Give me credit for something
Along with the value of the RMB, the never-ending credit squeeze is what local business people love to complain about. But it appears to be easing. Chinese bank loans increased in the first quarter largely due to various investment stimulus packages. At the end of March, outstanding loans at State banks were up 16 percent over the same time last year.

Gas relief
China is planning to massively expand use of natural gas in its cities to help turn the pollution problem round. The problem is that the people are generally along the eastern seaboard, while the gas is under the ground in the middle of the desert thousands of kilometers west. The answer? Pipelines. The main pipeline, running from Xinjiang to Shanghai will be 4,200 km long with completion planned for 2007. Confirmed gas reserves out there are huge and will last decades, even at high levels of consumption.

Imports up
China's imports were up 11.6 percent in the first quarter of the this year while exports declined nearly eight percent, according to official figures. Oh dear. Even worse, the main reason given for the import rise was expansion of domestic demand while imports of raw materials -- the stuff of which the next export wave is made -- dipped by 4.7 percent.

Fair prospects
The biannual Guangzhou trade fair has been crucial to the China export business for decades. Guess how much of China's total export trade it now accounts for? You're probably wrong - the official figure is 30 percent. It's on now, and there's a lot of interest in seeing how business goes. The signs are mixed right now. You can make an argument both ways.

'logic bombs'
A Canadian has been fined by a court in Chongqing for putting computer viruses into the computer software of a local factory. Computer specialists discovered "logic bombs," or destructive programs, in the software of equipment imported by a local company and Dan Leary was found to be the person responsible, Xinhua news agency said. He was fined 5,000 yuan.