buys | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

10/05/2020

Update: Chinese mainland reports 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

A customer buys products at a time-honored food store in east China’s Shanghai Municipality, April 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Twelve cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported in Jilin Province and the other one in Hubei Province.

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese health authority said Sunday that it received report of 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Saturday, of which two were imported cases reported in Shanghai.

Twelve cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported in Jilin Province and the other one in Hubei Province, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

One new suspected case imported from abroad was reported in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

No deaths were reported Saturday on the mainland, according to the commission.

On Saturday, 74 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by two to 13.

As of Saturday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,901, including 148 patients who were still being treated, and 78,120 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Saturday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,683 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,568 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 115 remained hospitalized with three in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said four people, all from overseas, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 5,840 close contacts were still under medical observation after 427 people were discharged from medical observation Saturday.

Also on Saturday, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on the mainland. One case was re-categorized as a confirmed case, and 61 asymptomatic cases, including 16 from overseas, were discharged from medical observation, according to the commission.

The commission said 794 asymptomatic cases, including 48 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By Saturday, 1,044 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 967 patients in Hong Kong, 40 in Macao, and 361 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Beijing, buys, Chinese health authority, Chinese mainland, commission, confirmed, COVID-19 cases, customer, deaths, domestically transmitted, east China's, food store, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), hubei province, imported cases, inner mongolia autonomous region, jilin province, Macao, Macao SAR, products, reports, Saturday, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, Sunday, Taiwan, time-honored, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

02/04/2020

Shopper buys $6m rocket launch in China

China hosted 'the world’s first live broadcast of a rocket sale' — Image caption Taobao confirmed that this was no April Fools joke

An online buyer has won an opportunity to launch a commercial rocket for 40 million yuan ($5.6m; £4.5m) in central China, it’s reported.

According to the official People’s Daily, popular online shopping platform Taobao live-streamed the sale of a commercial rocket yesterday evening.

The official China Daily said that the rocket was “a small launch vehicle” in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, which has already seen eight commercial launches.

Buyers were told that they could paint the body of the rocket and the launch platform, and that they could visit the launch site and control the launch.

Posters advertising the livestream, headed by celebrity shopping anchor Wei Ya, went viral on Wednesday 1 April, leading many to speculate they were part of an April Fools joke.

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But national newspaper Global Times says that Taobao confirmed that “this is for real” in an online post.

It hints that the decision to sell a rocket experience, headed by Chinese entrepreneur Luo Yonghao, followed an earlier online poll where netizens were asked whether they’d rather win a “rocket, a satellite, a partner or a cleaning lady”.

‘How to choose the first rocket in your life?’

China Daily says that this was “the world’s first live broadcast of a rocket sale” and the livestream has attracted considerable attention online.

More than 620,000 Weibo users have used the hashtag #WeiYaSellsARocket and more than two million online viewers tuned in to watch the sale.

Media have noted that the livestream of the event, watched by millions, has been an opportunity to re-promote what Wuhan has to offer, since it made international attention as the original epicentre of the Covid-19 virus.

As well as promoting Wuhan’s Aerospace Science and Technology & Rocket Technology, the livestream was also interspersed by footage highlighting the hard-working efforts of medical workers in the city.

The name of the buyer has not been revealed, but this is not the first time that an online buyer has purchased an air vehicle for millions of dollars. In November 2017, two Boeing 747 jets were bought on Taobao in an online auction.

Reporting by Kerry Allen

Source: The BBC

Posted in "a small launch vehicle", April Fools joke, body of the rocket, Boeing 747 jets, buys, Celebrity sales anchor, China, China Daily, Covid-19 virus, epicentre, launch platform, People's Daily, rocket launch, Shopper, Sina Weibo, Taobao, Uncategorized, Wei Ya, Wuhan | Leave a Comment »

29/05/2019

Japan’s deal to buy F-35 Lightning jets from US ‘may fuel arms race with China in region’

Donald Trump has welcomed Tokyo’s order for the stealth fighter, but it is likely to trigger a response from Beijing
Deal to buy 105 of the advanced fighters will greatly expand Japan’s capabilities in the South China Sea

Japan’s F-35 fleet will be the largest of any US ally. Photo: AFP

Japan’s decision to buy 105 F-35 Lightning jet fighters from the United States may further fuel the arms race in Asia, analysts have warned.

The deal, first announced in December, was confirmed on Monday during US President Donald Trump’s four-day state visit to Japan.

Japan “has just announced its intent to purchase 105 brand new F-35 stealth aircraft. Stealth, because, the fact is you can’t see them”, Trump said at Japan’s Akasaka Palace. “This purchase would give Japan the largest F-35 fleet of any US ally.”

The F-35 deal is likely to help Japan reassert its role as a leading security player, but also present a new challenge to China’s People’s Liberation Army, which has extended its clout in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.

So far about a dozen US allies have placed orders for the F-35.

The Australian government has budgeted US$17 billion for 72 of the jets and South Korea has ordered 40 F-35As. Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35, also hopes Seoul will buy another 20 of the fighters.

Washington and Tokyo have long been wary of Beijing’s military expansion, with Japan announcing a new foreign policy strategy of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” three years ago to further promote the “rule of law, freedom of navigation and free trade”.

Washington’s concerns are reflected in this year’s version of an annual congressional report that warned: “Over the coming decades, [Chinese leaders] are focused on realising a powerful and prosperous China that is equipped with a ‘world-class’ military, securing China’s status as a great power with the aim of emerging as the pre-eminent power in the Indo-Pacific region.”

In Japan, a parade of pomp for Trump, but Rodrigo Duterte and other world leaders will have to wait

Military observers said that the F-35 deal, together with Tokyo’s plans to modernise its fleet of Izumo-class helicopter carriers to accommodate jets, pose a threat to Beijing’s game plan in the South China Sea by increasing the operational reach of its air force.

Japan does not face the South China Sea but views it as strategically important due to its role as a vital shipping lane.

Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military expert, said: “The [F-35 deal] can help Japan counterbalance threats from China … and it can be seen as a vital part of the worldwide coercion strategy of the US.

“This is bound to upset the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, given the large quantity of warplanes ordered by Japan.”

Analysts also pointed out that although China’s fifth-generation J-20 fighter has given the PLA a lead in the stealth fighter race, the Chinese aircraft was known to have suffered from engine problems even after its deployment in 2017.

The latest F-35 deal will also put further pressure on China to accelerate and improve its J-20 development programme.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said: “If Japan buys the F-35B, which is carrier-based, then it will upset the South China Sea dynamic. Japan does have plans to deploy F-35B to its aircraft carriers.”

US President Donald Trump and Japanese prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a Japanese helicopter carrier on Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo

Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a visiting professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, said: “As Japan moves to configure the Izumo class with the ability to launch short take-off and vertical landing features, the F-35B is essentially the only choice.”

The F-35 deal is about “enhancing Japan’s ability to achieve air and naval superiority, which is vital to the defence of the Japanese archipelago”, he added, noting that the further strengthening of military ties between Washington and Tokyo would improve their joint operational capabilities.

President Donald Trump boasts ‘fearsome’ US military in the Pacific during final Japan speech aimed at rivals China, North Korea

Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military analyst and formerly an instructor with the PLA Artillery Corps, said: “The purchase will definitely trigger a regional arms race, prompting China to do the same by developing and deploying more of its own advanced stealth fighter jets in the region to counter the military presence of the US and its allies.

“Japan needs to update its old air force fleet, with its 200 F-15 fighters approaching the end of their service life,” he explained.

“It also wants to catch up with the pace of generational advancement of fighter jets in many countries – entering a new age of stealth fighters.”

Japan is planning to adapt its helicopter carriers to carry fighter jets. Photo: Kyodo

Collin Koh, a maritime security expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the F-35s would give Japan a significant boost in the stealth fighter race.

“Japan would retain its position as one of the best-equipped air forces in the region and worldwide,” he said.

Koh suggested that while China was a key concern for Tokyo, North Korea was also a consideration.

“This move could be seen as a response to what Japan has in recent times mentioned to be an increasingly severe security environment it faces: not just China and its rapid military build-up including, of course, the induction of new-generation fighters such as J-20, but also the threat posed by North Korea,” Koh said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in arms race, buys, F-35 Lightning jets, Fuel, Japan’s deal, region, Uncategorized, US | Leave a Comment »

10/05/2019

Hamleys: India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani buys iconic toy store

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES

Image caption Hamleys is the world’s oldest toy retailer

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has bought the iconic British toy retailer Hamleys for an undisclosed sum.

Reliance Brands Limited, which is owned by Mr Ambani, said it had signed an agreement to buy the company from China’s C Banner International which had acquired it in 2015.

Hamleys, which was founded in 1760, is the world’s oldest toy retailer and has 167 stores across 18 countries.

Reliance Industries already operates 88 Hamleys stores across 29 Indian cities.

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES

Image caption Mukesh Ambani

According to Forbes, the 62-year-old Mr Ambani is worth $50.7bn.

“The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand…. is a long cherished dream come true,” Darshan Mehta, the CEO of Reliance Brands Limited, said in a statement.

Hamleys had last year reported a £9.2m loss, blaming Brexit and the threat of terrorism for the downturn.

It had opened four stores in the UK but later closed two.

However its flagship store in London’s Regent Street, which opened in 1881, continues to be one of the city’s major attractions.

Set over seven floors, it has an estimated 50,000 lines of toys on sale.

Source: The BBC

Posted in Brexit, buys, CEO of Reliance Brands Limited, China's C Banner International, Darshan Mehta, founded in 1760, Hamleys, iconic toy store, India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, Regent Street, Reliance Brands Limited, Uncategorized, world's oldest toy retailer | Leave a Comment »

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Update: Chinese mainland reports 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

Shopper buys $6m rocket launch in China

You may also be interested in:

‘How to choose the first rocket in your life?’

Japan’s deal to buy F-35 Lightning jets from US ‘may fuel arms race with China in region’

Hamleys: India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani buys iconic toy store

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