China Daily - 30.07.2019

BUSINESS

14 | Tuesday, July 30, 2019 CHINA DAILY

Venture capital funds

gain traction in China

China has become the second fast-

est growing market after the Unit-

ed States in venture capital

investment thanks to booming

entrepreneurship, an industrial

report showed. The number of reg-

istered venture capital funds

totaled 7,055 by end-May, which

manage about 1.01 trillion yuan

($146.8 billion), according to a

report released by the Asset Man-

agement Association of China. Chi-

na accounted for nearly one fourth

of the world total venture capital

volume in the past three years, the

report showed. The development of

the venture capital market helps

connect money with technology,

lending steam to China’s economic

transformation and upgrading, it

said.

Courier sector sees

healthy momentum

China’s courier sector continue to

grow in the first half of the year,

according to the State Post Bureau

(SPB). The combined revenue of the

sector in domestic market hit 213.

billion yuan ($31.08 billion), up 18.

percent year-on-year, SPB data

showed. A total of 27.13 billion par-

cels were handled during the peri-

od, up 25.8 percent from a year ago,

and June alone saw 5.4 billion par-

cels delivered, according to the SPB.

Cross-border courier services

rebounded fast thanks to the coun-

try’s preferential policies, booming

online retail sales and higher clear-

ance efficiency.

Leading gold producer

posts steady growth

China National Gold Group

(CNGG), the country’s leading gold

producer, posted stable growth in

gold output and sales during the

first half of the year. The company’s

revenues amounted to 47.59 billion

yuan ($7 billion) during the period,

CNGG President Song Xin said. The

company saw its gold output hit

19.5 metric tons in the first half,

while sales reached 12.61 tons. A

number of external factors such as

global economic uncertainties will

lead to rising risk aversion among

investors, causing global gold pri-

ces to continue fluctuating during

the second half, Song said.

Asset custody sector

slows down in 2019

The expansion of China’s asset cus-

tody sector slowed in 2018 after

tightened industrial regulation,

according to an industry guild

report. Asset custody volume

totaled 145.76 trillion yuan ($21.

trillion) by the end of 2018, edging

up 3.01 percent, down by about 13

percentage points compared with

the previous year, a report from the

China Banking Association

showed. The single-digit growth

came after China’s financial regula-

tors rolled out policies last year to

tighten supervision over the sector

to forestall risks. Bank wealth man-

agement services took the lion’s

share of the asset custody market.

The banking sector’s custody reve-

nue reached 52.094 billion yuan

last year, down 4.44 percent from a

year earlier.

France’s jobless rate

falls in second quarter

France recorded lower jobless rate

over the second quarter of the year

from a quarter earlier, data released

by the country’s Labor Ministry

showed. In mainland France, 3.

million people were reported out of

work in the second quarter, down

by 0.4 percent compared to the first

quarter’s figures. On a yearly basis,

the jobless rate fell by 1.9 percent,

according to the ministry’s data.

The falling trend in jobless claims

stemmed mainly from 0.6 percent

decrease in the number of people

aged between 25 and 49 years, and

0.4 percent less of senior job seek-

ers. Meanwhile, unemployed young

numbered 459,100, up by 0.2 per-

cent.

Argentina sees surplus

10 months in a row

Argentina registered a trade sur-

plus in June for the 10th month in a

row, the National Institute of Statis-

tics and Censuses said. The trade

surplus in June amounted to $1.

billion, leading to a combined sur-

plus of $5.589 billion in the first

half of 2019. Compared with the

first half of 2018, Argentina’s

exports increased by 2.4 percent

this year, while its imports fell by a

whopping 27.9 percent due to the

struggling economy.

CHINA DAILY — AGENCIES

What’s news

By REN XIAOJIN

[email protected]

Zhejiang province became a hot

spot for foreign investment in the

first half of 2019 because of steady

upgrades in the business environ-

ment, government officials and

industry experts said.

The department of commerce in

Zhejiang province said the area

has become a popular destination

for foreign investors and the

growth of its foreign direct invest-

ment has outpaced other coastal

provinces in the first six months of

the year.

It said its total FDI reached $6.

billion, up 4.8 percent year-on-year,

1.3 percentage points higher than

the national average. The FDI

accounted for 9.8 percent of the

total FDI nationwide.

“To optimize the business envi-

ronment is to raise our competitive-

ness,” Zhu Congjiu, vice-governor of

Zhejiang, said.

He added the province will look

further for ways to reduce taxes and

costs for companies, optimize the

administrative process and better

comply with the Foreign Investment

Law.

Some 10 companies from the For-

tune 500 have entered in Zhejiang

during the period, bringing in

investment in fields such as high-

tech industries.

Cai Li, an official with the provin-

cial department of commerce, said

the stable level of Zhejiang’s FDI

was hard-earned given the back-

drop of the complicated trade envi-

ronment.

Cai said investment from Europe,

the United States and Japan has

maintained sustainable growth.

Investment from Europe and the US

saw yearly growth of 100.3 percent

and 109.4 respectively during the

first half of the year.

Zhu said foreign companies

have brought not only investment

but also technology into Zhejiang

since the first foreign company

settled in the province in 1980,

contributing a lot to its social-eco-

nomic development. It is one rea-

son why the province has put a lot

of efforts into building a world-

class business environment for

foreign firms.

Companies and experts said

optimizing the business environ-

ment is a key factor behind the

growth of foreign investment in

Zhejiang.

“In the past, if a foreign company

wanted to invest, it needed to go

through many departments to gain

its certificate, which can take

months,” said Zhang Jin, vice-presi-

dent of Mary Kay (China), a US cos-

metic brand that has settled in

Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital.

According to the Foreign Invest-

ment Law, which will come into

effect next year, as long as the field is

not listed in the negative list, the for-

eign companies will be treated the

same way as domestic firms, which

will largely reduce the time and

financial cost to get started in the

province, Zhang said.

Song Shanhong, senior project

manager of Chevron (China) Chem-

icals Co Ltd, said the company has

started to build a new plant in Ning-

bo for lubricants, and it only took 66

days from application to the start of

construction.

Lan Jian, director of the Zhejiang

Academy of Commerce, said the For-

eign Investment Law will have a sig-

nificant impact on many other areas

of Zhejiang’s development.

“Zhejiang needs more high-quali-

ty foreign investment to reach a

higher level of opening up and

industrial upgrading,” he said.

Zhejiang province a

hot spot for foreign

investment in H

Villagers from Liangqiao in Chongqing municipality perform a bamboo pole dance at the

launch ceremony of a new shopping street over the weekend. WANG QUANCHAO / XINHUA

Fancy footwork

The section is sponsored by the Xi’an government.

By SONG MENGXING
[email protected]

Xi’an, an ancient capital in North-
west China, intends to push the
high-quality development of cultur-
al and tourism industries by taking
advantage of its historical resources,
local officials said.
Li Mingyuan, mayor of the city in
Shaanxi province, said: “Xi’an is an
origin of Chinese history and a root
for the country’s cultural legacy. It is
implementing a ‘culture plus and
tourism plus’ strategy to boost the
integrated development of the two
sectors.”
Xi’an is close to the Weihe River in
the north and the Qinling Moun-
tains in the south. It is the starting
point of the ancient Silk Road and a
city that combines traditions and
modernity.
Since around the 11th century BC
when the Western Zhou Dynasty
founded capital Fenghao in today’s
Xi’an, the region has developed as a
city. Thirteen dynasties founded cap-
itals there in more than 1,100 years.
Thus Xi’an is known as one of the
world’s four ancient capitals along-
side Cairo, Athens and Rome.
“Xi’an has held ‘Spring Festival in
Xi’an’ series event and thus owns its
unique intellectual property, which
greatly increased the city’s populari-
ty and cultural influence,” Li said.
The event started on Dec 31 and
ended on March 6. It comprised of
251 activities under 12 themes and
received more than 16.52 million vis-
its. This represents a year-on-year
rise of 30.16 percent. Tourism reve-
nue reached about 14.48 billion yuan
($2.11 billion), a year-on-year
increase of 40.35 percent.
Visits to the Big Wild Goose Pago-
da cultural scenic area and the City
Wall scenic area reached a record
high during the event.
Li said Xi’an will expand cultural
brands and develop more cultural
tourism events.
Last year, Xi’an received 247 mil-
lion domestic and foreign visits, a
year-on-year rise of 36.73 percent.
The tourism revenue was 255.48 bil-
lion yuan, a year-on-year increase of
56.42 percent.
A further 130 large cultural compa-
nies were set up in the city in 2018,
making it home to 486 such compa-
nies. Eight museums were founded
last year in Xi’an. The city is now

home to 134 museums and became a

permanent site of the World Culture

and Tourism Forum last year.

According to China’s third archae-

ological survey that ended in 2011, the

number of registered immovable cul-

tural relics in Xi’an was 3,246. There

were 52 nationally important histori-

cal and cultural sites under protec-

tion in the city.

There are two world heritage in

Xi’an, one of which is the Terracotta

Warriors. It is also home to four

national archaeology site parks and

five provincial cultural site parks.

The city will mainly develop more

than 10 industries, such as conferen-

ces, exhibitions and film and televi-

sion. It will also carry out eight

important cultural tourism projects.

Xi’an launched an international

museum alliance related to the Silk

Road in 2016.

In recent years it organized cultur-

al events by relying on national plat-

forms such as the Silk Road

International Arts Festival. It has

hosted many important events such

as the Silk Road International Film

Festival, the Xi’an Silk Road Interna-

tional Tourism Expo, the World Cul-

ture and Tourism Forum and

international marathons.

The events expanded fields and

channels for international people-to-

people exchanges and increased

Xi’an’s cultural influence, local offi-

cials said.

The city recently built 842 book-

stores and organized activities to

evaluate the most popular and beau-

tiful bookstores.

Xi’an won a title of “China’s capital

of bookstores in 2018” at a conference

held by The Books and Periodicals

Distribution Association of China in

Beijing on Jan 8.

To improve the tourism environ-

ment, local authorities in Xi’an set up

267 public toilets and 111 unisex toi-

lets.

It promoted the development of 14

culturally creative and tourism villa-

ges by providing financial support

and policy stimulus.

Xi’an used cultural tourism prod-

ucts to promote the sector’s develop-

ment and enhanced cooperation

with noted companies such as Wanda

Group.

Large entertainment projects have

become representatives for cultural

and tourism integrated development

in the city.

Xi’an also helped the construction

of some scenic areas such as the Lin-

tong and the Louguan resort areas.

It also focused on projects such as

the Qinling National Botanical Gar-

den.

The city wants to make abundant

cultural resources the internal power

driving its development.

While building itself into a city of

museums, Xi’an explored and inte-

grated different historical and cultur-

al resources.

By cooperating with companies

such as Tencent, Xi’an used digital

media to help audiences further

understand cultural relics, collec-

tions, museums and cultural heri-

tage.

Last year, the city more than 81 mil-

lion yuan to support cultural sectors

to benefit local people.

It supported districts, counties and

development zones to build 115 rural

cultural halls. Folk culture events

have been widely held and more than

20 artistic performances and cultural

activities hosted.

It also worked with short video app

Douyin and online travel agency

Ctrip to publicize its cultural tourism

resources and organized a cultural

delegation to attend an international

dragon boat festival in the United

States.

Xi’an became a cultural capital of

East Asia for 2019 in August 2018.

The evaluation event, which started

in 2013, is important in the cultural

field of the China-Japan-Republic of

Korea leaders’ meeting mechanism.

The city’s brand activities, such as

the Shaanxi Xi’an International

Music Festival and the Xi’an Interna-

tional Theater Festival, are becoming

more influential, local officials said.

Xi’an is an origin of

Chinese history and a

root for the country’s

cultural legacy. It is

implementing a

‘culture plus and

tourism plus’ strategy

to boost the

integrated

development of the

two sectors.”

Li Mingyuan, mayor of Xi’an

As one of the world’s four ancient capitals, Xi’an, is aiming to boost

the cultural and tourism industries.PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

City looks to its past to drive its future

and takes advantage of cultural assets