CIMT '01 opens
The 7th China International Machine Tool Show (CIMT) opened in Beijing. The seven-day exhibition has attracted more than 1'000 machine tool manufacturers from over 25 countries and regions. China is the third largest machinery consumer after the United States and Germany and takes up 10% of the world's machinery consumption. China is also the 5th largest machinery maker in the world. 
More than 60 Swiss companies participate in the show under a joint heading organized by Swissmem. Some 300 exhibitors and clients gathered at the traditional Swiss Evening, hosted by the Embassy of Switzerland, Swissmem and Zürcher Kantonalbank. For the second time since 1999, the Embassy and Swissmem organized the Student's Program, inviting 22 students from the leading technical Universities around to country to the show, where they meet Swiss companies and their products. (China Daily/Embassy of Switzerland, 20 April)

Europeans grumble over Beijing's broken pledges
European banking and insurance companies have become increasingly angry over China's delays in implementing the Sino-European WTO agreement, signed in May last year. In a position paper drafted within the EU Chamber of Commerce, it is said that "the gradual opening as outlined in the WTO agreement may prove too slow to counter the very limited opportunities for profitable business in China for foreign banks which are also burdened by an unusual amount of bureaucratic requirements." European companies also feel disadvantaged compared to their US competition. (South China Morning Post, 16 April)

Another export duty refund fraud
Four enterprises in Liuzhou of the Guangxi region cheated their way to RMB 21million in export duty refunds, and seven culprits were jailed. They forged 131 added-value tax invoices worth RMB 360 million without having made any supporting transactions. (China Central TV, 16 April)

Contracted foreign investment up 44% in 1Q
During the first three months of this year, China generated just short of USD 16 billion in contracts from direct foreign investors, a 44.34% jump from the same period last year. USD 7.98 billion in foreign investments has actually been used, a rise of 11.74% from a year ago. By the end of March of this year, China had approved 369'654 foreign-invested enterprises, contracted a cumulative total of USD 692.7 billion in foreign investments and actually utilized USD 356.6 billion of those foreign investments. (ChinaOnline, 17 April)

Xi'an offers preferential policies to foreign investors who help restructure SOEs
The municipal government of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, is allowing foreign investors to take part in the asset restructuring of state-owned enterprises through acquisitions, mergers, buying or holding stocks. Chinese-funded companies in Hong Kong, Macau and other cities may even obtain state assets in mainland China for free if they completely take over the poorly performing SOEs and restructure them into new facilities that are capable of producing marketable goods and accommodating surplus workers. (ChinaOnline, 17 April)

Car sales increased by more than 30%
Mainland car sales increased by more than 30% to 155'400 from January through March. Receipts went up 25% over the first quarter of 2000. (Beijing Daily, 17 April)

1st quarter GDP higher than expected
China's GDP was 8.1% higher in the first quarter this year than in the same period last year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the good economic performance was due to the government's stimulative economic policies. Investments by State and foreign-invested enterprises increased 15.1% in the first quarter, and their purchases of new machinery and other equipment pushed the production growth rate in China's heavy industry to 13.4%. Private investments increased quite rapidly in coastal areas. Retail sales increased 10.3%, roughly the same as in the first quarter of 2000. Exports in the first quarter increased 14.7% from a year earlier, better than expected earlier in the year, but not enough to make a clear contribution to the economy. (China Daily, 18 April)

Foreign direct investment rebounds
China's use of foreign direct investment is expected to increase 5% this year. This is an indicator that FDI in China has bailed out of the negative influences of the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis and picked up steam. China's use of FDI stalled in 1998, declined by 11.37% in 1999 and rose only by 0.93% year-on-year last year, according to statistics from MOFTEC. (China Daily, 19 April)

Tax official asks foreign firms to pay up
Hao Zhaocheng, deputy chief of the State Taxation Administration, accused overseas-funded firms of tax evasion and vowed to step up efforts against it. China audited 57'160 overseas-funded companies in its latest campaign against tax evasion and collected an extra RMB 250 million. The taxation department expects overseas-funded firms to yield more and more taxes because they are in a "profit making period." (SCMP, 19 April)

Ford, Changan Auto plan JV in Chongqing
The Changan Automobile Co. has announced that its joint venture with the Ford Motor Co, the Changan-Ford Automobile Co., is about to turn the ignition switch in Chongqing. During the first phase of the project, the annual production capacity is expected to be 50'000 cars. (ChinaOnline, 19 April)

Colour TV price war in Nanjing
A colour TV price war in Nanjing has pushed some prices below cost. Some producers, including Sony, have asked local stores to stop cutting prices, but the stores have declined. (China Youth Daily, 19 April)

1st quarter retail sales jump 10.3% 
The country's retail sales volume totaled RMB 925.6 billion in the January-March term, a rise of 10.3% over that for the same period last year. The growth rate was almost the same as that in the same period last year. (China Daily, 20 April)

Funds sought for mergers, acquisitions
Beijing is improving its rules in order to boost foreign investment in mergers and acquisitions. Beijing hopes better merger and acquisition rules will help channel more foreign investment into the restructuring of its state-owned enterprises. Globally, 80% of the total cross-country investments involve mergers and acquisitions, while in China, this was the case for only a fraction of last year's actual utilisation of foreign direct. (SCMP, 21 April)

Asset company closes first deal with foreign buyer
China Cinda Asset Management has sold its first equity to a US company. Alliant International and Transpacific Capital paid USD 14 million for a 70% stake in a new joint venture with defunct Bengbu Thermal Plant in Anhui province. Cinda is selling the non-performing assets of the China Construction Bank, one of four asset management companies that took over non-performing assets of the four larger domestic banks. (SCMP, 21 April)