Great Wall Motor Co. invests RMB400 Million in Tianjin Production Base

Aug. 17 – Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co. has invested RMB400 million in an auto parts plant in Tianjin, expanding its production base there.

The company, listed among the Forbes Top 100 Chinese Enterprises in both 2007 and 2008, chose Tianjin as its base of production due to the city’s strategic positioning in Northern China. Tianjin Port is the largest in Northern China trading with more than 300 ports in 160 countries around the globe. The city has several large and important development zones, including the very well-known TEDA. Read the rest of this entry »

Dalian Restricts Work Permits for Foreigners

Aug. 11 – Beginning August 1, the Dalian government introduced a new policy restricting the ability of foreign investors with a registered capital of under RMB3 million to obtain work permits for their foreign staff, effectively stopping foreign employees that want to work for such companies from being able to apply for a Z visa to work in China.

The policy, which was released by the Dalian Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, affects foreigners that are applying for new visas, while those that already have obtained Z visas or residence permits will be able to extend them in the future. However, companies that have been incorporated in Dalian but do not reach this registered capital requirement of RMB3 million will not be able to hire non-Chinese staff in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

Beijing Plans New International Airport

BEIJING, Jun. 22 – The Beijing municipal government has been assessing the district of Daxing to the south of the city as a potential location for a new international airport, municipal city planners have stated.

Recognizing a capacity shortage in cargo and passenger facilities provided by Beijing Capital Airport in the next 10 years, the municipal government plans to convert the suburban Daxing District into a logistics hub for Beijing and nearby Hebei Province. The plans will need state-level approval. Read the rest of this entry »

An Invitation to Attend Business Advisory Council Meeting: UNDP Regional Entity for China, Russia, Mongolia and Korea

May 31 – The Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) is the regional United Nations Development Program body responsible for business-to-government and government-to-government activities in China, Russia, Mongolia and Korea. It provides a unique multilateral forum for the member countries to identify and implement regional initiatives that encourage economic growth, multinational investment and infrastructure, improve regional living standards, and contribute to peace and stability in the northeast Asia region.

On behalf of Mr. James Zimmerman, the chairman of the GTI Business Advisory Council (BAC), the GTI BAC Secretariat, in conjunction with China Briefing, takes this opportunity to invite our readers to attend an informational meeting and reception of the GTI BAC to learn more about the BAC, its activities, and how your company can join and participate in the organization’s programs. Read the rest of this entry »

China-India Investment Seminars a Big Hit

May 28 – The China-India seminars held this week by Aneet Virk. Read the rest of this entry »

Manzhouli, China’s Gateway to Russia and Eastern Europe

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

May 26 – Manzhouli is not a port that readily springs to mind when discussing China’s imports and exports, but it is the gateway through which an astonishing 60 percent of all of China’s trade to and from Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe pass. It is by far China’s largest inland port of entry, and borders Russia and Mongolia, earning it a unique status as a tri-country region.

Manzhouli borders the Russian city of Zabaykalsk with a free trade zone that allows residents from both sides to cross visa free. The area also includes an economic processing zone, while the local government has adopted a series of policies to boost border trade since the city was designated as an international port of entry in 1992. Manzhouli’s trade has shifted from waste steel, chemical fertilizers, fruit, vegetables and garments to timber, petroleum and technology. The growing industries in the city are repackaging, warehousing, goods consolidation, and distribution. The port is also home to over 200 import and export companies. Read the rest of this entry »

Richard Hoffmann Explains China Foreign-Invested Partnerships

May 20 – Richard Hoffmann, senior legal associate at Dezan Shira & Associates’ Beijing office, explains in detail the regulatory and legal aspects of China’s new foreign invested partnerships and the country’s attempts to further encourage FDI in this English language interview, just aired on CCTV 9.

The interview details the ability of foreign-invested enterprises to upgrade to foreign enterprise groups, which allows parent companies and subsidiaries to use the term “group” in the company title. It also discusses foreign enterprises transferring financial claims to the registered capital upon approval by the foreign exchange administration, and the registration procedures for doing so. Read the rest of this entry »

China’s Large SOEs Increasingly Matchmaking For Western Partners

Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

CHANGCHUN, Apr. 21 – As my regular tour of Northeast China cities continues, it is becoming apparent that the benefits to a foreign investor of participating in joint ventures with China’s large state-owned enterprises is spinning off in ways that no one had imagined a few years ago.

Take the massive state-owned First Auto Works (FAW) for example. In the past, I have spent many hours negotiating with a variety of foreign auto manufacturers in FAW’s gigantic offices in Changchun, not least for a division of Fiat. These talks could be protracted and the China side often unfamiliar with Western accounting and financial modeling. In the early days of Sino-foreign JVs, FAW was the game in town – producing everything from cars, trucks, buses and coaches to auto parts and even trams and railway carriages. Cold frigid winter days and a reputation as a rust belt did not do Changchun’s image much good, neither did the sight of farmers wearing blue Mao jackets and trotting along the side streets on donkey and cart. Detroit seemed sophisticated by comparison. Read the rest of this entry »

Notice on Overseas VAT Refunds Released for Tianjin

TIANJIN, Apr. 19 – China has issued a circular concerning export value-added tax refunds for vessels transferred overseas under finance leases in Tianjin, effective April 1 and for a pilot run period of one year.

Circular Caishui [2010] No. 24, jointly released on March 30 by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration of Taxation and the General Administration of Customs, dictates that finance lease enterprises whose business ownerships have been transferred to overseas enterprises can enjoy export tax rebates for one year in Tianjin. Read the rest of this entry »

SAFE to Implement Pilot Reforms of Import Verification System

Apr. 9 – The State Administration of Foreign Exchange is implementing new pilot reforms of China’s import verification system.

Circular Huifa [2010] No. 14, released on April 2, states that seven provinces and cities including Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Fujian and Qingdao, will begin these pilot reforms of their import verification system from May 1, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

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