China :: Business & Economy

China's trade volume with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is likely to reach $400 billion this year, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday. Wen made the remarks during a speech at Universiti Brunei Darussalam upon his arrival in Brunei for an official visit, the first by a Chinese premier since the two nations established diplomatic ties two decades ago. "The biggest breakthrough we made in those years (in economic cooperation with ASEAN nations) was the establishment of the free trade area," he said. Brunei is a member of the 10-nation regional bloc. "That has led to the rapid development of trade between China and ASEAN, which is likely to reach $400 billion this year. That means the trade volume between China and ASEAN will surpass that between China and Japan." According to official figures, trade between China and ASEAN reached $295.9 billion in the first 10 months of this year. China has become ASEAN's top trading partner, while ASEAN re...

An iphonehandset shows an image of China's national flag.[CFP] The United States needs to ease its control of high-tech products to China to advance trade and investment, Chinese Ambassador to the US Zhang Yesui said Friday. Speaking at the first China General Chamber of Commerce-USA Annual Gala, Zhang told business leaders from both countries that US exports to China, which accounted for less than 7 percent of China's total imports, was not compatible with the status of the overall bilateral relationship and China's demand. "The question is: To what extent is the US ready to fully utilize the potential Chinese market?" Zhang said. In Zhang's opinion, the rapidly expanding domestic consumer market in China was a great opportunity for US exporters. According to research results, consumption in China would be growing at a fairly fast pace in the next five years and total imports were expected to reach more than $8 trillion as the Chinese government intensified e...

The NYMEX oil chart shows a combination of dynamic and static features. The static factors are provided by the historic horizontal support and resistance levels. These are static because the market makes constant reference to these levels and the positions of the levels do not change over time. They remain constant for several years. Every rise and fall in the oil price pauses near these historical levels. The dynamic factors are determined by trend lines. The trend line is dynamic in two ways. First, trend lines are dynamic because their starting and ending positions depend upon recent and current price activity. The influence of the trend line may continue for an extended period, but it is not locked in place like support and resistance levels. The second aspect of the dynamic nature of the trend line is the way it changes in value. The value of the trend line changes because it slopes over time. In an upward sloping trend today's value is lower than the projected value of the tr...

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, will develop alternative energy vehicles in China in a venture with Changan Automobile Group to meet increasing demand for cleaner cars. The automakers will also explore jointly making hybrid and electric vehicles in China, Peugeot Chief Executive Philippe Varin said yesterday in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, where a founding ceremony of the venture took place. Paris-based Peugeot is following in the footsteps of rivals, including General Motors, Daimler and Nissan, in planning to introduce so-called plug-in hybrid vehicles in China, where state subsidies are driving up demand. Peugeot and Changan will also start making the luxury Citroen DS 5 model in Shenzhen from 2013 as demand in Europe weakens, Varin said. "Slow European growth means Peugeot needs to expand in China," he said. "There are savings we must make in some parts of the world while we develop others." He said there will be sav...

A joint venture (JV) between the China Changan Automobile Group and French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen will start production in the middle of 2013, Changan's chairman Xu Liuping said Sunday. The venture will have an initial annual output capacity of 200,000 vehicles and engines and will gradually increase capacity in accordance with market demand, Xu said at the company's founding ceremony, held in the city of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province. PSA and Changan signed a contract for a 50-50 manufacturing joint venture in July 2010, with an initial investment of 8.4 billion yuan (1.3 billion U.S. dollars). The project was approved in July by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The venture will sell Changan and Peugeot brands, as well as its own brand. It will initially focus on introducing the Citroen DS line in China next year. The venture will also set up a center for developing new, environmentally friendly vehicles. China plays an important...

China will likely loosen its restrictions on the country's property market in the third quarter of next year, as plummeting prices could slow the growth of the economy, according to a university report. Property prices, sales and investment will fall in the first quarter of next year because of the government's tightening measures, according to a report released by the Beijing-based Renmin University of China on Saturday. It added that the possibility of a market collapse is slim. A 20-percent fall in housing prices will force the government to adjust its policies, as a steeper decline will bring economic growth below 9 percent next year, the report said. The report predicted that the policy shift will probably take place in the third quarter of 2012. The central government will relax credit for the property market and loosen limits on home purchases, the report said. The price correction will not trigger systematic risks, a massive sellout or an economic "hard landing...

China produced 20.53 million metric tons of refined oil products in October, marking the same amount as a year earlier, according to the country's top economic planner. Meanwhile, the apparent consumption of refined oil products rose 3.4 percent year-on-year to 21.24 million metric tons during the period, according to a report posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission. As a result, the country's stock of refined oil products in October dropped slightly from a month earlier, but the stock remained higher than that of the previous year, the report said. In the first 10 months of the year, the country produced 204.77 million metric tons of refined oil products, up 4.4 percent from the same period last year, it said. The apparent consumption of refined oil products rose 5.6 percent year-on-year to 201.84 million metric tons during the period, it added. The report also noted that the production of crude oil fell 6 percent year-on-year to 16.52 million m...