КИТАЙ – НОВАТА СУПЕРДЪРЖАВА
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Самый быстрый в мире поезд - КИТАЙСКИЙ ! В Китае открылась высокоскоростная линия железных дорог между городом Ухань в центральном Китае и Гуанчжоу на юге страны, сообщает агентство "Синьхуа". На этой линии поезда могут развивать скорость в 350 километров в час, что является рекордным показателем в мире. В торжественной церемонии запуска новой линии приняли участие сразу два поезда: один отправился из Ухани в Гуанчжоу, а другой в обратном направлении. Путешествие заняло три с половиной часа, хотя раньше пассажирам приходилось проводить в поездах более десяти часов. По данным китайских чиновников, введение в строй новых поездов поможет развитию туризма и деловой активности в Китае. Испытания поездов на линии Ухань-Гуанчжоу начались 9 декабря. Как сообщала китайская пресса, максимальная скорость, которую развивали поезда, составила 394, 2 километра в час. Средняя скорость высокоскоростных поездов в Японии сейчас составляет 243 километра в час, в Германии - 232 километра в час, а во Франции - 277 километров в час. Стоит отметить, что современные поезда могут развивать скорость вплоть до 581 километра в час (посмотреть, как это делает японский Maglev можно на видеохостинге YouTube), однако такие поезда пока не выполняют регулярных рейсов. СКАПАНИТЕ СМЕШНИ Япашки, немци и франсета се мъчат да се равят навелики технолози. ВЕЛИК КИТАЙ Ги постави на мястото им ! |
| В Китай изпълниха смъртната на Akmal Shaikh, 53 годишен поданик на Нейно Британско Величество. Това е първият британски поданик екзекутиран в Китай за последните 50 години. Той беше заловен на летището в Ü rü mqi с 4 килограма хероин в багажа му. В Китай се предвижда смъртно наказание за контрабанда на повече от 50 грама хероин. Независимо от молбата му за помилване, твърденията че бил душевно болен и с измама подведен да бъде „муле”, както и от острите англо-американски протести, китайските власти изпълниха смъртната му присъда. Брей, какъв ред и дисциплина без никаква демокрация! |
| Китай вече се сгромоляса до втора икономическа сила в света след САЩ. Ако се запази мизерния годишен ръст от текущите 8% на БВП, предстои пълното сгромолясване на Китай до първа икономическа сила в света. Предстои скорошното и пълно сгромолясване на тоталитарната Китайска комунистическа държава! Нека да им е хак, като няма никаква демокрация, плурализъм и незачитане на основните човешки права! |
| Много го закъса Китай в кризата и взе че стана страна номер едно износител в света, та подмина швабите! |
| И ко тана сеа? Китай съвсем се сгомоляса, та вече надмина и Япония, та стана втора световна икономика. В близките години предстои да стане и първа икономическа сила в света, много по-рано отколкото предвиждах. Светът се гъне в рецесия, а Китай прави над 8% ръст на БВП за миналата година. Китайското правителство нареди на търговските банки да спре кредитирането до края на януари, за да не прегрее икономиката. Тази новина веднага свали котировките с над процент по световните борси. |
| Ирина Бокова за Синхуа Interview: UNESCO attaches importance to protection of world cultural heritage 2010-01-20 07:09:33 by Xinhua writer Gu Zhenqiu UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is striving to be a global player in carrying out its mandate, including protecting the world's cultural heritage, and shed more light on the close relations between culture and development, the head of UNESCO has told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, told Xinhua on Monday afternoon that with her at the helm, the UN agency will " adapt to the changing environment" and "to the demands of the very dynamic environment that we live in." The Paris-based UNESCO was created in 1946 to build lasting world peace based on the intellectual and moral solidarity of humankind. Its areas of work are education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture and communication. FIRST WOMAN TO HEAD UNESCO Bokova, a senior Bulgarian diplomat, assumed office in November 2009, becoming the first woman to head the UN culture and education agency and beginning her four-year term to succeed Japanese Matsuura Koichiro, 72. "I am really proud to be the first woman to be the director of this organization because this organization is important in the areas which are very much linked with the current challenges in the world," Bokova said. "I'm talking about education, I'm talking of course, about culture, which plays a very important role in all the development efforts in any country. I'm talking about science and communication." "As any organization which has to adapt to the changing environment and to the demands of the very dynamic environment that we live in, we have to streamline our priorities, so we have to look at our structures to look at the management to make it more smooth, to transfer some of the resources from administration to projects to working in the field," she said. "Of course I want to make UNESCO more visible, more strong, a UNESCO that is really an important player in this global moment because our mandate is at the heart of globalization. I'm sure we can play a more focused role in the development of the world," she said. STREAMLINING ACTIVITIES During the interview, Bokova denied some media reports that UNESCO is suspending a life sciences prize sponsored by Equatorial Guinea, but she said that efforts are made to look at the procedure and criteria for prizes it endorses. The UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences was agreed by the organization's member states in November 2008 "in recognition of scientific achievements that improve the quality of human life," reports said. Press reports argued that the prize should be canceled on the ground that the prize was "a reprehensible attempt" by the oil- rich Equatorial Guinea in connection with alleged corruption. "No, we have not suspended (it)," Bokova said. "I think the information is not correct." "I am setting a task force. It concerns all the different prizes because at UNESCO, there are very many prizes," she said, adding that the task force will make efforts "in streamlining our activities and trying to optimize all the activities of UNESCO." "I want that we also look once again at the criteria, at the procedure of setting the prices," she said. "Definitely this is a prize that has been adopted by the executive board, it's not the director-general that decides it, it's the executive board that decides. It concerns the overall procedure and criteria process." EFFORTS TO PROTECT IRAQ'S CULTURAL HERITAGE In war-torn Iraq, its rich cultural heritage, in such cities as the capital Baghdad, is being reportedly destroyed by foreign troops stationed there. To check these illegal endeavor, UNESCO, while engaged in reconstruction in Iraq, has worked out programs and projects on the ground to protect the cultural heritage in the country with a long history. "For Iraq, UNESCO is very much involved in the reconstruction of the country," Bokova said. "We have programs, a bureau and a lot of projects" for protecting the cultural heritage. The most important projects that UNESCO has in Iraq include fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property and facilitating the return of stolen property, she noted. "We cooperate very much with Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization)," she said. "We have a list of institutions and experts in Iraq for the assistance of Iraqi authorities and we have established a committee with the Ministry of Culture, which has regular sessions with UNESCO. The last such session was on the 12th and 13th of January." "It's an international coordination committee for Iraqi cultural heritage," she said. "What we do is a capacity building. We are very much involved. We have projects for the rehabilitation of conservation laboratory for heritage. It's mainly capacity building but of course it's a laboratory." "We have organized six training sessions only," she said. "Last year and the year before it was in this capacity building program. We have special program on museum management, which we consider to be very important. Also we provide special training for the museum collection database for Iraq's heritage." "So we do have quite an elaborate program specifically for Iraq because Iraq has an extremely rich heritage, which we consider we need to preserve," Bokova said. MESSAGE FOR WORLD ON HERITAGE PROTECTION "The preservation of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is very much linked, on one side is a response to globalization, and is linked also to the development efforts," Bokova said. "Apart from the convention that we have, the two main conventions, there is also a very important area that UNESCO is doing for cultural diversity," she said, referring to the two conventions for the protection of tangible and intangible cultural and natural heritage in the world. "All these activities go very much into the heart of what UNESCO is about, which is about to send a message of more tolerance, more respect for diversity, reconciliation, and especially now that we're launching the international year of rapprochement of cultures, for which UNESCO is the leader within the United Nations system," she said. "Next month, I will be not only launching the international year but I will be setting a high panel on peace and dialogue among cultures," she said. "The main objective is to pass a strong message towards the international community that in this globalized world, we need to be more tolerant and be more tolerant for the respect of diversity." Also included in the message is "that UNESCO is the organization which best plays through, of course, the different sectors and programs like education and culture or even in the science sector and communications to be this moral intellectual leader of what the statute of UNESCO is and what this organization has been created for, to build peace in the minds of people," she said. Bokova, a mother of two grown children, has been a member of the UNESCO Executive Board since 2007. She was the Bulgarian ambassador to France and Monaco, and the personal representative of the Bulgarian president to the "Organization Internationale de la Francophonie" and the permanent delegate to UNESCO from 2005 to 2009. Born in 1952, she obtained an MBA degree from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and studied at the University of Maryland in the United States. During her long and distinguished career, she also served as the permanent Bulgarian representative to the United Nations and as her country's secretary of state for European integration and foreign minister. Thanks to her diversified study experiences, Bokova can speak fluent English, Russian, French and Spanish besides her mother tongue. Editor: Han Jingjing |
| BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China and India were not competitive opponents but cooperative partners, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao here Tuesday. "Only if China and India achieve common development and prosperity could we have a real Asia century," Wen told Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma. Both China and India were large developing nations in Asia, and the total population of the two countries accounted for 40 percent of the world, Wen noted. "We share broad common interests," he said. The premier said his country would work with India to boost good-neighborly friendship, increase coordinations in major international issues, and expand cooperation in trade, investment and other sectors in line with the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits. "This will help promote the continuous stable growth of China-India ties," Wen said. Wen also asked Sharma to convey his greetings to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President of Indian National Congress Party Sonia Gandhi. Sharma said the Indian leaders were devoted to strengthening the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. "This accords with fundamental interests of the two peoples and is also conducive to the development of Asia and the world at large," he noted. Sharma was here on a visit at the invitation of China's Ministry of Commerce. He attended the eighth meeting of the China-India joint group on economy, trade, science and technology.  |
| China, S Korea, Japan to hold preliminary meeting on free trade pact SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A trilateral meeting among three Northeast Asian countries is slated for Tuesday in Seoul as the three countries seek to launch a joint research on a free trade pact, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the three Northeastern countries are set to discuss on terms of reference on the joint research, as well as the schedule for holding next rounds of dialogue, the ministry said. China, South Korea, and Japan decided at their summit talks on Oct. 10, 2009 to terminate private studies on the issue and to push for a joint research at an administrative level. In addition, the ministry said, the three nations as a follow- up measure agreed to launch the research in the first half of 2010 and to hold a preliminary meeting in Seoul. The private studies on the trilateral free trade pact started in 2003 when the first research was conducted on the macroeconomic impact of the deal, according to the ministry. |
| И ко тана сеа, Гугълъ плаши гаргите в Китай. От това плашене обаче се уплашиха само акциите на Гугъл, та спаднаа. Какво да правят като китайската търсачка има два пъти по-голям дял от тях, Китай е най-големия е-commerce пазар и с най-много мобилни абонати? Просто ще се сгънат и ще подвият опашка, защото никой не се отказва от печалби в период на световна икономическа криза. Квиченето на Гугъл не е защото има цензора, те бяха съгласни с това right from the start. Всяка чужда компания може да оперира в Китай, като съблюдава местните закони! Иначе шамар зад врътъ! Квичат защото хакери не само хакват мейли на несъгласни с режима, ами посягат на сорс кода им. Там ги стяга чепикът. За Китай това преди всичко е въпрос на философия и отношение към познанието – в Китай познанието е БЕЗПЛАТНО, та за това им дреме за измислените копи райтс! |
| DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday met World Economic Forum executive chairman Klaus Schwab, stressing his country's commitment to cooperating with the international community to boost sustained and balanced economic growth in the world. Li told Schwab, founder of the annual forum, that as the largest developing country in the world, China will stick to its responsibility in extending cooperation into more fields and into different layers during the global economic recovery. China will keep the continuity and stability of its macro-economic policies, continue to follow a proactive fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy and make its policies better targeted and more flexible in response to new circumstances, Li said. The vice-premier described his country's cooperation with the World Economic Forum as sound and fruitful over the years. The Chinese cities of Dalian and Tianjin have so far offered to host three summer versions of the Davos forum. Schwab said that China has played an active and promotive role in boosting global economic recovery and is an important force to be reckoned with in the world economic arena. Schwab expressed his hope that the winter and summer versions of the economic forum would complement each other and attract the participation of trend-setters in such sectors as new energy and new technology to render the fora more influential worldwide. The vice premier also met, on the sidelines of the forum, entrepreneurs and executives from companies from various countries.   DAVOS, The 2010 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) The following is a brief introduction to this year's gathering of world elites in terms of figures. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. During the five-day meeting, scheduled to run through Sunday, over 2, 500 leaders from business, government, civil society, academia and the cultural community will gather to address pressing challenges and future risks under the theme of "Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild." The forum's Network of Global Agenda Councils will take the lead in pushing for rethinking. More than 1, 000 experts active in 70 councils created to advance solutions to the most critical issues facing the world will play a major role in this regard. Redesign discussions will use the forum's unprecedented multi-stakeholder dialogue focusing on adapting systems and structures of international cooperation to the challenges of the 21st century. The effort to rebuild trust and confidence in the post-crisis world will also be on the agenda. A total of 227 working sessions will be held, focusing on six areas: -- how to create a values framework -- how to strengthen economic and social welfare -- how to mitigate global risks and address systemic failures -- how to ensure sustainability -- how to enhance security -- how to build effective institutions Among the 2, 500 or so participants from over 90 countries, more than half come from the business sector. Over 1, 400 top-level executives from the world's leading companies are attending this year's gathering. Other participants include over 250 public figures: over 30 heads of state or government, over 60 ministers, over 12 central bank chiefs, over 50 heads or senior officials of international organizations. Also attending the annual meeting are more than 500 representatives from civil society and other sectors. Those participants include nearly 50 heads of non-governmental organizations, at least 12 labor leaders, over 200 media leaders, over 200 academic leaders and over 12 faith leaders |
| Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called for international efforts to promote the sound recovery and sustained development of the world economy in the post-crisis era. In a keynote speech delivered at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the eastern Swiss ski resort of Davos, Li said the theme of the meeting "Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild" embodies the spirit of cooperation and innovation in discussing world economic development in the post-crisis era. He introduced the measures China had taken in dealing with the international financial crisis, its achievements and China's intended follow-up economic policies. The vice premier said the crisis did not change the fundamentals or the long-term positive trend of China's economic development. As a responsible and big developing country, China will stick to the path of peaceful development and mutually beneficial opening-up strategy, work together with other countries to promote a harmonious world with sustained peace and common prosperity, he said. Li laid out a five-point proposal regarding promoting world economic recovery and sustained development in the post-crisis era. "First, we should continue to work together and prevail over the crisis," said the Chinese vice premier. The policies of one country can well influence those of others. Only when global economic recovery is achieved can the recovery of national economies be secured, he said. "Second, we should promote more open market," Li said. The international community should firmly fight protectionist practices, translate commitments into real actions and continue to advance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, he added. "Third, we should promote balanced development of the world," said Li. Efforts should be made to strengthen South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation, improve international mechanisms to promote balanced development, scale up assistance to developing countries and realize the UN Millennium Development Goals on schedule so as to deliver the benefits of development to people in all countries. "Fourth, we should jointly tackle major challenges. This is our urgent task if we want to ensure sound recovery and sustained development of the world economy," he said. The international community should coordinate actions to meet global challenges like climate change, energy security, food security, public health security and major natural disasters, he said. "Fifth, we should improve the structure of global governance," Li said. It is universally recognized that there is a need to improve current structures and develop a more fair and efficient structure of global governance that reflects changes in the global political and economic landscape. The Chinese vice premier also met WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab on the day, and stressed China's commitment to cooperate with the international community to boost sustained and balanced economic growth in the world. Li described China's cooperation with WEF over the years as sound and fruitful. The Chinese cities of Dalian and Tianjin have hosted three summer versions of the Davos forum. Schwab said that China has played an active and promotive role in boosting global economic recovery and is an important force to be reckoned on. Schwab expressed his hope that the winter and summer versions of the economic forum would complement each other and attract the participation of trend-setters in such sectors as new energy and new technology to render the fora more influential worldwide. Li arrived in Switzerland on Monday for a four-day visit. The vice premier also met, on the sidelines of the forum, Swiss President Doris Leuthard, entrepreneurs and executives of companies from various countries.  |
| Google вече спокойно може да напусне Китай без да се почувства липсата му, защото китайците си направиха търсачка – Goojje - http://goojje.com/ Goojje има функции за търсене и собствена социална мрежа. Услугата е дело на студенти от колежа на провинция Гуандун. Споровете между Google и китайските власти родиха първите услуги, които копират тази на лидера в търсенето. Един такъв клонинг е търсачката Goojje, която освен че е досущ като Google на външен вид, копира и името на интернет гиганта, но с малка заигравка. На китайски език "jje" напомня за "jiejie" (по-голяма сестра), докато съчетанието "gle" по произношение е близко до "по-голям брат", предаде Ройтерс. Засега от Google не са коментирали имитацията на своята услуга за търсене. Интернет гигантът е уязвяван от китайците и по друга линия. В страната съществува клонинг на най-популярния сайт за видео споделяне YouTube, който е собственост на Google. Китайският вариант се казва YouTubecn.com. Сега от много тарикатлък и политическа коректност Гугъл ще издуха супата в най-големия пазар. |
| С необикновена остра и безпрецедентна реакция към съобщението на Пентагона до Конгреса на САЩ да достави за 6, 4 милиарда оръжия на Тайван, Китай обяви прекратяване на военното сътрудничество със САЩ. Въпросната доставка включва 114 Patriot ракети ($2.81bn), 60 Black Hawk хеликоптери ($3.1bn), Свързочно оборудване ($340m), 2 Osprey кораби-миночистачи ($105m) и12 Harpoon ракети ($37m). Конгресмените имат един месец да решат относно доставката, която е обещана още от администрацията на Буш. Освен това ще последват наказателни мерки и към фирмите производителки на оръжията. По всичко изглежда, че след Гугъл явно Боинг и Локхиид ще духат супата в Китай. |
| BEIJING China's export grew 21 percent in January as the global economy gradually began to recover, customs data showed on Wednesday. Exports stood at 109.47 billion U.S. dollars, while imports rose 85.5 percent to 95.31 billion U.S.dollars, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Wednesday. The trade surplus contracted 63.8 percent to 14.16 billion U.S. dollars.Foreign trade posted a 44.4 percent growth in January 2010 year-on-year. The hefty increase was due to a lower comparison basis a year ago when China's export sector was hard hit by the global financial crisis, as well as less working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in January last year, the administration explained. "The calendar factor can not change our judgement that the export sector is recovering," said Qiu Gaoqing, a senior financial analyst with Shanghai-based Bank of Communications. As for the reason why January's exports were down 16 percent from December, Qiu said was that December had three more working days than January. "December is normally the export peak season for Chinese exporters due to western consumers' Christmas spending," he added. "We predict that China's export sector has entered a stable recovery stage given the increasing strength of the global economy," Qiu said. China's exports ended 15 months of decline last month and grew 17.7 percent in December on the back of government policy incentives such as tax rebate. Despite an annual drop of 16 percent in exports in 2009, China overtook Germany as the world's largest exporter as the latter saw exports decrease by nearly a fifth, the biggest decline for the country in six decades. Strong exports intensified international pressure on China to strengthen the yuan, or renminbi. U.S. President Barack Obama last week vowed to get "much tougher" with China on exchange rates and trade to ensure the price of U.S. goods was "not artificially inflated." Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said last Thursday that the renminbi's exchange was not the main reason for the Chinese-U.S. trade deficit, given the yuan had gained around 21 percent since July 2005 when the government unpegged the yuan from the U.S. dollar. Obama's hardline was also dismissed by Chinese economists as political rhetoric to appeal to domestic interest groups. Zhong Shan, Chinese vice minister of commerce, said on Monday in Birmingham, Britain that China would not allow drastic changes to the yuan's exchange rate and China's currency policy should take into account domestic economic conditions. He estimated annual exports would gain in 2010, but were unlikely to return to the pre-crisis levels of 2008. Morgan Stanley revised China's export growth for 2010 up to 15 percent from 9 percent, and import growth to 18 percent from 10 percent in a report released on Feb 4. "We envisage that stronger demand for exports will contribute to stronger economic growth mainly because of the positive impacts on private investment in the manufacturing sector," it said. The European Union and United States remained China's largest trading partners, Wednesday figures revealed. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surpassed Japan to be China's third largest as Sino-ASEAN trade rose 80 percent to 21.48 billion U.S. dollars after the China-ASEAN free trade area took effect on Jan. 1 this year. Exports of machinery products added 27 percent year-on-year to 62.51 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total monthly export volume. Exports of appliances and electrical products grew 33.1 percent year-on-year to 24.09 billion U.S. dollars. |
| Chinese leaders on Friday offered their Spring Festival greetings to people across the nation at a gathering to mark the incoming Lunar New Year. President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and top political advisor Jia Qinglin attended the gathering, held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  Other leaders including Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also attended the gathering. The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important traditional festival for family reunion in China. It falls on Feb. 14 this year, and the weeklong holiday kicks off Saturday, or the eve of the Spring Festival.  UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday sent a message to the Chinese people to wish them happy and a prosperous new year as the traditional Chinese Spring Festival draws near. "On the occasion of the Lunar New Year -- the Year of Tiger, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to the Chinese people," the secretary-general said in the message. "I wish the Chinese people greater prosperity, happiness and well-being in the New Year," he said, "I look forward to greater contributions by the Chinese people toward world peace and development in the New Year."  |
| Честито Новата китайска година на Белия Тигър! * Китай започва разследване заради нови случаи на млечни продукти, в които е бил открит меламин. През 2008 г. шест бебета починаха, след като бяха консумирали сухо мляко, заразено с опасното вещество. То беше изтеглено, а употребата на химикала при производството на храни - забранена От пазара в провинция Гуейджоу бяха изтеглени три партиди млечни продукти с меламин, произведени от местни компании] |
| У Китая появилась собственная карта Луны 12.11.2008 Натиснете тук У Китая появилась первая собственная карта лунной поверхности, сообщает агентство Синьхуа. Она была составлена благодаря зонду "Чанъэ-1" (Chang'e-1), который в настоящее время вращается вокруг естественного спутника Земли. По словам китайских ученых, их карта "является самой полной и подробной из всех, опубликованных на настоящий момент". Космический аппарат "Чангъэ-1" был запущен 24 октября 2007 года в рамках первого этапа лунной программы Китая. Зонд должен изучить химический состав поверхности Луны, составить ее карту, а также получить данные о космическом пространстве между Землей и Луной, которые будут использоваться для последующих экспедиций. Запуск следующего спутника "Чангъэ-2" запланирован на 2010 год. К 2012 году Китай намерен перейти ко второму этапу лунных исследований и высадить на поверхность естественного спутника Земли несколько автоматических аппаратов, включая собственный луноход (в 2013 году). В 2017 году китайцы планируют приступить к реализации собственной программы пилотируемого полета на Луну. 3 тото ХИЛЯДОЛЕТИЕ - Хилядолетието на велик КИТАЙ ! |
 2010 China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), with an aim to boost trade cooperation and two-way investment between China and the 10 ASEAN nations. Following are some facts and figures on the CAFTA: Members: China and 10 ASEAN nations -- Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Population: 584 million people in 10 ASEAN countries plus 1.3 billion in China, accounting for one third of the world's population. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): About 6 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for one ninth of the world's total GDP. Trade volume: About 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars, the world's third largest after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Closer trade relations: China-ASEAN trade grew by 24.2 percent annually from 2003 to 2008. Bilateral trade hit 231 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up from 78.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2003 and 6.3 billion U.S. dollars in 1991. China is currently the third largest trade partner of ASEAN; ASEAN is the fourth largest trade partner of China. Growing investment relations: China's direct investment in ASEAN countries was 2.18 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up from 230 million U.S. dollars in 2003; ASEAN's actual investment in China totaled 5.46 billion U.S. dollars, up from 2.93 billion U.S. dollars in 2003. Lowered tariffs in the CAFTA; In the CAFTA, the average tariff on goods from the ASEAN countries to China is cut down to 0.1 percent from 9.8 percent. The six original ASEAN members, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, will slash the average tariff on Chinese goods from 12.8 percent to 0.6 percent. By 2015, the policy of zero-tariff rate for 90 percent of traded goods is expected to extend between China and the four new ASEAN members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Broader market access to services sectors: Under the China-ASEAN free trade pact, the two sides will offer preferential access to each other's services market, in areas such as business services and tourism. Historical events in the forming of the CAFTA In November 2002, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and leaders of the 10 ASEAN nations at the sixth China-ASEAN summit signed the landmark Framework Agreement on ASEAN-China Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, kick starting the process of establishing a free trade zone. Under the agreement, the free trade zone was to be completed by 2010. In November 2004, China and the ASEAN signed a free goods trade agreement, which regulated that, from July 2005, China and ASEAN countries would gradually reduce tariffs on more products. On Aug. 15, 2009, China and ASEAN member states signed an investment treaty at the eighth trade ministers' meeting, and started to open investment markets to each other, signaling the wrap-up of major negotiations of the process. |