Beijing - Great potential is offered for European Union business investment in China's Sichuan province, parts of which were devastated by last May's earthquake, EU officials said Sunday.

"We want to give a sign that the situation is not just difficult, but that there are business opportunities there too," EU Chamber of Commerce President Joerg Wuttke said.

He was speaking during a conference of some 200 business people and officials attending a trade fair in Chengdu.

The area of the city and of nearby Chongding were home to 120 million people presenting "huge potential purchasing power", Wuttke said.

Beijing/ Onboard Air India One, Oct 26: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met his Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the seventh two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Beijing on Saturday.

Dr. Singh said the Chinese President agreed with him that the two countries would be able to achieve the trade target of 60 billion dollars set for 2010.

Beijing, Oct 25 : The Asia-Europe Summit has concluded here with a call to the Asian and European nations to safeguard international financial stability and promote world economic growth.

The two-day Summit of the 45 members Group, made a fervent appeal for a joint global action to respond to the financial crisis.

Beijing, Oct 25 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that development has to be inclusive, at his maiden speech at the 7th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), in Beijing on Saturday.

Describing sustainable development as one of the biggest challenges of present times, Dr. Singh said a lot of cooperative work is needed to transform it from a mere buzz word to an operational strategy for development.

He said, Asia is home to the largest concentration of the world''s poor and poverty eradication at this scale requires a collaborative global effort to promote development and in particular to create job opportunities.

Taipei - Taiwan's pro-independence groups rallied tens of thousands anti-China and anti-government supporters in Taipei Saturday to protest President Ma Ying-jeou's pro-China policies and the island's economic downturn.

"Opposing toxic China, defending Taiwan," the protesters shouted as they marched along the streets of the capital's bustling centre from five directions towards the Presidential Office, where they staged a demonstration against the Ma government.

Beijing - Asian and European Union leaders on Saturday committed their 43 nations to agreeing new goals on climate change by the end of next year.

The 16 Asian and 27 EU leaders issued a joint statement saying they planned to finalize a post-Kyoto Protocol deal on climate change goals to 2012 at talks in Copenhagen scheduled for December 2009.

New targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would build on the December 2007 climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, they said, calling on developed nations to show "strong leadership".