CHINA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 4, No. 3 - February 18, 2003
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Sino-UK E-Science Cooperation
- Microsoft's China Experience Has Been Tough, But Still Determined To Forge Ahead
- "Electronic China 2003" To Be Held In Shanghai
- Switching To DTV
- Chinese Go Online to Express Anti-war Sentiment
China Litigation and Arbitration
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Sino-UK E-Science Cooperation
The United Kingdom and China have made significant progress in Internet cooperation by sharing science resources known as "e-science". This is reported on a recent conference in Kunming, capital of southern China's Yunnan Province.
According to Li Yixue, professor with the Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Scientists are now able to participate in the platform sharing of biological science resources, data exploration and knowledge analysis, in the China-UK E-Science Workshop. With that platform, scientists from both countries could share information from each other's data bases.
Li said that currently, 11 e-science "grid-nodes", or special computer links, have been set up in cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Hong Kong. E-science mainly refers to sharing science resources on the second generation Internet and its research could enable scientists to share resources from distant scientific bodies and make international scientific cooperation more convenient, continued Li.
According to Li, China's Ministry of Science and Technology has allocated more than 100 million yuan (12.1 million US dollars) to promote e- science, with the biological field given top priority.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Microsoft's China Experience Has Been Tough, But Still Determined To Forge Ahead
Attracted by China's 1.3 billion potential consumers and an economy growing which doubles that of the world's average, like many multinational corporations, Microsoft Corp, is eager to come to China market. Nevertheless, the pay-off in China is not clear.
According to a report in the February 17 issue of Forbes magazine, due to the rampant piracy of the widely used software, Bill Gates' Microsoft is not making any profits in China.
Microsoft admitted its running losses in China for the past 10 years. It is likely that it will continue to lose money for at least five years more. The software giant said that it could wait another decade or two before turning a profit in China.
On its most popular items, Microsoft's gross profit margins 85 per cent. Microsoft's experience in China has been tough to swallow, but it is determined to forge ahead. "This is a long-term opportunity of substantial magnitude and strategic importance," said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's senior vice-president and chief China strategist.
However, the battle Microsoft faces is tough. According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, 92 per cent of business software applications sold in China in 2001 were pirated, costing an estimated US$1.14 billion in lost revenue to US manufacturers alone, up from US$765.1million in 2001.
Microsoft would have earned nearly US$400 million if it had been paid for its share of software installed in new computers in China last year, but its revenue was only US$85 million, according to International Data Corp, an industry research organization cited by the magazine.
For Microsoft, China's fast economic growth beckons. China's PC market was expected to top Japan to become the world's second-largest this year, said the magazine.
(Source: SCMP)
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"Electronic China 2003" To Be Held In Shanghai
IC Trade Fair, "Electronic China 2003", an international trade fair for components, assemblies, electronics production, and photonic technologies, will be held from March 12 to 14 in Shanghai's New International Expo Center, together with SEMICON China, an exhibition focusing on the semiconductor industry. This is the first time that two of the electronic industry's most influential exhibitions have joined together to demonstrate the latest developments in the industry.
Organized by German Munich International Trade Fair Company, China International Exhibition Center and Zentralverb and Elektrotechnik Communications GmbH, the event will be the first time the Chinese market has been offered the entire chain of electronics output - from electronic components to manufacturing technology and services. "The two combined shows are complementary and will help to create more business opportunities," said Thomas Schlitt who is the exhibition director of international projects for the German Munich International Trade Fair Company.
Riding against a downturn in semiconductor business worldwide, China is becoming the market leader. "China is the future of the industry, that's why we are focusing more on China, and the booming Chinese electronic industry makes our exhibition a must-have event," said Ting Yee-ming, the vice-president of SEMI, "Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International Association", and general manager of SEMI China.
According to Ting, China's IC, "integrated circuits", market supply is far from enough." Industry experts predicted that the Southeast Asia region, excluding Japan, would take the first place worldwide for the electronic components market with the market volume amounting to US$85.9 billion.
China is the major driving force behind the development. In 2003, it is likely that China's market for electronic products moves up to the third worldwide; and by 2010, it is likely that China's market for semiconductors takes the second place worldwide in terms of size. It is forecasted that in the years leading to 2005, China's information industry grows by an average of 20 per cent each year.
To achieve its goals, China aims to invest more than US$10 billion in the development of the electronic components industry between 2001 and 2005.
(Source: Chinadaily)
Switching To DTV
According to Bai Weimin, a division chief of broadcast and television at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology Product under the Ministry of Information Industry, China may release digital TV ("DTV") standards in the year of 2003 and will launch large-scale trial broadcasting in major cities in 2005. Satellite transmission standard for digital television as well as cable transmission standard will also be completed by the end of this year.
Ms. Wei said that China is still evaluating proposals for a ground transmission standard, and that the final standard may combine the advantages of five proposals. "All five proposals have some similar factors to the three major digital TV standards adopted by the United States, Japan and Europe respectively, but considering the huge economic interests related to accompanying royalties, we must be very cautious," said Wu Feng, a chief engineer with the Academy of Broadcasting Sciences under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television ("SARFT").
It has been reported that South Korea uses the US Advanced Television Systems Committee standard and pays about a US$40 royalty for every such TV set.
Considering China's 350 million TV sets, it would cost China US$1.4 trillion, if every TV was replaced by a digital set. The high price of replacing TV sets has prompted authorities to consider the more cost-effective option of using set-top boxes ("STBs"), Wu Feng pointed out. Last year, the shipment of STBs was expected to reach 38 million units, with Asia the fastest growing region importing 210,000 units.
"The growth in China will be more spectacular, if the market is activated," said Wu. According to Xu Qin, deputy director-general of the Department of High Technology Industries with the State Development Planning Commission, the commission has set up a special fund for the development of China's digital TV technologies, which will be a major high-tech project for China in its 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05).
According to SARFT's plan, by 2005, all major Chinese cities will start digital TV trial broadcasting and formal commercial broadcasting will be launched in cities in 2008. Nationwide broadcasting is expected to begin in 2010 and by 2015, analogue broadcasting will stop in China.
Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have already started trial broadcasting of digital TV programs.
(Source: Chinadaily)
Chinese Go Online to Express Anti-war Sentiment
Chinese people hope there is no war between the United States and Iraq. Many Chinese people made our peaceful wishes on the Internet.
During the past couple of days, one special picture on a Chinese web site has been clicked the most --it catches the leave-taking of a US Army nurse going to war. Beside her are her sad husband and her tearful daughter.
A Chinese Internet fan left words right under the picture: if war breaks between the United States and Iraq, many more Americans will have to part with their families to go to war, and millions of Iraqi people will lose their homes, which will all bring sadness to the whole.
Ding Xiaogen, who works in Iraq as a representative of a Chinese company, just returned to China for the New Year. Ding said among those returned Chinese businessmen working in Iraq, most have delayed their return date to Iraq due to the dangerous situation there, though the delay will surely cut off some deals. "We all hope peace will come soon, so we can go back to our business," said Ding.
There are more than 200 Chinese people like Ding working in Iraq in over 40 Chinese companies. Now, most of them have been recalled home.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
The China Information Technology Law Newsletter is intended to be used for news purposes only. It should not be taken as comprehensive legal advice, and Lehman, Lee & Xu will not be held responsible for any such reliance on its contents.
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