China

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday published a report on human rights situation in the United States.

The report, titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2018," was released by the Information Office of the State Council in response to the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices issued by the U.S. State Department on March 13, local time.

NANJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The first China-made cruise ship for polar expeditions tested the water on Tuesday in Haimen, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Hu Xianfu, general manager of the shipbuilder China Merchants Group, said the 104.4-meters long vessel is 18.4 meters at the beam. It can operate at a speed of 15.5 knots.

With a gross tonnage of 7,400 tonnes, it can accommodate 255 people on board.

BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed fulfilling the set targets and tasks of national defense and military development as scheduled.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and armed police force at the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, China's national legislature.

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's civil aviation regulator Monday ordered domestic airlines to suspend commercial operations of all Boeing 737-8 airplanes by 6 p.m. local time after a crash of one of the planes in Ethiopia.

This came after an Ethiopian Airlines airplane bound for Nairobi, Kenya, crashed minutes after take-off Sunday, killing all 157 people aboard. It was the second crash of the new aircraft after one operated by Indonesia's Lion Air crashed in October.

HAIKOU, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's science ship Tansuo-1 loaded with the manned submersible Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) returned to its home harbor in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on Sunday, after finishing its first expedition in the Indian Ocean.

The manned submersible can reach a depth of 4,500 meters. The 121-day expedition trip organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences began Nov. 10, 2018. Scientists from 10 Chinese and foreign research institutes were invited to join the deep-sea research trip.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank governor on Sunday affirmed an official promise to avoid manipulating its currency to boost exports, an issue he said American and Chinese negotiators discussed in their latest talks aimed at ending a tariff war.

Yi Gang gave no indication the two sides reached agreements beyond previous commitments produced by meetings of the Group of 20 major economies. He spoke at a news conference during the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature.

XICHANG, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China has made significant progress in the development of the key technologies of the heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March-9, which is expected to make its maiden flight around 2030.

The development of the heavy-lift rocket will greatly improve China's capacity of entering outer space. The Long March-9 rocket will support China's space industry development, utilization of space resources and deep space exploration, said experts from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

ABOARD XUELONG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's icebreaker Xuelong, also known as the Snow Dragon, is on its way back home from its 35th Antarctic research mission.

Crew members have made a series of research advances during the four-month-long journey, such as the completion of new buildings and supporting facilities in research bases, marine species surveys, underwater robot tests, and installation of new radar and solar telescopes.

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.

The increase was down from 1.7 percent for January.

Food prices climbed 0.7 percent year on year last month, down 1.2 percentage points from January, according to the NBS.

Non-food prices gained 1.7 percent, the same growth as that in January.

The CPI in urban areas increased 1.5 percent, while that in the countryside ticked up 1.4 percent.

08 Mar 2019; AFP: China threw its weight behind Huawei's legal battle against the United States on Friday, saying the telecom giant will not be a "silent lamb to the slaughter" and vowing to defend the rights of Chinese companies.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced Beijing's support as Huawei mounts a legal and public relations campaign to counter US warnings that the company's networks and equipment could serve as Trojan horses for Chinese intelligence services.