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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4528)	3/8/2005 11:53:24 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 6370

Super bridge to link Hong Kong and mainland China March 9, 2005 Page Tools Email to a friend Printer format Beijing has given final approval to build a 29km-long super bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, state media reported yesterday. A feasibility report has been completed for the project, estimated to cost $US3.8 billion ($4.8 billion), the China Daily reported. No date was given for when construction would begin. "We are going to make a big breakthrough in infrastructure co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland," the paper quoted Ma Kai, minister of National Development and Reform Commission, as saying. The bridge will connect Hong Kong with the gambling enclave of Macau and the southern city of Zhuhai, reducing travelling time by about half an hour, the newspaper said. The private sector would fund the bridge, the paper quoted Sarah Liao, Hong Kong's secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, as saying. A bureau spokeswoman, Brenda Lee, declined to comment on the report. Hong Kong officials hope the bridge will boost Hong Kong's economy by linking it with booming cities in neighbouring Guangdong province. A former British colony, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. AP smh.com.au

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4528)	3/8/2005 11:53:24 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

The afford-ability and unafford-ability of resources in China Last Updated(Beijing Time):2005-03-09 09:04 China's per capita coal reserves are one half of the world average; petroleum reserves, only 11 percent; natural gas reserves, 4.5 percent; per capita cultivated area, only one third; water resources, only one fourth…The myth about China's "vast territory and abundant resources" is not believable any more. However, when gathered together, these figures are quite shocking. On the other hand, the energy consumption per unit of construction area in China is at least 2-3 times of that in developed countries. In mixing one square meter of concrete, the Chinese use 80 kilograms of cement more than their colleagues in developed countries; water consumption of sanitary ware is more than 30 percent higher in China than in developed countries, while for water reuse rate, the figure for China is less than 25 percent of that in developed countries… As competent authorities, when speaking of the above-mentioned paradoxical phenomena, leaders of China's Ministry of Construction tend to analyze the issue from the angle of backward technology. However, if we take the pursuit of life style as a social phenomenon when examining the issue, the dominant role played by notions seems equally important. In the construction field, the Chinese who are getting rich generally pursue large houses with big windows and grand style. This affects the popularization of energy-saving buildings as a non-technical factor. Several years ago, an attempt was made to popularize water-saving tap among low-income households in Beijing. But it did not work out because of non-economic factors like shape of the tap, which was not good enough. In the upsurge of car consumption, the common vanity of Chinese consumers and policy-makers forms a resultant force to reduce the market share of low-displacement cars, which are conducive to energy saving and environmental protection. Although foreign carmakers that lose out to their competitors in the China market keep examining their misjudgment about market demand, in private they probably sigh about how the Chinese forget themselves after getting rich suddenly. For each specific consumer who first savors how it feels to be rich, the extra electricity charge, water charge and gasoline charge paid for the sake of comfortable and grandiose "quality of life" are probably affordable. However, if such consumer mentality forms the general public mentality, the austere prospects of resource shortage may make the good life that the Chinese have been longing for will come at a high cost and will even become unaffordable. China now ranks among the top countries in the world by the consumption of petroleum, coal, steel, cement, and aluminum alloy. Technological progress may reduce some waste, but the actual demand generated by the development model and lifestyle has considerable rigidity. All those who know about the present situation of China and the world are deeply concerned with the question of how such huge demand can be satisfied. Therefore, it is of great urgency to revamp China's selection of development model and the Chinese's expectations for living standard and lifestyle. The presentation of scientific development view is by no means as simple as alteration of statistical coverage of GDP. Due to various constraints like domestic resources, environment, population and international political and economic environment, China's development view and development model must be scientific now. Meanwhile, every Chinese also has to weigh his or her expectation for future life under such background, and get prepared to make it more scientific. Source:CE.cn Related articles en.ce.cn