BERLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese business delegation, led by Commerce Minister Chen Deming, signed here on Wednesday a total of 37 procurement deals worth around 11 billion euros (14 billion U.S. dollars) with German companies. According to Chen, the 37 deals are composed of two parts -- purchasing contracts, and cooperation agreements which need further negotiations. The deals focus on engineering equipment, electronics and auto vehicles like Mercedes and BMW, Chen told a press conference. A draft deal obtained by Xinhua showed that the Chinese side agreed to buy around 37,000 BMW cars and Mini worth 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, as well as 27,000 units of Mercedes cars. Chen revealed that apart from the current 200-member delegation, China would send more entrepreneurs to Germany to discuss further investment in both countries. Germany is one of China's important trading partners within the European Union (EU). In 2008, the Sino-German trade hit 115 billion U.S. dollars. Despite the world economic crisis, China and Germany have vowed to maintain the trade volume unchanged this year. Prior to the deal-signing ceremony, more than 450 Chinese and German business representatives attended a forum on exploring cooperation opportunities. Chen and German Economic Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg condemned trade protectionism that has cropped out amid the global economic crisis. Chen said the procurement deals reflect China's sincere objection to trade protectionism, adding that opening the market is the proper approach to address the global economic recession. Guttenberg lauded China's procurement, and joined Chen to slap trade protectionism. The 37-year-old minister said Germany and China are top two exporters in the world, noting that trade protectionism is a "wrong answer" to the current global financial crisis. Germany and China should join hands to facilitate the Doha round talks, he added. Later on Wednesday, the Chinese delegation, composed of over 200 business representatives, flew to Zurich of Switzerland to continue their procurement tour.
XI'AN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang urged local governments Tuesday to accelerate industrial restructuring and development in western regions and boost domestic consumption to offset the impact of the global downturn. Li made the remarks during an inspection tour of the country's northwestern Shaanxi Province, which ran from Sunday to Tuesday. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (L) talks with a salesman about the process of bringing home appliances to the countryside in a market of Yan'an, a city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on March 17, 2009. Li Keqiang made an inspection of Shaanxi Province recentlyHe urged local authorities to take measures to achieve smooth, relatively rapid economic growth this year. He urged the Chinese people to be confident in coping with uncertain times. "Equipment manufacturing is a sector of strategic importance. Local governments should do more to implement industry stimulus plans, promote innovation and build up large domestic companies," he said. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (R, Front) shakes hands with a veteran in a beadhouse in Yan'an, a city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on March 17, 2009. Li urged companies to develop new technology, new products and foster new industries to become more competitive. He also called on local governments to sincerely apply policies aimed at helping farmers buy household appliances to stimulate consumption, as potential demand in western and rural areas was huge. As of Feb. 1, China's more than 900 million farmers became eligible for subsidies equal to 13 percent of the price of designated home appliances. The subsidy was originally offered in a pilot program in three provinces in 2007. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (2nd, R) inspects in a workshop of AVIC Xi'An Aircraft Industry (Group) Company in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on March 17, 2009
SYDNEY, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Li Changchun, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), praised the role of New South Wales, the most developed state in Australia, in pushing forward the development of Sino-Australian relationship here on Sunday. While meeting Australian acting Governor-General and New South Wales State governor Marie Bashir, Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said he was pleased to see the expansion of mutual benefits and cooperation in all fields between China and NSW following the all-round development of bilateral ties between both countries. Marie Bashir (L), Australian acting governor-general and New South Wales State governor, meets with Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Sydney, Australia, March 22, 2009. "NSW is characterized with rich resources, developed economy, advanced science and technology and multi-culture, and is the state in the country in which Chinese companies have invested most," said Li, who is in Australia on a five-day visit. He also said that the friendly exchange, mutual benefits and cooperation are the important basis and driving force of the all-around development of the two countries and he hoped to see the further development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchange and people-to-people friendship which help to push forward the friendly relations of the two countries. Bashir told Li that she has visited China many times since 1974and witnessed the profound changes in China over the past 30 years. She said she always believed that the friendly cooperation in all sectors is the major factor in enhancing the peaceful development in the Asia-Pacific region. Marie Bashir (L), Australian acting governor-general and New South Wales State governor, meets with Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Sydney, Australia, March 22, 2009.On the same day, Li also visited the Australian office of China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd in Sydney and encouraged the Chinese companies like Huawei which are marching towards the global market to overcome the difficulties caused by the global financial crisis, strengthen cooperation with foreign countries, expand market sales and make faster development. Li arrived in Australia on Friday. Australia is the first-leg of Li's four-nation tour which will also take him to Myanmar, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
GUILIN, (Guangxi), Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will tighten water resources management and take measures to reduce waste to cope with worsening water shortage, Water Resources Minister Chen Lei said here Saturday. Water shortage impelled us take into consideration of overall economic and social development and economical use of water resources to ensure sustainable economic and social development, Chen said at a national conference in Guilin, in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. China is planning to reduce water consumption per unit of GDP to 125 cubic meters by 2020, down 60 percent from now, Chen said. Water consumption averaged 229 cubic meters per 10,000 yuan worth of products, according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) at the end of 2008. That figure was down 10 percent compared with the previous year. Statistics released Saturday showed the country lacked 40 billion cubic meters of water every year, with almost two thirds of cities suffering various levels of water shortages. More than 200 million rural people face drinking water shortages. At the same time, farmland stricken by drought reached 230 million mu (15.3 million hectares) every year, nearly 13 percent of the total farming area. The most severe drought in half a century, which is hitting China this spring, affected 111 million mu of crops so far, with 4.68 million people and 2.49 million livestock threatened by water shortages, according to official statistics from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. "We must take strict measures to preserve water resources in the face of the severe lack of water worsened by factors such as overuse, pollution and drought ," Chen said. The ministry also expected to increase 79.5 billion cubic meters of water resources by 2020 and secure water supplies for both urban and rural people. Chen proposed reinforcement of laws and regulations on water allocation, consumption and preservation as a fundamental way to achieve this goal.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is ready to make joint efforts with China to advance the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership, a senior Vietnamese official said here Monday. Pham Quang Nghi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC), made the remarks during his talks with Liu Qi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Liu said the two parties had increased exchanges on theory and practice of socialist construction since the two top leaders reached an important consensus on the development of Sino-Vietnamese relations last year. Liu Qi (L), member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chief of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, meets with Pham Quang Nghi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and chief of the CPV Hanoi Municipal Committee, in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2009. Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President, held talks with CPVCC General Secretary Nong Duc Manh on May 30, 2008, when Manh was on a four-day official goodwill visit to China. The consensus between the leaders of the two parties provided direction to further develop relations, said Nghi, also Hanoi's Party Committee Secretary. The two countries had also expanded cooperation, which brought concrete benefits to the two peoples, Liu said. Liu, also secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, hoped both sides would work together to enrich the bilateral comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership. He also briefed the guests on the Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) and the Second Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held earlier this month. Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, also met with Nghi and his delegation on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), also met with Nghi. Hailing the completion of Sino-Vietnam land demarcation, Jia said China and Vietnam were facing an opportunity to further comprehensive, strategic and cooperative partnership, and should work together to boost cooperation in all fields and levels. Nghi believed the Chinese people would overcome the global financial crisis under the leadership of the CPC. He said China was an important force to safeguard world peace and progress, and that Vietnam would learn from China's experience in the reform and development
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BUSAN, South Korea, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Experts from China, Japan and South Korea attending a regional forum here on Sunday called for closer cooperation among the three countries in tackling the global financial crisis. The proposal was made at the fourth session of the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum, a regional platform with political, business and academic experts from the three countries. Vice President of China's Xinhua News Agency Zhou Xisheng (R), Lee Hong-koo (C), former prime minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Ryoki Sugita (L), head of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japanese Economic News Press), attend the opening ceremony of the Forum of Northeast Asian Prominent Figures, in Pusan, ROK, April 12, 2009. The fourth Forum of Northeast Asian Prominent Figures was opened on Sunday in Pusan. In his speech to the forum, former Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen said that the issues of the financial crisis, energy security, environmental protection and climate change have been interwoven and become global challenges, and no country alone can counter these challenges. China, Japan and South Korea are major forces in maintaining world financial stability and promoting global growth, and the most pressing task is to work together to take every necessary measure to curb the spread of the crisis and mitigate its impact on economic growth and market stability, he said. Vice President of China's Xinhua News Agency Zhou Xisheng (R) talks with Lee Hong-koo, former prime minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK), during the opening ceremony of the Forum of Northeast Asian Prominent Figures, in Pusan, ROK, April 12, 2009. The fourth Forum of Northeast Asian Prominent Figures was opened on Sunday in PusanFormer Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone suggested in his speech that experts from the three countries form a group to search for a solution to the world financial crisis. Former South Korean prime minister Lee Hong-koo said the consensus on building new world orders in politics, economy and other fields needs to be more broadly shared so as to better tackle the crisis that all are faced with. The forum will focus on cooperation among South Korea, China and Japan in dealing with the world financial crisis, which will lay a good foundation for the further development of ties among the three countries, Lee said. The Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum is a yearly event cosponsored by the Xinhua News Agency of China, the Nikkei news group of Japan and leading South Korean daily Joong Ang Ilbo, and gathers prominent figures from all walks of life in the three countries. This year's meeting is set to discuss global financial risks, environment, energy and culture.
HORSHAM, Britain, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting sent a positive signal that the international community is rising unitedly to the economic and financial challenges, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said here Saturday. As the financial crisis continues to spread and bites harder from one country to another, solidarity achieved at the meeting will help boost market confidence and stabilize economic and financial conditions, Xie told Chinese reporters shortly after the meeting. Xie said the meeting provided a platform for economic leaders to have in-depth discussions on enhancing exchanges and coordination on policy issues. He said participants agreed to continue to adopt effective policies and measures and strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policy to restore market confidence as soon as possible. They also reached consensus on further deepening trade and economic cooperation and fight trade and investment protectionism, Xie said. Participants unanimously agreed to promote international trade with an open mind and pay close attention to the difficulties of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries, the minister added. Participants also agreed to strengthen financial supervision, enhance transparency and accelerate the reform of international financial institutions to ensure that the developing countries will have greater representation and bigger say, he said. Xie said China took an active part in the discussions on all issues at the meeting and extensive exchanges and consultations with various parties on the effective ways to deal with the global financial crisis and promote global economic revival and growth. China calls on countries around the world to strengthen policy coordination and step up the fight against protectionism to better cope with the crisis, he said. Xie said the meeting had made some necessary preparation for the upcoming G20 financial summit in London, and created a favorable atmosphere for a successful London summit.
BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China lodged another stern representation to Japan on Friday over Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone's remarks that the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and United States is applicable to the Diaoyu Islands. According to the reports by the Taiwan-based Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC), an official of the U.S. State Department, familiar with East Asian affairs, said at a press conference in Washington on Friday that the Diaoyu Islands were always under Japan's administrative jurisdiction and the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and United States was applicable to them. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone echoed the U.S. official's remarks afterwards. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu rejected Nakasone's remarks later in a press release, saying the Japan-U.S. Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty should not harm the interests of third parties, including China. "Any words and deeds that bring the Diaoyu Islands into the scope of the Japan-U.S. Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty are absolutely unacceptable for the Chinese people," he said. Ma stressed again that the Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets had been Chinese territories since ancient times and China held "indisputable" sovereignty over the islands. "We have lodged stern representations to Japan again and required the United States to clarify reports on the issue," he said. He also urged the two countries to realize the great sensitivity of the Diaoyu Islands issue and proceed with discretion in word and deed, so as to avoid damage to the general interests of China-Japan and China-U.S. relations and regional stability.
BOAO, Hainan, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese officials and entrepreneurs said Sunday that China should have bigger say in setting commodity prices, as oil and iron ore prices saw roller-coaster-like fluctuations in the past two years. The drastic price changes are not reflecting real demand, but are propped up by financial speculators, said the senior executives of China's top energy enterprises at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2009, which concluded Sunday in the island resort of Boao in south China's Hainan Province. They said commodity prices should be pulled back to normal track to reflect real demand, otherwise the inflation woe will come back and make business expansion unsustainable. PRICE AND REAL DEMAND "Although we are the biggest commodity buyer in the world, our role in the price setting is limited," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's economic planning agency. China's steel makers have fallen into a prolonged bargain with the world's major iron ore producers, demanding a sharper price cut than the 20 percent-off deal plan offered by the Rio Tinto of Australia, as the world's No.1 iron ore importer has less demand amid the economic slowdown. Iron ore prices increased five fold in the five years before 2008. Xu Lejiang, boss of the Baosteel Group Corporation, China's largest steel maker, said at the forum that nothing is more important than the normalization of iron ore pricing, without elaborating how much more price cut he wants. The continuously rising iron ore prices partly reflected demand, but that's not the whole picture, said Xu. The prices tumbled by more than two thirds from a peak of 187 U.S. dollars per tonne last year. Speculative trading on iron ore shipping index helped fan the volatility, since shipping costs comprise a large share of the iron ore prices. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a main gauge of international shipping activities, has plummeted from a peak of 11,000 points to above 600 points, which is certainly what people are reluctant to see, Xu said. His view was echoed by Fu Chengyu, chief executive officer of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the largest offshore oil producer in China. He said the prices are bound to fall after irrational rise. He said the loose monetary policy in the United States should be blamed for the skyrocketing oil prices last year. "If no measures were taken, the world would see another round of inflation after we weather through the crisis," he said. He noted the pre-emptive measures should be put into place to avoid that, otherwise the next headache for the G20 leaders will be how to fight inflation. "We should prepare for tomorrow," Fu said. Zhang Xiaoqiang said international collaboration is essential to enhance the oversight of the financial speculation. ACTION BEFORE CRISIS The volatile external conditions forced many Chinese energy enterprises to seek their own way to offset the negative impacts of price fluctuations. Cost saving has always been important to CNOOC, said Fu. "We have cut the cost to 19.78 U.S. dollars per barrel, and that has allowed us to get through with ease when prices fall." "We step up investment with the current cheap prices, and that will help us flourish after the crisis," Fu said. To offset the negative impacts of price changes, many Chinese enterprises have been engaged in hedge trading and other derivative products investment, but many failed with mounting losses. "CNOOC has lost nothing, since we use hedge trading to preserve value, rather than make money," he said. "Hedge trading is not speculation," said Fu who has 30 years of experience in the oil industry. Fu called on Asian countries to negotiate with the world's major crude oil suppliers, as Asian nations have to pay 1 to 2 U. S. dollars more per barrel than other buyers. Zhang Xiaoqiang noted China will continue to liberalize domestic prices of energy products and resources, saying the recent reform of refined oil prices is a good start. "We should beef up our commodity reserve to ensure plenty supply in order to offset the negative impacts of big price changes," Zhang said. As the Chinese government has announced plans to build the second batch of national oil reserve bases, enterprises can try to have their commercial energy reserves in the future.