China

BEIJING (AP) — Israel’s Embassy in China is protesting what it describes as “blatant anti-Semitism” on a program run by the overseas channel of state broadcaster CCTV discussing the ongoing violence in Gaza and elsewhere.

In a tweet, the embassy said “we have hoped that the times of the ‘Jew’s controlling the world’ conspiracy theories were over, unfortunately anti-Semitism has shown its ugly face again.”

“We are appalled to see blatant anti-Semitism expressed in an official Chinese media outlet,” the tweet said.

Beijing, May 18 (PTI) China, which has stepped up its diplomacy between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the wake of the US troops withdrawal from the war-torn country, has offered to host peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Significantly, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who in the last two-days held telephone talks with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts, said that China will back the Afghan government headed by Ashraf Ghani in playing a leading role.

(Reuters) --- China is resisting bilateral talks with the United States on nuclear weapons, the U.S. disarmament ambassador told a U.N. conference on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to advance efforts to reduce nuclear arms stockpiles.

"Despite the PRC's dramatic build-up of its nuclear arsenal, unfortunately it continues to resist discussing nuclear risk reduction bilaterally with the United States," said Robert Wood, referring to the People's Republic of China.

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The smooth kickoff of China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project will promote the upgrading of bilateral ties, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will jointly witness the opening ceremony of the two countries' nuclear energy cooperation project via video link on Wednesday.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China puts forward a four-point proposal regarding escalating Palestine-Israel conflict, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.

Wang made the remarks when chairing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on "The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question" via video link.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Monday after surging new coronavirus cases in Thailand and Taiwan fueled disease fears and Chinese factory and consumer activity were weaker than expected.

London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced while Tokyo declined.

Wall Street futures fell after the S&P 500 index gained Friday, rebounding from heavy selling earlier, but finished the week down 1.4% for its biggest weekly loss in three months.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday renewed calls for the U.S. to play a constructive role in ending the conflict in Gaza and stop blocking efforts at the United Nations to demand an end to the bloodshed.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China, as rotating head of the Security Council, has urged a cease-fire and the provision of humanitarian assistance, among other proposals, but that obstruction by “one country” has prevented the council from speaking with one voice.

HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong stock exchange halted trading of Next Digital shares Monday after authorities froze assets belonging to its founder Jimmy Lai.

Later in the day, the media tycoon and nine pro-democracy activists pleaded guilty to taking part in an unlawful assembly in 2019. Lai is already serving a 14-month sentence for his role in two other unauthorized assemblies during a period when Hong Kong residents were involved in mass anti-government protests.

BEIJING, May 16 (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight 6852 Sunday transported a batch of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine from the Beijing Capital International Airport to Islamabad.

“More flights of the national carrier are expected to airlift more consignments of Covid-19 vaccines procured from China by the end of May, 2021, Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA country manager for China told APP.

WENCHANG, Hainan, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The combination of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft and the Long March-7 Y3 carrier rocket has been transported to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on Sunday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, while various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned, the CMSA said.