Chinese and Taiwanese delegations jointly promote trade
Feb-28-2011 By : agxadmin
Mainland Chinese Cross-Strait negotiator Chen Yunlin led a 40-member senior trade delegation to Taipei, but canceled a planned visit to Tainan in the south of the island. Chen’s trip is his fourth to Taiwan. Deputy Trade Ministers from Taiwan and the mainland agreed to set up work groups to address issues arising from the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, a trade pact signed last year by the two sides. The news was announced at the end of the first meeting of the Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) in Zhongli, Taiwan. Work groups would talk on issues such as investment protection before March 12, when a session on agreements following up the trade pact begins. The two sides agreed the next ECC meeting would be held in the second half of this year. China’s National Tourism Administration Chairman Shao Qiwei also visited Taipei for an eight-day visit to discuss opening Taiwan to individual mainland tourists. Taiwan has proposed that up to 500 mainlanders per day be allowed to visit as individuals on trips of up to 15 days. The quota would be in addition to an existing limit of 4,000 mainland tourists per day on group tours. Local media said such visits would be possible by April and initially limited to Taiwan’s offshore islands.
Exports of counterfeit products to Africa targeted
By : agxadmin
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that eight major exporting regions have been ordered to set out specific plans to crack down on the export of pirated and counterfeit products to African nations, which has the potential to harm further economic cooperation between the two sides. The Ministry is participating in a six-month campaign to combat infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR). The eight regions include Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang. The move followed a pledge by eight major Chinese export associations to prevent counterfeit products being exported to Africa. Last year, bilateral trade between China and Africa rose to a record USD126.9 billion, with Chinese investment exceeding USD1 billion. Most fake products exported were discovered in the areas of textiles, medicine, electrical appliances and food. The Beijing-based magazine Africa said data from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers
showed that counterfeit products cost Kenyan businesses more than USD650 million in 2008 alone, in addition to lost taxes totaling USD250 million, with most of these commodities made in China, the China Daily reports.
OECD welcomes internationalization of the yuan
By : agxadmin
Jose Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has “warmly welcomed” moves to internationalize the Chinese currency, but ruled out the possibility that the appreciation of the renminbi yuan will reduce the trade imbalance between China and the United States. “Quicker internationalization of the renminbi could be China’s contribution to rebuilding the global monetary order,” Gurria said. Although the Chinese government has yet to announce a roadmap for internationalization of the yuan, it has begun the process through currency swaps and by using the currency for foreign-trade settlements. The U.S. agreed to support the inclusion of the yuan in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR).
European Chamber welcomes notice on mergers and acquisitions
By : agxadmin
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) welcomed the General Office of the State Council’s issuing the “Notice of the General Office of the State Council concerning Security Review of Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors” as a step towards increased transparency regarding the merger and acquisition (M&A) procedures in China. The Notice is a positive development insofar as it clarifies the “Interim Provisions on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign investors” published in 2006, which only mentioned famous brands and strategic sectors, and adds criteria about majority or board control. Jacques de Boisséson, President of the European Chamber said, “We recognize that reviewing mergers and acquisitions is a prerogative of the Chinese government. It is a practice conducted by all major countries to ensure economic stability. However, we hope that implementation of the new approval process does not adversely affect the predictability of foreign investments in China.” According to Francois Renard, Chair of the European Chamber’s Competition Sub-Working Group, “many questions have been answered since the last draft of the Notice was circulated in June, 2010, yet it still raises certain concerns. Among these are an extremely broad definition of sectors affected by the Notice and a lack of indication as to how this process interacts with the merger control review provided for in the Anti-Monopoly Law.”
Import of gas through pipeline goes smoothly
By : agxadmin
China has imported 5.82 billion cubic meters (cu m) of natural gas through the China-Central Asia gas pipeline since it started operating in December 2009. The pipeline, one of the country’s four strategic oil and gas access points, has been operating securely and steadily since it was put into use, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said. The 1,833-km line, which runs through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China’s Xinjiang region, is the country’s first large pipeline project to transport natural gas from abroad. The pipeline has yet to operate at full capacity. The CNPC Research Institute of Economics & Technology said that China imported 4.4 billion cu m of natural gas through the pipeline in 2010. The monthly import volume will more than double in the first two months of 2011 from the average monthly level in 2010. The pipeline is designed to transport 30 billion to 40 billion cu m by 2015. The nation recorded a 15.82% annual growth of natural gas consumption from 2001 to 2009, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy published in June. China is also exploring alternative technologies. PetroChina produced 300 million cu m of coal-bed methane in 2010 and expected the output to hit 4 billion cu m by 2012. MIE Holdings Corporation, a privately owned oil and gas producer based in Jilin province, announced that it signed an agreement with Kazakhstan-based BMB Munai to purchase the latter’s oil and gas production and exploration project in Mangistau Oblast in western Kazakhstan for USD170 million, the China Daily reports.
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