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An official from the Ministry of Agriculture refutes recent media reports that its watchdog agency has approved imports of genetically modified (GM) food seeds for large-scale cultivation in China, the People's Daily reported Wednesday.

The ministry has authorized four GM crops' imports -- cotton, soybean, corn and kale -- but only as raw materials for industrial production rather than breeding seeds for cultivation, said the unnamed official with the ministry's GM Safety Management Office.

What may have prompted the rumored green lights on GM seed imports and cultivation is the ministry's recent seed safety certifications on three genetically engineered crops – a corn breed coded "BVLA430101", pesticide-resistant rice "Huahui No.1" and hybrid rice "Bt Shanyou 63".

However, the official clarified that the ministry's nod last August, coming after a marathon trial period of six to 11 years, doesn't constitute a green light on GM seed imports or large-scale cultivation, which would require further authorization, a production license and an operation license. The process of obtaining the latter two also requires a lengthy test.

China, the world's largest consumer and exporter of rice, will need about 630 million tons of rice a year by 2020, when its population is estimated to top 1.6 billion.    ... Read More

Fan Meipeng, a 52-year-old farmer from a poverty-stricken county in central China's Anhui province, never dreamed he could earn over 200,000 yuan ($29,411.76) last year.

Just two years ago, his annual income was around 10,000 yuan, barely enough for his family to scrape through.

"I never thought I could make so much money in my life. I thank the government for helping me shake off poverty," Fan said.

Fan and his fellow villagers used to make a living growing rice in the low-lying areas by the Huai River. But excessive reclamation resulted in floods and damaged the environment.

In a bid to increase farmers' incomes and protect the fragile ecological environment, the local government gave subsidies to those farmers who built sandbanks to protect the farms, as well as installed biogas production units and planted vegetables.

Fan now runs an effective and environment-friendly farm, with 600 pigs, four pig-manure biogas units and several hectares of vegetables.

"My life keeps getting better and better. I hope the central government will continue to come up with new strategies to improve people's livelihood," Fan said.

Fan's example is one of many resulting from China's push to adjust the country's economic development pattern, which currently relies too much on investment and exports.

The global economic crisis has highlighted the urgency to transform China's development pattern to promote sound and fast economic and social development.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said on February 3 that "on the surface, the global financial crisis impacted on the speed of China's economic growth, but in essence it was the economic growth pattern that was worst hit."

Increasing farmers' income is key to boosting domestic consumption to advance the transformation of the growth pattern as China has a rural population of 720 million and farmers' purchasing power remains weak due to relatively low income and lack of a sound social security system.

The central government announced on January 31, 2010 to offer subsidies to farmers to increase output of grain, potato, highland barley and peanuts as well as to buy new agricultural machinery and construction materials.

Southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region earmarked one billion yuan last year to help three million migrant workers find employment again and 83,000 start their own businesses.

To further improve people's livelihood, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to build five million affordable houses and reconstruct two million substandard ones this year.

Sun Ziduo, head of the Institute of Economics under Anhui Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said: "such government moves will not only improve people's well-being, but also boost domestic demand and accelerate transformation of the growth pattern and help maintain social stability."

He also said China should speed up development of the social security net, the fourth driving force of economic growth after investment, exports and domestic consumption.

Wang Kaiyu, a senior researcher with Anhui Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said: "a sound social security system could help decrease 'precautionary savings' and boost domestic consumption."

The nationwide rural basic living guarantee system was completed in 2007, benefiting 42.91 million people as of 2008.    ... Read More

WASHINGTON - Eating meat may be a much more common trigger for anaphylaxis -- a severe and potentially deadly allergic reaction -- than previously thought, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

A study of 60 patients who had unexplained severe allergic reactions suggests that a compound in meat known as alpha-galactose may be the culprit, according to research presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans.

They found immune system proteins called IgE antibodies in 25 out of 60 patients who had unexplained allergic reactions.

"We believe that the presence of IgE antibody to this sugar is wider spread in the human population as a whole than we had initially expected," Dr. Scott Commins of the University of Virginia, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.

"What we're finding is that this traditional notion of allergy to meat being very rare may, in fact, not be true," Commins added.

Alpha-galactose is produced in most mammals but humans and great apes make an antibody to the sugar, Commins said.

"So the problem becomes when people make IgE antibody to this sugar and then they eat meat or dairy products that contain the sugar then they get a delayed reaction," Commins said.

The anaphylaxis may seem to appear out of the blue because the meat or dairy may have been eaten four to six hours earlier, Commins said.

"The typical scenario has been if you don't react to food within two hours, then it's not the food, in this case that doesn't seem to be true, Commins said.

Typically, anaphylaxis occurs within minutes.

Commins and colleagues screened blood samples from 60 patients, testing for the antibody to alpha-galactose. The people in the study -- 22 at the University of Virginia, 20 at the University of Tennessee and 18 at John James Medical Center in Australia, had anaphylaxis and no apparent cause for it, Commins said.

Twenty-five tested positive for alpha-galactose and no other patterns were found that would have otherwise explained the cause of their anaphylaxis, the researchers said.   ... Read More

China's banking regulators may raise large commercial banks' capital adequacy ratio to 11.5 percent from an earlier 11 percent level, people familiar with the matter confirmed.

The 21st Century Business Herald said on Friday that the regulators may ask the country's top five banks to apply the increase.

"The regulators meanwhile requires all the commercial banks to hold more than 75 percent of their capital as core, or Tier 1 capital, which comprises equity and disclosed reserves," sources said.

But they added that the capital adequacy ratio requirement for smaller banks would remain at 10 percent.

The new requirement may trigger a new round of fundraising plans by major Chinese lenders, including the two largest - the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) - analysts pointed out.

By September 2009 the capital adequacy ratio of ICBC and CCB were respectively 12.6 percent and 12.11 percent. ICBC and CCB, both of which possess relatively abundant capital, have not released any financing plans yet.

"The two banks may need to draw up additional financing plans this year with the new ratio requirement," Zhang Qi, analyst with Haitong Securities said.

The risk-weighted assets of China's big four banks are estimated at 19.5 trillion yuan. The 0.5 percentage point rise in the capital adequacy ratio will demand 97.5 billion yuan of net capital, according to Jin Lin, a financial industry analyst with Orient Securities.

If one fifth of the 97.5 billion yuan can be raised via the issuance of bonds, then at least 78 billion yuan are needed through equity financing, the analyst told Xinhua News Agency.

The Bank of China and Bank of Communications have already put forward additional financing plans valued at 82 billion yuan.

Several other major lenders, including China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, announced fundraising plans in the capital market in order to meet the tightening ratio requirement.

But CCB chairman Guo Shuqing said on Friday he had not received any word from the authorities about a capital adequacy ratio increase.

China's banking regulator is urging lenders to replenish their capital after a record 9.6 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) surge in bank lending last year.

Industrial insiders revealed that the banking regulator last week also warned banks to raise their threshold in mortgage lending in order to prevent the emergence of bad loans.

"Lenders are required not to issue mortgage merely based on collateral without ensuring that their primary source of repayment is adequate," the industry insiders said. "It also requires banks to keep a close eye on the value of collateral in mortgage lending."    ... Read More

GENEVA - Governments must do more to protect workers in bars, restaurants and the entertainment sector from harmful smoke, and curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Developing countries are the new frontier for tobacco companies, which often target women and girls, and smoking rates remain high among poor people in affluent countries, it said.

Tobacco kills more than 5 million people a year from cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, including about 600,000 from second-hand smoke, according to the United Nations agency.

"Most alarming of all, tobacco use is actually increasing in many developing countries. If Big Tobacco is in retreat in some parts of the world, it is on the march in others," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, told a meeting to review implementation of a landmark tobacco treaty five years after it came into force.

"As we all know, the tobacco industry is ruthless, devious, rich and powerful," she said.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, under review at the WHO, is the world's first and only public health treaty and has been ratified by 168 countries including China.

It obliges governments to protect their populations from exposure to tobacco smoke and reduce demand through price and tax measures, regulating packaging and labeling of tobacco products and curbing tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

SMOKE-FREE LAWS

But WHO monitoring has revealed huge gaps in implementing the treaty.

"For example, just slightly more than 5 percent of the world's population is protected by national smoke-free laws," Chan said.

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, the United States, and tobacco-producing Zimbabwe are among those that have stayed outside the pact.

Many countries have implemented smoking bans in government buildings and health-care facilities, but have much lower rates in the entertainment and hospitality sectors, a WHO report said.

Tobacco taxes are the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, but only 21 countries have tobacco tax rates greater than 75 percent of the retail price, Chan said.

Fewer than one third of treaty members restrict advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, the WHO says.

Tobacco companies had argued that the treaty threatened the livelihoods of tobacco farmers, advertising revenues, and the survival of restaurants, bars and sporting events, Chan said.

The main threat to fully implementing the treaty remains interference by the tobacco industry, activist groups including Corporate Accountability International said in a statement.

"Big Tobacco promotes its addictive and deadly product to kids with images like Philip Morris's Marlboro Man, by sponsoring rock concerts and sporting events, and by putting tobacco brand names and logos on everything from T-shirts to patio umbrellas," they said.

Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro cigarettes and is the world's largest non-state-owned tobacco firm, declined to comment on Chan's comments, but said it supported regulation and many of the treaty provisions.

"We really hope the process focuses on implementing effective regulations that work, such as measures to reduce youth smoking and illicit trade in tobacco products, to reduce harm caused by smoking," spokesman Ben Russell told Reuters.

A British American Tobacco spokesman voiced dismay at the WHO's unwillingness to talk to the industry.

"The WHO thinks its aims such as encouraging retail display bans and plain packaging will make a difference. There is no evidence to show this - it just drives illicit trade," he said.    ... Read More

Beijing's total imports and exports hit $21.95 billion in January, a year-on-year increase of 83.9 percent, according to Beijing Customs, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

Xinhua reported the foreign trade volume in the capital city rose sharply, rebounding to the level reached before the global financial crisis.

Exports reached $4.53 billion, up 19.9% year-on-year, while imports hit $17.42 billion, increasing 1.1 times from a year earlier.

This makes Beijing the fourth-largest region in China in terms of foreign trade volume, accounting for 10.7% of the total in the country.

Officials from Beijing Customs said the European Union remains the largest trade partner of the capital, whereas mobile phones and crude oil were the largest exports and imports respectively, Xinhua said.

Beijing's total trade volume of 2009 was $214.76 billion, down 20.9% compared with 2008. The exports and imports were $48.36 billion and $166.4 billion respectively in 2009.    ... Read More

An increasing number of provinces in China are richer than some countries, according to a blue paper published Sunday by China's top think tank.

China's Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) published its annual Economic Competitiveness Report of China's Provinces and Regions (2008-2009). For the first time, CASS compares the overall GDP and per capita GDP of Chinese regions with 18 G20 members excluding China and the European Union (EU), said Li Jianping, editor of the blue paper.

Guangdong province, China's economic powerhouse neighboring Hong Kong, led Chinese regions in overall gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008, followed by Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in east China, said the blue paper.

Compared to the 18 G20 nations, Guangdong ranked 16th in terms of overall GDP, surpassing Saudi Arabia, Argentina and South Africa. Shandong and Jiangsu surpassed Argentina and South Africa, and Zhejiang topped South Africa.

In terms of per capita GDP, Shanghai ranked 12th in comparison with the 18 G20 countries, better than Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and India. Tianjin ranked 15th and Beijing 16th.

China is now a big industrialized nation and should try to become an industrialized power in the next step, Huang Qunhui, a researcher with CASS, said Sunday.

G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, the European Union, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.   ... Read More

China's stimulus measures were more akin to a blunderbuss than a sniper's bullet. As economist Stephen Green said, "Everything that could be done was done."

But now, there are increasing signs that the country wants to target its policies more precisely.

Following two hikes in the reserve requirement ratio of commercial banks - the proportion of money they must keep aside as reserves - it is widely believed that a new bout of policy tightening has begun.

The hikes came after the authorities imposed a series of real estate-targeted policies late last year, sending an unequivocal signal that the rapid rise in home prices is intolerable, analysts said. Interest rate hikes could also be in the pipeline if inflation continues to pick up.

However, facing the still uncertain economic recovery across the globe from the financial crisis and its murky export prospects, China is unlikely to overdo its tightening measures. Instead, it would try to nip economic overheating in the bud while ensuring stable economic growth, according to analysts.

"The State Council (the cabinet) seems to be treading a tightrope as it seeks a balance between ensuring stable growth and preventing overheating," said Standard Chartered Bank economists Stephen Green and Li Wei in a recent report.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 8.7 percent year-on-year in 2009, but bottomed out from 6.2 percent in the first quarter and accelerated to hit 10.7 percent in the fourth.

It is expected to rise further in the first quarter of this year, which risks triggering overheating of the economy, some fear.

Proper tightening - although the authorities may not use the term - could be adopted to cool it down, analysts said.

"China is set to implement an exit strategy (to the fiscal stimulus) as its economic growth picks up," said Zhang Xiaojing, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "But it would be done in a very careful manner."

In the real estate sector, for example, the authorities have vowed to curb speculative deals while encouraging more investment in building low-cost affordable housing for low-income earners.

It is estimated that real estate accounted for about a quarter of China's fixed-asset investment last year.

Land sales and related activities constitute the main source of revenue for local governments. If house prices drop dramatically, local governments would suffer from slumping income and could be plunged into an abyss of severe debt.

"If the real estate sector were to be endangered, it would not be a problem for individuals or banks," said Zhang.

"It would be a problem for national finances" because the central government would have to save bankrupt local governments.   ... Read More

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 52 percent in February, down 3.8 percentage points from January 2010, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CELP) said on Monday.

It was the 12th straight month the index was above 50 percent.

The PMI includes a package of indices to measure manufacturing sector performance. A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion, while that below 50 percent indicates contraction.

The figure stood at 56.6 percent in December 2009, the highest since May 2008, according to the CELP.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Center, said the February PMI figure showed uncertainties still existed in China's economic recovery, adding that he was cautiously optimistic about China's export growth prospects.

The PMI reading was based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics, covering purchasing and supply managers in more than 700 firms across China.    ... Read More

Zhejiang province will send four work teams to provinces with a surplus of laborers to recruit migrant employees amid the most severe labor shortage over the past seven years, according to Hangzhou.com.cn.

A survey released Friday by the Zhejiang Provincial Human Resources and the Social Security Bureau shows a great disparity between job vacancies and job applicants after the Spring Festival holiday.

Demand for labor is expected to increase by 20 percent to 30 percent compared to last year due to the strong economic recovery of the province, according to the Zhejiang Employment Management Services.

The four teams accredited by Zhejiang province will cooperate with labor-exporting provinces on interprovincial labor services, and some enterprises will participate in on-site recruiting.    ... Read More