Tag Archives: China

China announces more sites commemorating war against Japan

09/01/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — China’s State Council has released a list of 100 state facilities and sites commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War II.

The graves of Tong Linge and Zhao Dengyu, both commanders of the Nationalist Army, are on the list. Tong and Zhao died during the war.

Also on the list is the cemetery for the fallen soldiers in the Battle of Pingxingguan, which took place in north China’s Shanxi Province in September 1937. The Communist troops, who were familiar with the mountainous area, cut off the enemy’s logistics line and killed more than 1,000 Japanese troops in an ambush.

Also on Monday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced a list of 600 fallen soldiers and groups who sacrificed their lives during the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and 40s.

China released the first two lists of facilities, sites, fallen soldiers and heroic groups to commemorate the country’s victory in the war in September of last year.

Japan invaded northeast China in September 1931. However, historians agree that the full-scale invasion began on July 7, 1937, when a bridge that acted as a crucial access point to Beijing was attacked by the Japanese.

The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important part of World War II. Enditem

China, Exchange, World News

China Focus: 1,000 foreign troops join China’s V-Day parade

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Nearly 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries will participate in China’s military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on Sept. 03, a military official said on Friday.

Although China has so far held 14 military parades to mark National Day, the parade next month will be the first commemorating the anniversary of the end of WWII and the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. It is also the first time that foreign armies will participate in a military parade in China.

Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Serbia, Tajikistan and Russia have dispatched formations to march in the parade, said Qu Rui, deputy chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Each formation consists of around 75 people.

Another six countries — Afghanistan, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Vanuatu and Venezuela — sent teams of around seven people each, he said.

The troops will be grouped alphabetically according to their country names, and will follow PLA foot formations in the parade.

Thirty-one countries, including France and Republic of Korea, have also promised to send high-level military delegations.

“Victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was not only a victory for the Chinese people, but also for people from around the world,” according to Qu.

“The participation of foreign formations, representative teams and military delegations manifests the international nature of the war. We firmly believe that the commemoration activities will cement trust between the PLA and foreign troops participating in the parade,” h said.

All foreign troops have already arrived at the parade training base and are training with their Chinese counterparts. They participated in parade rehearsals on Thursday and Saturday last week.

Qu shrugged off concern over the absence of troops from the United States, Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, saying that “history would not be changed by the attitude of certain countries.”

“We respect countries’ choices over whether to come or not, and we will extend our warmest welcome for all foreign troops and delegations that have decided to come,” he said.

The Sept. 3 parade will include more than 10,000 Chinese troops, who will pass the giant rostrum in central Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, either on foot or in vehicles, while close to 200 military aircraft fly in formations overhead.

China will also showcase its military sophistication by rolling out 27 armament formations. Most of the weaponry and equipment has never been shown to the public before.

Business, China

Michael Bloomberg sees enormous potential in China

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Weak economic figures, a plunging stock market and the depreciation of the yuan have raised concerns globally about China’s economy, but Michael Bloomberg doesn’t seem worried.

Bloomberg, founder of the world’s leading financial information provider Bloomberg L.P. and former New York City mayor, has an unusual reason for his optimism: The many smiling faces in Chinese cities.

“One of the things I do when I’m in a city outside of New York [is to] see if the people walking down the streets are smiling.

“You see a lot of smiling faces here. Very few people are dour and look depressed. Most people here are happy, gung-ho. They have an enthusiasm,” he told Xinhua during an interview last week.

China’s economy is still growing. The progress and the length of time that it’s been growing are amazing, and you’re always going to have small fluctuations, he said.

MARKET ROUT, YUAN DEPRECIATION

China’s economy has slowed significantly in the past two years to what is officially called the “new normal.” Annual growth rate has fallen from 10 percent to 7 percent.

Adding to that pressure is a stock market rout since June 12 and the depreciation of the yuan in mid-August.

On Tuesday, China’s stock market continued its two-month slide. The key Shanghai index lost another 7.63 percent after an 8.49-percent plunge on Monday. It closed at 2,964.97, the lowest level since Dec. 15, 2014.

The Shanghai index has fallen by 42.74 percent from its peak at 5,178.19 points in the mid-June, triggering a ripple affect in the global market.

Bloomberg suggested that investors put the stocks away and get back to business.

If you’re an investor, you should buy stocks in companies that have a future — that is the only successful investment strategy, he said.

“If you worry about the small, short-term ups and downs, you will always be too late to get in and too early to get out. So I wouldn’t worry about that,” he said.

The stock market plunge was further complicated by a sudden depreciation of the yuan on Aug. 11, after the People’s Bank of China reviewed the way it calculated the central parity rate against the U.S. dollar.

The market responded with a 4.6 percent depreciation in the yuan-dollar central parity rate by Tuesday.

Bloomberg believes that the decision by the central bank was probably the right decision for China.

“I think, on balance, the government has a reasonable set of criteria so that people won’t panic, but that market forces over a long period of time can set [the yuan’s exchange] rates,” he said.

POTENTIAL

“I suppose it’s normal that people will say: ‘Oh, is this the beginning of the end?'” Bloomberg said.

“Don’t always feel that the world is coming to an end [in] the real world, nothing goes in a straight line […] Business people don’t go up and down every day. They look to the future.”

He said that in the longer term, China’s economy is still growing, and small fluctuations are natural, given the impressive progress and length of growth.

China, he said, was once a country where everybody went around on bicycles and very few people spoke English. Today, there are cars everywhere, and the average person has much more than ever before.

“The Middle Kingdom used to be very isolated, and today […] it is very willing to look outside — at other people’s experience, and if they think it fits, they adopt it.”

“China [has] a history spanning 5,000 years and you’re worried about two months? Seriously, you can’t worry about the short term,” he said.

Bloomberg said that there is still enormous potential in China for a number of reasons, such as its huge population, rich resources, education level and strong work ethic.

The potential for the Chinese people, and the potential for companies around the world to do business is really amazing, he said.

Although there are signs of weakness from disappointing exports to wobbling infrastructure investment, Bloomberg does not agree that there is an economic slowdown in China.

“By any rational basis compared to any place else in the world, China is still spectacular, there isn’t a slowdown and it doesn’t impact our business,” he said. [ Bloomberg’s business has grown in China and it recently hired about 150 people on the Chinese mainland. It will keep investing, taking new space and hiring new people, the founder said. Enditem

Business, China, Chinese circle

China to improve domestic trade circulation

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — China will accelerate reforms on domestic trade circulation, Vice Premier Wang Yang said Tuesday

The reform aims to realize an orderly and efficient circulation system to better serve the economy, Wang said at a meeting about pilot work on domestic circulation.

He stressed that all pilot cities should make practical arrangements and strive to make breakthroughs within a year’s time.

Emphasis will be put on realizing a united market-oriented management system, stronger infrastructure capacity, application of more information technology, fair competition between e-commerce and traditional business, new law enforcement methods, a better credit system and smooth circulation networks, Wang said.

There are nine pilot cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou. Enditem

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China Focus: Economists confident of medium-term 7-percent growth

08/20/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Economists have high hopes China can keep GDP growth above 7 percent over the next five years, as leading officials prepare to discuss 2016-2020 development at a key political meeting.
Economic growth is high on the agenda of October’s plenary session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which will cover the 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020).
These five years are critical if Chinese leaders are to realize their goals of doubling 2010 GDP and per capita income and completing the building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020.
“China’s potential growth can exceed 7 percent,” said Tsinghua University economist Hu Angang, using the technical term for the maximum pace an economy can sustain over the medium to long term without stoking inflation.
“China set a growth target of 7 percent for the 2011-2015 period, but the de facto annual growth was 7.8 percent on average. Potential growth will be lower in the 2016-2020 period, but it should be above 7 percent. I expect the de facto annual growth to be around 7.5 percent,” Hu said.
Fan Gang, an advisor to the central bank monetary policy committee, said he was confident of 7-percent growth in the long run and that more pessimistic analysts “had not taken cyclical factors such as overcapacity into account.” He believes the problem of overproduction by China’s industries will ease sooner rather than later.
“China is still in a relatively high growth range. The growth rate of 7 percent or above could last till 2023 backed by the three state strategies [the Belt and Road regional infrastructure and trade network, greater integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt], deepening reform, industrial upgrading and urbanization,” said Liu Wei, deputy president of Peking University.
Wang Yiming, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, predicted the economy will resist looming downward pressure thanks to emerging favorable conditions.
These include industrialization and urbanization, openings for Chinese enterprises during global economic adjustment, and increasing consumption, according to Wang.
Enormous investment opportunities lie in areas including poverty reduction, environmental protection, water conservation and urban renovation, he added.
Economists also believe official campaigns to integrate technology such as cloud computing, robots and new materials with traditional industries, and to develop the country’s central and western regions will also aid growth.
However, as policymakers have accepted China entering a period of plateauing but more stable economic growth, and one of great strategic opportunities but also complicated challenges, Wang advised them to perfect macro regulation by improving fiscal and monetary policies and to be on the lookout for risks to prevent economic volatility.
The government should back reforms to create growth momentum, and stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in high-tech industries, he added.
Ba Shusong, chief economist at the China Banking Association, pointed to various issues hampering growth. As the criteria used to evaluate officials’ performance change, local officials might be less motivated in wooing investment, Ba said, also citing rising labor costs as a problem. Enditem

Business, China, Indepth, World News

Roundup: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor gains momentum in Pakistan

08/20/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

by Chen Peng
ISLAMABAD, Aug.19 (Xinhua) — The Construction of the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is now gaining momentum in Pakistan after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the country in April, companies involved in the massive project said.
The CPEC, a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines linking Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and southwest Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, is also a major project of China-proposed “Belt and Road” initiative.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, are aimed at reviving the ancient trade routes that span Asia, Africa and Europe.
During Xi’s visit, China and Pakistan agreed to form a “1+4” cooperation structure with the CPEC at the center and the Gwadar Port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation being the four key areas to achieve a win-win result and common development.
On April 20, ground-breaking of five power projects was jointly done by the Chinese president and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif via video link. Among the projects, Zonergy 900 MW solar power plant is likely going to be the first one to be put into Pakistan’s national grid.
The 1.5-billion-U.S.-dollar project, the largest solar power plant in the world located in Bahawalpur of eastern Pakistan’s Punjab Province, is being developed in three phases and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
According to Zonergy Company Limited, the first 50 MW of the project is near completion and is going to be energized soon. Before the end of this year, 300 MW will be added to Pakistan’s national grid.
In addition to the Zonergy project, a number of new energy projects, being constructed by Chinese companies, are also proceeding steadily.
The 1.65-billion-dollar Karot hydropower plant, the first investment project of the Silk Road Fund, is being developed by the China Three Gorges Corporation. Construction of the 720 MW project will begin at the end of this year and the plant is expected to be put into operation in 2020.
The Port Qasim coal-fired power plant, the first started project in the energy sector under the CPEC framework, is being constructed by Powerchina Resources Limited. The 2.085-billion- dollar project would start operation by the end of 2017.
According to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the CPEC projects are very important for power supplies in the country. He said earlier this month when meeting a Chinese delegation that Pakistan would be able to overcome energy crisis with the cooperation of its brotherly neighbor.
Tangible progress has also been made in transport infrastructure. China Road and Bridge Corporation told Xinhua that realignment project of the Karakorum Highway (KKH) at Attabad Barrier Lake is going to be completed by the end of this month. Prime Minister Sharif is expected to inaugurate the project. The KKH, the only land route between China and Pakistan, will re-open to traffic after being cut off by a barrier lake for over five years.
The Economic Coordination Committee of Pakistan’s cabinet said on Aug. 12 that contracts for constructing two other road projects of the CPEC worth 3.5 billion U.S. dollars will be awarded to Chinese companies through bidding. The two projects, 2.6-billion- dollar Karachi-Lahore Motorway and 920-million-dollar Karakoram Highway upgrade Phase-II, are earmarked for early completion under the CPEC framework.
Last month Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif inspected the under-construction road network as part of the CPEC. According to the army, 502 km out of the 870-km road network linking the Gwadar Port with the rest of the country have been completed by Frontier Works Origination (FWO). During the inspection, the army chief also vowed that the CPEC “will be built at all costs.”
The Gwadar Port started its long-awaited operations on May 11 as the first private container vessel docked at the deep-sea port. Local fish was exported to the international market through containerized shipment. Speaking at the commencement ceremony, Pakistani Ports and Shipping Minister Kamran Michael said a new dimension was added to the history of the Gwadar Port.
For industrial cooperation, the two countries are planning industrial parks. According to local media, the Pakistani government has proposed 29 industrial parks and 21 mineral economic processing zones in all four provinces. A joint working group would decide and identify the industrial parks, said Pakistani Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal, who hailed the CPEC as a “game changer” and a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for Pakistan.
The Pakistani government has shown strong willingness to push forward the construction of the CPEC. During a high-level meeting held in Islamabad on July 27 to review the pace of work on CPEC projects, Prime Minister Sharif directed that projects under the CPEC be put on fast-track through mobilization of resources and completion of financial and technical formalities.
His endorsement for the projects is also shared by Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, who said in his message on the country’ s 69th Independence Day on Aug. 14 that the CPEC “will lead to economic revival in Pakistan.” Enditem

Business, China

China money market turnover up 115.8 pct o-y to RMB52.2 trln in July

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BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — China’s money market turnover soared 115.8 percent year on year to 52.2 trillion yuan in July, according to a monthly financial market report released by the Chinese central bank on Wednesday.
During the first seven months, the money market turnover amounted to 251.8 trillion yuan, registering a year-on-year increase of 84.7 percent.
Interbank weighted average offered rate rose 7 basis points (bp) from the preceding month to 1.51 percent and average pledged bond repo rate gained 2 bps month on month to 1.43 percent in July. Enditem

Business, China

China determines responsibilities of ministries on “Made in China 2025”

08/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Stockholm, Aug. 16 (Greenpost) — Chinese government has determined the division of responsibilities on implementing the “Made in China 2025” plan among the related departments under the State Council, the Xinhua-run Economy & Nation Weekly reported on Friday.

According to the division, the relevant ministries and commissions will undertake tasks in ten different aspects.

These tasks include the construction of national technology innovation demonstration enterprises and enterprise technology centers, the demonstration of innovative designing in key areas, and the formulation of guidance on industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.

An official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said some divided tasks that need to be implemented recently are especially important.

They include strengthening core technology research and development, which is led by the MIIT, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); improving innovative design capability, which is led by the MIIT and the NDRC and supported by the Ministry of Education, the MOST, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO); industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, which is led by the MIIT, the MOST and the NDRC and supported by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the SIPO and the State Administration of Science, technology and Industry for National Defence; and strengthening innovation system construction for the manufacturing industry from an angle of conceptual design, which is led by the MIIT, the MOST and the NDRC and supported by the MOF.

Besides, China will use government fund as seed money to introduce social capital in the construction of innovation capability, the construction of innovation system and the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Business, China, News, World News

China to regulate online equity financing platforms

08/16/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

Stockholm, Aug. 16 (Greenpost) — China’s securities regulator will soon begin inspecting online equity financing platforms to address risks brought by illegal activities and help the platforms better serve the real economy, according to Xinhua.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will oversee several kinds of online platform, including equity-based crowdfunding, which allows investors to receive a stake in a company funded by pooling money from many people via the Internet, said Deng Ge, spokesman for the CSRC, at a press conference Friday.

The inspection aims to discover and correct illegal activities, minimize risks and lead platforms to perform better in serving the real economy, Deng said.

The inspection will focus on several aspects, including whether the online fund raisers have promoted themselves publicly, whether the accumulated number of equity holders has exceeded 200, and whether the raisers have collected private equity funds in the name of equity-based crowdfunding, Deng said.

Some institutions are operating in the name of “equity-based crowdfunding,” which are actually non-public equity financing or private equity funds raising, hence do not fall within the scope of equity-based crowdfunding activities allowed by the guidelines on promoting the healthy development of Internet finance unveiled easier in July, Deng said.

The CSRC has recently told governments at the provincial level to forbid institutions and individuals from illegally issue stocks under the guise of equity-based crowdfunding.

To support innovation and the healthy development of Internet finance, new policies were rolled out in July in guidelines by ten central government departments and industry regulators, including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

More regulation is needed to deal with Internet finance crime, and self-discipline is also required if the industry is to build a sound and honest environment for finance players.

“Internet finance could help small and micro enterprises with investment and fund raising, and also upgrade the quality and efficiency of financial services,” an official with the PBOC said during a press conference. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Business, China, Chinese circle, Energy, Environment, Exchange, Green-tech, News

Top story: China,Belt & Road partners more cooperation on new energy

08/12/2015 北欧绿色邮报网 Leave a comment

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Greenpost) — The Sixth China (Gansu) International New Energy Expo held in China’s wind power base Jiuquan city of Gansu on August 8-9 drew 36 counties around the world to seek opportunities to cooperate with China on new energy development.

With energy self-sufficiency rate being at only 55 percent, Belarus hopes to bring in Chinese technology and investment to develop wind power, solar power and biomass energy to raise ratio of renewable energy in the energy structure, according to Belarusian First Deputy Energy Minister Leonid Shenets, reported China Securities Journal.

Pakistan is actively developing solar energy and plans to launch 3 GW solar PV power projects in 2016 for which Pakistan hopes to utilize Chinese new energy technology, according to State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali.

Several other countries of Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, Africa, Oceania, as well as European Union have also expressed intent on cooperation with China on new energy development.

China’s new energy had stepped on fast development since 2005 and has topped the world in terms of wind power installed capacity, according to Liang Zhipeng, deputy director with department of new energy and renewable energy under the National Energy Administration (NEA), noting that China has ranked the second globally in terms of solar PV installed capacity. Chinese-made solar PV panels took up about 67 percent of the world’s total as of the end of 2014, Liang said.

The Belt and Road initiative has brought new cooperation opportunities for China and other countries worldwide on renewable energy development, said Wang Sicheng a researcher with the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), noting that more and more domestic new energy companies such as wind power enterprises will “go out” and explore international opportunities.

China had five wind turbine manufacturers export 189 wind turbines totally 368.75MW overseas in 2014, bringing total export capacity to 1.76125GW by the end of 2014, according to statistics by the Chinese Wind Energy Association. Enditem

Business, China, Chinese circle, Energy, Environment, Green-tech, News

Top story: Consumers prefer plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to BEVs

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BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese consumers prefer plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) to blade electric vehicles (BEV), according to a report released by the country’s automobile guild and a leading global marketing research firm on Tuesday.

About 14 percent of respondents would prefer to buy a PHEV for its longer run time and lower reliance on charging facilities, while only 8 percent prefer BEVs, despite the fact that sales of BEVs almost doubled those of PHEVs in the first half of 2015, according to a report released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) and Nielsen.

Sales of new energy vehicles in H1 more than doubled those in the first half of last year, and China is likely to become the world’s largest electric vehicle market, according to CAAM.

The report also said short run times, long charging times and too few maintenance stations are major barriers to growth of China’s electric vehicle market and revealed that consumers expect more preferential policies for buying and using new energy cars. Enditem

Business, China, Chinese circle, Exchange, News

Rise of China benefits German export : EU think-tank

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BRUSSELS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — The emergence of China is one of the leading contributors for the superb export performance of Germany in the 2000s compared to other European countries, a recent report by the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel said.

Germany is Europe’s export superstars, with an increase of 154 percent in exports between 2000 and 2013 compared to 127 percent in Spain, 98 percent in Britain, 79 percent in France and 72 percent in Italy, according to the report.

In addition, Germany is seen as a leading role model of successful adjustment from the “sick man of Europe” in the 2000s to an economic powerhouse today, because of a quick rebound in export growth after the financial crisis in 2009.

According to the European Union (EU) trade monitors, Germany contributes one third of the total trade volume between China and Europe. In the five years after the financial crisis, German exports to China almost doubled, a stronger increase than in any other European country.

To explain Germany’s exceptional export performance relative to other European countries, the Bruegel economists found that Germany has benefited more from the opening up of China compared to other European countries.

First, China has become an important sourcing region lowering the production costs of European exporters, the report said.

According to the indicators of the sourcing pattern of European exporters, the biggest gainers from sourcing in China were Britain and Austria. UK exporters, who offshored to China, almost doubled their export market share to the world, while Austria’s exporters increased their export market share by 70 percent compared to exporters which did not offshore to China.

Germany, as the largest European importer of Chinese goods, its imports accounted for 21 percent of all the 28 members of EU.

However, for the export market share of German exporters, sourcing from China was only marginally important. The most important benefit comes from the rapid modernization of China.

The modernization of China exhibited a growing demand for German products with its comparative advantage in machinery, transport equipment and other manufactured goods, the report said.

China has favored particularly Germany’s exports, the economists said, as Germany is the world’s top exporter of cars, vehicle parts, machinery, and engine parts.

Meanwhile, German products has won a global reputation on quality. About 40 percent of German exporters offer top quality goods relative to the market average, the report said.

The most essential reason for Germany’s exceptional export performance is that German export business model builds on quality.

“The focus on quality may explain why export growth in Germany rebounded quickly after 2009 in spite of rapid rising nominal wages,” the report said.

The economists said high quality comes from the effective management. German exports business operate with a decentralized and less hierarchical organization which empowers workers at lower levels of the firm hierarchy.

“Germany is a world champion in exporting because it is a world champion in organizing,” the report noted. Enditem

Business, China, Energy, Environment, Green-tech, News

Top Story: China to become world’s largest NEV market: report

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BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market is stepping into the growth stage from the demonstration stage and will become the largest NEV market in the world, according to a report released by the country’s automobile guild and a leading global marketing research firm on Tuesday.

The report, which was released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) and Nielsen, attributes the NEV sales surge in the first half of 2015 to China’s policy supports.

It said Chinese government released and implemented more than ten NEV-related supportive policies and standards in the first six months of this year and the number of NEV demonstrative cities increased to 89.

However, only 53.9 percent respondents participated in a survey know about the NEV subsidy policies, and only Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have higher proportion rates.

The report also said short run times, long charging times and too few maintenance stations are major barriers to China’s NEV industry development.

NEV sales in China in July surged 3.3-fold year on year to total 16,884 units, according to a CAAM press release on Tuesday. In the first half of 2015, NEV sales jumped 2.4-fold year on year. In a breakdown, the sales of pure electric cars and plug-in hybrid power cars hiked 2.9-fold and 1.9-fold year on year, respectively. Enditem

Business, China, Exchange

IMF welcomes China’s move to improve forex formation system

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Greenpost) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday welcomed China’s move to improve its foreign exchange formation system and said a more market-oriented exchange rate would facilitate the Special Drawing Right (SDR) operation if RMB was included in the basket.

“The new mechanism for determining the central parity of the RMB announced by the People’s Bank of China (PBC) appears a welcome step as it should allow market forces to have a greater role in determining the exchange rate,” an IMF spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said that greater exchange rate flexibility is important for China as it strives to give market forces a decisive role in the economy and is rapidly integrating into global financial markets. The IMF also said China has the ability to achieve an effectively floating exchange rate system within two or three years.

In regard to the IMF’s ongoing review on whether RMB will be included in the SDR basket or not, the spokesperson said China’s move has no direct implications for the criteria used in determining the composition of the basket.

But the spokesperson added that a more market-oriented exchange rate would facilitate SDR operation in case the RMB were included in the basket.

The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday announced the decision to improve its central parity system to better reflect market development in the exchange rate between the Chinese yuan against the U.S. dollar. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Business, China, Exchange, News

Switzerland begins public consultations on joining China-led AIIB

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GENEVA, Aug. 12 (Greenpost) — Switzerland’s Federal Council launched on Wednesday public consultations to cement the country’s membership with China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a financial institution seeking to foster sustainable development in Asia.

This follows the June signing of the Articles of Agreement by Swiss Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann in Beijing.

Switzerland is one of 57 prospective founding members, and has demonstrated great interest from the onset as it was amongst the first European countries to enter the AIIB’s founding process.

According to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the confederation’s stake in the bank’s 100 billion U.S. dollars capital stock will be a total of 706,4 million U.S. dollars, to be paid in five annual instalments.

Switzerland’s voting power (0.8745 percent) will yield more clout than its financial input through the country’s basic and founding member votes.

SECO also indicated that the confederation will continue to actively take part in the bank’s foundation while vying for a seat on the AIIB’s Board of Directors.

Both Switzerland’s development policy and its foreign economic policy are in tune with AIIB plans to finance infrastructure projects in Asia by using its own resources and through public funds and private investment.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the areas of transport, energy and water supply, ports, the environment, urban development and logistics, information technologies and telecommunication, as well as rural and agricultural development.

SECO mentioned that Switzerland’s participation will also enhance economic relations with both China and Asia, with new opportunities expected to arise for Swiss businesses in the region.

With the deadline shortened by three weeks to accelerate the launching of the ratification process, the consultations are expected to run until Sept. 2. Enditem

Source Xinhua