MADE IN CHINA Dongfeng Motor Corp. Passenger Vehicle Co. rolled a new model Dongfeng Fengshen S30 off its production line on June 30 in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province (CHENG MIN)

Golden Strait

Taiwan authorities on June 30 announced that they would allow Chinese mainland investments on the island in 100 categories of the manufacturing, service and infrastructure sectors.

The opening marks a milestone in two-way investment across the Taiwan Straits. Effective as of June 30, mainland individuals, companies and institutions can set up branch offices and wholly owned or joint venture companies on the island, after getting approval from local economic regulators, according to the announcement.

Taiwan also plans to send a team in the second half of 2009 to the mainland to attract investment, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Analysts believe mainland investment will help revive the island's economy, which has been heavily battered by the global financial crisis.

Middle East OilChina National Petroleum Corp., together with the British energy giant BP Plc., won a bid on June 30 to develop the Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq. This is the first time Iraq has opened its oil fields to foreign developers. Other bidders included a number of global oil titans such as Exxon Mobil Co., headquartered in the United States.

By inviting foreign developers, Iraq aims to increase its current crude oil output of about 2.4 million barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day by 2013.

Bolstering Belt

The State Council approved plans on July 1 to establish a coastal economic belt in northeast Liaoning Province.

The zone, comprising parts of Dalian, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Huludao and Dandong, will focus on several industries including shipbuilding, petroleum refining, advanced equipment manufacturing, high technology and agricultural processing, according to the plan.

In recent years China has established similar economic zones in east Jiangsu Province, Beibu Gulf in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the western side of the Taiwan Straits in Fujian Province.

World Bank Lending

The World Bank recently approved loans totaling $500 million to China to assist in railway construction and to help improve the country's urban environment.

Of the total, $300 million will go to the Nanning-Guangzhou Railway project, which aims to increase transport capacity and shorten travel time between the less-developed southwestern region and the developed Pearl River Delta.

The other $200 million is for an urban environment project in Shanghai, which seeks to secure adequate supplies of quality water, reduce untreated pollution discharged into water resources and facilitate sustainable investment in environmental infrastructure in Shanghai's suburbs.

Wind Power

China plans to invest around 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) to build seven wind power farms by 2020 in an effort to advance the development of clean energy, Shi Pengfei, Vice President of Chinese Wind Energy Association, told China Daily. Each farm will have a minimum generating capacity of 10 gigawatts.

Gansu Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hebei Province, Jilin Province and Jiangsu Province will each be home to a farm and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will see two building there, Shi said.

Once complete, the seven farms will have a combined capacity of around 120 gigawatts, Shi said.