BEIJING: China is set to resume crucial talks with the European Union (EU) on its 13-year-long quest to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after failing to strike a deal during negotiations with the United States, diplomatic sources said. Sources said an EU delegation was expected to reach Beijing today to continue their negotiations, ahead of a new round of global trade agreements later this year.

On Friday, China and the United States ended two days of negotiations here without obvious results, the official Xinhua news agency reported while blaming Washington for the deadlock.

The breakdown of Sino-US WTO talks came close on the heels of fresh evidence in the United States of alleged Chinese theft of US nuclear weapons technology secrets.

What has caused the current round of talks to fail may be that the US has been too demanding, Xinhua said, quoting analysts. US business executives worry over the delay in reaching a commercially viable dealwith China.They say unless a deal is reached quickly, China may withdraw huge concessions already offered in areas like telecommunications, banking, insurance and agriculture.

Asia's expat heavens

SINGAPORE: The Philippines and Singapore have been voted the best Asian countries for expatriate living, while South Korea and Vietnam are seen as the worst, according to a regional survey.

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (PERC) said the friendly Philippines edged efficient Singapore in its latest annual survey of expat life, with 479 respondents polled across the region.

The survey also showed that despite bad business conditions, the Asian financial crisis produced lifestyle benefits for foreign residents.``In countries where there have been major exchange rate swings, local currency costs for everything from housing to entertainment have become much more affordable,'' PERC noted. ``Even in places like Hong Kong, where exchange rates have held steady, deflation has pushed many keyprices lower,'' it added.

PERC respondents were asked to rate a dozen Asian countries, including Japan, on health care, children's education, personal security, housing, night life, sports and recreation, and cultural compatibility. The Philippines averaged 3.35 points, pipping Singapore's 3.55 score, while on the other extreme, worst performer South Korea only managed a grade of 6.75, barely above more backward Vietnam's 6.69.

Oldest panda

BEIJING: World's oldest giant panda, `Dudu' has celebrated her 37th birthday in the company of children at a zoo in central China's Wuhan city. Many children flocked to the Wuhan zoo on Saturday to attend Dudu's bash and expressed the hope that she will enter the new millennium with them, Xinhua news agency reported today.

Born in 1962, Dudu was first transferred to south-west China's Chengdu zoo and then moved to Wuhan in 1972. Though she is 37, Dudu is in fair health although she some times gets affected by diseases caused by old age.China now has lessthan 1,200 giant pandas. The average life span of wild giant pandas is around 15 years while that of pandas in captivity is nearly 25 years.

Meanwhile, China has established a new panda habitat in south-west China's Sichuan province with abundant bamboo, staple food of the endangered species. Known as the home of giant pandas, Sichuan has established the new nature reserve for the rare species in the hope to connect other panda habitats, another report said.