China

BEIJING, Aug 7 (APP): Three special planes of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) airlifted a fresh batch of two million doses of Sinopharm vaccines from the Beijing Capital Airport to Pakistan amid the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three flights of the national flag carrier, PK-6856, PK-6857, and PK-6858 have transported consignments of two million doses of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccines to Pakistan from China, Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China told APP here on Saturday.

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's total imports and exports expanded 24.5 percent year on year to 21.34 trillion yuan (about 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of the year, official data showed Saturday.

The volume marked a 22.3 percent increase compared with the level during the same period in 2019, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Both exports and imports logged double-digit growth in the Jan.-July period, jumping 24.5 percent and 24.4 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense on Friday expressed strong opposition against the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan and vowed to defeat any foreign intervention and any attempts to seek "Taiwan independence."

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the statement in response to an Aug. 4 announcement from the United States about an arms deal to Taiwan worth 750 million U.S. dollars.

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars rover Zhurong has traveled more than 800 meters on the surface of the red planet as of Friday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

Zhurong has been traversing a complex terrain full of rocks, craters and dunes, and its rear hazard-avoidance camera captured a picture of the rover just moving across the rocks.

BEIJING (AP) — China has appointed a new military commander in restive Xinjiang where authorities have locked up more than a million members of Muslim minorities in what they call a bid to curb terrorism and radicalism.

Lt. Gen. Wang Haijiang will oversee a massive military presence in the sprawling northwestern region that borders on several unstable Central Asian states, along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, from which U.S. troops are withdrawing.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Friday as investors watched for U.S. jobs data for an update on how coronavirus flareups are affecting the world’s biggest economy.

London opened flat while Frankfurt gained. Shanghai declined, Tokyo advanced and Hong Kong was unchanged.

Wall Street futures were little changed while investors awaited July employment data for signs of how renewed anti-disease curbs might affect hiring and wages. They were encouraged Thursday by a decline in U.S. unemployment claims.

HONG KONG, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong judge cleared on Thursday singer and pro-democracy activist Anthony Wong of a charge of "corrupt conduct" filed this week by the city's anti-corruption watchdog over an appearance at an opposition election rally in 2018.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Monday that Wong had provided "entertainment to induce others to vote" for pro-democracy activist Au Nok-hin in a 2018 legislative by-election.

Wong, 59, performed two songs then appealed to the audience to vote for Au, it said. 

GUANGZHOU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 33,000 residents have been evacuated to safe places as of 4:00 p.m. Wednesday as Typhoon Lupit, the ninth one this year, made landfall on Thursday morning in coastal areas of south China's Guangdong Province.

The typhoon landed at around 11:20 a.m. in the coastal waters off Nan'ao County, Shantou City, packing winds of up to 24 meters per second at its center, according to the meteorological observatory of Guangdong Province.

BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday sternly refuted remarks made by the United States and Japan on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong and their attacks on China on grounds of human rights.

That came as Wang asked for the floor for the second time in response to the above-mentioned accusations, after he had delivered a speech concerning East Asia cooperation via video link at the 11th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

BEIJING (AP) — The delta variant is challenging China’s costly strategy of isolating cities, prompting warnings that Chinese leaders who were confident they could keep the coronavirus out of the country need a less disruptive approach.