China urges U.S. to avoid harming tradeXinhua reported that China on September 14 urged the United States not to make excuses for protectionism with regard to a proposed bill that would push for the appreciation of Renminbi， China’s currency.“It is in our common interests to maintain the sound and stable development of China-U.S. trade relations. We urge some U.S. senators to realize the importance and reciprocal essence of the relations and not to make excuses for protectionism and avoid harming trade cooperation，” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.She made the remarks while commenting a new bill to be pushed in the coming weeks by the U.S. Senate to press the RMB’s appreciation.“We have made clear for many times our stance on promoting the reform of the RMB’s exchange rate formation mechanism，” Jiang said.China moved from a conventional dollar-peg system to a managed floating exchange rate system in 2005.US targets more trade in green energy sectorAccording to China Daily reports on September 9， the United States is seeking to expand bilateral trade and investment with China in energy market and energy efficiency technologies， as the US government plans to direct its economy toward clean energy， Brian L. Goldbeck， US consul general in Guangzhou， said on September 9.He made the remarks during the US-China Enterprises Investment Cooperation Forum on Energy Efficiency 2011 held in Xiamen， Fujian province， which is part of the five-day 15th China International Fair for Investment and Trade that opened on September 7.Goldbeck said the two sides make environmental cooperation top priority in the bilateral relation， as the US has important technology that it can share with Chinese companies， helping Chinese cities and people to achieve their energy saving targets.“We welcome Chinese firms to invest in the US and many Chinese firms in sectors including renewable technology， telecommunication and industrial equipment have realized powerful outcomes after locating operations in the US， bringing hope for other companies who will follow them to invest in the US，” said Barry E. A. Johnson， executive director at Select USA Agency.Established by the US Department of Commerce in June， the Select USA Agency aims to facilitate and attract foreign investment in the US.Johnson said Select USA’s initiative would help Chinese firms to access the US market and succeed， including in the renewable energy and clean technology industries.“We know many Chinese companies are eager to enter the US clean-tech market，” said Johnson， adding that the green sector in the US is projected to maintain a solid growth rate.Ernst Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices show that China and the US have maintained the two most attractive markets for clean energy projects in the world.“Chinese firms are actively investing in the green sector in the US which is the most attractive market for solar power and the No.2 market for wind energy，” Johnson said.Between 2003 and May 2010， Chinese firms invested in 157 green field projects in the US and total Chinese investment in the US has reached US$6 billion， with significant growth year-on-year， according to the US Department of Commerce.“The increase of FDI demonstrates China’s interest in the US， and the US welcomes these foreign firms to participate in our economy，” Johnson said.China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming called for a more open and convenient global investment environment for Chinese firms on September 7 during the International Investment Forum 2011 in Xiamen.In 2008 and 2010， China’s leading telecom provider Huawei was blocked from a series of overseas deals， due to concerns in the US over national security.“China will continue to strengthen cooperation in the clean energy field with the US to deal with the energy shortage， as the global economy expands，” Zhang Yingxin， deputy director general at China Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce， said.In order to save energy， the State Council of China announced a campaign to reduce energy consumption by 16 percent for every 10，000-yuan unit of GDP by 2015 as compared with five years earlier.Jingdong readies for US IPOAccording to China Daily reports on September 9， the Chinese online retailer Jingdong Mall Inc is set to kick off an IPO process that could be the most daring bet yet on US investors’ appetite for Chinese stocks.The company， which is also known by the name of 360buy.com， plans to raise US$4 billion to US$5 billion in an IPO tentatively scheduled for the first half of 2012， according to IFR， a Thomson Reuters publication.An IPO of that size would surpass Google Inc’s US$1.9 billion IPO in 2004 as the largest Internet float in the United States， according to Thomson Reuters data.The ramp-up to the IPO comes as the US IPO market has been struggling amid volatility triggered by Europe’s debt crisis and a weak domestic recovery. A number of deals were withdrawn last month.It also comes as some US-listed Chinese companies -mainly those that listed on US exchanges through reverse mergers - have been tainted by allegations of fraudulent accounting.“Right now， US investors are very cautious about Chinese IPOs. The fact that some of those IPOs like Longtop basically have defaulted in the last few months obviously taints the waters for all of the other Chinese IPOs，” said Josef Schuster， founder of Chicago-based IPO research and investment firm IPOX Schuster.Established in 2004， Jingdong is China’s second-largest online retailer behind Taobao， according to the latest research from Analysys International.Some analysts are doubtful about the ability of Chinese e-commerce companies to make a profit in the near term because of the huge market fragmentation.Jingdong has about 15 million registered users. It is not currently profitable， but founder and CEO Liu Qiangdong said the company is expected to become profitable in the second half of 2012.Jingdong’s revenue is expected to reach 28 billion yuan(US$4.4 billion) by the end of 2011， up from 10 billion yuan at the end of 2010.Jingdong raised US$1.5 billion in a third round of funding in April， which valued the company at US$10 billion， IFR said. Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies and Tiger Fund are among the investors in the company.Baidu， Dell team up for tablets and mobilesDell Inc is partnering China’s top search engine Baidu Inc to develop tablet computers and mobile phones， targeting the Chinese market now dominated by Apple Inc and Lenovo devices， according to China Daily on September 6.China is one of the fastest growing markets for tablets and is home to more than 900 million mobile phone subscribers. Analysts said the tie-up could be Dell’s way to revive its flagging tablet business.“I suspect this is just Dell， who has a lot of problems on the mobile and tablet front， grasping at straws to get any kind of publicity that it can to make its product more attractive，” said Michael Clendenin， managing director of technology consultancy RedTech Advisors.“Ultimately in China， I still think it is Apple’s game， still for the iPad and iPhone.”Baidu is one of China’s best known brands and a mobile phone or tablet carrying the Baidu name will be able to leverage on that recognition all over China， analysts said.Dell declined to give a timeline for the launch of the devices， but local media reported on Sept 6， quoting sources， that it may be as early as November.“We have a partnership with Baidu and you know we have the Streak 5 tablet， so the partnership will be in that space，” a Dell spokeswoman told Reuters on Sept 5， adding that both companies were also cooperating on the mobile handset front.Dell’s Streak 5 tablet is a five-inch Android-based tablet that was discontinued in the United States last month.Fosun and PFI form insurance joint ventureChina’s private Fosun Group and Prudential Financial Inc (PFI) have won government approval to launch a new life insurance joint venture company， as reported by China Daily on September 16. It will be China’s only life insurance joint venture between a private enterprise and a foreign insurer.Fosun said the 50-50 joint venture will start with registered capital of 500 million yuan (US$78 million) with each company providing 250 million yuan. The joint venture will be headquartered in Shanghai and mainly focus on the Chinese market. Operations are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012， following final approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) and other authorities.China’s insurance market has seen years of rapid growth， but penetration and density are still far below the average global level， indicating great growth potential. According to the CIRC， life insurance premiums (including health and personal accident insurance) amounted to 1.06 trillion yuan in 2010.Fosun， Shanghai’s largest private enterprise， was founded in 1992. Its current areas of interest include pharmaceuticals and healthcare， property， steel， mining and retailing.
