IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Trade

Canton Fair feels autumn chill

Sluggish demand from the US and Japan has put a drag on business at the autumn session of the 112th China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, organizers say. There were nearly 7.7 percent fewer transactions than in the last autumn session, they said.

The latest session, specializing in toys and gifts, crafts, garden tools and supplies and local specialties, was attended by nearly 148,000 overseas buyers, 11.4 percent fewer than last year, they said.

Transactions from the US fell 10.9 percent compared with last year, and transactions from Japan involving garden tools and supplies fell 68 percent.

Transport

Work begins on high-speed railway

Construction has begun on a major high-speed railway in China's western hinterland to promote local economic cooperation and development.

The 643-km-long railway line for passenger transport links Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, to Chengdu, Sichuan province.

The project will be completed in five years with an investment of more than 40 billion yuan ($6.35 billion; 4.94 billion euros). The new line will cut the travel time between the two cities from 12 to three hours.

Technology

Scalpers cash in on phone frenzy

Despite mixed reactions upon its launch, the iPhone 5 has become a hot ticket item and is in short enough supply to have created a market for scalpers on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong.

Scalpers have been reselling the hard-to-get iPhone 5 for up to 3,000 yuan more than the price set by Apple.

The iPhone 5 was launched in Hong Kong and several other countries and regions on Sept 21.

It is likely to be released on the mainland by the end of the year. The delay has created an unmet demand for the phone among mainland customers, a market now being exploited by smugglers and scalpers who are selling the phone in the place of licensed vendors in the fast-growing economy.

Environment

Drinking water remains a concern

Authorities are struggling to improve the water quality in the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, while progress on pollution controls has already been made two years ahead of a deadline in 2014.

The project is a multi-decade infrastructure undertaking to make better use of the country's water resources.

From May to September, the water quality in the Danjiangkou Reservoir - a major water source along the project's middle route - remained at Grade II, a higher standard source of drinking water, according to the State Council's Office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Commission.

About 83 percent of the monitored sections along the reservoir and its upper reaches, which span Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces, met mandatory water quality standards during the same period.

Safety

Alert sounded on aging lifts

As the number of aging, overused lifts rises, so does the potential for accidents, the nation's top quality watchdog has warned.

Old, creaking machinery coupled with increased demand could endanger users, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

China is the world's largest manufacturer and user of lifts. More than 2 million were in use by the end of 2011, and the figure continues to rise by 20 percent annually, according to the administration.

There were 20 fatalities from January to September in 28 serious elevator accidents. The mortality rate per 10,000 elevators is below 0.2, similar to that of some developed countries, the administration said.

Copyright

Days of free music are numbered

China's major music websites are expected to form an alliance to start charging for music downloads at the beginning of next year, industry insiders said.

Baidu Music and Tencent Music are among the major music websites said to be part of the initiative.

Subscriptions that will allow users to download an unlimited number of songs are expected to cost between 10 and 15 yuan a month, a price level jointly reached by the country's major record companies and the music websites, said Wang Hao, chief executive officer of Xiami, a website founded in 2006. Hearing samples of music is expected to remain free, Wang said.

This is a radical change for the online music industry, and may bring a much-needed positive impact to the business, Wang said.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/02/2012 page2)