BEIJING nike air force 1 basse femme pas cher , July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State of Iowa will maintain its friendship with China and seek even closer cooperation, its new governor said during her visit to China with an all-Iowa agriculture trade mission.
"This is the first time in history that Iowa has sent out an all-agriculture trade mission, which consists of seven agricultural commodity groups. This best speaks to how much we value the Chinese market," Kim Reynolds said in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.
One month after former Iowa governor Terry Branstad took office as U.S. Ambassador to China nike air force 1 basse homme pas cher , Reynolds started her first trade mission to China as the state governor on July 21, at the invitation of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
The mission includes delegates from soybean, corn, pork nike air force 1 basse pas cher , beef, eggs, poultry and dairy producers. They met with officials of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce nike air force 1 mid pas cher , and local governments in Shanghai, Xi'an and Beijing.
As one of the U.S.'s top agricultural states, Iowa leads the country in corn, soybean and pork production nike air force 1 haute femme pas cher , and has played a key role in expanding U.S. exports to China, which is Iowa's third largest trade partner.
Close economic and trade cooperation with China has been a major boost and highlight for Iowa's economic growth, the governor said.
According to statistics from the U.S.-China Business Council, a non-profit organization nike air force 1 haute homme pas cher , Iowa's exports to China have grown rapidly during the last decade. In 2015, the total value of agricultural products exported from Iowa to China reached 1.4 billion U.S. dollars.
"One out of every four rows of soybeans in Iowa are destined for China," said Reynolds.
She noted that China's recent resumption of U.S. beef imports is great news for Iowa farmers. It is estimated that Iowa's beef exports will increase by 13 percent.
"Agriculture is critical for U.S.-China trade. You need to try some Iowa beef," she said.
With China's middle class growing and their purchasing power getting stronger nike air force 1 haute pas cher , there are more opportunities for Iowa in the future, said Reynolds.
A demonstration farm is set to be built next year in north China's Hebei Province, Iowa's sister province since 1983.
"The farm will be a link between Iowa and Hebei," the governor said Nike Special Field Air Force 1 pas cher , adding that it will show how advanced farming technology helps Iowa farmers increase yields, guarantee food safety and control pests without pesticides.
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UNITED NATIONS, May 29 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeeping operations are faced with multiple challenges and are in need of improvement to better fulfill their mandate, said Herve Ladsous, UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.
One of the main challenges is the problem of indiscipline among some UN peacekeepers, in particular those involved in sexual abuse and exploitation cases, Ladsous told Xinhua in a recent interview.
"We have to bring to light all these cases," said Ladsous, stressing that those who committed such crimes must be brought to justice.
Last year, sexual abuse allegations against some peacekeepers who were sent to protect civilians but instead traded sex for money and sexually abused minors made headlines.
According to UN recent update on the issue, so far in 2016, the number of allegations recorded against peacekeeping and special political missions is 44, and 39 of them involve uniformed personnel.
Ladsous said the troop contributing countries bear the major responsibility to investigate the allegations and to bring those responsible to justice since the UN has no power to punish them.
"What we would like to see is that a tribunal is organized in the country where the allegations took place," he added, saying on-site court martial proceedings shall happen more systematically.
Ladsous also said he has suggested taking DNA samples from every peacekeeper that joins a peacekeeping mission, so it will be easier to match those samples once there are accusations of rape.
"If the soldiers and policemen are really aware of it, I think that will deter them a lot from abusing the trust of the people in such a lamentable way," he said.
Another main challenge is that UN peacekeeping missions are operating in countries where the level of threats is very high, Ladsous said.
He recalled the recent terrorist attack in northern Mali which killed six UN peacekeepers, saying some jihadist groups have designated the UN missions as a target.
"We are asked to step in when the political process is still quite weak, so that means many actors are trying to play a game often at our expense," he noted.
Besides, Ladsous said some troop contributing countries bring in people who don't have a sufficient level of equipment or don't receive appropriate training, "so we have to compensate for that."
Speaking of peacekeeping reforms, Ladsous said a general philosophy is to deploy peacekeeping operations in support of a political solution, to improve their performance, and to improve partnerships with troop-contributing countries as well as host countries.
COOPERATION WITH CHINA
"China now has become over recent years a very important contributor," said Ladsous.