Economy

China Stands firm on foreign Waste

China has set up a complete legal system for the inspection and quarantine of imported waste, and imposed rigorous quality standards. The whole import process is monitored and controlled, chief of the Department of Supervision on Inspection of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Wang Xin said at the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the revised Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection. China accepts 13 categories of waste, including used paper, plastic and metal, and allows 10 types on a restrictive basis. It prohibits items in 12 classes. Over the past decade only 0.21 percent of waste imports have failed customs inspections. Relevant authorities nevertheless remain vigilant, as wastes originate in a wide range of sources and travel great distances before reaching Chinas shores. They hence run a high risk of being contaminated with vermin, contagious organisms and viruses. China has a need for recyclable junk because it presents an alternative to the raw materials, such as wood and minerals, which the countrys natural resources are hard-put to supply.

White Paper on Rare earth

China recently issued its first white paper on the rare earth industry, titled “Situation and Policies of Chinas Rare Earth Industry.” Although Chinas reserves account for just 23 percent of the worlds total, it is the largest rare earth producer and supplies more than 90 percent of world demand for rare earth metals. Mining these metals, however, is extremely damaging to the environment, and past over-exploitation of Chinas reserves has been at a steep yet egregiously undervalued environmental cost. China has consequently intensified regulations in efforts to protect the environment, preserve non-renewable resources and promote sustainable development of the sector. The state will steadily improve regulation of the energy-intensive, high-pollution industries associated with natural resource products, and introduce policy incentives promoting technical upgrading of its rare earth industry. China will meanwhile continue to follow WTO rules, strengthen the industrys management and supply rare earth products to the global market, the white paper said.

Latin america Chinas Second Largest investment Target

Zhang Wei, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, revealed at a recent seminar on bilateral business opportunities between China and Latin America held in Harbin, northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang Province, that Latin America is now Chinas second largest investment destination. Last year direct Chinese non-financial investment on the continent reached US $10.1 billion, accounting for 16.8 percent of the countrys total non-financial investment abroad, and bringing gross Chinese capital in Latin America to US $54 billion. Bilateral trade in 2011 stood at US $ 241.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31.5 percent. This makes China Latin Americas third largest trade partner after the U.S. and the EU. On a countryby-country basis, China is the largest trade partner of Chile and Brazil and second largest of Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Free trade agreements with Chile, Peru and Costa Rica have strengthened economic ties with these countries. China will escalate Latin American imports and its investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, so opening tremendous opportunities for domestic and international corporations in the region, Zhang Wei said.

Private investment encouraged in Natural Resource industries

The Ministry of Land and Resources and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce have jointly issued guidelines encouraging private investment in land and natural resources.In the interests of safeguarding the rights of private investors competing in the market, the document stipulates an open, transparent, just bidding process for land development and environmental restoration projects in mining areas. Similar policies apply to administrative procedures with respect to land supply, mining right transfers and mine mergers. The state will step up support of private capital invested in mining exploration and extraction, including that of unconventional resources such as shale oil and gas and coal bed methane, and protect the legal rights of private operators in these sectors. The document also calls for better services and regulation of private investments in the natural resource sector.