Business (14)
Ottawa - Chinese Ambassador to Canada Zhang Junsai said Thursday that China's 12th Five Year Plan tells people about the orientation of China's future development, and encouraged his guests to take a closer look at the plan. In an event held by the Chinese Embassy to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Canada-China Friendship Society of Ottawa (CCFS-Ottawa), Zhang said the three goals of the plan are to improve Chinese people's livelihood, uplift China's overall national strength and upgrade China's outlook. He said that China need to create much more social wealth as the growth needs more balance, coordination and sustainability. "We want to see happier and better life for all Chinese. We want to make sure that the benefit of our development is shared by all, not by some. We will guarantee that local and central governments will do better in serving people's interests," said the ambassador. In doing so, China will set aside more money for improving social care services, raise the ratio of income to the GDP by 10 percent over the next three to five years, and ensure that all citizens will have access to a good education, decent income, quality health care, pension and affordable…
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The 12th Five-Year Plan to be approved by China's National People's Congress session is a watershed for what has recently emerged as the world 's second largest economy. It's widely expected that the plan is likely to contain measures to boost domestic consumption - a sign that China's leadership is gradually steering its economy away from export and investment-led growth. "The 12th Five-Year Plan is probably China's most important ( economic) plan in terms of its depth, complexity and the challenges (it seeks to address)," said Yolanda Fernandez Lommen, head of the China economics unit at the Manila-based Asian Development Bank. Lommen said the Chinese government aims to restructure and rebalance the economy and reduce inequality. It's also important, she notes, to promote equal income distribution that the recent gains from the economic boom will benefit the majority of China's population. Lommen is especially keen on the fiscal policy that will be in place from 2011 to 2015. "This is very important as this is the way for the Chinese government to secure enough resources to fund the reform that must be implemented (under the Five-Year Plan)," she said. "It's not going to be cheap to provide universal health insurance…
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Manufacturers on the Chinese mainland are under immense pressure to stay profitable, while maintaining their export price competitiveness. That’s down to rising costs and the appreciation of the Rmb. Since the Rmb regime changed in 2005, the currency has appreciated 23% against the US dollar as at the end of September. In tandem, wages have been rising rapidly since 2009. After 30 provinces and municipal cities increased minimum wage levels by an average of 22.8% in 2010, this year 18 provinces and municipal cities have since raised minimum wages again by some 20%. China’s export price index began its rise in May last year. Higher export prices can be a palliative to manufacturers unable to absorb all cost increases for a sustained period. But given the intense competition in the globalised production environment, even a small shift in cost conditions can lead to changes in China’s competitive position. Changing competitive positions of lower value-added and labour intensive products – such as garments and footwear – are imminent. With textile quota no longer an issue, US and EU importers now pay more attention to price and tariff savings. As a result, developing countries which still enjoy generalised system of preferences (GSP)…
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Internet social networks are great places to meet and network with people sharing similar business interests. But MySpace, Second Life and similar Web 2.0 sites can also pose serious security threats to users and their companies. Many businesses view social networking sites as a kind of online cocktail party -- a friendly, comfortable place where one can establish contacts, find buyers or sellers, and raise a personal or corporate profile. But the cocktail party metaphor isn't entirely accurate. In fact, users would be better served if they thought of social network services in the context of a loud glass house; a place with endless visibility and each occupant talking through a highly amplified bullhorn.Since most people access social network sites from the comfort and privacy of their home or office, they can be lulled into a false sense of anonymity. Additionally, the lack of physical contact on social network site can lower users' natural defenses, leading individuals into disclosing information they would never think of revealing to a person they just met on a street -- or at a cocktail party. Staying safe on a social networking service means recognizing these factors, and working knowledgeably within a set of simple…
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