Exchanges

Premier Calls for Global Efforts to Secure Energy Supply

“To reduce the problems and inequality brought by energy and resource issues, countries around the world should take further action and exert more energy,”Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in his keynote speech at the opening of the 5th World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in January. The WFES is a global platform launched in 2008 to facilitate the creation of a sustainable energy future.

Wen told participants that governments must put energy efficiency at the top of the agenda, and nurture frugal modes of production, lifestyle and consumption. They also need to adopt policies that encourage the development of technologies that will bring down costs of renewable energy and thus promote its use. As long as intellectual property is properly protected, he said, developed countries should accelerate the transfer of green technology to developing and under-developed countries. Lastly, the premier urged countries to safeguard energy security. To this end, Wen proposed establishing a global energy market management mechanism within the framework of G20.

Jia Qinglin Delivers Speech at 18th AU Summit

Chinas top political advisor Jia Qinglin delivered a speech at the 18th African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in late January, and presented a congratulatory message from Chinese President Hu Jintao. He said that China is glad to see the AU becoming an important force for peace, stability and development in Africa and the world over the past decade, and expressed belief that in the future Africa will make even greater progress in its journey to strength through unity. Announcing that China will provide a total of RMB 600 million free assistance to the AU in the next three years, Jia said China views its relations with Africa from a strategic and long-term perspective. He called on African countries to bring their partnership to a new level, putting forward several proposals for Africa and China to boost ties.

israel, China Celebrate 20 Years of Diplomatic Relations

The Chinese embassy in Tel Aviv hosted a reception on January 24 celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Israel. A long list of senior Israeli officials, including the prime minister, attended the event. In his speech Mr. Netanyahu extended warm congratulations on the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations and praised Chinas peaceful rise as a miracle of modern world history. He spoke highly of fruitful and mutually beneficial bilateral relations and emphasized that the cooperation between the two countries in fields that include agriculture, medicine, communication and water technology have enhanced the competitiveness of the two countries. He stressed that the people of Israel always remember the aid that China gave selflessly to Jewish refugees during World War II and said Israel would seize the opportunity to deepen cooperation with China, double trade, support bilateral relations and make its own contribution towards safeguarding world peace, stability and prosperity. Chinese ambassador Gao Yanping said the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties is not only an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations between China and Israel, but also a new starting point of the bilateral relations.

major Tunnel Drilled for Trans-Asian Railway

China has completed construction on a long awaited tunnel that will allow a major railway to reach countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN). The 10-km-long Xiushan tunnel, located in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province, was completed in last January after six years of work by nearly 1,000 construction workers. The passage is pivotal for the construction of the 141-km Yuxi-Mengzi Railway, which is part of the eastern section of the planned Trans-Asian Railway. An investment of RMB 4.5 billion, the line is expected to become operational later this year, the first to be so among all sections of the Trans-Asian Railway in Chinese territory.

more Funding for Tibet Rural Projects

Following the completion in 2011 of utilities upgrading in 1,500 administrative villages in Tibet Autonomous Region, an investment of RMB 1.1 billion is earmarked this year for similar improvements to 1,000 more villages in the region. The program, known as Human Settlement Construction, is a subset of the regions campaign to extend eight essential services to its rural residents – running water, electricity, surfaced roads, telecommunications, natural gas, TV/ radio, postal deliveries, and pleasant surroundings. Human Settlement Construction entails an across-the-board upgrading of rural neighborhoods. It includes building libraries and cultural and sports facilities, giving local clinics better apparatus, installing solar-powered lamps in public spaces, waste treatment, opening more retail locales, and landscaping. During the five years from 2011 to 2015, Tibet is scheduled to upgrade the living environment of 5,453 administrative villages.

HHmi Honors Young Scientists

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the worlds most prestigious research foundations, has honored 28 biomedical researchers who have studied in the United States and returned to their home nations. Each will receive a five-year research grant of US $650,000. The seven researchers from China among the total 28 awarded outnumber those from any other nation. President of the institute Robert Tjian said of the Chinese winners in a telephone interview, "They are incredibly energetic, extremely smart, highly productive and accomplished." Four of the seven Chinese winners are from Chinas new National Institute of Biological Sciences. The other three work respectively at Beijingbased Tsinghua University, the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics in Hubei Province, and Nankai University in Tianjin. Their research disciplines range from cell genetics to cell proteins and cell mechanics and from immune system behavior to the human genome. All 28 researchers have received the institutes first International Early Career Scientist award. Founded in 1953 by industrialist Howard Hughes, the institute, headquartered in Maryland, is one of the largest philanthropies supporting biomedical research. With an endowment of US $17.5 billion, it awards about US $700 million a year in grants to more than 350 researchers.

Warmer and Drier

National Climate Center director Song Lianchun said at a recent news conference that the climate trend in 2011 could be summed up as warmer and drier. The average temperature rose by 0.5oC to 9.3oC, and rainfall continued to slide to 556.8 mm, the lowest since 1951. The year 2011 also featured frequent seasonal and regional meteorological disasters, notably those due to extremely hot weather. Recordbreaking heat was reported in 48 observatory outlets across the nation. Incomplete statistics also show that meteorological catastrophes throughout 2011 contributed to 1,049 deaths and incurred economic losses of RMB 303 billion, significantly higher than the annual average.

Official PM2.5 Data to Be Released in Beijing

Yu Jianhua, official from the Beijing authority of environmental protection, revealed in a radio program that the city will by yearend set up 30-plus PM2.5 monitoring stations covering all districts and counties of Beijing. Public bidding, in which both domestic and international suppliers meeting state criteria can participate, will be held for the purchase of needed equipment. In accordance with the national standard, which is in line with international practice, monitoring posts should be at least 50 meters from sources of pollution. "The stations should be built neither in the cleanest nor the filthiest spots. The location must be representative of the region under survey," Yu said. In efforts to further purify its air, Beijing is scheduled to plant more than 13,000 hectares of forest this year.