Stimulus policies spurring Chinese domestic consumption will be maintained in 2010, while high sales growth of home appliances and automobiles due to the stimulus packages will not affect consumption, analysts predict. Read More…
Domestic passenger vehicle sales in China hit a new record high in August of 2009, nearly doubling over last year, far beyond industry expectations. Read More…
China’s energy consumption to produce a unit of gross domestic product (GDP) dropped 3.35 percent year on year in the first half of 2009, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement recently. The decrease compared with 2.88 percent in the first half of last year. Read More…
Forbes released the 2009 China Celebrity List on March 17. Over six consecutive years Forbes has released the rankings, 25 celebrities have continuously made the list. Read More…
In the Olympic spirit, TrendSpotting has drilled down on the dynamics of the Internet in China in a new report entitled “Handbook of Online China“.
The report focuses on three key themes – China as an online leader, the competitive landscape, and business in online China – that are key indicators of the ongoing development of the dynamic Internet market in China.
The report is embedded below (you can also view it on Slideshare):
The following is the 2007 Top 10 Economic Stories Selection from Economic Information Daily and Perfect China Co Ltd. The chief editors of 16 Beijing-based news organizations, including Zhu Ling, editor-in-chief of China Daily, as well as renowned local economists, put together this selection of the year’s top stories.
1. Property
The National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, passed the Property Law of the People’s Republic of China on March 16. The law granted equal protection to public and private properties for the first time.
2. Labor
On June 29, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Labor Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China. The law requires employers to provide written contracts to their workers, restricts the use of temporary laborers and helps give more employees long-term job security. The Employment Promotion Law was issued on August 30 and will take effect on January 1, 2008. Under the law, an employer may find itself in court if it discriminates against a job applicant on the basis of sex, age, religion, race or physical disability.
3. Healthcare/Social Assistance
A series of measures were taken to solve problems concerning the well-being of citizens. On July 10, the State Council issued the guidelines to set up a pilot program to provide basic medical insurance to all urban residents. The program first came into effect in September and covered 79 cities from different provinces. The program aims to create a comprehensive health insurance system to solve medical care problems for children, the elderly, the disabled, low-income earners and the unemployed. On August 13, the State Council issued a policy framework for establishing a low-rent housing system for low-income urban families. The State Council required all cities to provide affordable housing for low-income families across the nation.
4. Sovereign fund
China established its own sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corp (CIC), on September 29. The fund was created to invest a portion of its $1.4 trillion in currency reserves to seek better financial returns. CIC has $200 billion to invest, including one-third of that, or about $67 billion, earmarked for overseas investments. The rest will go to investments inside China.
5. Party congress
The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China set up a new target for the nation’s future economic and social development. The Party congress, held from October 15 to 21, set up the goal to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The per capita gross domestic product in 2020 should double that of 2000.
6. Stock market
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surpassed 6000 points and fluctuated dramatically. The Shanghai Composite Index soared to 6123 points on October 16 from below 3000 points at the beginning of the year. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges now have more than 130 million stock accounts.
7. Lunar probe
Chang’e I, China’s first lunar orbiter, was launched on October 24, marking a new milestone in China’s aerospace history.
8. Environment
Energy-saving and emissions reduction were added to the key indicators for evaluating the performance of government officials. For the first three quarters of the year, China’s energy intensity, or the amount of energy needed to produce a unit of GDP, declined 3 percent. China’s carbon dioxide and chemical oxygen demand emissions also declined for the first time.
9. Monetary policy
China adopted a “tight” monetary policy for the first time in 10 years. China’s consumer price index, the barometer for inflation, rose to 6.9 percent, a record high in recent years. Facing mounting inflationary pressure, the Central Economic Work Conference listed “preventing the rapidly expanding economy from overheating and structural price rises from evolving into entrenched inflation” as the top priorities for macro control. The government also shifted its monetary policy stance from “prudent” to “tight”.
10. Public holidays
The government scrapped one of the country’s three Golden Week holidays and introduced three new one-day public holidays. The new national public holiday plan adds three traditional festivals – Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival – to the public holiday list.
Intellectual Property Symposium
credits: CRIENGLISH.COM
A symposium on implementing Intellectual Property Strategy Higher Education in China has just concluded at Renmin University on October 22. The forum aimed to further implement intellectual property strategies and develop an innovative economy, as well as providing an overview of the intellectual property education system.
Binying Wang, assistant director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO ) explained the importance of the forum: “This forum is particularly significant since it’s been organized right after the successful conclusion of a most important event—the 17th CPC Congress. From which there is great interest and expectation that a national intellectual property strategy will be launched.”
According to a report conducted by the World Bank of over 120 countries, the richest countries in the world are no longer those with numerous natural resources, but those with intangible wealth. Premiere Wen Jiabao once said, competition in the future will be the competition of intellectual property rights.
“Intellectual property laws show respect for people and human rights, also for inventions. By protecting intellectual property rights, you protect creationism. Just as the report of the 17th CPC Congress said, China, and other countries in the world, have to reform and be innovative, at the same time, the fruit of innovation has to be protected.” said Xu Jialu, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
The protection of intellectual property rights is widely recognized as a vital instrument for the promotion of economic, social and cultural development. It’s very clear that the Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting intellectual property rights, including the promotion and improving of higher education systems. It has made excellent progress in this regard over the past decade, both domestically and internationally.
China’s first intellectual property research center was established 21 years ago at Renmin University, when even lawyers and ordinary people didn’t know what intellectual property laws were. “That was a historical moment. Twenty-one years ago, we already had a research centre concerned with intellectual property rights,” said the president of Renmin University, Ji Baocheng.
Since then, the higher education of intellectual property rights has gradually spread to all top universities in China, with Renmin University becoming a leader in the field.
Over the past 20 years, intellectual property rights in China have developed dramatically, aligning with other international conventions. Intellectual property rights have indeed penetrated every facet of the Chinese people’s daily life.
According to Li Dongsheng, vice-director of China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the trademark office of SAIC launched a plan to disseminate intellectual property rights in the countryside, since that time they have gained great success.
“We promote agricultural product trademarks and geographical indicators throughout China. In this way many farmers’ income has increased, and the value of agricultural products has also obtained obvious improvements.”
