China Aviation Industry Corp. (AVIC) I and AVIC II, China’s two leading state-owned aviation manufacturers, will be merged to create a new company by the end of July as the government is poised to consolidate and strengthen the country’s aviation manufacturing capabilities.

Detailed merger plans will soon be approved by the government and the new company is likely to be called China Aviation Industry Group Corp., an official with AVIC II told China Daily.

The merger plan comes after the establishment of a company responsible for building large passenger jets last month in Shanghai and is part of the government’s commitment to strengthening China’s aviation manufacturing capabilities.

China Mobile’s Upgrade Bid

China Mobile has invested heavily in upgrading networks to consolidate its leading position in both 2G and 3G eras, Shanghai Daily reported on June 18.

The world’s biggest mobile carrier by volume of subscribers has signed framework agreements with two IT companies-Alcatel-Lucent and Sun Microsystems Inc., during Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan’s visit to the United States for the fourth China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue.

China Mobile’s agreement with Alcatel-Lucent, the world’s biggest telecom equipment maker, is worth $1 billion, with the latter providing mobile communications equipment and services.

Sun Microsystems agreed to provide IT products and relevant services at an estimated price of $33.8 million.

Resource Conservation

Coalmine owners across the nation will be charged higher utilization fees to curb wasteful mining, the Ministry of Finance said on June 17.

The extra charge is part of a series of taxation and financial measures proposed by the ministry to encourage energy conservation, an important part of the government’s plans for China’s economic expansion.

“We will soon charge resource utilization fees in the whole coal mining sector to achieve our energy-saving goal,” Vice Minister of Finance Zhang Shaochun said at an energy seminar in Beijing on June 17.

The government has already started pilot programs in eight provinces and autonomous regions such as Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Since November 2006, it has been charging coal mine owners resource utilization fees to improve their awareness of resource saving.

Gateway to Northeastern China

The 19th International China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation began on June 15 in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

The annual event promotes technological and economic cooperation with other countries and helps to revitalize China’s northeastern industries, organizers told Xinhua News Agency.

Over the past 18 years the Harbin fair has earned a reputation for worthwhile international business exchanges, especially with trade with Russia, organizers said.

Statistics show more than 1.4 million business people from home and abroad have visited the fair ever since it began.