Highlights from the print edition, issue no. 412 March 30, 2009

Foreign Acquisition in China to Require "Safety Inspection"
Cover
Chinese policymakers were considering formulating an Industry Safety Law to strengthen oversight of foreign acquisition of Chinese firms, the EO learned, with the Ministry of Commerce was doing preliminary research. China's antitrust law put into effect last August only targeted individual businesses, said an official from the Ministry who requested anonymity. The new law however would assess how acquisitions would impact whole industries and national economic security, the above source added. The new law would focus on agricultural, industrial, finance sectors, among others.
Original article: [Chinese]

Geely Acquired Drivetrain Systems International
Cover
On March 27, Geely Holding Group, one of China's largest private auto-makers, signed an agreement to purchase all shares of Australia's Drivetrain Systems International (DSI), the world's second largest gearbox maker. Geely had yet to disclose the deal amount. This was the second oversea acquisition that Geely has staged in the last three years. On late October 2006, Geely acquired a 23% stake in Manganese Bronze Holdings, the leading maker of London's black taxi, and became its largest shareholder.
Original article: [Chinese]

China's Exports Still Declining
News, page 3
Three officials from China's Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Statistics of Bureau presented a pessimistic projection on the country's export future at a news conference in late March. They held that the negative growth in China's exports would likely continue for a period despite that the government had adopted tax rebate policies to revitalize it. Customs data showed that China's export decline in February this year reached 25.7% from a year earlier. A researcher from State Information Center suggested more bailout policies to spur economic growth if exports worsened and measures to spur domestic demand failed.
Original article: [Chinese]

State Firms Profits Still Suffering
News, page 5
China's state-owned enterprises saw a 43% decline in profits in the first two months of 2009, as they continued to offload backed-up inventories at lower prices amidst a dropoff in demand. Industries with declining profits included manufacturing, communications, steel, oil, power, and automobiles. In manufacturing, the only firms with growing profits were privately-owned. The data was published by both the Ministry of Finance and the State Statistics Bureau last week
Original article: [Chinese]

Policymakers Briefed on How to Internationalize the RMB
News, page 6
The EO has learned that a Chinese ministry-backed research institute recently submitted a report on the internationalization of the yuan to top Chinese officials, advising a gradual loosening of currency exchanges under China's capital account. The report came on the eve of London's G20 summit, which would have world leaders attempt to tackle the financial crisis, which many Chinese scholars say has brought an opportunity for China to further internationalize its currency.
Original article: [Chinese]

Should China Loosen its Family Planning Policy?
Nation, page 9
Whether China should loose its one-child policy, which affected all Chinese except those in rural and minority-concentrated areas, being debated by Chinese scholars. In a special focus this week, the EO interviewed two prominent sociologists, Cheng Enfu and Liang Zhongtang, who fell on different sides of the issue. Cheng thought that China's strict family planning policy could continue to raise living standards and reduce environmental and employment problems, especially in urbanizing areas. But Liang said that loosening the policy could actually help curb the population growth, pointing to Yicheng county, Shaanxi province, which saw relatively slower population growth over the past two decades thanks to a pilot project allowing two children per family, but that mandated a no-birth period of several years after the first child.
Original article: [Chinese 1] [Chinese 2]

Tracing Back 1970s
Observer, page 41
Thirty Chinese writers banded together to contribute to "The 1970s", a book that records their experiences on the mainland during the period--including the deaths of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong, the devastating Tangshan earthquake, and the restoration of college entrance exams in 1978. The book was already available in Hong Kong but was likely to be published on the mainland by the end of the year.
Original article: [Chinese]