CHINA / National
President set for first Indian visit
By Qin Jize and Chen Jialu (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-08 06:30
US President George W. Bus
CHINA / National
Pension funds to be invested in railway
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-08 06:49
The national social security fund is likely to invest in the
Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail link and other railway projects.
The fund and the Ministry of Railways are currently in negotiations about
the investment, an anonymous source was quoted as saying in the China
Financial News yesterday.
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The potential investment by the fund follows the huge investments
promised by insurers falling short of ministry estimates.
A total of 40 billion yuan (US$5 billion) from insurance companies has
been approved for investment in the project, said Zhou Yanli, deputy
chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
But the amount is only half what the ministry expected, since the
ministry and the commission agreed two months ago that it needed 80
billion yuan (US$10 billion) from the insurance business for the project.
The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway project is estimated to cost at
least 130 billion yuan (US$16.25 billion) according to the initial plan.
"The initial budget was made according to past experience that building 1
kilometre of high-speed track usually costs 100 million yuan (US$12
million)," said Liang Chenggu, news officer with the Ministry of Railways.
"But the investment may increase along with the growing price of real
estate and resettlement costs," he said.
The China Financial News quoted an insider saying that the
Beijing-Shanghai railway will cost at least 170 billion yuan (US$21.25
billion).
If three related projects are included in the final bill, the total cost
could exceed 200 billion yuan (US$25 billion), the newspaper said.
At present, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is
studying a feasibility report on the Beijing-Shanghai railway project,
which includes details like the total investment needed.
The commission approved the ministry's proposal to build the high-speed
railway in March 2006, after more than a decade of debate on what
technology the railway should use.
The 1,320-kilometre line is expected to be completed and go into
operation in 2010, when Shanghai hosts the World Expo.
By then, with a designed speed of 300 kilometres per hour and a maximum
speed of 350 kilometres, the railway will shorten travel time between the
two cites from 13 hours to less than 5.
The ministry said work on the project is expected to start before the end
of the year.
Work has already begun on some related projects, such as new railway hubs
and bridges along the route.
Two projects in East China's Jiangsu Province the Nanjing Railway Station
and the Nanjing Dashengguan Rail Bridge both began construction in
September.
Other related projects include building a new Beijing South Railway
Station. The project began last December with an estimated cost of 6.3
billion yuan (US$789 million).
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h (R) and first lady Laura Bush (2nd L) gather
on the South Portico of the White House with China's President Hu Jintao
(2nd R) and his wife Liu Yongqing at a welcoming ceremony in Washington
April 20, 2006. [Reuters]
Chinese President Hu Jintao will kick off his maiden trip to India later
this month amid reports that Beijing is considering talks with New Delhi
on a free trade area (FTA).
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular briefing yesterday
that Hu will make a state visit to India from November 20 to 23 following
official visits to Viet Nam and Laos. He will then visit Pakistan for
another four days.
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Hu will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in
Hanoi, the capital of Viet Nam, next week.
The FTA issue is widely expected to be discussed during Hu's visit to
India; and Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai yesterday hoped for
successful negotiations.
China is currently holding FTA talks with Singapore, Australia, New
Zealand and Pakistan as well as the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recently expressed
interest in a similar arrangement.
"Trade and economic co-operation between China and India serve the
interests of both countries," Cui said, noting that bilateral trade
volume is expected to exceed US$20 billion this year.
He said China is India's second-largest trading partner and the two sides
co-operate closely in energy, agriculture, technology and education.
Earlier reports quoted Fu Ziying, assistant minister of commerce, as
saying that China is considering FTA talks with India; and observers said
fruition would only be a matter of time.
Liu Jian, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
said the resumption of cross-border trade at the Himalayan Nathu La Pass
in July is a good prelude to the FTA talks.
He said the "conditions for the establishment of a free trade area have
been improving. The free trade area will not only conform to the trend of
economic globalization, but also strengthen bilateral ties."
He noted that trade between the two Asian giants, both among the world's
fastest-growing economies, soared in the past decade, from US$1.16
billion to US$18.7 billion last year, with year-on-year growth of 32 per
cent.
During his trip to the world's second-most populous country last April,
Premier Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh set a
bilateral trade target of US$50 billion by 2010.
They also agreed to set up a joint task force to study the feasibility of
a free trade area.
According to Indian media, the task force held its first round of talks
last September and the next meeting is scheduled for December.
Liu said Hu's visit will be the climax of the Year of China-India
Friendship and help enhance trust and understanding.
He said both the government and the people are keen to push forward
Sino-Indian co-operation as demonstrated by the newly-minted word
"Chindia," and made well-known in the title of a book by Jairam Ramesh,
India's junior minister for commerce.
Top-level exchanges
In Hanoi, Hu is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the APEC Summit.
Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and visiting US Under-Secretary of
State Nicholas Burns, who is in charge of political affairs, will
co-chair the third China-US Strategic Dialogue in Beijing today.
The meeting between Hu and Abe will be their second since the latter took
office last month and chose China and the Republic of Korea for his first
official visits.
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