Finland-based ship power supplier Wartsila Corp said it would double its production capacity of fixed pitch propellers in the city of Zhengjiang, Jiangsu province, the Yangzi Wanbao reported. The propeller is commonly used in container ships. The Finnish company established a joint venture with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation in 2004, called Wartsila-CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co Ltd, to design and build propellers for gigantic vessels such as oil tankers and cargo containers. Chinese companies have built 425 ships in the first five months of this year, 45% of which have been for overseas orders.

WPP Group, the world’s second largest advertising company, predicted its sales in China would rise 20% this year, the Economic Daily reported. China is currently WPP’s third largest market with a sales volume of US$1.1 billion (RMB8.3 billion) in 2006. The London-based advertising company said China would be highly likely to pass Japan as the world’s second largest advertising market by 2008 in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics. It said its sales in Japan this year to date are 0.2% down on last year.

US-based clean-tech venture capital firm Westly Group will make its first overseas investment in China in two months, the China Business News reported. Westly Group founder and CEO Steve Westly, who is in China to meet clean-tech experts and governmental officials, said the investment could be worth between US$250,000 to US$5 million but declined to give further details of target companies. However, he said he was leaning towards any Chinese manufacturer that is strong in solar power technology. Bio-fuel technology and car battery technology were two other potential investment options, he said.

Hangzhou Wahaha said it has filed for arbitration to settle a dispute with its French joint-venture partner Groupe Danone, the China Times reported. Hangzhou Wahaha signed a contract to transfer its brand to Hangzhou Wahaha Food – a joint venture with Danone- in 1996. However, China’s State Trademark Office did not approve the agreement. Danone and Zong Qinghou, chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha, have been in conflict in the last two months as the former accused the latter of selling the joint venture’s products independently. Zong has in turn called the joint venture’s clauses of exclusivity and non-competition unfair. He quit the joint venture earlier this month after the French company lodged a lawsuit in the US and Sweden, accusing Zong of breaching the non-competition clauses.

The director-general of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, is visiting Beijing to resume strained global trade talks, China Economy reported. In an interview prior to his arrival, Lamy said developing countries should contribute to the trade talks in order that they can be concluded in the next six to nine months. Delegations from the US, the EU, India and Brazil will meet in Germany next week to talk about possible compromise solutions to the stalled Doha Round, which kicked off in 2001 to promote international trade between developed and developing economies. The talks were suspended due to disagreements over agricultural subsidies and tariffs. Lamy said WTO member states needed to reach an interim consensus on slashing subsidies and tariffs before further talks could take place.

In a report entitled “China's Information Revolution: Managing the Economic and Social Transformation,” the World Bank stressed the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) in helping China sustain economic growth. 

With yuan appreciation having little impact on China’s growing trade surplus, policy makers are looking to use export tax rebate cuts on textiles and garments to peg back exports. As China Business News reports, the policy could take some of the heat out of calls for further yuan appreciation, but there are no guarantees it will work. Read an abridged translation here.