In This Edition

 

Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping proposes to boost common development of China and Latin America.

 

Chinese health authorities implement strict precautions to prevent the current E.coli outbreak in Europe from becoming a problem here in China.

 

An American business professor at Tsinghua University shares his views on the prospect following the second round of quantitative easing in the United States coming to an end later this month.

 

Environmental experts warn that despite recent rains in central China, the ecological damage in the area caused by the lingering drought this year may take years to fix.

 

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

Chinese VP Eyes Boosting Common Development of China, Latin America

Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has proposed to boost economic relations between China and Latin America.

 

Xi Jinping made the proposal in a speech at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, headquartered in the Chilean capital of Santiago.

 

The U.N. body, established in 1948, is a think tank that promotes regional economic cooperation and development.

 

In his speech, Xi Jinping said that Latin America and the Caribbean region are among the regions with the most development potential in today's world.

 

"China is willing to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to push forward our cooperation in a comprehensive, balanced and sustainable way. We should export to each other more high value-added products, expand trade volume and optimize trade structures. China will continue to encourage its enterprises to expand investment in Latin America in such industries as agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure construction, new energy and aerospace on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit."

 

Xi Jinping has already met with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and pledged joint efforts to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

 

Chile is the last leg of the Chinese vice president's four-nation trip that has already taken him to Italy, Cuba and Uruguay.

 

No Case of E. coli in China

Health Authorities here in China are implementing strict precautions to try to prevent the current E.coli outbreak which started in Europe from becoming a problem here in China.

 

CRI's He Fei has more.

 

Originating in Germany, the European E. coli outbreak has found its way to the United States and a dozen other countries around the world.

 

Deng Haihua with the Chinese Ministry of Health says so far, this country has been spared.

 

"Speaking of the epidemic of E. coli, I can assure you that until now, we haven't found any of such cases in the country."

 

E. coli is a virulent strain of stomach bacteria that can create stomach problems, diarrhea, and strokes.

 

In extreme cases, it can result in a coma or kidney failure.

 

E.coli outbreaks of this nature are not unheard of.

 

Japan, Canada and the United States have also had to deal with similar problems in the past.

 

In this outbreak, some 30 people have been killed, most of them in Germany.

 

Deng Haihua with the Health Ministry says the likelihood of the same E.coli strain affecting China is limited.

 

"China imports a limited amount of fresh vegetables and fruits from Europe. At present, there is no evidence that infected food have been spread out of Germany. Therefore, experts think there is little risk that the disease would be transmitted to China through imported foods. But there might be imported cases as people frequently travel between China and Europe."

 

The Ministry of Health has now ordered medical facilities across the country to beef up the monitoring of suspected E. coli cases and report them immediately, once they are discovered.

 

Deng Haihua says if the situation does change here in China, the Health Ministry will act accordingly.

 

"We will keep in close contact with the WHO and concerned European nations to closely monitor the epidemic. The ministry will also organize related departments to evaluate the risks in order to better cope with the developing situation."

 

The ministry is also recommending that people who have traveled to Germany and surrounding countries since April pay close attention to their health.

 

If they notice any symptoms that could possibly be an E.coli infection, they are being urged to go to a hospital immediately.

 

For CRI, I'm He Fei.

 

U.S. Official Urges Better S.Korea-DPRK Ties, Supports Dialogue

Assistant US Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and South Korea's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac.

 

The talks come amid new political wrangling between North and South Korea, with the North now threatening to release audio recordings of the recent secret meetings the two sides held here in Beijing.

 

Campbell visited China before heading to South Korea.

 

He says both China and the U.S. agree that there has to be an improvement between the two Koreas.

 

"I think it would be fair to say that the Chinese interlocutors were concerned by the disruptions in talks and a little surprised and very much want to see improvement in a dialogue between the North and the South and we've encouraged that process as well."

 

The North claims the South-side "begged" and offered concessions in exchange for a summit, a claim the South denies.

 

The visit is Campbell's last stop on his current Asian tour.

 

Meanwhile, Russia's deputy envoy for the six-party-talks is also in Seoul to discuss North Korean issues with his South Korean counterpart.

 

Talks on the US Economic Impact on China

The second round of quantitative easing in the United States is set to come to an end this month.

 

The US Federal Reserve says that it is not planning any further monetary easing, forecasting that he US economy will rebound in the second half of this year.

 

To boost its economy and employment, the United States launched a 600 billion US dollar treasury bond buyback, known as QE2, in November.

 

QE2 has sparked excessive liquidity concerns around the world, especially in emerging economies, like China's.

 

For more on the end of QE2, CRI's Paul James earlier talked with Patrick Chovanec, professor from the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University.

 

China's Second Moon Orbiter Chang'e-2 Goes to Outer Space

China's second moon orbiter, Chang'e-2, is now headed to outer space after setting off from its orbit around the moon.

 

It's now being dispatched on a 3-month journey to a location in our solar system known as the Lagrangian Points.

 

The orbiter completed all it was designed to around the moon, but has fuel to spare.

 

As such, it's now being tasked with additional work.

 

Dong Guangliang is one of the chief engineers of Chang'e-2.

 

"It mainly has two missions, including the long distance control and keeping the orbit. The longest control distance in China is 400,000 kilometers. This point is 1.5 million kilometer away from earth and the orbit is even farther. It is about 1.8 million kilometer away. We can gain some experience at this long-distance point that we have been before."

 

However, because Chang'e-2 wasn't designed for the deep space flight, Chinese space experts are going to face challenges in trying to control it.

 

Lake Dongting Drought Eased, Ecosystem to Resume Slowly

Environmental experts warn that even though Dongting Lake -- China's 2nd largest freshwater lake -- is now starting to fill up again because of the recent rains, the ecological damage in the area caused by the lingering drought this year may take years to fix.

 

CRI's Wei Tong has more from Hunan.

 

Dongting Lake, which covers some 28-hundred square kilometers, has been suffering through its worst drought in some 5-decades.

 

As a result, water levels have hit record lows this year.

 

The lake is home to nearly 200 species of birds and 110 different types of fish.

 

Walking around Dongting Lake these days, the absence of birds is quite noticeable.

 

The locals say that while right now isn't the high-season for birds on Dongting Lake, there are fewer and fewer birds this year.

 

At the same time, the people living around the lake are telling me that it's becoming harder and harder to catch fish these days.

 

"Before, birds could be seen everywhere along the lakeshore, which was covered by a layer of bird feathers and droppings. Now the number has dropped drastically."

 

"The rains should have come in last March or April, but it only just rained a few days ago. It's going to take more time to store water than it did last year. When I was a little boy, shoals of fish could be caught everywhere in the lake. Now it is hard to find almost anything."

 

Zhao Qihong, director of the East Dongting Lake Wetland Reserve says the recent rains have added a large amount of water into the lake.

 

However, he says the addition of new water isn't enough to return things to the way they used to be in the lake.

 

"Around 77 percent of the wetland reserve was dried up before the rains. The drought has seriously disrupted the biodiversity. This year had been considered a normal season for fish to breed. But most of them were killed because of the lack of water. Instead, sedge weed has now taken over and is flourishing at the moment. The sedge should have died off by now and then grown back in the autumn. However, because it's thriving right now, it will eventually die off in the autumn and not grow back in time for the migratory birds to nest."

 

Zhao Qihong also says he believes the food chain has been broken.

 

"It is estimated that it will take at least three to five years to see the ecosystem return to normal. However, if the rain keeps falling, the process will get faster."

 

However, ecologist Wang Yuchun doesn't agree.

 

"I believe that the disruption Dongting's ecosystem will sort itself out rather quickly. Actually, the water volume in the lake changes with the seasons. So the shift between a drought and flooding is a normal phenomenon. The drought was not severe enough to completely destroy the rejuvenation cycle. In my opinion, the damage to the ecosystem from the flooding won't make a difference. The damage to the ecosystem around Dongting Lake would be a lot worse if the drought continued on. As long as there is water, there is life. I'm sure the birds will be back soon."

 

Director Zhao Qihong says his department is now trying to do what it can to help the ecosystem recover.

 

"We are keeping a close watch on aquatic species in the lake. Any changes are being noted. We also plan to build several low dams to keep the water from flowing out."

 

But while the recent rains have been helpful for Dongting Lake, their toll on the human population here is growing, with 15 more confirmed dead in the central Hunan Province overnight.

 

For CRI, this is Wei Tong in Yueyang, Hunan.

 

The 25th International Travel Expo Held in Hong Kong

The 25th Hong Kong International Travel Expo is now underway.

 

Over 10 thousand professionals are expected to attend the event, with exhibitors from a record 56 countries and regions.

 

Philip Yung, Hong Kong's Commissioner for Tourism, says the city is now upgrading its tourism resources.

 

"For example, two theme parks, the ocean park and the Hong Kong Disneyland, have been implementing a series of expansion projects. In addition, to maintain Hong Kong as a regional cruise hub, the government has fund the construction of a iconic cruise terminal at the former Kai Tak airport runway. The terminal building and the perch will commence operation in mid 2013."

 

Last year, Hong Kong saw a record 36 million visitors.

 

That is a 20 percent rise over 2009 figures.

 

The Travel Expo takes place until Sunday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

 

Toyota Forecasts Profits Slump after Earthquake

Japanese auto giant Toyota says it expects its operating profits this business year to fall 35 percent to around $3.7 billion U.S. dollars because of the earthquake and tsunami.

 

The massive disruption to production will likely mean Toyota will fall behind General Motors and possibly Volkswagen to rank third in global vehicle sales this year.

 

However, Toyota executive vice president Satoshi Ozawa is downplaying that possibility.

 

"Regarding the number of vehicles produced in this financial year, we're planning to increase the numbers to catch-up the delay occurred due to the earthquake disaster; as such, we're predicting to produce 7.39 million vehicles."

 

The earthquake and tsunami in March forced Toyota and other Japanese automakers to cut their output because of a disruption in their supply chain.

 

The ensuing nuclear disaster and power shortages have compounded the problems.

 

However, Ozawa says their strategic plans remain in effect.

 

"Despite the earthquake, we'll make no changes in our mid-term strategy. Investments for the next generation eco-friendly vehicles and for the emerging markets will be implemented actively and strategically while pursuing effectiveness."

 

Toyota's profits for the 1st quarter were down 52-percent year-on-year.

 

Newspaper Picks

 

China Daily: How often do you get irritated with the service in your local bank?

 

I thought so. Well one man in Jinan, Shandong reportedly got so annoyed with the customer service at his local bank that he decided to gain his revenge by withdrawing just 1 yuan at a time, that's 14 cents. According to the China Daily the man found only one counter open for business despite huge queues of waiting customers. He caused a stink with not only the bank staff over his actions but with other waiting customers. The man said the bank clerks were cold and didn't seem to care about the waiting people in the bank. Now although the guy didn't break the law by withdrawing only 1 yuan at a time, the police were called to try and coax him into stopping.