"On the other side of the world, nearly half a century ago, Sam Walton pioneered the Wal-Mart chain to give American people what they wanted: consistent low prices. Huang aims to do the same."

Rupert Hoogerwerf, calling Huang China's Sam Walton in a profile story, after an exclusive interview with Huang

"W hen the foreign players start making their presence felt, we will be ready to take them on."

Huang Guangyu, pledging to make Gome a competitive player in the global retail market

"The amount is not important for China. It's still a poor country. What's important is that they joined the policy discussion where we talk about things like debt sustainability, about coordination on the ground, about working better together among donors."

World Bank Vice President Philippe Le Houerou, welcoming China's recent announcement that it would contribute for the first time to the International Development Association, a unit of the World Bank that provides grants and no-interest loans to the world's poorest countries

"Please set your minds at rest, we Chinese always keep our promise."

Minister Cai Wu of the State Council Information Office, promising to grant overseas media organizations more freedom to report in China in the run-up to, and during, the Olympic Games in 2008, when he spoke to a reception for foreign journalists on December 18

"There were no clashes."

Office of Iraq's Kurdish regional President Massud Barzani, in a statement after Turkish troops crossed into north Iraq on December 18 in the first ground incursion against Kurdish rebels

"It was inevitable, in my view, and that is why I imposed it."

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying on December 15 that his six-week emergency rule had saved Pakistan from a serious threat of militant violence, as he addressed the nation just hours after repealing it

"We have achieved more than we could have expected previously, but it is less than what is needed to meet the urgency of the problem."

German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, after world climate negotiators set a 2009 deadline for a landmark treaty to fight global warming at the UN-sponsored climate change conference in Indonesia

"I don't mean to scare anyone but this isn't a scare story."

Russian army Chief of Staff Yury Baluyevksy, warning on December 15 that the launch of an interceptor missile by the United States could trigger a Russian missile strike because it could be mistaken for a ballistic missile aimed at Russia