ASIA-PACIFIC

Japan becomes Beijing’s top export market， topping the U.S.BEIJING， April 25 – Japan became Beijing’s largest export market， passing the U.S. in the first quarter of 2011， said the head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce on Monday.In the first quarter of 2011， total export-import volume between Beijing and Japan reached 5.19 billion U.S. dollars， with exports accounting for 1.06 billion U.S. dollars， according to the commission.Major exports from Beijing to Japan include mobile phones， coal， PC software and computer processors. The biggest imports from Japan to Beijing are cars， flat-panel LCB displays， digital cameras and integrated circuits (ICs).Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami do not appear to have significantly affected imports from Japan to Beijing， according to an analysis by the commission. It is estimated that exports from Beijing to Japan will continue to increase， according to the analysis. (Xinhua)Cambodia， China sign trade promotion cooperationPHNOM PENH， May 24 – Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of bilateral trade.The MoU was inked between Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and Wan Jifei， visiting chairman of CCPIT and president of China Chamber of International Commerce.Speaking before the signing ceremony， Cham Prasidh said the agreement will be useful for Cambodia to strengthen and expand trade cooperation with China.“As Cambodia and China have good relations in all levels ranging from the two countries’ governments to business people and people， I believe that Cambodia and China will be able to achieve the bilateral trade volume of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2012，” he said.The minister has suggested China to help encourage Chinese investors and people to purchase Cambodian agricultural products such as rice， corn， cassava and rubber in order to fulfill the expected trade target in 2012.Meanwhile， Wan Jifei said that the two countries’ cooperation in terms of trade and investment has a lot of room to grow.He added that through the agreement， the CCPIT will encourage more Chinese investors to come to Cambodia， and will arrange more meetings between the two countries’ business people， and will organize trade fairs in China or in Cambodia.Wan Jifei stressed that currently， the exports of Cam- bodian products to China are done mostly by the third country such as Vietnam or Thailand. “This is the reason that Cambodia’s exports to China are far fewer than those China’s exports to Cambodia because the third country buys products from Cambodia and exports to China，”he said， adding “so， to re-balance the two countries’ trade， it’s necessary that Cambodian and Chinese business people have to meet more often in order to bridge direct trade between the two countries.” (Xinhua)Pakistani PM: Pak-China trade to hit US$15 billion in 2 yearsBEIJING， May 20 – Pakistan and China should put more emphasis on economic cooperation while maintaining the all-dimensional relationship， Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here Friday.During an exclusive interview with Xinhuanet， Gilani expressed that in light of the all-dimensional relationship， economic cooperation should be further enhanced. He proposed to target for a bilateral trade volume of 15 billion U.S. dollars within two years.“Our trade at the moment is nine billion U.S. dollars， we want to enhance it to 15 billion U.S. dollars with the expansion of two years， and this is doable. We are moving in the right direction，” said Gilani， who is on a four-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. This is also his fourth visit.This year 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations and was declared China-Pakistan Friendship Year by Wen and Gilani during Wen’s visit to Pakistan in December 2010.Gilani said that during the past 60 years， China and Pakistan have had multi-dimensional cooperation in many fields， whether it is in national defense， economics， intelligence， agriculture， culture， infrastructure， and energy.“But I feel that there should be more emphasis on one issue and that is economy，” he said， adding Pakistan should be economically stable as it is fighting an anti-terrorism war for which Pakistan pays dear.Recalling the Pakistan-China Entrepreneurs Forum held the previous day， Gilani expressed again there is still great potential to explore in bilateral economic cooperation.“China and Pakistan enjoyed a solid friendship of six decades. The economic ties between the two countries have seen strong growth in the past， however， the two sides believe there is still unexplored potential， and hope to further expand cooperation in trade， investment and financial services，” he said.At the forum， he also said though China-Pakistan all-weather friendship has “beat the test of time，” their corporate sectors should work together to “inject new dynamics into their partnership and lead the process to take the friendship to new heights.” (Xinhuanet)Australia’s Cougar Energy to open Beijing office for China UCG ProjectsSYDNEY， May 25 – Australia’s Cougar Energy Ltd will open an office in Beijing to grow its underground coal gasification (UCG) projects in China and across the Asian region， the company announced on Wednesday.Cougar says the Beijing office will be headed by Kevin Garner， who has been appointed as General Manager Asia from June 1， 2011.Garner， a chartered engineer and Chinese resident， will be responsible for technical and operational aspects of executing the UCG projects.Cougar on Wednesday also announced the appointment of Alyssa Liao as Commercial Adviser to the company.Liao is a former private banker with UBS and HSBC and will be based in Shanghai， Cougar says. (English.news.cn)New Zealand traders urged to become more engaged with ChinaWELLINGTON， May 10 – New Zealand traders need to become more active and engaged in trading with China， according to the head of the New Zealand China Trade Association (NZCTA).NZCTA chairman Stuart Ferguson dismissed perceptions that China was a “difficult” place to do business.“The future is clearly written on the wall we have to trade with China and it’s a good place to trade so long as you understand that it’s not New Zealand you’re dealing with，” Ferguson told Xinhua ahead of the biennial NZCTA China trade awards in Auckland Thursday.“A lot of the mythology about the difficulties of dealing with China is just that mythology. It’s no different from dealing with many other places where there are differences in custom and language，” said Ferguson.“China is a market for our consumer durables and expendables and intellectual property and it has been increasing in value and breadth. The future for NZ in China is fantastic，”said Ferguson， who was general manager and a director of COSCO New Zealand， a branch of the Chinese shipping giant， for 22 years.“Trade with China is sound and strong. The free trade agreement has assisted that.”However， it was important for New Zealand businesses to seek good advice before entering China， even if they had to pay for it， Ferguson said.“The more mature we become as traders and engagers with China， the better off we will be.”The NZCTA， which was founded in 1981 by New Zealand entrepreneurs seeking to expand trade links to China， was stronger than it had ever been with more than 200 members， he said.“The event on Thursday is the biennial event that cel- ebrates success in China in terms of the bilateral commercial relationship. This year is the best year we’ve had in terms of the numbers and caliber of the applicants. We should see about 350 people taking part， up from about 250 to 280 last time，” he told Xinhua.“A lot of applicants are from one-man bands， several from big corporations and some small and medium-sized enterprises.”The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2008. According to New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade， bilateral trade in the first year rose by 23 percent to exceed 10 billion NZ dollars (7.92 billion U.S. dollars)， with New Zealand exports up almost 60 percent to 3.5 billion NZ dollars.New Zealand’s exports to China have traditionally been primary sector products such as wool， dairy products， meat， seafood and wood， but sales of high-tech products have been growing in recent years. (Xinhua)Australian gov’t approves Chi-X entry to Australia marketCANBERRA， May 4 – Australian federal government on Wednesday formally approved Japanese-owned Chi-X to operate a separate securities exchange in Australia， to increase competition in financial services.Chi-X will be the first foreign-owned stock exchange in Australia， and the entry of Chi-X Australia Pty Ltd marks an end to the 24-year monopoly of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).According to Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten and Treasurer Wayne Swan， the government had granted a licence to Chi-X Australia Pty Ltd to boost competition， as part of its broad agenda to build Australia’s reputation as a financial services hub within Asia.“Competition in Australia’s financial markets is critical to promoting exchange innovation， lowering transaction costs for market participants， leveraging our pool of national superannuation savings， and improving liquidity and access to capital for companies，” Shorten and Swan said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.Shorten said the market regulator， the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)， would work with market operators to ensure a smooth transition to competition.Meanwhile， Chi-X Australia chief operating officer Paul Fowler said competition between his company and ASX would provide benefits such as lower costs for investors.“By leveraging our experience and proven technology， we believe that Chi-X will provide both existing and new market participants greater choice and flexibility，” Fowler said in a statement on Wednesday. “We look forward to launching the market later this year.” The company was aiming for a start by the fourth quarter of 2011. The announcement came a month after Australian federal government blocked the Singapore Exchange’s takeover of the ASX， ruling the deal was not in the national interest. (Xinhua)