BRIEF NEWS

Chinese, Philippine Presidents Meet in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte met in Beijing Oct. 20, agreeing that the two countries will properly handle differences and achieve improvement and greater progress in bilateral ties.

China highly values its relationship with the Philippines, and is ready to work with the country to cement political trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, properly handle differences and become good partners, Xi said during talks with Duterte.

He said managing differences in the South China Sea issue through dialogue and consultation is an important foundation for the healthy and steady growth of China-Philippines relations.

Both sides need to draw experiences from the past to open up promising prospects for the bilateral relationship, Xi stressed, calling on both sides to develop friendship and cooperation while properly handling differences.

"China and the Philippines have had foundation for friendship for generations and have no reason for hostility or confrontation. Both sides should spare no efforts to promote neighborly relations," Xi said.

Duterte said his talks with Xi were historic and helped to improve and develop bilateral ties. He said he believed his visit will benefit the two peoples, and called on the two countries to cooperate in the fields of economy and trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, disaster prevention and mitigation, tourism, aviation, media, drug control, antiterrorism, marine policing and culture.

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej Passes Away

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Oct. 13 at the age of 88. His majesty passed away peacefully at 3:52 p.m. local time at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, the Bureau of Royal Household said in a statement.

The ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty ascended to the throne when he was 19 and was the world's longest-reigning monarch. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences to Queen Sirikit of Thailand over the passing of King Bhumibol.

In the name of the Chinese people and himself, Xi expressed deep condolences over the passing of King Bhumibol and extended his sincere sympathy to other members of the Thai Royal Family and the Thai people.

Xi said that King Bhumibol was the guiding force behind Thailand's national development and a promoter of China-Thai friendship. The good relationship enjoyed between the two countries today is directly linked to personal efforts made by King Bhumibol himself, Xi said.

On October 22, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao arrived in Bangkok as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping to pay tribute to the late Thai king.

2016 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition

The 2016 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition was held in Guilin in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Oct. 20-22. Embracing the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, the event this year aimed to provide a global platform for tourism stakeholders and promote tourism cooperation and

exchanges between China and ASEAN countries.

The exhibition hall, with an area of 23,000 square meters, was divided into six exhibition zones, respectively devoted to the theme of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, international tourism commodities, tourism consumption, the images of ASEAN countries, domestic tourism and Guangxi tourism. About 800 exhibitors from nearly 60 countries and regions participated in the event.

This year’s event primarily covered four areas: tourism image, tourism products, tourism consumption and smart tourism technology. In addition to traditional content such as tourist attractions, tourism agencies, tourist souvenirs and tourism food, some stateof-the-art products were also displayed at the fair, including smart tourism devices and electronic equipment for tourism information.

Chinese Fleet Visits Vietnam to Boost Naval Ties

A Chinese naval fleet arrived at Cam Ranh Port in central Vietnam on Oct. 22 for a five-day visit to the country to promote military ties between the two sides.

The visit to Vietnam was the fleet's last stop on its way home after completing escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, the waters off Somalia, and visits to Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and the Vietnam Navy have strengthened communication and cooperation in recent years. The two sides have held joint patrols in Beibu Bay 20 times, under which joint exercises and ship visits were conducted.

Chinese naval fleets have visited Vietnam several times since 2001. However, this is the first time that a Chinese naval fleet has visited Cam Ranh Port after it began operating as an international port in March this year.

Shenzhou-11 Spacecraft Docks with Tiangong-2 Space Lab

The Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft successfully completed its automated docking with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab at 3:31 a.m. on Oct. 19, Beijing Time.

Shenzhou-11, which was launched on Oct. 17 from northwest China's Gobi Desert, began its approach to Tiangong-2 automatically at 1:11 a.m. on Oct. 19 and made contact with the space lab at 3:24 a.m. The rendezvous took place in orbit about 393 kilometers above Earth.

The two astronauts aboard Shenzhou-11, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, monitored and reported on the docking operation, relaying their findings to the control center. According to the mission schedule, once they enter the space module, the astronauts will stay there for 30 days.

Shenzhou-11, China's sixth manned spacecraft, will undertake the longest-ever space mission in the country's history. The two astronauts will spend a total of 33 days in space.

China is the third country, after the United States and Russia, to complete successfully space rendezvous and docking procedures. Tiangong-2 was sent into space on Sept. 15. It is hailed as China's first space lab and a key step in building a permanent space station, which the country aims to accomplish by 2020.

Innovation Highlighted at the World Robot Conference 2016

The 2016 World Robot Conference, which took place in Beijing from Oct. 21-25, attracted more than 300 top robotics experts from 11 countries. The event consisted of forums, exhibitions and robot contests, Sina News reported.

As well as robots specialized in industrial manufacturing and household services, many on-show were designed to have entertaining abilities, such as painting, dancing and playing football.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong proposed that all countries, including China, should push ahead with robotic research, innovation and the commercialization of the resulting products, Xinhua reported.

Statistics from the International Federation of Robotics show that China extended its leading position as the number one industrial robot market worldwide, with unit sales reaching 66,000 in 2015.

R&D of 600 km/h Maglev Train Launched

A Chinese firm will start researching and developing a magnetic levitation (maglev) train that can run at 600 kilometers per hour, which would be faster than any other maglev train currently in operation.

CRRC Corp. Ltd., China's largest rail transportation equipment maker, said it will build a maglev rail line no less than 5 kilometers long to test the train. The company will also develop maglev trains that travel at 200 kilometers per hour, with the goal of establishing domestic technology and standard systems for a new generation of medium- and high-speed maglev transportation that can be used globally, according to Sun Bangcheng, a CRRC official.

In addition, the firm will kick off research and development of cross-border high-speed trains that can run 400 kilometers per hour and alternate between different track gauges ranging from 60 centimeters to 1.676 meters.

The country started operation of its first home-grown maglev rail line in May, with trains running at a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

China's Yuan Hits 6-Year Low Against USD

The central parity rate of the Chinese yuan continued to weaken on Oct. 17, hitting a sixyear low against the U.S. Dollar. The central parity rate weakened by 222 basis points to 6.7379 against the dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the lowest level since September 2010.

The weakness in the yuan is a reflection of the dollar's strength. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, hit a sevenmonth high following positive economic data from the country.

In a commentary published on the CFETS website, which is run by the People's Bank of China, the central bank said "there is no basis for the yuan to depreciate in the long term," citing China's long-term current account surplus, abundant foreign exchange reserves, sound fiscal conditions and a healthy financial system.

It is normal for the yuan to fluctuate against the dollar, and it will continue to do so, the central bank said.

(Sources: Xinhua News Agency, China News Service, China Daily)