EUROPE

China-Eu economic ties boosted in 2010， great potential aheadAs Europe continued its recovery from the global economic crisis， China-EU economic and trade relations were further boosted in 2010. Despite trade frictions and disputes， officials and businesses saw great potential in future ties.Latest data from EU statistical bureau Eurostat showed that from January to September of 2010， the EU’s exports to China reached 82.3 billion euros (US$107.8 billion)， up by 39 percent compared with the same period in 2009. And the EU’s imports from China grew by 30 percent， standing at 204.5 (US$267.8) billion euros.According to statistics from China， during the first 10 months of 2010， China-EU trade reached US$433.9 billion， gaining by 33 percent compared with the corresponding period of 2009. The figure is 10 percent higher than that of the same period in 2008， before the international financial crisis broke out.Besides the increase in trade， two-way investment also grew steadily in volume and expanded to various sectors. China’s statistics showed that the EU invested US$5.1 billion in China in the first 10 months of 2010.EU businesses are widening their investment from the traditional manufacturing sector to such sectors as service and risk investments. China’s direct investment in Europe grew by more than five times in the first three quarters of 2010 and more Chinese companies are looking to invest in Europe.Wan Jifei， chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)， said during a business summit held in Brussels that China and Europe had entered a new era of trade cooperation with great prospects for further expansion after decades of efforts.“Europe is important to an emerg- ing economy like China， which is in a crucial economic transformation period trying to readjust its industrial set-up and foster the development of high-tech and high value-added industries，” Wan said.Bernard Dewit， chairman of Belgian Chinese Chamber of Commerce， said he looked forward to the expanding of economic ties between Europe and China. Dewit hoped more and more Chinese companies would come to Europe， opening the European market for their products and creating more jobs for Europeans.Europe could make advantage of China’s enlarged consumer market， adjustment of industrial structure， commitment to developing green economy， and China’s science and technology advancement， said Song Zhe， head of the Chinese mission to the EU. (Xinhua Net)China， EU to raise high-tech co-opChina and the EU reached an“important consensus” on high technology trade， Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said at a joint press conference after the third China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue in Beijing， according to the Xinhua News Agency on December 21.The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in technology trade and convene the first meeting of the ChinaEU High-Tech Trade Working Group as soon as possible. They also agreed to improve cooperation in trade， investment， innovation and customs areas， Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.“The EU side agreed to enhance communication with the Chinese side for early recognition of China’s market economy status，” Wang said.The EU launched an investigation in September into a complaint that China had been dumping wireless widearea networking modems with radio antennas， providing Internet protocol data connectivity for computers.During the talks， Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Chinese and European companies had reached a basic agreement on the dispute and submitted it to the European Commission， and China hopes the EU will end investigations into the complaint.Hu Ronghua， a professor of economics at Fudan University， said that complaints of dumping have always been a problem in bilateral trade between China and Western countries.“To work toward their recognition of China’s market economy would be the best solution. Only in this way can our products’ prices not be compared to those of other nations with different costs， usually higher， which is vital when being decided whether it is dumping，”Hu said.However， Hu added that besides the fact that China still has some work to do before being recognized as a market economy， such as on well-enforced intellectual property rights， simmering debt problems within the eurozone are also making the EU more protective.(Global Times/Agencies)Longest passenger railway connecting Russia， NE China opensAn 866-kilometer-long passenger railway connecting Changchun in northeast China’s Jilin Province and Vladivostok in Russia officially opened on November 26， making it the longest transportation route between northeast China and Russia. It will help promote the trade and tourism cooperation between areas of both countries along the way.The railway is 574 kilometers long in China and 292 kilometers long in Russia. With a travel time of about 16 hours and 30 minutes， the train stops at China’s Changchun， Hunchun， and Hunchun Port， Russia’s Kraskino Port and Vladivostok， as well as some other places in both countries. The train will operate a round trip twice a week during the initial stage， on Mondays and Saturdays respectively， and its frequency will be adjusted according to the number of passengers in the future.Vladivostok， which is located at the border area among Russia， China， and North Korea， is Russia’s largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and is one of the earliest Russian cities to conduct cross-border barter trade with China. A large number of Chinese businessmen used to go to Russia to exchange Russian commodities， such as razors and telescopes， with Chinese commodities， such as clothing and cosmetics.There is a long border between northeastern China and the Russian Far East， in the areas of which the economic and trade ties between the two countries are also the most robust. Particularly， the “Outline on Cooperative Development Plan between China’s Northeast Region and the Russian Far East” issued by the governments of the two countries in 2009 has injected new energy into the economic cooperation between northeastern China and the Russian Far East.Yu Tiejun， director of the International Land Transportation Management Department of Jilin Provincial Transportation Bureau， said that the passenger railway line from Changchun to Vladivostok will become a major portal for the opening of northeastern China to Northeast Asia. It will also play a positive role in advancing the development of economic， trade and tourism sectors in areas along the railway line. (People’s Daily Online)Dutch giant opens China’s 1st foreignowned consumption financing serviceHome Credit Consumer Finance Co.， Ltd.， China’s first wholly foreignowned consumption finance enterprise approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission， was established in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone on December 1.This corporation is exclusively owned by the Holland-based PPF Group and its registered capital stands at 300 million yuan. It will provide unsecured mass consumption loans in the Tianjin region. This signifies that China’s first batch of four approved consumption finance enterprises established in Beijing， Shanghai， Chengdu and Tianjin have all been put into operation so far.Consumption finance enterprises are non-bank financial institutions that do not absorb public deposits. Instead， they provide Chinese citizens with loans for consumption based on the principle of grants with petty amounts， according to the “Management Approach for Consumer Finance Enterprise Pilot” released by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The establishment of the Dutch consortium’s China opera- tion means that China’s financial sector has opened further to foreign investors.(People’s Daily Online)2nd phase of China-Kazakh pipeline begins constructionThe China National Petroleum Corp on December 22 disclosed construction for the second phase of the China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline has begun in Kazakhstan.The second phase of the pipeline， from Beyneu to Shymkent， has a length of 1，475 kilometers， with a designed annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. Its actual capacity is expected to hit 15 billion cubic meters， said CNPC， the project’s leading operator.The first phase of the pipeline was completed in 2009.The CNPC said the construction of the Beyneu-Shymkent gas pipeline will help meet the energy needs and assist in the economic and social development of south Kazakhstan， as well as raise gas exports to China. (Shanghai Daily)