Friday - October 4

China becomes a top three outward investor

China's investments in the United States last year totaled $4.05 billion, a 123.5 percent increase from the previous year, according to a report.

Hong Kong became the second-largest recipient of foreign investments from the Chinese mainland, according to the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

China's outbound direct investment totaled $87.8 billion in 2012, which is a record for the country, according to Xinhua.

For the first time, China became one of the world's three biggest outward investors.

Tourism agency wants limit on visitors to sites

China's top tourism industry authority wants to cap the number of visitors at tourist sites.

The National Tourism Administration urged steps be taken as large crowds were observed in tourist spots across China last week as millions of people traveled for the seven-day National Day holiday which started on Oct 1.

Last Tuesday, around 110,000 people watched the flag-raising ceremony at Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, leaving around 5 metric tons of trash behind them.

The scenic West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, received millions of visitors, who left behind more than 7,000 cigarette butts for sanitation workers to clean up the next day.

Monday - October 7

Conference explores reforms, pollution, economy

China's reforms, developments, economy, environment and education were among topics discussed by academics and leaders at the fourth annual Columbia China Prospects Conference held in New York.

Terry Tamminen, former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, said the country's use of energy could "either propel or stifle the Chinese dream".

"In 2010, it surpassed the United States as the world leader of producing wind power - China produces more solar panels than all of the other global producers combined," he said, but it just doesn't use them.

Jeffrey Lehman, vice-chancellor of NYU Shanghai, said US education institutions should not establish relationships with Chinese universities just to produce profits. "I do not believe an American university should view China as a so-called 'market opportunity', as a source of net profits that might be used to subsidize the university's activities here in the United States," he said.

Authors cite 'scarcity' challenges over next decade

China will face scarcity challenges over the next decade, but two authors give the government a 70 percent chance of "getting it right".

In their recently published book, In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China's Ascent in the Next Decade, Damien Ma and William Adams write that after 35 years of skyrocketing economic growth, China's future will be shaped by the same fundamental reality that has shaped it for millennia: scarcity.

"China still has a sort of 20th century political system that is trying to deal with 21st century problems," said Ma during a book discussion by the National Committee on US-China Relations .

Tuesday - October 8

Dementia now affecting more young people

Dementia is increasingly affecting younger people in China, according to studies by Chinese doctors, and the chief causes are unhealthy lifestyles and stress.

The number of people suffering from the brain disorder that interferes with thinking, memory and the performance of daily activities has more than doubled in the past two decades. But the studies show the average age of people with dementia dropping from 65 to 55 over the same period.

Figures for 1990 showed 3.68 million people suffering from the condition in China, while the figure for 2010 stood at more than 9 million, more than any other country, according to a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

SF's Chinatown is among top 10 neighborhoods

San Francisco's 165-year-old Chinatown has been selected one of the "Top 10 Great Neighborhoods" in the United States by the American Planning Association for 2013.

"We should protect Chinatown because it is the oldest and largest in the Americas, it occupies an important place physically, historically and symbolically in the Americas," Cindy Wu, the community planning manager at Chinatown Community Development Center, told China Daily.

Despite systematic racism and intended displacement, the community has been able to remain united and sustain its importance and place, she said. "It is still the vital epicenter of Chinese American civic life in the SF Bay Area and indeed the whole country."

San Francisco's Chinatown. Chen Jia / China Daily

Wednesday

- October 9

Dongfeng may take 30% stake in PSA Peugeot

Dongfeng Motor Corp - China's second-largest automaker - may become PSA Peugeot Citroen's top shareholder if Dongfeng's plan to buy a 30 percent stake in its French partner via a 10 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) direct investment happens.

China Business News reported that insiders from Dongfeng had confirmed that the company was in talks with the struggling French automaker to acquire a 30 percent stake. Zhou Mi, a spokesman for Dongfeng, declined to comment.

Zhong Shi, an independent auto analyst based in Beijing, said that if Dongfeng becomes a major shareholder in its partner PSA, the Chinese company could see a more stable future for its joint venture, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, in the long run.

CNOOC offers foreign firms bidding rights

China National Offshore Oil Corp, or CNOOC, the country's largest offshore oil and gas producer, said it will invite foreign firms to bid for oil and gas projects in 25 new offshore blocks.

Seventeen of the blocks are located in the South China Sea, three in the East China Sea and five in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea.

A CNOOC official said that none of the blocks offered are located in disputed territorial waters.

China and some Southeast Asian nations have disputes on territorial sovereignty issues and maritime rights in the South China Sea. Zhou Fangyin, a global strategy expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the move indicates China is taking an active position to assert its claims in the South China Sea disputes.

Thursday - October 10

Survey: American companies to invest less

China is still the place to be for US investors, but rising labor costs, a crowded marketplace and a "challenging" business-approval process are making it less attractive, according to a survey of members of the United States China Business Council.

The USCBC represents 220 US companies selling US goods and services in China.

While a growing number of companies place China as one of the top five global market priorities, the number of companies that cited China as the top priority declined, according to the survey. Just over half of survey respondents said they plan to commit more resources to China in the next year, down from 67 percent in the 2012 survey, the USCBC said.

Chinese visitors to US are fastest-growing group

Chinese visitors to the US are the fastest growing group and by 2018 they will be the biggest tourism group, with the number expected to hit 4.7 million annually, according to the head of a marketing company.

Last year, the US welcomed 1.47 million Chinese visitors, 35 percent higher than in 2011, said Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, which is promoting the country as a premier travel destination. Thompson spoke at Welcome China, a tourism exchange event at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, said the city had a record 541,000 visitors from China last year, up nearly 27 percent from 2011, the highest growth of any country.

(Photo 5)

About 500 people aged 60 and older were invited to a free dinner and performances at a square in Dongcheng town, Linhai city, East China's Zhejiang province on Wednesday, before the Double Ninth Festival on Sunday, a traditional Chinese festival advocating filial piety and respect for elders. CFP

(China Daily USA 10/11/2013 page8)