Subject: CHINA IMP/EXP NEWS (CN940406)

From: [email-masked] (wangc)
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 00:18:38 CDT

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  #           A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE CHINA-LINK CLUB             #
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                    April 06, 1994 (CN940406)

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NOTES: ALL THE NEWS ITEMS ARE DIGESTED FROM DIFFERENT NEWSWIRES. THE NEWS
CAN ONLY BE CITED FOR NON-COMERCIAL AND FOR OUR CLUB MEMBER REFERNCES ONLY.
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                  NO BUSINESS SECTION FOR THIS WEEK

CONTENTS                                                             LINES
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A): YOUR HELP IS VITAL TO CHINA LINK CLUB........................15 lines
B): CHINA TRADE NEWS DIGEST......................................84 lines
C): RECENT MAJOR US - CHINA TRADE POLICE CHANGES................267 lines
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A): YOUR HELP IS VITAL TO CHINA LINK CLUB........................15 lines

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B): CHINA TRADE NEWS DIGEST....................................84 lines
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INDICATIONS CHINA, IRAN BUY LARGE AMOUNTS OF S. AMERICAN SOYOIL DATE:
April 06, 1994  13:51 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 159 Knight-Ridder (By Ros
Krasny, Knight-Ridder Financial News)

  Chicago--Apr 6--There are strong indications China bought between
40,000 and 50,000 tonnes of Brazilian soyoil this week and continues to
show interest in the market, US exporters and cash traders said.

  USDA currently estimates China will import 385,000 tonnes of soyoil
in 1993-94, its highest level since 1990-91. Iran is expected to import
430,000 tonnes of soyoil.

  China has not touched its 80,000-tonne offer of US vegetable oil
under the Export Enhancement Program for fiscal 1994.  End

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US GROUP SAYS CHINA GRAIN BUYERS TO VISIT US NEXT WEEK DATE: April 06,
1994  13:19 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 190

    For the past several months, USDA has forecast that China will
import 6 million tonnes of wheat in 1993-94 (Jly-Jun), down from 6.7
million in 1992-93 and 15.85 million in 1991-92.

  In addition, trade data show that Australia's wheat shipments to
China in 1993-94 totaled 976,000 tonnes through end-March and Canada's
shipments totaled 569,000 through end-February, the second USDA
official said.

  Those figures suggest China still has a fair amount of wheat left to
import if USDA's forecast is correct, he said.

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S. KOREA BUYS 2,500 TONNES OF CHINA SOYBEANS AT 316 US DLRS/TN DATE:
April 04, 1994  05:50 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 141 Knight-Ridder

  Seoul--Apr 4--South Korea's Agriculture and Fisheries Marketing Corp.
bought 2,500 tonnes of Chinese food grade soybeans at 316.00 US dlrs
per tonne c and f, traders said.

  The official South Korean soybean purchasing agency tendered for a
total of 10,000 tonnes of beans today, but received offers on only
5,000 tonnes. The marketing office passed on an offer of 328.00 dlrs
per tonne for 2,500 tonnes for delivery May 15, also from Shin Chang.

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USDA SAYS CHINA BUYS 270,900 NET BALES US COTTON IN LATEST WEEK DATE:
March 31, 1994  15:35 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 122 Knight-Ridder (By Doug
Palmer, Knight-Ridder Financial News)

  Washington--Mar 31--China made net new purchases of 270,900 bales of
US upland cotton in the week that ended Mar 24, USDA said today,

In its weekly US Export Sales Report today, USDA said the net sales to
China included 240,300 bales in new sales, 30,700 in destination
changes and 100 in foreign purchases and cancellations.

  With the latest purchases, China has committed to import 334,100
bales of cotton in the 1993-94 (Aug-Jly) marketing year, making it an
important market but not a leading destination for US cotton.  End

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Millions of Imported Crayons Tainted By Lead BY: HARRY F. ROSENTHAL
DATELINE: WASHINGTON  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DATE: April  05, 1994  16:45
EDT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said three brands, including one
sold by the chain Toys R Us, present ''a lead poisoning hazard to young
children who might eat or chew on these crayons.''

The three Chinese-import crayons deemed most hazardous are ''12 Jumbo
Crayons,'' distributed by Concord Enterprises of Los Angeles, with 430
cases sold; ''Safe 48 Non-Toxic I'm a Toys R Us Kid!  Crayons,'' with
100,000 packages distributed by that firm in 1990-91 and 2,000 last
year; and ''12 Crayons, glory'' and ''18 Crayons That Paint,''
Distributed by Glory Stationery Manufacturing Co, Ltd., Los Angeles,
but none sold at the retail level.

The commission said it was concerned about the other eight brands
because they add to the overall 'lead load' to children who may eat
them.

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C): RECENT MAJOR US - CHINA TRADE POLICE CHANGES................267 lines
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U.S. Firms Look Eagerly to Russia, China and Eastern Europe BY:
JEANNINE AVERSA DATELINE: WASHINGTON  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0635
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS     DATE: April  05, 1994  07:33 EDT

American companies are eagerly sizing up business opportunities in
China, Russia and Eastern Europe with the lifting of Cold War-era
export controls on computers and telecommunications equipment.

Among the most attractive investment targets are the outdated telephone
networks in China and Russia, executives say.

Tight controls will remain in effect on the export of supercomputers
and other technology with direct military applications.

But given previous export liberalization policies, U.S.  companies can
now sell most telecommunications and computer equipment to China,
Russia and Eastern Europe.

Using a new general license, AT&T and others will be able to
automatically sell and ship equipment.

Telecommunications equipment covered by the new license includes:
state-of-the-art digital switches for public telephone networks; fiber
optics cable and electronic transmission equipment used with the fiber
cables; technology that permits a cellular telephone provider to route
calls from one cell site to another; and network management software
that allows a telephone company to, among other things, detect outages
and reroute calls around breaks.

China alone plans by the end of the decade to add 10 million to 20
million new telephone lines a year and to spend $40 billion on
telecommunications equipment, McGann said.

Greg Garcia, senior manager of international trade affairs for the
American Electronics Association, estimated demand for
telecommunications and computer equipment in Russia and China at $50
billion to $70 billion in new business.

Under the new policy, U.S. companies also will be free to sell
mid-sized and large computer systems, executives said. Export controls
on sales of personal computers and work stations were lifted
previously.

Large financial institutions and transportation companies are just a
few of the businesses that may be interested in mid- and large-size
computer systems, which have a lot of computing capability, said Bob
Rarog, Digital Equipment Corp.'s export policy manager.

In the past, the U.S. government's export approval process has been
time-consuming and fraught with uncertainty. That has caused some
companies to lose business to foreign competitors or to shy away from
these markets, said Garcia of the electronics association.

The new policy will heighten already intense competition among
telecommunications in the United States and abroad for business in
China, Russia and Eastern Europe.

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Countries for Possible Unfair Trading BY: MARTIN CRUTSINGER DATELINE:
WASHINGTON  PRIORITY: Urgent  WORD COUNT: 0817 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATE: March  31, 1994  14:08 EST

In releasing an annual review of foreign trade barriers, the
administration cited 35 countries and four trading blocs for allegedly
erecting barriers to American goods, services and investment.

As expected, the biggest portion of the report, 44 pages, was devoted
to Japan.

China, whose surplus with the United States has shot up sharply in
recent years, came in for 16 pages of criticism, while South Korea
occupied 12 pages.

Under the provisions of Super 301, the market-opening negotiations can
stretch over 18 months. But if they fail to produce results, the
administration can impose punitive tariffs of up to 100 percent on
exports from the offending country, in a sum equal to the amount of
sales being lost by American firms.

At a recent meeting of GATT's governing council, Argentina, Australia,
the 12-nation European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and
Thailand all openly opposed the administration's decision to reinstate
Super 301.

Congressional supporters said this limited list does not cover all of
the achievements of Super 301. They said the Bush administration also
achieved significant market-opening gains from South Korea and Taiwan.
 
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China Says It Will Phase Out Import Quotas by 1997 
DATELINE: BEIJING  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD
COUNT: 0245 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS     DATE: March  30, 1994  00:06 EST

China will phase out import quotas by 1997 in an effort to comply with
international trade standards, a state-run newspaper reported today.

China is seeking membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade, the the world trade body. China's application for GATT
membership has been held up for eight years because of its non-market
economy, but GATT officials said recently that it could be accepted by
the end of the year.

China currently imposes quotas or import license requirements on about
50 products, including 18 electronic and machinery items, the
English-language China Daily quoted an unnamed senior trade official as
saying.

He said the government would phase out import quotas over the next four
years, but did not give any further details.  The official said China
has already pledged to cut the number of products needing import
licenses by two-thirds to ease its entry into GATT. The number of items
under export controls also has been cut, he said, although export
quotas are still imposed on 38 items and nearly one-third of China's
exports require government licenses.

The export controls are mainly on industrial raw materials and are
intended to ensure that domestic needs are met.

China wants to join GATT in time to qualify to be a founding member of
the planned World Trade Organization, which will replace GATT in 1995.

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ADMINISTRATION TO DECONTROL MOST EXPORTS TO EX-USSR, CHINA
DATE: March 31, 1994  19:41 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 465
By Richard Lawrence, The Journal of Commerce Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Business News

    WASHINGTON--Mar. 31--The Clinton administration announced Wednesday
a landmark decision to decontrol exports of virtually all
telecommunications items and significantly more computers to the former
Soviet bloc and China.

  The action, officials indicated, could lead to billions of dollars a
year in additional export sales.

"We're ecstatic," said Christopher Padilla, an American Telephone &
Telegraph Co. executive. "The Clinton administration has hit a home
run."

  The measure, to take effect April 4, allows U.S. firms to export the
decontrolled items without explicit government authorization.

  Computers performing up to 1,000 million theoretical operations a
second, described as "sophisticated" but still well below
state-of-the-art machines, are covered by the new rule. Officials said
that represents about a fourfold  increase  in the capacity of
computers that may be freely shipped to the former Soviet bloc and
China.

  All fiber-optic and switching equipment is covered by the new rule,
signaling that the Defense Department has dropped its objections to
making such advanced telecommunications equipment available to Russia.
Until now, the department had cited national security concerns.

  The only telecommunications items that will continue to require
advance government   authorization   for  export  are  encryption
gear,  digitally controlled radio receivers and certain other radio
gear, officials said.

  But the decontrol, they said, applies only to items bought by
civilian end-users and it does not cover manufacturing or production
equipment.

  Russia's telecommunications needs over the next 10 years are put at
between $75 billion and $100 billion, while China's needs now through
the year 2000 are estimated at $54 billion.

  The administration's decontrol decision was motivated in large part
by the disbanding this week of the Coordinating Committee for
Multilateral Export Controls. The United States and its allies had
through this agency restricted sales to the former Soviet Union and
China. With the end of the Cold War, the United States and others
decided to shut down the agency.

  They are seeking, however, to organize a new agency to continue
controlling   the   export   of   some   conventional   arms   as
well  as weaponry-related nuclear, missile, chemical and biological
shipments, particularly to so- called terrorist states.

  Meanwhile, the United States and its allies are expected to observe
Cocom rules,  but  with  each  country  free  to  pursue  its  own
export control policies.

  The liberalization the administration announced Wednesday will help
U.S.  companies compete in international markets during "the
transition" to a new agreement, officials said.  END!A6?JC-EXPORTS

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CHINA REITERATES PLEDGE TO OPEN MARKETS FURTHER
DATE: March 25, 1994  18:04 E.T.  WORD COUNT: 443
By P.T. Bangsberg, The Journal of Commerce Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Business News

    HONG KONG--Mar. 25--China said Thursday it will open more sectors
to foreign capital to boost overseas investment.

  Jiao Sufen, director of the foreign investment division of the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the
government will permit overseas investors to operate in real estate,
retail, finance, insurance, cargo and transportation agency services
and consultancies.

  Retail business was opened to a handful of overseas investors in the
five special economic zones and some coastal cities last year on a
trial basis.

  They may be "guided" into such priority sectors as machinery,
electronics, heavy chemicals, new materials, automobiles and automation
equipment, she said.

  Jiao again signaled China will halt overseas investment in labor-
intensive,  simple  processing  and  assembly  projects  as  well  as
those involving products that are difficult to export.

  The official called for "keen efforts" to buoy export-oriented
foreign- funded firms, transform aged enterprises, upgrade technology
and equipment and improve quality.

  She said China encourages multinationals to finance development of
infrastructure and high-tech industries. They could invest in a
specific project or get involved by transferring and purchasing state
assets, stocks and securities, Jiao said.

  Since the country opened to the outside world in the late 1970s,
China has approved more than 174,000 foreign-funded ventures with
contractual investment totaling US$221.3 billion and actual funding of
US$60 billion.

  In 1993 alone, the government ratified more than 83,000
foreign-funded enterprises involving US$110.5 billion in pledged
investment, with US$25.8 billion actually used.

  Reckoned by amount of investment, Hong Kong is the biggest overseas
investor in China, followed by Taiwan and the United States.

  Overseas-funded ventures reported strong growth in trade last year.
In the first 11 months, their exports earned a record US$21 billion,
up 43 percent on a year earlier, while imports doubled to US$14.7
billion.

  Last month, a Beijing-controlled newspaper here said the country
would gradually relax limits on foreign investment in large-scale
retailing and finance as part of measures drawn up by the Industry and
Commercial Bureau.

  The Ta Kung Pao newspaper also said procedures will be simplified for
registration and approval of foreign investment in services.
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