CM WEEKLY NEWS 5TH ISSUE

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Association for Sri Lanka China Social and Cultural Co-operation

Xi Stresses Need to Strengthen Solidarity the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. HUANG JINGWEN/XINHUA SCO meeting hears his call to promote inclusive development benefiting all President Xi Jinping has called for practicing true multilateralism for win-win cooperation

and opposing any attempt to use so-called

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: 

LAUREATES OF 'NOBEL PRIZE OF CHINA' ANNOUNCED,RECOGNIZ ED FOR CORONAVIRUS STUDIES AND IMPACT ON COVID-19 FIGHT

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RCEP TO BOOST CHINA-ASEAN TIES, ECONOMIC RECOVERY

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CHINESE ENVOY IN

CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2021-09-18

"rules" to undermine the international order

President Xi Jinping delivers a speech via

and create confrontation and division.

video link in Beijing on Friday at the 21st

2

meeting of the Council of Heads of State of

UN URGES INVESTIGATION INTO US' HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IN AFGHANISTA 

PREMIER INSPECTS CHINA’S GUANGXI ZHUANG AUTONOMOUS REGION.

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RCEP to boost ChinaASEAN ties, economic recovery 2

"We must never allow any external inter-

fields, including goods, services, invest-

ference in the domestic affairs of countries

ment, intellectual property rights, e-

in our region under whatever pretext," he

commerce and competition policy,

Xi made the remark while addressing the

added. "We should keep the future of our

which will further promote the integrat-

21st meeting of the Council of Heads of

countries' development and progress firm-

ed development of industrial chain, sup-

State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organi-

ly in our own hands."

ply chain and value chain in the region."

P1

Xi Stresses Need to..

Dato Lim Jock Hoi, secretary-general of

zation in Beijing via video link on Friday.

The meeting was hosted by Tajikistan,

Xi called for deepening international co-

ASEAN, said via video that the RCEP

which holds the rotating SCO presidency

operation against the COVID-19 pandem-

could play a significant part in post-

this year. The SCO members also include

ic, promoting fair and equitable distribu-

pandemic economic recovery in the re-

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

tion of vaccines and firmly opposing any

gion by linking the regional value chains

Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India.

act of politicizing origin tracing.

more closely. In turn, this will improve

He underlined the importance of upholding

RCEP to boost…

international equity and justice, and said

the transparency of trade and investment

NANNING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua)

that in dealing with international issues,

The world's largest free-trade deal, the

hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts

Regional Comprehensive Economic Part-

from a "position of strength" should be

nership (RCEP), will further boost China-

firmly rejected. Instead, he added, the pur-

ASEAN cooperation and facilitate the

poses and principles of the United Nations

region's economic recovery from the

Charter, as well as the principle of exten-

COVID-19 pandemic, officials and busi-

sive consultations and joint contributions

ness leaders said at a high-level forum of

for shared benefits, should be observed.

Xi stressed the need to boost mutually beneficial cooperation, remove trade, investment and technology barriers, and promote inclusive development that delivers benefits to all.

The president called on the SCO countries to work together to promote democracy in international relations while developing

themselves, build an even closer SCO community with a shared future and contribute even more to lasting global peace and common prosperity.

"We should maintain firm confidence in our systems, reject condescending lecturing, and firmly support countries in exploring development paths and governance models that are compatible with their national conditions," Xi said.

the ongoing 18th China-ASEAN Expo.

The RCEP, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including China and ASEAN's ten member states in November last year, will "open a new chapter for ChinaASEAN economic and trade ties," said Ren Hongbin, China's vice minister of commerce. The forum took place on Friday in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Covering roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product, trade and population, the RCEP has great development potential and will inject strong impetus into the anti-pandemic battle and economic revival in East Asia and across the globe, Ren said.

Noting that China expects the RCEP to add new vitality to East Asia economic integration, he said the agreement

"integrates and optimizes the region's economic and trade rules in a wide range of

regulations and enhance cooperation across the RCEP participating countries.

The RCEP has the potential to boost business confidence, benefit consumers and promote regional economic integration and equitable economic development for all participating countries, said Thanongsinh Kanlagna, executive vice president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, via a video message.

At the forum, officials, business leaders, scholars and entrepreneurs from China and ASEAN also called on the RCEP participating countries to work together for the agreement's early entry into force and implementation.

"To reap the rewards of the RCEP, we need to ensure the timely entry into force of the RCEP agreement," Dato Lim stat-

ed, noting that full, effective and efficient implementation of the RCEP is imperative for realizing its benefits.

He also commended China for setting an example as one of the first signatories that ratified the agreement.

Ratifications of six ASEAN member states and three non-ASEAN member countries are needed to reach the threshold of the RCEP's entry into force.

Countries that have completed the ratification procedures include China, Singapore, Japan and Cambodia.

Jin Dongyan, a professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences at HKU, told the Global Times on Sunday that Yuen and his research team where a group of world-leading researcher are gathered are very valuable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. "From SARS to COVID-19, the team has been engaged in coronavirus-related basic studies while combing through clinical studies. That working mode contributes the outstanding work of the university to the study of infectious diseases," Jin said.

Yuen and his research team are devoting their efforts to find out how to prevent potential re-emergence of a SARS and COVID-19-like public health crisis.

Studies on the types of coronaviruses that exist in bats, the potential hosts of the cross-species transmission, as well as how human transmitted the virus to animals are part of their research, Jin said.

CTGN 12,Sep

19 pandemic thanks to their contributions."

Yuen and Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris won the prize in life sciences in the 2021 Future Science Prize, dubbed "China's Nobel Prize," for their major discoveries of SARS-CoV-1 as the causative agent of the global SARS outbreak in 2003 with impact on combating COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases, the award organizer announced on Sunday.

When asked how their discoveries affect people's understanding of the cause of COVID-19, Yuen explained that since he and his team discovered in 2005 that the horseshoe bat was the natural animal reservoir for the ancestral SARS-CoV-1, they believe that SARS-CoV-2 "also went from bats to another mammal(s) before jumping into humans." Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 replicates very well in both bat and human intestinal organs, which further supports the bat origin of SARS-CoV-2, he said. But there are also major differences between the two diseases, Yuen noted, in terms of "disease severity, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic rates and the ability of the virus to suppress interferon and inflammatory responses."

Hong Kong-based scientists Kwok-Yung

The Future Science Prize is a privately funded science honor established by a group of renowned scientists and entrepreneurs in 2016, aiming at recognizing scientific breakthroughs and innovations in China with long-term significance to the world. The prize is given in three categories with $1 million for each award, namely the Life Science Prize, Physical Science Prize and Mathematics and Computer Science Prize.

Yuen, from the University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Sunday that "this is one of the most important prizes not just in China but also internationally. I am really honored and grateful to get the recognition of the very eminent scientists of the selection committee for the prize."

Wang Xiaodong, one of the reviewers of the award, said at Sunday's press conference that "Chinese scientists were able to quickly identify the cause of the COVID-

As world scientists call for the second phase of the corona virus origins study, experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention have suggested that investigations should be carried out in countries where horseshoe bats and pangolins reside, those with virus-positive animal data and which supplied Wuhan Huanan seafood market through coldchain logistics, as more tests and molecular viral research suggest it is possible that the early outbreak in the Huanan market may have been sparked by cold-chain imports.

Yuen also told the Global Times that he is working on many areas from the pathogenesis of the coronavirus to antivirals and vaccines. "My part of the awarded prize will go back to the HKU for teaching and research purposes," he added.

Apart from Kwok-Yung Yuen and Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris, Zhang Jie, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, won the Physical Science Prize for his development of laser-based fast electron beam technologies. Simon Sze from the "National Chiao Tung University" in the island of Taiwan won the prize in mathematics and computer science.

The science committee of the prizes, composed of 23 outstanding scientists, is at the core of the award selection. MauChung Frank Chang, chairman of the committee, said that the nomination and selection of the prize was established in accordance with the Nobel Prize system, in which the committee invites international experts as nominators and then solicits evaluation letters from experts in relevant fields of the nominated work.

Based on the evaluations, the committee then votes to select the final award winners.In the previous five years, 20 winners were awarded the Future Science Prize, all of whom have been widely recognized both in scientific circle and the society. The late Yuan Longping, known as "the father of hybrid rice," was awarded the Life Science Prize in 2018 "for pioneering the use of hybrid vigor to achieve higher yield and increased stress resistance in rice."

tions in Switzerland, said on

Tuesday, calling the US-led military intervention in Afghanistan "the root cause of humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan."

On August 29, two days after the Kabul airport suicide attacks during humanitarian evacuations, the US conducted a drone strike in Kabul. It

claimed two terrorists were killed. However, US media reported in recent days that those killed in the airstrike were not terrorists, but 10 innocent civilians. It was an in-

Chinese envoy in UN urges investigation into US' human rights abuse in Afghanistan

telligence mistake.

The perpetrators must be brought to justice and the victims deserve justice and remedy. The countries in question must be held

accountable for what they have done in the past 20 years, Chen said at the UN Human Rights Council.

By April 2020, at least 470,000 Afghan civilians had been killed in the war waged by the US and more than 10 million Afghan people were displaced. Afghanistan's neighbors have also been severely affected by the US-led military intervention, he noted.

By Global Times,14 Sep

"Wars, conflicts and regional turmoil are the main causes of large

The Chinese envoy to the UN Office at Geneva called for an

-scale human rights violations. At present, international peace

investigation into alleged crimes including torture and killing of civilians committed in Afghanistan by military personnel from the US and its allies in a speech at the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, and asked the US to reflect on its mistakes and address serious human rights abuses.

"We express our deep concern that the United States and its allies have conducted military intervention in Afghanistan for 20 years, which severely undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, compromised its economic

and social development, and violated the human rights of Afghan people," Chen Xu, Permanent Representative of China to the UN Office at Geneva and other International Organiza-

and security faces serious challenges like never before," Chen

warned at the general debate at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council.

"They have the obligation to fulfill their commitment to Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction rather than simply walking away and shifting the burden to the international community."

The Chinese envoy called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to attend to severe negative impact of military intervention by the countries in question on the enjoyment of human rights of Afghan people, and hold these countries ac-

countable for the crimes of killing Afghan civilians by their military personnel.

5

with the help of artificial intelligence equipment to reduce unnecessary contact. Smart equipment can help travelers to have a temperature check, epidemiological investigation and check in and out, while a screen in the quarantine room can automatically upload health information and conduct temperature checks, with robots providing food and other daily necessities to travelers.

Global Times 18, Sep

Friday.

China’s first giant international health

Construction of the first phase of the sta-

station providing quarantine and medical services to all inbound travelers is expected to be put into use in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province in late September, which could reduce the infection risk during quarantine and replace quarantine hotels, media reports said on

4 Chinese envoy in UN..

tion has been completed and the first batch of 184 medical staff started working in the station on Friday.

The 250,000-square-meter station with 5,074 rooms is China’s first international health station to replace quarantine hotels, jiemian.com reported on Friday.

the US, such as how the US, possessing

quarantining inbound travelers, who were previously quarantined in hotels that are close to densely populated areas in downtown Guangzhou, posing the risk of domestic infections. Guangzhou experienced China’s first outbreak with the Delta variant in May.

The first batch of medical staff will work

the past, while it keeps infringing on

others will only lead to chaos and is

their

doomed to failure, according to the

rights.

Chen also expressed deep concern about chronic human rights issues in

Guangzhou faces a considerable task in

envoy.

The US has arbitrarily detained inno-

the most advanced medical equipment

cent migrants and separated migrant

"We urge the US to stop imposing its

and technologies, suffered the largest

children from their parents, leading to

own ideology and values, end using

number of COVID-19 cases and deaths

numerous broken families. The US is

human rights as pretexts to coerce and

in the world.

also plagued with human trafficking

suppress others, and halt military inter-

Instead of fighting the virus in full gear,

and

noted.

vention in other countries," said Chen.

political manipulation of issues like

Nevertheless, the US, under the pre-

He calls on the Human Rights Council

virus origin-tracing, with the purpose of

text of so-called democracy and hu-

and the High Commissioner for Human

shifting blame to other countries and

man rights, keeps spreading lies and

Rights to continue to attend to the hu-

shirking responsibility for its own fail-

disinformation, pursued power poli-

man rights situation in the US. "We

ure,

said.

tics, interfered in other countries' in-

urge the US to faithfully comply with

Systemic racism and racial discrimina-

ternal affairs, and tried to impose its

its international human rights obliga-

tion has long existed in the US. Specifi-

own values on others. But what hap-

tions."of climate change on our peo-

cally, Chen pointed out the US commit-

pened in Afghanistan proved that im-

ple.”

ted genocide against native Indians in

posing American-style democracy on

forced

labor,

Chen

the US Government is obsessed with

Chen

achieving carbon neutrality," the event, which runs from Sept 15 to 17, features several summits, forums, exhibitions and other activities.

The three-day congress has attracted over 1,000 government officials, experts and executives of auto manufacturers from home and abroad, who will share their insights on diversified topics, including

the NEV industry, related technologies and future-oriented sustainable transportation.Powered by the country's low-carbon strategy and surging demand, China's

New Energy Vehicles key for Carbon Neutrality China Daily 16,Sep

New energy vehicles have become a key

NEV industry development has entered solution for carbon neutrality, as

the fast lane.

showcased at the 2021 World New

The NEV sales of China, the world's big-

Energy Vehicle Congress in Haikou,

gest car market, has increased 190 percent

capital of South China's Hainan prov-

year-on-year to 1.8 million units in the

ince.

first eight months of 2021, according to

With the theme of "Comprehensively

the China Association of Automobile

promoting marketization, accelerating

Manufacturers.

cross-industry integration, jointly

Peking Union hospital celebrates 100th year China Daily 17,Sep

In June, Peking Union Medical College Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Medical Board, which is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, extending their collaboration in areas related to academic enhancement including faculty development, support for

residency training and further development of the China Nursing Consortium of Elite

Teaching Hospitals.The hospital and the China Medical Board have a shared history."One century ago, the China Medical Board founded Peking Union Medical Col-

lege Hospital. Throughout the history of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the China Medical Board has always been our strongest friend and collaborator," Zhang said at the signing.

Premier inspects China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Premier Li Keqiang inspected Yulin, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Sept 16, 2021.

The Premier visited Guangxi

Yuchai Machinery to enquire about implementation of extra tax reduction on R&D expenses, developments in optimizing and stabilizing industrial and supply chains as well as progress in cultivating market entities.

He also inspected Dongxi village in Mapo township, Luchuancounty, where he was informed about the development of sugarcane planting and sugar industry, and talked with villagers.

The 9th Sichuan International Health and Elderly Industry Expo (Great Health Expo Exhibition) opening, showcasing the most cutting-edge new products and new Technology, new achievements, new models, new formats, Germany, Israel,第9屆四川國際健康和養老產業博覽偏 (大健康博覽會) 開幕, 展示大健康行業最前沿的新產 品、新技術、新成果、新模式、新業態, 德國、以色列、泰國等全球近400家醫療、醫養行業企業和品牌參..

return to campus after the city brought the COVID-19 outbreak that started in late July under control. [Photo by Shao Dan/for China Daily]

according to a guideline published on Sunday. The guideline was jointly published by the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee along with the General Office of the State Council. China also pledged to work on designing financing tools considering ecological resources, such as carbon emissions and the use of

Torchbearer Yang Qian lights the main torch at the opening ceremony of the 14th National Games at the Xi'an Olympic Center Stadium on Sept 15, 2021, in the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Newly enrolled students dressed as ancient Confucian scholars display their calligraphy of the character ren (person) at Fuzimiao Primary School in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Sept 13, 2021. Students at kindergartens and primary schools were allowed to

water. The country plans to encourage banking financial institutions to provide green credit and qualified non-financial

enterprises and institutions to issue

A calf is carried by policemen in Altay, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Sept 14 after being found.

The police had earlier received a call from a local herdsman about the lost animal. [Photo by Lin Jiahao/for China Daily]

green bonds. It also calls for insurance institutions to develop innovative green insurance products. China aims to reach peak carbon emissions by around 2030 and achieve the carbon neutrality goal by 2060.

China launches literary exChina is working on introducing market tools to incentivize ecological protection, including launching green equity indexes,

change platform for B&R countries

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