China dumps control for subtler realm of Western spin in crisis reporting

September 25th, 2009 China plans to link banker pay to risksBEIJING — China plans to link the pay of bankers to risks taken by their institutions but has no plans for salary caps, a government spokeswoman said Friday. The announcement came as leaders of the Group of 20 major economies meeting in Pittsburgh neared agreement on compensation limits for bankers whose risky behavior contributed to the global financial meltdown.

September 19th, 2009 Strong earthquake hits western ChinaBEIJING — Officials say a strong earthquake has shaken western China but there are no reports of injuries or serious damage. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-5.4 quake struck at 4:54 p.m.

September 13th, 2009 KABUL - Up to 50 Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash in western Afghanistan after the rebels killed 10 soldiers in the region, officials said Sunday. Militants ambushed a convoy of the UN World Food Programme in Bala Bulok district of western Farah province Saturday, provincial governor Ruh-ul-Amin said.

August 19th, 2009 TOKYO - China was Japan's biggest trading partner in the first six months this year, according to a report Wednesday. For the first time, Japan's exports to China surpassed those to the US.

August 15th, 2009 Summary: WTO rules on China, but piracy persistsWHAT HAPPENED? A World Trade Organization panel on Wednesday said China is violating free-trade rules by forcing foreign movies, music, books and video games to be routed through Chinese state-owned companies, and by not allowing foreign partnerships in the realm of digital music. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? It's one step in a long process that could lead China to further open its market to foreign cultural products.

July 30th, 2009 Indo-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE BEIJING - The US administration has decided to lift its restrictions on the export of hi-tech goods to China, a media report said Thursday. The China Daily quoted Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, who took part in the two-day China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue that ended in Washington Tuesday, as saying: "The US pledged to facilitate exports of high-technology products from the US to China." Sino-US trade touched $333.7 billion last year in spite of the global financial crisis.

July 15th, 2009 Air China forecasts 50 percent profit riseBEIJING — Air China Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned carriers, said Wednesday it expects first-half profits to rise at least 50 percent from a year earlier as it recovers from a huge 2008 loss. The Beijing-based airline said its first-half 2008 profit was 1.3 billion yuan under Chinese accounting standards, which would make its profit from January to June this year at least 1.9 billion yuan ($284 million).

July 8th, 2009 China tries new openness with foreign mediaBEIJING — When riots broke out in the restive west this week, China took a different tack with foreign journalists: Instead of being barred, reporters were invited on an official tour of Xinjiang's capital. The approach, a stark reversal from last year's handling of Tibetan unrest, suggests Chinese authorities have learned that providing access to information means they can get their own message out, experts said.

June 26th, 2009 China report: Hospital dumps 6 aborted fetusesBEIJING — A hospital in central China dumped six aborted human fetuses and the bodies of two people at a construction site, state media said Friday. The fetuses, the two adult bodies and a bag containing three limbs from other people were found Tuesday by a worker at a construction site in Xiangfan, Hubei province, the China Daily newspaper reported.

May 2nd, 2009 LONDON - China is using the Sri Lankan crisis to expand its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region as part of its "string of pearls" strategy, and this is one of the main reasons behind failure of Western governments to negotiate a ceasefire to help Tamil civilians trapped on the front line, according to a leading UK based daily. The world, including India, has called for a cessation of hostilities to enable civilians to escape from the war zone, but China is still encouraging the Lankan offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

April 28th, 2009 China Southern Airlines 1Q profit down 71 percentBEIJING — China Southern Airlines Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned carriers, said Tuesday its profit fell 71 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier amid a slump in traffic. Profit for the three months ending March 31 was 222 million yuan ($32.4 million) or 0.03 yuan per share, the carrier said.

April 20th, 2009 China launches new English-language newspaperBEIJING — A new English-language paper published by China's Communist Party hit newsstands on Monday — part of Beijing's efforts to raise its profile on the global stage and find an international audience for the party line. The inaugural English edition of the Global Times led with stories about public support for naval development and how the Great Wall of China was even longer than thought.

April 17th, 2009 BEIJING - The World Bank said Friday it approved loans totalling $450 million to finance road and rail projects in central and western China. The bank said $300 million would help finance a 857-km rail line linking Guizhou and Guangdong provinces.

March 6th, 2009 BEIJING - China has multiple plans to prepare itself for further negative impact of the global financial crisis, a top banking official said Friday. China's long-held policy of keeping the Renminbi exchange rate 'basically stable at an appropriate and balanced level' is 'relatively comprehensive and enough', Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, told a press conference on the sidelines of the parliament's annual session.

February 23rd, 2009 BEIJING - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on China Sunday to invest more in US treasury bonds, to aid both economies during the global financial crisis. In an interview with the Shanghai Dragon TV channel, Clinton said, 'It would not be in China's interest if we were unable to get our economy moving again.' 'We are truly going to rise or fall together.