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Xi reassures HK of stability

President Xi Jinping has underlined that the government firmly supports the promotion of Hong Kong democracy in line with the law.

Its basic policies toward Hong Kong have not changed and will not change, Xi stressed, confirming Beijing's adherence to the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law.

Xi made the remarks while receiving a delegation of nearly 70 top Hong Kong business leaders in Beijing, including two of Asia's wealthiest men, Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee.

The delegation was led by Tung Chee-hwa, a former chief executive of Hong Kong and vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

It was the first time the President had met a Hong Kong delegation since the top legislature adopted a framework for the city's 2017 universal election of its top official, which allows Hong Kong voters to select a new chief executive from an approved list.

China Red Cross aids Ghana's cholera fight

The Red Cross Society of China has provided $50,000 to the Ghana Red Cross Society to fight a cholera outbreak that has killed over 100 people.

The cash assistance was handed over to officials of the Ghana Red Cross by China's ambassador to Ghana, Sun Baohong, at a ceremony in Accra on Sept 22.

The ambassador said the donation reflects the profound sentiments of sharing weal and woe between the two peoples and will add a new chapter to the annals of China-Ghana friendship.

She said China would continue to support medical and health efforts in Ghana.

Sun announced that China would provide material aid valued at over $800,000 to Ghana for Ebola preparation and response, hoping that West African countries would beat back the deadly illness at an early date with the international community's help.

China pledges fight against Ebola epidemic

China on Sept 19 pledged to continue to fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa following President Xi Jinping's announcement of an aid package of 200 million yuan ($32.54 million) on Sept 18 in India.

The Chinese government has provided cash, food and medical supplies to the epidemic-hit areas since the outbreak of the disease, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily briefing.

Hong said there were 174 Chinese medical experts working in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and other West African countries.

"This shows China's true friendship with African countries, and the Chinese people's international humanitarianism," said Hong, adding that China's actions were appreciated by West African countries, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

Food, drug producers to be graded

China's top food and drug regulator has pledged stronger monitoring of companies to address the serious food safety problems of recent years.

Food and drug companies that "seriously lose credibility" will see intensified inspections, more sampling of products and bans on owners running businesses related to food and drugs, said Mao Zhenbin, head of the supervision department of the China Food and Drug Administration.

The administration will also cooperate with other government departments to make sure shoddy companies are restricted in registration, financing and foreign trade, so that such companies stand to pay a heavy price for their loss of good standing, Mao added.

GlaxoSmithKline 'fully accepts' $489m fine

The China branch of British drugs giant GlaxoSmith-Kline has been fined 3 billion yuan ($489 million, 381 million euros) for paying bribes, a verdict the firm said it "fully accepts".

Changsha Intermediate People's Court in Hunan province found GSK guilty of "bribing non-government personnel" and then imposed the biggest ever fine by a Chinese court. Five company employees were sentenced to two to four years in prison with reprieves.

GSK China "resorted to bribery to boost sales of its medical products and sought benefits in an unfair manner," the court statement read.

"It bribed, in various forms, people working in medical institutions across the country, and the amount of money involved was huge. Five senior executives actively organized, pushed forward and implemented sales with bribery," it added.

Jobs cut at scandal-hit food supplier

OSI China, the Chinese arm of US food giant OSI Group, has announced 340 jobs cuts, two months after being accused of supplying expired meat to fast-food giants including McDonald's and Yum! Brands.

Both direct employees and contract workers at Shanghai Husi Food Co will lose their jobs, a statement said, adding most workers at Shanghai Husi have been on paid leave since July 21, the day after the scandal was exposed, and are now in the process of being laid off.

"It was our expectation that they could resume work as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, this will not be the case," OSI China said.

Scientists to deal with US' growing Asian carp

US scientists have visited China to explore ways to prevent the Asian carp's spread in their country and discuss the possibility of returning the fish back to China, after it was reported to be threatening rivers, lakes and indigenous species.

"Chinese love eating the fish, and the US has too many of them, which makes exploring a business plan a win-win solution," said Yang Bo, a freshwater expert from The Nature Conservancy.

But implementing such a plan won't be easy, Yang added, with barriers including the high costs of transportation, tariffs and the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, which makes transportation of live fish across US state lines illegal.

iPhone smugglers targeted

Customs officials in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, have stepped up efforts to block the smuggling of Apple's latest iPhone.

The model has been on the market in 10 countries and regions since Sept 19 but is excluded from the Chinese mainland.

By Sept 23, Shenzhen officials had seized more than 200 iPhone 6 handsets smuggled from Hong Kong. Another 1,600 identified as self-use goods had import duties imposed on them or were returned to Hong Kong, customs data showed.

Silver hair industry about to boom

The domestic market for providing essential services and products for the aging population is estimated to be worth 4 trillion yuan ($651 billion) in 2014, or 8 percent of GDP, but it will climb to 33 percent of GDP in 2050, according to the China Report on the Development of the Silver Hair Industry released on Sept 23.

China will become the largest market for businesses serving senior citizens by 2050, when its aging population will account for about one-fourth of the global total and its consumption is expected to reach 106 trillion yuan.

There should be more measures to encourage the growing retirement population to spend and make sufficient preparations for later life, said Wu Yushao, deputy director of the China National Committee on Aging.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/26/2014 page2)