BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Some 64.15 million people travelled on China's roads on Saturday, the 22nd day of the Spring Festival traffic rush, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said Sunday.This figure is a 7.8 percent increase compared to the corresponding day last year, as millions of people began to return to work as the one-week holiday neared its end, the MOT said in a statement on its website.The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, fell on Feb. 14 this year. It is the most important Chinese traditional festival for family reunions. Millions of Chinese journey across China during the 40-day rush period beginning Jan. 30. Passengers queue up for tickets at the Nanchang Railway Station in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 21, 2010. Traval peak occurred throughout China as the Spring Festival holidays endedMore than 29.6 million passengers travelled by train during the Spring Festival week from Feb. 13 to Feb. 19, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier, China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) said Sunday.China's railways also carried 68.64 million tonnes of freight during the period, an increase of 29.7 percent compared to the corresponding week last year, the MOR said. Passengers enter the Taiyuan Railway Station in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Feb. 21, 2010. Traval peak occurred throughout China as the Spring Festival holidays ended.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's exports may grow by 8 percent in 2010 but problems still existed with getting exports back to pre-crisis levels, according to a statement posted Monday on the website of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), quoting minister Li Yizhong.It was unlikely for China's exports to recover to pre-crisis levels in the short-term, Li said during a Sunday meeting attended by MIIT officials, attributing the slow rebound to rising international protectionism and the fact that Chinese manufacturers relied too much on overseas markets.The 8-percent growth forecast was still far below 2008's 17.2-percent increase, according to customs data.Despite overtaking Germany as the world's largest exporter, China saw its exports contract 16 percent year-on-year in 2009 as overseas demand slumped.Exports in January this year grew 21 percent on lower comparison bases a year ago due to the global economic downturn and less working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in January last year, said the General Administration of Customs earlier this month.Li also stressed that China should keep the yuan stable in a speech addressing the current domestic economic situation during the meeting, as international pressure on China to strengthen the yuan was intensified.
GUIYANG, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The eight workers who were trapped Friday in a collapsed railway tunnel in southwestern Guizhou Province were rescued Saturday afternoon.Rescuers drilled a shaft leading to the trapped workers and took them out from the tunnel. The eight people are in good health conditions and can walk with the help of the rescuers.They were sent to hospital for medical examinations.The workers were constructing the second line of Liupanshui-Zhanyi section of the Guiyang-Kunming railway when the tunnel collapsed at 1:26 a.m. Friday, said Long Qiufang, secretary-general of the Liupanshui city government. A worker is rescued from the collapsed tunnel at the building site of the second line of Liupanshui-Zhanyi section of the Guiyang-Kunming railway near Liupanshui City in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 6, 2010.The 639-kilometer railway links Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, with Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan Province. It was built in the 1960s and was put into operation in Dec. 1970. A worker is rescued from the collapsed tunnel at the building site of the second line of Liupanshui-Zhanyi section of the Guiyang-Kunming railway near Liupanshui City in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 6, 2010. Eight workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel along the Guiyang-Kunming railway line were rescued on Saturday
BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The government will step up efforts to eliminate outdated production capacity, said a statement issued by the State Council on Wednesday.Eliminating outmoded production capacity was imperative to transform the economic growth pattern, boost economic growth quality and fight the global downturn, said the statement issued after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.Eliminating outdated production capacity was also necessary to promote energy efficiency and emissions cuts and address global climate change, the statement said.China had made positive progress in eliminating outdated production capacity, but the proportion of outdated capacity was still too high in certain key fields, said the statement.The problems should be tackled through the law, economics, technology and necessary administrative methods.The State Council discussed specific targets to eliminate outdated capacity in fields such as electricity, coal, coke, ferroalloy, calcium carbide, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, construction materials and light industry and textile industry.To realize the targets, efforts should be made to improve market admission requirements, use market mechanisms, strengthen law enforcement, promote stimulus mechanisms and step up supervision, according to the decision reached at the meeting.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China remains the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities as at the end of December, the U.S. media reported on Saturday.The report quoted the new government data as saying that China held 894.8 billion dollars in Treasury securities at the end of December, more than 755 billion dollars that had been previously estimated.But the new report also showed China trimmed its holdings of U. S. debt by 34.2 billion U.S. dollars in December.The U.S. Treasury reported on Feb. 16 that Japan surpassed China as the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities in December. But the new estimate said Japan, now back in second place, held 765.7 billion dollars in December.Japan had been the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities until China gained that distinction in 2008."Purchase of Treasuries by China would reflect only purchases by an entity in China from an entity based in the U.S.," Stone & McCarthy Research Associates said in a recent client note."The Data would not pick up purchases done on behalf of Chinese investors by dealers in the U.K or Hong Kong, for example, nor would it pick up purchases of Treasuries by investors in China from investors based outside of the U.S.," it added.China defended its move to reduce its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, saying the United States should take steps to promote confidence in U.S. dollar .Last week, when responding to questions on China's sale of U.S. Treasury securities in December, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the issue should be viewed from two perspectives.He said on the one hand, China always followed the principle of "ensuring safety, liquidity and good value" in managing its foreign exchange reserve. And when it came to how much and when China buys the bonds, the decision should be made taking into account the market and China's need, so as to realize rational deployment of China's foreign exchange property, he said.And on the other hand, the United States should take concrete steps to beef up the international market's confidence in the U.S. dollar, Qin said.The way to view the issue was similar to doing business, he said.
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China defended its move to reduce its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, saying the United States should take steps to promote confidence in U.S. dollar .Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the comment Thursday when responding to questions on China's sale of U.S. Treasury securities last December.Qin said the issue should be viewed from two perspectives.He said on the one hand, China always followed the principle of "ensuring safety, liquidity and good value" in managing its foreign exchange reserve. And when it came to how much and when China buys the bonds, the decision should be made taking into account the market and China's need, so as to realize rational deployment of China's foreign exchange property, he said.And on the other hand, the United States should take concrete steps to beef up the international market's confidence in the U.S. dollar, Qin said.The way to view the issue was similar to doing business, he said.China trimmed its holdings of U.S. debt by 34.2 billion U.S. dollars in December 2009, leaving Japan the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities, the U.S. Treasury Department reported on Feb. 16.As of the end of November last year, China held 789.6 billion U.S. dollars of U.S. Treasury bonds.
西安全激光近视手术流程
TAIPEI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the mainland is aimed to help Taiwanese people to do business and boost the island's competitiveness.Ma made the remarks in Taoyuan, a northwestern county of the island, at a gathering to mark the Chinese Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year.The ECFA is a wide-ranging economic pact for further normalizing trade and investment ties across the Taiwan Strait, which Ma hopes to sign with the mainland this year to help fuel Taiwan's economic revival.Tariff reduction would promote the sales of goods from Taiwan to the mainland, which will benefit both the Taiwanese businesses and the foreign-funded businesses in Taiwan, Ma said.This will help Taiwan to introduce more foreign investment and grant the island an opportunity to become a hub of economy and trade in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.As the mainland is Taiwan's biggest trade partner, the pact will certainly do more good than harm, Ma said.Ma also attended an ancestor worship ceremony in Majiazhuang, Miaoli County on Monday and said that the ancestors of him and local residents moved from Fufengtang, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to the island some 2,000 years ago.He also spoke optimistically of the economy situation and expected an economic growth of 4 percent in Taiwan this year.
SHANGHAI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo has urged Shanghai to take the opportunity of hosting the World Expo to pioneer the country's transformation of economic development mode. Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, made the remarks during his visit to the country's economic and financial hub from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1. Wu Bangguo (C), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) visits the 2010 World Expo site in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 29, 2010. Wu visited Shanghai from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.Accompanied by Yu Zhengsheng, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wu visited the Expo Site as well as some high and new tech enterprises in the city.Shanghai must spare no effort in hosting the Expo and seize the opportunity to promote economic restructuring and industrial structural upgrading, to boost the development of modern service industry, and to speed up fostering emerging strategic industries, Wu said."Wu must make technological breakthroughs, speed up industrialization process, and develop emerging industries such as smart grid, low-carbon technology and biomedicine, so as to make sure the country can have the initiative in the new round of international economic competition," Wu said.The 2010 World Expo was scheduled to be held from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Shanghai, expected to attract a record total of 70 million visitors from home and abroad.
ANKARA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- China and Turkey said Wednesday the two countries look to stronger political trust and closer economic cooperation in future to benefit the people of both countries.Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said China highly values its relationship with Turkey and will continue to handle the relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective during his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.Erdogan said the Turkish government has the same political will to cement ties with China, noting that Turkey adheres to the one- China policy and acknowledges the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legal government that represents the whole China. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 27, 2010The two countries should fully tap the potential of cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure construction and jointly tackle the impact of the global financial crisis, said the prime minister.Yang expressed China's appreciation for Turkey's stance to uphold the one-China policy and respect for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.He also extended welcome for Turkey's participation in the World Expo to be held in Shanghai this year.China and Turkey have seen frequent visits by high-level officials in recent years and witnessed their trade surge from more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 to 12.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.Yang arrived in Turkey on Monday for a two-day visit and attended a regional summit on Afghanistan held in Istanbul as a special representative of Chinese President Hu Jintao. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu after a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 27, 2010He held talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul on Wednesday and agreed to advance friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to start public hospital reform with pilot programs in selected cities or districts in each province, autonomous region and municipality, according to a cabinet guideline passed Wednesday.The guideline on public hospital reform was discussed and approved by an executive meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.The public hospital reform is aimed to establish a reasonable, effective and optimized medical service system, and to fully motivate all medical workers to provide the public with safe, effective, convenient and affordable medical services, according to a statement issued after the meeting.It was stressed at the meeting that public hospitals must retain its orientation of serving public interests and giving top priority to people's health.According to the statement, a coordination mechanism should be established between big public hospitals and grassroots medical service institutions so that they could cooperate with each other with proper division of labor.The management system of public hospitals should also be reformed so that operation and supervision of the hospitals are conducted separately, it said.The quality of public hospitals' medical services should be improved, whereas their incentive mechanism of income distribution should be perfected, the statement said.Public hospitals should also gradually quit profiting from drugs and rely on medical service charges and government subsidies.The guideline also encourages non-governmental sectors to invest in and set up non-profit hospitals.