News & Reports 2012-03-31

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In This EditionChinese President Hu Jintao starts a state visit to Cambodia.
China voices its concern over the latest textbook revisions in Japan, which claim the Diaoyu Islands as Japanese territory and deny casualty figures of the Nanjing Massacre 1.
Deals reached at the latest BRICS Summit in New Delhi are hailed as crucial to facilitate trade and investments among the five member nations.
Chinese experts say Australia's ban on a Chinese company's business bidding is unacceptable and may have a negative impact on bilateral 2 business ties.
Hot Issue ReportsPresident Hu to Visit CambodiaChinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in Cambodia for a state visit. It's the first visit to Cambodia by a Chinese head of state since 2000.
During the visit, the first by a Chinese head of state in 12 years, Hu will meet King Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen.
As CRI's Su Yi reports, given that Cambodia holds the rotating presidency 3 of ASEAN, the trip is being viewed as an opportunity to expand China's relationship with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
Cambodia is a traditionally friendly neighbor to China. According to Yang Baojun, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Studies Center at Peking University, there are three characteristics in Sino-Cambodia relations.
"First of all, the relationship has a long history, especially after King Sihanouk attended the Bandung Conference in 1955 and formed a good relationship with Premier 4 Zhou Enlai. Secondly 5, we have a solid foundation with frequent high-level contacts. And third, even though Cambodia is a small country, it plays an important part in China-ASEAN relations, so strengthening bilateral ties is a key to dealing 6 well with China's neighboring countries."Cambodia is an agricultural country with weak industrial capacity and one of the least developed countries in the world. As a result, it is the government's top priority to develop its economy and eliminate poverty.
In this regard, China has provided aid and invested more than 8.8 billion US dollars over the past 17 years, making China the biggest source of investment for Cambodia.
Yang Baojun says in the future China should focus more on improving Cambodians' livelihoods 7 when helping 8 its economy.
"There is still room to improve bilateral cooperation in politics, economy and culture. Cambodia hopes China will help develop industries such as agriculture, transportation infrastructure 9, energy and electric power. In addition, we could help more by investing in labor-intensive industries, manufacturing, tourism and human resources."China and Cambodia established their strategic partnership 10 in 2010, following Prime Minister Hun Sen's official visit to China. Yang Baojun adds Hu Jintao's visit this time is significant to further the partnership.
"A lot of achievements have been made in all fields since 2010. President Hu's visit will promote the relations to a higher level. In particular, Cambodia holds the presidency of ASEAN this year, and a series of summits will be held in the capital Pnom-Penh. So the visit is important in strengthening the bilateral partnership as well as deepening China-ASEAN relations."A joint 11 statement is expected to be released, and a number of business cooperation agreements, including the Economic and Technological 12 Cooperation Agreement, are to be signed during Hu Jintao's visit.
For CRI, this is Su Yi.
Delhi Summit Produces Substantial ResultsA series of concrete cooperative deals have been concluded at the latest BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
The five member countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - have signed an agreement on Extending Credit in local Currencies and a Multilateral Letter of Credit against Service Agreement.
Zhao Xijun, Deputy Dean of the Finance Institute at China's Renmin University says those deals will be crucial to facilitate inter-BRICS trade and investments.
"These two agreements are essentially 13 effort in bettering mutual 14 banking 15 services between BRICS countries. They are taking an aim at extending the scope of cooperation and minimizing the unnecessary barriers. Currently, extending credit facility plays a big part in international trade and cross-border investment. Therefore, progress made in this regard will be hugely beneficial to boost inter-BRICS trade and investment."Meanwhile, a proposal to establish a BRICS-led development bank has been jointly 17 approved by all the five and was pronounced in the so-called Delhi Declaration.
Yuan Gangming is a researcher at the Institute of international studies of Qianghua University.
"Overall, establishing such a fund is effective participation 18 and contribution in the reconstruction 19 of the world financial system. It will help to maintain the fairness, security and stable running of a new world financial structure. Besides, an inter-BRRICS bank would be great work done to benefit the BRICS countries as well, it reduces risks in business transactions among memeber countries and also helps to bring down the cost."Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa account for 45 percent of the world's population and a quarter of the world's economy at 13.5 trillion US dollars.
The five countries had a combined trade of 280 billion US dollars in 2011 averages an annual growth rate of 28 percent.
China Slams Japanese Textbook RevisionsChina has strongly voiced its concern over Japan's latest textbook revisions, which claim the Diaoyu Islands as Japanese territory and refute casualty figures of the Nanjing Massacre.
Foreign Ministry 20 spokesperson Hong Lei,"The Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated 21 isles 22 have been an inherent part of Chinese territory since ancient times. China holds indisputable sovereignty over them, and any attempt to alter this fact will end in vain."Regarding the Nanjing Massacre, Hong said Japan has blatantly 23 disregarded historical facts.
"The Nanjing Massacre was an atrocious crime conducted by the Japanese military. There is solid proof and an internationally-accepted conclusion on the matter."The Nanjing Massacre occurred in December of 1937, when Japanese troops occupied Nanjing - at that time the capital of China.
More than 300,000 Chinese were killed by Japanese soldiers during the occupation.
Japan Orders Military to Shoot down North Korea Rocket should it be ThreatenedJapan has ordered its Defense 24 Forces to shoot down a rocket that North Korea plans to launch next month, should it threaten Japanese territory.
Japanese Defence Minister Naoki Tanaka explained the decision to parliament.
"This is an order that deals with the the destruction of ballistic missiles. As such, we will place Aegis 25 equipped vessels 26 in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea as well as putting PAC3 units in the Tokyo area in addition to the Okinawa main islands, Miyako-jima and Ishigaki-jima. We plan to be fully 27 prepared in the event that it looks to fall on our territory."North Korea said earlier this month that it would put a weather satellite into orbit to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founding ruler.
However, some nations have expressed concern that the launch is actually a ballistic missile test and will therefore violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
China also expressed concerns over the rocket launch, which is scheduled for Mid 28 April.
Petrol Price Hits Record High in ItalyPetrol prices have hit another record high in Italy, exceeding 1.9 euros per litre at some fuel stations.
Italian consumer associations say that the average cost of a fill-up is 10 Euros more than in January and about 22 Euros up from a year ago.
"I carry on filling up the tank with petrol because I have to use the car for work unfortunately, but the price is very high."Analysts 29 say the price hike is mainly due to increased taxation 30, much of which has been levied 31 by Prime Minister Mario Monti's government to help tackle Italy's debt crisis.
Gabriele Masini, an oil markets specialist on an Italian daily newspaper said the increase had been expected.
"As far as gasoline is concerned, we clearly noticed that drivers are moving toward alternative means of transportation. If the gasoline consumption decreases by 20 percent it clearly means that one person out of five is leaving the car at home and thus has chosen to change their means of transport because the oil prices are too high."Taxation on fuel in Italy amounts at around 60 percent of the price. The price hike last month prompted a truck drivers' strike in Sicily and unions are threatening further strikes and road blocks.
New Fire Site Emerged in Forest Fire in SW ChinaAnother forest fire has broken out in the Hongta District of Yuxi City, in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The latest fire comes a day after a massive forest fire in Jinning City, which spanned a 10m wide fire prevention road before extending into neighboring Hongta District.
Temperatures as high as 31 degrees Celcius, strong winds and low humidity were to blame.
Firefighters have had a difficult task containing the blaze due to the complex terrain 33, thick vegetation and the depth of the valley.
Cao Long is Chief of Forestry 34 Staff in the Yunan Police.
"We will mainly take measures like isolation 35, swatting, cooperation between air and land firefighting fore 16 and pouring water from helicopters, and we will make every effort to put out the fire in the shortest time and at the lowest cost."Over 2,500 firefighters have been dispatched to the area.
Expert: Australia's Bid Ban on Huawei's Broadband Network MyopicThe Australian government recently banned China's largest phone equipment maker 37, Huawei Technologies, from bidding to operate the country's new broadband network. However, economic experts are warning that Australia's move is unacceptable and may have a negative impact on Sino-Australian business relations.
Wei Tong has more.
Australian authorities gave a so-called explanation that considering Huawei's alleged 38 links to China's military, the company's bidding would largely pose a threat to the national security of Australia.
Jiang Yuechun, a senior researcher from Chinese Institute of International Studies said Gillard administration lacks further and long-term consideration over the issue.
"We can still find sort of cold war thoughts and an ideological 39 mindset in the Australian leadership through this event. Actually, many countries, including Australia have enhanced the economic reliance upon China under the current period of economic recession. Therefore, Australia's refusal to the entry of China's high-tech 40 companies into its investment market is myopic 36 and damaging to its development."Huawei clarified earlier that the project was aimed to ensure the integrity and security of Australia's nationwide broadband system, irrelevant 41 to any military purposes and impossible to have any devastating 42 impact on Australia's national interests. However, Huawei's clarification was followed by prime minister Julia Gillard's defense of her government's decision to tell Huawei not to bid for work on the network.
Jiang Yuechun added Huawei also encountered refusal in some cases of purchase and cooperation with American companies, such as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. He analyzed 43 why cases did happen from time to time.
"With the rapid economic development, China has emerged as one of the leading engines in the global economy. China's economic prosperity has been regarded as a stumbling block for some western countries, which attempted to place restrictions 44 on China's development in some sectors 46."Meanwhile, Jiang Yuechun offered suggestion for Chinese enterprises when going outside.
"The Chinese government needs to create favorable foreign conditions for our enterprises to make investments abroad. More importantly, our companies should offer high quality products and satisfactory post-sale services for our foreign clients. These are what we need to do right now."As the world's largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier and the second-largest supplier of mobile telecommunications infrastructure equipment, Huawei has seen its global contract sales exceeding 32 billion US dollars in 2011, doubling the amount in the previous year.
For CRI, this is Wei Tong.
School Bus Regulation Attract Suggestions, Parents Expect ImplementationThe State Council, or China's cabinet, has approved a draft of regulations on school bus safety management. While experts make comments and suggestions, parents want it to be carried out as soon as possible.
CRI's Ding Lulu has the story.
Professor Wang Jingbo from the China University of Political Science and Law was invited to make suggestions regarding the draft. He says the highlight of the regulation is that it grants traffic priority to school buses.
"The legislative 48 idea of granting priority to school buses reflects two choices that the government has made. One is giving priority to education. School buses are public transportation with an education function. The purpose of school buses is to ensure students' right to education. The second is giving priority to children."The draft regulation asks local governments to ensure that students attend nearby schools or boarding schools so as to "reduce traffic risks." For rural areas that cannot ensure nearby schooling 49 or convenient public transport to schools, measures should be imposed to ensure students' access to school buses.
A string of school bus accidents occurred in China last year, prompting the government to introduce new safety standards and regulations.
The most serious accident killed 21 students last November in a head-on collision in northwest China's Gansu Province. The nine-seat minivan was reportedly crammed 50 with 64 preschool kids.
The latest accident occurred earlier this week, when an overloaded 51 van overturned in north China's Hebei Province, killing 52 three children and leaving another two injured.
The illegal operation of buses is the main cause of accidents. Professor Wang Jingbo explains why there's been a huge demand for school buses, especially in rural areas.
"Nearby schooling is not difficult in cities. But the rural population has been shrinking due to urbanization and economic development. The government thus merged 32 many village schools, and that caused transportation demand."The regulation draft stipulates 53 that local governments above the county level are responsible for school bus safety management in their jurisdiction 54. And the central departments are obliged to "guide and supervise" school bus safety.
The regulation specifies 55 stricter requirements for the condition of school buses and bus drivers' qualifications. It also imposes limitations on the buses' maximum speed and load.
But it did not mention financial subsidies 56 for school buses. Professor Zhou Hongyu from Huazhong Normal University has been researching school bus regulations for years.
"The government should provide financial subsidies for public schools to buy school buses and issue favorable policies to lower the cost for private schools to buy and operate school buses."A parent in south China's Guangdong Province shares their concerns.
"The policy is good, but we are concerned with whether it will be properly carried out."The State Council says it will adopt the regulation for implementation 47 after further revision.
For CRI, this is Ding Lulu.
Xinhua reports a rural school in Guizhou province is under construction thanks to a college student's dream and some generous netizens.
Yang Aiqing, 21, a student in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, posted a blog on Feb 1, offering to donate a pair of silver rings valued at 200 yuan toward the construction of a school building for poor, rural pupils.
Yang's dream touched many netzens and four days later, someone in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous 57 region, offered to exchange the rings with a piece of jade 58 worth 3,000 yuan.
On Feb 23, after several more rounds of bartering 59, a net user from Shanghai offered to pay 300,000 yuan to build the school.
The school, now called Dream School, is under construction in Jiayan village, Nayong county, and will be completed in July.
***************China Daily reports on angry customers who have gone to court seeking redress 60 against one of China's biggest Internet retailers 61 after the company failed to provide sightseeing trips for 1 yuan (16 cents).
Disputes started when 360buy advertised several sightseeing packages, including one to Shaoxing, a historic city in East China's Zhejiang province, at a cost of 1 yuan per customer in mid-May.
The Shaoxing trip included breakfast, a one-night stay in a hotel and entrance fees for some scenic 62 spots, according to the website.
About 1,700 people had purchased that trip, and 10,412 had ordered a 1 yuan trip to a scenic spot in Mianyang, Sichuan province.
However, customers found the trips were canceled and their money returned to their accounts.
360buy said that the webpage containing the promotion 63 was only a "test page", and was not meant to be displayed on the website. The company apologized for the "technical failure".
But a lawyer named Chen is quoted by China Daily as saying the business should honor its contract once the customers have paid for the product.
360buy agreed to offer a 20 yuan voucher 64 for every customer in compensation.
The E-commerce sector 45 is highly unregulated in China, says the newspaper website. According to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Commerce last year, comprehensive laws and a national information database for e-commerce credit are expected to be set up in China by 2015.
****************The National Post reports on the Canadian government cancelling the penny from currency circulation by the end of 2012.
The column intros by saying pennies are worth almost nothing, they are cumbersome 65 and they cost the government at least $130-million per year to keep in circulation.
Most vending 66 machines do not accept them and bartenders sneer 67 at the sight of them, yet the Mint has still been busy pumping out 25 pennies per Canadian per year, at a cost of 1.5 cents apiece.
Was anybody actually using pennies, anyway? -asks the columnist 68?
The penny does have some friends: the mining industry, armoured trucks and manufacturers of coins rolls and boxes.
Next point: the Canadian penny fell victim to changing timesMore than a dozen countries including Israel, Switzerland and Brazil have successfully eliminated single-unit coins. Not to mention the iconic British half-penny, which was phased out under Margaret Thatcher 69.
And, the columnist says, if the penny goes, will the nickel -5 cent coin, be next?
Soon enough, the article says. Nickels are already relatively 70 useless – and like all coins they're dropping in value each year. New Zealand phased out its one-cent coin in the 1980s and then its five-cent coin in 2009.
Market UpdateU.S. stocks on Friday closed mixed at the end of a strong first quarter, as investors 71 weighed the latest development in the eurozone and conflicting U.S. economic data.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 percent to 13,212. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 0.4 percent to 1,408. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 0.1 percent to 3,092.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent to 5768. Frankfurt's DAX rose one percent to 6947. CAC 40 in Paris gained 1.3 percent to 3424.