Per-capita GDP Rise

China's per-capita GDP will reach $3,000 by 2010, a decade ahead of the schedule set by the 2002 Communist Party National Congress, a government think tank expert said.

Lu Xueyi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the figure would reach $6,000 in 2020 if it maintained the current growth rate. It was also aided by the Chinese currency's continued appreciation against the U.S. dollar.

The country's per-capita GDP had grown by about $200 annually in the last two years to $2,200 in 2007, he estimated.

China has been in the fast lane in recent years as the nation took two years to raise its per-capita GDP to $1,000 from $800 in 2000. It took another four years to reach $2,000.

Power Savers

A survey by the municipal government shows that the per-capita power consumption of civil servants in Beijing decreased by 10 percent from 2004 to 2007.

The average power consumption of each civil servant from November 2006 to October 2007 amounted to 3,072.5 kwh, according to the Beijing Municipal Construction Commission (BMCC) and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

The two commissions conducted a survey in 36 office buildings belonging to 20 state organizations, Beijing Daily reported.

It is the first time that the results of power consumption auditing for government office buildings and large public buildings have been published, said an official from BMCC.

He said such auditing will oblige government organizations, which are usually big power users, to save energy.

Vehicles Recalled

U.S. automaker Chrysler is recalling 1,371 Jeep brand vehicles sold in China due to brake problems, the nation's product quality watchdog said.

The affected vehicles were Grand Cherokee and Commander models manufactured between January 31, 2005, and July 12, 2007, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website.

All the vehicles, which had been imported, had problems with their electronic brake control system. In addition, 57 of the units, made between June 11 and July 11 last year, were also found to have flaws in their front brake calipers due to unqualified materials used in production.

Both problems could increase the vehicles' stopping distance and affect driving safety, it said.

Bigger Internet Consumption in 2008

China's Internet consumption hit 398.8 billion yuan ($53.89 billion) last year and is expected to reach 581.5 billion yuan ($79.66 billion) in 2008, up 45.8 percent, according to a survey released on January 8.

The "Netguide 2008" survey conducted by the Data Center of the China Internet (DCCI), which provides a wrap-up of China's 2007 cyber world, polled more than 300 web sites and about 200 enterprises, with 50,786 interviewees around the country.

The Internet consumption includes all web-related expenses such as broadband installment expenses, payment for online games and shopping, and payment for IP phone services.

The DCCI survey also reports that Sina Corp., Netease.com Inc., Tencent and Sohu.com Inc., China's four largest Internet portals, have gained the most from the robust Internet industry, accounting for about 76 percent of total web portal revenue in China.

Old Brands Get New Names

Six time-honored Beijing brands received official new English monikers on January 8, the organizers of a translation campaign announced.

The brands, including the famed Peking roast duck restaurant Quanjude and traditional Chinese medicine shop Tongrentang, retained their pinyin names but were given brief introductions of their business and history in their new English handle.

For example, Quanjude was now formally recognized around the world as Quanjude Roast Duck-Since 1864. Tongrentang became Tongrentang Chinese Medicine-Since 1669.

The other formalized English names included Wuyutai Tea Shop-Since 1887, Ruifuxiang Silk-Since 1862, Rongbaozhai Art Gallery-Since 1672 and Wangzhihe Gourmet Food-Since 1669.

The activity organizers, Transn Transcends Translation Co., solicited 250,000 translations on the Internet, 20 percent of which were from overseas. The review committee comprised renowned translators and folklore experts from around the country.