BizChina

Simmering tensions between China and the United States since the beginning of the year were ratcheted up another notch yesterday, with Beijing warning Washington that a meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama would further sour ties between the two global powers.

Despite repeated protests, the White House confirmed on Tuesday that Obama would meet the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a separatist.

The flare-up comes close on the heels of Washington's approval of a $6.4 billion weapons package for Taiwan, and experts forecast that it might further escalate as several thorny issues such as the value of China's currency, trade protectionism and human rights come to the fore.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu yesterday said that China "resolutely opposes the leader of the United States having contact with the Dalai Lama under any pretext or in any form".

Ma was responding to claims that Obama had told Chinese leaders about the meeting during his November visit to China.

"During President Obama's visit, Chinese leaders had expressed firm opposition to leaders or officials of any country meeting the Dalai Lama," said Ma.

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwestern China posted a fast growth in foreign capital it actually used last year, a local senior commerce official told Xinhua Thursday.

In 2009, the region actually used 58 million U.S. dollars in foreign capital, a growth of 150 percent on the 2008 level, according to Ma Xiangcun, head of the regional commerce bureau.

Ma said this year, the region would step up establishment of data bank for capital attraction and make a good use of such investment invitation platform as investment and trade fairs.

A consortium led by the China National Petroleum Corp.(CNPC), China's largest oil company, won a bid to develop Halfaya oilfield in Iraq, CNPC said on Wednesday.

Under the 20-year deal, CNPC, Total, Petroleum Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and Iraq's state-owned South Oil Co. will jointly develop the 4.1 billion barrel Halfaya field.

Shares in Shanghai Nine Dragon Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based real estate company, dipped 2.97 percent to close at 8.23 yuan ($1.21) on Wednesday despite a forecast jump in annual net profits last year.