Guest:

Tang Min, deputy secretary-general of the China Development Research Foundation

Questions:

Q1: From the Foreign Minister's speech, we can see that economic issues are playing a big part in foreign affairs. Is the current economic situation providing more opportunities for China in its diplomacy?

Q2: He mentioned economic diplomacy. What do you think is the most important task for China's economic diplomacy? What should the country do on the economic side to increase its influence in the world?

Q3: Do we have any measures to face the challenges that would arise if the global economic situation continues to deteriorate?

Q4: The China-US relationship always faces much scrutiny. In the previous report, we looked at the different attitudes the Obama administration is taking towards China. There is on the one hand a strong stance, claiming China manipulates the forex. And on the other hand there is a softer tone adopted by Clinton. Why is that?

Q5: Many predict that US President Obama will bring changes to Sino-US trade ties. From the recent interactions between the Chinese government and the Obama administration, do you see any sign of these changes?

Q6: I think China's holding of US treasury bonds may be proof of closer economic ties between the two countries.It is also a very hot topic.How is the issue affecting Sino-US ties?

Q7: There is an old saying that people feel uneasy when they get too close. Though China and the US have many common interests, as the foreign minister said, there are also differences. What do you think are the main matters of contention between the two countries?

Q8: As the financial crisis deepens, many European countries find themselves sinking into recession. How will their economic difficulties affect the Chinese economy?

Q9: At this critical point, what is the significance of tightening Sino-European trade ties? How it will benefit both sides?

Q10: China says it will dispatch many business teams to Europe this year like the recent procurement delegation. Does this really create a win-win situation?

Q11: What role do you think China should now play in the Asian economy? What can we do to promote regional cooperation to tackle the difficulty?

Q12: We talked about currency swap and the use of Renminbi for trade settlement. Does this mean the yuan is gaining enough position in the international trade? Is there any thing we should do to improve it?

(CCTV March 9, 2009)