News digest

China to send medical team to Botswana

China and Botswana signed an agreement on Feb 20 to send a Chinese medical team to the African country.

Chinese Ambassador to Botswana Zheng Zhuqiang and Botswana's Minister of Health Dorcas Makgato-Malesu signed the agreement in Gaborone, capital of Botswana.

It will be the 14th medical team that China has sent to Botswana. The team will comprise 30 doctors, 10 nurses and six staff workers.

Makgato-Malesu thanked China for its assistance in Botswana's health development since the first medical team was sent in 1981. She said China's support has helped Botswana develop its health services for locals.

Zheng Zhuqiang said healthcare has long been one of the top priorities in China's assistance to Botswana. China is also exploring the possibility of sending medical experts to Botswana for short-term stays.

The first Chinese medical team started work in Botswana in 1981 with 13 members. Since then, 373 Chinese medical workers have served in the country.

Sierra Leone leader lauds China's aid

The president of Sierra Leone has described China's support in the fight against the Ebola epidemic as second to none.

Ernest Bai Koroma made the remark in a meeting with Ren Minghui, director of the department of international cooperation of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, in Freetown on Feb 11.

The Chinese director was in the country for the opening of a laboratory in the city of Jui that is located near a Chinese-built hospital.

Koroma described China as a "true friend indeed of Sierra Leone" and noted that China fulfilled a promise at the outbreak of the virus to provide a permanent disease control lab to Sierra Leone.

Mali's first lady calls China a true friend

Mali's first lady Keita Aminata Maiga recently said "China is genuinely concerned about the needs of the Malian people".

She made the comments during a dinner hosted in Bamako by China's Ambassador to Mali Lu Huiying on Feb 10.

"The friendship between Mali and China did not begin today. I had the opportunity to witness the start of this cooperation in the 1960s," said Maiga, who added that "this is why I gladly responded to the invitation by the ambassador to demonstrate the friendship between the two countries."

The Chinese ambassador said relations between the two countries were reinforced last year following the visit to China by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

"The year 2015 marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mali," the ambassador said. He appealed to both countries to use the celebration of ties to achieve more results.

The dinner was organized to celebrate China's Spring Festival and was attended by Malian government ministers and diplomats.

Car rams barrier at consulate gate

The US consulate in Shanghai was open for business as usual on Feb 13 after a car rammed into a barricade at the gate of the compound, injuring a sentry the previous night.

"All mission personnel at the consulate general have been accounted for and the consulate general is expected to be open for business as usual today, the 13th," a spokesman said.

On Feb 13, four sentries guarded the consulate as usual, and a police car was parked across the entrance.

Liu Daojie, the driver involved in the crash, said someone had been attempting to kill him for a month, and he had "tried to provoke an incident to draw attention".

Shanghai police said Liu, 35, was driving a black Toyota sedan registered in Fujian province. The car hit the guard rail at the consulate's side entrance at 9:43 pm. Police and consulate sentries took Liu into custody.

A guard, Sun Tao, 20, was injured as he tried to intercept the car. He was taken to hospital.

Watchdog checks for online fake goods

Products sold through online shopping websites will be a key target for quality inspectors this year, the national watchdog says.

The announcement comes amid growing pressure from regulators on e-commerce giant Alibaba over concerns about counterfeit products.

The scrutiny of products sold through e-commerce websites will focus on 11 categories, including air purifiers, kitchen goods, textile items and products for children, said Sun Huichuan, deputy chief of the quality supervision department under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Sun said the authority will provide training sessions for manufacturers with e-commerce businesses to improve the quality of their products. It will also help online platforms to improve quality supervision during the merchandise purchasing process.

Problems with fake and poor-quality products sold online have attracted complaints from the public for years, and the authorities have made this a key supervision target in recent months.

Beijing prepares for Games inspection

The Beijing municipal government is urging everyone involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics bid to make an all-out effort to be prepared for the final inspection by the International Olympic Committee in a month.

Beijing's joint bid with Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, will enter its decisive phase next month with the visit of representatives of the IOC Evaluation Commission. The IOC will vote for the eventual host between Beijing and its only rival, Almaty in Kazakhstan, in July.

The Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress passed a resolution on Feb 13 calling for all resources to be mobilized to prepare for the visit.

"Under the guidance of State authorities, the municipal government should work closely with Hebei province to be fully prepared in all possible areas that the IOC will evaluate and to optimize final preparations for the bid based on IOC rules," the committee said.

Award-winner praises China's science policy

A scientist who won the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award recognizes the value that China has placed on policymaking.

"Science has become a high policy priority in China, and this is in contrast to many Western countries where science innovation is not given the same level of encouragement as in China," Philip Rolston, vice-president of International Herbage Seed Group, wrote in an e-mail to China Daily.

Rolston was one of seven foreign scientists who won the award.

The 65-year-old native of New Zealand, who has expertise in seed research, leads a seed production research team in Lincoln, New Zealand, and is involved in research and development of the herbage seed industry with a focus on ryegrass agronomy and transmission of endophytes, which are organisms that live within plants. He is also a committee member of New Zealand's Seed Quality Management Authority.

Resolute stance on graft 'must remain'

China's top decision-making body says the Party and government must remain decisive and tough in fighting graft.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee highlighted this stance at a conference following the announcement on Feb 11 of inspections of 26 State-owned enterprises that will start this month.

The SOEs include China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp, China Huaneng Group, State Grid Corp of China, China Mobile Communications Corp and China Power Investment Corp.

Thirteen teams will be sent to the giant corporations, with each team dealing with two companies. The number of enterprises under scrutiny is almost double that of previous inspections.

Athens committed to port, Greek PM says

The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured Premier Li Keqiang in a telephone conversation on Feb 12 that his new government "will not change the nature" of existing bilateral programs, including the Piraeus Port project.

Analysts said the statement signaled a renewal of bilateral efforts to create a stronger hub for Eurasian trade routes. Li responded positively, expressing his hope that the two sides will follow through with their commitments, according to a news release on Feb 12. The port project has not only created local jobs, but has also resulted in improved conditions for workers and better protection of their rights and interests, he said.

Party heads make Work Report final

Members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China finalized the Government Work Report on Feb 12 as the country's leaders prepared for the two most important annual sessions.

The report will be submitted by the State Council to the 12th National People's Congress when its session starts on March 5. Premier Li Keqiang will read the report to the congress and seek its approval.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/20/2015 page3)