TIGER CONSERVATION: The International Workshop for Transboundary Conservation of Tigers and Other Endangered Species and the Strategy to Combat Illegal Trade in Wildlife is hosted by the State Forestry Administration in Kunming, Yunnan Province, on July 29, International Tiger Day (DING DONG)

FTA Talks

China, Japan and South Korea started their second round of trilateral talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) in Shanghai from July 30 to August 2.

The talks covered the cargo and services trade, customs procedures, trade remedies, intellectual property rights and e-commerce.

The three countries have seen increasingly close economic and trade relations, said Yu Jianhua, a representative for China's international trade negotiation.

In 2012, the three countries' combined GDP totaled $15 trillion, accounting for about 20 percent of the world's total and 70 percent of Asia's total. In 2012, bilateral trade between China and Japan exceeded $329 billion, while China-South Korea trade surpassed $256 billion.

The first round of trilateral talks was held in March in Seoul. The third round will be held in Japan at the end of 2013.

Liquidity Injection

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, injected 17 billion yuan ($2.77 billion) into money markets on July 30 through seven-day reverse bond repurchase agreements, the first such move in five months, to ease concerns over a credit crunch that pushed benchmark interbank lending rates to four-week highs.

Analysts said that although the volume of the operation was limited, it sent a signal to money markets.

Liquidity eased on July 30 in response to the central bank's money injection. The seven-day Shanghai interbank offered rate, a gauge of the availability of cash in the banking system, fell 8.5 basis points to 4.97 percent, according to a weighted average compiled by the National Interbank Funding Center.

Stocks rose on July 30 after the central bank's liquidity injection, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbing for the first time in five days as it added 0.7 percent to close at 1,990.38.

Green Investment

China's investment in renewable energy during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15) will reach 1.8 trillion yuan ($294 billion) in addition to 2.3 trillion yuan ($375 billion) on energy-saving and emission reduction.

"China has carried out a series of policies to cope with climate change and we have achieved some success after several years of effort," said Xie Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, during the Caring for Climate China Summit held by the Global Compact Network China.

From 2006 to 2012, China's energy consumption per unit of the GDP was reduced by 23.6 percent, which equals a reduction of 1.8 billion metric tons of carbon emissions, according to Xie.

However, he admitted China's economic development depends heavily on high-energy consumption and produces high emissions, and that the country's emission per capita is higher than the global average.

"China will continue to make great effort to reduce emissions, improve air quality and accelerate sustainable economic development," Xie said.