Recent News

China's role in Africa welcomed

LISBON: Increased interest in Africa by emerging economies such as China and India is good news for the continent, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) official said on Saturday. "It's a major event and good news for Africa to have new players (on the economic field)," OECD chief development economist Javier Santiso said, and described the criticisms against China's

Official pledges support for publication of Bible

The country's top religious affairs official has pledged to continue support for the printing and publication of the Bible, even as the religious text here hit a milestone of 50 million copies published. Ye Xiaowen "The country respects and protects religious freedom," said Ye Xiaowen, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs. "And China has become one of the countries

China targets key areas for further reforms in 2008

BEIJING - China's top economic planner said Sunday that it would step up reforms in key areas such as the economic system, investment regulation and supervision, resource products pricing and national healthcare. Ma Kai [File photo]  "We should further deepen reform in 2008," Ma Kai, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at the annual working meeting

Shanghai property tycoon gets 16 years in jail

Shanghai property tycoon Zhou Zhengyi was sentenced to 16 years in jail on Friday, sources with the Shanghai Municipal No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said. The source did not give more details. The on-line edition of Caijing Magazine (www.caijing.com.cn) reported that Zhou was found guilty of five charges, including misappropriation of funds, bribery and forging VAT receipts. Zhou's

China plans to build new oil reserve base in southwest

China will build a new strategic petroleum reserve in Wanzhou, a district in Chongqing Municipality in the southwest, once final approval is obtained from the central government. Wanzhou District Government and the Sichuan Bureau of Material Reserve signed an investment agreement last Friday over launching a joint venture for building a new oil reserve base in Wanzhou, about 300 km away from

China signs MOU with US, Mexico on subsidies

China has reached understanding with the United States and Mexico on their alleged trade subsidy measures, sparing a WTO panel ruling on the case, the Chinese WTO mission said here on Thursday. Chinese Ambassador Sun Zhenyu signed respective memorandums of understanding with his US and Mexican counterparts "regarding certain measures granting refunds, reductions or exemptions from taxes or

China to publish regular information on social

China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MLSS) said it would publish information about the country's huge social security fund in April every year, a move aimed to make management of the two-trillion-yuan fund more transparent. The ministry offered a brief introduction to the social security system along with information about the fund by the end of 2006 in a document posted on its

Opening-up policy here to stay: Wen

SINGAPORE: Premier Wen Jiabao Monday reiterated that China will not change its opening-up policy and is committed to addressing any problem it gives rise to. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gestures during an address in National University of Singapore November 19, 2007. [Xinhua] Opening-up is a "basic State policy, not expediency", Wen said while addressing a gathering at the

More benefits for one-child families

China will offer a large range of benefits to families that have followed the country's family-planning policy, a government circular said on Monday. "The design and implementation of policies that benefit the general public should show preferential treatment to families that have implemented child-planning policies," the circular said. The favorable policies, mainly targeting rural families,

Eco-city pact inked with Singapore

 Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) shakes hands with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong after signing the Framework Agreement for the Development of the Sino-Singapore Eco-city Project in Singapore on November 18, 2007. Wen Jiabao arrived in Singapore on Sunday for an official visit and would attend a series of regional summit meetings to be held in the country.

Chinese airline in elite club

China Southern Airlines has become the first Chinese carrier to join one of the three global airline alliances in an effort to better participate in international competition. China Southern officially joins SkyTeam, becoming its 11th full member and part of a worldwide system with 16,400 daily flights and approximately 428 million annual passengers, Nov 15,

China closes its largest international arts festival

SHANGHAI - The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the indisputable authority playing the music by Slav maestros like Antonin Dvorak, made its Shanghai debut on Sunday night, closing the 9th China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the largest event of the kind in the country. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the closing ceremony of the 9th China Shanghai International

China to grant fixed-line telecom operators mobile

China will soon allow its fixed-line telecom operators to venture into the faster-growing mobile market, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday, citing a senior official. "The rapid development of mobile telecom services had lured away subscribers of fixed-line services," Xi Guohua, vice minister of information industry, was cited as saying. The government will grant fixed-line operators licences

Government pumps 6b yuan into conservation

The government has earmarked 6 billion yuan ($774 million) to pay for energy conservation projects to be launched before the end of this year, a senior official from the top economic planner said Monday. "The special funds will support 10 major energy-saving projects, such as reducing the use of petroleum and developing petroleum substitutes and green lighting technology. It is hoped these

Tombs of 1,800 years ago found in Beijing

BEIJING - Chinese archaeologists have discovered over 290 tombs, some of which date back 1,800 years, in Yanqing County, in the northern outskirts of Beijing. Most of the tombs were built in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) or Tang Dynasty (618-907). Others are believed to belong to the Jin (317-581), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911). All the tombs, covering an

28-year-old Italian converts to Buddhism in China

A young Italian man converted to Buddhism in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on Saturday, becoming China's first Italian Buddhist, the Yangtze Evening Post reported. Lucas (R), a 28-year-old Italian, takes the tonsure at the Xuanzang Temple in Nanjing on November 10, 2007, becoming China's first Italian Buddhist. [Yangtze Evening Post] Lucas, 28 years old, became a monk