Extracts. China-Arab Friendship Association Founded. China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA), initiated by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, was founded in Beijing Friday. China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA), initiated by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, was founded in Beijing Friday. Vice premier Qian Qichen attended the founding reception, saying that people of China and Arab countries have a long historyof friendship, closely connected through the well-known Silk Road 2,000 years ago. And they also sympathized with and supported eachother in the struggles against colonial rule for national independence. Now, cooperation between the two sides has been strengthened out of the desire for peace and development, Qian said. China has always firmly supported the righteous cause of the Arab people and the peace process in the Middle East, backing the Palestinians to resume their legal national rights and set up independent sovereign state. Qian pointed out that the Sino-Arab relations have endured trials of international affairs, and the two sides have established friendly and cooperative ties based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence. He stressed that the Chinese government has always attached great importance to developing relations with Arab countries. To strengthen Sino-Arab cooperation is a long-term diplomatic policy cherished by China, Qian said. Vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee of China, Ismail Amat, who is also president of the CAFA,said that CAFA is aiming at furthering the friendship and understanding between Chinese and Arab peoples, expanding international cooperation and maintaining world peace. CAFA will help promote the exchanges and cooperation with Arab countries in the fields of politics, economy, culture, science and technology and education, Amat said. Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the League of the Arab States,sent a message of congratulation to the CAFA founding. **** Chinese FM Arrives in Beirut for Two-Day Visit. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan arrived in Beirut Friday afternoon for a two-day visit to Lebanon. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan arrived in Beirut Friday afternoon for a two-day visit to Lebanon. Tang is expected to hold talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri later in the day. The Chinese foreign minister will also meet his Lebanese counterpart Mahmoud Hammoud on Saturday. Tang will leave here Saturday afternoon to continue his Mideast tour which will also take him to Syria, Jordan and Egypt. **** China Against Extending Anti-terrorism Campaign: FM. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has reiterated that China is against indiscriminately extending the ongoing anti-terrorism campaign out of unilateral political considerations. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan has reiterated that China is against indiscriminately extending the ongoing anti-terrorism campaign out of unilateral political considerations. After arrival in Beirut Friday afternoon for a two-day visit, Tang met separately with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. During the meetings, Tang stressed that China condemns all forms of terrorism, especially those targeting innocent civilians. "We are also against linking terrorism with a certain religion, region or nation," he said. Israel Responsible for the deteriorating situation "As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China pays close attention to the situation and developments in the Middle East. We would like to play an active role in pushing the Mideast peace process forward," he added. He said that China is deeply concerned about the situation in the region, especially in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. China maintains that Israel should be mainly responsible for the deterioration of the Mideast situation and believes the root of problems in the region is Israeli occupation of Arab territories, the Chinese foreign minister stressed. "Solving the Mideast problems as soon as possible will help eradicate the hotbed of international terrorism," Tang added. Gratitude to Lebanon for "One China" Policy On the Sino-Lebanese relations, Tang expressed gratitude to Lebanon for its adherence to the "one China" policy and rejection of having official ties with Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> , He voiced hope that the two countries will work together to promote cooperation in the economy and trade. Lebanon is the first leg of Tang's tour in the region, which will also take him to Syria , Jordan and Egypt . He is scheduled to leave Lebanon Saturday afternoon. **** Chinese State Firms: From Rags to Riches. Is it possible for a debt- ridden enterprise to shake off poverty and reestablish itself in five years? A state firm in northeast China that emerged unscarred from some knuckle-down reforms says yes. Is it possible for a debt- ridden enterprise to shake off poverty and reestablish itself in five years? A state firm in northeast China that emerged unscarred from some knuckle-down reforms says yes. Based in the northernmost Heilongjiang Province, Sida Paper Mill reported a 36.67 million yuan (4.4 million U.S. dollars) deficit and a 400 million yuan (48 million U.S. dollars) debt at the end of 1995. The painstaking efforts of its new management team since 1996, ranging from the separation of non-performing assets, the establishment of a joint venture company, technological renovation and the implementation of information management, have paid off this year, turning Sida into one of the country's top 100 light industrial enterprises, with its sales volume hitting 225 million yuan (27 million U.S. dollars) during the first eleven months. The rags-to-riches story of Sida, known in China as "the Sida model," gives a vivid picture of the tenacity of many state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the majority of which faced unprecedented obstacles in the country's transformation from a planned to a market economy. In 1997, nearly 40 percent of China's 16,000 large and medium- sized SOEs reported deficits. At the end of the year, the Chinese government set a goal for these enterprises to climb out of poverty and establish a modern corporate system within three years. By the end of last year, two-thirds of the large and medium- sized SOEs had started to make a profit. Meanwhile, 80 percent of them had built up a better corporate system. But their efforts did not end there. Most state firms have recorded further breakthroughs this year, thanks to their sustained efforts to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS) show that the composite index of the economic efficiency of China's industrial enterprises rose to 119.4 in the January- October period, 3.9 points higher than the corresponding period last year. The total sales output and profits of these enterprises stood at 7,379 billion yuan (890 billion U.S. dollars) and 364.6 billion yuan (44 billion U.S. dollars) respectively, up 11.8 percent and 9. 3 percent on annual basis, according to the NBS figures. Meanwhile, it is estimated that some 460 mergers will be carried out with bankrupt enterprises by the end of the year. Some 51.5 billion yuan (6.2 billion U.S. dollars) of non-performing debts will be written off after verification, and more than 700, 000 laid-off workers will be reemployed. Now that the World Trade Organization has opened its door to China, management of many state firms, including those in the once monopolistic railway, civil aviation, power, tobacco and gold industries, know that survival now depends on their competitive strength. In another development, China has nurtured over 20 giant corporations and conglomerates that have proven competitive in the international market. Elite Chinese enterprises such as Baoshan Iron and Steel Group, Haier, Sinochem and Sinopec are known around the globe. "The SOEs, against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown, have withstood the test and contributed to the national economic growth," said Vice Premier Wu Bangguo at this year's national conference on economic and trade work. However, SOE reforms will, in the foreseeable future, remain the core of China's overall economic restructuring, said top officials attending the recently concluded central economic working conference, including President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji. "The reform of state firms should be a far-ranging and profound one," said a commentary recently carried by China's leading newspaper, the People's Daily. In the post-WTO scenario, challenges and opportunities coexist for the state firms, who should move to turn the pressure into impetus for their further reform and development, said the commentary. Experts here have also voiced confidence that Sida's success represents a development trend for the state firms, most of whom will turn from rags to riches through better corporate management and further technological renovation. **** India Cuts Land Links With Pakistan. As a clear sign of deterioration of relations between India and neighboring Pakistan, New Delhi announced on Friday a termination of land links between the two countries. As a clear sign of deterioration of relations between India and neighboring Pakistan, New Delhi announced on Friday a termination of land links between the two countries. A statement issued here on Friday by the External Affairs Ministry said the government also decided to call back its high commissioner Vijay Nambiar from Islamabad in view of Pakistan's " complete lack" of India's concern and "its continued promotion of cross border terrorism" against India. Under the decision made at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the express train from Amritsar of India's northwest state of Punjab and Lahore in Pakistan and the bus service between Lahore and New Delhi will stop operating from January 1, next year. The government decided not to stop the land links immediately in order to enable citizens of the two neighbors, who had travelled recently, to return to their homes, a spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry told the media here. The railway express began its journey 15 years ago as a gesture of goodwill by the two government while the bus service was started in February 1999, to mark the historic trip Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made to Lahore as a major peace initiative. However, Indian security agencies have expressed their concern over the train service on the ground that it was facilitating entry of militants and counterfeit currency into the country that affect India's economy. The issue had come for discussion in India as early as in 1999 following the armed conflicts between the two countries in the Kargil area of Kashmir, but no action had been taken ever since. The bus service had also ran into rough weather in Indian political circles as it was followed by Kargil conflicts. The nosedive in Indo-Pakistan relations comes just ahead of the scheduled summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Kathmandu beginning from January 4, next year. Prime Minister Vajpayee said earlier this month that he was ready to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at the sidelines of the SAARC meeting. But, New Delhi on Thursday ruled out the proposed meeting on the same ground. The decision came amidst growing tension between the two neighbors following last week's terror attack on Indian parliament, which India claimed was carried out by Pakistan-based outfit Jaish- e-Mohammed with the involvement of another Islamic organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. A day after the terror incident, Indian Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer summoned Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Qazi Ashraf Jehangir and issue a verbal demarche, asking Islamabad to arrest the leaders of the two groups, clamp a ban and freeze their accounts. Islamabad has expressed its willingness to start a joint probe into the attack and asked New Delhi to provide credible evidence on the involvement of terrorist outfits operating from its soil. But the suggestions were rejected by India. **** Russia Launches Military Satellite. Russia successfully launched a military satellite into orbit with a Tsiklon-2 light class rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, said the Russian Space Troops press service. Russia successfully launched a military satellite into orbit with a Tsiklon-2 light class rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, said the Russian Space Troops press service. The carrier rocket blasted off from the base at 07:00 a.m. Moscow time (0400 GMT) and injected a Defense Ministry's Cosmos-2383 satellite into a designated orbit five minutes later, the press service announced. The delivery of the rocket to a launch pad and its lift-off were made automatically for the first time. Cosmodrome specialistscontrolled the carrier's flight and the procedure of putting the satellite into orbit. The satellite is being monitored by the Russian Space Troops, with reliable and effective communications maintained, the servicesaid. **** U.N. Assembly Condemns Terror, Military Actions in Middle East. The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning terror attacks and military actions targeting civilians in the Middle East. The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning terror attacks and military actions targeting civilians in the Middle East. The assembly resolution contains text similar to a Security Council draft vetoed by the United States that suggests the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to promote the implementation of the so called "Mitchell Report." The resolution condemns all acts of terrorism, in particular those targeting civilians, as well as acts of extrajudicial executions, excessive use of force, and wide destruction of properties. It called on the parties to resume negotiations on their agreed basis, and urged them to reach a final agreement under the principle of "land for peace," with the objective of implementing previous council resolutions. Expressing concern at Israeli actions taken recently against the Orient House and other Palestinian institutions in the occupied territories, it underlined that the essential role of the Palestinian Authority, which remains the indispensable and legitimate party for peace, needs to be fully preserved. It urged Israel to abide scrupulously by its obligations and responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Addressing the assembly, Deputy Permanent Representative of China Shen Guofang said that the outbreak of a new round of violent conflicts has pulled the Middle East peace process into a serious setback. "President Arafat enjoys high prestige among the Palestinian people," Shen said. "The Palestinian National Authority under his leadership is an indispensable party to the realization of peace in the Middle East." The United States, a close ally of Israel, voted against the resolution. Representative of Egypt Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on behalf of the League of Arab States, requested Tuesday in an official letter the resumption of the special session, to consider "illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian Territory." It was accompanied by a letter on the same day by the representative of South Africa, who spoke in his Chair of the Nonaligned Movement, requesting the resumption of the special session to consider the same item. With the U.S. veto, U.N. Security Council on Saturday failed to reach an agreement on the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to help with the implementation of the so called "Mitchell Report." The United States previously blocked two similar Arab drafts with veto power. Angered by the move, the Arab nations sought an emergency special session on October 18, 2000. The meeting was adjourned two days later. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
