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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (280)	8/11/2003 1:07:29 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Australia to push China for free-trade talks Reuters Canberra, August 11 Australia will push China, its third-largest trade partner, to consider setting up a free-trade agreement (FTA) when the prime minister visits Beijing next week, a senior government official said on Monday. Prime Minister John Howard will spend next Monday in Beijing to meet China's new leadership, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, and to try to expand the economic relationship between the two countries. Two-way trade between Australia and China has almost trebled since Howard's conservative government won power in 1996, with two-way trade totalling A$21.2 billion ($13.8 billion) in 2002. China is now the fourth-largest destination for Australian exports, taking about seven per cent of last year's total, especially in the form of iron ore, wool and crude petroleum, and the third-largest source of imports, such as computers, toys and textiles. A senior government official said trade was one of the items on the agenda for next week's talks, alongside China's role in helping defuse a stand-off over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "One of the things we will be discussing is the possibility of hindustantimes.com

To: RealMuLan who wrote (280)	8/12/2003 1:45:32 AM
From: BubbaFred	Respond to of 6370

Russia, China, Central Asian nations launch anti-terrorism drills Reuters Beijing, August 11 In a bid to tighten the noose on Muslim separatists in its restive region of Xinjiang, China began anti-terrorism exercises with Russia and three Central Asian republics on Monday. Troops from the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, which includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, were taking part in the two-day exercises in the city of Yili, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said. The drills would include a simulated attack on a terrorist base and the rescue of hostages, the semi-official China News Service said. Analysts said that the manoeuvres were part of Chinese efforts to tighten their grip in Yili, which was rocked by rioting in February 1997. The rioting left nine people dead and more than 200 injured. A leader of the rioting was sentenced to death in 2001. "It closes the door on Uighurs," said Nicolas Becquelin, a Hong Kong-based Xinjiang and human rights expert, referring to the ethnic minority group that has agitated for an independent state of East Turkestan in the region. "There's no hope for Uighur nationalism outside of China because other countries are supporting China," Becquelin said. Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, is home to many Uighur exiles. The first stage of the exercises was held at a Kazakh air base last week. China considers Uighur militants a terrorist threat and has appealed for international support for its campaign against them in the name of "war on terrorism". It claims of having evidence linking Uighur militants with international "terrorist" groups. Xinjiang, home to Turkish-speaking Uighurs and bordering the former Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and Afghanistan, was rocked by bombings, assassinations and riots in the late 1990s. Hundreds of pro-independence activists have been jailed or executed. Meanwhile, Washington has urged Beijing not to use the war on terrorism as a pretext to crack down on political dissent. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation began as the Shanghai Five forum in 1996 with the aim of resolving Soviet-era border disputes. Last year, the group admitted Uzbekistan, changed its name to the SCO and switched its focus to combating Islamic separatists. It was not clear whether Uzbekistan was taking part in the exercises. hindustantimes.com