Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao says deepening China-US cooperation in economy and trade is not only in the interests of the two peoples but also important to the world economic recovery.

He made the remarks during a meeting with US business leaders from a broad cross-section of industries in Honolulu, Hawaii, ahead of the APEC summit.

Hu Jintao urged Chinese and US businesses to properly settle trade frictions, saying efforts should be made to avoid politicizing economic and trade issues and trade protectionism.

The Chinese President arrived in Honolulu earlier in the day for the APEC summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

 

China, U.S. vow to strengthen cooperative partnership

China says it's willing to build a cooperative partnership with the United States based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made the remarks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hawaii, ahead of the annual APEC summit.

He said under the current situation, China is ready to make concerted efforts with the US to deepen understanding and enhance mutual trust, and to better carry out the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders. 

For her part, Clinton voiced her hope that the two sides would join hands to make U.S.-China relations develop smoothly. 

The same day the Chinese foreign minister also met with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa on bilateral relations and other topics.

 

Clinton: 21st century will be U.S.' Pacific century

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared that the 21st century will be the United States' Pacific Century. 

Speaking in Hawaii ahead of the APEC summit, Clinton said as the war in Iraq winds down and efforts in Afghanistan to transition begins, the US is to pivot its diplomatic efforts to the Asia-Pacific region.

"What will happen in Asia in the years ahead will have an enormous impact on our nation's future, and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and leave it to others and determine our future for us."

At the APEC summit, Clinton said the United States will drive an agenda including promoting green growth, regional integration and next generation regional trade agreements represented by the Trans- Pacific Partnership, which the US is actively pursuing at the summit.

 

Rescuers struggling to reach trapped miners in SW China

Hundreds of rescuers are continuing to search for 22 miners trapped underground after a gas leak occurred in a coal mine in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Ventilation machines are pumping excess methane gas out of the mine near the city of Qujing. 

The accident has already killed 21 people.

Local work safety officials say the private mine was operating without a license for a year.

Zhao Tiechui is deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety.

"The safety production license of the private mine had been revoked on November 28, 2010, but it continued to operate till now. This is illegal. This accident is caused by illegal operation and lack of supervision."

 

Former ECB vice president named as Greece's new PM

Former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos has been named as Greece's new prime minister.

The announcement comes following days of negotiation efforts among political leaders to reach a deal.

Papademos will replace Greece's outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou who decided to resign after a disastrous call for a referendum on the European aid package.

The new government will be sworn in this Friday.

 

NDRC official: China faces "great pressure" in meeting 2015 emissions target

A senior Chinese official says the country is facing great pressure in trying to meet its emission reduction target by 2015, as the country is still rapidly industrializing.

The State Council has just approved a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 17 percent per unit of GDP by 2015. The plan also maps out precise emission indicators for local governments. 

But Gao Shixian with the energy research institute under the National Development and Reform Commission says maintaining rapid economic growth creates huge pressure for the government's efforts to save energy and cut emissions.

Gao added that China's goal of boosting non-fossil-fuel energy usage will also create challenges for meeting the emissions target.

 

NASA plans to launch car-size Mars rover in November

US space agency NASA is preparing for launching its Mars rover Curiosity.

The car-sized probe will examine one of the most intriguing areas on the Red Planet. It's in final preparations for a launch from Florida 's Space Coast on Nov. 25.

Scheduled to land on the Mars in Aug. 2012, the one-ton rover will examine Gale Crater during a nearly two-year prime mission.