Chinese president attends commissioning of naval vessels

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has attended the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels.

The Changzheng-18, the Dalian, and the Hainan were delivered to the People's Liberation Army Navy and placed in active service at a naval port in Sanya, Hainan Province.

Chinese VP calls for promoting sound development of China-U.S. ties

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan has called for promoting a stable and sound China-U.S. relationship.

The vice president addressed a commemorative activity marking the 50th anniversary of the Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

He urged both China and the United States to follow the spirit of the phone conversation between the leaders of the two countries in February and manage differences to promote cooperation in order to contribute more to COVID-19 response, global economic recovery and world peace and stability.

Searchers found debris from missing Indonesian submarine: navy chief of staff

Indonesian searchers have recovered debris believed to be from the submarine that was reported missing on Wednesday in waters off Bali.

An official from Indonesia's Navy says the conditions of the 53 people onboard cannot be determined.

The Indonesian military has changed the status of the submarine from SUBMISS to SUBSUNK.

The navy official says it had cracks that caused several components to come off.

SpaceX capsule delivers new crew to space station

Four NASA astronauts aboard a reused SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule have docked at the International Space Station.

It was SpaceX's first launch using a recycled rocket and capsule.

The crew members will carry out science and maintenance tasks during their 6-month stay in the orbiting lab.

China's first Mars rover named Zhurong

China's first Mars rover has been named Zhurong, which means the god of fire in Chinese mythology.

China launched Mars probe Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020.

It entered the parking orbit of Mars on February 24 and is preparing for a landing on the Red Planet.

China, Russia welcome int'l partners in moon station cooperation

China and Russia's aerospace authorities have invited all interested countries, international organizations and partners to cooperate in a moon station project.

The two countries will promote extensive cooperation in the station for the development of socio-economic progress, as well as human space science and technology.

The moon station will be open to all interested countries, international organizations and partners in terms of planning, design, research, development, implementation and operation.

China's Baiyun Int'l Airport becomes world's busiest hub in 2020: report

Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou was the world's busiest hub last year.

With nearly 43.8 million passengers, the Baiyun airport snatched the top position from Hartsfield-Jackson in the U.S. city of Atlanta, which had been at the top of the list for more than 20 years.

Six other Chinese airports also made it onto the top 10 list based on passenger traffic.

International events, training weeks for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in Q4

Organizers for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games are planning to hold international events in the fourth quarter of this year, in the run-up to the Games.

Beijing 2022 already conducted testing programs in February and earlier this month.

The Winter Olympic Games is scheduled to run from February 4 to 20 next year.

China working on COVID-19 vaccines against virus variants: expert

China's top respiratory disease expert says that the country is going all out to develop vaccines against the mutated novel coronavirus.

Zhang Nanshan says that the variants are the main problem at the moment.

Several variants have been discovered in countries that include the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

They are believed to be more contagious.

China issues guideline to regulate livestreaming marketing

China has rolled out a trial guideline to regulate the country's livestreaming marketing industry.

It aims to protect the rights and interests of consumers and prevent risks including false advertising and selling counterfeit and substandard products.

More than 24 million livestreaming marketing activities took place in China last year.

Putin signs decree on countermeasures against "unfriendly" countries

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law to limit the number of local staff working at foreign diplomatic missions and other agencies, and ordered the government to draw up a list of "unfriendly" states that will be subject to the restrictions.

The bill comes amid an escalating diplomatic row between Russia and the United States and some European countries.

The law authorises the government to restrict, or even ban outright, employment contracts with "state bodies and state institutions of foreign states committing unfriendly acts against the Russian Federation".