WASHINGTON — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to end on Friday mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from China, joining other countries in dropping the requirements, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters. Last week, Japan dropped a requirement that everyone take a test for the virus upon arrival from China. The source told Reuters the United States would continue to monitor cases in China and around the world. The U.S. decision was reported earlier by the Washington Post.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1739886/us-set-to-lift-covid-19-testing-requirements-for-travelers-from-china-source

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A Chinese envoy said on Friday that China calls on all nuclear weapon states to effectively reduce the risk of a nuclear war. "Mutual trust and cooperation among major countries are the fundamental guarantee for maintaining global strategic stability," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United s, told the Security Council briefing on threats to international peace and security. Geng said that in January last year, the leaders of the five nuclear weapon states issued a joint statement emphasizing that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and reaffirming that none of the nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other state.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2304016489/

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08:48 UTC+8, 2023-04-04        China urged Japan to be prudent on tightening export controls over semiconductor manufacturing equipment and avoid creating new complex factors to bilateral ties.   08:48 UTC+8, 2023-04-04        China urged Japan to be prudent on tightening export controls over semiconductor manufacturing equipment and avoid creating new complex factors to bilateral ties, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday. A few days ago, Japan announced it will tighten export controls of high-performance semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which is believed by many that this is meant to restrict China-Japan cooperation in the semiconductor sector, Mao told a press briefing when answering a relevant question.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2304041015/

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BEIJING – China will hold three days of military exercises around Taiwan from Saturday, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command announced, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States. China will hold 'combat readiness patrols' and exercises around in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan 'as planned', it added in a brief statement without offering other details. Tsai met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy while in Los Angeles on Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its own territory.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1753851/china-announces-drills-around-taiwan-after-us-speaker-meeting

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(LEAD) Speaker Kim, China's top legislator agree on beefing up strategic communication for peace on Korean Peninsula(ATTN: UPDATES with Li's remarks, photo; RECASTS byline)By Lee Minji and Kim Na-young SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and China's top legislator, Li Zhanshu, agreed Friday on the need to beef up strategic communications to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. "We exchanged our opinions on the geopolitical situation of the Korean Peninsula and agreed it is important to sustain strategic communications between South Korea and China for the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue," Kim said during a joint press briefing following their meeting.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0013443594?sid=104

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Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Thursday said that China is "deeply concerned" by the recent shelling on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. "We call on the parties concerned to exercise restraint, act with caution, refrain from any action that may compromise nuclear safety and security, and spare no effort to minimize the possibility of accidents," he told a UN Security Council briefing. Zhang chaired Thursday's meeting on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as president of the Security Council for the month of August.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2208129086/

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The State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism holds a press conference in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: VCG (Bloomberg) — China will 'unswervingly' adhere to its current Covid controls as the country faces an increasingly serious outbreaks, health officials said, damping hopes that Beijing will ease its stringent policies that have put cities and factories under prolonged lockdowns. 'Previous practices have proved that our prevention and control plans and a series of strategic measures are completely correct,' Hu Xiang, an official at National Health Commission's disease prevention and control bureau, said at a briefing Saturday.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2022-11-05/china-to-unswervingly-keep-to-covid-zero-policy-dashing-hopes-101961142.html

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Xinhua People live in a temporary shelter in Moxi Town, Luding County in Sichuan Province, on September 5, 2022, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the county. Forty-six people have been killed in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted Luding County in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday, local authorities said at a press briefing. As of 8:30pm on Monday, 16 people were missing and over 50 injured, said Wang Feng, deputy director of the Sichuan provincial emergency management department.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2209060115/

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22:31 UTC+8, 2022-09-13        The 2022 World Manufacturing Convention will kick off September 20 in east China's Anhui Province, local authorities said at a press briefing on Tuesday.   22:31 UTC+8, 2022-09-13        The 2022 World Manufacturing Convention will kick off September 20 in east China's Anhui Province, local authorities said at a press briefing on Tuesday. The four-day event, scheduled until September 23 in the provincial capital Hefei, is set to demonstrate new achievements in high-end manufacturing development through new products, technologies and applications.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2209130392/

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China says S. Korea has vowed to limit THAAD operation, heralding continued diplomatic row BEIJING/SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- The Chinese government said Wednesday that South Korea has even pledged to limit the operation of the advanced U.S. missile defense system positioned on its soil in addition to the so-called "Three No's" principle on the THAAD issue. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Beijing's foreign ministry, made the assertion, which runs counter to the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration's position on the matter, during a press briefing, a day after the talks between the top diplomats of the neighboring countries in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0013367061?sid=104

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TAIPEI: Taiwan's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday they have a full grasp of military activities near Taiwan and will appropriately dispatch forces in reaction to "enemy threats" as tensions rise with China. The ministry said in a statement that it has the "determination, ability and confidence" to ensure Taiwan's national security, adding it has made various unspecified plans for an emergency. Earlier on Tuesday, several Chinese warplanes flew close to the median line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, as tensions mounted on news US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was set to visit Taiwan during the day.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/kianweiaritcles/2022-08-02-story-h1627089084-Taiwan_says_will_appropriately_dispatch_forces_in_reaction_to_enemy_thr

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Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday said China is gravely concerned over and strongly disapproves the joint statement of the United States and the Philippines concerning the South China Sea. Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a relevant query. Wang said that on April 11, the Philippines and the US held the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and issued a joint statement, which called on China to comply with the 2016 "Arbitral Award" on the South China Sea.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2304139314/

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21:57 UTC+8, 2023-01-16        China once again urges Japan to take the reasonable concerns of relevant parties seriously and dispose of its nuclear-contaminated water. China once again urges Japan to take the reasonable concerns of relevant parties seriously and dispose of its nuclear-contaminated water in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday. Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing here in response to reports that Japan would pipe nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power station into the ocean during the spring and summer this year.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2301165210/

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John LeeHong Kong Chief Executive John Lee speaks to reporters at his weekly press briefing in Hong Kong Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Lee will meet China's President Xi Jinping to report on the city's political, economic and pandemic control situation during his maiden duty visit in Beijing this week. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung) BEST QUALITY

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/077/0005814136?sid=104

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Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at a press briefing held in Seoul, Tuesday. (Yonhap)Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday South Korea might lift short-term visa restrictions on entrants from China earlier than a new deadline set by the end of February if convincing evidence of declining COVID-19 spread is given.The decision could be made depending on the virus situation here as Korea has just eased indoor mask mandate and both China and Korea had family gatherings to celebrate Lunar New Year holiday.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/044/0000243245?sid=104

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Xinhua A visitor tries out a VR game at the second China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, Hainan Province, on July 28, 2022. As China's economy rebounds following its optimized COVID-19 response, global companies are eyeing the upcoming third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) as a platform to gallop into the market. This year's CICPE is scheduled to be held from April 10 to 15 in Haikou, the capital city of south China's tropical island province of Hainan. Preparations including exhibitor recruitment, sponsor recruitment, and tender arrangements for the expo have already concluded, pooling more high-end consumer brands from home and abroad, said Ji Guohui with Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development at a Thursday press briefing.

https://www.shine.cn/biz/event/2302055857/

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20:34 UTC+8, 2023-01-09        The United States should share domestic COVID-19 information and data in a timely, open and transparent manner, considering the rapid spread of the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.   20:34 UTC+8, 2023-01-09        Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday said the United States should share domestic COVID-19 information and data in a timely, open and transparent manner, considering the rapid spread of the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5. Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked if the United States has shared relevant information and data with China.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2301094932/

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What's new: China provided tax and fee relief worth more than 4.2 trillion yuan ($622 billion) in 2022, the country's tax authority said, as the government ramped up efforts to help businesses weather an economic slowdown. Micro and small enterprises, as well as individual businesses, were the biggest beneficiaries of the support, which included value-added tax (VAT) refunds and tax and fee cuts, said Wang Daoshu, a deputy commissioner of the State Taxation Administration. Manufacturers enjoyed around 35% of the total tax and fee relief, Wang said at a press briefing Tuesday.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-02-01/china-doled-out-622-billion-of-tax-and-fee-relief-to-support-businesses-in-2022-101993713.html

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unification minister-N KoreaN. Korea's food crisis is still grave despite imports from China: unification minister ANSEONG, South Korea, July 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's food prices have stabilized to some degree, aided by grain imports from China, but the secretive regime still faces a serious food crisis, South Korea's unification minister said Monday. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se told a press briefing that deaths from starvation have occurred in some areas in North Korea, and the scope of such regions appears to have further expanded amid disruptions in the state-controlled food supply.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/001/0014055916?sid=104

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China's personal mortgages registered the first year-on-year decline on record at the end of the second quarter, putting further pressure on policymakers to prop up a recovery in the housing market that has been losing steam after a brief rebound at the start of this year. At the end of June, outstanding mortgages fell 0.7% from a year earlier to 38.6 trillion yuan ($5.3 trillion), a report released Friday by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed. That marks the first such drop in available quarter-end data going back to 2013.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-07-31/chart-of-the-day-chinas-personal-mortgages-post-first-decline-in-a-decade-102088225.html

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CONFLICT AT SEA | Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, during the press briefing of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea at the Department of Foreign Affairs office on Monday, provides details of Saturday's incident where China Coast Guard vessels fired water cannons at a PCG vessel and a supply boat heading to Ayungin Shoal. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer) MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Monday summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian over Beijing's actions at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Saturday, when China Coast Guard (CCG) ships fired water cannons at a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel and a boat used by the Philippine Navy.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/217480/dfa-summons-chinese-envoy-over-ayungin

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Amid the gloom of China's economic slowdown, there are some bright spots. A new data series released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday showed that in the first seven months of the year, consumer spending on services like education and leisure rose at almost triple the pace of overall retail sales. Retail sales of services jumped 20.3% year-on-year in the January to July period compared with 7.3% growth for overall retail sales, NBS data show. The bureau did not provide a monetary amount for retail sales of services and did not provide a breakdown of growth by month, but cumulative growth data will be published from now on, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-08-18/new-indicator-shows-chinas-consumers-are-spending-on-services-102094580.html

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MANILA  -Fast food billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong's Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is stepping up expansion in key countries, including China and the United States, as it moves to beat earnings targets for the year. Jollibee chief financial officer (CFO) Richard Shin said on Tuesday they were undeterred by global headwinds, notably concerns over an economic slowdown in China, one of the company's core markets. 'We have not wavered on our long-term strategy [to grow] in geographic priorities of the Philippines, US and China,' Shin told reporters during a briefing.

https://business.inquirer.net/417226/jollibee-bullish-on-china-global-markets

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An employee inspects a circuit board on the controller production line at a Gree factory, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China Aug 16, 2021. China Daily via REUTERS/File photo BEIJING  – China ‘s factory  output  and  retail  sales  grew at a faster pace in  August , but tumbling investment in the crisis-hit property sector threatens to undercut a flurry of support steps that are showing signs of stabilizing parts of the wobbly economy. Chinese policymakers are facing a daunting task in trying to revive  growth  following a brief post-COVID bounce in the wake of persistent weakness in the crucial property industry, a faltering currency and weak global demand for its manufactured goods.

https://business.inquirer.net/421335/china-august-industrial-output-retail-sales-growth-beat-expectations

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What's new: China has evacuated the first group of its citizens from Sudan to a neighboring country as fighting between state and paramilitary forces rages on in the northeast African nation, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Since 'abrupt changes took place in the situation in Sudan,' Beijing has been very concerned about the safety of Chinese citizens in the country, spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing Monday.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-04-25/chinese-nationals-evacuated-from-conflict-hit-sudan-102032004.html

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MANILA, Philippines — China is pushing back against any move to interfere in the South China Sea issue, saying the disputed territory is 'not a hunting ground for forces outside the region.' Beijing's ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said this in a news briefing on Thursday when asked about the bilateral security guidelines between the Philippines and the United States, where the latter vowed to back Manila against any attack in the contested waters. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines shared a brief transcript of Mao's response, saying that through the collective effort of countries in the region, waters in the South China Sea are not as turbulent since they have 'maintained overall stability.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/214546/south-china-sea-is-no-hunting-ground-for-forces-outside-region

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HANOI, May 27 : Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked China to withdraw a survey ship along with its coast guard ships and fishing vessels from the South-East Asian nation's waters, the government's website had reported on Thursday. Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said during a briefing the Chinese ships violated Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and asked China to respect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction, according to the report. Vietnamese officials have communicated with China numerous times and implemented measures in accordance with international and Vietnamese laws to protect Hanoi's legitimate rights and interests, the government website quoted Hang.

http://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/kianweiaritcles/2023-05-28-story-h-269627269-Vietnam_asks_China_to_withdraw_ships_from_its_waters_reports_VnExpress

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