SHANGHAI, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for more efforts to promote independent innovation and upgrading of the industrial structure during his inspection tour to Shanghai which ended Sunday.

    Hu visited scientific research bases, industrial parks and workshops of enterprises during the four-day tour, making investigations and research on the transformation of the mode of economic growth and work to promote sound and fast economic and social development.

Hu Jintao (2nd L, front), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, tries the TV and video communication functions of a mobile phone as he inspects Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 16, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

    Hu stressed promoting independent innovation and making breakthroughs in core technologies. Such breakthroughs would provide strong support for the transformation of the mode of economic growth, he said.

    During his visit to Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., Hu said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee had made a strategic decision to develop large passenger aircraft. He expressed hopes that the company stick to independent innovation and succeed at an early date.

Hu Jintao (4th R), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) project, in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 16, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua Photo)

    At the Spreadtrum Communication, Inc., a high-tech company founded by returned overseas students, Hu said independent innovation is the lifeline of a company. He told the company staff “I hope you could make further breakthroughs in core technologies, so as to boost China’s communication industry.”

    Hu also inspected the modern service industry in Shanghai.

    When visiting the logistic park of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Hu said logistic industry plays a crucial part in building Shanghai into an international economic, financial, trade and shipping center.

Hu Jintao (C), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the heavy equipment manufacturing base of Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. ,in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 15, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

    At China UnionPay, a joint stock financial service company that has issued more than 2.1 billion bank cards in the country, Hu urged the company to make UnionPay an international brand.

    Hu also visited the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project, Shanghai Electric Group and a creative industrial park.

    At the end of the inspection tour, Hu heard the work report by the CPC Shanghai municipal committee and the Shanghai government. He highly appreciated the work in Shanghai in recent years.

Hu Jintao (front), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, tries the bankcard service of China Unionpay (CUP) as he inspects CUP in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 16, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua Photo)

    He called on the cadres and people in Shanghai to stage a “successful, brilliant and memorable” World Expo.

    Hu said China should take the international financial crisis as an opportunity to restructure the industry and enhance independent innovation, so as to shift the pattern of economic growth.

    Hu also urged to promote energy conservation, emission reduction and eco-protection, as well as to improve people’s livelihood, so that the shift of economic growth pattern could benefit the general public.

Hu Jintao (R front), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, shakes hands with young members of the research and development team as he inspects Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 16, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Hu Jintao (C, front), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC) in Shanghai, east China, on Jan. 14, 2010. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shanghai on Jan. 14-17. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

    URUMQI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Text messaging services began to resume Sunday for mobile phone users in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, six months after the July 5 riot in the regional capital of Urumqi.

    The services were “gradually” restored since midnight Sunday, said an official with the information office of the regional government.

    Local residents sent text messages to their family members and friends as soon as they got the news.

    The access for Xinjiang residents to two websites, namely xinhuanet.com and people.com.cn, were restored on Dec. 28, followed by access to another two portal websites, or sina.com.cn and sohu.com, on Jan. 10.

    Other services had also been resumed, including online banking, online securities trading, online student enrollment and text messages of weather forecast, the official said.

    Internet connection and mobile phone text messaging services were cut in some areas of Xinjiang after the deadly July 5 riot, in a move to quench the riot quickly and prevent violence from happening again.

    The move proved to be effective in dealing with the riot and maintaining stability of the region. However, it also brought inconveniences to people’s lives, the official said.

    BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The United States needs to face up to its own imbalances rather than engage in more China bashing over trade, said world-renowned economist Stephen Roach.

    ”The West, especially the United States, needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and face up to its own imbalances. Hypocrisy is not a recipe for global statesmanship,” wrote Roach in Singapore’s leading financial daily Business Times this week.

    As U.S. congress and the White House look toward the mid-term elections of 2010, Washington could well up the ante on China bashing — moving from a rhetorical assault to widespread trade sanctions, predicted Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.

    He noted that the United States has already imposed trade sanctions on Chinese exports of tyres, coated paper product and steel piping and grating in recent month.

    Roach argued that the expected salvo from Washington was apparently built on hypocrisy as the United States itself should also be held accountable for the global economic imbalances.

    Meaningful progress on global rebalancing could not occur without progress by both China and the United States and that China has a more optimistic prospect of achieving rebalancing, he said.

    ”There is good reason to believe that China … is about to take dramatic steps in rebalancing its domestic economy in a fashion that would provide a sustained and meaningful reduction in its current account surplus.”

    China viewed the recent crisis and recession as an unmistakable wake-up call, which left the country with little choice other than to shift the sources of its GDP growth from external to internal markets, he said.

    However, it was hard to be sanguine about the outlook for America’s saving and current account imbalance.

    ”The United States, with its massive shortfall in domestic saving, has come to rely heavily on surplus saving from abroad to fund economic growth. And it must run massive current account deficits in order to attract that capital,” he said.

    All nations need to be accountable for the role they need to play in driving a long overdue global rebalancing, said Roach. “It would be the height of folly to try and force China into a counter-productive approach, especially since it appears to be taking its own rebalancing agenda very seriously.”

    CHANGSHA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — China’s investment in water conservancy projects reached a record high of 142.7 billion yuan (20.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009, Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei said Sunday.

    The total spending more than doubled the investment of 65.54 billion yuan in 2008.

    Among last year’s spending, 63.7 billion yuan were from the central budget while the rest from provincial-level governments, Chen said.

    The massive investment last year had pushed forward maintenance and upgrading of 6,124 reservoirs around the country, and helped nearly 61 million people gain access to safe drinking water, said Chen.

    Between 2008 and 2009, the country added another 1.17 billion cubic meters in its water storing capacity and improved irrigation systems on 57.7 million mu (about 3.84 million hectares) of farmland, said Chen.

    In 2009 alone, another 3 million kilowatts were added to the installed capacity of rural hydro power plants, bringing the total capacity to 54 million kw. The annual power output exceeded 150 billion kilowatt-hours.

    HANOI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — A 100-member Chinese youth delegation arrived here on Sunday for the tenth China-Vietnam youth friendship meeting.

    At the opening ceremony of the meeting, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Vietnam Nguyen Dac Vinh said the tenth meeting between Vietnamese and Chinese youth is of greater significance in the context that the two countries are embracing the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which is to fall on Jan. 18.

    Vinh said that the meeting brings a good opportunity for the representatives of the young people of Vietnam and China to exchange views of mutual concern, share experiences and propose initiatives in youth activities, especially in the education of young people, socio-economic development, community building, ensuring social security and protection of young people’s rights.

    Vietnamese and Chinese youth should together find out effective ways to promote the cooperative and friendly relations between the young people of the two countries, said Vinh.

    Wang Hongyan, head of the Chinese youth delegation and a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China said that the exchange activities of Chinese and Vietnamese youth have become an important part of the friendly relations between the two countries.

    Wang said she believes Chinese and Vietnamese youth can definitely keep and promote the cooperative and friendly relations between China and Vietnam and pass this spirit on to the next generation, contributing to the happiness of the two peoples, and peace and development in Asia and the world.

    At the meeting, Vietnamese and Chinese youth presented each other with souvenirs and performed songs and dances to feature the cultures and close relations of the two countries.

    The Chinese youth delegation is in Vietnam for a ten-day visit. 

Chinese peacekeepers and rescuers bid farewell to the bodies of Chinese victims in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 17, 2010. The bodies of eight Chinese police officers who died in the Haiti quake would be brought home by a chartered plane of China Southern Airlines. (Xinhua/Yuan Man)

    BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The bodies of eight Chinese police officers who died in the Haiti quake are expected to be brought home on Tuesday morning by a chartered plane, China’s Ministry of Public Security said late Sunday night.

    The Boeing 747 cargo plane, of China Southern Airlines, took off from Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince at 10:36 p.m. Sunday Beijing Time, after sending the first batch of humanitarian aid materials from China to Haiti.

    It was expected to arrive at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning after stopovers at the Miami Airport and Anchorage International Airport, according to the ministry.

    Of the victims, four were officers of China’s peacekeeping force in Haiti and the rest were in a team sent by the Ministry of Public Security of China to Port-au-Prince for peacekeeping consultations.

    The eight were meeting UN officials in the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in Port-au-Prince when the quake struck at about 4:50 p.m. Tuesday local time.

    The first batch of China’s humanitarian aid is worth 13 million yuan (1.9 million U.S. dollars) included 1,000 tents, water, food, emergency lights, medicines, clothing and water purification equipment.

    The aid is part of an relief package worth 30 million yuan announced by the Chinese government Friday. 

Chinese peacekeepers bid farewell to the bodies of Chinese victims in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 17, 2010. The bodies of eight Chinese police officers who died in the Haiti quake would be brought home by a chartered plane of China Southern Airlines. (Xinhua/Yuan Man)

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