Vice Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Guobao, stated during an interview on January 30, 2008 that he does not rule out the January CPI reaching new highs. He stated that short-term adverse weather accelerates food price increase and inflation is expected to remain at a high level this year.
Source: Xinhua, February 3, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-02/03/content_7556791.htm
In anticipation of more international conflicts, Xinhua publishes the focus of macro government policies for 2008 that include the following among others:
· Prevent overheating of economy through a variety of monetary and fiscal policies.
· Adjust structure of import and export to reduce trade surplus and avoid becoming the focal point of conflicts.
· Tighten cross-border capital flows and management.
· Promote real estate property tax reform.
Source: Xinhua, February 3, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-02/03/content_7559492.htm
Guangzhou Daily reported on January 29 that Shenzhen became the first city in mainland China to have surpassed US$10,000 in per capita GDP. The data was released by the Shenzhen Municipal Statistics Bureau yesterday, with the average GDP per person in 2007 being US$10628.
Source: Guangzhou Daily, January 29, 2008
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2008-01/29/content_118617.htm
According to Hong Kong based Ming Pao News, the current amount of money invested in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has reached a record high of 28 billion RMB or $3.8 billion. The number is 2.2 times the figure estimated in 2001 when Beijing was bidding to host the event, compared to $1.5 billion for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and $2.4 billion for the Athens Olympics in 2004. As the construction of some stadiums and other facilities are not finally completed, the total amount invested is expected to be even higher than the current level.
Source: Asia Times, January 22, 2008
http://www.atchinese.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45188&Itemid=110
An increase in the cost of feed coupled with a drop in the supply of pigs due to disease has made pork a top priority for the Chinese government. Pork is the most important staple meat for China’s 1.3 billion people. Any sustained interruption in supply would be a major political problem for the country. Premier Wen Jiabao provided confirmation of the crisis when he made a weekend visit on May 28, 2007, to a market in Shaanxi Province.
On January 7, 2008, water pollution caused by the discharge of industrial waste led to the shutdown of a water company. 50,000 residents in Chikan Town, Kaping City, Guangdong Province, went without water until the water supply finally resumed on January 11, 2008.
The electroplating workshop of at nearby company started discharging industrial waste into the river via a hidden duct, 100 meters from the intake pipe of the Chikan Water Plant. Residents waited in long lines for tanks of water transported from out of town. Others tried to hang on by cooking with bottled water and doing their laundry in the Chikan River.
Source: Xinhua, Janaury 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2008-01/12/content_7409587.htm
On June 11, Wang Xiaolu, the Vice Director of the National Economic Research Institute of the China Reform Foundation, released a report about "grey income," the income that is never officially reported. He found that the urban population has "4.4 trillion Yuan (0.55 trillion $US) of grey income that is not accounted for in China’s national statistics."
Chinese households have been pouring billions of RMB in savings into the stock market. In May 2007 alone, they transferred more than 278.4 billion RMB ($37 billion) from household savings accounts to stock trading accounts. As a result, Chinese banks are facing their biggest challenge since 1949.