EUROPE

China-Russia trade volume hits 17.9 bln USD in Q1: Russian ministerHARBIN， June 14 - Russian Minister of Regional Development said Tuesday the trade volume between China and Russia in the first quarter this year surged up 50.1 percent year-on-year to 17.9 billion U.S. dollars.Viktor Basargin said in Harbin， capital city of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province， that the huge trade volume increase was based on long-term， prospective relationship between the two countries.“I’m delighted to see the friendly neighborliness between China and Russia has been reinforced through regular meetings of the two countries’ top leaders， and now we are trying to find a direction for long-term cooperation，” he said.Basargin made the remarks at the 22nd Harbin International Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation that opened on Tuesday in Heilongjiang， which borders Russia. The fiveday event is organized by the Ministry of Commerce， the National Development and Reform Commission， the Council for the Promotion of International Trade， along with the local governments of Heilongjiang and Harbin. (Xinhua)China， Germany sign $15 billion dealsChina and Germany signed deals worth more than $15 billion on June 26 as the leaders of the world’s top two exporters set a target of doubling their annual trade by 2015.Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the signing ceremony in Berlin. One of the highlights of the ceremony was China’s purchase of 62 A320 aircraft from Airbus SAS.Other contracts， among the 14 deals signed， included an electric car project between German auto giant Volkswagen and its Chinese partner FAW and a factory in Foshan.Volkswagen also signed a deal with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation， while Daimler and the Beijing Benz Automotive Company inked an agreement on investment in new products， engines and a research and development center.A range of government-to-government cooperation projects covering energy， finance and the environment were also among the deals signed. “We have signed contracts worth more than $15 billion just now，” Wen said at a news conference with Merkel after the signing ceremony.Merkel said that Germany and China want to double their annual trade to 200 billion euros ($284 billion) by 2015.“We both take the view that what is good can become better，”Merkel said. She added that China and Germany are “ideal partners” to develop electric cars， for example， and said both sides want to increase investment.China is prepared to buy more high-quality German goods， Wen said， but he also called for Berlin to quickly grant it formal recognition as a full market economy to help remove trade obstacles.“We are not forcing anyone into technology transfer，” he said and urged Germany to seek a loosening of EU restrictions on technology exports.German and Chinese observers recognize the potential for cooperation.Monika Hohlmeier， a German member of the European Parliament， highlighted that the environment， renewable energy and finance are just some of the areas where trade relations could be strengthened.Germany is Europe’s biggest technology exporter to China. By April， contracts worth $52.2 billion， covering a total of 15，448 transfers to China， had been signed. The contracts involved the transportation， telecom and chemical sectors.Ren Dingqiu， a researcher at Beijing Academy of Social Sciences， said Germany’s investment in China can help boost the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing industry.“So China should further improve its investment environment and better protect intellectual property rights，” Ren said.China-Germany trade reached $142 billion last year， about one third of the total trade volume between China and the EU. Germany is China’s largest trading partner in Europe.Though China has a trade surplus with Europe， it actually runs a deficit with Germany. Imports from Germany increased 33.4 percent in 2010， resulting in a $6.29 billion deficit.According to figures released by Beijing， China and Germany have increased mutual investment. By April， Germany had invested in 7，110 projects in China， with financial input totaling $17.67 billion.China replaced Europe this year to become the “most favorite investment destination” for Germany， and 43 percent of German investors have expressed a desire to boost production in China.Wen， on his fifth visit to Germany as premier， briefed Merkel on the measures China had taken to counter inflation and maintain stable economic development， while Merkel explained Germany’s views on the current European debt crisis.China has repeatedly said that “when Europe has difficulties， we extend a helping hand”， Wen said at the news conference.“We have said that we have confidence in the European economy， that we have confidence in the euro. We have also said that we support some countries， as needed， in that we buy their government bonds.”Wen insisted that the difficulties of some European Union countries “are of a temporary character”.Commerce Minister Chen Deming agreed to further expand bilateral trade between China and Germany. He suggested that the two countries make full use of the first China-Germany inter-government consultation to enhance economic relations.Wen arrived in Berlin on Monday for the last leg of his three-nation Europe tour， which has already taken him to Hungary and Britain. (China Daily)China to purchase 88 planes from AirbusTIANJIN， June 29 — China has signed an agreement with the European plane maker Airbus to buy 88 aircraft in the A320 family， a Chinese buyer said on Wednesday.According to the agreement signed on Tuesday in Berlin， China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) will buy 46 out of the total 88 aircraft， and the rest 42 will be delivered to the ICBC Financial Leasing Co， a subsidiary of the Industrial and Commerce Bank of China， said a CAS official on Wednesday.The purchase will lift the leasing company’s plane number to 110 from the current 68.The single-aisle A320 family is made up of the A318， A319， A320 and A321. Airbus has secured more than 7，000 orders for the A320 family worldwide， and more than 4，700 planes have already been delivered to over 330 clients worldwide.Altogether 575 A320 aircraft are operated in China by 13 airline companies. (Xinhua)China-Britain trade targets US$100 billion in 2015LONDON， June 25 — With a rapid growth in bilateral trade during the first six months of this year， China and Britain are aimed at an ambitious trade target of 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.That target was set by leaders of the two nations during Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit in China in November.China and Britain are important trading partners with Britain being China’s third largest market in the EU and China being Britain’s largest export destination save the EU and the United States.Two-way trade in goods and services between the two nations hit an all-time high of 60 billion U.S. dollar last year， a rise of 28 percent from the previous year.According to the economic and commercial counselor’s office of the Chinese Embassy to Britain， bilateral trade of goods jumped 17.4 percent to 20.97 dollars in the first five months from a year earlier.Investment is also on the fast track with more and more Chinese setting up subsidiaries in Britain. Last year， China became Britain’s sixth largest foreign investor.In addition， over the past few years an increasing number of Chinese companies， notably Shanghai Automobile and Chongqing Changan Automobile， have set up RD centers in Britain.Meanwhile， British enterprises continue to expand their presence and operations in China. Tesco has committed to making an investment worth 2 billion dollars in China during the next five years.With a cumulative investment exceeding 17 billion dollars by the end of 2010， Britain has managed to maintain its position as China’s largest investor among EU members.At the same time， the potential to expand China-Britain commercial and economic ties remains huge. Trade with Britain accounts for a mere 1.7 percent of China’s trade with the rest of the world. British exports to China， meanwhile， constitute less than 2 percent of China’s total imports. (Xinhua)EU should treat China fairly on market economy status issues: deputy foreign ministerBEIJING， June 17 — Whether the European Union grants China market economy status is more an issue of“political attitude” than of substantial significance for either side， Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said in Beijing on Friday.Fu made the remarks at a news briefing held prior to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s upcoming official visits to Hungary， Britain and Germany， which will last from June 24 to 28.The EU has already found China to have a fairly developed market economy， but the criteria it uses to determine market economy status are still an obstacle， Fu said.“Strictly speaking， many countries recognized by the EU as market economies， including some EU members， have not fully met these criteria，” she said.Under the terms of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001， all WTO member countries， including EU countries， are required to recognize China as having a market economy by 2016.Whether the EU acknowledges China’s market economy status is not a troublesome issue for China， and antidumping measures against China have become less effective over the years， Fu said.Although the EU has yet to formally recognize China’s market economy status， economic ties between China and the EU have continued to prosper in recent years， she said.China is the EU’s second-largest trading partner， while the 27-member bloc constitutes China’s largest overseas market. Bilateral trade reached 480 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.“Our appeal for the EU to recognize China’s market economy status is only being done to remind the bloc to treat China fairly，” she added.During the briefing， Fu also urged European governments to improve their investment environments for Chinese businessmen.“Some European politicians tend to read Chinese enterprises’ economic activities with a political bias in mind， which is detrimental to the development of China-EU relations，” she said. (Xinhua)