Issue No. 13

　　 April16, 2009

　　H.E. Ambassador Song Zhe, Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union, gave a speech at the Meeting of the Chinese and European Media on the China-Europa Forum on April 8. To read the speech, please go to

　　http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cebe/eng/sthd/t556487.htm

　　Ambassador Song Zhe gave a speech at the Brugge College of Europe on March 26. To read the speech, please go to http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cebe/eng/sthd/t553720.htm

　　Highlights of the Group of 20 (G20) tour by Chinese President Hu Jintao:

　　President Hu delivered a keynote speech at the summit, calling for strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination, advancing reform of the international financial system, and improving financial supervision and regulation. To read the speech, please go to http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t556244.htm

　　 

　　President Hu said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that China and Russia should strengthen cooperation to jointly overcome the current difficulties under the complicated and grave conditions of the world economy. Medvedev agreed with Hu's evaluation of bilateral relations and said Russia is looking forward to Hu's state visit to the country in June.

　　President Hu and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reached broad consensus on tackling the international financial crisis, promoting the reform of the world financial system and enhancing bilateral relations when they met in London. During the meeting, President Hu made a four-point proposal to address the complicated international economic situation. First, to stabilize the world financial market as soon as possible; second, to adopt economic stimulus plans in line with a country's specific conditions; third, to curb trade and investment protectionism; and fourth, to reform the world financial regime in an all-round, balanced, gradual and effective manner. Brown said he hoped the summit would boost the confidence of the international community, help resolve the existing problems in the world economy and play a role in reviving the global economy.

　　Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century when they met in London. This was the first meeting between the two heads of state since the new U.S. administration came into office in January. China and the United States share more extensive common interests in tackling the financial crisis, striving to recover global economic growth, dealing with international and regional issues and safeguarding world peace and security, President Hu said. The two countries should also work together to tackle the complicated and thorny issues facing the humanity in the 21st century to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, he said.

　　President Hu met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on April 1.  "Our meeting today means a new starting point for the bilateral relations, and I hope the two sides work together to usher in a new phase in Chinese-French ties," President Hu said at the start of his meeting with Sarkozy. Sarkozy said no matter how France-China relations change, he believed there is only one China in the world, and that Taiwan and Tibet are alienable parts of the Chinese territories. China and France said in a press communique issued Wednesday simultaneously by their foreign ministries that the two sides "attach great importance to China-France relations" and reiterated their adherence to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. In the communique, France pledged not to support "Tibet independence" in any form.

　　Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on April the government would increase efforts to protect intellectual property rights (IPR). Premier Wen was speaking in a meeting with Francis Gurry, director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He said IPR protection was necessary not only for economic development and country-to-country exchanges, but also a matter of respecting the value of people's work. The Chinese government would continue to implement the IPR strategy to promote scientific innovation, economic growth, cultural prosperity and social progress. Gurry spoke highly of China's big progress in IPR protection and said the WIPO would work with China to contribute to the global IPR protection efforts. 

　　China has intensified IPR protection, with nationwide campaigns launched every year since 2004. Last year, the government unveiled its Outline of National Intellectual Property Rights Strategy, aimed at promoting innovation and the use of new technologies by China's industries.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao(R) meets with Francis Gurry(L), director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Beijing, April 1, 2009.

　　Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with Benita Ferrero-Waldner, commissioner for external relations of the European Commission in Beijing on March 29. Mr. Li said that the commissioner's visit took place "when the China-EU relationship is undergoing resumption and further development." He emphasized that faced with the current international financial crisis, China and the European Union should strengthen cooperation and turn the crisis into an opportunity to achieve better economic growth. Ferrero-Waldner said the European Union valued relations with China and was ready to work with China to jointly tackle the financial crisis and other global challenges and to push forward bilateral ties. Commissioner Ferrero-waldner also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during her visit to China lasting from March 29 to 30.

　　At the 2009 China-EU Multilingualism Conference which opened on March 31, China's Vice Education Minister Zhang Xinsheng shared the same view as European Commissioner for Multilingualism Leonard Orban who said China and Europe should enhance cooperation in multilingual education to keep more languages alive as expressions of diversified cultures. Mr. Zhang said China has introduced English courses to third-grade primary students and French, Russian, Japanese, Germany and Spanish to middle schools. According to Zhang, the Goethe Institute of German first set up its Beijing school in 1988; the British Council set up four information centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing; the Alliance France opened up branches in nine Chinese cities; and the Cervantes Institute also set up its Beijing Branch.

　　Learning that 17 out of the 23 official languages of the European Union (EU) were taught in China, Orban said China is an enthusiastic partner with Europe in language exchange programs. According to a China-EU language program initiated in 2007, China will annually invite 100 European primary and middle school headmasters to visit China and 50 European teachers specialized in teaching Chinese to study in China.

　　The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector rose for the fourth straight month in March to 52.4 percent, up 3.4 percentage points from a month earlier, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) announced on April 2. It was the first time the PMI rebounded above 50 percent since July 2008, when the index fell to 48.4 percent. The output index rose to 56.9 percent in March, up 5.7 percentage points from the previous month. The new order index jumped 4.2 percentage points to 54.6 percent.

　　The Chinese government announced it will institute an essential medicine system within three years to drive down prescription costs and quell public complaints of limited accessibility of medicines. The system includes a list of essential medicines that would be produced and distributed under government control and supervision, according to an action plan (2009-2011) on China's health-care reform. The Ministry of Health said the list could be compiled on the basis of 300 to 400 drugs recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The action plan states essential medicines should be used at all public health facilities at grassroots levels from 2009. They should also be available at all retail drugstores and medical institutions. For more details, please go to http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/07/content_11144480.htm

　　China would manage to make breakthrough in yuan-based cross-border payment system in 2009, People's Bank of China, or the central bank, said in an on-line report. According to the report reviewing the country's payment system in 2008, China would further develop regional and international cooperation in payments, and improve the yuan-based cross-border trade settlements this year. The report also pointed out that China's payment system had remained safe, stable and efficient last year despite severe natural disasters and global financial downturn.

　　Beijing will extend its post-Olympic vehicle restrictions for another year in an effort to ease traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. The extension was widely expected as a majority of residents in the Chinese capital supported fewer cars on the road and cleaner air. The restrictions, based on license plate numbers, take 20 percent of the city's 3.61 million vehicles off roads each weekday.

　　Foreign tourists have begun entering Tibet as the region lifted a month-long suspension.  More than 500 foreign tourists traveling with more than 200 groups are expected to visit Tibet before April 20, according to the Tibet Autonomous Regional Tourism Bureau. The tourists are from the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Italy, Denmark and Australia- to name a few, according to the bureau.

　　The Second World Buddhist Forum was wrapped up on April 1 in Taipei with messages of hope from leading Buddhist figures. More than 1,000 eminent monks, scholars and figures from around 50 countries and regions attended the closing ceremony. During the five-day event, the participants discussed topics such as the preservation of Buddhist music and the Tripitaka, considered the encyclopedia of Buddhist culture, and the relationship between Buddhism and science, and Buddhism and environment protection in 17 sub-forums.