Society

Authorities in Guangzhou moved to tighten their management of more than 7 million migrant workers who do not hold local hukou by launching an intense round of residence permit checks.

An official with the Guangzhou Migrant Population Administration said the drive is part of government efforts to gain better knowledge of the conditions of the city's migrant population so as to provide the appropriate social welfare, Guangzhou Daily reported.

The campaign coincides with a protest by migrant workers that was triggered by a labor dispute in Chaozhou, another city in Guangdong earlier this week, and comes amid stepped-up security measures as the province gears up for the Shenzhen Universiade in August. But authorities did not say the latest move came out of security concerns.

Those without permits will find it more difficult to rent a home or land a job and be fined 50 Chinese yuan ($7.72). Providing false personal information to the administration can incur a 500 yuan fine.

Libyan opposition forces trying to oust Moammar Gadhafi from his four decades in power are heading to China to seek support. Foreign Ministry official Chen Xiaodong announced the visit at a briefing Thursday - just as an envoy from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wrapped up a two-day visit during which he urged China to help secure a ceasefire. China also says Libya's future should be freely determined by its own people.

The envoy from the Libyan leader traveled to China, earlier this week, seeking help in securing a ceasefire between his battered government and the rebels. On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry official Chen Xiaodong revealed a delegation from the Libyan opposition would also soon be in Beijing to seek Chinese backing.

China and Uruguay signed deals in finance, tourism, science and technology as well as contracts for local goods worth more than half a billion dollars, authorities said on Wednesday.

The deals were inked during a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who arrived in the small South American nation of just over three million people on Wednesday.

On a tour that also took him to Cuba, Xi met here with President Jose Mujica. They signed deals under which Beijing will buy $528 million in exports from Uruguay, which lies between Argentina and Brazil on the Atlantic.

China's purchases include soybeans, wool and bone meal, as well as paper pulp and dairy products. China is Uruguay's number two trade partner after neighbouring Brazil.

North Korea said it will set up a new economic zone near its border with China, signaling the nation’s deepening dependence on its economic benefactor after leader Kim Jong Il’s three visits there in the past year.

The Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone will be set up to “boost friendship with China and expand and develop external economic relations,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said late yesterday, citing a parliamentary decree. The report didn’t elaborate on the development plans.