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Premier: Fair business climate crucial

The stage is now set for Beijing and Latin American and Caribbean countries for the next five years to bring their relationship to an unprecedented level.

The two-day ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Beijing saw the adoption of a five-year outline for interregional development on Jan 9, as well as plans to institutionalize the forum, which will be hosted next by Chile in 2018.

The plan covers cooperation in 13 sectors such as trade and investment, infrastructure and energy and resources.

The forum marks the first time that China has hosted the 33-member body, which comprises all countries in the Americas except the United States and Canada.

Premier Li Keqiang, speaking to the heads of delegations - mostly the foreign ministers - stressed the importance of creating a fair business environment and solid legal protection for Chinese equipment.

He praised current relations between China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries and said that innovative methods of cooperation would boost the relationship and provide solid foundations for future success.

Maritime safety talks resume with Japan

China and Japan agreed to launch a maritime crisis management system as soon as possible to reduce the risk of an accident in the air or at sea, as talks resumed on Jan 12 after a long hiatus.

The move marked the latest encouraging step to avoid clashes in the East China Sea and to thaw the strained relationship between China and Japan, observers said.

Both countries discussed specifics, including potential technical problems, and agreed to launch the program as soon as possible after necessary adjustments based on the fourth round of talks in Tokyo, China's Defense Ministry said on its website on Jan 13.

The working-level talks, involving the ministry, Japan's defense ministry and the Maritime Self-Defense Force, also reaffirmed the basic agreements that have been reached.

Defense authorities in both countries began the talks in 2012 and discussed basic principles for a set of measures such as setting up a hotline and unifying radio frequencies for warships and planes around the islands of the East China Sea.

But talks were suspended after the Japanese government's "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands in September 2012 before any mechanisms were put into operation.

Shopping for a mate means calculation

Love is not the only criterion for marriage in China. A recent survey shows that more than 40 percent of Chinese look to marry someone who suits them in appearance, educational background, social status, income and other characteristics.

Baihe.com, a major dating portal in China, released its 2014 Chinese Marriage Status Survey Report on Jan 11. The site has tracked marriage trends in the country since 2007.

The results show that 44.4 percent of male and 49.7 percent of female respondents said the reasons for their choice of a marriage partner include their mate's coming from a family of equal social rank.

"This means people are much more rational when it comes to the marriage decision," the report said. "They would like to match each other under every single standard. Love is no longer the only pass."

The report also said that more than 70 percent of female respondents said they would consider marriage only if the male partner owns property. And more than 70 percent of the women hoped their future husband's income would be double their own.

Push for real IDs in online apps to expand

The use of real identities online will continue to be promoted in order to ensure a safer online environment, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.

The authority will make more efforts to enforce the real-identity system in some other online industries after it asked users of instant messaging tools to provide real names last year, Xu Feng, director of the authority's mobile network management bureau, said on Jan 13.

The Internet watchdog targeted instant messaging tools, such as WeChat, China's most popular smartphone application, ruling that users must register with their real names. It also tightened access to user accounts.

Under the decision, network service providers can require users to register real identities, and in turn they must protect the information.

More than 80 percent of WeChat users have registered with their real names. Tencent, which produces the instant messaging tool, has also been urging older users to use their real identities, Xu said.

In July, the country had nearly 460 million users of instant messaging tools, an increase of 28.4 million since 2013, according to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center.

Couples slow to apply to have second child

China's relaxation of its one-child birth control policy after three decades has not resulted in a baby boom as officials once feared.

In the first year of the policy relaxation, less than one-tenth of the couples eligible to have a second child have wanted to do so, or have filed their applications, according to the nation's top family planning authority.

Urbanization is said to be one of the main factors contributing to the slow growth in the birth rate.

Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said on Jan 12 that fewer than 1 million couples have applied to have a second child since such applications became possible in March 2014.

At the end of 2013, the central government decided to relax the birth rules by allowing couples to have a second child if one of the parents is an only child. Previously, they were both required to be only children to have a second child.

At least 11 million couples have become eligible following the change, which is aimed at addressing tough demographic challenges such as a rapidly aging society and a shortage of labor.

Fewer professionals changing jobs

The proportion of professionals who changed jobs in the past 12 months dropped from 18 to 15 percent in China, reflecting both the slowdown of the economy and employers' efforts to retain talent, according to a recent survey.

A majority of respondents who changed jobs got salary increases of up to 20 percent, though some received no increase, according to MRIC Group's survey, known as the 2015 Talent Trends Briefing. It was the fifth annual survey by the organization, a provider of executive recruitment services that was founded in Hong Kong in 1998.

The survey tabulated responses from more than 4,500 middle or senior managers and professionals working in China and Singapore.

About 24 percent of those who changed jobs got a salary increase of more than 30 percent. It was a sharp drop from 37 percent of previous years.

As the pace of China's economic growth has slowed, companies have become more reluctant to lure talent through large salary increases, said Angie Eagan, MRIC's managing director for China. And the current employers are making strong counteroffers when they do.

More military medics to help in Ebola fight

China is stepping up its contribution to the fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa by sending 232 more military medical workers.

The latest contingent left Beijing on Jan 13 to join two teams one consisting of 154 medical workers from more than 10 hospitals and medical sectors in Liberia; the other comprising 78 workers including a mobile laboratory testing team in Sierra Leone. They will stay in West Africa for two months.

"Fighting Ebola is not a regional battle, but should be supported globally," said Cui Li, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Before leaving, all the team members had received training lasting from two weeks to a month, including language, culture classes and also medical self-protection, like putting on and taking off the exposure suits made specifically for Ebola virus prevention.

(China Daily European Weekly 01/16/2015 page2)