China

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s economy is continuing a steady recovery this year, vice premier Han Zheng said on Sunday.

Han made the remarks to the China Development Forum, a high-level business gathering hosted by the Development Research Centre of the State Council.

Han also said China, the world’s No.2 economy, will strengthen macro policy coordination with other countries.

BEIJING (AP) — In China, the problem doesn’t seem to be a shortage of vaccine. Rather, with the COVID-19 outbreak largely under control at home, not enough people want to get the shot.

Chinese health officials appealed to the public Sunday to get inoculated. They also said that with vaccination not a guarantee against infection they would still require anyone arriving in China to quarantine for 14 days, even if they have received a vaccine.

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden “will be good for the relationship” between China and the United States, even though both sides might have “started a little on frosty side”, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen told a Beijing forum.

Speaking via video link to the China Development Forum, Cohen, who has known Biden since 1972, said U.S. engagement with China will be more professional, diplomatic and civil under Biden, as compared to the name-calling during Trump era.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has administered 70 million COVID-19 vaccinations as of March 20, state media CGTN reported on Saturday citing the national health commission.

China last reported four new COVID-19 cases on March 19, all of which were imported from abroad.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Friday after rising U.S. bond yields dampened buying enthusiasm driven by the Federal Reserve’s promise of low interest rates.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated.

Overnight, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed down 1.5%, putting it on track for its first weekly loss in three weeks. Stocks slipped after bond yields rose, which can prompt investors to shift money out of stocks.

DANDONG, China (AP) — China on Friday put on trial one of two Canadians held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive.

Canada said its consular officials were refused permission to attend the proceedings against Michael Spavor, who is accused by China of stealing state secrets.

BEIJING, March 18 (APP): Pakistan attach great importance to deepening and expanding cooperation in the agriculture sector under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Therefore, the technical cooperation in olive cultivation and olive oil production should be the focus of agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan.

These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Senior Fellow of the Charhar Institute here on Thursday.

HONG KONG, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Over the past three days, more than 1,000 representatives from various sectors of Hong Kong have expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) through symposiums, visits and interviews arranged by the central authorities.

Officials of central authorities' departments have heard the voice of Hong Kong people carefully and sincerely.

HONG KONG (AP) — The U.S. sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city, including a decision to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system.

The sanctions announced Tuesday in Washington were introduced under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and list people who are deemed to contribute to the failure of China in meeting its obligations under Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies announced royalty rates for the use of its 5G phone technology for the first time, in a move its chief legal officer said was an effort to increase transparency at an event on Tuesday.

The company was put on an export blacklist by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019 and barred from accessing critical technology of U.S. origin, affecting its ability to design its own chips and source components from outside vendors.