• This Day (Nigeria) aagm: Political Economy of Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria (2)

China and Nigeria set up full diplomatic ties in 1971 and the trade volume between the two countries reached 2.18bn US dollars. Nigeria is now China's second largest export market and fourth largest trade partner in Africa.
During talks with Obasanjo, Hu suggested the two sides take active measures to expand the economic and trade cooperation and further boost two-way investment.
He expressed hope that the two sides will improve cooperation in gas exploration, infrastructure construction and manufacturing industry to achieve common development.
He suggested the countries enhance political trust through high-level visits and personnel exchanges, improve consultation and coordination in international affairs and join hands to maintain the interests of developing countries, boost south-south cooperation and promote the establishment of a fair and reasonable new international political and economic order.
Obasanjo said he agreed with Hu. He said Nigeria is now undergoing reforms to realize economic and social development.
Nigeria hopes the two sides will improve mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, electric power, railway and telecommunication construction, agriculture, water conservancy, manufacturing and tourism, he said.
On the issue of China-Africa relations, Hu said the African Union is playing an increasing important role in regional affairs and the dialogue and cooperation between Africa and the international community is deepening.
Hu said improving cooperation with African countries is China's strategic choice. He highlighted the role of China-Africa Cooperation Forum in enhancing China-Africa friendship, saying that China will work together with the African countries to further promote the new China-Africa strategic partnership.
Obasanjo, who is also visiting China in the capacity of rotating president of the African Union, said the African people will never forget China's support in their struggle against colonialism and racial segregation.
He said Africa hopes China will support and join Africa's efforts in seeking a solution to the conflicts in the region and improving investment and economic cooperation with Africa to help it achieve peace, security and development soon.
During the talks, Hu expressed China's appreciation for Nigeria 's consistent adherence to the one-China policy and its support to China's adoption of the Anti-Secession Law.
Obasanjo said Nigeria firmly abides by the one-China policy and supports China's cause of national reunification.
Obasanjo arrived in Beijing on Thursday morning as Hu's guest. Besides Beijing, Obasanjo will also travel to Hubei Province and Shanghai.
Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1527 gmt 14 Apr 05
Document BBCAPP0020050414e14e0060p
China, Nigeria sign economic agreements, promising to build strategic partnership
477 words

14 April 2005

Xinhua News Agency

XNEWS

English

(c) Copyright 2005 Xinhua News Agency
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China and Nigeria signed five economic agreements Thursday night, promising to upgrade their relations to a "strategic partnership."
The five agreements, covering investment, telecommunication service and technical cooperation, were signed after an hour-long talk between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is in China for a four-day state visit.
China and Nigeria set up full diplomatic ties in 1971 and the trade volume between the two countries reached 2.18 billion US dollars. Nigeria is now China's second largest export market and fourth largest trade partner in Africa.
During talks with Obasanjo, Hu suggested the two sides take active measures to expand the economic and trade cooperation and further boost two-way investment.
He expressed hope that the two sides will improve cooperation in gas exploration, infrastructure construction and manufacturing industry to achieve common development.
He suggested the countries enhance political trust through high- level visits and personnel exchanges, improve consultation and coordination in international affairs and join hands to maintain the interests of developing countries, boost south-south cooperation and promote the establishment of a fair and reasonable new international political and economic order.
Obasanjo said he agreed with Hu. He said Nigeria is now undergoing reforms to realize economic and social development.
Nigeria hopes the two sides will improve mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, electric power, railway and telecommunication construction, agriculture, water conservancy, manufacturing and tourism, he said.
On the issue of China-Africa relations, Hu said the African Union is playing an increasing important role in regional affairs and the dialogue and cooperation between Africa and the international community is deepening.
Hu said improving cooperation with African countries is China's strategic choice. He highlighted the role of China-Africa Cooperation Forum in enhancing China-Africa friendship, saying that China will work together with the African countries to further promote the new China-Africa strategic partnership.
Obasanjo, who is also visiting China in the capacity of rotating president of the African Union, said the African people will never forget China's support in their struggle against colonialism and racial segregation.
He said Africa hopes China will support and join Africa's efforts in seeking a solution to the conflicts in the region and improving investment and economic cooperation with Africa to help it achieve peace, security and development soon.
During the talks, Hu expressed China's appreciation for Nigeria 's consistent adherence to the one-China policy and its support to China's adoption of the Anti-Secession Law.
Obasanjo said Nigeria firmly abides by the one-China policy and supports China's cause of national reunification.
Obasanjo arrived in Beijing on Thursday morning as Hu's guest. Besides Beijing, Obasanjo will also travel to Hubei Province and Shanghai.
Document XNEWS00020050414e14e00692

Chinese company inks telecommunication deal with Nigerian government
280 words

14 April 2005

08:54 AM

Associated Press Newswires

APRS

English

(c) 2005. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
BEIJING (AP) - China's Huawei Technologies signed a deal Thursday to provide Nigeria with US$200 million (euro155 million) worth of telecommunications equipment as Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo began a four-day visit to China.
Many Chinese companies have set up in Nigeria in recent years, seeking to take advantage of its oil wealth and market of more than 130 million people.
China's Huawei Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a nationwide mobile phone service in Nigeria using CDMA technology, the company's Abuja-based spokesman, John Wang, said at the signing ceremony.
Huawei is the largest Chinese telecommunication equipment maker.
The company also inked a second pact worth US$20 million (euro15 million) to set up a telecommunications technology training center in Nigeria, Wang said. He did not say where it would be built.
Obasanjo and his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao, attended the ceremony after holding talks on the two country's ties and China-Africa relations in general.
Hu called Obasanjo a "familiar old friend of the Chinese people" and said his visit would "promote exchanges and cooperation" between the two countries.
The Huawei deals were among five signed by delegates from the two sides, including one on economic and technical cooperation and another on establishing a working group on bilateral investment cooperation.
Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. also signed an investment deal with Nigeria's Ministry of Communications, though no details were immediately available.
Obasanjo arrived in China on Thursday and plans to also visit Vietnam and Indonesia during his 10-day Asian tour.
------
On the Net:
Huawei Technologies: http://www.huawei.com
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Document APRS000020050414e14e008tk

World Watch

International

World Watch
1,310 words

13 April 2005

The Wall Street Journal

J

A17

English

(Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
EUROPE
Japan Tobacco Wins Russia Tax-Bill Victory
MOSCOW -- A subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc. won a crucial legal victory in a Moscow appeals court, fighting off a $79 million back-tax bill in a sign that the Kremlin's efforts to rein in tax inspectors may be having some success.
But the win for Japan Tobacco, which is 50%-owned by the Japanese government, will do little to calm investors' nerves after Monday's news that BP PLC's Russian joint venture had been hit with a new $790 million back-tax claim for 2001.
There have been widespread fears that companies operating in Russia may share the fate of OAO Yukos, the oil giant that was dismembered and partially nationalized late last year in settlement of a $27 billion tax bill.
While Russian officials have stressed that the back-tax claims won't be stopping anytime soon, they have indicated that future disputes may be resolved amicably through negotiations. Other firms hit by big back-tax bills, such as mobile-phone company OAO Vimpelcom, have managed to reduce them after talks with the authorities.
"This is a very positive outcome," said Rick Caufield, general manager of Japan Tobacco International's Russian unit. "It would be too early to conclude that it's the end of the case but we believe we will be fully exonerated."
JTI was presented last year with a $79 million bill for alleged underpayment of taxes in 2000. JTI said Russian tax inspectors had misunderstood the company's double-entry bookkeeping system. Later, an additional $15 million bill was slapped on its cigarette factory in St. Petersburg.
JTI took the tax authorities to court and lost twice. But the Moscow court hearing the case yesterday referred it back to the court of appeal for further review. Lawyers for the company say it is now highly unlikely that the tax bill will stand.
Meanwhile, officials of the BP venture, TNK-BP, said yesterday they are discussing the back-tax claims with the authorities and are optimistic that a reasonable solution can be worked out. Company officials said they hope the claims will be reduced once the discussions are complete.
-- Guy Chazan
EU Flexes Muscles on Italy's Bulging Deficit
ROME -- The European Union lambasted Italy's bulging budget deficits in an attempt to reassert its authority over lax fiscal discipline in the euro-currency area.
The Brussels-based European Commission said it will probably declare Italy, along with Portugal, in breach of EU fiscal rules by June. That would be an embarrassment for Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, a billionaire entrepreneur who pledged to heal Italy's ailing public finances.
Italy already has the world's third-biggest national debt by value, after the U.S. and Japan, but Italy's smaller economy has groaned for years under the strain. Now EU authorities say Italy's budget deficits are going to grow to 3.6% of gross domestic product this year and 4.6% next year -- well above the 3% level allowed by the EU's fiscal pact. The EU predicts Portugal's budget deficit will reach 4.9% of GDP this year. Rome, however, estimates that its deficit will be 2.7% of GDP this year.
Pressure from Germany and France at last month's EU summit forced the commission to accept a dilution of that pact, which will permit countries to run bigger deficits during an economic downturn once new rules are in place. But the commission says Italy's weak economic growth partly stems from the country's structural problems and lack of reforms.
The commission's attempt to uphold economic discipline among EU member states took a hit from Germany and France this year, as both countries pressed for looser budget rules and blocked Brussels' plan to open up the pan-European services market. Now, the commission is trying to reassert its authority by openly criticizing Italy's management of its public finances. Joaquin Almunia, commissioner for monetary affairs, said the EU's executive arm also would monitor the fiscal situation in Germany and France.
Still, the commission has little recourse other than naming and shaming countries that breach the fiscal rules. National governments have in the past blocked Brussels's attempts to enforce sanctions. Italian ministers dismissed yesterday's criticism from Brussels. "The Italian deficit is under control," Industry Minister Antonio Marzano told reporters in Rome.
-- Marcus Walker and Gabriel Kahn
---
ASIA/PACIFIC
Philippine Exports Fall, Hurt by Electronics
MANILA, Philippines -- Exports from the Philippines fell in February because of a contraction in sales of electronics, garments and agricultural products, surprising economists and casting doubt on the government's target of double-digit export growth for 2005.
Exports for February amounted to $2.98 billion, down 0.55% from the year-earlier level, according to data released yesterday by the National Statistics Office. In January, exports rose 15% year-to-year. February exports fell 9.1% month-to-month.
The Asian Development Bank is projecting slower export growth for developing Asia this year given weaker global demand and soaring oil prices. The Philippine data come a day after Singapore, a competing exporter of electronics, announced its slowest economic growth in seven quarters. Singapore said Monday that gross domestic product shrank a seasonally adjusted, annualized 5.8% in the first quarter compared with the last quarter of 2004, as pharmaceutical and electronics companies cut production because of slower global demand. On a year-to-year basis, Singapore's GDP rose 2.4% in the first three months of 2005.
In the Philippines, semiconductor exports grew 10% year-to-year in February to $1.43 billion, but that was offset by double-digit contractions in the sale of office equipment, consumer electronics and telecommunications devices, among others, according to government data. Clothing exports also fell, by 9.2% year-to-year.
The government will have to review its target for 2005 export growth, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said after the data's release. The government is targeting 10% growth in exports this year from 2004's $39.6 billion.
-- Dow Jones Newswires
Nigeria Seeks Chinese Role in Oil Exploration
SINGAPORE -- Nigeria wants China, the world's fastest-growing major energy importer, to be involved in oil and natural-gas exploration in the African country, according to a top Nigerian oil official.
"The Chinese need a lot of energy, so we'll be discussing with them the possibility for them to get some upstream assets" in Nigeria, said Edmund Daukoru, the country's presidential adviser on petroleum and energy. The upstream part of the oil industry involves oil exploration and production activities, while downstream refers to all the subsequent activities, including refining and marketing.
If realized, China's involvement could dent the dominance of major international companies in Nigeria's upstream oil sector. Royal Dutch/Shell Group is by far the dominant foreign oil operator in Nigeria, producing nearly one million barrels a day.
Chinese companies have been scrambling to line up exploration and production contracts around the world. Mr. Daukoru was due to arrive in Beijing today for the final leg of Nigeria's oil-and-gas exploration roadshow, which has taken him to London, Houston and Singapore.
-- Dow Jones Newswires
BRIEFLY:
BEIJING -- Actual foreign direct investment in China in the first quarter rose 9.5% from a year earlier to $13.4 billion, China's Ministry of Commerce said. Contracted foreign direct investment, which covers deals for funds pledged but not yet delivered, rose 4.5% year-to-year to $35.22 billion, the statement on the ministry's Web site said. The number of newly approved foreign-invested companies fell 9.2% year-to-year to 9,305 in the first quarter, the ministry said.

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Document J000000020050413e14d0002h

DIARY - China - to Oct 25, 2005.
560 words

6 April 2005

08:17 PM

Reuters News

LBA

English

(c) 2005 Reuters Limited

*** To include items in this diary, please call the Reuters

bureau in Beijing at (86-10) 6586-5566 ext 202, or fax (86-10)

8527-5258 ***


This diary is updated every weekday and new listings or amendments are marked "*"
All times are given in GMT. Beijing time is GMT + 8 hours
- ~- --
MAIN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
- Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits China (TO APRIL 13)
- Premier Wen Jiabao visits Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India and attends the opening ceremony of the 4th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue to be held in Islamabad (TO APRIL 12)
- BEIJING - Colombia President Alvaro Uribe Velez visits (TO APRIL 9)
- BEIJING - 1230 News conference by visiting Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez
- BEIJING - 0200 News conference about the "propaganda of intellectual property right protection week" * - BEIJING - 0630 China Mobile Communications Corporation - NBA Marketing partnership contract signing ceremony
FRIDAY, APRIL 8 * - BEIJING - 0800 News conferency regarding the official establishment of China Orienwise Group and strategic investment by Asian Development Bank
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
- BEIJING - 7th China Grain Market Forum (TO APRIL 10)
- BEIJING - Netherlands Foreign Minister Bernard Bot visits China (TO APRIL 14)
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
- BEIJING - (Tentative) Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo starts five-day visit
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
16th anniversary of the death of deposed Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, which sparked 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
- BEIJING - China Health Care Safety round table: 2005 Year of Hospital Quality Management (TO APRIL 16)
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
- BEIJING - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visits (TO APRIL 19)
TUESDAY, APRIL 19
- NANJING - International Agricultural Machinery Products and Technology Exhibition (TO APRIL 20)
- SHANGHAI - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visits (TO APRIL 21)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
- "Propaganda of intellectual property right protection week" (TO APRIL 26)
THURSDAY, APRIL 21 * - SHANGHAI - AUTO Shanghai 2005 (TO APRIL 28)
MONDAY, APRIL 25
- YUNNAN - 2005 China Kunming International Cultural Tourism Festival and the First China-International Media Gold Tournament (TO APRIL 29)
SUNDAY, MAY 1
May Day holiday (TO MAY 7)
MONDAY, MAY 9
- BEIJING - The 9th Sudirman Cup World mixed team badminton (TO MAY 15)
MONDAY, MAY 16
- BEIJING - Fortune Global Forum (TO MAY 18) President Hu Jintao to give a keynote speech
THURSDAY, MAY 19
- BEIJING - International conference on Constitutionalism and Political Democratisation in China (TO MAY 22)
MONDAY, MAY 23
- BEIJING - U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Theo van Boven visits (TO JUNE 4)
TUESDAY, MAY 24
- BEIJING - 2005 China International Petroleum Summit (TO MAY 25)
FRIDAY, JUNE 3
- YINCHUAN, NINGXIA - The Circular Economy Meeting (China session) of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) (TO JUNE 5)
SATURDAY, JUNE 4
- BEIJING - 16th anniversary of army crackdown on student-led Tiananmen Square demonstrations for democracy
- BEIJING - U.N. special rapporteur on religious intolerance visits
MONDAY, JULY 18
- BEIJING - International Real Estate Expo (TO JULY 22)
MONDAY, AUG 29
- BEIJING - U.N. high commissioner for human rights visits (TO SEPT 2)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
- BEIJING/SHANGHAI-The 22nd Congress on the Law of the World (TO SEPTEMBER 10)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
- BEIJING - Aviation Expo/China 2005 (11th Event) (TO SEPTEMBER 24)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1
National Day holiday (TO OCTOBER 7)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
- BEIJING - G20 meeting of