BEIJING

Quotas to be Lifted

The European Union (EU) will lift quotas on 10 categories of textiles imported from China starting from January 1, 2008, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.

On September 28, the two sides agreed to establish a bilateral system to monitor Chinese exports of T-shirts, pullovers, men's trousers, blouses, dresses, bras, bed linen and flax yarn after the lifting of the quotas.

Meanwhile, China and the EU will implement export license administration and automatic import licenses respectively, without quantity restrictions.

SMEs on the rise

The number of registered small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has exceeded 4.3 million and contributed to 58.5 percent of the gross domestic product, according to the SMEs association.

The SMEs, more than 95 percent of which are privately owned, contributed to 50.2 percent of the country's total tax revenue, said the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises Chairman Li Zibin.

SMEs made 66 percent of the country's patent applications and developed about 82 percent of the new products.

However, Li said.

YUNNAN

Hefty pollution fines

The government of Lijiang, an ancient city and a World Cultural Heritage site in Yunnan Province, has threatened to impose hefty fines on polluters to protect the local environment. Local companies face a maximum fine of 1 million yuan ($146,000) if they fail to meet annual targets on energy consumption and emission reduction, sources with the local environment protection bureau said.

The companies will lose tax rebates and other preferential policies, and face closure if they do not meet targets in the stipulated two years' time, he said.

Xinhua

(China Daily 10/22/2007 page2)