BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's National Marine Forecasting Station on Tuesday issued an alarm on sea ice as it was developing fast off the country's eastern coast. In the following week, the floating chunks of ice could extend up to 90 nautical miles off the coast of Baohai Sea and 25 nautical miles in the northern Yellow Sea. The ice thickness could measure up to 40 cm, the station said. The station warned of threats to port infrastructure, transportation and maritime operations. Fishing boats are seen trapped by sea ice in Laizhou Bay, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 12, 2010. The most severe icing situation in the past 30 years in the coast off Shandong Province continued to worsen amid cold snaps. Sea ice appeared last week along the coastline of the Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea as cold fronts pushed the temperature down to minus 10 degrees Celsius The worst sea ice in the past 30 years appeared from early Jan. along the coastline of the Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea as cold fronts pushed the temperature down to minus 10 degrees Celsius and below. Sea ice in the Liaodong Bay nearly doubled to 71 nautical miles Tuesday from 38 nautical miles on December 31. With another cold front expected this week, the sea ice along the coastline would further develop, the station said.
BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature will convene its bimonthly session from Feb. 24 to 26, making a final preparation for an annual full session next month.According to a statement of a meeting, presided over by top legislator Wu Bangguo Wednesday, an important task at the three-day session late this month is to prepare for the upcoming Third Plenum of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), scheduled to open on March 5.Lawmakers at the February session will deliberate a draft report on the work of the 11th NPC Standing Committee, the draft agenda of the third 11th NPC session, the draft of the name list for presidium and secretary-general, and the draft of the name list for non-voting delegates to the plenary session in March.They will also continue to review the draft law on mobilization for national defence, as well as a draft amendment to the law on keeping state secrets.The draft amendments to the Administrative Supervision Law and the Copyright Law will also be submitted by the State Council to the legislative session for discussion, according to the statement.They will also discuss a consular agreement with the Philippines and a report on the inspection of the enforcement of the Food Safety Law, as well as a motion regarding appointments and dismissals.
UNITED NATIONS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called upon the international community to render more support and provide more assistance to Afghanistan, and voiced its support for a leading coordination role by the United Nations in the reconstruction of the south Asian country.The appeal came as Li Baodong, the permanent Chinese representative to the United Nations, was speaking to a UN Security Council meeting on the current situation of Afghanistan.The international community must keep focused on Afghanistan, which is currently at a key transitional period, and increase support and assistance to enhance Afghan sovereignty and capacity for development, Li said.The international community should also step up the efforts to assist the country in strengthening its military and police forces, promoting the process of national reconciliation in the nation, he said.He said that China supports the leading coordination role played by the United Nations in helping Afghanistan in its reconstruction process.China had actively supported and participated in Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction, he said, adding that China will continue to provide assistance to Afghanistan within its capacity.China had invited Afghan President Hamid Karzai to visit China on March 21-25, Li said, adding that he is confident that visit will achieve positive results.
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).The MOC said earlier in the day that China had decided to provide medical supplies worth 18 million yuan (2.64 million U.S. dollars) in additional aid to quake-ravaged Haiti.The 20-tonne medical supplies included medicines, hygiene equipment, medical devices and camping equipment, said the ministry in a statement.Also onboard the plane would be four Chinese peace-keeping police officers, replacing the four who were killed in the earthquake. China maintains a 125-member peacekeeping force in Haiti. Members of Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team wave before they board a plane to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical suppliesThe chartered flight was expected to arrive at Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince at 3 p.m. Monday local time.The MOC statement also said the 40 medical personnel came from China's military medical system and 70 percent of them had participated in previous UN peacekeeping missions.Many of them had been involved in the massive rescue mission after the deadly 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, which left about 87,000 people dead or missing, it said.At the departure ceremony, Qian Lihua, director of the Ministry of Defense's foreign affairs office, said China was carrying out its responsibility as a UN Security Council member to help the Haitian people with concrete actions. Medical supplies are loaded to a chartered plane bound to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies.Qian said he expected the Chinese medical team to accomplish the mission in a professional manner by helping the Haitian people ward off threat of post-quake epidemic and reconstruct their homeland.According to the MOC, with the 18 million yuan of additional aid, China has so far provided humanitarian aid worth 48 million yuan in materials and other supplies to Haiti, in addition to 3.6 million U.S. dollars in cash to the Caribbean country.Apart from Sunday's delivery of medical aid, China had already provided several other major aids to Haiti, which was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 local time.On Jan. 13, the Red Cross Society of China announced 1 million U.S. dollars in emergency aid to Haiti.On Jan. 15, the Chinese government announced its decision to provide 30 million yuan worth of humanitarian emergency supplies to Haiti.On Jan. 21, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Liu Zhenmin said China would contribute additional 2.6 million U.S. dollars in cash to Haiti. Members of Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team display their flag before they board a plane to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies.
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The move by the United States of selling arms to Taiwan brings chilly air to the warming China-U.S. relationship as well as military exchanges.The U.S. government on Friday announced the plans to sell a package of arms to Taiwan, which include Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minesweepers. China immediately expressed strong indignation about the sale after the U.S. government notified the U.S. Congress of the plans.China slammed the U.S. move, pointing out it has violated the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the principles established in the Joint Communique on Aug. 17, 1982, which stated that the U.S. would not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, and intended to gradually reduce arms sale.According to a press release of the Foreign Ministry, China has decided to partially halt the exchange programs between the militaries of the two countries, as well as the vice-ministerial consultation on strategic security, arms control and anti-proliferation, which was originally scheduled to be held soon.The two militaries had been expected to launch more exchanges in 2010, which include U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to China and mutual visits of warships.Qian Lihua, director of the Defense Ministry's Foreign Affairs Office, on Saturday summoned the defense attache of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to lodge a stern protest."We reserve the right of taking further actions," he noted.The U.S. move cast a shadow over the military ties between China and the Untied States, which have seen a warming trend since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.The two countries held the latest round of defense consultations in Beijing in June, which were suspended for 18 months after the then outgoing Bush administration announced a 6.5-billion-U.S.-dollar arms package for Taiwan.At the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington D.C. in July, the two countries agreed to expand military exchanges at various levels.Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Caihou visited the United States from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3, the first senior Chinese military leader to visit the country since Obama assumed the presidency.These hard-won rising military exchanges resulted from consensus reached by the two heads of state on a sound and healthy development of bilateral ties, but at the same time they require cautiously handling of the sensitive issues like arms sale to Taiwan, the first and foremost obstacle of military ties.When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Beijing in November, China and the United States issued a joint statement, pledging that the two countries would "take concrete steps" to advance "sustained and reliable" military-to-military relations."I am very pleased with the reduction of tensions and improvement of the cross-strait relations," said Obama during a dialogue with Chinese youth in Shanghai.However, the arms sale deal apparently runs counter to the commitments the U.S. side have made.As one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, a sound China-U.S. relationship not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but is also conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.Now the U.S. side should take the responsibility for the halt of military exchanges between the two countries, which may subsequently deal a blow to bilateral ties.
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday decided to suspend scheduled visits between the Chinese and U.S. armed forces, in response to Washington's plan to sell a package of arms worth about 6.4 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan. "We made the decision out of considerations on the severe harm of the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan," said Defense Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping in a statement.The U.S. government on Friday announced the plans to sell a package of arms to Taiwan, which include Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minesweepers. China immediately expressed strong indignation about the sale after the U.S. government notified the U.S. Congress of the plans.Qian Lihua, director of the Defense Ministry's Foreign Affairs Office, on Saturday summoned the defense attache of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to lodge a stern protest."The Chinese military expresses grave indignation and strongly condemns such a move to grossly interfere into China's internal affairs and harm China's national security interests," Qian said in a press release of the office.Taiwan issue is related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and concerns China's core interests."The U.S. arms sales to Taiwan gravely violates the three joint communiques between China and the United States, and seriously endangers China's national security and harms China's reunification course," Qian said.The U.S. such move also constitutes severe violation of the agreements reached by the top leaders of both sides on the China-U.S. relations in the new situation, he said.It runs counter to the principles of the joint statement issued during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to China in November last year, said Qian.The U.S. plan will definitely bring about serious negative impact on the relations between the two countries and militaries, and will to the end severely undermine the interests of the United States itself, he noted.The United States have reiterated in many occasions that it will adhere to the one-China policy, abide by the three joint communiques and support the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Straits."However, the United States now takes faithless action to sell arms to Taiwan again," Qian said such plans severely poison the political foundation of the relations between the two militaries, and produce grave obstacles to military exchanges between the two sides.Qian urged the United States to respect China's core interests and concerns, take practical actions to abide by its solemn commitments on Taiwan issue, withdraw its arms sales items to Taiwan, and stop military links with Taiwan, in order not to create further damage to the relations between the two countries and the two militaries and to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits."We reserve the right of taking further actions," he noted.According to Huang, the spokesman, "such a move is gravely against especially the 'Aug. 17' communique signed in 1982."The U.S. side states in the Communique that "it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan" and "intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final resolution.""We will never give in or compromise in this issue," the statement quoted Huang as saying, noting that the Chinese military will firmly fight against any move to destroy China's national sovereignty security and territorial integrity.
人流塘厦哪家医院收费低
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).The MOC said earlier in the day that China had decided to provide medical supplies worth 18 million yuan (2.64 million U.S. dollars) in additional aid to quake-ravaged Haiti.The 20-tonne medical supplies included medicines, hygiene equipment, medical devices and camping equipment, said the ministry in a statement.Also onboard the plane would be four Chinese peace-keeping police officers, replacing the four who were killed in the earthquake. China maintains a 125-member peacekeeping force in Haiti. Members of Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team wave before they board a plane to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical suppliesThe chartered flight was expected to arrive at Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince at 3 p.m. Monday local time.The MOC statement also said the 40 medical personnel came from China's military medical system and 70 percent of them had participated in previous UN peacekeeping missions.Many of them had been involved in the massive rescue mission after the deadly 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, which left about 87,000 people dead or missing, it said.At the departure ceremony, Qian Lihua, director of the Ministry of Defense's foreign affairs office, said China was carrying out its responsibility as a UN Security Council member to help the Haitian people with concrete actions. Medical supplies are loaded to a chartered plane bound to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies.Qian said he expected the Chinese medical team to accomplish the mission in a professional manner by helping the Haitian people ward off threat of post-quake epidemic and reconstruct their homeland.According to the MOC, with the 18 million yuan of additional aid, China has so far provided humanitarian aid worth 48 million yuan in materials and other supplies to Haiti, in addition to 3.6 million U.S. dollars in cash to the Caribbean country.Apart from Sunday's delivery of medical aid, China had already provided several other major aids to Haiti, which was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 local time.On Jan. 13, the Red Cross Society of China announced 1 million U.S. dollars in emergency aid to Haiti.On Jan. 15, the Chinese government announced its decision to provide 30 million yuan worth of humanitarian emergency supplies to Haiti.On Jan. 21, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Liu Zhenmin said China would contribute additional 2.6 million U.S. dollars in cash to Haiti. Members of Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team display their flag before they board a plane to Haiti, in Beijing, capital of China, on Jan. 24, 2010. A 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left here for Haiti on Sunday afternoon on a chartered flight, which also carried 20 tonnes of medical supplies.
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The move by the United States of selling arms to Taiwan brings chilly air to the warming China-U.S. relationship as well as military exchanges.The U.S. government on Friday announced the plans to sell a package of arms to Taiwan, which include Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minesweepers. China immediately expressed strong indignation about the sale after the U.S. government notified the U.S. Congress of the plans.China slammed the U.S. move, pointing out it has violated the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the principles established in the Joint Communique on Aug. 17, 1982, which stated that the U.S. would not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, and intended to gradually reduce arms sale.According to a press release of the Foreign Ministry, China has decided to partially halt the exchange programs between the militaries of the two countries, as well as the vice-ministerial consultation on strategic security, arms control and anti-proliferation, which was originally scheduled to be held soon.The two militaries had been expected to launch more exchanges in 2010, which include U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to China and mutual visits of warships.Qian Lihua, director of the Defense Ministry's Foreign Affairs Office, on Saturday summoned the defense attache of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to lodge a stern protest."We reserve the right of taking further actions," he noted.The U.S. move cast a shadow over the military ties between China and the Untied States, which have seen a warming trend since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.The two countries held the latest round of defense consultations in Beijing in June, which were suspended for 18 months after the then outgoing Bush administration announced a 6.5-billion-U.S.-dollar arms package for Taiwan.At the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington D.C. in July, the two countries agreed to expand military exchanges at various levels.Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Caihou visited the United States from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3, the first senior Chinese military leader to visit the country since Obama assumed the presidency.These hard-won rising military exchanges resulted from consensus reached by the two heads of state on a sound and healthy development of bilateral ties, but at the same time they require cautiously handling of the sensitive issues like arms sale to Taiwan, the first and foremost obstacle of military ties.When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Beijing in November, China and the United States issued a joint statement, pledging that the two countries would "take concrete steps" to advance "sustained and reliable" military-to-military relations."I am very pleased with the reduction of tensions and improvement of the cross-strait relations," said Obama during a dialogue with Chinese youth in Shanghai.However, the arms sale deal apparently runs counter to the commitments the U.S. side have made.As one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, a sound China-U.S. relationship not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but is also conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.Now the U.S. side should take the responsibility for the halt of military exchanges between the two countries, which may subsequently deal a blow to bilateral ties.
BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China should further step up social spending to push forward reforms such as health care, welfare and education to sustain its economic growth, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report on Tuesday.Although China's reforms have increasingly focused on the need for social cohesion in recent years, said the report, more efforts are still needed in various areas to improve people's living standards over a longer term.The fragmented system of welfare assistance, pension and health care should be unified, it said, stressing reforms on health care should be continued so as to ensure that provision at local levels is improved and eventually the different insurance systems are unified, it said.It also said China's registration system and restrictions on migrant workers' access to social services create obstacles to labor mobility, therefore should be relaxed.OECD groups 30 nations, mostly wealthy European countries, along with Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and Turkey.The report, the second of its kind since 2005, said China is now leading the world economy out of recession with the help of the massive stimulus package."The Chinese government's swift and vigorous action to support its economy has contained the impact of the global recession," said Pier Carlo Padoan, chief economist and deputy secretary general of the OECD.China may overtake the United States to become the leading producer of manufactured goods in the next five to seven years, the report said.However, Zhang Zhigang, chief economist of the Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that to well study China one should not be confined to consider the country's aggregated economic volume but take into account the per capital economic volume, as China is a very populous nation of 1.3 billion people."It is true that China is capable of putting man in space, but on the other hand, in much of its underdeveloped inland areas, oxen are still used to plough the farm", said Zhang at a ceremony to launch the survey.While stressing the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy, the report also touched upon some of the weak points China faces, including the country's over-reliance on foreign-sourced technology embodied in foreign direct investment.The contribution added-value made to research and development was only one-tenth of that in the United States in 2005, according to the 232-page survey.As for financial and monetary issues, it said China will "eventually require a flexible exchange rate regime with open capital markets".Greater flexibility of the yuan exchange rate could not be achieved in a short period of time and it requires a step-by-step approach with supporting reforms in the financial areas, said Padoan in an interview with Xinhua.
KUNMING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- An alleged ringleader and his 32 gang members stood trial Wednesday on gang-related charges in southwest China's Yunnan Province.Shen Chao, the alleged ringleader, faces seven charges, including organizing and leading a criminal gang, gambling, murder, intentionally injuring people, causing social disturbance, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.Shen denied all the charges except for gambling, saying that he was "too busy investing in coal mines in Shaotong city to commit the crimes (he is charged with)."Prosecutors identified Shen Chao as the ringleader, Shen Yang, Zhang Ning, Shen Hang and Yao Shunlin as the core members.The trial would last two days in Kunming Municipal Intermediate People's Court.