China

China's rocket modified with solid strap-on boosters makes maiden flight

TAIYUAN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A modified version of the Long March-6 carrier rocket with solid strap-on boosters made its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending two satellites into planned orbit.

The rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 5:50 p.m. (Beijing Time).

The modified rocket is China's first type of carrier rocket equipped with solid strap-on boosters. It uses non-toxic and non-polluting propellants and can send satellites to the sun-synchronous orbit.

China: Shanghai lockdown tests ‘zero-COVID’ limits, shakes markets

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities sought to reassure companies and jittery investors on Tuesday as a two-phase lockdown of Shanghai’s 26 million people entered its second day, casting an unusual quiet over the normally bustling center of finance, manufacturing and trade.

The omicron outbreak in Shanghai is one of a series across the country that is testing the government’s ability to enforce a strict “zero-COVID” strategy without overly disrupting the economy and people’s daily lives.

China reduces personal income tax for parents of children under 3

BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- China has announced tax-relief policies for parents rearing children under 3 years old, according to a State Council circular issued on Monday.

Starting Jan. 1, 2022, the individual taxable income of such parents can be reduced by a total of 1,000 yuan (157 U.S. dollars) per month for each baby, said the circular.

The deduction can be applied in full by one parent or can be split evenly, added the circular.

All 132 victims of China's plane crash identified

NANNING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- All 132 victims of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash have been identified through DNA testing, an official told a press briefing on Monday.

After the accident, public security authorities across 20 provincial-level regions were organized to identify the victims by collecting DNA samples of those on board and their relatives, said Liu Kaihui, an official with the Ministry of Public Security.

Pak-Saudi Arabia relations conducive to driving Muslim Ummah to play greater role in world

BEIJING, March 27 (APP): In the changing international scenario, further strengthening comprehensive strategic cooperative relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is not only in line with the core interests of their respective countries, but also conducive to driving the Muslim world to play a greater role in world and regional affairs.

Second ‘black box’ found in China Eastern plane crash

BEIJING (AP) — The second “black box” has been recovered from the crash of a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 that killed all 132 people on board last week, Chinese state media said Sunday.

Firefighters taking part in the search found the recorder, an orange cylinder, on a mountain slope about 1.5 meters (5 feet) underground, state broadcaster CCTV said. Experts confirmed it was the second black box. The impact of the crash scattered debris widely and created a 20-meter- (65-foot-) deep pit in the side of the mountain.

Chinese mainland reports 1,280 new local COVID-19 cases

BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Friday reported 1,280 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, down from 1,301 on Thursday, according to the National Health Commission.

Of the new local infections, 1,122 were reported in the province of Jilin, 38 in Shanghai, 35 in Tianjin, 19 in Hebei, and 14 in Liaoning.

The rest of the cases were reported in 15 other provincial-level regions, including Heilongjiang and Gansu.

A total of 55 imported COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, said the commission in its daily report.

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