Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, said on Tuesday that it had banned 40,000 accounts since early June, as part of a stepped-up crackdowns on illegal sports betting and traffic-directing content during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a bid to promote a rational and orderly viewing environment.
According to a statement released by the platform, since issuing a "notice on governing World Cup-related illegal sports betting" in early June, Xiaohongshu has taken over 12 enforcement actions against coordinated traffic diverting groups as of Tuesday. The crackdown has resulted in the ban of over 40,000 group-affiliated accounts, the removal of 65,000 gambling-related posts, and the cleanup of more than 450,000 comments related to such illicit promotion.
According to the statement, the World Cup is a peak period for organized gambling-related activities. The platform has proactively reported and transferred 12 clues to public security authorities in localities and assisted the law enforcement in Guangxi, Beijing, Zhejiang, and other places in investigating and cracking down on five traffic-diverting groups.
Any form of online gambling, illegal prediction betting, and related traffic-diverting activities are suspected of violating laws and regulations, the statement said. The platform will act against violative content and accounts per its rules - measures include, but not limited to, removing offending posts, restricting private messaging and group chat features, and permanently banning accounts that disseminate illegal sports betting information, according to the statement.
Xiaohongshu has called on its users to watch matches rationally, engage in civilized discussions, and stay alert to all forms of illegal sports betting. It also urged internet users to report suspected violations through the platform's reporting system.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong on Tuesday addressed the High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State and Government and Partners on the Ebola Disease Outbreak via video link.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and a global community of health for all has charted the course for international cooperation in fighting the pandemic.
Noting that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future, Liu said China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the African Union (AU), and dispatched medical expert teams to the DRC.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 Chinese medical professionals who are working in African countries stand side by side with local people in combating the disease, he said.
China stands ready to provide more medical support to Africa within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and calls for the international community to enhance solidarity and cooperation to increase support for African countries, said Liu.
Burundian President and current Chairperson of the AU Evariste Ndayishimiye chaired the meeting. Heads of state and government from more than 10 African countries, including South Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, attended the meeting. Representatives from international and regional organizations such as the World Health Organization and partners from outside the region also attended.
China stands ready to provide more medical support to Africa within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and calls for the international community to enhance solidarity and cooperation to increase support for African countries, in regard to the ongoing Ebola outbreak on the continent, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong made the remarks on Tuesday when addressing the High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State and Government and Partners on the Ebola Disease Outbreak via video link.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and a global community of health for all has charted the course for international cooperation in fighting the outbreak.
Noting that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future, Liu said China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the African Union (AU), and dispatched medical expert teams to the DRC, the readout said.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 Chinese medical professionals who are working in African countries stand side by side with local people in combating the disease, Liu said.
At a regular press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian briefed the media on China's participation in the meeting, saying that China will implement the Partnership Action for Health under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and provide assistance to the best of our capability in combating the outbreak. "We call on the international community to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to help Africa defeat the outbreak at an early date," Lin added.
According to the official website of the African Union, the virtual meeting served as a platform to mobilize urgent political commitment, financial resources, and operational support to strengthen Africa's collective response to the outbreak and reinforce continental health security.
Burundian President and current Chairperson of the AU Evariste Ndayishimiye chaired the meeting. Heads of state and government from more than 10 African countries, including South Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, attended the meeting. Representatives from international and regional organizations such as the World Health Organization and partners from outside the region also attended the meeting, per the Xinhua News Agency.
Addressing the meeting, the head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that the Ebola outbreak in DRC could be the worst ever, and that currently tens of thousands of contacts of those ill with the disease had not been traced, Reuters reported.
"If we don't stop the outbreak very soon it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC," Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told the virtual meeting. He was referring to the outbreak that affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014-2016 that killed over 11,000 people and a less deadly 2018 outbreak in DRC, per Reuters.
Amid the grim situation of the ongoing spread of the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa, the Chinese government has decided to provide additional emergency humanitarian assistance on top of its previous anti‑outbreak support for Africa. The assistance includes continued aid to the DRC, a batch of anti‑outbreak supplies for Uganda, and sustained support for Africa CDC to fulfil its mandate, helping Africa contain the outbreak at an early date, Tang Ying, spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said on Wednesday.
The number of confirmed cases in the DRC has increased to 837, including 196 deaths, government data showed on Tuesday. Neighboring Uganda has recorded 19 cases, 14 of them among people who had travelled from the DRC. The country has also reported two deaths, according to the Al Jazeera.
A Red Cross official said that the outbreak had not yet peaked in the DRC. "We are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease," said Bruno Michon, operations manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Al Jazeera reported.
Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based medical expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday that given the outbreak situation, case numbers across Africa are likely to keep rising in the coming months. The security situation in the DRC may also hamper medical‑relief personnel operating in outbreak‑hit regions.
Amid the ongoing outbreak in Africa, China's National Disease Control and Prevention Administration released an updated Ebola prevention and control plan Tuesday, setting out tracking and health management requirements for people arriving from affected regions.
The plan requires health monitoring and management for people arriving in China from Ebola-affected countries or regions, foreign nationals who traveled to affected areas within 21 days before entering China, and Chinese citizens returning from outbreak zones.
Zhuang noted that this plan represents proactive contingency preparation given the currently low overall domestic risk level. It helps authorities enforce more detailed preventive measures.
China on Thursday released a new national human rights action plan at the opening of the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, aiming to ensure the principal position of the people is respected and the people's fundamental interests are safeguarded.
The National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2026-2030) will also promote social fairness and justice and ensure that the fruits of modernization benefit all people fairly.
The action plan is divided into an introduction and eight chapters. It was jointly unveiled by the representatives of the members of the joint meeting mechanism for the national human rights action plan.
The Chinese government implemented its fourth human rights action plan between 2021 and 2025. With the effective implementation of its objectives and tasks, the country achieved remarkable progress in human rights protection, providing much-needed stability and certainty for global human rights development, the latest action plan says.
At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal will visit China from June 14 to 17.
Asked to comment on China-related remarks made by intelligence agencies of the "Five Eyes" alliance, Chinese FM spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that "I addressed this question yesterday. It is ironic that the 'Five Eyes,' as an intelligence agency, has a long track record of conducting espionage across the globe, yet it leveled accusations against China over so-called espionage threats."
Newly discovered historical records have shed fresh light on the operations of a Japanese poison gas bomb factory during World War II, revealing details of chemical weapons production, workplace accidents and the wartime mobilization system that prioritized military expansion above all else.
The documents were recently uncovered by Seiya Matsuno, a historian and researcher at the International Peace Research Institute of Meiji Gakuin University, in Japan's National Archives. Matsuno said the materials not only provide new evidence about Japan's wartime production of poison gas munitions but also illustrate the dark reality of a government and military apparatus that placed war above society and human life.
The newly found document, titled "Compilation of Reports on the Implementation of Military Mobilization," is a production report covering fiscal 1941 operations at the Sone Manufacturing Plant of the Tokyo Second Army Arsenal. Matsuno analyzed the material and published his findings in the June 2026 issue of the Japanese magazine Sekai.
According to Matsuno's research, the Sone plant, formerly located in Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, was responsible for filling artillery shells with toxic chemical agents and assembling poison gas bombs. The facility also manufactured smoke shells and incendiary bombs.
The material documents accidents that occurred during poison gas bomb production and the injuries suffered by workers. Until now, such incidents had largely been known only through testimonies from former employees. The newly discovered records provide documentary evidence supporting those accounts.
Matsuno told Xinhua that the material also shows how poison gas bomb production expanded alongside Japan's growing war efforts. During fiscal 1941, the Sone plant increased its workforce and boosted output. He noted that, at the time, Japan was continuing its war in China, preparing for a possible conflict with the Soviet Union and planning military expansion into Southeast Asia.
Matsuno emphasized that the Japanese military's use of chemical weapons in China and elsewhere violated international law, adding that the military also conducted human experiments and committed other war crimes, which reflected the brutal nature of Japan's wartime aggression.
Under the rule of Japanese militarism, the country became increasingly consumed by war fervor. Matsuno said that the newly discovered records reveal a period in which the government and military subordinated all aspects of society to the war effort, while dissenting voices were systematically suppressed.
War brings only suffering and misfortune, Matsuno noted, stressing the importance of uncovering the realities of wartime history to prevent similar tragedies from recurring. Understanding how Japan became a country that inflicted serious harm on many Asian nations, and examining the conditions that made such developments possible, remain important tasks for contemporary Japanese society, he added.
A spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that fear-mongering of so-called threats to justify military buildup is a go-to tactic for Japanese militarism.
Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks when asked to comment on recent social media post by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi which claimed the review of the three principles on Japan's defense equipment transfer is aimed at enhancing deterrence for the sake of "defense" and preventing conflicts before they occur, as well as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's welcome of this Japanese initiative and agreed to strengthen military cooperation with Japan.
Mao said that as explicitly stipulated in international instruments such as the Potsdam Proclamation, Japan is obligated under international law to be "completely disarmed" and not to maintain industries that "would enable her to re-arm for war."
Japan, however, has been lifting the ban on lethal weapon export, rebuilding the war machine, and rapidly shifting to offense-oriented security and defense policies. Those dangerous moves bear an alarming resemblance to the course of actions taken by militarists in pre-war Japan, Mao noted.
History has taught the world a painful lesson on appeasing and condoning militarism. Once that Pandora's box is opened, no one will be safe from the danger of raising a monster, Mao added.
China's A-share market soared strongly on Monday, with the turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges exceeding 2.5 trillion yuan ($356.5 billion) in total. Monday is the last trading day before the week-long National Day holidays.
The Shanghai Composite Index increased by 8.06 percent to reach 3336.5 and the Shenzhen Component Index ended 10.67 percent higher. ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, witnessed an increase of 15.36 percent. The index that comprises 50 representative companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange increased by 22.84 percent. The Beijing bourse index and ChiNext Index witnessed their highest single-day gains on record.
The Shanghai Composite Index has surged more than 17 percent in September.
On Monday, the turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the fourth consecutive trading day.
The Shanghai Composite Index opened 3.47 percent higher on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 4.58 percent higher at 9,950.65 points and the ChiNext Index rose 5.77 percent at the opening on Monday.
China's A-share market has rallied since Thursday, after a key Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership meeting on that day stressed the need to boost the country's capital market, and actively promoting the medium- and long-term funds to enter the market, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
After the meeting, the Shanghai Composite Index closed above 3,000 points on Thursday, the first time above the key benchmark since July 2.
The enthusiasm for the stock markets flooded the trading systems of stock exchanges and many securities companies.
On Sunday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) completed all trading tests, with the bidding system received 270 million orders, which is double the historical peak and three times the number of orders submitted on Friday. Earlier, the SSE announced plans to conduct trading tests on Sunday, aimed at validating the performance of its trading platforms in handling large volumes of orders, according to media reports.
Saudi Arabia is working with international partners and prioritizes cooperation with China to achieve its goal to a regional hub, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to China Abdulrahman Ahmad Al-Harbi told the Global Times.
He also expressed a willingness to welcome more Chinese companies to invest in Saudi Arabia across various sectors such as the petrochemical and oil, the automotive industry, and infrastructure, which, he pointed out, would be in the interests of Saudi Arabia and China.
Al-Harbi made the above statement during an interview with reporters at Saudi Arabia's 94th National Day Reception event held in Beijing on Monday.
He noted that the bilateral relationship between Saudi Arabia and China is an outstanding example of inter-state relations, characterized by deep friendship, mutual trust, and respect for each other, continuously advancing forward. In recent years, high-level exchanges between the two countries have been frequent, and cooperation in various fields has yielded remarkable results.
Saud Arabia and China signed the implementation plan for the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 in 2022. The Saudi diplomat said the plan laid a strong foundation for bilateral cooperation, and noted that both sides not only share many common interests but also match in various sectors.
According to him, both sides have already cooperated across various sectors, including petrochemicals and oil, the automotive industry, technology, logistics, and infrastructure.
"We believe there are many sectors and sub-sectors in which we have common interests. Joint investments have already taken place between both sides, and we welcome more Chinese investment," he said.
When discussing the role of China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in addressing the challenges of conflicts in the Middle East and achieving regional peace and security, Al-Harbi said that the two countries share similar positions on many regional and international issues. Both countries' foreign policies support the realization of global security and peace, respect for the sovereignty of other nations, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. As important members of the international community, Saudi Arabia and China have significant influence globally. Their productive cooperation has already had a notable positive impact on regional and international stability, and is expected to play an even more important role in the future.
According to Saudi Arabia's media reports, the Saudi Ministry of Education recently officially announced the inclusion of Chinese language courses in the country's primary and secondary school curriculum, designating Chinese as one of the main teaching languages. The aim is to teach students the basic skills of reading, writing, and conversing in Chinese. The Ministry of Education has begun to take necessary measures to adjust the curriculum and class hours, as well as provide professional teachers to accommodate the new teaching system.
In that regard, Al-Harbi further explained that learning Chinese is of great significance for enhancing mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, and cultural exchanges fully reflect the friendly bilateral relations between them. More than 170 Chinese teachers have recently arrived in Saudi Arabia to teach Chinese in public schools. Additionally, about 100 Saudi students have gone to China to study Chinese, preparing for future careers as Chinese language teachers in Saudi Arabia.
