Economy/Resources - 228. page

Study Times, a newspaper of the CCP Central Party School, recently published an article on the importance of the internationalization of Chinese currency (the RMB). The article indicated that China is the only one of the world’s large economies that exclusively uses foreign currencies for international trade settlements. it is mainly China’s surrounding countries that use the RMB. The author expressed the belief that RMB internationalization has a certain level of urgency and that the ultimate goal is to make the RMB a reserve currency. Five action items were suggested: (1) Speed up the “Go Out” strategy and enlarge the scale of China’s investments in foreign countries; (2) Sign more currency exchange agreements; (3) Encourage more international trade settlements in RMB; (4) Issue RMB based bonds; (5) Improve the use of international finance centers such as Hong Kong.

Source: Study Times, April 11, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/04/11/04/04_47.htm

Source: Hurun Report, April 12, 2011
http://www.hurun.net

Source: Beijing Morning Post, April 11, 2011
http://www.morningpost.com.cn/xwzx/jjxw/2011-04-11/179314.shtml

China recently appointed the top leaders of the state Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). Su Shulin, Party Secretary and General Manager of Sinopec, was appointed Deputy Chief of the Party Committee in Fujian Province. Fu Chengyu, Party Secretary and General Manager of CNOOC, was appointed Party Secretary and Chairman of Sinopec. Wang Yilin, Deputy Manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), was appointed Party Secretary and Chairman of CNOOC. China is also using this opportunity to set up a board of directors at the two state oil giants, although their subsidiaries listed in domestic and overseas stock markets already have boards. Sometime later, a board will also be created for CNPC.

Source: Beijing News, April 12, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-04/12/content_219795.htm?div=-1

Xinhua recently reported on The Symposium Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of China’s Sailors’ Union in Beijing. The article stated that China now has over 1.55 million sailors; of those, 650,000 are seamen. Today, 93% of the transportation used for Chinese import and export industries is sea-based. Over 95% of all oil and 99% of all ironstone rely on water transportation. Currently, the scale of China’s water transportation fleet is the fourth largest in the world. It includes 184,000 vessels, which translates into a transportation capacity of 124 million tons. Mainland China now has 12 out of the world’s top 20 ports with an annual freight handling capacity of over one-hundred-million tons.

Source: Xinhua, April 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-04/06/c_121273093.htm

Source:
Xinhua, April 8, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/08/c_121283512.htm
http://www.nexteer.com

An article in Study Times listed six weaknesses that affect China’s manufacturing industry. They are: 1) An over-reliance on a low-cost production environment; 2) Being locked up in low-end markets; 3) An overcapacity in low efficiency production; 4) Chinese companies are not competitive; 5) The cost advantage is gradually diminishing due to growing labor costs; 6) The trade model based on processing raw materials cannot be sustained.
 
Source: Study Times, April 4, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/04/04/12/12_38.htm

A China Review News article suggests that the rising price of grain is looming as a national security issue for China. The world is experiencing the most dramatic commodity price hikes in three decades. Grain prices, along with oil prices, are hitting record highs. Grain markets have become part of the composite global financial system, intertwining with markets for capital, foreign exchange, futures, and other financial derivatives. Grain prices are vulnerable to the global capital flow. The recent Middle East crisis is pushing the oil and grain price spiral even higher. The article suggests that China elevate grain production and financing to a national strategic level by applying tight control over the production and sales chain, gaining power over pricing, stipulating relevant policies, setting up a grain investment and reserve bank, and developing grain related financial markets.