Rising labor costs and an upcoming demographic crisis are driving up demand for 'automated workers' in China, as companies strive to retain their competitive edge.

Sun Zhiqiang says the timing of China's robot spree is perfect for his business. As managing director of Risong Group, an automation company in Guangzhou, Guangdong province that provides robotic systems, Sun's company has cashed in on the robotics boom during the past two years. Although he declined to provide details, Sun revealed that the company is making almost 20 times the revenue it did when the business started 15 years ago.

China remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) despite a decline last month, experts said.

FDI fell to $8.3 billion, with year-on-year growth of 19.8 percent, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

China will continue to allocate funds to offer rewards for enterprises that refit their production techniques and facilities with energy-efficient technologies, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The move aims to promote green technologies and increase energy efficiency in the world's second largest economy, which has vowed to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by the end of 2020, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The prerequisite for getting the rewards is that companies must have consumed more than 20,000 tonnes of coal equivalent (TCE) per year before adopting energy-efficient technologies, and save 5,000 tonnes of coal equivalent (TCE) after their tech-transformation.

CHINA has to move into higher value added production - numerous speeches and articles by ministers rightly stress this.

An examination of 2011's list of the world's most valuable brands, published by international advertising and public relations giant WPP, confirms key lessons for this.

CHINA'S economic planning agency yesterday published a new list of industries that it would encourage, restrict or ban, a blueprint that could have a far-reaching impact on investment activity in the country over the coming years.

The list will serve as a guideline for Chinese regulators in making policies on tax, bank credit, land and trade, and will also be a reference for the country to decide which foreign investors are welcomed.

In a statement summarizing the new guidelines, the National Development and Reform Commission said the list makes changes to the previous version, published in December 2005, to reflect technological change and industrial development.
"Some steel, nonferrous and construction material products have seen serious overcapacity, for which we will no longer encourage ordinary capacity in these areas," the NDRC said.

A survey released on Friday showed the total output value of China's media industry doubled in the past five years to hit 580.8 billion yuan ($89.2 billion) in 2010.

The survey, conducted by the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University, predicts that the country's media industry will continue booming and generate an output value of 688.2 billion yuan in 2011.

"In 2010, the new media sector grew fast, reaching the same size as traditional media," said the report, titled "Blue Paper on the Media Industry."

Also according to the report, the fastest growing sectors in 2010 were online advertising, the film industry and radio broadcast advertising.

Beijing seeks 'to cooperate with countries' over use of vital metals

China said on Thursday that it will not use rare earths as a diplomatic "bargaining tool", in response to challenges against its management of the vital metals.

It also said measures to restrict the exploitation, production and export of rare earths are in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Zhu Hongren, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference in Beijing that China will seek international cooperation to solve recent disputes over rare earths.

"China will not use rare earths as an instrument for bargaining," said Zhu. "Instead, we hope to cooperate with other countries in the use of rare earths on the basis of win-win outcomes and jointly protect the non-renewable resource."

China has cut export quotas for rare earths, vital for the production of a range of high-tech products, as reserves slumped, due in part to smuggling.

Creative Power Entertaining signs television deal with Buena Vista

Creative Power Entertaining Co (CPE), a Chinese animation firm, announced on Monday a television broadcast license agreement with Buena Vista to air its cartoon series on Disney channels in 52 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific.

The three-year deal covers the broadcasting of the latest 100 episodes of the hit cartoon series Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf - Joys of Seasons, in countries such as Australia, India, Singapore and South Korea in more than 10 languages and dialects.

In India alone, versions in four local dialects will be available, said Liu Manyi, general manager of CPE.

Those algal blooms that have blotted waterscapes around China and almost sabotaged the 2008 Olympics may soon have a useful purpose -- fibers for high-tech fabrics.

A Chinese company is aiming to mass produce the fabrics that could be used in protective clothing worn by firefighters and medical personnel as early as next year, a company spokesperson said Friday.