'China' Its Harmony and Growth

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Comment by Martha on October 31, 2009 at 11:21pm

Living Earth Television (www.LETV.org) is working on translating some beautiful, award-winning Chinese documentaries for broadcast in the USA, on LinkTV and on PBS stations. We welcome sponsors for the broadcast. Please contact me if you are interested: MarthaF@LETV.org. Thank you!

Comment by JPV on September 20, 2009 at 1:05pm

China gets smart on power supply


CHINA has embarked on a 10-year project to build a "smart grid" that will catapult power transmission into the digital age, securing electricity supplies and boosting energy conservation.

The program is expected to be a boon to companies that provide equipment and technology to the power industry.

"A smart grid is an inevitable choice for China to address issues in its power industry and develop a lower-carbon economy," said Jiao Jian, an analyst at SYWG Research and Consulting, the research arm of Shenyin & Wangguo Securities, one of China's largest brokerages.

Development of technical standards and other planning concepts will start this year, with the aim of completing the grid in 2020, according to Liu Zhenya, president of the State Grid Corp of China, the country's dominant power transmission firm.

A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology, such as two-way communications, advanced sensors and specialized computers that save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability.

With such a grid, utility companies can install advanced metering that assists commercial and residential customers in reducing peak-hour energy usage while at the same time allowing utilities to monitor usage to reduce outages.

The proposed new grid will ratchet up China's investment in its power industry, which for years has suffered from underfunding, blackouts and, during the snow storms of 2008 led to the collapse of power lines in the south.

China currently operates about 1.18 million kilometers of mostly older transmission lines. The nation ran about 3 million gigawatt-hours of electricity through its grid in 2008, with 6.6 percent being lost during transmission. China's total power demand is expected to more than double by 2020.

Most of the nation's electricity is produced by coal-fired stations. China has said it wants to clean up the air by boosting the portion of energy that comes from renewable sources to 15 percent by 2020.

The proposed smart grid will be capable of handling alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power, more effectively. At present, grid operators have shied away from new energy sources because they are intermittent and require elaborate backup energy pools.

Industry analysts said they expect the government to unveil detailed development plans for smart grids next month.

In the United States, the Obama administration is pursuing a similar strategy as part of its economic stimulus package. It recently laid out plans to standardize domestic smart grid developments to ensure that equipment from different manufacturers works in harmony.

State Grid's Liu, speaking at an industry conference in Beijing in May, didn't say how much investment will be poured into China's smart grid, but analysts are predicting it will be substantial.

China may need to spend up to 68 billion yuan (US$10 billion) annually on smart grids, Huang Shouhong, a power analyst at Essence Securities, wrote in a note. Investment on that scale would be positive for domestic makers of power transmission and transformation equipment and automation product manufacturers, including TEBA Co and XJ Electric Co, he said.

Global giants are also casting an eager eye on China's smart grid development.

GE cooperation

General Electric Co Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt, who visited State Grid's Beijing headquarters last month, agreed to business cooperation that would include the smart grid, according to State Grid.

The US conglomerate, in partnership with networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc, has proposed to create a smart grid system in Miami that will serve as a model for other American cities. GE may rake in as much as US$5 billion in revenue if between 50 cities and 100 cities adopt the technology, Immelt was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News.

GE will provide smart meters and Cisco's role is to help design and implement a secure network system that connects the meters, transformers, digital sub-stations and power-generation equipment through a central control system.

China's smart grid will be built based on the existing grid, including ultra-high voltage power transmission lines. That's a sector benefiting from big capital investment because China is seeking to become a world leader in the field, according to Liu.

"For China's smart grid, there must first be a strong grid," he said.

Ultra-high voltage lines allow for heavy electricity flows with lower loss in transmission. They are especially well suited to countries such as China that span vast areas and are hampered by uneven distribution of resources.

Russia, Japan and several other countries have experimented with UHV transmission but none has done it on a commercial scale.

In January, China began operation of a 640km pilot UHV line across central China. State Grid said it's now running in a stable condition and it is laying two additional lines, each spanning more than 2,000km, to link dams in the southwest to users along the eastern coast.

State Grid said it is increasing investment in its UHV projects and is planning to spend 300 billion yuan by 2012, 50 percent more than originally allocated.

Still, critics say UHV works most optimally in countries with a single power regulatory framework, which may hurt China's efforts to break up its monopoly grid and °?introduce more competition in the sector.

Comment by JPV on September 19, 2009 at 2:40am

China's economy can achieve 8 pct growth target - official
Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:08am IST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy will be able to achieve a growth target of 8 percent this year, but the country should not rest on its laurels as problems remain, the statistics bureau's top economist was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Yao Jingyuan, chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics, told a forum in Shanghai that the basis for China's economic recovery was still not stable, and many uncertainties existed.

Authorities have set a target of 8 percent gross domestic product growth this year, something most economists think is in sight since annual growth reached 7.9 percent in the second quarter and appears set to accelerate in year-on-year terms in the second half.

Yao said the 8 percent target will "be difficult but is not a problem", according to a report by the state-run China News Service.

Figures for August showed industrial output, investment and money supply growth all accelerated, prompting many economists to say the recovery is now solid. Officials have been more circumspect, though.

Yao said the slide in China's economic performance which began in the second half of last year had already been arrested.

"But we cannot be blindly optimistic about these achievements, as the basis for China's economic recovery is still not firm, and there exist many uncertainties," he was paraphrased as saying.

As for the possible threat of resurgent inflation, Yao said that at least for this year it would not be a worry.

Comment by JPV on September 11, 2009 at 11:22pm

Subject: China Again Leads World Recovery

China Again Leads World Recovery

Once again China has jumped to the head of the line in world economic performance. While western economies continue to report rising unemployment and try to make the best of the latest layoff news, China is outperforming “developed nations.”

Investors are cheering as China’s ADR Index bounces back with a rise of almost six percent this month. The performance of Chinese investments is based on increasing economic metrics, the latest just out from Beijing.
Industrial output, a crucial measure of China's manufacturing activity, expanded by an impressive12.3 percent in August of this year compared to the same month last year.

The trend is positive with August industrial expansion up solidly from July's 10.8% gain. This is the fourth month in a row of industrial acceleration, a clear sign the government's stimulus efforts are sparking economic expansion in China’s manufacturing-based economy
Heavy industry has been a big beneficiary of Beijing’s stimulus this year as automobile sales surge and new construction picks up. Auto sales continue to set new records in with July sales of passenger vehicles rocketing up by 70.5 percent, the biggest gain since the heady days of January, 2006.China is now indisputably the largest automobile market in the world.

Steel production rose a remarkable 22 percent to a new monthly production record of 52.33 million metric tons. (A metric ton is 1000 kilograms.)

Especially important is the news about electricity output. Previous positive numbers have been questioned because of declines in electricity consumption. China watchers asked how production could rise if power usage declined. The latest energy numbers are right in line with industrial growth figures. Electricity output grew by 9.3 percent in August, the fastest gain in more than a year.

In addition to government stimulus, government-mandated bank lending has been an important factor in China. That’s why China’s lending figures are closely watched for signs of any policy change in Beijing.

New bank lending in August totaled 410.4 billion yuan ($60 billion), China’s central bank says, up from 355.9 billion yuan ($52 billion) in July. The lending numbers are above market expectations and have stimulated the Shanghai Stock market. Liquidity (China’s money supply) remains flush, though the pace of lending was still well below the explosive 1.2 trillion yuan monthly average of the first half of 2009.

Gently tightening the financial reins was a prudent move to avoid bubbles in the economy. The new numbers show China has growth momentum which is assisting the development of neighboring nations in Southeast Asia.

China has taken economic leadership in the region and the world.

Comment by JPV on November 29, 2008 at 6:50am

China, India rising, but face bumpy ride: forecast!

WASHINGTON -- A new US intelligence forecast identifies China and India as rising heavyweights in a coming multi-polar world but says both face a potentially bumpy ride to the top.

"Although we believe chances are good that China and India will continue to rise, their ascent is not guaranteed and will require overcoming high economic and social hurdles," the report by the US National Intelligence Council said.

Titled "Global Trends 2025 -- A World Transformed," the 121-page report was released Thursday to stimulate debate and thinking as a new US administration prepares to take power.

It warned that US security and economic interests could face new challenges if China becomes a peer competitor with a strong military and a dynamic, energy-hungry economy.

"Few countries are poised to have more impact on the world over the next 15-20 years than China," the report said.

"If current trends persist, by 2025 China will have the world's second largest economy and will be a leading military power," it added.

"It could also be the largest importer of natural resources and an even greater polluter than it is now."

But it said China's economic growth will certainly slow, or even recede.

Mounting social pressures arising from growing income disparities, a fraying social safety net, poor business regulation, hunger for foreign energy, enduring corruption, and environmental devastation also lie in its future.

"Any of these problems might be soluble in isolation, but the country could be hit by a 'perfect storm' if many of them demand attention at the same time," the report said.

The report said India will probably continue to enjoy relatively rapid economic growth, but the growing gap between rich and poor will become a more acute political issue.

"Indian leaders do not see Washington as a military or economic patron and now believe the international situation has made such a benefactor unnecessary," the report said.

"New Delhi will, however, pursue the benefits of favorable US ties, partly, too, as a hedge against any development of hostile ties with China," it said.

In a discussion about Japan, the report said its policies in the future will be shaped by those of China and the United States.

It said Tokyo would stay close to Washington whether it developed closer economic ties with Beijing or faced a hostile China.

But if the US security commitment to Japan weakened or if Washington moved significantly closer to Beijing, Tokyo would move closer to China.

The report also identified three potential up and coming powers, all from the Muslim world but not from its Arab core. They are Indonesia, Turkey and Iran.

Political and economic reform in Iran, along with a stable investment climate, "could fundamentally redraw both the way the world perceives the country and also the way in which Iranians view themselves."

"Under those circumstances, economic resurgence could take place quickly in Iran and embolden a latent cosmopolitan, educated, at times secular Iranian middle class," it said.

Comment by JPV on November 24, 2008 at 7:22am

China may spend US$63b on urban transit from 2010-2015


China plans to spend more than 500 billion yuan (US$63 billion) on subways and light railway networks between 2010 and 2015 to ease pollution and traffic jams in its major cities.

The government wants to build 1,321 kilometers of rail lines during the period in 15 cities, Li Fengjun, deputy head of the railway division of the Ministry of Construction, said at a conference in Beijing today.

About 45 million people, more than the population of Spain, will move from China's rural areas to its cities and towns between 2006 and 2010, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. The migration is causing congestion and pollution across the country.

"The development of China's city rail network will peak in the next 10 years,'' Li said. "The expansion will benefit'' related industries.

The number of cities that will have more than 10 million people will double to 6 by 2020 from 2003, Li said.

China also plans to spend about 500 billion yuan to build 1,500 kilometers of city rail links between 2006 and 2010, the commission said last year.

The country currently has 21 subways and light rail lines in operation, Shi Zhongheng, an academic with China Academy of Engineering, said at the conference. Shi is involved in the government's planning for the rail networks.

China will need more than 6,800 railcars between 2010 and 2015 to run on the new rail lines, Li said.

Comment by JPV on November 24, 2008 at 7:17am

China plans 10 major steps to spark growth


China will take 10 major steps to stimulate domestic consumption and growth as it turns to an "active" fiscal policy and "moderately easy" monetary policy, an executive meeting of the State Council said on Sunday.

Here are the 10 major steps:

-- Housing: Building more affordable and low-rent housing and speeding the clearing of slums. A pilot program to rebuild rural housing will expand. Nomads will be encouraged to settle down.

-- Rural infrastructure: Speeding up rural infrastructure construction. Roads and power grids in the countryside will be improved, and efforts will be stepped up to spread the use of methane and to ensure drinking water safety. This part of the plan also involves expediting the North-South water diversion project. Risky reservoirs will be reinforced. Water conservation in large-scale irrigation areas will be strengthened. Poverty relief efforts will be increased.

-- Transportation: Accelerating the expansion of the transport network. That includes more dedicated passenger rail links and coal routes. Trunk railways will be extended and more airports will be built in western areas. Urban power grids will be upgraded.

-- Health and education: Beefing up the health and medical service by improving the grass roots medical system. Accelerating the development of the cultural and education sectors and junior high school construction in rural western and central areas. More special education and cultural facilities.

-- Environment: Improving environmental protection by enhancing the construction of sewage and rubbish treatment facilities and preventing water pollution in key areas. Accelerating green belt and natural forest planting programs. Increasing support for energy conservation and pollution-control projects.

-- Industry: Enhancing innovation and industrial restructuring and supporting the development of the high-tech and service industries.

-- Disaster rebuilding: Speeding reconstruction in the areas hit by the May 12 earthquake.

-- Incomes: Raising average incomes in rural and urban areas. Raising next year's minimum grain purchase and farm subsidies. Increasing subsidies for low-income urban residents. Increasing pension funds for enterprise employees and allowances for those receiving special services.

-- Taxes: Extending reforms in value-added tax rules to all industries, which could cut the tax corporate burden by 120 billion yuan (about $17.6 billion). Technological upgrading will be encouraged.

-- Finance: Enhancing financial support to maintain economic growth. Removing loan quotas on commercial lenders. Appropriately increasing bank credit for priority projects, rural areas, smaller enterprises, technical innovation and industrial rationalization through mergers and acquisitions.

These 10 moves are expected to have positive effects on cement, iron and steel producers amid a boom in infrastructure investment. Commercial lenders will benefit as loan ceilings are abolished, and medium-sized and small companies are likely to benefit from preferential policies.