Hello and welcome to this edition of CRI Roundup on Saturday, May 31th. I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. Let's take a look at some of the major events that took place in China and around the world during the past week.
Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao met with Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Beijing on Wednesday, vowing to boost the peaceful development of cross-strait ties.
China's health authorities say no major epidemics(传染病) have been reported in the quake region and the quality watch-dog says it will ensure the quality of relief materials being rushed into the area.
And China and South Korea have agreed to upgrade their "comprehensive and cooperative partnership" into a "strategic cooperative partnership".
Stay tuned!
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General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Hu Jintao met with Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday afternoon.
Hu Jintao thanked Taiwan compatriots for their concern, generous donations and assistance to the relief efforts in the wake of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province.
He says the disaster has brought all the Chinese people closer than ever before.
"All the Chinese people, including their Taiwan compatriots, have shown their precious love and brotherhood for one another during this time of difficulty. The spiritual power has not only enabled the Chinese people to help each other and conquer difficulties, but has also opened a new page for the people from both sides to forge a splendid future."
Echoing Hu Jintao's remarks, Wu Poh-hsiung said that Taiwan is willing to make a continuous effort to help the reconstruction work in the quake-hit areas.
He says he believes that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan can work together to achieve peaceful and stable development.
"Through this time of disaster, we have felt a fresh blood bond that is rooted in the bottom of our hearts. I believe as long as the two sides care about each other and promote goodwill and interaction, we can foresee peaceful and stable development in cross-straits ties. No one can ensure that a natural disaster will not happen again, but we can guarantee that there will be no wars between the two sides through our joint efforts."
Both sides have also agreed to quickly resume cross-straits dialogues.
The meeting is widely believed to be the highest-level contact between the two sides since their split nearly 60 years ago.
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More than two weeks after the deadly earthquake hit China's southwestern province of Sichuan, medical personnel are now shifting their attention to disinfecting the earthquake region in order to contain the outbreak of epidemic diseases.
China's Ministry of Health says as the hot summer days are approaching it has taken a number of steps to prevent epidemic outbreaks.
Sun Jiahai is the ministry spokesman.
"We will send in senior disease prevention experts to lead the anti-epidemic effort. We will assign special staff members to be responsible for disinfecting specific areas. We will also establish a reporting mechanism for monitoring and reporting epidemics on a daily basis."
Meanwhile China's product quality watchdog says the agency's current work priority is to ensure the quality of major relief materials, especially tents, food and building materials.
Anyone who produces inferior products（此等品） for the post-quake relief efforts will face severe punishment.
Zhi Shuping is the deputy director of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
"We are now focusing on four categories of products: building materials, hygiene and disease prevention products, agricultural materials and food. We will organize teams to go to the producers to provide relevant services. We will severely punish producers of fake or inferior products."
Zhi Shuping reiterated（重申） the agency's determination to bring to justice those responsible for the poor construction quality of the collapsed buildings in the quake regions.
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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made his first state visit to China since taking office.
Chinese President Hu Jintao hailed Lee's visit and said it would "elevate Chinese-South Korean relations to a new high".
"To respond to the call for the development of the two countries' current and future relationship, the two parties have decided to upgrade bilateral ties into a 'strategic cooperative partnership'."
Under the new agreement, China and South Korea will increase solidarity and deepen political trust.
The two sides will also continue to conduct frequent exchanges at all levels and communicate on major issues of common concern.
For his part, Lee Myung-bak said his country will strengthen cooperation with China in such fields as diplomacy, security, economics and culture.
"We will work more closely on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and other international issues. We agree to hold a regular and strategic dialogue to develop substantive bilateral relations."
Lee also visited quake zones in Sichuan to offer his condolences to the Chinese government and people for the recent devastating earthquake.
