For the fifth year, the Australian embassy will bring emerging and established writers to China for Australian Writers' Week March 12-19, Ambassador Frances Adamson has announced.

Appearing at international literary festivals in Beijing and Shanghai as well as events in Chengdu and Hefei, guest authors will include noted science writer and academic Tim Flannery, respected literary fiction authors Janette Turner Hospital and Margo Lanagan, non-fiction writer and memoirist Maria Tumarkin, and poet, author and translator Ouyang Yu. They will be joined by Walkley Foundation nonfiction book award runner-up Mark McKenna.

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After US Vice-President Joe Biden and Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping visited a 99 percent Hispanic public school in suburban Los Angeles last month, the US State Department announced new private-sector funding to boost the number and ethnic diversity of American students studying in China.

The pledges, in support of President Barack Obama's 100,000 Strong Initiative, include more than $500,000 in grants for Americans Promoting Study Abroad, a non-profit that sends US public high school students from underserved communities to study in China. Those grants came from Corning, Motorola Mobility, the I.am.angel foundation and the Roche Family Foundation. The Bank of China also independently pledged $315,000 to send additional students to China with APSA. Together, these grants will help send more than 100 American public high school students to study in China, the State Department said.

A new pledge of $350,000 from automotive component maker Wanxiang Group will fund sending teachers from San Francisco and students from Los Angeles County to China on study tours. Since January 2011, Wanxiang has independently pledged $4.5 million for similar programs in the Chicago Public School System, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan.

At its Trans4m concert, which brought together leaders in the entertainment, technology, and philanthropy sectors for an evening of music, the I.am.angel foundation, led by The Black Eyed Peas' frontman Will.i.am, saluted the 100,000 Strong campaign. Will.i.am serves as a cultural ambassador for the initiative.

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Dramatic black-and-white business suits with elegant high heels from fashion house Donna Rosi kicked off a runway show at the Slovakian embassy this week, as representatives from about a dozen couture and jewelry designers pitched their wares to the media and Chinese buyers. The women's wear will take some time to reach retail stories, says Slovak Fashion Council CEO Zuzana Bobikova, who organized the show with the embassy's economic counselor Ivana Magatova, but the opportunity for the group to meet buyers with such a presentation was "enormous".

Ambassador Frantisek Dlhopolcek also treated about 200 guests in attendance to a supper buffet and a tasting of 17 Slovak wines presented by Elesko CEO Martin Marsalek.

Wednesday's runway show also featured the knits-dominated line of Dana Kleinert and a new collection from Katie's Bag presented by Katarina Feix.

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Germany's Ambassador to China Michael Schaefer spoke last week at the opening round of Renmin University's Jessup International Law Moot Court, "the fourth year I have the honor to address this exciting gathering of young lawyers from China."

China has competed in each of the past nine years, and Schaefer noted that the event covers various aspects of international law such as state responsibility in armed conflicts, the legitimacy of the use of force, human rights and the protection of world heritage in armed conflicts. "Chinese participants have performed very well in the international rounds," he told the crowd, which included Renmin's president Chen Yulu and Chinese judge Shi Liulong.

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Shanghai's US Consul General Robert Griffiths welcomed Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup, to Shanghai last week. Pandit was visiting from New York to celebrate Citigroup's 200th anniversary, at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel.

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US Consul General in Guangzhou Brian Goldbeck last week saluted the American Chamber of Commerce in South China for sending a representative, Fred Hong, to the Global Business Conference in Washington, DC. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the conference that as "partners on the ground with deep knowledge and extensive networks," US chambers of commerce were "at the heart of our effort" to support US jobs creation and economic recovery.

Goldbeck also noted that while national-level officials got the lion's share of media coverage during Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping's recent visit to the US, regional officials in Xi's delegation were busy, too.

"The leaders of seven Chinese provinces, including the governor of Fujian, travelled to LA to meet with five US governors to discuss trade and investment ties," he said. "In the coming months we expect a number of state and city delegations to visit South China."

Guizhou Governor Zhao Kezhi, who also attended the US-China conference of governors, said he wanted his province in Southwest China to gain from the enhanced relations. At a lunch for local LA business leaders, Zhao introduced Guizhou as a province abundant with natural resources, unique ethnic cultures and its famed Moutai liquor. He invited US businesses to attend the China Guizhou International Alcoholic Beverage Expo to be held in September.

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Wine in China magazine, which focuses on marketing wine culture in the Asian country, recently saluted Eugenio Bregolat, Spain's ambassador to China, and Carl Worker, New Zealand's envoy to Beijing, with awards for "Outstanding Contribution to Wine Promotion".

The magazine, which distributes almost 70,000 copies nationwide, announced its 2011 Rubis Awards, a list of the Top 100 wines which are currently available in the Chinese market. Among the 100 wines selected by a panel of international experts, 26 are French, 21 are Spanish, 11 are Australian, eight are Chilean, six are Italian. The US and China each contributed five to the Top-100 list.

Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 03/04/2012 page4)