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Ping pong diplomacy, box office records and driverless cars: China this week
CGTN
Asia;China
00:24

 

China and U.S. ping pong players team up

Chinese ping pong star Liu Guoliang has been a leading force behind the newly created China-U.S. mixed double teams, which premiered at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championship in Houston, Texas this week. 

Liu, who has been elected as International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) vice chairman, said the idea of having Chinese and American players join in a mixed doubles match was to send a message to the world that there should be progress on people-to-people relations following the virtual summit between China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month.

 

New box office record

War epic The Battle at Lake Changjin has become the highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema this week, beating Wolf Warrior Two.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the nearly three-hour film had raked in more than 5.69 billion yuan ($890 million) in box office takings, including pre-sales, according to Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan.

Meanwhile, it became the top-grossing war-themed title in the world and is continuing to lead this year's global box office chart.

 

Heavy snow hits northeastern provinces

Heavy snow and blizzards have hit China's northeastern provinces in the latest cold front to sweep across the country.

Local authorities have deployed more than 4,200 people to clear snow from 9,950 kilometers of road. In the eastern city of Jiamusi snow has piled up to 42 centimeters. 

 

Beijing pilots self-driving vehicles

Baidu and Pony.ai, two big names in the autonomous driving market, have been granted the first batch of commercial licenses covering 60 square kilometers in a suburb of Beijing.

Baidu is reported to have more than 600 pick-up and drop-off points operating from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the pilot area. Pony.ai will set up some 200 points from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., the company said in a post on Weibo.

 

Pony.ai, which counts Toyota, Hyundai, FAW and GAC as automotive partners, is now approved for driverless testing in five cities on two continents./VCG

Pony.ai, which counts Toyota, Hyundai, FAW and GAC as automotive partners, is now approved for driverless testing in five cities on two continents./VCG

 

Regulator to inspect new Tencent apps

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has told Tencent Holdings to submit any new apps or updates for inspection before they are offered to users, CCTV reported on Wednesday.

Nine previous apps were found to have violated industry regulations and the company was publicly notified four times since the beginning of this year, said the Ministry, explaining why it issued transitional regulatory guidance to the company.

Tencent said it is cooperating with the regulatory authorities. During the inspection period, users can still download and use existing versions of the apps.

 

China COVID-19 vaccine exports pass 1.8bn mark

China has supplied 1.8 billion shots of COVID-19 vaccine to other nations as of Thursday, according to the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

The milestone was reached when China began shipping 700,000 shots to Laos. China is the main source of COVID-19 vaccines to its Southeast Asian neighbor, to which it has exported 6.9 million shots.

 

Sinopharm has supplied more vaccines to foreign countries than any other supplier. /CFP

Sinopharm has supplied more vaccines to foreign countries than any other supplier. /CFP

 

China and Italy agree partnership to boost winter sports

With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics just over two months away, China has agreed a deal with Italy, which will host the 2026 Games, to kick-start tourism in the winter sports industry. 

Valerio Malfatto, who runs Italian company Jam Session Ski Academy, is hoping the agreement will increase the number of visitors but also promote the development of winter sports.

Their latest project, called "22/26", aims to offer a more personalized experience for Chinese skiers and encourage them to visit the country's northern lakes and cities such as Milan, Verona and Venice.

 

Haircuts and manicures for China's Olympians

Athletes competing at the Beijing Games will have to follow strict COVID-19 guidelines but organizers are bringing in a group of hairdressers and beauticians to make sure the competitors can look and feel their best during the event.

"All of our staff who will be working for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will take training courses in English, epidemic prevention measures, etiquette, service standards and response in special circumstances," Zhu Youcheng, the leader of 2022 Winter Olympic grooming service team, said.

 

Archaeologists discover 2,000-year-old ornaments

Gold ornaments unearthed in an ancient tomb in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, northwest China. /Official WeChat account of China Cultural Relics News

Gold ornaments unearthed in an ancient tomb in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, northwest China. /Official WeChat account of China Cultural Relics News

 

Archaeologists recently excavated six ancient tombs and discovered a batch of cultural relics in Xianyang City. Xie Gaowen, director of the city's institute of cultural relics and archaeology, said the tombs were found in a burial area that dates back to the Qin Dynasty.

"It is rare to see a group of nine pure gold ornaments found in one Qin tomb," Xie said, adding that the largest ornament measured 1.1 centimeters in diameter, and was covered in exquisite patterns of water droplets, beads and ropes.

 

How are you staying healthy and fit?

For some, it's lifting dumbbells at home and following online workout videos. But in the east China metropolis of Shanghai, there is a group of ambitious women who are putting on boxing gloves

While some say it's a way to blow off steam and escape their daily routine, others say it has become their path to self-transformation.


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