China

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The lander and rover of China's Chang'e-4 probe have begun their 28th lunar day of work on the far side of the moon.

Landing on the moon on Jan. 3, 2019, the Chang'e-4 probe has survived 795 Earth days on the moon, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration said Monday.

A lunar day is equal to about 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is of the same length. The solar-powered probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday said the city’s government “fully welcomes” changes to the city’s electoral system that will substantially increase central government control over Hong Kong politics and exclude critics of Beijing.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged the United States on Sunday to remove “unreasonable” curbs on cooperation as soon as possible and work together on issues like climate change, while accusing Washington of bringing chaos in the name of spreading democracy.

Last week U.S. President Joe Biden singled out a “growing rivalry with China” as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the Asian country as “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi on Sunday said the electoral system in Hong Kong must be improved for long-term stability, saying reform would bring about a “brighter future” for the city.

China’s plan to dramatically reform Hong Kong’s electoral system, unveiled this week during the country’s annual parliamentary session, is expected to upend the territory’s governance and ensure Beijing loyalists are in charge.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is willing to engage with “all parties” to ease the crisis in neighbouring Myanmar and is not taking sides, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Sunday.

Beijing has said the situation in Myanmar, where the military seized power last month, was “absolutely not what China wants to see” and has dismissed social media rumours of Chinese involvement in the coup as nonsense.

Beijing, Mar 7 (AP-PTI) China's exports surged 60.6 per cent over a year earlier in the first two months of 2021, after factories reopened and global demand started to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Exports rose to USD 468.9 billion, customs data showed Sunday, accelerating from December's 18.1 per cent gain and nearly double the growth expected by forecasters. Imports jumped 22.2 per cent to USD 365.6 billion, up from December's 6.5 per cent increase.

Beijing, Mar 7 (PTI) China will operate bullet trains to Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh before July this year, marking the opening of high-speed train services to all Chinese mainland provincial-level regions, a senior official has said.

A 435-km rail link to the regional capital of Lhasa will run Fuxing high-speed trains powered by both internal-combustion and electricity, Lu Dongfu, board chairman of China State Railway Group Company Limited, told state-run Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

BEIJING, March 6 (APP): China’s Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui met with Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri and held a candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-India relations and border events.

In the meeting, the two sides also agreed to maintain the momentum of diplomatic and military consultations, achieve peace and tranquility in the border region and put bilateral relations back on the right track, according to a statement issued by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on Saturday.

HONG KONG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Improving the electoral system in Hong Kong is a critical and urgent task to provide institutional safeguards for "patriots administering Hong Kong," the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Friday.

The statement came as Wang Chen, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, delivered an explanatory speech about a draft decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR at the opening meeting of the fourth annual session of the 13th NPC.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s No. 2 leader set a healthy economic growth target Friday and vowed to make the nation self-reliant in technology amid tension with the U.S. and Europe over trade and human rights. Another official announced plans to tighten control over Hong Kong by reducing the public’s role in government.