中国日报20120116

Crucial year looms for global economy Focus is on US and Europe but Asia also faces a challenging period ahead, Karl Wilson reports in Sydney. A global recession is a strong possibility in 2012, a make-or-break year teetering on Europe’s debt turmoil and the state of the US economy. Experts see Asia as one of the few bright spots, although weaker eurozone demand will contribute to slow- er growth. Esti- mates for this year vary from 4 to 8 percent. Infl ation will remain a major concern for many Asian economies along with bank liquidity problems, but most analysts agree the region is well placed to deal with both. China, aft er a decade of dou- ble-digit growth, can expect its economy to grow 8 to 9 per- cent this year, and India 7 to 8 percent. Japan might be lucky to grow about 2 percent aft er retrenchment in 2011. Much of this, however, will be attributed to rebuilding aft er the devastat- ing earthquake and tsunami in March. Cautions have been issued against allowing inflationary pressures to build up in China, where the housing market over- heated and public fi nances are less than healthy. High domestic savings rates are the counterpart to large current account sur- pluses, which overexpose China to turmoil on global markets. SEE “OUTLOOK” PAGE 6 CHINADAILY chinadaily.com.cn RMB ¥1.5MONDAY, January 16, 2012 Contacts News: (86-10) 6491-8366 Subscription: (86) 400-699-0203 Advertisement: (86-10) 6491-8631 E-mail: editor@chinadaily.com.cn iPhone app: chinadaily.com.cn/iphone On chinadaily.com.cn Bilingual News: Russian spacecraft to crash to Earth Web Comment: For Chinese, shop- ping is saving face Slide: Dakar Rally 2012 (right) Video: Digest China In this issue NATION ............................................2-5,7 COVER STORY ........................................6 COMMENT.......................................8-9 WORLD.........................................10-12 BUSINESS......................................13-17 LIFE.................................................20,21 SPORTS..........................................23, 24 国内统一编号:CN11-0091 国际标准编 号:ISSN0253-9543 邮发代号:1-3 © 2012 China Daily All Rights Reserved Vol. 32 — No. 9893 A member of the Asia News Network Life Daredevils to the stars of the screen Getting beaten up and knocked down is all in a day’s work for stunt doubles. > PAGE 20 Nation Taking the road home together More than 1 million people will car-pool during Spring Festival. > PAGE 5 Nation Yao stands tall in new position Yao Ming elected to standing committee of Shanghai’s advisory body. > PAGE 2 COVER STORY BON VOYAGE PHOTO BY ED JONES / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Pilot Paul Cassel waves from a FedEx Boeing 777 aircraft as it taxis for take-off carrying two giant pandas bound for France at Chengdu airport on Sunday. Th e pandas, Yuan Zai and Huan Huan, will become star attractions at Beauval zoo in central France. See story on page 3. REMO CASILLI / REUTERS Rescuers search for survivors on Sunday of the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy. At least three people were killed after the Italian ship, with more than 4,000 people on board, struck a reef on Friday. Chinese tourists on Italy ship safe ROME —All Chinese tour- ists on board the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia have been accounted for and are receiving help, Rome embassy officials told China Daily on Sunday. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong also confi rmed that all the Chinese passengers were safe. Th e luxury cruise liner ran aground on Friday night just off the Italian coast. So close was the ship to land that many passengers were able to swim to safety. Three people were confi rmed to have been killed in the accident but about 40 remain unaccounted for. Th e 22 Chinese tourists were from Hong Kong and their trip had been arranged through Wing on Travel and two other travel agencies. All were accounted for and none had suff ered serious inju- ries, embassy offi cials said. “All 22 passengers are now in Rome and some were even considering going on with their holiday. We are helping them with various paperwork,’’ an embassy spokesperson said. Authorities detained the Ital- ian captain of the ship. A honeymooning couple from the Republic of Korea were rescued early on Sunday morning, nearly 24 hours aft er the ship got into trouble, when fi refi ghters heard their shouts. Th ey were brought ashore look- ing dazed but were unharmed. At about 1 pm, rescue work- ers airlift ed Manrico Gianpetro- ni, chief purser, hours after making voice contact with him several decks below. Searching the crippled liner is a task akin to searching a small town — but one tilted on its side, and largely in dark- ness and submerged in freez- ing water. Scores of divers were taking part. The captain of the luxury 114,500-ton ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and facing charges of multiple manslaughter, causing a ship- wreck and abandoning ship, Italian police said. Passengers, comparing the disaster to the movie Titanic, told of people leaping into the sea and fi ghting over lifejackets in panic when the ship hit a rock and ran aground near the island of Giglio, late on Friday. Two French tourists and a Peruvian member of crew were dead and about 40 people were missing. The vast hulk of the 290-meter-long cruise ship, resting half-submerged on its side, loomed over the little port of Giglio, a picturesque island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast. A large gash was visible on its side. Rescue workers including specialist diving teams were working their way through more than 2,000 cabins on the ship, a fl oating resort that boasted a huge spa, seven res- taurants, bars, cinemas and discotheques. As the search continued, there were demands for expla- nations of why the vessel had come so close to the shore and bitter complaints about how long it took to evacuate the ter- rifi ed passengers. State prosecutor Francesco Verusio said investigations might go beyond the captain. “We are investigating the possible responsibility of other people who could be respon- sible for such a dangerous maneuver,” he told SkyTG24 television. Th ere were fears the death toll could rise. Magistrates said Schettino, whose ship was carrying 4,229 passengers and crew, aban- doned the vessel before all the passengers were taken off . Th e vessel’s operator, Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp & Plc, the world’s largest cruise company, said the Costa Concordia had been sailing on its regular course when it struck a submerged rock. Rescue teams searching for about 40 people as liner captain arrested SEE “SEARCH” PAGE 12 Saudi oil refi nery deal shows close ties By HU YINAN CHINA DAILY RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In what Riyadh calls “the largest expansion by any oil company in the world”, Sinopec’s deal on Saturday with Saudi oil giant Aramco will allow a major oil refi n- ery to become operational in the Red Sea port of Yanbu by 2014. Th e $8.5 billion joint ven- ture, which covers an area of about 5.2 million square meters, is already under construction. It will process 400,000 barrels of heavy crude oil per day. Aramco will hold a 62.5 percent stake in the plant while Sinopec will own the remaining 37.5 percent. Th e deal “represents a stra- tegic partnership in the refi n- ing industry between one of the main energy producers in Saudi Arabia and one of the world’s most important consumers”, said Aramco president and CEO Khalid Al-Falih. Sinopec, the largest pro- ducer and supplier of oil products in Asia, is already Aramco’s top crude oil cus- tomer, according to Al-Falih. Sinopec Group chairman Fu Chengyu said the project propels the two companies’ strategic cooperation and contributes to enhancing the partnership between China and Saudi Arabia. Al-Falih called the endeav- or the latest chapter in a long history of cooperation, col- laboration and trade between China and the Arabian Pen- insula. Th e setting up of the refi n- ery would promote econom- ic development, said Shen Yamei, a researcher with the China Institute of Interna- tional Studies. Th e deal was signed during Premier Wen Jiabao’s six-day trip to the Middle East. He will fl y to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday. Saudi Arabia, the only G20 member that is also a mem- ber of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Coun- tries, was the fi rst leg of his visit. Beijing and Riyadh, stra- tegic partners since 2006, agreed to boost bilateral rela- tions during Wen’s visit. Th e move refl ected the two countries’ “fi rm willingness to join hands in coping with challenges and safeguard common interests amid pro- found adjustments to global situations”, Wen told Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz upon arrival in Riyadh late on Saturday. Wen, the first Chinese Premier to visit Saudi Ara- bia since 1991, said that both countries should expand trade in crude oil and natural gas and deepen their energy partnership. Riyadh is Beijing’s largest supplier and the world’s top exporter of crude oil. Imported oil accounted for 56.5 percent of China’s total oil consumption in 2011, according to an earlier state- ment by Liu Tienan, direc- tor of the National Energy Administration. Beijing encourages Chi- nese companies to participate in Saudi Arabia’s infrastruc- ture construction such as rail, ports, electricity and tele- coms, Wen said on Saturday. Strategic partnership confi rmed as Wen tours key energy region SEE “SAUDI” PAGE 2 By XIE YU CHINA DAILY SHANGHAI — Retired NBA star Yao Ming, who once dominated the basketball court, is out to try his skills in a new venue: the halls of power. On Sunday, Yao took his seat as a new member of the stand- ing committee of Shanghai’s political advisory body during its annual session. “Th ere are about 142 mem- bers in the group, and Yao is the youngest,” said Kong Rong, who works in the ser- vice offi ce of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Con- ference (CPPCC) Shanghai Committee. Yao is not the fi rst Chinese sports star to become a Shang- hai political adviser. Former Chinese female football star striker Sun Wen took up this job fi ve years ago. “Yao said the new title shows trust coming from the people in the city. He had said before that once he decides to do something, he will try his best to accomplish it. So we can trust him that he can balance all aspects of his work and study, and do well in this job,” said Yao’s spokesman Zhang Chi. But Zhang denied that Yao has any ambitions to have a “political career”. “The responsibilities for a CPPCC member include off ering political consultation, and supervision. What Yao wants is to use his infl uence to do good deeds for society but not to seek a political position,” Zhang said. Under the new title, Yao is supposed to attend regular meetings, make suggestions or raise written proposals for the advisory body and govern- ment departments. Yao has remained very low- key during the organization’s ongoing annual plenary ses- sion. Th e information offi ce of the CPPCC Shanghai Com- mittee said they have not received any proposals from Yao yet. Yao explained earlier that he prefers to “listen and learn because he is new to the orga- nization”. “Raising proposals is very serious business, and I do not want to be hasty,” Yao said, adding that he is paying more attention to sports education, a fi eld he is familiar with. Zhang also said Yao is very interested in issues regarding sports and charity. “He will make proposals in future, of course,” said Zhang. Yao announced his retire- ment in Shanghai in July 2011. A Shanghai native, he played for eight seasons in the NBA aft er being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft and has been named to the NBA All-Star team eight times. Later in his career, Yao was affl icted with a series of injuries. Yao now runs a restaurant, basketball club and winery while studying at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. PAGE 2 | CHINADAILY.COM.CN/NATION CHINA DAILY nation 25 / 29 25 / 29 26 / 30 26 / 30 23 / 31 23 / 31 24 / 34 24 / 34 19 / 30 19 / 30 9 / 20 9 / 19 2 / 7 2 / 7 16 / 21 15 / 19 15 / 29 16 / 28 13 / 15 13 / 16 22 / 31 22 / 31 25 / 28 25 / 28 5 / 9 4 / 10 12 / 15 12 / 18 -31 /-17 -31 /-17 4 / 8 4 / 9 MONDAY TUESDAY - 6 / 2 - 4 / 4 -13 /- 5 -11 /- 8 TRAVELER’S FORECAST Chengdu Urumqi Beijing Xining New Delhi Kathmandu Thimphu Yangon Singapore Jakarta Kuala Lumpur Bangkok Vientiane Ulaanbaatar Shanghai Bandar Seri Begawan Macao Hong Kong Guangzhou Manila Hanoi Taipei Seoul Pyongyang Tokyo Lhasa CHINA AMERICAS JAN 16-17MON - TUE LOW/HIGH TEMPERATURES, IN DEGREES CELSIUS, AND EXPECTED CONDITIONS C Cloudy D Drizzle Du Dust F Fog O Overcast R Rain Sh Shower S Sunny Sn Snow St Storm T Thunderstorms weather ASIA-PACIFIC-MIDDLE EAST EUROPE BuenosAires 15 / 29 S 15 / 29 S Chicago - 5 /- 4 C - 9 /- 6 Sn Caracas 18 / 28 O 18 / 28 T Houston 1 / 16 C 2 / 16 C Las Vegas 4 / 13 C 4 / 13 C Los Angeles 8 / 15 C 7 / 14 C Mexico City 7 / 23 C 7 / 23 S New York - 4 /- 2 S - 3 /- 1 C Ottawa -17 /-11 C -12 /- 7 C Rio De Janeiro 24 / 28 C 24 / 28 C San Francisco 4 / 12 S 5 / 12 C Sao Paulo 20 / 24 C 20 / 24 C Vancouver - 2 / 1 C - 2 / 1 D Washington - 3 / 1 S - 3 / 2 C Athens 2 / 13 C 3 / 13 Sh Berlin - 1 / 3 S - 2 / 3 S Brussels 0 / 7 S 0 / 7 S Geneva - 2 / 6 C - 2 / 6 C Istanbul 2 / 4 C 1 / 3 Sh London 0 / 5 C 0 / 5 C Madrid 0 / 6 D 1 / 6 D Moscow - 6 /- 2 Sn - 6 /- 2 Sn Paris - 2 / 6 C - 2 / 6 C Rome 5 / 13 S 5 / 14 S Vienna - 3 / 3 S - 4 / 3 C CHINA AFRICA - 8 / 4 - 8 / 4 Cairo 9 / 17 C 9 / 17 O CapeTown 14 / 29 S 15 / 29 C Johannesburg 12 / 27 S 13 / 27 S Lagos 23 / 33 Sh 23 / 33 C Nairobi 15 / 28 C 15 / 28 S Abu Dhabi 11 / 24 D 10 / 25 D Bangkok 24 / 34 C 24 / 34 C Colombo 21 / 30 S 21 / 30 S Dubai 20 / 25 S 20 / 25 S Hanoi 18 / 20 Sh 18 / 20 C Islamabad 1 / 10 C 1 / 10 O Jakarta 25 / 29 D 25 / 29 D Karachi 14 / 26 S 14 / 26 C Kuala Lumpur 23 / 31 D 23 / 31 D Manila 22 / 31 Sh 22 / 31 Sh Mumbai 15 / 31 S 15 / 31 S New Delhi 9 / 20 C 9 / 19 C Pyongyang -12 /- 1 S -12 /- 1 S Riyadh 10 / 22 S 10 / 23 S Seoul - 8 / 4 S - 8 / 4 S Singapore 26 / 30 D 26 / 30 D Sydney 18 / 24 Sh 19 / 24 C Teheran 1 / 7 S 1 / 7 S Tokyo 2 / 7 S 2 / 7 C Wellington 20 / 26 S 21 / 26 S Yangon 19 / 30 S 19 / 30 C Beijing - 6 / 2 C - 4 / 4 O Changchun -16 /- 6 S -15 /- 5 C Changsha 0 / 7 C 1 / 7 C Chongqing 6 / 9 C 6 / 9 O Dalian - 3 / 3 C - 2 / 3 C Fuzhou 10 / 13 D 9 / 13 D Guangzhou 12 / 15 R 12 / 18 D Guilin 4 / 10 C 6 / 10 O Guiyang 2 / 8 C 4 / 6 D Haikou 17 / 20 D 17 / 20 D Hangzhou 4 / 6 D 4 / 8 O Harbin -19 /- 8 S -18 /- 8 S Hefei 3 / 8 O 3 / 9 C Hohhot -11 /- 4 Sn -12 /- 3 Sn Hongkong 13 / 15 R 13 / 16 D Jinan - 1 / 5 O 0 / 6 O Kunming 2 / 16 S 2 / 16 S Lanzhou - 8 / 1 S - 7 / 0 S Lhasa -11 / 3 C -10 / 5 C Lijiang - 2 / 11 S - 1 / 13 S Macao 12 / 15 R 13 / 17 D Nanchang 4 / 8 O 5 / 10 C Nanjing 2 / 7 C 2 / 8 O Nanning 8 / 13 D 9 / 14 D Qingdao 1 / 6 C 2 / 6 O Sanya 22 / 27 C 22 / 27 C MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012 Shanghai 5 / 9 O 4 / 10 O Shenyang -14 / 2 S -14 / 0 C Shenzhen 12 / 16 D 12 / 17 O Shijiazhuang - 4 / 4 O - 4 / 5 O Suzhou 4 / 8 O 3 / 10 C Taipei 16 / 21 R 15 / 19 D Taiyuan - 9 / 1 O - 8 / 3 C Tianjin - 6 / 3 C - 6 / 4 O Urumqi -13 /- 5 S -11 /- 8 C Wuhan 2 / 7 C 2 / 8 C Xiamen 12 / 15 O 11 / 15 Sh Xi’an - 2 / 5 O - 1 / 5 O Xining -18 / 1 S -16 /- 3 O Yantai - 1 / 5 S - 1 / 6 S Yinchuan -13 /- 1 C -13 /- 1 C Zhengzhou - 2 / 5 C - 2 / 5 C Zhuhai 13 / 16 D 14 / 17 D briefl y XU CHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY Yao Ming, together with another six newly elected members of the standing committee of Shanghai’s political advisory body, poses for a photograph after the organ’s annual session concluded on Sunday. Former NBA star, new adviser LIU WEIBING / XINHUA Premier Wen Jiabao talks with family members of Abdul-Rahman Ali Al-Jeraisy, president of the Saudi Arabia-China Friendship Association, during a visit to his home in Riyadh on Sunday. Meeting measure to save water By ZHAO YINAN CHINA DAILY BEIJING — In an effort to reduce waste, all bottled water distributed at offi cial meetings in Beijing henceforth will be marked with a green sticker that allows a person to make the bottle distinguishable from others. Th e stickers made their debut at the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, the capital’s legislative body, on Th ursday. Zhou Shuqi, an offi cial from the Beijing Tourism Associa- tion, said the offi ce launched a project in December with the Champion of the Water Alli- ance to promote the stickers among hotels and meeting cen- ters in Beijing. “We hope the sticker can help lawmakers establish and promote the awareness of water conservation,” he said. Cui Junle, a meeting partici- pant and director of the Beijing Waterworks Group, said the idea is “brilliant and should be promoted”. Th e idea was put forth by Yan Xiaomei, a media offi cer at the Champion of the Water Alli- ance, a non-governmental water conservation organization. He said a large quantity of bottled water is being con- sumed at various conferences and group activities, and many bottles are left unfi nished and water is wasted because “it is hard for people to distinguish their bottles from others”. Yan said statistics are still not available as to how many bottles of water can be saved by using the sticker, but the organiza- tion is planning to conduct an assessment in the second half of this year. “Normally we provide one bottled water for each partici- pant, and a large conference at the meeting hall can require at least 1,000 water bottles every day,” said Ge Wenrou, a waitress who dispenses bottled water at the entrance of the meeting hall where the annual plenary ses- sion is convened. As for the current meeting, Ge said they have been dispens- ing a total of about 750 water bottles every day. China consumes at least 20 billion bottles of water each year, and one liter of bottled water is made of seven liters of tap water, according to the Champion of the Water Alliance. Beijing has accommodated about 260,000 meetings and 173 million person-time par- ticipants, an industry that gen- erated 172 million yuan ($27.3 million) in 2010. “If 70 percent of people will drink one bottled water at a meeting, that can make a stag- gering number,” Yan said. BEIJING Record year for capital tourism Th e capital city’s tourism sector had its best year on record in 2011, raking in a total of 200 million domestic travelers and 5 million tour- ists from overseas, according to a government document. Th e number of domestic tourists to Beijing rose about 15 percent from the previous year, according to a statement released on Sunday by the Beijing municipal commis- sion of tourism development. Th e number of foreign tourists who stayed for at least one night broke the 5-million mark for the fi rst time, post- ing an annual increase of 6 percent, much higher than the average increase rate of one percent for the whole country, according to the statement. Tourism revenue topped 300 billion yuan ($47.6 bil- lion) for the fi rst time, up 16 percent year on year, accord-