1. Three ministries join hands to prevent property developers from hoarding land
According to a report issued by the China Construction Bank, from 2001 to May 2007, real estate developers have bought 2.16b sq m of land in China. But only 1.3b sq m of land have been developed. The local land and resources regulatory agencies will conduct macro-control of land development, storage and supply, according to the circular issued jointly by the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China. [www.sohu.com, 2007.12.10]
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2. Basic farmland in Huzhou city, Zhejiang province, occupied illegally by local government for four years
The Department of Land and Resources of Zhejiang province has publicly exposed six illegal cases of land hoarding. A total of 12.6 mu of basic farmland in a village in Huzhou city, Zhejiang province, was occupied illegally by the local government for four years. [www.sina.com.cn, 2007.12.10]
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3. China lags behind global levels of information security
China lags behind global levels of information security, and the gap is in the policy environment and business awareness - not in technology, PricewaterhouseCoopers said in Shanghai. Chinese firms lack privacy protections, intellectual property protections and internal controls, according to the fifth annual Global State of Information Security Study 2007 jointly conducted by PWC, CIO Magazine and CSO Magazine. Only 31% of Chinese respondents conduct periodic threat-and-vulnerability (TVM) assessments, compared with 42% globally. Meanwhile, just 28% of Chinese respondents have intellectual property protection policies and procedures compared with 40% of the total surveyed, according to the study which covered 7,200 IT, security and business executives. Eleven percent were from the mainland China and Hong Kong. A lack of maturity in China's information security safeguards has impacted business, with the highest percentages reported for financial losses (23%) and intellectual property theft (18%) being in China, according to the survey. [www.jrj.com.cn, 2007.12.10]
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4. Beijing appears to be growing weary of continued trade conficts
Finance Minister Xie Xuren Sunday (Dec. 9) warned of a "rising trend of trade protectionism in the US" that may do "serious harm" to Sino-US economic and trade ties. Xie made the remarks on the eve of the Third China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which is slated to start on Wednesday (Dec. 12) in Beijing. It is an annual meeting to ease frictions and problems in trade affairs and will be attended by many high-profile officials from both sides. A delegation consisting of nine Cabinet-level officials headed by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will interact with a Chinese team led by Vice-Premier Wu Yi and many ministers, Xie said. US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt are among the US delegation. The US Treasury Department announced that the Strategic Economic Dialogue will take place Dec. 12-13 in Xianghe, Hebei province. [www.hexun.com, 2007.12.10]
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5. Central SOEs will invest more in growth enterprise market
Dec. 8, Baidu's finance channel (finance.baidu.com) is launched. The launch ceremony is also a forum on state-owned assets management. Some central state-owned enterprises have become asset management companies. They have become well prepared to invest in the growth enterprise market. [www.hexun.com, 2007.12.10]
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6. About 64% of people think new Contract Labor Law is mostly related to their benefits
Dec. 3, the Guangdong Provincial Labor and Social Security Bureau, Guangzhou Municipal Federation of Trade Unions and Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security hold a consulation meeting in Guangzhou. The meeting is crowded with workers who have just been laid off by their companies. A total of 7,000 employees resigned from Huawei en masse. Wal-Mart is also cutting its labor force worldwide. According to survey results, about 64% of interviewees think the Contract Labor Law is very much related to their benefits. [www.eastday.com, 2007.12.10]
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7. Factors contributing to high costs and inequality in China's health care system
China's government investment in the health care sector has been inadequate during the past two decades. National Health Accounts data show that total health expenditures have increased more than 40-fold over two decades to $91.8b in 2005, accounting for 5.55% of China's GDP. The government's underfunding of the public health system has had a major influence on the prevention and treatment of epidemics and common illness, making it difficult for individuals, especially the poor living in remote rural areas, to access primary health care. [www.eastday.com, 2007.12.10]
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8. NDRC to launch new medical reform plan in 2008; China will also adjust urban water prices next year
China said it will seek to implement pricing reforms for oil and natural gas next year and further adjust the pricing mechanism for electricity and renewable resources, according to Ma Kai, director of China's economic planning agency under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Ma said that China will also adjust urban water prices next year. China currently sets the price of many resource products, including petroleum products, electricity and water. A new medical reform plan will be launched in 2008. Ma also said the commission will study the reform of the railway and postal sectors in 2008, and accelerate plans for the restructuring of the telecommunications sector. [www.chinanews.com.cn, 2007.12.10]
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9. Foreign investors are barred from bidding for land in Luwan district of Shanghai
Dec. 8, two foreign investors are informed by the bureau of housing and land administration in the Luwan district of Shanghai, that they cannot attend the bid for two pieces of land in the Luwan district. Dec. 7, nearly 30 real estate developers applied to bid on these two pieces of land. Sun Hung Kai, Hutchison Whampoa, Chinese Estates, Lai Sun Group, Singapore-based Kheng Leong, Zhejiang Greentown and Shanghai Greenland Group are included. [www.163.com, 2007.12.10]
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10. Ministry of Commerce plans to initiate anti-dumping proceedings against foreign auto parts manufacturers
Dec. 4 to 5, the Ministry of Commerce holds a working conference about industry security in certain key industries. It plans to initiate anti-dumping proceedings against foreign auto parts manufacturers. More than 70% of the world's top 100 auto parts manufacturers are doing business in China. Chinese auto part makers still lack the ability to independently develop high-tech products to face challenges from foreign giants who control core technologies. Bosch is mentioned. [sinocars.com, 2007.12.10]
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