Category Archives: Exchange

China creates open, fair atmosphere for regional trade

China creates open, fair atmosphere for regional trade

Stockholm, June 18 (Greenpost) — China always applies itself to create an open and fair environment for regional trade and investment, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks after China and Australia signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on Wednesday after a decade of negotiations.

In early June, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) also signed an FTA, another step to consolidate all-round cooperation.

“We are happy to see that our efforts have succeeded in removing obstacles and made steady progress, resulting in new achievement one after another,” Lu said.

Lu said Asia has become an important engine for global economic growth and will provide critical support to China’s development and prosperity.

The vast majority of countries in the region are more concerned about development, Lu said, noting that these countries want to expand cooperation. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

When the Prince got married, what did the King say

     When the Prince got married, what did the King say

 

Stockholm, June 14, (Greenpost)–Swedish Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist got married on Saturday, 13 of June, 2015.

What did the King said at the wedding banquet?

H.M. the King’s speech to the married couple, 13 June 2015

To the Bride and Groom,

Finally, we are celebrating your wedding, Sofia and Carl Philip!

Today, we have witnessed your fine ceremony, heard the loving marriage vows you made to each other and listened to the joyous peals of bells which began the ceremony where ‘two shall become one flesh’.

And, my dear son, it is a particularly wonderful feeling to be able to celebrate your love for each other here, in the palace where you were born, dear Carl Philip.

Your mother and I are immensely happy to share this important day with you.

This is a moment you have both been longing for, have put so much energy into, and have planned so carefully to give it your personal touch and it will remain a very special memory all your lives, for the two of you and for all of us.

You have a wide range of interests, curiosities and abilities in many areas. You are a versatile, curious person, evidenced not least in the broad education you have acquired.

Following your military service as boat commander in Vaxholm’s Amphibious Battalion, you continued your training to become an officer. You have since risen through the ranks and are now a major.

You completed a course in graphic design and advertising at Forsberg skola. Your most recent achievement is a University Diploma in Agricultural and Rural Management, following your studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp.

You have succeeded in all these areas – not forgetting to include your artistic endeavours. For example, I am thinking of your celebrated photographic exhibition of the Botanical Gardens in Uppsala to commemorate the tercentenary of Carl Linnaeus, plus your time at Rhode Island School of Design in the USA.

The school held a competition to create the best new logo for Martha’s Vineyard Museum, which you won with your proposal that had been submitted under a pseudonym.

Your wide range of accomplishments is a link to interests and professions that have held an important place in our family for many generations. But you have forged your own path; and done so in your own way. You have worked hard and purposefully to achieve these excellent results – and as your father, I am very happy and proud.

You and I have many similarities. For example, we share a passion for sport, and have almost the same talents. Neither of us are shining stars on the tennis court, and we are hardly well-known for our ball skills either.

But put us on skis or round a running track and we are in our element. And I discovered these parallels fairly early on. One day – you were around eight or nine – I was about to head out for a run in the grounds at Drottningholm. Before I knew it, there you were – the laces of your running shoes already tied, waiting for me.

You wanted to come running too! So you did – and we ran many miles together. Of course, until the day came that you out-paced me!!

You have brilliantly taken on the role of my uncle, your godfather, Prince Bertil as a car lover. Not only is it fun, but it also has another claim: it gives me a cast-iron fatherly excuse to go to race events!

Your interest in food is extensive, going all the way from field to fork. We also share this passion, but so far it’s only me who has membership ‘plate’ number 17 in the Swedish Gastronomic Academy, as your godfather had before me.

I am also glad to share your commitment to forestry, agriculture and the environment, including the Stenhammar estate.

All this is also a great asset when you help me in representing Sweden. As Head of State, I want to thank you specially for the work you do serving this country.

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight one of your personal qualities that everyone in Sweden recently got to see – your courage. It was incredibly courageous of you to talk about your reading and writing difficulties, and thereby raise awareness in this field. This means a lot to hundreds of thousands of others in the same situation, in particular children and young people, and not least to me.

You also demonstrated courage during a night dive where you saved a situation that could have ended very badly indeed. You and your dive group found yourselves in a cave, when vision suddenly became badly impaired. With your courage, knowledge and calm leadership, you took charge of the situation and linked arms with your colleagues to lead them out to safety. This incident is typical of you and your character. Carl Philip, you are a great role model for many people.

Sofia, I want to give you a very warm welcome into our family. We have got to know you as a warm, secure and open person. You are dedicated, enterprising and also very thoughtful. You show genuine care for other people.

You have worked as a volunteer and an aid worker in many African countries. It is very impressive how you set up Project Playground, which establishes important initiatives for children and young people in Cape Town.

You will also greatly benefit from all of this in your new role as a princess of Sweden. We are proud of you!

And when I think about it, Carl Philip and I also have a similarity here – that we have each succeeded in finding the perfect, most fantastic woman to share our lives.

It really is striking, just how much happiness and togetherness that you, Sofia and Carl Philip have found in each other. It is genuinely pleasing to see how you both bring out the best in each other. How you cooperate and complement each other, and how you support each other – in both the big and little things.

I would also like to warmly welcome the Hellqvist family into our family. Through Carl Philip’s and Sofia’s love for each other, new bonds of friendship are also formed.

To the Bride and Groom – today is the new beginning of your lives as husband and wife.

‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ As it is written.

From today, your loyalties should rest first and foremost to each other.

It is not always easy for a father to get used to that thought – and neither for your mother too, come to that.

But this is how it should be.

Carl Philip and Sofia: All of us here today can see the love and solidarity you have towards each other.

A fantastic atmosphere has been created both in the Royal Chapel and here in Vita havet, the White Sea Ballroom. Let this atmosphere sink in now, keep it with you always and think of it in your day-to-day lives as a married couple.

Follow Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, as we heard in the Royal Chapel today, to outdo one another in mutual respect.

To the Bride and Groom. Take care of each other and the joint life you are now beginning to build.

We, your family and friends, wish you the greatest of luck and prosperity!

I now ask everyone in the room to join me in congratulating the couple and giving a toast.

[All guests:] “De leve! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”

Source  Swedish Royal Family website.

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China to invest RMB17 trln in environmental protection in 2016-2020 中国将在13五期间投入17万亿元用于环境保护

China to invest RMB17 trln in environmental protection in 2016-2020

Stockholm, June 10 (Greenpost) – China is estimated to invest over 17 trillion yuan in environmental protection in 2016-2020, according to Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning.

China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) would focus on improving environmental quality in compiling national environmental protection plan for 2016-2020, which is expected to be submitted to the State Council for approval in March 2016.

The new five-year plan would add targets on improvement of environmental quality beside existing targets on cut or control of overall emissions, said a report by Economic Information Daily on Wednesday.

The environmental protection plan would involve green economy, nuclear safety, soil protection, biological protection as well as prevention and treatment of water pollution.

China would introduce amount control mechanisms over newly-added industrial smoke and dusts, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), total nitrogen and total phosphorus in 2016-2020. (Edited by Liu Yanan, liuyn@xinhua.org)

Source  Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China’s top coal firms dismiss merger rumors

China’s top coal firms dismiss merger rumors

Stockholm, June 9 (Greenpost) — China Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd. and China Coal Energy Co., Ltd., the nation’s leading coal producers, on Tuesday dismissed reports of a merger.

The two companies said neither they nor their parent companies have been informed on the matter of merger from government departments; meanwhile, neither company has talked with other companies or departments about any merger, according to separate statements by the two companies filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

In the mainland stock market on Tuesday, shares of both companies surged by the daily limit of 10 percent. In Hong Kong, China Shenhua rose more than 3.6 percent; China Coal Energy gained nearly 7.5 percent.

There were rumors last month that China was considering massive mergers and acquisitions of its biggest state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to prevent in-fighting and build industrial giants able to face global competitors. A total of 112 centrally-administered SOEs were said to likely be cut by more than half to 40.

However, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission later said reports about such massive M&As were “unverified.” Enditem

Source  Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

My Splendid Experiences in New Zealand

http://english.cri.cn/messenger/list/200405.pdf

By Chen Xuefei

F rom March 2003 to April 2004, I stayed in New Zealand as a visiting scholar. It’s hard to describe my feelings and experiences over there. If I have to describe the place in one word the first thing that pops into my head is “beautiful”. But clearly, that‟s not enough: the longer I think about it the more I realize that a single word doesn‟t really do it justice, and it at least needs to be modified. “Absolutely beautiful” is what I‟ll leave you with for the time being. And the Kiwi people are very nice as you can always hear a “hello” even you just meet them in the street. The following are a few segments of my unforgettable experiences in New Zealand.

Beautiful Campus in A Beautiful City

It was a rainy morning when I arrived on the campus. I stood in front of the University of Canterbury‟s Students’ Union Building waiting for Head of Department Jim Tully to pick me up. I was stunned by the beautiful trees growing all over the campus. There was a maple forest before my eyes and most of the maple leaves were red or yellow. I couldn’t help thinking: “This is exactly the place where I‟d like to stay.” Jim arrived. Then, much to my surprise, he went to buy some birthday cake for one of the 20 students in Graduate Diploma in Journalism class. Jim remembers everybody’s birthday and buys some cake to help add a “sweet” element to the special day. As we got to the classroom, it was almost time for the next class. Jim introduced me to the 20 students and then began the class focusing on objective reporting in journalism. To improve my skills and get to know more about journalism in the west, I joined this class. I almost got lost when I tried to go back to the bus stop after class as the campus is, especially for someone who has just arrived, a little confusing. It’s huge and well forested, with trees and flowers everywhere. Fortunately, there is a map almost in every corner and an arrow to show where you are. When I left the campus, I ended up in another beautiful place, Hagley Park. The park is located between my apartment and the campus, and I pass through it everyday. It’s a huge park, and if you walk around it, it takes more than an hour. Most of the trees in the park are hundreds of years old; but there is at least one tree which is very young, planted by the Mayor of Gansu, Christchurch‟s sister city. There were very few people in the park, which is surprising considering its beauty. The botanical garden in the center of the park is surrounded by a stream where people can take small boats to see the surrounding beauty. And, interestingly enough, there‟s a sailor wearing handsome uniform that moves up and down the stream in a boat. The day before I left Christchurch for Beijing, I went to the park again and began to think there really is a “Heaven on Earth”. The city of Christchurch got its name from a Christian church located in the city center. The church was built in the 18th century and still serves the people everyday and is a place that proudly displays the city‟s history. Not very far from the church, is the newly-opened art gallery that shows modern aspects of the city. It is made of glass and hosts both modern and classic art exhibitions. Some of the most common descriptions I heard from Chinese students are “fresh air”, “blue sky” and “beautiful gardens”. And they are right! Christchurch is a real garden city.

An Unforgetable Dinner

People often asked me what I eat and if I cook. To tell you the truth, most Chinese staying abroad cook for themselves, and I was by no means an exception. It‟s less expensive and makes it a little easier to keep the tastes of home alive and well. Here I‟d like to tell you about a special dinner I had with my Kiwi classmates. We went on a reporting trip to the Marlborough Express newspaper in Blenheim, in the northern part of New Zealand‟s south island. Jim drove us there on June 16th, and the next day we went to work at the Marlborough Express. Our assignments were to write soft stories like profiles for their weekend edition. I interviewed a few Asian students including some from China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. They all expressed that it was a good place to study because of its beauty, tranquility. However, while many of them cherished the opportunity of studying abroad, they usually discovered that there was no “taste like home”. They were not used to having bread or drinking milk twice a day. Although the schools took measures to hire Asian cooks to serve them Asian food every Tuesday, they still missed eating good hometown food all the time. After work, we went to the Countdown supermarket to buy some food for our meal. This evening, we would cook dinner in pairs. After we arrived at our Motel, Jim said: “You can start now.” The two Nicolas, Nicola B and Nicola W, started first. They took a big piece of pan cake, and then they put mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers and many other things on it. They were making pizza! After this, they put it in the oven to bake. And then the other students follow suit. I also tried to make a pizza, my first one! “To my surprise,” I said to Jim, “I didn‟t realize western food can also help create such a good atmosphere. It reminds me of Chinese Spring Festival when every member of the family joins hands to make dumplings. I feel at home!” “Yes,” Jim replied. “food always helps create a good atmosphere and good feelings.” It‟s true. Especially when my pizza was ready, I felt very warm to say the least. When I took my pizza out, Jim said it looked very good. In fact, it tasted even better! It was a great dinner! It was the first time I‟d ever eaten with a large group of students outside of China and I feel it was unforgettable.

Celebrating Spring Festival in RNZI

Another unforgettable thing was celebrating Spring Festival at Radio New Zealand International where I worked for almost 3 months. RNZI has only 11 permanent staff, but runs 24 hour programs. It was fun to be there. I didn‟t realize what time of year it was until I started to receive a few emails of festival greetings, which meant Spring Festival or Chinese New Year was on the way! The next day at noon, I went out to get some sweets, which they call lollies in New Zealand. I put the candy on the table which stands in the middle of the newsroom. “Hello everyone, please take some candies to celebrate the Chinese New Year!” “Wow! Happy New Year, Xuefei!” my Kiwi colleagues cheered. Janine and Penny were both born in the year of monkey. They were very happy to know that this year belonged to them. “What is it like to be a monkey?” Janine couldn‟t help asking. “Well,” I said, “it’s just like a monkey, intelligent, clever, smart and hard-working also. By the way, my mother was born in the year of monkey too.” Then, everyone starts to wonder what symbol is his or hers. In the end, we found out that Walter, Koro and Steven and I were all born in the year of horse. Then we drew the conclusion that horses make good journalists and editors because they are enthusiastic, independent and hard-working. And here the four horses are at different ages with Walter older and Koro younger than me. Then Lynda wondered what her birth symbol was and I guessed that it must be ox. An ox is definitely a good worker. It‟s true with Lynda, mother of two extremely energetic boys, who was very hard working and efficient, a good journalist. Sara turned out to be a rat, intelligent, sensitive, and easygoing. Then someone found some information about the Chinese zodiac and printed it out in English. As Linden came over, I told her that she was a tiger. “What is a tiger like?” She asked. “Just like you, in charge, very demanding and also capable.” I said. She burst out laughing. Linden is the manager and she is a good team leader because you can often hear laughter coming out of her office. And if you have any worries, she‟s also an amazing problem solver! Then the ladies started thinking of their partner‟s or children‟s birth symbol. After an enthusiastic discussion about their zodiac signs, people went back to work. As Penny came back to her desk after an interview, she said, “Our life is not the same any more.” I didn‟t really know what she was getting at. No one pointed out what she meant. But after a while I began to understand that the knowledge they gained caused them to wonder about their family members’ signs: what year their parents were born; and what kind of character their children and friends had. It gave people a new way of understanding others. It doesn‟t matter where they‟re from, the zodiac applies as equally to Chinese people as it does to Kiwi‟s and everyone else around the world. Everyone cares about their fate, their luck, their future and their relatives. It‟s a thread that links us all together. Even the next day we continued to talk about it. And we found out that Don‟s birth symbol was also monkey. Johnny was a rabbit and he would like to come to China some day soon. And a colleague of Steven‟s found out that he was born in the year of the dog. He said his mother even gave him a name Damin, which, at least in his opinion, is a dog‟s name. There weren‟t any fireworks or big family reunions, but I felt I had a great Spring Festival celebration in RNZI‟s newsroom.

Farewell to the University of Canterbury

200405The year passed so quickly that I barely had time to catch my breath, but the time came that I had to say goodbye. Why? The campus is a sacred place, it‟s fun, it‟s hard, it‟s frustrating and totally unforgettable. In fact, I didn‟t really feel that the campus has anything to do with academics; rather, it seemed much more like a social place to me, where I, and everyone else for that matter, could socialize freely. It was fun to practise Teeline or short-hand in English during journalism classes and I also found that I‟d developed a serious interest in media law along the way. Interviewing Chinese and other Asian students in Bleinheim was a wonderful experience. But what I found even more inspiring was to see students protest an increase of their tuition fees. As a visiting scholar from China Radio International, I really enjoyed sitting in the classroom, listening to lectures and having heated discussions with classmates. I was deeply impressed with the professors‟ attitudes and lectures; yet, I could also feel the stress they experienced during recent restructuring. I felt the library was extremely convenient because you only needed one card for everything.

The University of Canterbury has over a hundred years of history, yet it‟s also a melting pot for people coming from all over the world. It doesn‟t matter where you‟re from, anyone from anywhere can become a member of it. Goodbye, Canterbury, I loved you at first sight, and I will love you forever! (Chen Xuefei)

China Focus: China, ADB can tap “belt and road” potential

China Focus: China, ADB can tap “belt and road” potential

 

Stockholm, June 5(Greenpost)– The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and China can make use of the huge potential in infrastructure and energy along the belt and road, said ADB Vice President Zhang Wencai.

“Belt and road” refers to the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road proposed by China in 2013 for improved cooperation between countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.

The belt and road will result in increased investment that will improve connectivity across Central Asia, Zhang said in an interview with Xinhua.

The ADB can work with China to translate the concept into concrete action through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, Zhang said.

The CAREC program is an ADB initiative launched in 2001 to promote regional cooperation in transport, energy and trade between its 10 members, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

“China can contribute to the economic corridor development in the CAREC region by sharing its experience in logistics, infrastructure, economic zones, spatial economic agglomeration, urbanization and public-private partnerships,” he said.

“Large investment needs for infrastructure in the region create large funding gaps,” he said.

All CAREC countries have substantial needs in energy development, Zhang added.

An ADB study in central Asia found that investment of about 36 billion U.S. dollars is needed before 2022 for power infrastructure in four countries.

“Given the large funding gap, China could look into co-financing with the ADB and other multilateral institutions in CAREC countries, and share its technical and management skills in large infrastructure projects,” he said. Enditem

Source  Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

facebook: chenxuefei7

twitter: chenxuefei7@hotmail.com

0708261336

China Headlines: Beijing holds breath for effective smoking ban

China Headlines: Beijing holds breath for effective smoking ban

BEIJING, June 1 (Greenpost) — A downtown hotpot restaurant was the first business to get an official warning for breaking Beijing’s toughened smoking ban, as inspectors swooped to enforce the new regulation on Monday.

On the first day of the ban, which prohibits smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces, and on public transport, authorities sent more than 1,000 inspectors to government agencies, hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues to ensure it is being followed.

The inspectors found cigarette butts in the hotpot restaurant’s washroom on Monday morning, with the restaurant also failing to publicize the smoking complaint hotline 12320 on its no-smoking posters.

Inspectors said they will visit again in two days to check the restaurant’s compliance, and warned of a fine up to 100,000 yuan (1,614 U.S. dollars) if it fails to comply.

The new ban was passed by Beijing’s municipal legislature in November. Individuals caught smoking in public places may be fined 200 yuan (32 U.S. dollars), while businesses will have to pay up to 100,000 for failing to discourage smoking on their premises.

As the world’s largest tobacco maker and consumer, China has more than 300 million smokers, almost the size of the U.S. population, and another 740 million people are exposed to second-hand smoke each year.

Ma Yongsheng, who runs a restaurant in Beijing, canceled a wedding banquet reservation on Monday, as a guest insisted on smoking during the meal.

“If we continue to host guests who smoke, we’ll surely be fined,” Ma said.

At Beijing Capital International Airport, people gathered at two designated outdoor smoking areas to have a last puff as indoor smoking rooms in the airport’s three terminals have all been closed.

While regulators has vowed strict implementation, some still doubt the feasibility of the new ban and fear authorities’ resolve to curb smoking could taper over time and leave the ban as ineffective as its predecessors.

Beijing has had smoking bans in place since as far back as the 1990s, and stepped up the campaign before the 2008 Olympics, but the bans have always been weakly enforced.

A Xinhua reporter spotted people smoking indoors in a downtown hospital on Monday.

“I hope the government’s momentum to curb smoking can last this time,” said someone with the screen name “@skywalker” on microblog Sina Weibo. “Just don’t let this ban become another barely-enforced policy nobody remembers after six months.”

At a bus stop during the morning rush hour, a volunteer asked scores of people to finish smoking elsewhere before lining up.

“Most stub out their cigarettes at our request but that’s the most we can do,” the volunteer said. “We are not authorized to fine those who refuse to obey the ban.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested mobilizing the public to help enforce the ban.

“If you see someone smoking in a restaurant, tell them to stop! Talk to the manager or owner, or call the national health hotline 12320 to complain,” said WHO China Representative Bernhard Schwartlander.

China signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003.

“Beijing’s ban on smoking indoors is consistent with China’s commitment to the FCTC of protecting the health of non-smokers through enhanced legal support,” said Wang Qingbin, a professor with China University of Political Science and Law who helped draft the new smoking ban.

The new ban also serves as a test case for a similar move nationwide. Draft legislation for a national ban has been published to solicit public opinions.

In April, China’s top legislature adopted an amendment to the Advertisement Law, banning tobacco advertising in mass media, in public places, public vehicles and outdoors.

China also raised consumption tax on cigarettes at the wholesale level on May 10, a move expected to cut cigarette consumption by 4 to 5 percent and add 100 billion yuan to annual tax revenue.

Data from local price monitoring departments across the country shows the tax rise has largely been passed on to consumers. Cigarettes priced under 20 yuan per pack have seen a price hike of between 0.5 and one yuan. Those priced above 20 yuan have generally been subject to a price rise of around two yuan.

Angela Pratta, who leads the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative in China, has urged the government to lead by example in enforcing the ban.

“Strong enforcement is critical to ensuring the effectiveness of smoke-free laws, so too is leadership. Senior officials and leaders in government offices need to lead the way by setting an example and supporting enforcement efforts,” Pratta said. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Interview: Formal signing of China-S.Korea FTA to enhance economic cooperation

IN-DEPTH

 

Interview: Formal signing of China-S.Korea FTA to enhance economic cooperation

 

SEOUL, June 1(Greenpost) — The formal signing of the China-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) will further enhance economic cooperation between the two neighbors as the free trade accord will facilitate a productive competition, experts here said.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Sang-jick formally signed the bilateral FTA in central Seoul Monday, three years after the two countries began talks on the deal in May 2012.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Seoul in July 2014, negotiations on the free trade pact made fast progress. President Xi and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye announced the conclusion of substantive negotiations on the deal in Beijing in November 2014, and the two nations initialed the FTA three months later.   “The formal signing means a signal flare to more deepened economic cooperation between the two nations,”Han Jae-jin, senior research fellow at the Hyundai Research Institute, said in an interview.

Han said South Korea seemed to have joined all China-led global projects for economic integration, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as well as the bilateral FTA, to go together with the Chinese economy, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

The implementation of the FTA was expected to intensify competition between companies of the two countries as China has been changing its focus from labor-intensive industries to technology-innovative ones. Competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers was forecast to advance at a fast pace in terms of technology, management and finance.   “China’s attention is moving from low value-added industries to high value-added ones like IT and chips where competition will get fiercer between South Korean and Chinese companies,”said Han.

The researcher, however, said that the two economies can advance together, while competing with each other, as” opportunities will come together with the crisis.”

China’s Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo were increasingly eroding the market shares in the global smartphone market of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, South Korea’s tech giants. There were many Chinese companies going global and competitive such as the Alibaba Group.

After the bilateral FTA comes into force, Chinese firms could make inroads into the South Korean market through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to secure higher technological competitiveness and brand value of South Korean companies.

South Korean firms can take the free trade pact with China as an opportunity for making a foray into the world’s largest consumer market. The FTA would further open Chinese markets, and South Korean firms would face eased regulations.   “South Korean companies should see the Chinese market as a place where they compete with Chinese and global companies in high-tech industries, not as a place where they can manufacture products with low labor costs,”said Han.

The researcher said that South Korean companies could succeed in the world’s No.1 consumer market only when preparing for the changing trend in China toward high value-added, innovative industries and consumer demand for higher-quality products.

Jee Mansoo, research fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance ( KIF), said that the formal signing of the bilateral FTA drove China and South Korea into a closer relationship economically, but he cautioned that benefits from the deal may be lower than expected given the narrower width of liberalization and the slower pace of opening compared with other free trade accords.

Under the accord, South Korea will eliminate tariffs on 92 percent of all products from China within 20 years after the FTA implementation in return for China abolishing tariffs on 91 percent of all South Korean goods.

Other free trade deals tend to eliminate tariffs on as much as 99 percent of all products within five years after the implementation.

Jee, however, noted that the low-level of FTA between China and South Korea would reduce possible damages to farmers and industries of both countries, adding that it would be affordable FTA for people of the two nations. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Three million jobs created in EU due to trade with China: study

Three million jobs created in EU due to trade with China: study

 

BRUSSELS, June 1 (Greenpost) — About three million Europeans have jobs because of export from the European Union (EU) to China, according to a study released on Monday here by EU institutions.

The share of employment supported by EU export increased from 9.3 percent in 1995 to 13.6 percent in 2011, said the study on impact of extra-EU trade on income and jobs, which was jointly published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission.

In total, over 31 million jobs in the EU depend on exports.

Citing the data from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD), the study found that 10 percent of EU export related employment was driven by the sales of goods and services to China in 2011, or three million jobs was given to Europeans in all EU member states due to trade with China in that year.

Though the United States is taking a lead in trade with the EU by now, China is taking ground from it, figures indicated.

Compared with 1995, the share of EU employment supported by EU-China trade went up to 10.1 percent in 2011 from 2.29 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S.-related figures in the same period dropped from 20.5 percent to 14.6 percent.

According to the report, among the EU member states, Germany, Britain and Italy created the highest number of jobs in EU exports to the rest of the world.

In 2011, Germany created some 7.1 million export related jobs domestically, of which 15.1 percent were driven by its sales of goods and services to China, said the report.

Meanwhile, in Finland and the Netherlands more than 15 percent of the employment supported by EU exports was dependent on the Chinese market. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China, Central and Eastern Europe make breakthroughs in infrastructure cooperation

China, Central and Eastern Europe make breakthroughs in infrastructure cooperation

 

Stockholm, June 3 (Greenpost) — Chinese enterprises and their partners in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have made new breakthroughs in infrastructure cooperation in recent years. The Chinese enterprises have actively followed up and participated in the projects of bridge, power station, highway and flood control in those countries, said Xu Xiaofeng, deputy head of Department of European Affairs under Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday.

Chinese enterprises have participated in construction of projects such as Belgrade’s Danube-spanning bridge and the Kostolac power plant in Serbia, Serbia’s E763 highway, highway projects in Macedonia, thermal power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.

China is the largest trade partner of the 16 CEE countries in Asia, while Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary are the top three trade partners in the CEE for China.

In recent years, the bilateral trade between China and CEE countries has grown steadily.

According to Chinese customs statistics, the bilateral trade increased to 60.2 billion US dollars in 2014 from 52.1 billion US dollars in 2012, representing a rise of 15.6 percent.

In the first four months of 2015, their bilateral trade value amounted to 17.6 billion US dollars, down 6.4 percent year on year. Enditem

Source  Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Interview: China-EU cooperation to help China’s fast growing digital economy: expert

   Interview: China-EU cooperation to help China’s fast growing digital economy: expert

 

BRUSSELS, May 26 (Greenpost) — The director general of BusinessEurope said in a recent interview with Xinhua that China-EU cooperation can help realize growth potential in China’s digital economy.

Markus J. Beyrer, director general of BusinessEurope, an association of enterprises in 33 European countries, said the digital industry is a game changer for the global economy and will have a huge impact on EU competitiveness.

Intelligent, interconnected systems now seamlessly support industrial activities along the entire value chain, he added.

Europe will have to reap the benefits of this huge potential, putting in place a real strategy to digitize all sectors of the economy.

He noted that by 2025, Europe’s manufacturing industry would gain a gross value worth 1.25 trillion euros (1.36 trillion U.S. dollars). However, he warned if Europe fail to turn the digital transformation to their advantage, the potential losses can be up to 600 billion euros by 2025 or over 10 percent of Europe’s industrial base.

Talking about China’s digital economy, Beyrer said China’s internet industry is growing fast, but until now it has largely been consumer-driven rather than enterprise-driven.

Large e-commerce firms have driven sales and transformed retailing, but small and medium sized enterprises still lag behind in using the internet for procurement, sales and marketing purposes, he said.

“It is clear that there is a lot of potential for growth in China’s digital economy too, China needs to liberalize its market to encourage new innovations and robust competition would accelerate China’s productivity,” said Beyrer.

Beyrer underlined that European companies have the required expertise and can help China realize its potential by engaging the Chinese market on commercial terms. Enditem

Source   Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

China Focus: Chinese capital market accelerates deploying offshore RMB business

China Focus: Chinese capital market accelerates deploying offshore RMB business

 

BEIJING, May 27 (Greenpost) — Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) and Deutsche Bourse Group signed a strategic agreement on Wednesday to jointly initiate an offshore RMB financial instrument trading platform in Frankfurt, Germany, SSE said in a statement Wednesday.

Prior to this, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, just expanded its pilot of RMB qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFII) to Chile on Monday, granting it a quota of 50 billion yuan (8 billion U.S. dollars).

Further more, officials from China’s securities regulator also disclosed that China will officially launch the Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock connect program in the second half of this year.

All signs show that China’s domestic capital market is speeding up deploying the offshore RMB business.

According to the strategic cooperation agreement of the three parties, they will incorporate a joint venture in Germany as the operator for the platform, said the statement.

The SSE, CFFEX and Deutsche Bourse will hold a stake of 40 percent, 20 percent and 40 percent in the new company, respectively.

The main functions of the company are to make R&D for offshore RMB-denominated securities and derivatives products and provide trading spot for these products, it said.

The new company is expected to start operation in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Dr. Gui Minjie, president of the SSE, expressed that the establishment of the platform will help promote the two-way opening up of China’s capital market, enrich investment tools for offshore RMB markets, and promote the RMB internationalization.

As a matter of fact, this is not the first time for China’s domestic capital market to cast its eye on massive offshore RMB markets.

In early 2012, a number of RQFII funds made their debut in Hong Kong and offered a back-flow channel for offshore RMB there, which marked the start of RQFII program.

The RQFII program keeps expanding, having lured 13 countries and regions to pilot the business after Chile’s entrance, with investment quota topping one trillion yuan.

On November 17, the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect program was officially kicked off, and over half of the 300-billion-yuan quota for the program has been used.

The launch of similar program in Shenzhen means the RMB will have a smoother investment and backflow channel.

Notably, the size of offshore RMB posted about a ten percent drop from a year earlier in the first quarter of this year due to the strong performance of the US dollar, which will not last long in the view of experts.

A report by the Deutsche Bank predicts the size of offshore RMB deposits will rebound as from April, will reach 3.25 trillion yuan by the end of this year, up 30 percent year on year.

Some scholars hold that RMB internationalization has become a key strategy for the opening up of China’s economy and financial industry.

Besides accumulating offshore RMB pool via trade and investment, desirable investment products and places are also needed for offshore RMB.

Therefore, China domestic capital’s deployment of offshore RMB markets will help further improve RMB’s international position. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

China, Germany exchanges to co-launch offshore yuan platform before year-end

China, Germany exchanges to co-launch offshore yuan platform before year-end

 

Stockholm, June 4 (Greenpost) — Chinese and German exchanges are to jointly launch an offshore yuan platform to trade financial instruments in Frankfurt before the end of this year, a source told Xinhua on Monday.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange and the China Financial Futures Exchange had conducted intensive talks with the Deutsche Boerse Group on plans for cooperation over the last week.

According to a source attended the meetings, the three exchanges had reached a consensus to jointly establish a trading platform that offers Chinese investors direct access to German financial markets.

Media reports said last Friday that the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Boerse had agreed to build cross-listing arrangements for companies from both countries. The source denied these reports, saying they were highly exaggerated.

The source added that the cooperation deal among the three exchanges was a detailed follow up to the decisions that top leaders from the two countries had reached during the first China-Germany high-level financial dialogue held in Berlin in mid-March. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  chenxuefei7@hotmail.com

German rail giant mulls buying trains from China: report

German rail giant mulls buying trains from China: report

 

Stockholm, June 4 (Greenpost) — Germany’s national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said Tuesday that it was considering buying trains and spare parts from China in the future.

“In three to five years from now, Asia and China in particular can assume a key role in supplying Deutsche Bahn with trains and spare parts,” board member Heike Hanagarth told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday.

According to Hanagarth, Deutsche Bahn’s objective is to cooperate with Chinese train makers CSR and CNR, and the company plans to open a purchasing office in Beijing as early as this coming fall.

As a first step, Deutsche Bahn would reportedly start to buy part of its annually required 35,000 wheel sets in China from 2017. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

 

Sino-British entrepreneurs bullish on bilateral ties amid China’s “new normal”

   Sino-British entrepreneurs bullish on bilateral ties amid China’s “new normal”

Stockholm, June 4(Greenpost) — Both Chinese and British entrepreneurs are bullish on the Chinese market and bilateral collaboration in industries such as retail, healthcare and care-giving to senior citizens.

Addressing the 4th UK-China CEO dialogue on Tuesday, Zhu Xinli, chairman of China’s juice producer Huiyuan Group, said entrepreneurs both from China and Britain should regard China’s economic restructuring and growth slowdown as an opportunity, rather than merely an arduous process.

In the context of so-called “new normal” in China, entrepreneurs’ status is set to rise, as well as the expectations and encouragement from the society. Besides, more opportunities will emerge during and after the restructuring, he added.

Tom Troubridge, chairman of the China Business Group of PwC UK, said although the Chinese economic growth has slowed down, it is still much higher than all major advanced economies. In history, no country could keep growing at a high rate forever.

“If we take the economic scale of China into consideration, in a longer term, a 3 percent growth also indicates a large GDP increment,” he added.

He noted that currently there are 725 million urban residents in China, with an urbanization rate passing 50 percent. With urban residents looking set to number over 1 billion, the process of China’s urbanization not only benefits the country’s real estate industry, but also boosts the market of retail, education, healthcare and environmental protection.

Troubridge said he expected that there will be more acquisition activities of British brands by Chinese companies in the future, boosted by the growing demand of increased consumption of China’s expanding middle class.

Gordon Johncox, managing director of British cider producer Aston Manor, said he was optimistic on China’s cider market, as China is the largest beer consumption market and the largest apple juice consumer. Enditem

Source  Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson