|
The state holiday coordination office urged the localities and governments at all levels in the country to make full preparation for the upcoming National Day holiday or "National Day Golden Week."
"Golden week" is designed for Labor Day, National Day and Spring Festival. Since 2000 when the policy was implemented for the week-long vocation, Chinese people have already spent 14 "golden weeks."
Promoting more reasonable consumption behaviors, the seven-day vacation system was in accordance with the increase of livelihood and tourism consumption.
The coordination office put safety task on the top priority, including precaution against possible public breaking accidents, prevention of illness expansion and proper control of tourist flows in peak days.
The order of tourism market will be scrutinized before the National Day vacation. Methods will be taken such as cracking down on illegal management of travel agencies, malign price war and false advertisement. The order of outbound tourism market will be regulated, including illegal immigration and stowaway.
More eco-tourism, cultural and ethnical products should be promoted during the National Day vacation. Tourists are also advised to avoid the peak days.
Source: Xinhua
China Vanke, the biggest mainland-listed property developer, said it is in talks with "a number of" overseas real estate players about establishing more joint ventures (JV) in a bid to widen its financing channels.
"We are now talking with a throng of overseas companies (over the formation of JVs)," Managing Director Yu Liang told reporters, without naming those enterprises. "They are from various countries and regions."
The Shenzhen-based developer is on the verge of having its first JV, which will be formed with Singapore's GIC. It is pending the approval from the Ministry of Commerce.
But Yu stressed that the seeking of co-operation with overseas developers was not solely for raising funds. Instead, it is aimed at long-term development.
"Co-operation deals spanning three to five years will not be considered," Yu said. "We pursue long-term partners, from whom Vanke could learn about advanced management and concepts."
It confessed that Vanke still has much to learn from the global players. "For example, property giants from our neighbor Hong Kong can teach us how to improve customer relations, construction quality, clarification of property rights and marketing," Yu said.
He also said Vanke hopes the JV should be operated on the basis of risk-sharing rather than a fixed return rate promise.
The developer said it has no capital problem and it has no concrete plans to make an initial public offering in Hong Kong. The Shenzhen-listed company has raised 1.99 billion yuan through convertible bonds last year.
The company also said it would focus on the Chinese property market in the coming 10 years, during which it will not venture into any overseas marketplaces or diversify into other sectors.
Established in 1984, the company had a diversified business scope covering manufacturing, trade and retail. It sold all of its non-real estate assets in 2001, and evolved into a property developer.
Yu said Vanke is confident of withstanding the central government's ongoing cooling-down measures on the property market, believing the moves would be conducive to the long-term development of the sector.
Beijing tightened credit lending, land approval and property transactions at the middle of last year to curb the spiralling property prices, which has led to sluggish housing sales in some areas.
"Vanke is smart enough to learn from the past," he said. "The measures do have some impact on us, but our growth is not hampered at all."
The company had a negative experience in 1993 and 1994 when a much fiercer macroeconomic control was launched by the government that forced Vanke to withdraw from a number of marketplaces, such as Central China's Wuhan and many cities in Northeast China.
"The experience taught us how to deal with a suddenly changed business environment," said Yu. "Since then, we learned to do things according to our strength and not to launch any hasty expansion."
Vanke posted a revenue of 4.33 billion yuan during the first half of the year, reflecting an increase of 75.6 percent. Its net profit saw a rapid jump of 152.6 percent to about 800 million yuan. The company's property has also widely gained a reputation among high-end buyers.
(Source:China Daily )
China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the country's largest oil refiner, plans to pour 338 million yuan (US$41.7 million) into Anbang Property & Casualty Insurance Co for a 20 percent stake to become the joint largest shareholder with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, an insider told China Daily.
"We have reached an agreement with Sinopec and are waiting for approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the industry watchdog," a manager of Anbang Insurance, who did not want to be named, disclosed.
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, currently the largest shareholder, is expected to increase its investment to be on par with Sinopec.
Sinopec refused to comment on the Anbang move but it does have a stake in another insurer. It has injected 200 million yuan (US$24.7 million) into Sunshine Property and Casualty Co which will begin operations today.
The Anbang insider added: "We are also in discussions with other investors to boost our capitalization."
After the capital injection, Anbang's capitalization will soar from the current 500 million yuan (US$61.7 million) to 1.69 billion yuan (US$208 million), becoming the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in China.
The top three are PICC Property and Casualty Insurance Co, Ping An Property and Casualty Insurance Co of China and China Pacific Property Insurance Co, with registered capital of 7.7 billion yuan (US$950 million), 2.5 billion (US$308 million) and 2.45 billion yuan (US$302 million) respectively.
So far, all shareholders in Anbang - established in September last year - are car-manufacturing companies with their strength lying in auto insurance.
"The entry of Sinopec and other investors will expand our business scope to all property and casualty insurance," the insider said. "And the board is mapping out the development strategy after capital enlargement."
Anbang currently has 10 branch companies covering the major cities in China. Last month, it got the green light from the CIRC to set up four branch companies in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Guangxi and Yunnan.
"Anbang will step up its expansion with the confidence of having deep pockets," she added.
The Chinese mainland's insurance industry has boomed along with the economy in recent years; and rising awareness of risk protection among consumers has also fuelled the increase.
Premium growth averaged an annual 30 percent over the past two decades, attracting a growing number of companies.
According to a report by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P), the mainland life insurance sector has long-term growth potential because of low penetration and increasing demand.
(Source:China Daily)
US poverty rate up to 12.7 percent in 2004
The poverty rate in the United States increases to 12.7 percent of the population in 2004, marking the fourth consecutive annual rise, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.
According to the Bureau, there were 37 million Americans living in poverty, up 1.1 million people from 2003.
The only ethnic group to show a decline in poverty was Asians. The poverty rate in Asians went down to 9.8 percent in 2004 from 11.8 percent in 2003. Also, the poverty rate among the elderly decreased to 9.8 percent last year from 10.2 percent in 2003.
Last year, the number of people without health insurance grew from 45 million to 45.8 million while the number of people with health insurance rose by 2 million. The percentage of people without health insurance did not change.
In the United States, the poverty threshold differs by the size and makeup of a household. A family of four with two children was considered living in poverty if the annual income was 19,157 dollars or less. For a family of two with no children, it was 12,649 dollars. For a person 65 and over living alone, it was 9,060 dollars.
The Bureau said the median household income, the point at which half of households earn more and half earn less, was 44,389 dollars in 2004, unchanged from 2003. Among racial and ethnic groups, blacks had the lowest median income and Asians the highest.
By region, household income declined 2.8 percent in the Midwest to 44,657 dollars. The South was the poorest region, and the Northeast and the West had the highest median incomes.
The last decrease in US overall poverty was in 2000, when 31.1 million people, or 11.3 percent of the population, lived under the threshold.
Source: Xinhua
Umbilical Cord Blood Bound for Singapore
A sample of umbilical cord blood from Shanghai Stem Cell Bank was successfully matched for use in the treatment of a Singaporean woman with leukemia on August 19 and is being prepared for transport, according to Xinhua News Agency on Saturday.
It is the first time that a sample of umbilical cord blood will be sent abroad, and bank officials said they are providing it for free.
"Our primary check found this matching sample and we informed doctors in Singapore," said Song Hongying, the bank's director. "1,000 mothers have donated umbilical cord blood to our bank. Five transplants have been conducted and three patients have recovered very well."
The sample was donated by a mother who delivered a baby on June 26. The bank's 50,000 samples make it the biggest store of stem cells in China.
The 35-year-old Singaporean was diagnosed with leukemia in July and her family contacted stem cell banks in Singapore and Taiwan as well as on the mainland for help in finding a tissue match.
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be transplanted into leukemia patients instead of bone marrow -- a technique that is considered more effective and easier to conduct.
As the stem cells in such blood are still in a primary stage of development, they are less likely to be rejected than in a bone marrow transplant.
Samples are collected immediately after delivery of a baby and kept in a liquid nitrogen container, where they can be preserved for 20 years.
(Source:Shanghai Daily August 22, 2005)
Project Helps Keep Chinese Women Away from Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is getting uncomfortably common for Chinese women, becoming the fastest rising female cancer hazard in recent years, medical experts warned.
At present, there are about 400,000 cervical cancer patients in China. More than 130,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, accounting for nearly one third of the total increase in the world, according to Professor Ju Lirong, of the department of epidemiology at the Capital University of Medical Sciences.
Overall, more than 200,000 women die from cervical cancer every year in the world. These deaths are most common in developing countries, where the incidence of cervical cancer is six times higher than that in developed countries.
The fatality rate of cervical cancer in China is 11.3 percent, much higher than the rates of 5 percent seen in developed countries.
"Modern medicine has already shown that cervical cancer is the only type of cancer that can be cured through early diagnosis," said Chen Baoying, director of Beijing Women Medical Doctors Association, speaking at a ceremony to launch a free cervical cancer screening program last week.
According to Chen, Chinese women still had a low awareness of cervical cancer screening, resulting in a low percentage of women getting an early diagnosis.
The three-year program, initiated by the Capital Women Journalists' Association and China Women's News, would offer free cervical cancer smears for 100,000 women aged between 20 and 70.
"Cervical cancer could be effectively prevented if women had a screening test once a year. And if their test result is negative for two continuous years, then they only need to have a test two or three years later," said Chen Xiaoling, professor of the pathology department of Capital University of Medical Sciences.
According to medical experts, some risk factors have already been shown to be related to cervical cancer incidence.
Epidemiological research showed that 50 to 60 percent of married women had cervical lesions or cervicitis of different degrees. The risk for this group of women to develop cervical cancer can be seven times higher than normal.
Some life behaviors, such as early sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, and smoking, would also increase the risk of cervical cancer, Professor Ju warned.
To take part in the screening program, women aged between 20 and 70 can arrange an appointment by phoning 96096066 at the Beijing Contemporary Women's Hospital and General Hospital of Beijing Military Region.
(Source:China Daily )
Auto output, sales decline month-on-month
Aug. 18 - Automobile output and sales in China tumbled last month from June, according to an industry organization.
Vehicle output stood at 444,900 units in July, down 10.72 per cent from the previous month, according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales of domestically-made vehicles dropped 16.11 per cent to 433,200 units.
"The decline (in production) mainly resulted from fewer working days at auto plants due to the hot weather and power shortages," said Zhu Yiping, the spokeswoman of the auto association.
There have been no signs of a price war in the domestic car market so far this year.
(Source: China Daily)
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18 - The United States and China grew closer to a deal to regulate rocketing volumes of Chinese textile shipments that have exacerbated trade tensions between the heavyweight rivals.
But further talks will be needed to close the deal, David Spooner, the special negotiator for textiles in the US Trade Representative's office, said as a two-day meeting wound down here.
"Both sides are, I think, eager to solve this problem. But both sides say they'd rather take a little more time to reach a good deal rather than a hasty deal," he told reporters.
At least one additional meeting is planned, most likely before the end of the month in China, Spooner said, explaining that both delegations were examining proposals tabled by the other side.
Source:chinaview.cn
http://www.hipmama.com/blog/4392
Since then, the Bush administration has blocked billions of dollars of shirts, pants and other clothing under a special textile "safeguard" provision that China accepted when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
U.S. textile groups and lawmakers have pressed the White House for a comprehensive deal to restrict clothing imports from China through 2008, when the safeguard mechanism expires.
Spooner declined to provide specific details of the talks but said the United States was seeking a multiyear agreement broad enough to cover current safeguards as well as potential future ones. He said the United States offered a proposal on Tuesday and the Chinese made a counterproposal on Wednesday.
"The talks in the last couple days have gone very well," he said. "There have been productive meetings."
The U.S. has imposed quotas on a number of clothing categories that limit growth to 7.5 percent a year -- a rate U.S. textile manufactures would like to see in a final deal.
Import groups and retailers, however, say tough limits could drive up clothing costs for U.S. consumers and want to growth set at a much higher rate of at least 20 percent to 25 percent.
But Spooner said the entire private U.S. sector wants the Bush administration to pursue an agreement that lasts through 2008 to provide provide certainty to the marketplace.
The negotiations also follow a recent European Union deal with China that runs through end-2007 and allows for annual growth rates of 8 percent to 12.5 percent.
China rejected the idea of a comprehensive textile trade agreement last year but might now be more willing to sign a U.S. deal following its agreement with the EU.
Spooner said a deal would also benefit the Chinese because manufacturers would be able to make business decisions without the uncertainty of the United States invoking safeguards.
"They would prefer to have no limits on trade exports to the United States but what they hate even more is the fact they don't know how often and when we will invoke the safeguard," Spooner said.
The United States and China are close to a broad textile trade pact to deal with surging imports from China but will likely need another meeting to reach an agreement, the Bush administration's textile negotiator said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
A Chinese worker inspects spools in a textile company in Huaibei in east China's Anhui province August 16, 2005. [newsphoto]
David Spooner, the White House special textile negotiator, said two days of talks in San Francisco have been fruitful but have not yet yielded a deal U.S. manufacturers hope will limit surging Chinese imports.
He added if a final meeting was needed it would likely take place in China before August 31 -- the date when the Bush administration is expected to make a decision on requests for additional restrictions on textile imports from China.
"Both sides are eager to solve this problem but both sides also say they would rather take a little longer to get a good deal rather than easily reach a bad deal," Spooner said. "We hope to finish in one more meeting but will have more meetings if that is what it takes."
The talks come as part of the normal consultations required under WTO rules whenever a member country imposes safeguard curbs -- a move the United States took earlier this year after a decades-old global quota system expired on January 1.
source:chinadaily
[link]http://seoblog.blogeasy.com[/link]
[link]http://seoblog.seo-blog.org[/link]
|
Search This Site
Syndicate this blog site
Powered by BlogEasy
Free Blog Hosting
|