China

BEIJING -- China's lawmakers on Friday started reviewing a national blueprint featuring high-quality development, technological innovation and a greener future for the country that has long been seeking modernity and national rejuvenation. The draft outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, which specifies the main goals and tasks for the world's second-largest economy in its march toward modernization, was submitted to the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature. The long-range objectives are unveiled as China embarks on a journey toward its second centenary goal of "building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious." "China will basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035," according to the draft outline, dubbed an action plan for the whole nation. The blueprint ... » Learn More about Revival-seeking China unveils action plan for modernization

China will make concrete efforts to achieve the peaking of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a government work report submitted Friday to the national legislature for deliberation. China will draw up an action plan for carbon emissions to peak by 2030 and improve its industrial structure and energy mix, the report said. While promoting the clean and efficient use of coal, the country will make a major push to develop new energy sources, and take active and well-ordered steps to develop nuclear energy on the basis of ensuring its safe use, according to the report. ... » Learn More about China pledges solid efforts on peaking carbon emissions, carbon-neutrality

KIEV - China has played a significant role in ensuring global stability and economic development by effectively fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring the domestic economy, a Ukrainian expert said Friday. "The past year was very difficult for everyone, including China. But, thanks to its high mobilization capabilities, China was able to quickly stop the spread of COVID-19 on its territory, and when the epidemic became global, it began to help other states, including Ukraine," Oleksiy Koval, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists, told Xinhua. China has extended help to others in various manners, including providing personal protective equipment, test systems and medical equipment, organizing online conferences for medics to exchange experience and sending medical teams to countries in need, the expert noted. As the world is struggling to expand access to vaccines against COVID-19, China, as a major responsible country, is not only forging ahead in the race to ... » Learn More about China plays significant role in global fight against COVID-19, economic recovery: Expert

India expects China to work with it to ensure complete disengagement “at the earliest” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which was key to restoring the relationship, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. The foreign ministers of both countries, S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi, in a phone call on February 25 reviewed the status of disengagement , which has been completed on the north and south banks of Pangong lake and is in progress in other areas along the LAC. Both ministers also agreed to establish a hotline. Also read: LAC standoff | 10 patrolling points in eastern Ladakh blocked by Chinese People’s Liberation Army, says senior official It was India’s “expectation that the Chinese side will work with us, both through the WMCC [Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on border affairs] and Senior Commanders’ meetings, to ensure that disengagement in the remaining areas is completed at the earliest,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. ... » Learn More about Disengagement, de-escalation key for progress in ties, India tells China

China’s government on Friday announced a 6% growth target for 2021 and unveiled a five-year plan and vision for 2035 that aims to expand China’s global footprint as a major technology power. The plans, unveiled at the start of the annual week-long convening of the Communist Party-controlled legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), outlined a push for China to consolidate the positions of its supply chains in key strategic industries, amid a push from some countries towards decoupling, and to significantly increase China’s spending on research and development (R&D) to achieve self-reliance in key high-tech sectors. Chinese Premier and second-ranked leader Li Keqiang presented the draft government work report for the year and the draft outlines of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and long-range objectives for 2035 to the NPC, which will approve the documents over the next week. The NPC is also expected to approve a major overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system that ... » Learn More about China targets 6% growth, five-year plan for tech supremacy

China’s defence budget will for the first time cross $200 billion with the government on Friday announcing a 6.8% hike in defence spending for 2021.The announcement was made at the start of the week-long session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Communist Party-controlled legislature, in Beijing.The hike is only a slight raise from the 6.6% increase announced in 2020 amid the pandemic, which was the lowest increase in many years. The defence budget saw double-digit increases until 2015, and was hiked 7.5% in 2019.The budget for 2021 was announced as 1.35 trillion yuan ($209 billion), up from 1.27 trillion Yuan ($179 billion) last year. This will take China’s defence spending to more than four times India’s $49.75 billion budget, not including pensions. India’s budget last month announced a modest 1.48% hike in total defence spending to ₹4.78 lakh crore ($65.7 billion) including pensions, or ₹3.62 lakh crore ($49.75 billion) minus pensions. India also announced a record 18.5% ... » Learn More about China’s defence budget to cross $200 billion with 6.8% hike

BEIJING  -- China urged the relevant parties to strictly observe international law and basic norms governing international relations, and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs in any way, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks after the Republic of Belarus on Friday delivered a joint statement on behalf of 70 countries at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council to support China's position and measures on Hong Kong-related issues and oppose Western countries' exploitation of such issues to interfere in China's internal affairs. The statement said that Hong Kong was lifted out of chaos and stability was gradually restored after the national security legislation took effect, Wang noted. Stressing that non-interference is an important principle of the UN Charter and a basic norm governing international relations, and Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable part of China and its affairs are China's internal ... » Learn More about China urges relevant parties to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs: Spokesperson

There is nothing unusual in the proposed requirement that positions of authority in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region only be occupied by patriots. Yet the move to initiate reform in the SAR's electoral system to ensure that is the case has undeniably ruffled the feathers of some politicians and media outlets in the West. Their response to the proposed move to provide a firm guarantee for the implementation of the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong", which was first mooted a few weeks ago, has been the same as it was when the national security law for Hong Kong was in the works. Mired in either ideological bigotry or with an eye on geopolitics, these Western politicians and media outlets have been assailing Beijing and decrying the patriotism requirement as an erosion of Hong Kong's "freedoms" even before the legislative process began on Thursday. Their handwringing is because the reform will close the clear loopholes and shortcomings in the electoral system ... » Learn More about HK’s electoral system reform to safeguard prosperity, stability: China Daily editorial

Video Player Close BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- As two major countries globally, China and the United States should and can join hands to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Friday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said this at a press briefing when commenting on an article published by U.S. think tank the Brookings Institution. It called on the United States and China to cooperate to tackle the epidemic and pointed out that only through global cooperation can the COVID-19 epidemic be controlled, which requires the active participation of the world's two largest economies. Wang noted that experts in epidemic prevention and control in China and the United States had exchanges and dialogue recently. They agreed that, according to Wang, defeating COVID-19 requires global efforts in the spirit of unity and cooperation. The international community appeals for solidarity in the fight against the pandemic, and clear-sighted people want to see ... » Learn More about China, U.S. should tackle epidemic together: spokesperson

Video Player Close BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's poverty alleviation success showcases "the importance of determined political leadership and commitment at the highest levels to ending extreme rural poverty," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. The remarks were made as a report titled "Chinese Poverty Alleviation Studies: A Political Economy Perspective" was recently published by New China Research, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency. Guterres said China has pursued "a range of policies" that have boosted investments in national productive capacities, agriculture and rural development, particularly infrastructure, social protection, health and educational services. "This approach contributed to increasing productivity, created jobs and lifted millions of people out of extreme poverty in line with the government's 2020 target," he said. Guterres called on the international community to work together more cooperatively to eradicate poverty in all its ... » Learn More about China’s poverty alleviation success shows “determined political leadership,” says UN chief