Beijing expects to subsidise shipping companies to escape downturn CHINA's vice minister of transportation, He Jianzhong said Beijing will increase support to the troubled shipping industry and help carriers escape recession as soon as possible.
Mr He said a combination of factors in the global economic environment, and within the shipping industry itself, had made it difficult for carriers to shake off recession in the short-term.
He said Beijing is looking to help the industry out in five respects. The first is to offer subsidies to carriers to encourage retirement of old ships to reduce capacity and enhance safety.
The second is to encourage carriers to sign long-term contract with shippers from higher and lower ends of the supply chain to realise a win-win situation.
The third is to strengthen interference into the market to prevent malicious competition and control of capacity.
The fourth is to encourage carriers to go green and reduce fuel consumption to cut cost. The fifth is to clean up administrative charges.
Mr He also noted that besides support from the government, a company still needed to work out a reasonable long-term strategy and a restructuring of assets for itself to shake off recession, Xinhua reports.
WTO rejection of Canada's solar plea to influence future trade rulings.THE World Trade Organisation's rejection of a Canadian appeal defending Canadian content in solar panel production is expected to influence rulings in China's disputes with the EU, Reuters reports.
At issue is the WTO constitutional rule that states that imports "shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like products of national origin".
The Province of Ontario case is about protection offered to domestic producers under the Green Energy Act that provides Canadian developers financial support denied to foreigners because they cannot meet local content rules.
Those minimum domestic content requirements were 50 per cent for wind projects and 60 per cent for solar, as published in an Ontario Power Authority "programme overview".
The WTO rejection of preferential support for domestic solar panel makers brings fresh guidance to other disputes involving efforts to foster domestic industry, said the Reuters report.
The Canadian case involved domestic content requirements, blocking foreign participation in programmes aimed at supporting local manufacturers.
The ruling does not address the question of dumping, that is selling at a loss to gain market share. But Chinese producers say they are not producing below costs as they pay less for workers and produce on a large scale that their unit costs are low too.
Mr He said a combination of factors in the global economic environment, and within the shipping industry itself, had made it difficult for carriers to shake off recession in the short-term.
He said Beijing is looking to help the industry out in five respects. The first is to offer subsidies to carriers to encourage retirement of old ships to reduce capacity and enhance safety.
The second is to encourage carriers to sign long-term contract with shippers from higher and lower ends of the supply chain to realise a win-win situation.
The third is to strengthen interference into the market to prevent malicious competition and control of capacity.
The fourth is to encourage carriers to go green and reduce fuel consumption to cut cost. The fifth is to clean up administrative charges.
Mr He also noted that besides support from the government, a company still needed to work out a reasonable long-term strategy and a restructuring of assets for itself to shake off recession, Xinhua reports.
WTO rejection of Canada's solar plea to influence future trade rulings.THE World Trade Organisation's rejection of a Canadian appeal defending Canadian content in solar panel production is expected to influence rulings in China's disputes with the EU, Reuters reports.
At issue is the WTO constitutional rule that states that imports "shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like products of national origin".
The Province of Ontario case is about protection offered to domestic producers under the Green Energy Act that provides Canadian developers financial support denied to foreigners because they cannot meet local content rules.
Those minimum domestic content requirements were 50 per cent for wind projects and 60 per cent for solar, as published in an Ontario Power Authority "programme overview".
The WTO rejection of preferential support for domestic solar panel makers brings fresh guidance to other disputes involving efforts to foster domestic industry, said the Reuters report.
The Canadian case involved domestic content requirements, blocking foreign participation in programmes aimed at supporting local manufacturers.
The ruling does not address the question of dumping, that is selling at a loss to gain market share. But Chinese producers say they are not producing below costs as they pay less for workers and produce on a large scale that their unit costs are low too.