New road across China's largest desert opens to traffic

The second road across China's largest desert opened to traffic Thursday, boosting connections to the landlocked region in the country's northwest.

The 424-km north-south highway, running across the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, cut the distance between the two important regional cities of Hotan and Aral by 550 km and and the travel time by about seven hours.


The 790-million-yuan (US$107 million) project is expected to promote cargo and passenger traffic between the resource-rich and densely-populated Hotan City, in southern Xinjiang, and Aral, an underdeveloped new city on the northern edge of the desert, said Xinjiang's Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi at the opening ceremony.

The blacktop road was funded by the central government. Construction of the road began in June, 2005. It will provide easier access to the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region as well as central and southern Asian countries such as Pakistan and Tajikistan.

It will also speed up transportation of Hotan's farm produce to Aksu, a pivotal communications center, by cutting off 430 km and about half of the time used before.

The first highway across the Taklimakan, running 522 kilometers from Lunnan in the north, to Minfeng County in the south, was opened to traffic in 1995. However, vehicles bound for Aksu had to make a detour along the westernmost border of the desert.

"The new one is wider with less sharp turns than the first road, and the surface is very smooth," said Cao Jun, a veteran driver in Xinjiang.


The Taklimakan desert is located in the center of the Tarim Basin south of the Tianshan Mountains, covering 337,600 square kilometers.


Builders spent 29 months in the desert, fighting surface temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius in summer and continuous sandstorms.

Workers introduced some tricks, including using reed stalks and planting salt-resistant trees, to fix the flowing sand and turn the road into a green corridor in the sandstorm-ravaged desert.

About 96 percent of the highway runs through the active sand areas and 82 percent was uninhabited, suffering from bad weather conditions.


A number of maintenance zones, parking lots, meteorological stations and electric billboards were established along the road to aid travelers.

The road is one of China's most ambitious infrastructure projects to develop its remote west. The country opened the first ever railway to Tibet in July, 2006.

Terra-Cotta Warriors Pit Closed for Repair

A worker makes efforts inside the No.2 pit of the famed terra-cotta warriors excavated around the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Nov. 1, 2007. The pit is closed to visitors for almost six-month repairing starting from Thursday. [Photo: Xinhua]

Picture taken on Nov. 1, 2007, shows the No.2 pit of the famed terra-cotta warriors inside the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Nov. 1, 2007. The pit is closed to visitors for almost six-month repairing starting from Thursday. [Photo: Xinhua]

The No.2 pit of the famed terra-cotta warriors excavated around the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the First Emperor of China's Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-206 B.C.), was closed to visitors for almost six months of repair work from Thursday.

A spokesman with Emperor Qin's Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum said leaks had been found in places in the roof of the shedover the pit.

"When it rains, the water comes in although we have time and again asked experts to mend the leaks, so we decided to close the pit and repair the roof," said the spokesman.

However, the only part of the pit affected by the leaks was theunexcavated part.

More than 2,000 relics have been found in the No.2 pit. The warriors unearthed there have striking features, brightly painted,and are mounted on horses or kneeling like archers.

The shed over the No.2 pit was built in 1988 and the pit was opened to visitors in October 1994.

The spokesman said it would reopen before May next year. Duringthe repairs, all the relics unearthed will be transferred to the cultural relics exhibition hall of the Emperor Qin's Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum.

Thirty-four items from an exhibition room near the No. 2 pit have already been removed to the exhibition hall of the museum, where they were on public display. They included a dozen sets of terra-cotta warriors and horses.

Relics that could not be removed from the pit were covered withbamboo mats, said Qian Jing, deputy curator of the museum.

The pit still contained four formations of warriors and horses,most of which were still beneath the soil, and only a small portion of the pit was excavated, said Qian.

The warriors being unearthed there were shattered.

"We have deliberately chosen to carry out the repairs during the November to April period which is a slack season for visitors,and I don't think the repairs will affect tourism much," said Qian.

Qian said the exhibition hall of the museum, where the 34 relics from the No.2 pit are on display, alongside a picture featuring the interior of the No.2 pit.

Wen Hongjun, from central China's Hunan Province, who was visiting the museum on Thursday, said he was a bit disappointed atthe closure of the No.2 pit. "I should have been informed of the closure, but it seemed to receive little publicity on the Internet."

Situated in Lintong, a county about 37 km north of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the imperial mausoleum was discovered by a group of farmers in 1974 as they were digging an irrigation well.

Archaeologists found 181 major tombs, including the famous terra-cotta warriors and horses pits and unearthed about 1,500 statues from the three surrounding pits. The warriors and horses were believed to have been buried with the emperor to guard him after his death.

The No.1 pit, which forms the three angles of a triangle is thebiggest, followed in size by the No.2 and No.3 pits.The mausoleum was included the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1987.

Despite international interest in the underground palace, archaeologists suspended excavations in 2003 as they could not protect relics from environmental degradation. So far, only 1,500 terra-cotta warriors and horses have been unearthed, and almost 6,000 items are believed to still lie buried.

OPEC accepts Ecuador as active member

Ecuador has been accepted as an active member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) after 15 years of absence, Mines and Energy Minister Galo Chiriboga said on Tuesday.


OPEC sent a letter, dated Tuesday, two weeks after Ecuador asked for the reactivation of its membership, Chiriboga said.


"We will do all that is required to be present at the next meeting in Saudi Arabia in November," he added. "Ecuador will return to OPEC, which it left in 1992, to foster its strengthening and receive advise from other nations in oil matters," he added.

Ecuador stopped paying OPEC membership fees in 1992, although it never formally left the organization.


Chiriboga said Ecuador and OPEC agreed on a three-year payment plan to clear its 5.7 million U.S. dollar debt.


Ecuador returns to the cartel as it is renegotiating contracts with overseas oil companies, following a change in law that gives the state 99 percent of so-called excess oil profits, corresponding to the extra made by companies due to the increase in oil prices after a contract had been agreed with the state.

The move hits the profits of the following companies: Brazil's Petrobras, China's Andes Petroleum, Spain's Repsol-YPF, the United States' City Oriente, and France's Perenco.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said two weeks ago that returning to OPEC was an important step for the nation, because it allows the nation, South America's fifth largest producer, to have better information on what other nations are doing.

"OPEC will help us with its experience of renegotiating contract with private oil companies," he said.

Ecuador produces 514 million barrels a day, 49 percent of which is extracted by private companies.

Hong Kong authority intervenes to defend currency peg

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Tuesday it had sold 775 million Hong Kong dollars to defend the local currency peg to US dollars.


The move, which has not been seen in over two years, came after the Hong Kong dollar hit 7.75 to the US dollar, the upper limit of a trading band set by the government.


The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region introduced the band in May 2005, pledging to buy or sell the local currency should it rise or fall more than five cents on either side of 7.80 to the US dollar.

Hong Kong's currency peg at the fixed rate of 7.80 to the US dollar was first adopted in the 1980s and was widely believed to have contributed significantly to local economic stability after surviving the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which is virtually the special administrative region's central bank, was established in 1993 by merging two existing institutions. One of its main functions is to keep the Hong Kong dollar stable.

US to foster trade ties with China: Paulson

With the US and China racing towards the next session of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in December, the US is keen to see tangible progress.

"Direct engagement keeps a relationship on an 'even keel' by lessening miscommunications and dispelling misperceptions. It further signals to China that we welcome the rise of a competent, peaceful and prosperous China," US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.


"China's re-emergence on the global stage is one of the most consequential geo-political events in recent times. The United States must manage our disagreements with China and foster bilateral cooperation," Paulson said.

Speaking at the third biennial George W. Bush China-US Relations Conference in Washington, Paulson urged results from the three-day meeting and at the upcoming session of the SED.


He said that leadership from both countries must engage in strategic objectives to further the process of an economic, social and environmental relationship.

He congratulated China on the successful conclusion of the 17th Party Congress. "My colleagues and I look forward to developing constructive and productive relationships with the new members of the Chinese leadership team," Paulson said.

The effectiveness with which China addresses product safety concerns will have long-term implications for US-China trade ties. He cautioned that policymakers in both nations should focus on science-based safety decisions rather than "protectionism or retaliation."

Chinese yuan breaks 7.5 mark against USD

BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Renminbi (RMB) broke the 7.5 mark to reach a new central parity rate of 7.4938 yuan to one U.S. dollar on Wednesday, according to the Chinese Foreign Exchange Trading System.

The yuan, climbing 72 basis points to one dollar from Tuesday, rose a total 3,149 basis points from 7.8087 yuan on the last trading day of 2006.

Tan Yaling, an expert with the Bank Of China, said a weakening dollar and calls from the United States and the Europe that China should allow the currency to appreciate more quickly were "short-term reasons" contributing to the recent rise in value.

"Speculation ignited by rising expectations of a stronger yuan also led to the continuous appreciation of the Chinese currency," she said.

The accumulative appreciation since July 21, 2005, when China abolished yuan's peg to the dollar, has exceeded eight percent.

However, Tan said the move to a more market-valued yuan should be made gradually.

"Currency appreciation was not the key solution to China's huge surplus, which should be solved through improvement of China's economic structure over the long term," she said.


Data from the General Administration of Customs shows the trade surplus for the first nine months reached 185.7 billion U.S. dollars, exceeding the total trade surplus of 177.47 billion U.S. dollars for 2006.

Zhang Yansheng, director of the International Economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, echoed Tan's opinion.


More than 55 percent of China's exports were made by foreign-funded enterprises, which were little affected by the appreciation as 70 to 90 percent of their materials and spare parts were purchased abroad, he said.

"Yuan appreciation has little impact on them since they use dollars in transaction settlements," he said.

"However, in the long term, we will see significant impacts since Chinese enterprises are still exporting a considerable amount," said Zhuang Jian, senior economist with Asian Development Bank Resident Mission.

The problem was that appreciation hurt domestic manufacturers too much, Zhuang said.

Wu Xiaoling, deputy governor of the central bank, said on Oct. 20 during a visit to Washington that a sudden move to float the yuan would harm China, and ultimately the global economy.

The current mission for the Chinese government was not to control the currency value, but to adjust the economic structure. "The world should be more patient," said Wu.

Tan Yaling suggested that the central government should dispel expectations for yuan appreciation by expanding the trading band of the currency.

The People's Bank of China on May 21 further widened the floating band of yuan against dollar for daily spot trading on the inter-bank market from 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent.

At a conference of the People's Bank of China on Tuesday, the central bank said it would strengthen efforts in financial control and improve the valuation mechanism of the RMB exchange rate.


The yuan broke the 7.6 mark against the U.S. dollar on July 3.

"After all, the 7.5 mark is just a psychological threshold and the appreciation is still mild and controllable," Zhuang said. "I don't expect any sudden moves."

However, China had to be aware of the influx of hot money during the continuous appreciation process, Zhuang warned.

The appreciation of yuan would increase asset values and so give a further boost to the stock market, said Cheng Weiqing, an analyst with the CITIC securities.

"It's hard to tell how much hot money have contributed to the surge of the stock and property markets," Zhuang said. "The influence might be minor and under well control right now."

"However, China needs to be cautious of the trend considering the excessive liquidity it already faces," he argued.


On Wednesday, the yuan lost 329 basis points from the previous trading day to reach a central parity rate of 10.6779 yuan against one euro.

Meanwhile, it climbed 28.5 points from 6.5585 on Tuesday to 6.53 yuan against 100 Japanese yen.

Sales growth slows, Wal-Mart tightens cost controls

Analysts welcomed a move announced Tuesday by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to cut back on spending to build new stores and tighten cost controls as sales growth slows during the next three years.(File Photo)

BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Analysts welcomed a move announced Tuesday by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to cut back on spending to build new stores and tighten cost controls as sales growth slows during the next three years.

Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe told investors and analysts at a conference that he has trimmed plans for capital expenditures for the second time this year to about 15 billion U.S. dollars from a June forecast of 15.5 billion dollars. The original projection was 17 billion dollars.

Increased free cash flow, or the money left over after a company pays its expenses including capital expenditures, could make Wal-Mart shares more attractive by funding higher dividends, new technologies or acquisitions, analysts said.

"Strong free cash flow is the key to corporate flexibility and potential growth. The highest quality companies, in my opinion, are able to self-finance their future growth from their free cash flow," said Patricia Edwards, managing director and retail analyst at Wentworth, Hauser and Violich in Seattle, which manages about 12 billion dollars in assets and holds about 35,700 Wal-Mart shares.

Wal-Mart, which is finding fewer places to build new stores and faces tougher competition from other retailers, said sales will continue to slow after years of strong double-digit growth. Schoewe said sales growth will fall to 9 percent this fiscal year from nearly 12 percent the year before and then be between 5 and 8 percent the next two years.

Wal-Mart is also faced with tougher economic challenges as its shoppers struggle with higher food and gas prices and a widening credit crunch.

"No doubt that our work has been made more difficult by the current economic environment," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. stores.

Schoewe said Wal-Mart is focused on using the tremendous cash flow generated by its U.S. and international stores more efficiently, including building fewer giant Supercenter stores and managing corporate costs better.

(Agencies)

New CPC Politburo holds first plenary session

The Political Bureau of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its first plenary session on Tuesday to arrange the implementation of the Party's policies established in the 17th CPC National Congress.

The meeting underlined that the most important task for the Party after the congress is to publicize and implement spirit of the 17th CPC National Congress.

Presided over by Hu Jintao who remains head of the CPC Central Committee, the meeting called for all party members to be fully engaged in realizing Party's objectives established in the congress.

The meeting urged Party organs at all levels and all circles to earnestly study Hu Jintao's report delivered at the opening ceremony of the congress and the newly revised Party Constitution.

The Politburo asked Party members to profoundly understand and continue to promote the scientific outlook on development on the basis of social harmony, environmental protection and energy conservation in addition to economic expansion.

The outlook has been newly incorporated into the Party's Constitution which also enshrined Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents.During Hu's previous tenure as general secretary of the 16th CPC Central Committee beginning November 2002, Hu and his eight colleagues of the Politburo Standing Committee went all out to promote the scientific outlook on development.

The outlook should be carried out in every field of economic and social development, the Politburo said.

The meeting especially stressed that Party organs and members at local level should work out new measures of reform to solve practical problems that common people most concern about.

It is important for the Party organs at all levels to enable more people to share achievements in economic development, the Politburo asked.

The Politburo also asked Party members in local enterprises, educational institutes, communities and military units to mobilize the public to learn and understand the Party's tasks set at the 17th Congress.The first plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee on Monday elected the new politburo and its Standing Committee in which four new members came to the Party's top leadership.

President Hu congratulates on successful launch of Chang'e-1

Special report: China launches first lunar orbiter

XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao extended his congratulations on the successful launch of China's lunar probe Chang'e-1 on Wednesday.

Hu also expressed his regards to the scientists, technicians and army officers who have worked for the research, development and experiment of the lunar orbiter project.

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan conveyed Hu's congratulations and regards at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Zeng said "the successful launch of Chang'e-1 is a key step of China's space exploration program."

U.S. shuttle Discovery lifts off, delivering new module to ISS(4)

The astronauts wave before they board the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in Kennedy Space Station. The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida of U.S., at 11:38 a.m. (1538 GMT) on Oct. 23, 2007. (Xinhua Photo)

U.S. shuttle Discovery lifts off, delivering new module to ISS(3)

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida of U.S., at 11:38 a.m. (1538 GMT) on Oct. 23, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

U.S. shuttle Discovery lifts off, delivering new module to ISS(2)

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida of U.S., at 11:38 a.m. (1538 GMT) on Oct. 23, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony is a high-tech hallway-like hub. Therefore, including in the Discovery crew is Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, the mission specialist who represents the European Space Agency.

Harmony will also be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added to the station since the Quest Airlock was attached to one of Unity's six berthing ports in 2001.

The shuttle will also deliver a new crew member, Daniel Tani, to the station's Expedition 16 and bring back another one Clayton Anderson, after his five-month mission.

This mission includes the most number of spacewalks conducted while the shuttle is docked to the station. Altogether, there are five spacewalks scheduled, including one to evaluate a shuttle tile repair technique. Each spacewalk will last approximately 6.5 hours.

STS-120 is the 120th space shuttle flight, the 34th flight for shuttle Discovery and the 23rd flight to the station. If all goes well, Discovery is expected to complete its mission and return home on Nov. 6

U.S. shuttle Discovery lifts off, delivering new module to ISS(1)

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida of U.S., at 11:38 a.m. (1538 GMT) on Oct. 23, 2007. (Xinhua Photo)

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifts off from its seaside launch pad at Kennedy Space Station in Florida at 11:38 a.m. (1538 GMT) on Tuesday, NASA TV shows.An area of "clear ice" near the liquid hydrogen part on the massive external tank poped up during the countdown, but after re-examining, it has been determined not to be a problem on liftoff.

The weather around the launch pad also continued to be not so cooperative. However, at the final minutes near the exact launch time, the weather turned to be "go" for launch.

Two minutes after the liftoff on a spectacular tower of smoke and flame, the twin solid rocket boosters have burned out and separated, falling back to Earth toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA launch control center.

"Discovery climbs toward space, and all is going well with the flight as the shuttle's three main engines power the vehicle through Earth's atmosphere," said NASA TV commentator.

The shuttle, with seven astronauts aboard, will deliver a critical component Node 2, known as Harmony module, to the International Space Station.

During the 14-day mission designated STS-120, the shuttle crew, along with their station counterparts will take into orbit the new connecting module that will increase the space outpost's interior space.

Harmony module will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules to be installed later this year and early next year respectively."

STS-120 is such a cool mission," said Discovery Commander Pamela Melroy, the second woman to command a shuttle. "Node 2 is the expansion of the station's capability to bring international laboratories up. It's the expansion of our capability to carry additional people.""It has additional life support equipment that will allow us to expand out beyond a three-person crew.

It's this big boost in the capability which is really exciting," she said.

Moreover, the STS-120 mission will mark the first time females have been in command of both the space shuttle and the International Space Station at the same time, with female astronaut Peggy Whitson currently serving as the station's commander.

China's state-owned property companies almost double profit in first nine months

2007-10-20 06:08:56

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Finance has reported a startling 95.5 percent jump on Friday in the profits of state-owned real estate sector in the first nine months, as the country's housing prices kept soaring in major cities despite massive housing development.

The exact number of the industry profit is undisclosed, but the leading state-owned property company, Poly Real Estate Group Co., has reported a revenue of 39 billion yuan, and its net profits has risen 83.27 percent to 562 million yuan in the first nine months in its quarterly report.

This number is paled by the private property company, China Vanke Co., Ltd, who collected 1.8 billion yuan net profits in the first half.

The surging profits is caused by the continuing boom of the property market as State Bureau of Statistics reported a 8.2 percent increase in house prices of 70 large and medium-sized Chinese cities in August compared with last year.

Other state-owned real estate developers enjoying the property boom include China National Real Estate Development Group Corporation, China OCT, COFCO Property, etc.

Together with the real estate sector, state-owned construction companies also reported an over 90 percent increase. The profits of state-owned steel, automobiles and oil and chemical companies all grew by about 60 percent. The profit increase of state-owned coal enterprises are comparatively lower, only 24.4 percent over the same period last year.

China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported a 1.2 trillion yuan of profits, in the first three quarters, a 31.2 percent increase over the same period last year.

The number, surpassing last year's total, is mainly contributed by central SOEs who have made a profit of 839.15 billion yuan. (One dollar equals 7.51 yuan)

BCG report: Marketing diversification significant for boosting consumer growth in China

2007-10-21 06:08:45

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China is likely to become the world's second largest consumer market by 2015, said a report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report is based on a survey of 4,258 consumers in 13 Chinese cities from February to March 2007. According to the report, Chinese consumers are experiencing unprecedented wealth growth which is 3 to 5 times faster than developed countries in the past 50 years. Most Chinese consumers plan to spend more in near future to fulfill their family dreams.

"The past decade of rapid economic growth has brought prosperity but also uncertainty, resulting in a highly complex consumer market with diverse consumer attitudes," said Hubert Hsu, senior partner and managing director of BCG, at a press conference in Beijing.

"Capturing the next wave of consumer growth in China will involve developing deep consumer insights and creating marketing differentiation," said Hsu.

The report said there are significant generational differences in terms of spending attitude among Chinese consumers. The strong interest in trading up, which means spending more money for more expensive products, was driven up by consumers' increasing desire for better goods and services and rising concern over safety and quality of cheap products.

Chinese consumers put more faith in brand names compared with the U.S. consumers and they believe good brand represents quality, safety, effectiveness and durability, said Hsu.

Despite strong trading up desires, Chinese consumers continue to "treasure hunt" - make deliberate trade-offs to maximize "value" of their budgets. They use similar strategies for treasure hunting as their counterparts in other countries except several unusual tactics such as group purchase for volume discount, said the report.

The report suggested global suppliers in China should establish strong, branded relationships with China's treasure-hunting consumers, provide the kinds of products that appeal to practical concerns and emotional needs, and be willing to customize their offerings to meet the needs of a geographically diverse population.

While the retailers must make sure the categories they carry are the ones that treasure-hunting consumers will seek and focus on a product's technical and emotional benefits, said the report.

BCG report: Marketing diversification significant for boosting consumer growth in China

2007-10-21 08:09:58

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China is likely to become the world's second largest consumer market by 2015, said a report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report is based on a survey of 4,258 consumers in 13 Chinese cities from February to March 2007. According to the report, Chinese consumers are experiencing unprecedented wealth growth which is 3 to 5 times faster than developed countries in the past 50 years. Most Chinese consumers plan to spend more in near future to fulfill their family dreams.

"The past decade of rapid economic growth has brought prosperity but also uncertainty, resulting in a highly complex consumer market with diverse consumer attitudes," said Hubert Hsu, senior partner and managing director of BCG, at a press conference in Beijing.

"Capturing the next wave of consumer growth in China will involve developing deep consumer insights and creating marketing differentiation," said Hsu.

The report said there are significant generational differences in terms of spending attitude among Chinese consumers. The strong interest in trading up, which means spending more money for more expensive products, was driven up by consumers' increasing desire for better goods and services and rising concern over safety and quality of cheap products.

Chinese consumers put more faith in brand names compared with the U.S. consumers and they believe good brand represents quality, safety, effectiveness and durability, said Hsu.

Despite strong trading up desires, Chinese consumers continue to "treasure hunt" - make deliberate trade-offs to maximize "value" of their budgets. They use similar strategies for treasure hunting as their counterparts in other countries except several unusual tactics such as group purchase for volume discount, said the report.

The report suggested global suppliers in China should establish strong, branded relationships with China's treasure-hunting consumers, provide the kinds of products that appeal to practical concerns and emotional needs, and be willing to customize their offerings to meet the needs of a geographically diverse population.

While the retailers must make sure the categories they carry are the ones that treasure-hunting consumers will seek and focus on a product's technical and emotional benefits, said the report.

China-ASEAN trade speeds up

2007-10-21 08:09:59

NANNING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have seen fast growth in bilateral trade with the volume being expected to reach 190 billion U.S. dollars this year.

"The figure is expected to top 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2008,two years earlier than our expectation," said Zhang Xiaoqin, secretary general of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat.

China and ASEAN are now each other's fourth largest trading partners. Zhang said, the China-ASEAN trade volume was 160.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, while in the first eight months this year, the bilateral trade hit 127.95 billion U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, China and the 10 ASEAN members are speeding up the tariff reduction to facilitate the establishment of China-ASEAN free trade zone.

China's average tariff on ASEAN countries' goods was slashed from 9.9 percent to 5.8 percent now and will continue to drop to 2.4 percent in 2009, and finally in 2010, which is the scheduled time for the establishment of the free trade zone, 93 percent of products from ASEAN countries will be tariff-free.

By 2010, China will establish free trade zone with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, while Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar can enjoy five more years of transition.

Besides pushing the development of good trade, China and ASEAN countries have also speed up cooperation and investment on service trade since the two sides signed the negotiation on service trade in January this year.

"China and ASEAN have entered a new stage in terms of economic cooperation and trade ties," said Zhang.

To boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation, China and ASEAN countries have held the annual China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning, capital of the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since 2004. The fourth CAEXPO is planned to open on Oct. 28 this year.

Mainland-Taiwan trade up in first nine months

2007-10-21 08:10:00

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Trade between China's mainland and Taiwan reached 89.69 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months, up 13.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The mainland's exports to and imports from Taiwan were both up by 13.8 percent, to reach 17.19 billion U.S. dollars and 72.5 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. The mainland had a deficit of 55.31 billion U.S. dollars in the cross-Strait trade.

In the same period, the mainland approved 2,480 Taiwanese-funded projects, down by 7.1 percent year-on-year, while actual use of Taiwan investment decreased by 25.1 percent to 1.14 billion U.S. dollars.

By the end of September, the mainland had received 45.04 billion U.S. dollars in direct investment by Taiwan's business people, accounting for 6.2 percent of the total overseas investment in the mainland.

CPC congress closing session begins, new central committee to be elected

2007-10-21 09:06:56

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress

The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started its closing session in Beijing on Oct. 21, 2007.(Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started its closing session here Sunday morning, at which a new CPC Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would be elected.

Hu Jintao presided over the closing session.

A total of 2,235 delegates and specially invited delegates to the congress are also expected to pass resolutions on the report of the 16th CPC Central Committee, the work report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and an amendment to the CPC Constitution to embody the "scientific outlook on development" and other major strategic thoughts advanced since 2002.

At least eight percent of nominees were eliminated on Friday and Saturday in the primary elections of members and alternate members of the 17th CPC Central Committee and members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The margins are bigger than those at the 16th CPC National Congress in 2002.

The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started its closing session in Beijing on Oct. 21, 2007.(Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>

The congress, which opened on Monday, has offered broader than ever information access.

Discussions of 34 delegations on the political report, delivered by Hu Jintao on behalf of the 16th CPC Central Committee, were open to more than 1,900 domestic and overseas journalists at designated periods of time.

Altogether 807 domestic journalists and 1,135 from 55 other countries and regions reported the congress, the most important political event in China in five years.

The previous congress, held in 2002, was covered by 850 overseas journalists and 570 domestic ones.

World finance officials vow to prevent further financial turbulence

2007-10-21 09:06:57

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Finance ministers and central bankers vowed on Saturday to learn lessons and take actions needed to prevent further financial turbulence, according to a statement released by the International Monetary Fund's policy-making committee.

"Recent disturbances in financial markets in advanced economies are expected to have a moderating effect on growth in the near term, and downside risks to the outlook have increased," said the statement.

The committee underscores the importance of sound macroeconomic policies in the medium term and continued vigilance to maintain well-functioning financial markets and to strengthen the foundations for sustained high growth, it said.

The IMF also spoke highly of the developing countries, saying it "notes with satisfaction the resilience of emerging market and other developing economies in the face of recent financial market turbulence."

Ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting, had a "useful" discussion on the lessons emerging from the current episode of financial market turbulence, said the statement.

"They are committed to continuing to work together, including multilaterally, to analyze the nature of the disturbances and consider lessons to be learned and actions needed to prevent further turbulence," it added.

The IMF emphasized that central banks in advanced economies have been playing a "critical role" in ensuring the smooth functioning of money markets by providing necessary liquidity while remaining watchful that financial markets continue to operate effectively.

At the same time, monetary policy should focus on achieving price stability while continuing to assess carefully the inflation outlook, taking into account both the inflationary pressures stemming from tight commodity markets and rising oil and food prices, and downside risks to growth, said the IMF.

The Washington-based agency also stressed the importance of resisting protectionism and maintaining an open global financial system.

Concerned with the continued lack of progress with the Doha multilateral trade round, the IMF urged WTO members to work toward a prompt and ambitious conclusion of the Doha Round trade negotiations launched in 2001 as a development round.

The IMF also pledged to boost the role of developing and poor countries in its decision-making, saying that the reform should enhance the representation of dynamic economies, many of which are emerging market economies, whose weight and role in the global economy have increased.

Wu Xiaoling, deputy governor of People's Bank of China, also urged the international community to analyze the root causes of the recent financial turmoil and to make efforts to safeguard global financial stability.

She warned at the meeting that credit market retrenchment in the United States may further dampen the housing market, suppressing consumption and investment, giving rise to potential risks of recession with a spillover effect on other countries.

The International Monetary Fund has warned in several reports that the global economy will slow its continued expansion due to the recent financial turmoil triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage difficulties.

Among the major advanced economies, the projection for U.S. growth in 2007 as a whole is unchanged at 1.9 percent, but has been lowered by 0.9 percentage point to 1.9 percent in 2008.

At the same time, monetary policy should focus on achieving price stability while continuing to assess carefully the inflation outlook, taking into account both the inflationary pressures stemming from tight commodity markets and rising oil and food prices, and downside risks to growth, said the IMF.