From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: China News Digest (Global), Mon, 9/28/1992
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: 28 Sep 92 05:21:47 GMT

              * * *  C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  * * *

                              (News Global)

                        Monday, September 28, 1992

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines
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1. News Brief (4 Items) .................................................43
2. South Korean President in Beijing for First Seoul-Beijing Summit .....27
3. GATT Official Says Long-Stalled Trade Talks Should Resume ............45
4. More Than 900 Million Dollars in Illegal Stocks in China .............30
5. China Opens First Futures Market for Farm Crops ......................20
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1. News Brief (4 Items) .................................................43
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[AP-DJ, 9/26/92] AMMAN, Jordan -- China and Jordan signed an economic
agreement Thursday that includes a 10-million-dlr interest-free loan to help
finance educational and other projects in the kingdom, state-run Petra news
agency reported Saturday.  The agency said China will make the loan later
this year.  Last year, China contributed about 20 million dlrs to finance
sports and educational projects as well as commodities imported to the
debt-ridden kingdom. The Gulf crisis further exacerbated Jordan's financial
woes. (From: Jian)
			       ___  ___  ___

[Handelsblatt, 9/23/92] -- Siemens AG of Germany has set up a computer
tomography joint venture in Shanghai, called Siemens Shanghai Medical
Equipment Ltd.  Siemens has a 51% stake in the company, Shanghai Medical
Equipment Works (SMEW) of Shanghai a 39% stake, and China National
Corporation of Medical Equipment Industry (CNMIC) a 10% stake. The firm is
to expand into X-ray diagnosis at a later date. (From: A CND Reader)
			       ___  ___  ___

[Reuter, 9/23/92] HONG KONG -- The total number of industrial and commercial
self-employed persons in China had increased to 22.6 million at the end of
last year, according to the Hong Kong-based China News Service (CNS) said.
Self-employed Chinese had handed over 17.9 billion yuan (US $3.2 billion)
in taxes and donated 330 million yuan (US $60 million) to government charities,
Few of the self-employed are highly educated. Only one-fifth of one per cent
have college degrees, while 87 per cent have at least a primary school
education and 10.6 per cent are illiterate, CNS said. (From: A CND Reader)
			       ___  ___  ___

[Soc.Culture.China, 9/27/92] -- Professor Wu Zhong-Hua, former director of
the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
passed away last week after a long battle with cancer.  Professor Wu
graduated with a PhD from MIT in 1940's and became a full professor when he
was thirty years old. During that time, he developed the famous theory known
as "Wu's general theory" for three dimensional turbomachinery blading
problem.  This theory made him one of the founder of modern turbomachinery
blading theory.  He came back to China in 50's and established the entire
turbomachinery blading science in China.  Under his direction, the general
theory was implemented and a number of computer codes were developed. Those
achievements were later applied in many new jet engine designs, such as
RB211's compressor for BOEING 747.  Professor Wu's funeral will be held next
week in Beijing, PRC. His students and friends can send him a last respect
by Fax: 861-256-1284. (From: J. Faung, <jfaung@larson.helios.nd.edu>)

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2. South Korean President in Beijing for First Seoul-Beijing Summit .....27
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From: Jian
Source: DJ, 9/27/92

BEIJING -- South Korean President Roh Tae-woo arrived Sunday for the first
Seoul-Beijing summit.

The summit was expected to bolster relations between the two former Cold War
foes and bring prospects for greater stability in East Asia.

The South Korean leader nearly crossed paths with North Korean Ambassador
Chu Chang Jun, who was meeting Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk.

China is the chief backer of the Communist governement in Pyongyang, and its
army fought with the north in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Beijing and Seoul established official ties last month after 43 years of
animosity.

In a departure speech in Seoul, Roh said expanded relations between South
Korea and China "signal an end to the Cold War system in Northeast Asia,
the last remnant of the world's Cold War era."

Roh said his meetings with Chinese leaders will be "a precious stepping
stone for the unification" with North Korea.

During his four-day stay, Roh is to meet with Chinese President Yang Shang-
kun, Premier Li Peng and Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin.

South Korean and Chinese officials plan to sign trade agreements to protect
Korean investments in China and promote economic cooperation.

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3. GATT Official Says Long-Stalled Trade Talks Should Resume ............45
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From: Jian
Source: AP-DJ, 9/27/92
By: Maria Shao

SAN FRANCISCO -- World leaders should summon the "political courage" to
conclude the long-stalled Uruguay Round of global trade talks, said a top
world-trade official, Monday's Asian Wall Street Journal reports.

Arthur Dunkel, director-general of the Geneva-based General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), told reporters at an Asian Pacific conference in
San Francisco that negotiators have a narrow "window of opportunity" until
March 1 to conclude the Uruguay Round under GATT.

That is when U.S. negotiating authority granted by Congress under a fast-
track process runs out. The Uruguay Round talks, which began six years ago,
have been bogged down primarily by disputes between the U.S. and the European
Community (EC) over EC agricultural subsidies.

Negotiations could be concluded "rapidly" if major agricultural disputes are
resolved, he said. However, he warned that "without a common approach between
the U.S. and the EC, it would be difficult to move forward."

Failure of the global trade talks, the GATT official warned, "would leave
the world economy without the multilateral tools to handle world economic
activity."

In his prepared remarks, Dunkel noted that "the remaining areas of
controversy are certainly not insurmountable. Indeed, in many cases, they
are so small that it is difficult to understand why the world has been
kept waiting so long...The world needs a signal."

The GATT chief addressed more than 500 business, government and academic
leaders from the Asian Pacific region.

Dunkel also indicated that GATT is stepping up negotiations to admit China
and Taiwan. In coming weeks, a "working party" on China's admission will
meet, and on Tuesday, at a GATT council meeting in Geneva, the organization
is expected to approve creation of a working party to examine Taiwan's entry,
he said.

There will be "two parallel processes" for the admission of China and a
"trade entity" that will be known as "Chinese-Taipei," the GATT chief said.

He predicted that "both will join the GATT at practically the same time."
Dunkel added that talks with Taipei are "starting only now"; those with
Beijing have been going on for three years.

The Beijing government has insisted that its admission into GATT precede
Taipei's.

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4. More Than 900 Million Dollars in Illegal Stocks in China .............30
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From: Jian
Source: AP-DJ, 9/24/92

HONG KONG -- China's fever for stock exchanges has fueled the sale of more
than 900 million dlrs in shares without the approval of the central
government, according to an official Chinese report Thursday.

The Organization and Personnel Daily said the shares are traded on the
country's booming black market. The article, published Wednesday in Beijing,
said China's current "stock fever" and "property fever" were a cause of
great concern for the economy of the country.

It said the country had yet to promulgate necessary laws to deal with the
fast-growing desire to issue stocks and transform state-run firms into
stock-issuing enterprises. It cited official figures saying 5 billion yuan,
or 907 million dlrs in shares have been issued nationwide without the
approval of the State Council, China's cabinet.

The article also alleged that property speculation was sucking up million
of dollars worth in potentially productive investment.

China's State Council has approved two stock exchanges-one in the southern
Chinese city of Shenzhen and one in the coastal metropolis of Shanghai.
While only several dozen firms have listed shares on these exchanges,
thousands of other companies have issued shares which are traded on black
markets around the country.

Some securities market experts in Hong Kong have raised worries recently
that China's rush to reform its financial markets might be too hasty.

Some political analysts have said that without the necessary legal mechanisms
to protect investors, China's stock exchanges and its stock issuing companies
can easily be manipulated by government officials.

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5. China Opens First Futures Market for Farm Crops ......................20
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From: Huijie
Source: AP-DJ, 9/25/92

BEIJING -- Authorities in China's southern island province of Hainan have
opened the country's first futures market for farm products and tropical
crops, an official report said Friday.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said the market in the provincial capital
of Haikou will conduct its first transactions for melon on Sept. 28.

The report did not specify all the products that will be traded on the
market.

China's Communist leaders long opposed futures trading because of its
speculative nature, but they have since decided it can send valuable signals
to producers about market demand.

China's first futures market, the Shanghai Metals Exchange, opened in May.
Official media reported that trading has increased steadily on copper, lead,
aluminum, zinc, tin, nickel and iron futures.

Another futures market is planned in Shanghai for grain and oil, official
reports have said.

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