BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Agreements on direct flights and shipping, signed on Tuesday in Taipei, are drawing strong interest from airlines and shipping companies from the mainland and Taiwan. "Regular charter flights, instead of flights only weekends and festivals, were our long-term expectations," said Liu Shaoyong, the general manager of mainland-based China Southern Airlines. "Direct air routes are very good for our business." A flight from the mainland to Taiwan via Hong Kong under the current arrangement takes two hours and 42 minutes and burns 16 tonnes of fuel. Under the new arrangement, flights will take 69 minutes and burn 7.3 tonnes of fuel. "Less travel time and expense benefits both passengers and airlines," Liu said. Wei Hsing-Hsiung, chairman of the board of Taiwan-based China Airlines, was glad to see the number of passenger charter flights increase from 36 on weekends to 108 a week. "We have profits of about 1.5 million U.S. dollars from weekend charter flights. The figure is likely to reach 5 million dollars due to more flights, while the cost might fall by 20 percent as the route is shorter," he said. The new agreement only opened one direct air route, between Shanghai and Taipei. Xiamen, the coastal city in southeastern Fujian Province directly opposite to Taiwan, was not included. Mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) President Chen Yunlin(R) and Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung attend the symposia on industry and shipping in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Nov. 5, 2008. They attended two symposia, one on industry and shipping and the other on finance, that were held against the backdrop of international financial crisis and struggling world economy in Taipei on Wednesday"We are expecting more air routes," said Yang Guanghua, general manager of Xiamen Airlines. The flight distance between Xiamen and Taipei will be one third shorter than at present and the flying time will be about half, he said. The two sides said in the agreement that they are going to negotiate another route linking the southern part of Taiwan with the mainland. To cope with increasing flights, Yang's company plans to use 10more passenger planes next year, he said. Taiwan's senior economic official Shih Yen-shiang told the local daily China Times on Wednesday that he estimated every direct trip across the Strait could save companies 300,000 New Taiwan dollars (about 9,000 U.S. dollars). "Based on 4,000 trips a year, 1.2 billion dollars will be saved," he said. Under the new agreement, the mainland and Taiwan will exempt each other's shipping firms from business and income taxes. For the container divisions of Taiwan's three leading shipping lines -- Evergreen Marine, Wan Hai Lines and Yang Ming Group -- 60percent could be related to the mainland. Tax cuts will save each 2 to 3 billion NT dollars, another local newspaper, the Commercial Times, said. Ningbo of eastern Zhejiang Province was one of the 63 ports that the mainland opened to Taiwan ships. "The most direct effect will be increasing cargo volume," said Tong Mengda, chief economist of Ningbo Port Holding. "The voyage to Taiwan has been cut from 25 hours to ten. This is good for both shipping companies and ports."
NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)on Monday kicked off its trading session with a special ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. In a symbolic move, Stephen A. Orlins, president of the U.S. National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), rang the market's Opening Bell. He was accompanied by Dr. Henry Kissinger, a key trailblazer and eyewitness for the normalization of U.S.- China relations. The two countries formally established their diplomatic ties on Jan. 1, 1979. Zhang Yesui, China's UN permanent representative, said the bilateral relations of China and United States is of great importance, not only to the two peoples, but also to the world peace and security, and the global economic development. Dr. Kissinger, who visited China in 1971, said he is optimistic about the future of the bilateral relations of China and United States. "It is now a pillar of the international order. And peace and prosperity of the world depend closely on the Sino-U.S. relations," he said. Talking on areas of further co-operation between the two countries, Dr. Kissinger said first of all China and United States should develop a common solution on how to overcome the current international financial and economic crisis, and develop a program of collaboration to tackle the issue. And "on the key problems that exist in the world -- proliferation, energy, climate change, environment -- China and United States can be a key to a solution of these problems," he said, "So the strategic dialogues between China and United States should not only continue, but be reinforced and strengthened." NCUSCR President Orlins called the NYSE celebrating ceremony "a real testimony, not only to the historical events, but also to how far we have come." "When we established diplomatic relations exactly 30 years ago on January 1st, we could not have imagined that we would have Chinese companies listed on the NYSE, whose market capital is in excess of 800 billion U.S. dollars," Orlins said, "It is just remarkable." Currently, there are 41 companies from Chinese mainland listed with NYSE, the premier U.S. listing venue for non-U.S. companies. Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, told Xinhua that he has taken the relations with China as one of his most important initiatives during his years as chief executive. He also suggestedthe Chinese companies to "stay the course" and stick to the good business when dealing with the global financial crisis and economic downturn. "There is always years like this in global markets where it is a very very tough ride. I think there are a lot of terrific companies in China. They either already listed or are in the queueto be listed, and we're gonna continue to support them through the ups and downs," Niederauer said, "I believe their fortunes will improve overtime and we just need a long-term outlook of it." NYSE was the first foreign exchange to receive approval to open a representative office in China. After the opening of its Beijing office on Dec. 11, 2007, NYSE has signed memorandums of understanding with China's Dalian Commodity Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in co-operations in the futures and options markets. Among the guests to the Monday ceremony were Peng Keyu, Chinese consul-general in New York, and Jan Berris, vice president of the NCUSCR.
BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao returned to Beijing Saturday night from a trilateral summit between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). In a half-day meeting in Japan's Fukuoka, Wen, his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso and ROK President Lee Myung-bak discussed trilateral ties, the ongoing global financial crisis and other issues of common concern. Before the meeting, Wen met Lee and Aso respectively, and discussed bilateral relations with them. They issued a joint statement on tripartite partnership relations after the meeting.
BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) on Thursday signed an agreement with Central Huijin Co., an investment arm of the government, for a 130-billion-yuan (19 billion U.S. dollars) capital injection in preparation for an eventual stock listing. Xiang Junbo, the state-owned bank's president, said the injection would boost the bank's capital base, improve its financial status and enhance its profitability. After the injection, Central Huijin and the Ministry of Finance each will have half of the bank's ownership. Lou Jiwei, head of Central Huijin's board of directors, said the company would help ABC improve its corporate governance to make it a modern commercial bank with global competitiveness. According to Xiang, ABC's profit grew 35 percent year-on-year to 98 billion yuan in the first three quarters. As of Sept. 30, deposits totaled 5.9 trillion yuan and loans 3.97 trillion yuan, rising by 690 billion yuan and 300 billion yuan, respectively, from a year earlier. The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) on Thursday signed an agreement with Central Huijin Co., an investment arm of the government, for a 130-billion-yuan (19 billion U.S. dollars) capital injection in preparation for an eventual stock listing Of the loans, 1.39 trillion yuan went to agriculture-related projects, up 120 billion yuan year-on-year. Xiang said one of the bank's major tasks after the capital injection would be to develop its rural network and increase agricultural lending. The State Council, or the Cabinet, approved ABC's shareholding reform plan on Oct. 21.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhou Yongkang met with Brunei Foreign and Trade Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah on Sunday evening. The meeting came as Zhou made a transit stop in Brunei on his way back to China. Zhou, one of the nine-member Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, hailed the sound and smooth growth of China-Brunei ties since the two forged diplomatic ties in 1991. Zhou said that particularly in recent years, the all-round friendly cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened, thanks to the joint efforts of leaderships, governments and peoples of the two countries. China and Brunei have been understanding, supporting and closely cooperating with each other on regional and international issues, he said. Zhou also lauded Brunei's role as a coordinator in deepening the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Zhou said China would continue to pursue its long-term neighbor friendship with Brunei and would like to work with Brunei to take the relations to a new high. Mohamed congratulated China on successfully hosting the Beijing Olympics and the summit of Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM). The friendship between the peoples of China and Brunei can be traced back to the time earlier than the establishment of diplomatic ties, he said. He pledged Brunei would support China's increasingly important role in regional and international affairs. He said Brunei would like to work with China to seek common development. Before his transit in Brunei on Sunday, Zhou concluded his fortnight trip to the three Asia-Pacific nations, namely Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.
BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's new rules on foreign media reflected the country's determination to carry on the policy of opening up to the outside world, a senior information official said here Saturday, hours after the issuing of the new rules. Wang Chen said this in a ceremony for the establishment of "Israel Epstein Research Center" of Qinghua University. Wang pointed out that the new rules draw on the experience of providing service and managerial assistance for foreign correspondents during Beijing Olympics, and they will make foreign correspondents reporting activities in China more convenient. "Chinese government welcomes foreign media and reporters, and we hope more stories about the country will be told to the world. We will spare no effort to provide help and service to them," he said," meanwhile, we hope foreign media and reporters could abide by Chinese laws and professional morals, to report unbiasedly and justly, so to promote understanding and cooperation between China and the rest of the world." According to the new rules, foreign reporters wishing to interview organizations or individuals in China no longer need to be received and accompanied by the Chinese organizations. An item in the old version was also cancelled, which asked foreign reporters to get approval from the local government's foreign affairs department when they wanted to do reporting in the regions open to them. Seymour Topping, a famous journalist from the United States and the former administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, told Xinhua that the removal of the restrictions on foreign correspondents may mark an important progress of China, China should learn to tolerate the judgement of the outside world, be it positive or negative. That will show a more confident China, he said. Huang Youyi, deputy director-general and editor-in-chief of China International Publishing Group, said:" Sadly some foreign media reported inaccurately about China. But I believe with more foreign reporters coming, the proportion of accurate reports will increase." "How great it is!" Wang Yu, who lives in Haidian District of Beijing smiled when she heard about the new rules," the foreign reporters will see that the world is a family, and Chinese people do have speech freedom." A backpacker named Wang Shaofei from Hainan Province in the south of China said:" if any foreign reporters come to me, I will tell them the new development and changes of my hometown. Maybe I could know more about the cultures abroad, too."
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JAKARTA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Monday afternoon, calling on the two countries to step up partnership and tackle the international financial crisis. Li said that the development of cooperation between China and Indonesia, both as important developing countries in the region, serves to the significant purpose to promote peace and stability in the region and the world. Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (L) meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R) in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 22, 2008. Li highlighted the growth momentum of the bilateral cooperation in infrastructure and energy sectors, citing the Suramadu bridge being constructed by the Chinese company in Surabaya as a symbol of the bilateral cooperation. Li said the two nations share huge potential for cooperation, noting that China will support and encourage the Chinese companies to participate in Indonesia's infrastructure construction, share successful experience on domestic economic development. Li also called on Indonesia to intensify exchange and dialogue so as to tackle the current international financial crisis. Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (L1) meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R1) in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 22, 2008. Susilo welcomed Li's visit and recognized the rapid development of Indonesia-China relations since the two nations forged strategic partnership in 2005. He also voiced his appreciation of the success of Beijing Olympic Games, highlighting the sports event as a pride for the Asian people. The development of China is not only conducive to the Indonesia-China cooperation, but also of great significance to the common prosperity in the region and world as well, he said. The Indonesian president also expressed his gratitude for China's help in the country's economic development, suggesting that the two countries work closer and boost bilateral cooperation. The Chinese Vice Premier also addressed a welcoming luncheon hosted by the Indonesian business community on Monday. He told the entrepreneurs from 33 Indonesian provincial districts that the two-way trade is expected to exceed 30 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2008, an objective previously set to be realized in 2010, and Chinese government is willing to make joint efforts with the Indonesian business community to expand the fields and promote the level of the bilateral cooperation.
Envoys from the six nations to the Korean Peninsular nuclear talks gather to hold talks in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on Dec. 8, 2008. A new round of the six-party talks is begun here Monday afternoon for a fresh round of talks on the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Envoys from the six nations gathered in Beijing on Monday for a fresh round of talks on removing nuclear programs from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "I propose the talks focus on three issues," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in his opening address late Monday afternoon. "First, verification; secondly, implementation of the remaining second phase action plan; and thirdly the establishment of a peace and security mechanism in northeast Asia." The talks, also involving the United States, Republic of Korea(ROK) Russia and Japan, got under way in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in western Beijing. "Since our last meeting in July, all parties have kept in close communication and consultation and registered some progress, which China deeply appreciated," Wu said. Last week, chief U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and his DPRK counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, met in Singapore. The talks were reported to be substantive, but the two parties failed to reach a deal on sampling of atomic materials. "We should participate in the meeting with a flexible and pragmatic attitude. We need joint efforts to narrow differences and lay a solid foundation for promoting talks into next phase," Wu said. The Chinese host also called on the six nations to continue to adhere to the principles of "word for word, action for action" and” phased implementation." Monday's talk lasted about one hour, with the issue of verification topping the agenda. "We discussed fuel oil, the issues of disablement schedule and verification," Hill told reporters at China World Hotel Monday night. "On fuel oil and disablement, there were no really contentious issues," said Hill. The difficulty lies in how to verify DPRK's nuclear program. "The Chinese have some ideas on how to approach the issue. What China is trying to do now is to put together a draft and circulate something tomorrow(Tuesday)," Hill said. "It has to do with the verification. The key element will be what we did in Pyongyang. As you know we want to see some further definitions of this." Sunday night, the U.S. envoy said the objective of this round of talks was to produce a verification protocol and a clear road map of what parties need to do to complete the verification. Under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in February 2007, the DPRK agreed to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs. It promised to declare all its nuclear programs and facilities by the end of 2007. In return, DPRK would get diplomatic and economic incentives. The six parties agreed to a disarmament schedule in October 2007. The DPRK said it has slowed down that process because of sluggish economic compensation. On Saturday, DPRK vowed to ignore Japan at the talks, citing Tokyo's refusal to send aid to the country as part of the agreement. Before Monday's talks began, the Chinese delegation held a series of preliminary bilateral meetings with the other five parties. Despite recent tensions, the DPRK and ROK delegations also held a rare bilateral meeting before the talks opened. Launched in 2003, the six-party talks was a vice-minister level mechanism aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Chinese top nuclear negotiator and Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei (1st R, front) addresses a fresh round of talks on the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on Dec. 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua)
BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- They are not common diplomatic tools: several paddles, a few ping pong balls and some table tennis players from China and the United States. But the fact that nine American table tennis players were invited to Beijing for exhibition games with Chinese players in April 1971 did break the ice between the two nations. Thirty-eight years after those historic games, players from the two nations lined up for a rematch in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. First came the 1971 U.S. team's youngest member, Judy Hoarfrost. "When I first came to China in 1971, I didn't know the significance at first. As we went to China right away after the invitation, so we didn't have chance to really learn until we left China," Hoarfrost told Xinhua while warming up for a match with a veteran Chinese player, Qi Baoxiang. The invitation from China came during the 31st World Championships in Nagoya, Japan where the Chinese team was competing for the first time in two years. Just two days later, nine U.S. team members crossed into the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong, becoming the first group of Americans to visit the Chinese mainland since 1949. "My picture with Premier Zhou Enlai was on the front page of all the newspapers around the world. When I went back, everybody was so interested. I was only 15 years old, but they had all questions for me like I knew something special about China. Just because I had been there," Hoarfrost recalled. "It (Ping Pong diplomacy) is the first step of the march towards the relations between the two countries. It played a very important role," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte at the friendship game, a tribute to three-decade China-U.S. diplomatic ties. Negroponte was the highest ranking U.S. official to come to China for a series of commemorative events marking the 30th anniversary diplomatic relations. Although the 51-year-old Hoarfrost lost to Qi by 3 to 11, she said she enjoyed the match. "Ping Pong really can bring people together." The match not only helped the veterans revive the old memories, but also connected the younger generations between the two nations. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte (R) poses with former Chinese ping-pong world champion Liang Geliang during the Friendship Ping-pong Match marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-U.S. diplomatic relations, at the State General Administration of Sport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 7, 2009. As the representative of the U.S. junior players, Ariel Hsing said she was "very excited to be a Ping Pong diplomat." After winning the 2nd place Women's Singles at U.S. National Championships last December, the 13-year-old was picked to play in Wednesday's friendship match. Hsing's fast break play on both sides of the paddle enabled her to beat her Chinese opponent Chen Meng in 15-minute-long match. "I was just lucky to win. She played very well," Hsing said of Chen, a member of Chinese women team wining the 2008 Asia Juvenile Championship. "Good job," Deputy Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Guangya told Hsing, a Chinese American born in San Jose, California. "The rematch helped pass down the old friendship to the younger generation," said Liang Geliang, a top player who played against the U.S. team in Beijing in 1971. As the finale of Wednesday's match, Liang and Hsing played together against another pair of Qi and Peter Li, the other junior American. Their two matches went to the wire and ended in a tie, bringing down the house. Since her first tour in 1971, Hoarfrost has visited China five times, all in the name of Ping Pong diplomacy. "So many changes in China. People are much better educated now, have much more communications with other countries. People travel out of China and bring back what they learn. People have many more opportunities to learn." Changes also took place in the China-U.S. relations over the past 30 years. "We now have a very broad and deep relationship in many different walks of lives, politically, socially, economically, and in terms of science and education," said Negroponte. Looking to the future, Negroponte said there are "many different possibilities" for the U.S.-China relations. "I am sure the next 30 years will be even better." "I'm very happy to win. I hope I can make it to the 2012 London Olympics," Hsing said with excitement. "I hope to get involved in Ping Pong diplomacy again."
CAIRO, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that China is willing to further the strategic cooperative ties with Egypt which was established in 1999. During his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Li said the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the ties in next year should be an opportunity to further such a relationship. "The two sides should take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen the strategic coordination and cooperation and enrich the contents of bilateral relations," he said. Li suggested the two countries to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, transport, communications, tourism and human resources as well as explore new areas. Meanwhile, Mubarak expressed beliefs that with the joint efforts of leaders of the two countries, Egypt-China strategic cooperative relations will make new progress. Li arrived here on Wednesday afternoon for a four-day official visit to Egypt at the invitation of Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef. He told Mubarak that the purpose of his visit is to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, deepen the relations with Egyptian and promote relations with Arab and African countries. He hailed Egypt, which he believes plays an important role in international and regional affairs, as an important cooperative partner of China among developing countries. "The Chinese side attaches great importance to developing Sino-Egyptian relations," Li noted, adding that the two countries have always respected each other, treated each other frankly and witnessed continuously deepened political trust and rapid development of pragmatic cooperation in various areas. "The relationship between the two nations has become a model for cooperation among developing countries," he said. Mubarak asked Li to convey his regards to Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders. He said he has maintained close and friendly relations with several generations of Chinese leaders, and Egypt is pleased to see China's rapid development, and hopes it can be stronger. He said he has been working to promote the development of bilateral ties, and attaches great importance to developing friendly cooperation in all fields with China. Li also briefed Mubarak on China's measures in countering the global financial crisis, including adjusting macroeconomic policies in a timely manner, implementing proactive fiscal policy and moderate monetary policy and expanding domestic demand to promote economic growth. He said China believes that these measures will be conducive to China's economy to maintain steady and rapid development. After the meeting, Li briefed the Egyptian media on the meeting with the president. Li also held talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef, and the two attended a signing ceremony on cooperative documents in fishery. Besides meetings with Egyptian leaders, Li will also attend the opening ceremony of a China-Egyptian business forum in the afternoon. Egypt is the second leg of Li's first overseas trip since he took office as vice premier in March. The trip has brought him to Indonesia and will bring him to Kuwait. Among his entourages are senior foreign affairs, development, commercial and banking officials. According to Chinese statistics, trade volume between China and Egypt has reached more than 5.3 billion U.S. dollars as of October this year, a 44-percent increase compared with the same period of last year. By the end of July, about 570 Chinese companies have invested in the northeastern African country. In addition, more and more Egyptian students begin to study Chinese language as the bilateral ties ushered into a new phase. Up to now, there are five Egyptian universities that have established Chinese language departments.