WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday slapped punitive penalties to imports of some 2.6 billion dollar oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from China, a move might escalate trade disputes between the two countries. The ITC "has made affirmative determination in its final phase countervailing duty (CVD) investigation" concerning the oil pipes from China, said the ITC in a statement. The trade agency has determined that "a U.S. industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of certain oil country tubular goods from China that the U.S. Department Commerce has determined are subsidized," according to the statementThe U.S. Commerce Department made a final determination last month to impose duties between 10.36 percent and 15.78 percent on the pipes, which are mostly used in the oil and gas industries. The ITC ruling paved the way for the imposition of duties. The Commerce Department made its preliminary determination of CVD in September. On Nov. 4, the Commerce also set preliminary antidumping (AD) duties on such imports from China, which is the biggest U.S. trade action against China. Under that preliminary determination, Commerce set a 36.53 percent antidumping levy on OCTG from 37 Chinese companies, while some other Chinese companies will receive a preliminary dumping rate of 99.14 percent. Commerce will make its final determination of antidumping duties early next year. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination, and the ITC makes an affirmative final determination that imports of oil tubular goods from China materially injures, or threaten material injury to, the domestic industry, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order. The antidumping and countervailing petition case was filed in April this year. From 2006 to 2008, imports of OCTG from China increased 203 percent by value and amounted to an estimated 2.7 billion dollars in 2008, said the U.S. Commerce Department. China strongly opposed the U.S. decision, saying that it is a protectionist move. "China expressed strong dissatisfaction and is resolutely opposed to this," said China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Yao Jian in a statement in September. "This does not comply with WTO agreements on subsidies. The U.S. used an incorrect method to define and calculate the subsidies, which has resulted in an artificially high subsidy rate, hurting Chinese firms' interests," said Yao. "We hope the United States can get rid of the bias and admit China's market economy status soon to tackle the double standards thoroughly and give Chinese enterprises equal and fair treatment," Yao also said last month. The U.S. industries also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the trade case, saying such a protectionist move would hurt U.S. companies. The trade restrictions would "hurt U.S. using industries by raising their costs and making sources of supply uncertain," Eugene Patrone, executive director of the Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC) told Xinhua in September. He noted that the tariffs would make oil and gas exploration and production be more expensive, projects be delayed, "which is against our national goal of being less dependent on imported energy." The onset of the global recession appears to have set off an increase in trade disputes around the world. Globally, new requests for protection from imports in the first half of 2009 are up 18.5 percent over the first half of 2008, according to the World Bank-sponsored Global Anti-dumping Database organized by Chad P. Bown, a Brandeis University economics professor. That increase follows a 44 percent increase in new investigations in 2008. And China has become the main target of the rising protectionism. In another steel dispute, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday that it will impose antidumping tariffs of 14 percent to 145 percent on imports of 91 million dollar steel grating from China. A final determination will be made by the department in April 2010.
BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao hosted a red-carpet welcome ceremony for visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning at the Great Hall of the People. This is Obama' s first state visit to China since he assumed presidency in January. Chinese President Hu Jintao holds a welcome ceremony for visiting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 17, 2009.Chinese President Hu Jintao holds a welcome ceremony for visiting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 17, 2009
Editor's note: Xinhua correspondents Zhao Cheng and Tian Fan, who accompanied and covered Premier Wen Jiabao's tour to the Copenhagen climate talks last week, recall in this following special report what they witnessed at the summit in the Danish capital. With close-in observations of Premier Wen's tight schedule and meetings with world leaders, their account is expected to shed light on some queries concerning the conference. * What did Premier Wen tell world leaders? * Why was Premier Wen missing from a mysterious small group meeting called by the United States? * How was Copenhagen Accord finally reached after long, tough negotiations? BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing for the climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on Dec. 16, when pessimism and disappointment were simmering among negotiators, who, after about 10 days' bargaining, found a bridge to span their rift seemed a mission impossible. "It will be a tough task. Now I can feel how heavy my duty is to attend the meeting on behalf of the Chinese government," Wen told reporters aboard his plane en route to Copenhagen. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao speaks at the leaders' meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 18, 2009Nevertheless, Wen said he was confident that the talks would bear fruit. "As so many world leaders are gathered there, I believe there should come some achievements," he said. "No matter what the result is, China's action plan will not change, its voluntary reduction target will always be non-negotiable, and its determination in hitting the target will never waver."
LIMA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin arrived in Lima on Sunday, kicking off his official good-will visit to this South American country. Jia, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, delivered a written speech upon his arrival at the airport of the Peruvian capital. Jia Qinglin (L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, arrives in Lima to start an official goodwill visit to Peru on Nov. 22, 2009. In the speech, Jia hailed the traditional friendship and sound development of bilateral ties, highlighting the fruitful cooperation in various fields and close coordination on international and regional affairs since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1971. The China-Peru relations entered a new phase of development when the two states established a strategic partnership in 2008, Jia said. Jia Qinglin (L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, arrives in Lima to start an official goodwill visit to Peru on Nov. 22, 2009. China always attaches importance to the relations with Peru and will work together with Peru to promote the partnership in a bid to benefit the two peoples, he noted. Jia is paying a two-day visit to Lima, which is expected to further friendship, mutual respect and cooperation, at the invitation of the Peruvian government. Jia Qinglin (L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, arrives in Lima to start an official goodwill visit to Peru on Nov. 22, 2009. He is scheduled to meet the Peruvian leadership and attend the opening ceremony of a China-Peru business forum on Monday. Jia visited the Philippines and made a stopover at French Polynesia last week. He will also visit Ecuador and Brazil.
NAIROBI, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who was visiting Nairobi, capital of Kenya, said Wednesday China-Africa relations are enjoying broad popular support and a solid political foundation and the two sides should forge a new type of strategic partnership to increase the vitality and creativity of cooperation in the new era. "In fact, with the joint efforts and cultivation of the two sides, China-Africa relations have made much progress in recent years as evidenced by deeper political mutual trust, closer cooperation for mutual benefits, and stronger people-to people ties," said Yang at a joint press conference with Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula. The top Chinese diplomat said in the haze of the international financial crisis, both China and Africa have met the difficulties head-on and accelerated cooperation, which has become a highlight in the international cooperation for development. "This is the success of China and Africa. This is also the success of South-South cooperation. It showcases the strong vitality and great promise that will be released when the largest developing country and the largest developing continent in the world join hands and move forward," he added. Yang, who earlier on Wednesday paid courtesy calls on Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga before meeting his Kenyan counterpart, said the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in November last year spelled out China's commitment to cement friendship, deepen cooperation, face challenges together and seek common development. During the meeting held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharmel-Sheikh, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on behalf of the Chinese government, announced eight new measures to promote practical cooperation with Africa, including tackling climate change, strengthening scientific and technological cooperation, enhancing Africa's financing ability and increasing market access for African products. "China has always honored its commitments with real actions. We will work with all member states of FOCAC to implement the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference in a concrete way," he said, adding that one of the important missions of his visit to Africa, which will also bring him to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Morocco, is "to show to Africa the sincerity of the Chinese government, discuss with African countries the implementation actions on the ground, and bring the outcomes of the conference to the African people". On his part, Wetang'ula applauded good relationship between the two countries and expressed appreciation of China's technical and financial support to Kenya, reiterating that Kenya committed to One-China policy.
BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged unswerving efforts to improve the building of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to secure the Party's role as the steel core of the country's leadership. Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, made the call at a group study of the members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday. With more than 75 million members and 3.7 million grassroots organizations, the CPC shoulders a tough task of Party building and management to lead the country's 1.3 billion people in economic and social development, Hu said. To promote a democratic and scientific decision-making mechanism for the Party and government is a crucial task for the Party, he said. In an era of great development and major transformation, Hu stressed, the CPC is facing long-term, complex and severe tests of challenges it would encounter as a ruling party in the process of reform, opening up, and implementation of market economy. To improve Party building is also an urgent requirement of coping with the international financial crisis and maintaining the country's economic growth, Hu said. He urged CPC organizations at all levels to promote organizational construction, improve regulations and fight against corruption. The Party should also establish and improve an institutional system based on the Party's Constitution and the principles of democratic centralism...and ensure the Party's unity and strengthen the Party's vigor of innovation, Hu said.
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BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A report on the building of rural social security system was submitted Thursday to the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, for deliberation. Sun Wensheng, vice chairman of the NPC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, said steady progress had been made in the development of rural social security system when delivering the report at the session of the NPC Standing Committee. A total of 833 million rural residents, or 94 percent of the rural population, have joined the rural cooperative medical care system, up 2.5 percentage points from the beginning of this year, according to the report. The rural cooperative medical care system, a government initiative implemented in 2005 that intended to make health services more affordable for the rural poor, had alleviated illness-caused poverty among farmers, it said. The report said 320 counties, or 11.6 percent of the country's total, had been or would be approved to try a new rural social pension insurance system, which would benefit more than 15 million rural residents. Under the pension system, senior rural residents will receive a monthly ole-age pension of varying amounts, which will be set by government according to the local income standards. However, some local governments were financially challenged to implement the rural social security programs and only a relatively small percentage of migrant farmer workers were covered, Sun said. The report was the result of a nearly four-month investigation conducted by the NPC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Initiated in September, the investigation covered 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for more efforts to optimize land use in order to save resources and further economic restructuring. Li made the remarks during an inspection to the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR). As the most populous country in the world, China has been faced with shortages of land, water, energy and minerals, and the shortages were worsened by rapid economic growth, he said. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (2nd R) inspects the Ministry of Land and Resources in Beijing, Nov. 24, 2009. Li stressed strict control on land use for the construction of high energy consuming and polluting projects, projects with excessive capacity as well as duplication of similar projects. China started its second nationwide land census in June, 2007. The MLR said the census was going smoothly and had collected preliminary data from local authorities. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang inspects the Ministry of Land and Resources in Beijing, Nov. 24, 2009.
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China has a total number of 2,971 company groups by the end of 2008 and their combined assets rose 19.7 percent from the previous year to more than 40 trillion yuan (5.86 trillion U.S. dollars), the China Industrial Information Issuing Center said Saturday. Corporate management of these company groups is improving, according to the center. Affected by the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, profit of these company groups decreased by 22.5 percent in 2008 year on year, the first annual drop since 1997, said the center without giving specific figures.
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China has a total number of 2,971 company groups by the end of 2008 and their combined assets rose 19.7 percent from the previous year to more than 40 trillion yuan (5.86 trillion U.S. dollars), the China Industrial Information Issuing Center said Saturday. Corporate management of these company groups is improving, according to the center. Affected by the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, profit of these company groups decreased by 22.5 percent in 2008 year on year, the first annual drop since 1997, said the center without giving specific figures.