BizChina

China's electricity consumption in January 2010 grew 40.14 percent year-on-year to 353.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWhs), the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in a statement on its website Friday.

The electricity consumption volume was 2.7 percent higher than that in December 2009, said the NEA.

Consumption in the primary industry sector topped 7 billion kWhs last month, up 23.5 percent year-on-year.

China's auto export in 2009 dropped 46 percent year-on-year due to the global downturn, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) Wednesday.

The CAAM said China exported a total of to 369,600 autos in 2009, valued at $5.19 billion, both down 46 percent from 2008, citing figures from the General Administration of Customs.

Thanks to the burgeoning domestic market, China imported 420,800 autos in 2009, up 3 percent from 2008. Minibus import saw the sharpest rise to reach 164,800 units, a surge of 45 percent year-on-year, the CAAM said.

BEIJING: China dismissed on Thursday US threats it would get tough with Beijing on trade and currency to ensure American goods did not face a competitive disadvantage, saying renminbi was at a reasonable level.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said renminbi was at a reasonable level, and that China did not deliberately pursue a trade surplus with the United States.

"At the moment, looking at international balance of payments and forex market supply and demand, the level of renminbi is close to reasonable and balanced," Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

"Accusations and pressure do not help to solve the problem," he added.

US president Barak Obama earlier said his administration was pushing China to enforce trade rules and further open their markets, adding to a range of issues weighing on relations between the world's biggest and third-biggest economies.

Simmering tensions between China and the United States since the beginning of the year were ratcheted up another notch yesterday, with Beijing warning Washington that a meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama would further sour ties between the two global powers.

Despite repeated protests, the White House confirmed on Tuesday that Obama would meet the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a separatist.

The flare-up comes close on the heels of Washington's approval of a $6.4 billion weapons package for Taiwan, and experts forecast that it might further escalate as several thorny issues such as the value of China's currency, trade protectionism and human rights come to the fore.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu yesterday said that China "resolutely opposes the leader of the United States having contact with the Dalai Lama under any pretext or in any form".

Ma was responding to claims that Obama had told Chinese leaders about the meeting during his November visit to China.

"During President Obama's visit, Chinese leaders had expressed firm opposition to leaders or officials of any country meeting the Dalai Lama," said Ma.