Xinhua China News Digest at 16:00 GMT, Oct. 30

The following are China news stories moved by Xinhua News Agency as of 16:00 GMT, Oct. 30.

TOP STORIES:

* 2nd Ld-Writethru-China Focus: Chinese pilgrims leave for Mecca

LANZHOU, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The flight with 332 passengers took off at 3:30 p.m. Friday from Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, marking the beginning of Chinese Muslims' pilgrimage to Mecca this year.

* 2nd Ld-Writethru: Court upholds penalties to Xinjiang riot convicts

URUMQI, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Higher People's Court of Xinjiang on Friday upheld the sentences -- including nine death penalties -- on 21 people who, in six first-instance trials, were convicted of murder and other crimes in the deadly July 5 riot in Urumqi.

* Chinese new naval flotilla sets sail for Gulf of Aden while merchant vessel still held by pirates

ZHOUSHAN, Zhejiang Province, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- A new Chinese naval flotilla was deployed to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia on Friday to protect merchant vessels against rampant pirates that still hold a Chinese ship for ransom.

* Preparations underway for panda delivery to Australia

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese officials say two pandas destined for an Australian zoo will be transported before the end of the year, and the two sides are actively making necessary preparations.

* China bans overseas waste smuggling

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's customs authority said Friday that all the solid wastes imported from overseas will undergo electronic inspections to prevent garbage smuggling.

* 10 dead, 12 injured in NW Gansu highway collision

LANZHOU, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ten people were killed and 12 others were injured in a highway auto crash in northwest China's Gansu Province, a local official said Friday.

* 1st Ld-Writethru: Chinese Premier urges medical, social security reforms to benefit general public

JINAN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has underscored the importance of deepening reforms in the country's medical system and social security network so as to improve the livelihood of the general public.

* China police authority sets up webpage helping abducted children home

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's police authority published a notice Friday on its website informing parents and relatives to search their abducted children through a webpage established by the authority to help the children find their birth parents.

* Official promises long-term crackdown on organized crime

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- A member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau on Friday pledged that the campaign against organized crime would continue until criminal gangs were eradicated.

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

* 3rd Ld-Writethru: All stocks trigger suspensions on China's Nasdaq-style board under price-rise rules on first day

SHENZHEN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- All 28 stocks on China's new Nasdaq-style market for small and medium-sized companies had been temporarily suspended on its opening day Friday.

* Fall in China's 2009 foreign trade to be lower than 20 pct: ministry

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The fall in China's foreign trade would be lower than 20 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.

* China Merchants Bank net profit falls 16.3 pct in Q3

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Net profit of the China Merchants Bank declined 16.3 percent year on year in the third quarter of this year because of shrinking loan margins.

* China launches funds to back high-tech sectors

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's central government launched 20 venture capital funds with seven local governments on Friday to provide investment in the country's high-tech sectors, the top economic planner said in a statement on its web site.

* China's bank credit to rise in Q4: central bank

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's bank loan demand is predicted to increase steadily, and the consumer price will continue to rebound in the fourth quarter, the central bank said in a report Friday.

* China creates 7.57 mln new jobs in first eight months

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China has created 7.57 million new jobs in the first eight months of this year in a bid to guarantee employment amid global economic downturn, a senior legislator said here Friday.

FEATURES:

* Xinhua Insight: Severe drought parches 'water-bound' south China

CHANGSHA/NANCHANG, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, known for their rivers and lakes, are often portrayed as lands abundant with rice and fish.

* China Exclusive: Chinese archivists unlock secrets of the dead in MIA search

by Xinhua writers Yan Hao and Liu Xin

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese military archivists have identified more than 100 documents that could lead to the repatriation of the remains of the United States personnel who disappeared during and after the Korean War (1950-1953).

* China Exclusive: Slow post from China brings surprise and success

by Xinhua writer Yang Jianxiang

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Christine was strolling down a narrow street in Beijing's 798 Art Zone when she came across a store with a round lantern hung high above its door. Painted on the lantern were the image of a panda and red-inked words in Chinese and English: "798 Art & Travel Post."

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Duty editor: Ni Siyi @ 8610 6307 3665

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