China's auto imports rise 35% in value in first 8 months

China's auto imports jumped 35 percent in value in the first eight months from the same period last year, while exports surged 28 percent, according to the latest figure released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Monday.

The combined value in imports and exports rose 31 percent in the same period. The exact values and the sales volume in the imports and exports were not immediately available.

Germany surpassed Japan as the biggest motor vehicle supplier, contributing 33 percent of the total sales value. Japan took up 32percent.

Foreign-funded companies accounted for 37 percent of the country's total imports value, while joint-ventures imported 31 percent. That was followed by the state-owned enterprises with 20 percent share.

Beijing imported one third of the vehicles followed by Jilin with 18 percent. Guangdong took up 14 percent of the total imports value.

The CAAM data showed 19 percent of China's auto exports went to United States, while 10 and 7 percent were imported by Japan and Russia respectively.

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Tibet sets up investment company to promote growth, development

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region established its first investment company on Wednesday to promote economic development.

Tibet Autonomous Region Investment Co., Ltd. was funded by the regional finance department with a registered capital of 600 million yuan (87.6 million U.S. dollars).

The company will be a platform for capital financing, attraction of expertise and industry investment, said board chairman Wang Yunjin. Its business includes securities, funds, banking, real estate, transport, tourism and the high-tech sector.

Investment has played a key role in driving the growth of the region, which is still underdeveloped compared with the central and eastern coastal region.

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Illinois Department of Agriculture Hosting Two Reverse Trade Missions

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has organized two reverse trade missions that will bring 70 foreign buyers to the state to shop for agricultural products.

The first trade mission, which begins Wednesday, Oct. 1, will take buyers on a three-day tour of the state's dairy industry. Stops include a dairy farm and a feed supplier in Quincy and a manufacturer of milking equipment in Naperville.

The second trade mission is scheduled Oct. 6 - 9 and will demonstrate Illinois' vast grain production and distribution capabilities. Potential foreign customers will visit the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville, grain farms in Auburn and Champaign and a firm in Assumption that produces grain storage products.

"Our goal is to turn one-time visitors into long-term customers and increase agricultural exports," Acting Agriculture Director Tom Jennings said. "Agriculture is Illinois' top industry and much of its success is owed to foreign trade."

With sales of $3.8 billion, Illinois ranks as the fourth-leading agricultural exporter in the United States. Those sales comprise more than 40 percent of the industry's annual cash receipts.

"I like to think our Bureau of Marketing and Promotion has helped sustain Illinois' status as a world supplier of food and agricultural products," Jennings added. "Department-sponsored marketing activities such as these dairy and grain tours have generated $320 million in actual and projected sales for Illinois agribusinesses and food companies the past six years alone."

Each trade mission will have approximately 35 participants, primarily from Mexico and Columbia. Participants were recruited through the department's Latin American trade office in Mexico City.

Both tours will conclude with a trip to the Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange. The itineraries follow:

Illinois Dairy Tour

Wednesday, Oct. 1
10:00 a.m. Silver Creek Farms, Quincy
1:15 p.m. ADM Alliance Nutrition, Quincy

Thursday, Oct. 2
8:00 a.m. University of Illinois Dairy Farm, Champaign-Urbana
2:15 p.m. Westfalia-Surge, Inc., Naperville

Friday, Oct. 3
9:30 a.m. Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange, Chicago

Saturday, Oct. 4
Depart for World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

Illinois Grain Tour

Monday, Oct. 6
8:45 a.m. National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, Edwardsville
12:30 p.m. Tim Seifert Farm, Auburn

Tuesday, Oct. 7
8:30 a.m. GSI, Assumption
2:30 p.m. Terry Wolf Farm, Champaign

Wednesday, Oct. 8
10:30 a.m. Marquis Ethanol, Hennepin

Thursday, Oct. 9
9:30 a.m. Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange, Chicago

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China Speaker Bureau

Are you looking for a speaker for your organization or business event? Mr. Brian Su can travel to your site and produce a customized presentation for your organization. Please contact us for details.

For international bookings, please contact Mr. Su's worldwide agent: The London Speaker Bureau Hong Kong - the largest speaker bureau in Europe and Asia.

"I would highly recommend Brian for any type of consulting that requires intimate knowledge of Chinese markets, customs and business practices. I hired Brian to brief our board of directors on how to do business with the Chinese. We often host Chinese guests who arrive as part of trade teams. We also occasionally send representatives to China to evaluate our research and investment pursuits we have there. Brian gave a very detailed and worthwhile presentation in a way that held everyone's attention. Brian is a very knowledgeable businessman who quickly gains the respect and confidence of others."

- Mark Albertson, Director of Marketing and Special Projects
Illinois Soybean Association

"It was a great pleasure meeting you at the ASBDC National Conference in Chicago. Thank you for the great knowledge transfer to us with your presentation. Please keep in touch!"

- Javier Martinez, Int'l Trade Advisor, The University of Texas Pan American

Brian Su has extensive experience in international trade, business development, marketing management, and strategic planning. Prior to founding Artisan Business Group, Mr. Su served Illinois governor Jim Edgar and assisted him in his successful trade mission to China in 1996 and helped him host a numbers of Chinese government and trade delegations. Before coming to the U.S. in 1989, Mr. Su worked as a marketing manager for China Non-Ferrous Metals Import and Export Corporation. He has a MPA degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in the U.S., and a Bachelor degree in English from Guizhou University in China. He is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and English. His extensive network of Chinese government and business connections, together with the amalgam of his Chinese background, U.S. education and multinational work experience, leave him well placed to bridge the business knowledge gap between the two cultures. Mr. Su is able to give his clients a unique inside view of what is happening in China found nowhere else. Mr. Su is also a public speaker, speaking on a wide range of China/Asia-related business development, market strategies and culture topics.

Expertise and Topics:

• International Trade and Business Development

• Global Market Entry and Growth Strategies

• Small Business and Global Economy

• Cross Cultural Communication

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International Credit and Forign Exchange Risk Management Seminar

The Illinois SBDC International Trade Center at SIUE and Commerce Bank are pleased to present the following program:

"International Credit and Foreign Exchange Risk Management: International Methods of Payment and Letters of Credit"
Tuesday, October 28, 2008. 8:30am - 1:00pm
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Morris University Center-Maple/Dogwood Rooms

This seminar will address the challenges of being paid for international transactions and will present key approaches to eliminate foreign exchange risk and optimize your competitiveness.
The following topics will be covered:

Credit Risk Management

• International Payment System
• Letters of Credit
• "Time Drafts" versus "At Sight Drafts"
• Documentary Collections

Foreign Exchange Risk Management

• Where Rates Come From
• Pricing Products in a Foreign Currency
• Eliminating Foreign Exchange Risk

Fee: $95 (by October 17) / $105 (after October 17). Includes continental breakfast, lunch, parking and handouts.

Speakers: Paul Toskin and Scott Petruska, Commerce Bank.

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China launches investigation on ending of PVC anti-dumping measures

The Ministry of Commerce of PR China announced Monday that it had launched an investigation on the ending of anti-dumping measures on imported polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as of Sept. 29.

The ministry said the investigation has been requested by China's PVC industry, the investigating targets are imported PVC products originated from the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia and Taiwan.

According to stipulations in China's anti-dumping ordinance, the ministry will investigate whether the ending of anti-dumping measures will lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping and impair domestic PVC industry, so to decide to either maintain or call off the anti-dumping measures.

China launched anti-dumping measures on PVC imported from the above-mentioned places in 2003. Contact us at http://www.midwestUSAChina.com

Taiwan Direct Marketing (Oct, Nov, Dec. 2008)

Taiwan Direct Marketing (Oct, Nov, Dec)
10/1/2008 to 12/31/2008

The Hawaii and Oregon Departments of Agriculture, in cooperation with WUSATA, will be coordinating participation in a "Seasonal and New Years Promotion November and December 2008" AND " Products Showcase October 2008". This activity is an opportunity to introduce new product information to the Taiwan Direct Marketers for their consideration of promoting your product in the forthcoming year end holiday season. Once selected for evaluation, your products will be shipped [at WUSATA cost] to Taiwan for Direct Marketers for sampling. Products for promotion will be ordered by Direct Marketers. Remaining sample products will be presented in a Products Showcase to a range of Taiwan buyers. *See above "download" for additional information.

Contact us at http://www.midwestUSAChina.com for details.

Chinese premier urges exporters to develop their own brands

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on domestic exporters to develop their own brands and intellectual property rights and improve product quality.

In a brief meeting with the entrepreneurs attending the 2008 Summer Davos, also known as the Annual Meeting of New Champions, Wen acknowledged that China's exports have been growing very quickly, but they do lack brands and their own IPRs in particular.

"The competition in the current world is actually decided by intellectual property rights," he told the entrepreneurs shortly before addressing the opening ceremony of the economic forum organized by the prestigious World Economic Forum.

Wen said he believed the intelligent Chinese people would finally be able to build their own brand names for exports, if provided with right policies and a liberal and equal environment.

But the premier also warned that "it is going to be a tough process."

Wen also exchanged views on China's macro-economic policies and food safety as well as the current financial crisis with the entrepreneurs.

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