BEIJING

China aims to significantly reduce poverty by 2020 [Xinhua]
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called the campaign against poverty the “toughest of all battles” and that the country should exert all efforts to eradicate it.
His statement comes ahead of the UN earmarked International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17.
Two weeks ago, Beijing upgraded a new mechanism to help local governments and municipalities target poverty reduction through a 100-point assessment system that measures the efficacy of funds allocated to this pursuit.

Is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the insane leader of a rogue state as the media makes him out to be? Here, he is addressing the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang [North Korean Central News Agency]
News that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea) on Sunday successfully tested its sixth hydrogen bomb, meant for long-term missile warfare, has brought speculations of a nuclear Armageddon back to the fore.

The 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen, China is not a routine meeting because it comes at a time when the bloc is entering a new stage of intensive development.
Moreover, it is the place for China to demonstrate its new role in international relations and the global economy.
The summit also comes at a time of increased political tensions in different areas, both close to the venue itself – that is, the Korean peninsula – and faraway Syria and the Middle East.

Despite reports of a rift with China in US media, tensions between Pyongyang and Washington appear to have subsided
The war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have subsided this week as South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced he was seeking improved relations with Pyongyang.
During a political rally in Arkansas earlier in the week, Trump claimed that Kim was “starting to respect us” even as the North Korean leader continued to inspect weapons facilities in his country.

China continues to dart ahead of all major global competitors when it comes to economic might. China has increasingly focused its production capabilities on the domestic market in addition to exports.

复兴号今日正式上线运营。（图片来自人民铁道网） pic.twitter.com/LzB8e1UhcP
— China Railway (@Jason_daliang) June 26, 2017

In the beginning of June 2017, workers brought a solar energy plant online capable of producing 40 megawatts of power. That’s cool all by itself, but this solar “farm” floats on a manmade lake in China’s Anhui province, and it is the largest floating solar project in the world. [1]

(ZHE) In April 2014, just as the Ukraine conflict (and proxy civil war) was hitting its climax, in the process undermining US-Russian relations for years, some 2,066 Americans were asked to show where the Ukraine was on a map.

(ANTIMEDIA Op-Ed) On Wednesday, the New York Times ran what can only be described as a hit piece on China. The writer, Carlos Tejada, points to videos released by China’s state media that target children. The subject of the videos? The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s ambitious plan to establish a permanent trade route linking China, Europe, and Africa.

21st Century Wire says…
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, [China] “is ready to protect its interests“. This is not only a statement towards bellicose North Korea and their recent spate of ‘activity’, but as a warning to the United States. Smoke is billowing forth from the nose of the Dragon, and that’s not good for anyone.

(ZHE) A third US citizen has been arrested and remains in custody in North Korea, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.