Month: August 2021

(Peoples Daily Online)16:15, January 14, 2021

In 2020, about 74 percent of Chinese people used mobile payments every day because they’re easy and convenient, according to a survey report from the Payment Clearing Association of China (PCAC).

A passenger scans a QR code of Alipay, a mobile payment app, to take bus in Hangzhou, capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

The report found that Chinese people tended to make small mobile payments last year, specifying that 38.4 percent of people paid less than 100 yuan ($15.44) per transaction through mobile payments, 23.3 percentage points higher than 2019, and 16.4 percent of people paid between 500 to 1,000 yuan per transaction through mobile payments, 18.9 percentage points lower than 2019.

The growth in the number of small payments, mainly in shops, public transportation, supermarkets and other venues closely linked with citizens life, is a sign that mobile payments are playing an increasingly important role in offering convenience to users and boosting consumption, said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher with Merchants Union Consumer Finance Co. Ltd.

The growing popularity of mobile payments indicates the progress achieved in the infrastructure construction of mobile payments, said Sun Zhanping, a deputy executive with UnionPay.

Last year, making a payment through scanning a QR code was the most popular way of paying for things and services, while payment terminals were less used, the report showed.

63.4 percent of people are concerned about the security of mobile payments, according to the report, noting that security risks such as leakage of personal information, fake QR codes, and hackers who can access their payment accounts and take money from them were issues of top concern.

(Xinhua)16:25, January 14, 2021

SHANGHAI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) — Chinas ARJ21 regional jetliner is expected to expand commercial operation in the overseas market, according to its developer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).

COMAC has recently signed an agreement with China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC), a subsidiary of the China Everbright Group, on 60 ARJ21 airplanes purchase, COMAC said.

The purchase agreement includes 30 confirmed orders and 30 intended orders on ARJ21.

To date, COMAC has received a total of 670 orders on ARJ21, and delivered 46 into the market, the developer said.

Through its subsidiaries, the CALC will introduce ARJ21 airplanes into the ASEAN market and build overseas operation bases of the jetliner model, according to the agreement.

COMAC and the CALC will jointly support the ARJ21 fleet to serve in the Southeast Asian market, gaining experience in overseas operations of the jetliner model.

Both sides vowed to give full play to their professional advantages in sectors such as aircraft assets management, aftermarket, as well as hybrid industrial-financial business.

Founded in 2006, the CALC focuses on providing comprehensive solutions to the aviation industry involving fields such as aircraft leasing, air dismantling, and aircraft commercial operation.

As of the end of 2020, the CALC had a fleet of 128 leasing aircraft, which served in 15 countries and regions.

Designed with a capacity of 78 to 90 seats and a range of 3,700 km, ARJ21 is Chinas first turbofan regional passenger jetliner. As a pioneer of China-developed commercial airplanes, it was put into commercial service by Chengdu Airlines in June 2016.

As of the end of 2020, ARJ21 jetliners have safely carried around 1.6 million passengers, according to COMAC.

(Xinhua)09:43, January 14, 2021

CAIRO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — Chinas total exports to Egypt reached 12.06 billion U.S. dollars during the first 11 months of 2020, registering an annual increase of 12.2 percent, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the total trade volume between the two countries during the same period hit 12.895 billion dollars, with a 10 percent annual increase, Han Bing, minister counselor for commercial affairs of the embassy, told an online press conference.

The conference was held to review the economic and trade cooperation between China and Egypt in 2020.

In 2020, bilateral trade has weathered through COVID-19 and maintained stable momentum of growth. China remains the first trading partner of Egypt, Han emphasized.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of China, from January to September 2020, Chinas new direct investment in Egypt amounted to 89.33 million dollars, up 19.3 year on year.

Chinas total investment in Egypt has exceeded 7.7 billion dollars by now, Han noted, citing statistics from the embassys Economic and Commercial Office.

We are also exploring new cooperation in the fields of medical supplies, steel, textiles, transportation, new energy, garbage recycling and sewage treatment, the Chinese diplomat pointed out.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, Chinese companies working in mega national projects in Egypt continued their progress nonstop while maintaining precautionary measures.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) is currently constructing a 20-tower business district in the countrys new administrative capital city, some 50 km east of Cairo.

The Central Business District (CBD) project includes building the 385-m high 80-floor Iconic Tower, which is expected to be the tallest skyscraper in Egypt and Africa upon completion.

Han said that the company finished topping the main structure of over 53 floors of the Iconic Tower and the main structures of eight other buildings.

He also noted that the ongoing joint project to establish a light rail to connect new cities on the outskirts of Cairo was also progressing smoothly.

Over the past decade, Chinas industrial developer Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) has been developing a total area of about 7.23 square km in Egypts Suez Canal Economic Zone in Ain Sokhna district of Suez province.

After 12 years construction, China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone has become the best industrial park in aspects of comprehensive environment, investment density, and per unit output, Han explained.

TEDA zone has altogether 96 enterprises and has attracted more than 1.25 billion dollars investment with total sales of more than 2.5 billion dollars, said the Chinese senior diplomat, noting that the zone provides more than 4,000 direct job opportunities.

In recent years, the Chinese government and financial institutions have provided loans and credit of over 7.5 billion dollars to Egypt, which greatly bolstered bilateral economic cooperation, according to the Chinese official.

(Xinhua)09:51, January 14, 2021

HONG KONG, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said Wednesday that the Chinese mainland will continue to be the strongest support for Hong Kongs economy.

When addressing a forum online, Chan estimated the mainland economy will post strong growth in 2021, which will provide a major support for Hong Kong, citing particularly Shenzhen and other mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The HKSAR government has rolled out multiple measures to help residents and businesses tap into the Greater Bay Area opportunities, such as a youth employment scheme, and will carry out more policies, Chan said.

As long as Hong Kong plays well its part in national development, its economic development will be expedited, he said.

Chan forecast Hong Kongs economy will pick up momentum in the second half of this year if the epidemic is under control and the social environment remains safe and stable.

The forum, organized by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, was focused on the new landscape of the global and mainland economic development, as well as the economic outlook.

(Xinhua)14:08, January 12, 2021

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — The U.S. government said Monday that new tariffs on aircraft parts and other products from France and Germany will take effect Tuesday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice that it will start collecting an additional 15-percent duties on certain parts of large civil aircraft from France and Germany, and 25-percent duties on other products from the two countries.

The revisions to the listed products are effective for imports, or warehouse withdrawals for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. January 12, 2021, the notice said.

The notice came after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced last month that it would modify tariffs on certain products imported from the European Union (EU) in a long-time dispute over aircraft subsidies.

Last week, the USTRs Office announced that it would impose an additional 15-percent duties on aircraft parts, including fuselages and wing assemblies, and 25-percent duties on wines, of France and Germany.

Washington started to impose additional tariffs on a wide range of European products worth 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in October 2019, following a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on subsidies to the EU aircraft Airbus.

Following a similar WTO decision on subsidies to the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the EU slapped additional tariffs on U.S. products worth 4 billion dollars in November 2020.

However, the USTRs Office claimed that the EU imposed tariffs on substantially more products than would have been covered as it used trade data from a period in which trade volumes had been drastically reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then Washington decided to impose new tariffs on certain products from France and Germany.

The U.S.-EU aircraft subsidy dispute has dragged on for 16 years. In 2004, the United States filed a case with the WTO, accusing the EU of providing illegal subsidies to Airbus in various forms.

The EU has since filed a similar case over allegedly illegal U.S. subsidies to Boeing.

The WTO has ruled that both the United States and the EU have provided illegal subsidies for their respective airlines. Both the United States and the EU have been allowed to impose tariffs on a certain amount of goods imported from the other.