China

BEIJING, July 23 (APP): Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary General Vladimir Norov has expressed his hope that joint efforts would manage to stop the spread of the COVID-19 in the SCO member states.

He made these remarks at a ceremony held here at the SCO Secretariat to mark China’s donation of humanitarian aid to SCO Member States as part of the efforts to counter the coronavirus.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China threatened on Thursday to withdraw its recognition of British National Overseas passports held by residents of Hong Kong, in retaliation for the former colonial ruler’s policy of easing their path to citizenship.

Starting from January 2021, those in Hong Kong with such status would be able to apply for special visas to live in Britain that could eventually confer citizenship, interior minister Priti Patel said this week.

BEIJING (AP) — China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet.

Engines blazing orange, a Long March-5 carrier rocket took off under clear skies around 12:40 p.m. from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site.

BEIJING, Jul 22 (APP): Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Vladimir Norov has emphasized that the SCO’s international credibility has improved significantly in recent years, cementing its status as a leading multilateral structure in the region and the world.

He made these remarks in an interview with Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad. The interview was focused to discuss SCO as a viable forum for enhanced mutual development and trans regional integration.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States has told the Chinese consulate in Houston to shut down in three days, citing a need to protect American intellectual property and information, amid a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries.

Beijing condemned the order and threatened retaliation. A source said China was considering closing the U.S. consulate in the city of Wuhan.

Ties between the United States and China have become increasingly tense since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan at the beginning of the year.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 777 cargo plane caught fire while loading cargo at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Wednesday, the airline said, adding that fire has been contained and none of the crew or ground staff were harmed.

The cause of the incident was under investigation, Ethiopian Airlines said in a Facebook post. The aircraft was on a regular scheduled cargo service from Shanghai to Sao Paulo-Santiago, it added.

BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the United Kingdom to give up the illusion of retaining colonial influence over Hong Kong and correct its mistake immediately. This was after the UK decided to suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and introduce a ban on arms sales.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to make comments on the above-mentioned moves by the UK.

BEIJING (AP) — Breached levees have trapped more than 10,000 people in an eastern Chinese town as flooding worsens across much of the country, local authorities said Tuesday.

High waters overcame flood defenses protecting Guzhen, a town in Anhui province, on Sunday, the provincial government said on its official microblog.

Flood waters rose as high as 3 meters (10 feet), the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang Qingjun, Guzhen’s Communist Party secretary, as saying.

BEIJING, July 21 (APP): China on Tuesday announced that all the travelers arriving in the mainland should hold a negative nucleic acid test certificate no older than five days before boarding. “Chinese embassies will earnestly evaluate the nucleic acid testing capacities of the countries they are located in, with specific measures to be announced at a later time based on sufficient communications with those countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing held here.

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States should discard its Cold War mentality, zero-sum game mindset, and ideological prejudice, and correctly view China and China-U.S. relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference here Monday.