XI HAILS COMMUNITY OF SHARED FUTURE WITH CAMBODIA

President Xi Jinping on Friday hailed the China-Cambodia community with a shared future as unbreakable as the nations have supported and closely coordinated with each other while making concerted efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remark in a message to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party and prime minister of Cambodia.

Xi underscored that he is ready to work with Hun Sen to bolster political guidance for the relations between the two parties and countries, deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two parties and in other areas, and promote the building of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

Xi said that he is glad to see that Cambodia, under the strong leadership of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and the Cambodian government headed by Hun Sen, has made remarkable achievements in various areas.

China firmly supports Cambodia in following a path of development that suits its own national conditions, he said.

In his earlier message to Xi, Hun Sen lauded the achievements China has made in development, thanks to the long-term endeavor of the CPC in following the right path of development, and especially Xi's wise leadership.

He said China's position in the international arena is on the rise, and the country has played a leading role in solving major global issues. It has also served as a good example in its response to the pandemic and coping with international influences from the pandemic.

The relations between the CPP and the CPC are also being deepened, with the two parties conducting frequent exchanges and extending to each other steadfast support on issues concerning each other's core interests, he said.

SERVICES SEE BEST GROWTH IN A DECADE

China's services sector saw the strongest expansion in a decade last month as the resumption of business activity accelerates and the country's economy continues to recover, a private survey showed on Friday.

Economists said China's overall economic recovery beat market expectations. Strong recovery momentum has been driven by improvement in both domestic and overseas demand and strong policy support that has helped facilitate steady resumption of production and boosted business and consumer confidence.

The Caixin China General Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.4 in June from 55 in May, the highest level since May 2010, according to a survey by media group Caixin. The index has been in expansion territory for two straight months. A reading above 50 represents an expansion while one below 50 reflects contraction.

Caixin's index was in line with the official PMI released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, which showed the economy has seen strong recovery momentum as both manufacturing and services expanded at a faster pace in June.

"Demand and supply in the manufacturing and services sectors recovered simultaneously in June. As the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a bigger blow to services, the sector has staged an even stronger recovery than manufacturing," said Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

The better-than-expected PMI data has prompted many economists to raise their GDP growth forecast. Many of them believe that the country's growth rate in the second quarter is likely to turn positive, a substantial improvement from the 6.8 percent contraction in the first quarter.

China's economic recovery is forecast to accelerate in the year's second half on the back of strong domestic policy support and the reopening of overseas markets. GDP growth is likely to rebound to about 5 to 6 percent in the second half while the growth rate is predicted to rise to around 7.5 percent next year, according to analysts with UBS Wealth Management.

Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Securities, said the rise of the Caixin services PMI in June beat market expectations. Lu suggested that the services sector's recovery is gaining traction, adding to economists' belief in their higher forecast for China's second quarter GDP growth.

Looking at the detailed data, new orders in the services sector rose to 57.3 in June from 55.8 in May, the highest level since September 2010. As epidemic control and prevention measures have been gradually loosened, business activities continue to recover−corporate confidence reached the highest level in the past three years in June, Caixin's survey said.

But challenges remaining in the job market require more targeted measures, and ensuring stable employment continues to be a key, daunting task for the government, economists said.

"Employment remains a top priority of the government. The subindexes of employment in the manufacturing and services sectors were still in contraction territory in June. Faster production resumption as well as more targeted policies are needed to help resolve corporate difficulties," said Wang with Caixin Insight Group.

SECURITY OFFICIALS APPOINTED FOR HKSAR

China's State Council on Friday appointed Luo Huining, current director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as the region's new national security adviser.

Luo will sit on Hong Kong's newly established Committee for Safeguarding National Security, which is chaired by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to provide advice on matters relating to the duties of the committee.

The committee was set up as envisioned in the recently promulgated National Security Law for Hong Kong, which took effect on Tuesday, to handle national security affairs.

The law stipulates that the committee assumes primary responsibility for safeguarding national security, including assessing situations, formulating policies and coordinating major work and significant operations, and the committee shall be under the supervision of and accountable to the central government.

The law also stipulates that the central government shall establish the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR to assess security situations, suggest major strategies, collect intelligence and oversee, guide and support the HKSAR in national security work, as well as exercise jurisdiction over a small number of criminal cases under specific circumstances.

The State Council on Friday appointed Zheng Yanxiong, currently serving as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, as the head of the office.

Li Jiangzhou and Sun Qingye have been appointed deputy heads of the office. Li is the director-general of the Police Liaison Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. No background information on Sun was immediately available.

Lam welcomed the newly appointed officials. She greeted them in a statement on Friday, pledging her utmost efforts to work with Luo and Zheng.

She said the HKSAR government will work closely with the national security adviser and the national security office to "perform their respective functions and do their utmost in implementing the National Security Law, fulfilling the duty of the HKSAR in safeguarding national security".

Lam on Friday also appointed Edwina Lau as deputy commissioner of police to head the department for safeguarding national security of the Hong Kong Police Force.

Lam said Lau has served in the Hong Kong Police Force for 35 years and has demonstrated "distinguished leadership, professionalism and perseverance".

"I have no doubt that she will discharge the historic responsibility of leading the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force to fulfill its crucial duty at this critical moment," Lam said.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government also announced on Friday that a specialized prosecution division for national security offenses under the Department of Justice has been established as required by the National Security Law.

MANY NATIONS SUPPORT NEW SECURITY LAW

More than 70 countries have voiced their support for China's National Security Law for Hong Kong at the ongoing 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council being held in Geneva.

The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, voted on Tuesday to unanimously pass the law.

Following support for the legislation stated on Tuesday by a representative of Cuba on behalf of 53 countries, another 20 countries have spoken at the UNHRC session to express their support for the law.

"Russia firmly supports China's implementation of 'one country, two systems' in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong's affairs are purely China's internal affairs," said a Russian representative.

A Laos representative said the country welcomes China's efforts to safeguard national security by establishing and improving national security legislation for Hong Kong as well as its implementation mechanism.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian expressed China's appreciation for support of the law from over 70 countries.

"A small group of Western countries won't succeed in discrediting China by using it (the national security law) as an excuse," Zhao said at a daily news briefing on Friday.

At the UNHRC session, representatives from Myanmar and Cambodia also said that passing national security legislation is within a nation's sovereign authority. They believe the new law is beneficial in ensuring national security and maintaining "one country, two systems". They expect that Hong Kong will continue to maintain peace, stability, harmony and prosperity and be free from foreign interference.

"The national security legislation for Hong Kong is part of China's national security affairs and is an internal affair. The law will not jeopardize 'one country, two systems' and will not affect the legal rights, freedoms and interests of Hong Kong people," said a representative from Afghanistan.

"Burundi appreciates China's efforts in promoting and protecting human rights and its contribution to the human rights cause in the world," said a representative from the African nation.

The representative voiced Burundi's firm support for "one country, two systems" and praised the passage of the new law, saying it will effectively guarantee human rights for Hong Kong people.

YANGTZE DELTA ZONE TO SPEED UP PERMITS FOR FOREIGNERS

Foreigners who work in the Yangtze River Delta will soon enjoy quicker approval of work and residence permits as a slew of policies supporting regional integration are coming to a pilot zone in the area.

The delta's integration demonstration zone will set up a "single window" service to handle the two permits for foreigners, the executive committee for the zone said on Friday as it elaborated on the 22 new policies put forward on Wednesday to accelerate regional integration.

The zone consists of Qingpu district in Shanghai, Wujiang district in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and Jiashan county in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

Zhu Zhengwei, head of the business and industrial development office of the committee, said work and residence permits are approved by different government agencies−the work permit at the local science and technology commissions and the residence permit at public security bureaus. It can take as long as a month or more to get both permits if applied for separately.

"To make it convenient for high-caliber international talent to work, live and move in the Yangtze River Delta region, we have launched a policy that foreign applicants can submit materials at one place and get two permits," Zhu said.

The policy, first launched in Shanghai, is now being tested in the demonstration zone as part of the new measures released jointly by governments of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to accelerate regional integration.

It has been tested in Jiashan, where applicants can get the two permits in as few as five working days, Zhu said, adding that the policy will be rolled out in Qingpu and Wujiang as soon as the end of July.

Apart from streamlining permit approval, another policy will allow the issuance of a work permit valid for two years, double the current normal permit validity, to foreigners who work in high-tech companies and other fields favored in the demonstration zone.

Lu Min, chief engineer of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, said improving the mobility of talent in the region has long been on the mind of local officials.

"We are also deliberating the mutual recognition of permits issued in different local administrations," Lu said. "Our aim is to let science and technology talent, funds and resources flow freely in the region."

New policies in financing, infrastructure, land allocation and public services have also been put forward to facilitate the region's integration.

HEAVY RAIN TO CONTINUE IN SOUTH CHINA

Heavy rainfall will continue to hit southern China for the first half of July, following continuous rainstorms in some of the country's regions since June 2 that have caused big losses of life and economic damage, according to meteorological and emergency management agencies.

Since flood season started in March, the country has seen 24 regional strong convective weather processes, and in June eight rounds of short-term thunderstorms, gales or hail occurred, according to China Meteorological Administration.

In June, the average precipitation was 112.7 millimeters, 13.5 percent above average. Nearly 60 percent of counties in South China experienced rainstorms in June, mainly in the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan, Chongqing municipality, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the administration said.

"Winds from the south and the west have continuously transported water vapor from the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the Yangtze River, providing abundant water," Zhang Fanghua, chief forecaster with the National Meteorological Center, said on Friday.

At the same time, cold air from North China continued to move southward, meeting warm air and providing dynamic conditions conducive to the occurrence of heavy rainfall, she added.

By Sunday, the sustained rainstorms had affected 12.1 million people scattered across 13 provincial regions along or south of the Yangtze River, killing 78, ruining almost 80,000 hectares of crops and leading to 25.7 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in direct economic damage, according to the latest national data available from the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Wang Zhihua, deputy head of the disaster relief and public service department of the China Meteorological Administration said at a news conference on Friday that until July 13 there will be more rainfall in southern regions than in previous years.

Precipitation could reach 100 to 300 millimeters in areas along the Huaihe River, the Hanjiang River, the Yangtze River and part of Southwest China, about 50 to 80 percent more than in previous years, he said.

"The rain in July and accumulated impacts brought by the rain in June will raise risks for torrential floods and other geological disasters in these areas," he warned.

CHINA FIRMLY OPPOSES POMPEO'S XINJIANG-RELATED ACCUSATIONS: SPOKESPERSON

China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed groundless accusations by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over China's Xinjiang policy, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a news briefing that Pompeo's remarks, which claimed that the Chinese government was using forced labor in areas including Xinjiang, were entirely fabricated.

The rights and interests of workers from ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang as part of China's large workforce are protected by law, Zhao said, adding their customs, religious beliefs and spoken and written languages are all protected by law.

Some in the United States profess they care about ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, but at the same time they are taking all sorts of measures to repress Xinjiang enterprises, Zhao said, noting this inconsistency exposes their hypocrisy and malicious intention to contain Xinjiang's development and sow discord between different ethnic groups in China.

"We urge the U.S. side to respect facts, stop political manipulation, stop erroneous words and deeds detrimental to others and itself, and stop using Xinjiang as a pretext to disrupt normal cooperation between Chinese and American companies," he said.

China has unwavering resolution to defend its sovereignty, security and development interests. Those attempting to undermine stability and prosperity in Xinjiang and contain China's development will not and cannot succeed, Zhao added.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein