IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Creative industry to get boost in Beijing

Beijing plans to build one of China's largest industrial clusters in the city's suburbs in an attempt to boost its creative industries.

"China Creative City", to be established in the Yizhuang Economic and Technology Development Zone in southeastern Beijing, will help creative start-ups with research and development before their products enter mass production, said Yang Zhiyong, secretary-general of the China Creative Industry Alliance.

With an investment of more than 5 billion yuan ($815.9 million), the initiative will help generate about 10,000 jobs in the area. The 127,000 square meter park is expected to be completed in three years, Yang said.

Beijing is intensifying development efforts for creative industries. The city plans to build 20 such industrial parks on an area of 442 square km, with added values accounting for at least 15 percent of the city's gross domestic product by the year 2020.

Diplomat calls for more infrastructure funds

Infrastructure investment is vital for Africa's development, said a senior official from the South African embassy to Jakarta on April 21.

Ambassador Pakamisa Augustine Sifuba said the continent's leaders appreciate the fact that the BRICS bank has made infrastructure investments in Africa, which is a big push for our development."

On the sidelines of the Asian-African Business Summit ahead of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, Sifuba said he hoped there will be a similar mechanism such as the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Africa.

Kenyan wildlife officials on 'milestone' visit

A delegation from the Kenya Wildlife Service arrived in China on April 21 to explore partnerships in diverse fields such as wildlife protection, tourism and infrastructure development.

KWS Director-General William Kiprono said in Nairobi on April 20 that the trip will mark a significant milestone in China-Kenya cooperation to boost habitat conservation.

"During our visit to China, we will meet our counterparts from the State Forestry Administration to discuss areas of common interests. They include environmental conservation and tourism," Kiprono said.

Kiprono said both Kenya and China are among eight countries mandated by the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species to strengthen wildlife protection. He also said China and Kenya last year won an award from CITES for spearheading the fight against the poaching of iconic mammals.

Textile firms adjusting to environmental rules

Output from textile companies in China rose 7 percent last year, with profits up by 9 percent and exports rising by 5.1 percent, an industry association said. Although conditions are improving, companies are also being forced to speed up structural adjustments, said Yang Donghui, a consultant to the China National Textile and Apparel Council, on April 16. Environmental protection and energy conservation have become "unavoidable requirements" for the sector, Yang said, and companies that cannot meet the government's standards may be driven out of business.

Online energy-efficiency website being planned

A National Energy Administration action plan is in the pipeline for the creation of an online portal promoting the efficient use of clean energy in China. According to a report in the Shanghai Securities News on April 20, the project is likely to be finished within three months, with the administration launching the website by the end of the year. Large-scale power generation groups, power grid corporations, private Internet firms, research agencies, new-energy automakers and colleges and universities are likely to join forces in creating the site.

Govt to set new rules for exhibition market

The government is planning to open up the country's exhibition market, according to a guideline released by the State Council. A ministerial joint conference, including a dozen central government departments, will be established to coordinate new rules for the sector, the guideline said, setting a deadline of 2020 for China to have an exhibition industry "with a sound development environment and a high level of internationalization". Licensing of economic and technological exhibitions will be gradually delegated to provincial-level commercial authorities.

China Mobile opens networks

China Mobile is opening all of its 2G, 3G and 4G networks to mobile telecom resell service providers, the Chinese communications news portal C114.net quoted Hou Guangji, head of the company's channel management office, as saying on April 20. Hou said the telecom giant has cooperated with 17 mobile telecom resale partners, and will open its networks to all of them, cutting charges for mobile telecom resale services.

Vehicle sales growth to be less than 7 percent

Vehicle sales will grow less than the industry forecast of 7 percent this year in China as the national economy slows and more cities impose restrictions on vehicle registrations, according to the head of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. "Even though we don't like it, it will become the new normal that more cities will start limiting vehicle purchases every year," said Dong Yang, the association's secretary-general. He said the group will give a revised forecast later this year, though he added that auto sales are now expected to grow by an average of between 5 and 10 percent annually.

Commercial nuclear plant awaits approval

The building of the world's first commercial fourth-generation nuclear power plant may start in East China's Jiangxi province in 2017 if a plan is approved by the government, officials with China Nuclear Engineering Group Co said on April 20. The plant, using high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors, is expected to be located in Ruijin, a city in the mountainous region bordering Fujian province. Its first generating unit will be operational by 2021, officials said, adding they are still waiting for a permit from the central government.

Steel demand to shrink over the next two years

Steel demand in China is likely to shrink this year and the next, making it the second year that the industry has contracted since 1995 as economic growth in the world's biggest producer slows down, according to the World Steel Association. China's steel use will drop 0.5 percent to 707.2 million metric tons in 2015 and fall to 703.7 million tons next year, the group said. In 2014, demand declined 3.3 percent to 710.8 million tons, according to the Brussels-based body.

NEA completes fifth batch of wind projects

The National Energy Administration has completed its fifth batch of wind power projects, planned during the 2011-15 period, that are expected to have a combined capacity of 34 million kilowatts, according to a Shanghai Securities News report on April 21. The fifth batch included not only conventional wind farm projects but also distributed wind power systems and distributed wind power-thermal projects, according to the report.

Alibaba top taxpayer among Internet firms

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was China's highest tax-paying Internet company last year. Li Qiang, the governor of Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is based, said on April 20 that the Internet giant had made "a huge contribution to tax revenues last year paying almost 30 million yuan ($4.8 million) every day". The company paid 10.9 billion yuan in taxes, said Li, a 56.4 percent increase from 7 billion yuan in 2013.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/24/2015 page18)