Will China's northeast share a slice of the giant cake of two trillion USD in hand of overseas Chinese? Most likely it will. "I am quite impressed by people here who are expansive and friendly. They were always complaining about not benefiting from the reform of the country. But now they are motivated to rejuvenate their homeland by the central government's strategy of regenerating the northeast industrial rust belt." An overseas Chinese who are doing business in Liaoning Province said in a CCTV interview.

As their foreign peers, overseas Chinese investors are attracted by the rich mineral resources, geographic linkage with the whole northeast Asian market, skilled blue-collars, and industrial legacy. They also suggested that the region improve the infrastructure and develop private sector.

The Chinese government is trying to encouraging more capital influx into the region. For example, in a speech recently Vice Premier Wu Yi encouraged foreign banks to set up operations in the northeast and west China. And Liaoning Province is part of the Bohai-Rim Economic Region which is expected to be on the agenda of the blueprint of national development for next five years.

Foreign capital has made a strong presence in the northeast area of China. Auto and steel multinationals have joint ventures there. FAW is one of the leading auto makers in China and ThyssenKrupp is working with Anshan Steel to produce galvanized steel plates. Dalian is the first destination of foreign capital in this region. Some 3.2 billion US dollars investment to go to China's old industrial base

On travel

For most Chinese passengers, traveling by air is comfortable and time-saving, but expensive. And it can be time-consuming if the flight does not take off as scheduled. Consumers are looking forward to market competition so that they can buy discounted tickets and choose right flights.

Now here is the competition. More American planes will fly between China and US. Private capital has made foray into the market. The catalysts seem to have brought changes. Shenzhen Air issued China's first compensation program for delayed flights and is handling the first case of such compensation to passengers on a delayed flight from Lanzhou to Shenzhen. All the airports have been transferred to local governments. For China's Civil Aviation industry, the real servicing has just launched, not concluded. China civil aviation: no easy route to fly highChina, US reach deal to expand flights

"China's auto market will grow 10 percent to 15 percent annually in the next 7 years or even longer than that, much higher than the expected rates of anywhere else in the world." Said J.T. Battengerg, Chairman and CEO of Delphi, world's top auto parts supplier.

Bosch and Valeo echoed him by their proposed R&D center in China. Insiders in China also expressed their confidence in the auto market for the long run. They think the sales drop and increasing inventory now are nothing but a round of reshuffling in the industry which will help to clear the legacy of the planned economy. On May 17, Shanghai GM led a sweeping price cut on its Buick fleet, which was immediately followed by all the major players. The result, experts say, will be that giants bloom and minnows fade away. In fact, price cut is taking place around the world, according to Battengerg. This has not weaken the market, which can be proved by the fact that the four leading auto giants are all on the top 10 of Fortune Global 500. And every auto maker, home or abroad, has realized that the best catalyst for their survival and growth is innovation and efficiency. China's sedan sales drop for straight three months

Worth money

Chinese companies need advice to grow up. When China joined WTO two years ago, there was much talk about the opportunities and challenges that China's integration into the global business club would bring. But that was no more than a fanfare. Chinese enterprises had no idea about what they would face. Now they have. Competition is not a word. It's the reality.

In China, so-called "golden ideas" used to prevail among businesses, which was said to be a panacea to get companies in the brink of insolvency out of woods. Fortunately they have found what they really need is a package, including familiarity with the market, corporate governance, and anything that helps to sharpen their competitiveness. Giving advice is not a courtesy. It's business. For foreign advisors, they must have clear and enough idea about their Chinese clients to help them go stronger and international. For Chinese businesses, they must know how to make full use of "golden ideas" they buy. Local Chinese companies craving for consulting services

AIG is well-known in China for its insurance business. Compared with Manulife-Sinochem, another foreign-funded insurer in China, it is more familiar to Chinese customers. AIA is also specialized on fund management. Sino-US fund management company on the way.

Operate on a unified platform

When disputes erupt between partners of foreign trade, it is not easy for individual enterprises to settle them. Government is not expected to do too much, either. So industrial association may play a very positive role. In the case of color TV dumping with US, China's four biggest TV makers tried to unite and defend themselves with collective power. But their alliance was weakened by distrust among them. This is repeated in other cases. Leadership is a problem. The most important thing is they must speak with the same voice.Chinese association expects int'l dialogue mechanism

Your potential in China

NASDAQ makes it clear it will carry on its commitment to China market and it is inclusive to all businesses "with potential". China has its own trading floor for small and medium sized enterprises and hopes it would grow to be its own NASDAQ in the future. But it plunged soon after its high-profile debut due to a scandal of information disclosure involving one of the first eight stocks listed there. And NASDAQ is not the only exchanges showing great interest in Chinese businesses hunger for capital. For Chinese enterprises, wherever they get listed, thresholds may differ, but transparency and honest bear the same significance. NASDQ to name new executive to China

Chinese farmers have enjoyed the highest income increase in seven years. But their consumption remains low. The government is considering to change this by putting an extending distribution network around the rural areas, which include supermarkets and convenience stores. Farmers need quality and reasonably-priced goods as urban residents do. But they are plagued with cheap but shoddy and fake goods. Those who can give them the easy access to a better life will make money. And as the deadline for China to open its retailing sector fully is approaching, foreign retailers and their Chinese competitors will stand at the same starting line in this race. China to complete rural retail network in 5 years

Make it clean

China is struggling in power shortage. Coal fired power generation still constitutes the major source of electricity. China has very large hydraulic power projects. But how much they can contribute depend on weather. Last year, insufficient rainfall put many cities along Yangtze River into darkness. The supply and transportation of coal and oil has become a headache for the country. There are wind farms. But they only share a small part. In fact, you can find any type of power generation in this power-hunger country. Power shortage even has become one of the buzz words here in 2003 and 2004. The solution should be not only efficient, but also clean. China builds more nuclear power plants to ease power shortage

By People's Daily Online