UNITED NATIONS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday voiced its support for the liberalization of global trade and opposition to trade protectionism in all its forms in order to pave the way for the economic recovery in the world at large.The statement came as Li Baodong, the permanent Chinese representative to the United Nations, was taking the floor at the Special High-Level Meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods Institutes, namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development."China supports the liberalization and facilitation of global trade, and opposes trade protectionism in all its forms," Li said. "We should strive for the conclusion of the Doha round negotiations in 2010 to bring about comprehensive and balanced results. We also need to redouble the efforts of the WTO to promote aid for trade, and help developing countries strengthen capacity building.""Trade is a key driver for world economic recovery," he said. " Since the outbreak of the financial crisis, world trade has plummeted, and trade protectionism is on a visible increase. Developing countries are the biggest victims of trade protectionism.""The overall situation of the world economy has now turned for the better, but with the negative impact of the financial crisis still lingering, developing countries are faced with a huge challenge in achieving the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) on schedule," Li said.The High-level Plenary Meeting on MDGs to be held in September this year will be a major action taken by the UN system for the achievement of the MDGs in 2015, Li said."China supports the convening of this meeting and hopes the meeting will provide a platform for the international community to hear the voice of UN member states, especially that of developing countries, learn about the difficulties they have encountered in achieving the MDGs, and push for developed countries to truly shoulder the responsibility of helping developing countries, fulfill their commitments and reach consensus on future actions," he added.
XIAMEN, Fujian, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for efforts to accelerate the construction of the economic zone on the western side of the Taiwan Strait during his four-day inspection tour to Fujian Province that ended Monday.Hu urged Fujian officials and people to seize the favorable opportunities offered by the central government on the construction of the economic zone and accelerate the transformation of the economic growth mode.Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited Zhangzhou, Longyan and Xiamen in Fujian during the inspection tour and celebrated the Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, with local residents and Taiwan compatriots living in Fujian.Chinese President Hu Jintao (R Front) meets with model workers in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 14, 2010. President Hu made an inspection tour in Fujian from Feb. 12 to 15.Hu stressed the role of tourism in the transformation of the economic growth mode, urging local authorities to make Fujian a tourist resort with international fame.During his visit to a tourist information center in Xiamen, Hu urged the city to strengthen its tourism management and provide better services to solicit more visitors.Chinese President Hu Jintao (R Front) meets with workers and tourists at a tourism consultation center in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 14, 2010. President Hu made an inspection tour in Fujian from Feb. 12 to 15Hu also visited some tourist attractions including the Gulangyu Islet and extended his greetings to travellers.When inspecting the Haitian Wharf, the largest container terminal in the province, he urged the operator to boost the cross-Strait cooperation in economy and trade with better services.During his visit to the Xiamen Strait Cruise Center, Hu talked with a Taiwan passenger awaiting the ship, who said the travels across the Strait are much more convenient than before. Hu said that compatriots across the Strait are like family members and should keep in close contact.Hu extended Spring Festival greetings to migrant workers at the construction site of Xiang'an Tunnel in Xiamen. Speaking highly of the migrant workers as a labor force growing in China's reform and opening up, Hu urged all government departments to be more concerned about these workers.During his tour in Zhangzhou and Longyan, Hu visited some Taiwan businesses. He also promised favorable polices to support and accelerate the development of old revolutionary bases. Chinese President Hu Jintao (R Front) meets with Haitian dock workers in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 14, 2010. President Hu made an inspection tour in Fujian from Feb. 12 to 15
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The producer price index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 4.3 percent in January from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Thursday.It quickened from 1.7 percent in December 2009 when the figure ended 12 months of decline.Analysts said the domestic price reform of major resource products and rising international commodity prices accelerated the PPI growth.In breakdown, the price of crude oil surged 70 percent, and that of raw coal was up 5.3 percent.Non-ferrous metal price rose by a quarter.
TAIPEI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the mainland is aimed to help Taiwanese people to do business and boost the island's competitiveness.Ma made the remarks in Taoyuan, a northwestern county of the island, at a gathering to mark the Chinese Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year.The ECFA is a wide-ranging economic pact for further normalizing trade and investment ties across the Taiwan Strait, which Ma hopes to sign with the mainland this year to help fuel Taiwan's economic revival.Tariff reduction would promote the sales of goods from Taiwan to the mainland, which will benefit both the Taiwanese businesses and the foreign-funded businesses in Taiwan, Ma said.This will help Taiwan to introduce more foreign investment and grant the island an opportunity to become a hub of economy and trade in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.As the mainland is Taiwan's biggest trade partner, the pact will certainly do more good than harm, Ma said.Ma also attended an ancestor worship ceremony in Majiazhuang, Miaoli County on Monday and said that the ancestors of him and local residents moved from Fufengtang, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to the island some 2,000 years ago.He also spoke optimistically of the economy situation and expected an economic growth of 4 percent in Taiwan this year.
BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- China named and shamed more than 10,000 workshops and selling groups in dust and poisonous material-related industries last year in a bid to fight against occupational diseases, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).The figure was revealed at a national meeting on food safety and sanitation supervision here Monday amid an ongoing campaign on regulating workshops and selling companies in the fields of mining, quartzite processing, gem processing, stone processing, smelting and cement production among others.The campaign, starting in last August, was jointly launched by the State Administration of Work Safety, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Federation of Labor.Earlier this month, 152 workers at an electrical and lighting company in south China's Guangdong Province were found to have suspected mercury poisoning, showing symptoms such as headaches, hair loss, joint aches and shivers.According to the company, all six production lines of the workshop used liquid mercury, but some workers seldom took the trouble to wear a mask at work.Vice Health Minister Chen Xiaohong said at the meeting that the ministry is currently working with other departments to set up regular meetings at ministerial level on the prevention and control of occupational diseases.The MOH is also aiming to set up a network against occupational diseases at grassroot level while providing basic job-related health services for migrant workers, said Chen.
BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's macroeconomic management would be put to the test both by the domestic and international markets in 2010, said Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Zhang Ping Friday.The country's fiscal and monetary policies would be tested given the uncertainties of 2010, Zhang said."As to monetary policies, if the bank continues to provide easy loans,inflation may occur. But if the government tightens monetary policies too soon, the economy may relapse into recession." said Li Daokui, director of the Center for China in the World Economy, Tsinghua University.Last year, Chinese banks lent an unprecedented 9.6 trillion yuan (1.4 trillion U.S. dollars), nearly twice as much as 2008, and nearly half of 2009's gross domestic product (GDP).This year, for fear of asset bubbles and bad loans, the banking regulators have begun to put the brakes on bank lending. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, raised the reserve ratio by 0.5 of a percentage point earlier this month, hoping to reduce lending.According to the PBOC, new loans in January totalled 1.39 trillion yuan, down 230 billion yuan year-on-year, and China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Liu Mingkang said the Chinese government planned to restrict credit supply to 7.5 trillion yuan (about 1.1 trillion U.S.dollars) in 2010.Too much public investment caused weak private investment and overcapacity in some industries like steel, said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of the NDRC."There's uncertainties about economic growth restructuring and fiscal stimulus plans," said Tang Min, vice secretary-general of China Development Research Foundation.The central government allocated about 924.3 billion yuan for public spending last year, 503.8 billion yuan more than the 2008 budget, said Finance Minister Xie Xuren.To face the challenges, fiscal policies would focus on consumption stimulus and development of new economic sectors like new energy industries, said Xie at the Central Economic Work Conference held last month.
菏泽绘图桌
CANBERRA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer said Saturday his company has secured Australia's largest coal export deal with China.The Resourcehouse chairman said the company had reached a 20-year agreement with one of China's largest power companies, China Power International Development, the flagship company of China Power Investment Corporation (CPI)."This deal with CPI is Australia's biggest ever export contract," Palmer said in a statement."This is Australia's largest single, non-syndicated, finance deal and the interest from China highlights the strength of the project and the benefits for Queensland and Australia in developing a new world class coal region such as the Galilee Basin," he told reporters."There will be four underground mines and two open cut mines," he said.Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said there was some environmental red tape to negotiate before the project was approved but she did not expect any last-minute problems."It is world demand which is making it a commercial opportunity," Bligh said.More than 100 million additional tons of coal could be exported every year from Queensland because of new projects under consideration by the state government.
BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Singapore-flagged tanker Pramoni, hijacked off the Somali coast last month, was escorted by a Chinese vessel to the safe waters on Friday, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry."At the request of the Singaporian side, the Chinese 'Chaohu' navy ship successfully conducted the escort mission," said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry Friday night."All crew onboard the Singapore-flagged chemical tanker are safe and sound and emotionally stable," the statement said, without specifying the route or length of the escort mission.The cargo ship, with five Chinese sailors among the 24 crew onboard, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 1."The Chinese escort mission provided the released vessel with necessary supplies and medical assistance," the statement said.Pramoni's captain thanked the captain and crew of the Chinese vessel helping with the escort.China sent its first escort mission to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in early 2009. Its fourth mission is now part of a multinational coalition of warships patrolling the pirate-infested area.
KHARTOUM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) and the Chinese National Energy Administration on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on China-Arab energy cooperation mechanism.The two sides singed the MoU at the end of the 2nd conference of the China-Arab Energy Cooperation of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Khartoum Thursday.Delegates to the conference had discussed the energy issue including nuclear and renewable energy, stressing the importance to develop all sorts of energy to meet the needs.China and the AL reached consensus to conduct cooperation in the energy sector, and the two sides would strengthen cooperation in the fields of petroleum, natural gas, electrical power, renewable energy and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.In the meantime, the two sides have agreed to hold the 3rd China-Arab Conference on Energy Cooperation in China in 2012.Representatives of the Arab States' energy ministries, the AL, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the Arab Atomic Energy Commission, the Chinese National Energy Administration and some Chinese companies took part in the three- day conference.
BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's year-on-year inflation rate was expected to be between 2 to 2.5 percent for the first quarter this year, the country's top economic planner said here Tuesday.The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, would see a "moderate increase" in the first quarter, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on its website.China's CPI rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier in February, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.Food prices would begin to fall as the weather got warmer, said the statement. In February, food prices rose 6.2 percent from the previous year due to the Lunar New Year holiday and poor weather.The Lunar New Year holiday, or Spring Festival, is the most important traditional festival in China for family reunion. People usually spend a lot on food, alcohol, cigarettes and gifts during the period.The February CPI was within normal range, compared with the Spring Festival months in previous years, said Zhou Wangjun, deputy director of the Department of Prices of the NDRC.However, Zhou warned that there were still uncertainties in the price trend, including fluctuation in international commodities prices.China targets a consumer price rise of around 3 percent this year, according to a government work report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress earlier this month.