Chinese VP arrives in Ireland for official visit
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has arrived in Shannon, a scenic city in Ireland, kicking off his official visit to the country known as "Emerale Isle."
He said in a written speech that the main purpose of his visit is to deepen the traditional friendship between our two peoples and take bilateral relations and practical cooperation forward.
Ireland is the second-leg of Xi's ongoing three-nation tour. He came to Shannon after concluding his visit to the United States. He will also visit Turkey.

China urges Syria to end violence against civilians: vice FM
China has urged the Syrian government and various political factions in the country to end all acts of violence against civilians.
Visiting Chinese vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said this to reporters in Damascus after meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Zhai Jun, as a special envoy of the Chinese government, said China has followed closely the developments of the situation in Syria, and is deeply concerned with the escalating crisis in the country.
He said China calls on Syria to restore stability and normal social order, which is in line with the fundamental interests of the Syrian people.

Terrorists shell fuel tankers in Syria's Homs

恐怖分子襲擊霍姆斯煉油廠
An "armed terrorist group" has shelled some fuel tankers at a refinery in central Syria's Homs, setting ablaze a tanker that contains more than 50 million liters of gasoline.
The official SANA news agency says civil defense workers have put out the fire, but no immediate reports are immediately available about whether any casualties were caused by the attack.
Meanwhile, in the northern province of Idlib, a law-enforcement agent was killed and some other forces were wounded when a booby- trapped car was detonated on Saturday by an armed group in Ariha area.

China, U.S. agree on resolving film issue
The Chinese government says China and the United States have agreed on a memorandum of understanding regarding the resolution of issues relating to films in the World Trade Organization's China-audiovisual case.
It says both China and the United States highly praised the efforts made by the two sides to resolve disputes regarding this important matter.

China to cut RRR by 50 basis points
China will lower banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points starting Feb. 24.
The country's central bank, the People's Bank of China, says the cut, the second of its kind in three months, will drop the reserve requirement ratio for the country's large commercial banks to 20.5 percent.
An economist says the cut is to meet the large credit demand usually occurred in the first quarter of the year.

Beijing mayor stresses ECFA's role in cross-Strait cultural exchange
Beijing mayor Guo Jinlong says a "new historic chapter" has been unfolded for the peaceful development and cultural exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, after the signing of a landmark cross-Strait economic agreement.
When meeting with Chiang Pin-kung, Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman in Taipei, Guo Jinlong said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement has benefited more than the economic and trade sectors, but the cross-Strait cultural exchange as well.
He believed cross-Strait relations will witness more progress if both sides increase cultural exchanges and cooperation.
Guo Jinlong is currently leading a Beijing delegation on a cultural exchange trip to the island,

China's couriers ordered to carefully check parcel contents
Beijing's post administrative agency has ordered couriers to carefully examine the contents of parcels they receive, a step to address rising safety concerns after a parcel blast early this month.
A circular on the agency's website orders the city's couriers to stamp on the delivery bill after checking the contents of a parcel in the sender's presence to ensure the information of the sender and the contents on the package are detailed correctly.
The new regulation, effective from March, comes after a man in southern city of Guangzhou was severely injured in a blast from a package containing explosives that was delivered to him early this month.

China intensifies crackdown on medical industry bribery
China's Health Minister Chen Zhu has called for intensified efforts to investigate and curb commercial bribery in the country's hospitals and medical institutions.
Chen called on the health administrative authorities and officials to step up supervision over medical workers' practices and the operations of both public and private hospitals.
He said efforts should be made to effectively prevent and control commercial bribery in the purchase and sale of pharmaceutical products and medical equipments.

Liu Xiang beats Robles to win Birmingham indoor

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China's Liu Xiang started his new season and Olympic year by beating arch rival Dayron Robles of Cuba in his personal best time of 7.41 seconds to win the men's 60m hurdle final at the Birmingham indoor tournament on Saturday.
Liu, the Athens Olympic champion, crossed the line first and improved his former best mark by 0.01 seconds.
Robles followed in 7.50 and Dexter Faulk of the United States stood third in 7.54.