Economy/Resources - 224. page

Xinhua reprinted an article from Yangcheng Evening News, which reported that the GDP numbers that each province in China reported did not match the GDP number from the central government. For the past several years, the sum of GDPs reported at the provincial level has always been greater than the national number. In 2010, the provincial sum was 3.5 trillion yuan (US$540 billion), or 8.8%, greater than the national number. The report listed the reasons for this inconsistency as double counting, calculation errors, and false claims at the provincial level. “For example, an economic review of the previous two years found significant gaps in some provinces’ GDPs numbers. As a result, those GDP numbers underwent a major correction.”

Source: Xinhua, July 19, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2011-07/19/c_121690132.htm

Jinghua Times, a Beijing based daily newspaper under Chinese state media People’s Daily, recently reported on the newly released 2011 Fortune 500 China list. China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) remains number one on the list with a revenue of RMB 1.91 trillion, followed by PetroChina as second and China Mobile as third. The total revenue of all 500 companies on the list reached RMB 18.9 trillion, which is 47% of the nation’s GDP. This total represents a growth of 38% over last year. State owned capital still holds the vast majority of the Fortune 500 China list. This year, 45 new companies joined the list. Only 9 out of the 500 reported financial losses. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Sinopec and China Construction Bank are the top 3 most profitable companies on the list.

Source: Jinghua Times, July 14, 2011
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2011-07/14/content_679703.htm

A Study Times article calls for immediate strategic adjustments to face the global economic realities in the post financial crisis era. The article suggests: 1) In order to take advantage of the relative changes in the economic strengths in the world, [China should] establish its own world financial center, set up its own international trade platform, and assume the right to set prices in certain areas. 2) Promote the RMB’s internationalization and break free from dependence on the U.S. dollar. 3) Speed up Chinese enterprises’ direct investments. 4) Allocate a considerable amount of foreign currency reserves to national strategic capitals markets, such as essential products, technology, and resources. 5) Promote industrial transformation and promote the development of low carbon, green, and environmental friendly industries.

Source: Study Times, July 11, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/07/11/02/02_37.htm

In the first half of 2011, natural disasters in mainland China, such as drought, flooding, snow, earthquakes, and tropical storms, left 449 people dead and 100 missing and caused the evacuation of 2.964 million people from their homes, damage to 1.15 million houses, and the collapse of 274,000 buildings. The disasters affected a total of 25.52 million hectares of crops, among which 1.93 million hectares of crops were completely ruined. The direct economic loss is estimated to be 142 billion yuan ($US21.8 billion). The disasters included frequent earthquakes, multiple disasters in the same region, and recurrent adverse weather conditions.

Source: China News Service, July 9, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/07-09/3169744.shtml

Xinhua recently reported that a WTO group of experts issued a “rule violation” conclusion after investigating China’s imposition of restrictions on the export of several raw materials. Xinhua called it a “regrettable ruling,” citing the need for China to protect the environment. In the year 2009, the U.S., the European Union, and Mexico jointly filed the WTO complaint for China’s taking “unfair advantage.” The materials in question are bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, phosphorus, and zinc. China tried to explain the “export restrictions” as “administrative means.” The report suggested the current mining process used in China results in significant pollution. The new “enhanced management” is designed to improve the sustainability of providing the resources to the world market.

Source: Xinhua, July 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-07/06/c_121632341.htm

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.