BEIJING — Government moves to exclude foreign businesses from parts of China’s booming market have led to a jump in dissatisfaction among multinational companies and growing complaints of protectionism, according to a survey released on Monday. The proportion of US businesses that feel foreign companies are increasingly unwelcome to participate and compete in the Chinese market rose to 38 per cent in February, up from 26 per cent just two months earlier, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China. That was the highest level of concern since Amcham began polling its members four years ago. The rising discontent among US businesses comes amid worsening bilateral relations and as Washington applies pressure on Beijing to allow its currency to appreciate. But the mood is not restricted to American companies, with businesses from all over the world and across a wide range of sectors increasingly disenchanted about operating in China, according to Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. ‘The mood has obviously soured in several areas, Mr Wuttke told the Financial Times on Monday. ‘Businesses feel the market is growing but the access is getting narrower. He said this […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies are getting squeezed out of the big Chinese wind-power market even as Dallas investors are bringing Chinese firms here via a big wind farm in Texas, according to a new industry report. ‘They’ve used every measure you could possibly think of to enhance production of renewable energy equipment in China,’ said report author Alan Wolff of the trade law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk won a pledge from the Chinese last fall to drop rules giving preference to Chinese makers of wind-power equipment. But Kirk’s office hasn’t seen any evidence that the pledge has been carried out, said spokeswoman Carol Guthrie. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are entering the U.S. wind market under a joint venture led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr. McGarr’s U.S. Renewable Energy Group, with Cielo Wind Power LP of Austin and China’s Shenyang Power Group, is planning a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt wind farm on 36,000 acres in West Texas. Several U.S. senators have complained that the West Texas project would use hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. economic stimulus funds for wind turbines built in China. They introduced a bill this month that […]
It came as a surprise this month to Wang Jianwei, a graduate engineering student in Liaoning, China, that he had been described as a potential cyberwarrior before the United States Congress. Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist and China specialist, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10 that it should be concerned because ‘Chinese researchers at the Institute of Systems Engineering of Dalian University of Technology published a paper on how to attack a small U.S. power grid sub-network in a way that would cause a cascading failure of the entire U.S. When reached by telephone, Mr. Wang said he and his professor had indeed published ‘Cascade-Based Attack Vulnerability on the U.S. Power Grid in an international journal called Safety Science last spring. But Mr. Wang said he had simply been trying to find ways to enhance the stability of power grids by exploring potential vulnerabilities. ‘We usually say ‘attack’ so you can see what would happen, he said. ‘My emphasis is on how you can protect this. My goal is to find a solution to make the network safer and better protected. And independent American scientists who read his paper said it was true: […]
Japan plans to supply the UK and Germany with low-carbon fuel cell technology to heat and power homes, according to the BBC. With over 5,000 fuel cells providing heat and energy for homes now in Japan, the BBC says that companies such as Panasonic are in talks with EU governments about bringing the devices to Europe. Take-up of the expensive technology in Japan has been driven by a half-price government subsidy for the combustion-free energy generators. Panasonic told the BBC that interest from the German, Korean and UK governments is ‘intense, and that it is confident that Japan will lead the way in bringing the technology into common use for homes. Fuel cells – a technology that has been around for more than 100 years – convert fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. The resultant heat generated also warms buildings in gas-boiler-sized boxes known as cogeneration fuel cells. In theory they could generate all the heating and hot water and the majority of the electricity needed by a typical European home without the need to be connected to the national grid. Such efficient use of gas supplies […]
WASHINGTON — Drugmakers, device companies and health insurers all got some good news when Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released changes to healthcare reform legislation on Thursday. Hefty taxes on those three industries were delayed by at least a year, among other adjustments to the bill that seeks to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system. Following are some of the winners and losers for the healthcare industry based on the reconciliation bill the House is considering along with the Senate’s bill. A vote is expected on Sunday. WINNERS BRANDNAME DRUGMAKERS * The pharmaceutical industry largely keeps its $80 billion agreement to provide savings and rebates. Its fees, to be parceled out among companies such as Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc, would be delayed from 2010 to 2011, increasing from the initial $2.3 billion a year to $2.7 billion. * Overall, wider insurance coverage could help offset the costs by providing more potential customers. * Drugmakers warded off deeper price cuts in the Medicare program for the elderly. The House had sought to fully close the so-called ‘doughnut hole’ where coverage drops temporarily after reaching a spending limit, but the bill […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
