China to be transformed into urban nation over next 50 years
Predominantly rural China will be transformed over the next half-century into an urban nation with 70% of its people living in cities. Small towns will grow into medium-sized cities as more than 600 million Chinese migrate from the countryside to urban centers in the next 50 years. At least 100 million will live in "ultra-large cities" that have populations of more than 2 million. Officials say migration to cities is the only long-term solution for tens of millions of unemployed farm workers. (Xinhua, 19 July)

Beijing boosts euro holdings as dollar slides
In response to the depreciating US dollar, China has reduced the proportion of greenbacks in its foreign exchange reserves in favor of euros. The dollar still accounts for about 60% of reserves. Beijing this year raised the proportion of euros to 20% from 15% at the end of last year. About 10% of reserves is held in yen and the rest in Swiss francs and British pounds. At the end June, foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 242.76 billion. (SCMP, 22 July)

Beijing firms need consent from labor unions for job cuts
According to a new labor-union law that will go into effect on Oct. 1, if an enterprise needs to cut jobs, it must explain this need to the enterprise's labor union or to all the employees in exchange for their comments. Laid-off workers must be a priority if the enterprise decides to hire new employees within 60 days following the job cuts. The labor union can demand an alternative to the job cuts if it concludes that the cuts are unreasonable or are in violation of the law. (ChinaOnline, 22 July)

Official reiterates ban on foreign involvement in periodical publishing
An official from the State Press and Publication Administration said that it is illegal for foreign businesses to buy periodical serial numbers from Chinese publishers and use them to publish their own periodicals in the country. China only allows Sino-foreign cooperation in terms of content exchange and other forms of copyright trading in the publication of periodicals. Foreign businesses are not allowed to hold shares in a Chinese publishing house or establish joint ventures. (ChinaOnline, 22 July)

Disney takes preliminary steps to put theme park in Shanghai
Walt Disney has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the Shanghai government that could put Disney on a path to open a park there in about 2008, a move the U.S. entertainment company hopes to leverage into a vast expansion of its television, film and consumer-products businesses in the huge, relatively untapped Chinese market. (WSJ, 22 July)

China's producer prices fall 2.5%
China's producer price index fell 2.5% on the year in June. The index, which tracks the factory-gate prices of industrial products, is now down 3.4% for the first half of 2002 after declining 1.3% in full-year 2001. Excess capacity in many industries and increasing competition from imported products are relentlessly pushing down prices in China. (Dow Jones Newswires, 22 July)

80% of German firms in China intend to expand business
According to the German Chamber of Commerce in China, there are more than 2'000 German companies in China, with more than 80% of them hoping to expand their business. 51% of the German companies have earned expected profits, 27% have earned more than they expected, 12% made money within one year of establishing their business in China and 48.3% took three years. The survey also shows that information collection and payment are two major problems faced by German firms in China, with 71% of the firms saying they had difficulty in collecting market information and 40% noting customers' negative stance toward making payments. (ChinaOnline, 22 July)

Chinese firms step up overseas expansion
China's overseas investments soared 149.2% year-on-year to USD 523 million in the first six months of the year. China set up 148 non-financial companies overseas in the first half of the year, up 5% from comparable months last year. These projects involve a total of USD 858 million contractual investments, a growth of 217.3% from the same period last year. Besides setting up new plants and companies overseas, Chinese enterprises have started to purchase shares in overseas companies as a new form of transnational investment. Countries and regions targeted for overseas investment are on the increase, with input into Asia, Africa and Latin America growing rapidly in the first half of the year. Investment in these areas made up more than 85% of the country's overseas input from January to June. (China Daily, 22 July)

China's machinery industry reports strong growth
The total output value of China's machinery sector reached RMB 839.7 billion in the first half of the year, up 21.38% over the same period last year. Domestic demand provided good market opportunities for rapid development in the machinery sector. The booming demand for cars and heavy trucks also boosted growth in the machinery sector. The sector will maintain a good momentum in the second half of 2002, experts predict. (People's Daily, 23 July)

China's real estate tipped to blossom in second half year
The area of total land development in the first six months was 50.9 million square meters, 52.7% above the same period last year. During the January-June period, the area of newly completed housing totaled 58.26 million square meters, an increase of 20.4% year-on-year. During the first six months, the investment in real estate development increased at the rate of 30% to a total of RMB 282.1 billion, soaring 32.9% over that of the previous year. (People's Daily, 23 July)

Sony pulls plug on Shanghai video camera exports
Sony plans to switch production of its export-oriented video cameras from Shanghai to Japan to boost efficiency in manufacturing. The Shanghai plant will focus on items to satisfy growing domestic electronics demand in China. Sony has to import key components from Japan, which are assembled in Shanghai and then shipped to the United States. (SCMP, 24 July)

Sea route to Taiwan opens in Quanzhou
A direct sea link was launched between the port of Quanzhou in Fujian Province and Taiwan's Penghu Island. The move brought to five the number of ports on Fujian's coast that are allowed to operate cargo and passenger shipping routes to Taiwan. (China Daily, 24 July)

Opinion: China's GDP growth accurate
An analysis of China's situation fully supports that China's economic growth is based on real progress driven by impressive potential and not artificially bloated statistics. Moreover, such a trend will continue with high speed in the near future. To understand what's happening to China's economic development, it is necessary to look at the issue with an open mind. Only by being ready to accept development and changes, can one understand the real situation in China. (China Daily, 24 July) Now we know.

China eases forex reporting rules for imports, exports
China 's State Administration of Foreign Exchange will ease some reporting requirements for import and export transactions, which will reduce the burden of paperwork for companies in foreign trade. (Dow Jones Newswires, 24 July)

China Unicom puts China's biggest public offering on hold
A weak stock market and a poor take-up of its new mobile service seem to have delayed a planned initial public offering on the domestic bourse for China Unicom. The IPO was expected to raise RMB 15 to 16 billion, which would have made it the biggest ever domestic public offering. China Unicom had initially planned to use the proceeds to fund part of the construction of a new cellular network, based on the US-owned CDMA standard. (FT, 24 July)

Shanghai opens B-share business to foreign dealers
The Shanghai Stock Exchange announced that foreign dealers in B-shares will be allowed to apply for seats and trade directly at the stock exchange. In opening the Chinese stock market wider to overseas investors, the Shanghai exchange is implementing China's promise to the WTO upon its entry last year. In the past, foreign securities traders have taken part in B-share trading through local agencies. (People's Daily, 25 July)

China Telecom plans launch of overseas stock offering
China Telecom plans a multibillion-dollar overseas stock offering despite the gloomy state of global markets, highlighting how China's effort to reform key state enterprises through public offerings is taking precedent over poor market conditions. The company aims to raise between USD 2.5 billion and 3.5 billion in a dual listing on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges slated for October. (WSJ, 25 July)

Japanese firms shift production from Southeast Asia to China
Japanese manufacturers with operations in Southeast Asia are increasingly shutting down their factories there and moving production to China, which is luring Japanese firms with its growing consumer demand, in addition to lower production costs. Since last year, Japanese firms have decided to close or scale down operations of at least 22 production bases in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, resulting in some 17'000 people becoming unemployed. (Nikkei Net, 25 July)

Chairman vows bold steps to clean up Bank of China
Bank of China Chairman and President Liu Mingkang unveiled bold plans to help clean up the country's highest-profile lender, including a goal of listing the whole bank -- parent and overseas affiliates -- on a Chinese stock market within three years. Plans also include recruiting foreign directors and enlisting overseas financial institutions as strategic partners ahead of the potential stock offering. (WSJ, 26 July)

Bank of China Unit's shares fall at trading debut in Hong Kong
Shares in Bank of China (Hong Kong)'s initial public offering had raised at least USD 2.84 billion and was heavily oversubscribed by investors big and small. However, trading began with a loss of 4.7% amid concerns about its bad debts and uncertainty over how investors will react to recent market turmoil. (WSJ, 26 July)

China short of technical skills
Technical skills of all kinds are in high demand in China, despite the country's oversupply of labor. The demand for mid-level professional technicians is 31% more than actual supply, while the rates for junior and senior technicians are 7% and 5% respectively. However, overall labor demand is less than three quarters of the total labor force. (People's Daily, 26 July)

Chinese farmers' income soars
The average income of Chinese farmers increased RMB 60 to RMB 1'123 from January to June this year, up 5.9% from the same period of last year. The average income of farmers earned from non-farming sectors reached RMB 566, RMB 28 more than last year, due to the rise in temporary rural workers in the cities. The taxation system experiments in rural areas eased the burden for many farmers, boosting their incomes. (People's Daily, 26 July) Farmers will be overjoyed about the good news.

China is now No.2 foreign holder of US debt
Mainland China is now the second-largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities. U.S. officials say the new report comes as no surprise, nor should it be cause for concern. Japan remains the largest holder of U.S. debt, with holdings of USD 317.3 billion. China's estimated holdings amount to USD 82.0 billion or 16% of the total. (Dow Jones Newswires, 26 July)

LG builds USD 400 million towers in Beijing
South Korean giant LG announced it would spend USD 400 million on a 140-metre twin-tower skyscraper overlooking the main street of Beijing as the headquarters of its China operations. Construction is due for completion in 2005. (SCMP, 27 July)