ACCESS TO ESSENCE: A craftsman adds color to a cloisonné bottle in Beijing. The Cloisonné Museum of the Beijing Cloisonné Factory is holding free workshops during February and March, allowing visitors to observe the ancient decoration technique (LUO XIAOGUANG)

Made-in-China Titanic

Australian billionaire Clive Palmer plans to build a modern replica of the Titanic, in cooperation with state-owned CSC Jinling Shipyard, based in east China's Jiangsu Province.

Interest around the world in Palmer's Titanic II is growing, with passengers willing to shell out big bucks to hop on board.

"We've probably had half a dozen people already offering more than $1 million to get on the maiden voyage," said James McDonald, global marketing director of Palmer's Blue Star Line.

But the company won't reveal how much the Titanic II will cost.

According to the Blue Star Line, construction on the Titanic II is scheduled for February 26, and its maiden voyage from England to North America will begin in late 2016.

The Titanic II will stay true to the design of the ill-fated original, but with more focus on a safety deck.

Selling Cars Abroad

Chinese carmaker Geely will start selling its Belarus-assembled cars in the eastern European country in February and in Russia this spring.

Set up in 2011, the Belarusian-Chinese joint venture BelDzhi will first launch the Geely SC7, a sedan that will cost approximately $12,990. The company can assemble 10,000 cars a year.

BelDzhi's assembly facilities are located in Zhodino and Borisov.

Plans are to market the Belarusian-Chinese vehicles in Kazakhstan and the EU in the future.

Slow Production

China's non-ferrous metal production expanded at a slower pace last year compared with a year earlier.

The total production of 10 kinds of non-ferrous metals grew 9.3 percent year on year to 36.91 million tons in 2012, down 1.3 percentage points, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

A total of 8,057 major non-ferrous metal producers tracked by the ministry cumulatively saw their profits decline 8.9 percent to 155.8 billion yuan ($24.81 billion).

The MIIT explained that the sector was confronted with excessive production capacity, rising production costs and weak market demand in China and the rest of the world.

The sector's total production is expected to continue to grow at a moderate pace this year, and there is still no sufficient impetus to support a strong rebound in market demand due to a faltering economic recovery around the world.