Shanghai’s business investment in San Francisco anticipates growth

As sister cities for the past 30 years, Shanghai and San Francisco are helping each other grow in a number of industries. San Francisco is quintessentially known as a “green” city, so the green technology industry is expected to develop. In addition, thebiotech, medical sciences and IT fields are also expected to grow within the next years.

Architecture firm Heller Manus is one  example of a San Francisco company doing well in China . In 2006 they won a competition to design  the Eastern Harbor International office tower in  Shanghai. They were able to establish credibility in China mainly through this sister cities program.

As this project nears completion, the firm has been awarded LEED Gold precertification – a rare achievement for high-rises in the city. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a widely used standard for green buildings in the US and internationally.

When first established,  the relationship had Shanghai looking to San Francisco for investment. But now San Francisco is increasingly looking to China for investment. Government agencies such as ChinaSF have been established to this end.

China to keep RMB stable

China responded to US President Barack Obama’s suggestion that the country should consider a “market oriented exchange rate” by maintaining that the RMB will remain stable.

With the current squabble over the exchange rate between US and China , the Chinese government believes that the RMB is not to blame for the recent US-China trade surplus and refuses to involve politics, adding that doing so will affect the global financial crisis. China currently attracts a steady amount of foreign investors, despite a few uncertainties this year. The Chinese government is taking measures to ensure that foreign companies are treated equally in Chin. Foreign direct investment in China increased for the seventh straight month in February, up 1.08 percent annually to US$5.89 billion.

To read more, click here

China to lead the world in high speed rail line length by 2012

According to China’s Ministry of Railways, passenger and inter-city high-speed rail will reach 13,000 kilometers by 2012 and 16,000 kilometers by 2020. By 2012 alone, the country is expected to surpass Japan and Germany in the number of high speed rail operation

More than  $131.84 billion will be invested within the next 2 years for this.

This would definitely mean smoother traffic especially during peak holiday seasons when millions of Chinese flock back to their respective hometowns.

So far, 122.4 billion yuan ($17.93 billion) has been invested in the project since last year, accounting for 56.2 percent of the total investment.

To read more, go to this article on Shanghai Daily