Chinese President Hu Jintao has left Cannes, France, for home after attending a summit of the Group of Twenty (G-20), at which G-20 leaders discussed measures to halt the downturn in the world economy and promote global financial stability.

At the two-day summit, the leaders exchanged views on the eurozone debt crisis, reform of the international monetary system, the strengthening of financial regulations, and trade and development issues. 

President Hu made speeches at the summit, elaborating on China's propositions on the topics.

 

G20 agrees to reap benefit from financial integration 

Leaders of the world’s major developed countries and emerging economies have agreed to strengthen financial regulations and reap benefits from financial integration, but failed to stay on the same page over specific measures. 

A final communiqué released at the end of the two-day G20 summit held in Cannes says the G20 leaders have agreed on actions and principles that will help reap the benefits from financial integration and increase the resilience against volatile capital flows.

However, they failed to iron out differences over the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT), which has been eagerly promoted by this year’s G20 host of France.

 

China voices opposition to nuclear proliferation 

China says it opposes nuclear proliferation and does not uphold the the development of nuclear weapons by any Middle East country. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said this while addressing a forthcoming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on the Iranian nuclear issue following news reports saying that many of Iran's nuclear plans for its military would be disclosed by the IAEA's report. 

Hong Lei said China stands for resolving Iran's nuclear issue by dialogue and cooperation. 

He said China firmly opposes using force and threats of force when coping with international affairs.

 

U.S. unemployment rate drops to 9 percent in October

U.S. employment climbed in October at the slowest pace in four months.

The U.S Labor Department figures show that last month, the economy added 80,000 jobs in the country, while the unemployment rate fell to a six-month low of 9 percent.

 

Israel Navy intercepts Gaza-bound aid vessels

The Israel Navy has intercepted two aid boats that were approaching the coast of the Gaza, leading them to southern Israel's Ashdod port.

The Israeli military says after the boats failed to heed calls to turn around or dock in Egypt or Israel, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff ordered naval forces to board the ships.Nobody was injured during the boarding of the ships. 

The boats were carrying supplies and 27 international pro- Palestinian activists.

 

Chinese vice premier urges more international exchanges for high-level talents 

Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang has called for increased international exchanges for China's high-level talents, as well as for more efforts to attract overseas professionals.

Zhang Dejiang made the remarks at the opening ceremony for the 2011 Conference on the International Exchange of Professionals, held in the city of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province. 

He said the exchanges should be focused on high-level and innovative talents, offering cooperative opportunities on a larger scale and a wider scope for them to achieve breakthroughs in common fields.

 

Chinese journalists urged to give voice to the masses 

Chinese journalists have been urged by a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to improve their work by "voicing the heartfelt wishes of the masses and always putting the people first."

Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a reception held in Beijing to honor winners of the China Journalism Awards, one of the country's top media prizes. 

He called on journalists to write more lively reports on ordinary people in grass-roots positions and also to better fulfill their responsibility of boosting social progress through promoting high culture.

 

China vows crack down on relics looting in South China Sea

China's maritime and cultural officials have pledged greater efforts to stop small treasure hunters from looting the cultural relics from sunken ancient merchant ships in the South China Sea.

They say the authorities will strengthen surveillance and boost the law enforcement manpower to curb the looting, in which the use of explosives and other destructive methods have seriously threatened the safety of undersea relics.

Most of these relics have been found around the waters of the Xisha Islands, a chain of islets lying on the route of the ancient maritime Silk Road, where a number of merchant ships sunk after colliding on the shallow coral reefs or amid rough weathers.

 

China grants 4.74 bln yuan to vocational schools for tuition exemptions 

China has given more than 4.7 billion yuan (more than 747 million U.S. dollars) to secondary vocational schools as compensation for tuition exemptions they have offered to students.

The Ministry of Finance says the funds will be offered to secondary vocational or technical schools that have accepted students from poor families or students studying agriculture-related subjects without charging tuition.

The ministry says approximately 4 million students have enjoyed tuition exemptions in China's secondary vocational schools.