Society

China will raise the retail prices for gasoline by 500 yuan ($76.34) per tonne and diesel by 400 yuan per tonne starting Thursday, the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday.

After the implementation of the increase, which is the second price rise this year, the benchmark retail price of gasoline will be raised by 0.37 yuan per liter and diesel by 0.34 yuan per liter, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

Due to rising international crude oil prices and mounting domestic inflation pressures, the NDRC has "properly postponed" the timing of the rise in prices and has limited the increase, the statement said.

The former mayor of Zhongshan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, stood trial Wednesday for insider trading, disclosing inside information and bribery.

Li Qihong, stood trial at Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court along with three other family members including her husband, Lin Yongan, younger brother, Li Qiming, and her younger brother's wife, Lin Xiaoyan.

According to the procurator, in May of 2007, Tan Qingzhong, the president of Zhongshan Public Utilities, planned to inject all his capital into Zhongshan Public Technology Co, Ltd and go public as a whole.

On June 11, 2007, Tan reported the project to the municipal leaders and Li Qihong was put in charge of the project.

China's economy is expected to grow 9.6 percent in 2011 as fixed asset investment remains a key driver, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in an annual report released here on Wednesday.

With inflation pressures building and tightened monetary policy, China's GDP growth was forecast moderate this year, compared with a growth of 10.3 percent in 2010, said the ADB in its 2011 Asian Development Outlook, which expected a growth of 9.2 percent in China in 2012.

The inflation rate, which averaged 3.3 percent in 2010, will pick up to 4.6 percent in 2011, lifted by abundant liquidity and higher food and commodities prices, the ADB said. The bank estimated the inflation will ease back to 4.2 percent in 2012 as commodity prices level off.

Fixed asset investment will remain a key driver of growth, although the expansion rate is set to decelerate slightly from past levels, standing at 22 percent in 2011 and 20 percent in 2012 respectively, due to the winding back of fiscal stimulus measures and tighter monetary policy, the bank said.

Two American tourists wearing ancient Chinese costumes learn to write Chinese characters on bamboo slips with brushes in the World Park in Fengtai district on Wednesday. Several foreign tourists participated in a series of cultural activities to mark the traditional Tomb-sweeping Day, which falls on April 5.