China :: Commentaries

LONDON - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao proposed on Sunday that China and Britain prioritize their cooperation on boosting green economy to jointly pursue sustainable development and contribute to world economic recovery and the fight against climate change.Wen said that when meeting with British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and figures from British economic circles.He also said that the current debt crises in some European countries have brought difficulties to the European economy and show that there are some uncertain factors facing the world economic recovery.The Chinese premier said that two years ago when the international financial crisis was at its severest, he said repeatedly that "confidence is of greater importance than gold and currency"."Today, I still believe that firm confidence is still needed when coping with the European sovereign debt crisis, mainly through Europe's own efforts," Wen said.Meanwhile, international cooperation should be strength...

Flash Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is continuing his three-day visit to UK. The Premier visited the MG car plant at Longbridge, near Birmingham on Sunday. He called on Chinese and British companies to strengthen cooperation to score bigger achievements. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao talks with the technicians during his visit to the MG motor plant in Birmingham, Britain, June 26, 2011. [Xinhua] Wen visited the MG technology center and talked with employees. He also attended a launch ceremony for the new MG-6 sports sedan. Wen Jiabao says the MG-6 creates a new production mode that combines China's capital, labor and market with Britain's technology and management. He also met former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Wen Jiabao says enhancing communication and cooperation between the world's big powers is particularly important in face of a variety of global challenges. The premier also met Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and renowned figures from business so...

Qu Zhihang, who rode his bicycles naked next to the Pearl River. University students planning to ditch their clothes for a good cause in Guangzhou were warned by police to cover up or face jail. Despite the warning, a batch of 50-plus male students improvised and rode their bicycles half-naked around the Guangzhou University Town for 30 minutes starting at 8pm on Saturday, attracting crowds of students in the Guangdong Province capital, said the Southern Metropolis Daily yesterday. According to the newspaper, the campaign was started by an 18-year-old from Anhui Province, nicknamed "Wild Donkey." The teenager was called by police at least four times for "conversations" before he finally announced his decision to quit holding the event on Friday night due to "personal reasons." As a cycling fan and an employee at a campus bicycle shop, the teenager got the idea from the annual World Naked Bike Ride Day, which promotes environmental protection and the usage...

BEIJING - In a development that reflects an easing of tension, China and Vietnam have agreed to solve their dispute over the South China Sea through negotiation.State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with Vietnamese special envoy, Vice-Foreign Minister Ho Xuan Son, in Beijing on Saturday, according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Sunday. Related readings: Vietnam, China hold joint naval patrol amid disputesBoth countries agreed to implement the consensus reached by their leaders and adopt effective measures to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.Agreement was reached "to prevent words and actions that would be detrimental to the friendship and mutual trust between the peoples of the two countries", the release said. "The sound and steady development of Sino-Vietnamese ties conforms with the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples and is conducive to peace and stability in the region," it said....

BEIJING - China Customs Sunday warned citizens to be wary of becoming unwitting drug mules.The warning came on the 24th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.The customs said Chinese citizens, especial women, should be wary of taking, receiving, keeping, sending, selling or buying packages which they did not know the exact contents of.A customs official said drug traffickers use a variety of methods to cheat or force people into transporting drugs, for instance they could trick people into carrying their drug-laden luggage saying they couldn't as their other luggage had already passed the weight limit.On May 6, Guangzhou customs detained a Chinese woman returning from southeast Asia after 2,503 grams of heroin was found planted in her luggage.Drug traffickers often take advantage of the weak to transport drugs, said the official. There have been numerous cases of traffickers tricking pregnant women, minors and handicapped people to deliver hidden drugs for th...

SHANGHAI - China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, will be higher in June compared to May, but it will fall significantly in the fourth quarter of the year.The prediction was given by Yao Jingyuan, former chief economist with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), while addressing a forum held in Shanghai Saturday.Factors, such as imported inflationary pressures emanating from quantitative easing in the U.S. and abundant liquidity in the domestic market, along with weak agricultural infrastructure, had caused commodity prices to rise in China, he said."The imperfection in the distribution of farm produce across China has embodied the country's weak agricultural infrastructure, which has in turn helped to drive up prices," said Yao.Yao insisted that the Chinese economy at present showed a trait of stability, with little risks of the economy overheating or a sharp decline in economic growth, though still faced a daunting problem of inflation.As ...

Vice Premier Li Keqiang says China faces inflationary pressure, and the government's top priority is tackling the rapid increases. Earlier this week, Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out, before kicking off his European tour, that authorities are confident of keeping prices under control. CCTV reporter, Yin Hang, has the details from downtown Beijing. Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in Saturday's opening speech at the Second Global Think Tank Summit, hosted by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, that the international economic recovery faces many uncertainties, with some countries experiencing sovereign debt problems, and others staring at the risk of a downturn. Li points out that a major problem now confronting China is inflation. He adds that the current top macro-economic control priority, is tackling soaring prices. Ch inese Vice Premier Li Keqiang addresses the opening ceremony of the Second Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing, capital of China, June 25, 2...