STRENGTHENED LINK: With the arrival of the last batch of steel cylinders on November 26, construction of the eastern artificial island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is coming to a close (CHEN FEI)

Refuting Anti-dumping Complaint

Fourteen Chinese solar panel producers on November 29 jointly rejected anti-dumping and anti-subsidy complaints filed by some U.S. manufacturers, calling for the United States to abandon "political and emotional interference" while conducting its investigation into Chinese solar firms.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said on November 8 that it would conduct an investigation to determine whether Chinese firms have been selling solar panels in the United States at unfair discounts and receiving illegal government subsidies.

The investigation is supported by a small group of petitioners and does not represent the entire U.S. photovoltaic industry, said Wang Guiqing, Vice President of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, adding that Chinese companies have no intention of initiating a trade war.

"The success of China's photovoltaic industry in the United States lies in the advantages it has gained through technological innovation and benefit of scale," Wang said.

Auto Export Boom

China's leading private automaker, Chery Automobile, is expected to export a record 170,000 vehicles in 2011, marking the highest annual export figure in the company's history.

Chery exported 135,556 units of vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, up 77.3 percent from a year earlier. This accounts for 35.3 percent of total passenger vehicle exports of domestic brands, said Feng Ping, Deputy General Manager of Chery International.

The Anhui Province-based carmaker started exporting cars in 2001 and currently exports its products to more than 80 countries and regions.

Greener Cement

China aims to eliminate 250 million tons of outdated production capacity in the cement industry from 2011 to 2015, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The country's top 10 cement companies will see their combined output account for 35 percent of the national total by 2015, up from 25 percent in 2010, according to the 12th Five-Year plan for the building material industry released by the MIIT.

Cement producers are expected to cut emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide by 10 percent and 8 percent respectively and emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of industrial added value will be reduced by 17 percent in the five-year period, said the ministry.

New Yuan Trading Partners

China started trading the yuan against the Australian and Canadian dollars in the domestic interbank foreign exchange market on November 28.

Analysts said the move indicates an acceleration of China's efforts to internationalize the Chinese currency. The yuan is currently traded onshore against nine major currencies.

The pricing of the yuan trading against the Australian and Canadian dollars is based on a midpoint set by the Chinese central bank, with a fluctuation range of 3 percent.