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Nations vow to complete FTA

China and Australia pledged to ramp up efforts to complete their nearly decade-long work on a free trade agreement, Premier Li Keqiang and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on April 9.

Li met with Abbott in Sanya, Hainan province, where Abbott is attending the Boao Forum for Asia, held from April 8-11.

"Signing a bilateral FTA as soon as possible is an important consensus being shared between China and Australia," Li said. "We hope both sides carry forward the talks in a pragmatic way, make mutual concessions and ensure mutual benefits."

Li said China is expecting Australia to continue providing a fair and competitive environment for Chinese companies doing business in that country.

The two countries should strive to reach a "more balanced" agreement, he said.

Li said China and Australia, two influential forces in the region, should expand cooperation in trade, investment, finance, education and defense affairs on the basis of respecting each other's key interests and concerns.

Abbott said Australia is willing to learn from China's experience in economic development.

"Australia welcomes more investment from China," Abbott said.

It is the first time Abbott has visited China as prime minister of Australia.

China and Laos to speed up rail talks

China and Laos pledged on April 8 to speed up railway construction talks with the aim of signing agreements as soon as possible.

Negotiations on an inter-governmental railway agreement have been initiated to promote the interconnection of the two neighboring countries, Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong announced after meeting in Sanya, Hainan province.

Li said the China-Laos railway is the focus of ongoing major cooperation between the two countries, and China hopes an agreement can be reached as soon as possible to set the stage for further cooperation.

The two countries, both at a critical stage of deepening reforms and restructuring their economies, are facing an increasing number of cooperation opportunities, Li said.

Thongsing thanked Li for China's support for Laos as well as for the concrete benefits it has brought to its people.

He said Laos will grasp the opportunity of China's economic expansion for its own development.

Xi urges Israel to make brave decisions

President Xi Jinping called on April 8 for Israel to "make courageous decisions as early as possible" to push forward peace talks with the Palestinians, with efforts now "at a critical stage".

China will continue to play a constructive role during the process, Xi told visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Xi's remarks came as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ended another session with no sign of a breakthrough in efforts to salvage peace talks. However, an Israeli official said they had agreed to meet again.

Peres, a senior figure with a political career spanning more than 60 years, said Israel would work with the Palestinians and the international community to overcome difficulties and push the peace talks forward.

Ming Dynasty cup sells for record $36m

An 8.2-centimeter-tall porcelain cup from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) fetched a staggering HK$281.24 million ($36 million) at an auction in Hong Kong on April 8, setting a new record for Chinese porcelain at auction.

Shanghai billionaire Liu Yiqian won the bidding via telephone.

The cup, which is in pristine condition, was made using the doucai method of fashioning porcelain that began during the Ming Dynasty, was for appreciation and not for use. It is commonly known as a "chicken cup" because it is decorated with paintings of chickens.

The cup celebrates the pinnacle of the Chenghua style of porcelain-making from 1465 to 1487 that is renowned for refining the doucai method. Well-preserved examples from that period are rare.

Warning on dengue fever, malaria issued

China's top health authority has issued a public alert for dengue fever and malaria, which pose a risk to more than half the world's population.

The alert was announced on April 3 by the National Health and Family Planning Commission to mark World Health Day, which is marked on April 7, the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948.

The commission's focus this year is on pathogens and parasites that spread via certain vectors, or paths - via mosquitoes, sandflies and ticks - or from one infected animal to another, including humans. Besides dengue fever and malaria, bubonic plague and epidemic encephalitis B are concerns.

Last month, eight imported dengue cases were detected among a group of 28 Chinese returning to Chongqing from a trip to Indonesia and Singapore.

Netizens asked for help in exposing graft

China's top anti-graft agency has called on netizens to expose corruption, such as lavish banquets at private clubs, as part of its crackdown on graft.

Corrupt activities like using public funds to buy gifts, paying for personal travel and holding banquets are likely to occur during the upcoming May Day holiday, according to the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Officials' corrupt activities have become more difficult to track, the commission said on its website on April 4.

In its online discussion portal, the commission encouraged the public to expose corruption.

The move was aimed at implementing the "eight-point" guideline issued by the CPC Central Committee in late 2012, which requires officials to avoid extravagance and excessive bureaucracy.

Intervention needed to stem rise in cancer

Cancer has been on the rise in China and without timely intervention will become a major public health challenge, senior cancer experts warned.

According to the 2013 Cancer Registry Annual Report, 3.09 million Chinese developed cancer and 1.96 million died in 2010.

The estimates were based on data from 145 cancer surveillance sites in 24 provinces covering 158 million people and are highly reliable, said Chen Wanqing, director of the National Central Cancer Registry under the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

He said the effects of cancer intervention are usually seen in 15 to 20 years, and "it is urgent for the government to introduce more forceful and comprehensive campaigns to rein in the rising trend of cancer".

China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 04/11/2014 page2)