Posts tagged ‘France’

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02/12/2014

India and France to push ahead with Rafale jet deal | Reuters

The French and Indian defence ministers agreed on Monday to overcome any differences and finalise the sale of 126 fighter jets to India in a deal worth an estimated $15 billion, the Indian defence ministry said.

A Rafale jet fighter is seen on the assembly line in the factory of French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation in Merignac near Bordeaux, southwestern France, January 10, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Files

France’s Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) has been trying to clinch a deal to sell India its Rafale jets since New Delhi chose the company over other foreign plane manufacturers in 2012. But disagreements over cost and work-sharing have slowed talks, while India’s weak economy has stretched government finances.

On Monday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar, who was appointed defence minister last month.

“Both sides agreed to take forward the strategic co-operation between the two countries. They discussed all issues including Rafale. It was decided that whatever differences still existed would be resolved in a fast-track manner,” said Indian defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar.

Under the deal, which would provide a major boost to French domestic defence manufacturing, the first 18 planes will be made in France and shipped to India, while the remaining 108 will be produced by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (IPO-HIAE.NS).

The final phase of exclusive negotiations on the contract should conclude within India’s current budget year ending in March 2015, Dassault Chief Executive Eric Trappier said last month.

via India and France to push ahead with Rafale jet deal | Reuters.

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24/11/2014

China’s rich want to send children abroad for education – China – Chinadaily.com.cn

An overwhelming majority of China’s richest people are likely to send their children abroad for education, the United States and the United Kingdom being their first choices, according to a Hurun Report on education.

China's rich want to send children abroad for education

A Chinese student at the 2014 International Education Exhibition in Beijing on October 25, 2014. [Photo/IC]

The report said that some 80 percent of the country’s rich people have plans to send children abroad, the highest ratio in the world. By contrast, Japan has less than 1 percent and Germany has less than 10 percent of its rich people having such plans, said the report.

The rich people are most likely to send their children to the United States and the United Kingdom while other countries such as Australia, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore, France and Germany attract most of the rest.

The report also found that the students tend to get younger. The average age of the millionaires’ children is 16 years old when they were sent abroad.

Rupert Hoogewerf, publisher of the report, said ten years ago, Chinese rich people could only send their children to Canada and Australia because large number of Chinese people there. “Now, the Chinese rich people have a much broader social network, as a result of which they can find trusted people anywhere in the world and can rest assured sending children to any country.”

“Long time overseas study of these students can definitely do good to the globalization of China’s economy,” said Rupert.

via China’s rich want to send children abroad for education – China – Chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Economics, education, overseas university, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

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26/09/2013

El Indio: The French Pivot

The Jarkarta Globe: “During his recent visit to Jakarta for a bilateral with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, France’s top diplomat, Minister Laurent Fabius, dropped by the Asean Secretariat and there announced to a regional audience that his country had made a “pivot” to Asia. Smart move.

Laurent Fabius during Ségolène Royal and José ...

Laurent Fabius during Ségolène Royal and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s meeting in Toulouse on April, 19th 2007 for the 2007 presidential election. Français : Laurent Fabius pendant le meeting de Toulouse du 19 avril 2007 de Ségolène Royal et José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero pour l’élection présidentielle de 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The French foreign minister: explained “France wants to be present where tomorrow’s world is [being] built.” That’s savoir-faire.

France, he stressed, is part of the Asian-Oceania space through its history. At least 1 million French citizens have Asian origins. And more than half a million more live in its Pacific territories.

The French pivot looks fairly more sophisticated than the American model. The US pivot jiggles you with the roar of its military component. Perhaps that can’t be helped. The United States has been global cop for so long, people forget it’s also an economic player. And they take its cultural influence for granted. The French also have a military presence in Asia but since the demise of Napoleon, their reputation for soldiering has been eclipsed by their fame for concocting sauces.

And they’re taking care to emphasize that their pivot is diplomatic, economic and “human,” meaning sociocultural. They affirm that no global problem can be solved without China’s participation, or at least its acquiescence. They want to strengthen their already strong security relations with India. They seek to re-engage with Japan and South Korea.

They’re bent on boosting their neglected relationship with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations — especially Indonesia, which represents 40 percent of the population and about as much of the Southeast Asia’s economy. They see Indonesia as a crucial partner on the global stage on such issues as peacekeeping, climate change and the battle against terror.

It’s not only France but also probably the rest of Europe that feels the need for robust partnerships in this part of the world. Although Europe is in deep economic trouble, some countries there will always matter: heavyweights like France itself, Germany, Britain, Norway, Sweden. That’s why Umar Hadi, director for West Europe at the Foreign Office, is brainstorming an update of Indonesia’s European policy.”

via El Indio: The French Pivot – The Jakarta Globe.

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15/05/2013

* UK to try and simplify visas for Chinese tourists

Hard on the heels of special visas for Indian business applicants, Britain is trying to do something for Chinese visitors.

FT: “Home Office ministers are to start talks with Chinese tour operators in the hope of setting up an easier visa application system for groups of high-spending Asian shoppers who are discouraged by the UK’s border bureaucracy.

Chinese tourists at cake shop with windows decorated during Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee

The department has been under pressure from luxury retailers to streamline the process for Chinese tourists, who can enter most of continental Europe with just one Schengen visa and are therefore less likely to apply for a separate UK entry. As a result, France receives at least 25 per cent more Chinese tourists each year than Britain does.

Mark Harper, immigration minister, said on Tuesday that he hoped to begin discussions soon. “It’s just thinking about, practically, what can we do with the tour operators to enable them to make that process for getting both [UK and Schengen] visas as straightforward as possible,” he told the Financial Times. “We may not be able to get it to be perfect, but we can get it to be a lot better than it is now, which then makes us a lot more competitive.”

However, Mr Harper suggested that a previous idea of negotiating “parallel” processes – so that data for Schengen and UK visas could be submitted in one joint application – was looking less likely. This was because “you start running into issues about government IT projects and complex issues about data protection”, he said.

Mr Harper also indicated such a joint application would be difficult to achieve diplomatically because it was “not obvious” that it would be in the interests of Britain’s European partners.”

via UK to try and simplify visas for Chinese tourists – FT.com.

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22/01/2013

* Chinese student in France sick of buying luxury goods for other people

SCMP: “Li Yuandong, 23, remembers buying 10 Burberry scarfs, two Burberry handbags, two Louis Vuitton handbags and some luxury perfumes in one day in Paris without blinking an eye.

px096_3238_7.jpg

“Then I blew my ‘millionaire’ identity by hopping on a crowded subway train heading home”, wrote Li, a Chinese graduate student studying engineering in France on his blog.

Li’s post went viral on China’s social media, including Sina Weibo, China’s popular twitter-like service.

In a humorous tone, Li wrote about his side job of buying luxury goods for friends in China, and complained the burden was growing too heavy.

“I became so popular after moving to France,” said Li in his post. “Suddenly everyone wanted to talk to me.”

But the conversations all ended with the same question: “Can you buy me a Louis Vuitton”?

“My bank upgraded me to VIP after seeing the amount of money sent by friends in China,“ he said, “I would easily spend 10,000 euros in a month on hand bags.””

via Chinese student in France sick of buying luxury goods for other people | South China Morning Post.

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07/10/2012

* India poised for giant leap in space science, 56% jump in collaboration with US, France, Russia

India is in an undeclared space race with China. The difference is that China is doing it alone whereas India is doing it collaboratively with several other countries. Both are making substantial progress.

Times of India: “India may have taken a giant leap into the hallowed club of space research, with leaders like the United States and Russia, increasingly joining hands with Indian space scientists in quest for the unknown. Latest data on India’s international collaboration in space sciences has shown an almost 56% increase between 2001-05 and 2006-10.

Between 2001 and 2005, 629 publications were internationally co-authored between Indian and international space scientists. The output increased to almost 980 publications by 2006-10 — a growth of 55.8% in raw volume.

These internationally co-authored publications, which contributed to 45.2% of India’s total research output in 2001-05 increased to 47.1% by 2006-10.

The analysis, done by Thomson Reuters and submitted to the ministry of science and technology, says these levels of international cooperation are the highest among all the fields under analysis. The US was India’s most frequent collaborating partner in this field with American researchers co-authoring 465 publications with their Indian counterparts — 22.3% of India’s total research output in space science.

France was the second most important collaborating partner with India, co-authoring 206 publications with Indian researchers in 2006-10. France accounted for 9.9% of India’s total research output in this field, an increase of 1.7% since 2001-05.

Collaborating in space science as percentage of India’s total research output in this field also increased with the UK (+0.8%) and Germany (+1.4%), Russia (+1.9%), Spain (+1.4%), Australia (+0.7%) and the Netherlands (+0.7%). Collaboration has increased substantially across the board with all major countries.

Consider the case of Russia. Indian and Russian space scientists co-authored 29 papers between 2001 and 2005, and the output increased to 82 papers between 2005 and 2010. Ditto for Germany. As against 98 papers co-authored in 2001-05, the output rose to 175 in 2006-10.

via India poised for giant leap in space science, 56% jump in collaboration with US, France, Russia – The Times of India.

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