Institutes draw up expansion plans

Confucius Institutes worldwide are starting to think long-term, with 325 of them already having their own development plans.

At the Seventh Confucius Institute Conference in Beijing on Dec 17, more than 300 university presidents took part in a seminar to discuss drawing up such plans. This followed a meeting last year at which the institute discussed its development.

Jing Wei, deputy chief executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, said: "At the meeting last year we gave some suggestions on the development plan, which included goals and key projects and some concrete measures. Then we extended some specific terms in the plan, and figured out detailed goals for 2020."

Migration

Warning over wealth drain

The growing number of Chinese opting for investment immigration could damage employment and rural economies in their homeland, a report has warned.

Wealthy Chinese are increasingly eyeing opportunities to move capital abroad, this year's report on Chinese international migration says.

The report quotes Qi Lixin, chairman of the Beijing Entry and Exit Service Association, as saying half the investment immigration projects each worth $500,000 (377,500 euros) in the US are being pitched by agencies in China.

Immigrant investors in China are mainly private-business owners, self-employed groups and senior corporate management staff aged 35 to 55, said the report, issued by the Center for China and Globalization and the Beijing Institute of Technology.

Trade

Rise in complaints against China

Trade cases against China rose this year, largely due to the sluggish world economy, a Ministry of Commerce official said. The financial value of the cases surged, said Zhou Hua, a deputy division director at the ministry.

"The number of trade remedy investigations against China in 2012 will be slightly more than in 2011, but their export value will be significantly higher than the previous year because of the type of products involved, such as exports of solar panels to Europe."

China was the subject of 76 trade cases, often referred to as trade remedy investigations, in the first 11 months of the year, the ministry said. There were 69 cases last year, affecting $5.9 billion of exports.

Traffic

Car number plate prices rise

Getting a car number plate in Shanghai costs almost as much as buying an economy family car, and industry insiders predict prices will continue to rise.

In the city's monthly number-plate auction on Dec 15 a record-high average bid of 69,346 yuan ($11,120; 8,400 euros), up 3.6 percent on last month, authorities said. The lowest transaction was 68,900 yuan, also a record.

The cost of the plate is roughly the same as the cost of a Yaris, one of Toyota's best-selling family cars.

Strong demand among city dwellers to own a car and government regulations to ease traffic congestion are believed to be the two main drivers pushing up the number-plate prices.

Environment

Pollution seen as a killer

An estimated 8,572 premature deaths occurred in four big Chinese cities this year due to high levels of PM2.5, a study has found.

The report also said severe air pollution in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and Beijing has led to an economic loss of 6.8 billion yuan.

The study by Peking University's School of Public Health and Greenpeace looked at the health and economic impact of PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

Modern toxicology research has shown that exposure to PM2.5 can lead to significantly increased death rates due to heart, brain and respiratory diseases, as well as increased cancer risk.

The study was based on available data and took into account varying conditions in the four cities, such as temperature and humidity.

Hotels take shark fin off menu

About 6 percent of luxury hotels in three big Chinese cities have stopped serving shark fin, a survey has found.

Although the controversial delicacy remains on the menu in most hotels, Green Beagle Environment Institute, a non-government organization in Beijing that was the main sponsor of the survey, said the results are encouraging and reflect increased awareness.

The survey was carried out in Beijing, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Fuzhou in Fujian province, which were selected as representative cities to collect basic data on shark fin consumption nationwide.

The survey was a reminder that there is still a long way to go to remove shark fins from Chinese hotels, said Wang Xue, chief coordinator of the survey.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/21/2012 page2)