What's news

China, Niger vow to further cooperation

Vice-President Li Yuanchao met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum on Feb 3 and promised to deepen cooperation with the African country.

Li said ties between the two nations have developed rapidly in recent years, adding that China wants to work with Niger by strengthening political mutual trust, enhancing coordination on international and regional affairs and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.

Bazoum said Niger hopes to work with China to advance relations.

China and Nigeria currently have a number of cooperative deals that cover energy, culture, security and infrastructure.

The West African country obtained a loan of 480 billion CFA francs ($1 billion) from the Export-Import Bank of China in 2014 to fund projects in the construction, agriculture and industrial sectors.

Beijing supports cease-fire agreement

The cease-fire agreement signed between South Sudan's warring factions on Feb 2 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is being supported by China.

According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Feb 3, China appreciates the efforts made by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in the peacemaking process.

China has actively promoted the peace process in South Sudan, he said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended and offered suggestions at a special consultation proposed by China in support of IGAD's mediations on South Sudan peace process during his visit to Africa last month.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former vice-president Riek Machar signed a cease-fire agreement in the early hours of Feb 2 to end the conflict that erupted in December 2013 in the world's newest nation.

Li congratulates Zambia's first woman VP

Vice-President Li Yuanchao sent a congratulatory message to new Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina, the first woman in the country to hold the position, on Jan 27.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Zambia more than 50 years ago, political trust between the two countries has deepened, with achievements in trade and people-to-people exchanges. He added that the two countries have closely cooperated with each other in international affairs.

He also said China is ready to work with Zambia to lift bilateral relations to new heights.

African officials vow closer tie

African leaders attending the 24th African Union summit in Addis Ababa vowed to strengthen cooperation with China to develop infrastructure and embolden the war against terrorism and infectious diseases.

The 2015 African Union Heads of State and Government Summit ended on Jan 31 amid calls for concerted efforts to promote security and development on the continent.

Leaders discussed women empowerment and pressing security challenges like terrorism, civil strife and the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

The chairperson of the AU commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said in her keynote address that implementation of Africa's 2063 agenda had gathered steam.

"Our aspirations and concrete programs in Agenda 2063 are very clear; to diversify our economies and industrialize, to have skills and entrepreneurial revolution, unleash the creativity of youth and transform agriculture," Dlamini-Zuma told leaders.

Foreign dignitaries including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Ming.

The Chinese government and the AU signed an agreement ahead of the summit to develop infrastructure and industrialization on the continent.

Under Africa's 2063 agenda, AU member states are required to mobilize massive resources to implement the ambitious blueprint.

Political leaders and experts agreed that the time was ripe for Africa to eschew an over-reliance on external resources to finance development projects.

Zimbabwean President and new AU chairman Robert Mugabe said Africa has an abundance of resources that should be harnessed to implement infrastructure projects like roads, railways and ports.

He said China is a reliable partner that has pledged its resources to aid the development of highways, hydropower stations and modern ports in Africa.

Slovakia seeks greater use of rail link

Slovakia wants to make greater use of the Yuxinou Railway, a key artery linking China and Europe, according to Miroslav Lajcak, the foreign minister as well as deputy prime minister of the East European country, who spoke during a visit to China.

After speaking on Feb 3 on cooperation between China and Central Europe at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Lajcak told China Daily that the railway is "essential" for the development of countries along it, and his country is studying how to use the railway more efficiently.

The freight rail route links the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing with Duisburg, Germany after traveling through Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Slovakia also hopes for greater collaboration with China in high-speed railways and other high-tech areas, Lajcak said.

China to strengthen marketing of GM foods

China's genetically modified food market will not be dominated by foreign products, a senior rural affairs official said on Feb 3 amid calls by authorities for intensified efforts to ease public fears over GM products.

The country will continue to support GM food research as a nation with a massive population to feed, the official said, hinting that it will support the commercialization of domestic GM products.

Han Jun, deputy director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, China's top rural affairs decision-making agency, said "there is one point we are clear on: We cannot allow China's GM food market to be dominated by foreign products".

China has yet to approve of marketing campaigns for GM grains. To date, agricultural authorities have only approved the marketing of domestic GM papaya and cotton, Han said.

Meanwhile, imported GM soybeans, corn, cotton and rapeseed have taken up a major portion of the country's agricultural market. China imported 71 million metric tons of soybeans last year, a majority of which were GM soybeans, Han said.

Drones taking to the air to test delivery services

Some online shoppers in China will have to look to the skies for their packages on Feb 4.

Using five drones, a Chinese express company is partnering with e-commerce giant Alibaba's retail site to launch the first public air delivery campaign in China.

The country's answer to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' airborne robot home delivery plan has triggered debate over whether the futuristic technology will solve problems or be a hindrance.

Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Co said that it will deliver online orders from China's largest customer-to-customer shopping site Taobao.com using drones near a number of distribution sites in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Packages will be delivered within one hour of Taobao receiving online orders, YTO Express said.

Conditions for the three-day test include: Buyers must be within a certain radius and each drone will only carry products weighing less than 340 grams for every delivery, and buyers must also order a designated brand of ginger tea online.

Chinese buy more luxury goods overseas

Luxury brands had a tough time in China last year, with domestic consumers more willing to go overseas for lower prices.

According to the 2014 China Luxury Report, published on Jan 31 by the Shanghai-based research center Fortune Character Institute, 117 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad last year, a 20 percent year-on-year increase.

Total luxury purchases by Chinese consumers overseas rose 9 percent to $81 billion, while luxury purchases in the domestic market declined by 11 percent to $25 billion.

"Luxury brands put a lot of weight on Chinese consumers, but not as much on the Chinese domestic market," said Zhou Ting, director of the Fortune Character Institute. "This has somehow become an agreement reached unknowingly but simultaneously among many luxury brand managers."

"The world's leading luxury brands are gradually giving up the Chinese domestic luxury market. Apart from the fact that most Chinese consumers buy luxuries outside China, rampant fake products are one of the major reasons for luxury brands' lower confidence in the Chinese domestic market."

According to Fortune Character Institute, counterfeit luxury products in China outnumber genuine items six to one.

Military outreach gets new emphasis

A meeting to consider the military's foreign affairs work mapped out a blueprint for military diplomacy for the next decade, with a focus on fostering ties with major countries and neighboring regions.

Observers said neighboring countries would top the military diplomacy agenda, which is designed to allay concerns about China's rapidly growing military strength.

The results of the meeting, held on Jan 30 and Jan 31 in Beijing, closely followed President Xi Jinping's recent remarks that military exchanges would play a bigger role in China's diplomacy.

"Focus on fostering diplomatic ties with major countries as well as neighboring regions," Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at the meeting. It is also important to manage "significant diplomatic events and emergency responses, and to guide public opinion," Fan said.

Fan emphasized that the army should effectively contribute to the country's overall diplomatic work and be used for military construction as well as preparing for combat.

New policy aims to curb tax dodges

With the Chinese government's increasing its scrutiny of foreign companies' taxes, more businesses are consulting with financial advisers to deal with the new rules, which are designed to rein in cross-border tax evasion.

Tax professionals and business lobbies alike have welcomed the move as an attempt to bring China's tax methods more in line with international standards.

The heightened scrutiny has raised concerns that authorities could use the policy, which took effect on Feb 1, as a tool to put the pinch on foreign companies in an increasingly tough business climate in the world's second-largest economy.

Alibaba may face class-action suit

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is facing a possible class-action lawsuit initiated by five law firms in the United States.

The development comes after the company witnessed the biggest drop in its stock price since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in September.

Pomerantz LLP, the Rosen Law Firm, Holzer & Holzer LLC, Howard G. Smith and Bronstein, and Gewirtz & Grossman LLC said on Jan 30 they are investigating investor claims about Alibaba's business practices.

The investigation is aimed at determining whether the company engaged in inadequate disclosure and made false statements.

It is the latest development in a conflict between the company, which is based in Zhejiang province, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Alibaba and the administration quarreled this week over a quality-check report from the watchdog that claimed less than 40 percent of goods tested on Alibaba's online platform Taobao were authentic.

Corruption fighters may include outsiders

China's top-level policymaking group on reform pledged to reach outside the existing disciplinary organization in its search for qualified officials to lead anti-corruption organizations.

Typically, under current practice, leadership posts at the watchdogs have been filled by promotions from within. Now, talent can be drawn from other fields. It's the latest in a series of moves aimed at enhancing the Party's anti-graft effectiveness.

An action plan was also approved on Jan 30 for "further deepening judicial and social system reform" in line with decisions of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in October.

The Leading Group for Overall Reform, led by President and Party chief Xi Jinping, was set up in December 2013 to be in charge of mapping out reform missions.

China backs France in terrorism fight

China firmly supports France, still reeling from the terror attacks in Paris, in its fight against terrorism and in safeguarding its national security, President Xi Jinping told French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in Beijing on Jan 30.

Valls, on his first visit to China since he took office in March, called for closer cooperation with China in dealing with terrorism and curbing the flow of extremists.

The visit followed the deadly Jan 7 to 9 attacks on staff members at Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly publication, and on a supermarket. Seventeen people were killed.

Xi called for the two countries to strengthen their cooperation in global affairs, with China giving its full support to France as it prepares to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference this year.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/06/2015 page2)