The giant Chinese companies shaping the world's industries By Julien GIRAULT Paris (AFP) Feb 9, 2019 It was fear of being dominated by a Chinese behemoth that sparked an attempt by large French and German rail companies to join forces to create an European industrial champion. The merger by Alstom and Siemens was vetoed by the EU on Thursday, but concerns about the overwhelming power of vast, often state-backed Chinese companies is not limited to the rail industry. Here are some of areas in which Chinese companies control a large piece of the global market. - Rail - China's state-backed CRRC is the world's largest train manufacturer, with locomotives and wagons ordered across the globe from Boston to Philadelphia, Cambodia to Colombia, and customers including the iconic London Underground and Germany's Deutsche Bahn. Its annual revenues of 26 billion euros (29 billion dollars) alone outweigh the three Western heavyweights Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom, each of which brings in around nine billion a year. - Agrichemicals - The state-owned ChemChina became one of the world's seeds and pesticide producers when it acquired Swiss pesticide giant Syngenta for $43 billion in 2017, putting it in competition with Monsanto and DowDupont. It was the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm yet, ahead of the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen Energy by China's state oil firm CNOOC in 2013. ChemChina also controls Italian tyremaker Pirelli and German machinery firm KraussMaffei. - Energy - The state-run China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) launched its locally developed Hualong One nuclear reactor in 2015 to compete with French and US models, selling to Argentina and Pakistan. Chinese solar panel manufacturers Jinko, Trina and Solar dominate the global market. And Chinese oil companies -- CNOOC, CNPC and Sinopec -- are investing heavily even as their global rivals cut spending. - Aviation - China's state-owned plane-maker Comac expects to deliver its first home-made passenger jet to a customer in 2021, as it seeks to challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus. The company says it has received a thousand orders for its 168-seater C919 plane. - Food - The state-owned food giant COFCO is playing an increasing role in world grain trading after purchasing the agricultural arm of Singaporean commodities trader Noble as well as Dutch Nidera. China's WH Group became the world's largest pork producer in 2013, when it purchased major US pork and hot dog producer Smithfield Foods Inc. - Drones - Founded by a Chinese university student in 2006, DJI has become the world's top civilian drone maker with 70 percent of the market, outpacing its French rival Parrot. - Smartphones - Chinese smartphone makers are taking a larger slice of the global market, with Huawei at 15 percent, Xiaomi 8.7 percent and Oppo 8.1 percent. Phone sales by Huawei and Oppo surged by 30 percent last year, defying a downward trend that hit rivals Apple and Samsung. - Home appliances - China's Haier Group is the world's leading manufacturer of home appliances with around 10 percent of the market, ahead of rivals Whirlpool and Electrolux. Haier even purchased the appliances arm of US giant General Electric in 2016. - Batteries - Chinese firm CATL, which supplies batteries for car titans Volkswagen, Ford and Daimler, is battling with Japan's Panasonic for the world's lithium electric car battery top spot. Its production capacity will increase fivefold by 2020 due to a mammoth new factory in China, and the firm has announced a huge factory in Germany to supply European customers. - Freight - The state-owned Cosco Group is the world's third biggest shipping company with 50 container ports across the globe, including Greece's Piraeus and Spain's Bilbao. jug/aue/nas/dl/jh
US Democrats unveil carbon-neutral 'Green New Deal' Washington (AFP) Feb 7, 2019 Congressional Democrats on Thursday unveiled an unprecedented plan to reverse climate change and eliminate all US carbon emissions within 10 years, by taking drastic steps that would require transformational action across the economy. The "Green New Deal" introduced by liberal congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a rising Democratic star in the House, and Senator Ed Markey is a dramatic, potentially unrealistic, statement of intent on a sustainable path forward. "This is our first step," Ocas ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |