Economy

　　Reform Priorities

　　The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on May 20 released economic priorities for 2014 in a plan that has been approved by the State Council， the country‘s cabinet.

　　The NDRC said authorities will cut red tape and slash items that need administrative approval.

　　China will continue to expand the scope of value-added tax (VAT) reform and move to regulate financing of local governments.

　　A new mechanism of the yuan exchange rate will be developed and the volatility of the rate increased. Capital account convertibility will expand in an orderly manner.

　　Eligible private investors will be allowed to start financial institutions like small or medium banks and invest in established ones.

　　As prices are stable， China will reform prices of resource products and in sectors including transportation， telecommunications， pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

　　State-owned enterprises will move toward mixed ownership through a cooperation mechanism between state and social capital.

　　Solar Industry Enraged

　　China’s photovoltaic (PV) industry issued a statement on May 21， opposing the second U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on Chinese PV products.

　　Representatives from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products， China Renewable Energy Industry Association， China PV Industry Alliance and major manufacturers including Yingli Solar and Trina Solar， pushed down a symbolic “wall of trade barriers” at a press conference in Shanghai on May 21.

　　The joint statement called for the United States and China to solve the disputes through negotiations.

　　Chinese PV products are well received the world over for their low cost and efficiency， high quality and comprehensive after-sales services， and the industry has no need whatsoever to engage in activities involving dumping and illegal subsidies， according to the statement.

　　Trade protectionism seriously hinders industrial development and will affect the development of the U.S. real economy as well as its employment levels， it said.

　　On February 14， the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) determined an affirmative indication regarding injury to the U.S. industry as part of the new anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions against PV products from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

　　It was the second U.S. investigation against Chinese PV products， counting a similar probe in 2011， and it has seriously affected the Chinese PV industry and hindered the development of the U.S. PV application market.

　　The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to release the preliminary countervailing duty investigation results on June 2 and the preliminary anti-dumping investigation results on July 28， before releasing the final results on December 11. The USITC will determine whether or not to levy taxes on January 26， 2015.

　　Partnering With Russia

　　A joint investment vehicle set up by Chinese and Russian sovereign wealth funds announced three deals on May 20 in Shanghai that see it diversify into the service sectors of the two countries.

　　Nearly seven months after its $200-million deal to acquire a 42-percent stake in Russia‘s second largest forestry company， the Russian-China Investment Fund (RCIF) is eyeing opportunities to expand its investment into sectors such as logistics， healthcare and tourism， according to Kirill Dmitriev， co-CEO of RCIF.

　　In addition， it will pursue projects in agriculture， energy and natural resources.

　　Under the new deal， RCIF will partner with a Russian development fund to commit $400 million in both equity and debt for the construction of a cross-border railway bridge， the first to span across China’s border with Russia over Heilongjiang River， also known as Amur River in Russia.

　　The fund also joined Hopu Investment Management Co.， a private equity firm in China， in a deal to invest an undisclosed amount into Global Logistics Property， which operates logistic infrastructures in China， Japan and Brazil.

　　Dmitriev said the motive behind the deal is to acquire expertise in logistics management， which will be useful when Russia develops its own logistics projects in the future.

　　Home Prices Drop

　　China‘s property sector showed new signs of cooling in April， with more Chinese cities reporting month-on-month drops in prices and fewer cities reporting gains， data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on May 18.

　　Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities， new homes in eight cities saw month-on-month price declines in April， double of the figure from March.

　　A total of 44 cities saw month-on-month price gains in new home prices in April， down from 56 for March and 57 for February. Among the 44 cities with rising new home prices， growth decelerated in 31 cities.

　　Hangzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， saw its new home price dropping the most of the 70 cities， down by 0.7 percent from March.

　　For existing homes， 22 cities saw month-on-month declines with Hangzhou also dropping the most， by 0.8 percent.

　　Prices for existing homes increased in 35 cities month on month in April， notably down from 42 cities in March and from 46 in February.

　　Diversifying Financing

　　The NDRC has invited social capital to invest in a list of 80 projects， the latest step in bringing private funds to infrastructure investment.

　　It is also an attempt to inject vitality into the economy.

　　The list covers construction and operation of railways， roads， harbors， wind power stations and oil pipelines. Opening these sectors to social capital will speed up changes of investment and financing regimes and diversify investment sources. Most of the industries used to be dominated by state capital and were off-limits to private and foreign investors.

　　Social capital， particularly private investment， is welcomed and encouraged to participate in the construction and operation of such facilities through joint ventures， wholly funded entities or franchise businesses， the NDRC said.

　　The private sector accounted for 63 percent of fixed-asset investment last year， according to the NBS.

　　Real Estate Fund

　　The first real estate investment trust (REIT) fund in China‘s domestic market started trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on May 21， the Shanghai Securities News reported.

　　CITIC Securities， the country’s largest brokerage firm， issued the fund product.

　　REITs mainly invest in existing commercial properties and pay rent collected from them as dividend.

　　They are prohibited from investing in property development projects and turning into a fundraising channel for developers， according to the report.

　　The fund product offers an investment alternative in the capital market and is expected to help Chinese investors to diversify their portfolio， said analysts.

　　More Outlets in China

　　Walmart Stores， the world‘s largest supermarket chain， announced on May 20 that it will build about 30 new stores and more distribution centers in China this year.

　　The U.S. retailer said it will continue to develop businesses in the country’s big cities. And more supercenters will be built in third- and fourth-tier cities to serve emerging consumers amid China‘s urbanization drive.

　　Walmart also plans to open two new branches of its Sam’s Club chain of membership-only retail warehouses， in Wuhan of central China‘s Hubei Province and Changzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province， this year.

　　The retailer also decided to invest 580 million yuan ($94 million) to upgrade about 55 old outlets， aiming to improve operating performance and the customer experience.

　　By the end of April， it had over 400 outlets in the country.

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……