China

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday put a Chinese Australian writer on trial for alleged espionage and denied the Australian ambassador in Beijing access to the hearing.

Yang Hengjun has been held since arriving in China in January 2019 and has had no access to family and only limited contact with his lawyer, the Australian government has said.

Ambassador Graham Fletcher walked to the court complex gate in Beijing and returned after he was denied entry, telling journalists it was “regrettable” that diplomats were prevented from observing the trial.

BEIJING, May 26 (APP): Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has inducted the JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft into its fleet as part of an ongoing modernization.

Nigeria ordered three of the Sino-Pakistani fighters in 2018 to strengthen its air combat capability.

The Nigerian Air Force officially inducted three JF-17 fighter jets at the country’s Makurdi Air Base, while celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Nigerian Air Force’s founding, Chinese state media said Wednesday.

BEIJING, May 25 (APP): A three-year cooperative project on science education for youth was launched in Beijing on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations.

The cooperative plan was initiated on a hybrid meeting between China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF).

As per the plan, in the next three years, teachers training, resource sharing and science education projects for youth would be carried out.

AKSU, China (AP) — A backlash against reports of forced labor and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China’s cotton industry, but it’s unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways.

Li Qiang, general manager of the Huafu Fashion yarn factory in Xinjiang, told reporters that even though the company lost money in 2020 for the first time in its 27-year history, it bounced back by shifting to domestic orders.

BEIJING, May 24 (APP): A Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson on Monday appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and said that the Chinese side was having discussion with third parties, including Afghanistan on the extension of the flagship project.

“We have noted the relevant remarks by Prime Minister Imran Khan and we appreciate it,” Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing while responding to a question on PM Imran Khan’s remarks about CPEC.

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Sunday, the National Health Commission said Monday.

A total of 510.858 million doses had been administered in the country, according to the commission.

China is now capable of administering over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per day, the commission said.

BEIJING (AP) — Australia said its citizen Yang Hengjun will be tried by a Chinese court on espionage charges on Thursday amid deteriorating relations between the countries.

Yang has been held since arriving in China in January 2019 and has had no access to family and only limited contact with his legal representation, according to Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

“Despite repeated requests by Australian officials, Chinese authorities have not provided any explanation or evidence for the charges facing Dr Yang,” she said in a statement.

BEIJING, May 23 (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)’s special flight PK6853 airlifted another batch of two millions doses of Sinovac vaccine from the Beijing Capital International Airport to Islamabad on Sunday.

Last Sunday, a special flight PK 6852 had also transported a consignment of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine procured from China to fight the ongoing wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan, Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China told APP.

BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China's crude oil output rose 3.4 percent year on year to 16.41 million tonnes in April, official data shows.

The April output represents a 4.3 percent increase from the level seen in the same period of 2019, putting the annual average growth of the past two years at 2.1 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the first four months, China's oil output grew 1.9 percent year on year to 65.63 million tonnes.

BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-one people running a mountain marathon have died in northwestern China after hail, freezing rain and gale winds hit the high-altitude race, state media reported Sunday.

After an all night rescue operation in freezing temperatures involving more than 700 personnel, rescuers were able to confirm that 151 people were safe out of a total of 172 participants. Twenty-one had died, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, which said the runners suffered from physical discomfort and the sudden drop in temperature.