China

BEIJING, May 5 (APP): China’s Hubei province, hit-hardest by Covid-19 pandemic, has reported no newly confirmed case of the novel coronavirus for 31 consecutive days since April 4.

As of Monday, there were no existing confirmed Covid19 cases in the province, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Hubei province still had 650 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 12 such cases were added and 16 released from quarantine on Monday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Hong Kong affairs office on Wednesday condemned Hong Kong protesters as a “political virus” who seek independence, warning that the city will never be calm unless what it said were violent black-clad protesters were all removed.

The office warned that China’s central government will not sit idly by “with this recklessly demented force in place” and that China’s greatest responsibility is in maintaining order and safeguarding national security.

WENCHANG, Hainan, May 5 (Xinhua) -- China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B made its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending the trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule for test into space.

The successful flight inaugurated the "third step" of China's manned space program, which is to construct a space station, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The white large rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of southern China's island province of Hainan at 6 p.m. (Beijing Time).

3 May 2020; AFP: Some oil-hungry Asian nations are taking advantage of the collapse in prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic to build up their crude stockpiles.

Here are some questions and answers about strategic reserves and the region's oil supplies:

- What are strategic oil reserves and why do countries need them? -

Strategic reserves are stockpiles of oil and other fuels held by governments in secure storage facilities to cover unexpected disruptions to energy supplies.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has published a short animation titled “Once Upon a Virus” mocking the U.S. response to the new coronavirus using Lego-like figures to represent the two countries.

Washington and Beijing are locked in a war of words over the origins of the disease, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has grown into a global pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence.

BEIJING, May 1 (APP): China Foundation for Peace and Development has made a generous donation of 300,000 surgical masks to support the health authorities of Pakistan in the fight against Covid-19.

Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi received the donation at Pakistan Embassy, Beijing.

These masks will be delivered to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) along with other medical supplies to be transported to Islamabad by next PIA’s special cargo flight.

BEIJING, Apr 30 (APP): China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, a top legislative body, has ratified the treaty on the transfer of sentenced persons between Pakistan and China.

The 17th session of the standing committee of the 13th NPC, which concluded on Wednesday, was chaired by its chairman Li Zhanshu, and attended by 123 committee members in person and 46 others via video link, China Economic Net reported on Thursday.

BEIJING, April 29. /TASS/: The Chinese authorities support Russia’s official position and believe that the existence of US biological laboratories in the territory of some former Soviet republics is fraught with risks, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday.

1 May 2020; AFP: Riot police hit Hong Kong's streets on Friday ahead of planned rallies by pro-democracy protesters who were looking to defy restrictions on gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic to voice anger against authoritarian Chinese rule.

The semi-autonomous financial hub was upended by seven months of violent protests last year, hammering its reputation for stability and leaving the city deeply divided.

1 May 2020; AFP: A journalist who had worked for some of China's most powerful propaganda outlets has been jailed for 15 years after being accused of attacking the ruling Communist Party, court documents showed.

The sentence handed down on Chen Jieren is one of the harshest moves yet against free speech by China's government under President Xi Jinping, who has muzzled the press and ordered Chinese media outlets to serve the ruling Communist Party's interests.