U.S. ruling on paper imports irks China

THE Ministry of Commerce over the weekend expressed “strong dissatisfaction and objection” against the United States’ final ruling to impose duties on imports of coated paper from China.

“China will carefully study and evaluate the final ruling, continue to seek fair solutions” through the World Trade Organization’s system, and will use legal tools to protect China’s interests, said the ministry in a statement posted on its Web site. The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday ruled final duties ranging from 7.4- 44.25 percent on coated paper from China. Earlier this year, the United States made a decision to impose preliminary anti-subsidy tariffs on imports of Chinese coated paper, after filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization alleging the emerging economic power is using subsidies to promote domestic production.

CNOOC to open 1,000 gas stations

CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), China’s third-largest oil company by market capitalization, plans to open 1,000 gasoline filling stations before 2010, the Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.

The stations would be located in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and along the Bohai Gulf, it said. While CNOOC will own and construct some of the filling stations, the company said it also hoped to achieve the target through the leasing and acquisition of assets owned by private domestic oil enterprises, according to the report. CNOOC now operates only 28 gasoline filling stations in Shanghai and owns another in Huizhou in Guangdong Province.