Numbers of the Week

404.88 trillion yuan

In 2009, total trade in China's online banking market reached 404.88 trillion yuan ($59.28 trillion), according to Analysys International, an economic research firm.

$400 million

Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., China's third largest steel maker, recently acquired a 21.52-percent stake in the Brazilian iron ore miner MMX for $400 million.

TO THE POINT: The United States took further protectionist moves against "made-in-China" products by levying preliminary countervailing duties on potassium phosphate salts and coated paper from China. China's nouveau riche are becoming an ever-important purchasing power for the world's luxury products. January sales for the nation's 100 key retailing enterprises made large increases from last December's figures. Foreign distiller Diageo's attempt to control the well-known domestic liquor brand Swellfun has come to fruition. High domestic coal prices forced power plants to turn to international coal supplies. The 14th China International Fair for Investment and Trade will be held on September 8-11 in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

By LIU YUNYUN

Trade Frictions

The U.S. Commerce Department said on March 2 that it would impose preliminary countervailing duties on potassium phosphate salts and coated paper imported from China, a move that may escalate tensions between the two countries. The two products will be levied 109-percent and up to 13-percent duties, respectively. The final decision will be made in July.

Potassium salts are used in industrial cleaning products, fertilizers and food additives, while coated paper is used in printing corporate annual reports and high-end catalogues and magazines.

The new case followed a recent decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission to impose punitive tariffs on imported Chinese steel pipes for unfair subsidies. The Chinese Government denounced the move as "protectionist."

Economists warned the protectionist moves by the Obama administration will ultimately hurt China-U.S. trade relations.

Luxury Boom

China's rich population bought 27.5 percent of total worldwide luxury goods worth $9.4 billion by the end of 2009, second only to Japan, according to figures from the World Luxury Association.

The association estimated China will spend $14.6 billion in luxury items in the next five years, topping other countries throughout the world.

China has 51,000 individuals worth more than 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) and 825,000 individuals worth more than 10 million yuan ($1.46 million), according to Hurun, a research company that has tracked China's rich for 11 years.

Data show that the rich have directly helped hold up luxury brands in the aftermath of the global market meltdown.

"In other countries, buyers of luxury goods are mostly celebrities or business elites. But in China, ordinary salary earners are also big purchasers of those products," said Tong Minqiang, Vice President of Hangzhou Plaza in east China's Zhejiang Province.