President Xi calls on China, EU to resist bullying, maintain free trade

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on Beijing and Brussels to resist unilateral bullying.

He made the call while meeting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in the Chinese capital.

President Xi expressed readiness to solidify ties.

The president also called China and the European Union firm supporters of free trade.

Sanchez said the EU is committed to open and free trade and opposes unilateral tariff hikes.

He also said Madrid and Brussels are willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China and to jointly safeguard the international trade order.

China raises tariffs on U.S. products to 125%

China says it is raising tariffs on U.S. imports from 84 to 125 percent.

Beijing says it will not make further responses to any future increases in U.S. levies on China, as U.S. exports already have no market acceptability in China under the current tariff rates.

The Commerce Ministry blamed Washington for the global economic turbulence, while the Foreign Ministry said if the U.S. really hopes to settle differences through dialogue, it must stop piling on the pressure.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have criticized the Trump administration's policies.

Blinken says he is deeply concerned that the U.S. is alienating the rest of the world, and regaining the trust of allies will be difficult.

Larry Summers, also a former U.S. treasury secretary, has warned that the country is likely headed toward a recession.

He says Washington's policies could cause two million job losses and a 5,000-dollar reduction in household incomes.

Europe to diversify trade amid tariff pause

The European Union has paused its retaliatory tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping taxes.

European Commission Spokesperson Olof Gill says the bloc will use this period to explore solutions.

Meanwhile, EU countries are finding ways to diversify their economies and expand cooperation with other partners.

China pledges extra one bln yuan for Myanmar earthquake relief

China has pledged one billion yuan of additional humanitarian aid to quake-stricken Myanmar.

That's about 137 million U.S. dollars.

The Chinese embassy in the country says the funds will provide food, medicines and prefabricated homes.

The money will also pay for medical, epidemic prevention and disaster assessment expert groups.

China was the first country to announce assistance and send rescue teams to Myanmar following the devastating earthquake late last month.

Beijing has delivered several batches of relief on chartered flights.

China issues high alert for strong gales in northern regions

The Chinese meteorological agency has issued one of the highest alerts for strong gales that will sweep across the northern regions over the weekend.

Winds of over140 km/h are affecting Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Beijing.

There're also heavy snowfall and sandstorms in parts of the country.

Authorities have advised the public to stay indoors and take extra precautions.

China's NEV output, sales see robust growth in Q1

Industry data shows that new energy vehicles in China saw remarkable growth in production and sales in the first quarter of 2025.

The country manufactured nearly 3.2 million NEVs over the period, a surge of over 50 percent.

Sales soared a little over 47 percent to around 3.1 million units.

China ranks higher in Smart City Index 2025

Chinese metropolises are moving up in the global smart city rankings as technological and economic growth drive urban development.

According to the annual Smart City Index by the International Institute for Management Development, Beijing ranks 14th in this year's survey and Shanghai has climbed four places to the 15th position.

Zurich, Switzerland remains atop the list, followed by Oslo and Geneva.

The index also highlighted Chinese cities Chongqing and Hangzhou making notable progress over the last three years.

The definition of a smart city stresses balancing economic prowess, applied technology, environmental concerns and inclusiveness to facilitate quality of life.

Two Chinese locations added to list of UNESCO Global Geoparks

UNESCO has granted the Global Geopark title to a pair of Chinese locations.

They are the Kanbula National Geopark in Qinghai in the northwest, and the Yunyang Geopark in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing.

With these new additions, China now has 49 UNESCO Global Geoparks, more than any other country in the world.