The central government has ordered coal firms to stop driving up prices and said they must honor their supply contracts with power plants in an effort to head off a power shortage.At the request of the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association has threatened to cancel the license of any company that ignores the order to stabilize prices."Coal producers must strictly implement their contract prices for 2008 and must not take advantage of the current tight supply to raise prices as they like," the association said in a circular issued yesterday.Prices should be held at around the same level as at the end of last year, the circular said.The government is also banning all coal shipments other than those to power plants.The crackdown comes as the country faces a severe power shortage. Several power plants are struggling to secure the coal they need, while others are reducing their output rather than lose money as coal prices soar.Brownouts have already hit at least 13 provinces, and at its peak last week, nationwide demand outstripped supply by nearly 70 gigawatts, the People's Daily newspaper reported yesterday.About 80 percent of China's electricity is generated by burning coal.The crackdown on unsafe mines, high global demand, which pushed up prices and the cold snap that has closed roads and downed cables have added to the problem, an official from the State regulator said.
BEIJING - China's currency, the yuan, hit a new high against the US dollar on Thursday, following an overnight key interest rate cut in the United States.The yuan, also known as the renminbi, went up 145 basis points from the previous day to a central parity rate of 7.1853 yuan to one dollar, breaking the 7.19 mark.The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut US interest rates by a bold half-percentage point as part of its efforts to shore up economic growth.The move came just eight days after the US central bank slashed rates by three quarters of a percentage point, leading the dollar to weaken against other major world currencies.The Chinese currency had appreciated against the greenback by about 12 percent since a new currency regime was imposed in July 2005 to revalue and de-peg it from the dollar.It had climbed 6.9 percent against the dollar in the past year, but some US critics say it remains undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage and resulting in the massive trade imbalance between the two countries.China was not against revaluation of the yuan, but opposed "excessively rapid" appreciation that was inappropriate to its national conditions, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said last month.Premier Wen Jiabao also said China would improve the yuan's exchange rate mechanism in a controllable and gradual manner, let the market play a bigger role in the mechanism and enhance the currency's flexibility.
Chengdu - The mention of twice-cooked pork, pickled vegetables and hot pot is guaranteed to whet the appetite of any gourmet visiting Sichuan Province.But a report released by the Sichuan provincial disease control and prevention center may make them think twice before tucking into such delicacies.According to the Report on Sichuan Residents' Nutrition and Health, around 10 million of the 87 million Sichuanese suffer from hypertension.Deng Ying, a leading official at the center, said that the problem is a result of the high levels of cholesterol in the hot pot dishes popular with local people.In addition, the average Sichuan resident's salt intake is 10 g a day, 4 g more than the amount recommended by doctors, Deng said.Li Ping, a doctor at the Sichuan No 5 Hospital in Chengdu, added: "Sichuan people like salty food. For example, pickled vegetables are a regular accompaniment to many families' meals."The latest investigation into the causes of death of Sichuan people, conducted two years ago, showed that chronic lung, cerebrovascular and heart diseases are the biggest culprits."Cerebrovascular and heart diseases are related to hypertension. If high blood pressure is not effectively controlled, it can result in cerebrovascular and heart problems," Deng said.The center's investigation also found that about 2.5 million people in Sichuan are diabetic."The higher a family's income, the higher the incidence of diabetes," Deng said.She attributed the problem to a change in diet. "Most people like eating meat rather than potatoes," she said.According to an investigation in 1992, the average Sichuan person ate 186 g of potatoes a day. But the daily intake has now dropped to 73.9 g, while the daily intake of meat has risen from 63.8 g in 1992 to 91.6 g.The average national meat intake is 78.6 g a day, Deng said.Many hypertension and diabetes sufferers are elderly urban residents."Older people know less about the right way to eat. They usually consider meat as good food," said Huang Suzhen, a chef in Chengdu.But the provincial disease control and prevention center found that most people below 40 are indifferent to the idea of changing their eating habits to prevent chronic diseases. Almost all those who consider chronic diseases problematic are above 50 and have already contracted such diseases."Many young people do not care about the right diet. They think they will be healthier if they eat more meat," Huang said.According to Deng, many young people did not know they were suffering from hypertension when the center conducted the investigation.Deng suggested people eat more potatoes, fruit and vegetables, take a proper amount of meat, milk and eggs, take less salt and quit smoking. "Taking more exercise is also important," she said.The investigation by Deng's center is the largest probe into the province's nutrition and health situation.The study, launched five years ago, is part of the fourth national nutrition and health investigation sponsored by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Bureau of Statistics.
In the latest move by some countries to construct new embassies or give their missions in Beijing a makeover, the Australian embassy will spend million refurbishing its already elegant building, the Australian ambassador announced Tuesday.The refurbishment will cover much of the embassy's high-traffic areas and incorporate all four levels of the Chancery building.A new 2,500-sq m annex building will also be constructed on the site, the ambassador added.The project will begin immediately after the 2008 Olympics and is scheduled for completion in 2010.Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, said the number of embassy staff had increased to 190 resident Australian diplomats and their families and 120 Chinese staff.He recalled there were about 32 Australian staff and 60 Chinese employees when construction of the embassy was completed in 1992, making it one of more iconic buildings in Beijing."The Australian embassy in China is one of our biggest embassies in the world," Raby said.It is a sign that Australia attaches more importance to its relations with China, the ambassador said.Woods Bagot, a global studio specializing design and consulting that operates in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, will implement the project with Chinese local design institute UAD and multinational engineers Arup."The (Australian) government demanded new thinking for a new diplomatic era in China," Jason Marriott, managing principal of Woods Bagot, said.The Australian embassy is located in the second diplomatic neighborhood on Dongzhimenwai Street.The first diplomatic neighborhood is near Jianguomenwai and a third one is north to Liangmahe.The United States has plans for a new embassy project in the third diplomatic neighborhood after Republic of Korea and Malaysia finish their new buildings.Wang Fan, a researcher of international relations with China Foreign Affairs University, said the embassy building and renovation boom symbolized how important China was to foreign countries' diplomatic strategies.
WASHINGTON -- The special US envoy on Sudan affairs said Wednesday that important progress has been made toward peace talks on Darfur and China plays a "constructive" role in facilitating such progress."I am very happy with the role the Chinese are playing," Andrew Natsios said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank."It is a constructive role," Natsios said. "I think the Chinese are like a locomotive that is speeding up."With mediation by China, he said, the Sudanese government has accepted a UN Security Council resolution adopted in July to authorize a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force for the Darfur region.He said the major obstacles to the peace talks now come from the rebel groups rather than the Sudanese government.In a related development, China's Special Representative on African Affairs Liu Guijin said in Beijing on Tuesday that China will send a military liaison officer to Sudan's Darfur.Liu, who has just wrapped up a seven-day visit to the United States and the United Nations, said China has informed the UN of its decision.China also pledged to send a 315-member multi-functional engineering unit to Darfur in early October, which would be the first batch of UN-AU peacekeepers in place, and China will stick to its commitment, Liu said.Liu reiterated China's constructive and unique role in finding a solution to the Darfur issue, saying China has provided much aid and help with regard to the reconstruction and development of Darfur."The US and UN both hold positive views on China's role in resolving the Darfur issue, and hope China will play a bigger role in this regard," said Liu.
China is tightening its grip once more on foreign investors in Chinese real estate, banning them from borrowing offshore in the latest effort to tame property prices and cool the economy. The new rule, set out in a circular from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange , could squeeze foreign investors who take advantage of lower interest rates outside China. Some may find it especially difficult to fund projects as Beijing has told its banks to cut back on loans for the construction industry. The central bank ordered Chinese banks to stop lending for land purchases as far back as 2003. "The only alternative is to fund the entire equity," said Andrew McGinty, a partner at the law firm Lovells in Shanghai. "But that's not a very favoured method, because your internal return on investment goes down dramatically." Property funds operating in China tend to borrow to fund at least 50 percent of a project's value. The circular, which the currency regulator sent to its local branches in early July but has not yet published on its Web site, also increases red-tape for foreign property investors. Investors seeking to bring capital into China to set up a real estate company must now lodge documents with the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing -- not just with local branches of the ministry, according to the new circular with de facto effect from June 1. That process could take a month or more, said an official at the Ministry of Commerce, declining to be identified. "What we mean is very clear: First we are targeting foreign real estate firms that are illegally approved by local governments," a SAFE official said. McGinty said the new rule would reduce foreign investment in the real estate sector, but the real impact would depend on how it is enforced. UNCERTAIN IMPACT China has applied a raft of measures to rein in property investment, including interest rate rises and rules to discourage construction of luxury homes. Some steps have specifically targeted foreign investors, who account for less than 5 percent of total investment in the property sector. Foreign investors must now secure land purchases before setting up joint ventures or wholly owned foreign enterprises in China. However, funds such as those run by ING Real Estate, Morgan Stanley , Hong Kong's Sun Hung Kai Properties , Henderson Land Development and Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd. are pouring more money than ever into China to tap a middle class hunger for new homes and rising capital values. China's urban property inflation rose to 7.1 percent in June, compared with a year earlier, from 6.4 percent in May. McGinty said some foreign investors may eventually quit China for more interesting markets if an inability to employ leverage reduces their internal rate of return. However, others said they would stay on. "We are not too worried about it. Cooling measures won't stay forever," said Robert Lie, Asia chief executive for ING Real Estate, which has raised a 0 million fund to build housing in China. ING Real Estate borrows locally, partly to hedge its currency risk. Most other foreign investors in China do the same. Some foreign property firms that have been in China for many years have strong connections with local lenders -- Chinese banks as well as international banks incorporated in China. "There is still strong interest in China, although there will be some form of slowdown in the number of transactions," said Grey Hyland, head of investment at Jones Lang LaSalle in Shanghai. He said the new approval rules would further dampen the ability of foreigners to compete with local rivals. "It's still early to say how, because these rules are still very new and being tested," Hyland said. One consequence, he added, could be to drive foreign property investors inland to second- and third-tier cities that the authorities are eager to develop and where approval is therefore easier to obtain.
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GENEVA -- China has reached understanding with the United States and Mexico on their alleged trade subsidy measures, sparing a WTO panel ruling on the case, the Chinese WTO mission said here on Thursday.Chinese Ambassador Sun Zhenyu signed respective memorandums of understanding with his US and Mexican counterparts "regarding certain measures granting refunds, reductions or exemptions from taxes or other payments" at the WTO headquarters on Thursday, the mission said in a statement.In the MOUs, China made it clear to the United States and Mexico that "the policy of exemption for certain foreign-invested enterprises from payments to the State for worker allowances is no longer operative."Besides, the policy of value-added tax (VAT) refund to enterprises for the purchase of domestically produced equipment does not constitute prohibited subsidies as provided by relevant provisions of WTO agreements."Other preferential policies on income tax pertinent to the disputes have been repealed or will be repealed along with the implementation of the new Enterprise Income Tax Law of China," the statement added.According to the Chinese mission, the MOUs will be notified to the WTO as mutually acceptable solutions to the above-mentioned dispute in accordance with the Dispute Settlement Understanding of the world trade body.The United States filed the case to the WTO in February and later was joined by Mexico. The two countries alleged that China was using tax breaks and other incentives to "subsidize" its exports, which might violate WTO regulations.A WTO panel was established in August to investigate the case, following failed consultations between the three sides.But the three sides finally reached understanding on the dispute through continued discussions.
Investors monitor the movement of stock prices at a brokerage firm in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province May 9, 2007. [newsphoto]China's main stock index hit a fresh all-time high after breaking a key barrier of 4,000 points due to the soaring blue chip stocks as investors shrugged off official warnings of a possible market bubble amid soaring corporate profits. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, the most widely watched indicator of the mainland's stock market, gained 1.60 percent to end at 4,013.08 points, breaching the psychologically important mark of 4,000 for the first time. That marks a gain of 50 percent so far this year on top of a 130 percent rally in 2006. Blue chip stocks showed strong performances. China Unicom, the nation's second largest wireless operator, jumped its daily limit of 10 percent to close at 6.35 yuan per share. Bank of China rose 7.77 percent to 6.10 yuan, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was up 5.47 percent to 5.78 yuan. The surge came after the Shanghai Composite Index was pushed to a new high in the previous session as new investor cash flooded in after the week-long May Day market recess and China's yuan broke the barrier of 7.70 against the US dollar. The consistent hitting of new highs since January was partly driven by the wave of money brought in by new investors. Some 4.787 million new A-share trading accounts were opened in April, more than the combined number of the previous two years, statistics from China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation. The figures for the new accounts are considered a rough indicator for the number of new individual investors entering the market. Analysts said the market may undergo drastic fluctation after the index breaks the 4,000 point mark, as worries about stock overvaluations build up. The stocks in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets are trading at more than 40 times earnings per share on average, much higher than developed markets overseas. The growing bubble in the country's stock market is a concern, said central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan last week, adding he would closely monitor asset prices, the consumer price index and producer price index. Zhou's remarks added to speculation there could be an interest rate hike as early as next month. Xie Guozhong, former chief China economist for Morgan Stanley, suggested regulators should come up with certain policies to put the brakes on the surging stock market for the good of long-term economic development and social stability. "China's equity market is starting to show signs of getting out of control," said Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist of China Galaxy Securities in China Securities Journal on Wednesday The market rose even after the interest rate was hiked in March, and the bank reserve ratio was raised in April, said Zuo. "The neglect of policy and blindly pushing up the equity market fosters a big market risk," he claimed.
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is imposing further trade sanctions against China, South Korea and Indonesia in a dispute involving glossy paper. The decision, announced Wednesday by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, came a week after US and Chinese officials met for a second round of high-level talks aimed at lowering trade tensions between the two nations. "This administration continues to aggressively and transparently enforce our trade laws to ensure a level playing field for American manufacturers, workers and farmer," Gutierrez said in a statement announcing the decision. In the new ruling, the government determined that imports from the three countries of glossy paper - used in art books, textbooks and high-end magazines - were being sold in the United States at less than fair value, a process known as dumping. The dumping penalties will be collected immediately although they will not become final until this fall after further investigations are conducted. The preliminary dumping penalty for the paper products from China ranged from 23.19 percent to 99.65 percent. The dumping penalty imposed on imports of glossy paper from Indonesia was 10.85 percent while the penalty on South Korean imports ranged as high as 30.86 percent. These dumping penalties will be imposed on top of economic sanctions levied in March after the administration found that paper companies from those three countries were receiving improper government subsidies that allowed them to undercut the price of American producers. The March decision reversed 23 years of US trade policy by treating China, which is classified as a nonmarket economy, in the same way other US trading partners are treated in disputes involving government subsidies. The paper case was brought by NewPage Corp., a Dayton, Ohio-based paper company which contended that its coated paper was facing unfair competition because of the government subsidies and sale of imports at unfairly low prices. The government trade sanctions have received the support of the United Steel Workers union, which represents about 90 percent of the workforce in the US coated paper industry. The glossy paper is produced at 22 paper mills in 13 states. The penalties in the case involving government subsidies are known as countervailing duties. In that case, the trade sanctions ranged as high as 20.35 percent for Chinese glossy paper imports, 1.76 percent for South Korean imports and 21.24 percent for Indonesia. Chinese officials denounced the decision in the government subsidies case saying that it went against the consensus of both countries to resolve disputes through dialogue rather than imposing trade sanctions. The second round of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which was launched by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in December, was held in Washington last week. Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi announced a series of modest agreements including the boosting of airline flights between the two nations. But they failed to make progress in one of the biggest rade irritants, the value of China's currency, which American manufacturers contended is being kept artificially low against the dollar to give Chinese companies unfair advantages against US firms.
KUNMING -- A gas blast in a private coal mine has killed at least seven miners and injured five in southwest China's Yunnan Province, sources with the local government said Saturday.The blast occurred around 6:00 a.m. Saturday in the Shunxing Coal Mine in Fuyuan Township of Qujing City, in eastern Yunnan. Twenty-seven miners were working underground, and fourteen people managed to escape.More than 400 rescuers struggled to pull out seven bodies and five miners alive. One miner remains missing.The injured workers are being treated in a local hospital.The coal mine, which was built in 1984 with a designed production capacity of 90,000 tons, had been ordered to suspend operation and go through renovation after county coal mine administration staffs inspected the mine on Friday, but coal mine managers secretly organized the miners to work in the night.Local officials are investigating into the cause of the accident.