Center to help R&D, tech launch into profits

A new innovation promotion center focusing on civil-military industrial integration is expected to have a major impact in unlocking commercially viable projects in the sector.

IP scene

Beijing

E-commerce brings new options for poor farmers

"Kangping yellow sweet potatoes! Don't miss them!" On the afternoon of Nov 2, Keyana Nozzari Varkani was selling sweet potatoes at a market in Shenyang.

Alliance to make optimal use of batteries

Luxembourg-headquartered Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is eyeing the booming energy market in China by launching a global energy program, which seeks among other things to set up a responsible battery supply chain in the country and globally.

LEGO boosts life skills for children

LEGO Foundation, a corporate foundation created by the owner of the Denmark-based LEGO Group, is joining hands with several educational institutes in China to nurture interest in learning through play and inculcate vital skills among the country's children and students.

Internet connections benefit impoverished

Because the internet is expected to play an increasingly important role in China's poverty-alleviation campaign, connectivity to the internet has been deemed essential for poorer areas of the country, according to an IT industry insider.

IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Suppliers hitting the gas

China's battle against air pollution has had an unintended consequence: a shortage of heating fuel supply is affecting many northern cities this winter, boosting domestic prices for natural gas to a three-year high.

Fuel shortage triggers jump in coal prices

China's thermal coal prices jumped recently as natural gas shortages across the north spurred an unexpected resurgence in demand for coal-fired power.

LNG imports expected to surge

China, already the third-largest LNG buyer worldwide after South Korea and Japan, is about to become an even bigger player in the market as the country's demand for natural gas continues rising sharply.

Bailian builds e-commerce platform

An online e-commerce platform for commodity trading that aspires to become an internet-based information and transaction hub with a trillion-yuan ($151 billion) in target was established in Shanghai on Tuesday, making it one of the first to offer customized real time information services for the trade.

PetroChina plans major international expansion

BEIJING - PetroChina's oil and gas trading arm aims to buy petrol stations and fuel storage facilities, setting up business in West Africa, Brazil and Pakistan in a major global expansion aimed at taking on international rivals, according to three senior oil industry executives briefed on the plans.