BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China should speed up reforming its financial system to make the yuan an international currency, said political advisors Saturday. "A significant inspiration to draw from the global financial crisis is that we must play an active role in the reconstruction of the international financial order," said Peter Kwong Ching Woo, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Wharf (Holdings) Limited. The key to financial reform is to make the yuan an international currency, said Woo in a speech to the Second Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body. That means using the Chinese currency to settle international trade payments, allowing the yuan freely convertible on the capital account and making it an international reserve currency, he said. China's yuan, or Renminbi, can be freely convertible on the current account but not on the capital account, preventing it from being a reserve currency or a choice in international trade settlement. China has announced trial programs to settle trade in the yuan, a move analysts say will facilitate foreign trade as Chinese exporters might face losses if they continue to be paid in the U.S. dollar. The dollar's exchange rate has become more volatile since the global financial crisis. Economists say the move will increase the acceptance of the currency in Asia, which will help it become an international currency in the long run. The status of the yuan as an international currency will benefit China by giving it a bigger say in world financial issues and reducing the reliance of its huge foreign reserves on the U.S. dollar, some analysts say. Other analysts argue a fully convertible yuan will hurt China as it would allow massive capital outflow during a financial crisis. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities remain cautious. It's possible that the global financial crisis will facilitate the process of making the yuan internationally accepted, but there's no need to push for that, Yi Gang, vice central bank governor, told Xinhua earlier this month. That process should be conducive to all sides, he said. Xu Shanda, former vice director of the State Administration of Taxation and a CPPCC National Committee member, urged for faster paces in making the yuan an international currency as a way of increasing national wealth. He said the United States and the European Union have obtained hefty royalties from the international use of their currencies while China has become the biggest source of that income. A royalty, or seignior age, results from the difference between the cost of printing currency and the face value of the money. "China's loss due to royalty payment has far exceeded the benefit of not making the yuan an international currency," he said in a speech to the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, without elaborating. China's State Council, or Cabinet, said last December it would allow the yuan to be used for settlement between the country's two economic powerhouses -- Guangdong Province and the Yangtze River Delta -- and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Meanwhile, exporters in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province will be allowed to use Renminbi to settle trade payments with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members.
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and overseas reporters are invited to cover the upcoming annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The 2nd session of the 11th National People's Congress and the 2nd session of the 11th National Committee of the CPPCC are to be convened on March 5 and March 3 in Beijing respectively, announced the general offices of the NPC Standing Committee and the CPPCC National Committee. A media center will be opened on Feb. 26 for the two meetings at the Media Center Hotel to serve the needs of journalists, the offices said. Chinese and resident foreign reporters should submit their applications for reporting passes before March 5 to the media center while foreign reporters temporarily in China for the "two sessions" should apply at Chinese embassies or visa organizations authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Hong Kong and Macao offices of the China Travel Services are authorized to handle applications from Taiwan reporters. Reporters from Hong Kong and Macao should apply at the central government's liaison offices in the two special administrative regions. Two websites were opened Wednesday to help domestic and overseas journalists report the "two sessions" as the country's top-level political events are drawing near.
BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Monday warned of deflation in the near term caused by continuing downward pressure on prices. Commodities prices were low and weak external demand could exacerbate domestic over-capacity, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in an assessment of fourth-quarter monetary policy. "Against the backdrop of shrinking general demand, the power to push up prices is weak and that to drive down prices is strong," the PBOC said. "There exists a big risk of deflation." China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, rose 1 percent in January from a year earlier. In that period, the producer price index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, dropped 3.3 percent. But the PBOC also warned of medium and long-term inflation risks. As the central banks worldwide injected a huge amount of liquidity into the financial system, commodities prices could repeat earlier rallies if market confidence recovered, it said. The PBOC stated that China's economy faced further downside risks because of slackening external demand, over-capacity in some sectors and increases in urban job losses. The gross domestic product expanded at a slower rate of 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, as exports slumped and the property sector sagged, dragging down growth for the whole of 2008to a seven-year low of 9 percent But China had huge market potential and as the macro controls started to take effect, its economy was likely to maintain stable and relatively fast growth, it said. To spur growth, the PBOC said it would ensure ample liquidity in the banking system and promote the reasonable and stable growth of credit. It also reaffirmed that China would keep the Renminbi (RMB) exchange rate basically stable, while making it more flexible in a self-initiated, gradual and controllable manner.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Yu Xiuli, a victim of domestic violence, can turn to police for help if her husband continues to beat her thanks to a regulation which came into effect on Sunday. The 40-year-old woman in eastern Shandong Province has been bearing the cursing and beating of her husband for years, but has never thought of asking police for help. "I believed it was not the business of police to stop domestic violence so I has never thought of alerting police," said Yu. But from Sunday women like Yu could alert police if they fall victim to domestic violence according to a regulation of the province that came into effect Sunday. Many provinces in China have set up police centers to handle household violence after a national regulation that was issued in September last year requiring police to be dispatched whenever they receive a 110 emergency call regarding household violence. According to the All-China Women's Federation, domestic violence poses a severe threat to women's rights in China with the authorities receiving about 50,000 complaints annually. In fact, women in China have had more channels to protect their rights and interests. On Saturday, a hot line - 12338 for protection of women's rights was opened in eastern Zhejiang Province. The hot line was set up to provide legal help for women, including migrant workers, in Zhejiang. The Zhejiang provincial women's federation said the province has had 280,000 volunteers and 25,000 community or village centers for women rights protection. The issuing of a regulation to prevent and curb household violence has been put on the agenda of the provincial legislature this year, it said. In Beijing, the Chaoyang District People's Court opened a hot line for protection of rights and interests of women and children on Wednesday. The line was the first among the capital's court system. The hot line will offer legal aid to women and children. "The whole society has been attaching increasing attention to the protection of women's rights in marriage, employment and family life in recent years," said Shi Yan, a judge of the court. The court set up a collegial panel specially for women and children in December 2007. Similar panels have also been set up in courts of other provinces across the country to better protect women's rights.
BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's state assets watchdog will closely watch over projects implemented by state-owned enterprises(SOEs) in the country's massive stimulus package to prevent corruption, an official said here Sunday. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Management Commission (SASAC) will strictly look into the progress and fund use of projects by SOEs directly under the central government, said the SASAC director Li Rongrong. Many projects are estimated to see over tens of millions of yuan put in, making it a more important task to fend off corruption, he said at an SOE meeting on disciplinary inspection work. China unveiled a stimulus package with a total investment of 4 trillion yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars) in November to boost domestic demand and offset the world economic slowdown. Of the total, 100 billion yuan had been allocated by the central government by the end of last year. Li said inspectors will particularly focus on projects in such sectors as power grids, telecommunications, transportation, equipment, construction and metallurgy. The SASAC will also check whether the projects cause environmental hazards, consume too much energy and resources or result in excessive capacity, said Li. A total of 4,960 Chinese officials above the county level were punished in a year ending November 2008, data show. They were involved in corruption and commercial bribes, hurting people's interests.
BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan has called on the international community to "act together" at the upcoming London summit to get through the global financial crisis, in an article published by the British newspaper The Times on Friday. In the article entitled "G20 must look beyond the needs of the top 20," with a subtitle "China believes the developing world should have a stronger say in how the international financial system is run," Wang urged all heads of states to be present at the G20 London summit to "act together to get through the time of hardship." After the financial crisis broke out, China was quick to put in place a decisive plan to boost domestic demand, advance economic restructuring and improve people's well-being, which have started to produce results, said the vice premier. However, the Chinese economy still faces severe challenges, including to meet the demanding goal of maintaining economic growth by boosting domestic demand, ensuring employment and readjusting the economic structure. China also has to cope with shrinking external demand caused by the global economic downturn and trade and investment protectionism, Wang said. "China will continue to take forceful measures to maintain steady and fast economic growth and contribute its share to an early recovery of the world economy," Wang pledged in the article. Since the G20 summit in Washington last year, said Wang, China has provided a lot of assistance and support through a variety of means to a number of countries and regions, and played a part in the creation of significant Asian and global economic and trade initiatives. The Chinese leader stressed the significance of the international community to enhance coordination and cooperation to overcome the current difficulties. "Efforts should be made to expand trade and investment cooperation to bolster economic growth, step up cooperation among small and medium-size businesses to ensure employment stability, and strengthen cooperation in energy conservation and emissions' reduction, environmental protection and development of new energy technologies to nurture growth points for the world economy," Wang suggested. He firmly rejected trade and investment protectionism of all kind. "The international community should recognize that the trend towards economic globalization is irreversible and should take credible steps to reject all forms of trade and investment protectionism," he said. Wang also called on the international financial system to be reformed, "with the focus on readjusting the governance structure of international financial institutions and increasing the representation and voice of developing countries." He asked the London summit to set a clear goal, timetable and road-map for such reform. To prevent similar crisis from happening again, Wang, also a Chinese economic expert, suggested prudent regulation of all financial markets and institutions involved to be tightened and regulatory coordination and cooperation at both the regional and international levels to be increased. On the hot topic of increasing financial resources for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said China supports the increase as far as the fund is safe and reasonable returns can be ensured. "China is ready to play an active part in exploring ways to raise resources and will contribute to this effort within its ability," Wang said. He asked the IMF to mobilize resources through the "quota-based" system as well as voluntary contributions, striking a balance between the rights and obligations of the contributing countries. As a return, said the Chinese vice premier, the IMF must enhance capacity-building, reform governance structure and ensure that the resources play a significant role in easing the international financial crisis and countering the global economic downturn. China inclines to see the resources mainly to be used to help developing countries which are seriously hit by the crisis, Wang said. Leaders of the world's 20 largest economies will meet in London on Thursday to discuss, among other things, a coordinated response to the current global financial crisis
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BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has stressed on Tuesday the importance of studying and applying the Scientific Outlook on Development in the work of government organizations at all levels during the economic downturn. Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks here at a meeting on studying and applying the Scientific Outlook on Development. Xi urged government officials at all levels to summarize their working experiences, improve ruling sufficiency and correct mistakes. He said any concepts that were not compatible with or went against the Scientific Outlook on Development should be changed. He also urged that problems related to government officials' credibility and capability be solved to ensure that officials should be educated, scientific development sped up and people's demands met.
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Senior members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) met Wednesday to discuss the agenda of the annual conference in March. Jia Qinglin, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, presided over the meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th CPPCC National Committee. The fourth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 25, 2009During the three-day meeting, the senior political advisors will set an agenda for the Second Session of the 11th CPPCC National Committee, discuss and approve a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, and study a report on the handling of proposals put forward by CPPCC members at last year's annual meeting. The CPPCC reflects China's "multi-party cooperation system" under the leadership of the CPC. The CPPCC committees at different levels have representatives from different political groups, ethnic groups, and people of all walks of life.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Friday that the "good situation" in today's Tibet was "hard-earned and should be highly cherished." Hu said during his visit to an exhibition marking the 50th Anniversary of Democratic Reform in Tibet, at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, that the reform 50 years ago was "the most extensive, profound and progressive social transformation in the history of Tibet." All the nine members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee visited the exhibition, including top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, and top political advisor Jia Qinglin. Chinese President Hu Jintao, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits an exhibition marking the 50th Anniversary of Democratic Reform in Tibet, at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, capital of China, on March 27, 2009 The exhibition, opened on Feb. 24, 2009, showcases archives, cultural relics, photos, videos, and restored landscapes that have recorded the great changes Tibet has gone through since 1959, when serfdom was abolished. The exhibits show that Tibet has been a part of China since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368 A.D.). Also exhibited are scenes of surfs being exploited by their owners in the old times and how they were liberated 50 years ago. The exhibition puts on videos recording the March 14th Riot in Lhasa last year and the major projects the Chinese government has sponsored in the plateau, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the Tibet Gymnasium. It also includes photos about Tibetan people's lives today. When visiting the exhibition, Hu stressed that, only by staying in the big family of the motherland under the leadership of the CPC, can the economy and society of Tibet develop by leaps and bounds, and the people of Tibet be the owner of the country together with other Chinese ethnics. Tibet should speed up economic development and further improve the living standards of people living there, especially the peasants and herdsmen, Hu said. Hu also said that Tibet should move from being "basically stable" to "peaceful and stable in the long run." The exhibition, co-organized by the State Council Information Office, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Tibet Autonomous Region, has attracted about 137,000 visitors since its opening.
TOKYO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Li Changchun, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met late Monday with executives of major Japanese media, urging media of both countries to make due contributions to the advancement of Sino-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial relations. Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that both Chinese and Japanese media need to adopt a responsible attitude to report issues concerning bilateral relations and situations of their respective countries in line with the principle of authenticity, objectivity and comprehensiveness in a bid to promote mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples. The media should also proceed from the general situation of Sino-Japan relations to boost mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, focusing more on news reports that are beneficial to closer bilateral cooperation and providing more information that is conducive to China-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial relations, he said. Exchanges and cooperation between the media of the two nations, such as "Beijing-Tokyo Forum" and "China-Japan Media Dialogue", help to establish new channels and forms for frank, in-depth and rational dialogues as well as a platform for the two peoples to deepen their mutual understanding, he said. Executives of key Japanese media such as public broadcaster NHK,TV Asahi, The Yumiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News Agency said that it is the common aspiration of both peoples as well as their historical responsibility to promote the steady and sustained growth of Japan-China relations. They also made proposals on advancing exchanges between media of the two countries, expanding bilateral cooperation on economy and trade and improving feelings the two peoples harbor toward each other. On Tuesday, Li visited the headquarters of The Yumiuri Shimbun and NHK, inquiring in detail about the management and operation of the two Japanese media. Li arrived here Sunday for an official goodwill visit. Japan is the third leg of his four-nation tour, which has already taken him to Australia and Myanmar. Li is to conclude his visit to Japan Wednesday and leave for the Republic of Korea.