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China to dispatch troops for military drills in Russia

(Xinhua)09:58, September 11, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The Chinese military will send personnel to Russias Astrakhan Region to participate in the Kavkaz-2020 strategic military drills scheduled for Sept. 21-26, Chinas Ministry of National Defense announced on Thursday.

The participating Chinese troops, mainly from the Western Theater Command, will carry wheeled equipment and light weapons. They are expected to be delivered by Chinas new transport aircraft, according to the ministry.

Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and other countries will also take part in the drills.

At an important moment when the world is joining hands to fight the pandemic, Chinas participation in the drills aims to further develop the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, deepen practical cooperation in military training between the two militaries, and enhance the capacity of multinational forces to jointly respond to security threats and safeguard regional peace and stability, the ministry said in a statement.

The drills do not target any third party and are not related to any regional situations, it noted.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte meets Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe

(China Military Online)14:57, September 13, 2020

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) meets with the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (L) in Manila on the afternoon of September 11, 2020. (mod.gov.cn)

MANILA, Philippines Sept. 12 — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe in Manila on the afternoon of September 11, 2020.

Duterte said that the delegation is the first high-level one to visit the Philippines since the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that China attaches great importance to the China-Philippine relations. Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Philippine side hereby expresses congratulations on it, he stated.

Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe (1st R) holds official talks with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (1st L) in Manila, the Philippines, Sept. 11, 2020.(mod.gov.cn)

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government and military provided a large amount of selfless assistance to the Philippines, and the Philippines side is sincerely grateful for that, he added.

Maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is in the common interests of all countries in the region. It is hoped that all parties will resolve their conflicts and differences through friendly consultations on the basis of respect for international law, and jointly achieve long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea, Duterte expressed.

General Wei Fenghe said that China and Philippine enjoy a long-established friendship, and the relations between the two countries continue to make new progress under the joint guidance of President Xi Jinping and His Excellency the President Duterte. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries support each other, which reflect the good-neighborly and friendly relations of mutual assistance.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (R) holds a welcoming ceremony for the visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (L) on the morning of September 11, 2020. (mod.gov.cn)

The Chinese military is willing to develop closer and more pragmatic cooperation with the Philippine military, said Wei. Maintaining the stability of the South China Sea is the shared responsibility of the two countries. It is necessary to persist in resolving issues within the region through consultations, strengthen communication and coordination, so as to properly manage differences, and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the South China Sea, Wei added.

On Friday morning, General Wei Henghe also held talks with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. They exchanged views on the international and regional situations, the relations between the two countries and the two militaries, the South China Sea issue, etc.

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China invites public contributions to military technological innovation

(Xinhua)09:19, September 14, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — The Chinese military has introduced a monthly one-day event to hear suggestions from the civilian sector concerning military technological innovation, the Science and Technology Commission (STC) of the Central Military Commission said on Sunday.

The first such event was held on Saturday, gathering 44 participants from universities, research institutes and high-tech firms, said the STC.

Since the STC released the monthly event schedule in July, 755 scientific research teams have signed up and submitted national defense innovation ideas, it added.

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3 rockets hit Green Zone in Iraqs Baghdad

(Xinhua)09:09, August 28, 2020

BAGHDAD, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — Three Katyusha rockets on Thursday landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad without causing casualties, the Iraqi military said.

The rockets were fired from the al-Bejiyah area in western Baghdad in late Thursday night and landed in the Green Zone, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement.

The rockets caused no casualties as they landed on an empty field in the zone, the statement said.

The attack is the second in the night as the JOC reportedly said that a rocket was fired from al-Dora highway in the south of the Green Zone but failed to reach the zone and landed in the al-Jadriyah neighborhood without causing casualties.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military bases housing U.S. troops across Iraq and the Green Zone in Baghdad have been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks.

The Iraqi-U.S. relations have witnessed a tension since Jan. 3 when a U.S. drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraqs paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.

The U.S. airstrike prompted the Iraqi parliament on Jan. 5 to pass a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.

More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against the Islamic State (IS) militants, mainly for training and advisory purposes.

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Chinese mainland reports 17 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

(Xinhua)10:15, June 28, 2020

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — Chinese health authority said Sunday it received reports of 17 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Saturday, including 14 domestically transmitted and three imported ones.

All the domestically transmitted cases were reported in Beijing, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Saturday, according to the commission.

On Saturday, seven people were discharged from hospital after recovery, and one new suspected case was reported in Beijing.

As of Saturday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,500, including 415 patients who were still being treated, with eight in severe condition.

Altogether 78,451 people had been discharged after recovery and 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Saturday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,902 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,816 had been discharged from hospital after recovery, and 86 remained hospitalized. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said there were eight cases suspected of having been infected with the virus by Saturday.

According to the commission, 7,445 close contacts were still under medical observation after 692 people were discharged from medical observation Saturday.

Also on Saturday, seven new asymptomatic cases, including four from overseas, were reported on the mainland. Two asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases. Five asymptomatic cases were discharged from medical observation.

The commission said 106 asymptomatic cases, including 66 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By Saturday, 1,197 confirmed cases including seven deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 447 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 1,095 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 45 in the Macao SAR, and 435 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

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Seven COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals on Chinese mainland

(Xinhua)10:15, June 28, 2020

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — Seven COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland Saturday, the National Health Commission said Sunday.

There are 415 patients still being treated, including eight in severe conditions, the commission said in its daily report.

Altogether 78,451 patients had been cured and discharged from hospitals by Saturday, the report said.

As of Saturday, a total of 83,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported on the mainland, among whom 4,634 had died of the disease.

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Chinese mainland reports 3 new imported COVID-19 cases

(Xinhua)10:15, June 28, 2020

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — The Chinese mainland reported three new imported COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,902, the National Health Commission said Sunday.

Of the three imported cases, one was reported in Shanghai Municipality, one in Shaanxi Province and the other in Gansu Province, the commission said.

Among all the imported cases, 1,816 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 86 remained hospitalized with one in severe condition, the commission said.

No deaths had been reported from the imported cases.

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Beijing reports 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

(Xinhua)11:11, June 28, 2020

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) — Beijing reported 14 new confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases and three asymptomatic cases Saturday, the municipal health commission said Sunday.

One new suspected case was registered on Saturday, the commission said in a daily report.

From June 11 to 27, Beijing reported 311 confirmed locally transmitted cases, all of whom were receiving treatment. Meanwhile, there are 26 asymptomatic cases still under medical observation, the commission said.

The new cluster infections emerged after the city observed 57 days without reports of locally transmitted cases.

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SP affirms AA+A-1+ issuer credit ratings on Hong Kong with stable outlook

(Xinhua)13:27, June 28, 2020

HONG KONG, June 28 (Xinhua) — International credit rating agency Standard Poors (SP) has affirmed its AA+/A-1+ issuer credit ratings on Hong Kong and maintained the outlook as stable.

SP Global Ratings affirmed on Friday its AA+ long-term and A-1+ short-term issuer credit ratings on Hong Kong. The outlook remains stable, and the transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged at AAA, the agency announced in its latest report on Hong Kong.

It said Hong Kongs economy will likely suffer another deep contraction this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on the services and trade sectors, and the fiscal deficit is expected to widen with the roll-out of additional fiscal stimulus.

(B)ut for now fiscal buffers remain sufficient to absorb the credit impact of these measures, it pointed out.

The stable outlook reflects SPs expectation that economic conditions will stabilize and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and that political developments between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), as well as between the United States and Hong Kong SAR, will not fundamentally jeopardize Hong Kongs economic development, it said.

The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Hong Kongs strong economic and financial metrics will still allow the governments creditworthiness to withstand the fallout from prolonged social tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic over the next one to two years, it said.

It also reflects our expectation that institutional changes as a result of the impending national security legislation will not affect Hong Kongs autonomy in setting economic policies as laid out in the Basic Law, it added.

Under the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong enjoys autonomy in important institutional matters that affect the governments creditworthiness, including the ability to manage its own finances and set macroeconomic, financial and trade policies, it said.

We continue to expect the central government of China and the territorys government to maintain Hong Kongs autonomy in these matters, as outlined in the Basic Law.

SP said it does not expect any changes to trade relations between the United States and Hong Kong SAR to seriously jeopardize the territorys financial sector development and economic growth.

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China to further open capital market regulator

(Xinhua)15:58, August 03, 2020

China will further open its capital market and streamline channels for foreign investors, the countrys top securities regulator said.

The country will continue to open up markets, industries and products to foreign investors while simultaneously stepping up oversight to forestall risks, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement.

The regulator will step up cooperation with other countries in capital market oversight and implement reform measures, it said.

While pledging to trim unnecessary regulations to let market forces play a bigger role in the capital market, the commission vowed zero tolerance to illegal activities such as insider trading and financial fraud.

It will continue to improve mechanisms to enhance the quality of listed firms so that the capital market could play its part in supporting economic development, the regulator said.