International

China launched a test satellite into planned orbit, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China.China on Wednesday used a Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket to launch a test satellite into planned orbit, where it will test satellite internet technologies.The launch is the second mission of the Smart Dragon-3 carrier rocket series. On Tuesday, China launched two satellites. One of the satellites will focus on discovering the meteorological environment, while the other will provide satellite application services with a comprehensive visualization of large areas in real-time. (QNA)

China stressed that there is no room for separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence."A spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Chen Binhua said that the mainland is willing to create broad space for peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait, but will definitely not leave any room for separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence."Chen said the mainland would not tolerate or show leniency to the "Taiwan independence" forces if they dare to take risks and instigate incidents promoting "Taiwan independence." He said that his country shall employ means and necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to China's News Agency (Xinhua).Located in East Asia off the coast of China, the island of Taiwan is one of Beijing's most sensitive issues, as it considers the island an inalienable part of its territory and rejects any attempts of separatism aimed at the island's independence from the Beijing authorities.

China's production of coal, crude oil and natural gas maintained steady expansion in the first 10 months of the year, official data showed.Miners in the country churned out 390 million tonnes of coal in October, up 3.8 percent year on year. Coal output during the first 10 months of the year reached 3.83 billion tonnes, 3.1 percent higher than the same period last year, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).During the January-October period, the country imported a total of 380 million tonnes of coal, up 66.8 percent from a year earlier, according to China's News Agency (Xinhua).The country's crude oil output climbed 1.7 percent year on year during the period to 174.05 million tonnes while its crude oil imports gained 14.4 percent to 473.22 million tonnes.Production of natural gas rose 6.1 percent in the first 10 months of the year to 189.6 billion cubic meters, while natural gas imports expanded 8.8 percent to 96.51 million cubic meters, according to the NBS data. (QNA)

China on Thursday sent a new-generation ocean color monitoring satellite into space to help improve understanding of marine waters.The satellite was launched by a Long March 2C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, and it later successfully entered the planned orbit.The launch was the 497th flight mission to use the Long March carrier rocket series. (QNA)

The Chinese company Huawei has officially announced the launch of its new smartphone, Nova 11 SE, featuring a distinctive design and acceptable specifications that place the phone in the mid-range category.The phone comes with a 6.67-inch OLED display, with a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz and a resolution of Full HD+. The screen also supports the P3 color gamut.Huawei's new phone sports a triple rear camera setup. A primary 108-megapixel and F/1.9 aperture camera, a secondary 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a third 2-megapixel camera for close-up shots, and on the front, there is a 32-megapixel selfie camera with an F/2.45 aperture.The Nova 11 SE is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, with 8 GB of RAM and two storage options of 256 GB and 512 GB. The phone also houses a 4500 mAh battery, accompanied by a 66W charger capable of rapidly charging the device. (QNA)

Chinese scientists, inspired by marine worms, have developed a new low-carbon building material, offering potential for energy saving and emission reduction in the building sector.The researchers, from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (TIPC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published their research recently in the journal Matter, according to China's News Agency (Xinhua)."The traditional cement-based building materials consume a lot of energy in the production process and at the same time generate a lot of carbon emissions, so the development of new low-carbon building materials is of great significance," the corresponding author of the study and a researcher at TIPC Wang Shutao said.The researchers observed that a particular type of marine worm called the sandcastle worm has a unique approach to nest-building. They can bind sand grains or shell pieces together using an intrinsic secreted adhesive, creating homes called colonial sandcastles. The researchers developed a new building material, making use of a nature-based adhesive inspired by that produced by the worms. The new material can be produced at low temperatures and atmospheric pressures.According to the study, the building material is versatile, being applicable to various grains, such as desert sands, sea sands, concrete slag, coal cinders and mineral residues. It also possesses good mechanical performance, unique recyclability, an anti-weathering property and scalability. (QNA)

Much like how Huawei developed its own HarmonyOS as an Android substitute, Xiaomi is about to pull a similar move to bolster its ecosystem especially with its electric car due to arrive in the first of half next year. Dubbed "HyperOS," this MIUI replacement will apparently be a blend of Android and Xiaomi's very own "Vela" system, hence a "completely rewritten underlying architecture" that would supposedly allow users, vehicles and smart home of over 200 product categories to connect with one another seamlessly. It's safe to assume that Xiaomi's electric car will also feature HyperOS, thus going head to head with Huawei's Aito line of EVs.CEO Lei Jun said development on HyperOS dates back to 2017, with a mission to build "a unified, integrated system framework that supports the entire ecosystem of devices and applications." The exec added that this new platform will debut on the upcoming Xiaomi 14 series smartphones, which have apparently entered production, though he stopped short of sharing a launch date (rumors say end of this month). (QNA)

China on Thursday started the construction of a 40-meter-aperture radio telescope in the Changbai Mountain area, in the northeastern province of Jilin, to support future lunar and deep-space probe missions.Developed by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the optical instrument is designed to be a large, fully movable, high-precision multipurpose radio telescope.Upon completion, the new telescope will form a network with five others nationwide and one data processing center in Shanghai, increasing the country's observation capacity and better serving its deep-space explorations.The science facility will also enhance China's radio astronomy research and promote more innovative achievements in various cutting-edge fields, including supermassive black holes and galactic dynamics.China announced earlier this year that it will continue its lunar research with several planned missions, including one task to bring 2 kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon back to Earth.According to the observatory, the construction of the new telescope and its station will be completed by the end of 2024. (QNA)

China's lottery ticket sales in August soared to their highest for any month so far this year, amid public concern about the economy following months of mostly gloomy data including youth unemployment.Nationwide lottery ticket sales jumped 53.6% in August from a year earlier to 52.96 billion yuan ($7.25 billion), the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing data from the finance ministry.From January to August, a total of 375.76 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, up 51.6% from a year earlier, the data showed.The surging lottery ticket sales coincided with months of mostly soft economic data, with the unemployment rate of job seekers aged between 16 and 24 drawing particular attention from policymakers.China's youth unemployment rate hit a record high of 21.3% in June, according to official data.Some social media commentators have linked the sharp rise in lottery sales in recent months to young people's deepening economic worries."Young people are more likely to win 5 million yuan in the lottery than to earn 5 million from work," one wrote on the popular Chinese microblog Weibo.The country's statistics bureau abruptly stopped publishing the youth unemployment statistic in August, saying it had been suspended as officials sought to "optimise" its data collection methodology, triggering a wave of social media criticism.Feeling the pinch of rising housing costs and the slowing economy, jobless graduates have been forfeiting cities that have traditionally provided a stepping stone to middle-class wealth.Earlier this year, China's social media was alit with videos of jobless university graduates visiting temples to seek the blessings of the gods."The worse the economy is, the more lottery tickets will be sold," wrote another commentator on Weibo.

China's central bank conducted 26 billion yuan ($3.61 billion) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8% Wednesday. The People's Bank of China said in a statement that the move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system reasonable and ample, Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) reported.On Aug. 22, China's central bank conducted 111 billion yuan (about $15.42 billion) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8%.A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future. (QNA)

Equities were mixed Tuesday, as traders await more measures by China to stimulate its economy and support the creaking property market, while fresh services data reinforced the need for action.There was little reaction to reports that struggling developer Country Garden had paid interest on its dollar-denominated bonds, avoiding a messy default, but with the firm's cash woes showing no sign of ending as more loans must be serviced in coming weeks.A series of announcements out of Beijing recently has helped lighten the mood on trading floors after months of dour data indicating the country's post-Covid recovery has hit a wall.Sentiment was also helped by a positive US jobs report on Friday, which was seen as giving the Federal Reserve room to stand pat on monetary policy after more than a year of interest rate hikes.However, with Wall Street closed Monday for a holiday and providing no catalyst, there was little desire in Asia to continue the buying.Investors are hoping Chinese authorities push ahead with more help for the property industry, having introduced in the past week a number of measures including reducing mortgage down payments and providing tax incentives."Although individual regulatory changes may not cause significant market shifts, the combined impact of several rapid adjustments sends strong signals," said Redmond Wong at Saxo."This suggests the potential for a sustained rally in both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese equity markets in the near term."Country Garden, which has liabilities worth around $200 billion, was once again in focus as it said it met its interest payments of more than $20 million.The reports come after the firm won approval from creditors last week to extend a deadline for a key repayment, narrowly avoiding a potential default.There is a worry that a default could be bigger than that at Evergrande in 2021, as it has four times as many projects.A report showing China's services sector grew last month at a much slower pace than expected added to the negative sentiment Tuesday."The recovery in China's services sector, or even consumption, is ongoing but not as strong as people had expected," Larry Hu, of Macquarie Group, said."People are not very optimistic about their future income due to the economic woes, and so they tend to save more."Hong Kong fell almost two percent -- though struggling mainland developers including Evergrande and Sunac soared -- and Shanghai was also well in the red.There were losses in Sydney even as the Australian central bank held interest rates for a third successive meeting, while Seoul, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta were also off.London, Paris and Frankfurt opened in the red.But Tokyo, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok eked out gains.Shane Oliver at AMP Capital was hopeful about the outlook as the Fed and its peers look to call an end to their rate hikes thanks to a string of data suggesting inflation is going in the right direction."Central banks have eased their tightening bias, but they still have a tightening bias," he told Bloomberg Television."The volatility will remain high at the very least, but if we do get a pullback, I would see that as a buying opportunity because the inflationary pressures globally are easing and then ultimately will take pressure off central banks."- Key figures around 0715 GMT -Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 33,036.76 (close)Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 18,492.74Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,154.37 (close)London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,412.44Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0764 from $1.0790 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2584 from $1.2621Dollar/yen: UP at 146.97 yen from 146.45 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.53 pence from 85.50 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $85.74 per barrelBrent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $88.69 per barrelNew York - Dow: Closed for a public holiday

A search for three people is underway after a fire engine was swept away by a typhoon-triggered flood in east China's Fujian Province.Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) reported that a fire engine carrying nine people was swept away in Chili Village, Yongtai County, by floodwaters during a rescue operation, according to the Chinese National Fire and Rescue Administration. So far, six people have been rescued, while there are ongoing searches for the missing three.Typhoon Haikui, the 11th typhoon of this year, landed in the coastal area of Dongshan County of Fujian on Tuesday morning, bringing gales of up to 20 meters per second near its center, the Fujian Meteorological Observatory said.Fuzhou has been hit by heavy rainfall due to Haikui. The 24-hour rainfall in areas including Yongtai exceeded 300 mm.Earlier, Fujian Province upgraded its typhoon emergency response to Level II, the second-highest level.Haikui is expected to move westward at 10 to 15 km per hour and gradually weaken, according to the Guangdong Meteorological Observatory.Additionally, 515 trains in Guangdong and 23 sea passenger routes east of Huizhou had been suspended due to flood and typhoon prevention. Classes had also been suspended in the cities of Shantou and Chaozhou.On Aug. 30, the Chinese authorities announced the death of four people and the loss of 48 others, as a result of heavy rains that swept through Jinyang County in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China. (QNA)

China calls on relevant sides in Gabon to resolve differences peacefully through dialogue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.China is closely following the developments in Gabon, China's news agency (Xinhua) quoted Wang as saying."We call on relevant sides in the country to proceed from the fundamental interests of the nation and the people, resolve differences peacefully through dialogue, restore order at an early date, ensure the personal safety of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, and safeguard the larger interests of national peace, stability and development," Wang added. Yesterday, Senior Gabonese military officers announced they had taken power, and that the election results were cancelled, state institutions dissolved and country's borders were closed until further notice, hours after the national electoral authority announced that President Ali Bongo was re-elected for a third term with 64.27 percent of votes cast. (QNA)

China on Wednesday called for "all sides" in Gabon to guarantee the safety of President Ali Bongo Ondimba after a group of military officers said they were "putting an end to the current regime" in the West African nation."China is closely following the developing situation in Gabon," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said."We call on all sides in Gabon to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, (and) restore normal order as soon as possible," he added, urging parties to "guarantee the personal safety of President Bongo, and uphold national peace and stability".Bongo has been in power for 14 years in the oil-rich West African state. He was first elected in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had ruled the country for 41 years.He visited Beijing in April and met with President Xi Jinping, who declared him an "an old friend" of the Chinese people.Xi also hailed Bongo's "significant achievements" in development.Bongo, in turn, thanked China for its "valuable assistance in promoting Gabon's economic diversification and industrialisation", a readout from state news agency Xinhua said.Beijing has long sought to bolster its presence in Africa, with then-foreign minister Qin Gang visiting the continent last year on his first overseas visit in the job.

Shares in troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande plummeted nearly 80 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after the end of a 17-month trading suspension.The resumption of trading came after the company said in a filing on Friday that it had met guidelines set out by the bourse, including belatedly publishing its financial results and complying with other listing rules.Once China's largest real estate firm, Evergrande defaulted in 2021 and is saddled with more than $300 billion in liabilities, becoming a symbol of the nationwide property crisis that many fear could spill over globally.Its shares plunged as much as 87 percent during morning trading, slashing its market value from a peak of more than $50 billion in 2017 to less than $600 million.It finished the day down 79.4 percent.The company on Sunday reported fresh losses for the first half of the year amounting to 33 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) -- an improvement on the 66.4 billion yuan in losses reported in the same period last year.But its cash assets fell from $2 billion last year to $556 million, reflecting its dwindling liquidity.China's property market "cooled down significantly" in the first six months of the year and saw new defaults in the sector, "further exacerbating the volatility in the market", Evergrande said."Based on the principles of respecting international restructuring practices and treating the rights and claims of all creditors in a fair and equitable manner, the Company steadily pushed forward the work related to the restructuring of its offshore debts," the firm added.In March 2022, the Hong Kong stock exchange suspended trading in Evergrande shares after it failed to publish its 2021 financial results.Its earnings for 2021 and 2022 were published last month, showing a net loss of more than $113 billion over the two-year period.The company risked being delisted if its shares were suspended from trading for 18 months, according to Hong Kong stock exchange rules.- Creditor meetings delayed -Evergrande was supposed to hold creditor meetings on Monday on its offshore debt restructuring proposal, but it announced in the afternoon the meetings were delayed -- just hours before they were set to take place.The postponement of roughly one month will allow creditors to "consider, understand and evaluate" the plan, the company said in an exchange filing.The meetings will take place between September 25 and 26, which the developer said was "in line" with the timetable creditors expected.Evergrande's plan offers creditors a choice to swap their debt into new notes issued by the company and equities in two subsidiaries, Evergrande Property Services Group and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.Earlier this month, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, a measure to safeguard its US assets during its restructuring.It is also fending off winding-up petitions in Hong Kong courts, with one case adjourning its hearing to October.China's real-estate sector has proven to be a stumbling block as the world's second-largest economy tries to break out of a post-Covid slump.Fellow Chinese property developer Country Garden now risks defaulting on its bond payments next month, with the company saying there are "major uncertainties in the redemption of corporate bonds".

China's foreign trade of agricultural products rose 4 percent year on year in the first seven months of this year, official data showed.The country's imports and exports of these products totaled 198.62 billion US dollars during the period, Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) reported citing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.Specifically, China's imports of such products went up 5.4 percent year on year to 142.78 billion dollars, while its exports edged up 0.6 percent year on year to 55.84 billion dollars, the data revealed.China's trade deficit for agricultural products stood at 86.94 billion dollars in the same period, up 8.7 percent from the same period last year. (QNA)

China's general public budget revenue increased 11.5 percent year on year to around 13.93 trillion yuan (about $1.94 trillion) in the first seven months of this year.The central government collected about 6.38 trillion yuan in revenue, up 11.2 percent year on year, while local governments saw revenue increase 11.8 percent to about 7.55 trillion yuan, Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) quoted the China's Ministry of Finance as saying.Tax revenue totaled 11.75 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 14.5 percent year on year.The data also shows that the country's general public budget spending expanded 3.3 percent year on year to 15.16 trillion yuan during the period.Sectors related to health, social security and employment, education as well as agriculture, forestry and water conservancy registered relatively faster growth in fiscal spending, according to the ministry. (QNA)

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi conducted a phone call with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna.Chinese news agency (Xinhua) reported that the two sides discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation, as well as strengthening and developing relations to a new level.They also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of common concern, foremost of which is the war in Ukraine and the situation in Niger. (QNA)

Most Asian markets joined a global sell-off Thursday on fresh worries that the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates again, while China's economic woes continued to shred traders' nerves.While minutes from the US central bank's July meeting showed two decision-makers were against lifting borrowing costs, they also revealed that "most participants" saw a significant risk that price increases would persist and could require further monetary tightening.The remarks dealt a blow to investors who had hoped rates were now at their peak following a string of data indicating inflation was falling and the jobs market softening.And there also remains debate inside the Fed about the next move, with officials giving sharply differing views, though the bank has said it will make decisions based on incoming data.Futures traders assign a probability of close to 90 percent that the Fed will stand pat at its September meeting, according to data from CME Group, though there is a growing belief that more hikes are coming down the line.All three main indexes on Wall Street sank, with tech firms -- which are susceptible to higher rates -- acting as a major drag, while 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest level since 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis."The Fed has no choice but to keep it up until they are convinced that inflationary expectations are quashed," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers."Doing otherwise risks some of the embers reigniting. Even though two governors favoured keeping rates steady in July, it is important to keep in mind that a pause is not a pivot."The dour mood in New York and Europe filtered through to Asia, where most major markets were deep in the red.However, Hong Kong was flat and Shanghai saw small gains thanks to bargain-buying after a run of losses.London, Paris and Frankfurt also retreated.Bets on further hikes have pushed the dollar to an eight-month high versus the yen, raising the prospect of Japanese authorities intervening to support their currency.The selling was intensified by worries about China as authorities struggle to revive a stuttering post-Covid recovery.Fresh figures on Wednesday pointed to a second month of falling new home prices in China, underscoring deep problems in the property sector that observers fear could spill over into the domestic and global economy.That came a day after news that growth in retail sales and industrial production had slowed.Leaders this week pledged to boost consumption at home and lift the private sector, though there were no details. Similarly, promises of help for the property sector and other key areas of the economy have not been followed up with anything concrete."Investors looking for more aggressive support from policy makers amid soft activity have been disappointed as the recent incremental measures haven't been sufficient to restore confidence," said Taylor Nugent at National Australia Bank.US officials have also raised concerns about a possible spillover of China's troubles, with Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo saying they were proving to be "a headwind -- not just to the US economy, but to the global economy". That came after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that Beijing's issues were a "risk factor" for the United States.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 31,626.00 (close)Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 18,326.63 (close)Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,163.74 (close)London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,321.81Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0882 from $1.0880 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2739 from $1.2725Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.42 pence from 85.48 penceDollar/yen: UP at 146.34 from 146.33 yenWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $79.84 per barrelBrent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $83.92 per barrelNew York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 34,765.74 (close)

China's government will no longer release youth unemployment statistics, it said Tuesday, but the mood among young people online and on the streets of Beijing left no doubt the situation was dire.Recently, the figure has hit a record every month, with 21.3 percent of young people jobless in June.The July data was expected Tuesday but the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it would no longer release age group-specific unemployment numbers, citing the need to "further improve and optimise labour force survey statistics"."Translation: Let me find a new statistical method to lower the unemployment rate," wrote one sceptical user on the social media platform Weibo."In reality, I don't dare to imagine (what) the unemployment rate must be. (The NBS) can't even make it up," read another comment."I don't release (the figures) = no unemployment," wrote one user tagged in the southwestern city of Chongqing.A hashtag relating to the announcement of the suspension had 190 million views on Weibo on Tuesday afternoon.On the streets of the capital on Tuesday, college student Li Nuojun told AFP she thought her job prospects were bleak."My major in university is in environmental design, but with the rise of AI, I don't have much hope in the design industry," said the 18-year-old.All her friends were expecting to be unemployed after graduating, she said, though they still had some years of study left."I'm very worried," she said. "When thinking about finding a job, I become very anxious, I just don't want to think about it for now.""Young people do face greater pressure in finding a job, like my cousin and his classmates, they prefer to continue their studies after college," said 35-year-old Guo, an IT worker."They are preparing for postgraduate exams, and a lot of them will take civil service exams."Even for those with jobs, the economic outlook is hostile.A 29-year-old woman who gave her name as Xue said she had friends who were struggling to change jobs at the moment."Some of them kept sending resumes for a month and have had several interviews chances, but the results are not so good," she said."The salary they could offer is average and there will be a lot of overtime work. The job market is always a rat race."