CANAL UPDATE Construction work continues on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in Jiangsu Province.
The more than 7 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) project will expand the transport capacity of
the ancient canal and is slated for completion by 2012.

Sino-U.S. Trade Tie-up

China and the United States have inked several agreements to bolster their bilateral trade ties at the 19th meeting of China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) held on September 16 near New York.

The agreements cover many different fields, including food security, loans for medical equipment, trade and agriculture. The two sides also agreed to boost cooperation between their working groups in the areas of intellectual property rights and information industry within the JCCT framework.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, heading the Chinese delegation, said the JCCT mechanism has played an important role in solving trade problems and extending economic and trade cooperation.

Soothing the Power Giants' Nerves

China's six major coal producers in Shanxi Province signed long-term supply contracts with seven of the country's top electricity companies on September 16.

Li Xiaopeng, Vice Governor of Shanxi Province, which contributes a quarter to the country's coal output, said the agreements come as a timely salve for the power companies saddled with coal supply shortages.

Under the contracts, the seven power giants, including China Huaneng Group, China Huadian Corp. and China Guodian Corp., will be ensured coal supplies totaling 15.8 million tons from 2009 to 2013.

Banking Bridge

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market capitalization, officially received a banking business license in the United States on September 16.

ICBC's New York branch will engage in wholesale deposits, loans, trade financing, U.S. dollar clearing, treasury and other banking business.

"The ICBC New York branch will provide one more bridge to financial exchanges between China and the United States," said Wu Bin, Chief Representative of the ICBC New York Representative Office, at the signing ceremony held in the New York State Banking Department.

ICBC filed application to open a branch in New York in April 2007 and obtained official approval from the U.S. Federal Reserve on August 5 this year. The branch is slated to start operating in October.

Heating Up

China is allowing local governments to raise heating bills as part of its efforts to provide some relief to the country's heating companies because of surging coal prices, according to a joint circular released on September 16 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance.