China

HEFEI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China's position on the Ukraine issue is objective and fair, and time will prove that it is on the right side of history, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday.

Wang made the remarks when briefing journalists on the exchange of views between the heads of China and the United States on the Ukraine issue during a video call that took place on March 18.

BEIJING, March 19 (APP): As the seventh-largest footwear producer, Pakistan accounts for more than 2.4% of world footwear production, but footwear contributes less than 1% to its global exports.

For a long time, Pakistan’s footwear industry has been eager to enhance its global competitiveness and expand the scale of exports through measures such as technological upgrading, import substitution of footwear materials, and improvement of labor quality.

BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly "outrageous".

Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow's point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia "into a corner".

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1.24 billion people across the Chinese mainland had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, a Chinese health official said Saturday.

Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), released the data at a press conference, adding that close to 3.22 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the mainland.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s health authorities reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the first since January 2021, as the country battles its worst outbreak in two years driven by a surge in the highly transmissible omicron variant.

The deaths, both in northeastern Jilin province, bring the country’s coronavirus death toll to 4,638.

BEIJING, March 17 (APP): The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) sent a shipment of 130 metric tons of flour to the Afghan Red Crescent Society as donation to help the country tide over the current food crisis.

A handover ceremony was held at the Afghan Red Crescent Society headquarters. Wang Yu, Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, Matiul Haq Khalis, president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and other representatives attended the ceremony, CGTN reported.

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Friday, with both sides agreeing to promote Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides should engage in high-quality joint Belt and Road construction, speed up the construction of major projects such as highways, airports and special economic zones, and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as finance and digital economy, Xi said. 

BEIJING (AP) — Even as authorities lock down cities in China’s worst outbreak in two years, they are looking for an exit from what has been a successful but onerous COVID-19 prevention strategy.

A study, interviews with Chinese public health staff and recent public messaging by government-affiliated experts indicate that China is exploring ways of slowly easing its zero-tolerance approach — with the emphasis on slowly.

BEIJING, March 17 (APP): China successfully sent a new remote sensing satellite, Yaogan-3402, into space on Thursday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The satellite was carried by a Long March-4C rocket and successfully entered its planned orbit.

The optical remote sensing satellite will be used to survey urban planning, the confirmation of land rights, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and reduction.

It was the 411th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

BEIJING, March 17 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country to take more effective COVID-19 measures and minimise the impact of the epidemic on economic development, state television said on Thursday, as the country battles a new wave of infections.