Beijing Targets Slower Growth in '07, Boosts Education and Health Spending

China's Premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech at today's annual meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing that economic growth in 2007 is forecast to be 8%. This is the same target set last year, but missed as the economy grew 10.7%, its fastest clip in 11 years. Beijing has been trying to slow growth and over-investment but has mostly failed so far. According to Bloomberg, Premier Wen said, 'The government will control excess liquidity and further boost domestic consumption.' Despite two rate hikes last year and raising reserve requirements at banks, the economy is still hot with foreign reserves having topped $1 trillion, its trade surplus at record levels and lending exceeding the People's Bank of China target by 27%. Premier Wen also spoke of the need to control housing prices, reduce the rich-poor gap and reduce pollution, among other things. Separately, 2007 budget plans were announced, with increases of 42% set for education, 87% for medical care, 15% for rural areas and 14% for social security, for a grand total increase of 14.4% to $335 billion.

Chinese astronaut will walk in space in 2008

Malaysia Sun
Monday 5th March, 2007 
(IANS)

Beijing, March 5 (Xinhua) China will send three astronauts into space in 2008 on board Shenzhou VII, but only one of them will walk in space, the Beijing Times reported Monday.

Chinese scientists are working on the space suits for the astronaut, key part for space walk.

'The design of the space suits has been finalised, but they still need to be tested,' Qi Faren, chief designer of China's first five Shenzhou spaceships, and chief consultant for Shenzhou VI and VII, was quoted as saying.

China has announced that it will launch manned space shuttle Shenzhou VII in 2008. Shenzhou VIII, Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X are all being planned and the intervals between each launch will become shorter.

The newspaper said the astronaut will just walk in outer space in 2008 and no experiments or maintenance activities will be conducted outside the capsule.

Although Shenzhou VII is scheduled to be launched in 2008, when Beijing hosts the Olympic Games, Qi said the launching of the spaceship has nothing to do with the Olympics.

In response to questions on women astronauts, Qi said China has no plans yet to put women astronauts into space though a group of women airplane pilots have been chosen as would-be candidates.

China's first manned space flight took place in 2003, making it the third nation to conduct independent manned space flight.

Last year, the second manned spaceship, Shenzhou VI, was launched and completed a five-day flight with two astronauts carrying out space-based experiments.

Bank: Beijing's the place

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-03 14:18

French bank Societe Generale is set to be the first foreign-funded bank to start its local registration in Beijing, China Securities Journal reported yesterday.
The bank is expected to begin the registration process next week at the earliest and plans to complete it within months, the newspaper quoted industry sources as saying. The newspaper also reported that SG is investigating new acquisition targets after losing its bid for Guangdong Development Bank to a Citibank-led group last December.