November 2011
In this Issue:
Events & Agreements
General News on Chinese Economy
Finance & Consumer Goods
Environment & Energy
Telecom & IT
Medical & Healthcare
Other Sectors and local news
Events & Agreements
Chief Scientists Delegation from Israel MOITAL
On Nov 6th and Nov 7th Israel MOITAL Chief Scientist delegation visited Beijing. They met with Science & Technology Ministry, Beijing Science & Technology Committee and Lenovo to discuss the cooperation opportunities and try to launch more joint scientific research projects with Chinese government and enterprises.
WATEC 2001 successfully concluded in Tel Aviv
WATEC 2011 was successfully held in Tel Aviv, Israel from 15 to 17 November 2011. Israel’s Trade Mission to China organized 24 delegations with more than 200 professional visitors from China to attend the exhibition and conference. This is the biggest number of participants from one country. The Chinese visitors include government officials at central and local levels, experts and scholars, companies of water and environmental technologies from all over the country. The “Israel-China cooperation in water and environmental protection technologies seminar” was held for all the Chinese delegations during the WATEC event. At the seminar, Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and Tianjin Water Authority singed signed a MOU agreement to promote the implementation of Israeli water technologies in the city of Tianjin.
November 2011: Israeli automotive delegation to China
Israel’s trade mission to China in Beijing and Guangzhou, in collaboration with the Israeli export and international cooperation institute and the Israeli consulate in Shanghai will lead a delegation of Israeli automotive companies to China. During their stay in China, the companies’ representatives will visit leading Chinese automotive companies and associations such as the Great Wall Moto Company, Geely, BYD, and the Guangzhou Auto Industry Corporation in Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. APCO Worldwide, a consultancy, is in charge of all of the professional aspects of the visit. In addition, a full day seminar will take place in Beijing in which Chinese companies will be exposed to Israeli technologies and solution in the automotive industry.
General news on Chinese economy
China to continue prudent monetary policy, inflation control
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), said it will continue to maintain the current prudent monetary policies while making them more targeted and flexible. The country will closely monitor the changes in economic and financial situations both domestically and globally, and preset or fine tune the policies when needed, according to a PBOC report concerning monetary policies implemented in the third quarter. The central bank's decision to continue the prudent monetary policies came amid speculation of policy loosening in the world's second largest economy as GDP growth in the third quarter expanded at the slowest pace in two years. The economy grew 9.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, compared to 9.5 percent in the second quarter and 9.7 percent in the first. The nation's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, increased 5.5 percent last month year-on-year, marking the slowest rise since May. (Nov 16th/ Xinhua News)
Ministry of Commerce to establish IPR help center
The Ministry of Commerce said Thursday it will set up a legal help center to provide intellectual property right (IPR) protection services for Chinese companies that have businesses abroad. The move will help reduce Chinese companies' involvement in overseas IPR disputes and frictions, and protect their legitimate rights, the ministry said, without saying when the center will be established. The help center will release early warning information on IPR, establish an IPR law database and IPR dispute settlement mechanisms, and try to improve Chinese companies' capabilities in IPR protection through training, seminars and publicity, the ministry said. (Nov 17th/Xinhua News)
China's 2011 foreign trade to grow 20 pct: MOC
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Friday forecast the country's foreign trade to expand about 20 percent year-on-year this year to 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Foreign trade growth will slow in the following months of this year and in 2012 mainly due to "the complicated exterior environment," the MOC said in a report. Slackening recovery of the world economy, increasing risk of a downturn and rising costs at home will pose risks to China's foreign trade, it said. China will continue to boost trade growth, adjust its trade structure and expand imports to contribute to global trade balance, the ministry said. China's foreign trade in October fell 8.3 percent from September to 297.95 billion U.S. dollars, but still rose 21.6 percent year-on-year, according to official data. October exports weakened 7.2 percent month-on-month to 157.49 billion U.S. dollars, while imports dropped 9.5 percent month-on-month to 140.46 billion U.S. dollars. (Nov 11th/Xinhua News)
Finance & Consumer Goods
Lenovo's new CEO looks overseas
Lenovo Group, the largest Chinese PC maker by market share and the second-largest globally, will apply greater pressure to its overseas competitors in mature markets, including the United States and Europe, following the appointment of a new Chairman and CEO, Yang Yuanqing, on Nov 3. The company attributed the growth to previous acquisitions and surging sales in overseas markets. Yang announced that the company plans to increase investment and effort in those consumer markets where it doesn't yet have a strong share. According to Lenovo, mature markets, such as the United States and Japan, contributed more than $100 million of the company's profit last quarter. Meanwhile, sales revenue in the mature markets exceeded that in China for the first time during the third quarter, coming in at $3.3 billion and accounting for 42.6 percent of the company's global sales. (Nov 10th/ Xinhua News)
Environment & Energy
Water tech giant Xylem sets up China shop
Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology provider, announced the establishment of its Chinese company recently. Xylem was formerly a water department of the ITT Corporation. In 2011, ITT Corporation united related departments together to form an independent global water technology corporation. The new brand Xylem was launched then. According to Xylem's Chinese firm, Xylem will increase product localization research and customization services in China. It aims to provide solutions for China's fluid technology and environmental protection industry.
(People's Daily Online, 2011-11-14)
Bright prospects seen on offer for solar PV sector
China's photovoltaic (PV) solar cell industry will continue to grow and the domestic use of PV systems will accelerate, despite the impact of trade disputes, high-ranking officials and experts said here on Monday. "Domestic PV installation is expected to accelerate in the coming years" and exceed 1 gigawatt (GW) annually, Wang Bohua, secretary-general of the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, said at a PV industry event. The country will soon release development guidelines covering the PV industry for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period. The new plan will increase support for technology research, and the distribution of PV bases will be rationalized. (China Daily 2011-11-09)
China to cap non-renewable energy consumption
China will strictly control the consumption of non-renewable energy in the next five years by setting mandatory ceilings for local governments, said Jiang Bing, director of the development and planning department of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said at a forum that the central government has set separate ceilings for energy consumption at local levels for the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). But to encourage renewable energy use and energy utilization, the consumption of hydropower, wind power, solar power and energy from comprehensive utilization will be deducted when measuring local energy consumption.
(Xinhua 2011-10-24)
US energy firms seek partnerships with China's coal firms
US-based companies are looking for opportunities to build cooperative relationships with the Chinese mining industry by providing machinery, safety equipment and clean coal technology, aiming to open the market further. A delegation of US-based energy companies led by US Commerce Department officials came to China in late October to seek partnerships with Chinese businesses. The US companies are also interested in offering services to increase mining-sector production efficiency and clean coal technology. (China Daily, 2011-10-28)
Beijing heating goes solar
Beijing authorities plan to promote a solar water-heating system and a more energy-efficient charging method for central heating for the coming winter to save energy and cut emissions. New residential and public buildings in Beijing should install a central hot water system that uses heat from industrial production or solar panels, according to a draft plan released on Monday by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Existing buildings could convert their systems if the plan was approved by two-thirds of a community's residents.
Developers of new residential units should make initial investment in the central solar water-heating system. (Xinhua, 2011-10-21)
New solar power plant to fuel China's clean energy plan
The Hanas New Energy Group, based in Yinchuan, Ningxia plans to invest 2.25 billion yuan (354 million U.S. dollars) to build a solar farm in Yanchi county with a goal of 92.5 megawatts. Construction began on Wednesday for a major solar power plant in northwest Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as part of China's efforts to accelerate the development of renewable energy. Set for completion in October 2013, the project represents Asia's first integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) station. In early March, China announced goals of building 235 million kilowatts of power generation capacity from clean energy over the next five years in an effort to trim the country's heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Five million kilowatts of solar power capacity is expected to be created by 2015 with projects planned in remote regions like Ningxia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet. (Xinhua, October 12, 2011)
Shandong invests in South-North Water Diversion Project
Shandong Province plans to invest 20.6 billion yuan (3.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the construction of the eastern route of the South-North Water Diversion Project (SNWD) over the next two years, local authorities said. The investments will fund the construction of 11 water projects along or near the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal that passes the province. The projects, expected to be completed in 2013, will bring water to drought-prone Shandong and Tianjin, a northern municipality, ensuring local demands for drinking, industrial and agricultural water.
(Xinhua, October 4, 2011)
Telecom & IT
Telecom/IT
Telecom firms to be investigated
The two domestic telecom giants are being investigated over alleged monopolistic practices, the first such case involving large State-owned enterprises. Experts said the move may clear the way for the government to broaden the scope of antitrust laws. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is probing China Telecom and China Unicom for allegedly taking advantage of their dominant positions regarding broadband access to suppress competition from rivals and charging high fees, Li Qing, deputy head of the NDRC's price supervision and anti-monopoly department, said on Wednesday. The two telecom giants, which between them control two thirds of the country's broadband business, will face penalties of up to 10 percent of annual revenues if found guilty, Li said. (Nov 10th/Xinhua News)
China becomes world's largest smartphone market in Q3
Smartphone shipments in China reached 24 million in the third quarter of the year, 1 million more than the number recorded in the U.S., making the country the largest smartphone market in the world. Smartphone shipments grew 58% quarter-on-quarter to 23.9 million units, while in the U.S. shipments fell by 7% to 23.3 million, the analyst firm announced on Wednesday. However, the U.S. remains the world's largest market by revenue. Growth in China was driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in retail channels, aggressive subsidizing of high-end models by the operators, and the arrival of many low-cost Android models from local players, esp. ZTE in particular. (Nov 23rd/C114)
Equipment Provider
China's Huawei to buy Symantec stake in JV
Chinese Telecom Company Huawei Technologies Co. said Tuesday it will pay 530 million U.S. dollars for full ownership of the company's current joint venture with U.S. computer software security firm Symantec. The firm will buy the 49 percent stake in the company that was owned by Symantec, according to a statement posted on Huawei's website. Upon closing, the deal will put Hong-Kong-based Huawei Symantec Technologies Co. Ltd. solely into the hands of Huawei. It has research and development centers in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou. (Nov 15th/Xinhua News)
ZTE Plans 2 Billion-Yuan Center for China Unicom E-Books
plans to invest 2 billion yuan ($314 million) in a facility to support China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.’s e-book service. The Internet center in Changsha will be expanded over the next three years to more than 1,000 workers from 300 now, ZTE Vice President Yu Yifang said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News today. The center will support the WoReading service that China Unicom started in April, he said. ZTE sees “very big potential” in winning computing- services work from carriers who are existing customers of its network equipment, President Shi Lirong said Nov. 17 in Hong Kong. As Chairman Hou Weigui diversifies the Shenzhen-based company beyond network gear, cloud computing will account for one-third of sales within three to five years, ZTE said in May. (Nov 22nd/C114)
ZTE Establishes Global Consumer Brand Ambitions in 2011
ZTE became the fourth largest handset vendor by market share in 2011, setting out its ambitions for further growth with a series of high profile celebrity sponsorship deals. According to the 3Q11 report by telecoms industry analysts ABI research, IDC and Strategy Analytics, ZTE overtook Apple to become the fourth largest handset manufacturer in the world. (Nov 14th/C114)
Alcatel-Lucent secures biggest GPON deal in China
China Unicom has selected Alcatel-Lucent as the key supplier for its proposed fiber broadband access network, one of the largest GPON broadband projects in China to date. Alcatel-Lucent beat local Chinese vendors Huawei, ZTE and Fibrehome to secure the deal. The deployment includes the extension of China Unicom’s broadband access network in 29 provinces for the delivery of applications such as interactive TV, video-on-demand services, gaming and social networking with speeds of up to 100 Mbps. China Unicom’s overall tender includes 15 million GPON ports and Alcatel Lucent has secured 6 million, the largest share of any vendor. (Nov 11st/C114)
ZTE to Sell Tablet in U.S. Next Year to Challenge Apple, Amazon
ZTE will introduce a tablet computer in the U.S. next year, challenging Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The tablet will be sold through a U.S. phone company, Lixin Cheng, head of ZTE’s U.S. unit, said today in an interview. He declined to give a price, describe the model or name the carrier. The company, known for lower-cost devices, will face rivals such as Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire, which will start selling this month, and Apple’s market-leading iPad, which starts at $499. ZTE said this week the U.S. will become its biggest market for tablets and phones by 2015 on rising demand for cheaper devices. (Nov 11/Bloomburg)
Carriers
China Mobile Plans App Store Expansion to Rival Apple, Android
China Mobile is planning to open its mobile app store to the whole of China next year, according to China Daily, in a move that will put it into direct competition with Apple, Android and other app stores in the country. The expansion will see the operator — which, with more than 620 million subscribers, is the world’s largest — make its Mobile Market store available to all domestic mobile phones users in China, including those outside of its network. Additionally, it is introducing English language support to encourage new users outside of its usual reach within the country. (Nov 17th/C114)
China Mobile tells Apple no deal without app revenue sharing
With as much success as Apple has had in attracting major carriers for the iPhone, their inability to ink a deal with China Mobile stands out as perhaps their biggest failure. China Mobile is the largest mobile carrier in the world by any objective standard. They have more than 600 million customers and their network covers more area than any other provider worldwide. It appears the sticking point in negotiations between the two companies isn't over the phone, which would have to be modified for China Mobile's network, but rather the iTunes App Store. Specifically, it's a question of app store revenue. China Mobile wants a cut. (Nov 15th/C114)
China Telecom Plans to Offer Wireless Service in U.S. in 2012
China Telecom Corp. plans to start selling a wireless service to U.S. consumers under its own brand early next year, seeking to sign up Chinese-Americans, students and tourists who travel often between the two countries. China Telecom, seeking to gain a toehold in the U.S. consumer market, is already in trials with several possible wholesale partners, and will soon choose one as the service’s network, Tan said. He declined to name the U.S. test partners. If the wireless service takes off, China Telecom may consider building or buying its own wireless network in the U.S., Tan said. (Nov 9th/C114)
China Unicom procures more GPON than EPON
China Unicom has finished procurement of PON equipment worth CNY4 billion (US$628 million) for deployment of FTTx networks for 25 million additional subscribers in China, with GPON accounting for 60% of the procurement value and EPON 40%, according to industry sources in Taiwan. While adoption of EPON has so far gained the upper hand over GPON in China, China Unicom's procurement of more GPON than EPON was mainly due to large decreases in GPON price, the sources said. (Nov 15th/C114)
Software
China software industry posts January-September revenues of CNY1,300 billion
China's software industry generated total revenues of CNY1,300.2 billion (US$199.9 billion) during January-September 2011, growing 31.7% on year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The total value for exports of software products and services in the same period was US$21.0 billion, accounting for 10.5% of the total revenues and rising 15.4% on year. (Nov 1st/ Digitimes)
Internet
China to restructure the import mix of mechanical and electronic products.
Li Jinzao, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, made the remarks that the country will work to optimize the import mix of mechanical and electronic products so they can play a bigger role in China's restructuring efforts. His remarks echoed a guideline issued in March on promoting the imports of mechanical and electronic products during the 2011-2015 period, in which China pledged efforts to encourage the imports of high-tech products. Li said that China will improve existing policies to attach more importance to the imports of advanced technology, equipment and components to spur innovation. Meanwhile, he said China will organize more trading events to exchange and cooperate with international businesses, and will continue to push the United States and European countries to ease restrictions on civil high-tech exports to China. (Nov 17th/China Daily)
Medical & Healthcare
Chinese scientists discover key protein to more efficiently produce stem cells
Chinese scientists have discovered a key protein which could help to more efficiently produce induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells. IPS cells are a kind of stem cells artificially derived from non-pluripotent cells which have huge potential for bioengineering and medical applications to cure human diseases. A research team from Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health along with the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a special enzyme which is able to significantly improve efficiency of Vitamin C to transform a body cell to an IPS cell. Cellular reprogramming and its efficiency of the IPS cells have puzzled scientists around the world for many years, although the IPS cells are believed to be of great significance in organ transplant, gene therapy and more other fields. (Nov. 18 Xinhua)
Revised rules ban harmful materials in production, use of feedstuff
China's State Council, or Cabinet, on Tuesday released a set of revised rules on the management of feedstuff and its additives, banning harmful materials in the production and use of feedstuff and specifying harsh punishments for illegal practices. Feedstuff manufacturers should examine ingredients in accordance with official standards and keep clear records of names, production areas, expiration dates and certificate document numbers of all production materials for subsequent checks, according to the revised rules. Manufacturers are not allowed to use banned materials or additives in the production of feedstuff, according to the regulation, adding that product names, ingredients, preservation directions and usage instructions should all be clearly printed on exterior packaging. The revised regulation will take effect May 1, 2012. (Nov. 15 Xinhua)
Chinese pharmacologist awarded 1 mln yuan for discovery of malaria drug
A prize of one million yuan (157,500 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday was awarded to 81-year-old pharmacologist Tu Youyou and her team for their discovery of what has become a standard treatment for malaria. In early 1969, Tu was appointed the head of a government project that aimed to eradicate malaria, and it was then that she began combining modern techniques with Chinese traditional medicine to find an effective drug therapy for malaria. After detecting 380 extracts made from 2,000 candidate recipes, Tu and her colleagues obtained a pure substance called Qinghaosu, which became known as artemisinin in 1972. The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation in September named Tu the recipient of the Lasker Award, a respected medical prize in the United States. (Nov. 15, Xinhua)
World Diabetes day approaches as almost 9 percent of Beijingers suffer from the illness
Some 8.6 percent of Beijing's permanent residents between 18 and 79 years old are diabetes sufferers, the Health Bureau of Beijing Municipality has revealed as Monday's World Diabetes Day approaches. Diabetes has become one of the most serious threats to health in Beijing, said Mao Yu, deputy chief of the bureau, on Saturday. Aside from confirmed patients, the bureau classes 5.1 percent of Beijing's permanent population as potential diabetes patients. To promote awareness around World Diabetes Day on Monday (Nov. 14), the bureau has launched a campaign of free diabetes tests. (Nov. 12 Xinhua)
Infectious diseases kill 1,360 on Chinese mainland in Oct.
Infectious diseases killed 1,360 people on the Chinese mainland in October, the Ministry of Health said Friday. More than 530,000 infections were registered in the month, including two cholera infections that resulted in no deaths, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website. Cholera is categorized as a Class A infectious disease -- the most serious class under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Nearly 298,000 cases of Class B diseases were reported in the month, with 1,318 of them resulting in death. Viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, dysentery, and gonorrhea were among the five most frequently reported cases in the month, accounting for 96 percent of all Class B cases, the statement said. The death toll due to Class C disease was 42. The top three Class C diseases were hand-foot-mouth disease, infectious diarrhea and mumps, which accounted for 96 percent of cases in this category. (Nov. 11 Xinhua
China faces huge lack of hearing aid specialists: ministry
China is faced with a huge lack of hearing aid specialists who can examine and evaluate people's hearing problems and recommend suitable aid devices for them, the Ministry of Health said Monday. A total of more than 60,000 hearing aid specialists are needed to serve China's 27 million plus people with moderate or severe hearing problems, but the country's number of available professionals is less than 20 percent of the total figure needed, according to the ministry. China currently has only around 10,000 such technical professionals, the ministry said in a statement, adding that there needs to be one hearing aid specialist for every 400 hearing-impaired people, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry recently organized a national professional competition in hearing recovery in a bid to create a favorable atmosphere for training of hearing aid specialists. (Nov. 7 Xinhua)
China publicizes first national standard on food nutrition labeling
China's Ministry of Health Wednesday publicized the country's first national standard for food nutrition labeling, which is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2013. Bearing a standard code of GB28050-2011, the new regulation provides that food package labels will have to spell out food's nutritional information, including levels of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium. If any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat is used for producing the food, the level of trans fat will have to be highlighted on the nutritional information label. The regulation will help standardize the nutritional information labeling by food manufacturers, as well as protect consumers' rights to know and to choose, while improving public awareness of food nutrition, said Yang Yuexin, a nutrition expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (Nov. 2 Xinhua)
Other Sector & Local News
China to expand space industry in 10 years
China's space industry will develop quickly over the next 10 years as the country pushes ahead with its space programs after its first space docking on Thursday. Lab modules, a space station and 10 to 20 spaceships will be launched into space over the next 10 years, the Shanghai Securities News said Friday, but did not reveal its source. The country will spend around 300 billion yuan ($47.47 billion) in manufacturing those spacecraft, according to the newspaper. There are 20 or so space voyages being planned in China, the newspaper reported, citing Wu Ping, spokeswoman of China's manned space program. The spaceflights will shore up demand for spacecraft manufacturing and launch services. Space infrastructure has been included as one of China's strategic new industries which the government plans to foster over the next five years.
Local News
The 110th Canton Fair opens amid relentless rises in production costs and wages in the Pearl River Delta
The 110th China Import and Export Fair (also called “Canton Fair”), China’s largest trade fair, held in the southern city of Guangzhou, opens on October 15th. The fair runs across three weeks and combine of three sessions which includes home appliances, electronic goods, construction materials and machinery on the first session, switching to gifts and home decoration, with garments and food in the final session. Overseas buyers and Chinese suppliers raised concerns regarding relentless inflation in production costs and wages that forced many manufacturers to relocate production from the Pearl River Delta to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. (October 17th / South China Morning Post)
Israel and the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences signed a Cooperation Agreement to jointly construct a Demonstration Farm in Fujian Province
The Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (MOITAL) and the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FAAS) have agreed to jointly construction of a demonstration farm in the city of Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province in order to present Israeli agricultural science and agro-technologies to the local industry. The agreement was signed during a visit of FAAS officials’ delegation to Israel in early November. The delegation met with several Israeli agro-tech companies and had attended a seminar organized by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute in order to compile a list of Israeli companies whose technologies will be promoted by the demo farm initiative. (Commercial Section/Guangzhou Consulate)
