Friday - August 9

China's exports rise in July after declining in June

China's exports in July rose 5.1 percent year-on-year, after sliding 3.1 percent in June, the General Administration of Customs said. Imports surged 10.9 percent, compared with a 0.7 percent decline in June.

China's shipments to the United States and the European Union, its top two markets, increased for the first time in five months. July exports to the US climbed 5.27 percent year-on-year and those to the EU gained 5.87 percent.

Some analysts were cautious about reading too much into the trade numbers, and warned any rebound was unlikely amid the Chinese economy's shift to being driven more by consumption than debt-funded investment and manufacturing.

US dominates in 20 most powerful foreign brands

Thirteen of the 20 most powerful foreign brands in China are from the US and eight companies on the top 10 list are American, according to global research firm Millward Brown.

The research, done for the British Broadcasting Corporation, was based on a survey of nearly 60,000 interviews - either face-to-face or online conducted in 10 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2013.

With the exception of only one Asian brand - South Korea's Samsung - the rest on the list of 20 are European.

Those on the top-five list are all US brands: KFC (Yum Brands), Pampers (P&G), Colgate (Colgate Palmolive), Olay (P&G) and Crest (P&G).

Monday - August 12

NYU opens temporary campus in Shanghai

New York University Shanghai, the first Sino-American higher-education institute, officially started with the arrival of almost 300 students.

Among the students, 150 are from China and 145 from other parts of the world, including 100 from the US. Faculty members, with quite a few from New York and the US, also arrived at the temporary campus.

The permanent campus - still under construction in Shanghai's financial center in Pudong - is expected to be operational by next year.

Qualified foreign universities can conduct joint programs with Chinese partners, but the requirements are strict and the application process can grind on for years.

NYU Shanghai's Chinese partner is East China Normal University in Shanghai. NYU applied in 2011 and the Shanghai campus was approved last year. Duke University also got approval to start a university in Kunshan, a center of electronics manufacturing near Shanghai. (Photo 4)

Value of solar exports plunge by almost one-third

The value of China's solar exports fell by almost one-third to $6.5 billion in the first half of 2013 as trade disputes took a toll on prices, according to an industry group.

Shipments to the European Union fell about 58 percent, in contrast to a sharp rise in sales to Japan (up 150 percent), India (100 percent) and South Africa (2,200 percent), the the Photovoltaic Product Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce organization said on its website on Friday.

China's solar industry, which is the largest in the world, has been buffeted by trade disputes with the EU and United States. As a result, it's looking actively for new domestic customers and for buyers in new markets such as Japan.

Tuesday

- August 13

Gold consumption surges on gold-bar and jewelry

China's gold consumption surged by 54 percent in the first half of 2013 because of an increase in gold-bar and jewelry purchases, putting the country on track to become the top bullion consumer this year.

The China Gold Association said first-half gold consumption reached 706.36 metric tons, up 53.7 percent year-on-year. Growth accelerated from the 26 percent recorded in the first quarter.

More than 70 percent of first-half consumption depended on imports because the gold output of China, the world's largest bullion producer, was only 192.82 tons in the first six months, 8.9 percent more than a year before. Gold-bar and jewelry purchases together accounted for more than 90 percent of the total gold consumption in the first half. But in the meantime, industrial use shrank by 1.6 percent. (Photo 5)

'Garden' or 'villa' comes down from on high

To the owner, it's "an ornamental garden." To others, it's a man-made villa. And to authorities, it's "illegal" and the owner was given 15 days to remove it - or they would.

Made with artificial rocks, greenery and a swimming pool, it's on the rooftop of a 26-story residential block in Beijing. The owner is Zhang Biqing, head of a traditional Chinese medicine business.

Authorities took action after photos of the villa/garden were splashed across Chinese media on Monday, along with the headline "Beijing's most outrageous illegal structure."

Contacted by Beijing Times newspaper, the man said he would comply with the district's orders to remove what he called "just an ornamental garden."

Demolition of the rock-covered rooftop villa began on Thursday. Authorities sent experts to guide and supervise the demolition to ensure the rest of the building was not affected.

Wednesday

- August 14

Rice imports to rise as weather hurts harvest

China is likely to increase rice imports as drought, heat, heavy rain and floods are expected to cut the country's harvest.

According to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, more than 1.87 million hectares of farmland have been affected by the drought in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. About 70 percent of the land involved is planted with rice. Rain in Heilongjiang province has flooded 5,300 ha of rice farmland.

Ding Lixin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, said the central government had set a rice import quota of 5.32 million tons for 2013-14. Ding said the rough weather may boost actual rice imports to between 2.8 and 3 million tons this year alone.

China imported 2.36 million tons of rice from international markets such as Thailand and Vietnam in 2012.

Petro China, Exxon Mobile may co-develop in Iraq

PetroChina Co, China's largest oil explorer, and United States-based energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp may co-develop the West Qurna oilfield in Iraq, which would make the Chinese company the biggest single foreign investor in the Iraqi oil industry.

An industry source close to the company confirmed to China Daily that the two companies are holding talks, but added: "It is not a good time now to release the details of the ongoing talks."

The company has also been reported to be holding talks with Lukoil OAO Holdings, Russia's second-biggest oil producer, over joint development of the stalled West Qurna-2 project, which is now operated by Lukoil.

The West Qurna field has the potential to produce more than 5 million barrels of oil per day, enough to rival the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producing field.

Thursday - August 15

Hollywood prevails in box-office tax dispute

China and Hollywood studios have ended a tax dispute, allowing US companies to recover more than $150 million of revenue-sharing box office receipts, ending an almost half-year-long dispute in the world's fastest growing movie market.

The dispute centered on a 2 percent value-added tax that state-owned distributor China Film Group insisted Hollywood studios pay from their share of Chinese box-office revenues, cutting into their profits.

Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America and a former US Senator, said in statement that the Chinese government had intervened in the dispute between US movie companies and China Film Group Corp, the dominant distributor of foreign movies in the country. The American businesses will get back the owed revenue in full and the payment process has started, Dodd said.

Jiang Defu, spokesman for China Film Group Corp, said his company would implement the government's decision and declined further comment.

Whirpool to buy 51% stake in appliance maker

US-based Whirlpool Corp, the world's biggest appliance maker, signed agreements to become the majority (51 percent) shareholder of Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, a home-appliance manufacturer for $552 million.

The deal represents the first big purchase of a Chinese company by a blue-chip US buyer since Caterpillar Inc bought ERA Mining in 2012.

The Naadam Festival held last week in in Xinlingol, situated on the grasslands of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, featured sports and artistic events. The Mongolian form of wrestling, known as bokh qin, has men in traditional outfits throw each other around in outdoor fighting arenas. Cui Meng / China Daily

(China Daily USA 08/16/2013 page8)