WASHINGTON - China warned the United States on Thursday against "groundless smear attacks" against Chinese products and said it was working responsibly to address concerns over a spate of recent food safety scares. "The Chinese Government has not turned a blind eye or tried to cover up. We have taken this matter very seriously, acted responsibly and immediately adopted forceful measures," said a statement by China's embassy in Washington. "Blowing up, complicating or politicizing a problem are irresponsible actions and do not help in its solution," the Chinese mission said in a rare policy pronouncement. "It is even more unacceptable for some to launch groundless smear attacks on China at the excuse of food and drug safety problems," it said. Echoing the Beijing government's complaints about US media reports, the embassy said food safety concerns were not unique to China, 99.2 percent of whose food exports to the United States in 2006 met quality standards. Problematic US imports from China -- including toxic ingredients mixed into pet food and recalls of toy trains and toothpaste -- were isolated cases and "hardly avoidable" amid huge and rapidly growing bilateral trade, the statement said. "It is unfair and irresponsible for the US media to single China out, play up China's food safety problems and mislead the US consumers," it added. Appealing for strengthened cooperation between Chinese and US food inspection authorities, the statement urged Americans to "respect science and treat China's food and drug exports fairly."
Rescuers take a rest outside a flooded coal mine in Xintai City, East China's Shandong Province, Aug. 18, 2007. One hundred and seventy-two miners were trapped in a flooded coal mine in Xintai, authoritative sources said on Saturday morning. [Xinhua]XINTAI, Shandong Province -- One hundred and seventy-two miners were trapped in a flooded coal mine in east China's Shandong province, authoritative sources said on Saturday morning.The flooding occurred at around 2:30 p.m. Friday in the coal mine of Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd (formerly known as Zhangzhuang coalmine) in Xintai City, about 150 kilometers south of Jinan, Shandong's capital.A total of 756 miners were working underground at the time of the flooding and 584 managed to escape after the accident, Xu Qinyu, general manager of the company said on Saturday morning.Downpours hit the area Friday with a precipitation of 205 millimeters, triggering flash flood and a 50-meter breach of a levee of the Wen river in the region.Floodwater from the Wen river swamped the coal mine via an old shaft. A 100-millimeter rainfall Saturday night worsened the flooding situation. The rain ended around 7 a.m. Saturday.By 8:50 a.m., the working places under the mine have been all inundated, according to the rescue headquarters.Wang Ziqi, director of the Shandong coal mine safety administration, said the trapped miners had only slim chances of survival.Most of the trapped people were from rural areas in Tai'an City and surrounding areas, said Wang Junmin, vice governor of Shandong.About 2,000 Chinese People's Liberation Army troops, armed police and miners have closed up a 30-meter section of the breached levee of the Wen river by midday Saturday.The closure of the breach is crucial to the rescue efforts and it will stop water from continuing to flow into the mine, according to rescuers.In a separate accident in Xintai, nine people were trapped in the Minggong coal mine after it flooded because of the rainstorms.Ninety-five people were working underground when the accident happened. Eight-six have been lifted alive. Rescue work is underway.Li Yizhong, director of the Administration of Work Safety and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, have rushed to the site to oversee rescue efforts.The work safety watchdog issued on Saturday an emergency notice urging coal mines to draw lessons from the Huayuan mine accident and immediately take preventive measures against rainstorm-triggered floods.Huayuan Mining Co. Ltd is a licensed enterprise with an annual capacity of 750,000 tons.Rescuers prepare to install the drain pipes outside the flooded coal mine in Xintai City, East China's Shandong Province, Aug. 18, 2007. One hundred and seventy-two miners were trapped in the flooded coal mine, authoritative sources said on Saturday morning. [Xinhua]Rescuers work outside the flooded coal mine in Xintai City, East China's Shandong Province, Aug. 18, 2007. One hundred and seventy-two miners were trapped in the flooded coal mine, authoritative sources said on Saturday morning. [Xinhua]
KHARTOUM: Chinese peacekeepers were on Wednesday awarded certificates of merit for their excellent performance during their eight-month term in Sudan, a Chinese officer said Thursday.Lieutenant General Jasbir Singh Lidder, commander of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), presented Unit Citations to the engineering, transportation and medical contingents of Chinese peacekeeping troops, and Force Commander Commendations to 22 Chinese troops.The two certificates of merit are the highest honor awarded to peacekeepers from various contributing countries in Sudan, said the Chinese officer.The awards ceremony was held at the base of the Chinese peacekeeping troops in Wau, capital of West Bahr al-Ghazal state in southern Sudan, two weeks before their departure from Sudan to rotate with another batch of Chinese peacekeeping troops.Lidder said it was a great honor for him to serve with the Chinese peacekeepers as they were ending "their very successful term" in Sudan."During the past months, the three contingents of the Chinese peacekeeping troops have done a significant job to be a role model for professionalism, commitment and conduct," Lidder said.The Chinese peacekeepers had also maintained excellent relations with the contingents of other countries as well as the local population, the UNMIS commander said.Li Chengwen, the Chinese Ambassador to Sudan, congratulated all the three contingents, the 22 Chinese peacekeepers as well as the other officers and soldiers. He highly praised their performance in Sudan, especially in the extremely difficult and complicated conditions.The 435-strong Chinese peacekeeping troops, the second batch of Chinese peacekeepers deployed in southern Sudan since China started taking part in UN peacekeeping operation there in May last year and arrived in Wau in January this year.
Nanjing - Four people died and 16 were injured when a snow-laden fuel pump shelter in Nanjing suddenly collapsed on Sunday afternoon, according to local sources.The accident took place around 2:30 pm at the Sinopec Wujiang fuel pump station in Pukou District of Nanjing, the Jiangsu Province capital, when one van, one sedan and six motorbikes were refueling.The station ceiling, with a floor area of 1,430 square meters, suddenly gave way to the thick snow that had accumulated on it over the past few days. When it hit the ground, it engulfed all the vehicles and people beneath it, said information from the city government.It was not immediately known whether any station service workers were in the accident.The victims were all rescued from the debris and rushed to hospital immediately. Four later died from their injuries. The others were hospitalized.The accident is under further investigation.
Four people were sentenced to between 15 and 24 months' imprisonment Tuesday in Shanghai for money laundering in the first such case since the anti-money laundering law took effect in January.The Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court sentenced Pan Rumin to two years in jail and fined him 60,000 yuan (,000) for the crime. Accomplices Zhu Suzhen, Li Daming and Gong Yuan were sentenced to between 15 and 16 months in prison and fined 20,000 yuan each.The case was the first in the country to turn on the new anti-money laundering law. Before the law took effect, suspects in money-laundering cases were charged with operating illegal businesses or disordering financial markets.The four parties had collectively laundered more than 1 million yuan by withdrawing money and transferring funds over the Internet, through ATMs and over the counter at bank branches.The Shanghai branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China eventually grew suspicious, and police arrested the suspected launderers in Hongkou on July 24 last year.The authorities have been drawing up legislation to fight money laundering. The National People's Congress Standing Committee passed the new anti-money laundering law in October, last year.
SHENZHEN -- China on Wednesday laid out a primary plan for its second pipeline of the West-East natural gas transmission project.According to the plan, construction of the 8,794 kilometer gas pipeline, which consists of one major line and eight sub-lines, will involve an investment of approximately 143.5 billion yuan (US.8 billion).The major line will extend 4,945 km, running from Khorgos in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Guangzhou, capital of south Guangdong Province.Construction of the pipeline will begin this year and it will go into operation in 2010. The pipeline would pass through 13 Chinese regions.It would carry natural gas from central Asian countries and Xinjiang to the economically prosperous but energy thirsty eastern and southern China areas, including Shanghai and Guangdong Province.
到广东哪治疗口腔粘膜白斑
China, with a record .2 trillion of foreign-exchange reserves, will keep the "bulk" of its US dollar holdings because the currency is one of safest investment options, a People's Bank of China assistant governor said. The dollar remains "important" because trade and foreign direct investment is conducted mostly in the currency, Yi Gang told delegates at a meeting that was closed to the media at the World Economic Forum in Singapore. Asian central banks will continue to hold most of their reserves in dollars, he said. "Safety, return and liquidity are the three most important elements that people should consider when they talk about reserves," Yi said in a recording of the discussion that was obtained by Bloomberg News. "As far as we're concerned, the serious reduction of the dollar reserve is a small probability," he said, adding that any adjustments to its dollar holdings will be "incremental." China's gross domestic product expanded 11.1 percent in the first quarter, making it the world's fastest-growing major economy, led by sustained demand for its exports to the US and other trading partners. Diversification of the nation's foreign-exchange reserves will be gradual and won't hurt the dollar or financial markets, Market News International said last month, citing Ding Zhijie, one of five advisers to the reserves agency's committee. 'Gradual Process' China's trade surplus, which the Asian Development Bank estimated will climb by 45 percent to a record 7 billion next year, has sparked calls for further gains in China's yuan. Some US lawmakers have said that the yuan was undervalued by 40 percent to make China's exports cheap and pledged trade sanctions as punishment. The central bank expects the yuan exchange rate will gradually move toward a "market-oriented direction," Yi told reporters after the meeting Monday. The currency has risen about 8.6 percent since the dollar link was abandoned in July 2005. "The central bank of China has the responsibility to keep the exchange rate at more or less a stable level," Yi said. "The mechanism is more toward a market-oriented direction."
JINAN - Seven fishermen on two boats were rescued on Saturday off east China after their boats lost control in high gales, local rescue sources said. The engine of a fishing boat with six people aboard at the Bajiao offshore area near Yantai city, Shandong Province stopped working around 1:20 p.m. Saturday as its screw propeller was enlaced by aquatic plants amid sudden gales on the sea. A helicopter from the Beihai No. 1 Rescue Flying Squad was dispatched to the site and rescued the six in 20 minutes. The helicopter saved another fisherman on a separate boat on its way back. All the rescued fishermen were sent to Penglai, an island city near Yantai, Saturday afternoon.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Hu Jintao and visiting Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan underscored peace and development across the Taiwan Straits in their meeting in Beijing Saturday. Hu Jintao (R), General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Lien Chan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, in this April 16, 2006 file photo. [Xinhua]"Peace and development should be the theme of cross-Straits relations, and the common goal of the people both in the mainland and Taiwan," Hu said. Lien said peace was the basis for cross-Strait prosperity and development. Compatriots from both sides of the Straits should face up to the challenges and continue to pursue peace, so as to create economic prosperity on both sides of the Straits. The mainland is creating a miracle with a growth rate of about 10 percent for 27 years, he noted. "Peace and prosperity live together, for if there is no peace, there will be no prosperity, and only peace creates opportunities for us to pursue prosperity," he said. Lien arrived on Thursday leading a KMT delegation to attend a cross-Straits economic and trade forum, which closed on Saturday. Hu extended warm congratulations on the behalf of the CPC Central Committee for the success of the forum. "The two-day forum is an important activity for the two parties to continue exchanges and dialog," Hu said. The mainland announced at the forum a new package of beneficial policies to promote cross-Straits economic and trade relations, and the participants also passed joint proposals for closer economic and trade ties across the Straits. The 15 new favorable policies announced by the mainland pointed out a new direction for the future cross-Straits economic and trade development, Lien told Hu. Hu and Lien met for the first time in Beijing a year ago when Lien, then chairman of the Taiwan-based KMT party, had an "ice-breaking" journey to the mainland. It was also the first meeting between top leaders of the CPC and KMT in 60 years. Hu called for closer personnel, economic and cultural exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan to curb Taiwan secessionist activities and maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Foreign investors are eyeing more opportunities as China's demand for oil refining and petrochemicals increases. According to a think-tank affiliated to China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China's oil demand will hit 455 million tons while the country's total refining capacity will surpass 400 million tons by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period, set from 2006 to 2010. "From this year to 2010, the average annual oil demand of China will grow at 6.5 percent per year. One forecast shows demand reaching 455 million tons in 2010," Gong Jinshuang, a veteran researcher at the Economic and Technology Research Institute of CNPC, China's largest oil and gas producer, said on Friday. According to a national industrial deployment plan, there will be many refineries and ethylene crackers on stream by 2010 and China will witness 18 million tons of ethylene produced by 2010. The country's refineries will run at 90 to 95 percent capacity by 2010, Gong said. Ethylene output of China was 9.41 million tons last year, up 24.5 percent year-on-year. To seize opportunities arising from the downstream sector of the oil industry, not only State-owned giants, but also foreign investors are gearing for more investment. Mustafa Al-Sahan, general manager in charge of China investment at Sabic Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, told China Daily that his firm plans to invest billion to set up an integrated refining and petrochemical project in Dalian, Northeast China. The industrial complex is expected to include a 10-million-ton refinery, a one-million-ton ethylene cracker and an 800,000-ton aromatics plant, according to the blueprint. Al-Sahan said the project will be a joint venture formed by several parties, holding equal stakes. So far, there are already two parties involved, Sabic and a private Chinese company. Sabic is looking for another State-owed energy giant to join, Al-Sahan added. The project is still subject to approval by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner. Sabic has invested in a petrochemicals plant in Tianjin, in partnership with Sinopec, Asia's top refiner. The Tianjian project has been given the green light by the NDRC and is expected to be on stream by the fourth quarter of next year, the Sabic chief for the investment in China said. CNPC and Sinopec are either planning or expanding their refining and petrochemical projects, such as in Sichuan, Fujian provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, to better meet the country's future fuel and industrial demand. China now is the world's fastest growing major oil market Al-Sahan said the downstream segment of the Chinese oil industry has good potential because of the robust future demand. He said Sabic will not produce gasoline, which is oversupplied in the market, but oil and petrochemicals that are in big demand.