PEOPLE/POINTS

PEOPLE/POINTS

“It would become the world’s third largest free trade zone, with the three countries’(China, Japan and South Korea) combined economic volumes accounting for 20 percent of the world’s total and having an aggregate population of 1.5 billion.”

Former Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, urging efforts to accelerate the establishment of a free trade zone among the three countries on April 25 at the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

“China had 4.885 million effective registered trademarks by the end of March and it is estimated it will have 8 million at the end of 2015.”

Fu Shuangjian, Deputy Director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on April 25

“China should reduce its excessive foreign exchange reserves and further diversify its holdings. The amount of foreign exchange reserves should be restricted to between $800 billion and $1.3 trillion.”

Tang Shuangning, Chairman of China Everbright Group, saying the current reserve amount is too high at an annual finance forum in Beijing on April 23

“There has been explosive growth in the number of students and the number of graduates in the Chinese system. Clearly the top universities in China are able to compete with the best universities in the world.”

Stuart McCutcheon, Vice Chancellor of the University of Auckland of New Zealand during an interview with Xinhuanet in Beijing on April 24

“The economic losses caused by the earthquake may hit 16 trillion to 25 trillion Japanese yen ($196 billion-$306 billion), which is two to three times more than the losses caused by the Osaka-Kobe Earthquake in 1995 and accounts for 5 percent of the annual gross national product.”

Japanese Ambassador to China Niwa Uichiro, talking to Chinese media in Beijing on April 20