Wineries in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are helping to bring agriculture to the Gobi Desert and boost the local economy.

Yanqi Hui autonomous county, a major wine-producing area, sits on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. The mountains interrupt the eastward flow of humid air that originates as far away as the Atlantic Ocean. By the time it reaches Xinjiang the moisture is reduced considerably, and the mountains’ northern slope blocks most of the final remnants, leaving the southern side arid. This creates a friendly environment for grapes.

Despite getting more than 3,600 hours of daylight a year, the dry weather and raging sandstorms have hampered the county’s farming industry.

Yet winemakers have spotted potential in the endless desert and installed drip irrigation systems.

“In 20 years, we have transformed the boundless Gobi Desert into a sea of grapes,” said Zou Jiyun, CEO of Xinjiang Xiangdu Winery, which was founded in 2002. Its vineyards now cover 2,700 hectares.

“The soil conditions and local weather conditions, including the low rainfall, have kept diseases and pests away from the grapes, thus reducing the use of pesticides,” he said.

The vast vineyards have helped conserve the environment, while providing job opportunities and boosting the local economy, Zou said.

“At the peak of production, we employ more than 500 workers a day. Since we started, we’ve also paid more than 200 million yuan ($30 million) in taxes.”

Yanqi began to foster wineries in 1998. In 2009, the wine industry was included in the local government’s economic development plan and has been supported by multiple policies.

Qi Hongshen, a manager at Tiansai Vineyards, said the county government began investing heavily in a wine industry park almost 20 years ago that incorporates functions of grape-planting, winemaking and tourism.

“The government has introduced favorable policies for winemakers in terms of acquiring land, water and electricity,” she said.

China has a long tradition of consuming alcohol, yet Zou said that as people become more conscious of their health, more will turn to wine for its health benefits. Many already have a growing appreciation of wine culture, he said.

“The Chinese began to make wines thousands of years ago, but for some reason it didn’t have the same appeal as other liquors. As people become wealthier and more conscious of the health aspects of the things they consume, the industry is bound to become lucrative,” he added.

By Li Lei in Korla, Xinjiang | China Daily | Updated: 2018-07-04 10:13

Article Source：ADM

Alaska’s seafood exporters are concerned about the impact new tariffs from China could have on their industry.

After the US last week released a list of goods on which it will place 25 percent tariffs, China reciprocated on American goods, including Alaskan seafood.

The tariffs will go into effect on July 6. The new 25 percent tariff would be on top of current ones that vary from 5 to 15 percent.

Alaska exported 40,000 tons of salmon to China last year. Other Alaskan products on the list that appear to be impacted include geoduck, sea cucumber, frozen salmon, pollock, Pacific cod and sole.

“We are still waiting to gain more details — a full product list and product specific classifications. Initial indications are that products exported to China for reprocessing and re-export (to other countries) may be exempt from this new tariff,” Alexa Tonkovich, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), told China Daily.

“China is a major reprocessing center for Alaska seafood, so how these tariffs are applied has a major impact. Either way, many Alaska seafood products for domestic consumption in China would be subject to the new tariff,” she said.

ASMI has been promoting Alaskan seafood in China for more than 20 years.

“Alaska seafood companies have also invested in the market and have many Chinese partnerships,” Tonkovich said.

More than 10 major e-commerce platforms in China, including tmall.com, promote Alaska seafood during the commercial fishing season.

Last year, in addition to salmon, king/snow crab, black cod, halibut, cod, sea cucumber and yellowfin sole, new products and deep-processed/ready-to-eat products such as pollock roe, pollock hamburger and nuggets were sold on tmall during the promotion. The sales were triple those during the non-promotion period and hit 90,000 kilograms.

“We are deeply disappointed in these retaliatory tariffs. There is no connection between the products targeted by the US and the tariffs Beijing plans to impose on exported American seafood,” John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, said in a statement.

“It is Maine lobstermen, the men and women on boats in Alaska, and families harvesting and processing seafood in the Pacific Northwest who will feel the brunt of the Administration’s misguided policy. It is not clear where these trade actions will ultimately lead; what is clear is that they will negatively impact American seafood jobs,” he said.

Based on the data from the McDowell Group for ASMI, more than 21,200 rural Alaska residents were directly employed by the industry in 2015.

Major seafood processors that could be affected include Trident, Peter Pan, North Pacific and Alaska General.

In March, Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced a major initiative to build on the economic relationship between Alaska and China and led a 12-day trade mission to China in May.

Fifty representatives from 30 companies in Alaska, from sectors including fisheries, tourism and investment, had participated in business-to-government and business-to-business meetings, networking opportunities, events and market briefings to promote Alaskan business opportunities in China.

Since 2011, China has been the top consumer of Alaskan goods. In 2017, Alaska exported $1.32 billion worth of goods, including $796.2 million in seafood and $64.6 million in fishmeal, employing thousands of fishermen in Alaska. The state also exported $355.8 million in mineral ore, $49 million in energy, and $48 million and $5.9 million in forest products and machinery, respectively.

Jeff Welbourn, senior director of Trident Seafoods Corp’s China office, told China Daily that his company, one of the largest seafood harvesters and processors in North America, is making its biggest investment since it was founded in 1973 in infrastructure to accommodate the Chinese market.

“Alaska has abundant resources, from natural gas and seafood to beer and baby food. These resources enable our state to dramatically reduce the trade deficit between the United States and China, if we can finalize agreements to increase exports of our products,” Walker said Monday in a statement related to the tariffs.

“Trade negotiations between leaders from both countries are ongoing. I am confident that we will, in the end, embrace the opportunity for mutual economic growth that we can achieve by working together,” he said.

Chinadaily.com

The opening ceremony of the China (Neixiang)-Israel Agriculture Demonstration Park is recently held in Neixiang county, Nanyang. [Photo/neixiangxian.gov.cn]

New species of vegetables and fruits will be bred with cutting-edge Israeli technology at the China (Neixiang)-Israel Agriculture Demonstration Park in Nanyang’s Neixiang county, which began operation recently.

The demonstration park is operated under a tripartite agreement signed by the Neixiang government, Muyuan Food and Sonic Agriculture Hi-Tech. The latter is a large-scale Israeli enterprise focusing on vegetable breeding and production.

Costing 130 million yuan ($20 million), the facility will encompass one intelligent seedling breeding plant, one water and fertilizer control center, five energy-saving and intelligent greenhouses, and four outdoor planting demonstration areas.

Israeli agricultural expert guides a staff member in the demonstration park’s greenhouse. [Photo by Qi Guozhan/Chinanews.com]

Advanced Israeli agricultural technology related to soilless cultivation, artificial lighting, trickle irrigation, temperature-controlled greenhouses, and water-fertilizer integration will be used to breed new species of tomato, color pepper, fruit cucumber, and other kinds of Israeli produce.

The park adopts an Israeli drip irrigation system, which uses electronic sensors and computers to determine how much water and fertilizer needs to be applied. An imbedded climate-control system will automatically adjust the temperature and humidity in the greenhouse, said Liu Qi, production director of the demonstration park.

According to Liu, the integrated water and fertilizing system can keep the land in an arable state for 300 days a year and increase crop yields by 50 percent. Soilless cultivation will also improve product quality by isolating the crops from the external environment.

In addition, the demonstration park will demarcate zones for vegetable and fruit sampling, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment in order to help develop rural tourism. Its cooperative “enterprise-cooperative-family farm” model will also be promoted in other Nanyang towns and villages to help peasants increase their income.

A park staff member displays hydroponic vegetables. [Photo by Qi Guozhan/Chinanews.com]

(chinadaily.com.cn),Chinanews

A survey on expat life in China published by eChinacities

Job website eChinacities recently conducted a comprehensive survey made up of hot-button questions that look more like common icebreakers for any awkward expat conversation in China. ‘Hey, so are you satisfied with your life here? How long do you plan on staying here? What do you like most about China?’. In a noble quest to grapple with these head-scratchers, eChinacities interviewed roughly 1,049 expats from 153 countries to get their perspective. Here are the results.

How satisfied are you with your life in China in general?

The main conclusion of the survey is that foreigners are mostly quite content with their lives in China. When asked how satisfied they were, 65 percent answered ‘moderately satisfied’ with 35 percent choosing ‘very satisfied’. When asked to elaborate on their answer, they mentioned low cost of living, hospitality and good opportunities for career development as the main reasons.

How long do you plan on staying in China?

Answers seemed pretty split among the time limits given, however a considerable percentage of expats would be happy to remain in Beijing for 3 to 4 years, not to mention the 25 percent that gamely answered they would be happy to live in China for as long as possible.

What do you like most about China?

If you feel safe in China, you’re not the only one, proven by the fact that 58 percent of the interviewees referred to safety when asked what they liked most about China. Slightly falling behind were travel opportunities, culture, people, food and cost of living.

What do you dislike most about China?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, lack of internet freedom and pollution (surprise, surprise) were pinpointed as expats’ main dislikes. Supposed poor manners were also identified as a major source of irritation.

What has been the biggest challenge for you in China?

By far, the biggest challenge to living in China was identified as the language barrier. However, 91 percent said they can speak at least ‘a little’ Chinese, while more than 11 percent said they speak it ‘fluently’. Around 86 percent said they found it ‘moderately easy’ or ‘easy’ to integrate with locals, although more than 13 percent said they found it not easy at all.

That said, over 84 percent of interviewees said they socialise with a ‘mixture of Chinese people and expats’ or ‘mainly Chinese people’, and only 10 percent rated their social life in China as ‘poor’. A resounding 84 percent also said they found it ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ easy to connect with the expat community in China.

How did you find your job?

Finding a job doesn’t seem to be much of a challenge in China, with 35 percent of respondents claiming they found their position by word of mouth, compared to 30 percent who succeeded in surfing job websites. There are also 23 percent and 12 percent who made good use of agencies and social media respectively.

How satisfied are you with your current job in China?

Of those currently working in China, a whopping 93 percent of respondents were broadly satisfied with their jobs. Way to go China.

Though China’s diverse expat community can in no way be generalised, this survey does offer interesting insight into what some of the broader concerns troubling expats are, as well as the limited timespan many foreigners end up staying in China. So how satisfied are you with living in China? And do you agree with the results of the survey? Sound off in the comments below.

Want to know what it’s like to be a woman in Beijing? Hit ‘Read more’ for the results of our Women’s City Living survey.