Hu pledges to safeguard rights of foreign media in China

October 8th, 2009 China pledges to protect foreign mediaBEIJING — President Hu Jintao pledged Friday that Beijing would protect the rights of international news organizations reporting in China. Hu also said in an opening speech to a meeting of global media leaders that news organizations had an obligation to help keep peace in the world.

August 14th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese Government has decided to provide enhanced access to foreign journalists in a policy called "zero refusal", realising that it would lead to more objective reports about the country. "Zero refusal means that the ministries must designate people to deal with calls and interview requests from foreign media and that they have to give a response within 24 hours or the period they prescribe, no matter what the result is," The China Daily quoted Guo Weimin, Director of the SCIO press department, as saying.

July 28th, 2009 Clinton: U.S.-China to cooperate on challengesWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States and China have agreed to cooperate on difficult foreign policy challenges such as North Korea and Iran as well as counterterrorism and climate change. Clinton described as unparalleled the range of issues discussed between U.S.

July 23rd, 2009 Senators praise Utah gov as China ambassador pickWASHINGTON — Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Thursday he would work with the Chinese government to shore up the global economy and to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons effort if he is confirmed as ambassador to China.

July 16th, 2009 Foreign investment in Myanmar soarsYANGON, Myanmar — Foreign investment in Myanmar swelled sixfold to almost $1 billion in the last fiscal year, most of it coming from China, according to government statistics seen Thursday. A Ministry of National Planning and Development statistical survey showed that foreign investment jumped to $984.9 million in the fiscal year that ended in March 2009 from $172.7 million the previous year.

July 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said some 'elements' are trying to damage its relations with China by linking Islamabad with the unrest in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi. Addressing a weekly briefing here, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said Pakistan would not allow nefarious elements to hamper ties between the two old allies.

July 5th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has maintained that the Australian parliamentary delegation's decision to meet the Dalai Lama in India was entirely appropriate despite Chinese condemnation. "This is a reflection of Australia's democratic strengths.

July 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo has said that Asia's two emerging giants China and India will become big powers in the future when the current economic crisis is over and the world will be a different place with many centers of political, economic and cultural influence. Speaking at the 15th anniversary celebrations of a local secondary school on Saturday, Foreign Minister George Yeo also said that Russia and Brazil will also play major roles.

June 29th, 2009 Dollar up after China says reserve policy 'stable'BEIJING — The dollar gained against the yen and euro on global markets Monday after China's chief central banker said there will be no sudden changes in its policy on foreign exchange reserves. "Our foreign exchange reserve policy is always quite stable.

May 6th, 2009 BEIJING - Rejecting Australian concerns that Beijing will be a major military concern in the years to come, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said its military's growth poses no threat to others. "China unswervingly sticks to peaceful development and pursues a defensive military policy," the China Daily quoted Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, as saying.

April 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - China earned 82.5 billion dollars from nearly two trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves last year, and is now the fifth largest holder of gold in the world. The United States owns the largest gold deposits followed by Germany, France and Italy.

April 13th, 2009 BEIJING - China published Monday its first-ever action plan on human rights, pledging to further protect and improve the country's human rights conditions. The National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010), issued by the State Council, or Cabinet, highlighted various human rights goals that would be implemented in less than two years.

April 13th, 2009 BEIJING - "China has a long road ahead in its efforts to improve its human rights situation," though unremitting efforts have been made to promote and safeguard human rights since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, which "fundamentally" changed the fate of the Chinese people. The country published its first working plan on human rights protection Monday, pledging to further protect and improve the country's human rights conditions in an all-round way.

April 8th, 2009 BEIJING - China has asked the United Nations to respond prudently to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) rocket launch, even as the UN Security Council have scheduled a second meeting to discuss what sanctions, if any, can be imposed on that country. "China is always careful about imposing sanctions.

December 22nd, 2008 BEIJING - China Tuesday called on India and Pakistan to probe the Mumbai terror attacks through peaceful consultations. 'We hope to see improvement in the India-Pakistan relations,' foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a press conference in responding to questions on the South Asia situation.