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The Shanghai municipal government has further restricted foreign investors from acquiring land for property development.

Under the No 16 land transfer bulletin issued by Shanghai Municipal Housing, Land and Resource Administration Bureau on December 23, deposits on land for residential use and commercial purposes can now only be paid in renminbi.

Previously, the bureau accepted four different foreign currencies - US dollars, HK dollars, Euros and Yen - as deposits at government auctions.

The move is widely seen as the latest attempt to clamp down on excessive speculation in the nation’s hottest property market.

Despite subtle changes, they are expected to have a large impact on the new inflow of foreign capital, partly triggered by the expectation of further appreciation of the renminbi.

Land for industrial use, however, can still be purchased through foreign currency accounts, according to the No 17 bulletin released simultaneously.

Industrial experts and analysts said this subtle policy change was expected to make a significant impact on Shanghai’s property market by containing the rush of foreign capital, which had been partially blamed for pushing up prices beyond sustainable levels.

James Macdonald, a senior manager of Savills Property Services Co in Shanghai, told China Daily: “This (move) of course will limit the capability for new investors coming into China’s market to acquire land for development. But it should not have too big an impact on some of the large foreign property developers who have been operating in China for years.”

These developers, he said, would have already accumulated large cash reserves in renminbi from previous profits.

“They have been in China for a long time and should have really large stockpiles of renminbi through revenue generation from the existing properties,” he said.

A spokesperson for the municipal administration bureau said the department had no further comment on the circular.

“This stricter restriction on property development by foreign investors is expected to be an effective measure to stabilize housing prices in Shanghai,” said Wang Shujuan, an analyst on property at Orient Securities.

Shuai Hu, an analyst on property at Haitong Securities, said that the supply and demand imbalance would remain the major factor in determining future property price movements. The stricter restriction is expected to ease pressure on prices in residential houses, he said.

“The impact of the rule change needs to be watched closely,” Shuai said.

The trouble-plagued, delayed, and cost-overrun Mars Science Laboratory mission is crawling out of the technical and financial dog house.

Still, there’s one issue that could keep the roughly $2.3 billion NASA mission grounded: titanium parts that may not be strong enough for the robotic rover.

That’s the word from NASA officials during a NASA Advisory Council’s Planetary Science Subcommittee meeting held here earlier this month.

The good news comes from a November “Readiness to Proceed” review of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) that took a hard look at problem-plagued actuators, the robot’s avionics and power systems, as well as other aspects of the mega-rover.

The bottom line, according to Doug McCuistion, Director of the NASA Mars Exploration Program: Technical and budget activities are stabilizing and variables all appear to be converging.

The MSL rover has instruments designed to test the Martian surface for signs of past potential habitability. It has been beset by cost overruns and delays.

Right now, McCuistion reported, no insurmountable technical obstacles seem to be in the way of getting MSL Mars-bound in 2011. The nuclear-powered robot – now named “Curiosity” – is being built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

“MSL is really stabilizing both technically and budgetarily,” McCuistion reported Dec. 3 to the subcommittee.

That being said, there is an MSL issue that needs resolution.

Right stuff or wrong stuff?

“One show-stopper…is still titanium,” explained Jim Green, Director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.

The issue: It turns out that some 700 titanium parts used within the MSL have been identified so far. Still to be evaluated at the time of the meeting is use of the material in MSL instruments.

The problem: A firm that supplied titanium falsified documentation on the treatment of that material, saying it met military specifications. This translates to NASA concerns that the material may not be strong enough to hold up for Mars duty.

Now the task for NASA is finding out whether the titanium used in MSL is the “right stuff or the wrong stuff,” McCuistion said. If it’s on the edge, he said, then an assessment of risk to the MSL project will need to be weighed.

Diving into all the paperwork to understand the pedigree of the titanium is a labor-intensive activity. The necessary data should be compiled early next year. In a post-meeting communication with McCuistion, the MSL titanium parts identified to date has now risen to over 900, but nearly half of them have been cleared.

The biggest threat is use of suspect titanium in the large rover’s rocker-bogie suspension system. That’s the classy chassis of the machine, the base to which everything attaches.

That base needs to strong given the rover’s touch-down via MSL’s Sky Crane landing system.

If found to be a problem in that section of MSL, reproducing elements of that hardware to replace bad titanium “could stop us,” McCuistion reported. “We’re working this through…right now, we haven’t run across anything that’s a show-stopper,” he added.

Fingers and toes crossed

“At this point, I know JPL engineers are working hard to complete construction and I have all fingers and toes crossed that MSL launches on time and lands successfully,” said Fran Bagenal, Acting Chair of the NASA Advisory Council’s Planetary Science Subcommittee. She’s also a professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences here at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

How’s MSL’s escalating cost impacting non-MSL space activity?

“Obviously, a major lesson from MSL for all planetary missions is to work hard to improve the fidelity of budget estimates,” Bagenal told SPACE.com. “We have put potential Outer Planet Flagship (OPF) missions through two cycles of science, technical, management and cost reviews. So, I believe the current estimates of the cost of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter mission,” she said, “are at much better fidelity than MSL at the same stage.”

Bagenal said she is concerned that the proposed future Mars missions in 2016 and 2018 have not been through such a review process.

“There is no non-Mars item that I could point to and say ‘that was cut due to MSL,’” Bagenal said. “Certainly, elements of the Mars program have been hit hard.”

Perhaps one way to look at the issue is to think about all the planetary science one might have done with MSL’s $400 million-plus overrun to date, Bagenal observed. “That’s a whole Discovery or Mars-Scout mission, or twice the annual total Research & Analysis budget,” she concluded.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met here on Friday with Grand National Party (GNP) Chairman Chung Moon-Joon and chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), Chung Sye Kyun, respectively.

Xi said the GNP was the first South Korean party that set up contact with the Communist Party of China (CPC), and many party leaders have contributed to the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea.

In April, the GNP and the CPC reached agreements on young politician exchanges, Xi said, adding that he hoped the two sides would continue to strengthen friendly exchanges to push forward their bilateral ties.

Xi said the DP and the CPC have also maintained sound relations and played positive roles in promoting cooperation in all fields.

“Sino-South Korean relations relies on participation of peoples from all circles, and parties in particular, and China will always support party-to-party exchanges,” he said.

Chung Moon-Joon said South Korea and China share similar cultures, have learned from each other from ancient times, and keep close contact.

He expressed appreciation for the efforts by China to resume the six-party talks and hoped to work with China to safeguard peace and stability on the peninsula.

Chung Sye Kyun said the DP has contributed to friendly relations between the two countries over the past decade while it was in office, and would continue to promote economic, trade and personnel exchanges with China.

South Korea is the second leg of Xi’s four-nation Asian tour. Besides Seoul, Xi was also to visit Busan, the largest South Korean port city, later Friday.

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung Bak here on Thursday, and the two leaders pledged to promote cooperation in all areas.

On bilateral ties, Xi said China attached great importance to its relations with the ROK, and took the ties as one of the priorities in foreign relations. Full story

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Thursday put forward a four-point proposal to promote trade with the Republic of Korea (ROK) at a luncheon held by the country’s business community.

First, the two countries should stabilize trade and investment, Xi said. Full story

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Saturday had a joint interview with journalists from Japanese and the Republic of Korea (ROK) media ahead of his visit to four Asian nations including the two countries.

Xi will pay an official visit to Japan, the ROK, Cambodia and Myanmar from Dec. 14 to 22, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Full story

BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — China would launch a review of the anti-dumping measures against chloroform imports from the European Union, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States on Monday.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced the decision on its website Sunday one day before the measures were due to be ended, after it received applications for reviewing the measures from two Chinese chemical enterprises representing the Chinese chloroform producers. Full story

BEIJING, Nov. 24 — Partly induced by the drop in trade between South Korea and China amid the global recession, officials from both sides committed to expediting negotiations for a free trade agreement.

High-level officials from the two nations also said they would focus on trade cooperation in a range of sectors, from manufacturing to relatively new industries such as green energy and hi-tech. The remarks were made yesterday at the sixth joint conference of the China-South Korea Investment Cooperative Committee. Full story

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Friday that China hopes to advance the strategic cooperative partnership with the Republic of Korea (ROK).

“We will work with the ROK to increase friendly exchanges at various levels and enhance pragmatic cooperation in various sectors,” Hu told Kim Hyong-o, speaker of the ROK National Assembly.

Defending champion Serena Williams said her biggest concern in the 2008 Australian Open was her elder sister, Venus Williams.

“My biggest concern is who I practice with every day: Venus. She is playing unbelievable. She gets every ball back.” said the 26-year-old on Saturday.

“I think Justine (Henin) is a big concern as well. But I don’t necessarily think about my opponents like that, who I have to be concerned about. I really just focus on what I need to do and what I need to do right. And if I can do it right, then I’ll have positive results.”

Williams had a historical victory over Russian Maria Sharapova last year at Melbourne Park as she entered the tournament unseeded but made a remarkable comeback against sixth seeded Sharapova in the final.

“Every time I walk down the hall, I see the picture on the wall, it’s such a good moment, such a good memory. I love having the picture on the wall. It’s my favorite thing. It’s cool.”

“Last year I was completely under the radar. I had absolutely no expectations from anyone, and that really made me want to kind of prove everyone wrong.”

“This year it’s completely opposite where I more or less have a lot of expectations, but I’m still in here and I’m still here for me more than anything. Just like that.” she said.

Missing the tournament in Madrid in November last year due to a knee injury, Williams said she was in fittest shape for Melbourne.

“It’s definitely probably the fittest I’ve been in a while. My body will allow anything really. It’s ready for anything.” said Williams.

South Korea was held a 1-1 draw by Japan at the East Asian Football Championship (EAFC) here on Saturday night.

South Korean forward Yeom Ki Hun’s strike only 14 minutes into the match and a cool equalizer from Japanese midfielder Yamase Kojiin the 67th were a fair reward for the regional top-two splendid clash.

“The tiger of Asia” looked comfortably in control from the very start of the match, creating a welter of chances from two wings and forcing Japan’s 33-year-old veteran keeper Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu to make a series of brilliant saves.

The Koreans went ahead after 14 minutes’ attempt when 25-year-old forward Yeom Ki Hun delivered a lightning strike from the right to beat irresponsive Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu after a left wing low cross causing a goal mouth melee.

However, the Japanese showed no sign of being cowed as they still held their attacking pace with intricate short passes among three or four players. Just one minute later, Japan’s midfielder Suzuki Keita might have scored as his powerful angled shot was denied by the right post.

Japan’s midfielder Koji made an equalizer in the 67th when he caught a tricky low cross from a tactical corner and hammered a powerful long shot to the upper corner of the net.

“We are aiming for the title this time so the result is not satisfactory to us. However, my players have tried their best and both sides delivered a brilliant match tonight,” said Japan’s coach Takeshi Okada. The 52-year-old experienced Japanese once led his national team to World Cup in 1998 for the first time, again took over the position from Ivica Osim who fell in the sickness last year.

“It’s a wonderful match tonight as my players performed steadily to my directions and strategy. I feel satisfied with my young players,” commented by S. Korean coach Huh Jung Mao, who took the job after Dutch Pim Verbeek resigned last year.

In their past 70 clashes against Japan, South Korea achieved an overwhelming advantage with 39 wins, 18 draws and 13 defeats.

With this draw, South Korea temporarily led the standings of the round-robin format tournament with one wins and two draws, bettering Japan with two more goals in. DPR Korea stood third with two draws and defending champion China stayed in the bottom with two straight defeats.

As the first EAFC winner, South Korea failed to be crowned for the second time in a row at home in 2005 with disappointing results of two draws and one loss.

South Korea will regain the title and 500,000 U.S. dollars prize if China beat or draw with DPR Korea in the last match of the tournament.

China’s economy would moderate but remain robust in 2008 with a growth rate of 10.7 percent, providing a cushion against the expected international downturn, according to a forecast issued by the United Nations commission here on Thursday.

“Investment continues to be the main driver of growth, remaining resilient despite government cooling measures and with support from low real interest rates,” said a report released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

“A slowdown in exports and the country’s efforts to cool the economy are the main reasons for the moderation,” it said.

Other factors expected to underpin China’s growth include domestic demand, increasing spending power of rural consumers and rising consumption through higher government spending on social welfare.

Official statistics show China’s gross domestic product growth accelerated to 11.4 percent in 2007, the fastest for 13 years.

The report said the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis is not expected to have a strong impact on growth in China.

“In a worst case scenario where the U.S. economy goes into recession, the impact on China will not be as great as on other Asia-Pacific countries. Due to its blistering pace, China’s growth will remain resilient, but will slow,” said Shuvojit Banerjee, a senior expert with the UNESCAP.

According to the report, China’s increasing exports to the European Union are expected to compensate for a steady fall in exports to the United States, China’s second largest export market. China has also witnessed a boom in trade with Africa.

It said Chinese and other Asia-Pacific investors are playing a key role in supporting developed countries through the turmoil. Sovereign wealth funds and state investment institutions from the region have bolstered weakened banking sectors in the United States and the Europe.

The report said China is facing an increasing challenge from inflation. The chief inflationary concerns lie in higher international oil and food prices. “Rising food prices are a bigger inflationary concern than oil prices because food accounts for a far higher proportion of consumer spending. Food price inflation particularly hits low income households.”

The report also warned that the fast growth is coming at an increasing cost to the environment. It said the destabilizing effect of growth on the environment is becoming more apparent. Air pollution, especially in large cities, is increasing the incidence of lung disease.

Ferrari led both practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix yesterday and Heikki Kovalainen rebounded from a violent crash in Spain with the second fastest lap time of the morning session.

Two-time defending champion Felipe Massa led Ferrari in the first session with a time of 1 minute, 27.323 seconds - the fastest time of the day - before Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a gearbox problem that left him last in the morning session for an afternoon’s best time of 1:27.543.

Kovalainen, who finished fifth in the second session, trailed Massa by just over one-tenth of a second while McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton was second fastest in the afternoon.

It was Kovalainen’s first drive following his crash at the preceding Spanish GP.

A wheel failure caused a tire on the Finn’s car to explode and send him barreling into a wall at high speed. Though the crash left him in a hospital overnight with slight injuries, including a concussion, Kovalainen was cleared for Sunday’s race after passing medical checks by governing body FIA on Thursday.

Raikkonen, who won in Turkey for McLaren three years ago, is coming off a win at Barcelona. The 28-year-old Finn also won the Malaysian GP for a nine-point lead in the overall standings over Hamilton.

Ferrari, which has won three straight GPs to lead BMW Sauber by 12 points in the constructors’ standings, has topped eight of the 10 Friday practice sessions so far this season.

Massa was third in the afternoon, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard.

Hamilton was third in the morning with 1:27.752, which was over half a second quicker than Fernando Alonso of Renault in fourth place. Jenson Button of Honda rounded out the morning’s top-five.

Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella will start the race three places lower than his eventual qualifying position after leaving the pit lane when the lights were still red in the first session.

The rookie Indian team is still looking for its first points.

Drivers were increasingly tested by the elements through the day as rain fell in the afternoon following a cool morning session.

Massa, Hamilton and Force India’s Adrian Sutil all spun out at turn No. 3 in the first session, with Massa recovering to set the morning pace despite also running off at a later corner.

Alonso, BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, Button and Timo Glock of Toyota all went off track in the afternoon.

The Chinese economy was set to grow healthily and steadily after the summer Olympic Games and a post-Olmypic economic downturn was highly unlikely, a noted Chinese economist said here Tuesday.

“Personally I feel very optimistic that the Chinese economy after the Beijing Olympics will continue to grow rapidly and healthily…. I am full of confidence over the economy after the Olympics,” said Fan Gang, director of the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation.

He told the Beijing Forum on the Olympic Economy that the Chinese economy would probably not be subject to further adjustment and micro-economic control after the Olympics because China had been doing the job since the end of 2007.

Over the past several months, the Chinese government had taken a series of micro-economic control measures to cool down the economy, which was seen by many economists as overheated.

“Our growth rate has dropped, exports decreased and the foreign trade surplus has declined. We cooled down the stock market and real estate market,” Fan said, adding that the adjustment period was drawing towards an end since the government had taken many measures.

“Such adjustment and micro-economic control measures certainly reduce possibilities of a post-Olympic downturn,” said Fan, who was also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee under the People’s Bank of China, the central bank.

He also said Beijing’s investment to build sports venues and other infrastructure, though worth billions of dollars, accounted for a mere three percent of the country’s total investment in fixed assets.

“China is a big country. Beijing is small…. Even if Beijing’s investment in infrastructure drop sharply after the Games, it would not have a significant impact on the whole economy,” he said.

Fan also said it was unlikely that Beijing would slash fixed assets investment since the city was still at the early stage of economic development and its appetite for infrastructure would still be huge after the Olympics.

“The fact is, over the past several years, Beijing has been forced to reduce some other infrastructure projects in order to concentrate on the construction of sports venues,” he said.

History has shown that some countries were plagued by a post-Olympic economic downturn, or called “Valley Effect” or “V-low Effect”.

The phenomenon was mainly caused by a dramatic investment increase at the pre-Olympic stage, accompanied by a boom in consumption and revenues. But the investment and consumption plunged following the Olympics while the host city would have to shoulder the heavy burden of maintaining idle sports venues.

Fan, however, cautioned that the Chinese economy might still face new challenges, domestically and globally, and needed further policy adjustment in September or October or even later this year.

“China is economically a developing country under transition. The economy has its own problems,” he said.

On the other side, he said the Chinese economy would face a new international economic situation — the U.S. credit crisis was still far from over and its negative impact was still coming out and prices for oil and grain were continuing to rise on the international market.

“But these have nothing to do with the Olympic Games…. Hosting of the Games will push forward economic development in China by helping restructure industries and integrate the Chinese economy into the global market,” he added.

One of Hong Kong’s leading entertainment couples, actors Tony Leung and Carina Lau, were married in Bhutan in a Buddhist-inspired ceremony attended by the tiny kingdom’s royalty, local media reported on Monday.

Leung is one of Hong Kong’s biggest film stars on the international art-house circuit and a longtime collaborator of prize-winning Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.

Leung and Lau married in the reclusive Himalayan kingdom, known for its breathtaking, pristine natural scenery, on Monday at the exclusive Uma Paro resort.

Newspapers and websites carried photographs of Leung and Lau, who have been together for many years, posing before a congregation of monks in red robes, Leung wearing a tuxedo and Lau in a white gown.

Bhutan royalty reportedly attended the ceremony along with 100 guests, including Canto-pop diva and actress Faye Wong.

“Thank you everyone for making such a long trip to attend our wedding. I believe it is destiny that gathers us together here,” Lau was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying.

Leung, 46, is known for his cool, understated acting style in a raft of films by Wong.

These include his depiction of a gay lover in “Happy Together” and as a cuckolded husband in “In the Mood for Love,” a role that landed him the Palme d’Or for best actor at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

Leung and Lau, 43, appeared together in the Wong films “Days of Being Wild” and “Ashes of Time”

Lau said she had chosen Bhutan for her nuptials after a spiritually uplifting visit to the snow-capped Himalayan kingdom.

“I felt the peace the moment I arrived in Bhutan … I could understand that people here are happy not because of their material life, but because of their satisfaction on a spiritual level,” Lau was quoted in the paper as saying.

Brazilian women soccer striker Marta, dubbed as “Pele in a skirt”, helped her team on Monday evening beat its anchor rival Germany 4-1 to advance into the final of the Beijing Olympic tournament.

Showcasing a dazzling array of talents - imaginative attacking, pinpoint passing, flamboyant ball control and a cannon-like shot - Marta dominated the game by assisting Cristiane to be a leading scorer and scoring a beautiful goal herself.

The reigning two-time FIFA women’s world player of the year never forgets Shanghai, where she and her team were beaten by the Germans 2-0 at last year’s World Cup final at the nearby Hongkou Stadium.

“We played at our best. Germany is very strong. Last year in the World Cup we lost to them, but this time we did better and now we are confident for the final,” Marta said after she finally took her revenge.

Scoring goals, dictating the pace of a game with her visionary playmaking skills and bamboozling opposing defenders with her wizard-like ball control, and more importantly, Marta also dedicated her strength into the defense, which made her seem to be an all-arounder on the every inch of the pitch.

The 22-year-old star announced her arrival in Beijing by presenting one goal in the group stage and produced two in last Friday’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over Norway.

“Our target is to play in Beijing and win the gold medal. Now (it) is the time to fight for that,” she said.

“If we can continue getting these tough wins then we can win the gold medal. It doesn’t matter if the victories are easy or difficult. The important thing is the gold medal,” Marta said.

Rising from a humble beginning, Marta began her ascension to the top of the women’s game like millions of Brazilian kids, including legendary Pele - by learning the game and improving her skills on streets.

Born and raised in a small town named Dois Riachos in northeastern Brazil, Marta often played against local boys who tried to slow her down by hacking at her ankles as she attempted to dribble by them.

At the age of 16, she left home and tried her luck at Vasco da Gama’s women’s team before Rio club quickly signed her.

She played for Brazil’s U19 squad and then was called up into the national team within the following two years, and shone in international competitions, including the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2004 Athens Olympics where Brazil won a silver medal.

Marta continued her professional career with Umea IK, helping the Swedish club win three consecutive league championships, and winning the FIFA women’s world player of the year award in 2006 and 2007, and the MVP of the 2007 World Cup despite her missing a penalty in the final.

Marta also printed her own mark at Rio de Janeiro’s Estadio do Maracana, the cathedral for Brazil’s religion of soccer, last summer by leaving her concrete imprints in the stadium’s walkway, which is used to be an old boys’ club, including Ronaldo, Romario, Zico, Garrincha and, of course, legendary Pele.

Rene Simoes, who coached Brazil’s women’s team at the 2004 Olympics, compared Marta to another Brazilian striker - the great Romario, with whom he has also worked.

“They are very similar,” he says. “Whether playing dominoes, cards, or football - neither of them accepts losing.”

Simoes says Marta’s technique is as good as the men’s.

“Her ball control at speed is fabulous. She thinks fast. She is always scoring. I think in the history of women’s football only Mia Hamm (from the United States) has been a better player. But Marta is much more creative. And she is only 21. In two years’ time, she will overtake Mia to be the best,” said Simoes.

Most importantly, Marta has managed to remain a cool head to her fame.

“I’m not a star. We have 18 stars on our team. We’re all stars,” Marta said in a training sessionin Beijing.