中国军事与国际关系

'No ise' should not affect China-India ties

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo said Monday that bilateral ties between China and India should not be affected by "noise," calling for further cooperation for common development.

Dai made the comments as he held talks with India's National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon in Beijing.

The two countries should have a clear idea about some parties' intentions of undermining bilateral ties. They should also remember that there is more consensus than differences, and more cooperation than competition, between China and India, said the state councilor.

As advocates of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, both China and India have sufficient wisdom and capabilities to handle bilateral ties, make more efforts for mutual benefit and prevent "noise" from diverting friendly cooperation and common development, he added.

Every step forward in the two countries' development as well as bilateral ties will contribute to the peace, security and cooperation in the world, Dai said.

Dai spoke highly of the two countries' "creative" practices in coping with disparities and contradictions, saying China and India do not allow problems to influence bilateral ties.

The experience of handling and controlling disparities between China and India has made an important contribution to enriching the theories and practices of international relations, Dai said.

In the process of developing the relationship, China and India are committed to pushing forward a solution to existing problems, he said.

He noted that 15 rounds of talks had been held between special representatives on China-India border issues, and the two sides had accumulated consensus in the framework for solving the issues.

China and India experienced a border conflict in 1962. The two countries launched the mechanism of meetings between special representatives on border issues in 2003.

China and India, Dai added, are committed to protecting peace and stability in border areas and promoting military mutual trust.

"China and India's independence and peaceful development, as well as making their two-fifths of the world's population live in abundance, will be huge contributions to world peace and development," Dai said.

Japan 'falls behind' in technology innovation

China and South Korea forge ahead, taking on staff as rivals lay employees off

While Chinese IT companies are taking talented people from their overseas rivals, their Japanese counterparts are laying off workers.

Because the Japanese consumer electronics industry is suffering from a declining economy, many Japanese technology companies are cutting head counts to try to save their businesses. Many well-known names including Panasonic Corp, Sharp Corp, NEC Corp and Olympus Corp are reported to have extensive layoff plans.

Customers examining notebooks at a Sony store in Tokyo. Many Japanese electronics companies have cut or are going to cut their payrolls because their businesses are in the red. [Provided to China Daily]

Japanese companies used to be famous for having "entire life" employment. Many Japanese people from older generations only worked for one company for their whole life. However, because of the squeezed economy, this tradition has fallen by the wayside.

Mass layoff plans

In the last few months, many Japanese companies announced their layoff plans. Three IT giants - Sony, Panasonic and Sharp - are expected to make a total of 50,000 employees redundant in the near future.

Panasonic, which was founded in 1918 and remains Japan's biggest employer with 330,000 employees, said it will reduce its workforce by about 10,000 employees by March 2013. In the last five years it has posted four consecutive annual net losses. Recently, the company explained that because of losses in its mobile,solar panel and lithium battery businesses, it will have losses of $10 billion for the full year 2012.

Reuters quoted the company's Chief Executive Officer Hideaki Kawai as saying that Panasonic may sell some business units in the future to aPanasonic came to China in 1987 and has more than 40 ventures in the country including rice cookers, plasma televisions and semiconductor product lines. However, because of the record high $9.47 billion loss in 2011, it was reported that it will shut down its Shanghai display factory and move the business back to Japan. The 100-year-old Japanese company Sharp will have a major restructuring to bring the company back to profitability by 2014, reported Japan's Kyodo News. According to the company, it needs to cut more than 10,000 jobs from its

current 57,170 workforce by March 2014.

Sharp reported a $4.7 billion loss last year. It announced that it will sell or shut down assets including international manufacturing plants. China is the company's biggest overseas market. Sharp has six manufacturing plants and two research and development centers in the country and 9,000 employees. In 2010, its Chinese branch had a 70 billion yuan ($11 billion) turnover in the country.

Sony is also affected by the sliding economy. Last year it had losses of $5.7 billion. It said earlier this year that it is cutting about 10,000 people from its payroll.

Sony has suffered seven years of continual losses in its TV business. It faces competition from Chinese and Korean companies, which are growing dramatically in the technology industry

chieve the goal of reaching $2.52 billion operating profits in the next three years.

V oice of confidence in Foreign Ministry

Hua Chunying gives her first news briefing

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying is widely expected to balance and complement Beijing's customarily masculine tone in the complicated diplomatic environment of China, observers and acquaintances said after her appointment was announced last week.

On Monday, Hua's confident appearance during her debut news conference proved to be what one foreign journalist called "a good start" as she stood before a large contingent of reporters eager to know more about China and the veteran diplomat.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying speaks during her debut news conference on Nov 19, 2012. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

More than 50 members of the media filled the Blue Room, the ministry's regular site for news conferences. They raised more questions during the meeting, which also lasted longer than usual.

"This was her first experience of addressing a news conference, but she looked confident and well prepared. She got off to a good start," said K.J.M Varma, Press Trust of India news agency's correspondent in China.

Hua, 42, who is also deputy director of the information department of the

ministry, is only the fifth spokeswoman to have been appointed since the post was created in 1983. She and spokesman Hong Lei will rotate their duties to address the ministry's daily news conferences on weekdays.

"It is necessary for China to understand the world more. It is also necessary for the world to understand China," Hua told reporters on Nov 16 when she was introduced to reporters.

Cha Dae-woon, a reporter from South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, said Hua is a very suitable spokeswoman. "She looks modest and gentle, but is capable of sending clear messages."

Sun Shanshan, a reporter for US newspaper The Clayton Tribune, said she was looking forward to hearing more "individual responses" from Hua in the future rather than listening to her recite the usual phrases.

'Winter jasmine'

Hua's teachers and friends were not surprised to learn that "winter jasmine" had stepped to the front stage of Chinese diplomacy, and they are confident she will become a top member of the team.

"Winter jasmine" was Hua's nickname in college because it sounds like Hua's full name, and both the flower's blossom and Hua's birthday fall in April, according to Zhou Dandan, 42, one of Hua's roommates at Nanjing University from 1988 to 1992.

"The nickname also showed the popularity Hua enjoyed at college because she was quiet but eloquent, simple but mature," said Zhou, who was helped by Hua in 1988 when she broke an arm.

Hua's smile does not mean she is soft or has no ideas, said Jin Zhuyun, Hua's English teacher at the university.

Hua, who comes from a small city, was not particularly good at English, speaking or listening, when she first enrolled, but her impressive learning capability and diligence enabled her to make huge progress later, said Jin.

"China's foreign policy faces many new challenges now, while the world is increasingly hungry for information about China. So I hope Hua will make a fitting contribution to the country, using her skills to confront complicated international situations, and deal with foreign affairs in a flexible way," the 73-year-old English teacher said.

According to official information, Hua's diplomatic career spans almost 20 years. She began by joining the former department of West European affairs in the Foreign Ministry in 1993.

She worked for the ministry in the European Union, Singapore and in the

department of European affairs before coming to the information department this year.

Qin Gang, director-general of the information department, said on Nov 17 that Hua has rich diplomatic experience and good communication skills.

Many former classmates sent e-mails congratulating Hua over the weekend, said Zhou.

"I am very grateful for the warmth of their encouragement and I will keep making a great effort," Hua replied on Nov 17.

Contact the writers at zhaoshengnan@https://www.360docs.net/doc/c15476639.html, and liuyedan@https://www.360docs.net/doc/c15476639.html,

Song Wenwei in Nanjiing and Wang Kaihao in Beijing contributed to this story.