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China says Geithner's visit "significant"
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is now describing the two-day visit by
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as "significant" for bilateral
economic and trade ties.
Vice President Xi Jinping has also met with Geithner. He says
Geithner's time in China has been helpful in boosting stability and
developing economic ties.
Chinese and US officials have been trying to narrow differences over a
number of issues, including the Renminbi's exchange rate, the
bilateral trade imbalance, the U-S controls on high-tech exports to
China.
Geithner, for his part, says the two sides have made a "substantial
progress."
China calls for enhanced diplomatic efforts on Iran nuclear issue
The Chinese government is now calling for a long-term resolution to
the concerns about Iran's expanding nuclear program.
The comments from the Chinese side come after Iran admitted it has
begun uranium enrichment at its Fordo nuclear facility.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin.
"We hope Iran can further strengthen cooperation with the IAEA,
carry out work needed for protection and supervision, and quickly
clarify the unsolved issues of Iran's nuclear plan. We believe the
current priority is that all parties should work harder to improve
diplomatic efforts to resume negotiations between the six countries
and Iran."
The U.S has already imposed sanctions on financial institutions that
deal with Iran's central bank, which is the country's main clearing
house for oil export payments.
China is Iran's largest oil customer, taking over a fifth of its shipments.
Clinton denies U.S. role in assassination of Iranian nuclear staff
Meanwhile, the United States' top diplomat has issued a strong denial,
following accusations by Iranian authorities that the US and Israel are
behind the assassination of one of Iran's nuclear scientists.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US side is categorically
denying any involvement in the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist
on Wednesday.
The deputy chief of Iran's nuclear enrichment site was killed in a bomb
attack in Tehran on Wednesday.
The death of the Iranian nuclear scientist comes amid heightened
tensions between Iran and the United States, with the Iranian side
threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic if
sanctions are imposed on the country's oil output.
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Obama Urges U.S. Companies to Bring Jobs Home
US President Barack Obama now says he's preparing to bring forward
a new set of tax proposals in the next few weeks to try to encourage
US companies to re-invest in America.
Following a meeting with business leaders, Obama has revealed that
he intends to put forward a new tax plan that will be designed to try to
encourage US companies that have been outsourcing their work to
other countries to return home.
At the same time, he says he also plans to bring in a plan to eliminate
tax breaks for American companies that move jobs overseas.
The proposal comes amid the start of the Presidential election
campaign.
As such, any initiative by Obama at this point is likely to
die-on-the-vine
in
the
Republican-controlled
House
of
Representatives.
Assad Makes Rare Appearance in Damascus; French Journalist Killed
in Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made a rare appearance in
downtown Damascus, greeting thousands of his supporters.
The public appearance comes just a day after his first speech to the
Syrian people in half a year.
Whilst on the ground in other parts of Syria, the uprising against
Assad's rule continues.
Unidentified gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades into a crowd of
people in the restive city of Homs yesterday, killing 7 people, including
a French journalist.
43-year-old Gilles Jacquier with France's Channel 2 was interviewing a
group of pro-government supporters when he was killed.
Chinese Naval Escort Squads to Somali Waters Escorted 4,411 Vessels
in Three Years
A top Chinese navy officer says the Chinese naval escort fleet in the
Gulf of Aden has safely escorted over 44-hundred boats through the
pirate-filled waters over the course of the last three years.
Speaking to a forum in Beijing, Chinese naval commander Wu Shengli
also says the Chinese naval squadron in the Gulf of Aden has also help
rescue around 40 ships that were being threatened by Somali pirates.
The Chinese navy has dispatched 10 escort fleets with close to
85-hundred officers and soldiers to the region since they began
escorting ships through the treacherous waters.
China Develops Largest Rocket Propellant Tank
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Characterizing it as a major breakthrough, Chinese rocket developers
have created its largest rocket-fuel tank.
The tank, which is 5-meters wide and 20-meters long, has been
designed to lift the latest generation of the Long March rocket series.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology says the new fuel
tank should be sturdy enough to put a 25-tonne payload into a
near-Earth orbit.
Over 1 Million Lives Affected as Drought Persists In east China
Authorities in Jiangxi are now suggesting that a lingering drought is
causing water shortages for over one million people.
The drought has sharply reduced the water levels in Poyang Lake, the
country's largest freshwater lake.
The lack of rain has also dried up rivers, threatening the water
supplies for people living nearby.
The water-surface area of Poyang Lake has shrunk to less than 200
square kilometers, which is only around 5-percent of the massive
lake's full size.
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