Beijing plans to raise water prices to resolve the water shortage crisis due to the six year delay of “South-North Water Diversion” project. Water prices increased four times since 2001, from 3.01 to 5.04. The city is also considering monetary award to encourage reduced water consumption.
Source: Xinhua, May 11, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-05/11/content_11348945.htm
According to Study Times, coal will continue to be the main source of energy through the year 2050, although the percentage of coal in China’s energy supplies may drop from 75% to 60%. “The basic reality of China’s energy is a ‘lack of oil, not enough gas, and a lot of coal,’ with uneven distribution of resources and economic development in the eastern and western regions.” Renewable energy such as wind power, solar power and biomass will hardly account for any meaningful percentage in the overall energy balance. The State should exercise caution with nuclear energy development, warns Study Times.
Source: Study Times, May 4, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=0&id=2617&bid=4
China Youth Daily listed the challenges for college graduates to find jobs: One, irrational industrial structure makes manufacturing the strongest industry in China and other industries such as design, supply chain, and services that need more college graduates weak. Second, the large gap in social security benefits makes government or state-owned enterprises, offering more benefits, more attractive than agriculture or private companies, offering limited or even no benefits. Third, national monopolies prevent private enterprise from entering certain industries and thus creating jobs.
This year, China will have 7 million college graduates enter the job market.
Source: China Youth Daily, May 1, 2009
http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2009-05/01/content_2648156.htm
Although it has been affected by the global economic crisis, nonetheless, China’s media industry has grown to a record high in recent years, with expenditures exceeding 420 billion yuan in 2008, double the number in 2004. Despite the decline in the economy that has resulted in obvious difficulties in the media industry, China still expects a gradual increase, possibly reaching 530 billion yuan in 2010.
Source: China News, April 27, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/kong/news/2009/04-27/1666331.shtml
International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua, published an article reporting that it became popular for foreign business invested in China to take their money and run away, abandoning their companies or factories in China and without filing for bankruptcy.
There are reasons for foreign investors to choose the “flee” strategy instead of a normal exit process. First, China has a lengthy process for foreign companies to terminate business in China. The bankruptcy process lasts 65 to 165 days. Some local governments even drag it to six months or a year. Second, China’s law requires the company to bear “unlimited liability” for its debt even after it declares bankruptcy.
“(If it is) easy to enter but hard to exit, (it) is definitely not a good investment environment.” said a Japanese trade promoter in Beijing.
Source, International Herald Leader, April 24, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-04/24/content_11248230.htm
China News reported that on April 12, 2008, Chen Lei, the Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources said that China lost more than eight million acres of cultivated land due to soil erosion in the past fifty years, averaging an annual loss of 160 thousand acres.
Chen Lei said that the northwest region loses one centimeter of surface soil every year. In some parts of northeast China, which has always had rich soil, the depth of cultivated soil has decreased from one meter to less than twenty centimeters. 77% of the land in northern China has less than 30 centimeters of surface soil.
Soil erosion not only destroys soil resources, but it is also a main factor for pollution. China’s scientists estimate that soil erosion creates economic loss of 2.25% of the GDP. The environmental damage is immeasurable.
Source: China News, April 12, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/04-12/1642204.shtml
Economists are concerned that the growth may not be sustainable, according to a panel discussion during a State TV program. Large State-owned enterprises saw a sharp increase in profits, according to Li Rongrong, Director of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State council on April 19, 2009. In response, economists at the panel indicated that such growth was primarily fueled by preferential treatment and State monoply, thus its sustainability questionable. Others found it worrisome that 4,200 small to mid companies have been declining in contrast to the thriving large State-owned enterprises.
Source: China Central TV, April 24, 2009
http://news.cctv.com/china/20090424/101947.shtml
The State Council met on April 22, 2009 to discuss stimulus measures to stabilize the Chinese agricultural sector amid the international financial crisis, reported Xinhua. Premier Wen Jiabao presided over the Council’s executive meeting. The meeting reached a consensus that the international financial crisis is deepening and its negative impact on the Chinese agricultural sector is emerging. With global commodity demand shrinking and prices falling, the downturn of agricultural exports coupled with slack domestic growth has pushed down agricultural prices and production efficiency in China, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a stable agriculture sector and to increase farmers’ income.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, April 23, 2009
http://agri.gov.cn/jjps/t20090423_1260834.htm