Textile issue, China's top concern
Edited by Shen Yang



A senior Chinese official urged the United States to properly settle the Sino-US textile trade issue and claimed that the protection of intellectual property rights are progressing in China.

"Sino-US economic and trade ties are generally good and the Chinese government attaches importance to such relations," Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi told US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Trade Representative Rob Portman on June 4.

"I hope China and the United States can jointly preserve and promote sound and cooperative economic and trade ties between the two countries," she said.

Wu, who is in charge of China's foreign trade and investment, appreciated US President George W. Bush's "foresight and courage," calling him a "politician and strategist" when he vetoed several bills which might have hurt Sino-US economic relations.

However, she said, the textile issue has created a "major problem" about which the Chinese government is "greatly concerned."

The US government decided to restrict Chinese textile and clothing imports earlier this year, despite the elimination of such quotas by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Jan. 1.

The US's actions sparked anger in the Chinese textile and clothing industry. Reports have said up to 100,000 Chinese jobs may be affected.

The textile trade issue is a "major and principled" question which concerns China's national economy and the people's livelihood, and the US restriction has rattled not only Chinese textile industry but also common people's confidence in the international multilateral trade system, Wu said.

On the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR), Wu said the Chinese government "attaches importance" to protection of both foreign and Chinese companies' IPR.

"China has exerted great efforts and obtained obvious results in both legislation and law enforcement...We don't deny that there are problems but they are being settled," Wu said.

The vice premier said she hopes the 16th meeting of the Sino-US Joint Commission of Commerce and Trade (JCCT) will be used to solve the current problems.

Gutierrez and Portman said the Bush administration "believes" in "fair" and "free" trade, values US-China economic and trade relations, and hopes to have a successful JCCT meeting.

Gutierrez left Beijing after the meeting, concluding his first visit to China after taking office.

US Trade Representative Robert Portman (L) shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi as US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez looks on in Beijing June 4.

Vocabulary
textile 纺织品
veto 否决
restrict 限制
quota 配额
spark 引发
multilateral 多边的
legislation 立法
rattle 扰乱

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Wedding on Mount Everest 登顶珠峰喜结连理 Nepalese Mountaineers Pem Dorje Shrepa (L) and Moni Mulepati (R) show victory signs to their friends and family during their felicitation function upon arrival in Kathmandu, June 2. The two mountaineers married on the top of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, 8848 m. high, May 16, setting a record in a mountaineering history.
	"Wine-drinking" nose 奇人用鼻子"喝"酒 This photo shows Jin Guolong, from Anhui Province "drinking" wine with his nose, June 4, in Hefei City. Jin accidentally discovered this stunt three years ago. He "drank" 1.5-litre beer not long ago with his nose, which was videotaped. He is currently bidding for the Guinness Book of World Records.
	Beached whales 志愿者协助营救搁浅鲸 Volunteers desperately try to save over 100 killer whales beached at Dolphin Bay near Busselton, 230kms south of Perth, June 2. Many of the pod are in extreme distress after being out of the water since dawn. At least one has died.
	Unique painting skills 四肢瘫痪用嘴作画 Quadriplegic Carlos Vargas from Mexico demonstrates his painting skills with watercolors at Saint Luke's Hospital in San Francisco, California, May 31.
	Head-standing for 71 min 八旬老人可倒立71分钟 This undated photo shows Wei Lian, aged 81, head-standing on the ground at a park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Wei has been practicing this stunt for 24 years. His record for head-standing is 71 minutes.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"Our success is down to a glass of whisky, a glass of sherry and the word ‘sorry'. "
"我们的制胜法宝就是一杯威士忌、一杯雪利酒和一句‘对不起'."
A British couple who hold the world record for the longest marriage for 80 years said in an interview by the BBC.
--一对结婚80年的英国夫妇接受BBC采访时这样说道, 他们的长寿婚姻创下了世界纪录.

"We found that $3 billion is likely to be lost from the tourism industry in the region - but that is turning out to be a conservative estimate."
"我们原以为这一地区旅游业的损失可能达到30亿美元--但现在发现这只是保守的估计. "
Travel and tourism spending in countries hit by the December 26 tsunami is experiencing a renewed slump, after an initial recovery two months ago.
--去年12月26日爆发的海啸使受灾国的旅游业严重受挫. 在两个月的短暂复苏后, 这些国家的旅游业正经历新一轮的滑坡.

"It is good for me that I don't have to play my match on my birthday. I don't like to lose on my birthday."
"生日当天不用比赛我很高兴. 我可不想在生日那天输球. "
Answered Nicolay Davydenko when a journalist asked him at the press conference whether it was big news for him to play for a place in the final the day after his 24th birthday.
--赛后记者会上, 当被问及将在24岁生日后的第一天参加决赛的感想时, 俄罗斯著名选手达维登科做了如上回答.

"Surfing the Web at work is an increasingly common habit that could be even more addictive than coffee."
"工作时间上网已逐渐成为许多人的习惯, 这甚至比喝咖啡更容易上瘾. "
According to new research into Internet usage in the office, as the line between professional and personal usage of the Internet becomes more of a gray area, many employees have started to rely on it to complete their job duties as well as perform personal tasks during the work day.
--一项针对办公室互联网使用状况的最新研究表明, 随着网络的工作用途和私人用途之间的界线越来越模糊, 很多员工在开始依靠互联网完成工作任务的同时, 也会在工作时间顺便处理一些私事.