AUTO MANIA: The 13th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition was held on April 22-28. Around 1,500 automakers and auto parts producers from home and abroad brought their latest products to the show (PEI XIN)

Oil Deal

China and Russia inked an oil cooperation agreement in Beijing on April 21 that allows a closer tie-up of the two countries in various activities, including oil pipeline construction, crude oil trading and financing.

It marked a major breakthrough in bilateral energy cooperation between the two countries, said China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan, at the signing ceremony. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said the agreement would be beneficial for both sides.

The two countries are reportedly set to hold further negotiations about building a joint-venture oil company to explore crude oil in Russia and refine it in China.

Nuclear Power Boom

China will start building five nuclear power plants this year in an effort to boost its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2020 to account for 4 percent of the nation's total power generation, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

The five plants will be stationed in Sanmen of Zhejiang Province, Haiyang and Rongcheng of Shandong Province, Taishan of Guangdong Province and Changjiang of Hainan Province. Construction on the first unit of Sanmen nuclear power plant began on April 19.

The government has made a commitment to expanding nuclear power to help wean the country off its dependence on fossil fuels and help protect the ecological environment.

Early Rice Futures

Early rice futures contracts began trading on April 20 on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in Henan Province. Among the country's major grain products, early rice is the last to be traded in futures contracts.

The government believes that this move will give China a greater say in global grain pricing and help domestic farmers and enterprises better understand market supply-demand situations.

China will make advancements in its financial derivatives markets and at the same time strengthen supervision and risk controls, said Shang Fulin, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, at a ceremony marking the start of the early rice futures trading.

Transport Financing

The World Bank announced on April 17 that it had agreed to provide a credit line of $450 million for infrastructure projects in central and western areas of China.

Among the loans, $150 million will go to a road project in Hubei Province, and the other $300 million will go to a railway project in Guizhou Province.

The two projects will help meet rising freight cargo demands and improve the transport capacities of central and western China, said Si Kaiqiang, an official with the World Bank China Office, in a statement.

Since the 1980s, the World Bank has financed 13 railway projects and more than 40 road projects in China.

Going Mongolian

Beijing-based China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., the country's largest coal producer, announced on April 20 that it was in talks with the Mongolian Government to buy its Yayan Tolgoi mine.

As one of the largest coal mines in Asia, the Mongolian mine has coking coal reserves of around 6.4 billion tons. That is why more than 20 companies around the world have joined the bid, including Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd.

But Shenhua is believed to have the most advantageous position in the negotiations because of its financial strength, proximity to the mine and the importance of the Chinese market.

Earlier this year, Shenhua started construction on a railway line to transport coal and cooper from Mongolia.