BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- China recorded 68.02 billion U.S. dollars in foreign trade of electronics and information products in January, a growth of 19.3 percent year-on-year. Sources with the General Administration of Customs said on Saturday that the growth rate was 12.9 percentage points lower than the year-earlier level. The total trade volume included 38.29 billion U.S. dollars in export value, up 22.9 percent, and 29.73 billion dollars in import value, up 15.2 percent. The sources said the growth rate for exports was 12.8 percentage points lower than the same month of last year, while that for imports was 13 percentage points lower. Of the total exports, wholly owned foreign companies accounted for 24.94 billion U.S. dollars, or 65.1 percent, the sources added.
The weakening global economic environment will slow down growth in Asia and the Pacific, too, this year, but China, India and Japan are expected to keep up the momentum in the region, says the Economic and Social Survey of Asia-Pacific 2007. The three economies contribute more than 60 percent of the region's GDP and close to 45 percent of its imports, creating considerable opportunities for the whole region, says the survey, to be released today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Developing economies in the region grew at 7.9 percent in 2006, up from 7.6 percent in 2005. But their economic growth is projected to slow down to 7.4 percent this year. The decline is mainly because of the unfavorable external environment, including the slowing down of the US economy and falling demand for electronics across the world, says UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su in a recorded video on the commission's website. The survey shows investment continues to grow in China, while investment and consumption posted healthy gains in the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. The survey, however, warns against several downside risks in the region, such as a possible oil price hike, abrupt cooling of the US housing market, vulnerability of the currency, global imbalances and reversal of the Japanese economy after its recovery. To ensure better long-term growth in the region, the survey suggests Asian economies monitor the vulnerability of the currency and boost domestic demand through private investment.
Farmers from Taiwan looking to establish a business on the mainland can now benefit from a range of preferential policies, an official with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said Wednesday.Pan Haimin said those who want to set up in one of the cross-Straits agricultural cooperation experimental zones or business incubator parks for farmers, can now apply direct to the appropriate county or city administration for industry and commerce.Speaking at a press conference held by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, he said compared to the general policy on registering Taiwan companies, the system for farmers is extremely simple."Local administrations will approve qualified applicants without them having to get approval from overseas fund administrations on the mainland," Pan said."Also, the new policies have no minimum registered capital requirements," he said.Other Taiwan-based companies seeking to open on the mainland must first get approval from the overseas fund administrations and there are requirements for minimum registered capital, he said.According to the policies, which will go into effect on Saturday, farmers can engage in planting, aquatic breeding, animal and poultry farming, agricultural product processing, export and import of agricultural products, and exchanges and promotion of agricultural technology.Currently, 11 provinces have established cross-Straits agricultural cooperation experimental zones and four provinces and municipalities have set up business incubator parks for Taiwan farmers.Pan said the local administrations of commerce and industry will offer free consultations on the new policies and people can also log on to the website of the state administration www.saic.gov.cn for more information.Also at yesterday's press conference, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, urged the Japanese government to deal with the release of German Mark bonds held by Taiwan residents more quickly and with greater effort.Fan said the Japanese government is responsible for paying back the bonds that were issued in the 1920s.In 1923, many Taiwan residents were forced by the then Japanese colonial government on the island to buy the bonds, which promised to pay back the principal sums with interest in 50 years' time, Fan said.She said representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry met recently with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and insisted Japan pay back the bonds.Xinhua
The central finance department will continue increasing its support to the country's rural areas, sources from a meeting of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee said.The Xinhua News Agency on Saturday cited a political bureau meeting as saying that the country should further muster up strength to solve the problem of its poor agricultural infrastructure and the sluggish development of rural areas by "increasing input in agricultural sectors and rural areas".The report, which comes just days before the Party's 17th National Congress on October 15, the most important political gathering in China which will set guidance for future development, suggests Party leaders are concerned about the urgency needed to improve farmers' lives, analysts said.An anonymous official from the Ministry of Finance said that the central government has made financial support for rural areas a major priority .The country has rolled out a series of preferential policies to boost the development of its vast countryside, home to its more than 700 million rural people, including agricultural taxation reform to alleviate farmers' burden and direct subsidies to ensure gains from growing crops.The State has also exempted farmers from some taxes such as those in the slaughtering and animal husban-dry industry.Statistics from the ministry shows that the central coffers plan to invest 391.7 billion yuan ( billion) in the development of its rural areas this year, an annual increase of 15.3 percent.To further encourage farmers to grow crops, billions of yuan have been allotted for agricultural subsidies for grain prices, seeds, and cultivation facilities.About 125 billion yuan of tax has been waived since the removal of a series of agricultural taxes in recent years, the official said.The results of these preferential policies were obvious, the official said, with statistics showing a fourth consecutive bumper grain harvest this summer.
BEIJING - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, on Thursday asked its local offices to ensure cash supplies amid persistent snow to meet demand for the Spring Festival, which falls on February 7.Snow has disrupted transportation, making it hard to deliver cash to the branches.The central bank, in a circular, urged its local offices to help commercial banks in getting or storing cash.The heavy snow that has fallen since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in much of China, has paralyzed transportation, frozen the power grid and caused serious economic losses.It showed no signs of abating as forecasters warned of three more days of snow and sleet.
China's State Council on Friday approved a new regulation designed to make it easier for the public to lodge complaints against what they deem unjust government decisions. According to the Regulation on Implementing Administrative Review Law, the public has the right to ask the government to review its actions and decisions that they believe have infringed upon their rights. "It is an important platform for China's administrative organs to solve disputes, ease social tension and strengthen inner monitoring," said an official with the State Council's legal office. To ensure officials do not pass the buck, the regulation also stipulates that government bodies at all levels must take petitions seriously or their chief officials may be sacked. The regulation is based on the Administrative Review Law China adopted in 1999, the official said. Since then an average of more than 80,000 disputes have been resolved every year. The official said that the new regulation would be a more efficient means for the public to file complaints to the government than compared with filing lawsuits and petitioning. "Many of the disputes are thus settled at grassroots and rudimentary level and do not have to go to courts," the official said. "It tightens the affinity between the government and the public, and helps improve the government image." The regulation will take effect on August 1.
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LONDON -- China is set to make 2008 the year it asserts its status as a global colossus by flexing economic muscles on international markets and exhibiting its cultural richness, The Independent newspaper said on Tuesday."The world's most populous nation will mark the next 12 months with a coming-of-age party that will confirm its transformation in three decades from one of the poorest countries of the 20th century into the globe's third-largest economy, its hungriest consumer and the engine room of economic growth," the daily said in an article.It said that China enjoys unprecedented levels of domestic consumption and showcases itself to a watching world with a glittering 20 billion pound ( billion) Olympic Games.China's trade surplus with the rest of the world will widen from 130 billion pounds (0 billion) in 2007 to 145 billion pounds (0 billion) this year, the paper said.The paper said China is set to grow in the next year by something like 10 percent and contribute more to world economic growth than the United States in 2008.The paper also expressed worries about the challenges China faces in social and economic life like the rich-poor gap and inflation.Culturally, China will remind the world of its rich legacy of music, dance and visual arts with a new wave of Chinese creativity in Britain, it said.The Chinese New Year on February 7 will herald the beginning of the largest-ever festival of China's culture in Britain with an accent on contemporary artists in fields from video art to neon signs.
BEIJING -- American chip manufacturer Intel Corp. said here Monday that it had settled a copyright infringement dispute with China's Shenzhen Dongjin Communications Technologies Co. Ltd. after more than two years of legal battle. The two companies said in a joint statement that given their developing strategies and business operations, pursuing the lawsuit was not in the best commercial interests of each company. Intel Corp. sued Shenzhen Dongjin, a private Chinese company, in 2004 for alleged copyright infringements relating to its Inter Dialogic System Release 5.1.1 software (SR5.1.1) and demanded compensation of 7.9 million US dollars. In compensation terms it was the biggest IPR case to be heard at the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen, a boomtown in south China's Guangdong Province. At the request of the American multinational, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court seized and sealed all of the disputed products and relevant reference materials on January 20, 2005. In April 2005, Shenzhen Dongjin, through its subsidiary company in Beijing, countersued Intel for technology monopoly at the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing. The two companies said the out-of-court settlement respected the Chinese law on IPR protection and the positive efforts made by Chinese courts. The details of the settlement were kept confidential. He Jiannan, general manager of Shenzhen Dongjin, said the settlement demonstrated the progress made by China in technology innovation, company management and IPR protection.
SHENYANG, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of nine descendants of the Chinese painter Qi Baishi have made agreements with one of 19 publishers and received books worth 100,000 yuan (14,051 U.S. dollars) as compensation over copyright infringement, a local court said on Thursday. The Chinese Drama Publishing House contacted Qi's descendants and decided to give them books worth 200,000 yuan with a 50 percent discount as compensation after the court handed down the petition paper on Feb. 26, according to Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Thursday. Qi's offspring will have 90 percent copyright of the pirated book "Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi's Seal Cutting" during the next 49 years and the publishing house has the remaining ten percent, according to their agreement. Qi's descendants sued 24 publishers for 10 million yuan (1.3 million U.S. dollars) in damages for copyright infringement in December 2007. The court accepted 19 of them. The claims were made against publishers based in Shanghai, Chongqing and other places, according to documents from the court. Qi Bingyi, the painter's grandson said all the art works of his grandfather should enjoy the protection of copyright for 50 years after his death in 1957, but the publishers printed, published and sold the copies of the works without permission and also failed to pay contribution fees. The largest damages claim ranged from 100,000 yuan to more than three million yuan. The evidence that the plaintiffs collected included more than 100 items, including books, gold coins, paintings and seals. The court began hearing four of the suits on Feb. 25 and a decision is yet to be handed down.