WATERING GUIZHOU Southwest Guizhou Province started construction on a giant water control project on November 30 to secure water supplies for 42 towns in the province (YANG YING)

Import Ban Lifted

China lifted import bans on pork products from the United States, Canada and Mexico on the basis of a risk assessment, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the country's top quarantine regulator, on December 1.

In April and May, China imposed bans on pigs and pork imports from Mexico, Canada's Alberta Province and some regions of the United States, as an emergency response to the A/H1N1 flu.

Mine Deal

The Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., China's largest gold producer and third-largest copper producer, announced on December 1 it would pay AU$545 million ($500 million) to take over Indophil Resource NL, an Australian gold and copper company.

The Fujian Province-based Zijin Mining would make a conditional cash off-market takeover bid for all of the issued shares in Indophil, which owns a 34-percent operating interest in Sagittarius Mines Inc., a Philippine mineral exploration and development company.

The deal is still waiting for regulatory approval from both the Chinese and Australian governments, the company said.

U.S. Investment

AGCO Corp., the world's third largest agricultural equipment maker, recently announced it would invest $100 million in China in the next three to five years to boost its presence in the emerging market.

The company will open two factories in China next year, one in the eastern city of Changzhou of Jiangsu Province, making low- and medium-powered tractors, generators and transmissions, and another in northeast Heilongjiang Province, producing high-powered tractors, combines and balers, said the U.S. company.

Free Trade Drive

China and Switzerland launched a joint study on November 30 to examine the feasibility of a free trade agreement between the two countries.

The joint study will examine the topics covered by free trade agreements, such as trade in goods and services, investment and other possible areas of cooperation, said a joint statement issued by visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming and Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard.

The results of the study will serve as a basis for the two governments to make a decision on how to open negotiations for the free trade agreement, said Leuthard.

"It is our common understanding that a comprehensive Switzerland-China free trade agreement will open new business opportunities," she said.

Corporate Responsibility

The catering giant Accor China recently announced plans to join hands with the Accor Foundation's three-year initiative to strengthen help for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Accor has committed 20,000 euros ($30,000) for the first year of the sustainable project.

The program will establish a workshop in Henan Province and recruit and train women whose families have been affected by HIV/AIDS to produce eco-friendly bags. Sales revenue from the bags will be used to fund scholarships for 30 children from Henan Province.

"This program offers an opportunity for the affected women and children to survive and make themselves sufficient for the future," said Robert Murray, Senior Vice President of Accor Greater China.