BONDED WAREHOUSE: Construction of the bonded oil warehouse of Sinopec (Hong Kong) began on July 6 in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone of Hainan, China's southern island province. The warehouse is expected to have a storage capacity of 2.05 million cubic meters of refined oil (WANG HUIYU)

WTO Report Response

China's reinforced administration of certain resources products is in line with the objective of the WTO, the Chinese Permanent Mission to the WTO said on July 5.

For the purpose of protecting the environment and exhaustible natural resources, the Chinese Government in recent years has reinforced its administration on certain resource products, especially "high pollution, high energy-consuming and resource-dependent" products, the Chinese Mission said in a statement.

Although these measures have an impact on domestic and international users, they are in line with the objective of sustainable development promoted by the WTO and they help to guide the country's resource industry toward healthy development, said the statement.

The statement came after the WTO Dispute Settlement Body issued a panel report, making its preliminary judgment of the dispute around China's measures related to the exportation of various raw materials.

Insecticides Banned

China plans to ban 10 types of highly toxic insecticides by the end of 2011 in an effort to ensure farm produce safety and protect the ecological environment, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said on July 5.

The MOA and four other ministries have drafted a scheme on banning the use of highly toxic insecticides and the scheme has been submitted to the State Council for approval, said Zhou Puguo, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Farming Administration of the MOA.

The government will conduct further research and evaluation related to the economic impacts of the ban on the use of a further 12 insecticides, as currently there are no suitable substitutes for them, he said.

Upgrading Water Facilities

Investment in water facilities in Chinese cities from 2011 to 2015 is estimated to be no less than 500 billion to 600 billion yuan ($77.4 billion-$92.8 billion), said Shao Yisheng, Vice President of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design in Singapore on July 6.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), China will upgrade about 2,000 water plants with a combined capacity of treating 64 million cubic meters of water every day, he said.

In addition, 2,358 water plants with a combined capacity of producing 40 million cubic meters will be built, in part to meet the demand of growing towns and cities as urbanization speeds up. China will also upgrade and build a total of 150,000 km of water pipe over the next five years.

VW Plants Approved

German carmaker Volkswagen recently announced that its two new plants have been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The two new plants will boost the auto giant's annual production capacity in China to 3 million units, said Karl-Thomas Neuman, president and CEO of its China operation.

The new plants are located in Foshan, Guangdong Province and Yizheng, Jiangsu Province and each has a planned production capacity of 300,000 units.