One of the world's most criticised polluters, Australia, has promised it will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. PM Scott Morrison made the long-delayed pledge after bargaining with resistant MPs within his government.He said Australia had a plan to lower emissions, but it does not include ending its massive fossil fuel sectors.The nation will also not set ambitious targets for 2030 - an objective of next month's COP26 global climate summit.'We won't be lectured by others who do not understand Australia. The Australian Way is all about how you do it, and not if you do it. It's about getting it done,' Mr Morrison wrote in a newspaper column on Tuesday.To halt the worst effects of climate change, nations have pledged to limit rising temperatures to 1.5C by 2050.This requires cutting emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050, scientists say.Australia has long dragged its heels on climate action, putting it increasingly at odds with strateg...
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![Xi talks with Macron over phone]( "Xi talks with Macron over phone")
BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.Xi stressed that China and France, on condition of effective epidemic prevention and control, should advance relevant cooperation, consolidate cooperation in such traditional areas as civil nuclear energy, aviation and aerospace, and expand cooperation in such new fields as artificial intelligence, biopharmacy and ocean affairs.China, he said, is ready to work with France to continue cooperation on biodiversity conservation, deepen green cooperation, implement the Global Development Initiative, and carry out tripartite cooperation in Africa and other regions.China and France also need to support each other in hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Paris Olympics, he added.Xi pointed out that China attaches great importance to developing relations with France.He added that since last year, he and Macron have maintained contact in various ways, and the...
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Aerial photo shows the morning view of the Lujiazui area in Pudong, east China's Shanghai. BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- As 2021 marks the beginning of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), as well as the start of its journey to fully build itself into a modern socialist country, the nation's economic performance has come under the spotlight.How is China's economy doing so far? Are there any new situations emerging, or existing issues left unresolved? With the pandemic and economic trend becoming more complicated, where is the world's second-largest economy heading?In response to the significant attention to and concerns over the Chinese economy from both home and abroad, Xinhua has interviewed a number of authoritative departments and individuals, and the following are some of their opinions and judgments on 10 issues of China's economy.GROWTH MOMENTUMChina's GDP grew 4.9 percent year on year in the third quarter, slower than its growth of 18....
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On October 25th, at the 247th press conference of the prevention and control of New Coronavirus pneumonia in Beijing, Xu Hejian, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Beijing municipal Party committee, director of the municipal government information office and municipal government spokesman, said that in recent years, many domestic and foreign epidemic cases occurred. Beijing has discovered the Beijing related and local cases, and the epidemic situation is grim and complicated. The epidemic risk and prevention and control pressure facing the capital continue to increase. Beijing is the top priority of national epidemic prevention and control. We must always maintain high vigilance, adhere to the strict and tight prevention and control strategy, implement the 'four early morning' requirements, never relax, never be soft, and do a good job in various prevention and control work. In order to better prevent and control the epidemic scientifically, accurately and effe...
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In a world racing to reduce pollution, Australia is a stark outlier.It is one of the dirtiest countries per head of population and a massive global supplier of fossil fuels. Unusually for a rich nation, it also still burns coal for most of its electricity.Australia's 2030 emissions target - a 26% cut on 2005 levels - is half the US and UK benchmarks.Canberra has also resisted joining the two-thirds of countries who have pledged net zero emissions by 2050.And instead of phasing out coal - the worst fossil fuel - it's committed to digging for more.So it's no surprise that Australia is being viewed as a 'bad guy' going into the COP26 global climate talks in Glasgow, analysts say.Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government is under huge pressure to do more.Loyalty to the industryMining has helped drive Australia's economy for decades, and coal remains the country's second-biggest export.Only Indonesia sells more coal than Australia globally.The government oft...
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Heightened tensions with Taiwan have focused attention on China, with many wondering where President Xi Jinping sees his country on the world stage. Perhaps the past can provide some clues, writes Rana Mitter, a history professor at Oxford University.China is now a global power, something scarcely imaginable just a few decades ago.Its power sometimes stems from cooperation with the wider world, such as signing up to the Paris climate agreement.Or sometimes it means competition with it, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, a network of construction projects in more than 60 countries which has brought investment to many parts of the world deprived of western loans.Yet there is also a highly confrontational tone to much of China's global rhetoric.Beijing condemns the US for seeking to 'contain' China through the new AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) submarine pact, warns the UK that there would be 'consequences' for granting residence in Britain to Hong Kongers leaving their ci...
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'China's success in improving energy efficiency, utilization of renewable energy and providing wide access to electricity sets a positive example for countries in the region with energy poverty issues,' said Liu Hongpeng, director of energy division in ESCAP.BANGKOK, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's experience in poverty alleviation and economic development has played an important role in international effort to achieve sustainable development goals, especially for developing countries, a senior official with UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has told Xinhua.'China's success in improving energy efficiency, utilization of renewable energy and providing wide access to electricity sets a positive example for countries in the region with energy poverty issues,' Liu Hongpeng, director of energy division in ESCAP, told Xinhua in a recent interview.Liu had rich experience in China's renewable energy development before he joined ESCAP...
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Workers unload coke from a train at a logistics yard in Qian'an City, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 16, 2021. BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner has said it will use all necessary means provided by the price law to bring coal prices back to an appropriate range and ensure a secure and stable energy supply.The recent coal price hike has completely deviated from the fundamentals of supply and demand, and prices are still showing further irrational rises, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The NDRC made the comments after holding symposiums with major coal companies, the coal industry association and the China Electricity Council.Coal is a pivotal energy source for China. It is closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood, the NDRC said, adding that it will come up with measures to control coal prices per the law.When the prices of important commodities and services rise significantly or are like...
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Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of an ancient Greek High Priestess, lights the torch during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, in ancient Olympia, Greece, Oct. 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)The Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games has landed in the Chinese capital on Wednesday morning after being flown from Athens, Greece.A welcoming ceremony is due to be held later at the Beijing Olympic Tower near the 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium, which hosted the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics.The flame was ignited Monday in a traditional lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia in western Greece, and was handed over on Tuesday to the Beijing 2022 organizers at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.
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Foreign envoys observe traditional thangka painting skills at a special event held by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Wednesday to promote the Tibet autonomous region to the world. （Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily）The central authorities will continue to support the Tibet autonomous region in expanding opening-up and foreign cooperation, and will assist the region in deepening Belt and Road cooperation with neighboring countries, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.In an event held in Beijing by the Foreign Ministry to promote Tibet,Wang said the region has become an important window for China's opening-up and cooperation with the outside world.According to Wang, from 2016 to 2020, nearly 160 million Chinese and foreign tourists visited the Tibetan plateau.Viewing the plateau as a 'holy,pure land' that is of great significance to mankind, Wang said the ministry will assist Tibet in accelerating construction of an 'ecological civilization&...
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