BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — Six Chinese central agents had jointly issued an urgent notice demanding thorough checks on all milk powder and liquid milk products made before Sept. 14, Xinhua has learnt on Tuesday.

    The notice was jointly published by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Health, and among others.

    It was the latest aggressive efforts made by the government following the tainted baby formula scandal that killed at least three infants and sickened more than 50,000 others.

    All dairy products, which were made before Sept. 14 when China’s former major dairy producer Sanlu Group admitted some of its baby milk formula were contaminated with melamine, should be sent for “batch to batch” melamine tests at institutions designated by provincial-level governments, said the notice.

    Those which were being sold at supermarkets and shops should betaken off the shelf immediately and their producers should send them to check batch by batch.

    The notice also demanded all products that passed the checks should wear a special label on their package before going on sale. While those found to contain excess quantities of melamine should be recalled and sealed immediately.

    Dairy products made after Sept. 14 and already tested for melamine tests were allowed to be sold without special labels, it said.

    Melamine, often used in the manufacturing of plastics, was added to sub-standard or diluted milk to make the protein levels appear higher.

    After the tainted baby formula scandal, the Chinese government had made five rounds of batch checks on dairy products since Sept.14. So far, 531 batches of baby formula from 58 brands and 831 batches of other milk powder from 148 brands produced after Sept. 14 have been tested and none contained melamine.

    Last week, the government set temporary limits on melamine content in dairy products. The limits were a maximum of 1 mg of melamine per kg of infant formula and a maximum 2.5 mg per kg for liquid milk, milk powder and food products containing at least 15 percent milk.

    HAIKOU, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — The lives of 10 crew members aboard a Vietnamese freighter were under threat as the vessel reported to Chinese maritime authorities on Tuesday afternoon it was sinking in the South China Sea off the Hainan Province.

    The vessel HUE09 sent emergency signals to the Hainan Maritime Safety Bureau at 4:15 p.m., saying it was sinking about 40 nautical miles off Dongfang City, Hainan Island, and calling for help.

    The bureau immediately asked a vessel at a nearby drilling platform to go to the site for rescue efforts.

    ”The Vietnamese freighter is in critical conditions,” a bureau official said.

    It was not known at the moment what caused the Vietnamese vessel to sink.

    The Hainan Meteorological Observatory issued a tropical depression warning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in the water near Dongfang, saying the wind speed was up to 57.6 km per hour.

    The eye of the tropical depression was moving west-northwestward at a speed of 10 km per hour on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to hit land in Vietnam on Wednesday morning.

    BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — A senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday China would devote itself to holding a green summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), scheduled for Oct. 24 to 25, and has taken measures in this regard.

    ”We have chosen green and environment-friendly materials to make articles for use of the meeting and to arrange the conference hall,” Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi told a press conference here.

    He said vehicles with zero emissions would be used in the transport between the press center and the conference hall, while signs of advocating energy savings were placed in hotels, such as the sign of encouraging the use of reusable toiletries.

    Liu said the ministries in charge of the organizing work and the Beijing municipal government both attached great importance tominimizing as much as they could the disturbance to Beijing citizens during the summit, mainly to traffic.

    He said relevant departments have prepared very well to take a lot of measures to minimize the time that streets and roads are occupied by vehicles for the meeting. “We have thought out many ways to do this, and I believe we will do a good job.”

    He believed Beijingers would be proud of hosting such a grand international event in the city.

    He added lots of preparation for the summit had been made, among which the protocol, press, security and reception work were all in order. The Chinese side had maintained close cooperation with other members of ASEM for the preparation of the meeting.

    ”A green summit cannot do without the support and coordination of all members. We believe other members will make joint efforts with China in this regard. We hope this summit can further show the determination and efforts of Asia and Europe to respond to climate change and realize sustainable development.”

    Leaders and delegates from 45 Asian and European countries and organizations will gather in the capital for the upcoming seventh ASEM summit.

    BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — The financial crisis and other major issues challenging the world will be discussed in the upcoming summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), according to Liu Jieyi, China’s assistant foreign minister.

    ”The ASEM summit would be convened under the special international circumstance,” said Liu at a press conference here on Tuesday.

    He added the financial situation was in turbulence and the three major challenges, including food safety, climate change and energy issues, were interwoven.

    Under the theme of dialogue, cooperation, mutual benefit and common prosperity, the summit would touch upon these issues.

    The seventh ASEM summit will be held in Beijing from Oct. 24 to25. At present, most foreign members had confirmed their attendance.

    Liu said all members would focus on disaster-relief cooperation, the promotion of trade and investment, sustainable development and strengthening dialogue.

    Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the meeting and Premier Wen Jiabao will preside over the meetings and a welcoming banquet.

    Leaders from four coordinators, including China, the EU commission, Brunei and France, would hold a joint press conference after the summit, Liu said, adding several bilateral meetings would also be held.

    ”A chairman’s statement is expected to be passed to reflect all members’ stance on the major issues, outlining the key areas of cooperation in the future.”

    Other documents will also be passed to improve the substantial cooperation on three major areas, including political, economic cooperation as well as social and cultural exchange.

    ”This is another important event for China after the Beijing Olympic Games,” Liu said.

    The 45-member ASEM, established in 1996, is a high-level forum between governments of Asia and Europe. It aims at creating better conditions for cooperation between the two continents through strengthening dialogue and mutual understanding.

    China has long been an ASEM advocator. Chinese premiers have attended all ASEM summits since 1996 and proposed to build up a new-type of Asia-Europe partnership.

    BEIJING, Oct.14 (Xinhua)– A reception was held here on Tuesday evening to celebrate the 15th anniversary of China-Macedonia diplomatic ties. Wang Zhizhen, vice-chairwoman of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) attended.

    Addressing the reception, she hailed the relationship as one on a stable, healthy and all-around development track.

    Since China forged diplomatic ties with Macedonia, the bilateral high-level contact had been close, the political mutual trust increasingly deepened, cooperation in fields of trade, economy, culture, education and tourism was promoted, and the non-governmental exchange was active, Wang said.

    ”Taking the present as a fresh starting point, China will work together with Macedonia for a more prosperous future, abide by the principles of mutual-respect, equality and mutual benefit.”

    Speaking highly of the friendship, the Macedonian ambassador to China Fatmir Xheladini said friendship “will be continuously promoted in a comprehensive and in-depth way.”

    BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — China will keep reasonably robust economic growth despite the ongoing international economic recession, according to Merrill Lynch analysts here on Tuesday.

    ”As part of the world economy, China certainly would be affected by the current financial crisis,” said Liu Erfei, the company’s managing director. “We expect the country’s economy to slow down from its (current) double-digit growth to an 8 or 9 percent (annual GDP) increase, still relatively rapid.”

    He added while some countries including the United States stumbled in the credit sector from over-leveraging themselves, China didn’t get itself involved in a similar problem.

    The New York-based investment bank and brokerage house attributed the country’s stable economic performance to the governmental control on its state capital.

    ”Domestic capital market has not been completely open to the outside yet. This enables the country to avoid major international financial risks,” Liu said.

    The country was spared much trouble as it didn’t invest in sub-prime related financial products, the failure of which had been acknowledged as a prime cause for the present global financial woes.

    Meanwhile, the company’s research showed domestic consumption would stand out as a major driver for the country’s economic growth at a time when exports and the property sector were affected by a shrinking global market.

    A developing pro-labour policy, as well as an emerging major consumer force of people born after 1978, would help accelerate the nation’s consumption, according to Merrill Lynch market analyst Cui Wei.

    ”Our view on China’s economy in the next five to 10 years is very optimistic,” Liu added.