China

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's epidemic situation is under control and the number of new cases is expected to drop in the coming days, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday.

Although Beijing has been reporting confirmed cases every day, this does not mean that all cases are newly infected, Wu told a press conference.

The 21 cases that Beijing reported on Wednesday were basically infected before June 12, Wu said.

BEIJING, Jun 17 (APP): China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday said Indian side must not misjudge the current situation and must not underestimate China’s firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.

In a telephone conversation with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this afternoon, he also demanded of Indian side to conduct a thorough investigation on the border clashes and severely punish those responsible for the incident.

BEIJING, June 17 (APP): A Chinese defence analyst said on Wednesday that Indian side wanted to consolidate its illegal occupation in the Galwan valley and was not interested to resolve the border dispute through talks and consultations.

SHANGHAI, June 17. /TASS/: BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) priced its inaugural benchmark $1.5 bln three-year COVID Response Bond in international capital markets on June 16, press service of the financial institution reported on Wednesday.

Beijing, Jun 17 (PTI) Beijing moved on a war footing on Wednesday, cancelling hundreds of domestic flights and trains while ramping up the mass testing of 90,000 people to stem the spread of the coronavirus, as the city reported 31 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 137.

Two airports in Beijing have cancelled 1,255 domestic flights, nearly 70 per cent of the scheduled trips, the official media reported. Beijing currently does not operate international flights.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A group of 86 non-government organisations issued a joint letter on Wednesday asking Chinese authorities to scrap plans to introduce national security legislation in Hong Kong, saying it threatens basic rights and freedoms.

The letter, signed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, among others, was addressed to Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body.

BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Beijing upgraded its emergency response to COVID-19 from level III to II starting Tuesday, a local official announced.

Classes are moved online for primary and middle school students, and class resumption of college students will be suspended, said Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, at a press conference.

BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson said Tuesday the Indian side should strictly restrain their frontline troops and return to the correct track of dialogue and negotiations to resolve the differences.

BEIJING (AP) — Major Asian stock markets declined Wednesday after Wall Street gained on hopes for a global economic recovery and Japan’s exports sank.

Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul retreated.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose for a third day, gaining 1.9% after U.S. retail spending was stronger than expected.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese media say more than 60% of commercial flights in and out of Beijing have been canceled as the city raises alert level amid a new coronavirus outbreak.

The website of the Communist Party’s Global Times said that as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, a total of 1,255 flights to and from the capital’s two major airports have been scrapped.

That accounts for 67% of outgoing flights and 68% of incoming flights, the Global Times said.