U.S. Commercial Service - American Embassy, Beijing
Vol. 2 No. 125
The China Commercial Brief is a biweekly publication including summaries about developments in China's various commercial sectors, tips on doing business in China, and U.S. Embassy news. This publication is free of charge: please forward it to your colleagues and friends who are interested in China.
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Editor: David Snodgrass
Contributing Specialists: CS Shenyang, Shujuan Cao, Xiaolei Wan, Ying Bai, Sherry Cai, Nancy Xu
News Briefs
In the interests of providing news from all over China, our four China branch offices - Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang - submit summaries of commercial articles from their local press to the CCB on a rotating schedule, in addition to the five article summaries provided by CS Beijing.
1. Jilin Province Begins Construction of Enterprise Credit Information System
2. China Foreign Trade Volume Reaches $560.2 Billion in First Eleven Months of 2002
3. E-Government in China
4. Shanghai Airport to Expand
5. More Olympic Competitions to be Held at Beijing Universities
6. 2002 Retail Industry White Paper Issues
1. Jilin Province Begins Construction of Enterprise Credit Information System
Like Shenyang city in Liaoning Province, the Jilin Province Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) has established an online information service to improve public access to enterprise credit information through the internet. Jilin Province's efforts are a part of the nationwide Hong Dun 351 program that has been designed by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Other cities in the northeast region, including Dalian, Harbin, and Jilin, have markers on the SAIC's Hong Dun website, but the links are not operational at this time due to ongoing website construction.
SAIC's goal is to improve transparency of commercial information, encourage corporate accountability to the public, and to improve government oversight of commercial activity. Foreign companies can become subscribers to the service and can access the information to improve corporate due diligence efforts. Visit www.saic.gov.cn to learn more about the provincial and city-level AICs that are participating in the program throughout China.
(Source: Interview with Jilin Province Administration for Industry and Commerce, 12/12/2002 )
2. China Foreign Trade Volume Reaches $560.2 Billion in First Eleven Months of 2002
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs (GAC), China's foreign trade volume reached $560.2 billion in the first eleven months of this year, up 21 percent from the same period last year. The statistics also showed that exports rose 21.6 percent to $293.69 billion, while imports grew 20.5 percent to $266.49 billion, creating a trade surplus of $27.2 billion.
In November 2002, the trade volume reached $59.95 billion, up 33.7 percent from last year. Of the total, exports were valued at $31.21 billion, up 30 percent, while imports reached $28.74 billion, a rise of 37.9 percent.
These statistics show a stable rise in the volume of processing trade. The trends also demonstrate that exports and imports of foreign-funded firms have increased rapidly, and foreign trade involving state-owned enterprises has begun to grow at a faster speed. China's export products were concentrated in the machinery and electronic products sectors, as well as traditional goods, while import products consisted primarily of raw materials.
(Sources: Xinhua News Agency 12/12/2002 - Translated by Shujuan Cao)
3. E-Government in China
The 2002 China E-Government Technology and Appliance Conference was held on December 10-13. The conference was co-organized by the State Council Informatization Office, China Academy of Science, China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and China Science and Technology Association. The main purpose of the conference was to discuss e-government strategic plans, e-government platform technology, e-government appliance case studies and solutions for different levels of central government, local government, and industries.
Mr. Lou Qinjian, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Information Industry, pointed out that the promotion of e-government would be treated as one of the crucial goals in the field of informatization. E-government promotion will strive to: 1) expedite the development of the information equipment manufacturing industry, communication operations, and the software industry; 2) strengthen the standard implementation of e-government; 3) setup an overarching secure network.
(Source: China Information World, 12/16/2002 - Translated by Xiaolei Wan)
4. Shanghai Airport To Expand
According to Mr. Xia Keqiang, chairman of the board of directors of Shanghai Airport Group Company, after winning the bid to host the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai will accelerate the expansion of Pudong International Airport. It is estimated that during the international exposition, to be held from May to October 2010, the volume of passengers coming to Shanghai will reach 70 million. The annual turnover volume of Shanghai Airport is currently only 60 million, which means the airport has to be expanded. The new runway will be completed in 2004 during the second phase of the expansion, and the terminal building in 2007. The total airport capacity will be doubled after expansion. Mr. Zhu revealed that the runway for the third phase of the engineering will be completed before 2010.
(Source: China Aviation News, 12/15/2002 - Translated by Ying Bai)
5. More Olympic Competitions to be Held at Beijing Universities
In order to improve the standard of the sports infrastructure in universities and broaden the efficiency of utilization, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) intends to transfer the ping-pong, badminton, wrestling and fencing competitions to university and college venues instead of the China International Exhibition Center as originally planned. During the Olympics, all students will be able to watch the Games without leaving campus. BOCOG believes that this will not only show the participatory spirit of the Olympic Games, but will also increase the enthusiasm of students to take part in sports activities.
(Source: www.bjinvest.gov.cn/gb/news/hot, 12/11/2002 - Translated by Sherry Cai)
6. 2002 Retail Industry White Paper Issued
Recently, the China General Chamber of Commerce issued its 2002 Retail Industry White Paper. According to statistics in the white paper, in 2001, for 80% of consumer goods, supply exceeded demand. Residents' consumption price level increased by 0.7% over the previous year, while goods' retail price index fell by 0.8% over the previous year.
In 2001, the top 100 chain stores reported a sales volume of USD19.7 billion, an increase of 48% compared to the previous year. The number of stores reached 13,117, an increase of 56%. The number of employees reached 416,442, an increase of 63%. Last year, the top 100 chain stores sales volume accounted for 4.3% of the total sales volume of consumer goods retail sales.
The white paper forecasts that in five to ten years, of China’s total retail market, the market share of small and medium-sized supermarkets will be 15%, hypermarkets and department stores will each have 10%, leaving each of the other types of retail units occupying 10%.
(Source: International Finance News, 12/16/2002 - Translated by Nancy Xu)
Embassy News
Congressman Manzullo Helps Small Business Export to China - Can a small family-owned tool and die company from Rockford, Illinois do business in China? "Yes, there are definitely opportunities for the small businessman," says Don Metz, President, Metz Tool and Die Works, Inc. of Rockford, Illinois, "but they must be pursued as aggressively and passionately as any domestic customer." Metz spent the first 10 days of December exploring the vast China market with the assistance of Representative Donald A. Manzullo's office and the staff of the U.S. Commercial Service in China and Rockford, Illinois... See the complete story with photographs online at http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/manzullo.html.
Consulate News: Shenyang
In keeping with our goal of making the CCB a more integrated publication, our four China branch offices - Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang - submit consulate news to the CCB on a rotating schedule. This week, we are pleased to feature a contribution from CS Shenyang:
On December 12, PCO Sullivan attended the opening ceremony of Sam's Club in Changchun, a retail membership shopping company operated by WalMart. This store is Walmart's fourth Sam's Club in China, and the first in the northeast region. During the past two years, WalMart has steadily expanded operations in the northeast. The company now has five retail shopping supercenters in the region in addition to the new Sam's Club. Within six months, Walmart plans to open two more shopping supercenters in Changchun, Jilin Province.
For contact information and further information regarding Shenyang visit our website at http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/shenyang.html.
Ping Ping’s Picks
Finding out what you need to know is often difficult to do in China. To make the process easier, we feature a different source of commercial information in this section every week.
In this edition, we are featuring a commercial information resource of our own. Visit the CS China website today for free access to our market research from China and around the world. Follow our link http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/research.html to find all the market research reports you need to get started in China, including:
Country Commercial Guides
Industry Sector Analysis
International Market Insight
Multilateral Development Bank Reports
Visit today and begin searching our free database of standard market research from China and around the world.
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Jenny (Pingping) Xie is the Information Guru for CS Beijing.
DISCLAIMER: CS China does not guarantee the veracity of the original sources of our news summaries. While we do our best to report accurate and timely articles and news sources, you should always check the source for further information.
The China Commercial Brief is a free newsletter published by the U.S. Embassy- Beijing.
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INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2002. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.
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