UNITED NATIONS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday voiced its support for the liberalization of global trade and opposition to trade protectionism in all its forms in order to pave the way for the economic recovery in the world at large.The statement came as Li Baodong, the permanent Chinese representative to the United Nations, was taking the floor at the Special High-Level Meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods Institutes, namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development."China supports the liberalization and facilitation of global trade, and opposes trade protectionism in all its forms," Li said. "We should strive for the conclusion of the Doha round negotiations in 2010 to bring about comprehensive and balanced results. We also need to redouble the efforts of the WTO to promote aid for trade, and help developing countries strengthen capacity building.""Trade is a key driver for world economic recovery," he said. " Since the outbreak of the financial crisis, world trade has plummeted, and trade protectionism is on a visible increase. Developing countries are the biggest victims of trade protectionism.""The overall situation of the world economy has now turned for the better, but with the negative impact of the financial crisis still lingering, developing countries are faced with a huge challenge in achieving the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) on schedule," Li said.The High-level Plenary Meeting on MDGs to be held in September this year will be a major action taken by the UN system for the achievement of the MDGs in 2015, Li said."China supports the convening of this meeting and hopes the meeting will provide a platform for the international community to hear the voice of UN member states, especially that of developing countries, learn about the difficulties they have encountered in achieving the MDGs, and push for developed countries to truly shoulder the responsibility of helping developing countries, fulfill their commitments and reach consensus on future actions," he added.
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China will soon clarify the rules and regulations on qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) trading stock index futures in China, the China Daily reported Friday. "The regulator will work on the policies and regulations on securities companies, mutual funds and QFIIs ... in order to guarantee the smooth launch of index futures," the newspaper quoted Shang Fulin, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) as saying at a national conference on securities and futures supervision that ended Thursday. CSRC will also enhance supervision on securities firms that provide brokerage services for index futures trading and improve the country's cross-market supervision regime, the newspaper quoted Shang as saying. Foreign institutions may be allowed to trade index futures using a portion of their QFII quota, but details on trading requirements are still unknown, said the newspaper. At the conference Shang also said that the regulator would introduce margin trading and short selling pilot programs at the appropriate time, according to the newspaper.
TIANJIN, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The construction of a new express railway section between two cities near Beijing was kicked off Sunday, which, when completed, is expected to further speed up economic integration around the Chinese capital.The 158-km-long railway linking coastal Tianjin and Baoding in Hebei Province will shorten the journey between the two cities to less than an hour.The project is part of the railway network that covers Beijing, Tianjin and cities in Hebei."The network will serve as an important impetus for the integration of the cities around Beijing," said Wang Ailan, a researcher with the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences.An express railway between Beijing and Tianjin was put into operation in August 2008, shortening the 120-km journey between the two municipalities to only 30 minutes from the previous 74 minutes at least.The intercity railway network is centered at Beijing and Tianjin, and all the cities covered by the network, including Hebei provincial capital Shijiazhuang and coastal Qinhuangdao, can reach each other within two hours' rail ride, according to the plan .With an investment of 24 billion yuan (about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars) and a designed speed of 250 km per hour, the section between Tianjin and Baoding will serve both passenger and freight trains.The railway between Tianjin and Qinhuangdao, which is under construction, boasts a designed speed of 350 km per hour and will cut the trip between the two cities to 50 minutes when completed. Currently, the fastest train journey between the two port cities is about two hours.A high-speed passenger rail between Beijing and Shijiazhuang is also under construction. By 2012, 11 cities in Hebei will be covered by high-speed rails, and by 2020, the intercity railways between Beijing, Tianjin and cities in Hebei will reach 710 kilometers.
BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to chat with Internet users at 3 p.m. (Beijing Time) Saturday at two state news portals.The two major portals, www.gov.cn, of the central government, and www.xinhuanet.com, of the Xinhua News Agency, will jointly interview Premier Wen, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.Netizens in China and abroad are invited to raise questions to Wen via the Development Forum (http://forum.xinhuanet.com), and the premier is expected to answer some of these questions.The on-line chat will be shown live in texts, pictures and videos at the two portals.
BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers Wednesday called for improving the country's food safety supervision network after a nationwide law enforcement inspection tour.National lawmakers started the inspection tour last September after the Food Safety Law took effect last June.Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, told lawmakers that many regions had not completed reform of the food safety supervision mechanism.Most of the cities and counties had not started the reform yet, Lu said at a three-day bimonthly session of the top legislature that started Wednesday, when presenting a report of the inspection tour.He called for stronger coordination led by health departments.The report suggested establishing a national food safety risk assessment center and a food safety standard management system.Earlier this month, the State Council set up a food safety commission consisting of three vice premiers and a dozen minister-level officials.The lineup of the commission's members includes Vice Premiers Li Keqiang, Hui Liangyu and Wang Qishan, as well as more than ten heads or vice heads of government departments in charge of health, finance, and agriculture among other portfolios.The establishment of the commission followed a string of nationwide crackdowns and arrests in the wake of new melamine-tainted milk products being found in Shanghai as well as Liaoning, Shandong and Shaanxi in recent months.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Friday bade farewell to renowned educationist Huo Maozheng, who died of illness on Feb. 11 at the age of 88, at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing.State Councilor Liu Yandong joined Premier Wen at the funeral. Vice President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Li Keqiang previously expressed their condolences.Huo was among China's first group of "100 contemporary educationists," a top honor conferred by the government. She was vice principal of the Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) attends Huo Maozheng's funeral in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2010. Wen Jiabao on Friday bade farewell to renowned educationist Huo Maozheng, who died of illness on Feb. 11 at the age of 88, at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing. She was also member of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, and member of the standing committees of the sixth, seventh and eighth CPPCC National Committees.Huo graduated in 1943 from the Mathematics and Physics Department of the Beijing Normal University.
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BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has commended the heroic deeds of a special policeman, who died on duty at the age of 28, and asked the country to build a special police team with high fighting capacity.Hu made the call in a written instruction to a meeting on Tuesday honoring Shen Zhandong, a special policeman from Zhengzhou, of the central Henan Province.Shen was known for his outstanding performance in many missions, including the rescue work after the deadly Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province and the security work for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.Shen died on Jan. 30, the day of his 28th birthday. Medical diagnose suggested that overwork had taken a heavy toll on Shen and caused his sudden death.At Tuesday's meeting, Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, called on the country's police to learn from Shen.Zhou urged the police to step up efforts to resolve social conflicts, improve social management and enforce the law in a just and clean manner.
NANNING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Twelve of the 14 cities in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are affected by drought, the regional flood-control and drought relief authority announced Monday.The drought had affected 522,967 hectares of farm land by March 11 and 1.76 million people were denied easy access to drinking water, 232,100 people more than seven days earlier, said a statement from the authority.About 870,900 head of livestock were also suffering a shortage of drinking water.Local meteorologists forecast that in most of Guangxi, temperatures would be 0.1 to 1 degree Celsius higher than average in March and April, and precipitation would be 20 percent less.The authority predicted the drought would worsen, as the peak season for water consumption in spring ploughing would begin soon.
NANJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo has urged to accelerate transformation of the mode of economic development, so as to improve sustainable development when fighting the global financial crisis.Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, made the remarks during his visit to east China's Jiangsu Province from Thursday to Sunday.He called for more efforts for the transformation of the mode of economic development, adjusting economic structure and boosting industrial upgrading."To accelerate transformation of the mode of economic development should be an important goal and strategic measure in carrying out the Scientific Outlook on Development," Wu said.Wu Bangguo (2nd L, front), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), talks with staff members as he visits COSCO (Nantong) Shipyard in Nantong of east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 15, 2010. Wu Bangguo paid a visit in Jiangsu for investigation and research on Jan. 14-17The economic recovery should be based on an optimized and upgraded economic structure, and the fight against global financial crisis be a process of improving sustainablity of development, he said.Wu stressed the importance of bringing in high-level human resources, advanced technologies and management expertise. He also encouraged domestic companies to acquire research and development institutions, sales networks, and famous brands, as well as to build production bases, in foreign countries.Advanced technologies and new economic growth points are needed for transformation of development mode, economic restructuring and industrial upgrading, and also for China to participate in international competition, he said.Wu Bangguo (C), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), shakes hands with a staff member as he visits WuXi AppTec company in Suzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 16, 2010. Wu Bangguo paid a visit in Jiangsu for investigation and research on Jan. 14-17Wu also called for more efforts to develop emerging industries, including new energy, new materials, Internet of Things, low-carbon technologies and others, "to ensure China will not lose a new round of international economic competition."Human recourses are the key factor of industrial upgrading and nurturing new economic growth points, Wu said."We shall bear in mind that human resources are of utmost importance," he said.Wu visited industrial parks, scientific research institutions and workshops of enterprises in the cities of Nantong, Suzhou and Wuxi.
HONG KONG, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Over 20,000 people gathered on both sides of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor to watch a 23-minute firework show Monday evening, as the city is unwrapping various festive activities to celebrate the year of the Tiger.The show began at 8 pm local time (1200 GMT) despite heavy fog and light showers.Spectators cheered and shouted as the Arabic number "eight" appeared in the sky, followed by patterns resembling fish. Fireworks designers explained that the number eight shares the same pronunciation with the word "Fa" which means striking gold while the word "fish" sounds the same with "surplus" in Cantonese.For Hong Kong residents who tend to believe that lucky signs and lucky-sounding words do actually bring in luck, they are delighted at the show, which also include patters similar to the shape of the Chinese traditional gold ingot and red Chinese character "Ji" which means auspiciousness.The Lunar New Year firework show has become an annual event since it lit up the sky above the Victoria Harbor for the first time during the Lunar New Year in 1982.Sponsors of the event said this year's extravaganza costs more that 3 million HK dollars (about 400,000 U.S. dollars ), but they insist the expenditure worthwhile as it brings laughter and joy to Hong Kong citizens at the begining of a new year.