VOL. XXIV No. 1 January 2012 Rs. 10.00 Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival which marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year of Dragon. It is the most important festival in China. Chinese people enjoy a week holiday from Jan. 22 to Jan 28, 2012 for the auspicious occasion. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with Chinese Chinese Special Representative, State Councilor Dai State Councilor Dai Bingguo (L) in New Delhi on Jan. 17. Bingguo and Indian Special Representative, National China and India held the 15th meeting of the Special Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon met the press in Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Jan. 16 during the 15th here on Jan.16 and 17, 2012. meeting of the Special Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question. The 15th meeting of the Special Representatives on the Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon China-India Boundary Question in New Delhi on Jan.16 and hosted a banquet for visiting Chinese Special 17, 2012. Representative on the China-India Boundary Question and State Councilor Dai Bingguo in New Delhi on the evening of Jan.16, 2012. At the conclusion of the 15th meeting of the Special Chinese Amabassador Zhang Yan and Indian National Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question, Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon delivered a speech Agreement on the Establishment of a Working Mechanism respectively on a lecture on China-India relations in the for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Leela Palace Hotel in New Delhi on Jan.9, 2012. Affairs was signed by Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin(L) and Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar(R) at the presence of the two countries' representatives and media. NEWS FROM CHINA /JANUARY 2012 3 CONTENTS I. THE 15TH MEETING OF SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF CHINA AND INDIA ON SINO-INDIAN BOUNDARY QUESTION 1. A Brighter Future When China and India Work Hand in Hand 4 2. Indian PM Meets with Chinese State Councilor in New Delhi 5 3. China,India Hold 15th Round of Special Representatives Talks on Border 6 4. China, India Sign Pact on Border Consultation, Coordination Working Mechanism 7 5. Dai Bingguo Delivers Speech on China-India Relations 7 II. LECTURE ON CHINA-INDIA RELATIONS 1. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan’s Speech at the Lecture on China-India Relations 8 2. Developments in India-China Relations 13 III. DOMESTIC AFFAIRS 1. Chinese President Delivers New Year Address, Stresses World Peace, Development 16 2. Chinese Leaders Watch Peking Opera for New Year 17 3. Legislature Reviews Government Reports 18 4. All 8,043 Suggestions Made at China’s Top Legislature Receive Feedback 20 5. Agriculture Still Vital to China 20 6. More Chinese Farmers Benefit from Transfer of Land-use Rights 21 7. Chinese Defense Department, Army Continue to Conduct Foreign Exchanges in 2012 22 8. Revenues of China’s Customs Duties Top 1.6 Trl Yuan 23 9. China’s Reading List Reveals a Few Surprises 23 10. Top 10 National Events in 2011 25 11. Top 10 Economic Events in 2011 30 12. Top 10 Cultural Events in 2011 35 13. The Plan for 2012 40 IV. TIBET TODAY 1. Chinese Official Talks with EU Representatives on Tibet Issues 46 2. China Earmarks Additional 8 Mln Yuan to Renovate Tibet’s Sera Monastery 54 4 NEWS FROM CHINA /JANUARY 2012 I. THE 15TH MEETING OF SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF CHINA AND INDIA ON SINO-INDIAN BOUNDARY QUESTION A Brighter Future When China and India Work Hand in Hand By Dai Bingguo State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China I am delighted to come back to the beautiful with one voice and enjoy increasingly closer metropolis of New Delhi and join my Indian coordination and collaboration in multilateral colleagues for the 15th meeting of the Special mechanisms and in tackling global challenges. The Representatives on the China-India boundary year 2011 was the “Year of China-India question. Every time I return, I am deeply Exchanges”. The first bilateral Strategic Economic impressed by the strong economic growth and Dialogue was held and 500 Indian youths visited remarkable progress India has achieved. China. Once again, these diverse exchanges got In the mid 1950s, China and India, in response our relations off to a good start in the second to the call of the time, jointly initiated the Five decade of the 21st century. China-India relations Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, or the have entered a fast track of growth. Panchsheel. Today, these five principles are still Our Indian friends may have confidence in shining with strong vitality. The world is China’s tremendous sentiment of friendship undergoing drastic and profound changes. China toward India. While working hard to develop itself, and India, both ancient civilizations and major China is fully committed to developing long-term developing countries whose combined population friendship and cooperation with India. It is our accounts for nearly two-fifths of the world’s total, genuine hope that India will enjoy prosperity and once again responded to the call of our time. Our its people happiness. There does not exist such a two countries have seized the historic opportunity thing as China’s attempt to “attack India” or of economic globalization and achieved fast “suppress India’s development”. China will development. We are now the two largest remain committed to the path of peaceful emerging countries in the world and play development. It will develop itself by upholding increasingly important roles in regional and world peace and contribute to world peace international affairs. through its development. We will grow on the I am happy to note that since the beginning of basis of our own efforts, reform and innovation; the new century, the China-India Strategic and at the same time, we will remain open to the Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity outside world and learn from other countries. We has continued to grow rapidly and our friendly will fully embrace economic globalization and seek cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The trade mutual benefit and common development with volume between our two countries has grown other countries. We will continue to work with the from US$2.9 billion in 2000 to US$61.7 billion in international community to promote the building 2010, an increase of 20 folds in 10 years. We speak of a harmonious world of enduring peace and NEWS FROM CHINA /JANUARY 2012 5 common prosperity. in. We need to guide and promote the growth of China’s conviction to peaceful development is China-India relations with the concept of peaceful not without foundation. It is rooted in the fine development. We need to view each other’s Chinese culture and tradition. Peaceful development in a positive light and regard each development is not an act of impulse. It came into other as major partners and friends, not rivals. We being in the course of reform and opening-up and always need to be each other’s good neighbor, is firmly supported by China’s state policy and good friend and good partner. As a man in his strategy. It is not a policy of expediency. Peaceful seventies, I truly hope that our children and development is a rational, strategic choice made children’s children will forever live in peace, in line with the trend of our time and China’s basic friendship and cooperation. condition. Even when China becomes truly We are now in the second decade of the 21st developed in the future, it will remain committed century. Looking ahead, China-India relations have to the path of peaceful development. huge potential and broad space for cooperation. Back in 1988, Mr. Deng Xiaoping said to then What we face is a golden period to grow China- Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that no genuine Asia- India relations. The world has enough space for Pacific century or Asian century would come China and India to achieve common development, without the development of China, India and other as there are so many areas for us to work together. developing countries. Prime Minister Singh also As neighbors and two big countries of a combined observed that when India and China speak with population of 2.5 billion, China and India can join one voice, the world will listen. These analyses of hands, seize the historic opportunity and work insight point to the tremendous importance and together to further advance our friendship and necessity for China and India to develop ourselves cooperation. Together, we will bring benefits to our well and advance the relations between us. For two countries, two peoples and the whole this is crucial not only to our two countries, but mankind. also to Asia and the whole world that we both live Indian PM Meets with Chinese State Councilor in New Delhi On January 17, 2012, Indian Prime Minister two countries had held their first strategic economic Manmohan Singh met Chinese Special dialogue last year. He also noted that 500 Indian Representative for the Sino-Indian Talks on youths were received cordially by Premier Wen in Boundary Issues and State Councilor Dai Bingguo Beijing last year. All these, he said, have shown who is on an official visit to the Indian capital New that India-China relations are experiencing a good Delhi. momentum at present. Singh first asked Dai to convey his greetings to Singh expressed his belief that good Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen cooperation between India and China will bring Jiabao. He said that India pays great importance about great changes to the world and said India is to its relations with China and the two countries ready to work with China to push forward bilateral have seen frequent exchanges of visit.