Taking cognisance of the growing global backlash against the Confucius Institutes promoted by China's Hanban, China issued a notice on July 4, announcing that the name of the Confucius Institutes has been changed to the 'Centre for Language Exchange and Cooperation'.

National Interest (July 3) in an article on China's A.I., said that under General Secretary Xi Jinping, China has invested heavily in AI-related technologies, making it a core focus for the modernization of Chinese industry.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported (July 2) the Chengdu Municipal Agriculture and Rural Bureau had issued a document encouraging farmers to stop producing fruit and cultivating gardens and to start producing rice grains instead.

China's military media on July 4 announced that construction of its third aircraft carrier Type-003 has now been almost completed and it is getting closer to the launch of outfitting!

The 85th birthday of the Tibetan spiritual leader, HH the XIV Dalai Lama was celebrated globally as World Tibet Day on July 6, 2020.

One of Demisisto's founding leaders Nathan Law told (July 2) the US's National Public Radio (NPR) that he has fled Hongkong in order to carry on his pro-democracy movement abroad. He did not disclose where he was. Demosisto and Studentlocalism have also announced their disbandment.

On July 1, Taipei opened the new Taiwan Hong Kong Service Exchange Office to facilitate large-scale migration of Hongkongers to the island. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council minister, Chen Ming-tong, described the move as “not only a statement on Taiwan’s support to Hong Kong’s democracy and freedom but also highlights our determination to care for Hong Kong people.”

China's popular social media platform Baidu on July 3 carried the following post: On June 30, China and India held more than 12 hours of army commander-level talks. The third round of talks reached a consensus that the two parties organized a batch of front-line troops to "disengage" and the talks have made positive progress.

The Times of India (July 2) reported that India's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Rajiv Chander said, "We have heard several statements expressing concern on these developments.

South China Morning Post (July 2) reported that after the Russian embassy posted a video on Weibo of a party held on July 2, to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the founding of the city, whose name means “ruler of the east” in Russian, it prompted an online backlash.

Hongkong's Apple Daily and the Epoch Times separately reported some interesting data about the whereabouts of China's leaders in recent days. They said that since June 11, when Beijing reported its coronavirus cases, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) top leaders have rarely appeared in public settings.

CPPCC Chairman and PBSC member Wang Yang presided over the 12th meeting of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Standing Committee in Beijing on June 24.

Politburo member and Vice Premier Ms. Sun Chunlan inspected the epidemic prevention and control work in Beijing on June 23, and emphasised the need to keep an eye on the key parts and key links and said the prevention and control points should be moved forward, prevention and control measures should be more precise, and all-out efforts must be made to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Politburo member and Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi accompanied her.

PLA Daily published (June 22) a lengthy nine-part 'Xie Xinping' commentary affirming that China’s development would not be obstructed by challenges such as the novel coronavirus epidemic and the tensions with the US that the disease exacerbated.

The Associated Press reported (June 30) that population control measures backed by mass detention, both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply, are being imposed across the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Singapore’s main Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on June 26, reported on the China Import Export Fair (also known as The Canton Fair), which concluded on June 24.

The Chinese-owned US-based Duowei (June 30) said that the "dispute over the Galwan River Valley caused tensions between China and India.

An unusual article in the Global Times (July 1) by Yang Jirong, a former correspondent of the Global Times, commenting on the ban on 59 Apps saying they are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order", said "we can see that anti-China sentiment among Indians stems from something more than just the border clashes between the two countries.

Writing in the Global Times (June 28) Xie Chao, an Assistant Professor at the Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua, said while "Modi came to power with a lot of charm and confidence and his "Neighborhood First" initiative.

The South China Morning Post (July 1) and Bloomberg (July 2) reported that on July 1, the first full day of the new National Security Law (NSL) being in force in Hong Kong and despite police raising a new flag warning the crowds that they were violating the national security law, campaigners still gathered in Causeway Bay.

United Daily News (UDN), one of Taiwan's main newsgroups, reported on June 26, that the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) had released the results of a poll that Reuters commissioned on the National Security Law that the Mainland communists imposed on Hong Kong. Around 56 per cent of the people polled were against the new law. Among them, 49 per cent were “strongly against” it.

In a statement on June 29, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the “United States will today end exports of U.S.-origin defense equipment and will take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China.

The US Navy announced (June 28) that the Nimitz and Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are conducting dual-carrier operations in the Philippine Sea.

Following personnel changes over the past two years in China's Ministry of Public Security, the official website of China's Ministry of Public Security lists a total of 9 'leaders'.

The LA Times reported (June 27) that Sun Peidong, a teacher in Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University, was turned in to the authorities by her students.

The Chinese government is denying that the infamous Three Gorges Dam is at risk of collapse after heavy flooding and a warning from notable Chinese hydrologist Wang Weiluo — raising suspicions that it is in fact at risk.

The National Flood Control and Drought Relief Department hosted a video conference and disclosed that, as of June 23, flooding was reported in 26 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Guangxi, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Chongqing.

More than a dozen Chinese financial institutions, mainly trust companies, loaned 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) over the past five years to Wuhan Kingold Jewelry Inc. with pure gold as collateral and insurance policies to cover any losses. Recently at least some of 83 tons of gold bars used as loan collateral turned out to be nothing but gilded copper.

In a letter to Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) convenor Jimmy Sham, the Hong Kong police have prohibited the annual pro-democracy march on July 1 on the basis of coronavirus social distancing measures and previous unrest.

The South China Morning Post (June 27) reported that official Chinese news outlets on June 20, disclosed news of the PLA sending martial arts trainers to Tibet. China's state-owned CCTV said 20 fighters from the Enbo Fight Club would be based in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. There is no indication of whether they would be training troops on the border with India.

The South China Morning Post (June 27) said hawkish Chinese military strategists have called on Beijing to be better prepared for an escalation in its border dispute with India, saying the potential for armed conflict between the two nuclear powers is on the rise.

The US-based Chinese-owned Duowei News on June 28 published an article titled 'Coveting Tibet: The First Diplomatic Friction in China and India in 1950'.

China's military media reported (June 26) that PLA Air Force aircraft had entered and exited Taiwan's airspace eight times in two weeks. It said in the southeast coastal area, between June 9 to June 21 in just 13 days, the PLA Air Force fighters carried out eight tactical pieces of training in the Taiwan Strait and the airspace south of Taiwan.

Taiwan's first indigenous fifth-generation advanced jet trainer (AJT), codenamed Brave Eagle, is unveiled at the Ching Chuan Kang airbase in Taichung on Monday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced (June 26) the imposition of "visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong. Family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions".

University of Oklahoma spokesperson Kesha Keith said (June 23) that "In March 2019, the U. S. Department of State conducted an inquiry into the Confucius Institute housed at OU and made certain operational recommendations.

Tensions flared in the Australian Prime Minister's courtyard on June 26, when Bai Xu, Chief of Xinhua's Canberra bureau, became angry that an SBS [public broadcaster] cameraman was filming her.

Exiled Chinese billionaire dissident Guo Wengui in an interview (June 20) with Breitbart (June 23) alleged that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “allocates $2 billion a year” to pay off the Vatican for its silence concerning Chinese atrocities.

Radio Free Asia reported (June 24) the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is to issue regulations later this year curbing the use of Mongolian.

The China Media Project on June 22 reported that Shanghai-based citizen journalist Zhang Zhan (张展), who was arrested in May after posting a video criticizing the government’s epidemic response measures, was formally charged on June with the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.

China Media Project on June 23 reported that on June 10, the website chinamil.com.cn, a PLA news portal, published an 'attack' piece on the author Fang Fang, whose diary documenting 74 days under quarantine in Wuhan during the coronavirus epidemic was recently published in both English and German editions.

China's Ministry of Finance (MoF) on June 23, clarified how it plans to use proceeds from its Special Treasury Bonds (STBs) which the government announced at the 'Two Sessions' in May, to support the economy. This marks the first STB issuance since 2007.

South China Morning Post (June 21) reported that China Securities Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Fang Xinghai warned that China needs to guard against the risk of the US cutting it off from the dollar payments system.

The Hong Kong new online media HK01 Network reported (June 15) that, according to unverified internal sources from Huawei, the company is planning a mid-July announcement that it will cut its workforce in half.

The Central News Agency reported on June 25, that on June 23, the website of the “Military Weapon and Equipment Procurement Information Network” (http://www.weain.mil.cn/), headed by the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, released “nine new procurement needs and 53 procurement announcements.”

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane visited the forward areas in Ladakh on June 24 and 25 when he awarded Commendation Certificates to the soldiers who fought in the action at Galwan Valley.

In a tweet on June 25, Hu Jixin, Editor-in-Chief, that Indian public opinion is impulsive and overbearing on international issues, putting own dignity & pride above others’ & not understanding importance of mutual respect.

As de-escalation talks are underway between India and China, Hu Jixin, Editor-in-Chief of the Party-owned Global Times tweeted on June 23 evening: "New Delhi has loud voices, but needs to restrain actions.

On June 22, the US State Department notified that four major Chinese state-owned media outlets will be required to inform the U.S. State Department of their personnel rosters and real-estate holdings as if they were foreign embassies.

Medical staff were dispatched from other parts of the country to help treat COVID-19 patients in Beijing as the city launched more travel restrictions.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the draft 'Veterans Support Law' and draft 'Rural Revitalisation Promotion Law' through July 21, 2020.

Radio France Internationale reported (June 20, 2020) that Ms Liang Yanping, a Professor at the School of Liberal Arts of Hubei University in China, was dismissed from her CCP party membership and suspended from teaching.

An editorial in the South China Morning Post (June 23) observed that a summary of the new national security law for Hongkong was published over the weekend by the official Xinhua News Agency.

As China’s Energy Authority announced in May that a public consultation would be held for a draft energy law, setting the agenda for “green, low-carbon” production and a “safe and efficient” energy system, there is concern about compliance by China's State-owned Enterprises.

A Reuters report of June 24, said Chinese analysts have said, following the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting in the Galwan Valley, that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces strident calls for a strong response, but Chinese President Xi Jinping is under no such public pressure.

Hu Jixin, Editor-in-Chief of Global Times in an article in the newspaper (June 22), referring to Indian media reports that India had given "complete freedom of action" to commanders deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to "handle situations at the tactical level", described it as seriously violating the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual Control in the China-India Border Areas.

Writing in US News on June 23, 2020, Paul D. Shinkman claimed that according to a U.S. intelligence assessment senior Chinese General Zhao Zongqi, head of the PLA Western Theater Command, authorized his forces to attack Indian troops in the Galwan River valley last week, resulting in a brutal skirmish that killed dozens and dramatically escalated tensions between the two Asian powerhouses.

Japan on June 21 is reported to have begun the legal process of complete integration of the Senkakus island chain, approx.1,931 km southwest of Tokyo, that Beijing has long claimed.

Ms Chen Chu, former longtime Mayor of Kaohsiung, who shared a prison cell with former Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu for many years after they were arrested December 10, 1979, for their Human Rights Day rally, is to head Taiwan’s Control Yuan and the recently-established National Human Rights Commission.

Xinhua reported (June 21) that the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will convene its 20th session from June 28 to 30 in Beijing, within a week of its 19th session. The decision was made during a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee Saturday, which was presided over by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

China is completing one of the biggest wheat harvests ever this month and the government is expected to purchase a significant chunk of the crop to prop up the price and keep its farmers happy. China's official media reports that the summer grain harvest is 90 per cent complete.

China's National Audit Office found that 50.4 billion yuan ($7.1 billion) of funds local governments raised from new special-purpose bonds (SPBs) went unused last year, including 13.2 billion yuan that had been left idle for more than a year, after it examined the books of 18 provincial-level governments and 36 cities and counties.

On June 20 afternoon the Chinese authorities got the Chinese social media platform WeChat to delete the Indian PM's statement, read out of Wang Yi-Jaishankar meeting and MEA reaction on India-China stand-off, released by the Indian Embassy in Beijing.

The US-based Chinese-owned Duowei News reported that Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese official media "Global Times", tweeted on June 17, mocking the Indian army.

Zhang Yangqing, Vice Chairman of the TAR People’s Government and Party Secretary of the Shigatse Municipal Party Committee inspected the border checkpoints and met frontline officers on May 21.

On the background of the conflict between the Chinese and Indian armed forces on the border and damage to both sides, the PLA Tibet Military Command and the Tibet Autonomous Region organized five militia units in Lhasa on June 15. According to a Chinese military media report on June 18, the Tibetan military on June 15 held a militia unit flag-giving ceremony at the Lhasa police district militia training base.

A pro-Beijing Hong Kong media reported that the PLA Tibet Military Region has conducted joint exercises frequently during this time.

Pakistan's Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS) hosted a webinar titled “China-India standoff: Implications for Regional Security” to discuss the rapidly evolving situation on the China-India border and risks of further escalation.

An opinion by Samson Simon Sharaf in the Nation (June 20) titled " Bereaving hearts of Galwan heights" is critical of the recent clash between the Chinese and Indian forces in the Galwan valley.

Bloomberg reported (June 16) that the Chinese government allowed a landmark World Trade Organization dispute aimed at forcing the European Union to recognize it as a market economy in trade investigations to lapse on June 15.

Former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ms Fu Ying published an important article in the latest edition of China Newsweek (June 17) titled “Sino-US relations after the pandemic: Is it possible to realize benign competition?.”

Caixin (June 17) reported that the Shanghai government has allowed United Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. to resume flights to China after months of suspension amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The two American airlines were cleared to operate two flights a week.

Japan's Defence Ministry reported (June 20) that on June 18 a submarine of foreign origin, presumed to belong to the Chinese Navy, was spotted passing through the contiguous zone off the coast of Amami-Oshima island in southern Japan.

Caixin (June 18) said Beijing reported 31 new Covid-19 cases on June 17, four more than the day before, as other parts of China imposed restrictions on people entering from the capital.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported (June 15) that China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) issued a “Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Online Literature Publishing.”

Caixin (June 18) disclosed that small and midsize banks in China worried about the bad debts on their balance sheets may soon get a helping hand from local governments.

Commencing on the National Security Law recently passed by the NPC plenum in Beijing in May, the Guardian (June 17) said that Deng Zhonghua, the deputy head of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told a conference that “in very special circumstances” and in “very few cases”, China must have the power to exercise jurisdiction over offences in Hong Kong that “seriously endanger national security”.

Global Times (June 17) quoted Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, as saying on June 17, that China has no intention to change the border situation at all, and the incident happened on the Chinese side of the LAC, so the confrontation causing the deaths of 20 Indian military personnel was entirely provoked by the Indian side.

The South China Morning Post (June 17) quoted a source close to the PLA as saying that Beijing was “very sensitive” about military casualties, saying all numbers had to be approved by President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission, before being released.

A Global Times article (June 17) noted that the Chinese Foreign Minister had pointed out to the Indian Foreign Minister during their conversation that "it was the Indian side that intentionally provoked and started a violent attack.

The Global Times (June 17) quoted Liu Xiaoxue, an Associate Research Fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reacting to the calls for boycott said some extreme anti-China groups and individuals in India have been promoting a China "boycott."

The Washington Post reported (June 18) that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Politburo member in charge of foreign affairs, Yang Jiechi are meeting in Hawaii on June 18 afternoon.

The US Department of Commerce added more Chinese technology companies/institutes to its Entities List in May 2020.

Well-known Chinese news site Sina reported (June 6) that the European Union is considering further tightening up foreign investment policies. It is aiming at the Chinese government’s subsidies to Chinese companies’ international acquisitions.

The Central Discipline Inspection Commission announced on June 14, that 55-year old Deng Huilin, police chief of the Chinese Municipality of Chongqing is under investigation for suspected “serious violations” of the Communist Party’s code of conduct.

China Digital Times posted the 20-minute recording by a retired senior Central Party School Professor Cai Xia that has circulated widely on China's internet through May 2020.

China Digital Times posted the 20-minute recording by a retired senior Central Party School Professor Cai Xia that has circulated widely on China's internet through May 2020.

The wife of Wuhan whistle-blower Dr. Li Wenliang, Ms Fu Xuejie, 付雪洁 (pure as snow), an optometrist at Wuhan Aier Eye Hospital, on June 12 gave given birth to their second child. She wrote on WeChat: 老公你在天堂看到了吗？你送给我的最后的礼物今天出省了。我一定会好好的爱护他们。

Kyodo News Agency reported (June 10) that 50-year-old Zhang Hai had sent a complaint against the municipal governments of Wuhan and Hubei Province to the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court on June 10, but it is uncertain whether it will be accepted.

As new Coronavirus cases became known on June 3, the authorities swabbed 1,940 workers in major supermarkets and other food markets in the capital and collected 5,424 environmental samples.

Yue Jijun, Political Commissar of a research institute of the PLA Rocket Army, wrote in a commentary in the People's Daily (June 10) that political loyalty is at the heart of assessing cadre performance, even when it comes to the response to Covid-19.

An Epoch Times report (June 12) stated that numerous Chinese crew members of civilian ships and cruises have been stranded for months due to entry restrictions amid the pandemic.

The South China Morning Post reported (June 12) that the US Department of Commerce added the Harbin Institute of Technology and Harbin Engineering University to its “entity list” late last week, barring them from access to products subjected to US Export Administration Regulations.

A report in OpIndia.com dated June 12 reported that China Daily, a propaganda outlet of the Chinese government, is under scrutiny by US authorities. It said China Daily has reportedly paid $19 million to American newspapers in advertisement and printing charges in the past 4 years.

Xin Wang, a Chinese scientific researcher suspected of espionage was arrested in Los Angeles on June 7 as he prepared to board a flight to Tianjin, China, the US Attorney’s Office in San Francisco and the local FBI office said in a joint statement.

The Republican Study Committee, which includes 147 members of Congress, published a new national security strategy on June 10, aiming to “push back against the [Chinese Communist Party] and its efforts to undermine U.S. interests, remake the world order, and promote an alternative form of governance.”

The Spokesman and Press Officer of the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, Wang Xianfeng, on June 11 tweeted: "India's actions of unilaterally changing the status quo of Kashmir and continuing to exacerbate regional tensions have posed a challenge to the sovereignty of China and Pakistan and made the India-Pakistan relations and China-India relations more complex."

The Beijing Daily (June 6), People's Daily (June 6) and CCTV (June 7) all carried reports on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to the city of Yantai in Shandong province on June 1 and 2, 2020, when he said street stalls and small shops “are important sources of jobs.”

Caixin (June 11) reported that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet with European Union leaders online during the week starting June 22, clearing the way for a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of the 27-country bloc previously scheduled for September in Leipzig, Germany.

The New York-based New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) on June 7, 2020 reported that a six-page internal document was issued by the CCP Central Committee and the State Council on May 20.

Hong Kong based Sing Tao Daily reported that the Domestic Security Bureau (DSB), code-named Bureau No. 1 under China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), has been renamed the “Political Security Bureau (PSB).”

The Paper reported (June 10) that the State Cyberspace Administration instructed the Beijing Cyberspace Administration to interview and punish Sina Weibo according to law.

The Central News Agency (June 5) reported that China's Ministry of Education announced (June 5) the introduction of “Guidelines for the Ideological and Political Development of the Higher Education Curriculum,” which will modify the contents of courses around the issues of political identity and national feelings.

China Finance Online reported on June 1, that with the destructive pandemic and a very weak reopening and economic come-back, average Chinese are seeing significantly reduced income.

Caixin (June 11) reported that data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 10, showed that China’s consumer inflation eased to a 14-month low in May, dragged down by moderating gains in pork and food costs, while the decline in prices at the factory gate deepened to a four-year low as oil prices slumped.

People’s Daily (June 5) reported that the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded to the recent actions taken by the U.S. Department of Commerce to list additional Chinese individuals and agencies on the “Entity List” for sanction.

On June 10, the Global Times (Chinese version) reported that the US and Russia would be holding a new round of Russian-US military control and strategic stability consultations in Vienna on June 22.

The Well-known Chinese news site NetEase reported on June 3, that Canada’s two largest telecommunications providers, Bell Canada and Telus Corp., announced they will partner with Ericsson and Nokia for their core 5G networks. Both companies had said earlier in the year that they would still use Huawei’s 5G technology.

Xinhua reported (June 8) that CCP CC General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on June 8.

Writing in the People's Daily on June 5, Gao Xian, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Academic Adviser of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 'Xi Jinping's New Age Socialism Thought Research Center with Chinese Characteristics', described the sudden outbreak of Coronavirus as "an extremely severe test for a great civilisation like China".

Xu Lin, Deputy Head of the CCP CC's Publicity Department released China's 4-chapter, 37,000-word White Paper on fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on June 7, 2020.

TAR official government sources (April 21, 2020) reported that Dorjee Tsedup, Deputy Chairman of the TAR People’s Government and Head of Pangong Lake Governance went to Rutok County of Ngari to conduct ‘on-site inspections of the water level of Pangong lake and overall environment of the lake.’

Ngari News publicised (April 30) that The Judicial Bureau of Rutok County and Ngari Regional Customs and Commerce Bureau, were reported (April 30) by the Ngari (Ali) government, to have conducted propaganda campaigns in the border villages of Deru and Jaggang also known as Chagkang village, not far from Demchok of Ladakh, India.

In late May, the Municipal Public Security Bureau of Ngari revealed it had organised a three-stage intensive ‘real combat training’ of all Public Security organs in Ngari.

A report (May 25) disclosed that China started construction of a new military training base (Base No: 32) at Drowa village, Lodrak, Lhuntze County from May 8.

The CCP-owned Global Times (June 9) publicised the conduct of military manoeuvres by the PLA. It said PLA paratroopers held intensive tactical drills and mock battles in June.

China released video clips of a military exercise in which thousands of paratroopers, armoured vehicles and equipment were mobilised, saying they could be deployed “within hours” to the border with India in the Himalayas.

At a round-table meeting hosted by the pro-Beijing DAB party on Sunday, Nip said that – under One Country, Two Systems – the city’s civil servants also served the Chinese government.

Zhang Xiaoming, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) said, according to the South China Morning Post (June 8) that the new national security law for Hong Kong is meant to strengthen, not undermine, the “one country, two systems” principle and will ensure the freedoms granted to the city can be extended beyond 2047.

CNN reported (January 28) that United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $900,000 in counterfeit US currency from a commercial rail shipment from China. They were packed in 45 cartons of counterfeit $1 bills.

China’s all-time record goalscorer Hao Haidong and his wife Ye Zhaoying, an ex-badminton world champion, both face being wiped from the country’s record books after denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and announcing an intention to overthrow the government.

People's Daily (June 3) reported that China’s Ministry of Education and the CMC's National Defense Mobilization Department jointly issued a notice on enlisting college graduates in 2020.

Caixin (June 4) reported that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., which has long been stocking up on custom-made chips as a hedge against U.S. sanctions, should have enough to last at least until the end of the year.

A day after the US banned seven Chinese airlines from flying to the US in retaliation for China prohibiting two US airlines flying to China, China announced (June 4) it will allow foreign airlines that previously operated flights to the country but are now barred under virus control measures to resume limited flights.

Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban on June 4 evening, breaking through barricades to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of a democracy movement cantered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

The Central News Agency reported (June 3) that after the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs was recently elevated to the Central Leading Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, the group leader Han Zheng met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam in Beijing.

An intriguing editorial in the Hongkong-based South China Morning Post of June 4 claimed that nationalists in China and India eager to deflect attention from their countries’ Covid-19 crises are pushing deployment of soldiers to the border.

An article based on an interview given by Liu Zongyi, Secretary General of the Research Centre for China-South Asia Cooperation at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, a visiting fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China and a distinguished fellow of the China (Kunming) South Asia & Southeast Asia Institute, was published by the Global Times on June 5, which warned India against joining the G-7.

The PEN organisation announced (June 5) that they are bestowing the 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on Chinese essayist and human rights defender Xu Zhiyong.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi suggested in a television interview (June 3) that Xi Jinping's visit would wait until after the Group of Seven summit, now being rescheduled for September, and the Group of 20 summit slated for November.

At a press conference on the side-lines of the 13th NPC on May 28, People's Daily (May 28) reported that China’s Premier Li Keqiang said the government would focus its stimulus measures on domestic economics while admitting that China is a developing a country with a large population, with an average annual per capita disposable income of 30,000 yuan (US$4,213.30).

In a written instruction to a teleconference held in Beijing on June 3, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang observed that "college graduates are facing grim employment prospects due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic".

Ta Kung Pao reported (May 28) that meeting 200 members of the CPPCC on May 28 in Beijing, Xia Baolong said that it is "Hong Kong independence", tyranny and external hostile forces that cause harm to Hong Kong.

Carrie Lam told reporters in Beijing on June 3, after a three-hour meeting with Chinese officials including Vice Premier Han Zheng, Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi and Xia Baolong.

Main battle tanks (MBTs) and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) attached to an armoured brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army were on exercise in a high altitude area in Tibet on May 19, 2020.

The Washington Post reported (June 3) that in a move bound to exacerbate tensions between the US and China, the US Department of Transportation said (June 3) it will ban all commercial passenger flights by Chinese carriers beginning June 16.

The US State Department issued a statement on June 3 to mark the Tiananmen protests in which thousands of Chinese lost their lives.

Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, said the United States was marking the Tiananmen anniversary “in a unique way”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the Politburo's 20th Collective Study Session on May 29, on China’s newly enacted Civil Code, during which he emphasised the important role of the Civil Code in the “legal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Xinhua (May 26) reported that Chinese President and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping attended the plenary meeting of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the People’s Armed Police (PAP) delegations to the third session of the 13th NPC. He appreciated the military's response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The People’s Daily published (May 28) a front page editorial commending the conclusion of the third session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee on May 27.

Official Chinese media reports on May 23, 2020 disclosed that Lieutenant General Wang Qiang, Deputy Commander of the PLA Western Theatre Command has succeeded Lieutenant General Zhan Houshun (战厚顺), who was 63 years old, as the new Commander of the PLA Western Theatre Command Air Force.

The Tibet Military Region Support Department organised a comprehensive support practice drill with the transfer of wounded personnel and airdropped medical supplies to explore new methods of support in the Plateau and cold environment on May 20.

RTHK reported (June 1) that the heads of five universities in Hongkong issued a statement supporting Beijing's imposition of the National security Law for Hongkong while also stressing that they cherish the city's freedoms.

Xiaomi's co-founder and Chairman Lei Jun has, according to South China Morning Post (June 1) already started pre-research into the next generation of mobile connectivity.

Global times (June 1) reported that China's Foreign Ministry had stressed that "the situation on the China-India border is stable and controllable, and diplomatic and military channels of communication between the two sides are unimpeded".

In a statement on June 1 night, US Congress’ House Committee Chair Eliot L Engel said, “I am extremely concerned by the ongoing Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border.”

A Xinhua commentary (May 31) said by prohibiting entry of Chinese students and researchers into the United States, the US Administration had broken the U.S. leadership's promise of welcoming Chinese students who want to pursue studies there.

CNN Business News (May 25) reported that Washington has accused Beijing of blocking American carriers from resuming flights to China, prompting US authorities to more heavily scrutinise Chinese airlines.

Projections released by the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on June 1 estimated that the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will shrink the size of the U.S. economy by roughly $8 trillion over the next decade.

The Global Times (May 31) quoting Chinese experts said that China may scale back direct lending to the region to minimise credit risks, but the long-term infrastructure projects will likely boost local economies after the Covid-19 outbreak is contained.

The South China Morning Post (June 2) reported that speaking at a road construction ceremony in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said (June 1) that China has not been given exclusive rights to use a naval base on the country’s southern coast, and said that warships from all nations, including the United States, are welcome to dock there.

Mutanlip Khasem, a member of the CPPCC and Deputy Head of the AR Congress Standing Committee, said on the side-lines of the 'Big Two' meetings that the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has recorded no terror-related incidents in the past three and half years.

Speaking at Beijing's Great Hall of the People during the NPC and on the 15th anniversary of the Anti-Secession Law, General Li Zuocheng, Chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) told the NPC that an attack on Taiwan with help from people on the island was a possibility.

Ji Chaozhu, long-time Chinese Communist Party cadre translator and diplomat, died on April 29, 2020, aged 90 in Beijing.

Sina.com publicised (May 29) that according to a survey released by the China Film Association on May 27, 2020, the pandemic has had a severe adverse impact on the entire Chinese film industry.

China's plans to improve its own countryside, namely the public works, environmental protection, and beautification projects under the Rural Revitalization Campaign have visibly improved China's rural landscape but put the villages under huge hidden debts.

In late May, the Municipal Public Security Bureau of Ngari revealed it had organised a three-stage intensive ‘real combat training’ of all Public Security organs in Ngari.

Writing in The Print (May 30) Snehesh Alex Philip wrote that fresh construction activity of blacktopping of a motorable road by the Chinese has been spotted happening around Finger 4, a disputed territory.

The People's Daily (June 1) published the highlights of an Op-Ed (May 31) by Chinese Ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai in which he justified the NPC's approval of the National Security Law for Hongkong.

On May 28, British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said the UK would extend visa rights for about 350,000 British national (overseas) (BNOs) passport holders if Beijing went ahead with its plans to impose a national security law on Hong Kong.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 29 that the US government will begin eliminating special policy exemptions it grants Hong Kong, following its determination earlier this week that the city is “no longer autonomous” from mainland China.

Radio Free Asia reported (May 28) that as Beijing pushed forward and imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong, Chen Ming-Tong, Minister of the Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), announced on May 29 that Taiwan developed the Hong Kong Humanitarian Assistance.

On April 23, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) posted a song on YouTube with the Filipino name “Lisang Dagat” (meaning “One Ocean,” the song’s Chinese name is “海的那邊”).

The plenary session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) officially closed in Beijing on May 28, 2020, and Li Zhanshu, PBSC member and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, delivered the closing speech.

China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on May 29 evening that they will "DIRECT and support" the Hong Kong police force.

The China Youth Daily (May 28) reported that the final version of the Government Work Report contained 89 revisions to the version delivered by the Chinese Premier on May 22.

China's central government expenditures approved by the NPC on May 28 are projected at 3.5035 trillion yuan, down 0.2%.

State-owned CCTV said (May 27) that China's second aircraft carrier and the first domestically built one, the Shandong, is now conducting testing and training missions in an undisclosed location at sea.

The US-based Chinese news outlet 'Duowei' published a detailed article on May 27 on the Sino-Indian border confrontation, which it said, "is still continuing".

Bloomberg reported (May 28) that the US intends to cancel student visas for students and researchers with direct ties to universities affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army.

Senior Colonel Li Huamin, spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theatre Command, said (May 26) that the PLA Southern Theatre Command organised naval and aerial forces to follow the US guided missile destroyer USS Mustin when it illegally trespassed into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands on May 21 without authorisation from the Chinese government.

The closing meeting of the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 27.

South China Morning Post (May 26) said Chinese President Xi Jinping told dozens of top economic advisers in Beijing over the weekend that China was pursuing a new development plan in which "domestic circulation plays the dominant role".

Xinhua reported (May 26) that speaking to PLA and PAP Deputies to the NPC on May 26, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the delegates to accelerate research and development of COVID-19 drugs and vaccines.

The Wall Street Journal (May 25) reported that anger spread across Chinese social media sites over the weekend following an announcement that officials in Hangzhou could create a permanent version of a smartphone-based health-rating system developed to fight Covid-19.

China's Ministry of Finance and the Civil Aviation Administration issued a notice to compensate airlines for costs associated with international cargo shipping.

Chinese technology news site Moore reported (May 19) that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) received a US$ 700 million emergency order from Huawei on May 18.

A report (May 25) disclosed that China started construction of a new military training base (Base No: 32) at Drowa village, Lodrak, Lhuntze County from May 8. Construction of the base was to commence in February but has been delayed due to Covid-19 till now.

Lahore-based Defence and Security analyst Ammad Malik wrote in the Diplomat (May 27) that while the Pakistan Air Force needs additional platforms to balance the Indian Air Force.

The South China Morning Post (May 26) reported Chen Daoxiang, Commander of the PLA’s Hong Kong garrison, saying it would “act with firm resolve to implement the central government’s decision and plans” as well as continuing to implement the “one country, two systems” policy in the city.

The overall situation in the China-India border area is stable and under control, and the two countries are capable of resolving border issues through dialogue and negotiations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, following reports claiming China had moved 5,000 troops to the China-India border area.

Reuters (May 25) reported that China's planned national security law may prompt Taiwan to revoke the special status it extends to Hong Kong, in a move that could anger Beijing and make it harder for Hong Kongers to visit and invest.

Writing in the Diplomat, New York City financial analyst Chutian Zhou said (May 26) while the U.S. stock market is recovering amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Chinese companies listed in the country have just received a severe blow.

Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, Li Jie made representations to the Zambian Foreign Ministry on May 25, after three Chinese nationals were murdered in the capital Lusaka, demanding the Zambian authority solve the case immediately.

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, reported (May 14) that, based on the latest polls conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, the number of Canadians with positive views about China reached a record low.

A Canadian judge ruled (May 27) that Meng’s actions could be considered a crime in Canada, thereby removing an important barrier to her deportation to the United States to stand trial.

Premier Li Keqiang announced in the Government Work Report he delivered to the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, on May 22 in Beijing that China will not this year set annual economic growth targets as it used to since 1994.

In a surprise move, the NPC dismissed 17 Deputies, who held higher positions in the past, due to 'violations of discipline and law'.

Of the 17 NPC Deputies dismissed in a surprise move "due to violations of discipline and law", 4 were senior former officers of the PLA who held high positions in the past.

Cao Jingyi, a Deputy to the NPC and Research Director with the PLA Navy Academy, in a recent interview, said that her team has extensively researched and offered strategic suggestions to PLAN on its requirements for AI-based future naval warfare.

i) Zhang Chuanwei, a Deputy to the NPC who is also Chairman of Mingyang Smart Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and clean energy integrated solution provider based in South China's Guangdong Province, proposed on May 23 that China should accelerate the pace in the adjustment of its energy structure to shape a clean energy support belt around the sea by building multiple wind power projects on the sea.

The US Department of Commerce on May 22 announced that the US Government has sanctioned 33 Chinese companies and institutions, putting them on two so-called entity lists.

Writing in the SCMP (May 23), Finnbarr Bermingham said 'A recent advisory paper by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government-linked think tank, suggested that the next five years would present “major changes unseen in a century” for China, as “the strategic game between superpowers has intensified, while international systems and orders are reshuffled”.

PLA troops violated the LAC in 5 places at Hot Spring, Galwan Valley and Gogra in Ladakh and Naku La in north Sikkim on May 5. The intrusions were deliberate and preplanned.

President Xi Jinping on May 23 morning et CPPCC Delegates from the economic sector attending a joint group meeting at the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

In his speech to the CPPCC, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang dropped the word 'peaceful' whilst talking about the unification of Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping took part on May 22 afternoon in a deliberation with his fellow Deputies from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region delegation attending the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).

Xinhua (May 22) reported that Wang Chen, Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on May 22, explained the draft civil code to NPC Deputies and explained the draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

China in its draft defence budget hiked the allocation from last year’s US$ 177.6 billion by only 6.6 per cent to 1.268 trillion yuan (US$ 178.2 billion), the lowest increment in recent years apparently due to the heavy disruption caused to its economy by the COVID-19.

The first flight of AV500C UAV, designed for high altitudes, has been successfully completed by the Chinese group AVIC.

The ninth of Type 052D destroyers of PLAN, Tangshan (Pennant no 122) is in the final stages of her trials and is likely to be commissioned in Aug 2020.

Radio Free Asia (May 15) and EU Observer (May 6) reported that the Veiligheid van de Staat (VSSE), a Belgian state Intelligence agency, recently disclosed China’s spy activities in the military and scientific arena posing threats to EU security.

People's Daily (May 18) reported that according to the statistics released by China’s Ministry of Finance on May 18, in the first four months of this year, Mainland China’s general public budget revenue fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year, indicating that the Chinese economy has been hit hard by the Wuhan virus and its fiscal revenue has also declined.

Tensions have increased since the end of April with Chinese troops crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC). disputed Sino-Indian boundary remain high.

Two BJP MPs — Meenakshi Lekhi and Rahul Kaswan — virtually attended the swearing-in ceremony of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and even sent her congratulatory messages, in a departure from the Modi government’s position on the country that China claims is its territory.

Two BJP MPs — Meenakshi Lekhi and Rahul Kaswan — virtually attended the swearing-in ceremony of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and even sent her congratulatory messages, in a departure from the Modi government’s position on the country that China claims is its territory.

Commenting on the interest taken by foreign countries in China's defence budget, Song Zhongping was quoted by Global Times (May 22) as saying "People should ask first, which countries are threatening China's national security in the first place?

The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation on May 20 that could lead to Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. being barred from listing on U.S. stock exchanges amid increasingly tense relations between the US and China.

The US Pacific Fleet Submarine Force announced (May 18) that all its forward-deployed subs were simultaneously conducting “contingency response operations” in the Western Pacific.

In a statement on May 20, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said that the U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale to Taiwan of 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $180 million.

The spokesman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Guo Weimin said at a press conference the CPPCC's annual session will begin on May 21 afternoon in Beijing, and conclude on May 27.

On May 21, the opening day of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, CPPCC Chairman and PBSC member Wang Yang in his Report announced: “We will ensure the long-term stability of ‘one country, two systems.’ We will continue to support the improvement of the implementation of the systems and mechanisms of the constitution and Basic Law.”

A day before its inaugural session on May 22, the NPC elected a 174-member presidium, with Wang Chen as the Secretary General of the NPC session.

Hikvision Chairman and Communist Party Secretary Chen Zongnian joined the National People's Congress in 2018.

The state-owned CCTV reported that CCP members donated 8.36 billion RMB (US$ 1.18 billion) for the fight the coronavirus in the past three months. All the money has been sent to the party central for redistribution.

Bloomberg (May 21) reported that a new masterplan backed by Chinese President Xi Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and private tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. to lay 5G wireless networks, install cameras and sensors, and develop AI software that will underpin autonomous driving to automated factories and mass surveillance.

Responding to US Secretary of State Mike Pompo's strong statement demanding disclosure of the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the then 6-year old boy recognised by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman responded on May 20.

The PLA Navy's public WeChat account disclosed (May 20) that the PLAN's first Type-055 large 10,000-ton class destroyer Nanchang (101) and supply ship Taihu completed the first replenishment training (underway fuelling trials), which experts said is crucial for the newly commissioned warship's combat capability.

A 150,000 T FPSO (Haiyangshi You) designed by CSSC was delivered to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on May 18.

A 16-page document issued by the White House "fundamentally re-evaluates" the US relationship with China and declares it to be "competitive".

The US government's religious freedom watchdog, USCIRF, has criticised Hikvision for being "credibly implicated in serious religious freedom violations". Three US Congressmen have requested Hikvision chairman Chen Zongnian be sanctioned over Hikvision's "complicity in human rights abuses" in Xinjiang.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments published a report on May 19, 2020 titled 'Dragon Against the Sun: Chinese Views of Japanese Seapower' authored bySenior Fellow Toshi Yoshihara.

The Central News Agency (May 18) reported that as the 2019 coronavirus epidemic continues its worldwide rampage, China’s official media has concentrated on criticizing the United States.

Nepal on May 20 published a new, authoritative political map showing the areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura as part of its territory.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the opening speech at an annual meeting of the World Health Organisation on May 18 via a video feed, where he portrayed China as an exemplar of “transparency” during the pandemic and a champion of the developing world.

The 'Big Two', as the annual CPPCC and NPC plenary sessions are called, will open on May 21 and 22 respectively in Beijing with the unusual provision, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, for Deputies and officials to participate via videoconference.

Xinhua (May 15) reported that the Politburo met on May 15 to discuss the draft of the "Government Work Report" that the State Council intends to submit to the third meeting of the 13th National People's Congress.

China's State Council on May 9 appointed Shen Haixiong (慎海雄) as Chief Editor of China Media Group and Wang Junzheng (王君正) was appointed Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and Chairman of the China Xinjian Group.

Radio Free Asia reported (May 18) that police from Shanghai have detained Zhang Zhan, a lawyer-turned-citizen journalist who reported on the emerging coronavirus epidemic in the city of Wuhan.

China's National Health Commission announced (May 18) that testing has been ramped up. Citing Hubei as an example, Xinhua said the province had 11 institutions capable of conducting nucleic acid tests at the beginning of February. Now there are 216 such institutions.

The CCP Central Committee and the State Council on May 17, issued a document announced for development of China’s western regions for the next 15 years.

Caixin reported (May 19) that in order to cut costs, China's banks had closed a number of branches.

China's leading chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) announced two fundraising plans so far this month in a bid to ramp up production.

The news outlet HK01 reported (May 19) that as the new coronary pneumonia epidemic continues there are indications that the Hongkong government intends to extend the "restriction order" for 14 days to June 4. It said this means that the annual June 4th party may not be held.

The Global Times (May 18) front-paged an article quoting Chinese military sources alleging that "Chinese border defense troops have bolstered border control measures and made necessary moves in response to India's recent, illegal construction of defense facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region."

In an interview with Caixin (May 18) Yan Xuetong, Dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University and general secretary of the Beijing-based World Peace Forum, anticipated that that the U.S. and China will compete over the coronavirus vaccine and digital technology, including advanced telecommunications networks.

The Israeli media on May 17, reported that China's Ambassador to Israel Du Wei was found dead in his official residence in Herzliya on the morning of May 17. He was 58 years old.

The Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC) announced at midnight on May 12 that Hu Wenming, former Chairman and Party branch secretary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), is now under investigation for “being suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law.”

Xinhua announced on May 10, that Major General Zhang Fandi, the Political Commissar of Beijing Garrison replaced Lt. General Wang Chunning as a Beijing Communist Party Committee Member and a Standing Committee Member.

Radio Free Asia (May 11) reported that Undergraduate programs in a few top universities in China are cancelling their entrance exams for foreign students.

Asia Nikkkei (May 15) reported that the Hunan provincial government is investigating allegations of Bei An Min, a protein drink, being sold as milk formula in the city of Chenzhou.

Responding to Mainland China's insistence that Taiwan can participate in the W.H.O. as "part of China", Taiwan's Health Minister Chen Shih-chung at a news conference in Taipei (May 15) rejected China’s condition, saying: “I have no way to accept something which does not exist.”

The South China Morning Post reported (May 15) that a question set by the Diploma of Secondary Examination world history subject committee in Hongkong's University Entrance Examinations sparked furious controversy on May 14-15, 2020.

Amid rapidly worsening relations, US President Trump in an interview with Fox TV on May 14 threatened: “We could cut off the whole relationship.”

The CCP paper Global Times (May 15) threatened the US with a series of countermeasures if the US went ahead with plans to block shipments of semiconductors to Chinese telecom firm Huawei.

The Cleveland media on May 14 reported that Dr. Qing Wang, a former Cleveland Clinic employee, was arrested by the FBI today at his home in Shaker Heights and charged in federal court on allegations that he failed to disclose funding and employment in China to the National Institute of Health.

China's State Council announced (May 13) that arrangements will be made for those Deputies and officials not physically attending the third plenary session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) scheduled to start on May 21.

Yan Xuetong said that more “rationality” was needed and warned against the influence of nationalist sentiment on policymaking.

Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak, began its programme to test all 11 million of its residents on May 14.

The PLA Navy announced on May 13 that after delays in the training schedule due to Covid-19, the PLA Navy will resume training exercises in the area off Tangshan’s coast in the Yellow Sea till July 31.

The Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced (May 13) that universities will reopen universities from June 6.

China's Minister of Finance Liu Kun published an editorial in People’s Daily (May 14) signalling a more proactive fiscal policy.

With the 6.8 per cent contraction in China's economy in the first quarter of this year and a Peking University survey showing that the number of jobs on offer shrank by 27 per cent in the first quarter in the the entertainment and services sector, followed by education, sports, information technology and finance, the 8.7 million Chinese students graduating this year are finding it difficult to get jobs.

China Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., also known as Baosteel, announced (May 11) on its public social media account that it had made a Yuan-denominated iron ore purchase worth more than 100 million yuan ($14 million) from Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Group using blockchain technology.

An organisation of Chinese dissidents based in the US and calling itself the 'Anti-Totalitarian Chinese Alliance', on May 12, 2020, projected onto the exterior of the building housing the Chinese Consulate the words "CCP virus", along with a graphic of Chinese President Xi Jinping with viral spike proteins growing from his head.

China's financial magazine Caixin disclosed (May 14) that China's State-run companies have purchased more than 20 cargoes, or over 1 million metric tons, of American soybeans in the past two weeks. The beans were bought using tariff waivers previously issued.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Shanxi province on May 11 on his fourth visit outside Beijing in two months.

43-year old Zhang Xuezhong, a Shanghai-based Chinese Constitutional lawyer, was taken away by public security authorities on May 10 after he posted an 'open' letter on WeChat on May 9 addressed to all NPC Deputies calling for reforms and freedom of speech.

RFA (May 8) reported that Yu Linqi, a History professor at Harbin Normal University, Heilongjiang, was recently named and shamed for criticising Karl Marx, whose theory is viewed as the founding ideology of Communist China.

China's State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi wrote a lengthy article in the Party official newspaper People’s Daily (May 6) discussing a speech Xi Jinping delivered at the National Conference on Public Security last year on May 7.

Caixin reported (May 13) that Wuhan, the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, intends to test all its 11 million population after new infections appeared more than a month after the city ended a lockdown.

On May 5, the CCP CC Propaganda (now called 'Publicity') Department issued instructions to all Chinese media to: Strictly delete any reposts, comments, and content related to U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger’s Chinese speech from all platforms, websites, and interactive comment sections, leaving no dead corners.

The South China Morning Post reported (May 10) that the Central Party School's publication 'Study Times' published a 5000-word article by historian Deng Tao reminding readers how the Qing had spent 20 years repairing for the invasion and conquest of Taiwan and that they had used political, diplomatic and economic measures to achieve their goal rather than just relying on force.

China launched the Kuaizhou-1A rocket with XingYun-2-01 and XingYun-2-02 satellites on 12 May 20 at 0712 Hr.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that China’s film and television industry's box office revenues is expected to show a loss of 30 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) this year. The latest data shows that, since the beginning of this year, more than 6,600 film and television companies have closed down.

Associated Press reported (May 12) that The Trump administration has directed the U.S. Federal Employee Retirement Fund to scrap its plan to place more than $4 billion into Chinese investments.

The New York Times (May 11) reported that the US Justice Department had arrested Simon Ang of the University of Arkansas of improperly accepting funds from the Chinese government.

Caixin reported (may 12) that China on may 12, suspended meat imports from four Australian abattoirs accounting for 35 per cent of China''s beef imports from Australia on May 12, citing the need to protect the health and safety of Chinese consumers, as relations between the two nations hit a low point.

The Global Times front-paged an article on May 8, marking the twenty-first anniversary of the "brutal missile attack on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999" which, it said, "Chinese people still cannot forget the sorrows and humiliation it caused" and "the US claimed" was a mistake. Chinese netizens commemorated the martyrs online on May 8, the 21th anniversary of the attack, and the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade too marked the event.

Vice Premier Liu He presided over a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Committee (FSDC) in Beijing on May 4.

Well-known Chinese news site Sina reported (April 30), based on data released by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) that, in the month of March, international investors unloaded around RMB 208.4 billion (US$29.5 billion) in stocks and around RMB 20 billion (US$2.83 billion) in bonds.

The PLA Daily on May 5 published an essay on page 3 on the importance of financial security. The essay was titled: "We should guard against the "high explosive point" of the strategic game of the financial "chess game" and earnestly safeguard the national financial security" (警惕金融博弈这一战略博弈高爆点，切实维护国家金融安全 - 中国军网).

Caixin (May 8) reported that China’s goods exports unexpectedly rose in April, breaking a three-month decline and boosted by a surge in shipments of medical supplies to countries fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on April 24, 2020 published an article analysing foreign media attacks, especially in the United States, against China during the Covid-19 pandemic which, it said, had made it difficult for China to cooperate with other countries and fight the pandemic globally.

A report disclosed that China Coast Guard is scheduled to get another 10,000-ton ship later this year. Christening ceremony of the ship was held at the Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard on April 28, 2020.

Shi Yinhong, an International Relations Professor at China’s Renmin University and an adviser to China’s State Council, was quoted by South China Morning Post (May 5) as saying “The United States and China are actually in the era of a new Cold War.

Reuters reported (May 6) that US regulators are working to clarify how American companies can work with China’s sanctioned Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in setting standards for next generation 5G wireless networks.

World Health Organisation legal counsel Steven Solomon said on May 4 that two WHO member nations have proposed the organisation grant observer status to Taiwan.

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on May 4 confirmed that China is planning to set up an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea.

The South China Morning Post reported on May 5 that the European Union has called for a worldwide investigation into the origins and spread of Covid-19 in a move its foreign policy chief described as “standing aside from the battlefield between China and the US”.

The EU ambassador to China and Ambassadors of the 27 EU member states to China jointly wrote an Op-Ed in China Daily on May 6, on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the European Union and China.

According to a Voice of America report (May 6), China has again tightened its ideological control over the film and television circles in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Taiwan's Central News Agency (May 6) stated that China's 'Thousand Talents Plan' (TTP), designed to attract overseas talent, is now not being mentioned. on total radio silence.

Epoch Times (April 18), Beijing News (April 25) and Epoch Times (May 1) disclosed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has refused to bring Chinese citizens in Russia home.

Chinese nationals and parents of students studying abroad staged small-scale protests over a lack of government support outside consulates and embassies in Nepal, Dubai, Kenya, Pakistan and Russia as well as in Beijing.

In a front-page article in the official Global Times on May 8, its Editor-in-Chief He Xijin argued that China needs to expand the number of its nuclear warheads to 1,000 in a relatively short time.

Captioned 'China-US war unlikely despite rising hostility' an article in Global Times (May 10) said Washington's hostility toward China and escalated concern that worsening bilateral ties might lead to a China-US war, had prompted Chinese experts to assert that Beijing has sufficient nuclear capacity to assure mutually assured destruction (MAD) and create deterrence to reduce the risks of any direct conflict.

Reports indicate that PLA light ZTQ-15 tanks have been positioned at Kamba County/ Shigatse in Tibet.

Satellite imagery of March 2020 available online indicated that construction on the heliport and a possible new quay continued through the pandemic months has continued at the PLA Support Base at Djibouti base.

The China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation has operationalised its Oil Depot at Hambantota port. It successfully refuelled its first ship, MV Melody, on April 7, 2020.

China's financial news magazine Caixin reported (May 8) that China is boosting its purchases of U.S. soybeans to fulfil commitments under a trade deal signed by the world’s two largest economies in January.

Tesla Inc. suspended production at its plant on the outskirts of Shanghai, according to Caixin news magazine (May 8) quoting people familiar with the matter, bringing to a halt all of the company’s vehicle manufacturing globally.

Wu Shicun, President of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies and Chairman of the board of directors of the China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea, writing in the South China Morning Post (May 9) said though Covid-19 has dealt a "body blow to the United States, including its military combat capabilities and deployment" and "the virus has been found in at least 150 US military bases and on four aircraft carriers", nevertheless, the US military has continued its relentless pursuit of hegemony in the Western Pacific.

The South China Morning Post (May 4) reported that the China Coast Guard, on April 1, launched an eight-month law enforcement campaign named “Blue Sea 2020”, with one of its stated aims being to crackdown on “violations in offshore oil exploration and exploitation”, as well as marine and coastal project construction.

New Bills have been introduced on May 8, in both, the US Senate and House, proposing that the official address of the Chinese embassy in Washington’s leafy northwest be changed from 3505 International Place to 1 Li Wenliang Plaza.

Nikkei Asia (May 10) reported the Japanese Coast Guard as saying (May 9) that two China Coast Guard ships had approached and chased a Japanese fishing vessel, which was about 12 km southwest of Uotsuri Island, within Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea on May 8.

Xinhua (April 26) reported that Xi Jinping, "General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, State Chairman, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Director of the Central Comprehensive Deepening Reform Committee", chaired the 13th meeting of the Central Comprehensive Deepening Reform Committee on April 27 and delivered an "important" speech.

The April 30 issue of the Party theoretical fortnightly 'Qiu Shi' published the February 12 speech that Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered at the 12 February symposium on “fighting the tough battle against poverty well.”

Xinhua (April 26) reported that PBSC member and CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang "recently investigated poverty alleviation in Yunnan and Guizhou".

The following were among the appointments announced recently: i) Huang Runqiu (黄润秋): appointed Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. ii) Tang Yijun (唐一军): appointed Minister of the Ministry of Justice. iii) He Rong (贺荣): appointed Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court.

Reuters (May 4) reported that an internal Chinese report prepared by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security (MoSS), was presented in early April by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders including President Xi Jinping.

The South China Morning Post (May 4) reported that in an interview on May 4, retired PLAAF Major General Qiao Liang, co-author of the book 'Unrestricted warfare' and a Chinese foreign policy 'hawk', has warned that the coronavirus pandemic should not be seen as a chance for Beijing to take back Taiwan by force.

China successfully launched the Long March 5B rocket on May 5, 2020 and with it the insertion of the prototype new-generation crewed spacecraft into its planned orbit.

Speaking at an online roundtable organized by Caixin on April 17, China’s PBoC Governor Yi Gang said rebound from the Covid-19 epidemic has so far been better than expected and economic growth in the second half of the year will continue to gradually improve to “more or less the potential growth rate.”

China's General Administration of Customs disclosed on May 1 that following the spread of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, according to customs statistics China exported a total of 71.2 billion yuan of major anti-epidemic materials between from March 1 to April 30.

The China Film Administration — which decides what films are released in China and when — estimated on April 29 that the country’s box office will lose over 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) this year.

Reuters quoted (May 4) economists Nicholas Lardy and Tianlie Huang of the Peterson Institute for International Economics as observing that China’s domestic institutions, notably its weak social safety net, are not up to the task of supporting private consumption, which is critically important for its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing the Australian Financial Review, China's financial magazine reported (May 4) that China, the European Union and Australia have teamed up to back a new global trade dispute resolution mechanism.

Reuters (May 6) reported that in a strongly worded statement China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office warned on May 6, that the city will never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describingthem as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing.

On April 29, the Head of the CCP CC International Department Song Tao attended and delivered a speech at a teleconference between the ruling parties of China and Nepal on novel coronavirus diagnosis and treatment plans and prevention and control measures.

On April 25, Han Lianchao, a former employee of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a screenshot on Twitter of a notice from the Publicity Department of the Party Committee of the Beijing International Studies University.

A Chinese blog published photographs of the ZTQ15 105mm Light Tank built specifically to operate under the mountainous and wet jungle regions of China. It disclosed the tank is now with the 54th Heavy Armor Combined-Arms Brigade, Tibet Military Area Command, and displays their new unit-code of "LZ".

China's first aircraft carrier the 'Liaoning', Type-001, accompanied by 2 frigates, 2 missile destroyers and a supply ship sailed through waters between Okinawa main island and Miyako island and through the sea area to the East China Sea on April 20.

China's ice-breaker the Xuelong-2 was photographed on April 29, in harbour on its return from a mission to the Antarctica.

April 29, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) where the main agenda item was supporting the Hubei economy.

Beijing’s Liaison Office of HKSAR reacted sharply to report by the US Congress-funded National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and blamed “anti-China” politicians and foreign forces for opposing national security legislation and glorifying the criminal acts of the city’s radical protesters.

The Kathmandu Post reported (May 2) that Chinese Ambassador Ms Hou Yanqi met Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma, NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal on April 30 in Kathmandu just days before a crucial meeting of the party's Secretariat.

China's official Global Times (May 1, 2020) alleged that Taiwan authorities had made huge "donations" to the US in order to promote the passage of the "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act of 2019" on March 26.

Radio Free Asia reported (April 27) that, after taking down Sun Lijun, the Deputy Minister of Public Security, Xi Jinping’s followers held three emergency meetings: an emergency meeting of the Ministry of Public Security on April 20, an emergency meeting of the Secret Service Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security on April 21, and an emergency meeting of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Political and Legal Affairs Commission on April 22.

The Beijing-based think-tank 'Minzhi International Research Institute' on April 24, published an article on Sino-US relations by Megn Weizhan (孟维瞻), Assistant Researcher at the China Research Institute at Fudan University.

Amnesty initiated a campaign on April 29 for Chinese human rights defender Ms Li Qiaochu, who is reported to have been taken away by Beijing police on February 16, 2020.

Xinhua (April 20) reported that a Guangzhou Daily report said that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), is testing the use of digital currency in the accounts of the Bank of Agriculture through transportation subsidies.

Caixin reported on April 30 that, amid rumours that PBoC is planning a pilot programme for a Digital Yuan,the agreement between Hong Kong-headquartered Artificial Intelligence specialist SenseTime and the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which oversees the development of the country’s sovereign digital currency, sets a target of “enhancing financial institutions’ capabilities in risk control and operations. No further details were given.

China's financial magazine Caixin reported (April 30) that State Grid Corp. of China, one of China’s two largest state-owned power utilities, posted a net loss of 920 million yuan ($130 million) for the first quarter, compared with net profit of 15.3 billion yuan a year ago.

A Type-055 destroyer was launched at the Jiangnan Shipyard on April 28, 2020.

Quoting two Chinese military sources the South China Morning Post disclosed (April 29) that two new upgraded Type 094, or Jin-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) have gone into service in China in time for the 71st anniversary of the Navy. One of the sources said "The subs had upgrades to technology such as radar, sonar and torpedoes.”

China Times (April 22) reported that, despite the news about the U.S. planning to expand the export ban on Huawei, Huawei commented that it can still purchase critical chips from South Korea’s Samsung, Taiwan’s MediaTek and China’s own Spreadtrum Communications, instead of U.S. suppliers.

Taiwan's Liberty Times disclosed (April 5) that on April 3, a Chinese language media New Highland Vision conducted an online survey, with the question: “If the United States wanted to take down the communist regime in China, in case of a war, would you support the American army or the communist army?”

The Chairperson of the BDC of Nyuma-Changthang reported on April 27 that between 300-500 Chinese military vehicles were in the Tashigong area opposite Demchok. Flying activity by fighter jets during the day was also reported.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the US issued a press release on April 30, which stated “The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China.

The Epoch Times (April 29) reported that on April 16, attorney Alejandro Sánchez Kalbermatten of Argentina filed a criminal lawsuit against China in Argentina’s Criminal and Correctional Court 12.

The Hongkong Oriental Daily reported (April 24) that China’s “Belt and Road” economic strategy faced a setback. it said African media reported that Tanzanian President John Magufuli terminated the US $10 billion loan with China that was to be used to expand the Bagamoyo port.

Dates were announced in Beijing on April 29 for the 'Big Two', or the plenary sessions of China's top advisory body, the CPPCC and its version of a parliament, the NPC.

China is set to release an ambitious 15-year blueprint that will lay out its plans to set the global standards for the next-generation of technologies. CNBC (April 26) quoted experts as saying the move could have wide-ranging implications for the power Beijing wields on the global stage in areas from artificial intelligence, to telecommunications networks and the flow of data.

Beijing News reported (April 27) that the Inspector General of China's National Health Commission (NHC)’s Disease Control Bureau, Wang Bin, announced (April 27) that that the NHC had “Sent a working group of 16 experts to Yunnan, Guangxi and Tibet to provide on-site guidance on prevention and control of border areas and help formulate implementation plans.”

An open source image of March 2020 showed progress on China's third aircraft carrier (CV-003) being built at the Jiangnan shipyard.

An article published by the Changxing Jiangnan Shipyard revealed that fitment of the four APAR Type 346A radars and on the Type-052 and Type-055 Destroyers takes approx. 8 hours or 2 hours per side of the radar.

On April 24, 2020 on the occasion of Space Day for China, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of China announced the program, "Mission to Mars". The series has been named as the 'Tianwen series' and the first mission has been named as 'Tianwen-1'.

Guangdong province’s state newspaper, the Nanfang Daily disclosed on April 24 that Guangzhou City’s National Security Bureau had finished investigations into Lee Henley Hu Xiang, a Belizean national and Taiwan resident, and his case had been transferred to the Guangzhou People’s Procuratorate for prosecution.

A spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theatre Command Senior Colonel Li Huamin on April 28, said 'The PLA Southern Theatre Command organised naval and aerial forces to follow the US guided missile destroyer USS Barry when it trespassed into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands on April 28'.

The ICT reported that Human Rights Watch has issued a document in March 2020 detailing the rapid replacement of Tibetan by Chinese Mandarin in schools and educational institutions in TAR.

Apparently upgrading its presence in Taiwan, The Hague has renamed its 'Netherlands Trade and Investment Office' as the "Netherlands Office Taipei” on April 27. The PRC media are publishing strident criticism that observers say reminds them of the beginning of the Dutch-Taiwan submarine crisis of 1980.

On April 22, the cyber security firm 'FireEye' reported that “From at least January to April 2020, suspected Vietnamese actors APT32 carried out intrusion campaigns against Chinese targets that… [were] designed to collect intelligence on the COVID-19 crisis.”

South China Morning Post (April 25) reported that the video conference of the second 'virtual' Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit planned for May 1 and to be attended by President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump was called off amid the US-China row over the World Health Organisation (WHO). It could, however, happen in the near future.

A team of Chinese doctors led by PLA Major General Huang Qingzhen arrived in Pakistan in two special aircraft, carrying medical supplies to help Pakistan fight the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Reflecting the Party's anxieties about domestic social unrest, the Party has established a new high-level coordination group called the 'Safe China Construction Coordinating Small Group'.

China's PB member and Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has recently travelled to Xinjiang from April 18-20 and Henan and Shandong on April 21-22. In Xinjiang, Hu Chunhua inspected poverty alleviation efforts while in Henan and Shandong the focus was on agriculture.

Tang Yijun, former Governor of Liaoning, has been approved for appointment as China's new Minister of Justice, but he will formally take over after receiving the NPC Standing Committee's approval when it meets from April 25 - 29, 2020.

BBC (April 17) quoted official Chinese data that say China's GDP shrank by 6.8% for the first three months of the year. The World Bank says in the base case scenario, China will see growth fall to 2% this year from 6% last year - and if things get worse, it would see growth fall to 0.1%.

China's State Council said at a press conference on April 20, that profits of central state-owned enterprises plunged by more than half in the first quarter as demand evaporated and supply chains were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Caixin (April 23) reported that Huawei Technologies Co.’s rapid growth had slowed to a crawl in the first quarter after Covid-19 depressed demand for smartphones and networking gear around the globe.

The Daily Economic News reported ( released on April 21) that a survey of household finances done jointly by the China Family Finance Survey and Research Center of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and the Research Institute of Ant Financial Services Group and released as a Report.

In a statement issued (April 22) the Bank of China Ltd. (BoC) said it had temporarily stopped taking bets from clients on oil futures via one of its financial products in the wake of the collapse in global crude prices this week that cost some investors millions of Yuan.

On April 21, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange permitted a South China-based subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. Ltd. to increase storage for crude oil by 20% to 500,000 cubic meters.

On the occasion of its 71st anniversary on April 21, the PLAN released a video showing PLAN activities.

The aircraft carrier Liaoning and its escort ships are on the way back to their port in China after 10 days of exercises in the South China Sea. They passed through the Bashi Strait on April 22, 2020.

China has set up mental health stations on its occupied islands and reefs in the SCS. A PLA website disclosed April 17, 2020 that a psychologist from the PLAN Medical University went to Fiery Cross Reef on April 7. PLA is devoting attention to the psychological well-being of soldiers/ sailors/ airmen posted in far-flung areas and remote outposts.

Erick Tsang, the former Head of Hongkong's Immigration Department was appointed new Head of the Constitutional Affairs Department on April 22, 2020.

The South China Morning Post reported (April 22) that organisers of a major Labour Day protest in Hong Kong have decided to go ahead with their march defying a police warning to cancel it because of the coronavirus epidemic.

Of late some Chinese diplomats have adopted an aggressive response to comments by senior officials of foreign Governments.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) reacted to a remark on April 22, by US Secretary of State Pompeo in a speech on the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, where he said "wildlife wet markets create risks for the generation and spread of diseases, and may have played a critical role in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic" and urged their closure.

UK's Daily Telegraph reported (April 23) that the Australian frigate HMAS Parramatta joined the USS America, an amphibious assault ship, and the USS Bunker Hill, a guided missile cruiser and the USS USS Barry this week close to where the Chinese government survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 is suspected to be exploring for oil.

During his visit to Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province on April 21, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised ecological environment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Politburo on April 17, when they said that COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the economy and forced the Party to change their policy priorities.

The Financial times (April 19) reported that a new cluster of coronavirus cases in Harbin city has forced authorities to impose new lockdowns. By April 19, Heilongjiang said it had 61 active cases of Covid-19 from local transmission, including non-symptomatic cases, 54 of which were in Harbin.

The national geographic information public service platform "Tianditu", established and operated by the National Basic Geographic Information Center, a unit directly under the National Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information Bureau of China, is China's authority in the field of digital maps.

The Global Times (April 19) reported that China's State Council had announced the establishment of two new districts in the city of Sansha "to administer waters in the South China Sea" and "for better scientific management and to safeguard territorial sovereignty."

Chinese blogger "Ms. V" said in an episode of "China View" that was published by CGTN Arabic TV (China) on March 17, 2020 that the presence of multiple coronavirus strains in the United States, the coincidence between the initial coronavirus outbreak and the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan in which the U.S. participated, the possibility that the U.S. may have had many coronavirus deaths that have been documented as influenza deaths, and the CDC's shut down of former U.S. biological weapons research lab Fort Detrick, all suggest that COVID-19 originated in the United States, and not in China.

On April 20, 2020, China's Ministry of Finance held a press conference on fiscal revenue and expenditure in the first quarter of 2020, to introduce fiscal revenue and expenditure in the first quarter of 2020,January-March and release the figures. It said the total the national general public budget income was 4.5984 trillion yuan, down 14.3 percent year on year.

A statement published (April 18) on the website of the China Coal Transport & Distribution Association said a dozen Chinese anthracite coal mining companies had called on the industry to slash production by 10% from current levels amid weak demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The statement said while anthracite coal output is now back at last year’s levels, demand recovery has lagged, leading to a “severe mismatch” in market fundamentals. It quoted the 12 companies as saying Coal producers should limit output, focus on reducing inventory and eliminate outdated capacity to resolve the supply-demand imbalance.

The well informed Hongkong newspaper Singtao reported (April 17) that the 'Two Sessions' (i.e. the CPPCC and NPC) will be held in late May.

China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on April 16, 2020, published a 3711-word essay flattering Chinese President Xi Jinping' s leadership which "has won high recognition from the international community".

'The Paper' (April 17) reported that China has revised its official count of deaths from the coronavirus, adding some 1,290 deaths in Wuhan, the city where the virus first emerged last December.

In separate but similar notifications issued on April 14 and 15, the Samye and Yasang Monastery Management Committees respectively said that as “per circular from higher authorities, and in accordance with the need of work relating to the prevention of the infectious coronavirus” the monasteries will be closed from those dates including for "visitation and purification ritual and providing support".

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued a statement on April 15 that there will be 20 new appointees to the 21-member committee, who will join shortly.

The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce provided a detailed picture on the resumption of businesses.

Xu Kemin, Director of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Department of Industrial Policy and Regulations (MIIT) recently warned that "Due to the poor flow of international personnel and logistics, enterprises that have returned to work and resumed production are again faced with the risk of having to reduce production or shutting down.

China Military Online reported on April 13 that the PLA has officially started the military recruitment registration for the second half of 2020 in April.

Global Times (April 14) reported that the Aerodynamics Research Institute, under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), announced (April 11) that it had successfully conducted a test run on the main compressor of the FL-62 wind tunnel at maximum speed on April 1.

The official Radio Hongkong (RTHK) announced on April 17 that: "Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong declared on Friday that it is not subject to Basic Law restrictions that bar central government departments from interfering in local affairs – saying it has the responsibility and the right to comment as it wishes on Hong Kong matters."

The following pro-democracy figures including lawyers, former Legco members and democracy 'activists' have been arrested in Hongkong on April 19 morning.

Going into a damage control mode after its Director General Tedros’ irrational outburst against Taiwan last week, Dr. Van Kerkhove and another official called the Taiwan CECC / Ministry of Health and had an hour-long discussion with them, asking how Taiwan had handled the crisis.

Going into a damage control mode after its Director General Tedros’ irrational outburst against Taiwan last week, Dr. Van Kerkhove and another official called the Taiwan CECC / Ministry of Health and had an hour-long discussion with them, asking how Taiwan had handled the crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reported on April 15 that Beijing might secretly be conducting small nuclear tests at its Lop Nur site in Xinjiang.

Zhang Wenhong, who heads Shanghai’s Covid-19 clinical expert team and directs the infectious disease department at one of the city’s top hospitals, said during an online livestream broadcast by popular short-video platform Kuaishou on April 11, that while countries may be able to bring the deadly pandemic under adequate control by autumn, the coming winter may bring a “second wave” of infections in China and elsewhere.

Xinhua reported (April 14) that China has issued a 'technical' guideline for universities and colleges nationwide to reopen in an orderly manner on the premise that local COVID-19 epidemic is "well tamed".

At the State Council's weekly executive meeting on April 14, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said“The support measures we have rolled out since the start of this year are adequate and robust and what is crucial is to ensure their full delivery.”

China's financial news service magazine Caixin disclosed (April 15) that an online post openly offered to sell more than 1 million pieces of customer information allegedly belonging to several Chinese financial institutions fuelling fears of potentially massive leaks of private data.

State Grid Co. of China pledged 2.7 billion yuan ($382 million) for the construction of electric vehicle (EV) battery charging piles this year, responding to a push from the central government to develop high-tech infrastructure.

European business people in China told Caixin (April 15) that they are generally not looking to move their operations outside of the world’s biggest manufacturing nation. In some countries the idea was raised that manufacturers should move factories back home after disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Xinhua stated (April 14) that an executive meeting of China's State Council had decided that China will take "solid steps" to implement supportive measures for enterprises to help them through challenges, and boost employment for college graduates.

Reuters reported (April 14) that according to the median of 62 analysts surveyed by it, growth in the world’s second-biggest economy for 2020 was forecast at 2.5%, which would mark the weakest since 1976, the final year of the decade-long Cultural Revolution that wrecked the economy.

On April 14, US President Trump announced that the U.S. would suspend funding for the World Health Organisation, pending a review. Rising scrutiny of the WHO, and especially the perception that China wields strong influence over it, has led GOP leaders to call for funding cuts.

The tenor of US-China relations is reflected in the recent writings of some prominent Chinese. Zhou Xiaoming, former Deputy Head of China’s mission in Geneva, wrote that the West’s efforts to blame China for the global outbreak is “a carefully coordinated PR campaign” initiated by American government to contain China. It is a new battle ground carved out by the US in its war to contain China’s rise. We must not underestimate it.”

A post captioned 'Ten thousand Chinese troops rushed to Pakistan, attracting local residents cheers' appeared on a Chinese website on April 9.

Wang Yang, Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) Member and Chairman of the CPPCC) chaired a meeting on poverty alleviation on April 14, 2020.

On April 13, Sun Jinlong was appointed Party Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Ecology (MEE).

Fu Hua, of Han nationality born in August 1964, born in Rudong, Jiangsu, joined the party in December 1993, and joined the work in July 1985 was appointed the Deputy Minister of the CCP CC Propaganda Department on April 7, 2020.

An article in the New York Times (April 13) reported that hundreds of Chinese ''netizens' continue to virtually mourn and post flowers the deceased Dr Li Wenliang of Wuhan Hospital who blew the whistle on the Coronavirus.

The PLA Daily published (April 8) a front-page Xie Xinping (解辛平 --a pen name that stands for PLA news commentary -- about China’s “extraordinary journey” in the management of the coronavirus outbreak.

Caixin reported (April 15) that the up-and-coming Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. Ltd. unveiled its latest 3D NAND memory chip with cutting-edge 128-layer technology as it plays catch-up with global leaders like Samsung in China’s drive to become a semiconductor powerhouse.

Caixin reported (April 15) that the SAIC Motor Corp., the biggest automaker in China, reported a 28.9% drop in earnings for 2019 as an industrywide sales slump undermined manufacturers’ profitability in the world’s largest market.

The South China Morning Post reported (April 13) that a recent monthly survey showed that the unemployment rate had already hit a record high last month.

The Chinese financial magazine reported (April 15) that as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic moves outside China, multiple major construction equipment makers raised the prices of their excavators amid rebounding domestic demand and the rising cost of imported components.

China will provide Pakistan with an unrequited assistance of Rs 2.048 billion for completion of a smart university transformation project.

The Beijing Western District Supervision Commission/Party Disciplinary Commission announced (April 8) that it is 'investigating' Ren Zhiqiang, the 'princeling' real estate tycoon, for serious violations of Communist Party discipline and law.

cpc.gov announced (April 9) that China's Minister of Ecology and Environment (MEE) Li Ganjie will be taking over as deputy Party secretary of Shandong. He would soon be appointed Governor. At age 55, Li Ganjie will become one of the youngest provincial Governors.

CCP CC General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) on April 8 when he told them that things in the rest of the world are really bad and that is bad for China.

China Daily and Beijing News reported (April ) that more regions are releasing numbers on their voucher programs.

China's State Council at its meeting on April 8, instructed local governments to be “prudent” in allowing gatherings of people. It also issued its first set of rules to local governments on how to contain the spread of asymptomatic cases.

Following China's National Health Commission (NHC) revealing that from March 21 to April 7, over 2,400 people passed through the Suifenhe border alone and that 45 new COVID-19 cases were detected among returning Chinese nationals on April 6 and 7, authorities of the small city of Suifenhe, Heilongjiang province, sealed off the city’s border with Russia.

As of April 9 the Trivium National Business Activity Index indicates that China’s economy is operating at 81.2% of typical output, up from 80.6% on April 8; the Trivium National Large Enterprise Activity Index indicates that China’s large enterprises are operating at 81.8% of typical output, the same proportion as on April 8; and the Trivium National SME Activity Index indicates that China’s small businesses are operating at 80.7% of typical output, up from 79.7% on April 8.

The Jane''s Defence Weekly reported (April 9) that two Chinese research papers that emerged in early April through social media provide further evidence of significant technological developments in PLAN’s next generation of nuclear submarines.

The Diplomat reported (April 10) that Japan Air Self Defence Force’s (JASDF) fighter jets scrambled 675 times in 2019 to intercept PLA AF and PLAN’s aircraft.

After his disappearance on March 12, it has been officially disclosed that 69-year old real estate tycoon and frequent CCP critic Ren Zhiqiang, is under investigation probably presaging his arrest and seizure of his assets.

'Beijing News' reported (April 1) that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), food safety may become an issue in some countries and regions due to the lack of labor and to supply chain disruptions.

The independent Chinese financial magazine Caixin (March 31) assessed that China is facing a severe economic slowdown and massive unemployment because the coronavirus hit it so badly.

A survey of business activity in China till April 8 showed that recovery of China's economy is slow.

HawkEye360 data recently showed that as China locked down for the coronavirus, activity at ports around the country slowed to a crawl. A strong recovery is, however, now underway in some places, including Shanghai. Wuhan's port activity remains suppressed, though it began to tick upward at the end of March.

Starting at 12 am on April 8, the Wuhan City government lifted the lockdown which had been in place since January 23.

The Global Times on April 3, published a commentary written by Ni Guangnan, one of the founding members of the China Engineering Academy and the former Chief Engineer of the Legend Group.

The US publication National Review on April 7 stated that Phoenix TV is owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The report said at the White House briefing on April 6, a Phoenix Television reporter asked President Trump whether he is “personally working directly with China” on securing medical supplies. “Only last week, there were multiple flights coming from China full of medical supplies,” the reporter said.

Globalization has resulted in the manufacturing of many medical products and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) moving to China.

Radio France International reported (April 5), based on multiple sources, that the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in India and the All India Bar Association (AIBA) have filed a complaint in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking $20 trillion as reparations from China over the global spread of the coronavirus.

The South China Morning Post reports (April 3) that China hopes to conduct a large-scale test of a possible Covid-19 vaccine abroad in the worst-hit countries.

Global Times (March 31) reported that the neighbourhood committee, which began as urban grassroots civil organisations in the 1950s and are the lowest level of governance in charge of civil affairs, were helping in controlling the Coronavirus.

Organisers of the Airshow China, which is scheduled in November this year, said it will not be cancelled More than 400 companies from China and the world have already confirmed their participation in the airshow.

The University of Toronto's Citizen Lab published an interesting report on Nasdaq's teleconference app Zoom, a Silicon Valley based company.

Agricultural worries threaten to undermine China's plan to eliminate rural poverty in 2020. Chinese journalists warn that Chinese farmers need higher subsidies to prevent them from abandoning grain production, and rice and soybean supplies from abroad could be interrupted during the Covid-19 crisis.

China's State-owned companies significantly increased their purchases of U.S. soybeans, while other Chinese companies bought mainly from South America last year.

Writing in the Chinese publication 'First Financial Daily', (March 27) the former Mayor of Chongqing Huang Qifan wrote that, the global virus outbreak could be a “once in a century” opportunity for Chinese economy.

In the wake of the unprecedented economic damage caused by the Coronavirus, debate has been intensifying in China as to whether China should set a growth target this year.

The Russian Satellite News Agency on April 3, stated that China's arms exporter Norinco Corp announced that the first batch of the third-generation anti-tank missile complex "Red Arrow-12 Anti-tank Missile" (HJ-12) was sold.

The PLA Daily reported (April 1) that the PLAAF had conducted a 36-hour long-endurance early warning exercise simulating countering enemy planes during wartime and placing increasing emphasis on airborne early-warning and control aircraft.

Vagabondjourney.com cited (April 4) western journalists reporting increasing instances of xenophobic behaviour by Chinese including in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Radio France International (March 29, 2020) and Global News (March 31, 2020) published reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been conducting a “mask diplomacy.”

Li Shiqu, spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said (April 3) that two Chinese maritime police ships stopped and sank the Vietnamese fishing vessel QNg 90617 TS and 8 fishermen who were on board, during their normal fishing activities on Fulin Island.

An Indian advocate in the has filed an appeal (April 3) for payment of damages by the Chinese government and agencies for the damage caused by the Coronavirus.

China's State Council, declared Saturday the 4th April a national day of mourning for citizens who died in the fight against the coronavirus and patients who died from the disease.

A People’s Daily commentary under the highly authoritative pen name Ren Zhongping (任仲平), standing for “important People’s Daily commentary”, while reflecting on the Chinese nation’s responses to the COVID-19 epidemic, specifically praised Xi Jinping’s leadership, listing his key meetings and inspection tours, as well as several of his “powerful and resonating” remarks on the epidemic.

Li Yi, was appointed Deputy Head of the Central Party School in Beijing in March. Of Han nationality, he was born in 1963 in Tianjin and joined the Chinese Communist Party and work in July 1984.

Fang Fang, an activist blogger resident in Wuhan, posted the final episode of her diary captioned 'Conscience of Wuhan' on March 25. Fang Fang who has been attacked by ultra-leftists daily said 'that the extreme left threatens Chinese society with a national calamity.

Radio Free Asia reported (March 31) that Zhang Wenbin, a university student in Shandong Province due to graduate this academic year and who described himself as "once a little pink" supporter of the CCP, posted a video to social media calling on President Xi Jinping to step down.

Bloomberg reported (April 2) that Jia county, Henan province, whose population numbers around 640,000, issued a directive on April 1, asking all residential compounds to be sealed off and those visiting and leaving homes to produce identity cards, wear masks and submit to temperature checks. Car traffic will also be limited.

On April 2, the official 'The Paper' published an article by veteran diplomat and former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Fu Ying.

The State-owned Assets Administrator (SASAC) announced the formation on March 31, of a new central SoE called the 'China Rongtong Asset Management Group'.

The Chinese financial magazine reported on April 3, that to help economic recovery China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that banks need to hold in reserve for the third time this year, releasing about 400 billion yuan ($56.4 billion) of liquidity into the financial system.

The Department of Cooperation of China's Ministry of Commerce on April 1, issued "Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic in Overseas Enterprises and Projects" listing 16 specific measures under Six requirements. It said the Guideline represents "the motherland's deep concern for overseas enterprises and staff in the project".

The Chinese magazine Caixin reported (April 2) that a major debate is heating up among economists and Chinese government advisers over whether the country should abandon its annual growth target this year given the huge uncertainties facing both domestic and external demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese website Sina quoted (March 30) Xu Xiaonian, a Professor of Economics and Finance at the China Europe International Business School, said that as long as the pandemic in Europe and America is not over, Chinese export companies will have no orders, and a recession is inevitable.

Xinhua (March 31) reported a claim by China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs that it has secured 55,000 jobs for ex-service personnel in four leading Chinese companies in the private sector, in accordance with agreements signed online between the ministry and the four job providers.

Caixin reported (April 2) on the basis of reports from families that the Chinese Embassy in UK is chartering a plane to bring home Chinese students attempting to flee the country’s Covid-19 outbreak.

Xinhua quoted (March 31) the Buddhist Association of Lhasa as announcing (March 30) that a total of 214 religious venues in suburban areas of Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, which were temporarily closed due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, will reopen to the public starting from March 31.

New York Times on Match 29 reported that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention held the country’s biggest infectious outbreak training exercise since the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003, in n July, to showcase the strides made since the virus killed hundreds and traumatised the nation.

China’s State Council decided at a meeting on March 31 to enhance the country’s monetary response to Covid-19, including a further reduction in the amount of cash some banks must hold in reserve to provide further assistance to small and midsize businesses.

According to a Caixin sponsored survey of April 1, China’s manufacturing activity recovered in March as workers returned to businesses, despite the expanding coronavirus outbreak overseas denting foreign demand.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei and hometown rival ZTE won China Mobile’s latest tender of 5G contracts to build 232,143 fifth-generation wireless network base stations in 28 provincial-level regions.

Xu Kemin, an official of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said at a news conference in Beijing on March 30 that in the 10 days starting March 19, China shipped around 1,700 mechanical ventilators to markets outside the country.

Xinhua (April 2) reported Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying in his congratulatory message to India's President Ramnath Kovind on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties that China-India relations are standing at a new starting point and facing new opportunities.

i) EU President Ursula von der Leyen Tweeted on April 2, thanking Taiwan on behalf of the European Union for its donation of 5.6 million masks to help fight the Coronavirus, describing it as a gesture of solidarity.

UCA News reported (April 2) that Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, who heads the Federation of Asian Bishop's Conferences, launched a searing attack on the CCP over the COVID virus, branding it "moral culpable", demanding an apology and reparations. His statement also attacks Beijing's human rights record.

The United Nations has decided to partner with the Chinese technology giant Tencent to hold online meetings for its 75th anniversary celebrations, despite the company’s role in state surveillance and censorship within China.

A team of Chinese health experts reached Islamabad on March 28 to assess the preventive measures taken by the government so far to fight the COVID-19.

China National Defence News reported (March 23) that with the CMC's approval the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision issued the "Code of Daily Conduct for Party Members and Cadres in the Army Discipline Inspection and Supervision System".

Xinhua reported (March 27) that China’s Executive Vice Premier Han Zheng chaired a meeting on March 26 in Beijing on stabilising investment.

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that industrial profits for January and February had dropped.

Following government approval, China's 600 cinemas reopened for business early this week, but they were directed to be closed again on March 27.

Prof. Gao, now Chair Professor Law at Koguan School of Law, Jiaotong University, was quoted by Xinjing bao on February 29, 2020 as saying ”Improve social mechanisms, let cons­ci­ence and rule of law prevail”.

Caixin reported (March 27) that kindergartens in Jiangsu province will reopen on April 7, the third grades will start on March 30th, and the high school starts on April 13. Jiangsu said colleges and universities will start on April 13.

Late on March 27, reports and videos were publicised via Twitter by Hubei residents who were trying to leave the province after the authorities had eased travel restrictions and the Jiangxi provincial traffic police who tried to stop them at the check-post.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee n march 27 to discuss 'Dealing with the Coronavirus'. The meeting discussed keeping imported cases from entering the country and staying vigilant against the virus at home. It announced that the government will be rolling out a basket of supportive measures to help the economy.

On March 29, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Ningbo port in Zhejiang province – one of the world’s busiest ports and a trade hub for eastern China.

Chinese students based in the US are paying upto UK Pounds 22,000 to charter aircraft in a bid to escape the potential Coronavirus epidemic in the US and get to China. China has, in turn, prohibited all charter flights from the US.

Anthony Junco, a spokesman for the U.S. Seventh Fleet, said the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell conducted “a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on March 25, in line with international law. He said “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S.

Global Times (March 25) quoted Chinese experts as suggesting that Chinese companies already in India can offer help including aiding the locals to build makeshift hospitals like those in Wuhan if asked. It quoted an expert from the China Railway Construction Corp. as saying Chinese companies can help countries undergoing coronavirus lockdowns like India. "Chinese companies working on existing projects in India, with sufficient supply networks in place, can take over the construction of makeshift hospitals like those in Wuhan upon India's invitation."

Chinese President Xi Jinping placed a call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 25, to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed a desire for deeper Sino-German cooperation and said “China is willing to share prevention, control and treatment experience with Germany, strengthen cooperation in vaccine and drug research and development, and contribute to the health and well-being of the two peoples and global public health and safety.” Angela Merkel agreed and said “Germany thanks China for its timely and valuable help and hopes to carry out scientific research cooperation with China in the areas of vaccine and drug research and development and other fields, so as to set an example of solidarity.” (Comment: Over the last two weeks, Xi Jinping has called various foreign leaders each day to express support and offer medical aid and expertise.)

With oil prices dropping to an 18-year low, demand in China’s oil storage sector has soared as companies hoard the fossil fuel. Data from energy information provider OilChem China showed that since March 7, the day after talks between oil-producers cartel OPEC and Russia collapsed and prices began to plummet, Chinese ports have added around 1.5 million tons of commercial crude oil to their stockpiles. A manager at a Chinese oil storage company said “All of China’s coastal storage tanks and those near rivers are all booked, wherever they are in the country”. The total quantum of oil in OilChem China's storage is now 29.45 million tonnes.

Foreign Policy reported (March 25) that in most Chinese cities, offices and factories have reopened, but many workers have reported slashed salaries or the loss of benefits. To avoid catastrophic unemployment, the authorities have tightened already restrictive laws around layoffs, pushing the financial burden onto businesses. There is aid in place for many hard-hit enterprises, but a lot of political competition around who gets it. Chinese labor laws have always been excellent on paper: It’s hard to fire workers without cause or carry out mass layoffs. But they are highly difficult to enforce in practice.

Lu Hai, Professor at Peking University, who organised a recent survey under a joint project between Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management and Zhaopin, one of China’s largest hiring platforms, revealed (March 25) that job openings in China for the first two months of 2020 dropped by more than 30% as the coronavirus epidemic severely disrupted economic activity.

Bloomberg financial services reported that “The income of central and local governments contracted 9.9% in the first two months of the year compared to a year ago”, describing it as the deepest fall since February 2009.

Xinhua reported (March 26) that according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology by March 24, only 71.7% of small and medium-sized enterprises had resumed operations. Another National Business Activity Index shows that as of March 25, the economy was operating at 73.9% of pre-crisis levels. These figures have prompted estimates that the economy is running at less than three-fourths normal levels and that if the economy doesn’t get rebooted quickly, the damage will be intense and long-lasting.

The Lhasa City Epidemic Prevention and Control Leading Committee issued an official notice dated March 23, saying that people from “low-risk” areas who are quarantined in hotels or elsewhere can move outside if they have already been in quarantine for a week. The notice, a copy of which was posted on Chinese social media, also says that while people arriving from “low-risk” places may not have to stay in quarantine, people arriving from medium- and high-risk places should be quarantined for seven and 14 days respectively. Tibetans quarantined for 14 days would be kept at their own expense.

At a press conference in Beijing on March 26, China's Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Nanping, said that it is not yet time to summarize China ’s experience in science and technology against epidemics.

Caixin reported (March 25) that “Hubei provincial authorities issued a notice on March 24 announcing that they will end restrictions on outbound traffic" starting March 25, with the exception of its capital city of Wuhan, which will block departures for two more weeks.

The Civil Administration of China (CAAC) announced (March 26) that it will drastically cut back the number of international flights from March 29. It said all domestic airlines that fly internationally can keep only one international route in operation, with just one flight on that route per week. Meanwhile, foreign carriers flying to China can also keep only one route, which can also not fly more than once a week.

FT reported (March 27) that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced (March 26) it would temporarily suspend visits from almost all foreign nationals amid mounting fears that those returning to China after the country eased its travel restrictions were sparking a second wave of cases.

On March 24, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned officials “not to hide cases for the sake of reporting zero.” He told officials "Everywhere you want to be truthful and publicly and transparently release epidemic information."

Following the accusation on March 12, by Zhao Lijian, Spokesman & Deputy Director General of the Information Department, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the United States is the origin of the novel Coronavirus, Chinese bots took to Twitter to spread the accusation.

Japan's Defence Ministry reported that on March 19 in an area about 80 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island a PLA Navy Type-052D guided missile destroyer, two Type-054A frigates and a Type-903A integrated supply ship were spotted by its PC-3 patrol aircraft sailing eastward. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that afterwards, these Chinese warships sailed northward from the sea between Okinawa's main island and Miyakojima and headed for the East China Sea.

The Wall Street Journal reported (March 20) that a group of 300 Chinese intensive-care doctors began to arrive in Italy on March 18. China has also sent supplies to Serbia and Brussels at their request offering to provide more than two million medical masks and 50,000 coronavirus testing kits. The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation have assured assistance to European countries. Pakistan says that China has provided it with “grant assistance of $4 million along with 300,000 medical face masks, 10 ventilators, and other equipment” to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

CNBC reported (March 16) that 5 million Chinese had lost jobs in the first two months of 2020, pushing the unemployment rate up to 6.2%. China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also revealed that retail sales plunged 20.5% over the same period in 2019, industrial output was down 13.5%, fixed asset investment fell by nearly 25%, real estate construction slid 44.9%, home sales fell 34.7% and investment in the real-estate sector was off 16.3%. The NBS said the shock of all of this is likely to last for some time, a recovery won’t be rapid or easy.

The Chinese magazine Caixin reported (March 20) that 45 year-old Liu Li, an employee of the Central Hospital of Wuhan who worked on the hospital’s Ethics Committee and was a colleague of the late whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, died from the Coronavirus disease, becoming the fifth since the epidemic broke out. She was first diagnosed with viral pneumonia on January 28 after running a high temperature for nearly a week, and was later diagnosed as having Covid-19. More than 230 of the hospital’s 4,000 employees have been diagnosed with the disease.

More than a month after launching an investigation into local authorities’ handling of the case of Dr. Li Wenliang, a whistleblower doctor in Wuhan, the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) reported their findings on March 19.

The trillion dollar State-owned conglomerate Citic Group Corp. on March 20 announced the appointment of Zhu Hexin, a Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), as its new Communist Party secretary. The Citic Group said at a management meeting that Zhu became party chief, replacing Chang Zhenming. Caixin cited sources to say that Zhu Hexin will also succeed Chang Zhenming as Chairman shortly. A regulator told Caixin that it seems to be “an important task to have the deputy governor of the central bank lead Citic Group at the moment.”

On March 19, it was announced that Shandong Governor Gong Zheng will be taking over as Deputy Party Secretary in Shanghai. Gong Zheng is likely to soon be appointed Mayor of Shanghai. Shanghai has been without a Mayor since Ying Yong was appointed Party Secretary of Hubei on February 13.

Addressing the PBSC meeting on March 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping said there has been a positive trend in preventing and controlling the epidemic and restoring normal production. Everyday life has quickened.

The Daily Beast reported (March 19) that White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro with President Trump's encouragement is pushing a slew of policies to ultimately curb the importing of foreign goods and create conditions that would allow for the increased production of American medicines, raw materials, and vaccines.

Xinhua (March 11) that the China Railway Science Research Institute just developed a new technology that can perform facial recognition even when the individual wears a regular mask and a helmet.

The WeChat public account "Lishui Qiaolian" of China's Guancha magazine on March 20, reported that according to Czech media reports on March 19, the Czech Usti State Customs on March 17 inspected the Lovosicích na Litomě icku Industrial Park and found that there were about 680,000 breathing masks and 28,000 masks in a warehouse.

i) Shao Yiming, a prominent virologist who is chief HIV/AIDS expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was reported by Caixin on March 20 as saying that Chinese health authorities initially failed to identify and control the threats posed by Covid-19 because of faulty assumptions and weaknesses in a carefully constructed direct reporting system.

Shao Yiming, a prominent virologist who is chief HIV/AIDS expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was reported by Caixin on March 20 as saying that Chinese health authorities initially failed to identify and control the threats posed by Covid-19 because of faulty assumptions and weaknesses in a carefully constructed direct reporting system.

Official figures showed (March 18) that for the first day since the virus took hold late last year, China has recorded no locally transmitted cases.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) on March 18 when the agenda was preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Global times reported (March 17) that as the world is facing challenges brought about by COVID-19, Pakistani President Arif Alvi chose this special time to visit China to show solidarity between the two "iron brothers.

The official website of the White House posted the following on March 13. It said on March 12, Zhao Lijian, Spokesman & Deputy Director General of the Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accused the United States of being the origin of the novel coronavirus, stating, “It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.

The Voice of America (VOA) on March 12, claimed that a young man in Wuhan, in his twenties, with the pseudonym “Tulong,” had decided not to remain silent in front the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) propaganda and thought control, but to speak out for the people who died from the coronavirus.

China announced (March 18) the following measures, effective immediately:

CBS and the Palm Beach Post both reported (March 13) that the Berman Law Group, a law firm in Boca Raton, Florida, filed a class-action lawsuit on March 12, to hold the Chinese government accountable for the deadly coronavirus now sweeping America.

Reuters quoted (March 18) senior foreign diplomats as saying that officers from China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP) had joined Hong Kong police on the frontlines to observe anti-government protests that peaked last year.

Well-known Chinese news site Sina reported on March 14, that the U.S. Dollar Index has frequently reached highs when the financial market saw free falls across the globe. Key non-U.S. currencies suffered most, including the Euro, the British Pound, the Canadian Dollar, and the Australian Dollar.

Shanghai-based Chinese financial news site East Money reported on March 9, that according to statistics released by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technologies, the Chinese smartphone market declined by 54.7 percent, year-over-year.

A survey of 120,000 people conducted last week by the Chengdu-based China Household Finance Survey and Research Centre said that a fifth of Chinese households can survive only 2.3 months without any income, while 40 per cent cannot last past three months.

Goldman Sachs said on March 17, that China’s economy will likely shrink 9% in the first quarter, underscoring how the coronavirus has disrupted normal business activities, while China reported an uptick in new cases of the disease, most of them imported.

The Wall Street Journal on March 19 reported that as China’s government promotes its successes in containing the coronavirus to audiences abroad, a heated backlash against a state-media reporter’s coverage of the pathogen shows that Beijing still faces a tough task selling its narrative at home.

Wang Junzhi, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said (March 18) that Chinese scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines by five approaches, namely inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors.

Wang Junzhi, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said (March 18) that Chinese scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines by five approaches, namely inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors.

The Guardian reported (March 18) that a Chinese official of the S&T Ministry said the Japanese flu drug called ' ' and developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, was 'clearly effective' in treating coronavirus.

China’s Chongqing city announced (March 17) it will require all overseas arrivals to be quarantined in designated locations or residences for 14 days.

The first batch of medical assistance teams started leaving Hubei Province early on March 17 as the epidemic outbreak in the hard-hit province has been subdued. The 3,675 medical staffers belonging to 41 medical teams from across China have assisted 14 temporary hospitals and seven designated hospitals in Wuhan.

An unconfirmed report (March 18) states that cinemas are being reopened in order to keep the economy humming. The film distributors have agreed to waive their fee to distribute some top domestic films. The revenue split is normally 49% to the distributor and 51% to the local cinema. One of the first regions to open the cinemas was reportedly Xinjiang.

Beijing has no plan for reopening schools and kindergartens at present, said (March 17) the Beijing Municipal Education Commission. It said it is still too early to consider any plans for reopening of schools and the timetable will be decided considering the situation of the coronavirus outbreak.

The PLA Daily reported (March 4) that Chinese State Councillor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe held a phone talk with US Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper on March 3, 2020. Gen. Wei Fenghe said that the Chinese people are waging an arduous battle to prevent and control the epidemic.

On March 13, US President Donald Trump signed legislation barring U.S. telecom carriers from using government subsidies to buy networking equipment from Huawei, just days after his administration said it would extend a license allowing Huawei’s U.S.

AFP reported that China has cancelled climbing permits for Mount Everest, as the spring climbing season for the world's highest peak approaches.

China's industry regulator said nearly all of China’s largest companies have reopened and the majority of the country’s labour force has returned to work, though they will have to contend with ongoing subdued demand as virus fears linger at home and bring other economies to a halt. Chinese auto manufacturers are, however, operating at less than 40% of capacity, even with most of their production facilities back online, Chinese shares opened sharply lower on the last day of the trading week after the worst U.S. sell-off in more than 30 years but later pared losses amid signs that markets in Europe and North America were stabilizing.

On March 8, the Hubei Airport Group issued a notice to prepare for resuming operations.

Caixin reported (March 14) that China’s policymakers are trying to shore up the economy as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake global markets. The central bank decided on March 13 to once again cut the amount of money banks must keep in reserve to cover 2 losses, unleashing 550 billion yuan ($78.5 billion) of long-term liquidity into the banking system.

Chinese officials on March 15, drastically tightened restrictions on travellers arriving in Beijing as fears mounted that China could see a renewed uptick in imported cases from travellers bringing the disease back to China.

New York Times reported (March 14) that friends of Chinese property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, also known as 'The Canon', who has been a vociferous critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping and recently wrote a scathing essay calling him a power-hungry “clown”, said he had disappeared from his New York apartment on March 14. His whereabouts, it said, are unknown.

James Patrick Lewis, a former Physics Professor at West Virginia University was reported on March 11 to have pleaded guilty to fraud charges based on his work for a Chinese global talent program.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio on March 10, that Beijing was willing to donate 100,000 high-tech masks to Italy, 20,000 protective suits and 50,000 diagnostic tests.

The Stock Times on February 29 reported that the HNA Group is a rapidly expanding airline and conglomerate in China. After the high-profile mysterious death of its Chairman, Wang Jian, in France in last year, the Hainan Provincial government has been leading its restructuring.

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition reported on March 3 that newly obtained Huawei internal documents showed that the company did supply Iran with banned goods such as computer equipment that the US company HP had made.

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, reported on March 2 that, according to market researcher Counterpoint, the Apple iPhone XR was ranked number one in the 2019 global top ten best seller of the smartphone market.

Foreign Policy's China Brief reported (March 11) that Chinese trade dropped 17.2 percent in January and February, according to official data. The government is hoping for a recovery in May, but that is dependent the rest of the world not being swept up by coronavirus panic and slowed production.

The annual China Business Climate Survey, conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late last year, found that 21% of member companies reported declines in revenue in 2019, compared with 7% in 2017.

A recent assessment by the Rhodium Group maintained that while the pace of new COVID-2019 transmissions is coming down in China, but the pathway to economic recovery remains deeply uncertain.

A State Council Executive Meeting convened by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on March 10 called for more efforts to stabilise foreign investment.

Caixin reported (March 12) that Chinese officials are relaxing restrictions to allow business activities to recover in many places across Hubei province, the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak, amid signs that the domestic spread of the disease is under control. Officials in several other Hubei cities also confirmed that local businesses would be encouraged to resume production starting March 10 if they meet certain criteria.

On March 12, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by phone when he said China is prepared to help the world tackle COVID-19.

i) An unconfirmed Internet posting (Rolia.net on February 21, 2020) stated that Cai Erjin, who is the son of Cai Qi (蔡奇), Beijing Communist Party Secretary is infected with the Coronavirus. It claimed that Cai Erjin’s lover was infected with the coronavirus and later transmitted it to Cai Erjin and his wife. Cai Qi and his wife have been put under 14 days of quarantine.

Daren Tang of Singapore has won a hotly contested election to lead the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defeating China’s Wang Binying. The WIPO General Assembly will now meet on May 7-8 to formally approve the nomination by its coordination committee.

Writing in the official Global Times (March 8) Liu Zhongyi, Secretary General of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

Bloomberg financial services reported (March 6) that in a rare and major step, China National Offshore Oil Corp., China's biggest LNG buyer, invoked force majeure and told some suppliers it won’t take delivery of cargoes because of constraints caused by the coronavirus. French oil and gas giant Total SA have rejected the declaration. Hours later, the Chinese copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo also declared it would refuse to take delivery of raw materials. China’s biggest oil refiner, Sinopec Group, is similarly likely to ask Saudi Arabia to reduce crude supplies next month.

The Global Times reported on March 9 that jet fighter pilot cadets at the PLAAF's Shijiazhuang Flight Academy have received intensified training with the newly commissioned JL-10 Falcon to familiarise cadets with the country's top combat planes like the J-16 and J-20. Weihutang, a columnist on military affairs affiliated with China Central Television, said (March 5) the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy was satisfied with the JL-10 and recognised its performance during the specialised training.

Zhu Heping, a colleague of whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, has become the fourth doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital to die from Covid-19. Separately, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geng Shuang said on March 9, that China will donate US$ 20 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support international cooperation in the fight against Covid-19.

The Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported (March 8) that a new study by Chinese researchers published in the National Science Review, a peer reviewed journal affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences suggests not only that two major strains of the deadly new coronavirus exist but also that China’s intrusive lockdown measures at the center of the outbreak may have concentrated the more infectious strain in the disease-hit city of Wuhan.

Prominent Chinese activist Xu Zhiyong, a former law lecturer and founder of the social campaign New Citizens Movement, has been detained on a state security charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail for criticising President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Wang Zhonglin (王忠林), a close associate of Chinese President Xi Jinping who was appointed Party Secretary of Wuhan in February, has evoked sharp and widespread anger for his remarks during a video conference on March 6, saying it was necessary to “carry out gratitude education among the citizens of the whole city, so that they thank the General Secretary [Xi Jinping], thank the Chinese Communist Party, heed the Party, walk with the Party, and create strong positive energy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) meeting on March 4, to 'study the current epidemic prevention and control work and economic and social stability'.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the PLA Academy of Military Medical Sciences and Tsinghua University Medicine School in Beijing on March 6, to inspect scientific research work related to the coronavirus. Xi Jinping called for treating the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs as a “major and urgent” task and stressed the importance of technology in increasing the cure rate and lowering the mortality rate. Xi Jinping held a meeting after his visit to listen to work briefings by the Ministry of Science and Technology and National Health Commission.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 10, made his first visit to Wuhan, the city that has been hit hardest by the new virus epidemic. State media reported Xi Jinping arrived in the morning in Wuhan, which is currently under lockdown along with several nearby cities. State media showed him inspecting the epidemic prevention and control work and visiting medical workers, community volunteers, patients and others on the 'front lines'.

The Japanese government announced (March 5) that Chinese President Xi Jinping has postponed his state visit to Japan in April. Xi Jinping would have been the first Chinese President received by Japan as a state guest in more than a decade and was due to have a meeting with Emperor Naruhito and hold a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

BBC Chinese reported (February 28) that Hong Kong police had very recently detained Hong Kong Next Digital Group founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, former HK Legislative Council Member and former Democratic Party Chairman Yeung Sum

Well-known new Chinese newspaper The Paper reported on February 26, that the British retail giant Tesco had recently announced the sale of a 20 percent stake in Gain Land to China Resources Group (also known as CRC). Gain Land is a joint venture between Tesco and CRC. This 275 million Pound deal marked the final exit for Tesco in leaving the Chinese market.

Hongkong's Apple Daily reported (February 28) that the President of Mongolia, Khaltmaa Battulga, who visited Beijing and met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on February 27

The official 'The Paper' observed (March. ) that while businesses are re-opening, the economy remains severely depressed.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired a meeting of the Central Leading Small Group (CLSG) for the Work to Counter the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic on March 5, to alleviate the financial hardship of people because of the coronavirus.

The Hongkong-based Apple Daily reported on February 26, that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) opened a bid for suppliers to provide 1.4 million bullet proof vests, including 930,000 general vests and 467,000 vests with enhanced functions. The price may be up to 13.4 billion yuan (US $1.92 billion).

Filipino Senator Panfilo Lacson On March 4, 2020, expressed concerns about the 2000 to 3000 Chinese PLA personnel in the country. Lacson said the PLA members might be here for an 'immersion mission', of which the exact purpose remains unknown.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that on February 28, an unspecified number of People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft flew over the sea southwest of Taiwan.

The Epoch Times reported (March 5) that a large number of Chinese military officers have been forcibly isolated since the end of January to ensure that they won’t be infected with the novel coronavirus. It quoted a source who resides in an apartment complex reserved for ranking and retired senior PLA Air Force officers in the Haidian District of Beijing, who said family members can only visit them twice a week to deliver food and clothes.

Caixin reported (March 6) that according to the count of Johns Hopkins University in the US, there are now 101,598 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 3,460 deaths around the world as of March 6 morning.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, one of the most senior government officials to visit the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, toured a residential community in Wuhan’s Qingshan district on March 5 when, according to state media, Sun Chunlan inspected the operations of the neighbourhood committee to supply residents each day with necessities like medicine, food and fresh vegetables.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on March 2, said that the US was conducting “political oppression” on Chinese media in the US, and the move would seriously harm ties between the two countries.

The US financial news service Bloomberg published (March 2) a report that there had been little progress on the BRI or the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

An employee of the State-owned CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute (CNPC ETRI) recently said they were exploring the possibility of a Beijing-led global health organization that would rival the WHO.

Beijing Daily reported (February 21) that the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) had released data showing that, in the first half of February, Chinese passenger car sales saw a landslide decline.

i) China's financial news magazine Caixin reported (March 4) that confirmed cases of coronavirus in China had climbed to 80,303 as of March 3, with the death toll reaching 2,947.

Global Times (February 20) quoted Chinese officials as saying China is sending a team of locust extermination experts to Pakistan this week to help the country end the ongoing locust outbreak there. It said China possesses world-leading technologies in locust control, and can provide pesticide and machines that are much needed in Pakistan.

Global Times on February 19, observed that Russia's new precautionary move amid the coronavirus epidemic starting from February 18, 'is a bit of an overreaction' and it is regrettable, 'but due to Russia's basic medical conditions and shortage of medical resources, it is also understandable for Moscow to make the hard decision for the health of its own people'.

China’s state-run media Global Times published an article (February 10) -- which was rrepeated by Wenxuecity the same day -- asking why the United States is very eager to send its experts to China (to help control the epidemic of Wuhan pneumonia.) The article listed three possible reasons that are being discussed:

Captioned 'The U.S. Governors Report', 'D&C Think', a think tank based in Beijing, in collaboration with Tsinghua University released a Report on June 22, 2019, which stated that while a hardline attitude toward China now prevails in Washington, the American federal system means that state-level governments may not be in lockstep.

The Liberty Times of Taiwan on February 19 reported that personnel at the Sanya Naval Base, Erya PLA Navy Base and the Northeast shipyard have been diagnosed and accepted for isolation.

CHINA-CORONAVIRUS: CHINA'S NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION DISCLOSES INFECTION AND FATALITIES AMONG MEDICAL PERSONNEL
i) Caixin reported that by February 21, China's patient count had climbed to 75,567 and the death toll had reached 2,239. Outside China, 1,153 confirmed cases and eight deaths were reported in 26 countries.

CHINA-HEALTH EMERGENCY: CORONAVIRUS IMPACTS BUSINESSES; CENTRAL GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS TO EASE RESTRICTIONS
The Foreign Policy China Brief (February 19) says the central government in Beijing is pushing for reopening businesses, but there is conflict emerging at the local level.

Hu Yabo, Deputy Mayor of Wuhan at a press briefing on epidemic prevention and control on February 21 said that another 19 makeshift hospitals to receive more infected patients are to built in Wuhan. Upon completion, all the makeshift hospitals in Wuhan are expected to offer 30,000 beds by February 25.

Epoch Times reported (February 19) that Ying Yong, the newly appointed Hubei Province Party Secretary, directed the Hubei Provincial Department of Publicity and CCP to organise 1,600 people to monitor, delete posts, and find people, and used so-called positive publicity to hedge negative public opinion.

On February 21, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired another meeting of the Central Leading Small Group (CLSG) for the Work to Counter the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic.

On February 18, 2020, the US State Department designated five Chinese state-run media organizations as foreign missions.These are the: Xinhua News Agency; China Global Television Network which falls under China Central Television, CCTV; China Radio International; China Daily Distribution Corporation; and Hai Tian Development USA, which is the distributor for the People’s Daily here in the United States.

Indian Custom officials on February 3, 2020, intercepted the ship named Da Cui Yun going to Karachi port in Kandla port Gujarat. The ship sailed from the Jiangyin port on the Yangtze river in China’s Jiangsu province to Qasim port in Karachi.

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on February 17, downgraded its economic growth forecast to between -0.5% and 1.5% — indicating a possible recession — reflecting a weakened outlook after the outbreak of the coronavirus.

China’s central bank has increased the punishment for financial institutions that fail to adequately guard against money laundering, imposing fines of more than 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) for the first time.

The shortage of medical supplies has created tension between local governments as everyone works on control and prevention of the novel coronavirus. Several places have been reported for confiscating other locality’s medical supplies.

The Chinese magazine Caixin reported that confirmed cases of the coronavirus had increased by February 18 to 70,643 with the official death toll at 1772.

A broad survey of American companies in China released on February 18, showed that more than three-quarters also have insufficient staff to run a full production line. Global electronics giant Foxconn, which employs more than 400,000 on the Chinese mainland, is struggling to fill its factory floors after officially resuming operations February 17.

The Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Fan Yifei disclosed on February 15 that the PBoC was sanitizing bank notes as well as blocking their movement between cities in regions most affected by the outbreak to limit the transmission of the virus.

The Chinese magazine Caixin quoting official reports released on February 18 night revealed that confirmed cases of coronavirus in China had climbed to 72,531 with the official death toll reaching 1,871. Outside China, 896 confirmed cases and three deaths were reported in 25 countries. Liu Zhiming, 51, the head of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died of the virus at 10:54 a.m. on February 18 according to a statement released by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.

The Party's official mouthpiece People's Daily between February 8 and 14 each day published a commentary on the coronavirus drawing mainly on Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks made on February 3 and 10.

Xinhua reported (February 13) that according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data released for January, Chinese national automobile manufacturing volume declined 33.5 percent, month-over-month, and 24.6 percent, year-over-year. The sales volume declined 27 percent, month-over-month and 18 percent, year-over-year. Passenger car sales declined 27.1 percent month-over-month and 20.2 percent, year-over-year.

The Global Times on February 18, reported that a fleet of PLA Navy warships recently conducted an air defense exercise in the far seas of the Pacific Ocean.

The South China Morning Post reported (February 18) that He Weifang, Professor of law at Peking University, wrote a 2-page handwritten article which he shared with friends on WeChat on February 17, 2020, calling for press freedoms. He Weifang said “I hope the heavy price [of the outbreak] will make Chinese authorities come to realise that without press freedom, people will live in distress and the government in mendacity.

Chinese President and CCP CC General Secretary Xi Jinping made a public appearance in Beijing on February 10, and called for “resolutely winning the people’s war, overall battle, and defensive battle for epidemic prevention and control.

Some of China’s major internet companies, including Tencent, ByteDance, Baidu and Didi, have further pushed back the date for their employees to return to their offices to February 17 or 24, though work has resumed remotely.

i) By February 13, China's Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) patient cases had reached 44,763 and the death toll to 1,115. A total of 24 other countries have confirmed a combined more than 398 cases of infections.

A Judge of China's Supreme People's Procratorate, Duan Zhanjiang on February 13, unprecedentedly posted a lengthy article on his public social media account criticising the shortcomings in governance, not allowing civil society to have a larger role, suppression of free speech, prediction of a far serious fallout for Chinese economy etc. He referred also Tsinghua University Professor Xu Zhangrun's recent lengthy article.

Xia Baolong, an ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping, was appointed Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council on February 13, replacing Zhang Xiaoming. Zhang Xiaoming has become the most senior Beijing-appointed official to lose his job in the wake of months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Xia Baolong was Xi Jinping’s deputy when he was the Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province from 2003 to 2007.

Following the Politburo Standing Committee meeting on February 12, the Party announced the dismissal of two top officials in Hubei:

Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first public appearance for nearly a week February 10, as he touried Beijing wearing a mask.

CHINA-ECONOMY: EFFORTS TO 'RATIONALISE' SHUTDOWN AND ISOLATION OF CITIES, FACTORIES ETC AND ESTIMATES OF GROWTH
Chinese President Xi Jinping told local officials during a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee on February 3, that some of the actions taken to contain the virus are harming the economy. He urged them to refrain from “more restrictive measures”, the two people said.

China's official 'The Paper' reported there was a telephone conversation beteen US Prresident Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 7, 2020. No further details are available yet.

Well-known Chinese news site Sina reported on January 27, that China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security had just released new regulations to relax certain labor laws for the period when the nation is combating the coronavirus.

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported (January 31) that, with the spread of the coronavirus across China, several high profile international companies have suspended their Chinese operations.

A notice issued on February 5, by the Cyberspace Administration of China, provides a glimpse not just of the actions being taken now by the authorities to control information about the coronavirus epidemic, but also of the platforms and activities that have threatened the Party’s dominance of information in recent days.

Caixin reported on February 6, that the patient count for the coronavirus rose to 24,421, and the death toll reached 493. however, Ten Cent posted far higher numbers and reported cases with . deaths. The posts were quickly taken down but not before some people had taken photographs.

South China Morning Post reported (February 6) that prominent Chinese intellectual Xu Zhiyong published an article on social media on February 3, in which he urged Xi Jinping to step down for his “inability to handle major crises”.

Well known Chinese Professor of Beijing's Tsinghua University, Xu Zhangrun, on February 5, posted a scathing criticism of Xi Jinping and the Chinese authorities in a 6246-character article captioned 'Angry People No Longer Fear', that has gone viral on China's social media.

CHINA-GERMANY: FREE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN CRITICISED BY GERMAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR ACCEPTING FUNDS WITH STRINGS ATTACHED
The Free University of Berlin (FU) has been criticised by German parliamentarians on the basis of a report by the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel for accepting terms stipulated by Hanban which runs the Confucius Institutes and which critics fear give the Chinese government leverage to prevent teaching about subjects such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and Tibet. On January 20, a group of FU alumni signed a joint letter expressing grave concerns about the university’s academic independence. Berlin’s Senate has said it will investigate the contract, which is worth almost €500,000 (£420,000) over five years, and is designed to train up to 20 Chinese teachers a year.

Taiwan Vice President-elect Lai Ching-te is scheduled to attend the National Prayer Meeting Breakfast in Washington DC on February 5-6, 2020. It will be the first time in decades for such a high level visit to the U.S. by a Taiwan official. He will be accompanied by, Bikhim Hsiao, a close confidant of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Pakistani side firmly supports China's efforts to combat the epidemic and expresses gratitude to China for providing help to Pakistani citizens in China.

The Politburo Standing Committee under the chairmanship of Chinese President Xi Jinping held a closed-door meeting on January 27, on the epidemic of new coronary methamphetamine in Wuhan and measures to combat it. Xi Jinping warned that those failing to perform their duties will be severely punished.

The corona virus continues to spread rapidly across China with 17,332 confirmed, another 21,558 suspected cases and 361 deaths in China by the 4th February. In a bid to tackle the epidemic, Chinese authorities have fast-tracked clinical trials by the pharmaceutical drug company Gilead.

Aircraft Spots, an aircraft monitoring website, disclosed on January 31 that a U.S. military B-52H bomber flew into the Taipei Flight Information District and entered mainland China and the East China Sea region of Taiwan. The bomber flew back to the U.S. Guam Anderson Air Force Base .

A number of U.S. Senators, including Cory Gardner, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific group of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee,Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, etc signed a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) Secretary-General Tan Desai, urging WHO to invite Taiwan to become an observer, and asking WHO to provide Taiwan with the information and assistance needed to respond to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic.

The U.S. Treasury Departmen on January 31, deleted the COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. from its sanctions list, but continues to blacklist the second unit - COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co Ltd.of COSCO.

CHINA-US: US SECRETARY OF STATE POMPEO IN DISCUSSIONS WITH BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DOMINIC RAAB POINTS TO CCP AS THREAT
US Secretary of State Pompeo, during discussions on the special relationship between the US and UK, stated that 'the Chinese Communist Party presents the central threat of our times. It is an enormous economy to which the American economy is deeply tied. There is huge opportunity for us to do really great, creative, innovative business work between our two countries. But the Chinese Communist Party, under President Xi, has made clear that they have an agenda that is not always consistent with the very values that Dominic and I have been speaking about this morning'.

On January 30, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has killed more than 100 people and sickened thousands there, will help bring jobs back to the U.S. He said “The fact is, it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain. On top of all the other things, because you had SARS, you had the African Swine virus there, now you have this.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported (January 27) that, based on data from 2015 to 2017, China is the world’s second-biggest arms producer, behind the United States and ahead of Russia. It added that four Chinese companies had combined estimated arms sales of $54.1 billion for 2017, which would put them among the top 20 arms producers in the world. It said “Three of the companies would be ranked in the top 10”. Total U.S. arms sales in 2017 were $226.6 billion, and in Russia, $37.7 billion, according to the think tank’s Top 100 list for that year. Aircraft and avionics group Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) would rank as the sixth-largest arms producer, with estimated 2017 sales of $20.1 billion.

Xi Jinping has not figured on the front pages of the People's Daily since the 29th January and neither has he been seen on the state-owned CCTV telecasts.

The WHO declared a global health emergency on January 31, while the US promptly issued a travel advisory advising against unnecessary travel to China and suspended entry of foreign nationals returning from the center of the outbreak in China to be quarantined for two weeks.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council , was quoted by PLA Daily on January 16, as saying that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan secessionist forces have provoked a growing sentiment in the Chinese mainland of reunifying with the island of Taiwan by military force, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday.

Dr. Charles M. Lieber, the chair of Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, was charged on January 28, with making false statements about money he had received from a Chinese government-run program ( the Ten Thousand Talents Programme), as part of a broad-ranging F.B.I. effort to root out theft of biomedical research from American laboratories.

The US House of Representatives on January 28, 2020, voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill bolstering Washington’s support for human rights and environmental protection in Tibet. The Bill introduced and voted upon as a stand-alone piece of legislation, passed 392 to 22 and serves as an amendment to the Tibet Policy Act of 2002.

The State Council General Office has extended the holidays for schools and universities till February 2, because of the Coronavirus.

The U.S. State Department on January 22, appointed Mark Lambert as a new special envoy with a mandate to stall China’s growing influence at the United Nations and other international organizations. His mandate includes countering the BRI.

Fang Xiaozhi, a researcher at the BRI Institute of Strategy and International Security, Fudan University, wrote in the PLA Daily (January 21) that India 'has adopted the most conservative plan in all its anti- missile tests -- only intercepting a target whose launching spot, flying velocity and direction, altitude or ballistic parameters are all known and there is no actively maneuvering and changing trajectory. This testing approach of “hitting a fixed target” doesn’t comply with real combat situation, nor can it truly test the anti-missile system’s stability and reliability, so the testing results are hardly reliable. Besides, India heavily relies on developed countries for ballistic missile defense technology, and many parts of its homemade missile defense system use foreign technologies, which has seriously restricted the system’s combat capability.' He concluded that 'New Delhi has a long way to go before it can establish a truly effective ballistic missile defense system and fully exert its real combat force.'

An FATF meeting was held in Beijing this week. Indication is that Pakistan could be getting off the graylist. Pakistan's News International reports that the FATF was “showed satisfaction over

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to travel to Pakistan around May or June this year. The NDRC has asked Pakistan to convene the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee meeting under

The Global Times reported (January 20) that China had indigenously developed the world's first large, three-engine utility drone which recently made its first flight and can be used in transport and attack missions.

PLARF Major General Xue Jinfeng wrote in the PLA Daily (January 22) about the military training and sharpening of the battlefield in the background of Xi Jinping’s directive at the beginning of the year to train more and in harsh conditions.

China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) released a new Outline to strengthen the military at the primary level. The Outline, approved by Chinese President Xi Jinping, will take effect from February 1.

China's Administration of Food and Commodity Reserves announced (January 25, 2020) on its web site that the State Secrets bureau had awarded the Grain Reserve Bureau for its "secrecy work" in January 2019. The award given in January 2019 is a recognition of the bureau's work in maintaining secrecy that is given out only once every five years. The reserves administration is responsible for overseeing the procurement, storage and distribution of government grain and cotton reserves.

Reuters reported (January 22) that about two-thirds of China’s provinces, regions and municipalities have cut their 2020 growth targets from last year, despite easing trade tensions with the United States.

By midnight of January 25, Hubei Province had reported nearly 700 cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus infection; 31 patients have been discharged from the hospital; and 24 have died. At present, 494 patients are still being treated in the hospital.

The CCP CC Politburo Standing Committee met on January 25, on the prevention and control of the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. CCP CC General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired the meeting. The meeting decided to set up a CCP Central Committee Leading Group to oversee the work.

A 20-year-old University of Minnesota student, Luo Daiqing, was arrested in in July 2019 in Wuhan, China and sentenced to six months in prison for tweets he posted while in the United States, according to an official Chinese court document dated November 5, 2019. Some of the tweets contained images deemed to be unflattering portrayals of a "national leader."

China News reported (January 17) that, according to newly released data of the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, Mainland China’s total population exceeded 1.4 billion in 2019.

Mao Weiming (毛伟明) was appointed Chairman of State Grid Corporation of China and Secretary of its Party group. Born in May 1961, Mao Weiming is Alternate Member of the 19th CCP CC.

Reuters reported quoting Taiwan's Ministry of Defence that People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force aircraft, including H-6 bombers and KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft, passed through the narrow Bashi Channel to the south of Taiwan on a long-range exercise on January 23.

On January 15, 2020, China’s Ministry of Education released the “Opinion on the Pilot Work of Basic Subject Enrollment Reform in Some Universities,”

The Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission (CMC) convened in Beijing to discuss “resolutely implementing the requirement of comprehensively governing the Party strictly” and “providing a strong guarantee for advancing the cause of a strong army in the new era.”

The 4th Plenary session of the 19th CCP CC was held in Beijing from January 13 - 15, 2020 and presided over by CCP CC General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

By 10.00pm on the 23rd January evening, China had confirmed 639 cases of coronavirus while the official death toll rose to 18. All recorded deaths were in Hubei, where there were 444 confirmed cases.

The Xinhua News Agency reported on January 16, that Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Political Bureau to review the "Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central People's Congress Listening to and Studying the Work of the National People's Congress Standing Committee,

China's central People's Bank of China (PBoC) in an official statement on January 16, on the section of the phase one trade deal covering financial services stated, inter alia, that “[We want to] broaden market access for financial services…which is consistent with many opening measures introduced in China in the past two years.”

A firm of financial analysts assessed the US-China Trade Deal concluded on January 15 as follows: We are still in a trade war. Tariffs remain levied on hundreds of billions of USD worth of goods.

The South China Morning Post on December 14, scooped the terms of the long-awaited phase one trade deal between the US and China. According to several US sources, China will agree to purchase an additional USD 200 billion of American goods per year, including: USD 75 billion of manufactured goods; USD 50 billion worth of energy; USD 40 billion of agricultural goods; and USD 35-40 billion worth of services.

Global Times reported (January 16) that starting 2020 onwards China will increase the frequency of its military recruitment and retirement to twice a year, to maintain a smooth flow of troops, the military's high vigilance and to better train new recruits.

State-owned China Central Television (CCTV) disclosed (January 15) that the PLA Rocket Force conducted a nuclear attack survival exercise where troops in an underground missile facility had to endure extreme conditions and make sure they could still launch nuclear counterattacks.

China and Pakistan are holding their first nine-day (January 6-14) naval exercises featuring anti-submarine and submarine rescue training in the Arabian Sea titled “Sea Guardians 2020”. Chinese media reports state that PLA Southern Theater Command Navy troops are participating in the drills.

India's Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh travelled to China on a 5-day official (January 7-12) visit to China when he met the Commander of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) ground forces, General Han Weiguo.

The state-affiliated social media account Taoran Notes published (January 13) an op-ed commenting on the expected signing of phase one of the US-China Trade Deal by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on January 15.

A 6-member American delegation including Matthew Pottinger, the Deputy National Security Advisor, Robert Blair, Special Representative on International Telecommunications Policy, and Dr Christopher Ford, Assistant Secretary of State met senior British ministers on January 13, with discussions focusing on 5G.

China has 166 million seniors aged 65 and above, and 25% of the population is expected to be over 60 by 2030.

China's Vice Minister of Natural Resources Yao Huajun, said at a press briefing in Beijing on January 9 that effective May 1, all companies registered in China with net assets of 300 million yuan ($43 million), no matter whether domestically or foreign funded, will be allowed to apply for licenses to conduct oil and gas exploration and production.

China's official news agency Xinhua on January 11 reported DPP leader Tsai Ing-wen's victory in Taiwan's national elections, results of which came in on January 11 night, where Taiwan President secured an unprecedented win of nearly a million votes over her next rival.

CHINA-TAIWAN: FUDAN UNIVERSITY'S FORECAST POSTED ON OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF TSAI ING-WEN'S ELECTION VICTORY IN TAIWAN TAKEN DOWN
A study by China's Fudan University forecasting a decisive win for President Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan’s election on Saturday was been deleted from its website, hours after it was released.

China’s 79th army started its wartime political drills with newer equipment and weapons from January 1. PLA Daily said the leaders realised that the existing wartime political work equipment was of a single and relatively old type incapable of matching the pace of information warfare and they took the initiative to upgrade some existing equipment and innovate tactics.

China Central Television (CCTV) reported (January 12) that a commissioning ceremony for the domestically developed Type-055 destroyer Nanchang, was held on January 12, at Qingdao naval port, Shandong Province.

Rising financial star Zhang Xin has been appointed a new vice governor of Guangdong province. Zhang Xin has a PhD in Economics from Colombia Business School; in 1997-2001, Zhang Xin worked as a senior economist at the World Bank; in 2001, he returned to China to work at the China Securities Regulatory Commission; in 2004, he was promoted to People’s Bank of China (PBoC) where he worked until 2017; for the past three years, he was Vice Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

China Defence News Network publicised (January 1, 2020) that of national defense and the army will have been basically realised by 2020 and major progress will be made in informationization.

China's official Global Times reacted swiftly to the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad and said (January 5) that it has raised concerns from Chinese netizens of drones being an increasingly dangerous instrument of war that could one day threaten China.

The official Global Times (January 6) reported that the PLA Tibet Military Command has begun major military exercises in the New Year in the high-altitude Tibet region bordering India.

South China Morning Post reported (December 25) that about 30 carrier-based fighter jet pilots were present on December 24 when Chinese President Xi Jinping commissioned the Shandong in Sanya, Hainan province, according to footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV.

The Global Times (January 1, 2020) reported that the latest upgraded version of the JF-17 Thunderbird co-produced by China and Pakistan completed its maiden flight last week.

The South China Morning Post quoted (December 25, 2019) that China’s state-owned CCTV as releasing a video on Christmas Eve of Hong Kong’s PLA garrison conducting live-fire sea drills in the South China Sea.

On January 4, the Chinese government announced that Luo Huining, born in October 1954, will be taking over as head of the Liaison Office in Hong Kong replacing Wang Zhimin.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to visit Washington, US from January 13-16, 2020. Separately, US President Trump tweeted on December 31, that the US-China trade deal would be signed in Washington on January 15 by “high level representatives of China”.

The Pakistan Navy (PN) and PLAN Bilateral Exercise, code-named Sea Guardians-2020, kicked off at the Pakistan Navy Dock Yard in Karachi, Pakistan on January 6 morning.

The Czech Republic’s richest man Petr Kellner, owner of a domestic loans company 'Home Credit' is reported to be at the centre of a suspected foreign influence campaign by the Chinese government after one of his businesses financed an attempt to boost China’s image in the central European country.

Taiwan will hold its national elections on January 11, 2020 at a time when public sentiment is anti-China resulting in a boost to incumbent Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's chances of victory.

Reuters reported (January 6, 2020) that the U.S. government imposed new restrictions on exports of American-made Artificial Intelligence software.

Nikkei asia reported (January 4, 2020) that China's authoritative, official news agency Xinhua launched its Urdu service in Pakistan to promote cooperation with local media, ostensibly to counter criticism against the major projects under the BRI in the country, known as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

A China-built J-7P fighter jet in the Pakistan Air Force crashed in Mianwali on January 7, 2020 killing a Squadron Leader and Flying Officer.

On January 7, 2020, Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, built 4 new generation utra-large 84000 cubic meters of (ultra-large liquefied petroleum gas ship) VLGC for Singapore-based LPG trader PETREDEC HOLDINGS (EASTERN) PTE. The series ship is officially named.

Xinhua (January 2, 2020) published a commentary on the visa issues Chinese students face in the U.S. The commentary disclosed statistics showing that the U.S. issued a total of 78,100 student visas in fiscal year 2018.

The South China Morning Post quoted Chinese military sources (January 4, 2020) as saying that China has accelerated development of its most advanced submarine-launched nuclear missile, a weapon capable of striking the US mainland.

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported (December 31) that China saw its lowest level of overseas acquisitions in 2019, with a total value of US$41 billion.

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said that a directive issued on December 31, 2019 by the Lhasa Chengguan Haicheng Elementary School contained 7-point guidelines on winter break school tasks and projects, healthcare and forbidden behaviour, including religious activities.

People's Daily on December 22 quoted China’s official news agency Xinhua to report that the completion ceremony for Kenya’s “10,000 Villages Connected” project was held at the Kinyanjui Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 20, 2019. The “10,000 Villages Connected” project is an African aid project that China launched in 2019. The plan was to install satellite receiving antennas, set-top boxes, digital televisions, projection televisions, solar systems, and other facilities in 800 villages in 47 counties in Kenya.

A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter purchased by Taiwan from the United States in 2010 and carrying 13 people crashed in a mountainous region in the northern part of the island on January 2 morning.

On the evening of December 31, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a congratulatory message for the New Year 2020, where he referred to many topics such as poverty alleviation, the situation in Hong Kong, and the Sino-US trade war.

The Epoch Times reported (December 14, 2019) that "a person" has been instrumental in helping some top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and their families move their money out of China. It said he remains low-key, rarely interacting with Chinese and hiding behind those transactions, so very few people know about him.

Xinhua (November 26) and Radio France Internationale (Dcember 23) reported that the Ethnic Group and Religion Committee of the Chinese National People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) recently had a discussion forum on religion.

Bloomberg reported (December 31) that China’s bureaucracy is undergoing a rare large-scale regional reshuffle with new appointments and job swaps offering hints of potential future leaders being groomed by Beijing. It said at least 32 new mayoral-level officials have been appointed since December 21, with 29 of them being relocated to a new province for the first time. The other three are being moved for just the second time.

Sina.com on December 8 published economic data posted on the Internet by Tuozhanlaogou (拓展老狗, WeChat account name) which has been widely disseminated across the internet in China. Using data and charts, the author explained that China’s economy is at its most difficult time.

China's state-owned CCTV disclosed on December 31 that a group of medical experts had arrived in the city of Wuhan on December 31 morning to investigate a suspected outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The official newspaper Global Times (December 30) reported that Huawei founder and ex-PLA Engineer Ren Zhengfei and his daughter Meng Wanzhou, who is also Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, stepped down from their positions on the Board of Huawei. Meng Wanzhou has quit her position as a member of the board of directors of Hangzhou Huawei Enterprises Communications Technologies Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shenzhen-based Huawei Tech Investment Co, data from corporate information search platform Tianyancha showed.

Global Times claimed (December 31) that Huawei's rotating chairman Xu Zhijun had said the overall 2019 revenue of Huawei Technologies is expected to reach 850 billion yuan (US$ 121.72 billion), surging by 18 percent year-on-year, but lower than its earlier projection amid the US government's crackdown on China's largest smartphone and telecom manufacturer.

CHINA-JAPAN: JAPAN PRESSURES EL SALVADOR AGAINST ALLOWING CHINESE COMPANY TO GET OPERATING RIGHTS AT PORT
Japan Times reported (December 31) that the Japanese government prevented a Chinese corporation from getting operating rights at a port in El Salvador to be built with a concessional loan from Tokyo. Citing diplomatic sources it said Japan warned of withdrawing its plan to provide ¥11.2 billion (US$ 102 million) in official development assistance after Washington took issue with the Chinese company’s interest in the project and pressured the El Salvadoran government into suspending a tender. Japanese Prime Minister Abe cautioned El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele over China’s intentions when he visited Tokyo last month, citing U.S. concerns about Beijing’s potential attempt to use ports in Latin America for military purposes.

Hongkong's South China Morning Post reported (December 15) that Chinese President Xi Jinping had the previous week promoted more than 170 senior military officers as part of an ongoing reform of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The South China Morning Post also reported (December 15) that large scale promotions have taken place in China's People's Armed Police Force (PAPF).

The first annual conference for optimising the PLA Military training bases and Simulated Blue Forces (mock enemy armies) was held in Sanya, Hainan Province. Over one hundred officers-in-charge and experts related to military training gathered in a Naval Joint Training Base to talk about the macro-design on the building of Chinese military training bases.

Discussing that expressways could be used as back-up runways for China's latest four and half generation J-20 'stealth' fighter, China's military media (December 9) cited precedents and asserted that more than 10 such special runways have been built nationwide since the Ninth Five Year Plan. China's total highway mileage has exceeded 4 million kilometers, of which more than 150,000 kilometers are expressways. In the event of an attack on a military airfield making it impossible to operate, China's 100, 000 kilometers of highways would be another runway for fighter jets to take off.

The PLA Daily said (December 18) that induction of the first China-made aircraft carrier Shandong (Hull 17) to the PLA Navy on December 17, 2019, marked 5 breakthroughs. It listed these as, briefly: (i) it was independently designed by China, which realizes the historic leap from renovation to self-development of aircraft carriers and is a major milestone in China's warship construction history.

Senior Bangladeshi Navy officials received two second generation Chinese Type-053H3 frigates, Jiaxing (Hull 521) and Lianyungang (Hull 522), in Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard on December 18.

The People's Daily front-paged (December 20) a report that Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Trump spoke on the telephone on December 20 after the first phase trade agreement negotiations concluded.

Bloomberg reported (December 20) that Hong Kong’s police arrested four people for suspected money laundering linked to ongoing pro- democracy protests and and froze money from a fund that’s raised millions to help support the demonstrations.

A Bloomberg (December 20) report said after examination of hundreds of Hong Kong Land Registry documents, it found that China's Liaison Office owns properties in more than 20 buildings across the city, with an estimated value of more than $1.5 billion. It described the figure as conservative.

Asia Nikkei reported on December 20 that Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec accused China of illegally copying a broad range of Russian weaponry and other military hardware.

Sweden’s former Ambassador to China was on December 9, formally indicted with arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power.

Reuters reported (December 7) that U.S. President Donald Trump on December 6 called for the World Bank to stop loaning money to China.

Chinese investors invested U.S.$ 1.4 billion into U.S. commercial real estate in the 12 months through September, a 76% plunge from a year earlier, according to a report from Real Capital Analytics.

The Hongkong Free Press reported (December 5) that the capital of the Czech Republic will sign a sister city agreement with Taipei in January 2020 after previously breaking off its relationship with Beijing, its Mayor Zdenek Hrib said.

An article in the South China Morning Post by Wang Xiangwei, a former Editor-in-Chief and currently Beijing-based Adviser to the newspaper, reported that latest data from Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior revealed that approx. 4,352 Hongkongers received residency approvals in the first 10 months of 2019, up 20.6 per cent from the same period last year.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham) said that the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Robert Grieves, and the President, Tara Joseph, were denied entry to Macau.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government at 9.15 pm on December 6 "expressed deep regret over the spreading of untrue claims overseas in recent days by several members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and political figures who urged foreign governments or legislatures to interfere with the affairs of the HKSAR".

The South China Morning Post reported (December 8) that Hongkong police conducted city-wide raids in the early hours of the morning and seized weapons including a new Glock semi-automatic pistol ahead of a planned anti-government march that day. 11 persons between the ages of 16 and 63 were arrested.

A 3-year-old state-backed memory-chip maker signed two deals with a Canadian patent-licensing company that will give China access to the technology it needs to produce the widely used chips domestically.

The Belgian media reported that the Belgian Trade Delegation, which visited Beijing and Shanghai from November 17 to 22, experienced severe cyberattacks that were as high as 135 times per hour, while visiting Beijing.