China’s toy industry facing challenge as EU tightens rulesYIWU， July 20， 2011 — Stricter safety requirements for toys came into force in the European Union (EU) market on Wednesday， posing a challenge to China’s toy manufacturing industry.The New European Union Toy Safety Directive， adopted two years ago， tightens the rules of toys sold with food to prevent toys from being swallowed by a small child.It also requires that toys should carry details of the manufacturer or importer on the packaging and possibly on the toy itself， making it easier for customers and authorities to trace the origin of toys.But what batters Chinese toy makers under the new rules is the tighter control over the chemicals that can be used in toys.The EU-wide regulation contains a ban of CMR (carcinogenic， mutagenic and reprotoxic) substances， not only limiting the use of allergenic fragrances in toys but raising the number of restricted harmful chemicals from eight to 19.The new standards will take effect in July 2013 as a second phase.The new rules on toy safety， market experts say， will increase costs of Chinese toy makers by at least five percent， squeezing their already paper-thin profits.China， the world’s largest toy maker， takes up about 70 percent of the global market share and accounts for about 80 percent of Europe’s imports of toys.In Yiwu， one of China’s major toy manufacturing bases， more than 3，200 firms stay in toy-related businesses， most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. To meet the new EU requirements， these companies will face additional costs by buying testing equipment or paying a lab to do the tests for the chemical contents of toys.It is widely believed that Chinese toy makers can only survive the storm of cost rise， coupled by the appreciation of the Chinese currency， by adapting to the new quality requirements and increasing RD investment to make toys with higher added value. (Xinhua)China’s investment does not match status as Australia’s top trade partnerSYDNEY， July 26 — China’s investment in Australia does not match her status as the nation’s largest trade partner， said Duan Jielong， China’s Consul-General in Sydney on Tuesday.In a speech to Australia China Business Council(ACBC)， Duan said as more and more Chinese companies come to Australia to invest， there seems to be some concerns about Chinese investment being too much and growing too fast.“I personally believe such worries are not at all necessary.” Duan said.“Chinese companies investing in Australia， including state- owned companies， all abide by Australian laws and regulations， and follow the rules of market economy， and they work hard to make profit for their shareholders，”he said. “There is no difference in nature between Chinese companies and companies of other countries.”Duan also proposed that China and Australia need to promote the cooperation in infrastructure as a new growth point.He said， in the coming five years， Chinese companies will speed up “going overseas”.“The new round of mining boom in Australia， the building of the National Broadband Network， New South Wales’ development of a new financial service center and the building of new railways are releasing great demand for the infrastructure industry，” he said.“In these areas， Chinese companies have rich experience and technologies. There are broad prospects for companies of both Chinese and Australian to work together. At the same time， we also welcome Australian companies to invest in China’s infrastructure projects， especially in China’s Middle and Western regions.”Duan also noted that service sector marks a new potential ground for China-Australian cooperation. (Xinhua)China， EU to seek bilateral investment treatyBEIJING， July 14 － China and the European Union(EU) have agreed to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty， said China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming on Thursday.He made the remarks during a joint briefing in Beijing with the visiting EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.The minister said the two sides discussed a wide range of issues including investment， trade and intellectual property rights (IPR).The EU expressed concern over China’s compulsory certification regulations， export credits and exports of raw materials. China stated its views on high tech trade and registration of traditional herbal medicine. China also expressed grave concern over the EU’s recent trade remedy measures particularly anti-subsidy duties， said Chen.The EU is China’s largest trading partner. China is the EU’s fastest-rising export destination. Last year， bilateral trade reached 480 billion U.S. dollars. In the first half of this year， bilateral trade grew 21.3 percent from a year ago with EU exports to China increasing 13 percentage points faster than China’s exports to the EU.The EU Trade Commissioner said a more open EU-China market will benefit both sides. He welcomed China’s moves in promoting technological innovation and looked forward to further cooperation particularly regarding raw materials， IPR and government procurement.(Xinhua)China to keep investing in EuropeZhou Xiaochuan， the governor of China’s central bank， said Europe will remain one of China’s most important markets for investment， the Securities Times reported on July 25.Zhou said China is pleased that European leaders reached agreement on stabilizing Greece’s debt crisis， and added that it will have a positive effect on the finance environment in the euro zone. Zhou said China continues to have confidence in euro and the euro zone， the newspaper reported.A report by Standard Chartered Bank in late June stated that China has purchased more euro-nominated assets， rather than investing in US treasury bonds. Wang Zhihao， Standard Chartered Bank’s chief economist for the greater China region， said investing in euro shows that China is diversifying its foreign exchange reserves. (Chinadaily.com.cn )Italy expects to double bilateral trade with China by 2015Italy expects to double bilateral trade with China by 2015 on the basis of 2010， said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on July 18， on the first day of his official visit to China.He hailed the sound development of bilateral trade over the past years and said he is satisfied with the trade volume of 45 billion U.S. dollars last year.The relations between Italy and China have huge room of development and he hoped to boost the strategic partnership with China in various areas during his visit， Frattini said.He briefed reporters about his three-day schedule of China visit， during which he will sign agreements on promoting student exchange program and simplifying visa application to Italy.Frattini is paying an official visit to China from July 18 to 21 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. During the visit， Yang and Frattini will co-chair the fourth joint meeting of the China-Italy Governmental Committee. (Xinhua)Chinese shoemaking industry makes a comeback at Europe but targets highend marketWENZHOU， July 25 — Since the European Union’s(EU) removal of anti-dumping duties on China， shoemakers in the major footwear export base of Wenzhou have cautiously returned with a changed strategy of targeting mainly the EU’s high-end markets.The latest statistics from Wenzhou customs showed that from April to June， the city’s shoe exports to EU have grown by 10.16 percent year-on-year to 56.96 million pairs， with the aggregate turnover rising by 35.26 percent year-on-year to 356 million U.S. dollars.Compared to the first quarter， the exports volume declined by 4.83 percent while the turnover surged by 21.87 percent.The 16.5-percent anti-dumping tariff on shoe exports originated from Wenzhou was imposed by the EU in October 2006 and lifted in April.Jiang Xinghua， a supervisor for Aokang Footwear’s international operations， told Xinhua that the sequential decline in second quarter exports volume indicates the “selfrestraint” exercised by domestic shoemakers who hate to fall back on the low-price strategy that led to export restrictions for almost five years.“If we didn’t resist those low-price orders after the punitive tariff was lifted， our export growth in 2011 could have doubled from the previous year，” said Jiang. (Xinhua)
