INTERNET MANIA: The 2008 China Internet Conference opens on September 23 in Nanjing, capital of coastal Jiangsu Province. More than 3,000 Internet business people from more than 10 countries attended this year's conference, which featured the theme "Convergence: Driving Development Integration: Optimizing Value" (SUN CAN)

Tackling Trade Disputes

China submitted a request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on September 19 for consultations with the United States on U.S. antidumping and countervailing measures imposed on its imports of steel pipes, tires and laminated woven sacks from China.

China hopes that the trade dispute can be addressed under the settlement mechanism, said a statement issued by China's mission to the WTO.

The statement also calls on the United States to attach importance to China's serious concerns over the antidumping and countervailing measures, which it believes violate WTO rules.

If China's request for consultation is rejected, the country can ask a WTO panel to investigate the matter and issue a ruling.

Yuan Hits New High

China's currency, the yuan, hit a new high against the U.S. dollar on September 23, as the American currency continued to take hits from rebounding international oil prices.

The central parity rate of the yuan was 6.8009 yuan to the dollar that day, the first time that the Chinese currency broke the 6.81-mark since it was freed from a peg to the dollar in July 2005 to float within a managed range, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

Analysts attributed the sharp appreciation to a weakening dollar amid worries about the U.S. financial regime and the recovery of oil prices on global markets, despite the $700-billion market boosting schemes proposed by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

CIC Seeks Global Expertise

China Investment Corp. (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund, is looking to hire 30 people with global investment expertise for positions in equity and fixed income investment and alternative assets to improve its management and investment prowess, according to an announcement on the company's website.

Zhang Chun, a professor of finance at the China Europe International Business School, told Xinhua News Agency that now was a good time for CIC to hire international financial experts, because a large number of Wall Street talents are out of work due to the ongoing U.S. financial crisis.

At the end of last year, CIC undertook a global talent search for 24 senior management professionals.

Export Concerns Linger

China's exports to the United States in the first seven months of the year grew 9.9 percent year on year to $140.39 billion, or 8.1 percentage points lower than the same period last year, according to a report issued by China Customs on September 22.

The report attributed the decline to the further appreciation of the yuan against the U.S. dollar and waning demands from the United States. As the subprime mortgage crisis has continued to take its toll, U.S. economic growth has lost further steam, depressing demands for imports, the report said.

The value of imports from the United States to China from January to July totaled $48.72 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.8 percent, or 7.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year, the report said.

Power Cooperation

China and Jordan reached an agreement on September 23 to jointly build a gas-powered generator unit in Jordan, the first of its kind implemented by a Chinese firm in the Middle East country's power-generation sector.

China's Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp. III and Jordan's Samra Electric Power Generating Co. signed the $138-million contract for the add-on cycle power plant.

Under the deal, the Chinese firm will help install a gas-powered generator unit with a capacity of 100 megawatts in Zarqa, some 35 km north of Amman, capital of Jordan. The project is slated to start commercial operations by June 2010.