Belated ＂Thanks＂

On February 21, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon started a weeklong official visit to China, the first by an American leader to the People＇s Republic. Nixon later called it ＂The week that changed the world.＂ At the end of his trip the two countries released the Joint Communique of the United States of America and the People＇s Republic of China （also known as Shanghai Communique）, in which both expressed a desire to normalize relations and stressed common ground on several key issues. The frosty ties between two of the world＇s biggest countries began to thaw. On December 16, 1978, China and the U.S. signed the Joint Communiqu6 on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, officially recognizing each other and establishing diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. On March 1 the same year they exchanged ambassadors and embassies, and Sino-U.S. relationships entered a new epoch.     

Just Call Me ＂Three F Li＂

THEY used to call me Private Enterprise Li （Li Minying）, but I would rather be known as ＂Three F Li＂ （Li Sannong）. It was by accident that I became an economist. At the very beginning of China＇s economic reform, I presented the concept of transforming China＇s economy through shareholding, and suggested that the private sector and the state-owned sector enjoy equal status in the economy. As a participant in economic policymaking in China I have witnessed a lot of changes to the People＇s Republic.     

＂Poverty Alleviation through Cultural Progress＂：Achievements,Problems and Expectations

To mark the 30th anniversary of China＇s reform and opening, the Communist Party of China, the country＇s ruling party, called for ＂promoting the development of cultural undertakings in the coun- tryside and running rural education well.＂ This came at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the CPC held in October 2007, which set a series of guidelines and policies for the task of building a ＂new, socialist country- side.＂     

China＇s ＂New Generation＂ of Olympic Champions

THERE is nothing shy about China＇s new generation of Olympic sportsmen. Born almost exclusively in the 1980s, the athletically gifted young men and women who will represent China at the 2008 Games are far more willing to open up to the public than their predecessors, and like 20-somethings everywhere, they are at home on the Internet, managing their own fan blogs and communicating with their peers online.Their uninhibited self-expression has attracted the attention of commercial advertisers, and occasionally some less welcome interest, and they are celebrated as China＇s ＂new generation＂ in sports circles, ready to take center stage in August before a world audience.     

Suzhou River＇s Return to Grace

THE Suzhou River of Shanghai assumes many kinds of importance to the city＇s residents. From the opening of its port in 1843, Shanghai＇s urban district sprawled along this river from east to west. At that time, foreigners residing in Shanghai knew that this river led to Suzhou, and silk and tea flowed along it from the hinterland by ship; thus its name - the Suzhou River. Originating from the Taihu Lake,and crossing the Jiangnan section of the Grand Canal, it also in fact flows through Wujiang, Wuxian, Kunshan, Jiading and Qingpu, then joins the Huangpu River at Shanghai＇s Waibaidu Bridge.     

Time to Tolk of Slowdown

THE recent publication of America＇s second quarter GDP data, following that for China, makes it possible to accurately compare the recent performance of the world＇s two largest economies and the results are extremely striking. In the last year the slowdown in the U.S. economy has been far more serious than in China. Therefore while both economies are being adversely affected by current negative trends in the world economy, China is dealing with these much more successfully than the U.S. In light of media discussion about China＇s economic ＂slowdown＂ it is equally important that attention is paid to understanding why the U.S.＇s own economic slowdown is much worse than China＇s when confronted with similar global economic trends.     

Chinese Scientists Develop Nanometer ＂Ordered Fiber＂

China＇s independently developed moon rover, which will be used during the second phase of the Chang＇e lunar probe program, is a genuine feat of engineering, capable of overcoming virtually any obstacle it is likely to encounter on its upcoming mission to explore the lunar surface. ＂The rover will unfold and stand on its wheels automatically before proceeding with its exploration tasks once it gets out of the spacecraft,＂ said Mao Ming, head of the China North Vehicle Research Institute, which is in char.cle of the rover＇s development.     

Challenges and Strategy Choices for China's Human Rights Development in the New Period

China＇s reforms have entered a new historical period. We need to carefully analyze the new challenges posed by the new historical stage to China＇s human rights development, in that it enables us to have a more clear view of our tasks and problems and make proper adjustment and improvement on China＇s human rights development strategies in accordance with environment.     

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY FEBRUARY

February 28, 202 B.C.
Liu Bang （256 - 195 B.C.） founded the Western Han Dynasty （202 B.C.- A..D. 9）, choosing Chang＇an （presentday Xi＇an） as its capital. China reached a new peak in economic, political, scientific and cultural development, growing into one of the most powerful empires of the era. The opening of the ＂Silk Road＂ enabled trade between China and regions as far as Rome and/ndia and facilitated the proliferation of Chinese culture in the West. The world＇s earliest records on the existence of sunspots appeared during this period, as well as the development of acupuncture and papermaking.     

The World Bank＇s New Chief Economist Takes on Poverty

PROFESSOR Justin Lin Yifu is nothing if not a patriot. ＂The main reason I returned to China was because I wanted to make a contribution to the economic development and economic transition of China,＂ the World Bank＇s new chief economist once famously said while delivering a talk at the Marshall Lectures at Cambridge University in 2007. Lin was trying to explain why he left Yale in the late 1980s after spending time there as a senior research fellow, and the implication was that he could well have chosen to stay on in the West, as so many of his fellow Chinese graduate students were then doing,