XIAMEN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China remains the most attractive country for foreign capital, despite that the country's foreign direct investment declined for ten straight months, a commerce official said Wednesday. "China has been the top destination for foreign capital for 17 consecutive years," Wang Chao, assistant commerce minister, said at the World Capital Forum in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province. A report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on July 22 showed that China stands first on the list of five most attractive destinations for foreign capital, followed by the United States, India, Brazil, and Russia. The country has received 48.3 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) from January to July this year, down 20.3 percent over the same time last year amid a global economic downturn, Wang said. Wang said the country's prospects for overseas investment remains optimistic as it would simplify examination and approval procedures toward foreign investors. It will also guide foreign investment to go to high technology industry, advanced manufacturing industry, energy saving and environment protection industries, in a bid to optimize investment structures.
PHUKET, Thailand, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi underlined here Wednesday the importance of tapping new areas of economic growth so as to enhance cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). Yang noted that one area of development is to implement plans to enhance agricultural productivity by drawing on advanced technology and to accelerate the cooperation on new and renewable energies. The ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting is held in Phuket, Thailand, on July 22, 2009."We have maintained high-level exchanges, enhanced political mutual trust, shared development experience and strengthened confidence in cooperation," Yang said at the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Wednesday afternoon. China and ASEAN have completed negotiations on the China-ASEAN Investment Agreement, paving the way for the full establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010. The ASEAN on Monday appreciated China's active role in developing transportation infrastructure between the two sides and welcomed the establishment of the 10 billion U.S. dollar fund for bilateral investment cooperation. In April, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that China has decided to set up a 10 billion U.S. dollar "China-ASEAN Fund on Investment Cooperation" to support infrastructural development in the region.
BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Senior Chinese official on Friday called for fresh efforts to furnish occupational security for police and take good care of their relatives. Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with representatives of the relatives of police officers who died on duty. More than 10,000 police officers died on duty with honor in the past 60years, and more than 150,000 more had been injured when protecting the country's social stability, Zhou said. He urged Party, government and police departments at all levels to take into account of the occupational hazards of the police and take measures to provide better treatment for them. The livelihood of the relatives of police officers, especially those who died on duty, must also be secured, Zhou said. He urged the police to live up to the people's expectations and make new contributions to the Party and the people.
BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Eight Conference of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR) came to an end Thursday, re-electing senior leader Jia Qinglin the council's chairman. Jia is a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He attended the closing session and congratulated its success on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, saying facts indicate that the council has become a major link between the mainland and overseas Chinese, and a bridge between Chinese compatriots living on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. He highlighted the role of the CPC in the great changes of New China in the past 60 years, stressing, "the Chinese nation will definitely play an even more splendid movement in the process of its great rejuvenation." Jia Qinglin (L F), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with directors of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 24, 2009. Jia stressed that it is a common aspiration of the whole Chinese to promote a peaceful development of the cross-strait relations and finally achieve a complete unification of the nation. "Practice shows that Chinese living on the sides of the strait have the abilities and wisdom to hold the future of the cross-strait relations in their own hands," the top political advisor said. He urged the two sides to join hands in promoting a peaceful development of the cross-strait relations and opening up a beautiful future for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In his speech, Jia called for further studying and implementing the six-point instruction on cross-strait ties made by President Hu Jintao last December, when he spoke in memory of the 30th anniversary of the Letter to Taiwan Compatriots by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong Sunday stressed the importance of nurturing more first-class financial personnel for the nation. Liu made the remarks when visiting the Beijing-based Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) to convey congratulations on its 60th founding anniversary. CUFE is the first university specialized in financial and economic studies established by the People's Republic of China. It is one of the 100 universities to which the Chinese government attaches top priority in the 21st Century. Noting that finance is an important state function, and the core of modern economy, Liu expected the university to play a better role in cultivating innovation-oriented financial talents. She also called on the university to contribute more to the national and local development programs.
BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday paid tribute to 100 heroes and models who made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China and 100 others who have inspired the nation in the past six decades. Top Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao met with representatives of the heroes and models and relatives of the deceased ones who were here to attend a symposium honoring them. Top Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders Hu Jintao (C, 1st row), Wu Bangguo (4th R, 1st row), Wen Jiabao (4th L, 1st row), Jia Qinglin (3rd R, 1st row), Li Changchun (3rd L, 1st row), Xi Jinping (2nd R, 1st row), Li Keqiang (2nd L, 1st row), He Guoqiang (1st R, 1st row) and Zhou Yongkang (1st L, 1st row) pose for a group photo with the representatives attending a symposium in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2009. The symposium honoring 100 heroes and models who made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China and 100 others who have inspired the nation in the past 60 years was held in Beijing on MondayTop legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, top political advisor Jia Qinglin, and other senior leaders including Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also met with the delegates. Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, greeted the delegates at the Great Hall of the People. He congratulated the representatives on the honor, offered his condolences to the deceased heroes' relatives, and paid homage to all those who have made great contribution to the birth and growth of New China. Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, attended the symposium and delivered a speech. Li Changchun (C), a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, addresses a symposium in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2009. "The fact that the top leaders met with the delegates and some of their relatives highlights the nation and the Party's care for the heroes," said Li. The move of selecting the heroes and models was an important part of the activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), he said. Li said the process itself was also a patriotic lesson for officials and the general public. The activity, launched in May, attracted about 100 million people to cast votes, sources with the organizer of the activity said. And the 200 heroes were finally picked out from 300 candidates. "The heroes, despite their differences in historical time and post, share many things in common, such as loyalty to the country, love for the people and selfless devotion," Li said. These were spiritual treasures formed in the great history of Chinese revolution, construction and reform led by the Party, he said. Li called on the whole nation to learn from these heroes and pass down their moving stories and lofty spirit to generations to come. "Their noble spirit should be a lasting inspiration for the people to make new achievements," said Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, who presided over the symposium. Delegates like Li Yazhong, a descendent of Li Dazhao (1888-1927), one of the main founders of the CPC, and Zhang Yunquan, an official with the Bureau for Letters and Calls in eastern Jiangsu Province, gave speeches at the symposium.
丹东王者之冠
HONG KONG, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- China has made great progress in gender equality and empowering women in the past 60 years, well on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, said a senior UN official on Saturday at the Asia Pacific Women Forum held in Hong Kong. Khalid Malik, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Development Program resident representative in China, quoted Chairman Mao Zedong's famous remarks "Women holding up half of the sky" to review China's good will and determination in promoting gender equality. He noted that the People's Republic of China has witnessed important progress since its founding nearly 60 years ago, with gender equality as the country's basic national policy and one of the core elements to pursue a harmonious society. Six years away from the deadline of MDGs, China is now well on track for further progress to meet the goal in promoting gender equality, said Malik. "There is almost no gender disparity to Chinese women's access to a living market, and there is much that the Asia-Pacific region can learn from China's lessons," he said. The eight MDGs, set by world leaders at a UN summit meeting in 2000, also include relieving poverty, popularizing primary education, reducing child mortality and ensuring environmental sustainability. As the Asia-Pacific region emerges stronger than any other one from the undergoing global financial crisis, he also believed the women in the region have a real prospect in redefining and strengthening their role in economy and society amid "a time of great changes". "Women are the driving force to overcome poverty and hunger, fight illiteracy, prevent the spread of diseases and promote stability," he said. More efforts were needed yet, Malik added. He urged both China and the whole region to eliminate even more bias towards empowering women and to bring the gender equality to a whole new level on the foundation of all the progress that has been made so far.
BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland authorities have promised ethnic minority groups in Taiwan preferential assistance in trade, tourism and other sectors to promote the island's economic and social development after the devastating Typhoon Morakot. Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said in meeting a Taiwan delegation led by politician Kao Chin Su-mei on Thursday that the ministry would lead mainland entrepreneurs to visit the island's areas inhabited by ethnic minorities to purchase local products. The ministry would also encourage mainland commercial distributors to buy more agricultural products from Taiwan and help the Taiwan minorities participate in trade fairs on the mainland, Chen said. Shao Qiwei, director of China's National Tourism Administration, told the Taiwan delegation that his administration would extend existing travel routes to areas where Taiwan's ethnic minorities live. Shao suggested that the reconstruction work in the typhoon-hit minority area should also be combined with tourism development. He Junke, chief of the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), said the non-profit organization has started fund-raising for Taiwan's victims of the disaster and would like to mobilize more mainland youth to help dropout students on the island.China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming (2nd R) meets with Kao Chin Su-mei (2nd L) who heads a delegation of ethnic minorities from Taiwan province, in Beijing, Aug. 20, 2009.Kao Chin Su-mei said that she hoped the mainland authorities could increase the purchase of processed agricultural products from Taiwan, especially from the island's mountainous regions. Currently, about 500,000 ethnic people live in Taiwan, 80 percent of whom make a living by growing and processing agricultural products. In another meeting with the Taiwan delegation, Yang Jianqiang, Vice-Minister of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, said his commission would encourage mainland people to visit the island and welcome Taiwan's minority students to study on the mainland.
BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Uygur farmer Hashim Dawut felt quite touched as he was guided into Premier Wen Jiabao's office at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in downtown Beijing on Monday. The 57-year-old man had been looking forward to the moment for more than five years. Premier Wen met Hashim Dawut for the first time in his village in Bachu county of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on March 28, 2003, when Wen was inspecting and directing relief work after an earthquake measuring 6.8 jolted Bachu and Jiashi counties, killing268 people on Feb. 24 that year. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) hugs Dawut Haxim, a farmer of the Uygur ethnic group of Bachu County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, during their meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2009. Hashim Dawut lost five loved ones in the earthquake, but still worked hard to save his fellow villagers. On hearing his story, Premier Wen paid a special visit to him. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with Dawut Haxim, a farmer of the Uygur ethnic group of Bachu County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2009"You lost your family members in the quake, and now you are a family member of all the people in China, including me." No sooner had the Premier's words ended than warm tears welled up in Hashim Dawut's eyes. Nearly a year later, early February in 2004, when Hashim Dawut went to Beijing to attend an awards ceremony honoring heroes who inspired the nation in 2003. He expressed his wish to meet Premier Wen, who gladly invited him to the Zhongnanhai compound. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (1st L) and Dawut Haxim, a farmer of the Uygur ethnic group of Bachu County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, wave to each other as Dawut Haxim leaves after their meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 14, 2009. Wen asked Hashim Dawut about the reconstruction of his village and asked him to come to the Zhongnanhai again. China on Monday paid tribute to 100 heroes and model citizens who made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China and 100 more who have inspired the nation during the past six decades. Hashim Dawut was one of the model citizens and was invited to the event in Beijing on Monday. Before he left for the capital, he wrote a letter to Premier Wen reading: "We have not seen each other for years, and as your younger brother, I miss you so much and want to take this opportunity to meet you again." And Hashim Dawut was invited into Zhongnanhai again. During their third meeting, they talked about the villagers' life, the growth of crops and a new rural medicare system for the farmers. They also talked about the July 5 riot taking place in the regional capital Urumqi which killed nearly 200 people, mostly ethnic Han. "The 'three forces' (separatism, terrorism and extremism) at home and abroad who incited the riots wanted to damage the brotherhood between the Uygurs and the Hans," said Wen. "And it was heartrending to see our people losing lives and properties in the riots." "All of us felt grieved, and the bad guys were not willing to see the fact that we are living a happy life," Hashim Dawut responded. "In Xinjiang, Uygurs and Hans are inseparable, and all the ethnic groups are inseparable, because we are a family," Wen said. "And we should cherish the stability and development which did not come easy," he added. "I will bring your words home," said Hashim Dawut.
BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leader Li Changchun Tuesday asked the People's Publishing House, China's oldest publisher of books on the Party and politics, to actively use new media to expand its influence. Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, said during a visit to the publishing house that it should invigorate its development. Li Changchun (2nd R, front), a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, shakes hands with an old worker during his visit to the People's Publishing House, China's oldest publisher of books on the Party and politics, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 29, 2009.Acknowledging the company's achievements, Li said it should increase investment, further reform income distribution and human resources management. He also urged the publisher to raise its international profile by publishing more books on the successful theories and practices of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It would contribute to improving the country's soft power, he said. Li Changchun (3rd L, rear), a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, speaks during a symposium during his visit to the People's Publishing House, China's oldest publisher of books on the Party and politics, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 29, 2009. The house should endeavor to nurture a group of foreign-language literate talents who not only understood China's national situation, but also had a global view, Li said. He said the house should earnestly implement the gist of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee that concluded in mid-September. The CPC session decided to expand democracy within the Party and better fight corruption. The People's Publishing House was founded in 1921 and rebuilt in 1950. It is a well-known publisher of works on philosophy and social sciences. Li Changchun (3rd R), a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, visits an editing room of Marxism-Leninism during his visit to the People's Publishing House, China's oldest publisher of books on the Party and politics, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 29, 2009