TOUGH HAND: Hunan-based Shunxin Steel and Iron Co. Ltd., the province's largest private steel mill, is shut down in late July, as a result of the provincial government's tough measures to curb pollution (GUO GUOQUAN)

Foreign Investment Rules

China's Supreme People's Court issued a set of regulations regarding foreign investment disputes relating to share transfers, anonymous investments and other procedures on August 16.

The new rules focus mainly on conflicts involving foreign limited liability companies, such as the effectiveness and legal consequences of equity transfer contracts without administrative approval, said a statement. The rules also address conditions for anonymous investment and invalid contracts.

Conflicts involving foreign investment companies accounted for about 20 percent of all foreign-related civil and commercial cases in the past two years, said the statement.

Cross-Straits Deals

A 1,000-plus-member Guangdong delegation, led by Governor Huang Huahua, arrived in Taipei on August 16, to seize business opportunities.

The two sides are expected to reach deals worth $6.7 billion during the Taiwan-Guangdong Week opened on August 17, and Guangdong will invest $40.86 million in Taiwan, said Liang Yaoguang, Director of Guangdong's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Department.

Trade between Guangdong and Taiwan totaled $38.5 billion in 2009 and surged to $22.6 billion in the first half of 2010.

Fuel-Efficiency Ties

General Motors Co. and SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. reached an agreement to jointly develop new technologies to improve fuel efficiency.

They will design and produce a family of new small-displacement gasoline engines for the global vehicle market. The new engines will be offered in displacements from 1 liter to 1.5 liters.

They will also jointly develop an advanced front-wheel-drive transmission, which will incorporate the latest innovations and improve fuel efficiency by 10 percent.

The engine and the transmission are estimated to slash gasoline consumption by 20 percent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent, compared with engines and automatic transmissions currently in China.

Visa-Free Access

Hainan Province in south China added six more countries to its visa-free list, in an attempt to attract more international groups.

Tourist groups from six countries including Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan will enjoy visa-free access to the island of Hainan for up to 15 days, making a total of 26 countries now eligible for the policy.

The minimum size requirement of tour groups from Russia, South Korea and Germany have also been reduced from five people to two, and their maximum duration of stay increased to 21 days.

Coal Expo

The Second China (Jixi) International Coal Industry Expo was held August 15-18, 2010 in Jixi, Heilongjiang Province, and attracted 192 companies from across the world, including the United States, Germany, Sweden, Japan and Ukraine.

Eight of China's top 10 coal machinery manufacturers participated in the expo. A total of 18 projects worth up to 670 million yuan ($98.67 million) were inked at the expo, of which two projects worth 46 million yuan ($6.77 million) were for coal machinery manufacturing and six projects worth 210 million yuan ($30.93 million) were for coal machinery and components.