Nearly 5,000 officials were punished for squandering public funds in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Supervision (MOS).The government took disciplinary action ranging from warnings to dismissal against 4,866 officials from the Communist Party of China and government bodies, after an investigation found their use of funds violated rules.The joint investigation of officials suspected of using public funds for banquets, overseas tours, luxury cars or entertainment was launched earlier this year by the MOS, the Ministry of Finance, National Office of Audit, Government Offices Administration of the State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Earlier this month, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Party's graft buster, slammed officials at a local procuratorate for taking an overseas tour on taxpayers' money.Xu Wenai, vice procurator-general of East China's Anhui Province, was removed from his post for wasting public funds on the trip to Finland.A delegation of 10 people from the procuratorate headed by Xu was found to have fabricated an invitation from the Finnish government in November 2006.The CCDI investigation found the delegation also tampered with business travel routes, adding a number of destination countries.The incident caused a nationwide stir, with many provinces considering tighter regulations to screen officials who plan to take overseas trips for international conferences or study.The central authorities have urged government at all levels to implement the country's anti-corruption policies and called on all Chinese officials to avoid wasting public funds.Xinhua-China Daily
Soaring global oil prices have led to small refiners drastically cutting down on production - forcing Sinopec to fill the void.Since the prices of refined oil products are set by the central government, the refiners - private or local-government-owned - find it unprofitable when the price of crude is as high as is now. Crude prices reached a record .80 a barrel at the New York close on Monday."Surging international crude prices are exerting mounting pressure on the local market (by discouraging small refiners). We are already running at full capacity to ensure fuel supply," Mao Jiaxiang, vice-president of Sinopec Economics & Development Research Institute, told China Daily Tuesday.Sinopec is Asia's top refiner, feeding the bulk of fuel consumption in China. But due to capacity limitations at its plants, there is a rising gap between demand and supply.Mao pointed out that fuel shortages are mainly triggered by the production drop at medium- and small-sized refiners scattered around the country, which contribute 5 to 10 percent of the country's supply.The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, keeps a tight lid on domestic fuel prices to fend off inflation, only allowing refiners to set prices within an 8 percent band of a government-imposed benchmark.Sinopec will have more refining capacity on stream next year, which will help ease supply pressure, Mao said.This year, it is believed Sinopec may import more oil products from abroad if necessary. The company imported 60,000 tons of gasoline in September and sold it at a lower price.Gasoline retailers raised prices by 2.92 percent in the first nine months after crude costs climbed, the NDRC said in a statement on its website on Monday.However, the NDRC said last month that energy prices will not be raised "in principle" this year after the consumer price index (CPI) hit a 10-year high of 6.5 percent in August."As global crude prices and the CPI stay at high levels, it is possible for the authorities to seek a compromise by not raising fuel prices but giving subsidies to major refiners at the end of the year," said Niu Li, an economist with the State Information Center affiliated to the NDRC.
BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday in a meeting with World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy that China will firmly continue its opening up.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with visiting World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, January 14, 2008. [Xinhua]"China will firmly insist on its reform and opening up, and is ready to develop trade, economic and technological cooperation with other countries in a fair and open environment," Wen told Lamy.He said the conclusion of the Doha Round talks will be undoubtedly conducive to the realization of open and predictable trade and the steady development of world economy."China supports all concerned parties to actively promote the Doha Round talks at the current basis, and hopes that the talks will finish with success as soon as possible," said Wen.Lamy said the the success of the current Doha Round talks, which are now at a crucial moment, would be the most effective way to contain trade protectionism, and he hoped China will continue to play an active and constructive role in the talks.
BEIJING -- China's economy in 2008 will maintain a robust and stable momentum despite uncertainties ahead, according to signs revealed during the country's top legislative and political advisory sessions. Liu Shucheng, a political adviser and director of the Economic Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), believes it is almost out of question for China to score 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year."China's economy has maintained a long period of continued and stable growth, which is unprecedented since the founding of New China (in 1949)," he said.Justin Yifu Lin, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and the World Bank's chief economist, holds a similar view, saying China's economy would be affected little by the U.S. subprime crisis."The demand by the United States, China's second largest trade partner, would not decrease by a large margin as most of Chinese exports to it were low- and middle-end," Lin said.Despite the sound economic expansion on the whole, Zhang Quan, an NPC deputy and head of Shanghai environmental protection administration, held that China should be fully prepared for the uncertainties ahead."Risk prevention capability should be further strengthened. Just as an old Chinese saying goes: be prepared for danger in times of safety," he said.In his government work report at the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao said, "There are quite a few uncertainties in the current economic situation home and abroad, so we need to keep close track of new developments and problems, properly size up situations and take prompt and flexible measures to respond to them while keeping our feet firmly rooted in reality."China's GDP in 2007 reached 24.66 trillion yuan, an increase of 65.5 percent over 2002 and average annual increase of 10.6 percent. However, the consumer price index (CPI) in 2007 rose 4.8 percent year-on-year, the highest since 1997 and well above the 3 percent target, mainly due to rises in food and housing costs. In January this year, monthly CPI rose 7.1 percent, the highest monthly surge in the past 11 years.Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rate six times in seven months. The European Central Bank (ECB) held key interest rate steady for fears of further inflation in the eurozone as inflation remained a record high of 3.2 percent since the beginning of the year.In general, the impact from U.S. subprime crisis on global economy is not clear. And there is no consensus on how international oil price and price hikes would impact on inflation.Under such circumstances, Premier Wen called for the appropriate pace, focus and intensity of macroeconomic regulation to sustain steady and fast economic development and avoid drastic economic fluctuations.The premier said China would strive to keep this year's CPI increase at around 4.8 percent while following a prudent fiscal policy and a tight monetary policy.As the U.S. newspaper International Herald Tribune observed from the premier's report, the price hike has become the top concern of Chinese government. The main task is to rein in growing inflation and prevent the economy from being overheated.China's top economic planner, central bank governor and financial minister gathered at a press conference on Thursday to explain government measures to regulate macro-economic growth and contain rising inflation.To prevent fast economic growth from becoming overheated growth and keep structural price increases from turning into significant inflation, the People's Bank of China raised the reserve requirement ratio by half of a percentage point to 15 percent on January 25, the highest since 1984. In 2007, the central bank had raised the ratio ten times and benchmark interest rate six times.Economists believe the measures is to ensure sound economic growth and stabilize market anticipation of inflation. The central government has regarded curbing price hikes as the "rigid lever" for this year's macroeconomic regulation while saving room for economic structure adjustment.For low-income earners, who are affected most by growing inflation, a protective umbrella will be provided by the government that advocates "putting people first"."I believe the government will make greater efforts to solve social issues and improve people's livelihood through increasing fiscal revenue and making use of other resources," said Jia Kang, a political advisor and director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance.Indeed, Premier Wen's report showed unusual concern on the issue of prices, and came up with nine measures, short- and long-time, to increase effective supply and curb unreasonable demand.These measures include expanding production, especially the production of the basic necessities of life such as grain, vegetable oil and meat as well as other commodities in short supply, speeding up improvement of the reserve system, promptly improving and implementing measures to aid the low-income sector of the population and to make sure that the prices of the means of production, particularly agricultural supplies, do not rise rapidly.
The Chinese government on Tuesday expressed indignation and opposition to the resumption of "diplomatic relations" between St. Lucia and Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement that the resumption of "diplomatic relations" between St. Lucia and Taiwan was a flagrant violation of the declaration on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and St. Lucia. It also constituted interference in the internal affairs of China, Liu said. He said the embassy of China in St. Lucia had already lodged a strong protest to the government of St. Lucia. He said the government had instructed the embassy to request the St. Lucian government live up to the principle of the declaration that the two countries issued on the establishment of diplomatic links in 1997. It also instructed the embassy to request St. Lucia return to the rightful stance of recognizing one-China. "Otherwise, the government of St. Lucia will be responsible for the consequences incurred," Liu said. Liu said the Taiwan authority's attempts to pursue "money diplomacy" and create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" had no support in the international community and would not succeed.
China's trade in goods will surpass .1 trillion in 2007, a 20 percent year-on-year increase, the Ministry of Commerce said in a report Thursday. Trade will increase in a fast yet stable manner as China optimizes economic structure, improves efficiency and lowers energy consumption, said the report, which is based on a review of China's foreign trade in 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. China's total import and export volume amounted to .76 trillion in 2006, up 23.8 percent year-on-year. China remains the third-largest country in the world by trade volume, according to the report released by the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a research body under the Ministry of Commerce. The domestic and foreign trade environment and the macro-control policy have contributed to the rapid increase, the report said. The trade surplus continued to grow, reaching 7.5 billion in 2006, according to the report. Exports of machinery and electronic products and hi-tech products increased 28.8 percent and 29 percent respectively in 2006. Imports of primary products reached 7.1 billion, up 26.7 percent, while imports of machinery and electronic products increased faster than the previous year, up 22.1 percent. General trade - imports and exports of goods by enterprises in China with import-export rights - increased at a rate of 26 percent, 5.1 percentage points higher than last year, while the increase of processing trade slowed. Exports of privately owned enterprises surpassed State-owned enterprises for the first time, up 43.6 percent. The trade volume of private enterprises was up by 36.3 percent, while the trade volume of foreign-invested enterprises increased by 23.3 percent, faster than State-owned enterprises. Trade with foreign invested enterprises took in 58.9 percent of the total trade. Trade with the European Union, United States and Japan continued to grow, as did trade with emerging markets, including India, Brazil, and South Africa. Trade volume in the first quarter of 2007 reached to 7.7 billion, up 23.2 percent, while the trade surplus nearly doubled to .4 billion from the same time last year. Trade in goods increased by 27.4 percent from January to April, faster than processing trade. Gov't to raise export taxesChina will raise export taxes by 5 to 10 percent on a range of products, including steel, aiming to slow the country's export boom and ease the country's trade surplus, government sources said yesterday. Beijing also plans to further reduce tax rebates on some exports, including some basic materials and textiles. It would remove import taxes on coal and reduce import taxes on other raw materials, according to officials from three government bodies - the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration of Taxation. "The plan has already been established basically," said a source in Beijing, noting that the changes could go into effect as early as June 1. China's exports of steel products hit a record 7.16 tons in April, as mills and traders raced to beat a change in export policy that took effect on April 15. China removed export rebates on most types of steel products while reducing the rebate on more value-added products to 5 percent. A proposal to raise the export taxes on steel billet and other semi-finished products to 20 percent has been discussed since early May, but has not yet been approved by the central government, a source said.
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Chinese residents along the Huaihe River have been urged to gear up for their second tough combat against floods in a week as the receding flood water on some branches started rising again on Saturday after torrential rains.The upper-reach Nanwan Water Dam and Shishankou Reservoir have got an average rainfall of 150 mm and 315 mm respectively on Friday, resulting a twist in the ongoing combat against the worst flooding on the Huaihe River since 1954. ¡¡ Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao talks to a child during his visit to the flood-hit Funan County in East China's Anhui Province, July 13, 2007. Continuous heavy rainfall has been battering a large part of eastern and southern China, with some parts witnessing the worst floods in decades. [newsphoto]The water level on the crucial Wangjiaba Hydrological Station may soon surge above the danger line as more rains have been forecast in the next few days, said Cheng Dianlong, deputy director of the Office of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. Thirteen sluices at Wangjiaba station were opened Tuesday to divert flood water into the Mengwa Buffer Zone home to 150,000 people to provide relief to more than 2 million flood-hit residents in Henan Province. ¡¡ Nearly half a million people have been evacuated from the projected path of floodwater from the Huaihe River by Friday. Cheng said that the Henan hydrological departments on the upper reaches have made good use of reservoirs and water dams to alleviate pressure downstream Saturday. The flux into the Nanwan Reservoir registered at 2,760 cubic meters per second, however that out of the reservoir was¡¡reduced to 200 cubic meters per second. "The Huaihe riverbanks have been lashed by swelling water for several days. Putting up good defense will become increasingly difficult as more torrential rains are to come," he said. The headquarters issued an emergency notice Saturday to all local governments along the Huaihe River, requiring them to surmount fatigue, remain high alert and carry forward the spirit fostered in battling the 1998 Yangtze River flooding which killed more than 3,000 people and inflicted about 100 billion yuan (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) in economic losses. The notice urged them to take all adverse situations into consideration to reinforce preventive measures, continue to put the human first and safeguard the lives and assets of the people by arranging for relocation in advance. Along the Yangtze River, Guizhou, Hunan and Hubei provinces and Chongqing Municipality have been stricken by floodwater as heavy rainfall had lifted up the water levels of some branches. The Pipazui and Zhengjiahe Hydrological Stations on the tributary Fuhe River have both registered their highest water levels in history. Landslides triggered by mountain torrents killed six and caused three missing in Zhijin County of Guizhou Province, affected more than 673,000 people in Chongqing and inflicted the municipality 182 million yuan in direct economic losses. Some 1,630 people in Jingshan County of Hubei were evacuated in emergency as the water collected in downtown areas were 0.5 to 1.5 meter deep. By Friday, a total of 403 Chinese had been killed with 105 missing and 3.17 million people have been relocated as the rainy season coupled with ferocious flood waters continues to batter central and southern China.
BEIJING - China said Monday it will use global positioning satellites to ensure food safety at the Beijing Olympics as it steps up efforts to blacklist manufacturers who violate safety regulations. Wang Wei, an executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic Committee, said the high-tech system will monitor food production, processing factories and food hygiene during the games to make sure healthy food is delivered to the 10,500 athletes residing in the Olympic Village. Food products will be affixed with an "Olympic food safety logistics code" and transportation vehicles will be tracked using global positioning satellites, Wang said. He did not provide further details of either plan. "The whole process will be monitored from the start of production through transportation to the end users," Wang said. "We are very confident about ensuring food safety in Beijing." Wang said extra measures would also be taken to ensure food safety for the general public. "During the games some special monitoring mechanisms will also be applied to monitor restaurants and public food sellers to let people know how they can buy safe food," he said. In a separate announcement, Beijing-based Qianxihe Food Group, an Olympic sponsor, said it had begun selling a hormone-free line of pork for the games, a company official said. The company's pigs have been fed food without hormones and are part of the "Olympics Special Supply Pork" range, which will be consumed by athletes and can be bought in supermarkets by ordinary citizens, said the official, who would give only her surname Tong. Wang's comments came after Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng announced that 429 exporters have been blacklisted and punished for producing dangerously substandard products
Land authorities in six Chinese cities including Beijing have illegally charged 1.1 billion yuan (US6.7 million) on enterprises so far this year, adding fuel to the nation's soaring housing prices. This was discovered by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top planning body, during examinations of charges on businesses in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Xi'an, the Beijing News said Saturday. The amount was well beyond the total illegal charges collected by eight departments for the whole year of 2006, said Li Lei, head of NDRC's Price Supervision Department. Quoting estimates by the land authorities, which say land costs account for 20 percent to 50 percent of the housing prices, Li said the behavior of these authorities has made the runaway housing prices worse. Despite by rounds after rounds of government curbs including restrictions on housing ownership by foreigners, housing prices have rocketed in China over the last few years, to the agony of ordinary people. Land authorities are not alone in overcharging enterprises. The commission found in May that urban construction departments have overcharged 216 million yuan (US.8 million) from construction firms. "The illegal charges have added fuel to the rising house price, " Li said. The housing prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities in China went up by 7.1 percent in June over the same period last year, according to official statistics.
The Board of Airport Authority Hong Kong awarded a franchise to building a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited here Tuesday. According to the contract, Cathay Pacific Services Limited, a subsidiary of the parent airways, will design, construct and operate the 10-hectare new cargo terminal during the non-exclusive,20-year franchise. The new terminal and recently completed enhancements to the cargo apron, taxiways and aircraft stands will equip HKIA to meet future demand for cargo services and to maintain its position as the region's premier air cargo hub. "The new cargo terminal will reinforce the competitiveness of HKIA as a regional and international air cargo hub." Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said, adding "it will provide additional choices for airlines, shippers and freight forwarders. "I believe it will bring substantial economic benefits, in the form of new jobs and business opportunities, to Hong Kong," he said. Scheduled to open in the second half of 2011, the new terminal will have an annual capacity of about 2.6 million tons and increase the airport's total general and express cargo handling capacity to 7.4 million tons per annum. According to Cathay Pacific Services, construction of the new terminal will create over 400 jobs. When it starts operation, the facility will employ more than 1,700 people. The decision to build a new cargo terminal was made after the Airport Authority held extensive consultations with Hong Kong's air cargo and logistics industry. In December 2006, the Airport Authority called for pre- qualification proposals, which was followed by invitation for submission of business plans. The Airport Authority assessed the business plans and decided to award the franchise to Cathay Pacific Services as a result of an open and competitive tender process. The Airport Authority also invited the Independent Commission Against Corruption as an independent advisor to oversee the process. Driven by the rapid expansion of the Chinese mainland's economy and robust global trade, cargo throughput at HKIA rose 4.5 percent in 2007, to 3.74 million tons. The air cargo industry handled over1.9 trillion HK dollars (243.6 billion US dollars) worth of goods in 2007, accounting 35 percent of Hong Kong's total external trade. HKIA has remained the world's busiest international cargo airport for the 11th consecutive year.