China will issue more than 10 construction rules and regulations governing large construction projects, according to the Ministry of Construction. The country has promulgated regulations for use of public housing funds, which provides legal support for the nationwide housing reform now under way. The Ministry said China is developing rules concerning construction engineering design and urban drainage, and the laws concerning residential buildings. The country plans to announce rules and regulations on construction safety and anti-earthquake construction design, which are deemed critical for personnel and property safety.

China has passed 49 laws and rules on construction in recent years, such as the Urban Real Estate Administration Law, Construction Law, Urban Afforestation Rule, and Registered Architect Rule, which have helped the orderly development of the construction industry and urban development. The country has also developed a series of laws and rules to govern the country's urban development, with the Law on Urbanization Program being widely practiced nationwide. The Ministry of Construction has issued numerous rules and regulations concerning the choice of sites for urban construction projects, city development programs, the transfer of State-owned land, and development areas open to overseas investors.

To ensure harmonious urban and regional development, various local authorities, such as those in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and cities and towns surrounding Shanghai, have worked out their own urban development plans in accordance with the country's Urbanization Program Law. China expects to have about 800 cities by the year 2010, an increase from 668 cities at present.

Meanwhile, China's construction project insurance business is likely to increase after the Ministry of Construction works out new rules to promote project guarantees and insurance. The Ministry will also add the terms of project guarantees and insurance into example texts of relative contracts. This will present a major change to the current practice because construction companies usually do not include the cost of insurance in their budgets for construction projects. Such a practice has been blamed by insurance experts as a major hindrance in the progress of insuring projects in China.
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In a bid to standardize the ways of merger and separation of foreign-funded enterprises (FFEs) and protect the legal right and interests of investors and creditors of the FFEs, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce have recently drawn up and promulgated the ¡°Regulations on Merger and Separation of FFEs" in accordance with the ¡°Corporate Law of the People's Republic of China" and other laws and administrative regulations on FFEs. The new regulations aim to make up for the insufficiencies of the past laws and regulations to be applied to regulate mergers and separations of all Sino-foreign joint cooperative ventures, joint equity ventures, foreign enterprises and foreign-funded stock limited companies with legal person capacity. This set of regulations can also apply to mergers and separations of companies funded by investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions in the mainland of China.

In the new set of regulations there are 39 detailed provisions, elaborating forms of company mergers and separations, amount of registered capital after merger or separation of the companies, proportions of stakes held by respective partners and the procedures of examination and approval. The regulations stipulate that mergers can be in two forms: 1. absorption (a company absorbs the other or others with the continued existence of the former but dissolution of the latter or latters); 2. combination (two or more companies equally combine into a new one). Company separations can be done in two forms: 1. continuance (one company being separated into two or more companies, but the original company continues to exist); 2. dissolution (after separating into two or more companies, the original company dissolves).

According to the regulations, company merger or separation should be conducted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Customs, Administration of Taxation, Administration of Foreign Exchanges, and other related departments. In case there are changes of industries or business scopes resulted by the merger or separation, necessary procedures of examination and approval should be followed. Those companies stemming from merger or separation shall enjoy all kinds of preferential treatments towards foreign-funded enterprises that the original company enjoys before the merge or separation upon examination and approval of the related administrations, Customs and taxation administrations.
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The General Administration of Customs published recently ¡°Procedures on Punishing Illegal Sales or Transfer of Bonded Goods in Processing Trade by the Customs of the People's Republic of China". The Procedures, which were put into effective as of October 1, 1999, were said to be issued to safeguard the implementation of the corresponding scheme-- ¡°Suggestions to Perfect the Shadow Margin Accounts Scheme for Processing Trade" proposed by MOFTEC, the State Economic and Trade Commission, Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Bureau, the People's Bank of China, and the State Foreign Exchange Administration. The latter had been approved by the State Council and entered into operation starting from October 1, 1999.

The Procedures stipulated:

1. Imported bonded materials for processing should be used to produce export products and the finished goods have to be exported within a set period of time.

2. Domestic sales of bonded materials or finished products therefrom without approval shall be considered as smuggling to be sent to the judicial department for criminal investigation.

3. Transfer, pledging, changing bonded materials or finished products therefrom in concern of processing trade without the Custom's permission will be commanded a stop and a return of the materials or goods with a fine up to the value of the goods concerned or up to two times of the duties payable.

4. Whereas the bonded materials or finished products cannot be returned, a fine of 50% to 100% of the goods value or a fine of one to two times of duties payable shall be imposed plus interests incurred on the duties.

5. Whereas the bonded materials and finished products is not up to the stipulated amount and no reasonable explanation can be given or the related record does not conform with the fact, a fine of up to the value of the goods or up to two times of the duties payable will be imposed in addition to duties payable and interests incurred on the duties.

6. Whereas the bonded materials or finished products therefrom need to be transferred or used for domestic sales due to special reasons, parties concerned should obtain approval from the provincial level foreign economic and trade department and the Customs shall be responsible for the domestic sales or transfer formalities and levy of duties and interests incurred on the duties.

7. Whereas the goods are under import licensing control, parties concerned should hand in import licenses to the Customs within the specified period for cancellation after verification. Whereas the parties concerned fail to hand in import licenses, the operational units shall be fined 30% to 100% (not inclusive) of the value of the imported materials.

The procedures stipulated that the Customs shall notify the foreign economic and trade administrations in time after it has decided to punish the enterprises concerned. Enterprises that have been punished by the Customs for three times or more because of smuggling shall be listed into D category and the Customs shall not process the filing of registration of their processing trade contracts and declaration of import and export cargoes before the foreign economic and trade administration resumes their power of processing trade or import and export.
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Shanghai is set to increase tax breaks for foreign-owned firms in technology renovation and transfer to strengthen its technology development and upgrade the economy. Foreign-funded firms were previously burdened with a 5% operating tax and 15% to 24% income tax incurred during technology transfer, as well as a 5% tax on the proceeds resulting from technology transfer. Foreignowned firms will now be allowed to import tax free equipment, know-how, accessories and back-up materials for technology upgrade which are not produced in China. They can also be exempted from operating and income tax in transferring updated technology with the approval of the tax bureau, and freed from the tax levied on the proceeds of technology transfer.

These incentives were the highlight of a slew of new policies, recently announced by Shanghai Foreign Investment Commission in a bid to encourage more inflow of foreign funds. The policies offer tax exemption on technology upgrade and transfer, increase of financing channels, provision of insurance services, strengthening of the legal system, and improvements of services and management of foreign-funded firms. Foreign-owned business will be more motivated to apply improved technology as the policies reduce their import costs. That will in turn strengthen technology renovation and increase foreign-funded businesses' commitment to more R&D projects to the benefit of the city's technological growth. At the same time, the new tax exemptions on technology transfer are expected to encourage more global firms developing state-of-the-art technology to enter Shanghai.

The incentives underlined Shanghai authorities' bid to upgrade its foreign investment landscape with a focus on developing high and new technology business. Some experts suggested that Shanghai should focus on localizing imported technology and know-how by adapting it to suit Shanghai's needs rather than simply absorbing it. Technology renovation should be the prime force behind the city's economic strength in the new century.
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Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng recently said that China's fast economic growth expected over the next ten years will create the import surge. The country is to import $1,500 billion worth of goods and technology from 1999 to 2005, heralding what officials believe will become a huge market for foreign business. The unfolding plan will enable the country to buy in more than it has over the past few years, when annual import volumes hovered around $140 billion. According to Shi, priorities for development include water conservancy, energy, transport, telecommunications, raw materials, environmental protection and high technology. Taking environmental protection as an example, the sector's output would grow at a rate of 15% to 20% a year over the next decade. This will push annual output to more than $35 billion by 2010. It is a huge market and it is going to become larger and larger as China continues to modernize.

In addition to imports, China will not back away from its policy of encouraging foreign direct investment. It is predicted that China will use $35 billion of foreign investment this year. For many years China has been the second largest user of such investment after the United States. The financial crisis that broke out in 1997, however, affected the inflow from the worst-hit Southeast Asian investors. There remains a gap between what China has absorbed and its real need for capital during the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) and the next 10 years. China needs foreign capital and technology to restructure industries and reform Stateowned enterprises.

The government is speeding up approval procedures and curbing undue charges for foreign projects. As China improves its investment environment, foreign investors are finding it easier to do business on their own. This proves that China has become an ideal and secure market. The minister pledged China will further open up its financial, insurance, telecommunications, foreign trade, tourism, internal trade, education, medical, transport and environmental protection sectors to foreign investment. In 2000, the country will first focus on the opening of aviation, foreign trade, infrastructure, accounting and real estate services.
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Continued reform of China's State-owned enterprises (SOEs) is expected to provide more business opportunities for foreign investors, investment experts said recently. The strategic reshuffle of State-owned assets during the reform will lead to transfers of State assets, and foreign investors will discover new opportunities in all sectors, whether they have increased or reduced State involvement. State-owned industrial assets now stand at 7 trillion yuan ($843 billion). If half of the amount is withdrawn from SOEs and foreign investment fills onethird of the gap, foreign investment will increase by $130 billion.

Some local governments have already drawn up policies to encourage foreign investors to cooperate with small and medium-sized State-owned enterprises via shareholding, mergers, acquisitions and technical collaboration. Gao Guozhu, vice-governor of Liaoning Province, where cooperation between foreign companies and SOEs has been successful, recently said foreign companies think highly of the solid industrial foundation and many efficient and responsible managers and technicians in the SOEs. The use of foreign capital has assisted the restructuring of about 40 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in SOE assets, one-tenth of these assets in Liaoning.

To overhaul and revitalize juggernaut SOEs has been regarded as the most critical part of China's reform campaign, and it has also turned out to be the toughest nut to crack. China has a multitude of opportunities for foreign investors despite the current lull in investment. Doubts have arisen as to the attractiveness of China for foreign investment as its FDI inflows have declined since the beginning of the year. The recent change indicates that foreign investment has entered a new stage of development in China. Another surge of foreign investment is expected to arrive around 2005, analysts predicted.
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D: Medicines

60. Curative genetic engineering polypeptide medicines based on reorganization of cell genes;

61. Upgraded Chinese pharmaceuticals;

62. New kinds of medicines;

63. Medicines for preventive treatment of important diseases;

64. Single clone antibody products and diagnostic medicines;

65. Bio vaccines;

66. New type preparations;

67. Advanced production technologies and whole sets of equipment for preparation of traditional Chinese pharmaceuticals;

68. New type medical precision diagnostic and treatment instruments;

69. Contraception agents and tools;

70. Biomedical materials, implanted objects and manmade organs;

71. Marine reactive materials products.

E: Energy

72. High efficient coal production technologies and equipment;

73. Tertiary oil recovering technologies and whole sets of equipment;

74. Oil hydrogenation technologies;

75. Development and utilization of coal mine gas bed;

76. High efficient and low pollution coal fueled power generation systems;

77. Large capacity supercritical thermal power generation sets;

78. Large and medium sized hydropower generation sets;

79. Recyclable energy resources;

F: Transportation

80. ITS

81. Whole sets of equipment and new materials for the building and maintenance of high class highways;

82. Rail transportation equipment within cities;

83. Multimodal transportation system for containers and whole sets of equipment for transporting, loading and unloading;

84. High speed passenger vessels;

85. Large and special vessels and key electromechanical equipment for the vessels.(to be continued)
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Growing vegetables has become a second pillar industry in rural areas of China's Shandong Province. Official statistics indicate that 20% of the country's vegetables come from the province with about 150,000 tons of vegetables shipped from Shandong to rest of the country each day. According to officials from the provincial agricultural department, the province's annual vegetable output increased from 38 million tons in 1992 to 67.7 million tons in 1998, an average annual increase of 22%, making Shandong the top vegetable producer in China. 70% of the province's total vegetable production is delivered, much of it by highways, to the country's other cities, giving the province a 20% share of the vegetable market in China.

Shandong now has more than 500 vegetable wholesale markets, with annual sales of 52 billion yuan ($6.3 billion). Shouguang is now the biggest vegetable producer in the province, with annual sales of 2.8 billion yuan ($340 million). Vegetables, such as Chinese onions and garlic, occupy 80% of the total market. The province's vegetables are exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. Exports were valued at $180 million last year. With more than 400 export vegetable processing enterprises, the province has become a production base for exported vegetables.

During the winter, the province's 1.7 million-mu (111,333-hectares) of greenhouses provide 40% of the country's vegetables. Most kinds of vegetable can be found there. More than 80 kinds of vegetables have been put into production in recent years. New species have been introduced from Japan, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States. It is expected that by the end of this year Shandong's vegetable output will be 75 million tons.

The province generated 526.45 billion yuan ($63 billion) in gross domestic product in the first three quarters of this year, up 9.3% on a year-to-year basis. Traditional industries witnessed a notable pick-up in the province. From January to September, the metallurgy industry's profits rose by 37%. And the long sluggish textile industry also saw its profits rise by 60% to 413 million yuan ($50 million), the best economic result since 1990. In the development of high-tech enterprises, the electronic information industry gained 700 million yuan ($84 million), up 63% over the corresponding period last year. The province's imports and exports reached $16.6 billion in 1998, accounting for 22.5% of local GDP. Foreign trade grew 4% to hit $8.32 billion in the first half of this year. Exports reached $5.18 billion, a 5.2% rise on a yearly basis, while imports climbed 0.3% to garner $3.14 billion. During the January-June period, the province added 724 overseas-funded enterprises, using $1.33 billion of contractual overseas investment or up 28% over the same period last year.
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Transportation in China's youngest municipality directly under central jurisdiction will soon be strongly enhanced. The city wants to accelerate structural adjustments in a bid to catch up with China's other cities. Foreign investors will be encouraged to consider construction and renovation programs of roads, bridges, harbors, urban subways and ferries and airports, said Zhao Gongqing, director of the Chongqing Municipal Planning Commission. Chongqing plans to build seven expressways, three railways, eight bridges on the Yangtze River and Jialingjiang River, and to upgrade two airports and three harbors within the coming few years to further improve its transportation network.

It now has more than 10 bridges completed or under construction on the two rivers, 21 arterial roads connected to the rest of the country, more than 50 domestic air routes and airline links with major Southeast Asian countries. Foreign investment in these fields occurs in many ways, including joint ventures, cooperative projects, solely foreign-invested enterprises as well as through BOT (build, operate and transfer) mechanisms. Foreign companies, international financial institutions and other possible investors are paying increasing attention to transportation conditions in Chongqing when considering investment plans. Improving hightech industries will play a pivotal role in speeding up the structural readjustment of Chongqing's industrial complex. Electronic information, bioengineering, new materials and environmental protection are on a list of industrial sectors that can expect preferential governmental support.

Chongqing is one of China's oldest industrial bases. Its pillar industries include metallurgy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles and automobiles. Industrial added value accounted for 33.5% of its gross domestic product, more than 143 billion yuan ($18.4 billion) over last year. Chongqing is soliciting foreign capital to help with the development of new species of grain, cotton, vegetables, fruit and fish, to improve management levels of enterprises manufacturing machinery, electronics, textiles and building materials, as well as to explore tourism resources. Xue Wenqi, director of the Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission, said foreign investors can expect to benefit from a wide spectrum of preferential policies concerning taxes, licensing and financing. Investors doing business in Chongqing have access not only to State-made policies intended to accelerate hinterland economic development, but also to preferences supporting the Three Gorges Dam project and local favorable policies. Forty-four foreign countries and regions had invested in Chongqing by the end of last year and the region ranked number one in actually utilized foreign capital in 1998, despite the Asian financial crisis, official statistics indicated.
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Liaoning Province expects to develop its agriculture by leaps and bounds during the next five years. By 2005, grain production is expected to increase to 16 million tons and grain varieties, quality and efficiency are expected to be increased or improved. The total output value of township enterprises is expected to be 1,300 billion yuan ($156 billion), accounting for about 90% of the total rural social output value. The province will promote export-oriented agriculture and its foreign-oriented economy in the countryside. During the next five years, the province plans to cultivate 200 township enterprises which annual revenues exceed 100 million yuan ($12 million) each. A modern corporate system is expected to be established and ownership system reform will be accelerated. The development of township enterprises is to coincide with the construction of small towns.

Optimization of the rural economic structure is expected to result in agriculture, industry and tertiary industry occupying 13%, 55% and 32% of the economy. The village-level collective public fund in the province is expected to be 3 billion ($360 million). And the province will also promote the development of other sectors including science and technology, culture, education and public health. Liaoning's agriculture has made much headway. Last year, the total grain output in the province was 18.289 million tons, up 39.2% over the previous year. The total output from farming, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production and fisheries registered 99.5 billion yuan ($12 billion). In the course of recent years, township enterprises have become an important pillar of Liaoning's economy.

Recently the province offered the following projects in the rural sector for foreign cooperation.

1. Benxi Manchu Autonomous County Seed Co. Producing ¡°Chunguang" series vegetables, tree and flower seeds. The annual production area is 2,266 hectares. Investment: $8.79 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

2. Yingkou No 2 Fine Chemical Factory. Importing one production line. Investment: $1 million. Form: Joint venture.

3. Liaoyang Liaodong Food Group Co Ltd. Building workshops and storage and purchasing equipment. About 5,000 tons of mung bean sheet jelly and 2,820 tons of mung bean powder will be produced annually. Investment: $2 million. Form: Joint venture.

4. Chaoyang Forage Company. Building a forage processing factory with an annual output of 200,000 tons. Investment: $3.6 million. Form: Joint venture.

5. Beipiao Food Factory. Importing 31 sets of stainless steel equipment, building a cold storage and a sterilization workshop. About 1,000 tons of mung bean beverage, 1,000 tons of soybean powder and 900 tons of instant soybean will be produced annually. Investment: $923,000. Form: Joint venture.

6. Shenyang Huishan Broiler Company. Building 3,600 square meters of broiler slaughtering and processing workshops. About 2,000 tons of serial cooked broiler products will be produced. Investment: $3 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

7. Shenyang Guanghui Livestock Farm. Producing 2,000 tons of frozen ducks. Investment: $1.83 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

8. Liaozhong County Meat Processing Factory. Construction of a 1-000-square-meter building, 50 tons of cold storage and 50 tons of quick-freezing room. Buying live pig slaughtering equipment. About 300,000 live pigs will be slaughtered annually. Investment: $4 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

9. Yinjia Dehydrated Beef Processing Factory. Construction of a 2,000-square-meter factory building and the purchase of two sets of dehydrated beef processing devices. A 500-ton per year output of dehydrated beef is expected. Investment: $3.96 million. Form: JV, cooperation.

10. Xinmin Food Factory. Construction of a 2,500-square-meter factory building and 3,000-cubic-meter freshness-preserving storeroom. Purchase of a set of ham sausage processing lines. Production of 7,000-ton per year of ham sausage. Investment: $4.95 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

11. Hualin Natural Fruit Juice Co Ltd. About 3.6 million bottles of purified water and 30,000 tons of hawthorn pulp are expected to be produced annually. Investment: $5.1 million. Form: Joint venture.

12. Haicheng Dongtai Fruit Juice Co Ltd. Construction projects include finalizing civil engineering of the production and power workshops as well as heating and lighting installations. Investment: $6.23 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

13. Donggang Strawberry Research Institute. Annually producing 3,500 tons of strawberry jam, juice and cans and quick frozen strawberries. Export volume is expected to be 2,000 tons a year. Investment: $1.7 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation, solely funded.

14. Linghai Xinlu Drink Co Ltd. Constructing 6,700 square meters of facilities including a production factory, constant temperature building, fruit storage room and boilers. The annual output is expected to be 3,000 tons of concentrated fruit juice. Investment: $8 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation, solely funded.

15. Dashiqiao Oasis Food Co Ltd. Expanding dehydrated vegetable and fruit production line and importing advanced freezing and drying equipment. The annual output of dehydrated vegetables and fruit is expected to be 3,500 tons. Investment: $3 million. Form: Joint venture.

16. Liaoyang Wanlong Group. The building of 3,162 square meters of workshops and the purchase of 16 sets of equipment. Annual output is expected to be 45 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 1,000 tons of quick-frozen vegetables, 50,000 tons of fine vegetables and 50 tons of dehydrated meat. Investment: $4.2 million. Form: Joint venture.

17. Panshan County Ocean Fishing Center. The annual output of globefish is expected to be 10,000 tons. Investment: $35.94 million. Form: Solely funded.

18. Panjin Xinglongtai District Green King Co. About 7,500 tons of loach are expected to be produced annually with 2,000 tons exported. Investment: $6.68 million. Form: Solely funded.

19. Shenyang Flower Scientific Research and Development Center and Test Field. The project can supply 2 million high-quality woody plants, 10 million fresh flowers and 300,000 potted flowers. Investment: $1.32 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.

20. Haicheng Dongfang Fengya Flower Company. Producing 3.6 million orchids and potted flowers, 350,000 fresh flowers and 120,000 flower balls that generate seeds. Investment: $8 million. Form: Joint venture, cooperation.
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China will provide more access to its rural markets to increase the inflow of foreign investment, said Tang Zhengping, directorgeneral of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture. The rural economy's development will create a strong demand for the use of foreign investment. With a population of more than 800 million, rural areas have a huge potential for business. Official estimates indicate that the countryside needs a net foreign investment of $225.6 billion (at 1995 prices) between 1996 and 2010.

China will need about $28.1 billion in foreign investment per year for rural development during this period. Robust domestic demand for organic food and quality packaging is creating opportunities for foreign investors in the countryside. Prospects for foreign investment seems bright especially if China enters the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO's rules require all member countries to abolish trade obstacles and grant wider access to domestic markets. Under the guidance of a market-oriented mechanism, rural economic reform will follow global economic development, thus creating a favorable environment for foreign investors.

The government will adopt preferential policies for the development of rural infrastructure to pave the way for the development of foreign-funded joint ventures in rural areas. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging township enterprises to consider opportunities for setting up factories in cooperation with foreign partners. If China becomes a member of WTO, economists predict the country's agricultural markets, such as grain, cotton, vegetable oils and wool, will have to compete with foreign products in the domestic market.

But China's entry to the WTO will also promote sales of Chinese fruit, aquatic products and meat on the world market. In August, the State Council issued a circular drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture urging all relevant government departments to support international cooperation for rural economic development. The circular stressed the importance of importing of advanced agrotechnology and equipment. It also indicated the construction of export-oriented agricultural production centers would receive stronger financial backing from the government. To protect the interests of Chinese farmers and the rural processing trade, the government will strengthen controls over imports of cotton, edible oil, sugar, wool and natural rubber and will continue its efforts to reduce the smuggling of such products, according to the circular.
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Jiangyin Economic Development Zone in East China's Jiangsu Province has achieved phenomenal development through introducing overseas investment. Statistics indicate that the realized investment and contracted investment attracted by the development zone during the first five months this year have respectively hit $62.8 million and $135 million, and in the month of May alone, the city recorded $80 million in contracted investment, sources from the zone said. At present, many foreign-funded enterprises contributing investment totaling over $10 million have settled in the New Technology Industrial Park of the zone, covering various sectors such as packaging materials, liquefied natural gas transportation and steel cord production.

Meanwhile, due to unremitting efforts to speed up the development of high-tech projects, the zone is experiencing another overseas investment upsurge. According to Jiangyin's Vice-Mayor Fang Guoliang, many foreign financial groups from Germany, France, Japan and Belgium have recently inspected the development zone and negotiations are currently underway for joint venture projects in the fields of port transportation, ship manufacturing and metal processing. The development zone also has plans to expand towards the east along the Yangtze River in the next half of this year and, as a result, another four square kilometers of land will be added to the 6.5-square-kilometer development zone.
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China's water-shipping has made considerable progress over the past two decades. It is playing an important role in ensuring transport capacity for the national economy, promoting development of foreign trade and opening ports wider to the outside world. At present, there are 446 deep-water berths in China's major coastal ports. In 1998, the handling capacity of the country's major ports totaled 1.25 billion tons including 400 million tons of import and export cargoes. The total length of the country's inland river routes amounts to 110,000 km with 552 key berths along it. Civil ships come to the number of 360,000 of more than 50 million deadweight tons (DWT), of which 23 million DWT of ships are engaged in foreign trade. The country has 310 shipping companies engaged in international navigation transport making the country being selected to A-class member State of the United Nations Maritime Organization for five years running serving as one of the world's major shipping nations.

The country has opened wider its water-shipping market to the outside world. So far, there are more than 120 Sino-foreign joint water shipping ventures in the country. There have been 350 permanent representative offices of foreign shipping companies as well as over 70 solely-owned companies and branches set up by foreign shipping companies in China. In addition, China has concluded ocean-and river-shipping agreements with 52 countries in the world. Present ocean-shipping policies of the country include: 1. Foreign shipping companies are allowed to undertake shipping between Chinese and foreign ports; 2. Foreign shipping companies are allowed to undertake regular international shipment between China's open ports and foreign ports; 3. Foreign ships are allowed to use same charge rates as Chinese ships in Chinese ports; 4. Foreign companies are allowed to set up Sino-foreign joint water-shipping enterprises in China according to set procedures and conditions; 5. Foreign shipping companies are allowed to set up solely-owned shipping companies to take on work, draw on bills of lading, collect freight charges and conclude service contracts according to ocean-going agreement signed by governments.

The opening of China's water-shipping market include port construction. The government has encouraged the construction and management of Sino-foreign joint equity public wharves and berths, and allowed Sino-foreign joint venture enterprises to use bare wharves and to build wharves of owner of cargo and special courses. While investing in opening stretches of land, developers may build and run special berths. Sources with the Ministry of Communications said that China will do a good job in shifting the government functions and improving water-shipping laws and regulations so as to establish a unified, open and fair water-shipping market in China.
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On November 4, Siemens Shanghai Mobile Communications Ltd (SSMC) signed a 1 billion yuan ($120 million) agreement on consumer credit with the Bank of China as part of its strategy to develop business in China. Under the agreement, SSMC customers can get consumer credit from the bank to purchase SSMC products. SSMC will use these financial resources to carry out its ambitious development strategy that requires an investment of 3 billion yuan ($362 million). Coincidentally, the German company Bayer signed at the same day a letter of intent to build a $450 million plant in Shanghai, taking its first step towards establishing a fully integrated chemical site in China. The joint venture, invested by Bayer with 90% stake and Shanghai Chloralkali Company with 10%, will be capable of manufacturing 100,000 tons of heat-and impact-resistant thermoplastic annually.
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Small-and medium-size manufacturers of auto parts in China and Britain are expected to cooperate to promote the auto industry in both countries. Several British firms have decided to follow through on opportunities they found on a recent business trip to China. Such cooperation would help Britain, a major player in the global auto-parts industry, expand its presence in China. Many of Britain's major manufacturers, including Bundy, have already entered China's market in partnerships with Chinese counterparts. Britain boasts thousands of small-and medium-size autoparts manufacturers, many of which are parts-suppliers for top vehicle manufacturing firms such as General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota. Collaboration between the two sides would benefit smaller Chinese companies by transferring advanced technology as well as offering access to global markets.
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Tong Guang-Nortel Ltd, a joint venture launched by China's Tong Guang Electronic Co and Canadian-based Nortel Telecom Co in 1988, plans to further expand its Shanghai and East China market. The move is part of its plan to spur nationwide business expansion.There is nowhere more attractive to them than the Shanghai and East China region market, although their business runs very well in the South China region, said the company's newly appointed general manager. The company is ready to step up every effort to enhance its market expansion in the region. It will also continue to focus on digital networking services for its customers backed by its superior product quality and excellent service, including telecommunication, information, entertainment, education and commerce facilities.
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