BEIJING: China said on Friday it supports a World Health Organisation-led review into the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, but “after the pandemic is over”.The comments from foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came as China has faced increasing global pressure in...

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday accused China and Russia of stepping up cooperation to spread false narratives over the coronavirus pandemic, saying Beijing was increasingly adopting techniques honed by Moscow.

“Even before the Covid-19 crisis we assessed a certain level of coordination between Russia and the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) in the realm of propaganda,” said Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which tracks foreign propaganda.

“But with this pandemic the cooperation has accelerated rapidly,” she told reporters.

“We see this convergence as a result of what we consider to be pragmatism between the two actors who want to shape public understanding of the Covid pandemic for their own purposes,” she said.

The Global Engagement Center earlier said that thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts were spreading conspiracies about the pandemic, including charging that the virus first detected last year in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan was created by the United States.

China outraged the United States when a foreign ministry spokesman tweeted a conspiracy that the US military brought the virus to Wuhan, but the two countries reached an informal rhetorical truce in late March after telephone talks between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping.

Tensions have again soared as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushes the theory that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, even though both the World Health Organisation and the US government’s top epidemiologist say there is no evidence of this.

According to the Global Engagement Centre, China has again intensified its online campaign to defend its handling of the pandemic, which has killed some 270,000 people worldwide, and criticise the United States.

“Beijing is adapting in real time and increasingly using techniques that have long been employed by Moscow,” Gabrielle said.

China has increasingly used bot networks to amplify its message, Gabrielle said.

She said that official Chinese diplomatic accounts suddenly witnessed a surge in late March, going from adding around 30 new followers daily to more than 720, often from freshly created accounts.

She said that China was first observed using such online methods to “sow political discord” in its autonomous territory of Hong Kong, which has witnessed major pro-democracy demonstrations.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

'Australia is “gum stuck to the bottom of China’s shoe”, huh? Ok, well, it’s time for Australia to rethink trade and other agreements with China if they don’t like criticism'

The project aimed to improve the transport conditions and services in Longnan municipality in the People's Republic of China. The targeted outcomes were the provision of efficient, safe and reliable road transport in the project area; and improved access to markets, income generating opportunities, education and health services and social activities for rural people. Key to this was a targeted reduction in travel times of between 5 and 7 hours, with 90% of the villages being served by an all-weather road.

The project’s key objective was to demonstrate an innovative integrated ecosystem and water resources management that will improve the environmental conditions in the Baiyangdian Basin in Hebei province, southwest of Beijing. It focused on the need to conserve Baiyangdian Lake—one of the most important and vulnerable ecosystems in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It would also contribute to achieving the goals of the Baoding municipality’s Eleventh Five-Year Environmental Protection Plan.

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

This brief presents recommendations to further encourage public-private partnerships for the environmental protection industry in the People's Republic of China, as the country seeks to address the negative impact of rapid urbanization.

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

Labor market discrimination is the main barrier to narrowing the gender earnings gap in the People’s Republic of China.

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

In China, SEZs were developed along its southern coast in the areas of Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai, Hainan and Xiamen which were backward small villages lacking in basic infrastructure and industrial resources. These zones were developed as manufacturing hubs and the open access to international trade sea lanes led to their success. These SEZs attracted huge amounts of foreign capital and optimised the use of management, advanced technology and equipment. In India, apart from a few port locations, most of the existing and proposed SEZs are located inland. Moreover, the Indian policy makers could only see half the picture in assuming that the foreign investors who were not comfortable with the […]

AUTO CHINA 2015, SHANGHAI – HARMAN, the premier audio, infotainment and software services company (NYSE:HAR), continues to make strides in China’s fast-growing auto market with new business wins and market roll-outs of infotainment and audio solutions with regional OEMs.

Shanghai Auto Show 2019 – SHANGHAI – April 16, 2019 – At the Shanghai Auto Show, HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, announced...

AUTO CHINA 2014, BEIJING -- Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HAR), the global premium audio and infotainment group, said today that it will open a new global research and development center in Suzhou, China in mid 2015, initially adding about 100 new employees at the site. Construction of the new 10,000 sq. m. (100,000 sq. ft.) facility will begin in June. The announcement was made during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

With its highly strategic and importance place in the world, China is a critical market for international expansion for a wide range of global businesses including those in the automotive space. HARMAN is dedicated to expanding its footprint in the ...

Temperature checks, compulsory face masks and scrupulous hygiene - it's more like going to a hospital than a school, but the Shanghai students returning to class after three months of lockdown are...

China's policymakers struggle to grapple with a property market, the world's largest, that is crucial for growth yet prone to bubbles springing up in unlikely places.

There's no doubt China's tech sector is heating up, but not all opportunities are made equal. 500 Startups' China partner Rui Ma tells Reuters' Jon Gordon where she sees the most promise

How did animal life begin? A must-see exhibition in Oxford brings together the world's best fossils from the Cambrian explosion to tell the story

The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote to nearly 60 countries on Friday asking them to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

In an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus, China has shut its wildlife markets for good. It is a welcome move, says Adam Vaughan

Kingsoft Cloud will debut on Nasdaq, testing appetite for Chinese shares a month after the Luckin Coffee scandal. Data demand is booming in China amid Covid-19, and Kingsoft is a strong rival to market leader Alibaba. Robyn Mak explains why New York might like this listing.

Rival lawmakers scuffled in Hong Kong's legislature on Friday in a row over electing the chairman of a key committee, a fresh sign of rising political tension as the coronavirus pandemic tapers off in the Chinese-ruled city. Francesca Lynagh reports.

China just tested its biggest rocket yet, along with a new capsule designed to carry humans to its planned space station, the moon and beyond

The world's biggest brewer, AB InBev, says it sees signs of a rebound in China, but warns the next quarter will still be worse overall. Julian Satterthwaite reports.

Aides to U.S. President Trump say their 2020 campaign will now be focus on two themes: Trump is the only candidate who can resurrect the economy and that Democrats will not be as tough on China, a country Trump is blaming for the pandemic.

Title: U.S. Issues Highest Travel Alert for China as WHO Declares Health Emergency
Category: Health News
Created: 1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 2/3/2020 12:00:00 AM

We present a review of the Chang 7 Member oil shale, which occurs in the middle–late Triassic Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin in central north China. The oil shale has a thickness of 28 m (average), an area of around 30 000 km² and a Ladinian age. It is mainly brown-black to black in colour with a laminar structure. It is characterized by average values of 18 wt% TOC (total organic carbon), 8 wt% oil yield, a 8.35 MJ kg^–1 calorific value, 400 kg t^–1 hydrocarbon productivity and kerogen of type I–II₁, showing a medium quality. On average, it comprises 49% clay minerals, 29% quartz, 16% feldspar and some iron oxides, which is close to the average mineral composition of global shale. The total SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ comprise 63.69 wt% of the whole rock, indicating a medium ash type. The Sr/Ba is 0.33, the V/Ni is 7.8, the U/Th is 4.8 and the FeO/Fe₂O₃ is 0.5, indicating formation in a strongly reducing, freshwater or low-salinity sedimentary environment. Multilayered intermediate-acid tuff is developed in the basin, which may have promoted the formation of the oil shale. The Ordos Basin was formed during the northwards subduction of the Qinling oceanic plate during the Ladinian–Norian in a back-arc basin context. The oil shale of the Ordos Basin has a large potential for hydrocarbon generation.

Supplementary material: Tables of oil-shale geochemical composition, proximate and organic matter analyses from the Chang 7 Member oil shale, the Ordos Basin, Central north China are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4411703

The Lower and Middle Ordovician of the Yangtze Platform, China, is characterized by a sedimentary succession dominated by carbonate rocks. Three sections spanning the Nantsinkuan/Lunshan, Fenhsiang, Hunghuayuan, and Dawan/Zitai formations, corresponding to the Tremadocian–Dapingian in age, have been sampled for high-resolution ¹³C chemostratigraphy (542 samples in total). Our new ¹³C data reveal five tie-points with the potential for global correlation: (1) a positive ¹³C excursion in the lower Nantsinkuan Formation within the Tremadocian Rossodus manitouensis Zone; (2) an excursion with two peaks roughly within the late Tremadocian Paltodus ‘deltifer’ Zone; (3) a positive ¹³C shift in the lower Hunghuayuan Formation, within the early Floian Serratognathus diversus Zone; (4) a gradual positive ¹³C shift in the late Floian, ranging from the uppermost S. diversus Zone to the basal Oepikodus evae Zone; (5) a minor negative shift in the lower Dawan/Zitai Formation, within the early Dapingian Baltoniodus triangularis Zone. These excursions are herein used for correlation of the Yangtze Platform strata with successions from South China, North China, the Argentine Precordillera, North America and Baltica. From a palaeogeographical perspective the Gudongkou, Xiangshuidong and Daling sections represent depositional environments along an inner to outer ramp profile. ¹³C data from these sections show successively heavier (higher) ¹³C values with increasing depositional depth. This is interpreted as due to remineralization of organic carbon within the carbonate rocks.

Supplementary material: Carbon and oxygen isotope data are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4767080

This study addresses the major geo-environmental hazards caused by shallow coal mining in China's western eco-environment frangible area. These hazards are related to the high overburden pressure, surface subsidence, soil and water losses, and land desertification, with consequent vegetation and wildlife losses. To mitigate these hazards, three alternative backfill mining methods are proposed, for three typical shallow coal mining conditions, using aeolian sand-based backfilling materials, which are readily available in this area. The main influencing factor is the backfill material compaction ratio. Its effect on aquiclude deformation and water-conducting fracture evolution are assessed by numerical and physical simulation methods. The potential application of the proposed backfill coal mining alternatives is evaluated and discussed in detail. The results obtained are considered to be valuable for developing a strategy for the coordinated exploitation of coal resources and environmental protection in China's western frangible eco-environment area.

Background

We aimed to investigate the epidemiological and clinical features, and medical care-seeking process of patients with the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, to provide useful information to contain COVID-19 in other places with similar outbreaks of the virus.

At about 6300 km, Chang Jiang or Long River (长江) is the longest river in Asia and third longest in the world. It is the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country and plays a large role in the history, culture, and economy of China. For thousands of years, the river has been used for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking, and war. Passing through 10 provinces, it commences its flow from the Tanggula Mountains (唐古拉山) in ethnic Tibetan Qinghai (青海) Province in northwest China and ends at the East China Sea in Shanghai (上海). Along the middle reaches of the river, between the western upstream Baidi City (白帝城) of Chongqing (重庆) Municipality and Yichang (宜昌) city of Hubei (湖北) Province downstream, the river passes through 3 adjacent gorges, known as the Three Gorges (三峡): Qutang, Wuxia, and Xiling gorge (瞿塘, 巫峡, 西陵峡) cutting through the Wu Mountains (巫山). Spanning a distance of about 120 km, these gorges are noted for their natural beauty: unusual-looking mountain peaks ranging from 800 m to 2000 m, precipitous valleys, dense forest, and spectacular landscape. Many ancient government officials, scholars, poets, and painters visited the Three Gorges and left their impressions and praises in writings. Archeological discoveries in recent years have shown for the first time that the Three Gorges area should be recognized as the birthplace of Chinese civilization.

The trade war between the United States and China has turned real estate investors' interest to Southeast Asian countries, in which the Vietnamese industrial market emerges as a bright spot in the region.

QR codes, tracking apps and drones at toll booths are just some of the tech tools China is deploying to monitor the spread of the new coronavirus

A temporary coronavirus hospital ward in China is being staffed entirely by robots. Around 200 patients with mild symptoms will be fed and treated by machines, while medical staff issue commands from outside

This could be a trial run for the rest of Disney’s parks in the US, Japan, France, and Hong Kong.

China has connected the world’s first portable ground station for quantum communication to the Mozi satellite, and has plans to launch another quantum satellite soon

China’s Yutu-2 rover has used radar to peer 40 metres under the surface of the far side of the moon and revealed how past impacts have shaped its geology

China just tested its biggest rocket yet, along with a new capsule designed to carry humans to its planned space station, the moon and beyond

Spacecraft propulsion systems are ready for China’s daring touchdown attempt on the red planet

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese regulators have approved Novartis' Mayzent to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis in adults, the Swiss drug maker said in a statement on Saturday. Other drugs approved by China's National Medical Products Administration to treat MS include Novartis' Gilenya, Bayer's Betaferon and Sanofi's Aubagio. China has an estimated 30,000 patients with MS. (Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Kevin Yao in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

Following China’s switch to a two-child policy, there has been a slight rise in congenital anomalies, perhaps because parents are older on average at conception

George Engelmann, a perennial swing voter in swing-state Wisconsin, says President Donald Trump has won his vote for November's election thanks to his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote to nearly 60 countries on Friday asking them to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Five prominent labour activists have returned to their homes more than a year after they were arrested in coordinated raids in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to people close to them and a Hong Kong-based rights group.