Focus

Children help spread environmental protection awareness.

Chinese Government Publishes White Paper on Environmental Protection

China’s Information Office of the State Council recently published a government white paper titled Environmental Protection in China (1996 – 2005). The white paper comprehensively introduces China’s environmental protection efforts over the past decade, and the challenges it faces in the future. There are now 3,226 environmental protection administration departments at different levels throughout the country, with 167,000 people engaged in environmental administration, monitoring, scientific research, publicity and education. There are 3,854 environmental supervision and environmental law enforcement organs with more than 50,000 staff members. Environmental protection organs are also found in some government departments for comprehensive affairs or resource administration departments, as well as in most large and medium-sized enterprises. They are responsible for their own environmental protection work. Meanwhile, there are more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations working in the field. Between 1996 and 2004, China invested RMB 952.27 billion in environmental protection, or 1 percent of its GDP. In 2006, environmental protection expenditure is included in the state financial budget.

China’s middle class is swelling.

China’s Middle Class to Exceed 500 Million People by 2025

A recent report released by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) predicts that China’s middle class will exceed 500 million by 2025, and account for more than half of the estimated urban population for that year. Its total annual disposable income is expected to amount to RMB 13.3 trillion, with the majority being spent on food, housing, medical care and education. MGI’s research results indicate that the middle class will undergo two periods of rapid growth. Around 2011, the middle class (with annual income ranges from RMB 25,000 to 40,000) will amount to 290 million people, making up 44 percent of the urban population. Chinese urban families will be one of the largest consumer markets in the world, with an annual consumption capacity of RMB 20 trillion.

Mental Illness on the Increase

The number of mentally ill patients in China is increasing every year. Statistics show that the prevalence of mental illness in China has reached 1 percent of the population, while the figure for sufferers of depression is far higher. A study carried out by the World Health Organization in 2003 indicates that the prevalence of depression in Beijing and Shanghai has hit 4 to 8 percent of the population. There are more than 83 million psychiatric patients in China, including 16 million diagnosed schizophrenics. Moreover, the number of children and youngsters with psychological problems exceeds 30 million.

International Credit Raters to Publish the First List of Credit Rated Chinese Enterprises

The China International Institute of Multinational Corporations and Dun & Bradstreet, the world’s largest business credit rater, will release the first list of credit-rated Chinese companies by the end of this year. Most of the companies on the list will be large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and solely foreign-funded enterprises, Sino-foreign joint-investment enterprises and Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises. Chinese companies incur losses equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s GDP, with direct and indirect losses amounting to RMB 585.5 billion due to credit deficiency and violations of economic order. The list indicates that China’s economic development and construction has entered a period of credit development.

China to Become Asia’s Largest Media and Entertainment Market

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report titled “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2006-2010” suggests China should by 2009 surpass Japan to become Asia’s largest media and entertainment market. Internet and wireless media entertainment consumption is expected to jump from US $19 billion in 2005 to US $67 billion in 2010, and the Asia-Pacific region should see the fastest growth in entertainment consumption. The United States will remain the world’s largest entertainment consumption market, but it will have the slowest growth, with anticipated annual growth of around 5.6 percent.

China slashes import tariff on autos and auto parts.

China Slashes Auto and Auto Parts Tariffs Once More

On July 1, 2006, China made further import tax cuts on certain cars and auto parts. With the approval of the Chinese government, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council decided to lower from 28 percent to 25 percent tariffs on imports of cars, sports utility vehicles and mini-buses. Meanwhile, import taxes on auto parts such as bodies, underpans, and medium and low displacement gasoline engines will be reduced to 10 percent from a range between 13.8 percent and 16.4 percent. The move was made to comply with China’s WTO commitments on tariff reductions.

China Strives to Become Study Destination in the Asia-Pacific Region

China has in recent years seen rapid development in the education of foreign students. At the end of 2005, more than 140,000 students from 179 countries and regions were studying in China. The country is working hard to become a destination of studies in the Asia-Pacific Region. Under education exchange agreements signed between China and other countries, the China Scholarship Council has offered scholarships to students in more than 150 countries and the number of foreign students receiving a Chinese scholarship has increased from 4,000 to 7,000 annually in the past decade. In the coming years China will further expand the scale of overseas students, widen the channels of studying in China, and improve the management of overseas students.

China experiencing timber supply shortage.

China’s Timber Shortage

China’s Third Forest Products Fair will be held on September 19 in Heze City, Shandong Province. China’s forest-related industries have been booming in recent years, realizing double-digit growth in total production value. The total foreign trade volume of major forest products amounted to US $38.318 billion in 2005. China has forestry-related land of 4.3 billion mu (15 mu = 1 hectare), with forest land of 2.5 billion mu, and 800 million mu of desert that is suitable for forestation. Still, China last year had a shortage of 100 – 150 million cubic meters of timber. Each year China spends more than US $14 billion on imports of timber and forest products.