said that the integration will boost investments and consumption by more than 600 billion yuan in the markets of related industries.

Of those industries, 249 billion yuan will be used for investing in upgrades to telecommunications broadband, the transformation of two-way networks for TV broadcasting, the development of the set-top box industry, and the construction of the audio and video content-based information service system.

Furthermore, integration is expected to contribute 439 billion yuan in information services and consumption of end-users. In addition, 200,000 new job opportunities will be created in the development and production of digital content as well as the manufacturing and installation of set-top boxes. Wu believes that the fixed-line broadband service will help boost GDP to some degree.

The State Council executive meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in early 2010 decided to accelerate tri-network integration. Between 2010 and 2012, tri-network integration will focus on pilot two-way entry between telecommunications and TV networks and explore and form a policy and institutional system to ensure the standardized and smooth development of the merger. On the top of summarizing the experience from pilot work, the tri-network integration will be completed between 2013 and 2015.

At the end of June 2010, China released the list of the first batch of 12 pilot cities for the tri-network integration including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan in order to explore integration patterns.

By People's Daily Online

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

scmp
Bolt out of the blue

With its latest hybrid, carmaker BYD has come out of nowhere to lead the charge in green vehicles on the mainland
Mark Andrews
Nov 06, 2010

BYD looked set to become one of the leading forces in the mainland motoring industry earlier this year. The company only started manufacturing cars in 2005, but in the first quarter of this year it topped sales figures on the mainland with the F3. For total production figures, the carmaker came in fourth place, behind two Volkswagen joint ventures and General Motors.
It has since taken a tumble, however. Last month the carmaker reported a 99 per cent profit slump for the third quarter, after an already worsening picture in the previous quarter, blamed on slumping car shipments, high dealership inventories and rising costs.

Originally a battery manufacturer, BYD bought bankrupt state-owned Qingchuan Motors in 2003. It would be easy to dismiss BYD as a producer of nothing more than clones and heavily inspired designs, but the company has been gaining a name abroad. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns 10 per cent of the Hong Kong-listed company and a number of foreign carmakers have shown strong interest in its battery technology. The F3 is usually said to be a clone of the 9th-generation Toyota Corolla, but in its DM form it may well represent the future for BYD. China's answer to the Chevrolet Volt went on sale last year to corporate customers and from May this year to private consumers.

Externally a doppelganger for the Toyota, the F3DM is neither ugly nor exciting. Build quality is generally good with panels evenly spaced. However, the doors seem to vibrate when being closed.

Internally, however, the visual similarity to the Toyota is not carried through to the quality level. Sit in the driver's seat and one of the first things you notice is the flimsy plastic foot rest. Storage bins also seem of poor quality and do not open or close smoothly.

The central console has the CD/radio at the top. Below are controls for the parking sensors along with a clock and the hazard warning button. The climate control buttons are above a storage bin and ash tray.

Equipment levels are relatively low, consisting of electric windows and mirrors, and air conditioning. There are, however, comfortable leather seats.

In the rear, headroom is poor and anyone taller than 1.8 metres will have problems, but leg space is adequate. The middle passenger has to make do with just a lap restraint. Boot space is very disappointing.

Turn the key and things become a bit more exciting. First of all, the display lights up in blue. The left side largely shows the electric power use of the car for both the interior electronics and propulsion. A fuel gauge flanks the speedometer to the left, while the battery charge indicator complete with percentage readout falls to the right. Then there is a diagram showing the power use and sources around the car.

In front of the conventional-looking automatic gearboxes are two buttons at the base of the central console. Marked EV (electric vehicle) and HEV (hybrid electric vehicle), these allow the driver to choose how the car is powered.

On fully charged batteries, the maximum range is claimed to be 60 kilometres when operating solely as an electric vehicle. Using a fast-recharge station, the batteries can take on 50 per cent juice in 10 minutes. Using a domestic supply a full charge takes seven hours.

There is also a large solar panel on the roof that can provide some truly carbon-neutral motoring. Like a mild hybrid, the car recovers kinetic energy under braking conditions.

The F3DM uses the same one-litre petrol engine that BYD has in its F0 small hatchback. Usually the engine is used to just charge the batteries, as in the Chevrolet Volt. However, the F3DM overcomes the Volt's problem with mid-range acceleration by also using the petrol engine to provide extra power during acceleration.

All the batteries and technology packed into the DM carry a big weight penalty, adding 360kg over the conventional F3. However, BYD says the propulsion system has the equivalent power to a 2.4-litre conventional engine (the normal F3 is powered by a 1.5-litre unit).

In EV mode the car proves to deliver sprightly performance. Acceleration appears to be good up to about 80km/h. Unfortunately, we can't assess it at faster speeds as our test was limited to the confines of BYD's Shenzhen headquarters.

As can be expected, the car is very quiet. Surprisingly, when in HEV mode there appears to be no difference. However, the petrol engine wasn't working because the batteries were more than half charged and no fast acceleration was required.

Despite the weight penalty, handling seems to be good, but the test route is relatively straight and as usual for a Chinese car the steering is light. Road surfaces are good but the car gives the impression of having soft suspension.

While the F3DM does have quality problems, particularly with the interior, the propulsion system seems to work. In achieving this, BYD has beaten to market and most likely spent a fraction of the research and development costs of General Motors with the Volt.

Furthermore, it seems to have solved the mid-range acceleration problem that European tests of the Volt have revealed. And to top it all, the full list price works out at under US$25,000 compared with the American's US$41,000.

Facts and figures: the F3DM

What drives it? There are two electric motors producing 50kW and 25kW respectively, plus a 1.0 litre petrol engine producing 50kW, giving a combined output of 125kW.

How fast is it? Top speed is 150km/h and BYD says it can go from zero to 100km/h in 10.5 seconds.

How safe is it? Only two airbags are fitted and there is a protection system against electric shock. No official crash tests have been done but the car has passed mainland electric vehicle safety standards.

How thirsty is it? Electricity consumption is 16kWh per 100km.

How clean is it? No carbon dioxide figures are quoted but under EV mode it is as clean as the method of electricity production.

How much is it? The full list price is 169,800 yuan (HK$197,100). But the central government offers a subsidy of 50,000 yuan and some local governments also offer a subsidy - Shenzhen gives 30,000 yuan.

 

[Martian2]

GM sells record 2 million cars in China, bests U.S. tally - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com

"GM sells record 2 million cars in China, bests U.S. tally

Buick is happy about LaCrosse's sales in China

General Motors says it has become the first global automaker to sell 2 million vehicles in China in a single year.

But the bigger news is GM is on track to sell more cars in China than in the U.S. this year. Through October, GM has sold 1.8 million vehicles in the U.S.

Before you get too worked up about GM's China milestone, note the important word "global." We suspect -- and we feel like we're usually right -- that GM has been bested by the local competition. GM may have the better car, but it's not like saying you have the all-time best selling car in China.

Still bragging rights are what they are. And GM weighs in:

"This is another important milestone for General Motors in China," said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. "It was only three years ago that GM became the first global automaker to reach the 1 million annual sales mark in China."

In 2007, GM and its joint ventures sold 1,031,974 vehicles in China. Last year, GM sold 1,826,424 vehicles nationwide.

October sales of Shanghai GM's Buick brand jumped 35.7% on an annual basis to 54,490 units. Demand for both the new LaCrosse sedan, seen in that photo above, and the smaller Excelle, known as the Regal in the U.S., rose more than 40% year on year."

 

[Martian2]

How Today's China Resembles 19th Century America - TIME

"How China is Like 19th Century America
By Stephen Mihm and Jeffrey Wasserstrom Sunday, Nov. 07, 2010

Illustration by Emiliano Ponzi for TIME

Is China making an unprecedented leap to the top of the global economic hierarchy? Yes, Martin Jacques asserts confidently in his buzz-generating When China Rules the World. He sees the country, which recently passed Japan to become the world's No. 2 economy, rising smoothly to the top spot by continuing to follow a thoroughly distinctive, Confucian-tinged development path. No, say China skeptics like economist John Markin and hedge-fund honcho James Chanos, with equal self-assurance. They predict that bursting bubbles will lead to a Chinese equivalent to Japan's "lost decade" of the 1990s. To them, as George Friedman pithily puts it in his best-selling The Next 100 Years, which is sometimes displayed near Jacques' tome in airport bookstores these days, China is just "Japan on steroids."

While we're too aware of how regularly — and speedily — bold forecasts about China are proved wrong to offer one of our own, our research into 19th century America and contemporary China, respectively, leads us to flag a third possibility: China could stumble but keep climbing upward, much like the U.S. did about a century and a half ago. We find today's China less reminiscent of Japan in the 1980s than it is of the U.S. in the 1850s. (See pictures of the making of modern China.)

Don't get us wrong. We don't expect breakneck growth to continue unabated. China faces daunting challenges, from a rapidly graying workforce to endemic corruption to energy needs that are increasingly hard to satisfy. To say that China faces major challenges, though, doesn't undermine the American analogy. The same was true of the U.S. circa 1850.

The U.S. was then, as China is now, a predominantly rural country undergoing a massive shift toward an urban, industrial economy. By the 1850s, the U.S. was en route to becoming the workshop of the world, rapidly churning out cheap yet high-quality textiles, clocks, guns and other goods. The British dubbed this miracle the "American system of manufactures," and it became the envy of the world. Much as China's capacity for producing seemingly endless quantities of cheap goods is now earning it the ire and admiration of other countries. (Read "The Real Challenge from China: Its People, Not Its Currency.")

U.S. commentators complain that China's success has been predicated on chicanery (like the manipulation of the yuan), dubious business practices and wanton disregard for copyrights. In doing so, they echo things that British commentators once said about America's rise, back when New England factories used reverse engineering to mimic the latest Lancashire technological breakthroughs and Dickens complained of making no money from the pirated copies of his novels sold in the country. To use a line often attributed — probably inaccurately — to Mark Twain, history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. And this is one of those cases.

What of the bubbles that China skeptics flag? Numerous speculative real estate bubbles grew and burst while the U.S. rose. Each time, the economy recovered and went on to grow again at a blistering pace. So too might China's. (See pictures of the largest military parade in China's history.)

And the fundamental contradiction between China's political structure (nominally communist) and its economic structure (largely capitalist)? The U.S. was an extraordinarily different place politically in 1850, but it didn't lack contradictions. It prided itself on devotion to freedom and equality, yet slavery played a pivotal role in its economy, women lacked basic rights and Native Americans were grossly mistreated. Just as the U.S. struggled throughout the 19th century to resolve its contradictions, so will China in coming years. It needs both tighter regulation of the economy and looser control of society, and while the Chinese have ever greater choices to make and spend money, they still do not have sufficient say about how they are governed.

The analogy outlined here is far from perfect. But imperfect historical analogies have value — if they help us see the present in a new light. In this instance, the main payoff of looking back to the U.S. of the 1850s is simply that it gets us out of two boxes. One is that of thinking of China as a purely exotic case — a place that's not just different from but completely the opposite of the U.S. The other is thinking of it as a country whose boom is sure to end soon, just like that of the last Asian country to reach the No. 2 economic spot.

These are boxes Americans need to escape. Otherwise, they won't be able to get a clear-eyed view of the brash young nation (the People's Republic is just 61 years old) across the Pacific: a country leapfrogging its way toward the top of the economic order and in the process stirring anxieties in the U.S. that rhyme remarkably well with those an adolescent America once triggered in the aging empire across the Atlantic.

American historians Mihm and Wasserstrom are the authors, respectively, of A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States and China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know.

This article originally appeared in the November 15, 2010 issue of TIME Asia."

 

[Martian2]

SPACE.com -- China Reaches New High for Most Space Missions in a Year

"China Reaches New High for Most Space Missions in a Year
By Stephen Clark
05 November 2010

A Chinese Long March 3C rocket stands poised to launch China's second moon mission, the Chang'e 2 lunar orbiter, on Oct. 1, 2010. Credit: CALT

Sunday's launch of a navigation satellite was the 12th flight of a Long March rocket in 2010, eclipsing the record for most Chinese space missions in a single year.

This weekend's flight broke an annual record China set in 2008, when it conducted 11 launches of human, scientific and military payloads.

This year, the country's burgeoning space program has launched 12 rockets, all successfully.

Payloads include four Beidou navigation satellites launched in January, July, August and October. China plans to continue a rapid pace of Beidou flights over the next two years, eventually reaching an intermediate stage of deployment by 2012, when it will provide positioning services over China and neighboring regions.

China will have launched 14 Beidou satellites by 2012 to achieve the localized coverage in the Asia-Pacific region, according to official government sources.

Three Long March flights have orbited Yaogan military reconnaissance satellites, beginning in March when a trio of spacecraft blasted off on a Long March 3C rocket.

Two more Yaogan payloads, believed to be electro-optical or night-vision radar spy satellites, were sent into space in August and September.

State-owned Chinese media outlets report the Yaogan satellites accomplish scientific experiments, survey land resources, estimate crop yields and contribute to natural disaster response efforts. But observers believe the spacecraft are actually operated by the Chinese military.

Long March rockets in June and October sent Shijian technology demonstration payloads into orbit.

The June launch of Shijian 12 started a groundbreaking rendezvous test that reached a crescendo in August, when it approached another Chinese satellite. China released no official account of the demo, but independent analysts using U.S. military tracking data concluded the spacecraft must have passed within about 600 feet of each other.

Other boosters launched a Tianhui mapping satellite, the Chinasat 6A television broadcasting spacecraft and the Chang'e 2 probe to the moon.

Chang'e 2 launched Oct. 1 and reached the moon five days later.

At least three more satellites are planned to launch this year, potentially extending the record to around 15 missions by the end of December.

China is preparing another Long March rocket to haul a Fengyun weather satellite to orbit as soon as Nov. 4. Another communications satellite and Beidou navigation platform could follow later in November and December.

The pace of Beidou launches, coupled with increased activity in China's human space program, should continue a frenzied launch manifest through 2011.

China is testing the core module of a mini-space station named Tiangong 1 for launch late next year. Future Chinese astronaut crews will visit the complex starting in 2012, Hooray for NASA's EPOXI flyby of Comet Hartley 2! according to state media.

This year's record launch rate comes as NASA and China open a joint dialogue on potential space cooperation. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden visited China last month, and his hosts afforded him unprecedented access to human spaceflight facilities.

Although the talks did not include discussions on specific partnerships, according to NASA, the visit provided a basis for further dialogue."

 

[ThatDamnGood]

An American analysis and speculations on China's white knight deeds in the EU.

With The US Irrelevant, As All Eyes Shift Elsewhere, What Are The Geopolitical Implications For Europe And Asia In A Post-QE2 World? | zero hedge

In the realm of unintended consequences, one of the side effects of QE2 is that going forward US economic data will be broadly ignored from a global macro standpoint: as bad economic data is masked by expectations of further Fed involvement, and further Fed inflation stimulation, while any actual improvement is misperceived as a one-time response from a liquidity kicker, the rest of the world will no longer have an anchored trade and thus FX view based on incremental data developments, be they good or bad, as an objective distinction is now impossible. What this means practically is still too early to determine, as the world has never existed in such an information limbo, but the closest approximation of the perversions to the very matrix of cause and effect is that the market now sells good news and buys bad news with impunity. This is a recipe for disaster. It also means that with the US economy irrelevant as an indicator of pretty much anything, decision-makers will be forced to look elsewhere for catalysts. BNP Paribas has done of the better summaries of precisely this sad state: "The Fed has acknowledged that there is substantial slack in the US economy indicating that it will take potentially years to bring the unemployment rate down to levels associated with full employment. Hence, a strong number will still leave the Fed committed to the USD600bln asset purchase it announced Wednesday. A weak labour market report will make the market assume that the Fed might have to do even more asset purchases. Hence it will not be US data disturbing the risk on trade, the trouble will likely come from Asia or Europe." What we believe this means, is that very soon the dynamics of globalized economics, and of stock markets, will be defined by the polar opposites of an emerging market bubble (Asia), and a developed economy, floundering deeper into fiscal austerity and borderline insolvency (Europe). Thus soon the ideological tug of war will be one of whether the Asian bubble implodes first, or whether it will be preceded by the failure of peripheral European countries.

At this point it is still too early to determine either way. However, the very surprising drop in the EURUSD on Friday, may be a harbinger of what we have been saying for a long time, namely that a Europe which can not feasibly sustain its core export economy with an FX threshold over 1.40, will be willing to sacrifice a peripheral country, while attempting to still retain the united currency. Of course, should that fail, Europe will always have the option to finally pull the plug on the EUR, put the Euroskeptics out of their misery, and end the experiment, thereby affording the European continent an equal footing in the terminal race to the bottom, albeit on a nation-state basis, and not on some artificial, and failed, experiment in fiscal, monetary and cultural cohesiveness.

Probably the most important hint that this has already started, is another nuance from the BNP FX Daiy Strategist November 5 edition, in which we read:

Russian sovereign wealth funds removing EMU peripheral bonds from their investment list was echoed by Norway's petroleum fund which is also considering cutting holdings of EMU's peripheral sovereign bonds.

We discussed the Russian breakaway from the EMU periphery before, however we had no idea that the recently staunchest supporter of Greece, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, is now essentially saying to throw them to the lions. This is a huge change in perception, and one that nobody in the mainstream media seems to have caught.

And possibly the most important implication is that the last savior of the European periphery is not the core, which it seems is more and more resigned to letting the PIIGS go (Germany and Norway), but, China of all places. China, which previously expressed an interest in becoming Greece's lender of last resort, is now becoming that for Portugal. Next up: Ireland, Italy, Spain? Somehow we get the feeling that in a few months, Europe's periphery will be demonizing Germany, and praising China, as the next step in the Chinese axial expansion is finally manifest.

Which begs the question: now that the Europe core has said enough to the experiment in keeping the peripheral zombies alive, why is China stepping in? Two possible explanations: 1) China is all too aware that decoupling is a myth, and will shoulder the burden of keeping the EUR alive on its own, even as the bulk of Europe may have well decided to drop the whole idea; 2) After recreating the axis with Russia, and being on very good terms with Germany, is China merely setting up the dilemma of aligning with the Eurocore or the Europeriphery. Surely, its overtures recently will sour its relations with Germany, even as it is perceived as a savior in the PIIGS nations. Or just maybe China is that stupid to believe that Portugal and Greece are viable enough on their own. We doubt it.

In other words, while the impact of QE2 on the stock market was immediate and palpable, and at this point the question is simply when does one fade the rally, the much greater impact on geopolitical axes of influences will only now start to be perceived, and it will involved both an ascendent China and a deteriorating Europe. Of course, since this also juxtaposes a massive bubble and an experiment where growth is merely a one return to FX rationality away, could we also be witnessing the upcoming inflection points in the global power sine wave, one where China's peak is about to occur, while Europe's nadir, and subsequent ascent is imminent? Even is that is the case, what does that mean for the US? Alas, that answer is infinitely more complex, although the one thing it most certainly is not, is the patently wrong explanation of events presented by America's central bankers, who, if anything, are luckily always wrong.

 

[Brotherhood]

Tighter standards mulled for rare earths - People's Daily Online November 08, 2010

Chinese authorities are considering tightening pollution standards for rare earth mining, according to sources at a rare earth production base in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"We heard the new standards will be strict, which will force uncompetitive miners out of the industry," said Zhang Zhong, general manager of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co Ltd, the country's biggest rare earth producer.

Zhang said the new regulation will increase the production cost of rare earth minerals and may raise the price of Chinese rare earth exports.

Yang Wanxi, a government adviser involved in drafting the regulation, said the new standards aim to upgrade production techniques.

Experts said the permissible amount of the pollutant ammonia nitrogen per liter of production waste water will be lowered from 25 to 15 milligrams, said Yang, a rare earth specialist with the government of Baotou city in Inner Mongolia.

He said the experts also suggested that the government consider eliminating producers whose annual production capacity is less than 8,000 tons of mixed rare earth minerals.

Yang said the draft regulation has been filed with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is canvassing opinion within the industry on the proposals.

Rare earth minerals, a class of 17 chemical elements, have become increasingly important for the manufacturing of high-tech products like flat-screen monitors, electric car batteries, wind turbines and missiles.

But mining rare earth minerals damages the environment.

Premier Wen Jiabao said at the sixth China-EU Business Summit in Brussels in October that China, which has 97 percent of the world's supply of rare earth minerals, is looking for a sustainable method of extraction.

He said proper control and regulations are important and China will not close the market.

China stopped issuing new rare earth mining licenses in 2006 and has closed hundreds of small mines.

The government in September announced draft guidelines for the industry's next five years of development, which encouraged mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

The guidelines aim to cut the number of rare earth firms from 90 to 20 by 2015.

Source:Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

Chongqing to build largest trash-burning power generator - People's Daily Online November 08, 2010

Banan District of Chongqing City has announced it will build a trash-burning plant capable of processing 3,000 tons of the garbage per day and generating 900,000 kilowatts of electricity power — enough to power 200,000 ordinary households — in June of the next year.

According to the public information network of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, it will be the largest of its kind. Chongqing Economic Times reported that by the time the plant is built, the main city zone of Chongqing will produce 4,900 tons of garbage per day, most of which will be converted into electrical energy by the plant.

The refuse-burning plant will be housed in the Shuangbei Village of Fengsheng Town in Banan District and will be called the Fengsheng Waste Incineration Power Plant. It will cover 133,400 square meters and have a total amount of investment of 9 million yuan.

The project will start construction in July of this year, and the first production line is expected to be completed and officially put it into operation at the end of next year. There are four production lines that will be fully operational in 2011.

By Zhang Qian, People's Daily Online

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Plagiarism?
What no reference to Jim Rogers who has been saying that all along.

How Today's China Resembles 19th Century America - TIME

"How China is Like 19th Century America
By Stephen Mihm and Jeffrey Wasserstrom Sunday, Nov. 07, 2010

 

[Martian2]

China's first domestic-made light civilian helicopter makes debut

"China's first domestic-made light civilian helicopter makes debut
English.news.cn 2010-11-08 15:10:49

An AC311 multi-purpose helicopter, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), is seen during its first test flight in Tianjin, north China, on Nov. 8, 2010. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

The first light civilian helicopter developed and manufactured in China made its successful maiden flight on Monday. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

The two-tonne helicopter has a seating capacity of six and can be used for flight training, policing, communication command, aerial photography, medical aid, power line patrol, forest fire prevention and pest control. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

TIANJIN, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The first light civilian helicopter developed and manufactured in China made its successful maiden flight in northern port city of Tianjin Monday.

The two-tonne AC311 helicopter, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has a seating capacity of six and can be used for flight training, policing, communication command, aerial photography, medical aid, power line patrol, forest fire prevention and pest control.

The aircraft was equipped with a fuel-efficient engine, a durable and flexible composite rotor system, and a highly integrated avionics system, said Wang Bin, general manager of Avicopter Corporation Limited, a joint venture between AVIC and the Tianjin municipal government.

"Its technology and performance are close to the international advanced level. In terms of cost, it is about 10 to 15 percent less than similar products from other manufacturers," Wang said.

"The AC311 helicopter will be sold wordwide. The first two have been purchased by police from Tianjin's Binhai New District and Guiyang (capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province)," he said.

The AC311 helicopter is expected to obtain a type certificate from China's civil aviation authorities in October 2011 and go on the market in 2012, he said.

"It is expected that the market demand for this type of helicopter will reach 500 in the next 10 years," he said.

Editor: Deng Shasha"

 

[Martian2]

CPT showcases sunlight readable color display

CPT showcases sunlight readable color display
Posted on Friday, November 5th, 2010, 9:49 am by Brad Linder

CPT Colorful Sunlight Readable display

CPT is showing off a new display technology in Taiwan that will let you view a full color display in direct sunlight. Oh yeah, it’s also described as a low power display, although CPT isn’t giving a lot of specifics. Netbook News reports that the new CPT screens should use about half the power of a typical display, but there’s no word on what the company counts as “typical.”

By comparison, the Pixel Qi transflective display (and a similar solution from CPT), uses just about 0.5 Watts of power with the backlight turned off… or about 2.5 watts with the backlight on.

It sounds like this new CPT solution will likely use more power than that, but the difference is that when you cut the backlight on a transflective screen, the display effectively switches from color to black and white. That’s not the case with the new SunLight Viewable technology.

You can check out a demo video after the break. Unfortunately Netbook News encountered the screen at a trade show, so the video was shot indoors. I’m looking forward to seeing how this display looks in real sunlight.

[To see a hi-res video, make sure to select 720p in the bottom right-hand corner.]

CPT transflective display could give Pixel Qi a run for its money

CPT transflective display could give Pixel Qi a run for its money
Posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010, 9:10 am by Brad Linder

CPT transflective display

Pixel Qi has gotten a lot of attention lately for its display which combines some of the best elements of a E Ink and full color displays. Indoors, you can use the screen in full color mode and you’d have a hard time telling it apart from any other display. Outdoors, you can shut off the backlight, reduce the screen’s power consumption by about 500 percent, and easily see the screen in direct sunlight.

But Pixel Qi isn’t the only company working on this sort of technology. Netbook News spotted a transflective display from CPT that promises similar functionality. The company is demonstrating a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display with wide viewing angles that works with the backlight off.

The CPT screen doesn’t seem to be quite as energy efficient as Pixel Qi’s solution. Instead of drawing 5 times less power with the backlight off, it cuts energy consumption by 50 percent. That ain’t bad, but it could certainly be better.

Nicole Scott from Netbook News suggests that text doesn’t look quite as sharp with the backlight off.

Transflective displays aren’t entirely new. If I remember correctly, a number of early Windows Mobile and Palm PDAs used similar technology nearly 10 years ago. But it should be interesting to see how CPT’s solution scales to netbooks or tablets.

You can check out Nicole’s hands-on video after the break.

[To see a hi-res video, make sure to select 720p in the bottom right-hand corner.]

CHUNGHWA PICTURE TUBES, LTD. - Company Profile

"Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (CPT) was established in 1971. In order to satisfy people’s need of visual desire, CPT is enthusiastically devoted to the development of the new display technologies and has fabricated various products which have amazing quality.

Based on strong and concrete core foundation in display technologies for many years, CPT has been very successful in the industry. Coupled with the superior technologies of wide viewing angle performance, faster response time for moving picture, and high color saturation, etc., CPT continuously develops new products, aggressively raises the quality of products as well as services. With the corporate philosophy of “CREATION, PERFECTION and TEAMWORK”, CPT is dedicated to offer full-sized product line and position itself as a leader for visual telecommunication products and the all-around innovator for optronic technology."

 

[Brotherhood]

China's FDI to hit 420 bln U.S. dollars in "11th Five-Year Plan" period - People's Daily Online
November 09, 2010

China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in the "11th Five-Year Plan" period (2006-2010) is predicted to top 420 billion U.S. dollars, Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Monday.

The figure is 1.5 times of that in the previous five years, making China the world's second biggest destination for FDI, the MOC said in a statement posted on its website.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

China's FDI to hit 420 bln U.S. dollars in "11th Five-Year Plan" period - People's Daily Online
November 09, 2010

China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in the "11th Five-Year Plan" period (2006-2010) is predicted to top 420 billion U.S. dollars, Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Monday.

The figure is 1.5 times of that in the previous five years, making China the world's second biggest destination for FDI, the MOC said in a statement posted on its website.

Source: Xinhua

Thank you to all the overseas Hua ren who keep sending FDI back to their home country!

Btw Brotherhood where did you get that graphical chart which shows where the FDI comes from?

 

[Brotherhood]

Thank you to all the overseas Hua ren who keep sending FDI back to their home country!

Btw Brotherhood where did you get that graphical chart which shows where the FDI comes from?

Do you mean this chart?

China: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by Country of Origin