Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday that the central government's spending will be slashed by five percent this year to save fund for the quake relief efforts.

    The government will also freeze the approval of any new office buildings for government bodies, Wen said at a meeting of the State Council, the cabinet.

Chinese gov't earmarks another 1.17 bln yuan for disaster relief

    BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Finance Friday set aside another 1.17 billion yuan (167 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief upon Monday's deadly earthquake that claimed 19,000 lives in southwestern China's Sichuan Province alone.

    The move brought the total money earmarked so far for disaster relief after the major quake, which was the worst over decades, to3.41 billion yuan. Full Story

Central gov't departments continue efforts in quake relief

    BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Various departments of China's central government continued their work in disaster relief on Friday after a 7.8-magnitude quake jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

    The Ministry of Finance on Friday set aside another 1.17 billion yuan (167 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief. The move brought the total money earmarked from the central budget so far for quake relief to 3.41 billion yuan. Full Story