Comprehensive

https://youtu.be/wGPj_O1cKcE 1.BRICS countries urge enhanced cooperation The enhanced cooperation among BRICS countries will consolidate supply chain resilience and diversification, creating favorable growth conditions for trade, investment as well as green and digital industries at a time of global instability, said government officials and business leaders.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/24/WS62b50eeda310fd2b29e683ec.html 2.Singapore bounces back as global events organizer Singapore's reopening of its borders is jump-starting its once thriving corporate events sector, with the strong "pent-up demand" for face-to-face gatherings and networking seen to sustain the industry in the next two to three years, experts said.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/24/WS62b4f516a310fd2b29e6831a.html 3.Archaeological finds shed light on ancient civilization Bronze and gold masks are among the important artifacts found at the Sanxingdui Ruins in Guanghan, Sichuan provincehttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/24/WS62b4f0a4a310fd2b29e682fd_1.html 4.Foreign companies eye opportunities in China with continued investment According to the 2022 China Business Climate Survey Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), two-thirds of the surveyed companies plan to increase their investment in China this year.https://english.news.cn/20220623/315e45ab471a4fb18dd575cb35bfb049/c.html 5.EU leaders grant Ukraine, Moldova EU candidate status European Union (EU) leaders have accepted Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership of the bloc, European Council President Charles Michel said on Thursday.https://english.news.cn/20220624/df3c0e96004b484ba05a21625e4a0ef8/c.html 6.Why Is China Closer to Fully Reopening? Latest Policies Released Based…

https://youtu.be/XDsDCBooKDc 1. South China's Pearl River Basin expected to suffer once-in-a-century flood; new alert issued as rain belt moves northward. Due to the continuous heavy rain, a hydrometric station of a main stream in Zhujiang (Pearl) River Basin, South China's Guangdong Province registered a flood flow that exceeded historic records on Wednesday, and is expected to have a peak discharge on Thursday, which will be a once-in- a-century flood. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202206/1268779.shtml 2. Xi urges BRICS solidarity, openness for peace, development BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum and delivered a keynote speech in Beijing via video link, urging its members to embrace solidarity and expand win-win cooperation and openness in the pursuit of peace, stability and sustainable global development. https://english.news.cn/20220623/71dd6c7944e042639eca387a3d61a672/c.html 3. Afghan quake kills 1,000; toll expected to rise KABUL－A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border early on Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 others, authorities said. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/23/WS62b3a505a310fd2b29e67f9f.html 4. Young Kyrgyz reflect on their education and life in China Many young Kyrgyz dream of studying abroad, with Chinese universities appearing on the radar in recent years. https://english.news.cn/20220620/a40329464a0f4a76b4b587834a1908a5/c.html…

The 2022 Wuhan Lotus Festival will be held between June 10 and July 10 this year. Citizens will be able to enjoy more than 600 types of pots of exquisite lotus flowers during that period. This year's main venue will be at Shahu Park. In addition to the lotus flower-themed exhibition, a 7,200-square-meter lotus flower-themed garden will be set up there, and will officially open to the public on the opening day of the festival. There will also be five auxiliary venues — the Wuhan Botanical Garden, Yuehu Park, Tanghu Park, Jiangxia Fasi, and Xiaonanhu Park — as well as online exhibitions and several lotus appreciation spots within the city. The first blooming lotus flower in Wuhan this summer was said to be on May 6, nearly half a month earlier than last year. The lotus flowers are expected to be in full bloom around mid or late June.

6月1日起，进入全面恢复全市正常生产生活秩序阶段，全面实施疫情防控常态化管理 Shanghai will fully resume normal production and life and put routinized disease prevention and control in place starting from June 1. 今天（5月31日）上午举行的市疫情防控工作新闻发布会上，副市长宗明通报：本轮疫情发生以来，我市毫不动摇坚持“动态清零”总方针，坚决遏制疫情扩散蔓延，确保人民群众生命安全和身体健康。 At the press conference on preventing and controlling COVID-19 in Shanghai held on the morning of May 31, Ms. Zong Ming, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, briefed that since the resurgence of virus, Shanghai has adhered to the overall plan of dynamic case clearing unswervingly and spared no efforts in curbing the spread of disease to protect the safety and health of the people. 在全市人民共同努力下，日前全市单日新增本土阳性感染者人数降至两位数（昨天29例），封控区总人数降至20万以下，防范区总人数达到2200万以上，疫情得到有效控制，防控形势持续向好。但降新增、防反弹任务依然艰巨，需要我们继续努力，也需要广大市民朋友继续给予支持和配合。 Under the joint efforts of people across the city, the newly-added local positive infections were reduced to 29 on May 30. The people in the lockdown zones are controlled under 200,000 while those in the precaution zones exceed 22 million. COVID-19 in Shanghai has been brought under effective control and overall situation is trending upward. But the task of reducing new cases and preventing re-emergence of virus is challenging, it requires continued efforts as well as support and cooperation from all residents. 根据我市持续巩固疫情防控成果、有序恢复正常生产生活秩序总体方案的安排，6月1日起，全市将进入第三阶段，即全面恢复全市正常生产生活秩序阶段。之前，我们已在奉贤、金山、崇明三个区，开展恢复正常生产生活秩序的压力测试。下一步，我们将在严守不出现规模性反弹底线、确保风险可控的前提下，全面实施疫情防控常态化管理，全面恢复全市正常生产生活秩序。这里，重点介绍几个市民比较关心的工作措施。 In accordance with the overall plan on resuming normal production and life amid on-going consolidation of achievements made in combating the disease across the city, Shanghai will enter into the…

The Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday activated a Level-IV emergency response for flood control over forecasts of heavy downpours in seven provinces in southern China. From Saturday to Monday, intense rain is expected in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and Guizhou, where river levels are likely to rise significantly and trigger flood alarms, said the ministry. The ministry has sent a working group to Jiangxi to guide flood response work, after dispatching another to Yunnan on Friday when it activated a Level-IV emergency response over the flooding of some rivers there.

'Fourth dose' or combination vaccine being evaluated in China: Gao Fu, head of the Chinese CDC In a live online interview on Sunday, Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noted that vaccine upgrading is the next step in the world's scientific response to COVID-19. It is still under evaluation whether China will launch a 'fourth dose' of the vaccine or promote mixing injections, he said. With the current mutation of the virus and breakthrough infections in the population, vaccine upgrading is one of the next steps against the COVID-19, Gao said. Both Sinopharm and Sinovac have new inactivated vaccines for the Omicron variant in clinical trials, Gao noted, and his team's recombinant protein vaccine, ZF2001, is in intensive development with some data already published. Earlier, Zhifei Longcom, the manufacturer of the ZF2001 vaccine, released encouraging data showing that the shot is 75.7 percent effective against symptomatic and 87.6 percent effective against severe-to-critical COVID-19 cases for six months following full vaccination. Drug research is also the next focus for infectious disease control, Gao said. "In addition to biopharmaceuticals and small molecule drugs, we have found some components in Traditional Chinese Medicine that can inhibit…

China on Monday launched the world's first clinical research on a sequential trial of an Omicron-specific vaccine candidate in Central China's Hunan Province. It will evaluate the vaccine's safety and immunogenicity in humans and the research is expected to be completed in about three to four months. Zhang Yuntao, chief scientist from the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) - developer of the vaccine candidate, who attended the launch ceremony - told the Global Times on Monday that the clinical study, which plans to enroll more than 4,000 volunteers, is the world's largest clinical study of a vaccine against the Omicron variant. "In this study, a randomized, double-blind, controlled study design was used to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the Omicron-specific vaccine in volunteers aged 18 years and above who had received two or three doses of COVID-19 vaccines at different intervals and in different dose sequences," Zhang said. The plan for this clinical study will need to be determined after further discussions with experts and drug authorities, and it is expected to take about three to four months to complete, Zhang said. In April, Sinopharm obtained clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration and approval from the…Original link

NIA, National immigration authorities dealt with 30.1 million entries and exits during the first quarter, down 5.9 percent from last year, 14.6 million of which were Chinese citizens, according to the National Immigration Administration. During the same period, 426,000 passports and other exit and entry documents were issued, 1.05 million endorsements made for visits to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and 136,000 foreign stay and residence permits were granted. Chen Jie, spokesman for the NIA, said that global control of COVID-19 remains grim and complex, and the NIA will continue to implement tight immigration policies and conduct strict examination of immigration documents. The administration will provide precise and effective service to those going abroad for urgent and necessary needs, such as to study, work, engage in business or other economic and technological activities, help with humanitarian emergencies, help companies resume work and production, and also to ensure the steady flow of international industrial and supply chains, Chen said. During the first quarter, authorities also investigated 4,414 criminal cases of border management obstruction, arresting 16,700 suspects, and confiscating 565 guns, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 1.85 metric tons of drugs and 41.47 tons of precursor materials. Chen said that front-line immigration authorities…

A Shenzhen-based medical expert has travelled hundreds of kilometres to China’s eastern Fujian province to carry out life-saving surgery on a newborn baby. The baby boy was born on March 14 in Quanzhou, Fujian. But doctors immediately noticed that he cried in a low voice and was not able to breathe independently. The baby was sent to intensive care and placed on a ventilator at Quanzhou Children’s Hospital, the South Metropolis News reported. The baby boy was diagnosed with a medical condition known as congenital bilateral vocal cord paralysis. However, doctors at the hospital said they could not treat it due to a lack of medical expertise. The disorder causes breathing difficulties and can be life-threatening because the patient can’t control the muscles that open and close the vocal cords as a result of nerve damage which can narrow or block the airway. The boy’s father, Li Liangliang, searched online and found that in the Chinese mainland, only doctors in Shanghai and Shenzhen had the expertise to treat such a young patient with the disorder. Since Shanghai is currently under a coronavirus lockdown, he appealed to the health officials in Shenzhen for help. Hours after Li’s appeal was posted on…

A Chinese vaccination for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been approved for clinical trials, reports CGTN. The vaccine was developed by the China National Biotec Group (which has affiliations with Sinopharm) and was approved by the National Medical Products Administration on Tuesday, April 26. Preliminary tests – such as safety evaluations in animals and immunogenicity research – showed that the vaccine is capable of producing antibodies that can fight off COVID variants, including Omicron. China National Biotec Group have previously developed COVID-19 vaccines in the country and conducted research into its many variants, including Beta and Delta. The trial will be carried out on adults aged 18 and above who have been inoculated with two or three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

An anaesthesiologist and an operating room nurse had a very special wedding on April 16, 2022. According to news on social media, Zhou Guanhua and Wang Bingbing work at the Taihe People's Hospital in Fuyang, Anhui, but the two were unable to find time to get hitched as they have been too busy with work. Their colleagues apparently decided to take matters into their own hands and surprise the couple with a simple wedding. They brightened up the walkway and common room, where the ceremony was to be held, with thoughtful decorations. The picking of the bride was done in a women's changing room, temporarily re-labelled as "daughter's changing room" for the occasion. The groom then carried the bride and walked with her down the hallway to the common room, where the TV was set up to show pictures of the pair, along with video messages from their colleagues. There's no word on whether they got any time off after their wedding, but considering that they wore their scrubs on their big day, it was likely business as usual after the festivities ended. In one word, how can you describe this marriage?Original link

CHINA has ordered Shanghai, Guangzhou and 6 other cities to shorten quarantines for overseas travellers and those who've had close contact with infected individuals as authorities test potential tweaks to the country's rigorous Covid measures, according to people familiar with the matter. The cities are reducing the period to 10 days from 14 days as part of a trial that began on Monday (Apr 11) this week and will run for a month. Apartment complexes, retail outlets, office buildings and other locations locked down because of infections will also be allowed to open after 10 consecutive days without a positive test result, shortened from the 14 days previously required, they said. The other cities in the trial are Suzhou, Ningbo, Xiamen, Qingdao, Chengdu and Dalian, the people said. China's strict adherence to a policy that seeks to snuff out infections, as opposed to learning to live with the virus as other countries are, has seen millions locked down in their homes as the much more infectious Omicron variant spreads across the country. That's fuelled public anger in places such as Shanghai, where residents have struggled to secure supplies of food and other daily necessities, and depressed activity in the world's…Original link

Another Chinese city has overtaken New York for number of billionaires. “It is a significant indicator of where Shenzhen has come from and where it is going,” Rupert Hoogewerf of the Hurun Global Rich List said of the tech hub. HONG KONG — Three years ago, American entrepreneur Raj Oswal traveled to the Chinese city of Shenzhen on behalf of a client. He was so impressed that he stayed and started his own tech company. “You can’t find too many other cities in China or around Asia that really embrace innovation as Shenzhen does,” Oswal said, comparing his move there from California to his father’s decision in the 1970s to leave India so he could pursue his studies and a career in the United States. Oswal described Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million on China’s southern border with Hong Kong, as a place filled with “youthful optimism.” Increasingly, it’s also filled with money. The former fishing village, now a tech hub known as China’s Silicon Valley, has joined Beijing and Shanghai as the world’s top three cities for billionaires, edging out New York for the first time this year. According to the Hurun Global Rich List, an annual ranking compiled…Original link

• Beijing has rolled out tax relief and other beneficial policies such as more favourable loan rates and rent exemptions, rather than cash handouts • Some Omicron-hit regions such as Shanghai and Tianjin are also implementing local support measures, but analysts still expect a big hit to consumption Beijing says it has stepped up relief measures for coronavirus-hit businesses, as the highly contagious Omicron variant has spread to 28 of the country’s 31 provincial jurisdictions and authorities stick to their zero-Covid strategy that involves large-scale lockdowns and mass testing. In addition to a planned 2.5 trillion yuan (US$393 billion) tax cut, authorities have also rolled out a variety of supportive measures, including rent exemption and credit support. Relief packages announced so far Premier Li Keqiang announced the 2.5 trillion yuan tax-cut package at the “two sessions” in early March, and it is considerably larger than last year’s 1.1 trillion yuan.   Key points: Value-added tax (VAT) will continue to be exempted for small taxpayers – those with monthly sales revenue of below 150,000 yuan Income tax will be halved if annual payment is between 1 million and 3 million yuan 1.5 trillion yuan worth of VAT refunds planned for this…Original link

China will unwaveringly adhere to the dynamic-zero case strategy, officials from the National Health Commission (NHC) stressed on Wednesday, as the Chinese mainland reported 20,000 daily new cases, the highest number since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite stringent measures to contain the virus across the country, domestic cases continue to spike, putting the country to a test as never before, with 1,383 confirmed cases and 19,089 asymptomatic cases reported on Tuesday alone. From March 1 through April 5, the mainland reported 176,455 COVID-19 infections, affecting 29 provincial-level regions. The epidemic is characterized by a combination of scaled outbreaks and sporadic cases, and the occurrence of more spillovers and new cases, Lei Zhenglong of the NHC said at a press conference on Wednesday. The continued surge has pushed many to question if the dynamic zero-case strategy is still effective in containing the spread of Omicron. Will China abandon the policy that was once lauded for its success in beating the virus over the past two years? Mi Feng, NHC spokesperson, gave the answer at Wednesday's press conference, saying that as the domestic epidemic is surging quickly and some community transmission has yet to be cut off, China should unwaveringly…

Relaxing stringent novel coronavirus control measures in China could risk crushing the national healthcare system and result in a surge in deaths, Health Minister Ma Xiaowei said in an article released on Wednesday. In a country with a population of over 1.4 billion, even a contagious disease with very low rates of incidence and mortality can lead to a large number of infections and deaths, he said. "No national medical system in the world could withstand such a huge number," he said, adding that merely focusing on treatment and ignoring prevention will likely devastate China's healthcare system. If you are our daily readers, please join the group, chance to win daily red packets and coupons Ma said that China's dynamic zero-COVID strategy, which features rapid and precise measures to stem new outbreaks as soon as possible, is the country's best weapon against the virus. To cope with the fast-spreading Omicron strain, Ma said local authorities should step up preparedness in quarantine facilities, ranging from building large, dedicated isolation sites to retrofitting existing facilities. The construction of fangcang, or makeshift hospitals, should also be swift so that patients that are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms can be treated and relieve the…

The number of couples in their first marriages almost halved over the past seven years in China, which indicates extremely low birth rates ahead, new research showed on Monday. Experts have suggested that policies are needed to encourage young couples to have more children, including lower property prices and favorable mortgage terms. The number of Chinese people in their first marriages, which is closely related to the number of newborns, fell to 12.28 million in 2020 from the peak of 23.85 million in 2013, a 48.5 percent drop, according to the report on Chinese Marriages and Families 2022 released by YuWa Population Research on Monday. Besides, the number of Chinese marriage registrations fell to 7.63 million in 2021 from 13.47 million in 2013. Falling marriage rates are seen in both rural areas and big cities, because the costs of marriage and childrearing are rising in both underdeveloped and developed areas, James Liang, economist and chairman of China's leading travel agency Trip.com, said at an online press conference on Monday. The report also showed that the ages of Chinese couples who tied the knot had risen significantly. In East China's Anhui Province, the average age for first-marriage registration in 2021 was…Original link

Expats who have received work permits in other GBA mainland cities can apply for the same type of work permit directly in Guangzhou without submitting the required documents again. The process trim is announced by Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau in a notice on work permits recognition of foreign professionals across all the Chinese mainland cities in GBA. The whole application process will be conducted online, with no paper documents needed for this step. After the approval, applicants of the category A work permit can get their new certificate immediately, while those of category B and C need to submit paper documents as required. With a valid visa, expats can apply for the work permit directly after being employed in Guangzhou. For foreign scientific and technological talents, they can have part-time jobs with the permission of their employers and after putting on records in Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. The notice also states that the age and work experience limits will be extended for high-end foreign professionals and foreign talent in high-tech field. A more than two-year work permit will be granted to those eligible applicants. 65 years old is the age limit for foreign scientific and technological…

Wuhan is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in the country. To share the beautiful scenery with people who cannot visit these places in person, an online concert was held on March 20, showing lovely night views of the blossoming season in Wuhan. The concert was live-streamed by nearly 40 media platforms such as the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News, xuexi.com, and Changjiang Daily. The one-hour live stream started with the chiming of the Hankou Customs House clock. The camera then shifted to the concert at the East Lake Cherry Blossom Garden. Bathed in moonlight, performers presented folk music under the cherry trees featuring the guzheng (Chinese plucked zither) and the flute. They also gave traditional Chinese dance performances. More than 70 million people tuned into the online concert. One netizen left this message: "Hope I will have a chance to visit my favorite cherry blossoms and beautiful scenic spots in Wuhan next year."Original link

Twenty international students from the Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics（ZUFE) were issued warnings after violating the government enforced COVID prevention and control requirements, by visiting other cities and provinces without completing the appropriate check-in requirements upon returning. The first group was seven students, reported to have “concealed and delayed reporting their location,” violating the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control requirements of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics and COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control regulations. The regulations are enacted by the School of International Education and Studies, in caution, control and prevention of the epidemic period, which requires a daily-health check in and prior approval to leave Hangzhou. Another thirteen students were the second batch of international students who broke the same regulation. All twenty were issued awarning, which consists of a mark on their records and disqualifies the students for any scholarship for the academic year 2022/2023. Let this serve as awarning for all students and residents to abide by government regulations for asafer environment and speedier recovery against COVID-19 prevention methods. Source: ZUFEOriginal link

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