Beijing Impact

For the nine or 10 people besides me that follow China’s commercial aerospace sector, Reinhardt Krause posted an excellent summary on how China’s plan to build its first big passenger plane promises to reshape its fast-growing aviation market and what’s at stake for suppliers. Here’s my take on how it impacts Boeing and Airbus.

China's State Food and Drug Administration (SDA) has released a set of draft regulations banning the use of food additives in fresh juices.

According to the regulations on the management of fresh juice in catering establishments, which were published on the SDA's website seeking public opinion, fresh juices refer to directly edible beverages that are made of fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals or beans in accordance with food safety requirements.

Further, beverages made from concentrated pulp, vegetables or fruit powders should not be labeled as fresh juices, according to the rules.

Banning the use of recycled food as ingredients, the rules also specify that rotten or musty vegetables and fruits, or those with wormholes, may not be used in the manufacturing of fresh juice.

China's annual production and sales of new autos will both surpass 15 million vehicles this year, Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufactures, said Wednesday.

Auto sales in China continued to rise in July, though at a slower pace than in previous months. The growth rate slowed from 124 percent in January to 40 percent in April, to 17.18 percent in July.

Rapid growth in auto sales during the first several months of 2010 was due to last year's low comparison base and it was not representative of the true picture in the industry, Dong said at a press conference.

Multifaceted carmaker has four joint ventures

Dongfeng Motor Corp, China's third-largest automaker, sold nearly 1.1 million vehicles in the first five months this year, a 64 percent increase over the same period last year.

In May alone, the company reported sales of 207,764 vehicles, up 37 percent from a year previous.

The company said it aims to deliver 220,000 vehicles by the end of this year, 17 percent more than last year.

Last week the company began construction on plant that will make engines for its own-brand passenger vehicles when production begins in the last half of 2011.

Two Dongfeng models launched last year - the Fengshen S30 sedan and H30 hatchback - registered sales of 33,000 cars by the end of May. Both are currently equipped with engines made at the joint venture between Dongfeng and its French partner PSA Peugeot Citroen.