Exchanges

Liu Yandong Encourages Youth to Promote Friendly Sino-Russian Ties

In her speech at the opening ceremony of the China-Russia Youth Year of Friendship Exchanges at St. Petersburg State University on March 28， Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong spoke of the progress and changes in Chinas society， commending the development of bilateral ties. Liu called on young people to contribute to friendly ties between the two countries.

Liu said that both countries are influential in the world and at a key stage of revival. The Chinese dream complements the Russian dream of rejuvenation， and both see their joint development as an important positive factor in promoting the balance of international power. At the moment， friendly cooperation between the two neighbors covers nine fields， including education， culture， health， sports， tourism， media， film， national libraries and archives， and youth. Reciprocal theme year programs held in China and Russia， such as the National Year， Language Year and Tourism Year， have sparked long-running China fever and Russia fever in the two countries. The launch of the China-Russia Youth Year of Friendship Exchanges is a new start， Liu said， expressing hope that the youth of the two countries could pass on the tradition and safeguard their friendly ties.

China-ASEAN Cultural Exchange Year 2014 Kicks off in Beijing

The 2014 China-ASEAN Cultural Exchange Year started in Beijing on April 7， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang， Myanmese President U Thein Sein and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sent congratulatory messages to the event. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong and Vice President Nyan Tun of Myanmar， the current chair of the regional block， attended the opening ceremony.

Li said in his message that this year is the start of the second decade since the birth of the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） and that the two sides are at a new histori- cal starting point in bilateral relations. The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing friendly relations and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with ASEAN， and hopes to take advantage of the Cultural Exchange Year to demonstrate the benefits of cultural cooperation and exhibit their achievements to the world. Li also said that the event serves as a stage for cooperation between artists and people in different countries. China is willing to work with ASEAN to develop a more tightly-knit partnership for world peace and development.

Most Influential Chinese and French Books Unveiled

Guangming Daily and China International Publishing Group （CIPG） paid tribute to the most important literary influences between China and France， marking the 50th anniversary of Sino-Franco diplomatic relations and the occasion of President Xi Jinpings visit to France. Ten French works were recognized as strongly influencing Chinas literary development， including The Spirit of the Laws， The Social Contract， The Lady of the Camellias， Les Miserables， Le Père Goriot， Jean-Christophe， The Red and The Black， The Little Prince， The Count of Monte Cristo and The Old Regime and The Revolution. Concurrently， ten Chinese works were acknowledged for their influences on French culture： The Analects of Confucius， The Art Of War， Tao Te Ching， I Ching， Outlaws of the Marsh， Journey To the West， Rickshaw Boy， Selected Stories of Lu Xun， The Republic of Wine and Family.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin， former Prime Minister of France and Vice President of the Senate， sent a congratulatory letter to the selection ceremony. The ceremony was also addressed by dignitaries such as Wang Meng， Chinese writer and former Minister of Culture； Zhou Mingwei， CIPG president； Jacques Pellet， minister-counselor of the French Embassy in China； Thierry Garnier， vice president of Carrefour Group and CEO of Carrefour China， and You Lijuan， chairman of Hongbo Co.

He Dongping， editor-in-chief of Guangming Daily， said the event aimed at showcasing the outcome of cultural exchanges between the two countries and increasing mutual understanding in order to cement people-to-people friendship.

China Stronger in Innovation

The latest national innovation index report by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development（CASTED） shows that Chinas innovative capability ranked 19th among 40 major countries in the world in 2013， one spot higher than the previous year. Chinas sci & tech research funding of RMB 1.02984 trillion is the worlds third largest， accounting for 11.7 percent of the global total budget compared with 1.7 percent in 2000， and also boasts the worlds largest sci & tech worker pool – 3.247 million， or 29.2 percent of the global total. China is also the secondhighest producer of science theses internationally. Chinese citizens applied for 37.9 percent of the worlds patents and earned 22.3 percent of the patent grants – the No.1 and No.2 positions respectively. China leads the world when it comes to the share of hi-tech industries in manufacturing exports， and the added value of its knowledge-based service industries stands at third place worldwide. But the report noted that the foundation for Chinas innovation is still weak， and further endeavors should be made over an extended period.

Sixth Chinese City Restricts Auto Purchases

Starting on March 26 the municipal government of Hangzhou in southeastern Chinas Zhejiang Province introduced a ceiling for annual car purchases. It is the sixth Chinese city to limit car ownership in an effort to fi ght pollution， following Beijing， Guiyang， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Tianjin. Prospective car buyers in Hangzhou will either draw lots or bid for new car plates. According to the Hangzhou statistics authority， for the fi rst two months of 2014 local car retailing totaled RMB 12.413 billion， up 29.8 percent over the same period of the previous year.

B.C. Wheat Discovered in Xinjiang

Scientists unearthed 3，100 stocks of wheat dated back 2，050 to 2，200 years from a cluster of ancient tombs in Turpan. Still golden in color and some with intact ears， the wheat looks as fresh as if it were newly harvested. Archeologists said a 10-cm layer of wheatstraw was placed on 15- to 20-cm-high Alhagi sparsifolia that sat atop the tomb cellar. The fi nding is the worlds largest stock and the best preserved wheat from antiquity. Each ear of the Turpan wheat bears an average of 10 seeds， compared with 20 to 30 today， signifying the existence of advanced agricultural technology in the region of the time. The crop has been sent to the Chinese Academy of Sciences for further study， and results are expected to be disclosed later this year.

RMB 5 Trillion

Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing told the media that for the first three years of the 12th Five-year Plan period（2011-2015） Chinas annual input in environmental protection rose by more than RMB 200 billion each year， and that the total funding for the period might exceed RMB 5 trillion. By his estimate the 2014 figure will probably exceed RMB 1.7 trillion.

China to Open Largest Shale Gas Field

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp （Sinopec） recently announced that it had made signifi cant breakthroughs in the exploration and development of a shale gas block in Chongqing， municipality in southwestern China. These advances will help China real- ize commercial development of shale gas sooner than expected. The Fuling fi eld in the southwestern municipality， the nations fi rst large-scale shale gas fi eld， has reserves of 2.1 trillion cubic meters. The company expects the annual capacity of Fuling to reach 1.8 billion cubic meters by the end of 2014 before reaching 10 billion cubic meters by 2017， equivalent to 10 million metric tons of crude oil. Under the 12th Five-year Plan （2011-2015） for the shale gas industry， China aims to achieve total output of 6.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2015， which means that Sinopec might contribute 77 percent of the target output.

Activity

Philadelphia Orchestra Concert

Date： May 29， 2014

Place： Shenzhen Concert Hall

Price： RMB 380/480/680/880/1080/1380/1680

The Philadelphia Orchestra was formed in 1900. In demand for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences， and admired for an unrivaled legacy of many firsts in music making， the Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the worlds preeminent orchestras. Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin became the eighth music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2012， having held that position in the Rotterdam Philharmonic and been principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008. In 1973， the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to travel to the Peoples Republic of China.

In its Shenzhen concert， the orchestra will perform Chinese composer Tan Duns Nüshu and Tchaikovskys Symphony No. 6.

Taylor Swift： The RED Tour in Shanghai

Date： May 30， 2014

Place： Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena

Price： RMB 480/680/980/1280/1580/2280

Seven-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift is the youngest winner in history of the music industrys highest honor， the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Time magazine has named her one of the worlds100 most influential people. Swift is also Billboards youngest ever Woman of the Year. The RED Tour performance features two stages， elaborate costumes， excellent dancers， and diverse sets. Taylor will perform several songs from her record-breaking Red album， self accompanied on electric guitar， banjo， piano and acoustic guitar.