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Let's put our headstogether, Xi tells EU

China and the European Union should be partners for growth, offering each other opportunities and speeding up completion of an investment treaty, President Xi Jinping told European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on March 31.

In the first visit to the EU headquarters by a Chinese president, Xi told the bloc's top official that China expects Europe to expand high-tech exports, and that the two sides should start a feasibility study for a free trade pact as soon as possible.

Xi, on the last leg of a four-country visit to Europe, met Van Rompuy, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. China firmly supports European integration and has committed itself to expanding and deepening a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU, Xi said.

DPRK and ROKexchange fire

Pyongyang and Seoul traded fire over a disputed sea border on March 31, but Chinese analysts dismissed the possibility of a major military confrontation.

More than 100 shells out of about 500 fired landed in the Republic of Korea's waters as part of a drill, prompting ROK marines to fire more than 300 rounds into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's waters, defense officials in Seoul said.

The DPRK had said it intended to conduct the exercise in response to United Nations' condemnation of recent missile launches by Pyongyang and against "threatening" military drills in the ROK by US forces.

Pyongyang also accused Seoul of behaving "gangster-like", following the "abduction" of one of its fishing boats, and threatened to retaliate. The ROK said it sent the boat back after it drifted into its waters.

Overseas returneeswith degree in hand

A report on Chinese who returned from overseas studies last year showed that graduates with a master's degree were the largest group among them, and the group of those with a doctoral degree was the smallest.

The report, by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, part of the Ministry of Education, was based on a survey of the 189,000 overseas returnees that the center provided service to last year.

Those who returned to China with a master's degree made up 63 percent of the total, while those with a doctoral degree and above represented only 6 percent. More than 91 percent of the returnees were between 23 and 30 years.

Surge in visits toEurope forecast

The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Europe is expected to surge this year, thanks to loosened visa application procedures and an increase in the number of tour packages provided, a tourism expert says.

European destinations have always attached significance to Chinese visitors, and as tourism authorities in European countries further facilitate visa application procedures, it is believed more Chinese tourists will flock to the continent, said Yang Jinsong, a professor at the China Tourism Academy who focuses on international tourism.

Search for MH370 'must not ease up'

No effort must be spared in the coordinated search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370, Premier Li Keqiang said on April 2.

The multinational hunt for the plane remains challenging, but it must not ease up, Li said in a phone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

"We must strengthen search efforts - that is our responsibility to the victims and their families," Li said, adding that China will continue to work with Australia, Malaysia and other nations.

MH370, carrying 239 people, including 154 Chinese, vanished on March 8 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

Black-box hunt a raceagainst dying battery

Searchers for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 must step up their hunt for the aircraft's black box, an aviation expert said as an Australian ship carrying equipment to locate the device set sail on March 31.

It was presumed that the black box would run out of battery power about April 7, or April 12 at the latest, and its signal will then vanish, said Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine Aerospace Knowledge. "I don't want to be pessimistic," Wang said, "but the fact is that without the signal it will be virtually impossible to find."

Helicopters brought in for emergencies

Beijing will be the first city in China to upgrade its emergency medical service with the use of professional medical helicopters, said an official from the Beijing Red Cross Emergency Rescue Center.

The center signed a deal with Airbus Helicopters China to buy two EC135 helicopters on March 31.

"Each helicopter will be refitted with devices including an electrocardiograph, a ventilator, a defibrillator and a micropump," said Tian Zhenbiao, the center's deputy head.

The first helicopter will arrive in August, and the second will arrive in the second half of next year.

China preps satellite to help detect quakes

China's first test satellite for detecting electromagnetic anomalies from space will launch in 2016 in a move that is aimed at improving the country's earthquake monitoring network and moving its seismological science forward.

Yuan Shigeng, project manager for the satellite, said the polar-orbiting device will carry eight payloads, including a search-oil magnetometer, electric field detector, energetic particle sensors designed by China and Italy, and a Langmiur probe and plasma analyzer.

The satellite will collect and transmit data on electromagnetic signals in the Earth's ionosphere at altitudes of 507 km.

During its mission life of five years, the satellite will collect and supply data for research on earthquake monitoring, earth science and space science.

Economic pro-growth initiatives announced

China announced a slew of pro-growth measures on April 2 in what economists described as a targeted stimulus program, after a run of disappointing economic indicators raised concerns that economic growth in the first quarter might slip below the official target.

At a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, three major initiatives were announced, including tax breaks for small and micro enterprises, greater support for the redevelopment of run-down urban areas and more investment in railways.

The measures came after a series of data points indicated weakened economic activity from January through March. Economists worry that if no fresh measures were rolled out, the overall economy could sink to an unacceptable level.

"The economy now is like a decelerating car. If you take your foot off the throttle, it slows precipitously. But you also have to make sure that you don't gun it too hard," said Chen Hufei, a macroeconomic analyst with Bank of Communications.

Illegal GM food raises concerns

Hainan province's delayed announcement that it discovered the illegal planting of genetically modified corn and cotton has triggered public concerns about how information relating to GM food in China is disclosed.

A statement released by the Hainan provincial agriculture department on April 1 said that nine corn and cotton samples out of 107 specimens were identified as genetically engineered and that they were destroyed immediately in late December. Another six suspected samples were being examined at the time. The samples were taken from various trial farms operated by agricultural companies and institutes.

Many critics have asked what took the Hainan agency so long to publicize its detection of the illegal GM plants.

The department said that the destroyed samples and the samples under investigation came from illegal trial farms. It stressed that any trials on GM crops that have not secured government permission are banned, and those who conduct such trials will be punished in accordance with the law.

Soaring divorce rate a cause for concern

Measures are being considered to tackle the rapidly increasing divorce rate, with nearly 10,000 marriages breaking up in China every day, a senior civil affairs official says.

The measures being considered include improved counseling services as the number of couples seeking divorce has risen for 10 consecutive years, said Zhang Shifeng, head of the Department of Social Affairs at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

There were 3.1 million divorces in 2012, a 133 percent increase over 2003, Zhang said.

National statistics for last year have yet to be published, but Zhang predicted they will maintain an upward trajectory.

Women spend more on non-traditional items

Women spent more on non-traditional items last year, according to a report that shows spending grew in areas such as digital products, online shopping, traveling and training.

The Annual Report on Chinese Women's State of Life 2014 is based on a survey conducted in 10 big Chinese cities last year, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao. The survey polled 1,088 women aged 19 to 60.

Digital products, which ranked number four among personal expenses in last year's report, rose to number two this year. Last year, 16.9 percent of women's personal expenses were for digital products, second only to clothing, and in 2012 only 10.6 percent was spent on digital items.

Wife of president may help with sales push

ZTE Corp, the Chinese cellphone maker, may get an unexpected boost in sales thanks to Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping.

During his just finished trip in Europe she was spotted taking pictures with the Nubia Z5 Mini handset, one of the latest models by the world's fourth-largest maker of cellphones.

Despite having the bulk of China's mobile phone market share, ZTE has been under pressure to expand its product line, which has mostly been stocked with affordable phones, with more high-end devices.

But ZTE has good reason to feel confident that sales will rise. Peng's fashion choices have driven up sales for various Chinese companies and her popularity at both home and abroad is soaring.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/04/2014 page2)