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TechnologyDaily Mobile
Europe, America Look Toward China
by Danielle Belopotosky
The European Union remained the largest importer of Chinese goods in 2005, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. Trade between China and Europe last year is expected to top more than $200 billion, up 23.6 percent from the previous year.
Europe outpaces the United States as China's top export market for high-tech products, the ministry announced Friday. Furthermore, Europe replaced the United States as China's top supplier of technology goods.
The Chinese ministry also announced that total technology exports increased 32 percent last year, reaching $218.3 billion in trade. China's tech exports accounted for nearly one-third, or 29 percent, of all exports. Tech imports rose 23 percent, to $197.7 billion, over the same period.
Foreign investment in China also grew last year. Ministry statistics show that European companies started more than 22,000 businesses, reflecting an $84.7 billion investment. Europe is the fourth-largest investor in China. Chinese companies introduced more than 20,000 technologies in 2005.
China's Ministry of Science and Technology, meanwhile, said the country's high-tech centers account for more than half of its overall tech revenue.
Under China's Torch program, which aims to simultaneously boost the tech sector and economy by establishing science and technology industrial parks, about 1,200 tech projects generated roughly $25 billion in revenue in 2004. There are currently 5,482 Torch projects under way.
The United States also has its eyes on China. Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., announced last week that they will form a working group on how to shape future policy with China.
"It is important that all Americans, including United States senators, get a better understanding of China on all fronts," Coleman said in a Jan. 3 statement. As China's economic and political powers grow, he added, "it is in our national security interest ... to work together while confronting our differences in a constructive way."
China's economy has been growing at a 9 percent pace since the 1980s. China is now the United States' second-largest importer. Early estimates predict that the U.S. trade deficit with China will reach $200 billion for 2005.
Obama noted the increased competition from Chinese students as an underlying concern for U.S. competitiveness. "It's crucial that we begin a dialogue about the future of China's growing political and economic influence on the global economy and the United States," he said.
The China working group will be created under the Senate U.S.-China Inter-Parliamentary Group. That group is co-chaired by Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and it serves as a vehicle for Congress to promote discussion with the Chinese legislature.
United States, Peru To Sign Trade Agreement
President Bush last week announced that he plans to sign a trade agreement with the South American nation of Peru, which would open the market to U.S. technology companies and attempt to improve intellectual property rights.
The two nations announced the conclusion of negotiations in December. Under the agreement, Peru would comply with U.S. intellectual property standards, including protections for software, music, video and text. Each nation agreed to e-commerce provisions that would prohibit discriminatory treatment of digital products. The pact also includes copyright provisions.
Peru would join the World Trade Organization's Information Technology Agreement, which eliminated customs duties on most tech products, including computers, monitors, semiconductors and telecommunications products. As of today, 63 countries have signed the ITA.
Once the U.S.-Peru trade agreement is ratified, 80 percent of U.S. exports and industrial products would enter Peru duty free, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Tariffs on technology and scientific equipment exported to Peru would be removed immediately.
Peru also has agreed to permit the importation of remanufactured goods from the United States. That would open doors for U.S. companies to export such tech goods as computers, cellular telephones and other digital devices.
The pact "will generate export opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers and companies," Bush said in a letter delivered to Congress on Jan. 6. "The agreement will also benefit the people of Peru by providing economic opportunity and by strengthening democracy."
The United States initiated trade talks with Peru in 2004. Bush has 90 days from his announcement to sign the agreement. Total U.S. exports to Peru have reached $2 billion per year, according to USTR.
In other news, Pakistan's Committee on Intellectual Property agreed on Saturday to expand its campaign to raise awareness about IP rights. The committee said it would establish regional coordination offices in Karachi and Lahore to conduct public outreach campaigns.
In related news, President Bush on Wednesday is scheduled to sign a free trade agreement with Bahrain. Upon enforcement of the deal, 100 percent of consumer and industrial products will become duty-free. The agreement includes an e-commerce provision barring discriminatory treatment of digital product exports via the Internet, and it builds in intellectual property protections.
Global Health Facts Move Online
Health facts on diseases that pose national or global threats are now available online.
The site, which provides country- and region-specific data on diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome and yellow fever, was launched Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The site also provides information on funding, financing and programs operating in countries with the health threats.
"With increasing attention to global health issues, it's essential that discussion of these issues be based on reliable facts and information," Drew Altman, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement.
Israeli Firm Wins Europe's E-Passport Contract
Israeli-based SuperCom announced Tuesday that it will provide the underlying technology for a biometric-based passport system for an unnamed western European country.
"We believe that this type of e-passport solution will be adopted by more and more governments globally," SuperCom CEO Avi Schechter said in a statement. The company provides technology for "smart cards" and electronic identification. The contract is for six years.
In other news, the European Commission on Tuesday approved Telefonica's acquisition of O2, a rival telecommunications network operator.
The commission approved the merger after Telefonica agreed to remove itself from the FreeMove alliance, which serves more than 182 million mobile customers in Europe. The alliance aims to streamline international "roaming" charges for mobile telephones by allowing international telecom operators to buy roaming services from each other.
In light of the agreement, the commission said the merger would not impede European competition.
Telefonica operates fixed and mobile networks in the Czech Republic and Spain. O2, which only operates a mobile network, provides service in Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
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