China Weekly

December 21, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:10:53 +0900

Politics

A cluster of cities in the central China province of Hunan has been designated the country's first experimental zone for energy-saving and environment programs according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The cities of Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, and Wuhan were chosen because they are part of China's industrial heartland, and a lack of resources and environmental pollution have impeded their development.

Whatever the outcome of UN-led climate talks in Indonesia, China will stick to its energy-saving and pollution control program. Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said the government had commissioned a manual on ways to cut emissions and save energy as part of its efforts to transform the everyday lives of Chinese people. If every Chinese person took one hour a day to follow the suggestions of the manual, Xie said, the country would save the energy equivalent of 200 million tons of coal a year, or 450 million tons in carbon emissions.

December 21, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:10:20 +0900

Economics

The multinational chemical firm DuPont has been given the go-ahead to build a chemical plant in Shandong Province. The project, in the city of Dongying, which had overwhelming support from local officials, will bring 500 million yuan (US$67.7 million) tax revenue and 600 new jobs for the area. But environmentalists say the plant is based on an energy-intensive, highly polluting production method and warn the plant will pump potentially hazardous waste thousands of meters beneath the Yellow River delta.

Overseas banks have seen their business steadily expanding in China since last December, when the country fully opened its banking sector to foreign competitors, a senior official with the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said Tuesday. Total assets of overseas banks in China had hit 153.9 billion US dollars by the end of October, up 41 percent from the same month last year. By the end of October, more than 90 overseas banks had operations on the Chinese mainland, running about 230 branches. In addition, there were three joint-venture banks.

December 21, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:09:46 +0900

Social Affairs

The east China coastal province of Shandong hopes to replenish rapidly depleting fish stocks by expanding artificial reefs from 5.5 to 30 square kilometres over the next three years. In the past four decades, fish stocks have plummeted because of pollution and over-fishing along the east China coast. The first reefs were laid two years ago, leading harvests to rise by 225 tons.

China will pull thousands of pesticides from the shelves to help improve food safety, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Chinese farmers are often bewildered by the country's under-regulated pesticides market, with some 23,000 products sold under 16,000 names. Right now there are more than 1,700 in common use, but there is a kaleidoscope of product names that a lot of people don't know.

December 21, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:09:11 +0900

Energy

Ruqigou Coal Field in northwest China's Ningxia was blasted with 5,400 tons of dynamite on Thursday as mining operators began to mine high-quality, but low-polluting, Taixi coal, known as "black gold." The blast, the largest such operation to be carried out in China for more than a decade, will enable the opencast mining of about 14 million tons of Taixi coal. Taixi coal is reputed for its high carbon content and burns with a clean flame. Only Hongji coal of Vietnam can compare favorably to it.

The China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country's biggest oil and gas producer, signed a 30-year contract with US Chevron Corp. to jointly develop a large gas field in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The 1,969-square-kilometer gas field, located in the northeastern part of Sichuan, has proven reserves of 175.97 billion cubic meters, making the CNPC-Chevron cooperation China's largest inland exploration project participated in by a foreign explorer.

China announced Tuesday the setting up of a national oil reserve center, confirmed by the National Development and Reform Commission. The center, the administrative body of the country's national oil reserve system, takes the responsibility of building and making use of the country's strategic oil reserves, the commission said in a statement. The center will also keep an eye on the movement of demand and supply of both domestic and international oil markets. The commission said the country has decided to establish four strategic oil reserve bases, in Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo, and Zhoushan. All of them are on the coast. The first one in Ningbo, eastern China's Zhejiang Province, has already started to stock up on oil.

China and the United States, two of the world's largest consumers of oil, have agreed to cooperate on the use of their strategic petroleum reserves. The US and China agreed to strengthen cooperation on construction and management of strategic oil stocks. Coordinated use of strategic petroleum reserves increases energy security for net oil-importing countries during times of significant supply disruption.

December 21, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:08:33 +0900

Other Issues

China is drafting new standards on animal slaughter to make the practice more humane. The central China province of Henan has already adopted the measures, which include stunning the animals before killing them, and herding pigs with plastic prods instead of electric ones. China has been criticized by animal-welfare groups for its treatment of animals, including bears farmed for their bile and dogs for their meat.

December 14, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:04:45 +0900

Politics

Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has proposed to Chinese premier Wen Jiabao that Australia act as a bridge between China and the West on the issue of climate change. Rudd, who speaks fluent Chinese, made the offer during a 20-minute telephone conversation after Wen called to congratulate him on his decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse-gas emissions. Wen had sought Rudd's cooperation in future climate change talks, the Australian national newspaper reported.

The Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Wednesday formally released the new government procurement list covering 33 types of energy-saving products, 15 more than the previous list. Among the new products were rice cookers, washing machines, DVD players, induction cookers, water coolers, projectors, gas heaters, power switches, cooking utensils, and shower rooms. The Government Purchase Law took effect on January 1, 2003. In the nearly five years since, official statistics show, about 5.1 billion yuan (692 million US dollars) was saved in government procurement costs.

December 14, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:04:09 +0900

Economics

China and the United States have agreed upon specific steps for foreign companies to enter China's financial service industry following two-day high-level economic dialogues. China said it would complete a study of foreign equity participation in the banking sector by the end of 2008 and make relevant policy recommendations. Foreign-invested companies, including banks, will be allowed to issue RMB-denominated stocks and bonds, while mutual funds administered by Chinese banks will be allowed to invest in the US stock market, according to a statement from the US government.

China's retail sales hit their highest level in nearly 11 years in November, rising 18.8 percent above the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Wednesday. The November figure was also higher than the 18.1 percent recorded for October, a time which included the "golden week" holiday when people tend to make more purchases. Analysts said recent price increases and continued negative real interest rates were behind the accelerated retail sales growth.

December 14, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:03:35 +0900

Social Affairs

Chinese police have detained 33 people after a mine blast that killed at least 105 people in Shanxi Province. The 33 are alleged to be responsible for the fatal gas explosion that ripped through the village-run Xinyao Coal Mine on Wednesday night. China's Ministry of Public Security issued an arrest warrant for the owner and manager of the mine, located in Hongtong county, Linfen city. The authorities said they believed the colliery managers delayed in reporting the accident while they tried to mount their own rescue operations, which meant that a crucial opportunity to rescue trapped miners was missed and casualties probably increased.

An environmental assessment of Xiamen's plans to build a plant to make paraxylene, also known as PX, a petrochemical used in polyester and fabrics, is complete and the public has ten days to submit opinions, the Xiamen city government said on its website. The local government and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, which conducted the assessment, would "go through all channels to broadly listen to citizens' opinions and suggestions about the environmental assessment report." Notices on the Xiamen website also advised citizens to go online or to a local library to learn more about the assessment.

December 14, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:03:01 +0900

Energy

China's environment watchdog is waiting to assess the ecological impact of a controversial nuclear plant in east China's Shandong province, but denies earlier reports that it opposed the project. The Rushan project, which is planned for the coastal city of Weihai, has triggered protests in the past from local residents, who claim it is sited too near the beach, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches in China.

China Guodian Corp., one of the nation's five leading power producers, has launched its first nuclear project in East China's Fujian Province. Several 1,000-megawatt generating units are planned for the plant. Third-generation nuclear power technology AP1000 from Westinghouse will be used. China has chosen the AP1000 technology for the country's four nuclear power reactors, two in Sanmen in Zhejiang and two in Haiyang in Shandong.

Sinopec, one of China's leading oil producers, announced it would import more refined oil from abroad while trying hard to increase production so as to ease the shortage at home. The company plans to import 500,000 tons of diesel oil in January 2008. In November it bought 287,000 tons of diesel from abroad, and the figure will rise to 423,000 tons for December.

The China Electricity Council (CEC), an organization representing the country's power industry, has recently submitted a proposal to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to raise electricity prices next year. The proposal said major coal enterprises in coal-rich provinces have issued a notice that new contracts for electricity coal in 2008 will include a price rise of more than 30 yuan (4.05 US dollars) a ton. This would result in a sharp increase in electricity costs.

December 14, 2007

(chinaweekly) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:02:24 +0900

Other Issues

Foreign athletes famished for Chinese food may find their appetites are not satisfied in the Olympic Village during next year's games, according to a menu distributed by the organizer. Asian-style food, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dishes would together account for 30 percent of the menu designed for athletes in the Olympic Village. Western food will comprise most of the menu.