Trade
Congressional Issues
IPR
Political and International News
National People's Congress
Healthcare
Foreign Investments
Food/Consumer Product Safety Issues
Energy & Environment
Insurance & Finance
Science & Technology
Media
Internet
Cross - Straits
General News / US Chamber China Trade & Investment News
April 08, 2008
Trade
April 08: China, New Zealand sign FTA.
China Trade Extra
April 08: China and New Zealand signed a free-trade deal that could spur other countries to speed up their negotiations with China in hopes of also improving access to its large and fast-growing market. The pact is the first free-trade agreement China has signed with a developed country since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. New Zealand said the deal, which takes effect Oct. 1, will boost its exports of agricultural staples such as dairy products and beef to China. And while New Zealand's economy is relatively small, China said the pact will boost opportunities for Chinese firms in the island nation. Trade between China and New Zealand totaled $3.7 billion in 2007, according to Chinese figures.
The Wall Street Journal; Industry Week; BBC News; International Herald Tribune; Washington Post; The New York Times
Congressional Issues
April 07: US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged President George W. Bush to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies this summer unless China improves human rights. Bush plans to attend the Summer Olympics ceremonies in Beijing in August and so far has resisted pressure to change his plans in response to a violent crackdown against protesters in Tibet by Chinese authorities.
Washington Post; Washington Post; The New York Times
IPR
April 07: After two years of litigation, the patent infringement conflict between Shenzhen-based Netac Technology Co Ltd and Texas PNY Technologies was settled out of court. The Netac versus PNY case is seen as a milestone, because it could highlight a trend of Chinese companies suing overseas companies for the infringements of their intellectual property rights overseas.
IP Dragon
Political and International News
April 08: In latest event to draw angry crowds objecting to China's policies in Tibet and its human-rights record as result thousand of French police struggled to keep the Olympic torch moving through throngs of protesters in Paris. Beijing Olympics are now threatening the nation's image. The relay carrying the torch to Beijing has become a forum for criticism, and an event that many hoped would promote understanding between China and the West is instead laying bare their divergent views.
The Wall Street Journal; Washington Post
April 08: Law-enforcement authorities are gearing up for widespread disruptions of the Olympic-torch relay San Francisco's police department said it canceled days off for its force of more than 2,000 members. San Francisco didn't allow groups to apply for permits until a week before the torch run. The police department plans to set up designated locations, enclosed by chain-link fences, for protesters who plan to assemble but don't have permits.
The Wall Street Journal
April 08: China condemned protests that disrupted the Olympic torch relay as "despicable," but vowed to continue the relay to the end. Officials of the International Olympic Committee, meanwhile, suggested they may consider doing away with the international route in upcoming games. The torch relay has turned into a public relations disaster for the IOC and China's communist government, which had hoped the August games would showcase an open, modern country.
Washington Post; SBS; The New York Times
April 08: The Olympic torch arrived for its only North American stop amid heavy security, one day after its visit to Paris descended into chaos and activists here scaled the Golden Gate Bridge to protest China's human rights record. Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the committee would consider ending the international leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay because of anti-Chinese protests.
Washington Post; Washington Post; Washington Post; Washington Times
April 08: The Olympic torch relay should be confined to the host country at future games, a senior International Olympic Committee member said, after the Beijing flame encountered serious disruptions in Europe. IOC press commission chief Kevan Gosper said it would be wrong to alter or stop the ongoing 137,000-km Beijing relay after violent protests in London and Paris, but he added he believed the IOC should look at scrapping the international leg next time.
Washington Post; Washington Post; Washington Times
April 08: On the invitation of Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei, officials from the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany are due to meet on April 16 in Shanghai to discuss a plan to restart negotiations on Iran's nuclear issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. The foreign ministers of the six countries issued a statement after the vote, saying that Resolution 1803 reflected "the international community's serious concerns about the proliferation risks of the Iranian nuclear program."
Xinhua
April 08: Beijing has said "no force" can stop the Olympic flame relay, as it faces protests on the US leg of its journey. IOC press commission chief Kevan Gospar said that this year's 137,000km torch relay will continue as planned, "but certainly, the IOC executive board should review the torch relay program for the future".
BBC News
April 08: Head of the French Olympic Committee and spectators strongly condemned the disruption of the Olympic torch relay here by Tibetan separatists and their supporters. Henri Serandour, head of the French Olympic Committee criticized the disruption as "highly regrettable." "Everyone has a right to express themselves but to stop it passing shows a lack of respect for the basic freedom of our athletes to carry this flame, which is a message of peace to the whole world," the chief said
People's Daily Online
April 08: China National Petroleum Corporation, the country's largest oil and gas producer, has signed an agreement with Syria to build a 5-million-ton-per-year refinery in the Middle Eastern country. The deal was signed on April 2 alongside a framework agreement to bolster oil cooperation between China and Syria, CNPC said
People's Daily Online
April 08: China denounced protesters who upstaged Olympic Games torch relays in London and Paris and asked the United States to ensure that the next leg in San Francisco avoids similar mayhem. China quickly condemned the disruptions as "vile" and, in a departure from past reticence, state-run television and newspapers showed the protests and upset spectators.
Washington Post; Newser; Washington Post
April 08: China has sent 15 refugees back to their countries of origin this year in what appears to be a security sweep before the Beijing Olympics, the U.N. refugee agency said. The 15 were sent back to Iraq, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, despite concerns that they fear for their lives and might be persecuted, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees told reporters in Geneva.
Washington Times
April 07: Demonstrators grabbed at the Olympic torch, blocked its path and tried to snuff out its flame in raucous protests of China's human rights record that forced a string of last-second changes to a chaotic relay through London.
The New York Times
April 07: The Indian Minister of Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni, opened the first Indian Tourism office in Beijing last night in front of the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei at a packed Beijing Hotel gala dinner with over 700 specially invited celebrities and guests.
China Briefing
National People's Congress
April 08: China's State Council, or cabinet, appointed four of its vice secretaries-general, a vice-minister of finance and a deputy director of its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office. The new vice secretaries-general of the State Council are You Quan, Wang Yong, Qiu Xiaoxiong and Bi Jingquan, according to a statement issued by the State Council.
Xinhua
Healthcare
April 08: National health authorities have teamed up with their international counterparts to launch a project aimed at helping China mitigate the health effects of climate change. The global project, launched to coincide with World Health Day, includes efforts to strengthen surveillance and control of infectious diseases, ensure safer use of diminishing water supplies and coordinate responses to emergencies, according to the website of the World Health Organization
People's Daily Online
Foreign Investments
April 08: Intel Corp.'s venture-capital arm has completed its first round of investment in China and plans to invest another $500 million in the country over the next several years, executives said. Intel Capital, the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker's investment unit, has created the new $500 million fund to focus on technology startups at varying stages, including companies working with wireless broadband, technology media and telecommunications, Arvind Sodhani, the unit's president, said. It is the largest country-focused fund for Intel Capital globally. Intel plans to fully invest the new fund in three to five years, and is betting China will continue to grow even as other economies slow.
The Wall Street Journal; Washington Post
April 08: Midwest Corp. said a A$1.2 billion ($1.11 billion) takeover bid by China's Sinosteel Corp. is opportunistically timed and doesn't appear to recognize the bright outlook for iron-ore miners. Midwest is advising its shareholders to take no action while it prepares a formal response to Sinosteel's offer of A$5.60 a share. The board previously had rejected a proposal from Sinosteel pitched at the same price.
The Wall Street Journal
April 08: The Walt Disney Co.'s video game arm will buy a Chinese game developer as the US entertainment giant expands in China. Disney Interactive Studios plans to buy Chinese company Gamestar, the gaming affiliate said in a statement. Terms of the deal were kept confidential. The acquisition will contribute to his Disney's "global growth plans" and new products, said Graham Hopper, general manager for Disney Interactive.
Washington Post; Washington Post
April 07: French utility group Suez has bought a stake in a Chinese water firm. In partnership with Hong Kong firm New World Services, it is investing $214million for a 15 percent share of the state-run Chongqing Water Group. The Chinese company supplies water to about 32 million people in the south west of the country. Analysts say that with water being unfit to drink in many parts of China, it is a key growth market for Suez and rival operators such as Veolia.
BBC News
Food/Consumer Product Safety Issues
April 08: Former Chinese leader stresses need for multilateral collaboration on food safety.
China Trade Extra
Energy & Environment
April 08: China and Syria have signed an agreement to build a joint venture refinery in eastern Syria, expanding their cooperation to include oil processing, state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. has disclosed. China's state-owned oil industry has been investing heavily abroad in hopes of securing energy supplies to fuel its booming economy.
Houston Chronicle
April 08: French energy and environment group Suez said it will take a 15 percent stake with its partner in a Chinese company for 1.5 billion Yuan. Suez Environment and its Hong Kong partner New World Services will buy into Chongqing Water Group, a major water service supplier, the French group said in a statement.
People's Daily Online
Insurance & Finance
April 08: US and Chinese authorities have signed an agreement that allows Chinese banks to invest their clients' funds in US stocks, a previously announced plan meant to give China's investors more global options. The China Banking Regulatory Commission announced the agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The move is part of Beijing's effort to gradually expand the two-year-old Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program.
The Wall Street Journal
April 08: China and the Gulf – the two great pools of wealth in the world – are moving ever closer. In the coming days high-powered delegations from several Abu Dhabi investment bodies and from Qatar are expected in Beijing, followed by a senior investment official from Saudi Arabia. Beijing is expected to seek reassurance about energy supplies, though Dubai investment bankers say it is unlikely that these talks will result in any direct Chinese stakes in Gulf companies.
Financial Times
April 08: The supervisory cooperation agreement signed between the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which allows Chinese banks to conduct QDII investments for their clients in the US. This is the fifth such agreement, following those in Hong Kong, the UK, Singapore, and Japan. Chinese funds have been able to invest in the US for several years now, but this agreement allows them to create and market investment products tied to US securities.
Sampa
April 08: Chinese leading gold producer Zijin Mining Group Co. announced it expected to raise up to $1.54 billion through the IPO in Shanghai scheduled for next week. In a statement filed to the Shanghai bourse, Hong Kong-listed Zijin said it will issue 1.5 billion new RMB-denominated A shares or 10.24 percent of its enlarged share capital. The issue price will be fixed next Thursday after the price consultation starting from today. The IPO launch came four months after Zijin won regulatory approval for the share sale due to the volatile market conditions.