Yantai advances into "the gold medal city"

Xinhua Report Agency

2006-11-12 07:39:25

The World Bank announces the Chinese 120 cities?investments environment appraisal report on 11th, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Xiamen and Yantai is the first six.

The investigation acts according to the domestic capital and the foreign capital enterprise's investment attraction of each city, the government efficiency as well as the achievement for constructing the harmonious societies .

This named "the government governs, the investment environment and harmonious society------120 Chinese cities?competitive ability raising " report believed that, synthesizing each target, including Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and so on provinces and cities the southeast area investment environment is best, next is the link Bohai Sea area, below is in turn the middle area, the northeast area, southwest the area and northwest area. Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Xiamen and Yantai are ranked in the World Bank evaluating "the gold medal city". In addition, Beijing, Dalian, Dongguan, Foshan, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Weihai, Zhuhai and so on 13 cities is included in Chinese investment environment "the silver medal city".

Silver Medal Ceremony

On Wednesday October 12, 2006 at 5 pm, His Excellency The Ambassador of France in Beijing, awarded the Silver Medal of the French Academy to Mr.Michel Humbert.

The prestigious Académie Française ( French Academy ) rewarded Mr.Humbert for his continuous and persistent efforts in favor of French Culture and Language in China since 1988 and specially in Yantai City and Region (Shandong Province) since 2000.

During his keynote speech, His Excellency Mr.Guelluy emphasized the pioneer personality of Michel Humbert, in terms of Culture as well as in terms of Business, and his role of bridge between China and France as well as his deep osmosis of businessman and cultured gentleman, in his daily life; His Excellency recalled that Michel Humbert already received the ?China National Friendship Award?(the highest distinction for a Foreigner in China) on Sept 29/2005 from the hands of Prime Minister Mr. Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Madame Wu Yi. Also his Title of Yantai City and Region Honorary Citizen since 2002 and his Shandong Friendship gold Medal since 2003.

Michel Humbert replied with a speech full of emotion by extending his deepest gratitude to the French Academy, specially the Perpetual Honorary Secretary Maurice Druon, and His Excellency, pointing out that this Distinction represents a deep encouragement for him and for all the persons who defend and promote the French Culture and Language all over the world and particularly in China. This Reward is a milestone for the French speaking Community in China and a landmark, for Yantai expansion of French speaking club (over 100 members)

He added that the Culture is the deepest link between human beings, whatever their origins, countries, etc?for a comprehensive understanding between different people.

The attendance was composed of His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy, and of the French Cultural Affairs?Directors, several Professors, Scholars from Alliance Francaise, French Colleges, and of numerous Directors of French, Italian, German, Chambers, Economic Missions, International Investors, as well as an important delegation of Yantai IDB (Investment Development Board) headed by Vice Director Mr. Liu Liguo and by Mr. Pan Vice Mayor of Laishan District.

The automobile parts industry in Fushan High-tech Industrial Area has developed rapidly, achieving an industrial output value of US$26.25 million in 2005, a growth rate of 110 per cent from 2004, according to Huang Wanjie, director of Fushan High-tech Industrial Area.

In the first eight months of this year, the growth rate was more than 60 per cent compared with the same period last year, while the growth rates of incremental industrial value and tax revenue were 63.8 and 66.5 per cent respectively.

"By 2008 the Fushan zone will become an important auto parts base in North China with the most integrated production system, the largest production capacity and the best economic benefits," said Huang confidently.

"The fast growth has been attributed to the passenger car project Shanghai GM Dongyue Automobile Co Ltd, which is designed to make 300,000 cars annually, “Huang said,?The sector, started from nothing and is now a pillar industry for the zone."

To date, the zone has 75 such projects with an overall investment of US$122.5 million. The projects have employed 10,030 workers, accounting for 7.4 per cent of the zone`s total employment.

The zone has developed a complete range of auto parts products oriented to both domestic and international markets.

The Japanese-funded Yantai Yazaki Automotive Parts Co Ltd, with overall investment of US$47.5 million, supplies its products to such automakers as Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Suzuki. Last year the company achieved US$75 million in sales value, US$6.9 million in tax revenue and US$100 million in exports.

Shandong Shangqi Auto Gear-box Project is funded by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation with US$190 million of investment. With the operation of its first phase alone, the project can make 300,000 sets of gearboxes a year, with an industrial output value of US$125 million and tax revenue of US$12.5 million.

Yantai Junhui Motor Mould Co funded by Honda from Japan is capable of making 1,000 tons of mould and 3,800 tons of standard dies and moulds annually. Sixty per cent of the products are exported.

Other successful companies include Shanghai Yanfeng Johnson Auto Seats Project and Delphi Electronic Wires Project.

Meanwhile the zone is also working on attracting environmentally friendly automobile projects.

Zhongshang Electric Passenger Car Project adopts the most advanced technologies to make wireless and trackless passenger cars.

Its first-stage project will see an annual production of 12,000 cars. The project is to be introduced to Beijing, Guangzhou, Harbin and other major cities in China by 2008.

After 13 years of rapid development, Fushan High-tech Industrial Area in Yantai in East China’s Shandong Province has become a hotspot for attracting foreign investment.

During the first nine months of this year, the zone attracted 31 projects with total contractual investment of 15.7 billion yuan (US$1.98 billion), including foreign funds of US$200 million, according to China Daily.

Huang Wanjie, director of the administrative committee, said: "This year 60 new foreign-funded enterprises will be put into operation and the number of foreign-funded projects being negotiated has surpassed 50."

"We have expanded the zone’s area from 3.8 square kilometers to 31 square kilometers in the past two years to meet more new projects," said Huang.

"Fushan means a lucky and happy mountain in Chinese, and now the zone has become a lucky place for foreign investors, showing the zone’s enormous vitality and energy," he said.

In 2005 the zone saw an inflow of 55 investment projects, with a total investment of 28.26 billion (US$3.5 billion). Sixteen of the projects boast an investment of over US$10 million.

To date the area has collected more than 200 investment projects, which is becoming a major driving force for economic development of Yantai.

The six-square-kilometer Yantai Automobile Parts Industrial Park within the zone mainly serves the Shanghai GM’s Yantai production base, which was designed to annually produce 300,000 units of economical passenger cars by 2008.

"Last year, investment promotion made a breakthrough with an increasing number of automobile parts projects established here," Huang said.

To date 50 auto parts projects are being constructed within the zone, with overall investments reaching 18 billion yuan (US$2.25 billion) and their production capacity soaring to US$2.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the information industry has also grown into a major part of the local industry. With the PDP plasma color TV project from the Republic of Korea (ROK) kicking off in the first half of the year, the zone’s information industrial park is expected to become a research and manufacturing base for plasma color TVs in the country.

Textile and garments are also one of the zone’s traditional major industries. To date a total of 35 such projects with overall investments of US$42.4 million in the zone realized sales income of US$24.2 million from January to April, a 30 per cent increase from the same period last year.

"All of these figures show that Fushan zone has become one of the most successful investment destinations in Shandong Province." Huang said, adding that the zone’s unique business environment is the biggest contributor to its success.

For the convenience of investors from different industries and regions, the zone has established specialized industrial parks, including the Auto Parts Park, Machinery Industry Park, Biological Pharmaceuticals Park, Food Industry Park, Taiwan Industrial Park and the ROK Industrial Park.

During the past 13 years, the zone has invested 800 million yuan (US$96 million) in constructing such facilities as telecommunications, water and power supplies, transportation and sewage treatment.

Yantai will primarily be built into an ecological city during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), said Acting Mayor Sun Yongchun.

"To realize this goal and add more charm to the city, the municipal government will channel more funds to accelerate environmental development, form a more strict environmental management system and apply advanced technologies," he told Environment China.

Yantai has formed an embryonic form of an ecological city. Statistics indicate that between 2001 and 2005, more than 97 per cent of its days registered good air quality.

Water quality of key rivers such as Dagujia and Wulong also improved.

"Yantai is expected to be one of the best cities in environmental protection in China," Sun said.

"During the 2001-05 periods, the city invested approximately 15 billion yuan (US$1.875 billion) in environmental protection. As a result, more than 1,500 environmental protection projects were carried out."

To enhance the treatment capacity of urban pollutants, Yantai has set up four urban sewage treatment plants and six residential garbage treatment stations to considerably reduce urban garbage.

Yantai has also set up centralized heating supply facilities in its districts and counties. Among them, investment in the downtown heat network exceeded 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million), supplying heat to an additional area of 8 million square meters.

It dismantled more than 200 furnaces that consume coal, reducing more than 300,000 tons of coal consumption every year.

Yantai also set up a treatment centre for hospital wastes, helping to treat waste from more than 70 hospitals.

According to Sun, the city carries out a principle of "increasing output without increasing pollutants" for its industrial enterprises.

It has shut down three straw pulp production lines and set a time limit for the upgrade of 96 cement kiln production lines.

For new foreign investment projects, no polluting projects are given authorization.

"Among the more than 10,000 foreign-invested projects, none of them produce pollution," Sun said.

Yantai actively advocates a recycled economy.

There are more than 100 enterprises in the city that implement clean production and pass the accreditation of the ISO14000 environmental management system. It has set up several recycled economy demonstration zones for the recycled use of resources.

The acting mayor said that in the coming five years, Yantai would implement a batch of pollution prevention and ecological protection projects to fulfill its goal as an ecological city by 2010.

"To meet this goal, the city will accelerate the pace of implementing its plan for building an ecological city, speed up urban environmental infrastructure construction and strengthen rural environmental protection," the official noted.

Yantai will devote more efforts to curb pollution through scientific and technological means.

More than 300 young students keen to show their determination to reject war and violence picked up hammers and smashed dozens of toy pistols to pieces.

The pistol-smashing took place at the Peace Square in Penglai, in east China’s Shandong Province. The participants were youngsters from China, the Unites States, the Republic of Korea and Nepal.

The activity was part of a campaign called "Ode to Peace", which began on Sunday, according to Xinhua.

"The world needs peace and we are trying to convey this idea to people in a special way," said Natalie Cubbon, a college student from the United States.

The peace campaign is jointly sponsored by the Asian Pacific Federation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Association, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shandong provincial government.

During the five-day campaign, the youngsters will express their desire for peace through drawings, speeches and performances.

Sadichha Shrestha, a senior high school student from Nepal, took part in a 10,000-meter picture scroll drawing, in which the young people painted a dove with an olive branch in its beak.

"This activity with people from different cultural backgrounds forges links and understanding for the future," she said.

Shrestha said she would share her experience with friends when she returned to Nepal.

Penglai started the campaign in 2000. Over the past six years, hundreds of thousands of youngsters from more than 120 countries and regions have been to the city to express their desire for world peace.

A small city by China’s standards, Penglai was promoting world peace and caring youth development, said Dhirendra Bhatnagar, vice president of Asian Pacific Federation of UNESCO Association.

Bhatnagar said the "Ode to Peace" was worth spreading not only in the Asia and Pacific areas, but also the entire world. He hoped that more countries would participate in the future.

Sumiko Ishigami, an official with the Japanese UNESCO association, said the youngsters were the future and the world would never be peaceful and harmonious unless they were dedicated to friendship and peace.

As a member of the United Nations, China was active in promoting world peace, said Du Yue, vice secretary-general of China national committee of the UNESCO.

Zhang Heqiang, vice director of general office of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said China had been tormented by wars and invasions in the 20th Century and the nation’s craving for peace was sincere.

Yantai in East China of Shandong Province is emerge.ng as a popular destination for tourists from home and abroad.

The city saw arrivals of 14.54 million tourists last year. The figure is expected to rise to 25.42 million in 2010, including 423,200 overseas tourists, according to the municipal government.

Tourism is becoming one of the fast-growing industries in Yantai, said Sun Yongchun, mayor of the city.

Its tourism sector achieved total revenues of 11.75 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in 2005, a great jump of 104 per cent from five years ago and an increase of 26.5 per cent compared with the previous year.

The revenues accounted for 19.9 per cent of the incremental value of the service industry and 5.8 per cent of the gross domestic product of the city.

"As a tourist destination, our city has rich tourism resources," Mayor Sun said.
So far, Yantai has developed more than 120 scenic spots, historical sites and destinations of local cultural interest.

The number of State A-class tourism sites is 22, including four national forest parks and four provincial-level holiday resorts.

"We will capitalize on the sea resources and speed up our efforts to build the city into one of the most appealing coastal destinations in North China," Sun said.

The municipal government has launched a series of supportive policies to encourage investment in the tourism sector.

Over nearly a decade of development, a great number of companies have become involved in tourist services in the city. Private investors are a dynamic force in the tourism sector.

The privately funded company has poured more than 500 million yuan (US$62.5 million) into the construction of a golf course and traditional Chinese-style buildings.

It plans to develop the Nanshan Donghai Economic Development Zone, one of its projects, into a comprehensive international park, catering for industrial operations, technological research, and tourism sightseeing in the next five to 10 years.

Yantai Tashan Group, another big local private company, is also active in the construction and development of tourism facilities.

An 80,000-square-metre scenic spot it developed has been on the city list of AAA tourism spots.

The Tashan Group is co-operating with the city Tourism Administration Bureau to develop the East Emplacement, a main historical site in the city.

Active participation of private capital has spurred the growth of local tourism substantially.

The Yantai Agricultural Exposition Park, Haiyang Coast and Zhaoyuan Paradise are all listed as key provincial tourism projects.

At present, the city has 102 hotels, including 70 star-rated ones, and 183 tourism agencies.

Governmental statistics show that tourism investment value in the city amounted to 6.58 billion yuan (US$822.5 million) during the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05), creating 128,000 jobs.

At the same time, the flourishing tourism sector in turn witnessed the rapid development of private companies.

Among these, Penglaige Tourism Group, Tashan Group, and Huanghai Pearl Group are ranked among the eight leading group of companies in the province. They received priority support from governments.

According to the development strategy of the city, promoting tourism growth is a priority on the agenda of the municipal government.

"We will spare no efforts to strengthen our competitive edge in tourism during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10)," said Mayor Sun, adding that as a pillar industry of the city, the tourism sector will receive more support from the government.

The authorities have mapped out a plan to develop the tourism industry and designated key tourism attractions.

Favorable policies have been released to direct funds and information and human resources departments in the tourism sector, aimed at promoting the efficient use of various resources.

Meanwhile, the government is speeding up revamping the city image as a tourist destination.

"There is still room for improving service quality and facility construction," Sun said. "We will improve our management and help local tourism firms build up their brands."

In addition to developing local tourism resources, the municipal government also pays attention to co-operation with other cities in the province.

Qingdao, another coastal city in Shandong Province, is due to serve as a venue for sailing sports during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Sun said that Yantai would grasp the opportunity and jointly promote coastal tours with Qingdao and Weihai, seeking to attract more overseas tourists.

The authorities will strengthen efforts in foreign investment attraction, especially capital from the Republic of Korea, Japan and the Southeast Asian region, Sun said.

"Overseas capital and managerial expertise will boost the growth of the city tourism sector," he said.

Tourism revenue from foreign tourists is expected to reach US$335 million in 2010, increasing 153 per cent compared with five years ago.

More than 300 young students keen to show their determination to reject war and violence picked up hammers and smashed dozens of toy pistols to pieces.

The pistol-smashing took place at the Peace Square in Penglai, in east China Shandong Province. The participants were youngsters from China, the Unites States, the Republic of Korea and Nepal.

The activity was part of a campaign called "Ode to Peace", which began on Sunday, according to Xinhua.

"The world needs peace and we are trying to convey this idea to people in a special way," said Natalie Cubbon, a college student from the United States.

The peace campaign is jointly sponsored by the Asian Pacific Federation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Association, the Chinese People Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shandong provincial government.

During the five-day campaign, the youngsters will express their desire for peace through drawings, speeches and performances.

Sadichha Shrestha, a senior high school student from Nepal, took part in a 10,000-meter picture scroll drawing, in which the young people painted a dove with an olive branch in its beak.

"This activity with people from different cultural backgrounds forges links and understanding for the future," she said.

Shrestha said she would share her experience with friends when she returned to Nepal.

Penglai started the campaign in 2000. Over the past six years, hundreds of thousands of youngsters from more than 120 countries and regions have been to the city to express their desire for world peace.

A small city by China standards, Penglai was promoting world peace and caring youth development, said Dhirendra Bhatnagar, vice president of Asian Pacific Federation of UNESCO Association.

Bhatnagar said the "Ode to Peace" was worth spreading not only in the Asia and Pacific areas, but also the entire world. He hoped that more countries would participate in the future.

Sumiko Ishigami, an official with the Japanese UNESCO association, said the youngsters were the future and the world would never be peaceful and harmonious unless they were dedicated to friendship and peace.

As a member of the United Nations, China was active in promoting world peace, said Du Yue, vice secretary-general of China national committee of the UNESCO.

Zhang Heqiang, vice director of general office of the Chinese People Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said China had been tormented by wars and invasions in the 20th Century and the nation craving for peace was sincere.

The ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Forum and Exhibition on Tourism Investment and Co-operation will kick off in Yantai in East China Shandong Province on October 19.

It will be the first big tourism promotional event in the history of the ASEM. ASEM, which was initially proposed by Goh Chok Tong, former Singaporean Prime Minister, serves as a dialogue and co-operative mechanism between Asia and Europe. So far, 25 European Union (EU) member states, the EU Commission, and 13 Asian countries are participants in the organization.

Leaders of the ASEM member states hold summit meetings every other year to address political, economic and cultural issues.

ASEM is playing an increasingly important role, particularly in global trade. Statistics show that exports within the ASEM framework accounted for 61 per cent of the global total and imports took up 58 per cent.

The upcoming event of the ASEM Forum and Exhibition on Tourism Investment and Co-operation is aimed at promoting growth of trade and investment in the tourism sector and thus strengthening partnerships between Asian and European countries, said Li Shuqin, vice-mayor of Yantai.

The event will consist of a forum on tourism investment and co-operation, an exhibition, investment and trade talks, and cultural tourism promotional activities. About 1,500 exhibition booths will be at the exhibition.

The municipal government attaches high importance to hosting the grand event. Authorities have established an organization to take care of preparatory work for the ASEM Forum and Exhibition on Tourism Investment and Co-operation.

There are 10 sub-committees in the organization, covering media relations, trade and investment talks, forum preparation, environmental revamping, business visits, reception services, safety and guards, entertainment, health and quarantine, and exhibition facility construction.

An official website has been set up to offer instant information on the activities of the event.

Two press conferences were held in Beijing and Hong Kong respectively, to introduce theupcoming event.

Early this year, government officials paid promotional visits to key countries and regions, seeking to increase participation rates.

To date, 450 exhibition booths have been reserved and nearly 100 delegations from home and abroad have confirmed participation in the event, including tourism service providers, trade associations and governmental officials.

A tourism conference sponsored by the Organization for East Asian Economic Development will also be held in Yantai during the event.

Organizers revealed that the Yantai municipal government is planning to offer a series of projects for investment, focusing on infrastructure facilities, multinational mergers, processing trade, going public abroad, and transferring equity of big companies.

Yantai North Andre Juice, China leading apple juice concentrate manufacturer, expects to further boost its production capacity to 240,000 tons by the end of 2007.

"We hope to see our annual concentrate production capacity to reach 240,000 tons by July or August of 2007," said Rex Chow, Andre Juice special assistant to chairman.

Andre Juice currently has a total concentrate production capacity of about 180,000 tons, Chow said.

"With an extra capacity of about 30,000 tons to be generated by our new production line in Dalian in September, annual capacity will soon exceed 180,000 tons to reach 210,000 tons," he said.

"Our new production line in Xianyang will also generate about 30,000 tons and bring annual production capacity up to 240,000 tons," Chow added.

Chow remarks came at the time when Andre Juice released its 2006 interim results yesterday.

Andre Juice saw its turnover reach 349.96 million yuan in the first half of 2006, up 12.76 per cent from the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company net profit, however, plummeted 94.49 per cent in the same period of 2006, down to 3.38 million yuan from 61.44 million yuan in 2005.

Chow told reporters yesterday that the profit slump was mainly because of surging production costs.

"Our production costs rose dramatically as we had to cope with the surging price of apples," Chow said.

Due to the shortage of apple supply in China as a whole, price of apples soared especially in the second quarter to about 900 yuan per ton, 400 to 500 yuan higher than the average price in the past months.

As such, Andre Juice net financial costs jumped to 16.29 million yuan in the first half, from 12.61 million yuan.

With a total of 300 million yuan in hand, Chow said that the money would allow Andre Juice to "do many things".

"International demand for apple juice concentrate remains high and China domestic demand for juice is also growing," Chow said. "Our market prospect still looks bright."

"The price of apple should fall below 900 yuan per ton in the coming quarters and fluctuate between 400 yuan to 500 yuan per ton and 900 yuan per ton," he added.

"We will export 50 per cent of our total concentrate output to the US and 20 per cent to Japan and Europe each," Chow said.

Andre Juice plan to produce pectin, a juice-making byproduct used to jell food products, drugs and cosmetics, was going right on the track, Chow told reporters yesterday.

A company representative told China Daily that Andre Juice would produce 500 tons of pectin by the end of 2006.

Chen Shide is beating all mutual funds investing in China by buying shares of Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Wine Factory Co. and Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., which are benefiting from growing personal incomes.

Chen's 1.69 billion yuan ($212 million) Guangfa Small Cap Growth Equity Fund has returned 101 percent over the past 12 months. That is more than double the gain, including reinvested dividends, of the Shanghai Composite Index. It is the top mutual fund among 346 open-end China equity funds that are tracked by Bloomberg.

``My sole criteria for selecting small-cap stocks is stable earnings growth,'' said Chen, 40, a fund manager with GF Fund Management Co. in Guangzhou, in a telephone interview. ``The earnings growth for consumer stocks will be quite sustainable and impressive in the coming couple of years.''

Shares of Shanxi Fen Wine and Changyu Pioneer, the listed unit of China's biggest wine producer, have doubled in value this year.

Per capita disposable incomes in Chinese urban areas increased 10.2 percent in the first six months of the year, after adjusting for inflation, while rural incomes jumped 11.9 percent. About 60 percent of China's 1.3 billion people live outside major cities. The country's economy grew 11.3 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than a decade.

Retail sales in the world's fourth-largest economy expanded 13.9 percent in June after climbing 14.2 percent a month earlier, the most in 17 months, as rising incomes encouraged people to spend more, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

``Consumer stocks are a buy this year, with the economy becoming more reliant on domestic spending as the major driver,'' said Chen.

Still, finding quality companies among the 1,363 listed on the mainland is not easy. Unlike Bank of China Ltd. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the most valuable companies traded in Shanghai, small-cap Chinese companies have shown lax management and made deals with affiliates that were not always transparent.

Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co., China's biggest refrigerator maker, said in July that it had been fined 600,000 yuan for falsifying three years of financial income and sales. Twelve Kelon executives, including former Chairman Gu Chujun, were fined between 50,000 yuan and 300,000 yuan. The company, based in southern China's Foshan city, made the announcement in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on July 5.

Gu was fined 300,000 yuan and banned permanently from the stock market by the China Securities and Regulatory Commission for inflating earnings, the China Securities Journal reported separately on July 17.

In May, the securities regulator said controlling shareholders of public companies should pay back money misappropriated from their listed units by the end of the year. Those who fail to comply with the rule will be sued, said the regulator.

``Small-cap funds are more risky investments, as most of the small-cap companies here are subject to more volatile price movements and problematic corporate governance,'' said Zhao Zifeng, who oversees the equivalent of $1.1 billion with China International Fund Management Co. in Shanghai.

China's mutual funds are open to domestic citizens and so- called qualified foreign institutional investors with total assets of at least $10 billion. Domestic mutual funds are restricted by law to investing in yuan-denominated Class A shares, bonds and money market products. Class A shares are traded in Shanghai and on the smaller Shenzhen market.

Set up in February 2005, Chen's fund allocates at least 80 percent of its assets to companies whose market value is less than his 2.1 billion yuan threshold.

To avoid potential risks, Chen makes an average of 20 company visits a year and diversifies his investments. Chen currently invests in 43 stocks.

``I never invest more than 3 percent of the assets in a single stock, and I pay much heed to corporate governance issues and the integrity of management,'' said Chen, a basketball fan who earned a master's degree from Guangzhou-based Jinan University in 1994. ``If you know enough about them, they carry no risks at all.''

Chen said he has currently allocated about 40 percent of the fund to consumer stocks.

First-quarter profit at Shanxi province-based Shanxi Fen Wine jumped 123 percent from a year ago on revenue that more than doubled. Fen Jiu, a liquor widely drunk at Chinese banquets, is the company's most famous brand.

Net income for the three months to March 31 at Changyu Pioneer, based in Shandong province, increased 38 percent from a year earlier as people spent more on drinking during the Spring Festival, or China's Luna New Year. Illva Saronno Holding SpA, an Italian winemaker, last year agreed to buy 33 percent of the Chinese vintner, which was founded in 1892 and produces varieties such as riesling, chardonnay and cabernet.

Combined first-quarter profit for Chinese liquor makers rose 22 percent from a year earlier to 24.3 billion yuan, according to Guotai Junan Securities Co. A government decision to cut a tax on liquor makers to 20 percent from 25 percent starting April 1 will boost profit at Shanxi Fen Wine by 22 percent, said the brokerage.

China's wine market, worth more than 7 billion yuan, is expanding at an annual pace of more than 10 percent, according to China Wine Online, an Internet-based beverage publication. China is the world's sixth-biggest winemaker.

Profit at Beijing Hualian Hypermarkets Co., an operator of supermarkets and department stores, another of Chen's holdings, jumped 39 percent in the first quarter as the company strengthened the management of branches. The shares have doubled this year.

The fund management industry in mainland China was worth 511.4 billion yuan at the end of June 30, an increase of 9 percent from the end of last year, according to China Galaxy Securities Co., the country's second-largest brokerage by assets.

The value of equity funds jumped 43 percent in the first six months as the Shanghai Composite Index rallied about 40 percent. It was the second-best performing stock market in Asia after the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the mainland's smaller market.

China's stock markets have been shielded from this year's global selloff in emerging-market equities by restrictions on investment by foreigners.

Forty-two foreign investors have been allowed to invest a combined $7.25 billion in China's equities, bonds and mutual funds, an amount equal to only 1.6 percent of the value of the country's stock markets.

Chen, who worked for GF Securities Co. as a money manager before moving to GF Fund Management in 2002, said he has about 400 stocks on his radar as investment options.

``The most difficult thing facing fund managers is to know about the transparency of small-cap companies,'' said Zhang Xuejun, who manages the $270 million Desheng Small-Cap Fund at Guotai Junan Allianz Fund Management Co. in Shanghai. ``You need to have good communication with management executives of these companies.'' Zhang's fund has returned 42 over the past year.

A government program to make tradable more than $200 billion of mostly government-held stocks also has helped end a five-year slump that almost halved China's market value.

For Chen, the most important thing remains picking the right stocks regardless of the market trend.

``For a long time, I have kept 90 percent of my assets in equities,'' he said. ``The most important thing is to jump on the right stocks. A frequent adjustment of positions doesn't work.''

China's ocean environment, especially the shallow waters just off the coast, has been severely polluted by an increasing run-off of contaminants into the sea. A report released by China's State Oceanic Administration says the country is faced with severe challenges in handling the pollution of the ocean. CRI's Chen Simeng reports.

The report, China's Oceanic Environment Quality 2005, says that the ocean has been polluted by a harmful algal bloom, a sudden, massive growth of microscopic and macroscopic plant life.

It is estimated that last year there were over 80 incidents of algal blooms in the shallow waters off China's coast, leading to direct economic losses of nearly 8.6 million US dollars.

A spokesperson for the State Oceanic Administration, Li Chunxian, says a run off of pollutants from the land is the source of the contamination.

"The run-off of pollutants from the land is heavy. That causes the deterioration of ecological system in the ocean, rivers, bays and wetlands. The pollutants contain substances that aid the growth of harmful algae. The excessive run-off of pollutants also damages the ecosystems of coral reefs."

In addition, algal blooms cause fish to die by lowering the oxygen concentration of the water.

Over the past five years, China has seen increased contamination of the ocean. The total amount of waste water flowing into the ocean was over 31 billion tons, 9.6 billion tons more than in 2000.

The severe pollution has attracted the attention of environmental protection authorities. Many provinces and regions have adopted measures, including control on the run-off of pollutants and strengthening the monitoring of sea pollution.

Yantai, a city in east China, has been actively working on controlling pollution of the ocean. Jiang Qingchun is an official working in this area.

"The oceans have a limited capacity to absorb pollution. Now we have less and less fish and the ocean environment is deteriorating. We cannot endlessly exploit the oceans any more. We should protect them. And we also cannot pour rubbish into the ocean indiscriminately any more."

He adds that it is difficult for oceans to recover from pollution, and so the pressing task is to reduce pollution in the future.

At present, China cannot recycle all the pollutants it produces due to lagging recycling facilities and poor environmental awareness in some areas.

But the authorities have pledged to make more efforts to improve this situation.

Chen Simeng, CRI News.

Yantai, Shandong - One American and two Chinese men were rescued Friday morning from a private yacht that broke down on north China Bohai Sea Thursday night, Chinese rescuers said Friday.

The American man, Richard M Wolff, set out Thursday evening from Laizhou in Shandong Province in the yacht he had just bought. He and the two Chinese people aboard were heading for Dalian in Liaoning Province. However, the craft lost power about 20 nautical miles off the Shandong coast, rescuers said.

The Beihai Rescue Bureau under China Ministry of Communications received the SOS signal at 9:19 p.m. on Thursday and immediately sent a rescue boat to save the people.

At 11:15 p.m., Chinese rescuers found the yacht and started towing it to Dalian.

At 6:45 a.m. on Friday, the Beihai Rescue Bureau sent out another life boat for assistance and the yacht arrived safely at the port of Dalian at 7:30.

The Bohai is an inland sea enclosed by the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas. The smallest of China seas, it covers an area of 77,000 square kilometers.

YANTAI: A year ago Wang Hongwei was hesitant about handing over 10 yuan for a trial medical insurance system. But now, as the 56-year-old farmer from Shandong Province recovers from heart surgery, he knows he made the right decision.

For 10 yuan (US$1.25), the local government reimbursed 65% of his bill, paying 26,000 yuan (US$3,250). Without the insurance, Wang would have used up almost all of his life savings.

"I never expected I could get so much money from the government. It really is a big help for me," he said.

Wang's story gives hope to hundreds of millions of rural residents across China struggling to pay high medical bills.

The insurance system, called the "new rural co-operative medical care system," was launched by the central government in 2003. Still on a trial basis, the system is currently being implemented in 671 counties in the country, home to a total of 177 million rural residents.

With the new policy, a farmer puts 10 yuan a year into his personal healthcare account and the government injects another 40 yuan (US$5). The government will then pay up to 65 per cent of his medical charges a year.

The highest payment can be up to 30,000 yuan ((US$3,750) in Laishan District in Yantai, where Wang comes from.

"With the insurance, I feel more willing to see doctors and know more about my health. My family and I feel much more secure than before," another villager Chu Zhongcheng told China Daily.

"China has 900 million rural people, and more than 700 million remain in the countryside and lack affordable healthcare. The system will guarantee a fundamental healthcare system for these people," Tian Mingbao, vice-mayor of Yantai, told China Daily.

The city has eight counties that have tested the new system. To date 84 per cent of residents, approximately 2.5 million, have participated.

According to the vice-mayor, this year the city government has allocated more than 88 million yuan (US$11 million) to support the system.

Next year the system will be introduced among all the city' four million rural population.

It is expected that by 2010, the basics of a rural healthcare system will be in place in all rural areas in China.

In addition to the financial benefits, the growing number of patients has led to the demand for better medical facilities and staff in rural areas.

In Shandong, the provincial government has announced an investment of more than 320 million yuan (US$40 million) in the next two years to construct or renovate 360 major township health centres, aiming to establish a complete rural healthcare system.

At the same time, the province is sending high-level professionals from major hospitals in big cities to work in backward rural areas.

Qingdao, another pilot city in the province, has in the past five years sent more than 4,000 urban medical professionals to work in more than 800 of its small towns and rural villages, the local health department said.

By the end of 2005, these doctors had performed more than 10,200 surgeries for rural patients, cutting operation fees by some 1,000 yuan (US$125) per case.

In the meantime, experienced professionals are helping promote hygiene knowledge and train staff in local hospitals. More than 8,000 medical workers in rural hospitals have undergone training.

All medical personnel in township and rural clinics must now have professional certification, and local health departments are carrying out regular inspections.

"As we optimize the medical structure, more resources are flowing into rural areas, balancing the overall medical resources distribution. These efforts have greatly improved efficiency and most importantly have benefited rural people and brought prosperity to the healthcare sector," said Bao Wenhui, vice-director of Shandong Provincial Health Department.

On Oct. 2, 2004, the container ship Ever Unique, sailing under a Panamanian flag from Yantai, China, berthed in the Port of Newark. [snip] ... F.B.I. and Secret Service agents, acting as part of a sting operation, gathered around the container and cracked it open ... they found counterfeit $100 bills worth more than $300,000, secreted in false-bottomed compartments.

The counterfeits were nearly flawless. They featured the same high-tech color-shifting ink as genuine American bills and were printed on paper with the same precise composition of fibers. The engraved images were, if anything, finer than those produced by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Counterfeits of this superior sort ?known as supernotes ?had been detected by law-enforcement officials before, elsewhere in the world, but the Newark shipment marked their first known appearance in the United States, at least in such large quantities.

The arrests also prompted a more momentous accusation. After the indictments were released, U.S. government and law-enforcement officials began to say in public something that they had long said in private: the counterfeits were being manufactured not by small-time crooks or even sophisticated criminal cartels but by the government of North Korea. “The North Koreans have denied that they are engaged in the distribution and manufacture of counterfeits, but the evidence is overwhelming that they are,?

The counterfeiting of American currency by North Korea might seem, to some [like the New York Times? -ed], to be a minor provocation by that country’s standards.

But several current and former Bush administration officials whom I spoke with several months ago maintain that the counterfeiting is in important ways a comparable outrage. ... counterfeits, by creating mistrust in the American currency, posed a “threat to the American people.

A joint test of ferry, port and bridge began yesterday at the Bohai cross-sea railway ferry project.

The project will connect Yantai City, eastern China's Shandong Province, and Dalian City, northeastern Liaoning Province. The test comes in advance of the project's trial operation in September.

The ferry will link up a railway passage in eastern China from Harbin City, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, to Shanghai.

Besides creating a new railway link, the ferry project is also expected to improve exchange between northeastern China, the Bohai Sea circle and the Yangtze River Delta - China's three major economic areas.

The three regions contribute approximately a third of China's gross domestic products.

Once the project launches, trains will be ferried between Yantai to Dalian, to avoid a long detour, cutting transport time and cost.

The shortest direct distance between Shandong Peninsula, where Yantai is located, and Liaodong Peninsula, where Dalian is located, is 159.8 kilometers.

The sea used to disrupt the railway link, forcing trains to make a long detour. The ferry project will reduce train travel distances by 600 to 1,600 kilometers compared to running on the current railway network.

In its initial stage, the Yantai-Dalian ferry service will be able to transport 3.8 million tons of railway cargo a year from Dalian to Yantai, and the reverse line will have an annual capacity of 3 million tons.

A new ferry service that will dramatically cut travel between two cities on the Bohai Sea will begin commercial operations in September following completion of test voyages and port facilities.

The ferry will sail 159.8 km from Dalian, a port of northeast China's Liaoning Province, to Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong Province.

The ferry can carry a 50-car freight train, 50 20-ton trucks, 25 cars, and 480 passengers. On Monday, the empty ferry completed a test voyage in about 10 hours.

Similar test voyages will be required in August, said Yi Binhua, engineer-in-chief with China Railways Bohai Sea Train Ferry Co. Ltd.

The ferry service cost three billion yuan (about 375 million U.S.dollars) and took 20 months to complete.

It is expected to help rejuvenate China's aging industrial area in the northeast. It is the second such ferry service in China and the longest of the kind in the country.

The first such train ferry service was built on Qiongzhou Straits in South China, connecting Haikou on Hainan Island with Hai'an in Guangdong Province.

Gates Corp. announced it's joined with Winhere Auto-Part Manufacturing Co. Ltd. to manufacture and market water pumps for the worldwide car market.

Gates, the largest non-tire rubber manufacturer of automotive and industrial products, systems and components in North America, is based in Denver. It's part of the Industrial and Automotive Group of Tomkins plc. (NYSE: TKS), based in London.

Winhere is based in Yantai, China. It makes brake rotors, brake drums and water pumps for automotive aftermarket and original equipment customers. The 10-year-old company sells more than 10 million brake parts and water pumps a year.

The two companies will form a joint venture, with a proposed name of Gates Winhere Automotive Pump Products (Yantai) Co. Ltd. The new company will allow Gates to increase its product coverage of replacement water pumps for cars, light trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, Gates said.

Manufacturing operations will be based at an existing Winhere plant in Yantai, a coastal city in the Shandong Province in northeastern China. The transaction is subject to Chinese regulatory approvals.

William Lee, Winhere's water pump general manager, will retain his current title and responsibilities in the new company.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's second-largest shipyard, said Thursday it will start building a factory in China next week to produce blocks for ships.

The plant, located in the Chinese northeastern port city of Yantai in Shandong Province, is projected to have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of ship blocks, or steel structures comprising hulls.

German industrial giant Siemens won a tender for a 35-million-euro (US$44.74 million) project in China, as it seeks to expand its oil and gas business in the market.

The project, awarded to Siemens by Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Shandong Province, involves the construction of an offshore drilling platform.

"As one of the world's largest electrical engineering and electronics companies, we will naturally make efforts to boost our oil and gas business in the Chinese market," said Christian Lupp, general manager of Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services for Oil & Gas.

Siemens made a strategic decision to further strengthen its oil and gas business in China in 2004. Beginning with just one employee, it now has a strong workforce with its own sales representatives and technical experts.

The oil and gas business unit in China is supported by the firm's international network, which includes experts from Norway, the United States, Germany and Singapore.

"Extending from extraction in the field through transport by tanker or pipeline right up to processing in the refinery, our oil and gas business concentrates on electrical engineering and power generation and distribution, drive, automation and IT solutions and on security systems," Lupp said.

He said the firm's customers in China include PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, Yantai Raffles Shipyard and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd.

Offshore oil solutions have been the focus of Siemens' wide-ranging oil and gas business.

"China has a great demand for high-tech solutions for the offshore business. The further out to sea and the deeper China drills for oil, the more interesting are our technical solutions," Lupp said.

With the help of its worldwide network of experts Siemens can supply its customers with the most advanced technology, he said.

"For instance, our experts in Norway have much advanced technology in the offshore oil business," he said.

The company's oil and gas solution business falls under the Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S). The I&S group has other businesses including metals, water treatment, and marine technologies.

Majestic Gold Corp. ("Majestic") (TSX VENTURE: MJS) is pleased to announce initial results from its 2006 exploration program at the Song Jiaguo prospect, Shandong Province, China, including confirmation of high grade gold mineralized zones on Levels 1 and 2 of the underground mine and widespread gold in surface soil anomalies.

Majestic has recently collected rock chip samples from Levels 1 and 2 of the underground workings at Song Jiaguo after ongoing compilation and interpretation of historical data collected by Majestic's joint venture partner, Shandong Yantai Muping Gold Mine ("Muping Mining"), showed numerous samples from Levels 1 and 2, assaying in excess of 10.0 grams per tonne gold.

The underground sampling by Majestic and Muping Mining in drift 1 indicate that this zone is over 10 metres wide and is exposed in the underground workings for over 50 metres along strike. The nearest drill hole is over 80 metres away and intersected 1.4 metres of 34.0 grams per tonne gold that appears to be an extension of this same zone.

Sampling by Majestic and Muping Mining in drift 2 on Level 2, located approximately 40 metres northwest of drift 1, indicate a second sub-parallel high-grade structure (see Map 1 or visit www.majesticgold.net). Muping Mining's historical samples ranged up to 140.2 grams per tonne gold, with several samples over 10.0 grams per tonne gold. Limited sampling by Majestic returned two values of note:

Majestic is planning to test these zones further with both surface drill holes and additional underground sampling.

These samples were collected as part of an ongoing effort to define controls on higher-grade mineralization on the property. An independent resource estimate released on April 25, 2006 cut high grade values (up to 263 grams per tonne gold) to a maximum of 8 grams per tonne gold. Majestic believes that much of this high grade gold mineralization is associated with specific structures that, once sufficient data has been collected, can be modeled separately with a higher cut value and as a result could upgrade the overall resource.

Majestic's work is beginning to show that key structures commonly have a strike of orientation of N50E to N60E with dips commonly of 25 to 70 degrees to the southeast. This orientation is significantly oblique to the Chinese model and to the underground workings such that the current workings only intersect a small portion of the high grade zones. These zones are characterized by very-fine grained (sooty) pyrites on faults, in gouge, and on fractures.

One example of this control is in the western open pit where a N60E structure can be traced continuously through the pit (over 80 metres along strike) and carries gold values ranging from 2.2 to 12.2 grams per tonne gold. Several similar faults have been mapped in the other small open pits and in the northeast portions of the drifts on Levels 1 and 2 of the underground mine. While not all of these structures are necessarily strongly mineralized with gold, they appear to be the dominant control on the gold mineralization. Although gold mineralization is often associated with coarse brown pyrite in the conglomerate matrix, this appears randomly throughout the mineralized zone at Song Jiaguo (600 metres long by 400 metres wide and over 300 metres deep) and has undefined controls at present.

In addition to the initial underground rock samples, assay results for 441 surface soil samples have been received and indicate that the system at Song Jiaguo is significantly larger than previously known (see Map 2 or visit www.majesticgold.net). Two soil anomalies bracket the known mineralization to the southwest and the northeast and indicate that it may extend for another 400 metres at the surface. There are also two anomalies on apparently different zones, one centered approximately 700 metres east of the known mineralization and one 400 metres to the north, that support this theory.

"These results are very exciting for Majestic," said John Zimmerman, exploration manager. "The Level 2 high-grade samples show that this property is capable of carrying substantial grades over significant widths. In addition, they will provide a solid basis for modeling the higher grade structures while the soils indicate that the gold system at Song Jiaguo could be a considerably larger than originally modeled. We will continue working hard over the coming months to further define both of the concepts."

Song Jiaguo is one of 13 licenses on the Muping property and covers 4.11 of a total of 75.06 square kilometres that fall under an Agreement with Muping Mining on the Jiadong Peninsula of Shandong Province. Under the terms of this Agreement, Majestic has the right to earn a 60% interest in a joint venture company established to hold the title to the exploration licenses by spending approximately US$4.2 million over four years on exploration. Upon completion of the required exploration expenditures by Majestic, Muping Mining is required to fund their pro-rata share of exploration or have their interest diluted down to 15%.

At Song Jiaguo, Majestic continues to gather data to assist with a scoping study to define the economics of the project. Muping Mining is currently producing 120 tonnes per day from four underground levels and local villagers were previously mining a similar amount from open pits and shallower underground workings. Muping Mining has reported producing gold at a cost of approximately $305 USD per ounce from ore grading approximately 1.7 grams/tonne in their underground mine in 2005. The costs reported include $86.51 per ounce mining costs, $100.84 per ounce processing, $54.06 per ounce in refining, freight and taxes, and $63.75 in depreciation and other costs.

Muping Mining has provided the company with access to the historical financial data. While all of the historical data reviewed are considered complete and the procedures followed appear to be reliable, the company has not completed a full auditing of the financial data provided. The company is reporting them as an estimate of costs only and as a result, they should not be relied upon.

Korea and China have agreed to open all their air routes to each other. The Construction and Transportation Ministry said Friday the two sides in aviation talks from Wednesday through Friday in the Chinese city of Weihai decided to liberalize their air routes gradually. The agreement will enable both Korean and Chinese airlines to arrange flights between the two nations without restrictions on routes or number of flights.

In the first stage, Seoul will open its entire commercial airspace, while Beijing will give Korean airlines free access to Shandong Province, according to the ministry. Shandong Province with a population of 95 million people is home to the major cities of Weihai, Qingdao and Yantai in it. The province is also an important center of trade, where some 10,000 Korean companies including Samsung and LG are doing business. Seoul and Beijing agreed to hold aviation talks every year to take step-by-step measures to open all of the Chinese commercial airspace to Korea.

In addition, the two agreed to establish new air routes and increase the number of flights on existing routes. They will newly operate 80 flights on 10 routes, including Seoul-Shenzhen and Seoul-Dalian, and increase the number of flights to 117 a week on 19 routes, including Seoul-Beijing and Seoul-Shanghai. Total flights will almost double from the current 204 a week on 33 routes to 401 on 43 sectors.

“The agreement will not only make Korea China’s biggest partner in aviation leaving Japan behind but also help Incheon International Airport become a hub in Northeast Asia and promote other local airports,?a ministry official said,

A delegation from Yantai in Shandong Province, China, will visit FGCU Tuesday and Wednesday to sign a Sister City partnership of businesses, students and cultural organizations of both regions.

County commissioners of Charlotte, Collier, Hendry and Lee counties have resolved to sign a memorandum of understanding to build on the established partnership between each region's universities - Yantai University and Florida Gulf Coast University - and promote further friendship, according to FGCU.

The agreement shapes cooperation in areas such as understanding and contact between organizations involved in economic development in both regions. According to FGCU, it also encourages exchanges between educational and professional organizations in Southwest Florida and Yantai.

The Shandong Province is located on China’s eastern border with the Bohai and Yellow seas and is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization.

Hong Kong's biggest electricity utility CLP Holdings Ltd is spending 413 million yuan (US$51 million) to build four wind farms in partnership with two of the country's top power producers.

The four projects, two in Shandong Province in the east and one each in southern Guangdong and northeastern Jilin, should start operating within a couple of years, a CLP official said.

"The earliest one is in Yantan in Shandong and will start operating in a month or two, with the latest one to start in 2007," the official told China Daily.

State-owned power companies have a controlling stake of at least 50 per cent in each of the four projects. Three of the wind power farms are majority-owned by China Huaneng Group and one is controlled by China Datang Group.

Huaneng Group and Datang Group are the Beijing-based parent companies of Hong Kong-listed Huaneng Power International Inc and Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd respectively.

CLP will take a share of 24.5 per cent to 45 per cent in each of the four farms, which involve a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan (US$164 million) and boast a combined generation capacity of 141 megawatts (MW).

The Chinese Government is pushing the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to ease its heavy reliance on air-polluting coal and oil. It has ordered the country's major power companies to ensure that 5 per cent of its power generators will be fuelled by renewable sources by 2010.

The country's top energy industrial regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), aims to build wind power facilities of 30,000 MW by 2020. Industry experts have said the target was set too low as the government "underestimated" China's ability to harness wind.

"China has both the natural resources and land to develop wind farms. We are currently conducting feasibility studies for possible wind farm development in several locations," said Winifred Wong, a CLP manager.

The Yantai wind power project has been granted a tariff (which is paid by the electricity distributor) higher than the tariffs for coal-fired plants.

This is because, although the cost of wind power is coming down, it is still more expensive than coal.

Tariffs for the other three wind farms have not yet been determined, Wong said, without giving further details.

As a strategic move to tap wind resources globally, CLP Holdings last year forged a joint-venture called Roaring 40s with Australia-based Hydro Tasmania. China is the new venture's "primary focus," said Mark Kelleher, managing director of Roaring in an exclusive interview with China Daily in Beijing last month.

Last week, Roaring signed a co-operation agreement with the power generation unit of State-owned coal producer Shenhua Group to develop wind power in China. Their initial target is 150 MW, with the first project expected to be in Rongcheng of Shandong Province.

The tremendous market potential in China's wind power sector, boosted by surging energy demand and government incentives, has attracted an increasing number of companies.

China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corp, owner of the world's biggest hydro project, last week signed an agreement with a firm in Cixi in East China's Zhejiang Province to develop an offshore wind power project with a capacity of 49.5 MW.

That is the second concrete project for China Yangtze, after the NDRC approved a 200-MW wind project in Yancheng in East China's Jiangsu Province.

Yantai News 2006

Silver Medal Ceremony