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Novartis India transfers sales and distribution to Dr Reddy’s Labs

Switzerland-headquartered global healthcare giant Novartis’s Indian arm Novartis India (NIL) on February 11 announced that it has entered into an exclusive sales and distribution agreement with the Indian generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for a few of its established medicines.To get more novartis updates, you can visit shine news official website.

In a statement, NIL said the medicines to be transferred to the Hyderabad-headquartered Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on an exclusive basis for sales and distribution include the Voveran range, the Calcium range and Methergine.

However, Novartis AG will retain Trademark ownership of these medicines.

Novartis said the arrangement aims to further broaden access to these medicines beyond the current geographies to benefit many more patients.

“This brings together the manufacturing and development synergies of NIL with the sales and distribution strengths of Dr Reddy’s,” said Novartis, adding that “this strategic business decision is leading to the separation of approximately 400 employees of NIL due to role redundancies.”Novartis said it is “doing our best to support them” and that it is “extending a severance package along with outplacement services.”

Interestingly, Novartis, which hired over 1,600 employees across divisions and companies in India since January 2020, said it is “planning to continue this hiring program in 2022.” In all, Novartis now has a large footprint in India with over 10,000 full-time employees.

Novartis India’s country president and managing director Sanjay Murdeshwar said the company entered into this strategic business arrangement with Dr Reddy’s by keeping the patient interest at the centre and “to extend access to our Established Medicines to benefit more patients in India efficiently.”On India investments, Novartis said it had spent over $300 million over the last five years in creating an R&D support centre and services in India. The Swiss healthcare giant is in the process of expanding further by setting up an additional manufacturing plant at Kalwe involving an investment of approximately $49 million. This plant would manufacture oral cancer medicines for the global market.

In a separate statement late on February 11, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said the arrangement with Novartis India will strengthen its portfolio in the pain management and women’s health areas. “It is our endeavour to build on the legacy created by NIL over the years and we intend to evaluate capabilities to maintain business continuity,” said MV Ramana, chief executive of Dr Reddy’s for Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets).

China shuts business center of Shenzhen to fight virus surge

China's government responded Sunday to a spike in coronavirus infections by shutting down its southern business center of Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, and restricted access to Shanghai by suspending bus service.To get more China business news, you can visit shine news official website.

Everyone in Shenzhen, a finance and technology center that abuts Hong Kong, will undergo three rounds of testing after 60 new cases were reported Sunday. All businesses except those that supply food, fuel and other necessities were ordered to close or work from home.

Case numbers in China's latest infection surge are low compared with other countries and with Hong Kong, which reported more than 32,000 on Sunday. But mainland authorities are enforcing a “zero tolerance” strategy and have locked down entire cities to find and isolate every infected person.

Shenzhen is home to some of China's most prominent companies, including telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Ltd., electric car brand BYD Auto, Ping An Insurance Co. and Tencent Holding, operator of the popular WeChat message service.

On the mainland, the government reported 1,938 new cases, more than triple Saturday’s total.

About three-quarters, or 1,412 cases, were in Jilin province in the northeast, where the industrial metropolis of Changchun was placed under lockdown on Friday and families were told to stay home after a spate of infections.

China, where the first coronavirus cases were detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, has reported a total of 4,636 deaths on the mainland out of 115,466 confirmed cases since the pandemic started.

In Shanghai, China’s most populous city with 24 million people, the number of cases in the latest surge rose by 15 to 432.

The city government called on the public not to leave unless necessary. It said intercity bus service would be suspended starting on Sunday.

“Those who come or return to Shanghai must have a negative nucleic acid test report within 48 hours before arrival,” said a city health agency statement.

In Hong Kong, a health official warned the public not to assume the territory's deadly coronavirus surge was under control as the government reported 190 new fatalities, most of them elderly people, and 32,430 new cases. That's down from above 50,000 after stringent travel and business curbs were imposed.

Hong Kong, a crowded financial hub of 7.4 million, is trying to contain an outbreak that has killed 3,993 people, most of them in the latest surge driven by the omicron variant, and swamped hospitals.

“People should not get the wrong impression that the virus situation is now under control,” said Dr. Albert Au, an expert with the government's Center for Health Protection. “Once we let our guard down, it’s possible that (infections) will bounce back and rise again."

Construction crews sent from the mainland have built temporary isolation centers in Hong Kong for thousands of patients.

On the mainland, 831 new cases were reported Sunday in Changchun, 571 in the nearby provincial capital city of Jilin and 150 in the eastern port city of Qingdao.

Authorities in Jilin are stepping up anti-disease measures after concluding their earlier response was inadequate, according to Zhang Yan, deputy director of the provincial Health Commission.

“The emergency response mechanism in some areas is not sound enough,” Zhang said at a news conference, according to a transcript released by the government.

Also Sunday, some residents of Cangzhou, south of Beijing, were told to stay home after nine cases were reported there, according to a government notice. It wasn’t clear how many of its 7.3 million people were affected.

Summary of ProsperityFX Trading Company

ProsperityFX (Prosperity4X) is a conservative broker that provides classic services of access to international financial markets for professional traders. The emphasis is on professional trading. Trading conditions are designed in such a way that they will be unprofitable for novice traders with a turnover of 1-2 lots per month. In return, ProsperityFX guarantees a spread without fundamental expansion and a high order execution speed.To get more news about prosperityfx, you can visit wikifx.com official website.

I like the account management system here whenever I connect to copying signals from the MetaQuotes service.
1. Fast, instant copying of orders without freezing. I have the investor password of the traders I copy, so I can easily compare their opening quotes and my own. Even making allowance for small differences in brokerage quotes by 2-5 pips, there are no complaints about ProsperityFX.
2. Convenient system for switching between several accounts in the personal cabinet. In a few clicks, without constantly entering passwords, a convenient display of statistics for several accounts is available.
3. No liquidity problems. There were even funny situations: the trader I copy has slippage and delay due to requotes. And I have an average slippage level set in MT4 without a repeated broker request. And on volatility, I manage to close the trade manually before the trader.
The broker is “no-frills”. There are no special tools here. But it is suitable for regular trading.
I would like to draw your attention to several points. First, the broker has no regulation or license. In the FAQs section, the latest information about the license is dated May 2020, and the information has not been updated since. Perhaps the broker is looking for a favorable jurisdiction. Second, in the online chart of spreads for the EUR/USD pair, it is listed as 0.6 pips. And in trading conditions, it is from 0.8-1.2 points. Many accounts have a rather big fixed commission. Does it make sense to cooperate with this broker? Decide for yourself.
This broker is exclusively for medium- and long-term trading in large volumes and as a last resort for intraday trading strategies. The reason is the commissions. For example, on a Pro account with a minimum spread of 0.4, the commission per lot is $8. But, the spread on EUR/USD is 0.6-0.8 pips, which the broker itself confirms on the online chart of the main spreads. The cost of a pip on a full lot in EUR/USD is USD 10, and I will give 8 as a commission, and another USD 6-8 as a spread. Scalping and trading in small volumes are not profitable for me since the profit will either be unfavorably low or will be "eaten up" by the spread/commission. It is also necessary to include the risks of unprofitable trades. Therefore, I can recommend ProsperityFX only for reliable intraday strategies with a price movement of at least 15 pips or for trading with advisors.
Just register and get authorized to submit a review of the broker’s activities and conditions on its platform. Everyone can and is invited to submit a review. All reviews of ProsperityFX published on the website in 2021 are verified and confirmed by Traders Union as reliable comments by real traders.

TDeFi To Host Blockchain Business Hackathon With Future Blockchain Summit

TDeFi, a crypto startup accelerator announces a Blockchain Business Hackathon in collaboration with Future Blockchain Summit at GITEX 2021-the world’s largest annual technology exhibition that takes place in Dubai. This Bizthon at GITEX is an extension of our enduring efforts to enable visionary developers and entrepreneurs to build decentralized products. The purpose of this uniquely designed Bizthon is to shape an idea into a fully-funded operational business. To get more news about intelligex scam, you can visit wikifx.com official website.

Dubbed as the ‘Bizthon’, the hackathon is open for anyone (Students/Professionals/Individuals/corporates) with a vision to build on the top of Blockchain technology. Enthusiasts can submit their ideas from Aug 12 to Sep 20 on any of the following tracks or come up with their own ideas to build on any Chain they prefer. This way you can go ahead and start building what you can resonate with.

You will be required to submit your ideas initially and keep up to finalize your attendance at the GITEX event in Dubai. The following rounds are an inherent part of your application for the BizThon.

You ought to submit the details mentioned above and update your code repo regularly to qualify in the best code category. The last date for Ideas submission is 20th September. Once you have completed your Idea submission round, you will qualify for the semi-final which is as follows.

After you’ve submitted your ideas by complying with requirements, you should submit your MVPs to qualify for the final round. In this step, you will have to submit your updated code repo along with your video demo of the product which is mandatory to qualify for this round. Once your MVP is approved, you will be invited to Dubai to improvise your projects.

The third step will be your final presentation at the GITEX event in the Future Blockchain Summit where you will directly pitch to institutional investors, VCs, family offices, strategy officials, global technology companies and decision-makers.

Depending upon the scores from the judges, there will be five winners across each track. Winners shall be decided under three special categories which are ‘Best Use Case for Mass Adoption’, ‘Best Business Use Case’, and ‘Best Quality Code’. A total of 25 teams shall be deemed winners and be eligible for prizes from a pool of $1 million.

BizThon’s participants shall present alongside the arenas of industry-leading companies in the likes of IBM, Intel, Microsoft, HP, and more while they craft the solutions that will leave a disruptive impact on the attendees and the world. TDeFi invites you to submit your ideas and collaborate with world-class teams in a seamless ecosystem.

How change in population structure is affecting countries

Population is one of the most—if not the only—important factors that drives economic growth. The most well-known example is China, which has grown to be the second largest economy in the word since it has opened up its economy in the 1970s. A large population is a powerful asset in any economy as it can create economic demands by consuming goods and alluring investment, while providing cheap labor inputs necessary for economic development.To get more news about trendsmacro, you can visit wikifx.com official website.

However, equally important aspect of population to consider is its structure, not just its sheer number. A disproportionately large portion of aging, old population puts great financial burdens on the young generation as they spend more than earn, thereby dragging down the economy.

Let’s have a look at how the proportion of young population (0 to 14), working population (15 to 64) and old population (65 and above) to the total population in some of countries in the world has changed from the 2000s to 2018.
Notes: (1) Total population between the ages 0 to 14, 15 to 64, and 65 and above as a percentage of the total population.

(2) Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
Based on this data, which country seems favorable? My take is that India and Vietnam seem to be on the bright side (they have very high ratio of young and working people), whereas most of the developed countries seem to be on their path to become old. Another salient phenomenon is how fast East Asian countries are aging (Spearheaded by Japan, and followed by China and South Korea).

Another important indicator to consider is birth rate. The birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is considered the rate at which a country can sustain its current population. This makes sense as two children would be needed to support their parents in a household while the extra 0.1 would account for the fact that some people die prematurely because of disease, accidents etc.

(1) Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.

On the contrary to common conception, birth rate has not changed greatly and rather decreased from 2000 to 2017. But some of the biggest drops come from countries like India, South Korea, Singapore and United States. It is notable that most of the countries are also below the natural rate of 2.1.

Among developed countries, France has the highest birth rate standing at 1.92 thanks to various government policies and high number of immigrants. This would imply that France has the potential to maintain its current population size, unlike most of its counterparts which may face the prospect of shrinking population.

One last interesting but most well-known ageing country is Japan, where population of ages 65 and above increased from 17% in 2000 to 27.6% in 2018 and the equivalent number decreased in working age population. This population change not only shows an obvious growing industry in elderly care and hospitals, but also presents other business implications and risks.

How To Find Quality Commercial Plywood

Are you in the real estate or construction business? Are you looking for quality commercial plywood for your upcoming project? The good news is that you do not have to look any further, If you are looking for quality and durability all in one product, we are your best bet. At EWAY, we provide a wide range of commercial plywood products manufactured from wood sourced from trusted suppliers. To get more news about commercial plywood, you can visit boosterplywood.com official website.

Commercial plywood: what is it?

Commercial plywood is one of the most popular products used in the construction and real estate sector. Also known as MR-grade plywood, this type of standard plywood is moist resistant and suitable for construction of areas that require dryness. Its MR quality makes the product capable of withstanding humidity and moisture. This is the main reason why commercial plywood is preferred for areas such as homes and offices, it is also commonly used for making furniture, partitioning spaces and paneling walls. Usually, the product is coated with other products to make it even more water resistant.

Benefits of using commercial plywood
Apart from its water resistance quality, commercial plywood comes with many benefits. Firstly, it is cheaper if you compare its price with that of other plywood such as marine plywood. The latter is usually more expensive, also because it is of exterior grade. Commercial plywood, however, is meant for indoor spaces, making it cheaper.

The other advantage of using commercial plywood is that it is less harmful to the environment. By combining different types of wood in its manufacturing, there is economical use of wood. To make the outer parts of the product, some types of wood can be used, usually based on their aesthetic, while the inner layers may comprise cheaper wood. To ensure that the quality of the product is not compromised, the inner layers are made with stronger wood. This also ensures the durability of the product.

Above all, commercial plywood comes in a wide variety of options. Whether you want a plain color or decorated plywood, you can choose based on the aesthetic you are going for.

Why Us?
Whether you are looking for plywood to make decorative furniture or for paneling walls in a home, you can trust our range of commercial plywood products. Linyi EWAY Co. Ltd is one of the most reputed commercial plywood exporters in China. Our products are also imported by many countries across the globe.

Our company is engaged in plywood manufacturing and processing. Having been in business for over 10 years now, we pride ourselves in the quality of our products, our expertise and ever-growing trading business. We also pride ourselves in ensuring that the quality of wood we use is up to par and that it is sourced in an ethical manner.

Our range of products

The good things about choosing our products is that we have a wide range to choose from. Overall, we have 13 commercial plywood product lines, and we ensure production of at least 60 000 cubic meters on an annual basis. With a dedicated team of 260 employees, we ensure that our customers from all over the world are satisfied with our products. Our commitment to our customers, local and foreign, is to provide products that match their expectation. Above all, we provide these products at an affordable proce.
Our commercial plywood products range from hardwood plywood to furniture-grade plywood. Our customers can visit our manufacturing plants and retail shops or browse our products on our website. If you are interested in a product, all you have to do contact our staff and we will give you a quote. We also ship products abroad, and these logistics can be discussed with our customer care service providers.

How Smart Home Lock-In Imprisons You

One of my biggest anxieties about putting together a smart home is the possibility of walking into a trap.To get more news about electronic safe lock, you can visit securamsys.com official website.

That’s a real possibility when so many products are cut off from one another. Want to let Amazon unlock your door and stick packages inside your house? That requires an Amazon Cloud Cam and a specific smart lock from either Kwikset or Yale. Feel like building your own home security system powered by Google’s Nest? That requires a different Yale-branded lock, and won’t work with smart doorbells from Ring (which is now owned by Amazon). And if you’ve invested in Apple’s HomeKit system, you won’t be able to arm Nest’s security system or view your Amazon Cloud Cam feed by asking Siri.
The business motivations are clear: Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple see the smart home as new territory to conquer through their respective ecosystems. While they’ve all maintained some level of openness toward outside partners, they also use their own hardware to build exclusive features. As a result, the more you buy into one system, the more you become locked out of others.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Just as the internet is designed not to block websites based on your choice of browser, the Internet of Things shouldn’t cut you off from certain services because you bought the wrong security camera or smart speaker. Smart home devices should be interoperable, and tech giants should commit–more than they have so far–to pushing standards forward. Doing so might be a big undertaking, and would go against years of tradition, but in the long run, it’ll be worthwhile for everyone.

The tech giants’ current approach to smart homes is a lot like the one they took with mobile devices a decade ago. Instead of championing interoperability, companies created their own platforms, each with their own set of tools that allowed developers to build apps. Instead of the open web, we got a bunch of separate app stores.

What resulted was a far cry from the unfettered openness of the web. “Historically, they talk about open APIs, and that’s a different thing,” says Tobin Richardson, CEO of the ZigBee Alliance, which is pushing for more interoperability in smart homes. “An open API just means, ‘I’ll let you write to my system. That’s not really an open ecosystem. That’s just saying, ‘You can talk to me.'”

On smartphones and tablets, the closed-off approach wasn’t such a bad thing, at least for Apple and Google, whose platforms became predominant. Native apps tended to be snappier and more powerful than web-based ones, and because the market coalesced around two major platforms, deciding between them wasn’t too burdensome for consumers or developers.

But smart homes are more complicated, with a half-dozen viable platforms that interconnect in some ways and compete in others. You can control a Nest thermostat from an Amazon Echo, or view a Nest Cam feed on Amazon’s Fire TV, for instance, but you can’t ask Alexa to arm a Nest Secure system or announce who’s at the door when the Nest Hello doorbell rings. Consumers must therefore anticipate whether the product they’re about to buy will work with any number of other products they might want in the future. That’s a lot tougher than deciding between an iPhone or an Android phone.

Consumers can avoid headaches to some extent by purchasing platform-agnostic products, such as an Ecobee thermostat that works with all the major voice assistants, or an August smart lock that plays nicely with HomeKit, Nest, Alexa, and more. Consumers can also lean on switchboard services like IFTTT and Stringify to connect products that aren’t explicitly designed to work together.

But at some point, keeping track of all those integrations becomes a headache. And for developers, it’s even harder. Instead of just writing apps for a couple of platforms, now they have to work with a tangle of ecosystems and a fragmented customer base.

“From a developer perspective, it’s kind of a nightmare, because now I don’t have to develop just for one set of APIs, or interfaces, or security protocols. Now I’ve got to do it three, four, or five times for all these different vendors that I know my consumer base is going to use,” says Gary Martz, a spokesman for the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), a group that’s creating an interoperability standard for smart homes.

Some third-party organizations are trying to solve these problems with open standards. The idea is that a company like Amazon wouldn’t have to explicitly support products from rivals like Google or Apple. Instead, each company would support the standard, which ensures that they all work together.

“Major vendor A isn’t going to go integrate with major vendor B and major vendor C directly in their devices in a lot of cases,” OCF’s Gary Martz says. “But if there’s a neutral third party that they all can agree has done things the right way, they’re going to be willing to integrate those solutions more readily.”

Still, these efforts at standardization are fairly young. The OCF (whose backers include Intel, Samsung, Microsoft, LG, and Qualcomm) has certified just a dozen smart home products, including LG and Samsung refrigerators, a washer from Haier, and some universal remotes from Sure. Martz says more are in the pipeline, now that the group has ironed out its certification process.

Five Steps to Design Your Own Custom Jewelry

Design your own custom piece of jewelry and make a personal statement. Select your fine gems and gold, and from your creativity, comes meaning and ultimately a heirloom.To get more news about make your own custom jewelry online, you can visit jewelryhunt.net official website.

Jewelry produced in a factory is quite different from a bespoke piece. Like a bit of decoration that — no matter how lovely — is replaceable.

That’s why I love collaborating on personalized designs with our clients.

It’s incredibly exciting to start with the seed of an idea, then develop it, nurture and adore it. Only a month later, after dozens of hours of creative work, it is magical to hold the fruit of that idea in your hands. (Or drape it around your neck, dangle it from your ears, or slide it onto your loved one’s finger.) How personal can a piece of jewelry be if you don’t know who mined the gemstones, or the goldsmith who cast and worked the metals?

Whether you want to design a custom engagement ring, a pendant to mark a milestone, or the earrings you’ve always dreamed of, your sources matter. Take this into consideration from step one so you can feel confident your investment is supporting environmentally sustainable and socially responsible practices.
Step One: Find Inspiration
Are there existing pieces of jewelry you would like to borrow from? Snap pictures of pieces you see or gather images online.

Designing for someone with a unique sense of style? Collect images that capture their taste and fashion. This goes for yourself as well.

Simply inspired by a particular gemstone? Start by asking yourself what it is about rubies or opals that fascinates you.

Inspiration can come from many places. The key is to focus your inspiration and find images and materials that clearly communicate your vision to a design team.
Step Two: Honor Your Past
Heirloom jewelry and inherited gemstones are a natural place to start. This is a common way to approach custom jewelry design because family pieces carry deep personal meaning. The new custom piece can be a way to preserve older pieces and extend their life.

Honor an inherited gem by repurposing it in a custom ring, pendant, or cuff. For example, the gold from your grandmother’s wedding band could be recast into a contemporary design. An antique brooch can be set as a pendant. And a damaged can be repaired and transformed into a ring.
Step Three: Sketch it Out
Choose a metal that you love and start sketching possible designs. You do not need drawing skills or design experience to start doodling what you see in your mind’s eye. Have fun with it.

These drawings are simply another step in refining your idea and ensuring your design team understands exactly what you want.
Step Four: Know Your Artisans
Once your design has been perfected and approved, you can remain closely involved in the creation of your piece by getting to know the fabricators.

At Thesis Gems and Jewelry, we think witnessing the work of San Francisco Bay Area master goldsmiths is one of the most thrilling steps in the process.

The sheer anticipation of waiting to receive your custom jewelry is a true delight. And finally holding your completed design in your hands is an indescribable feeling.
Step Five: Protect Your Investment
Now that your inspiration has come to life, you want to ensure it lasts for generations. And if the unthinkable does happen and your treasured jewelry is lost or stolen, you want to be able to recoup your investment.

First, guard your treasure carefully by storing it in a secure place and taking proper care of the metals. At Thesis, our jewelry is guaranteed forever. If needed, we can repair your custom piece so it doesn’t end up permanently hidden in a drawer or safe.

China's regulation on chaotic entertainment industry 'will not affect normal exchanges with any country

Facing concerns from South Korea over whether the recent regulations on distorted "fan circle" culture and chaotic entertainment industry "deliberately targeted South Korea," the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in South Korea clarified China's position on Wednesday, stressing that all the efforts are aimed at celebrities or fans who violate moral conduct and Chinese laws and it will not affect normal exchanges between China and any other country.To get more chinese entertainment news, you can visit shine news official website.

As the Cyberspace Administration of China issued heightened measures on August 27 to crack down on the unhealthy online fan culture and reduce extreme idol worshipping by underage fans, media outlets in South Korea worried that China's new strict regulations will have a big impact on the country's entertainment industry, because China is one of the biggest sources of revenue for major Korean entertainment companies.

Such worries escalated when China's major social media platform, Sina Weibo, announced on September 5 that it had banned for 60 days a South Korean boy band BTS' fan club account for illegal fundraising. Weibo announced 12 hours later that it had proceeded to block 21 other Chinese fan group accounts of for 30 days.

The spokesman said in a statement published on Wednesday that recently, there have been frequent incidents of moral lapses and violations of laws involving Chinese celebrities, such as tax fraud, sexual assault, and drug abuse. For example, a famous foreign singer was arrested by the police on suspicion of rape, and an actor's repeated visits to Japan's notorious Yasukuni Shrine were boycotted by the Chinese public. In both cases, the spokesperson referred to Canadian Singer Kris Wu and actor Zhang Zhehan.

The spokesman pointed out that the problem of sick "fan circle" culture in the Chinese entertainment industry is becoming increasingly prominent, with various fan bases abusing and slandering each other, engaging in malicious marketing, and even forcing fans, including minors, to raise funds to support such acts.

"These types of behavior spread a lot of harmful information to the society, causing a huge negative impact on the fan circle, mainly young people, and some even violate the law, which seriously hinders the healthy development of the entertainment industry," the spokesman said.

In response to such a negative phenomenon, the relevant Chinese authorities have urgently issued prohibitive and punitive measures to regulate entertainers' malicious marketing and encourage healthy consumption, launching a series of special actions focusing on the rectification of abnormal culture in the entertainment industry and the chaotic "fan circle."

The spokesperson noted that China and South Korea have learned from each other through thousands of years of exchanges and have formed profound historical and cultural ties.

"This is the launch year of the 'China-South Korea Cultural Exchange Year,' and the year 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of China-South Korea diplomatic relations, to further strengthen friendly bilateral cooperation which conforms to the trend of the times, conforms to the people, and serves the fundamental interests of both sides," the spokesperson said, stressing that China will readily continue to strengthen cultural exchanges with the South Korea, encourage positive cultural exchanges and cooperation, while rejecting vulgarity and vulgar comparisons.

"We hope that cultural exchanges between the two countries will become an inexhaustible driving force for the development of the China-South Korea bilateral relationship in the new era and play a positive role in boosting inter-personal bonds," the spokesperson said.

Try these 8 lucky Cantonese foods for Chinese New Year

Year of the Tiger arrives on Feb.1. For many East Asians — including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai — Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, marked by 15 days of celebrations. To get more news about taste of shanghai, you can visit shine news official website.

People born in a year of the Tiger are said to be brave, fearless and confident — much like a tiger's personality. There are 12 animal signs rotated each year in the Chinese zodiac.

The holiday is celebrated with different customs and foods depending on the region. In northern China, dumplings are often served because they are shaped like gold ingots, representing wealth.There are also different versions of nian gao, which translates to year cake. The sticky cake was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, so that his mouth will be stuck closed, unable to badmouth the human family to the Jade Emperor.

In Shanghai, where my family is from, the nian gao is stir fried with pork slices and cabbage, is what I grew up. But growing up in Taiwan, my family also ate the sweet nian gao, which is fried in an egg batter.

Thinking nian gao is a Chinese tradition throughout the country, I asked Fort Lee's Aquarius Seafood Restaurant owner Leo Le about a Cantonese version.

He told me the Cantonese of southern China and Hong Kong has its own version of lucky foods and that serving nian gao is out of fashion now. Whoops!

So what's hot in Cantonese cuisine in this upcoming Year of the Tiger? Luk made for us eight specialty dishes and shared their symbolic meanings. Eight is a lucky number in China as "ba," which means eight, rhymes with "fa," meaning prosperous.
1. Fa Chay Hou Xi
Dried oysters are steamed for a half an hour and served in oyster sauce. Fa means to prosper in Chinese and the oysters called hou in Cantonese sounds like the phrase "good things." Oyster is a food of luck in Chinese culture.

2. Ti Pan or Fa Chai Da Yuanti
This is braised pork, Cantonese style. Ti Pan, Mandarin for braised pork, is usually cooked in a red sauce with sugar. Luk made the Cantonese version of the pork without sugar in a savory brown sauce. Fa Chai Da means big prosper and Yuanti means pork shank. Mandarin and Cantonese are different dialects of the Chinese language.

3. Yi Fu Mein or braised soft noodles
Noodles are a traditional Chinese New Year dish as they symbolize long life. These egg noodles are served with mushrooms. Fu means luck in Cantonese and these noodles will not only bring longevity, but luck as well.

4. Ginger scallion lobster or Long Xia
This is a classic Cantonese dish with the lobster cut up and deep fried. The tender lobster meat is then served with ginger and scallions. Lobster is a Lunar New Year tradition as it symbolizes the dragon, which represents power. Plus, it's a luxurious food. Luxury is a must in the new year season to represent wealth.

5. Snow pea shoots in broth or Dou Miao
Green means money and these new green sprouts symbolize a fresh beginning for the new year. It's served in a light broth with egg whites separated from the egg yolks.

6. Fried rice in XO sauce
You need a rice dish to accompany all the delicious entrees and this version is a Cantonese specialty. XO sauce is a spicy Cantonese seafood sauce — made with dried shrimp and scallops, ham, chili and soy sauce, among other ingredients — that's salty and pungent. The Aquarius version is served with dried scallops and fish and topped with golden raisins for a touch of sweetness and to symbolize gold.

7. Steamed sea bass
Fish means plenty to eat in Chinese and serving fish is a must for an auspicious year ahead. This simply prepared big mouth bass lets the flavors of the fish shine through, with just soy sauce, oil, ginger and scallions added.

8. Abalone soup
This thick soup with abalone as its highlight represents good fortune. It's a rich, savory broth thickened with corn starch that's hearty during cold nights. To get unlimited access to the latest news out of North Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.