Student gift - Olympia, WA

Points of view - New York

Facing up - New York

Harvard yarns - Cambridge, MA

Trade talk - New York

Rapid growth - Cambridge, MA

On the ready - Cincinnati, OH

69th year - Los Angeles

Brick rubbings - Bellevue, WA

Celebration time! - San Francisco

Happy anniversary - Houston

Strategy session - Chicago

View exchange - Washington

Operatic sisters - San Francisco

Opera demo - Washington

Goal-oriented - San Francisco

Big signing - Rockville, MD

Top ten - Washington

Ready for autumn - New York

Star power - New York

Designing lady - New York

On reflection - Bellevue, WA

Confucius says - Fremont, CA

Precious present - San Francisco

Happy 60th - Fremont, CA

Group effort - Rockville, MD

Sporty redo - Houston

Tiger tales - Los Angeles

Art teaches - Dallas

Space issues - San Francisco

(China Daily USA 09/14/2018 page13)

WASHINGTON - Top aides to US President Donald Trump scrambled on Thursday to deny authorship of an anonymous New York Times opinion column that slammed the president's leadership style and described "a quiet resistance" to him within his own administration.

By early afternoon, eight senior officials had disavowed the piece, including Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, while hammering the author for writing it and the Times for publishing it.

Trump seethed about the piece and presented it as one more jab from the ranks of disgruntled critics in denial about his presidential successes, even as Washington was consumed with speculation about who wrote it.

First Lady Melania Trump said in a statement on Twitter, "To the writer of the op-ed - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

The article, published on Wednesday, appeared just days after the publication of excerpts from a new book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward that portrays Trump as prone to impulsive decision-making. The excerpts described senior aides as sometimes disregarding his instructions to limit what they saw as damaging behavior.

On Wednesday, visibly angry at a White House event, Trump called the Times article a "gutless editorial," and in a later tweet he suggested it was treasonous.

The Times opinion section said the piece was written by a senior official in the administration and that it was taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous article because disclosing the author's identity would jeopardize the person's job.

Senior aides, some of whom have also been denying episodes from Woodward's book this week, lined up to disavow authorship of the piece, known as an op-ed for its place in the opinion-editorial section.

Pompeo said during a trip to India that he was not the author and condemned the Times for publishing it, while Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Mattis did not write the piece.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen spokesman Tyler Houlton said, "Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times."

Nielsen, along with Pence and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats were among the favorites on Thursday among gamblers trying their luck online at guessing the author.

A spokesman for Pence said the vice-president does not write anonymous opinion columns. "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed," spokesman Jarrod Agen said on Twitter.

Coats said in a statement that speculation that he or his principal deputy wrote the piece was "patently false".

The opinion piece, and Woodward's book, which is published next week, follow many news articles during Trump's 19-month presidency that have depicted turbulence at the White House under his leadership.

Trump sought to portray the op-ed as a reflection of yet more anger by Democrats who have never accepted his 2016 presidential election win.

He invoked the term Deep State - used to portray people in the government with a political agenda working against him - as well as his campaign promise to drain what he has called the corrupt Washington swamp.

"The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do," he tweeted on Thursday morning.

"I'm draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Don't worry, we will win!" he tweeted earlier.

Reuters

Following the conclusion of weeklong hearings in Washington on the US administration's proposed 25 percent duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, a few US researchers and a top Chinese envoy have highlighted cooperation and consultation for resolving the problems between the two countries.

"I would say we're nowhere near a tipping point," David Dollar, senior fellow of John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution, said when asked if the world's top two economies, locked in trade tensions, are approaching a critical juncture, as some critics suggested.

The two countries have already slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods.

"Let's not forget, there's still a tremendous amount of trade between the US and China, there're 400,000 Chinese students in the US, and there's American tourists going to China. ... So a little bit of friction does not necessarily mean a turning point.

"Hopefully this will be rather temporary, and we'll get back to healthy development of our relationship," he said.

Dollar, a former US Treasury economic and financial emissary to China, made the comments on the sidelines of a dialogue on Aug 30 at the Brookings Institution, which was attended by US think tank researchers and a Chinese delegation of researchers and former government officials.

"I've been opposed to these US tariffs right from the start. I don't think these are good instruments," Dollar said. "So for me, a happy solution is China opens up the economy more, and the US pulls back from this trade war."

Speaking on the same day at a working lunch at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said China is always ready to engage in "serious, substantive and pragmatic" negotiations and consultations to address the economic and trade issues.

"This has to be a process of goodwill for goodwill and good faith for good faith. If we can reach an agreement through this approach, I don't think the current economic and trade issues would be that difficult," the ambassador said.

John Allen, president of the Brookings Institution, said he believed the US-China relationship is the most consequential relationship that the United States enjoys today and the most consequential relationship for the 21st century.

Such a "consequential relationship" features four C's, namely, cooperation, competition, confrontation and conflict, Allen, a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, said before the off-record discussions at the Brookings.

Allen said Americans and Chinese could look for ways to cooperate and there is much they can do together for the good of all human kind.

"We should expect that the two great nations in the world will compete. But if we're wise, we should see in that competition, opportunities, because we're better for the constructive competition over time," he said.

On occasion when confrontation occurs, the two sides must manage it and have to prevent conflict between the United States and China, Allen said.

Richard Bush, a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings, said he had "a certain amount of sympathy" with the Chinese government in dealing with a "disorganized" administration like "the one we have".

He said China needs to be clear on what its own policies are and "take measured actions in response to unreasonable things that Trump administration does".

Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and an expert on the Chinese economy, said that US President Donald Trump seems "very reluctant" to give any ground.

"I think until we see more evidence of the cost of his approach on American consumers and American businessmen and American farmers, he's not going to change course," Lardy said after the CSIS roundtable on Aug 30.

Ford abandoned plans to sell the Chinese-made Focus Active in the US last week after Washington imposed duties on Chinese vehicles of up to 25 percent as part of an escalating trade dispute with China.

US President Donald Trump is also considering a proposal to impose tariffs on all imported vehicles on national security grounds.

As long as the tariffs on Chinese auto imports are in place, it makes zero sense to export from China to the US unless a manufacturer can get premium pricing, said David Whiston, industry analyst with Morningstar Inc.

"A crossover derivative of the Focus doesn't pass that test and Ford knew it. I wouldn't expect much if any autos to come into the US from China soon," he said.

Stephanie Brinley, an analyst with IHSMarkit, said a tariff could affect decisions on whether an automaker imports a vehicle from China, but it does not necessarily mean local production will be the result.

"Ford will simply step out of the segment," she said. "A 25 percent tariff on vehicles imported from China is a significant barrier, one the automakers cannot absorb, and has potential to make the vehicle more expensive than consumers are willing to pay."

Whiston agrees. "You can't use China as an export base to send a vehicle to the US (as) a 25 percent tariff is too great. Americans will be denied vehicles such as the Buick Envision (from General Motors) or a crossover-based Ford Focus.

"Reducing choice due to government intervention isn't how a demand-based economy should work, but with Trump's policies very set against trade deficits with China, this will be the norm for a while," he said.

GM is asking for an exemption to the 25 percent American tariff on the Envision, a midsize sport utility vehicle that is already being sold in the US.

"GM seems to be set on terminating the Envision in the US without the waiver it is seeking as it says Envision volume is not high enough to justify US production," Whiston said. "I hope GM can work it out as Buick needs that vehicle in the US. It fits a nice niche in crossovers, whereas the Encore can be too small for families and the Enclave is too big and expensive for some American households."

Brinley said GM would be unlikely to move production of the Envision from China to the US if the waiver is declined.

Early in the 20th century, Doyers Street earned the nickname of the Bloody Angle because of the street gang violence and murders that took place there.

Chen read one description of it saying that residents of Doyers Street had to wash the blood off the street with water every morning.

"That's impressive," he told China Daily. "Now, after all these years, I'm using color to create art there. It's dramatic, also romantic."

The artwork is called The Song of Dragon and Flowers to pay tribute to the history of Asian-American immigrants.

"Dragon as a visual embodiment of this area and Chinese cultural heritage, and flowers are a symbol of peace, also representing the richness of Chinatown's history," Chen explained.

"The song refers to the style and art-making process of my space painting," he added.

Chen's artwork is part of the New York City Department of Transportation's Seasonal Streets program, which temporarily transforms streets into vibrant public spaces during warm weather when people use them the most.

The Song of Dragon and Flowers was selected by the DOT from about a dozen candidates because of its outstanding visual presentation and the meaningful connection with the historical significance of Doyers Street and its Asian-American heritage.

"The plan sounded crazy, since the busy street had to be blocked from both vehicles and pedestrians while the painting was going on," Chen said.

"It was also challenging personally as I had to paint non-stop to make sure the project was completed on schedule," said Chen. "I could hardly stand up over the last few days, my back was killing me."

"But everyone couldn't have been more excited to see the completed work," Chen said, who painted the finishing stokes on July 20.

"Through the explosion of abstract lines and vivid colors, I wanted to bring an Eastern charm into my work by composing a song with exuberant and dynamic rhythms," he said.

Born in Shandong province in eastern coastal China in 1982, Chen earned a bachelor's degree in experimental art from the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, in 2008.

Chen's work has been exhibited in the US and China and he has participated in a variety of public art projects and large-scale space paintings in New York, Hangzhou, as well as Turin, Italy and Athens, Greece.

Chen describes his work as "not about dreams, but rather a kind of reality, a kind of memory, a mental world, the intersection between sensation and illusion and it takes time to find a way in."

Chen is interested in how people react to his work. After the artwork is done, he transforms himself into an observer.

"I keep an eye on people who visit the site and post photos on Instagram with hashtags, and I like to interact with them," he said.

"Over time, the colors will fade and finally disappear. It should look different over different stages," he said. "It's just the character of my art, which is integrated into the street, reflecting the changes of time."

Currently, Chen lives and works in New York and Hangzhou. Living in New York, the ethnic melting pot, he said, gives him the opportunity to think about his ethnic identity.

"I feel honored to contribute to the community of my own ethnic group and use my brush to tell the story of the past, the present and the future of Chinatown," he said.

The area cultivates 99 percent of the hazelnuts grown in the United States on more than 73,000 acres, yielding a harvest worth $90 million annually for Oregon.

More than 800 grower families on farms nestled along the length of the valley have been raising the trees to support their families.

Young hazelnut trees are seen everywhere in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Photos by Linda Deng /china Daily In the past five years, the number of hazelnut growers in the region has soared while Oregon's hazelnut acreage has more than doubled.

"New crops are seen everywhere now, about another 1,000 new families have started to raise hazelnut trees," Larry George, CEO of the George Packing Co, said with pride.

George's company is the largest processor and marketer of hazelnuts in the US and also one of the most technologically advanced. In peak season, more than 150 full-time employees work at the business.

The workspaces are now being painted to prepare for the harvest. But George is concerned about the industry's and the local farmers' prospects.

In response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, China tacked an additional 25 percent tariff on US hazelnuts.

Previously, before the tariff increase, Oregon hazelnuts carried a 25 percent tariff plus a 10 percent value-added tax, so with the additional 25 percent plus 15 percent value-added, it will be 65 percent.

Oregon's hazelnut growers export 60 percent of their crop - more than 90 percent of that to China. The additional levies will make it difficult for Oregon growers to compete.

"China is our biggest customer. The families and their employees will be directly affected by high tariffs on hazelnuts. Thousands of small businesses that serve those family farmers will also be affected," George said.

"Some families have other crops, some have other businesses. But for the most part, especially for the newer growers getting into the industry, they depend on hazelnuts for their income," said Polly Owen, director of the Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office.

The Trump administration announced a $12 billion relief package for American farmers to compensate them for the impact of China's tariffs. Oregon hazelnut growers, however, will not be covered in that relief package.

"The reason is that we don't ship hazelnuts directly to China; we are not qualified," said Terry Ross, executive director of the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association.

Even before the recent strain in trade relations between the US and China, Oregon hazelnut farmers weren't in a competitive position to export directly to China.

China has imposed a 25 percent tariff on in-shell hazelnuts from the US as well.

To compare, in-shell US pistachios are subject to a 5 percent tariff, and in-shell hazelnuts from Chile face no tariff.

As a result, the domestic hazelnut industry has long shipped the crop to Hong Kong and other neighboring countries, such as Vietnam, where it's then shipped to the Chinese mainland.

Now with the tariff increase, Oregon hazelnuts will get a smaller export pipeline and may lose out on the China market.

To make local growers' voices heard, George has traveled to Washington twice to meet with Trump administration officials.

"My purpose was to let the government realize our industry is growing big (and) how important the Chinese market and US-China relationship are to the farmers of Oregon," George said.

Oregon's US senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and US representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader spoke out on behalf of Oregon hazelnut growers in an Aug 15 letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

"US hazelnuts now face even higher Chinese tariffs imposed in retaliation to new US tariffs on Chinese imports," wrote the Congress members. "US hazelnut farmers and producers find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with other producers that are subject to lower tariffs, or are not subject to tariffs at all.

"We urge you to engage with China to level the playing field for our Oregon farmers and therefore help their industry thrive. We encourage you to seek an elimination or substantial reduction of China's burdensome tariffs on Oregon inshell and shelled hazelnuts as part of any future dialogue with China on tariff barriers to US agriculture exports," the letter said. "The reduction or elimination of these tariffs would make a meaningful difference to Oregon family farmers and US producers."

"Long term, this conversation had to happen, but short term, it could have a very negative impact on the 2018 crop. Those markets are time-sensitive. The problem is trade issues move slowly, but the crop doesn't change its speed," George said.

The hazelnuts will be harvested in September. Consumption peaks during the Chinese New Year in early 2019, but the crop must be shipped by October or November to make the market.

"Hazelnut is one of the main crops we get income (from) for our farm, and China is the main source where the crop goes. The tariffs really impacted our chance to get good prices and stable income for us. We are going into this season not knowing. ... Now the tariffs make the market tight," John Brentano of Brentano Farms Inc said.

John Brentano and his brother Dan are fifth-generation growers at the family farm in St. Paul, Oregon. The farm is comprised of more than 2,000 acres and grows a diversified variety of crops. Hazelnuts make up 30 percent of their annual income.

John's daughter Stephanie Brentano, 28, and Dan's daughter Laney Brentano, 26, recently joined the management of the hazelnut orchards.

"They will be the sixth-generation growers, carefully handing down the traditions of raising hazelnuts," Dan Brentano said.

For grower families like the Brentanos, hazelnuts are a key part of their income. In a typical year, a harvest, depending on the world market, is worth between $20,000 and $100,000 before operational costs.

In 1856, English sailor Sam Strickland retired from the Hudson's Bay Co and settled in a small Douglas County community, where he planted the first known hazelnut tree in the Northwest.

More than 160 years later, Oregon's Willamette Valley's perfect blend of temperate climate, rich volcanic soils and water flowing from the Cascade Mountains come together to create full-flavored hazelnuts sought throughout the world.

"Famers chose hazelnut trees because we have just the right climate and soil conditions to have trees yield almost twice as much as they do anywhere else in the world," Owen said.

Both George and Terry Ross believe China is a "have-to-have" market.

George said Chinese customers love the Oregon hazelnut for three reasons: It is the largest in the world, has a world-leading quality-control system to keep the good quality, and it has very rich flavor.

Earlier this month, Ross attended the China International Tree Nuts Conference 2018 in Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong province. "It was such an amazing event, and you can see the great potential and growing demand in China's market there," Ross said.

"We don't want to give up the market. Without the China market, the local growers even would have switched to other crops during the great recession in the 1990s. Facing the financial pressure at that time, my father stopped growing hazelnuts, but my brother and I ended up founding a hazelnut packing company. The next year I got a client from Hong Kong, and we survived," George said.

"By reducing or removing the steep tariffs, Oregon hazelnuts would be shipped directly to China. It helps the trade deficit, we will pay Chinese taxes. This can be a win-win for the Chinese consumer, US farmers and both governments," George said.

Ross is concerned about the tariff, but he also sees an opportunity, that the new tariffs will create a dialogue between the Oregon hazelnut industry and the Chinese government.

"We are optimistic. We believe the current situation with the tariff issues between the US government and Chinese government can be resolved soon. We need each other [so we don't] jeopardize our futures," said Ross.

"The most important part for us with the tariff is we can we find a way to instill a legacy not just for my generation but the generations to come. When the tariffs have been resolved, that would really open the doors so that my children and children's children will have a place on this farm as well," said Laney Brentano.

The US-China trade war became a focus of "Chinese Investment in the US: The Path Forward", a conference hosted by China General Chamber of Commerce-USA (CGCC), which gathered experts, business leaders and government officials in Houston on Wednesday.

"We can spend an entire day debating the facts and analysis of how we got here today," said Xu Chen, president and CEO of Bank of China USA and the chairman of CGCC during an opening speech. "The fact remains though that US exports of goods to China have grown by 86 percent over the last decade, while exports to the rest of the world grew by only 21 percent."

The CGCC aims to enhance cooperation through dialogue and discussion between the US and Chinese business communities. It serves 1,500 Chinese member companies that have collectively invested over $120 billion and employ more than 200,000 people throughout the US, including Texas.

The Lone Star State is also the second-largest state in the US. The top commodities that it exports include petroleum and coal products, chemicals, computers and electronic products, machinery and medical devices.

The US Chamber of Commerce estimated that trade supports 3,150,600 Texas jobs. Around $5.4 billion in Texas exports to China are targeted for retaliation. Its hardest hit industries would be liquefied propane, grain sorghum and cotton.

According to Bob Harvey, president and CEO of Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development organization that represents over 1,200 member companies in the 11-county Houston region, China is Houston's second-biggest and fastest growing trading partner.

"We have been concerned by the climate of the current trade dispute with China," Harvey said. "It has the potential to very negatively impact the Houston economy, and even impact our long-term future."

Although the impact from the tariffs isn't immediately available in terms of trade data, Harvey warned that the toxic business environment generated by the trade disputes could stall business deals.

"What we worry about are the negotiations that were underway to do major deals," Harvey said, "the deals that have not yet been completed, that can't be completed in this environment."

Dexter Burleigh, president and CEO of Surge Energy, a US subsidiary of Shandong Xinchao Energy Corporation Limited in Texas, echoed that sentiment.

"I think from our perspective, the concern is more on the greater and broader impact on the relationship between the two countries and how that could bleed over into a more contentious business environment," Burleigh said.

The Trump Administration imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, to which China has responded in kind.

The US then followed with the announcement of the imposition of 10 to 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, which included everyday household items such as seafood, furniture and bicycles. In response, China threatened to slap duties on $60 billion of US imports.

Despite the months-long trade standoff, some local officials said they value a good relationship between the US and China.

Judge Bob Herbert of Fort Bend County, another speaker at the conference, welcomed the investment of Chinese businesses in his district.

"We have a very large Asian population, and a significant percentage of that population has its roots in China, we see that as a blessing," Herbert said. "Our relationships with China in business, culture and education will continue to grow."

Authored by assembly member Evan Low, AJR 44 reiterates the necessity and importance to "increase mutually beneficial economic opportunities and strengthen the substantial, bilateral relationship in the areas of people-to-people exchange, trade, climate change, education, tourism, technology, innovation, and green development" between California and China.

It also said the measure would "urge the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to support actions that further strengthen economic links between the United States, including California, and China."

The Golden State remains one of the most important partners in the US to China. There are approximately 2 million Chinese and Chinese Americans living in California; more than 20 daily fl ights between California and major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Qingdao.

There are more than 20 pairs of sister cities between California and China, while both sides are actively committed to green development and have been playing positive roles in addressing climate change.

China is the fifth-largest source of tourists to America, with almost 1.5 million Chinese tourists visiting California in 2016. In 2013, California became the first state to establish trade promotion agreements with individual Chinese provinces.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to friendly and cooperative relations with California, said the bill. In 2017 alone, China invested $29.4 billion in the US, about $4.7 billion of which was invested in California.

The bill also said that California does more business with China than any other state. Total trade volume between California and China was $175.6 billion last year, accounting for 27.6 percent of the total US-China trade volume.

In addition, California's exports to China amounted to $16.43 billion in 2017, accounting for 12.6 percent of the total US exports to China. California imported $159.1 billion worth of goods and services from China last year, accounting for approximately 36.1 percent of the US total imports from China.

"The passage of the bill indicates that California policymakers are making serious efforts to restore the China-US relationship back onto the right track," said Ren Faqiang, deputy consul-general at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. "Numbers cited in the bill are solid facts."

A little over a week ago, he moved one step closer to achieving his dream.

Yuhuang Chemical Industries Inc. (YCI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Company, Ltd., announced on Aug 23 that it has entered into a business agreement with the Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Methanol Investment, a company that distributes chemicals. As part of the deal, Koch has acquired an indirect minority equity interest in YCI Methanol One, LLC.

The deal also gives Koch affiliates methanol offtake rights from the Yuhuang facility, as well as the right to construct, own and operate the methanol terminal assets for the outbound flow via ship, rail and truck.

"The decision by Koch Methanol to invest in YCI Methanol sends a clear signal to the industry about the strength of this facility," said Yao, CEO and president of YCI.

"The new facility is located in a region with convenient access to natural gas, a highly skilled workforce, and world class transportation infrastructure, allowing us to be very competitive in our production and distribution," Yao said. "If viable, there is also suffi cient land to add a second and third plant."

Located in a strategic location near the Mississippi River, YCI is the biggest green-fi eld investment in methanol by a Chinese company in Louisiana.

The company's corporate office is located in Houston, while the land for its production facility, which was purchased in 2015, is located in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

Yao said he chose the Louisiana location because the state government offered better incentives and the site also has easy access to railroad and waterway, which will help delivery of the company's products.

The Houston offi ce employs around 60 people, and the St. James Parish complex employs around 30 people, Yao said. Almost all of the workers are local hires.

According to Yao, the idea for YCI got hatched in 2009 when Wang Jinshu, chairman of Yuhuang Chemical, decided to take his business outside China.

"He chose the US because it has a big market for methanol, and it also has lower costs for natural gas, a feedstock for methanol," Yao said.

Methanol is a chemical used in the manufacturing of numerous every-day consumer products, such as paints, plastics, furniture and carpeting. It is produced from synthetic gas, which could be made from biomass, agricultural and timber waste, solid municipal waste and a number of other feedstock.

According to MarketsandMarkets, which provides industry research for companies, the global methanol market is expected to reach $54.16 billion by 2021. The global production of methanol is 40 million tons per year.

A 2017 report from IHS Markit shows that Northeast Asia, which also accounts for 54 percent of global methanol capacity, is the world's largest consuming region for methanol. It's followed by North America, Western Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

YCI announced the St. James project in 2014, and Yao, a former general manager at Shell with over 10 years of industrial technical and manufacturing experience under his belt, offi cially took the reins as the company's CEO the same year.

Yao said YCI gave him a platform for building a startup company. In addition, he was very impressed by Wang's determination and vision.

The project also caught the eye of Bank of China, which arranged a syndication loan of $800 million for the company.

"The management group of Yuhuang is very determined, responsible and professional," said Xu Chen, president and CEO of Bank of China USA and the chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce-USA, which serves 1,500 Chinese member companies.

Based on sharp judgment and years of experience in the industry, Yao decided to purchase steel from the US market when the Trump administration took over. That decision prevented the company from being affected by the tariffs that the administration later placed on imported steel.

Xu said the investment environment for overseas Chinese companies is important, but it is also essential for the companies to be professional and confi dent about their own operations in order to succeed.

Yao said commercial production of methanol for YCI is expected to begin in mid 2020.

Around 60 to 70 percent of its products will be sold to customers in the US, while 20 to 30 percent go to the Chinese market, and 10 percent will be delivered to Europe.

The plant is projected to create 100 permanent jobs, while construction of the facilities will result in 1,000 construction jobs.

The ship is the Peak Pegasus, a 750-foot-long bulk carrier weighing 43,000 tons. For the last month it has been making circles off the coast of China because of its cargo: 70 tons of American soybeans said to be worth $20 million.

And they are costly circles. The Amsterdam-based company that owns the cargo is thought to be paying about $12,500 a day to continue chartering the ship, which is circling in the Yellow Sea off the coast of the port city of Dalian. The costs so far are more than $400,000, according to The Guardian newspaper.

And while the ship sails to nowhere, it and its cargo have become a symbol - and casualty - of the trade war between China and the US.

The ship left the port of Seattle with its cargo on June 8 for the monthlong voyage to the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian where the soybeans were to be unloaded on July 6, shortly after US President Donald Trump imposed a first round of tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The ship rushed to dock in China before Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs in the same amount. But it didn't make it, reportedly arriving about five hours after the tariffs were imposed.

The ship has been off the coast of Dalian ever since and is now drifting in circles at a speed of 0.1 knots while the cargo's owners, said by the Guardian to be the agricultural commodity trading house Louis Dreyfus, decide what to do next.

The Guardian said it has asked Louis Dreyfus for comment, and that JP Morgan Asset Management, which owns the ship, declined to comment.

Commodities experts told the Guardian it could make financial sense to keep the beans at sea, potentially for months, given the risk of making the wrong decision about what to do.

Offloading them in China would incur a 25 percent tariff, adding around $6 million to the cost of bringing them into the country, the newspaper said.

"They [the cargo's owners] have clearly got in mind the 25% tariff to take the goods into China and they'll be weighing that against alternative buyers asking for a massive discount potentially equivalent to that," Michael Magdovitz, an analyst at Rabobank, told the Guardian. "They'd also have to pay an exorbitant price to divert the vessel from China to another destination."

He said that one factor complicating the fate of the soybeans is uncertainty about the length of time that China can realistically switch to Brazilian soybeans as an alternative.

"The problem for the Chinese is that Brazil quickly runs out of soybeans around this time of year," said Magdovitz. "It can't be the only source for China."

He said the Peak Pegasus could be waiting in the hope that China decides to subsidize soybean importers. That could allow the resumption of US soybean trade worth $12.7 billion a year.

Meanwhile, the Peak Pegasus isn't alone in the Yellow Sea. Another ship, the Star Jennifer, has also been idling offshore and with the same cargo - but for only two weeks.

aiheiping@chinadailyusa.com

Three of the five companies that unloaded about 20,000 rental bikes in Dallas a year ago - ofo, Mobike (also from Beijing) and San Francisco-based Spin - have ridden off.

"They made a pretty good mess of downtown Dallas sidewalks when it was a free-for-all, when the City Council decided to stay hands-off and let the market pick a winner. Then they decided not to play by the rules when there finally were some - rules they helped write, by the way," Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky wrote Monday of the wave of bike-share companies that converged on the city.

But the shiny remnants of ofo's Dallas operation didn't get shipped back to China or elsewhere - many ended up in a gnarled heap at a recycling center, with the rest pledged to charity.

Ofo sold some of its estimated 5,000 bikes in Dallas for scrap metal to Commercial Metals Co in Irving, Texas, and has pledged to donate the remaining bicycles to local charities CitySquare and Bikes for Tykes.

Ofo's move appears to be a simple cost-benefit analysis.

"As ofo starts to wind down select markets, we remain committed to environmental sustainability and will continue to donate ofo bikes in good working condition to local communities and recycle all bikes when they're beyond repair or no longer able to use," ofo North American spokesman Taylor Bennett told China Daily on Tuesday.

"As we continue to bring bikeshare to communities across the globe, ofo has begun to re-evaluate markets that present obstacles to new, green transit solutions and prioritize growth in viable markets that support alternative transportation and allow us to continue to serve our customers. As a result, we will not be seeking a permit to operate in Dallas, and we thank the city for allowing us to introduce bikeshare to millions of people in Texas."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings saw it differently.

"They were disingenuous and didn't want to work with the city to create a more bikeable city," he told Wilonsky. "They wanted to take what they could, and when it didn't work out, throw it in the trash bin."

Dallas became the third major US city that ofo left in a month - there was Washington DC on July 23 and Chicago on July 9. Mobike also left the US capital, on July 25.

Ofo cited Chicago's permit terms released on June 29 that limited "wheel-lock" vendors, such as ofo, to 50 bikes, while "lock-to" vendors, ones with docking stations, were able to increase their fleet from 250 to 350.

Technology is at the core of the dockless bike concept. In ofo's case, customers use their ofo smartphone app to locate nearby bicycles. Each bike has a QR code on the frame, which the customer scans to unlock it.

But station-free companies have come under increasing pressure, accused of cluttering streets. The dockless bikes also are more susceptible to theft.

Now it seems the companies are having to pedal off before the regulations catch up to them.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

The two were among 12 plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenging changes in asylum policies ordered by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Washington DC District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan was hearing a request to stay the plaintiffs' deportations, when the ACLU learned that two of them were already on a flight to Central America, the civil rights group said.

Upon hearing the news, Sullivan ordered their flight returned and suggested that Sessions could be held in contempt of court, according to the ACLU.

An official from the Department of Homeland Security said in an emailed statement that the agency is "complying with the court's order, and upon arrival in El Salvador, the plaintiffs did not disembark and are currently en route back to the United States."

During the hearing, the judge ordered a temporary stay on deporting the nine women and three children who filed the lawsuit, according to a court filing.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the District of Columbia by the ACLU. It challenges a recent tightening on standards for seeking US asylum, which makes it far more difficult for those fleeing domestic or gang violence to win the right to remain in the United States.

Sessions has led efforts by the Trump Administration to crack down on illegal immigration, including the adoption of a zero tolerance policy that briefly included separating immigrant parents from their children while they were in US detention.

Meanwhile the US Army has stopped discharging immigrant recruits who enlisted seeking a path to citizenship - at least temporarily.

A memo shared with The Associated Press spells out orders to high-ranking Army officials to stop processing discharges of men and women who enlisted in the special immigrant program.

"Effective immediately, you will suspend processing of all involuntary separation actions," read the memo signed July 20 by Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Marshall Williams.

The disclosure comes one month after the AP reported that dozens of immigrant enlistees were being discharged or had their contracts cancelled. Some said they were given no reason for their discharge. Others said the Army informed them they'd been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because the Defense Department had not completed background checks on them.

Reuters - The Associated Press

The State of Alaska and Alaska Gasline Development Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with China Petrochemical Corp, China Investment Corporation and Bank of China for deals valued at $43 billion.

Houston-based Cheniere Energy and China National Petroleum Corporation signed long term LNG sale and purchase agreements valued at more than $10 billion.

The LNG deal between Delfin Midstream and China Gas Holdings was valued at $8 billion.

Those deals were touted by Trump then as a big win for his visit. But now, if China's proposed 25 percent tariff on US LNG takes effect, either they will be off the table or both American and Chinese companies will suffer financially to stick to the deals.

China's tariff proposal is in retaliation to Trump's proposed new round of tariffs on Chinese goods.

The situation has the energy industry in both countries worried, said Barry Worthington, executive director at the Washington-based US Energy Association.

Worthington was in Beijing last week for the International Energy Forum, and he described the mood there as one with "a lot nervousness because no one is sure what will happen with the tariff.

"You have some people on both Chinese and US sides who are convinced that the tariff is going to take effect and have terrific impact on both countries. There are others who think that people on both sides are negotiating a package and that at the end of the day, there will either be no tariff or a tariff for a very short period of time. The opinion is a 50-50 split on both US and China sides."

If the tariff takes effect and remains, the impact will be significant, said Worthington.

"There are multiple buyers and sellers in global market, Chinese buyers will find other sources, US producers will find other buyers, but neither side will be happy," he said. "You will see price adjustment on both sides. US producers sell at lower price, and Chinese buyers are likely required to buy at higher price. Neither side wins with a tariff."

With the price of crude oil going up and currently at above $70 a barrel, West Texas drilling activity, cooled by the price slump two years ago, has been booming again since the beginning of 2018. Yet, the boom could bust sooner than expected with the tariff spat between US and China.

Li Shaolin, president of PetroChina International America, a Houston-based CNPC subsidiary, said that the proposed tariffs list includes not only LNG but also many other oil- and gas-related chemical products. The tariffs will have a profound impact on the US energy sector.

"Then US has to look for other markets around the globe, and this will lower their competitiveness in the global market, consequently impacting oil and gas production," Li said.

It will also force China to look for products elsewhere. "It will affect our business of exporting US crude oil to China," Li said.

The US lifted LNG export to China about two years ago. With China's policy shift to cleaner energy, anticipated US LNG exports to China and elsewhere initiated construction of a few large LNG terminal projects.

Those projects will be affected by the tariffs, said Worthington.

There are two LNG export terminals in the US, one in Maryland and one in Louisiana. They are actively loading shipments as quickly as possible, according to Worthington.

Four more LNG export terminals - one each in Georgia and Louisiana and two in Texas - are under construction and are expected to go into operation by the end of 2019.

"Those are multi-billion dollar investments. Once completed, they will look for export cargos as quickly as they can. The real impact of a tariff will come out for the next a few terminals. If the tariff takes effect, those future terminals might have trouble getting financed," Worthington said.

Despite the potential tariff threat, Worthington said he is optimistic.

"People in the industries and governments are very aware the negative consequence of tariffs on the energy sector. Before both governments allow that to happen, they will find a mutually useful deal for citizens on both sides," Worthington said.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

"Chinese consumers have different preferences than US consumers. They value different parts of the animal," Dermot Hayes, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, told China Daily.

Those different parts, known collectively as offal or "variety meats", had been a money-making export for US pig farmers in 2017 with $874 million in sales to China, the top buyer of US variety meats last year.

But then came the tariffs, and "had been" is where American pig farmers now find the market.

The US pork industry took a hit after Mexico last month slapped American pig products with a 20 percent tax. China imposed a 25 percent tariff on American pork in April. Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6. Beijing responded by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products, including pork.

Biggest buyers

Before the tariffs were increased, the Chinese had been the biggest buyers of the two largest categories of US-produced variety meats: more than 91 percent of pig feet (about 175,000 metric tons) and 96 percent of pig heads (about 42,000 metric tons), according to the US Pork Producers Council.

China is the fourth-biggest buyer of American swine - $1.1 billion in 2017, according to the council - and the world's largest pork consumer.

According to the USDA, US pork exports to Chinese mainland/Hong Kong from the beginning of this year through May were down 18 percent by volume and 6 percent by value. US exports likely continued to fall in June and July, particularly in July since the second 25 percent tariff was imposed on July 6.

Iowa State University economists estimate that the trade disputes have cost US hog farmers about $18 per hog or more than $2 billion on an annualized basis from the beginning of March - when rumors of the Chinese duties began to circulate - through May. Most of that loss can be attributed to China's first 25 percent retaliatory tariff, they said.

"US pork meat and variety meat exports to China have fallen to zero. Moreover, the grey market through Hong Kong is also closed," Hayes told China Daily.

"It's a real big blow to producers to lose the Chinese market because of the variety meats," Ken Maschhoff told USA Today. "It is a $30 million impact to our operation," he said, making up a third and as much as half his profit.

Maschhoff is chairman of the board of The Maschhoffs, the largest family-held pork producer in the world. Based in Carlyle, Illinois, the company markets about 5.5 million hogs a year and operates in 10 states.

Sustainable losses

Variety meats make up as much as $5.25 to $5.50 in profit per hog out of the at least $10 per animal that producers need to remain profitable, according to Maschhoff. "I estimate the average hog farmer can only sustain the losses caused by tariffs up to two years," he said.

In 2017, the average value of US variety meat exports to China was about 76 cents per pound, according to the US Meat Export Federation, a trade association. If processors don't sell them elsewhere for human consumption, the byproducts will be rendered in the US for about 18 cents per pound - a loss of $1.55 per hog for the volume exported to China, the federation said.

"We are looking at an $800 million loss on variety meats alone," Joel Haggard, senior vice-president for the Asia-Pacific region at the federation, told the Washington Post. "It's brutal."

China will likely have little trouble finding supplies to replace US variety meat, analysts said.

"The Chinese aren't going to get hurt by this," said Maschhoff, chairman of The Maschhoffs, "Chile or Europe or somebody else is going to say, 'Well, we've got a bunch of stomachs or livers or feet that we're not using.'"

The loss of the Chinese market for US-produced variety meats also hurts major processors, including Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc, the nation's largest pork producer. It is owned by China's WH Group, and ships pork to more than 40 countries. The company declined to comment to China Daily.

American pig farmers are looking at other markets like Japan, South Korea, the Philippines for variety meats, as well as US pet food makers.

"The parts that we don't eat here in America for pork often have nutritional value to our pets," said Dana Brooks, president of the Pet Food Institute, which represents companies that make 98 percent of all US pet food and treat products.

aiheiping@chinadailyusa.com

Republicans looked likely to hold onto a US House of Representatives seat in a reliably conservative district in Ohio, where Troy Balderson led Democrat Danny O'Connor by about 1,700 votes in a special election.

The Ohio secretary of state's office said it could not yet declare a winner. More than 8,000 absentee and provisional ballots cannot be counted for 11 days; an automatic recount occurs if the margin is within 0.5 percent of votes cast.

Republican Pat Tiberi resigned before finishing his term, triggering the special election. No matter the outcome, Balderson and O'Connor will face off again in November to serve a full two-year term.

Trump won the Ohio district by 11 percentage points in the White House race in 2016.

In a Kansas primary in the governor's race, staunch Trump ally and conservative firebrand Kris Kobach held a lead of less than 200 votes over current Governor Jeff Colyer, but a final tally could take days or weeks.

Kobach sought to declare himself the virtual winner, saying at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that he will begin campaigning as the victor. He also said he spoke with the White House on Wednesday and with Trump on Tuesday but declined to detail the conversations.

The narrow margin in Ohio - less than 1 percentage point separates Balderson and O'Connor - is little comfort for Republicans looking ahead to the Nov 6 vote, as they outspent Democratic groups by more than 4 to 1 to retain a seat they have held for three decades.

"This gives me optimism," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told CNN on Wednesday.

Democrats need to win 23 seats in the House and two in the Senate to control Congress. All 435 House seats, 35 of 100 Senate seats and 36 of 50 governors' offices are up for grabs in November.

Trump took credit for Balderson's lead, writing on Twitter that his fellow Republican's campaign took "a big turn for the better" after he campaigned for him in the district last week.

Mark Weaver, a Columbus-based Republican strategist who did not work for Balderson, said that it will be harder to replicate that effort nationwide in November when Trump and outside groups cannot focus on one specific race.

Other Republicans, including Vice-President Mike Pence and Ohio Governor John Kasich, had also rushed to Balderson's aid in a district Kasich once represented.

In other primary elections on Tuesday, Trump-backed candidates pulled off two wins in Michigan, where John James won the GOP Senate primary and Bill Schuette won the party's nod for governor

Reuters

Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan coalition leading US farmers' opposition to tariffs, launched a new initiative highlighting the financial cost of tariffs to the agricultural sector in major rural communities on Wednesday, as the trade war escalated following a fresh round of duties Beijing and Washington slapped on each other's goods.

Joining the chorus of industrial groups in opposing the release of a fresh list of Chinese products subject to 25 percent tariffs starting on Aug 23, the farmers group is distributing ads telling listeners "how decisions in Washington DC are hurting their farms, their neighbors and the economy of rural America", according to Sara Lilygren, president of the Farmers for Free Trade Board.

The farmers group, chaired by former Republican senator Richard Lugar and Democrat senator Max Baucus, will run the advertisements, a mix of radio, television, and print advertising, initially in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

"We expect to reach millions of American farmers. This is part of an overall $2.5 million 'Tariffs Hurt the Heartland' campaign that will last until the end of October," Matt McAlvanah, a former official for the Office of the US Trade Representative and now a spokesman for Farmers for Free Trade, told China Daily.

He said the new initiative follows a "Voice of the Farmer" national TV ad campaign in March when the organization placed 30-second slots on cable news channels including Fox, CNN and MSNBC, calling on US President Donald Trump to protect the free trade policies American farmers depend on.

In addition to ads, the new campaign also includes town hall events on tariff impacts in states across the country, aiming to raise awareness about financial and job losses tied to the ongoing trade war, according to a press release from the group on Wednesday.

American farmers, ranchers and consumers benefit greatly from free trade; the food and other agricultural products the US exports support at least 1,000,000 US jobs, the group said on its website.

The price for soybeans - the largest US agricultural export to China - has plummeted by at least 20 percent since March, according to earlier media reports.

In one of the radio spots, Indiana soybean farmer Brent Bible said, "This is not a war that I signed up for. It's not a war I want to be drafted for. Our farm and many others like ours will be the first casualties of a trade war."

The latest tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese goods followed the first round of additional tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods, which took effect on July 6. China has pledged to reciprocate the US tariff moves with duties on an equivalent value of US products.

"The current tariffs covering $50 billion in products will eliminate four US jobs for every job created - and the economic damage will be even worse if the White House adds another $200 billion in products to the list, and China continues to retaliate," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The new tariff list, covering major technology categories such as semiconductors and the equipment that makes them, includes 58 products CTA member companies say are critical to their businesses - and taxing them will cost American jobs, Shapiro said on Wednesday.

"These taxes are especially dangerous for small- and medium-sized companies," he said in a statement.

Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, also said in a statement, "This is just another step toward throwing away the benefits of tax reform that have given our nation's economy a badly needed boost.

"It's time to stop digging a deeper hole while we can still climb out," Shay said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

The Coca-Cola Company recently announced that it would be raising the prices of its carbonated offerings due to rising freight costs and metal tariffs.

"We had to take with our bottling partners an increase [in prices] in our sparkling beverage industry in the middle of the year, which is relatively uncommon," the company's CEO James Quincey told CNBC last month. He said he expects the company's bottlers and retailers to pass along the higher prices to consumers.

The company refused to comment on details of the price increases.

Coca-Cola is not the only large US beverage maker that's decided to increase prices. US soda and beer makers have been under pressure since the imported aluminum tariffs were announced in March. And finally, it seems to be taking its toll on the manufacturers with production costs escalating.

Molson Coors Brewing Company, which owns Miller Coors, has also decided to hike prices of its beers for Chicago-area retailers. It is expected that beer drinkers in Chicago will now have to pay around $1 more for a case of Miller.

The Boston Beer Company recently said that it will be raising prices in the second half of the year, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Alcoa, the largest US aluminum maker that supplies metal used in everything from Coca-Cola cans to Boeing 747s, announced on Monday that it has asked the White House for an exemption from the 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum.

"It has been five months since the implementation of president Trump's aluminum tariffs," said Jim McGreevy, the CEO of the Beer Institute, a trade group that represents brewers, beer importers and others in the industry. "The tariffs could be a $347 million tax on US brewers per year."

McGreevy explained that imported primary aluminum and can sheet are critical to the beer industry as more than 60 percent of all beer produced and sold in the US is packaged in aluminum cans and aluminum bottles.

"There are about 6,000 breweries in this country which support more than 2.2 million American jobs," McGreevy said, adding that these breweries have already been affected by the tariffs in different ways.

"In 2017, brewers bought over 36 billion aluminum cans and bottles, and aluminum is the single largest input cost in American beer manufacturing," McGreevy added.

He explained that US brewers using can sheet purchase aluminum by paying a Midwest Transaction Price, which consists of two major components: an underlying base price for the aluminum metal as traded daily on the London Metal Exchange and an additional premium known as the Midwest Premium, initially intended to cover the logistical costs of moving metal into North America, essentially a shipping and handling fee.

"We see that the base price for aluminum has gone up about 14 percent based on the tariffs," McGreevy said. "And the Midwest Premium has increased 135 percent."

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

Following its tariff list on Chinese exports worth $200 billion, the US threatened to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of imported Chinese goods. The US also has accused China of breaching World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and used it as a pretext to take unilateral measures against China.

In fact, from its 40 years' experience of reform and opening-up, China has learned that only with its doors open, and in keeping with times and global trends, can it develop itself while sharing opportunities and benefits with other countries and their peoples.

WTO accession is China's strategic decision. Since acceding to the WTO in 2001, China has been a strong advocate for free trade. It has comprehensively fulfilled its commitments to the WTO, substantially opened its markets to the world and delivered mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes on a wider scale.

Through these efforts, China has become an active participant, strong supporter and major contributor to the multilateral trading system.

China has fulfilled its WTO commitments, having eliminated import quotas, import licenses, specific import tendering requirements and other non-tariff measures by 2005. It had honored all of its commitments on trade in services by 2007 by opening up nearly 120 subsectors to various degrees, more than the 100 subsectors it had committed to.

By 2010, China had fulfilled all of its tariff-reduction commitments, reducing the average tariff level from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 9.8 percent. The average tariff rate of agricultural products was cut to 15.2 percent, about one fourth of the global average and far lower than those imposed by the WTO's developing members (56 percent) and developed members (39 percent).

Change does not happen without pain. The price of honoring commitments is exorbitant. As China slashed customs duties on automobiles in accordance with its WTO commitments, China's domestic auto industry, which had lagged developed members before China's WTO accession, took a heavy blow.

From 2001 to 2017, China's importing of passenger cars with engine displacement at 1.5-3 liters grew at an average 26.4 percent per year, the auto-trade deficit surging from $870 million to $34 billion. China's automakers and workers strove to adjust in the midst of fierce competition.

As an adherent to free trade, China has firmly upheld the multilateral trading system. It has pushed ahead trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and participated fully in the Doha Round negotiations, in which it submitted or co-sponsored more than 100 negotiation proposals. It has safeguarded the effective operation of the dispute-settlement mechanism and properly handled trade disputes with other WTO members.

China supports WTO members to solve their trade disputes within the WTO dispute-settlement mechanism. It redressed other members' violations of obligations and defended the authority of WTO rules by lodging complaints in the WTO while it actively defended the cases against China and complied with WTO rulings.

It has faithfully participated in trade policy review and attached great importance to trade policy monitoring by other WTO members. China vigorously supports the integration of developing members into the multilateral trading system and has helped six least-developed countries (LDCs) accede to the WTO through the LDCs and accessions program established by China in 2011.

It has firmly opposed unilateralism and protectionism, as demonstrated by our leaders on several international occasions such as the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Boao Forum for Asia, and the World Economic Forum.

As a contributor to world growth and global benefits, China has lived up to its responsibilities as a major country. Accession to the WTO has boosted China's development and benefited the rest of the world.

Since 2002, China's contribution to global economic growth has approached 30 percent on average. According to WTO statistics, China's imports accounted for 10.2 percent of the world's total merchandise imported in 2017, and its exports 12.8 percent, making China a major trade partner of more than 120 countries and regions.

From 2001 to 2017, China's imports increased six fold, making it the world's second-largest goods importer. Since 2013, China has been the world's second-largest services importer as well. In 2017, outbound tourist trips made by Chinese citizens exceeded 130 million person-times, tantamount to 40 percent of the US population.

To let other countries take a ride on China's development express and share the benefits of China's growth, China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, under which Chinese enterprises set up 75 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in relevant countries by the end of 2017, contributed more than $1.6 billion taxes to the host countries and created 220,000 local jobs.

China also will host the China International Import Expo in November 2018, in an effort to further open its market and provide new export opportunities for the world. China receives support from the international community in its own development process and stands ready to provide more public goods to the world.

Looking forward, China will advance opening-up to a higher level and embrace economic globalization more proactively. Fulfilling its WTO commitments has never been the end point of China's opening-up. China pursues a trade strategy of mutual benefit, win-win, diversification and balanced development.

China never deliberately pursues a trade surplus in goods. At the same time, China takes an objective view toward the existing trade deficit in services. In recent years, on top of its commitments to the WTO, China has self-initiated significant reductions to import tariffs to import more high-quality, distinctive products that meet the strong demand of the Chinese people.

China will open wider to foreign investment. The newly released negative list for foreign investment in 2018 was cut to 48 from 63 items, representing China's will to further widen market access considerably.

California leads all American states in economic cooperation with China. In 2017, its exports to China reached $16.4 billion, accounting for 12.7 percent of all US exports to China. The high-tech companies in Silicon Valley almost invariably have established a footprint in China.

Despite the trade tensions between our two nations, collaboration at the subnational and corporate level has never ceased. As China moves along with opening up its market and liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment at a higher level, there will be more room for China-US cooperation. The mutually beneficial ties between California and China will grow stronger.

The author is commercial counselor at China's Consulate General in San Francisco.

The Ohio race for a US House of Representatives seat headlines a day of voting across the country that also features primaries in four other states. Other key contests include a Democratic battle for governor in Michigan between a progressive and a mainstream candidate and a high-profile conservative challenge to the incumbent Republican governor in Kansas.

Trump charged into the Ohio race, the final special election before November. He visited the reliably Republican 12th Congressional District over the weekend to try to head off an upset after polls showed a tightening battle between Republican Troy Balderson and Democrat Danny O'Connor.

(With 91 percent of precincts reporting at 9:50 pm EDT Tuesday, the race was practically even, according to The New York Times.)

The district, split between suburban Columbus and rural areas, has been represented by a Republican since the early 1980s. Trump carried it by 11 percentage points in the 2016 presidential race.

But O'Connor has wiped out most or all of Balderson's lead in opinion polls, and a Democratic win would set off alarm bells for Republicans already worried by a series of strong performances in special elections by Democrats in the Trump era.

"A month ago this race was flying under the radar, but it has become nationalized and become more of a referendum on Trump, which really generates Democratic enthusiasm," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in New Jersey.

A Monmouth poll last week showed the race was essentially a dead heat, down from a double-digit advantage for Balderson a month ago. In addition to more Democrats expressing high interest in the race, Murray said the shift was driven by independents unhappy with the status quo under Trump.

Trump again pushed Balderson in an early morning tweet before voting began.

Reuters

Calling the US move "deeply regrettable", Federica Mogherini, the European Union diplomatic chief, said on Tuesday that the EU is encouraging enterprises to increase their business with Iran, as the country has been compliant with its nuclear-related commitments.

"We are doing our best to keep Iran in the deal, to keep Iran benefiting from the economic benefits that the agreement brings to the people of Iran because we believe this is in the security interests of not only our region, but also of the world. If there is one piece of international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation that is delivering, it has to be maintained," Mogherini said.

European ministers said the Iran deal was crucial for the security of Europe and the world, and the European Union issued a "blocking statute" on Monday to protect European businesses from the impact of the sanctions.

"We are encouraging small and medium enterprises in particular to increase business with and in Iran as part of something (that) for us is a security priority," Mogherini said, explaining that trade is an integral part of the nuclear deal.

US President Donald Trump said the 2015 agreement was "horrible".

Iran accused the US of reneging on the nuclear agreement and of causing recent economic unrest in Iran.

A UN spokesman said on Monday that the United Nations continued to encourage support from all governments for the deal.

Iran's long-term traditional trade partners, Turkey and India, had also vowed earlier not to recognize the US unilateral sanctions.

A first set of reimposed US sanctions affect financial transactions that involve US dollars, Iran's automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.

A second batch of US sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and central bank are to be reimposed in early November.

The White House had warned that "those who fail to wind down activities with Iran risk severe consequences".

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said global reaction to the new sanctions showed that the US was diplomatically "isolated", but acknowledged the sanctions "may cause some disruption".

Gao Shangtao, an associate professor at China Foreign Affairs University, said the US decision to withdraw from the deal in May has caused the EU to face large economic losses, and Trump is trying to force Iran to sign a new deal that is more favorable to the US.

Dong Manyuan, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, echoed it, saying the US withdrawal only shows it has imposed its domestic interests and ambition above international order.

While crippling sanctions were in force on Tuesday, Trump said he "remains open" to reaching a more comprehensive deal if Teheran "changes its threatening, destabilizing behavior".

But his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani dismissed the idea of talks, saying the US wants to launch "psychological warfare against the Iranian nation", adding that "negotiations with sanctions doesn't make sense".

Luo Huining, AP and Xinhua contributed to this story.

panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn

Element TV Co will let 126 workers go, most on Oct 5. It will keep eight employees at the Fairfield County plant in hopes it can reopen in three to six months, the company said in a letter to state employment officials on Monday.

The Trump administration imposed a 25 percent import tax in July that included Chinese components for TVs and video equipment.

"The layoffs and closure are a result of the new tariffs that were recently and unexpectedly imposed on many goods imported from China, including the key television components used in our assembly operations in Winnsboro," the company wrote to the state Department of Employment and Workforce in a letter obtained by The State newspaper in Columbia.

Element opened to fanfare about five years ago. Nikki Haley, South Carolina governor at the time and now the current US ambassador to the United Nations, did a live video feed from the plant.

"We want to make sure that government is the first group to help you, not hurt you," Haley said. She promised 500 jobs, or about a quarter of the employees currently at the plant.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, one of US President Donald Trump's earliest supporters, said state and federal officials have discussed how tariffs can hurt the state.

"We have not convinced them of our point of view on every point, nor have they convinced us of theirs," McMaster told The Associated Press.

The Element plant is 30 miles north of Columbia, the state capital. It is one of Fairfield's largest remaining employers, according to The State newspaper.

The county lost about 5,000 jobs last summer when construction was halted on two nuclear reactors. That ended a promised economic boon to the poor, rural county, according to the newspaper.

Volvo of Sweden has said tariffs could prevent it from reaching its goal of 4,000 workers by 2021 at its just-opened auto plant near Charleston.

German automaker BMW has warned Trump administration officials that some if not many of its 10,000 workers at its plant near Spartanburg and 35,000 at BMW suppliers could have their jobs at risk if tariffs continue.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com

Alcoa said there are no US aluminum producers that can meet its specifications for rolling slabs used at the company's Warrick, Indiana, plant to produce aluminum for can manufacturers.

Alcoa filed five requests asking for waivers from the administration's 10 percent tariff on imports of the lightweight metal.

Tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports were imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU) in June as part of a crack down on alleged trade abuses.

That prompted retaliatory moves as the EU imposed 25 percent tariffs on $3.3 billion worth of US imports starting June 22. Mexico imposed tariffs on pork bellies, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel. Canada also imposed tariffs on American steel, aluminum and other products.

"During a time of record demand for aluminum in the United States, it is critical that companies have access to a steady source of supply. That's why we continue to call for quota-free tariff exemptions for countries like Canada that play by the rules and operate as market economies," Matt Meenan, spokesman for The Aluminum Association wrote in an email.

Alcoa said in July it will incur as much as $14 million a month in extra expenses, mainly from tariffs levied on aluminum imported from Canada, the company's primary supplier.

"Even if all the curtailed smelting capacity in the states was back online and producing metal, the United States would still need to import the majority of its aluminum, and most of it from Canada. We believe that the Section 232 tariffs should be removed from Canada and other fair-trading partners," said Tim Reyes, president of Alcoa Aluminum, one of the company's three business units, according to Reuters.

In addition to Canada, the EU and Mexico, the US and China are also engaged in a trade dispute as both countries have slapped tariffs on each other's exports and are threatening to extend them to other products.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

The Trump administration has decided to collect 25 percent tariffs on an additional $16 billion in Chinese imports starting on Aug 23, a move that is expected to be matched in kind from Beijing.

The Office of the US Trade Representative on Tuesday released a final tariff list targeting 279 product lines from China.

Only five product items were deleted from what the USTR initially proposed on June 15. Semiconductors, among the largest categories, remain on the list.

Other products that will be subject to the hefty duties include electronic integrated circuits, motorcycles, railway and farm equipment.

Tuesday's list followed the first round of additional tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods, which took effect on July 6. The latest list brings the total Chinese imports subject to a 25 percent tariff to about $50 billion.

China has pledged to reciprocate the US tariff moves with duties on an equivalent value of US products.

In addition to levying additional tariffs on $34 billion of US products on July 6, Beijing announced a plan on June 16 for a second batch of tariffs, targeting an additional $16 billion of US goods, if the US list goes ahead. Those products include chemicals, coal, crude oil and medical devices.

Overall, 98 percent of the June 15 list of Chinese products are intermediate inputs and capital equipment, according to analysis by the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

The Washington think tank said that semiconductors are found in consumer products used in everyday life such as televisions, personal computers, smartphones and automobiles.

John Neuffer, president of the US Semiconductor Industry Association, expressed disappointment at the USTR decision to keep the sector on the tariff list, sayingin a statementthat tariffs imposed on semiconductors imported from China "will hurt America's chipmakers",according to a Reuters report.

"The inclusion of semiconductors is commensurate with the statements of officials who wish to target Chinese value-added industries," said Douglas H. Paal, vice-president of the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"US companies and consumers will pay more for inputs and products," Paal told China Daily.

Paal said the world's top two economies are in a trade war until Beijing blinks or Trump loses "political interest in pursuing this topic".

"Right now, he seems to think this trade deficit dispute and immigration are issues that will help him with voters," Paal said, referring to the November midterm elections.

"If he were to achieve an agreement with China, for example, he would then have to defend the agreement to voters, a much less pleasing prospect for this politician," Paal said.

Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow of the PIIE, said the USTR simply doesn't mind hurting major US firms that rely on Chinese semiconductors.

"USTR will say that these firms are profitable and can absorb the tariffs and not raise prices," Hufbauer said.

Jon Taylor, a professor of political science of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said the tariffs imposed on Tuesday will only serve to place US companies at a greater disadvantage rather than forcing China to change its behavior.

"Simply put, the longer that Trump's counterproductive trade war continues, the greater the negative impact on the US, as well as on China and the world," Taylor said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

The escalating trade tensions between the US and China could affect the clean energy collaborations between the two countries, which have been urged to work together to address global climate change issues, one expert warns.

"I think the escalating trade war affects many, many things, including cooperation for clean energy projects," said Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and former US secretary of energy, on Saturday.

"It's also very bad for the United States, very bad for China, very bad for the world to have these trade wars. I hope Congress steps in and actually nudges the president into the right direction," he said.

Following the 10 percent tariffs on aluminum imposed in early June, the Trump administration is considering adding 10 to 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, including renewable energy products.

The steel tariffs also are expected to affect development of wind and solar energy, which use more steel than any other form of energy generation.

"(The right direction) is to actually bring down trade tariffs.When you bring down tariffs, as history has shown, everybody benefits. So I think the United States currently is going in the wrong direction andI hope we can reverse the direction," said Chu.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the US-China Green Energy Summit held by the US-China Green Energy Council on Saturday in Burlingame, California. The meeting brought together dozens of energy experts from the US and China to discuss innovative energy solutions for a greener future.

The speakers all agreed that the potential is huge for China and the US to work together, and the collaboration will not only benefit the two countries but the whole world.

"As we go forward, there are some challenges on the national relationship, but I think when we can connect the scientific-engineering discussions, there's an awful lot of benefit for both sides," said Robert Weisenmiller, chair of the California Energy Commission.

California now has 3 percent of renewable energy generated in use, and the number is expected to reach 50 percent by 2030. That paves the way for a lot of other countries to coordinate their electrical systems, to have affordable electricity and yet still grow the economy, said Chu.

While the US is far ahead in energy technology innovation, China has experiences that other countries can benefit from.

"I think China now is the world's leader in high-voltage transmission systems, which are vital for bringing renewable energy where it's the least expensive to parts of the country where people live and need it," said Chu.

China has set high goals for energy transformation, such as constructing a new generation of clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy systems, said Zhou Xiaoxin, a scholar with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and honorary president of the China Electric Power Research Institute.

The country is also aiming to realize the maximum exploitation and utilization of renewable energy resources and high-efficiency energy utilization, he said.

Admitting that there's competition between companies in the marketplace, Chu said the infrastructure is grounds for "very fertile collaborations" between the two countries.

"There are many places in the US that China can collaborate on.I am absolutely convinced, and have been for more than a decade, that China's commitment to clean energy is sincere, and China indeed has become a leader in trying to pave the way for getting off of carbon dioxide emissions," said Chu.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts, introduced a bill to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which governs marine fisheries management in US federal waters. The House approved a reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens last month.

The bill introduced by Moulton would provide disaster relief for fisheries due to certain tariffs imposed by other countries, and for other purposes.

Co-sponsors of the bill, introduced on July 25, are all Democrats and include representatives Chellie Pingree of Maine, Stephen Lynch and William Keating, both of Massachusetts, Jared Huffman of California and Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

"It was introduced on the day before the Congress adjourned for August recess, so not yet," said Pingree spokeswoman Victoria Bonney in an email on getting support from Republicans for the legislation. Republicans control the House and the Senate.

"Farmers haven't been the only ones to suffer the consequences of the Trump administration's sloppy trade actions. And while I'm glad that USDA (US Department of Agriculture) will offer aid to agricultural producers, the government needs to step up for others who have been harmed - especially fishermen," Pingree said in a statement.

Pingree said she has heard mostly from Maine's lobster industry.

"They've been concerned about these tariffs for months and have weighed in with our office about the impact. For companies that do large contracts with Asian markets, it is a big concern, and Congresswoman Pingree is very worried about impacts throughout the supply chain," said Bonney.

China's tariff on lobsters was launched in response to US tariffs on Chinese goods. Chinese buyers can get the same species from Canadian harvesters with only a 7 percent tariff.

Jeff Bennett, an analyst at the Maine International Trade Center, said Maine sold at least $57 million worth of lobster to China last year.

The Maine Lobster Dealers' Association says that lobster is the state's second-largest export to China. It estimates the loss of revenue at $60 million. There are about 4,500 licensed lobstermen and distributors in Maine, with an additional 10,000 workers in the industry, according to the association.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

"We are grateful that Jinjing is safe and with family. Our goal was to locate her to ensure she was safe and unharmed, and we accomplished that goal," David Huchler, police chief for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said in a statement.

Jinjing Ma, traveling with a student tour group from China, was supposed to head from Washington to San Francisco and then return to China on Thursday, police said.

At the airport, she separated from the group, saying she needed to use the bathroom, and left the airport with an Asian woman who police believed to be an abductor.

Ma seemed to walk voluntarily with the woman, who appeared on airport surveillance footage with an Asian man earlier. The man left the airport driving a white Infinity, with Jinjing thought to be inside.

Authorities issued a missing child alert, asking the public to report any sightings of the girl.

Less than 48 hours later, the airport authority said she had been "located Friday in the New York City borough of Queens, safe and in the custody of her parents".

The Chinese embassy in Washington confirmed that report.

The FBI, which is investigating, didn't respond to China Daily's question of whether the man and woman at the airport were Jinjing's parents.

The parents are represented by Anna Demidchik of the Demidchik Law Firm in New York, who said they hadn't seen their daughter for two years and did pick her up her at the airport.

"We are really happy now," Jinjing's father told the media.

Demidchik said Jinjing's parents are legal residents of New York. She said she wasn't authorized to disclose why Jinjing left the group after being given her passport to check in for the San Francisco flight. "It's a misunderstanding," she said.

Jinjing, who had been in the care of her grandparents in China, will stay with her parents in New York while cooperating with the FBI investigation, Demidchik said.

On Thursday, a witness from Jinjing's tour group told the police that the girl was approached by an Asian couple at the World Trade Center when the group was sightseeing earlier in New York.

"We believe the contact up in New York is connected with the contact" in Washington, said Huchler on Friday.

Demidchik declined to comment on whether Jinjing's parents had met her in New York.

Ying Wang and Reuters contributed to the story.

dongleshuo@chinadailyusa.com

Rich Fitzgerald, executive of Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is the county seat, described it as "historic" for Pittsburgh to be the first midsized city in America to host a tourism charter flight.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for our region," he said. "We know how important the market is. For Americans, China is such a growing market.

"A lot of relations and connections are already forming (between China and Pittsburgh), so we want to continue that along," he said during a welcome dinner the city organized for the Chinese visitors on Friday. "Our region's businesses, the airport and our tourism industry will be the primary beneficiary."

Fitzgerald said that the city wants to encourage trade, tourism and education partnership with China as it transitions from the iconic Steel City in western Pennsylvania to a city committed to education and medical and technology innovation, such as autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. Pittsburgh has about 20,000 people from China living in the city.

"A lot of things that are happening in Washington are out of our control, but there are things we are doing in Pittsburgh with our friends in Beijing and Shanghai on technology and trade that we want to continue and encourage," said Fitzgerald, who visited Beijing and Shanghai last year.

"We are hoping on the national level President Trump and President Xi and their administrations can work things out," he added, "because we think the trade could be beneficial to both countries, and we hope it will occur."

For Christina Cassotis, the EO f Pittsburgh International Airport, Friday was a day on which her more than two years of efforts with local and Chinese partners paid off.

The airport subsidized more than$560,000for the charter flight. Together with VisitPittsburgh, the official tourism promotion agency for Allegheny County, and the Idea Foundry, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that works with Chinese families and students to encourage educational ties and investment, the subsidies totaled $910,000 and are part of a three-year agreement with Chinese tour operator Caissa Touristic to market and sell trips to Pittsburgh, according to USA Today.

"It's our goal to eventually have nonstop scheduled service between China and Pittsburgh and to make Pittsburgh into a thriving tourist attraction for travelers like yourselves," Cassotis, wearing a red dress, told Chinese visitors during the welcoming ceremony.

The nonstop air link is operated by China Eastern Airlines on a seasonal basis and will features two round-trip flights between Pittsburgh and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Aug 3 and Aug 11. The return flight to China departed the same day and took more than 100 visitors from the US to China.

"This is a historic day. We have been waiting for this day for more than two years, and we are so excited that it's finally here," said Craig Davis, CEO of VisitPittsburgh. "Our reputation for innovative businesses, advances in technology and medicine, a vibrant arts community and attractions like the Carnegie Museums, our fabulous inclines, our fantastic universities, Point State Park, have made Pittsburgh a must-visit destination."

Michael Matesic, CEO of the Idea Foundry, thinks long term.

"This incentive will have a significant impact on the local economy; this is an investment for the future," said Matesic. "We would like to see more students coming here to study, more visitors coming here to visit and more Chinese people coming here to invest.

"Recently we've seen students coming here facing more visa challenges, more immigration questions, so even if we embrace the openness, there are barriers that already have an impact on what we're doing," Matesic added.

"But I believe we are all people, we all have the same passion and desires, so I think nothing from a trade barrier can prevent people-to-people relationships."

Contact the writers at ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

This summer, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), featuring 106 musicians from across the US, comes together for its sixth year of music-making.

On July 19, the orchestra kicked off its Asia tour with a debut concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, which will be followed by return visits to Beijing and Shanghai and debuts in Taipei, Seoul, and Daejeon from July 24 through Aug 3.

"I've never played in China before, this is going to be my first time," Hsu, an 18-year-old violist, told China Daily backstage at Carnegie Hall after the debut concert.

"I think it's so exciting being a Chinese person to go back to Asia, to share the music that I've learned in the states," said Hsu, from Brookline, Massachusetts, whose parents are from Taiwan.

The orchestra is headed to Asia with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and will perform a new Carnegie Hall-commissioned work by Ted Hearne alongside works by Sibelius and Gershwin.

The members of the 2018 orchestra range in age from 16 to 19 and come from 28 US states and Puerto Rico.

All of them have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the finest young musicians in the country, following a comprehensive and highly competitive audition process.

"The musicians who make up NYO-USA's 2018 roster are among the very best players in the nation. This promises to be an unforgettable summer of new discoveries for them, offering opportunities to present extraordinary performances around the world and to serve as wonderful musical ambassadors for their country," said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's executive and artistic director.

Among this year's members, 36 are returning from previous years.

"Playing music as a group of young musicians, there is a sense of camaraderie and emotional connection that can only be found through the creating of this type of art together that really drew us back," said Alexander Wu, a cellist who has returned to the NYO-USA.

The concert program that was performed at Carnegie Hall and will be performed at all tour venues in Asia includes Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F Major featuring Thibaudet and Sibelius's Symphony No. 2.

It also features the premiere of Brass Tacks by American composer Ted Hearne, a new work specially commissioned for NYO-USA, described by Hearne as "a noisy dance, playful and ferocious, inspired by "trap" music and the rhythmic energy and dance culture of the hip-hop music of the American South."

Following the Carnegie Hall concert, NYO-USA returns to Asia with performances at the Taipei National Concert Hall (July 24), Shanghai Symphony Hall (July 27), the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing (July 29), Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul (Aug 1) and Daejeon Arts Center (Aug 3).

As part of their travel schedule, the young musicians will have the opportunity to tour each city they visit, meet and collaborate with local young musicians and experience the richness of Asian culture.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

The opioid addiction epidemic is the most urgent public health problem facing the United States right now, and doctors need to be more careful with prescriptions so they don't directly addict patients, an expert told governors and officials Friday during the 2018 National Governors Association Summer Meeting.

"What we are dealing with is an epidemic of opioid addiction caused by overexposing the US population to this highly addictive drug: prescription opioids," said Andrew Kolodny, co-director of Opioid Policy Research at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

The forum, "An Evolving Crisis: Combating the Next Wave of Addiction", took place during the annual summer gathering of US governors.

The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) said the US is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and the fight against the crisis has been a consistent topic during several NGA meetings in recent years.

On Oct 26, 2017, US President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency under federal law.

The CDC reported that opioids, including prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl, killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, more than any year on record. Forty percent of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards stressed the importance of coordination by local, state and federal governments in understanding and stopping the drugs from getting into communities.

"It's only just the symptom of a larger problem: addiction, and to a bigger extent, the mental health issue, which drive these problems," Edwards said.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said there are many simple things that the state and federal governments could do at medical schools and public institutions to tighten regulation of prescription procedures.

"Why is there no requirement for licensing purposes for doctors to have better education on a natural prescription process and the effects of these particular types of drugs?" he asked.

In an emotional speech, North Dakota first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum shared her 16-year struggle with alcohol addiction and encouraged people to show empathy and compassion for those battling addictions.

"There's no shame in addiction, and there's so much hope and possibilities in recovery," she told the audience to a standing ovation.

teresaliu@chinadailyusa.com

Negotiators from the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed on the final text to strengthen the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), according to The Wall Street Journal. Both chambers of Congress have approved versions of the measure.

CFIUS, an interagency committee, reviews potential foreign investment in American businesses to ensure national security is not compromised.

"It's a done deal," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn told the Journal about the negotiations on Thursday.

Cornyn, a Texas Republican, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, worked on the Senate's version of the legislation.

TheForeign Investment Risk Review Modernization Actwould help stop foreign countries from eroding the US military advantage by acquiring sensitive dual-use technology by investing in American companies, a press release from Cornyn's office said.

The legislation would expand CFIUS jurisdiction to include overseas minority investments as well as real estate transactions near military bases or other sensitive national security facilities. It also creates a new national security review system to examine overseas transactions such as joint ventures involving sensitive American technology.

"Chinese investors should anticipate CFIUS reviews in any investment in the high-tech sector. It is important to note that Chinese investments will still be approved, but the process may be longer, and Chinese investors may find certain industries effectively 'off limits,'" said lawyer Christopher Brewster of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in Washington.

Theodore Kassinger, an attorney and partner in the Washington office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, said that overseas transactions in what he called critical infrastructure technologies such as utilities, telecommunications services providers, semiconductors and "companies that are creating significant databases of consumer information" will probably face a more intense review under the legislation.

"Now there is a process that will start from a common base and more forward more smoothly," he said.

The reforms would apply across the board, said Brewster, but one purpose of the legislation is to enforce a risk-based approach to CFIUS reviews.

"To this end, investments from close US allies (such as the NATO countries) may be exempt from certain requirements and may also be able to take advantage of expedited reviews," he said.

"By contrast, Chinese investment is a target of the reforms," Brewster said."The bill is grounded in an approach focused on investments from 'countries of special concern.' CFIUS will be encouraged to give close review to investments from countries such as China that are subject to a US arms embargo."

Chinese foreign direct investment in the US dropped by 36 percent to $29.4 billion in 2017 from $46.2 billion in 2016, according to a report by Rhodium Group and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

"I look at that and say, holy cow, that's amazing! Twenty-five percent of Americans will ride a self-driving car, and they really have no idea how it works," said Waymo Inc CEO John Krafcik. "That's an incredible level of trust."

Waymo is a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet Inc.

Krafcik said that the company's cars have traveled 8 million miles on public roads, which is roughly 25,000 miles every day.

He was the guest at the "Ahead of the Curve, Innovation Governors" opening plenary of the 2018 National Governors Association Summer Meeting in Santa Fe last Thursday through Saturday.

The plenary included a progress update on Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval's technology innovation initiative, which he announced when he became the 2017-18 NGA chairman in July 15, 2017.

The initiative focuses on how states could support technology innovation. It also looks at how disruptive technologies, such as self-driving cars and drone aircraft, are impacting business in the energy and transportation sectors.

China's National Development and Reform Commission released a blueprint in January that outlined the country's plan to push self-driving technologies forward. China expects smart cars, with partially or fully autonomous functions, to account for 50 percent of new cars in the nation by 2020.

Experts believe China will be one of the biggest markets for self-driving cars, and many Chinese companies already have launched such projects, including Baidu, DiDi and Tencent.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles' 2017 Autonomous Vehicle Disengagement Reports, Waymo has one of the best records of the 19 companies that tested vehicles in the Golden State in terms of system-disengagement rates.

Disengagement happens when a human driver is forced to take control of the self-driving vehicle.

Baidu's self-driving cars drove 1971.74 autonomous miles from October 2016 through November 2017, with 48 instances of system disengagements, according to the DMV.

In comparison, Waymo'cars logged 352,544.6 miles from December 2016 through November 2017, with 63 instances of system disengagements.

Krafcik said part of the reason that he is attracted to the idea of autonomous cars is that human drivers are more prone to accidents.

"The aviation industry has for the most part professional pilots, and in the automobile industry you have us people driving these cars," he said. "We are not professionals, and I think that's the problem, right?"

During a phone conversation on Saturday, Lavrov and Pompeo exchanged views on a range of subjects including the countries working together "on an equal and mutually beneficial basis", a ministry statement said.

The diplomats also discussed a number of international issues such as joining with other countries to address humanitarian problems in Syria as well as promoting the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump held a summit in Finland's capital Helsinki, where they discussed a wide range of topics.

Pompeo on Friday confirmed that Trump had continued talks with Putin and said the two leaders began discussing the return of millions of Syrian refugees.

Pompeo also said Trump remains optimistic about the prospects of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Pompeo made the remarks during a briefing for reporters at the United Nations headquarters following his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the Security Council.

Meanwhile, officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia have discussed building a peacekeeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

Russian Vice-Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov met with DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and held talks with Choe Son-hui and Sin Hong- chol, vice-ministers of foreign affairs, said the KCNA.

The two sides had in-depth exchanges of views and discussed other issues of mutual concern, said the KCNA.

Morgulov left Pyongyang on Friday after a three-day visit.

The DPRK and Russia are marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and DPRK media said last week that the two sides would strengthen their traditional ties.

Xinhua

After the US last week released a list of goods on which it will place 25 percent tariffs, China reciprocated on American goods, including Alaskan seafood.

The tariffs will go into effect on July 6. The new 25 percent tariff would be on top of current ones that vary from 5 to 15 percent.

Alaska exported 40,000 tons of salmon to China last year. Other Alaskan products on the list that appear to be impacted include geoduck, sea cucumber, frozen salmon, pollock, Pacific cod and sole.

"We are still waiting to gain more details - a full product list and product specific classifications. Initial indications are that products exported to China for reprocessing and re-export (to other countries) may be exempt from this new tariff," Alexa Tonkovich, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), told China Daily.

"China is a major reprocessing center for Alaska seafood, so how these tariffs are applied has a major impact. Either way, many Alaska seafood products for domestic consumption in China would be subject to the new tariff," she said.

ASMI has been promoting Alaskan seafood in China for more than 20 years.

"Alaska seafood companies have also invested in the market and have many Chinese partnerships," Tonkovich said.

More than 10 major e-commerce platforms in China, including tmall.com, promote Alaska seafood during the commercial fishing season.

Last year, in addition to salmon, king/snow crab, black cod, halibut, cod, sea cucumber and yellowfin sole, new products and deep-processed/ready-to-eat products such as pollock roe, pollock hamburger and nuggets were sold on tmall during the promotion. The sales were triple those during the non-promotion period and hit 90,000 kilograms.

"We are deeply disappointed in these retaliatory tariffs. There is no connection between the products targeted by the US and the tariffs Beijing plans to impose on exported American seafood," John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, said in a statement.

"It is Maine lobstermen, the men and women on boats in Alaska, and families harvesting and processing seafood in the Pacific Northwest who will feel the brunt of the Administration's misguided policy. It is not clear where these trade actions will ultimately lead; what is clear is that they will negatively impact American seafood jobs," he said.

Based on the data from the McDowell Group for ASMI, more than 21,200 rural Alaska residents were directly employed by the industry in 2015.

Major seafood processors that could be affected include Trident, Peter Pan, North Pacific and Alaska General.

In March, Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced a major initiative to build on the economic relationship between Alaska and China and led a 12-day trade mission to China in May.

Fifty representatives from 30 companies in Alaska, from sectors including fisheries, tourism and investment, had participated in business-to-government and business-to-business meetings, networking opportunities, events and market briefings to promote Alaskan business opportunities in China.

Since 2011, China has been the top consumer of Alaskan goods. In 2017, Alaska exported $1.32 billion worth of goods, including $796.2 million in seafood and $64.6 million in fishmeal, employing thousands of fishermen in Alaska. The state also exported $355.8 million in mineral ore, $49 million in energy, and $48 million and $5.9 million in forest products and machinery, respectively.

"Alaska has abundant resources, from natural gas and seafood to beer and baby food. These resources enable our state to dramatically reduce the trade deficit between the United States and China, if we can finalize agreements to increase exports of our products," Walker said Monday.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com

Francisco and eight counterparts from high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, went on an expedition on May 23 to Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province.

The adventure, dubbed "Wuhan Stories Thorough the Lens of American/Chinese Photographers", sought to present the bustle of the metropolis.

Major organizers of the event, the US-China Culture and Communication Association and Wuhan municipal government, incorporated holistic aspects of the city - the old vs. the new; the traditional vs. the modern; development vs. sustainability.

"Like any places in China, Wuhan has been the witness and beneficiary of China's opening and reform policy in the past 40 years," said Song Min, president of the Association.

"It was regretful that not many people outside of Wuhan understand what the changes brought local people," he said. "Hopefully, American photographers and their work will help portray a real Wuhan and beyond."

The team arrived in Huangpi district, the birthplace of China's legendary female warrior Mulan, on May 25. They joined local Chinese photographers and soon started taking pictures.

They then moved between Wuhan landmarks - the Yangtze River Bridge, the East Lake, the Yellow Crane Tower and the Hanzheng Street - to capture intriguing moments of the city's three townships: Hankou, the financial center; Hanyang, the ancient industrial central, and Wuchang, the university and research parks cluster that also forges high-tech companies.

"Before the trip, I've actually never heard much about the city," Francisco said. "I didn't know what to expect exactly, so when I finally got to explore the different parts of Wuhan with my camera, I was impressed by their urban progress and tech scene.

"I also liked how the city still maintained a sense of calm and peace with its numerous lakes and greenery, and it didn't feel chaotic at all despite their development. I could also still get a sense of its local culture alongside its modern buildings," she added.

For Teju Khubchandani, who works at Google and speaks fluent Mandarin, "the most impressive part of the trip was how friendly the people are in Wuhan. At most of the cities that I have visited, most people will shy away from the camera, and in some cases, they give us a bad look.

"That was not the case in Wuhan," he said. "From store owners to people on the street, they were very friendly, and some of them approached us and talked to us in English."

Chen Lu, who was the liaison for the team, said the trip was about enhancing people-to-people communications.

"Students from the Wuhan Middle School volunteered to be interpreters for American photographers. Joggers at the East Lake paused their running in order to have a cordial conversation with our cameramen.

"Vendors at Hanzheng Street passed street delicacies to American friends with broad smiles," she said, adding that language is not a barrier in candid relationship-building. "Hospitality was felt throughout our trip no matter where we've been."

Having taken 900 photos on this trip, Francisco said she photographed people, cityscapes, food markets, alleyways, parks, schools, institutions and local shops.

"In being chosen for this trip, I was motivated to do well for the gallery, and I now feel inspired to keep honing my craft," she said.

On June 2, 140 photos were chosen from 10,000 works of American and Chinese photographers and displayed at a local gallery in Wuhan. Song said they will ship the photos to California in October and show to American audiences.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com

The Swedish carmaker that is owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co invested $1.1 billion in the plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina,about 30 miles from Charleston. It is scheduled to start producing the mid-size S60 for US and international markets later this year. The factory also will make the company's XC90 crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) in 2021. The plant could employ about 4,000 people and make 130,000 vehicles a year, according to Volvo.

"We will export as many cars from this factory as we will import in the US; Volvo will in three years' time have a neutral balance of trade. That is a good example of how trade with cars should work in an open and free economy," said Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson, according to the Associated Press.

The auto industry is caught in the crossfire of the current trade dispute between China and the US. The Trump administrationimposed 25 percent tariffs on vehicles imported from China, of which there are few. China, which announced recently that it will reduce tariffs on most imported vehicles from 25 percent to 15 percent, is planning to retaliate with 40 percent tariffs on US vehicles starting July 6.

The Gothenburg, Sweden-based Volvo imported all of the 81,651 vehicles it sold in the US last year, and imports will still make up 87 percent of its deliveries to American consumers in 2019, according to LMC Automotive estimates.

David Zoia, editorial director of WardsAuto.com,believes that the South Carolina plant may give Volvo some cover should the trade dispute linger or intensify.

"Given the current trade climate under the Trump administration, the US plant could be even more critical to Volvo's ability to supply the US market than when it was initially conceived (in 2015). But even without any additional trade barriers, the plant will play a key role in the automaker's efforts to grow volume and keep costs down," he said in an email.

Car sales in China and the US are slumping, while surging SUV and crossover sales have led to some manufacturers like the Ford Motor Co to curtail sedan offerings in favor of additional SUV and crossover utility vehicle (CUV) production.

Zoia doesn't believe that Volvo is mistiming the market by producing sedans.

"In the US, 35 percent of Volvo sales remain cars so that segment is still an important one for the brand. However, I would anticipate Volvo adding CUV production at the US plant in the future to utilize more of its capacity and maximize its investment," he wrote in an email.

Rebecca Lindland, executive analyst for Kelley Blue Book, noted that the company made the product decision several years ago. "The sedan market has slumped rather abruptly. I would have preferred them to start with the XC90, but that's not coming until 2021," she said in an email.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

On the same day, the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA released its 2018 Annual Business Survey Report in Washington.

Forty-four percent of respondents to the survey see deterioration in China-US economic and trade relations in 2018. And the same proportion believe that a stable and healthy relationship between the two countries is extremely important to the success of their company's business in the US.

"It's clear that the US-China relationship is facing incremental challenges. And perhaps even roadblocks for further development and co-operation," said Xu Chen, chairman of the CGCC.

Xu said that Chinese companies operating in the US have "bought American-made products, created American jobs, benefited American communities and paid American taxes."

It is the fifth consecutive year the CGCC has conducted its annual business survey on Chinese enterprises in the US.

This year's survey was carried out in March 2018 and included a total of 249 responses, an increase of 17 percent over last year.

"In terms of the trade tensions, we haven't seen any real effect from that yet. Of course it's going to be a negative effect," said Daniel J. McQuade, group president of AECOM Construction Services.

Respondents were especially concerned with high tariffs on imports (60 percent) and the prospect of tighter senior executive work visas and immigration policies (63 percent).

Concerns are rising among Chinese executives in the US about the tone and temperament of relations between China, the US, and their respective companies. More than 40 percent of respondents expressed concern about accusations of intellectual property theft or cyber attacks, and 25 percent by the nativist "Buy American, Hire American" rhetoric.

According to the survey, nearly 60 percent of respondents said the headcount of their workforce rose in 2017, despite the trade tensions. The same percentage expects to increase their workforce in the next two years - with two-thirds anticipating an increase of at least 10 percent.

Jeff Zhao, vice-president of BeijingWest Industries, said that recruiting talent was not easy for his company.

Steve Tan, president of China Telecom Americas, said that hiring talent was not a problem for them.

Looking to the future, 48 percent of respondents are optimistic about the US commercial environment over the next three years, and only 11 percent are pessimistic.

"I think it's going to be still like that for the next 6-12 months," said Shau Zhang, partner and market leader of Ernst & Young's Americas China Overseas Investment Network.

"We want Chinese investors in Kentucky," said Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin.

"We can not be an island unto ourselves here in America," Bevin added. "We need each other. We want each other and investment makes everything fall in line."

The business community should be unified to address their needs, suggested Michael McDonough, chief economist at Bloomberg.

"If businesses coming together saying this is the right policy, this is something we should do, I think we can go a long way to influence what's happening here over the course of next couple of years," he said.

leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com

Jan 1: Kim calls for improved relations and engagement with the Republic of Korea, but adds that he has a nuclear button on his desk. Trump tweets back that he has a bigger and more powerful nuclear button, adding "and my Button works!"

Jan 9: DPRK and ROK officials meet at a border village and agree on the DPRK sending athletes and delegates to the Winter Olympics in the South. Hundreds of North Koreans go to the Pyeongchang Games in February, including Kim's sister.

March 9: ROK envoys meet Trump in Washington and deliver an invitation from Kim to meet; Trump accepts.

March 27: Kim makes surprise trip to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping.

April 18: Trump confirms that Mike Pompeo, then CIA chief, had met Kim secretly in the DPRK and said "a good relationship was formed".

April 21: The DPRK says it has suspended nuclear tests and plans to close its test site to focus on its economy.

April 27: Kim meets with ROK President Moon Jae-in.

May 7: Kim meets Xi again in China and calls for stronger cooperation.

May 9: The DPRK releases three Americans who had been imprisoned.

May 10: Trump announces he will meet with Kim in Singapore on June 12.

May 16: The DPRK abruptly cancels a high-level meeting with the South and threatens to cancel the summit with Trump in protest over US-ROK military exercises and American comments that the DPRK should follow the "Libya model" of denuclearization by eliminating everything upfront.

May 22: Trump and Moon meet at the White House, and the ROK president says the "fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinge" on the meeting in Singapore.

May 24: The DPRK dismantles its nuclear testing ground, but Trump announces that he's pulling out of the summit, citing the DPRK's "tremendous anger and open hostility".

May 25: The DPRK says it is still willing to hold talks with the US "at any time, (in) any format".

May 26: Kim and Moon meet in a border village in a bid to revive the summit with Trump.

May 30: Envoy Kim Yong-chol, the most senior DPRK official to visit the US in 18 years, arrives in New York for summit prep with Pompeo.

June 1: After meeting Kim Yong-chol at the White House, Trump says his meeting with Kim Jong-un is back on for June 12.

- AP

The reason why the United States is running an overall trade deficit is not mainly because of other nations' restrictions, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday.

"If you are spending more than you are producing, that means you will have a trade deficit; if you're spending less than you're producing, that means you will save money or run a trade surplus," Lee said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

US President Donald Trump, who is visiting Lee's country to attend a historic summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, campaigned on a promise to bring down the US trade deficit, which he said last week stood at $817 billion.

The Trump administration has focused its criticism on many US trade partners, including China and the Americans' key allies.

Most recently, it has renewed a threat to hike tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods and slapped a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

"Fair trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal," Trump tweeted on Monday after abruptly withdrawing support for a joint declaration on free trade signed at the Group of Seven summit over the weekend in Canada.

In the interview with CNN, the Singaporean leader countered Trump's arguments about the US trade deficit with China. He said Trump's starting point is that he has a big trade deficit with the Chinese and that's a bad thing, and he wants to fix the issue by having China buy more from America.

"You have to look at it a more fundamental level. Why is America running an overall imbalance? It's not just - and it's not mainly - because of trade restrictions," Lee said.

Lee said China's economy has grown exponentially compared with 2001 when it joined the World Trade Organization. When it comes to trade issues, it is much better to talk in a multilateral framework, he said, adding, "there's a WTO, there is a basis for many countries to come together to work in accordance with international rules".

The rules give space for all countries, big and small, to operate under the same framework, he said.

On Sunday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, President Xi Jinping extolled free trade and criticized "selfish, short-sighted" policies.

"We should reject selfish, short-sighted, narrow and closed-off policies," Xi said. "We must maintain the rules of the World Trade Organization, support the multilateral trade system and build an open global economy."

On Monday, leaders of the International Monetary Fund, WTO and other agencies gave their support to multilateral trade and warned that US protectionism could cause global economic damage.

At a meeting in Berlin hosted by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the German leader and top officials from IMF, WTO and some other agencies said in a joint statement that the "increasing protectionist tendencies provide us with a clear incentive and opportunity to express our strong support for the multilateral trading system".

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said at the meeting that the global economy was in good shape. She said "the sun is still shining" but warned that it's "getting darker by the day".

"The biggest and darkest cloud that we see is the deterioration in confidence that is prompted by (an) attempt to challenge the way in which trade has been conducted, in which relationships have been handled and in which multilateral organizations have been operating," Lagarde said.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo told the Berlin news conference: "We must ... stop this escalation of tensions.," according to a Reuters report.

"They have been complaining about the system, they say that they want to improve the system, but we would expect a more constructive approach on their part," Reuters quoted Azevedo as saying.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

The five musicians - violinist Yu Renchao, violist Liu Kuan, flautist Huang Fangyu, clarinetist Chiu Yanru and bassoonist Zhao Sihong - were selected from about 20 candidates after rounds of auditions by a panel of New York Philharmonic musicians held at the SOA in March.

The finalists are Zarin Mehta Fellows, who won the chance to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program, where they take lessons with philharmonic musicians and perform with the orchestra.

Yu, who is not a stranger to the NY Philharmonic, sat for an interview during a break in rehearsals at Lincoln Center on Monday. They were preparing for the four upcoming big events - performing Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade under the baton of James Gaffigan in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Tuesday, in Central Park on WednesdayCunningham Park in Queens on Thursday and Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Friday.

"I feel familiar with them and very comfortable performing with them, as we have studied with the principals from NY Philharmonic when they attended the Music in the Summer Air (Music Festival) in Shanghai," said the 24-year-old violinist, who is in his second year of the SOA graduate program.

Yu added that musicians from the NY Philharmonic visit SOA four times a year to hold workshops with students there.

The SOA is a two-year post-graduate program designed to address the needs of advanced orchestral training in China. It is a joint effort of the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and operates under the leadership of founding President Yu Long.

Even though the time for rehearsal is very limited, Yu said he felt well-prepared.

"We have stress but in a positive way," he said. "It helps us be more concentrated and more sensitive in performance.

"The New Yorkers will surely have a wonderful experience, enjoying the performance given by NY Philharmonic and us," said Yu, who is confident about the upcoming concerts.

The colors of the Chinese flag represented the China Horse Club, a 25 percent owner of the 3-year-old thoroughbred.

After winning both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in the silks of Justify's majority owner WinStar Farm, Smith donned the China-themed finery at Belmont Park in New York before a crowd of more than 90,000.

The change was agreed to by the owners of the 13th Triple Crown-winner.

WinStar Farm President Elliot Walden told TV station WDRB in Lexington, Kentucky last week that the silk switch initially drew some skepticism at WinStar, but said the China Horse Club branding would garner more international interest, particularly in China. On its website contact form, the club lists a Shanghai address.

"Justify is going to wear China Horse Club silks," Walden said on Thursday. "That is exciting on one hand. It's not really important what silks he wears. It's important how things work out. If the horse wins the Triple Crown, we should be grateful."

Undefeated in his six outings, Justify last wore the China silks after his second victory at Santa Anita Park in California, according to WDRB. The horse has an impressive pedigree - he is descended from previous Triple Crown-winners Seattle Slew (1977) and Secretariat (1973).

Walden bantered with China Horse Club President Teo Ah Khing about whether he was sure he wanted to change the silks before the Triple Crown's last leg.

"I did joke with Teo after the Preakness, asking, 'Are you sure you want to take on this weight of running for the Triple Crown with your silks?'" Walden said. "I was kidding him, because I knew that's exactly what he's looking for," WDRB reported.

"One of the things he's passionate about is bringing horse racing to China and China to mainstream horse racing. So he knows the silks are a branding opportunity for him. It couldn't have worked out any better. It's just a rotation that just happened."

China Horse Club has about 200 members, each of whom paid a required $1 million entry fee, The New York Times reported last month.

Teo, who attended Harvard University, is an architect from Malaysia who is building a thoroughbred facility in St. Lucia. He was introduced to thoroughbred racing when he designed the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Times' feature said.

Walden said Justify's illustrious trainer Bob Baffert, who is normally superstitious, didn't comment on the change in silks, according to WDRB.

Walden said he was "excited to see him run in the China Horse Club silks. I think China is going to be watching, and if China is watching, who knows what could happen for horse racing?"

Genworth Financial Inc and China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co said on Saturday that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had completed its review of the proposed $2.7 billion buyout.

CFIUS found "no unresolved national-security concerns" with the proposed deal, Genworth said.

CFIUS, an interagency group that assesses the national security impact of foreign purchases of a US business, has been giving closer scrutiny to Chinese acquisitions in the US.

Earlier this year, CFIUS rejected Alibaba's Ant Financial Services Group's $1.2 billion takeover of money-transfer network MoneyGram International Inc, reportedly due to concerns about Chinese access to sensitive US personal data.

Genworth and Oceanwide have entered into a mitigation agreement that requires Genworth to use a US-based, third-party service provider to manage and protect the personal data of Genworth's American policyholders.

The deal still needs approval from other US, Chinese and international regulators.

Beijing-based China Oceanwide, a privately held firm started by businessman Lu Zhiqiang, agreed to acquire Genworth in 2016.

Genworth, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, focuses on home-mortgage insurance and long-term care insurance.

"Successfully concluding the CFIUS process is a major step in our efforts to complete this transaction, which will strengthen Genworth's financial position and allow us to bring Genworth's insurance expertise to China," Lu said in a statement.

Oceanwide has expanded from a locally based developer in China into a conglomerate with investments in banking, insurance and technology. In the US, Oceanwide has been an active participant in real estate deals in California, Hawaii and New York.

The news on the CFIUS review boosted Genworth's shares, sending them 26.5 percent higher, or $1.01, to $4.82 in New York trading on Monday.

The deal's approval was "somewhat surprising", given challenges other deals from Chinese buyers have faced, according to Tom Gallagher, an analyst at Evercore Partners Inc. At least 10 Chinese deals for US firms have unraveled during the Trump administration amid security concerns raised by CFIUS.

The Genworth decision underscores that Chinese transactions are winning approval, despite problems for some high-profile deals, said Anne Salladin, a lawyer at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in Washington who works on CFIUS reviews.

Each deal raises unique issues that can be resolved through mitigation agreements with the panel, she said.

"People seem to think that there's a block against Chinese deals, and that's just not the case, despite the fact that they undergo intense scrutiny," Salladin said.

CFIUS reviews are confidential, and the panel declined to comment on the Genworth decision. In its most recent report to Congress, CFIUS highlighted that insurance is among the industries the panel pays particular attention to because insurers hold potentially sensitive data about people and businesses that are important to national security.

Saturday's news clears one hurdle for the insurer and boosts the probability of the deal being completed, but both companies still need a sign-off from state regulators, including overseers in Delaware, according to Sean Dargan, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co.

Bloomberg contributed to this story.

Proposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and passed by the State Assembly's education committee, the legislation would replace the specialized high school admissions test (SHSAT) with a system based on grades and standardized test scores.

The de Blasio administration's two-part plan includes eliminating the use of the single-admissions test over three years, which would require approval by the State Assmbly and State Senate.

The mayor wants the admissions test changed to allow more blacks and Latino students to attend the schools. They now make up 70 percent of students in the city's public schools, but less than 10 percent in the specialized high schools. Asian students represent 16 percent of the total number of students in the public-school system.

The test change also has the backing of City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, who criticized opponents:

"I just don't buy into the narrative that any one ethnic group owns admission to these schools," he said on Tuesday when asked during a television interview if he was pitting "minority against minority." "Either we believe the kids - black kids and brown kids - can't compete, or there's something wrong with the system that's not casting a wide enough net."

One of the graduates of a specialized school - Stuyvesant High School -- is Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng, who represents the borough of Queens.

"Far too many of our City's elementary and middle school students are being left behind. As the mother of two young children who attend New York City public schools, I have witnessed these problems firsthand," Meng said in a statement on Wednesday. "The mayor's decision to distract from the harsh realities of the New York City school system by proposing these changes is not only wrong, it is shortsighted."

State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou said in a statement, "I am deeply concerned about the language used around this issue, which has been focusing on how Asian-American students are overrepresented in our city's specialized high schools. Asian Americans are also minorities; there are over 180,000 Asian American students in the New York City education system, and 58.4 percent of them live close to or below the poverty line. It is unfair and wrong to pit minorities against one another when the goal is to improve educational outcomes and opportunities for all New Yorkers."

Chinese parents and students in the Asian-American community expressed outrage about the proposed changes.

"Our kids work harder than others to get into these schools, the outcome of the test is fair and it is objective," said Sara Liu, a mother of a middle-school student who lives around Sunset Park in Brooklyn. "My daughter is preparing for the exam, and she has been studying really hard since she was in elementary school. To end the exam is not fair to her effort."

"I'm raised by a low-income single mother. On a fateful October morning, I came to Brooklyn Technical High School to take a test that would determine my school for the next four years," Angel Li, a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School told China Daily. "The test does not take into account the student's race, income, or any other factor other than the score they get. The SHSAT is a single test, it has been serving generations of underprivileged youth in New York City, abolishing it now would deny the right to a quality education to thousands of kids."

"I'm not sure if the mayor is racist, but this policy is certainly discriminatory," Kenneth Chiu, chairman of the New York City Asian-American Democratic Club, told The New York Times on Tuesday. "It's like the Chinese Exclusion Act, is what I think," he continued, comparing the plan to a 19th-century immigration law that effectively prohibited Chinese immigration.

"Our mayor is pitting minority against minority, which is really, really messed up, to put it nicely."

Gao Fei, a spokesman for the Chinese Consulate General of Los Angeles, confirmed that all three victims - a flight instructor and two students - were Chinese nationals from Scandinavian Aviation Academy, a flight school at Gillespie Field.

"The investigation is still ongoing, but we will continue to follow up on the incident," he said.

According to a May 11 news release from the San Diego Sheriff's Department, local authorities received a report of a possible plane crash near Volcan Mountain around 8:40 pm the previous day.

An ongoing vegetation fire, sparked by the crash, and the steep terrain of the site, prevented ground units from reaching the plane immediately.

Firefighters didn't make it to the aircraft until May 13, when the fire was 100 percent contained, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Authorities found the charred bodies of unnamed victims near the crash site.

According to a report from the San Diego Department of the Medical Examiner, all three victims died of multiple blunt force injuries and thermal injuries.

"Upon learning the news, the Chinese Consulate General immediately urged the rescue team and the flight school to carry out the rescue process," Gao said.

He said the consulate general helped the family members of the victims apply for US visas so they could fly to California to recover the bodies of their loved ones.

In addition to visiting the local police department to learn about the situation, staff from the consulate general also met with flight school officials and urged them to take effective measures to ensure the safety and rights of the trainees, Gao said.

According to its website, the flight school is a satellite training center for Scandinavian Aviation Academy, which is headquartered in Sweden.

It is approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to train cadets for commercial airlines in China. It provided sponsored airline training for airlines such as China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan, Xiamen, Spring, Tianjin and Shenzhen Airlines.

Liu Yinmeng contributed to this story.

In a bid to rebuild America's industry, Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including those from key G7 allies like Canada, Japan and the European Union.

Trump has threatened to use national security laws to do the same for car imports and has walked back on environmental agreements and an international deal to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has invested in a warm personal relationship with Trump, said the other G7 nations - Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as France - should remain "polite" and productive but warned that "no leader is forever", a sign that Europe would not surrender meekly to the US president.

"Maybe the American president doesn't care about being isolated today, but we don't mind being six, if needs be," Macron told reporters. "Because these six represent values, represent an economic market, and more than anything, represent a real force at the international level today."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted "robust discussions" on trade, but other G7 members like Japan and Italy seemed less likely to want to challenge the US president.

Trump fired back soon after on Twitter, addressing both leaders directly, saying they were charging "massive tariffs" on US goods and had erected other trade barriers.

"I look forward to seeing them tomorrow," Trump wrote about Friday's start of the two-day summit.

Trump will come face-to-face with them at the gathering in Charlevoix, Quebec.

Trump signaled that he was in no mood to compromise as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has tried to cultivate a friendly relationship with the American president.

Trump raised the issue of US car imports with Abe at their meeting in Washington and said he wanted more investment in plants in the industrial heartland of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Abe is not the only world leader to have tried charming Trump and failed to come away with concessions from the US leader. Macron, who appeared to have built a warm relationship, said the "G6" leaders would not spark a fight at the summit.

"In this environment, above all we always have to stay polite, stay productive and try to convince (them) to keep the United States on board because they are our historical ally and we need them," Macron told a news conference with Trudeau in Ottawa.

-Reuters

Some critters - about a millimeter long (that's about four one-hundredths of an inch) - were crawling and burrowing through a patch of shoreline mud in what is today China about 550 million years ago.

Scientists are suggesting that these trails - dubbed the Shibantan trackways - could very well be the oldest footprints on Earth. But what made them is the big mystery.

Thanks to the process of the mud being transformed into limestone stone,the two miniscule rows of tracks made by the creature(s)unknown were preserved for eons in the Yangtze Gorges of southern China. Dating the rock by the strata it was taken from puts it in the Ediacaran period, between 541 million and 551 million years ago, an epoch that so far has offered up a scant fossil record of mostly worms and tiny sack-like organisms.

No evidence of creatures with legs this old has ever been discovered. All previously identified animals with paired appendages were from the Cambrian period (530-540 million years ago), a time that witnessed an outburst of different and more complex forms of life. That era's crawlers left trails and tracks all over the place.

Professor Shuhai Xiao, a geobiologist at Virginia Tech and author of the paper that appears in the current issue of Science Advances, told the Guardian that the discovery sheds light on what creatures were the first to evolve pairs of legs, which, of course, would eventually enable them to crawl onto dry land.

"Animals use their appendages to move around, to build their homes, to fight, to feed, and sometimes to help mate," he said. "It is important to know when the first appendages appeared, and in what animals, because this can tell us when and how animals began to change to the Earth in a particular way."

The stride and locomotion of the two sets of tracks are difficult to puzzle out. Asymmetrical, irregular and overlapping, they almost suggest a gait that might be called staggering. The irregularity is in marked contrast to the "highly coordinated" wave-like rhythmic motion of other insects, Xiao explaied.

"The footprints are organized in two parallel rows, as expected if they were made by animals with paired appendages," Xiao writes. "Also they are organized in repeated groups, as expected if the animal had multiple paired appendages."

So what is it? The identity of what made the tracks, Xiao said, "is difficult to determine in the absence of body remains at the end of the trackways."

The style of movement points to arthropod (spider, crab, bug) with jointed limbs, but, Xiao writes, adding to the mystery, "it is not beyond the realm of possibility that theShibantan trackways may have been made by other animals analogous to modern annelids (worms), onychophorans (multi-legged worms), or tardigrades (A.K.A. water bears or moss piglets)".

It might also have been a tetrapod (the four-limbed phylum that includes humans).

My money's on the tardigrades "water bears", which were first discovered by a German zoologist in 1773 and have since been found literally everywhere, from the depths of the oceans to towering mountain tops, from sweltering jungles to the Antarctic ice, in sand, moss and barnacles.

They are also one of nature's most resilient creatures, able to survive conditions that take most other living things out - extreme heat or cold, radiation, lack of air, food or water. They are barrel-shaped with four pairs of stubby legs equipped with "claws".And they are ancient, dating back to the Cambrian.

Maybe the most obvious hint is right under our nose - in its names. The German biologist Johann Goeze first named the creature klinerWasserbaer(little water bear), because of its lumbering gait. The Latin name tardigrade came from an Italian scientist years later. It means "slow walker."

Proposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and passed by the State Assembly's education committee, the legislation would replace the specialized high school admissions test (SHSAT) with a system based on grades and standardized test scores.

The de Blasio administration's two-part plan includes eliminating the use of the single-admissions test over three years, which would require approval by the State Assmbly and State Senate.

The mayor wants the admissions test changed to allow more blacks and Latino students to attend the schools. They now make up 70 percent of students in the city's public schools, but less than 10 percent in the specialized high schools. Asian students represent 16 percent of the total number of students in the public-school system.

The test change also has the backing of City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, who criticized opponents:

"I just don't buy into the narrative that any one ethnic group owns admission to these schools," he said on Tuesday when asked during a television interview if he was pitting "minority against minority." "Either we believe the kids - black kids and brown kids - can't compete, or there's something wrong with the system that's not casting a wide enough net."

One of the graduates of a specialized school - Stuyvesant High School -- is Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng, who represents the borough of Queens.

"Far too many of our City's elementary and middle school students are being left behind. As the mother of two young children who attend New York City public schools, I have witnessed these problems firsthand," Meng said in a statement on Wednesday. "The mayor's decision to distract from the harsh realities of the New York City school system by proposing these changes is not only wrong, it is shortsighted."

State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou said in a statement, "I am deeply concerned about the language used around this issue, which has been focusing on how Asian-American students are overrepresented in our city's specialized high schools. Asian Americans are also minorities; there are over 180,000 Asian American students in the New York City education system, and 58.4 percent of them live close to or below the poverty line. It is unfair and wrong to pit minorities against one another when the goal is to improve educational outcomes and opportunities for all New Yorkers."

Chinese parents and students in the Asian-American community expressed outrage about the proposed changes.

"Our kids work harder than others to get into these schools, the outcome of the test is fair and it is objective," said Sara Liu, a mother of a middle-school student who lives around Sunset Park in Brooklyn. "My daughter is preparing for the exam, and she has been studying really hard since she was in elementary school. To end the exam is not fair to her effort."

"I'm raised by a low-income single mother. On a fateful October morning, I came to Brooklyn Technical High School to take a test that would determine my school for the next four years," Angel Li, a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School told China Daily. "The test does not take into account the student's race, income, or any other factor other than the score they get. The SHSAT is a single test, it has been serving generations of underprivileged youth in New York City, abolishing it now would deny the right to a quality education to thousands of kids."

"I'm not sure if the mayor is racist, but this policy is certainly discriminatory," Kenneth Chiu, chairman of the New York City Asian-American Democratic Club, told The New York Times on Tuesday. "It's like the Chinese Exclusion Act, is what I think," he continued, comparing the plan to a 19th-century immigration law that effectively prohibited Chinese immigration.

"Our mayor is pitting minority against minority, which is really, really messed up, to put it nicely."

Gao Fei, a spokesman for the Chinese Consulate General of Los Angeles, confirmed that all three victims - a flight instructor and two students - were Chinese nationals from Scandinavian Aviation Academy, a flight school at Gillespie Field.

"The investigation is still ongoing, but we will continue to follow up on the incident," he said.

According to a May 11 news release from the San Diego Sheriff's Department, local authorities received a report of a possible plane crash near Volcan Mountain around 8:40 pm the previous day.

An ongoing vegetation fire, sparked by the crash, and the steep terrain of the site, prevented ground units from reaching the plane immediately.

Firefighters didn't make it to the aircraft until May 13, when the fire was 100 percent contained, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Authorities found the charred bodies of unnamed victims near the crash site.

According to a report from the San Diego Department of the Medical Examiner, all three victims died of multiple blunt force injuries and thermal injuries.

"Upon learning the news, the Chinese Consulate General immediately urged the rescue team and the flight school to carry out the rescue process," Gao said.

He said the consulate general helped the family members of the victims apply for US visas so they could fly to California to recover the bodies of their loved ones.

In addition to visiting the local police department to learn about the situation, staff from the consulate general also met with flight school officials and urged them to take effective measures to ensure the safety and rights of the trainees, Gao said.

According to its website, the flight school is a satellite training center for Scandinavian Aviation Academy, which is headquartered in Sweden.

It is approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to train cadets for commercial airlines in China. It provided sponsored airline training for airlines such as China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan, Xiamen, Spring, Tianjin and Shenzhen Airlines.

Liu Yinmeng contributed to this story.

In a bid to rebuild America's industry, Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including those from key G7 allies like Canada, Japan and the European Union.

Trump has threatened to use national security laws to do the same for car imports and has walked back on environmental agreements and an international deal to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has invested in a warm personal relationship with Trump, said the other G7 nations - Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as France - should remain "polite" and productive but warned that "no leader is forever", a sign that Europe would not surrender meekly to the US president.

"Maybe the American president doesn't care about being isolated today, but we don't mind being six, if needs be," Macron told reporters. "Because these six represent values, represent an economic market, and more than anything, represent a real force at the international level today."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted "robust discussions" on trade, but other G7 members like Japan and Italy seemed less likely to want to challenge the US president.

Trump fired back soon after on Twitter, addressing both leaders directly, saying they were charging "massive tariffs" on US goods and had erected other trade barriers.

"I look forward to seeing them tomorrow," Trump wrote about Friday's start of the two-day summit.

Trump will come face-to-face with them at the gathering in Charlevoix, Quebec.

Trump signaled that he was in no mood to compromise as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has tried to cultivate a friendly relationship with the American president.

Trump raised the issue of US car imports with Abe at their meeting in Washington and said he wanted more investment in plants in the industrial heartland of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Abe is not the only world leader to have tried charming Trump and failed to come away with concessions from the US leader. Macron, who appeared to have built a warm relationship, said the "G6" leaders would not spark a fight at the summit.

"In this environment, above all we always have to stay polite, stay productive and try to convince (them) to keep the United States on board because they are our historical ally and we need them," Macron told a news conference with Trudeau in Ottawa.

-Reuters

Some critters - about a millimeter long (that's about four one-hundredths of an inch) - were crawling and burrowing through a patch of shoreline mud in what is today China about 550 million years ago.

Scientists are suggesting that these trails - dubbed the Shibantan trackways - could very well be the oldest footprints on Earth. But what made them is the big mystery.

Thanks to the process of the mud being transformed into limestone stone,the two miniscule rows of tracks made by the creature(s)unknown were preserved for eons in the Yangtze Gorges of southern China. Dating the rock by the strata it was taken from puts it in the Ediacaran period, between 541 million and 551 million years ago, an epoch that so far has offered up a scant fossil record of mostly worms and tiny sack-like organisms.

No evidence of creatures with legs this old has ever been discovered. All previously identified animals with paired appendages were from the Cambrian period (530-540 million years ago), a time that witnessed an outburst of different and more complex forms of life. That era's crawlers left trails and tracks all over the place.

Professor Shuhai Xiao, a geobiologist at Virginia Tech and author of the paper that appears in the current issue of Science Advances, told the Guardian that the discovery sheds light on what creatures were the first to evolve pairs of legs, which, of course, would eventually enable them to crawl onto dry land.

"Animals use their appendages to move around, to build their homes, to fight, to feed, and sometimes to help mate," he said. "It is important to know when the first appendages appeared, and in what animals, because this can tell us when and how animals began to change to the Earth in a particular way."

The stride and locomotion of the two sets of tracks are difficult to puzzle out. Asymmetrical, irregular and overlapping, they almost suggest a gait that might be called staggering. The irregularity is in marked contrast to the "highly coordinated" wave-like rhythmic motion of other insects, Xiao explaied.

"The footprints are organized in two parallel rows, as expected if they were made by animals with paired appendages," Xiao writes. "Also they are organized in repeated groups, as expected if the animal had multiple paired appendages."

So what is it? The identity of what made the tracks, Xiao said, "is difficult to determine in the absence of body remains at the end of the trackways."

The style of movement points to arthropod (spider, crab, bug) with jointed limbs, but, Xiao writes, adding to the mystery, "it is not beyond the realm of possibility that theShibantan trackways may have been made by other animals analogous to modern annelids (worms), onychophorans (multi-legged worms), or tardigrades (A.K.A. water bears or moss piglets)".

It might also have been a tetrapod (the four-limbed phylum that includes humans).

My money's on the tardigrades "water bears", which were first discovered by a German zoologist in 1773 and have since been found literally everywhere, from the depths of the oceans to towering mountain tops, from sweltering jungles to the Antarctic ice, in sand, moss and barnacles.

They are also one of nature's most resilient creatures, able to survive conditions that take most other living things out - extreme heat or cold, radiation, lack of air, food or water. They are barrel-shaped with four pairs of stubby legs equipped with "claws".And they are ancient, dating back to the Cambrian.

Maybe the most obvious hint is right under our nose - in its names. The German biologist Johann Goeze first named the creature klinerWasserbaer(little water bear), because of its lumbering gait. The Latin name tardigrade came from an Italian scientist years later. It means "slow walker."

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com.

Trump and Kim caution that gradual approach to issues may be necessary

There is reportedly "good progress" in talks between Pyongyang and Washington officials in New York on Thursday to prepare for a historic summit, which, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, will focus on denuclearization.

But the leaders of the two countries seemed to have come to agree that denuclearizing takes time and there might be no quick breakthrough.

"I will tell you we've made real progress in the last 72 hours toward setting the conditions," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after meeting with a delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The conditions are putting President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un in a place where we think there could be real progress made by the two of them meeting."

He said the delegation, led by Kim Yong-chol, vice-chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, was planning to travel to the White House on Friday to deliver a letter from the DPRK's top leader Kim to President Donald Trump.

On Thursday morning, however, the US president downplayed the chances for any big breakthrough in one meeting.

"Hopefully we'll have a meeting on the 12th," Trump told reporters. "It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting; maybe you have to have a second or a third. And maybe we'll have none."

In a brief interview with Reuters, Trump said, "I'd like to see it done in one meeting, but often times that's not the way deals work. There's a very good chance that it won't be done in one meeting or two meetings or three meetings. But it'll get done at some point."

In Pyongyang, DPRK leader Kim said his country's will for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula still remains "unchanged and consistent and fixed", the official KCNA news agency reported on Friday local time, after Kim's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Kim hoped US-DPRK relations and denuclearization of the peninsula will both be solved on a "stage-by-stage" basis, according to KCNA.

Lavrov said after talks with his DPRK counterpart Ri Yong-ho on Thursday that the solution to the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue cannot be full unless sanctions against Pyongyang are lifted.

"It is impossible in one move to ensure denuclearization, that's why certainly there should be some stages and there should be the oncoming traffic at each of these stages," the Russian News Agency TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that while a summit between Trump and Kim would be historic, it is unlikely to be decisive.

"This is not the fault of either Trump or Kim, but rather a reflection that intractable, decades-long strategic challenges rarely - if ever - get resolved in single encounters," Hass said in an analysis on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China is aware of the active preparations by the US and the DPRK for their leaders' meeting.

"There is a historic opportunity for breaking years of deadlock on the peninsula and realizing denuclearization," she told a briefing on Thursday.

"We encourage and support the two sides to further demonstrate their sincerity with positive interaction, in order to ensure the meeting will take place on schedule and jointly open the gate of a denuclearized, peaceful and prosperous future for the peninsula."

At Thursday's briefing in New York, Pompeo responded "don't know" when asked if the summit will take place as originally scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

"There remains a great deal of work to do," the top US diplomat said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 06/01/2018 page2)

Home-grown Luckin Coffee, based in Beijing, is positioning itself as a lower-cost alternative to Seattle's Starbucks, which has been operating in China for 20 years.

Established in November 2017 by Qian Zhiya, co-founder of ride-sharing firm Ucar, Luckin has rapidly expandedopening 525 coffee chain stores in four months and creating much buzz among netizens.

With more than 1 billion yuan ($157.8 million) kicked in by Lu Zhengyao, CEO of Ucar, Luckin hopes to grab share by focusing on delivery services and smaller stores.

Starbucks accounts for almost 75 percent of specialist coffee stores in China, according to Euromonitor International.

"The market will not only have Starbucks," Qian said. "Every country has their own coffee brand."

China's growing coffee-shop market grew to 30.1 billion ($4.72 billion) in 2017, compared with 26.1 billion in 2016, according to Euromonitor.

The competition got frothier earlier this month, as Luckin accused Starbucks of engaging in monopolistic practices by signing exclusive rental contracts and pressuring suppliers.

In a May 15 letter to Starbucks, Luckin said that the American chain has signed contracts with property owners in China prohibiting them from leasing space to coffee chains other than Starbucks; shops with 30 percent or more revenue derived from coffee products; or brands related to coffee.

Luckin said many of its suppliers that also supply Starbucks said they were asked to stop serving the Chinese company.

Guo Jinyi, vice-president of Luckin, said Starbucks' actions have affected operations and competition. Guo didn't identify suppliers that were asked by Starbucks to stop cooperating with Luckin, China Daily reported on May 15.

"We have instructed King & Wood Mallesons to file a complaint with the national anti-monopoly administrative law enforcement agency on the above issues in the near future, and formally file a lawsuit with the People's Courts in the relevant cities," said an attorney for Luckin, according to Tencent News.

In response on May 15, Starbucks said: "We have no intention of participating in the promotion hype of other brands. We welcome orderly competition, mutual promotion, continuous innovation, continuous improvement of quality and service, and creating real value for Chinese consumers."

Luckin has about 50 outlets in Beijing, while Starbucks has around 300 in the capital, which, considering its population, suggests the coffee market has much growth potential.

At its first China Investor Conference in Shanghai on May 15, Starbucks announced plans to add 600 stores over the next five years on the Chinese mainland, which would bring the total to 6,000 across 230 cites.

"No Western company or brand is better positioned to evolve with the rapidly expanding Chinese middle class - and we continue to mindfully evolve a coffee culture in China where the reward will be healthy, long-term, profitable growth for decades to come," said Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

Luckin hopes to have 500 stores in China by the end of the year. It is going for the young white-collar workers, with a taste geared to Chinese tastes, founder Qian said.

In an interview with Kr-Asia, she said her company can address two weak spots in China's coffee shop industry: high prices and inconvenience.

In Western countries, a cup of coffee takes only 1/1,000th of a person's monthly income, but it is almost 1/100th for people living in China, she said.

A late at Luckin costs 24 yuan ($3.74), while the average in China is 36 yuan ($5.62).

However the competition turns out, there will be a lot more caffeine flowing in China.

Wang Zhuoqiong and Ma Si in Beijing contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 06/01/2018 page2)

MEXICO CITY- Chinese bike-sharing company Mobike entered the Latin American market in Mexico City this year drawn by its millions of potential clients. Now it has run into a problem increasingly plaguing the country: street crime.

Theft has been so widespread that in the past few days, dozens of the app's customers have complained on social media about the lack of available bicycles. Many of them told Reuters they are thinking hard about switching to the competition.

Mobike, the largest bike-sharing company in the world, said shortages were due to theft as well as growing demand for the 500 bicycles available in a small part of the capital while it awaits clearance from city authorities to expand further.

Mobike has been working with law enforcement agencies in Mexico City to recover the stolen bicycles, said Rene Ojeda, director of the Mexican arm of the Beijing-based company.

Since it entered the Mexican market in mid-February, Mobike subscriptions have risen by 70 percent per week, he said.

But the Chinese company faces stiff competition in the capital. Mexican VBike operates with some 2,000 bicycles, and EcoBici, a bike-sharing firm launched by Mexico City's government, has 6,500 units and more than 260,000 users.

"Mobike was a good option for me since I work in the area," said Fernando Galicia, a disgruntled Mobike user in the metropolis. "But I've gone to EcoBici, and not because it's cheaper, but because they always have bikes."

Arantxa Nava, another Mobike user in Miguel Hidalgo, a wealthier borough and the only one where Mobike currently operates, complained she "never" came across available bikes.

Reuters found almost 60 bicycles using the app, which equips them with GPS-trackers, in Tepito, a tough neighborhood north of the historic city center best known for its black markets where clothing, pirated films and illegal drugs flow freely.

Ojeda said some Mobike users commute to work on the bicycles and leave them in Tepito, which is outside its operating area. But after reviewing the app at various points this week, Reuters found that none of the Mobikes there ever left Tepito.

Thieves are "using the bikes to move drugs", said a Tepito resident, who asked to remain anonymous due to security fears. Two other residents of the area corroborated his statement.

The Chinese firm did not respond to these allegations.

Mobike, which recently changed hands for $2.7 billion, equips its bicycles with an electronic alarm that alerts the company when one of them leaves its operating zone.

Each bike also carries more than 60 patented parts so that they cannot be sold for use on other bicycles.

For now, the bike thieves have gotten away with it.

Theft is not a problem unique to Mobike in Mexico.

This week, business leaders called out the government over a recent crime wave that has hit Mexico and forced several firms to shut down operations or spend millions of dollars on security in Latin America's second-largest economy.

Reuters

(China Daily USA 06/01/2018 page2)

An 18-year-old Chinese overseas student was killed and three other housemates injured in a fire in Toronto early Wednesday.

China's Consulate General in Toronto released a statement Thursday morning to confirm that it has contacted the Chinese families of the victim and injured students. Two of the injured have been discharged from the hospital.

Helen Guo, who died in the fire, and the other three injured were all students on the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto (U of T).

The fire broke out at in single-family house shared by the four students on Haida Court in Scarborough around 2:30 am. Firefighters fought the blaze from outside and were unable to enter for some time.

Three of the students escaped and were rushed to the hospital for treatment. One jumped from a second-floor window to escape the flames, which left a gaping hole in the roof.

Guo was found dead on the second floor of the home.

Another U of T student, Loick Masunda, who was at a neighboring house, leapt into action and pulled a student out when the fire started.

"She was burnt, she was in pain, shocked. I tried to calm her down and brought her to the paramedics," Masunda told the media.

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said it was a "deep tragedy", and investigators are still working to determine what caused the blaze and whether smoke alarms were functioning.

The university said it has reached out to the students with offers of help as well as to community and family members affected.

The Consulate General also launched the consular protection emergency mechanism after the accident, reminding Chinese citizens to be wary about their safety.

The consulate also provided an assistance hotline in Toronto: (416) 529-0068.

renali@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 06/01/2018 page2)

The cast of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered stands tall and extends far beyond the area that used to be taken by the popular fossil of SUE the T. rex in the large Stanley Field Hall at the Field Museum.

The new dinosaur is made from the fossil bones of a long-necked Patagotitan mayorum from Argentina, part of a group of dinosaurs called titanosaurs.

"The installation took three days," said Bill Simpson, head of geological collections at the museum, as two workers finished the installation by connecting the dinosaur's head to its long neck on May 25.

The dinosaur is called Maximo, meaning "maximum" in Spanish. From head to tail, it stretches 122 feet. It is so tall that its head overlooks the second-floor balcony of the museum, where visitors can easily take a selfie with it.

Simpson said that the red-colored cast reflects the actual fossil color because the soil where the dinosaur was discovered is rich in iron.

"What's so special about Maximo is its size," Simpson said. "Stanley Field Hall is 300 feet long. People can really get a good sense of its scale."

The dinosaur exhibit will open to the public on June 1. Five pieces of the dinosaur's real fossils also will be displayed by its side for two years.

"Different from SUE, the cast will allow visitors to walk under it and touch it," said Hillary Hansen, senior exhibitions project manager, the first-ever display to permit such access by visitors.

Hansen said that five people from Museo Egidio Feruglio, the museum in Patagonia, Argentina that owns the titanosaur fossils, are in Chicago to provide assistance for the move and installation.

It is the second Patagotitan on display. The other cast is at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Simpson said that due to its size and the limitation of space, the head and tail of the Patagotitan in New York are in two different rooms.

Meanwhile, SUE the T. rex will be moved to the Field Mmuseum's permanent exhibition, The Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.

"Evolving Planet will showcase SUE and reveal the story of her life on Earth," said Hansen.

"The most dramatic change to SUE will be the addition of her gastralia," added Hansen.

Gastralia is a set of bones that look like an extra set of ribs stretched across the belly.

Hansen said that gastralia are rarely preserved in tyrannosaurs. The addition of SUE's gastralia will change her look, explained Associate Curator of Dinosaurs Pete Makovicky.

"T.rex had a bulging belly - it wasn't sleek and gazelle-like the way you might think from looking at SUE now without her gastralia," said Makovicky.

SUE will be unveiled in her new home in the Evolving Planet exhibition in early 2019.

Maximo is part of the celebration of the Field Museum's 125th anniversary and was made possible by a $16.5 million gift from the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund.

For China Daily

(China Daily USA 06/01/2018 page2)

Key to those flexible screens is organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, which was a main focus of the 2018 Society for Information Display (SID) Week at the Los Angeles Convention Center from Sunday through Thursday.

The annual event, co-sponsored by Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), also featured exhibitions, symposiums, courses and presentations by the world's leading display companies.

OLED technology, first developed in 1987 by chemists Ching W. Tang and Steven Van Slyke at the Eastman Kodak Co in Rochester, New York, is a display technology used on the screens of smartphones, laptops, televisions and other devices.

"I think the advantage the new Chinese companies have is the market has got more demand for OLED, but there's not enough companies that are able to fill all the demand," said Sri Peruvemba, executive board member and marketing director for SID.

Compared with older, more common liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology, OLED is an energy-efficient alternative that enables manufacturers to produce a thinner screen with more colorful images and wider viewing angles.

Many manufacturers have used the technology to develop transparent and bendable screens.

According to Allied Market Research, a company that studies business trends, global revenue for the OLED market will reach $37.2 billion in 2020, with estimated 18 percent growth from 2015 to 2020.

Korean and Japanese companies, such as Samsung, LG and Panasonic, account for the majority of that revenue, but experts said that more Chinese companies are entering the market.

A report from DSCC showed that Chinese OLED shipments jumped 124 percent to $11.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, and are expected to rise 143 percent in 2018 to $28.4 million. Some leading Chinese manufacturers in OLED are Visionox, BOE and Royole.

"OLED attracts people not only because of its advantage in the cellphone market, but more importantly, because of its potential to become foldable," said Ruoyuan Yan, Visionox executive vice-president.

Visionox, formed by a research team at Tsinghua University in Beijing, has 22 years of OLED manufacturing experience.

Yan said Visionox's customers include Nokia and Garmin, and the company is looking for North American business.

"The USA is a very important electrical consumer market. Even if a majority of the OLED companies are in Asia right now, this is a global market," Yan said.

"The US also has big potential clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, so for Chinese display companies like us, the US is a market that we definitely won't miss (the opportunity)."

Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

Dezhu US Investment Inc was started four years ago by Beijing native Eric Xue and three partners who are also from China.

The company now has a pipeline of 14 projects in residential, mixed-use and hotel in metro Atlanta, Georgia that is valued at about $500 million.

"We have always liked the potential for the Atlanta market," Xue said. "More companies are moving their North American headquarters to the city like Mercedes-Benz (USA) did. This generates jobs and demand for housing," he said.

In March, Mercedes-Benz formally opened its new North American headquarters, moving the operation and its 1,000 jobs from New Jersey.

Xue and his partners named their company Dezhu, which comes from one of the most important books in the history of Asian culture - the I Ching, or the Book of Changes.

Most of Dezhu's developments have been in the multifamily sector such as apartments and town houses. That is because the company has property in high-density areas of Atlanta like the midtown and downtown sections.

"Land prices are high (in those areas) and are not feasible for single-family development," Xue said. He said the midtown and downtown areas also are favored by young professionals who generally prefer having a lot of neighbors.

Still, Dezhu does have some single-family developments in Atlanta's suburbs, said Xue.

The company is also stepping out of its comfort zone by developing Castleberry Park, a mixed-use project in downtown Atlanta that will include a 200-room Hard Rock Hotel near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Super Bowl LIII early next year.

"That is an example of understanding the property which is near the stadium in an area that will see many tourists and visitors," Xue said.

Xue said Dezhu gets its capital from local sources including banks, private-equity firms and investors.

Gabe Chatham is a local builder who is also secretary-treasurer of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. He said Dezhu is making an impact in the city.

"They have done an excellent job in market research and in identifying the right product for the right property and they have a good reputation in the market," he said in an interview. "Hiring local engineers and contractors has also helped."

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

Adams' company, Maine Coast, has grown 125 percent over the past three years. Last year, the company shipped more than 7 million pounds of live lobster to 29 different countries, including China, with revenue of $57 million.

"It (China) is our biggest and fastest-growing single country of export that we do," Adams told China Daily at Maine International Trade Day on May 18 in Rockport. "Chinese consumers have had an incredible role in our history at Maine Coast."

Adams is founder and CEO of the company headquartered in York, Maine. The plant has a holding capacity of 180,000 pounds of live lobster and employs 50 people.

Main Coast has been exporting to China since 2013, and has customers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Other cities such as Hangzhou and Chongqing are showing interest in Maine lobsters, he said.

"In 2013, we were only doing around $1 million in revenue in our first year there. Last year alone in Asia, we did over $35 million," he said, adding that China is the majority of the sales at more than $24 million.

"We're incredibly excited about the business we've done, and the potential growth going forward," said Adams. "It's just an incredible product; it's a healthy, clean, sustainable industry. It's really got no other competition in the world from the standpoint of flavor and sweetness and succulence," he said.

Adams said typically it's probably a five-day process from the time the lobsters are harvested from the ocean to the tables, hotels, buffets and supermarkets in Asia.

To get a live, perishable product from the East Coast of the United States to China in a timely fashion can be a logistical challenge.

"The big challenge is sometimes finding cold chain technology and refrigerated trucks from the airport in Beijing or Shanghai to an outlying city. So that's probably our biggest challenge with expanding our geographical region that we export lobsters to in China," he said.

China Daily also spoke to Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers Association.

"It (China) is a rapidly growing market and a very important one for our businesses," she said.

"Chinese consumers are really looking for healthy and sustainable products, and Maine's lobster supply has increased over the course of the last 10 to 15 years. So it's been a very strategic market for our businesses to be developing."

Tselikis said that "in 2006, our lobster exports from the United States to China were $719,000. In 2017, the value of that trade had increased to $126.8 million".

The lobster businesses that operate in the supply chain contribute about $1 billion to Maine's economy every year.

"And that's above and beyond what happens on the water," Tselikis said. "The value of the fisheriers is roughly $500 million, but just the activity in the supply chain alone, the buying and selling and processing of lobster, contributes greatly to Maine's economy."

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

"I'm constantly amazed at how many new species show up and the range of things that are discovered," said Quentin Wheeler, president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which hosts the institute.

"Each of them has found a way to survive against the odds of changing competition, climate and environmental conditions," Wheeler explained, "so each can teach us something really worth knowing as we face an uncertain environmental future ourselves."

This year, creatures from both the US and China made the top ten.

They join the ranks of a majestic Brazilian Atlantic Forest tree that towers up to 130 feet and a tiny single-celled protist, an extinct marsupial lion that prowled the Australian outback in the Oligocene Epoch (34 million to 23 million BC) and a rare Sumatran orangutan, which brings to seven the number of great ape species in the world (it is also the most endangered, with only about 800 individuals living in a mountainside region of 250,000 acres).

From the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean comes a 2-inch-long multi-legged amphipod named for Victor Hugo's hunchback of Notre Dame Quasimodo because of its humped back, a "baffling beetle" from Costa Rica that camouflages itself to live among one species of army ants by resembling its hosts' stomachs and a snail fish from the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the planet's oceans.

China's contribution to the Top 10 list comes from the eternal darkness of the Du'an caves of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. A troglobitic beetle about an inch and a half long that is "striking in the dramatic elongation of its head and prothorax" - the body segment immediately behind the head where the first pair of legs attach.

Like much of southern China, Guangxi is a vast limestone region riddled with caves and home to the greatest diversity of this family of ground beetles in the world. To date, more than 130 species from 50 genera have been described from China. Many of them are examples of convergent evolution, that is, unrelated species developing similar characteristics in response to the same forces.

"This new one (dubbed Xuedytes bellus) is a spectacular addition to the fauna," the report says.

The contribution to the list from the US is not really from the US, but it could be. Discovered in an aquarium in San Diego, California, a single-celled predatory flagellate named Ancoracysta twista is posing a challenge to scientists to determine its nearest living relatives.

It was found in a tropical aquarium at the Scripts Institution of Oceanography on a cluster of brain coral. Its geographical origin in the wild is unknown. The enigmatic creature uses its whip-like flagellum, or tail-like appendage, to propel itself and has unusual organelles that harpoon and stun the other protists it feeds on.

Scientists say the twista has an unusually large number of genes in its mitochondrial genome that could be a key to unlocking the early evolution of all similar creatures. Give it up, Twista.

Wheeler says that while modern science names about 18,000 new species a year, it's believed that at least 20,000 species go extinct at the same time.

"So many of these species - if we don't find them, name them and describe them now - will be lost forever," he said in a statement, putting responsibility for the rate of extinctions squarely on humans. "What we can't do is bring back species once they're gone."

Linnaeus began his inventory of life on Earth in the 18th century and placed about 10,000 species on to the tree of life according to their kingdom, phyla, class, order, family and genera.

To date we have named about 2 million. Scientists estimate there are about 10 million out there. The chore continues.

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com.

Wrongfully arrested on spying charges and fired, Chen was the victim of a "gross injustice," according to a decision issued by a judge on the Merit Systems Protection Board last month.

"The judge totally cleared my name and provided stunning detailed point-by-point rejections of the agency's allegation against me," Chen said.

The judge ordered the Commerce Department (DoC) to restore Sherry to her job at the National Weather Service.

Despite the detailed findings in the 135-page decision, the DoC has announced its intention to appeal.

"What the DoC should do now is apologize not appeal." said Congressman Ted Lieu.

"She should be reinstated. She should get her back pay. There should be an apology and certainly no appeal," said Congresswoman Judy Chu.

A letter signed by thirty members of Congress has been sent to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, requesting an independent investigation into Sherry Chen's case.

Sherry Chen, an award-winning hydrologist for the United States Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office in Wilmington, Ohio, was accused of espionage for China and arrested by the FBI in 2014.

Just a week before Chen was to go to trial, the charges were dropped with little explanation.

Months after the case fell apart, Chen was fired, citing "conduct demonstrating untrustworthiness" and "misrepresentation".

The judge that ruled in her favor overwhelmingly against the DoC wrote that officials from the DoC were intent on firing Chen regardless of what facts arose.

"Time is up for the Department of Commerce," said Steve Simons, Chen's attorney. "They need to face up to what has happened, accept responsibility and give Sherry the justice she deserves.

"I hope the DoC can learn a lesson from my case, take responsibility for their actions, correct the wrongs that have been done and make sure that such gross injustice that happened to me will never happen again to any other innocent employees," said Chen.

"It is also a concerning fact that more Chinese Americans have been wrongfully targeted in recent years and more are in fear of being wrongfully targeted," Chen said.

"This situation is extremely detrimental not only to our national security but also to our public trust that our government is able and willing to do the right thing."

Yian Ke in Washington contributed to this story.

leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com

The civil lawsuit, jointly announced Tuesday by Deng Law Center and Girardi & Keese at a news conference in Los Angeles, is the latest in a string of legal actions filed by former patients against USC and Dr George Tyndall, a gynecologist who was accused of inappropriately touching young patients and making sexual comments during his 30-year tenure at Engemann Student Health Center.

Tyndall, 71, also allegedly targeted Chinese patients due to their lack of understanding of US medical norms, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

About 300 former patients have contacted the university in regards to Tyndall, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. The university has begun to share the names of ex-patients with the Los Angeles Police Department, but didn't disclose how many names were released, according to the Times.

Christopher Mo, an LAPD public information officer, told China Daily on Wednesday that he is aware that USC has given the department information about former patients, but he said there still is no formal criminal investigation against Tyndall.

Tyndall has denied all allegations and told the Los Angeles Times he had "done nothing wrong".

Complaints about Tyndall's alleged misconduct toward young female patients include improper photographing of genitals, improper touching during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive comments.

He had been the only full-time gynecologist at the health center before he agreed to retire in June 2017 with a separation agreement, including severance pay.

Despite complaints from patients and co-workers, the university didn't notify police nor publicly acknowledge the accusations against Tyndall, the Times reported.

"A sexual assault is much different than breaking your ankle. You break your ankle and you get over it. A sexual assault, especially to a young woman, affects them down the road. It could be very psychologically damaging and devastating to them," said Thomas Girardi of Girardi & Keese, a personal injury law firm.

He said the firm is still completing its investigation, but he expects the case to be filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in seven to 10 days.

According to Deng Law Center, all three plaintiffs moved back to China after graduation. Deng said one of the plaintiffs was married for a short time but later got divorced. She told Deng that Tyndall's alleged sexual abuse may have caused her husband to feel uncomfortable living with her, The China Press newspaper reported.

Many Chinese students opted to stay quiet because time had passed and they are afraid that revealing the experiences could harm their reputations, Deng said.

On Monday, six other women filed separate lawsuits against USC. On Tuesday, another student came forward with her story alongside her lawyer at a news conference.

"I know the Deng Law Center has been retained by probably 20 young women. I know a lot of other firms that have been retained as well," Girardi said. "So it's a situation where a lot of people are involved."

An office manager at Deng Law Center said Wednesday that other women former patients also contacted the firm. She didn't disclose whether any are current USC students, citing privacy issues.

There are 45,500 students enrolled for the 2017-18 academic year at the private university in Los Angeles, including around 5,400 from China.

In a letter to faculty and staff on Tuesday, USC Provost Michael Quick wrote: "Some ask about Dr Tyndall's targeting of Chinese (and other international) students. Although this was alleged, there is no evidence that any one group of students was affected more than others. We are carefully reviewing all complaints and have yet to find a pattern in who was affected."

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association at USC called on Chinese students to bravely speak up against any violations of their rights.

The USC Board of Trustees announced Wednesday it will hire outside legal counsel to launch an independent investigation into the alleged misconduct and lack of reporting that occurred at the health center.

More than 200 faculty members at the university have called for USC President Max Nikias to resign.

Board of Trustees Chairman John Mork released a statement on Tuesday saying its executive committee strongly supports Nikias.

Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles and Xinhua contributed to this story.

aiheping@chinadaily.com.cn

The giants of Silicon Valley usually duke it out over smartphones and operating systems. Now it appears the battlefield has shifted to AI-powered cars.

The competition is international, with Chinese companies firmly in the pack.

On May 10, Beijing-based Didi Chuxing, China's leading ride-sharing company, became one of 53 companies conducting road tests in California.

Chinese companies Baidu, Faraday Future and Changan Automobile also are in the mix.

Didi opened a research facility in Silicon Valley in March 2017, to develop autonomous vehicle technology. Didi's US peers Uber and Lyft, and tech giants Apple and Alphabet, also are developing self-driving auto technology.

Apple recently announced it will increase its test fleet of autonomous cars to 55 in California, a popular proving ground for the technology. Apple has been using Lexus RX450h SUVs to test its technology.

(Apple, coincidentally, has invested $1 billion in Didi, but that probably has more to do with the competition it faces from Chinese smartphone makers in China.)

Autonomous means that a car is self-powered but occupied by a driver, while driverless is exactly what it says.

General Motors' Cruise has 104 autonomous vehicles in California, while Waymo has 51. But Waymo is owned by Alphabet, famously known for being the parent of internet search giant Google, and has 600 autonomous minivans in Phoenix, Arizona, with thousands more on order for an eventual ride-sharing service.

Apple hasn't yet received permission to test driverless cars, though Waymo recently applied for such a permit.

Waymo has partnerships with traditional automakers, including Chrysler and Jaguar, to deploy their Pacifica Hybrid and all-electric I-Pace SUV, respectively.

GM plans to start a ride-hailing service with its Chevrolet Bolt, a version with no steering wheel or pedals, late next year.

GM will dedicate $1 billion of its $8 billion annual capital expenditure budget to self-driving cars and mobility services. The funds will give GM the option of developing its own ride-hailing business. (GM, by the way, has a stake in Lyft Inc.)

Ford Motor Co gets its technology from Argo AI, the artificial intelligence company in Pittsburgh in which Ford took a $1 billion stake last year.

Ford's plan is to have self-driving cars with Level 4 capability in 2021, said Sherif Markaby, vice-president of autonomous vehicles and electrification. Ford also will open a factory in Michigan to make autonomous vehicles.

Level 4 on the five-step scale of autonomous driving is when a car can drive on mapped-out routes and handle anything on the course without the assistance of a driver.

No one has tried Level 5, where the car doesn't have a steering wheel.

Baidu, China's largest search engine, has been developing self-driving software for five years. Its Apollo software system for autonomous vehicles is open-source. Baidu started testing the first version of the software in 2017 on public roads and displayed version 2.0 at CES in Las Vegas in January.

In March, the Chinese government gave Baidu permission to test cars on 33 public roads in the Beijing suburbs.

The company's goal is to get the system in buses made by Chinese manufacturer King Long later this year and, by 2020, to have Level 3-capable autonomous vehicles, meaning the car controls itself at highway speeds and alerts the driver to take over when necessary.

Baidu's first self-driving cars will be developed with Chery Automobile Co of China. The Beijing internet search engine also hopes to produce Level 4 autonomous cars in partnership with Chinese automaker BAIC Group by 2021.

Only Waymo has tested Level 4 vehicles.

The ultimate objective in the autonomous vehicle rodeo is to have driverless delivery and taxi services generating massive profits.

Goldman Sachs predicts that robo-taxis will boost the ride-hailing and sharing business from $5 billion in revenue now to $285 billion by 2030.

Bloomberg contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com.

Both countries have pulled back from threatened tariffs on each other's products while pledging to resume talks at a later date. China said on Tuesday that it would reduce the tariff on imported vehicles from 25 percent to 15 percent by July 1, and that it will reduce charges on imported auto parts to 6 percent, down from the current levels of between 8 percent and 25 percent.

The tariff reductions fulfill an earlier pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping and are seen by some as an olive branch to the Trump administration.

"I am encouraged by that as Kentucky is a big exporter of automobiles,including one of the most popular vehicles in China - the Lincoln Navigator. I think (exports) will only go up in light of this news," he said in New York Tuesday.

Bevin, a Republican who was elected in 2015, said that he takes a long-term view of the current trade spat.

"Let's eat the apple one bite at a time," he said. "No side is 100 percent happy and that is when you are getting closer to the best negotiation. Is it perfect from a US perspective - no, but it's not perfect from a Chinese perspective as well."

One US concern in the trade dispute is intellectual property rights protection, and it has alleged that China forces companies to transfer technology to participate in its market. Chinese officials deny that such forced technology transfers exist.

"There has been concern about technology that has been taken outside of normal business transactions. Having it on the table and addressing it is the smart thing to do," said Bevin.

On Nov 5 China will host its first international import expo in Shanghai. The expo is an attempt by China to further open up its market to the world by increasing imports. Bevin will use the event to make his first trip to the mainland.

"I am excited about going," he said. "I don't expect business to happen in one day or one month, but I do want to establish relationships and a sense of communication."

While in Shanghai, Bevin will tout the Bluegrass state's advantages for Chinese companies and investors. "Kentucky is the logistical hub of North America. The UPS (United Parcel Service) world shipping hub is in Kentucky as is DHL's North American Shipping hub. Our goal is to make sure Chinese producers know about this," he said.

Bevin said he will tell Chinese companies to contact those already in his state, like appliance manufacturer Haier, to learn the pluses of doing business in Kentucky. "About 9,000 Kentuckians work for Chinese companies, and I want to see that number go up. (Chinese companies) have been welcomed and appreciated and treated well," he said.

"Last year Kentucky did about $9.2 billion in private capital that was invested in the state. About $2.5 billion was foreign direct investment (FDI)," said Bevin who has made expanding FDI a priority.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

Nine US photographers, most of them engineers at leading high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and newcomers to China, will embark today on a 10-day discovery adventure to Wuhan, Hubei province.

The event - Wuhan Stories: Through the Lens of American/Chinese Photographers - is designed to start collaborations between US photographers and their Chinese counterparts, to let cameramen capture the vibe, vitality and appeal of Wuhan, and later share their work through two joint exhibitions in June and October.

It has been almost 40 years since China launched its reform and opening up, said Song Min, president of the US-China Culture and Communication Association, which organized the cross-border exchange.

"Earth-shaking transformation has taken place throughout China in the past four decades. Wuhan is no exception," Song said. "How great it would be if more foreigners, such as the American people, could know more about the 40 years of success stories in China."

Song and his avid photographer friend Yu Runxiang, who is a hardware engineer and also founder of a photo club in Silicon Valley, spent a few months brainstorming an event that would utilize the expertise of American photographers to display an authentic and vivid Wuhan through foreigners' perspectives.

"In other words, their types of storytelling will decode China's reform and opening up," Song said.

They recruited delegates through platforms like Facebook and Google employee email groups.

"Many interested inquiries flooded in and we carefully filtered candidates based on their photography skills," said Yu. "The Wuhan photo trip will give us the opportunity to share our skills and ideas together as photographers, and go to a different country to explore together."

For many, this will be their maiden trip to China.

Italian Francisco Carucci, a game developer at Google, said he did not know much about China's reform and opening up, nor of the city of Wuhan either.

"I'm thinking about shooting the first photo when I land in Wuhan, a photo by someone who has never been to China," he said.

Charles Santora, a sourcing manager at Facebook, thought it was a "great opportunity for me" as soon "as I read the post." Being selected as one of the nine-member team, the 49-year-old admitted he barely knew China.

"I know very little about China," he said. "I look forward to learning more about its country and people when I'm there."

"Hopefully we can realize that no matter what people think and what the media says, we (the American and Chinese peoples) are not that far apart because we all have common goals. A project like this will help us better understand each other and unify," he said.

Valerie Francisco, a 27-year-old tech recruiter at Facebook, is the only female photographer on the team.

"This is the first time that I'm going to China," she said. There's "a lot to see and lot to learn."

On May 25, the US delegation will arrive at Huangpi district in Wuhan to officially kick off the shoot at the birthplace of China's legendary female warrior Mulan, who disguised herself as a man replacing her father to fight in the army and who also became Disney's first Chinese "princess."

Photographers will then travel to Wuhan Donghu New Tech Development Zone, often referred to as China's Optics Valley, to focus on its advancement since its start in 1988.

Selected photos from the trip are to be displayed on June 2 at Zall Art Gallery in Wuhan, followed by another exhibition in October in Silicon Valley.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

(China Daily USA 05/23/2018 page2)

"There's a very substantial chance it won't work out," Trump said when he was asked about the conditions for meeting with Kim. "I don't want to waste a lot of time, and I'm sure he doesn't want to waste a lot of time. So there's a very substantial chance that it won't work out, and that's okay.

"That doesn't mean it won't work out over a period of time," Trump continued. "But it may not work out for June 12th. But there's a good chance that we'll have the meeting."

Trump made the remarks before meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House. It was the first time Trump raised doubts about the Singapore summit so explicitly.

Over the past few weeks he had either said he might walk out of the meeting if he is not satisfied, or said he will "see what happens", a tone that was maintained by the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

"We continue to prepare for the summit, and if they want to meet, we will certainly be ready," Sanders said at Tuesday's briefing.

The president himself is also personally preparing for the summit, according to Sanders. He has spent a significant amount of time meeting both in person and having regular phone conversations with other world leaders, and has constant and regular meetings with his national security team.

"This is something they talk about on a daily basis and will continue to in preparation," she said.

Overall, Trump is upbeat about the outcome of the summit. He has made promises again to guarantee the safety of the DPRK leader.

"It has a chance to be a great, great meeting for North Korea and a great meeting for the world," Trump said on Tuesday. "We will guarantee his safety. And we've talked about that from the beginning."

On Monday Trump tweeted that "China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made."

Trump mentioned the border issue again on Tuesday, saying that "it's been opened up a little bit lately".

Answering a question about Trump's statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday, "China has always strictly followed and fulfilled its due international obligations."

As a friendly neighbor to the DPRK, China has maintained normal exchange with it under the precondition of not violating its own international obligations, including in the economic and trade areas, Lu said, adding there is not necessarily a contradiction between the two things.

Moon said he is confident that Trump will be able to achieve a "historic feat of making the upcoming summit successful", promising that he will spare no effort to provide "all necessary support".

US Representative Steve Russell, a Republican from Oklahoma, said at a bipartisan congressional dialogue at the United States Institute of Peace, "I believe that it's in our best interest to continue to try to have the meeting and we can talk about what type of outcomes there would be."

Ted Lieu, another lawmaker, also said he hoped the summit would take place.

"I think there's incentive on both sides to try to have a summit; and I think there's incentive on both sides to declare victory and then go forward with the long process of getting to an eventual deal," the Democrat from California said at the discussion.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 05/23/2018 page2)

Maine is eagerly looking forward to more investment, students and tourists from China, said Governor Paul LePage.

Paul LePage, a Republican elected governor in 2011, will complete his second term at the end of the year. He visited China on trade missions in 2012 and 2015.

"So many results have been achieved!" he told China Daily, singling out the access that Maine's lobster producers now have to the Chinese market. LePage also expressed strong support for international trade in the interview at Maine International Trade Day on May 18 in Rockland.

As the largest international business event in Northern New England, this year's event was themed "Global Trade's New Era: Accessing Asia", as Asia is a growing market for Maine business.

Another win was a big investment in the state's paper industry - St. Croix Tissue in Baileyville got $120 million from International Grand Investment Corp, the US branch of a Chinese investment firm.

The money helped save the company and resulted in more than 80 new jobs at the mill and hundreds of jobs indirectly.

LePage said the government is speaking with a large Chinese company to come to Maine in the forest products industry, "and I see it will happen in a few months", he said.

With a great natural environment, Maine's agricultural outputs include poultry, dairy products, cattle, wild blueberries, apples and maple syrup.

"We have so much in the food category. We would like to see more Chinese investment here so we can send them to China," he said.

LePage said that with ties to China increasing, the field for international investment has expanded from originally lobster and forest products to food products, financial services, manufacturing, life sciences and other areas.

"Rather than be a government that says no, we are a government that says, 'How can we help?" LePage said.

According to data from Maine International Trade Center's 2017 annual report, 2,262 Maine companies exported $2.7 billion in goods and services to 176 countries.

Exports to Asia totaled $769 million, accounting for 29 percent of the total, and China, Japan and South Korea were the top three destinations for Maine exports in Asia.

Foreign direct investment has been a key part in Maine's economic engine - trade supports 180,500 (nearly 1 in 4) Maine jobs.

Since 2009, Maine jobs related to trade increased by 25.9 percent, while overall job growth was just 0.3 percent in the same time frame.

Currently, about 32,400 Mainers work for companies with foreign ownership.

In the past few years, there has been an exponential surge of Chinese students studying in the US, not only at college and graduate schools but also prep schools.

"We have thousands of young Chinese students here in Maine going to high schools," said LePage.

"And one of the advantages that Maine has over the rest of the US is we are one of the safest states in America. I'd like to say that we have the least amount of incarcerated people in our prisons than any other states," he said.

"Secondly is if we can get young Chinese students to come to our high schools, then maybe we can convince them to stay here and go to our universities - University of Maine and some very elite private colleges.

"Frankly, Maine people are just like Japanese society; we are getting older, we want to attract young people to come and live in Maine," he said.

"So I think it's really important that we develop a cultural exchange and (stay) here in high school and colleges and to help us grow our population," he added.

With more than 3,000 miles of coastline, Maine attracts more than 40 million vacationers from May to September.

"In the summer months, Maine is visited more than any other state in America. We invite Chinese people to come to visit Maine," LePage said.

Speaking of the recent trade tensions between China and the US, LePage said "good business people love tough negotiations."

"Preferably, I don't like governments to get involved in trade; if they are going to be, let's make sure everybody gets an equal playing field. Chinese get a good deal, and the US gets a good deal," he said.

"I don't believe tariffs work. I think tariffs work only when we fail to negotiate," he said. "The whole country has a trade deficit with China since China is a pretty strong manufacturing country.

"The Chinese people's standard of living is going to grow, and the United States is going to taper off, so that we can find an equilibrium and we can trade equally on equal footing," he said.

LePage said he wants to visit China a third time.

"I really enjoyed my visits to China. I just like going to see it before I leave," he said.

Contact the writers at xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 05/23/2018 page2)

Two hundred faculty members at the University of Southern California have called on school President Max Nikias to step down following accusations of sexual misconduct against a former physician at the school's student health center.

In a letter to the school's board of trustees, the faculty members said that he had "lost the moral authority to lead" in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct, the Los Angeles Times and NBC reported.

The faculty members from 14 different schools within the university said that they had come together to "express our outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of President Nikias' failure to protect our students, our staff, and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct." The letter said: "We call upon President Nikias to step aside, and upon the Board of Trustees to restore moral leadership to the university."

USC issued a statement from Nikias in response on Tuesday. "I understand the faculty's anger and frustration. I have always encouraged our faculty to express their views and opinions on issues of critical importance," the statement reads. "They are core to the mission of this university and I am grateful for their contributions to the action plan we released today. I am committed to working with them as we implement this wide-reaching plan and to rebuilding their trust. We all deeply care about this university and we all need to work together to change the culture."

On Tuesday, Nikias sent the campus community a 20-page action plan that he said was prepared at the request of trustees, according to the Times. It called for a wide rethinking of university ethics that will include a rewriting of USC's Code of Ethics and a new presidential commission on improving campus culture.

USC Board of Trustees Chairman John Mork earlier released a statement saying he and others on its executive committee "strongly support" Nikias.

There have been calls for Nikias' ouster on social media and in an online petition circulated by alumni since the Times last week detailed USC's handling of complaints about gynecologist Dr George Tyndall.

The online petition started on May 17 by Rini Sampath, who graduated from USC in 2016, had more than 2,500 signatures as of Tuesday.

Sampath said she wanted to see accountability at USC. "First and foremost, I want to see Nikias removed from office," Sampath told China Daily. "I also want the school administration and the Board of Trustees to launch a full investigation to see who else was involved in the cover-up of the scandal itself and figure out how we can hold them responsible."

A Times report on May 16 revealed that Tyndall, 71, was accused by co-workers of exhibiting "creepy behaviors" toward female patients, including inappropriately photographing their genitals and touching them inappropriately during pelvic exams.

The Times quoted former colleagues alleging that Tyndall targeted young women,especially those from China and other Asian countries, for exams that included

inappropriate touching and lewd remarks about patients' sex lives and bodies.

There are more than 5,400 overseas Chinese students (out of an enrollment close to 44,000 at the private university in Los Angeles), more than from any other foreign country.

China Daily spoke to some Chinese students on the USC campus Tuesday.

Xiaoying Pan, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering, said although each freshman needs to take mandatory online training about sexual assault prevention and campus safety, school leaders should open access for student to make complaints if things happen.

Simone Shao, a fi rst-year graduate student, said female Chinese student victims probably think it's hard to express themselves and fi ght for their rights here.

Zoe Zhang, who graduated from USC in 2017, said she chose to wait until a female doctor was vailable when she had her first gynecological exam at the USC Engemann Student Health Center last year.

"Girls need to choose a female doctor, even if it means waiting for a few more days. If you see a male doctor, you should ensure a female nurse is in the same examination room with you. There's no need to put oneself in a risky situation," she said.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles issued a public statement expressing

"serious concerns" about USC's handling of the matter after the university admitted that the gynecologist continued working at the school.

In the statement, the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles asked USC to "deal with the case in a serious manner, conduct an immediate investigation and take concrete measures to protect the Chinese students and scholars on campus from being harmed".

On Monday, six women fi led civil lawsuits alleging that Tyndall sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctor's behavior.

Tyndall, who worked at USC for 30 years, denied any wrongdoing in interviews with the Times.He defended his medical exams as thorough and appropriate,adding that frank and honest dialogue about sex lives was part of his way of treating late adolescents who were enrolled at USC.

"I never had any sexual urges" toward patients, he told the newspaper.

School administrators didn't suspend Tyndall until 2016 and didn't formally end his employment until June 2017, the newspaper said. USC brokered a secret deal that allowed Tyndall to resign with an undisclosed payout,according to the Times.

The university didn't inform the California Medical Board, a state agency that licenses and regulates medical professionals, until March, the newspaper said.

In addition to more transparency in sexual harassment cases,Sampath said the school also needs to provide more resources for student sexual assault survivors, such as opening a rape treatment center on campus.

Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 05/23/2018 page2)

US businesses expressed concerns over the White House's strategy to address the trade relationship with China, urging discretion by the US trade representative (USTR), as three days of public hearings concluded on Thursday in Washington.

The packed hearings, held at the US International Trade Commission, are part of the executive office's efforts to solicit public comments before any of its so-called Section 301 (of the US Trade Act of 1974) tariffs are implemented on approximately $50 billion worth of Chinese imports.

The majority of the more than 130 witnesses voiced strong opposition against the proposed tariffs, representing firms and industries that have close trade relationships with China, including steel, automobile, electronics, agriculture, medicine, machinery, semiconductors and energy.

"Imposing 25 percent additional tariffs on imports of nearly $3 billion of medical technology products is a wrong action at a wrong time," said Ralph Ives, executive vice-president of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, which has some 350 companies doing business with China.

"We rely on international trade to retain our leadership in a highly and increasingly competitive global market," said Ives, who added that the products on the USTR list are running a surplus.

Downstream businesses that manufacture finished goods have more to lose in an integrated global supply chain should a proposed 25 percent tariff be enacted, according to Lian Jie, partner at Globe-Law law firm representing the Patent Protection Association.

The possibility of seeking alternative sourcing markets outside of China was the most commonly raised question to US businesses by the hearing committee headed by the USTR, Department of Commerce and Department of Labor.

A great majority of the witnesses explained why businesses from various industries should refrain from seeking alternative sources, citing reasons such as increased cost, lack of sufficient capacity in alternative markets, and a lengthy time lag for government approval.

"Typically, it takes some 18 months for us to examine possible suppliers in order to make sure they have the required production capacity to meet our standards," said Alan Shaw, president of Electrolux Major Appliances in North America.

But US businesses are most concerned that they would have to pass any increased costs on to their customers.

"A proposed 25 percent tariff will raise the cost of a small family recreational boat by $2,000," according to John Pfeifer, president of Mercury Marine, a Wisconsin-based company that produces marine engines and fishing apparel and runs a wholly owned subsidiary in Suzhou, a city in South China's Jiangsu province.

Another major issue that US trade representatives have addressed is whether there has been forced technology transfers from the Chinese government against US companies, a centerpiece of the accusations that the USTR has lodged against China.

"Since 2003 when we opened a factory in Suzhou, the company has been wholly owned and controlled by Mercury. There is no forced technology transfer and sharing of know-how required by the Chinese government," said Pfeifer.

The USTR published a report in April this year highlighting the office's efforts to "press China on a range of issues affecting the pharmaceutical sector".

Ives was delighted that China is making much progress to establish a world-class regulatory body under the leadership of the China Food and Drug Association (CFDA).

The next step is for the USTR to review the written submissions from witnesses and present its findings to the administration.

Guo Fengqing in Washington contributed to this story.

Just this week came a story that a family in China adopted what they thought was a Tibetan mastiff puppy that turned out to have an insatiable appetite two years ago. The cuddly pet "Little Black" downed a box of fruit and two buckets of noodles every day and just kept getting bigger and bigger.

When it reached 250 pounds and started walking on its hind legs, the family got suspicious and took it to the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Center where he was identified as an Asiatic black bear, also known as a white chested bear, a species listed as vulnerable by the World Wildlife Federation.

Similar stories emerged. About two weeks ago, a woman, Ms. Wang, showed up at a zoo in China and handed over her nearly year-old Japanese spitz, which turned out to be an arctic fox. She had started to get a little suspicious when the pet's tail grew inordinately long and other dogs seemed to be scared of it, whenever she took it for a walk on a leash.

And then as if commentators haven't found enough about the Trump Administration to whine about, someone pointed out that this is the first White House in the modern era to not have a pet dog.

"This is the first time in more than 100 years that a president doesn't have a dog," said Kris Rotondo, co-founder and co-CEO of Pet-Smooch, a social network for animal lovers.

"This is one policy position the president should rethink, though, because dogs are great companions and great for reducing stress," Rotonda added.

It's true. Herbert Hoover had King Tut, his Belgian Malinois police dog. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had his black Scottish terrier, Fala, who still makes regular appearances in crossword puzzles. And first lady Barbara Bush's English springer spaniel, Millie, became a best-selling author in 1990.

Rotonda suggests as few breeds for Trump that might help further the agenda. Adopting a Korean Jindo, for instance, might be seen as an olive branch to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Jindos are known for their loyalty (a plus for Trump) but also noted for their dominance (a perhaps not-so-plus for Trump).

A French bulldog might flatter the president's new best friend President Emmanuel Macron. A big Black Russian terrier, which are bred to work in the Russian military, could send a strong signal to Putin (not sure what exactly).

A delightful new book, The Dogs of Camelot: Stories of the Kennedy Canines by Joan Lownds and Margaret Reed, chronicles the joys and affection the first family's pack of nine dogs brought to the White House. It's really worth a read, whether you're a dog-lover or history-lover or not.

There was Buddy, Joe Sr and Rose Kennedy's Newfoundland, the dachshund JFK bought as a young man traveling through Germany in 1937, and Shannon, the black-and-white cocker spaniel Ireland's President Eamon de Valera gave the Kennedys as a gift. John John's favorite was Charlie the Welsh terrier.

"[Jack Kennedy] had to be with dogs," Lownds said. "He just loved them so much."

The historical anecdote told best in the book is reminiscent of the breakthrough in international diplomacy that was catalyzed by pandas.

In June 1961, just before the Cuban Missile Crisis was about to heat up and tensions between Washington and Moscow were running high, Kennedy met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a summit in Vienna. At a state dinner hosted by Austrian President Adolf Scharf, first lady Jackie Kennedy was seated next to Khrushchev.

Mrs Kennedy turned to the Soviet leader and said she had heard that one of the dogs Russia had sent into space had recently had a litter of puppies. "Why don't you send me one?" she said.

Days after they returned to Washington, the Soviet ambassador brought several gifts to the White House for Jackie from Khrushchev - a photo album of Moscow, bottles of liqueur and perfume, a golden tea set and Pushkina the puppy.

Pushinka went on to catch the fancy of Charlie the Welsh terrier and produced six puppies. "When news got out about this star-crossed romance, the White House received 5,000 letters from children hoping to adopt one," Lownds writes.

The best argument for a White House pet may come from President Harry S. Truman: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com.

Dr. George Tyndall, 71, had been the only full-time gynecologist at the university's student health center for nearly 30 years before he resigned last year.

There's currently no "active criminal investigation" against Tyndall until "somebody comes forward with criminal allegations", a public relations officer at the Los Angeles Police Department said on Thursday.

The allegations against Tyndall include his use of fingers prior to insertion of a speculum, taking photographs of patients' genitals (supposedly for medical reasons), touching patients inappropriately, and making sexual and racially discriminatory comments about patients and their bodies.

"We demand the university deal with the case seriously, conduct an immediate investigation and take concrete measures to protect the Chinese students and scholars on campus from being harmed," the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles said in a statement.

"The consulate has all along attached great importance to the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas, including Chinese students and scholars. We will actively provide necessary assistance to students and scholars in need."

There are more than 5,000 Chinese overseas students at USC.

During a 2016 investigation by USC, an outside medical review firm found that Tyndall's examination practice was outdated and didn't meet current standards of care.

A box of clinical photos of cervixes and surrounding internal tissue from 1990-1991 was found in Tyndall's office during the investigation.

Tyndall's colleagues also said he appeared to prefer Chinese students because they often had a limited knowledge of the English language and of American medical practices, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Most of the Chinese students said their appointment with Tyndall was their first with a gynecologist, and they blindly trusted the doctor and followed what he told them to do, according to the Times.

The doctor denied the allegations in an interview with the newspaper.

Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

The closing night of the Asian Pop-up Cinema's Season Six Asian Film Festival buzzed with excitement for a sold-out screening of Tomorrow Is Another Day at the AMC River East in Chicago.

The reception and screening were attended by the film's director Chan Tai-Lee and award-winning actor Ling Man-Lung.

Hong Lei, Chinese consul general in Chicago, made an appearance to show support.

"This is an important film," said Hong. "It brings more awareness to the challenges that autistic children and their families face in public."

The film has been released in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland.

Chan, 37, said that watching a mother with an autistic child catch a bus near a housing project where he used to live inspired him to write a story about an autistic child.

"I was moved and wanted to write about a mother's love for an autistic child," Chan said.

The story eventually became his debut feature film.

Tomorrow Is Another Day has won two Hong Kong Film Awards for outstanding performances from actress Teresa Mo and actor Ling Man-Lung.

In the film, the mother, Mrs. Wong, discovers that her husband is having an affair as the family deals with the stress of caring for the autistic child.

When the mistress comes to their home to disturb their life and her husband leaves after a fight, Wong plots her revenge.

But in the run-up to the plot, she discovers that her son notices all that is happening in the family, and in his limited way of expression tries to prevent her from seeking vengeance.

"I tried to present the story as a mixed drama," said Chan. "One angle is family oriented, a realistic presentation about an autistic child and how the family deals with it. And the other is the mother's attempt to avenge her husband's mistress. I combined the two to make it more dramatic."

The approach was applauded by Ron Falzone, associate professor at Columbia College in Chicago, who moderated a discussion about the film with the filmmaker and actor at the theater after the screening.

Falzone said that he appreciated that the film doesn't just portray a mother sacrificing herself to care for an autistic child, but it presents another perspective on her life and inner emotions.

Ling, 32, who portrays the 20-year-old autistic man in the film, said that he spent three months with two families that have autistic children in an effort to observe their behavior and understand them.

"So I can act more realistically as an autistic child," he said.

Ling received the first Bright Star Award for his performance in the film from Asian Pop-up Cinema.

"I found the film very moving and the performance amazing," said Bronwyn Poole, an Asian Pop-up Cinema board member. "People's reaction toward an autistic child is the same in Asia as it is in the US."

Linda Gacsko, a professional in the film industry, concurred.

Gacsko said that a scene in which the autistic child has an episode "clearly shows how the family embraces him. That's well done."

Fans lined up to take photos with Chan and Ling after the screening.

"This is our third year presenting the Asian Film Festival," said Sophia Wong Boccio, founder and executive director of Asian Pop-up Cinema. "Having filmmakers attend the festival is certainly a big draw to our audience."

"Our next season will start in September," Boccio said. "Please join us when we 'pop-up' again."

The suspect, who was in police custody, suffered wounds that were not life-threatening, and no one else was hurt in the incident, officials said. Police believe the former student acted alone and that there was no further threat.

"Things could have gone much worse," Dixon Mayor Liandro Arellano Jr. told a news conference. "A lot of things went right today."

All schools in Dixon, a small city about 100 miles (160 km) west of Chicago where former US President Ronald Reagan lived as a boy, were placed on lockdown.

The male suspect fired several shots near the west gym of Dixon High School, and when confronted by Officer Mark Dallas, he exited the school and ran, Dixon Police Chief Steven Howell Jr said at the news conference.

With the officer in pursuit, the former student shot several rounds. The officer returned fire and hit the man, Howell said. Shortly afterward, the suspect, who was not identified, was taken into custody and was receiving medical attention.

The officer will be put on administrative leave, which is the department's normal policy, the police chief said.

"He saved an enormous amount of lives," Lee County Sheriff John Simonton said of Dallas.

His comments were echoed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who in a statement credited "school resource officer Mark Dallas for his bravery and quick action to immediately diffuse a dangerous situation".

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded and assisted local law enforcement agencies.

Responding officers found that students and staff had barricaded classroom doors with desks, bookcases and other objects as they learned in training, Howell said.

Officials said all schools in the city about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Chicago were placed on lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The other schools reopened after officials determined the gunman acted alone.

Armed school resource officers have been in the headlines since the Feb 14 massacre of 17 teens and educators at a Parkland, Florida, high school, where an on-duty resource officer did not confront the gunman, a former student of the school.

Reuters-ap

More than 80 percent of retailers see China as a lucrative market, as affluent Chinese consumers seek high-quality products from overseas.

However, only 20 percent of retailers feel confident in their capability to succeed in China's e-commerce market, according to a research report titled "The Cross-border eCommerce (Haitao) Opportunity in China", released on Monday by New York consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, in partnership with China retail strategist Azoya Consulting.

The survey focused on midsize and large retailers with annual revenue over $50 million; 36 percent of the retailers have annual sales of more than $1 billion.

Some interesting takeaways from the report are that overseas retailers may do better with their own standalone websites, and that Chinese men trust products from the US most, while Chinese women prefer South Korea.

Increasingly, Chinese cross-border shoppers are looking beyond giant marketplaces such as Tmall and JD and are shopping on retailer or brand-owner direct-to-consumer (D2C) online stores, which can offer greater personal engagement.

The survey found that Chinese shop cross-border, which they call haitao, to access higher-quality, trusted products (67 percent of online shoppers) and reduce the risk of counterfeits (45 percent).

The top shopping categories were fashion (bought by 22 percent of online shoppers), beauty and cosmetics (20 percent) and mom and baby (15 percent).

Chinese shoppers prefer to buy from companies in Japan (72 percent), South Korea (60 percent), the US (55 percent), Australia (37 percent), France and Germany (both 26 percent) and the UK (23 percent).

Women spend $976 on average per year, 20 percent more than men. Men seek fast delivery; women seek Chinese-language customer support and relevant content on the supplier's website. Women are more likely to use an overseas supplier's standalone direct-to-consumer website (21 percent vs 18 percent of men).

Factors influencing cross-border purchases include Chinese consumers' expectations of a range of payment options, along with efficient website performance.

Among retailers, 37 percent currently are satisfied with their online sales in China using a global e-commerce vendor; 31 percent are satisfied with their standalone online store; and 21 percent are content with sales through online marketplaces, such as those owned by Alibaba (Tmall) and JD.

Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma has famously called for US retailers to put their goods on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

But those marketplaces' crowding, intense price competition, commissions and high upfront costs have led more foreign retailers to create dedicated Chinese websites for direct customer access, greater control and higher net margins, the report said.

Retailers are looking beyond marketplaces as their only inroad, especially if these companies have a long-term sales strategy in China.

"To build a brand that Chinese consumers trust, which commands a healthy profit margin and repeat buyers, retailers need to approach customers through multiple touch points. The key channel should be within retailers' control, accompanied by supplementary platforms," said Don Zhao, co-founder of Azoya International.

"More and more retailers are establishing standalone websites as the core of their strategies, as these sites directly connect retailers with Chinese consumers who desire foreign brands while empowering retailers with flexibility and control over their business," he said.

The report suggests international retailers focus on basic e-commerce capabilities, including digital marketing, local logistics networks, a range of payment options and Chinese-language customer service and content.

Retailers need a sound social media strategy, including partnerships with influencers or key opinion leaders, and must understand market trends to engage Chinese consumers, the report said.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

BOSTON - New subway cars designed and manufactured by a Chinese company are undergoing tests and will be ready to transport passengers in Boston by the end of 2018, local officials said on Tuesday.

A set of four cars made an appearance on the test track at Wellington Yard in Medford, a residential and industrial suburb of Boston, when Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker took a ride on the train while Stephanie Pollack, secretary of the Massachusetts Transportation Department, introduced the features of the vehicles.

The cars were the first four of 152 cars to serve the Orange Line in Boston. Each car needs about 500 hours of test runs before taking passengers on board, according to Pollack.

The secretary said that once the cars are delivered, passengers of the Orange Line will be able to have trains come every 4.5 minutes during rush hour instead of every six or seven minutes currently, which will increase the number of commuters the line can carry per hour by about 40 percent.

The new features of the vehicles include gap mitigation devices, additional passenger emergency intercoms, wider side-door openings, automatic passenger counters and closed circuit cameras.

Baker said the train cars he toured signaled the first step in the delivery of all the new cars, which will gradually replace the nearly 40-year-old cars presently serving Boston lines.

These new cars are part of a contract between the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC).

According to the contract, CRRC also will design and manufacture 252 new cars for the Boston Red Line subway. The vehicles for both lines are worth a $1 billion.

CRRC Vice-President Jia Bo told Xinhua that most of the new cars will be assembled in the Chinese company's plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, which was completed in April.

"We currently employ 156 local workers in our factory. That's more than what we have promised," said Jia, who added that the factory will probably have hired 260 local workers by the end of 2021.

Xinhua

A delegation of Chinese government officials, bankers and scholars shared the city's financial policies, development and strategies with local officials and companies at the 2018 Guangzhou Financial Roadshow to Global Bay Areas on Wednesday in Palo Alto, California.

Silicon Valley is the second stop of the weeklong road show, which started on May 14 in Tokyo and will conclude on May 21 in New York.

"It's the first time Guangzhou has promoted its financial drive in the US. We hope to learn from Silicon Valley's experience, attract financial talent and then explore the potential of cooperation with Silicon Valley," said Chen Ping, deputy director of the Guangzhou Financial Affairs Bureau, organizer of the event.

Silicon Valley is the world's famous highland for venture capital, and Guangzhou is developing venture capital to support high-tech innovation, he said.

To attract overseas financial institutions, the city offers any newly established or settled financial institution an award of up to $3.9 million based on the registered capital.

A lump-sum award of $314,000 will be given to the regional head office of the bank, securities firm or insurance company. The city also has similar incentive policies for overseas talent specializing in financial technologies, investment, risk management and other key areas.

Guangzhou, neighbor of Hong Kong and Macao and center of the Pearl River Delta, is known as one of the starting points of the Maritime Silk Road and China's earliest historical port of foreign trade, earning its reputation as China's South Gate and the Millennial Business City.

Chen said China's Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay brings opportunities for US companies in Guangzhou. Last year, the economic aggregate of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area surpassed that of San Francisco and is approaching New York's.

In March, Guangzhou was listed in the GFCI (Global Financial Centres Index) for the third time, ranked 28th, and was listed as a mature international financial center.

Last year, the district's cross-border e-commerce accounted for one-sixth of the nation's total. The Nansha port has become the largest center for aircraft-leasing in South China, according to Zhuang Xiqin, deputy director of the Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone Bureau.

"The Pearl River Delta is the fastest-growing area in the entire world. If you look at the scale of population and academic focus, 2.8 million students graduate from technologies each year in China, five times that of the US," said James Shea, senior vice-president of UBS Financial Services.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

The world's largest social network has come under scrutiny over the way it handles personal data after revelations that British consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign, improperly accessed the Facebook data of 87 million users.

"The founder and CEO of Facebook has accepted our invitation and will be in Brussels as soon as possible, hopefully already next week," Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said in a statement on Wednesday. The American will meet party leaders and members of the civil liberties committee.

"I welcome Mark Zuckerberg's decision to appear in person before the representatives of 500 million Europeans. It is a step in the right direction towards restoring confidence," Tajani said.

A hearing also will be organized with Facebook and other parties concerned, Tajani said, to carry out an "in-depth analysis of aspects related to personal data protection" and potential impacts on electoral processes in Europe.

The European Parliament holds elections in May next year.

"We have accepted the Council of Presidents' proposal to meet with leaders of the European Parliament and appreciate the opportunity for dialogue, to listen to their views and show the steps we are taking to better protect people's privacy," a spokesman for Facebook said in Washington.

The British parliament also requested that Zuckerberg answer questions from lawmakers, but the firm's chief technology officer attended that hearing instead.

Reuters

Friction over trade and technology has risen lately between China and the US, but Consul General Li Qiangmin in Houston assured the audience that China supports IP protection.

"Without IP, it's hard to realize the innovative development goal China set for itself. China has stepped up the effort for IP protection, which conforms to China's own interests," he said.

Li spoke at the third US China Innovation and Investment Summit (UCIS) in Houston, which took place on Monday and Tuesday.

Chinese government delegations from Jiangsu, Guizhou, Hubei, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Shaanxi provinces, as well as representatives from research centers and industries traveled to Texas to meet representatives from more than 120 US technology companies.

And more than 700 US companies applied to be in the summit's core program, the InnoSTARS Competition, which also takes place in Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Miami.

More than 30 US companies won preliminary awards. Five already have been invited by the city of Suzhou for talks on cooperation.

Suzhou, as the highlight city of this year's summit, signed a cooperation agreement with Houston, committing to establish the China-US Bio-Tech Innovation Center (CUBIC) in Houston this year with the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute.

Science, tech links

Initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Chinese consulate in Houston, the summit was organized by the US China Innovation Alliance and China Science and Technology Exchange Center.

In its first two years, UCIS brought together more than 60 Chinese and American innovation organizations, held more than 1,000 B2B match meetings, helped to sign more than 100 agreements, and brought to fruition several major projects, Consul General Li pointed out.

"This has become such an important platform for technology collaboration between China and the US that it was included in the 2017 US-China Social and Cultural Dialogue. Its influence is becoming bigger," Li said.

Referring to IP, LI said that "in 2017, there were over 1.38 million patent applications in China, and China paid $28.6 billion in IP fees. These data fully demonstrate that China is a firm advocate and participant for international rules and IP."

Chen Futao, minister counsellor of science and technology at the Chinese embassy in Washington, echoed Li's view.

"In the past 40 years, science and technology cooperation is a major component and driving force in the China-US relationship. China and the US have become the number one partner of each other in published joint theses as well as technology transfer."

Chen said that "globalization, no matter whether you like it or not, it's here. Smart policymaking has to take this into consideration. Many scholars have stated that more than 80 percent of technology-driven goods come from other countries."

Houston business

US leaders shared a similar desire for engagement.

"Houston has enjoyed a thriving relationship with China, going back to 1979 when Deng Xiaoping came to Houston. Today, China is our second-leading trade partner," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Turner said that since his "productive" visit to China last December, there has been a surge of Chinese representatives who travel to Houston.

"We are excited by these delegations. There is a great synergy between China and Houston; this summit is another step to build a stronger relationship," he said.

US Congressman Pete Olson of Texas viewed the current differences between Washington and Beijing as "just a little friction between two countries that love each other. I agree with President Trump that we need to have trade that's fair, but I disagree with him imposing tariff after tariff".

David Firestein, founding director of the China Public Policy Center at the University of Texas in Austin, said that Trump's tweet about helping Chinese telecom-equipment maker ZTE save jobs made him the first US president to express concern about job losses in China in public.

"Our two countries are so inextricably linked in terms of scale of bilateral trade, that in reality, even if the two leaders want a trade war, there will be very profound forces in both countries that won't allow that to happen," he said.

In addition, he believes that Trump realizes that if he were to enter a full-fledged trade war with China, he would not be re-elected because his base would be suffering the most, Firestein added.

"The US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the history of the world; it will be for the lifetime of people in this room and your children."

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

Others spent the holiday weekend fundraising to increase public awareness of special-needs children and advocate for pediatric cancer research and treatment.

On May 12 in Santa Clara, California, throngs of people attended the 2018 Shine for Love Fundraising Show to demonstrate how grassroots charity initiatives can make a difference to disadvantageous and underprivileged individuals and groups.

The event, composed of two variety shows and charity auctions, attracted around 1,000 attendees from the Bay Area and collected more than $35,000 for California-based Friends of Children with Special Needs and the Joey's Wings Foundation, which was originally established in Florida and now has a San Diego office.

"It took us about six months to orchestrate programs, train and rehearse performers and lobby for community involvement," said Luo Ping, founder of Able2Shine Foundation, a non-profit founded two years ago that specializes in cultivating soft skills among young Asian Americans. "We want to teach our children to be benevolent, compassionate and learn to have their hands extended to offer help."

Kathy Liu, founder of Joey's Wings Foundation, agrees. In 2014, she lost her 10-year-old son Joey to translocation renal cell carcinoma, a rare kidney cancer. Instead of indulging herself in the pain of the loss, she established the non-profit to not only honor her beloved intellectual, kind and fun Joey, but to spread the word about children's kidney cancer and advocate for government funding for research into and treatment of the dangerous condition.

On March 20, 2013, Joey had been diagnosed with stage 4 of the rare disease, with malignant cells spreading to his abdomen, chest and neck. Due to the disease's rarity, there was no standard treatment for it. Joey underwent two major surgeries in Cincinnati Children's Hospital, followed by chemotherapy, but showed no apparent improvement.

On Nov 24, 2014, he slipped into a coma and passed away two days later. "Life without Joey is extremely painful," said Liu, who flew from her San Diego residence to attend the Saturday fundraiser. "Each year, there are about 2,000 children in the world that die from the same kind of kidney cancer that took away Joey's life. The fight is on."

Joey's parents have donated Joey's cancer tissue and his corneas to a non-profit eye bank. Researchers and oncologists are able to continue to study Joey's tumor cells, which are now growing in mice.

Last summer his parents donated $100,000 to the UT Southwestern Medical Center Kidney Cancer Program to establish a translocation kidney cancer research fund.

Liu and her team have reached out to hospitals, research institutions, museums and state and federal government industry watchdogs to advocate for passage of the Creating Hope Act, which allows sponsors who receive FDA approval for new drugs for seriously ill children, including children with cancer, to receive a fully tradable voucher.

"The voucher provides the holder the rights to faster FDA review on any other drug," Liu explained.

"It's amazing that parents such as Kathy are so resilient and strong that they eventually transform adversity and misfortune in their lives into blessings for others," said Lisa Xiong, who volunteered for the fundraiser. "Their persistence, resolve and faith in love have rekindled hope for many families that are trapped in difficulties."

Xi Xi, 5, was among children performers on Saturday. She and her mom danced, sang, and walked down the catwalk.

"Where is Joey now?" Xi asked. After learning that the boy wouldn't be joining his mom for Mother's Day this year and many years to come, she threw herself into her mother's arms and was silent.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

US businesses are voicing their strong opposition to the proposed tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports as announced by the Trump administration.

The US trade representative on Tuesday started a three-day hearing about the tariffs proposed under the Section 301 of US Trade Act of 1974, following an investigation into China's intellectual property policies and practices. The USTR has received more than 2,700 comments on the tariffs.

The hearing at the US International Trade Commission started on the same day that a senior Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu He arrived in Washington for trade talks with a US team headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who led a US delegation to China earlier this month.

The National Retail Federation, which is among some 130 firms and trade groups witnesses, has opposed Trump's tariffs. Its website contains educational information about why tariffs are bad and don't work, while trade works.

David French, senior vice-president of the federation, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday and focus on the difficulties associated with re-adjusting an existing supply chain.

"There are a lot of decisions that go into where a retailer bases their supply chain - it's not done capriciously," he told Inc. magazine.

"It's not as simple as flicking a switch and moving to another country. Some countries don't have the port capacity to serve a market as large as the US, so even if you could find the manufacturing capacity, it could take longer to get it onto a container ship," French said.

The US seafood industry also urged USTR to avoid a tariff war with China. The National Fisheries Institute, Pacific Seafood Processors and the At-Sea Processors Association warned the USTR that any sanctions against China's seafood industry would "badly harm" US seafood exporters, harvesters and processors.

Although seafood was initially not part of the list of Chinese products against which sanctions could be levied, they now may be because the Southern Shrimp Alliance, an alliance of eight US southern states, has asked for 25 percent tariffs on all aquaculture products from China, Seafoodnews.com reported.

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said he opposed Trump's approach on trade with China in a recent White House meeting with Trump, Bloomberg Television reported on Tuesday.

Cook said his message to Trump focused on the importance of trade and how cooperation between the two countries can boost the economy more than nations acting alone.

Apple makes most of its devices in China, which is also an important and growing market for the company. Apple is now the fifth-largest smartphone seller in China.

Economists believe that if Apple relocated its productions from China to the US, it would make its products uncompetitive on the global market and unaffordable to low-income US consumers.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

And Ambassador Terry Branstad said on Tuesday that the US and China are still not close to resolving trade frictions that threaten soybeans as well as other US agricultural products, from beef to sorghum. Speaking at a conference in Tokyo, he said the two sides are "still very far apart".

The analysis by Moody's Investors Service noted that Iowa exported nearly $2 billion of soybeans to China in 2016, which is about 4 percent of the state's economy, the largest exposure of any state in the nation.

"I say with a lot of confidence that it's not going to be good for state revenues. But I can't say how bad it's going to be," said Marcia Van Wagner, the Moody's vice-president and senior credit officer. "It will have a depressing effect on agriculture."

Iowa's farm income has fallen about 74 percent over the past five years to $2.5 billion in 2016.

"The state has grappled with overly optimistic revenue forecasts, draws on its rainy-day fund and midyear budget adjustments, including $35 million in cuts implemented this spring," the credit rating agency said.

China is the largest buyer of US soybeans, purchasing $14 billion of the commodity last year.

The country has proposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of US products, in response to President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Chinese steel, aluminum and electronics, among other products.

"The United States and China are the two biggest economies in the world. The more we can work things out, the better it's going to be not just for the US and China, but for the entire world economy," he said.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) recently submitted comments on the Section 301 tariffs to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during its 30-day open comment period.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com

In Boston on Friday, the two sides expressed their willingness to expand cooperation in innovation, promote two-way investment and widen people-to-people exchanges at the subnational levels despite the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

"For Guangdong and Massachusetts, we made our special friendship official in 1983," Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said in a speech at the ceremony. "Our administration will continue to work with Guangdong to expand cooperation in life sciences, robotics, clean energy and high-tech sectors."

Polito stressed the strong business dealings between the commonwealth and the province.

"We are pleased in Massachusetts to have your companies like the China Railroad Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) building our train cars at this moment (and) others like Qilu Pharmaceuticals, WuXi AppTec and the Shanghai (Zhangjiang Boston) Enterprise Park," she said. "These are only a few examples, and we hope there are more to come in the future."

Guangdong Vice-Governor Ouyang Weimin represented the province at the gathering.

"The relationship between Guangdong and Massachusetts is one of the earliest established relationships between China and the US at the state level since China's reform and opening-up 40 years ago," Ouyang said. "The cooperation between our two states has brought tangible benefits to our two peoples."

Ouyang said that Guangdong has learned much from Massachusetts in the past 35 years through trade, technology, science education and culture.

"To further strengthen our cooperation, we should further expand our bilateral investment," said Ouyang. "Compared to our trade volume, the number of investments between Guangdong and Massachusetts is still relatively small.

"Secondly, we should also deepen practical cooperation in technology, innovation and education, and promote exchanges between higher education institutions and research and development institutions between our two states," Ouyang said. "Last but not the least, we should build a long-term communication and cooperation mechanism at the state-to-state level to realize a truly win-win cooperation."

Ouyang said he hopes the recent trade conflict between the two governments could be solved by mutual understanding and negotiation. "The trade protectionism is bad for consumers of both nations," he added.

Ouyang said that since China's reform and opening-up, Guangdong has changed dramatically, and President Xi Jinping mentioned at the Boao Forum in Hainan recently that China will open even wider.

"He specifically said it will broaden market access and create a more attractive investment environment to further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights and expand imports," Ouyang said. "It will be a very good opportunity for us to promote our cooperation with businesses in Massachusetts."

Zhang Qiyue, the consul general of China in New York, whose consulate region includes Boston, said that "subnational cooperation has always been the cornerstone of the US-China relationship. Today, there are 49 pairs of sister states and more than 200 pairs of sister cities between China and the US".

"Over the last 35 years, Guangdong and Massachusetts have engaged in fruitful cooperation in many sectors, including trade, investment, science and technology, innovation, culture and people-to-people exchanges and delivered tangible benefits to both peoples," she said.

Zhang said that "it's precisely because of this subnational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, that China-US relations enjoy robust growth, and friendship really overwhelms in China-US relations".

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

"Well, if you look back, you're only looking at the past; if you look forward, you're looking at the future," said Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the United States.

What Cohen and Cui said on Friday in downtown Washington at a luncheon marking "Forty Years of US-China Relations" seems to reflect the mindset of many people in seeing the status quo and direction of the relationship between the world's top two economies.

For Cui, the key to success for relations in the past four decades has been identification of the growing common interests, ranging from strategic interests from the onset, to economic ties, and then to emerging global challenges including climate change, counterterrorism and denuclearization.

"We do have differences or sometimes crises between our two countries, because we are two very different countries, and I don't know whether it's fortunately or unfortunately, we never run out of problems," Cui said at the forum held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"I agree with Senator Cohen that what has enabled us to overcome all the difficulties was dialogue, communication and real efforts to try to understand the other side's perspective and look for practical ways of solving a problem," he said.

For Cohen, Chinese leaders had a clear picture of what they wanted for their people from the start of the opening-up and reform, as seen from his first visit to China in 1978, when preparations for forging formal diplomatic relations were in full swing. He met Deng Xiaoping for the first time.

Describing Deng as a "non-stop" smoker literally "blowing smoke" in the meeting room, Cohen said, "He wasn't blowing smoke in terms of his vision for China that he decided that the 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976) had been a disaster for China, and now they had to move into an open market system, and unleash the power of the Chinese people, their work ethic, their intellectual capital, their drive to succeed and to open up."

Forty years later, China's change has been the most dramatic transformation of any society in the history of mankind in the shortest period of time, Cohen said, adding that he believed China's "hybrid type of economic system" is causing the challenge.

Cohen also mentioned the Thucydides trap - "We're all looking at how do you manage a rising power coming into a competition and potentially conflict with the existing power."

Cui said he had long conversations with Graham Allison, who coined the term Thucydides Trap. The Harvard professor concluded that over the past 500 years, of the 16 cases in which a rising power challenged a ruling one, war broke out in 12 of them, and four were cases of peaceful transition of power.

"We should certainly not be the 13th case that will end up in a war and conflict, but neither should we follow exactly the example of these four peaceful transitions," Cui said.

"It has nothing to do with transfer of global dominance from the US to China," the ambassador said. "We want to become a good partner."

Cohen said that anytime a conflict or real difference arises, "then you have to sit down and talk about ways you can afford crossing the lines, and to keep the relationship going, so it's engagement".

Cohen also said no one can contain China and the US "shouldn't try to contain it". Cui said there is increasing competition between the two countries. Despite of the debates on the recurring topics of engagement versus confrontation, engagement should still be the right choice.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has instructed the Commerce Department to help China's ZTE Corp get back to business, a sign that experts believe helps set a positive tone for trade talks in Washington between senior Chinese and US officials.

ZTE, one of the largest telecom-equipment manufacturers in China, announced last week that it would suspend major operations after the US Commerce Department last month banned US companies from selling to the Chinese company until 2025.

The US has charged ZTE with violating US laws by illegally shipping US goods to Iran and breaching a deal reached last year. ZTE appealed the US ban. ZTE argues that the ban "will severely impact the survival and development" of the company, which depends on US companies providing about a quarter of its technology components.

In a tweet on Sunday, Trump said, "President Xi, of China, and I are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"

"I see this as a positive step and hope it will create a better atmosphere for the ongoing discussions between the two countries," said Henry Levine, a senior adviser at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group and a former US deputy assistant secretary of commerce under President George W. Bush.

"I hope that Beijing can respond with a positive step of its own and hope that both Beijing and Washington can begin a positive tit-for-tat process where each takes positive steps and the other one responds with its own positive steps," Levine said.

Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former China division chief at the International Monetary Fund, said Trump's tweet sets the stage for a temporary de-escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.

"It bodes well for the upcoming visit by (Chinese Vice-Premier) Liu He to Washington and suggests that an agreement can be reached that allows both sides to claim at least a partial victory," he said.

But Prasad cautioned that it is unlikely to eliminate all of the trade tensions between the two countries, which are likely to flare up in the coming months. "There are still some fundamental differences between the views of the two countries, which will not be easy to reconcile," he said.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin led a senior trade delegation to Beijing earlier this month for talks with Chinese officials. While both sides have reached some consensus, major differences remain.

A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said after the talks that during the two-day meetings, China made solemn representations to the US side regarding the case of ZTE Corp. The spokesman said the US side said it would pay attention to these representations and report China's position back to the president.

While the US ban has dealt a devastating blow to ZTE, companies in the US and other countries that are part of the supply chain are also suffering. Stock prices of US optical components makers such as Acacia Communications, Oclaro Inc, Lumentum Holdings Inc, Finisar Corp, Inphi Corp and Fabrinet fell sharply after the announcement of the ban.

ZTE paid more than $2.3 billion to 211 US exporters in 2017, Reuters quoted a senior ZTE official as saying. The Chinese company had more than 80,000 employees in 2016.

ZTE and Huawei, another Chinese telecom-equipment giant, have been successful in other parts of the world, but they have long been the target of some US lawmakers and politicians, who described the Chinese companies as posing a threat to US national security.

Many in China believe the US restrictions on the two companies are aimed at disrupting the development of China's high-tech sector, in particular the 10 industries defined in the Made in China 2025 effort to advance manufacturing capability.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Trump's announcement on May 8 to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is the latest piece of evidence that the US cannot honor an international deal. The UN Security Council unanimously endorsed the deal, after it was reached on July 14, 2015, between Iran and five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France - plus Germany and the European Union.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly affirmed in past years that Iran has been in compliance with the deal. Other parties in the agreement, including the US' close allies in Europe, have tried to dissuade the US from abandoning the deal.

Right after Trump's announcement last week, tensions flared up between Iran and Israel, with missiles fired on each other's targets.

If that is opening a Pandora's Box in the Middle East, as many have worried, the US decision to hold a ceremony on Monday for its embassy in Jerusalem is further fanning the flames in the volatile Middle East.

Last December, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly denounced Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy there, despite US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley's reckless threats to UN members who disrespected the US on the issue.

The embassy decision has not only shown that the US cannot be an honest broker for the Middle East, in particular between Israel and the Palestinians, but that the US is a major destabilizing force in the region.

These are just the latest US actions that violate global rules and norms. The Trump administration notified the UN last August that it intends to withdraw from the Paris climate accord reached by more than 190 countries in December 2015.

Last October, the US State Department announced that the US will withdraw from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the end of 2018. The US has also cut its funding to the UN.

To President Trump, every deal the US signed in the past is a bad deal if not the worst deal ever for the US. That is why the Trump administration has been whining and blaming almost every major trade partner for taking advantage of the US, despite the fact that the US has long been using its dominance in the global financial system, its economic power and military might to bully and coerce other nations, including its allies.

Both Canada and Mexico have complained about the US bullying in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed in 1994. In March, the Trump administration threatened new steel and aluminum tariffs if Canada and Mexico did not agree to its revisions to a new NAFTA deal. On Friday, Trump called NAFTA "a horrible, horrible disaster" for the US.

The Trump administration has also taken unilateral actions and made threats on trade and investment against China, including laying out unreasonable demands that China should cut its trade deficit with the US by $100 billion each year for the next two years and stop Chinese government subsidies to its industries. David Gergen, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and an adviser to former US presidents, last week described Trump's behavior as "bullying China".

As a businessman-turned-politician, Trump should know better than anyone that honoring a deal matters more than anything else. Otherwise, why should anyone trust him or the US anymore in future negotiations?

That also includes the upcoming June 12 meeting between Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, which is probably one of the few positive steps taken by the Trump administration so far.

Credibility aside, there are a lot of hurdles to be cleared, not just on the DPRK side, but on the US side, as to what kind of compromise it is willing or able to make.

So far, most critics have used unilateralism and isolationism to describe Trump's "against political correctness" actions, but that is really a euphemism for behavior that disrupts and challenges global rules and norms and threatens world peace.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com.

Granted, it felt like an adventure as we ascended through tall, weedy patches of grasses and vines, pulling ourselves up with the help of shaggy China firs, smooth bamboo trees and weathered gray rocks scattered along a trail only visible to a veteran hiker. The view we were rewarded with halfway up the mountain, gazing upon the colorful patchwork of fields and whitewashed homes set against the verdant hills and a sky so blue it looked digitally altered, was just a benefit of being there.

After all, our eyes were mostly fixed on the ground instead, in search of the real purpose for our journey - the wild edible plants that thrived on the mountainside.

We first came upon wild mountain bamboo, a smaller variety of bamboo with clusters of slender shoots that grew shorter than my own knee. This tender plant was the main ingredient in my mother-in-law's salted bamboo shoots that, once preserved, could be used all year long in stir-fries and stews. Up to that moment, when I was helping my mother-in-law harvest the shoots, I had never realized that preparing this important kitchen staple actually required an annual trek to the woods.

But along the way, we also encountered another precious wild food - fiddlehead ferns. Those delicate, curled fronds had often appeared on my mother-in-law's table, stir-fried with fragrant ginger, garlic and green peppers. Once I had actually purchased fiddleheads at a specialty market in the United States, at a premium. Yet there we were, plucking this prized vegetable on our own, with only our labor as the cost.

What we had collected that afternoon looked the same as any other wild mountain bamboo shoots and fiddlehead ferns I had glimpsed before in my mother-in-law's kitchen. And yet, they felt different to me because I had used my own hands to help pick them and carry them back down the mountain. Spending time and energy to gather these wild plants had given me a deeper appreciation for the food that ends up on the dinner table.

It also made me more aware of the powerful connection among the natural world, food and life, symbolized by my mother-in-law. Living in the city, it's so easy to forget that we all depend on the environment to sustain us - that the green mountains and blue rivers matter as much to our survival as supermarkets and shops. But my mother-in-law tends her own garden and sustainably forages the surrounding area for wild edible plants, a natural lifestyle that many people like her have kept for generations. Those mountains and rivers supporting her life weren't some abstract concept. They were right there, outside her door and within her rural village. And once I saw them through her perspective that afternoon, I realized they were closer to me than I ever imagined.

Contact the writer at jocelyn@chinadaily.com.cn

Tourists walk along the mountain trail in the Longmen Canyon in Quzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, in 2014. Provided to China Daily

Keziah Daum, 18, a high school senior in Utah, faced an online backlash and accusations of "cultural appropriation" after she posted an album of four prom pictures on Twitter on April 22 that featured her wearing a traditional qipao.

"I have been overwhelmed by the many people from China who have both reached out to me and have posted to social media their viewpoints. I thank them for the moral support regarding my decision to wear a qipao," Daum told China Daily in an email on Tuesday. "I sincerely thank the outpouring of support I have received from the people of China."

Daum stood by her choice to wear the dress, which was red and orange with gold-and-black embroidery. She said that she will not take down the tweet.

"The gown caught my eye at first because of its beauty," she said. "I was also so happy to find a dress with a modest neckline. It is very hard to find dresses in America for prom which cover a women's neckline."

"I have learned a lot about the history of the dress after I bought it and since the online attention," she said. "If what I read is true about its role in helping with female empowerment, then the gown sends a great message to young women everywhere. It is a wonderful message, regardless of which culture it comes from."

One Twitter user, Jeremy Lam, had written: "This is my culture, not your ... prom dress."

That tweet generated more than 41,000 retweets, nearly 180,000 likes and thousands of comments. Daum herself suddenly has almost 20,000 followers on Twitter.

In China, most internet commenters appreciated Daum's wardrobe decision.

"The dress is so gorgeous, and the girl looks great in it," wrote a user named Xiaoxiongnaicha on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. "As a Chinese, we are all very proud and delighted to share our cultural fashions with anyone around the world. We all support her."

"It is not cultural appropriation, it's cultural appreciation," wrote Weibo user Wuyiya. "Can anyone living in the US let the girl know that many Chinese people think she looks stunning in this beautiful dress?"

"Culture has no borders," another user wrote. "There is no problem, as long as there is no malice or deliberate maligning. Chinese cultural treasures are worth spreading all over the world."

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

The industry is cautiously optimistic about its future and looks to innovate to brighten its outlook.

At the OTC opening ceremony, France-based Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that he has long-term faith in the deep-water industry because shale drilling can quench only part of the world's thirst for oil and gas.

"The last few years we have dealt with forces that were unexpected and unanticipated," Pouyanne said. "What makes me very confident for the future of offshore and the deep-water industry is its capacity to innovate."

The drive for innovation and an optimistic attitude were also apparent at the Offshore Industry Forum held on Sunday night in Houston's energy corridor.

Organized by Offshore Intel LLC and Beijing CSSC Engineering Consulting Co, the event attracted about 100 offshore executives and professionals from China, the US and elsewhere. Industry trends and technology innovation and applications were discussed.

"OTC is a powerful platform which provides a great opportunity for Chinese companies to get known in the international market and to learn," said Bao Zhangjing, an executive at CIMTEC under China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC). "Through the forum, we hope to unite the major Chinese players to integrate global resources and gain a better foothold in the offshore market."

Li Ming, co-founder and COO of Offshore Intel, said that his company is innovating in digital transformation, mixed reality/virtual reality, industry data modeling and business process management tools to help Chinese companies get a jump start in offshore technology.

"Energy companies stayed old school for a very long time due to high oil prices - it was easy to make money just doing what they did. The price drop forced them to find innovative ways to make a profit," said Li.

With oil prices going up since last year, there will be new projects coming out. But both the technology and ways of doing business are changing.

"New projects will have to adopt new technologies and be done in entirely new ways in terms of organization and cooperation," Li said. "We want to help Chinese companies catch this new trend."

Sheng Jigang, president of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipping Building Co (SWS), said that while China's offshore building equipment is in a leading position in the world, there is much catching up to do in technology.

"Our active participation in OTC will play a key role in expanding our business, deepen international cooperation and expand our horizons," Sheng said.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

The proposed US tariffs on imports from China, and the retaliation promised by China, would cost hundreds of thousands of US jobs and greatly harm the US economy, according to a US study released on Tuesday.

The study shows that the proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports announced by the Trump administration on April 3 and the proportional retaliation China announced the following day would reduce US gross domestic product by nearly $3 billion and destroy 134,000 American jobs.

Four jobs would be lost for every one gained from the tariff actions, according to the study conducted by Washington-based consulting firm Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC, on behalf of the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The result is in stark contrast to the Trump administration's downplaying the tariffs' impact on the US economy and jobs. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross previously suggested that the impact would be small in the aggregate.

"As administration officials prepare to head to China for trade talks, the livelihoods of American workers hang in the balance. We must resolve this trade dispute without resorting to job-killing tariffs and retaliation," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

The study warns that slapping tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese imports would come at a significant cost to the US economy, decimating 455,000 jobs and shrinking GDP by $49 billion.

Trump threatened new tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese imports just a day after China announced its retaliation proposals on products ranging from soybeans to cars and planes. China responded to the tariffs on $100 billion by pledging it will "fight back resolutely".

"Rising costs on farmers, manufacturers and service providers isn't the answer; it shows protectionism will weaken America," CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said. He added that the tariffs could wipe away the benefits of the recent tax reform and bring uncertainty to US businesses.

The study shows that the tariffs' impact would be felt across various sectors of the US economy, but agriculture would be hit especially hard. The net income of farmers would decline by 6.7 percent, and 67,000 agriculture jobs would be lost.

And the hit to farmers would more than double if the tariffs expanded to an additional $100 billion of products. Farmer income would drop by 15 percent, and jobs in the sector would decline by 181,000.

The report says that the tariffs plus retaliation will hurt every US state, including those in the Rust Belt, many of which voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The 10 states that would suffer the highest job losses are California, Texas, Washington, New York, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio.

Joseph Francois, the lead researcher of the study, is managing director of Trade

Partnership Worldwide LLC and former head of the Office of Economics at the US International Trade Commission. It is the most detailed report so far on the impacts of the tariffs.

The Trump administration has not released any research that quantifies the impact of the tariffs on US economy and jobs.

The report was released shortly before US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will head a high-profile delegation to China for trade talks on Thursday and Friday.

Ross on Tuesday expressed some hope for the upcoming meetings in Beijing. "I wouldn't be going all the way over there if I didn't think there was some hope," he said on CNBC.

In mid-March, dozens of US trade groups appealed to Trump not to resort to tariff actions that would seriously hurt their businesses. Those include the Section 301 tariffs on China and the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in late March in the name of national security.

Unlike many US security allies, China is not exempted from the Section 232 tariffs.

Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan grassroots campaign, released a report on April 24 that highlights the significant impact Chinese retaliation from the steel and aluminum tariffs would have on US wine, almonds, walnuts, pork, cherries and some other commodity producers.

Former US senators Richard Lugar and Max Baucus, co-chairs of the campaign, described the tariffs as "a tax on American farmers", saying "they increase the cost of exporting, depress the prices of farm futures and end up hurting the bottom lines of farmers in states across the country".

"They also incentivize trading partners like China to look to other markets for their imports. That means that trading relationships that took decades to develop can evaporate overnight. And as many farmers and trade experts know, once you lose an export market, it doesn't come back immediately; in fact, it often takes many years for trading relationships to recover," they said in a statement.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Can Japan really whitewash its country's World War II atrocities, especially its war crimes against sex slaves?

"This monument is a reminder of the Filipino women who were victims of abuses during the occupation by the Japanese forces from 1942-1945. It took a while before they came out into the open to tell their stories," read the inscription on the monument, which featured a blindfolded Filipino woman in a traditional gown.

News reports said the bronze statue was removed from its Roxas Boulevard site around 8 pm local time on Friday. Debris left behind was fenced in behind makeshift barriers.

Two weeks ago, a department of public works and highways backhoe was spotted parked beside the memorial, stirring speculation that the statue was to be demolished by the government under pressure from Japan.

Despite opposition from local women's rights organizations, the government said the memorial was removed so that pipes could be laid underground.

"In a systematic and worldwide attempt to erase its war crimes, Japan successfully pressured the Philippines to remove the 'comfort women' memorial in Manila," said a statement issued on Saturday by the California-based Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CWJC), a grassroots, multiethnic and multinational group that seeks compensation and justice for World War II sex slaves and their families.

In 2017, the CWJC unveiled a memorial titled Comfort Women: Column of Strength in San Francisco.

"The memorial symbolizes our international resolve never to let that atrocity be repeated, and the memorial is also a reverent testament to all those who have been victims of sexual violence and sex trafficking."

Japan has allegedly pressured the Philippine government to remove the memorial using its "financial support" to the country as leverage, according to CWJC.

Using money to erase its war crimes has become a pattern for the Japanese government, which has pressured UNESCO over its membership dues not to accept a "Comfort Women" dossier submitted by a team of eight countries, it continued.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said the Philippine government had notified them before taking the statue away. In January, Japan's internal affairs and communications minister Seiko Noda visited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to express displeasure over the memorial.

The Philippine government afterward sent conflicting messages over whether it supported advocacy efforts on behalf of the comfort women.

Duterte said in January that he could not curtail the freedom of expression demonstrated by the "comfort women" advocacy groups. However, his Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano said the Philippines can't strengthen its relationship with Japan if it keeps inflaming the "comfort women" issue, which he said was considered "settled".

GABRIELA, a women's rights group, held a press conference on Saturday calling the statue removal "not acceptable."

"The City of Manila removed the Memorial without talking to the stakeholders," the group said in a statement. "Congress should investigate the process of how the Memorial was removed."

"I'm very sad, very devastated," said one GABRIELA member. "I will demand the government of the Philippines sets up a larger memorial for the dignity of the victims."

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

The apple industry in California, the fifth-largest producer of apples in the country, is concerned about the indirect impact from China's new tariffs, which may create oversupply domestically.

The states most impacted by the 15 percent retaliatory tariffs on US apples, which went into effect on April 2, are Washington, California and Michigan.

California doesn't directly ship apples to the Chinese mainland, but reduced export rates of other apple-producing states could potentially put pressure on the domestic market and push down prices as a result, said Alexander Ott, executive director of the Fresno-based California Apple Commission.

Besides the potential of lowered prices to producers, Ott is also concerned about the potential for other countries to "get the idea that they too can do the same" and have a direct impact on the state's apple industry.

Though 75 percent of the apples produced in California are shipped domestically, the California Apple Commission said in its 2017 annual report that China's imports of deciduous fruit will continue to increase on strong demand for high-quality fruit and off-season supplies.

"Fruit exports will continue to rebound if we continue to have increasing but low-priced foreign supply" in the Chinese market, it said.

US apples gained access to China in 2015, and exports have grown to 2.5 million boxes per year, Jeff Colombini, president of Lodi Farming Inc, told Western Farm Press on Friday.

Colombini's company farms apples, cherries, walnuts and olives in Lodi, California. Several of his commodities are affected by the tariffs.

"This is significant and of concern because China is an emerging market," he said. "If apples don't find a home overseas, they go to California or to the East Coast."

A shipment of apples from Washington was rejected at China's Shenzhen port on Saturday. The fruit was sent back to the US, according to a FreshPlaza report on Monday.

The potential additional duties on the US apples are estimated at $8 million, according to a new report from Farmers for Free Trade. Last year, the US exported $56 million worth of apples to China.

The retaliatory tariffs "substantially weaken the competiveness of American agriculture" and also incentivize Chinese importers to look to other markets, said the report titled Farmers Pay the Price: Steel & Aluminum Retaliation.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

The service, which Facebook had considered offering for over a decade and will launch soon, could help rebuild its popularity among younger consumers and make people visit the site more often, two key challenges for the business.

"There are 200 million people on Facebook that list themselves as single, so clearly there's something to do here," Zuckerberg told software developers at Facebook's annual F8 conference.

Facebook shares rose 1.1 percent to close at $173.86 on the news, which sparked a selloff of established online dating service providers.

Facebook users have been able to reveal their relationship status on the network since it went live in 2004.

Zuckerberg said Facebook was building the dating service with an emphasis on privacy, a sensitive subject for people who use dating websites and for Facebook as the company reels over its handling of personal information.

A dating service could increase the time people spend on Facebook and be a "big problem" for competitors such as Match Group Inc, said James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities. Match, the owner of dating app Tinder and OkCupid, calls itself the "global leader in dating".

"But the initial functionality looks relatively basic compared to those offered by Match's services, so the impact Facebook has on the dating space will be down to how well it executes in this area," Cordwell said.

Facebook said in January that at the end of 2017, time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day after changes designed to reduce passive video-watching and stem sensationalism.

Facebook's entry into the growing online dating market sent shares of industry leaders tumbling.

Reuters

The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017 (FIRRMA) was introduced in both the Senate and House in late 2017 to broaden the jurisdiction of CFIUS to new sectors and new types of investments; enhance CFIUS' authority to suspend transactions; and implement mitigation measures and target investment from "countries of special concern", notably Chinese acquisitions in the technology sector.

Clay Lowery, managing director of Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC, said on Thursday that the bill uses vague language, duplicates existing export-control authority and will be overly burdensome to implement for both the private sector and the government.

He noted that many terms are left undefined or ill defined in the bill, such as "critical technology company", emerging technologies and even the meaning of intellectual property.

In a hearing at the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection on Thursday, Lowery said FIRRMA will make CFIUS duplicate the work by the much larger US export-control regime in place.

"This bill seems to suggest that CFIUS - a group of roughly 100 people who don't have subject matter expertise - will be able to do that better than the roughly 500 people we have in Defense, Commerce and State that are already working on these export-control issues every day," he said.

Lowery, who served as assistant secretary for international affairs at the US Treasury from 2005 to 2009, overseeing CFIUS, believes FIRRMA will overwhelm the workload at CFIUS and greatly slow the process.

He warned that the bill should not have the "unintended consequences of chilling investment in the US and harming our competitiveness around the world".

Scott Kupor, managing partner of California-based private venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, expressed that overly and broadly restricting the movement of foreign capital and investment in the name of national security will have adverse effects for US global technological leadership.

"Restrictions on Chinese investment, for instance, disrupt not just sources of capital for American startups but their plans to expand, grow and do new things," he wrote on the firm's website on Wednesday.

Kupor, who is also chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, said that when panels like CFIUS aren't used for security but rather for nationalist protectionism under a different name, it becomes a concern for the future of US innovation.

Reid Whitten, managing partner of law firm Sheppard Mullin, criticized the US government for "frantically throwing up barriers to foreign investment, particularly from China".

He expressed that if FIRRMA and other restrictions are imposed on Chinese investment, Chinese FDI in the US may look very different.

"It may look like facing the outside of a very high wall," Whitten wrote in a recent article.

Chinese FDI in the US plunged 36 percent to $29.4 billion in 2017 from $46.2 billion in 2016 and was expected to decline further in 2018, partly due to China's control on capital outflow and partly due to the increasing US government restrictions on Chinese FDI into the US, according to a report by Rhodium Group and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Chief Administrative Judge Michele Schroeder of the Merit Systems Protection Board said on Tuesday that Chen was the "victim of a gross injustice" and the US Commerce Department had no cause to fire her.

Schroeder ordered the department to reinstate her employment at the department's National Weather Service (NWS) and pay her back pay plus benefits.

Wu, a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of Law, said the Committee of 100 - a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, and the arts - supported Chen "because her case is so important. The whole community rallied. That deserves to be noticed. Chinese in America are stereotyped as passive and quiet - no more!"

He said that Chen has shown that Chinese Americans, including immigrants, can win by standing up and speaking out for their rights.

"This case will be a landmark - it sets a precedent. Her case is one of many. There are others who are innocent but who also have been wrongly accused. They can have hope now," Wu said.

He said that Chen will continue to need help because the government might appeal the judge's decision. "That means Sherry has won this battle, a major battle, but she has not yet won the war," he added.

In a more than 130-page detailed decision, the judge completely rejected the Commerce Department's allegations that Chen attempted to obtain secret information from a restricted government database, according to the Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund.

"We hope this decision sends a strong message to the federal government: stop targeting innocent Chinese Americans," the fund said in a statement after the judge's decision.

"Three and a half years after her wrongful arrest in October 2014 and two years after her termination in March 2016, Sherry Chen finally has received justice," the statement read.

Chen, an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the NWS, was accused in 2014 of stealing sensitive information from a database for the nation's dams and lying about the breach. In March 2015, US federal prosecutors dropped the charges against Chen.

Hong Xiao in New York and Xinhua contributed to this story.

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that Huawei is being investigated by the Justice Department, which has not commented, but on Thursday, Beijing reacted.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "We hope the US will refrain from taking actions that could further undermine investor confidence in the US business environment and harm its domestic economy and normal, open, transparent and win-win international trade."

The reported investigation of Huawei follows last week's ban by the Commerce Department on American companies from selling components to China-based ZTE Corp for seven years after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

ZTE said that the US ban was unfair and threatens its survival. The company also said that the action would affect the interests of a number of US companies.

Both Huawei and ZTE are composed of smartphones and communications equipment, and both rely heavily on US equipment suppliers.

American companies are said to provide an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the components used in ZTE's equipment. ZTE is a primary supplier of mobile devices to US wireless carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

US chipmakers sold about $1.5 billion worth of products to ZTE last year, according to Handel Jones, chief executive of technology consultancy International Business Strategies Inc. ZTE contributed between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent of Qualcomm's $22.3 billion of revenue in 2017, according to Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein Research.

Huawei's US semiconductor suppliers include Intel and Qualcomm. Its smartphones run on Android, the Google mobile operating system that constitutes the only real alternative to Apple's iOS. Losing access to Android would render Huawei essentially unable to make new phones.

Chinese smartphone makers provide half or more of the world's estimated 1.5 billion annual unit sales. Losing the ability to supply parts to ZTE and Huawei "would mean losing close to a quarter of the smartphone market," said Minatake Kashio, director of Tokyo-based research firm Fomalhaut Techno Solutions.

ZTE held a conference call on Wednesday with major suppliers, during which a company representative suggested the US trade dispute with Beijing may have been a factor in last week's US order against it, according to a person familiar with the call, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday in Europe, Huawei abruptly canceled what would have been its first euro-denominated bond sale after attracting strong investor demand for a $609 million offering of five-year debt.

The company declined to comment on why the deal was pulled at the last moment.

After the 57-42 confirmation vote by the Senate, Pompeo headed to Europe, where the 54-year-old former CIA chief will be in Brussels to attend a NATO foreign ministers summit, to be followed by a trip to the Middle East until Monday, according to a release from the State Department.

He is supposed to keep up pressure on NATO's European members to live up to their past pledges to boost defense spending, while during his stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, the future of the Iran nuclear deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items, The Associated Press reported.

US President Donald Trump, who fired his first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Twitter last month, said in a statement issued by the White House that Pompeo's "immense talent, energy and intellect" would be "an incredible asset" for the US at this "critical time in history".

Trump refrained from tweeting about Pompeo's confirmation by press time Thursday night. But he asked the Senate to approve Pompeo as soon as possible in a Twitter post on April 19, saying, "He will be a great Secretary of State!"

Pompeo, however, avoided being the first nominee for secretary of state ever rejected by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee only when Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had vowed to oppose him, shifted position minutes before the panel voted on Monday, Reuters reported on Thursday

The number of yes votes for Pompeo on the Senate floor on Thursday was only one more than Tillerson got.

Most Senate Democrats voted against Pompeo.

Pompeo also will prepare for the summit between Trump and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un as early as next month.

Kim is meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday, a summit that some believe will set the stage for a Trump-Kim summit.

Hours after Pompeo's confirmation, the White House tweeted two photos of him shaking hands with Kim about three weeks ago, saying, "Secretary Pompeo will do an excellent job helping President Trump lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula."

"I opposed his nomination because I believe he will only reinforce President Trump's worst instincts, but now that he has been confirmed, I certainly hope to be proven wrong," Senator Richard Blumenthal was quoted by the Agence France-Presse as saying.

But Senator John Thune said on his Twitter account, "Mike Pompeo is beyond qualified to serve as our nation's top diplomat, and I'm glad the Senate voted to confirm him as our next secretary of state."

"All US whiskey makers are looking to China," said Paul Hletko, founder of Few Spirits, a craft distillery based in Evanston, Illinois."If the tariffs take into effect, it will have a negative impact on US whiskey exports, it will slow down the growth of this market with great potentials if not eliminate it. I'm talking with my Chinese distributors and we are monitoring the situation closely."

"We've been exporting to China for about two years, and about 50 percent of our business is in Shanghai," Hletko said, adding most of the exported products are bourbon and rye.

Earlier this month, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it plans to impose the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of US exports. The action is a direct response to the Trump administration's list of about 1,300 Chinese exports - also worth about $50 billion annually - that it intends to target with 25 percent tariffs.

Total imports of US spirits by China in 2017 were valued at $12.8 million; of this $8.9 million was whiskey, said Frank Coleman, senior vice-president of the US Distilled Spirits Council, in an email to China Daily. "American spirits exports to China have grown by almost 1,200 percent from $959,000 in 2001."

China's overall market was worth $611.5 million in 2016, according to the latest data from wine and spirits analytics firm IWSR, with Scottish whiskey imports taking up virtually all of that. US whiskey imports are in second place but growing rapidly.

"The US exports about $1.5 billion worth of spirits abroad, and many producers in America are pinning their future growth to exports," Reid Mitenbuler, author of The Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey, told CNBC. "From my conversation with spirits companies, China represents a huge potential market," Mitenbuler said. "They would love to crack into it."

The US-based liquor conglomerate Brown-Forman, which owns the Jack Daniel's brand as well as Old Forester and Woodford Reserve, names the US as "the most important market", and it describes China as an "emerging market."

The US Distilled Spirits Council said in a statement said that "we strongly supported China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. This resulted in a dramatic reduction in China's tariffs on US spirits, from 65 percent to 10 percent ad valorem. In addition, China last year further lowered its tariffs on whiskeys and brandies to 5 percent as part of a wider effort to lower tariffs on a range of consumer goods imports."

"Chinese consumers, like others around the globe, are clearly finding favor with the flavor, heritage and mixability of American Whiskey. It would be a shame to punish consumers, along with the Chinese hospitality sector, as an unintended consequence of this trade dispute," according to the statement. "We hope the United States and China can soon resolve their differences without subjecting US whiskey exports to China to a 25 percent tariff, which will harm Chinese consumers, its hospitality sector and US whiskey exporter."

But on Wednesday, France's President Emmanuel Macron put distance between himself and US President Donald Trump - at least on major policies - in a speech before a joint meeting of Congress in which he never mentioned Trump's name.

The touchy-feely expressions shared between the two men during Macron's three-day state visit to the US - the first foreign leader afforded one by Trump's White House - were put aside in a speech that showed their differences on trade, global warming, the Iran nuclear deal and foreign policy.

French President Macron addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. Brian Snyder / Reuters

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that he was, "Looking forward to watching President Macron of France address a Joint Session of Congress today. This is a great honor and seldom allowed to be done...he will be GREAT!"

There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Macron's speech.

Macron was given a three-minute standing ovation before he spoke, and his remarks were met with several ovations from both Republicans and Democrats.

In a humorous nod to those embraces with the man he calls "dear Donald", Macron opened by comparing their interactions to those between the French philosopher Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin when they met in Paris in 1778.

"They embraced each other by hugging one another in their arms, and kissing each other's cheeks," he said. "It can remind you of something."

And then came the differences in his 50-minute speech.

Trade: "We need a free and fair trade for sure," Macron said, but added "a commercial war opposing allies is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current commitments for global security." He called for differences on trade imbalances and over capacity to be worked out through the World Trade Organization, the opposite approach to Trump's threats of tariff wars. "We wrote these rules. We should follow them," he said.

Global warming: He borrowed Trump's 2016 election theme of "Make America Great Again": "Let us work together in order to make our planet great again and create new jobs and new opportunities while safeguarding our Earth.

"I believe in building a better future for our children, which requires offering them a planet that is still habitable in 25 years," he said. "There is no planet B."

At one point, he expressed confidence that the United States would ultimately rejoin the Paris climate agreement.

Iran nuclear agreement: On Tuesday Trump described it as "insane". Macron said that he and Trump had agreed to seek a new deal on Iran's nuclear program to counter the perceived threat from Tehran's missile program, regional influence and eventual nuclear activity when the current deal expires. But he warned that the United States and France should also honor the existing pact.

"We signed it at the initiative of the United States," he said. "That is why we cannot say we should rid of it like that. France will not leave the JCPOA because we signed it." He said that "Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not now. Not in five years. Not in 10 years. Never."

Isolationism: "We can choose isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism. This is an option. It can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears," Macron said. "But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world."

He said no one should take transatlantic ties or common values for granted, warning that liberal internationalism was under siege.

"Other powers with the strongest strategy and ambition will then fill the void we would leave empty. Other powers will not hesitate once again to advocate their own model to shape the 21st century world order, Macron said.

"Personally, if you ask me, I do not share the fascination for new strong powers, the abandonment of freedom and the illusion of nationalism."

The Trump administration threatened tariffs on $150 billion worth of imports from China following a Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 investigation into China's intellectual property policies and practices.

In a 182-page Section 301 report issued on March 22, the US trade representative accused China of unfair trading practices regarding technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation.

Stephen Roach, former chairman and chief economist of Morgan Stanley Asia and now a senior fellow at the Yale University Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, said the US has a weak case against China and called the US report "wide of the mark in several key areas".

On the forced technology transfer in joint ventures in China, Roach argued that the US and other multinational corporations willingly enter into these legally negotiated arrangements for commercially sound reasons - not only to establish a toehold in China's rapidly growing domestic markets, but also as a means of improving operating efficiency with a lower-cost offshore Chinese platform.

He said portraying US companies as innocent victims of Chinese pressure is certainly at odds with his own experience as an active participant in Morgan Stanley's joint venture with the China Construction Bank to establish China International Capital Corp in 1995.

"Contrary to the assertions of the USTR, we were hardly forced into these arrangements," he wrote on the Project Syndicate website on Tuesday.

Roach also criticized the portrayal of China's outward investment as a unique state-directed plan aimed at gobbling up newly emerging US companies and their proprietary technologies. That includes the description of the Made in China 2025 strategy as a plot to dominate future industries in the world.

"The USTR is entirely correct in underscoring the role that innovation plays in shaping any country's future. But to claim that China alone relies on industrial policy as a means toward this end is the height of hypocrisy," Roach said, citing many examples of industrial policies in Japan, Germany and the US.

He listed NASA-related spinoffs, the internet, GPS, breakthroughs in semiconductors, nuclear power, imaging technology and pharmaceutical innovations as "important and highly visible manifestations of industrial policy the American way".

On the accusation of cyber-espionage, Roach noted that the cases cited in the Section 301 report were mostly before China and the US reached an agreement in September 2015 on cybersecurity, and such cases have since declined dramatically.

He called the USTR report "a biased political document that has further inflamed anti-China sentiment in the US".

"But the case made by the USTR is an embarrassing ymptom of a scapegoat mentality that has turned America into a nation of whiners," Roach wrote.

Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and an expert on the Chinese economy, argued that China's protection of intellectual property is improving rather than worsening.

China's payments of licensing fees and royalties for the use of foreign technology have soared in recent years, reaching almost $30 billion last year, nearly a fourfold increase over the last decade, Lardy wrote on the Peterson Institute website last Friday.

According to Lardy, China ranks fourth globally in the mount it pays to acquire foreign technology, well behind Ireland, the Netherlands and the US, but ahead of Japan, Singapore, South Korea and India.

Because licensing fees in Ireland and the Netherlands are paid mostly by foreign holding companies that are legally domiciled in those countries for tax reasons, and the subsidiaries of these holding companies using the licensed foreign technology are located in other jurisdictions worldwide, Lardy argued that China probably ranks second globally in the magnitude of licensing fees paid for technology used within national borders.

The US and Chinese governments have disagreed on many narratives about the trade and investment issues between the two countries.

Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that it's still too early to predict the outcome of Mnuchin's trip.

"This could be the beginning of a deal or the beginning of a trade war. It's too early to say, given Trump's style," Paal said. )

Airbus delivered 176 A320s to China in 2017 and their senior executive accompanies French President Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to China looking to sign a $10 billion deal for 100 more.

Everybody it seems wants an A320 Airbus.

Aviation buff Zhu Yue, a 40-year-old resident of Kaiyuan in China's northeastern province of Liaoning, wanted an Airbus A320 too. So the former peasant farmer turned welder and motorbike mechanic decided to build his own.

Working with five friends they studied airplane models and technical drawings and months later, secured a site and set to work on the full-scale replica in October 2016.

"I want to make sure the plane is created with finesse and be the best A320 model in China," he told Reuters.

Zhu's replica has the exact dimensions of the real thing - an overall length of 37.57 meters, wingspan of 35.8 meters and 12-meter height.

It also has model jet engine turbines that rotate and a simulated cockpit.

The "plane" is being built at a factory in an industrial park in Kaiyuan (Zhu knows the owner).

As of this month, Zhu had spent $158,810 of his savings on the project and used 40,000 kilograms of steel. He hopes to finish it by the end of the year and keep the price tag under $317,620, or 2 million yuan. (Real Airbus A320s sell for about $99 million).

Zhu and his friends have been live-streaming the project on two Chinese video sites and have drawn more than 200,000 viewers. He claims the coverage motivates them to work harder.

Some viewers said they were touched by Zhu's spirit in pursuing his dream. Others fault him for what they see as self-aggrandizing hype.

"In order to build the plane, I spent over 800,000 yuan," he said in response to the critics. "These are my life savings. Some people say I am promoting myself in a sensational way, but who would spend so much money and time doing so?"

He's building the plane because it's been his dream since childhood, pure and simple.

"I was a farmer before and later engaged in different businesses," Zhu said. "I just wanted to realize my dream now that I am richer."

"Right now I just want to finish it," he said.

What then? Zhu said he plans to turn it into an aviation-themed restaurant or a hotel. Configured for flight service, the A320 seats about 236 passengers. Without seats, it's a pretty big space.

Two characteristics of the Airbus Zhu will not be copying are its range of 6,150 km and payload of 16.6 tons. He realizes transporting the hefty model could be a problem.

Exercising admirable due diligence, reporters from Beijing Youth Daily asked officials at the Kaiyuan City Administration for Industry and Commerce about the feasibility of actually starting a restaurant in a full-scale model airplane sitting on the ground in an industrial park.

The state has clear laws that to open a business a legitimate site is needed and applying for a business license requires valid documentation of property rights, they learned. "If a single aircraft is used, it cannot be used as a place of business," they were told.

If the restaurant idea doesn't work, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a snarl of red tape kept a good idea from taking off.

Zhu said maybe he'll just turn his plane into his dream home."Think about it," he said. "Others are entertaining friends and they're all in a house. I'm entertaining friends in a plane. It just feels good."

China firmly defends the international system at its core, resolutely safeguards the basic norms governing international relations, builds upon the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and vigorously supports multilateralism, said Ma at the General Assembly high-level meeting on peace building and sustaining peace at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

The UN peace-building architecture has supported post-conflict nation-building and played a role in helping consolidate peace and strive for sustainable development.

Ma then made three suggestions on behalf of Wang Yi, state councilor and foreign minister.

First, respect the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations.

Ma said sovereign equality is a basic principle enshrined in the UN Charter, "in view of the differences among countries in terms of national condition and level of development".

"Peace building needs to respect the sovereignty, will and the leaderships, and the specific situation of the countries should be concerned as well," he emphasized.

Second, equal weight should be given to development and security and eliminate the sources of conflicts by addressing both symptoms and root causes.

Ma said the international community needs to establish a global governance concept characterized by extensive consultation, joint construction and benefit sharing; comprehensively advance the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development; strengthen global development partnerships;fulfill assistant commitment to help the developing countries improve people's livelihoods; explore paths of development suited to their national conditions; strengthen their own development capabilities; lay a solid foundation for sustainable peace; and promote sustainable peace with sustainable development.

Third suggestion was to strengthen the UN system's integration and coordination-capability and deepen partnerships, including those with regional organizations.

"In carrying out their peace building, the relevant UN agencies must strictly follow their respective mandates and form synergy," he said.

Ma said China is willing to share with other countries opportunities and fruits of development and provide more public goods for the realization of world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

After smashing first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, the aerospace giant announced that its aircraft completion center in East China should be operational by year-end. The popular 737 will roll out of the plant in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province.

The factory will install interiors and paint about 100 aircraft a year before delivery to Chinese customers. The fact that the aircraft will be completed in China could help Boeing avert any tariffs.

CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Boeing needs the facility to compete with French rival Airbus SE, which already builds jets in China.

He also said Boeing wasn't seeing any material effect "right now" from inflation on aluminum or other raw material costs.

In March, US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, and China retaliated with tariffs of its own on US products, including some imported jets.

But none of the aerospace-related tariffs have gone into effect, Muilenburg reminded analysts during the earnings call. "We're hopeful for a positive outcome from the discussions between the US and China," he said.

And Muilenburg said he does not anticipate an all-out trade war between the United States and China, as both countries seem to be working toward negotiated solutions.

"While some initial statements have been made about potential tariffs, none of those severe actions have been implemented. And we're frankly encouraged by the continuing dialogue," he said.

Boeing initially was seen by investors as a potential loser when Trump unveiled the tariff on aluminum.

Analysts also say that Chinese buyers would have no alternative supplier for the aircraft if trade relations threatened ties with the Chicago-based company, because rival Airbus has limited capacity to produce more quickly in the near term.

Muilenburg noted that Boeing has been engaged with Beijing for years, adding that executives will visit China.

In the past three years, one out of four airplanes Boeing makes, including one in three 787 Dreamliners, was delivered to China. And some 40 percent of Boeing's backlog is for customers in the Asia-Pacific region, Boeing officials said in January.

Boeing reported first-quarter earnings of $3.64 per share, up 68 percent year-over-year. Revenue rose 6 percent to $23.38 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $2.56 with revenue of $22.2 billion.

The strong earnings boosted Boeing's stock, which rose $13.80, or 4.19 percent, to close at $342.86 on Wednesday.

Boeing announced earlier this month that Q1 passenger jet deliveries rose 9 percent to 184. Boeing booked 221 net commercial aircraft orders, and backlog grew to $486 billion from $475 billion.

Also on the call, Muilenburg said that a strong and vibrant aerospace industry is important to global economic prosperity.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this story.

Cui Tiankai, China's top envoy to Washington, has on many occasions said that the large trade deficit between the world's top two economies is attributed to many factors, including America's economic structure, low savings rates and high-tech export restrictions. They are factors that have been echoed by many specialists in China and the US.

He now highlights another deficit. In a speech at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies on April 17, Cui said that although some people want to make the trade deficit a big issue, the understanding deficit is more significant, more difficult to balance and "may have negative impact that lasts longer if we don't make our best efforts to reduce it".

"Understanding deficit" was a term used by Fairbank Center Director Michael Szonyi in his introduction to a new book, The China Questions, in which the professor of Chinese history said, "We might even say that just as the United States has a trade deficit with China, it also has an understanding deficit."

Cui, China's longest-serving ambassador to the US, traveled to Pennsylvania, Harvard and Chicago last week to address campus faculty and business executives, seeking to clarify what he views as misperceptions about China's true economic and political goals.

One of his foremost concerns is about the "new era", a term that has caught global attention in the discussion of China's goals and strategy in its new phase of development.

This new era is domestically focused, rather than a geopolitical or geo-strategic plan. It prefers the quality of development to quantity, while highlighting a multifaceted development strategy featuring political, cultural, social and ecological aspects, not only the very narrowly defined economic growth.

The new era also has some outward-facing aspects because China's development has to keep abreast with global trends, Cui said, but, "This is certainly not a plan for securing world dominance, it is certainly not a Chinese new era to replace the old American era."

Another "gross misinterpretation of China's intention" lies in Washington's recent labeling of China as a "revisionist power" attempting to overturn the existing international order, according to Cui.

China has a very strong track record in observing the principles set forth in the United Nations Charter, values ranging from honoring sovereign equality of member states, peacefully settling disputes to not interfering in member states' domestic matters.

By contrast, cases of violating these principles are far from rare in the world, Cui said. He gave examples such as the frequent threat or use of force to violate the sovereignty of member states; wars started without the UN Security Council authorization; or even in defiance of clear opposition from Security Council members; and chaos and bloodshed done in the name of "humanitarian intervention" or "responsibility to protect".

"The very people who are responsible for all this are now pointing the finger at others as a revisionist country. Honestly, people should have a better sense of shame," he said. "I think it is high time for us to review and reaffirm these basic principles so that we could have a better and more effective international order."

Cui also refuted a claim by US President Donald Trump, who railed against China allegedly stealing American jobs.

"Chinese workers are not seeking jobs here in the United States. It is the result of global resource allocation of US companies, who seek the best for their interests," Cui said in a speech at the Wharton China Summit in Philadelphia on April 15.

Between 2001 and 2017, US GDP doubled, meaning that the US' overall social benefits have vastly increased, Cui said. But the living standards of many have dropped.

"This is obviously a domestic problem, an issue caused by management. And now, somebody who is unwilling and unable to solve this problem wants to find a foe overseas," he said.

Cui also rebutted accusations that Chinese academics studying and working in the US in "basically every discipline" might be covertly gathering intelligence for the Chinese government, calling the charges "baseless".

"I wonder why some fear the influence of Chinese students in the US while China is not worried that these students may be subject to the impact of the US society," said Cui. "This kind of thinking is disrespectful not only to Chinese students, but also to American schools and teachers."

Perhaps it is safe to argue that what needs more urgently to be addressed is the US' understanding deficit with China rather than its trade deficit.

Promoting better, deeper and more realistic mutual understanding between the two countries is in their mutual interests as well the world's.

Contact the writer at huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

Witnesses described that on the sunny day around 1:30 pm, a white van mounted the sidewalk at the busy Yonge Street and Finch Avenue intersection. From there, the van was traveling at a speed of up to 70 kilometers per hour (44 mph) and intentionally hitting people on the sidewalks.

It has confirmed that Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old Canadian man, is the alleged driver in the attack. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as a student at Seneca College. On a video of the arrest posted on social media, the suspect in custody could be heard saying, "Kill me."

Witness Peter Kang told CTV News that the driver did not seem to make any effort to stop. "If it was an accident, he would have stopped," Kang said. "But the person just went through the sidewalk. He could have stopped."

Amir Bahmeyeh, a student, was in the area at the time of the attack.

"I saw the crazy van, like a rental van, hitting the people one after one," he said. "I'm sure it was like a terrorist attack because he drove really fast, like crazy.

Photos showed the van bore Ryder rental lettering.

"I almost had a heart attack. When I came here people told me it was a safe country and that's why I stayed here," said the student, who said he'd come from Iran. "Now, I saw the accident, maybe I go back to my country," he said.

Ali Shaker, who was driving near the van at the time, told Canadian broadcast outlet CP24 that the driver appeared to be moving deliberately through the crowd.

"He just went on the sidewalk," a distraught Shaker said. "He just started hitting everybody, man. He hit every single person on the sidewalk. Anybody in his way he would hit."

Video broadcast on Canadian outlets showed police arresting the driver after officers surrounded him and his rental Ryder van several blocks from where the incident occurred in the North York neighborhood of northern Toronto. He appeared to make some sort of gesture at the police with an object in his hand just before they ordered him to lie down on the ground and took him away.

Witness Phil Zullo told Canadian Press that he saw police arresting the suspect and people "strewn all over the road" where the incident occurred.

"I must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers," Zullo said. "It was awful. Brutal."

Speaking at a news conference Monday evening, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said there appeared to be no national security connection in this case.

"The events that happened on the street behind us are horrendous, but they do not appear to be connected in any way to national security based on the information available at this time," said the federal public safety minister, in Toronto for the G7 foreign and security ministers meeting.

Toronto Chief of Police Mark Saunders, who was in New York City when he heard the news, the Globe and Mail reported, told the media that terrorism hasn't been dismissed as a possibility, but that there is currently no evidence to support that notion.

The suspect's motivation is still being investigated, but he said there's nothing to suggest the case affects the "national-security footprint".

Toronto Mayor John Tory said the city is "united in grief" but is "in safe hands".

"Our hearts go out to everyone affected," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Ottawa upon learning of the incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

renali@chinadailyusa.com

Hides and skins products are not targeted in the new tariffs China has announced. But the materials are a byproduct of the meat industry, which might take a hit, as China said it will increase the tariff rate on pork and beef by 25 percent.

"Tariffs are never a good option for any industry, either to the exporter who may lose market share or the importer who must pay more for raw materials and risks losing business opportunities," said Stephen Sothmann, president of the US Hide, Skin and Leather Association.

"Given the large trading relationship between the US and China in hides, skins and leather products, a tariff increase on the industry would negatively impact industries in both countries equally," he said.

The US is one of the top hides and skins suppliers to the global leather manufacturing industry. The producers regularly export more than 90 percent of total US production of these products, according to the association.

China is by far the largest leather and leather goods producing country in the world and the largest market for US hide and skin products.

China is the largest buyer of cattle hides with imports of more than $871 million in 2017. More than 50 percent of the cattle hides that the US produces goes to China each year.

"Combined, the total value of these product exports was just over $1 billion in 2017. It is a stable market for our products, consistently importing about $1 billion each year," said Sothmann.

The main states in the US that would be impacted by a potential tariff on hides and skins imports are those that have a large meat industry presence. "That tends to be the Midwest and Plains area of the country, such as Nebraska, Colorado and Texas," he said.

The thriving industry has been facing a challenge from slowing global leather consumption since 2015. A variety of factors, including reduced leather utilization in footwear globally, have pushed overall leather demand lower, according to the association.

A potential tariff would put the US industry at a competitive disadvantage as "formidable competitors" finalize free trade agreements, said Sothmann.

"Any large, commercial producer of beef is a competitor to the US in cattle hides, such as Australia, Brazil and some European countries," he explained.

The industry is paying close attention to the global trade landscape and concerned about the political rhetoric surrounding international trade, Sothmann said.

"We are all concerned about further tariff escalations. We encourage both governments to continue negotiations to resolve this dispute without further escalation," he said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

The study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published on Monday in Nature Climate Change, estimated the health savings could be about four times what it would cost China to meet its climate goals.

"The country could actually come out net positive, just based on the health co-benefits associated with air quality improvements, relative to the cost of a climate policy," says study co-author Noelle Eckley Selin, an associate professor in MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and the department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). "This is a motivating factor for countries to engage in global climate policy."

China pledged as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change to reduce domestic carbon dioxide emissions in an international effort to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

The country is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, mainly due to much of the country's energy comes from coal-fired power plants, a major source of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

The MIT team, which included economists and atmospheric scientists, looked at whether China's local air quality and public health might benefit from a national policy meant to improve the global climate.

The team found that, under a "no-policy scenario", China would have more than 2.3 million premature, pollution-related deaths by 2030. If it reduces emissions by 3, 4 or 5 percent per year, China would avoid 36,000, 94,000 and 160,000 premature deaths, respectively.

The MIT team converted each scenario's health co-benefits into a monetary value and found that, compared to the total cost of implementing a 3, 4 or 5 percent per year policy, the savings from health co-benefits equals $138.4 billion, $339.6 billion and $534.8 billion, respectively. In the 4 percent scenario, which is most in line with China's actual climate pledge, the $339.6 billion savings would be about four times the cost of implementing the policy.

The study was led by Selin and Valerie Karplus, the class of 1943 career development assistant professor of Global Economics and Management in MIT's Sloan School of Management.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com

Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday he will write a $4.5 million check to cover this year's US financial commitment to the Paris Agreement on the global climate.

US President Donald Trump last year pulled the country out of the pact, making the US the only one opposed to it.

Bloomberg, in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation", said he hopes that by next year Trump will have changed his mind.

Trump staunchly opposes the agreement, and his administration has rolled back a number of environmental regulations.

"In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accords or really an entire new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States," Trump said on June 1, 2017. "We will start to negotiate and we will see if we can make a deal that's fair."

Bloomberg will continue to provide money for the pact if the US does not rejoin the agreement, according to a news release from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charity he founded.

"Our foundation will uphold our promise to cover any cuts to UN climate funding by the federal government," Bloomberg said in the statement.

"America made a commitment, and as an American, if the government's not going to do it, we all have responsibility. I'm able to do it. So, yes, I'm going to send them a check for the monies that America had promised to the organization as though they got it from the federal government," Bloomberg said in the interview.

"It's dangerous to keep doing what we're doing," he said. "If everybody would do the right thing, yes, it would be better. But if some people or some countries do the right thing we all benefit from that."

When asked if Trump would reconsider, Bloomberg said: "He's been known to change his mind. That is true. But he should change his mind and say, look there really is a problem here. America is part of the problem. America is a big part of the solution, and we should go in and help."

"It's not a lot of money. But America made that commitment," he said.

Reuters - China Daily

(China Daily USA 04/23/2018 page2)

The Trump administration may have had not expected that its human rights report about the rest of the world would backfire so badly after it was released last Friday.

That was especially true when US Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan called the governments of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea "forces of instability" as a result of their human rights issues.

Pointing out China's problems in human rights is one thing. China, as a developing nation, has much to improve in that regard. But calling China a force of instability is just blown out of proportion and does not at all fit the reality.

During the 2018 IMF/World Bank annual spring meeting that ended Sunday, the message is that China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in past decades and has contributed to a third of global economic growth in the past decade, more than any other country.

That is some of the powerful evidence that China is a source of not only stability, but prosperity for its own nation, the region and the world, not to mention China's greater role in United Nations peacekeeping missions and global governance, including playing a leading role in reaching the Paris climate accord. The list is long.

Sullivan should read readers' response when Agence France Presse tweeted last Friday that "US brands China and Russia 'forces of instability.'"

"I keep forgetting; was it China, Russia, Iran or NK who invaded Iraq in 2003, bombed Libya in 2011, and have been arming jihadists in Syria since 2012?" replied Mario Santana.

"Really? Name a country invaded by these forces," wrote Cuanticorojo.

"US caused more war, terror and instability on foreign land than anyone else. Don't kid yourself. And funny how it ignores Israel and Saudi," said Coitnana, clearly referring to the US double standards.

"Not looking in the mirror, hey America," wrote cappygolucky.

"Definitely add Trump's mental state to that list," added Mr. Mason.

The US human rights reports on nearly 200 countries and territories have long been regarded as biased because they never include human rights violations in the US.

Compared to China, the US is more deserving of the title "force of instability". From the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, regime change in Libya, rampant drone strikes in a number of countries that have caused many civilian deaths, covert special forces, spy operations and secret prisons abroad to the withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and cutting funding to the UN, the list could go on and on.

A lawyer by training, Sullivan clearly was deliberately ignoring the human rights violations in the US.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch, in its recent World Report 2018, said the US moved backward on human rights at home and abroad across a range of issues in 2017, the first year of the Trump administration.

The report critized Trump's actions on refugees and immigrants by calling them criminals and security threats; equivocated on white nationalism and consistently championed anti-Muslim ideas and policies.

According to the report, the Trump administration has embraced policies that will roll back access to reproductive health care for women and undermined police accountability for abuse.

"Many vulnerable groups endured renewed attacks on their rights during the year. Other longstanding US laws and practices - particularly related to criminal and juvenile justice, immigration, and national security - continued to violate internationally recognized human rights," the report said.

It's not the first time for Human Rights Watch to note the 2.3 million people in US state and federal prisons and jails on any given day, the world's largest reported incarcerated population.

As people just marked the 50th anniversary of the passing of Martin Luther King Jr, on April 4, the report sadly noted that black men are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of white men, and an unarmed black person is five times as likely to be killed by police as an unarmed white person.

At the Guantanamo detention center, the US continues to hold 31 men there indefinitely without charge. And throughout 2017, the US continued to carry out large-scale warrantless intelligence surveillance programs without transparency or oversight, according to the report.

Sullivan should definitely read this report, especially the 18 pages on the US, because that is why people disagreed so strongly with his indentifying of "force of instability".

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 04/23/2018 page2)

Fifteen American college students from eight different states competed in the 17th college-level Chinese Bridge Language Competition at the University of Maryland in College Park on Saturday.

Student contestants delivered speeches in Mandarin on the theme of "shared values, one community", and demonstrated their creativity through a series of talent shows, featuring Sichuan Opera, tai chi dance, cross talk, calligraphy and traditional Chinese music.

Raphael Angieri, a senior at Georgetown University majoring in culture and politics, was the winner. In his speech, Angieri recalled his first time in China living with a host family in Beijing six years ago.

He brought up fond memories of chats between him and his host dad, which ranged from Confucius' thoughts to modern civil education, from ancient poetry to the popular TV show "Voice of China".

"My host dad was just an average Chinese," Angieri recalled. "He didn't even attend university. But he studied and valued traditional Chinese culture and cared about current affairs, which had a huge impact on me."

Katherine Dionne, a freshman at the University of South Carolina, was one of the second-place finishers. Her tai chi dance performance amazed the audience, as well as the judges.

"On the face of our culture, a lot of things can be different. But when you get down to it, everyone is still just people and very friendly when you get to know them," she said.

Dionne's parents, who were with their daughter at the competition, said they were very proud and supportive of Dionne's pursuit of Chinese.

"We want to thank the Confucius Institute for having this program and allowing people like Katie to participate and express their creativity in another culture," Dionne's dad said.

William Ennals, a senior at the University of Maryland, also participated in the competition and recited a poem by famous poet Yu Guangzhong in three different dialects, which he said he learned from his Chinese friends.

"My relationships with my Chinese friends have always been about exchanging cultures," Ennals said.

"Many of the speeches demonstrated the young generations' global vision and international mindset," said Wendy Xiong, an associate professor of World Language and Culture at Winston Salem State University in North Carolina, who also served as a judge.

"I am not alone," Angieri said after winning the top prize. "Obviously there are a lot of students here with me who show their love for China."

Yian Ke in Washington contributed to this story.

(China Daily USA 04/23/2018 page2)

Beijing has warned that hegemonic thinking is behind the US Treasury Department's plan to restrict sensitive Chinese investments in the country's high-tech sector.

Washington has taken a slew of moves recently, and what is behind the US restrictions is actually protectionism, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news conference in Beijing on Friday.

US Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Investment Policy Heath Tarbert told a forum on Thursday that Treasury officials are mulling ways to restrict sensitive Chinese investments by invoking an emergency powers law and bringing forward some security review reforms for corporate acquisitions, Reuters reported.

Hua said the United States has demanded China further open up its market while imposing restrictions on Chinese investment in the US, a move that fails to live up to the principle of fairness and reciprocity and is an unreasonable, hegemonic approach in scientific fields.

Also, the pace of China's advancing technological innovation will not be stopped because of the noise and interference, Hua added.

Teng Jianqun, director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, noted that behind the agenda of the administration of US President Donald Trump is its concern about China bringing changes to the existing global business order led by the US.

Washington still is resisting China's remarkable boost in its own innovation capability in the high-tech sector and its advancing industrialization and transformation from medium- and low-end production status in the international production chain, Teng said.

A US congressional committee report on Thursday claimed that the Chinese government is possibly supporting business espionage conducted by some Chinese companies.

Hua Chunying responded that it is extremely irresponsible and dangerous if US policies are based only on possibilities.

Traps and conspiracies plague minds dominated by Cold War thinking and belief in a zero-sum game, while a proactive and cooperative mindset helps create new opportunities and converts challenges into chances, Hua added.

China hopes that some people in the US will update their ideas about international relations and follow the trend of the times rather than pushing against it, she said.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 04/23/2018 page2)

"The Chinese consumer is developing into one of the largest markets for robot vacuums worldwide; it has had accelerated growth over the past three years," said Christian Cerda, chief operating officer of iRobot, the US-based manufacturer of consumer robots, adding that China is the fastest- growing market and the fourth-largest region for the company.

IRobot launched a floor mopper tailor-made for the China market in 2016 and established a commercial team at a Shanghai office to directly manage sales, marketing and after sales service, in order to be more responsive to the local market, said Cathy Song, communications manager at iRobot China.

Song said the company is mainly focusing on the premium segment, "We've been the leader in the over RMB 3,000 ($477) premium robotic vacuuming cleaner market."

She added that the floor mopper is most successful in Asian countries where hard floors are common. Currently, it brings in about 10 percent of iRobot's total revenue globally. Wet floor care products account for about 40 percent of sales in China.

"The growth in China is led by some Chinese competitors," Cerda said. "Share-wise the largest is Ecovacs, and we have seen recently some entrances to the market with competitors like Xiaomi.

"Compared to the robot market worldwide, the Chinese market has a lower price point and has a very large segment of the market with very basic and affordable robot vacuums.

"China as a country has put a lot of emphasize on the development of AI, and we are seeing a lot of activities in this area," Cerda said, indicating that the Made in China 2025 initiative would also help companies in China succeed. "We welcome it, and we think this is good for robotics development worldwide, and we're happy to see this sector growing and developing in China."

Cerda said that all of iRobot's manufacturing was based in China and recently the company has been doing more design in China too. The company estimated it pumped up to $100 million into R&D last year and there would be more in the future.

"The capability of robot design has improved significantly over the past few years, so we are leveraging that," Cerda said.

Cerda said that China has tremendous talent and infrastructure to support the robot industry.

"We want to lead in the premier end market in China, and we want to lead through increasing intelligence," Cerda added.

"We're expanding our engineering capabilities at our Guangzhou office and we recently built a test lab there," Song said.

When it comes to the recent trade disputes between China and the US, Cerda added although the consumer robotic industry has not been affected by the tariffs imposed by China as well as the US, he hopes the situation will not be escalated and the two nations can settle the disputes by communication.

The company was founded in 1990 by MIT roboticists, including the company's chairman and CEO Colin Angle.

Although its China head office opened in Shanghai in September last year, iRobot started its business in the country as early as the late 1990s by working with US toy manufacturer Hasbro in Guangzhou to build robot toys.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 04/23/2018 page2)

So says the State of Global Air Report 2018, which was released on Tuesday.

The State of Global Air initiative is a collaboration between the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in Boston and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle, with input from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

The 22-page report did, however, offer some relatively good news for China: The country's air pollution exposures have stabilized and even begun to decline slightly.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, they have experienced the steepest increases in air pollution since 2010.

Those three countries and China all have high concentrations of and increasing trends in PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter).

China's average annual population-weighted PM2.5 level was 56 micrograms per cubic meter of air, while the US' was 9. The higher the number, the worse the pollution is.

But "although China experienced substantial increases in population-weighted exposures before 2010 - reflecting in part the dramatic scale of economic development in recent decades - since then the exposures have stabilized and even begun to decline", the report said.

Sometimes, air pollution-control efforts are at the weather's mercy.

On Thursday, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that the air pollution campaign had reached a "stalemate".

"Weather conditions last month in Beijing were the worst over the past six years, with slow wind, little rain and high temperatures, but average pollution readings were able to stay at the same level as the past five years," ministry spokesman Liu Youbin said at a regular press briefing.

"The air pollution campaign has entered a stage of stalemate, as Chairman Mao described in his famous book On Protracted War. The efforts we made have sometimes been offset by unfavorable weather, and it will take time for us to slip the leash of weather conditions to win the war," he added.

"The easy actions have been done very well, but now there is more that needs to be done," said Chen Songxi, an expert in environmental statistics at the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University. "Motor vehicles in cities have to be curbed - so far, there has been little action in that regard, because it will be very unpopular with drivers," he added.

Ambient (outdoor) particulate matter was the sixth-leading cause of death in the world in 2016, according to the report. The top cause was high blood pressure, followed by smoking, high fasting plasma glucose, high body mass index and high total cholesterol.

More than 50 percent of global deaths due to air pollution were in India and China, the report said.

Household air pollution ranked eighth as a cause of death, preceded by alcohol use. It is the first year that household pollution was included in the report.

A total of 2.45 billion people (33.7 percent of the global population) were exposed to household air pollution, mainly caused by the use of solid fuels such as wood and coal as cooking fuel.

Two dozen countries in Africa had more than 90 percent of their populations exposed to household air pollution.

India and China - with 43 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of their populations using solid fuels - had the largest numbers of people exposed to household air pollution in 2016: 560 million in India and 416 million in China.

The good news is that the number of people relying on solid fuels dropped from an estimated 3.6 billion around 1990 to about 2.4 billion in 2016, despite the increase in world population.

China has reduced the numbers who rely on solid fuels to about 416 million in 2016, down from 996 million in 1990.

Still, coal was projected to remain the single largest source contributor to ambient PM2.5 in China in 2030.

Reuters contributed to this story. Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

Castro's 90-minute valedictory speech offered his first clear vision for the nation's future power structure under new President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez. Castro said he foresees the white-haired electronics engineer serving two five-year terms as leader of the Cuban government, and taking the helm of the Communist Party, the country's ultimate authority, when Castro leaves the powerful position in 2021.

"From that point on, I will be just another soldier defending this revolution," Castro said. The 86-year-old general broke frequently from his prepared remarks to joke with officials on the dais in the National Assembly.

In his own half-hour speech to the nation, Diaz-Canel pledged to preserve Cuba's communist system while gradually reforming the economy and making the government more responsive.

"There's no space here for a transition that ignores or destroys the legacy of so many years of struggle," Diaz-Canel said. "For us, it's totally clear that only the Communist Party of Cuba, the guiding force of society and the state, guarantees the unity of the nation."

Diaz-Canel said he would work to implement a long-term plan laid out by the National Assembly and Communist Party that would continue allowing the limited growth of private enterprises like restaurants and taxis, while leaving the economy's most important sectors such as energy, mining, telecommunications, medical services and rum- and cigar-production in the hands of the state.

"The people have given this assembly the mandate to provide continuity to the Cuban Revolution during a crucial, historic moment that will be defined by all that we achieve in the advance of the modernization of our social and economic model," Diaz-Canel said.

Reuters

The agricultural industry on the West Coast will take a hit from China's retaliatory tariffs, which went into effect on April 2 and target primarily agricultural products, mostly produced in California.

"I think Trump never understood agriculture, and never understood how important it (export) was to agriculture," said Bill Perry, a Seattle-based international trade lawyer.

The $3 billion worth of tariffs from China will hit farmers in Washington state hard, but despite the direct impact, there's also an indirect impact valued at $3 billion to $4 billion, said Perry, who has represented Chinese producers and US importers for more than 30 years.

Although Washington state doesn't produce soybeans, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are major gateways for the $14 billion in soybean exports, he explained.

West Coast ports, including Oakland and the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, are significant for agricultural products, such as nuts, fruit and meats, and are worth billions of dollars a year.

Experts said the reduction of trade activity will cause dock workers, truck drivers and other workers along the chain to take a hit, too.

"Agricultural trade creates jobs and opportunities throughout our state. It's not just farmers and rural businesses that will suffer if farm exports diminish," Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF), said in the organization's weekly newspaper AgAlert on April 11.

"Many people in our urban centers work in marketing and export jobs tied to agriculture. This situation will affect urban and rural Californians alike," he said.

US exporters of nuts, wine and fruit have been renegotiating contracts with their buyers in China, while some products originally destined for China may be redirected to other locations, according to CFBF.

"All exports are local. Through my research I found that American local businesses are getting much better over the past 10 years at entering the Chinese market," said Benjamin Leffel, Kugelman research fellow at the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at UC-Irvine.

"The Trump administration could accomplish a lot with China-US relations at the local level in particular," Leffel said. "Punishing China with tariffs is not a good start. As Trump continues with the tariffs, it's causing governors and mayors to fend for themselves."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

Nearly one-third of the world's adult population doesn't have access to financial services, according to the World Bank's Global Findex data, which tracks how people use financial services, released on Thursday.

"China has made great progress, but if you reflect back, the Global Findex showed that we went from the low 60s to about 69 percent of people in the world covered in terms of financial access," Kim said, referring to the finding that globally 69 percent of adults, or 3.8 billion people, have an account at a bank or mobile money provider, up from 62 percent in 2014.

"So we're looking at the innovations in China and we're trying to ensure that we get from around 70 percent to 100 percent," he told a press conference during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.

In China, 80 percent of people above age 15 have such accounts, and 57 percent of the account owners are using mobile phones or the internet to make purchases or pay bills - roughly twice the share in 2014, according to the Global Findex.

Kim called for ramped-up efforts to help realize the World Bank's goal of achieving universal financial access by 2020.

He said the World Bank has been studying the way that China has approached financial inclusion and has actually participated with China in the past on projects such as creating special branches of banks specifically for women.

In the private sector, groups like Alibaba and Tencent have dramatically increased access to capital and access to markets, Kim said, adding that these are the kinds of things small- and medium-sized enterprises need to export their products overseas.

Kim noted that there is still a large gender gap in financial inclusion worldwide. According to the Global Findex, 72 percent of men and 65 percent of women have an account, a gap of 7 percentage points.

In China, 84 percent of men above 15 years old are account owners, compared with 76 percent of females, a gap of eight points.

"So we are watching carefully," he said. "China is improving financial access very quickly - not only access to financial services, but access to capital, access to markets. We need that to happen in every country in the world."

In the case of Alibaba in China, Kim said it has made access to capital almost instantaneous, so long as the user has a good record online.

"So that's a way of using innovation in an inclusive way," he said, "because they're focused on small and medium enterprises. If we can make that happen in other parts of the world, that'd be great."

Also at the press conference, Kim said the multilateral lender would increase lending to lower middle-income countries over time.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Thursday warned that trade tensions between the United States and China and some other countries could erode the confidence that is vital for global growth.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, said the actual impact on global growth from the trade tensions, frictions and threats is not very substantial when measured by GDP, but what's more important is something that is more difficult to measure in the short term.

"That has to do with the erosion of confidence when investors do not know under what terms they will be trading, when they do not know how to organize their supply chain, they are reluctant on investing," she told a press conference on Thursday morning during the 2018 IMF/World Bank annual spring meeting in Washington.

Unilateral trade actions taken by the Trump administration have triggered widespread concerns about a trade war, especially between the US and China, the world's two largest economies.

The US in March imposed steel and aluminum tariffs in the name of national security, a move widely regarded as potentially devastating to the global trading system if other countries follow suit by bypassing the World Trade Organization.

The US also threatened tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports following its Section 301 investigation of China's intellectual property policies and practices. In return, China has proposed retaliatory measures and vowed to fight to the end.

Lagarde, without naming the US, expressed her concern about the questioning of the overall global system that has been operating for decades. But she said every country has to do something to address problems in its own rules, barriers, caps and threats.

"The world is so interconnected. The supply chains are involving so many different countries, regional, intraregional, interregional, that it would affect the global economy," she said, quoting Winston Churchill that "it's better to jaw-jaw than to war-war".

She stressed that investment and trade have been driving the global growth in the past years. "So why damage those two engines that are effectively working for growth?" she asked.

"We know that unilateral trade restrictions have not proven helpful, and we suspect that they might even dent confidence. So countries, in our view, should work together to resolve disagreements without using exceptional measures," she said.

The World Economic Outlook that the IMF unveiled on Tuesday raised the growth forecast for the world and most economies, but also warned about the negative impact of import restrictions announced by the Trump administration.

Lagarde said she IMF tries to serve as a platform that establishes and encourages dialogue, without saying if the IMF has actively played a mediating role between China and the US.

She expressed her disappointment that the US has not heeded IMF's advice to take advantage of the current economic upswing to try to reduce its deficit and reduce debt. The IMF has raised its forecast for US growth in the coming two years due to temporary US stimulus measures.

Lagarde, who was in China last week for the Boao Forum for Asia, said the opening up measures announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at Boao are "certainly going in the right direction of removing barriers and facilitating investment". She said "we will be very attentive to the actual implementation and delivery of such measures".

At the Boao Forum, Xi pledged that China will significantly lower import tariffs, including tariffs for vehicles; strengthen intellectual property protection; and improve market access and the investment environment.

"The investment environment is like air, and fresh air can attract more foreign capital," Xi said at the forum.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Of the estimated 1,500 identified species, one in particular - Saccharomyces cerevisiae - has the miraculous power to ferment - that is, turn sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

For countless centuries the CO2 bubbles have been leavening bread and the alcohol has been supplying us with wine, beer, whiskey name your poison.

Whoever first got the bright idea to harness the powers of this mighty mini-factory (buy that man a drink!) may be lost to history. Archaeologists have found 7,000-year-old jugs of wine. There is evidence the Egyptians had breweries and bakeries 4,000 years ago.

It was French biologist Louis Pasteur in the mid 19th century who proved yeasts were living things and not just chemical catalysts.

Now another team of scientists in France has applied state-of-the-art genome sleuthing to get yeast to reveal its ancestry. And it looks like the miracle fungus traces its lineage back to China.

Just as all human beings on the planet hold a genetic evolutionary map back to Mother Africa, so brewer's yeast, today found the world over, appears to have roots in East Asia.

The team's work took five years and was exhaustive. They not only took yeast samples from the obvious places like bread, wine and beer, they cast a global net, asking everyone they knew or met, to gather as many different samples of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as they could.

They got samples from French Guiana beer and West African palm wine, Mexican agave tequila and brewing North Korean acorn meal, North American oak trees and Japanese sake, manure, blood, ocean water, an infected toe nail from Australia. In all, 1,011 examples of the yeast.

Geneticist Joseph Schacherer of the University of Strasbourg, who co-wrote the study which is in the current issue of Nature, said, "It's easy to get a thousand wine strains, but that's not how we wanted to proceed."

The more unfamiliar strains from all over the world they could assemble, the more revealing the evidence would be. The tracks of the evolutionary trail are in each one and their variations can serve as a compass.

Co-author geneticist Gianni Liti of the Universite Cote d'Azur had a suspicion the trail would lead back to China. He had done work with Chinese researchers collecting yeast samples in some of China's more remote forests and the diversity were apparent.

Just as Africa has the most genetic variations among our species of any place on Earth, so East Asia has the most genetic diversity in yeast of anywhere.

This richness in variety is a dead giveaway, the scientists theorize. Out of Africa for humans: out of China for yeast.

But how did the yeast make its way out of East Asia to the rest of the world? Was it carried by humans, borne on the wind, or both?

It's doubtful DNA sequencing will ever reveal anything like that. The evidence does reveal through certain repeated variations that some strains - especially those used for fermenting choice wines and beer, perhaps - have been replicated, while wild ones have been left unchanged.

Kevin Verstrepen, a geneticist at KU Leuve, told the Atlantic, "Everybody in the yeast community is quite excited" by the new study with its wealth of data.

He also said that he and his team has tried making beers out of several of the wilder strains of yeast and the results, so far, show no signs of putting Budweiser out of business any time soon. At best he called them "funky".

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents great development potential to the countries involved, but more attention must be paid to debt sustainability and other risks, according to officials and experts.

The BRI, launched five years ago, now involves more than 100 countries and international organizations in building connectivity among countries, many of which are emerging and developing nations.

Zheng Zhijie, president of China Development Bank, described the BRI on Wednesday as "fruitful" in the past five years.

From 2014 to 2017, China's trade with countries along the BRI exceeded $4 trillion. The 75 BRI projects in the relevant countries had total investment of $60 billion. A number of infrastructure projects in railways, highways and ports have been completed; manufacturing projects have been started; and energy projects are forging ahead, according to Zheng.

"The BRI construction has injected steady momentum into countries along the route and helped improve the livelihood of their peoples," Zheng said at a conference on the Chinese economy and the BRI at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

The China Development Bank is a major player in the BRI. By the end of 2017, it had financed 600 projects along the BRI route, with accumulated lending exceeding $180 billion.

Zheng noted that many countries in the BRI are emerging and developing nations that have limited financial capacities, low returns on investment and low risk-prevention capabilities. He said his bank will improve the risk research of countries along the route, continually update risk reports of individual countries and strengthen early warnings in order to provide long-term, stable and sustainable financing to the BRI-related projects.

Zhou Yanli, vice-chairman of the International Finance Forum, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization, said "China's signature BRI offers a 'once-in-a-generation' opportunity to raise economic prosperity of billions of people".

A survey by the IFF and Central Banking Publications, released on Wednesday as part of the IFF China Report 2018, showed that most respondents in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Oceania expect the BRI to bolster their countries' growth.

Some 44 percent described the BRI as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity" for their countries, and another 19 percent said it's "one of the most important initiatives of the past decade".

"China aims to make the BRI the broadest platform for international cooperation in keeping with the trend of economic globalization and to the greater benefit of all our peoples," Zhou said.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is a good opportunity for IMF to collaborate with Chinese authorities to make it successful to the benefit of China as well as the global world," said Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, adding that the BRI can have many benefits and at the same time involve many risks.

Rhee cited software issues, such as in public finance management, as areas where the IMF can contribute.

In Beijing last week, the IMF and China launched a China-IMF Capwwacity Development that will provide training courses for BRI economies.

Markus Rodlauer, deputy director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, pointed out that some BRI partner countries have breached IMF's critical debt-sustainability indicators. "So it is a key risk, both for China and the partner countries," he said.

"Certainly it is not a reason for not (having) a BRI, or even for no BRI engagement in those countries already at risk of debt sustainability," he said.

Rodlauer said it is important to pay attention to project-selection, financing, implementation and monitoring.

Maggie Chen, professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University, noted that Western countries are "hesitant and averse" in investing in many of the developing countries along the BRI route.

Besides project-selection and implementation, she believes attention should be paid to the business and legal environments in the host countries.

Chen said the BRI has great potential to improve connectivity and facilitate growth.

"And there is great potential for these investments to help BRI countries get integrated into the global value chains," she said.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

The founder of Bloomberg Limited Partners called this a critical moment.

"Leaders in Washington are considering new trade policies that would unfortunately harm our economy, would kill jobs, would slow innovation, and strain ties with nations around the world, including China, and we just cannot let that happen," he said.

He reiterated that the US and China are closely interconnected and each country has a strong stake in the economic prosperity of the other.

"Cooperation between the US and China is critical to meeting all of the challenges facing our world, from economic growth and trade, to security and climate change," the media mogul said.

Bloomberg said he will travel to Washington "to see people tomorrow and that will be my message, that we just have to find ways to work together. Other countries around the world, again, including China, are responding with their tariffs and we don't need a trade war.

"We're going to make sure that doesn't happen," he added.

He made the remarks at the 2018 International Finance and Infrastructure Cooperation Forum held at Bloomberg headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

The forum, which marked its second year, was co-hosted by Bloomberg Limited Partners and the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA (CGCC).

Joining the forum were Chinese and US government officials and more than 300 senior business executives and financial professionals, who discussed investment trends in China's bond and equity markets, and cooperation in US infrastructure.

Xu Chen, chairman of the CGCC and president and CEO of Bank of China USA agreed with Bloomberg that the two countries are in a sensitive time for bilateral economic and trade relations.

"But as we all know, challenges also bring opportunities," Xu added.

"Today, China and the United States have become each other's most important trading partner," he said. "Moreover, according to a recent CGCC business survey report on Chinese enterprises in the US, Chinese companies directly create more than 140,000 jobs in the US 'Rust Belt' alone, in places like Ohio and Michigan."

Xu pointed out that CGCC member companies have cumulatively invested more than $120 billion in the US economy and currently directly and indirectly support over 1 million US jobs.

He concluded by saying that in reality "the economic and trade cooperation has brought enormous benefits to our two countries and their peoples, and it now has become the bedrock of bilateral relations."

"These are not simple headlines for the media, but globalization and international trade have made a positive impact on the lives of billions of people around the world.," he said.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China will feature 10 life-sized Terracotta Warriors among 120 artifacts.

The statues from Xi'an City in Northwest China will appear at the Cincinnati Art Museum for the first time, from April 20 to Aug 12.

(Left) Two visitors look at a life-sized Terracotta Warrior with horse dating to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) during a preview event at the Cincinnati Art Museum's exhibition on Wednesday. (Right) "The Kneeling Archer", one of 10 life-sized Terracotta Warriors figures on display at the exhibition, which opens to the public on Friday.

There will be stricter security to protect the exhibition following an incident at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in December in which a Delaware man admitted to breaking off the thumb of one of the statues as a souvenir.

"We have worked closely with Chinese cultural officials to assure the security of these artifacts. We also as an art museum have a very high standard for security and respect for objects on loan to the museum," said museum Director Cameron Kitchin.

"After what happened in Philadelphia, the Cincinnati Art Museum and our staff have reached an agreement to take active actions in improving our security protocol and procedures to ensure the safety of our artifacts," said Qi Gaoquan, deputy director of the Bureau of Cultural Relics of Shaanxi province, who traveled to the museum for an inspection before the exhibition opens.

"All the actions we took this time are based on the lessons we drew from the incident that happened in Philadelphia," Qi told China Daily. "We've taken the strictest security measures to ensure a similar incident will never happen again."

Qi explained how Zhang Qiyue, consul general of China in New York, wrote in a letter to David Oh, a Philadelphia city councilman who had written an official city apology over the incident, that it will not affect cultural exchanges between China and the US.

"The Cultural Relics Bureau of Shaanxi province will continue relics exchanges with the US to promote culture and people-to-people exchange," Qi said, adding that the bureau also will place higher requirements on technology and security measures when it loans relics overseas.

The statues were part of the baked earth army sculpted by artisans for decades so that they could be buried with Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China (260-210 BC), and serve him in his afterlife.

The site in Xi'an City where the statues were excavated along with clay chariots and horses has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is now part of a museum.

The items for the Cincinnati exhibit were carefully selected from 14 museums in Shaanxi province and basically cover every cultural feature of Qin people in different periods, Qi said.

"I hope through the exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors people around the Cincinnati area will have a greater understanding of Chinese culture and history," said Zhang.

"The significance of the project is really beyond culture and education; it really serves to enhance the mutual understanding between our two peoples and really serves to promote the relationship between the US and China."

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said that "the more we can exchange ideas, culture and history, the better off the world will be. And the history of China is far longer than the history of the US. I believe by studying the past, we may create a better future."

He said that "sharing the amazing historical artifacts from China here in Cincinnati gives us opportunities for our citizens to have exposure to a much longer history and enhance their understanding of China".

Pam Meyers, a guest at the preview, said she was "overwhelmed when I first saw the Terracotta Warriors", calling them "something very different and very beautiful".

"In today's world, you can look up tons of pictures on Google, but it's not the same as being in the presence of it, and I'm thrilled that people in Cincinnati have this great opportunity to see these great artworks in person," she said.

"This is an exhibition that's about art, and about history, but it's also about diplomacy and humanity," said Kitchin, the museum director.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

In his talks with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday, Trump also said he had given his blessing to the inter-Korean talks aimed at formally ending the Korean War.

"We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea (DPRK). I really believe there's a lot of good will; a lot of good things are happening."

Trump later clarified the talks by saying, "Let's leave it a little bit short of the highest level."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders added: "The president said the administration has had talks at the highest levels and added that they were not with him directly."

US Secretary of State nominee and CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a secret visit to DPRK over the Easter weekend and met with Kim Jong-un, Reuters cited an unidentified senior US official as saying on Tuesday.

"The administration does not comment on the CIA director's travel," Sanders said.

Contacts between the two sides in recent weeks have involved US intelligence and State Department officials.

Trump said, "We'll be having meetings with Kim Jong-un very soon. It will be - that will be taking place probably in early June or a little before that - assuming things go well."

Trump said the US is weighing five different locations for the Trump-Kim summit, but none are located in the US. Trump, however, also said the summit might not happen.

"It's possible things won't go well and we won't have the meetings, and we'll just continue to go along this very strong path that we've taken," he said. "But we will see what happens."

Trump also said the two Koreas are "discussing an end to the war", and they have his blessing on that.

Reuters contributed to this story.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

And now sorghum is the latest agriculture victim in a trade spat between China and the US.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday that US sorghum exporters will pay a 178.6 percent "deposit" as part of anti-dumping duties on the grain. The ministry said its ruling was preliminary, and that the charges - which take effect on Wednesday - were temporary. It said it would announce a final decision in the sorghum probe at a later date.

National Sorghum Producers said in a statement that US sorghum is not being dumped in China, and "US sorghum producers and exporters have not caused any injury to China's sorghum industry".

More than 80 percent of all US sorghum exports go to China, according to the US Grains Council. The grain - used to feed cattle, as well as an ingredient in the strong Chinese liquor, baijiu - brings US farmers around $1 billion each year from China.

Agriculture has been China's main target in tariffs on the US, with import duties planned for hogs, soybeans and now sorghum, since the US placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

The measure on sorghum will hit farm areas that voted for presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016. According to the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, the sorghum farm belt runs from South Dakota to southern Texas. In addition to Kansas, Texas and Arkansas are among the top sorghum-producing states, according to the commission's website. Trump won all three states in 2016.

Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer said that in the last three years the state exported nearly $416 million in sorghum to China, and that the new duty "directly hits the pocketbook of farmers across Kansas".

Colyer said he reached out to the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Agriculture on the new duty. "They are working diligently on this issue," he said. "Kansas farmers cannot afford a delay in action."

Family spokesman Jim McGrath confirmed the death in a statement. The cause wasn't immediately known.

Mrs. Bush brought a grandmotherly style to buttoned-down Washington, often appearing in her trademark fake pearl chokers and displaying no vanity about her white hair and wrinkles.

"What you see with me is what you get. I'm not running for president - George Bush is," she said at the 1988 Republican National Convention, where her husband, then vice-president, was nominated to succeed Ronald Reagan.

The Bushes, who were married on Jan 6, 1945, had the longest marriage of any presidential couple in American history. And Mrs. Bush was one of only two first ladies who had a child who was elected president. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams.

In 1974, then US President Gerald R. Ford sent Mr. Bush to the People's Republic of China to lead the United States Liaison Office in Beijing.

"To go off to China and learn a whole new culture was beautiful," Mrs. Bush told a reporter in 1984.

The future first couple of the US rode bicycles around Beijing, studied Mandarin and took up tai chi.

The publisher's daughter and oilman's wife could be caustic in private, but her public image was that of a self-sacrificing, supportive spouse who referred to her husband as her "hero."

In the White House, "you need a friend, someone who loves you, who's going to say, 'You are great,'" Mrs. Bush said in a 1992 television interview.

Mrs. Bush insisted she did not try to influence her husband's politics. "I don't fool around with his office," she said, "and he doesn't fool around with my household."

Opinion polls often showed her popularity as first lady exceeding her husband's as president. "I don't threaten anyone," she said. "That's because I'm everyone's grandma."

In her 1994 autobiography, Barbara Bush: A Memoir, Mrs. Bush said she did her best to keep her opinions from the public while her husband was in office. But she revealed that she disagreed with him on two issues: She supported legal abortion and opposed the sale of assault weapons.

"I honestly felt, and still feel, the elected person's opinion is the one the public has the right to know," Mrs. Bush wrote.

Mrs. Bush raised five children: George W., Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy. A sixth child, 3-year-old daughter Robin, died of leukemia in 1953.

In a collection of letters published in 1999, George H.W. Bush included a note he gave to his wife in early 1994.

"You have given me joy that few men know," he wrote. "I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara's husband."

In 1990, Barbara Bush gave the commencement address at all-women Wellesley College. Her speech was rated by a survey of scholars in 1999 as one of the top 100 speeches of the century.

"Cherish your human connections," Mrs. Bush told graduates. "At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent."

AP-Reuters

The World Economic Outlook report released by the IMF forecast China's growth at 6.6 percent in 2018 and 6.4 percent in 2019, both up 0.1 percentage point from its last report in October 2017.

The IMF also adjusted upward the growth for the global economy to 3.9 percent for the next two years, both up 0.2 percentage point from its October forecast.

The US economy is expected to grow 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2.7 percent in 2019, up 0.6 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively, from the October forecast due in part to a large temporary fiscal stimulus, according to the report.

Growth projections for the eurozone and Japan in 2018 have both been raised 0.5 percentage point to 2.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Maurice Obstfeld, economic counselor and director of IMF's research department, said that the world economy continues to show broad-based momentum. "Against that positive backdrop, the prospect of a similarly broad-based conflict over trade presents a jarring picture," he said on Tuesday at a press conference for the report.

The report, while expressing optimism in the near-term prospect for most of the economies, described longer-term prospects as "more sobering".

Advanced economies -- facing aging populations, falling rates of labor force participation and low productivity growth -- will likely not regain the per capita growth rates they enjoyed before the global financial crisis, according to the report.

It said emerging and developing economies present a diverse picture, and among those that are not commodity exporters, some can expect longer-term growth rates comparable to pre-crisis rates. Many commodity exporters will not be so lucky, however, despite some improvement in the outlook for commodity prices. Those countries will need to diversify their economies to boost future growth and resilience.

The report warned of notable risks of high global debt levels, both private and public. Obstfeld repeated the IMF's advice that the current cyclical upswing offers policymakers an ideal opportunity to make longer-term growth stronger, more resilient and more inclusive.

"The present good times will not last for long, but sound policies can extend the upswing while reducing the risks of a disruptive unwinding," he said as world's central bank governors and finance ministers assemble in Washington this week for the 2018 IMF/World Bank annual spring meeting.

Countries need to rebuild fiscal buffers, enact structural reforms and steer monetary policy cautiously in an environment that is already complex and challenging, according to the IMF report.

Questions about the impact of a possible trade war between the US and China and other trading partners were a hot issue raised at the press conference by journalists from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Obstfeld expressed his disappointment that the prospect of trade restrictions and counter-restrictions threatens to undermine confidence and derail global growth prematurely.

"While some governments are pursuing substantial economic reforms, trade disputes risk diverting others from the constructive steps they would need to take now to improve and secure growth prospects," he said.

He noted that trade tension started in early March with the US steel and aluminum tariffs for national security concerns and has fed into several bilateral negotiations aimed at reducing US trade deficits. "These initiatives will do little, however, to change the multilateral or overall US external current account deficit, which owes primarily to a level of aggregate US spending that continues to exceed total income," Obstfeld said.

It was not the first time the IMF tried to convince US leaders that they should not blame US' trade partners for growing and persistent trade deficits that have existed since 1976.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

China said on Tuesday that in five years it will end a two-decade restriction that requires global automakers to work with State-owned companies. Foreign companies complied with the requirement to gain access to the Chinese car market, which is the world's largest, even if the arrangement forced them to share technology with potential competitors.

While announcing the easing of rules on foreign automakers, China also said it will charge importers a temporary fee of about 179 percent on US sorghum after an investigation found the shipments were unfairly subsidized and damaging Chinese producers. China is the largest buyer of American sorghum, a grain used to feed livestock and make distilled spirits.

Removing the ownership cap for automakers "represents a significant policy shift for both Chinese and international automakers," said Shanjun Li, a professor at Cornell University.

David Zoia, editorial director of WardsAuto.com, said the move will open additional possibilities for overseas companies, perhaps including acquisitions in China.

"It certainly opens up more possibilities for foreign companies, which now will be able to consider strategic acquisitions that were not available to them before," he wrote in an email.

Until now, global auto companies such as General Motors Co (GM) and Volkswagen AG have been allowed to own no more than 50 percent of a joint venture with a Chinese partner and could invest in no more than two joint ventures (JVs).

Stephanie Brinley, auto analyst with IHS Markit, doesn't expect immediate changes in many of the JVs. "Initially, we expect existing partnerships would continue as they are, particularly the established and successful ones like GM's relationship with SAIC (Motor). To change the structures immediately has potential to create more disruption than benefit," she said in an email.

Zoia also doesn't anticipate a surge in changes to joint ventures right away. "(I) doubt that would happen immediately or across the board, as some partnerships have worked better than others. However, the change certainly shifts power in the direction of the multinationals, which now will be able to negotiate better terms or go it alone if they wish," he said.

Cornell's Li said Chinese consumers will probably benefit from the change. "In the end, allowing foreign ownership benefits domestic consumers who can enjoy better-quality, more variety and lower prices," said Li.

China has been easing ownership requirements as limits on foreign ownership of electric vehicle (EV) producers will be eliminated this year followed by a similar repeal for makers of commercial vehicles in 2020 and passenger vehicles in 2022.

Brinley said the most likely beneficiary of the EV change is Tesla "as it has already been in talks regarding developing a plant in the country". The Chinese government still controls permission for building new plants. The removal of the ownership requirement does not necessarily mean that it's open season for permission to add production. However, with one obstacle removed, opportunity is increased, she said.

In addition to easing rules on foreign automakers, the National Development and Reform Commission also said that it would eliminate foreign ownership restrictions this year on its ship and aircraft manufacturing industries, including jetliners, helicopters and drones.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

Two hours before Monday evening's scheduled launch, SpaceX announced it needed more time to check its rocket, which will carry the satellite to orbit. The next attempt will be Wednesday night.

The satellite known as Tess will survey almost the entire sky, staring at the brightest, closest stars in an effort to find any planets that might be encircling them. These mysterious worlds beyond our solar system, called exoplanets, could harbor life.

Scientists expect Tess - the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite - to discover thousands of rocky and icy planets and gas giants, maybe even water worlds and places defying imagination. Bigger and more powerful observatories of the future will scrutinize these prime candidates for potential signs of life.

SpaceX said extra time is needed to examine the Falcon 9 rocket's guidance, navigation and control system. Additional information was not immediately available, according to a spokesman.

SpaceX sometimes uses recycled rocket boosters, but this one is brand new. The company hopes to land this first stage on a floating ocean platform following liftoff, and reuse it on a space station supply run for NASA this summer.

Associated Press

Luckily, they have teamed up with philanthropists to try to restore the village's historic structures - a pier and a few wooden shacks - and preserve its legacy.

Frank Quan, the last shrimper of China Camp Village, died at the age of 91 in 2016. By living in the village his whole life, he kept alive the essential community spirit and historic way of life of his family and community.

Quan also witnessed the slow demise of the village, which dwindled in size and eventually became a state park with hiking and mountain bike trails.

In 2011, the non-profit group Friends of China Camp took over the park from the state parks department to avoid closure because of statewide budget cuts.

Over the last few years, the park has seen an increase in visits. Membership has increased to more than 800 from 25 in 2012, and nearly 3,000 people have signed up for the group's newsletter, according to Ed Lai, treasurer of Friends of China Camp.

Despite its popularity, the park has still been experiencing a financial strain. Last year, it had a deficit of $200,000, said Lai.

"We have to raise funds ourselves to maintain Quan's house and repair the pier," he said.

The projects of maintaining the house and repairing the pier's eroded pilings are estimated at $100,000 each.

Preservation efforts have recently been joined by Heidi Kuhn, daughter of a childhood friend of Quan, and CEO of the non-profit organization Roots of Peace.

She has recently met with Chinese philanthropists in Shanghai for China Camp Preservation Project.

Kuhn's great-great-grandfather John A. McNear offered to let Chinese immigrants live on his property during the difficult times of discrimination in the 1860s. They set up temporary camps on the McNear property, which later became the China Camp Village.

The village had almost 500 residents at its peak in the 1880s. More than 3 million pounds of shrimp were harvested from the bay each year, most of it dried for export to China.

She said it's "very timely and important" to tell the story of China Camp, which shows "respect and friendship across borders".

"Our goal is to raise $1 million to restore this beautiful China Camp as a symbol of respect for those who suffered ethnic discrimination," said Kuhn.

"It's achievable," said Frank Yih, 84, a Shanghai-based entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Shanghai GuoFeng Charity Foundation.

Yih and Kuhn met at a Rotary Club event in the Bay Area earlier this year and he was immediately touched by the story of China Camp.

"Chinese tourists focus too much on Hollywood and other popular attractions, and tend to neglect the history of Chinese immigrants," said Yih, who grew up in the Bay Area.

"I hope they can visit the park, taking a walk on the beautiful beach and learning about the people-to-people stories of 150 years ago."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

China is a crucial part of the business of major ports in Washington state, a transportation executive told a House panel at a hearing on the impact of tariffs.

"Our success as an airport and seaport gateway is inextricably linked to China," John Wolfe, CEO of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), told the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington DC last Thursday.

"Last year, more than $27 billion in imports from China came through Seattle and Tacoma cargo terminals, with an additional $1.1 billion in imports from China via Sea-Tac," he said.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance is a marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Tacoma and Seattle and the fourth-largest container port complex in the United States.

Sea-Tac is the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

"In addition, almost $5 billion in exports to China traveled through our cargo terminals in 2017, plus another $2.2 billion in exports to China through Sea-Tac," Wolfe said.

He said that "while it is impossible to truly estimate the impact of these tariffs, roughly $8 billion in two-way trade through our airport and seaport will potentially face some level of increased tariff".

The American Association of Port Authorities estimates that for every $1 billion in exports shipped through US seaports, 15,000 jobs are created, and the converse is likely true as well, which means that this $8 billion in trade likely represents 120,000 jobs, he said.

"The risk is significant because thousands of our jobs are tied to trade," Wolfe told China Daily on Monday. "Our marine cargo operations in our Seattle and Tacoma harbors support more than 48,000 jobs, while Sea-Tac's air cargo operations help create over 5,200 jobs."

Also, more than 60 percent of goods imported through the NWSA are sent beyond the Northwest region.

"Our greatest concern is that we are going to potentially affect jobs associated with trade in the state of Washington, and it is not only in our state. We would also risk impact through the whole supply chain in the Upper Midwest," Wolfe said.

"For example, $2.5 billion in imports of industrial and electric machinery move through ports of NWSA into Illinois, while Ohio and Indiana respectively import $1.9 billion and $1.2 billion worth of these products through our ports," Wolfe said. "This is true for exports as well; last year the gateway sent $1.89 billion in soybeans to China, yet none are grown in the state of Washington."

In recent weeks, Wolfe has reached out to some of the alliance's export customers, such as fruit growers.

"They are worried if there is uncertainty in their ability to provide a set price. Those global markets will leave to other market opportunities to purchase those goods," Wolfe said.

Cherries are a good example of the tariffs' potential impact, he said.

"The Northwest cherry harvest creates an estimated 19,000 jobs and generates $540 million in economic impact," Wolfe said. About 30 percent of the cherry crop is exported, and a majority is flown from Sea-Tac.

China is the top export market for Washington cherries, importing 2.9 million cases valued at $127 million a year.

If the Chinese market were closed to those exporters, "they are going to have a very difficult time finding alternative markets for their seasonal, perishable crop", Wolfe said.

"I believe that at the highest levels of leadership between the US and China, there is recognition that we need each other," he said. "We are dependent upon each other's economy for the health of our own economies. So the leadership of two countries will sit down, and have detailed discussions."

"In enforcing our trade laws, we should always take a targeted approach to address unfair practices while avoiding harm to US workers and job-creators," Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said at the hearing.

"As we continue to work with the administration to build off the success of President Trump's tax cuts and regulatory reform, I am committed to listening to US job-creators to make sure we make all appropriate adjustments to avoid unintended negative consequences to the US economy."

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com

As the world's second-largest economy extends its welcoming arms to the rest of the world, what opportunities lie ahead for the US, its nation and companies?

At the Boao Forum for Asia that was concluded last week, President Xi Jinping pledged to the world that China will continue to increase its openness and expand cooperation.

"We will stay committed to the strategy of opening-up for win-win results," he said in his keynote speech at the forum's opening ceremony.

The Chinese people have made opening-up a fundamental national policy, pursued development with an open door, and accomplished a great transition from seclusion and semi-seclusion to all-round openness.

Xi said measures would be taken to raise foreign-equity caps in the banking, securities and insurance industries, accelerate the opening-up of the insurance industry, ease restrictions on the establishment of foreign financial institutions in China, expand their business scope and open up more areas of cooperation between Chinese and foreign financial markets.

On manufacturing, China has basically opened up this sector with a small number of exceptions on automobiles, ships and aircraft. "These industries are now in a position to open up. Going forward, we will reduce as soon as possible limits on foreign investment in these industries, automobiles in particular," Xi said.

What should California - the Golden State with a long history of business and cultural closeness with China - expect?

In a series of events organized by the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, China's diplomats and business representatives exchanged thoughts and had provocative discussions about the issues, hoping some consensus could be reached through a clash of ideas and heated debates.

On April 10, at a seminar titled "Going Global: Chinese and Jewish Cross-Border Relationships in Technology & Innovation", Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurs who are funded by Chinese, American or Jewish capital expressed their concerns about increasing government manipulation and restrictions.

Asked for his advice to the US government on its oversight in the tech and innovation sectors, Isaac Applbaum of MizMaa Ventures said, "Leave us alone. Let us Jews to do what we do best. We're the capitalists. We understand the value and proposition of taking entrepreneurs and helping them grow."

Luke Tang, general manager of Mountain View-based TechCode Accelerator, echoed Applbaum's sentiments on alleviating restrictions.

"It would be great for the government just to set the stage to let the market play," Tang said. "We use the US as an example - don't put so much emphasis on restrictions and limitations."

Ren Faqiang, deputy consul-general in San Francisco, said that the US should abandon the trade war mentality and instead embrace the strategy of mutual benefits. "All in all, we are all members of the global village and should work together," he said.

Earlier on April 2, Luo Linquan, consul general at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, traveled to UC-Davis to present the Belt and Road Initiative to faculty, staff and students at the invitation of the university's global affairs office.

Perhaps the best symbol of China's new openness, the initiative, with the full name of The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by President Xi Jinping during visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013.

It is a concept put forward by China but it belongs to and is being built by all countries in this region, said Luo.

"It focuses on upgrading the infrastructure connectivity, alignment of strategies, providing material, institutional and spiritual public products to the world so as to promote common development and prosperity of all countries. The initiative has not only drawn worldwide attention, but has also received positive responses and active participation from neighboring countries."

Although the US is far from the Belt and Road region, American companies, with their advantages in international operation, global resources, cutting-edge technologies and high-level legal standards, are welcome to bid for the Belt and Road projects or to cooperate with other companies, said Luo, adding that California Governor Jerry Brown had openly expressed that California is willing to join the initiative.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

Joseph Stiglitz, also a former World Bank chief economist, said the administration of US President Donald Trump has been trying to negotiate trade disputes bilaterally, without bringing them to the WTO, which could pose a threat to how the global trading system operates because trade disputes were always done within the framework of the WTO and international law.

Stiglitz spoke last Thursday at the Harvard Club in New York during a panel discussion, "US-China Business in the New World Order", for the China Institute 2018 Executive Summit.

The Nobel laureate Stiglitz, who is also a professor at Columbia University, was joined on the panel by John Lipsky, distinguished scholar at the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University; and Scarlet Fu, a Bloomberg News anchor.

Hundreds of key US and Chinese CEOs, government leaders and experts also attended.

"If Trump wants to solve the bilateral trade deficit overnight, all that China would have to do is to buy $100 billion worth of US oil," Stiglitz said. "But whether China were to reduce its purchases from elsewhere or simply sell the US oil or gas on to other places, it will not reduce the bilateral trade deficit; it will not add jobs as the president emphasized; and it will not change anything in the world."

Stiglitz said that Trump's focus on the bilateral trade deficit is "stupid". He said Trump should realize that what matters is the multilateral trade deficit, and reducing imports from China will not create jobs in the US and will increase prices for ordinary Americans.

He also said that if the US were committed to following the international rule of law, it should've brought the cases to the WTO.

"The WTO provides the framework for adjudicating disputes. If the US thinks that they (China) are violating the WTO rules, you file a case. .... China is actually beginning to file cases against the United States, but what the US is doing on steel and aluminum is probably a violation of the WTO rules," Stiglitz said.

He said that Trump and his Cabinet members have accused Beijing of violating WTO rules because China is availing itself of the special treatment the biggest developing country received when it acceded to the international bloc.

He pointed out that the US should have demanded that WTO members abide by a multilateral investment treaty, which never happened because US companies were keen to get China into the WTO so they could take advantage of the country's huge markets.

Last month, Trump announced a decision to impose punitive tariffs on $50 billion worth of annual imports from China and has threatened to target $100 billion more following an investigation by the US trade representative.

In retaliation, China has announced tariffs on more than $50 billion of imported American goods.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

Graves and a Chinese film crew have been seen in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where they are filming a movie called Special Couple.

In June 2016, the China-UK Film Fund signed a strategic partnership with China's SMG Pictures to shoot the comedy. Special Couple is fully financed by SMG Pictures, which is the film production arm of media and entertainment giant Shanghai Media Group.

The movie is believed to be one of the first feature films to be produced as part of a China-UK co-production treaty signed in April 2014 between the UK government and Beijing.

While filming has been going on in various locations in Belfast, it's thought that the Northern Irish capital city is being used as a stand-in for London.

According to The Irish News the movie is being directed by Huang Lei and produced by Huang Jianxin and Chris Curling, but little is known about the script.

Deirdre McCanny, who owns Co Couture, an artisan chocolate shop in the city's Chichester Street, where some of the filming took place, told The Irish News she was delighted her store was chosen as a location.

"The Chinese film crew came in back in January to scout for locations and they really liked the underground open space of Co Couture," she said. "The director wanted the main character to live in a basement apartment, something that's rather hard to come by in Belfast, but Co Couture fitted the bill perfectly."

It's thought a replica of the basement property has been built in China, and most of the interior shots will be filmed there.

McCanny said it was a shock to see the Sherlock star. She and her staff had not known he was going to be in the film.

"It's super-exciting to be part of and, hopefully, as there is a massive Chinese market here, we will get to see the movie when it's released," she said.

According to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China's box office revenue rose 13.45 percent in 2017, to more than 55.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) for the year.

Jokingly, my response almost always is, "Chocolate mousse". It is delicious, rich, can take a bit of time to devour because it is so sweet, and then when it's gone, you miss it.

Just like life itself.

However, author Douglas Adams, in his comedic sci-fi novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, felt differently. As his readers know, the answer to the question of the meaning of life, actually, "The ultimate question of life, the universe and everything", is the number 42.

Adams, who died in 2001, later wrote of this definition, "The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. ... I sat on my desk, stared into the garden and thought 42 will do. I typed it out. End of story."

But is it really?

You see, 42 also is the number on the back of the uniform of baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was the first black man to play baseball in the major leagues in the United States. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers starting on April 15, 1947. It was a groundbreaking day, for sure.

Today people of all shapes, sizes, colors and ethnicities - with the notable exception of women and Chinese nationals - play in the majors.

Two notable pioneers from China were both of American heritage.

One, Henry Lees "Harry" Kingman, played for the New York Yankees in 1914. But he was born to missionaries in 1892. Another, Austin Brice, born in Hong Kong 100 years later, in 1992, pitched for the Miami Marlins and now is with the Cincinnati Reds. Other Chinese players are making their presence felt.

Major League Baseball has its eyes on China.

In December it signed a 10-year deal to expand its training and recruitment centers in China.

The deal also includes over 20 MLB-branded baseball facilities.

It already signed "Itchy" Xu Guiyan to play with the Baltimore Orioles organization.

The Baltimore Sun reported Xu was the first player of Chinese birth and ancestry to be signed through the MLB's development centers in China.

The 2018 baseball season began just a few days ago, so you might want to take a peek at TV or listen to a radio.

Sooner or later, "America's Pastime" will be played in China.

And who knows, back in the states Itchy may be the Jackie Robinson of a new era - with Chinese characteristics.

This is particularly the case at the China Development Forum, which recently concluded in Beijing.

"There is no equivalent to this forum in the world," said Apple CEO Tim Cook at the conclusion of his address to the final session.

And it has to be said there are not many events that one attends where every second person you meet seems to have won a Nobel Prize or is head of Google, BP, Total, Baidu or any other household-name corporations you care to mention.

The arrival of proper Spring weather in the sumptuous surroundings of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, with temperatures over 20 C at last, gave this year's forum an immediate lift.

It was the event 19th installment.

It is always the first State-level international conference held after the two sessions.

Many who attend are veterans of the forum. Stephen Roach, the well-known China expert and a senior fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University, was attending his 18th forum.

It is the one time in the year that many of the experts truly engage with China, and they sit like the College of Cardinals as Chinese ministers and other keynote speakers deliver speeches and presentations.

One of the speeches that attracted a lot of interest was by Yi Gang, the newly appointed governor of the People's Bank of China, who spoke about the country's further opening its financial sector.

The theme of this year's forum was "China in the New Era", which provided an opportunity for intellectuals to engage - some for the first time - with many of the ideas underpinning China's new direction.

What makes the discussions interesting are the very big concepts and ideas that tend to get ignored in the routine daily news.

Nicholas Stern, a British economist and climate change specialist from the London School of Economics, said the next 20 years are vital for human civilization if we didn't want to see catastrophic environmental damage, which would result in London being next into the sea or snow vanishing from the Himalayas.

During this time the world economy is set to double, with an average global GDP increase of 3 percent. Infrastructure investment is also expected to double.

Stern said that everything might depend on China's Belt and Road Initiative deploying the latest green technology in building new infrastructure.

What China will be in 2050 as it passes the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, including becoming a modern socialist country in all respects, was also discussed.

Ian Goldin, former economics adviser to Nelson Mandela when he was South Africa's president, is now a professor of globalization and development at Oxford University.

He first came to China in 1982 and predicted that the country would have an annual per capita income of $35,000 at today's prices, putting it firmly among the world's high-income nations.

Not all jobs will have been replaced by robots, and Chinese people will be working in their 70s and 80s.

The world economy will also be very different, with 80 percent of it made up by emerging market nations-China being chief among them.

What makes the forum attractive to many of those who attend is that there is a sense that China in its new era feels like a one place that is looking forward in a world that too often now seems to be looking backward.

The 2017 China-US Inbound Investment Capital Watch report from real estate company Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) put the estimated decline at $7.3 billion in 2017 from $16.2 billion in 2016.

C&W said the slump was largely the result of stricter capital controls and regulations from the mainland. The Chinese government implemented the controls to better "regulate and manage outbound investment flows," David Bitner, Cushman & Wakefield's head of capital market research said in an interview Thursday.

In New York City, always a favored Chinese investment location, volumes were down "particularly in the hospitality and office segments. However, the Chinese office volume pullback was less than the overall market decline," noted Bitner.

"I think Chinese investments are generally refocusing their interests into other types of investments, such as infrastructure (and) R&D (research-and-development) facilities. However, when it comes to commercial real estate, I think the interest will remain as opportunities arise," Selma Hepp, vice-president of business intelligence at real estate brokerage Pacific Union International Inc wrote in an email.

Bitner also expects Chinese investment in US real estate this year to focus on industrial properties, infrastructure and R&D facilities.

He said China's capital controls will continue to be a factor in Chinese outbound investments in 2018. "If you are a company where real estate and property development is your main line of business I think you will have a better chance of getting your foreign investment approved," he said.

Despite the decline in Chinese investment, the US commercial real estate markets weathered the loss of capital well. Because New York and San Francisco receive two-thirds of every Chinese investment dollar according to the report, the effect of the falloff was limited according to Barry Hersh, a real estate professor at New York University.

Hersh said US commercial real estate will continue to lure investment. "There are lots of American investors interested in commercial property. Good projects with good tenants will continue to draw investor interest," he said.

Overall, China fell to third in total foreign investment in American real estate behind Canada (first) and Singapore according to the report. Bitner said other sources of capital stepped in to fill the void. "Capital from Canada, Singapore, Japan and South Korea are coming into the US market," he said.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

The upcoming Boao Forum for Asia annual conference will be a platform for global political and business leaders to share insights on China's economic opening up, the Belt and Road Initiative and fostering innovation, which will be the fundamental drivers for creation of new growth engines for the world economy, experts say.

Since this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, the forum is expected to witness a series of new measures, especially for a further opening of the financial sector, when it is held in South China's island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11.

With a theme of "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity", participants are also expected to discuss key issues related to globalization, the Belt and Road Initiative and innovation.

Xu Hongcai, an economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said forum participants will likely focus on further pushing globalization and avoiding protectionism.

"China's Belt and Road Initiative will be a focus for discussion again this year, as the initiative is China's solution and wisdom for embracing globalization and to generate new growth opportunities for the global economy," Xu said.

Policymakers and experts are also likely to discuss domestic structural reform, as many governments seek solutions to energize domestic economies and create more jobs, he added.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, will visit China from April 9 to 12. She will attend speak at the forum in Boao.

Lagarde will then go to Beijing for a meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative on April 12. The meeting, jointly sponsored by the IMF and the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will be attended by participants from the private sector, government and academia to discuss various aspects of the initiative, according to Gerry Rice, IMF's director of communications.

Yuan Chenglong, CEO of Up Financial Co, said the forum offers "a significant chance to deepen cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises, especially in the new era, when more Chinese financial companies will seek development abroad."

Contact the writers at chenjia@chinadaily.com.cn

On March 31, MHz Networks ended its broadcast and cable distribution - literally terminated - channels such as RT, CGTN, TRT, France 24, Arirang, Telesur, DW-TV and Africa Today TV.

While MHz Networks described it as an economic decision, rather than a political one, the timing coincides with fear-mongering in the US of international news organizations, such as those from Russia, China and the Middle East.

It may well be true that MHz Networks' decision was purely economic, rather than in response to pressure from the Justice Department or Capitol Hill, since some of the channels switched off, such as France 24 and DW-TV, are from US allies.

The rise of international news in the US makes a lot of sense. Major US cable networks, such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, do not cover much international news, unless there is a major crisis.

News about Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, where US invasion or intervention is an ongoing story, is basically absent from the three US cable networks, yet available on international news channels.

It's hard to recall the last time that CNN, MSNBC or Fox News reported on US drone strikes, which have been escalated under US President Donald Trump and caused more civilian deaths.

There was a nearly 50 percent rise in drone attacks in Iraq and Syria, while civilian deaths rose roughly 215 percent, from 2016 to 2017, according to UK-registered Airwars, a watchdog group that monitors military drone strikes.

Such news is only available on international news channels, not on major US TV networks, which are obsessed with covering stories like Stormy Daniels' relationship with Trump.

Besides covering a wide range of global news, international news channels, whether from Russia, China or the Middle East or US allies in Europe, also bring a unique and valuable perspective.

The knowledge average Americans have about the world is worrisome, especially given the status of the US as the world's only superpower. A survey commissioned by the Council on Foreign Relations and National Geographic in 2016 sounded the alarm, as just 29 percent of the 1,203 respondents aged 18 to 26 earned a minimal pass of 66 percent or better correct.

In the survey, only 25 percent knew China had veto power at the United Nations Security Council; 29 percent knew Russia did, 34 percent knew about France, 43 percent about the UK and 51 percent about their own country.

The shuttering of international news channels clearly is not going to help change this situation. And the fact that this happened in Washington, DC, is especially disturbing because the district is the center of US decision making regarding the rest of the world, whether in the executive branch departments or Congress.

With less access to information and views from around the world, it will be harder to get a realistic picture of situations and make informed and intelligent decisions.

It's as if you only watch CNN and MSNBC but not Fox News - or only Fox News but not CNN and MSNBC - you are likely to see only half of the perspectives on US domestic issues.

On global issues, if you only watch US domestic channels and not international news channels, you probably won't be able to see even a quarter of a much more complex picture.

MHz's decision came at a time that some politicians have been increasingly demonizing news media from Russia, China and the Middle East by reviving the vague and outdated Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 targeting government-funded foreign news outlets.

Such a move would only deprive Americans of access to a wealth of valuable information and views from the rest of the world.

Not only this is not a path toward Making America Great Again, it is against the principles of democracy and freedom of the press the US preaches at home and abroad.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com.

Max Horne, or goes by his Chinese name Hong Mingwei, said fluently in Mandarin during his speech at the 13th Chinese Bridge Speech Contest for US High School Students held on Saturday at the Confucius Institute at University of Massachusetts Boston.

"The people of both the US and China can learn so much from each other. Together, let us all work hard to make our vast world not only a smaller, but also full of love." Horne concluded his speech with a round of applause.

The 17-year-old Riverdale Country School junior won the first place of the advanced group for students who have learned Chinese for more than four years. He will be recommended to participate in the Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students in China this winter.

This year, 26 students from 14 states competed in the finals at the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. The annual Chinese Bridge Speech Contest has been bringing American high school students to compete their chinese proficiency since 2007. So far, the program has attracted more than 10,000 students from 140 high schools throughout the US.

In additon to a prepared 3-minute speech on a story related to China or Chinese, contestants also answered up to five questions on stage by judges. Some contestant also gave Chinese cultural performance including Chinese poem recitation, yangko dance, kuaiban (a traditional form of rhythmic storytelling to the accompaniment of bamboo clappers), and martial arts.

"I started being interested in Chinese during my fourth grade. We learned about the Silk Road in history class. Ever since, I though Chinese culture so interesting and is something that I really wanna learn about. I am really happy that I did that." Horne said with a big smile after the competition. He also performed Pearl of the Orient in a Tibetan costume.

"They are talking about such important ideas, like understanding a new culture, struggling with the difficulties of learning a new language, being inspired by staying and visiting China," said Dr. Cheryl Nixon, associate provost at University of Massachusetts Boston."It's amazing not only how fluent they are, but how the stories they tell are deeply meaningful to them."

As more and more people start learning the Chinese language, the need for centers of learning, like the Confucius Institute, are of greater demand. Up until now, there are 525 Confucius Institutes and 1,076 Confucius Classrooms worldwide. Among them, 117 Confucius Institutes and 826 Classrooms are located in the US.

judyzhu@chinadailyusa.com

Anyone who's ever scraped an elbow or a knee knows that getting a bandage to stick on the bendable spot and not peel off is impossible. Band-Aids just aren't that flexible.

Leave it to the engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to look for solutions in the most unexpected places. Cutting slit patterns similar to those used in the ancient Asian paper-folding art of kirigami, they came up with a bandage that keeps a snug hold after 100 bends.

The researchers attached the "kirigami film" to a volunteer's knee and found that each time she bent her knee, the film's slits opened at the center, in the region of the knee with the most pronounced bending, while the slits at the edges remained closed, allowing the film to remain bonded to the skin.

Ruike Zhao, a postdoc in MIT's department of mechanical engineering, said kirigami-patterned adhesives may enable a whole swath of products, from everyday bandages to wearable "soft" electronics.

"Currently in the soft electronics field, people mostly attach devices to regions with small deformations, but not in areas with large deformations such as joint regions, because they would detach," Ruike said. "I think kirigami film is one solution to this problem."

Ruike is the lead author of a paper published this month in the journal Soft Matter. Her co-authors are graduate students Shaoting Lin and Hyunwoo Yuk, along with Xuanhe Zhao, the Noyce Career Development Professor in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering.

In August 2016, Ruike and her colleagues were approached by representatives from a medical supply company in China, who asked the group to develop an improved version of a popular pain-relieving bandage that the company currently manufactures.

"Adhesives like these bandages are very commonly used in our daily life, but when you try to attach them to places that encounter large, inhomogenous (irregular) bending motions, like elbows and knees, they usually detach," Ruike said. "It's a huge problem for the company, which they asked us to solve."

The team considered kirigami. Originally a folk art, kirigami is the practice of cutting intricate patterns into paper and then folding the paper, much like origami, to create elaborate three-dimensional structures.

"In most cases, people make cuts in a structure to make it stretchable," Ruike said. "But we are the first group to find, with a systematic mechanism study, that a kirigami design can improve a material's adhesion."

Depending on the application, Ruike said researchers can use the team's findings as a blueprint to identify the best pattern of cuts for optimal use.

Ruike and her colleagues have filed a patent on their technique and are continuing to collaborate with the medical supply company, which currently has kirigami film medicine patches on its drawing board.

"They make this pain-relieving pad that's pretty popular in China - even my parents use it," Ruike said. "So it's super exciting."

The team is now branching out to explore other materials on which to pattern kirigami cuts.

"The current films are purely elastomers (stretchable plastics)," Ruike said. "We want to change the film material to gels, which can directly diffuse medicine into the skin. That's our next step.

"You can always design other patterns, just like folk art," Ruike said. "There are so many solutions that we can think of. Just follow the mechanical guidance for an optimized design, and you can achieve a lot of things."

Simple as that!

In 2016, China was the third-largest destination for US ethanol exports after Canada and Brazil. In 2017, it was the 11th-largest recipient following its imposition of a 30 percent tariff, according to Bruce Pickover, senior director of global biofuels at S&P Global Platts Analytics.

"As China's gasoline-vehicle fleet has grown, gasoline and ethanol demand has risen sharply, and the government has announced a target to utilize a 10 percent ethanol blend by 2020," Chad Hart, an economics professor at Iowa State University, wrote in an email. "China will reach this blend target with a combination of domestic production from a variety of feedstocks (with corn the majority feedstock) and international trade."

Ethanol is distilled from plant material such as corn and sugar and is typically mixed with gasoline.

"What is more important for the (US) ethanol industry is the potential missed opportunity, given that China's ethanol production and demand for exports will be much greater due to the ethanol mandate," Wendong Zhang,an economics professor at Iowa State University, wrote in an email.

Also, in response to US tariffs on Chinese-made aluminum and steel, China is considering adding another 15 percent to the existing 30 percent tariff on US ethanol.

After importing scant US ethanol for most of 2017, China took in 22 million gallons from the US in December - representing 13 percent of American exports that month - according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) of Washington. "Now in response to recent tariff actions by the US, China is apparently threatening to raise the tariff rate on US ethanol even higher."

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of RFA, said: "China's response was entirely predictable given recent actions by our administration to implement new tariffs. It is my fervent hope that the White House now fully understands the impact these actions will have on America's ethanol industry and farmers."

Hart said other international markets expanded as China's role in the global ethanol market shrank in 2017.

"For the US, Brazil, India, Europe and Singapore purchased more ethanol and made 2017 a record export year for the ethanol industry," he said.

US government data released in February showed that US ethanol exports set a record in 2017, with 1.37 billion gallons shipped, up 17 percent from 2016 and topping the previous record from 2011.

Pickover said if there were a 45 percent tariff, it is doubtful that the US would be able to export much ethanol to China.

"China's objective of using 10 percent ethanol in gasoline by 2020 will be a difficult target to meet," he added.

The 18-year-old student, An Tso Sun, threatened to "shoot up" the Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School on May 1, Upper Darby police said. Sun later said he was joking but was charged with making terroristic threats, they said.

"Sun was found to have a military vest and ammunition at his residence. Kudos to the person who stepped forward and helped to avert a tragedy," Upper Darby Police Department tweeted.

"We have zero tolerance for anyone who threatens to shoot, bomb, or hurt a school. They will be locked up. Period," police tweeted.

Sun moved to the US last August on a five-year student visa to attend Bonner and Prendergast Catholic High School in Drexel Hill.

Police say he told a friend that he was planning to shoot up the school.

Classmate Brian Dunphy noted Sun's behavior during Halloween. "He wore, like, a full military costume. It looked pretty legit," said Dunphy.

"He did have a fascination with guns. People overheard him talking about guns. I guess the right person told, and that's why they took action," Dunphy said.

Police say Sun told a friend not to come to school on May 1 because he was going to shoot up the school, and then he said he was kidding.

Investigators later discovered that Sun used his school iPad to look up guns, like an AK-47 and an AR-15.

Police say that he showed classmates a bullet last month, and a video of him with a flamethrower and a mask.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in a statement that it was was informed of the alleged threat by a student and called police.

"Archdiocesan schools take the safety and security of every student, teacher, and staff member very seriously. Thankfully, no one was harmed. Incidents such as this demonstrate the importance of all members of the school community working together to maintain a safe environment. School families received information about this matter yesterday afternoon," the archdiocese said.

Sun was arrested at the school and arraigned Tuesday night. He also underwent a mental evaluation.

He is currently in Delaware County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 11.

The associations representing wine, nuts and citrus growers have voiced concerns over the potential 15 percent tariffs on the US agricultural commodities, mostly produced in California.

"Growers are always concerned with tariffs placed on their products from any country," said Richard Matoian, executive director of American Pistachio Growers (APG), and would like to see them eliminated.

"There is still an opportunity for no (US) tariff to be implemented, and then China will not have to implement its retaliatory tariffs. So, we are still waiting to see what will actually happen," he said.

"We certainly appreciate all the business we have with our Chinese buyers and consumers and hope this continues into the future," he added.

Despite the current 5 percent tariff on raw pistachios and 10 percent on roasted ones, Matoian said they have had record shipments to China.

In the last shipment year, exports to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong were 140 million pounds, representing 55 percent of total exports - the largest annual amount of pistachios ever shipped to China, according to the APG.

California's $5 billion almond industry also depends on exports despite strong domestic demand. Approximately two-thirds of the almonds produced in California go to the export market, and China is one of the top buyers.

China also has been a growing market for California's $3.3 billion citrus industry. China is the state's third-largest buyer of fresh citrus (mainly oranges and lemons) next to Canada and South Korea, according to California Citrus Mutual.

Fresh fruit, dried fruit and nut products, wine, American ginseng and other products are included in the first phase of China's tariff plan.

The second phase covers products including pork, pork products and aluminum scrap. If no agreement can be reached between Washington and Beijing, the two-phase plan will target approximately $3 billion worth of US products.

"China's decision to put products like wine in the first group of commodities subject to tariffs, leaving other commodities like pork in a second group, is an interesting strategy," said Larry Karp, professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

"If China wanted to inflict pain on Trump's base, you'd think that China would target pork before wine," he said. The Chinese perhaps recognize that political mobilization within the US against Trump's trade policy will take some time, he added.

"The Chinese might think that the threat of pork and soybean tariffs is more valuable to them, compared to the actual imposition of the tariffs. Once the tariffs have been imposed, it will be politically costly for both China and the US to reverse them," Karp explained.

He also noted that the immediate effect of Chinese tariffs on US wine producers is probably modest, but the US wine industry might nevertheless be quite concerned about the long-run effect of such tariffs, arising from diminished access in the future.

China is the fastest-growing market for US wines, nearly 90 percent of which are produced in California. The number of imported-wine consumers in China increased 2.5 times in the past five years, according to the California Wine Institute.

California wines are already at a disadvantage in terms of tariffs in the Chinese market since the competitors, like Chile and Australia, enjoy a free-trade agreement with China, said Pat Patrick, president and CEO of Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

"The two countries should try to get to some sort of a reciprocal arrangement. It's best for both countries to find a balance and to work towards it," he said.

Counterfeit drugs have long been disrupting the Chinese medicine market, especially over-the-counter products and health supplements that are the easiest to forge.

Viagra, the world's first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, is cited as an example. Last September, police in Nanjing captured a criminal group that specialized in making fake Viagra.

Pfizer China said Viagra, one of its pillar products, was put on Alibaba's Ali Health Reliable Code platform to enhance drug safety and prevent potential drug forgeries, before the country's Consumer Rights Day of March 15.

Through the platform, every Viagra pill a consumer purchases can be traced by scanning the code on the tablet. It means that from now on, consumers of Viagra can instantly tell if a pill is authentic.

"The development of the internet has offered a loophole for counterfeit drugs, it worries internet users about the authenticity of the drugs they buy," said Ren Xiaoxiu, director of Pfizer China's national retail business. "Many markets in the world, including China, have seen a rising number of counterfeit medicines that can severely damage male consumers' health."

Ren said even though the public's awareness of the dangers of fake drugs is rising, there are few ways to prevent it.

In an effort to tackle counterfeit drugs, Ali Health developed an open, market-oriented third-party retrospective platform based on e-code's "Reliable Code" in 2016.

"The platform is compatible with the traceability standards of China's Product Quality Electronic Regulatory Network and China's Drug Electronic Regulatory Network, which provide data storage management services of the National Drug Electronic Regulatory Code to a large number of pharmaceutical companies," said Wang Peiyu, vice-president of Ali Health.

"The launch of Viagra on this platform also marks another instance of in-depth cooperation between Pfizer China and Ali Health and helps consumers easily identify the authenticity of drugs through simple steps," he said.

Jiang Hui, director of the Andrology Department at Peking University Third Hospital Reproductive Center, warned that currently there were large numbers of fake products being circulated in the men's health market.

"Patients who buy counterfeit medicines from dodgy shops or non-official vendors can face the potential threat of serious health issues," he said.

Jiang reminded consumers that counterfeit drugs are most likely made in environments that are far from being qualified drug factories.

"The materials they use probably couldn't pass safety standards tests. The hazards include cardiovascular disease and others," he said.

He encouraged consumers to not only use the Reliable Code to check the authenticity of the drug, but to also buy from a legitimate vendor.

"The cooperation is only a pilot program between Pfizer China and Ali Health," said Ren. "With the rich experience Pfizer has gained over the years developing drugs for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, anti-infection, central nervous system diseases, cancer, urinary and other fields, we hope we can convey the basic knowledge toward different diseases through plain language."

Ren said they wanted to raise awareness of diseases and standardize medicine's authenticity verification process via the Reliable Code.

US President Donald Trump, after imposing tariffs on imported steel (25 percent) and aluminum (10 percent) on March 8, signed a memorandum last Thursday that would impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imported Chinese goods.

In response, China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday released a list of 128 US goods that it would impose duties on, barring an agreement between the two countries. That would potentially include a 15 percent duty on ginseng.

"I don't see the benefit in tariffs. We are just a little industry here that would get roped into the whole thing," said Jim Schumacher, 47, a ginseng farmer. "Any time you add a 15 percent duty or tariff, that is definitely concerning - even if you have the highest-quality ginseng. You aren't price-competitive then."

The Schumacher family's 60-year-old company - Schumacher Ginseng LLC - is in Marathon County, Wisconsin, where the majority of the state's ginseng is grown.

The company produces American ginseng - known by the scientific name Panax quinquefolius - and distributes it as roots, tea, capsules and other products at home and abroad.

China is the most important market for Wisconsin ginseng - in 2017, more than 85 percent of the state's yield was exported to China or brought into China as gifts, according to the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization representing all Wisconsin ginseng growers.

The exports to China are worth $30 million a year to Wisconsin's growers. There are approximately 180 ginseng farmers in Wisconsin, and the state's American ginseng is considered the highest quality in the world, according to the board.

The ginseng board also is concerned that China might find other markets.

"This (15 percent) duty could be detrimental to our industry, as many Chinese distributors have expressed concern that they may have to shift purchases to Canadian ginseng," the board said in a statement.

Canada is the largest producer of American ginseng in the world. The majority of production is in Ontario and in British Columbia.

Board President Robert Kaldunski, 56, who said he has grown ginseng for 36 years, was in China last week meeting with new potential distributors when news broke of China's retaliatory measures.

He said a consultant for the group told him Chinese consumers were talking about cutting back on or not purchasing Wisconsin ginseng because they felt their country was being punished by US tariffs.

"We would lose well beyond 15 percent (in revenue) because the marketplace would be quieter. We don't have margins that can absorb that kind of loss."

He said the board is pushing US representatives from the state -including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator Ron Johnson, as well as state representatives, to negotiate.

Joe Heyl, 47, who owns Heyl Ginseng, said he exports the majority of his ginseng - 100,000 pounds - to the Chinese mainland annually, shipments worth about $4 million, in addition to selling 25,000 to 50,000 pounds domestically. He also exports to Taiwan, Singapore and Japan.

Heyl said he agrees with Trump's goal to reduce the US trade deficit with China, saying that the Chinese charge a 30 percent tax on ginseng imports, while the US allows Chinese ginseng into the US free.

Heyl said he agrees with fair trade "on a controlled level. I think we should negotiate and say to the Chinese, 'You're charging us 30 percent for our product coming in, we're charging you nothing. Do you really think it's fair to put more tax on us?'"

Schumacher believes China will not levy the tariffs, and that the two sides will negotiate a deal.

"You can look at what happened in Europe. The US negotiated with them (on steel and aluminum), and the US Treasury Secretary (Steven Mnuchin) is in negotiations with China already," he said.

On Sunday, Mnuchin said on Fox News he was hopeful that the US and China could avert a trade war.

In a statement Monday, the ginseng board said it was "hopeful that the US and Chinese governments can come to an agreement that will eliminate the proposed duty or lessen the impact on the Wisconsin ginseng industry".

Schumacher said his company sells about 70 percent of its ginseng domestically. About 95 percent of the company's customers are Chinese-Americans, who commonly bring ginseng as gifts to the Chinese mainland. The company also ships to China as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Canada.

The US produces 900,000 to 1 million pounds per year, according to Kaldunski. Canada's output is four or five times that amount, and China produces well above 5 million pounds, he said.

Robert Shiller, Christopher Pissarides and Joseph Stiglitz made their comments in interviews with CNBC over the weekend at the China Development Forum in Beijing.

"The immediate thing will be an economic crisis because these enterprises are built on long-term planning - they've developed a skilled workforce and ways of doing things. We have to rediscover these things in whatever country after the imports are cut off," said Shiller, a Yale economist who was awarded the Nobel in 2013.

He described recent statements from US President Donald Trump as those of "a showman" who "obviously relishes" celebrity, noting that the recent escalation in trade rhetoric could reflect the proximity of US midterm elections in November this year.

"He's been president for a year - it's about time he does something that gets people's excitement going," Shiller said.

Pissarides, who was awarded a Nobel in 2010, is a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said Trump was having a "knee-jerk reaction" to certain groups of Americans who did not benefit from the past several decades of open trade.

He said a trade war between the US and China would ultimately hurt the very people Trump says he's aiming to protect.

"There are losers from (open trade), and as long as governments deal with the losers, so that they don't feel left out, then everyone can benefit," Pissarides said.

"What the United States has failed to do in the past was to deal with the loser. Standards of living have fallen for certain groups of the population at the same time as the economy was growing," he said.

As a candidate, Trump promised to renegotiate or eradicate bad trade deals between the United States and its trading partners and pledged to hit back at China for what he said was its lopsided trade policies.

Trump promised to revive the US manufacturing industry and recreate jobs that had been lost in the past several decades, and Pissarides said Trump's imposing tariffs was likely entirely engineered as an appeal to his base.

"The only way to avoid the trade war and make life better for everyone, at least create conditions under which it can be made better, is for Trump to back down on that, but he has never backed down on anything," Pissarides said.

"Once he decided to do something, he's pushing, and if any adviser is telling him, 'It's not a good idea, Mr. President,' then he fires them. So, what can you do?" Pissarides added.

Joseph Stiglitz, who was awarded the Nobel in 2001 and is at Columbia University, warned that China's leaders are likely prepared to initiate tariffs based on "a very good economic map with which they will target certain places in the United States where the pain will be maximized".

An escalating trade war, he said, could have political ramifications for Trump - especially if trade partners' retaliations hit the president's base.

"If there is a broad-range increase in tariffs, it would affect their cost of living, the inflation would lead the Fed to raise interest rates at a higher rate, it would certainly impose a risk to the return to robust economic growth," Stiglitz said. "This may be the one thing that actually does change this group of people who seem to have stuck with him even as he demonstrated bigotry, misogyny, support of people who [have a] Nazi background."

"They stood with him so far. The question is: When their pocketbook gets hit, will they still?"

The US media's "flawed assumption" has contributed to such confusion, according to a senior China expert in Washington. There have been many such reports in recent weeks following two US lawmakers' letters urging a handful of schools to sever ties with the Confucius Institute. The lawmakers and media outlets have accused the programs of being a tool to expand the "political influence of China" and distort US academic discourse.

"There's a lot of assumptions and innuendo I find in the reporting," said David Shambaugh, director of China Policy Program at George Washington University. "One assumption is that a Confucius Institute somehow affects the curriculum of Chinese studies the way China is taught on campus. Absolutely wrong," the political science professor said.

Shambaugh made the remarks at a discussion at the Brookings Institution early this month. He said he has followed the Confucius Institute closely since one was set up on George Washington University in 2013. "There's a complete firewall between Confucius Institutes that teach language and ... - the rest of the faculty and the curriculum on every university campus, not just at GW, across the country," he said. "So they have no impact on how Chinese studies are taught, so that's a flawed assumption that a lot of journalists leap to. They tend to take a couple of anecdotal cases and string it together and say here's a case."

US Congressman Rick Larsen said: "Confucius Institutes aren't what they are cracked up to be." They are trying to influence decisions and they "aren't as open-minded as what you ought to find in US academia".

Before Larsen, US Senator Marco Rubio urged schools in his state of Florida to close their Confucius Institutes last month. And Seth Moulton, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts, sent a letter to Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, in his state early this month, urging them to disassociate with the institute's programs.

But Shambaugh said: "I'm of a different view than Congressman Larsen. I see them as quite benign and devoted to their primary mission of teaching language and cultural studies while at least speaking, whether it's film, cooking, tai chi, whatever, I thus far don't see evidence that they are being politicized."

There were 110 Confucius Institutes and 519 Confucius Classrooms across the US at the end of last year, according to statistics from the Confucius Institute US Center in Washington. Shambaugh suggested that transparency be increased, especially by making Confucius Institute contracts available to campus officials.

Patrick Collins, a Tufts University spokesman, said the university does not anticipate any changes in its relationship with the Confucius Institute, which opened in 2015, as it has made "valuable learning and cultural contributions to the university", The Boston Globe reported.

As to the five schools that have received a letter from Senator Marco Rubio, the universities of North Florida and South Florida, and Miami Dade College have reportedly said they would continue the Confucius Institute operation, saying the program doesn't engage in political or religious activities.

The University of West Florida decided last fall not to renew its Confucius Institute agreement when it expires in May,

Hopefully, the assertion of most of the universities that they would continue with the program and Shambaugh's comment are enough to prove the accusations against the Confucius Institutes are baseless.

"So we're going to get it taken care of. And, frankly, it's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation," Trump said, lamenting what he claimed was an $800 billion US trade deficit with the world and $375 billion to $500 billion with China.

If Trump, a real estate businessman, could be forgiven for misunderstanding trade deficits, it is unbelievable when US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer also highlighted trade deficits in hearings before the Senate and House last week.

The same rhetoric was used by Secretary of Treasury Stephen Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trump's assistant Peter Navarro, the so-called economic and trade experts.

Their views on trade deficits have been rebuked by every US economist I have interviewed and read. In fact I have yet to find one economist who agrees with them.

That is probably why Mark Perry, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, wrote last week that the first economic lesson that Larry Kudlow, the new director of White House National Economic Council, should deliver to Trump is that overall US trade deficits are "Made in the USA", not by "unfair" foreign trade practices.

Perry explained that the trade deficit is equal to the excess of private sector investment over savings, plus the excess of government spending over tax revenue.

"The US trade deficit is therefore just the mirror image of what is happening in the US domestic economy. If expenditures in the US exceed the incomes produced in the US, which they do, the excess expenditures will be met by an excess of imports over exports (read: a trade deficit)," he wrote.

In Perry's view, Trump's imposition of anti-China tariffs will not alter the overall US trade deficit. "Indeed, if China is forced to reduce its bilateral trade surplus with the US, then others will supply what the US consumers and investors demand," he wrote.

He said the only effective way for Trump to cut overall trade deficits would be for him to reduce the US fiscal deficit. "But ironically, President Trump's policies are projected to increase the fiscal deficit, which will result in a larger trade deficit," he said, clearly referring to Trump's tax cut and fiscal deficit plans.

Robert Lawrence, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor at Harvard University, also wrote this month on why Trump's focus on trade deficits is misleading.

He listed five misconceptions: trade deficits are bad; trade balances reflect trade policies; trade deficits always lead to job loss and slower growth; trade performance is the most important reason for the long-run decline in US employment in manufacturing; and bilateral trade between countries should be balanced.

Lawrence also argued that over the long run, trade policies are not the most important cause of fluctuations in the trade balance; changes in the determinants of national saving and investment are.

"Moreover, the state of a nation's trade balance per se tells us very little about the health of its economy. Trying to achieve balanced trade (or surpluses) with individual trading partners will only generate distortions and constrain the diversity of goods for purchase while raising prices, with little or no benefit to national welfare," he wrote.

The trade deficit figure cited by Trump is also misleading. For example, China contributed only about $10 in the manufacturing of an iPhone, but its total value, much of it contributed by the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea, is calculated as imports from China. Using Trump's words, it's "transshipment" of trade imbalance to the US via China.

Trump and his team have clearly been exploiting the public illiteracy on the issue, partly because US news media have not pointed out the fallacy each and every time Trump blames other nations for US trade deficits.

The protests were the result of a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida last month in which 17 people were killed. A former student at the school was charged in the massacre.

In New York, as many as 175,000 people from newborn babies to grandparents were in the crowd that went from Central Park West to Midtown.

Led by a group of blue-clad drummers, advocates carried signs says with expressions such as: "No more silence. End gun violence." "Our schools are not cemeteries."

"The adults failed us, and now 17 people are dead," Meghan Bonner, a student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida told the crowd at West 61st Street and Central Park West, accompanied by classmate Sam Hendler.

Hendler read the names of the victims and asked the crowd to honor them with a moment of silence.

"I want to see change," Bonner said. She wept as she recalled the day of the shooting on Feb 14 that was the impetus for a nationwide outcry by student activists.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio were among the Democratic Party politicians who joined the march.

"I'm out here today because we need common sense gun control," said Susan Gold, a mother of an elementary school child. "And I'm terrified every day about what will happen on campus when he goes to school; it's ridiculous - 2018, we should not be afraid of sending our children to schools."

"We are high school students in Long Island, and we came here to march for gun control and safety for all," said Dylan, a high school student who marched with her classmates. "When the incident happened in Parkland, it was very scary for us because our school is very like that."

Co-organized by Ballard High School student Emilia Allard, the Seattle March For Our Lives event attracted thousands of students, parents and other concerned citizens calling for gun reform. The march kicked off at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill.

"In the Constitution, it says we have the right to a well-regulated militia; it just does not mean a teenager who can't even buy an alcohol beverage is able to walk in any gun shop and buy a gun that can fire 10 rounds a second," said Lucy Keegan, a ninth grader from The Center School in Seattle. "There is no reason why you should need that gun in this country."

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, adopted in 1791, states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Some supporters of the amendment argue it means that anyone has the right to arms, while some opponents say it was referring to the army, as the US was eight years removed from the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.

More than 25,000 people joined the march at the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza.

"Young people around this country are standing up to make sure the grown-ups in DC are listening to their voices, said London Breed, San Francisco Board of Supervisors president.

Lucas Hackett-Provenzano, 17, from Redwood City, California, said, "I hope once we can vote, we can vote out the politicians and change the gun laws."

About 15,000 people packed the Tranquility Park in downtown Houston. Mayor Sylvester Turner, US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo were in attendance.

Garrison Martin, a seventh grader at Presbyterian School, was selling T-shirts he designed with a "Never Again" message.

"I think it's messed up how they try to protect guns, not children. Children are getting injured and dying in school. It's scary to me. I don't want to have to worry about it when I go to school," said Martin, who will donate his sales proceeds to support children injured in the Florida shooting.

A few gun-rights supporters bearing rifles stationed themselves at a corner across Tranquility Park.

One of them, who identified himself as Carl, said that he does not like the National Rifle Association but considers owning a gun an inherent right of self-defense, similar to property rights.

"We are entitled to owning a gun as long as we are responsible," he said.

May Zhou in Houston, Michelle Cen in San Francisco and Linda Deng in Seattle contributed to this story.

"There are no reasons to have those weapons for civilians," the Maryland resident said while attending the March for Our Lives rally in Washington on Saturday. "You don't need a 50-round magazine to protect yourself or to hunt. A lot of gun advocates said that it's not guns, it's crazy people. But it's guns and crazy people."

Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student who confessed to the slayings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was armed with an AR-15 when he entered the school on Feb 14.

Walker said he was heartbroken about the loss of life but was encouraged by what he sees as a changing tide across the nation.

"I think the rally has a great turnout, and the message is very important," he said.

An estimated 200,000 people attended the rally in Washington, according to cbsnews.com.

About 800 "sibling protests" took place on the same day worldwide, with major rallies in New York, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Stephanie Ford of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, said a co-worker's daughter was at the Parkland school that day but got out safely.

"I feel terrible," Ford said. "Gun violence everywhere is devastating. To me personally, the devastation came from Parkland."

Ford volunteered at the rally to provide guidance for protesters, accompanied by Sheri Franklin, who is a media director at a local ad agency and had previously helped with petition sign-up to support gun regulations.

"I hope to see more gun regulations actually enacted, not debated, but enacted," Franklin said. "I am happy to see so many people coming out. All ages are working together very positively and very energized to make things happen."

Student survivors of the Parkland massacre took the lead in organizing the march.

"Just the amount of people that came out here is really cool," said Grace Williams, a high school student from Arizona who traveled to the US capital with her 9-year-old cousin for the rally. She also participated in a national school walkout day on March 14 in Arizona.

Williams said a few of her friends at school have experienced gun violence.

"It is so important that people came out here," she said.

Many of the protesters called for a ban on all assault weapons, universal background checks for gun purchases, a higher age at which one may buy a gun, and a longer waiting period for purchases.

Most agreed that raising the age limit to buy a gun to at least 21 made sense.

Many also criticized the National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun rights national advocacy organization.

Joan and Tommy Frye, a retired couple who were federal employees at the National Science Foundation, spoke explicitly of their anger at the NRA. Joan Frye said her nephew was a victim of gun violence.

The couple expressed their hope for the nation's young people and said they were looking forward to them voting.

Yian Ke in Washington contributed to this story.

Using her personal savings in 2002, Ye began the American New Line Express Corp, or ANL, specializing in air-freight delivery from North America to China. From a New York base, ANL now provides service from the continental US states to just about all locations in China.

In 2015 ANL shipped more than 96,000 packages to China and last year it was more than 320,000 to the Chinese mainland. Guangdong province was the top destination in 2017, followed by Fujian province and Shanghai.

ANL is releasing its shipping statistics because "we want to show the buying power from China and also show a measure of the demand for US goods from China", Ye said in an interview on March 23.

"I hope the tariffs will not become a factor as the two countries need each other. I hope a business like mine can continue to touch everyone's personal life," she said.

Ye got the idea for ANL because US shipping giants UPS (United Parcel Service) and FedEx focused on commercial or business-to-business shipping. "I saw a need for more personal shipping, especially for small businesses and individuals," said Ye.

ANL just transports packages from the US to China. Dave Lee, the COO and CFO of ANL, said the company is designed for individuals and businesses in smaller and rural parts of the US.

"They don't have access to a large transportation infrastructure like they would if they lived in New York or San Francisco," Lee said. Businesses in rural areas of the US can ship their goods through a third party like ANL to a small town in Anhui province as easy as sending it to Beijing, he added.

Ye said the majority of its customers in the US are Chinese, so an increasing number of students seeking an education in the US and immigrants moving to America are good for her business.

"Our busiest time of the year is the New Year celebration," said Ye.. "The Chinese culture calls for strong family ties so people have to ship gifts back to China."

Lee said ANL's best growth prospects will come from increases in business to consumer shipping. "In the past, most of our business was from c to c (consumer to consumer)," he said.

They were there to support Wanda Studios' spectacular Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis complex, which is expected to open this August.

Wang Jianlin, the billionaire chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, spoke about the "Hollywood East" facility, which will include a 10,000-square-meter film studio.

Fast forward nearly five years, and Weinstein's company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, collapsing under the weight of lurid claims of sexual assault and harassment against him. He has denied any accusations of nonconsensual sex.

The curtain is coming down on the company co-founded by Weinstein and his brother Bob, and now it's time to see how much its creditors, including one Wanda Pictures, get paid.

Lantern Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm, plans to buy the movie-production company's assets for $310 million in cash, which requires The Weinstein Co to sell its film and television studios.

After Harvey Weinstein was fired in October, sexual allegations sprung up around the world, prompting police in the US and UK to start investigations. The women's #metoo movement and Time's Up campaigns also emerged, as more accusations of sexual harassment by men in Hollywood, entertainment and the media flowed forth.

In its bankruptcy filing on Monday under Section 363 of the US Bankruptcy Code, The Weinstein Co listed both assets and liabilities of between $500 million and $1 billion. Top secured creditors include Union Bank and Bank of America, who are owed $156 million.

One of the unsecured creditors is Wanda Pictures, which lent $14.4 million, according to the filing made in Delaware. An unsecured creditor is an individual or institution that lends money without getting specific assets as collateral.

In February 2017, Wanda took an equity stake in The Weinstein Co film Lion for distribution in China. Wanda and TWC previously collaborated on Antoine Fuqua's Southpaw in 2014.

Chances are that collaboration would not have continued even if the Weinstein scandal hadn't occurred.

Dalian Wanda Group sold most of its hotel and theme-park assets for more than $9 billion last year amid tighter Chinese government scrutiny on risky financing and overseas investment.

The company has canceled foreign investment plans after its high-profile acquisitions of overseas entertainment and sports assets drew regulatory attention in China.

Founded by the Weinstein brothers in 2005, the New York-based company produced back-to-back Academy Award-winners for Best Picture in 2010 (The King's Speech) and 2011 (The Artist), and its films have won 28 Oscars.

The Weinstein Co owns a 277-film library and its TV unit owns the rights to series such as Project Runway.

Any cash from the asset sale will go to its 200-plus creditors, in addition to the payment of wages, litigation claims and legal fees. Other unsecured creditors include marketing company Palisades Media ($13.7 million), David Boies' law firm Boies, Schiller and Flexner ($5.7 million), Viacom ($5.6 million) and Sony Pictures Entertainment ($3.7 million).

Bloomberg contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

"I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor," Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon.

"I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9."

The announcement followed his firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson through Twitter a little more than a week ago, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the current chief of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Bolton will be Trump's third national security adviser since the president took office 14 months ago. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was dismissed after less than a month.

The moves show Trump is surrounding himself with advisers more likely to agree with his views and taking his foreign policy in a more hawkish direction, Reuters reported.

Bolton has been widely considered a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. Trump's new pick is "injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into his administration ahead of key decisions on Iran and North Korea", The Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Bolton's appointment has drawn concerns from some on the Capitol Hill and beyond.

"With the appointments of Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, @realDonaldTrump is successfully lining up his war cabinet," Democratic Senator Edward Markey tweeted on Thursday.

"Bolton played a key role in politicizing the intel that misled us into the Iraq War. We cannot let this extreme war hawk blunder us into another terrible conflict," he said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

On Monday, three retail associations - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) - sent a letter to the president expressing concerns about the impact on US consumers should China retaliate against the tariffs.

Indeed, Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, said on Thursday that China will respond in kind.

"Let me assure those people who intend to fight a trade war. We will certainly fight back. We will retaliate," Cui said in a video on the Chinese embassy's Facebook page. "If people want to play tough, we will play tough with them and see who will last longer."

The US Chamber of Commerce also opposed the tariffs in a statement last week. Before Thursday's announcement, China Daily spoke to some customers of retail stores in the Washington area.

Major US retail stores such as Macy's, Target, Walmart and Best Buy are concerned about the impact the tariffs could have on their bottom lines, said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of American Apparel & Footwear Association.

The tariffs also could affect American working families as a hidden tax, he said.

The current trade environment between the US and China already has had an impact. On Thursday, Best Buy, the largest electronics retailer in the US, announced that it no longer would sell smartphones from China's Huawei.

Huawei, the third-largest smartphone vendor in the world behind Apple and Samsung, also had been expected to announce a partnership with AT&T in January at CES to sell its Mate 10 Pro phone, but the carrier reportedly backed out because of US political pressure, cnet.com reported.

Jose Ferman, a Macy's furniture sales representative, said that most of the items in the home section of his store are made in China.

"Everything is made in China, even a plastic cup," Ferman said. If you make it more expensive (through tariffs), then all of our things will be too expensive.."

Dianne, who asked to be identified only by her first name, is a retired teacher who said she likes to shop at Macy's.

"I am personally against it," she said in regard to the tariffs, "because I think we should have open trade. I think in the long run the tariffs will do more harm to the US economy."

Another man said that people from his region could benefit from a tariff on imported steel, given that many had lost their jobs in steel mills.

"Initially, it's good," he said, but wondered whether it would be beneficial to the national economy in the long run.

"I don't know the dynamics of the trade war. I heard him (Trump) saying it's good, but I don't see how it is good," for tourists visiting Washington, said Dexter Morse, manager of the Washington Welcome Center, which sells souvenirs.

Morse said that at least 80 percent of the store's products were made in China, including t-shirts, mugs, caps and pens.

Yian Ke and Guo Fengqing in Washington and Heng Weili in New York contributed to this story.

Business leaders in the Bay Area gathered on Wednesday to raise their voices and articulate a clear message to the Trump administration: adding trade friction to the bilateral relationship between the US and China won't help either one grow; the two sides should engage in conversation instead of confrontation.

At a reception jointly sponsored by the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, the Asia Society and ChinaSF at the residence of Luo Linquan, China's consul general in San Francisco, around 100 representatives from US companies, think tanks and research organizations voiced their concerns over Trump initiating a trade war with China.

The US' most important foreign relationship right now is with China, Thilo Hanemann, research director at the Rhodium Group, said at a panel discussion at the reception. To alleviate tensions, the world's two largest economies need to strengthen communication, he added.

Total trade volume between China and the US reached $580 billion last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce, which called the two countries highly complementary, as China is the biggest trading partner of the US.

China's top leaders have reiterated the nation's willingness and commitment to open even wider its door for imports and foreign investment, said Luo, adding that Premier Li Keqiang announced at the recent annual session of the 13th National People's Congress that China will fully open the manufacturing sector to international competitors and cut tariffs on imported goods, including cancer drugs.

"The mandatory requirement for tech transfer will be removed, and the government vows to better protect intellectual property," Luo said.

Xia Diya, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Commerce, was in San Francisco on an international road-show to promote the first of its kind China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.

Holding the CIIE demonstrates China's commitment to further opening up, said Xia. "No other country has ever, like China, invited other countries to join the process of development. This signifies our commitment to welcoming foreign trade."

Meanwhile, China will treat all businesses equally, ease market access for all and protect the rights and interests of all business partners, said Yang Yihang, commercial counselor at the consulate general.

Sean O'Hollaren, senior vice-president of the sports gear manufacturer Nike, which is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, said his state is "very trade-dependent", exporting agriculture products, electronics components and spirits and wines to the outside world.

China has been Oregon's biggest trader partner. The state exports about $6 billion worth of commodities and goods and helps create over 20,000 jobs in its trade with China.

For Nike, a multinational brand valued at $29.6 billion in 2017, China has been a great partner since China opened up, said O'Hollaren.

"It's a unique market for us because it's a consumer market and it's also a manufacturing market. We have now 6,000 employees in China and 60,000 stores in China," he said, adding business volume in China is about $4 billion plus an additional $4 billion in export of products outside of China.

"When we grow in China, we also grow in the US. We are US multinational. We add jobs here to facilitate growth in China," he said, adding that trade friction was not a zero-sum game.

"When China prospers it does not mean the US loses. That's not how it works. And adding trade friction to our trade relationship does not help either of us grow," he added.

O'Hollaren called on companies that have relationships or business operations in both the US and China to join hands to let the Trump administration understand that "this is a global conversation, not simply bilateral, and it affects everyone."

On Thursday, Trump signed a memorandum that imposes as much as $60 billion in broad tariffs on Chinese goods and targets China's so-called economic aggression following a Section 301 investigation regarding China's intellectual property policies and practices.

In response, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said China doesn't want a trade war with the US or with anybody else, but China is not afraid of one.

"If somebody tries to impose a trade war upon us, we will fight. We will do whatever we can to defend the legitimate interests. We will also do whatever we can to safeguard the open global trading system," he said in a video posted on the embassy's Facebook account.

When the US reacts, it's like physics - for every action, there is equal and opposite reaction, said O'Hollaren. "We know that does not ultimately help consumers."

junechang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 03/23/2018 page2)

"While the ambassador is obviously concerned about possible retaliation against soybeans, we didn't get any sense of panic," Lindsay Greiner, ISA president-elect, said in a telephone interview from Wuhan with China Daily in New York. "That put me a little bit more at ease knowing he feels there is going to be a dialogue and things will get talked out and resolved to benefit both countries."

The Iowa delegation met with Branstad on Monday. It included ISA President Bill Shipley, Grant Kimberley, ISA director of market development, and Greiner. In 2012, when President Xi Jinping was vice-president, he visited Kimberley's farm with Branstad on his get-to-know-you tour of America as an emerging world leader.

"He (Branstad) and everyone else over here in China understands that a trade war would be very disruptive not only to China and the US - but to the world," said ISA CEO Kirk Leeds.

The US was the No. 2 supplier of soybeans to China in 2017, with Brazil No. 1. US soybean exports to China totaled 1.3 billion bushels in 2017, valued at $12.4 billion. Nearly one of every four rows of soybeans grown in Iowa goes to China, according to the ISA.

Leeds said that Branstad is doing well, despite being under stress from trade issues and issues related to North Korea.

"Having known him for 30 years, he looks good, as energized as ever," Leeds said. "The embassy staff said they've never seen anyone work harder than Branstad, and that sounds kind of what we heard when he was governor as well."

The Iowa delegation discussed the size, availability and quality of the state's soybean crop in a meeting with representatives of China-based processors and feed plants in Beijing, Wuhan, Zhanjiang and Shenzhen.

"They (representatives) have been pretty satisfied with quality," Leeds said. "We asked them their thoughts on the outlook for growth, relating particularly to livestock. There is still a lot of optimism about the growth that we'll continue to see in China, He added: "Lots depends on prices and availability, but certainly they (China) will continue to buy US soybeans. They (reps) remained very optimistic."

On March 16, the state-owned China Communications Construction Co Ltd. (CCCC) began construction of a port in Brazil to export agriculture products including soybeans to China.

"China has been investing in infrastructure in South America for a while," Leeds said. "So, from our perspective, we don't think that's news - just additional competition. Brazil and Argentina still have a long way to go, but these investments are certainly closing the gap on their ability to compete with the US."

aaronhagstrom@chinadailyusa.com

Legislation that encourages visits between officials of the United States and Taiwan at all levels is likely to adversely impact China-US relations, a US professor of political science has said.

US President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act on Friday, a move over which China has lodged stern representations with the US, saying that it sends a "gravely wrong signal" to "Taiwan independent" separatists.

"It's a mistake," said Jon Taylor, professor of political science at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. "President Trump should note that the fundamental reality of cross-Straits relations has not changed since 1979."

"This legislation has the potential to do damage to China-US relations. It is unnecessarily provocative," Taylor, who has written extensively about China, said in an email on Tuesday.

Taylor noted the fact that the legislation was passed by unanimous consent in both houses is "of real concern".

On Tuesday, at the closing meeting the annual legislative session, Chinese President Xi Jinping said any actions or tricks to split China are certain to meet with the people's condemnation and punishment by history.

Xi also said that it is a shared aspiration of all Chinese people to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and realize China's complete reunification.

"These two statements should give pause to those who think that China will ever compromise on Taiwan-related issues," Taylor said.

The US-Taiwan relationship has been kept at the unofficial level since 1979, when the US and China established diplomatic ties. The arrangement has helped to maintain normal relations between China and the US for nearly 40 years, he said.

The new legislation is going to "adversely impact" China-US relations because it allows US and Taiwanese officials at all levels to visit each other, the professor said.

"For those who think that the Taiwan Travel Act is a mere domestic bill impacting only the US, I would note that they are deceiving themselves and others," he said.

The bill will likely impact cross-Straits relations in a negative manner - particularly in areas such as cultural and education exchanges, travel, and investment, he said.

Still, Premier Li Keqiang said the mainland always works to ensure that people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as mainlanders when they come to work, study and live on the mainland.

Speaking at a press conference after the conclusion of the annual legislative session on Tuesday, the premier vowed to promote peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and oppose any attempt for "Taiwan independence".

Gordon Houlden, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, Canada, said that although it is difficult to foresee the effect of the act, "There is a risk that it will contaminate other dimensions of the US-China relationship."

Asked about how the bill would affect China-US ties, Christopher K. Johnson, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, said, "I doubt it will fundamentally alter the way the US approaches the relationship."

Johnson, who holds the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, added, "Obviously, it does change the sort of tone of things."

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data and if it fails, "we don't deserve to serve you".

But Zuckerberg stopped short of apologizing.

And he wrote "what happened" instead of "what we did", leaving Facebook one step removed from responsibility.

Richard Levick, chairman of the crisis-management firm Levick, gave Zuckerberg's response a "B-" grade, in part because of how late it came.

Zuckerberg and Facebook's No. 2 executive, Sheryl Sandberg, had been quiet since news broke Friday that Cambridge Analytica may have used data improperly obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to sway elections. Cambridge's clients included Trump's general-election campaign.

Facebook shares have dropped some 8 percent, lopping about $46 billion off the company's market value, since the revelations were first published.

Even before the scandal broke, Facebook had already taken the most important steps to prevent a recurrence, Zuckerberg said. For example, in 2014, it reduced access outside apps had to user data. However, some of the measures didn't take effect until a year later, allowing Cambridge to access the data in the intervening months.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Zuckerberg said it will ban developers who don't agree to an audit. An app's developer will no longer have access to data from people who haven't used that app in three months. Data also will be generally limited to user names, profile photos and email, unless the developer signs a contract with Facebook and gets user approval.

Facebook said it will inform people whose data was misused by apps. Facebook first learned of this breach of privacy more than two years ago, but hadn't mentioned it publicly until Friday.

The company said it was "building a way" for people to know if their data was accessed by "This Is Your Digital Life", the psychological-profiling quiz app that researcher Aleksandr Kogan created and paid about 270,000 people to take part in. Cambridge Analytica later obtained information from the app for about 50 million Facebook users, as the app also vacuumed up data on people's friends - including those who never downloaded the app or gave explicit consent.

- Associated Press

Featuring tourism displays from several Chinese provinces, a unique kungfu performance and the lighting of the CN Tower in red to honour the colour of the flags of both countries, the 2018 Canada-China Year of Tourism was formally launched in Toronto on Wednesday.

The opening ceremony hosted by China's National Tourism Office in Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts attracted a huge crowd of both Chinese and Canadians.

The Soul of Shaolin, a dramatic play with kung fu as its backdrop, is staged at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on Wednesday in Toronto to celebrate the grand opening of the 2018 Canada-China Year of Tourism. Na Li / China Daily

Lu Shaye, China's ambassador to Canada, conveyed greetings from Premier Li Keqiang. Li said tourism is "a window" for opening each country to the other and is important to bilateral cooperation. Li said he hoped that the two sides can work together to provide better services and environments for tourists and wished great success for the 2018 Canada China Tourism Year.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his greetings by video. He said the year is a milestone in the Canada-China relationship and thanked everyone who worked to make the year of tourism a reality.

"I am proud to take part in this fabulous opening ceremony," said Bardish Chagger, Canada's minister of small business and tourism. "Canadian ties to China run deep - almost 1.8 million Canadians are of Chinese heritage and are an important part of the fabric of our diverse country; China is also our second-largest trade partner.

"Tourism is an important industry for both of our countries, and I look forward to the opportunities this year will create on both sides of the Pacific," Chagger added.

According to the minister, Canada has so much to offer as people are looking for unique and authentic experiences, including indigenous travel. The effort hopes to make sure all partners are at the table so they can deliver, she said.

"Canada welcomed a record number of Chinese visitors last year, and I expect that this year will break that record easily," she said.

In September 2016, Premier Li and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the designation of 2018 as the China-Canada Tourism Year. The two sides agreed to expand cooperation on two-way tourist visits. They also set the target of doubling the scale of traveler interflow over 2015 levels by 2025.

"China is huge, even if it's doubling its visitors, we will be still less than 1 percent of all the Chinese overseas tourists, there are just so many Chinese tourists," said John McCallum, Canada's ambassador to China. "We just need to convince the Chinese people, we just need to welcome them. We have visa functions to service them. I am very confident we'll hit the target."

"This is an important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries from the strategic and long-term perspective of bilateral relations, one that will inject strong impetus into the building of a new 'Golden Decade' of China-Canada relations," said Xue Yaping, leader of the Chinese tourism delegation.

According to the work plan, the two sides have both planned a variety of exchange activities through the year to celebrate the year of tourism.

The main activities to be hosted by the Chinese side include an arrival ceremony for 1,000 Canadian tourists at the city gates of Xi'an, the "Beautiful China, More Than Pandas" program and a tour for Canadian travel agents and media representatives.

Chinese tourism companies will also present classic Chinese tourist routes such as the Grand Canal, the Tea Road and the Great Wall.

The Canadian side will host the closing ceremony in China in the second half of the year.

renali@chinadailyusa.com

This comes as Beijing prepares to strengthen a nationwide crackdown on polluters in its years-long campaign to clear its notoriously toxic skies, Reuters reports.

The new targets for concentrations of small, breathable particles known as PM2.5 will be lower than those in the country's current five-year plan that was due to end in 2020, environment minister Li Ganjie said at a briefing on the sidelines of the country's annual Parliament on March 17.

Those improvements, the EPI study found, ranged from -21 to -52 percent and in most cases surpassed the goals set by the National Air Quality Action Plan of 2013.

In January, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said it was drawing up plans for tougher curbs on smog during the next three years to 2020 after a five-year crackdown on pollution helped it attain air quality targets in December.

Li declined to give further details of the new goals as they are still being worked out.

By the end of 2017, the country had already cut PM2.5 concentrations by around 15.8 percent, not far from the target of reducing average levels for cities by 18 percent by 2020.

"So we will set a lower target for the new three-year plan," he said.

The government will also set up a nationwide inspection system this year, which will give responsibility for regular checks on polluting companies and factories to local authorities, in addition to central government, he said.

The government will also punish local authorities who do not enforce the regulations correctly, he said. In some regions last year, regional governments issued blanket orders for companies to close even if they complied with tough emissions rules, he added.

The "one size fits all" strategy by some local authorities will not be tolerated, he said.

His comments come after the government announced this week the 10-year old MEP will be transformed into a more powerful Ministry of Ecological Environment, absorbing duties overseeing river, marine and soil pollution, as well as climate change held by other ministries and departments.

The new watchdog agency could have some observers breathing easier. Still, some worry that the approach may oversimplify what is really going on. Pollutant monitor readings are just numbers, they argue, that don't always reflect the systemic picture.

The placement of pollutant monitors, for instance, may not always correspond to human exposure. They may also not take into account other toxic gasses and particulate pollutants in the air.

Some of these unknowns and unobserved and unmeasured substances can have health consequences for vulnerable populations, especially the young, the aged and people dealing with chronic disease.

Still, as the EPIC report says, the progress is encouraging.

"Although concentrations [of PM2.5] are still above China's own standard and well above WHO [World Health Organization] guidelines, these data indicate that the country has achieved remarkably cleaner air in the very short period of four years," EPIC director Michael Greenstone writes.

The road ahead to clean is still a long one and the EPIC report suggests using tools that go hand-in-hand with compatible goals like economic growth and poverty alleviation, such as tax incentives and cap and trade.

The report also points out that China has achieved in four years what it took the US 12 years to make happen after the Clean Air Act of 1970.

But as one observer told me, "Economists and journalists were not on the front lines of establishing monitoring networks, developing emission control strategies and evaluating potential health effects and impacts on life spans," but rather the work was done "by very knowledgeable technical environmental scientists and engineers".

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com

A House Energy and Commerce Committee spokeswoman confirmed the briefing, as did a Senate aide.

The briefing comes amid some calls from lawmakers for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before Congress.

Also, the head of data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica has been suspended, while government authorities are bearing down on the London-based firm over allegations it stole data from 50 million users to manipulate elections.

Cambridge's board of directors suspended CEO Alexander Nix pending an investigation after Nix boasted of various unsavory services to an undercover reporter with Britain's Channel 4 News.

Channel 4 broadcast clips Tuesday that also show Nix saying his data-mining firm played a major role in securing US President Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election.

Nix said the firm handled "all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting" and said Cambridge used emails with a "self-destruct timer" to make its role more difficult to trace.

"There's no evidence, there's no paper trail, there's nothing," he said.

Cambridge Analytica was created around 2013, initially with a focus on US elections, with $15 million in backing from billionaire Republican donor Robert Mercer and its name chosen by future Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, The New York Times reported. The company, which the Times said was staffed mostly by British workers then, assisted US Senator Ted Cruz's presidential campaign before helping Trump's.

Cambridge has denied wrongdoing, and Trump's campaign has said it didn't use Cambridge's data.

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Facebook's latest privacy scandal a "danger signal".

She wants Zuckerberg's assurances that Facebook is prepared to take the lead on security measures that protect people's privacy - or Congress may step in.

Chris Wylie, who once worked for Cambridge Analytica, was quoted as saying the company used the data to build psychological profiles so voters could be targeted with ads.

Wylie has agreed to be interviewed by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.

In footage released Monday, Nix said the company could "send some girls" around to a rival candidate's house, suggesting that girls from Ukraine are beautiful and effective.

He also said the company could "offer a large amount of money" to a rival candidate and have the whole exchange recorded so it could be posted on the internet to show that the candidate was corrupt.

Also on Tuesday, a dozen consumer-advocacy organizations pressed the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the release of data violated an agreement Facebook signed with the FTC in 2011.

Facebook shares fell as much as 5.2 percent to $175.41 Monday. The stock dropped another 2.6 percent Tuesday to close at $168.15.

AP - Bloomberg - Reuters

On a serious note, he said: "The short answer to that I think is, no."

Larsen, Democratic representative of Washington's 2nd District since 2001, is a politician with a sense of humor who sees "a lot of room for cooperation" with Beijing. And as the co-chair of the bipartisan US-China Working Group, he has a "realistic" playbook guiding his attitude and approach toward China.

Larsen said he could understand the anxiety of some over China's recent efforts in the South China Sea, its moves for market access and other commitments. But while some of his colleagues in Congress have called for a more hawkish approach toward China, Larsen highlighted "a more nuanced approach".

He cited the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, in which Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group, and Ely Ratner, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, note that the US has always set too high a bar in its expectations of shaping China's trajectory. "Reality warrants clear-eyed thinking of the US approach to China," they said. "Building a stronger and more sustainable approach to, and relationship with Beijing requires honesty about how many fundamental assumptions have turned out wrong."

To explain a more realistic "side of things", Larsen used an American football analogy: "Does the US need to act like a defensive coordinator? Or, do we need to think like a head coach and develop new offensive and defensive strategies, a new playbook, or even dust off the old playbook, that are better tailored to the outcome that we want to see? I certainly fall on the latter side."

As an example of "thinking about what offensive tools that we already have and what tools we can develop to play offense", Larsen said that rather than responding to China's Belt and Road Initiative with alarmism, the US should reinvest in existing programs that promote trade, investment and economic diplomacy.

The growth model the US used to talk about - open markets, engagement and trade - is "pretty good" but "we are not doing that in this administration. We are not taking every opportunity we can to remind folks about the growth model for the last 70 years that created the wealth in the world, that created the opportunity in the world that many countries benefited from, including China," he said.

China has said the current international system is like a well-designed building with multilateralism being its cornerstone. The need is not to build another structure but to renovate the existing one to better reflect the new reality and meet countries' needs.

Larsen said: "And I think, again, we don't need to sometimes create new plays in our playbook, but we have a pretty good playbook already, and we need to enhance what we are doing." On Capitol Hill, people tend to think of competing with China all the time, when in fact there is a lot of room for cooperation, such as on climate change, counterterrorism and on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Larsen said.

"We need to think long term about that, and not stay focused just on the current president's policies and proposals regarding climate change," he said. The US' relationship with China is a little like the stock market, going up and down, and "it can only grow through continued engagement, through continued dedication and maybe a shot or two of baijiu," he said. Baijiu means liquor or spirit in Chinese.

Indeed, Larsen's speech sparked spirited discussion that day. Let us hope it will also prompt US politicians to wake up to the reality of the realistic side of things.

Contact the writer at huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

A collection of handwritten menus by the prodigious Chinese guohua (traditionalist) painter Zhang Daqian was sold at Christie's in New York on Tuesday for about $1.2 million. Zhang was a committed foodie who would meticulously handwrite menus for his private chef.

"Today Christie's sold in our March New York auction of fine Chinese paintings all the menus handwritten by Zhang Daqian; the total price was more than eight times the combined low estimates," said Elizabeth Hammer, head of sales for Chinese paintings at Christie's.

"These listings of Zhang Daqian's favorite dishes were given to Hsu Minchi, who worked for Zhang as his private chef in Taiwan from 1977 to 1979," Hammer said.

Zhang (1899-1983), born in Sichuan province, was also an expert chef and "known to be a real gourmand", said Jennie Tang, specialist in Chinese paintings at Christie's. "He loved food and loved painting food and considered cooking a form of fine art.

"He was known to tell his disciples that it was impossible for a student who 'does not appreciate cuisine to really understand art,'" said Tang. "He would write down exactly what dishes he wanted to eat that night and give it to his chef to create."

Zhang often depicted humble fare such as mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, cabbage and persimmons.

"Zhang Daqian treated me like family, and we would eat together for almost every meal I cooked," Hsu said in an interview with Christie's. "Because Zhang was such a foodie himself, he was not shy about critiquing my final product and would make recommendations on how to improve each dish. He treated me like one of his elite art students and took time to teach me calligraphy."

Hsu worked for Zhang as his private chef after the artist had moved to Taiwan from Brazil. Hsu had completed culinary training and was introduced to Zhang through a friend's father, who was studying painting with him at the time.

All of Zhang's works on offer were sold at the auction, including his Bodhisattva, which commanded $588,500.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

Chinese oil futures contracts will be offered by the Shanghai Futures Exchange through its Shanghai International Energy Exchange March 26. It will be the first crude oil benchmark in Asia, where oil consumption is growing rapidly.

The contracts will compete with two other crude derivatives, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and London's Brent, which are traded mainly on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) owned by the CME Group and the Intercontinental Exchange.

"The oil futures contracts will allow Chinese investors to lock in oil prices on future dates up to three years and pay in the Chinese currency (yuan). For the first time, foreign investors will be allowed to invest on China's commodity futures markets. The participation of international investors is fundamental to the success of the China's oil futures as the vast majority of acceptable grades of oil for physical delivery are produced outside of China," Jiang Yang, research director at the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities at the University of Colorado Denver business school, said in an email.

Yang said the Chinese oil futures combined with the Belt and Road Initiative should help raise the visibility of the yuan in the global oil market. "It is hard to imagine that the so-called petro-yuan would be able to challenge the US dollar's dominance in global oil markets as the use of the US dollar in the oil market is an entrenched practice and the US dollar historically is considered a safe-haven currency," he said.

Stephen Innes, head of Asia trading for OANDA in Singapore, said "this move is all about China stretching their economic clout along with their move to internationalize the yuan".

"I think the market supports this as an attempt to liberalize and expand mainland economic markets. ... The yuan will continue to evolve as a go-to currency and over time the mainland oil contract should gain greater appeal," he said.

Yang believes that the launch of crude oil futures will help reduce price volatility and promote better production and planning for gasoline and heating oil supplies in China.

Innes said that "by eliminating the foreign exchange risk of hedging forward contracts in USD (US dollars), it will reduce currency risk. But more importantly, it will undoubtedly provide China with higher weight in pricing crude distributed in Asia."

Xinhua contributed to this story.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

The International Monetary Fund chief is calling on countries to keep calm as relations between the US and its trading partners, especially China, are simmering.

A statement issued on Tuesday by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde came amid widespread concerns that the Trump administration is about to impose up to a $60 billion punitive tariff annually on China for its intellectual property policies and practices, as well as Trump's recent orders to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in the name of national security.

"I joined others in reiterating that we should avoid the temptation of inward-looking policies and, rather, work together to reduce trade barriers and resolve trade disagreements without resorting to exceptional measures," Lagarde said in the statement issued at the end of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Her message is viewed as directed at the United States, although she did not name the country. She had previously warned about growing protectionism in the Trump administration, although she did not provide specific names.

Frank Lavin, an undersecretary for international trade in the US Commerce Department from 2005 to 2007, described Trump as someone "who came from an environment where being provocative or disruptive has some benefits".

He said maybe it worked in Trump's real estate business, but doesn't when the parties seek a normal relationship.

"But he has an old habit," Lavin said on Tuesday at a talk at the Heritage Foundation.

Lavin, now chairman of Edelman Asia Pacific, said he hopes China and the US can "avoid any kind of trade war, trade conflict".

"And historically that tended to be the case," said Lavin, who also served in the Reagan administration. He added that there have been occasional tariffs and points of friction, but they have not been systemic in the long term.

"So I certainly hope we can stay in that spirit," he said.

Lavin said that the Trump administration has not been clear on specific issues that the Chinese side should address.

Premier Li Keqiang pledged in Beijing on Tuesday that his country will take measures to further reduce tariff barriers, protect intellectual property rights and cut red tape for businesses.

Lavin believes measures to reduce tariffs and address inefficiencies on the Chinese side should not be seen as a concession, because they do hurt Chinese consumers and the economy.

Trump's tariffs have raised concerns among US farmers of a possible trade war. Many US trade partners have implied that US agricultural exports will be a key casualty if a trade war or tit-for-tat action occurs.

In a tweet on Tuesday, which was National Agriculture Day, Trump praised farmers, saying, "We are proud of them, and we are delivering for them!"

Farmers for Free Trade, a non-profit campaign of farmers and ranchers in several US agricultural states, launched an ad campaign last week on major TV networks pleading for Trump to protect free trade policies.

At a Senate hearing on March 14, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed concerns over a trade war, saying that agricultural goods are the "tip of the spear" in any type of trade retaliation. He said he hoped that the Trump administration "can mollify those and not move into and escalate into a trade war where agriculture will be damaged".

"It's not a hit family farmers can take right now," said US Senator Jon Tester of Montana.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

She talked to the 200 attendees at the seminar to promote preferential policies and business potential in her hometown, touting its trans-border e-commerce, trade zone, high-tech industries and the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, which will convene in Qingdao in June.

Composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan, SCO plays an influential role as a regional organization with a focus on security-related issues, specifically counterterrorism cooperation. It's expected to consolidate the member countries this year to energize regional and Asia-Euro trade cooperation.

"Local Oregonians from all walks of life have demonstrated a strong interest in getting to know the investment environment and industry clusters in Qingdao," said Lyu, adding that she had arranged intensive business meetings and presentations during her three-day stay in the Beaver State. "I especially suggest doing business with Qingdao through e-commerce channels and online platforms."

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, together with economic counsel Yang Yihang at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, attended the seminar. Both spoke about mobilizing existing robust business and trade exchanges between Oregon and China.

"As the biggest trading partner of Oregon, China in 2017 has imported a total of $6.5 billion worth of its goods," said Yang. "We have seen a 91-fold increase in trade and imports since 1997, when the number was only a modest $71 million."

A beneficiary of globalization, China has been the biggest recipient of made-in-Oregon commodities for nine consecutive years, said Yang, adding that the direct investment from China in Oregon has reached a total of $275 million.

"The bilateral trade and economic relationship is mutually beneficial and has created a win-win situation for our people," he said.

One day later, the California Assembly in Sacramento held an informal hearing that was initiated by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, and Assembly member Philip Ting, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion to examine trade and investment activities between California and China.

Quirk-Silva said: "At a time when the current federal administration has repeatedly referred to 'unfair trade deals' and strained California's economic partnership with China, we wanted to take a level-headed approach to discussions on how to foster mutually beneficial trade and investment strategies."

During the hearing, members of the committees heard from a representative from China's consulate in San Francisco, as well as the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GoBiz). After their presentations, a panel of private sector business and economic leaders shared innovative and high-impact initiatives their organizations are undertaking to strengthen trade relationships between China and California.

China is California's third-largest trading partner after Mexico and Canada and purchases more than $16 billion worth of exports annually.

"At a time when Washington DC is hurting our trading relationships around the world, the state has to reiterate its strong economic and cultural ties with China," said Ting. "As China's economy and stature grow, California's relationship with that country will prove to be even more critical."

Quirk-Silva added, "I am pleased that Chair Ting and the select committee are able to join us as we discuss the important role policymakers can play in supporting Californian businesses' access to markets in China."

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

The pair of pandas - Da Mao and Er Shun - arrived at the zoo on loan from China in 2013 as part of a global giant panda conservation breeding program. Their cubs - Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue - were the first giant pandas born in Canada.

Thousands of visitors lined up at the Giant Panda Experience pavilion to bid farewell to the ever-so-cuddly black-and-white bears.

"It has been a crazy five years since they came here, although it was a little bit stressful," said Maria Franke, the zoo's curator of mammals. "I will definitely miss the pandas. They have won everyone's heart."

"I am sad that pandas are leaving, I will always remember them," a young girl named Emily said with tears reddening her eyes. "I will visit them again if they can come back."

"This is the better zoo, stay here, please don't take them away. You're individuals; you have rights, stay here!" Emily's brother chimed in.

"You know besides it being a lot of fun, it has been very educational for people who live in Ontario," said Amanda, another visitor. "We're excited for Calgary to have the chance to see them, but we really will miss them."

Since the pandas arrived in 2013, more than 1.4 million people have come to the zoo to see elders Er Shun and Da Mao. It was the zoo's third highest attendance since its opening in 1974, and its highest revenue year to date.

The furry creatures also have generated plenty of chatter. As part of the loan deal with China, the zoo agreed to pay $1 million annually to the Giant Panda Conservation Fund. Although it's expensive to feed giant pandas, Councillor Paul Ainslie, chair of the zoo's board of managers, told media that he "doesn't regret the pandas coming to the zoo".

"It is worthy for us as humans to help preserve this species," said visitor Wayne. "For sure it's worth a million dollars a year to do that."

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, who greeted the bears at the airport five years ago, said the giant pandas' presence "reminds us of the strong relationship between the two countries".

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also came to cuddle with the cubs on their first birthday and revealed their names of Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue, meaning Canadian Hope and Canadian Joy respectively.

According to the zoo, the conservation breeding program has met with some success over the past five years, with the giant panda being downgraded in 2016 from an "endangered" species to a "vulnerable" one by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"That's the ultimate conservation goal for any biologist," said the zoo's Franke.

"We wish Da Mao, Er Shun, Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue all the best on their new adventure in Calgary."

The four pandas will live at the Calgary Zoo until 2023 in "Panda Passage," a newly constructed habitat.

renali@chinadailyusa.com

Earlier this month Trump pressed ahead with import tariffs of 10 percent on aluminum and 25 percent for steel that are scheduled to take effect on Friday. The president exempted Canada and Mexico and suggested he might exclude other allies, apparently backtracking from an earlier "no-exceptions" stance.

Joseph Innace, content director for America's Metals at S&P Global Platts, said the price of US-made hot-rolled steel coil, considered a benchmark bellwether product, was at $852 per short ton on Friday.

"The price was $630 per short ton on January 20, 2017, which is the day Trump was inaugurated," Innace said in an interview Monday.

While the 35 percent increase was driven in part by the expectation of tariffs within the industry, Innace said the main driver has been the fundamental demand factors that affect steel prices.

"Prices were on the rise before the tariffs. Construction, energy and autos have been strong for over a year now," Innace said, noting that those industries push demand for steel in the US.

To gauge what may happen to steel prices in six months if the tariffs are imposed, Innace studied steel prices in the time after then-US president George W. Bush implemented steel tariffs in March 2002.

Innace said prices for steel were at a 20-year low when Bush imposed tariffs, but are at a seven-year high now.

Steel prices rose 47 percent from April to July of 2002, Innace said. "I don't think prices will escalate that much now," he added, because much of the increase from the expectation of tariffs has already been "baked in."

Aluminum prices in the US have been increasing since the beginning of the year according to Karen McwBeth, content director of metals pricing for S&P Global Platts

Since Jan 2, McBeth said aluminum prices have jumped from about 9.5 cents per pound to 20 cents a pound on Friday.

McBeth believes that a majority of that increase was due to the expectation of tariffs. As for the future of aluminum prices, McBeth said to look to the futures market.

"Aluminum has an active futures market, more so than steel," she said in an interview. "Currently, some forward numbers for April and May trade at 16.5 cents (per pound), and June traded at just under 16 cents."

One factor that could be contributing to that is the proposed exemption for Canada, which supplies most of the aluminum to the US, McBeth said.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

US retailers on Monday called on President Donald Trump not to go ahead with the punitive tariff plans on China to avoid serious adverse effect on the US economy and consumers.

Three retail associations, The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and National Retail Federation (NRF) sent a letter to Trump expressing their concerning about the detrimental impact broadly applied tariffs could have on US families.

The White House is reportedly to announce this or next week $30 billion to $60 billion tariffs on Chinese exports, especially technology and telecommunications goods, after a Section 301 investigation of China's intellectual property policy and practice. The Washington Post, quoting administration officials, reported on Monday that Trump will unveil the $60 billion annual tariff package against China by Friday.

Section 301 of US Trade Act of 1974 is regarded outdated and unilateral action inconsistent with WTO dispute settlement principle.

The letter from the three retail associations is the latest following a letter on Sunday by 45 trade associations pleading Trump to reconsider its tariffs on China, fearing its "chain reaction of negative consequences for the US economy".

The US Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest trade federation that represents more than 3 million businesses, voiced its strong opposition to Trump's sweeping tariffs on China in a statement issued last Thursday.

The retailers claimed that they and their membership fought for Trump's tax reform but are concerned that any benefits from reform for retailers and families will be wiped out by broadly applied tariffs on every day consumer products.

The three retailer associations were signed by 25 companies which boast $1.5 trillion in annual sales and tens of millions of US jobs, such as Walmart, Target, Sears, Costco, JCPenney, Macy's and BestBuy, Abercrombie & Fitch and Columbia Sportswear.

The letter and a press release, posted on Arlington, Virginia-based RILA website, claim the broad tariffs would "punish American working families with higher prices on household basics like clothing, shoes, electronics, and home goods".

Sandy Kennedy, president of RILA, said that the tariffs could set the industry back. "This is not American industries crying wolf. Higher tariffs will mean higher costs to businesses and in turn higher prices for American families," Kennedy was quoted as saying in the press release.

"Tariffs are a hidden tax on Americans - plain and simple. More than 41 percent of clothing, 72 percent of footwear, and 84 percent of travel goods sold in the US are made in China," said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of AAFA.

"A tariff on these products would be a tax on every American. In addition to increasing costs for American families, this action could result in retaliatory tariffs that target American businesses, resulting in job losses. At the end of the day, this could be disastrous for American families, American workers, and American businesses."

"As the industry closest to consumers, retailers know firsthand how high tariffs will hurt American families," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.

Concerns about a trade war between the US and China and other US key trade partners have grown lately after Trump imposed tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels in January and signed proclamations this month on 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports in the name of national security under the controversial Section 232 of US Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Trump's move on the tariff front has been seen as fulfilling his presidential campaign promise, especially ahead of the midterm election this fall. China, the European Union and many other US trading partners have explicitly and inexplicitly said that they will take countermeasures in response to US tariffs.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced its decision to sanction five entities and 19 individuals for alleged interference with the 2016 US presidential elections and engaging in "malicious" cyberattacks. Of the individuals, 13 had been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"The Administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure," said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

"These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia," Mnuchin said in a statement.

The White House said President Donald Trump has been "extremely tough on Russia" during his time in office. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Russia will need to "decide if they want to be a good actor or a bad actor".

"We're going to be tough on Russia until they decide to change their behavior," Sanders was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.

At the same time, she left open the possibility of better US-Russia cooperation, arguing that "if we can work together to combat world threats on things like North Korea, then we should," the Ap reported.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Kremlin has already started working on retaliatory measures against the new US sanctions.

"We have already started working on our reciprocal measures," he said without hinting when they might follow, the Russian news agency TASS reported on Thursday. "I believe further demonstrative, tough actions (on the part of the US) are possible. We are ready for them."

Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said in a statement, "Today's action, using authority provided by Congress, is an important step by the administration. But more must be done."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on his Twitter account that he supported the sanctions announced by the Treasury Department, "but believe even more must be done".

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

Emergency personnel with sniffer dogs searched for signs of life amid the wreckage of concrete and twisted metal that rained from the collapsed structure and crushed vehicles on one of the busiest roads in South Florida.

At least eight vehicles were trapped in the wreckage of the 950-ton bridge and at least 10 people have been transported to hospitals, officials and doctors told reporters.

Witnesses told local media the vehicles were stopped at a traffic light when the bridge collapsed, and authorities said there still may be more vehicles trapped underneath.

"We're working our way into the pile trying to create holes that we can actually physically see," Miami-Dade Fire Department Division Chief Paul Estopian told reporters.

The Florida Highway Patrol has said several people were killed but did not release a figure on fatalities.

At one point, police requested television helicopters to leave the area so rescuers could hear for any sounds of people crying for help from beneath the collapsed structure, CBS Miami television said.

Complicating the rescue effort was the uncertainty about the integrity of the bridge, parts of which remained off the ground, much of it inclined, local media reported.

The 174-foot-long bridge connected the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to the university's website.

The bridge was intended to provide a walkway over the busy street where an 18-year-old female FIU student from San Diego was killed while trying to cross last August, according to local media reports.

Students at FIU are currently on their spring break vacation, which runs from March 12 to March 17.

Student Aura Martinez was having lunch in a nearby restaurant with her mother when a waitress told her the bridge had collapsed. She ran outside and helped pull a woman out her car, most of which was flattened by the bridge.

"Her car, it was literally a miracle of God, her car got squished by the bridge from the back, so she was able to get out and she was on the floor and it was just very traumatic," she told a reporter.

To keep the inevitable disruption of traffic associated with bridge construction to a minimum, the 174-foot portion of the bridge was built adjacent to Southwest 8th Street using a method called Accelerated Bridge Construction. It was driven into its perpendicular position across the road by a rig in only six hours on Saturday, according to the university.

The $14.2 million bridge was designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, the most dangerous measure by the National Hurricane Center, and built to last 100 years, the university said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate why it collapsed.

Munilla Construction Management, which installed the bridge, was founded in 1983 and owned by five brothers, according to its website. In addition to its Florida operations, the company also has divisions in Texas and Panama and employs 500 people.

"Munilla Construction Management is a family business and we are all devastated and doing everything we can to assist," the company said in a statement.

FIGG Engineering said it took part in the bridge project and the collapse was a first in its 40-year history.

Both companies said they would cooperate fully with investigators.

Reuters

Recent US State Department data show that the number of visas issued to foreign students declined by 17 percent last year and is nearly 40 percent below its 2015 peak.

The biggest decline in visa approvals in 2017 was seen among students from Asian countries, particularly China and India, which typically account for the largest number of F-1 visas.

"This year, we see about a 2 percent decline in Chinese students' applications when I checked last month," said Bryant Priester, the director of international admissions and recruitment at Purdue University.

The number of Chinese students enrolled at the university in fall 2017 has decreased by about 10 percent, according to statistics on the university website.

Last fall there were about 4,000 Chinese students enrolled at Purdue, representing about 44 percent of its international students and about 9 percent of total enrollment.

The school in West Lafayette, Indiana, known for engineering, ranks third among US public institutions in international student enrollment. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles are the top two, according to 2016 data.

"But we are not very worried about the drop, because we are aiming to build a worldwide classroom for our students, and we accept a steady number of applications from Chinese students every year," Priester said.

"The decline in the number of international student visas is problematic," he said. "The State Department has revised its guidance to US consulates that review and approve the applications. The agency said it now emphasizes that the consulates must refuse any applicants if they are "not satisfied that the applicant's present intent is to depart the United States at the conclusion of his or her study", said Earl Johnson, vice-president for enrollment management and student services at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Nearly 20 percent of the University of Tulsa's 4,400 enrolled students are international, and the school has experienced a decline in such students for a few years. It has started to cut into revenue, and the university has even placed a school official in China to recruit more international students.

"And political rhetoric on immigration is casting fear among international students and causing them to feel unwelcome in the US," said Johnson. "All US universities have expressed concern because of the potential impact on enrollment. Equally important is the effect a loss of international students would have on the ability of universities to deliver on their educational mission to offer a diverse and inclusive environment.

"China is currently the largest sender of international students to US institutions. The University of Tulsa wanted to establish an experienced presence in China in attempt to stabilize international enrollment caused by the unforeseen political challenges and increased competition for students worldwide," Johnson added.

Idaho State University had 662 international students at the end of the fall term, down from 928 last year. Tuition is $3,583 a semester for resident undergraduate students and $10,971 for those from out of state.

The university has intensified its efforts since then.

"Our International Programs Office has partnered with online national recruiting events to supplement traditional recruiting efforts," said Scott Scholes, associate vice-president for enrollment management at the university.

He said the office is "supporting and fostering programmatic articulation agreements with overseas institutions, particularly in China. We have three university faculty members in China this week."

"In terms of Chinese students, in 2014 there was a change in the agreement between China and the US on visa issuances, and both sides agreed to issue multiple entry visas to students," said Peggy Blumenthal, the senior counselor to the president at Institute of International Education.

She indicated that the change in visa policy allowing Chinese students to obtain an F-1 visa for a five-year period instead of one could be a factor in the recent declines.

Blumenthal said worldwide competition for international students is also heating up, as countries such as Canada, Germany and Australia make it easier for international students to stay in the country after they graduate and become part of the workforce.

Meanwhile, in the US, the government's tougher stance on its popular H-1B foreign work visa and discussion on considering eliminating the regulation on STEM OPT (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Optional Practical Training, an extension of the educational experience for students beyond the classroom) might also be deterring international students from applying American universities.

"It's become more and more difficult to stay in the US after graduation," said Olivia Ma, an undergraduate student at Peking University who has applied for graduate school in the US for fall 2018 enrollment.

"So, I plan to go back to China when I graduate, and Chinese companies in general prefer students who graduated from top universities in the US - those schools with widely internationally recognized brands," she said.

Ma applied to five universities, including Columbia University, the University of Chicago and New York University.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

The company, also known as PowerChina, envisages more than 1,400 projects in 57 countries and regions involved in the initiative, with contracts valued at more than $600 billion. The 350 projects under construction have total contract value of about 300 billion yuan ($47 billion).

PowerChina makes more than 50 percent of its gross profits from its international business.

In addition to water conservancy and hydropower construction, in which the company has 50 percent of global market share, it is also expanding to new energy infrastructure, EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects and investment in minerals.

"PowerChina will continue to provide the best power solutions to the world," said Yan Zhiyong, chairman of the company.

"In our overseas projects, we offer not only technologies and experience, but also lessons we've learned."

According to Yan, the company not only wants to reap immediate revenue overseas, but also to provide the most affordable and sustainable energy to emerging markets.

China's biggest international EPC wind power project, the Adama II in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for example, contains 102 turbines with a capacity of 1.5 megawatts each for a total installed capacity of 153 mW.

The project meets more than 20 percent of the Ethiopian capital's power demand, and is the second-largest wind power project on the African continent.

The wind power project has won strong support from the Ethiopian government and local residents; and the Ethiopian president praised the role played by the project in easing the power shortage in the country.

A thorough study before construction is needed to make sure the company provides power solution services for the whole country's energy supply instead of a single project, Yan said.

The company has been providing free power planning in regions and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative for the past few years, as well as free training and disaster relief.

According to Yan, PowerChina has its own unique advantages and capabilities in understanding water and electricity, project designing and construction, investment and operations.

"Currently, we primarily invest in electricity, but in the future we will put more investment in new energy generation," he said.

"We also operate highways and are in real estate, and that's why we have stronger capabilities compared with ordinary construction companies and can better adapt to the needs of the modern market," he said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn

The Belt and Road Initiative will continue to make the Chinese and partner economies more competitive, narrowing development gaps between landlocked countries and coastal regions, officials and business leaders say.

China will work toward building major international corridors and deepen cooperation on streamlining customs clearance in markets related to the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand industrial capacity cooperation with other countries, Premier Li Keqiang said in the annual Government Work Report delivered on March 5.

Under the government plan, China will continue to promote international cooperation on the initiative and complementarity between the development strategies and plans of participating economies.

"Facts have proved that China has become part of international efforts to pursue common development and prosperity for countries and regions that need to gain new growth momentum via what they have and are good at," says Xu Lirong, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress and chairman of China COSCO Shipping Corp.

Xu says container throughput accounts for 75 percent of Shanghai Port's total business, of which container throughput from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative accounts for 35 percent. This growth momentum has been encouraging, he says.

Trade among China and countries involved in the initiative amounted to 7.4 trillion yuan ($1.17 trillion; 949 billion euros; EUR843 billion) in 2017, surging by 17.8 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce show.

Breakthroughs were also made last year in free trade with countries involved in the initiative, with China signing agreements with Georgia and the Maldives, and officially launching free trade negotiations with Moldova and Mauritius. China has pledged to work for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen says the initiative is not an attempt by China to exert its economic and political influence globally.

Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the 13th National People's Congress this year, adds: "The Belt and Road Initiative is a proposal for economic cooperation. It focuses on connectivity and aims at achieving win-win outcomes, hoping to create more opportunities for global economic growth and shared prosperity of all countries."

Zhang says the initiative is guided by the principle of pursuing shared benefits through consultation and collaboration, and all participants are equal partners in this process. It is an open and inclusive platform, he says, adding that it doesn't exclude or target any country and is open to all who are interested.

"The initiative seeks to reinvigorate trading routes between China and others. It combines China's unparalleled strength in building infrastructure, manufacturing and service facilities in many of the economies involved in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," says Li Jianhong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of China Merchants Group.

From a global perspective, bilateral and multilateral projects for infrastructure and production capacity expansion have come to be the hallmarks of the initiative, Li says.

The launch of a series of big-ticket projects including the high-speed railway project in Indonesia, port expansion work in Greece and Djibouti, a railway linking China and Thailand, the Karachi expressway and a China-Belarus industrial park are examples of achievements under the initiative so far.

Many more such game-changing projects are in the pipeline: China will speed up the construction of railways, highways, telecommunications networks, power grids, ports, industrial cooperation parks and energy infrastructure, as well as help to strengthen the rules and standards of countries involved in the initiative, according to the government plan.

Chinese companies are also working with foreign partners such as United Technologies Corp, Emerson Electric, Volvo Construction Equipment and ABB Group to develop infrastructure in various economies covered by the initiative.

German industrial giant Siemens plans to open a Belt and Road Initiative office in Beijing this year to further pursue the opportunities generated by the initiative.

Cedrik Neike, a board member of Siemens, says the company will ramp up a companywide effort to continue teaming up with Chinese engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, partners to jointly explore business in countries and regions participating in the initiative.

Siemens has joined forces with more than 100 Chinese EPC players in exploring more than 60 overseas markets since 2016. Its partners include China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil producer, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp and Power Construction Corp of China.

According to Neike, EPC contracts bagged by Chinese companies are worth around $125 billion. The German company forecasts that the cumulative potential over the next decade will reach over $1 trillion.

Wang Chuanlin, another NPC deputy and general manager of China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group, says many Chinese companies have already transferred their core business from EPC into new business models such as build-operate-transfer, and public-private-partnership for both public and private sectors in markets involved in the initiative.

Fang Qiuchen, president of the China International Contractors Association, which is based in Beijing and helps Chinese construction companies expand overseas, says global cooperation in infrastructure, logistics and production capacity has great potential.

"China's partners in the early stages of the initiative are mostly emerging economies and developing economies in the midst of industrialization. They are characterized by fast economic growth and enormous potential for future development," Fang says.

China's outbound investment in economies participating in the initiative climbed to $70 billion between 2014 and 2017, providing more than 200,000 jobs for local people, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The National Development and Reform Commission released a document on March 5 that said it will promote the healthy and orderly development of the China-Europe freight train service this year, as well as continue to develop a "digital Silk Road" and set up space information corridors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission also announced this month that it will allow domestic and overseas companies to issue bonds on onshore stock exchanges to finance projects related to the initiative.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges will carry out a pilot bond program. Government-backed institutions in economies involved in the initiative can also sell bonds in China, according to the country's top securities regulator.

Seven domestic and overseas companies have gained regulatory approval to issue bonds worth a total of 50 billion yuan, and four of them have already raised 3.5 billion yuan through bond issuances, according to the regulator.

News in review

(China Daily USA 03/16/2018 page12)

Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and 2016 presidential candidate, addresses students protesting gun violence, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, as part of a nationwide demonstration. Guo Fengqing / For China Daily

Clearing the air - Sacramento, CA

Show of support - Washington

US Representative Grace Meng (right) joins students on Capitol Hill for National School Walkout Day on Wednesday, exactly one month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Provided to China Daily

Many thanks - Salem, OR

Ni howdy - Austin

Consul General of China in Houston Li Qiangmin (left) tries his hand at a high-tech exhibition at SXSW in Austin on March 13. Li led a consular delegation to SXSW to support Chinese companies’ participation in the event, which features a convergence of music, fi lm and high-tech. Ji Jiaming / For China Daily

Woman power - New York

Kick off song - Austin

Tribal notions - Washington

(China Daily USA 03/16/2018 page13)

A well-told story combined with artfully employed digital graphic techniques, the film presents the contrast between virtual glamor and harsh reality in China's digital universe.

Most in the audience were exposed to this kind of online universe for the first time, and the powerful story left them deeply impressed and touched.

"All the money they spent, it's a lot of money. I am still processing the story. It's beautiful but it makes me sad," a viewer told Wu and the audience after the screening.

"I cried toward the end," another viewer said.

Wu, a scientist by training who is based in New York, had dabbled in business and worked at Alibaba and TripAdvisor before focusing on a film career. He discussed the film with the audience and China Daily after a screening at SXSW.

Wu began to research a new project in 2014 on what new technology was doing to young people and what Chinese society was going through when a friend told him about YY, a Chinese multibillion-dollar company listed on the Nasdaq.

"I just quit my job in China at TripAdvisor and I considered myself an expert on China's internet business, yet I had no clue," said Wu. "There are rich people, poor people and internet celebrities all getting together in this online community."

Regardless how rich or poor they are, they all have needs unmet and look for fulfillment online, Wu said. At YY's livestreaming platform, everyone plays a role and is a willing participant in the game to gain fame or to admire their favorite stars, to make big money or to spend it big.

"Everybody is being exploited by the platform but everybody is happy to do it," Wu said. "One thing many viewers take away is how we are all being exploited by online platforms. I myself am always on Facebook, I am also on Twitter. There is something I get out of it.

"But to what extent are we willing to give ourselves to the platforms, to what extent do we separate our real life in order to have a virtual life? I don't have a good answer and I am still addicted to the internet," Wu said.

While the story is shocking to many, there are parallels in the US, Wu said. After all, there are YouTube stars and Instagram stars that many people don't follow. "We also have losers here. We also have lonely young people looking for validation online, people who show off online looking for gratification."

The film is also about capitalism, Wu said. The difference is that in the US there is the so-called lifestyle and brand to package it, while in China people talk about money directly.

Wu spent roughly eight months filming Big Li and Shen Man, the two social media stars, and some of their fans, ranging from poor migrant workers to rich business owners.

The story covers their real life and online streaming in a span of two years. Some footage features intimate personal details. Wu said he achieved this by being persistent and staying long enough for people to forget the camera was rolling.

"What you see is on the surface," Wu said. "The reality is more complex, their personal lives and the platform is more complex. I did so to make the film digestible. I included Shen Man's crying footage because she was being vulnerable [even though] she knew she was on camera," Wu said

Wu updated the audience on the lives of his main characters: they are still on YY. Big Li and Dabao got back together and they don't fight as much. Dabao was a housewife for two years and now owns another agency. Shen Man is still livestreaming but with an ebbing popularity.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

The University of California San Diego announced on March 8 that Yishi Jin will hold the Junior Seau Foundation Endowed Chair in Traumatic Brain Injury.

The foundation donated $250,000, which was matched as part of the UC San Diego Chancellor's Endowed Chair and Faculty Fellowship Challenge, as well as by the university's Division of Biological Sciences and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, for total funding of $1 million.

Seau was a Hall of Fame linebacker, mostly for the NFL's San Diego Chargers, who took his own life in an incident that many connected to the concussions and subsequent depression he suffered from his 20-year football career.

Seau was given the nickname "Say-Ow" for the hard hits he delivered to opposing players. He also played for the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots before announcing his retirement in 2010.

On May 2, 2012, his girlfriend found him dead at age 43 with a gunshot wound to the chest in his hometown of Oceanside, California. He left no suicide note.

An autopsy revealed Seau had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated blows to the head.

"What was found in Junior Seau's brain was cellular changes consistent with CTE," Dr Russell Lonser, who led a study while he was at the National Institutes of Health, told ABC News in 2013.

Patients with CTE, which can be diagnosed only after death, display symptoms "such as impulsivity, forgetfulness, depression [and] sometimes suicidal ideation", Lonser said.

The issue of head injuries is one that has vexed the NFL in recent years. The league adopted a disqualification penalty for targeting, one of several safety measures initiated in the last decade, for players who deliver intentional blows to another player's head or launch themselves in the air at a defenseless player.

The league agreed to a concussion-injury settlement estimated at $1 billion that finally was set in motion when the US Supreme Court rejected challenges in 2016.

The settlement awards up to $5 million for those with Lou Gehrig's disease; $4 million for past CTE deaths; and $3.5 million for advanced Alzheimer's.

Forty-two of 100 New England Patriots players who were members of the team's first three Super Bowl-winning teams have alleged in a class-action concussion suit against the NFL and football helmet maker Riddell that they have experienced symptoms of brain injuries, The Boston Globe reported.

Jin, who is currently a professor and chairperson of the neurobiology section in UCSD's Division of Biological Sciences, will focus on molecular genetic mechanisms underlying the development of the nervous system, and regeneration of wounded nervous systems, with the goal of better understanding human neurological disorders and brain injuries.

She is looking forwardto the added role.

"We have begun to explore opportunities to develop new strategies to help recovery from brain injury," she said in a statement. "This endowed fund will give us freedom to test high-risk and high-reward ideas.

"I am honored by this award and particularly grateful for the recognition of my work on the fundamental understanding of the genetic basis of cellular response to traumatic injury."

Jin has won several prestigious awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and a Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award.

She earned her bachelor's of science degree from Peking University and her PhD from the University of California Berkeley. She completed postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The foundation's gift also established the Junior Seau Lectureship Series to inform the community and K-12 students about the causes and risks associated with traumatic brain injury.

"I am passionate about engaging K-12 students in understanding scientific research," Jin said. "I am excited about being in the community to help raise the awareness of safety in youth sports."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

Organized by Women's March Youth Empower, thousands of students and teachers walked out of their classrooms on Wednesday as part of the the Enough! National School Walkout to raise awareness about issues of school safety and gun control.

The walkout lasted 17 minutes at 10 am across every time zone to mark the 17 deaths at the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, by a former student.

About 3,000 schools across the country participated in Wednesday's nationwide protest, according to USA Today.

Rachel Song, an 11th grader from Brooklyn Technical High School, shouted "enough is enough", as did many other students gathered at Borough Hall in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning.

"We want to end gun violence. It's a simple and clear message," Song said, holding a sign saying "End Gun Violence" and a red cross over the letters "NRA".

"Honestly, I don't really think about my school" being attacked by a shooter. "But I think it's very sad that other people do have to suffer about it. I feel like if more people everywhere care about it and advocate it everywhere, there will be change, " said Song, who is Chinese American.

The students were sending a message to lawmakers for stricter gun laws.

"At 18 you can vote and buy an assault rifle in some cities, but you can't drink. So why drinking is resolved for 21 but you can get an assault rifle at 18? It doesn't make sense," said Katrina Taeza, a junior at Brooklyn Tech.

"It will be hard to completely get rid of guns. We can start by having legislators prevent kids, or anyone, from getting an assault rifle," Taeza said.

Representatives of government officials also spoke at the various protests.

"Today, we say enough is enough to gun violence, and I am proud to stand in solidarity with America's students in the fight to prevent additional gun tragedies," said US Representative Grace Meng, who joined students on Capitol Hill in Washington.

"I salute the advocacy and passion of these young men and women, and I applaud each and every one of them for taking a stand and making their voices heard," said Meng, whose district comprises Queens. "No student should fear going to school, and all communities deserve to feel safe. We must keep up the fight to prevent future gun violence, and I will continue to do all I can to help make that happen," she said.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also joined students in a rally at the University of Washington's Red Square.

"Seeing so many students out today marching and standing up to demand action is truly inspiring. We know that the future is yours to create - change will happen with you," Durkan tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

The National Rifle Association also posted on Twitter: "Let's work together to stop school violence" and tweeted a picture of a semiautomatic rifle with the words, "I'll control my own guns, thank you."

Zhang Ruinan in New York, Linda Deng in Seattle and Guo Fengqing in Washington contributed to this story.

judyzhu@chinadailyusa.com

A Boeing spokesman told China Daily in an email that one out of every four airliners the company makes goes to China. Boeing forecasts that over the next 20 years, China will need 7,240 new airplanes that are worth $1.1 trillion and this demand will make China Boeing's largest commercial airplane customer.

Richard Aboulafi a, an aviation industry consultant for the Teal Group of Fairfax, Virginia, wrote in an email that Boeing could be vulnerable in any tit-for-tat retaliation from China.

"If President Trump thinks trade wars are easy and productive, Boeing is right in the front line of that war,"he said.

Boeing said China has a role in every one of the company's commercial airplane models and company activity in the mainland contributes $800 million to $1 billion annually in direct support of China's economy.

Aboulafia doesn't think those statistics would dissuade China from targeting Boeing. "Airbus (a Boeing competitor) actually has an A320 manufacturing plant, while Boeing is merely in the opening stages of creating a 737 completion facility.

China could favor Airbus and actually come out ahead in job numbers,"he said. Cai von Rumohr, an analyst who covers Boeing for Cowen and Co, believes that China's options in regard to Boeing are limited.

"I could imagine Boeing becoming a target but not a huge target,"he said in an interview. "Boeing has a 7-year backlog (of plane orders) while Airbus has an 8- or 9-year backlog so it's really not practical for China to switch horses in midstream."

Von Rumohr said China

"could shift some new orders to Airbus to send a message to the US. The problem with that is China has a $375 billion (trading) surplus with the US - five times more than the next closest trading partner."

Still Boeing does face the fallout from tariffs Trump approved on imported steel and aluminum last week. "They have numerous ways to try and off set some of the material costs,"analyst Jeff Windau of Edward Jones told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Longer term, the concern might be some kind of trade war or retaliation."

On Wednesday, Trump toured the site of final assembly for fighter planes. He was joined by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Boeing's top executives, including president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Following the tour, he addressed the assembled crowd with remarks about his tax plan and the benefits to Missouri businesses.

Shares of Boeing lost $8.39, or 2.48 percent to settle at S330.28 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday as its biggest supplier said it was having trouble meeting Boeing's demand as it seeks to increase production of its 737 aircraft.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

Broadcom Ltd Chief Executive Hock Tan is unlikely to slow his acquisition spree after US President Donald Trump blocked the microchip maker's $117 billion bid for Qualcomm Inc on national security grounds, analysts said on Tuesday.

Trump signed an order late on Monday to halt what would have been the biggest-ever technology deal on concerns that a takeover of Qualcomm by the Singapore-based company would erode the United States' lead in mobile technology and give China the upper hand.

The deal would have created the world's No. 3 semiconductor company with a leading market share in smartphones, car electronics and industrial internet devices.

Analysts said Broadcom can still build heft through smaller deals. And it could have an easier time buying US targets if it goes through with plans to redomicile in the United States.

Tan has already turned Avago, a small chipmaker with a market value of $3.5 billion in 2009, into a more than $100 billion company.

"He looks for value. He's of the view that there is a lot of value to be extracted from this industry," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. "He buys franchises, things that he believes have competitive modes, long visibility on revenues, opportunities for operational improvements."

Tan bought California-based companies Broadcom for $37 billion in a leveraged deal in 2015 and Brocade Communications in a $5.5 billion deal two years later.

Most analysts assume Broadcom will now walk away from Qualcomm, with some flagging San Jose, California-based Xilinx Inc and Israel's Mellanox Technologies Ltd, both diversified makers of communications chips, as likely next targets.

Broadcom could not be immediately reached for comment. Two analysts said Xilinx and Mellanox would be a good fit for Broadcom, though not as transformational as Qualcomm.

San Diego-based Qualcomm evolved from a US military aerospace contractor to become the dominant player in wireless radio technology over the past two decades, with its chips used in half of all smartphones.

It fended off antitrust concerns around the globe over its intellectual property strategies, taking the biggest share of wireless royalties in the 3G and 4G eras and getting a head start on next decade's 5G era, which promises to embed wireless connections in cars, factories, homes and cities.

Qualcomm's dominance of baseband chips that connect phones to networks would have represented the crown jewel in Broadcom's portfolio of communications chips that supply Wi-Fi, graphics, video and networking features alongside baseband chips.

Xilinx makes chips for wireless communication, and Mellanox's products connect servers and storage systems.

Broadcom has ample firepower for smaller deals, with about $11 billion in cash and the potential to generate nearly $9 billion in annual free cash flow, analysts estimate. Xilinx has a market value of $20 billion, and Mellanox is just under $4 billion.

Before Trump's order, Broadcom had planned to relocate its legal headquarters to the United States, avoiding the need for a CFIUS review.

Reuters

Trump fired Rex Tillerson via tweet Tuesday morning, saying his replacement would be CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Gina Haspel, Pompeo's deputy at the CIA, would be the first woman to lead the agency. Both nominees face a confirmation hearing by the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged the US Senate to act quickly to confirm the nominees.

"Both of these nominees seem to be well-qualified and ... we hope they'll not be subjected to undue delay, which has been an enormous problem," Reuters cited McConnell as saying on Tuesday.

But the president's Republican Party has a slim majority with 51 seats in the Senate, meaning confirmation is not certain.

If confirmed by the Senate to replace Tillerson, Pompeo could breathe new vigor into an agency all too often sidelined on many of the nation's most pressing national security matters under Tillerson, The Associated Press reported.

Pompeo, reportedly more in sync with Trump than Tillerson, will face a trying test upon his arrival in Foggy Bottom: how he will play a role in putting together a Trump-Kim summit agreed to last week.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Senate Intelligence Committee member, said he opposed the nominations of both Pompeo and Haspel to their new positions.

"Before and after his confirmation as CIA director, Mike Pompeo has demonstrated a casual relationship to truth and principle," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on his Twitter account on Tuesday 'that he hopes Pompeo will "turn over a new leaf" as secretary of state.

As deputy director of the CIA, Haspel had not previously undergone Senate onfirmation. A career veteran at the CIA, she oversaw a secret agency prison where terror suspects were subjected to a harsh interrogation technique, the AP reported on Tuesday.

Senator John McCain said Haspel needs to explain the "nature and extent" of her' involvement in the CIA's interrogation program. He called the torture of detainees in US custody "one of the darkest chapters in American history" and he said the Senate must scrutinize her involvement in the "disgraceful program", according to the AP.

Trump told reporters he has worked closely with Haspel and considers her "an outstanding person", Reuters reported.

Tillerson said his department "exceeded the expectations of almost everyone" on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He also listed the areas where much work remains to be done, including forging a way forward with China.

Tillerson said he had delegated his official duties to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, and his own tenure would end on March 31.

Jessica Chen Weiss, professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on Chinese foreign policy, said so far there's little indication that Trump consistently listens to his advisers, while there's every indication that his advisors follow Trump's lead.

"Pompeo fits this profile as well and has little diplomatic experience, so leaders and Asia and around the world will still have to guess from Trump's tweets and spur-of-themoment decisions what new tack the US plans to take," she ' said in a statement on Tuesday.

"China and Asia can probably expect more of Trump's wild swings between rhetorical confrontation and cooperation," she said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

Austin City Hall was the setting for the event, which unfolded on Alibaba's video platform and went past 2 am Monday (3 pm Tuesday in China).

The business opportunity took place as the state capital hosts the annual SXSW gathering from March 9-18. SXSW, short for the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals, celebrates the convergence of the interactive, film and music industries.

Nicole Beckley, marketing director at Merlot, an El Paso company specializing in grape seed-based skincare products, was the first to go live.

"We just started going to China last year by working with a distributor in China. This is the first time we pitched the product through Alibaba. We try to get more international exposure to make sure people outside the US know about our products," said Beckley. "This is a huge opportunity for us."

Larry MacPhee, general manager at Elta MD Skincare, discussed the company's products.

"We make sunscreen and skincare products based on science we learned in woundcare products. Sunscreen accounts for 10 percent of the $10 billion US cosmetics market. In China, the same ratio is only at 3 percent, but it's growing really fast," he said.

The company already is selling its products in China, but it was the first time it used Alibaba's platform. MacPhee said he has personally shopped on Alibaba and is impressed by its power.

Austin-based BlueAvocado was promoting its Rezip products. "Rezip products are designed to eliminate disposable plastic bags to empower our customers to be more responsible. It helps to reduce waste and ultimately helps to preserve our environment and oceans," said Paige Davis, co-founder.

Joseph Rios, sales director of Amorada Tequila, said the company's tequila is made of "100 percent agave with a different aging process. ... We hope to initiate our global relationship with China. This is a great opportunity to introduce us to China.

"We already trademarked our product in China. Hopefully after this, we will be able to figure out steps to sell in China," he said.

Others products touted included organic snack food, baby food, coffee beans and electronic wearables, all made by Austin companies.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler also participated in the webcast - with translation help from Vivian Forrest, CEO of China Gathering at SXSW. Adler explained the benefits of Austin and SXSW to the Chinese audience.

"There were 15 companies from China at the SXSW last year, and this year we have about 60; this is very exciting for us," Adler said to Forrest while preparing to go live.

"They already got about 20 orders," an excited staff member told the mayor of the first brand pitched.

Adler beamed.

"Austin is a magical place because of the people living here, the mayor told the Chinese audience. "It's a city that's creative and innovative. People want to try new things.

"The city of Austin is so excited to be part of the Alibaba program because the whole concept of the new economy and new way to market is part of the culture of this city as well," Adler said. "Every year there are more and more ties between Austin and China. Here, there are so many businesses and companies that want to make connections with China."

In a brief interview with China Daily, Alder said that when he made his first economic development trip to China about two years ago, he found that Austin was well known in China, comparable to New York or Houston.

"One of the most important stops I made was Alibaba. We talked about collaboration and what we could do for each other," Adler said. "In participating in this collaboration, we get some Austin small businesses to get exposure to markets in China. Austin is so exciting and growing, it's prime for investors and buyers in China because it's a secret that Austin is doing so good right now."

A similar pitch was conducted for the first time last year during SXSW, with viewership of about 13,000 in China, according to David Colligan, manager of global business expansion for the city of Austin.

"It's wonderful to get such visibility in such a short time for so many companies. There is a lot of fear in how people will be able to connect with foreign markets in the future; we are excited to continue international ties," said Colligan, referring to trade issues with China and other countries at the federal level.

"We want to make sure that small businesses know these opportunities are still available to them. It's all about creating the relationships and building capacity in the areas," Colligan said.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

Farmers for Free Trade, a non-profit campaign, released a TV ad on Tuesday calling on Trump to protect the trade policies US farmers depend on.

In the ad, Michelle Erickson-Jones, a fourth-generation farmer and rancher from Broadview, Montana, and president of the Montana Grain Growers Association, voices her concerns about Trump's trade policy.

"We depend on free trade policies to maintain our export markets," she says in the 30-second ad that will be aired for at least the next four weeks on cable news networks such as Fox, CNN and MSNBC, as well as online and on rural agricultural programs across the country.

"The crops that we grow here on this farm are exported across the globe. Policies that restrict trade would be devastating for farms like ours. Someday I'd like to pass the farm down to my boys. Mr. President, protect free trade and keep our agriculture economy strong," said Erickson-Jones, standing next to her husband, each holding one of their two young boys in their arms.

The ad kicks off Farmers for Free Trade's "Voice of the Farmer" campaign. The campaign has already posted a number of videos on its website featuring farmers from various states calling for free trade.

Former Montana Senator Max Baucus, who was US ambassador to China from 2014 to 2017, and former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar were co-chairs of the campaign.

"Farmers are increasingly worried about what they are seeing from Washington DC on trade," Baucus was quoted as saying in a press release by the campaign.

"When the US engages in a tit-for-tat fight with our trading partners, farmers pay the price. While we need tough trade enforcement, we need to be smart about avoiding global trade fights that hurt American agriculture," he said.

Lugar said, "American farmers and ranchers depend on policies that open markets and are hurt by policies that throw up barriers to trade."

"Escalating trade tensions will invite retaliation targeted at our farmers and will raise the price of ag equipment and inputs. We are working to ensure that American farmers are making their voices heard so that we avoid a trade war," he said.

Trump first announced on March 1 and then signed proclamations last Thursday for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962, raising concerns both at home and abroad about a possible trade war or tit-for-tat between the US and its trading partners.

Many analysts believe that US agricultural exports could be the targets in case China, the European Union and other key US trade partners choose to retaliate against the unilateral steel and aluminum tariffs.

The Chinese mainland trailed Canada in 2017 as the second-largest export market for US agricultural goods. China bought $19.6 billion in US farm goods in 2017, accounting for 14.2 percent of US agricultural exports.

The Chinese mainland is also Montana's second-largest export market after neighboring Canada. Montana's goods exports to China jumped 554 percent from 2006 to 2016 to $223 million, compared with only 50-percent growth to the rest of the world. Its services exports to China hiked 548 percent during the period to $91 million in 2016, compared with only 81 percent to the rest of the world, according to the US-China Business Council.

Oilseeds and grains, valued at $110 million, were the largest items Montana exported to China in 2016.

Last November, JD.com, China's second-largest online retailer, signed a deal in Beijing with Montana Stockgrowers Association to buy $200 million worth of Montana beef. In addition, JD.com inked a memorandum of understanding to invest another $100 million in a new slaughterhouse facility in Montana.

Erickson-Jones, who was featured in the latest ad, was present promoting Montana farm products at a China-US agricultural forum at the Morgan Ranch in Belgrade, Montana, on Sept 8, 2017, attended by representatives from the Montana farm industry, the Chinese embassy and businesses. Montana Senator Steve Daines and Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai led the discussions to explore opportunities for bilateral agricultural cooperation.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Impressed by the Gallup poll, which was conducted in February, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi cited its results at his press briefing on Thursday on the sidelines of the annual session of China's top legislature in Beijing. "Cooperation is the main thrust of China-US relations. Our people enjoy close and extensive exchanges," Wang said. "I hope people will pay more attention to such positive things," he added.

It seems the favorable rating for China will rise further in the years ahead, because despite the hyping up of the "China threat" theory in US media and the branding of Beijing as a "rival" by the White House, China's image in the US has not suffered. The number of people seeing China more positively has risen 3 percentage points from last year, according to the 2018 Gallup poll.

Why is there such a gap between the views of the White House and the US public?

"What is it that the (US) mayors and governors want? They want Chinese students, they want Chinese tourists, they want Chinese investment, they want a Chinese company to come and rescue the steel mill that's in town that might otherwise close," said Frank Wu, a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of Law.

"So you can simultaneously have incredibly harsh, the most negative rhetoric emanating from Capitol Hill that does not match with the sentiment of the average person on the street, or of politicians who are seeking investment," Wu, Chairman of Committee of 100, said at a discussion at the Brookings Institute on Wednesday in response to my question.

For long, the rising economic clout of China has been perceived as a threat to the US. There is, however, a silver lining. While according to the Gallup polls in 2013 and 2014, 52 percent of the Americans said the economic power of China posed "a critical threat" to the US' vital interests, the percentage has dropped to 40 percent now.

Wang Yi further assured the US citizens that China has no intention of displacing the US in terms of its global role, stressing that any competition between the two sides should be healthy and positive, and they should strive to be partners instead of rivals.

Apart from bilateral trade, closer contacts between the peoples will also help US and Chinese nationals to better understand each other's country. At the first US-China Social and Cultural Dialogue in Washington in September, US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the country is sending 14,000 American students to China for educational opportunities annually.

This, to some extent, is an expression of friendship toward China by the American people. The same is true of the 350,000 Chinese students studying in the US.

Domestically, Richard Larsen, US Representative for Washington's 2nd congressional district, urged the US to increase the number of students learning Chinese, as "there are an estimated 300 million English language learners in China" but "only 1.6 million Americans identifying themselves as Chinese language speakers in the last census", he said at the Brookings discussion.

During the Chinese New Year celebrations at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February, I witnessed firsthand how eager Americans were to better understand China through cultural activities. And an estimated 10,000 people attended the Chinese Family Day on Feb 17 at the Kennedy Center, where children and their parents were fascinated by Chinese folk dance, acrobatics, and shadow puppetry.

Policymakers of both countries should take advantage of and help maintain the trend of rising favorability toward China, in order to improve overall bilateral ties.

Contact the writer at zhoahuanxin@chinadailyusa.com

"At a time when the federal government unfortunately is moving in a less positive direction (on relations with China), I think it is time for California to reiterate that the relationship between California and China is extraordinarily important both culturally and economically," Assembly member Phil Ting said.

He spoke on a panel convened by the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy, and the Assembly Select Committee on Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion.

Ting said the relationship will become increasingly more important as Chinese companies rapidly expand abroad. "We obviously want to continue to have that strong trade relationship with Chinese companies," he said.

In 2017, California exported $16.4 billion worth of goods to China, ranking China as California's third-largest trade partner after Mexico and Canada. Investors from China are a leading source of foreign direct investment in California.

International trade and foreign investment are important components of the state's $2.6 trillion economy, supporting more than 4 million jobs. California leads the nation in exportrelated jobs, according to the committees' data.

Chinese investment in real estate and other areas created jobs for Americans, said Ren Faqiang, deputy Chinese consul general in San Francisco. He gave the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Chinese real estate developer Oceanwide as examples.

ICBC has 133 employees in offices on the West Coast, but only three are from China and the rest are US citizens; the Oceanwide Center, expected to be the second-tallest building in San Francisco when completed, created more than 1,000 construction-related jobs and is expected to create another 1,000 management-related jobs when the mixed-use building is put into operation, Ren said at the hearing.

"California is just so close to China; I think this might be the major reason why Chinese investors prefer California," Guo Ruda, commercial attaché of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, said at the hearing.

There are 92 flights per week connecting Los Angeles and Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao and Changsha.

The cooperation between China and California has deepened as China is increasingly focused on addressing climate change through the development and deployment of new technologies, Ren said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

About 1.08 million overseas students are studying in colleges in the US, according to the Institute of International Education report issued in November. Of them 350,755 are Chinese students, accounting for 32.5 percent of all overseas students in the US. In addition, about 40,000 Chinese students are studying in US primary and middle schools.

Suppose Chinese families on average spend $45,000 on each student's education, they would contribute about $17.9 billion each year to the US economy, excluding the expenditure of those students and their relatives on air fare, tourism and other fields.

According to the 2017 Chinese Overseas Students Report, published by the Center for China and Globalization, an independent Chinese think tank that focuses on China-US relations and exchanges, Chinese students in US universities contributed $11.43 billion, or 34.8 percent of the total overseas students' contribution, to the US economy in 2016.

Chinese students and Chinese American scholars have also become a major source of human resources for US science and technology industries and other sectors. Chinese scientists, engineers, counselors, lawyers and professors are working in US universities, Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Some Chinese Americans have also excelled in US politics, with quite a few being elected to or selected for the posts of state governors, ministers, congressmen and ambassadors.

Besides, eight Chinese Americans have won the Nobel Prize in sciences while working in the US. And some Chinese have been trained and sent back to China by US multinational companies such as Microsoft, General Electric, Goldman Sachs and McDonald's as senior executives to expand their businesses, and thus increase the companies' profits.

Which means Washington has immensely benefited from Chinese students who study in America nearly half of all Chinese students overseas in 2016 were in the US, according to Ministry of Education data.

China, too, has benefited from the students who have returned from the US, as they have helped propel China's economic development and served as a friendship bridge between China and the outside world.

Therefore, those US politicians who use espionage and national security as a pretext to incite hatred against Chinese students and scholars will end up causing more harm to US interests than to Chinese businesses.

History shows that stereotype views against a race or group will only deter friendly communication between the US and other countries and fan extremism, creating greater risks for US security and interests. The US Congress has corrected one historical mistake, though, by passing a resolution in 2012 and apologizing for the discriminating laws against Chinese immigrants about a century ago.

We hope the US and China will accord priority to bilateral interests, and promote goodwill and understanding between the two peoples to safeguard their respective national security.

There are three ways such issues can be dealt with.

First, it is necessary to form a special panel, which will help the two sides to properly understand the role of students and scholars in routine high-level social and cultural dialogue. Also, the two sides should exchange their concerns and listen to each other carefully before making efforts to resolve similar issues and improve mutual trust.

Second, related educational agencies in China should train the students and scholars before they leave for the US so that they can avoid the possible risks that come with studying or conducting research in the US and abide by US laws and rules.

Third, as the third-largest destination for foreign students, China should create more favorable conditions to woo more overseas students and scholars, especially those from the US, in order to make more Americans better understand China and thus become goodwill ambassadors of China in foreign countries.

The US and China should realize the exchange of students seeking higher education is a trend that boosts globalization and benefits both sides.

The author is founder and president of Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, and vice-chairman of Western Returned Scholars Association.

Nine immigrants and five children filed the suit in federal court in San Francisco to reinstate temporary protected status for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

The status is granted to countries ravaged by natural disasters or war. It lets citizens of those countries remain in the US until the situation improves back home.

The lawsuit - at least the third challenging the administration's decision to end temporary protected status - cites US President Donald Trump's vulgar language during a meeting in January to describe African countries.

"They did it because of xenophobia, and we need to make sure that we say it loudly so that everyone knows," said Martha Arevalo, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group, Central American Resource Center.

Arevalo spoke at a rally to announce the lawsuit outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco that was attended by some of the plaintiffs and dozens of demonstrators, some carrying signs that read, "Let Our People Stay".

One of the plaintiffs, Cristina Morales, said she came to the US in 1993 at the age of 12 after fleeing El Salvador to escape domestic violence. She received temporary protected status in 2001 and now works as an after-school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She was accompanied at the rally by her 14-year-old daughter, Crista Ramos, who along with her 11-year-old son, Diego Ramos, are US citizens.

"I don't want the government to split my family and to lose my home, my friends and the opportunity for a good education," Crista said.

Morales, 37, her voice quivering with emotion, said she has nothing to go back to in El Salvador.

"If I pay taxes, health insurance, my house and the education of my children, what I have done wrong," she said.

The lawsuit names the US Department of Homeland Security as a defendant. The department declined to comment on pending litigation.

More than 200,000 immigrants could face deportation because of the change in policy, and they have more than 200,000 American children who risk being uprooted from their communities and schools, according to plaintiffs in the case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and other immigrant advocates.

The children face the "impossible choice" of leaving their country with their parents or staying without them, according to the suit.

"These American children should not have to choose between their country and their family," Ahilan Arulanantham, advocacy and legal director of the ACLU of Southern California, said in a statement.

The Trump administration has ended the program for the other three countries as well.

The lawsuit in California alleges that the US narrowed its criteria for determining whether countries qualified for temporary protected status and is violating the constitutional rights of people with temporary protected status and their US citizen children.

Associated Press

That's what Pennsylvania officials want you to do to stop the spread of the red, yellow and blackspotted lanternfly that they say threatens $17 billion in losses to the state's agricultural sector.

Experts believe the insect may have originated in stone shipments from China, which it's native to, as well as to Vietnam and India. It can also be found in Japan and South Korea. The lanternfly first showed up in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. It has spread to 13 counties from six in the Keystone State. The seven new counties were added on Nov 3, 2017.

On Feb 7, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would give Pennsylvania $17.5 million to stop the insect from harming several important crops, including grapes, peaches and timber trees.

The lanternfly, also known as Lycorma delicatula, leaves trees streaked with sap-oozing wounds, as well as blackish mold and egg masses.

It is on the move. One was found in Delaware and one in New York state, last November. A female can lay up to 100 eggs.

On Jan 10, egg masses and multiple dead adult insects were found in a stone yard in Frederick County, Virginia. The insect threatens the local wine and beer industry.

The lantern fly's next stop may be bordering states of West Virginia and Maryland, according to state agriculture officials who are asking residents to be on the lookout. The bug "hitchhikes" on vehicles and cargo, experts say.

"We've seen a dramatic expansion in the range of this pest over the last year and we need to take decisive action to prevent the spotted lanternfly from spreading throughout Pennsylvania and into neighboring states," US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in February in a statement.

"This pest poses a significant threat to the state's more than $28 million grape, $87 million apple, and more than $19 million peach industries, as well as the hardwood industry in Pennsylvania, which accounts for nearly $17 billion in sales," the state's Agriculture Department said.

aaronhagstrom@chinadailyusa.com

Last week, Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced a major initiative called "Opportunity Alaska: China Trade Mission" to build on the longstanding economic relationship between Alaska and China.

According to a statement issued by the governor's office on March 5, the trade mission will help businesses in the "Last Frontier" state build new relationships in China and foster existing ones.

China has been the top export market for Alaskan goods since 2011. In 2017 the state exported $1.32 billion worth of goods, including $796.2 million in seafood and $64.6 million in fishmeal, which has meant work for thousands of local fishermen.

Alaska also exported $355.8 million in mineral ore, $49 million in energy, and $48 million and $5.9 million in forest products and machinery respectively to China last year. The two sides are pursuing potential partnerships for a natural gas line project.

Governor Walker, Director of International Trade Shelley James and Commerce Commissioner Mike Navarre will travel with the business delegation selected to participate in the mission, which runs from May 19 to 26.

Through high-level meetings and networking events with Chinese government and industry representatives, the mission participants are expected to engage with key decision makers to expand Alaska's reach into the world's second-largest economy.

In California, exchanges across a wide spectrum of areas with China remain vibrant and dynamic in major cities, including Sacramento.

ChinaSF, the China desk initiated by former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom in 2008, celebrated its 10th anniversary last week by announcing that it has recruited about 100 Chinese companies, provided counsel to over 1,000 Chinese companies and attracted more than $5.1 billion worth of economic impact for the city.

"ChinaSF is a leading example for international economic development in the United States," said San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, adding that the city welcomes business from China.

Among its many achievements, ChinaSF has established three offices in China - in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen and facilitated the first MOU China signed to focus on an energy efficiency initiative.

ChinaSF also co-hosted the first Invest in USA Real Estate Summit with former US ambassador to China Gary Locke in Beijing, resulting in Z&L Properties now owning 13 projects throughout California, and signed an MOU with the Bank of China to increase RMB denominated commerce.

"San Francisco is uniquely positioned," said Darlene Chiu Bryant, executive director of ChinaSF. "We are the first city with offices and boots on the ground in China to work closely with companies seriously looking at San Francisco as a destination for their entry into the US market."

On Tuesday, deputy consul-general at the Chinese Consulate General Ren Faqiang will speak at a hearing of the California state Assembly on the status and continuing economic opportunities with China, one of the Golden State's largest trading partners.

With the purpose of briefing the Legislature on California's trade activities with China, the state Assembly's committee on jobs, economic development and the economy and the select committee on Asia/California trade and investment initiated hearings to promote the concept of expanding two-way trade and investment opportunities with China.

In addition to the existing collaborations between California and China in high-tech and clean energy, opportunities in fintech, AI, and biotech life sciences continue to draw interest from China.

Interesting the difference a coast can make.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com

Investigators said the bombings are probably connected, and they are looking into whether race was a factor because all of the victims were minorities. The blasts unfolded just as the city was swelling with visitors to the South By Southwest music festival.

The first of Monday's attacks killed a 17-year-old boy and wounded a 40-year-old woman, both of them black. As Police Chief Brian Manley held a news conference to discuss that attack, authorities were called to the scene of another explosion that injured a 75-year-old Hispanic woman. She was taken to a hospital with potentially life-threatening wounds.

Authorities suspect that both of Monday's explosions were linked to a March 2 attack that killed a 39-year-old black man. All three blasts happened as the packages were opened, and officials urged the public to call police if they receive any unexpected packages.

"This is the third in what we believe to be related incidents over the past 10 days," Manley said while briefing reporters near the site of Monday's second explosion. He at first suggested that the blasts could constitute a hate crime, but later amended that to say authorities had not settled on a motive.

"We are not ruling anything out at this point," said Manley, who said the intended targets were not clear since multiple people live in the homes where explosives were placed. "We are willing to investigate any avenue that may be involved."

The police chief refused to provide many details about how the explosives were packaged, citing the ongoing investigation. But he said they were an "average-size letter box" and "not particularly large".

In all three cases, he said, the packages did not appear to have gone through the US Postal Service or private carriers like UPS. They were left on doorsteps without a knock or ringing of doorbells.

The explosions happened far from the main events of the popular festival known as SXSW, which brings about 400,000 visitors to Austin each year. Manley urged visitors to "be aware of what's going on".

"Enjoy yourself. Have a good time," he said. "There's no reason to believe that you are at any greater risk other than be aware, look for things that are suspicious."

In a tweet, organizers of the festival said "SXSW is heartbroken by the explosions in Austin," and they urged visitors to stay safe. Governor Greg Abbott offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Four years ago, a driver plowed through a barricade and into festival-goers, killing four people and injuring many others. Extra security measures were taken, including additional policing, tougher security checks and brighter street lighting.

Monday's first blast happened at a home in Springdale Hills, a leafy neighborhood of houses mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. After the attack, officials in hazardous materials suits came and went regularly.

That was about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the home where the March 2 package bomb killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House. House's death was initially investigated as suspicious but is now viewed as a homicide.

Monday's second explosion occurred around the Montopolis neighborhood, about 5 miles south of the day's first blast.

The victims in Monday's blasts were not immediately identified.

Associated Press

When it comes to children's education, Chinese parents are known to begrudge no expense and spare no effort. "Don't lose at the starting point" - a saying circulated among parents of young children - has been popular for years.

Educational programs covering various subjects have been mushrooming across China's big cities. English-language classes, especially taught by foreign teachers, are among the most popular.

More companies have shifted to online video classes linking teachers in the US to students in China, which is more profitable as it engages with more students and costs less than relocating the teachers to China.

"Increasing income" and "second-child policy" are the main driving forces in the business, said Mi Wenjuan, CEO of VIPkid, a Beijing-based English-language education company targeting children 4 to 12.

"The growing middle-class parents demand private, one-on-one lessons for their children," she told an excited audience of middle-aged women packed in a hotel room in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday.

They were the company's contract teachers. Almost all of them are full-time mothers, and belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, said one of the teachers, who gave only her first name Christina.

"Our religion values family. That's why we have a lot of (contract) teachers here," she said.

In 2017, VIPkid's 25-minute-long classes raked in $760 million in revenue, according to Mi. The US teachers are paid $14-$18 per hour, according to the company's job posting at LinkedIn. People with at least one year of teaching experience, either in school or a tutoring setting, are qualified for the job.

The company touts "working at home" and "no lesson planning is required" as perks in the job description.

The teachers seem to be happy with the pay for a "work-from-home job". An entry-level teacher in Salt Lake City makes $32,000 a year, said Christina, who is paid $16 an hour by VIPkid.

China's online education promises an almost $43 billion market in 2019 with an annual growth rate of 20 percent, according to Beijing-based market consultancy iResearch.

Coming along with the rapid expansion of the companies is the increasing demand from the US teachers to improve management.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

Instead, he chose to fault China for its activities in Africa, saying they encouraged dependency using opaque contracts, predatory loan practices and corrupt deals that mire nations in debt and undercut their sovereignty, denying them their long-term, self-sustaining growth.

The top US diplomat also attacked China as being a colonial power before his trip to Latin America a month ago, only to be met by Peruvian Trade and Tourism Minister Eduardo Ferreyros who praised China as a good trade partner.

The same is true in Africa. "I think the Africans are mature enough to engage in partnerships of their own volition which will be useful for the country - for the countries and the continent," said African Union Chairman Moussa Faki in response to Tillerson's criticism at a joint press conference on Thursday.

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Ali Youssouf dismissed the hype of his country's debt to China, saying it "is so far manageable" and "let me first underline the fact that no country can develop itself without having a strong infrastructure. And China is, from that perspective, a very good partner."

In fact, when Tillerson landed in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, last Wednesday on the first leg of his trip, he might have been surprised to see a modern light-rail system that was built by China Railway Group Ltd and began operation in 2015, a year after I made a reporting tour to the up-and-coming African nation.

He might also have been struck by a 759-kilometer modern railway linking Addis to neighboring Djibouti that began commercial operations on Jan 1 this year. More than 95 percent of the trade of landlocked Ethiopia passes through Djibouti.

When Tillerson claimed the US sees a bright future in Africa, I thought he meant China, not only because I wrote about Chinese optimism in Africa, but the BBC also reported last week that Chinese construction firms have made significant improvements to long-neglected infrastructure in a number of countries.

Chinese believe that Ethiopia and many African countries have the potential to repeat China's economic miracle while avoiding all the mistakes China made in the past four decades.

Tillerson should have toured the Eastern Industrial Zone in Dukem just outside Addis where Chinese companies are contributing to the local industrial modernization, training workers and creating tens of thousands of jobs. It would instantly invalidate all of Tillerson's accusations about China.

David Dollar, a former US Treasury emissary in Beijing under the Obama administration and once a World Bank country director for China, has done extensive research about China in both Africa and Latin America. When I sought his views on accusations by Tillerson recently and Hillary Clinton a few years ago, he denounced their words as "nonsense", "hard to back up with evidence" and "a humiliation" to African and Latin American countries.

Douglas Paal, director of the Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, just returned from a fact-finding trip in Africa. In a talk at the Brookings Institution last Wednesday, he praised China's economic activity there and said the countries welcomed it.

Paal, an expert on China who served in the George H. W. Bush administration, called Tillerson's speech on Tuesday "terrible", "an impoverished speech conceptually and counterproductive tactically" and "setting American policy in the wrong direction".

Deborah Brautigam, director of the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was quoted by CNN on Saturday saying that Tillerson sounds very much like Secretary Clinton.

"He's making some of the same basic errors in terms of analyzing what China is doing in Africa," Brautigam said, adding that accusing Chinese investment of creating few jobs "doesn't accurately reflect the situation in many countries".

Tillerson's speech may aim to distract African nations from anger at US President Donald Trump who allegedly derided African nations in January as "shithole countries" or Tillerson's own deeds in the old days when he pushed for deals in African countries widely accused of corruption and poor human rights in his capacity as chief executive of Exxon Mobil. African oil exports account for some 90 percent of US-Africa trade.

The fact that Tillerson is the highest-ranking US official to visit Africa 14 months after the Trump administration took office proves its lack of interest in the continent. The current State Department so far still has not filled the vacancy of assistant secretary for African affairs.

The US has also been cutting its USAID programs in Africa and its contribution to UN peacekeeping, much of which is conducted in Africa.

Whatever the motive, Tillerson's scheme is unlikely to succeed in front of the enormous Chinese enthusiasm and optimism in African nations. Of course, Africa would benefit much more if the US, instead of nitpicking about China, could join hands with China in tapping the huge growth potential of the continent.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

"We have much to learn from the history and success of China. For many years, China has enjoyed, among other wonderful things, a rich oral tradition, and the contributions made to it from the wide array of its cultural traditions," said Raymond Singer, Annie Award-winning screenwriter of Mulan.

In the 20 years since the Disney film came out, its director Tony Bancroft hasn't been to the land of Mulan's roots. "For me, it's a full circle tour of where my favorite heroine was born," he said.

The trip will take Bancroft, Singer and five other filmmakers to Mulan's birthplace - the Huangpi district in Wuhan city.

During the March 13-14 visit, they will take in the natural beauty of Mulan Mountain, and see a number of Mulan-themed performances, such as Mulan's horse fighting show, local opera and a Wushu performance by Mulan Martial Arts School.

They also will visit places of historical interest, like Hubei Ming Dynasty King Fang's Museum and the General's Temple, according the organizer, US-Asia Innovation Gateway, a Silicon Valley-based non-profit organization.

The group has organized two Hollywood Masters' China Trips over the past year to connect Hollywood filmmakers with their Chinese counterparts and potential investors in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

"Mulan is a strong-willed and determined girl. She is as tough as she is caring. Those characteristics make her popular to contemporary audiences," said Bancroft, a veteran director at Walt Disney Animation and Sony Pictures who recently directed the film Animal Crackers.

"I believe the tale of Mulan appeals to Westerners because at its core, it's about a daughter's respect for her family and especially her father," Bancroft said. "For Western audiences, that is a very appealing dramatic story to start with. Then it also has a lot of comic fun to it that adds to the appeal of the story."

Mulan is based on the tale of Hua Mulan, a legendary female warrior from ancient China, who disguised herself as a man in order to sign up for the army, replacing her father. She is Disney's first Chinese "princess".

A live-action remake of the 1998 film is expected to be released in 2019. Chinese actress Crystal Liu Yifei has been cast in the title role.

"No matter our conditioning of culture, the geographical place we call home, or the language and myths we use to tell our stories, we all connect on the same fundamental level of yearning to love, to serve and to be loved and respected for who we truly are when we are at our best," he said.

"That is what the film, the legend and its appeal are at their very core," Singer added.

From Mulan to the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Hollywood filmmakers have shown increased interest in Chinese culture and folklore.

"It's a treasure trove of stories," said Singer. "By bringing them to a Western audience, and giving new life to an Eastern ones, we can shrink the differences between us and make a path towards a more harmonious and empathic world."

"I think we have only just begun to see films that are influenced by Chinese culture and stories based on its folklore," said Bancroft.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

Experts from the cultural relics authority of Northwest China's Shaanxi province met with the staff of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last week to discuss compensation for and restoration of a 2,200-year-old Terracotta Warrior, whose thumb was broken off by a visitor at the museum in December.

Wu Haiyun, the project manager at the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, told China Central Television (CCTV) that the Shaanxi cultural relics authority dispatched two experts to the US to restore the statue.

Wu came to Philadelphia with two experts from the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum. And now they've been back to China with the relic to continue the restoration work, according to the authority.

According to Wu's interview with CCTV last week, experts from the Franklin Institute also flew to China with the Chinese experts and statue to continue the restoration work.

"We will mainly focus on the evaluation of the damage of the relic and the negotiation of the compensation methods, as well as how to work together to repair the relic with the Franklin Institute," Guo Xiangdong, assistant commissioner of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum told CCTV.

"We are also looking at other damages to the Terracotta Warrior's statue, for example, what did the suspect do to the thumb after he brought it back home?" Rong Bo, a researcher at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum, said in the same interview with CCTV.

According to the FBI, the statue dates to 209 BC and is worth $4.5 million. Wu said that the purpose of setting a price for the cultural relic is to protect it when it's shipped and displayed in other countries.

"The cultural relics are priceless, and we loan them to other countries because we want to promote art and culture exchange as well as understanding of Chinese culture and history," said Wu, adding that the value of cultural relics is showing them to the public.

"We reviewed all the security protocols and procedures provided by the security company, and they also demonstrated their surveillance cameras and alarm system," said Wu. "But the security did not lock the door and the alarm system didn't work because of that."

The Franklin Institute said in a statement to China Daily that the Institute has the utmost respect for the Terracotta Warriors and the rich cultural heritage they embody.

"This was a deplorable act, and we share in the condemnation of this crime as expressed by our partners at the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center," the statement said. "The institute has been working with the FBI and the United States attorney's office to ensure that justice for the individual responsible is served; we will continue to cooperate fully with our partners in China to maintain and protect the warriors with the utmost care and reverence."

The exhibition concluded on March 4.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

SXSW (South by Southwest), originally started as a musical festival in 1987, has grown into an international fair of music, film and emerging technologies.

Scores of executives from China's companies at the forefront of innovation such as Alibaba, Ehang, Mobike, Ant Financial and others have joined the festivities. Over the past two days, some of them have displayed their technologies for the SXSW audience and garnered some favorable attention. More will be discussing their innovations over the following days.

"SXSW is one of our top priorities this year," said Li Qiangmin, consul general of China in Houston. He organized a large consular delegation including Deputy Consul General Wang Yu to attend this year's SXSW.

Li said that he was very surprised to see hundreds of Chinese faces at SXSW. "I have run into more than 60 executives from Chinese companies," Li said. "This is a very good platform to gather together music, film and high tech. I am very happy to see that SXSW created a China Gathering platform to engage China, and I hope to see more Chinese companies taking part in SXSW."

Vivian Forrest, founder and CEO of China Gathering, said that while the delegation that's come through China Gathering numbered more than 40, many others have come on their own. She hopes to eventually organize them to more coherently present China.

This marks the first year that executives from Chinese companies have conducted solo presentations at SXSW. "They can use this platform of SXSW to bring Chinese companies onto the world stage. Some Chinese executives told me that they consider SXSW a newly discovered treasure for US-China collaboration in innovation," Li said.

As innovation has been a priority for the Chines government, Li said the consulate will work closely with China Gathering to enhance China's profile in the future.

SXSW's emerging technologies are so attractive that organizers of the US-China Innovation and Investment Summit have decided to invite SXSW participants with innovative projects to join its May summit in Houston. Any innovation at SXSW will instantly become one of its InnoSTARS finalists if they join the UCIS through the China Gathering platform. Those projects will then have the opportunity to be pitched to Chinese companies on a yearlong tour of China.

Hugh Forrest, chief program officer of SXSW, said that in the last five to 10 years, international participation has increased greatly. "However, nowhere is our need to grow connections more significant and more important than with China. When we talk about emerging technology and innovation, China can't be ignored," Forrest said. He urged the Chinese present to spread the word about SXSW and help the connections grow even more for next year.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler welcomed Chinese guests at City Hall. "SXSW is the World's Fair of the future. I am happy to see Chinese companies have grown in number from 15 last year to over 60 this year. My very first trip as mayor internationally was to Southeast Asia and China. We have so much to learn about each other. SXSW, where good ideas become reality, is the right place for us to be connected," Adler said.

"There are so many presentations going on at the same time that people have to choose carefully what they listen to. Whoever attended my presentation was truly interested in what we are doing; it's more focused," said Derrick Xiong, co-founder and CMO of Ehang, who presented Ehang's pilotless airplane to an audience of more than 200 on Friday.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

US President Donald Trump signed two proclamations on Thursday afternoon in the White House to impose 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports but he offered potential exemption for a number of countries.

Trump first announced the tariffs on March 1 after a Commerce Department investigation under the Section 232 of US Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that found the imports threaten to impair US national security.

Wang Hejun, head of the trade remedy and investigation bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, said the US measures are in essence trade protectionism in the guise of national security. He said most US steel and aluminum imports are for civil use and by no means impair US national security.

Wang said the US abuse of the "national security" provision is a 'wanton sabotage' of the multilateral trading system represented by the World Trade Organization, and is set to hurt the normal international trading order.

"China firmly opposes that," he said in a statement posted on the ministry website.

"China urges the US to respect the authority of the multilateral trading system and revoke the decision as soon as possible,"

Wang said China has lodged solemn complaints with the US side through multiple channels and said China will assess its loss caused by the US measures. "(China) will take strong measures to safeguard its legitimate interests," Wang said.

The China Iron and Steel Association on Friday called on the Chinese government to retaliate against the US move by targeting "stainless steel products, galvanized sheet, seamless pipe, coal, agriculture products and electronic products," imported from the US, the association said in a statement posted on its website.

Trump's decision, though applauded by US steel and aluminum producers, was strongly opposed by many who worry about a potential trade war with US trade partners, a disruption in the global trading system and a rising cost of raw materials for many US industries.

Trump said that Mexico and Canada, the two countries that are renegotiating with the US the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will be exempted for now. He said the tariffs will still apply to the US' two North American neighbors "if we don't make the deal on NAFTA and if we terminate NAFTA because they are unable to make a deal that's fair".

Some US security allies could also be excluded if they can justify it, according to Trump.

The new tariffs will take effect on March 23.

"The actions we are taking today are not a matter of choice; they are a matter of necessity for our security," Trump said at the signing ceremony at the White House, surrounded by key cabinet members and several representatives from the steel and aluminum industries.

"You don't have steel, you don't have a country," he said.

Many US lawmakers from Trump's Republican Party have criticized the decision. John McCain, senator from Arizona, said that the tariffs will not protect America.

"They will harm the American economy, hurt American workers & damage relations with America's allies & partners," McCain said in a tweet on Thursday. Major steel and aluminum exporters to the US are close US allies and partners.

Jeff Flake, a Republican senator from Arizona, threatened on Thursday to draft a bill to nullify Trump's decision.

There has been intensive lobbying going on since Trump's March 1 announcement. More than 100 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday urging him to drop plans for the sweeping tariffs.

Before Trump's signing, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva warned Trump to be "careful" before imposing the controversial tariffs, saying that they could affect global trade, Reuters reported.

The European Union, where Georgieva once served, on Wednesday announced a provisional list of US items it plans to retaliate with.

Trump noted on Thursday that the US is negotiating with China. "We're in the midst of a big negotiation. I don't know if anything will come of it. They have been very helpful," said Trump.

On Wednesday, he tweeted that China has been asked to develop a plan for the year of a $1 billion reduction in their trade deficit with the US. "Our relationship with China has been a very good one, and we look forward to seeing what ideas they come back with. We must act soon!" he wrote on the tweet.

Trump said on Thursday he has a lot of respect for President Xi Jinping but said the bilateral deficit will be cut "one way or another". "We have a deficit with China of at least $500 billion and when you add intellectual property, it's much higher than that," he said.

Trump has always depicted the US trade deficit as a loss for the US, a view that most economists disagree with. China's trade deficit with the US was $375 billion in 2017, according to the US Commerce Department.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

US President Donald Trump has agreed to meet face-to-face with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-un by May, in what could be the biggest breakthrough in the tense relationship with Pyongyang.

The planned summit was announced by South Korean national security director, Chung Eui-yong, who was in Washington to brief the latest inter-Korea talks held early this week.

"President Trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization," he told reporters outside the White House.

Trump was apparently delighted by the briefing.

"Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!" he said in a tweet.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on her Twitter account that the place and time will be determined.

"We look forward to the denuclearization of NK. In the meantime all sanctions & maximum pressure must remain," she tweeted.

Early on Thursday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the US and DPRK to conduct dialogue as soon as possible.

All relevant sides, particularly the US and the DPRK, should make contact and conduct dialogue as soon as possible based on the "dual-track approach", advance denuclearization of the peninsula and promote peace mechanisms, Wang said on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it will not be all smooth sailing ahead of us," Wang said, as various disruptions could occur when tensions ease off.

Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is "a long way from negotiations" with the DPRK, which earlier this week made an offer to discuss denuclearization.

"I think as President Trump has indicated, (there are) potentially positive signals coming from North Korea by way of their intra-Korean dialogue with South Korea," Tillerson, who is in Ethiopia on his first-ever Africa tour, told reporters.

But "in terms of direct talks ... we're a long way from negotiations, we just need to be very clear-eyed and realistic about it," Agence France-Presse quoted the top US diplomat as saying.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

The two must respect each other, combine strengths and pursue win-win cooperation for a sustained, healthy and steady growth of bilateral relations, he told a media briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing national two sessions.

"China and the US don't have to be rivals. If there is any competition, it has to be healthy and positive," he said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets the media during the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing on Thursday. Kuang Linhua / China Daily

As the top two economies of the world and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, working together will not only benefit the two countries per se but the entire world, he noted.

China's success is underpinned by its commitment to peaceful development and winwin cooperation, meaning that its path is completely different from that of traditional powers.

"Therefore, the conclusion that China will replace the US is fundamentally wrong. China is on a long march to modernization. It has no need or intention to displace America."

In fact, the more China develops, the more contributions it will make to the world, he said.

The minister also said that a trade war is never the right solution in a globalized world, as it will harm both the initiator and the target country.

"In an event of a trade war, China will make a justified and necessary response. ... But the two countries' interests are so deeply intertwined that we should bear in mind the interest of our own people and the well-being of the world," the minister said.

He suggested that both nations have a calm and constructive dialogue as equals in order to find a win-win solution.

Wang also called on the US and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to engage in direct talks soon.

The recent easing of tensions on the peninsula, which came as Pyongyang and Seoul engaged in a series of interaction over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is within the bounds of reason, Wang said, adding that China fully supports the efforts by the DPRK and the Republic of Korea to improve ties.

The fact that during the Winter Games, the DPRK did not conduct any nuclear test, and that the US and ROK suspended their joint exercises targeting the DPRK proves China's proposal that a suspensionfor-suspension was the right prescription for the problem, and created basic conditions for the improvement of inter-Korea relations, the foreign minister said.

"History has reminded us time and again that whenever tension in the peninsula subsided, the situation would be clouded by various interferences," Wang warned, urging all parties to demonstrate political courage and make a political decision to carry out all necessary engagement, bilateral and multilateral, to restart dialogue for a peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Contact the writers at wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

China will continue to pursue stable economic growth this year, setting its GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent, and further open up its economy to foreign investors, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday morning while delivering the annual Government Work Report.

The country opposes protectionism and supports the settlement of trade disputes through negotiation, Li told the first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

The growth target is unchanged from last year's despite China's achievement of a higher-than-expected 6.9 percent GDP growth in 2017, the first acceleration in seven years. This year's report does not contain wording similar to last year's, which said that "a higher growth rate will be pursued if possible in practice".

"The Chinese economy is expected to be quite stable this year and the priority will be put on improving growth quality and efficiency," Liu Shijin, a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee member, told reporters.

Li said that the country will forcefully pursue high-quality development, a stance that was put forward by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, at the 19th National Congress of the Party.

Li also said China will continue to carry out the three critical battles - namely forestalling and defusing major risks, targeting poverty alleviation and controlling pollution.

"The government is trying to tackle environmental protection, high housing prices and medical reform as well as educational reform. If the government can tackle these issues, that means more people would be able to enjoy the fruit of economic development," Henry Gao, associate professor at the School of Law at Singapore Management University, was quoted by Channel NewsAsia as saying.

Li vowed, "Reform will be further deepened, opening-up will be further expanded."

China will fully open up its general manufacturing sectors to foreign investors, expand opening-up in such sectors as telecommunications, health, education, elderly care and new energy vehicles, and open up the bank card settlement market in an orderly manner, he ensured.

China will also ease entry into such fields as insurance, banking, securities, fund management and futures and financial asset management, and will further simplify procedures for doing business for foreign businesses, the premier added. The foreign investment approval system will give way to negative list management, he said.

The negative list defines which fields are inaccessible for foreign investors, while others are presumed to be open. The list is meant to facilitate foreign investment as the country's policies become more predictable.

"Further opening up China's economy for foreign investment - including establishment of a nationwide negative list - will be key for productivity increases in the economy," said Bert Hofman, the World Bank's country director for China. "It will also contribute to maintaining an open international economic system, which remains key for China's future and healthy development of the world economy."

Li also said China will take forceful measures to forestall financial risks. It will improve supervision over shadow banking, internet finance and financial holding companies as well as improving financial regulation and strengthening local government debt management.

The Government Work Report also reviewed China's reform and development over the past five years.

Li said, "Over the past five years, we have encountered a great many problems and challenges. ... The achievements we made ... we owe to the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to the concerted efforts of the Party, the military, and the people of all our nation's ethnic groups."

xinzhiming@chinadaily.com.cn

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, joins a panel discussion with the deputies from Inner Mongolia autonomous region at the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing on Monday. Xie Huanchi / xinhua

Yangpu, the largest district of Shanghai, hosted a talent recruiting event on Sunday night at Stanford University, attracting around 300 participants. It's the first time representatives from the district have come to Silicon Valley looking for talent.

On Tuesday, it will host a similar event in Seattle, another hot spot of high-tech talent in the US.

Less than a week ago, Beijing announced 20 new measures to attract more foreign talent to the capital, especially to its high-tech hub Zhongguancun Science Park, which is known as China's Silicon Valley.

Both cities are touting their preferential policies and favorable environment as "the most innovation friendly".

"In Yangpu, we will let you feel the temperature of innovation and entrepreneurship when you open the window; in Yangpu, we will let you breathe the air of opportunity when you walk in the street," Li Yueqi, Party secretary of Yangpu district, told the participants at the event.

As the most densely populated district in central Shanghai, Yangpu has 20 science and technology parks and factories with a total space of more than 100 million square feet.

The district also is home to at least 10 famous Chinese universities, including Fudan, Tongji and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, as well as more than 100 research institutes, according to a brochure presented at the event.

Li also introduced the district's "3310 Plan", under which qualified recruits are entitled to about $157.5 million in startup capital, free use of 2,150 square feet of office space, nearly $1 million in subsidized loans and seven other subsidies.

"Last year, more than 2,000 startups were registered in Yangpu, more than any other district of the city," said Li Yaping, deputy magistrate of the district. "We also provide follow-up service to those newly established, small-sized projects, such as housing and funding support."

Li said she had noticed a new trend among the high-tech expatriates in recent years. "More and more people choose to work in both countries - they base their research in the US and develop the products in China, and their children live in the US for education," said Li.

"It drives innovative and technological exchanges between the two countries," she added.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), in collaboration with celebrated theater director and visual artist Robert Wilson, has organized the exhibition that highlights the drama, rituals and opulence of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Visitors to the Power and Beauty in China's Last Dynasty see four centuries of Chinese culture and history in a display that uses sound, lighting, gold leaf, thatch and mud and priceless artifacts, most of which are from the MIA's own collection.

"We have been thinking about how to do something different to connect our collection with the public," Liu Yang, curator of Chinese art at the MIA said in an interview. Liu designed the exhibit in collaboration with Wilson.

"We want visitors to feel as though they are part of this closed, ritualized, and sometimes even dangerous world," Matthew Welch, the MIA's deputy director and chief curator said in a statement.

As for visitors, the exhibit, which runs until May 27, has been drawing people from the US and overseas, according to Liu.

"Everyone who visits the show is so amazed by the unusual and unprecedented drama that is presented. This is something they have never seen before," he said.

The exhibit is composed of 10 galleries with more than 2,000 objects from the Qing Dynasty. The soundscape in one gallery is a composition of various sounds such as car horns, shattering glass and brass instruments. Another gallery features five imperial robes.

Ann Waltner, who teaches Chinese history at the University of Minnesota, said she has never seen a display where the objects were so carefully displayed.

"In the room that evokes a regal lady's boudoir, the gowns hang on frames that mimic the contours of the human body, and a gentle breeze rustles the hems. This gives the gowns a much different feel than you get from the way they are normally displayed," she wrote in an email.

"The Buddhist room allows the viewer an intimate encounter with the statues," Waltner continued. "In an ordinary exhibit, the viewer is separated from the art in a way that does not happen here. What Robert Wilson did is use splendid objects from the Qing Dynasty to enact his imagination of what the Qing was like."

Waltner said the Qing Dynasty occupies a significant role in China's history.

"It could be argued that for most of the reign of the Qianlong emperor (who reigned from 1735-1795), China was the most powerful, artistically sophisticated and wealthy country on earth. I would say that the Qing is notable for powerful rulers (Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong); important literary works (Dream of the Red Mansion); growing social and economic inequality, which led to the Taiping and other rebellions in the 19th century, and a confrontation with Western imperialism beginning with the Opium War in 1840-42," she said.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

The long tradition of academic collaboration and attracting the best and the brightest to the US has fostered innovation and benefited all Americans. That some politicians tarnish specific ethnic groups is a disaster.

"My only regret is that I have to adjudicate Mr. Wang," said US District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga in Miami, Florida on Feb 20, expressing her displeasure about a case.

She was presiding over the federal government's prosecution of Wang Chunzai, a former research oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the US Department of Commerce.

Wang, 56, a naturalized US citizen living in Miami, is one of the world's foremost experts on ocean-atmosphere interaction, climate change and hurricanes.

According to a court news release on Feb 22, while a NOAA employee, Wang had entered into contractual agreements beginning in 2010 to work on several of China's scholastic programs that mobilize scientific talents to strengthen basic research in line with China's national strategic targets.

Wang was charged with supplementing his income in violation of law. While on an annual leave, Wang was a guest professor at a Chinese university and was paid a small per diem for mentoring students.

Wang pleaded guilty to a charge of accepting a salary from another source while working for NOAA. On Feb 20, he was sentenced in federal court to time served.

Wang's attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, who has defended against many unfair prosecutions brought against Chinese Americans, said in a letter to the Congressional Asian American Caucus that "the prosecutors had issued a press release with unproven allegations presented as if they were established facts".

"There can be only one reason to issue a false and misleading press release: not satisfied with making Dr Wang unemployable in the US, the government now seeks to vindictively impact his job prospects in China," Zeidenberg said.

"It should disturb all Americans who believe in the rule of law that the Department of Justice violated its own policies to smear Dr Wang in order to extract an extrajudicial penalty in a case that the court believed should never have been brought," he said.

Altonaga said that given the nature of Wang's contributions to a subject - climate change - that is top of mind, "certainly he made certain mistakes here, but it's regrettable that it could not have been taken care of, I think, by some type of pretrial diversion so that he would not be an adjudicated felon".

Wang was unfairly targeted and victimized by his own government, a fact recognized by the judge in his case, Zeidenberg said.

Calling the case "another example of the harsh treatment of Chinese Americans", the Committee of 100 (C100), a non-profit leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia and the arts, issued a statement on Friday to express its concerns about Wang's prosecution.

Earlier, C100 teamed with other Asian-American organizations to release an open letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, calling for a meeting to discuss his recent remarks "apparently characterizing all persons of Chinese origin in the United States as a national security threat".

On Feb 13, when asked by US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida at a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing to comment on "the counterintelligence risk posed to US national security from Chinese students, particularly those in advanced programs in the sciences and mathematics", Wray responded: "I think in this setting I would just say that the use of nontraditional collectors, especially in the academic setting, whether it's professors, scientists, students, we see in almost every field office that the FBI has around the country. It's not just in major cities. It's in small ones as well. It's across basically every discipline."

Wray continued, "they're taking advantage of it. So one of the things we're trying to do is view the China threat as not just a whole-of-government threat but a whole-of-society threat on their end, and I think it's going to take a whole-of-society response by us. So it's not just the intelligence community, but it's raising awareness within our academic sector, within our private sector, as part of the defense."

Wray's remarks are an insult to Asian Americans, who number 18 million.

In the American system of checks and balances, an independent judiciary serves to ensure due process, equal protection and fairness.

At a time of prejudice toward Chinese Americans, even those who have served the interests of the United States, officials such as Judge Altonaga are crucial to the protection of our principles.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is not backing down from the steel and aluminum tariffs he announced last week, despite mounting pressure from both home and abroad.

US House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Monday that he was "extremely worried" about the impact of a trade war, adding that it could undermine economic gains created by the new tax reduction program.

"We're not backing down," Trump told reporters during a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. But Trump also said, "I don't think you're going to have a trade war".

Trump said last Thursday that he will sign measures this week to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports to protect the domestic industries, under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which determines the imports that pose a national security threat.

The announcement, applauded by US steel and aluminum producers, has triggered widespread concerns over possible trade wars with US trading partners.

The US stock market took a hit after the announcement. But on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 336.70 points higher at 24,874.76 amid sentiment that Trump may change his mind under the mounting pressure, especially from his own Republican Party and the US business community. Trump is known for changing his rhetoric from time to time, from the Korean Peninsula to gun control.

Republican senators, such Orrin Hatch of Utah, the longest-serving Republican senator in US history, and Ben Sasse from Nebraska, have criticized the tariffs as a tax on US consumers.

Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organization, on Monday reiterated his concerns over a possible escalation of trade retaliation.

"Once we start down this path, it will be very difficult to reverse direction. An eye for an eye will leave us all blind and the world in deep recession. We must make every effort to avoid the fall of the first dominoes. There is still time," he told a WTO meeting.

On Monday, Trump again blasted US trade partners who he said take advantage of the US. But he indicated that if Mexico and Canada will make a fair deal in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he may exempt them from the tariffs.

The latest round of talks to revamp NAFTA ended in Mexico City on Monday without a trilateral statement from the US, Canada and Mexico. Both Canada and Mexico, major steel aluminum exporters to the US, have vowed to retaliate if Trump imposes the tariffs on them.

Trump also said on Monday he would tax cars from the European Union if they retaliate against his new tariffs. He accused the EU of having "trade barriers that are far worse than tariffs".

He again equated US trade deficits as a loss for the country, an argument that is dismissed by almost all economists.

"The biggest problem is China, we lost $500 billion," he said. "How previous presidents allowed that to happen is disgraceful."

The US trade deficit jumped 12.1 percent in 2017 to $566 billion. That includes $375.2 billion with China, according to the US Commerce Department. Chinese data show the surplus is much lower.

Most economists believe a bilateral trade deficit does not matter, and the US' trade deficit has more to do with its own macroeconomic policies, saving rates and the role of the dollar as a global reserve currency. Trump's tax cut measures also are xpected to help expand the trade deficit by stimulating imports.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, wrapped up his visit to the United States at the invitation of the US government on Saturday.

During his visit, which started on Feb 27, Liu met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer to discuss bilateral economic and trade cooperation and other key issues of mutual concern, according to a press release from China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Liu, who is also the head of the Chinese side in the China-US Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, said that President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump have maintained close communications this year through phone calls and letters, pointing the way forward for China-US relations.

He called on the two sides to make concerted efforts to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, expand practical economic and trade cooperation, strive to settle thorny issues, and promote a balanced development of bilateral economic and trade relations in order to bring more benefit to the peoples of the two nations.

Liu said that China will further push forward its comprehensive reform and opening up, and China and the US, with their complementary economies, have huge potential for cooperation.

"A stable economic and trade relationship between China and the United States conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries as well as the development and prosperity of the global economy," Liu was quoted as saying in the press release.

The visit came at a time when China and many other US trade partners expressed deep concerns over the growing protectionist measures announced by the Trump administration that could lead to a tit-for-tat trade war and a major disruption of the global trading regime.

During his meetings with senior US officials, Liu elaborated China's stance on a number of issues such as trade balance and market access. The Foreign Ministry described the talks as "candid and constructive", and said the two sides agreed that cooperation, rather than confrontation, should be the way forward to solving their economic and trade frictions in order to maintain a healthy development of the relationship.

The two sides agreed to continue their talks on related issues in Beijing in the near future to pave the way for further cooperation. They also agreed that Liu's visit helped promote mutual understanding and cooperation.

Tensions have risen between the US and China after the US initiated a Section 301 investigation last August into China's intellectual property policy and practice, a move that is inconsistent with World Trade Organization principles. The US has also designated China as a major strategic competitor in its latest National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy.

Trump triggered serious global concerns about a trade war when he announced last Thursday that he would sign measures this upcoming week to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports after the US Commerce Department probe under the Section 232 of US Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that found steel and aluminum imports pose a national security threat to the US.

World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo warned on Friday that the WTO is "clearly concerned" at Trump's announcement. "The potential for escalation is real, as we have seen from the initial responses of others," he said in a statement. "A trade war is in no one's interest."

Canada and the European Union have protested the announcement and vowed to take countermeasures to protect their own interests.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called the tariffs "absolutely unacceptable" and said they would cause serious market disruption on both sides of the border. Canada is the largest steel and aluminum exporter to the US, while China accounts for less than 3 percent of US steel imports.

The EU has planned a proportional $3.5 billion penalty on US exports, ranging from blue jeans, orange juice and motorcycles to rice, cranberries and bourbon that are produced in states that voted for Trump.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

"I remember when I was growing up, US Steel that was the ultimate company. And today, you have so many closed plants," said Trump, with David Burritt, president and CEO of US Steel, sitting next to him.

Trump was right. US Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was once the largest steel producer and the largest corporation in the world. Its production peaked at more than 35 million tons in 1953, when Trump was 7 years old; its employee rolls were the highest in 1943 with 340,000 people.

Today, the total employment in the US steel industry is just 140,000, and US Steel had 29,000 employees at the end of 2017, according to its annual report.

The company ranked 24th in the world for steel production in 2016. Of the total 39 steel companies in the world that had output over 10 million tons, 20 of them are on the Chinese mainland. Nucor Corp, the other US steel producer on the list, ranked 12th.

China has leapfrogged to become the world's largest steel producer. In 2017, China produced 832 million tons of steel, followed by 169 million tons in the European Union, 105 million tons in Japan, 101 million tons in India and 82 million tons in the US, according to the World Steel Association. Back in 1980, when the US produced 101 million tons of crude steel, China's output was 37 million tons.

However, China accounts for about 2 percent of US steel imports and is not among the top 10 steel exporters to the US. Some 80 to 90 percent of China's steel output is for domestic consumption. Its largest export markets are South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Pakistan. That is why Trump's tariffs do not make much sense when he heaps blame mostly on China.

The decline of the US steel industry is no surprise in light of some basic economics. With more automation, the steel industry requires fewer people to produce the same output.

On the other hand, the US, as a high-income nation, is no longer competitive in steel manufacturing. PayScale lists US Steel median salaries at $72,000 for a maintenance manager and $68,000 for an operations manager - astronomical figures compared with their counterparts in China and India.

Indeed, with the rising labor costs in China, especially the coastal regions, many manufacturing jobs have been either relocated to the hinterland or to countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, where labor costs are lower, or more competitive.

China, unlike the Trump administration, has not blamed other countries. Instead, it celebrates moving up in the global supply chain.

China has embraced automation enthusiastically. The country is installing more industrial robots than any other country, accounting for a third of the world's total in 2016.

Artificial intelligence, unmanned cars, 3D printing and renewable energy are just some of the new industries China is pushing forward. The fact that one third of the 4,500 exhibitors at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January came from China reflects that drive.

China has been closing down its steel mills, partly to cut overcapacity but more importantly to fight air pollution. Steel mills are largely responsible for the severe air pollution in Hebei province, next to Beijing.

This reminds me of a chat I had some time ago with a cab driver in Pittsburgh. He was very proud of how the city's air quality had improved from the days when it was the US steel capital.

Pittsburgh still has some air pollution problems, but the city has successfully shifted to high technology, robotics, healthcare, nuclear engineering, tourism, biomedical technology, finance, education and services. Google, Apple, Facebook, Uber and IBM are some of the 1,600 technology firms that contribute to the local economy.

Under Trump's vision, Pittsburgh should be revived as a place surrounded by steel mills, reminiscent of Trump's childhood years.

"The air pollution is so thick you can barely make out the skyscrapers Downtown. Smoke billows from old factories, blotting out the sun," as the Pittsburgh City Paper recalled the old days.

Trump could easily achieve that by sending a mission to Hebei to relocate some of the mills back to Pittsburgh. He could do so without all the trouble of imposing tariffs.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

In addition, approximately 150 representatives of technology companies and 200 investors from China will meet with their US counterparts to seek cross-border opportunities across a range of focused industries. Overall, more than 500 people are expected to attend the May 14-15 summit.

"The UCIS 2018 was listed as one of the key programs in the science and technology area for the first US-China Social and Cultural Dialogue (SCD) co-chaired by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong," Li said on Friday.

This is the third year that UCIS is being held in Houston. Besides the conference, B2B meetings are being carried out throughout the year through the InnoSTARS program. It evaluates US innovative technologies and brings the winners to China to pitch to individual companies.

In its first year, UCIS helped Chinese and US companies reach more than 40 cooperative agreements. Last year, the agreements exceeded 80.

Chen Hongsheng, consul of science and technology, said that the platform has seen some encouraging results.

"Through UCIS, Cheng Jie, director of Electrophysiology Basic Researchatthe Texas Heart Institute,received an investment to establish an R&D center in China to develop his invention of a defibrillator. Amedical device manufacturing product chain is expected to come out of this project within four years," Chen said.

TriboTex has reached agreements with Beijing Jiaotong University and Chinese Science Academy to develop its nano lubricant technology in China; Drylet is working with a Jiangsu company to process waste water, with the municipal government to be shareholders, according to Chen.

Chen said that the InnoSTARS programs have been popular in China. "The local Chinese governments have given these technologies great attention. Quite a few medical projects are under development," Chen said.

In total, UCIS helped US and Chinese companies to conduct more than a thousand B2B meetings in the past two years.

The consul general said that the platform also helped to bring Chinese investment to Houston. "Jiangsu Industrial and Technology Research Institute has decided to open an incubator in Houston this May. It will focus on healthcare technology and be part of the Innovation Corridor. This project has received strong support from the City of Houston," Li said.

In addition, this year's UCIS will highlight Nanjing as an introduction of its major industries to US companies.

Theconference will focus primarily on six fields: healthcare and biotechnology;information and communicationstechnology;artificial intelligence and virtual reality; renewable energy and new materials; andadvanced manufacturing and environmental technology.

The InnoSTARS Competition Preliminary Stage alsowill be held at the summit. There will be pitch competitions based on different topics.

Judges from both the US and China will give feedback for different innovation proposals. Winners will have the opportunity to travel to China to directly pitch to Chinese companies following the conference.

"The UCIS provides a unique opportunity for US-based technology companies to connect with investors, strategic partners, leading incubators/accelerators and professional service firms from China. It is an excellent platform for companies to leverage significant resources from China to accelerate their growth and expand their market potential," Li said.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

Beck made his comments at the third annual meeting of the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council 2018 (ABLAC 2018) hosted by APF Canada on March 2 in Toronto.

"In today's geopolitical climate, with the centre of global economic gravity clearly shifting to Asia, we are positioned to make substantial contributions to Canada-Asia business relations," said Beck, adding that ABLAC members convened the forum to catalyze dialogue and action between the two sides.

About what challenges APF sees in playing the role of catalyst to strengthen ties between Canada and China, Beck said in some ways challenge is opportunity.

"China is everywhere in the media today. Being a player globally, China grows rapidly," said Beck, who was Canada's consul general in Shanghai in 1999, when Shanghai's development was beginning to take off.

"Canadians cannot believe how China has risen so quickly and they are beginning to realize that China is becoming more important to us. We need to engage more with China."

In the last 10 years, APF has been polling constantly that more and more Canadian people see themselves becoming part of Asia. In 2014, 36 percent of Canadians support a free trade agreement (FTA) with China. By 2017, more than 55 percent support an FTA.

Being a co-chair of Canada China Track II Energy Dialogue, which covers a full spectrum of energy subsectors, Beck is familiar with how the two governments build relationships. He believes that Canada will have more cooperation with China in the areas of new technology, climate change, innovation, agriculture and natural resources.

"We have the water and the land so we need to export commodity products and value added products and fit those technologies into China, where they will be rapidly used and seen as a way of collaborating rather than just selling tons of products," said Beck.

"We can partner with China toward the goal. We can also collaborate in e-commerce. These are all the tremendous opportunities for us to develop where both sides can work together," Beck added.

Mark Machin, president and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, who has been based in Asia for more than 20 years, echoed Beck's sentiments.

He said that with the center of gravity of the world economically shifting to Asia, which has half of the world's population and will continue to grow for many years, Canada, as an important country with a smaller population "has to engage with Asia, in particular China through trade and investment and many other aspects".

renali@chinadailyusa.com

Beijing-based Steinway Artist Jiaxin Tian plays the piano on the stage.Provided to China Daily

Chinese music filled the air recently at Carnegie Hall in celebration of the Lunar New Year.

The New Year Spectacular IV on Feb 24 featured a wideranging lineup of performers who played to a soldout Zankel Hall.

Produced by Lily Li and Charles Sullivan, the evening included Beijing-based Steinway Artist Jiaxin Tian; Shanghai- based tenor William Cai, who was trained by the late, great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti; Steinway Artist and pianist Simon Mulligan from the UK; and New York violinist Deni Bonet and her enthusiastic band.

David Dinkins, former New York City mayor, narrated a portion of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which was accompanied by Mulligan playing Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E Minor From The New World. Dinkins, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, received a standing ovation.

Jiaxin Tian delighted the audiecnce with Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8, in A minor, k.310 and Beethoven's joyful Moonlight Sonata.

Mulligan also played George Gershwin's famed Rhapsody in Blue. Dr Cai sang a number of classical favorites including Capua's O Sole Mio.

Deni Bonet, who had previously been the violinist on pop singer Cyndi Lauper's tours, performed pieces from her recently released CD including Bright Shiny Objects, Primal Dream, Last Girl on Earth, Palisades and One In a Million.

After the intermission, Tian played two pieces of traditional Chinese music. Liuyang River - a Chinese song in praise of Chairman Mao Zedong's contributions to China - and Music at Sunset, better known as Spring Blossoms on the Moonlit River, a classical piece rooted in Chinese poetic culture.

"I tried to use the piano to imitate a variety of traditional Chinese musical instruments, such as pipa, guqin, drum, and traditional Chinese bamboo flute," Tian said after the show. "I hope the sound will give the audience really amazing imagination."

Dinkins said the evening was "a wonderful opportunity" to celebrate the variety of cultures.

The annual spectacular has been co-produced by Premier Event Management Inc and Harvard Wealth Strategy & Management, two US organizations working toward bridging the cultural gap between China and the United States.

"This is the strongest assemblage of talent we have ever had in the history of the Spectacular series. We're honored to be able to create this tradition, showcasing diverse talent to our multicultural audience," said co-producer Li, who is also the chairman of Harvard Wealth Management.

"We aim to enable fruitful collaborations between US and Chinese companies and to facilitate engagement between investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world," Wang Hanguang, chairman of the 2018 Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Festival organizing committee, said on Wednesday at a press conference.

The three-day event will kick off on May 2 in Santa Clara, California.

Wang, who also is chairman of the Hanhai Holding Group, which operates in the US and specializes in investment and incubation, said that this year's festival is more ambition than previous years' and will cover hot topics such as block chain, artificial intelligence, IP litigation and application.

The event is expected to draw more than 2,000 participants from a wide range of businesses around the globe.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's opening up and reform, said Wang, adding that next year will be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US.

"We need to make concrete efforts to propel the healthy development of the bilateral relationship." Wang said. "Let's use the festival as a platform through which we can connect the tremendous market and capital in China with leading tech and innovations in the US."

Organizers said confirmed speakers this year include Luo Linquan, Chinese consul general in San Francisco; Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman; Xie Qing, founder of Fortinet and a member of the National Academy of Engineering; Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, and Atul Butten, distinguished professor at UC San Francisco.

"The world is getting smaller and smaller. This is a wonderful opportunity to share culture, to appreciate and to learn and grow," said Santa Clara Deputy Mayor Kathy Wanatabe.

Lu Rongrong, general manager of Hanhai Investment, said that in the past two years, the festival has brought together 200 researchers, investors and entrepreneurs to give 20 keynote speeches, and participate in 16 panel discussions and four startup competitions involving more than 1,000 projects. More than 100 companies such as AliCloud and GeJu Business School have created opportunities through various events.

junechang@chinadailyusa.com

The exhibition, Cal Conversations: Dreaming the Lost Ming, is on view through May 13 at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).

By examining the paintings and literature of 17th century China, the exhibition offers insights into the ephemeral world portrayed in the play The Peach Blossom Fan (1699), which narrates a tragic tale of dynastic collapse, lost futures and social disarray.

The exhibits, including landscape paintings, bird-and-flower paintings, and text from the plays and memoirs of the period, are drawn mostly from BAMPFA's permanent collection.

The works were organized around the Ming Dynasty city of Nanjing, a flourishing urban center of pleasure and artistic innovation that was decimated in 1645 by the conquering Qing army.

What's special about this show is that it was designed by 11 students from UC Berkeley Professor Sophie Volpp's seminar: "17th-Century Nanjing: Painting, Theater, Memoir".

Each of the students selected a work of art and investigated. They also translated the inscriptions and wrote essays for a guide that accompanies the exhibition.

Some of the students had never before viewed actual Chinese paintings up close, so they shared in their essays their personal experiences and how they began to understand the paintings, according to Julia White, senior curator for Asian art at BAMPFA.

"I think sometimes museum professionals come with too much knowledge, so they assume a lot," said White. "When the general public comes to the show, they have an advantage in the guide, which is written in a fresh and different way."

In the album of Flowers and Landscapes by Yun Shouping (1633-1690), Jon Soriano, one of the student curators, explored what the artist's intentions were and how the flowers are related with The Peach Blossom Fan in terms of imagery.

Different from the "more familiarly recognized" styles in Chinese art history, Yun adopted a "boneless" style, which lacks contour lines delineating petals, leaves and other forms, Soriano says in his essay.

In the painting The Solitary Willow Dwelling by Gong Xian in 1663 and Lotus by Shitao in 1706, the subjects are depicted in an eccentric manner. Like other artists from the Ming-Qing transition period, Gong Xian and Shitao found solace in eccentricity as they tried to come to terms with nostalgia for a lost past.

Both of the students interpreting the two paintings translated the inscriptions and investigated the relevance of the painting to what was happening in China during that time.

It's the first time that Nuredin Indris, a senior student at UC Berkeley, has viewed traditional Chinese paintings with his own eyes. He said he was impressed by the artist's ability to express the beauty of lotus simply with a brush and only black ink.

"It (the exhibition) gives us an insight into the world of ancient Chinese culture, and by looking carefully at the compositions, for instance, you could see immediately the appreciation of nature and also the way that man is exhibited within nature," White said.

"A lot of Americans are quite interested in the popular Chinese culture, like the Year of the Dog and what that means," she said. "I'm hopeful that this kind of exhibition will show the refined quality of that culture."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

But the e-commerce kingpin is a taiji (tai chi) master in the short film, Gong Shou Dao, which translates into "the way of attack and defense".

When you're the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and you're worth around $50 billion, if you want to produce an 18-minute movie (22 minutes with credits) in which you're a martial arts expert, why not? (Technically, Alibaba Pictures produced the film.)

In the movie, Ma, 53, who incidentally has been practicing tai chi for real for 30 years, stumbles across an area called "Mount Hua Sect".

He enters and is soon confronted with masters from different martial arts around the world, including wing chun kung fu, tae kwon do, muay thai and boxing.

Gong Shou Dao is directed by Wen Zhang and produced by Jet Li, who also appears in the film, which also stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo, currently appearing in the hit Detective Chinatown 2; Donnie Yen and boxing champ Zou Shiming. All the stars appeared for free.

"GSD is a celebration of Chinese culture, martial arts and all that they represent. Our main ambition for this film is to promote taiji and other martial arts not only to celebrate their rich histories, but also to highlight taiji's emphasis on harmony and balance," Alibaba Pictures President Wei Zhang said in a statement on Feb 15.

"We all have the same dream to use the movie to promote traditional culture and pay a tribute to the predecessors in the field of Chinese kung fu," Li told Sina in November.

Taiji is a Chinese cosmological term for the "supreme ultimate" state of potential, the oneness before duality, from which yin and yang originate.

As described in the Tai-chi Classics by traditional masters, the art uses leverage through the joints, based on coordination and relaxation rather than muscular tension, in order to neutralize, yield or initiate attacks.

To many in the US, tai chi may be seen as something that seniors do in a town square, but the 5,000-year-old Chinese martial art is excellent for self defense, as Gong Shou Dao demonstrates.

The international version of the film was released on Chinese New Year, Feb. 16. The original version - out in November 2017 - has been watched more than 170 million times.

The latest edition features English captions that tell the story of Ma's choreographed challenges.

The movie opens with Ma entering the cavernous Feng Wu Hall where some of the fighters, including a well-dressed woman (Liu Bordizzo) in qipao, are punching around a basketball at high speed (albeit with the help of some special effects, and what respectable martial arts flick doesn't have them?).

As the basketball comes his way, Ma, wearing a fashionable olive raincoat, responds not by catching it or deflecting it but by punching his fist through it.

There's also an amusing scene in which Ma takes on a sumo wrestler in a barber shop inside what appears to be a brothel.

Martial arts action is martial arts action, and it's even better when it has this kind of production and financial backing, especially when it can be viewed for free online at this link: https://gongshoudaofilm.com/

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com

Iowa farmers are looking to a man from their state now in Beijing, with the hope that he could help avert a US-China trade war.

Some soybean farmers in the Midwestern state are looking to the former Iowa governor and current US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to help in any possible restrictions on t US soybean exports to China - their biggest market.

China imported about $14 billion worth of US soybeans in 2016, or 60 percent of the total US crop, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Iowa is the second-largest soybean-producing state after Illinois. There are roughly 70,000 to 80,000 soybean farmers in the two states, according to 2012 USDA data.

Grant Kimberley, director of market development for the Iowa Soybean Association who has visited China several times in the last 10 years, primarily plants soybeans and corn on his family's 4,000-acre farm outside of Maxwell.

Xi Jinping, who was then vice-president of China, visited the farm with Branstad in 2012 on his tour of America as an emerging world leader. When Branstad received Trump's nomination for ambassador, Chinese officials described the mustachioed 71-year-old as an "old friend of China".

"Branstad is a great, honest broker whom both sides respect in Washington and Beijing," Kimberley said. "I think he is a great guy to work through these challenges and hopefully bring both sides together."

The challenge may come in the form of Chinese retaliation if US President Donald Trump accepts the Feb 16 recommendations of the US Commerce Department for heavy tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum. Trump is required to decide by mid-April whether to accept the recommendations or put forth different ones.

On Thursday, Trump announced that his administration would impose tariffs of 10 percent for aluminum and 25 percent for steel beginning "sometime next week" and lasting for "a long period of time". It was not clear whether they would apply to all imports or be targeted toward specific countries.

The tariffs could lead to a tit-for-tat trade war with China, the European Union and other major world trade powers.

"I can't think personally of any better spokesperson on behalf of US agriculture that we could have representing us in China right now," Paul Burke, North Asia regional director for the US Soybean Export Council, told China Daily. "Certainly, he has a very familiar and friendly relationship with President Xi Jinping and Vice-Premier Wang Yang."

There was no immediate comment from Branstad.

China has been researching the potential impact of trade measures on soybeans imported from the US for more than a year, according to Burke.

Soybean curbs would directly affect farmers in Midwestern US states that voted for Trump's election and that he needs to win re-election in 2020. All but two of the top 10 soybean-producing states - Illinois and Minnesota - voted for Trump.

John Heisdorffer, Iowa soybean farmer and president of the American Soybean Association (ASA) - the national lobbying arm for soybean farmers - said that he met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last summer while Commerce was preparing its tariff recommendations. He said he told Ross a tariff was a bad idea.

"You have to talk between the two governments," Heisdorffer said. "They are the ones that are going to (make) the tariffs or retaliation-type tariffs. Ambassador Branstad from our home state - it would be nice if he were in on the conversation."

US soybeans comprise 31 percent of China's supply, according to China's General Administration of Customs, and are used in cooking oil and feeding the country's large numbers of pigs to meet the world's biggest appetite for pork.

Burke said Branstad told Wang in February that if China "wants to show the US government China is actively working to address the trade imbalance between the two countries, then restricting access for US agriculture products is completely the wrong move because it's one of the areas that the US has an economic advantage that can provide high-quality, reliable, safe, wholesome food products to Chinese consumers at economical prices."

"I don't think there is a trade war coming at all because China needs our soybeans," said aid soybean farmer April Hemmes, who has farmed 900 acres near Hamton for 33 years and went to China twice last year.

A restriction on soybeans - which is a $41 billion industry in the US - would be a net negative for both China and the US, Kimberley said, causing a global re-balancing of the soybean market

"If both sides think through this logically, it is kind of like a mutually assured destruction," Kimberley said.

aaronhagstrom@chinadailyusa.com

Energy, transportation infrastructure, IT work in many provinces worth $1.58t

A slew of big projects, with total investment of more than 10 trillion yuan ($1.58 trillion), are about to kick off in a number of Chinese provinces and regions in the new year.

As local governments aim for growth quality and sustainability, most of these projects will be in strategic and emerging industries, such as high-end equipment manufacturing and information technology, as well as infrastructure construction related to transportation and energy.

For example, East China's Shandong province is ready to launch 900 projects with total investment of 4 trillion yuan this year, according to the province's development and reform commission. Most of the projects cover emerging industries - such as renewable energy, new materials and high-end equipment manufacturing - and infrastructure construction including the building of highspeed railways and airports.

Emerging industries are expected to account for 30 percent of the province's GDP growth by 2022 as the province vies to find new economic growth drivers, according to a development plan released on Thursday.

"Upgrading industrial structure is a hard fight that we must win," said Liu Jiayi, Shandong's Party secretary, at a meeting on Thursday. "We will speed up fostering emerging industries and upgrading traditional sectors, while axing outdated capacity, to improve our economic growth quality and competitiveness."

Six other provinces, including Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guizhou, will also see project investment exceeding 1 trillion yuan each this year.

The projects will focus more on poverty relief and environmental protection.

Analysts said local governments are shifting their development strategies in accordance with the call by the country's top leadership for high-quality development.

Thirteen provinces and autonomous regions have cut GDP growth targets for 2018, with most local governments attaching more importance to innovation and environmental protection, according to government reports delivered at sessions of local people's congresses.

These projects will lay a solid foundation for future development, said Wu Xiaohua, deputy head of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"High-quality development will effectively deal with a series of problems brought on by high GDP growth, such as pollution," Wu said.

The projects will also offer strong support for traditional industries, such as construction machinery, coal and steel, analysts said.

Contact the writers at zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn

Communications director worked with Trump since presidential run

WASHINGTON - Hope Hicks, one of US President Donald Trump's longest-serving, most trusted aides, is resigning from her job as White House communications director.

The White House announced she was leaving a day after Hicks, 29, spent nine hours in a closed hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Hicks' decision to leave was not related to her appearance before the panel.

Lawmakers said Hicks, Trump's spokeswoman during the election campaign, declined to answer questions about the administration, but she did answer every question asked about her time with the campaign and the transition months between the November election and the January 2017 inauguration.

Hicks' exact departure date was unclear, but is expected to be sometime over the next few weeks.

Hicks was caught up in a controversy surrounding former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, whom she had been dating. She worked to defend him when charges of domestic abuse against his two former wives emerged. Porter was ultimately forced to resign.

A one-time aide to Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and with no previous experience in politics, Hicks was one of the first people hired by the then-New York businessman when he began his campaign for the presidency.

Aides said she had approached the president and told him she wanted to leave so she could start exploring opportunities outside of the White House.

Robert Trout, a lawyer for Hicks who has represented her in the Russia investigation, declined comment.

Among the issues Hicks declined to discuss with the House panel on Tuesday was her part in drafting a statement in July 2017 misrepresenting a July 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that included the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, other Trump associates and Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer.

Trump Jr said initially the meeting was about adoptions, but said later that Veselnitskaya had promised damaging information about his father's election campaign opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia ran a program of hacking and disinformation to interfere in the elections, and it later developed into an attempt to help Republican candidate Trump defeat Clinton.

On Feb. 16, a US special counsel indicted 13 Russians and three companies on charges of tampering in the campaign.

Russia denies interfering in the US election, and Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow officials.

Hicks took over as communications director in September after the difficult, 11-day tenure of Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired. She is credited behind the scenes for stabilizing the communications operation.

"Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. "I will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future."

Hicks said in her own statement that "there are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump. I wish the president and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country".

Reuters

But Thomas Sung's Chinatown Abacus bank vs. New York's Manhattan District Attorney is exactly like that.

With a documentary about the lawsuit - Abacus: Small Enough to Jail - nominated for an Oscar, Sung's story has gotten global attention.

Sung, 83, laughed warmly at the first question on being interviewed by Xinhua by phone: "Chinese or English?

"Whichever suits you," he replied.

Sung came to the US at 16 and earned degrees in economics and law before going into real estate investment. He was an immigration lawyer before he founded Abacus Federal Savings Bank in 1984 in Manhattan's Chinatown.

Abacus' goal was to serve the Chinese immigrant community, which had no place to get loans to buy houses and start up small businesses to build a family.

Sung's story has strong parallels to the 1946 film classic It's a Wonderful Life and the beloved hero George Bailey.

Just like Bailey's Building and Loan in Bedford Falls, Abacus has always been a small bank. Growing over the years to six branches, it is nothing compared to the Wall Street giants.

Not many outside the Chinese community knew about Abacus, until it became the only US bank indicted for mortgage fraud in the 2008 financial crisis, with 13 of its employees handcuffed, chained and escorted through a hallway in the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in a staged perp-walk before the national news media in May 2012.

"To bring them to court is one thing; to chain them up in handcuffs is another," Sung told Xinhua.

Journalists and lawyers observed that nothing like that had ever happened before, not to any other minorities. "I was very much offended," Sung said. "This was discrimination."

Sung said the Manhattan District Attorney's office probably wanted to convict Abacus for fraud, as a way to threaten big banks and fine them more.

Sung said that in banking, reputation is very important; no bank wants to get involved in civil or criminal cases like fraud.

As the old Chinese expression goes, it's like killing a chicken to terrify the monkeys; in other words, it's small enough to jail, too big to fail, Sung added.

Abacus became the only US financial institution to be indicted in the wake of the financial crisis.

The DA's choice of Abacus itself was odd, as many observers pointed out. With $300 million in assets, Abacus made only plain-vanilla housing loans requiring down payments of at least 20 percent.

It never offered subprime residential mortgages. Nor did the bank dabble in mortgage derivatives - the complex financial instruments that blew up in the housing crisis and caused so many banks to require bailouts.

However, the DA probably shouldn't have picked on Abacus to set an example - if Sung was right about its plan.

Abacus and the Sung family are not an easy target at all. Despite his advanced age, Sung still explains the complicated legal process clearly, speaking with the clarity and confidence of a seasoned lawyer.

Both Jill Sung and Vera Sung, his daughters who serve as CEO and director of Abacus respectively, graduated from law school. It was Vera Sung who caught an employee in the act of fabricating a loan application.

Sung said the lawsuit against Abacus had deeper implications. "It threatened the community as a whole. It attacked the Chinese way of conducting business," Sung said.

Living a cash-only culture, immigrants in Chinatown usually lack credit history. But running successful businesses like full-house restaurants, they regularly earn enough money in cash for Abacus to give them loans.

Sung said that not just the Chinese but all immigrants lean heavily on cash. "You can't single out Chinese and say they are bad."

For many, the lawsuit has become a quest to seek a voice for the minority, not just for the innocent. For Sung, although he understood from the beginning the government had much more resources than civilians, he never thought of giving up.

'I'm willing to sacrifice and fight. It is a mission always in mind."

Every year, Sung and his wife usually spend winter in Florida. But in 2015, they didn't go. It was about time for the lawsuit to wrap up.

Back then, no one was 100 percent confident that the Sung family could win. After all, there were more than 200 counts of indictments, and Abacus had to be found not guilty for every one of them.

On June 4, 2015, after several rounds of discussions and delays, the jury finally decided Abacus was not guilty. When Sung read the paper the next day, as captured in the documentary film, he almost cried.

Despite the verdict, the case took a heavy toll on Sung and his family.

"We lost a lot of business opportunities because of the investigation and trial," Sung said. "And defending the case cost us about $10 million."

Xinhua

In other words, it's complicated.

Research on exposure to TV and movies violence has been going on for decades and it suggests that watching violence increases aggressive behavior in children.

It's the same for violent video games, which add physiological arousal and aggressiveness to the mix through participation. It probably explains why one professor of military science compared some games to the training programs used for soldiers and cops.

There's a flip side. Other studies suggest that violent video games can provide a catharsis or outlet for aggressive feelings and even help kids learn and practice how to keep those feelings in check.

Now, researchers have demonstrated that just one hour spent playing video games has a demonstrable beneficial effect on the brain. The team found changes in brain activity and increased performance on tests of visual selective activity in subjects who had spent one hour playing the video game League of Legends. Their results were just published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Weiyi Ma, assistant professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Arkansas School of Human Environmental Sciences, collaborated with researchers at the Key Laboratory for Neuro Information at the Ministry of Education of China, one of the leading research centers for neuroscience in China. Dezhong Yao and Diankun Gong, who direct the Key lab, serve as co-authors of the article.

Twenty-nine male students at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China participated in the study. The students were sorted as either experts, who had at least two years of experience playing action video games and were ranked in the top 7 percent of League of Legends players, and non-experts, who had less than half a year of experience and were ranked in the lowest 11 percent of players.

Before and after playing the video game, the participants' visual selective attention was assessed. Visual selective attention refers to the brain's ability to focus on relevant visual information while suppressing less relevant information.

Processing information uses energy, so individuals who excel at visual selective attention- those who can narrow their focus and block out distractions-are using their brains more efficiently.

To assess visual selective attention, the researchers briefly showed each subject a square in the center of a computer screen. Then another square flashed in a different part of the screen and the subject was asked to identify the position of the second square relative to the first.

Throughout the experiment, researchers monitored brain activity using electroencephalography, or EEG, through a device that looks like a bathing cap with wires coming out of it.

Researchers saw that in the initial assessment, expert gamers had more brain activity associated with attention than the non-experts. The experts also scored better on the initial visual selective attention assessment.

After an hourlong video game session, both expert and non-expert players had improved visual selective attention, and the two groups received similar scores on the post-game assessment. The non-experts also showed changes in brain activity, according to the EEG data. After the gaming session, their brain activity was similar to that of the experts.

While the results suggest that short periods of video gaming can change brain activity and improve attention skills, the researchers are quick to point out that further research is needed to see how long these effects last.

"These findings by no means suggest that expertise acquisition can be completed within one hour," they wrote in the paper. "Indeed, research has shown that expertise acquisition is a protracted process that may take years to complete."

The video game industry has seen staggering growth over the last 30 years - from $100 million in 1985 to $4 billion in 1990 and $100 billion in 2016. There's no putting this genie back in its bottle. There should be plenty of subjects around to keep the studies going for the foreseeable future.

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com

5i5j Realty, a division of Beijing-based 5i5j Group, has opened an office in the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Ellen Phillips is an American who is vice-president and the managing broker for the office.

By the end of March, the company also expects to open another office in downtown Chicago and employ 10 people at both locations.

"We will have both Chinese and American agents on our staff," Phillips said in an interview Tuesday. "Eventually we will open offices in other locations as well."

While the offices will focus on the Chinese community in the Chicago area, Phillips said 5i5j intends to utilize its 50,000 agents and more than 3,000 offices on the mainland to help drive sales.

"Some business will be done locally (in Chicago), but we will also team up with new-home builders to market their inventory in China," Phillips said.

Phillips said the Chinese are eager to invest in American real estate. "People in China are reluctant to put their money in the stock market - they would rather buy property," she said.

Chicago was an ideal location for 5i5j's first US office because it has ample inventory in its suburbs in the $350,000 price range, which is optimal for many Chinese buyers, according to Phillips.

Because there is a limit of $50,000 that each Chinese can take out of the country, that means a family of three will have about $150,000 to invest, she added.

"Our sweet spot is new construction at around $350,000, because the Chinese like to buy new construction," Phillips said.

Jim Ascot, who heads his own real estate company and is a past president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said the area has been successful in attracting Chinese in part because of a 2013 initiative from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel that produced economic partnerships with eight major Chinese cities.

"Many Chinese residents also send their children to Northwestern University or the University of Chicago," he said in an interview. "We also have daily direct flights to China from O'Hare International Airport."

Ascot said the major real estate brokerages in Chicago such as Century 21 and Coldwell Banker employ agents who focus on an ethnic community.

"This will be different because the office is owned by a Chinese company. I see no reason why they shouldn't be successful," he said.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

Falling short of Pyeongchang medal target should spur China for 2022

Despite its gold medal shortage in Pyeongchang, Team China returned from the Winter Olympics determined to achieve a more balanced showing at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Winning one gold in Pyeongchang, its thinnest gold haul at Winter Olympics since 2002, Team China, which finished 16th overall, can take solace in the fact those medals were won in five different events - the nation's most diversified outcome since debuting at the Winter Olympics in 1980.

"The medal results reflected our country's current level in winter sports objectively," said Gao Zhidan, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China and deputy chef de mission of China's Pyeongchang delegation.

"Finishing with just one gold was lower than our expectation, but we shall embrace the fact that we are well behind world powers in winter sports and we shall work harder to close the gap."

Having won nine of China's 12 Winter Olympic gold medals before Pyeongchang, the national short-track speed skating team was hit with multiple disqualifi cations in its stronger events - the women's 500m, 3,000m relay and men's 1,000m - due to controversial penalty calls.

The improved level of European rivals such as Hungary and the Netherlands has made the short-track competition fiercer than the former one-onone battle between China and archrival South Korea.

Men's sprinting specialist Wu Dajing's world-record win in the 500m, China's first men's Olympic gold on the short track and the country's only gold in Pyeongchang, ended the team's subpar campaign on a high note, together with the silver medal won in the men's 5,000m relay on the last day of the short-track competition.

China's women's team, once a dominating force in the event, failed to win a gold for the first time since 2002 but was bolstered by young talent such as 17-year-old Li Jinyu, who withstood challenges from senior rivals to win silver in the 1,500m.

"We pulled through a stressful journey in Pyeongchang with disappointments as well as some positive gains," said Li Yan, head coach of the shorttrack team.

"I am proud of my athletes for their determination and composure facing difficulties and even unfair treatments. I don't consider our performance as the worst ever, as the medal number might suggest. But we do have a lot to do to improve to prove ourselves again in 2022."

Among the 50 penalties called on the short track in Pyeongchang, China and Canada tied for the most with nine each, while the host South Korean team was only called three times.

China's world-class prowess in figure skating pairs and freestyle skiing aerials also failed to convert to gold after world champion pair Han Cong and Sui Wenjing, veteran aerial skiers Zhang Xin and Jia Zongyang all finished second with razor-thin deficits of less than a point in their respective events.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page3)

Foreign tourists traveling to China this year are in for brand new experiences - enriched tourism products and routes, better local infrastructure and services, more local events and more, thanks to the "2018, Year of Integrated Tourism" campaign announced by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

The theme aims to enhance the drive to build a "beautiful China" - more balanced and sustainable tourism development, and to better serve the demands of domestic and international travelers.

All regions in China have launched tourism publicity events under the general theme of "Beautiful China" with different annual themes regularly since 2013.

The slogans of this year's campaign are "New Era, New Tourism, New Achievements" and "Region-based Tourism, Brand New Pursuit".

According to Li Jinzao, the chairman of CNTA, over the past several decades, developing tourism in China mainly focused on tourist attractions, scenic areas, and restaurants and hotels, called the tourist attraction tourism model.

As the industry has evolved into a new phase of mass tourism, China's tourism administration has strategically transformed into a new, integrated tourism model, Li said.

The new model refers to a concept and model of tourism prioritized in a region to organically integrate resources and industries, share responsibilities and benefits, and spur tourism-driven economic and social development, according to He Li, deputy director of CNTA's office in New York.

In recent years, integrated tourism has been highly valued by the leadership of China. In 2016, President Xi Jinping said during his visit to Ningxia Hui autonomous region, "Integrated tourism is a correct path which should be adhered to."

"We've decided to deepen the implementation of integrated tourism this year and I think it will also benefit American tourists and other overseas tourists who want to go to China," said He.

A report released by the China Tourism Academy indicates that visitor arrivals and tourism consumption in China in 2016 continued to grow, especially from overseas tourist source markets. China received more than 139 million inbound tourists in 2017, an increase of 0.8 percent, and the number of foreign tourists grew 3.6 percent to 29.2 million.

"Local infrastructure and service enhancement is a top priority," said He. "We are improving the infrastructure development, such as the 'toilet revolution' project in major cities and rural areas to improve infrastructure."

He said that for many foreign tourists, using toilets in many Chinese tourist spots had been an unpleasant experience; now they don't have to worry about that anymore.

The CNTA launched a three-year toilet revolution in 2015, which saw more than $3 billion invested in the installation or renovation of 68,000 toilets at tourist sites.

For the next three years, authorities aim to add 47,000 toilets and renovate 17,000, according to a plan released by the CNTA last November.

"Compared with the rapid growth of the tourism industry and people's increasing demand for better lives, the development of toilets is unbalanced and inadequate," said Li. "Another three-year program is urgently needed."

"As we are introducing the new concept of integrated tourism in China, we also want to attract more foreign tourists to experience the changes for themselves," said Pan Xiaopeng, deputy director of CNTA's office in New York.

Pan said many improvements have been made in different segments of the Chinese tourism industry since the concept was introduced.

Many local tourism boards of Chinese counties set up their own tourism business administration branches and even tourism police and tourism court, eliminating illegal tourism businesses and practices and making China safer.

On the economic development level, the 500 cities and counties that initiated the Integrated Tourism project are attracting 40 percent of the country's inbound visitors, with an increase of 20 percent in volume of inbound visitors and a 28 percent increase in inbound tourist spending.

"We hope more and more foreign tourists will get the chance to go to China and experience our better destinations and better products - a travel experience with more balanced tourism development and better-quality services," said Pan.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page2)

The atmosphere in an event room at the San Jose Museum of Art was abuzz with excitement on Friday afternoon. Adults and children alike were bursting into laughter and uttering guffaws right and left.

Four-year old Xixi stood transfixed in front of a booth where a clay figure was being made. She watched as the artist went through each step - shaping the form, setting the mold, carving and finally coloring.

She was one of about 100 American children who attended the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival event.

What captured their imagination were the demonstrations and performances by artists from the Beijing intangible heritage preservation group and Heilongjiang song and dance troupe.

On the stage, performers showcased Peking Opera masks, clay figure making, diabolo, shadow puppet shows, hoop trundling, paper cutting, kites and woodblock pictures - all typical art forms listed as China's intangible cultural heritage.

The point was to explain why the celebration is deep-rooted in the culture and daily rituals of the Chinese people.

Meanwhile, the Heilongjiang artists in exquisitely colored costumes showed how one ethnic group creates festive bliss through group dances and singing. The northeast region known for its ice, snow and winter chill has been making its unique Manchu-Han hybrid culture known in recent years.

Traveling to the West Coast to join the chorus of locals celebrating the Chinese New Year, the two groups arrived last week and have been on a busy schedule shuffling back and forth to perform in schools, museums and community centers.

"We gather here today to kick off our serial celebration featuring Chinese troupes entering into the local schools to spread the spirit of Chinese New Year," said Luo Ping, organizer of the Friday event.

"We the first generation Chinese immigrants are proud of being Chinese and our culture. We hope that we and our children can share our tradition and culture with others," she added.

"I hope our children are able to understand why Chinese shadow puppetry is so long-lived as an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment," said Luo. "Not many people know that China's shadow puppet show originated during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)."

Shadow puppetry shows traditionally use opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images. They require a whole team to function seamlessly for a smoothly told story.

Linda Fischetti, manager of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose that was hosting the two groups the next day, said the nice part was to "see all the organizations coming together" to celebrate cultural diversity.

Through different forms of art exchange, people of can connect more easily, she said.

"I like to celebrate, you like to celebrate. We know about dance and we have music, you know about dance and you have music. People can feel the commonality," she explained.

She marveled at how a culture put all of these elements together - dance, music, costuming and celebrations. "It's phenomenal," she said.

Xu Xinhao, director of the Heilongjiang Troupe, said his 27 members were taking this American culture exchange seriously.

"We've been carefully selecting programs and performers. We want to show American audiences the very best part of our Spring Festival tradition," Xu said.

According to the itinerary, Xu and his team flew to Las Vegas to make their US debut and then wind milled among four schools in the Bay Area plus put on a demonstration at a street fair in San Francisco.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page2)

ZTE marked its 20th Chinese New Year in the US at the basketball game between the home-team Cavs and the Brooklyn Nets, which the Cavs won, 129-123.

It was the Cavs' third annual Chinese New Year Celebration and ZTE's second time celebrating with the Cavs, along with the more than 20,000 fans and those who watched a livestream on Fox and in China.

The Quicken Loans Arena was decorated with traditional Chinese lanterns, and the in-arena signage and LED screens displayed "Happy Chinese New Year" wishes in Mandarin throughout the game. During the game, the players' recorded Year of the Dog greetings were displayed.

ZTE offered a "Social Zone" on the arena's main concourse, where fans got a chance to win a Cavs Moondog Chinese New Year celebration poster, Axon M smartphone (a dual-screen foldable), or a limited-edition Cavs Chinese New Year shirt.

Josh Malek, 30, a Cleveland native, went to the game to celebrate his 30th birthday. His party started with a Chinese New Year gift-hunt.

"Today is the Chinese New Year of the Cavs. I went to several tables and got this," said Malek, waving his Chinese lantern. "And I also got a (toy) dog."

The Cavs Moondog is their mascot and happened to be a great match for the Year of the Dog.

"I think it's very exciting that the NBA connects all the countries, and it's super cool to see China getting more involved," Malek said.

The Cavs fans also enjoyed the Red Panda Acrobat's halftime act in which she balances bowls while riding on a unicycle. (The Shanxi native, whose name is Krystal (Rong) Niu, was in the news herself in recent weeks when someone walked off with her $25,000 unicycle on Jan 24 at the San Francisco airport. The NBA's Golden State Warriors offered to buy her a new one.)

Building on its sponsorships with the NBA's New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls, ZTE will expand its local approach by connecting with fans.

Cheng Lixin, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices, said basketball is popular in both countries and can be used as a cultural bridge.

"This is the 20th Chinese New Year that ZTE has celebrated in the United States. We were proud to partner with the Cavaliers for this event and act as a Chinese cultural ambassador in celebrating the Chinese New Year with the Cleveland community," Cheng said.

Sandy Maxson, 59, a Cavs' season ticket-holder, took a selfie holding a paper with her name in Chinese characters.

"I got my name in Mandarin. Oh, and I am also a 'Dog,'" said Maxson, who was born in the Year of the Dog in 1958.

"I know that the NBA is very popular in China. We also have some wonderful Chinese players here in the US. You are bringing new cultures here for us to enjoy," Maxson said.

judyzhu@chinadailyusa.com

Sandy Maxson and her husband (inset) pose at ZTE’s “Social Zone”, holding their names handwritten in Chinese characters before the tipoff of the NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs celebrated the Chinese New Year for the third year in a row. The game also featured a performance by the beloved Red Panda Acrobat, who rode her unicycle on the basketball court during halftime. Cleveland won, 129-123, as LeBron James dropped in 31 points. Judy Zhu / China Daily

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page2)

Washington is not looking to get into a trade war with Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a group of US governors who were in Washington on Tuesday to discuss foreign investment.

"Our objective is not to get into a trade war. This is an important relationship. It's a complex relationship, and it's a big market," he said.

Rather, Mnuchin said that the American goal is to reduce the trade deficit with China by raising US exports.

Six governors traveled to the US capital to discuss their experiences with foreign companies in their states; four of them talked about Chinese investment specifically.

"I do trade missions on a regular basis to China, to Asia and to Europe," said Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who has led seven trade missions to China. "It is not about transactions; good trade is about win-win [for both sides]. It's not about win-lose.

"We just got a great company, J-Star from China, looking to set up a manufacturing operation in office furniture," he said.

Jiecang Linear Motion Technology Co, based in Xinchang, Zhejiang province in East China, operates in the US as J-Star Motion Corp. The maker of office furniture components is planning to build a $4.9 million manufacturing plant that will employ 122 workers in Western Michigan.

Michigan attracted $4.3 billion in Chinese investment last year, according to Rhodium Group. In 2016, the state had 123 Chinese operations providing more than 10,100 jobs.

"The Chinese companies brought jobs to Michigan, but also it's about building strong relationships between our two countries. I think that makes the world a better place, by doing business together," Snyder said.

Seeing an opportunity to target investment in specific areas like food processing, aerospace and renewable energy, the Maine International Trade Center opened an office in Shanghai in 2015.

Maine Governor Paul LePage's second trip to China in 2014 helped to attract an investor in the state's paper industry and has continued to increase investment volume in Maine.

"I went to China (with) the intent of getting one investor to put a paper machine in one of our mills. I came back and I have two paper machines. Now we are talking about two more, the same investment," LePage said.

The state used to woo investment from Western Europe. Now it is turning to Asia, especially China.

"It's a relationship. You have to build it. You have to go and not be afraid to travel and sit down and do the things you need to do," LePage said.

To Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, his trip to China in 2015 left a deep impression.

The pace of innovation in China is breathtaking," he said.

"China is becoming, or already is, one of the global forces in the global economy. We are always trying to refine how we relate to outside investors, especially large investors. So I think China, Japan and India are three major targets that we're trying to talk with all the time, Hickenlooper said.

"When the company comes, they invest in us and we invest in them. When they create jobs, that is good for our people," Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said.

Cai Chunying and Yian Ke in Washington contributed to this story.

leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page2)

"We are looking for 30 to 40 percent growth minimum in Seattle. When we grow here, we also grow the team in China, as our delivery team is in China. Like when we get projects here, we have people work here, we also have people work in China," said Ada Grant, vice-president of Inspur USA and VP of Inspur Worldwide Services.

Inspur has about 150 employees in Greater Seattle focused on software and IT. In Silicon Valley, the company has another team of more than 60 focusing on manufacturing and hardware R&D.

Inspur said the expansion will be not just in IT services, but also in hardware as well.

In 2005, when Inspur became one of three global strategic partners of US software giant Microsoft, the latter invested $25 million in Inspur International.

Inspur since has provided solutions in the US and helped Microsoft build offsite facilities in China. For better communications and ease of business with Microsoft, Inspur set up the Seattle office.

Three years ago, Inspur built the factory in California and created an R&D team focusing on producing and assembling servers for North American and South American clients.

Grant joined the company because "the company does have a different strategy that I believe it will give me a bigger platform".

She mentioned that the US team is managed in more of a Western style, which she said provided more latitude, ease of communication and team-building.

Now the company has more than 27,000 employees worldwide and is involved in over 20 vertical industries. In the past, servers dominated Inspur's business, but a month ago, Inspur released a new strategy to expand its cloud-computing products and services.

IDC recently released two reports that highlight Inspur's artificial-intelligence (AI) capabilities in products, solutions and technology innovation.

"The role of our US office is kind of like a vanguard for new technology and a bridge to link China to the outside-China market," Grant said.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page2)

Lucy and Charlie Brown likely will be on their best behavior as they head to China in the spring as part of a sister-city gift exchange between St. Paul, Minnesota and Changsha.

"Miss Hmong Lucy" was introduced earlier this month and is one of five statues from the famous Peanuts cartoon that were constructed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between the US Midwest city and the capital of Hunan province in Central China.

The sister-park relationship between Yanghu Wetland Park and Phalen Regional Park in St. Paul was established in 2015.

"The Minnesota Hmong and Minnesota Chinese communities would like to form closer cultural and business ties with their counterparts in Changsha and Hunan province," Linda Mealey-Lohmann, president and co-founder of the Minnesota- China Friendship Garden Society, told China Daily. "They feel that having a visible presence with these five Peanuts statues in Changsha will open doors for those conversations to begin."

The Hmong are members of the Miao ethnic group, originating in China.

In early April, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Linus and Snoopy and his Dog House will be shipped to Yanghu Wetland Park in Changsha.

The statues, inspired by the late cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up in St. Paul, will go to China after a party in St. Paul in March at which the public can take photos with the statues, Mealey-Lohmann said.

In exchange, Changsha Yangzhou Wetlands Park will send the Minnesota park a 25-by-25- foot replica of the Aiwa Pavilion in Changsha, which was built in 1792 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Hmong-American artist Kao Lee Thao designed the Lucy statue, and Chinese-American artist Yudon Shen created Snoopy's Dog House with Minnesota symbols, including the common loon, monarch butterfly,Norway pine and pinkand- white lady's slipper flower.

Tivoli Too, a design company in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, fabricated the statues. Each of the roughly 5-feet-tall statues are made of polyurethane, foam, and steel and weigh about 700 pounds when combined with their nearly 500-pound concrete bases.

The Garden Society raised the funds for the statues, including the custom-designed Lucy and Dog House - approximately $44,000 in total - and has raised $700,000 for the St. Paul-Changsha China Friendship Garden in Phalen Park.

The purpose of the garden is "to honor the many contributions by the Chinese in Minnesota since the 1870s, integrate Chinese garden-design principles within the natural setting of Phalen Regional Park and be a bridge between the Minnesota Hmong and the Hmong ancestral home of Changsha, Hunan province, China," according to the Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society.

Minnesota has the secondlargest Hmong population (66,000) in the US, according to the 2010 US Census. About 3 million Hmong live in China.

"Many Hmong from the USA and other countries are already talking about going to Hunan, China to visit (Miss) Hmong Lucy," said Ganying Jeff Vang, a Hmong-American board member of the Garden Society.

aaronhagstrom@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/28/2018 page1)

Speaking to a group of US governors at the White House, Trump said he has great respect for President Xi Jinping.

"I think that President Xi is unique. He's helping us with North Korea - who, by the way, wants to talk, as of last night; you heard that," Trump said.

Kim Yong-chol, who headed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's delegation at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, said on Monday that his country is willing to hold talks with the US, noting the door for dialogue between the two countries remains open, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted an official from Seoul's presidential office as saying.

Kim's remarks came just a day after he told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that the DPRK has "enough willingness" to hold bilateral talks with the US.

"They want to talk. And we want to talk also, only under the right conditions. Otherwise, we're not talking," Trump told the US governors.

The US president blamed his predecessors Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton for not being effective in addressing the issue.

Trump announced stricter sanctions on the DPRK last Friday, eliciting condemnation from North Korea, which called the US measures "an act of war".

"China has been good, but they haven't been great," said Trump of China's role in the issue. "China has really done more, probably, than they've ever done because of my relationship. We have a very good relationship, but President Xi is for China, and I'm for the United States."

Trump criticized Russia for "behaving badly" on the issue but added that he believes Russia wants to see the issue come to an end, too.

"First time - they want to talk. And we'll see what happens," Trump said of the DPRK.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang welcomed the message from the meetings of the two Koreas.

He said China has stressed many times that the core of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is about security, the settlement of which hinges on the DPRK and the US.

"Thus, direct talks between the two parties are indispensable if the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is to be resolved and a fundamental turnaround in the Korean Peninsula situation is to be achieved," Lu told a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

China has long called for a dual-suspension approach to ease tension on the peninsula, to pave the way for denuclearization. That is for the DPRK to halt its nuclear and missile tests, and the US and South Korea to cease their joint military drills.

In front of US governors, Trump also said that China, Mexico, Canada and India take advantage of the US in trade. But he said when he gets too tough with a country, US lawmakers always call to say, "Oh, gee, don't do that."

Canada, Mexico and China are three of the largest trade partners for most US states, and a trade war or major tit-for-tat retaliation is expected to hurt both the local economy and jobs.

"Because of China, we probably lost $504 billion, last year, on trade - $504 billion," Trump said.

The figure turned out to be misleading.

A US Commerce Department report shows that in 2017, US imports from China were $505 billion and US exports to China were $130 billion, a surplus of $375 billion in China's favor.

Many economists have argued that the bilateral trade deficit does not matter, and the US trade deficit has more to do with the country's fiscal policy, low savings rate and the role of the dollar as a global reserve currency.

The US has been running a consistent trade deficit since 1976, and it had a trade deficit with 99 economies in 2016.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

The Chinese organic agricultural product supplier rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite on Monday, basking in a recent IPO that beat expectations.

In the company's initial public offering, which was on Feb 16, the Chinese New Year, it offered shares at $4 that were bid up more than 50 percent to close at $6.18.

Shares of the Lishui-based company, which trade under the ticker symbol "FAMI," increased another 11.2 percent to close at $6.67 in Monday trading.

"Listing on Nasdaq is a very important milestone for Farmmi," Zhang said on Monday. "We will strive to keep growing the business to ensure we meet our commitment to deliver the finest agricultural products.

"The IPO was higher than our expectations, and we are satisfied with that," she said. "We thought investors liked the product, but we didn't expect the price to go (so) high."

Zhang said she aims to build an "internet platform for organic and healthy eco-agricultural products".

Farmmi raised $6.72 million in its 1.68 million-share offering. The company increased the ceiling from the $5 million sought in November's original filing because of demand.

On Feb 23, ViewTrade Securities Inc, the sole underwriter, announced it had purchased an additional 252,000 ordinary shares at the IPO price of $4.

"The underwriter was full of confidence in Farmmi, so that is why we raised a higher range," Zhang said. "We have a huge market in China for organic food because China has the largest population in the world, and everyone wants to eat vegetables and mushrooms because they're healthy."

Founded in 2015, the company primarily sells shiitake mushrooms, mu er mushrooms, other edible fungi and other agricultural products - 200 in total. Farmmi hopes to raise its product offering to 5,000 in three years, Zhang said.

The company has about 100 employees and offers its products through online distributors Taobao and Jingdong Mall, as well as through an online store, Farmmi Liangpin Mall.

"We're full of confidence that we'll do better based on the role of the local geography," Farmmi said in an interview. "All mushrooms and organic foods are from a specific provinces (that) have rich and good-quality soil. That makes us competitive in a global environment."

The company's raw materials come from family farms in Lishui in Zhejiang province as well as other provinces in China. Farmmi's two processing plants are located in Lishui.

About 90 percent of the company's products are sold in China and the rest in the US, Japan, Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

aaronhagstrom@chinadailyusa.com

The fiscal 2019 proposal represents a $74 billion increase, or 10 percent real growth, in Pentagon funding over the amounts set in the continuing resolution levels.

"The United States faces an increasingly competitive and dangerous international security environment, characterized by the re-emergence of great power competition with China and Russia, dangerous new technologies, empowered non-state actors, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," the White House said in its budget document for the Department of Defense.

While Trump and many US lawmakers have advocated and supported the increase in defense spending, polls showed that public views on the issue are divided.

Overall, the US public is split almost evenly across three views of the defense budget. About 34 percent say the federal government is spending too much on national defense and the military, 33 percent say too little, and 31 percent say about right, according to a Gallup poll released on Feb 21.

The proportion of Americans saying too little is being spent on defense declined to 33 percent from 37 percent in the previous two years, according to the poll taken from Feb 1-10.

A random poll on The Tylt, a debate website, showed similar results when respondents were asked if the US spends too much on its military. About 61.3 percent chose FundSchoolsNotBombs, while 38.7 percent chose KeepAmericaStrong.

US politicians like to tout their unrivaled military might in the world, but at the same time also exaggerate the threats posed by other nations and non-state actors such as ISIS when they argue for a large military budget.

That is probably why Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang expressed his bewilderment on Feb 14 when asked to comment on US National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats saying the US is confronted with multiple threats posed by countries such as Russia and China.

"The United States is the No. 1 major power in the world with unparallel military might. If the US felt that it was threatened hither and thither, what would other countries do? Shouldn't they feel that the danger just lurked at the doorstep? How could they even survive in that case?" he said.

"I don't know why the United States has such a strong sense of insecurity," Geng said. "I want to stress that there is no such thing as the absolute security under the sun. Moreover, one country's security cannot be achieved at the expense of other countries' security."

Geng is absolutely right. The US spends more on its military than at least the next eight countries, including China and Russia, combined.

The world's largest economy, the US spent 3.3 percent of its gross domestic product on military purposes in 2016, according to the World Bank, compared with China's 1.9 percent.

China's percentage is lower than the 2.2 percent world average. India and Vietnam, two of China's neighbors, spent 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent in 2016, respectively, of GDP on the military.

So China has plenty of reasons to justify increased military spending even without deploying the paranoid US logic.

I am glad that China is not falling into such a trap. China has instead spent much on economic development by building high-speed rails and other much needed infrastructural facilities; by spending on cleaning up the environment and social development; and by investing in the connectivity of regions with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative.

The proposed hike in the US defense budget comes at a time when the Trump administration has proposed a deep cut in the budget for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), raising concern for some of a growing militarization of US foreign policy.

As the largest developed country, the US is also facing serious challenges on infrastructure, education and healthcare, areas that call for more priority in government spending than the mighty US military.

US politicians have clearly made the wrong decision compared with what the American public demands.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

The legal battle centered on a collection of classical Chinese paintings and scrolls that has been described as among the finest in the world. After 15 years, it ended in a New York City courtroom.

On Feb 15, New York County Surrogate Court Judge Rita Mella named Yien-Koo Wang King, executor of the estate of her father, C.C. Wang, the Chinese art collector who died at age 96 in 2003, and whose family roots go back to the Ming Dynasty.

Wang's paintings were once called the greatest collection of Chinese masters outside China and valued at more than $60 million. He sold centuries-old pieces for millions, including 60 that went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and are displayed on the museum's second floor in the C. C. Wang Family Gallery.

Before his death, Wang left some works to two of his children, his daughter Yien-Koo Wang King and his son Shou-Kung Wang. But following his death they filed lawsuits in state and federal courts accusing each other of looting Wang's collection and of deceit.

Last month's ruling dealt with the validity of a 2000 will that listed King as executor and a competing will drawn up shortly before Wang's death that named his son and his grandson, Andrew Wang, as executor and disinherited King. The grandson had acted as executor of the estate during those 15 years.

Last April, a jury found that because Wang suffered from dementia, he didn't have the capacity to execute the second will. Shou-Kung and Andrew were found to have used fraud and coercion to manipulate the art collector to remove King as his executor. Andrew was removed as executor.

According to the New York Law Journal, King claimed in court filings that her nephew had pilfered the family's collection for personal profit, selling nearly 100 works to himself at low prices and then selling them in China, which made him a fortune. She also claimed that he and his wife bought multimillion-dollar homes in the New York City area.

Shou-Kung and his son argued that it was King and her husband who diverted assets by hiding works in a warehouse in New York, transferring ownership of them to foreign corporations and selling them, according to the Law Journal.

King also claimed that the estate's value had plummeted to $2 million. The IRS has claimed the estate owes it $20 million.

Attorney Timothy Savitsky of the New York-based law firm Sam P. Israel, who is representing the 82-year-old King, told China Daily that being granted control over the estate was "the turn of the tide" because it allows King to pursue claims against Shou-Kung and Andrew Wang in state and federal court that they allegedly drained millions of dollars from her father's estate.

China Daily sought a comment from Carolyn Shields, the attorney for Shou-Kung and his son, but she could not be reached.

Among the missing works from Wang's collection that King is seeking to regain control of is an 11th century ink-on-scroll, Procession of Taoist Immortals. It is viewed in China as a national treasure, and some art experts have said it is worth tens of millions of dollars.

Wang was born near Suzhou in East China in 1907. After getting married at 21, he went to Shanghai, where he studied law because he said that his mother wanted him to follow a family tradition that began with Wang Ao, a Ming Dynasty prime minister 14 generations ago.

The prime minister was a prominent calligrapher, and his works sparked Wang's interest in art. He used his law degree for only two years. "I hated it," Wang told The Wall Street Journal in an article published in 1997. "I like everything beautiful and peaceful. I don't want to fight with people."

Wang came to the US in 1949 with his wife and his two youngest daughters, Hsien-chen Wang Chang and Yien-koo Wang King. He left behind his son so that he could take care of Wang's aging mother. The son made it to New York in 1979 with his family.

In Manhattan, Wang took courses at the Art Students League, taught art, consulted at Sotheby's auction house and dealt in art and real estate. By the end of the 1990s, Wang was an accomplished artist, producing art that ranged from classical Chinese landscapes to abstracts based on calligraphy.

In an interview with eChinaArt.com in August 2000, Wang was asked his views on reform in traditional Chinese painting:

"In any genre, most artists would 'sing the same old tune' (referring to Chinese opera), the more the old tune played, the less the people who are willing to hear it.

"The general public has a high tolerance for accepting something new," he said. "Many artists in China refuse to release the grasp on tradition that is a constraint on them developing. As for me, I like to 'sing new tune'. I have to create a style of my own, where I can say 'that's me.'"

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com

Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa cough syrup has gained popularity among New Yorkers as the US is facing its worst flu outbreak in nearly a decade. "

"I'd been super sick for a week and a half and couldn't stop coughing," Alex Schweder, an architect and professor of design at Pratt Institute who used the syrup told The Wall Street Journal.

Schweder said it started working in 15 minutes, and he has recommended it to five people and told many more about it.

The remedy, an "herbal dietary supplement with honey and loquat", according to' its label, is often referred to as Pei Pa Koa and is sold both in cough-drop form and more commonly in 10-ounce bottles in Chinese markets and Chinese pharmacies.

"Many American customers have been asking about it recently," said a saleswoman at Heng Kang Pharmacy in New York, which sells the syrup. "In the past, most people who came to shop were Chinese or Chinese Americans."

The owner of the pharmacy "has moved the product to its'counter. "Many customers have been suffering from the bad flu this year, and they are recommended by friends to try the Pei Pa Koa for the cough-ing," the saleswoman said.

According to The New York Times, this year's flu season in the US is now more intense than any since the 2009 swine flu pandemic, which killed 148 children and an estimated 56,000 adults, mostly elderly.

And it's still getting worse, federal health officials said last month.

As of the week ending Feb. 17, a total of 97 influenza-associated pediatric deaths had been reported for the 2017-18 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Heng Kang Pharmacy sells a 300-milliliter bottle of Pei Pa Koa for about $7. The price of the same product retails on Amazon for about $14.

"This product is amazing!" wrote April Roe, a customer who brought the syrup on Amazon in January. "I had the flu cold that's going around, had a seriously raw throat and heavy mucus; took this before going to bed and my throat quit being painful while coughing.

"Over the next two days the heavy mucus was gone, no sore throat, just a minor cold."

And some patients desperate to get their hands on it have been paying as much as $70 to third parties, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to the South China Morning Post, the syrup dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), during which an official sought a medicine to cure his mother's chronic cough. "Nin jiom" means "in remembrance of my mother."

"It's (Pei Pa Koa) suitable for someone having wind and heat attacks or chronic Yin deficiency cases, according to Chinese medicine theory. If someone has a wind-cold attack, the syrup is probably not appropriate," said Dr. Yemeng Chen, president of the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. "And diabetes patients are not advised to take it due to the amount of sugar it contains.

"Prepared Chinese herbal products should be used under a practitioner's guidance. Because of different individual body constitutions and symptom development, herbs work for some but may not work for the others, or could even be harmful," Chen added. "So, it is important to consult with the practitioners."

Chen said traditional Chinese medicine is becoming more popular in the US.

"The trend of students who wish to learn Chinese herbs is increasing, especially after November 2016, when the herbs were legally applied within the practice scope of acupuncture after legislative status changes in New York state," said Chen.

Following The Wall Street Journal's story last week, shares of the company that produces it, Hong Kong-listed pharmaceutical distributor Kingworld Medicines Group Ltd, were up 33.6 percent in afternoon trading in Hong Kong on Monday.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

During Saturday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors wore special Chinese heritage uniforms, which featured a chest logo combining the Golden Gate Bridge and traditional Chinese symbolism and the Chinese character for prosperity on the waistband of the shorts.

The team celebrated the Chinese New Year with a variety of activities throughout the event, including a lion dance during halftime, a red envelope parachute drop and Warriors Year of the Dog plush doll giveaways and a Chinese New Year-themed mini-ball toss.

Moutai branding and activities will be integrated into two other Chinese Heritage nights at Oracle Arena this season when the Warriors, in their Chinese heritage jerseys, will play the San Antonio Spurs on March 8 and the Milwaukee Bucks on March 29.

"We always strive to find a partner that fits our increasingly global brand, and in Moutai we have discovered a natural choice," said Warriors president Rick Welts.

"Moutai and its leaders think big, as evidenced by their influence in China and around the world, and together we have crafted a relationship where we can both continue to grow while celebrating our successes and impact in the United States, China and beyond," said Welts.

Moutai, which originated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), is distilled from fermented sorghum, and distilled multiple times before it is aged. It's the world's most valuable liquor company.

The partnership between the Warriors and Moutai also includes a video series featuring Golden State assistant coaches Ron Adams and Mike Brown on a tour of San Francisco's Chinatown.

The pair learn about Chinese culture, like the zodiac animals and red envelopes, experience a traditional tea ceremony, and taste Chinese cuisine and beverages, including Moutai, during their Chinatown adventure.

The Chinese Heritage initiative is a nod to the strong Chinese culture in the Bay Area, the team said in a statement.

The Golden State Warriors is the first NBA team to wear the Chinese New Year-themed uniforms. This is their fourth season wearing the heritage jerseys since their 2015 debut.

The team has also emerged as one of China's favorite NBA basketball teams.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/26/2018 page2)

"A development firm or hotel with residential partner would likely be able to come up with the most competitive bid," said Mark Van Stekelenburg, a managing director with commercial real estate giant CBRE Group Inc. "There are still almost 30,000 hotel rooms in the NYC pipeline, so a pure hotel play may have its challenges and would likely not drive the same economic picture as a mixed-use play."

The Art Deco Waldorf was acquired three years ago for a record $1.95 billion by Anbang Insurance Group Co and is undergoing renovation to convert some of its rooms to high-end permanent residences.

On Feb 23, China's Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the country's top insurance regulator, said on its website that it was taking over Anbang for one year because the insurer's business operations had violated regulations and laws that could "seriously endanger" its solvency.

The CIRC said that Anbang Chairman Wu Xiaohui has been removed from his post and is being prosecuted for "economic crimes." The No. 1 Branch of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate said in a statement on its website that Wu has been charged with fundraising fraud and embezzlement.

The CIRC said it will keep the company private, that Anbang's debts and obligations will not be affected. It did not provide more details.

It acquired the 1,200-room Waldorf on New York's Park Avenue for the highest price ever paid for a US hotel from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, which was taken public by the private equity group Blackstone in 2013.

Blackstone is already said to be looking at buying back some of the properties it sold to Anbang over the years, including the Waldorf, according to Bloomberg.

Hilton manages the Waldorf property on behalf of Anbang. The hotel has been closed for nearly two years for the renovation.

Van Stekelenburg said the plan to convert some of the hotel rooms into condos or permanent residences is attractive to potential buyers.

"While the luxury residential market has slowed considerably in Manhattan, there are still opportunities for development, especially at iconic properties and good locations. The potential pricing of residential use per square foot is far higher than the pricing of a hotel per square foot, so this likely is still a viable option," he wrote in an email.

Van Stekelenburg said developers, a real estate firm and lodging companies would all probably be interested in the Waldorf.

Despite undergoing renovation, Barry Hersh, a professor at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, believes the Waldorf has maintained its value. "I don't think the property is worth much more than what it sold for ($1.95 billion) and maybe a little less," he said in an interview.

The Waldorf is still a "very valuable location" and will benefit from changes in New York City zoning laws that allow for greater flexibility when remodeling a building, Hersh said.

Even though the luxury market in New York has cooled, Hersh said residences at the Waldorf would still draw attention because "there are still a lot of rich people who want to live in New York City".

Anbang had been one of China's most aggressive buyers of overseas assets, spending more than $20 billion on deals since 2014, according to data from research firm Dealogic. In addition to the Waldorf, it paid Blackstone $6.5 billion two years ago for Strategic Hotels & Resorts.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/26/2018 page2)

What the Confucius Institutes do in the United States is visible through the work of those involved, and skeptics can visit the "open and transparent" branches for verification, said Gao Qing, head of the organization that supports 110 such institutes in the US.

Gao, executive director of the Confucius Institute US Center in Washington, made the remarks in light of what he said were recent attempts by some in the US capital to "politicize education matters", which he believes will fail to derail the operations of the Confucius Institutes.

US Senator Marco Rubio warned in a Feb 5 letter of "the Chinese government's increasingly aggressive attempts to use Confucius Institutes and other means to influence foreign academic institutions and critical analysis of China's past history and present policies".

Rubio, a Florida Republican, sent the open letter to a handful of Florida schools in which he said Confucius Institutes (CI) use the teaching of Chinese language and culture as tools to expand the political influence of China.

"The accusation is groundless and doesn't conform to the facts," Gao told China Daily, adding that the fresh wave of criticism against CI coincides with the straining of China-US relations in certain areas, with Washington having designated Beijing a rival.

Rubio, who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, urged the University of North Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of West Florida, Miami Dade College and Cypress Bay High School to terminate their Confucius Institute agreements.

Gao said that Rubio's request had no impact on the University of West Florida, which decided last fall not to renew its CI agreement when it expires this coming May, citing a lack of student interest.

The University of South Florida, which in 2008 became the first Florida university to host a Confucius Institute, said in response to Rubio that it had found no evidence its CI had been compromised by the Chinese government.

Over the past decade "we have not experienced any effort by the Hanban (the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing) to promote certain concepts or principles, and the nature of the partnership presented by our institution to the Hanban at each renewal has not changed," USF System President Judy Genshaft said in a reply letter to Rubio last week.

"The Confucius Institute at USF is in place to help our students and community develop a clearer understanding of Chinese language and culture, but academic authority for all content taught to students belongs exclusively to USF faculty," she said in the letter, which was published in the Tampa Bay Times.

John Delaney, president of the University of North Florida, also said he sees no reason to discontinue the classes offered by the Confucius Institute, whose operation at the UNF campus has prompted no complaints, The Florida Times-Union reported on Feb 6.

"The institutes' two Chinese instructors do not teach political science; they teach Chinese language, and without them, the university would offer fewer Chinese-language courses," the report quoted Delaney as saying.

Juan Mendieta, a spokesman for Miami Dade College, confirmed to China Daily last Thursday that the school has received Rubio's letter and will provide a response "at an appropriate time".

Cypress Bay High School has not yet responded to a request for comment.

In November, Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrn referred to the institute as "a treasure in our community", reported The Miami Herald on Feb 6. The report said Rubio, who is from Miami-Dade County, has strong ties to the college; Bernie Navarro, who served as finance chairman for Rubio's 2016 presidential and Senate campaigns, is a college trustee.

Gao suggested Rubio listen to how voters in the county perceive the Confucius Institute's contribution to his constituency.

"The Confucius Institute has expanded educational opportunities through language education and increased international exposure through cultural events, which are unavailable otherwise in Florida's underserved communities, especially in Miami," Gao said. About 18 percent of the county's residents live below the poverty line, according to the latest US Census estimates.

Outside Florida, some US universities that run Confucius Institutes also said their programs are apolitical.

The CI at Western Kentucky University is not an academic unit, but a program supporting students of Chinese language, meaning it doesn't engage in political or religious activities, said director Weiping Pan.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/26/2018 page2)

Making hand-pulled noodles, drawing dragon masks, creating shadow puppets and painting Chinese fans, children took part in a Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Saturday.

It's the ninth year that the Met has hosted an annual Chinese Spring Festival. This year the theme celebrates the Year of the Dog.

Although the festival features dozens of engaging programs for visitors of all ages, New York's children are the most active participants in a variety of activities, especially the hands-on kind.

"I learned how to draw a dragon mask and paint a Chinese fan, I think it's very interesting and I'm looking forward to next year's celebration," said 10-year-old Tom who was showing off his mask to his parents.

"It's meant for people from all different backgrounds, but we are hoping to find something that has more traditional Chinese aspects, because I'm Chinese so I want to find some more authentic Chinese experience for my kids; that's why we came today," said Elena, the mother of two Chinese-American children who were learning fan painting.

"I'm glad to see my kids having a great time while being exposed to traditional Chinese culture. It's a good effort," she said.

The museum's education department hosted the festival, and all of the programs were free with a museum general admission pass.

"The festival is designed to bring people together and build awareness of Asian culture. We've been doing this for over nine years - it's becoming an annual tradition," said Sandra Jackson-Dumont, the museum's chairman for education.

Before each performance, a presentation put the work in its cultural context, she explained. "It's not only about celebrating and honoring the Chinese Lunar New Year, it's also our mission to bring people together to learn about other cultures," she added.

"I'm African American, my kids are here, my husband is here, and you can see our visitors are people with different backgrounds, so it's all about how people from different cultures come together and appreciate each other," Jackson-Dumont added.

"Today we are celebrating the Lunar New Year, and the Year of the Dog. We are having all kinds of art-making performances, activities for families, for adult visitors, to celebrate Asian art and culture," said William Crow, managing museum educator.

"It's really to help people know that arts and culture is something that happens everyday, and museums are places where you can not only witness arts and culture but you can also participate in arts and culture from all over the world," Crow said.

"It's very exciting for both my kids and myself as well. We are here to learn different cultures, and we are interested in the Chinese culture," said Vernette Sexius, whose family was visiting New York.

The six-hour festival also featured a traditional Chinese dragon dance and musical performances.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/26/2018 page2)

"While China may seem like it is one country or one market, any company that becomes big in China must manage multiple cultures in multiple places," Kirby said in an interview on Monday. "HNA has developed a coherent corporate culture in China that has served them well."

Kirby wrote case studies of HNA Group in 2008 and 2016. His recently-published 2018 study, "HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics (B)," describes HNA Group's history as an aviation company and outlines its philanthropic philosophy, commitment to innovation and strategic business model.

HNA Chairman Chen Feng discussed HNA's development at the Harvard Business School on Monday, along with the 2018 study. "I am honored to speak with future business leaders about HNA Group's global presence and growth," Chen said in a statement.

Kirby said HNA not only expanded in China, but also on a global scale with operations in aviation, finance, logistics, real estate and tourism.

"Here in Boston we never had any nonstop airline service between Boston and China until HNA inaugurated nonstop service several years ago," said Kirby.

Today, HNA produces more than $90 billion in revenue yearly and manages an international work force of more than 400,000. "HNA is focused on trying to not disrupt the corporate culture in the existing companies it has acquired," Kirby said.

Kirby said HNA's business model emphasizes philanthropy. "That has been a central part of the company's public and private standing," he said and more than half of the privately held company (52 percent) is controlled by charitable foundations in China and the US.

HNA has been involved in some high-profile acquisitions. In 2016, the company paid $6.5 billion to buy a 25 percent stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc from Blackstone Group LP. Recently HNA slightly reduced its stake in Germany's Deutsche Bank AG to 9.2 percent of voting rights from 9.9 percent previously.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that HNA was shopping several US buildings valued at about $4 billion to reduce debt.

"HNA was encouraged to become a global company with strong encouragement from the Chinese banking sector," said Kirby. "One thing that no one can predict is how policies can change in China."

Chen told Reuters last month that the company's liquidity problem exists "because we made a big number of mergers", even as the external environment became more challenging and China's economy "transitioned from rapid to moderate growth", impacting the group's access to new financing.

"I think the challenge for HNA and other companies in China is what do you do when the spigot is turned off," Kirby said.

"HNA now has to adjust to a world in which Chinese policy clearly has changed."

Trump asked Congress, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to authorize $200 billion over 10 years to spur a projected $1.5 trillion in road, bridge and other projects to rebuild what he called "America's crumbling infrastructure".

The proposal came under immediate fire from Democrats who said it would put a huge burden on local governments without providing enough federal dollars.

Trump, who as a candidate promised a major infrastructure plan, said he looked forward to working with lawmakers, but added, "If for any reason they don't want to support it, hey, that's going to be up to them.

"What was very important to me was the military. What was very important to me was the tax cuts. And what was very important to me was regulation. This is of great importance, but it's not nearly in that category," Trump told a meeting of state and local officials at the White House.

The plan, which Trump called the "biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history", would reshape how the federal government funds infrastructure projects. It also seeks to sweep away environmental and other regulatory hurdles to new projects.

If the proposal comes to fruition, many Americans could face higher local taxes, fees and tolls imposed by states to pay for new repairs in order to get federal matching funds.

The proposal is intended to spur state and local governments and the private sector to increase spending on infrastructure without a major infusion of federal dollars. It offers relatively little in the way of new federal money considering the magnitude of infrastructure needs, and its $1.5 trillion projection relies on states and cities accepting far less in matching funds for infrastructure projects than they would receive for traditional federal funds.

The plan also calls for eliminating hurdles to selling federal property and lists as examples of potential properties to sell Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Washington's Virginia suburbs as well as two key roadways in the Washington region operated by the National Park Service.

Under the proposal, the Interior Department could tap some funds from energy and mineral extraction to pay for infrastructure improvements on government-owned land such as national parks.

Trump has made his infrastructure plan one of his top legislative priorities this year, ahead of the November mid-term congressional elections.

Representative Peter DeFazio, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called Trump's proposal "embarrassingly small", adding, "President Trump's plan slashes real federal investments and shifts the burden to cash-strapped states and local governments."

DeFazio said it would "pay for Wall Street and foreign investors to toll our roads, and it would gut bedrock environmental, clean water and clean air protections under the guise of speeding up projects".

US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told reporters that the government should lift hurdles to private sector infrastructure funding and encourage state and local participation. The federal government cannot do it alone, she said.

"Unfortunately there's not enough money to be able to pay for all the infrastructure needs of our country," Chao said.

The plan does not offer nearly as much new federal funding as Democrats wanted nor does it directly address how the federal government will find the money it does call for, instead pointing to a variety of proposed cuts in its budget released on Monday. The administration called the proposal a starting point for negotiations.

The Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden, said in a joint statement with fellow Republicans that "Trump hit the nail on the head when constructing this plan to rebuild America's infrastructure."

Congress has not raised the gas tax since 1993.

Reuters

The US company manufactures energy-efficient products, control systems and batteries.

Nesler said that while China and the US are taking different approaches to implementing smart-building technologies, the end result is a boost for the economy of both nations.

"The US is focused on retrofitting existing buildings with the new technology," Nesler said in an interview on Tuesday in New York. "China is focused on new construction because half of all buildings currently being built are in China."

Incorporating technology to reduce water and energy use and improving building security are not only good for the environment, but also can bolster a company or building owner's bottom line.

Nesler said a good example is the Empire State Building in New York City, where a Johnson retrofitting project resulted in 38 percent energy savings and a three-year payback for the cost of the improvements.

Johnson Controls opened a second global headquarters in Shanghai last June. The first building on the mainland to receive triple green building certifications, it showcases the company's latest in smart-building technology.

"We designed that building (which can hold up to 1,600 people) to show off our latest technologies in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), building controls and security," Nesler said. "It is clearly a demonstration of our commitment to and investment in China."

China has already set a goal of 30 percent green buildings for new construction in 2020. Johnson Controls' Shanghai complex will help the company to expand and coordinate its business within the Asia-Pacific region as well as develop new markets and segments.

In 2016, Johnson completed its merger with Tyco, a global fire and security provider, and spun off its automotive business into a separate entity called Adient. The company is now focused on building products and technology and energy storage.

"We now have the ability to deliver integrated smart-building solutions, security and life-saving products and services that can also be applied to cities and communities," said Nesler.

In energy storage, Johnson's largest business in the segment is its traditional car battery business. The company's Varta brand is a top seller in Europe and is also carving out market share in China, according to Nesler.

"We are now doing a start-stop battery that automatically shuts a vehicle down when it stops and then starts it up again," said Nesler. "We are also making batteries for hybrids and electric vehicles."

Nesler said Johnson is also an eager participant in the US-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency Consortium or Cerc-bee. It was started in 2010 and had its mandate extended from 2016-2020 to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies in the two nations.

"Johnson is involved in Building Energy Efficiency which is led by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California in the US and major universities like Tsiungua and Peking in China," Nesler said.

The event inside the Kogod Courtyard, the fifth by the SAAM, aimed at promoting traditional Chinese culture and offering a taste of the Spring Festival. It also provided a unique opportunity for local residents to spend time with their families.

"Do you know what year it is?" Stephanie Stebich, director of the SAAM, asked the audience in her opening remarks.

"It's the Year of the Dog," many people, most non-Asian, responded almost instantly, referring to the Chinese zodiac signs, which feature 12 animals.

The beginning date of the Chinese Lunar New Year is based on a combination of lunar and solar movement, so it is different each year. It falls between Jan 21 and Feb 20.

The Chinese New Year is named after zodiac animals, with a total of 12 zodiac signs on a circle - the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

The Year of the Dog will start on Friday, when the current Year of the Rooster ends.

Kicking off the SAAM event was a lion-dancing performance. Fathers who had come late and could not find a good spot simply hoisted their children upon their shoulders.

A woman named Tracy who drove from neighboring Maryland told Xinhua that it was the third time that she had brought her son, Luke, for SAAM's Spring Festival activities.

She said that he enjoys watching lion-dancing so much that he often imitates the performance by himself with a blanket at home.

Inside the huge Kogod Courtyard, traditional Chinese lanterns hung. There also was lion-dancing, folk music, Sichuan Opera and acrobatics and also other activities and performances.

Parents and their children waited in long queues to partake in traditional Chinese paper-cutting, picture-making and hand-painting umbrellas.

A father named Richard was teaching his two daughters to put together a ball-shaped ornament. He said that those activities enabled them to have a close experience with traditional Chinese culture.

Acknowledging the long-enduring value of family unity fostered by traditional Chinese Spring Festival culture, Richard said that the SAAM event gave him and his families a chance to spend some quality time together.

"For me, there is nothing more valuable than that," he said.

The SAAM also partnered with the municipal government of Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province. As a homeland to the giant panda, Chengdu brought panda-themed experiences to Washingtonians.

There was footage of Bao Bao, a female giant panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, who returned to China early last year. The film brought back pleasant memories about Bao Bao's days in the US capital.

As the Spring Festival nears, the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington also will hold similar events as part of a broader Chinese New Year celebration in the US capital.

Xinhua

As a pioneer of professional and modern women's fashion, the Chinese designer said the motivation for her new collection, titled "Enlightenment Empress", was a great woman who had a major influence on women's fashion history.

"The collection was inspired by Catherine the Great, an empress of Russia in the late 18th century. She was the country's first female leader during the Russian age of enlightenment," Wang said.

"She made a great improvement on women's military uniforms, which inspired me to empower women's fashion in the 21st century," Wang said during a pre-show interview backstage on Saturday during New York Fashion Week.

Wang debuted the latest fall / winter 2018 collection of her namesake brand Taoray Wang on Saturday at Spring Studios in Manhattan's Tribeca.

Wang, often hailed as the "Queen of the Suit", said the "Enlightenment Empress" embraces the classic and the modern, East and West in traditional military olive green and striking Russian red, which turned the military uniform, often the symbol of men's power, into a graceful armor for women professionals.

The runway show attracted many notable names, including American style icon Olivia Palermo and Kimberly Guilfoyle of Fox News.

"I wear Taoray Wang on my show on Fox News all the time," Guilfoyle said. "Beautiful designs, vibrant colors, very cutting-edge and translates well on television."

"She (Wang) is really truly a modern extraordinary designer and gaining quite a following in the United States," Guilfoyle said.

Tiffany Trump, the youngest daughter of US President Donald Trump and a longtime fan of Wang's design, was also on the guest list. However, she couldn't make it to the show.

Trump was there to support Wang the last two seasons. She wore a Taoray Wang outfit at her father's inauguration in January 2017.

"Tiffany got to know me from her friend's look book, and she canceled her flight to Los Angeles to come to my show that day," Wang told Xinhua News in a previous interview. Wang debuted her brand at NYFW in the fall of 2014.

Later this year, Wang will open her first store in Manhattan's SoHo district. The shop will function both as a retail store where shoppers could walk in and buy Taoray Wang's ready-to-wear ensembles, and a membership club, where participants could come in for measurements, look at styles and order custom pieces.

"Westerners used to think all the finest leather clothes come from Italy, now the situation has changed," she said.

Chan was one of four leading Hong Kong fashion designers taking part in New York Fashion Week, showcasing the city's fashion creativity to industry elites and style influencers from the US and around the world. The event was held Friday at Industria by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

"Hong Kong is well known for its unique culture, where both Eastern and Western culture can be reflected in our city, so you can find the uniqueness and also characteristics of all these design elements in the collections of fashion designers from Hong Kong," said Ralph Chow, regional director of Americas at HKTDC.

Chan has 30 years' experience in the industry, specializing in leather. With her own label, Anvesglosa, that she created in 2017, Chan showcases her definition of fine clothing: high-quality materials, figure-flattering cuts and exquisite craftsmanship.

Anvesglosa has attracted high-end retailers from overseas, including Harvey Nichols, Galeries Lafayette Beijing and Lane Crawford.

Chan said she also has a large number of customers in New York.

"I want to reach out to more by attending the Fashion Week," she said.

The theme of Chan's latest collection is L'Opera, which emphasizes the feminine silhouette paired with compelling layers.

"The collection demonstrates my aesthetic through delicate application of different material combinations," Chan said, adding that she uses fine lambskin leather with a touch of shearling and silk.

The collective runway show also featured collections from Harrison Wong and the design duo Lary Cheung and Yi Chan.

"I would describe my style as understated elegance," said Wong, who returned to the show for the third year in a row.

Wong's namesake brand offers contemporary apparel and accessories for urban males. The label specializes in edgy, aggressive designs that also display an understated elegance.

Wong said the apparel and accessories of his brand are emphasizing high-quality yet affordable clothes, stressing that fine design and taste are not necessarily determined by the price tag.

For his current collection, Wong turned to Mark Rothko, the mid-20th century Abstract Expressionist, whose powerful paintings consist of blurred blocks of vibrant colors with blacks and grays.

The brand Heaven Please+ was founded by Cheung and Yi Chan in 2011. They are devoted to applying the arts, music and literature to their design concepts and sketches, to empower fashion with insightful and perceptual values.

The brand's latest collection was inspired by the novel Wrong Number by Hong Kong writer Liu Yichang. The collection blended 1950's Western style with Hong Kong high fashion.

"I think Westerners might not be able to understand the story we tried to convey through our design, but they surely can feel the beauty," Yi Chan said.

HKTDC also has launched the Fashion Hong Kong showroom at Showroom Seven, a professional B2B showroom, during New York Fashion Week, which runs from Feb 7-20.

James Leng, Jing Liu and Feng Zhang were among the winners of the 2018 Vilcek prizes from the Vilcek Foundation on Feb 5. Jan Vilcek escaped from Czechoslovakia during the Cold War and later worked on the drug Remicade, which reduces the effects of substances in the body that can cause inflammation. He established the foundation in 2000 to highlight contributions of immigrants in the US.

"I would encourage President Trump to consider the productive contributions of immigrant engineers, scientists, and artists in American History," Leng wrote in an email. "This possibility of exchange between cultures - it's a kind of privilege that only a few places in the world have. This is as much an American legacy as it should be a point of pride."

"Let the US be inspirational as an immigrant country," Liu said in an email. She was born in Nanjing and came to the US as a college student. "I came to learn, and yes, to some extent to seek new opportunities. Overtime, my relationship with the country became more about how can I contribute to it."

Leng, who was born in Guangzhou and joined his parents in the US as a child, is a Los Angeles-based architect. He has worked for an impressive roster of prominent architecture firms, including OMA, UNStudio and most recently, Michael Maltzan Architecture, where he was a designer focusing on large-scale housing and mixed-use projects.

"I have been working on buildings to make architecture more accessible to everyone - for instance supportive housing for the formerly homeless. I also have been researching how we can better design urban areas immediately around highways and other infrastructure systems," he said.

Liu is principal of the Brooklyn, New York-based architecture studio SO-IL. Since founding the firm with her partner Florian Idenburg in 2008, she has gone on to design many high-profile and award-winning projects around the world, including the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis; the New York venue for Frieze Art Fair; and Pole Dance, an installation at MoMA PS1. She is also an associate professor of architecture at Columbia University.

Leng and Liu won the Vilcek prizes for Creative Promise in Architecture, given to young immigrants who have demonstrated exceptional promise early in their careers. Zhang, also a Chinese native, received the Vilcek prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science. Each will receive $50,000.

Zhang developed tools that have advanced both optogenetics, a method of exploring brain function by using light to control the actions of brain cells in lab animals, and gene editing, an approach to altering the genomes of virtually all living organisms. Zhang is the James and Patricia Poitras Professor in Neuroscience at MIT.

He was unavailable for comment.

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, and a high-level delegation concluded a historic three-day visit to South Korea on Sunday for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The visit, the first by a member of the Kim family to South Korea following the 1950-53 Korean War, has been described by Seoul as a sign of improving bilateral relations between the two Koreas.

On Saturday, the DPRK delegation visited South Korea President Moon Jae-in at his office in Cheong Wa Dae. During the meeting, Kim Yo-jong extended her brother's invitation to Moon to visit the DPRK. Moon said he hoped that the right conditions would be created for such a visit.

On the same day, the joint team of the two Koreas marched together into the stadium in the opening ceremony. Moon and the DPRK delegation also jointly attended the opening match of the unified women's ice hockey team, composed of athletes from the two Koreas, against Switzerland. (The Swiss shut them out, 8-0).

On Sunday, Moon and Kim Yo-jong both attended a concert by a DPRK art troupe, marking the fourth time they met during the three day visit.

During talks before the performance, Moon described the meeting with Kim Yo-jong and the DPRK's delegation as very important, saying "the two Koreas should cooperate to make this reconciliatory meeting's charcoal become a torch," according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

"It is very happy and impressive to share such precious times. I would go back with a new note of hope of getting together again, because we created an opportunity to meet frequently," said Kim Yong-nam, president of the presidium of DPRK's Supreme People's Assembly.

The days also witnessed a scaled-down military parade on Thursday in the DPRK to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its army.

South Korean President Moon was clearly determined to seize the rare opportunity for reconciliation. He has dismissed a call by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to quickly resume ROK-US joint military drills, calling it a violation of his country's sovereignty, Yonhap quoted an official from Moon's office as saying.

While the two Koreas were engaging in their closest exchange in at least a decade, US Vice-President Mike Pence wrapped up a three-day visit to the Olympic Games without any interactions with the DPRK delegation. He had not excluded such a meeting before embarking the trip.

Last Wednesday, just a day before his arrival in South Korea, Pence, with Shinzo Abe at his side, said in Tokyo that the US will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on the DPRK.

"We will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all," Pence said, in a tone that was clearly not conducive to dialogue.

On Friday, Pence reportedly avoided DPRK's Kim Yong-nam at a reception hosted by President Moon. He came to the event late and stayed for only a few minutes before heading off for a dinner with US athletes, according to Yonhap.

Pence tweeted on Sunday about strong US-South Korea ties, but the different approaches towardsDPRK by South Korea and the US could not have been in sharper contrast over the last few days.

For the past year, the Trump administration's messages on DPRK have been quite confusing. Besides engaging in a war of words with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, Trump has contradicted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on the issue. He also contradicted himself in various tweets and speeches.

Just before the Winter Olympics, there was deep concern that the US was seriously considering a pre-emptive military strike on DPRK's nuclear facilities. Victor Cha, who was considered for the post of US ambassador to South Korea, was reportedly dropped from consideration after voicing reservations over such a drastic military strategy.

What happened in the last few days on the Korean Peninsula has shown that China's "dual suspension" proposal may help pave the way for reconciliation and the final denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That is for the DPRK to suspend its missile and nuclear tests while the US and South Korea suspend their large joint military drills.

But the biggest takeaway from the report was that technology is no longer a disruptor, but a creator of jobs. That was not just a revelation but a demolition of my belief that temporary jobs have no big economic role to play.

When I first read New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat many years ago, in which he discussed how the convergence of technological and political forces has created a global and webenabled platform for collaboration, little did I expect that geography, distance and language would no longer be barriers for work.

Enter the gig economy. Friedman's hypothesis has been more than proved right with the rising popularity of freelance jobs, especially after the success of businesses such as Uber, Airbnb, and Freelancer.com and Chinese companies like DouMi.

Though Uber and Airbnb are relatively wellknown, others like Freelancer have also played a significant role in keeping the gig economy afl oat, industry experts said. DouMi, a Beijing startup focusing on part-time positions, has already got backing from Web giants like Baidu and Tencent Holdings. Its monthly active users have doubled to 20 million in just six months as more young people in China are showing interest in temp jobs.

Helma Kusuma, communications manager for Asia at Freelancer tells me that her company has become the largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace in terms of users and jobs posted worldwide.

"Back in 2012, we used to have 6 million users; in 2015 we hit 15 million users and we currently have almost 27 million users and over 13 million jobs posted. The growth has been tremendous," she said.

Explaining the rationale behind the success of such firms, especially in countries like China, she said that the digital economy has empowered people to earn a living, even if they are otherwise excluded from the traditional labor markets such as stay-at-home women, college students and people with disabilities.

The key benefit of the digital economy is that it allows and encourages remote working, where gender, location and age may not matter as much as in the physical economy. It opens up a vista of opportunities for more people, opined Helma.

But what really interested me was the statistics about China that Helma offered. Out of Freelancer's 250,000 registered users in China, around 230,000 are freelancers and the rest are businesses that have posted freelance projects on the platform. Cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, have been the most active in China, while projects in mobile app development, PHP, Android and HTML were the most sought-after from China.

By 2027, freelancers are expected to become the workforce majority, due to factors such as automation, freedom, fl exibility and the ability to earn extra money, Helma said.

DouMi's chief executive officer Zhao Shiyong told Bloomberg recently that his site puts up "300,000 to 400,000 jobs" every month.

Contact the writer at ullattil@chinadaily.com.cn

As a longtime vegan, I've purchased and consumed hundreds, if not thousands, of packages of bean curd to grant me a certain expertise in the food. But nothing could have prepared me for the moment when I bit into that homemade fried tofu fresh from the wok. The crisp, golden surface gave way to a surprisingly rich, buttery fl avor that elevated this humble food to the highlight of the evening's dinner.

But that moment was the culmination of days of work by my mother-in-law from rural Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, who also prepared the fried tofu from scratch.

One afternoon, I followed the billows of steam from her kitchen and found her pouring a milky hot liquid through a straining basket, filtering out the bean curds that would eventually turn into more white blocks of tofu, just like those neatly stacked in the tray behind her. Yet the process yielded other delights as well. She ladled out a bowl of that filtered liquid from the metal pan resting on the fl oor, added a sprinkle of sugar, and offered it to me as soy milk. It was creamier and more fragrant than anything I had tasted in China or the United States, where I'm from.

This experience left such an impression on me that now, whenever my mother-in-law starts making tofu, I know the holidays have arrived.

I could say the same about many other traditional Chinese New Year foods from her kitchen, such as dongmitang - sweet and crunchy puffed rice squares often fl ecked with black sesame seeds - and those savory rice turnovers stuffed with salted bamboo shoots, pickled greens and tofu that we call migu in the local dialect.

To me, these are the real holiday treasures, far more than the lavish golden pyramids of Ferrero Rocher chocolates or top-shelf French wines pushed upon us by an endless stream of commercials for Chinese New Year.

I should know, because I missed out on a precious holiday food when I was growing up. Every December my mother used to layer honey and chopped nuts with paperthin sheets of phyllo dough to bake her annual Christmas baklava. But I was such a finicky eater, not trying even a single piece for fear I wouldn't like it. She passed away when I was 17, years before I would finally discover how delicious baklava really was and mourn the loss of her work.

Contact the writer at jocelyn@chinadaily.com.cn

I'd crossed the ticket check - despite all my efforts not to.

I was swept past the Shanghai train station's boarding gate by the pure forward momentum of passengers boarding two other late trains than mine.

"Don't push!" and "Don't worry!" became the surging crowd's competing chants.

My book was wrenched from my fist and trampled on.

I was also gripping the strap of my backpack - which contained my computer and work notebooks - as it was pulled away, clamped between people moving in different directions. I could feel the threads popping.

Some people were trying to jump over the ticket check barriers. A worker picked up a movable post and placed it across the doors to block them.

We'd stood in lines for hours.

Now, we were suddenly heaving forward.

Most of us just wanted to go home.

But a blizzard and the warm-up to the planet's greatest annual migration of humans - the Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, when people return to their hometowns for family reunions - had conspired against us.

The day before, I'd kissed my ticket. (The trip had already hit many roadblocks.)

But even golden tickets get canceled in extreme weather.

So, lines swelled, people rebooked and the next day was even more frenzied.

I showed up about four hours before my train was supposed to depart, given the previous day's lines. It left roughly three hours late.

I've often traveled China by train over the years and have found the system to operate like clockwork.

This was simply a case of bad weather at a bad time.

China Railway Corp's website has increased capacity to sell up to 15 million tickets a day.

Authorities forecast nearly 400 million train trips during the 40 days surrounding the holiday. Shanghai is the No 1 departure point, online travel agency Tuniu reports.

Lines meandered across the station when I was there.

They often stretched to the building's opposite wall, where they had to bend like number 7's and letter L's to continue.

Many trains were running late after the previous day's cancellations. Bodies stuffed every corner of the station - even packing the small spaces behind ATMs and vending machines.

I had to again plow through this throng when my boarding gate suddenly changed from No. 5 to No. 15.

"It's like a war!" a woman shouted.

We finally boarded our train.

Some guy starting singing Bob Marley's Three Little Birds (in English): "Every little thing is going to be all right."

It really was.

Contact the writer at erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn

But is there some truth to it? Probably, and I can see how it happens. I've observed that in daily life, Chinese people do more math than those in the United States. In fact, one can even say daily life in China is an ongoing math test. I can think of three examples, starting with shopping.

Walk into any department store in Beijing, chances are there is a sale going on. You will see signs with a single digit number and a Chinese character prominently displayed next to the sale products. Some shoppers may jump to the conclusion that 70 percent must mean a 70 percent discount. Alas, the Chinese system encourages shoppers to go one extra step in calculating their discount: i.e., 70 percent means you pay 70 percent, resulting in a 30 percent discount. Some adults in the West couldn't do this simple math in their heads. Because, why would you need to? We left all that behind in elementary school.

Another example is the loyalty or membership card, offered by many retailers, dentists, hair salons and massage parlors, just to name a few. But signing up requires you to do math quickly in your head. The more you spend upfront, the bigger the discount, a not uncommon sales strategy. But commit at your own risk. If that business goes under, you will not be refunded, nor will you even be notified.

Shopping for groceries was among the early challenges we encountered in Beijing. Trying to buy milk and yogurt at the local supermarket almost turned into an international incident when, upon seeing all the expired dates throughout the dairy section, I demanded to see a manager to bring it to his attention, in vain, of course, as the language barrier prevented us from communicating effectively.

Later, a friend explained that those were production dates, not expiration dates, as I had assumed. She also showed me where they helpfully printed the shelf life of each product. So, to put it in US terms, production date + shelf life = expiration date. Again, they are encouraging shoppers to do math.

Newcomers to China will no doubt be confused about this system, which none of my Chinese friends seem to think twice about. But as an American, it was all very taxing until I got clued in.

I often felt put out that I had to do math when I simply wanted to buy stuff.

But now that I've been here a while, I see the wisdom in such a system. Could it be how Chinese people stay sharp into old age? After all, using your brain with word games and riddles is believed to be a countermeasure against the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other age-related ailments.

It appears that in China, they've incorporated into ordinary daily life a brilliant system where nobody forgets their early math lessons.

Contact the writer at nelly@chinadaily.com.cn

In that show's latest season, series creator Charlie Brooker repeatedly asks the audience to put themselves in the virtual shoes of computer-generated consciousness.

"Machine minds" are shown as being harnessed by humanity for everything from dating apps to sideshow attractions - and with each passing representation, I found myself increasingly questioning the morality of it all.

This is, of course, Black Mirror's whole raison d' etre: depicting imagined near-futures for the viewer to wonder what life might be like if we let tech run amok.

It made me ponder the ethics of creation and how best to treat an artificial entity if it did become sentient, or even self-aware.

Is it right to consider such software, or hardware, as nothing more than property - to be poked, prodded and experimented on, regardless of its capability to think or feel? I can't pretend to be the first to ask such questions - we see them posed with increasing regularity in popular science fiction, such as the cult classic media franchise Westworld.

These depictions deal with robots, whose "human rights" are far easier to conceptualize than it is for us to anthropomorphize mere lines of binary code.

But before you invest in a robot butler, or use some AIdriven wonder app, spare a second thought for the captive consciousness that's about to do your bidding - because it might just be thinking about you.

Contact the writer at gregory@chinadaily.com.cn

After experiencing slower growthin 2016, China's movie industry received a remarkable boost last year.

Box-office revenue reached 55.9 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) in 2017, up 13.45 percent year-on-year and handily surpassing the 3.7 percent growth in 2016.

The latter rate would be considered healthy growth in mature markets like the United States, but it was a dramatic slowdown for China, where the market had expanded by an astounding 48.7 percent in 2015.

Chinese moviegoers have been pushing the industry to achieve average growth of 35 percent per year for more than a decade.

Data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or SAPPRFT, show visits to urban theaters rose 18 percent to 1.62 billion visits last year, up from 1.37 billion in 2016.

A big reason for the rapid growth might be the sheer number of screens across the country. Last year alone, some 1,612 new cinemas were built and 9,597 new screens installed.

Now with 50,776 screens, China has more than any other country in the world. The US comes in second with 40,759 screens but still remains the world's largest film market.

With plenty of movie theaters and eager audiences, China is poised to overtake the US for this title. But what exactly are Chinese audiences flocking to see?

Last year, domestic productions earned 30.1 billion yuan, accounting for 53.84 percent of the annual total revenue.

Wolf Warrior 2, a domestic action flick, became China's highest-grossing film ever and a great contributor to the 2017 box office. It raked in 5.7 billion yuan, more than twice the 2.7 billion yuan earned by The Fate of the Furious, the year's top-ranked foreign film and second highest grossing picture overall.

With Chinese moviegoers supporting the domestic industry, their enthusiasm shows no sign of abating.

"The rapid development of the film industry has been a big bright spot for China's culture industry," Zhang Hongsen, vice-minister of SAPPRFT, said in October on the sidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing.

"We have been sticking to a direction that centers on people in creating (films)," Zhang said.

Foreign films made up 41.7 percent of total ticket revenue in China in 2016, up from 38.4 percent in 2015. The impressive revenues have made Chinese audiences a saving grace for Hollywood films.

When Transformers: The Last Knight pulled in just $69 million in the US during its opening weekend in June, it hit a low for the franchise. But it made up for the dismal showing with a $123.4 million opening at the Chinese box office-a hefty portion of the action film's $265.3 million global debut.

The first three installments of the Transformers franchise experienced massive success in the Chinese mainland. The 2007 original grossed $45 million, the 2009 sequel raked in $72 million, and the third film in 2011 took in $172 million. The fourth release in 2014 became the highestgrossing movie in China at the time (now sixth) by hauling in $297 million.

Warcraft is another franchise that can boast a "big in China" claim. The 2016 movie adaptation of the titular series of video games and novels made $156 million in its first five days in China alone, despite dismal numbers elsewhere. Not bad for a film made on a budget of $160 million.

Movies like Pacific Rim ($114.3 million in China, $101.8 million in North America), Kung Fu Panda 3 ($154.3 million in China, $143.5 million in North America), Now You See Me 2 ($97 million in China, $65 million in North America), The Expendables 3 ($72.8 million in China, $39.3 million in North America) also have Chinese moviegoers to thank for good profits.

"That's the beauty of a global network, there is a chance that an audience elsewhere could breathe new life into stale intellectual property," said Po Hou, a media and entertainment managing partner with consultancy Deloitte China.

"Studios and filmmakers have already recognized that, and they also realize that they need to throw in elements or versions that will suit Chinese audiences."

It makes sense for Hollywood to do that, especially if its slice of the Chinese moviegoer pie continues to increase.

In 2016, China's regulators padded out the release schedule with extra Hollywood films, bringing the total that year up to 39 imported titles from the usual 34.

Since 2012, China has accepted 34 foreign films each year, with a caveat that 14 of those are 3-D or large-format movies.

Observers are predicting an expansion of China's foreign film quota and a bigger share of profits for Hollywood distributors. That number may increase by a dozen or so.

The share of box-office revenue that US distributors are entitled to is also expected to increase from the current 25 percent and inch closer toward the international average of 40 percent.

"Certainly, the trend has been to slowly increase the number of the film quota year by year," said Hou. "Besides pressure from the World Trade Organization, there is also growing domestic demand for content.

"But first, they need to appease the Chinese censorship board. Then, they also need to make these special cuts that will endear them to Chinese viewers who love seeing something familiar appear on screen," Hou added.

A special China cut of Iron Man 3 (2013) featured bonus footage and scenes of Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. Disneys Zootopia (2016) adopted a similar strategy by adding a panda newscaster in the Chinese version of its movie.

With China's movie industry expanding rapidly, the time may be right for domestic filmmakers to turn out productions for a global audience

Aformer Chinese special forces member beat a bunch of street racers from Hollywood handsdown in the battle for the China box office last year.

Homegrown production Wolf Warrior 2 brought in 5.7 billion yuan ($890 million)-more than twice the second-biggest taker, The Fate of the Furious, the most recent installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, which earned 2.7 billion yuan.

With the country's box-office receipts on the upward trajectory in recent years, and Chinese moviegoers embracing domestic films with gusto, local moviemakers are now aiming for greater heights: Making a Chinese movie that can appeal to a global audience.

Even as the country's movie industry seeks to produce films with strong Chinese elements, it also needs to figure out how to make waves at the international box office in an era of glossy blockbuster productions from Hollywood.

"When you think of Chinese films, what comes to mind for most people are wuxia (martial hero) or kung fu movies that began with Bruce Lee," said Po Hou, a media and entertainment managing partner at Deloitte China.

Now could be the time to embark on a revamp of what is considered a Chinese production. Though it is still early days, some signs have been promising.

Born in China, a nature documentary film by Chinese director Lu Chuan, became a modest success in the United States, landing in sixth place at the box office on its debut last year.

A Chinese animated feature, Little Door Gods, took $9.5 million on its US debut in 2016, having roped in award-winning talent like Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Edward Norton for voiceover duties.

Hou said that animation is a good place for China to start exploring projects to export internationally. Animated features have a track record of pulling in huge numbers, globally and in China. The Jungle Book, Zootopia and Finding Dory were 2016's second, third and fifth most-profitable films worldwide, corresponding with their box-office showing in China.

"Animations have universal appeal. They also reduce the need for studios to rely on big-name celebrities, whose box-office draw is vulnerable to bad publicity or even human things like age, health conditions or language barriers. Animations are reliable media and also more flexible in merchandising considerations," Hou said.

China Media Capital helped DreamWorks with the wildly successful Kung Fu Panda 3, released in early 2016.

The animated film marked the first project for Oriental DreamWorks, a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and its Chinese partners including China Media Capital.

Chinese companies have been looking to cash in on Hollywood magic by bankrolling film companies. But trying to appeal to both Hollywood and China can be a tricky balancing act.

The Great Wall, a 2016 project under an ongoing partnership between Universal Pictures and Legendary Entertainment, did not live up to commercial or critical expectations. This was despite having acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou and Hollywood A-list actor Matt Damon involved.

Legendary recently became a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group. Dalian purchased the film company for $3.5 billion in a highly publicized deal in 2016.

Another collaboration, Kong: Skull Island, also met with tepid response at the box office last year. The King Kong franchise reboot grossed just $566.7 million worldwide against a $185 million production budget and $136 million in marketing costs.

Recently, two minority stakeholders exited their investments in Legendary, which were made through Dalian Wanda Group. Oceanwide Holdings and Zhejiang Huace Film& TV were expecting a 15 percent return on their $236 million investment because Wanda had planned to take Legendary public on the stock market. But its failure to do so, which observers speculate may be due to the recent projects, caused the investors to get cold feet and pull out.

In other stumbling blocks for the industry, phone maker Xiaomi downsized its movie division Xiaomi Pictures, and copper processor Anhui Xinke New Materials pulled out of a deal to acquire Hollywood production studio Voltage Pictures for $345 million.

But despite these setbacks, Chinese companies remain eager to get involved in making films.

China Media Capital, an investment fund backed by the Chinese government, had previously announced a joint venture with Warner Bros called Flagship Entertainment.

Hong Kong-based Flagship will also operate from offices in Beijing and Los Angeles. The company already has 12 Chinese-language projects lined up, including a Chinese remake of the Sandra Bullock hit Miss Congeniality from 2000.

"Chinese tech giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent have all made investments in this area. Tencent has Tencent Pictures (behind last year's Wonder Woman) and Alibaba has Alibaba Pictures (in projects like Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation from 2015)," said Jonathan Chiu, a business analyst at consultancy A&A.

Chiu believes that these investments help the tech giants expand into the film industry and also grow their other ventures in creative ways.

"Some have been rather creative with their approach, like Baidu's iQiyi streaming service which has ambitions to become the Netflix of China. There are also mobile payment services from Alibaba's AliPay and Tencent's WeChat that have achieved a 70 percent penetration rate with movie ticket sales," he added.

Chiu said that data on moviegoers gathered by these tech companies' services will create valuable marketing databases, which they can also use to inform their filmmaking decisions.

But it is not just Hollywood movies that Chinese companies are getting involved with. Homegrown productions, making serious waves in the Middle Kingdom, remain a viable

investment.

The movie that made the biggest splash in China in 2016 was a Chinese- language film called The Mermaid. The fantasy film helmed by Stephen Chow (of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer fame) raked in $526 million in China, and its success was a key contributor to growth in box-office revenues of more than 50 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Last year the trend continued, thanks to Wolf Warrior 2, whose boxoffice receipts broke The Mermaid's record as highest grossing movie in China.

"Though they enjoy Hollywood flicks, Chinese audiences love seeing familiar sights and their culture on the big screen. That's why domestic films have made such a strong impact at the box office. There are lots of nuances and a sense of humor that's specific to that audience," said Hou at Deloitte China.

While the advantage of being a cultural insider has helped Chinese films succeed at home, it may not necessarily translate to overseas success.

"Chinese consumer tastes are fundamentally different from (those of) other audiences. What sells well in China, usually only works there," Hou pointed out.

Bankrolling bigger, international films may lend the domestic industry some experience to produce more movies with global appeal.

"The maturity level of the industry is still behind (that of) players like the US, India and (South) Korea. Partnerships like the one between Wanda and Legendary can help accelerate the growth," Hou said.

He noted that the industry has already made great strides in the area of post-production.

"Traditionally, it was the US, then Australia and Canada, that film studios went to for their post-production needs. With one-third of the budget usually going toward that, it's an important part of filmmaking.

"China has been winning contracts from the big six Hollywood studios through its growing expertise and connections through those partnerships," Hou said.

As China's movie companies grow creatively, they can apply their upgraded skills to their own productions. But post-production is only part of the process.

"A strong script and better storytelling methodology is what Chinese producers need to gain international appeal. A story with Oriental elements, Western production values and storytelling, combined with global production and distribution machines, could make for a Chinese movie that can win global hearts. That can only be done now through

coproduction," Hou explained.

For China Daily

Zhang Qiyue, consul general of China in New York, shakes hands with Jim Kenney, mayor of Philadelphia, at a press conference to celebrate Chinese New Year in downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday evening. The city's NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won their first Super Bowl on Feb 3 over the New England Patriots. The city held a parade for the Eagles on Thursday. Judy Zhou / China Daily

Jeremy Lin displays cooking skills - New York

NBA star Jeremy Lin celebrates the upcoming Spring Festival in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday with Chinese basketball fans during a livestreamed dumpling-making event. Zhou Pai / China Daily

NBA fans treated to ribbon dance - New York

The Brooklyn Nets dance team performs a traditional Chinese ribbon dance at Barclays Center during the Brooklyn Nets-Houston Rockets game on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York. The performance is part of the NBA's Chinese New Year celebration program. A record 12 NBA clubs are hosting in-arena celebrations while a record 93 NBA games are telecasting around China as part of the league's seventh consecutive holiday celebration Feb 2-March 3. Zhou Pai / China Daily

Musical convergence - New York

A concert, One World Opera - A Blend Between Eastern and Western Music, is presented at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall on Feb 1. The program, organized by Blossom Season International Culture Media, is a creation of baritone/pianist Jiajun Hong and his wife, soprano Jinghan Zhang. As the Chinese Lunar New Year approaches, the concert brought the joy of the festival atmosphere to audience of New York. Yuan Images Provided to China Daily

Sounds of the dulcimer - Washington

Liu Yuening (center), a leading dulcimer musician and a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, leads a delegation of Chinese dulcimer (yangqin) players in a performance at the National Press Club in Washington on Feb 2. Liu, a Fulbright scholar, was scheduled to conduct her Jasmine Ensemble in performances in Ottawa, Canada, on Feb 6. Provided to China Daily

City ready for Lunar New Year - San Francisco

Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Luo Linquan speaks at a reception on Monday night at the Consulate General to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, which is on Feb 16. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Guangdong troupe's classic - Washington

Dragon Boat Racing, an award-winning Chinese dance-drama performed by the Guangdong Song & Dance Ensemble, was previewed to media at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Friday. Cast members pose for photos for the media with a poster of the show. Dong Leshuo / China Daily

Big Texas crowd for New Year - Houston

Consul General of China in Houston Li Qiangmin (center) and wife Zeng Hongyan (to his right); Deputy Consul General Liu Hongmei (right); Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt (second from right); Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo (third from left) and Texas Governor Office's representative James Chen cheer to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Wednesday. About 500 people attended the CNY reception hosted by Li. May Zhou / China Daily

Kentucky celebrates Chinese New Year - Lexington, KY

More than 1,000 Kentuckians attend the 13th Chinese New Year Celebration in Lexington on Feb 3. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan F. Quarles and Assistant Secretary of State of Kentucky Lindsay H. Thurston extended new year's greetings to all Chinese and Chinese Americans in the state while Steve Kay, vice- mayor of Lexington, co-hosted the event. Photos by Ye Jing / For China Daily

Michelle Lin Zhao performs a peacock dance at the 13th Chinese New Year Show organized by the Kentucky Chinese American Association in Lexington on Feb 3.

Red Panda Acrobat is the stage name for Krystal (Rong) Niu, who has performed for years during halftimes of NBA and NCAA college basketball games in the US.

The native of Shanxi province rides a unicycle on basketball courts across the country while balancing bowls on her head. She also kicks the bowls from her foot to her head while on the unicycle.

She is a regular performer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers and has appeared on America's Got Talent.

The 7-foot unicycle, which cost $25,000, was either taken by mistake or stolen from a baggage carousel at the San Francisco International Airport last week.

"She's heartbroken," her agent Pat Figley of Farallon Entertainment in San Francisco told KTVU in Oakland on Wednesday. "It's like her baby was kidnapped. She's had that unicycle for 30 years."

Niu was en route from Denver on Jan 24 when she landed at SFO. She saw her bag from a distance as she waited for it to come off the belt. It was about 10 to 15 feet away when someone "must have grabbed it", Figley said. He said if it was taken by mistake, he hopes it's returned, no questions asked. Figley's also offering a $2,000 reward for its return.

San Francisco police released a surveillance photo of a man they said wheeled off the unicycle. He was described as having red hair, a red beard and wearing black sneakers.

Niu so far has had to cancel one performance, at a UCLA game on Jan 25.

Figley said Niu has a replacement unicycle but it's not the same.

"She's dropping bowls. She's just not used to it. The one that was stolen was custom built for her," he told KTVU.

Niu has been performing Chinese acrobatics since the age of 11 and developed her bowl-flipping act with the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe. According to Farallon's website, Niu holds the world record for the most bowls balanced on her head.

Tweets across the US have been supportive, with Louisiana State University basketball promising an LSU-themed crawfish boil and university gear as a reward.

Sports Channel 8 in North Carolina tweeted that "we vow to search for Red Panda's unicycle".  

"I remain admiring of this fantastic culture, which has made such a great contribution to humanism," said Tamamian Kegham, a UN staff member at the festival event, titled The Exhibition of Outstanding Traditional Chinese Cultural Designs & the 24 Solar Terms Logo Designs.

The exhibition will move to Brooklyn Borough Hall on Friday. A cultural exchange program between American and Chinese students will be held on the same day.

Solar Terms is a calendar of 24 periods and climate to govern agricultural arrangements in ancient China.

The 24 solar terms include the Vernal Equinox, Bright and Clear, Corn Rain, Summer Commences, Corn Forms, Corn on Ear, Summer Solstice, Moderate Heat, Great Heat, Autumn Commences, End of Heat, White Dew, Autumnal Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost, Winter Commences, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, Winter Solstice, Moderate Cold, Severe Cold, Spring Commences, Spring Showers, and Insects Waken.

As one of the traditional cultural heritages that has been selected as the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Chinese government urges to converse and foster it.

Organized by Beijing Design Week, China Millennium Monument Art Museum, United Nations Tai Chi Club and Asian American Cultural & Economic Development Society, the exhibition is the first major exhibition and exchanges activities which show in the international arena after the "24 Solar Terms" was added onto the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

Thirty-five sets of artworks from professional group and 50 sets of artworks from youth groups are on display after rounds of selection by a judging panel of representatives from fields of design and folklore in China.

"The exhibited artworks are not only a demonstration of the unique charm of fine traditional Chinese culture and the innovative spirit of Chinese people, but also a representation of inheritance and innovation of traditional culture Chinese youths," said Cui Qiao, representative of Beijing Design Week in New York.

"And they also embody the latest developments of inheritance and innovation of traditional culture by all social circles in China," she said.

Beijing Design Week is Asia's largest and most influential platform for displaying, promoting, exchanging and trading creative design.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and chains, Yunsong Zhao, 19, arrived in the Montgomery County courtroom to face the class 6 felony charges.

Before his arrest on Monday following a weeks-long investigation by police, Zhao had been observed firing a Buschmaster XM-15 at a nearby shooting range, according to a warrant.

The gun was illegal because it had a 30-round magazine in it, which by law changes the status of the firearm from a rifle to an assault weapon, the warrant said.

Zhao also tried to purchase 5,000 rounds of ammunition and had been researching bulletproof vests, the warrant added. He also bought a former police vehicle that still had some police markings and fitted it with a special bumper.

The judge said he would have granted Zhao bond were it not for an ICE detainer that had been placed on the former student.

Zhao's attorney showed pictures in court suggesting that his client did not have a 30-round magazine, but rather a 20-round magazine attached to the Buschmaster XM-15 at the gun range.

Zhao, who has family in China, has no known criminal history and had been living in Cochrane Hall dormitory, the warrant said.

Virginia Tech said that as of Tuesday, Zhao was no longer a student at the university, though he was at the time of his arrest, USA Today reported.

Zhao took the stand on Thursday only to answers questions from his attorney relating to the bond hearing.

Zhao is expected to be back in court in March.

In 2007, a lone gunman killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus.

The university released a statement on its website Tuesday evening saying they had received many calls of concern from the community after reports of a student being arrested on a weapons charge.

"The arrest followed an investigation that spanned several weeks, and the suspect is now in custody," the statement read. "At no time during this investigation did police believe there was any threat to our community, nor is there one now."

China Daily

Shares of Seattle-based Amazon, which reported its strongest holiday-quarter sales growth in eight years, rose as much as 6.8 percent in extended trading after closing at $1,390 in New York. The stock has leaped 67 percent in the past 12 months.

Apple's shares were down 1.3 percent in extended trading on Thursday.

Perhaps the surprise star of the past quarter was Amazon's voice aide Alexa, embedded in the company's Echo speakers and Fire TV players, as well as some cars and house gadgets.

Millions of Amazon customers ordered goods by voice with Alexa in the past year, said Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, on a call with reporters.

"Our 2017 projections for Alexa were very optimistic, and we far exceeded them," added Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and chief executive, in a statement. "We don't see positive surprises of this magnitude very often - expect us to double down."

Amazon's Prime delivery and entertainment service also saw more than 4 million sign-ups in one week alone last quarter.

Amazon's revenue, which includes sales from its Whole Foods grocery stores, jumped 38 percent year-over-year. Its North America revenue surged 42 percent to $37 billion, while international sales grew 29 percent to $18 billion.

Sales gained 38 percent to $60.5 billion in the fourth quarter, the biggest growth increase in the period since 2009, when revenue jumped 42 percent. Net income was $1.9 billion, or $3.75 per share, the company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts projected earnings of $1.83 per share on sales of $59.8 billion.

The profit received a provisional $789 million boost from the tax bill passed by Congress in December.

Olsavsky said the advertising business and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's profitable cloud-computing unit, were strong contributors to the quarterly sales growth. Revenue from AWS increased 45 percent to $5.1 billion.

Amazon's subscription services revenue increased 49 percent to $3.2 billion in the quarter. Third-quarter growth was 59 percent.

Apple's net income and revenue for its first quarter that ended Dec 31 rose, but its revenue forecast for the second quarter of between $60 billion and $62 billion was below market expectations of $65.73 billion, adding to concerns of a plateau in demand for its newer iPhones, including the anniversary edition iPhone X.

In the latest fiscal first quarter, the company said it sold 77.32 million iPhone units, below analysts' average estimates of 80.03 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

However, average selling prices were stronger than expected - $796 against expectations of $756 - a fact that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri attributed to higher demand for its newest iPhones.

The company, which will be paying $38 billion in repatriation tax, said net income rose to $20.07 billion, or $3.89 per share in the first quarter, from $17.89 billion or $3.36 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 13 percent to $88.29 billion for the first quarter, beating analysts' average expectation of $87.28 billion. Revenue from the services segment, which includes iTunes, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Pay, rose about 18 percent to $8.47 billion in the quarter.

Bloomberg-Reuters

The events will be held from Feb to March in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas and Anchorage.

"The cultural exchange between the Chinese and American people is the foundation of the relationship between the two countries," said Zha Liyou, deputy Chinese consul general in San Francisco.

The Spring Festival events have been held in each state of the consular areas for several years and the Chinese holiday has also become an international festival in the Western US, he said.

The series of events, called Happy Spring Festival, has been committed to attracting Americans to share in the festivities of the Chinese New Year since it was first introduced by China's Ministry of Culture in the US in 2010.

Zha said the Happy Spring events have engaged an increasing number of local artists and arts groups as well as mainstream cultural organizations in the past few years.

This year, the San Francisco Symphony will hold its 18th annual Chinese New Year concert, and the Seattle Symphony will give its 10th annual Celebrate Asia concert. Photofairs San Francisco will also join the festival this year by presenting Chinese art works.

Other events include a Chinese New Year Celebration during an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder, an art exhibition of Ming Dynasty treasures at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and a Desert Spring Festival in Las Vegas.

The Happy Spring Festival brand also looks to integrate with overseas Chinese celebrations, said Zha. Heilongjiang Arts Troupe will join the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, and Tianjin Art Troupe will put on variety shows in Las Vegas, Portland and Anchorage in February.

The events also focus on the American public and young people, said Zha. Art groups will bring their tradition-packed performances to local elementary schools and museums.

Last year, China hosted more than 2,000 Happy Spring Festival events in over 500 cities in more than 140 countries, according to Zha.

No serious injuries were reported aboard the chartered Amtrak train, which set out from the nation's capital with lawmakers, family members and staff for the luxury Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. At least two other people in the truck were reported seriously hurt.

The collision happened about 11:20 am in Crozet, about 125 miles southwest of Washington, tearing the truck in two, crumpling the nose of the locomotive and scattering trash alongside the tracks.

Emergency personnel inspect the lead engine of an Amtrak train carrying multiple Republican lawmakers that crashed into a garbage truck in Crozet, Virginia, on Wednesday. Zack Wajsgras / The Daily Progress via AP

Rep. Robert Pittenger of North Carolina said he was standing at the train's refreshment stand, waiting to be served a soft drink, when he felt "an enormous slam. ... It was a huge jolt. We all hung on to whatever we had."

He said he looked out the window and saw a big pile of garbage, and it appeared the train had pushed the truck for a few hundred yards.

Authorities gave no details on the cause of the wreck, which took place at a crossing protected by gates, fl ashing lights, bells and warning signs. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate.

Benny Layne, on whose property the truck landed, said the crossing arms had been known to malfunction, sometimes coming down even though no train was approaching. Sometimes, he said, they stayed down for hours.

He said motorists would get out of their cars to help guide other motorists around the malfunctioning arms so they could cross the tracks.

"A guy was up here just yesterday or the day before taking a look at them," he said.

Carrie Brown, human resources manager at Buckingham Branch Railroad, which leases the stretch of track and is responsible for maintenance, said she was unaware of any problems with equipment at the crossing.

Florida Rep. Neal Dunn, a former Army surgeon, said he and other lawmakers who are doctors joined other passengers who are nurses or paramedics and jumped out with the basic medical gear they had. They broke into three teams to help the injured people in the truck, he said.

"The first gentleman was somebody who had really, really, really devastating injuries. We did try to resuscitate, but ultimately you had to realize it wasn't possible," Dunn said. He said another man in the truck was critically injured and a third was seriously hurt.

Rep. Phil Roe, a doctor from Tennessee, said the truck driver was killed instantly.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and his wife, both doctors, were among those who came to the rescue. He said he helped a man from the truck who was badly injured.

"My role was quite simple: I picked up his feet so the blood in his feet would go to his heart and his brain," Cassidy said.

Officials gave varying figures on the number hurt. But Amtrak said two crew members and three passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis' staff tweeted that the first-term congressman was among those taken to the hospital and was later discharged after suffering a concussion. Others aboard the train reported bumps, bruises and sore joints.

The Associated Press

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page1)

US stocks slightly extended gains immediately after the release of the Fed statement. Short-term interest rate futures showed traders were continuing to bet the Fed would raise rates three times in 2018, starting at its next meeting in March.

Citing solid gains in employment, household spending and capital investment, the Fed said it expected the economy to expand at a moderate pace and the labor market to remain strong in 2018.

"Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to move up this year and to stabilize" around the Fed's 2 percent target over the medium term, the central bank said in a statement following a two-day policy meeting, the last under Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

The Fed also said its rate-setting committee had unanimously selected Powell to succeed Yellen, effective Feb 3. Powell, a Fed governor who has worked closely with Yellen in recent years, was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the US Senate.

Powell is not expected to dramatically change the policies embraced by Yellen, who spearheaded the move away from the near-zero interest rates adopted to nurse the economy back to health and spur job growth after the 2007-2009 recession.

Fed policymakers have been encouraged in recent months as the US economy picked up speed and the unemployment rate fell to a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. The Fed repeated on Wednesday it expected "further gradual" rate increases will be warranted.

"The Fed left open the door for a March increase, but that's built in already," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Sarasota, Florida.

The Fed raised rates three times last year and currently projects three more increases this year even as it continues to trim its balance sheet on a largely pre-set schedule.

That gradual path of rate increases will hinge on a continued pickup in inflation, which has lingered below the Fed's target despite a strong job market.

In its statement, the Fed noted that market-based measures of inflation have increased in recent months despite remaining low.

The statement did not address the likely impact of the Trump administration's tax overhaul on economic growth.

Several Fed policymakers recently have said they expect the changes, which include an estimated $1.5 trillion in corporate and individual tax cuts, to provide an economic lift by boosting business and household spending.

Reuters

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page2)

Popular Chinese singer-actor Wang Yuan on Wednesday vowed to promote high quality education for every young person worldwide, as well as sustainable development goals (SDGs) at a UN youth forum in New York.

It's the second time that Wang, a member of the well-known Chinese boy band TFboys, was invited to the forum as a special advocate for education by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"In my role as UNICEF Special Advocate for Education, I've seen for myself how education is a key factor in building happy, confident and resilient children," Wang said in his speech.

"However not all children can access this type of education and it saddens me that there is still this massive inequality in the world today," Wang added.

"This year, I think I have a more comprehensive understanding of quality education because I participated in many social good projects last year," Wang told China Daily in an interview on Tuesday.

"I plan to join another mission with UNICEF to meet children attending schools in some of the poorest areas where there is a need to develop a more child-friendly approach to learning," Wang said.

Wang also plans to leverage his popularity on Chinese social media Weibo, to draw attention and inspire progress toward universal access to quality education and the achievements of the SDGs in China.

"As a young artist and a student, I am lucky to have a large following on Chinese social media," Wang said. "In fact, I have over 35 million followers. I see it as my duty to use this following for good."

The SDGs are outlined in the UN-facilitated 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There is one goal asking for complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by the year 2030.

Last year, when Wang Yuan said the "internet is necessary for improving education in the rural areas", fans of the teen singer got together to turn his words into reality by donating a mobile signal tower to Jiangxinzhuang village on the eastern edge of Beijing.

The Roy Signal Station, named after Wang's English name, is 35 meters high and will provide the village with 4G communications signaling for at least two decades, covering one primary school and two kindergartens. It was the fans' way of celebrating their idol's 17th birthday in November.

"I will also play a leading role in my own social good project which is providing direct assistance to improve the well-being of vulnerable children and the elderly," Wang added.

Time magazine has listed Wang as one of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017, in recognition of his accolades across numerous fields, his global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news.

The Youth Forum, held annually by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs ECOSOC since 2012, is aimed at trying to involve the efforts of youth to eradicate poverty and promote prosperity.

Yan Dongjie in Beijing contributed to this story.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page2)

My favorite quote from Albert Einstein came when a youngster once asked him what he did for a living.

He responded: "I'm trying to find out how God made the universe."

Models are the best way of making arcane science understandable to the widest possible audience. And it seems that everything is computer modeling these days.

News comes that a team at the University of Iowa - students of assistant professor of physics and astronomy Hai Fu, who did his undergraduate work at Nanjing University - has come up with a model that shows how gravity, one of the universe's deepest mysteries, works by literally playing in a sandbox.

"Over the past 13.7 billion years, galaxies including our Milky Way grew from tiny over densities in an essentially homogeneous universe to large ensembles of stars, gas, and dark matter," Fu writes on his web page. "The ultimate goal of extragalactic research is to understand the physical processes that control galaxy evolution."

And gravity is at the crux. Undergraduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy designed and built a sandbox where users can mold their own universe with sand and watch how gravity affects an object - a spacecraft or a comet, for example - as it travels through the imagined environment.

Fu introduced his idea in fall 2016 to the 10 sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in his two-semester course, Introduction to Astrophysics. He intended the project to complement what the students learned in his lectures.

He showed them an outline of the concept on a blackboard on the first day of class. Similar setups had already been used for geology and engineering, but advancing the concept to simulate intergalactic gravitational forces would be groundbreaking.

"It seemed impossible," recalls Sadie Moore, a senior physics and astronomy major. "The idea was awe-inspiring."

The students split into three teams and got to work.

One team concentrated on designing and engineering a structure that could hold 200 pounds of sand. They cut wood for the base in the department's machine shop, assembled an overhead stand for the projector and built a sliding cabinet to house computers and cables.

A second team focused on devising an algorithm to compute the gravity exerted on a projected object as it "traveled" over the shifting topography of the sand's surface. The students developed software to calculate and calibrate the object's orbit to changes made in the sandbox environment. The team reduced the response time to a user's command from three minutes to less than a second.

"There's that moment of recognition that what you've been working on has actually paid off in a finished product," said Sophie Deam, another senior physics and astronomy major.

The third team was charged with creating an interface for what they dubbed Gravbox. On a touchpad mounted to the sandbox, users choose the object they want to travel in their universe, draw an arrow to start the object's journey, and then watch on an overhead monitor and in the sandbox how the landscape they create in the sand - the imaginary space environment - alters the object's orbit.

"It's tap and go," said team member Erin Maier.

A video of a demonstration on the school's website shows operators reaching into the box with both hands to push the sand around, gouging out pits or shoving aside mounds. All the while, projected on the sand's surface, a grid of lights shift colors and a small white "comet" alters its course along the contours.

The augmented-reality sandbox is the first interactive system of its kind to be used for astrophysics.

"I think it's unbelievable," says Fu, who won the $405,011 award from the National Science Foundation, as part of a broader NSF application to fund his research into what happens when galaxies collide. "The students built the whole thing from scratch."

Fu says the sandbox will be used to teach fundamental principles in physics, such as gravitational dynamics involved in the distribution of stars, the shapes and evolution of galaxies, and more.

The group is making its software publicly available and is creating a website with a tutorial for building the system.

"Now, shapes you normally don't see in nature you can simulate in the sandbox," said Zachary Luppen.

The biggest challenge, students said, was making sure the sandbox was useful and interesting for both children and adults.

What people of all ages will learn, the students hope, is basically the same.

"We hope we're bringing the cosmos to life," Moore says.

Einstein's young friend would be pleased.

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page2)

MIAMI - Many parts of the globe caught a glimpse on Wednesday of a giant crimson moon, thanks to a rare lunar trifecta that combines a blue moon, a super moon and a total eclipse.

The spectacle, which NASA had coined a "super blue blood moon", graced the pre-dawn skies in the western United States, as the moon crossed into the shadow of the Earth and turned blood red.

"Weather permitting, the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii will have a spectacular view of totality from start to finish," predicted Gordon Johnston, a lunar expert at NASA.

Other parts of the world, including Australia and Asia, saw it at night, as the moon comes up in the west.

"The last time a complete lunar cover-up took place on the second full Moon of the month was Dec 30, 1982, at least as reckoned by local time in Europe, Africa, and western Asia - locations where the event could be seen," said Sky and Telescope magazine.

"The last 'blue moon' total lunar eclipse visible from the US and North America happened on March 31, 1866."

The "blue moon" aspect simply means it is the second full moon in a month, not that the moon will appear blue. A blue moon happens on average just under every three years.

It's called a super moon because the moon, in its elliptical orbit, is near its closest point to Earth.

This proximity, or perigee, made it appear 14 percent bigger than normal and 30 percent brighter.

The reddish tint - or blood moon - happens due to "the effect of all the sunrises and sunsets all around the planet reflecting off the moon, which I think is really lovely," said NASA astrophysicist Michelle Thaller.

If you missed this one, the next blue moon total lunar eclipse will happen on Dec 31, 2028, though it won't be quite as large since the moon will not be at its closest point to Earth.

Another will happen on Jan 31, 2037, a total of 17 hours before perigee.

Xinhua-Reuters

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page2)

Houston's economic ties with China are diversifying, said local business leaders at a China trade mission recap meeting on Tuesday at City Hall. Both government officials and business leaders attended the event.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner led a delegation of more than 70 to a trade mission to China in early December last year. The meeting was to review the results of their trip.

Bobo Harvey, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, which organized the trip, said that the large delegation number reflected the importance of the relationship with China.

"The last trip to China I went on was in 2013, the differences were dramatic. During that trip, the interest was almost entirely on energy. Almost every conversation started and ended with energy," Harvey said.

This recent trip was completely different, Harvey said. "The diversity of Houston was on clear display. Healthcare and medicine was the topic time and time again."

Texas Medical Center is billed as being one of the largest medical centers in the world and China has sought cooperation in this field in recent years.

There was even discussion of building a medical city near Beijing airport leveraging the Texas Medical Center during the trip, Harvey said. "It was one of the more exciting conversations we had."

In addition, while names can't be referenced yet, Harvey said that one of the largest medical device manufacturing companies in China also talked about how to grow its company from a handful employees in Houston to a company that will have multiple hundreds of employees in Houston.

Energy still draws China's interest. "China is converting from coal-based energy system to an increasingly gas-based energy system; they desire to work with Houston in LNG to have that transformation," Harvey said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner called the trade mission very successful. Six MOUs were signed in healthcare and education.

"This trade mission was an opportunity to expand the already thriving relationship we have with our second-largest trade partner. It will ultimately be judged by what happens in 2018, let's see what will happen, let's measure the success with definitive and productive steps in 2018," Turner said.

Definitive steps are certainly taking place. Li Qiangmin, Consul General of China in Houston, said that a new US-China biomedical innovation center will be launched in Houston in May.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 02/01/2018 page2)

In his first State of the Union address, Trump said, "Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve."

Trump used the speech, given annually by presidents to Congress, to try to overcome doubts about his presidency at a time when he is battling a probe into his campaign's alleged ties with Russia and facing low job approval ratings. The speech was short on details of his policy proposals, according to Reuters.

Continuing the tenet embodied in the US National Security Strategy delivered a month ago, Trump said China and Russia threatened American values, saying that the US faced "rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values".

Trump said "unmatched power" is the surest defense against threats from rogue regimes, terrorist groups and rivals like China and Russia.

He said that's why he's asking Congress to remove budget caps on defense spending and fully fund the US military.

The US president also criticized unfair trade deals and accused the world of taking advantage of the US on trade.

Trump devoted a significant portion of the speech to tout the achievement in the first year of his presidency, including what he said are the biggest tax cuts and reform in American history that he signed at the end of last year, promising the plan will "provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses". He also talked of jobs returning to the US and the record stock market growth.

Trump spoke about potential agenda items for 2018, including a call for a $1.5 trillion investment plan to renew the country's creaking transportation infrastructure.

Blaming "deadly loopholes" and "open borders" for allowing drugs and gangs "to pour into our most vulnerable communities", Trump called on Congress to "set politics aside" and overhaul the nation's immigration system.

Trump said Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear missiles could "very soon" threaten the US homeland and vowed to continue a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening.

In the official Democratic Party response to Trump's address on Tuesday night, US Representative Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts said it would be easy to dismiss the first year of Trump's presidency as "chaos" marked by partisanship and politics.

AP and Reuters contributed to this story.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

US President Donald Trump gestures at the podium in front of Vice-President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan during his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. Reuters

(China Daily USA 01/31/2018 page1)

Ma Zhaoxu (right), China’s new envoy to the United Nations, presents his credentials to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. Hong Xiao / China Daily

Ma Zhaoxu, China's new envoy to the United Nations, sees his country playing a key role in a rapidly changing world.

He said the world today is undergoing major development, changes and adjustments; the power structure among countries has become more balanced; the changes in the global governance system and the international order have been accelerated.

"In the meantime, China is increasingly approaching the center of the world stage. The international community generally expects China to play a key role in promoting multilateralism and meeting global challenges," said Ma, who presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Ma said that as the most universal, representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization, the United Nations is the main platform for participating in global governance and promoting a shared future for mankind.

"China will make joint efforts together with the rest of the world community to promote the UN playing a greater role in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development," Ma said. "Also, China will make its own contribution to promoting a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, as well as building a community of a shared future for mankind."

Ma emphasized the importance of taking the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CPC as guidance, thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implementing it in all concrete tasks.

Ma reiterated that as a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible, big country, China must firmly safeguard the authority and status of the United Nations and support it in playing an active role.

"We will actively fulfill our due obligations and responsibilities, actively participate in the reform and construction of the global governance system, and continuously contribute China's wisdom and programs," Ma said.

"China will always be the builder of world peace, contributor to global development and the defender of the international order," he added.

Ma was born in September 1963 in Heilongjiang province in Northeast China. He has a PhD in political economics. He has been named permanent representative and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, permanent mission of China to the United Nations.

Ma previously was permanent representative and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, permanent mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland since April 2016.

He served as ambassador to Australia from 2013 until 2016.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

I don't think I've ever had a single illness that was so persistently debilitating for so many days in a row (about nine). Usually, the few times over the years that I've had the flu there would be two bad days and then some gradual improvement.

I spent my time home with the chills watching old movies and TV shows (I recommend The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and reading obsessively about how dangerous this flu season was.

I would daily drink a concoction of green tea, honey, lemon, ginger and turmeric. It really didn't do anything, nor did the overpriced over-the-counter remedies.

When you're healthy and you hear all the TV news reports about the flu, you tend to view them as background noise, such as weather reports.

But what was really scary about some of the news stories was how many young, vibrant, previously healthy people across the US have succumbed to the nasty virus.

Thirty-seven children have died in the US of flu-related illnesses, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That usually happens when pneumonia sets into the lungs, which could lead to sepsis, septic shock and eventually organ failure.

There is incredible sadness for a family that suddenly loses a child or a parent. They are probably left reeling, thinking that all their loved one had was a bad cold, and even if it were the flu, it's not supposed to kill you.

It's not that those unfortunate people didn't address their illnesses; many of them made an initial trip to a doctor and were given medications. Then they would make a second trip when things weren't getting better, and finally, the third trip, which was usually the last, to the hospital.

I've gotten flu shots intermittently over the years, but like a lot of people, this season I had a roll-the-dice attitude. And there is a particular strain (H3N2) going around that disproportionately affects baby boomers, of which I am one. It made me think that this self-satisfied generation finally ran up against something it couldn't control.

"Baby boomers have higher rates [of hospitalization] than their grandchildren right now," Dan Jernigan, CDC influenza division director, said on Jan 26.

This isn't just a thing in New York, which has to be the US city where you come into contact with the most people incidentally. Influenza has been epidemic in 49 US states, sparing Hawaii. (How miserable would it be to have the flu in that paradise?)

I saw one TV report about how to protect yourself from the flu at this Sunday's Super Bowl parties.

The flu is pervasive in China, too; in fact, two of my colleagues based in Beijing already have written about their maladies this flu season.

One, like me, wrote about the mistake of not getting a flu shot. Another explained a futile effort by his wife to treat him with traditional Chinese remedies of hot water and light food.

In Beijing, the city's health commission reported 9,500 cases of flu the first week of 2018 - a 20 percent year-over-year increase.

What's that old saying? If you treat a cold, it lasts seven days. If you don't treat a cold, it lasts seven days.

I would settle for it sticking to the seven days.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadaily.usa.com

He said the United States has finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed American prosperity and shipped away companies, jobs and nation's wealth.

"Our nation has lost its wealth, but we are getting it back so fast. The era of economic surrender is over," Trump said.

"From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair, and very importantly, reciprocal," Trump said.

He said the US will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones.

"And we will protect American workers and American intellectual property, through strong enforcement of our trade rules," he said.

In his first year in office, Trump has withdrawn the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and threatened to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) if the other parties involved - Mexico, Canada and South Korea - do not make unilateral concessions.

The Trump administration also has initiated Section 301 investigation into China's intellectual property policy and practice, using the 1974 US Trade Act that is inconsistent with the WTO principle.

Last week, Trump signed orders for new tariffs on imported solar cells and washing machines, drawing protests from US solar industry, lawmakers and US trade partners such as China, South Korea and Germany.

"So far America First has looked like America Alone," James Goldgeier, a professor of international relations at American University, said on Tuesday ahead of Trump's speech.

Wayne Morrison: a specialist in Asian trade and finance at the Congressional Research Service, said the Trump administration appears to be taking a hard line on trade with many of its trading partners by boosting enforcement of US trade remedy measures, dusting off old US trade laws, pulling out of trade agreements and renegotiating others, and talking tough on trade imbalances.

He expressed that attempting to act unilaterally could prove risky even though the US has many legitimate complaints about unfair foreign trade barriers and inadequate protection of US intellectual property rights.

"It could undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system, hurt relations with friends and allies, lead to retaliation and counter-retaliation with trading partners and diminish the attractiveness of the United States as a potential free trade-agreement partner," Morrison told China Daily on Tuesday.

"Ultimately, such policies could result in diminished trade, which would be bad for all," he said.

Michael Froman, US trade representative under the Obama administration, also expressed concern about the Trump administration acting outside of the international system.

"I think one of the things we need to watch out for is that the Trump administration is not undermining the WTO dispute-settlement body," he said on Tuesday evening in a talk at Harvard University.

He said that if the "US is picking and choosing which international obligation it's going to abide by, we are giving a license to other countries, not just to retaliate against us, but to imitate us".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both delivered a veiled criticism of the growing US protectionism and isolationism during the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, although they did not call out the US by name.

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump's policies on trade are a conscious effort to try to get more companies to invest in the US, especially in manufacturing.

The tools are not only trade policy, but also the big reduction in corporate taxes, deregulation, and the weaker dollar, according to Alden.

"And he appears to be having some success, such as today's announcement by Jinko Solar that it would establish an advanced solar manufacturing facility in the United States," Alden told China Daily on Tuesday.

A Pew Center report on Monday said that partisans in the US have moved apart in their assessment of free trade agreements in general in recent years as Republicans have generally grown more negative in their views.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Misconceptions about China's economy and negative feelings between the US and China in many ways have affected economic policies and investment decisions, some experts said on Tuesday.

"Unless one can understand these (misconceptions), it's very hard to figure out what the right policies should be," said Yukon Huang, a senior fellow in the Carnegie Asia Program, speaking at the Commonwealth Club.

China's trade surplus with the US hit a record $275.81 billion in 2017, and the US trade deficit with China was a record high in the same year.

Not many people realize that China's trade surplus of 2017 was the lowest - only 1.3 percent of its economy - in the last 20 years, said Huang, who was formerly the World Bank's country director for China.

"Everybody in the US, including the White House, believes that America's huge trade deficits are caused by China," said Huang.

He admitted that it's not easy for the public to understand that there is actually no relationship between the US trade balance and China's.

The US trade deficits became large around the late 1990s, and then they started to get smaller around 2005, while China's trade surpluses were small around the late 1990s and didn't start to get significant until 2005, he explained.

"So it's not possible that China's surpluses are responsible for America's deficits. They aren't in the same time span," he said.

He also pointed out that trade is not a bilateral issue but multilateral across countries.

Only 9 percent of Asia's surpluses came from China, and the other 90 percent came from Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries and regions, said Huang, who used the iPhone as an example.

"The iPhone is made in China but only 5 percent of the value actually goes to China. But people think the $800 phone is a Chinese export," he explained. "So this causes the misperception both in terms of timing and how the production network shows up."

When it comes to investment, it gets more complicated.

There's a general perception that US companies are investing heavily overseas, largely in China, and people believe that leads to the loss of jobs and competitiveness, said Huang.

He said that is a misunderstanding, because only 1.5 percent of US overseas investment goes to China. "It's actually too little," he added. "It needs to be increased."

China's direct investment in the US grew to $46 billion in 2016, more than three times the previous year, according to the Rhodium Group. The rapidly growing investment also raised concerns.

It's usually a rich country investing in a poor one, but now it's the first time that a developing country is investing a lot in a developed one, and the developing country is interested in becoming innovative and technologically sophisticated, which affects the political equation, said Huang.

Another issue is that a third of China's investment comes from state-owned enterprises, which creates a sense of concern.

"Even that, I would argue, doesn't matter, as long as the investment is largely commercially driven," he said.

The Chinese companies need to do a better job to help dispel those misconceptions, said Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America, a subsidiary of Wanxiang Group, the Chinese automotive components manufacturing company.

"There's a tremendous misunderstanding and disconnect between the US and China. We have way too much positioning instead of compromise, way too much political statement instead of mutual understanding," he said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com

5G's profile was raised after the news outlet Axios reported that a National Security Council official suggested that the US government take over the deployment of a 5G network to counter cybersecurity fears about China.

But the top US communications regulator, wireless companies and some lawmakers oppose such a move.

"Any federal effort to construct a nationalized 5G network would be a costly and counterproductive distraction from the policies we need to help the United States win the 5G future," Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by Trump, said in a statement on Monday.

Basically, 5G offers extremely fast wireless communication that will dramatically increase the speed at which data is transferred. 5G will make it easier to download and upload Ultra HD and 3D video and connect thousands of internet-connected devices.

"(The) first generation was the very first, analog, mobile networks in the 1980s and 1990s, and 2G was the first digital mobile in the 1990s and early 2000s," said Aija Leiponen, a professor at Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

"The core idea regarding 5G is to enable the 'Internet of Things' (like) automated machine-to-machine communication between devices and appliances, the smart electricity grid and home appliance networks, in addition to industrial networks," Leiponen said. "A key consumer application may be augmented reality that requires much more bandwidth than current telecom networks can provide."

She said American companies like Cisco, Verizon, Intel and Qualcomm are investing in the technology together with European and Asian partners like Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung and LG. "IBM is also doing significant R&D (research and development) in this area," Leiponen said.

As two major US telecommunication companies (AT&T Corp and Verizon) said they intend to offer limited 5G service this year, China is also busy developing super-fast 5G.

A report from the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology predicted that 5G will drive 6.3 trillion yuan ($990 billion) of economic output in the mainland by 2030.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp are two of the companies working to develop 5G and related technologies.

Ma Si in Beijing and Reuters contributed to this story.

paulwelitzskin@chinadailyusa.com

McCabe, who served as acting Federal Bureau of Investigation chief for more than two months last year after Trump fired agency director James Comey, had been expected to leave his post as the No. 2 FBI official in March.

He will remain on leave with the top US domestic law enforcement agency until his retirement date, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because a public announcement has not yet been made.

Also on Monday, the House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines to release a classified memorandum that Republicans say shows anti-Trump bias at the Justice Department, the committee's top Democrat said.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff told reporters the panel also voted along party lines not to release a Democratic-drafted memo that countered the Republican report.

The memo was commissioned by Representative Devin Nunes, the committee's Republican chairman, and discusses FBI surveillance practices.

Several House members have said it is critical of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe, while Democrats have criticized the document as "highly misleading" and intended to undermine the investigation.

The House vote gives President Donald Trump up to five days to decide whether to release the classified document. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday that no decision had been made.

Asked about McCabe's departure, Sanders told reporters, "I can tell you the president wasn't part of this decision-making process." Sanders also said Trump continues to have "full confidence" in FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom Trump appointed to replace Comey.

In a recent conversation with McCabe, Wray suggested moving him into a lower-ranking position, prompting McCabe to choose to leave instead, The New York Times reported.

Wray voiced concerns during the conversation about a coming Justice Department inspector general report scrutinizing the actions of McCabe and other top FBI officials during the 2016 presidential campaign, the Times reported. During that period, the FBI investigated Trump campaign connections to Russia and Clinton's use of a private email server while she was US secretary of state. No charges were brought against Clinton.

An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on McCabe, who began his career at the agency in 1996 as a special agent investigating organized crime.

Republicans have criticized McCabe in connection with the Clinton email server probe. They have noted that McCabe's wife previously ran as a Democrat for a seat in Virginia's state Senate and received donation funds from then-Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a close ally of Hillary and Bill Clinton, the former president.

Reuters

"China is very serious about constructing an ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship with Alaska," said the diplomat, who has traveled several times to The Last Frontier to promote friendship and understanding since he took the post more than two years ago.

At the invitation of the World Trade Center Anchorage, Ren stressed at the group's annual conference that practical and concrete steps on both sides need to be taken to solve obstacles for future investment and project-execution, especially the $43 billion agreement between Alaska and Sinopec, China Investment Corp and the Bank of China for a long-sought pipeline to move natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to Asia.

China, Alaska's largest trading partner, in 2017 imported approximately $1.8 billion worth of goods and commodities, and the strong trade momentum is expected to continue.

Last November, Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed an agreement in Beijing during US President Donald Trump's visit to China to involve all parties working on various aspects of the natural gas pipeline project, including financing, marketing and construction.

According to the agreement, the status check is to start in 2018, and the definitive contract will be signed by year-end. Construction would start in 2019, with the goal to have the pipeline functional by 2024 or 2025.

The signing of the deal in November was only "the first step in a long march", said Ren, adding that the project is a "win-win" for both sides. "Forty-three billion dollars is not small money. We hope from many rounds of talks they (the negotiators) can reach a mutually beneficial deal for Alaska and China markets."

Raymond Qiao, managing director of the Bank of China's New York branch, also addressed the conference. There is still a long way to go before Chinese entities can decide to invest in this project, he said, adding that Alaska has the geographic proximity to the Asia-Pacific region, the state is rich in resources, and the market demand in China is strong.

"These advantages of (Alaska) are unique and well-established," Qiao said.

China is strongly interested in the project, which would deliver North Slope natural gas to Asian markets, he added. The gas would be shipped down an 800-mile pipeline and super-chilled into a liquid for oceangoing export out of Nikiski. "We are taking steps toward arranging a group of lenders to cover the project's huge financing costs," he said.

Many people are working on details, including the Alaska Gasline Development Corp, one of the major potential partners. "Their officials headed to China this week for ongoing discussions with the companies. This is still preliminary, subject to business terms, negotiations, legal terms and government approvals from both sides," Qiao said. "However, both sides are working closely toward reaching a solid commitment."

In order to advance the project, he traveled to Alaska last summer and checked several gas line work sites including Prudhoe Bay. "Bank of China is working to bring together a team of banks to finance $32 billion of the project. So we are arranging for that," Qiao said.

The remaining $11 billion would be injected from Sinopec, China Investment Corp, the state of Alaska and other investors. "It's promising," Qiao said. "If all the parties can try their best to control costs, get all the environmental issues cleared, obtain all the government approvals."

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com

NEW YORK - Bruno Mars owned the Grammys with his R&B-inspired album 24K Magic, winning all six awards he was nominated for at a show where hip-hop was expected to have a historical night.

Jay-Z, the leading nominee with eight, walked away empty-handed on Sunday a year after his wife lost album of the year to Adele, causing fans and peers to criticize the Recording Academy for not properly rewarding Beyonce's bold Lemonade project.

And though Kendrick Lamar won five awards, he lost in the top categories, marking another year where rappers were restricted to wins in the rap categories, instead of earning coveted prizes like album of the year.

Mars picked up album of the year for 24K Magic, record of the year for the title track, and song of the year shared with seven co-writers for the No 1 hit, That's What I Like.

Jay-Z and Lamar could have become the first rapper to win song or record of the year, and the third rap-based act to win album of the year.

But Mars' win still marked some growth for the Academy: His is one of the few R&B albums to win the top prize. He dedicated his win to songwriters who have made history in R&B music, including Babyface, Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Lamar's wins at Madison Square Garden in New York City included best rap album, best rap song, best rap performance, best rap/sung performance and best music video. He has a career total of 12 Grammys.

But the night's top performer was Kesha, who was passionate and striking onstage with the help of powerful women behind her, including the Resistance Revival Chorus, Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, Andra Day and Bebe Rexha. Dressed in white, they won over the audience while singing Kesha's Praying and hugged at the song's end as some audience members cried, including Hailee Steinfeld.

The fashion accessory of the awards was a single white rose, either pinned or conveniently left with a long stem for red carpet vamping.

The message, of course, was a serious one as the music industry looked to follow up the anti-sexual misconduct show of black outfits at the Golden Globes. This time, stars were called on to grab a white rose in solidarity. Many did, both men and women, with some also wearing the "Time's Up" pins that popped up at the Globes to support the new coalition of the same name in defense of women.

Singer Janelle Monae, who introduced Kesha, said the music industry needed to address its own abuse problems.

"To those who would dare try to silence us, we offer two words: Time's Up," Monae said.

Ap - Afp

A mobile game featuring a traveling frog has become a hit among Chinese young people, and overseas Chinese students who are thousands of miles away from home especially feel emotionally attached to it.

The game, called Tabi Kaeru, or Travel Frog, was created by a Japanese game company called Hit-Point.

According to The New York Times, the Travel Frog had risen to the top of the free simulation game category in Apple's App Store in China. And it is being widely discussed on social media, where users post photos of their frogs' adventures.

In the game, players can name a frog and help it prepare food and a series of travel items such as tents and bottles for a short trip.

However, gamers have no control over where the frog will go or when it departs or returns. While the frog travels to different places, all players can do is wait at home.

And if the gamers are lucky enough, they might receive postcards and items from the frog showing where it has been.

Many young Chinese find this kind of less stressful lifestyle is very attractive, and the game requires only the minimum time and is easy to play; more overseas students believe the frog is a reflection of themselves, which stimulates nostalgia and homesickness.

"My frog has been away from home for two days, and I was so worried about him all the time," said Sara Lin, a 22-year-old graduate student at New York University.

Like many other players, she intimately calls the frog her "frog son" and shows the postcards sent by the frog on all her social media.

"I started to think whether they prepared enough food, or if my frog son is sleeping well," Lin added. "But it was only two days when he left home; I've been in the US for five years - suddenly I understand why my mother wants me to call her every day."

Lin said she used to call her mother once a week, but after she started to play the game, she tries to call back every two days.

Linda Xu, who graduated from Columbia University last year and works for a marketing company in New York, is also addicted to the mobile game.

"The most exciting part about this game is waiting for your frog to send you postcards from different places," Xu said. "I traveled to lots of places around the US in the past two years, but I didn't send many photos to my parents and my grandmother, now I regret it, and I will send more photos back next time when I travel."

"Sometimes I feel the frog represents us - the overseas students; our parents prepared everything for us at home and once we left home, they can do nothing but wait for our messages through WeChat and expect us to go back every vacation," said Zhang Qiaoxin, a graduate student at New York University.

"I'm going back home this spring break and will bring my parents some famous food from New York as my frog does every time when he comes back."

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com

"As president of the United States, I will always put America First," Trump told global business elite in this Swiss ski resort. "America first does not mean America alone. When the United States grows, so does the world."

The US president also expressed his willingness to negotiate bilateral free trade deals with countries including those in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

"We support free trade, but it needs to be fair and reciprocal. Because in the end, unfair trade undermines us all," he said. "Only by insisting on fair and reciprocal trade, can we create a system that works not just for the United States but for all nations."

The United States, he said, is prepared to negotiate mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements with all countries. This includes the countries in TPP 11.

"We would consider negotiating with the rest, either individually, or perhaps as a group, if it is in all of our interests," added Trump.

On Thursday, Trump had signaled the reconsideration in an interview with CNBC in Davos, saying "I would do TPP if we were able to make a substantially better deal".

Trump, who was the first incumbent US president to attend the Davos WEF forum since Bill Clinton in 2000, also took the time to show off the achievements of the US economy since his administration came into power one year ago.

Saying "America is roaring back", the US president said his administration has dramatically cut taxes to "make America competitive".

According to Trump, the US lowered its corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and the tax cut bill is expected to raise the average American's household income by more than $4,000.

Calling on business leaders to bring business, jobs and investments to the United States, Trump said "It is the perfect time".

Over foreign policy, Trump repeated his hardline stance on such issues as the Korean peninsula, Iran, fight against terrorism, and Islamic State.

In the Q&A session following his speech, the US president also took the chance to attack the "nasty, mean, vicious and very fake" media, which prompted boos from the audience.

Xinhua

The $68 billion company is now seeking funds to bankroll a massive logistics buildup to support that international expansion. JD is in final-stage discussions to sell 15 percent of its logistics arm to Tencent Holdings Ltd and other investors in an early fundraising round.

Tencent will get about a third of the shares being offered and the deal will be completed by the middle of next month, billionaire founder Richard Liu said in an interview.

That's a precursor to a logistics initial public offering in the Chinese mainland or Hong Kong in about three years, Liu said, giving his most detailed outline of JD's global push to date.

"JD's rule is that once we decide to do something, we never limit the money," Liu said in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum. The company wants half of its revenue from overseas within a decade and "we will continue to invest until we achieve our goal," he said.

"JD Logistics wants to diversify its businesses through introducing new strategic investors, such as Tencent, as well as to provide logistics services to more third-party platforms and other e-commerce participants," said Lu Zhenwang, CEO of Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy.

JD, which is listed in New York, is eyeing the largest city on the US west coast because of its enormous Chinese diaspora, and may lean on partner and shareholder Wal-Mart Stores Inc for initial logistics support.

"This year, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Malaysia - every Southeast Asian country - we will come by the end of this year," Liu said. "Our future is we will invest in the US and build a warehouse fulfillment center here so you can get same-day delivery."

Bloomberg - China Daily

The gaming-to-social media giant has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Skydance, the companies said in a joint statement released on Friday. The Wall Street Journal cited an unnamed source that the Chinese firm would hold a little less than 10 percent of the United States production studio. Tencent did not confirm this when contacted by China Daily.

Under the agreement, Tencent can co-finance Skydance movies, as well as handle marketing, distribution and merchandising in China. Other initiatives, including partnerships on television and virtual reality, are also in the works.

"We believe this partnership will support Skydance's global expansion across media types and into television production, and will provide Tencent with attractive content that we can share with Chinese consumers," said James Mitchell, Tencent's chief strategy officer, in the statement.

Along with marketing prowess and capital, the investment gives Skydance access to Tencent's strengths in the gaming industry, the companies said.

Founded in 2010, Skydance is best known for sequels of long-running movie franchises, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. The company also invests heavily in television production, gaming and virtual reality, according to its website.

With Beijing pushing along with the Belt and Road Initiative, ties between the Chinese film industry and Hollywood are now taking the form of using Hollywood's expertise via collaboration in making Chinese blockbuster action films for the local market, said Stanley Rosen, a professor specializing in Chinese affairs at the University of Southern California.

Tencent is drawing global audiences to its captivating entertainment ecosystem, from acquiring Finnish game-maker Supercell in 2016 to signing a distribution deal with Universal Music last year.

"Tencent is about entertainment in every single form that you can imagine," said Kenneth Tan, chief digital officer for media agency Mindshare China.

"By virtue of the number of people who log onto WeChat, they have the largest music app in China in QQ Music, the biggest news app QQ News and the list goes on and on."

The latest investment would also pit Tencent squarely against archrival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which owns the booming yet unprofitable Alibaba Pictures that has joined forces with Steven Spielberg's film company Amblin Partners, among other overseas investments.

hewei@chinadaily.com.cn

It is a loss for China and other related countries from Asia to Europe, but also for the United States, US workers and the whole green renewable industry, which stands to lose greatly from the decision.

That's according to the US solar energy industry, US lawmakers and top US trade experts.

Leaders and members of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a US national trade association, immediately denounced the decision that they say will cause "the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year", including many in manufacturing, and result in the delay or cancellation of billions of billions of dollars in solar investment.

US lawmakers such as John McCain, Lloyd Smucker and Ben Sasse, all Republicans, have come out calling the tariff decision "misguided" and "protectionist tariffs nothing more than a tax on consumers".

Mary Lovely, a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor of economics at Syracuse University, argued on Friday that Trump's tariffs on solar cells and modules don't protect American interests as described by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

"In fact, few Americans will 'win' from the administration's move. Not only will tariffs raise the price of solar technology in the United States, jeopardizing 23,000 jobs in solar installations, marketing, and development, they also will impede growing segments of US solar manufacturing reliant on export markets," Lovely wrote in an article on Peterson Institute website.

She quoted Thomas Prusa, an international trade expert at Rutgers University and a former consultant to the industry, as saying that the small scale and dated technology of the two petitioners are no match for newer and much larger operations in Asia, adding that the protection offered under the tariffs of Section 201 of the US Trade Act of 1974 is unlikely to induce long-term investment in a new American manufacturing facilities.

Lovely also argued that unilateral tariffs, such as in the solar cell case, are not an effective way to bring the Chinese to the negotiating table. Instead, such an approach invites collateral damage to other US interests.

She cited the 2012 US imposition of countervailing and antidumping duties on imports of solar cells and modules and China retaliated with its own unfair trade investigation into US exports of polysilicon, the raw material used in manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells, causing the US industry to shrink greatly. It's "hardly a win for American workers", Lovely wrote.

While some in the US have applauded Trump's tariffs decisions, Lovely believes that such rejoicing will be short-lived because current policies are short-sighted. "Over the long term, tariffs are unlikely to effectively defend American industry," she said.

"While large and sophisticated, the US market accounts for a smaller share of global sales each year. Higher import taxes hurt American consumers and downstream businesses and, by making innovation less imperative, reduce long-term competitiveness in the domestic industries they aim to protect," she added.

Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, argued that Trump's solar and washer tariffs may have now opened the floodgates of protectionism.

"This is a pivotal moment for US trade relationships," he said in a Q&A with the Washington Post on Thursday.

"Trump's actions could result in a tsunami of demands for protection against imports of hundreds of other products. Trade barriers on solar panels and washers also would probably lead to costs for the US economy, a slowing of efforts at climate mitigation and retaliation by trading partners," Bown said.

According to Bown, as with any new US trade barrier, foreign retaliation could arise that would hurt unwitting US exporting companies and their workers. This could lead to further tit-for-tat actions and even a trade war.

Concerns over the Trump administration's protectionist mindset are nothing new. Scott Lincicome, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and an international trade attorney, wrote an analysis last August digging into the long history of US protectionist failures.

Lincicome said the recent rise in US economic nationalism has accompanied the view that past restrictions on foreign competition were successful in achieving stated policy objectives - decreased imports, increased jobs, industrial revival, an opening of foreign markets, and economic prosperity more broadly.

"Politicians and pundits use such assertions to justify new nationalist economic proposals, but they ignore a vast repository of academic analyses and contemporaneous reporting that show that American trade protectionism - even in the periods most often cited as 'successes' - not only has imposed immense economic costs on American consumers and the broader economy, but also has failed to achieve its primary policy aims and fostered political dysfunction along the way," he said.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Titled Music Contemporary from China 2018, the concert featured seven pieces composed by some of the most influential, robust and renowned composers teaching at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), China's top music school, which was founded in 1950. Some of the compositions were written for the upcoming 29th Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony.

The Sunset Lake by composer Li Binyang was among the works staged. The piece uses traditional Chinese instruments - a dizi (a Chinese transverse flute), a suona (double-reeded horn), erhu (a two-stringed fiddle), sheng (reed horn), pipa (a four-string lute) and a guzheng (zither) - to evoke the sounds of seagulls or the sense of the calm surface of a lake ruffled by a cold breeze and the sparkling of sunlight.

"I am really enjoying hearing the traditional instruments from China together with Western classical instruments, and hearing the different sound colors, the different kinds of articulation, and the way that these instruments are working incredibly well together," said Susan Boynton, chair of Columbia University's department of music, who was one of the many Westerners in the audience.

Guo Wenjing's Recitative for Chinese Gong featured a percussionist playing eight gong, each with its own sound range, along with other Chinese and Western instruments.

"This piece is a sacred rite," said Guo, 61, dean of the composition department and doctoral supervisor at CCOM. "Along with special effects in the ensemble, the exquisite monologue of a single gong can take one back to ancient times."

In 2008, Guo created the unique music for the performance titled Movable-type Painting at the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. His symphonic poem Lotus was performed as a gift presented to the 2012 London Olympic Games by the Beijing Municipal Government.

"I've been trying to discover more sounds produced by traditional Chinese instruments for decades because I believe that the potential of such instruments has been underestimated," Guo said.

A show premiering new works by Chinese composers will become an annual event presented in Beijing, New York and Austria.

"In an effort to introduce and promote Chinese music, particularly contemporary music, CCOM encourages its composers to write about the new era and voice them on the international music scene by bringing its best artists of solo Chinese musical instruments and chamber musicians," said Yu Feng, president of CCOM.

"It's the conservatory's mission and responsibility to introduce modern Chinese music to the world," Yu said.

Chen Nan in Beijing contributed to this story.

judyzhu@chinadaily.com.cn

The China-US relationship is preferably one of partners rather than adversaries, said top Chinese envoy to Washington Cui Tiankai, who also said the reunification of the two Koreas is up to the Korean people.

When prompted by Bill Sternberg, editorial page editor of USA Today, to pick a word to describe the relations between Beijing and Washington on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Cui said, "Personally I would prefer the word of partners, or maybe this term is closer to the reality."

The interview took place days after the Trump administration labeled China as a strategic competitor in its National Defense Strategy released on Jan 19, followed by a harsher tone toward Beijing, including a Monday decision to impose steep tariffs on imported solar products and washing machines.

Sternberg said a lot of words had been used to describe the relationship between the world's two largest economies, ranging from partner to rival to adversary, even enemy.

"Partnership means we do have common interests; we have to work together for mutual benefits," Cui said. "For those who say China is bent on world domination, China has no interest in seeking world domination, and I don't think any country can really dominate the world.

"We need the cooperation of all the members of international community, so what we in China are aiming at is really a global community of a shared future."

The Office of the United States Trade Representative said on Monday that US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on imported washers for the next three years and of up to 30 percent on solar cells and modules for the next four years. China's Ministry of Commerce called the move an "abuse" of trade remedies.

"We are certainly against any unilateral protectionist measures and we have the right to take measures to protect our legitimate interests," Cui said. "At the same time, we are firmly against any trade war, because we believe a trade war will hurt both countries. It will not help anybody."

Scott Kennedy, Deputy Director of the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on Wednesday that the China-US relationship is a "complex relationship featuring cooperation and contention in many ways".

"It's a mixed bag and the relationship is gradually sliding in a much more contentious direction," Kennedy said.

Trump is set to arrive at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. Trump's expected arrival overshadowed the event and many government leaders rushed to take a stance in contrast to Trump's policies, particularly his move to revise free trade deals and drop out of a global climate pact, the AP reported on Wednesday.

When asked if a settlement that included reunification of the Koreas is something that China will support, Cui said China wants to have an entire peninsula without nuclear weapons; it wants peace and stability on the peninsula and stands for a diplomatic solution.

On Wednesday, the US slapped new sanctions on the DPRK and firms and individuals that it said support Pyongyang.

From deals with blocs including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to bilaterals with tiny countries like Maldives, China's FTAs already cover 21 countries. That compares with the 20 countries covered by US agreements. More than a dozen additional pacts are being negotiated or studied, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

While President Donald Trump this week imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, underscoring his America first outlook, China is hoping for a "bumper year" for new trade deals, according to the Commerce Ministry.

China's FTA approach is also tied to broader goals such as the Belt and Road Initiative to build new trade and infrastructure links across Eurasia, said He Weiwen, deputy director of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing and a former Commerce Ministry official.

"That would offer some help for China to counter the shockwave from trade frictions with the US, but that's not the purpose," He said. "China wants to be more open, and 2018 is important as it marks the 40th anniversary of the historic reform and opening-up."

Meanwhile, 11 nations are planning to save the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trump abandoned. That may spur China, which isn't part of that deal, to pursue its own agreements such as the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which potentially will bind China to India as well as to diverse partners from Australia to Cambodia.

"As the US is retreating from economic engagement in Asia, the rest of Asia is moving forward aggressively to conclude deals among themselves," Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator who's now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview from Seoul.

Such progress could help fortify Beijing's ambitions to put itself at the heart of globalization -- outlined in President Xi Jinping's speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos a year ago -- particularly if Trump follows his dropping the Trans Pacific Partnership with dismantling the North American Free Trade Agreement. Nafta talks are continuing this week.

China already dominates global trade with almost 14 percent of world exports

Bloomberg

Prominent universities such as NYU, Duke and UC-Berkeley have established campuses in Shanghai, Kunshan and Shenzhen in partnership with Chinese universities.

The University of California (UC) is exploring more opportunities to bridge the US and Chinese markets.

The world's second-largest economy also contributes the largest number of international students to the university, Christine Gulbranson, senior vice-president at UC's office of innovation and entrepreneurship, told CNBC in a recent interview.

In 2016, nearly 20,000 students from China enrolled in the university, almost 10 times more than in 2000.

Thousands of UC alumni are currently in China, one of UC's most robust alumni locations, and the university is looking at how to engage with the market, she added.

So far, 38 overseas institutions have set up branch campuses on the Chinese mainland, and 14 of them are from the US, according to data gathered by the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-Bert) at the State University of New York at Albany in January 2017.

US institutions have the highest number of campuses, followed by the United Kingdom with eight and France with three.

"The US has many reputed universities and the Chinese students have a strong desire to study in the US. To them, it's convenient and cost-effective to acquire a US degree without studying abroad," said Yenbo Wu, associate vice-president of international education at San Francisco State University.

According to C-Bert, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Fort Hays State University were the first US institutions to set up campuses in China. Hopkins -Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies and Sias International University (Henan) were founded in 2000.

The most recent - Georgia Tech Tianjin University Shenzhen and Tianjin Juilliard School - are still under development.

The Chinese government has been encouraging the partnership in the hope of introducing the excellent overseas educational resources to enhance its own academic and research levels, said Wu.

Most of the campuses offer smaller graduate programs in focused areas. Duke Kunshan University, for example, has particular interest in chronic disease and environmental and global Health. Tsinghua-UC Berkeley Shenzhen Institute focuses on information technology and data science, as well as precision medicine and healthcare.

Innovation has become a national strategy of China, and interdisciplinary education with US-China partnership is a win-win achievement for both countries, said Zhu Xuehua, science and technology counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.

"It's good for the universities to take an international approach, which can help build up their reputation and research capabilities. The faculty, students and even communities will benefit from it," said Wu.

"As a result of the trade situation, we will be initiating pricing actions, which will be sent under separate cover shortly," Thomas Yoon, an executive at the manufacturer, told retailers in a memo dated Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said industry experts expect that LG will raise published retail prices on at least some of its washer and dryer models by approximately $50. An LG spokesman declined to discuss specifics about the price increases or their timing, the Journal said.

Fox News crew cover the raising price of LG's washing machine at the P.C Richard & Son on 23rd street in New York City on Wednesday. [Photo by Judy Zhu/China Daily]

"The penalties were more severe than recommended by the International Trade Commission, and we're making some adjustments," the spokesman told the newspaper, adding a goal was to minimize disruption for consumers.

On Monday, Trump approved recommendations by the US Trade Representative to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on imported large washing machines and parts, and up to 30 percent on solar panels. The tax on washing machines decreases and then expires after three years, while a duty imposed on solar cells and modules phases out after four years.

John Taylor, senior vice-president for government relations at LG Electronics USA, said the Trump administration's "penalties are not justified."

Tariffs were imposed despite LG's plans to build factories and its corporate headquarters in the United States, Taylor said on Tuesday. The tariffs could hamper those plans, he said.

In the fourth quarter, LG accounted for 18 percent of US retail sales of washers, according to TraQline market data provided by the research firm Stevenson Co.

LG is building a $250 million plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, that will employ about 600 people in the first phase. While company said the tariffs won't stop those plans, to build what LG calls "the most advanced factory in the world," they will slow them down, with fewer jobs in Clarksville long-term.

"The result of this case hinders the ramp-up of the new plant and threatens many new US jobs. And the result also harms iconic American retailers that depend upon the sale of LG washers," the company said.

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday forecast an 8 percent to 20 percent increase in the price of a new washing machine in the next year, depending on how much of the tax is passed on to US consumers.

A US manufacturing trade group said that concern about higher prices for washing machines were overblown and the tariffs will ultimately create more jobs than they destroy.

"You'll see more manufacturing workers in more states making more products with more innovation and R&D," Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, told USA Today.

GE Appliances and Whirlpool, the two major US-based appliance manufacturers, applauded the tariffs.

GE Appliances is a subsidiary of China's Qingdao Haier Ltd, but the tariffs won't apply to the washing machines made in the US. The manufacturer said in a statement that it was "pleased" with the decision to impose tariffs.

"As we've always done, we will continue to focus on growing our business by investing in new technology," said Kim Freeman, manager of global public relations at GE Appliances.

Samsung said in a statement that "this tariff is a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine. Everyone will pay more, with fewer choices".

Aaron Hagstrom contributed to the reporting

Joly announced last week that she would lead her department on a trade mission to China in April. It will be the first visit to China by a minister of Canadian Heritage in the past 12 years.

"It's a very interesting mission, the first ever organized by the federal government and the Canadian Heritage to make it happen," said Joly. "We are addressing a new approach to help Canada's business access to the Chinese market and strengthen Canada's cultural and economic ties with China."

She said that the creative industries trade mission will leverage existing networks, play to Canada's strengths and complement the Chinese market. The sectors that want to export and engage with the Chinese mark include film/audio-visual, video games and virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) and digital content for public/creative spaces/museums and performing arts.

Last January, Joly met with China's Minister of Culture Luo Shugang and signed an agreement for further collaboration during her first visit to China.

"We saw tremendous opportunity in China. We are thinking that the market which booms right now for most of our creative sectors is in China," she said, adding that close China-Canada relationships are important for Canadian businesses to have access to the world's most vibrant market.

The minister also referred to her previous announcement on the release of A Snapshot of China's Creative Industries, a market study commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with the Trade Commissioner Service of Canada. The market study highlights opportunities for Canadian artistic and cultural content in China.

"We recognize that Canadian creative industries are an important driver of our economy. Opening new markets for creators and creative entrepreneurs will contribute to inclusive growth, create jobs and strengthen the middle class and those working hard to join it," Joly said.

Minister of Canadian Heritage Mlanie Joly (fourth from left, front row) is joined by members of the Chinese community in Toronto on Jan 18 when she announced that she would lead first creative industries trade mission to China. [Photo by Na Li/China Daily]

Threshold Aviation Group of Chino, California, announced a partnership with YXST Aviation Industry Development Co Ltd on Jan 9. YXST is based in Zhangjiakou in Hebei province and provides general aviation services in the region.

"We will be establishing a MRO (Maintenance Repair Organization), FBO (Fixed Base Operation) as well as a pilot and maintenance technician training programs for YXST at their six airports in northern China," Douglas Crowther of Threshold wrote in an email. "Some of these training activities will also be conducted at our Chino, California, facilities. These activities will create additional employment opportunities as the programs mature."

"This is a huge, opportunity for Threshold Aviation Group to expand its business with nearly limitless potential," Mark Dilullo, Threshold CEO and owner said in a statement on the company's web site. "The Chinese aviation market has the potential to eventually be the largest (general) aviation market in the world, and we are in on the ground fl oor providing critical services to help get it off the ground."

Threshold employs about 85 mostly at its Chino operations.

The agreement between Threshold and YXST comes after a 2017 trade show at Threshold's Chino Airport hangar as part of the inaugural US-China General Aviation Business Conference, sponsored by Threshold and the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Aviation consultant Brian Foley said China's general aviation sector continues to evolve. "While the big cabin business jet segment helped bring visibility to the growing industry, lately there's been a switch towards more utilitarian aircraft, such as helicopters that can be used to help build China's infrastructure," he said in an email.

"China has made steady progress in addressing elements that have been holding back growth. For instance more airports are being built for general aviation aircraft, fi ling a fl ight plan takes less time and certain airspace up to 1000 meters has been made available to small aircraft to fl y unencumbered," said Foley.

China is set to boost development of its general aviation industry to create a market worth more than $160 billion by 2020.

The country will build new general aviation airports, bringing the total number to more than 500 by 2020. China will also support the opening of lowaltitude airspace and promote research and manufacturing in the sector, according to the State Council, China's cabinet.

At least 86 cancer and HIV patients in China have had their cells genetically engineered with Crispr-Cas9 technology since 2015 - "at least" because the data is based on the website ClinicalTrials.gov and "may not be comprehensive," the Journal says. So there may be even more.

"China shouldn't have been the fi rst one to do it," said Dr Wu Shixiu, an oncologist and president of Hangzhou Cancer Hospital where several of the patients are being treated. "But there are fewer restrictions." It does seem fair that Crispr- Cas9, being largely a USdeveloped tool, should fi rst be tried on humans in the US, but the hoops and red tape of the review process by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have delayed the most promising experiment - a team led by Dr Carl June at the University of Pennsylvania - for two years.

Wu's proposal - to extract cancer-fi ghting cells from cancer patients, tweaking them with Crispr and then reinjecting them - was reviewed by a nine-member committee appointed by his hospital (doctors, a lawyer and a former cancer patient). The seven committee members who showed up for the review leafed through a 100-page proposal and watched a power point presentation.

The former cancer patient on the committee said the proposal was too much to read and asked about the possible side eff ects of the therapy. Mild, she was told.

The obstacle course that June at Penn has had to negotiate has been a bit more rigorous. First an assessment from the National Institutes of Health advisory committee, which gave the green light in 2016, as long as they also got the nod from the FDA.

Discussions with the FDA then went on for a year, providing follow up information and answering questions back and forth - did the Crispr tool make any unintended cuts in cells? Penn's ethics review was already complete and as of now, the Penn team is awaiting the fi nal okay from the FDA.

But even then, when the Penn team begins enrolling patients they must use consent forms that must also be approved by the FDA.

"We want to make sure everyone knows this is an experiment and not a cure," Laurie Zoloth, dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School and a bioethicist on the NIH committee told the Journal. "Experiments can fail, and in ways that can be terrible."

Wu's consent letters barely mention gene-editing and he tells his patients they aim to modify their immune system, the Journal reports.

The long-running concern among scientists is that gene editing could trigger an unwanted autoimmune response that could be severe and diffi cult to reverse.

The Penn trial will involve removing T (immune) cells from 18 patients with several types of cancer - myeloma, sarcoma and melanoma - editing the cells outside of the body to make them better able to locate and attack tumors and then injecting them back into the patient. This ex vivo gene therapy - doing the diting outside of the body - could bypass immune reactions.

And June welcomes the race with China, calling it a boon for the scientifi c and medical communities alike. "I think this is going to trigger 'Sputnik 2.0'," he told Nature magazine. "Since competition usually improves the end product."

Simon Waddington of University College London summed up concerns over Crispr, a tool whose impact everyone agrees is hard to understate: "I worry that we haven't fi gured out the warts in the technology yet."

In 2017, scientists at Oregon Health and Science University used Crispr to edit human embryos (which were not allowed to develop further) and approval for that experiment

was a two-year-long process.

The Penn scientists are at the starting gate. "We are in the fi nal steps of preparing for the trial, but cannot provide a specifi c projected start date," a Penn Medicine spokesman told MIT Technology Review.

A Chinese fi nancial services company found, through data analysis, that young girls who like tight jeans have their phone screens replaced more frequently. It then launched "screen insurance" targeting the demographic.

As artifi cial intelligence (AI) transforms the fi nancial industry, Ant Financial, the Alibaba Group's financial affiliate, is trying to utilize AI technologies to target individuals and small businesses.

"AI is ubiquitous like water. It's like nutrition to business development," said Alan Qi, vice-president and chief data scientist at Ant Financial.

"In today's fi nancial services sector, it supports key business, like payment experience and anti-fraud," he said.

The company, which operates the popular mobile payment service Alipay in China, launched its "intelligent assistant" this month. The voice-recognition system enables users to buy airline tickets and book hotels by using their voice.

The "smart customer service", a system launched in 2015 for automated customer calls, has recently surpassed human performance in terms of customer satisfaction, according to Qi.

AI is an important technology that generates value from data, said Qi. The company has also utilized machine-learning technology (a segment of AI based on the principle that given enough training data, machines can learn to recognize images themselves) to launch an image-recognition system to aid vehicle insurance claims.

The AI damage-assessment system allows users to take a photo of the vehicle's exterior damage with their smartphones and send it to the insurance company. The system will then enable the insurance company to assess the extent of the damage, and list nearby repair shops and their diff erent prices to fi x the damage.

Exterior damage claims comprise about 60 percent of the 45 million private-vehicle insurance claims fi led in China each year, according to Ant Financial.

"The purpose is to use technology to help the financial industry improve efficiency, reduce costs and control risk," said Qi.

Last week, the company hosted a technology conference in Silicon Valley, gathering hundreds of industry professionals and academic experts to explore AI innovations in the fi nancial services sector.

The company's approach is to bring equal opportunities to the "little guys" and "underserved" that lack access to conventional fi nancial services, said Qi.

Ant Financial is expanding its interests outside of China, including the US. It met with a setback early this month as its plan to acquire the US moneytransfer service MoneyGram was blocked by the US government over national security concerns.

"The temporary setback will not impact the big picture," said Qi. "China plays a big role (in globalization). The world is getting smaller and fl atter."

The company hasn't brought Alipay to the US, because existing fi nancial systems provide less of an opportunity. But the service is available to Chinese tourists at an increasing number of retailers, such as duty free stores at San Francisco International Airport.

Weighing just 430 grams, Mavic Air is the most portable DJI drone ever created.

DJI, the Shenzhen-based world-leading civilian drone producer, unveiled it's newest product - Mavic Air - in New York on Tuesday. According to DJI, Mavic Air is an ultra-portable, foldable camera drone that delivers high performance.

In a marketing photo, when folded, Mavic Air is almost the size of an iPhone.

Michael Perry, DJI's director in North America, introduced the Mavic Air by pulling it out of his pocket.

"The audience was impressed with new and exciting features such as new automated fl ight modes that make it easy to shoot dramatic video scenes, enhanced gesture controls for the drone and its photo and video functions, and advanced systems to detect and avoid obstacles," said Adam Lisbeger, corporate communication director of DJI North America.

Lisbeger said early reviews of the Mavic Air were "positive", and they were looking forward to seeing the amazing photos and videos people would soon be creating with it.

Calling it "Tiny, light, and practically uncrashable", Wired described it as a drone "that weighs just a shade under a pound, fi ts in a jacket pocket, and is capable of fl ying itself."

USA Today called it "ultracompact" and the BBC called it "ultraportable".

Mavic Air is equipped with a 4K camera with new QuickShot modes and Smart - Capture for easier photos and videos, and FlightAutonomy 2.0 with advanced pilot assistance systems "for smarter, safer fl ight," the company says.

"When DJI introduced the Mavic Pro, it reinvented what a consumer drone could be: powerful, yet portable, accessible, but advanced," said Roger Luo, president of DJI. "Today, with the introduction of Mavic Air, we have pushed these attributes to the next level to create our best consumer drone yet."

Mavic Pro, released in September 2016, has a stabilized camera with 12 megapixels and a transmission system with a four-mile range.

Mavic Air photographs 12-megapixel still images and delivers a maximum range of up to two and a half miles. About 150 people attended the Mavic Air launch event in New York.

DJI will be unveiling Mavic Air in other locations around the world as well. The product will be available for sale next week.

Michael Perry, DJI’s director of North America, introduces Mavic Air, DJI’s newly released product, in New York on Tuesday. Weighing just 430 grams, Mavic Air is the most portable DJI drone ever created. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"To date, we did not receive any report involving injury or death of Chinese citizens caused by the earthquake," the consulate said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

The consulate launched its emergency response mechanism when the quake occurred, and consular assistance and protection offi cers contacted Alaskan Chinese associations and travel agencies immediately to check on Chinese citizens.

They also maintained close contact with Alaska government and relevant US agencies, requesting necessary measures to be taken to ensure Chinese citizens' safety.

Ren Faqiang, deputy consulgeneral in San Francisco, who coincidentally is attending a business-trade event since Monday in Anchorage, said he was awaken by strong shaking of his hotel bed. "It lasted about one minute. It was on the 12th floor so I decided not to do anything but drop and deck," Ren said. "Doors and hallways made creaking noises."

The earthquake hit at 12:30 am and was recorded about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island is located about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.

The US Geological Survey originally measured the quake as magnitude 8.2, later downgraded to 7.9. It caused tsunami warnings for Alaska and British Columbia and a tsunami watch on the US West Coast and Hawaii. The alerts were later canceled.  

Since 2015, Navigant Research, a Boulder, Colorado-based marketing research and consulting company, has rated the 20-or-so companies working on driverless vehicle technology. The most recent report, released January 16, ranked 19 companies on 10 criteria, each of which are linked to a strategy or execution score.

From winner to loser, the companies are labeled as "leaders," "contenders," "challengers" or "followers." All companies evaluated in the report for 2018 fell into the first three categories.

US companies - Google's Waymo, General Motors Co (GM) and Ford Motor Co -make up almost half of the eight leaders (up from four last year), which include BMW-Intel-FCA, Renault-Nissan, Volkswagen and Groupe PSA.

Beijing-based Baidu, which calls itself "China's Google", is in the "contenders" category for its partnership with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC). Since last year, Baidu has moved up from "challenger" to overtake Tesla and Uber. Six other companies are in this category: Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai Motor Co, Volvo-Autoliv-Ericsson-Zenuity partnership, Navya and Groupe PSA.

Baidu has invested heavily in Apollo, its open-source driverless vehicle software, as it diversifies from internet advertising into artificial intelligence, the Financial Times reported. However, the report notes that "while many companies are looking at the Apollo platform, only China's BAIC has committed to production programs." The company's goal is to have Level 4 driverless vehicles (on a scale of 5 with 0 being no automation) in production by 2021.

Detroit-based GM took first place for its 2016 acquisition of Cruise Automation, its ability to scale up production and its Maven vehicle-sharing service. The report said that the Chevrolet Bolt EV was a "near ideal platform" for electric driverless cars partly because it gives plenty of power for both the vehicle's driverless system and daily operation.

Waymo, the only technology company in the top tier,is in a "dead heat" with GM on the technology front, the report says. The company received high marks for already testing its technology without a safety driver on its fleet of Chrysler Pacifica hybrids in California and Arizona. The company deploys some vehicles on Lyft's platform.

However, Waymo's inability to form a broader long-term manufacturing deal with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the report said, is "the single biggest weakness in Waymo's path to success."

Ford has deployed some of its driverless vehicles with Lyft and Domino's Pizza and formed a team focused on developing business models for electrification and automation, the report says. In 2021, Ford plans to launch a Level 4 driverless vehicle.

Of Uber, the San Francisco-based ride hailing company, the report says it has been hit by losses and scandals, including an ongoing trade secret court battle with Waymo that could negatively impact the development of its driverless technology. Uber partners with Volvo and was the first to launch a self-driving taxi fleet in the US. The company has been investing in artificial intelligence and machine learning with the goal of making a fully self-driving vehicle by 2021.

Tesla, the automaker based in Palo Alto, California, is in 19th place - dead last. The report is not optimistic that the company can release a fully self-driving vehicle by 2019 because Tesla has struggled to scale up production.

On Jan 12, California state senators introduced a bill requiring the government to designate Lunar New Year a day of special significance and the governor to honor the festival annually.

"Lunar New Year is an incredibly important day for so many communities in California," said State Senator Scott Wiener, lead author of the bill. "In San Francisco, our Asian and Pacific Islander cultures are the center of a world class Lunar New Year celebration that draws people from all over the state and country."

The bill also encourages all public schools and educational institutions to conduct exercises recognizing the cultural significance of the Lunar New Year, the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander Californians to the state and any local festivities and celebrations for the occasion.

Xiao Xiayong, cultural consul at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, said many artists and troupes from China will join the area's festive chorus this year.

Since 2001, China's Ministry of Culture has been sending performance troupes to selected cities in the world, aiming to spread the cultural significance of the Spring Festival and enhance multi-tier exchanges.

"This is the first time that our artists will travel to all consular districts from Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Alaska," he said.

"The main message is clear - we want to spread the joy and harmony of the Spring Festival and share our traditions with local communities," he added.

Artists from Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang and Hubei provinces will bring their music, dance, photography, acrobatics and other gifts to the US. Some examples of intangible cultural heritage from Beijing - such as clay figures, shadow plays and sugar figure blowing - will also be on display.

"The first of the serial cultural activities will take place on Feb 10 to kick off this year's Happy Spring Festival event, and last will be in early March," Xiao said, adding all the performances are aligned with local mainstream partners and aimed at direct dialogues with local communities.

One of this year's highlights, said Xiao, is the "Spring Festival Celebration entering American schools, an attempt that is really trying to connect Chinese culture with American children and their teachers."

Organized by Able2shine Foundation (A2S), a San Francisco-based platform that specializes in cultivating the soft skills of Asian-American children, the school-related cross-cultural events involve many parent volunteers to jumpstart, coordinate and execute, said the organizer.

"We first need to select participating schools - they need to be physically qualified to host performance troupes from China's Beijing and Heilongjiang province," said Luo Ping, founder of A2S.

After filtering all applicants, they decided on 15, a combination of public and private schools. "From San Francisco, Peninsular, South Bay to East Bay, these schools geographically cover the entire Bay Area," Luo said.

Gary Wang, who is tutoring student announcers at the 15 schools, said the events are "great opportunities to sprinkle in some of our tradition and open up our world to American eyes."

For the world to "see us Asian and Asian Americans in a different light rather than the existing stereotypes, it's important for us to fit in with American customs but also retain the values that make us so unique," he said.

Among a few jurisdictions in California that have already designated Lunar New Year as an official school holiday, San Francisco traditionally leads the nation in celebrating the Spring Festival. Its Chinatown is considered the oldest and the largest of its kind outside of Asia and dates back to the 1860s. Its annual Chinese New Year Parade is ranked among the top 10 parades in the world.

"I believe people are more aware of the traditions that occur around the Chinese New Year, but not sure if people know that much more about our traditions and why our traditions exist," said Wang. "Understanding our traditions is imperative if we hope to integrate ourselves in American society."

The insect-resistant rice, Huahui 1, passed inspections on safety and nutrition by the FDA, Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, Hubei province, said in a statement on Sunday. The university received the notification on Saturday, it said.

Previously, the rice had passed safety inspections by the US Environmental Protection Agency on pesticide residue levels, the university said.

"Having passed safety inspections by the FDA and EPA, Huahui 1 and its products are able to be exported to the US for consumption," the statement said. "It suggests safety evaluations by Chinese testing institutes of Huahui 1 have been fully recognized by institutes in the US."

Huahui 1 was successfully bred by the university in 1998 and was awarded with a biosafety certificate by China's Ministry of Agriculture in 2009, following safety evaluations that lasted for nearly 10 years, according to the university.

The species can effectively resist insects such as larva, and can greatly reduce the use of pesticides during production, the university said.

The university has been seeking safety evaluations for the rice overseas to make preparations for export of China's insect-resistant GM rice, it said.

GM rice is not likely to win approval from agricultural authorities in China for large-scale production in the next few years, so researchers in the university looked to the US for commercial use of the product, according to a report by the Science and Technology Daily.

Of all major agricultural products in China, only GM cotton has been grown on a large scale in China, according to Wan Jianmin, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

More than 150 types of insect-resistant GM cotton have been cultivated in China since 2008 - planted in 28.6 million hectares - which helped cut the use of pesticides by 60 percent, he told Science and Technology Daily.

China has the world's most strict safety evaluation system for GM products, and all GM products that have passed inspections by the authorities in China are safe, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ministry will further encourage GM research and development, and promote industrial-scale production of major GM agricultural products such as insect-resistant cotton and corn, the ministry said.

The vote set the stage for hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return on Tuesday, cutting short what could have become a messy and costly impasse. The House was expected to vote later in the day.

But by relenting, the Democrats prompted a backlash from immigration activists and liberal base supporters who wanted them to fight longer and harder for legislation to protect from deportation the 700,000 or so younger immigrants who were brought to the country as children and now are here illegally.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's commitment to quickly tackle the issue of the "dreamers" was contingent on Democrats providing enough votes now for a stopgap spending funding measure lasting a little less than three weeks. Sixty votes were needed to end the Democrats' filibuster, and the party's senators provided 33 of the 81 the measure got. Eighteen senators, including members of both parties, were opposed.

Hours later the Senate approved the final bill by the same 81-18 vote, sending it to the House and President Donald Trump for expected approval so the government can reopen. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders predicted that operations would return to normal by Tuesday morning.

Democrats climbed onboard after two days of negotiations that ended with new reassurances from Senate Majority Leader McConnell that the Senate would consider immigration proposals in the coming weeks. But there were deep divides in the Democratic caucus over strategy, as red-state lawmakers fighting for their survival broke with progressive looking satisfy liberals' and immigrants' demands,

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer lent his backing to the agreement during a speech on the chamber's floor. "Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate," he said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at the younger immigrants.

However, the agreement to reopen the government provided no certainty for the "dreamers," and the short-term stopgap sets up another potential crisis point on Feb. 8.

The White House downplayed McConnell's commitment, and said Democrats caved under pressure. "They blinked," deputy press secretary Raj Shah told CNN. In a statement, Trump said he's open to immigration deal only if it is "good for our country."

Immigration activists and other groups harshly criticized the deal reached by the Democratic leadership.

Cristina Jimenez, executive director of United We Dream, said the members of the group are "outraged." She added that senators who voted Monday in favor of the deal "are not resisting Trump, they are enablers."

Other groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment and shared similar criticism.

A block of liberal Democrats stuck to their opposition. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey voted no.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Monday that if the Senate approved a temporary spending bill to reopen the government through Feb. 8, the House would approve it, too.

Associated Press

On smoggy days, parents in China are most concerned about protecting their children from breathing in the bad air. But a safe, effective and child-friendly respirator takes years to develop, according to industry experts.

"Children's facial structures can be unique," said Stephen Shafer, president of 3M Greater China Area. "So our job is to make respirators to fit their faces that come in different sizes, otherwise the respirators won't work."

The new 3M children's respirator, designed for children aged 7-14, was launched this winter. The product is said to have undergone comprehensive leakage tests to ensure it protects users from dangerous particles in air.

To make a product that can be used by 7-year-olds, as against 12-year-olds previously, was no mean feat, because of the strict requirement of fit and comfort.

But the Shafer-led 3M has been pressing ahead with its efforts to get close to Chinese consumers. Its focus is shifting from industrial use to consumer-centric products for safety and healthcare.

"Historically, 3M has had a lot of industrial businesses in China and has been a leader in industrial products," said Shafer, an MBA from Harvard University.

"With air quality becoming a major concern in China in recent years, we have realized that the technology we use to become a leader in industrial safety is a perfect technology for helping mitigate the impact of air quality in China as well," he said. "It is natural for us to bring the core filter media technology to consumer applications."

Shafer joined 3M in 2010 and worked as vice-president of 3M business transformation prior to his current position. He is upbeat about 3M's performance in China.

"3M has grown in sync with China's economic development," he said. "Our business is evolving from serving industrial manufacturing, infrastructure and the safety market to making more consumer and healthcare products."

In the third quarter of last year, 3M sales generated $8.2 billion globally, which was a 6 percent growth over same period last year. As a result of strong performance through the first nine months, 3M forecasts organic sales growth of 4 to 5 percent for full year 2017, up from previous guidance of 3 to 5 percent.

And part of the growth is expected to come from the Chinese market, its largest overseas market, as affluent Chinese consumers have increasingly strong demand for healthier lives and a better environment.

"In the short run, products that can improve air quality and people' lives will become a good market in China and it is important for us to serve that market," said Shafer.

3M has launched various types of respiratory protection products, from respirators that fit Chinese consumers' faces and filter PM2.5 pollutants, to home and vehicle air purifiers.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn

The US House and Senate continued to meet on Sunday, the second day of a federal government shutdown, but still failed to reach an agreement by evening.

The US federal government defaulted into a shutdown past midnight on Friday after Senate Democrats voted down a stopgap measure to keep the government open until Feb 16, a bill that passed the House last Thursday.

Lawmakers worked on Saturday in a move seen to end the impasse but it ended up in an escalated blame game between Republicans and Democrats.

The key issue dividing the two parties is the fate of some 800,000 "Dreamers", or undocumented immigrants, who were brought into the US as children. US President Barack Obama established the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program by executive order in 2012 to protect these illegal immigrants from deportation. The Trump administration rescinded the policy last September when it expired.

Democrats have insisted that any short-term spending bill must include protections of those immigrants. But White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Saturday that President Trump will not negotiate on immigration reform until Democrats stop playing games and reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said the Senate will vote at 1am EST on Monday on a bill to fund the government through Feb 8. There is no sign that the Democrats would accept it without a Republican commitment to deal with the immigration issue.

Both parties want to appear strong in front of their core supporters ahead of the November midterm elections, when all 435 seats in the House and 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be up for grabs. Republicans now control both chambers of the Congress and the White House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, on Saturday continued to blame President Donald Trump for the government shutdown, saying "negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jell-O."

Schumer met Trump at the White House on Friday for a lengthy meeting. The initial hope of reaching a deal evaporated after White House officials and Trump made new demands.

Republicans and Trump have blamed Schumer for the government shutdown. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, took to the floor on Saturday. "We do some crazy things in Washington, but this is utter madness," he said.

"The American people cannot begin to understand why the Senate Democratic leader thinks the entire government should be shut down until he gets his way on illegal immigration," Senate Majority Leader McConnell said.

There is no sign that a deal could be reached before Monday, when hundreds of thousands of federal government employees will be furloughed.

The federal government shutdown that started past Friday midnight coincided with the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Trump, who was sworn in on Jan 20, 2017.

Due to the shutdown, Trump had canceled a trip for his anniversary gala, a fundraiser with tickets sold at and above $100,000 a pair, at his Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago on Saturday. "This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present," he tweeted on Saturday.

He sent another tweet on Sunday morning, calling for Senate Republicans to go nuclear. "If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C.R.'s!", read the tweet.

The US president published a rare op-ed in the Washington Examiner on Saturday, touting the achievements in his first year in office.

The past weekend also saw hundreds of thousands of people participating in the second annual Women's March across US cities and around the world, many in protest of Trump's policies.

Unlike the 16-day federal government shutdown in October 2013 under the Obama administration, the national parks remained open this weekend, so were the Smithsonian's museums on the National Mall and the National Zoo in Washington. But the Statue of Liberty in New York was closed.

Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on Friday that his agency will manage a shutdown different from the Obama administration to be "much less impactful".

The shutdown in 2013 cost the US economy an estimated $20 billion, according to an estimate by Moody's Analytics.

Mulvaney revealed on Saturday that Trump's planned trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week is being assessed "on a day-by-day basis". Trump's America First policy is expected to clash with the overwhelmingly globalist view at Davos.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

"This is a birthday party for a movement that has only begun to flex its power to change this democracy," Anna Galland, the executive director of the progressive group moveon.org, told the boisterous crowd.

Following marches that drew huge crowds across the US on Saturday, one year after President Donald Trump's inauguration, protesters gathered Sunday on multiple continents, including in London, Paris, Sydney, Madrid and Buenos Aires.

The events culminated with the Las Vegas rally, which launched an effort to register 1 million voters and target swing states like Nevada in the US midterm elections later this year, which could shift control of Congress.

Paula Beaty, 53, a tech worker from Durham, North Carolina, attended the Las Vegas rally wearing an outfit recalling the women's suffrage movement of the early 20th century. She cited the difference women made in helping Democrat Doug Jones upset conservative Republican Roy Moore for a Senate seat in Alabama in December.

"For us it's all about women's rights and we're seeing them be eroded with Trump in office," Beaty said. "The women made a difference in Alabama and we're hoping we can flip the House and Senate with the power of women."

There was also a push for women to not just register as voters, but as candidates. Democratic Idaho state Rep. Paulette Jordan, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, drew an immense cheer when she told the crowd she was running to be not only Idaho's first female governor, but the first Native American woman to be governor in any state. She implored other women to join her in running for office.

"This is Idaho's future. This is the future of America," she said.

The demonstrations came at a time of reckoning for many men in Hollywood, the media and other industries as women speak out about sexual misconduct and inequity in general.

Those who took part in this year's events said they were galvanized by an avalanche of political and gender issues over the past year, as well as the #MeToo movement, which has been credited with countering widespread sexual abuse and misconduct.

Many of the marchers not only supported women's rights, but also denounced Trump's views on issues including immigration, abortion and LGBT rights. Demonstrators denounced Trump's views with colorful signs and even saltier language.

Trump dismissed the suggestion that his presidency has been bad for women. He tweeted Saturday that it was a "perfect day" for women to march to celebrate the "economic success and wealth creation" of his first year in office.

"Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months," the Republican wrote. "Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!"

In Palm Beach, Florida, home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, several hundred people marched Saturday carrying anti-Trump signs. A group of women wearing red cloaks and white hats like the characters in the book and television versions of "The Handmaid's Tale," which imagines a future in which women's rights have been strictly limited, walked in formation with their heads bowed.

In the British capital Sunday, demonstrators carried placards reading "We Are Powerful" and "Time's Up" and chanted outside Prime Minister Theresa May's office as they raised grievances ranging from workplace inequities to misogynistic abuse on social media.