In a new effort to ease the negative effects of an increasingly severe economic slowdown China’s trade unions announced to extend their help on 10 million migrant workers unable to find employment. The unions’ help, which was previously reserved for local workers with residence permits only, includes employment assistance and job training for 5 million migrant workers and legal assistance as well as basic financial aid for another 5 million.
Trade union officials emphasized the government’s fears of social unrest among its migrant workers unable to find jobs in the cities. In a vague statement a senior official warned of forces from within and outside China encouraging upheaval among the country’s newly unemployed workers.
Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, emphasized the need for a larger proportion of domestic technology and equipment in China’s nuclear power projects. China currently covers only 9.1 million kilowatts (1.1 percent) of its energy demand with nuclear power but announced plans to increase its nuclear capacity to 40 million kilowatts by 2020, a step that would reduce China’s predominant reliance on coal.
While companies worldwide suffer under the economic slowdown McDonald’s emphasized its expansion strategy with 500 new stores in China in the next three years. Confident about China’s potential as a fast food market Brian Durkin, vice president of McDonald’s China, emphasized the importance of new customers forced to lower priced dining segments by the recession.
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced a slower growth rate in the country’s balance of payments (BoP) in 2008. As a result of the economic slowdown the growth of China’s foreign exchange reserves decreased to $137.2 billion in the second half of 2008, down from $280.6 billion in the first six months.
