HI-TECH BOAT：The country’s first homegrown ship with embedded technologies makes its maiden voyage on December 23 in Shanghai. The ship is capable of automatically cleaning itself and loading cargo

Financial Agreement

China and Indonesia signed a preliminary agreement on December 22 to promote bilateral trade and help finance infrastructure projects in the southeast Asian country, according to a report in the Shanghai Daily.

According to the deal, Indonesia will borrow $1 billion from the Export-Import Bank of China to purchase Chinese equipment for its domestic projects, including machinery that Indonesia cannot produce.

The Indonesian Government has made infrastructure projects a priority for stimulating the economy and absorbing more workers amid the global economic downturn. Indonesia turned to bilateral loans after the cost of selling debt securities rose because of the global credit crisis.

Vehicle Recall

German automaker Daimler AG on December 23 issued a recall for about 3,108 Viano and Vito vehicles in China because of problems with airbags, brake systems and spare tires, according to China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ).

In a filing to the quality watchdog, the automaker said the spare tires on 2,806 of the recalled vehicles could fall off, while the other 302 cars had defective airbags or brake systems.

The automaker said it would replace the defective components for free.

Neither the GAQSIQ nor Daimler reported any accidents caused by the defects.

Paying for Fault

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. has been ordered to pay 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) to China's Holley Communications Co. Ltd. for infringing the latter's patent on dual-mode cell phones, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

The Zhejiang Province-based company alleged last year that cell phones made by Samsung violated its patent which allowed handsets to operate on both CDMA and GSM networks.

Samsung has sold more than 700,000 cell phones that contain Holley's patented technologies, said Ge Chen, Holley's Executive Director, in an article by Xinhua News Agency.

Holley filed the lawsuit in April 2007, calling for Samsung to stop the patent infringement and to seek compensation.

Going Russian

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), the country's largest oil refiner, has offered to buy Russian oil producer Urals Energy PLC. for around $130 million, almost five times higher than the market value of the London-listed company, according to a report in the Shanghai Daily.

Urals Energy's high-quality assets are believed to be the main reason for Sinopec extending such a high price. The company's proven and supposed oil reserves are estimated to be around 170 million tons.

The Chinese Government has encouraged domestic enterprises to make bolder moves in expanding overseas, especially in the energy and resource sectors.

The talks between Sinopec and Urals Energy had reportedly started in October.

China Protests U.S. Levies

China filed a protest with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 22 about antisubsidy and antidumping duties imposed by the United States on four categories of imports from China.

The United States unilaterally imposed import duties on circular welded steel pipes, rectangular pipes, off-road tires and laminated woven sacks in September 2008.

Analysts said the complaint is part of the country's latest efforts to counteract the growing tide of trade protectionism as the world economy falls into recession.

The Chinese Government appealed to the WTO for an investigation into the trade dispute. This is the second such request by the country since its entry into the WTO in 2001.