China This Week: South China Sea Issue; Military Drills; High-Speed Rail Plan; Sino-Russia Grid Agreement

Foreign Minister Warning on South China Sea: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Sunday warned other countries not to "internationalize" the territorial dispute over the South China Sea, following comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the issue at the Association of Southeast Asian NationsRegional Forum in Vietnam.

Clinton said resolving disputes over the South China Sea was "pivotal" to regional stability and suggested an international mechanism to solve the issue.

"International practices show that the best way to resolve such disputes is for countries concerned to have direct bilateral negotiations," Yang responded. "China and some ASEAN nations have territorial and maritime rights disputes because we are neighbors. And those disputes shouldn't be viewed as ones between China and ASEAN as a whole just because the countries involved are ASEAN members."

Yang noted the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by China and ASEAN member countries in 2002 has helped ease regional conflicts. In the declaration, countries pledged to "exercise restraint, and not to make [the South China Sea] an international issue or multilateral issue”.

Navy Live-Ammunition Training in South China Sea: Naval units of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a large-scale live-ammunition training exercise in the South China Sea, according to a front-page report in Thursday's PLA Daily newspaper.

In the exercise, carried out on 26 July, warships and submarines from the Navy's South China Sea Fleet carried out precision strikes on surface targets by firing guided missiles, as warships conducted anti-missile air defense operations.

China Conducts Two Military Drills:The Chinese military conducted two exercises near the Yellow Sea, as the United States and South Korea engaged in a joint military drill.

On Tuesday, an army unit based at an inland province in the Jinan Military Command ferried combat forces and arms to "a coastal city" in Shandong province. Two days earlier, as Washington and Seoul began their joint exercise, the Nanjing Military Command tested a new long-range artillery rocket on land toward the Yellow Sea.

It was the first time China has carried out such a large-scale long-range artillery rocket drill.

As Washington and Seoul completed their first joint exercise on Wednesday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a high-level military officer that the two sides will "present a joint military exercise once every month until the end of the year".

The official also said a US-South Korea drill is scheduled to take place in the Yellow Sea in September.

Communist Party in "Dialogue" with US Parties: The Communist Party of China (CPC) has scheduled a high-level dialogue with the Democratic Party and Republican Party in the US by the end of this year, Li Jun, spokesman for the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, has said.

The invitation follows the first high-level dialogue between the three main political parties when a US delegation led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Williamson visited China from 30 March 30 to 3 April.

China, Japan Talk on East China Sea Issue: On Tuesday, China and Japan on Tuesday conducted the first round of negotiations on the implementation of principles of consensus concerning the East China Sea.

The two sides agreed to make concerted efforts to implement the principlesand attain the common goal of turning the East China sea into a sea of "peace, cooperation and friendship".

High-speed Rail Links to be Doubled by 2012: China will spend 800 billion yuan ($120 billion) as part of an ambitious plan to double its high-speed rail network by 2012, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

The sum will be invested to lay more than 6000 km of new high-speed tracks across the country, pushing the total length of high-speed railways to 13,000 km by 2012, said Yu Bangli, chief economist with the Ministry.

He Huawu, the ministry's chief engineer, said that China will set a new record by running trains at 380 km (228 miles) per hour on the Beijing-Shanghai link, scheduled for completion before 2012.

China and Russia Sign Power-Grid Agreement: The State Grid Corporation of China has signed a framework agreement with the Russian national grid operator to extend their collaboration on grid technology, cooperation, and management.

According to Rusnews.cn, a Russian news portal, both companies will begin construction of a 500 kV, cross-border power line in the Amur region of Russia in 2011.

China to Recruit More Global Experts: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has said more efforts should be put into a programme for recruiting global experts, which was initiated in 2008.

By May this year, 662 people had been recruited under the program, which gives priority to leading scientists who are able to make breakthroughs in key technologies, develop high-tech industries, and lead new research projects.

According to the National Medium and Long-term Talent Development Plan (2010-2020), unveiled in June, the government will work out favourable policies on taxation, insurance, housing, children and spouse settlement, career development, research projects, and government awards for high-calibre overseas experts who are willing to work in China.

Foreign Seeds Cause Worries over Food Safety: The aggressive tacticsof foreign seed companies in China have increased concerns over the nation's food safety, especially at a time when agricultural yields are falling.

Worries surfaced after prices of some agricultural products spiraled in the past few months, amid concerns that the prevailing variations in weather will affect yields over the next few months.

UN Official Hails China's Role in Protecting Ozone Layer: An official with the UN Environment Program on Thursday hailed China's role in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals while launching a joint initiative with the European Commission to protect the ozone layer.

Rajendra Shende, head of the UNEP Ozone Action Branch, told Xinhua that China has just completed preparing a national strategy to phase down and phase out the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFSs) and will submit it in a couple of months to the UN funding agency.

China This Week: No More Iran Sanctions, Co-op with Pakistan & New Zealand, Concern on US-South Korea Drill, & More

China opposes expansion of sanctions on Iran: China said on Tuesday that UN Security Council sanctions against Iran should not be expanded.

"China has noted that the United States and other parties have unilaterally imposed further sanctions on Iran," said Qin Gang, Foreign Ministry spokesman, referring to the new sanctions approved by US President Barack Obama on 1 July.

China Watch: Beijing Media’s Global Expansion (Shan Shan)

Described by Obama as the "toughest" ones ever passed by the Congress, the new sanctions penalize international firms linked to Iran's energy industry, Revolutionary Guards or nuclear programs.

China, Pakistan ink six deals: China and Pakistan signed agreements, covering areas such as agriculture, health care, justice, media, economy, and technology, in Beijing on Wednesday. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to jointly fight the "three forces" of extremism, separatism ,and terrorism.

As a sign of closer cooperation, a joint anti-terrorism drill, code-named "Friendship 2010", is between held between Chinese and Pakistani armed forces in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Hu said China would explore new ways to cooperate and extend cooperation between the two countries in areas such as energy, transportation, telecommunication, infrastructure and agriculture.

Chinese combat troops "can join UN peacekeeping": China will consider sending combat troops overseas at the request of the United Nations, Senior Colonel Tao Xiangyang, deputy director of the ministry's peacekeeping affairs office, said on Tuesday.

He added that the UN has so far not made any such request to China and China has to be extremely cautious about the issue: "We will have to take into account our national defense policy, which is defensive in nature, the international community's response, as well as our troops' capability."

Since 1990, China has sent 15,603 soldiers on 18 UN peacekeeping missions. Three military observers and six soldiers died during the missions.

At the end of last month, China had deployed soldiers in nine UN missions, including those in Liberia, Congo, Sudan, and Lebanon.

China’s serious concern about US-South Korea drill: China said Tuesday it is seriously concerned about a scheduled joint naval drill between the United States and the Republic of Korea in the Yellow Sea.

The parties should refrain from doing things that might escalate tensions and harm the security interests of the countries in the region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

The four-day anti-submarine drills were originally scheduled for last month, as part of the response to the sinking of a South Korean warship in late March, which killed 46 sailors.

According to latest reports, the military exercise may be conducted after UN action against North Korea over the warship issue.

China, New Zealand eye closer energy co-operation: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting New Zealand Prime Minister John Key agreed on Wednesday to further bilateral cooperation in areas such as energy, food security, and the green economy.

Wen and Key pledged to implement the bilateral Free Trade Agreement. Signed in October 2008, the pact was the first of its kind between China and a developed country.

China’s co-op with Myanmar and Tonga: Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday pledged to speed up and expand cooperation with Myanmar on energy and transport.

China and Myanmar had reached consensus on many issues regarding economic cooperation in recent years, Li said.

Meanwhile, China and Tonga pledged on Wednesday to strengthen military cooperation and exchanges on Wednesday. Military ties between China and Tonga have developed steadily with frequent visits and good cooperation in personnel training, said Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China.



China to host UN climate change talks: China will host UN climate change talks in Tianjin in October, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday.

It is the first time for China to host the UN climate change talks and also the last round of negotiations before the next big UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathering, taking place in the Mexican resort of Cancun from November 29 to December 10.

The Tianjin talks, part of the UNFCCC, will aim to consolidate the status of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol as the main channels for negotiation and to make new progress, Qin noted.

China’s new nuclear power stations: China, which is currently building the largest number of nuclear power stations worldwide, is expected to use one of the most advanced technologies for constructing 10 of its nuclear reactors, an energy official said on Monday.

Compared with other reactors already in use in China, those using the third-generation technology are considered to be safer and able to operate longer.

As the world's second-largest energy consumer, China now has 11 nuclear power reactors in operation. These reactors have a total capacity of 9.1 gigawatts, accounting for about 1 percent of the country's total power capacity.

China is currently building 23 nuclear power units. The proportion of nuclear power is expected to account for 15 percent of the country's total power capacity in 2050, industry sources said.

China This Week: Trade Pact But No US Arms Sales to Taiwan, Manoeuvres on North Korea, Google Accepts Chinese Law

China-Taiwan Trade Pact: Beijing and Taipei signed anEconomic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) on Tuesday, seeking to boost economic ties and ease political tensions that have haunted cross-Straits ties for most of the past six decades.

The deal, focusing on easier access to markets, will remove tariffs within two years on 539 Taiwan export items worth $13.84 billion and 267 mainland export items to Taiwan valued at $2.86 billion. Taiwan firms will be granted access to 11 service sectors on the mainland, including banking, accounting, insurance, and hospitals. Follow-up consultations will try to remove the obstacles for economic and trade activities.

Shanghai Power Politics: China Shuts Out Iran (Shan Shan)
China This Week: Hu Visits Canada, The Currency Issue, Building Ties with Australia

The pact will also boost bilateral trade already totaling about $110 billion a year, made up of some $80 billion in goods flowing to the mainland and $30 billion to Taiwan.
Analysts from the Peterson Institute for International Economics project that the deal could help Taiwan increase its GDP by up to 5.3 % by 2020, compared to 0.8% without the ECFA.

US arms sales to Taiwan on hold: According to the US-based Defense News, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, has said arms sales are on hold until at least spring 2011.

While there is no confirmation of the report by official US sources, the Pentagon-backed Defense News has at times released US military decisions in advance.

Earlier this month, China called off a planned visit by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates after Beijing told the Pentagon the timing was "inconvenient". despite an earlier invitation for Gates to visit. This was an apparent snub over a $6.4-billion arms package unveiled in January for Taiwan, including helicopters, Patriot missiles, and mine-hunting ships.

China rebuffs US criticism over North Korea: China has rejected opposition to its stance over the Korean peninsula, saying it would never "pour oil on the fire" at a time when calm and restraint were needed.

Chinese media reports said President Obama had criticised China's "willful blindness" to the actions of North Korea the sinking of a South Korean warship.

"China borders on the Korean Peninsula, and we have our own feeling on the issue, different from that of the countries tens of thousands miles away. We have more direct and intense concerns", said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Qin said that for long-term development and stability, there must be abolition of nuclear weapons: "We are willing to make joint efforts with parties concerned to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through pushing forward the six-party talks".

Google Abides by Chinese Law to Renew License: Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd, the operator of Google.cn, has pledged to "abide by the Chinese law" in a letter of application to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to renew its permit to run websites in China.

The application was made "almost at the same time" that Google's chief legal officer David Drummond wrote a blog post saying Google is committed "not to self-censor", according to the official.

Guxiang said it will "ensure the company will provide no law-breaking contents as stated in the 57th statement in China's regulations concerning telecommunications”.