Week 131 SUMMARY

CHINA
Political Front:
Chinese Defense Minister has emphasized greatly on the need to enhance military capabilities. A total of 12,000 soldiers and officers from China's air defense force have been scheduled to conduct a five-day military exercise in two provinces. In a move to reduce a burgeoning population, the Beijing People's Congress has advocated a restriction of low-wage workers in the capital through closures of small businesses.

Geo-strategic Front:
More than 700 Chinese enterprises registered in Indonesia, have been contributing a lot to Indonesia's economy and society. China has asked Singapore to adhere to one China policy. Police in China and France have dismantled a network that tried to smuggle Chinese migrants into Italy and Spain on boats. China has expressed deep condolence to the victims of floods in Pakistan. China has been assisting Ethiopia in health sector. China has urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States to treat its concern and position seriously on the ROK-U.S. military drills in the Yellow Sea. China has firmly opposed any remarks and actions that violate its sovereignty over Xisha Islands and adjacent waters in the South China Sea. Chinese foreign Minister held meeting with Cuban leaders and discussed their bilateral relations. China has shown willingness to boost trade ties with Vietnam and South Korea. Meanwhile China and Argentina seem keen to enhance cooperation in tourism sector. China and Iran have pledged to carry through cooperation projects and seek mutual benefit.

Economic Front:
China's manufacturing activity continued to grow at a slower pace last month as the government took measures to curb the risk of overheating and adjust the economic structure. Retail sales of China-made autos rose 17.18 percent year on year to 1.056 million units in July. China has removed tariffs and value-added taxes on core equipment, components, and raw materials imported and used in civilian high-tech projects since July 15. A government think tank has recently revealed that China's economic growth would continue to cool in the third quarter as the government reduces stimulus measures, thus lowering inflation expectations. The tourism sector in East China's Shandong Province generated 127.7 billion Yuan in the first half of this year, a growth of 24.5 percent on the same period last year. China’s shares remained fluctuating last week. Chinese central bank has pledged financial support for development of western regions.

Social Front:
The Chinese government has begun to ask for public opinion on a set of draft regulations on the management of foreign labor service cooperation agreements, which aim to protect workers sent overseas. The United Nations assistant secretary general and director of the U.N. Development Program's Regional Bureau for Asia-Pacific, dubbed China as the biggest role model of countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Experts have called on the Chinese government to carry out a survey on Chinese residents' housing conditions in a bid to guide cooling-down measures for the property market. Flood-triggered disasters have killed more than 1,450 Chinese this year, with another 669 missing. Millions of low-income residents in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have received a huge boost as billions of Yuan in government funds have been handed out to improve living standards. China has successfully launched its fifth orbiter into space as a part of its indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network.

HONG KONG & MACAU
Political Front:
Macao's anti-graft chief has led a delegation to visit his counterpart in Hong Kong, where they explored closer cooperation between the two places on the fight against corruption.

Economic Front:
Trade between the Chinese mainland and Macao in the first half of the year rose 9.3 percent year on year to reach 1.07 billion U.S. dollars. Macao's gaming revenues continued its streak of rapid growth in July 2010, as the monthly figure rose by 70 percent year-on-year to 16.3 billion patacas (2.04 billion U.S. dollars). A total of 778 new companies were incorporated in Macao in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 18.4 percent over last year.

Social Front:
Personal ownership of mobiles among Asia's youth had increased from 60 percent in 2008 to 64 percent in 2010, while that of Hong Kong jumped from 82 percent to 87 percent of youth owning a mobile, the highest among all surveyed regions.