CII Communique November 2012

eportDepartment announced that Chinese producers andexporters have sold solar cells in the US marketat dumping margins. The department also set finalcountervailing duties on China-made cells. US importsof solar cells from China were estimated at $3.1billion in 2011.West-to-East Gas PipelineConstruction work on China's third pipeline to carrynatural gas from the nation's resource-rich westernregions to the energy-starved east has started. The7,378 km-long pipeline is expected to transmit 30billion cubic meters of gas annually and will cross10 provinces and autonomous regions, starting fromHorgos in Xinjiang and ending at Fuzhou, capital ofFujian. The $19.7 billion project is expected to becompleted before 2015.Myanmar-China Gas PipelineA bridge on the Lancang River, located in a border areabetween Baoshan and the Bai autonomous prefecture ofDali, in Yunnan Province, has been completed, markinga major step in the completion of a Myanmar-China gaspipeline project, which is expected to go into operationnext year. The bridge, a key part of the pipeline, wasa difficult engineering project. The oil pipeline has atransport capacity of 22 million tons per year, whilethe natural gas pipeline can transport 12 billion cubicmeters annually.Technical Support for US Nuclear ProjectChina is to provide technical support for the first timein the building of a third-generation nuclear powerplant in the United States. The State Nuclear PowerTechnology Corp Ltd has signed a technical supportservice contract with Shaw Power Group, related tothe building of the Vogtle AP1000 project in Georgia,the first new reactor approved by the US Governmentin nearly 30 years. The cooperation involves sendingChinese employees to the project over the next fouryears.Japan6th India-Japan Energy DialogueMr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, PlanningCommission of India, and Mr. Yukio Edano, Ministerof Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, held the 6thmeeting of the India-Japan Energy Dialogue on 10October in Tokyo. Both sides agreed on key issuesrelating to energy security, energy conservation andrenewable energy.Pharma Tie-upTata Group promoted Advinus Pharma has entered intoa joint drug discovery deal with Japanese pharma giantTakeda Pharma. Advinus will receive guaranteed fundingof $36 million from Takeda to explore novel moleculesin inflammatory, central nervous system and metabolicdiseases. It will also receive milestone payments plusroyalties on product sales worldwide.$7 Billion Trade DeficitJapan registered a 558.6 billion yen (about $7 billion)trade deficit for September. Exports went down 10.3%from a year earlier while imports rose 4.1%.Industrial Output Falls, Outlook LoweredJapanese industrial production fell an unexpectedlylarge 4.1% in September from a month earlier, asign that the economy may be losing more steamthan expected amid the global slowdown. The fall isthe worst in recent years with the exception of theMarch 2011 earthquake and the Lehman shock in2008-2009.Holdings of US TreasuriesJapan added $5.3 billion to its holdings of US treasuresin August, taking them to $1.122 trillion. China's holdingsof US financial assets increased by $4.3 billion to $1.154trillion in August.Trade Suffers Amid Island DisputeNew trade data from Japan shows that the territorialdispute with China over a small group of islands is hittingthe economy. Since the spat over the sovereignty ofthe East China Sea islets flared up in early September,trade between China and Japan has shown signs ofweakening, stoking worries that a global slowdowncould be more severe than anticipated.According to Japan’s Finance Ministry, Japaneseexports to China were down 14.1% from a year earlierin September. Among the biggest falls was a 44.5%decline in exports of automobiles. The fallout hasweighed heaviest on Japanese brands highly visible toconsumers-for everything from lipstick to cars.New Economic Stimulus PlannedPrime Minister Yoshihiko Noda plans a new round ofeconomic stimulus by the end of November. The stepsare expected to include measures to curb deflation, easestrength in the yen, expand earthquake reconstructionwork and relax regulations on businesses. The Nikkeinewspaper said the Government was considering fundingthe new stimulus with 910 billion yen ($11.5 billion) set62 | November 2012 Communiqué