China

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday denounced a report that it asked Russia to delay invading Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics as “fake news” and a “very despicable” attempt to divert attention and shift blame over the conflict.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also repeated China’s accusations that Washington provoked the war by not ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Thursday and oil prices jumped another $5 as Russian forces whose attack on Ukraine has roiled financial markets bombarded the country’s second-largest city and besieged two ports.

The economic fallout from the Russian invasion expanded, with Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Ratings cutting Russia’s credit rating. They said the invasion and Western sanctions have hurt Moscow’s ability to repay debts and raised risks for the economy and stability.

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will hold a press conference on Friday, one day before the opening of its annual session.

A spokesperson for the fifth session of the 13th NPC will take questions from media on the agenda of the session and the work of the people's congresses, according to the press center of the session.

The press conference will be held via video link due to COVID-19 prevention and control requirements. The event will be broadcast live by China Media Group and on China.org.cn. 

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader on Wednesday said people’s movements may be restricted during mandatory testing this month of the entire population for the coronavirus, as health officials reported a record 55,353 daily infections and over a hundred deaths.

Chief executive Carrie Lam said authorities are still refining the plan, but that there would be no “complete” lockdown that would prevent entry and exit from the city.

“The extent of it must take into account Hong Kong’s circumstances and people’s needs,” she told reporters.

BEIJING, March 1 (APP): China and Pakistan have great potential in semiconductor cooperation and the two countries could work on designing chips for consumer goods like cellphones, mobile infrastructure networks, data centres and, IoT devices.

BEIJING, March 1 (APP): Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Wang Wenbin on Tuesday welcomed talks between Russia and Ukraine and hoped that the two countries would maintain their dialogue and negotiations, and work out a political solution to realize the common security of Europe.

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China has maintained its position as the world's largest manufacturing hub for 12 straight years, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday.

The value-added output of the manufacturing sector in 2021 increased 9.8 percent year on year to 31.4 trillion yuan (about 4.97 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 27.4 percent of the country's GDP, MIIT Minister Xiao Yaqing told a press conference.

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council Information Office on Monday issued the Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2021.

The report said the human rights situation in the United States, which has notorious records, worsened in 2021. Its political manipulation led to a sharp surge in COVID-19 deaths while shooting deaths in the country hit a new record.

Fake democracy trampled on people's political rights and violent law enforcement made life harder for migrants and refugees in the United States, it said.

TAIYUAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The city of Yangquan in north China's Shanxi Province on Friday issued a license to Baidu for the commercial operation of unmanned autonomous driving services -- the first license of its kind issued in China.

"That means a safety supervisor is no longer required in the driver's seat in Baidu's autonomous vehicles operating in designated areas of the city," said Nie Yuren, general manager of Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group Solutions. The license also allows for fare collection, Nie said.

WENCHANG, Hainan, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China launched a Long March-8 rocket to place 22 satellites in space on Sunday, setting a domestic record for the most spacecraft launched by a single rocket.

The rocket blasted off at 11:06 a.m. (Beijing Time) at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern Hainan Province before sending the satellites into preset orbit.