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Import, export hit 1 Tln USD
WATCH VIDEOSource: CCTV.com
06-15-2008 11:41
Chinese imports and exports hit a total value of just-over 1 trillion US dollars for the first five months of the year. That’s a more than 26 percent rise from the same period in 2007. But, as Yang Fei explains, the type of exports is shifting from low cost basic goods to high value-added products boasting the very latest in technology.
From January to May, China’s exports amounted to 545 billion US dollars, while imports were slightly lower, at 467 billion US dollars. Taken together, that’s still a big rise from the same period a year earlier.

But the big change is in the type of goods that are leaving the country. Chinese exports are no longer cheap items, but are instead increasingly likely to boast some of the latest in technology. Customs authorities say machinery and electrical goods made up 58.8 percent of all exports in the first five months. In contrast, there have been falls in export volumes for coke, crude oil and steel products.

Li Jian, Researcher of Foreign Trade Dept., Ministry of Commerce, said, “The figure shows that China’s global market share has not fallen significantly. But made-in China products are entering a crucial transition period, with technology likely to play a much bigger role.”
As an example, Shifeng Group, the largest agricultural vehicle maker in China, has received a 700-million-US-dollar order for its super radial tires. The product boasts up to eight different patents, breaking a long-standing monopoly held by European and American giants.

Liu Chengqiang, President of Shifeng Group, said, “The cost of a super tire is 560,000 yuan, and its added value is 100 times that of an ordinary agricultural vehicle, which is only desirable because of its low cost.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce is predicting a continued slow down in the growth of exports, with imports likely to increase at a faster pace. It says this is largely due to weaker international demand, appreciation in the yuan and more expensive raw materials.

Garment exports slow from January to May
WATCH VIDEOSource: CCTV.com
06-15-2008 12:02
Textile export growth for the first five months of the year has gone up from a year ago. But export growth of completed garments have in fact dropped compared to rates for the same period in 2007. Customs authorities say that between January and May, export growth for textiles was up 26.3 percent from the same period last year.

This is compared to export growth figures for garments which has fallen a full 9 percentage points from 2007. In fact for May alone, garment exports rose by a record-low rate of 1.08 percent. Industry insiders think the slowdown in garment exports could reflect a whole string of factors as we saw in the preceding report these could be a weaker demand abroad, fast appreciation of China’s currency and higher production costs.

Duration : 0:3:13

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Speech at the Russian-Chinese Business Communities Economic Forum.Part 2
March 22,2006
Beijing

Выступление на Российско-китайском экономическом форуме
22 марта 2006 года
Пекин

We have made considerable achievements in our relations, but we must also recognise that we also have many serious problems that need addressing.

Foremost among these is the negative change in the structure of our bilateral trade and the raw materials bias of Russian exports to China. I spoke yesterday with my colleague about this matter. Exports of Russian machinery and equipment almost halved in 2005, meanwhile, imports of similar goods from China to Russia saw a noticeable increase.

This trade structure makes us very dependent on price fluctuations on the raw materials markets and creates potential instability for our bilateral trade. In order to protect ourselves from this danger we need to improve the structure of our trade flows and develop cooperation in the technology and manufacturing sectors. Mr Hu Jintao spoke about Chinas large-scale plans to buy goods on foreign markets, and I very much hope that Russian companies will be involved in these plans.

In order to resolve this issue we must draw on the immense cooperation potential that we still have in reserve and that we have not been making sufficient use of. This goes above all for the production of high-technology goods.

To name a few, they include nuclear energy, environmental protection and medicine, space research and the civil aviation industry. It is also very important to develop agri-business cooperation and pursue more rational development of marine bio-resources.

We need to make greater use of the possibilities offered by the special economic zones being established in Russia in the aim of priority development of advanced technology. A law on these zones has already been adopted in Russia and we hope that they will give our Chinese partners additional opportunities for work on our market. I am pleased that Mr Hu Jintao also made this point. A special memorandum has been signed by the relevant government agencies in our countries in order to pursue practical cooperation in this area.

The improvement of transport routes in the Far East and their integration into the transport network of the Asia-Pacific Region is another important issue. Particularly important in this respect is effective use of the potential offered by the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is one of the shortest routes from Asia to Europe. To this aim we have signed, during this visit, an agreement on the mutual use of large-tonnage containers for the transport of export and import goods and on the introduction of electronic exchange of data on international cargoes.

Establishing a well-oiled mechanism for cooperation in the financial sector is a prerequisite for successful cooperation. This mechanism should focus both on supporting joint projects carried out by major Russian and Chinese companies and on those carried out by small and medium-sized companies. I think that the Russian and Chinese banking systems are now in a situation that entirely justifies raising this issue, as can be seen yesterday in the example of the credit agreement signed between Vneshtorgbank and the Export-Import Bank of China.

Trade in services communications and telecommunications services and tourism, of course, are also all areas with great potential.

Duration : 0:6:6

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Modec battery powered electric vans are now running from Shrewsbury’s Tesco Extra environmental store.

Recharged overnight with a maximum speed of 50 mph and a 100 mile range, each one saves 21 tonnes of CO2 a year – equal to driving 51,000 miles. They have a smooth and silent engine with very powerful acceleration.

Coventry manufacturers Modec have ensured they have the same capacity as a standard tesco.com van.

For more information go to http://www.modeczev.com/

Duration : 0:1:27

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ZHANG:
Economic meltdown is having a mixed effect on the sale of luxury brands in India. The crisis has put a dent in consumers’ spending power.

STORY:
Ajit Joshi, the CEO and marketing director of Chroma, a consumer electronics retail chain has some positive views on this global situation.

[Ajit Joshi, Chroma CEO]:
“As far as my knowledge of economics is concerned, there is no recession in the country when you have 5 percent year on year growth in your GDP. Recession happens only when you start showing the negative role. There is a slowdown but it has not come to ‘Chroma’ (a retail brand) as yet. It has come to certain pockets of the industries. The builders and their community are rolling out of the stores. We see a little slowdown coming in to the real estate but we haven’t seen the slowdown coming in to the sales.”

The slowdown of the economy has adversely affected a few big brands across Mumbai.

But mostly the bigger brands are coping with the situation and waiting for a stable economy. They are coming up with new shopping outlets like ‘The Loot’, but somewhere their sales have gone down, too.

[Jay Gupta, The Loot Retail Limited]:
“The industry as such is getting badly affected. In retail the footwalls are coming down, in the malls the footwalls are coming down. Lot of lifestyle chains and restaurants are getting hit badly. But at this time, I feel we have a model which is a value retailing model and if you have limited funds basically you cannot stop eating or wearing clothes, it’s a need of human being and we are here to give you the best offers. So we are selling jeans at rupees 500, a trouser at rupees 500 and a shirt at rupees 300. So somehow this has been working positive for us.”

Although the recession has affected everyone’s lives, some people dont seem to have stopped buying as such. They are waiting for the economy to stablize.

[Sanjay Kshetri, Customer]:
“Recession is a part of our life now in the present condition. It is a global recession and we can’t just keep ourselves out of this. But I think to some extent it has affected my personal life as well and so we can’t just ignore it.”

The Indian luxury goods market was once thought immune to the ebbs and flows of economic fluctuations. But it has finally begun to feel the heat of the worldwide economic slowdown.

Duration : 0:2:25

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IN THE FIELD: Japans economy contracted by 4.0 percent in the January-March quarter, the fastest pace on record in the first quarter, fuelled by a global and domestic fall in demand for cars, electronic and other goods.

Duration : 0:2:12

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