China builds 2nd railway to Central Asia

URUMQI, Dec. 28 -- A railway tunnel running across northern Tianshan Mount Range was completed Sunday after four years' efforts.

This 13.6-km-long tunnel, which links up Jinghe, Yining and Korgas, all in western Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region, constitutes a vital part of a railway that is designed as a second railway to connect China and Central Asia.

China's first railway to Central Asia runs from Urumqi to Alataw Pass on China-Kazakhstan border.

The railway with the tunnel just completed has a length of 285 km. Rail-laying work in the tunnel will start next March, according to the No. 2 company of China Railway First Group Co.,Ltd, the builder.

(Xinhua)

Beijing Opens Biggest Airport Terminal Ahead of Games

Feb. 29 -- Beijing Capital International Airport Co.'s third terminal, bigger than all five terminals at London's Heathrow, opens today, helping the city expand its air-passenger capacity as it prepares for the summer Olympics.

The terminal, designed to evoke Chinese icons such as the flying dragon and the imperial capital's Forbidden City, is the world's biggest building, housing 1.3 million square meters (14 million square feet) of floor space, according to a release from the designer, London-based architecture firm Foster & Partners.

The Chinese government has hired architects from Europe and Australia to design marquee projects to present an international image in the lead-up to this summer's Games. The terminal, like most of the Olympic venues, was completed ahead of schedule.

``Remarkably, it was commissioned and completed in a little over four years, less than the time it took to organize and conduct the public inquiry for Terminal 5 at Heathrow,'' Norman Foster, one of the architects, said in a statement.

The terminal cost 27 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) to complete, more than double what the city spent to build and refurbish sporting venues for the games.

Beijing is investing more than $67 billion on infrastructure projects including roads, subways, sports stadiums and the new terminal ahead of the country's first Olympics. The games will be held Aug. 8 to 24.

City Image

Its 360,000 square meters of gold roof are intended to echo the imperial color used to top the buildings of Beijing's 600- year-old Forbidden City complex. Inside, skylights set into the ceiling allow natural light to illuminate and heat the interior.

Measuring 2.95 kilometers (1.83 miles) from end to end, the terminal will double aircraft stands and will enable the entire airport to handle 76 million passengers a year by 2015, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The facility will host 26 airlines, according to Beijing Capital International. The first six including Sichuan Airlines and Qantas Airways Ltd. will start using it immediately, while the rest begin on March 26.

The first passengers of the day, from a Shandong Airlines flight from Ji'nan, 200 miles south of Beijing, disembarked at 8:50 a.m., the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

``The new terminal will help change people's view on Beijing airport, known for congestion and flight delays,'' said Roslyn Ji, an analyst at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``The capital's airport really needs more space.''

Extra Visitors

Beijing is expected to host an additional 1.5 million visitors during the Olympic Games. A third runway opened in October 2007.

The third terminal and runway will triple the annual landings and takeoffs to 600,000 aircraft, according to the airport operator. A metro line connecting the airport with downtown Beijing will open before the Olympics, the General Administration of Civil Aviation said in a statement today.

Construction took three years and nine months and used 50,000 workers, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Nine villages and 10,000 people were displaced in the process, it also said.

The terminal will adopt an automated people mover system which connects buildings for the first time in mainland China, according to General Administration of Civil Aviation. With four- kilometer-long rails, the system is able to transport 8,200 passengers per hour.

(Bloomberg)

China auto sales hit record 8.79 mln in 2007

BEIJING- Auto sales in China jumped 21.84 percent to 8.79 million units in 2007 , which keeps China the the world's second largest car market after the United States.

Dong Yang, vice chairman of the automobile association, told Xinhua that China had 57 million motor vehicles by the end of last year and vehicle ownership in China is 44 for every 1,000 people, while the number of the United States is 750. (Xinhua)

GM
sales: 1.03 million

SHANGHAI - General Motors Corp. said that strong demand helped push its 2007 sales in China to 1.03 million vehicles, up 19 percent from the previous year.

Shanghai General Motors Corp., GM's joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., sold 479,427 vehicles last year, up 17 percent from a year earlier, the company said.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., the company's mini-vehicle joint venture in China with SAIC and Wuling Automobile Co., saw sales climb 20 percent to 548,945 units.

"Despite growing competition across the board, demand remained robust for our established products such as the Buick Excelle and LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Lova," Kevin Wale, GM's China Group president, said in a written statement.

GM said Buick remains its most popular brand in China, with domestic sales of 332,115 units in 2007.

Sales of Chevrolets rose 21 percent to 172,182 units. Cadillac sales soared 148 percent to 7,022 units, GM said.

GM's China sales in 2006 totaled 876,747 units, up 32 percent from a year earlier. (The Associated Press)

Volkswagen

sales:910,491

BEIJING - Volkswagen AG held its lead in passenger-car sales in China last year with 28% growth, it's car sales rose to 910,491 units in China last year, exceeding its target of 900,000.

Volkswagen has two car-making joint ventures in China: one with state-owned China FAW Group, called FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co., and another with Shanghai Automotive, called Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co.

This year the company said it wants to grow with the market and expects sales to increase 15% to 20%, aiming to sell more than a million cars in China this year.

Volkswagen is set to add five new models this year and to reduce the production cost in China as it centralizes purchasing and gets more items locally. (The Wall Street Journal)

Toyota
sales: 499,000

SHANGHAI - Toyota Motor Corp's it sold 62 percent more vehicles in China in 2007, helped by brisk demand for its Camry sedans.

Toyota sold 499,000 vehicles in the country last year, beating its target of 480,000 units, a company spokeswoman told Reuters.

Sales of Camry, the best-selling car in the United States in eight out of the past nine years, alone came to 166,000 units, she said.(Reuters)

Hyundai
sales: 231,137

In China, Hyundai's third biggest foreign market, the company expects to sell 380,000 vehicles, in 2008, up 64 percent from last year's 231,137 total.

Hyundai plans to introduce two new models in China this year, the Genesis and the Elantra sedan.

"We didn't have any new models in China last year, but competitors did," that's why Hyundai did not meet its 2007 sales target of 260,000 vehicles.

The automaker's global sales grew 4.1 percent to 2.6 million vehicles in 2007, including 320,000 vehicles in the EU last year and about 200,000 in India. (The Associated Press)

Ford
sales: 216,324

BEIJING -Ford's vehicle sales in China rose 30 percent last year, with overall sales boosted by the popularity of its Focus model, the U.S. automaker said in a statement Wednesday.

The total figure of 216,324 vehicles includes sales of all Ford-owned brands in the country - Ford, Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover - and was driven by sales of the Focus and the introduction of the S-MAX in March and Mondeo in November, the statement said.

Focus sales rose 57 percent in 2007 to 124,972 units. It was the fastest growing mid-sized car in China last year, the statement said. Mondeo sales hit 14,845 units in China in just six weeks on the market.

Ford Motor Co. and its joint-venture partners operate three vehicle assembly plants and one engine manufacturing plant in China. Ford operations in China also include an automotive financing company, a Nanjing-based sourcing and research and development center, and extensive sales and service operations.

The first Chinese-built Ford passenger car, the Ford Fiesta, was introduced in China in 2003. (The Associated Press)

PSA Peugeot Citroen
sales: 209,000

BEIJING - PSA Peugeot Citroen said its sales in China rose 3.1 pct last year to 209,000 vehicles.

The increase, which followed sales growth of 63 pct in 2006, gave the company's joint venture -- Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto -- a 4 pct share of the Chinese market.

Globally, PSA Peugeot Citroen's sales rose 1.8 pct to 3.428 mln units in 2007. （AFX）

BMW
sales: 51,588

SHANGHAI - BMW, the world's largest premium car maker, said on Thursday it sold 42 percent more cars in mainland China in 2007, as the country's growing ranks of nouveau riche snapped up the latest models.

Total sales swelled to 51,588 units in 2007 from 36,357 units a year earlier, it said in a statement.

Sales of BMW brands rose 40 percent to 49,388 units, with locally made BMW 3 and 5 series up 36 percent at 30,600 units. Sales of Minis jumped more than two-fold to 2,200 units, it said.

In the Greater China area, including mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong, BMW moved 61,098 vehicles in the period, up 37 percent, it added.

BMW has teamed up with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. to make BMW 3 Series and 5 Series in a venture in the northern city of Shenyang, with an annual capacity of 30,000 units.

Worldwide, the German car maker sold 1.5 million vehicles in 2007, up 9.2 percent from 2006. (Reuters)

Chinese automaker-Chery
Total sales: 381,000 (oversea: 119,800 )

Chery Automobile Co, the partner of Fiat and Chrysler, on Friday said it sold 25 percent more vehicles in 2007, but missed its sales target.

Sales at the company, based in the eastern city of Wuhu, grew by 24.8 percent to 381,000 units last year from 2006, it said in a statement.

But it said the figure is less than its goal of moving 393,000 vehicles.

Chery attributed the gap to a "strategic adjustment" that saw it take a step back from the price war in the local car market in the fourth quarter.

The carmaker said in September it would shift its focus from only expanding sales to stabilizing prices and improving quality, services and brand value. It delayed the launch of some new models.

Its 2007 sales ranked No 4 in China's passenger car sector, trailing a tie-up between General Motors and SAIC Motor Corp, and Volkswagen's two joint ventures with SAIC and FAW Corp.

Chery said its overseas sales rocketed by 132 percent to 119,800 vehicles last year, surpassing its previous target of selling 100,000 units abroad. The 2007 figure also makes the company the top car exporter in China for the past five years.

It plans to have a total of 14 plants in foreign countries by 2010 to assemble its own-brand cars as part of its push to boost overseas sales.

The firm in August agreed to form a 50-50 venture with Fiat to produce Chery, Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars in China with an annual capacity of 175,000 units for both domestic and foreign markets.

In July, Chery also sealed a deal with Chrysler to build small-sized cars under nameplates of the Detroit-based auto group for the US and European markets.

The Ministry of Commerce last month estimated overall vehicle exports from China would reach 600,000 units in 2007, up from 342,000 units in 2006. (china daily)

Chinese automaker - Brilliance
Total sales: 115,000 (oversea: 15,500)

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd said Sales of its Zhonghua-branded cars soared 82 percent to 115,000 units last year while exports also rose 79 percent to 15,500 units during the same period.

It launched several new self-branded models last year to boost sales. This included the Zhonghua Junjie sedan, using China's first self-developed 1.8T engine, and the Zhonghua Coupe sports sedan.

In November, the car maker signed a contract to set up its fourth overseas factory in Russia, paving the way for selling more than 100,000 cars in the east European market within five years. (Shanghai daily)

Cargo Transport to be linked by train from China to Germany

• to shorten the traveling time from 40 days to 18 days between Beijing and Hamburg.

China and five other nations are to cooperate on a train link between Asia and Europe that would speed up cargo transport and allow goods to be delivered twice as quickly as by sea.

China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany signed an agreement on Wednesday, Jan 9 that will speed up transport of goods and cargo between Asia and China and halve current traveling time by sea.

The treaty aims to simplify customs and border checks, according to the China Daily.

"Barring any complications, a scheduled container train should be shuttling between China and Germany in a year's time," said Zheng Mingli, chairman of China Railway Container Transport, according to the report.

The route, which will link Beijing and Hamburg, is expected to boost trade and cargo flows between the two continents and would allow goods to be delivered in a record 18 days. Currently, delivery of cargo by sea between the two destinations takes about 40 days.

"Investments will pay off"

A test container train carrying a load of Chinese goods, including electrical appliances, clothes, shoes and ceramic tiles, rolled out of Beijing on Wednesday and is expected to arrive in Hamburg in 18 days.

The train will travel through the Mongolian Republic and the Trans Siberian railway via Belarus and Poland before making its way to the port city of Hamburg.

Flagging off the test cargo train in Beijing, Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO of German rail Deutsche Bahn, said the transport axis between Asia and Europe has never been more important in light of booming economic growth in Asia and Russia.

"Deutsche Bahn has recognized the trend early. Those are investments that will in the long-term pay off for Germany's economy," Mehdorn said. "Today, we're inaugurating a further important step in the realization of a common Eurasian bridge," he said.

German train technology is already well known in China. China currently operates the world's only commercial German-built MAGLEV line, which runs 300 kilometers from Shanghai's airport to the financial center in the Pudong district. The train travels at up to 430 kilometers (270 miles) per hour.

(Deutsche Welle)

China produces first high-speed bullet train

• to become the fourth country capable of turning out such high speed trains after Japan, France and Germany

BEIJING — China's first domestically developed high-speed bullet train, capable of reaching 300 kilometres (190 miles) per hour, rolled off the production line on Saturday, state media reported.

"China has joined an elite world club after Japan, France and Germany, to become the fourth country capable of turning out such high speed trains," Wang Yongping, Ministry of Railways spokesman, told Xinhua news agency.

The streamlined train body, made of aluminium alloy, is the lightest of its kind in the world, Wang said.

The eight-carriage train can seat about 600 passengers and will start running the 115-kilometre-long Beijing-Tianjin route before the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, the report said.

It will cut travel time between the two cities to about 30 minutes from the current 80 minutes, Xinhua said.

The manufacturer, Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd., said the first batch of 10 such trains, with a speed equivalent to the Japanese bullet train, will be delivered in the first half of 2008.

Currently, the world's fastest train is France's TGV, which travels at a speed of 320 kilometres per hour.

(AFP)

China's first home-made passenger jet unveiled

• had 171 orders already
• to compete in domestic and international Regional Jet market

SHANGHAI : China's first home-made passenger airliner rolled off the production line on Friday in an event hailed as a milestone in the nation's ambition to become a giant of the global aviation industry.

The ARJ-21, which stands for "Advance Regional Jetliner for the 21st Century", has a capacity of 70 to 90 seats.

It is expected to make its first test flight in March next year and enter commercial operations by late 2009, when mass production of the aircraft is set to begin.

The ARJ-21 will likely initially fly commercial routes between outlying regions to major air hubs in China helping to meet the nation's booming demand for air travel.

There were about 160 million passenger trips on Chinese airlines in 2006, a rise of 15 percent on the previous year, according to official statistics.

China is hoping its new jet will compete against Canada's Bombardier and Embraer for the world's regional jet market, with demand expected to reach up to 3,700 such aircraft over the next 20 years.

"We must organise sales, raise our capacity for mass production and ensure that the first planes fly on schedule. We must expand the market and expand sales in international markets," Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said

Officials announced on Friday 100 new orders for the plane, bringing the total number of aircraft on order to 171.

Nearly all the orders are by Chinese domestic airliners, although Lao Airlines has reportedly signed up for two planes.

The ARJ-21 is being built by China Aviation Industry Corp, the country's biggest military aircraft maker.

The project to start building the plane began in 2003.

Although it is considered an indigenous jetliner, 40 percent of the plane is made by foreign manufacturers, including its engines, according to previous state press reports.

The plane is not the only regional airliner produced in China, as Brazilian manufacturer Embraer set up a joint venture to produce midsize commercial passenger jets in China's northeastern city of Harbin in 2002.

China also has much loftier dreams.

Early this year, the nation announced plans to build a 150-seat passenger aircraft, which could eventually compete against planes made by the world's two dominant commercial jet makers, Boeing and Airbus.

(AFP)