New Party Leaders
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced on December 5 the appointment of two new provincial Party chiefs—Luo Zhijun for Jiangsu and Li Hongzhong for Hubei
Heroic Peacekeeper
Jiang Hangang, 42, a former Chinese peacekeeper in Liberia, moved the whole nation after his heroic deeds recently made headlines on every channel in China
Best Memory
Wang Feng, a 20-year-old student from China's Wuhan University, clinched the individual title at the 19th World Memory Championships in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on December 2-5

"The shift will help promote China's sustainable growth. It is time for change with the domestic economy maintaining its strong momentum and with inflation running at a high level as liquidity from abroad grows."

Xia Bin, Director of the Finance Research Institute of the State Council's Development Research Center, on a decision of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee to shift China's monetary policy stance from relatively loose to prudent next year

"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should play an active role in establishing such a mechanism, on the prerequisite of maintaining its independence."

Hu Xiaodi, China's Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, saying China remains open to initiatives on the establishment of an international nuclear fuel bank at a board meeting of IAEA on December 3

"It is a warning to advanced economies that they cannot take for granted that they will forever have 'human capital' superior to that in other parts of the world."

Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on a report saying the world's richest countries risk losing the edge gained by better education. The report was based on surveys of half a million 15-year-old students in 65 countries

"The euro zone has to provide a comprehensive solution to this problem. The piecemeal approach, one country after another, is not a good one."

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Managing Director, criticizing Europe's disjointed response to the euro zone debt crisis after Germany and other states resisted his calls for bolder action

"This is a paramount step forward and a step the world is closely watching."

Herman Van Rompuy, European Council President, after the EU agreed to back Russia's bid to join the WTO in a bilateral agreement signed on December 7

"Developed countries should not force developing countries to cut gas emissions. Instead, they should help developing countries in this area."

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, in a dialogue with Chinese youth in Beijing on December 2
 
DISASTROUS ACCIDENT The body of a miner killed in a gas explosion in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, is put into a vehicle on December 8. The underground coal mine blast on December 7 killed 26 people (ZHU XIANG)
More Medical Funding
To ensure low-income earners can afford essential medications, the government will provide additional funding to these hospitals, while improving the funding system
Cheaper Produce
The government wants supermarkets to buy 30 percent, compared with the current 15 percent, of their Chinese agricultural products directly from producers during the 2011-15 period
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FLYING ON THE GROUND
China’s high-speed train CRH380A, which hit a speed of 486.1 km per hour during a test running on December 3, became the fastest unmodified commercial train in the world (LIU JUNXI)
VINTAGE COPIES
Mitsuo Nitta from Japan shows the first edition of the first Western translation of Confucius published in 1687, which is valued at HK$280,000 ($36,130), during the International Antiquarian Bookfair in Hong Kong on December 3 (SONG ZHENPING)
TRADITIONAL ART TREASURED
Peking Opera artists perform the Whole Red River at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, on December 7. The show about the story of a heroic general in the 12th century opened the month-long demonstration of excellent Peking Opera (LI TAO)
FIREFIGHTING TRAGEDY
Paramedics transfer a man, who was seriously burnt while extinguishing a grassland fire, into a hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on December 6. The wildfire killed 22 and injured four (CHEN KAI)
 
EUROPEAN BANKING As part of its global expansion strategy, Bank of China opened its branch in Brussels, Belgium on December 7 to serve Chinese enterprises operating in Europe (WU WEI)
Subsidized Housing
At the beginning of this year, China planned to build 5.8 million government-subsidized apartments for low-income residents and those who live in shantytowns
Sales Up
The subsidy program, aimed at spurring domestic consumption, fueled rural purchases of home appliances, which hit 67.3 million units in the January-November period, an increase of 140 percent year on year
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Brighter Outlook
The Asian Development Bank has upgraded its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 10.1 percent from its previous prediction of 9.6 percent
Boom or Bust?
Real estate bubbles are increasing in size across China, putting the health of the economy at stake, warned the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which released the 2011 Greenbook on Housing Market on December 8
Bumper Harvest
China's grain output, including rice, wheat and corn, climbed a modest 2.9 percent year on year to 546.41 million tons in 2010, the seventh consecutive year of growth, said the National Bureau of Statistics
more>>
  • COTE D’IVOIRE
    A UN tank patrols on December 8 near Abidjan’s Golf Hotel, the headquarters of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara. Both Ouattara and incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo claimed victory in Cote d’Ivoire’s presidential election, resulting in a post-election political crisis (XINHUA/AFP)
  • FRANCE
    Two cyclists struggle through heavy snow in a Paris street on December 8. Paris and surrounding areas were buried by heavy snow that severely limited both air and road traffic (XINHUA/AFP)
  • ISRAEL
    A plane of the international firefighting team drops water on a fire in the Carmel Forest in northern Israel on December 3. The fire, which began the previous day, killed at least 42 (XINHUA/AFP)
  • AFGHANISTAN
    British Prime Minister David Cameron talks with NATO soldiers on a medical aid helicopter at Camp Bastion on December 7 during his visit to Afghanistan (XINHUA/AFP)
  • SPAIN
    Commuters wait for flights on Tenerife Island on December 3. On that day, Spanish air traffic controllers held an unannounced nationwide strike over working hours, paralyzing the country’s air travel (XINHUA/AFP)
  • BELGIUM
    EU finance ministers attend a monthly meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on December 7. During the meeting, they officially approved a plan to provide Ireland with an 85-billion-euro loan (XINHUA/AFP)
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