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, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest lender by market value, said Monday it extended 110 billion yuan (16.1 billion U.S. dollars) of new loans in January, less than the amount in the same period of 2009."The lending growth in January was stable and moderate, which has well satisfied the real economic demand," the bank said.The ICBC statistics showed lendings of the bank totaled 117.1 billion yuan in January 2009.The bank said it would focus on financing ongoing government projects and continue to extend more loans to small businesses, while strictly controlling loans to new projects and high energy-consuming and polluting industries.ICBC last Wednesday said its loan growth in early and mid-January was "a little fast" as many ongoing projects needed funds, but the lending pace had stabilized since, as a concentrated volume of existing loans had come due and some credit card debts had been repaid.It also announced it would maintain a "reasonable and balanced" lending rate in a move to ease mounting public concerns about possible credit cuts.To prevent economic overheating, the government last month announced it would restrict its overall credit growth to 7.5 trillion yuan in 2010, compared with last year's 9.59 trillion yuan.However, a report from Monday's Economic Information Daily said that as of Jan. 29, Chinese banks had already extended nearly 1.6 trillion yuan new loans this year.
CHENGDU, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Two giant pandas in the United States will fly back home in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan next week, according to local officials.Tai Shan, a 4-and-a-half-year-old male panda born at the National Zoo of Washington D.C., and Mei Lan, a 3-year-old female panda born at Zoo Atlanta, will arrive in Chengdu Feb. 5 after a 14-hour journey from Washington.Experts from the two zoos will escort the two giant pandas back to China.Tai Shan, who was born in July 2005 and raised up in the National Zoo, will return to the Ya'an Bifeng Gorge Breeding Base of Wolong National Nature Reserve.Tai Shan was supposed to get back to China at the age of two. The Chinese government agreed to postpone its return twice in 2007 and 2009 at the request of the National Zoo, where millions of people visited him.Tai Shan's father Tian Tian, 13, and mother Mei Xiang, 12, are also due to return December next year.Mei Lan will return to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.Mei Lan was born in September 2006. Her parents Lun Lun and Yang Yang arrived in Atlanta in November 1999.There are now 13 Chinese giant pandas living in four zoos in the United States.Giant pandas, known for being sexually inactive, are among the world's most endangered animals.There are about 1,600 giant pandas living in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another 290 are in captive-breeding programs worldwide, mainly in China.
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.
BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The State Council of China Friday issued an urgent notice urging relevant departments and local authorities to settle pay disputes involving migrant workers as millions of them are heading home for lunar new year reunion.The notice asked local governments and relevant departments to prioritize in their work the settlement of migrant workers' back pay dispute with their employers.It underlined the construction industry where back pay disputes often happen.It also ordered local governments to improve the emergency management system to respond to possible mass incidents caused by pay disputes.Two migrant workers were stabbed to death by their employer over a pay dispute Wednesday in central China's Henan Province.The two men asked for wages on behalf of 17 fellow workers and got into a fight with their labor contractor after being told that their monthly payment had been docked by over 100 yuan (about 14.6 U.S. dollars), and then were stabbed in the neck with a fruit knife by the contractor.In China, millions of migrant workers from the countryside make their living in booming cities. Back pay to migrant workers has affected the income of the rural population for a long time and is considered a "chronic illness" undermining social stability.
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ZHOUSHAN, Zhejiang Province, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Maritime police authorities in Shanghai and the eastern China provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang launched a joint anti-terror exercise Saturday in the run-up to the Shanghai World Expo.Seven naval vessels joined the maneuver, which was held in the waters off the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang Province, said Qian Junmin, a senior officer with the maritime police force in Jiangsu Province.He did not say how many officers joined the exercise, which focused on shooting and other practices.Shanghai, which sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River on the East China Sea, has a coastline of more than 600 km with busy water traffic.For security considerations, the sea off Shanghai will be patrolled by armed boats and motorboats during the Expo, scheduled from May 1 to Oct. 31.
BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo on Wednesday said China and the United States should respect each other's core interests and properly handle sensitive affairs in a bid to preserve the sound development of bilateral ties. China and the United States should handle bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term point of view, said Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), in a meeting with a U.S. senate delegation. Wu hailed the sound development of China-U.S. relations in 2009,saying it indicated a smooth transition from the Bush administration to the Obama's and the relationship between the countries was progressing well. He labeled the China-U.S. relationship as "one of the world's most important" during the half-hour meeting in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. Wu pledged to further the exchanges between the two country's parliaments in a bid to promote strategic mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation and friendship between the two peoples. The delegation, headed by Senator Patty Murray, was in Beijing for a meeting under a regular exchange mechanism between the two parliaments, in which the two sides discussed such topics as bilateral ties, parliamentary exchanges and climate change. The U.S. senators highlighted the importance of relations with China, promised to enhance communication and dialogue with the NPC so as to promote mutual understanding.
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government's insight and the adjustment of the economic pattern were the two major factors helping China ride out the global economic downturn, scholars said here Sunday.Zhuang Fuling, professor of Renmin University, said the Chinese government made a correct analysis of China's economic situation and took quick and resolute action.At the end of 2007, the central government called for vigilance against possible scenarios of various sorts. Moreover, in the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2008, China drew up guidelines to cope with the global economic downturn through domestic consumption expansion, development pattern transformation, key sectors reforms, and continued effort to open up and improve people's livelihood.Ye Duchu, professor of Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attributed the success to China's systemic advantages."We could employ the country's fullest strength to reduce or offset the negative implications of the crisis," Ye said.The National Bureau of Statistics revealed on Jan. 21 that China maintained a GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent in 2009 despite the global recession.The global financial crisis, by nature a challenge to China's development mode, prompted the country to quicken its drive to transform its economic pattern in a bid to realize sustainable development for the future, scholars say.Lu Zhongyuan, deputy director of Development Research Center under the State Council, said China should seize the opportunity to optimize the economic structure and promote the system and technological innovation.Jin Bei, president of Institute of Economy under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, considered the crisis a good chance for competitive enterprises to carry out strategic adjustment.On Feb. 3, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for the whole nation's efforts to accelerate the adjustment of China's economic development pattern to promote sound and fast economic and social development.Wu Zongxin, counselor of Counselors' Office of the State Council, highlighted the building of the CPC in pulling through the global economic downturn."China's good performance during crisis is attributed to its staunch and capable leadership," said Wu.The Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee urged all Party members to be prepared for dangers in times of peace and push forward Party building work to ensure the Party's "backbone" position in people's minds when coping with various domestic and overseas challenges.Zhuang said the rapid and sustained economic growth called for strengthening and improving the Party building under the new circumstances.The cadres of the Party at county levels have been trained at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee since 2008 in a bid to better cope with the global financial crisis."This is an endeavor rarely seen in the world, thus guaranteeing China's effective response in fight against the crisis," said Ye.
ATHENS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The central Kotzia square, just opposite to the grandiose Athens City Hall, was turned into a small "Chinese corner" on Sunday, as the Chinese community in Greece, joined by thousands of Greeks, celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year with a magnificent and colorful event.For the first time in Greece, Chinese expatriates hosted an open party to celebrate the Spring Festival, which this year coincided with Valentine's Day and the end of carnival in Greece, their "second mother country" as they described.Greek kung fu students perform lion dance during a celebration for the Chinese New Year in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 14, 2010"Spring and Harmony -- One Family, One Love" was the main title of the festivities that brought together thousands of Chinese who work hard and live peacefully in Athens for years and enthusiastic Greeks who wished their new friends "Kali Hronia," which means " Happy New Year" in Greek.Under red lanterns and drawings of Chinese zodiac signs hanging high, Greeks and Chinese enjoyed together a four-hour event which included performances of Greek and Chinese folk music and dances, Tai Ji and Kong Fu presentations, as well as recitation of poems on Spring, friendship and love.Representatives of the Chinese community in Greece present to Mayor of the City of Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis an honorary banner for his hospitality during a celebration for the Chinese New Year in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 14, 2010"I thank Greeks for their warm hospitality and I wish Athens and Greece, the birthplace of western civilization, every success and progress in this New Year," said the Chinese ambassador to Greece, Luo Linquan, while addressing the gathering."I wish 2010 will bring hope, love and development to both people," Mayor of the City of Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis said in his address, stressing that friendship and cooperation between Greece and China, two cradles of civilizations in the eastern and western world, flourishes through centuries in the benefit of all.The mayor and the ambassador exchanged wishes in Greek and Chinese and kicked off the event by drawing the eyes of the "lions " of the International Shaolin Kong Fu Federation School of Thessaloniki, who performed the traditional lion dance, spreading joy, and hopefully good luck and happiness to the audience.Greek kung fu students give a performance during a celebration for the Chinese New Year in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 14, 2010.The aim of the whole event was after all, as Xu Weichun, president of the Trade and Commerce Chamber of Chinese in Greece, explained, that Chinese living in Greece will have an opportunity to share with their Greek friends the joy of the coming of spring and new year and express to Greek society a deep gratitude for a warm welcome to Chinese.Many Athenians attending the party were amazed at the expression of love by the Chinese people toward Greece and Greek civilization."Our Chinese friends are full of pleasant surprises. Never in my life would I thought that in the center of Athens I could see Chinese ladies sing Greek folk songs and perform folk dances with such passion," Maria Evangelou, a Greek elementary school teacher, told Xinhua.Businessman Giorgos Konstantinopoulos, a few steps further, was deeply touched by the Chinese community's initiative to donate all the money raised through a lottery to a local center for homeless people. "It is so funny to realize that Chinese people are so similar to Greeks. Full of life and caring, they support fellow citizens in need," he said.Young Tina and Gianna, high school students from Piraeus port, were so excited with the Chinese sounds, food and philosophy they encountered for the first time this Sunday noon, that they are thinking about attending the Business Confucius Institute in Athens to learn more about the language and the culture of China.Nine year old Andreas, who was dressed as a pirate for the carnival, felt sorry he didn't wear a tiger costume. "I heard today that Chinese celebrate the year of the tiger in 2010 and that tiger is the symbol of strength. Much better than a pirate! Maybe next year. Kali Hronia!"