China Economy Forum

[Brotherhood]

Billions to help people displaced by hydro dam - People's Daily Online March 21, 2011

The Chinese government will invest 124 billion yuan ($19 billion) during the coming 10 years on follow-up projects associated with the Three Gorges Dam, an official who was in charge of the project told China Daily.

The investment will mainly be used for infrastructure construction in the 20 counties where people were resettled following the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The money will also pay for environmental protection and natural disaster prevention, said Gao Jinbang, former deputy director of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee Executive Office under the State Council.

Gao said the State Council has agreed to the general plan. The details will be made public later this year after the final touches are added.

About 1.3 million people were displaced during the building of the dam, which comprises the world's largest water control and hydropower project. The displaced people were resettled in 20 counties close to the dam in Chongqing municipality and Hubei province.

"Despite the fact that they have settled down in new houses, they face difficult challenges associated with their changing lifestyles and the need to find work," Gao said.

The Three Gorges Project caused the flooding of large tracts of agricultural land. Most people who were displaced by the project were uneducated farmers who lost their livelihoods.

"The population density increased greatly in the area, while the amount of arable land was reduced, therefore the government has to help them learn new professions, such as work in the labor-intensive electronic industry and in tourism," said Gao.

According to the plan, about 50 billion yuan will be invested in infrastructure in the counties on such things as job training, tourism development and the construction of schools. The executive office will also help ensure investment flows to local companies.

Environmental protection and geological disaster prevention efforts will also be supported.

While he admitted that "inevitable loss was imposed on the ecology, especially because of the loss of the habitat of some aquatic animals and plants", Gao said the project had played an invaluable role in flood prevention and in the generation of electricity and said it should be evaluated as having brought more "benefits than harm".

The project is capable of generating 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

By the end of 2010, it had generated more than 440 billion kWh of electricity since it started to generate power in 2003.

However, natural disasters have loomed.

When the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir rose to its highest level of 175 meters in September 2010, 97 sections of bank collapsed and 2,000 people were evacuated, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.

"That was because the water level of the reservoir keeps changing and causes imbalance along the two sides leading to the collapses," Gao said.

"The plan emphasizes ensuring the safety of local people. However, it's a natural process and it will take about seven or eight years before balance is achieved."

Construction of the multi-functional water control system began in 1992 as part of the nation's strategy to provide energy and prevent floods and drought.

Source:China Daily

 

[CardSharp]

All great news. The navigation system is vital for our military movements to become independent of GPS, and affordable housing is exactly what we need to suppress hot money flowing from the West.

There is little to no money coming from the west (illegal I think) for this real estate bubble, it's Chinese people buying and speculating.

 

[below_freezing]

There is little to no money coming from the west (illegal I think) for this real estate bubble, it's Chinese people buying and speculating.

There is indeed money. What looks like Chinese people speculating is true, but there are also people using money made by overseas Chinese that ship it back to China and use their relatives to buy.

 

[CardSharp]

There is indeed money. What looks like Chinese people speculating is true, but there are also people using money made by overseas Chinese that ship it back to China and use their relatives to buy.

The government should make the regulations for capital control more stringent in the case of real estate speculation.

 

[Brotherhood]

China to take various approaches to boost domestic demand - People's Daily Online March 21, 2011

China will take various approaches to boost domestic consumer demand, said Zhang Ping, director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on March 20.

Zhang said during the 12th China Development Forum hosted by the Development Research Center of the State Council that China will take the expansion of domestic consumer demand as its strategic focus to boost domestic demand, continue to enable investments to play a key role in expanding domestic demand and fully develop domestic demand potential.

Currently, China's final consumption rate remains below 50 percent, fairly lower than the average international level of 70 percent. To develop consumer demand, China will take various measures, such as implementing the strategies of prioritizing employment and development in order to create more than 45 million job opportunities and transfer more than 40 million rural laborers over the next five years. China will push forward urbanization in an active and stable manner and increase the urbanization rate by four percentage points over the next five years from 48 percent to 52 percent.

Zhang pointed out that China will further reform the income distribution system, improve the social security system, increase domestic consumers' purchasing power and promote consumption in the fields of culture, tourism and construction in addition to strengthening the construction of the market circulation system and improving the consumption environment. China aims to build one of the largest domestic markets in the world.

China will give full play to the leading role of government investments, which will be mainly used in the construction of socioeconomic infrastructure, such as social housing and water conservancy facilities. In addition, the country will also encourage the development of the private sector by expanding market access for nongovernmental capital and other means.

China will further promote agricultural modernization, enhance grain supply security, and raise its grain production capacity to a stable level of more than 500 million tons. Furthermore, it will accelerate restructuring in key industries such as the equipment manufacturing industry. The government will also encourage technological innovations as well as corporate mergers and acquisitions, promote the complete integration of new technology and emerging industries and develop strategic emerging industries, such as the environmental protection and next-generation information technology industries into guiding industries.

By People's Daily Online

 

[ZhengHe]

There is indeed money. What looks like Chinese people speculating is true, but there are also people using money made by overseas Chinese that ship it back to China and use their relatives to buy.

How much do homes cost in China (in USD)?

and how much does it vary from say province to province? or even city to city?

 

[CardSharp]

and how much does it vary from say province to province? or even city to city?

It's vary a lot from place to place I'd imagine. Apartments in Beijing seems on par with prices for Toronto.

 

[ZhengHe]

It's vary a lot from place to place I'd imagine. Apartments in Beijing seems on par with prices for Toronto.

What about GuangZhou?

 

[CardSharp]

What about GuangZhou?

You'd have to ask a native or google it, I'm afraid I don't know.

 

[Brotherhood]

Largest marketplace on China-Vietnam border completed - People's Daily Online March 22, 2011

The construction of the largest marketplace on the China-Vietnam border was completed on Monday in Dongxing City in south China's Guangxi Province.

The market is located on the east bank of the Peilum River, facing the Vietnamese city of Mong Cai. It covers 51 hectares and cost 2 billion yuan (about 305 million U.S. dollars), said officials with the government of Fangchenggang City, which administers Dongxing City.

The market includes border trade wharfs, import and export channels and various commodity markets.

Mo Gongming, mayor of Fangchenggang City, said the market was built to enhance the economic and trade cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries.

In 2010, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which provides a zero tariff procedure on 90 percent of products traded between China and ASEAN member countries.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China's Xinjiang eases rules for foreign investment to boost inbound investment - People's Daily Online March 22, 2011

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will allow lower-level economic planning agencies in the region to approve foreign investments of up to 100 million U.S. dollars, local authorities said Monday.

Xinjiang's prefecture and municipal-level development and reform commissions and state-level development zone management are currently empowered to approve foreign investments of up to 30 million U.S. dollars, according to the regional development and reform commission of Xinjiang.

A spokesman for the commission said the change in the approval rule, effective this year, would "greatly simplify approval procedures and make Xinjiang's business opportunities more attractive to foreign investment".

According to government figures, Xinjiang had 2,146 foreign-invested businesses at the end of 2010, mostly in the food processing, mining, wholesale and retail, accommodation and service sectors, among others.

Last year saw increased foreign investment flow to the fields of manufacturing, power, storage, postal and transportation.

Source: Xinhua

 

[Brotherhood]

China welcomes foreign investment - People's Daily Online March 22, 2011

An investment exhibition in Tianjin. Premier Wen Jiabao promised to provide a level playing field for overseas investors on Monday. (Photo by China Daily)

Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated on Monday that China will strengthen its policy of attracting foreign investment, saying the country's development requires closer interaction with the rest of the world.

"China will only strengthen, rather than weaken, its measures of attracting foreign investment, especially in advanced technology and management experiences," Wen told a group of foreign company executives.

The audience was composed of overseas attendees to the 12th China Development Forum, an annual platform for business and academic leaders to interact with China's top decision-makers and economic policymakers.

"We hope foreign enterprises will not only set up factories in China but also build their research centers and regional headquarters in the country," he said.

Wen said he fully understood the concerns of some foreign investors, vowing to guarantee a fair playing field for foreign companies, including giving them the same treatment as local companies and effective lawful protection of intellectual property rights.

During the two-hour meeting with dozens of businessmen from renowned international companies and scholars, Wen also expressed his optimism about US, European and world economic prospects.

The United States has met setbacks in the financial crisis, but it still has strong technological strength thanks to rich human resources, Wen said.

"A powerful, balanced and sustainable recovery of the United States is to be expected soon with a stable and appropriate policy," he said.

Noting that China is not only a major exporter to the world, but also an important importer, Wen urged the United States to ease high-tech export restrictions to China, which will reduce its trade deficit with the nation.

The premier noted that it is important to solve the imbalance in Sino-US trade, with China having a trade surplus with the US.

"If the United States opens its market to China, we can import a tremendous amount of US-made products," Wen said.

He said Chinese enterprises also want to go to the United States for investment, hoping the country will further open its market to Chinese enterprises.

"I would like to take a cooperative approach to eliminate the contradiction between us," Wen added.

The premier also had a meeting with a delegation of US business leaders and former government officials last week, the first group of foreign guests he met with after the country's annual session of the National People's Congress.

China posted a trade deficit of $7.3 billion, the biggest amount for seven years,in February.

Its exports grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year to $96.74 billionwhile imports rose by 19.4 percent to $104.4 billion.

The growth in exports slowed sharply from the 38 percent year-on-year rise in January, leading to China's first trade deficit since March last year and the biggest since February 2004.

The country's inbound foreign direct investment accelerated in February by 32.2 percent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Source: China Daily

 

[Brotherhood]

Hopes are high for domestic GPS system - People's Daily Online March 22, 2011

China's car owners are likely to start using a homegrown global positioning system next year, senior space technology experts said at the weekend.

Liu Jingnan, from the Chinese Academy of Engineering who is a specialist in GPS technology, said at a conference in Beijing that the country's own satellite navigation system, Beidou, will start to offer a GPS service aimed at drivers in 2012, according to a Beijing News report on Monday.

It was the first time the Beidou project has been connected with a grassroots civilian use and an alternative to the currently dominant United States GPS navigation system.

"We estimate the price of navigation chips through Beidou will not exceed those of US GPS," Liu was quoted in the report as saying. He said each chip will likely be sold for around 100 yuan ($15).

"It will create a huge market if Chinese people can use the country's own system," said Yang Yuanxi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Currently, the Beidou system is mainly used for military navigation and to monitor agriculture and the fisheries, as well as for large engineering projects.

Although the country hopes to commercialize the Beidou project so it can compete with foreign systems, industry insiders took the experts' comments with a pinch of salt.

Xiao Xiongbing, deputy director of the consultation office with China's Association of Global Navigating Satellite Systems, told China Daily it is unlikely that the price of chips will be as low as Liu hopes without government subsidies.

He also cast doubt on the system's technological capabilities, saying more tests will be needed to prove the reliability of GPS devices that use the system.

China began work on the Beidou Navigation System in 2000. Last year, the country sent five Beidou satellites into orbit. The launches were part of the plan to have 12 satellites in place to form a network that covers the Asia-Pacific region by 2012. A global network is expected to be completed in 2020.

Guo Rui contributed to this story.

Source: China Daily

 

[below_freezing]

China welcomes foreign investment - People's Daily Online March 22, 2011

An investment exhibition in Tianjin. Premier Wen Jiabao promised to provide a level playing field for overseas investors on Monday. (Photo by China Daily)

Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated on Monday that China will strengthen its policy of attracting foreign investment, saying the country's development requires closer interaction with the rest of the world.

"China will only strengthen, rather than weaken, its measures of attracting foreign investment, especially in advanced technology and management experiences," Wen told a group of foreign company executives.

The audience was composed of overseas attendees to the 12th China Development Forum, an annual platform for business and academic leaders to interact with China's top decision-makers and economic policymakers.

"We hope foreign enterprises will not only set up factories in China but also build their research centers and regional headquarters in the country," he said.

Wen said he fully understood the concerns of some foreign investors, vowing to guarantee a fair playing field for foreign companies, including giving them the same treatment as local companies and effective lawful protection of intellectual property rights.

During the two-hour meeting with dozens of businessmen from renowned international companies and scholars, Wen also expressed his optimism about US, European and world economic prospects.

The United States has met setbacks in the financial crisis, but it still has strong technological strength thanks to rich human resources, Wen said.

"A powerful, balanced and sustainable recovery of the United States is to be expected soon with a stable and appropriate policy," he said.

Noting that China is not only a major exporter to the world, but also an important importer, Wen urged the United States to ease high-tech export restrictions to China, which will reduce its trade deficit with the nation.

The premier noted that it is important to solve the imbalance in Sino-US trade, with China having a trade surplus with the US.

"If the United States opens its market to China, we can import a tremendous amount of US-made products," Wen said.

He said Chinese enterprises also want to go to the United States for investment, hoping the country will further open its market to Chinese enterprises.

"I would like to take a cooperative approach to eliminate the contradiction between us," Wen added.

The premier also had a meeting with a delegation of US business leaders and former government officials last week, the first group of foreign guests he met with after the country's annual session of the National People's Congress.

China posted a trade deficit of $7.3 billion, the biggest amount for seven years,in February.

Its exports grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year to $96.74 billionwhile imports rose by 19.4 percent to $104.4 billion.

The growth in exports slowed sharply from the 38 percent year-on-year rise in January, leading to China's first trade deficit since March last year and the biggest since February 2004.

The country's inbound foreign direct investment accelerated in February by 32.2 percent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Source: China Daily

How about provide more funding for our own scientists and engineers instead of driving them to work for the West?!

 

[casual]

How about provide more funding for our own scientists and engineers instead of driving them to work for the West?!

hey, money is money. chinese people are still poor and they welcome the jobs.