China expected to complete first sea launch for commercial payloads in 2018

China is expected to complete its first sea launch for commercial payloads in 2018, said Yang Baohua, vice general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC). Yang made the remarks at an annual academic conference on space science held from November 1 to 2 in Beijing. The service will also be provided in other regions in addition to its four major sites in Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang, and Wenchang, Yang noted. At the conference, Yang introduced the company’s experience, competence, and advantages, as well as its on-going commercial aerospace programs, and also evaluated the prospects of the commercial space industry. “CASTC is dedicated to offering various commercial launching solutions to meet the market demands of low cost and fast preparation,” Yang said. Key technological tests will be conducted for the sea launch of the Long-march rocket family this year, according to Tang Yagang, deputy director of carrier rocket development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The commercial service is expected to be available for international users in 2018. By then, the Long-march rockets will be able to send 500-kilogram satellites to an altitude of 500 kilometers above Earth, at an inclination of 0-10 degrees. In recent years, with the growing demand for launching near-equatorial and low-inclination satellites from countries near the equator, sea launch service has become an area of fierce competition among space powers.

Foreign investment law enactment progresses

The enactment of China's new foreign investment law is progressing well, as the draft has been submitted for further discussion by the central government, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday. The move illustrated the country's desire to accelerate the modernization of its market access system, as well as strengthen the use of fair and transparent market principles. Gao Feng, spokesman for the ministry, said the law is expected to serve as a basic guideline for the reform of regulations on foreign direct investment. "The government will protect the legitimate rights of foreign investors and foster a stable, transparent and law-based business environment," Gao said at a regular news conference in Beijing. The ministry will collaborate with the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council to speed up the lawmaking pace in the next stage, he added. For the past several years, China has been ramping up efforts to expand investment access and unify laws and regulations while applying stable, transparent and predictable policies to foreign investment. The government has already introduced a negative-list approach in 11 pilot free trade zones to simplify the process for foreign investors in setting up their business presence in China. The negative list specifies investment sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors and opens industries not on the list, providing equal treating to overseas and Chinese companies. Gao said the ministry will replicate nationwide the negative-list approach used in its free trade zones. The negative list covers 15 sectors such as mining, leasing and financing. Among the sectors, 40 categories and 95 special management measures are included. Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the move provides a consistent national treatment for market entrance and reflects a major step forward in liberalizing the Chinese market for overseas investors. Researchers at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report that the adoption of a negative list in the market access system apparently makes it easy for companies to invest in businesses that are neither prohibited nor have limited access. "The approach also strengthens post-investment supervision and enables sharing and publication of information.... Not only those businesses in FTZs will be affected, companies from outside of FTZs will sooner or later be affected," said the report. In the first nine months, China's FDI inflows grew by 1.6 percent year-on-year, compared with a 0.2 percent drop between January and August, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Zhang Jianping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said while there were concerns about withdrawal of foreign investment in the past, the FDI structure has improved. "The FDI inflow is still growing, which can offset the outflows."

Shanghai FTZ to provide more convenient services for foreign companies

Shanghai Free Trade Zone has recently worked out a cooperation memorandum to provide more convenient services for foreign companies. The memorandum involves Foreign Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Shanghai Free Trade Zone Administration. With relevant documents ready, foreigners in the zone can now enjoy the one-stop service for foreign company registration, two-to-five years application of foreigner’ residence permit, identification of foreigners of Chinese origin, green channel of healthcare service and permanent residence permit for high-level management professionals. In line with the direction of the State Council and Shanghai Municipal Government, the FTZ will provide better service and policies to companies in the zone and attract more international talents to work in Shanghai.

International business alliance set up to support Digital Silk Road

A Belt and Road Digital Economy Strategic Alliance on Thursday announced its establishment in Ji’nan, eastern China’s Shandong province, aiming to integrate world-class IT resources for the Digital Silk Road. The alliance was initiated by Shandong-based e-information technology company Inspur and co-founded by international big names including Cisco, IBM, Diebold Nixdorf, and Ericsson. The founders vowed to integrate their cutting-edge IT products, technologies, and solutions to accelerate the construction of the Digital Silk Road. Three Chinese national financial institutions are also members of the alliance, the Export-Import Bank of China, China Development Bank, and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation. It is reportedly the first platform set up by global technology giants to serve the Belt and Road Initiative. “Inspur hopes to partner with top technology companies in the world and China’s national financial institutions, help countries along the Belt and Road to solve their insufficient funding and technical problems in informatization construction, and bring the benefits of digital economy development to people there,” Peter Sun, Chairman and CEO of Inspur Group, said at the alliance launching ceremony. Countries along the Belt and Road will be able enjoy services provided by the alliance, including new datacenters, cloud services, smart finance, smart home, smart taxation, smart cities, and other total technology solutions. Projects will first be launched in South Asian and African countries, such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Kenya. More companies with top informatization products and technologies from across the globe will be gradually invited to join the alliance together with more financial institutions.

The efficient site selection service has been become the “special business card” for Tanikawa

Recently, with the unremitting promotion by the Tanikawa, the new investment project of the Le Rui Ke Venture Capital Development Group has been started official operation in the Xiqing district, Tianjin. The project is located at Saida international Industrial City in Xiqing Development Zone, with a building area of about 4,100 square meters. The registered company is Tecom Biotech (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., which is mainly engaged in research and development and production of functional staple food and nutrition powder. The Le Rui Ke Venture Capital Development Group is founded in 2010, focused on investing to health, science and technology and culture industry. The headquarters of Le Rui Ke is located in Beijing, and plans to set up R & D and production base in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Due to the high requirements of the factory conditions, they have visited more than one field, but unsuccessfully, site selection was suspended. But Tanikawa did not stop the pace of site selection for the enterprise, and managed a number of experienced site selection consultants in Tianjin, Shandong, Hubei and other places to do in-depth research. With years of rich experience, Tanikawa locked Xiqing Economic Development Zone in short time. In the development zone, the biopharmaceutical industry has a high agglomeration degree, and it has unparalleled advantages in terms of policies, facilities and services. Finally, with the cooperation between Tanikawa and Xiqing Development Zone, the enterprise has successfully started their operation. It is understood that the reason why the Le Rui ke chose Tanikawa is the the “special business card”in the field of site service. Tanikawa will continue to help enterprises to solve their problems on site selection, so that can help enterprises in further development.

China’s first comprehensive climatic lab expected to be put into use in 2018

China’s first comprehensive climatic laboratory is expected to be put into use in 2018, according to a forum on aircraft-technology development held in Shanghai on Nov. 4 By then, aircraft climatic testing will no longer be limited to airports with particular environments, and most of the tests can be performed at the lab. The C919, China’s first domestically developed large passenger jet, will be tested in the climatic laboratory. China’s Aviation Industry Aircraft Strength Research Institute (AIASRI) prepared for the lab three years ago. Located in Xi’an, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, it has a gross area of 13,000 square meters. The lab is able to simulate various extreme weather conditions through refrigeration, heating, air conditioning, and controlling technologies, offering testing environments for any season, location, or time. “The aircraft will be tested in a number of weather conditions,” said Yang Hai, a senior research fellow with AIASRI. For instance, the aircraft will be placed in the lab for 48 hours where the temperature will be lowered to minus 50 degrees Celsius to see whether it can still function, he added. Many aircraft are currently waiting to undergo testing in the lab, including the C919, he said. In addition, fatigue testing of the C919 will be finished two years after its maiden flight.