Credit Suisse Enjoys Chinese Banking——An exclusive Interview with Dr. Urs Buchmann, Managing Director, Country Head China, Credit Suisse

Widening Opportunities for Foreign Market Participants As a result of a direct interaction with its partners and clients in China extending over 5 decades, Credit Suisse already enjoys a very strong position in the country＇s financial markets. The bank moreover feels generally positive about the significant additional opportunities that have become available to foreign banking institutions as a result of China＇s accession to WTO and the substantial reforms implemented in that context, stated Dr. Urs Buchmann, Managing Director, Country Head China, Credit Suisse.     

New Drive for Foreign Trade

China＇s export-oriented manufacturing is severely affected under unprecedented pressure by the drastic cut of the consumer demand across the world. The shrink in the manufacturing industry gave rise to a heated debate over the appropriate transformation for the upcoming years. Long Yongtu, Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia, China＇s former WTO Chief Negotiator said in Annual Summit of China Economy in 21st Century, concluded on December 13, Kerry Center, Beijing, that, ＂China can draw the new drive from both the experiences of reform and opening up as well as its accession into WTO. Healthy outside environment and improvement in proper sequence are two guidelines we should stick to.＂     

New Trend Likely to Emerge in Steel Product Mix

China steel industry experiences swift growth in past several years, satisfying the development of national .economy by providing substantial long products for infrastructures and buildings construction and flat products for machine, ship and auto making. The flats output has been on the rise in the same period, while that of the longs has been on the decline. The capacity of HR and CR sheet plate and other high value added products swells and even exceeds market demand, as Mysteel （China＇s top indicates. Due to the economic steel information provider）＇s data downtown, industrial experts expect that a change in product mix is looming： more longs would be produced, but fewer flats would be.     

Three Investment of Big Buyer,CIC

On September 29, 2007, China Investment Corporation （CIC）, the country＇s long-awaited state foreign exchange （forex） investment company, was inaugurated with a large amount of registered capital US$ 200 billion, and charged with the task of making better use of the nation＇s huge foreign exchange reserves. Lou Jiwei, the current Deputy Secretary General from the State Council will serve as Chairman, and has said that CIC will explore multiple channels for foreign exchange, and maximize its proceeds via long-term investments, managed within a range of acceptable risk. The establishment of CIC was regarded as a landmark event in the reform of China＇s forex management system.     

RMB：Niu!？

In China＇s lunar calendar, this year marches to the year of the Ox, ＂Niu＂ in Chinese, or ＂strong＂ and ＂prosperous＂ as the character＇s meaning. When mentioning China＇s currency, the RMB, ＂Niu＂ is how many people describe it. Actually, it＇s objective to say that the RMB has performed strongly indeed. We can easily pick up a group of figures to get this conclusion.     

China Consumption Climbing

Ever since Adam Smith＇s celebrated dictum that ＂Consumption is the sole end and purpose of production＂, the consumption concept has played a significant role in economic theory. China has been described as the latestbig cake in consumption＇field because her huge population along with mountain-like consumption needs create countless market segments or niches for all the producers and sellers in various trades and professions.     

IM ＆ EX, A ROCKY ROAD

Subprime mortgage crisis, which was triggered by a dramatic rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the United States,has interrupted china＇s peaceful rise and has major adverse consequences for banks and financial markets around the globe. Although the direct impact of the subprime crisis is rather small to china＇s economy since the exposure of several national banks to the U.S. subprime lending market is relatively limited, there is no denying that the U.S. subprime crisis has been dragging down world＇s major stocks for months and making it difficult for china＇s foreign trade. It is predictable that the impact of this financial tsunami will shed its shadow on china＇s economy sooner or later. Experts are of the view that China may not be directly hit by the crisis as a result of its strong economic fundamentals, limited exposure to this particular variety of assets,     

Intelaational Financial Centers Delta in China

It has called a lot of attention that China should build a pattern of International Financial Centers Delta： Make Beijing the centre of International Finance Management and Cooperation, working as the management and cooperation base and headquarter for China＇s participation in the international Financial competition;     

Chile：Close Tie between China and Latin America

Chile was the first country in South America to establish a diplomatic relationship with China more than 38 years ago.Since then,with the bilateral free trade agreement in place,Chile has become China＇s second-largest trading partner in Latin America,and China is currently Chile＇s largest trading partner in the world.In April of 2008,China and Chile signed the Supplementary Agreement on Trade in Services of the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People＇s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Chile in Sanya, Hainan province.This was a historical milestone marking the longstanding relationship between China and Chile.To learn more about this bilateral relationship,China＇s Foreign Trade invited Mr.Mario I.Artaza,Director Commercial Office Trade Representative at the Beijing Embassy of Chile in China,to give us his point of view on the current business and economic environment that exists between these two countries.     

Where We Are with CNY Invoicing

It ain＇t easy replacing the US dollar. Some see the Chinese yuan （CNY） as the imminent replacement of the US dollar （USD） as the world＇s dominant reserve currency. However, those involved in the CNY＇s first forays overseas as a means of invoicing and payment for cross-border trade have known from the start that this process will take some time. Nine months into the CNY trade settlement pilot scheme, this seems like a good time to report on the progress and examine the outstanding challenges.     

The potential competition in Moving China

In the past three decades, China＇s reform and opening-up brought great miracle to the world, and now China is facing new challenges such as the downturn of domestic and international economy of 2008. There are a lot of uncertainty factors existing in many industries such as the U.S subprime crises, the domestic stock market slump, the bubble of real estate, and the crisis of confidence for the enterprises production safety, and so on. We＇d better consider that after Olympic Games and the big turn of 2008, how China could keep its developing, how the enterprises especially the small and medium-sized ones could survive, what suggestions the economists shall propose to respond to the challenge.     

To Value the Past Three Decades,To Confidently Look Into the Future!

Iam very grateful for being invited to contribute with some thoughts at this time when Chinese friends prepare to celebrate three significant decades of reform and opening towards the outside world.From the very beginning I confess that I am writing these lines with a great deal of emotion and affection. That is because as a diplomat serving already twice in Beijing, after the reforms and the opening up policies started in China, I had the privilege of experiencing in person some years of the miraculous changes in China＇s social and economic life.     

Seeking China Capital for Investment in Iran Oil Refining

Influenced by the financial crisis, the overall bilateral trade volume between China and lran decreased .by 39% in the first quarter of 2009;however, the volume of Iran＇s exported crude oil to China has increased by 88% compared with the same period last year up to May of 2009, totaling 308.8 million tons. Iran, as the world＇s No.5 crude exporter, replaced Saudi Arabia as China＇s largest oil supplier. At the same time, China, as the world＇s No.2 oil consumer, now imports half of the crude oil it consumes, and has become Iran＇s third largest customer.     

Chinese steel mills turn to more imported iron ore

China＇s steel industry overestimated the country＇s demand for iron ore and as a result imported a record high amount of the material in March. A surge of domestic steel output and price increases in the beginning of 2009 raised market expectations. Many domestic steel mills and traders increased orders for iron ore in February and March as they anticipated demand would continue growing, said Liang Shuhe, deputy-director with the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce （MOC）, at an industry conference in the port city of Tianjin on April 13.     

China＇s Soaring Exports Agitates Currency Debate

On March 10, statistics from China＇s General Administration of Customs showed that its exports climbed 45.7% in February from a year earlier, and 21% increase from January, beating estimates and providing fresh evidence of a robust recovery in an economy poised to overtake Japan as the second-largest in the world. Economists said the data signaled a rebound in consumer demand from the United States and other Western markets after the financial crisis last year.     

Manufacturing：World Factory on Work

In the U-style trend of 2009, this year is predicted to face more difficulties and challenges in world and China＇s economic fields. China＇s Foreign Trade picks up several main industries, such as manufacture, energy, auto, high-tech industry and banking, to illustrate ＂the profile of industrial development in China far the new year.     

Coalbed Methane, New Road to New Resources

Ashortage of coal and coal mines has accelerated the resource crisis in China. compounded by the heavy snow in the southern regions that hit just before the Chinese traditional Spring Festival period.The uncertainty of coal supplies from China,Australia and South Africa has resulted in a sharp price increase in the Asian coal market.How to solve the coal problem not only during this time of crisis but also in the long-term has raised the level of concern in this newly affected nation. Some new and alternative resources have been considered as substitutes,such as coalbed methane.China＇s Foreign Trade interviewed the Vice-President and Senior Engineer of China United Coalbed Methane Co.,Ltd.,Mr.Lin Jianhao,to discuss this topic in detail.     

Grow Together with China

Just as Wang Zhongyu,Chairman of China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association,said,＂The past 30 years not only witnesses the growth of China＇s reform and opening up policy,but also are the history of mutual growing for multinational enterprises in China, Chinese enterprises, as well as the whole China＇s economy,＂ a new chapter is being written on, taking 30 years as the milestone.     

THE DIFFERENCE OF LAW ON ANTIDUMPING BETWEEN CHINA AND U.S

According to the statistics, China＇s total volume of foreign trade has exceeded 1 billion dollars in 2004. From 1997 to 2004, China began the Anti - Dumping investigation against the foreign products. Now, China is the world＇s biggest injured state of anti -dumping investigations. With the continuous come down of China＇s tariff, there are more and more dumping of foreign products in China. With increasingly severe anti - dumping lawsuits, we must be conscientious and make a good job of studying the basis of anti - dumping law and practice of the western countries, especially the USA. So that we can speed up the improve of China＇s anti - dumping legislation.     

Central Region： The Next Destination？

A new set of policies for processing trade were jointly implemented by China＇s Ministry of Commerce and General Customs Office last year, with the goal of promoting trade balance, relieving the sharp contrast in China＇s huge trade surplus, as well as pushing forward with the improvemerit and transformation of the industry. The highlight of the policy was its fit with regional economic development patterns：