China

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-one years after her birth via external fertilization and embryo transplantation, Zheng Mengzhu, China's first test-tube baby, gave birth on Monday in a Beijing hospital.

At 8:34 a.m., Zheng gave birth to a boy through caesarean section, said Zhao Yangyu, head of obstetrics at Peking University Third Hospital who performed the surgery. The boy weighs 3.85 kg, which is similar to his mother's birth-weight.

The baby was in a horizontal position when he was in the womb, a situation that demanded a C-section, Zhao explained.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to significantly relax market access, and create a more attractive investment and business environment, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun has said here.

Liu made the remarks when attending a ministerial-level luncheon during the 99th Development Committee meeting held by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Friday and Saturday in Washington D.C., according to China's Ministry of Finance.

Vice Finance Minister Zou Jiayi attended a ministerial-level meeting and gave a speech.

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Sunday renewed a blue alert for heavy rain in some southern and southwestern regions.

From Sunday to Monday, heavy rain is expected to hit parts of Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said the National Meteorological Center.

Some areas in Guangxi and Guangdong will be hit by up to 120 mm of rainfall within 24 hours.

ZHENGZHOU, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China-Europe trains made 234 trips departing from or arriving in the city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, during the Jan.-March period, up 95 percent from last year.

The freight carried by the trains totalled 110,300 tonnes, with a value of 763 million U.S. dollars, up 56.6 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, according to the customs of the city.

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- With the consumer prices rebounding solidly in March and producer prices notching its first acceleration in nine months, market fear over deflation risks of the Chinese economy has been largely abated.

As there is no worry about high inflation risk, analysts said China's monetary policy will remain unchanged, and there is still much room for the country's central bank to manoeuver its monetary tools.

CONSUMER PRICES

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe switched to dormant mode for the lunar night on Friday, with the rover traveling an accumulated 178.9 meters on the far side of the moon.

The rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, is expected to awaken again on April 28, and the lander to awaken the following day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

XINING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 domestic and foreign companies are attending a tourism festival, which opened Friday in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

The Qinghai culture and tourism festival will last from April to July. The Northwest China Tourism Marketing Conference, lasting from Friday to Sunday, is a major part of the festival.

With an exhibition hall covering 28,000 square meters, the conference has attracted participation of 1,268 companies in cultural and tourism sectors from across China and nearly 30 countries and regions.

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a "very important contribution" to the global economy, the Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Changyong Rhee said.

The BRI has benefited the world in fostering infrastructure need in the low-income countries and also promoting regional cooperation and connectivity in trade investment, human mobility and finance, Rhee told Xinhua in a recent interview on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulations Friday to Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on his re-election as chairman of the State Affairs Commission (SAC) of the DPRK.

In his message, Xi said Kim's re-election as SAC chairman at the First Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly demonstrated the trust in and support for Kim from the Party and people of the DPRK, and extended warm congratulations and sincere wishes to Kim.

UNITED NATIONS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday rejected U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's accusation against China over Venezuela.

"China categorically rejects the accusation," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela.