tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10850281076370183762024-03-19T16:02:20.750+08:00From China To The WorldA changing China is making a change to youchina-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.comBlogger530125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-1765959476544786212009-05-19T08:58:00.000+08:002009-05-19T08:59:08.897+08:00PNG riots hit Chinese businesses<p class="first"><b>Asian-owned firms have been looted in Papua New Guinea's two largest cities, amid simmering anti-Chinese sentiment.</b></p><p>Chinese-owned shops and offices were looted by gangs in the capital, Port Moresby, and the coastal city of Lae. </p><p>The cause of the disturbances is unclear, but hostility towards Chinese immigrants has been intensifying. </p><p>Community leaders predict an exodus of Chinese entrepreneurs, who own many businesses in the bigger cities, where unemployment has reached up to 80%. </p><!-- E SF --><p>Teams of police officers and private security guards have failed to stop the widespread looting. </p><p>In Lae, witnesses said that hundreds of men and boys had run amok and that much of the coastal city had been brought to a standstill. </p><p>In recent days, a man was reportedly stabbed to death as he tried to break into a shop. </p><p>Earlier this month, the building of a nickel mine was stopped after a fight over an industrial accident between Papua New Guinean and Asian workers. </p><p>Many settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea from China during World War II and there have been subsequent waves of migration. </p><p>There are fears the violence will force many to leave the South Pacific country, which would invariably heap further damage on an impoverished economy. </p><p>Expatriate Chinese also fled neighbouring Solomon Islands in large numbers after racially-charged disturbances in 2006.<br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-83010221291503770022009-05-17T11:06:00.000+08:002009-05-17T11:08:14.751+08:00Obama names ambassador to China<p class="first"><b>US President Barack Obama has named the Republican Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, as ambassador to China.</b></p><p>Mr Huntsman, 49, is a fluent speaker of Mandarin, which he learnt while serving as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan. </p><p>He has served as a deputy trade representative and ambassador to Singapore, and was seen as a potential presidential contender in 2012. </p><p>President Obama said he had made the appointment "mindful of its extraordinary significance". </p><!-- E SF --><p>"Given the breadth of issues at stake in our relationship with China, this ambassadorship is as important as any in the world," he said. </p><p>The US could most effectively confront global challenges by working together with China, he added. </p><p>Mr Huntsman co-chaired the campaign of John McCain, Mr Obama's rival in last year's presidential election, and the president said it would not be the "easiest decision to explain to some members of his party". </p><p>"But here is what I also know: I know Jon is the kind of leader that always puts country ahead of party," he said. </p><p>Mr Huntsman is seen as a moderate voice within the Republican party, correspondents say. </p><p>Standing next to the president at a televised news conference, Mr Huntsman said: "I grew up understanding that the most basic responsibility one has is service to country." </p><p>He used a Mandarin saying to underline the point: "Together we work, together we progress." </p><p>The post requires Senate confirmation. </p><p>Mr Huntsman served as a US trade representative under President George W Bush, and as ambassador to Singapore under his father, President George HW Bush.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-88334946820022562752009-05-14T13:48:00.001+08:002009-05-14T13:49:46.941+08:00New Flu Cases Confirmed in China, Hong Kong<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOTtVllu-74BG1uByc0O-mU44eBNY38M9nHAqV-uAgfZeEiMGYgIL1vN8sAa0ndcGOExrDoyKA2df4CMvPWyzkshcZSBU6BNSng4QoMwxBvHIpsafsaaDsG1Zxa04TSqJmJrwqPbSEns/s1600-h/ALeqM5gtLH0hB6Jz18Cmje_PUrPt4wqNQg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOTtVllu-74BG1uByc0O-mU44eBNY38M9nHAqV-uAgfZeEiMGYgIL1vN8sAa0ndcGOExrDoyKA2df4CMvPWyzkshcZSBU6BNSng4QoMwxBvHIpsafsaaDsG1Zxa04TSqJmJrwqPbSEns/s320/ALeqM5gtLH0hB6Jz18Cmje_PUrPt4wqNQg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335552738585216738" border="0" /></a>HONG KONG -- Health authorities in China and Hong Kong confirmed two new cases of the A/H1N1 virus, both in people arriving on flights from North America. <p>China's Health Ministry said on its Web site that lab results showed a 19-year-old man, identified by the surname Lü, tested positive for the disease also known as human swine flu after arriving in Beijing from Canada aboard Air Canada flight AC029 on Friday. The ministry didn't say where the man was flying from. Air Canada's Web site shows AC029 originates in Toronto and stops in Vancouver before landing in Beijing.</p> <p>The patient took a train from Beijing to the eastern city of Jinan, and was taken to an infectious disease hospital by Jinan health authorities, the ministry said. His condition was improving, it said. Authorities were searching for people who might have come into contact with the man.</p> <p>Mr. Lü is mainland China's second case of A/H1N1. A 30-year-old man who flew to China from the U.S. was confirmed as the first case Monday.</p> <p>More than 5,700 cases of A/H1N1 influenza have been recorded around the world so far, according to the World Health Organization. While the disease is considered less dangerous than early reports suggested, health officials remain concerned that it could become more lethal over time.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Hong Kong health officials confirmed the territory's second case of human swine flu. A 24-year-old resident of the territory was hospitalized with mild symptoms of the disease after arriving from San Francisco on a Cathay Pacific flight on May 11, they said.</p> <p>Thomas Tsang, controller of Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection, and Gabriel Leung, undersecretary for food and health, said officials were looking to contact 51 people who sat within three rows of the sick man on the flight. Officials said 45 of the people had already left Hong Kong.</p> <p>The remaining six have been contacted and are being quarantined. Quarantine arrangements have also been made for his family. Officials said the victim didn't circulate widely within the community after his arrival in Hong Kong.</p> <p>Hong Kong's previous victim of human swine flu had stayed at a business hotel, prompting the government to impose a controversial quarantine on all staff and residents of the hotel for seven days. That quarantine expired Friday night.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(WSJ)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-82807182706035374692009-05-12T15:51:00.001+08:002009-05-12T15:52:58.271+08:00China Marks Anniversary of Devastating Quake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjBCS5lw1YEhnx1j_w7OxHRucqh1AhzV4lng4eKSVMOVUgMLG-uuXk0SQXMn4AfTvRMxAeMV9EcG5qr__L-b36FOWIC2AMUyxKe5XFsprY9eeGPyjUnnpDc_jAccm_jjqsM1Yj4D-Tso/s1600-h/xin_222050612152051525484258.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjBCS5lw1YEhnx1j_w7OxHRucqh1AhzV4lng4eKSVMOVUgMLG-uuXk0SQXMn4AfTvRMxAeMV9EcG5qr__L-b36FOWIC2AMUyxKe5XFsprY9eeGPyjUnnpDc_jAccm_jjqsM1Yj4D-Tso/s320/xin_222050612152051525484258.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334842154607633490" border="0" /></a>BEIJING — One year after a massive earthquake devastated parts of Sichuan Province, China paused Tuesday to remember the nearly 90,000 people left dead ormissing by the disaster and to thank international donors for their help with the recovery effort. <a name="secondParagraph"></a> <p>But the anniversary was dogged by continuing questions about the deaths of thousands of Sichuan children crushed in the rubble of school buildings that the Chinese government says were solidly built, but many parents insist were substandard.</p><p> President <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/hu_jintao/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Hu Jintao.">Hu Jintao</a> led a ceremony Tuesday at the quake’s epicenter, in the leveled town of Beichuan, shortly before 2:30 p.m., the time the quake occurred. Mr. Hu adjusted the flowers on a single, large memorial wreath adorned with a red sash. Nearby, a large clock stood with its hands stopped at 5:12, signifying May 12, the day of the tragedy.</p><p>Parents of dead students gathered at the wreckage of Beichuan Middle School, where about 1,300 of the 2,900 students and teachers perished. They lighted incense and candles and heaped floral tributes to the dead.</p><p>The middle school’s collapse during the 7.9-magnitude earthquake, even as nearby buildings withstood the shock, unleashed a flood of bitter accusations from parents and friends of the dead students that cheap materials and corner-cutting building methods had made the school building vulnerable to a quake. Parents in other towns where schools had similarly collapsed joined the outcry, and engineers and building experts who examined the schools’ rubble supported them.</p><p> Seeking to calm the turmoil, the government issued a report last week stating that official inquiries had found no evidence that poor construction contributed to the school collapses. The report said for the first time that 5,335 students had died in the earthquake.</p><p> Some survivors have rejected the report’s conclusion, and charged that the official death toll is too low.</p><p>On Monday, Mr. Hu thanked foreign diplomats who were invited to the quake commemoration ceremony for their nations’ contributions to relief efforts, saying they had demonstrated “grand humanitarianism and friendship with the Chinese people.”</p>The government said that 160 nations and assorted international organizations had donated more than $11 billion to quake relief efforts, and that their rescue teams had given medical care to 10,000 survivors and saved one victim who had been buried in the wreckage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(NYT)</span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-89524147103214577482009-05-11T13:39:00.002+08:002009-05-11T13:41:44.202+08:00China reports suspected swine flu case<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrhn02pUPwv77OvznPbI2_Tbu8_WHoJMzcruvIqzcsFmV3SxHbB0bYBd29Xj6K-QdfhIznTzApIy63I4Xm_2C4GhkvI_kGhCSptgRxtKEl1qXcxQjscYHWx6MqEQH5GuTNnn_g9jZnrk/s1600-h/608x325.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrhn02pUPwv77OvznPbI2_Tbu8_WHoJMzcruvIqzcsFmV3SxHbB0bYBd29Xj6K-QdfhIznTzApIy63I4Xm_2C4GhkvI_kGhCSptgRxtKEl1qXcxQjscYHWx6MqEQH5GuTNnn_g9jZnrk/s320/608x325.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334437404033451618" border="0" /></a>BEIJING — A Chinese man returning from studying at a U.S. university has become the first suspected case of swine flu in mainland China, the Health Ministry said Sunday.<p>The ministry identified the patient as a 30-year-old student surnamed Bao, but did not specify where he studied.</p><p>China has been accused in the past of not acting quickly enough to combat the spread of diseases, especially the 2003 global outbreak of SARS. Chastened by that experience and subsequent threats from avian flu, the government this time has acted quickly and decisively to block an outbreak, but some of its measures have been criticized as excessive.</p><p>The swine flu-prevention measures include bans on imports of pork from Mexico, some U.S. states and Alberta in Canada. Beijing has also canceled direct flights between China and Mexico. Authorities require arriving travelers with flu-like symptoms to report themselves and have placed some travelers under weeklong quarantines.</p><p>China's tough measures drew complaints from Mexico that citizens were being quarantined based on nationality. China has defended the steps as necessary to block swine flu from entering the world's most populous nation.</p><p>The Chinese territory of Hong Kong earlier reported a case of swine flu diagnosed in a 25-year-old Mexican who flew to the city.</p><p>The virus has killed at least 53 people and sickened more than 4,370 in 29 countries, mostly in the U.S. and Mexico, but has so far largely spared Asia.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(AP)</span> </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-26392643882026415182009-05-09T18:45:00.001+08:002009-05-09T18:47:21.270+08:00Hong Kong turns Bruce Lee's home into a memorial<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjsCd_AL_tGwGTocN5zHoXtE9fG8OB4C3N69oKEeaSGIr9-QnhfC02Qw6xSAq-lDXc6Z9-cYzBH4fbtolFyg0YuJXf_NRtnK2YXWGKAdLmlJcAbIcu_YF5yUZMUK5DS9l5ZNWfk5MnDg/s1600-h/_45708335_brucestatue226.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjsCd_AL_tGwGTocN5zHoXtE9fG8OB4C3N69oKEeaSGIr9-QnhfC02Qw6xSAq-lDXc6Z9-cYzBH4fbtolFyg0YuJXf_NRtnK2YXWGKAdLmlJcAbIcu_YF5yUZMUK5DS9l5ZNWfk5MnDg/s320/_45708335_brucestatue226.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333773928079003538" border="0" /></a><b>Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee was spending a night with his girlfriend, fellow star Betty Ting Pei, when he complained of a headache and took one of Betty's painkillers.</b><p> </p> <p>Within hours he was dead from swelling of the brain, at the age of just 32. </p> <p>His death on 20 July 1973 deprived an avid worldwide audience of more epoch-making films such as his Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. </p> <p>He created the martial arts genre in movies and gave Chinese people around the world something to be proud of. </p> <p>So intense and loving is the aura that still surrounds Bruce Lee that it also extends to an average two-storey house in a Hong Kong suburb called Kowloon Tong. </p> <p><b>Donation</b> </p> <p>The house at 41 Cumberland Avenue is where the star lived officially with his wife, Linda Lee Cadwell, son Brandon (who also was to die tragically young) and daughter Shannon. </p> <!-- S IIMA --><!-- E IIMA --> <p>Currently it is a love motel, a place where couples can check in for a night, or less, with their cars parked behind curtains to obscure their number-plates and secure anonymity. </p> <p>It is a nondescript place, but the fence, the arch over the gate and the basic shell of the house are original. </p> <p>After the tragic earthquake in Sichuan last year, noted billionaire philanthropist Yu Panglin thought of selling various properties around Hong Kong, including the HK$100m (US$12.9m, £8.8m) love motel, to donate the proceeds to the quake victims. </p> <p>Outcry ensued. This was the home of the great martial arts star, a part of Hong Kong's heritage - and local people weren't going to let it simply disappear. </p> <p>So Mr Yu changed his plans, and decided to donate the home to Bruce Lee fans around the world. </p> <p>"Mr Yu has had the house for more than a decade and many people go there, even now," said Raymond Chan, the surveyor and member of the town planning board to which Mr Yu has entrusted the property. </p> <p>Quite what will happen to the building remains unclear - will it be given to the government to manage? Or will a trust be set up to manage the site? </p> <p>A committee is being formed, of architects, planners, government representatives and others, to work on moving the project forward. </p> <p>Fans, friends and film buffs around the world are being asked to contribute designs and memorabilia, and Mr Chan has set up a new email address to manage the influx: bruceleehouse@gmail.com. </p> <!-- S IIMA --><!-- E IIMA --> <p>Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon has said she is happy to help. She leads the Bruce Lee Foundation and has been working on the establishment of the Bruce Lee Action Museum in Seattle, where the Lees lived between 1959 and 1964. </p> <p>"Reviving my family's old Hong Kong residence is a unique opportunity which I believe should be seized if at all possible," she told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. </p> <p>For Mr Chan, Bruce Lee is the legend who created a new identity for Chinese men. </p> <p>A stroll along Hong Kong's waterfront "Avenue of the Stars" shows Mr Chan is not alone in this view - a statue of the star draws tourists and fans every day, many of them from mainland China. </p> <p>Last year, China's state broadcaster, CCTV, ran a 50-part series about Bruce Lee in a belated recognition of the star's symbolism for the Chinese - even though people living on the mainland must have been barely aware of him during his lifetime. </p> <p><b>Jackie Chan</b> </p> <p>Somehow the pull of Jackie Chan, another action star, has not captured the Hong Kong public's imagination quite as much. </p> <p>Jackie Chan has told reporters of his desire to donate his collection of antique sandalwood houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties to Hong Kong, to help spur interest in his heritage and provide Hong Kong with more tourist attractions. </p> <p>The seven houses, stored in pieces in a Hong Kong warehouse for years, are reportedly worth US$67m (£46m). But he claims the government has dithered for 10 years, and refused him access to adequate sites, sending him to seek a home for the constructions elsewhere. </p> <!-- S IIMA --><!-- E IIMA --> <p>Singapore and Shanghai are to receive some Jackie Chan houses, but their Hong Kong welcome remains uncertain. </p> <p>The recent howls of protest after Jackie Chan said that Chinese people "need to be controlled" to avoid the "chaos" of societies such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, will not have helped his search or home-town validation, the pundits have said. </p> <p><b>Heritage</b> </p> <p>The newfound focus on the heritage values of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan has raised questions about what it means to be a Hong Konger. </p> <p>"Hong Kong is much more interested in heritage now," said Christine Loh, leader of the Civic Exchange think-tank. </p> <p>An environmental and heritage campaigner and a former legislator, she points to a growing number of cases where public debate about preserving what makes Hong Kong special has become intense. </p> <p>The idea of heritage has grown exponentially in recent years, as the change from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 alerted people to a passing of an era. </p> <p>A sense of Hong Kong identity as distinct from mainland Chinese or British colonial identities has animated passionate debates about saving icons such as the Star Ferry, which crosses the harbour, or old neighbourhoods where stone shop-houses are propped up by steel hoists to survive.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-26955716473169369632009-05-08T09:30:00.003+08:002009-05-08T12:36:12.218+08:00Vice PM Wang Qishan: Distant Neighbors<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQU-1FFVNEOExprHF7Xyf6dM1jrtfybEk7ZjNI0XRLZ2bdLH438yjMS_DwMEMTQyuVL3_R2oxxYsGFSR5PWKQWlF1-HBgVSj6nUz4kk6Ax0DRS7dLX6bDVWAV5Tsly2hh0KgxLKVoBjo/s1600-h/xin_082050606172695331501.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQU-1FFVNEOExprHF7Xyf6dM1jrtfybEk7ZjNI0XRLZ2bdLH438yjMS_DwMEMTQyuVL3_R2oxxYsGFSR5PWKQWlF1-HBgVSj6nUz4kk6Ax0DRS7dLX6bDVWAV5Tsly2hh0KgxLKVoBjo/s320/xin_082050606172695331501.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333259860359167106" border="0" /></a></div><p>The most pressing task facing all countries in the world today is to restore global economic growth as soon as possible. Yet it is worrisome to note that the surge of trade protectionism has made the prospects of the already fragile world economy even worse. </p> <p>China and the European Union, two major economies and stakeholders in the world, should take a responsible attitude and demonstrate their common, clear commitment against trade protectionism at the second China-E.U. high-level economic dialogue. </p><p>Trade liberalization is the engine of economic growth. It has served as a strong propeller of economic globalization and benefited people around the world. On the contrary, trade protectionism — featuring the pursuit of benefits for one country at the expense of others — will only lead to retaliation. It serves the interest of no one. </p><p>The world economy paid a heavy price for the prevalence of trade protectionism during the Great Depression in the 1930s, which led to the contraction of global trade by two thirds. We should make sure that the same mistake is not repeated. </p><p>Europe is the birthplace of free trade theory, and the E.U. is the product of successful free trade practices. The removal of trade barriers promoted formation of a single European market and enhanced development and prosperity in Europe. As a result, the E.U. has grown into the largest economy in the world today. </p><p>China is firmly committed to reform and to opening up. Since its accession to the World Trade Organization, China’s market has become much more open and its trade greatly liberalized. The current overall tariff level of China is only 9.8 percent. Its average tariff on industrial products is only 8.9 percent, the lowest among all developing countries. Its tariff on imported agricultural products is only 15.2 percent, which is not only lower than other developing countries but also far below that of many developed countries.</p><p> The openness of China’s trade in services has reached a level close to that of an average developed country. China has taken steady steps to improve its market economic system and legal system. In particular, it has made remarkable progress in intellectual-property rights protection, product quality and food safety, environmental protection and labor security. China has also taken concrete actions against trade protectionism — the Chinese government recently sent Chinese enterprises on procurement missions to Europe and the United States. </p><p>The economies of China and the E.U. have much to offer each other and our two-way trade holds a huge potential. The E.U. is now China’s largest trading partner and China is the second largest trading partner of the E.U.</p><p> China and the E.U. should make full use of the platform presented by the high-level economic dialogue to strengthen communication and cooperation and jointly oppose trade protectionism. This would better enable us to tackle the current crisis and promote economic recovery and growth. It would also reinforce the trend of economic globalization and facilitates a further growth of two-way trade. </p><p>The two sides should work actively to put in place the agreement reached at the G-20 summit in London, promote early, comprehensive and balanced outcome in the WTO Doha round negotiations and uphold an open, fair and equitable international trading regime. An early conclusion of the Doha round is of symbolic significance to curbing protectionism. </p><p>The two sides should further open markets to each other. China will continue to lower the threshold for market access, improve trade and investment environment and encourage Chinese enterprises to increase procurement and imports from Europe. </p><p>We hope the E.U. will relax restrictions on the exports of high-tech products to China, enhance cooperation with China on the development and application of clean energy, new energy and renewable energy and support cooperation among our small and medium-sized enterprises. Meanwhile, our two sides should step up efforts to update the E.E.C.-China Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement. </p><p>The two sides should work in a cooperative spirit and properly resolve trade differences and disputes. Each side needs to take proper care of its own interests. Yet, more importantly, both sides should accommodate the concerns of the other, taking into full account national conditions and their stage of development, and steadily broaden the scope of our common interests. </p><p>We should strengthen dialogue and consultation, refrain from taking protectionist measures and avoid politicizing trade issues. China hopes that the E.U. will evaluate the conditions of the Chinese economy in an objective and unprejudiced manner and recognize China’s full market economy status as soon as possible. </p>Trade liberalization was, is and will continue to be the only way to global economic prosperity. The Chinese side is ready to work with the E.U. and take effective measures to oppose trade protectionism, promote better growth of China-E.U. trade and jointly move the world economy out of the current difficulties at an early date.china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-28957984122900706652009-05-07T17:28:00.003+08:002009-05-07T17:30:35.701+08:00Chinese bankers Jailed in U.S. for 20-Plus Years<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYajG_dBobl7To1Cdk30INt7lz69DVrVscVSpZ6aiIyAA03ayhXhrtbQ_z15kMAMFGtP56IXFzmq9Y44bLqcOqZHXbb7qixkBhyx9h9exoNVP9L8ewnDMutDvm1uycOBKbxBFI1oLx1c/s1600-h/_45743567_000210522-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYajG_dBobl7To1Cdk30INt7lz69DVrVscVSpZ6aiIyAA03ayhXhrtbQ_z15kMAMFGtP56IXFzmq9Y44bLqcOqZHXbb7qixkBhyx9h9exoNVP9L8ewnDMutDvm1uycOBKbxBFI1oLx1c/s320/_45743567_000210522-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333011788673883186" border="0" /></a>May 7 -- Two former Bank of China Ltd. managers, convicted last year of defrauding the lender of $485 million, were each sentenced to more than 20 years in jail by a Nevada court. <p>U.S. District Judge Philip Pro in Las Vegas yesterday sentenced Xu Chaofan to 25 years and Xu Guoju<a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Xu+Guojun&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>n to 22 years in prison, the Justice Department said in an e-mailed statement. Pro sentenced the former bank managers’ wives, Kuang Wan Fang and Yu Ying Yi, to eight years each. </p> <p>A grand jury in Las Vegas last year convicted the couples of defrauding Bank of China, racketeering, money laundering, transporting stolen property, and passport and visa fraud. The former bank managers created shell corporations in Hong Kong, and funneled money through those companies as well as bank and investment accounts in Canada and the U.S., prosecutors said. </p> <p>“Despite the best efforts of these defendants to avoid detection, their scheme first to steal nearly $500 million from a Chinese bank, and then to hide themselves and the money in the United States, was exposed,” Assistant Attorney General <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Lanny+A.%0ABreuer&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Lanny A. Breuer said in the statement. </p> <p>Prosecutors claimed the couples emigrated to the U.S. using false identities, and presented evidence of their transactions at Las Vegas casinos, including bets of as much as $80,000. </p> <p>The two men and their colleague, Yu Zhendong, former employees of Bank of China at its sub-branch in Kaiping County in Guangdong, laundered funds through Las Vegas and Macau, and then used fake passports to flee to Canada in October 2001, the Chinese bank said in 2002. </p> <p>Plea Bargain </p> <p>Yu accepted a plea bargain and returned to China in 2004, where he was convicted for embezzlement. His wife was allowed to remain in the U.S. to look after their children, according to yesterday’s Justice Department statement. </p> <p>Bank of China’s Beijing-based spokesman <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Wang+Zhaowen&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))">Wang Zhaowen</a> said he wasn’t aware of the sentence and declined to comment immediately. </p> <p>China’s banking regulator is stepping up efforts to prevent irregularities and fraud at its lenders, which helped create a surge in bad loans in the past decade. </p> <p>Several senior bank executives including <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Liu+Jinbao&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Liu Jinbao, former chief executive of Bank of China’s Hong Kong operations, and Wang Xuebing, who headed China Construction Bank Corp., have been sentenced to prison terms on corruption charges in recent years. Wang Yi, a former vice president of China Development Bank, was arrested in January for allegedly accepting bribes. </p> <p><a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Mitchell+Posin&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Mitchell Posin, an attorney representing Xu Chaofan, and Bret Whipple, a lawyer representing Xu Guojun, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment. </p> <p>Lawrence Jay Litman, a lawyer representing Kuang Wan Fang, and Travis Shetler, a lawyer representing Yu Ying Yi, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment after business hours.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Bloomberg)</span> </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-79855573165091836532009-05-06T13:37:00.002+08:002009-05-06T13:41:10.792+08:00Flu spat cools budding Mexico-China relationship<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_1WQwkMzD8YnGGIdTzE3jD0jYIokn7rMAcUCRj0VuxQGfHJKujPgjMrDluOQpJWxAwQFsiJlc92nTyKLET83mUOTCBUrKrA_rwVOgdCRCWe-7UZb-7LgECQ1sM_oEkH6ErGKmd-GgcM/s1600-h/450mexico_china_11.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_1WQwkMzD8YnGGIdTzE3jD0jYIokn7rMAcUCRj0VuxQGfHJKujPgjMrDluOQpJWxAwQFsiJlc92nTyKLET83mUOTCBUrKrA_rwVOgdCRCWe-7UZb-7LgECQ1sM_oEkH6ErGKmd-GgcM/s320/450mexico_china_11.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332581760963238434" border="0" /></a>MEXICO CITY, May 5 - China's decision to quarantine dozens ofMexicans to guard against the spread of a deadly new flu has soured therelationship between the two exporters, which compete for access to the U.S. market.<br /><br />Still, a desire on both sides to boost bilateral trade and ship moreMexican raw materials to fast-growing China means the diplomatic flap should only be a temporary setback.<br /><br />Mexico accused China of discrimination after Beijing, worried about theH1N1 flu strain, ordered some 70 Mexicans, including a honeymooning couple, into seclusion, even though none had symptoms.<br /><br />Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa called the isolation measures"unacceptable" and "without foundation" and advised Mexicans against traveling to China.<br /><br />China rejected the criticism, saying the steps it had taken were purely medical and not discriminatory.<br /><br />"This should not affect the relationship in the medium-term because weare talking about an overreaction on both sides," said Enrique Dussel,an expert on Mexican-Chinese trade at the UNAM University in Mexico City.<br /><br />Across China, a Mexican man in Hong Kong was the only person found to beinfected with the new flu strain that has killed 26 people in Mexico,two in the United States and made more than 1,500 people ill in 22 countries.<br /><br />China sent a plane from Shanghai on Tuesday to pick up about 100 of itscitizens from Mexico, mainly tourists, students and business people.Some Chinese had been holed up in hotels in northern Mexico for days waiting to leave.<br /><br />The spat has revived old tensions between the two nations, which<br />established diplomatic relations in 1972. There has been intense trade<br />rivalry in recent years with Mexico blaming China for muscling in on its<br />top export territory by flooding the United States with cheap goods made<br />in low-wage factories.<br /><br />UNEASY RELATIONSHIP<br /><br />President Felipe Calderon visited Beijing last July in a push to improve bilateral trade and Chinese President Hu Jintao came to Mexico in 2005 promising more investment in areas like auto parts manufacturing and mineral exploration.<br /><br />Yet China has leaned more on South American commodities producers like Brazil and Chile for the materials it needs to fuel its export-oriented economy.<br /><br />Mexico exported just $2 billion worth of goods to China last year, Dussel said, but imported $34 billion of Chinese products, from clothing and electronics to tourist trinkets.<br /><br />"Of all the major countries in Latin America, China has the most tense relationship with Mexico," said Dan Erikson, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue.<br /><br />"The swine flu crisis has just revealed once again that they haven't built the partnership that both countries say that they want," Erikson said.<br /><br />Other flu-affected nations have had citizens ensnared in China's quarantine measures, including at least four from the United States and more than 20 from Canada, but Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, said it has been unfairly targeted.<br /><br />The person-to-person spread of the virus has kept alive fears of a pandemic, though scientists say this strain does not appear more deadly than common seasonal flu, which can kill 250,000 to 500,000 people a year globally.<br /><br />Governments around the world are reacting to the outbreak with different levels of severity. Many suspended flights or warned their citizens against travel to Mexico.<br /><br />Even as Mexico said the flu crisis seemed to be dissipating and prepared to reopen closed businesses, Chinese nationals wearing face masks and loaded with luggage streamed aboard a Chinese-chartered jet that stopped in Mexico City and the northern city of Tijuana.<br /><br />"There is a lot of mutual ignorance and no strategic framework. This just shows there is a lot of work to be done" to improve ties, Dussel said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Reuters)</span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-140477854285690562009-05-05T14:06:00.002+08:002009-05-05T14:15:32.847+08:00Mexican plane to pick up nationals in China<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp_mcxaKNj0id1YW6jP26vTPdRUNxQzoBZHqZreDmz3yICmB2lm__eKh9R77gTxcB7xzrXxAa3mvPp_V8R8zP4o5JO7CxkXovB4GUL5GUNpRCHaPlQFkzXyIiooDiHIKoKG78mAOL8P0/s1600-h/_45735619_-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp_mcxaKNj0id1YW6jP26vTPdRUNxQzoBZHqZreDmz3yICmB2lm__eKh9R77gTxcB7xzrXxAa3mvPp_V8R8zP4o5JO7CxkXovB4GUL5GUNpRCHaPlQFkzXyIiooDiHIKoKG78mAOL8P0/s320/_45735619_-20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332217565874428674" border="0" /></a>BEIJING, May 5 - An aircraft was due to land in China on Tuesday to take home dozens of Mexicans who have been under forced quarantine, straining diplomatic relations, as a protective measure against a new flu strain.<br /><br />The confined Mexicans have become players in a larger drama about how far governments should go to stifle fears that the H1N1 virus could creep through their borders.<br /><br />Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa accused China at the weekend of discrimination after Beijing ordered dozens of Mexicans into seclusion across the country, although only one, a man now in Hong Kong, was found to have the H1N1 flu.<br /><br />China has denied the charge, saying isolation was the correct procedure, but both countries have agreed to send aircraft to pick up their respective nationals.<br /><br />A Chinese aircraft has already left for Mexico to pick up Chinese left stranded there after China suspended scheduled, direct flights to the country, the Foreign Ministry said.<br /><br />An Aeromexico flight will arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday and fly on to Beijing and Guangzhou, an airline official said.<br /><br />None of those quarantined had shown any signs of being infected, the Chinese Health Ministry said.<br /><br />The state-run Xinhua news agency said the Mexicans in Beijing were doing well inside a hotel where they have been confined, though the air conditioning has been turned off to prevent any spread of disease despite temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) outside.<br /><br />They were put in the best rooms and sent fruit and flowers every day, Xinhua said, citing Deng Xiaohong, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.<br /><br />"The Mexicans said they were grateful for our work. They said they feel it was understandable to be quarantined as it was a necessary method to avoid the spread of the virus," Deng was quoted as saying.<br /><br />Staff at the hotel contacted by telephone would not let Reuters talk to any of the Mexicans.<br /><br />A Mexican embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was in regular contact with its nationals. "They feel okay," the official said, declining further comment.<br /><br />In Shanghai, the Mexicans -- including a honeymooning couple -- had been quarantined at a four-star hotel with a sea view, Xinhua said.<br /><br />"They can contact people outside, watch television, listen to music, read books or surf the Internet," it added.<br /><br />In a further diplomatic tussle, Canada said it would pursue World Trade Organization action against China if it maintains its ban on pork and hogs from the province of Alberta [nN04406901]. China's Commerce Ministry had no immediate response.<br /><br />The one Mexican in China found to have the H1N1 virus arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday after passing through Shanghai. Many of the confined Mexicans were on his flight to Shanghai.<br /><br />China's vast population and patchy medical infrastructure make it vulnerable should the virus take hold. But even Mexicans residing outside their country have been held by Chinese authorities, the Mexican Embassy spokeswoman said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (Reuters)</span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-56649993742923606142009-05-04T15:57:00.002+08:002009-05-04T15:59:40.665+08:00Britain to help China on carbon capture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLt4wob25ocvWf5JRCBYMLE7eA1jhGTX9SbUbkTDcbV3kJ40xIKQoud4JwWae3JQUh9ldSRsiNMuQ9Gk_5IOz3wFIvdrl1sv3dx_nAOH3vQbxZ-_N2-f3XTi21Seh6JztxYhhyphenhyphenw_IJSlY/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLt4wob25ocvWf5JRCBYMLE7eA1jhGTX9SbUbkTDcbV3kJ40xIKQoud4JwWae3JQUh9ldSRsiNMuQ9Gk_5IOz3wFIvdrl1sv3dx_nAOH3vQbxZ-_N2-f3XTi21Seh6JztxYhhyphenhyphenw_IJSlY/s320/images.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331875343431539122" border="0" /></a>Britain will share the benefits of its investment in carbon capture and storage technology with <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/china">China</a> and other developing countries, the energy secretary, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/edmiliband">Ed Miliband</a>, said today.<p>The move may help Britain to belatedly meet its Kyoto protocol promise to pass on low-carbon technology to help poorer countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>However, questions may arise over how much should be given away for free and how much the UK should exploit the business opportunities of being a potential leader in the industry.</p><p>"We're approaching this from the mindset where we can co-operate more with China on things like carbon capture and storage," Miliband said.</p><p>While not abandoning the industrial potential of being a leader in the field, he said Britain could benefit from transferring knowledge.</p><p>"Eventually we hope to see this technology across the world because coal is something that is used in many countries and the key to that is making it a clean fuel of the future."</p><p>Miliband is visiting Beijing to try to forge common ground with Chinese officials ahead of crucial climate change talks later this year in Copenhagen. Britain hopes China will set voluntary targets to reduce the energy and carbon intensity of an economy that recently overtook the US as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.</p><p>The central goal of China's mandarins is financial support and the transfer of clean-coal and other low-carbon technology from richer nations.</p><p>China is also pioneering its own solutions, as Miliband saw at the world's only commercially operating carbon capture facility, Huaneng Beijing cogeneration power plant.</p><p>Developed with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia and opened last July, the facility is on a relatively small scale but it claims 85% efficiency in capturing 3,000 tonnes of carbon each year. The recycled product is used for carbonated drinks and dry ice.</p><p>"The technology has been successful here so we can say it will be successful in other coal-fired plants," said the general manager, Cai Hongwang. "We could scale this up. We are now considering the market demand for carbon dioxide."</p><p>If production is ramped up, the captured carbon could be used for enhanced oil recovery or, in the longer term, possibly pumped into the deep ocean. Britain is considering sequestration of carbon in cavities under the North Sea bed that have been emptied of oil.</p><p>Several similar experiments will soon be launched in other parts of China, which is investing heavily in research into reducing the climate impact of coal. More than 70% of China's electricity is generated by coal. Over the next 10 years, the amount burned is expected to double.</p><p>According to the Chinese Academy of Science, a plant in Shanxi will capture carbon and use it as fertiliser, while another in Shaanxi may pump captured carbon into oil deposits to extract the fuel.</p><p>"It is better to convert carbon dioxide into products, but the demand is limited," said Xiao Yunhan, a government adviser and energy expert at the academy. "Sequestration will be the final solution for carbon dioxide control. But before that we should try other things."</p><p>To enhance technology transfer and co-operation on low-carbon projects, Miliband will tomorrow launch a £10m joint venture with the Carbon Trust and the Chinese Development Corporation to encourage British firms to enter the Chinese market.</p><p>He will give a speech at Peking University calling on China to take a leadership role in climate talks. "As an emergent great power, China, too, has the ability not just to act but to lead; to be great not just in size but in influence; to energise others around the world" he will say.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Guardian)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-9563462673685771372009-05-03T14:02:00.003+08:002009-05-03T14:04:23.058+08:00Australia in $70 billion boost to military, for China?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hBJA-GOr8sQaBSBMqZzs9uD1BVss7L3CalFKXkAZi84jvW8huu6Eg6ojEaInBOctQ461N8sZVi_aNBVhF2tYIjqw_gP4W4985N6UAvvALCe5O0Rbg0uCvYoNy-rJ7D0p9gaOo4NnOVk/s1600-h/ALeqM5gVhX7U9Fzdflv9vcfWJWXErp1o1Q.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hBJA-GOr8sQaBSBMqZzs9uD1BVss7L3CalFKXkAZi84jvW8huu6Eg6ojEaInBOctQ461N8sZVi_aNBVhF2tYIjqw_gP4W4985N6UAvvALCe5O0Rbg0uCvYoNy-rJ7D0p9gaOo4NnOVk/s320/ALeqM5gVhX7U9Fzdflv9vcfWJWXErp1o1Q.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331474289952632978" border="0" /></a>SYDNEY — Australia will spend more than 70 billion US dollars boosting its defences over the next 20 years in response to a regional military build-up and global shifts in power, the government said Saturday.<p>A long-term strategic blueprint for the future of Australia's armed forces warned that war could be possible in the Asia-Pacific region in the next two decades, as emerging powers such as China flexed their military might.</p><p>The United States would continue its military dominance and be an "indispensable" ally for Australia, the defence white paper said.</p><p>But as emerging or resurgent powers such as China, India and Russia tested US primacy, the paper said there was "a small but still concerning possibility of growing confrontation between some of these powers."</p><p>"China will be the strongest Asian military power, by a considerable margin," the paper said. "A major power of China's stature can be expected to develop a globally significant military capability befitting its size.</p><p>"But the pace, scope and structure of China's military modernisation have the potential to give its neighbours cause for concern if not carefully explained, and if China does not reach out to others to build confidence regarding its military plans," it said.</p><p>If it did not take these steps, the paper said, there would be "a question in the minds of regional states about the long-term strategic purpose of its force development plans, particularly as the modernisation appears potentially to be beyond the scope of what would be required for a conflict over Taiwan.</p><p>"China will have even more interest in convincing regional countries that its rise will not diminish their sovereignty," the paper said.</p><p>Greater engagement with Beijing was essential for encouraging transparency about Chinese military capabilities and intentions, and securing greater cooperation in areas of shared interest, the paper said.</p><p>China's Premier Wen Jiabao in March vowed to modernise his nation's military across the board, asking legislators for a 15.3 percent increase in defence spending for 2009 to 472.9 billion yuan (69 billion dollars) -- double 2006 funding levels. The global financial crisis was likely to accelerate a shift of power to the Asia-Pacific, and regional security would pivot on how strategic dynamics were managed between the US, China and Japan, the blueprint said.</p><p>A major conflict on the Korean peninsula remained a possibility, and the paper said the collapse of North Korea could not be ruled out, while Myanmar remained a "serious challenge."</p><p>An escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan was also of "significant concern," and the paper said Islamist extremism would pose a direct threat to Australia and its interests.</p><p>The paper reiterated Canberra's commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan, which it said could endure another decade or longer.</p><p>Canberra will acquire long-range cruise missiles, double its submarine fleet to 12 and buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets and eight new warships under the plan, titled "Force 2030."</p><p>"Force 2030 will mean the best fighter jets, the most versatile armoured vehicles and the most sophisticated submarines available to defend Australia?s national security," said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the report's Sydney launch.</p><p>The Sino-focused strategy, which was widely leaked to the press, was met with unease in Beijing, where it was reportedly perceived by some as Australia aligning itself with the United States against China.</p><p>"China definitely will not accept Australia adopting the so-called 'China threat' thesis," Beijing professor Shi Yinhong told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday.</p><p>"(China) will have to publicly criticise (the paper)," added Yinhong, international relations specialist from the People's University.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(AFP)</span> </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-30758141021740424352009-05-02T11:43:00.002+08:002009-05-02T11:46:15.930+08:00Hong Kong 'flu' hotel sealed off<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjkQVDq8Ud24UhxQSXz3eIsa7oOzg8EUjNfoQkAI_YWHlPnZg0TOw1AHMlzi0iUVMAa7S2HzbLhw1jWXcBYKVqatQlW8aOuh31WXIL0HzxOPNfJyYeu8XkPWYfnv7kz5hc9J53DHUSYA/s1600-h/_45727798_007255268-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjkQVDq8Ud24UhxQSXz3eIsa7oOzg8EUjNfoQkAI_YWHlPnZg0TOw1AHMlzi0iUVMAa7S2HzbLhw1jWXcBYKVqatQlW8aOuh31WXIL0HzxOPNfJyYeu8XkPWYfnv7kz5hc9J53DHUSYA/s320/_45727798_007255268-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331067828787143074" border="0" /></a><b>About 300 people at a Hong Kong hotel have been placed under quarantine after a guest there became China's first confirmed swine flu case.</b><p class="first"> </p><p>The 25-year-old man, who is now in hospital after testing positive for the virus, had travelled from Mexico via Shanghai, Hong Kong's leader said. </p> <p>Local TV footage showed police wearing masks guarding the hotel exits. </p> <p>Meanwhile, the UK joined Canada, Spain, Germany and the US in reporting person-to-person transmission of the virus. </p> <!-- E SF --><p>On Friday, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said two people were infected with swine flu, France's first confirmed cases. </p> <p>South Korea has also confirmed its first case, local media said. </p> <p>The announcements take to 16 the number of countries where swine flu has been confirmed. </p> <p>Mexico, where the outbreak began, has shut down parts of its economy for five days in a bid to curb the virus's progress. </p> <p>Late on Friday, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova announced the confirmed death toll from the virus had risen by one, to 16. </p> <p>"The mortality rate isn't as great as could be expected," said Mr Cordova. "The majority of the deaths are women." </p> <p>Mexican officials say the spread of swine flu - suspected in more than 380 deaths - is slowing. </p> <p>International experts are more cautious - but one, Nancy Cox, chief of America's Center for Disease Control's influenza division, said the new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 pandemic so deadly. </p> <p>"We do not see the markers for virulence that were seen in the 1918 virus," she said. </p> <p><b>'No panic'</b> </p> <p>In cases outside Mexico the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe, although one death of a Mexican child has been confirmed in the US. </p> <p>The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six. </p> <p>In Hong Kong, the authorities have raised the alert level to emergency but urged residents to carry on life as normal.</p> <!-- S IBOX --><!-- E IBOX --> <p>"I assure you the Hong Kong government will try its best to conquer the virus," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. </p> <p>"I stress we don't need to panic." </p> <p>The Mexican man is said to be in a stable condition in Hong Kong's Princess Margaret Hospital, after seeking treatment on Thursday night after becoming unwell. </p> <p>The Metropark Hotel in Wanchai district where he briefly stayed will be sealed off for seven days, health officials said, and the antiviral drug Tamiflu given to about 200 guests and 100 staff there. </p> <p>Medical staff wearing protective clothing were seen carrying boxes of equipment into the building. </p> <p>Efforts are also under way to trace people who travelled on the same flights as the Mexican, and taxi drivers with whom he came into contact. </p> <p>BBC China Editor Shirong Chen says confirmation that the man has tested positive for the virus has set alarm bells ringing beyond Hong Kong. </p> <p>Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said the virus was very likely to enter mainland China and urged the country to prepare for an outbreak, as millions start travelling over the May Day long weekend. </p> <p>In South Korea, a 51-year-old woman who had recently returned from Mexico was confirmed as the country's first case, Yonhap news agency reported. </p> <p>Two other people are being tested for the virus, the agency said. </p> <p><b>Schools closed</b> </p> <p>Meanwhile, the authorities in Mexico hope a nationwide shut-down ordered from Friday, covering two public holidays and a weekend, will help curb the spread of the virus. </p> <!-- S IBOX --><!-- E IBOX --> <p>Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home, but it is not clear how widely the shut-down order will be followed. </p> <p>The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at more than 300, officials say. </p> <p>Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said on Friday that three more deaths from swine flu had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 15. </p> <p>Announcing the figure, Mr Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off. </p> <p>But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said fluctuations were to be expected. </p> <p>In other developments: </p> <p>• The US announces that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico </p> <p>• A flight from Germany to Washington DC is diverted to Boston after a female passenger complains of flu-like symptoms </p> <p>• An aide to US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu who helped arrange President Barack Obama's recent trip to Mexico is being tested for swine flu, although the aide is said not to have been in contact with the president </p> <p>• The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is fine for people without flu symptoms to fly and use the subway, a day after Vice-President Joe Biden said he would advise his own family members against using public transport </p> <p>• Denmark reports its first confirmed case of swine flu </p> <p>• German authorities confirm that a nurse who treated a patient with swine flu also contracted the disease, in the first person-to-person transmission in the country </p> <p>• Test results confirm the UK's first person-to-person transmission of swine flu, in a friend of a couple from Scotland who were first in the country to be diagnosed with the virus </p> <p>Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays. </p> <p>The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-91579429280556954522009-05-01T21:11:00.001+08:002009-05-01T21:13:59.120+08:00China-donated anti-flu goods arrives in Mexico<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfh4vjvJdasrTHzzz-_l3tBUyuTuD-G8tkDRSuYEcpqx-ZEA1sHFOwiUzNM2dsqvXuTSPzhxararHeNbMPZzFyOIZzyoKBrK7yPsvVy-zkqwHhfDoyOWLQx4jogq5i8y-cAkVGrgjKOo/s1600-h/swine_donts_tout_0430.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfh4vjvJdasrTHzzz-_l3tBUyuTuD-G8tkDRSuYEcpqx-ZEA1sHFOwiUzNM2dsqvXuTSPzhxararHeNbMPZzFyOIZzyoKBrK7yPsvVy-zkqwHhfDoyOWLQx4jogq5i8y-cAkVGrgjKOo/s320/swine_donts_tout_0430.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330843089602014274" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US">MEXICO CITY, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A cargo plane ferrying the first load of China-donated relief supplies to help Mexico battle an outbreak of Influenza A/H1N1 landed at a Mexico City airport early Friday. <o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"> <p><span lang="EN-US">The humanitarian aid, including masks, latex gloves, isolation coats, disinfectant and infrared thermometers, was received in a ceremony attended by Mexican President Felipe Calderon. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The goods are part of a 5 million U.S. dollar assistance package that the Chinese government has offered Mexico to help it fight the A/H1N1 flu outbreak. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">China's donation was the first massive arrival of material assistance that has reached Mexico since the flu outbreak began in April. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Calderon said at the ceremony that China's help was appreciated. He noted that sanitary security was not only an issue for Mexico but also for the entire world. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Calderon said the methods China used while fighting the 2003 outbreak of SARS -- severe acute respiratory syndrome -- should be learned by Mexico. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The president expressed confidence that Mexico will win the battle with the virus through the efforts of its citizens and outside aid. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Yin Hengmin, the Chinese ambassador to Mexico, said his countrymen feel for Mexico, and the government is ready to offer help of any kind. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The Chinese Embassy on Thursday donated 50,000 U.S. dollars to the Red Cross in Mexico to help people there fight the flu, Yin said. <o:p></o:p></span><br /></p><p> <span lang="EN-US">"We are convinced that Mexico... is capable of overcoming the epidemic and restoring the normal order of life and production in maximum brevity," the ambassador said. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The Chinese government on Thursday pledged 5 million dollars worth of humanitarian assistance to Mexico, including one million dollars in cash and four million dollars in medical supplies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">The funds were transferred to the Mexican government Thursday and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) is coordinating with related government agencies to arrange the rest of the relief materials. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">MOC spokesman Yao Jian said Friday that China was highly concerned about the situation in Mexico and nations should work together to counter the spread of the flu virus. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">In addition to China, Spain, the United States, Japan and the World Bank also have offered aid to Mexico. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span lang="EN-US">Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said Thursday the number of confirmed Influenza cases has risen to 312, with 12 of them being fatalities.</span></p><p><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Xinhua)</span><br /></span></p></span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-27612302887485018912009-05-01T12:21:00.001+08:002009-05-01T12:22:24.540+08:00Chinese imperial seal auctioned in Paris<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSEkucrT6OgEpgLvixoCDxXqM2HSMF6tEpYdXeAjsM3D8dzNiWZDk7X5h-C2tUyad9M6UWzTJf2bXQ3Gq1LsX9isFp9gRYoAtxs3RAjsbaFCX-NqCCTVCPoQC5mMOSNbd2U5g-9sr4qY/s1600-h/_45718286_seal_afp226b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSEkucrT6OgEpgLvixoCDxXqM2HSMF6tEpYdXeAjsM3D8dzNiWZDk7X5h-C2tUyad9M6UWzTJf2bXQ3Gq1LsX9isFp9gRYoAtxs3RAjsbaFCX-NqCCTVCPoQC5mMOSNbd2U5g-9sr4qY/s320/_45718286_seal_afp226b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330706111358490370" border="0" /></a>A Chinese bidder bought an 18th Century jade imperial seal for 1.68m euros (£1.5m) at a Paris auction house, despite protests by Chinese officials.<br /><br />The Chinese bidder refused to give his name, but said he was acting on behalf of an art collector in France.<br /><br />The piece sold for more than five times its estimated value after a tense bidding race with another Asian buyer.<br /><br />Beijing said the Qing Dynasty relic was looted by British and French troops from its Summer Palace in 1860, towards the end of the Second Opium War. All such relics should be returned to China.<br /><br />The auction house said the seal, mounted with two carved dragons, came from the personal collection of a descendant of a French general who commanded some of the invading troops.<br /><br />The sale comes two months after the contested sale of two bronze animal heads also said to have been looted from the Summer Palace.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-71732790417634884482009-04-30T16:15:00.001+08:002009-04-30T16:16:37.566+08:00China bans pig and pork imports from Mexico, U.S.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBqoZFWnexPe5HjM4xLOK2eAQ3AddmOmLJqwc4vS8oWdlEYG3_gARThuMvpldA6x8GetDGzstghGjLGir0b53hEFzN21yp2alfA-4dJ4-x4e-x6IiaIXURUR9dF0JYirC_dX8XYidl_M/s1600-h/WHO-Swine-flu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBqoZFWnexPe5HjM4xLOK2eAQ3AddmOmLJqwc4vS8oWdlEYG3_gARThuMvpldA6x8GetDGzstghGjLGir0b53hEFzN21yp2alfA-4dJ4-x4e-x6IiaIXURUR9dF0JYirC_dX8XYidl_M/s320/WHO-Swine-flu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330395375111135618" border="0" /></a>Apr. 30, 2009 - China, the world's biggest pork consumer, has forbidden direct or indirect imports of both live pigs and of pork products from Mexico and from the three U.S. states of Texas, Kansas, and California with the intent to prevent the swine flu virus from spreading to the country, according to a joint statement issued by the Agriculture Ministry and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on Monday. <p>The statement, which took effect upon its announcement, also said that pork products sent by mail or personally carried by travelers are also prohibited.</p> <p>A number of countries, including Russia, Thailand and Ecuador, have banned or restricted pork imports in spite of assurances from authorities such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization that the swine flu cannot be transmitted through food, but only from person to person. </p> <p>Though the E.U., Australia, and the top buyer of U.S. pork, Japan, have not issued bans, the pork industry is concerned about the effect the bans will have on trade.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(China Knowledge)</span> </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-30579887988096927782009-04-29T15:18:00.001+08:002009-04-29T15:19:34.167+08:00Japanese PM in Beijing for visit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1cumOosF9lUabfwj-krfk-09z787g4DDpdbyDpfjGZl0LCzcTQYgsADkhUkI4N0iUsL0md2CkLUpxz8i-PQeE1wdZW-5iIAW5BhfxAWPBDAaeTiRcvNJ0fqOL1H3ZY-wSlXSxUsVzMU/s1600-h/_45713477_-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1cumOosF9lUabfwj-krfk-09z787g4DDpdbyDpfjGZl0LCzcTQYgsADkhUkI4N0iUsL0md2CkLUpxz8i-PQeE1wdZW-5iIAW5BhfxAWPBDAaeTiRcvNJ0fqOL1H3ZY-wSlXSxUsVzMU/s320/_45713477_-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330009589615911282" border="0" /></a><b>Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has arrived in Beijing for a visit expected to focus primarily on the economy.</b><p class="first"> </p><p>Japan and China, the world's second and third-biggest economies respectively, are hoping to work together to combat the global downturn. </p> <p>But the visit comes at a sensitive time for China-Japan relations. </p> <p>Last week Mr Aso sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which Beijing sees as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. </p> <!-- E SF --><p>China said in a statement that it expressed "serious concern and dissatisfaction" for the shrine offering. </p> <p><b>Sensitive issue</b> </p> <p>Mr Aso was due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on Wednesday, and President Hu Jintao on Thursday. </p> <p>Economic ties are expected to dominate talks, along with efforts to develop joint energy reserves and combat an outbreak of swine flu. </p> <p>North Korea may also be on the agenda. Japan is keen to enlist Chinese help in persuading Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programme. </p> <p>North Korea walked away from the negotiating table in the wake of UN criticism over its rocket launch earlier this month. </p> <p>Mr Aso's visit comes just a week after he upset China by a making an offering to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni war shrine. </p> <p>He did not actually visit the shrine, but sent a plant which he said expressed his "appreciation and respect as a Japanese national to the people who sacrificed their precious lives for the country". </p> <p>Previous prime ministers have stirred regional tensions by visiting Yasukuni - which honours Japan's war dead, including 14 people convicted as Class A war criminals after World War II. </p> <p>Repeated visits by Junichiro Koizumi caused anger in South Korea and China, where there remains a widely-held conviction that Japan has not atoned properly for its war-time crimes.<br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-38043612888021359832009-04-28T16:03:00.002+08:002009-04-28T16:06:32.026+08:00Alcatel-Lucent signs China deals worth $1.7 bln<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTtenNY4URuonNVlEQXkydIEfLQb_h_LANsxycnUTw-K1n8olZnYkdWERbgukoYJV4Y2F2SWZPfs7erxGNu0ZCo6xI6zCjDaYhYWG51hKI9cQyVRHrb3XYvVdFHBp6tS-QBnxMZfPElk/s1600-h/ALU-OmniAccess2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTtenNY4URuonNVlEQXkydIEfLQb_h_LANsxycnUTw-K1n8olZnYkdWERbgukoYJV4Y2F2SWZPfs7erxGNu0ZCo6xI6zCjDaYhYWG51hKI9cQyVRHrb3XYvVdFHBp6tS-QBnxMZfPElk/s320/ALU-OmniAccess2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329650617477544690" border="0" /></a>NEW YORK, April 27 - Alcatel-Lucent said on Monday it had signed two agreements valued at $1.7 billion with China Mobile and China Telecom to provide network upgrades, integration and maintenance services in 2009. <p> The agreements were secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's Chinese flagship company.</p><span id="midArticle_3"></span> <p> The agreement with China Mobile is valued at about $1 billion, while the China Telecom deal is valued at about $700 million, Alcatel-Lucent said.</p><span id="midArticle_4"></span> <p> The agreements were signed in Washington, D.C., where on Monday U.S. and Chinese companies signed 32 business deals worth $10.6 billion.</p><span id="midArticle_5"></span> China Telecom also signed contracts with Cisco , Microsoft , Dell and Emerson , while China Mobile deals included those with with HP, Oracle <span style="" id="symbol_ORCL.O_8"></span>), Emerson, Sun Microsystems and Cisco.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Reuters)</span>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-46514952468371715072009-04-27T13:43:00.003+08:002009-04-27T13:45:08.761+08:00Air China Drops on Concern Over Swine Flu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBwvj0t-qz6XX_g_FbSbpnjOz3fkhYrj1On-6G6x0ahN0ReUz0EC55rEV6ZgWOWU6i89qYbodVRxv944TMRNGyBkx81FmjT-fiGdKFx892NMEvksBbnthdGPeJtgRkSCA4UdVcKYes38/s1600-h/swine220_1391359f.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBwvj0t-qz6XX_g_FbSbpnjOz3fkhYrj1On-6G6x0ahN0ReUz0EC55rEV6ZgWOWU6i89qYbodVRxv944TMRNGyBkx81FmjT-fiGdKFx892NMEvksBbnthdGPeJtgRkSCA4UdVcKYes38/s320/swine220_1391359f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329242974261454962" border="0" /></a>April 27 -- Air China Ltd., <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=SIA%3ASP" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, 'SIA:SP' ))"></a>Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. led declines by Asia-Pacific carriers on concern a growing number of swine-flu cases in the U.S. and Mexico may damp travel. <p>Air China, the world’s largest carrier by market value, sank as much as 11 percent to HK$3.57 in Hong Kong trading and changed hands at HK$3.59 as of 11:15 a.m. Singapore Air, Asia’s most <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=SIA%3ASP" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, 'SIA:SP' ))"></a>profitable carrier, fell 4.7 percent to S$10.10 in the city-state. Sydney-based Qantas, Australia’s largest carrier, dropped 4.8 percent to A$1.885. </p> <p>Airlines, already struggling amid the global recession, face further declines in travel because of the deadly swine-flu outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. Panasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. have told employees to avoid travel to Mexico, while the U.S. has declared a public-health emergency. </p> <p>“Swine flu poses a risk to global airlines as discretionary travel gets cut back even more,” said <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Ben+Potter&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Ben Potter, a Melbourne-based analyst at IG Markets. “Customers look to avoid possible contact with infected persons and there’s the possibility governments may urge a cutback in flights to help control the spread.” </p> <p>Singapore has tightened checks at its main airport to screen arriving passengers against the flu outbreak, while authorities in Japan will examine flights from Mexico, where the flu was first detected. </p> <p>Economic Consequences </p> <p>The disease has killed more than 80 people in Mexico, and 20 in the U.S. have contracted it. The number is likely to rise, Dr. <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Richard+Besser&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a White House briefing yesterday. </p> <p>Japan Airlines Corp., Asia’s largest carrier by sales, fell 2.5 percent to 194 yen, while Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s biggest, tumbled 5.2 percent to 38,700 won. The airlines said separately they will monitor the situation in Mexico. </p> <p>“Travel gets impacted rather quickly and savagely during virus outbreaks,” said <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Prasad+Patkar&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))"></a>Prasad Patkar, who helps manage the equivalent of about $800 million at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. “The market clearly believes that the swine-flu outbreak will have economic consequences.” </p> <p>The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index, which tracks the region’s largest carriers, sank 4.4 percent on concern that the outbreak may be similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, which killed almost 800 people globally six years ago. </p> <p>Reminded of SARS </p> <p>“This swine flu reminds investors of the SARS outbreak in 2003,” said Jack Xu, an analyst of Sinopac Securities Asia Ltd. in Shanghai. “It will curb air traffic on both domestic and international routes. Cutting travel is a basic precautionary measure when people face the threat of flu outbreak.” </p> <p>Yamaha Motor Co., the world’s second-largest motorcycle maker, has asked employees to refrain from traveling to Mexico, while Hino Motors Ltd., Japan’s largest maker of heavy-duty trucks, has decided to postpone business trips to the Latin American country. </p> <p>Panasonic, the world’s largest maker of consumer electronics, and Sharp ordered employees to avoid travel to the country. Sony Corp., the world’s second-biggest consumer- electronics maker, told workers to avoid Mexico City, while Hitachi Ltd. recalled Japanese staff based in the country.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;"> (Bloomberg) </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-38511423248510135152009-04-26T15:38:00.002+08:002009-04-26T15:45:23.579+08:00Publishers look to China and India to help them weather recession<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSVTZQHf68aN95VKIV4vADegw5Zxc02BgfzDif7wsphgXn2zHyC5nFKtU8Mg1K6sVszkvl4klicEjAy2-uhqlQdxqozeBtseQSnS1ZAuOM6nBqToIa5tl7ktyAxa9oXEtBO1EfKEOsEE/s1600-h/AD-Complex-Chinese-lg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSVTZQHf68aN95VKIV4vADegw5Zxc02BgfzDif7wsphgXn2zHyC5nFKtU8Mg1K6sVszkvl4klicEjAy2-uhqlQdxqozeBtseQSnS1ZAuOM6nBqToIa5tl7ktyAxa9oXEtBO1EfKEOsEE/s320/AD-Complex-Chinese-lg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328902972473369778" border="0" /></a>In <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/china">China</a>, inspirational business books such as Who Moved My Cheese and family health titles compete with the latest blockbusters; in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/india">India</a>, classics from Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton vie for shelf-space with homegrown authors and the penned advice of billionaire IT entrepreneurs; while in South Africa, the boarding school antics of John 'Spud' Milton have captured readers' imaginations and created a Harry Potter-like craze. <p>Across the world, the appetite for English language books is booming and publishers struggling under the weight of the recession in their core markets of the US and UK are increasingly turning their sights overseas. Random House, for instance, yesterday announced that the record-breaking first print run of 6.5 million copies of The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, will include over half a million for overseas territories including India and South Africa, an unprecedented number for a new fiction title.</p><p>Publishers from across the globe have gathered in London this week to discuss how to exploit this growing opportunity. This year's London Book Fair has a distinctly Indian flavour, with heavyweight authors such as Vikram Seth and Amartya Sen among the 48 writers appearing, but delegations from China, Russia, Africa and the Arab world will also be there to meet the estimated 16,000 publishers that have come to showcase their catalogues to the rest of the world.</p><p>A combination of the recession, which has pared back consumer spending, and a longer-term demographic change brought about by a fall-off in population, is hitting book sales in the US and Britain. Both markets are still the largest for English language publishers, but growth has stalled. The US market was worth an estimated $24.3bn in 2008 while sales in Britain were about £3bn. Last year, book sales by volume in the US dropped 6% on 2007, while in value terms the drop was 2.5%. In Britain the drop was more pronounced, with the volume of books down 4% and value down 6%, spurred lower by aggressive price competition in the major book chains and supermarkets.</p><p><strong>Differing tastes</strong></p><p>In contrast, overseas English language markets are positively booming. India is the world's third largest English language book market and has been growing at about 10% per annum for several years. Research by UK Trade & Investment (UKT&I), which is using the Book Fair to encourage British publishers to export more, and the Publishers Association estimates that the market was worth about £1.25bn in 2007, with publishers estimating that about half that amount was English language books.</p><p>The Chinese market was worth about £7bn in 2007 - with almost a quarter of a million titles producing a total print run of 6.3bn copies - but its English-language market is small by comparison with India and UK exports to the country run at about £10m. </p><p>The South African book market was worth about £260m in 2007, with three quarters of those sales going to English language books, and has doubled in value in four years, while the enormous ex-pat community has helped fuel growth in the book market in the United Arab Emirates, with UKT&I estimating that book exports have doubled in the past six years.</p><p>Tastes differ across these markets, according to publishers. In China "books about earning money and making a family healthier just sell forever", according to Jo Lusby, general manager of Penguin in the country. The publisher has also done well with Elizabeth Gilbert's account of the spiritual gap year she took to recover from her divorce, entitled Eat, Pray, Love. </p><p>Who Moved My Cheese, the motivational book by Spencer Johnson which celebrated its 10th anniversary last month, is one of China's all-time best-selling translated titles with several million sold to date. Film tie-ins also help sales, with Penguin's The Kite Runner receiving a boost from its recent film adaptation, while former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's book The Age of Turbulence has been a surprise hit. Many English books in China are used as educational tools, with people using them to improve their skills in a language which is now spoken by over 300 million people in China.</p><p>In South Africa the market has experienced something of a publishing sensation in recent years with the boarding school antics of Spud and his gang - the Crazy Eight - helping to expand the book reading populace. The first tome has already sold well over 125,000 copies since its publication four years ago and while that may not sound like much there are only an estimated 800,000 general book buyers in the country's population of just under 50 million people. </p><p>But with its booming population, of whom 350 million speak English, it is no surprise that most of the publishers at the London Book Fair are turning their attention, eagerly, to India.</p><p>"India is an incredible growth market at the moment," says Alistair Burtenshaw, the exhibition director of the London Book Fair. "It provides fascinating business opportunities in almost all sectors, and that's absolutely the case in publishing."</p><p>The trade show coincides with a growing push by western publishing companies to ramp up their operations on the subcontinent. Later this month Hachette is joining the ranks of Penguin, HarperCollins and Random House by publishing its first new book in India - My Friend Sancho, by Amit Varma.</p><p>English language publishing in India stretches back to the days of the Raj, and the likes of Macmillan and Longman have had a presence as educational publishers since the 19th century. For many decades, western publishers exported their books to India for distribution by local companies, while domestic operators also produced books in English. But the arrival of Penguin in 1987 marked a decisive change, establishing a berth in India for a major international publishing house for the first time. </p><p>Others followed: HarperCollins set up a joint venture in the 1990s and is now in partnership with the India Today group, then after ownership rules changed earlier this decade Random House and Hachette both set up fully owned operations.</p><p><strong>Curiosity</strong></p><p>With 180 English titles published a year - and some in Hindi, Marathi and Urdu too - Penguin retains first mover advantage. It has also outsourced 130 jobs at its Dorling Kindersley division to India, where Eyewitness travel guides are now produced.</p><p>"We're far and away the leading English language publisher in India," says Penguin chief executive John Makinson. "It's a more competitive environment than it was but we have a tremendous headstart."</p><p>Publishers are also noticing a new mainstream literary culture that has transformed book-reading from the preserve of an educated elite into a cerebral leisure activity for India's emerging chattering classes.</p><p>"It's not that people have suddenly got interested in books and reading, it's that the nature of the interest is coming more to resemble the nature of the interest you might see at Cheltenham, Oxford or Hay-on-Wye," book festivals says Simon Littlewood, the international director at Random House. "There's a curiosity about authors and the authorial process, building on an established bedrock of literacy and literary interest."</p><p>The hope now is that this bedrock, both in India and other overseas markets, will be sturdy enough to support a growth industry while UK and US markets hibernate through the recession.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Guardian)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-71054738145663030862009-04-25T14:20:00.001+08:002009-04-25T14:21:36.618+08:00Huiyuan Rises on Report of Coca-Cola Stake Bid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi075lzbshk8cn-VTpXysEly11dG6FgxVNszSaH0gdu7wWYIhdaltI_1jhzFmUZRSrK_RKLQH3QAqvFv1EZajALGLjjJTONFxEtWvsCiPn7XYF6DYuwnNlmi1uP-0m7RZfTzaK4-wbhtUQ/s1600-h/0022190fd2dc0b5ca8ea13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi075lzbshk8cn-VTpXysEly11dG6FgxVNszSaH0gdu7wWYIhdaltI_1jhzFmUZRSrK_RKLQH3QAqvFv1EZajALGLjjJTONFxEtWvsCiPn7XYF6DYuwnNlmi1uP-0m7RZfTzaK4-wbhtUQ/s320/0022190fd2dc0b5ca8ea13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328510283015895058" border="0" /></a>April 24-- <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=1886%3AHK" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, '1886:HK' ))">China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd.</a>, the country’s biggest maker of pure juice, climbed the most in a month in Hong Kong trading after the Wall Street Journal reported <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=KO%3AUS" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, 'KO:US' ))">Coca-Cola Co.</a><p> may buy a minority stake. </p> <p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=1886%3AHK" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, '1886:HK' ))">Huiyuan</a> rose 13 percent to HK$5.74 in Hong Kong trading, the most since March 25, making it the biggest gainer on the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index. The gain trimmed the stock’s decline to 31 percent since March 18, when China’s government blocked Coca- Cola’s $2.3 billion bid for Huiyuan. </p> <p>Coca-Cola is exploring options for a deal with Huiyuan that will satisfy Chinese regulators, the Journal reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the situation. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc., which together control 86 percent of China’s soda market, are in a race to buy juice and dairy-beverage brands in developing markets. </p> <p>“The talk definitely will be a short-term catalyst to the share price,” <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Jacqueline+Ko&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))">Jacqueline Ko</a>, a food and beverage analyst at Kim Eng Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. said in a report today. “There are numerous challenges facing China Huiyuan going ahead due to the slowdown in demand for their core 100 percent juices and nectars as well as the stiffer competition in the juice-drink market.” </p> <p>Huiyuan’s Suitors </p> <p>Huiyuan said today it’s unaware of the source of newspaper reports saying it resumed discussions with Coca-Cola. The company “is not in possession of any price-sensitive information which would require an announcement,” it said in a statement to Hong Kong’s stock exchange. </p> <p>Coca-Cola declined to comment on “speculation” in a statement sent by e-mail late yesterday. “We were disappointed, but we also respect the Ministry of Commerce’s decision not to approve our proposed purchase of the Huiyuan Juice business,” said the statement sent by Coca-Cola spokesman <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Kenth+Kaerhoeg&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))">Kenth Kaerhoeg</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Zhu+Xinli&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))">Zhu Xinli</a>, chairman and president of the Beijing-based company said April 15 that Huiyuan Juice had been approached by “many more suitors” after Coca-Cola’s bid was blocked. He declined to provide further details. </p> <p>“Even if Coca-Cola finally takes some minority stakes in China Huiyuan, we see that the deal is simply more beneficial to Coca-Cola and the Chairman <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Zhu+Xinli&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1" onmouseover="return escape( popwSearchNews( this ))">Zhu Xinli</a> than to China Huiyuan,” said Ko, who recommends selling the Chinese juicemaker’s shares. </p> <p>China’s Ministry of Commerce has denied that its decision to block Coca-Cola’s takeover bid was aimed at protecting a national brand. The biggest foreign takeover of a Chinese company would have hurt competition by strengthening Coca-Cola’s control over China’s juice and beverage market, enabling it to abuse its dominance, the ministry has said.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (Bloomberg)</span> </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-67222108899089936442009-04-24T12:08:00.001+08:002009-04-24T12:10:40.643+08:00Yum Vows To 'Slug It Out' In Recession<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMizyS7j_sDXMZXNgwsnFE-kcWzs3RhoHy2XgXxhiFdz4OH4Q5ba06AU3DUZ9UxAalgHSdsLKaHifO-chF1o2oIlDMWAQO7iVoI6KkLzwqoTYjpB34cnGt-CIHcfT2FV0LmdGUfflg58/s1600-h/ALeqM5isxvNvJduDUmPwt_OYYuN6NWjCfg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMizyS7j_sDXMZXNgwsnFE-kcWzs3RhoHy2XgXxhiFdz4OH4Q5ba06AU3DUZ9UxAalgHSdsLKaHifO-chF1o2oIlDMWAQO7iVoI6KkLzwqoTYjpB34cnGt-CIHcfT2FV0LmdGUfflg58/s320/ALeqM5isxvNvJduDUmPwt_OYYuN6NWjCfg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328105496409748562" border="0" /></a><location>NEW YORK</location> - <org>Yum Brands Inc.<orgid value="NYSE:YUM"></orgid> (YUM) vows to "slug it out" with competitors in 2009 after reporting a 14% dip in first-quarter profit amid a decline in U.S. sales from increasing pricing competition and slumping dinner sales for its KFC and Pizza Hut brands.</org><p> Yum's international divisions produced stronger results than did the U.S., with same-store sales gains in both <location>China</location>, where it is pinning hopes for growth despite a slowdown in the economy there, and other international markets.</p><p> Effective cost management across all three divisions and deflating commodity costs helped the world's largest fast-food chain, with more than 36,000 restaurants, top analyst first-quarter estimates with per-share earnings of <money>48 cents</money>, excluding special items, compared with expectations of <money>40 cents</money> a share, according to Thomson Reuters.</p><p> The quarter also gave greater certainty to analysts that the company can hit its full-year goal of growing per-share earnings without special items 10%, sending shares up <money>$2.33</money>, or 7.3% in recent trading, to <money>$34.42</money>.</p><p> That growth is expected to be back-half loaded as sales, costs and foreign- exchange rate comparisons make it easier to lap the prior-year periods. Yum expects the current quarter to be the toughest of the year due to a low tax rate and record sales growth in <location>China</location> for the year-ago period.</p><p> "This is a slug it out year," Chief Executive <person>David Novak</person> said on an earnings call. "You got to take your gloves off, slug it out, take on competition, keep building your brands and be strong as you go into 2010."</p><p> That's not a write-off for 2009, as Yum is launching initiatives to both drive sales in addition to managing costs. It will especially look to focus on rejuvenating sales in the U.S., its largest and more mature market, where same- store sales fell 2%, compared with gains of 2% in <location>China</location> and 6% in other international markets.</p><p> Yum's sales during dinner are taking a huge blow as families, eager to save money, cook more meals at home. That is taking its toll at both KFC and Pizza Hut, which derive a majority of their sales during the dinner hours.</p><p> KFC's new grilled chicken platform was recently launched to drive more sales at the lagging brand, while Pizza Hut is relying on more sales of pasta, lasagna and chicken wings, as it tries to become more than a pizza chain.</p><p> Taco Bell, the top performing brand, which contributes 60% to U.S. profits, is seeing more competition from other fast-food chains pushing their value menus harder as they try to attract customers, and plans to fortify its own "Why Pay More" value menu in response.</p><p> International markets remain in better shape, even as the economic slowdown spreads worldwide. KFC's same-store sales in <location>India</location>, for instance, were up more than 30% in the quarter, and Yum plans its first Taco Bell locations there later this year. The company is also continuing to rapidly open units in <location>China</location>.</p><p> Fast-food chains have been more resilient in the economic slowdown than casual-dining restaurants due to their lower-priced food and convenience. But the higher-priced chains are cutting prices to win back customers, leading some to believe that the quick-service industry may resort to a "zero sum industry" highlighted by intense competition for fixed pool of customers.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;">(Dow Jones) </p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-72483594698379613652009-04-23T16:47:00.001+08:002009-04-23T16:48:30.631+08:00China puts naval might on display<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCjWQwV-Dj8bry-I_YSfnRaUAC0kHJRZxXCauwlDt8O1ZNdtACcQmv5IThdwy1paeoeO9Acv2HabfWSj5BAEcvr06GrB8v99QfjstCzkPnrBWN4FrcPRuSLpjTABZG6AG5rdyxm713yY/s1600-h/_45692550_ship_ap226b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCjWQwV-Dj8bry-I_YSfnRaUAC0kHJRZxXCauwlDt8O1ZNdtACcQmv5IThdwy1paeoeO9Acv2HabfWSj5BAEcvr06GrB8v99QfjstCzkPnrBWN4FrcPRuSLpjTABZG6AG5rdyxm713yY/s320/_45692550_ship_ap226b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327805947849046034" border="0" /></a><b>China is staging a military parade to celebrate its navy's 60th anniversary - and show the world its latest warships.</b><p class="first"> </p><p>A least one of the country's nuclear-powered submarines is on display at the naval parade, being held in the port city of Qingdao. </p> <p>Twenty-one foreign naval vessels from 14 countries are also taking part, including the US, France and Russia. </p> <p>Military analysts say the event will allow the rest of the world to see how China has developed its naval forces. </p> <!-- E SF --><p>Chinese sailors laid out a red carpet in front of the Chinese destroyer Shijiazhuang that took the country's president, Hu Jintao, out to sea for the parade. </p> <p>"Both now and in the future, no matter to what extent we develop, China will never seek hegemony," state media quoted him as saying. </p> <p>A total of 25 ships and 31 aircraft from the People's Liberation Army Navy were involved in the event. </p> <!-- S IIMA --> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45690000/gif/_45690671_us_china_navies_gra466.gif" alt="graph" border="0" height="173" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="466" /> </div> <!-- E IIMA --> <p>Joining President Hu on the destroyer were military officials from nearly 30 countries - many of whom had the chance to tour a Chinese submarine, a destroyer and a hospital ship. </p> <p>Flag Lieutenant Ollie Hucker, of Britain's Royal Navy, said he was impressed with what he had seen. </p> <p>"In some ways we are jealous of their capabilities," he said, adding that it was clear that China wanted to become a major naval power. </p> <p>"The global high seas are somewhere they need to make sure they can protect. The sea is where most of the trade routes are," he said. </p> <p><b>Military-to-military relations</b> </p> <p>Ordinary people also attended the parade, despite the biting wind in Qingdao. </p> <!-- S IBOX --><!-- E IBOX --> <p>Carrying binoculars, they lined the city's waterfront from early in the morning to get a glimpse of the parade, most of which took place at sea out of view. </p> <p>Some said they were proud to see that China now had advanced warships to match the country's growing global importance. </p> <p>Shi Huijuan came from Shanghai to see the parade. "This is the first time the country has put on such a big parade so I really wanted to come and see it," she said. </p> <p>China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years. </p> <p>Earlier this year, five Chinese vessels were involved in a stand-off with a survey ship from the US navy off China's Hainan Island. </p> <p>But the diplomatic row that followed did not stop the US from sending two ships to take part in the Qingdao parade. </p> <p>"Our goal has always been to maintain and develop military-to-military relations," said a US Embassy spokesman in Beijing.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-29086766079778094892009-04-22T13:57:00.001+08:002009-04-22T13:59:46.424+08:00Shanghai bucks car industry gloom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERnYBa3HjaLQkEe7t8nQiQYBXsJRZ-L2j-xDRTadBA7BP8Z1wHX1cxV1LMfxirvhid-G2Pthd4iCCy35kgSH4Zhqff3AL2otAX1SglmljLcq0Gw9XZ9gFd5PYd-iB30SykkvPUEoBxwU/s1600-h/_45683092_ladyandcar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERnYBa3HjaLQkEe7t8nQiQYBXsJRZ-L2j-xDRTadBA7BP8Z1wHX1cxV1LMfxirvhid-G2Pthd4iCCy35kgSH4Zhqff3AL2otAX1SglmljLcq0Gw9XZ9gFd5PYd-iB30SykkvPUEoBxwU/s320/_45683092_ladyandcar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327391360255669458" border="0" /></a><b>Outside the skies were grey and overcast, but inside the brightly lit exhibition halls at the Shanghai Auto Show, there was little sign of the gloom that hangs over the rest of the auto industry.</b><p> </p> <p>Perhaps they were pretending - but the besuited executives standing on podiums, introducing new models or new features to the crowds below them watching sounded excited. </p> <p>The major manufacturers are pinning their hopes of recovery on the Chinese auto market. They don't really have much choice. </p> <p>This is one of the only places in the world where the numbers are heading in the right direction at the moment. </p> <p>More vehicles were sold in China in March than ever before. </p> <p> <b>Subsidies</b> </p> <p>For three months now more vehicles have been sold here than in the United States, although to be fair, that's almost as much due to a collapse in sales there as it is to growth here. </p> <!-- S IBOX --><!-- E IBOX --> <p>In fact growth in the China market slowed considerably in the last few months of 2008, and has only picked up in recent weeks, thanks largely to stimulus measures introduced by the government. </p> <p>These have included a cut in the purchase tax for smaller cars, from 10% to 5%. </p> <p>And $730m dollars in subsidies has been made available for those in rural areas who want to replace ageing vehicles with new small vans or trucks. </p> <p>But growth, any growth is to be celebrated in the current circumstances. </p> <p> <b>Mature market</b> </p> <p>The halls are full here. Those running the show were apparently turning potential exhibitors away. </p> <p>Certainly some visitors said the show felt busier than it had done in past years, and appeared better organised. </p> <p>In front of the Ford Motor Company stand John Parker, the man responsible for the company's business in Asia Pacific and Africa, declared confidently that China was now "a mature market which is a very significant part of the world auto-market scene". </p> <p> <!-- Inline Embbeded Media --> <!-- This is the embedded player component --> </p><div class="videoInStoryC"> <div id="emp_8007933" class="emp"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2.10.7938_7967/9player.swf" style="" id="embeddedPlayer_8007933" name="embeddedPlayer_8007933" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" wmode="default" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="config_settings_language=default&config=http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/config/default.xml?1.3.105_2.10.7938_7967_20090406152952&playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Femp%2F8000000%2F8007900%2F8007933.xml&embedReferer=http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&newwindow=1&q=Shanghai+bucks+car+industry+gloom&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=tbHuSemOL4KCkQW7paCsDw&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&embedPageUrl=/2/hi/business/8008986.stm&config_settings_autoPlay=false&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter=true&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType=eav2&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_edition=International&preroll=http://ad.doubleclick.net/pfadx/bbccom.live.site.news/news_business_content;sectn=news;ctype=content;news=business;rsi=J08781_10001;slot=companion;sz=512x288;tile=6&companionSize=300x60&companionType=adi&config_settings_suppressItemKind=advert, ident" height="179" width="256"></embed></div> <!-- caption --><p class="caption">Ford's Asia Pacific Vice President, John Parker talks to Chris Hogg</p><!-- END - caption --> </div> <!-- end of the embedded player component --> <!-- END of Inline Embedded Media --> <p>But much of last month's extra sales volume came from the smaller cars, which are cheaper now under the new tax rules and they're often not as profitable as bigger ones. </p> <p>"That creates some challenges, and it really means that you must pay close attention to your cost structure," Mr Parker acknowledged. </p> <p>"But it is viable to make profits on small cars, we're profitable in our business here in China." </p> <p> <b>Quality questions</b> </p> <p>Chinese auto manufacturers tend do well when people buy smaller cars because they sell many of the cheapest models on the market. </p> <p>Brilliance Autos was unveiling nine new models. </p> <p>The company has been criticised in the past for producing cars that performed poorly in safety tests. </p> <!-- S IIMA --><!-- E IIMA --> <p>Wan Yufei, the General Manager of the company's international division insisted those problems were now behind them. </p> <p>"Our vehicles have now passed a number of tests to enter the European market," he says. </p> <p>He added that in his view when his company tried to enter more mature, more developed markets, other "non-tarriff barriers" tended to appear which "made life difficult for them." </p> <p>Certainly the quality issue is one that a lot of the Chinese manufacturers feel they have to address in interviews with the international media. </p> <p> <b>Robust recovery</b> </p> <p>Industry analyst Mike Dunne from JD Power, had another question on his mind though, as he toured the stands. Not how robust were the chassis on display, but how robust was the recent recovery in their sales? </p> <p>"If we look at the engines of growth in China's economy, number one is exports, number two is foreign direct investment," he said. </p> <p> <!-- S IIMA --> </p><!-- E IIMA --> <p>"Those are both down. If the two key engines are sputtering, what have we got left? We have government stimulus. Can that last? Let's watch and see. No guarantees." </p> <p>The current measures introduced by the government to help China's car industry are due to remain in place until the end of the year. </p> <p>By then some economists expect the economy to be performing much more strongly in this country and so, the logic goes, they will no longer be needed. </p> <p>But such stimulus measures are usually 'front loaded' - they are more effective in the early months when larger numbers of people who didn't need much persuasion to make a purchase go into the showrooms to buy. </p> <p>The exhibitors here will be watching nervously, once the auto show opens to the public on Wednesday, to see how many people come to see the vehicles on display - it's an important opportunity to try to judge public sentiment. </p> <p>Of course, with the help of the skinny models draped across the cars, rock music, dancing, and exploding glitter balls, they will also try to spread some excitement in an industry that really doesn't have much to celebrate at the moment.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">(BBC)</span><br /></p>china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085028107637018376.post-3967215365389648182009-04-21T18:22:00.001+08:002009-04-21T18:23:39.564+08:00China Influence Grows With Car Sales<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwPSBEtySCBetyrXd-7N7ATcWyeS2M0eFN-iCbq8t3gMZk_IzlNAQJj5gGH1mQ2jfVM8KMoTE3DMCCbDVkRYc-PyKB-LhD7Qpc_SeM0fLUE7Vwco3njvjQkkPiUlKe4IX6qpKQbH1k_U/s1600-h/20auto-600.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwPSBEtySCBetyrXd-7N7ATcWyeS2M0eFN-iCbq8t3gMZk_IzlNAQJj5gGH1mQ2jfVM8KMoTE3DMCCbDVkRYc-PyKB-LhD7Qpc_SeM0fLUE7Vwco3njvjQkkPiUlKe4IX6qpKQbH1k_U/s320/20auto-600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327088349767922898" border="0" /></a>SHANGHAI — After a century in which American tastes largely set the course of the global automotive market, China is poised to increasingly take on the role of global trendsetter. <script type="text/JavaScript" language="JavaScript">if (acm.rc) acm.rc.write();</script> <p>Automakers say just as car buyers around the world saw more sport utility vehicles and cup holders because that was what Americans wanted, they will probably see more features that the Chinese favor, from greater <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/fuel_efficiency/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival news about fuel efficiency.">fuel efficiency</a> to more comfortable back seats.</p><p>Vehicle sales in China passed those in the United States in the first quarter, as China has weathered the global downturn much better than other major economies. And there are growing signs that China will become the leading automotive market in the long term. </p><p>“The center of gravity is moving eastward,” <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/z/dieter_zetsche/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Dieter Zetsche.">Dieter Zetsche</a>, the chairman of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/daimler_ag/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Daimler AG">Daimler</a>, said at the opening day of the Shanghai auto show Monday. “This has, if anything, only accelerated through the crisis.”</p><p>China’s emphasis on fuel efficiency is partly a reflection of frugality: income per person in China is still one-sixteenth of American levels. But it is mainly a result of the Chinese government’s strong determination to reduce dependence on imported oil.</p><p>Late last year, the government cut to 1 percent its tax on “family vehicles” with fuel-sipping engines no larger than 1.6 liters, while raising the tax to as much as 40 percent on cars, minivans and sport utility vehicles with larger engines.</p><p>Sales of cars with smaller engines have surged in response, while sales of beefier models have grown more slowly and in some cases actually fallen. Multinational automakers are responding by transferring their latest fuel-efficiency technology to China, so as to shrink their engines to 1.6 liters or less while providing the best possible performance.</p><p>John Parker, executive vice president for Asia, the Pacific and Africa at <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/ford_motor_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Ford Motor Co">Ford Motor</a>, said that the carmaker would transfer its “Eco-boost” engine efficiency technology, including turbocharging and very precise fuel injection, to its Chinese joint venture. <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/ford_motor_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Ford Motor Company">Ford</a> is also reconsidering its future vehicle development plans after having concluded that the Chinese government would keep insisting on greater fuel efficiency. </p><p>“My overall belief is the trend is for keeps,” he said.</p><p><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_motors_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about General Motors Corp">General Motors</a> is also trying to expand sales of fuel-efficient models worldwide with a special emphasis on China. It has a 34 percent stake in a Chinese joint venture, Wuling, that already produces small, lightweight minivans that get 43 miles a gallon in city driving, although they do not meet American safety and environmental standards.</p><p><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_motors_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about General Motors Corporation">G.M.</a> wants to increase its stake in the company by buying at least part of the nearly 16 percent held by the municipal government of Liuzhou, the city in southernmost China where Wuling is based, Nick Reilly, the president of G.M.’s Asian and Pacific operations, said in an interview on Monday afternoon.</p><p>Mr. Reilly said he wanted the Wuling venture to start exporting, although probably not to the United States. </p><p>Mr. Reilly’s remarks represent the first time a G.M. executive has publicly voiced an interest in an overseas acquisition since the company ran into severe financial difficulties last year and had to seek billions of dollars in help from the United States government. While an automaker is being kept in business by federal loans, any of its acquisitions in China could prove controversial in Washington. </p><p>Beyond stressing fuel efficiency, the Chinese government is emphasizing alternative-fuel vehicles, particularly electric cars with rechargeable batteries. Senior Beijing officials want the country to become a leader in such technology, and Western auto executives give China a strong chance of success.</p><p>“There’s no question that the government and the companies here are spending huge amounts in this area, so there’s no doubt they are going to be important players,” Mr. Reilly said. “If you look at where batteries are making the fastest progress, it’s China, it’s Korea, it’s where the government is heavily behind it.”</p><p>Andy Palmer, Nissan’s senior vice president for vehicle planning, said that Nissan started an electric car experiment this month in Wuhan, China, mainly because China wanted it. “We didn’t approach them, they approached us,” Mr. Palmer said.</p><p>Automakers have long built vehicles to suit American preferences and then marketed the same models around the world after recouping the development costs in the United States market. Manufacturers sharply increased their development and production of sport utility vehicles and minivans in the 1980s, for example, in large part because those vehicles were subject to less stringent fuel economy regulations in the United States; the automakers then marketed the same models around the globe.</p>In addition to better fuel economy, the rapidly rising importance of the Chinese market will probably result in much more comfortable rear seats in cars around the world. That is because even the owners of compact cars in China frequently hire full-time chauffeurs, who cost as little as $440 a month and allow the owner to read or make phone calls in the back seat while in traffic jams.<br /><br />(NYT)china-to-worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04938316271427696157noreply@blogger.com0