Chinese president calls for cooperation through China-CEEC Expo

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory letter to the second China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair. 

The president says the expo underway in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province is an important platform for China and Central and Eastern European countries to deepen their friendship, expand cooperation and seek joint development. 

He also stressed that the event will give the Chinese market better knowledge about products from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as helping countries in the region increase their exports to China. 

The Chinese president says that he hopes all parties will take this expo as an opportunity to explore cooperation. 

At the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Summit held in February, President Xi says that China intends to import more than 170 billion U.S. dollars of goods from CEE countries in the coming five years.

China, ASEAN discuss pandemic, recovery at meeting marking 30 years of relations

Diplomats from ASEAN member countries are gathered in Chongqing to discuss topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery, as China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations mark 30 years of dialogue. 

Feng Yilei reports from Chongqing.

Chinese defense minister holds talks with Singaporean counterpart

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has called for China and Singapore to make greater contributions to the development of bilateral relations. 

Wei had a phone conversation with his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen and said the two sides should maintain high-level communication, advance pragmatic cooperation, and strengthen multilateral coordination. 

Ng says that Singapore is ready to improve cooperation with China in areas such as defense and security.

Elephant herd stays put in Kunming

The elephant herd in Yunnan province seems to be taking a break during their journey. 

They're still in the provincial capital of Kunming. 

Ma Ke has more.

UK police officer pleads guilty to woman's rape and kidnap - BBC

A serving British police officer has admitted the rape and kidnap of Sarah Everard whose killing sparked outrage about male violence against women. 

The BBC cited the lawyer of Wayne Couzens as saying the officer also accepted responsibility for killing Everard but did not enter a plea while medical reports were being prepared. 

Everard was abducted as she walked home in south London on March 3. Her body was later found in southeast England.

CMG, Shandong Province to deepen cooperation in CCI

China Media Group and Shandong's provincial government have signed an agreement on the high-quality development of the cultural and creative industries. 

CMG President Shen Haixiong attended the signing ceremony and unveiled CMG's Shandong correspondent bureau. 

In a speech delivered at the ceremony, Shen Haixiong says China Media Group will deepen cooperation with Shandong and inject strong impetus into the high-quality development of both CMG and the eastern Chinese province.

Cameraman outruns athletes during campus dash

A college student who served as a cameraman during a university sprint race ended up outrunning all the competitors.

Hao Xiaoyang is a senior at Datong University in Shanxi Province.

Despite having to hold a camera and stabilizer, Hao was able to stay well ahead of the athletes during the 100 meter dash.