JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Strengthening friendly relations and cooperation with Africa is an important foundation of China's foreign policy, and remarkable development has been achieved in China-Africa ties in the past year, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said here Saturday. Yang, who was wrapping up a visit to Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and South Africa, said China and Africa maintained high-level exchanges, and deepened their strategic mutual trust in 2008. Last year, many African leaders paid official visits to China, or traveled to China to attend the Beijing Olympics and the Beijing Paralympics, he told Xinhua. African countries continued to offer their valuable support for China on issues concerning China's core interests, he added. Africa and China are facing new opportunities for developing their ties this year, Yang said. Chinese leaders will continue to make the development of China-Africa ties a top priority in China's external relations, he said. In recent years, top Chinese leaders have paid visits to Africa every year, he said, adding that more such trips are likely to be scheduled for this year. Moreover, the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is scheduled to take place in Egypt in the fourth quarter of this year, with the aim of making a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of FOCAC in 2006. In 2009, China, on the principles of sincerity and friendship, equality, mutual benefit and common development, will continue to strive to promote unity and cooperation with Africa, with emphasis on seeking ways to deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two sides, the minister said. China will expand cooperation with African countries in infrastructure building, agriculture, telecommunications and human resources development, he said. Yang said China attaches great importance to Africa's important role in such issues as Darfur, Zimbabwe, Somali pirates and UN Security Council reforms. China will continue to keep close communication and coordination with Africa, strive to promote mutual understanding and mutual support, push for the peaceful settlement of relevant issues, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, he added.
BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- China and Switzerland decided on Tuesday to begin a joint feasibility study on creating a bilateral free trade zone in the second half of this year in preparation for formally launching negotiations on the issue. During talks in the Swiss capital, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President of the Swiss Confederation Hans-Rudolf Merz exchanged views on the current international financial and economic situation and briefed each other on the policies and measures China and Switzerland have taken regarding the international financial crisis. President of the Swiss Confederation Hans-Rudolf Merz (L2) holds talks with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R3) in Bern Jan. 27, 2009The two leaders agreed that it is an urgent task for the two countries to work more closely together to tide over the difficulties against the backdrop of the financial crisis. The feasibility study on a free trade zone is one of the measures the two nations agreed to take in order to jointly tackle the challenges brought about by the international financial crisis. Other measures include deepening financial cooperation, expanding trade and investment, opposing trade protectionism, and promoting reform of the international financial system. China and Switzerland will also boost joint work in technology, energy, environmental protection, as well as in the medical and cultural sectors. The Chinese premier arrived here earlier in the day for an official visit to Switzerland and will also attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. President of the Swiss Confederation Hans-Rudolf Merz (R4) meets with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R5) in Bern Jan. 27, 2009.Wen said during the talks with Merz that the political mutual trust between China and Switzerland has been deepened and bilateral cooperation has been fruitful since the two nations set up diplomatic ties 59 years ago. He said China values the traditional friendship with Switzerland and is ready to promote high-level exchanges and expand their cooperation that is based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. Merz expressed Switzerland's admiration for China's achievements in its reform and opening up, saying he believed China has an even brighter prospect for further growth. Switzerland hopes to strengthen the political dialogue and practical cooperation with China, he said. After the talks, China and Switzerland signed an agreement on promoting and protecting investment.
BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang urged more efficient and transparent use of government funds as the country faces rising fiscal expenditures while tackling the global financial crisis. China should strengthen management and scrutiny of the fiscal budget and should reduce administrative expenses as the country faces relatively high fiscal pressure, Li said at a national fiscal conference on Tuesday. The government must "firmly oppose extravagance and waste", he said. China will have "a difficult fiscal year" in 2009 because of lower tax revenues and surging expenditures, Finance Minister Xie Xuren said on Monday. China's 2008 fiscal revenue is expected to rise 19 percent to exceed 6 trillion yuan (about 857 billion U.S. dollars), said Xie. That growth was slower than the 32.4-percent annual gain made in 2007. The country's fiscal revenue increase started to slow down in the second half of 2008, said Xie. He attributed that change to economic deceleration, corporate profit decline and tax cuts made to boost growth. China decided to carry out an "active fiscal policy" and "a moderately easy monetary policy" in 2009. It has unveiled a four trillion-yuan fiscal package to stimulate domestic demand.
BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has vowed the Chinese people will, as always, work together with the international community to promote healthy development of the human rights cause in the world. Hu made the remarks in a letter to the China Society for Human Rights Studies on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He said China will strengthen international cooperation, as it has always done, in the human rights field to make its due contribution to the building of a harmonious world featuring lasting peace and common prosperity. China, however, will base its human rights development on the basic situation of the country while acknowledging the universal value of human rights, Hu said in the letter. The country will prioritize people's rights to existence and development in its socialist modernization drive and ensure, in accordance with law, the equal rights to participation and development of all society members, Hu said, stressing the principle of "people first". Citing the enshrinement of human rights in the Constitution, Hu said the country has recorded a new chapter of human rights development since the founding of New China and especially since the reform and opening-up 30 years ago, which has been witnessed by the whole world.
GUANGZHOU, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese exporters, faced with dwindling foreign orders amid global economic slowdown, are diverting their attention to domestic markets. At the ongoing Canton Fair, China's leading trade fair, businesses that canvass foreign buyers are also focusing on the local market as their customers in the Western nations are dragged into recession by the global credit crisis. Qiao Guan, board chairman of the Jiangsu Hotwind Sauna Equipment, said his company is planning to divert some of the business from abroad to the domestic market. The company's sales in the United States, which accounted for about 30 percent of its total exports, had dropped by more than 20 percent this year, Qiao said. He hoped the local sales could compensate the decreasing orders in the foreign market. "We have completed research on the domestic market, which shows some exported goods are affordable and have good sales prospects in the local market," he said. The Himin Solar Energy Group, based in east China's Shandong Province, produces solar water heaters that are sold both at home and abroad. Xue Xinwen, head of the firm's international trade department, said the company had been losing orders as some Western countries canceled subsidies on environment-friendly imports. "We have sent more staff to market our products to local infrastructure authorities and companies," he said. "Domestic consumption has been greatly boosted by a robustly growing economy, creating positive situations for exporters to go local," he said. But the readjustment can be difficult. Li Jianlan, a worker with Wanji Plumbing Materials Co. Ltd, based in Ningbo, said an exclusive exporter like her company lacked channels and brand loyalty in the domestic market. "These are two different kinds of markets, and it takes a lot of work to be familiar with the ways business is done with local buyers," she said. Some goods that are made for export are deemed too expensive for Chinese buyers. Huang Yan, general manager of the L-bright Export Manufacture Corporation, said it had been very difficult to sell its products to domestic buyers as they lacked a price advantage. Local governments, aware of the trend, are taking action to encourage the conversions. Guangdong Province, the country's major exporting base, issued a notice in June, ordering local quality inspection authorities to provide needed technical assistance to exporters.
CHENGDU, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province over the weekend, showing concern for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work as winter set in. It was Hu's second visit after the May 12 earthquake. Hu's last visit was on May 16, when quake relief work was in a critical phase. The 8.0-magnitude quake, centered in Wenchuan County, left more than 69,000 people dead, 374,000 injured, 18,000 missing and millions homeless. Chinese President Hu Jintao visits students and teachers at Guixi Middle School in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 27, 2008. President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work. From Saturday to Monday, Hu visited reconstruction sites, factories, villages, resettlement centers, schools and clinics in battered Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu and Aba, giving residents and those helping with rebuilding work new year's greetings. In villages and resettlement centers, Hu went into homes and even the kitchens and bedrooms of local people to see if they were warm enough and well-fed. "The most important thing is to make sure all people are housed, have clothes and quilts to resist the cold, have enough food for the winter and coming spring, and medical service and epidemic prevention are in place," he said. At Caijiagang Village, Wenchuan, Hu asked villager Ma Xizhi to be aware of safety problems in using electricity and fire and told local officials to respect farmers' will in building new homes with government subsidies. At Guixi Middle School in Beichuan County, the president encouraged the students to study hard to repay society's concern. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L Front) shakes hands with a woman as he visits residents of the Xingfu Community in Dujiangyan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 28, 2008. President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work. He told workers who were rebuilding the school to ensure the quality of the buildings and make them safe and solid. Hu also inspected the progress of industrial and agricultural reconstruction in the quake areas. At Dongfang Steam Turbine Works, a large state-owned enterprise, he asked about losses and the recovery of production, urging the employees to speed up the reconstruction and develop the facility into a world-class electric equipment manufacturer. Many Dongfang employees were killed in the quake. Hu told the officials to pay visits to victims' families during the upcoming festivals and help them solve problems. The central government has introduced policies to support agricultural recovery, Hu said at a herb production base in Huaxi Village, Dujiangyan. He encouraged growers to make good use of these policies and technology to recover losses from the quake. The president also expressed respect to workers at reconstruction sites. In Hanwang Township, he praised workers for their hard work and encouraged them to live up to the expectations of the quake region and get their jobs done with high quality and efficiency. Chinese President Hu Jintao (R Front) shakes hands with a woman as he visits workers and inspects production at Dongfang Steam Turbine Works in Hanwang Township of Mianzhu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 28, 2008. President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work. With the accelerating reconstruction work, demand for construction materials has grown. Hu visited a supply station in Dujiangyan, urging abundant supply and stable prices to serve local needs. En route to Yingxiu Township, Hu encountered dozens of military vehicles transporting reconstruction material to the quake zone, part of the Chengdu Military District's 1,000-vehicle logistics task force. Hu praised the soldiers for their contribution to the quake relief and reconstruction, asking them to overcome difficulties and finish the job. While in Sichuan, Hu also met with provincial officials, encouraging them to fully implement the central government's reconstruction policies. He told them to put people first, respect nature and seek a balance in speed and quality in rebuilding. The great quake relief spirits formed in China's fight against the tremendous disaster are very precious, he said, urging the promotion of such spirits among officials at a time of difficulty as an inspiration.
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CHONGQING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China has approved the establishment of a bonded area in southwestern Chongqing Municipality in an effort to boost the opening and development of central and western regions. Chongqing Vice Mayor Huang Qifan said Tuesday at a press conference here that the first inland bonded area had been approved by the State Council, or the Cabinet. The 8.37-sq km Cuntan Bonded Area centers both the Cuntan Harbor and the Jiangbei International Airport. The bonded area will be completed in 2015. "The Cuntan Bonded Area will be built into a multi-functional area with most advanced logistics and preferential policies," Huang said. "It will also become an accelerator for the opening upof central and eastern inland cities." The Chongqing Bonded Area Development Company and the area's administration commission will start operation on Thursday. Huang did not reveal the investment for the bonded area or its operation time. Bao Zichuan, chairman of the company, said the bonded area will focus on harbor business, air transport, foreign trade, export-oriented processing and commodity displays. Enterprises in the bonded area will enjoy such preferential policies as tax rebates for exports and free tax for trading within the area. So far, China has established ten such free trade zones in the coastal areas from north to south.
Visiting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (L) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, capital of the United States, Dec. 12, 2008. WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met here with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on Friday separately to exchange views on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern. During the meetings, Dai recalled the great development that has been achieved in bilateral relationship since China and the United States forged diplomatic ties 30 years ago, especially the stable growth in the past eight years. Visiting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (L) meets with the United States National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley in Washington, capital of the United States, Dec. 12, 2008. Dai said that the recent years had witnessed frequent contacts and high-level exchange of visits of the two countries, especially between state leaders, as well as deepening political and economic dialogues, ever-increasing mutual understanding, growing common grounds, expanding bilateral cooperation, and more and more convergence of mutual interests. All these achievements highlight more than ever the strategic significance and global influence of a sound and stable Sino-U.S. relationship, Dai said. The state councilor said that the Chinese side was ready to work with the U.S. side to move bilateral relationship of constructive cooperation forward. For this end, he said, the two sides should continue to treat bilateral relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, enhance dialogue, coordination and cooperation, and respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns. Rice said since the establishment of diplomatic ties, relations between the United States and China had kept improving and bilateral cooperation had been increasingly deepened. The two sides have also had frequent communication and coordination in many areas such as how to cope with the ongoing global financial crisis and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, she said, adding that the United States and China have become good cooperative partners. Rice said the Strategic Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue between the United States and China should be carried on and expanded because the dialogues had increased mutual understanding and common grounds, achieved fruitful results and laid a solid foundation for the growth of bilateral friendly cooperation. Hadley said that U.S.-China relationship had witnessed great growth in recent years thanks to efforts made by state leaders of the two countries. He said the two sides should continue to strengthen cooperation in bilateral fields and on international and regional issues in a bid to move bilateral relationship further ahead. At the invitation of the U.S. government, Dai arrived in New York on Wednesday on a week-long working visit to the United States. The senior Chinese official is expected to co-chair the sixth Strategic Dialogue between the two countries with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte in Washington on Monday. The China-U.S. Strategic Dialogue was launched in August 2005 in accordance with the consensus of the two heads of state. The fifth dialogue was held in China in January this year.
Taiwanese breeder You Xueyin feeds giant pandas Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, a couple of pandas the mainland has promised to send to Taiwan, at a panda breeding base in Ya'an City in southeast China's Sichuan Province on Dec. 22, 2008, one day ahead of their scheduled departure. The panda pair will take a chater flight to go to Taiwan on Tuesday if the weather condition is ok. YA'AN, Sichuan, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- A pair of giant pandas offered by the Chinese mainland left here Tuesday for Taiwan. The pandas left Ya'an, Sichuan, at around 8:20 a.m. in an enclosed truck. They would first be transported to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu, about 120 km from Ya'an, and then be flown to Taiwan. Before their departure, the pandas had their breakfast – carrot and steamed corn buns. A brief ceremony was held at the Bifeng Gorge Base in Ya'an before the pair's departure. Zhang Hemin, director of the giant panda protection center, said at the ceremony he hoped the pair would bring happiness to Taiwan compatriots. The 4-year-old pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, have been living at a breeding base in Ya'an, Sichuan Province, since the May 12 strong earthquake which damaged their former home in Wolong. Qu Chunmao, the pair's keeper in Ya'an, spoke in tears, "I wish them a happy life in Taiwan." A Taiwan keeper, who would accompany the pair to the island, said the pandas were in good condition. "They had a good breakfast to sustain them on the long journey," she said.
BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed here Tuesday the comprehensive and strategic partnership between China and the European Union (EU). "Comprehensive" means the promotion of political trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, and "strategic" requires that both sides make concerted efforts in a far-sighted way to ensure the lasting, stable and healthy development of China-EU relations, Wen said. The premier made the remarks in his meeting with former president of European Commission also former prime minister of Italy Romano Prodi. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with Romano Prodi, former president of European Commission and former prime minister of Italy, in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 25, 2008. Wen highlighted the recent growth in China-EU cooperation, noting that China will firmly support the EU's integration process and welcomes the EU to play a more active role in dealing with international issues. "We cherish the hard-won achievements on China-EU relations and are willing to further trust and cooperation with the EU based on mutual respect, equality and reciprocity," Wen told Prodi. Wen also called on the two sides to join hands to tackle global challenges and overcome the current difficulties over the world's finance and economy. Echoing Wen's views, Prodi spoke highly of the Beijing Olympic Games and the measures adopted by China to handle the international financial crisis. He said China is playing a brand new and positive role in world affairs and he would continue to contribute his efforts to boost mutual understanding and cooperation between the EU and China.