Quotes

“China can fulfill year’s growth target”

Premier Wen Jiabao has said China is capable of meeting its economic and social development goals for the year despite domestic and external challenges， Xinhua reported.

During an inspection tour of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province on Aug. 14 and 15， Wen pointed to positive changes in some sectors， and the emergence of favorable conditions to maintain steady and relatively fast growth.

“We have the conditions and capabilities， and will be sure to fulfil this year’s economic and social development targets，” he said.

The economy’s fundamentals remain sound， the premier said， but he warned that the foundation for economic stabilization is still unstable， and that economic hardships may continue for some time.

“Investment from China vital for Cambodia’s economy”

Investments from China and other foreign countries are very important to spur Cambodia’s economic development， Heng Samrin， President of Cambodia’s National Assembly， was cited as saying by Xinhua on Aug. 6.

His remarks were made during a meeting with Cheng Zhaohong， general manager of Shandong Shantui Construction Machinery Import-Export Company， on the occasion that the firm opened a branch in Cambodia.

“The firm’s presence will help further enhance trade and investment ties between Cambodia and China，” he said， pledging to provide support to the company to operate here successfully.

“FDI worries unfounded”

US investment in China may continue to drop， but not by large amounts， a commerce official predicted.

“China is not worried about the massive transfer of factories by multinational companies to neighboring countries as the quality of foreign investment will improve，” Zhang Xiangchen， director of the Department of Policy Research at the Ministry of Commerce， was quoted as saying by China Daily.

Direct investment from the US to China dropped by 3.2 percent year-on-year to $1.63 billion in the first half of 2012， according to the ministry.

“SOEs should adjust investment”

Investments by central State-owned enterprises’ targeting scale expansion must be stoppedand used instead to upgrade technology， products and the commercial model of the companies， the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said， according to China Daily.

SASAC， the government supervisor of 128 central SOEs， asked the companies to boost the management of their capital chain and cash flow. SOEs should also avoid the ripple effect resulting from the shortage of funds of upstream and downstream industries， SASAC said.

“Chinese investment in US ‘set for record year’”

Chinese investment in the United States is expected to hit a record high this year， thanks largely to big-ticket items， according to a report from the Rhodium Group， a New York-based organization that analyzes global trends， China Daily reported.

Chinese foreign direct investment， or outbound FDI， in the US reached $3.6 billion in the first half of this year， and covered 33 projects， the report said.

Thilo Hanemann， research director for Rhodium， which monitors Chinese FDI in the US， said that the large-scale investments could make 2012 a record year， beating the $5.7 billion record set in 2010.