Secretary of State Rice: "China doesn't play fair"

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that China "doesn't play fair" on trade and currency issues.

Rice called for China to allow better market access, currency reform and stronger protection of copyrighted materials.

"On balance, a growing, strong Chinese economy is going to be a good thing for the international system. But it has to be a growing, strong Chinese economy that plays within the rules," Rice said in an interview with CNBC television to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided by the network.

"China doesn't play fair," she said.





read::: International Herald Tribune

Brilliance China Automotive To Delist From NYSE

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, the first Chinese auto company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, said it plans to withdraw that listing from the NYSE because of a decline in trading volume and a concurrent rise in administrative costs.

Taking Marxism to China

Marxism is a bore in China, but tie-dyed American socialists are trying to revive it. Apparently it's easier to believe in socialism if you haven't actually tried to live under it.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

It isn't easy teaching Marxism in China these days.

"It's a big challenge," acknowledged Tao, a likable man who demonstrates remarkable patience in the face of students more interested in capitalism than "Das Kapital." The students say he isn't the problem.

read::: The Guardian

94 Die in Panama From Tainted Medicine

A top Panamanian prosecutor said tests show at least 94 people have died from taking medicine contaminated with diethylene glycol since July 2006 and that 293 more deaths are under investigation.

Prosecutor Dimas Guevara said Wednesday that people have continued to die this year even though the tainted medicine was pulled from shelves in October.

Previously Panamanian authorities had confirmed only 51 deaths from the medicine.

A chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid, diethylene glycol was used in cough syrup, antihistamine tablets, calamine lotion and rash ointment made in a Panama government laboratory.

Investigations revealed the chemical was made by a Chinese company that fraudulently passed it off as 99.5 percent pure glycerin, a sweetener commonly used in drugs, to a Spanish company. That company sold it to Panama's Medicom SA, which sold it to a government laboratory.

read::: 1010wins


related -

http://www.fda.gov/oc/history/elixir.html

Excerpt:

Sulfanilamide, a drug used to treat streptococcal infections, had been shown to have dramatic curative effects and had been used safely for some time in tablet and powder form. In June 1937, however, a salesman for the S.E. Massengill Co., in Bristol, Tenn., reported a demand in the southern states for the drug in liquid form. The company’s chief chemist and pharmacist, Harold Cole Watkins, experimented and found that sulfanilamide would dissolve in diethylene glycol. The company control lab tested the mixture for flavor, appearance, and fragrance and found it satisfactory. Immediately, the company compounded a quantity of the elixir and sent shipments—633 of them—all over the country.

The new formulation had not been tested for toxicity. At the time the food and drugs law did not require that safety studies be done on new drugs. Selling toxic drugs was, undoubtedly, bad for business and could damage a firm’s reputation, but it was not illegal.

Because no pharmacological studies had been done on the new sulfanilamide preparation, Watkins failed to note one characteristic of the solution. Diethylene glycol, a chemical normally used as an antifreeze, is a deadly poison.

Chery and Chrysler Group Finalize Cooperative Agreement

Chery and Chrysler Group forge new model of international cooperation

CHRYSLER PRESS RELEASE

BEIJING, July 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda joined Chery Automobile Co. Chairman and President Yin Tongyue today to finalize the highly anticipated cooperative agreement between the two automakers.

Chinese governmental authorities from the State Development and Reform Commission officially approved the agreement and marked the occasion by hosting a first-of-its-kind signing event. The ceremony was held at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Under the agreement, Chery, based in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China and Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA will work together to develop, manufacture and distribute Chery-made small and sub-compact cars in North America, Europe and other major automotive markets under the Chrysler Group brands.

"This is a win-win for both of our companies, and I am confident this will be a successful relationship," said Yin. "Chrysler brands are very well known in the U.S. and Europe. We're prepared to work with Chrysler Group to expand their small-vehicle lineup with competitive products and accelerate both our companies' international competitiveness."

Chrysler will identify several small-car models now being developed by Chery in China and work collaboratively to make any necessary branding and regulatory modifications prior to their entry into other markets. Both companies also will jointly develop new globally competitive products based on future Chery small-car platforms.

Strategic growth in international markets - while defending market share in North America - is an important part of Chrysler Group's Recovery and Transformation Plan.

"This is the start of a very long relationship between Chrysler and Chery," said LaSorda. "Chery's participation in this agreement and their focus on small and sub-compact cars will have a nearly immediate effect on Chrysler Group's offerings in the small-vehicle segments. This strategic partnership is part of a new business model that is allowing us to introduce all-new products more quickly, with less capital spending."

Today's announcement is not the first milestone for Chrysler in China. Chrysler's relationship with China began 25 years ago when it formed Beijing Jeep Corp., the first international automotive joint venture in the country.

The DaimlerChrysler Supervisory Board approved the framework for the Agreement earlier this year.

Profile of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd.

Since the foundation of Chery in 1997, Chery has always been pursuing independent innovation, after ten years development, Chery now is endowed with systematic new products research and development, manufacture and sales. Its products have been sold to more than 50 countries and regions, and it has become the pacesetter of Chinese independent auto brands with its average annual growing rate at 169%.

Profile of Chrysler Group

The Chrysler Group is the Auburn, Hills, Michigan-based unit of DaimlerChrysler AG. Employing more than 84,000 people worldwide, Chrysler Group designs, manufactures, markets, distributes and - through its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers - sells cars, trucks, minivans and sport-utility vehicles to customers in more than 125 countries worldwide. Its brands feature some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Dodge Viper, Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Chrysler 300C. In 2006, Chrysler Group sold 2.8 million vehicles globally.

Website: http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/
Website: http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/




update:::

General Motors noticed that the brand name used by Chinese automaker looks an awfully like Chevy. Chery Automotive has big plans with Malcolm Bricklin at the helm in the U.S. but GM has threatened Chery with legal action if it uses the brand name in the America. Bricklin told the Financial Times that he would use the name anyway. GM already slapped Chery with a lawsuit over intellectual property stating the Chery QQ is a direct copy of the GM-Daewoo Matiz sold in China as the Chevy Spark. Chevy. Chery.

China's environment close to 'breakdown': govt official

BEIJING (AFP) - China's environment is close to breaking point and the situation is endangering people's lives, one of the nation's top anti-pollution officials said in comments published Wednesday.

Pan Yue, an outspoken vice minister at the State Environmental Protection Administration, said campaigns to clean-up the environment were going backwards because the country's primary focus continued to be on economic growth.

"Pursuit of short-term goals is leading to ever increasing pollution despite various measures," Pan told the China Daily in an interview.

"Traditional ways of development have caused the near breakdown of China's resources and environment, and people's lives are in great danger."

read::: AFP

China pressured World Bank to cut deadly pollution figures

Research showing that 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year from pollution was cut from a World Bank report following pressure from Beijing, the Financial Times said Tuesday.

Beijing successfully lobbied for the removal of a third of the report, entitled the "Cost of Pollution in China," arguing the contents could lead to social unrest, the London-based newspaper said.

China's State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and health ministry asked the World Bank to remove the figures from a draft of the report finished last year that stated about 750,000 people die prematurely each year from pollution.

China also successfully pushed for the removal of a detailed map showing which parts of the country suffered the most deaths, the newspaper said.

"The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest," the Financial Times quoted one adviser to the study as saying.

The draft was released at a conference on sustainable development in Beijing in March, and remains available on the Internet, without the sensitive data.

AFP