BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met on Monday with some foreign leaders here to watch the Beijing Olympic Games. In his meeting with Ranko Krivokapic, the Republic of Montenegro parliament speaker, Wu said China advocated all nations, big or small, rich or poor, as equal members of the international community. Wu Bangguo (1st R), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Ranko Krivokapic (1st L), the Republic of Montenegro parliament speaker, in Beijing, China, Aug. 18, 2008. Ranko Krivokapic is here to watch the Beijing Olympic GamesChina valued its ties with Montenegro and would develop a long-term, stable and all-round relationship, as well as sound legislative cooperation with the Balkan country, he said. Krivokapic said the Montenegro parliament would enhance its cooperation with the NPC and adhere to the one-China policy. Wu Bangguo (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Abdelaziz Ziari, speaker of the Algerian parliament, in Beijing, China, Aug. 18, 2008. Abdelaziz Ziari is here to watch the Beijing Olympic Games. When meeting with Abdelaziz (Abdul-Aziz) Ziari, speaker of the Algerian parliament, Wu said the Olympics was going on smoothly, and China would honor its commitment to hold an unique and high-standard Games with distinctive features. He pledged to take the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of China-Algeria ties in the coming year to push forward the cooperation of mutual benefit. Ziari said the well-organized Olympic Games impressed him and demonstrated what China had achieved in its reform and opening-up drive. The Algerian parliament would further exchanges with the NPC. Wu Bangguo (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Kono Yohei, speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan's Diet, in Beijing, China, Aug. 18, 2008. Kono Yohei is here to watch the Beijing Olympic Games.When meeting with Kono Yohei, speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan's Diet, Wu said Sino-Japanese relations were at a new start in history and had great potential for further development. He recalled the Japanese trip by Chinese leader Hu Jintao in May which outlined the future development of the bilateral ties. He said the NPC would promote cooperation with the Japanese house of representatives through the regular exchange mechanism to push forward the strategic and reciprocal relations between the two countries. Wu expressed gratitude for Japan's support to the Beijing Games. Kono said the Japanese house would play a positive role in upgrading the relationship between the two countries.
BEIJING, May. 13 -- China's trade surplus decreased slightly last month from a year ago amid declines in international trade growth triggered by the global economic slowdown. Monthly surplus reached 16.68 billion last month, down 1.14 percent year-on-year but up 24.5 percent from 13.4 billion U.S. dollars in March, the General Administration of Customs said yesterday. Exports in April rose 21.8 percent year-on-year to 118.71 billion U.S. dollars, while imports rose 26.3 percent to 102.03 billion U.S. dollars. China's trade surplus decreased slightly last month from a year ago amid declines in international trade growth triggered by the global economic slowdown.( The sharp decline in April's export growth after a 30.6 percent rise in March should be seen as a return to the medium-term trend rather than a sudden weakening in China's exports, said Sun Mingchun with Lehman Brothers. He said year-on-year growth of exports in March 2008 was abnormally strong given exports in March 2007 were extremely weak because exporters had frontloaded their shipments last February. China's trade surplus has been narrowing since the government took measures to curb exports of resource-intensive and heavily polluting products and started to encourage imports from last year. The World Trade Organization has predicted global trade growth will decline to 4.5 percent, 1 percentage point lower than last year. It could be the slowest rise since 2002. "The global economy is facing more uncertainties this year given the possible shrinkage in US demand and inflationary pressures. Both these factors are expected to aggravate the global economic slowdown, further affecting trade," said Liang Yanfen, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. "Slowing external demand may take more time to impact export growth, but the weakening trend is becoming more evident both in and outside the US. Higher commodity prices and currency appreciation would check the continued rise in trade surplus," said Ken Peng, a Citi analyst. Export growth stayed robust at 21.8 percent but is under pressure as even Asian demand has started to slow, suggesting that a weakening in the final product markets is affecting upstream producers while imports continue to be supported by a stronger currency, high commodity prices and government controls over trade in food and resources out of inflation concerns, he said. The country's trade surplus in the first four months narrowed to 57.99 billion U.S. dollars, 5.31 billion U.S. dollars lower than a year ago. Exports in these four months amounted to 424.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 21.5 percent, or 6 percentage points less than a year earlier. Imports were 366.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 27.9 percent, or 8.8 percentage points more than a year earlier. Realized foreign investment reached 35.02 billion U.S. dollars during the four months, up 59.32 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said.
BUCHAREST, May 6 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin said here Monday that China and Romania share the same task of opening up a new era in their all-round partnership of friendship and cooperation. Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political consultative body, delivered a speech at a session of the Romanian Senate on Monday evening. In his speech, Jia explained China's policy and concept of peaceful development and mutually beneficial, win-win cooperation with other countries. He emphasized the willingness to further deepen friendship between China and Romania and advance China's relations with Central and Eastern Europe in an all-round way. Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, delivers a speech at the Romanian Senate in Bucharest, Romania, May 5, 2008. Jia was warmly welcomed by Romanian Senators as he entered the meeting hall at the Parliament Palace under the escort of President Nicolae Vacaroiu. China and Romania enjoy a long-standing friendship. Romania is one of the first countries that recognized new China shortly after its founding. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations nearly 60 years ago, bilateral relations have been growing smoothly despite major changes in international situation and conditions in both countries. The two countries have been always supporting each other on international affairs and domestic development. Over the past few years, China and Romania have maintained frequent exchange of visits by high-ranking officials. Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Romania in 2004, when the two countries lift their relations to an all-round partnership of friendship and cooperation. "The true friendship and deep passion that the Romanian people cherish toward the Chinese people will always remain on the historical record of bilateral relations," Jia said in the speech. In the speech entitled "continuing the past, opening up the future and jointly creating a better tomorrow of friendship and cooperation", Jia said the two peoples have become friends of all weathers and that China-Romania relations have become an example of international relations. Jia put forward four proposals on further advancing bilateral links. First, the two countries should enhance political trust. They should continue to respect and treat each other as equals, never interfere in each other's internal affairs and pay attention to each other's concern. They should maintain high-level contact and carry out even closer exchanges and cooperation between their governments, legislatures and political parties so as to lay a solid political foundation for sustained development of bilateral links. Secondly, the two countries should expand trade and economic cooperation. They should expand trade and investment according to the principle of mutual complementarity, equality and mutual benefits. They should continue to give a full play to the role of their joint economic commission, encourage and support their companies to increase contact and explore new ways and methods of cooperation. Thirdly, the two countries should deepen cultural and humanitarian exchanges. They should continue exchanges and cooperation in such fields as culture, science, technology, education, sports, public health and tourism so as to add new content to bilateral links. They should further expand people-to-people exchanges, exchanges among local authorities and young people so as to consolidate the foundation of China-Romania friendship and add vigor to the development of bilateral links. Fourthly, the two countries should step up coordination and cooperation on international issues. They should join effort to build a fair, unbiased and rule-based multi-lateral system with the United Nations assuming the core role. Jia said China-Romania friendship is deep-rooted and fruitful and will enjoy an even better future. He called for the people of the two countries to join hands in strengthening their traditional friendship and all-round cooperation. Jia arrived in Bucharest Sunday for a four-day official goodwill visit to Romania. Romania is the first leg of his four-nation Europe tour, which will also take him to Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.
BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China's Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) urged local governments to strengthen flood control at a meeting here on Thursday. Water resources authorities should double check the preparation work for the incoming flood season, strengthen monitoring systems and ensure the safety of major rivers and large- and medium-sized reservoirs, it said. It also asked relevant authorities in quake zones to pay special attention to flood control and protect earthquake victims from fresh dangers. Flood control precautions and safe water supplies in cities holding competitions for the 2008 Olympic Games in August should be ensured. It added that drought prevention work should also be listed on the agenda. The SFDH initiated a level-three emergency response to the torrential rains that hit China over the past week causing 57 deaths.
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- From anti-terrorism drills to halt of flights during the opening ceremony, Beijing is taking every possible measure to ward off terrorism and ensure security for next month's Olympic Games. China Civil Aviation Administration announced on Tuesday a new move for Olympic security that no planes would be allowed to take off or land at Beijing Capital International Airport from 7 p.m. to midnight on Aug. 8, the night of the Games' opening ceremony. Zhou Yongkang (2nd R Front), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, inspects a police station in the Nanchizi Community of Donghuamen Street in Beijing, capital of China, July 22, 2008. Zhou inspected public security posts for Olympics security work in Beijing on Tuesday. The security measure followed the experience of other countries that had hosted the Olympics and was ratified by the Chinese government. "At present, the security work for the Olympics is in a key phase, and we should mobilize the masses of people to contribute to the security of the Games," said Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, during an inspection tour of a community in Beijing's Dongcheng District. Zhou Yongkang (R Front) talks with a volunteer during his inspection at Terminal Three of Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, July 22, 2008.He further urged major officials of security-related departments and bureaus to monitor the safety work personally to ensure a smooth, orderly and effective operation. Beijing residents felt the presence of Olympic security measures as the city launched subway security checks on passengers late last month. Currently, air, rail and long-distance bus facilities here are on heightened alert as the Olympic Games approaches. Armed police with dogs began round-the-clock patrols on Monday at the capital's four railway stations, including the renovated one in a southern district that hasn't yet opened. At the Beijing West Railway Station, a major terminal, passengers were asked to taste any liquids they carried or put a sealed one under a special detector handset to identify its contents. "Security is of the utmost importance in relation to the full success of the Olympics," China's Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu said at a meeting on security work. He demanded all police bureaus take actions immediately and make full preparations to respond to any possible emergencies. The end of a series of anti-terrorist drills dubbed "Great Wall5" at the national level in June marked the beginning of the anti-terrorism campaign in China. At present, an anti-terrorist force of nearly 100,000 commandos, police and army troops was being deployed for handling possible terrorist attacks before and during the Beijing Olympic Games, official statistics showed.
TIANJIN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged Tianjin Municipality in north China to step up opening and reform of its Binhai New Area. Wen made the remark during his inspection tour in the coastal municipality on the sidelines of the 2008 Summer Davos Forum which was held here on Saturday and Sunday. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) inspects at a supermarket as he visits Tianjin Municipality in north China on Sept. 28, 2008The Tianjin Binhai New Area includes Tianjin Port and a low-tax area. In all, it is 2,270 square km and has a population of 1.4 million. Lying between China's capital and the Bohai Gulf, the area has been decided by the State Council, or the Cabinet, to be one of the key economic powers in the country. Taking an intercity high-speed railway shuttle from Beijing, the Premier asked the administrators of the shuttle line to provide a safe, fast and convenient service for people living in the two cities. After arriving at the Binhai New Area, Premier Wen inspected some industry zones near the port. He was accompanied by Tianjin's Communist Party chief Zhang Gaoli. Wen attended an opening ceremony for an assembly factory of the Airbus A320 model in the area. "The Binhai New Area should take the advantages of various economic policies given by the central government and constantly improve its abilities of innovation and international competition," said the premier. During his visit to the city, Wen also went to local households to convey his greetings of the National Day, which falls on Oct. 1. When visiting a supermarket in the old community of Tianjin, Premier Wen asked the supermarket to ensure the quality of the products on sale. He also went to a children's hospital where many parents sent their babies to have medical examinations in lieu of the toxic milk scandal. The premier urged doctors in the hospital to carefully examine every child and to set parent's hearts to rest.
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HANGZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Li Keqiang has urged the country's enterprises to raise their international competitiveness by speeding up transformation and adjustment in line with the changing domestic and global economic situation. During a three-day inspection and research tour in the booming southeastern Zhejiang Province, which ended on Tuesday, Li visited textile factories, electric machinery companies and high-tech enterprises to get a first-hand assessment of enterprise reform amid a new domestic and international market climate. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (2nd L, front) speaks while visiting auto parts producer Wanxiang Group in China’s Zhejiang Province on July 7, 2008.During visits to Wenzhou-based enterprises including garment producer Fapai Group and lighter maker Rifeng, Li said the overall Chinese economy was fundamentally in good shape and China was confident of keeping its economy growing steadily and fast. However, he said, the global economic slowdown and imported inflation were having an increasing impact on the economy and the country should take aggressive measures to deal with such challenges. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (C, front) talks with migrant worker Qiu Xucui (R, front) who is from the quake-hit Mianzhu city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province while visiting shoemaker Kangnai Group in China’s Zhejiang Province on July 6, 2008.In visiting electric machinery companies such as leading auto parts producers Wanxiang Group and Ruili Group Corp., Li said the economy was undergoing a critical period, which called for deeper reform. The government should lose no time or opportunity to improve the market economic system and try to make price increases "acceptable" for both industries and the public, Li said. He noted that China should also seek better development of foreign trade, improve the mix of imports and exports, and encourage Chinese enterprises to expand into the international market. At high-tech enterprises like Supcon Group and Alibaba, which owns China's largest e-commerce website, Li said enterprises should also continue to promote technological innovation and improve their management so as to boost their competitiveness. He also said vigorous development of enterprises was vital for the economy to maintain steady and fast growth and governments at all levels should do their best to provide better services for all companies and create a better climate for the development of enterprises
BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council, or the Cabinet, has ordered government agencies to take immediate actions to rectify the financial abuses exposed by the National Audit Office (NAO) in late August. All units that misused funds were required to report their rectification results to the State Council before Oct. 31, according to an executive meeting of the Cabinet Thursday, which was presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. The NAO found 29.38 billion yuan (4.32 billion U.S. dollars) worth of "problematic" expenditures after auditing the 2007 state budget spending of 53 ministerial-level departments and 368 of their affiliates. It also found 258 million yuan of disaster relief funds were embezzled and used for administrative expenses or government construction projects. The meeting decided that more central agencies shall make public their budgets. Eleven of them did this last year. The Cabinet also reviewed a draft ordinance complementary for the enforcement of the Labor Contract Law, and decided that further revision has to be done before it could be enacted. The Labor Contract Law took effect on Jan. 1 and has raised concern in China's corporate world because of its enhanced protection of laborers' rights.
BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing global financial turbulence will have a limited impact on China's banks and financial system in the short run, according to officials and experts. "We feel China's financial system and its banks are, to the chaos developed in the U.S. and other parts of the world, relatively shielded from those problems," said senior economist Louis Kuijs at the World Bank Beijing Office. He told Xinhua one reason was that Chinese banks were less involved in the highly sophisticated financial transactions and products. "They were lucky not to be so-called developed, because this (financial crisis) is very much a developed market crisis." Farmers harvest rice in 850 farm in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Sept. 26, 2008. A few Chinese lenders were subject to losses from investing in foreign assets involved in the Wall Street crisis, but the scope and scale were small and the banks had been prepared for possible risks, Liu Fushou, deputy director of the Banking Supervision Department I of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, told China Central Television (CCTV). Chinese banks had only invested 3.7 percent of their total wealth in overseas assets that were prone to international tumult, CCTV reported. The ratio of provisions to possible losses had exceeded 110 percent at large, state owned listed lenders, 120 percent at joint stock commercial banks and 200 percent at foreign banks. Kuijs noted most of the banks resided in China where capital control made it more difficult to move money in and out. Besides, the country's large foreign reserves prevented the financial system from a lack of liquidity, which was troubling the strained international markets. "At times like this, one cannot rule out anything," he said. "But still we believe the economic development and economic fundamentals in China are such that it's not easy to foresee a significant direct impact on the financial system." However, he expected an impact on China's banks coming via the country's real economy, as exports, investment and plans of companies would be affected by the troubled world economy and in turn increase pressure on bad loans. Wang Xiaoguang, a Beijing-based macro-economist, said the growing risks on global markets would render a negative effect on China in the short term but provided an opportunity for the country to fuel its growth more on domestic demand than on external needs. He urged while China, the world's fastest expanding economy, should be more cautious of fully opening up its capital account, the government should continue its market reforms on the domestic financial industry without being intimidated. Chinese banks had strengthened the management of their investments in overseas liquid assets and taken a more prudent strategy in foreign currency-denominated investment products since the U.S.-born financial crisis broke out, CCTV reported.
GUANGZHOU/NANJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The first cross-Strait weekend chartered flight from China's mainland to Taiwan took off at 6:31 a.m. from Guangzhou, capital city of the southern Guangdong Province early Friday morning. More than 100 mainland tourists aboard the Airbus A330 became the first group of people on a sight-seeing tour allowed to Taiwan amid warming cross-Strait ties. The flight has 258 passengers. The historic flight by China Southern Airlines (CSA) is scheduled to land at Taipei Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan at 8:10 a.m. after a 1,124-km journey. "I have been expecting to visit Taiwan, the Treasure Island, and my dream will finally come true today," mainland tourist Shi Anwei told Xinhua before boarding the plane. "I was too excited to sleep last night." Following suit was a flight from Xiamen of eastern Fujian Province that took off at 7:16 a.m. The flight, MF881 by the Xiamen Airlines with 203 passengers, is expected to arrive at the Songshan Airport of Taipei at 8:51 a.m. Each passenger witnessing the historical moment received a gift package from the airlines, which enclosed a model plane and map of Taiwan. At a separate ceremony in East China's Nanjing City marking thecity as the fifth new city to conduct the cross-Strait chartered flight, Zheng Lizhong, mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Executive Vice Chairman, said the start of the weekend chartered flight and beginning of the mainland tourists' visit to Taiwan "is destined to open a new chapter in the cross-Straits cultural and economic communications." A high-ranking mainland aviation official said that since Shanghai was chosen as the first city for cross-Strait flight operation five years ago, "there has been a small step each year, but they have amounted to a major step in the past five years." "The ever more frequent and convenient flights across the Straits are not only improved means of transportation, they are also an emotional and cultural bridge for the people, and changed the way of thinking of both sides," the official said. However, he said, real direct flight hadn't been realized yet as all of the planes flew to Taipei by way of Hong Kong. Quoting Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of Chinese democratic revolution, the official said, "the real success is still in front and we need to work harder." The first chartered flight from Nanjing started at 8:05 a.m. Some 760 Chinese mainland tourists from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou started the first weekend charter flight to Taiwan on Friday, three weeks after the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation met last month.