Trade Data Watch Between China and U.S.

Sourced from China Customs， China’s total export to the US in November 2010 reached US$26.46 billion， increased by 32.2% year on year. And its import from the US was US$9.73 billion， 35.1% up on a year-on-year basis. The following are the statistics on the total trade volume and trade breakdowns between China and the US respectively.US， China to build world’s largest solar plantFirst Solar Inc， a US-based renewable energy company， signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development Co Ltd (CGN SEDC) on January 4 to jointly develop the world’s largest solar power plant.First Solar， the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar PV modules， said it will build a 2，000-megawatt (mW) solar power plant with its partners in Ordos， Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the next 10 years.The first phase of the project is to build a 30-mW production capacity plant. The rest of the project will be completed in three stages.Under the terms of the agreement， First Solar and CGN SEDC will work together to execute the first phase demonstration project with a 30-mW production capacity in Ordos.The Ordos project is the first large-scale solar collaboration between China and the United States， as well as an example of China-US bilateral cooperation on renewable energy. It will be the largest solar power plant in the world upon completion.“We are making efforts on establishing a global relationship between US and Chinese companies in collaboration with the Chinese local government，” said Bruce Sohn， president of First Solar. “This project will be a good start.”The agreement represents an important step forward for the Ordos project， following First Solar’s MOU with the local government in Ordos in September 2009. The Chinese government approved the pre-feasibility study for the first phase in September.TK Kallenbach， executive vice-president of First Solar， said since 2009 the company has been searching for a suitable longterm Chinese partner.Sohn said even though First Solar has the advanced technology of thin-film solar PV modules， the company lacks the experience and network in the Chinese market， which CGN SEDC can help to fill.CGN SEDC will be the major project owner and operator， performing the engineering， procurement and construction (EPC) functions for the project.First Solar will supply its advanced thin-film solar PV modules for the project and support CGN SEDC with EPC and advisory services.Currently， the largest solar power plant is the Sarnia PV power plant with an 80-mW production capacity in Sarnia， Canada.According to First Solar， the construction of the first phase will start in 2011 and it expects to complete the construction of the 2，000-mW solar power plant by the end of 2020. The Ordos local government said it will provide equipment and service supports for the project.Established on Aug 27， 2009， CGN SEDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group， focusing on solar power investment， construction， operation and maintenance. By the end of 2010， CGN SEDC completed construction of solar facilities capable of producing 20 mW. (China Daily)Goldwind wins US wind power dealXinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co announces that one of its units has won a contract to sell wind power in Illinois in the United States， and it sees this transaction as a key step to tap the global wind power market.Under the agreement， a wind farm to be built by Xinjiang Goldwind’s wholly-owned unit TianRun Shady Oaks LLC will supply 20 years of power to Commonwealth Edison Co from 2012， the Urumqi-based firm said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on December 21.Construction of the 106.5-megawatt project， expected to cost US$150 million to US$200 million， will begin in 2011， the firm said.“Winning the contract is significant step in the company’s strategy to go international after being listed in Hong Kong in early October，” Essence Securities wrote in a research report. “Goldwind is expected to benefit from providing turbine and engineering services after transferring the power plant to future buyers， as this has been the usual case for its domestic operations，” it said. (Shanghai Daily)US keeps China’s furniture makers in the hot seatThe United States International Trade Commission (USITC) decided to maintain anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made wooden bedroom furniture for another five years， which could shift Chinese enterprises’ focus from the US to their home market， industry experts said.Chinese and US distributors of wooden bedroom furniture for the US market are subject to an anti-dumping tariff of from 43.23 to 216.01 percent， according to the USITC.“The anti-dumping tax on furniture made in China increasingly suppresses the profit margins of Chinese exporters，” said Luo Yamei， an analyst at Industrial Securities.”Many Chinese export-oriented enterprises in the industry have transferred their target market from the US to China due to the shrinking profits.Zhao Shoutian， vice-president of the Beijing Furniture Association， said Chinese manufacturers may rush to develop the domestic market because the US market is no longer so promising owing to the unstable orders and high tax rates.According to Zhao， Chinese companies have little yield to share with their US distributors， who will definitely pressure them for more as they face the high tax rate.“Compared with distributors in the US， manufacturers in China always get less profit in the export， as the pricing power belongs to their US partners，” said Zhao. He added that most US distributors of Chinese-made furniture oppose the US government’s decision.US trade protection against Chinese wooden bedroom furniture dates to 2006， when a tax rate of up to 210 percent was imposed on Chinese products. (China Daily)