Premier Li Keqiang guides Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen at an inspection of the People's Liberation Army Honor Guard outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People in Tian'anmen Square on Wednesday. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY Other documents signed include pacts on drug regulations, food China and Denmark will strengthen cooperation in areas such as fishing, agriculture, food safety and drug regulations through a new collaborative work plan for the next three years, which is expected to bring the two countries' relationship to a new height. Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark agreed to the joint work plan for their two nations from 2017 to 2020 during their meeting in Beijing on Wednesday. The plan details the road map and timetable for further cooperation. Rasmussen was making the first official visit by a Danish prime minister since the two countries established comprehensive strategic partnership in 2008. Li said he believes China and Denmark have great potential for further cooperation. And, as next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership, China is willing to use this opportunity to explore more cooperation between the two countries. Denmark is the first Nordic country to sign such agreement with China. Li stressed that China also is willing to work with Denmark in dealing with regional issues and international affairs while promoting free trade and investment convenience. Rasmussen praised China's rapid development since his last visit in 2010, and said China has shown increasing leadership on important global issues such as climate change. He expressed his willingness to fully implement the three-year work plan between the two countries and said Denmark, a firm supporter of free trade, warmly welcomes investment from Chinese companies. He also said as a member of the European Union, Denmark will promote the bilateral investment treaty between China and the EU to deepen relations. After the meeting, Li and Rasmussen observed as the signing of six documents: on food and drug regulations, quarantine and sanitary requirements and giant panda protection, among others. Liu Weimin, deputy director of the Department of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the two leaders had long and candid discussions on promoting free trade amid increasing trade protectionism. He said Li emphasized that free trade benefits all countries and contributes to global peace and stability as well as the recovery of the global economy, while trade protectionism serves the no one's interests. Liu said the two leaders agreed to send strong signals to promote free trade and globalization in the upcoming China-EU Leaders' Meeting. Liu said both countries would work to enhance cooperation and, as 2017 is the year of tourism between China and Denmark, the first such activity between China and an EU country, steps to increase tourism were part of Wednesday's discussion between the leaders. China remains Denmark's largest trade partner in Asia with their bilateral trade reaching more than 110 billion Danish kroner (about $16.11 billion) a year, according to Denmark's statistical authorities. lost child wristbandcustom fidget spinnerssilicone rubber bands
China launches two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely considered Asia's biggest such combat vessels, at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Tuesday. [Photo/LIU DEBIN FOR CHINA DAILY] China launched on Tuesday two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely considered Asia's biggest and mightiest such combat ship, according to witnesses outside a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. Weapons enthusiasts published photos taken near Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, which has built two aircraft carriers, on internet military forums. They also described what they saw of the two giant ships' launches. When ships are moved into the water, their construction is basically finished. It is regarded as the most important step before sea trials. Water started to be pumped into dry docks where the vessels were built around 7 am, before the docks' gates were opened, witnesses said. Photos showed that there was a small launch ceremony at the shipyard with hundreds of workers standing in formation in front of the two Type 055s, each decorated with a huge national flag and ceremonial banners. Then the ships were pushed into open waters by several tugboats, the photos showed. The next steps usually are for engineers to test and fine-tune equipment already mounted on the ships and continue installing other devices. Then they will conduct mooring tests and sea trials before the ships are commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy. Four Type 055s have now been launched, but none are yet commissioned. The first of the class was launched in late June 2017 at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, the second in late April at the same shipyard. Type 055 is China's newest generation of guided-missile destroyers. It has a displacement greater than 10,000 metric tons and will be equipped with new types of air defense, missile defense and anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, according to the Navy. It has 112 vertical launching cells that can fire various kinds of missiles, including China's long-range land-attack cruise missile. Its firepower is thought to be twice that of the Type 052D, the largest and most powerful surface combatant commissioned in the PLA Navy. While the Type 055 is classifed as a destroyer, outside China it would be considered a cruiser as its large size and heavy displacement are comparable to that of the United States' Ticonderoga class cruiser. Li Jie, a senior researcher for the PLA Navy, said the vessel displaces about 13,000 tons. The latest version of the United States' Arleigh Burke class, the largest family of destroyers in the world, has a full displacement of 9,800 tons. South Korea's Sejong the Great class displaces 11,000 tons while Japan's Atago class displaces 10,000 tons. Cao Weidong, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that compared with other destroyers in the Navy, the Type 055 features stealth design, stronger strike prowess and higher information capacity and will tremendously boost the PLA Navy's long-range operational capability. He also said such ships will greatly strengthen the country's carrier battle groups.
