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Surprising Harbin - China's 1st Household Robot
Did you know . . . The Harbin Institute of Technology
in Northeast
China's Heilongjiang Province lead by Professor Hong
Bingron is developing a humanoid robot designed
exclusively for family use. The half-meter-tall
wheeled robot can talk, provide security, and clean
the house in 20 minutes using its built-in vacuum
cleaner.
The whole idea of the design and development of the
domestic robot is based on the "self-navigation"
technology Hong and his colleagues developed after
forming a Robot-Soccer Player Research Group at HIT
eight years ago. With ultrasonic and other sensors
around its body, Hong said, "it can carefully avoid
obstacles and will not hit people or furniture."
The robot can also distinguish people using voice and
image recognition systems.
"He will be friendly when he meets an acquaintance
and will sound an alarm when he meets somebody he
doesn't recognize," Hong said. In addition, the robot
can also tell its owner if certain domestic
emergencies are happening. "Basically, its
intelligence is like a child of seven or eight years,"
Hong said; though it can even be programmed to
know where to recharge itself once its battery gets
low.
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Dear Friends:
We are back from China, and past our jet lag and
holiday activities. The trip was a mix of business and
pleasure. Our entourage included Jill and me, our
associate, Xiong Her, and our 11-year-old son, Alex.
Much of our visit was taken with the opening of the
16th annual Harbin Economic and Trade Exposition.
We were invited to be among the special guests
participating in various events and ceremonies. We
were also touched by the continuing kindness of so
many good friends, especially Xie Yingmei and her
wonderful family, Wang Gui Lan, who provided
fabulous accommodations for our stay in Harbin,
Wang Xi Quan (Henry), who arranged events for our
son and his daughter and other young friends, and
Sun Yun Lah who hosted us our regular visit to her
high-fashioned spa for haircuts and other services.
(Details of this latest trip are found on our website,
www.harbex.org.)
On the business side, we continued to advance our
Hollywood restaurant proposal through important
meetings with the Wanda Company. We also
reviewed some outstanding investment projects. It is
my hope that we can bring U.S. investors to these
projects before other international investors do. We
are particularly excited by the prospect of
the investment in a key highway (the Fourth Ring
Road) project that essentially privatized this critical
artery. (See more about these and other investment
below and on www.harbex.org.)
Anyone who reads this
newsletter regularly should know of my chagrin
with the timidity of U.S. investors and the potential
losses for our future economy if the U.S. does not
take a substantial stake in the dynamic Chinese
economy.
When we first began this newsletter more than three
years ago, we predicted the coming of Chinese
investment to America - which was virtually non-
existent at the time. We identified what we called
the "five waves of Sino-American business
activities", which were (1) outsourcing for
importation to the U.S., (2) establishing factories to
manufacture for the American market, (3) selling to
the growing Chinese market, (4) investment based on
financial return in Chinese projects, and (5) predicting
the eventual investment of Chinese money in the
U.S. Now with the move by Haier to acquire Maytag
and China National Offshore Oil Company to take over
Unocal, the fifth wave is clearly upon us. This trend
will likely develop with the lightening speed that
seems characteristic of all things related to the
Chinese economy. Of course, these investments
cause some concern (as did the long ago investments
by the enriched Japanese entrepreneurs.) There will
have to be reciprocity of investment opportunity, in
terms of both investment policies and available
sectors. - Larry P. Horist, President,
Harbin Business
Exchange
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| Harbin Trade Fair a Success |
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A major trade fair closed in Harbin, the capital of
northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with the
signing of the export and import contracts worth of
3.96 billion US dollars. The previous 15 fairs
attracted 1.1 million businesspersons from all
over the world and struck deals worth of 70 billion
USD. According to organizers of the 16th China
Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation,
export deals clinched at the fair valued 2.26 billion US
dollars, 47.7 percent more than the previous
fair. The event has drawn more than 10,000 traders
from 81 countries and regions across the globe
including government representatives from Russia,
Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Singapore,
Malaysia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of China.
In a high-profile endeavor to boost economic, trade,
scientific and technological cooperation with Russia
and revitalize northeast China's "rust belt", of a
former unlively industrial base, a series of high-level
promotions were conducted at the fair, resulting in
nine major export and import contracts worth of 669
million US dollars. Values of mechanical and electrical
contracts signed at the fair surged to 680 million
USD, more than tripling that of the previous year.
Participants at the fair also attached closer
importance to those industrial projects involving high-
tech, energy development and the exploitation of
resources, widely deemed as a result of the national
policy on rejuvenating China's former industrial base
in the northeast.
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| Hotel Investment Opportunity |
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Newly built is the Songhuajiang Gloria Plaza Hotel.
Located at the nexus of the downtown area of
Harbin, the hotel borders the Flood monument plaza,
sits conveniently across the plaza from the recently
opened Wanda Shopping mall, and is a few steps from
the Songhua River walkway. There is always
something exciting to see and do.
All 83 deluxe guestrooms are equipped with IDD/DDD
telephones, satellite television, and Internet access.
Of course, each suite includes a soft comfortable
bed. Also available are VIP guestrooms. For large-
scale functions, multipurpose banquet rooms are
available which are perfect for private parties or
press conferences.
Current owners are seeking a U.S. investor to acquire
the hotel, participate in a joint venture, or undertake
a management agreement. For more information on
this or other projects, please send an email with the
subject title "Songhuajiang hotel" to
info@harbex.org.
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| Promising Transportation Project |
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The final segment of what is called the Fourth Ring
Road is open to Foreign investment and privatization.
The project calls for a private investment or joint
venture partnership with a prominent Harbin
Construction Company to build and operate the
Highway as a toll road.
The road provides a vital link around the central city
with feeder expressway as spokes into the city. It
also is the major access to major region of the new
city being constructed north of the Songhua River.
In addition to the surface highway, the project
includes a tunnel and two bridges - one crossing the
Songhua River.
The project has received all the necessary approval
at the municipal, provincial and national level. HBE
represents this project in the United States. For
more information call (312) 565-4499 or email
info@harbex.org.
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