Tuesday, June 02, 2009 BEIJING: China on Tuesday took up US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's call to work together in battling the financial crisis as the Asian giant tries to position itself as a major force on the global stage.Beijing was eager to deepen efforts with Washington on dragging the world out of the economic slump, Vice Premier Wang Qishan told Geithner in a Monday meeting, the foreign ministry said. But state media expressed opposition to the government's policy of buying massive US debt that they said could see the value of China's assets battered as the financial crisis continues.Wang, who is in charge of China's economy, was quoted by the ministry as telling Geithner: "We will send a message that China and the United States are cooperating substantively to get over the difficult times. "This will help boost confidence and promote global financial stability and world economic recovery."The two sides further laid the groundwork for the first "strategic and economic dialogue" agreed to by Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama and to be held in Washington later this year. "The major task of the dialogue is to address the global economic slowdown," Wang said.Geithner is scheduled to meet Hu and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao later Tuesday, the last day of his two-day visit.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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