US expresses ‘concern’ to China over Internet filtering, possible impact on trade

September 24th, 2009 Int'l Trade Comm. stops import of fake cigarettesRICHMOND, Va.

September 24th, 2009 Geithner expresses optimism for deal on growthPITTSBURGH — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the United States has a lot of support from other Group of 20 nations to move toward more balanced global growth. Geithner expressed optimism that the G-20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh will endorse the broad outlines of a U.S.

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 16th, 2009 BEIJING — More people now go online in China than there are people in the United States. The country's rapid economic growth and expansion of Internet access in more areas has fueled a sharp increase in Internet users, totaling 338 million by the end of June, a government-sanctioned research group said Thursday.

July 11th, 2009 Australian expresses concern over Rio detentionBEIJING — Australia's trade minister met Saturday with Chinese officials and said he expressed "strong concern" about the detention of a Rio Tinto Ltd. employee on spying charges, a news report said.

July 6th, 2009 White House concerned about deadly China protestMOSCOW — The White House says it is deeply concerned by reports of dozens of deaths and injuries caused by violence in China's western Xinjiang (shin-jahng) province. In a statement issued from Moscow, press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House urges everyone in Xinjiang to exercise restraint.

July 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Monday called for restraint after clashes in China's Xinjiang region left more than 150 people dead. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement that the circumstances behind the violence remained unclear but urged both sides to exercise calm.

July 1st, 2009 BEIJING - China has backed down from its Wednesday deadline for computer makers to pre-install controversial internet filtering software, following a backlash from inside and outside the country. The delay in installing the Green Dam Youth Escort firewall is to allow computer manufacturers more time to comply with the new requirement, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement.

June 25th, 2009 BEIJING — Internet users in China were unable to access search giant Google Inc.'s main Web site or its Chinese service, and the company said Thursday it was investigating. The outage came after the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center last week accused Google of providing links to vulgar and obscene sites.

June 25th, 2009 China accuses Google of spreading pornographyBEIJING — China's government accused Google Inc. on Thursday of spreading pornography after Chinese Internet users were temporarily unable to gain access to the U.S.

June 23rd, 2009 China says Web filtering software launch unchangedBEIJING — China is sticking to its planned launch of a controversial Internet censoring software in about one week, an official newspaper said Tuesday, despite Washington's concerns over the move's possible impact on trade and access to information. The China Daily said the plan to require the Web-filtering Green Dam Youth Escort software on all personal computers sold in China starting July 1 remains unchanged, citing an unnamed source from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

June 15th, 2009 BEIJING - China has ordered software producers to create security patches following reports that its controversial new internet filtering system could allow remote monitoring and control of users' computers, and the stealing of personal information, state media said Monday. "The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told us to make the software safer after a series of security vulnerabilities were found," the official China Daily quoted Zhang Chenmin, manager of Jinhui Computer System Engineering, as saying.

June 10th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese authorities have rejected media reports that claim that the government is installing spyware on all computers in the guise of porn filters. From July onwards, all computers being sold in China will have pornography filtering softwares, but authorities claim that it is not advanced enough to act as spyware.

June 2nd, 2009 US trade rep says China to de-emphasize exportsWASHINGTON — The trade representative for the United States says that, because of the recession, China has determined it should become less dependent on exports and stimulate demand in its domestic market. Trade representative Ron Kirk says the Obama administration sees in China's point of view what he calls "a great opportunity for American farmers, ranchers, producers and workers." President Barack Obama's top trade adviser, Kirk spoke Tuesday to the U.S.-China Business Council.

February 15th, 2009 BEIJING - China was 'deeply concerned' about trade protectionism, amid fears that such action would aggravate the economic downturn, an official said Monday. Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Yao Jian told a press conference that China was 'deeply concerned' over protectionism in some countries, which he didn't identify.