IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Li calls for Sino-EU investment fund

Premier Li Keqiang has called for the establishment of a China-European Union joint investment fund and voiced support for stability of the euro.

Such a fund would boost bilateral investment and financial collaboration and demonstrate that China and the EU will step up investment collaboration and explore third-country markets, Li said.

"This also demonstrates China's unswerving support for the euro's stability as well as the solidarity and development of the EU," Li told visiting European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen.

Li's remarks followed an announcement by Vice-Premier Ma Kai on Sept 28 that China would contribute to the commission's 315-billion-euro ($352 billion) investment plan for Europe. This aims to revive investment in strategic projects across the continent to ensure that money reaches the real economy. China is the first non-EU country to announce a contribution to the plan, the commission says.

The announcement was made during the High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue cochaired by Ma and Katainen on Sept 28. The two sides agreed to set up a joint working group to increase collaboration on all aspects of investment.

China and Iran to work more closely together

China and Iran have vowed closer collaboration, after Beijing played a key role in solving the decade-long Iran nuclear impasse.

President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the remarks when they met on the sidelines of a series of United Nations summits in New York.

Xi was in New York to attend activities marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the UN, following a four-day state visit to the United States.

The meeting came two months after a multilateral deal, in which China played a key role linking Iran and the West, ended the 12-year Iran nuclear stalemate.

Key partnership on 5G signed

The EU and China have signed a milestone agreement in the global race to develop 5G networks, during the EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue in Beijing.

By 2020 there will be more than 30 times as much mobile Internet traffic as there was in 2010, and 5G will play a critical role.

The joint declaration was signed by Gunther Oettinger, European commissioner in charge of the digital economy and society, and Miao Wei, Chinese minister of industry and information technology.

Both parties are committed to reciprocity and openness in terms of access to 5G networks research

funding, market access as well as in membership of Chinese and EU 5G associations.

Wider prospects seen for foreign investment

China's economy remains in good shape and the government will further expand reform and opening-up, officials from eight Chinese government bodies told foreign enterprises and chambers of commerce on Sept 28.

The National Development and Reform Commission, with seven other agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce, held a symposium on Sept 28 to talk with foreign business representatives and hear their views about China's investment environment.

Executives of foreign enterprises said President Xi Jinping's speeches during his state visit to the United States, which frequently mentioned extending reform and opening-up, were encouraging.

New rules set out for prosecutors

Prosecutors who neglect their duties or conduct malpractice that results in miscarriage of justice or major case defects will face severe punishment, even beyond their time in office, amid deepening judicial reform designed to ensure justice, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Sept 28.

The top prosecuting department has issued a judicial mandate to clarify and standardize prosecutors' legal responsibilities and punishments "in an effort to ensure fairness" of the judicial system, said Xiao Wei, a spokeswoman for the procuratorate.

Under the new rules, prosecutors at all levels will assume legal responsibility for the quality of the cases they have handled.

Plan in pipeline to save groundwater

China is set to carry out a new plan to protect groundwater resources as authorities try to tackle the challenge of excessive use in most provincial areas, a government official said.

The government will soon publish a national plan on the use and protection of groundwater, said Qi Bingqiang, of the Ministry of Water Resources. The plan will set out how much groundwater should be used in each provincial area and set targets for reducing overuse.

Industrial companies face slower growth

A sudden deceleration in profit growth in August for China's industrial companies will hamper entrepreneurs' investment plans without more government-led growth stabilization projects, economists said.

Industrial profit fell 8.8 percent in August from a year earlier, the sharpest monthly decline since the indicator was first published in March 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

In the first eight months, profits of industrial companies totaled 3.77 trillion yuan ($613 billion; 526 billion euros) - with 448.1 billion yuan made in August - down 1.9 percent compared with the first eight months of last year, the bureau said.

Party raises presence in private organizations

The Communist Party of China plans to establish more branches in NGOs, trade unions and foundations and to increase its membership in these organizations. CPC organs are needed to "guide them in the right political direction" through promoting and carrying out Party policies, said a statement issued by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee on Sept 28. The branches should also "mobilize and educate ordinary people to stand against negative influence and illegal activities".

China and Russia vow to safeguard order

An international seminar titled 70-Year Common Victory was organized by the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Russia in Khabarovsk, Russia, to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II.

Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the seminar, as did Ivan Melnikov, vice-chairman of the Communist Party of Russia.

Scientists seek name for dark matter satellite

Scientists are inviting the public to name China's first dark matter satellite, which is due to be launched in December.

The satellite will be China's first launched for purely scientific purposes and not for economic benefit, according to Chang Jin, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Purple Mountain Observatory. The invitation was issued during an event in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Sept 29.

Quick hypertension intervention urged

China's top hypertension experts are urging more intensive management of high blood pressure in a nation where 330 million people, an estimated one in four, are affected by the serious and often chronic illness.

"We couldn't wait any longer for an overhaul in hypertension intervention," said Yu Zhenqiu, director of the hypertension department at Anzhen Hospital in Beijing.

Blasts heard in South China county

Blasts were heard in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Sept 30 afternoon. The blasts occurred at the seat of Liucheng county and the surrounding areas.

Pictures online showed a building half-collapsed in Dapu township. Witnesses also saw vehicles damaged on the road, and there were people injured in the blasts. Rescuers have rushed to the scene.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 10/01/2015 page2)