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News » China » Islands dispute hurts investment, trade with Japan

Islands dispute hurts investment, trade with Japan

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

The territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands has hurt Japanese investment in China and bilateral trade between the countries, according to central government commerce authorities.

In September, Japanese investment in China and bilateral trade saw a slowdown, which Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang described at a briefing on Friday as"to some degree" related to the Japanese government's "purchase" of the disputed islands.

But"as long as Japan corrects its wrongdoings, there is actually great room for the long-term development of Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations," and China believes that bilateral trade should enjoy a healthy future, the spokesman said.

The first nine months saw Japanese investment in China total $5.62 billion, an increase of 17 percent year-on-year, but at a much slower speed than its expansion in 2011, which the ministry reported as 50 percent.

In the meantime, bilateral trade saw a net decrease of 1.8 percent to $248.7 billion. In September alone, trade went down as much as 4.5 percent year-on-year, when China saw an increase of 2.2 percent in its exports to Japan and a decrease of 9.6 percent in imports, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Zhang Jianping, a researcher from the Institute for International Economic Research under the National Development Reform Commission, envisaged that"the negative effect of the island dispute will be reflected in Japan's investment in China from the following months into the next year."

China is Japan's largest trade partner and Japan is China's second largest source of foreign direct investment.

"The decrease in Japan's investment in China will probably also harm Japan's own economy through a decline in exports and corporate profits, while it would add pressure to China's slowdown, affecting its industrial job market and domestic consumption," he said.

Yao Haitian, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Japanese Studies, forecast that"in the long run", Japanese investment will continue to decline until it reaches"a point of balance" because it is unlikely that Japanese companies would give up the entire China market".

Yao noted that"Japan has long been following a 'China+1' strategy" in overseas investment, meaning when it comes to overseas investment, it will divert some capital to one other emerging market economy while building a presence in China.

Some neighboring countries, including India and Vietnam, will see expansion in infrastructure and consumption as they benefit from an influx of Japanese investment, Yao said.

Japan's investment in ASEAN member nations surpassed that in China in the past two years, according to statistics from Nikkei newspaper. In the second quarter, it increased by 40 percent year-on-year to 380 billion yen ($4.8 billion), higher than the 300-billion yen investment that went to China during the same period.

The shifting of Japanese overseas investment focus to Southeast Asian economies is seen by Zhang as part of its strategy to weaken China's rise in economic power.

Mergers and acquisitions by Japanese companies have also seen a significant slowdown in China while its overseas mergers and acquisitions in general progressed on a faster pace.

Statistics from RECOF Corporation, a Japanese M&A consulting company, showed that Japanese mergers and acquisitions in China from July to September reached 5.6 billion yen, down almost 70 percent from that in April to June, while overseas mergers and acquisitions of Japanese companies maintained strong growth.

In addition to the slowdown in China's economic growth and rising costs at home, Yoshimitsu Onji, president and chief executive officer of RECOF Corp, also blamed deteriorating relations and Chinese consumers' boycott of Japanese brands in recent months.

In China's domestic market, Japanese automakers are planning to cut their supply after a suspension of production amid mass protests in early October, according to Chinese auto market sources. Toyota reportedly saw its sales in China tumble by as much as 49 percent in September.

lijiabao@chinadaily.com.cn

Exercise to protect China

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

China on Friday held a large-scale drill simulating the PLA protecting Chinese administration ships disturbed by foreign ships in the East China Sea.

Exercise to protect China

 A helicopter tries to save a fisherman during a joint exercise by civilian maritime authorities and the People's Liberation Army Navy in the East China Sea on Friday.[Zhang Lei / For China Daily]

The drill comes amid a festering territorial dispute with Japan.

When asked about the exercises, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Beijing is determined to protect its territory and called on Japan to return to negotiations.

The exercise is likely a hard-line response from Beijing to a joint US-Japan drill targeting the Diaoyu Islands, experts and media have said.

Friday's drill involved all the major Chinese maritime forces, from warships to maritime patrol and fishery administration ships.

A fleet of 11 vessels and eight aircraft participated in the one-day drill. According to reports, the navy sent at least two missile destroyers as well as fighter planes and a hospital ship.

It was based on the scenario of the navy sending warships and aircraft to protect Chinese law enforcement ships damaged in deliberate collisions by foreign ships in the East China Sea.

The drill was announced by Xinhua News Agency late on Thursday.

China has previously sent maritime surveillance ships and fisheries patrol vessels to waters near the islands as the territorial row escalated.

On Tuesday, Japanese military aircraft spotted seven Chinese warships not far from the disputed islands. China said the ships were on a routine training mission.

Xinhua said patrol vessels from the fishery administration and the marine surveillance agencies have recently been stalked and harassed by foreign vessels while carrying out missions.

Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po quoted a military critic as saying that the"high-profile notice" of Friday's drill is very rare as the PLA usually announces its exercises a few days after the actions finish.

It is deliberately showing China's law enforcement capabilities in the East China Sea, it said.

Xia Ziming, deputy head of the Directorate of Operations of the East China Sea Fleet headquarters, told China National Radio that this is the first time for the navy, maritime surveillance and fishery administration agencies to have a joint drill.

"It is the largest one in recent years," Xia said.

The Ministry of National Defense also posted reports high on its website, though it has yet to comment directly on the drill.

When asked about the exercise, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Friday gave no direct answer, but said the Chinese government"is resolute and determined to safeguard national territorial sovereignty".

Japan should be the one to take the responsibility for the escalating tensions, Hong said at a daily briefing.

"We hope the Japanese side can squarely face the realities, correct mistakes and come back to the track of resolving the Diaoyu Islands dispute through negotiations," Hong said.

Smooth coordination between military and civilian organs is the most prominent feature of this drill, Song Xiaojun, a military affairs commentator, told China Central Television.

"China hopes to solve maritime disputes through peaceful negotiations, while such peaceful means is actually based on our administrative bodies' and navy's capabilities to handle security issues," he said.

It's rare but important for the aircraft to join the"multi-dimension" drill as information sharing and coordination between vessels and aircraft should be improved, said Li Jie, a researcher from the Naval Military Studies Research Institute.

"Various law enforcement forces have to properly work together as maritime rights can hardly be safeguarded solely by the navy now," he said.

Feng Wei, an expert on Japanese studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the drill has sent a clear warning signal to Japan.

But Japan's sense of crisis might also grow in the face of China's soaring naval strength, he noted.

South Korea's Yonghap News Agency quoted an expert on foreign policies as saying that the drill is"obviously targeted at the US-Japan joint exercise" and exerting pressure on Japan.

The Friday drill has come on the eve of a joint military drill between Washington and Tokyo scheduled to start on Nov 5, which will involve the simulated retaking of a remote island from foreign forces.

This is the first time Japan and the US have had an"island retaking" drill on a Japanese offshore island.

In another move, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Oct 14 reviewed a major exercise marking the 60th anniversary of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, and was quoted saying that Japan faces"severe" challenges to its security.

Furthermore, Japan's Nippon Foundation on Friday announced it was abolishing an exchange program for field grade officers from the PLA and Japan's Self-Defense Forces that it started sponsoring in 2001.

The decision was made after the Chinese side asked to delay this year's activities due to the tensions.

Feng Wei from Fudan University said China-Japan military ties, which have been flagging in recent years, were further hampered by the cancellation.

China's exercise also takes place after dozens of Japanese parliamentary members, including two Cabinet ministers, visited the Yasukuni Shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.

Chinese media slammed the head of Japan's top opposition party Shinzo Abe for also going, calling his visit a provocation.

Tensions sharply rose between Beijing and Tokyo after the Japanese government last month"nationalized" some of the Diaoyu Islands.

The move took ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies to the chilliest moment in decades. Anti-Japan protests broke out across China and hurt sales of Japanese-made products.

Contact the writer at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn

AFP and AP contributed to the story.

Beijing prepares to get smart

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

For many, the term "Smart City" denotes eco-friendly urban spaces with streets of driverless electric cars and houses powered by used drink cans. But as the recent Beijing Design Week demonstrated it's much more than that. Smart City is about completely open innovation.

While the week brought a vast array of ideas from designers around the world, Geo-

City Smart City, curated by the China Millennium Monument Museum of Digital Arts, was the focus feature, displaying 82 projects from 14 countries.

GeoPulse Beijing, the Beijing-focused pilot demo by ARS Electronica of Austria, was one of the Chinese applications of this model on display, and its overall message was clear: Smart cities are the way of the future, and now is Beijing's time to embrace it.

Some predict that by 2050, between 70 and 85 percent of the global population will live in cities, but the problems of over-urbanization — pollution, traffic, overcrowding — are already starting to show. The idea of GeoCity is to put government and citizens' fingers on the urban pulse, and show how they can solve these problems.

The solution? Big Data. In the modern world, the magnitude of open data from social networks, smartphones and other means is phenomenal, yet barely any is being harnessed. According to the GeoCity initiative, if this data is collected, processed and understood, the possibilities for helping urbanization are huge.

"The first time we had it developed for the city of Linz (in Austria) in its first phase, it was a tool for the citizens," said Michael Badics, director of AE Solutions at ARS Electronica."From kids to the elderly, everyone could access this data. But we saw there was so much more potential in it."

Smart Cities will also give governments the ability to access information about the city and solve problems more efficiently. But to be understood, the data must be visual and accessible, and that's where the project's second proposal comes in: Big Design. ARS Electronica has paired with the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, among others, to find ways of mapping urban mobility that's visually stimulating and easy to understand.

"Visually telling stories gives us the possibility to explain things and make them open for people," Badics said during his keynote speech during the design week."Out of the data hidden in the city, you can tell stories. And you can tell stories in a way that people can really understand how the things are connected."

According to Fu Zhiyong, vice-director of Information Art and Design Department at Academy of Arts and Design, Tshinghua University, information visualization has grown quickly in China during the past 10 years.

"It's all about navigating and delivering the message, which gets people participating and makes the city smart," he says.

Oliver Senn, a senior research engineer with Singapore-MIT, gave an example of how data collection could be used by taxi drivers. Drivers could be warned when it is going to rain and shown a visualization of where the most potential passengers are located.

But GeoPulse Beijing is more than a convenient idea － it's a way of understanding an inevitable future. The question is, will Beijing embrace the idea with open arms? Yang Lei, curator of the GeoCity exhibition, seems to think so.

"It's already started. We used this exhibition to launch some pilot demos," he says."In China, everything is happening so fast. In the next three to five years this data-based Smart City movement will really take off."

Contact the writer at

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn

Mileage plan for train riders is in the works

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

Being able to exchange miles logged traveling for free tickets is a perk that frequent airline travelers have long enjoyed. Now those who travel by trains in China may be able to do the same in the near future.

The Ministry of Railways has recently started a trial membership program on 12306.cn, the ministry's official ticketing and customer-service website, that allows certain passengers to use credits to redeem tickets. This has sparked speculation that frequent train passengers will soon be able to use their mileage for similar ticket redemption.

On Friday, the website said in a statement that a total of 2,110 passengers have become new members. They were randomly selected from passengers who participated in an online customer-satisfaction survey in May.

Members can win credits varying from 10,000 to 100,000 points, while 100 points equal 1 yuan ($0.16) when members use their credits for free tickets.

The incentive program is in line with the ministry's long-term plan to strengthen its customer service.

Hu Yadong, vice-minister of railways, said in February that the ministry will explore its own frequent passenger-service plan to meet the needs of individual passengers, which aims to cultivate customer loyalty to Chinese railways.

"The plan will provide free train tickets to passengers on a trial basis as well as other value-added services, including the VIP train station lounge, luggage porter, hotels and accommodation," Hu said on the annual national railway-transportation work conference.

So far, the ministry has launched three customer-satisfaction survey campaigns, which granted membership to 4,220 passengers who were awarded credits, the Beijing News reported on Friday.

"Program membership is not open to the public yet, and the passengers may get the credits only by taking the questionnaire," a customer service representative of the website told China Daily on Friday.

According to a membership guide that is not yet public, members are divided into four tiers based on the mileage they travel by trains, which provide them with benefits at different levels, the Beijing News reported.

The guide says 100 yuan of the ticket price could be converted to 300, 500, 600 or 800 points, depending on the membership tier. The credit will be prorated if passengers buy train tickets with discounts, the report said.

For a normal member, one would have to take the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train 34 times to get a free ride, which charges 555 yuan for a second-class seat.

Although the ministry hasn't given details of the plan yet, the membership program has triggered heated debate on the Internet.

In a survey conducted on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like service in China, nearly 300 polled netizens supported the move because they believe it will benefit customers.

"Finally, train passengers can earn miles too," said a Sina Weibo user with the name SHMILY1314."Each year I spend 5,000 to 6,000 yuan on train tickets, and it would help frequent passengers like me to save money."

However, more than 3,000 people voted that they don't care about the membership program as it cannot ensure customers get train tickets at all times, even if one is a program member.

"The ministry should first concentrate on solving the problem of making ticket purchases more easy, as it is almost a struggle to get tickets sometimes," said another user with the name ST-saltwater.

The Beijing News reported that members are not able to redeem train tickets on international train routes or certain popular routes. Meanwhile, students, soldiers and other kind of customers who buy tickets with discounts cannot earn credits.

Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that the new move will benefit frequent train travelers, and also help China's high-speed railways compete for customers.

"It will help increase the number of passengers on high-speed railways, as it could earn more credits than taking normal trains which are low in price."

tanzongyang@chinadaily.com.cn

Two surrogacy services raided

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

The Shenzhen health inspection bureau said on Thursday it raided two agencies in Shenzhen that provided illegal surrogacy and reproduction services.

The bureau said one agency, called Shenzhen Ande Yiyangtang, was in an elders' home in Longhua new district. The officers also found drugs to promote ovulation as well as massive case-history materials.

The bureau sealed the agency for further investigation.

The other illegal agency was in the Buji sub-district, the bureau said. The officers found surrogacy contracts and materials related to illegal assisted reproduction. The suspect confessed they searched for buyers and sellers mostly online. That site was also sealed.

According to a report in Southern Metropolis Daily on Thursday, the illegal agencies earned 100,000 yuan ($16,000) to 150,000 yuan from each deal, while the young women who provided eggs earned 20,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan.

The majority and the most sought-after providers are office workers. Their biggest advantage is that they are young, have a good education and are attractive, the report said.

A small percentage of the providers were college students. Foreigners were also wanted.

The report cited a representative from Ande Yiyangtang surnamed Guo as saying that a Hungarian student sold her eggs via the agency for 60,000 yuan in September, since the buyer wanted"a beautiful mixed-blood baby".

Another report in the newspaper on Friday said doctors of several public hospitals in Shenzhen and Dongguan are suspected to be involved in illegal deals.

Wang Lina, doctor at the reproductive center of the Peking University Third Hospital, said the illegal egg deals can harm women's health.

"Ovulation injections carry a high risk for the egg providers, mostly young women who never had a baby before, that their ovaries will be overstimulated and may affect their fertility in the future."

"If they received such injections too many times, it can lead to ovary cancer, and in extreme cases the provider's life can be endangered."

Shan Juan in Beijing contributed to this story.


huangyuli@chinadaily.com.cn

China reports fewer fatal fires amid safety campaign

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 10:29 AM PDT

Updated: 2012-10-20 00:04

( Xinhua)

BEIJING - A fire safety campaign that began in June has led to fewer fires and related fatalities, the fire bureau under the Ministry of Public Security said Friday.

Figures released by the bureau on Friday indicated that 14 "relatively major" fires -- with each causing three deaths or more -- have been reported since June 19, when the campaign kicked off, a year-on-year decrease of 17.6 percent.

The fires resulted in 49 deaths and 1.62 million yuan (260,000 US dollars) in direct economic losses, down by 24.6 percent and 91.4 percent, respectively.

A total of 28,830 fires have killed 215 people and led to direct economic losses worth 470 million yuan since the campaign began -- a situation the bureau described as "generally stable."

According to the bureau, fire departments across the country have checked some 3.76 million venues for fire risks thus far.

The ministry has urged fire departments to make greater efforts to find and eliminate fire risks, as well as improve their ability to fight fires in crowded and high-risk areas, such as oil and chemical factories.

Poll: Chinese public satisfied with selection of officials

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:07 AM PDT

The public is generally satisfied with the way the country's officials are selected and managed, according to the results of a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) poll.

Chinese miners detained in Ghana freed on bail

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:32 AM PDT

All of the Chinese nationals suspected of illegal gold mining in Ghana and detained by local police have been freed on bail, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Friday in Beijing.

5 bln yuan for rural housing renovation

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:32 AM PDT

The government has allocated an additional five billion yuan (792.39 million U.S.dollars) to fund the renovation of 600,000 dilapidated rural homes this year, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

Rwanda to join UN Security Council in January of 2013

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:32 AM PDT

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Thursday elected Rwanda to one of the rotational seats on the UN Security Council. Rwanda will join the UN Security Council since Jan. 1, 2013 as a non-permanent member for a two years term ending December 2014.

5 bln yuan for rural housing renovation

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:24 AM PDT

The government has allocated an additional five billion yuan (792.39 million U.S.dollars) to fund the renovation of 600,000 dilapidated rural homes this year, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

China conducts exercise in East China Sea

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 04:01 AM PDT

Civilian maritime authorities and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy conducted a joint exercise in the East China Sea on Friday.

Chinese restaurants waste too much food

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:13 AM PDT

A study has revealed that Chinese restaurants throw away 8 million tons of protein and 3 million tons of fat annually, enough to feed 200 million people for one whole year.

Chinese restaurants waste too much food

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:30 AM PDT

A study has revealed that Chinese restaurants throw away 8 million tons of protein and 3 million tons of fat annually, enough to feed 200 million people for one whole year.

World's "smallest" egg found in Chongqing?

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:15 AM PDT

The world record for smallest egg might soon be broken after a new discovery in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality.

Philippines, China boost efforts to run after criminals

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:15 AM PDT

The Philippines and China on Friday exchanged instruments of ratification of a mutual assistance pact that will enable authorities to better enforce laws against criminals from both countries.

NE China hospital attacker jailed for life

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 09:19 PM PDT

A teenager who killed a doctor and injured three others at a local hospital in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has received a life sentence.

Israeli president praises Chinese achievements in past 6 decades

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 04:15 PM PDT

Israeli President Shimon Peres Thursday commended the Chinese people and the Chinese government for the achievements they have made since the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded 63 years ago.

Blocking investment hurts US more than China: MOC

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:34 AM PDT

Blocking investment from China will hurt the United States more than China, Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Shen Danyang said Friday.

Romney attacks China to attract votes

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:34 AM PDT

American republican candidate Mitt Romney's hard criticism of China is just a move to attract votes, a Chinese expert on China-U.S. relations said, suggesting that his words should not be taken too seriously.
• Blocking investment hurts US more than China: MOC

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