China

(Reuters) --- China has administered 270.41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

That compares with 265.06 million doses given as of Friday, up 5.34 million doses.

China's vaccination pace has quickened recently. However, because of its large population, China still lags behind the United States in terms of the proportion of the administered population per 100 people.

BEIJING, May 1 (APP): Pakistan’s Suki Kinari (SK) Hydropower Project in the northwestern part of the country achieved the second-stage river closure yesterday, entering a new phase of its dam construction.

The successful cut of the Kunhar River’s main riverbed with the river being diverted to spillway is to create free-from-water working areas for construction of concrete dam of the power station under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), located in the Mansehra district of the South Asian country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to provide support and assistance to the best of its capability to help India fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

In a phone conversation with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Wang said that China is very concerned about the new wave of COVID-19 infections in India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of sympathy to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(Reuters) --- Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was among four people who pleaded guilty on Friday of participating in an illegal assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

It was the first time the vigil had been banned in the global financial hub, with police citing, as it did for all demonstrations last year, coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings. It is expected to face a similar fate this year.

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "genocide" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region claimed by Adrian Zenz is a fallacy that has faced doubts and opposition from the international community, a report released by the Xinjiang Development Research Center said on Friday.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese manufacturing expanded in April but growth might be slowing after a rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, two surveys showed Friday.

A monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by the business magazine Caixin rose to 51.9 on a 100-point scale from March’s 11-month low of 50.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 100 show activity expanding.

BEIJING, Apr 29 (APP): Three special flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying a fresh batch of one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine left here on Thursday for Pakistan as the country is combating the third wave of pandemic.

The fresh consignment is in addition to one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine transported to Pakistan from China by three planes of the national flag carrier on April 25 Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China told APP.

BEIJING, Apr 29 (APP): Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin Ul Haque on Thursday held a meeting with Li Fei, Chairman of Constitution and Law Committee of National People’s Congress (NPC), the legislature of People’s Republic of China. Li Fei is also the Chairman of Pakistan-China Friendship Group of the Chinese legislature.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing inter-parliamentary cooperation between the National Assembly of Pakistan and the NPC and vowed to further deepen their bilateral engagements in future.

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China stands ready to work with Germany to keep the overall direction of bilateral relations featuring dialogue and cooperation and promote Sino-German relationship to a higher level.

Li made the remarks when co-chairing the sixth China-Germany inter-governmental consultation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel via video link in Beijing.

He stressed that cooperation and win-win results is the main thrust of China-Germany all-round strategic partnership.

BEIJING (AP) — Activity by U.S. military ships and surveillance planes directed toward China has increased significantly under President Joe Biden’s administration, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry said Thursday.

As an example, Wu Qian said the Navy destroyer USS Mustin had recently conducted close-in observation of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its battle group.