Exchanges

U.S. VP Visits China

The U.S. vice president， Joe Biden， visited China on December 4 and 5， 2013. During his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang， both sides agreed to enhance dialogue， exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Xi stressed that both countries should maintain high-level communication， promote the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and peopleto-people exchanges mechanisms， and maintain close military exchanges and dialogue. He urged for heightened cooperation in the fi elds of security， antiterrorism， law enforcement and non-proliferation. Xi also said that both sides should expand cooperation in trade， infrastructure building， urbanization， food security and exchanges among local governments. Biden replied that the U.S. would like to work with China to improve bilateral mechanisms， maintain regular communication， increase substantive cooperation and step up military exchanges and cooperation. The U.S. is willing to work more closely with China on major international and regional issues and jointly tackle relevant challenges.

World Leaders Gather to Remember Mandela

World leaders and tens of thousands of South Africans on December 10 gathered in rain at a stadium in Johannesburg to honor former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao， U.S. President Barack Obama， British Prime Minister David Cameron， Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon were among the more than 90 leaders coming to honor the icon who died of lung trouble at the age of 95 on Dec. 5.

As a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping， Li expressed deep condolences and paid high tribute to Nelson Mandela， describing him as the pride of the African people.

“For all his life， he had strived for the liberation of African nations， championed the dignity of the African people and endeavored to advance the unity of all African countries and move forward Africas cooperation with the world，” Li said.

“Mr. Mandela committed himself to South Africa-China friendship and South Africa-China cooperation with great passion. The Chinese people will always cherish the memory of his signifi cant contribution to South Africa-China friendship and Africa-China relations，” he added.

China， Romania Ink Nuclear Cooperation Agreements

China and Romania signed nuclear cooperation agreements in Bucharest on November 25， 2013. Romanias Nuclearelectrica also signed a letter of intent towards erecting units 3 and 4 at its Cernavoda nuclear power plant with China General Nuclear （CGN）. The fi ve-unit inland nuclear power plant is located in Constanta by the Danube. Units 1 and 2 have been completed and are in operation. Units 3 and 4 as key projects of Romania government were approved by the European Commission on December 5， 2010 and are expected to start power generation in 2019 and 2020， respectively.

British PM Visits China

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited China from December 2 to 4， 2013. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on China-U.K. relations as well as global and regional issues that concerned the two countries. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that China and the U.K. have complementary advantages through which common growth and common progress can be achieved. Li called for the two countries to boost bilateral cooperation in trade and investment， expand fi scal and fi nancial cooperation， advance technological and cultural exchanges， and step up cooperation on international and regional issues.

Cameron said that the U.K. places great importance on developing ties with China. Based on the principles of mutual understanding and mutual respect， the U.K. would like to maintain high-level interactions with China and deepen cooperation. Cameron reaffi rmed the UKs respect for Chinas territorial and sovereign integrity and adherence to the One-China policy， saying that the British government recognizes Tibet as part of China and does not support Tibet independence. He added that the U.K. would like to push forward trade and investment liberalization and deepen its relationship with China in this regard. Chinese investment in nuclear power in Britain is welcomed as would be Chinas investment in its high-speed rail networks. Cameron also expressed support for advances in the EUs cooperation with China and the establishment of an EU-China Free Trade Zone.

Beijing to Boost EV Use

According to Yan Aoshuang， head of Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission， the Chinese capital will put 200，000 electric vehicles （EV） on the road by 2017， of which 150，000 will be for private use. The rest are earmarked for public transport， street cleaning， logistics， taxi services， charter vehicles and government use. Beijings urban planning authority has regulated that newly developed neighborhoods should have EV charging stations at 10 to 15 percent of their parking lots， and that by 2017， EV charging facilities should be available within a fi ve kilometer radius of downtown Beijing.

Mainlanders English Proficiency Ranked 34th Among 60 Countries

English literacy in the Chinese mainland is expanding as people view competence in the language as an invaluable bargaining tool for jobs. But the country still ranks low globally， a recent report by global language training company EF Education First shows. The mainland climbed two places from 36th in 2012 to 34th on an annual list showing the English profi ciency of adults in 60 countries and territories.“Almost everyone in China seems to have understood that in a global economy， mastering English is inextricably linked to personal career advancement，”said Christopher McCormick， head of the companys language research and training division. This list is based on test results of nearly fi ve million adults over a six-year period beginning in 2007.

More Effort Needed to Attract and Retain Talent

Many Asian countries， including China， still lag behind in nurturing， attracting and retaining professional talent， said a report released by INSEAD， one of the worlds leading and largest graduate business schools. According to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index， China ranked 47th among the 103 countries covered by the research. The 103 countries represent 86.3 percent of the worlds population and 96.7 percent of the worlds GDP.

Singapore， which ranked second， was the only Asian country to make it into the top 20 in the index. Even developed north Asian countries did not make it that far. Japan charted at 21st， ROK at 28th and Malaysia at 37th.

European countries dominated the 2013 rankings with Switzerland taking the lead. The top 10 included only two nonEuropean countries， Singapore and the United States at ninth.

The report is the fi rst edition of the index， created from joint research by INSEAD， the Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore and Switzerland-based Adecco Group， a leading provider of HR solutions.

One-Child Policy Prevented 400 Million Births

According to National Health and Family Planning Commission spokesperson Mao Qunan， Chinas population would have been bigger by 400 million without the family planning policy initiated more than 30 years ago. From 1970 to 2012 Chinas birth rate fell from 33.4 to 12.1 per 1，000， and natural population growth nosedived from 25.8 to 4.95 per 1，000， now only half the world average. The total fertility rate dropped from 5.8 births per woman to 1.5-1.6 over the same period， which is the average level among developed countries. In 1970， 27.39 million people were born in China with the population growth at 23.21 million； the fi gures for 2012 were 16.35 million and 6.69 million respectively.

Activity

NCPA Production A Dolls House

Date： January 14-29， 2014

Place： National Center for Performing Arts

Price： RMB 300/240/180

In portraying the conflicts between Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald， Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House criticizes the superficial marriage in which wife and husband do not truly understand each other， and proclaims the revolutionary message of a woman breaking free from her gilded cage. In China， A Dolls House plays an important role in the history of drama. First performed in 1914 by the Spring Willow Society in Shanghai， 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of its premiere in China. Ren Ming， famous director of the Beijing Peoples Art Theatre， directed the NCPA production， and actors Wang Ban and Cao Ying， a real-life couple， play the leading roles.

St Petersburg Ballet Theater Swan Lake

Date： January 10-11， 2014

Place： Shanghai Grand Theater

Price： RMB 680/480/380/280/180/80

Tchaikovskys Swan Lake tells the story of Odette， a princess who is turned into a swan by a curse that can only be broken by true love. She falls in love with Prince Siegfried who is tricked into falling for another girl the evil Odile. Though their love is tumultuous， the spell is eventually broken. The St Petersburg Ballet Theater was founded in 1994. Irina Kolesnikova， prima ballerina of the company， and praised as the worlds queen of ballet in European media， and Natalia Ryzhakova， one of the companys principal dancers and prizewinner at the Rieti International Ballet Competition in 2004， star in the forthcoming production.