President Xi Jinping accompanies his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain at a welcoming ceremony in Beijing on Feb 19. Xu Jingxing / China Daily

Neighbors keen to open trade corridor

China and Pakistan signed agreements for energy and infrastructure projects on Feb 19 as they vowed to soon give "practical shape" to a trade and transport corridor linking the neighbors.

The documents were signed after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and visiting Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, who is on his first official overseas visit since assuming office in September.

Among the papers signed are memorandums of understanding on construction on the new Gwadar international airport, upgrading part of the Karakorum highway linking the nations and establishing a joint research center for hydropower technology.

The Wall Street Journal assessed the value of the agreements at $20 billion. Without confirming the figure, Luo Zhaohui, director of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said the final amount depends on the implementation.

"The leaders of China and Pakistan urged relevant offices on both sides to speed up work on the economic corridor," said a joint statement issued after the presidents met.

It says they should work to ensure the corridor "starts to take practical shape soon and yields tangible benefits".

Beijing open to dialogue with Taipei

Beijing respects the social system adopted by Taiwan and is ready to have "equal" talks, Party chief Xi Jinping said as he mapped out his detailed cross-Straits policies for the first time.

Nothing can cut the bond between the mainland and Taiwan, and "we have patience and also confidence" to resolve problems with cross-Straits ties, Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Lien Chan in Beijing.

Xi also said Beijing welcomed people making efforts to boost the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, regardless of earlier stances, in a gesture analysts said conveys his message to Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Experts said the mainland's top leader sent a clear signal to Taiwan that Beijing would like to provide enough room for peaceful consultations and development across the Straits by facing up to reality and being open.

Prostitution crackdown widens

The Ministry of Public Security has urged police nationwide to crack down on prostitution, gambling and drug crimes after the recent exposure of widespread prostitution in Dongguan, Guangdong province.

The ministry urged police to use Dongguan as a lesson and intensify their campaigns against prostitution, gambling and drugs to improve people's sense of security and satisfaction.

"The ministry attaches great importance to the issue and will resolutely investigate, severely punish and firmly attack the organizers, operators and 'protective umbrellas' behind prostitution crimes," Wen Guohui, a ministry press officer, said on Feb 16.

The ministry's statement followed a report by China Central Television on Feb 9 about prostitution in Dongguan. The report said local police turned a blind eye to the widespread prostitution.

The report triggered a massive crackdown in the city. More than 6,000 police officers swept through hundreds of hotels, saunas and karaoke bars in Dongguan on Feb 9, arresting at least 67 people, shuttering 12 venues and suspending two police chiefs.

Immigration changes called unfair

Canada said its termination of two investor immigrant programs does not target China, but Chinese agencies said the policy change is unfair.

Analysts said the Canadian policy may herald a new era in which wealthy applicants must improve their social integration in and increase financial contributions to destination countries.

"All of Canada's immigration programs are open to anyone who meets the criteria and do not target specific countries," the Canadian embassy said.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada said that China "has been among the top sources for more than a decade", and immigration is a key part of Canada's plan to "grow our economy, spur job creation, and ensure long-term prosperity for all Canadians".

Controversy arose after the Canadian government announced plans recently to terminate the federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program.

The IIP requires investors to have a minimum net worth of 1.6 million Canadian dollars ($1.5 million) and to invest 800,000 Canadian dollars in the form of a multi-year, interest-free loan to the government.

Li urges officials to move ahead

Premier Li Keqiang urged government officials to deepen economic reforms steadily and move ahead to create a fair and prosperous market.

Economic reforms have stepped into "deep water", with many interests at stake, Li told leading provincial and ministerial officials at a key workshop. Reforms face unprecedented difficulties that will require both good strategy and determination to overcome, he said.

Officials should stick to the principle that the public should benefit from reforms, Li said.

"Reform is the most powerful motivation, as well as the biggest bonus," Li told the officials at the workshop.

The premier stressed that the relationship between the government and the market should be dealt with properly, and that the market should play a decisive role in resource allocation.

Li directed the officials to continue to streamline administrative approvals or delegate them to lower levels, to deepen financial and taxation reform, to improve financial markets, to establish an open economic structure and to balance the development of urban and rural areas.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 02/21/2014 page2)