China Economy: News & Discussion

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China Telecom to Start Mobile Service in Britain

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN

Published: January 15, 2012

BERLIN — Virtual mobile network operators — those who buy and resell calling, text and Internet services from actual network operators — have come and gone.

Nevertheless, China Telecom, the Chinese equivalent of the former Ma Bell in the United States or BT in Britain, said this month that it would introduce a similar service in Britain.

By the end of March, the company said, it plans to sell prepaid calling, text and data service to 600,000 Chinese living in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the 600,000 who visit Britain each year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/technology/china-telecom-to-buy-network-access-in-britain.html
 

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China's car sales set to race ahead

HAMISH RUTHERFORD

Last updated 05:00 14/01/2012

Mathew Foot, dealer principal at Brendon Foot Motors in Lower Hutt, quickly breaks into a sales pitch for his latest brand, Great Wall.

The Chinese-made truck will be sold "brand new, petrol, 2.4 litre, leather trim, all the gears, for 25 grand," about $5000 less than the strikingly similar looking 2008 Holden Colorado with 30,000 kilometres on the clock.

"The guy who's going to look at this is the guy who has got a construction or a roading company, wants to put his guys in that, but doesn't want to spend $40,000 on a Hilux," said Foot, whose father began selling cars in 1973.

China's car sales set to race ahead | Stuff.co.nz
 

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China company to invest $200 million in Bahrain

Posted on » Monday, January 16, 2012

MANAMA: Chinese fibreglass manufacturer CPIC is planning to set up a fibreglass manufacturing facility in Bahrain in partnership with Abahsain Fiberglass Middle East. The $200 million factory will be built at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) in Salman Industrial City. The Bahrain project will be built on a plot of 78,000 sqm and at full production will employ 1,000 people.

Gulf Daily News » Business News » China company to invest $200 million in Bahrain
 

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Chinese premier pledges $176m to Nepal

By Phanindra Dahal

5:30 AM Monday Jan 16, 2012

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged more than $176.6 million (US$140 million) to impoverished Nepal during talks in Kathmandu marking the first visit in a decade by a leader of the world's second-largest economy.

Wen and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Saturday discussed investment from Beijing for infrastructure projects which could amount to billions of dollars, while signing a deal for a $151.3 million loan to be paid over three years.

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Local media had reported ahead of the delayed visit that Nepal would seek $6.3 billion for an international airport in its second city, Pokhara, three large hydropower stations in the west and improvements to its creaking rail network.

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Chinese premier pledges $176m to Nepal - International Politics - NZ Herald News
 

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China, GCC agree to accelerate FTA negotiations

Updated: 2012-01-16 04:22

(Xinhua)

RIYADH - Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif al-Zayani agreed on Sunday to speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides.

Setting up the free trade zone will boost trade and economic cooperation between China and the GCC, enhance their overall relationship, and have a positive influence on the whole world, Wen said.

China, GCC agree to accelerate FTA negotiations|Economy|chinadaily.com.cn
 

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China finds huge diamond mine with 1 million carat capacity
Thursday, January 12th 03:27 PM IST
# Diamond mining # China diamonds # Kimberley rock

China on Thursday announced the discovery of a huge diamond mine in Liaoning province with a capacity of around 1 million carats.



BEIJING (BullionStreet) : China on Thursday announced the discovery of a huge diamond mine in Liaoning province with a capacity of around 1 million carats.

According to Liaoning Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration Bureau, the newly found diamond mine is the biggest one found in the past three decades in China.

It is estimated to be worth over billions of yuans and the largest diamond mine discovered in thirty years in the province.

The Bureau claims that the diamonds in the mine are purer than that of South Africa's. Experts said no large diamond mine has been discovered globally for a decade.

Calculated by the present mining rate, diamonds in the world will be exhausted in 20 years. But the diamond mine discovered in Wafangdian will relieve the world shortage of diamond resources.

The prospecting team found a deposit of 130-meter thick Kimberley rock earlier in 2011, estimated to have formed 400 million years ago.

Later they assessed the rock and were surprised by the content: about 2.89 carats worth of diamonds were contained in nearly every cubic meter of Kimberley rock. It will take 30 years to mine all of the diamond deposit.

The newly found diamond mine is the biggest one found in the past three decades in China. It is estimated to be worth over billions of yuans.

A smaller diamond reserve was found in 2010, just 50 km from this new one."

China finds huge diamond mine with 1 million carat capacity
 

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Chinese keen to invest in Australian agriculture

By Robin McConchie

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

The Chinese appear to be on the hunt for Australian agri-business opportunities

The Australian Financial review is reporting Chinese interests are looking to invest around $500 million in rural Australia.

The report says Chinese delegates from private and state-owned companies recently met with Austrade, corporate advisers and industry heads, to discuss opportunities.

Managing director of investment bank Kidder-Williams, David Williams says the Chinese want to invest in vertically integrated supply chains.

"I think there is enormous interest by the Chinese, but the interest is essentially in food, rather than land, where in order to get food you need land, they are happy to buy it, essentially they are looking for a fully integrated solution to get product off-shore."

He says the situation is quite different from a decade ago.

" A decade ago the Chinese were largely spot buyers of sometimes second grade product, mainly because of the affordability, the Australian dollar and the cost of product here."

" Now we have got a very wealthy country, looking for stable supply of high quality food and sometimes food they didn't need ten years ago."


Chinese keen to invest in Australian agriculture - Queensland Country Hour - ABC Rural Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
 

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China's economy shows more signs of slowing



BEIJING: China's economy is showing signs of slowing, with foreign investment falling for the second straight month in December and home prices dropping in most cities, the government said Wednesday.

The latest indicators came a day after data showed the economy expanded 9.2 per cent last year, narrowing from 10.4 per cent in 2010, as global turbulence and efforts to tame high inflation put the brakes on growth.

The world's second-largest economy is widely forecast to slow even further this year despite efforts to maintain growth by easing credit,with the World Bank Tuesday forecasting growth of 8.4 per cent in 2012.

Foreign direct investment in China fell for a second straight month in December, down 12.7 per cent year-on-year to $12.2 billion, as the worldwide slowdown began to take hold, the Ministry of Commerce said.

In November, foreign direct investment registered its first year-on-year decline for a single month since July 2009.

Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang blamed the investment drop on weakness in the US and European economies, and warned the external environment could also hurt exports this year.

"Some major developed economies such as the United States and Europe are weak. Companies are being more cautious in their investment decisions and global multi-national investments have dropped," he told a news conference.

Overall foreign investment in China held up well last year, rising 9.7 per cent to a record $116.0 billion, as Asian countries boosted spending.

Nonetheless, growth was slower than in 2010, when blistering economic expansion and expectations for a stronger currency led to a 17.4 per cent surge in the flow of foreign money.

Inward investment from US companies suffered the most in 2011, plunging 26.1 per cent to $3.0 billion, while European investment registered a fall of 3.65 per cent to $6.4 billion.

The strongest growth came from Asian countries, with investment from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea combined rising 14.0 per cent to $100.5 billion.

The latest figures came as the World Bank warned that economic turmoil in Europe was spreading to developing and other high-income countries that had hitherto been unaffected.

"Capital flows to developing countries have weakened sharply as investors withdrew substantial sums from developing-country markets in the second half of the year," it said in a new report entitled Global Economic Prospects.

China's trade surplus shrank in 2011 to $155.14 billion as export growth slowed sharply, reflecting the economic turmoil in Europe and the US, according to previously released figures.

"China's exports will be difficult, the situation is very grim. We're concerned about the growth rate of imports and exports," Shen said.

In another worry for China's economy, home prices in nearly three-quarters of its major cities fell in December from November and analysts say the property market correction could have larger implications.

"If this trend continues, with property transaction volume falling, we will have to see whether China's economy can cope with it," Liu Ligang, head of Greater China economic research for ANZ Group in Hong Kong, told.

Some 52 of 70 Chinese cities tracked by the government, including Shanghai and Beijing, recorded month-on-month falls in new home prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said, with the total up slightly from 49 in November.

China has introduced a range of measures aimed at curbing property speculation over the past year, such as bans on buying second homes, hiking minimum down-payments and introducing property taxes in select cities.

Analysts worry a collapse in the property market could hurt the economy and say the government might have to roll back measures to offer debt-burdened local governments, which depend on land sales, some relief.

In December, China moved to ease credit by trimming bank reserves for the first time in three years, but the property industry is waiting to see if the government might relax measures aimed specifically at the sector.

"These draconian measures have been in place for more than a year, but if they go on for much longer it starts to get a bit dangerous for the broader economy," said a Shanghai-based property analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

China's economy shows more signs of slowing - The Economic Times
 

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January 19, 2012 11:00 pm

China set to buy stake in Thames Water

By Anousha Sakoui

A Chinese sovereign wealth fund is poised to buy a stake in the water network that serves London, in what would be the fund's first acquisition in the UK following investment talks with British politicians.

The deal follows a visit to China this week by chancellor George Osborne, who has been urging Chinese investors to inject money into British infrastructure projects. Beijing has been seeking more lucrative returns than those available from low-yielding government bonds.

The acquisition of up to 10 per cent of the holding company that owns Thames Water is close to being agreed by China Investment Corporation, the country's $410bn sovereign wealth fund, according to one person familiar with the situation. The Chinese investment was confirmed by a senior government official.

China set to buy stake in Thames Water - FT.com
 

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Hebei to build large offshore wind farm

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Updated: 2012-01-14
chinadaily

China will construct an offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) in Leting County, North China's Hebei province, making it the country's largest such project. The feasibility report for the wind farm located near Puti Island in Bohai Sea has recently passed expert reviews that were commissioned by the National Energy Bureau (NEB).

Under the program, the wind farm, built with a total investment of 5.76 billion yuan ($914 million), will comprise 100 units of 3MW offshore turbines. The approval authority will complete relevant procedures to sanction the project at the end of this year, and the project will be connected to the grid before the end of 2015. When it goes into operation, the wind farm will generate 752 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electric power annually, as well as 730 million yuan in annual sales revenues. It was also pay 58 million yuan in taxes to the local government. Leting County has 124.9 kilometers of coastline, or a quarter of Hebei's total coastline. The county boasts rich exploitable wind power resources, totaling 3.7 gigawatts (GW). The county government established an offshore wind power development plan in early 2011. The NEB gave its approval for the county to prepare for the 300MW offshore wind power project in June 2011.

China has rich wind power resources. According to the China Meteorological Administration, China has up to 750GW in exploitable wind resources in seas, or three times that of on-shore wind resources. But offshore wind farms remain a tiny portion of China's total installed wind power capacity. In June 2010, the Shanghai East Sea Bridge Offshore Wind Farm, with an installed capacity of 102MW, went into operation, making it the country's first offshore wind farm to operate commercially. Meanwhile, construction on Longyuan Power's intertidal wind farm is going smoothly in Rudong County, east China's Jiangsu Province. This farm is currently China's largest, with installed capacity of 150MW, and the entire project is expected to be completed in March.

In 2010, China awarded four contracts, through public tender, to power companies to construct 1GW offshore and inter-tidal concession projects. They are scheduled to be completed in four years. Industry officials say China might issue a second request for tenders for offshore concession projects, totaling 2GW, in the first half of this year. According to the NEB, China will construct 5GW of offshore wind projects by 2015, or five percent of its total installed wind capacity. They will create market opportunities worth 80 billion yuan.

 

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China 2011 fiscal revenue surges to record $1.6 trln

Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:31pm EST

* China fiscal revenues rise 24.8 pct in 2011, deficit at 519 bln yuan

* Government bodies spent 1.99 trillion yuan in Dec alone

* China 2011 nationwide fiscal deficit at enviable 1.1 pct of GDP (Updates to add details, background)

By Zhou Xin and Lucy Hornby

BEIJING, Jan 20 (Reuters) - China's fiscal revenues jumped by a quarter in 2011 to a record 10.37 trillion yuan ($1.64 trillion), China's Ministry of Finance said on Friday, leaving Beijing with plenty of financial firepower to help manage an economic soft-landing.

Although Chinese governments, including Beijing and local governments, rushed to spend almost 2 trillion yuan in December alone, China's full-year fiscal deficit of 519 billion still fell short of the 900 billion yuan that had been penciled into the budget in March.

The figures are subject to revision, but if the numbers hold, the official fiscal deficit will fall to 1.1 percent of China's gross domestic product of $7.47 trillion, an enviable level when compared with the world's other major economies that are saddled with heavy government debt.

The finance ministry said the strong 24.8 percent growth of fiscal revenues in 2011 -- much higher than the budgeted 8 percent -- reflected China's rapid economic growth and handsome corporate profits.

"Some local government revenues that had originally been excluded from the budget were included in 2011, which amounted to an increase of about 250 billion yuan...and pushed up nationwide fiscal revenue growth by three percentage points," the ministry said in a statement on its website (ÖлªÈËÃñ¹²ºÍ¹ú²ÆÕþ²¿).

For many years, China's fiscal revenues have been rising faster than the overall economic growth, which was 9.2 percent last year, and the growth rate of household income, offering the government a growing share of the national wealth.

Corporate income taxes rose 30.5 percent in 2011, while value-added taxes and import duties also rose quickly.

Personal income tax revenues jumped 25 percent for the full year of 2011, but the ministry noted that personal income tax revenues in the last quarter fell 5.5 percent as China lifted the personal income tax threshold starting from Sept 1.

Beijing is trumpeting the so-called "structural tax cut" policies for 2012, or tax cuts for selective sectors such as small household businesses and vegetable vendors.

But these tax cuts were far from being sufficient, independent economists said. Andy Xie, an economist, argued that China should cut taxes by 1 trillion yuan.

China's fiscal expenditures in 2011 were 10.89 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.2 percent.

According to the rough breakdown from the ministry, government spending on education jumped 28.4 percent, healthcare was up 32.5 percent and transport up 36.1 percent.

Government spending on affordable housing surged 60.8 percent in 2011 as Beijing started a nationwide campaign to build up millions of new government-subsidised apartments.

Spending on "energy efficiency and environment protection" by the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gas rose only 7.2 percent.

China's finance ministry said the numbers were all subject to revision. China will finalises its 2011 fiscal figures in March when the finance minister delivers a report to the country's largely ceremonial parliamentary gatherings.

($1 = 6.3167 Chinese yuan) (Editing by Nick Edwards and Ken Wills)
 

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China's 450-ton electroslag remelting furnace

450

"Shanghai Heavy Machinery 450-ton electroslag remelting (ESR) furnace is the world's largest


China manufactures the world's-largest ESR (ElectroSlag Remelting) furnace at 450 tons.

Shanghai Heavy Machinery (SHM) 450-ton electroslag remelting furnace is the world's-largest ESR furnace. It is indigenously designed and manufactured. SHM owns all of the intellectual property rights. SHM's ESR furnace can produce a 450-ton ingot with a maximum diameter of 3.6m, height of 6m, and is equivalent to a 600-ton ingot from "vacuum cast" method. This meets the current tonnage of the world's-largest forging ingots used.

The ESR technique passes a current through the slag and the heat generated from the resistance of the material serves as a heat source for melting. Its main purpose is to purify the metal and produce dense homogeneous ingots. ESR ingots have high purity, low sulfur, non-metallic inclusions (excluding ingot surface) is smooth, clean uniform density, uniform microstructure, and chemical composition; with the segregation of small ingots of high purity.

The SHM 450-ton ESR remelting furnace has greatly enhanced Shanghai Electric's large-forging manufacturing capacity to produce equipment for the second- and third-generation gigawatt nuclear generating units' low-pressure turbine rotor, rotor, evaporator tube plate, and other major nuclear power roll-forging equipment; such as electric utility equipment and large-slag ingot requirements.

(Source: Information Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipal Economy)"
 

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China manufacturing contracts for third month

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Preliminary results from HSBC's China manufacturing survey showed little improvement in January, with weakness in output and new orders suggesting a deepening slowdown ahead, setting the stage for further monetary policy easing.

The Purchasing Managers' Index "flash" reading — which includes the initial 85%-90% of responses — printed at 48.8 on a 100 point scale, up from December's final reading of 48.7, HSBC said in a statement Friday.

China manufacturing contracts for third month - Economic Report - MarketWatch
 

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Rotor for 1,000MW Ultra-supercritical Steam Turbine

November 9, 2011

Rotor for 1000MW ultra-supercritical Steam Turbine | China's Great Science and Technology


China has already manufactured a 12% Chromium high-quality forged rotor for a 1,000MW USC (ultra-supercritical) steam turbine under high pressure.


China's strategy to meet its greenhouse gas commitment is to continue full steam ahead by converting its coal-fired power plant fleet from a conventional one to an ultra-supercritical one — a move that will decrease its energy intensity from coal-generated power by more than 20 percent.

A coal-fired power plant operates by boiling water to create a high-pressure steam that drives a turbine which produces electricity by moving an electrical wire through a magnetic field.

A conventional (or subcritical) plant typically operates at temperatures up to 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit and has an efficiency of between 33 and 39 percent. Operating a plant at higher temperatures and pressures can increase its efficiency, potentially lowering emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the process.

A so-called supercritical plant operates at sufficiently high pressures and temperatures (between 1,000 and 1,075 degrees Fahrenheit) such that the water and steam become indistinguishable (the critical point of a liquid), allowing efficiency rates to reach 42 percent. An ultra-supercritical plant operates at temperatures of 1,075 degrees Fahrenheit and above and can achieve efficiencies of more than 42 percent.

China has jumped into the ultra-supercritical game with both feet. It is busy building supercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants at an astonishing rate — a whole lot faster, by the way, than we are here in the United States. And China's ultra-supercritical power plant that went online in Yuhuan in 2006 reportedly holds the record as "the world's cleanest, most efficient and most advanced ultra-supercritical units" with an efficiency of 46 percent.

Up to now the key high temperature materials for supercritical and ultra supercritical power units are still mainly imported from foreign countries. China requires to make the key high temperature materials by our national enterprises. For making seamless tubes and large pipes, China enterprises will be equipped with more 35MN, 60MN and one 350MN extrusion machines in the near future.

Large-scale castings for 1,000MW USC steam turbine already can be made in China. Large-scale forging have been also trial-produced. High-purity low alloy steel forging for low pressure rotor and 12% Cr high-quality forged rotor for 1,000MW USC steam turbine high pressure rotor are made in China."
 

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China's world-largest 18,500-ton oil-press machine

November 3, 2011

China’s World Largest 18500 tons oil press machine | China's Great Science and Technology


China built the world's-largest oil-press machine that can generate 18,500 tons of force.


On June 28 2010, CITIC Heavy Machinery Company launched a new project for an 18,500-ton oil-press machine. The beam has been successfully put in place and the workers were busy with subsequent installation and debugging. This marks the world's most-advanced 18,500-ton oil-press machine (via flat-dieforging), which was completely installed by CITIC.

As the biggest and most-advanced oil-press machine, the core components include 5.2m turntable bearings. Each bearing has a 3.4m outer diameter for ball-and-roller combination. The bearings can withstand the largest axial and radial loads. They are manufactured by Luoyang Heavy-Duty Bearing Co., Ltd. The bearings are subject to an all-around multilevel inspection to ensure top quality.

Having a ball-and-column composite structure, this bearing will support not only more axial force, but also radial force.

A 438-ton huge steel ingot was successfully forged by the 18,500-ton free-forging hydraulic oil press.

The new CITIC HIC project, with its 18,500-ton oil hydraulic press centrepiece, was completed on schedule; marking the establishment of an advanced heavy-equipment manufacturing system with a RMB3.9 billion investment from CITIC Heavy Industries.

At 6:36pm on May 22 2008, the advanced open-forging equipment (the 18,500-ton oil hydraulic press machine) was poured successfully. The weight of the upper beam was 520 tons. This heavy casting had a strict requirement on temperature, safety of equipment and team cooperation, and the process was complicated; since the pouring was very difficult. In the history of China's foundry industry, it is a miraculous achievement.

It has been reported that this world-largest oil hydraulic press is the core equipment of "New Heavy Machine Engineering", which received an investment of 3.9 billion yuans from CITIC HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. The equipment has a height of 20m, depth of 7.5m, and the whole machine weighs about 4,000 tons.


A 438-ton huge steel ingot was successfully forged by the 18,500-ton free-forging hydraulic oil press.


The annual production capacity of large forgings at CITIC HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO., LTD could reach 150,000 tons after this "giant" has been put into use.

One of the core components of this "giant" oil hydraulic press is support-bearing E8331-7P which was independently developed, designed and produced by Luoyang Heavy-duty Bearing Co., Ltd. It has also entered the operating phase and passed the quality & performance tests together with the oil hydraulic press. The support bearing has an outer diameter of Φ3400mm and belongs to the rare single-row double-row cylindrical roller design with a single-row ball composite structure. At the same time, the application of LTZC E8331-7P bearing in this world-largest most-advanced "giant" oil hydraulic press fully proved the technical strength and advanced production technology of Luoyang Heavy-duty Bearing Co., Ltd. in China's bearing technology.

On Oct 10 2011, a 438-ton huge steel ingot was successfully forged by the 18,500-ton free-forging hydraulic oil press, the largest and most advanced forging press in the world. It proves China has reached the international advanced level for large-scale forging and pressing.

The 438-ton steel ingot is the large forging piece provided for the 4,300 rolling mill of Xingcheng Special Steel Plant in Jiangxin, east China's Jiangsu Province. A double vacuum smelting system has been used in the forging process and the interior quality of the forged piece strictly complies with the criteria from DANIELI assessment.

LTZC, Luoyang Heavy-Duty Bearing Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1992, is one of the largest bearing production bases in China. From industry to the military, Luoyang bearings play a decisive role. LTZC is now a subsidiary under CITIC HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO."
 

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Chinese producer JIER wins Ford's biggest export order


JIER had previously exported 10 sets of large-scale automatic press production lines (as shown above) to SAAB in 2007.

Chinese producer wins Ford's biggest export order - People's Daily Online

Chinese producer wins Ford's biggest export order
By Zhao Yongxin, Liu Chengyou (People's Daily)
15:12, December 31, 2011

JIER Machine Tool Group Company, a leading manufacturer of machine tools in China, has won an order from Detroit-based Ford Motor Company for five large-scale automatic press production lines at two of its factories, the company's president Zhang Zhigang announced on Dec. 29.

It is the first time in nearly 20 years that Ford Motor has bought complete sets of press equipment from a country other than Germany.

JIER will finish the turnkey project, namely delivering the five production lines to Ford Motor in a ready-to-use condition by 2013.

The U.S. automaker's order is the single largest export order that Chinese machine tool producers have ever received.

Among the five press production lines, which will reach top-grade international level, one will be installed at Ford's new factory in central United States, and it will be the factory's only press line.

The other four will be installed at the Ford River Rouge Complex in Detroit, the oldest factory of Ford Motor and a symbol of the U.S. automobile culture, to replace its existing press lines.
 

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China completes world's first 4-in-1 hybrid green power station



2012-01-17–China's first integrated wind-solar power demonstration project has been completed and put into operation on December 25 in Zhangbei county of north China's Hebei province, according to a source at North China Grid Co., Ltd, constructor of the project.

The project is the largest new energy project in the world that integrates wind power generation, solar PV power generation, power storage and intelligent power transmission, said Zhao Yuzhu, deputy general manager of North China Grid.

With an initial investment of 3.3 billion yuan, the project is currently equipped with installed capacity of 100-megawatt (MW) wind power, 40-MW solar PV power and a storage capacity of 20 MW.

The power plant realizes complementary use of solar power and wind power by generating electricity through solar PV power during the daytime and electricity through wind power at night, which has enhanced the utilization rate of wind turbines by 5-10 percent, noted Zhao Yuzhu,

Meanwhile, with the power storage and intelligent power transmission, the project is to break down the bottleneck of the China's new energy development in areas of grid connection, according to Zhao.

Solar power has already become an essential part of China's strategy for sustainable development, and is also key to Zhangbei county's plans to develop its economy. The sunshine in Zhangbei is abundant and its duration is quite long. The total sum of radiation measured there can peak at 5860 mega joules per year, while 2994.7 hours' radiation can be used, making Zhangbei an ideal place to develop the solar power plant. To speed up the development of solar energy resources, the county continues to consolidate its position as the leading industry of wind power bases and diversify its way of developing into a more comprehensive strategy, relying on multiple energy sources to continue to strengthen the development of solar and wind power and attract investment.

For this project, BYD, a large Chinese manufacturer of automobiles and rechargeable batteries, has teamed up with the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and constructed what they think is the world's largest battery energy storage station.

"This large utility-scale project, located in Zhangbei, Hebei Province, combines 140 Mega-Watts of renewable energy generation (both wind & solar), 36 Mega-Watt-Hours (MWh) of energy storage and a smart power transmission system," the news release notes.

"BYD's battery energy storage system provides a solution for the realization of energy storage in the smart grid that improves renewable energy efficiency by 5%-10%."

BYD provided "energy storage batteries in arrays larger than a football field" for the project and state that the entire project is worth over $500 million USD.

"This State Grid project demonstrates a solution and will be the model of development for China's new energy resources," Xiu Binglin, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, said.
 

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China develops Longteng server by home-designed Loongson CPU



2011-12-26 — The recent success of the Longteng server using a home-designed Loongson CPU is an important step in building China's proprietary IT industry and enhancing national security, say industry insiders.

Developed by Tianjin-based Dawning Information Industry Co Ltd, the Longteng server has "full Chinese proprietary intellectual property from the hardware to the operating system, application software and middleware", said Deng Hongsheng, the director of Dawning's Longteng server department.

Middleware is a kind of software that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact.

The Longteng server with the Loongson 3A quad-core CPU can accommodate the NeoKylin and NFS operating systems developed by Chinese companies based on Linux.

The Longteng server has "particularly high security, because its hardware and software are both home-developed", said Nie Hua, vice-president of the company.

"It will help eliminate the security problems currently existing in many fields in our country, such as e-business and national defense," he said.

"It will also increase our capability in information security management."

China-developed server boosts high-tech chain

The development of China's proprietary computer science technologies is gaining increased international attention.

Two years ago, a story in the popular US-based computing magazine Wired said "the Loongson chip is going to change more than just computer ownership rates in the most populous nation on the planet".

"It's going to have a profound impact on computers everywhere," said the article titled "The People's Processor".

Dawning President Li Jun noted "if we want a Chinese CPU to become mainstream, we have to take it out of the lab to the market and let it join the competition".

Li Guojie, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the arrival of the Longteng server will "integrate many of China's other recent achievements in core electronics components, high-end chips and basic software", helping promote the commercialization of the Loongson series CPU.

The success will also help develop a number of related home-developed products including operating systems, middleware, and database and application software to help establish China's own IT industry chain, said Li.

The central and Tianjin governments each granted Dawning a 15 million yuan ($2.3 million) subsidy to build a production line making five types of servers based on the Loongson CPU. The company aims to sell 1,000 servers over the next year.

Deng noted an additional benefit is the server's eco-friendly design.

"In addition, we took the concept of eco-friendliness into consideration and implemented a series of energy-saving measures," he said.

Founded in 1996, the company built the Dawning Nebulae supercomputer last year that has a computing speed of 1.27 petaflops per second, the second-fastest in the world.
 

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