China, a new source of fortune



The 2005 Fortune Global Forum, a prestigious world business summit, opened Monday in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao inviting global businesses to take full advantage of the fast-growing economy of China and Asia.

"China and Asia are quickly becoming a new growth engine for the world while the global boom is also generating more important opportunities for China and Asia," said Hu while addressing a grand opening ceremony of the forum in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's national legislature in central Beijing, on Monday evening.

"China's economic growth has brought and will continue to bring win-win opportunities to Asia and the World," Hu told the 800-strong audience, among whom were the CEOs of more than 80 of the world's top 500 businesses.

It was the third time in seven years for the high-profile business forum, initiated in 1995 by the US-based Fortune Magazine, to come to China, with the previous two hosted by Shanghai in 1999 and Hong Kong in 2001.

"We regard China as a respected and indispensable participant in the global economy...We have no doubt that its future development will be even faster and stronger," said Richard Parsons, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc., which owns Fortune Magazine, in his opening remarks at the Monday ceremony.

In a remarkable symbol of respect to the Chinese hosts, the forum has for the first time changed its traditional blue logo into a red one, or the "color of China." However, the organizers' original plan of holding the opening ceremony at Tiantan in southern Beijing, or the Temple of Heaven where ancient emperors prayed for national prosperity, was disrupted by rainy weather.

During the three-day forum, featuring the theme "China and the New Asian Century," participants are expected to exchange views on hot issues like corporate governance reform, intellectual property rights, capital markets, auto industry development, technical innovation, energy saving, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"No company can succeed without tapping the potential of the Chinese and Asian markets," said an official with General Motors, whose CEO Rick Wagoner is also attending the forum. Troubled by poor sales recently, GM is trying to find a remedy at the forum to help revitalize the sluggish Asian vehicle market.

Business leaders sit in Beijing's Great Hall of the People at the opening ceremony of the Fortune Global Forum in Beijing May 16, 2005.

Vocabulary
forum论坛
revitalize 振兴
sluggish 不景气的

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	"Women only" cars 高峰时段开通女士专列 Women inside the "women only" car of the KEIO line during the evening hours, Tokyo, May 11. In an attempt to combat the growing problem of gropers assaulting women in jam-packed trains, nine private railways and subway trains operated by the Tokyo metropolitan government introduced "women only" cars during the rush hour.
	Woman disguised as tree 女子装扮成树 A woman disguised as a tree takes part in a contest of "living statues" in Madrid, Spain, May 15, as part of the celebrations for Saint Isidro's Day, Madrid's patron saint. Bullfights, street performances and concerts were organized in Madrid to celebrate the festival.
	Strongman set new record 大力士与飞机"比力气" Strongman Arpad Nick of Hungary set a Guinness record at a privately owned grass airport in Zalakaros, 200kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, May 15 by attaching ropes to himself and two AN-2 airplanes attempting take-offs in opposite directions, and holding them at a standstill for 41 seconds while pulling at full throttle.
	Operation on bear 熊口拔牙 A highly specialized dental surgeon Dr. Peter Kertesz performs an operation to extract sore teeth of a 12-year-old white bear at the Moscow Zoo, Russia, May 12.
	Monster cauliflower 老矿工种出巨大花椰菜 A former 78-year-old British miner, who was told by his doctor a year ago to eat more vegetables, has now turned his hand to gardening and grown a monster vegetable. John Sankey, pictured May 11, who lives in rural Hartshorne, Staffordshire, England, astonished friends and family when in his first year his garden produced a massive 5 kilogram cauliflower. John said "I've never seen anything like it in my life, it was bloody huge.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

" I even needed to wear my reading glasses to sort out things correctly."
"我甚至需要带上老花镜才能把东西分类正确."
In a drive to reduce waste and increase recycling, Japan is raising the number of trash categories to dizzying heights, but the citizens are just not used to it.
--为减少浪费并提高回收利用率, 日本政府细化了垃圾分类, 类别多到令人头晕. 对此, 日本民众很不适应.

"Xbox was very much ready, fire, aim."
"Xbox已经准备就绪, 开火, 瞄准. "
Said J Allard, corporate vice president at Microsoft and a leading architect of the Xbox effort. Looking for an advantage in the video-console wars, Microsoft has unveiled the Xbox 360, which can act as a home entertainment hub.
--此言出自微软公司副总裁兼Xbox项目的主要设计师J Allard. 为了在视频控制软件大战中取得优势, 微软公司推出Xbox 360, 有望成为家庭娱乐中心.

"I'm a little bit envious because I would like to be in the middle of that, though I would destroy our play a little bit."
"我有点嫉妒(场上的队员), 我真想上场比赛, 虽然那样我们的表现会差点."
Arsenal blew away Everton by seven in a match last week. Wenger, the head coach, reacted humorously to the victory.
--上周阿森纳队以7: 0的大比分打败埃弗顿队. 获得胜利后的阿森纳队主教练温格幽默了一把.

"What we hope to achieve is zero obesity, but we know this is difficult to do. "
"我们希望达到的目标是零肥胖率, 但是要达到这个目标很困难."
About 35 percent of entire Philippine police force is obese. The problem has so alarmed top police officials that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has launched a three-month weight reduction program.
--菲律宾警力中, 约35%的警察是"肥仔". 这一问题已引起高层领导人的注意, 为此菲律宾国家警署发起了一个为期3个月的减肥活动.