AT FULL CAPACITY: The last 26 planned power-generation turbines at the Three Gorges Dam will
begin full operation in November, one year ahead of schedule

Excessive Packaging Curbed

A draft regulation to reduce excessive packaging for all products produced or sold in China was put up for public hearing on September 9.

The draft is aimed at saving resources and protecting the environment and consumer interests. If the regulation is passed into law, products with more than three layers of packaging or those occupying less than 45 percent of packaging space will be banned from production or sales in China. The draft also stipulates that packaging costs should not exceed 15 percent of a product's price. Individuals and firms will face fines of up to 50,000 yuan ($7,300) for such violations.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly prepared the draft.

Third-Generation Nuclear Plant

China will start building the world's first nuclear plant using AP1000 technology at the Sanmen Nuclear Power Project in Zhejiang Province in March 2009, said Wang Binghua, Chairman of the Board of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., on September 8.

AP1000 technology is considered third-generation nuclear technology and is suitable for inland nuclear power plants. The first phase of the project will be put into commercial operation in November 2013.

Challenges remain in the detailed design, engineering and construction of the first AP1000 unit, Liu said. China now has 11 nuclear power reactors in operation, all of which use second-generation technology.

Investment Boom in Africa

The China-Africa Development Fund has invested more than $90 million in six projects since it was established on June 26, 2007, said Chi Jianxin, the fund's president, at a seminar on investment in African countries on September 8.

The fund is one of eight measures to promote practical cooperation between China and Africa as proposed by President Hu Jintao in 2006. The China Development Bank contributed the first-stage capital of $1 billion. The fund's size is expected to reach $5 billion.