Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Beijing on January 10, Xinhua reported. They pledged to keep open the channel for defense and maritime security consultations. "There are many areas where we have mutual interests and can work together, those disagreements are best dealt with through dialogue and discussions with one another," Gates said. Liang warned that US arms sale to Taiwan "jeopardizes China's core interests". He said: "We do not want to see such things happen again. We do not want US weapon sales to Taiwan to further damage the relationship between China and the United States and the two nations' armed forces."
China, UK sign US$4.7 bln in deals
China and the UK Monday inked business deals worth US$4.7 billion during Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang's visit, Xinhua reported. Li was accompanied by some 120 Chinese business leaders. The two sides signed 15 agreements and commercial contracts in the presence of Li and British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, covering fields such as low carbon, wildlife protection, deep-sea oil and gas exploration and development, and financial cooperation. Li held talks with Clegg earlier and then he met with Prime Minister David Cameron. The UK is the last leg of Li's European tour, which has already taken him to Spain and Germany.
Police to classify 110 calls
The Ministry of Public Security is preparing to classify calls to the 110 hotline as "emergency" or "non-emergency," Beijing News reported. With a limited number of policemen, 110 will dispatch policemen preferentially to emergency cases, which include robberies, drowning and suicides. Non-emergency cases include a stuck bank card in the ATM.
Owners make men kneel over dead dog
The owners of a dog that was run over and killed by two men in a van made the men kneel down to the dead dog for an hour, probably recently, in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, West China Cosmopolitan Daily reported. The driver of the van was not able to stop in time when the dog rushed out suddenly from a building. Several men claiming to be the dog's owners hurried out and demanded 5,000 yuan in compensation or the kneeling.
Fujifilm begins selling cosmetics
Fujifilm announced yesterday that the ASTALIFT series of skincare will officially hit Chinese stores several months after such products began testing the waters in China through the company's website and online shopping site Taobao in September, China Business News reported. ASLTALIFT is a high-end skincare brand targeted at women in their thirties or older.