China

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Daxing International Airport completed flight checks when a plane landed safely at the airport at 10:20 a.m. Sunday.

The flight checks lasted 34 days and ended 19 days ahead of schedule.

Seven instrument landing systems and one navigation system, among others, went through thorough checks.

The completion of the tests means the airport is ready for operation, authorities said.

Set to open in late 2019, the new airport sits at the junction of Beijing's southern Daxing District and Langfang, a city in Hebei Province.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met China's President Xi Jinping on Friday and bagged a $10-billion oil deal, pressing on with his diplomatic charm offensive in Asia following a global outcry over the Khashoggi killing.

Mohammed arrived in Beijing on Thursday following visits to Pakistan and India, showing the world that his country still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

"China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," Xi told Mohammed in a meeting in the Great Hall of the People.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to further boost financial cooperation.

The two countries will enhance communication and coordination of macro policies, develop the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan through the financial sector and promote inclusive growth and sustainable development of both countries, according to the meeting of a financial sub-committee under a high-level committee to coordinate bilateral cooperation.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China said Thursday it will grasp the development opportunities brought by a new round of scientific and technological advances and strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation with all parties, including in 5G.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the comments at a news briefing when asked about some countries' remarks that Chinese enterprises should be excluded from the construction of their 5G networks due to the "security risks" of Chinese products and devices.

Beijing, Feb 20 (AP) China is barring foreign travellers from Tibet over a period of several weeks that includes a pair of sensitive political anniversaries questioning the legitimacy of Beijing's rule over the Himalayan region.

Travel agencies contacted Wednesday said foreign tourists would not be allowed back into Tibet until April 1. It's not clear when the ban started, although some monitoring groups said it began this month.

19 Feb 2019; DW: The founder of Huawei on Monday claimed there were political motivations behind the arrest of his daughter, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou.

"Firstly, I object to what the US has done. This kind of politically motivated act is not acceptable," Ren Zhengfei told the BBC in his first broadcast interview since the arrest. "The US likes to sanction others, whenever there's an issue, they'll use such combative methods."

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aiming to develop the region into "a role model of high-quality development."

The plan was released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.

Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, said an official in charge of the office of the leading group for developing the area.

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China will attract a large pour of foreign investment in 2019, as the country keeps widening foreign access to its capital market, China Securities News reported Monday.

In 2018, China's capital market welcomed a record-high overseas investment of 120 billion U.S. dollars, the newspaper said, citing a report released by the Citibank.

The bank also projects that foreign capital worth 200 billion U.S. dollars will flow to China's capital market this year.

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected the position of the United States on Huawei, saying China hopes all countries will abide by the principle of fair competition and jointly safeguard a fair and non-discriminatory market environment.

According to reports, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence warned its allies to take seriously "the threat" posed by Chinese enterprise Huawei as they look for partners to build 5G wireless infrastructure. He made the remarks Saturday during the Munich Security Conference.

BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- China will build at least 80 million mu (5.33 million hectares) of high-standard farmland this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Sunday.

China has started building drought and flood resistant farmland since 2011, in a bid to ensure food security. By the end of 2018, China has already developed 640 million mu of such farmland, with grain output increasing 100 kg per mu on average.

Water, fertilizer, and pesticide consumption on the farmland fell 24.3 percent, 13.8 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, per mu.