US, China sign 71 contracts worth US$13.6 bln

Representatives from US and Chinese companies on Monday signed 71 contracts and agreements worth US$13.6 billion in total in Missouri and Washington D.C.

The deals were made at two ceremonies in St. Louis, Mo., and in Washington, and both were attended by visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

During his visit to St. Louis earlier in the day, Wang met with local political and business leaders and spoke highly of growing economic and trade relations between the US state of Missouri and China.

He noted that the China-US business relationship has expanded from coastal areas of the United States to the Midwest region, which includes Missouri, since China adopted its opening-up and reform policy 30 years ago.

Wang said both the Chinese and US governments need to attach great importance to their cooperation in the US Midwest region and create favorable conditions and an environment for cooperation between entrepreneurs of both countries.

He praised political leaders in Missouri for their firm resistance to trade protectionism and said it is the correct position that represents the interests of the people of the US state.

After Wang arrived in Washington later in the afternoon, he attended a contract-signing ceremony in the US Chamber of Commerce.

He told representatives from both US and Chinese companies that cooperation between Chinese and US companies serves as the cornerstone for China-US economic and trade relations, and is also the foundation of the China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, or SED.

Wang and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will co-chair the fourth round of the SED between June 17 and 18 at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, about a 30-minute drive from Washington.

Wang is attending the meeting as the special representative of Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Paulson as special representative of US President George W. Bush.

Wang's entourage includes ministers and other senior officials from related departments of China's State Council.

Jointly launched by President Hu and President Bush in September 2006, the dialogue is held twice a year, alternating between the two countries.

The previous meeting was held in December 2007 in Beijing, China.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)

Chinese delegation meets in St. Louis to sign deal to purchase $4.5B in soybeans

A delegation of Chinese soybean buyers, along with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, were in St. Louis Monday to sign an agreement to purchase more than $4.5 billion worth of U.S. soybeans.

The United Soybean Board, the United States Soybean Export Council and the American Soybean Association helped facilitate contracts between eight U.S. exporters and 14 Chinese importers.

Soybeans are the No. 1 U.S. agricultural export valued at more than $9 billion annually, and Missouri ranks fifth in soybean production in the nation. Soybeans are the state's number one cash crop.

In 2007, Missouri exported more than $107 million in soybeans to China and China has already bought a record-breaking 436 million bushels of soybeans from the U.S. this growing season.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture also signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Chamber of Commerce of Import/Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products to expand and promote agricultural and food trade, especially in soybeans.

Soybeans are just one of Missouri's exported goods that are growing thanks to China, which has a population of 1.3 billion. Several Missouri companies, both large and small, have grown their business in China significantly in recent years. In 2007, Missouri's exports to China broke the $1 billion mark, up nearly 32 percent from $769 million in 2006 and double the $500 million in 2005, according to the World Trade Center St. Louis.

The increase equals about 40 percent of the $600 million rise in Missouri's total exports last year when the state sent $13.4 billion worth of goods to more than 200 countries.

Canada remains Missouri's largest foreign market, taking in $4.96 billion worth of goods last year. But China is quickly gaining on the next two trade partners -- Mexico ($1.35 billion) and Korea ($1.2 billion) -- and very well could surpass them by the end of the decade.

In March, a delegation of Missouri political and business leaders visited China on a trade mission. Members included Gov. Matt Blunt, U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, former Gov. Bob Holden, RCGA President and Chief Executive Dick Fleming, World Wide Technology Chairman David Steward, Pfizer Government Relations Director Drew Duncan, and executives from Peabody Energy, Unigroup, McEagle Properties and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

During the week-long trip, Blunt signed agreements with Chinese officials aimed at creating a new transportation hub for Air China in St. Louis and increasing trade between China and the state.

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Chinese Executives Visiting Indiana Firms

A delegation of 30 executive staff from China’s largest soybean crushers visited Indiana today as part of a 10-day trip to the United States, according to Inside INdiana Business.

The delegation will tour Beck's Hybrids in Atlanta, the Louis Dreyfus biodiesel facility in Claypool and Dow AgroSciences global headquarters in Indianapolis. Since 1990, China’s soybean oil consumption has increased by 800 percent and its soybean meal consumption by 2,800 percent.

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China's FDI Up 55% in the first five months

China used US$ 42.78 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first five months this year, an increase of 54.97 percent from the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

The growth was lower than a year-on-year growth rate of 59.32 percent used in the January-April period this year.

Meanwhile, the number of newly-approved foreign-funded enterprises shrank 20.95 percent to 11,915 in the first five months.

"The quality of China's FDI use has improved as a raft of new measures were introduced to regulate foreign investment," said Hao Hongmei, an analyst with the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

Foreign companies now tend to have more interest in investing in high-tech and high-value sectors, which need vast financial input, than in labor-intensive and lower-value industries, Hao said.

China began to level the corporate income taxes for foreign companies with that of domestic companies from January. It also published a new catalogue last year to encourage overseas investment in high-tech and environment-friendly projects.

The actual use of FDI in May jumped 37.94 percent from a year earlier to 7.76 billion yuan and the number of newly-approved foreign-funded enterprises dropped 10.94 percent to 2,425.

"China remained a favorite destination for overseas investment, especially big investors like the top 500 multinationals," Hao said.

Commerce Minister Chen Deming said earlier in a press conference that the steadily-increasing FDI reflected the optimism of foreign companies about their returns from the Chinese market and their intention to accelerate investment in the country to profit from the appreciating Chinese currency.

China's currency, the yuan, on Thursday ended a short-lived downward adjustment to break the 6.91 mark, setting a new high against the US dollar since the country de-pegged its currency from the greenback in July 2005.