Economy/Resources - 214. page

International Finance News, a daily newspaper under Chinese state media People’s Daily, recently published a comprehensive report on the fact that manufacturing work is moving out of China. The report referred to Nike’s data as an example. Since the year 2010, Vietnam, instead of China, has been the biggest shoe manufacturer for Nike. China is losing competitiveness due to the increase in labor costs, the RMB exchange rate, and the rate of inflation. The report suggested that China is experiencing “industrial transformation.” Cheap labor centers are being replaced by research centers. However, experts believe that small manufacturing businesses will face a new wave of bankruptcies. Small businesses represent 80% of the job market and 50% of the nation’s tax income.

Source: International Finance News, June 30, 2011
http://paper.people.com.cn/gjjrb/html/2011-06/30/content_858900.htm?div=-1

A University of Science and Technology Beijing professor and a financial analyst jointly wrote a recent article, which was reprinted in the CCP Central Committee’s Qiushi Journal. The article looked into how the fiscal relationship between the central and local governments contributes to the “wealthy government and poor people” phenomenon. “In the past 20 years, China’s per capita GDP grew 15.71 times from 1,892.8 yuan in 1991 to 29,762 yuan in 2010, while the central government’s fiscal revenue grew 45.27 times in the same period.” 

Although the railway authorities have not released the operation statistics, it is not a secret that China’s high-speed rail loses money and has a low load factor, a measure of the percentage of seats that are filled. China now operates five high-speed routs: Beijing-Tianjin, Wuhan-Guangzhou, Zhengzhou-Xi’an, Shanghai-Nanjing, and Shanghai-Hangzhou. 

China Economic Weekly, a magazine under People’s Daily interviewed Chen Hong, a professor at China’s University of Mining and Technology. In the interview, Chen said, "In fact, of all the direct causes of coal mine accidents, human factors account for up to 97.67%. That figure is from an analysis of 1,203 accidents between 1980 and 2000 that involved human death." Chen added, “A study of a large number of coal mine accidents that took place between 2001 and 2010 confirmed the above conclusion. The workers’ illegal operations, management giving directions against regulations, and other unsafe behavior in the coal mines are still the main causes for China’s coal mine accidents." 

For the first time, China hosted the 12th World Conference on Titanium, which took place from June 19 to June 24, 2011. According to Xinhua, “Since 2000, China’s titanium industry has developed rapidly with an average annual growth exceeding 30%. While China’s output of the strategic metal used to be about a 3% share of the world output, in 2008, Chinese titanium alloy output jumped to No. 1, accounting for 30% of the world output. Presently, China is the largest producer and consumer of titanium, with production having reached 54,661 metric tons.”

“However, the industry now shows an imbalance between supply and demand, and investment in titanium alloy is over-heated. Industry analysts indicate that, at present, China has the capacity to produce an annual output of 100,000 metric tons, exceeding the output of all other countries combined, and far exceeding Chinese domestic demand.”

Source: Xinhua, June 21, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-06/21/c_121562534.htm

International Finance News, a daily newspaper under the Chinese state media’s People’s Daily, recently published a commentary on the current process of reshuffling the leadership team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The article focuses on the possibility of China taking a Deputy Managing Director (DMD) seat, assuming there is no chance China can actually win the Managing Director (MD) position. Zhu Min, former deputy managing director of China’s central bank, is currently the IMF’s Special Assistant to the Managing Director. The author of the commentary argued that Zhu has a good chance of becoming the First Deputy Managing Director, given the background of Chinese power and support from the emerging developing countries, such as Brazil. The author believes the leading candidate for the MD position, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, may support this idea in exchange for Chinese support of her MD candidacy.

Source: International Finance News, June 16, 2011
http://paper.people.com.cn/gjjrb/html/2011-06/16/content_847227.htm

Xinhua recently reported that, for the first time, China is exporting cargo railway trains to a developed European country. Jinan Railway Vehicles Equipment Co. Ltd., under the wings of China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Group (CNR), signed a contract with the France’s Atir-Rail upon the provision of 20 ammonia gas tankers and 20 liquefied gas tankers for the French company. According to CNR, entering the EU and the US market has been a long-time strategic consideration. The state-owned CNR is one of the largest rail transportation equipment manufacturers in China and currently holds half of the Chinese domestic market. It is exporting products to more than 50 countries.

Source: Xinhua, June 13, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-06/13/c_121529875.htm

According to Xinhua, the Ministry of the Treasury is to allocate a budget as high as 190 million yuan for building facilities to monitor environmental related emergencies in key regions in provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.