Fisheries

Fleet sets sail for Nansha

A fleet including 30 fishing vessels -each weighing more than 100 metric tons - set sail from Hainan province for the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea on May 6. The 40-day operation is the second of its kind organized by local fishery associations after Sansha city was established in June last year.

Li Nianyou, deputy director of the Hainan provincial department of ocean and fisheries, said the department would make every effort to guarantee the fleet's safety.

After leaving from Danzhou in Hainan, the fleet will arrive at the first fishing ground after four days' sailing, according to the department, which did not disclose details of the locations.

Trade

New markets buy big at fair

Buyers from emerging markets are stepping forward to pick up the slack as orders from developed nations slow.

At the just-ended Canton Fair, a biannual event seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade, orders from BRICS members India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa increased 5.2 percent year-on-year, while those from Middle Eastern countries rose 3.8 percent.

Officially called the China Import and Export Fair, the Canton Fair concluded on May 5 in Guangzhou. It attracted 202,000 overseas merchants, up 7 percent from the autumn session.

Transactions reached $35.54 billion (27.11 billion euros), up 8.8 percent from the last sessiond.

Tourism

Visa policy to attract tourists

Shanghai is trying to consolidate its status as a global hot spot by allowing visitors arriving by passenger liners to spend three days in the city without a visa.

Pending approval from the central government, the city plans to extend the visa-free policy at its two airports to the cruise terminals, and set up duty-free stores and tax-refund outlets there, the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration said on May 7. The policy will hopefully be in place within the year, the administration said.

Since Jan 1, air travelers from 45 countries, including the US, France, Japan and Australia, have been permitted a 72-hour visa-free stay inside the administrative area of Shanghai, a move that has boosted tourism and consumption.

Auto

Austerity drive hurts big wheels

The government's clampdown on official waste and extravagance has put the brakes on China's luxury vehicle market in the first quarter of the year. Sales growth for the luxury vehicle sector, dominated by German brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, slowed to 4 percent, far below the 13 percent annual growth in the passenger car market, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Analysts attributed the decline to new guidelines to improve officials' working style, and strict policies to curb the use of public funds.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page2)