White House spokesman Jake Siewert said there may be further discussions before Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visits Washington next week but that the trip was not a deadline for a deal. The announcement was made as US Commerce Secretary William Daley met Premier Zhu Rongji ahead of Mr Zhu's planned trip to the US this week. It came amid reports of plummeting passenger numbers following the traditionally busy Lunar New Year holiday. In February, Beijing announced a one-year moratorium on the purchase of new planes. The World Bank approved a USD150 million loan to China to help ease traffic congestion and improve air quality in three cities of the northeastern L iaoning province, promoting the use of cleaner cars and fuel and building a better transport net.
Traffic congestion is already an important constraint to productivity and efficiency in the cities.
The benefits of the Liaoning project include reduced travel time for passengers and freight transport, lower transport costs and increased reliability and safety of the urban transport system, the World Bank said. It will also strengthen the policy-making, regulatory, and implementation capacity of transport institutions, it added. The balance of the USD384 million project will be provided by the Chinese government, the official Xinhua newsagency reported. A panel of economists and officials was formed last Tuesday to draft a new Investment Fund Law, China Securities Daily reported. This panel consists of leading, advisory and working groups, and drains its members from related government departments, Beijing University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.