China

BEIJING (AP) — China cannot accept the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of a study into the origins of COVID-19, a senior Chinese health official said Thursday.

Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of the National Health Commission, said he was “rather taken aback” by the call for a further into the pandemic’s origins and specifically, the theory that the virus might have leaked from a Chinese lab.

He dismissed the lab leak theory as a rumor that runs counter to common sense and science.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s military has blasted a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces, as the death toll in widespread flooding rose to at least 25.

The dam operation was carried out late Tuesday night in the city of Luoyang, just as severe flooding overwhelmed the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, trapping residents in the subway system and stranding them at schools, apartments and offices.

Another seven people were reported missing, provincial officials said at a news conference.

HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's government said on Tuesday authorities will review a planned air travel bubble with Singapore in late August, given the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Singapore.

Both governments would review the target date "taking into account the effectiveness of the enhanced infection control measures implemented by Singapore and the global situation at that time," Hong Kong's government said in a statement.

QINGDAO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China's new high-speed maglev train rolled off the production line on Tuesday. It has a designed top speed of 600 km per hour -- currently the fastest ground vehicle available globally.

The new maglev transportation system made its public debut in the coastal city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province.

It has been self-developed by China, marking the country's latest scientific and technological achievement in the field of rail transit, according to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation.

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that the World Health Organization (WHO) will adhere to the spirit of science, professionalism and objectivity, and work with the international community to maintain the scientific and serious nature of COVID-19 origin tracing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday.

He said China is concerned about certain countries' move to politicize the issue of origin tracing, which is in fact a serious issue need to be dealt with through the collaboration of global scientists.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday rejected an accusation by Washington and its Western allies that Beijing is to blame for a hack of the Microsoft Exchange email system and complained Chinese entities are victims of damaging U.S. cyberattacks.

A foreign ministry spokesman demanded Washington drop charges announced Monday against four Chinese nationals accused of working with the Ministry of State Security to try to steal U.S. trade secrets, technology and disease research.

BEIJING, July 19 (APP): Export of Pakistani cosmetics to Chinese customers particularly Muslims community would be a good opportunity for Pakistani products as China has a huge and approachable market, said Ahmad Zafar, director of Beauty Expert (Pvt) Ltd.

“China is a huge market and it is an approachable market as well. Targeting the Muslim community is a viable option in China. We have a plan in near future of exporting our products”, he said.

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese host of this year’s meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee has defended the body’s proposal to label the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger” against Australian government suspicion that China influenced the finding for political reasons.

The committee, which is meeting both virtually and in the Chinese city of Fuzhou for the next two weeks, will consider the draft decision on Friday.

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars rover Zhurong has traveled more than 509 meters on the surface of the red planet as of 11 p.m. Saturday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The rover will soon arrive at the second sand dune on its journey on the red planet. It will carry out a detailed survey of the dune and surrounding environment, said the administration.

BEIJING (AP) — Divers have been dispatched in the search for 14 workers missing since water flooded a tunnel under construction in southern China three days ago, authorities said Sunday.

Zhang Yisheng, the vice mayor of Zhuhai city, told a news conference that the water level in the tunnel had dropped by 11.3 meters (37 feet), according to an online report by state broadcaster CCTV. Underwater robots, unmanned ships and sonar detectors would also be deployed, Zhang said.