Political Madness, or just business as usual?

08:07, January 11, 2011

China's Shandong Airlines signs contract with Boeing to buy 15 jets
China's Shandong Airlines signed a contract Monday with U.S.-based Boeing Company to buy 15 Boeing 737-800 passenger aircrafts with a catalogue price of about 1.35 billion U.S. dollars. The airliners would be delivered to Shandong Airlines over the next five years, said Zhang Xingfu, chairman of the company, based in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province. Shandong Airlines aims to increase its fleet to 100 over the next five years, Zhang said. Shandong Airlines already operates 48 passenger aircrafts on about 110 domestic and international air routes. "The new aircraft will help Shandong Airlines become a leading local airline, a major domestic airline and an influential international airline," Zhang said. The 737-800 was a major seller for Boeing, and the company had raised the monthly output from 31 to 38 to meet market demand, said Jim Simon, vice president of sales for China. With the rapid development of China's aviation market, Boeing aimed to sell 400 to 500 aircrafts in the country in the next five years, he said. The number of aircrafts sold in China was expected to exceed 1,300 in the next 20 years, he said. Source: Xinhua, Copyright by People's Daily Online, All Rights Reserved

Business digest
COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
Updated: 9:12 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011
Published: 8:08 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011

AVIATION
Boeing needs federal OK to move forward with 787 plans

The head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division says the company hopes to announce a delivery schedule for its 787 aircraft within two weeks, but getting federal approval for fixes to the problem-plagued plane will be key.
Jim Albaugh, Boeing's president and CEO for airplanes, said Wednesday that Boeing needs the Federal Aviation Administration "to agree to the fixes we're going to put in place" and to restart certification test flights before the company can release a delivery schedule. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency is working with Boeing Co. on planning for a resumption of flight tests. The 787 has suffered a string of production problems and is three years behind schedule. Boeing resumed test flights of the plane in December after an in-flight fire halted them in November.

CURRENCY
Treasury secretary warns Beijing on monetary policies

China's currency is substantially undervalued, and Beijing is moving too slowly to fulfill its promise to let it rise, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday. Geithner said it's in China's own interests to accelerate the pace of currency reform. He said the undervalued yuan is increasing the risk of inflation that will harm Chinese growth. Geithner addressed a range of economic policy issues at the center of U.S.-Chinese relations in a speech advancing Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington next week. In addition to the currency issue, he mentioned widespread theft of U.S. intellectual property in China, Beijing's protection policies that hurt U.S. exporters, and accusations that the government provides subsidies to Chinese businesses that violate World Trade Organization rules.

Sounds like business as usual. International relations is tough and complex process with many cultural, social, economic, development and other issues to work through. At least they are still talking so that is the most important thing.