Category Archives: News

Spotlight: Chinese president starts Egypt visit to synergise development plans

CAIRO, Jan. 21 (Greenpost) — Chinese President Xi Jinping started Wednesday his visit to Egypt, a country to which his last trip dates back to 16 years ago and which now looks forward to boarding the development train of the world’s second largest economy.
Xi’s visit is aimed at aligning the development plans of the two nations.
CHINA’S PARTICIPATION
“My visit to Egypt is to cement and deepen the China-Egypt relationship in an all-round way, and advance practical cooperation between our two nations for new achievements,” Xi said when meeting Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail shortly after his arrival in Cairo in the afternoon.
The Chinese government encourages and supports qualified enterprises to participate in large-scale projects in Egypt, Xi said.
He proposed that the two sides make more efforts to synergize their development strategies and step up cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to translate their consensus into concrete results as soon as possible.
Prior to Xi’s visit, experts from both countries have agreed that as Egypt eyes a series of mega projects, the new Suez Canal for instance, to revitalize the economy, China’s experience could certainly help.
“China stands ready to boost cooperation with Egypt in infrastructure construction and continue pushing ahead industrial capacity cooperation,” the president said.
Words have already been put into practice. China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co., Ltd said it had reached a deal with its Egyptian partner to build a 1,210 km power transmission line at 500 KV in the southeast of the Nile Delta in Egypt.
As the largest project of its kind in Egypt, the line will be used to transmit electricity for three gas-fired power plants and one nuclear power station, the company, which attended the China Science and Technology Exhibition in Cairo on Wednesday, told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, China’s CGC Overseas Construction Group is working to combine China’s agricultural technology, Egypt’s natural resources and global capital to help the North African country develop agriculture on the west side of the Nile, the company told Xinhua at the exhibition.
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.
The two sides, treating each other with mutual understanding, respect, trust and support, have been developing their ties in a healthy and stable manner, Xi said in his written remarks upon arrival.
Xi recalled the visit of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to China in December 2014 when Beijing and Cairo elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, saying that bilateral relations are at an important phase now, and the pair should well inherit their past traditions and break new grounds for the future.
Xi said he is happy to see that the Egyptian people are working hard to maintain social stability, develop the economy and better people’s livelihood.
“We believe that the people of Egypt, with their diligence and wisdom, can surely overcome difficulties and challenges, and continue to make progress in realizing the Egyptian dream of building a strong country in which people are better off,” he said.
To welcome the first visit of a Chinese president in 12 years, Egypt sent eight fighter jets to escort Xi’s plane when it entered the country’s airspace, and Sisi was also at the airport to welcome Xi.
When meeting with Sisi in the evening at Abdeen Palace, the main workplace of the Egyptian president, Xi also voiced China’s support to Egypt’s greater role in regional and international affairs.
WARM RESPONSE
Sisi told Xi that Egypt admires China’s development achievements and is eager to learn from China’s experience in many aspects.
Ismail also said Egypt cherishes its traditional friendship with China and will bolster cooperation with China in various fields.
Egypt supports the Belt and Road Initiative, will actively participate in the cooperation within such framework and become a corridor connecting trade between China and Europe, the prime minister added.
Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency reported that the country’s cabinet spoke highly of Xi’s highly-anticipated visit, saying it reflected the deeply-rooted relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the country’s official Al-Ahram newspaper in a special report of 20 pages on Wednesday recalled the historical moments in bilateral relations, and expected China and Egypt to sign an array of cooperative documents in such areas as small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture, tourism, electricity and education during Xi’s visit.  Enditem

Source  Xinhua

Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Sri Lankan PM announces to go ahead with China-funded Port City project

COLOMBO, Jan. 21 (Greenpost) — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced that his government will go ahead with a multi billion U.S. dollar port city project in the capital funded by China after it was suspended earlier last year.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wickremesinghe said that his government also invited Chinese investors to Sri Lanka.
When asked by the media about China’s role in Sri Lanka’s development, Wickremesinghe noted that China is one of the largest economic powers in the world, and within Sri Lanka, there is a large number of projects in infrastructure development which were funded by the Chinese government.
“So we are going ahead with many of those projects including the Port City, the further development of the Hambantota Harbour. But we’ve also said we would like to see Chinese investments,” the prime minister said.
He further said that infrastructure development alone is not sufficient and that his government is now discussing of bringing in Chinese investments into Sri Lanka.
“I think the Chinese government has also decided that some of its manufacturing industries should move out and Sri Lankan seems to be one of the locations for their industries to move out,” he said.
“We are looking at the Chinese participation in the logistics hub of Sri Lanka as well as further investments in the real-estate sector.”
The 1.4 billion dollar mega port city project is Sri Lanka’s largest foreign investment and is set to attract millions of dollars as investments upon its completion.
The project was suspended by the Sirisena administration in March due to a review on its agreement and some other aspects of the project, but the government has now said that project will resume by February.
The government has already said that it will include the project in its megapolis development plan in order to develop the capital Colombo. Enditem

Source  Xinhua

 

Beijing reports 6.9-pct GDP growth in 2015

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Greenpost) — Beijing’s GDP growth was 6.9 percent in 2015 and it will maintain steady growth for the next year, the statistics bureau announced Thursday.
Beijing’s GDP was about 2.29 trillion yuan (about 350 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015 and its growth was 0.4 percent lower than in 2014.
“Although growth is among the slowest posted during the last five years, Beijing’s economy has maintained quality growth, with growth in company revenue, people’s income, tax revenue and improvement of the environment,” said Xia Qinfang, spokesperson with the bureau.
The service industry has seen particularly fast growth, at 23.8 percent from January to November. The finance, information, science and technology sectors have seen double digit growth, statistics show.
Per capita disposable income for Beijing residents was 48,458 yuan in 2015, up 8.9 percent year on year.
In the next year, Beijing will continue to face a complex economic situation, Xia said, and the coming period will be critical for Beijing’s economic restructuring. It faces grand tasks to address urban ills and push forward the relocation plans to Tianjin and Hebei.
Nevertheless, Beijing will maintain steady development for the next year, Xia said. Enditem

China ranks first worldwide in PV power capacity

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Greenpost) — China overtook Germany in 2015 to become the world’s number one in terms of photovoltaic (PV) power capacity, official data showed on Thursday.
China added 15 gigawatts of PV power capacity last year, a 40 percent rise year on year, bringing the total capacity to 43 gigawatts, according to China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA).
Many PV companies began to turn a profit last year thanks to the government’s positive stance on green and innovative energy production and investment, said CPIA secretary general Wang Bohua.
Wang said the areas of technology research and development, and company financing needed more attention, and 2016 will see policies related to PV power grid connection and subsidies.
By the end of 2020, China aims to increase non-fossil energy to 15 percent of total primary energy consumption, and sharply enhance the ratio of renewable energy in production, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).
NEA predicts that China’s PV power capacity will hit 150 gigawatts by 2020.  Enditem

Source  Xinhua

 

 

Chinese Students in Sweden Celebrates Year of Monkey

Click to see the next picture

Peking Opera is one of the most welcomed program during the Chinese Students’ celebration of Chinese Year of Monkey in Stockholm on Sunday. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Chen Xuefei]

Chinese students at universities across Sweden have been marking the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year with a special concert in the grand surroundings of the Karolinska Hall in Stockholm, which is normally the home to Nobel prize presentations.

The Year of the Monkey officially gets underway on February 8th.

CRI’s Chen Xuefei reports from Stockholm.
“Recalling the past year which marked the 65th anniversary of establishment of Sino-Swedish relations, we felt quite relieved that a lot of important events took place. Chinese navy ships held a voyage to Sweden and we are very proud that Chinese scientist Tu Youyou has won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Academic circles have celebrated the event and a lot of seminars have been held to encourage students to go back to China to create their own business.”Speaking at the opening of the celebration, Chinese Ambassador Chen Yuming says there are many treasurable achievements in the year of 2015.

Chen Yuming says the Royal Swedish Technology Institute and Karolinska Institute have signed cooperation agreements with China.

This is the eighth year that Chinese students have organized the Spring Festival celebration concert.

Education Counselor Dou Chunxiang explains why.

“The students prepared all the programs by themselves in order to learn from each other, make friends with each other, and spend the long winter together.”

About 150 students and scholars from many universities, including the Royal Swedish Business School, participated in the three hour performance.

The programs included dance, Peking Opera, folk music performances, and comic cross-talk.

The last part of the performance tells of China’s history in the fight against Japanese military fascism.

Erik Björklund, a student at Royal Swedish Technology Institute, says he enjoyed the shows very much.

“Ja, it was very nice and I like to see the performances like I think the Peking Opera right? I enjoyed it. ”

Over 1000 students and people from Chinese communities and Chinese companies attended the concert held in the Karolinska lecture hall where Tu Youyou was given her Nobel presentation in early December.

For CRI, this is Chen Xuefei reporting from Stockholm.

 

Source CRI

斯德哥尔摩中国学生学者春节联欢会在诺贝尔演讲大厅成功举办

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--1月24日在卡罗林斯卡医学院诺贝尔演讲大厅,瑞典中国学生学者春节联欢会在这个中国科学家诺奖得主屠呦呦曾经演讲的地方举办了一场令人欢欣鼓舞的春节联欢会。

DSC_6622中国驻瑞典大使陈育明出席联欢会并致开幕词。

陈大使说,回望2015年,我们一同走过的日子,心里充满了温暖和欣慰,仿如昨日的羊年春节联欢会,拉开了我们庆典中瑞建交65周年的序幕,我们满怀自豪地一同见证了我国海军编队访问瑞典的历史性时刻。屠呦呦教授荣获诺贝尔医学奖,在瑞学子学者和教授,奔走相告,举办一系列庆祝和研讨活动,广大留学人员响应祖国号召,积极投身到为国服务创新创业大潮之中。

他祝愿在瑞学子努力学习,学业有成,为祖国建设做出应有的贡献。

IMG_0086联欢会的第一个节目是新闻播报,主要报道了过去一年来中瑞之间的交往。

IMG_0305开场舞《金猴闹斯京》。然后是戏曲联唱《行云流水》体现了中国的国粹,主演郝景霞,朱瀛盈,冯昭璇和徐晓军。

IMG_0128今年的春节联欢会舞蹈比较多,有各种各样的现代舞,综合叫《花儿绽放》,由李思超,赵雨柔,邢伟涛,赵巍,李力等表演。

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中国古典舞《小城雨巷》的雨伞舞。让人感受江南女子的柔美。谢珊珊苏梦涵,白诺等表演。

IMG_0116王泽丰和白海通表演的相声《月亮哪儿的圆》对比了中瑞之间的相同与不同,幽默风趣,很受欢迎。

民乐合奏,盲人长笛演奏家吴晶也参与了演出。

《拯救大兵善林》是同学们自己编自己演的舞台剧。

 

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最后一个节目是《岁月峥嵘》,由徐晓军创作,表现了中国抗击日本法西斯侵略的历史。

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中间穿插斯京华人歌唱家李佳和杨筱音的独唱与合唱。晚会以《我的祖国》结束。

IMG_0205容纳一千多人的诺贝尔演讲大厅座无虚席,除了大部分学生以外,使馆教育参赞窦春祥,政务参赞李军峰,科技参赞程佳怡,华人总会执行主席叶沛群,华人工商联合会主席王建荣等都出席了联欢会。

IMG_0242 (1)窦春祥参赞在接受北欧绿色邮报网采访时说,春晚年年搞,年年有新意。但万变不离其中,就是给留学生搭建一个平台,在漫长的冬日里能够互相学习,互相交流,共同进步。

春晚总策划徐晓军表示今年的演出场地大大提高,演出取得成功与斯京学子的辛勤努力分不开,虽然很辛苦,但也都很开心。希望斯京的观众能够更热情一些,掌声更热烈一些, 尽管他并不在意别人怎么看。

IMG_0293 (1)主持人题解表示,这是他第二次参加春晚,虽然排练很累,但乐在其中。

瑞典皇家理工学院的埃里克在接受记者采访时说,演出非常好,尤其是京剧部分,他感觉非常好看。他是通过中国同学知道留学生春晚的。

联欢会由中国驻瑞使馆教育处主办,瑞典皇家理工学院中国学生学者联谊会,斯德哥尔摩大学中国学生学者联谊会,卡罗林斯卡医学院中国学生学者联谊会和斯德哥尔摩经济学院中国学生学者联谊会承办。

今年是第八届斯德哥尔摩中国学生学者春节联欢会,总导演是卡罗林斯卡医学院徐晓军教授的博士生石天晟。

在回答北欧绿色邮报网记者问题时,石天晟说,今年晚会感觉质量相当高,演出很成功,非常自豪和开心。感谢所有演员工作人员三个多月来的所有努力。明年一起再创辉煌。

一个瑞典战地记者的遗产--瞬间

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--瑞典战地记者马丁. 阿德勒2006年在索马里首都摩加迪沙录制一个群众集会的时候,被无名子弹打死,谋杀者至今依然不知是谁,依然逍遥法外。

DSC_6583他死了,但是,他的作品却久久地在人们脑海中挥之不去。因为他所去的地方是别人没去过的,他所记录的历史,是别人没有记录下来的。于是,瑞典新闻摄影家俱乐部在斯德哥尔摩画廊街Hornsgatan的Gallerie Kontrast画廊举办了马丁的作品展。

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他是一名战地记者,是自由撰稿人。他去过很多战争冲突的地方,例如,1991年的萨尔瓦多,1996年的阿富汗,车臣,1997年的苏丹,刚果民主共和国,卢旺达,2003年的伊拉克,2003年的利比里亚首都蒙罗维亚,总之,他去的地方,都是我们常人想要躲避的地方。

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看到这些照片,让笔者想到一位前辈同仁说的话,他离炮火很近。他离拍摄对象很近,因此让人感到他就在现场。

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他所描述的是战争的罪恶。战争让儿童参与其中,童子军。战争让女人失去丈夫。战争破坏了所有的建筑,让人无家可归。

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有时,我们感觉瑞典人同情弱者。这确实是大多数瑞典人的心态。他们愿意站在弱者的一边,替他们说话。

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这是2003年伊拉克战争期间的伊拉克战俘。它表现了战俘是如何被美国大兵对待的。

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马丁有两个女儿,大女儿Isabella已经22岁。谈起她对爸爸的印象时她说,“我感觉我的爸爸是世界上最酷的爸爸。小的时候,虽然我知道他是做什么的,但我对他的理解随着年龄的增长在不断加深。那时,他总是出差很长时间,但回来时也会给我们买可爱的礼物。我现在看了这些照片,激发我真想和他聊聊这背后的故事。我自己是学理工的,但是,我想我将来也会考虑做非常有意义的工作。我非常高兴爸爸的作品能够在这里展览。”

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这些图片都是在和马丁的夫人合作的情况下发布的。马丁的弟弟彼德说,在他的印象中,他的二哥从小就非常勇敢,非常富于冒险。

画廊CEO米亚说,这个画廊专门展示有震撼力的新闻图片,展示瑞典人比较关心的主题,他们不会展出美国大选或者是花鸟草虫。他们要展示的是纪实图片。主题大多是关于难民,灾难,战争冲突等。该展览将持续到3月1日。

地址:Hornsgatan 8, Stockholm.  Slussen下车。

编辑的话:本人作为记者也曾经在南部非洲呆过,报道过刚果金的内战和与卢旺达的纠葛。本人也报道过伊拉克战争。但是,从那时起,就转变到可持续发展问题上来了。因为笔者以为战争是可持续发展的大敌。过去10年来,大规模战争确实没有了,但局部还有,紧张气氛有时依然存在。或许这些照片可以让我们吸取一些教训。

 

 

浙江省海宁经济开发区设立驻瑞典招商联络处

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--浙江省海宁市经济开发区驻瑞典招商联络处21日在聚福园举行入住瑞典挂牌仪式。

DSC_6566出席挂牌仪式的有瑞典华人工商联合总会会长王建荣,工商联第一副会长王俞力,王永安,瑞典纳嘎市华人议员刘芳,瑞典华人餐饮服务中心主任周岳酉,中欧文化协会会长陈雪霏,副会长丹妮和前爱立信工程师计算机和通讯大数据方面双硕士何勇。

海宁经济技术开发区驻瑞典招商联络处主任曹海嘉,也是VANCY AB高新技术有限公司的总经理。在这一两年他已经成功地动员两名优秀的瑞典华人留学生到海宁落户发展。

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曹海嘉说,海宁是位于上海与杭州之间的一个县级市。海宁虽然只有66万人口。但享有“皮都潮城”的美誉,潮水和皮革是海宁的两张金名片。每年丹麦哥本哈根皮草拍卖行的貂皮几乎都是被来自海宁的商人拍走的。海宁社会经济综合发展,2015年人均国民生产总值已超10万元,位列全国百强县第29位和美国福布斯杂志评选的“中国大陆最佳县级城市”第9位。同时海宁还有独特的人文底蕴,优美的城乡风貌。

作为招商联络处主任,他的主要任务就是要把瑞典的高级人才,资金和先进技术引进到海宁,同时,也帮助海宁走进瑞典。

 

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics plenty of business opportunities for Swedes

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 21(Greenpost)—An event organized by EU-China Winter&Outdoor Sports Alliance  on Thursday focusing on networking and finding opportunities for both Swedish and Chinese upon the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

 

With the presence of many CEOs and Executives of Sports&Outdoor industry guests in Sweden and Taishan Sports Industry Group delegation, delegates exchanged ideas in Winter and Outdoor Sports opportunities.

DSC_6463Investment adviser and Executive Director of the Alliance Vanessa Folkesson made a presentation about the vision and mission of the alliance and the 300 billion RMB cross-border business opportunities to engage 300 million Chinese people to participate in winter sports and outdoor travel in EU and mainland China prior to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“How can we bring in the brands and products the Chinese have never seen and never know, how do we bring those products to China and how can we help, those are our ambition and goals to achieve, and we see a lot of opportunities in winter&outdoor sports activities, ” said Folkesson.

DSC_6467Executive Chairman of EU-China Culture & Economy Commission William Zhang Yi also said that there is great opportunity in bilateral cooperation in economic, cultural fields.

DSC_6479Four time Olympics official equipment provider Taishan Sports Industry Group’s vice Chairman Bian Qingfeng gave an introduction about his group.

“Established in 1978, Taishan is one of the largest sport products producer and supplier,” said Bian. “We are very proud that we provide equipment and products for 40 percent of the Beijing Summer Olympics Gold medals. We are very good in producing summer sport equipment , but we are still new in producing winter sport equipment, so the main purpose for us to come is to learn from you and find cooperation partners,” said Bian.

Bian said Taishan sincerely look for working partners in developing winter Olympics products.

DSC_6488Per-Erik Holmström made a presentation about Nordic Viking, Ice Hockey and Bandy playing team.

“Nordic Viking is still the best players I believe China’s lady Bandy team will win the 2022 Winter Olympics, but there will be a lot to do. I have great confidence in them,”

During the event, many Swedish sports & outdoor industries CEOs presented their products.

DSC_6562DSC_6558Ingemar Holmberg, Director of International Sales for CRAFT presented various kinds of clothes for the skier or skaters.

World famous Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson also presented how they can cooperate with Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

With the past experience, Ericsson can provide the network for people all over the world to choose to see whatever part of the Olympic Games just by clicking on the internet.

Folkesson said this was a kicking off event and they will organise another event in Beijing next month for similar purposes.

About 50 CEO and Chairpersons of Winter&Outdoor Sports related industries attended the meeting.

Bolife takes part in Stockholm Formex Exhibition

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 21(Greenpost)—Bolife, a newly established 100 percent natural dyeing technology user and brand has shown up at the Nordic largest interior design exhibition Formex Spring 2016 in Stockholm.

Bolife is the only brand developed by a Chinese company to display its product and present its technology here at the Formex exhibition.

DSC_6214As a new immigrant to Sweden, CEO Zhang Yu told Green Post that his purpose to take part in the exhibition is to let Swedish and the Europeans to recognise this brand and the Chinese green technology.

”We know that Swedish people pay great attention to sustainability and green technology. Since we now live in Sweden, we like to find a product or a technology that can fit for the Swedes. We have looked for it in Japan and South Korea, but in the end we found it in China,” said Zhang.

 

”This technology has 13 patents protected in China and no one has really made any products out of it. So we talked with the owner and developed this product for the first time within six months, and now we made it here to the last minute,” said Zhang.

Zhang explained that the technology they used is to use dyeing material from herbs and plants without adding any chemicals. Plus supersonic vibrations. There will be no need to use chemicals to make the form or soften the clothes.

DSC_6205”The natural dyeing method makes the fabric look a bit rough, but if you see the fabric is shining or too soft, it must contain some chemicals to make it like that,” said Zhang.

The natural dyeing method is very traditional Chinese method plus supersonic technology so that people can mass produce the fabric.

This will avoid the problems of being irritated in the skin or allergic for the chemicals in certain material.  So it is pure organic and natural material.

Zhang Yu stressed that they like to develop this in Sweden and Europe first and once it is recognised with the European quality standards for green product, then they can consider to have more sales in China too. They will use the Chinese dyeing technology with Swedish design and European suppliers to make 100 percent natural product for the customers.

DSC_6230Hans Krylander, consultant of  Bolife explained the uniqueness of the Bolife technology.

”This is a new method to use supersonic viberation, they only dye for 30 degrees and before they use 60 degrees, so you save a lot of energy. But the main purpose and the best thing is that you don’t need to have chemical fixation material, you can use tree material. The supersonic technology has existed for many years, but it is the first time to use it this way.  This is the first time in the world history that you can have an ecological dyeing in organic cotton, and it stays with organic fixation material as well, so it is a unique Chinese product,” Krylander said.

DSC_6362During the exhibition, they also cooperate with Swedish Handcraft Friends to present the dyeing method. The presentation also attracted a lot of attention from the visitors. They even practice dyeing themselves during the presentation.

DSC_6373

Janne Liang and Lotta Ahlvar, President of Handcraft Friends presents the natural dyeing method.  Photo by Xuefei Chen Axelsson.

Zhang Yu created a home product brand Day & Me and had opened more than 40 shops in China within a year. He felt this was not challenging enough. So now he likes to develop a completely green brand. The brand has been recognised by American SGS certification, the next step is to get the European eco product certification.

Formex is the largest interior design exhibition in Nordic region. It opens twice a year in Stockholm in January and August. Almost all the interior design companies come to participate in the exhibition.

During the exhibition, designer Lotta said the Nordic style is not just simple, it is a combination of both beautiful and useful.

Nya reformer för fler bostäder

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 16(Greenpost)–Statsminister Stefan Löfven, finansminister Magdalena Andersson och bostads-, stadsutvecklings- och IT-minister Mehmet Kaplan, debattartikel, DN Debatt, den 13 januari 2016

Regeringen kommer att under 2016 prioritera investeringar och reformer för fler jobb, förbättrade skolresultat och ökat bostadsbyggande. I dag presenterar vi inriktningen för att öka takten i bostadsbyggandet.

Vi har påbörjat ett nytt samhällsbygge. Vi investerar kraftigt i Sveriges nya jobbagenda – med infrastruktursatsningar, en ny exportstrategi och bättre tillgång till riskkapital för små och medelstora företag.

På skolområdet investerar vi i ett nytt kunskapslyft med över 50 000 nya utbildningsplatser så att fler kan ta de jobb som växer fram. I år förverkligas också vår satsning på höjda lärarlöner, mindre klasser i lågstadiet och ökat stöd till de skolor som behöver det mest.

Regeringen har tagit en rad beslut för att göra det snabbare, enklare och billigare att bygga bostäder. Vi har förkortat överklagandeprocessen, lagt fram en ny bullerförordning, satsat på energieffektiva och klimatsmarta byggnader och har inlett den största bostadssatsningen på över 20 år. Redan i år förväntas bostadsbyggandet vara det högsta sedan början av 1990-talet.

Sverige har även fortsatt behov av investeringar och strukturreformer, för att fler ska arbeta, skolresultat ska höjas och bostadsbyggandet ska öka. Det akuta krisläget i flyktingmottagandet som uppstod under hösten 2015 fotsätter att kräva stora ansträngningar av det svenska samhället. Regeringen gör det som krävs för att få till stånd en bättre fördelning av antalet flyktingar i Europa. Det kommer framöver att ställa stora krav på politiken för att de som kommit till Sverige snabbt ska komma in i samhället, kunna bidra och göra sin plikt.

Vi ska ta vara på att vi nu har ett gott ekonomiskt läge med den fjärde högsta tillväxttakten i Europa. Sedan regeringen tillträdde förra hösten har antalet människor som har ett arbete att gå till ökat med nästan 70 000. Både långtidsarbetslösheten och ungdomsarbetslösheten sjunker. Under 2015 har vi halverat budgetunderskottet. Det gör oss bättre rustade att ta itu med de utmaningar och möjligheter som nu ligger framför oss.

Boverket uppskattar behovet av nya bostäder år 2025 till över 700 000. Med den byggtakt vi har i dag kommer inte samhället att klara det behovet. I stället för att kämpa om vilken regering som står med problemen om nio år bör alla ansvarstagande partier redan nu hitta innovativa och realistiska sätt att öka människors möjlighet att flytta till ett boende som passar jobb- och familjesituation i hela landet. För att klara det behöver vi lägga politiska låsningar och konflikter åt sidan. Låt oss debattera de enskilda förslagen men vara överens om att målet är att tillgodose behovet av nya bostäder. I det arbetet är regeringen beredd att göra det som krävs.

Det finns en stor potential i ett ökat bostadsbyggande och ökad rörlighet på arbetsmarknaden både för samhället och individer. Det är en möjlighet att öka antalet jobb och minska arbetslösheten genom att fler utbildas till byggbranschen och får jobb. Det är en möjlighet för ökad tillväxt och bättre matchning med växande företag som kan rekrytera personal utanför sin egen region. Skenande bostadspriser motverkas. Samtidigt som unga kan flytta hemifrån, barnfamiljer flytta till större och äldre till ett mer anpassade boende.

Regeringen tar därför i dag initiativ till breda politiska samtal om hur vi ökar byggtakten med Moderaterna, Centerpartiet, Liberalerna, Kristdemokraterna och Vänsterpartiet. Samtalen kommer att ledas av finansminister Magdalena Andersson och bostads- och stadsutvecklingsminister Mehmet Kaplan. Regeringen ser att det inom tre områden krävs reformer och nytänkande för att öka byggandet.

1 Förenkla regelverken: korta tiden från idé till färdigt hem

Ska vi öka byggandet tillräckligt måste staten och kommunerna arbeta tillsammans. Regeringen kommer att fortsätta arbetet med att förändra plan- och byggreglerna i syfte att förenkla, främja konkurrens och korta tiden från idé till färdigt hem. Exempelvis se över om det skulle kunna gå att bygga med bara översiktsplan som grund och att ha samma överklagandemöjligheter för bygg- och rivningslov som för detaljplaner.

Regeringen är beredd att se över krav på bostadsbyggande för kommunerna. Om inte varje kommun tar ansvar för att det byggs tillräckligt för regionens och nationens behov skulle dessa krav kunna göras bindande.

2 Öka byggkapaciteten

För att avsevärt kunna öka byggtakten i Sverige behöver kapaciteten att bygga fler bostäder utökas. Regeringen vill kraftigt öka antalet utbildningar som kan ge arbetslösa möjligheter att arbeta i byggbranschen. Den svenska marknaden behöver även i större utsträckning än i dag öppnas för utländska byggbolag. Dessa ska dock självfallet arbeta under svenska villkor och svenska kollektivavtal.

En modell med typgodkända hustyper eller certifierade entreprenörer skulle kunna snabba upp och förenkla plan- och byggprocessen och samtidigt leda till en industriell utveckling av prefabhus.

Som ett komplement till de större insatserna att få fram fler bostäder vill regeringen se över om statliga bolag kan ges större möjligheter att se till att det byggs nya bostäder. Akademiska Hus bygger i dag studentbostäder och bör vara en aktuell aktör. Specialfastigheter kan vara en annan sådan aktör. Syftet skulle vara att få fram fler bostäder åt studenter, ungdomar och övriga grupper som har svårt att etablera sig på bostadsmarknaden.

Vi behöver möjliggöra bostadsbyggande på statligt ägda fastigheter genom en modell för avyttring eller upplåtelse av statligt ägda fastigheter. Regeringen är också beredd att ta ytterligare steg för att se över hur lokal infrastruktur kan planeras och finansieras i syfte att skapa attraktiv bostadsmark genom effektiva transportlösningar.

3 Finansiering och ökad rörlighet

Regeringen har infört ett investeringsstöd för hyresrätter och ekonomisk stimulans till kommuner för ökat byggande. Regeringen vill se över behovet av att komplettera investeringsstödet med nya former av hyresgarantier. Samtidigt behöver kapitalförsörjningen till mindre aktörer ses över. Om behov finns är regeringen beredd att tillföra medel till SBAB för utlåning till allmännytta, byggföretag och kommuner för nybyggnation av både hyresrätter och bostadsrätter.

Det befintliga bostadsbeståndet behöver också användas mer effektivt. Regeringen vill inom ramen för dagens samlade beskattning av bostadssektorn se över skatternas utformning för att främja ökad rörlighet på bostadsmarknaden.

För att investeringarna och strukturreformerna ska vara möjliga i dagens svåra parlamentariska läge krävs samarbetsvilja och samförstånd. Vi är beredda att fortsätta utveckla bostadspolitiken tills byggtakten möter behoven på bostadsmarknaden. Utmaningarna måste antas tillsammans – i bred samverkan med näringsliv, fackförbund, civilsamhälle, forskare och politiker på alla nivåer.

Ett hållbart samhällsbygge kräver samarbete. Därför vill vi samla Sverige för att bygga ett starkare land tillsammans.

Commentary: Time for EU to grant China market economy status

by Xinhua writer Chen Jipeng

BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — It is high time for European Union (EU) member states to grant full market economy status to China, the second largest trading partner of the 28-nation bloc.

The market economy status is relevant for Chinese exporters because it determines the way in which dumping is assessed in EU’s trade remedy cases against imports from China. With market economies, the assessment of dumping is based on a comparison of the export price and the domestic price of the product in question.

However, China’s non-market economy status is often cited so that the domestic price in China is not considered a suitable benchmark. The export price is compared with domestic price of a surrogate country.

In one of such cases, the United States was chosen as a surrogate country to assess the price levels of stainless steel from China. This is obviously unfair given the much higher labor cost in the United States and the tendency of the producers in the United States — who compete against Chinese companies — to inflate price estimates.

Fortunately, the legal basis for such an obviously unfair practice will no longer exist starting from Dec. 11 this year, under the provisions of the World Trade Organization accession protocol signed by China.

Commissioners from the EU’s 28 members will on Wednesday debate for the first time the issue of granting China full market economy status from December.

Legal experts are of the opinion that the European Union should grant China full market economy status, according to European media reports.

The non-market economy status of China, however, has often become a convenient weapon for trade protectionists. Some of the EU members have continued to be swaying over the issue to retain an unfair advantage.

Nevertheless, the undoubtedly protectionist practice is obviously out of time. Despite its existence, bilateral trade between China and the EU have been growing quickly. China is now the EU’s second largest trading partner and one of the biggest markets for the 28-member bloc. The idea of free trade and comparative advantage has been the driving force behind the phenomenal growth. Sticking to a weapon of protectionism would only increase frictions rather than help the gigantic bilateral trade.

It is known that China has built an efficient market economy to achieve remarkable growth over the decades and it is duly recognized by more than 80 countries, including Russia, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia.

A quick look at the list of the countries that the EU has recognized as market economy tells us that China deserves the market status, too.

It is advisable for some of the EU members to dump the idea of resolving to labelling one of their top trading partners as a non-market economy for a bit of protection. If history tells, it is much wiser to continue opening up and practise free trade.  Enditem