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Eighteen Tibetan students, who had traveled all the way from the remote Qinghai province in Northwest China, were among the guests in Beijing as President Xi Jinping welcomed the president of the Republic of Congo to China on June 12.

They were there to thank President Denis Sassou Nguesso for donating money to rebuild a primary school in Qinghai, in the Tibetan autonomous region, destroyed by the magnitude-7.1 earthquake which hit on April 2010. More than 2,000 people died in the disaster.

"We are excited to see President Sassou Nguesso. We know Congo is not rich, but it helped us rebuild our school when we were in urgent need of help," said Sonam Nyima, one of the students' teachers.

"We are very grateful. That's why we have come here to thank the president."

At the start of their talks in the Great Hall of the People, Xi called Sassou Nguesso, who was making his 13th visit, an "old friend" of China.

Terrorist attack in Kenya condemned

China has condemned the terrorist attack in Kenya's eastern town of Mpeketoni that killed at least 48 people and wounded many more.

"China resolutely opposes any form of terrorism," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing.

"China conveys profound condolences to the deceased and sincere sympathy to their families and the injured."

About 50 heavily armed gunmen with explosives struck the Mpeketoni trading center, a farming community in Lamu County on June 22. A policeman was among those confirmed to have been killed.

The radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Chinese navy fleet visits South Africa

A crowd of almost 1,000 people welcomed a Chinese navy fleet as it docked at Victoria Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 17, its final stop on an eight-country African tour.

The South African Navy's Rear Admiral Robert Higgs said the visit symbolizes the growing friendship and cooperation between South Africa and China, and that further cooperation between the navies would be developed.

Consisting of two missile frigates and a supply ship, the Chinese Escort Task Group visited various countries over the past six month before arriving in South Africa.

A series of joint activities are planned during the visit. The South African public will also have a chance to visit the Chinese frigates.

Together, Higgs added, the two countries can make a major contribution to regional and world peace.

Tian Xuejun, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, said the visit came at a time when the two countries had continued to strengthen their strategic partnership.

PLA recruitment restrictions eased

The Chinese military has relaxed its physical standards for new recruits in an effort to attract more young people with higher education backgrounds.

The height requirement for a male candidate has been lowered from 162 centimeters to 160 cm, and for female candidates from 160 cm to 158 cm, according to the Defense Ministry's recruitment office.

The new standards have also lowered eyesight requirements because nearly 70 percent of high school and university students in China are nearsighted.

The People's Liberation Army is also to be more tolerant of tattoos, which had been regarded as a taboo in the military. People who have less than 2 cm of tattoos showing on their body while in uniform or 10 cm of total ink are now allowed to join.

Singapore sees pickup in tourists

Singapore is beefing up its tourism promotion in China, after a sharp decline in Chinese visitors to Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, due to a rise in anti-China violence and disturbances in those countries.

Many of Singapore's citizens are Chinese speakers, and officials say the country has strong Chinese influences, such as its food.

"Singapore has seen increasing Chinese visitors in the past few years, and we aim to attract more because fewer are heading to other traditional East Asian destinations," said Derek Tay Hock Guan, managing director of Lex Travel Pte Ltd, a travel agency in Singapore.

Study shows areasat risk for H7N9 virus

The H7N9 bird flu virus may inhabit only a fraction of its potential range and could possibly spread to India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

The emergence and spread of the disease has been linked until now mainly with areas that have a high concentration of markets selling live birds. However, it does not appear related to China's growing number of intensive commercial poultry operations, the study found.

Turmoil in Iraq to affect oil prices

The security crisis in Iraq will affect oil prices in China and change the mix of the country's overseas oil supply sources in the long run, according to energy industry experts.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economic Research at Xiamen University, said it is almost certain that the situation in Iraq will drive up oil prices in China and alter Chinese oil investment strategies in the Middle East.

Iraq is China's fifth-largest crude oil supplier, and the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Saudi Arabia.

Deeper media cooperation with Africa

China is to step up its media cooperation with Africa, after dozens of media representatives from both sides met in Beijing.

Cai Fuchao, director of the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, told the second Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation that the Western media still dominates much of the world's content, while the voices of developing countries often go unheard.

"As long as media organizations in China and Africa increase cooperation and support each other, there will be a huge impact on the world's public opinion," Cai said.

More than 260 delegates from 42 African countries attended the forum, including government ministers and leaders from radio and television organizations.

SAPPRFT said 19 cooperation agreements were signed during the forum, including an agreement to screen Chinese TV programs by media agencies in Mali and Sudan.

China has already been helping African countries develop their digital broadcasting infrastructures and train staff from local media agencies.

Deals signed on rail, nuclear tech

Premier Li Keqiang promoted the nation's high-speed rail and nuclear power technologies to Britain on June 17, with a series of landmark deals signed.

Twenty-six agreements worth $25 billion were signed on the second day of Li's three-day visit to Britain, his first to the country since taking office last year.

The premier met Queen Elizabeth II in the morning before being hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street after a grand welcoming ceremony.

Li and Cameron oversaw the signing of deals ranging from energy, finance and infrastructure to climate change.

Under a framework agreement, Britain welcomes Chinese firms taking part in its planned high-speed HS2 rail network, a 42 billion pound ($71.2 billion) project, with the first 192-km stage linking London and Birmingham.

Immigrant policy to adopt skill list

A list of skills the country needs most, and a points-based assessment system for applicants, will be included in China's future policy on skilled immigration, according to a senior foreign affairs official.

Socioeconomic development has made it more urgent for the country to introduce talent from overseas, said Zhang Jianguo, head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

Speaking at an international symposium on talent exchange and immigration in Beijing, Zhang said China regards a skilled immigration policy as a strategic requirement for its development, and, it should include a list of most-needed occupations to reflect the country's long-term and short-term requirements.

Japan aims to change stance

Tokyo looks set to further loosen legislative restrictions on sending troops into war zones and to change its postwar defense posture, as the Cabinet on June 17 issued a draft summary outlining Japan's controversial definition of collective self-defense.

Beijing said on June 16 that any policy adjustments on Japan's military security "should not harm China's sovereignty and security interests".

Japan has manufactured incidents and stirred up tension to pave the way for easing the constitutional curbs that have kept the military out of overseas conflicts for nearly 70 years, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

The draft would overturn the present interpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution to allow Japan to fight with other nations under the umbrella of collective self-defense.

The article had been interpreted until now to mean that Japan has the right of individual self-defense while maintaining the minimum forces necessary to achieve that. It can exercise collective self-defense only to aid forces of the United States, with which it has a formal alliance.

Scientists to map out vast ancient city

Chinese scientists are planning a five-year, 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) program to gather information to fully map out the lost ancient kingdom of Loulan and to solve the mystery of its disappearance.

Qin Xiaoguang, the scientist heading up the plan, said he hopes to recreate a complete picture of Loulan, using satellite technology and field work.

Loulan's ruins are located about 300 km northeast of Ruoqiang county in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and adjacent to another early city, Dunhuang in Gansu province

Besides Loulan, Qin said the program will also study natural formations in the Lop Nor region such as the Yadan landscape, a vast area of wind eroded hills and bluffs.

Xi's call for 'energy revolution' supported

Industry experts have reacted favorably to a call by President Xi Jinping to accelerate China's energy production and diversity, and to raise its energy efficiency.

Leading figures, including Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economic Research at Xiamen University, applauded the leadership's resolve to pave the way for more non-state companies to enter the industry and foster healthier competition in the sector.

Xi stressed that China must raise its energy security to a higher level as he presided over a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs to map out the next round of the "revolution in energy production and consumption".

70 hurt in Macao ferry crash

Officials in Macao say 70 people were injured after a high-speed ferry crashed on June 13.

They said the turbojet ferry Cacilhas, operated by Hong Kong-based Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, hit the southern embankment near Macao's outer harbor terminal at around 9.30 am. Shun Tak later confirmed the ship was carrying about 220 passengers and 13 crew.

A news release from Macao's Health Bureau said the injured included 45 men and 25 women between the ages of 17 to 69, of whom four were Macao residents and 59 were from Hong Kong. Also hurt were four South Koreans, one Japanese national and two Thais. Nine crew were among the casualties.

The authority said the injured were all taken to a local hospital, but sustained only minor injuries.

Maritime courts see cases increase

Chinese courts have heard an increasing number of commercial marine cases over the past three years, especially disputes involving foreign entities, according to the latest official figures.

Luo Dongchuan, chief judge of the maritime department at the Supreme People's Court, said disputes over marine cargo, watercraft rentals, vessel collisions and ship construction have risen amidst a turbulent international shipping market and the global economic crisis.

More tie the knot with overseas spouses

Marriages registered in China between Chinese and overseas residents have increased for the past three years and the trend is expected to continue amid increased globalization.

About 55,000 Chinese registered marriages to foreigners or Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan with civil affairs departments in 2013, a rise of 12 percent compared with three years ago, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

About 13.4 million people on the Chinese mainland married last year, the ministry said.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/20/2014 page2)