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China's forex reserves rise to $4 trln

China's foreign exchange reserves have risen to around 4 trillion U.S. dollars, said a foreign exchange official on Thursday.

"China is trying to make good use of the mounting deposit," said Guan Tao, head of the balance of payment department under the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in an online interview on the Chinese government website, 中华人民共和国中央人民政府门户网站

The figure was up from 3.95 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of March, and was more than triple the amount for Japan, the world's second largest holder of forex reserves, according to the administration.

Guan said from 2001 to 2013, China's forex reserves grew by 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, while the country's current account surplus and capital inflow through direct investment together totaled 3.8 trillion U.S. dollars.

This indicates that China's forex reserve surge is mainly a result of real economic activities instead of hot capital inflows, Guan said.

The official said it is necessary to upgrade China's growth model and economic structure to balance the international payments.

"The one-sided measure of containing speculative money inflow is far from enough," said Guan.

Guan said China will also encourage companies to invest more overseas to diversify the reserve structure and offset financial risks.
 
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except football team, China is everywhere in Brazil World Cup:


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China's power consumption rose 5.2 percent in the first five months from a year earlier, official data showed on Saturday.

The Jan.-May growth figure was in line with the rate in the first four months, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

Beijing Review

China railway traffic records biggest monthly rise - Xinhua | English.news.cn

China railway traffic records biggest monthly rise
English.news.cn


BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's railways carried 199.7 million passenger trips in May, 20 percent more than they did in April, marking the biggest monthly rise this year, figures from the China Railway Corporation (CRC) showed on Thursday.

All 18 railway subsidiaries across the country reported growth in passenger traffic, with the Nanning subsidiary in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ranking the highest with a rise of 46.8 percent.

According to a CRC official, short holidays like the three-day Labor Day holiday and weekends helped the rise.

During the Labor Day holiday, which lasted from May 1st to May 3rd, the railways carried around 9.25 million passengers. Travelers made 10 million trips on May 1 alone, the highest daily volume ever.

Cargo transportation by rail, however, was not as optimistic. Over 318 million tonnes of cargo were carried by rail in May and more than 158,000 carriages were loaded daily. Although this was up 3,000 from that of April, it barely halted the downturn in the past few months.

[Thank you to Unnamed Sweeper Monk at CDF for the original post]
 
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Foreigners feel great when working in Chinese company
They say the Chinese teach them a lot of modern technologies which they never have chance to learn from West. They also say the food here is great.

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MAFTA

Multilateral Agreement for a Free Trade Alliance


I propose formation of an economic block MAFTA composed of Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Bangla Desh, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, CARs, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Venezuella, Japan, Cuba, Bolivia, Ireland, Brunei Dar as Salam and Palestinian Authority for free trade without or reduced customs duties.

A MAFTA secretariat should be formed in Istanbul or Kuala Lumpur to coordinate all the activites.

Pakistan and Afghanistan in particular can benefit from adaptation of the advanced technologies from brotherly countries. An example is the recent Metro Bus project in various cities of Punjab with the help of Turkey.

Malaysia and Indonesia are rich in Palm oil and can meet the needs of member countries. Malaysia is also ahead in technology.

Pakistan is a big exporter of Textile and Leather goods.

Brazil is an important member of BRICS group and the biggest exporter in south America.

Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela are major exporters of crude oil. Russia is also a big exporter of gas and can supply Pakistan through its purchased gas from Turkmenistan.

Japan is the technological giant of the East and is already helping Pakistan in various projects.

Cuba is known for its independent policy and is the leading voice of the leftist world and will help us in gaining more space and allies diplomatically. The Cuban doctors performed selflessly during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.

Republic of Ireland is known for its independent foreign policy on the European mainland as opposed to Britain which is always toeing the American line.

Iran has patched up its differences with America and is emerging on world stage as a mature power.

Turkey is leading the Muslim world in moderate thought, technology, foreign investment and outreach.
 
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He stressed that great efforts are crucial to realize the cooperation potential that has been provided by the growing interdependence. A key part of the solution, he asserted, is to tip the balance of mutual "perception" toward the side of cooperation instead of competition.
 
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18 June 2014

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David Cameron and Li Keqiang leave 10 Downing Street after a meeting in London on Tuesday.

United Kingdom, China sign $28 billion deals

Britain hails gas to finance pacts as Li visit ends three-year diplomatic freeze

Britain and China have signed trade deals worth over $28 billion during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday.

“Today we have signed deals worth more than $28 billion billion,” said Cameron at a joint Press conference in London.

Both sides are seeking to heal ties which were strained when Cameron met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 2012. Li’s visit confirms the end of a three-year diplomatic freeze caused by arguments over human rights and Tibet.

Earlier, Li met Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle as part of his three-day visit, which comes after Cameron’s trip last December to China.

No details were given of the agreements but British energy giant BP said earlier that it would be signing on Tuesday a deal worth around $20 billion over 20 years with Chinese state-owned peer CNOOC to supply China with liquefied natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell is also reportedly set to sign an accord with CNOOC during Li’s visit.

In addition, China’s state bank is said to be investing in the HS2 high-speed rail link between London and the Midlands and north of England.

China Minsheng Investment Corp, the country’s largest private-sector investment group, will invest $1.5 billion into industries including financial services, offshore engineering, new energy and environmental protection, and open its European headquarters in London, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said in a statement.

The UK is also aiming to begin talks on ending a 30-year-old Chinese ban on British beef and lamb exports.

Li wrote in The Times newspaper on Monday that there were “many areas for collaboration” between the two countries. He added that he was hoping for “stronger cooperation in finance, infrastructure construction, among others” and that “we look forward to win-win engagements”.

“Before I came here, we used to say when we talk about Europe: Britain, France and Germany,” Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador in London, told reporters. “But unfortunately many opportunities were missed in the past year or so — and we all know the reason behind it — so people now start talking about Germany, France and Britain.”

Business - United Kingdom, China sign $28 billion deals
 
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China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States jumped 144 percent in the first five months of this year to $2.03 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The strong growth came amid a 10.2 percent decline of China's overall FDI in 146 countries and regions in the world in the five months, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. The total of $30.8 billion in FDI was made by 2,766 Chinese companies.

A report in May by the New York-based Rhodium Group, which monitors Chinese FDI in the US, also shows a strong momentum of Chinese FDI in the US. The report said Chinese companies announced more than $8 billion worth of deals in the first quarter of this year.

In the first three months, Chinese firms spent $1.36 billion on 26 FDI transactions in the US. The number of acquisitions reached an all-time quarterly high, the report said. Healthcare, real estate and information technology are the sectors that attracted the most investment.

Karl Sauvant, a resident senior fellow at Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, said he would not place much store in data covering five months. "One relative big project, be it Greenfield or M&A, can make all the difference, especially since the basic FDI inflow data are still very low.

"However, this performance shows that the US market remains very attractive for Chinese investors, and I would expect Chinese FDI in the US to grow further," said Sauvant, editor of the book Is the US ready for FDI from China?

China still lags far behind the top 10 FDI sources in the US, which include Britain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia. The 10 nations accounted for 84 percent of FDI in the US.

But Chinese companies have been playing catch-up. They recorded a record high of $14 billion in total deals in the US in 2013, double the amount of the previous year, according to an earlier Rhodium report.

The figure was higher than the one from the Ministry of Commerce, which put the Chinese FDI in the US in 2013 at $4.23 billion, an increase of 15.9 percent over 2012. The ministry put the total stock of non-financial FDI at $15.48 billion.

The news of strong Chinese FDI growth in the US in the first five months came just a day after the Chinese embassy in Washington upgraded its website "Guide to Investing in the United States."

The website, first started in 2012, now provides the latest information regarding the investment climate, procedures, legal framework of investing in the US as well as tips for Chinese investors.

The new website, launched by the embassy's economic and commercial counselor's office, took year of preparation. It features the investment environment in each of the 50 US states.

Unlike Washington where Chinese FDI has often become political, local, city and state leaders in the US are often enthusiastic in attracting Chinese FDI to create jobs and boost their local economy.

"It's all about jobs," said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a week ago after meeting a delegation of some 100 Chinese entrepreneurs from small and medium firms coming to Virginia to seek investment and trade opportunities.

Many US states and cities, including Virginia, have opened trade and investment offices in China, mostly in Beijing and Shanghai. And their contact information is also listed on the new website.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said on the new website that Chinese FDI in the US is still in its beginning stage. Many Chinese companies lack understanding of the investment environment, laws and regulations and procedures. They hope both the Chinese and US government departments will provide more information.

"I hope this website can become a window for Chinese companies coming to invest in the US and make a contribution to China-US economic cooperation," Cui said.

China and the US agreed to enter substantive dialogue on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), a highlight of the fifth session of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in Washington last July. The sixth session of S&ED will be held in Beijing early next month.
While the US hopes the BIT will further open Chinese markets, especially in the service sector, China wants Chinese investment to have equal access and treatment in the US.

The once one-way FDI flow from US to China has been turned into a two-way street, as more Chinese companies are encouraged to explore new markets and technology. In fact, Chinese FDI in the US has exceeded US FDI in China in recent years.

Chinese FDI still encounters barriers in the US, especially from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-governmental agency that reviews FDI for national security concerns. There has been an increasing call for CFIUS to make its process more transparent.

In September 2012, US President Barack Obama signed an order for Ralls Corp, invested in by executives of China's Sanyi Corp, to divest its wind farms acquired in Oregon that are close to a naval weapons systems training facility. It was the first such order since 1990 and, as a result, Ralls executives sued Obama.

In a report in October 2012, the US House Intelligence Committee warned of the national security risks posed by two Chinese telecom equipment giants, Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

The fear-mongering of Chinese FDI has triggered strong protest from both the Chinese government and investment community.
 
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Russia’s Gazprom to Start Pipeline Construction in August for Chinese Gas Deliveries

MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s energy giant Gazprom plans to launch the construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline in August for gas deliveries to China, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

"We have a precise plan of action. All of the responsibilities have been distributed and strict timeframes have been set. Our goal is to make the first weld of the Power of Siberia [pipeline] in August," the statement quoted Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller as saying.
The Power of Siberia is a gas transmission system aimed at delivering gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutia gas production centers to Russia’s Far East and China.

Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a 30-year contract in late May for the sale of Russian gas to China at a volume of 38 billion cubic meters per year with delivery along the eastern route. The deal is estimated to be worth $400 billion. Russia is planning to invest $55 billion and China around $22 billion in the gas deal.

The gas deal requires the two partners to run additional investment projects to develop the Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye gas fields, build the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in eastern Siberia and an LNG plant in Amur Region.
 
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China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States jumped 144 percent in the first five months of this year to $2.03 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The strong growth came amid a 10.2 percent decline of China's overall FDI in 146 countries and regions in the world in the five months, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. The total of $30.8 billion in FDI was made by 2,766 Chinese companies.

A report in May by the New York-based Rhodium Group, which monitors Chinese FDI in the US, also shows a strong momentum of Chinese FDI in the US. The report said Chinese companies announced more than $8 billion worth of deals in the first quarter of this year.

In the first three months, Chinese firms spent $1.36 billion on 26 FDI transactions in the US. The number of acquisitions reached an all-time quarterly high, the report said. Healthcare, real estate and information technology are the sectors that attracted the most investment.

Karl Sauvant, a resident senior fellow at Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, said he would not place much store in data covering five months. "One relative big project, be it Greenfield or M&A, can make all the difference, especially since the basic FDI inflow data are still very low.

"However, this performance shows that the US market remains very attractive for Chinese investors, and I would expect Chinese FDI in the US to grow further," said Sauvant, editor of the book Is the US ready for FDI from China?

China still lags far behind the top 10 FDI sources in the US, which include Britain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia. The 10 nations accounted for 84 percent of FDI in the US.

But Chinese companies have been playing catch-up. They recorded a record high of $14 billion in total deals in the US in 2013, double the amount of the previous year, according to an earlier Rhodium report.

The figure was higher than the one from the Ministry of Commerce, which put the Chinese FDI in the US in 2013 at $4.23 billion, an increase of 15.9 percent over 2012. The ministry put the total stock of non-financial FDI at $15.48 billion.

The news of strong Chinese FDI growth in the US in the first five months came just a day after the Chinese embassy in Washington upgraded its website "Guide to Investing in the United States."

The website, first started in 2012, now provides the latest information regarding the investment climate, procedures, legal framework of investing in the US as well as tips for Chinese investors.

The new website, launched by the embassy's economic and commercial counselor's office, took year of preparation. It features the investment environment in each of the 50 US states.

Unlike Washington where Chinese FDI has often become political, local, city and state leaders in the US are often enthusiastic in attracting Chinese FDI to create jobs and boost their local economy.

"It's all about jobs," said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a week ago after meeting a delegation of some 100 Chinese entrepreneurs from small and medium firms coming to Virginia to seek investment and trade opportunities.

Many US states and cities, including Virginia, have opened trade and investment offices in China, mostly in Beijing and Shanghai. And their contact information is also listed on the new website.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said on the new website that Chinese FDI in the US is still in its beginning stage. Many Chinese companies lack understanding of the investment environment, laws and regulations and procedures. They hope both the Chinese and US government departments will provide more information.

"I hope this website can become a window for Chinese companies coming to invest in the US and make a contribution to China-US economic cooperation," Cui said.

China and the US agreed to enter substantive dialogue on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), a highlight of the fifth session of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in Washington last July. The sixth session of S&ED will be held in Beijing early next month.
While the US hopes the BIT will further open Chinese markets, especially in the service sector, China wants Chinese investment to have equal access and treatment in the US.

The once one-way FDI flow from US to China has been turned into a two-way street, as more Chinese companies are encouraged to explore new markets and technology. In fact, Chinese FDI in the US has exceeded US FDI in China in recent years.

Chinese FDI still encounters barriers in the US, especially from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-governmental agency that reviews FDI for national security concerns. There has been an increasing call for CFIUS to make its process more transparent.

In September 2012, US President Barack Obama signed an order for Ralls Corp, invested in by executives of China's Sanyi Corp, to divest its wind farms acquired in Oregon that are close to a naval weapons systems training facility. It was the first such order since 1990 and, as a result, Ralls executives sued Obama.

In a report in October 2012, the US House Intelligence Committee warned of the national security risks posed by two Chinese telecom equipment giants, Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

The fear-mongering of Chinese FDI has triggered strong protest from both the Chinese government and investment community.

This is just the beginning. The FDI wave that comes will begin the rebalancing between China and the US, much as it did between Japan and the US in the 1980s. A word of advice to Chinese corporations, though: stay away from Pebble Beach and Rockefeller Center.
 
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