Overseas residents prop up realty

Overseas residents in Beijing are once again showing keen interest in home buys, industry experts said.

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Hu Hanxiang, manager, Star River, a high-end residential project in Chaoyang District, told China Daily that they have just sold an apartment valued at around 10 million yuan to a Taiwan resident.

"The enquiries for new homes from foreigners has increased along with the rebound in the property market," said Hu.

Hu Yuzhou, manager, Yuanyang Lavie, a project in Beijing's central villa district, said property sales to Hong Kong and Taiwan residents have gone up recently.

Isler, an Italian working with a joint-venture company, is one of the foreigners keen on buying a new residence this year.

Chinas president asks students to embrace patriotism, diligence

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- President Hu Jintao on Saturday urged young Chinese to embrace "patriotism," "diligence," "practice" and "devotion" to rejuvenate the Chinese nation.

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(XinhuaPhoto)

Young people should courageously shoulder their historic mission and work hard with the whole nation to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, Hu said.

He made the remarks during a visit to Beijing-based China Agricultural University ahead of the Chinese Youth Day, which is Monday.

The day originated from the "May Fourth Movement," a mass student movement in China that began on May 4, 1919. It spearheaded a national campaign to overthrow the feudal society and promote scientific and democratic ideas.

Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that in the past 90 years, generations of young Chinese, encouraged by the "May Fourth" spirit which highlights patriotism, progress, democracy and science, have made unremitting efforts in pursuit of the grand goal of rejuvenating the Chinese nation.

Sarkozy invites Hu Jintao for state visit: China confirms

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had invited Chinese President Hu Jintao to pay a state visit to France.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a press release Tuesday that the invitation letter was handed to the Chinese President during France's National Assembly President Bernard Accoyer's visit to China last week.

Jiang Yu said the French President repeated in his letter that the two countries should strengthen cooperation in politics, economics, education, science and technology.

President Sarkozy is willing to step up communication and coordination with China on major international issues, especially the global economic crisis and reform of world financial institutions.

The spokeswoman said China highly values the development of Sino-French ties and is willing to work with the French side to maintain high-level visits and push for a steady development of strategic partnerships.

During his meeting with Accoyer on Friday, Hu Jintao said the Chinese government has always attached great importance to its relations with France.

Echoing Hu, Accoyer said France also valued relations with China.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated in last December when French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama in Poland.

China and France issued a press statement re-affirming the mutual importance of their relations on April 1, and restated adherence to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

In the statement, France pledged not to support Tibet independence in any form.

The two leaders met in London ahead of the G20 summit on the global financial crisis.

This opened a new chapter in bilateral relations, Accoyer noted.