Three Chinese inspectors took notes but offered no visible reaction as David Smith answered their questions about pesticides and production on the 3,000-acre rice farm he calls his "beautiful garden."
Smith is among the American farmers hoping to eventually sell rice to China. The fast-growing Asian nation is the world's largest producer of rice, but it consumes nearly everything it grows and already imports some rice from Thailand and Vietnam to feed its 1.3 billion people.
After years of effort, U.S. farmers believe they are close to getting permission to sell there as well, and it could be a game changer for an industry that has seen prices stagnate recently. If China opens its markets to U.S. rice, it could cause a spike in demand that drives up prices and encourages farmers to grow more, industry observers said.
The prospect is particularly exciting to Arkansas farmers, who have been hard hit this year by spring flooding and a summer drought. Arkansas' rice crop is expected to be off by at least 20 percent this year. It typically accounts for about half of the U.S. rice harvest.
Read more: China sales could be game changer for rice farmers
Liu Chuanzhi, the board chairman of China's largest PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd, said the company will take aggressive action to expand in the international market and aims to move into the No 2 spot by the end of this year.
A few weeks ago, No 1 PC maker Hewlett-Packard Corp (HP) announced it will spin off its PC sector and halt production of its Internet mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs. Liu said, "if HP sold it for $ 1 Billion, I will seal the deal".
"The resignation of Jobs eased pressure on Lenovo," said Liu.
He used to criticize Jobs for not paying enough attention to the Chinese market. Now the Chinese company is glad to fill the gap in the overseas market left by its international competitors because of strategy adjustments.
BYD E6 the new energy model in Hertz car rental.
BYD, the largest Chinese domestic auto brand and The Hertz Corporation, the world's largest general use car rental brand, today announced a strategic partnership to promote new energy applications to propel the development of the EV markets in China. In addition, as part of the partnership, Hertz will rent BYD's e6 electrical vehicle (EV) to Chinese consumers, municipalities and government agencies. Mark Frissora, Chairman and CEO of Hertz stated, "Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales -- another first for our industry." Chuanfu Wang Chairman and CEO of BYD stated, "Innovation is a consistent theme for Hertz and innovation is also the core of BYD's continuous fast growth -- pure EVs for car rental in China is an innovative step for new energy industry development. This joint innovation for our two large enterprises in the field of pure EVs will certainly bring 'green' transportation to the forefront for the world to admire."
Read more: BYD and Hertz Partner to Bring the First EV Rentals to China
China's power giant Huadian Group and US conglomerate General Electric on Tuesday signed a contract to set up a joint venture to develop aeroderivative gas turbines, core devices in distributed energy systems.
Distributed energy systems, also known as distributed energy resources (DER), refer to the generation of energy from small energy sources.
The $100-million joint venture will be called Huadian GE Aero Gas Turbine Equipment Co., Ltd., with Huadian owning a majority share of 51 percent. Located in Shanghai, it will be completed for production in 2013.
The first exported China train 10th Aug. 2011
The Chinese State-owned company that made the trains involved in a deadly crash last month has signed a 2.54 billion yuan ($395 million) contract to provide trains to Turkmenistan.
China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp (CSR) signed the deal recently and is due to start delivery to the central Asian country in 21 months, the company said in a statement on Monday.
This is the second major order announced by CSR after a high-speed train crash near the eastern city of Wenzhou on July 23 killed 40 people and injured nearly 200 others.
Read more: Chinese manufacturer signs $395 m contract after crash
Page 26 of 120